Chapter 26: First Spell!

Luffy glanced at Nami, then back at the perplexing book, and finally gulped. Turning to Nami, he asked, "Did you happen to check if there's a return policy at the system's shop?"

A vein popped on Nami's forehead, but she managed to keep her emotions in check.

"No, there's no such thing as a return option in the system's shop," she replied.

"Exchange policy?"

"None."

Luffy slumped, a sense of disappointment clouding his features. The prospect of learning such a complex spell seemed daunting, and he wasn't sure if he had the patience for it. Training, in comparison, felt far more straightforward. Luffy couldn't help but respect those who could delve into the intricacies of magic.

"Never mind, I'll give it a shot and try to learn it myself. I'm sure that by the time I understand everything, my own magic will have increased considerably," Nami assured.

Luffy's face brightened as he quirked a suggestive grin. "Oh, I can help you with that," he said, his playful tone evident.

Nami couldn't help but chuckle at Luffy's enthusiasm.

"Not now, at night," she replied.

Luffy's face fell slightly, but he quickly recovered. "Never mind, I still want to learn a spell, doesn't matter what it does. Can you buy the cheapest and simplest-looking one there is?"

Nami sighed at his keen interest in magic. Still, she searched the shop, scrolling through a variety of spells in a price range from a thousand to 50 thousand Beli.

"Here are some options," Nami said.

Nami presented the spell options, listing them one by one. "Light Spell, Healing Touch, Communication with Animals, Water Conjuration, Fire Spark, Wind Flow, Electric Pulse. These are the ones I think you could try learning. The others might be a bit too challenging or costly for now."

She went on, making her suggestion: "I recommend Wind Flow, as it could assist us in steering the ship to a certain extent, although its power might not be substantial."

But, as always, Luffy had his own priorities. "Um, I'll go with the... Electric Pulse," he declared, paying little heed to Nami's suggestion.

Nami couldn't hide her surprise. "What? Why?"

Luffy's face lit up with an eager grin. "It might come in handy for combat," he explained.

Nami, slightly surprised but accommodating, agreed, "Fine, it will cost 30 thousand Beli." She made the purchase, and once again, a book materialized in the inventory. Nami took it out, perused the initial pages, and then handed the book, which was now a concise ten pages, to Luffy.

Eager to plunge into the world of magic, Luffy began reading the book with zeal. Nami left him to his studies, returning to her cartography work with a diligent focus.

. . .

As evening approached, on the front deck of the Going Merry, a crackling sound echoed through the ship. Zoro was jolted awake from his sleep, while Usoop who was regaling Kaya with another one of his tales of bravery got jumped scared by the sound. Nami also got out of the cabin to see what was going on.

There on the front deck, Luffy stood by the railing, which was destroyed a moment ago, leaving only charred black marks on the wooden edges.

Everyone walked up the stairs to reach the front deck, where Luffy looked at everyone sheepishly. It was evident that his experiment with magic had resulted in damage to the ship on its very first day of sailing.

Just moments ago, Luffy had successfully understood the magic book that taught the spell, Electric Pulse. After a few initial failures, he managed to convert his magic into an electric pulse and directed it to his hands. An ecstatic grin adorned his face as a blue glow gathered in the centre of his palm, eagerly waiting for him to release it into the open.

Due to his rubber body, Luffy had no fear of electricity. Therefore, he used all of his magic to generate and concentrate the electric pulse into his palms, eager to test the limits.

For a normal person, attempting to forcefully exceed the limits of a low-tier spell like this would result in burnt and blackened hands. But for Luffy, the rubber man, it was an experiment in pushing the boundaries, unharmed by the electric charge he was generating.

Luffy, being a rubber man, easily overcame the situation and went all out. When he released the energy by thrusting his hands forward, aiming into the empty space, a beam of lightning as thick as a human shot out through his palm, surprising him greatly.

Fortunately, he had aimed slightly higher, so only the railing suffered damage as it came into contact with the edges of the electric beam.

"What was that loud noise, Captain?" Kaya asked, her eyes fixated on the damaged railing.

"Y-you imbecile, you destroyed Kaya's gift on the first day itself," Ussop exclaimed, rushing to inspect the damage Luffy had inadvertently caused to the Going Merry.

"It's not my ship anymore, Ussop. It belongs to the Captain," Kaya swiftly interjected, earning nods of approval from Luffy, Zoro, and Nami.

"But still, you shouldn't be reckless and damage the ship you're sailing," Ussop couldn't help but scold, even after understanding that Kaya was right.

"Sorry, Ussop. I got a little carried away by the spell I was trying out." Luffy apologized genuinely.

"Spell? What spell? As in a magic spell? No way, you can do that?" Ussop's eyes began to sparkle with fascination at the revelation that Luffy could wield magic.

"You did it?" Nami asked astounded.

"Did what?" Zoro asked.

"I learned a spell from the system, Shishishi!" Luffy grinned.

"System?" Kaya and Ussop asked, still not aware of the system's existence.

"I'll tell you about it in a while, but let me show you my first spell, Electric Pulse!" Luffy declared before closing his eyes to once again employ the spell. It required intense concentration, as he was still not proficient with it. Perhaps, with time and effort, it would become second nature.

Everyone waited with bated breath. Soon, they witnessed Luffy's body releasing a few sparkles of electricity, and a blue glow started accumulating in his hands.

Luffy opened his eyes, a hint of lightning circulating within them. He extended his palms outward, ensuring nothing was within the scope of the attack.

Zwoommm!

A bright beam of lightning, smaller than the previous one, shot out from Luffy's arms into the open sea.