"Raise my base salary?"
Gion and the others froze.
Lucas’s thought process was so unconventional that it caught everyone completely off guard.
"Admiral Lucas, why not ask for military merit instead?" Chaton couldn’t help asking. "Isn’t that the greatest honor a Marine can earn?"
Everyone turned to look at Lucas in silence.
The seas were overflowing with bounty money, yet he was asking for a salary increase. That felt... a little excessive.
"Military merit?" Lucas rolled his eyes. "I’m already an Admiral. What do I need more military merit for? Unless I spend decades waiting for old man Sengoku to retire, what good is it?"
"Besides, there are still the three Admirals ahead of me. Even old man Kizaru has far more accomplishments than I do. Who knows how many years it’ll take before I’d even have a chance to become Fleet Admiral?"
"So compared to the Fleet Admiral’s position... isn’t more pay the better deal?"
Click...
The Den Den Mushi suddenly went silent.
Looking at the snail hanging its head limply, everyone instantly realized what had happened.
Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku had apparently been defeated by Lucas’s shameless logic.
Faced with the opportunity to pursue the highest rank in the Marines, Lucas still charged straight toward the path of making more money.
Probably only he could pull something like that off.
Yet, the more they thought about it, the harder it was to argue with him.
As the newly appointed fourth Admiral, becoming Fleet Admiral wasn’t just a matter of outlasting Sengoku.
There were still the three current Admirals standing ahead of him.
The odds of reaching the top were practically nonexistent.
Compared to chasing military merit for a promotion that might never come...
Getting more money really did seem like the wiser choice.
Perhaps this was what true clarity looked like.
"Old man Sengoku really can’t take a joke." Lucas handed the Den Den Mushi back to Gion before taking another swig of strong liquor.
This attempt at squeezing a raise had failed.
Still, at least it had given Sengoku a little psychological preparation.
Lucas was convinced that the next time he asked for a raise, things would go much more smoothly.
Besides...
Now that he had an excuse, he was even more certain Sengoku wouldn’t deduct the 10,000,000-Berry Performance Bonus he had just earned.
Ding! CongratUlti ons, Host. You have received a 10,000,000-Berry Performance Bonus. Current System Currency: 10,000,000. Would you like to exchange it for Silver Treasure Chests?
The familiar system notification echoed through his mind.
Lucas raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
As expected...
The system acted exactly like a ruthless landlord.
It never gave the "peasants" a chance to become wealthy.
It wouldn’t even let him keep a single Berry overnight before trying to squeeze every last bit out of him.
The mission report hadn’t even been sent yet, and the system had already confirmed the reward had arrived.
It even politely asked whether he’d like to spend it immediately.
How thoughtful...
Still, after experiencing firsthand just how overwhelming Whitebeard had been, Lucas couldn’t deny that he lacked confidence.
Looking at the Silver Treasure Chest floating quietly within his consciousness, he willingly accepted being "exploited."
"System, exchange all ten million performance points for Silver Treasure Chests."
Ding! Please wait...
Ding! Exchange successful. Current System Currency: 0. You have obtained ten Silver Treasure Chests. Open them now?
A string of notifications rang out.
The millions of System Currency he’d painstakingly squeezed out of Sengoku disappeared in an instant.
Lucas rubbed the bridge of his nose helplessly.
Instead of opening the chests immediately, he stared at the ten Silver Treasure Chests floating in his mind.
According to the system, Silver Treasure Chests could at best produce rewards of Gold-tier quality.
The odds of obtaining something powerful enough to multiply his strength several times over were practically nonexistent.
This time, in order to locate Whitebeard, he had shamelessly extorted Kaido face-to-face.
Knowing Kaido’s personality, retaliation was only a matter of time.
If Lucas wanted to survive, he had to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
Whether it was fighting powerful enemies or continuing to slack off peacefully, only overwhelming strength would give him the freedom to do as he pleased.
The only thing that disappointed him was that the system still hadn’t revealed how Silver Treasure Chests could be upgraded into Gold Treasure Chests.
Otherwise...
With enough money in his pocket and confidence in his heart, he might really have gambled everything.
Shaking off his wandering thoughts, Lucas looked at the ten Silver Treasure Chests once more.
A Gold Treasure Chest?
He wasn’t bold enough to dream that big.
But...
He firmly believed in one universal truth:
A single pull could create a miracle.
And a ten-pull always had guaranteed luck.
Rather than waiting aimlessly...
He decided to gamble.
"System, open all the Silver Treasure Chests."
Ding! Please wait...
Ding! Opening Silver Treasure Chests...
CongratUlti ons! You obtained 100 Doriki.
CongratUlti ons! You obtained 100 Doriki.
CongratUlti ons! You obtained 100 Doriki.
CongratUlti ons! You obtained 100 Doriki.
...
The notifications echoed one after another.
The muscles on Lucas’s face twitched uncontrollably.
He seriously suspected the system was just trolling him.
It looked like it had simply copied and pasted the reward log.
Couldn’t it at least give him something different?
Or had it secretly swallowed half his treasure chests?
Doriki was certainly valuable in the world of One Piece.
But after going through so much trouble to fleece Sengoku...
If all he’d gained was a measly 1,000 Doriki, that would be an enormous loss.
Grumbling inwardly, Lucas quickly scrolled farther down the reward list.
Then his eyes suddenly lit up at the ninth entry.
Finally!
Something different.
The curse of copy-and-paste had finally been broken.
After seeing the first eight rewards all read 100 Doriki, he had nearly wanted to murder the system.
At least there was one reward that stood out.
That alone made him feel a little better.
Floating before him was an unusually long katana.
It measured roughly one and a half meters in length.
Its slender blade shimmered with a cold gleam.
Its name...
Monohoshizao.
Lucas frowned.
If he remembered correctly, this sword belonged to Sasaki Kojiro, the Heroic Spirit summoned during the Holy Grail War in the Fate series.
Kojiro was revered as one of the greatest swordsmen.
As his signature weapon, Monohoshizao might have an awkward name...
But in the world of One Piece, it would undoubtedly rank alongside one of the Great Grade Swords.
Any master swordsman would treasure it beyond measure.
Unfortunately...
Looking at the famous blade quietly floating before him, Lucas could only rub his nose with a bitter smile.
If he had known a legendary sword would one day literally fall into his lap...
He would’ve spent more time learning swordsmanship from Bogard.
Then he wouldn’t be staring at such an incredible weapon while feeling it was almost wasted on him.
If Sasaki Kojiro ever learned that someone intended to use his treasured Monohoshizao as a fishing rod...
His coffin lid would probably burst open on the spot.
After all, with the pitiful swordsmanship Lucas had picked up over the past year...
He doubted he could beat anyone halfway competent.
Still thinking about it, Lucas reached out and grasped the hilt.
The instant his fingers tightened around it...
His eyes suddenly flew open.
A familiar warm current surged into his mind.
More importantly...
He noticed that after the ninth reward notification...
The tenth treasure chest reward...
Was the real jackpot.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 100+ Chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789