Name: Ian
Level: 1
Doriki: 7
Strength: 5
Speed: 5
Health: 10
Nen: 0
Skill: [Basic Swordsmanship] Proficiency (23014/100000)
Cards: None
This was what Ian saw in his mind when he checked his attributes.
It took him quite a while to understand what these stats actually meant.
It seemed the game system had undergone some mutations.
In the original game, combat power was the standard measure of strength, but now it had become Doriki, exactly like the measurement standard in the One Piece world.
According to Ian’s memory, a Doriki of 10 was the standard for an ordinary marine soldier.
Yet, he only had 7.
It seemed he was slightly better than a complete weakling, probably due to his year-round kendo practice.
As for Health, it obviously represented how much damage he could take.
Needless to say, once it hit zero, he would be dead.
The final stat, Nen, was quite interesting.
Back when he read the One Piece manga, he always wondered how characters like the Thunder God Enel manifested their powers.
Or rather, what was the fundamental basis for their abilities?
Enel’s moves—Ten Thousand Thunders, Thunder Dragon, and One Billion Volt Thunder God—were supernatural phenomena that couldn’t be simply explained away by a Devil Fruit.
It was only now, seeing the Nen stat, that Ian had an epiphany.
It had to be a manifestation of Nen abilities.
A Devil Fruit merely granted a person a specific type of Nen ability, and this ability could grow stronger through training.
The same applied to Haki later on; it should also be considered an application of Nen.
That explained the saying that there were no weak Devil Fruits, only weak users.
It also explained why people who hadn’t eaten Devil Fruits, like Hawkeye and Red-Haired Shanks, could still become ridiculously overpowered using Haki.
It all boiled down to their powerful Nen abilities.
Ian currently had a Nen stat, but the value was zero.
This meant his Nen ability was still unawakened, and he had absolutely no clue how to obtain Nen points.
His only skill right now was Basic Swordsmanship.
He still didn’t know what it was good for, so he could only practice it step by step.
Even after three months, his proficiency was only a little over twenty thousand.
Looking at that number, he probably wouldn’t see any changes until it reached one hundred thousand.
As for the cards, they left Ian completely speechless.
He found the card shop within the system, only to tragically discover that he couldn’t draw any cards at all!
Because it required money!
A lot of money!
Drawing a card cost 500 diamonds, but he had to top up 100,000 Berries just to get those 500 diamonds.
The exchange rate was a staggering 200:1!
It was the first time Ian had seen such an outrageous top-up system.
Heaven have mercy, his current allowance was a mere 500 Berries a month, given by Master Koushirou.
There weren’t many expenses in this small village, so aside from occasionally buying newspapers, he saved as much as he could.
Yet, 100,000 Berries was still a distant dream.
This money-grubbing design was perfectly in line with the original game.
Specifically, while you could play without spending money, if you wanted to be good, you had to be a massive whale.
It was a classic ‘no money, no play’ scam, a typical pay-to-win game!
If that were the only way, who knew how many years it would take Ian to save up enough for a single draw.
Fortunately, anyone who had played these types of gacha games knew that you could also draw cards by waiting for a cooldown timer!
In the shop, there was a countdown timer next to the draw option.
However, the usual 48-hour cooldown had now turned into 100 days!
When he first saw that countdown, Ian nearly had a breakdown.
*Damn it, is this trying to force me to pay up or what!?*
Having a system was a good thing, but it was frustrating not being able to use it right away.
Because of this, Ian had been living in a daze for a while.
Luckily, time passed relatively easily.
In the blink of an eye, three months had gone by, and the time for his first free draw was getting closer, which made Ian secretly look forward to it.
Since he had come to this world, he wanted to travel and experience its wonders no matter what.
And to step out of this tiny Shimotsuki Village, he had to become stronger.
In this world, only the strong had a stage to stand on.
Five hundred practice swings.
By the time he finished swinging to Master Koushirou’s commands, Ian was already panting heavily.
He had always taken his practice very seriously, putting all his strength into every downward slash, so his stamina naturally depleted quickly.
After all, this body was still just a ten-year-old boy.
Five hundred practice swings brought five hundred points of Basic Swordsmanship proficiency.
Just as Ian was checking his proficiency progress in his mind, he suddenly heard Koushirou speak up.
“Next is sparring practice.
Ian, Kuina!
You two go first!”
Hearing this, Ian felt a sense of dread.
*Why is it me again?*
He naturally didn’t know what Koushirou was thinking.
Over the past three months, Koushirou had noticed that Ian was practicing much more seriously than before, so he wanted to test him and see how much he had improved.
The method of testing was, of course, sparring.
The problem was that Kuina was much stronger than Ian.
Every time he sparred with her, he ended up covered in bruises.
Being beaten up by his younger sister like this made Ian feel like he was losing a lot of face.
Like Kuina, Ian was usually clean and tidy, unlike the snot-nosed, dirty brats in the dojo.
Because of this, Kuina was very happy to play with him.
But playing was one thing; once they became opponents in a spar, Kuina never held back.
Although she was a girl, she had a more competitive personality than most boys.
Every time they fought, she went all out.
Biting the bullet, Ian stepped forward.
Holding the bamboo sword with both hands, he angled the tip upward, crossing it with Kuina’s sword, fully prepared for battle.
The moment Koushirou called out to start, Kuina let out a loud shout.
She pulled her sword back with both hands, raised it high above her head, and slashed down at Ian with incredible speed!
Ian blocked horizontally, but the immense force behind her bamboo sword made his hands tremble.
Before he could even push back, Kuina’s next strike arrived!
Kuina’s talent in kendo was widely recognized as the best in the dojo.
She wielded her sword with ease and speed, finding openings in Ian’s defense every single time.
In just half a minute, the two had exchanged dozens of blows.
Every time, Ian struggled just to block, completely unable to launch a counterattack.
“Haa!” Kuina fought with increasing vigor.
Suddenly, with a straight thrust, she jabbed Ian right in the wrist, then violently flicked her bamboo sword upward, sending Ian’s weapon flying from his grasp.
*Damn it, I lost again!* Ian felt a bit deflated.
However, Kuina smiled happily and said, “Big Brother Ian, your progress lately has been really obvious!
You’re much stronger than before!”
“You’re just comforting me…” Ian rolled his eyes and rubbed his wrist.
The spot where Kuina hit him still hurt a lot.
“Kuina is right!” Master Koushirou said, still wearing his harmless smile.
“Ian, you have indeed become much stronger.”
Hearing Koushirou say this, the other children in the dojo immediately looked at Ian with admiration.
In their eyes, being able to fight Kuina for that long was already incredibly impressive.
If it were them, they would have been defeated in just a few strikes.
Seeing the adoring gazes of these little brats, Ian only felt exasperated.
He really didn’t want this kind of admiration.
Right at that moment, an arrogant voice suddenly rang out from outside the dojo.
“Is anyone here?
I’m here to challenge the dojo!
Send out your strongest fighter to settle this with me!”
Ian’s heart skipped a beat as he looked toward the entrance.
A young boy stood at the dojo doors, a leaf dangling from his mouth and his arms crossed over his chest.
The sunlight shone from behind him, illuminating his messy green hair and his rebellious, arched eyebrows.
He just stood there, looking insufferably arrogant and full of himself.
*Mosshead, Roronoa Zoro!*
The moment Ian laid eyes on this cocky brat, he recognized him.
His mind went blank for a second.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself upon learning that this village was called Shimotsuki Village, his master was Koushirou, and his junior sister was Kuina, seeing Zoro actually appear right in front of him still felt incredibly surreal…
Strangely enough, the moment Ian saw Zoro, he didn’t think of the overwhelmingly badass and incredibly cool Zoro from the future.
Instead…
his heart pounded wildly as he looked over at Kuina!
Zoro’s appearance meant that Kuina would die soon…
*Is my junior sister really going to die?* Ian’s mind was in turmoil.
Even though he had just been defeated by Kuina and nearly suffered another tragic beating, he asked himself honestly: could he really just watch Kuina die right before his eyes?
This wasn’t just a manga character; this was a living, breathing person right in front of him!
To all the children in Koushirou’s dojo, Kuina was their goddess, and Ian was no exception.
Kuina had a tomboyish streak, but that was exactly what made her uniquely beautiful.
Although she showed no mercy when sparring with anyone, she would always care for everyone who got hurt afterward, applying medicine and comforting them like a gentle older sister.
After spending three months together, Ian had grown incredibly fond of this younger sister of his.
Because of this, the look in his eyes as he stared at Zoro became complicated.
Although Kuina’s death had nothing to do with Zoro—she died in an accident—it was undeniable that Zoro’s appearance signaled her impending doom.
This left Ian completely at a loss as to how he should face Zoro.
No one knew about Ian’s complicated feelings.
Upon hearing Zoro’s arrogant challenge, Master Koushirou let out a hearty laugh.
He stood up, walked to the door, and looked at Zoro with a smile.
“So you’re here to challenge the dojo?
We haven’t seen that in a while!”
“Hmph!” Zoro crossed his arms and said smugly, “Don’t underestimate me just because I’m a kid.
I’m invincible in the next village over!”
“Alright then, I accept your challenge!” Master Koushirou said with a smile.
“If I win, I’m taking your dojo’s sign!” Zoro declared.
Koushirou asked him with a smile, “And if you lose?”
“Lose?
If I lose, then…
I’ll join your dojo!”
Hearing Zoro’s answer, Koushirou laughed out loud again.
“It’s a deal then.
In that case…
Ian!”
Hearing Master Koushirou call his name, Ian immediately snapped back to reality, but then instantly fell into shock.
*No, wait!?
Shouldn’t he be telling Kuina to fight him?
Why is he calling me!*