73rd Street, New York.
"Devil Fruit? What a weird name."
"What do they even sell in there?"
"Let's go take a look!"
…
The moment he heard those voices, Rorschach's spirit lifted.
He instinctively straightened his back and put on his best posture, doing everything he could to present the most polished version of himself to the customers about to walk in.
Along with a voice as bright and crisp as silver bells, a fashionable blonde woman with a stunning figure stepped into his little shop.
"Welcome."
Wearing a warm smile, Rorschach took the initiative and walked up to greet her.
"I didn't expect the shop assistant to be such a handsome guy." The blonde was bold and outgoing. The moment she saw him, she threw him a flirtatious wink.
"Thank you for the compliment, beautiful lady. Your beauty brings even more color to this little shop."
Rorschach had seen this kind of scene plenty of times already. Calm as ever, he smiled lightly and returned the wink right back at her.
The blonde accepted it with obvious pleasure. Only then did her gaze shift toward the display case, where strange fruits of all shapes and colors were lined up.
"Handsome, what are these fruits?"
She stared at them in surprise, then paused before reacting.
"Wait… these are the Devil Fruits?"
"That's right. These are Devil Fruits. The name might sound a little scary, but they're actually very magical fruits."
Rorschach immediately began his introduction.
The blonde raised a brow. "Magical? You mean… they taste amazing?"
At that, suspicion filled her face.
Could these colorful, bizarre-looking things really be edible?
Some of them were even black.
That was just ridiculous.
They looked scary enough already, let alone actually eating one.
"No, I mean that if you eat one of these Devil Fruits, you can gain an incredibly special ability. I know that sounds hard to believe, but I swear to God, every word I'm saying is true."
Rorschach spoke with absolute conviction, his face so sincere it looked more genuine than solid gold.
"Wow. So these are fruits cursed with magic by the devil or something?"
The blonde couldn't help laughing out loud. She looked at him the way someone would look at a complete idiot.
The guy was definitely handsome.
Unfortunately, his brain seemed a little questionable.
Otherwise, why would he treat other people like fools?
Eat a fruit and gain magical powers?
Why not just say it lets you fly straight into the sky while you're at it?
"The origin of Devil Fruits is still a mystery, but… if you want to understand it that way, I suppose that works too." Rorschach completely ignored the disdain in her eyes and shamelessly kept going. "So then, beautiful lady, may I introduce the fruits we have here in detail?"
Since she had nothing better to do anyway, the blonde didn't refuse.
"Of course."
She really wanted to see whether he could talk this nonsense into something believable.
"Please take a look at this one, miss. This fruit is called the Slip-Slip Fruit. If you eat it, your skin will become incredibly smooth."
"And this is the Float-Float Fruit. After eating it, you'll gain the ability to control your own gravity. You could even float into the air while holding an umbrella."
"As for this fruit—"
"Boss, do I look stupid to you?"
"Miss, that's not what I mean. I know what I'm saying sounds outrageous, but… all of our fruits come with sample portions for tasting. If you try one, you'll understand."
That was true.
The Devil Fruits here came with special sample pieces.
Anyone who ate one could temporarily gain the corresponding ability for five minutes.
"Do I look crazy?"
After throwing out that line, the blonde turned and walked away without another glance, leaving only her cold voice drifting back from afar.
"Ah… figures. Same ending again."
Watching her disappearing figure, Rorschach couldn't help revealing a bitter smile.
Over the past month, he had experienced this exact situation far too many times.
The moment people found out those weird, colorful, misshapen fruits were meant to be eaten, most of them were scared off on the spot.
Even though Rorschach offered sample tastings, very few people were willing to casually shove something that strange into their mouths.
And even when the occasional brave soul did take a bite, they were instantly defeated by the horrifying taste of Devil Fruits—so awful it was like chewing on pure filth. They spat it right back out before swallowing, which meant they never gained the ability at all.
In other words, Rorschach had to first talk people into half-believing him before the tasting would even matter.
Trying to get them to sample it first was useless.
Because what normal person would believe that eating a fruit could grant superpowers?
Even if this was a world that already had Captain America.
And there was another major problem.
In the early stage, Devil Fruits could still be purchased with money.
But after a certain period of time, the system would switch all transactions over to gold.
By then, having money alone wouldn't be enough.
People would have to exchange their money for gold first before they could buy anything, creating yet another invisible barrier.
"At this rate, who knows when I'll ever finish the beginner mission…"
The thought made Rorschach feel a little anxious.
Just this morning, every major media outlet had been aggressively reporting on the new Jericho missile launched by Stark Industries.
That was right.
That weapon of death had already been born.
Which meant Tony Stark being kidnapped by the Ten Rings—and ultimately undergoing the transformation that would turn him into Iron Man—couldn't be far away now.
And once that happened, the age of Marvel's superheroes would officially begin.
Earth would soon be invaded in every way imaginable—aliens, robotic armies, dimensional demons, interdimensional machines, and all kinds of disasters one after another.
As an ordinary person, there would be no choices left except becoming cannon fodder.
When the time came, he might not even know how he died.
That was why Rorschach's only hope was the system's beginner mission.
That's right.
Rorschach wasn't actually from this world.
He was a transmigrator from a blue planet.
Thinking back, his previous life had actually been pretty decent.
After graduating from college, he hadn't struggled through the so-called hardest job market in history like so many of his classmates, fighting millions of others in brutal workplace competition.
The moment he graduated, he went back home and inherited the optical shop his father had left behind.
It didn't make him rich, but it was definitely better than being an ordinary office worker.
And just half a year after graduation, he had smoothly found himself a girlfriend who was excellent in every way. They had even already planned to get engaged by the end of the year.
Everything had seemed to be heading in a good direction.
But who could have expected that while celebrating Qixi with her, he would die from food poisoning?
Then, when he opened his eyes again, he had already been reborn in the Marvel universe and bound to a system called the Devil Fruit Supplier.
As long as he successfully sold Devil Fruits and reached certain sales milestones, he would receive corresponding rewards.
And the beginner mission issued by the system was simple on the surface:
Successfully sell one Devil Fruit.
It sounded easy.
But a full month had passed, and Rorschach still hadn't managed to sell a single one.
This was far harder than he had imagined.
Then again, that made sense.
No normal person would ever buy a Devil Fruit.
Someone with a screw loose, maybe.
Rorschach couldn't help mocking himself at the thought.
[Author Note]
For the early stage, transactions are temporarily settled with money. After the system upgrades, it will switch to gold, so the concerns everyone has won't become a problem. Feel free to read in peace.