February 1, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle
Today was Orion's birthday.
However, he wasn't at home with his family, enjoying a birthday party and a delicious cake, but in a dark cell.
Many things had happened in the past three months, but in general terms, the situation could be described with one phrase: He was in deep shit!
After collapsing in Beru City while fighting the pirate "Scarlet Blaze" Blake and his crew, Orion had been abducted by Cipher Pol, the organization under the command of the world government.
He had been sedated and taken to this island in the Grand Line, where this organization trained its agents.
Apparently, they had discovered Orion's great physical potential and thought he would be an excellent recruit to become one of the world government's pawns.
However, first, they had to break his will, and subdue his spirit.
For the past month and a half, Orion had been subjected to the brainwashing techniques of this secret government organization.
To begin, he was completely isolated from other people, locked in a dark cell, and for weeks remained in solitary confinement.
Then came the indoctrination process, which consisted of bombarding his senses to destabilize his mind, and then exposing him to official World Government propaganda, eroding his sanity while new notions of loyalty to the benevolent government that represented justice were poured into his brain.
For another two weeks, he received this treatment and was also subjected to grueling physical exercises. If his body was weak, his mind also lowered its defenses, leaving him exposed to the indoctrination that would slowly mold and transform him into one of the World Government's dogs.
So, Orion spent his days in a dark cell, from which he was only taken to be subjected to sensory bombardment with lights and sounds, then projections that reinforced his loyalty, and grueling exercises, all without interacting with a single person.
That was his daily routine now, and after a month and a half, his mind was finally completely dominated by the World Government.
Now, he had graduated from this stage of physical and mental conditioning and was ready to join the rest of the recruits in boot camp.
Over the next few years, he would learn the six techniques required for elite agents, and when the time came, he would graduate and be released into the world to carry out the World Government's missions, like its most loyal dog.
Of course, this was the vision of the people who controlled this agent training island. They believed that the process of turning Orion into an agent was going well and smoothly, but they didn't know that Orion was assisted by the powerful "Global Improvement System"! How could he allow himself to be so easily subdued?
In reality, despite Cipher Pol's efforts, Orion had never succumbed to external pressure, and his mind was clearer than ever.
The only reason he had remained in this place, pretending the indoctrination process had worked, and hadn't already attempted to escape using all his power, was the existence of a new system mission.
*Mission 11 - The Opportunity in the Crisis
Description: You have been captured and find yourself in a precarious position, but the greatest opportunities coexist with the greatest risks. In this unique place, there are opportunities waiting to be seized.
Objective (1): Participate in Cipher Pol's training and learn the six body techniques.
Objective (2): Rescue as many recruits as you can from the clutches of this organization, preventing them from becoming agents under the command of the World Government.
Objective (3): Destroy Guanhao Training Island or cause great damage to its facilities.
Reward (1): Random physical or combat ability, SP
Reward (2): Random special ability, very high favorability boost with rescued Named Characters
Reward (3): Random "Kingdom Building" Box, SP
Reward (4): Skill Upgrade Card * 1
(This is a compound mission. Completing one of the objectives will guarantee receipt of the corresponding reward, regardless of the success of the other objectives. If you complete all three objectives, you will receive a fourth special reward as a bonus)*
This mission had appeared on the system screen the moment he'd set foot on this island, and it was the reason he was still here.
Beyond the tremendous rewards, he believed it was something worth doing. Destroying a World Government indoctrination base and freeing a bunch of children who were being brainwashed was a goal that aligned with his desires, and would undoubtedly contribute to the growth of the Conqueror's Haki Seed.
If he simply went off on his own, ignoring what was happening here, he would definitely be going against his wishes, and the small seed he'd worked so hard to obtain would perhaps disappear without a trace.
Orion had been pretending to be indoctrinated for almost two months, and the time had finally come to take action.
Tomorrow, he would make contact with the recruits being trained here, who, like him, were merely children and teenagers abducted by the World Government. The vast majority were orphans, but there were some who had simply been kidnapped by an agent who saw potential in them.
The main determining factor for recruiting children in this latter case was physical potential, and Orion, who had the passive skill "Strong Body (Level 5)" that made him six times stronger than a normal human, was undoubtedly the type of person that Cipher Pol most desired.
During these nearly two months, Orion had acquired a new skill: "Strong Mind."
This skill had been developed entirely by him, without help from the system.
He could have used SP to purchase this skill, since it had appeared on the list of skills available for purchase a while back, after he was attacked by Shimotsuki Ren's illusions, but he had decided against it.
He didn't want to rely completely on the system all the time. Just as he tirelessly trained his Swordsmanship to level up through his own efforts, he wanted to withstand the World Government's mental assault through his own efforts. Only then would he feel at ease once he emerged victorious against the nefarious brainwashing tactics.
It hadn't been easy, but the skill had been successfully developed, and had even increased to Level 4!
This proved how ferocious Cipher Pol's indoctrination attempt had been.
Orion sat cross-legged on the hard bed in his dark cell, leaning against the wall, staring up at the ceiling, his hands behind his head.
He was still staring at the system screen, where the map was now displayed.
Several dots of different colors appeared on it, and Orion reviewed the names of the Named Characters on the map one by one. He was definitely in an important location; the number of Named Characters nearby made that clear: Rob Lucci (6), Jabra (13), Blueno (8), Fukurou (7).
Orion repeated the names in his mind, wondering what kind of people they were, and how difficult it would be to "rescue" them from this island called Guanhao.
He had to keep in mind that these people weren't here against their will, but were actively practicing to become agents. They would have already undergone an initial indoctrination process similar to the one he had been subjected to these past few months, so it wouldn't be easy to convince them to abandon their beliefs and escape the island.
If necessary, he might have to get them out of here by force, and then try to undo the brainwashing over time, in another location far from the world government's sphere of influence.
A feeling suddenly appeared in his mind, and Orion smiled amiably.
He was familiar with this feeling: it was an incoming "call" from Shyarly.
The two of them had a telepathic connection, which had grown stronger over time, allowing them to speak from a distance as if they were having a telephone conversation.
During all the time he spent alone in this dark prison, his only company had been the little mermaid, and his affection for her had grown enormously. In a way, she had saved him from loneliness, and perhaps without her constant presence, he would not have been able to resist the government's attacks on his mind, and the result would have been terrible.
Their relationship had grown stronger, and Shyarly's favorability rating had risen to 90.
Orion answered the call with a thought, and suddenly something strange happened. An image appeared on the system screen. It was a small, delicate-looking, black-haired girl, looking at him with curiosity and surprise.
The two people stared at each other, not quite understanding what was happening, and the girl was the first to react.
"Orion?" the girl said uncertainly.
Orion reacted immediately and understood what was happening. The telepathic connection that had been built through the system between the two had been improved once again!
Now the calls had evolved into video calls!
Orion was very happy at this turn of events and couldn't help but wish he could have a similar telepathic connection with the rest of his loved ones. That way, he could talk to them whenever he wanted!
He missed the people he loved most and worried about what they would be doing in his absence.
Fortunately, his parents had Rouge and Giolla to support them, and the artist was now mentally stable, so there was no longer the risk of her losing her sanity and putting herself in a dangerous position by acting without thinking.
Thinking of Giolla, Orion remembered the nights and days spent improving the "Marital Bliss" skill with her, and he felt he missed her even more. That perfect, round ass often appeared in his dreams.
Orion shook his head and put aside his perverted thoughts. He focused all his attention on the sweet girl on the screen in front of him and said
"It's me, Shyarly! It's the first time we've met like this. You're more adorable than I imagined! Haha."
Shyarly blushed slightly and puffed out her cheeks in displeasure. She wasn't angry, but simply didn't know how to react to Orion's compliments. In her daily life, she didn't often receive compliments, kind treatment, or even attention from her brother.
"You're much uglier than I imagined!" said the little mermaid to hide her embarrassment.
Orion showed a hurt expression and lowered his head sadly, saying:
"I see. Well, I guess my ugliness is a nuisance to you. Sorry, Shyarly."
Shyarly immediately panicked, and her face filled with worry.
"No, Orion! I was just joking. You're actually very handsome!" said the mermaid, with a hint of desperation in her voice. Orion was her only friend, and she didn't want to hurt him with her words, especially when they were empty words that didn't reflect what she truly thought.
Orion raised his head and laughed happily.
"Hahaha, I see you have good taste after all, Shyarly!" he said happily.
Shyarly realized she had been tricked by the hateful human and began accusing him of being shameless, not playing by the rules, and other similar things.
The two enjoyed a long conversation until the connection time expired, and they said goodbye with a smile.
For some reason, there was a limit to the amount of time he could communicate with Shyarly, and although he didn't know why, he imagined it was some control or limitation within the system.
When he was younger, his mental instability had limited the amount of time he could talk to Shyarly, but now that factor was no longer a determining factor, or at least he didn't feel any mental fatigue from communicating with the siren over long distances. That's why he believed it was a factor external to him, and more related to the system itself.
Orion stood up and paced around the small cell, thinking about his future moves.
Today, he had undergone his final tests, and they had confirmed that he was now a devout believer in the goodness of the world government, and that his desire to deliver justice in its name was impeccable.
He'd been told that he would begin his official training today, but so far there had been no news, and he remained in this cell as before.
As soon as he got out of here, the first thing he had to do was explore the island in detail, identify the various facilities and their weak points, and make contact with the Named Characters to see what their personalities were like.
But one of the things on his priority list was to investigate a certain location on the island where a large red marker appeared on the system map, with words he couldn't ignore:
"Power Source"
That's right, he had finally found a second power source that the system could absorb!
At this point, he had been able to determine that the "power sources" for the system were Devil Fruits. The only reason some Devil Fruits were marked as power sources and others weren't was because of their compatibility with the system!
In theory, he could absorb any fruit he found, but the amount of energy and benefits he gained depended on the fruit's compatibility with the system. For example, the Toshi Toshi no Mi was highly compatible with the system, and because of this, he'd been able to absorb a large amount of energy from it, and had even acquired specific related abilities.
On the other hand, a fruit like the Choki Choki no Mi wasn't compatible with the system and couldn't provide more than a few SPs, so it was a waste to absorb such fruits, and it was better to give them to his subordinates or allies in the future.
Now, the system indicated that there was a fruit with a compatibility level at least equal to that of the Toshi Toshi no Mi on this island, so if he could absorb it, he would gain great benefits, and likely new special abilities!
Orion continued scanning the system screen to keep his mind occupied.
He looked at the durations of his active abilities, such as "Frozen Age," which stopped Giolla's aging and would last at least until the end of the year, or "Mystical Mist," which lasted only 100 days and was about to expire in ten more days.
Luckily, he could extend the duration without having to be present. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to return in time and reactivate these two effects.
He was prepared to spend a good amount of time on this island, and he would likely need at least a few months to accomplish his main objective, which was to free the children being trained here.
On the other hand, he wasn't too bothered about mastering all six techniques, as that would take a long time, and he wasn't willing to stay away from home for such a long period.
The mission was compound, and it wasn't necessary to complete all the objectives to receive rewards. He already had the mission he had received on Beru as a precedent.
As for that mission, he had only been able to complete one of the two objectives, which was to save Julia, Doll's parents, and prevent Doll from being raped.
The second objective, which was to eliminate Blake's pirates, had not been successfully accomplished, as he had only managed to eliminate Vince and 35 pirates from the crew he had killed on the way to Doll's mansion.
As a reward for that mission, he had obtained the following rewards: 500 SP, an increase in Doll's favorability, which had reached 90, and the special ability "Musical Talent (Level 3)", which was a passive skill.
Orion recalled everything that had happened in Beru that day and saw the notification still appearing in the system logs.
*You have positively influenced the Named Character Doll, changing her future slightly. 2500 SP obtained*
At least he prevented the elegant girl from suffering a greater tragedy, and that was something to be happy about.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the quiet prison hallway, bringing Orion back from his thoughts.
Soon, three people dressed in suits appeared in front of his cell, opened the door, and let him out.
"Recruit Orion, your official training begins today!" the man said, signaling for him to follow.
Orion bowed solemnly and left the prison, surrounded by the three people.
As he left the prison, the warm sun fell on his skin, and he had to close his eyes. It had been a long time since he felt the sun.
A smile appeared on his face, and he felt his heart pounding.
From now on, he would have new challenges ahead, and he was eager to overcome the obstacles before him and become stronger.
Someday in the future, he would look back and remember the time he spent on this island as one of vital importance in his rise to the top of the world.