Skill Theft

Rubick was an ordinary homebody. He delivered takeout every day—a job that looked exhausting to other people, though it paid extremely well.

Whenever anyone asked if he was tired, he said he was exhausted. But when they asked about his pay, he always brushed them off with a vague "It's all right."

Now, though, Rubick could say with complete certainty that delivering takeout had been a breeze compared with his current job.

Why?

Because Rubick had crossed into another world.

In this new world, Rubick had no papers. Before he could even figure out what kind of world he had landed in, a band of vicious pirates captured him and took him to an island.

As for why he went by Rubick, when everyone around him had names like Peter, John, and Wallace, and he didn't want to stand out too much, picking a name that fit in seemed necessary.

They all spoke English, and Rubick could understand a little of it.

In the mine, Rubick's chest heaved like an old bellows. Harsh breaths rasped from his mouth and nose as he trudged toward the collection point with nearly fifty pounds of ore on his back.

"Move your ass!"

The foreman's curse was followed by the crack of a whip. Its saltwater-soaked tip struck Rubick's back and tore away a bit of flesh.

Rubick's job at the mine was to carry ore from the pit to the collection point. He worked from before dawn until midnight every day, with no guarantee of rest. Even the food he received wasn't enough to replace what his body lost.

Unable to withstand another lash, Rubick stumbled and fell.

Sweat blurred his vision. After so long without enough rest or food, his mind and body had reached their limits. He had always thought a miserable life was better than death, but now Rubick truly wanted to die.

He had grown up under the red flag in his previous life and had known little hardship. Faced with this bleak existence, he chose to welcome death.

"Quit playing dead! Get up and get back to work!"

A few more lashes struck Rubick's back, but he could no longer feel the pain. Memories from his previous life flickered through his mind, one after another.

Fine. Dying like this wouldn't be so bad.

Rubick slowly closed his eyes. Before he lost consciousness, a jumble of voices seemed to reach him. He knew those voices all too well: they belonged to the pirate foremen.

But the foremen no longer sounded so high and mighty. They were fleeing in panic. Pleas for mercy, furious shouts, and terrified screams slowly faded from Rubick's hearing.

"Captain Smoker, we've secured the illegal mine!"

A corporal with glasses and shoulder-length black hair stood before a captain with short white hair, a jacket, and a cigar in his mouth, reporting on the situation. They were Tashigi and Smoker, who had recently taken up their posts in Loguetown.

Smoker slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Those scum."

Smoker said no more, but Tashigi knew her superior wasn't cursing the pirates who had imprisoned the civilians. He meant the Goa Kingdom nobles pulling the strings behind them.

If the Goa Kingdom controlled this modest iron mine directly and hired civilians to work it, the nobles would have to pay them decent wages. By hiring pirates to do the job instead, they spent next to nothing.

Feeding, housing, and supplying hundreds of miners day after day would cost a fortune. Hiring pirates they could have the Marines wipe out at any time was far easier.

"Arrest the pirates and take them back to Loguetown. Bring the captives too. After that, let them decide where they want to go."

As a Marine, Smoker couldn't simply look the other way.

Rubick slowly woke. When he opened his eyes, he saw a swaying ceiling. The clean wooden boards made him think for a moment that he had returned to his rented room in his previous life.

Only the burning pain in his back reminded him that he hadn't. Nor was he alone in the room. A dozen or so other miners lay nearby, all as gaunt and sickly as he was.

"Were we rescued?"

The question slipped out. Ordinarily, no one would have answered him. Everyone had been living from one day to the next; numbness was the norm.

Today, though, a man replied excitedly, "That's right! The Marines saved us. You know their captain? His name's Smoker. He was sent straight from Marine Headquarters to Loguetown, and he's incredibly strong."

Smoker?

Rubick frowned. The name felt oddly familiar. It reminded him of an anime he had watched in his previous life.

Please don't let this be the world of Pirate King.

Rubick prayed silently. That world was far too dangerous, and he had no special advantage, no system or superpowers. An ordinary person there could do little but wait to die.

At any moment, a pirate crew might appear and rob him of every coin he had. If his luck was worse, they might kill him outright.

He could try hiding in the East Blue on an island with a Marine garrison. Even then, it would be less safe than a small town back in China.

After two days at sea, the warship arrived at Loguetown, and Rubick finally disembarked.

Unwilling to lie down and wait for death, Rubick stopped Smoker at the docks as he was about to leave and told him he wanted to join the Marines.

Smoker narrowed his eyes and studied the man before him. Rubick was older than he was, yet it was clear he hadn't endured much hardship before now.

An ordinary man who's barely known hardship.

That was Smoker's assessment of Rubick.

"You want to join the Marines?"

"Yes. I don't want to be treated like livestock ever again!"

Rubick spoke loudly, but his voice trembled. It wasn't just the pressure of facing Smoker. He had also confirmed that this really was the dangerous world of Pirate King.

And when Rubick came face-to-face with Smoker, his special ability awakened.

Skill Theft!

Arcane Supremacy!

Skill Theft was the signature ability of a hero from a game Rubick had loved in his previous life. It let him copy someone else's Devil Fruit, gaining both its powers and its weaknesses.

Right now, he had copied Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit. He had become a Logia powerhouse capable of dominating the East Blue!

In the game, Arcane Supremacy increased casting range and strengthened abilities. In this world, it boosted his Devil Fruit's power.

At last, he had the means to survive.