The Immortal Player

Hearing the old man's cry, Pedro sheathed his Katana. Then, he took his time and drank as many potions as he can.

Truth be told, The potions, itself, or its consumption has no cooldown. It was only the potion injector that had a cooldown. Pedro only used the potion injector to maximize and save his potions, since he only had a limited amount in his inventory.

That said, Other players would not dare to drink potions like him. It was for efficiency. The more potions they can save, the more money players can save.

Later on, they can use the money they saved to buy or upgrade their weapons and equipment. Thus, increasing their strength and making their progress faster.

Pedro wiped his face and stood from his knees. The whole arena was still at loss for words as the arena became clearer and the smoke disappears.

Everone's jaw dropped upon seeing the curled up old man on the floor.

'Oops! Did I went a little overboard?!' Pedro forced out a smile.

'Don't worry. He's old. He probably has a few heirs that would continue his lineage. If he was young like you... Even I... would have taken pity to him and his lineage.' Faunia pulled the chain back to the ring and shrugged off the dust at her shoulder.

"Let's help~"

Bam!

Before Pedro could approach and help the old man. The entrance was opened and Medical personnel rushed in to attend to the old man despite being a bit dizzy because of Pedro's eyes.

"I guess they can manage."

Pedro's eyes returned back to its normal state and dusted off his overcoat as they departed the battle arena.

~~~~~~~

Back in the viewers' area, Beatrice, Talia, and Mathew woke up.

Talia's mouth went agape upon seeing the old man curled up in the ground. This old man was strong to the point that his brother, Mathew, assessed that the old man was around level 100 or so NPC.

Before she could utter a single word, Mathew stood emotionlessly and headed towards the pathway, to meet up with Pedro and Faunia.

"Ah! Brother! Wait!" Talia stood and chased after Mathew, "Do~Do you know how did Expert Bro defeat the old man, brother?"

"No..." Mathew replied in a cold tone, "When I woke up, the battle was already over. Probably... It was that little girl! If you wanna know how he did it... Why don't you ask him personally?"

Mathew pointed towards Pedro and Faunia who was heading towards them.

"Oh!" Talia stopped for a second before waving her hand towards Pedro.

"Expert Bro! Expert Bro!" Talia rushed towards Pedro with excitement.

Mathew can't help but shook his head. He knew his younger sister well. She loved games, especially the part where she can exploit bugs or even abuse it. Thus, upon seeing the aftermath of the battle, she wasn't able to control her excitement and amazement towards Pedro who was able to beat an NPC that was twice or thrice his level.

"Expert Bro! How did you defeat that old man? I mean... That old man scared the shit out of me and brother when we met him earlier."

"I'll tell you in the future." Pedro laughed. He didn't want to reveal his secret. Because once a secret was told, it would not be a secret anymore.

"Expert Brother, Don't mind her! We still have other important matters to take care of. The final phase of the recruitment event, applications."

Mathew pulled Talia on one of her ears.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Talia cried, but Mathew acted as if he didn't hear anything.

"Let's go, Expert Bro!" Mathew led as they departed the arena.

Pedro responded with a simple nod.

~~~~~~~

Back to the viewers' area, Paul Solares watched the Medical Personnel heal the old man. Beatrice remained quiet as she was filled with emotions deep inside.

"Hmm... What should we do?" Paul broke the silence with a question and made Beatrice look at him with confusion.

"Hmm?"

"I mean... That man that Vice Almirante Soledad chose as her apprentice... My guts are telling me to join the Karakoa fleet."

"If that's what you decide to do, then, all of the crew of Felippe would definitely follow you." Beatrice paused for a second and continued, "I doubt that you have an issue about ranks. The Vice Almirante always said~"

"Ranks does not matter as long as we can help those who are in need!" They uttered at the same time.

Paul went silent, contemplating his final decision. After almost a minute of silence, Paul stood and said, "I have decided! We'll join the fleet once again!"

"As you wish, Captain!" Beatrice smiled.

~~~~~~~

Aspiring recruits were lined up outside a three-story building. Each second that passes, the line becomes longer.

At the entrance of the building, a sign was posted.

"Recruitment Area!"

Pedro and the rest arrived outside the building.

"Woah! It looks like we have a lot of work to do!" Pedro smiled.

The Karakoa Fleet needed more crew and personnel. The main reason why he went to the trouble of attending the event. However, just as he was about to walk towards the building, Mathew stopped him.

"Wait, Expert Brother!"

"Hmm?" Pedro looked back towards Mathew.

Mathew walked towards Pedro and whispered, "Not that building! That one!"

Mathew pointed to an adjacent two-story, abandoned-looking, building.

"Recruitment Area! (Karakoa Fleet)"

Pedro's smile vanished upon seeing the sign placed near its entrance.

"Wha~WHAT!?"