Chapter 133: Contract Fruit

"This is..."

Koby sat slumped on the ground; he had just picked up the strange fruit when a sharp-eyed Pirate snatched it away.

"Captain Alvida, look, what is this thing?"

"A Devil Fruit!?"

Alvida toyed with the fruit carefully, then recalled a legend treated as a fairy tale in the East Blue.

"Legend says that Pirates who eat a Devil Fruit will be cursed by the sea forever, but at the same time, they can obtain powerful strength!"

Hearing her words, all the Pirates revealed greedy gazes.

But hindered by Alvida, who was gripping her giant Wolf Tooth Club, they could only watch with envy.

Alvida picked up the fruit excitedly,

intending to eat it in one bite, but before she could put it into her mouth, the fruit turned into a strange scroll inscribed with a task.

【Contract Task (1/5)】

Task Content: Hand over 5 million Beli

Task Reward: Lv. 1 Novice Iron Gauntlet (White)

Hint: Complete five bounty tasks to become a Samsara Game novice player.

Alvida stopped in her tracks, looking at the content on the scroll with a deep frown, and sneered: "Who is it that wants to swindle my treasure? Five million Beli for a pair of gauntlets?"

The Pirate who had just snatched the fruit hurriedly pointed at Koby and said: "It was him, I got the fruit from his hands."

"Koby!"

Alvida angrily smashed the scroll onto Koby and cursed: "If I weren't short on handymen, I would definitely smash you into meat paste. Get lost to the cabin and clean up!"

Koby was sent rolling twice by the impact of the scroll, crashing into the ship's mast.

Upon hearing this, he hurriedly clutched the scroll and ran toward the cabin with his head bowed.

"Master, is such a Devil Contract useful?"

When the first fruit was activated, A Fu was able to perceive it, and like observing a player, observe the holder's movements.

These Devil Contracts looked like a combination of low-level Trial Tokens and Mission Scrolls.

Watching Koby, who had been drawn in by the Devil Contract and whose eyes revealed a struggle, Fang Yi smiled: "That's right, whoever obtains a Devil Contract can trigger a low-difficulty task within their immediate vicinity."

For example, handing over treasure, catching a Sea King, collecting rare ores, gathering herbs, and so on...

Completing these low-difficulty tasks allows one to obtain corresponding rewards, and after completing them all, one can enter the Haizeixinxoucun.

"It's different from the Ninja World, which has Ninja Clan legacies, where most ninja can exchange Ninjutsu as a starting Reward Point."

Inside the screen, Koby took advantage of the cleaning to sneak into the storeroom where the treasure was kept.

Fang Yi laughed and pointed at him, saying: "In the Pirate World, the combat techniques of most life forms are crude and unbearable; relying solely on pure, primitive instinct, they have no capital to convert into Reward Points."

"However, unlike the already solidified hierarchy of the Ninja World, even the weakest commoners and slaves in the Pirate World possess something extremely powerful."

"Ambition!"

The treasure of the Alvida Pirates added up to exactly five million Beli; the task triggered by the Devil Contract would not exceed the limit of what the holder could accomplish.

Inside the cabin,

Koby thought of the innocent villagers who had been killed, thought of the children released with faces full of hatred, thought of the village burning in a sea of fire...

The entire storeroom suddenly became empty.

【Task completed, reward has been issued】

Koby swallowed hard, nervously scanning the empty storeroom, and suddenly felt some regret.

He had actually gone muddled for a moment and rashly trusted a bizarre Devil Contract.

The treasure had vanished,

and even if he couldn't prove he was the one who did it, Alvida's rage would still be vented on him; he would most likely be thrown into the sea to feed the sharks.

Just at this moment,

a pair of heavy Iron Knuckles landed on Koby.

【Novice Iron Gauntlet Lv. 1 (White)】: A novice weapon produced by the Samsara Game; Strength +2 when equipped.

Hint: Devil Contract holders can temporarily activate the Player Template.

【Koby】

Level: 1 (1/50 EXP)

Attributes: Strength 2 (+2), Agility 2, Constitution 2, Spirit 3

Equipment: Novice Iron Gauntlet

Skills: None

Hint: The base physical quality for a normal human male in the Pirate World is 【3】.

"This is... the power of the Devil Contract?"

Koby had never seen this kind of situation before; he dazedly put on the Iron Knuckles and suddenly felt his whole body's strength become powerful.

【Contract Task (2/5)】

Task Content: Kill the Pirate Toz.

Task Reward: Lv. 1 Random Skill (White)

"Want me to... kill Toz?"

Koby's lips were trembling,

for he was timid and cowardly by nature; let alone killing a person, he hadn't even killed a chicken or a duck.

Being timid and clumsy, he had been isolated by children his own age since he was small, which was why he had gone out to sea alone to fish, boarded the wrong ship, and was treated as a handyman by the Alvida Pirates.

Courage.

It was something he had never possessed, and something he could absolutely never possess.

Let alone the courage to kill.

Even if the treasure were lost or he were flattened by Alvida's Wolf Tooth Club, he wouldn't dare harbor a thought of resistance, would he?

"Useless. It's a waste for such a person to receive a Contract."

A Fu clearly did not think highly of Koby, who was flabby, round-faced, and looked like he was easy to bully.

In the world of ninjas, even the weakest Genin is a combat weapon that has seen blood and killed people.

By comparison, he is far too lacking.

Fang Yi's smile remained unchanged as he said, "Don't be impatient, just keep watching."

Koby, who would later be able to awaken Observation Haki and Armament Haki and be carefully mentored by Garp, did not have low Soul Potential.

He just lacked the courage to face his inner self for the time being.

"Koby!"

"You bastard, get out here right now and bring another barrel of rum!"

"Yes!"

Koby responded loudly, his whole body trembling.

He carefully locked the treasure warehouse, then went to the cargo hold at the back of the ship to carry out a barrel of rum.

The Iron Knuckles were magical; they disappeared after being equipped and would appear on his fists when he called for them in his heart. Even when they were invisible, as long as they were in the equipped state, they still enhanced his strength.

He carried the barrel out without much effort, but heard a faint cry of alarm from inside.

He opened the barrel lid.

Inside was the child who had been let go earlier, curled up in a ball, her face full of terror.

"That's right, the whole village was swept by the Pirates. Given the situation at the time, hiding in a barrel was the best method."

It was just bad luck that she had been carried onto the ship by the Alvida Pirates.

Koby took a deep breath and said, "Shh, don't make a sound. Once we reach the shore, I'll let you go quietly."

Bang.

The door to the cargo hold was kicked open.

Toz, reeking of alcohol, stared viciously at Koby and cursed, "I told you to bring a barrel of wine, and you dare to slack off?"

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon the child who had poked her head out from inside the barrel.

His mind turned, and he immediately understood, saying maliciously, "Koby, so it was you. You actually let my prey go. It seems you don't want to be a chore boy anymore; you want to be shark bait."

"It's not like that... she's just a child who accidentally ran onto the ship. She can work too, please don't tell Alvida!"

Clang.

The Pirate Toz drew the Short Blade he carried with him, a vicious smile at the corners of his eyes, and walked toward the barrel.

"First I'll kill the runaway prey, and as for you... Koby, I will tell Alvida everything, and then the Captain will deal with you."

The Pirate Toz glanced at Koby with contempt, pushed him aside, and turned his back to him, completely unguarded.

A cowardly wretch like this wouldn't dare do anything to him, even if he handed him the Short Blade.

"Sob sob sob..."

The sound of the child crying.

Koby's head was buzzing; the screams of the villagers, the ferocious laughter of the pirates, and the sound of houses burning in flames kept surfacing.

What should I do? Should I just keep standing here like this?

But I am just Koby, the weakling mocked by my peers as Cowardly Koby. Am I supposed to defeat the Pirate Toz?

Can I really do it?

Koby was trembling violently, fine cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. As he looked at the grinning Toz, the Iron Knuckles appeared as if by divine intervention.

Bang.

A punch slammed heavily into the other man's back.

Before the Pirate Toz could turn around, a flurry of punches had already rained down like raindrops.

The burly and strong Toz had no chance to fight back against Koby, who was wearing the Iron Knuckles, and was knocked unconscious after two punches to the head.

【Mission complete, rewards have been issued.】

Koby suddenly felt some special combat techniques appear in his mind.

【Straight Punch Lv. 1 (White)】: A pugilist technique passed down from the long-destroyed Ancient Southern Heaven Kingdom. Gather all your strength and deliver a Straight Punch forward.

Upgrade requirements: 50 Proficiency, 50 Skill Experience.

(End of chapter)