“Wh-What is going on!?”
Ian stared dumbfounded at the Blademaster’s Longblade in his hands, finding it utterly unbelievable, and hurriedly questioned the system.
“Exclusive Treasures can generate materialized projections!” the system explained.
“However, the projection only retains a percentage of its power based on the corresponding star level!”
Ian instantly understood.
In other words, the Blademaster’s Longblade in his hands couldn’t achieve the full effect of the real weapon, right?
Looking at the Blademaster’s Longblade, he realized it was incredibly long.
This weapon, which blurred the line between a sword and a saber, was originally wielded by the Orc Blademasters in Warcraft.
Orcs were massive creatures, so a weapon that looked normal in their hands appeared quite gigantic in Ian’s!
The blade was almost as tall as he was!
But in terms of visual impact, it was absolutely flawless.
Although it looked rugged, both its curvature and sharpness were top-tier.
Simple!
Efficient!
This was a lethal weapon born for slaughter!
Flicking the blade gently, Ian heard a humming resonance, indicating that the material was incredibly uniform.
The entire weight of the longblade was concentrated on its spine, making it especially suitable for chopping.
In Ian’s estimation, this was a heavy blade that required both hands to wield properly.
When Ian first set sail, he only brought a roughly crafted sword.
Having spent so many years at the dojo, he was deeply influenced by Master Koushirou and believed that the most important thing for a swordsman was to possess a good blade.
Therefore, he had felt somewhat regretful about the sword he brought along.
Now, it was exactly what he needed.
Just as Ian was wondering how to get his hands on a good weapon, the system delivered one right to his doorstep.
Although this Blademaster’s Longblade was completely different from the katana he usually used, the principles of swordsmanship were universal.
The longblade was not only suitable for chopping but could also be used for thrusting and horizontal slashes.
As long as Ian was given a little time to adapt to its weight, there would be no problem.
Well, none of that really mattered.
The main point was…
it looked incredibly badass!
Even though it lacked a scabbard, simply strapping this Blademaster’s Longblade to his back instantly skyrocketed his coolness factor!
Gripping the longblade, Ian tried swinging it a few times.
Hearing the howling sound of the blade slicing through the air, he felt very satisfied.
He figured this was the only item in the First Recharge Gift Pack that hadn’t scammed him.
What pleased Ian the most was that he could make the Blademaster’s Longblade instantly disappear by simply un-equipping the Exclusive Treasure from its slot!
Once re-equipped, it would reappear, acting just like spatial equipment.
It was incredibly convenient.
The small boat moved forward with the wind while Ian practiced swinging the Blademaster’s Longblade on board.
Firstly, he wanted to adapt to the blade as quickly as possible.
Secondly, after maintaining the habit for so many years, sword practice had become second nature to him.
If he didn’t take every opportunity to practice a few swings, his whole body would feel uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, such intense concentration often led to ignoring everything else.
At some point, the wind direction on the sea had changed, and Ian’s small boat unknowingly altered its course along with it.
Ian didn’t notice this at all, completely immersed in his training.
By evening, the sea breeze grew violent, and the air pressure began to drop.
Anyone with a bit of common sense would know these were signs of an impending storm at sea.
Only then did Ian finally snap back to reality and lower his sail.
The weather at sea could change in an instant.
Not long after Ian lowered the sail, the storm hit.
Gale-force winds battered his small boat, churning up massive waves that relentlessly crashed against it.
At first, Ian was worried about capsizing, so he sat in the middle of the boat wearing a raincoat, desperately using his own strength to stabilize it.
However, it wasn’t long before he had to stand up, grab the bucket left in the fishing boat, and bail water out for dear life!
Just how strong was a small fishing boat’s ability to withstand wind and waves?
That went without saying.
Experienced fishermen would head out in the morning and return by evening, only fishing in coastal waters.
It could be said that Ian was completely misled by the manga he used to read.
In his memory, whether it was Luffy, Ace, or Sabo, they all seemed to set sail alone in a tiny boat, making him think he could do the same.
It wasn’t until he truly experienced sailing that Ian realized he had severely underestimated the science of navigation.
Looking around, he was surrounded by pitch-black seawater due to the gloomy weather.
The sun was hidden, leaving him with no points of reference.
Ian had no idea which direction he was heading anymore.
He barely managed to survive the storm, but the clothes and rations he had stored in the boat were completely soaked by seawater.
The clothes were fine—he could just dry them once the sun came out—but his dry rations were completely ruined!
The next day, when the sun rose, Ian discovered he was lost.
When he set off, he had been heading North, but the sun’s position now indicated he was actually traveling West.
He had no idea how far off course he had drifted.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Ian couldn’t help but facepalm upon realizing this.
Back in Shimotsuki Village, the thing he told Zoro the most was: *Never trust your sense of direction.
If you get lost, stand still and wait for someone to rescue you!* He never expected to be the one getting lost first.
Ian’s geographical knowledge was pitiful, but even he knew he couldn’t keep going West.
Continuing West didn’t seem to lead to any islands; instead, it would bring him closer and closer to the Calm Belt of the Grand Line!
That was a gathering place for massive Sea Kings.
With Ian’s small stature, if he went there, he would never return…
So, he could only adjust his course and continue heading North.
However, drifting off course meant Ian would have to spend more time at sea.
With his rations destroyed, if he wanted to eat, he had to look to the ocean.
And here, Ian’s lack of sailing knowledge became even more apparent: he had actually forgotten to prepare a fishing rod for his boat!
Uncle Hull giving him the fishing boat was generous enough; he couldn’t possibly be expected to provide a fishing rod too, right?
Yet, when Ian set sail, he completely overlooked this detail, leaving him unable to even fish!
By noon, Ian was absolutely famished.
He came up with an idea: he tied a rope to the katana he had brought along and tossed it into the sea to fish.
However, how could any fish possibly bite?
The rope was thick, and there was neither a hook nor bait.
Just how blind would a fish have to be to get caught by that?
Perhaps he was delirious from hunger, but after seeing no reaction from his makeshift fishing rod for a long time, Ian finally came to his senses.
Slapping his forehead, he cursed his own stupidity.
He then stripped off his clothes and pants, and wearing only his boxers, bit down on his katana and jumped into the sea.
Without a fishing rod, he had to catch fish himself.
Fortunately, Ian had good lung capacity and could hold his breath underwater for a long time.
*I should be able to catch some fish, right?* Ian thought to himself.
However, what Ian didn’t expect was that just as he dove down, another ship appeared on the sea behind him.
It was a large galleon.
A black pirate flag hung from the mast, bearing the design of a skull with a round, red nose.
Up in the crow’s nest, a lookout was scanning the surroundings with a telescope.
Very quickly, he spotted Ian’s small boat resting on the surface of the sea.
“Captain Buggy!
There’s a small boat over there!” the lookout immediately shouted down.
“It’s a fishing boat, but for some reason, there’s no one on board!”
Down on the deck, a man wearing a captain’s hat and a draped coat was sitting in a chair, resting his chin on his hand.
This man was dressed like a clown, and his nose was particularly prominent—a large, round, red nose.
That’s right, this ship was the pirate ship of the Buggy Pirates, and this man was the captain of the crew, Buggy the Clown.
Hearing the lookout’s shout, he paused for a moment and said, “An empty boat?
A shipwreck?”
“The storm last night was so fierce, maybe it really is!” a black-haired man riding a unicycle next to him said with his arms crossed.
“Send someone to take a look, maybe we can find some valuables!” Buggy waved his hand.
“We are a pirate crew famous for plundering, don’t let even a small fish go!”
“Yes!
Captain Buggy!” the pirates on deck immediately stood at attention and responded loudly.
Soon, a small boat was lowered from the pirate ship and rowed toward Ian’s vessel.
Meanwhile, Ian had no idea what was happening on the surface.
He was still underwater trying to catch fish!
He didn’t realize it until he tried, but catching fish barehanded in the sea was incredibly difficult.
How could a human outswim a fish underwater?
So, even though there were fish swimming all around him, Ian failed to catch a single one.
When he couldn’t hold his breath any longer, he surfaced for a gasp of air and then dove back down.
When a person was starving to the extreme, they would risk their life for something to eat.
Because he only popped his head up briefly before diving again, Ian didn’t notice the small boat approaching from the Buggy Pirates.
Similarly, since he was such a small target, the pirates on the boat didn’t spot him either.
As a result, a few pirates boarded Ian’s boat.
After searching around and finding nothing of value, they actually took all his clothes and his hat to bring back as their haul…