"Damn it, this is what counts as a prize draw?"
Ren muttered under his breath, glancing at the balance in his account. One hundred Beli per spin—so cheap it almost felt like robbery. What more could he possibly ask for?
Still, drawing one by one was a waste of time. What he really wanted was to see what the so-called grand prize looked like!"Draw ninety-nine times!"
Ren gave the command, and the colorful roulette began spinning rapidly.
This time, streams of light cascaded like a waterfall, solidifying one after another into physical items around him.
{Prize obtained – Rice Ball}
{Prize obtained – Bottled Water}
{Prize obtained – Dirty Hand Crossbow}
{Prize obtained – Rusted Bolts}
{Grand Prize Triggered – Damaged Compass That Cannot Point North}
"A broken compass? And it can't even point north? That's the grand prize?"
Ren's gaze swept over the pile of junk until, in a corner, he spotted the unremarkable little compass.
A holographic panel appeared before his eyes.
[Damaged Compass That Cannot Point North / Compass of Desire]
[Origin: Pirates of the Caribbean]
[Effect: Points toward whatever the holder desires most. Cannot indicate direction or locate living beings.]
[Usage Limit: Once per day]
(Note 1: You're both lucky and unlucky. If this item were obtained from a higher-tier roulette, you'd have drawn the limitless version of the Compass of Desire—no usage limit, capable of locating any object, treasure, or place you yearn for.)
(Note 2: Treasure this grand prize. Each roulette tier only grants one unique grand prize!)
This was clearly a rare treasure. Ren had seen the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, after all.
The Compass of Desire didn't point north—it pointed toward the heart's truest wish.
Sure, what he had was obviously the nerfed version, but considering the draw had only cost him ten thousand Beli in total, it was absolutely worth it!
Still, the remark that each stage only granted one grand prize left him slightly disappointed. His fleeting thought of exploiting the system—cough, "creative profit methods"—was now officially dead.
Farming the low-cost beginner roulette for infinite jackpots had been outright killed.
"Still, even if it's the same kind of item, the higher the roulette tier, the better the prize. That's something to keep in mind."
Ren pondered the implications of the notes. The second one was worth paying attention to.
As for the first… he sighed, but not with much regret. He was never one to get greedy.
The most suitable prize was the best prize—and right now, this compass was perfect for him.
And if his hunch was right, he'd soon have a reason to use it.
Ren carefully put the compass away just as a new prompt appeared.
{You have completed 100 draws. The Dimensional Roulette has unlocked the Intermediate Roulette. Each spin now costs 1,000 Beli.}
"An upgrade?"
Ren blinked and opened the interface—there were now two roulettes.
One Beginner, one Intermediate.
The Beginner's cost was unchanged, but the Intermediate now required ten times the wager.
He could no longer exploit the jackpot system—but with this new tier came new rewards waiting for him.
Unfortunately, the tenfold increase in cost made him uneasy.
Still, now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
He picked out a few potentially useful items from the pile, stuffed them into a hastily packed bag, and slung it over his shoulder. His gaze lingered on the many things he had to leave behind.
The Dimensional Roulette apparently didn't include any kind of storage space, forcing him to abandon a lot of potentially valuable gear.
"Whether I live a life of luxury or die in a ditch depends on this beginning."
Ren stepped across the threshold, closed the door behind him, and inhaled the cold night air before striding firmly toward the harbor.
Escape?
Of course—that was inevitable. But before he fled, there was one last thing he needed to do.
No matter how absurd the situation, Ren had crossed into the world of One Piece.
There was no going back. His parents had passed away long ago, leaving behind only a house weighed down by unpaid loans.
To repay the debt and cling to the last piece of his old life, he'd dropped out of high school, slaving away at odd jobs and suffering through every kind of hardship.
He'd had a "home" in name only—and that kind of life left him with nothing to miss.
The past was dust; let the wind scatter it.
His current situation was dire, forcing him to step over corpses just to carve out a path to survive.
But at least now he had the Dimensional Roulette—the chance to change his destiny.
Unlike the man he used to be—powerless, trapped in the dark, watching others live happy, shining lives while he could do nothing.
He had once been confined in a cage of anxiety, with no path upward, no light, no freedom.
And precisely because he had endured that helplessness—because the grind of reality had dulled his edges—Ren now longed to grasp his future with both hands.
Only by seizing the power to change his fate could he truly experience this world that once existed only in fiction.
To meet Nami, Vivi, Hancock, and Shirahoshi—his two-dimensional crushes from the past… well, those were the ones that came to mind first, anyway.
But beyond that, Ren wanted to see the sky islands ten thousand meters above, the Fish-Man Island ten thousand meters below.
To understand the crimes and dreams upon the waves—to witness the rise and fall of the Pirate Era—or perhaps, to build his own world!
And all of that would begin with one thing: escaping this town.
Fortunately, Ren had the Dimensional Roulette to gain power—to alter his destiny.
And what did he need to fuel it?Chips. Massive amounts of Beli.
Conveniently, he knew that Nezuro—the local underworld boss—had accumulated years of dirty wealth. Most of it had gone to his uncle, Captain Nezumi.
But a portion would definitely be sitting in the "Godfather's" private stash—not some measly hundred thousand Beli, either.
And as luck would have it, the location had already been revealed by the marines earlier—
The warehouse beside the harbor!
Nezuro was a greedy crime boss, and clever too—he used his status to his advantage.
The warehouse he used as a base officially belonged to the Marines, which meant no one dared make a move against it.
And it wasn't even heavily guarded—Nezuro only had about ten men total, most of them relatives of mid-ranking Marine officers.
The Godfather knew that people feared him not for his strength, but for the shadow of his uncle behind him.
And right now, a desperate man was setting his sights on that very place.
Whoosh—!
A flash of cold light streaked through the night sky, slicing between two half-asleep guards.
The sharp sound jolted them awake.
"Who's there?!"
They shouted in panic and anger—but before they could react, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed toward them.
And emerging from the darkness… was a figure gleaming like gold!
(End of Chapter)