Chapter 1: Is Erza My Childhood Friend? The Pirate System?
"W… where am I?"
Ren's voice came out hoarse as he stared at his hands—thin, bony, and nothing like the ones he remembered. He sat inside a shabby wooden hut that looked like it might collapse if the wind blew too hard. The air was cold, the light dim, and everything around him felt wrong.
His chest tightened. The room was unfamiliar. The body was unfamiliar. Even his breathing felt unfamiliar.
In Ren's gray-brown eyes, confusion churned like a storm. The last thing he remembered was pain—violent, tearing pain—and a face twisted into something inhuman.
His name was Ren.
In his previous life, he'd stepped in to save a little girl. He hadn't hesitated. He'd done what he thought was right.
And he'd paid for it.
A human trafficker's knife had found his body, again and again, until the world turned black. The final image burned into his mind was that man's vicious grin.
Ren swallowed hard and tried to push himself up.
The instant he moved, a foreign tide crashed into his head.
Memories—too many, too fast—forced their way into him. A sharp stabbing ache split his skull, and his face drained of what little color it had. Cold sweat poured down his forehead as he clenched his teeth, his expression warping under the pressure.
Then, as suddenly as it came, the pain released him.
Ren collapsed back to the floor, gasping, gulping air like he'd been drowning. His entire body trembled as he leaned against the bed frame, eyes shimmering with a strange, dawning light.
After a long moment, he whispered, "So I really… transmigrated. The Kingdom of Fiore… a world of magic."
The memories told him everything.
This body's owner had been a boy named Ren Dikasis, living in a remote mountain village within the Kingdom of Fiore. His parents were gone—dead—leaving him alone. Days ago, sickness had taken hold. He'd weakened, worsened, and finally died last night.
And now Ren—another Ren—had opened his eyes in his place.
"Starting out as an orphan," he muttered with a bitter, crooked smile. "What kind of fate is this?"
He couldn't even laugh properly. His body was too weak. Too empty.
In his previous life, he'd grown up in an orphanage, never once seeing his parents.
He had lived as an orphan.
And now, even with a second chance, he was still one.
Ren tilted his head, staring through a cracked patch of roof at the blue sky beyond. "But… the Kingdom of Fiore. I know that name."
He couldn't pin down why.
Then—
"Ren, are you home?"
A childish voice called from outside the door.
Ren's eyes sharpened. "Who is it?"
"You're home! I haven't seen you for days!"
The door pushed open, and a girl hurried in before Ren could say anything else. The moment she saw him slumped on the floor, pale and unsteady, she rushed forward.
"What happened?"
She helped him up with surprising strength and guided him onto the bed. Worry filled her gaze, like she'd been holding it in for days.
Ren forced a small smile. "I'm fine. I'm just… hungry."
His stomach answered for him—hollow and aching.
As he looked at the girl, the borrowed memories aligned her face with a name.
Erza.
A friend from the same village. Someone who had grown up alongside him. Someone who, like him, had no parents to return to.
They had leaned on each other for years—two lonely kids trying to survive the same cold world.
But the moment Ren truly noticed her—shoulder-length crimson hair, steady eyes, and the name Erza—his expression turned complicated.
Erza. Crimson hair.
Erza Scarlet.
A main character from Fairy Tail.
Ren's breath caught.
So this was that world.
"You're hungry?" Erza said quickly, hearing his stomach again. "I have some food at my place. I'll bring it right away."
Before Ren could stop her, she was already running out the door, her footsteps fading into the distance.
The instant she disappeared—
Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have made contact with a plot protagonist: Erza Scarlet.
Ding! System officially activated. Please wait.
Ding! System activation complete. Opening system rewards.
Ren's pupils contracted. He snapped his gaze around the room, searching for the source of the voice.
"A… system?"
Ding! Pirate System activated! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained one character template lottery draw.
A soft, glowing screen unfolded in front of Ren's eyes, floating in midair like it belonged there.
A roulette wheel spun across the light screen, filled with images that made Ren's heart jolt.
Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
Kaido of the Beasts.
Red-Haired Shanks.
Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin.
Navy Admiral Akainu, Sakazuki.
Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro.
So many names—so many monsters.
Ren didn't even have time to think before the wheel started spinning faster, the icons blurring into streaks of color.
Seconds later, the wheel slowed.
It clicked.
It stopped.
The roulette vanished, replaced by a single, dominant image.
One of the Four Emperors—Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin!
Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a Big Mom template, one of the Four Emperors from the One Piece world. Fuse it?
Ren's lips twitched.
He'd hoped for Whitebeard. Or Kaido.
But a Four Emperor was still a Four Emperor.
He exhaled slowly, then suddenly stiffened as a dangerous thought hit him.
He asked quickly, "If I fuse Big Mom's template… will I also get her eating disorder?"
That weakness was infamous. Once it triggered, she lost all reason—attacking anything and anyone around her. No tactics. No defense. No control. Just destruction.
"No. The Big Mom ability template the Host receives will only grant Big Mom's abilities."
Ren's shoulders loosened instantly. Relief washed through him, followed by a surge of excitement that made his pulse quicken.
Only the power—none of the madness.
In the One Piece world, Big Mom stood among the absolute top tier. Even as a child, she'd been an abnormal monster—terrifying strength, a body like steel.
At five years old, even giants struggled to harm her. A single slap could break a giant's ribs.
Ren's eyes narrowed with resolve.
If that kind of power became his—
He wouldn't be helpless again.
Ren lifted his gaze to the glowing screen and said, clear and decisive, "Fuse it."