Jack Turner never thought his life meant much. He was twenty-five, single, and spent most nights with last year's TV shows playing in the background while he relaxed after long shifts at the hospital. Being a surgeon was demanding, and sometimes the only excitement he got came from rolling a pair of dice he kept by his bedside—something to fidget with while the world played on without him.
One night, he drifted off on his couch to an episode of The Artful Dodger. The screen flickered, the dice slipped from his hand, and the world vanished into black.
When he opened his eyes again, nothing felt familiar.
He was outside, on a busy, dusty street. People in old coats and hats rushed past him, shouting, bartering, living their rough 19th-century lives. Jack blinked, confused—he wasn't in his apartment. Not even close.
He ran to a window, and the reflection staring back nearly knocked the breath from his lungs.
A younger face. Sharper cheekbones. Mischievous eyes he recognized only from the show.
He was Jack Dawkins—the Artful Dodger himself.
Before panic could set in, a glowing blue screen unfolded in the air before him, humming softly.
[TEMPLATE SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
Template: Yoriichi Tsugikuni
Completion Time: 24 Hours
Yoriichi?
The Yoriichi Tsugikuni?
The one Demon Slayer who stood above legends?
Jack expected power, strength, maybe even danger—but he didn't understand what any of it meant until the system finished the next day.
When the final notification chimed, the world changed.
Colors sharpened.
Sounds separated.
And people walking nearby seemed to become transparent—not invisible, but visible within. He could see the flow of blood through their veins, the motion of muscle fibers, the tension in their joints as they stepped, breathed, or prepared to move.
It was the Transparent World, an ability once possessed by the greatest Sun Breathing users.
But for Jack, a surgeon?
It was breathtaking.
He could see anatomy like an open textbook brought to life—organs functioning, hidden injuries forming, weaknesses exposed with impossible clarity. In a world like this one, full of danger and trickery, it was more than an edge. It was survival.
And then the system delivered one more message:
[Notice: Unlike the original owner of this ability, your vision will NOT deteriorate.]
Jack froze, overwhelmed with relief he didn't know he needed.
Yoriichi's tragic fate—his slowly fading sight—would not follow him.
His eyes, his greatest tool, would remain his.
Not just as a surgeon.
Not just as a fighter.
But as a man finally given something extraordinary.
Jack Turner was gone.
Jack Dawkins stood in his place—reborn with the eyes of a legend, the instincts of a thief, and the heart of someone finally ready to live a life that wasn't ordinary.
And deep down, beneath the confusion and shock, something unexpected grew:
Excitement.
For the first time, Jack felt like the future wasn't something happening to him.
It was something he could shape with his own hands.
The Surgeon's Store
Two months.
That's all the time Jack had before the timeline of The Artful Dodger began in full—before the chaos, the danger, and the messy brilliance of a world where crime and medicine collided.
He learned this the moment he woke up the next morning, the system greeting him with a soft chime.
[SYSTEM UPDATE COMPLETE]
New Feature Unlocked: The Store
A transparent panel unfolded in front of him like the world's most surreal catalog.
STORE CATEGORIES
Surgical Tools
Medical Texts
Anatomy Manuals
Rare Medicines
Historic Pharmaceuticals
Modern Knowledge (Locked)
Emergency Kits
Specialized Surgery Guides
Jack stared at the screen, his heart catching in his throat.
This wasn't a fantasy game store.
It was a surgeon's treasure trove.
Scalpels with perfect balance.
Bone saws sharper than anything in the 19th century.
Suture kits that didn't rely on crude needles and thread.
Even antiseptics that wouldn't exist for decades.
He scrolled through the book section, and his breath hitched.
Books on neurosurgery. Cardiovascular techniques. Infectious disease treatments.
Knowledge far beyond this era—knowledge that could save countless lives.
But it wasn't free.
Below each item was a currency he hadn't seen before:
[Skill Points]
He checked his balance.
Skill Points: 12
Twelve.
Not much, but enough to get started.
Jack exhaled slowly, grounding himself.
The Transparent World gave him vision beyond imagination.
But tools? Techniques? Knowledge?
This store could shape who he became in this dangerous new life.
He tapped the cheapest item that felt essential.
[Purchased: Basic Surgical Kit — 5 Skill Points]
Contents: sterilized scalpels, fine needles, clamps, sutures, antiseptic wipes, gloves.
The kit materialized in front of him, appearing in a small leather satchel that blended perfectly with the era.
Next, he selected a text.
[Purchased: Advanced Anatomy Reference — 3 Skill Points]
Then two more items, smaller but important.
[Purchased: Infection Control Basics — 2 Skill Points]
[Purchased: Pain Management Techniques (Historical & Modern) — 2 Skill Points]
His points fell to zero—but the weight in his hands, the smooth feel of real surgical tools, made him feel grounded. Capable.
Dangerous, in a strange way.
He opened the anatomy book immediately. The detail was extraordinary—something no surgeon in this time could dream of. Muscles illustrated in layers. Nerves mapped perfectly. Conditions described with modern terminology.
As he flipped pages, the Transparent World activated without him calling it.
His eyes flickered, overlaying the book's diagrams onto the bodies of people passing on the street outside. Tendons gliding, blood vessels pulsing, organs moving rhythmically.
It was like reading a living textbook.
Jack closed the book gently, a slow smile forming.
Two months.
Two months before the show's timeline began—before the version of Jack Dawkins he knew from TV met the trials, crimes, and punishments destined for him.
But he wasn't that Dodger.
Not anymore.
He was Jack Turner—a surgeon with a legendary template, the Transparent World, and a store filled with knowledge that could change history.
He had time.
He had tools.
He had vision—literally and figuratively.
And now, he had a purpose.
Jack didn't know exactly what fate had planned for him, but he knew this much:
He wouldn't face it unprepared.
Not with the system by his side.
Not with the Transparent World in his eyes.
And not with the knowledge of centuries at his fingertips.
Two months was more than enough.