Chapter 6: The Wayward Blade and the First Taste of Skill
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: NEW ADVENTURE PATH INITIATED. NEXT TARGET: SHELLS TOWN VICINITY (REVISED). RECOMMENDED ACTION: ENGINEER DEATH. ACQUISITION: BASIC SWORDSMANSHIP. SECONDARY GOAL: ESTABLISH SYSTEM MECHANICS.]
"Alright, first death. Not glamorous, not a major villain, but foundational. A random Marine. Basic Swordsmanship. This is going to be my humble, yet utterly absurd, beginning. Time to get this show on the road. And hopefully, not get stuck as a permanent ghost."
The first sensation wasn't the searing pain of a pigeon-related demise or the bone-chilling cold of an open manhole. No, it was the soft, gritty touch of sand beneath my cheek. My eyes fluttered open, assaulted by the blinding, unfiltered brilliance of the East Blue sun. A seagull shrieked overhead, its cry a strangely fitting soundtrack to my utterly bewildering reincarnation.
"Well, this is... new," I mumbled, my voice rough, my throat dry. My body felt surprisingly intact, considering my previous life had ended with a sudden, violent, and frankly embarrassing collision with urban wildlife and infrastructure. I was wearing simple, slightly ill-fitting civilian clothes – a linen shirt and trousers that smelled faintly of salt and fish. Gone was the crisp suit, the expensive watch, the soul-crushing weight of corporate responsibility. In its place: the vast, unpredictable ocean and the distant, familiar silhouette of Shells Town.
"Shells Town? As in, the birthplace of Zoro's legend? The lair of Captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan? Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Is this a joke? Am I in... One Piece? My inner nerd is screaming, and my inner self-preservation instinct is currently doing a frantic jig of terror."
Suddenly, a cold, disembodied voice echoed in my mind, devoid of emotion, yet impossibly clear.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: WELCOME, ADAM D. VANE, TO THE WORLD OF ONE PIECE. YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE IMMORTAL SYSTEM. YOUR PRIMARY GOAL: ACQUIRE POWER. POWER IS ACQUIRED THROUGH STRATEGIC DEATH. EACH DEATH GRANTS A RANDOM ABILITY OR SKILL FROM YOUR KILLER. YOUR ULTIMATE DESIRE HAS BEEN SET: NICO ROBIN. SUCCESSFUL FULFILLMENT WILL LEAD TO... UNDISCLOSED REWARDS. FAILURE... IS PERMANENT.]
I blinked. "Strategic death? Acquire power? Nico Robin?! Oh, you magnificent, sadistic bastards, you've gone and done it now! You've given me a reason to actively seek out my own demise. This is either the greatest gift or the cruelest joke. Probably both, knowing my luck."
My hand instinctively went to my pocket, and there it was, nestled comfortably: Jack Sparrow's Compass. It pulsed faintly, a soft, almost imperceptible hum, and the needle spun wildly before slowly, almost tantalizingly, settling. It pointed not towards Shells Town proper, but towards a small, rocky cove just beyond the main docks, where a single, lone Marine was patrolling.
"A random Marine? For my first death? How… anticlimactic. No legendary pirate, no monstrous beast. Just some poor grunt who's about to inadvertently make me a little bit stronger. This system has a dark sense of humor. Or maybe it's just trying to ease me into the whole 'dying for profit' thing."
"Alright, compass," I whispered, a mischievous grin spreading across my face. "If you insist on such a humble beginning. Let's go meet my first unwitting benefactor."
I made my way to the cove. The Marine was young, fidgety, and clearly bored, idly swinging his cutlass and glancing nervously at the horizon. He was no seasoned veteran, no elite fighter. Perfect. This would be a soft landing into the world of strategic self-termination.
"Excuse me, officer!" I called out, feigning a lost tourist. "I seem to have misplaced my... sense of direction. And possibly my will to live. Could you perhaps point me towards the nearest existential crisis?"
The Marine, startled, spun around, his cutlass raised defensively. "Who are you?! What are you doing here?! This area is restricted!"
"Restricted, you say?" I mused, taking a step closer, my eyes fixed on his blade. It was a standard Marine-issue cutlass, nothing special, but in his hands, it looked surprisingly intimidating. "Well, that's just a shame. I was hoping to find some... excitement. Something to really get the blood pumping. Like, say, a thrilling duel! Or perhaps, a very swift, very precise, very fatal strike!" I deliberately put myself within striking distance, letting my body language scream "unarmed, slightly unhinged, and utterly vulnerable."
The Marine, clearly agitated by my bizarre behavior, gripped his cutlass tighter. "I'm warning you! One more step, and I'll be forced to use lethal force!"
"Oh, please do!" I said, my voice dripping with eagerness. "I'm always up for a new experience. And by 'experience,' I mean 'a quick, efficient death that grants me cool new powers.' You wouldn't happen to be skilled with that blade, would you? Like, master-level swordsmanship? Or even just 'moderately competent with sharp objects'?"
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: KILLER DETECTED. UNNAMED MARINE. RECOMMENDED ACTION: ENGINEER DEATH. ACQUISITION: BASIC SWORDSMANSHIP.]
The Marine's eyes narrowed. He looked genuinely scared, but also frustrated. "You're crazy! I'm not playing games! If you don't back away, I will strike!" He lunged, his cutlass flashing in the sun. It wasn't elegant, but it was direct. He aimed for my chest, a standard, lethal blow.
I made no move to dodge. The blade bit deep, a searing, immediate pain tearing through my flesh. It was a shock, a cold, sharp agony that rapidly spread through my body. My lungs seized, my vision swam, and the world blurred into a kaleidoscope of pain and fading light. It was real. It was agonizing. And then, mercifully, nothing. Just darkness.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: DEATH RECORDED. KILLER: UNNAMED MARINE. ABILITY ACQUIRED: BASIC SWORDSMANSHIP. REVIVAL INITIATING. PLEASE WAIT.]
"Holy mother of... that hurt! A lot! Much more than the pigeon. But 'Basic Swordsmanship'! It worked! The system is real! And now I know how to swing a sword without accidentally impaling myself. This is going to be amazing. And terrifying. Mostly amazing."
I gasped, sitting bolt upright on the sand, coughing violently. My body felt perfectly fine, no wound, no pain, as if the last few moments were just a vivid nightmare. But in my mind, a new set of instructions, an intuitive understanding of blade mechanics, footwork, and basic parries, had been uploaded. I instinctively felt the balance of a sword, the arc of a swing. It was subtle, but undeniably present.
The Marine, who had been staring at my motionless body in stunned horror, nearly jumped out of his skin when I sat up. His face, already pale, went ashen. His cutlass clattered to the ground.
"You... you're alive?!" he stammered, his voice a terrified whisper. "I... I killed you! I saw it!"
I stood up, brushing sand from my clothes, a wide, slightly unhinged grin on my face. "Well, that's debatable, officer! You certainly tried! And I must say, for an unnamed Marine, you've got a surprisingly decent thrust! Work on your follow-through, though. And maybe your shocked expressions. You look like you've seen a ghost. Which, ironically, you kind of have." I then casually picked up his fallen cutlass, testing its weight, swinging it in a surprisingly natural arc. "Not bad, not bad at all. A little rusty, but it'll do."
The Marine simply fainted.
"Oh, for crying out loud," I muttered, shaking my head. "Drama queen. And here I thought I was the dramatic one." I returned the cutlass to the prone Marine, then turned my attention back to Shells Town. My compass was now pointing resolutely towards the town center, a new sense of purpose in its hum.
"Alright, Basic Swordsmanship. Check. Next up: Luffy. And a little something extra. This is going to be fun."