Fortunately, as you travel through the quiet tunnels the threat of the monsters all around isn't so awful. All the things hiding away must not be used to fighting things stronger than themselves, since none of them seem to have the sense to gang up on you. They're practically lining up for your two-person slaughterhouse. It almost makes you sad, in a way. Then again, those Marines wouldn't be stationed outside the entrance if these things weren't leaving the caves and gobbling up innocent people, so it sort of works out. You think.

Regardless, you notice the caves starting to get darker as you travel for several hours. You really never would have imagined there being a place in the world where the inside of a mountain is just as bright as the outside. And if Fleur is to be believed, there's actually something inside these caves? How much more interesting could it get?

You find out just how interesting it can get as you step through a natural exit to the tunnel you're currently walking through, looking around to see the huge cavern you've just walked into, the sight is even more astounding. With a ceiling hundreds of feet above you, the three of you stare wide-eyed at an honest-to-god underground forest, lush with greenery and wildlife. All around you can see living things somehow living and growing, flourishing in what seems like a paradise hidden under the mountain.

As the three of you step forward into the peculiar forest, Trace speaks up first, his eyes wild with delight. "I... understand! This is the secret of Golden Mountain! It's right here! The treasure was never gold or money, it was this. The true treasure all along was life, thriving in the one place you'd never expect! It's so beautiful, I might just--"

(cont.)

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"Uh... Trace?" Trace's monologue is harshly cut off by Mischa poking him in the face and pointing into the forest. Looking at where she's pointing, you and Trace see... gold! Real, actual gold! None of the fake stuff the mountain is made of either, and approaching it just reveals more of the stuff. Pushing the brush out of the way, you see a small fortune in gold, jewels, and bags filled with beli scattered about the place. It almost seems like someone tried to hide it, putting stray branches around to cover it up and digging a small pit for it, but they didn't exactly do an amazing job.

Nevertheless, you've legitimately found a real, actual treasure! You're not an expert of any sort, but you'd guess there's a minimum of twenty-million here, and that's your bare minimum guess. You can see Mischa practically salivating, probably imagining how much food she could get with that much money. Admittedly, you're thinking about similarly amazing things, like how you could get a better ship, or did a huge knife just fly past your face?

Blinking and looking behind yourself, you indeed do see a huge throwing knife embedded into a tree behind you. Looking back in front of you, you now see a short figure climbing up on top of the pile of gold, shouting in a furious, little girl's voice, "YOU PIRATES HAD BETTER GET AWAY FROM MY TREASURE BEFORE I TURN YOU INTO SASHIMI!!!" Further inspection of the figure reveals that it is indeed a little black-haired girl, standing at a height even shorter than Trace.

As a few moments of silence pass after her shout, your mind notices some very important details, and some less important details. The first is that the girl's outfit is covered from top to bottom in blades. Whether it's the multiple bandoliers of throwing knives across her torso, the belt holding more kinds of blade than you even knew existed, or the huge two foot blade she's holding in her left hand. Speaking of which, it seems like she has some kind of tattoo covering her left forearm from just past her elbow to the tips of her fingers. Also, she looks pissed, but you gathered that pretty early on.

>Hands up! Please don't hurt me little girl!!
>I'll teach you to threaten your elders! Prepare for battle!
>Everyone, calm down! I'm sure this is just a simple misunderstanding.

>>3329121
>Everyone, calm down! I'm sure this is just a simple misunderstanding.

>>3329121
>I'll teach you to threaten your elders! Prepare for battle!

>>3329121
>Everyone, calm down! I'm sure this is just a simple misunderstanding.


Weaponmaster Loli get! I'll see myself out.

>We're not pirates, small, rude child.

"Everybody! -- Just! -- Calm! -- Down!", you shout out inbetween dodging knives thrown at you by the girl, some of them even getting dangerously close to hitting you. As you finish speaking, the girl pulls back a knife and holds it there, hesitant to throw it. You let out a small sigh, relaxing slightly. "Please, can we just talk before we all kill each other?"

The little girl sneers at you, giving you a glare so sharp you'd swear you can feel it cutting into you. "Fine. We can talk. And you can all start by telling me what you think you're doing with my treasure."

"Uh... we were gonna take it? I think?", Mischa blurts out, clearly not thinking before she spoke. Surprisingly, this doesn't earn her a knife to the face. "I mean, we didn't know it was yours, we just thought we'd found some pirate's treasure stash or something. Also why are you here?"

Mischa raises a very great question. One which the girl doesn't answer. "I can't believe you pirates, always assuming that you can just take anything that's not nailed down just because nobody's there to stop you. You don't even stop to consider--"

"We're... not pirates." Mischa shakes her head, with a surprisingly placid look on her face for someone standing at knifepoint. "Not that we have anything against pirates. ...wait, Val, do we have anything against pirates? I know we're supposed to catch them and all but--"

"Yes, Mischa, we have many things against pirates.", you sigh, rubbing your temples in exasperation. "Listen, the point is that we're not going to take any of your money, alright? Now please, put down the knife and we'll be on our way. Okay?"

The girl stands there for quite a while, seemingly considering the virtue of not trying to kill you. Despite looking pretty conflicted, she puts the knife away and folds her arms, shaking her head. "No. I don't care if you're not going to steal anything, now you've wasted my time, and you've trespassed in my forest. I was in the middle of something too. So now you're going to help me out, understand?"

>Er... sure. If you say so.
>What? Why would we help you out, we've done nothing wrong!
>Counter-proposal: We help you out, and then we get to take a little bit of the treasure. Sound good?

>>3329701
>Counter-proposal: We help you out, and then we get to take a little bit of the treasure. Sound good?

>>3329701
>You gotta tell us what you need help with before we agree to help you.

>>3329701
>Counter-proposal: no, we're leaving. Bye.

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>>3329121
Man I'm kind of mad at myself for falling asleep this would have been the perfect time for pic related

>>3329722
>>3329758
>>3329826
Deciding to not do rolls to decide tied votes may have been a mistake...

>>3329826
I’ll change my vote here to saying she has to tell us what the favor is first.

We should see if our devil fruit lets us hold people hostage kind of like what law does with people's hearts

"It's not like we're opposed to helping," you start, trying to strike an imposing figure and hoping you're not embarrassing yourself in front of a child. "But we're not about to start doing your bidding like servants. Tell us what we're to do, and we'll consider it."

"Tch.", she responds, turning her nose up at you and huffing. She eventually spits, "Fine. Cutlass guy, you're going to help me melt down the blade you just ruined. Buff lady, you just have to punch something, I hope you can handle that much responsibility. And the kid just has to stay out of my way."

As Micha asks about if kicking works, Trace looks down at his feet and mumbles, "I'm older than you though...", too quiet for the knife-girl to even hear. Poor Trace...

Nevertheless, nothing she said sounds nefarious, and if necessary you can stop Mischa from punching out kicking anything sure shouldn't, so the three of you follow behind her as she walks away.

You don't have to follow for very long before catching up with her, and up close you notice something you hadn't earlier. What you thought was a tattoo on her forearm is quite a bit more... disturbing. Rather than being a strange tattoo, what her arm is covered in is a mass of scar tissue. Marks from blades slashing at her forearm cover the skin all over. Even her palms and fingertips are marked, and you can tell that some of the cuts went extremely deep. A few all the way down to the bone, if you're correct.

>Ask about her arm.
>Keep quiet, she probably wouldn't appreciate the question.

>>3330612
Phoneposting is suffering. I hope I can get back to a keyboard sooner or later...

>>3330612
>Keep quiet.

>>3330622
+1

>>3330612
>Ask about her arm.

It's probably best to ask, really. Find out who or what attacked her. Pirates?

That reads more like torture to me , but it could be either.

>>3330750
Is this a vote for asking, or just an observation? I'm assuming the latter, but I'd prefer to be sure.

>>3330612
>Ask about her arm.

>>3330612
>>Ask about her arm.

Yet another person you have questions you can't ask about. ...then again, it can't be that bad, right? What's the worst that could've happened to her, enslavement and torture? ...actually, yeah. That's probably about the worst that could have happened to her, now that you think about it. Still, she seems tough. Whatever it is, you doubt she'll get upset. "...so, Knife-girl? Mind if I ask exactly what happened to that arm of yours? It looks like you used it to go fishing for sea monsters."

"Huh?" She looks at you with a confused expression, looking down at the arm in question. "You care about this thing? Also, my name is Kuni, not 'Knife-girl.'"

"Sure, I'm curious. Not every day you see something like that.", you respond, internally glad she didn't flip out.

She gives you a shrug and looks at it for a moment, humming in thought. "Yeah? Well, in that case... I'll show you. But you'll have to prove you deserve to see it. First though, let's go to the workshop."

You nod in response, still following behind the Kuni. Your little group eventually ends up at the edge of a underground lake, right as the underground sky turns into what you can only describe as an underground sunset. As pretty as it is, it seems like the only one who gets to admire it is Trace, since knife-girl is leading you and she snaps at you the moment you look away from her, gesturing for you to follow. As tempted as you are to leave, you already agreed to her terms, and going back on your word would be pretty dickish.

Walking around the lake, your little slave-driver leads you to what seems like a surprisingly well-built metal shack, with a forge built into the side of it. Pointing at a metal pier a short distance away, she snaps, "Buff Girl. Go wait there, and Don't. Touch. Anything." She then grabs your arm and drags you along toward the forge, pushing you down onto a stool. "So, you want to see what happened to my arm? Then show me what you and your little sword can do."

>Sure, I can do that. [Simple]
>If you insist. I'll show you a few tricks. [Challenge]
>Trust me, I'm an expert. I guarantee I can even make up a new technique on the spot. [Near Impossible]
>No thanks, I'd rather just do what you asked and get out of here.

>>3330850
>If you insist. I'll show you a few tricks. [Challenge]

>>3330850
>No thanks, I'd rather just do what you asked and get out of here.

>>3330850
>If you insist. I'll show you a few tricks.

>>3330850
>Sure, I can do that.

>>3330850
>If you insist. I'll show you a few tricks. [Challenge]

>>3330863
>>3330895
>>3330918
As you slide your blade effortlessly out of its sheath, the girl watches you intently.

>Roll 1d100, best of 3.

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>3330930

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>3330930
Just don't job please

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>3330930
Wonder if I'll do this right.

2 nines and a 99... the fuck?

>>3330970
>>3330979
>>3330984
...would it be wrong to treat this as a crit?

>>3330994
...No? I mean we want crits so we're biased but-

Those rolls are some voodoo shit right there, quad nines. Go ahead If you to Kagi.

>>3330994
Too bad it wasn't for a potion check. Even though it would be I L L E G A L .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt7htnE1s4o

>>3330994
Leaving that up to you QM, I’m leaving this voodoo to you, dude

You know what... I'm going to call this a special case. And that means New Rule! Whenever three or more d100s are rolled, and all digits are the same number, it represents an alignment of fates for Valerio.

In cases like this, the story will be paused and everyone will vote on the reward you'll get. Val will get a new ability as the reward. I do reserve veto power for write-ins though, so do try to be reasonable.

>New random Devil Fruit ability
>New random Alchemy ability
>New random Swordplay ability
>New random Team ability (only works when fighting with Mischa)
>Write-in an ability

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>>3331037
Also since this is such a crucial vote, and I'm tired, and also sick of phoneposting, I think it's bedtime. We'll pick up tomorrow with the dramatic results of this vote. Have a nice night, anons!

>New random Swordplay ability

>>3331037

>New random Devil Fruit ability

>>3331037
We really oughta work on some synergies between our abilities. Besides that, I don't care.

>>3331037
>New random Devil Fruit ability

>>3331037
>New random Devil Fruit ability

>>3331063
Ah, actually, you know, I think I've got it.

New Sword Idea: Azoth. Has a special channel in it, allowing efficient coating or injection of alchemical substances during attacks.

...If not now, it might be a good idea to look into later.

>New random DF ability

>>3331037
>>New random Devil Fruit ability

Are we always going to need to reach into our chest to get the power? Are we going to be able to eventually just kind of make it appear

>>3331037
>New Random Devil Fruit ability
Bless

>>3331037
>>New random Devil Fruit ability

>>3331037
>New random Swordplay ability

We did say we were going to show her what we can do with our sword.

>>3331037
>>New random Swordplay ability

>>3331037
>New random Devil Fruit ability

New Devil Fruit ability wins! OP Headhunter Quest will be resuming soon with the results of this vote. For the time being, however, I'm going to need a roll for the random ability you guys get.

>Roll 1d100, best of 3! 10-60 will be a low-tier ability, 61-89 will be mid-tier, and 90-99 will be high-tier.

Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>3333195

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>3333195

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>3333195
>>3333268
So we already get mid tier. Let's see if I can save the day...

>>3333374
Talk about a clutch roll... writing the new post now.

>>3333374
nice did we learn how to infuse objects with it and animate them? or did we learn how to make armor or make like a puppet out of the energy like some kind of stand i am so excited!

>>3333407
Actually, this one is the least like those out of the three possibilities. But at the same time, it's definitely the most overpowered.

>>3333384
I'm on a fucking roll. I just nat 20'd in Void's quest too.

Turning around, you take a deep breath. As you exhale, you let your cutlass fly, slicing clean through a tree and causing it to collapse loudly in front of you. However, as you turn around to look at Kuni, she... doesn't seem impressed. You're almost offended that this little girl is acting like slicing a huge tree in half in one slice isn't cool!

Okay, better idea. You make your way to a nearby boulder and exhale all the air from your body. With an inhuman calmness your mother taught you how to achieve so many years ago, your whole body swings around for a single slice. In the blink of an eye, the boulder goes from fully intact and turns into four different cleanly cut pieces. Breathing in again, you take a look at your handiwork and grin. It was made of pyrite like the rest of this mountain too! That means it was metal! That'll show her!

And when you turn around to look again... she... shrugs?! What tHE HELL IS THAT ABOUT!?! YOU JUST CUT A HUGE FUCKING METAL BOULDER IN HALF! TWICE!! WHO DOES THIS KID THINK SHE IS? ...FINE, IF SHE WANTS SOMETHING IMPRESSIVE YOU'LL GIVE HER SOMETHING IMPRESSIVE!!!

Fire burning in your eyes, you sink a hand into your chest without even thinking about what you're doing. You aren't even really conscious of what you're doing to yourself, but somehow you know it's what you want to do. Somehow, you push your fingers inside your heart and... change something.

But really... WHO FUCKING CARES ABOUT THAT?! THIS STUPID LITTLE GIRL AND HER STUPID FUCKING FOREST ARE BULLSHIT! FUCK THIS FOREST! FUCK YOU TREES! FUCK YOU ROCKS! FUCK YOU ANIMALS!!!

>You have entered a state of Uncontrollable Rage! Roll 1d100+40, best of 3, to fuck up this forest.

Rolled 61 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>3333510

Rolled 3 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>3333510

Rolled 17 (1d100)

>>3333510

>>3333510
Aw sheet. We've gone choleric.

Rolled 26 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>3333611
I'm going to reroll this because I didn't do the + 40 don't know if it'll count without out

>>3333611
>>3333641
Just so everyone knows, rolls count with or without the modifier added.

Rolled 3 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>3333510
i want to see how bad it can be also think about it this way he is going to be even angrier

Your blade goes swinging with an amount of force and precision not even you knew you were capable of. You don't even have to touch most of the scenery to obliterate it, swinging your blade in wild arcs and sending waves of cutting force toward everything in sight. A wild, furious roar leaves you as you cut down everything that you can see move, no matter how innocent or cute it is.

Unfortunately for the denizens of this forest, you've become like a walking natural disaster. The little girl watches on with wide eyes as you slice through everything in sight, leaving everything behind you left scattered on the ground in pieces. With your face twitching, you mindlessly attack another tree, reducing it into a pile of wood chunks and a stump sliced in half on the ground.

>Continue THE RAGE
>Try to calm down and stop rampaging [Challenging]

>>3333728
>Try to calm down and stop rampaging.

We gotta chill. Maybe if we tweak our heart back?

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>>3333728
>>Continue THE RAGE

>>3333728
>Continue THE RAGE

>>3333728
>Try and control the anger

>Try to calm down and stop rampaging [Challenging]

Woah woah woah we don't want to destroy the whole forest, and what if someone gets hurt while we're in berserker mode? Let's try to hone this anger into a fine edge instead of letting it be as subtle as a canon.

>>3333728
>Try to calm down and stop rampaging [Challenging]

>>3333750
>>3333767
>>3333772
While your exterior is furious, screaming at the whole world and treating this forest as something that has to be destroyed, a part of you, deep inside, realizes what's wrong with this. That part is desperately trying to take control...

>Roll 1d100, best of 3

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>3333809
Do we still have that elixir we prepared for the colosseum fights on hand? If we were capable of rational thought, I'd say we should drink it to try and boost the roll.

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>3333809

Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>3333809

>>3333831
You do, but this isn't a situation where you could use it. It boosts physical abilities, not mental, and you're not lucid enough to think of drinking it anyways.

Also, I've been planning on changing how it works anyways. I feel like it would work better as a one-use thing which gives you one extra chance at a failed roll.

YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN.

YOU. NEED. TO. CAlm. Down.

You need to calm down...

You're... calmed down.

Relaxing your muscles, you shake your head, feeling as though you just blacked out. You can't remember much of what happened, only that... you were very angry. You think you tried using a new ability, and then you can't remember anything else. You think you were trying to cut down a tree? Why would you cut down a tree though? You're not a lumberjack...

OH YEAH! The girl! Turning around and tracing back through the area, you wonder just what happened to this section of the forest while you were out? Did you end up fighting some kind of huge monster once you started using that new ability? Well, whatever it was, judging by the stunned expressions on the faces of Kuni and your companions, you think you impressed them. That monster must have been pretty scary.

"I... uh. I can admit... you've proven you're a skilled swordsman. I'm not even going to ask how the hell you jammed your hand inside your chest like that." Kuni's haughty tone seems to have faded quite a bit in the face of what you did. "But. Can I uh... see that sword of yours?"

You can't blame her for being shocked though. With how tired you feel now, it must have been pretty awesome. "Sure, I don't see any harm." Passing your weapon to her, you watch the girl unsheathe the cutlass and marvel at it, a mix of confusion and wonder on her face.

For some reason, she looks over at the sheath with a similar amount of confusion, before eventually handing it back to you thoughtfully. "I... don't know how in the hell that blade survived what you just did to it. I mean, with that much force and all those attacks, a blade that's not high-quality should have just shattered. All I can really attribute it to is the cutting edge being unusually exceptional..."

>Hey! Are you calling my Mother's sword low-quality?
>Maybe I was just using it very precisely?
>I... might've just gotten lucky, to be honest.

Hey! Are you calling my mom sword low-quality?

>>3333974
>Maybe I was just using it very precisely?

>>3333974
>Hey! Are you calling my mothers sword low quality!?

>>3333974
>>Hey! Are you calling my mothers sword low quality!? dont disrespect my mum

>>3334073
ur mum ghey

>>3333974
>Hey! Are you calling my Mother's sword low-quality?

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>>3334096
i have had this prepared for years

"That's fair...", you muse, taking the sword from her before realizing what she just said. "Wait! Are you calling my mother's sword low-quality?"

By now, the little girl has overcome her shock, and looks at you like you're an idiot. "It's not some bargain-bin, bottom of the barrel sword, but it's mediocre at best. The only really outstanding trait is it's sharpness. At the very least that proves you're not some idiot who doesn't take care of his weapons. After all, if you want an edge that fine you need to work the blade on a whetstone every single day. Is that why you keep the kid around, to take care of your weapons?"

"Wh... Trace is a valued member of our crew, thank you very much!" This girl is so rude! "And my mother's sword is not mediocre! She did things more amazing than you can imagine with that blade, thank you very much!"

She just sighs, rolling her eyes at you. "I can prove it, if you want. But trust me, you should just let it go. It doesn't need to be the greatest weapon ever made for it to be a nice memento. At the very least, she gave you an extremely high-quality sheath to go with it."

You look down at the weapon and your expression falters slightly. She's being pretty insulting, but... she does sound like an expert. Mom never did claim that she was giving you the best weapon in the world. And the girl is still saying you have a good sheath, whatever that's supposed to mean. Does she mean the design? She probably means the design on the outside, that heart motif it's got is pretty cool.

"You can stop staring at it now, swordsman. I promised I would show you what happened to my arm, so I will." She gestures for you to follow, walking back toward her workshop. "If you want to actually understand it, I guess I'll have to give you a lecture on how a fine blade is crafted. Do you want to hear it, or do you not care enough?"

>Sure, I love exposition!
>Ugh. Paragraphs of explanation? No thanks.

>>3334345
>Ugh. Paragraphs of explanation? No thanks.

>>3334345
is it how real blades must be tested on real flesh?

>>3334370
wait it was bamboo ignore me

>>3334362
+1

Trace is 18 years old young lady he also has a book that tells the future so if you could stop belittling our crew and equipment that'd be greatly appreciated

>>3334345
>fuck yeah, exposition

>>3334345
If we have to hear that to understand, then we have to hear it.

>>3334345
>Ugh. Paragraphs of explanation? No thanks.

>>3334345
>Sure, I love exposition!

Genuinely this.

"Ah, so it's a mystery sword."

>>3334345
>"Ah, so it's a mystery sword."

>>3334935
>Seconding

>>3334345
>Sure

Unfortunately, due to some unforeseen circumstances, I can't keep running tonight. I'll try my best to continue as soon as possible, whether that be tomorrow or a week from now. I'm going to try and keep everyone updated if I can't get this going again soon.

>>3335735
Take your time, QM

>>3334345
>Sure, I love exposition!

Hell yes, we'll forge a fine blade from our mothers old one as to carry on her spirit.

>>3336620
This is actually kind of sounds cool maybe we can fuse willpower into

Not sure if this thread is still getting any attention, but I'm working on a new thread right now. If time allows, I'll try to run tonight and finish up Golden Island over the next few days.

Sorry for not being able to run as often as I'd like. Unfortunately, I've been more busy than usual lately, so finding time for this has been a bitch.