The realization hit me like a physical blow. The Paw Paw Fruit—the Nikyuu Nikyuu no Mi. I'd completely forgotten about this one. In the right hands, it was utterly broken. It could repel anything: swords, cannonballs, even the very air. A giddy excitement surged through me. Forget just finding fruit; with this power, I could actually hunt.
"Whoa, hold on," I muttered to myself, my tiny hands slapping my cheeks. "I got so excited about the fruit I forgot the other tickets." Focusing back on the system, I examined the second one: 'Random maxed-out skill set of a main character from any manga or light novel.'
Now that sounded promising. "Let's not waste any time. Start the wheel."
The familiar, colossal wheel materialized once more, its segments a whirlwind of iconic names and faces. My heart leapt into my throat as it flew past Uzumaki Naruto, Son Goku, and Edogawa Conan. The possibilities were dizzying. It began to slow, clicking past Harry Potter, until finally, with a soft chime, it settled on a character I recognized: Yukihira Soma from Food Wars.
[Appraising Yukihira Soma's Skill Set.] [Acquired: Yukihira Soma's Cooking Skill. Tier: SSS+.]
A cooking skill. I couldn't help but let out a short, dry laugh. "Of course. After seeing all those big names, I got greedy. Should've known my luck wouldn't hold twice in a row." Still, an SSS+ tier in anything was nothing to scoff at. In a survival situation, the ability to turn whatever I could hunt into a gourmet meal was far from useless. I was… satisfied.
"One last ticket," I said, activating the final one, labeled simply 'Random Item.' The wheel spun its last and landed on a sleek, silver band.
[Appraising: Space Inventory Ring. Tier: B+.] [Capacity: 100 items. Weight Restriction: Cannot exceed the wearer's lifting capacity. Living beings cannot be stored.]
A storage ring! Now that was incredibly practical. I slipped it onto my finger, and it resized itself to fit perfectly.
"Status," I commanded.
A new screen shimmered into view:
Host: Shun Abilities: Nikyuu Nikyuu no Mi (S+), Yukihira Soma's Cooking Skill (SSS+) Items: Space Inventory Ring (B+) Stats: Strength: F- Agility: F- Durability: F- Magic Power: C Luck: A
"Magic Power, huh?" I mused. "So it's that kind of world." The stats were abysmal, as expected for a toddler's body, but that C-rank in Magic Power and A-rank in Luck were my saving graces.
My stomach growled, pulling me back to reality. Time to test my new power. I remembered Bartholomew Kuma's signature move—the Pad Ho, repelling air itself. Focusing, I raised a palm and pushed against the empty space in front of me.
Nothing happened at first. Then, on the third or fourth try, a faint, translucent paw-shaped shockwave burst forth, rustling the leaves a few meters away. It was pathetically weak compared to the original, but it was a start. A few more attempts, and I could fire them consistently, though a noticeable drain on my energy followed. So, in this world, the Devil Fruit drew on my Magic Power. Good to know.
I set off into the forest, my senses on high alert. After a few minutes, I spotted my prey: a bizarre creature that looked like a small, walking whale. It had a pointed black nose, scaly armor on its back, blue skin on its front, and two comically small, dinosaur-like arms.
"This world just gets weirder and weirder," I whispered, raising my palm to take the shot.
Suddenly, the light around me vanished, replaced by a deep shadow. A low, guttural growl rumbled from behind. I turned slowly, my heart freezing in my chest. Looming over me was a giant version of the creature I was about to hunt, its eyes burning with parental fury.
A chilling thought crossed my mind. "Could this be the Dark Continent from Hunter x Hunter?!"
There was no time to ponder. I spun and fired a Pad Ho at the parent. The attack landed with a soft thump, barely making it flinch. I'd dealt, at best, a point or two of damage. But I had succeeded in making it very, very angry.
It roared, and with surprising speed, it swung one of its small but powerful fists down at me. I stood my ground, fear and instinct warring inside me. As the fist descended, I made a small, pushing motion—a "Puni"—and met its knuckles with my palm.
The effect was instantaneous. There was no sound of impact, only a silent, irresistible force. The massive creature vanished, launched through the canopy and sent flying to the other side of the forest.
"As expected of an S+ tier fruit," I breathed, my legs trembling. "It might not pack a punch, but it's the ultimate defense."
Seizing the opportunity, I quickly dispatched the smaller walking whale with a point-blank Pad Ho to its head. A pang of guilt twisted in my gut. "I just became the villain in that whale family's story," I muttered, storing the carcass in my ring. "But out here, it's survival of the fittest. No two ways about it."
I found a stream, used a sharp stone to fashion a crude knife, and prepared my dinner. With my SSS+ tier cooking skill, my hands moved with an efficiency and knowledge that belied my age. What should have been a gruesome task felt almost artistic. The resulting meal, roasted over a small fire, was astonishingly delicious, a small comfort in this terrifying new world.
As darkness embraced the forest, exhaustion finally caught up with me. I found a shallow cave, curled up inside, and let sleep take me. Tomorrow, I would find a way out of this forest and finally learn what world I had been dropped into.
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Chapter 2 End.