Chapter 3: Awakening Titan Strength in the Heart of the Forest

Karl’s expression grew serious.

His eyes snapped to the tiger, reacting with speed and precision.

He pushed off a tree trunk with both feet. The trunk bent with a deep arc as Karl launched himself like a cannonball, aiming straight for the tiger.

His fist came down like a sledgehammer, brimming with unstoppable power as it slammed into the tiger’s skull.

In that instant—

The giant tiger had no chance to react. A dull thud echoed as it was sent flying, crashing into a nearby tree.

The tree shook wildly, leaves raining down and tinting the air a fresh shade of green.

The white tiger collapsed on the ground, struggling to rise but utterly helpless. Clearly Karl’s punch had left it seriously wounded.

From a distance, fresh blood could be seen oozing from the spot where it had been struck.

The white tiger let out a pained howl, straining its limbs in a desperate attempt to get back on its feet.

“Rustle, rustle, rustle!”

The other beasts who’d witnessed the forest’s king fall to a single punch quickly got the message—this two-legged creature was not to be messed with. One after another, they fled, and the forest fell eerily silent.

Karl didn’t bother to chase. With the darkness closing in, there was no telling what dangers might be lurking in the shadows.

He moved slowly toward the tiger, meeting the pleading gaze in its eyes. He could feel its fear and despair as clear as day.

Everything had happened so fast. Even though Karl still hadn’t fully mastered his new strength, those simple leaps and punches felt anything but ordinary. His body was far beyond what he’d ever known. The surge of raw power behind every move was undeniable.

Feeling the energy coursing through him, Karl realized he was no longer just an ordinary person—he was now someone blessed with the Titan Strength talent.

“Hahaha!”

Laughter bubbled up from Karl. For the first time, he truly felt what it was like to possess overwhelming strength.

He took a deep breath and fixed his gaze back on the badly injured tiger.

It was clear—the tiger was no longer any threat to him.

Karl glanced around. The forest was still full of hidden dangers and unknowns.

Titan Strength had given him a body built like a fortress, but in these woods, there was much more to beware of. He needed to find a safe place to rest, and fast.

“Come over here. You’re the first beast I’ve met since arriving in this world. I’ll give you the right to choose your own path.”

After a moment’s thought, Karl decided not to kill it. Maybe it was his mindset from Blue Star—he hadn’t fully adapted yet.

When the white tiger heard his words, it immediately stopped whining, looking dumbfounded for a second. Its massive head seemed almost cute. But soon, limping and battered, it followed Karl. It’d made its choice—surrender. After all, it was smart. With no way to resist, submission was the only option.

Karl found an open clearing and had the tiger lay there. He leaned back against its enormous body.

He still hadn’t used up all his draws.

Even if only his talent draws were truly boosted by the system, that didn’t mean he’d disregard ordinary ones!

Resting on the tiger’s side, a spark of inspiration hit Karl.

He thought of his Titan Strength—he could feel that mighty power welling inside.

Karl closed his eyes, focusing on the sensation. His body trembled slightly, and after a brief rush of heat, he noticed his constitution improving.

“System, open my personal panel,” he said, grinning toward the system.

[Ding!]

A personal stats panel floated up before his eyes. Karl stared at the details, eager to see how much he’d grown.

[Host: Lux D. Karl

Armament Haki: None

Observation Haki: None

Conqueror’s Haki: None

Skills: None

Talent: Titan Strength (Fusion Rate: 10%)

Currency: None

Items: None

Rating: Barely able to protect himself at sea. Overall strength: Commodore!]

Seeing this, Karl beamed with joy. With just a tenth of Titan Strength fused, he’d already reached commodore-level power. As he suspected, his strength had indeed climbed another notch.

He still had a skills draw and an unrestricted draw left—and he was looking forward to them even more. How strong could he get with another lucky pull?

“System, start the unrestricted draw.”

Full of anticipation, Karl triggered the draw!

“Congratulations, host. You have obtained the character template: Gai Nie from ‘Legend of Qin.'”

It turned out to be Gai Nie from Legend of Qin.

Gai Nie’s origins are mysterious; he trained under the Ghost Valley School and achieved unrivaled swordsmanship. His signature move, the Hundred-Step Flying Sword, is said to match the formidable Horizontal Strike for a perfect combination attack.

He was famously known as the Sword Saint, recognized far and wide as the greatest swordsman under heaven.

In his youth he taught swordsmanship to Qin Shi Huang, helping him conquer the six kingdoms and serving as the emperor’s top bodyguard.

But to everyone’s shock, Gai Nie later defected from Qin, escaping with the late friend’s son, Jing Tianming, to avoid the emperor’s wrath. Their path became an arduous one, full of dangers and hardship.

“Hahaha! Gai Nie’s sword skills really are top-tier.”

Time to let the One Piece world get a taste of our Eastern swordsmanship.

Suddenly Karl wondered: could these hero templates be assigned to others? What if he drew a template he didn’t want for himself?

After all, he’d surely get plenty more in the future. If there were some he didn’t plan to use himself, wouldn’t it be a waste?

“System, can I assign hero templates to other people?”

He couldn’t help but ask.

“Host, hero templates can be given to anyone. You can take them back anytime as well.”

Karl breathed a sigh of relief at this answer.

Glad to have an option, he decided to hang on to the hero template for now. Once he’d fully unleashed his Titan Strength through real combat, he’d consider it. After all, biting off more than you can chew rarely ends well.

“System, start the skills draw.”

Eight Extremities Fist, Taiji Sword Technique, Muscle-tendon Transformation Manual, Eight Trigram Palm…

“Congratulations, you have drawn the skill: Eight Extremities Fist.”

Alright, so it wasn’t Taiji Sword or Muscle-tendon Transformation, but Eight Extremities Fist was still pretty good.

Isn’t there an old saying? ‘Ten years for Taiji, but Eight Extremities takes just one to kill.’

Let’s see what this Eight Extremities Fist is all about!

“System, activate Eight Extremities Fist.”

Strings of text floated from the roulette and streamed straight into Karl’s mind. He instantly absorbed every technique and power principle hidden within the art.

All kinds of moves flashed through his memory as he rapidly learned and memorized every single detail.

Thanks to this new foundation, he could now precisely control every inch of his body—even the growth of his own hair and nails.

Could this be the realm of a martial arts grandmaster?

In the animated series he remembered, a true master could keep even a feather from landing on him, or stop a fly in midair.

With that, Karl wasted no time and began practicing his new moves right away.

He darted around, spinning and unleashing sharp, accurate attacks in a flurry of motion.

Each action flowed smoothly, every strike on point—like a dancer moving to an invisible rhythm, only his sword was his own body.

The nearby trees became his training dummies.

With every punch, he sent yet another tree crashing to the ground.

The thunderous falls echoed through the forest, boldly announcing his might to the world.

Karl’s eyes sparkled with confidence. He had fully mastered the art’s true essence—the Six Big Openings—even if the advanced moves would take more practice.

The surge of new power filled him with an unprecedented sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

“You know, it’s true. You really can’t argue with these results.”

Karl muttered to himself, excitement and pride lighting up his face.

He realized it wasn’t just his mind that was full of knowledge now—his body had burned every move into muscle memory.

He could feel power and agility thrumming in every inch of his skin.

A grin spread across Karl’s face as he looked forward to whatever tomorrow would bring.

Now he honestly had the strength to protect himself. Sure, in the world of One Piece a commodore might not seem like much, but with his Titan Strength, nobody was going to take him down overnight.

“Which of the Six Powers is the most important?”

Karl thought about it. Probably Shave, since it makes you move lightning fast. Maybe include those flashy Moonwalk kicks, too.

But how is Shave performed?

Thirty-six times stomping the ground in just 0.36 seconds, right?

“Bang!”

The first time Karl gave it everything, he stomped so hard he left a deep hole and tumbled right into it.

He wasn’t discouraged, though—just kept trying again and again right where he stood.

“Boom!”

After dozens of attempts, he finally got the hang of Shave. His sense of direction was still a mess, though—he sent one tree after another toppling as he crashed through them with his body.

“Bleh!”

After knocking over another tree, he scrambled out of the leaf pile, spitting bits of greenery from his mouth.

“It’s late already. Guess I’ll worry about the rest tomorrow.”

With that, he quickly dragged tree trunks together. He’d need some kind of shelter—no way was he sleeping out in the open tonight.

He jammed the trunks into the ground for walls, then tied a few together with vines to make a simple door.

In just an hour, Karl’s rough handiwork had produced a simple but sturdy little wooden cabin, around fifty square meters wide.

Looking at the crude yet cozy hut he’d built himself, Karl couldn’t help but feel a hint of pride. This was his very first homemade house.

He even threw up a little lean-to in front of the cabin for the white tiger, so his partner could rest and stay dry. When he finished, his stomach started to growl.

He glanced at the white tiger—no way. That guy was a companion now; eating him was out of the question.

…