I Refuse to Accept This

Louis wasn't a native of this world. It was hard to believe, but apparently, transmigration really existed—and he'd ended up in a fantasy world he'd always liked. It was all so astonishing that he could only explain it with the theory that parallel worlds were infinite, so it wasn't strange for one to exist that was exactly like the world of the One Piece manga he'd read. But none of that mattered. What mattered was the fact that he'd transmigrated.

Louis had arrived in this world three years ago. At the time, this body had been nine years old, the only son of a wealthy merchant. Then pirates had plundered his home, leaving him with nothing. Whether the original owner had been lucky or unlucky, he'd enjoyed nine years of wealth before dying. Louis himself, at least, felt pretty unlucky. In an instant, he'd gone from a comfortable modern life to drifting at sea with no guarantee he'd live to see another day.

As a child, Louis had considered using modern ideas to make some money. Unfortunately, the savagery of this world had taken him by surprise. Even some random thug was enough to chase him until he had nowhere to run. Start a business? He couldn't even get a hot meal before the beggars took it. That was the law of the jungle for you.

Louis had accepted his fate. Being a beggar wasn't so bad. This body really did look good, and Dylan hadn't been joking. When a nation was on the brink of collapse, all kinds of monsters came crawling out. The old order of this world had lasted far too long, and now all sorts of villains were emerging. Being a beggar was a good way to protect himself, too. No important person would pay attention to some little beggar on the street.

A turning point came a little over a year after he'd arrived in this world. Once he'd learned how the world was laid out and heard the names of the three great pirates on the seas, Louis figured out where he was. He began training his body. Here, the best way to change your fate was to become strong.

Then he met Wade and Dylan. They were the first good thing to happen to him in this world.

Wade was five years older than him, and Dylan was three years older. They were orphans too, struggling to survive in the city, but neither of them was content to spend their whole lives getting by. They were training their bodies as well. By chance, the three met, got to know each other, and became good friends.

Surviving on your own was really hard, but it was much easier with three people, especially since Wade was the oldest. Years of training had made him stronger than an average adult, and at last, life seemed to hold some promise.

Then CP found them. They didn't care whether the boys agreed or not; they took them straight to the training camp and began training them as reserve intelligence agents.

Physical fitness, hand-to-hand combat, languages, etiquette, customs, geography, history, mathematics, navigation, interrogation, infiltration, assassination, reconnaissance, counter-surveillance, resisting torture, and much more.

An intelligence agent needed to master a great many things. But for Louis, the most important thing was naturally the Rokushiki—the techniques that could let a person transcend the ordinary and reach superhuman heights.

Unfortunately, this South Sea Training Camp was only meant to train ordinary CP spies. Regular trainees weren't taught the Six Powers at all. Only the most outstanding trainees had a chance to obtain the training method for one of them.

Louis was one of the outstanding trainees. Though he was the youngest, he trained like a madman, and with a little help from his own cheat, he'd eventually learned one of the Six Powers. He chose Tekkai. Staying alive was the most important thing.

After training came the graduation exam. Only those who passed could join the CP series. Those who failed could only sink to the bottom of the sea. They shouldn't even think of running. The government kept reserve intelligence agents under just as tight a leash as its official agents, and with Vivre Cards like those, they had nowhere to run.

The large ship that came to collect them didn't stop for a moment. It headed straight for the training camp in a hidden stretch of sea.

When they reached the training camp, the deadline hadn't arrived yet. The graduation mission had a three-month time limit. After all, it covered the entire South Blue, and just traveling back and forth took a long time. Carrying out the actual mission could take even longer, so three months wasn't much.

You could only say that Louis and his two friends had finished their mission too quickly. Facing a huge organization that could crush them with ease, they'd completed the task in two months and hadn't even been hurt. They'd done exceptionally well.

They spent a few leisurely days at the training camp, and most of the trainees who'd completed their missions returned as well. A few were still on their way back, but everyone else wasn't coming back at all. There was only one outcome for those who failed their missions: death. Failing to finish before the deadline meant death, and even if they completed the mission, failing to return within the allotted time also meant death. In the end, probably fewer than a third of those who took the graduation mission would graduate successfully.

On the day the three-month period ended, Louis and his two friends went to the training camp's harbor. Quite a few others were with them. Everyone stood silently at the harbor, watching several large ships hurry toward them across the sea. They were all cutting it close.

While most of the ships were still some distance from the harbor, the bell announcing the end of the time limit began to ring. Only one ship had docked before the bell sounded. A few people stumbled off it and collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. The other ships abruptly slowed down. By the time they drew near the harbor, their instructors were tossing a few still-warm corpses overboard.

The exam was over.

Before dawn the next day, the shrill alarm rang out, and Louis got up as usual. He dumped a bucket of cold water over Dylan in the bed across from him. Dylan didn't even have time to complain; he hurriedly pulled on his clothes, met up with Wade in the neighboring dormitory, and the three rushed to the training field.

Everyone assembled. There really were far fewer people now. Their ranks had shrunk dramatically.

A row of instructors stood with grim expressions. At their head was a middle-aged man, tall and heavily muscled, holding a folder.

"One year of training. One thousand three hundred and eighty-one trainees,"

the lead instructor announced. "Six hundred and fifty-six people took the graduation exam. Two hundred and nine completed their missions and graduated successfully. Congratulations. You're the lucky ones who survived and can join CP as proud intelligence agents."

"..."

Silence spread through the crowd. No one spoke.

The instructor continued, "Every year, the South Sea Training Camp sends large numbers of outstanding recruits to the entire CP series, making an indelible contribution to the stability of the world. I hope you won't forget what you learned here after you join CP."

For most of them, training ended here. From now on, surviving their missions would depend on the skills they'd learned at this place.

"Right. Now I'll announce everyone's assignments."

The training camp was pretty decent about it. They even found you a job.

"CP1: John, Jack, Donny, Prin..."

"CP2: ..."

"CP5: ..., Dylan, ..."

"CP8: ..., Louis."

After announcing the assignments of more than two hundred people in one go, the instructor licked his lips. CP1 through CP8 weren't ranked in order of strength; they just had different functions. Assignments were largely based on each person's strengths. Making the best use of their abilities was the top priority.

"Then there are just two people left."

The instructor's eyes turned to the only two whose names hadn't been called: Wade, standing beside Louis with his gaze fixed straight ahead, and a man at the other end of the formation, looking delighted. "As usual, but there's one exception this year."

The usual rule was that the training camp's top trainee earned a direct recommendation to the upper ranks of the CP series: a place in CP9.

"CP9: Frank."

The instructor seemed to toss the name out casually. Then he fixed his gaze on Wade and gave a satisfied smile, saying in a deep voice,

And the exception was

"Wade, CP0!"

"Whoosh!"

The instructor's words were like a gust of wind, sweeping away everyone's composure. The training field had been quiet, but now everyone's ragged breaths rose together like a breeze.

The exception was that this year's top trainee would join CP0, while the CP9 spot would go to the runner-up.

"Instructor!"

Louis suddenly raised his hand.

"Speak."

The instructor frowned slightly.

"I refuse to accept this."

Louis said.