At the beginning, the sailors on the ship were amazed. Who was this new Sub-Lieutenant, that the Captain himself put in such effort to train, almost becoming his exclusive sparring partner?
Even back on the battleship, when the kingdom's aristocratic family members came aboard for training, such a scene was never seen.
For a time, the sailors were abuzz with speculation.
Until one time, when Aiven and Gel both executed the secret technique "Sword Style: Floating Boat" from the White Sail Swordsmanship. The two turned into afterimages, seemingly floating as they chased and fought each other over several lifeboats, which did not even sway slightly.
It was then that the crew understood. The distinctive and powerful swordsmanship of the two was self-explanatory; this wasn't some aristocratic scion imagined by everyone, it was clearly the Captain's own family member.
By this time, Aiven had long stopped caring about what the crew thought. After two weeks of intense training, constantly engaged in tension-filled combat, his body attributes had improved significantly, nearing the true human limits!
However, during this process, Aiven discovered the secret of Uncle Gel's swordsmanship system. Like himself, it started with the foundation of "White Sail Swordsmanship." A person's swordsmanship style can transform in many ways, but the foundational style is hard to erase.
Needless to say, this was certainly the handiwork of his own father back in the day. Being able to pass down an extraordinary swordsmanship that's been in the family for nearly two hundred years to Uncle Gel suffices to show the depth of their relationship.
Yet, before Uncle Gel broke through to become an Official Knight, his foundation subtly shifted from the agility-favored "White Sail Swordsmanship" to the straightforward, power-oriented "Phaletis Saber Technique."
Having experienced it firsthand, Aiven felt that the "White Sail Swordsmanship" should be far superior in enhancing effects compared to the "Phaletis Saber Technique." Why would Uncle Gel abandon the easier for the difficult, the near for the afar?
With this doubt, he directly inquired with Gel.
"Hahaha, don't blindly trust common sense and experience, Aiven! The White Sail Swordsmanship is indeed a very powerful extraordinary swordsmanship, but swordsmanship and humans also have a compatibility.
If our physical qualities could be quantified, though my agility is decent, the highest attribute value I have is strength. Using the Phaletis Saber Technique to advance to the extraordinary best showcases my strength advantage."
Gel didn't feel it was improper at all to expose his extraordinary foundation to Aiven, continuing to say, "And you wouldn't think that what they taught you in the training camp is the full extent of the Phaletis Saber Technique, right?
There are many strong individuals in the Navy who use this military swordsmanship. After revisions and iterative development by generations of masters, its potential isn't lesser than the well-refined White Sail Swordsmanship."
Name: Gel Cooper
Gender: Male
Military Rank: Colonel Captain (affiliated with the Phaletis Kingdom's Third Fleet, Silver Wings)
Tier: Official Knight Peak (Extraordinary Tier 2)
Attributes: Constitution 4.5
Strength 4.8
Agility 4.3
Wisdom 1 (pre-transformation life essence upper limit as 1)
Skills: Phaletis Saber Technique (advanced version, mastery) White Sail Swordsmanship (mastery, with matching breathing technique, swordsmanship, and magic potions) Sailing Skill (Master)
Staring at Uncle Gel's attribute information, Aiven nodded, acknowledging that indeed, your primary attribute is strength.
Gel, in the midst of enthusiasm, directly imparted the advanced version of "Phaletis Saber Technique" to Aiven, allowing him to make his own choice during the extraordinary advancement.
Additionally, taking advantage of this rare peaceful time, Gel also passed on the essence of "Sessi Scimitar Technique," widely spread among the Pirates, and the Phaletis Kingdom's court swordsmanship "Rose Swordsmanship" to Aiven, so that even if he doesn't put in hard work now, at least when he encounters these in the future, he won't be flustered.
Grateful for Uncle Gel's complete openness, Aiven trained with greater dedication. In reality, with the presence of data visualization, he had a clear understanding of his own path.
Military Swordsmanship could serve as an auxiliary, "Sessi Scimitar Technique" and "Rose Swordsmanship" as references, but his foundation remained in "White Sail Swordsmanship" since his primary attribute was the highest in agility.
During this period, there was other good news. While Aiven failed at an experimental attempt on land, the bean sprout experiment he brought on board, with the help of the ship's chef, finally succeeded.
"Mm, not bad, this is it." With a lightly sweet, crispy taste, the data visualization showed no signs of bodily poisoning; Aiven confirmed the successful development of the "bean sprout."
It turned out that with suitable beans and freshwater, you could harvest a large quantity of vitamin C-rich bean sprouts in just a few days. Not only were they very tasty, but for sailors, they were also a lifesaving remedy.
Sure enough, during the subsequent dinner, the crew highly praised this novel vegetable and strongly demanded the chef replace the usual "boiled beans in saltwater" with this delightful dish called "bean sprout."
In nature, when animals face physical issues, they instinctively eat things not in their regular diet, like carnivores eating grass and gorillas eating clay.
That's because those things not in their normal diet contain trace elements their bodies urgently need.
Mankind, the most evolved beings, is no exception. Craving fresh vegetables is also a warning sign issued by their bodies.
"Mr. Aiven, do you know what your invention means?" While ordinary sailors might not have much perspective, the ship's doctor, Dr. Martin, possessing extraordinary sensitivity to such matters, sought out Aiven excitedly.
In this era of extraordinary power, people were already aware of "scurvy" and vaguely realized that fresh fruits and vegetables could protect sailors from this disease.
But under the conditions of a wooden sailboat, storing enough fresh produce to supply the entire crew was simply unrealistic.
Beans, being easy to store and capable of transforming into vegetables through short-term cultivation, were a match made in heaven for long-distance sea voyages! Countless sailors, spending four to five months at sea, would be saved by this small invention.
And Aiven, as the discoverer of this vegetable, would inevitably be recorded in maritime history as it spread.
"Dr. Martin, you're just in time! I don't have good channels to promote this invention, nor any reliable connections in the upper echelons of the Kingdom. Do you have any suggestions?"
Aiven, not overly concerned about this "invention" for the moment, asked somewhat casually.
Moreover, he knew many methods in long-term seafaring to replenish vitamins, like pickles, malt, or directly adding lemon juice to cane liquor. However, he wasn't sure if people of this era had discovered these methods, so he shared them with Dr. Martin.
"Sir Aiven, you truly are a genius! I'm a member of the Royal Medical Society of the Kingdom. Please allow me to represent you and write to the committee gentlemen to explain your remarkable discoveries. Tens of thousands of sailors will remember your contributions!"
"Um..." At this point, the ship's doctor blushed slightly, hesitating to speak out.
"Of course, you'll have authorship rights on the paper, with the position of the second author definitely being yours, Dr. Martin!" Aiven, knowing what this professional craved, generously granted him authorship rights.
"Thank you, sir. Leave it to me; I'll write it, and I'll do it well!" Dr. Martin responded, overjoyed and a bit incoherently, before hurriedly running back to his cabin to write the letter.
Indeed, even in a world where extraordinary power clearly exists, desire remains one of humanity's driving forces for progress.