One Piece: Global improvement system

July 14, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle

Ina looked curiously at Orion, who had deactivated the effect of his 'Age Change' ability, returning to his natural form.

After being discovered by the girl in their intimate moment, Orion and Giolla spent some time making excuses, until Ina's curiosity subsided enough to bring the comical incident to a close.

Now, Ina, who had been awaiting Orion's return with great anticipation for months, was watching him intently, her eyes seeming to glow.

"Can you change size, Orion?" the 5-year-old girl asked with great interest.

"Well, it's one of my special abilities. It's very useful when I have to fight," Orion replied, sipping on some tea Giolla had prepared for him.

"Oooh! Were you fighting with Giolla then? Who was winning?" The girl's voice echoed as she approached, clenching her hands into small fists.

Orion spat out his tea and coughed a little to avoid choking.

Then he said seriously:

"Well, I was winning..."

Bong!

Giolla, who was sitting to the side, hit him on the head with a notebook, and Orion didn't continue. It wasn't that he wanted to boast, but it was necessary to clearly state who was winning! His manhood demanded it!

Orion and Ina continued talking for a long time, and he listened carefully to everything the girl had done during the time they had been apart.

After he was abducted by Cipher Pol, Ina had been left alone on Beru, but luckily Giolla had contacted her and went to look for her a few days later. The beautiful artist brought her to Pacific Town, where the girl was finally able to live in peace.

The wounds she had suffered during Blake's attack on her village had completely healed, but the burn marks covered a good portion of her body and head, an indelible reminder of what had happened.

Orion felt great sorrow when he thought of the suffering the girl had experienced, and how she would have to remember it every time she looked in a mirror. So he had decided he would find a way to heal her scars in the future. For now, with his current medical knowledge, it wasn't possible. Especially since he didn't have the necessary technology to perform a procedure as complicated as a skin graft.

However, he was convinced that in this fantasy world, where all sorts of superpowers existed, there would be a way to help her remove those scars. Perhaps there was even a Devil Fruit that would allow him to do it easily.

That night, Orion answered the excited Ina's questions and then listened to her stories for a couple of hours, until she finally fell asleep, overcome by slumber.

Once the girl fell asleep, Orion returned to his adult form and resumed the unfinished battle with Giolla. Both remained in a state of ecstasy until sunrise.

At dawn, Orion left his beloved artist's house and walked through the makeshift settlement that was the foundation of his kingdom.

The celebrations were over, and most people were asleep.

Orion saw the precarious wooden houses and the countless tents and thought that much remained to be done. It was true that he had officially created his kingdom, but in its current state, it couldn't truly be considered as such.

However, Orion wasn't discouraged by the current precariousness, but rather motivated by what was to come. He was confident that things would improve rapidly in the future.

He looked at the system screen and accessed the new 'Kingdom Building' function that had appeared yesterday, following the official founding of his kingdom.

*

Name: Pacific Kingdom

Kingdom Rank: F

Location: Pacific Island, South Blue

Reserves: 0 Berries

Population: 1,357 people

Defenses: Very poor

Production: Fishing, fledgling agriculture

Infrastructure: Small port, farms

Quality of life: Poor

Morale of inhabitants: High

*

Orion looked at his kingdom's basic information sheet. By focusing his attention on each item, he could gain more detailed information. For example, focusing his attention on 'population' brought up a screen detailing the current population composition, of which 246 were native inhabitants of Pacific Town, and 1,111 were people he had recruited on the return voyage.

It also specified the specific places of origin of these people, which were quite varied, as he had recruited on several islands and rescued many from the hands of pirates.

Orion investigated the system's new feature with great interest for a while. The information contained there was invaluable and would help him manage his territory much more easily and effectively.

Finally, there was a screen called "Suggestions" that gave advice on actions to take to improve the kingdom, which could practically be considered "Kingdom Quests."

In this Suggestions tab, there were numerous quests, all of which were aimed at improving his kingdom in some way.

For example, there was a suggestion indicating the construction of a militia corps to improve defenses; another quest indicated the construction of farms to increase food production; another the construction of housing; and there was even a quest that asked him to generate offspring.

The quests were very varied, spanning different areas such as trade, health, politics, and so on.

Seeing the amount of things that needed to be done, Orion felt a little overwhelmed; after all, he was just one person, and the things he could do on his own were very limited.

He also couldn't dedicate all his time to managing the kingdom because he needed to continue training to improve his power level.

He knew very well that if he didn't have enough power to confront the monstrous beings that inhabited this world, no matter how much he improved his kingdom, everything could collapse in an instant.

Orion focused his thoughts on the first mission on the list, and it expanded to show the specific details.

* Mission: Secure Food Supply

Description: The current population of 1,357 requires a stable food supply to avoid shortages. Develop agriculture and fishing to ensure long-term food self-sufficiency.

Reward: 50 Kingdom Points (KP), Slight increase in population morale. *

"'Kingdom Points'?" Orion muttered, raising his eyebrows at the strange term among the rewards.

Luckily, the system offered an explanation, telling him that a new point system had been activated when he founded his kingdom, and that it operated in parallel with the main one.

Basically, KP were the equivalent of SP, only used for kingdom-related matters.

He could earn KP by completing quests listed in the Recommendations tab, and then he could invest those points to purchase useful items for the kingdom in the specialized 'Kingdom Store'.

One of the main differences between SP and KP was that the latter couldn't be used to directly improve the kingdom. Therefore, he couldn't invest KP to automatically increase defenses, but he could use them to purchase weapons in the store, specialized training routines, locate people with specific talents, etc.

Orion reviewed several of the Kingdom Quests and planned which ones he would do first, considering the urgency of each one. It was obvious that the most important tasks were to ensure that the basic needs of the inhabitants of his kingdom were met; other missions such as establishing trade routes, diplomatic relations, or having offspring could wait.

Especially the mission to produce offspring! Even though he had the mind of an adult and could now use his 'Age Change' ability to remain in his adult form for extended periods, his natural form was that of a child of only seven years old!

He had no intention of making his parents grandparents while they were still in their twenties. That was why he had been extra careful every time he had relations with Giolla. At least ten more years would have to pass before he would consider completing that Kingdom Mission.

Orion exited the new function screen and focused his attention on his 'Space Gate' ability. Now that he had finally returned to his homeland, it was time to set a return point for this ability. That way, he'd be able to open a portal from anywhere in the world and return here without any problems.

He set the skill's return point to the most central part of the precarious settlement and breathed a sigh of relief to see that there had been no problems with the designation of this point.

Finally, he focused his attention on the last item he had to address before he could return home to his parents after months of absence: the Random Kingdom Building Box!

This was an item he had obtained by completing a quest some time ago, but until now, he hadn't been able to use it.

Now that his kingdom was formally established, it was time to see what he could get from this mysterious box.

Without further delay, he opened the box on the system screen, and new notifications appeared.

*You have obtained 500 KP*

*You have obtained the 'Appraisal Sphere'*

*You have obtained the 'Mysterious Egg'*

Orion felt great joy when he saw that there was more than one reward in this type of random box, and he immediately reviewed the descriptions of these items.

*Appraisal Sphere:

This is a crystal sphere that allows you to assess the talents of your kingdom's inhabitants. Only by knowing our strengths and weaknesses can we move forward with conviction.*

*Mysterious Egg:

The egg of a mythical beast. This beast has been bound to your kingdom as its guardian. The characteristics of the beast that will emerge from the egg will depend on several factors, such as the population type, the kingdom's geography, the king's personality, and the kingdom's specific needs.

Nothing is set in stone; your actions will define the future. The beast in this egg, yet to be formed, will change its appearance, personality, and powers depending on your actions and the development of the kingdom.

Like your people, this creature will grow with you. Will you forge a guardian feared by his enemies, or a protector beloved by his people?

*

He took the two items out of the reward box and looked at them curiously. In his right hand was the crystal ball, which didn't seem to have anything strange about it, while in his left hand was a fairly large egg, that continuously emitted a small amount of light and seemed to 'breathe'.

Orion inspected the egg for a few moments, but seeing that there wasn't much to look at, he placed it inside his Pocket Dimension. He couldn't put it in his inventory since it wasn't an inanimate object, so he planned to leave it in his Pocket Dimension for the time being, just to be safe.

Then he looked at the 'Appraisal Sphere' in more detail. He placed his palm on it, and immediately a series of data items appeared, floating inside the sphere as if it were a screen.

However, to his disappointment, the sphere's evaluation of his abilities and talents only returned question marks.

Perhaps it was because of the presence of the system or some other reason, but this sphere wasn't capable of evaluating him.

He would have to conduct a test with someone else to verify its function. He planned to use it on the Named Characters he had recruited, on whom he had already used Insight Cards to learn their specific details. This sphere was like a weakened version of those Insight Cards, so the information it provided had to be similar, even if it was less detailed.

However, that would be something he would do later. For now, all he wanted to do was return home to his family.

With this in mind, he used Soru and sped back to his home.

He arrived after a few minutes and felt a great nostalgia upon arriving at the place where he had spent his first years in this world. It seemed like so much time had passed since he had been here, even though in reality it had only been a few months.

He entered the courtyard, which was completely silent, and his body involuntarily began to prepare for his morning training. He had spent so much time maintaining his morning training routine in this yard that just entering at this time of day triggered a kind of conditioned reflex.

He entered the house and headed straight to the kitchen, where the sounds of someone cooking could be heard. There, he found his mother, Lira, cheerfully preparing breakfast for her family. Since the arrival of her son Orion the day before, she had been in a very good mood.

"Mom, I'm home," Orion said excitedly.

"Ah!" Lira squealed, dropping the spatula in her hand into the pan, then turned and looked at Orion reproachfully.

"You almost scared me to death!" she said, putting her hand to her chest.

Before Orion could apologize, she hugged him tightly, almost suffocating him in the process. He simply didn't resist, letting his mother express her emotions freely. He had been absent, and he felt guilty for worrying his parents.

A while later, the rest of the family gradually appeared, joining in the joyful atmosphere.

Finally, Orion saw Rouge, whose belly was slightly swollen, indicating her pregnancy.

Orion had frozen the growth of his baby with his 'Frozen Time' ability, but now the ability had worn off and Rouge's pregnancy would develop normally like any other woman's.

Her due date was early January, so there were still almost six more months before her master Roger's child was born.

Orion had a mission regarding this, which required him to protect the physical integrity of the mother and baby, and so far there had been no problems, although he wouldn't let his guard down until the mission was successfully completed. The rewards were secondary; he was only interested in the well-being of Rouge, who was a part of his family, and her little baby.

"Orion, it's good to see you again. You've grown a lot," Rouge said with a friendly smile.

Perhaps it was because she was about to become a mother, but Orion thought her aura was much softer than before. As if there was an inherent kindness in her that hadn't existed before.

"Rouge! I'm glad you're okay. Haven't you had any problems with the pregnancy?" Orion asked, trying to make sure everything was going well.

"There have been no problems, all thanks to you, brat." Rouge grabbed him by the head in a headlock, forcing him to beg for mercy to be released.

Orion thought that perhaps Rouge was still the same after all, and then prayed for her little son Ace, who would have to behave himself if he didn't want to suffer at the hands of the feisty woman.

The whole family ate breakfast, listening to Orion's stories about his travels, in which he left out the dangerous parts so as not to worry them.

His parents also told him about the situation in the village during his absence, and how they hadn't had any problems thanks to the fog he had deployed in the bay at the entrance to the island.

He knew that no pirate could venture through the fog without his permission, and they definitely couldn't cross the beasts' territory, so he was sure the townspeople would be fine in his absence. Besides, Giolla was in the area between the village and the beasts' territory, and she functioned as the perfect defense against any possible attack from one of the animals living in the mountains.

After breakfast, his father Paul called him aside, and Orion followed him to his room. Paul closed the door, took an envelope from his pocket, and handed it to Orion.

"This is a letter Gion sent you a few months ago. We haven't opened it to respect your privacy."

Orion took the letter, signed by the girl in exquisite handwriting, and thought about his childhood friend and fiancée, whom he hadn't seen for a long time. Perhaps he should go to Gray Harbor to visit her and see how her training was going.

"There's also something else I need to tell you," Paul said solemnly.

Orion put Gion's letter away and stared at his father, waiting for his next words.

"It's about your grandfather and uncle. They're… missing."

"Missing? Who gave you this information?" Orion asked in surprise.

His grandfather and uncle often worked long periods outside the village, but it was true that they had been gone for an unusually long time on this occasion.

"I was able to contact one of their friends who worked with them, and he said your grandfather and uncle went out on an important delivery but never returned. They're listed as missing in the company records."

Paul's voice was solemn and emotionless, but his eyes revealed his deep sorrow. He was telling his son this because he knew he was very mature and could handle this kind of news, but also because he still held out hope that Orion could do something about it.

He felt a little embarrassed to have to pin his hopes on his young son, but he knew his capabilities and knew it was impossible for him to investigate the disappearance of his relatives.

Orion was about to ask another question when a bell rang in his mind, and a new notification appeared on the system screen.

*Ding*

*A new mission is available*

*Mission 13 - Blood-Soaked Bridge*