Fantasy Realm [One Piece] [Harry Potter] [Naruto] - [Progression] [LitRPG]

Chapter 160: Ghosts and Skills

Stephen looks at Alex, his expression blank, like he's in a daze.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Alex stares at Stephen's face, waiting for him to say something. Finally, he breaks the silence: "Your jokes are getting worse and worse. Seriously, stop this bullshit and tell me what's going on!"

"Hello!!! Realm to Stephen, is someone in there?" Alex says, knocking on Stephen's head for emphasis.

"Wow! Ouch! Sorry about that!" Stephen replies, snapping back to reality. "You see... we all thought the maximum time you could be on a mission was just a few days. You were gone for seven days, so everyone assumed you messed up and died. Especially since Eirini and Patricia—who were believed to be the only two survivors—managed to come back in less than a day. You must've been in there for weeks... no, months, right? Nobody thought such long-term missions were even possible, at least not in the tutorial section!"

"So that's why you're all staring at me? Because you think I'm dead? And by the way, the ghost joke? Not funny. There might actually be real ghosts somewhere out there, and personally, I hate them. I hope I never encounter one myself," Alex snaps back, clearly unimpressed.

Alex chats with Stephen for a while, catching up on rumors and recent events in the Realm. As the two of them talk, more and more people gather around, curious to confirm that Alex is indeed not a ghost. Soon, word spreads throughout the busy Realm: Alex's mission simply took longer than usual, and he's very much alive.

Alex sighs. "This is so stupid. Whoever started the ghost rumor, I swear I'll get them. And Eirini and Patricia should've told everyone I was fine."

"They didn't say anything, probably because they didn't want to reveal anything about you. My guess? You must've gotten another monster rating if your mission took that long, right?"

"I'll tell you later, but yeah... honestly, I can't complain," Alex replies, keeping the details to himself.

"Anyway, Stephen, I'll catch up with you later. I've got a lot, and I mean a lot, of things to do. You're level 4 now too, right? Please be careful on your next mission, and make sure to talk to me before you leave," Alex says, standing up and waving at Stephen as he heads off.

Alex makes his way toward the Skill Hub, mentally preparing himself for what's to come—and what it's going to do to his enormous stack of FC.

By now, Alex has become quite famous in the Realm and no longer feels the need to hide his strength. Confidently, he walks to one of the upgrade chambers, not bothering to conceal his presence.

Thankfully, Alex thinks, I've saved and collected quite a few Soul Crystals, and my stack of FC is at a staggering 222,000. Almost unbelievable at this point. Of course, most of it wasn't earned through mission completions, missions, even with the highest rating, only give me 20,000 FC. No, this fortune came from other methods.

Extorting, trading, and scamming reign supreme. The last world was so incredibly difficult that Alex managed to take some of the other players for all they had. It was a huge windfall, Alex realizes, and maybe obtaining the dreaded [285th Hunter Exam Application] wasn't such a curse after all—it might've been a huge blessing in disguise!

"Now, let's see... upgrade... EVERYTHING. Start with the basic skills!"

Basic Close Combat Prowess lvl 3, Basic Footwork lvl 3, Basic Endurance lvl 3, Basic Long-Range Combat Prowess lvl 3, Basic Eloquence lvl 3, Basic Concentration lvl 3, Basic Meditation lvl 3, Basic Mana Control lvl 3