Following the location he remembered, Carnes arrived at what used to be a room.
Well, it had once been a room.
Now, even the cabin itself no longer existed.
Boom!
With his bare hands, Carnes lifted the floorboards.
A hidden compartment beneath them was revealed.
Inside the modest underground space rested a single longsword.
A longsword with a silver-white hilt and matching scabbard.
“Old friend, it’s been a long time.” With a soft sigh, Carnes picked up the silver-white blade.
Shing—!
The sword slid from its scabbard, and a cold gleam flashed across its edge.
Faint azure patterns ran along the blade.
“Still as sharp as ever, Evergreen.” Carnes smiled as he examined the weapon.
Then he sheathed it once more and fastened it to his waist.
Evergreen was a unique sword he had commissioned from a master craftsman after gaining some fame on the Grand Line.
Through countless battles over the years, the blade had remained faithfully by his side.
As for why it was named Evergreen…
That was simply because Carnes had been young when he named it.
Looking around, he found only ruins.
The cabin had been completely destroyed and was no longer habitable.
Carnes glanced up at the sky.
The day was already drawing to a close.
“Almost sunset, huh?
Looks like I’ll have to borrow a room at the tavern tonight.” As he muttered to himself, he suddenly remembered something.
He still hadn’t opened the Beginner’s Gift Pack the system had given him.
Immediately, he summoned the system interface.
“System, open the Beginner’s Gift Pack.” [Ding!
Beginner’s Gift Pack opened.] [Ding!
Congratulations, Host, on obtaining Influence Value +100!] [Ding!
Congratulations, Host, on obtaining Item: Eternal Galebreaker, Medium-Class Ship!] [Ding!
Congratulations, Host, on obtaining 10 Basic Crew Members!] [Ding!
Congratulations, Host, on obtaining 10 Intermediate Crew Members!] [Ding!
Congratulations, Host, on obtaining 5 Advanced Crew Members!] [Friendly Reminder: Rewards will arrive within one hour.
Please wait patiently.] — After scanning the information panel, Carnes’ gaze shifted to the prize pool option at the bottom.
Thinking about it, after the system appeared, not only had he forgotten to open the gift pack, but he hadn’t even checked the prize pool yet.
With that thought, he entered the prize pool.
Four different options immediately appeared before him.
[Recruit 1 Special Crew Member] — 100 [Recruit 5 Advanced Crew Members] — 200 [Recruit 10 Intermediate Crew Members] — 200 [Recruit 10 Basic Crew Members] — 200 Looking at the required Influence Values, Carnes couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.
A Special Crew Member is actually cheaper than the other three options?
Without hesitation, he selected the Special Crew Member recruitment.
The moment he confirmed his choice, the system notification sounded again.
[Recruiting Special Crew Member.] [Ding!
Congratulations, Host, on recruiting Special Crew Member Demiurge from the World of Overlord!] [This reward will arrive within one hour.
Please wait patiently.] [Friendly Reminder: After recruiting a Special Crew Member, the Host will gain 50% of that crew member’s power and randomly receive 20% of their skills or abilities.] — [Host]: Carnes [Abilities]: Conqueror’s Haki (Top Tier), Armament Haki (Advanced), Observation Haki (Advanced) [Influence Value]: 100 [Friendly Reminder: Once Influence Value reaches certain thresholds, crew members can be recruited from the prize pool.] [Total Crew Members]: 26 [Friendly Reminder: Once the total number of crew members reaches certain thresholds, the ship class will automatically upgrade.] [Special Crew Member]: Demiurge [Advanced Crew Members]: 5 [Friendly Reminder: Advanced Crew Members serve as high-end combat forces.
They possess Advanced Armament Haki and Intermediate Observation Haki.] [Intermediate Crew Members]: 10 [Friendly Reminder: Intermediate Crew Members are the backbone of combat forces.
They possess Intermediate Armament Haki and Basic Observation Haki.] [Basic Crew Members]: 10 [Friendly Reminder: Basic Crew Members are versatile personnel.
They are highly skilled in navigation and exceptional cooks, though their combat ability is comparatively weaker.] [Item]: Eternal Galebreaker · Medium-Class Ship [Prize Pool Access >>] Looking over the system panel, Carnes was particularly surprised by one thing.
His Influence Value.
He had just recruited a Special Crew Member, yet his Influence Value hadn’t decreased at all.
Curious, he opened the recruitment page again.
Only then did he notice that the cost of recruiting a Special Crew Member had increased to 300.
The other options remained unchanged at 200.
“So that’s what the system meant by ‘crew members can be recruited once Influence Value reaches certain thresholds.'” Carnes stroked his chin thoughtfully.