"Water…"
I walked forward, my feet brushing through the thick sand under my feet, and then glanced to my side again.
"Water… more water…"
I continued forward, trudging through the sand as my legs started to feel heavy, and to my side, the sight never changed. It was water. Water as far as my eyes could see - there was a seemingly endless ocean, with waves crashing into the shore of the beach constantly.
Just a few minutes ago, I had been scuba diving - a usual activity for me, and something I did pretty often. Then, suddenly, there was an abrupt current - and a really damn strong one too! It swept me away, carrying me through the water, until… I don't know. I blacked out at some point, and my memories were foggy, but suddenly, I was on this island.
As far as islands go, it was a pretty nice one, as there was lush green grass on the interior, tall palm trees, and the sun was shining down brightly overhead. It was warm, and if I hadn't been dragged here against my will, I would've considered it a pretty good vacation spot. All around, it was a tropical paradise.
Unfortunately, all I had were the clothes on my back - that being a slightly ripped-up waterproof T-shirt and a soaked pair of swim trunks - and no idea of how to get off this island. So, instead of treating it like a vacation, I was more so trying not to have a panic attack right now.
"Think! If I were on an abandoned tropical island, what would I do?" I muttered, then blinked, as I didn't have to imagine the situation, because I was living it!
First, I should secure a food and water source. Then, I could focus on trying to write a big SOS message in the sand or building a shelter. The easiest way to get food would be to search the forest for any berries or edible plants! So, first, I'll do that!
I quickly climbed up the beach, foraging through the thick brush as I shoved branches aside and looked for anything that looked edible. In the process, I found out that the island was much smaller than I thought - because it was really damn small! After about an hour, much of which was spent shifting through bushes to find anything edible, I ended up on the other side of the island. If I ran, or even jogged, I estimated that I could get from one side to the other in around fifteen or twenty minutes, which then made me estimate that it couldn't be more than a couple of miles wide overall.
In the end, after searching the forest for a few hours, I came up with a small collection of berries and leafy plants. Luckily for me, I had been a Boy Scout when I was younger, so I could figure out which ones were safe to eat, no problem-
"What the fuck are these?" I said bluntly, staring down at the collection of fruits, which I didn't recognize in the slightest. At first glance, they looked pretty normal - which was why I had gathered them - as there were round berries of varying sizes, various leafy plants, and even one banana-shaped fruit, but that was where the normality ended.
Aside from the shape, they were definitely plants I didn't recognize - mainly because of their color and texture. Some were a mixture of multiple colors, which blended together like a rainbow, while one of the berries felt as hard as a rock. Another one had ridges all over it, making it look almost like a muscular berry, while another leafy plant seemed to be constantly oozing some thick, slimy liquid.
Overall, as I looked down at the collection of plants, I decided that there was only one that I could safely try.
"It's… just a banana, right?" I muttered, staring down at one fruit that I had separated from the rest. I certainly hoped it was just a normal banana, because after scouring around the island for a while, I was starving.
It was a banana-shaped fruit, but the difference from a typical banana came in the sense that it had a strange mixture of black swirls covering its outside. Besides that, it was pure yellow and shaped just as a banana should be, without any disfiguration or other colors on it. I figured the lines were, at worst, mold, and were most likely just a small mutation specific to this island. Overall, it was still a banana, so it should be safe to eat - at the very least, I didn't expect to keel over and die from just having one bite.
I peeled back the skin and was pleasantly surprised to see that the swirls didn't extend to the inside of the banana, which encouraged me to believe it was a normal, if moldy, banana. I held up the fruit to my mouth, took a bite, and then… promptly gagged.
"W-What the fuck?!" I gasped as I swallowed the chunk of banana, leaning forward as I dropped the rest into the sand under me, and went into a coughing fit. That banana was terrible! Genuinely, I had never had worse-tasting food in my entire life!
I reached up, wiping my tongue with my shirt to get the taste off, and finally just groaned as I leaned back. The one for-sure edible piece of food I find, and it tastes like garbage? That's just my luck!
I turned my gaze to the ocean in front of me, glancing over the blue surface as I silently wondered if I could catch fish somehow. I didn't have a fishing rod, nor a spear or anything like that, but maybe I could make one?
[Quest Alert!]
Build a [Fishing Rod]!
Rewards:
[Fishing System]
A source of food!
Time Limit:
2 weeks
Failure:
Starvation
I jerked my head back as the air in front of me suddenly… shifted? It swirled inward, and then, out of thin-fuckin'-air, a video-game-like screen appeared. As if the air in front of me wasn't air, but instead a computer screen, there was a bright, blue panel with words on it.
"The hell?" I muttered, my eyes scanning over the words in front of me rapidly. Then, I quickly came to the other reasonable conclusion.
"I'm hallucinating," I nodded sagely, glancing down at the remains of the swirly banana, "This random banana's probably has some ingredients that are used in hallucinogens."
But, hallucinating or not, it didn't really make a difference. Whether I chose to believe that I really had just somehow been granted a real-world gaming system, or that I was just high as hell and hallucinating, I needed to make a fishing rod either way. That would be the more energy-efficient way to get food, since I wasn't confident that I could swim out into the rough waves and catch a fish on my own, especially with how tired and hungry I felt.
So, I stood up and got to work. I walked along the edge of the forest, gathering various branches as I searched for a good one. Finally, I found a pretty long and thin one, which I figured would be perfect. After that, I searched deeper into the forest until I found a thick, floppy leaf, which was absurdly large. It was practically the size of my own body, and above it, a palm-tree-esque tree was the source. It was only somewhat like an actual palm tree, because the tree was massive - towering what must've been more than a hundred feet in the air, and with leaves that cast shadows for dozens of feet in every direction.
I went back to the beach, carefully peeling a part the leaf until I had a thin, but sturdy, string of green leaf-fabric. Then, I wrapped it tightly around the end of the large branch, and I had a make-shift fishing rod. It was very makeshift, as I was doubting if the bit of leaf-string would be able to hold a fish without being torn off or breaking, but before I could think too much about it, another blue panel appeared in front of me.
[Quest Complete!]
Build a [Fishing Rod]!
Rewards:
[Fishing System]
A source of food!
Then, before my very eyes, the shoddy, barely functional - and likely actually non-functioning - fishing rod in my hands glowed with a bright light. The thick tree branch tightened, stiffening as it grew outwards and became longer, as well as more angular. It slicked out, gaining ridges as it started to look like the genuine base of a fishing rod, and the rough leaf-string on the end changed as well. It glowed with a bright blue light, and then thickened out as well, until it became a pure-white color, and looked like a genuine fishing rod string - and a rather thick one at that. Finally, the stiff base of the branch also thickened out, gaining ridges for my fingers as it shifted, and then a loose, metallic hook appeared on the end of the string.
In the end, I was left looking at a genuine, real-deal fishing rod, even if it was still a bit primitive. There was no handle to reel anything in, but the shoddy branch had become a sturdy base, the loose leaf-string had become genuine string, and the dirty handle had become a strong grip.
As I stared down at the now much-improved fishing rod, my eyes were blank. At that moment, I decided that either I really did have a gamer system, or I really was on so many hallucinogens that I couldn't perceive reality anymore. Either way, I would either enjoy this gamer system, or I would enjoy the trip for as long as it lasted. A moment later, I glanced back up to see a new screen in front of me.
[Quest Alert!]
Catch a [Fish]!
Rewards:
[Fish Encyclopedia]!
[Cooking] skill!
Time Limit:
2 weeks
Failure:
Starvation
Once again, I was given a pretty easy course of action. I needed to fish if I wanted to get food anyway, so whether this quest was real or a hallucination didn't matter. I stood up, casually walked forward through the hot sand under my feet, and then started to wade into the crashing waves. As I did, I glanced down, seeing my reflection in the water below me.
I looked exactly as I always had, with what I would consider a handsome face, with a strong jaw, bright green eyes, and messy blonde hair. Right now, it was very messy as it was wet from the splashing waves and was partially stuck to the sides of my face. I reached up, wiping some seawater off my face as I strode in deeper, going until the water was at my waist, and my already wet swim trunks were soaked.
Then, I hefted the base of the rod over my shoulder and swung it forward. The line swung forward as I did, casting out about a dozen feet in front of me into the deeper water, and I stood there as I waited for something to happen. I felt a bit awkward as I did, as I didn't have any bait to put on the line, so would I even be able to find a fish to catch? Were there even any fish in this shallow of water?
Luckily, those worries were brushed away as another screen abruptly appeared in front of me.
[Fishing] started!
Searching nearby sea…
Calculating odds…
…
…
…
[Fish] found!
Already? I blinked as the final word appeared, and as it did, the rod in my hand was abruptly yanked forward. It was yanked forward strongly, too, as I was unprepared for the force, and the rod was almost entirely ripped from my grip. I squeezed my hands, planting my feet in the wet sand under me as I grunted and then yanked back.
The rod fought me, and my muscles strained as I didn't back down, determined to keep my grip on it. Whatever the hell was on the other side of this rod was apparently damn big, because it took everything I had to keep my grip on the rod as I slowly started to walk backwards. I planted one foot behind me, leaning back as I dragged the fish backwards with me, and then took another step. Slowly but surely, the shore behind me came closer, and I finally stepped onto dry land as the force on the other side of the rod started to give way.
As it did, I saw the end of the rod pull into the shallow water in front of me, and more importantly, the fish that had been attached to it. As it came into view, flopping wildly in the shallow water that only reached my knees, my eyes went wide. It was like no other fish I had ever seen before, as not only was it covered in bright, rainbow-esque colors, but it was also huge. It was largely flat as it was a triangular shape and covered in a mixture of pink, yellow, and bright blue colors, which reminded me a bit of a pokemon named Bruxish.
However, while I didn't immediately remember the size of the average Bruxish, I imagined it wasn't this large. I wondered how I was even managing to pull it towards the shore, because it was multiple feet long, looking to be at least four if not five feet, and just as wide. It was a behemoth, and as I dragged it forward and backpedalled, it left a long indent in the sand it was being dragged through.
Finally, I gave one last yank, and it was pulled completely free from the water and onto the sand. It flopped a couple of times, giving me a chance to stare wearily at the large, sharp, and piranha-like teeth inside its mouth. A human-sized fish with teeth that big and sharp? What the hell had I just caught?
Finally, it stopped flopping and stopped moving as it lay flat on the sand in front of me. As it did, another screen popped up in my vision.
[B-Rank] [Rainbow Piranha] caught!
+500 EXP!
Your [Fishing] proficiency has increased by 1%!
[Quest Complete!]
Catch a [Fish]!
Rewards:
[Fish Encyclopedia]!
[Cooking] skill!
As my eyes scanned over the words, I glanced back at the hulking, sharp-toothed fish. This was only a B-Rank? In that case, I certainly didn't want to know what an S-Rank looked like. My eyes shot back to the rewards, hanging on [Fish Encyclopedia] as I silently wondered how I was supposed to actually look at the reward. I stared at the words for a moment, then shrugged and just thought the words 'Fish Encyclopeida,' which proved to be the right course of action.
[Fish Encyclopedia]
An encyclopedia detailing all the fish you've caught!
?-Rank: 0
?-Rank: 0
?-Rank: 0
?-Rank: 0
S-Rank: 0
A-Rank: 0
B-Rank: 1
C-Rank: 0
D-Rank: 0
E-Rank: 0
F-Rank: 0
My stare turned a bit dry at the top four ranks, which were just '?'s, but then I turned my attention to the [B-Rank] section. I reached forward, pressing my finger into the word on the screen, and a new screen replaced that one.
[B-Rank]:
[Rainbow Piranha]
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
I reached forward again, ignoring the long list of ?'s under the top option - which extended a far way down, as there were many more than just 7. There was even a scrolling bar on the side to view more, which led me to believe there were dozens, if not hundreds, of B-Rank fish - and I tapped on the only option I had.
[Rainbow Piranha]:
A B-Rank fish originating from the North Blue!
This fish once dominated the sea, becoming an apex predator in the North Blue, before being hunted by ? to protect ships in the area! After relocating for their own survival, the [Rainbow Piranha] can now only be found in late portions of the Grandline and early portions of the New World!
Would you like to be notified when entering an area inhabited by the [Rainbow Piranha]?
[Y/N]
For a moment, a long moment, I stared at the text blankly. My eyes scanned over the words, but even as I read the entirety of the passage, my brain was caught up on a few key words.
North Blue. Grandline. New World.
It was in that moment that I decided that I wasn't hallucinating. Instead, I was trapped on a small tropical island, in a world filled with ruthless, deadly pirates. A world with pirates strong enough to destroy entire mountains. And, judging from where the Rainbow Piranha I just caught could only be found, I was deep in the depths of this world already.
I was in the world of One Piece, with nothing but a shoddy fishing rod. I wasn't hallucinating.
Instead, I was fucked.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Cooking] Skill activated!
Time your actions properly to increase the quality of the fish!
I blinked as I stared at the text that appeared in front of me, which appeared as I lowered the hulking Rainbow Piranha onto a smoking campfire. This fire hadn't been easy to make, as while I had been a Boy Scout when I was younger, that didn't mean I was a good one. In the end, after spending more than two hours gathering branches and stones, I had a small campfire setup. Luckily, this tropical island was strangely hospitable, as I'd found two thin black rocks around the base of a tree, and after smacking them together for a while, sparks had formed. Now, those sparks had become a genuine fire.
I was in the process of trying to cook my sole source of food, the singular Rainbow Piranha, by laying it on a branch that I had positioned loosely over the flames. While I was having a bit of an internal crisis over the fact that I was suddenly in the world of One Piece, that didn't change the gnawing hunger in my gut. No matter how shocked or concerned I was, I understood that if I wanted to survive, I needed to get over it and keep moving forward. That meant cooking this fish so I would finally have something to eat. As I did, the window in front of me had appeared, and it was about to send me through the wringer.
Flip over!
I stared at the words for a moment, then shrugged as I reached forward, awkwardly flipping over the massive fish as I tried not to burn myself in the process. After around twenty seconds, I finally got it flipped without breaking the branch under it, and the screen changed.
[TRASH] flip!
Rotate to the left!
I blinked at the new order and then reached forward, having a bit more haste as I rotated the massive fish around, and carefully laid it down to ensure the branch didn't break again.
[Decent] rotate!
Pressure the back!
I suddenly understood what the 'time your actions properly' meant - this was a speed-based system. I reached over quickly, grabbed a small stick at my side, and then pressed it into the back of the Rainbow Piranha. A hissing sound resounded through the air as it was pressed down onto the hot stick under it.
[Good] pressure!
Flip over!
I was quicker this time, flipping over the massive fish in a time that I thought was pretty impressive, and the system seemed to agree with me.
[Excellent] flip!
Rotate to the left!
The next roughly five minutes felt like a lifetime, as I was sweating both from the flames and exhaustion as I flipped, rotated, pressured, and worked my ass off to follow the rapid instructions. Now that I understood what the system wanted from me, I managed to have all of the results be at least [Decent], with mostly [Good]'s, a couple of [Excellent]'s, and even one [Near-Perfect]. In the end, after just over five minutes in total, I finally finished the cooking process.
[Cooking] complete!
Tallying results…
[C-Rank]!
Buffs added:
+5% AGI for one hour!
+5% STR for one hour!
+5% END for one hour!
Consume your meal to attain the buffs!
For completing a [Cooking] activity, your [Proficiency] has increased by 1%!
I was a bit distraught over the C-Rank rating, as I'd really worked my ass off to cook that damn fish! But I was more focused on the bottom half of the screen, which was showcasing the buffs the fish had. I hadn't seen anything about stats in general since this system appeared, so it was certainly a bit surprising. If I had stats somewhere, shouldn't the system have shown me how to find them? Did it just assume I'd think 'stats' or something and it'd appear-
[Fisherman] Arvel:
Level: 1 (500/1000)
HP: 75/100
STR: 5
AGI: 5
END: 5
INT: 5
CHA: 5
HREG: 5
Skills: [Cooking]
Modifications: None
Well, apparently that was exactly what my system expected to happen. I pushed aside the cooked fish in front of me for a moment, tapping the various portions of the stat sheet as more detailed descriptions appeared. First, I tapped on the 'fisherman' next to my name.
[Fisherman] - A title denoting someone who fishes!
Well, I could've assumed that much!
[Level] - A number denoting the level of the user! Acquire EXP to increase your level, which will unlock more sections of your system!
About what I expected, so fair enough. Considering the next level only required 1000 EXP, and I had gotten 500 for catching one fish, I figured that it wouldn't be too difficult to level up - at least at the beginning.
[HP] - A number denoting the healthiness of the user! When your HP reaches 0, you will die!
That second part was a bit ominous, but also what I expected. I figured that all the rest of the stats would be similar, so I just tapped them all quickly and glanced over them.
[STR] - A number denoting the Strength of the user! STR can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from dealing more DMG to lifting up heavier objects!
[AGI] - A number denoting the Agility of the user! AGI can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from dodging attacks to running faster!
[END] - A number denoting the Endurance of the user! END can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from taking less DMG to resisting higher levels of force!
[INT] - A number denoting the Intelligence of the user! INT can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from thinking quickly to developing more foolproof plans!
[CHA] - A number denoting the Charisma of the user! CHA can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from being more persuasive to passing CHA checks!
[HREG] - A number denoting the HP Regeneration of the user! HREG refers to the speed at which you recover your HP! Each attribute point increases the amount, with the base being 5HP per hour!
The descriptions said mostly what I would assume about stats with those names, so I just pushed them aside and moved to the next part of the character sheet.
[Skills] - Skills are special abilities or parts of the system that can be unlocked! Each skill has a [Proficiency] rating, which can be increased to make the skill stronger!
That was pretty self-explanatory. I had seen firsthand how there was a game-like timing system for the [Cooking] skill, and I had gained 1% proficiency for cooking the fish. I assumed that skills would probably be pretty general aspects overall, like how cooking was.
Finally, there was one final category to tap on.
[Modifications] - Modifications are temporary changes to parts of something that can be unlocked!
Well, that wasn't a very in-depth explanation. I just pushed passed it and moved on.
Now that I had finally looked through everything on my stat sheet, I felt like there was only one thing to do. My stomach growled, and I reached down, rather unceremoniously and unelegantly tearing out a chunk of the Rainbow Fish with my fingers. I raised it to my mouth, and then plopped the chunk of meat into it. As I chewed, my eyes went wide, because this fish tasted damn good!
[B-Rank] [Rainbow Piranha] consumed!
+5 STR!
+5 AGI!
+5 END!
+5 HREG!
+[Sharpened Teeth] modification!
For consuming a [B-Rank] [Rainbow Piranha] cooked with a [C-Rank] rating, you have gained buffs!
+5% AGI for one hour!
+5% STR for one hour!
+5% END for one hour!
The screen appeared in front of me, but I didn't even look at it for a moment, instead savoring the sweet flavor in my mouth. I didn't know if it was because I was really hungry right now, but the Rainbow Piranha tasted better than any prime steak I had ever eaten. As the flavor filled my mouth, I felt like fish would be ruined for me forever, because I didn't think I'd ever be able to find something that tasted this good again.
Finally, after swallowing all of the chunk of delicious fish, I read the results of my eating. My eyes widened as I looked through the stats I received, as I expected I'd have to train my actual body to increase them, but instead they had increased from… eating? I just ate the fish, and I gained stats for it? Was this game system really damn overpowered, or when it said the 'fishing system' did it mean that literally everything came from fishing, even stats?
On first look, 5 was a pretty small number, so my natural instincts were to largely disregard the fishing buffs and assume there was a different, faster way to gain stats through training my body. But, after thinking about it for a moment, I had just doubled my stats by eating a fish. They were just my base stats, so 5 points probably weren't all that much in the grand scheme of things, but for eating a fish?
Compared to pushing my body to its limits, training until my bones cracked, and putting a shit-ton of blood, sweat, and tears into training, eating a fish was definitely a lot easier. If chewing a delicious fish was all it took to become stronger in this system, then this was my type of game!
On top of that, I had even gotten a… modification? I wasn't sure what that meant, so I reached up, tapping on my teeth to see if they felt any different, but they didn't. I thought about it for a moment, and then focused hard on making my teeth sharpen. As I did, I blinked in surprise as I pressed my finger into one of my teeth, and immediately had to yank back my hand to avoid drawing blood. I quickly jogged over to the nearby beach, looking down at my reflection in the water.
As I did, I grinned widely, because staring back at me was myself, but with razor-sharp teeth filling my mouth. They were still clean-white, but were jagged as I looked like I was part fishman now.
I turned back to walk to my campfire and now felt a lot better about my situation. I might've been stuck on a tropical island, inside a world with ruthless, supernaturally powerful pirates roaming the seas, but at least I had a strong gamer system on my side.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Damn quest… do I really need this many sticks?" I grunted, dragging my feet through the sandy ground under me as I felt more than a bit exhausted. I was also dragging a long, roughly 7-foot-long tree branch behind me, and had another few smaller sticks hoisted on my shoulder. I definitely wasn't enjoying the task, but it was necessary because of a new quest that had appeared this morning.
[Quest Alert!]
Gather 200 tree branches!
Must include:
100 [Small] tree branches!
75 [Medium] tree branches!
20 [Large] tree branches!
5 [Massive] tree branches!
Rewards:
[Shelter Building] skill!
Time Limit:
Unlimited!
Failure:
A lack of shelter!
Only one night had passed since I arrived on this island, and it had been a pretty unpleasant night, to say the least. I wasn't starving anymore, and in fact felt like I was eating like a King from the massive, delicious Rainbow Piranha, but that was the only luxury I had. When I had awoken yesterday, it had already been midday, and after spending time wandering the island, catching the Rainbow Piranha, and then actually cooking it, it was nightfall before I had a chance to set up any type of shelter.
As a result, I had slept slumped against a tree, and I had slept very poorly. Obviously, leaning against a large tree wasn't the most comfortable of beds, but that actually wasn't the worst part of the night. Instead, it was the fact that the island was pitch-black even just a few feet away from my campfire, and considering the dangerous world I was in, I felt like a literal monster was about to jump out at me at any moment. Luckily, that never happened, but it had been a rather sleepless night because of the anxiety that came with being in this world.
When the sun had risen this morning, I had gotten up to hopefully fix my sleeping situation and build a genuine shelter. Luckily, my system seemed to be in support of that as it gave me a quest, but unluckily, it had given me a rather tiring one. On the surface, gathering branches and sticks didn't seem all that difficult, but after scouring the island and dragging massive branches around for more than two hours, I was dead tired. My arms ached from the effort, and my legs were dragging, not to mention that I already felt hungry again, even after eating most of the massive Rainbow Piranha last night. It was far too big for one man to eat, but it was simply too damn good to stop.
Finally, I reached the small area that I had decided to set up camp, which had the rest of the nearly 200 sticks and branches lying in a towering pile. I picked a place that was right on the edge of the tropical forest, as I wanted to have quick and easy access to the ocean to fish more, but also the shade that came with the towering trees. As I plopped the last of the branches into the large pile, another notification appeared.
[Quest Complete!]
Gather 200 tree branches!
Must include:
100 [Small] tree branches!
75 [Medium] tree branches!
20 [Large] tree branches!
5 [Massive] tree branches!
Rewards:
[Shelter Building] skill!
I sighed, feeling relieved now that the manual labor task was done, but I knew the work wasn't finished. I turned to the massive pile of branches and grabbed one of them. As I did, just like with my [Cooking] skill, I started to get instructions.
Use 1 [Massive] tree branch, 4 [Large] tree branches, 8 [Medium] tree branches, and 20 [Small] tree branches to create a base!
I blinked at the instructions, as they were a lot more complex than the cooking ones, but then shrugged as I got to work. I gathered the branches, laying the massive branch in the middle, then the four large ones in a square around it, and then laid the medium and small branches in the middle to create a shaky base.
[TRASH] base!
Use 1 [Massive] tree branch, 4 [Large] tree branches, 8 [Medium] tree branches, and 20 [Small] tree branches to create a wall!
I looked blandly at the 'trash' rating, as that wasn't very good constructive feedback. Was that really all it was going to tell me? How the hell was I supposed to improve if the system just called me trash?!
I pushed those annoyed thoughts aside as I started to gather more branches, trying my best to prop them up against the base, but without any type of rope, nails, or any material at all to hold the branches together, it was pretty difficult. Finally, I had a rough wall, which looked more like a bunch of balanced branches that could fall over at any second.
[TRASH] wall!
Use 1 [Massive] tree branch, 4 [Large] tree branches, 8 [Medium] tree branches, and 20 [Small] tree branches to create another wall!
"Well, fuck you too," I groaned as I got the same rating, and my shoulders slumped as I resigned myself to the fact that building a shelter would be a lot harder than cooking or fishing.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[B-Rank] [Fang-Toothed Serpent] consumed!
+7 STR!
+5 END!
+5 HREG!
+3 AGI!
For consuming a [B-Rank] [Fang-Toothed Serpent] cooked with a [B-Rank] rating, you have gained buffs!
+10% STR for one hour!
+10% END for one hour!
+10% AGI for one hour!
I lounged back on the sandy beach, sitting by my makeshift fire as a long, green, snake-like fish, which had a singular, massive, and sharp-looking tooth sticking out of its mouth, laid over my campfire. It was one of the many fish I had caught over the past two days, as my life on this tropical island had been rather mundane, but enjoyable.
To my side sat my rather shoddy shelter, which looked more like a Teepee than a house, which I had poured a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into over the past two days. Luckily, despite my terrible building ability, my [Shelter Building] proficiency had increased after my first attempt at building the shelter. I had tried again to improve the shelter later that night, and while my proficiency had only improved by 1%, I had naturally been able to position the branches better. As a result, after a total of seven attempts, the Teepee didn't look in danger of being destroyed by a light gust of wind anymore.
In between shelter-building attempts, I had gone back to the ocean with my fishing rod and had caught a couple of different kinds of fish over the past few days. Every fish so far had been pretty similar, as they were all B-Rank, and the encyclopedia confirmed that they all lived in areas ranging from the latter parts of the Grandline to the early parts of the New World. In the end, I wasn't able to pinpoint exactly where this island was, but I knew it was in dangerous waters.
Though, surprisingly for an island situated in such a dangerous sea, the weather was rather pleasant. I remembered the Grandline weather being shown as chaotic and unpredictable in the show, as it could go from a sunny day to an abrupt storm to even a snowstorm over the course of a few minutes, but I wasn't experiencing that here. Instead, this tropical island was just… tropical. It was warm, hadn't rained at all since I'd been here, and was overall pretty pleasant. Add in the fact that every fish I caught tasted better than a wagyu steak could dream to? This world didn't feel so dangerous, and if anything, I was enjoying my time here. It was a bit boring, my sleeping arrangements weren't great, and my only source of semi-clean water was a small pond in the middle of the foresty area, but overall, this was a life I didn't mind living.
Fishing, eating, building a shelter, and then repeating. It was a simple life, but especially with the progression aspects of my gaming system, I didn't feel all that bored. I didn't even really miss my old life, even if the basic luxuries that I was lacking were definitely notable. The delicious fish was definitely doing a lot of carrying, as even with how massive each fish was, I had no trouble eating the entirety of them. As a result, over the past few days, I had increased my stats a fair bit by simply fishing and eating.
[Fisherman] Arvel:
Level: 4 (1000/4000)
HP: 350/400
STR: 42
AGI: 27
END: 35
INT: 5
CHA: 5
HREG: 22
Skills: [Cooking], [Shelter Building]
Modifications: [Sharpened Teeth], [Scaley Skin], [Fanged Tooth], [Slick Swim]
Most of the fish I consumed just gave me varying levels of STR, AGI, END, and HREG, as I hadn't gained any extra INT or CHA yet. I wasn't all that caught up over it, though, as neither of those stats were very useful to me right now. STR and AGI helped a lot with being more efficient on the island, and by comparison, it wasn't like anyone was around for my CHA to impress. INT would've been nice for improving my shelter, as I assumed being smarter would at least let me position the branches better, but for the moment, it wasn't necessary.
Besides stats, I had also leveled up a few times, reaching level 4, from catching fish, and had also found out what leveling up actually did. Essentially, I just got +100 HP, and my fishing rod became enhanced. Now, the previously primitive and shoddy rod was… still primitive and shoddy, but a lot better than it had started out as. The base was thicker, the grooves for my fingers fit my hands better, and the string had become both longer and tougher.
I had also gained three more modifications, each of which was from one of the three new types of fish I had found. [Scaley Skin] had come from the [Rough Skinned Tuna], which, notably, was not a normal Tuna, as it looked more like a mutated, monstrous version of one. The name was pretty self-explanatory, as I was able to cover my skin in rough fish-like scales. After that was [Fanged Tooth], which came from the [Fang-Toothed Serpent], and allowed me to make my teeth become more fanged. Finally, there was [Slick Swim], which came from a [Slippery Eel]. The eel was one of the only non-monsterous-looking fish I had seen, as it was slick and smooth, and according to the encyclopedia, it was surprisingly not very dangerous. Instead of being a monster like the other fish, it was just incredibly fast, which translated to [Slick Swim] - which essentially let me swim a lot quicker and more efficiently.
I had also gained another quest in the process of fishing, as after reeling in the second non-Rainbow Piranha fish, a quest notification had appeared in front of me.
[Quest]
Catch all types of fish in the area!
Area: 5 Mile radius of [Arvel's Island]
Rewards:
+20 to each stat!
[Boat Building] skill!
Time Limit:
Unlimited!
Failure:
A lack of variety!
The quest was pretty simple, but the reward was much better than I would've expected. I had pretty much resigned myself to living here for the foreseeable future, as I wouldn't be able to leave until someone with a boat happened upon this small island - which the system seemed to refer to as 'Arvel's Island,' letting me know that, besides myself, there wasn't anything of interest here - but [Boat Building] could be my ticket to seeing the rest of the world. Considering the deadly world I was in, I wasn't certain I wanted to see the rest of it, but at least having a boat at my disposal would be useful. Both for if I ever wanted to leave, and for if I ever had to leave, either because dangerous pirates arrived or for any other reason.
"I'll catch one more, and then it's time to start optimizing," I hummed, pushing aside thoughts of boats as I stood up and grabbed my fishing rod, which was lying in the sand by my side, then headed down towards the shore.
Another useful thing I had quickly realized was that I got the consumption stats for each fish immediately after I took a bite - not after eating the entire fish. That meant I could optimize the stat-earning process a bit, as while I still had to cook each fish individually, and using my [Cooking] skill took time, I could still stockpile fish, and then just take small bites out of each of them. It wasn't an automated process, but it would at least result in more stats in a quicker time.
I reached the shore and waded out a bit into the water, holding my rod tight as I hefted it over my shoulder, and then flicked it forward. The hook launched outwards, going deep into the water as it got pretty far from the shore, and I waited as the usual process began.
[Fishing] started!
Searching nearby sea…
Calculating odds…
…
…
…
[Fish] found!
I grunted, my arms tensing as the fishing rod yanked forward, and my grip around it tightened. My increase in STR meant it was easier to hang onto the handle compared to the first fish I had caught, but while it no longer felt like an exhausting, life-or-death struggle, that didn't mean it was easy by any means. I started to backpedal, yanking the rod back with me as I did, and slowly, I dragged the fish into the shallow water, and then finally onto the beach.
I blinked in surprise as it came into view, as contrasted to the other monstrous, massive fishes that I had caught, this one was rather small. It was pure bright pink and looked like it was much slimmer and sleeker than the other monstrous fish.
[B-Rank] [Lovely Dragon-Fish] caught!
+500 EXP!
Your [Fishing] proficiency has increased by 1%!
[Quest Complete!]
Catch all types of fish in the area!
Area: 5 Mile radius of [Arvel's Island]
Rewards:
+20 to each stat!
[Boat Building] skill!
I blinked as the quest completion appeared in front of me, and then my lips curled into a grin. Well, that didn't take long, did it? I thought there would be hundreds of different types of fish in the area, but only five? It was surprising, but I wouldn't complain, since it meant I could work on building a boat now. I glanced back up and raised an eyebrow at the name of the fish I caught.
Lovely Dragon-Fish? Why was it called that? It certainly didn't look like a dragon- I jumped in surprise, quickly backpedalling as the fish's mouth flopped open, and then a stream of fire abruptly shot forward and singed the air in front of me.
For a moment, I just stared blankly at the flopping fish, unsure what to think. Did that fish just breathe fire? A damn FISH?! It lived in the water! When could breathing fire possibly be useful in the ocean?!
Finally, I just sighed and grabbed the large Dragon-Fish by its tail, then started dragging it towards my fire, while ensuring its mouth wasn't pointed anywhere near me. I was in the world of One Piece, so I figured I shouldn't be questioning bizarre things like this.
Besides, once I ate this fish, I had the feeling I'd get a pretty good modification. Breathing fire should definitely be useful, right?
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[TRASH] base!
"I'm trying my best, damn it! Do you realize how hard it is to build a boat, damn system?" I huffed, using my fist to hammer forward a small, screw-like piece of wood, which I had carefully carved out for this specific purpose. Unfortunately for me, despite putting in a lot of extra elbow grease to create this boat, the system wasn't rewarding my efforts.
I took a step back, looking down at the flat collection of branches, which were all loosely tied together with a string-like strand of leaves, as well as being connected by long, nail-like pieces of wood. Around a week had passed since I caught the [Lovely Dragon-Fish] and unlocked the [Boat Building] skill, marking my 11th day on this tropical island. In that time, I'd managed to improve both my stats and my [Shelter Building] proficiency greatly, and I was enjoying the results.
I glanced over at my 'house,' which had left the Teepee phase, and now looked more like a hut. It had mostly solid walls, though they definitely weren't air-tight, made of a mixture of thick logs, small branches, and was even covered by layers of leaves. The interior was decently spacious, as it had at least as much room as a New York apartment - which wasn't saying much - and I had created a makeshift bed out of a pile of sand and leaves. Overall, it wasn't some luxurious log cabin or anything, but it was square-shaped, had a roof, four walls, and even a makeshift door - which I had to physically move every time, instead of just swinging it open. It wasn't extravagant, but it was enough.
And, that 'door moving' task had become increasingly easier over the past week as I started being more efficient with my fish eating. I could only catch the same five fish over and over again, but they gave me stats for most things, as the [Lovely Dragon-Fish] had turned out to give CHA. I was still lacking a way to gain INT, something I really could've used with this boat-building process, but my stat sheet had improved a lot anyway.
[Fisherman] Arvel:
Level: 10 (2500/10000)
HP: 900/1000
STR: 252
AGI: 227
END: 240
INT: 5
CHA: 85
HREG: 152
Skills: [Cooking], [Shelter Building], [Boat Building]
Modifications: [Sharpened Teeth], [Scaley Skin], [Fanged Tooth], [Slick Swim], [Fire Breath]
Everything except my CHA and INT was in the hundreds now, and while I wasn't sure where that made me stack up in regards to the rest of the people in this deadly world, I knew that it definitely helped me on this island. Now, I could tear apart entire branches effortlessly, and even pull down whole trees if I wanted to. I could use my fingers to tear apart pieces of wood and mold them down into nail-like strips, which I could then hammer into my shelter or boat with my bare hands, as my END was high enough that I barely even felt the impacts.
Unfortunately, all of this still didn't add up to me being able to make a sturdy boat. I couldn't half-ass the boat like I could with a shelter. With a shelter, if there were a few holes in between the branches, then that just meant I'd have to worry about bugs and getting rained on - neither of which had been even remotely a problem so far, which was actually a bit concerning, because the pond I got freshwater from wouldn't last forever. By comparison, if my boat had a few holes in it, then… it would very quickly become a sinking boat, and I'd be at the bottom of the ocean.
So, with a small groan that conveyed how annoying the task in front of me was, I turned back to my shoddy boat. I suspected that it would take a long time until it was usable, but when you were stranded on an abandoned island, you had nothing but time.
It was time to get to work.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Decent] seat!
[Boat Building] complete!
Tallying results…
[D-Rank]!
For completing a [Boat Building] activity, your [Proficiency] has increased by 1%!
"Finally," I sighed, stepped back from the small structure in front of me, "Took long enough."
I knew that the task of making a usable boat would take a long time, but I hadn't been prepared for just how long it would really take. A total of three weeks had passed since I first started using my [Boat Building] skill, and I was closing in on one month of being on the island. But, while the process had been longer than expected, I had to admit that I was pretty proud of how much progress I had made.
When I first started, the boat had looked more like a raft than a boat, with varying sticks being shoved together to create a small, shoddy platform. Throughout the weeks, that had slowly progressed to a genuine boat - not a massive one that could survive the rough seas of the New World, but one that could at least allow me to go into deeper waters and look for more fish around the island. There was a genuine wooden base, four low walls to keep out waves from splashing in, and even a small, plank-like seat for me to use. Overall, what had once been a raft now looked like a small, one-person lifeboat and wasn't too dissimilar from a canoe.
I was pretty proud of my work, even if it was only D-Rank. I imagined that I would have a long, long way to go until I could build a genuine vessel like the Thousand Sunny, as that was definitely an S-Rank ship. Of course, during the past three weeks, I hadn't just been solely working on this boat. My shelter had improved a lot as well, reaching C-Rank as it became a genuine log-cabin - which I was more than a bit proud of, as even in my past life, I wouldn't have minded vacationing in a cabin like this one. Well, I probably would've because it was pretty hot on this island and there was no air conditioning, but structurally wise, it was a damn good cabin!
I'd also been continuing with my optimized fishing strategy and had both caught and eaten a lot more fish. Overall, my stats had increased pretty significantly.
[Fisherman] Arvel:
Level: 15 (7000/15000)
HP: 1475/1500
STR: 571
AGI: 448
END: 420
INT: 5
CHA: 220
HREG: 310
Skills: [Cooking], [Shelter Building], [Boat Building]
Modifications: [Sharpened Teeth], [Scaley Skin], [Fanged Tooth], [Slick Swim], [Fire Breath]
I felt like I should've been really happy with the gains, as some of my stats were around, if not surpassing, 500 already. But, at the same time, I really didn't have a reference point to compare those numbers to. I could toss around entire trees like they were nothing at this point, but I was pretty sure a lot of powerful pirates in this world could do that. On top of that, my level was still only 15, and I doubted that if I ever ran into someone like Whitebeard he'd only be level 20 or anywhere near there. So, while I felt confident in my body's increased power, I definitely wasn't going to get overconfident. This boat-building task had ensured I stayed humble, as even if I could knock down trees with my bare fists, that didn't help me with practical tasks like this.
"Now, let's give you a test ride," I hummed, glancing down at the small boat in front of me. I had finally reached D-Rank with the boat, and I was damn sure going to use it right away!
I quickly grabbed my fishing rod along with a small paddle I had carved from a large branch, and then casually picked up the entire, fifteen-foot-long boat with just one hand and hefted it over my head. I jogged down to the shore, set the boat down in deeper water, and then climbed inside it. I pushed the paddle into the water next to me, and my first voyage began.
It wasn't a very long one, as I just paddled forward through the rough waves for less than an hour, pushing slowly further and further away from the shoreline. Which wasn't actually that slow, as with how powerful my arms were, I was able to make quick work of the waves, even if I had to hold back out of concern for breaking the paddle.
Finally, I reached a point where the shore of the island behind me was just a small silhouette, and I figured I was far enough out to try fishing for different kinds of fish. I stood up in the shaky boat, held my rod to my side, and then sent the line flying forward.
[Fishing] started!
Searching nearby sea…
Calculating odds…
…
…
…
[Fish] found!
"W-What the fuck?" I grunted as my rod yanked downward, nearly being ripped from my grip, which was definitely a surprise. After having increased my stats so much over the past nearly month, the massive fish that I normally caught weren't much trouble anymore, as I could comfortably hold the fishing rod with just a one-handed loose grip. And, as my rod had progressively become more sturdy and longer as I leveled up, it became much easier to pull in the fish.
But, right now, I felt like I was back at the beginning again - like I was standing on the sandy shore, struggling to reel in the initial [Rainbow Piranha]. No - this was even harder than my first fishing attempt had been, and by a large margin. My arms tensed, my now rather large biceps flexing as I yanked backwards, keeping my grip on the base of the rod firm. I didn't know what massive fish I had just caught, but I damn sure wasn't going to let him take my rod!
I quickly found out just how much more difficult it was to pull up a fish on a small, shaking boat compared to the shore of the island. As I yanked upward, I had to balance myself as the boat was shoved by rough waves. And, as the fish below yanked back, trying not to be dragged to the surface, it tipped the boat and threatened to completely knock it over. Water splashed in, pooling around my feet, but I just gritted my teeth and ignored the slowly sinking boat under me.
It was a hard battle as I braced myself, slowly yanking backwards as I reached forward and started to pull the long string back with me. I wrapped it around my palm, slowly spinning it even as the sea creature fought back. Over the course of roughly ten minutes, I continued to yank, the string starting to dig harshly into my skin, and even with my high END, a bit of blood was drawn. But I ignored the drops of blood splattering into the water-filled planks of the boat under me, and just continued to reel the fish in.
Finally, after around fifteen minutes, I could see the shadow of the creature under me. And, as I looked at it, my eyes went wide, and I was starting to reconsider my decision to try fishing in deeper water. Instead of the shadow of a large fish, I saw the shadow of… everything. A thick darkness spread all across the water under me, looking for hundreds of feet in every direction as if the very color of the water had been changed. But, as the shadow grew longer and thicker while the fish was dragged to the surface, I abruptly lost the ability to choose if I wanted to continue or not.
I grunted as my grip on the rod, which had been constantly applying pressure and pulling back for fifteen minutes, was suddenly relieved. I stumbled a step back as the fish stopped fighting to swim deeper, and instead, abruptly shot upward - breaking through the surface of the water in front of me, and sending a torpedo of water into the air. My ears ached as the sound of a tsunami rang out, the sheer size of the creature causing massive waves to fling in every direction from its appearance. My eyes went wide as it appeared, and I was definitely regretting my decision now.
The fish couldn't even be considered a fish, and if I didn't know any better, I would've thought the Lockness Monster was real and right in front of me. Instead, I knew the dinosaur-like creature was a Sea King, as it had thick gray scales, dozens of sharp, glinting teeth, and a massive, dragon-like snout. Its body extended downward for literal thousands of feet, and even as only its head and part of its neck emerged from the sea, it looked absolutely massive. I felt like a skyscraper had suddenly sprung up in the middle of the ocean, as the long, hundred-foot thick neck extended upwards into the even larger head, which cast a shadow over the ocean for as far as I could see.
Towering over me was a Sea King, and not a small - though calling any Sea King 'small' was a bit silly, as that still meant thousands of feet long - one either. This wasn't a Sea King in the East Blue, no, this was a Sea King that was in the latter part of the Grandline, or even the New World - a vicious creature that ruled the surrounding seas, and with one bite, could swallow an entire ship. An entire pirate or marine vessel at that, much less the tiny boat I was in, which it probably could've destroyed simply by breathing on it.
I was given just a second to reconsider my life choices as I stared up at the towering creature, and right now, I was really regretting leaving my peaceful, tropical island. It seemed that my greed had caught up to me, and I was about to be swallowed whole, because how the hell was I going to get out of this?
As the creature turned to look down at me, a hook still in its mouth as the long fishing rod string stretched for hundreds of feet upward, its dark-red, menacing eyes flashed with anger. Then, its mouth opened, giving me a visual of its rows upon rows of teeth, and it promptly shot downward. It was far too fast for its size, moving like a blur as it lunged forward with its mouth wide open to consume both me and my ship whole. As it did, I moved on instinct.
My legs tensed, and then, I forced as much strength into them as I could. In one movement, I shot upward, leaping off the boat in a display that caused it to shatter into splinters under me. I launched into the air, my arm cocking back as I knew I had only one chance to escape death. I needed to punch this Sea King right in its face, and buy me enough time to use my [Slick Swim] to get the hell out of here!
If I missed, or if I couldn't punch him hard enough to deal any damage through his thick scales, then I was toast. My life in this new world of One Piece would end right here, and I'd be starting a new life in the belly of a Sea King.
I cocked my arm back, my muscles flexing as I put every ounce of strength I could into them. My biceps bulged, my triceps tightening as my forearm tensed. Then, I slammed my arm forward as I lunged above the Sea King's mouth, and my fist shot forward like a bullet. The air around me shot outward, breaking as a long boom rattled my ears, and my fist slammed into the Sea King's forehead with all the strength I could muster. As it did, my eyes went wide as the scales curved inward from the force, causing my knuckles to bleed as they scraped across the sharp covering.
"SCREAHHHHH!" A loud, ear-piercing roar came from the beast of a fish as my fist made contact, and as the scales curved inward then shattered from the blow. Its stiff body wobbled as gravity took over, and I started to fall downward, falling thousands of feet in a few seconds as I torpedoed into the water.
I landed in a massive splash, my END protecting me from breaking any bones from the fall, and I quickly swam back to the surface of the water. As I broke through, I looked forward, and my eyes went wide again. The Sea King's massive, thick frame was wobbling, its neck snapping back and forth as its eyes spun, and then, after nearly ten seconds of trying to remain conscious, it gave out. The body flopped backwards, making my ears ring again as the massive frame hit the water and sent explosions of water shooting in every direction. I reached up, shielding my face from the rain of seawater that followed. It continued to rain down for what felt like forever, but that really couldn't have been more than half a minute.
Finally, once all the water came down, I was left all alone as I floated in the water. Around me, splinters and bits of my boat floated around, and in front of me, the massive, thousands-feet-long frame of the Sea King floated to the surface. With just one punch, the towering creature had been knocked out.
I stared blankly at it for a moment, in disbelief. I hadn't even been certain that I had enough strength to dent the Sea King's scales, much less shatter them and knock out the thing! Suddenly, in a situation where I thought I'd have to run for my life, I was the only one left standing.
…
"Fuck, I just made that boat," I finally sighed, looking sorrowfully at the remains of my boat, "And how the hell am I gonna cook this thing?!"
Considering the Sea King was probably bigger than the entirety of the island I was living on, I couldn't just chuck it over a campfire like I did with the rest of the fish. But, as I swam forward, placed my palms against the side of the huge, knocked out eel-like fish, and started to herculean task of pushing the Sea King all the way back to my island, I couldn't be upset. I had just one-shot a Sea King. A small grin cracked on my face.
I guess I was stronger than I thought, huh?
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hmm… that was a rather loud explosion…" A man said casually, his face not looking all that concerned as he biked across the water - yes, biked.
It was an activity that was usually reserved for land, but as the lankly, afro-having form of Aokiji sat on a bicycle, that was exactly what he was doing. As he crossed the ocean, the water in front of him froze continually, creating a constant lane of ice for him to ride across. And, at the moment, he was a bit annoyed as a massive streak of waves shot towards him, coming from the source of the explosion.
"Should I go check it out?" Aokiji hummed, leaning back into his bike seat a bit lazily, "I really don't want to… but…"
Aokiji sighed, glancing over to his side, where the dim silhouette of a small, tropical island sat behind a tsunami-sized wave.
"I guess I should, huh?"
Without so much as a blink, Aokiji gave the Tsunami a simple glance, and the massive wave froze over. Then, a second later, it shattered into a collection of icy fragments. He twisted the handlebars on his bike slightly, shifting his direction as the path of ice shot forward, creating a road for him to reach the island. He continued to ride forward, the icy fragments from the wave raining down around him like snow.
"But… it's probably nothing…" The lazy man sighed again, slumping his shoulders even further.
In that moment, Aokiji had no idea just how wrong he was.
He had no idea that the man he would find on the simple island would change the world forever.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Thanks for reading! Another maybe one-shot that I started a while ago and finally decided to finish. I really enjoyed writing this one, so if you guys enjoyed it, I might continue it. Let me know if you'd like me to or not!
If I do continue it, I'll update it twice as often over on my Patreon (Patreon.com/Koyon) as I do with a lot of my stories!