What does it feel like to go from a natural person to a Coordinator? Shin didn't know the answer, as in the CE worldview, Coordinators were only genetically adjusted from the embryonic state, and there were no cases of natural persons being genetically adjusted later in life.
So when Shin woke up, he didn't feel anything was amiss. His hands were still his hands, his feet were still his feet, his head was still the same, and his thoughts hadn't changed. This "change" that felt like no change at all made Shin suspect he had bought a fake or shoddy product.
"If you want to test the quality of this friendly provided product, why not try reading the complimentary item for this product?" the system's pleasant female voice chimed in at just the right moment.
A light screen suddenly appeared before Shin, filled with large chunks of obscure and difficult papers, and advanced university math that had given Shin a headache in his previous life. But now, after just a few glances, his brain quickly processed everything.
All the knowledge was analyzed almost instantly upon sight, and the answers immediately came to him! This feeling brought an indescribable joy. Knowledge continuously accumulated in his mind, and problems that seemed difficult to others were understood and solved with a single glance. Joy, learning knowledge brought him joy!!!
This joyful state lasted for about twenty minutes, and then Shin felt a throbbing pain in his head. He rubbed the pulsing veins at his temples, his expression a little excited. It seemed he had indeed bought the real thing; he had truly become a Coordinator!
An evolved human almost entirely superior to normal humans!
He hadn't had time to test other aspects, such as physical fitness. But those things weren't much use in this world anyway, as even the strongest Coordinator's martial arts wouldn't be able to defeat a single pirate grunt in this world. But he quickly snapped out of his excitement. There was nothing much to be excited about; frankly, he had only gained faster knowledge acquisition, which was far from being "evolved."
"Your complimentary items... aren't just these university textbooks, are they?" Shin asked with a suspicious look.
"No... the correct complimentary item is a 'Human Genome Project' book." As the system's voice faded, a data packet of about 90KTB appeared on the light screen in front of Shin. Shin's eyes widened! If it was real, this would definitely be the best gift—a gift even better than his own exchange enhancement!
"But... is that all?" Shin raised a skeptical voice.
"Of course not, this is just the table of contents," the system chuckled pleasantly.
"The full content of the Human Genome Project is so vast that it exceeds the storage limits of all existing supercomputers you know. And with the human brain's storage capacity and inefficient visual information reception method, you wouldn't be able to finish reading this book in three thousand years!"
Shin's mouth twitched. This damned system was right; no matter how precious this gift was, he couldn't actually use it even if it was laid out before him. If he had exchanged for the RX-78-2 Gundam, he probably would have received a complete set of Minovsky physics and its extended knowledge, Luna Titanium material science textbooks, and countless other data and knowledge, which would probably be more, not less, than this Human Genome Project.
However, when Shin saw the small print in parentheses behind the data packet "Information summary infusion exchange price: 100,000 evaluation points, he retorted, "You're just using this for scarcity marketing, aren't you? This free textbook probably contains 99% useless information that can't be practically applied."
Thinking about it, he realized it was just a hook the system and the company behind it were using. If it were truly a textbook, it couldn't possibly have such a vast amount of information. A textbook means condensation; you only need to know about Edison's successful experiment, not his 1600+ failures. The system remained noncommittal, offering no reply. Shin just sighed. This might be helpful in the future, but for now, he had to consider practical matters.
"If I leave Barbatos here, will it be stolen when I come back in a hundred days?" Shin asked with concern. Yes, he was leaving the One Piece world to return to Parallel World 0013. It was something he would have to face sooner or later, and staying in the One Piece world, especially when he was currently at the center of attention, was not a wise choice.
"No, all products you purchase will be safely stored in a subspace warehouse." Shin nodded slightly, looked up at the boundless night sky, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Okay... take me back!!!"
...
He closed and opened his eyes, and Shin saw a familiar scene. His rented one-bedroom apartment on the twenty-first floor, costing 1500 a month, was a minimalist living room with only a TV and a PS4 game console, along with basic sofas, chairs, and a table. In the bedroom, the sheets on his bed still retained the wrinkles from when he woke up. Picking up a funny-looking cushion that had fallen on the floor, Shin returned to the living room. Everything was unchanged... it was as if he had just had a terrible dream.
"It's not a dream~~~" The haunting system popped out, shattering Shin's beautiful illusion of waking up without a system. He sighed and casually turned on the TV.
If you get hit, hit back twice as hard." The spirited voice of Masato Sakai came from the TV, but there were no subtitles. Shin was stunned for a moment, then changed a few channels, and all the programs were in Japanese. He quickly opened his wallet; his ID card was still there, but there was also a passport. His ID card's birth date had been changed to two years later!
"Could it be..." He stood up and, sure enough, found several Japanese high school textbooks and a copy of his student visa application materials in the living room.
"Mineoka High School? When did I go crazy and apply to study at a Japanese high school?" Needless to say, this must have been the system's doing!
"You're currently in Tokyo, Japan. Your identity in Parallel World 0013 is a student from foreign Country studying at Mineoka High School," the system said with a hint of malice. "The history of this world is a bit different from your world's history. You'd better investigate it thoroughly before you say anything."
"Why Japan?" Shin frowned.
"Because the company assigned it," the system said bluntly. "There's no particular reason, it was just a random decision made by the company. You can accept or not accept this identity. You can even go back to your home country directly; we won't have any mandatory requirements for you."
Shin pinched the bridge of his nose, speechless for a long time. Finally, his helplessness turned into a sigh, and he could only accept this damned situation. Fortunately, the company at least gave him a small additional help.
He found that he had no trouble speaking Japanese, though there was a slight hindrance in writing. His phone showed that today was Friday, meaning he would have to brush up on his Japanese before reporting to that Mineoka Academy next Monday. Not only that, but he also had to review history, and all the major world events that had happened up to now. Shin sighed deeply; it was a long and arduous road.
...
"I really like the history of this world!" After flipping through the world history, Shin couldn't help but nod. The history of this parallel world had many changes from his previous world—or rather, many strange and peculiar changes.
After a moment of wistfulness, Shin patted his cheeks to clear his head. There was no time for sentimentality; it was better to deal with practical matters.
"Oh, by the way, Mr. Shin, as the first promotional video for our company's employees in this world, I think you need to upload a self-introduction first." The system suddenly spoke, with a pleasantness that made Shin feel very uncomfortable.
"Considering Mr. Shin's financial situation and lack of disguise ability, this system suggests you purchase a basic 'fantasy suit' that combines disguise and self-defense."
With that, the system presented a long list on the light screen in front of Shin.
Product Name: Fantasy Suit 'Kokushibo' (Note: the original text said 继国缘一 which is Yoriichi, but the description matches Kokushibo's abilities and characteristics better, especially the 'cold reasoning, madman's wisdom', etc. Assuming a typo in the original for now, as Yoriichi wouldn't be 'unrecommended' or 'cold reasoning'.)
Product Level: E+
Product Price: 400 evaluation points (After exchanging for a fantasy suit, you can temporarily rent Mysterious Items of the same series at a lower price)
Product Introduction: A fantasy suit of the character 'Kokushibo' from the Demon Slayer world. When used, this suit covers the body and inherits Kokushibo's thoughts and powers, skills and abilities, and weapons and equipment, including but not limited to Sun Breathing, Mark, Transparent World, master-level swordsmanship, etc. Among fantasy suits of the same level, this series is recommended for purchase
This was just the first fantasy suit presented to Shin.
Shin saw many other different products after it. Uzumaki Naruto, Kurosaki Ichigo, Kyo Kusanagi, Clark Kent, Robert Reynolds, etc.
"Good stuff, but... I don't want to spend more money," Shin frowned. He currently only had 105 evaluation points. Excluding the points that could be farmed in the One Piece world, he was still 895 points short of the next D-rank minimum. The system might be right, but he had no money. Even if he were to spend it, Shin would have to carefully plan his purchases based on his financial situation.
"No, a certain management personnel who values Mr. Shin has indicated that a basic 'fantasy equipment' can be lent to you interest-free," the system said softly.
"However, it is limited to basic 'fantasy equipment'. This is the maximum authority that high-level management can intervene with for initial company personnel like yourself. If you rent this equipment, you need to pay fifty evaluation points every twenty days, paid off in ten installments."
"Management personnel..." Shin rubbed his chin. This was the second time he had heard that someone appreciated him in this damned 'company'. Although offering courtesy without reason usually means an ulterior motive, and there's no such thing as a free lunch – this premise only applies if you have something valuable for others to desire. Shin didn't think he had anything extra at the moment.
"Okay, please thank him for me!" Shin accepted, and as he agreed, a huge black box suddenly appeared in front of him.
"This is..." Shin opened the box and squinted at its contents.
-----
Support me with Powerstones, Reviews and comments