In the Calm Belt, on a barren little island, a young man stood alone, pointing at the sky as he cursed.
"You damned heavens! Fine, if you wanted to send me to another world, then send me! But why the hell did it have to be One Piece? Do you know how dangerous this world is?!"
The young man's name was Kurogane Ren.
He was from Earth.
As for why he was here, the answer was simple.
He had transmigrated.
And the way he had transmigrated was definitely one of a kind.
To explain it, everything had to start from a week ago.
A week earlier, Kurogane Ren, an orphan, had gone for a walk by the river on his day off.
As he passed by a middle-aged man fishing, the man suddenly called out to him.
"Kid, my stomach's acting up. Can you watch this for me for a bit?"
At first, Kurogane Ren had no intention of agreeing.
But the fisherman seemed to notice his reluctance and immediately added, "Help me watch it for ten minutes, and I'll give you a hundred!"
The moment he heard one hundred yuan, Kurogane Ren's eyes practically turned into currency symbols.
Without hesitation, he declared that, as an outstanding young man of the twenty-first century, he was always happy to help others.
Absolutely because he was kindhearted.
Definitely not because the man was paying too much.
So after stuffing the hundred yuan into his pocket, Kurogane Ren officially took over as the fisherman.
What he didn't expect was that less than two minutes after sitting down, a fish took the bait.
Kurogane Ren had never gone fishing before, but even if he hadn't eaten pork, he'd at least seen pigs run.
So he decisively yanked up the rod.
Then disaster struck.
The fish on the line was absurdly strong. Kurogane Ren lost his footing, slipped, and went straight into the water.
Even though he was from the south, Kurogane Ren was a textbook landlubber.
The instant he fell in, he started flailing like mad.
Fortunately, he wasn't far from shore. After a frantic struggle, he finally managed to claw his way back to land.
But the moment he crawled ashore, he froze.
He was no longer by the river.
Instead, he was standing on a tiny island in the middle of the sea.
Looking at the small island, only a few hundred square meters wide, Kurogane Ren felt his brain buzzing.
Wasn't he just helping someone watch a fishing rod by the river?
So how the hell had he ended up on an island?
Had he... transmigrated?
As a young man of the twenty-first century, he was more than familiar with the concept. After all, countless novels were built around transmigration.
But when it really happened to him, Kurogane Ren still found it hard to accept.
Just as his mind was still reeling, a voice suddenly rang out in his head.
"System binding initiated. Current progress: 1%."
"Who's there?!"
Kurogane Ren shouted and quickly looked around the island.
It was completely open and empty.
There was no one there.
Then the same voice rang out in his mind again.
"Current progress: 2%."
Only then did Kurogane Ren realize that the voice hadn't come from outside.
It had appeared directly inside his head.
He stood there, completely dumbfounded.
If he hadn't heard wrong, that voice had just said... system.
Kurogane Ren hurriedly shouted, "System! System! Are you a system?"
But there was no reply.
The only response was the occasional progress update echoing through his mind, proving that the system really existed.
After asking for several minutes and getting nothing back, Kurogane Ren decided to first figure out where he was.
He got to his feet and looked around.
The island wasn't big. It was bare and empty, with not a trace of life in sight. There were quite a few large rocks scattered around, but he couldn't find a single plant.
And surrounding the island on all sides was nothing but the sea.
As far as the eye could see, there wasn't another island anywhere.
The sky above was a clear, endless blue without a single cloud in sight.
Kurogane Ren decided to dry his clothes first.
He stripped down until only his underwear remained, wrung the seawater out of his clothes a few times, then spread them over a flat rock to bake under the sun.
The sunlight was strong, and since he had been wearing light summer clothes, they dried pretty quickly.
After brushing the salt crystals off the fabric, Kurogane Ren put everything back on. The conditions were terrible, but for now, he could only make do.
Right then, the voice in his head rang out again.
"System installation complete!"
The moment he heard that, Kurogane Ren nearly exploded with excitement.
After waiting for so long, the system had finally finished installing.
"System, come out already!" he shouted.
"Ding! The Myriad Worlds Sign-In Lottery System is now officially online."
A face suddenly appeared in his mind, then spoke in a formal tone.
"Hello, Host. I am the host assistant of the Myriad Worlds Sign-In Lottery System."
Kurogane Ren immediately asked, "System, where is this place?"
Since he had already transmigrated, the thing he wanted to know most was exactly where he had landed. He had observed his surroundings for quite a while already, but with nothing but sea in every direction, he still couldn't tell where he was.
"I don't know."
"Huh?"
Kurogane Ren stared blankly. "What do you mean, you don't know? You're a system! How can you not know where this place is?"
Faced with his question, the system calmly replied, "Host, may I ask what kind of system I am?"
Kurogane Ren answered without thinking, "The Myriad Worlds Sign-In Lottery System."
"There you go," the system said matter-of-factly. "I'm a sign-in lottery system, not some immoral navigation system. Why would I definitely know where this place is?"
Kurogane Ren opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Damn.
That actually made sense.
For a moment, he was completely speechless.
Then he asked, "Fine. Then introduce yourself properly. What exactly can you do?"
"This system is a unique existence in the entire universe. Among the countless systems throughout the cosmos, I rank among the very best—"
Looking at the system's smug expression, Kurogane Ren suddenly had a strong urge to punch it.
After listening to several straight minutes of shameless self-praise, he finally couldn't take it anymore and cut in.
"System, can you just tell me what your functions are?"
"Ah. Right."
The system instantly switched to a serious expression and said in a solemn tone, "This system allows the host to sign in once per day after 8 AM. After each sign-in, the host may conduct one lottery draw."
"If the host signs in for seven consecutive days, the host will receive an additional lottery chance."
"If the host signs in continuously for one full month without interruption, the host will receive a ten-draw reward. If the host signs in continuously for a full year, the host will receive the annual ultimate grand prize."
"As for the rewards, there are all kinds of items available, all drawn from the myriad worlds."
The moment he heard that, Kurogane Ren's eyes lit up.
According to the system, he could sign in and draw every single day.
And the rewards came from countless worlds.
Didn't that mean things like immortal cultivation techniques, divine weapons, universe-class warships, or even absurd treasures on the level of legendary artifacts might actually show up?
His imagination instantly ran wild.
He could already see himself standing on a flying sword, a star-destroying cannon in one hand and a divine weapon in the other, smiling casually while his enemies were wiped out of existence.
Just imagining it made the corners of his mouth curl up.
Then, without him noticing, a line of drool started to slip down.
"Host. Host!"
The system's voice yanked him back to reality.
Kurogane Ren quickly wiped the drool from his mouth and asked excitedly, "System, does that mean I can sign in and draw right now?"
According to what the system had said, he could do it once every day.
And he definitely hadn't drawn anything today.
"Yes," the system replied. "And since this is the host's first time using the system, the system will also grant a beginner's gift pack."
A beginner's gift pack?!
That was the good stuff.
"Hurry! Open it! Now!"
Kurogane Ren urged immediately.
After all, he still didn't even know what world he was in, and this deserted island didn't even have a single blade of grass on it.
At this point, his only hope was whatever the system gave him.