Threads of Destiny
At first, he had no idea who they were talking about.
“Hmph. To think we'd meet again here. It seems the bonds from our past lives aren't so easily severed.”
“Wonder if there's a decent party member around...”
“Since this is fate, I could lend a hand if you need assistance.”
“Ah, that guy looks good.”
“Hey, Tusin!”
“What, who's this Tusin you're yelling about all of a sudden... Huh?”
Turning around, there stood a tall player in ninja cosplay gear.
Only then did Carpe recall the events of his first day in the game, realizing that Tusin referred to him.
“Huh? One Piece Crew boss?”
“My ties to the One Piece Crew are long severed. I was never their leader to begin with. I am but a passing breeze—Hanjo.”
“...How'd you recognize me? My outfit's completely different from back then.”
He'd even changed his hair color with an item and pulled up his robe's hood.
Not a single trace remained of his One Piece Crew days, yet she'd spotted him instantly. It was downright uncanny.
“Heh. No matter how you alter your appearance, you can't hide the subtle flow of your ki aura. How could I fail to recognize that sharp, refined fighting spirit?”
What the hell is she even saying?
-Don't ask me. She's on a whole other level from a nickname faker like me. How the hell should I know what a true concept player like her is thinking?
It had only been a few days since they'd last met, but her speech was as hard to follow as ever.
“So, what's your business? Here for revenge?”
“Perish the thought. Failing to accept a fair defeat is the mark of a petty soul. Meeting you here is pure coincidence.”
“Hmm.”
He definitely didn't sense any hostility. If anything, she seemed thrilled to see him.
Carpe couldn't quite grasp why the person who'd killed him was so overjoyed, though.
“Your presence here must mean you're here for the Sea Cave quest.”
The ninja-clad Hanjo cut straight to the chase.
“The same goes for me. What say you to teaming up? We've already synced our rhythms once before—it'd be better than scraping together strangers.”
“Synced our rhythms...? More like we just tried to gut each other.”
Still, the offer wasn't half bad.
-Sounds good. Given what she showed last time, no worries about her dragging us down or trolling.
Right? Saves time hunting for party members too.
Besides, Carpe didn't have a bad impression of Hanjo at all.
Unlike the rest of the One Piece Crew, she'd accepted her defeat cleanly, which had left an impression. And being a concept player was a plus.
Only a true enjoyment gamer could pull off that level of crazy commitment.
-...Birds of a feather, huh.
Decisively, it wasn't an exaggeration to say he'd only unlocked the Magical Fist Lord class thanks to her.
Defeating a second-run character for his job change? Absurd in hindsight.
One hang-up, though...
What if all this talk was an act, and she was just cozying up to sell his info to Mammonism Guild?
Problem was, there was no easy way to verify it.
-Don't sweat that part.
Huh?
-Remember the guerrilla quest explanation? About a year from now, Mammonism gets hit with a coin scandal leak from the inside.
Did I?
He vaguely recalled it being mentioned in passing.
-She's the whistleblower.
Whoa, really?
-Yeah. Was iffy at first, but that batshit speech pattern seals it.
About a year from now.
A top ranker exposes every dirty deed Mammonism has pulled, backed by ironclad proof.
Mammonism calls it fabrication, slaps a kill order on her, and war erupts between one player and a megaguild.
Sure, some called it overkill for a solo vs. guild fight—but it dragged on for three months, crippling Mammonism.
-Ended with her character deletion after endless ganks, but it fully exposed their underbelly.
And she's that ranker? Right in front of me?
-Yup. No direct ties to me, but infamous for insane skills and even crazier concept commitment.
Hmm. Wild.
“S-So, Tusin... Does that mean we're good? I'll give it my all!”
Watching a future top ranker fidget and beg for a party spot was hilarious. Carpe couldn't help a chuckle.
“Yeah, let's do it.”
“R-Really?”
“Better than wasting time recruiting. We heading out now?”
“Wait just a moment! I need to grab the quest from that girl!”
Hanjo hadn't picked up the quest yet and dashed off to the girl.
“Let's see.”
In that brief window, Carpe opened his status window.
He planned to spend skill points before entering the dungeon.
10★ Unlock Lv. 17
9★ Dretsch-style Doll Arts Lv. 1 (New!)
8★ Magic Engineering Lv. 1
7★ Elemental Mastery Lv. 1
3★ Elemental Arrow Lv. 1
3★ Striking Lv. 1
0★ Repeat Lv. 17
“Whoa. Looking flashy.”
-Don't ever leak your status publicly by accident. You'd get delete-bombed.
He'd dumped about 50 bonus stats into agility and magic power from Ruana Pit, but 37 remained.
“I'll hold onto these for now, spend based on need.”
Skills were the priority.
Thanks to First 10★ Skill and First 0★ Skill titles, he had a whopping 50 skill points—triple what most players got.
“No-brainer on this one, at least.”
Carpe tapped the sole skill marked New.
Dretsch-style Doll Arts Lv. 1 - 9★
A skill devised by Magic King Dretsch, betrayed by humanity, to craft weapons solely for himself.
Greatly enhances all abilities of player-bound retainers.
• Enables use of Magic King's seven dolls.
• +30% to all stats for player-bound retainers.
• +30% EXP gain for player-bound retainers.
*Skill level increases number of usable dolls and effect potency.
“EXP buffs like this? Delaying hurts.”
“An excellent choice, my lord.”
-Yeah. In RaSe, passive buffs are safe to max anytime—especially 9★ ones.
Invest points to raise skill level?
“Yes.”
Pouring in 9 points maxed it to Master, updating the info.
Dretsch-style Doll Arts Lv. 10 (Master) - 9★
A skill devised by Magic King Dretsch, betrayed by humanity, to craft weapons solely for himself.
Greatly enhances all abilities of player-bound retainers.
• Enables use of Magic King's seven dolls.
• +150% to all stats for player-bound retainers.
• +150% EXP gain for player-bound retainers.
• Halves MP cost for doll summons.
*Magic King's dolls: Only one operable at a time.
“Damn, this skill slaps.”
-Insane. Even for 9★, those numbers are brutal.
A straight 150% buff. Impossible not to gawk.
“Gotta master Magic Engineering and Elemental Mastery too.”
Magic Engineering was job-exclusive, a no-brainer. Elemental Mastery reliably boosted spell damage as a solid passive.
He held off on the 3★ skills, though.
“Even with points to spare, dumping into 3★ feels wasteful.”
-Right. Quest rewards might drop better ones. Fine to wait.
Finishing skill tweaks just as Hanjo returned with the quest.
“All set.”
“Good. Let's roll.”
“First, allow me to form the party.”
Hanjo gestured in the air, and a window popped up before Carpe.
⊳ Party window shows current HP/MP, status effects, etc. for members.
⊳ Class info displays base job only.
Base job?
-For you, it'd show 'Mage' not 'Magical Fist Lord'. Folks hide hidden classes.
Ah.
Carpe nodded and accepted. As Cheonma said, jobs appeared.
But...
...Archer?
Shockingly, Hanjo's job wasn't thief or assassin—it was archer.
Wasn't she a ninja?
-Don't try to understand concept players. Just accept it.
“Something wrong? Any issues?”
“Nah, all good. Just caught off guard. Let's go.”
Thus began the duo's bizarre party play.
* * *
“Know anything about the Sea Cave dungeon?”
“Nah, first time.”
“Then allow me to explain.”
Cheonma was right there, but no need to rebuff the courtesy—Carpe listened quietly.
“Monsters here are amped-up versions of beach mobs.”
Hard-shelled giant conches, mana-drunk mermen, carnivorous mega-turtles, etc.
Copy-pastes with new names, visually identical to beach ones.
“Unlike the beach, though, these are all aggro-first types.”
Warning: Get careless, get swarmed.
“And being a dungeon, watch for traps absent in the field... Hm?”
But their greeting wasn't monsters or traps—it was something else.
“Treasure chest?”
-Oho. Strong start.
“Fortuitous.”
They'd spotted a chest right at the entrance.
Yellow hue—rare grade.
“Locked.”
Meaning: Needed a rare key or unlock skill.
“Tusin, got a key?”
“Nope.”
“Heh. As expected?”
Hanjo puffed her chest proudly toward Carpe.
“No secrets between us. I possess chest-opening arts. Even hero-grade ones, at 75% success—a 6★ skill.”
Chest skills were rare in RaSe.
A solid 6★ opener made you premium party fodder everywhere.
No wonder Hanjo beamed.
“One proposal: Add me as a friend, and whatever's inside is yours...”
Unlock
Click.
The chest popped open like a perfectly grilled clam.
“...”
“Hm. Return scroll, potions, bit of gold? Since I opened it, it's mine?”
“...What was that just now?”
“Got one too. Chest-opening skill.”
A 10★ that cracked even legendaries at 100%.
“Picked up the chest too—onward? This way?”
“...I'll lead.”
Hanjo's shoulders looked a tad droopy as she took point.