October 31, 1492, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion raised the small wooden sword above his head, then swung it down violently in a downward arc, stopping before it touched the ground.
He had been training with his wooden sword for almost an hour in his backyard.
It had been two months since the last system update. At first, he had been genuinely worried when he learned he was in the world of One Piece, but as the days passed, he slowly grew accustomed to the idea.
After all, he had already lived in this world for two years, and nothing unusual had happened. If it hadn't been for the system directly informing him that he was in said world, it would probably have taken him years to discover it, if he had discovered it at all.
The global improvement system he had was still not fully activated.
It was updated in batches, at unspecified time intervals, making it difficult to make detailed plans for the future.
For now, the things he knew were:
1-He was in the world of One Piece, but he had no idea about the story, characters, power system, etc. Still, he imagined there would be battles and superpowers. After all, the main character had superpowers, that much he knew.
2-Gion was a "Named Character," so she existed in the original story, but her role wasn't a main one; she could be considered an extra. The system had told him she was very suitable to be the mother of his children, and apparently he could get rewards if he produced offspring with her.
3-There were pirates in this world, or pirates were a central point. He knew that information because he had read the story synopsis, and pirates were mentioned in it.
This last point particularly worried him, and that's why he had started training with the sword daily. While he didn't know the power system used within the One Piece universe, the sword was one of the main weapons in any piece of fiction, so it certainly wouldn't be a waste of time to train in the use of the sword.
For this reason, he had begged his father to give him a small wooden sword to train with, but his father flatly refused. He feared that his son would develop aggressive tendencies and stray from the right path. After all, in the Pacific Village where they lived, there wasn't even a gunsmith or soldiers. Most people lived off farming, and there weren't really any people who had combat experience.
Finally, Orion had used his ace in the hole: asking his grandfather for help!
His grandfather held great authority within the family, and he especially liked to spoil his only grandson, so he immediately got him a small wooden sword, and his father couldn't help but accept his grandfather's decision.
Orion performed one last sweep of the sword and finished his morning training. Now that the weather was nice, he could take advantage of the opportunity to train outdoors without fear of getting sick.
He looked at the system screen, but there were no new notifications. However, in these two months, a new line of information had appeared in the system. While there wasn't yet a status page listing his attributes, and he didn't know if there ever would be, what there was was a description of his current level of proficiency with the sword.
*Skill: Swordsmanship (Level 0)*
This small line of information gave him hope for the future. This was because it had taken a month of daily practice for the system to recognize that his swordsmanship level was level 0.
And the system had confirmed that he could use system points to increase the level of the skills he knew, and he could even unlock entirely new skills using system points.
While the amount needed to increase a skill from level 0 to level 1 was completely unattainable for him at the moment, he was confident that when he grew older and had more freedom to influence the world and modify it, he could collect the necessary points and increase his power, and then he could gain a foothold in this great world!
As for the System Point he had previously obtained, Orion had used it to increase his body's innate talent. According to the information the System had provided, his body's innate talent represented the level of power he could achieve in the future, and he could use System Points without limitation to increase said talent.
What the System hadn't told him was the effect of each System Point he used. He hadn't felt any change in his body after using the System Point to improve his talent, so he suspected his talent shouldn't increase much with each point invested.
His plan for the future was simple: train as much as he could to increase his skills, and if possible, acquire several different combat skills that would give him versatility during future battles. Then, he also had to take any action he could think of that would have a positive impact on the world, so he could earn system points and increase his talent and combat skill level.
With that plan in mind, Orion sat under the shade of the large tree in his backyard and began reading a book he had borrowed from the Harewoods' house. It was a book on the use of medicinal plants that was worn over the years. He didn't know if it was because this world lacked a high level of culture and there weren't many books in circulation, or if the Pacific village where he lived was particularly backward in this regard.
Anyway, looking at the worn book, an idea came to his mind. What if he copied or wrote books and distributed them? Could he earn system points that way? He didn't currently have the ability to do such a thing, but he would keep it in mind for the future.
......…
May 9, 1493, Age of the Sea Circle
Another six months flew by. Orion, now three years old, can maintain his adult mind for about seven hours a day. He has also fully mastered reading and writing the language used in this world, and has even begun teaching little Gion in his spare time. It's worth noting that Gion is very intelligent for her age, and if it weren't for him using his adult mind for several hours a day, his little child self wouldn't be able to compete with her at all.
During these months, he earned two more system points for helping with household chores, and another two points for teaching Gion how to write. This last discovery opened up a whole new world of possibilities for him. Apparently, the fact that Gion is a "Named Character" appearing in the original story means that if he does things that positively influence her, he can earn system points. Perhaps it's because he's indirectly influencing the world.
After this experience with Gion, Orion decided that in the future, he must come into contact with more Named Characters and try to perform actions that have an effect on them. This way, he can earn a large amount of System Points to improve his talents and skills!
In that regard, a new Named Character appeared last month within the system's 500-kilometer detection area.
It was the Named Character "Hound." The system hadn't given him any further information, so he only knew that this Hound was somewhere relatively close. In the future, if he had the chance, he would go find him and try to earn System Points.
Orion had added all the System Points he had earned to his innate talent. He believed it was best to increase his talent as soon as possible, so he could become powerful from a young age.
Now, in the Lysanders' small house, Gion and Orion sat at a small table they had made their base of operations to learn writing. The little girl was focused, practicing the delicate strokes that made up the different letters of the alphabet of the universal language used in this world.
Orion, on the other hand, was practicing his drawing skills. In addition to his combat skills, he had tried, over the past few months, to develop all kinds of skills that he felt might be useful in the future. However, so far, he hadn't managed to get any of the skills he had practiced to level 0 like his swordsmanship skills had. This made him think that perhaps this body had a natural talent for such a skill, and that was why it had been so easy for him to reach the initial level of mastery.
"Orion, I'm hungry," said a sweet voice that evoked tenderness in anyone who heard it.
He stopped drawing his self-portrait and looked up to see little Gion, who was looking at him, pouting and rubbing her little tummy. Orion looked at the position of the sun and realized they had been immersed in their studies for a long time, and it was already past their usual lunchtime.
Their parents were used to their children's good behavior, so they didn't monitor them as closely as they had when they were younger. The two little ones were generally self-sufficient and had a study routine that they followed even without adult supervision.
Orion stood up and started walking toward the kitchen of his small house.
"Sorry, Gion, I totally missed lunchtime. Now I'm going to get some bread and some milk."
Gion immediately showed a big smile and raised his hands in the air to express his approval.
Orion took the bread and milk and returned to the small table. Gion pounced on the delicacies and began to eat with gusto. Meanwhile, Orion had just sat down when a bell rang in his mind.
*Ding*
*The system has been updated*
*The system has found a Named Character with mysterious abilities, a remote connection is possible. Do you wish to establish a connection? Yes/No*
Orion's eyes lit up. Right now, what he wanted most besides increasing his power was to find new Named Characters to interact with!
Without a second thought, he chose the affirmative option, and new information appeared on the system screen.
*Establishing connection….*
*Connection successfully established!*
*A remote connection has been established with the character named Shyarly (2)*
*Shyarly possesses mysterious abilities, allowing her to interact with the global improvement system. The Host can now converse with this named character through messages (telepathy)*
Orion felt great joy seeing that he could communicate directly with a named character; perhaps he could try to influence this person from a distance to gain points.
Seeing the number (2) next to the named character's name, Orion raised his eyebrows in curiosity. What did that number mean? Wouldn't it be the number of available messages?
If that was the case, it would be disastrous for his plans!
He consulted the system about it. And it told him that this was the age of the character named Shyarly. Now that the system had been updated, the ages of the named characters could be seen.
Orion checked the screen containing the small list of named characters he had encountered so far, and sure enough, numbers had appeared next to the other two names!
*Gion(3), Hound(14)*
This Hound he had never encountered was only a 14-year-old teenager! That was good news for him, as it would probably be easier to influence someone younger, as their perception of the world hadn't yet fully established.
He took a bite of the bread he had brought and tried to send a message to Shyarly.
"Hello? Shyarly?" he said in his mind, and a chat window, similar to the messaging apps he had in his previous life, appeared on the system screen.
He waited only a moment, and a line of text appeared in response on the screen.
"Hello? Who's talking to me? Ghost?"
In addition to the message that had been written on the screen, Orion could clearly hear a childish voice inside his mind, barely intelligible. Evidently, Shyarly, who was only two years old, couldn't yet converse like an adult; she had probably learned to speak not long ago, and was still learning how to pronounce some words correctly.
Orion continued sending messages.
"My name is Orion, I live in Pacific Town, and I'm three years old! I'm not a ghost! I'm sending you a message from a distance."
"Are you really not a ghost?" Shyarly said in her tender voice.
"Really, I can swear if you don't believe me, I promise I'm not lying."
There was a brief pause, and Shyarly answered cautiously.
"I- I'm Shyarly, two years old, from Ryugu."
Ryugu? Where would that be? Orion, who hadn't read One Piece, had no idea where such a place was located, and wondered if it was a familiar spot from the main story.
Orion continued chatting with Shyarly a little longer, trying to find out more about her, but after about ten minutes, he felt a great tiredness descend upon him. He had experienced this feeling many times before; it was a sign that his adult mind was about to go to sleep. But he should still have a couple of hours before the deadline!
Concerned, he consulted the system, and it told him that communicating with Shyarle long-distance required a great deal of mental effort for his little three-year-old body. For that reason, the more he used the long-distance messaging function, the greater the mental exhaustion, and the shorter the amount of time his adult mind could remain conscious.
"It seems I'll have to use this communication ability sparingly in the future. At least until my body is strong enough for it not to be a problem," Orion thought with the last shred of consciousness he had, and then his adult mind descended into darkness, leaving control to his child self.
......…
January 12, 1494, Age of the Sea Circle
Six months have passed since the last system update. His fourth birthday is just around the corner, with only about three weeks left. Now, his adult mind can remain conscious for about nine hours a day.
Furthermore, during these months, he has been chatting daily with Shyarly, and over time, they have become good friends despite the distance. Through his daily interactions with her, he has earned 5 system points over these months, which he has fully invested in improving his innate talent.
Shyarly turned 3 in September, and her speech has improved tremendously over these months, to the point where she no longer misspells or struggles to express her thoughts.
On the other hand, his grandfather and uncle have left again to work in a distant place. They apparently found new jobs, as laborers for a new startup company called Umit Shipping, which seems to have a promising future.
Orion asked his grandfather why he didn't stay in this quiet town where life was simple, instead of venturing out to sea to work far from home. To which his grandfather simply smiled and told him that a quiet life in Peaceful Town was fine, but too boring for him. According to him, he had been working on trading ships since he was young and no longer knew any other way to live. His uncle Luca had inherited that predisposition and followed in his footsteps, leaving only his father Paul as the only family member who preferred to live in the tranquility of this small town.
His grandfather and uncle left in the morning, promising to return before the new year, or at least they would try.
Watching them leave, Orion said a prayer in his mind, asking for their safe return.
He didn't know if gods existed in the world of One Piece, but a prayer never hurt, even if it was a way of comforting oneself.
Now, it was late afternoon, and Orion was hard at work on a project he'd been working on for the past few months.
It was a birthday present for his best friend, Gion! Who turned 4 tomorrow.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the finished product with joy. It had taken him until the last minute, but he'd finally gotten it done. Tomorrow, on the little girl's birthday, he would give her the gift she'd been wanting all year.