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[System]
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...
"What do you mean I don't have any hacks?!"
Dan bellowed, staring in disbelief at his system screen—which contained nothing but a floating display and a whole lot of empty space.
He had been promised a system built around hacks, so why wasn't there a single one to speak of?
He was certain he'd at least start with something. Had he somehow made a mistake with the wish?
Fortunately, the system moved to save him from his growing despair before he could spiral too far into it.
[Sensing memory awakening—The user has been given the Hacker's Starter Pack!]
[Gained the SpeedyGains Passive!]
[Gained the FullBright Passive!]
[Gained the TreasureFinder Active!]
[Gained the item: Sunglasses of Anonymity!]
[Gained the Script: AutoExist!]
[Gained the Script: AutoWalk!]
[Gained the Script: AutoFish!]
A string of notifications rang out one after another, and just like that, his system screen was a little fuller—much to Dan's still-baffled expression.
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Current Infamy Tier: Starter
▸[Current Bounty: 0 / 500K]
▸[NP: 0]
Equipped Passive Hacks [0/1]
▸ None
Equipped Active Hacks [0/1]
▸ None
Equipped Script
▸ None
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≡[LIST OF AVAILABLE HACKS]
[Passive]
▸ SpeedyGains
▸ Full Bright
[Active]
▸ TreasureFinder
[Items]
▸ Sunglasses of Anonymity
[Scripts]
▸ AutoExist
▸ AutoWalk
▸ AutoFish
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...
"... I guess the system just forgot to do its part," he muttered, eyeing the rapid response with a wry look.
Sighing, he turned his gaze back to the newly updated screen, eyes gleaming with excitement.
This was it—his actual system. A genuine cheat on reality, the kind that only fictional protagonists got to have.
Feeling like he might punch something out of sheer excitement, he tapped on the first skill's description.
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≡[Passive Hack: SpeedyGains]
▸ Multiplies the results of your training by 2.
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That was... decent, he supposed.
He had been hoping for something that gave him immediate power, but a multiplier on his training results wasn't something to scoff at either. The concern, naturally, was his base talent. If it was poor enough, a multiplier of two might just bring him up to the level of an average person.
He gazed at the sky, raising an eyebrow in doubt.
'Nah, that guy was making a power fantasy, not a masochist journey... probably.'
Hoping for the best, he moved on to the next skill.
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≡[Passive Hack: Full Bright]
▸ You can see perfectly in the dark, as if it were daytime.
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"...Okay," he muttered in a tone that was equal parts dejected and exasperated.
On the bright side, it wasn't a bad ability. It was, technically speaking, a superpower. Though he was fairly sure that with enough training, some people in his old world had probably managed something similar without needing a literal cheat.
"Whatever." He moved on.
The next skill was listed as an active hack, which he assumed meant he'd have to trigger it manually.
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≡[Active Hack: TreasureFinder]
▸ Grants the user the ability to detect and see valuables in their surroundings from any point, no matter how hidden they might be. Even if they are 6 feet under, they will see them.
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He frowned, mouth opening to complain—before closing it again as he reconsidered.
"That's actually something I used to want as a kid. To know when there's money dropped somewhere, or where it's hidden."
He hadn't been a particularly innocent child, that was for certain.
In a world full of buried treasure, the hack would probably have its uses—maybe.
At the very least, it would serve as a reliable backup for pocket change whenever he was short on cash, whether by finding dropped valuables or, well... other methods.
With SpeedyGains behind him, he'd probably pick up pick pocketing pretty fast if he went for it.
"I guess my true colors are finally coming out now that I have power," he muttered, shaking his head with a wry look.
His eyes moved to the next item—and he paused. It was listed as an item, not a hack.
'So there are items in this?' He thought, eyeing the screen with a curious look.
He tapped the icon.
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≡[Hacked Item: Sunglasses of Anonymity]
▸ Sunglasses that hide your identity perfectly, somehow. No matter if you're standing right in front of them, wearing the same clothes—so long as you have these sunglasses on, they won't recognize you.
▸ Warning: The identity you take on whenever you put on the sunglasses remains the same even if you take them off and put them on again. Meaning that whatever criminal charges or relationships you have with people while wearing them persist until you remove them.
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He let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Alright, this one is outright a tool for committing crimes," he said wryly.
Not that he was complaining. Just making an observation.
From what it appeared so far, this system wasn't going in a very saintly direction.
"Next are... the scripts?"
He opened the first of the three.
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≡[Script: AutoExist]
▸ Find yourself with nothing to do, waiting for something, bored out of your mind? With this script, you can automatically exist and let time pass on its own.
Warning: The body won't do anything while it is active, even if you're spoken to, called out, or if insects crawl onto you. The script will only terminate at the specified time or if the system detects danger.
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"...The hell?"
Baffled by the outrageously simple—and arguably useless—reward, he tapped through the remaining two in quick succession.
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≡[Script: AutoWalk]
▸ Do you want to get somewhere, but find it a pain to do so? Let the script make your body automatically walk to your destination, so when you wake up, you're already there!
Warning: The system isn't responsible for calluses or injuries on your feet if the destination specified is too far away. The body won't respond to external stimulus unless the host's life is perceived to be in danger.
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≡[Script: AutoFish]
▸ Fishing—a life skill that for some means the difference between starving and feasting, but undeniably a patience-testing one. With this script, your body will automatically handle the whole process and reel in a good catch for you.
Warning: The body won't respond to external stimulus unless the host's life is perceived to be in danger. Depending on the nearby water, fewer or no fish at all may be caught. Depending on the nearby water, dangerous life forms might be caught, in which case the script will be terminated.
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The finger he'd been using to tap the screen dropped. His gaze went vacant.
"What is this starter pack, man?"
Though, on second thought, It was called a starter pack for a reason.
Heaving a long, long, long sigh, he glared at the screen again. "I guess, bro..." Dan muttered, massaging his temples with a thoroughly done expression.
Though, to be fair, the fishing one wasn't that bad. He had no idea how to fish, so at least the script would know what it was doing. And having a steady food source was never something to dismiss, especially on a planet covered mostly in water.
Having made his peace with the starter pack, he shifted his attention to what seemed like the most important part of the system.
"Infamy tier, NP, and a bounty goal..." he observed with a curious look before addressing the screen directly. "System, explain these to me."
...
There was no answer.
His eyebrow creased. He looked back at the screen and noticed a small "?" icon tucked in the corner.
"Oh."
He tapped it.
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≡[Here's a brief introduction to the way this system works.]
You have been granted the Hacker System—a tool that allows you to purchase and equip real-world hacks: passive enhancements, active abilities, automated scripts, and bugged items that defy conventional logic.
▸How you unlock things:
The system's catalogue is gated behind Infamy Tiers, which advance as your Bounty reaches certain thresholds. A higher tier does not give you hacks automatically; it only makes new hacks available for purchase. You still have to buy them. However, advancing tiers can grant you more slots to equip multiple hacks at once.
There can't be more than one script running, so the slots for this category are limited to one.
▸How you buy things:
The currency for buying hacks is NP: An acronym for Notoriety Points.
These are earned through acts that generate genuine fear and infamy among the population. The more people who witness or hear of your acts, and the more they fear you, the more NP you earn.
However, consequently, the stronger that the hacks and items available at the store are, the more expensive they will be. So thread carefully on your NP balance, and plan your purchases smartly.
▸What you can equip:
You have:
Passive Hacks that run constantly as long as they are equipped.
Active Hacks that must be consciously triggered once equipped. Some might have durations and cooldowns.
Scripts that automate a physical process while you are not fully present, often with extreme efficiency.
Items that can be bought multiple times, or unique artifacts that can only be bought once. These don't need slots; you can take out as many as you want or keep them stored in the system.
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"I see..."
Dan leaned back fully against the tree, staring up at the rustling leaves above with a troubled look. "So it's one of those systems—the mischievous kind. I guess I'm bound to become a pirate, then."
That, or a bandit. But you and I both know that wasn't happening.
"Build infamy, huh? With these starting hacks, kicking off a criminal career is going to be a nightmare..." His eyes drifted to SpeedyGains. "Though I suppose that's what this is for. A training arc before the adventure into crime begins."
Come to think of it, he really had gotten lucky being reborn here—Shimotsuki Village, of all places. The same village where Zoro grew up.
It was a place that seemed untouched by the kind of threats that plagued the rest of the world, judging by how smoothly Zoro's own childhood had apparently gone here. And with the dojo's existence, it offered more than safety—it offered a foundation to grow on before the real journey started.
A literal starting village, in every sense of the phrase.
The perfect place to hone his skills before setting off to become the world's greatest criminal.
As the thought settled, a slight frown crossed his face.
"Well, I've got the system and everything... but am I actually capable of becoming someone like that?"
In both lives, common was probably the most accurate word to describe him. Suddenly placing before him the path of becoming one of the most wanted figures in the world felt strangely disconnected from how he'd always lived.
'If so, then why...'
He lifted both hands, still seated, and slowly clenched them.
'Why do I feel so motivated?'
He had the system and it promised great power in exchange for building infamy, yes. But even setting that aside, the eagerness he felt didn't quite fit the person he'd always assumed himself to be.
To have the entire world against him, and to feel not even the faintest trace of hesitation about it... something was different.
Maybe the fusion of both perspectives had brought something forward that had always been buried—some part of himself that years of following the expected path had kept quiet.
Maybe he had his self from this world to thank for that.
Either way, it was a good thing.
"Alright," He grinned, pushing himself off the ground and getting back to his feet. "If it's the greatest criminal in the world you want—you'll have it! Hahahaha!"
His laughter rang through the trees without restraint, loud and unbothered by how unhinged it probably looked. Behind him, someone passing through the forest paused at the sound.
A girl with blue hair, a bamboo sword resting over her shoulder, gave him a flat look.
"What a weirdo."
...
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-To Be Continued...-
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(A/N: I overslept past the prime hour to upload, but whatever, at least I don't feel like a zombie anymore.
Anyway. here's the 2nd chapter , which brings us an info-dump about how the system works and what lays ahead of our protagonist's path.
Rereading it, I don't know if I quite like how it turned out. Dan's comments felt a bit scripted.
I think it's just because this chapter was an info-dump, though.)