"Impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible!"
Under the gaze of every student present, Klein's body jolted with power."Tekkai!"
In an instant—
Every muscle in his body tensed up at once, forming something like a solid steel plate.
Seeing this, the instructor's pupils contracted sharply.
That actually looked… legit.
"I'll give it a try," the instructor said, throwing a straight punch at Klein's chest.
Bang!
A dull thud echoed out, but Klein didn't move a muscle—not even a wobble.
The instructor's expression instantly changed, face full of disbelief."You… You really mastered Tekkai? How is that even possible?!"
"It's only been a few hours!"
"And you've already learned it?!"
Unbelievable.
A trainee mastering Tekkai in just a few hours—he'd never seen it. Never even heard of it.
After the instructor confirmed it for himself, the rest of the students stared at Klein, dumbfounded. Their eyes...
It was like they were looking at a monster.
The instructor felt like his understanding of reality had just been upended by Klein. He totally lost his cool."This isn't scientific!"
"Klein, tell me—how the hell did you learn this?!"
Klein spread his hands."Tekkai? Don't you just… use your hands? I just followed what you taught us—and bam, learned it!"
"????"
Are you screwing with us?
If it were that easy, the Marines would've wiped out every pirate by now.
The instructor felt his brain short-circuit. He'd taught so many generations of cadets and had never seen anyone master it instantly.
If anything, he'd seen more trainees 'train into trash' than succeed.
Garp's jaw dropped so wide you could've stuffed a goose egg in there."You serious? Ponytail dude already learned it???"
"This isn't some kind of prank, right?" Sengoku's expression shifted. He couldn't accept this reality at all.
The two of them were completely stunned.
The instructor just started teaching today, and you've already mastered it? Are you even human??
We have hands too, y'know...
So why the hell can't we do it yet!?
The training ground erupted.
"He… He really got it. Is he actually the kind of genius that only appears once in a century?!"
"Holy crap!! The instructor confirmed it himself. No way he's wrong. How the hell did Klein pull this off? I'm so jealous!"
"Why?! Is there no justice in the world? That money-grubbing bastard Klein actually mastered Tekkai?!"
"I can't believe it…"
"Klein's talent is off the charts!"
"······"
Dozens of jealous eyes stared at Klein, wishing they could swap places with him.
Yes. Yes!
That was the look!
He used to look at others the same way. Now it was his turn to soak in the attention of the entire crowd.
Klein was absolutely buzzing.
Sure, this "genius" was courtesy of a little in-game spending, but hey, who said that's not a form of hard work?
I am a freakin' genius!
As long as I keep topping up, I'll stay a genius. Fake it long enough, and it becomes real!
And who's gonna say otherwise?
The instructor finally snapped out of it, giving Klein a strange look."I underestimated you before. Judged your talent wrong. But now…"
"I still underestimated you!"
Of all the cadets he'd ever trained, Klein was without a doubt the most talented.
Even...
Even Kong couldn't compare to this guy.
The instructor patted Klein on the shoulder in encouragement."Klein, your talent is the greatest I've ever seen. I believe you'll become an outstanding Marine—famous across the world!"
"You'll be a role model for the rest of the Marines!"
Klein was practically floating from the praise."Ahem, instructor... So about those points?"
"...…" The instructor choked for a moment, then waved his hand."Fine, I'll give you ten cadet points."
"Thanks, instructor!"
Sweet!
Genius treatment hits different. Those points can be exchanged for a lot of stuff—and more importantly, money.
1 point = 10,000 Beli.
That's a 100,000 Beli reward. Klein was in love with the instructor now. The guy looked downright saintly.
The instructor turned to the rest of the cadets."You all need to work hard! Follow Klein's example and master Tekkai as soon as you can!"
"·····"
The trainees were all dead silent.
Klein's talent... Is that even something we can learn from?
You kidding me right now?
In the crowd, Tsuru clenched her fists tightly, biting her lip. Her elegant face twisted in frustration."He… How could he master Tekkai so fast? Are women really just worse at combat talent than men?!"
She was feeling deeply upset. Their last sparring session had already left her annoyed at Klein.
He'd offered her a free rematch, but even after nearly a month, she hadn't challenged him again.
For the past month, she'd been training day and night, pushing herself to surpass Klein.
And yet…
The gap between them had only grown wider!
Soon after—
All the cadets got fired up. Stimulated by Klein's feat, they threw themselves into Tekkai training with renewed vigor, desperate to become the next to master it.
Second place. Third place. Anything.
As long as they weren't last.
When the class ended—
Klein immediately sprang into action, targeting the utterly exhausted trainees with his pitch."Brothers and sisters! Do you want to master Tekkai early? To have a body like steel? To be fearless in the face of bullets and blades?"
"No sh*t!"
"Who doesn't want to master Tekkai early?!"
"Easy for you to say, you already got it!"
"······"
"Ahem!" Klein cleared his throat."What I mean is—I plan to open a Rokushiki training course. Led by me, the genius cadet who learned Tekkai in just one day!"
"I'll do everything I can to help you master Rokushiki faster!"
"Of course… you'll have to pay me a tiny bit of Beli. As compensation!"
"········"
There he goes again!
Klein was back at it—doing everything he could to make money off his classmates!
"Klein, we're all in the same class. We see each other every day. Can't we just skip the money talk? Talking about money hurts friendships!"
"Exactly! You give us tips, we'll be super grateful. We're all future Marines. We gotta look out for each other!"
"········"
Klein crossed his arms."Freeload off me?"
"Keep dreaming."
I'm the one who freeloads off others. Nobody freeloads off me!
I think Old Cao* said it best:'Better I betray the world, than let the world betray me!'
Klein went back to PUA-mode."If you master Tekkai early, you'll get ahead of everyone else. In future battles against pirates, that could save your life!"
"I don't want the next news I hear about you after graduation to be... your death."
"·····"
All the trainees were visibly annoyed. Klein's words were infuriating.
"Strength means safety. It means higher ranks…"
Klein pretended not to see their expressions and kept going."We talk about justice all the time—but without real power, how do you uphold your justice?"
"You can't rely on slogans and passion alone!"
"·····"
"The training course is offering a limited-time discount today. After today, prices go up—no exceptions!"
"Basic classes: 5,000 Beli per session. Buy 5, get 2 free.Quarter pass: 1 million Beli. Includes 1-on-1 guidance, sparring, training partner services, free massages, and custom lesson plans…Annual pass: 5 million Beli. Includes extra perks like 24/7 access, protection during live combat training, bodyguard services, and more premium benefits."
"Buy now, profit later!"
"Annual pass holders will get priority access to future services!"