After carefully studying the information, Red found that it was divided into two parts.
One part was about the achievement he had unlocked: [Badge Collector].
The effect of this achievement was that it gave his body a boost that matched the attribute of the badge.
Red had already experienced this back in the game world.
His body was now clearly much tougher than it had been before entering the game.
Previously, some mysterious force had been suppressing him, leaving him without much attack power.
But now...
"I feel like I could punch a cow to death with one hit!"
Clenching his fist, Red admired it in the refreshing moonlight.
The words he muttered showed no concern for the feelings of the cow or any possible accountability from the International Society for Cow Protection.
If there were an International Society for Cow Protection in the One Piece world.
Of course, aside from his fists getting harder, every part of Red's body also became significantly tougher.
"So, the Rock-type badge makes my body as hard as stone?!"
"Damn, have I become the smart version of Malphite?"
Red let out a light laugh, teasing himself.
In any case, he had finally shaken off his title as "weak as hell."
With both his defense and attack power boosted, he figured his combat power had to be at least 15 points by now!
No!
At least 20 points!
Besides that, Red also noticed… the machine was now drawing energy from his body to charge itself much faster!
With one day of charging, he could now play the game for at least 10 minutes longer than before.
That may not sound like much, but to Red, it was enough to make him overjoyed!
"The more game time I have, the faster Luffy can grow stronger!"
"The stronger Luffy gets, the more badges I can collect!"
"The more badges I collect, the longer the game time…"
"So more time! Longer! Wait-"
"Something feels off here?"
"Eh, whatever, who cares!"
Overcome with excitement, Red threw his head back and laughed, then immediately shifted his focus to the machine's second reward.
The first reward had come from the achievement system.
The second reward was from beating the Pewter Gym.
Similar to the achievement reward, the stage reward was also Rock-type themed.
But while the achievement reward worked on his body, the stage reward directly gave Red a Pokémon move!
With a thought, Red quickly tapped the [Draw] button.
A cheap-looking roulette straight out of a shady mobile game spun wildly on the game screen.
The wheel was covered in the names of various Rock-type moves, each taking up equal space.
Before Red could do anything, the wheel started spinning rapidly.
"Please! Game! Give me a powerful move!"
"This is Red's one-in-a-billion prayer!!!"
Clasping his hands together, Red put on an expression of devotion.
Since there was nothing else he could do, praying was all that was left!
After about ten seconds, the wheel gradually slowed down and eventually came to a stop.
Suddenly, an ancient, mysterious energy surged into Red's body.
At the same time, knowledge of how to use this mysterious energy appeared in his mind.
"This is…" Red opened his eyes, blinking in mild confusion. "Ancient Power!!?"
But right after, his mouth curled into a huge grin.
"I can't believe I actually pulled this special move!!"
Because he wasn't particularly fond of using Rock-type Pokémon, Red didn't know that much about Rock-type moves.
But Ancient Power, this special Rock-type move, he had at least heard of.
Focusing his thoughts, Red looked again at the machine.
By now, the screen had refreshed to show:
[Congratulations, you've drawn the move - Ancient Power!]
In the upper-right corner of the move name was a little "*" icon to view the move details.
Without hesitation, Red selected View Details, and a description popped up, similar to what he'd seen in the game world:
[Move: Ancient Power]
Type: Rock
Category: Special
Power: 60
Description: A power from Pokémon's prehistoric era. It can be used for attacks and may boost all of the user's stats. Additionally, long-term use of Ancient Power to nourish oneself can lead to permanent bodily enhancements.
"Just as I thought, the effect is pretty much what I expected!"
Feeling the steady, special energy within him, Red's deep eyes flashed with satisfaction.
Although it leaned toward the Rock type, Ancient Power was far more mysterious than other Rock-type moves.
Ordinary Rock-type Pokémon rarely learned it through self-training.
On the contrary…
Many legendary Pokémon, even those unrelated to Rock, would awaken this power on their own and master it.
Rather than calling Ancient Power a mere Pokémon move, it was more like a dormant force that only special Pokémon could awaken!
Some Pokémon even triggered evolution after learning Ancient Power.
It was practically a God-like move.
And that last line in the description backed this up.
"A move that can permanently enhance the body? This might just be the most useful Rock-type move for me!"
"Looks like Lady Luck is smiling on me today!"
Red chuckled softly, then took a deep breath and gave a low shout toward the distant sea:
"Ancient Power!"
Rumble rumble rumble~
In an instant, an ancient, mysterious force surged within Red's body, quickly gathering and transforming into chunks of rock.
Under Red's mental control, the chunks shot out, smashing into the distant sea.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Even though it only had 60 base power, the rocks flew incredibly fast!
Like cannonballs, they slammed into the ocean, sending up massive waves several meters high.
"This power!?"
Seeing this, Red's eyes lit up, and he was thrilled.
While he still couldn't compare to true powerhouses, just with Ancient Power and his reinforced body, Red now felt confident he could easily take down a pirate with a 10-million bounty!
"Could it be that the Badge Collector reward amplified my Rock-type moves, so even though Ancient Power only has 60 base power, the effect is way better than I expected?"
"Whatever the case, I finally have some real combat strength!"
Red sighed with deep emotion in his heart.
Then his gaze shifted to the sleeping Luffy nearby.
Even in such a loud and chaotic environment, Luffy's breathing remained calm and steady, like he was on heavy sleeping pills.
"Man, I'm so jealous of that sleep quality"
Red muttered, then went back into the cabin to continue using Ancient Power's energy to strengthen his body.
....
The night passed quietly.
By dawn, the first light chased away the ocean's darkness, bringing brightness and warmth to a new day.
The noisy cries of seagulls overhead forced both Red and Luffy to open their eyes on the little boat.
"Huh, it's mornin' already?"
Luffy's eyelids drooped, his face groggy, clearly not fully awake yet.
In contrast…
Even though Red had meditated all night without sleep, he was full of energy, even more energetic than when he'd just returned from the game world yesterday.
As his eyes opened, a flash of golden light flickered in his gaze.
Red's lips curled into a faint smile, and he thought to himself:
"No wonder almost all the legendary Pokémon awaken Ancient Power!"
"This effect is unbelievably strong!"
Maybe because Red was still so weak, after just one night of bathing in Ancient Power, he could already feel his body getting stronger!
And Ancient Power wasn't just boosting one area, it was enhancing his entire body!
Strength, physique, agility, and mental state, all were being elevated by Ancient Power.
He never expected that the problem of getting stronger, which had stumped him for two and a half years, would be solved on his very first day at sea.
"I remember there's a way to teach Ancient Power in the game!"
"I should consider giving Luffy this move too."
"With this, even his naps would make him stronger!"
"Sleep? Overrated."
"Once we switch to the Going Merry, it's training hell for him."
"As long as it doesn't kill him, push him to the limit!"
"Might even trigger the awakening of the Nika Fruit."
As the user of the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, Luffy was the world government's top enemy, slacking wasn't an option, and who knows how Red's presence altered the timeline.
He had to stay vigilant!
For a moment, Red's thoughts drifted far away.
Until a fully awake Luffy came up to him and greeted him, pulling him back to reality.
"Yo~ Red, thanks for staying up all night!"
"My turn! Go get some rest!"
Refreshed and smiling as always, Luffy was completely unaware that in Red's mind, his upcoming training schedule was already packed to the brim…