The beginner tutorial began.
The screen suddenly darkened, and a floating mouse pointer moved toward the "Stages" tab. Following the instructions—
Klein clicked on "Stages."
The screen transitioned into a loading interface. Once complete, the image changed to a pirate ship. The ship's figurehead was a swan, flying a black flag marked with a skull bearing a red heart.
The Alvida Pirates!
An arrow icon from the tutorial hovered over the ship.
"That fat hag??"
Even though it had been years since he last watched the anime, Klein still remembered the general storyline. Wasn't this the shameless woman who asked Koby, 'Who is the most beautiful woman in the world?' — that fat hag Alvida?
Later, she ate the Slip-Slip Fruit and had a complete transformation, going from fat hag to total bombshell.
So is this what people mean when they say "every fat person is a stock with potential"?
Of course, there are reverse cases too... like Charlotte Linlin, who went from beauty to granny.
It's complicated.
This game plot...
Of course it's a game—it didn't bother to match the original timeline Klein was familiar with, which actually made him feel a bit more confident.
The tutorial pointed to Stage 1-1.
Klein, familiar with these setups, tapped right in. The screen instantly changed again. His character—"Imu's Dad" in a chibi cartoon form—ran in from the left side of the screen, barehanded.
A bright green health bar glowed above his head.
On the right side of the screen appeared a thug wearing a bandana and holding a long knife, with a vicious look. His health bar was red.
Pirate, clearly.
The battle stage was the deck of a ship.
SO...
"This is obviously a turn-based game. God, these tiny studios and their limitations. Can't even give me the joy of a proper fight like in Black Myth or some polished 3D title. At least let me enjoy combat and gain some real battle experience!" Klein grumbled internally.
But the stage had already begun.
His little chibi character lunged at the pirate, fists and feet flying. At the same time, the pirate's blade slashed across his body, landing a blow like it had cut a major artery—blood burst like a geyser, and a huge chunk of the health bar vanished.
"A single pirate? Isn't Stage 1 supposed to be a pushover?" Klein stared at the screen. But a few turns in, something felt off.
Seriously off.
"Why the hell is my health dropping so fast? No way—what kind of game dev makes the character so weak they can't even clear Stage 1? You call yourself an artist?"
"Answer me!"
"Look in my eyes!"
"Even fresh grads wouldn't pull off something this rage-inducing. Devs, come out. I'll hold a blade to your neck and we'll talk this out properly."
His character collapsed in a pool of blood as the health bar emptied.
The whole screen lost color, fading to gray. A massive "Challenge Failed" prompt lit up the screen.
In the center, it read: [Stage Failed]
Tip: "Please increase your power level."
Klein stared at the screen, wishing he could peer through it and find out which 'brilliant genius' was behind this game design.
Furious.
I'm literally… broken inside!!
Artist? You still think you're an artist?!
But what now?
What could he do?
Under his blanket, Klein clenched and unclenched his fists, again and again. He wanted to punch something. But thinking of his dormmates—Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr—he cooled down a little.
Fine.
Even the youngest of them, Zephyr, would probably beat him senseless.
"No point whining. Let's just follow the tutorial and see what kind of scam this game is running."
Following the arrow prompt, he exited the battle stage.
Back on the main screen, the arrow now pointed to an icon at the bottom labeled "Training Room."
Klein complied and opened it.
The training room appeared extremely crude: a tiny room with only a single punching bag hanging from the ceiling. His chibi avatar stood next to it.
[Click the punching bag to train. Each hour consumes 10 Stamina.]
[Current Training Room Level: Lv.1. Gain 10 EXP per hour of training.]
[Note: Stamina resets at midnight daily.]
When Klein clicked the punching bag, a "-1+" counter popped up. In the top-right corner, his stamina now read 95/100—apparently, the earlier stage had used 5 points.
"Looks like it's an idle system to grind EXP. Alright, I'll set it to 9 hours and check in tomorrow morning." Klein entered the number 9 and tapped "Begin Training."
Just as he thought something was missing, the screen burst with golden light:
[Buy the Monthly Card for a 5% EXP boost. Purchase now?]
[Price: 6,000 Berries.]
"Now that's more like it. I was wondering what felt off—of course it's the recharge bait. The classic monthly card! 6,000 Berries? Such a steal. Absolute value!"
"Buying this is basically profit!"
Naturally, Klein went for the purchase. "It's only 6,000 Berries. I inherited the family estate—haven't even spent much these years. I've got money to burn."
"I'm buying it!"
Before he even figured out how he'd pay for something inside his own mind, the notification chimed:
[Purchase Successful!]
[Your current balance: 1,253,668 Berries.]
"Bro… this for real?" Klein twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Did it just link my bank card without asking?"
If he remembered right, that money came from his parents—his father, a Marine Captain, had been killed by pirates. His mother, pregnant at the time, hemorrhaged from the shock and died in childbirth…
So Klein had inherited the family's estate, including his father's death pension. Over the past 15 years, he'd spent a lot, leaving just over a million Berries.
6,000 Berries wasn't much in comparison.
Klein didn't dwell on it, though a strange sense of unease settled in the back of his mind.
[Monthly Card Purchase Successful!]
[Current Training Room EXP Bonus: 5%!]
"Nice. That 5% bonus will add up over time. Definitely worth the buy."
Five points a day, 150 a month, a year would be...
Before he could finish doing the math in his head, the screen flashed gold again.
[Would you like to purchase the Training Room Upgrade Bundle?]
[300 Berries, 680 Berries, 1,280 Berries, 6,480 Berries]
[Each upgrade boosts EXP by 5%. Unlock Skill Training Room at Level 10…]
Four tiers.
That screen… those exact amounts… it hit Klein like a freight train: "Damn, this feels way too familiar."
"It's like I'm back on Earth."
"Let's check the bundle contents."
[300 Berries: 10 Training Room Upgrade Stones]
[680 Berries: …30 stones…]
[1,280 Berries: …60 stones…]
[6,480 Berries: …400 stones…]
"Buying all of them would upgrade the Training Room twice. That's a permanent 10% EXP boost."
"Alright boys—LET'S GOOOO!!"
"Recharge!"