Chapter Three: False Sense of Identity

A throne of bones. Broken, cracked, lost, or simply too weak to be needed. This was Victor's throne, the one he used to watch and direct his minions. His eyes closed, the young man focused deeply on the spiritual connection to his minion's eyes and movements. Apes and monkeys, the skeletons and corpses puppeted by his abilities moved and hauled trees and branches, leaves and bushes.

The monkeys spun crude plant fiber into rope, the apes splintered and carved away bark from trees and treated them over a bonfire. Glue made from bonemeal and crude jointry paired with insights gained over the course of several weeks allowed the young man to slowly work his way up the tech tree.

Initially a mere raft, he graduated into a something resembling an apprentice Shipwright. At least, that was what his Skills said.

Name: Victor 'Vic' Vici

Title: The Zombie

Age: Fourteen

Race: Lich

Level: 7

Status: Healthy

Attributes:

Body: 4.8

Mind: 1.7

Spirit: 4.4

Skills:

-Martial Path-

Scythe Mastery: -/100

The Path of the Scythe, one of warriors, farmers, and edgelords.

-Sythe Mastery Techniques-

N/A

The Cursed Stance: 4/100

The path of Martial Arts, one of warriors and fighters; brutish and wise both.

-Cursed Stance Techniques-

Miasma (Adept)

Life-Return: -/30

The ability to command one's body, to force it to obey to the will of it's master.

Six Powers: -/70

The powers and skills developed by the World Government and Marines alike.

-Technological Path-

Weaponsmithing: -/100

Shipwrighting: 27/100, Shipbuilder

Marksmanship: -/100

-Spiritual Path-

Conqueror's Haki: -/100

Armament Haki: -/100

Observation Haki: 2/100, Blinded Eyes

Voice of The World: -/100

Devil Fruit: 19/100, The Zombie

At level seven, he now was firmly in place of the super-human tier. He was certainly no Kaido, oh no, that was far from him, but he'd be comfortable in Paradise as a mere 'mook' level person without his Devil-Fruit. With it? Well, he just made an easy to take slave.

He'd put a single point inside Mind when he hit level seven, figuring that he might as well try and see what the stat was about. Well, he was thankful for not waiting sooner, as without it, he'd likely not be at the level of Shipwrighting he was now.

At level 27, he was now an Apprentice Shipwright, and was building a crude Monohull Sloop, which while certainly not a ship anyone would want to take out to sea, let alone an Ocean, it was the best he could do.

Victor was even debating on staying longer, developing his Shipwrighting skills further, as a Devil Fruit user, he wasn't exactly eager to sail out to sea with a weakness to water. When he ate the fruit, he didn't exactly consider all the ramifications of not being able to swim on a planet that was literally 90% water. Although, he'd still eat it if he could go back. The power and utility the fruit gave him was ludicrous.

However, he couldn't exactly stay on the Island anymore, largely due to the fact that he'd run out of creatures to kill.

While his Zoan fruit effectively removed his need to eat, giving him an 'Undying Body' and all, he'd developed a particular taste towards multitasking.

His undead could build things, forge, and even kill things for EXP and level him up. Meanwhile he could be doing other things, like developing his new martial arts, The Cursed Stance, the Six Powers, and even his recently awakened Observation Haki.

His Observation Haki had awakened due to him using his Devil Fruit. Much like Enel who used his own Devil Fruit to use Mantra, Victor had used his to see through his slave's eyes, and that spiritual experience of perception had allowed him to visulize how one might use Observation Haki what with his knowledge from the Wiki.

This 'burst' or 'flicker' of will allowed him to see the 'Aura' of his undead and the world around him. An interesting experience, and one that made him even more interested in seeing how he might develop the ability further.

Outside of that, he'd not made any progress on the Scythe, more focused on using his martial arts on the remaining animals on the the island that could offer a fight.

Currently, he'd developed a single 'Technique' that he was looking to perfect. The same attack that had disabled the first Ape he slew, something that he called Miasma.

The knife hand attack could be adapted to really any attack imaginable, using Miasma to hurt and damage a foe and develop all kinds of attacks using the ability. It would be the foundation of his martial art, and while not totally effective or powerful against foes using Haki, he theorized that his Miasma might drain or even weaken Haki, which would turn battles of Attrition to his favor if he grew powerful enough to draw a fight against such foes into a stalemate for so long.

A big ask, but the apathetic lich was already brewing on what he wanted to do in this world.

When the system had first appeared, Victor checked out mentally. Nodding his head, asking questions, asking what the system thought, and so on. He'd already been tossed into another world, and he hadn't wanted to confront the existential questions that the existance of a system or 'Game' brought him.

The game had done well in dodging his questions on his creations, existance, and role in bringing him to the world of One Piece. While he wasn't exactly depressed or angry towards his current situation, he couldn't exactly say he was thrilled without end.

His dulled emotion and reactions towards his situation came from a personal lack of identity and goal.

He had no real identity other than a name, a power, and a fruit. He was Victor 'Vic' Vici, yet, he didn't know what that really meant.

'Who am I, really?' Victor wondered, gazing out to the ocean.

'Am I a despot? Will I carve out a place to rule, raise up a kingdom of undead slaves to my will?' Victor wondered, gazing down at the dead he commanded, before shaking his head. 'No.'

'Am I a warrior, one who seeks the path of martial prowess, to the top of the world?' He gazed down to his hands, his skeletal fingers and knuckles. On his fingers were rings inlaid with gems of ruby and garnet. He nodded, 'In a sense, yes, but these fists are a means to an end. An expression of power, of will.' He clench them tightly, feeling their great power that could shatter skulls and break stone.

'Am I a conqueror, one who will sail the seas and take the world by storm? One who will climb and scale the Red Line, dethrone those who unjustly rule?' He played with the thought and let out a cruel laugh.

"False gods and dragons, their skulls and skeletons will be a fine trophy. However, they are not my goal." The lich muttered to himself. "Then what? What is mine ultimate goal. The dream that I yearn?!" The lich pounded on the arm rest of his throne, shattering bones and ruining the structural integrity of the arm rest.

He stood and the throne crumbled to a heap, the lich stepping on the offered spines and deathly stair case his minions formed. Crocs and large cats that weren't humanoid enough to work on the ship.

'Who am I? Who!' Victor thought, stroking his chin. 'A lich. That is obvious, yet what does that mean? Am I to become a king? But, a king of what? Of ruin?'

Pinpricks of white soulfire stared out into the ocean. 'Yes...'

His eyes ghosted over to the ship he was building. "Yes! That is it! That is the goal!" The lich laughed, his will rising and his chest burning in actual feeling, the only feeling he could sense in this form. "The seas! To rule the seas! Haha! What lands do I need? What people do I need? What grand goal? It matters little, it matters not. I will raise an armada, a fleet of the damned! Powered and raised only by my will, enslaved to my mind and thoughts! We will ride, we will venture! We will kill and reave. But, what title shall I endeavor for? Pirate King? No...no...that is a title for the liberator. For the Nika. Destiny is powerful, and a world where the Government is weak is a world I want to live within." The lich plotted, his fingers clicking together as his undead worked behind him.

"Perhaps...a title is not what I crave. Perhaps a title is what I wish to forge, to create? An armada of the damned, the pirates who all shall fear. Yes...fear. Fear is what I crave, for fear makes people know. I wish...to be known. For if I cannot ascribe a title, a name, a meaning to me, then the world shall know. The world will give me my name. They will scream and shout it, and give me meaning!" The lich declared to the world, and the winds trembled.

The waves warbled.

The earth creaked.

A man slowly climbed the steps of an execution stand, his feet clanging against the wood. The bells were chimming, the people were mermering. The Pirate King tilted his head, hearing the winds of distress distantly through the world, he frowned briefly, before he kept climbing.