The Beginning!

[Another stranger has arrived.]

In the dark, cramped space, a tiny figure stretched its body.

[Ugh, all I can do every day is use that weird ability whose name I don't even know to sense the outside world. When will this life ever end?]

[It's been almost twenty months since I became conscious. It looks like the world I'm in really is extraordinary. Could I be the child of some big family?]

Could this be some kind of high-martial-arts world?

No, no. How could that be?

[Ahh~ When will this life ever end? And you over there, stop crowding me all the time!]

Inside the room.

A solemn expression,

In the dim light, a gentle-looking woman could be seen leaning against the headboard.

Her life force was like a candle flickering in the wind, yet as tenacious as wild grass.

More than twenty months had passed.

At the thought, the man's throat went dry. He couldn't help swallowing before asking, "Are you—Portgas D. Rouge?"

Rouge blinked her dry, sore eyes. Looking at the renowned man who had come to see her, a household name in this era, she seemed finally able to breathe a little easier.

"Good day, Mr. Garp. I am."

Hearing her weak voice, Garp felt helpless.

Cough!

His throat a little dry, he said,

"Now that I'm here, you can relax and give birth to them. Leave everything else to me."

"Thank you. Thank you."

Rouge said gratefully.

[Merit Points +1]

[Hm? What is this? Why does it feel like it's pulling me in? Am I about to...]

Waaah~ Waaah~ Waaah.

[It's so dark out. Is it evening? Oh my god, I'm finally born.]

The "weak" cries of a baby rang through the spacious room. A few minutes later, a second, even louder cry followed.

[So noisy. What's there to shout about? Unlike me, wouldn't it be nice to stay quiet?]

"That's wonderful. Mother and child are safe. Doctor, I'll go get that gentleman."

The nurse hurried out.

A moment later, the stranger he'd sensed earlier also entered the room.

Seeing the newcomer,

[Huh? Why does this person look familiar?]

Rouge, leaning against the headboard, gently cradled the two swaddled babies, softly brushing their cheeks against her bloodless face.

Looking at the babies in her arms, she spoke softly, her voice filled with endless reluctance.

"The one with freckles is the younger brother, Gol D. Ace. The frail one is the older brother, Gol D. Mercer."

As soon as she finished speaking, the arm that held them slipped from the swaddling cloth. Rouge's life had come to an end.

[Gol D.? Could it be...]

Hearing his own name, Mercer froze in thought. Then he sensed Rouge's Aura fade away.

An uncontrollable sorrow surged through him. "Waaah!"

At the same time, the other baby began wailing, as if infected by his grief.

The doctor looked at the two babies with pity, then said regretfully, "Sir, please accept my condolences. Mrs. Rouge was far too weak. There was nothing we could do."

"Mm." Garp paused, his expression turning somber. "I understand."

Not long afterward, once Rouge's affairs had been taken care of and everything had been "handled," Garp left with the two babies in his arms.

"The name Gol is too conspicuous. From now on, you two will take the name Portgas, your mother Rouge's surname. You'll be Portgas D. Mercer and Portgas D. Ace."

As he headed toward the shore, where a warship was moored, he glanced at the "well-behaved" Mercer in his arms. Garp's gaze darkened.

He thought about what the doctor had just told him, and the strange seahorse in his pocket—the one he'd found before coming here, capable of stealing memories.

[Sir, I'm sorry. This baby, Mercer, seems to have been weak from birth, and may not live long. But I can't determine the exact cause, or how long he'll survive. I'm sorry.]

[Perhaps you could take him to the medical nation of Drum Island in the Grand Line. Or maybe you could take him to see a genius doctor who recently appeared in West Blue. Those places might be able to figure out what's wrong with him.]

[All right, I understand. This is a remarkable seahorse that can steal memories. I'm sorry, but I can't let you keep your memories of Rouge and the children.]

[Yes, of course. I understand. Although Mrs. Rouge was part of our main family, the fewer people who know about that kind of secret, the better.]

Holding Mercer and Ace, Garp could feel that Mercer's heartbeat seemed healthy, yet his Aura was unbelievably faint.

"He feels both strong and weak at the same time. What's going on?"

Garp ground his teeth, agitated, but he had also made up his mind.

"I promised your parents, so I'll keep my word. From now on, you two are my grandsons. Mercer, Ace."

Just then, Garp sensed a gaze. He looked around, then finally down at the little one in his arms who was still awake.

The next moment, a large pair of black eyes met a small pair.

Garp froze as he looked at Mercer's wide, glistening eyes. The baby reached out a soft, wrinkled hand toward his beard, making happy little noises.

Garp couldn't stop himself from grinning. He leaned his head toward Mercer, and the next second, he felt the baby brush against his beard before pulling away.

Garp grinned broadly. "Little Mercer, do you like Grandfather?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mercer's eyelids began to droop. He drew back his chubby arm and closed his eyes.

Garp laughed loudly once again.

With his eyes shut, Mercer thought about what the doctor had said. He was speechless. What are you talking about?

Still, Mercer secretly used his sensing ability to examine the man holding him.

A terrifying height, a monstrous, muscular build, and terrifying power hidden within him.

And though he kept it in check, there was also an inhuman Aura about him, as if he were concealing his true strength.

As soon as he jumped aboard the warship, Garp stiffened. He felt as though someone had stripped him naked; a sensing ability was sweeping over him without restraint.

Just then, he saw his adjutant, Bogard, walking toward him and looking over the babies in his arms. Garp's eye twitched, and he asked irritably,

"Bogard, why are you using Observation Haki to examine me?"

Bogard wore a neat brown suit and a matching bowler hat. In his hand, he held a female baboon whose limbs hung limply and whose head was crowned with a large bump.

Bogard stiffened, staring blankly at his "unreliable" superior, who was holding a pair of babies. His mouth fell open.

"Me? I didn't. Oh, right. The mother monkey you wanted, the one that just gave birth, is here. And you got a bonus, too. Mm, she's been washed."

Bogard didn't look as though he were lying. Then Garp felt that same "intrusion" again. This time, he could tell where it was coming from. He looked down at the babies in disbelief.

Their Observation Haki "clashed."

Garp glanced at Mercer, who seemed to be "asleep," and his eye twitched. "Observation Haki? From birth, and releasing it unconsciously? Seriously?"

As he thought about it, he gently lifted Mercer's left eyelid with his right thumb and forefinger. Looking at the pupil, which seemed a little empty on closer inspection, Garp's heart clenched.

Could this child have been born blind? No, that can't be. He looked right at me just now.

At the thought, Garp became uncertain again. Perhaps their eye contact had only been the result of sensing each other with Observation Haki.

He immediately said,

"Bogard, set sail at once. We're heading out to the Grand Line, to Drum Island. Hurry."

Bogard snapped to attention and immediately turned to leave. But the next second, Garp called, "Leave the baboon."

Bogard turned back and set the baboon down.

A little over ten minutes later.

In Garp's cabin aboard the ship.

"So that's how it is."

While drinking baboon milk, Mercer "looked" at the shapeless Light Orb of indescribable color he'd discovered earlier, resting at the very center of his consciousness.

It radiated a faint glow.

It looked like a large, smooth "egg."

It was filled with an indescribable atmosphere.

Not long ago, the moment [Merit Points] appeared, he had made contact with it.

As soon as he touched it, streams of jumbled information poured into his consciousness like water. Then, he naturally absorbed and understood it.

He had been reborn.

He had transmigrated.

He even had a "system."

But his system was rather special. Not only did it coexist perfectly with him and complement him, it had also been constructed from his own subconscious fantasies.

He blinked, and a crystal-blue, ultra-futuristic display appeared in his mind, projected across his retinas.

He looked at the status bar:

[True Name], [Attributes], [Gifted Abilities], [Overall Evaluation], [Merit Points], [Soul Crystals], [Legend Status].

He opened them one by one.

True Name: Portgas D. Mercer

Attributes:

[Body]: Strength: F-; Endurance: F-; Agility: F-

[Soul]: Will: F-; Perception: F-; Spirit: F-

[Special: Mystic (Energy)]: F- (Observation Haki growth bonus active.)

[Special: Charm]: C- (Devil's Descendant ability grants a permanent bonus.)

[Special: Luck]: C- (Devil's Descendant ability grants a permanent bonus.)

Gifted Abilities:

[A-rank Gift: Devil's Descendant], [B-rank Gift: Countless Grudges], [C-rank Gift: Observation Haki].

Overall Evaluation: [F- (An ordinary person who's not quite ordinary?)]

Merit Points: [1]

Soul Crystals: [0]

Legend Status: [Unknown (Merit Points +0/day)]

--

He closed the [Attributes] tab, then used his mind to open the [Gifted Abilities] tab and looked at the three abilities that had appeared there when he discovered the big "egg."

[A-rank Gift: Devil's Descendant] (Cannot grow freely)

[Gift Effect: Simply surviving is already a kind of good fortune. An unknown yet widely circulated legend of one who is alive. Permanently increases Luck/Charm attributes by three ranks, up to A-rank quality, and grants one Merit Point per day.]

[Gift Evaluation: Whether you're lucky or unlucky, you can't decide how you begin, but you can decide how you end!]

[B-rank Gift: Countless Grudges] (Cannot grow freely)

[Gift Effect: Because of your existence, Merit Points gathered through the slaughter of countless pregnant women and unborn children in South Blue. They longed to be born, yet were ignored. Their wishes were pure, and so was their hatred. You receive a blessing of strength and a curse of weakness.]

[Gift Evaluation: Though you may look frail, beneath that frailty, you are perfectly healthy. One plus one minus one equals zero?]

[C-rank Gift: Observation Haki] (Can grow freely)

[Gift Effect: A sensing ability awakened from birth. It is the power of "hearing," a power that lets you sense the Auras around you keenly. Permanently grants a moderate acceleration in the growth of Perception/Agility/Mystic attributes, up to C-rank quality.]

[Gift Evaluation: Among the three treasures of "Essence, Qi, and Spirit," this is the power of perception belonging to "Spirit"—Perception is running wild!!]

These three abilities could be said to have been distilled from his life experiences and from history. Perhaps they were his:

"Starting capital in life?"

Whether that was true or not, the information conveyed by the "Light Orb" had also explained it.

A moment later.

After sensing that the two human babies had finished eating, the mother baboon looked toward Garp ingratiatingly. She pointed a paw at her own baby, lying nearby, while watching this ferocious bipedal human.

Garp: "..."

Ten days later.

After the warship sped across the sea,

a snow-white island appeared, with several towering pillars like chimneys rising from it. At the same time, the temperature around them plummeted.

Garp glanced at Bogard and said with a cheeky grin, "I'll leave Ace with you. Keep an eye on the mother baboon. Those creatures aren't kind, especially when it comes to the young of other species."

The warship sailed into the island along an inland waterway and approached a stretch of shore. Garp jumped off with Mercer bundled up snugly in his arms and soon disappeared from Bogard's sight.

Watching from a distance, Bogard sighed and murmured,

"Why go to all this trouble?"

--

PS:

[Merit Points]: Distilled and gathered from faith and legends.

How to obtain and use Merit Points:

1. Stealing faith and legends: Merit Points can be taken from items that have legendary properties.

2. Extracting Gifted Abilities: Abilities can be excavated and distilled from life experiences and history (they can be manifested at will or distilled by spending one Merit Point), then manifested and activated with Merit Points (the specific quality of an extracted ability depends on the number of Merit Points spent) or manifested at will. (The quality of Gifted Abilities manifested at will depends on your level of mastery.)

3. Draws: Spend Merit Points to draw treasures from the myriad dimensions. These can include Gifted Abilities, items, characters, and more. (The draw range for each quality can shift up or down depending on the number of Merit Points spent.)

A new author with a new book. I hope the experts will give it a look.

Please bookmark! Please recommend! Please follow along! Please invest!

Some of the settings will be explained in the author's notes later.

Thank you!!!

--

[Permanent bonus ranges for common Gifted Ability qualities (cannot grow freely/can grow freely)]:

1. F- and E-rank: +1 quality/minor increase.

2. D-grade: +2 quality / moderate increase.

3. B- and A-grade: +3 quality / major increase.

4. EX-grade: +5 quality / extraordinary increase.

PS: Quality determines the specific effects of Gifted Abilities.

--

[Gifted Abilities can be divided into two types]:

1. They can grow through training after awakening.

2. They cannot grow through training after awakening.

PS: However, both types can be upgraded in quality by consuming [Soul Crystals] of the corresponding quality.

--

[Ranges between quality and Merit Points]:

F: (100)

E: (500)

D: (1000)

C: (5000)

B: (10000)

A: (50000)

EX (above A / conceptual / demigod): (100000~∞)