OP: Lord of Mischief C18

Augustus had successfully slipped past the marines, leaving them scrambling around the village in vain.

Now, on his boat, he sat cross-legged, his eyes fixed on the system panel hovering before him.

He rubbed his chin, scrolling through his options.

"Hmm… what to buy?"

His TP count stood at 990—a decent sum, but nowhere near enough to unlock the truly powerful abilities.

Still, there were a few abilities that caught his eye.

First, there was "Comedic Will: Fool’s Instinct."

A passive ability that granted him an intuitive sense of danger, allowing him to subconsciously evade basic attacks.

It was priced at 700 TP—a steep price, but necessary.

If he ever wanted to unlock "Cartoon Dodge", a high-level evasion skill, he had to purchase Fool’s Instinct first.

"Guess it’s a foundation skill, huh? Makes sense."

He skimmed through more abilities under the Comedic Will branch, his interest piqued.

There was "Comedic Will: Gag Force" (800 TP)—a physical enhancement ability that let him harden any part of his body to be as tough or sharp as a weapon. Weak at first, but trainable.

Then, a massively expensive skill—"Jester Dominion" (5,000 TP).

It allowed him to influence others comically—whether making them laugh uncontrollably, cry, or even fall unconscious. The starting range was 20 meters, but it could grow.

But what really caught his eye were the two grayed-out abilities beneath Jester Dominion, their names completely hidden behind question marks.

[???]

[???]

"Locked, huh? Guess I need to unlock Jester Dominion first before I can even see what they are."

However, one ability wasn’t hidden, just grayed out.

That was—

"Anvil Authority."

It was the first skill under Jester Dominion, and unlike the other two, its effects were already described:

Anvil Authority allowed the user to manifest comedic objects from thin air.

At low levels, he could summon things like a small rock or a wooden mallet—but as it improved, the objects would become heavier, stronger, and more absurd.

For instance, in the future, he could drop an anvil straight onto an enemy’s head out of nowhere.

"Damn… these abilities sound broken as hell."

Unfortunately, his TP count wasn’t enough for any of the big ones.

With a heavy sigh, he made his decision.

"Guess I’ll settle for Fool’s Instinct for now."

Tapping the panel, he confirmed the purchase.

[Ding!]

[Acquired: Comedic Will: Fool’s Instinct]

[Passive Effect: Slightly heightened danger sense. Increased ability to instinctively dodge simple attacks.]

Augustus felt a strange sensation tingle through his body, as if his reflexes had been sharpened.

He grinned.

"Well, it’s not flashy, but it’s a start."

Augustus squinted as he felt a strange pull in his subconscious—a faint premonition that made him instinctively raise his head.

His newly acquired Fool’s Instinct was already kicking in.

On the horizon, a pirate ship slowly emerged.

"Interesting…" A grin spread across his face.

He could just barely make out the ship’s flag, but he already knew trouble was heading his way.

Without hesitation, he opened his system panel and converted 200 TP into status points, distributing them into Strength and Agility.

Immediately, he felt the difference.

His muscles tensed and strengthened, his body felt lighter, and a newfound explosive energy surged through him.

[Strength: 7]

[Agility: 5]

---

Meanwhile, onboard the pirate ship…

A watchman on the mast squinted through a spyglass before calling out:

"Captain! There's a lone boat ahead!"

The ship's captain, a fierce-looking man with thick eyebrows and a scar down his cheek, turned toward the horizon.

His broad chest rose with arrogance, and a sneer curled his lips.

"Hmph. Another fool in our path," he said in a deep, intimidating voice.

He clenched his fist, his rings gleaming under the sun.

"As warriors of Admiral Krieg’s fleet, we crush all obstacles. No exceptions."

He turned to his crew.

"Sink that boat."

"Understood, Captain!"

The pirates scrambled into action, loading the cannons and aiming directly at Augustus’ small boat.

With menacing grins, they prepared to obliterate him in one shot.

The booming roars of cannons echoed across the sea, their iron payloads crashing into the waves—but not a single one struck the tiny boat.

Water splashed violently, drenching the edges of Augustus’ vessel, but somehow, miraculously, it remained intact.

The pirate captain’s scowl deepened.

"What the hell? Are you all blind!?" he roared, veins bulging on his forehead. "Sink that damn boat already!"

His crew gritted their teeth, adjusting their aim, but no matter how much they fired, each cannonball barely missed, landing just inches away in the water.

Then—before anyone could react—the boat had closed the distance.

With one smooth motion, Augustus leapt from his boat and landed on their deck.

The sudden intrusion stunned the entire crew.

A wave of silence washed over the ship.

The captain’s brow twitched as he stared at the lone intruder before him.

"Tch… Punk, you’ve got guts, I’ll give you that." His thick brows furrowed deeply. "But you’ve made the worst mistake of your life. Do you have any idea who we are? We are part of Admiral Krieg’s fleet, the most fearsome force in the—"

BAM!

Before he could finish, a fist collided with his face.

A sickening crack echoed as his head snapped back, and his massive body was launched backward—crashing into the wooden wall behind him with a violent thud.

His crew watched in horror, jaws hanging open, eyes wide in disbelief.

Augustus cracked his knuckles, flashing a mischievous grin.

"I don’t care if you’re Admiral Krieg himself standing in front of me…" he said, rolling his shoulders.

The captain groaned, spitting blood onto the deck as he forced himself to stand. His face was already swelling from the punch.

"You… you damn bastard—!"

Before he could finish, Augustus lunged forward again, grabbing the captain and flinging him like a ragdoll—hurling him into his own men.

"Gaaah!" the pirates yelped as their leader crashed into them, knocking them over like bowling pins.

[You caused trouble on a pirate ship and humiliated the pirate captain in front of his men.]

[Reward: 25 TP]

Augustus tilted his head, noticing the system notification with an amused smirk.

"Oh? So even humiliating these guys earns me points?"

Feeling inspired, he quickly bought a cheap prank item from the system shop—a 1 TP fake bomb—and casually dropped it onto the deck.

The moment it hit the floor, a sinister hissing sound erupted, along with thick, ominous smoke.

The pirates' faces turned pale.

"B-bomb!!!"

"ABANDON SHIP!!!"

Without a second thought, they screamed and threw themselves overboard—some even trampling each other in the rush to escape.

"Hahahaha!" Augustus roared in laughter, watching them scramble like scared children.

[Pranking the pirates like a true trickster.]
[Reward: 50 TP]

With a satisfied smirk, Augustus plopped himself down on a crate, watching the chaos unfold.

"Man… I could get used to this."