AN at the bottom
One Piece doesn't belong to me and neither does The Gamer.
How to play a game: Chapter 1
This wasn't what Luffy expected when he was thrown into the forest by his grandfather. Here he was, eating from a little pile of berries that he collected from a bush, staring at his next snack. He would have eaten it without second thought but he waited a moment to look at the fruits unique shape.
It was round with a slightly swirly stem. Both the fruit and the stem were clear white but the fruit had several swirls in it with lines that were a slight blueish green.
A mystery fruit then! And seeing as he was still hungry, he ate it.
„EWWW! THIS TASTES DISGUSTING!"
That was by far the most repulsive thing he ever ate. And he could eat nearly everything. Nevertheless, not one to waste food, he forced down the rest of it. Makino would be proud! She told him once that wasting food was bad. Well, his grandfather did too, but... He often left out the green puffy stuff when he was eating, so Luffy was never sure whether or not he was supposed to leave them on the plate. Until Makino threatened to hide all the meat, that is.
Contend with himself, he stood up and searched for more food. The horrible taste was still in his mouth and he was determined to change that. Maybe he could find some mushrooms or berries. The ones from before were really good.
At first, he didn't think anything of it, but when his Gramps came to collect him, there were mystery letters above his head. Neat and tidy unlike his own messy handwriting. He hated writing, he always had to concentrade and the letters just never wanted to look like what they were supposed to. Garp always just laughed about it and waved his hand dismissingly, saying it won't matter when he becomes a Marine. But Luffy didn't want to be a Marine! That would mean he had to follow orders and he hated the idea of it already.
The Fist/The Hero, Lv ?, Monkey D. Garp
How did the mystery letters know the old man's name? Was it a secret? He didn't ask, he wanted to avoid Garp knowing that he found out about a mystery secret of his. Secrets should never be taken lightly.
After a swift Fist of Love from his Grandfather, he was dragged back to Makino's bar where she patched him up while Garp boarded his ship and left. This puzzled Luffy a bit, he was supposed to stay in the jungle for two weeks, not one. It was probably because of an order that Garp left early. Exactly one of the reasons why he wasn't going to join the Marines.
He wanted to stay where he wanted for as long as he wanted!
No one would ever get him to do otherwise! He would always be the one to decide on his actions. As Makino finished wrapping the last bandage, he noticed the mystery letters above her head as well. But this was Makino, she would never keep secrets from him. She was always the nicest to him in the village. Sure, there was the mayor but he would always start with a lecture or some type of boring speech and Luffy just couldn't be bothered to listen to those.
The other villagers were nice, too, but there was something distant to their voices when they sometimes spoke to him. It wasn't the mean type of voice but more the concerned kind. He noticed that when he overheard two of the older lady's whisper. They were worried because he was not on very good terms with the other village kids. There weren't many, and Luffy tried talking to them, but he had a feeling they only talked to him because their parents wanted them to.
They were wary of him for some reason. But that was okay. Luffy would find the best of friends one day, friends that he would be able to trust with his life!
But the letters above Makino's head were still a mystery "Hey, Makino?" And if there was no secret, he should be allowed to ask "What's with the mystery letters over your head?"
Makino, who had gone to the counter and started cleaning while Luffy wasn't paying attention, stopped cleaning the glass she was holding and looked at him "Letters?" Looking up, she didn't see anything. She smiled apologetical at him "I'm sorry, I can't see any, Luffy. Could you tell me what they say?"
Makino couldn't see the letters? But they were right above her!
"They say: 'Owner of the Party Bar, Lv 8, Makino'"
"Lv?" She wondered out loud. Luffy nodded "What does that mean?"
Luffy looked puzzled "I don't know... It has to be a mystery!" He beamed, a mystery would explain it! Mysteries were mysterious after all!
Makino chuckled at that. Luffy would always be Luffy. But she really did wonder about these letters.
A mystery indeed.
She looked around the empty bar. She noticed that something was weird. She paid no attention to it before, but there should be a few villagers. At least one or two came around this time for lunch. Did something happen? If it did, she hoped it was nothing serious. Garp just left and with that the village didn't have anyone to defend it should there be bandits or pirates.
She was so lost in thought, she failed to notice Luffy slipping out the door. When she did, she instantly followed him. "Be my friend!" She heard him exclaim happy. Normally this would have been fine but-
"DAHAHAHA! Why would I want to be the friend of a pipsqueak like you!"
She relaxed. The pirate- most likely the Captain of the ship that seemed to have docked while she and Luffy were talking- didn't take it badly. He must find it amusing, for now. Her first priority was making sure Luffy wouldn't take it too far and accidently anger the man.
"Why not?!" Luffy yelled at the man with a slight pout, not that he would ever admit to the latter. He seemed so nice, so why won't he be friends with him?
"Why would I want to be your friend?" The red-haired man asked still laughing "You're not even half my height!"
"So what! I'm strong!" He countered. This man was a pirate if the black flag and skull mark on his sails had anything to say, so if he was strong then they could be friends! Because pirates were strong!
"Oh yeah?" The man stated flatly now, clearly mocking him. Then he broke into laughter again "There's no way a kid like you can be that strong! You look like- what- 5?"
"I'm 6!" Luffy shot back "And I don't care if you're an E-Amp-... Emporer Red-Hair! I'm strong! What sort of title is that anyway?!"
The laughter stilled as Makino pulled him into a protective embrace from behind and the Captain and his crew looked at him confused. Maybe even a bit shocked? "How do you know that?" Red head wondered "We didn't exactly stir up a lot of trouble recently... We shouldn't be that known in East Blue either..."
Luffy stilled as Makino held him tighter "The mystery letters say so." Luffy answered after a small pause, missing the tense atmosphere.
"Mystery letters?" The pirate repeated questioning and tilted his head to the side with folded arms "The hell are you talking about?"
"It's probably a Devil Fruit." The Captain, Shanks, explained while Makino and Luffy listened. After Luffy's mystery declaration, they went into the Party Bar while Luffy explained, or at least tried to, what he saw above everyone's head. Shanks looked at him weirdly "Did you eat some weird fruir?" Luffy tilted his head, there were weird fruits? "A real awful tasting one?"
Luffy remembered the fruit he'd found in the forest and cringed. Shanks noticed and smiled "Must have been a Devil Fruit then, Anchor"
"Anchor?" Luffy asked lost. Wasn't that the thing that kept a ship in place when it's docked?
"Yeah. Devil Fruit users can't swim." He supplied the child "So you're an Anchor. Devil Fruits give you a special power though and seeing as you told me you can see letters above everyone's head, it should be a paramecia. I don't know what Fruit it is so I can't tell you."
Luffy stared at him wide-eyed in amazement "What's a paramica?" To him the word sounded funny. And too long to remember.
"It's paramecia," Ben, the crew's first mate, corrected "There are three types of Devil Fruit: paramecia, zoan and logia."
"That sounds cool!" Luffy exclaimed brightly "What do they do?"
Shanks smirked "Well Anchor," Luffy pouted at the nickname "A paramecia is the most common of the three types, they offer their users superhuman physical abilities or traits. Some can even alter features of the body. Zoan users gain the ability to transform into an animal. There are some based not only on common animals, but on prehistoric animals like dinosaurs and mythological creatures as well. Logias are the rarest of the three Devil Fruit types, those offer their users the ability to transform into an animal, whether it be solid elements, liquids, gases, energy or into a materialization of abstract concepts."
Luffy stared at him, unable to comprehend what he was just told. That was all too complicated and way too much to remember.
Ben sighed "Logia's turn you into an element, zoan into an animal and paramecia is everything that those two aren't."
Luffy's mouth turned into an 'Oh' shape "So a zoan can turn me into, like, a cat or dog or crocodile and a Logia into something like... uhm... fire! Fire is cool! And paramecia is everything else!"
Ben nodded "That's correct."
"Soooo... does that mean I'm a paramecia?" Luffy wondered "I didn't grow any tails or ears and I didn't turn into anything funny."
"Most likely." Shanks agreed, pointing his fork at the boy "But we can't rule out that it might be something else. Devil Fruits can be hard to understand. But you're right," He laughed lightly "Most likey paramecia."
"That's awesome!" Luffy beamed excited. Maybe he was strong enough to beat the monkeys now! "So what power do I have?"
Ben and Shanks looked at each other. Shanks then turned to Luffy "We don't really know yet. But you said you can see letters over everyone's head?" Luffy nods "It might be information related. In a fight, it could help you find out your opponents weak points if you find out how."
Luffy pouted, his excitement dwindling "That sounds boring." Why can't it be something cool? He glared at the floor when a sudden 'ding' caught his attention. Before him appeared a square, light blue screen.
'Due to continued observation of your surroundings, a new skill has been created: Observe'
"Something wrong?" Shanks suddenly asked him, surprising Luffy.
Luffy looked at Shanks "This screen thing says I can... 'Observe'."
The Captain though for a moment "Can you use it? Observe, I mean."
Luffy looked at the screen again, unsure of what to do. It didn't tell him how to use this observe thingy, just that it was created.
"You know how, Luffy?" Makino's gentle voice cut into his thinking. Luffy shook his head and looked at her "The screen only says that it was created. It says 'Observe'."
He blinked in shock as another screen popped up in front of Makino. On it were more letters than he liked. Still, he started trying to read it. Maybe it could help the pirates identify the Fruit. "Makino. Barkeep of Foosha village's Party Bar." He read aloud "Kind and cheerful. Welcoming to everyone in the village and good natured visitors."
"What?" Shanks was confused "What's with the random remark?"
"That's what the mystery screen says!" Luffy defended himself. It wasn't just a random remark, it was lots of words that hurt his head trying to read them, but it was information the screen gave him!
"So this Observe only gives you more information?" Shanks wondered and the smirked "Pretty useless."
Luffy puffed his cheeks and stood up on his stool "It's not useless! I will learn new skills and find out how to beat you!"
"Beat me? Ha! You'd need to be strong for that, information alone won't help you there!" He replied playful.
"Just wait! I'll be stronger than you!"
The pirates were off on an adventure without Luffy. But that was okay, he would get strong and show them! He took the glass of juice Makino put on the counter and drank it in one go. He sat it back down "Observe."
'A glass. Mostly clear with droplets of juice in it. Easy to break.'
So objects could be observed, too. But he didn't see that much use in it. What good was that? Maybe he could observe himself? What would it say? He looked down at himself "Observe."
...
Nothing happened. Luffy sighed "I wish it would just show me my own status or something..." A quiet 'ding' alerted him to the presence of a new screen. On it was a small picture of his head. And words. A lot of words.
'Monkey D. Luffy. Grandson of Monkey D. Garp and son of Monkey D. Dragon. Lives in Foosha village in the Party's Bar'
'Open complete Status window?'
Luffy yelled 'Yes' excited. It couldn't hurt. Come to think of it, who was Dragon? He didn't even know he had a father! Stupid Gramps! He should have told him! But did this mean his father was a dragon? That would be so cool! Maybe he can breathe fire like the dragons in the books Makino often reads aloud for him. The status screen opened up and Luffy looked at it.
Name: Monkey D. Luffy
Title: Anchor
Level: 4
Exp: 1120/2000
Health: 200/200
(Ability)Power: 50/50
Strength: 16
Vitality: 7
Dexterity: 4
Intelligence: 3
Wisdom: 6
Luck: 18
Unused points: 0
He didn't like his title at all. So what if he couldn't swim anymore? Maybe he wouldn't even need to! Then knowing how to swim would be useless to him anyway.
+1 Wisdom
What?
"Sooooo, your Wisdom increased?" A nod "Why's that?" Shanks wondered monotone.
"I don't know, I thought you knew! You even sounded like it for a moment!" Luffy shot back angry.
"Don't be angry, Luffy." Lucky told him "Captain's just an idiot."
"Of course I am!" Shanks yelled laughing but stopped abruptly "WHAT! Hey I'm not an idiot!" He protested loudly.
Luffy had a wide, victorious grin on his face "Yes you are!"
"No I'm not!"
"Yes you are!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
Ben chuckled lightly while lighting his cigarette "It's probably because of something you said or thought in that moment." He remarked, effciently breaking the two apart.
Luffy pouted "I don't remember what I thought about. The increase in wisdom surprised me too much."
The conversation turned into teasing from Shanks' side after that. Makino watched them with fond eyes and a light smile. "Luffy." She called softly and his head snapped into her direction "Would you be so kind and help me with cleaning now. It's about time to close the bar, too."
"Whaaat~?" Shanks whined softly, acting a bit like a child that was just denied his candy "Does that mean we have to leave now?"
Makino smiles at him, chuckling a bit "I'm afraid so. You can come back tomorrow."
Luffy watched as they left and turned to Makino "What was wrong with Shanks just now? He acted like someone stole his meat and ate it."
His gramps took his meat once. It was really mean of him and Luffy wouldn't stop whining until Garp gave him another one.
She shook her head amused "Maybe he just wanted to stay longer?" She took out a clean towel and gave it to Luffy "I'm going to check the bars inventory, could you start doing the dishes while I'm gone?"
Quest Alert
Start doing the dishes! Clean as many items as you can without breaking anything until Makino returns!
Success:
50 Exp for every item cleaned
Failure:
Broken dishes
Accept?
The sudden appearance of the screen startled Luffy, he nearly dropped his towel "Yes!" He confirmed, more to the screen than to Makino. Makino although a bit confused, shrugged it off and went into the back of the bar. Meanwhile, Luffy started to collect the plates, glasses and cutlery and put them into a neat pile. As neat as he could anyway. The three stacks looked rather unstable and about to cave in.
By the time Makino returned he managed to clean 5 plates, 7 pairs of cutlery and 4 glasses. He would have kept cleaning plates at first, there were still a lot of dirty ones lying in the piles, but after nearly breaking 3 he stopped cleaning them and went to the cutlery. As Makino took the towel from him and thanked him for his work, two screens appeared.
Your level increased by one.
He looked at the first screen and his eyes widened as he tapped it. His status appeared but instead of the previous 'Level: 4' it now said 5 and his Exp was now at 170/2500. And his wisdom at 7. He had five unused points as well. But what did that mean? He would have to ask Makino. Or the pirates, they seemed to know more. He proceeded to look at the second box.
A new skill has been created: Dishwashing
A skill for washing dishes? What good was that? When he tapped this one, another screen appeared like before.
Dishwashing Lv: 1
This skill allows you to wash dishes more efficiently the higher the skill level is.
Soooo, did that mean Lv stood for Level? It should. He looked back at the screen and frowned. Knowing how to wash dishes won't help him get stronger. But it at least helped Makino. So maybe the skill could be of some use.
He grabbed a fresh towel and took a few more dirty plates and started to clean them, much to Makino's surprise. Luffy thought the level might increase if he just cleaned enough. He was disapointed when everything was clean but the level didn't increase.
"Why the long face?" He heard Makino ask softly. She had crouched down to his height, towel still in one hand.
"I got a new skill, but it didn't get a higher level when I cleaned more." Luffy sulked.
She tilted her head to the side in thought "Maybe it just wasn't enough? How about you help me again tomorrow?"
"Okay!" Luffy exclaimed. If Makino thought it could help then he would try. Makino was smarter then him after all.
The bar was bustling with pirates again in the morning. Some were already drunk beyond salvation and others couldn't hope to be raised from their sleep. And then there was Shanks. Laughing.
At Luffy.
"DAHAHAHA! Has a Devil Fruit and doesn't understand it!" He exclaimed with tears in the corner of his eys "This is gold! Pure gold!"
"You told me they were all hard to understand!" Luffy shouted at him in anger "Why are you laughing?!"
"But- but-" Clutching his stomach, he tried to get his laughter under control "Yours is information related!" He broke back into laughter.
In his anger, Luffy decided not to tell Shanks about his cool, skill creating, new ability. Yet. Instead, he turned away from the pirate Captain with a huff. Stupid Shanks.
After going to his room last night, a nice spacey one Makino let him live in, he thought about what he could do to get more skills. He didn't know what though and Makino told him to organize the room and that was exactly what he did.
Imagine his surprise when a screen popped up in the middle of his 'organizing'. It seemed to Luffy that if he did something special or repeated an action often enough, he would get a new skill. And that was cool.
What if he punched something often enough? Would he get a punch skill? That would be awesome and Shanks would be really proud of him! But he wanted to try gaining more levels first, so he kept up the sorting of his room for as long as he could. When he thought he was done, his 'Organizing' skill went up by 3 whole levels!
But the room still looked like what Makino would call messy, Luffy realized when he finished looking around. Deciding that he would have the cleanest room Makino ever laid her eyes upon, he kept resorting stuff for the next 3 hours bringing his skill up 5 more times. Needless to say, Makino was shocked when she entered the room in the morning. And she wouldn't stop talking about it, even when the pirates already entered the bar. Not that he was complaining, he got an extra serving of meat. And that lead to Shanks laughing when Luffy asked him about the level increase.
Thank the heavens for Ben, how he could be so calm around Shanks all the time was a mystery to Luffy. But Luffy liked mysteries, so it was okay. He calmly asked Luffy what exactly happened before and Luffy even described the quest screen which proved to be useful.
"Your level must have increased because your Exp, I think it might stand for experience, must have exceeded 2000. That means once your current 170 Exp reach 2500, you level will become 6 and you might get another set of unused points. You said there was a list with descriptions like strength and intelligence, correct?" Luffy nodded, Ben was a truly wise man "Try putting one of those points into one of them, they're probably meant to increase those manually. Be careful what you choose though, it seems to me that reaching new levels will be more difficult in the future."
Luffy nodded "Status." The glowing window appeared and Luffy looked at the options. He carefully looked at the small blue triangles beside each number. This... Dexterity thing was a very low number, just like his Intelligence. He tapped on the shining button and the number went up from 4 to 5. His Dexterity had increased. Ben was right as always!
+1 Wisdom
And now his Wisdom was at 8! Suddenly frowning, he looked at his unused points. Good, he nodded his head content, the Wisdom increase didn't use up a point, he still had four left. That meant he could increase the stats even without having to level up which meant he didn't have to worry too much about getting higher levels.
+1 Wisdom
Okay, now his ability was clearly mocking him.
+1 Wisdom
Hello^^
This is a reupload of my first fanfiction. I got a little demotivated but it never left me that I wanted to write this.
I want you to enjoy reading my story, so any type of advice is welcome, incorrect tenses and misspelled words and any of the like! My first language isn't english so it would really help me :)
However, if you don't like the story, just turn back. I received a lot of negative feedback on the last upload that mainly consisted of people just saying they hated it, not even stating the reason. Some did and I'm actually partially grateful for that because some really helped me understand some things I could have done better.
I would also like to note that the route will mostly follow canon, there will be a lot of differences if I can manage to do so in the later chapters. I don't plan on just writing whatever stands in the manga but East Blue, for example, will very closely follow.
Furthermore, Luffy will be very intelligent but will like to hide it. Not really crazy intelligent, but there will be a time he will change that.
If you have questions or don't understand something, feel free to point it out, I will answer it in the respective next chapter. AN's will always be at the bottom, written in bold letters.
A little info already to those who might be displeased with the Wisdom increasing. Luffy always has his own logic and that won't change but even he has his moments of wisdom, like in the Navarone filler.
See you all next time! :D