Adjusting his mood, Klein opened his game character's inventory and unlocked all the gift packs.
He gained quite a lot of materials.
Returning to the Haki menu—Both the Armament Haki and Observation Haki icons had a little red dot on them.
Clicking in brought him to the upgrade screen, where all kinds of materials overflowed a little past the requirement.
[Upgrade Successful!][Armament Haki: LV.0 → LV.1][Attribute Bonus: ·····]
Next was Observation Haki.
[Upgrade Successful!][Observation Haki: LV.0 → LV.1][Attribute Bonus: ·····]
In that instant—Klein's mind was suddenly flooded with vivid memories of training Haki, flashing by like a slideshow,until they fused seamlessly into his memory and body.
He even…gained a new understanding of what Instructor Carter had told him about Haki back then.
This is the power of money!This is the boost from spending cash!
Sure enough, nothing beats turning on the cheat mode!
If he'd trained it himself, it would've taken over a year for each type, and with his talent, there was no guarantee he could even master Armament Haki.
As for Observation Haki…Even harder!
That thing is a pain to train!
Klein's heart surged with excitement. "Finally mastered all three types of Haki!"
"In the world of pirates, without Haki, you're just a low-level monster or NPC in the starter zone!"
Spending over 20 million Berries for Armament Haki and Observation Haki—well…
Klein was so hyped he couldn't sleep all night. The next day, he went to class with dark circles under his eyes.
Life returned to the three-point routine—school, training class, dormitory.
In the blink of an eye, the year-end was near.
For the past few months, he had kept up the habit of buying all limited offers every day, plus the weekly "Haki Discount Pack."
Klein's strength skyrocketed like a rocket.
His status panel now read:
[Game Character ID: Imu's Dad★][Game Level: 62][Character Attributes: ····][Swordsmanship Level: 71][Weapon: Great Grade Blade Amenonuhoko][Devil Fruit Slots: Paramecia – Chop-Chop Fruit (LV.3), Logia – Smoke-Smoke Fruit (LV.2)][Talents: SSS-Rank Talent – Flashback LV.1, Triple Lifespan LV.1 (Giant Race)][Skills:][Basic Attack: LV.3][Thunder Destruction Sword: LV.1][Oden Two-Sword Style: LV.1][Rokushiki: Tekkai LV.4, Kami-e LV.3, Shave LV.4, Rankyaku LV.4, Geppo LV.3, Shigan LV.5][Iron Fist: LV.2][Okama Kenpo: LV.2][King's Fist: LV.1][Demonic Flame Kick: LV.3][Ramen Kenpo: LV.6][Haki: Conqueror's Haki LV.4, Armament Haki LV.3, Observation Haki LV.3][Life Skills:][Cooking: LV.2, Navigation: LV.1, Calligraphy: LV.1…]
Of course—The cost was that of the initial double first-recharge 600 million Berries, only a little over 100 million remained now.
Still, Klein had earned plenty in these months.
The bathhouse business was booming, and with its growing reputation, even the Marines' high-ranking officers and soldiers now came to relax.
Naturally—Everyone entering the bathhouse got to witness the style of "Marine Academy's No.1 Genius – Klein"!
Add in income from his training classes, plus dividends from Instructor Carter's sales of "Beauty Fist" and "Demonic Flame Kick,"and his bank account still had over 100 million Berries.
Klein casually poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and asked with a grin, "Instructor, is it time to give me my dividends?"
"Didn't I just give you dividends a few days ago? It's not that soon." The instructor twitched his mouth.
"Today I called you here to inform you—the Marines plan to promote you. They'll invite reporters from major newspapers for a story."
"News?" Klein's eyes lit up. "Do I get paid?"
"Knew you'd bring up money." The instructor chuckled and spread his hands. "Nope!"
"Not only no pay, the Marines will even have to pay those reporters some appearance and writing fees."
Hearing there was no money, Klein's face fell.
No profit? What's the point!
Lifting his cup again, Klein sipped the instructor's good tea for free and said sourly, "No money? That's just a waste of my time."
"Building fame and doing publicity—countless people would kill for that. How come you're so unwilling?" The instructor shook his head; talking business with this kid was exhausting.
No money…and Klein instantly turned into a lifeless, uncooperative lump.
If there was money, he'd be bouncing off the walls like he was on chicken blood!
Instructor Carter grinned. "Recently, pirate rookies on the seas have been on the rise. The Marines do need some reputation boosts to lift morale."
"And you're naturally a great choice—the Marine Academy's only genius to graduate early."
"This will really help with your future promotions and salary raises, you know."
"It'll be another credit on your record!"
Hearing that, Klein perked up. "Alright, Instructor, you handle it then."
He still wanted promotions and raises—After all, he didn't want to be stuck at a low rank where anyone could boss him around.
After their chat, he put down his tea and left the office.
The instructor scratched his head. "Eh—forgot to tell Klein about the graduation exam again."
"Oh well, it's only a few days away anyway."
Back at the dorm, Klein couldn't wait to log into the game.
Today—A new event had dropped!
And…it was the annual mega welfare event: the New Year's Spring Festival!
The moment he entered the game, a bright, festive announcement popped up—dragon dances, Spring Festival couplets, cannons, and more.
The whole screen was filled with Lunar New Year vibes.
[Year 1463 Spring Festival Announcement – Dragons Soar Across the Seas, Celebrating the New Year in Unity!][Event Time: Jan 1, 1463 5:00 – Feb 15, 23:59][Dear Players:][Golden dragons bring good fortune, firecrackers bid farewell to the old year! On this festive occasion, the One Piece operations team, along with all NPCs, wish you the most heartfelt blessings—may your combat power soar like dragons, and your luck flow like the seas! From now on, massive Spring Festival rewards are open—limited skins, free ten-pulls, double resources, and more surprises sweeping the seas!][Server-Wide Login Gift: Daily from New Year's Eve to the 7th Day of the New Year: ······][Spring Festival ······][This Spring Festival, let's wander together through the lantern-lit main city, enjoy the fireworks, and challenge the Nian Beast's lair! Log in now to claim your lucky start-of-year rewards!—The One Piece Operations Team]
"It's New Year's… Blue Star must be so festive right now."
"Wonder what acts are on the Spring Festival Gala this year… not that I'd watch anyway."
"How many people are firing off New Year's Eve fireworks…"
'Damn… good thing I'm graduating and heading to sea soon. No more giving Kunkun time off! Wonder if Kunkun will be touched.'
Seeing the familiar Spring Festival event and decorations, Klein couldn't help but recall his life back on Blue Star.
Shaking off the thoughts—He dove back into the game, collecting check-ins and rewards, before turning to the new event. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝕟𝕖𝕥
The rewards were nice—besides resources, there was a pet chest and a set of New Year's clothes.
Opening the pet chest—The icon flashed and finally stopped on "Lord of the Coast"!
A vicious-looking "loach"?
Hey, Red-Hair, wanna make a bet?
It reminded Klein of a song: Big brother, shall we go catch loaches?
Shrunk down, the Lord of the Coast really did look like a loach—but this was the very same beast that had bitten off Red-Haired Shanks' arm!
With that achievement, it could make the front page of the World Economic News.
Stirring up storms on the seas!Causing tsunamis around the globe!
Klein thought, "If I level the Lord of the Coast to 100 and send it to the East Blue, wouldn't it basically become the 'Dragon King of the East Sea'?"