One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

Luffy taught a lesson to each of the Sky Sharks that had been surrounding the altar, then grabbed one and started grilling it.

Robert shook his head: "Sharks need to expel urine through their skin and flesh, so shark meat always has a foul smell no matter how it is prepared. Although I don't know if these white sea sharks have the same physiological structure, I still don't recommend eating them."

Sanji, however, seemed unconcerned: "Don't worry, Luffy will find any dish delicious, so just grill it for him casually."

The two casually skinned the air shark, sprinkled some salt on it, and roasted it over the campfire.

This kind of grilled fish requires no skill and doesn't need to be cooked by just flipping it frequently. After handing the task over to Luffy, the two went to prepare their own signature dishes.

Zoro and Chopper brought back a lot of ingredients from the forest, and Sanji is going to make a pot of hot stone stew.

Meanwhile, Robert dealt with the giant frog that Nami had forbidden him from putting into the pot to stew.

The Going Merry has a full range of spices, so Robert is going to make a simple roasted frog for everyone.

He is extremely confident in his culinary skills, backed by China's centuries-old culinary culture. He is certain that he will not be outdone by Yamaji, even when using ingredients like frogs.

While carefully tending to the frog in his hands, Sanji handed over a bowl of stew: "The way you prepared the ingredients was very interesting. I've never seen it before. I just don't know how it tastes. Try what I made."

Robert smiled and thanked him. He had barely eaten all day and was actually quite hungry. The doubled strength and stamina had also brought about a near-doubled appetite.

It was just a simple stew, so Robert didn't think much of it and casually poured it into his mouth.

Just as he was continuing to fiddle with the roasted frog in his hands, his eyes suddenly widened in surprise!

[You consumed a Grade C delicacy: Stone Stew, which increases stamina recovery by 10% for 6 hours.]

Robert looked at Sanji in disbelief. It was just a simple stone stew, a cooking method also used in China. So what exactly made this simple stew a C-grade delicacy?

Robert's gaze toward Sanji began to harden:

"Coach! I want to play basketball!"

Chapter 10: Materialist Warriors Cramming on Idealism

Although he didn't participate in Sanji's cooking, he still pays close attention to Robert, the famous chef in the One Piece world.

He clearly felt like he hadn't done anything, just chopped vegetables and lit a fire.

Zoro heated the stone by holding it against his sword. He didn't even handle many of the ingredients himself; he just let Chopper throw them in randomly. He only tasted the saltiness and adjusted the seasoning a little, and yet he still managed to create a dish that surpassed D-class cuisine!

Compared to him, he did everything himself, from setting up the charcoal and lighting the fire to processing the ingredients, and then turning the frog over and controlling the seasonings while grilling it. He put in a lot of effort, but the roasted frog he made was still only grade D.

This made Robert feel very frustrated. Could it be that the ethereal supreme consciousness of the pirate world was targeting him?

Seeing Robert's shocked expression, Sanji sat down next to him: "Your frog looks delicious, may I try some?"

Robert handed Sanji a skewer and, while waiting for his opinion, felt as if he had returned to the moment of his job interview years ago. He even felt more nervous than when he stood behind the stove, waiting for the master chef to taste his dishes.

"It's delicious! How did you manage to lock in the juices of the frog meat while allowing all the flavors to seep in? And the combination of multiple sauces is also fantastic."

Robert was starting to doubt himself: "Is it really that delicious? Why do I feel that the dish I carefully prepared for so long doesn't taste as good as that seemingly casually stewed hodgepodge?"

Sanji paused for a moment, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and said, "You seem very serious when you cook, with a very straight face. Isn't cooking a joyful thing?"

Robert almost rolled his eyes. "I'm talking to you about techniques, and you're talking to me about feelings? Are you trying to tell me that if you want to cook a good dish, you have to tell a good story first?"

"I just feel that cooking is a very serious matter and needs to be taken seriously. The first thing I learned when I was learning to be a chef was: food safety is of paramount importance."

Sanji's expression was strange: "What is food safety? But it doesn't matter. Your cooking skills are indeed very strong. I can't give you any guidance. If I have to say what's missing, I think it might be feelings. I think that's what you want to know."

At this moment, Sanji seemed to be possessed by the spirit of Little Chef, constantly saying, "Cooking is meant to bring happiness to people."

Robert could only silently keep these words in his heart for the time being. Although he couldn't understand why cooking with emotion could break through to the D-level of cuisine and add edible attributes to the dish.

"When you start cooking not for work, but simply because you enjoy the process and hope that everyone who eats your food will be happy, then you'll understand what I mean."

Robert even wanted to ask Sanji, "Have you ever made a dish that glows?"

Chopper suddenly pulled Luffy to their side: "I really caught a huge frog, but Nami won't let me put it in the pot!"

Luffy exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! Really?! You can eat frogs?! That's amazing!"

Robert laughed and handed the roasted frog to the two of them. Luffy stuffed it into his mouth and exclaimed, "Delicious!"

Chopper's eyes lit up: "I told you it was delicious!"

Robert held out his hand to Sanji: "I don't have any cigarettes, do you have a lighter?"

Sanji was taken aback, then reluctantly handed over the whole set. Robert silently lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth: "Although I don't understand what you mean, I will try my best to understand."

The huge bonfire party went on until very late thanks to Luffy and his crew's antics, but Robert only participated in the information-sharing part at the beginning before heading off into the nearby dense forest.

He really didn't have time to enjoy the journey like Luffy and his crew. Freedom is always built on the strength to support it. The main characters have the strength, so they can do whatever they want. He himself is weak, so he can only practice more.

Once you reach level 5, your strength and stamina are just enough to prevent you from being instantly killed by the aftershocks of a battle, but your weaknesses are also obvious: your agility and spirit are relatively low.

Therefore, Robert had planned his enhancement path early on; if his attributes weren't enough, he would make up for it with equipment.

The roller skates that both the God's Guard and the native Shandians used on the Sky Island, which allowed them to jump and fly, were the first piece of equipment he prepared for himself.

Robert pulled out the shoes he had taken off his white beret, carefully put them on, and then began to practice by the light of the huge campfire not far away.

These shoes are designed for jumping on the left foot. They are equipped with a spring-like device that, when activated, propels the person high into the air like a spring. Upon landing, there is also a cushioning effect under the feet.

The right foot is equipped with a wind shell, a specialty of the floating island. It can store wind, and pressing the top of the shell will release the stored wind, using the principle of recoil to propel the person forward.

Robert had played with roller skates when he was a child and thought he could master the equipment quickly.

But when he actually started practicing, he realized he was still too confident.

These shellfish have no adjustable gears; once activated, they operate at full power. The Flying Shell can propel a person more than ten meters into the air with a single bounce, while the Wind Shell can accelerate a person to 40 miles per hour in a single second.

Robert couldn't even get a steady start, let alone maneuver around corners at high speeds on these roller skates.

Nami's voice came from the side: "You were quite composed when you were climbing the tree during the day, how come you're so clumsy now?"

Robert got up from the ground embarrassedly: "Although I am quite strong, I lack training in weight and agility, so it's really... I was hoping to improve my speed with this novel equipment, but it seems I can't handle it."

Nami asked, "What effect do you want to achieve with it? Are you going to use it to maneuver nimbly against the enemy?"

Before Robert could answer, Nami replied, "If your agility and balance are enough for you to handle these shoes, then you won't need to rely on them to fight enemies. Since you want to use them to enhance yourself, I suggest you only practice straight-line acceleration and use their explosive properties to complement your powerful strength."

Robert's eyes lit up. As expected, none of the main characters were simple. Even Nami, a navigator who was more inclined to an administrative role, could pinpoint his problems.

Nami had only come to see what Robert was doing in the woods by himself. Once she learned that he was diligently working on his new equipment, she didn't bother him any further and turned back to attend the party.

Blackbeard suddenly spoke from the iron ball: "It seems you get along well with them."

Robert shuddered, and said in as light a tone as possible, "Haven't you noticed? They all value their friends, so only by becoming their friend can you lower their guard and make better use of them, right?"

Blackbeard's voice was unreadable: "Don't forget your mission. You must find a way to leave here tomorrow."

Robert smiled and said, "Don't worry, I think they trust me a lot now. I'll get the ship tomorrow."

Blackbeard seemed satisfied with Robert's assurance and casually pointed out, "What that little girl said earlier wasn't wrong, but it was a helpless choice made because she was physically weak in every way."

Robert felt that Nami's words made a lot of sense and was just about to try it out in that direction, but unexpectedly Blackbeard dismissed her advice.

"Captain, what do you mean?"

"I don't know what you're doing, but it sounds like you're practicing with some kind of vehicle that increases speed, but you can't keep your balance, right?"

Robert quickly agreed, and Blackbeard chuckled, "But your strength is much greater than that of an average person. Great strength is not just about being able to lift heavier things; it also represents the strength of your core muscles. Your so-called lack of flexibility is just that you haven't learned how to use your strength to stabilize your body."

[You have received guidance from the story character Marshall D. Teach, your Agility attribute +3 (based on 20% of your Strength attribute)]

Robert was overjoyed; he had actually gained three points of agility just from hearing Blackbeard say a few words!

I wanted to ask him a few more questions, but Blackbeard remained silent, seemingly focused on recovering from his injuries. Or perhaps fate didn't want Robert to continue getting freebies.

Whether it was due to his increased agility or the effectiveness of Blackbeard's method of using core muscles to maintain balance, Robert quickly mastered the techniques of using Sky Island Shell roller skates for charging, jumping, and sudden stops.

While Luffy and his crew were still celebrating, Robert returned to the campfire and found a comfortable spot to lie down.

There's another tough battle tomorrow. These people are all full of energy, so I need to make sure I get enough sleep.

As for what I promised Blackbeard...

“I didn’t say which ship I would get tomorrow, my good captain.”

Chapter 11 Let's pick a couple of easy targets and give them a good squeeze!

Since arriving in this world, Robert had his first sound sleep, even though it was only in a simple forest tent on the Sky Island.

However, with a group of chosen ones from this world around him, and knowing full well that Enel wouldn't send anyone to attack tonight according to the plot, Robert slept soundly.

Robert didn't wake up until Usopp started yelling and screaming the next day.

Robert knew perfectly well that the ship's spirit had repaired the ship overnight, but he didn't go up to join in the fun.

The storyline of the Going Merry repairing itself, being sentenced to death in Water 7, and then going to Enies Lobby to rescue everyone before it fell apart really brought Robert down a lot of tears.

After he had calmly washed up and tidied himself up, the Going Merry had already been lured off the altar by Usopp using Chopper as bait to lure out the Sky Shark.

Nami took out a map and divided the team into two groups. One group was an exploration team, responsible for traversing the dense forest to reach the core area of ​​the ruins in search of gold. The other group was a support team, responsible for sailing directly to the rendezvous point.

Luffy, Zoro, and Robin are all going to join the exploration team, but Chopper, after yesterday's experience, insists on going with the strongest members of the team.

Nami, Sanji, and Usopp stayed on the Going Merry and sailed around the outer perimeter to meet them.

Robert laughed and said, "I'll stay on the ship and help with some manual labor."

He wasn't a member of the Straw Hat crew, so naturally no one would make any plans for him. Since Robert offered to help steer the ship, none of them objected.

With anchor raised and sails hoisted, and with Sanji and Usopp, two skilled workers, leading the way, the ship sailed more smoothly and soon found its way onto the cloud-formed waterway.

Nami smiled and said to Robert, "Mr. Robert, why aren't you wearing that strange helmet from yesterday?"

Robert chuckled and said, "It really was too ugly, and I didn't find anything particularly dangerous here, so I took it off."

Robert, of course, wouldn't say the real reason he took off the helmet directly: he wanted to reach the final battleground, the Ark's Proverb, in the safest way possible.

The best way to get there is for Enel to personally lead the way. However, if Enel finds that his mind network is always displaying gibberish when he tries to hear his thoughts, he might just kill him to prevent future trouble.

The injured Gan Fall sat at the bow of the boat and began to explain the history of Skypiea to the group. Robert didn't need any extra lessons until Gan Fall started explaining how to use the Skypiea's shellfish, at which point he joined in.

"Old sir, does that mean if I make a suit of armor out of these impact shells, all attacks will be absorbed by them?"

Gan Fall seemed to have been stumped by Robert's wild idea, and after a long pause, he replied, "The Shock Shell's absorption capacity has an upper limit. Once it suffers an impact exceeding its absorption limit, it will immediately release all the impacts it absorbed and will also break down."

Robert nodded thoughtfully: "Then can I have this shockwave?"

Gan Fall nodded: "These are my spare shellfish. There's only one left, but you can take it if you're interested."