『Ding. You have consumed one use of the Life Simulator. Beginning life simulation…』
『Age 17: You've been enrolled in the Marine Academy for one year. You've mastered basic knowledge in shooting, navigation, artillery, and steering. Your strength has significantly improved.』
『Age 18: With your basic curriculum completed and physical standards met, you were approved to begin training in the Marine Six Powers. You mastered all six techniques within a year.』
『Age 19: You concealed most of your strength and graduated with mediocre results, becoming a regular Marine. After two more years of tempering, your swordsmanship advanced further—you successfully unleashed external sword energy, achieving the level of "Swordmaster."』
『Age 20: Always known for acting low-key, you were just about to apply for a transfer. However, in the same year, the great pirate Golden Lion Shiki escaped from Level 6 of Impel Down. You were deployed as part of the interception unit.』
『Outmatched by Golden Lion Shiki, you ultimately fell in battle outside Impel Down...』
『This life simulation has ended. You have received the following rewards. Please select one to claim:』
Basic knowledge in shooting, navigation, artillery, and steering
Training methods for the Marine Six Powers
Swordsmanship and insights at the "Swordmaster" level
Four years of physical enhancement
The second life simulation, like the first, ended with an early death. But this time, Wood was no longer surprised.
This world was filled with danger from the start. If it were possible to simulate a life to age seventy or eighty with ease, he would've already become unbeatable on the sea after just a few simulations.
Compared to dying in a shipwreck during the first simulation, this time could at least be considered a more dignified death.
And as for the cause of death, Wood wasn't all that shocked either.
Concealing one's strength was indeed something he would do—doing so increased his chances of survival.
Unfortunately, his luck was just terrible. He happened to encounter the Flying Pirate Fleet's captain, Golden Lion Shiki.
This was someone from the same era as the Pirate King Roger. Even a decade later, he would still be counted among the legendary pirates of immense power.
As the first person in history to successfully escape Impel Down, it didn't really matter whether Wood had hidden his strength or not—against someone like Shiki, the outcome would have likely been the same.
Shiki had once fought Marine Headquarters alone in response to Roger's death, holding out against Garp and Sengoku for several days before finally being imprisoned.
Years later, Shiki would indeed sever his own legs to escape Impel Down, so the timeline matched.
Back to the matter at hand—when the four reward options appeared in front of him, unlike last time, Wood fell into a brief hesitation.
Among the four rewards, the first could be ruled out immediately. Whether it was shooting or artillery, Wood had little interest. He planned to specialize in cold weapons.
As for the second reward, if it had been the actual "Marine Six Powers" techniques, Wood might have considered it. But since it was only the training method, he directly discarded it as well.
He had already received insights into the Marine Six Powers from Garp's aide-de-camp, Tokikake. With some effort and experimentation, he could master them on his own.
If it had been a direct transfer of the techniques, it would have saved him time. But as it stood, training methods alone were of little value to him.
The real struggle was between the third and fourth rewards.
The "Swordmaster"-level swordsmanship and insights had long tempted him, but four years' worth of physical enhancement was also highly attractive.
Under intense mental debate—and with the system's reward selection timer beginning to count down—Wood finally chose the third reward: swordsmanship and insights at the level of 『Swordmaster』.
The reasoning was simple. While the physical boost from four years of training was tempting, it was something he could still achieve through steady progress.
But the level of understanding and skill represented by the 『Swordmaster』 reward? That wasn't guaranteed. It was tied to talent, intuition, and even luck.
Just because he had achieved external sword energy in this simulation didn't mean he could replicate it again so easily.
One reward was something he could earn over time. The other was a rare, possibly once-in-a-lifetime chance.
The choice, in the end, was clear.
Once the reward was selected, a massive surge of knowledge flooded into Wood's mind. Though this wasn't his first time experiencing it, the sensation was still incredibly strange.
Outwardly, nothing about his body had changed. But Wood could clearly sense his understanding of swordsmanship had deepened dramatically.
If he encountered Iron-Arm Cook again, Wood was confident the fight wouldn't drag out like it had before.
Even without relying on clever tricks, and even if his opponent activated a Devil Fruit power, Wood believed he could now take down Cook and the entire Iron-Arm Pirate Crew while sustaining only minor injuries.
He raised his fingers, aligned into a flat palm, and swung it downward through the air.
A sharp burst of sword energy exploded from his palm, slicing across the air and leaving a faint gash along the bedpost nearby.
External sword energy—this was the dream of all men! After all, what boy hadn't dreamed of becoming a martial arts master who could slash through the air with a blade?
"A shame my last sword broke in the fight against Iron-Arm Cook. I really want to see how powerful my full-strength air slash is now!"
The Marines did provide standard-issue swords, but those mass-produced blades were far too fragile for Wood's current needs.
These days, Wood used wooden training swords weighted with rocks during practice. Why?
Because he could make them himself.
Even the cheapest Marine-issued sword cost money—and Wood wasn't about to waste funds on weapons he would just break.
"A decent sword has to be prioritized. Now that I'm a proper 『Swordmaster』, not even having a real sword is just embarrassing."
His swordsmanship had reached the level of 『Swordmaster』, but pushing it any further in a short period of time would be difficult.
Since Tokikake had provided him with training insights into the Marine Six Powers, Wood decided to shift his focus to intense physical training. He would hone his body to the level required for mastering those techniques.
Night had already fallen.
Inside the new recruits' dormitory at the Marine Academy, after a day of grueling classes and practice, the students were all sprawled out in bed like dead pigs, snoring away.
But Wood quietly got up, changed into a set of casual clothes, gathered his training gear, and stealthily slipped out of the dorm.
He moved with practiced ease, hopped the academy's fence, and dashed toward the forest behind the Marine school.