While Peter was absorbed in watching an episode of his favorite anime, *One Piece*, as he usually did at the end of every week, he felt an indescribable joy immersing himself in that fantasy world.
Peter adored anime and manga with a passion like nothing else, and he was an incredibly talented artist. Whenever he read a new chapter of a manga he loved, he would pick up a pen and paper, trying to replicate those amazing drawings, as if his sketches expressed his unique enthusiasm.
Peter's room was filled with scattered papers on his bed and desk, each one a testament to his talent and hours of practice and creativity. One day, he decided to take his passion further and attempted to draw his own manga, but he faced ridicule from his classmates and teachers, who dismissed it as mere "empty dreams."
The hurtful words dampened his enthusiasm for a while; he found no one who shared his passion, and his dream of becoming a famous mangaka felt more distant than ever.
After the episode ended, Peter felt a bit disappointed since it was just a filler with no connection to the main story. He decided to close the anime app and browse the internet for a bit. But, strangely, the app refused to close. He pressed the exit button multiple times, but it wouldn't respond. He tried locking the screen and even restarting his phone, but things got even stranger—the screen suddenly turned blood red.
"Oh god, did I get a virus?!" He grew anxious, despite the security measures he always took to protect his devices. His mind raced—maybe his phone had been hacked, and he'd soon receive a ransom message. But then he thought better of it; his phone wasn't worth all that worry. If he had to, he'd burn it rather than give in to any threats.
The surprises didn't stop there, though. Strange writing appeared on the screen, like an ad, even though he had an ad blocker. "Welcome to the Dream System! Here, your dream can come true."
Peter stared at the message in shock. "What nonsense is this?" He tried to ignore it, but the next line was mysteriously enticing: "For more details, please press the button below."
He hesitated a moment but figured he had no choice if he wanted his phone back. When he clicked the button, another message appeared: "What is your dream?"
Puzzled, he wrote: "I don't have a specific dream. Do you have any suggestions?"
As soon as he sent his response, several options appeared before him. One option that caught his eye was for the "dreamer," as the system called him, to be transported into an anime world of his choice and become a character there.
When Peter saw this absurd offer about entering the anime world, he burst into laughter until tears filled his eyes.
"What madness is this? Who would believe such a thing?"
He mocked, but quickly remembered he was stuck in this strange system and would do anything to get his phone back. Without hesitation, he clicked the option.
A new prompt appeared: "Choose the anime world you wish to enter." There were many choices, but the moment he spotted *One Piece*, his heart leapt with excitement, and he clicked it immediately, as if the hope in this imaginary dream touched a part of his old desire.
Then came the next step: "Describe the character you want to be. Would you like to be a pirate? Or a Marine? Or maybe a leader or even a Marine admiral? You could be a Yonko, a Celestial Dragon, or simply an ordinary character living out adventures in this world."
His eyes stopped at the words, and he felt a touch of real excitement. "What if?" he whispered to himself. He wrote down, "Just an ordinary character," imagining himself as a terrifying and powerful figure ruling the seas and building his own legend.
Next, the system asked, "Would you like to start weak and develop over time, or would you prefer to be strong from the beginning?" Peter didn't hesitate—he didn't want to worry or be afraid; he wanted to experience the thrill of absolute power. So, he chose "strong from the beginning," eager for a journey free of annoying threats.
The next question intrigued him: "What powers would you like to have? Would you like a Devil Fruit?" Peter thought carefully, recalling that Devil Fruit users couldn't swim. So, he decided he didn't need a Devil Fruit; he wanted to be able to swim and only needed enough strength to defend himself easily. He wished for something akin to a fearsome Haki aura, a tremendous power that distinguishes heroes in *One Piece*.
As he pondered his answer, he realized he was engrossed in responding as if this system were real. Then another question came: "Which era would you like to enter?"
With a mix of hesitation and excitement, he typed, "1490 of the Sea Calendar," wanting to join an era that preceded the Great Pirate Era, to discover this world before it erupted in massive conflicts.
The last question was a small surprise: "Would you like the system to accompany you on your journey to offer assistance?" Peter saw no reason to refuse, finding the idea tempting. He clicked "Yes," comforted by the thought of having a guide by his side.
Then the system made one final request, asking Peter to choose five wishes he could request as needed. The system agreed without hesitation. It was like signing a contract with this system, as if he were living a real adventure.
Peter sat on his bed, heart racing between anxiety and boredom, waiting for his phone screen to return to normal after this strange experience. "Finally, this nonsense will end!"
He reassured himself, and a countdown timer appeared on the screen, reading: "The system is making preparations. Please wait a moment."
He watched the countdown, seeing the seconds tick away one by one, anticipating his return to the real world.
At the tenth second, a strange noise filled the air, and his computer on the desk turned on without him touching it, even though he hadn't used it since yesterday. His heart pounded with an uneasy feeling. Before he could comprehend what was happening, a blue smoke began rising from the computer screen, filling the room quickly, clouding the space like a thick fog.
Peter coughed hard, trying to draw oxygen into his lungs, but found only blue smoke making it harder to breathe. His eyes focused on his phone, and the countdown neared zero, with only three seconds left.
At that moment, a final message appeared in a different color from all the previous ones, glowing against a bright background:
{"Bon Voyage"}
The phone's screen glowed momentarily before it shut off suddenly, plunging the room into total darkness.
Peter found himself collapsing to the ground, struggling to cope with the lack of oxygen in the room, and felt his consciousness slipping away. But, just before he blacked out, a strange light appeared before his eyes.
He opened his eyes slowly, the picture becoming clearer bit by bit, and what he saw wasn't just a dark room or blue smoke, but a completely different scene. Shocked, he felt his heart skip a beat from sheer surprise, as he stood amidst an unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar, scene.
He whispered to himself, trembling, "Impossible… Is this real?"