The steel arrived one quiet morning, delivered in a reinforced crate to the courtyard behind our estate. It was thick, dark, and cold to the touch, custom-built. My father, Lucien, had called in a favor from a military-grade supplier.
Seris watched from the veranda, half-suspicious, half-impressed.
"That's not a toy," she muttered. "That's battlefield-grade."
I walked up to it barefoot, palms relaxed.
And I began.
At first, my fists barely made a sound against the metal. A dull tap. Then a soft thud. Then a sharper crack.
Each strike was layered with intent. With precision. With control.
The training I had built over the past year—Fist of Flowing Water, Selfless State, Observation Haki, and Armament Haki.
Over the next weeks, each strike grew heavier. The vibrations from the impact traveled through the steel. My knuckles turned dense, then darker, as spiritual pressure condensed around them.
The steel block began to tremble.
Training in stillness was one thing. Training in motion was another.
One night, mid-strike, my breath slowed… and it happened.
My Transparent World shifted.
Before, I saw organs and motion. Now, I could see Ki flow—like rivers of light moving within living bodies.
I could read muscle tension, pressure buildup, and even the rhythm of potential motion. It was no longer just awareness.
It was a prediction.
"...Combat precognition," I whispered in my thoughts.
Navy Six Style – First Movements
It was time to move.
I started practicing techniques from the Navy Six Style scroll—mainly Shave, Geppo, and Tekkai.
Shave taught me how to vanish with speed through high-frequency movement.
Geppo allowed me to bounce off the air using timed bursts of kinetic force.
Tekkai trained my body to harden through conscious control of muscle tension and energy.
My body evolved daily. My reflexes have been refined. My mind sharpened.
And thanks to my mother… so did my nutrition.
Elira would visit me during my meal breaks. She never interrupted my training. But she always made sure the food was precise.
"Lyraen, you've been training with that block made of thick steel for months," she said one afternoon, setting down a covered dish. "You're getting quite good."
I nodded once.
She smiled faintly. "What do you like about it? Is it the physical activity or something else?"
Lyraen pauses. "I like the feeling of control, Mother. When I'm punching, I feel like I can focus on something specific."
She blinked once. Then nodded. "Then we'll make sure your meals match your goals. No wasted energy."
Her care didn't show in coddling. It showed in precision.
Meals high in protein, rich in omega fats, timed perfectly.
She was training me in her own way.
Seris often passed by when I was deep in training. Sometimes with mockery, sometimes with snacks, just to annoy me.
One evening, I was mid-practice when she sat on the railing nearby.
"You know you could've just picked soccer like a normal kid," she said, tossing a grape into her mouth.
I didn't reply.
She watched my punches dent the steel block, then whistled.
"You're a freak," she muttered, smirking. "But at least you're my freak."
The days stacked. The months passed.
My body adapted. My mind… was now something else.
Photographic memory. Not learned. Just… awakened. Every text, every diagram, every theory is embedded into my recall.
Then, on the anniversary of my training, it came.
I am now a 4-year-old.
<< Accumulated 1-Year Sign-In Reward Activated >>
Reward: Gluttony – Skill Origin: TenSura
Effect: Allows the user to absorb, analyze, and archive skills, substances, and even soul fragments for understanding and replication.
The moment I felt it, I smiled.
Not physically. Internally.
Finally, I could learn anything.
Every technique, every energy flow, every fighting style—I could absorb and master it in time.
But I wasn't in a rush anymore.
For the first time, I set a goal not based on time.
Not days. Not weeks.
I looked to the sky and made a vow.
"System. No more rewards… until I turn ten."
A solid foundation. A perfect mind. A perfected body.
That was what I would build.
And only then… would I unlock the next chapter.