"Ding. You've used one of your Life Simulator opportunities. Beginning life simulation...
At 17, you had been at the Marine Academy for a year. You had learned the basics of marksmanship, navigation, artillery, and steering, and your strength had improved considerably.
At 18, having completed the basic courses and met the physical requirements, you were authorized to begin training in the Navy Six Forms. Within a year, you had mastered all six.
At 19, you concealed most of your strength and graduated from the Marine Academy with mediocre grades, becoming an ordinary Marine.
After two years of honing your skills, your swordsmanship had improved again. You successfully unleashed Sword Aura and became a Swordsman.
At 20, you had always kept a low profile. Just as you were about to apply for a transfer, the Great Pirate Shiki the Golden Lion escaped from the sixth level of Impel Down. You were sent with the unit assigned to stop him.
You were no match for Shiki the Golden Lion and ultimately died outside Impel Down..."
"This life simulation has ended. You've earned the following rewards. Choose one to claim.
1. Basic knowledge of marksmanship, navigation, artillery, and steering.
2. The training methods for the Navy Six Forms.
3. Swordsmanship and insights at the Swordsman level.
4. Four years' worth of physical enhancement."
Just as in his first life simulation, his second ended in an untimely death. But Wood wasn't surprised anymore.
This world was full of danger. If people could casually simulate lives into their seventies or eighties, then after a few rounds of simulations, he'd be practically invincible on the sea.
Compared to dying in a shipwreck during his first simulation, at least this time he'd managed to die with a little more dignity.
And Wood wasn't particularly surprised by the way he'd died.
Concealing his strength was something he'd genuinely do, and it would indeed improve his chances of survival.
But he could only blame his terrible luck for running into Shiki the Golden Lion, captain of the Flying Pirate Crew.
Shiki was from the same era as Pirate King Roger. Even more than a decade later, he'd still be remembered as one of the legendary pirates.
As the first person in history to escape Impel Down, Shiki was so powerful that, a few years from now, it wouldn't matter whether Wood concealed his strength or not. There'd be little difference between the two, and getting killed by him was perfectly normal.
After Roger's death, Shiki had fought alone against Marine Headquarters. He'd battled Garp and Sengoku for days before finally being thrown into Impel Down.
And the timing fit: a few years after being imprisoned, he'd choose to cut off his own legs and escape.
But back to the matter at hand. As Wood looked at the four rewards that appeared before him after the simulation ended, he hesitated briefly. This time was different from the first.
The first reward was easy to rule out. Wood wasn't interested in marksmanship or artillery; he intended to focus on close-combat weapons.
As for the second reward, he might have chosen it if it granted him the Navy Six Forms outright. But it only offered the training methods, so he dismissed it too.
He'd already received Kaji's insights into training in the Navy Six Forms. With a little experimentation, he could master them ahead of schedule.
Learning the techniques outright would save him time, but merely receiving the training methods was of little use to him.
The main reason Wood hesitated was the third and fourth rewards.
He'd long been eager to obtain the Swordsman-level swordsmanship and insights that let him unleash Sword Aura. But four years' worth of physical enhancement was just as tempting.
As he agonized over the choice, a countdown even appeared beside the system's reward selection. To avoid ending up with nothing, Wood finally chose the third reward: Swordsman-level swordsmanship.
The reason was simple. Four years' worth of physical enhancement was tempting, but as long as he kept working steadily, he could achieve that on his own.
But there was no guarantee he could obtain Swordsman-level swordsmanship and insights. They depended on comprehension and talent, and luck played a considerable part too.
In the second simulation, Wood had successfully learned to unleash Sword Aura and become a Swordsman.
But if he lived that life again, there was no guarantee he could pull it off.
One reward was something he could gain through years of effort; the other was a precious insight that might never come again. The choice was obvious.
When he claimed the reward, a flood of knowledge poured into Wood's mind. He'd experienced this before, but it still felt remarkable.
There was no visible change to his body, yet he could feel that his mind had been filled with new knowledge, and his understanding of the sword had become much clearer.
If he ran into Iron Arm Cook again, Wood was certain the fight wouldn't be nearly as grueling as last time.
He brought his fingers together like a blade and swung downward. A sharp Sword Aura burst from his palm, leaving a shallow slash on the leg of the bed beside him.
Unleashing Sword Aura—now that was a man's dream! After all, every boy dreamed of becoming a martial hero, and Sword Aura was the mark of a true master!
"Too bad the sword I had before broke when I fought Iron Arm Cook. Otherwise, I'd love to see just how powerful my full-force External Slash is now!"
The Marines issued standard swords, but these mass-produced, low-quality weapons couldn't withstand Wood's abuse.
So these days, when he practiced swordsmanship, he used wooden swords with rocks tied to them.
Why? Because he could make a wooden sword himself, but even the cheapest standard Marine sword cost money.
"I should start looking for a better sword. I'm a Swordsman now, after all. It's a little embarrassing not to have a decent blade."
His swordsmanship had reached the Swordsman level. It probably wouldn't be easy to improve much more in the short term.
Since Kaji had given him insights into the Navy Six Forms, he'd focus on high-intensity physical training for now, preparing his body to start mastering them.
Night had fallen. In the Marine Academy's freshman dormitory, the students, worn out by a full day of demanding lessons and training, were already sprawled in their beds, sleeping like logs and snoring loudly.
But Wood quietly got up, changed into plain clothes, grabbed his training gear, and slipped out of the dormitory. He nimbly climbed over the fence and ran toward the woods behind the Marine Academy.
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