The two hours that followed were the quietest the bookstore had ever been. The three Academy students were hunched over the pages, their eyes darting back and forth as if they were memorizing a forbidden Divine Scripture.
"He defeated the pirate Alvida!" one of them shouted, jumping up from his stool. "The way he uses his rubber body to deflect iron clubs... it's genius! Why did we never think of using physical properties this way?"
Ray watched the notification bar in his vision flickering like crazy.
[Ding!]
[Reader 'Chen' has reached 80% Immersion.]
[Reader 'Wei' has reached 75% Immersion.]
[Total Readers: 5/5. Mission Accomplished!]
[Rewards Initialized:]
[1. Luffy Synchronization: +2% (Current Total: 3.5%).]
[2. New Chapter Unlocked: 'Enter Roronoa Zoro'.]
[3. Rare Reward: A trace of 'Haoshoku Haki' (Conqueror's Haki) aura.]
Suddenly, a heavy pressure radiated from Ray. It was faint, but for a split second, the air in the shop turned ice-cold. The students, who were all at the Foundation Establishment stage of cultivation, felt their knees buckle. It wasn't the pressure of a high-level cultivator—it was the pressure of a King.
Chen looked up at Ray, sweat dripping down his forehead. "Owner... what was that? For a second, I felt like I was standing before an Emperor."
Ray tucked the Straw Hat under the counter and gave them a mysterious smile. "That was just the spirit of the 'Pirate King'. If you want to see more, Chapter 3 is being inked as we speak. But it won't be free this time."
"I'll pay anything!" Chen slammed a pouch of Spirit Stones on the table. "I need to know if Luffy finds more crew members. And that swordsman... the one mentioned in the legends... Zoro. I want to see his style!"
Ray picked up his quill. The ink glowed with a faint blue light. "Then come back tomorrow. The 'Pirate Hunter' is waiting."
As they left, Ray felt his muscles expanding. His vision became sharper. He looked at his hand and gave a sharp punch into the air. WHOOSH! The sound of the wind breaking was louder than ever before. He wasn't a 'waste' anymore. He was the author of a new world.