The words Manuscript Writing System appeared on the screen in bright, shining letters.
Murphy instantly realized that this system was probably related to his past papers. Its sudden appearance could mean that his manuscripts had been accepted or published, but it didn't matter anymore – he was filled with an indescribable excitement at the appearance of something like this.
A simple panel appeared before Murphy:
Name: Murphy.
Gender: Male.
Age: 15 years.
Strength: 5 (10).
Dexterity: 5 (10).
Stamina: 5 (10).
Spiritual strength: 13 (10).
PS: The values in brackets are for a typical adult male.
Murphy, looking at his dismal indicators, tried to collect his thoughts. The values were extremely low, only the spiritual power slightly exceeded the indicators of an ordinary person, and that was probably due to the transfer to this world.
A real weakling indeed!
"System, do you have a gift for the newbie?" Murphy asked quietly.
He waited for a few seconds, but there was no answer...
— System, is there any special mode available to me?
This time Murphy waited a good ten seconds, but again received no answer...
Is it possible... there is no spirit of the system or artificial intelligence?
He looked at the interface and noticed the word "Help" in the lower right corner. And as soon as he thought about it, the "Help" window immediately opened.
However, there was only one line in small print, and nothing more...
[This system follows the rules of the world and adheres to the principle of realism. Explore specific functions yourself.]
Damn it... do I really have to learn everything myself?
Right now, the only thing he wanted was to deal with that drunk, not lie on the ground and study the system.
Without dwelling on these thoughts, he turned his gaze to two adjacent menu items.
Exchange and Strengthening.
He discovered the Enhancement.
A more detailed list appeared in front of him, although at the moment it only contained four items.
Body Enhancement, General Enhancement, Melee, Ranged.
At this point, a new value appeared in the upper right corner of the interface.
[Points: 81.]
Murphy didn't yet know how to get points, but their purpose was obvious - they were needed for exchange and strengthening. Although he was a little surprised that the number of points was not a whole number, he intuitively decided that these were the initial points from the system. After which he opened Body Enhancement.
Several attributes appeared on the panel - strength, agility and other basic indicators.
He had 81 points. How many attributes could he increase?
Murphy tried to increase the power, and a window immediately appeared on the virtual screen.
[Spend 10 points to increase strength by 1?]
Murphy looked at it and his face darkened.
10 points for 1 point!?
Although he was filled with anger, he did not lose his mind. With such an exchange, 81 points could give him only 8 points.
The difference in physique between him and the drunken brute was obvious. Even if he added 8 points to any attribute other than spiritual power, he would still only be slightly superior to an ordinary adult and would have no advantage over this drunkard. And if he invested points into spiritual power, even though it would exceed 20 points, he still didn't know how to use it. Overall, such an attribute exchange would be useless.
Murphy glanced at the drunk. Some of the shabby pirates were fighting over the scattered bellies, hoping to make a profit. The whole scene was chaos.
The chaos seemed likely to continue for some time, which gave Murphy a chance to collect his thoughts. His opponent was a mere minnow in this sea, and it did not require much fighting power to defeat him.
The chaotic environment and the drunken state of his opponent gave him a chance. With the right approach and the ability to take advantage of the situation, even an ordinary person, or even one slightly inferior to an ordinary person, could win.
Maybe there is some useful tool, such as a sharp and deadly weapon?
With that thought in mind, Murphy exited the Enhancement menu and opened the Exchange interface.
Various objects appeared before him: swords, guns, ships, Rokushiki techniques of the Marines, and even the treasures of the seas - Devil Fruits.
Murphy immediately noticed the high-end fruits like the Ope Ope no Mi and Yami Yami no Mi, but the endless string of zeros in their prices made him unable to even count.
He only had 81 points. Not to mention Devil Fruit, even a technique like Hasshoken, which seemed quite ordinary to him, was unavailable.
With a heavy sigh, Murphy updated the list, filtering out items he couldn't purchase. Now the list only included items that cost 81 points or less.
A Dan-Dan-Mushi camera, a Dan-Dan-Mushi camera, a regular flintlock pistol, DEATH brand cigarettes, and many other miscellaneous items - there were quite a few of them.
Murphy was relieved to see that the updated list still had plenty of weapons. There was no rush, though - you only needed to exchange points for things that were truly useful.
He looked through the descriptions of potentially useful weapons one by one, and after some thought, he made a decision.
[Poisoned Dagger (Single Use): 10 points.
Description: Venom extracted from a deadly jellyfish. Although these jellyfish are quite common in the Grand Line, this does not diminish the lethality of their venom. All it takes is a simple scratch on the enemy's skin, and all that remains is to wait.
PS: The poison is unstable, use within an hour.]
This poisoned dagger was cheap even among weapons worth less than 80 points, but it had a unique advantage: poison.
Murphy decided that although it was a one-time item, it had a high probability of success, making it more valuable.
It's decided!
Before the exchange, Murphy glanced automatically at his glasses.
"How good it would be if I had several thousand or tens of thousands of points! Then I could just strengthen my body and crush the enemy!" Murphy couldn't help but think.
Stop...?
The number of remaining points was clearly displayed in the upper right corner.
85 points.
He remembered that he had only 81 points, and now he had 4 more.
In the midst of his bewilderment, the number 85 suddenly turned into 86.
The points grew slowly but steadily!
Seeing this, he froze for a moment. Why were the glasses increasing?
He thought about his articles. Perhaps as more and more people read his publications, his score increased?
Unfortunately, he didn't have time to wait any longer. He suppressed his curiosity and decided to study the matter thoroughly when he had some free time!
[Exchange: Poisoned Dagger (single-use).]
Murphy then opened the Body Enhancement interface.
[Spend 70 points to increase agility by 7?]
Yes.
In an instant, Murphy felt an unknown force flowing through his body. It was hard to describe the sensation, but he clearly felt his body become faster and more agile.
On the panel, his agility reached 12 points.
He held a small dagger in his hand. It seemed to have a greenish light running through it, and the coldness emanating from it gave Murphy goosebumps. Apparently, it wasn't the quality of the dagger's material, but the fact that the poison of the deadly jellyfish was truly dangerous.
Looking at the poisoned dagger, anger flashed in Murphy's eyes.
Having decided to fight back, he had no intention of retreating. How fate would unfold next depended on whether he could seize the opportunity, and the key to that was this dagger.
He closed his eyes, exhaled slowly, and felt the size and shape of the dagger's handle. It fit his hand perfectly, as if it had been made especially for him.
A moment later, Murphy opened his eyes. There was no trace of anger on his face now, and his gaze was calm, like the surface of a lake, without the slightest ripple. He knew what powerful people existed in this world, and he did not care about some small-time pirate stuck on Jaya Island.
But it was this man, mired in drunkenness, who made him feel the reality of this world again. After all, this time Murphy did not just accidentally get into someone else's fight, but faced direct mockery and robbery.
He would not retreat, but he would not act rashly either. Deep down, he wanted to simply walk up and destroy the enemy, but since his strength did not yet allow for that, he was not the type to rush into battle knowing full well his weakness.
With the help of the system, the path to growth was opened for him, and one day he will reach the top of the world.
Murphy rose to his feet silently, looking coldly at the crowd fighting over the money. He quietly made his way into the crowd, waiting for the right moment...