"Hmph! Ha! Hmph! Ha!"
Inside the former abandoned temple of Shimotsuki Village, now the Isshin Dojo, a group of young children were fiercely brandishing wooden swords, and Lin Qi stood among them.
After Koushirou and the village chief discussed the matter, the next day they mobilized the villagers to clean up the abandoned temple in the center of the village. News of Koushirou's plan to open a swordsmanship dojo there quickly spread throughout the village.
Upon hearing this news, Lin Qi, forgetting his training, was the first to arrive. Sure enough, he saw Koushirou leading a pregnant woman as they moved into the dojo.
When Lin Qi expressed his desire to learn swordsmanship at the dojo, Koushirou was delighted. He had initially worried that the villagers would be resistant to the dojo, but unexpectedly, a student had already arrived before it even opened.
So, Lin Qi smoothly became Koushirou's first student at the Isshin Dojo.
Seeing this, some villagers also tried sending their children to the dojo.
After all, there are no schools in this world, and it's better to send children to the dojo to practice swordsmanship and improve their skills than to let them run wild in the village all day. Moreover, Koushirou not only teaches swordsmanship but also reading and writing, which is part of the reason the villagers send their children here.
Today is the dojo's opening day, and each child has been given a beautifully crafted bamboo sword, much better than Lin Qi's haphazardly carved ones.
And today, Koushirou's first lesson is swordsmanship!
Watching the children on the field constantly "humming and laughing" as they swung their swords, Koushirou smiled with satisfaction.
Although the children in the small village might not be particularly gifted, their enthusiasm for swordsmanship is great, and enthusiasm means a strong belief in becoming stronger. Even if these children don't become unparalleled masters, they can still become decent swordsmen.
"Huh!"
Suddenly, Koushirou noticed Lin Qi among the children, and his expression turned to surprise.
Koushirou remembered Lin Qi well; he was the first child to seek him out to learn swordsmanship, and he came on his own, which meant the child genuinely wanted to learn.
What astonished him was Lin Qi's sword-wielding movements.
Lin Qi's sword-wielding was incredibly skillful, his hands steady and powerful, and each swing followed almost the same trajectory, with the sword landing in roughly the same spot. Such ability couldn't be acquired overnight, and Lin Qi was only five years old! How did he do it?
"Could he be a swordsmanship genius?" Koushirou wondered to himself.
Thinking this, Koushirou called out to Lin Qi on the field, "Lin Qi, come here for a moment."
Hearing Koushirou's call, Lin Qi put down his wooden sword, ran over, and said, "Teacher, did you call me?"
"Come with me for a moment." After saying this, Koushirou walked into the wooden house. Lin Qi followed behind, but he was puzzled. What did he want with him at the end?
"Lin Qi, have you ever learned swordsmanship before?" Entering the wooden house, Koushirou stared at Lin Qi and asked.
"Hmm?" Lin Qi was a little confused, but seeing Koushirou's sharp eyes, he honestly replied, "No, Master, before you came, no one in this village knew swordsmanship."
"Hmm, is that so?" Koushirou seemed quite satisfied, nodding, and suddenly said to Lin Qi, "Do you want to learn real swordsmanship from me?"
"Ah?" Lin Qi was startled again, but quickly recovered and immediately said, "Yes, Master, I'm willing to learn swordsmanship from you."
"Good!" Koushirou happily patted Lin Qi's shoulder and said, "You seem to be an orphan, right? Then you can move into the dojo from now on, how about that?"
"Really? Master!" Lin Qi exclaimed in surprise. This was the air of someone taking on a personal disciple. How did he manage to hook Koushirou?
"Of course it's true." Koushirou affirmed, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, go back and practice your swordsmanship. Move in after you finish your training."
Lin Qi nodded happily and went out.
That evening, inside the Isshin Dojo!
Lin Qi lay on his newly bought bed, his mind still reeling.
How did he end up being favored by Koushirou, and suddenly living in the Isshin Dojo? He didn't seem to possess any of that so-called "kingly aura," did he?
But this was a good thing; his training would be easier from now on. Koushirou must be focusing on nurturing him, otherwise he wouldn't have made these demands.
Just as Lin Qi was lost in thought, a voice suddenly appeared in his mind.
"Ding! The host has officially begun his training journey. The role-playing system is officially activated and is now initiating a soul binding with the host."
"1% 5% 16%"
"Hey! Hey! Hey! What's going on? What soul binding? Who's talking?" Lin Qi looked around warily and shouted. Had he been too excited today and said something inappropriate?
"98% 99% 100%."
"Ding! System binding complete. The host can now ask questions. The system spirit, Ash, will answer all your questions." The voice appeared in Lin Qi's mind again.
"Who are you? Why is your voice in my mind?" Lin Qi immediately asked. The voice was eerie; there was no one around, it felt like it was coming from inside his head.
"I am Ash, the system spirit of the Role-Playing System. The Role-Playing System is a multi-dimensional travel system, its purpose being to provide the host with opportunities to travel and gain experience, allowing the host to continuously grow stronger," the voice explained. "A
cheat system?" Lin Qi asked doubtfully.
"You could say that," Ash replied.
"Damn it, why didn't you appear sooner? You wasted five whole years of my time!" Lin Qi yelled. If he had known he had a cheat system earlier, he would have already beaten up the old folks' home in Nanshan and kicked the kindergarten in Beihai, instead of being stuck in Frostmoon Village!
"The system will only activate when the host officially begins cultivation. Before that, the host's haphazard cultivation doesn't count as official cultivation, so..."
"Damn it," Lin Qi cursed. All his previous efforts were wasted? Completely unrecognized.
"Alright, enough of that. What functions do you have? Can you give me a Logia-type Devil Fruit or something?" Lin Qi asked hopefully.
Xiao Zhi replied, "The role-playing system can't directly give the host anything. The host needs to travel to different worlds to gain experience through role-playing. The system will issue various system tasks, and the host will receive rewards upon completion."
"Role-playing? Traveling through worlds? That sounds pretty amazing. What are the specific rules? What are the rewards?" This system seems very powerful; Lin Qi needs to figure it out, as it might be his key to rapid growth.
"The rules of the role-playing system are simple: travel through worlds and play a role."
"The system will actively search for parallel worlds outside the main world. Once a parallel world is found, the system will require the host to travel to that world. The host must unconditionally abide by this rule, otherwise, they will be severely punished."
"Each time the host travels to a world, the system will issue system tasks, which are mainly divided into three types: training tasks, plundering tasks, and nightmare tasks. Different tasks have different rewards."
"Training tasks are the most common; upon completion, the host will obtain one of the character's abilities or one item. Plundering tasks are rare and rewarding; upon completion, the host can obtain resources plundered from the current world. Nightmare tasks are assessment tasks, appearing irregularly; upon completion, the host will receive a system reward, the content of which is uncertain."
Lin Qi listened attentively to Xiao Zhi's explanation and realized that these rules were anything but simple—they were incredibly complex!
However, Lin Qi roughly understood the function of this character system. At that point, Lin Qi still had one question.
"Xiao Zhi, how is the character I take over when I travel to a world determined?" Lin Qi asked. This was very important; if he took over a tragic character, wouldn't he be in trouble too?
"The role the host will take on will be randomly selected by the system. The system will first select three roles, and the host has the right to choose from these three roles."
"Oh? So there's a choice too. I thought the system would just assign roles directly!" Lin Qi said, slightly surprised. But it seems this system is quite democratic!
"Are there any other rules?"
"Besides these rules, the host has a few things to keep in mind." Xiao Zhi said somewhat seriously.
"What things to keep in mind?" Lin Qi perked up.
"First, the first rule of the role-playing system is that you cannot reveal the system's information. Therefore, the host cannot let anyone know about the system's existence except for yourself, otherwise you will be severely punished!"
"What kind of punishment?" Lin Qi asked curiously.
"Annihilation!" Xiao Zhi answered emotionlessly.
"Uh? That's ruthless! But I'll remember that. Anything else?" Lin Qi continued to ask. Actually, this wasn't a big deal. Even if the system didn't say it, Lin Qi wouldn't tell anyone. Besides, even if he did, someone would have to believe him!
"Secondly, since the role-playing system is called role-playing, the host needs to diligently play each role and not let others discover the host's abnormal identity. Otherwise, the host will be forced to leave the mission world and lose the rewards."
"This is going to test my acting skills! If I had known, I would have gone to study at the Shanghai Theatre Academy or Beijing Film Academy," Lin Qi complained. It seemed like he was being forced to become an actor!
"Thirdly!" Xiao Zhi ignored Lin Qi's complaints and continued, "And finally, the system provides the host with an item warehouse, i.e., system space. However, the host cannot privately bring items from other worlds in and out. Otherwise, the system will confiscate the host's rewards as punishment."
"It even has a space ring function? Not bad, not bad. It seems my rise to power is almost here," Lin Qi said happily.
With the help of the role-playing system, Lin Qi's confidence in conquering this sea in the future was even stronger.
And the world of One Piece would become even more colorful because of Lin Qi's arrival.
(End of Chapter)