A Tougher Kind of Jack
Jack Turner had never been a kind man.
Life simply hadn't allowed it.
Growing up as an orphan in his old world had carved something cold and sharp into him—practicality, suspicion, a refusal to depend on anyone. He wasn't heartless, but he wasn't soft either. The only line he refused to cross was harming children. He had once been one with no protection, and he would never become the thing he feared.
Living now as Jack Dawkins, in the rough, unpredictable streets of 1850s Australia, fit him far better than he expected.
This world was brutal, hungry, and suspicious—just like him.
And Jack had survived worse.
He moved through the bustling port town of Port Victory with a confidence the original Dodger had earned through charm. Jack earned his by calculation. Every step he took was measured, eyes sweeping the crowd, Transparent World flickering whenever he wished.
He saw everything—weak joints, tense muscles, hidden weapons tucked under coats.
In a place like this, that was worth more than gold.
Returning to Crime
Fifteen years had passed since the events of Oliver Twist.
The Dodger's past was supposed to be behind him.
Pickpocketing replaced by surgical tools, crime replaced by skill.
But the moment Jack stepped into this world, he understood the truth:
Surgeons didn't survive here without crime.
And criminals didn't survive without skill.
So he walked a thin line—working odd jobs in back alleys, fixing up wounded thieves for a few shillings, and occasionally lifting a coin purse from someone who wouldn't miss it.
Not kindness.
Just survival.
And in the midst of this balancing act, the show's characters began appearing around him, one by one.
Meeting Lady Belle Fox
"Jack Dawkins," a refined voice called across the street.
Jack turned.
Lady Belle Fox stood there—sharp-eyed, clever, someone who didn't fit neatly into noble society no matter how hard she tried. She looked him up and down like examining a specimen on a table.
"I heard you've been treating injuries again," she said. "Illegal ones."
Jack didn't deny it.
He never wasted breath on lies unless he needed them.
"People pay," he replied simply.
Belle's lips twitched. "You're impossible."
"Not wrong," Jack said.
Her gaze lingered on him, curious but wary.
She could sense the difference in him—the edge that hadn't been there before. But she didn't press. Belle Fox wasn't naïve.
She simply said, "Try not to get hanged before you become useful."
Jack smirked.
"No promises."
Meeting Captain Gaines
Later that evening, Captain Gaines—stern, intimidating, a man who smelled corruption from a mile away—cornered Jack outside a tavern.
"The Dodger back to old habits?" Gaines growled.
Jack shrugged. "Old habits keep me fed."
Gaines leaned in. "Stay out of trouble."
Jack met his eyes without flinching. "Trouble follows me whether I like it or not."
The captain paused. Something about Jack's stare—calm, surgical, cold—made him hesitate.
"Watch yourself, boy," he muttered.
Jack only walked away.
The System Expands
That night, as Jack returned to the small rented room he used as both bed and surgical workspace, the system chimed again.
[SYSTEM UPDATE: NEW FEATURES UNLOCKED]
• Skills
• Missions
• Template Progression
Jack raised a brow.
"About time," he muttered.
A new panel opened.
[Skills]
Sun Breathing (Stage 1 — Locked)
Enhanced Perception (Active)
Surgical Precision (Passive)
Pain Suppression (Passive)
Criminal Instinct (Passive)
He snorted. "Criminal instinct? Guess the system adapts."
Next:
[Missions Available]
1. "A Surgeon of the Streets" — Treat 10 injuries in Port Victory.
Reward: 15 Skill Points + Unlock "Sterile Field" Skill.
2. "The Dodger's Legacy" — Successfully steal 5 valuable items without being caught.
Reward: 10 Skill Points + Agility Increase.
3. "Threads of Fate" — Meet the key figures of the Artful Dodger timeline.
Reward: Unlock "Timeline Map."
Jack stared at the mission list.
Medicine.
Crime.
Survival.
Exactly the life he was already living.
Then the final panel opened—the one that mattered most.
[Template Progression: Yoriichi Tsugikuni]
Progress: 3%
Next Unlock at: 10%
Next Reward: Breathing Technique Initiation
Jack felt a shiver of anticipation.
He wasn't just surviving this world.
He was shaping it.
With the Transparent World guiding every heartbeat around him, with the store filling his mind with knowledge decades ahead of its time, he wasn't the Dodger trying to escape his past.
He was something new entirely.
Something dangerous.
Something that would make 1850s Australia remember the name Jack Dawkins—in a way neither history nor fiction ever expected.