SWNOVELXO Chapter 19: Chapter 19: One Year Later
"What a fine bow!"
After testing a few shots with the Sun Piercer Bow, Yamon couldn't help but praise it.
"Not only is it incredibly stable when shooting, but the design of the bowstring and bow body is also superb! Arrows fired from this bow are faster, more accurate, and can fly much farther than those from ordinary bows."
Seeing how much Yamon liked it, Fang Yi hesitated for a moment before speaking,
"If you like it, Master… then I'll give it to you."
After all, it was Yamon who taught him archery, and the bow he had been using until now was also given by Yamon. Although he was somewhat reluctant, he could still accept giving the Sun Piercer Bow to his teacher.
Besides, with the system he now possessed, there were plenty of powerful weapons available—many even better than the Sun Piercer Bow. He was confident he could get even stronger weapons in the future, so there was no need to be overly attached to just this bow.
However, upon hearing Fang Yi's words, Yamon simply chuckled and said,
"Oh? Since this is your heartfelt gift, I suppose I'll just reluctantly accept it."
Fang Yi's mouth twitched slightly at those words. It almost sounded like he was forcing the bow onto Yamon—truly annoying.
"Hahaha… You fool! I'm a jungle warrior—my main weapons aren't bows or arrows! Giving this bow to me would only be a waste!"
Yamon burst out laughing.
Fang Yi was speechless. The crew aboard this ship all seemed to enjoy teasing him. Fortunately, now that Shanks and Buggy often took the heat alongside him, plus Fang Yi's steadily improving performance, the crew had begun to treat him more like an adult at times.
"In that case, I'll return your old bow to you, Master."
Fang Yi said as he tried to hand Yamon back his previous bow and arrows, since Yamon hadn't accepted the Sun Piercer Bow.
"That old bow doesn't require much strength to draw, but it has a longer range and better stability. However, you still need to practice your basic archery skills, so you'd better hold onto my bow for now—use it for your training."
Yamon replied with a light chuckle, refusing to take back his bow.
Fang Yi hesitated but eventually nodded and kept both bows.
Before long, Roger returned to the ship with the rest of the crew. However, Buggy wore a gloomy, sulky expression.
"The captain distributed all the treasure aboard the ship to those slaves and let them go."
Shanks explained softly to Fang Yi,
"Even the stash Buggy had hidden away was found and confiscated by Mr. Rayleigh."
"Hah! Buggy, you can't blame me for this one! You were the one who failed to guard the treasure!"
Fang Yi laughed mischievously as he teased the furious Buggy.
"Hmph!"
Buggy snorted and ignored Fang Yi entirely, even giving Shanks the cold shoulder as he stormed back to the cabin.
"What's with that guy? Why does he love treasure so much? We're pirates—what good does hoarding treasure even do for us?"
Fang Yi muttered in confusion.
Shanks simply shrugged, indicating that he didn't understand it either.
"Captain, we've made an enemy of Demon Island this time. I fear they'll come after us from now on,"
Rayleigh said with a frown to Roger on deck.
"Hmph! Demon Island? We've always kept to our waters. If they dare come out to sea, we'll just wipe them out!"
Jabba growled from the side—he despised anything related to slavery.
"Demon Island itself isn't the real issue. The problem lies in the power backing it. I reckon we'll have the Navy on our backs for a while,"
Roger said, grinning.
"The Navy? Don't tell me… The rumors are true? The World Government is behind Demon Island?"
Jabba asked, astonished.
Roger nodded.
"Yeah, no doubt about it."
"Tch! I can't believe the World Government has fallen so far,"
Jabba said through gritted teeth, visibly upset.
"This isn't exactly news."
Rayleigh sighed and shook his head,
"I've heard there are places where slave auction houses openly operate—just for the amusement of the Celestial Dragons."
"Forget it. Those matters are none of our business. We'd best focus on finding the Poneglyphs,"
Roger said with a dismissive shake of his head.
Nearby, Shanks and Fang Yi exchanged glances, both seeing the shock and confusion in each other's eyes.
"Don't go asking questions."
Fang Yi quickly grabbed Shanks, who was about to question Captain Roger, and shook his head firmly,
"Don't forget—we're pirates. Like the captain said, these matters aren't ours to handle."
"But… those slaves…"
Shanks bit his lip and muttered softly,
"The World Government is supposed to protect the people! How could they do such things in secret?!"
"That's the rot of power."
Fang Yi replied calmly,
"No matter the kingdom or organization, once power becomes hereditary, this is what happens. You may be sure of yourself, but you can't guarantee your descendants will be like you. All it takes is one rotten successor… and it all falls apart."
Shanks fell silent at those words.
Though the slave ship incident had left both Shanks and Buggy feeling uneasy, Fang Yi wasn't too bothered. His only goal now was to grow stronger.
The seas ahead were full of wonders—but without strength, anyone could end up as a slave.
If one wanted freedom, they needed power.
Just as Roger had predicted, ever since they destroyed the slave ship, the Navy had been chasing them more aggressively.
Besides their usual pursuer, Vice Admiral Garp, another famed Marine Vice Admiral—"Black Arm" Zephyr—had also joined the hunt.
This left Roger's crew constantly on the run, dashing from island to island without a fixed destination. Ironically, this lack of direction caused the Navy to repeatedly miss their best chances to capture them.
One year later.
"Yi, have you finished copying the Poneglyph?"
Roger asked as he patted the square stone Poneglyph in front of him, glancing at the busy Fang Yi.
"Yes, Captain! It's done!"
Fang Yi nodded and began packing up his tools.
Over the past year, they had found two more Poneglyphs after the first one. With the one before them now, this marked their fourth.
Fang Yi's system points had also accumulated to nearly six thousand.
Three thousand points came from the system's reward for finding the Poneglyphs. The remaining points were earned through battles throughout the year.
Yet despite having so many points, Fang Yi hadn't spent them.
Ever since Shanks and Buggy boarded, Fang Yi had been receiving five lottery tickets per day from the system—more than enough to satisfy his draws.
However, he always felt the system's wheel was rigged against him. Whether single draws or ten-pulls, his odds of getting anything good seemed depressingly low.
Over this year alone, he'd spent over 1,800 lottery tickets (five per day), yet only drew three combat skills:
Stun (LV.1): Your attacks have a 5% chance to stun enemies.
Lethal Strike (LV.1): Your attacks have a 1% chance to inflict fatal damage.
And a non-upgradable skill:
Charge (Non-upgradable): Enter a charge-up state. You can't move while charging, but your next attack's power increases based on charge time, up to 200% power.
Besides combat skills, he'd also drawn three life skills:
Carving (Beginner)
Medicine (Beginner)
Painting (Beginner)
He noticed that once he acquired a skill—combat or life—it no longer appeared on the wheel.
As a result, life skills had become rarer to draw than combat skills, and none of them could be upgraded.
Unlike combat skills, life skills had no proficiency levels, so he couldn't improve them at all. Though he now possessed several life skills, they were all superficial, barely more than basic knowledge.
Aside from skills, he'd also used the system's fragments to craft another piece of gear during the year:
Small Quiver: Stores up to 20 arrows and automatically replenishes one arrow every hour.
With the quiver, he finally solved part of his constant arrow shortage problem. His biggest expense now was buying arrows.
Although Yamon had taught him how to make arrows, there weren't enough materials on the open sea. Most of his arrows had to be purchased when they stopped at islands.
Some islands didn't sell ready-made arrows, but at least had the materials needed for crafting. During their voyages, he often spent his free time making arrows to stockpile.
Thus, the quiver saved him both time and money.
"Mr. Rayleigh, here's the copied Poneglyph,"
Fang Yi handed the finished rubbing to Rayleigh for safekeeping.
"Good work."
Rayleigh smiled and nodded, then turned to Roger,
"Anything? Did you feel anything this time?"
Each time they found a Poneglyph, Fang Yi would make a rubbing, then Roger and Rayleigh would try sensing whether it could guide them to the final island.
"No luck again, huh? What about you, Yi?"
Seeing Roger shake his head, Rayleigh looked toward Fang Yi.
"Same here. As expected, we still need someone who can read the ancient language."
Fang Yi shook his head with a sigh.
"It's quite troublesome. We've been to so many places, yet we haven't found any clues to decipher the ancient text."
Jabba also sighed in frustration.
"Oh, please! Don't act like you've been contributing! Every time we land somewhere, it's Yi who searches for books on ancient writing. His room is practically a library now! You've done nothing!"
Yamon snorted, rolling his eyes at Jabba while sipping his wine.
Ever since they began training Fang Yi, Yamon and Jabba seemed to have grown closer—something everyone aboard noticed, except for the two themselves.
So when Yamon started bickering with Jabba again, the crew just chuckled—it had become a common sight.
"Master Yamon, I haven't done much either…"
Fang Yi scratched his head awkwardly.
"I told you already—stop calling me 'Master'! In archery, I have nothing left to teach you!"
Yamon sighed with a trace of resignation.
"Once a master, always a master!"
Fang Yi looked at Yamon earnestly and declared firmly.
Yamon had been the one to guide him into archery. Even if Fang Yi's skills now rivaled—or even surpassed—his own, and Yamon could no longer teach him, Fang Yi still insisted on calling him 'Master.'
Roger, Rayleigh, and the others all respected Fang Yi's stubborn loyalty toward his teacher.