Chapter Thirty-Four: The Free Are Kings

  Thinking carefully about some information on the owners of the tyrannical colors in the original book.

  "Not necessarily! Who says that having the aura of a king will make one a king?" Francis thought for a moment, muttering to himself "Qualities of a king..."

  Among millions of people, those who possess the aura of a king have the qualifications to be a king. However, does having the aura of a tyrant necessarily mean one can become a king? The likes of Boa Hancock, Roronoa Zoro, Whitebeard, and Red-Haired Shanks all possess this aura, and they are also qualified to be kings. Nevertheless, even though Roronoa Zoro and Roger were on the same ship, only Roger reached Raftel. Even now, Whitebeard, who is considered the strongest, has merely come closest to the end of the Grand Line. Although their titles include "Emperor", "King", and other royal designations, in a strict sense, there has been only one true king in the original story up until now!!!

  It's true that even if one has the qualifications of a king, it doesn't necessarily mean they will become one. In the original story, pirates divided up the New World and staged a struggle for hegemony, but none of them were truly kings.

  "The color of the overlord, is it just the person chosen by the king?! That is to say, only with the domineering aura of the overlord can one contend for the throne! Suppose the domineering aura is just the foundation of becoming a king, a part of being a king. Then how can one become a true king!" Francis felt completely at a loss, the data provided by the system was too simple, many places were vague and unclear.

  "What would Leah say if I asked her what a king is?" Francis suddenly thought of the king standing right next to him!

  "'The king is the one who protects the weak and small citizens, and guards the nation's honor!' She would definitely say that!" Francis seemed to see Saber's serious face. He rubbed his nose "A 'king' means a guardian! No, it shouldn't be, she isn't in the pirate world, this guardian should be her knight king's meaning. Her 'king' shouldn't have anything to do with dominance. And besides, Lila's 'king' doesn't suit me at all! I don't have such noble awareness! So what does 'king' really mean?"

  "Rights, wealth, fame!" Francis fell into deep thought again as he recalled Roger's last words "Is this what it means to be the 'Pirate King'?! No, absolutely not! Roger wasn't that superficial! His last words must have been meant to usher in the Great Pirate Era... But then, what is his 'King'?! Ugh, the original story didn't show enough of him, I just can't figure it out!"

  "Whatever, I won't think about him anymore, it's pointless. So, aside from him, who else is there? Ah! The Queen, Relly... these people all have the aura of a tyrant. Oh right, isn't there also Luffy?! Francis suddenly remembered Luffy, this guy is the main character in the original story. Although I haven't seen the ending, one thing is certain, Luffy will definitely become the Pirate King!! First, he already has the aura of a tyrant. Second, his ambition to become king... hmm... his ambition is indeed quite strong! Strength, although it's not the strongest yet, but he's still improving, and as the main character, sooner or later he'll become one of the strong ones. What else? Magnanimity? With Luffy's nerves being even thicker than the ocean, his magnanimity is probably on a cosmic level."

  Thinking of Luffy's silly appearance in the original work, Francis felt a sense of emotion. Maybe that's what "great wisdom is like foolishness" means! But what was he pursuing?

  "I remember Luffy saying that the Pirate King is someone who has conquered the ocean, and only those who are the freest on the ocean can be called the Pirate King!!!"

  "Freedom! Is it?!" Francis thought, recalling Luffy's rampage on the Judicial Island, just to rescue his companions, without caring about how powerful the enemies he faced were. Didn't I also get excited and tearful when I saw this scene? Breaking free from all shackles, fighting for dreams and freedom, is this what the original author wanted to express? In real life, there are too many constraints, too many rules, too many obstacles. Even if a dream is right in front of you, you don't dare to achieve it, only those who break free can walk towards success. When I saw Luffy rush into the Judicial Island, what I thought of first was not his friendship with his companions, but my admiration for his courage, openly challenging the World Government. In Luffy's mind, friends and dreams are always in the first place, the Navy and the World Government have never been within his consideration, it's not that he's not afraid, it's just that he didn't even think about it, his heart is free! Whether it's the Navy or the sea, they can't stop him, why?

  Those who have a free mind will surely rise above everything, they are unbeatable!!!

  Francis felt a little moist at the corner of his eyes "It turns out that what I've always wanted is freedom!" The misfortune of childhood, the heavy burden of life, the loneliness of being alone... only now did he know what he wanted most!

  He rubbed his chin, and Francis revealed a brilliant smile, more infectious than ever before. He had finally found his way in this world! "Freedom! So that's it, only the freest person can be called king. I don't know if my guess is correct or not, but I feel like I've found my own path! Freedom! It's really not easy to walk down this road of no return. Who knows, maybe one day people will call me the Great Demon King! But even if that happens, I'll still... Heh heh..."

  At this moment, Francis has finally found his way. When he first came to this world, he was actually very afraid of everything outside. The whole world was so strange, and he felt like an outsider, wandering about the path he would take in the future! Francis' dream was to graduate from the Magic Academy and revive his family! And then what... after completing his dream? What should he do next? Until today, Francis finally found the answer!

  "From today on! I, Francis Du Ai Xiu, will only live for freedom..." Although Francis had a smiling face, anyone could see the determination in his eyes. Unconsciously, Francis also gave off an aura of silent pressure...

  "Ding! System alert! Internal program files have been lost, game settings have been altered! Please download the recovery package as soon as possible!" Just as Francis was full of energy and ready to take action, a mechanical voice suddenly sounded.

  "What! The program is corrupted?" Francis was startled! It can be said that he could be as carefree as he is now, all thanks to this summoning game! If the system were to go bad, he really wouldn't know what to do!

  "Ding! Please download the patch package as soon as possible! If the player has not installed the patch package within three hours, the system will automatically repair the damaged part!"

  "Whew!" Francis let out a cold breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. To be honest, he was now covered in a cold sweat.

  "It's good that the system can automatically repair itself, otherwise it would be a disaster! It's really scary! Who made this rogue software that can even auto-repair? And then you still want me to download patch packages! Fortunately, you can self-repair, or else I'd be doomed. Go ahead and get your patches!"

  "Ding! System alert: If auto-repair is successful, players will be deprived of two summon upgrades! Players at levels 6 and 7 will not be able to summon, and the system penalty will disappear after level 8. Players can then proceed with normal gameplay!"

  “……”

  Bad news! This is what they call bad news!

  Francis's face turned pale, his eyes bulged out, and the corners of his mouth twitched non-stop! Twice in a row he couldn't summon, what does this mean? It means I'll lose two summoned characters! This punishment is too severe! Change it to something else, even if you lower my level by one grade it's better than this! Francis really wished he could cross over again and quickly download a patch package! Three days, no, even three years, I won't be able to get a patch package! Francis was on the verge of tears, where do you want me to go to get a patch package for you?!

  "Ding! Database file corrupted, single-player game cannot proceed, solo instance delayed until level 11!"

  Disasters never come singly! What's called adding insult to injury, this is what's called adding insult to injury!

  Francis didn't know what use the copy was to himself, but the system wouldn't put a single-player copy here for no reason! This thing must have its value. Francis had been thinking before, whether he could brush equipment in this single-player copy. Now it's good, but he has to wait until level 11 to open it. What concept is level 11? Francis calculated that when he was at the third stage, his corresponding game level reached level 3, and now at the fifth stage, his game level reached level 5. By analogy, even when he became a god, he would only be around level 10! What is level 11? Beyond the god stage? Then what does it mean to go beyond the peak of the god stage? According to his own reasoning, the god stage was the pinnacle that humans could reach, and going beyond that would make him a demigod or even a god! He was just a fifth-stage mage now, but the system was talking about transcending the god stage with him. There were only a few gods on the mainland, and he had never heard of anyone who had transcended the god stage!

  "It's all over! My copy is hopeless!" Francis slumped to the ground in despair, life's joys and sorrows came too quickly. Indeed, as the ancients said, blessings and misfortunes are intertwined, what brings good fortune also brings calamity!

  At this thought, Francis couldn't help but grit his teeth in anger as he recalled that Scott!

  "If it weren't for that damned guy, things wouldn't have turned out like this!" Francis said with hatred.

  "But! It's no use saying anything now" Francis's tone changed, and he let out a sigh of resignation "That old guy is probably dead beyond dead! But that guy really made a profit! He traded his life for two summoning characters for me! Oh well, thinking about it positively, this game was an unexpected gain to begin with. It's just two characters, I can still bear it."

  "There are still people waiting for me outside! Let's leave first and talk about it later! Ah, but thinking that I couldn't summon twice in a row makes my heart feel stuffy! Next time I level up... next time?" Francis looked up at the unchanged roulette wheel "It says the next two summons can't be done! What about this time? It doesn't say this time can't be done, does it?"

  "Can I perform a fifth-level summon? Let's start the summoning!" Francis didn't wait for the system to respond, and instead said all his words in one breath.

  "Ding! Summoning begins!"