The jungle was loud.
Drake had expected silence, maybe the gentle rustling of leaves. Instead, the island greeted him with a cacophony of bird calls, insect buzzing, and the distant crash of waves against rock.
He took his first unsteady steps away from the beach, the blue screen still hovering in his peripheral vision.
The tutorial quest marker pulsed gently, like a videogame waypoint he couldn't dismiss.
[Objective: Explore your surroundings]
"Alright, let's see what you can actually do,"
Drake muttered, focusing on the screen.
To his surprise, it responded, expanding to show more detail.
[SYSTEM MENU]
• Status
• Inventory
• Quests
• Skills
He mentally selected Status, and new information flooded the screen:
[Status Window]
[Name: Drake D. Carter]
[Age: 17]
[Level: 1]
Stats:
[Power: 15 - Physical strength and attack damage]
[Speed: 18 - Movement speed and reaction time]
[Durability: 12 - Defense, HP, and stamina]
[Haki: 5 (LOCKED) - Willpower and Haki strength]
[Active Skills: None]
Passive Skills: [Analysis Eye Lv.1], [Fast Learner Lv.1]
Drake's eyes lingered on the Analysis Eye skill.
"Let's test it."
He glanced at a nearby tree, focusing on it with intent.
[Analysis Eye activated]
[Target: Ironbark Tree]
Properties: Extremely dense wood
Uses: Construction, weapon crafting
"So it gives practical information, not just flavor text." A grin tugged at his lips. "That's actually useful."
He turned his attention deeper into the jungle. If this was really the One Piece world, there had to be something more dangerous than trees…
The deeper Drake ventured, the thicker the vegetation became. Vines hung like natural curtains, and roots twisted across the ground in gnarled patterns that seemed designed to trip him.
His body younger and less familiar than the one he remembered moved with surprising coordination.
Muscle memory, he realized. This body's been through some shit.
He paused at a small clearing, wiping sweat from his forehead. The heat was oppressive, nothing like the climate-controlled lecture halls he vaguely remembered from his past life. His fingers brushed against the scar running through his eyebrow.
How did I get this? The System had given him a name and stats, but no backstory. Had Drake D. Carter existed before he arrived, or was this body created the moment he washed ashore?
A rustling in the underbrush cut through his thoughts.
Drake's hand instinctively reached for a weapon that wasn't there. His heart hammered as he activated Analysis Eye, scanning the treeline.
[Analysis Eye activated]
[Target: Island Boar]
Level: 3
Threat Level: Low
Abilities: Charge Attack
The creature that emerged from the foliage was massive easily the size of a small car, with tusks that could gore a man in half. Its beady eyes locked onto Drake, and it snorted, pawing at the ground.
"Low threat?" Drake muttered, backing up slowly. "That thing could kill me."
The boar charged.
Drake's body moved before his mind caught up. He dove to the side, hitting the ground hard as the boar thundered past, its tusks missing him by inches. The beast skidded in the dirt, turning with surprising agility for something so large.
Okay, think. Drake scrambled to his feet, his medical training fragmented as it was kicking in. Analyze the situation. What do I have?
No weapons. Just his stats and whatever physical capabilities this body possessed.
The boar charged again.
This time, Drake didn't dodge. He waited until the last possible second, then pivoted, grabbing a thick vine hanging from a nearby tree.
He swung himself up just as the boar passed beneath him, its momentum carrying it straight into an ironbark trunk with a sickening crack.
The beast staggered, dazed.
Drake dropped from the vine, spotting a broken branch on the ground thick enough to serve as a makeshift club. He grabbed it, testing its weight.
Speed 18. I'm faster than this thing.
The boar shook its head, recovering quicker than Drake expected. It turned, rage in its eyes, and charged once more.
Drake stepped forward to meet it.
At the last moment, he sidestepped, bringing the branch down on the boar's skull with everything he had.
The impact reverberated up his arms, and the branch splintered, but the boar went down hard, sliding across the forest floor before coming to a stop.
[Combat Complete!]
[Experience Gained: 50 XP]
[Level Up! Level 1 → Level 2]
[All stats increased by +1]
Drake stood there, breathing hard, the broken branch still clutched in his hands. His arms trembled not from fear, but from adrenaline.
"Holy shit," he breathed. "That actually worked."
The blue screen pulsed again:
[New Quest Available: Hunter's Instinct]
[Objective: Defeat 5 wild beasts]
[Progress: 1/5]
[Reward: +3 Power, Basic Combat Skill]
Drake looked down at the unconscious boar, then at his shaking hands. In his past life, he'd been a medical student. He'd studied anatomy, understood the mechanics of the human body, but he'd never actually fought anything.
Now? He'd just taken down a monster boar with a stick.
A laugh bubbled up from his chest half-disbelief, half-exhilaration.
"This world is insane."
By the time the sun began its descent, Drake had explored a significant portion of the island. He'd found a freshwater stream, edible fruit that the Analysis Eye confirmed wasn't poisonous, and a cave that would serve as temporary shelter.
He'd also completed the tutorial quest.
[Tutorial Quest Complete!]
[Reward: Basic Supplies, +2 to all stats]
A notification appeared, and suddenly his Inventory menu glowed. Drake opened it to find:
• Bedroll (Basic)
• Flint and Steel
• Rope (20 meters)
• Hunting Knife
• Water Canteen
"Well, that's convenient," Drake said, pulling the hunting knife from the inventory with a thought. It materialized in his hand, solid and real. The blade was simple but well-made, with a leather-wrapped handle.
He turned it over, examining his reflection in the polished steel. His red eyes stared back, intense and unfamiliar.
Drake D. Carter.
The name still felt strange, but he was starting to own it.
As night fell, Drake sat at the mouth of the cave, a small fire crackling beside him. He'd used the flint and steel from his inventory another surreal moment in a day full of them and now he watched the flames dance against the darkness.
His status screen floated in front of him:
[Status Window]
[Name: Drake D. Carter]
[Age: 17]
[Level: 2]
Stats:
[Power: 18]
[Speed: 21]
[Durability: 15]
[Haki: 5 (LOCKED)]
"Progress," he murmured. The stats were climbing, but he had no frame of reference for how strong he actually was. In the One Piece world, power scaling was notoriously wild. Luffy had started as a rubber kid who could barely punch, and ended up fighting gods.
Where did Drake fall on that spectrum?
He closed the menu and leaned back against the cave wall, exhaustion finally catching up to him.
The events of the day played through his mind waking on the beach, the System initialization, the fight with the boar.
And underneath it all, the nagging question:
Why am I here?
The System had given him incredible power the ability to wield two Devil Fruits, something that should be impossible. But it hadn't explained why. Was this random? Was he chosen? Or was he just a cosmic accident, transmigrated into a world he'd barely known existed?
Drake's hand drifted to his chest, where he could feel his heartbeat steady and strong.
I died saving my brother. That much he remembered clearly. The screech of tires, the moment of decision, the impact.
So this is my reward? Or my punishment?
He didn't have an answer.
The fire popped, sending embers spiraling into the night sky. Somewhere in the jungle, a creature howled not threatening, just lonely.
Drake watched the stars emerge above the treeline, constellations he didn't recognize.
Tomorrow, he'd continue exploring. He'd complete the Hunter's Instinct quest, get stronger, figure out where the hell he was in the One Piece timeline.
But tonight, he let himself feel the weight of everything that had happened.
"Second chance," he whispered to the fire.
"Don't waste it."
The flames crackled in response, and for just a moment, the wind outside the cave seemed to shift as if the world itself was listening.
Drake closed his eyes, and for the first time since washing ashore, he let himself sleep.
End of Chapter 1