OP: AMP Ch. 15

Marcus wasn't in any rush to kill the calf immediately. Instead, he fed it wheat to help it quickly grow into a full adult.

Then he began the breeding process again.

"Looks like the breeding cooldown still follows Minecraft timing," he observed, watching the heart particles fade away.

There were now five cows under the deck canopy, creating quite the little farm operation.

But just like before, the original real-world animals seemed genuinely terrified of these newly born creatures.

Especially the two original bulls, at this moment they were huddled in the corner, trembling.

Marcus fed wheat to another calf, and within moments it transformed into a full-grown adult cow.

Looking at the increasingly traumatized original animals in the shelter, he felt a pang of guilt and decided to lead the newly matured cow into a separate room for what came next.

He looked at the blocky cow that was nuzzling against him affectionately and patted its head.

"Sorry about this, buddy. It's nothing personal."

Then Marcus jumped up and struck the cow with his fist.

As expected, the cow simply panicked and ran around in circles, making distressed mooing sounds but showing no signs of injury or aggression.

Finally, with a second hit, the cow dissolved into a puff of green smoke, disappearing completely and leaving behind two glowing experience orbs and several pieces of raw beef.

"It works just like in the game."

Looking at the mere three pieces of wheat left in his hand, he realized that relying on cattle slaughter to level up was going to be a very long-term project.

"Well, guess I'll take it slow and steady."

He looked back at the cows in the main shelter area.

The two original-world bulls had served their breeding purpose, but now they were basically just taking up space and resources.

Just then, both girls emerged from their bath, looking refreshed and cleaner.

"Marcus, this water really does work for bathing," Alvida confirmed with a satisfied smile.

Although her Slip-Slip Fruit meant her skin couldn't actually get dirty anymore, Kira didn't have that advantage.

The girl had scrubbed herself thoroughly, rubbing off so much accumulated grime that the bathwater had become murky.

But when the dirty water was poured onto the deck, it quickly vanished according to Minecraft rules. Even though some of the dirt remained on the wooden planks, the MC wood blocks had a self-cleaning function that restored them to spotless condition within moments.

"Hmm? There's another cow now?"

"So what do you want for lunch? How about some roast beef?"

"We're eating them already?"

"Wait, we're really going to eat them?" Kira seemed reluctant at first, showing some attachment to the animals.

Then she immediately devoured two roasted beef legs without any further moral qualms.

After that, Marcus processed the sheep and chickens in a similar fashion, leaving only the Minecraft versions of all three animal types on their ship.

As it turned out, only MC animals provided experience points when killed.

Kira successfully acquired herself a soft little pet chicken that didn't poop, didn't need constant feeding, and had no strange odors.

As for the rest of the Minecraft livestock, Marcus placed them individually in various empty rooms throughout their expanded ship to keep them organized and contained.

Unfortunately, there were no grass blocks available on the ship, only dirt, so sheep couldn't naturally regrow their wool through grazing.

Still, he could raise lambs, wait for them to mature, and then shear them for renewable wool production.

He crafted a Minecraft-style bed and lay down on it curiously, wondering if it would have any special properties.

Nothing happened. The MC bed wasn't particularly hard or uncomfortable, and lying on it felt just like resting on any ordinary bed.

"Could it be because it's daytime? I'll try again tonight."

When evening arrived, Marcus eagerly climbed into the bed to test its abilities.

The hoped-for ability to skip through the night didn't activate as he'd expected, but instead a wave of overwhelming drowsiness swept over him.

Within three seconds of his head hitting the pillow, he was completely unconscious.

When he opened his eyes again, dawn was already breaking over the ocean.

He stared blankly at the wooden ceiling above him, feeling well-rested.

"That was incredible."

No dreams.

No residual fatigue.

He felt completely refreshed and energized when he got up.

Moving to the main deck, he found Kira already busy at work, hauling up the anchor she'd dropped the previous night.

"Morning, Marcus! You're up early today. We should be reaching a new island soon, there's a place called Syrup Village. Should we stop there to resupply?"

Although they hadn't bought many supplies at Orange Town, with Marcus' abilities providing unlimited food and fresh water, the three of them were never in danger of going hungry or thirsty.

Syrup Village? That's where Luffy meets Usopp, Marcus thought to himself. Luffy's crew is about two days ahead of us... I wonder if the Kuro incident is already over. If nothing unexpected happens, this might be our only chance to meet the Straw Hat Pirates before Loguetown.

He tried to recall the timeline and seemed to remember something about other islands in this area too.

There was also that Island of Rare Animals...

Whatever, we'll figure it out when we get there.

"Since we're already heading that way, might as well stop and look around."

---

By midday, they had reached the shoreline and could see the island clearly.

Looking at the familiar scenery, Marcus felt his excitement building. After spending so many days in the One Piece world, he was finally about to encounter Monkey D. Luffy himself.

He wondered what would happen when they actually met face to face.

All three of them disembarked from their ship.

Alvida was surprised that Marcus had decided to come along.

"You're not going mining today?"

"Not for a while. Besides, our ship can't hold much more cargo anyway," Marcus said honestly.

Alvida felt slightly disappointed by this news. Even though they'd already obtained a massive fortune in gold, who ever complained about having too much money?

If they could acquire huge amounts of gold at every single island they visited, she felt she could wake up smiling just thinking about the possibilities.

"You're coming too?" she asked Kira, since the girl was known for being shy and preferring to stay with the ship.

But perhaps after spending so many days together, the girl had gradually become more comfortable and outgoing. At least she no longer seemed as timid and withdrawn as when they'd first met.

And whether it was because of better nutrition or the special properties of Minecraft food, her previously gaunt and malnourished appearance had improved.

"Marcus said we might meet someone who knows where Koby went," Kira explained hopefully.

Alvida looked at Marcus with surprise but didn't ask for more details.

The three of them walked up the slope from the beach and could see a small town nestled in the distance.

"Let's go take a look around."

Marcus led the way. Seeing his enthusiasm, Alvida smiled and followed along willingly.

The island was filled with birdsong and blooming flowers.

Occasionally they passed farmers working in their fields, tending crops and livestock.

The overall setting wasn't much different from what you might find in a peaceful rural area back on Earth, everything you'd expect was there.

Marcus suddenly recalled an important detail: the place where they'd landed might be one of only two routes that provided access to the island's interior.

In the original story, Usopp had mistaken the direction and set up a bunch of oil slick traps along this path. But now there was nothing?

Thinking this over, he led his companions into the town.

It seemed like fate was intervening, the three of them ran directly into Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp, who were walking together down the main street.

From the looks of things, the Kuro incident either hadn't broken out yet, or it was already completely resolved.

When Marcus first spotted them, all four Straw Hat Pirates appeared completely unharmed and in good spirits.

Before he could decide how to approach them, Alvida couldn't contain herself any longer.

"Marcus."

"Got it." Reminded of their plan, Marcus didn't hesitate, he switched to the inventory slot containing Alvida's iron mace and tossed the weapon to her.

Alvida caught it smoothly and immediately assumed a threatening stance.

"Straw Hat brat! I can't believe you actually showed up here!"

Her words, dripping with killing intent and rage, shocked all five people present, the four Straw Hats and Kira.

The girl couldn't understand why Alvida had suddenly become so aggressive and hostile.

After all, in her experience over the past few days, Alvida had been gentle and caring, even helping her scrub her back during baths.

"Who... are you?!" Luffy frowned in confusion at Alvida, clearly not recognizing her at all.

Usopp glanced at Alvida with a strange expression, then gave Luffy a curious look.

Nami's gaze immediately focused on the spiked mace in Alvida's hands, and her expression grew serious. Having spent years surviving at sea, she'd developed good instincts for judging people, this woman was definitely strong and dangerous. Still, she couldn't resist teasing Luffy.

"Could she be your girlfriend?"

Zoro watched the developing confrontation with interest, though his attention was primarily focused on Marcus.

After all, Marcus had just produced a weapon out of thin air, clearly the ability of some kind of Devil Fruit user.

Alvida's smile broadened. "It's not surprising you don't recognize me. I just slimmed down a bit. Ever since you sent me flying with that punch, I've been thinking about finding you, day and night."

Hearing her explosive and somewhat suggestive declaration, Nami's expression turned uncomfortable.

Luffy looked even more puzzled and confused.

"Kira! Tell me, who is the most beautiful woman in the world?"

The familiar question...

Luffy seemed to catch a hint of recognition.

Kira, suddenly called upon, flinched at first, but thinking of Alvida's stunning appearance, she answered honestly, "It should be... you, Alvida."

The familiar wording, the familiar name... everything clicked into place for Luffy.

After all, it hadn't been that long since their last encounter.

"Ah! You're that fat lady!"

Luffy had stepped directly onto the biggest landmine possible.