Alex suddenly yanks Roja down behind a rock. “GET THE FUCK DOWN!” he whispers urgently.

Roja, startled and about to slap Alex, hisses, “What the hell is wrong with you??”

Alex, peeking carefully around the rock, is shocked. “Don’t you know who that is?” he asks, incredulous that Roja doesn’t recognize the dangerous figure they’ve just seen.

Roja raises an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “Why would I know? I don’t waste time watching silly animes all day. I only bothered with the important ones and main characters during my prep for this. I know you man-children enjoy that sort of thing...”

Alex is floored. She knew about this world beforehand? Not like him, he got run over by a BMW and died, forced into this crazy game. “Wait... so you willingly entered the Fantasy Realm?”

Roja just shrugs, avoiding the question. “Anyway, who is he?”

Alex doesn’t have time to process her revelation right now. He urgently whispers, “That’s Baroque Works’ Mr. 5. As in, the fifth strongest agent under Crocodile! He ate the Bomu Bomu no Mi. Dude is a literal explosion human.”

Roja’s expression doesn’t change much, but the gravity of the situation sinks in. Without a word, she pulls a crystal from her inventory and prepares to use it.

“Wait, let me use that,” Alex urges, stopping her hand.

Roja looks at him skeptically. “Why?”

“My luck stat,” Alex explains, quickly sharing part of his status with her:

Alex Kerber:Lvl 0

HP: 50/50, MP: 50/50

STR: 5, AGI: 5, PHY: 5, SNS: 5, CHA: 5, MNA: 5, INT: 5 SPR: 5, LUK: 5

He continues, “My innate skill is pretty unique. Right now, it’s kind of useless, but it tweaked my stats and gave me high LUK. So I have a better shot at making the crystal work. Besides, you can’t have higher luck than me, right?”

Roja hesitates, then hands him the crystal, curiosity flickering in her eyes. “Interesting... alright, go ahead.”

Alex takes the crystal, feeling its cool surface in his hand. He peeks carefully over the rock and uses it, concentrating on Mr. 5 without making a sound. The crystal shatters silently, and a status screen appears.

Mr. 5 (Gem): Lvl 0

STR: 10, AGI: 8, PHY: 7(-2), SNS: 6, CHA: 3, MNA: 21, INT: 4 SPR: 3, LUK: 1

Alex stares at the numbers. "Huh, it looks like his level is scaled down for the tutorial. Everyone is level 0 like we are. I guess that makes sense for balance. But even with lower stats, he’s still a beast.”

He analyzes, “His stats aren’t insanely high, except for that crazy MNA, thanks to his devil fruit, I bet. His INT is low, though, which matches his fighting style, he’s all offense, no brains. The good news is that your skill weakened his PHY, so even though his explosions pack a punch, we can take him down if we strike fast.”

Roja leans in, studying the screen. “Don’t get cocky. Bosses like him always have hidden buffs, especially HP boosts. He’s probably got double, maybe triple the health of a normal enemy. Don’t assume one good hit will drop him.”

Alex frowns, a knot forming in his stomach. “Damn, I thought that would be enough. So he’s not just a walking bomb... he’s a tank too?”

Roja shrugs, “His defense is still lower thanks to my skill, but we can’t underestimate him. Don’t assume his stats are the whole story.”

“Fine, fine... let’s head back. We’ll need to come up with a plan if this guy decides to attack tonight.”

Roja nods in agreement. “Yeah. And you better fill in the others about everything you know when we’re back.”

Nearly two hours later, Alex and Roja finally reach the village just as the sun begins to dip below the horizon. They’re immediately approached by the village elder and the other players, all eager to hear what they’ve uncovered.

They relay their findings, explaining how Baroque Works has been using the collapsed cliffs to infiltrate the island.

Mission Complete

Discover how Baroque Works agents are infiltrating Navalia.

Progress: You have discovered how Baroque Works agents are entering the island. You have reported your results to the village.

Reward: 3000 Contribution Points.

Alex smiles as the notification pops up. Checking his total points, he muses, “I could buy a new knife or something... but honestly, I think I’m set for now.”

Alex Kerber:Lvl 0

HP: 50/50, MP: 50/50

STR: 5, AGI: 5, PHY: 5, SNS: 5, CHA: 5, MNA: 5, INT: 5 SPR: 5, LUK: 5

Available Stat Points: 0

Innate Skills: Genius Conjurer lvl 0, Statistical OCD lvl MAX

Free Skill Slots: 2/2, Free Basic Skill Slots: 8/8

Contribution points:3200

The village elder looks worried and walks away without a word, leaving the group to their own devices. Roja speaks up, her voice serious. “We’ll only survive this if we work together. Alex, since you seem to be the resident ‘man-baby’ who knows all about this children’s show, fill everyone in.”

Alex bristles. “One Piece is not for children!” he snaps, but the others just give him bemused looks. He sighs, deciding to ignore the judgmental stares and focus on the task at hand.

“Well, here’s what you need to know,” he starts. “Mr. 5 ate the Bomu Bomu no Mi.”

“The what?” Thato asks, looking confused.

“The Bomb-Bomb Fruit,” Alex clarifies. “He can make parts of his body explode at will. He’s immune to his own explosions, and if he touches you, you might end up as a pile of smoldering ashes. It’s a really strong devil fruit with no real weakness except seawater. And since we’re nowhere near the ocean, that’s not gonna help us.”

The group listens in grim silence. Roja nods. “So, we’ll have to figure out a way to bring him down. Any other tricks we should know?”

Alex nods. “Yeah, aside from making his boogers explode... which, trust me, is a real thing... he also carries a 6 round .44 caliber revolver. He breathes into the gun to create his own bullets. They’re invisible but pack a punch. If you don’t dodge, you’re toast.”

Thato chuckles at the absurdity of exploding boogers, but the mood quickly darkens. Roja crosses her arms, thinking. “We’ll need a solid plan. And fast.”

Alex continues, “Look, we don’t know if he’ll attack directly, but if he does and we take him out, we can end this. That’s our best shot at surviving.”

Roja interrupts. “He’ll attack, alright. We killed those scouts, Baroque Works will notice they’re missing and know we’ve discovered their entry point. They’ll come for us.”

“Great,” Alex mutters. “So basically, we’re screwed now after what we did.”

Roja sighs. “We need the best rewards possible from this mission, or we’re all doomed in the next one. You don’t survive this world by playing it safe.”

Thato nods in agreement. “She’s right. If we settle for just surviving now, we’ll be stuck with weak rewards. Then we’ll be dead meat in the next mission.”

Alex silently reflects on their words, conflicted. ‘Maybe she’s right, but not everyone’s looking to be a hero. Some people might just want one last chance to say goodbye… But me? I want to keep going, so I guess I’m with them.’

The group stands in silence for a moment, the weight of what’s coming hanging over them.

“80%,” Alex suddenly says.

The others look at him, confused.

“That’s the death rate for the tutorial mission,” he explains. “And now that we’ve triggered a secret quest, things are about to get a whole lot worse.”

Before they can process his words, the village elder returns, barking orders. “Hey, you lazy mercenaries! Back to your posts!”

Alex groans internally, ‘Damn it, out of time...’

As Alex, Roja, and the rest of the survivors head toward their posts at the southern palisade, Alex spots a figure approaching along the road from the south. The fading light of the setting sun casts long shadows, but the figure walks confidently, as if daring anyone to notice.

Alex narrows his eyes, his heart pounding. The closer the figure gets, the more the details become clear: a brown robe, a large "5" emblazoned on it.

Without thinking, Alex shouts, his voice trembling with shock and fear:

"Mr. 5!"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com