Ray

When Oliver returned to the orphanage, the orphanage caretaker looked sternly at Oliver and said to him, "Follow me to my office, Oliver."

All the orphans who saw this either laughed happily or looked disdainfully at Oliver.

Oliver didn't care about their reactions; he just followed the caretaker to her office.

____

Inside the caretaker office

The caretaker looked at Oliver sternly and said to him, "I heard you beat up Paulo, Beck, and Mike. I think you awe me an explanation, Oliver; why did you beat them up?"

Oliver shrugged and said to the caretaker, "They keep bothering me and try to bully me; if I don't stand up for myself, they will continue doing that."

The caretaker sighed when she heard this and said to Oliver, "You are going to apologize to them."

When Oliver heard what the caretaker said, he refused right away, saying to her, "No way, I will not apologize to them." 

The caretaker narrowed her eyes when she heard what Oliver just said, and then she said to him, "If you insist on not apologizing to them, I will not have a choice but to kick you out of the orphanage, Oliver. I don't want to keep dealing with you all the time."

Oliver narrowed his eyes in anger upon hearing this, but then he heard the robotic voice of the system in his head.

Ding, the system detected that the host needs to make a choice.

1. The host apologizes to Beck, Paolo, and Mike reward gain humble heart trait {you will be humble by nature. Thanks to the humble heart trait effect.)

2. Refuse to apologize to Beck, Paolo and Mike. Reward a warrior heart (you will be brave like a true warrior no matter what kind of danger you face in the future).

"The rewards are very intriguing; even in the absence of a reward, I would still refuse to apologize to those three due to my own pride."

After making up his mind, Oliver looked at the caretaker in the eyes and said to her, "Sorry, mother, I can't apologize to them. I have my own pride."

The caretaker was stunned at first, then she sighed, "This is your own choice, Oliver; after lunch you have to leave."

Oliver nodded, and then he walked out of the caretaker office.

Suddenly, Oliver heard the system notification in his head again.

Ding, Congratulations, host, you choose not to apologize to Beck, Paolo, and Mike. You are going to gain the warrior heart. Would you like to claim your reward now?

Oliver nodded and said to the system, "Yes, I would like to claim my reward now system."

Then Oliver heard the system voice in his head, 

As you wish host.

Suddenly, Oliver felt a warm sensation in his heart and then in his mind. After a few seconds, the warm sensation disappeared, and Oliver heard the system saying in his head again.

Ding, Congratulation, Host! You have gained the warrior heart!

Oliver smiled and walked back to his room to collect his stuff to prepare for leaving the orphanage.

______

Three weeks later

Oliver had left the orphanage three weeks ago.

Oliver was currently searching through the restaurant's garbage for food. He was extremely hungry.

The man, in his late thirties, has long, dark red, spikey hair that extends to his shoulder.

He has fair skin, onyx eyes, and his height is average.

The man, with his slim and muscular physique, was dressed in blue baggy pants, black boots, and a black shirt.

He carried a katana by his side. The katana doesn't have a guard; its sheath was light green. The handle of the katana was blue and wrapped by a black cloth.

When the man saw Oliver grabbing some food from the garbage, his eyes softened, and he walked towards Oliver.

"Hey kid, are you hungry?" The man asked Oliver.

Oliver turned his head, looked at the man, and nodded to him.

The man then said to Oliver, "Follow me; we will go to the restaurant, and I will treat you to a meal."

Oliver's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this, prompting him to ask the man, "I am a stranger to you, and you have no obligation to be kind to me." Why are you being kind to me?"

The man chuckled when he heard this: "Hehe, you are an interesting kid." "My reason is simple: you are hungry, and I don't like seeing other people hungry."

Oliver widened his eyes in shock; no one has been kind to him before, even in his previous life.

Oliver suddenly heard the system's voice in his head.

Ding, The system detects that the host needs to make a choice.

1. Accept the man Invitation reward: high observation and analytical talent

2. Refuse the man invitation reward ordinary sword.

Oliver was surprised when he heard this; he didn't care about the sword; he was really hungry right now, and the man was the first person that he ever met who was kind to him, so he wanted to get to know the man.

Oliver gave a small, sincere smile to the man and said to him, "Thank you, sir."

The man waved his hand in dismissal and said to him, "No worries, kid, follow me; we will go to the restaurant."

Oliver nodded, and they both walked to the restaurant.

Suddenly, Oliver heard the system notification.

Ding, Host had made his choice. would you like to claim the reward now?

Oliver nodded and said, "Yes, system, I want to claim my reward now."

As you wish, host.

All of a sudden, Oliver felt a warm sensation in his brain for a few seconds, and then he heard the system notification in his head again.

Ding, congratulations, host! You gained high observation and analytical talent. 

Oliver smiled, and he entered the restaurant along with the man. 

______

Inside the restaurant 

The man and Oliver entered the restaurant, and they were seated next to the window.

The waitress walked to their table and smiled at the man, "Welcome, sir. What would you like to order today?"

The man gave the waitress a charming smile, which caused the waitress to blush. He then said, "Me and my little friend would like to order some grilled meat and vegetables, some salads, and two bowls of rice."

The waitress nodded and wrote the order down. Then the man continued, "As for my drink, bring me your strongest rum; also, bring an orange juice for the kid."

The waitress smiled and nodded, then she said, "Sure thing, customer, please wait; your food will be ready shortly."

The man nodded in satisfaction, and the waitress went to report the man's order to the chef.

The man looked at Oliver and smiled kindly at him. Then he said to Oliver, "Alright kid, let me introduce myself to you. My name is Ray Caremello. What's your name, kid?"

Ding system detected that the host needed to make a choice.

1. Introduce yourself to the Ray Reward copycat talent. { Copycat talent enables the user to break down, analyze, and execute the skills they observe, provided their physical capabilities permit it}.

2. Refuse to introduce yourself to Ray reward gain ruthless personality.

By this time, the waitress had brought the orange juice and the rum to Oliver and Ray.

Oliver shrugged and answered Ray's question, "My name is Van Noor D. Oliver, Mr. Ray. Ray widened his eyes for a brief second when he heard the initial D, but Oliver didn't notice it.

Oliver suddenly felt a warm sensation in his brain for a few seconds, followed by the sound of a system notification.

Ding, congratulations, host; you gained the copycat talent.

Oliver grinned and pondered, "Interesting. I wonder how useful this talent will be."

On the other hand, Ray was in deep thought, "Is it fate that brought me and Oliver together? No, I don't believe in fate."

Ray then asked Oliver, "So, kid, why were you searching for food earlier?" Where are your parents?"

Oliver contemplated whether to respond to Ray, but then the voice of the system echoed in his mind once more.

Ding, host the system detected that you need to make a choice.

1. Tell Ray how the caretaker kicked out the orphanage. Reward prideful heart {you will value your pride highly than your own life}.

2. Ignore Ray's question and refuse to answer him. The reward is shameless personality {you will be shameless by nature}.

When Oliver heard this, his eyebrows twitched in irritation, and he thought to himself, "Me becoming shameless; give me a break." I have my own pride. I will never be a shameless person."

Ray noticed that Oliver's eyebrows twitched, suggesting that the question he had asked had irritated him. He then said to Oliver, "Kid, if you don't want to tell me, that is fine."

Oliver looked at Ray when he heard what he just said. He then responded to Ray's question by saying, "My mother abandoned me when I was born and sent me to the orphanage."

Ray narrowed his eyes in anger when he heard this, and Oliver continued, "Three weeks ago I was kicked out of the orphanage because I refused to apologize to the kids I beaten up."

Ray looked at Oliver in amusement and asked, "Then why did you not apologize to them? If you apologized, you will not have to go looking for food in the garbage."

Oliver narrowed his eyes at Ray. The air around Oliver changed, and Ray was surprised at what he felt. A moment later, when Ray heard what Oliver said next, he felt he was struck by lightning.

"I have my own pride, old man; there is no way I apologize to some bullies; I didn't do anything wrong." Oliver said to Ray seriously.

Suddenly Ray remembered his last conversation with his old friend.

Flashback

A man who looked older than Ray stood in front of him, the right side of his face covered with red tattoos. He wore a green hooded coat and his spikey black hair reached his back.

The man looked disappointed at Ray and asked, "Ray, when did you lose your pride and justice? You really disappointed me."

Ray was enraged when he heard what the man said. He unsheathed his katana, ready to attack, but the man said, "I will wait for you until you regain back your pride and your justice." After you regain them back, let me know."

"WHOOOSH."

Before Ray could attack the man, the man enveloped himself in a gust of wind. The wind pushed back Ray, and the man then disappeared.

Ray saw a piece of paper on the ground. He picked up the paper, and after checking it, he put it in his pocket.

End of Flashback

After remembering his last encounter with his old friend, he looked at Oliver and said to him with a smile, "Well said, boy, remember this: never abandon your pride; the most precious thing for a man is their pride."

Oliver was surprised when he heard this. He thought about what Ray had just said and agreed with him, nodding his head in understanding.

Suddenly he felt a warm sensation throughout his body. After a few seconds, it disappeared.

Oliver then heard the system notification in his head.

Congratulations! Host, you gained a prideful heart.

Oliver didn't care about the system notification because the waitress brought their food and they started eating.

Ray noticed Oliver was eating like there was no tomorrow, and he smiled at that.

While Ray was eating, he was deep in thought, then he made up his mind and said to Oliver, "Kid, how about we make a deal?"

Oliver looked at Ray in confusion and asked, "A deal?"

Ray nodded his head with a smile. "I am planning to open a restaurant in Greenery Town on the Four Mountains Range Island. I want you to help me run the restaurant. In exchange, you won't have to worry about food or a place to sleep; I will even teach you how to cook. I was a talented chef before I joined the Navy; I will even teach you swordsmanship if you want. I was considered one of the best swordsmen in the Navy."

Oliver was surprised by what Ray had just said, and then he heard the robotic voice of the system in his head.

Ding, the system detects that the host will need to make a choice.

1. Accept Ray's deal. Rewards Akira Hayama's keen sense of smell and heaver rank talent in swordsmanship.

2. Host Refuses; Reward Lone Wolf Personality

Oliver was confused and asked the system, "System, please explain the rewards to me. I don't understand them."

The lone wolf personality reward will cause your personality to change. You will be dependent only on yourself; you will be independent.

Heaven Swordsmanship Talent is a talent rank within the Swordsmanship Talent hierarchy. The swordsmanship talent is divided into five ranks.

The Human Rank Talent, Earth Rank Talent, Heaven Rank Talent, Saint Rank Talent, and God Rank Talent.

Lastly, Akira Hayama keen sense of smell. Akira Hayama is a very talented chef in another universe. He has a very good sense of smell. He can identify the spaces by smilling them. He can also rely on his keen sense of smell to cook his dishes "blindly," as he can detect any minute changes in his dish just by the changing aroma coming from the pot, allowing him to cook without having to look into his pot.

When Oliver heard this, he was surprised and thought to himself, "There is no way I will choose the second choice." If I choose the second choice and I gain the lone wolf personality, my whole personality will change. I will become a different person. I have pride in myself; this will bring me too much shame.

If I go with Ray, I will not have to worry about food or a place to sleep, so my best choice now is to accept his deal.

After making up his mind, Oliver looked at Ray and said to him, "I accept the deal, sir."

Suddenly, Oliver felt the warm sensation all over his body again for a few seconds then he heard the system notification. 

Congratulation, host! You gained Akira Hayama's keen sense of smell and heaver rank talent in swordsmanship.

Oliver smiled when he heard the system notification and continued eating. Ray smiled when he heard what Oliver said, and he told Oliver, "Good choice, boy. Now eat up. Once we finish our meal, we will depart for the Four Mountain Range Island.

Oliver nodded, and both he and Ray continued eating their meal.

After they finished eating, they left the restaurant.

Ray and Oliver walked to the island shore, boarded a small boat, and began sailing away from the island.

_______

Aright guys I hope you enjoyed this Chapter

I got new ideas I would like to restart the voting again

Please Vote:

1. Oliver, same generation of Shanks and Hawkeye he create his own crew.

2. Oliver joins revolutionary army

3. Oliver, part of worst generation, create his own crew

4. Oliver joins STH

5. Oliver, first mate of Law

6. Oliver, first mate of Hawkeye

_______

For the next update

I also decided to do few things for all my stories because it take a lot of work and planning to write new chapters.

10 power stones, [ a new chapter will be uploaded in 24 hours.]

20 power stones [ 2 new chapters will be uploaded in 48 hours ]

40 power stones [ 3 new chapters will be uploaded in 48 hours]

1 review [1 new chapter will be uploaded in 24 hours]

thanks for reading guys take care