1 Chapter 1

A young man, no older than his mid-teens, lay on a beach under the sun. The young man had black hair that almost looked blue under the sunlight and decent looks that hinted at how he could turn into a good looking man someday. Though, his body looked frail and weak inside his baggy clothing. Currently, he only wore a plain white t-shirt and brown shorts, no socks, shoes, or anything else really.

As the sun shined down on him, his closed eyes began to flicker before slowly opening. His eyes were the same gray as afternoon clouds in the sky. He looked confused for a moment before bolting upright. His head snapped around as he looked at his surroundings in confusion. Clearly he had no idea where he was. Before he could panic something unexpected happened. In front of him appeared a blue screen covered in words. He immediately latched onto it, hoping it would answer his questions.

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Greetings Soul#2243490817486293-4849203745675!

You have been forcefully plucked from the circle of reincarnation and tossed callously into this world. Lucky you! Be sure to make your life in this world entertaining for those watching. You really wouldn't want them to get bored!

To make things more interesting an exchange has been made against your will. All personal memories of your previous life have been taken from you. Your original name, your parents, friends, family, relationships of all kinds, as well as anything pertaining to the 'you' of before has been stripped from you. Don't worry! It was nothing interesting anyway! The empty space in your soul was then filled with a little something to help you along and keep things nifty for the watchers.

Looks like that's all!

Welcome to the world of One Piece!

Don't die too quickly now!

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What... the... fuck? After reading the message it vanished from his sight never to be seen again. With it gone he dug into his mind trying to find something to dispute what the message had told him. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't remember a single piece of information pertaining to his personal life. However, he did remember 'One Piece', a Manga and Anime that he'd watched. All his feelings about the show were gone but the details of what he'd read and watched remained. The same was true for a lot of the things he'd seen and done. Movies, books, TV, his education, common sense, everything else remained in his memories. Yet, he couldn't even remember a single time he'd looked into the mirror. It was a very strange and clinical way that his memories came to him. While trying to remember anything about himself another screen appeared in his vision.

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One Piece Gaming System successfully activated!

To view your current status just say the word 'Status' out loud or think it.

New Quest!

Survive and Thrive!

The world of One Piece is filled with danger. Pirates, corrupt Marines, and World Nobles terrorize the citizens of the world. If you don't want to become a pawn controlled by others then stay on this island and take some time to grow stronger!

Requirements: Stay on the island for one full month. (0/30 days)

Failure Conditions: Death, Moving more than 100 yards from the islands shore

Rewards: 1x Devil Fruit Extraction Serum, 5x Skill Books

New Quest!

Might makes right!

To grow stronger you must start somewhere. Perform all of the following exercises before midnight. 275 push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. Run 2.75 miles.

Requirements:

275 Push-Ups (0/275)

275 Sit-Ups (0/275)

275 Squats (0/275)

Run 2.75 Miles (0/2.75)

Failure Conditions: Death, fail to complete any of the listed tasks

Rewards: 1 Days worth of food and water, 1x Camping Tent

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The rush of information was too much for the young man to take in all at once. He took a few moments to try and gather his thoughts and understand what he was seeing. Fortunately, in his previous life, he'd read novels with a similar basis. Though in those novels the reincarnators knew they were being reincarnated and were usually given wishes or something to give them an edge. Still, systems were a common theme and he wasn't going to complain about any edge he could get. The world of One Piece was extremely dangerous. Bloodthirsty pirates, corrupt marines, and the world government filled with scumbag world nobles. Any one of them would be happy to capture, torture, kill, or sell him into slavery.

He shook those thoughts away and looked through the messages slowly once more. He would look at his status in a bit. Given the thin and frail-looking body he possessed he doubted there would be anything surprising to read there. What really drew him away from his status was the first quest he received. The first quest asked for him to stay on the island for thirty days. He looked around himself. He couldn't see all of the island but not too far from where he sat on the beach there were palm trees leading into a shaded forest. Seeing as how he only had the clothing on his back, surviving on this island could have proved difficult. The second quest would give him food, water, and shelter.

The biggest thing he saw though was one of the rewards for the first quest. The Devil Fruit Extraction Serum. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the basic use of the item should be. His best guess, based on its name, was that he could use it to take anyone's Devil Fruit. Thanks to the memories he had of the one Piece world, he could think of plenty of fruits worth stealing from their owners. Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi, Blackbeard's Yami Yami no Mi, the three original admirals in the marines, and more. The problem was, he was definitely nowhere near strong enough to defeat any of them.

He thought about it for a while before a smile slowly curled his lips. There was one extremely powerful Devil Fruit out there that he had a high chance of getting his hands on. Provided the conditions were right. He had no idea where he was in the timeline. If Luffy was already too far along his journey then there was little chance for him to get the fruit he had in mind. If it was still early in Luffy's journey then he was pretty much guaranteed to get his hands on it. Enel's Goro Goro no Mi! Unlike the other fruits he'd thought of, he knew for sure that at one point Luffy would knock Enel unconscious. If he could be there at that moment, he could steal the Devil Fruit that Nico Robin herself described as 'invincible'.

The only issue was, if Luffy already defeated Enel and had moved on, he wouldn't be able to get his hands on it. It was all speculation at this point but he liked thinking about it and hoped he could get what he wanted. Until then, he only had one option. Survive!

To get started on that he went ahead and said, "Status."

It was odd hearing his own voice for the first time. He sounded young, without a mirror or smooth body of water he could see his reflection in, he had no idea what he looked like or how old he might be. Still, it didn't bug him much and he felt no sense of incongruity. After all, he didn't know how old he 'should' be or 'was' before. Maybe it was a good thing he didn't remember? He dismissed those thoughts and focused on the new screen that had appeared before him.

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Name: Silvers D. Markus

Age: 16

Class: None

Level: 1

Exp: 0/1,250

Hit Points: 100/100 (+5/minute)

Willpower: 100/100 (+5/minute)

Strength (STR): 10

Vitality (VIT): 10

Agility (AGI): 10

Spirit (SPT): 10

Wisdom (WIS): 10

Charisma (CHA): 10

Luck (LCK): 10

Attribute Points: 0

Skills:

Life is but a Game

[Passive]

Your life is just a game to entertain those watching. Still, this gives you a bit of a boon. As a character in a game, you benefit from having a game character's body. Pain is fleeting. Your mind is indomitable. Sleep will remove all negative status effects and fully restore your Hit Points and Willpower. No matter how you are hurt you will not die until your Hit Points reach zero.

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So his name was Silvers D. Markus. Wait... Silvers? As in Rayleigh, the guy who taught Luffy Haki and was on Gol D. Roger's crew? The fuck? He would need to keep that little fact under wraps. If people found out he would be hunted down like a dog and slaughtered, even though he really had no relationship with the man at all. From now on he was Markus or Mark, nothing else. Aside from that, he saw that he was sixteen. That's all the personal information he could get from his status.

From there it was just standard RPG stuff. His attributes were plain and the same across the board, a clear sign of being a new character. Not to mention his massive level of one. The only good thing was his single passive skill, 'Life is but a Game'. Despite its somewhat sarcastic and degrading tone, it told him a lot about what he could expect. As long as his HP didn't reach zero he would survive whatever came his way. Add to that the fact a good night's rest would fully recover him from any injuries and he was looking at being a pretty tough cookie.

"Status close."

After uttering those two words his status screen shut and let him see around once again. He had two quests to complete but only one that could be completed right away. He needed to complete it as soon as possible. He didn't know exactly what time it was, it seemed to be before noon, but he was already starting to grow hungry. As long as he could complete the workout quest he would have food, water, and a place to sleep when night fell. He slowly climbed to his feet, his body feeling a little off, almost as if he wasn't used to it. Strictly speaking, he wasn't.

He moved around a bit to get a good look at the surrounding area. There was nothing but beach and trees. The island seemed completely abandoned. He didn't even hear the sounds of birds or bugs, just the wind through the leaves of the trees. With nothing better to do and his hunger already beginning to build, he decided to get to work on the quest before he was too weak from hunger.

He found a good spot and got back down on the ground to start doing his push-ups. The first couple presented little issue but once he reached the double digits his muscles started to hurt and his arms started to shake. He barely made it to fifteen before his arms collapsed and couldn't support himself anymore. He was already breathing heavily and covered in sweat while he lay on the ground. Getting all the way to 275 was going to take him a while. He was getting a clearer picture of just how weak he was.

After resting for a while he rolled over onto his back and started to do his sit-ups. He took his time and pushed himself harder than he had during the push-ups. His muscles burned in protest at being forced to do something they weren't used to but he didn't stop. He continued to push himself until his body gave out at 32 sit-ups. He rested once more before standing up and moving onto some squats. His legs burned and his body sweat but he pushed through the pain until his body once again gave out after just 17 squats and he collapsed to the ground.

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Might makes right!

To grow stronger you must start somewhere. Perform all of the following exercises before midnight. 275 push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. Run 2.75 miles.

Requirements:

275 Push-Ups (15/275)

275 Sit-Ups (32/275)

275 Squats (17/275)

Run 2.75 Miles (0/2.75)

Failure Conditions: Death, fail to complete any of the listed tasks

Rewards: 1 Days worth of food and water, 1x Camping Tent

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Over the course of the next several hours, he rotated through the different exercises. The sun rose in the sky as he worked out, passing noon and moving on toward night. He was running along the beach breathing heavily and soaked in sweat. Every now and then he would move closer to the ocean water and let it hit his feet so he could at least cool down some of his body. With just a few more unstable steps he finally saw what he was pushing himself for along with a surprise.

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Due to your hard work, STR +1, AGI +1!

Quest Complete!

Might makes right!

To grow stronger you must start somewhere. Perform all of the following exercises before midnight. 275 push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. Run 2.75 miles.

Requirements:

275 Push-Ups (275/275)

275 Sit-Ups (275/275)

275 Squats (275/275)

Run 2.75 Miles (2.75/2.75)

Failure Conditions: Death, fail to complete any of the listed tasks

Rewards: 1 Days worth of food and water, 1x Camping Tent

Your rewards have been deposited into your inventory!

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With the notification, his body collapsed on the beach while he gasped for breath. It was several minutes before he had recovered enough to really pay any attention to the messages he'd received. Looking at the end and the mention of an inventory, he smiled, "Inventory."

As soon as he spoke a screen appeared in front of him. It was rows and columns of empty squares in a five by five grid. Not all of the squares were empty. Three showed an icon that looked like a plate of food, three showed icons that looked like bottles of water, and the last one showed an icon of a simple one-person tent. He weakly sat up and crawled up the beach to sit against a tree and recover. After he got as comfortable as he could, he looked for a way to access the items he could see. Seeing no buttons or additional information, he just reached up and touched one of the plates of food. Instantly a plate appeared in his hands.

Steam rose from the food and the scent immediately filled the air around him. It was a plate of curry. Rice, beef, vegetables, and a sauce filled the plate to the brim in a nice pile. His stomach growled loudly and demanded that it be given the food immediately. The system seemed to be pretty generous as the plate of food included a wooden spoon to scoop up the food with. He instantly began to greedily scoop food into his mouth. He was so hungry he barely chewed the food. This proved to be a big mistake as he began to choke on a juicy piece of beef. While smacking his chest with one hand he used the other to tap the icon for the water. As soon as it appeared he pulled off the wooden top and chugged some down.

The rest of his meal went without incident and when he was done he looked at his plate and spoon. It felt like a waste to just throw them away. He looked between them and the empty squares inside of his inventory for a bit. After shrugging his shoulders, he simply tried touching the plate to one empty slot. The plate instantly vanished and a new icon appeared on the screen. He looked up at the sky and saw the sun was getting closer and closer to the horizon. It would be night soon. Now that he had a full belly, it was time to find a spot to set up his camp.

He moved toward the center of the island and looked around. As far as he could tell the island was only a few square miles with only grass, trees, and a few large rocks. There were a few clearings so he just picked one and set out the tent he was given as his reward. It was a simple canvas tent which, unfortunately, didn't include any kind of bedding. No pillow, no blanket, no cushion to lay on, nothing. Once the tent was set up he got inside of it and relaxed. It had been a very long and very confusing day but it was finally going to be over. Just twenty-nine more days to go.

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