"Pa-ta!"
Beneath the brilliant sunlight, multicolored bubbles drifted leisurely upward, only to burst apart in an instant upon reaching the air above.
Under the dense shade of a towering tree, Alex knelt on the ground with both hands tightly bound behind his back. His head hung low, silent and unmoving, like a sculpture carved from stone. Behind the back of his head, a dark, merciless gun barrel was aimed directly at him.
"Execute!"
Major Karens issued the command in a low voice, then shifted his gaze away from the black-haired youth. A trace of regret flickered through his eyes.
Everyone present knew the crime did not truly belong to this boy—yet death was still unavoidable.
"Damn Celestial Dragons…"
Karens cursed inwardly.
If a youth like this had served under him as a marine, he would surely have had a promising future. But reality allowed no alternatives. If the Celestial Dragons failed to see this boy's corpse, then the one sacrificed would be Karens himself.
"Bang!"
In the blink of an eye, the gunshot rang out.
Dust settled. To the world, the boy was nothing more than another victim executed for offending the Celestial Dragons and angering the nobility. From the moment it happened, his fate had already been sealed.
Karens sighed and turned to leave.
Stationed at the Sabaody Archipelago, he had long grown accustomed to such scenes—yet he still found them difficult to accept.
This, too, was part of the path fate had assigned him.
Major Karens, a man who firmly believed in destiny.
However, after taking several steps, he realized the marines behind him had not followed.
"What are you standing there for? Move his body and dispose of it immediately!"
Frowning, Karens spoke while turning around.
But the moment he faced them again, his pupils shrank violently, his face filled with shock and disbelief.
His otherwise ordinary face twisted rapidly, and for a brief moment, he felt disoriented.
Beneath the black-haired youth was a small hole in the ground. The faint smell of gunpowder lingered in the air—the unmistakable trace left after firing a standard marine rifle.
"He… he's still alive?"
"How is that possible?"
"The bullet clearly entered through the back of his head and exited through his forehead!"
Trembling, panicked voices echoed around them.
Major Karens quickly regained his composure. He stared at the black-haired youth, who was slowly raising his head, his expression complicated.
From the moment of his capture, the boy had remained unnaturally calm. Even in the face of imminent death, not a trace of fear had appeared on his face.
And now—even after being shot through the back of the head—he still lived.
The youth's eyes were as deep as the night sky. That extraordinary calm sent a chill through everyone present, as if he had already foreseen everything that would happen.
Karens shifted his gaze and noticed that the boy's forehead bore no injury whatsoever, as though the bullet had never touched him. His pupils contracted slightly before he decisively gave another order.
"Finish him with a blade."
The marine soldier behind the youth froze briefly before quickly drawing the military saber from his waist. He understood the major's intent immediately—this would be a beheading.
This boy was far too strange. Even bullets could not take his life.
The saber sliced through the air.
With the marine's full-force swing, the blade passed cleanly across the boy's neck without resistance. The execution was precise, flawless, undeniable.
Yet what followed stunned everyone once again.
The black-haired youth remained completely unharmed. His head rested steadily upon his shoulders, his expression calm as still water, his gaze deep and tranquil.
There was even a faint trace of mockery hidden in his eyes as he looked at Karens.
"What the hell are you?" Karens roared.
He had already realized something was terribly wrong. Neither gunfire nor decapitation could inflict any harm upon this boy.
The kid was practically a monster.
However, Alex ignored Karens entirely. His thoughts had already drifted elsewhere. After experiencing two "deaths," he noticed that two new points had appeared on the system panel before his eyes, causing him to fall into deep contemplation.
About ten days earlier, he had arrived in this world, becoming a gardener employed by a noble at the Sabaody Archipelago. There, he met several sincere friends and lived relatively peaceful and comfortable days.
But then came that day.
A male Celestial Dragon, dressed in extravagant clothing with a bloated belly, returned home in fury. Apparently humiliated somewhere outside, he vented all his anger upon the servants of his household.
Four of Alex's friends were brutally killed.
When injustice finally reached him, Alex resisted in rage—only to be shot through the heart by the noble. At that very moment, however, he discovered the first trait he possessed upon arriving in this world—the undying body granted by the Immortality System.
Any attack capable of causing fatal damage or bodily mutilation to him would be reversed, equivalent to dying and then reviving in his original state, or having physical damage rewound back to normal.
Relying on this undying effect, Alex experienced twenty-three deaths—twenty-three instances of fatal injury.
In the end, he killed the noble himself, along with thirty-two guards.
All of them.
He escaped.
Until today, when Alex collided with a Celestial Dragon and was captured by Marine Major Karens.
"A Devil Fruit user?"
Seeing no response, Karens quickly reached his own conclusion.
Such a bizarre phenomenon could only be explained by an ability user.
He immediately issued further orders. Five more gun executions were attempted. Three beheading attempts followed.
The black-haired youth remained completely unharmed.
It was as if no method in existence could kill him.
"Take him back to the branch base. Use Seastone handcuffs or seawater."
Karens frowned as he spoke.
The marines immediately obeyed, lifting Alex and dragging him forward.
"Investigate his background."
"I want to know exactly what this guy is!"
Karens added.
A boy who could not be killed was simply too strange. He had never encountered an ability user like this before.
A strange curiosity rose within him. He even wanted to try more methods himself, just to see whether the boy could truly be killed.
How could someone in this world be impossible to kill?
Just as they arrived at the branch base, the sentry at the gate saluted before lowering his voice.
"The Vice Admiral has arrived."
Karens froze, instantly becoming tense.
To him, there was only one possible superior holding that rank.
"Burn him with fire!"
"Drown him in seawater, use poison gas, bombard him with cannons try every method!"
"Let's see whether this brat can actually die!"
He waved his hand and issued orders to the marines behind him.
Then, after composing himself, he hurried into the base and headed toward the office building.
Hearing Karens' orders, Alex remained silent.
At this moment, he was far more curious about one thing.
What exactly were the points displayed on the system panel before his eyes used for?
Every time he died or suffered fatal damage one point would be added.
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