Chapter 1: Getting Lost on the Way to the Kitchen

Chapter 1: Getting Lost on the Way to the Kitchen

After waking up in the middle of the night and taking a piss, a not-so-young man with a young heart headed to his kitchen for a snack and some coffee. He had only gotten around three hours of sleep, but that was par for the course for a seasoned gamer and Otaku.

Feeling the temperature suddenly drop, the grizzled and somewhat unkempt man opened his eyes wide, muttering, "What the hell? This isn't my kitchen..." as he looked around at a hemispherical space filled with an unfathomable amount of displays. He tried focusing on a few, but the way they moved about resembled the patterns seen in a kaleidoscope, making it impossible to keep track of any single screen.

Interrupting the not-so-young man's thoughts, a remarkably deep voice mused, "Ho~? It's unusual for me to have guests, much less those I have not invited into my domain. How curious..."

Following the sound of the voice, the brown-haired, brown-eyed man was shocked to discover an old, aristocratic-looking man seated atop what he could only describe as a throne. The ancient figure had silvery-white hair that flowed away from his scalp, transitioning into a beard that framed his aged face. He also had piercing red eyes that gleamed vibrantly, but even they didn't stand out against his most prominent feature...

Voicing his thoughts aloud, the brown-haired man stated, "You look like someone straight out of a CGI movie..."

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Caressing his beard, the ruby-eyed man eyed his markedly more youthful interloper with interest. He possessed an ability that allowed him to peer into the past, present, and future of all timelines he actively viewed, so he was currently sneaking a peek at the fate of the man that had strolled into his dimension wearing a simple t-shirt and boxer shorts...

After realizing that the man had accidentally entered his realm, something that should have been impossible, the elderly figure adopted a somewhat vicious smile before bursting out laughing.

Before the brown-haired man could ask what was so funny, he received his answer as the elderly figure mused, "To think you 'stumbled' into my realm while making your way to the kitchen for snacks. Congratulations, Thomas, you've managed to pique this old man's interest."

Feeling more than a little creeped out, the brown-haired man, Thomas, looked behind him to find the exit. Instead, he found a disorienting swirl of images and absolutely no trace of a path.

Thinking he must have been in a dream, Thomas gave himself a pinch, brows furrowing due to the pain. At the same time, the elderly man said, "This is no dream, boy. And no, you are not dead. At the very least, not presently..."

Rising to his feet, the old man manifested a ruby-tipped cane out of thin air, tapping it on the ground as he slumped over slightly and remarked, "However, while you might not be dead, I 'can' grant you that which your heart desires. Transmigration? Wealth, fame, and power beyond measure? Everything can be yours, so long as you agree to aid me with something of little consequence. What that is, I can only reveal to you 'after' you've completed your journey..."

Though he had the distinct impression he was standing in front of the Devil himself, Thomas's throat tightened as he asked, "You're seriously allowing me to transmigrate to a world of my choosing with some kind of cheat? And I can choose 'any' world...?"

Nodding his head, the old man adopted another vicious smile as he said, "Indeed. However, I don't believe in granting people power arbitrarily. I will provide you the means to get stronger and mighty Servants to protect you. Everything else will depend on your efforts..."

Out of curiosity and concern, Thomas pulled at the band of his boxers to see what his dick looked like. The size and shape were roughly the same as he remembered, but it was like someone had made a cartoony version of himself and uploaded it to VR Chat, one that would get him banned on just about any server...

Shaking away his wayward thoughts, Thomas grabbed the Captain's log, card, and the small satchel that had appeared next to his feet and made his way to the shade. He also had the Mana-Mana-no-Mi, but instead of eating it immediately, he opened the satchel to find it was filled with fruit, a canteen of water, paper notes which he assumed were Belly, and a pair of open-toed sandals. Not Thomas's first choice, but as he was currently barefoot, they would have to do.

After donning the pair of leathery sandals, Thomas stared at the unique Devil Fruit that Zelretch had given him. He imagined he wouldn't be able to do much without the power it vested, so, after steeling himself as much as possible, he bit into the rainbow-hued fruit to find that it tasted...like a perfectly ordinary apple.

Feeling no different, even after consuming the entire apple, Thomas took a moment to consider his next course of action before abruptly thrusting out his right hand, palm facing outward. He was hoping to first off some kind of energy blast. Instead, he felt a tingling sensation at the tips of his fingers, like the feeling you would get when you stretched your arm as far as possible but without hyper extending.

"Hmmm..."

Closing his eyes, Thomas focused his mind and imagined he was shaping his Mana into a sphere of energy atop his palm. He could feel 'something' happening, but when he opened his eyes, the only thing he found was an empty hand.

Accepting that he had no clue what he was doing, Thomas looked around before sitting beneath a palm tree and opening the logbook that had been tossed into his face. He expected it to be an instruction manual, but the only thing he found inside were eight additional cards and empty pages, the only exception being the very first page which recorded the date and a line reminding him to channel Mana into the Captain's Card if he wanted to survive...

Speculating that the logbook might be Zelretch's way of communicating with him, Thomas picked up the attached pen and wrote down a line of text asking if the man could read it. When nothing happened, even after several minutes, he snapped the log shut and picked up the nine tarot-like cards he had found inside. Along with the Captain's Card, there were tarot cards denoting the positions of First Mate, Second Mate Cook, Navigator, Doctor, Shipwright, Sniper, and Musician.

While he wasn't too familiar with the nautical hierarchy, Thomas had a basic idea of what each position represented in the world of One Piece. The First and Second Mates were part of the primary combat forces of a pirate crew, while the other positions were pretty much self-explanatory. What bothered him was the fact that there was a Captain's Card among the set. By all rights, shouldn't he be the Captain...?

With such thoughts in mind, Thomas briefly considered using every other card 'but' the Captain. In the end, however, self-preservation won out, so, after staring at the buccaneer-like figure on the card for several minutes, he attempted channeling Mana into it. He had no idea how to do so, but it apparently didn't matter as a pale-blue pattern immediately lit up around the card's border as particles of blue light rose from its surface. That was the 'only' thing that happened, even after an entire hour, but it was better than nothing...

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(A/N: For those that don't know, Zelretch is one of the most powerful entities in Type-Moon, the metaverse within which Fate and its many derivative works take place.)