As Lynn opened his eyes, options appeared before him.

• [1. Gather Information]
• [2. Wreak Havoc]
• [3. Do Nothing]

A game-like interface popped up in front of his eyes. The interface was see-through, allowing Lynn to see what was behind it. However, what he saw beyond the interface wasn’t a medieval setting but a modern room. He noticed an IV drip beside him and felt a wave of exhaustion. Lynn realized he was back in his own world.

“This must be a hospital… Was everything I did with the Rumbar Pirates just a dream?”

[Please decide before the timer runs out.] [10… 9…]

“It’s definitely not a dream. But this feels surreal… Okay, let’s go with number 1.”

As soon as he made his choice, the interface vanished, and the world around him began to move like a movie. Monologue began showing up in the text box…

It had been ingrained in him that information was crucial for everything he needed to do. The fact that this strange entity gave him a choice confirmed it was not something to be taken lightly.

Like a game, his vision suddenly shifted to a white room with curtains on each side. It looked like a room he wasn’t familiar with, but the scent of antiseptic made it clear—it was a hospital room.

Like subtitles in a movie, boxes of text appeared below his line of sight, updating him on the current situation. Although there was no sound, he could tell from the subtitles that people were conversing nearby.

As he looked around, his hand suddenly came into view. It was thin and frail, a stark contrast to the strength he had developed during his training with Brook.

[You wake up in a hospital room. When you look around, you can’t find anything particularly interesting.] [You realize you’ve returned to Earth and are in the hospital because you ate a poisonous mushroom. When the nurse checks on you, she acts like she doesn’t know why you’re there.] [After the doctor explains your condition and you come to terms with what happened, you can be considered fully recovered, though some muscle loss occurred due to the coma.] [You tried asking about your sister, but no one would tell you the truth, quickly changing the subject.] [This leaves you feeling uneasy, knowing it’s better not to push too hard.]

As time passed, Lynn continued his life, the game-like interface occasionally intruding on his reality.

After a few days, when he was well enough, he decided to go home. Despite his sister paying the bill, she never visited him in the hospital. He didn’t know why, but he hoped it wasn’t something serious.

When he arrived at their small home, there was no sign of life.

“This is strange, where’s my sister? There’s no way she’d just disappear…”

Lynn wasn’t overly concerned since he knew his sister well, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. He felt like he had forgotten something important before encountering the interface, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

He chopped ingredients with surprising speed and cooked like a seasoned chef. Even though he shouldn’t have been this quick, something he didn’t understand had happened without his awareness.

As the night went on, he woke up at 5 a.m., cleaned up, and made breakfast. Lynn ensured he had everything he needed for the day and prepared to head to school.

At the school entrance, he encountered a familiar face.

“Whoa, if it isn’t the debtor’s kid! Nice to see you, brat. Glad you’re better, but we still want our money back. When are you going to pay up?”

The thug sneered, looking down at Lynn.

Oddly, Lynn didn’t feel scared like he used to. He didn’t know why, but it felt like he had faced something far more terrifying than the thug before him. To Lynn, the thug seemed like nothing more than a clown. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

The thug, however, took offense. He believed Lynn was mocking him, looking down on him.

Enraged, the thug grabbed Lynn by the collar and muttered something incomprehensible.

When Lynn didn’t respond, the thug spat out, “Your b**** of a sister went missing while trying to pay off the debt, and now there’s an even bigger one thanks to your hospital bill, brat! You’re the only one left to pay it off, so get a job and stop wasting time at school.”

As those words sank in, something in Lynn’s mind triggered a flashback of his time with the Rumbar Pirates, shocking him to the core.

He glared at the thug, grabbing the hand that still held his collar, and demanded, “What did you say?”

“Are you deaf? Your sister skipped out on us, so now you’ve got to cover her share.”

Crack.

A sickening sound echoed as Lynn’s grip tightened, causing the thug to yelp in pain and release his collar, stumbling back.

“What the heck, kid?!”

“Hey! What are you doing?”

The thug’s rant was abruptly cut short by a yell. He turned around and saw a police officer on patrol, prompting him to flee.

“I’ll see you later, brat!” the thug shouted as he ran away.

The officer chased after the thug, leaving Lynn standing there, frozen. He didn’t even realize he had made it to the classroom until he saw the desk, cluttered with papers and topped with a flower vase. The sight of the vase hit him like a ton of bricks.

In Japan, a flower vase on top of a desk symbolizes mourning—a sign that the owner has passed away. This meant someone was trying to imply that he was dead. It was another form of bullying, but Lynn couldn’t be bothered to care at that moment. His mind was consumed with worry about his sister’s disappearance.

Moving like a robot, he sat down at his desk without uttering a word. Classes went on as usual, and none of the teachers paid him any attention. During recess, no one approached him, and he remained silent.

When the school day ended, Lynn was still sitting at his desk, lost in thought.

“This jerk thinks he can just ignore us?”

“Let’s beat him up!”

A sudden punch to his face snapped him out of his daze. His bullies had found him, and now they were taking out their frustration on him. They pushed him down in the empty classroom and began kicking and stomping on him.

At that moment, a line of text appeared in front of Lynn.

[Collect Information]

Just seeing those words jolted him awake, and as he looked around, a sickening realization hit him.

“These guys… They’re the reason my sister is missing…”

Lynn grabbed one of his bullies by the leg and swung him like a bat, knocking the others down as he unleashed his fury.

People died…
I was useless…
I couldn’t save them…
In the end, the place I loved was destroyed.
Barbaro and the others… they’re all gone…
Even Master Brook… he must be dead by now…
And now my sister is missing…
But these people…
These bastards still want to oppress me?

“Ah!”

“No, no, no! Don’t come closer!”

“Help me!”

His monstrous strength, honed by Brook’s training, suddenly returned as he took his time torturing his bullies. He hurled one into another with terrifying force, sending them crashing to the other side of the classroom. The small amount of power left in his body exploded with devastating effect.

Before he knew it, his bullies were unconscious, their bodies broken and twisted from the brutal beating.

A school watchman, alerted by the noise, rushed into the classroom. He found five students lying on the floor, unconscious, with foam at their mouths. Lynn stood amidst the chaos, unmoved by what he had done.

As he slowly walked toward the door where the guard stood, he ordered him to leave.

Terrified, the adult bolted out of the room, calling for an ambulance to assist the injured students. But Lynn didn’t care. He simply walked away, his mind focused on one thing—finding his sister.

After wandering for a while, Lynn finally reached the loan shark’s office. Spotting a steel pipe outside, he grabbed it and marched inside, ready to confront anyone who stood in his way.

Character Status: Lynn Sadogashima

• Level: 1
• Class: [Unknown]
• HP: 50/50
• MP: 20/20

Attributes:

• STR: 45 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ (Intermediate)
• VIT: 50 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ (Intermediate)
• AGI: 40 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ (Intermediate)
•  INT: 100 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ (Expert)

Passive Skills:

• [Dexterous Hand]

Active Skills:

• [Simulate]

Techniques:

• [Swordsmanship Lv. 4]: Advanced
• [Herbology Lv. 6]: Master
• [Medics Lv. 5]: Expert
• [Music Lv. 4]: Advanced

Technique Levels: 1: Novice, 2: Beginner, 3: Intermediate, 4: Advanced, 5: Expert, 6: Master, 7: Advanced Master, 8: Grand Master, 9: Advanced Grand Master, 10: Unknown