Chapter 2 – A Year in Hell
A year had passed since I opened my eyes on this cursed island.
I stood now at the edge of a cliff, the salty wind biting against my skin, eyes scanning the sea that never slept. My reflection stared back faintly in the waters below—leaner, sharper, more dangerous. My once soft features had hardened, though my eyes still burned with calculation.
Erevos Isle… a graveyard for fools. But for me, it was a forge.
---
Flashback: The Fire Serpent Trial
I still remembered the quest that nearly killed me.
> [Quest #3: Eliminate the Fire Serpent nesting in the volcanic cavern.]
Reward: Swordsmanship Lv.1, Endurance +5.]
Punishment: Permanent -10 Strength.]
The serpent had been a monster of molten scales, its body dripping with heat. Facing it with only a crude spear had been suicide—if I acted recklessly. But I wasn't reckless.
I mapped its movements for three days. Counted the seconds between its breaths. Observed the twitch of its tail before each strike. My mind processed everything like a puzzle, every detail a piece.
On the fourth night, I set my trap: a pitfall lined with sharpened obsidian shards. When the beast lunged, blinded by the fire I'd scattered at the cavern mouth, it fell, impaled by its own fury.
The system's chime still echoed in my ears.
> [Quest Completed.]
[Swordsmanship Lv.1 acquired.]
[Endurance +5.]
I dragged one of its molten fangs free. That fang became my first blade. Crude, ugly, but mine.
---
Flashback: The Silent Predator
Another time, the system had nearly crippled me.
> [Quest #6: Survive one week under pursuit of the Silent Predator.]
Reward: Observation Haki Lv.1.]
Punishment: Death.]
It wasn't a beast I faced that time—it was the island itself. Something followed me for days, unseen, unheard. A killing intent that brushed my neck whenever I rested.
Fear sharpened me. I began focusing, slowing my breathing, stretching my senses beyond sight and sound. At first it was fragments: a whisper of motion, a flicker of bloodlust.
Then one night, clarity came.
A giant panther pounced from the shadows—black as midnight, eyes like coals. But before it landed, my body had already moved, reacting to the pulse of its intent. My crude sword cut through its neck in one fluid motion.
> [Quest Completed.]
[Observation Haki Lv.1 unlocked.]
That was when I truly began to feel alive. My world had expanded.
---
Present: The Survivor's Ledger
I checked my reflection again, then whispered.
"System. Status."
> [Status Window]
Name: Ren Kaizokuya (Transmigrator)
Strength: 34
Agility: 38
Endurance: 29
Intelligence: 95
Observation Haki: Lv.1
Swordsmanship: Lv.2
Martial Arts: Lv.2
Survival Skills: Lv.3
Completed Quests: 9
Not bad for one year. Not bad for someone thrown into hell with nothing. But still… nowhere near enough. This was the Rocks Era. Monsters walked the seas. Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido—all under Rocks' banner.
I clenched my blade tighter. If I want to stand among them, I can't stop here.
---
Shakuyaku
And then there was her.
The system had reminded me relentlessly of her name in certain quests, as though mocking me.
Shakuyaku. The beauty of the Rocks Era. A woman so captivating even legends whispered of her charms.
As a One Piece fan in my old world, I knew who she was. Later, she'd own a bar on Sabaody archipelago, alongside Rayleigh, the Dark King.
And now the system had locked her as my "heroine." My only romantic path. Any deviation, and everything I'd built would collapse.
I exhaled slowly. Fine. If that's how the rules are written, then so be it. Shakuyaku… looks like fate has tied us together.
---
The Sky Breaks
The waves below suddenly shifted, violent, unnatural. The air grew heavy, oppressive. My instincts screamed. Observation haki prickled at the edge of my mind.
Then I saw them.
A fleet—massive, dark, sails emblazoned with a single sigil: Rocks D. Xebec's flag.
My lips curved into the faintest smile. "So it's time."
The Rocks Pirates had come.
---
The Arrival
Their ships cut through the storm as though it parted for them. From the lead vessel, I could make out a silhouette—broad, commanding, aura like a crushing tide. Even from here, I knew. Rocks himself.
Behind him, I recognized others. Towering Whitebeard. A laughing, Big Mom in her youth. Kaido, chained but radiating violence. And countless other monsters who would one day shake the world.
The air itself seemed to bow before them.
> [System Notification.]
[New Quest: Prove yourself before the Rocks Pirates.]
Requirement: Defeat three elite pirates in combat.]
Reward: Armament Haki (Locked Lv.1), Reputation: +Rocks Pirates.]
Punishment: Death.]
My pulse quickened. Death again, always death. But wasn't that why I was here? To rise where no one else could?
I drew my crude blade, eyes narrowing as the first longboats hit the shore.
"Let's see," I muttered, "just how far I've come."
---
Character Status (Year 1):
Strength: 34
Agility: 38
Endurance: 29
Intelligence: 95
Observation Haki: Lv.1
Swordsmanship: Lv.2
Martial Arts: Lv.2
Survival Skills: Lv.3
Completed Quests:9