"Deadpool coming to the MCU means the variables just got a lot bigger..."
I'd already intervened in plenty of things, and not just one or two. Add Deadpoolâwho you can never predictâto the mix, and I wasn't sure I could handle it.
"This is insane."
Thinking about it now wouldn't give me an answer, so I decided I'd deal with it when I got to the MCU. For now, I chose to check the abilities I'd gained from this 'Deadpool & Wolverine' world. I'd picked up a lot this time, and several were actually useful.
[(EX) Healing Factor]
If even a single cell survives, you can regenerate. (You cannot create clones using regeneration.)
[(S) Super Strength] (Juggernaut)
Increases your strength by 500.
[(S) Energy Weapon] (Psylocke)
You can create various weapons using energy.
[(A) Telepathy]
You can communicate with others without physical contact. (Only works on targets in your line of sight)
[(S) Telekinesis]
You can manipulate objects without physical contact.
[(SSS) Control]
You can control all abilities with fine precision.
[(S) Mental Intrusion] (Cassandra Nova)
You can read a target's brain information and intrude into their mind. (Requires contact with the target's brain)
On top of those, the duplicate abilities I gained automatically merged. [(S) Throwing] upgraded to [(SS) Throwing], and thankfully [(SS) Mystic Arts] merged with [(SS) Mana Mystic Arts] to become [(SSS) Mana Mystic Arts].
"Now I won't die easily. Still, Cassandra really was a monster of an ability user."
Cassandra didn't have a [Healing Factor]. But in the original, even when she was stabbed or shot, she could heal because she used with fine control to stop bleeding and reattach cells, producing a regeneration-like effect.
[Mental Intrusion] worked the same wayâshe manipulated electromagnetic forces with to physically dig into someone's head. She was a truly broken controller. Getting her abilities made that obvious to me.[Telekinesis]
"Alright, I've checked what I got..."
This time I wanted to test out [(SSS) Ability Fusion]. I planned to fuse the [(S) Super Strength] from Juggernaut with the [(S) Super Strength] from Konosuba. The Marvel one just added 500 strength, while the Konosuba one tripled your base strength. Same name, different effects.
So I intended to use [(SSS) Ability Fusion] to synthesize them. The ability description said you might get a rank-up if you're lucky, so I figured if I raised it to EX rank, that randomness would disappear.
"Playful Life"
-Work List-
KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! (In Progress)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (In Progress)
Marvel (MCU) (In Progress)
-Random Draw-
-Body Enhancement-
-Ability Enhancement-
-Shop-
Held Points
43,327
I clicked -Ability Enhancement- and found [(SSS) Ability Fusion], then pressed it.
[[(SSS) Ability Fusion] Points required for enhancement: 179,245]
"Fuck..."
-Ability Enhancement- cost an absurd amount to take a SSS-rank ability to EX. I checked others to see if it varied. The point costs differed slightly by ability, but they were all insanely expensive. [(SSS) Cooking] was the cheapest at 50,000 points.
"If I had that many points, I'd just do draws."
I had no choice but to use one [Ability Upgrade Ticket] I'd been saving. I pulled one out of my inventory and clicked it.
[Use [Ability Upgrade Ticket]?]
"Yes."
[Please select an ability.]
A list of all my abilities appeared in front of me. I found [(SSS) Ability Fusion] and clicked it.
[[(SSS) Ability Fusion] has been upgraded to [(EX) Ability Fusion].]
[(EX) Ability Fusion]
Fuses similar abilities to create a higher-tier ability.
As expected, going to EX-rank meant fusion would produce a higher-tier ability guaranteed, not by luck.
"Thank goodness."
I used [Ability Fusion] right away. Like when using an [Item Fusion Ticket], a translucent blue screen appeared with two empty slots, and below it were all the abilities I'd acquired.
[Please select abilities to fuse.]
I clicked the [Super Strength] from Marvel and the [Super Strength] from Konosuba and moved them into the empty slots.
[Fuse as is?]
"Yes."
[[(S) Super Strength] and [(S) Super Strength] have been fused to obtain [(SS) Super Strength].]
[(SS) Super Strength]
Your held strength is multiplied by 4.
My strength actually went down a bit. Previously my strength was 200 base, plus 400 from Konosuba [(S) Super Strength], plus 500 from Marvel [(S) Super Strength], for a total of 1,100. Now with just [(SS) Super Strength], it was 800 total, so I lost 300. But long term, [(SS) Super Strength] multiplies by a factor, so it's better.
"Should've fused it later... 300 strength, what a waste."
I didn't know, so it couldn't be helped. Next time I'll think it through more.
Now it was time to go to 'One Piece' to get Devil Fruits, which had never shown up. One Piece was the world where I could get stronger the fastest and easiest with my current abilities. With [Treasure Detection] and [Jack Sparrow's Compass], finding Fruits would be easy.
And One Piece's essentialsâ[Conqueror's Haki], [Observation Haki], [Armament Haki]âI already had all three. I could only blacken weapons for now, but Ryou, Future Sight, and Internal Destruction were just a matter of time.
I opened the 'Playful Life' window and clicked One Piece from the -Work List-.
[Avatar will be generated.]
Monkey D. Luffy
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Traits: Stubborn, simple-minded, goal is to become Pirate King
Start Point: Foosha Village
Nami
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Traits: Lively and intelligent, hates pirates, money-grubber
Start Point: Cocoyasi Village
Enter Directly.
Setting: 18-year-old Chef
Start Point: Foosha Village at Luffy's departure
(Points can be spent to change settings)
"Option 2... still the same. Choosing Nami and going around wrecking stuff would be fun. Start and immediately smash Arlong's teeth in."
I seriously considered it for a moment, but just changed the settings in 'Enter Directly'.
Setting: Merchant
Start Point: Foosha Village, 10 years before original start
(Points: -2,642)
This time I had no intention of following the main characters around. The Straw Hats were too weak.
How long until they reached the New World where the strong were? Waiting for them to grow would take forever, and if I got involved, the gap would be too big and Luffy wouldn't grow. Better to travel separately. I'd join them in the later arcs.
[Proceed with these settings?]
"Yes."
I arrived in Foosha Village. Looking around, I saw the wide sea and a small village ahead. I had a bag because I set myself as a merchant, and inside was a merchant certificate recognized by the World Government.
I chose merchant for a reasonâwithout government or kingdom recognition, sailing alone was illegal and made you a target for the Marines.
"This world really is insane..."
For now, I looked around the village. It was a quiet, ordinary place. As I walked, I saw someone who was obviously Garp pounding the head of a kid who was obviously Luffy with a massive fist. Seeing them right after arrivingâlucky or unlucky, I wasn't sure.
Thwack!
"Oww! That hurts!"
"Say that again!"
"I'm gonna be a pirate."
"You littleâ!"
Garp tried to hit him again, so I quickly stepped in and blocked Garp's hand.
Slap!
"Whoa whoa! Calm down. He's still a kid."
"Oh-ho."
Suddenly Garp put strength into his fist. But I had no intention of being pushed back.
Creak! Creak!
I could hold back Hulk with my strength. I might lose to Garp in Haki, but not in raw power. But since I was blocking from below, my feet were sinking into the ground.
This old man planning to bury me?
Garp saw I wasn't budging at all and suddenly relaxed his fist. I pulled my feet out of the ground and said,
"Who are you? That's some serious strength."
"I'm a merchant. I sell goods here and there."
"Don't see any goods."
"I already sold them all."
"Hmm..."
Garp rubbed his chin with his index finger and stared straight through me.
"Ever think about joining the Marines? I could make you an outstanding Marine."
"No thanks. I saw Celestial Dragons shoot civilians for no reason."
I lied with a preemptive strike to avoid him pestering me. Garp's expression soured at that.
"Those Celestial Dragons again! Sigh... If you say that, can't be helped. But don't become a pirate either."
"I have no intention of making the government my enemy. As long as they don't touch me."
"Well..."
Luffy, who'd been watching, said,
"I hate Celestial Dragons, so I'm gonna be a pirate!"
"You little brat!"
Thwack!
"Oww! Stop hitting me! If Grandpa hits me I feel like I'll die."
This time I didn't stop him. Instead, I pulled a Chupa Chups lollipop from my inventory and gave it to Luffy.
"What's this?"
"You don't know candy? Give it back for a sec."
I unwrapped the Chupa Chups and handed it back to Luffy.
"Suck on it."
Luffy put the lollipop in his mouth and sucked.
"Oh~ it's tasty!"
Seeing him forget about the hit instantly and happily suck on candy, it was clear he was enjoying it.
"You really are a merchant. Sugar's rare here."
I'd unintentionally cleared his suspicion with one piece of candy.
"I didn't know you still doubted me."
"The sea's full of weirdos. Especially strong ones like you."
"Guess I am a merchant. Here's the merchant certificate issued by the World Government."
I pulled the certificate from my bag and showed it to Garp. He took it, read a bit, and handed it back.
"Well... what a waste. You'd make a perfect Marine, and you're a merchant."
Still hadn't given up, huh.
"Anyway, got it. You staying the night?"
"No. I was planning to eat and leave."
"I see. Well, you won't find anyone around here who can take you on. If you see pirates on your way, catch a few for me! Bwahahaha!"
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Garp laughed and slapped my back with his palm. Hard.
"Cough... Understood. I will."
Luffy suddenly grabbed my pants and tugged.
"Mister, got more of that candy?"
"You'll get cavities if you eat too much."
"Tch!"
Luffy looked disappointed he couldn't get more candy.
"Let's eat first. Know any restaurants?"
"If you go straight down this road, there's a place Makino runs. I'm hungry too. I'll guide you."
"Got it. Vice Admiral Garp, have you eaten?"
"I ate earlier."
Garp said he'd eaten, so I followed Luffy into Makino's bar. Makino was moving a barrel of liquor. She was prettyâshe was Shanks's woman, after all.
"Luffy, is this the place? It's a bar."
"No. They sell food too."
I knew, but acted like I didn't.
"Talking and walking in, huh."
Seeing us enter, Makino greeted us.
"Luffy, you're here. Grandpa Garp went looking for you since you didn't come home."
"We met. And I brought a guest."
"Hello. I'm Taejin."
"Welcome. I'm Makino."
Makino's face turned slightly red. My looks worked here too, apparently.
"I don't have Beli right now, but can I pay with gold coins for a meal?"
"Gold coins are fine, but I'm not sure I'll have change."
"Instead of change, please make something tasty. For him too."
"Got it. Time to show off my skills."
Makino rolled up her sleeves, showing nonexistent biceps, and started cooking. Luffy already had his spoon and fork ready.
"Mister, you must've traveled all over as a merchant. Tell me stories."
I'd only just arrived today, but I told him about various islands from watching the original One Piece.
"Wow~ there's a place with only mermaids?"
"Yeah, there are good mermaids and bad mermaids. You have to be careful of the bad ones."
"I see. If I become a pirate, I can go anywhere freely, right?"
"Pirates aren't all good. There are villages that hate pirates because they got raided. And you get chased by Marines. If you just want to travel freely, there are other ways. Like me, you could be a merchant, or become a bounty hunter."
"I like pirates."
Why does this kid like pirates so much? Anyway, while we talked, the food Makino made started coming out one by one.
"Oh~ this is cartoon meat!"
"Huh? What's cartoon meat?"
"There's a thing. Let's just eat."
Luffy and I started eating. Makino's cooking was pretty good.
"Your cooking skills are excellent."
Hearing that, Makino got flustered and said,
"No, it's nothing..."
After we finished eating, I handed Makino two gold coins.
"This is thanks for the delicious meal. And this is for Luffyâgive him one each time he does something good."
I also handed her a bag of lollipops.
"Got it."
"Then I'll come again next time."
"Please do~"
Makino said with a smile.
"Mister, are you leaving now?"
"Yeah, I'll stop by again when I'm trading."
"Aw man. Got it. Promise!"
I couldn't get used to One Piece's laugh sounds. Anyway, with that, I left Makino's place and moved to the sea nearby.
"Alright, time to start collecting Devil Fruits while hunting bounty pirates."