Wait.
So..
My fantasies came true, huh?
——————
1 Day Earlier
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[Welcome, Vroxic]
It all happened so fast, one second I was chatting to people I didn't know over Discord about some crackpot fantasies such as reincarnating into another world, with gamer powers and other childish shit. A moment later it felt like I was torn from my chair at a million miles per hour and thrown in a black void.
And staring at me was a blue screen that emanated a small blue light, saying my username.
My first thought was to pinch myself, y'know, try and get out of this, since this is clearly a dream. But that was when I realised I didn't seem to inhabit a corporeal form at the moment. Bummer.
I was oddly calm about being here, yeah, I'm floating in what seems like an endless void, but it was just so comforting, I could sleep for a million years if I wasn't mildly concerned about what this blue screen was.
"Hello?" I asked, almost surprised I could speak, pretty nifty.
[You might feel confused at first. Or even panicking, if our Docility machine isn't working how its suppo- Oh, yeah, sorry in advance by the way, it's a piece of crap hunk o' junk]
The white text formed letter by letter as a feminine voice echoed throughout the void. I didn't really have a reaction to this, it was just kinda shocking, if I was allowed to feel that in this current moment.
[We are pleased to announce our new project: Blue world. 1 lucky person from your planet gets to experience what it is like to live in the world of One Piece. With some benefits of course, we don't want you to die straight away, of course, we enjoy a show]
"Who's we?" I asked.
[Now now, those aren't things we'd like to share, we'll leave it up to your imagination. Which I must say, you humans do quite a good job at that. Other stuff, not so much]
I tried to frown in anger, keyword, tried. But it was impossible to feel mad, yet I felt like I should be. This entity - these entities? - pulled me from my room, into this dark void and presented me with something which I never knew if I actually wanted, I couldn't know, at least for now. Even if I entertained the concept with some friends over discord, It was still a dick move to just toss me in.
[Now, for the benefits, you and the other 4 are entitled to:
Gamer System
Increased development speed
The ability to choose your race]
That'll definitely help me live with the fact that I live in the one piece world, where unspeakable atrocities happen hourly, not.
[The gamer system helps you quantify, increase and select different bonuses at specific points during your journey to increase levels and make the best out of your new world]
[Increased development speed allows you to grow at a rate substantially faster than normal people. We don't like it when our subjects take forever to get strong, we have things to do]
[You have a choice between:
Human
?
?
?]
Well I sure as fuck wasn't going to pick the blocked out answers, if I respawned into one piece as an ant I'd probably be pissed. Human it is.
[Name: Vroxic]
[HP: 100]
[Stats]
[Brawn:1G]
[Celerity:1G]
[Dexterity:1G]
[Charm:1G]
[Vitality:1G]
[Luck: 1G] (LOCKED)
[Free points: 7]
A torrent of knowledge immersed itself in my brain, allowing me to know what these words meant. I had a good idea after having indulged myself in many litRPG and gamer stories, but it was better to have precise knowledge about these things.
Essentially, all stats were graded from G - F- D - C - B - A - S. Each level up brought one free point to allocate between whichever stat I wished to increase, except luck, which bothered me, I think.
Once I got to 10 in one stat, I could spend a point and rank up, which gave me a perk. I didn't know what it would be but it was nice to know the path to power was already somewhat laid out for me.
Now, for the stats themselves:
Brawn seemed to increase your strength in basically all facets, how hard you hit, how much you lift, all that cool stuff.
Celerity increased your overall movement speed, while with brawn you could certainly push off the ground harder for a sprint, with a higher celerity your legs moved faster.
Dexterity is what allows you to perceive minor details, see vital spots and aim better, which piqued my interest.
Charm is what determines how good you are conversationally, how good people think you look and your overall self esteem
God I need some of that.
Vitality is what governs how much health you have and how long you can hold on before being knocked unconscious or even dying.
And last, but not least, Luck is what dictates the amount of fortunate events happening around you, be it finding a devil fruit in a random market stall or a bullet that would've killed you failing to reach its target, the gun jamming.
"Is there any way I can change my name? I wouldn't want to enter a world and be called something like Vroxic. I'd like my real name please." I asked, and almost immediately the top section of the status screen changed to something a tad more suitable for this world.
[Name: Henry Rakovic]
I was now trying to figure out how to try and get out of this abyss, I tried to flail until I realised I don't seem to have limbs anymore, I looked for a button on the blue screen, yet escape was nowhere to be found.
[We notice you are trying to leave. You need to complete these prerequisite tasks to gain access to your new world:
Be lucky enough to get sent to the One piece Universe (X)
Choose your race (X)
Assign your starting stat points ( )
I felt a little dumb for a second, and I quickly looked over my stats, seeing how I could optimize it.
Seeing as I was in the one piece world, the people who sent me here wanted to see a story about a pirate, or a marine, instead of a civilian, or they could just throw me in a slice of life anime. That meant stuff like charm were off the table at the moment, I'd rather be violent than have the chance of being smited. What if this was just a TV show and the moment ratings turned to shit it all got cancelled.
That, for certain, I'd feel shitty about.
That left the more physical stats available. While I felt I had an average amount of strength, I was comfortable with what I had, that left Brawn, Celerity and Dexterity. After mulling it over for a couple seconds, giving 1 to Brawn and 3 to Celerity and Dexterity seemed like the ideal choice, and then I waited to be sent to One Piece.
I wonder what the planet's actual name is called, it's not One piece, is it? The thing said that it was 'Blue world' or whatever, So that'd better be true.
Feeling a tug, I knew it was time to leave, and this time it felt oddly more comforting.
-
"Getmethefuckoutofheregetmethefuckoutofheregetmethefuckoutofhere… NOW!"
I shouted profusely, sitting in the middle of a relatively peaceful forest.
[Docility Machine Deactivated]
Well, fuck.
Looking at my surroundings, I didn't see anything noteworthy, though that didn't detract from the fear I felt. Mostly because the fear was related me being an entire fucking universe away from my home, I had a life, friends, a cat, a girlfri-
I shouldn't kid myself, I didn't have a girlfriend, I was too scared to ask her out, and now I blew it by being stranded in this fucking place.
I guess… it is what it is, and now I need to move on. If there is a way to get back, I'll find it and for the time being, I'll enjoy my time here.
Standing up, I made my way forward, walking aimlessly and hopefully reaching civilization. Did they speak Japanese here or not? The ROB's weren't that mean, hopefully.
A few minutes of trekking through the forest and I think I spotted something in the distance, so I walked closer and closer before finally realising that I shouldn't've done so.
Taking cover behind a tree, I cross my fingers and peek around it.
There it was, a bear demolishing a beehive, clawing it up and clamping its jaws down on it. I turned back instantly and tried to remember a rhyme that popped up occasionally on the internet.
If it's black, fight back, if it's brown lay down, and if it's white say goodnight.
Or something along those lines. I could've sworn it was a black bear, it certainly wasn't white, I need to risk it and check.
Peering over for a second, I saw that it was dark brown, I went back into cover and slowly lowered myself to the floor and faced my stomach to the muddy ground. I covered my head the best I could and hoped for the best.
While my eyes were closed, I could still see something. A notification, to be exact.
[You have learned: Observe: Lvl 1/50]
Happy fucking days, what am I supposed to do against a bear by observing it.
Gulp..
I felt heavy footsteps beside me, thudding one after the other, my heart pounded and it felt like it wanted to leave its boney cage upon feeling this, and the sensation only heightened once the bear turned its head and sniffed me.
I heard bears don't eat people if they're full, hopefully that beehive was enough, right?
The bear moved along but I didn't feel safe for another 30 minutes. Once that time had passed, I slowly got up, wiping my eyes and brushing my dirty shirt down.
Phew..