Shiryu's comment was clearly a joke.
As Nao's close roommate, Shiryu knew exactly how hard he trained. To him, it wasn't surprising that Nao was making such progress—he firmly believed that sweat and effort were never wasted.
What did surprise him, though, was just how far Nao had taken his mastery of Kami-e (Paper Drawing).
Driven by curiosity, Shiryu tried several sparring combinations with Nao. His conclusion? "This guy's not human," he grumbled. Nao had quietly refined his Kami-e to a level that far surpassed what any recruit could hope to achieve, leaving both Shiryu and Rosinante trailing far behind.
For the first time since entering the training camp, Nao not only stood out for his good looks but also made Shiryu—a man with sky-high pride—feel an unfamiliar pang of jealousy.
Buoyed by his friend's subtle envy, Nao enjoyed the rest of the day. At lunch, he even overate in his cheerful mood, polishing off five extra bowls of rice and leaving Rosinante across the table gaping in shock.
The afternoon training focused on swordsmanship.
Zephyr—"Black Arm" Zephyr, a former Marine Admiral—finally made an appearance. He personally confirmed that the next day's exam was canceled and announced that a live combat assessment would take place at sea the following week. Then he began hands-on instruction in sword techniques.
Though best known for his monstrous physical strength, Zephyr was also an accomplished swordsman—perhaps not at the level of the greatest masters, but more than capable of teaching new recruits like Nao.
Nao listened intently, seizing every opportunity during free practice to consult Zephyr.
As a dual-wielding swordsman, he had to integrate Zephyr's teachings into his own unique style. This demanded not only physical stamina but also intense mental focus, far more than his peers needed.
Yet Nao found the challenge exhilarating.
That night, he continued his solo training as usual.
Thanks to his recent stamina boost, Nao could now keep training until nearly 10 PM. To avoid waking Shiryu with his return, he thoughtfully brought his key this time.
The Training Booster Card was proving even more effective than he'd imagined.
When he finally staggered back to the dormitory, utterly exhausted, Nao could feel in his bones just how much stronger he had grown in a single day.
He calculated that by the time the seven-day card expired, it would line up perfectly with Zephyr's announced live combat test, without wasting a single day.
That thought filled him with anticipation. At his current pace, he figured that by the time they set sail, his strength would have leapt to a whole new level.
Before sleeping, Nao decided to use his daily free scan. Wasting it would be a crime. He aimed the scan at Shiryu, who was sound asleep nearby.
His scan of Garp had been thrilling but only scratched the surface—his stats were simply too high to display fully. In contrast, scanning Shiryu, one of the top recruits, would provide more practical benchmarks to help Nao gauge how much further he needed to go.
Profile: "Rain" Shiryu
Age: 23
Strength: 9
Agility: 8
Stamina: 9
Intellect: 7
Charm: 3
Skills: Rokushiki (Basic), Single Sword Style (Intermediate), Firearms Proficiency (Basic), Observation Haki (Novice)
Nao quickly averted his eyes before he could see the "romance point rewards" that followed.
He had zero interest in Shiryu in that regard and vowed to make it a habit to automatically skip those lines when scanning male targets in the future.
"Strength and agility both two points higher than mine. No wonder he's Shiryu," Nao thought with a hint of envy. But Shiryu's charm stat was abysmally low, which gave Nao a sliver of consolation.
Notably, Nao was surprised to see Observation Haki in Shiryu's skill list.
"Wait, what? Shiryu's started to awaken it?"
The scan labeled it as "Novice," so it was likely Shiryu himself hadn't fully realized it yet. He'd probably only discover his ability during a live combat test.
"Observation Haki, huh…" Nao lay on his back, gazing up at the ceiling with a pensive look.
As a swordsman, he'd always longed for this power. Unfortunately, recruits like them had only begun learning Rokushiki a few months ago, and training in Haki wouldn't be part of the curriculum until later in the year.
But there was an interesting connection between Kami-e and Observation Haki. While not technically a prerequisite, Kami-e could be seen as a lower-level version of Observation Haki.
With his advanced mastery of Kami-e, Nao suspected that when the time came to train in Haki, he might have an easier time than most.
With that hopeful thought in mind, Nao finally drifted into sleep.
The next few days passed in a blur of training and quiet intensity.
He pushed himself relentlessly, savoring the pain and exhaustion that came with his steady progress. He stopped worrying about the "Romance System" for now, though he continued to use his daily free scan on random comrades to squeeze every advantage he could out of it.
By the time the seven-day booster card expired, Nao's basic stats had made long-awaited breakthroughs.
Name: Nao Natsuya
Age: 19
Strength: 8
Agility: 7
Stamina: 12
Intellect: 8
Charm: 10
Points: 1301
His strength and agility had each increased by one point, which he'd predicted. After all, he'd been at a bottleneck for months before acquiring the system, poised for a surge. Such rapid growth wouldn't be possible again through training alone.
What shocked him was the unexpected boost in stamina—his already monstrous endurance had climbed another point.
He estimated that his stamina was now roughly 30% higher than it had been just a week ago, an astonishing improvement.
"Getting closer to surviving two direct hits from Thunder Bagua," Nao mused in bed, summarizing his week's gains.
Tomorrow, the entire training camp would set sail for the live combat assessment. Nao was so excited he couldn't sleep, eventually staying up past midnight.
At that moment, he glanced at the system shop and saw that the weekly items had finally refreshed:
Swordmaster Ryuma's Insight Notes (Fragment): 2000 points
Forced Volume Control Device (Consumable): 100 points
Senzu Bean (Consumable): 60,000 points
Rokushiki "Soru" Skill Scroll (Intermediate): 1,000 points
Gambling Skill (Master): 60,000 points
Western Economics (Master): 8,000 points