Avatar: Shadow of The Gambler

In a vast land where nothing but rocks existed, a portal appeared above the earth. From the portal, a blue fog headed to one of the rocks.

*Grrrr*

The ground started vibrating. One of the rocks vanished, and a man appeared.

He opened his eyes widely and started panting, looking for some air.

"Ha…Ha…Ha…"

Josh didn't know what was going on. He could barely remember anything.

All he knew is that he was desperate for air.

Lifting his head, he stared in front of him. He blinked twice.

"What a bad day for a hangover."

There was nothing but a wasteland.

He started thinking about what happened.

Did he drink too much in the casino and one of his friends decided to pull a prank on him?

Somehow, this thought felt familiar.

It was as if it was not the first time he thought of it.

"Wait… I lived another life?"

A surge or pain took over his head. A few flashes of himself finding himself in the middle of the sea, in a new body, and freaking out, came to his head. The second flash of memory happened to be a picture of himself, sitting on a throne, and throwing something azure, a part of his soul, into the void.

'I lived a second life? And in another body?'

Josh believed so.

But somehow, he couldn't remember his second life properly except for the beginning and the end, plus a few parts between of him fighting random people whom he couldn't remember their faces. He was a swordsman, a Kung Fu master, and an assassin. But remembering other than that… He couldn't.

As for his first life, he could remember parts of it, some of his relationships, some of the beautiful moments, and that he was a lawyer. As someone who came from the 21st century, where a young man spends most of his life studying, sleeping, and not having so much between, there weren't many things worth remembering at all.

Josh thought about the first flashback, and he started chuckling.

"I remember how exactly I called the people who are in my place who doesn't freak out as retards." He sat up, chuckling. "The irony."

He wasn't freaked out at all. Josh knew something about him had changed. His ideals. Josh felt that he wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone.

"Didn't I have a system?" He wondered as he tried to call the system, but he didn't manage to.

Spreading his arms, he lay down again. As he tried to remember more of his second life, he felt a surge of pain in his head, and he didn't manage to remember.

'Guess I'll try the next time.'

If he can't remember, for now, he should try later. As he stood up, Josh put his hands on his hips. He realised it now; he is naked, hungry, and in nowhere. And he doesn't know in which direction he should go.

He could just stay here until some miracle happens while getting hungry.

Or... he can just walk in a random direction and find something to eat.

The last one was the best option, it seemed.

Time started passing. The more the sun went to the west, the colder it became. But he didn't feel cold at all. Although he didn't wear shoes, he wasn't annoyed.

His head was drifting in thoughts. What is he doing here? Why did he send a part of himself to this random world? And finally, what will he do?

As it seems, he can't go to his previous life.

He is independent existence.

Letting a sigh, he stopped walking while thinking about what he wanted.

'All I want is a big home, a lot of money, few chicks, and live peacefully until I die.'

Didn't sound like a bad goal. He has just to find out what kind of world he is in.

Josh opened his eyes widely all of the sudden. He had a strange feeling of danger, coming from behind. Somehow, he could tell what is going to hit him at this moment.

Although he was questioning what is going on, or what is this strange sense, his body didn't. Subconsciously, he moved to the side.

At that moment, he noticed a blue wolf, opening its largemouth. It would have bitten his neck if he hadn't dodged. Josh saw its face as it was just three centimetres away from him.

Josh put his hand on his neck.

The wolf landed on its feet, turned, and growled in his face.

Josh, who barely knew himself anymore, found two conflicting feelings. He was thinking he should be nervous, but he was so calm and focused.

His face, however, showed a cold look.

'Damn… as far as I remember, I only know how to fight in court, or threaten people to sue them.'

The wolf growled, making eye contact with him, not making a move already.

"Since when wolves were blue?" he wondered.

Once his words were over, the wolf dashed and jumped, ready to bite his neck. Josh could feel that he read its movement in advance.

In a swift movement, his hand vanished, holding the wolf from its neck.

'Damn, it's a bit heavy. Guess I can work out. I have the same strength from my first day in my previous world. Which means I have the same potential.'

Josh didn't stop here and tightened his grip. The wolf started waving its four legs desperately, wounding the human in many different areas. Josh, with his system pumped with adrenalin, didn't feel pain at all. He kept choking it.

The wolf let one last growl, before falling dead.

Josh lowered his head. Wounds across his chest and thighs were found. He looked down, to his new dangle — which was quite surprising — and thanked God it wasn't harmed.

Using his hand, he started to sweep the blood from his chest while thinking about which wounds he should press first. One should always fear blood loss.

But to his surprise, once the blood was swept, there was no wound.

Josh felt another surge of pain going through his head. He put his hand on his forehead and muttered. "Healing Factor. Peak level. Break the food on atom level… but it consumes energy."

Once his words were over, another surge of pain came. Josh felt weaker all of the sudden. His hunger turned into starvation, and somehow, he felt he is going to lose his mind. The more the pain he felt, the more his muscle tensed and the more veins appeared.

He looked at the ground. The wolf was already dead, its saliva falling. It looked disgusting to eat. Besides, he has no fire to cook it.

But hunger was like sex drive. If it is raised too much, you won't even have standards.

-x-X-x-

"Now I'm full." Said a naked man next to a bunch of bones. Josh was looking at the sky while thinking of his previous fight.

He learned and concluded many things.

First of all, the edge-lord inside of him had awakened, even though it contradicts his personality in his previous life.

His power is at its base level, he should be able to lift a hundred kilogrammes.

But the happy news is he has a body with the potential of someone from the One Piece world.

You can't underestimate the bodies of people from One Piece. They sell giant dumbbells for normal-sized people.

He has Haki. He has a strong healing factor that heals him in almost an instant. Also, the more pain he feels, his brain becomes less stable, which also increased his muscle force temporarily.

But the best thing is.

"I just used Observation Haki." He smiled. "No danger should approach me without knowing."

"And if there is a gambling in this world, I guess I found an easy way to get rich."

He closed his eyes. In the middle of a black painting, he could feel every rock, everything is hidden under the ground and even the winds. A few white silhouettes were moving, circling him and coming in his direction.

"The jinx…" Josh stood up and turned.

Men dressed in red armours appeared in his sight. He half-closed his eyes a bit. They were riding large lizards… it didn't make any sense to him for such a creature to exist.

But remembering the blue wolf, which was at his height without standing, Josh decided to leave sense out of this.

The red armoured men with the lizard as large as a horse surrounded him. They were around 18.

One of them stepped forward. He opened his hand, and fire appeared above it.

Josh blinked twice, wondering if it was a trick. But his Observation Haki told him it's not.

"Naked Peasant… what are you doing in the forbidden earth hunting lands in the name of Fire Lord?" The man said in a threatening tone. "Answer!"