5 Celebration

Silence prevailed as everyone held their breaths, waiting for the final outcome. The dust from the explosions finally settled down and a hand-pulled out from within the debris.

Following the hand, Jin-Woo pulled himself out. His clothes were a mess, but no visible injuries could be seen on his body.

Upon witnessing Jin Woo's emergence, the villagers roared with joy. The Young ones cried tears of happiness while the elderly sighed with relief as if a heavyweight has been lifted from their hearts.

"W-We Won!"

"I can't believe this…Arlong Park…Arlong Park has fallen!"

"Let's go! We need to tell everyone! The nightmare is finally over!"

Almost all of the villagers left running, to spread the news.

"I…Finally…" Genzo couldn't believe the sight in front of him. He saw Nami silently pulling down the straw hat on her head as tears rolled down her face. Despite the tears, her face adorned with a slight smile.

Genzo felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Nojiko's. She had a stupid grin etched on her face with her eyes being slightly red. She looked at Genzo and nodded firmly.

Genzo finally came to accept reality. He was finally able to see a genuine smile on the faces of both sisters which had been lost ever since that day. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as a smile also formed on his scarred face. His nightmare had finally ended.

"With this, the price for making a woman cry has been paid." Sanji lit up a cigarette and puffed out a cloud of smoke.

"Stop trying to act cool, you shitty cook. You didn't even do anything…" Zoro quipped from where he was sitting on the ground and patching up the wound on his chest.

"Guuh!" Zoro's remark hit its mark accurately as Sanji started bubbling red. "If only…If only he didn't steal my limelight! I would have kicked Arlong's ass on my own!"

"Yeah. Yeah. Shut up. You are being noisy!"

"What was that, you moss head?!"

"You wanna go, huh?! Curly eyebrows!"

Unaffected by the little quarrel, which was turning bloody, Luffy smiled. "Shishishi, he's really strong."

"S-Such a…Truly a brave warrior of the sea!" Usopp's face had become a mess with tears and snot. He barely squeezed out his words with great enthusiasm.

Although Jin Woo's physical condition became optimal due to the level up, he wished for nothing more than to rest.

[Quest Completed!

Would you like to accept the reward?]

After accepting the reward, Jin-Woo opened his profile.

[Status

——————

Name: Sung Jin-Woo

Level: 23

Job: None

Title: Wolf Slayer

HP: 2550

MP: 370

Fatigue: 0

——————

Strength: 53

Agility: 32

Sense: 32

Vitality: 32

Intelligence: 32

——————

Remaining points: 0]

'I gained five levels at once. This is quite a good harvest.' Just the experience from Arlong alone made Jin Woo's level rise by three.

Going by the fact that the D-Rank Boss Monster that Jin Woo previously defeated gave him two levels on lower levels, Arlong could be categorized as a C-Rank Boss Monster.

'It is said that the fishmen are twice as strong in water in comparison to on the ground. So that means I fought a weakened version of C-Rank Boss. That is about my limit for now…'

The only thing that mattered for Jin Woo was the experience and since he gained five levels, he was content. Besides, the Jin Woo that fought against Arlong and the Jin Woo that stood there currently were different people.

'I also got a skill and a title in the middle of the fight. I didn't have time to check back then…Let's see."

[Skill: (Active) Weapon Throw (Level 1)

Description: Deal damage by throwing your weapon. As the skill's level increases, damage and accuracy will increase.

Resource consumption: 30 Mana]

After judging that the usage and overall performance of the skill were decent, Jin-Woo turned his attention towards the title.

[Title: The One Who Judges.

Description: A title given to those who wield their hammer of judgment without any hesitation.

Effects: 50% increase in all stats when fighting for your beliefs.]

'What the? 50% increase? That's crazy but…the condition for activation…it's pretty vague…I have no idea what it might mean…'

By then many people have arrived and been cheering and rejoicing in their own way. Nothing major occurred other than an episode of the Marine Captain's appearance and foolishly trying to claim all the money.

The situation resolved before Jin Woo could even do anything as the Captain was sent with 'blessings' by all the villagers. Now, a grand banquet to celebrate had started.

"If the ones supposed to protect them are like this then it's no wonder they suffered for so long." Jin Woo shook his head with a wry smile.

"Hey Young lad! we have found your weapon as well as the body of Arlong."

Genzo energetically said as he presented the 'Rasaka's Fang' to Jin Woo. It seemed as if he had gained his youth back.

'That's fast.' Jin Woo smiled and thanked him.

"But there is a problem." Genzo continued. "There isn't any office where you can claim the bounties on this island. If I were to point out the closest island from here, it'd be Lougetown which is a few days distance from here."

Before Jin Woo could say anything, Nami who had been listening silently intervened.

"If it's Lougetown, we can drop you there since it is in our route." She raised her voice. "Is that okay, Luffy?!"

"Yeagg!" The captain of the Strawhats said with his mouth stuffed full. "I alwo wanred do adsk suwmthng!" One could barely understand the meaning of his words.

Nami turned to Jin Woo and winked. "See, no problems."

"I will be bothering you then."

Although Jin Woo didn't trust them completely, he felt that they could be trusted. And even if they betrayed him later on, there were always…solutions.

"Good. With that out of the way, let's go and enjoy the banquet!"

The sky was getting dark, but the celebration was on full throttle. Jin Woo could see people crackling on jokes, terribly dancing on equally terrible songs, feasting on delicacies, and drinking beer like never before.

One of the drunkards loudly sang. "Never gonna give you up…" Anyone who heard him would clutch his head and rolled on the ground while shouting as if writhing in pain.

In the middle of them, he saw a young man with a straw hat stuffing his mouth full of meat, a green-haired swordsman drinking beer with other men, a long-nosed sniper standing on a platform made by stacking so many tables telling stories of his adventures at the sea and a blonde chef cooking various cuisines and distributing them.

'How am I, 'The One Who Judges' supposed to judge them?' Jin Woo mocked inwardly with a chuckle and decided to enjoy the banquet, forgetting his worries for the day.