First Life Simulation (Seeking Collection, Seeking Follow-up Reads)

When I used to watch One Piece as an outsider, all I saw were passionate battles and touching bonds between comrades.

But only by experiencing it firsthand did Wood truly understand just how vicious so-called "pirates" really are.

Pirates like Luffy and his crew are exceedingly rare on this sea.

You could even say the Straw Hat Crew are more like Adventurers than pirates without any issue.

Admittedly, there are pirates like Whitebeard and Shanks who protect their territories.

But most pirates set sail for profit and fame—they're no saints, or else why would they be called "pirates"?

Since the dawn of the Great Pirate Era, Maple Leaf Island's population has already dropped by over a quarter.

Some died cruelly at the hands of pirates; others couldn't stand the pirates' frequent visits and chose to leave the island.

But Wood knew the Great Pirate Era had already begun—nowhere on the entire sea was truly safe.

Even if they left Maple Leaf Island, who could guarantee they wouldn't encounter other pirates out at sea?

The vast ocean brimmed with hope but was also extremely dangerous. Inexperienced people who set sail faced near-certain death.

Aside from encountering vicious pirates, there were too many unpredictable factors like tsunamis and Sea Kings.

To live in this world and gain any real safety, improving one's own strength was the only true principle.

Wood was now fifteen years old and already 180 centimeters tall, and judging by his looks, he'd probably grow a bit more in the next two years.

He used to be pretty proud of that—after all, that height plus a face well above average gave him plenty of immersion. Who wouldn't enjoy being reborn as a long-legged handsome guy?

But after Wood learned he was in the Pirate World, he suddenly felt his height didn't even qualify as "long-legged" here.

The Pirate World had absurd average heights, and everyone seemed overdeveloped—not even counting special races like the Giants.

Ordinary humans like the Three Marine Admirals averaged around three meters tall. Even the Pirate Empress Hancock, the wife of many One Piece fans, stood at 191 centimeters.

So Wood's 180 centimeters at fifteen barely kept him from being a dwarf—he really wasn't tall...

Anyway, that was just Wood's recent experience on the island. His top priority now was to get stronger.

After completing the task, Wood earned a chance at a Simulated Life. The system didn't need to explain the mechanics—Wood had played plenty of these in his past life.

So after putting down the axe, Wood collapsed onto the ground and started his first life simulation.

"Age 15. Because your home, Maple Leaf Island, has suffered repeated pirate raids and massacres, you resolve to get stronger out of righteous fury and begin relentless physical training day and night.

Age 16. Marine Headquarters recognizes Maple Leaf Island's strategic value and dispatches a warship, but it just misses you as you leave the island...

Age 17. After two years at sea, you've gained some navigation skills and wiped out a small pirate crew.

Age 18. Young and reckless, you chase a notorious pirate crew and end up straying into the Calm Belt.

Age 19. Trapped in the Calm Belt, you hold out for a while, but after your food runs out, you and your ship sink into the sea...

You have died. This simulation ends."

Unlike the simulators Wood used to play where he could easily reach hundreds of years old and survive tribulations, seeing only a few lines of text on the screen left him speechless.

What could he say? Unexpected, yet reasonable.

This sea was full of danger, and he wasn't King Luffy—someone with relatives all over the sea and protagonist's luck.

The moment he decided to set sail, he was already facing huge risks of death.

In fact, for a rookie like Wood to sail alone, survive at sea for years, and even take down some pirates was already beyond his expectations.

"This simulation has ended. You may choose one of the following rewards:

1. The physical training results from before leaving Maple Leaf Island. 2. Relevant navigation knowledge from your years at sea. 3. The valuables on your ship before you sank. 4. A random combat skill from your time fighting pirates."

Looking at the four options that popped up, Wood hesitated briefly before choosing the fourth.

The first option seemed decent, but over the next year, if he trained steadily, his physique would improve anyway.

As for the second and third, they were too useless for Wood right now.

Navigation knowledge and treasure were nice, but seeing how his simulated life turned out, Wood clearly wouldn't set sail alone again—or at least not until he'd grinded his strength to a sufficient level.

The fourth option was a gamble. Choosing the first would save him a year of training, while the fourth could give him something useless.

Still, after weighing the pros and cons, Wood ultimately chose the fourth reward.

The reason was simple: physical training could be done anytime, but experience and skills from fighting enemies were far more valuable.

As the saying goes, talking on paper is never as good as real combat.

Since Wood at eighteen had already killed an unknown small pirate crew, he must have had some real strength.

Even getting a bit of his combat technique from back then would be better than training alone on the island.

"Ding, congratulations! You have extracted a Sword Technique Insights."

Seeing the reward pop up on the system interface, Wood had just broken into a delighted grin when a flood of memories poured directly into his head.

Before this, Wood knew nothing about swords. But now, if he had a blade in hand, he felt he could wield it like an extension of his own arm.

In the simulation, before Wood sank into the sea, he had already mastered the "Cutting Steel" level of swordsmanship—the ability to hear the breath of all things. And now all of that belonged to the current Wood.

"Cutting Steel" and "External Slash" were the two hallmarks of a Swordsman. Although the eighteen-year-old Wood in the simulation couldn't release an External Slash yet, he had clearly found the threshold of a true Swordsman!