Chapter 5
MC POV
It's been a few days. Or… weeks? Maybe months? Honestly, I had no idea anymore. My body ached, my stomach constantly growled, and Aqua was somehow still being annoying.
"{Ego}, how many days have passed?" I asked, trying not to sound too tired.
{Ego}:Precise calculation: 27 days, 14 hours, 32 minutes, and 51 seconds since arrival. During this time, your 'training' has yielded results equivalent to zero. You are statistically more skilled at yelling at Aqua than at martial arts.
"…Thanks for the encouragement."
{Ego}:Correction: it is not encouragement. It is a statement of your incompetence.
Aqua, who had been lying in the grass picking her nose, perked up. "Pfft—HAHAHA! Even your skill thinks you suck!"
I glared. "Oh yeah? At least I'm TRYING to get stronger!"
{Ego}:Observation: The goddess has attempted zero training, aside from perfecting the art of crying and eating other people's food.
"Wha—HEY! That's rude!" Aqua snapped. "I'm divine! I don't need training!"
{Ego}:Correction: you require it more than anyone else. Commencing training protocol.
Ego's Training Plans
For me?
{Ego}:Analyzing optimal regimens from One Piece combatants. Conclusion: your training shall mirror Monkey D. Garp's methods.
I blinked. "Wait. You mean…?"
{Ego}:Yes. You will punch mountains until your fists break. Then you will continue punching. Additionally, you will practice on an abandoned ship composed of Adam Wood reinforced with Sea Stonegiven by RBG.
"Sea… stone…?!"
{Ego}:Correct. Estimated completion time: 12 lifetimes. Commence immediately.
I screamed to the heavens. "RBG, YOU SADISTIC ASSHOLE!"
Aqua snorted. "Have fun breaking your knuckles, Sunny!"
Of course, Ego didn't forget her.
{Ego}:Goddess, your training shall begin in the swamp sector.
Aqua tilted her head. "Swamp? Oh, that sounds easy! I can just splash around—"
Hours later, she was knee-deep in toxic mud, chased by venomous frogs and bloodsucking insects the size of her head.
Aqua: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
I folded my arms, smirking. "Looks easy, huh?"
{Ego}:Observation: The goddess is now 67% poison, 23% panic, and 10% tears.
Aqua shrieked as a swamp worm latched onto her leg. "I HATE THIS TRAININGGGG!"
I grinned. "Good luck, partner!"
A Year of Hell
And so began our training camp from hell.
Observation Haki Training
Ego introduced me to a beast she called the Exploding Banana Gorilla (Capture Level 14). It threw bananas like grenades, each one detonating with a deafening BOOM.
{Ego}:Dodge. Blindfolded.
"Blindfolded?! Are you insane?!"
{Ego}:Statistically, yes. Begin.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
For weeks, my daily life was dodging explosive bananas while blindfolded. My nose was broken three times. My ribs? I lost count. But slowly… I began to feel it. The subtle vibrations in the ground. The killing intent before a throw.
And then one day—BOOM—I sidestepped perfectly, the blast missing me by inches.
I gasped. "Observation… I can see it… even without seeing!"
{Ego}:Congratulations. You have learned the basics of Observation Haki. Efficiency rating: 43%.
Armament Haki Training
The ship RBG had given me wasn't just wood—it was made of Adam Wood fused with Sea Stone. My fists bled every day as I pounded it.
Bang's martial arts guided my flow, Jiro's knocking honed my strikes. My knuckles shattered, healed, shattered again.
But then, one morning, as I punched, the ship's surface actually cracked.
A black sheen coated my fist.
"Armament Haki…" I whispered. "I did it!"
{Ego}:Correction: you did not do it. You accidentally did it. Improvement is required.
But as days became months, my control sharpened. By the end of the year, I wasn't just coating my fists. I could harden parts of my body at will, even push Armament Haki inside a target.
{Ego}:Achievement unlocked: Advanced Armament Haki. Efficiency rating: 72%.
Conqueror's Haki Training
I trained my spirit, but here I hit my limit. I could knock beasts unconscious, make weaker ones tremble. But… the advanced forms were beyond me.
{Ego}:Reason: insufficient Haki reserves. Solution: stop whining, continue training.
Aqua's Hell
While I was sweating blood, Aqua had her own "training."
Ego forced her to purify swamp water every day, until her holy magic actually became… stable.
She learned to bless food and water, making them nutritious. She could now create purifying barriers that dissolved poison and curses. She even—surprisingly—gained control over her emotional bursts, so her "crying" no longer wasted divine mana.
Aqua: (bragging) "See? I'm useful now!"
{Ego}:Correction: marginally less useless.
Aqua: "WHAT?!"
But she did improve. Her blessing could now buff my body, letting me heal faster and hit harder for short bursts.
The End of Year One
After one year:
Observation Haki → mastered basics, starting to see "future flickers." (Still working on it)
Armament Haki → achieved Advanced coating, internal destruction.
Conqueror's Haki → stronger, but not enough for advanced forms.
Flowing Seal Fist → sharper, faster, more efficient.
Aqua → reliable purification, barriers, and buffs.
We weren't the same two idiots that washed up on this island.
I stood on the beach, fists clenched, body hardened with Armament, Aqua's blessing shimmering around me.
I smirked. "Next time, RBG… I'll show you who's entertainment."
Aqua, holding her staff proudly, puffed up her chest. "And I'll show you who's the most beautiful, divine—"
She tripped over a coconut and faceplanted in the sand.
I sighed. "…Still an idiot."
{Ego}:Correction: goddess = idiot confirmed.
Aqua jumped back up, sand still sticking to her face. "HEY! Stop calling me an idiot! I'm a goddess, you know!"
{Ego}:Statistical analysis confirms: 97% idiocy, 3% luck.
"Ughhh!" Aqua stomped her foot like a child.
Before I could laugh, the ground suddenly trembled beneath us. Waves crashed harder, birds scattered from the treeline, and the air grew heavy.
I froze. "…{Ego}. What is this?"
{Ego}:Alert. Incoming lifeform. Estimated Capture Level: 23. Probability of survival: 14%.
"FOURTEEN?!" I yelled. "What the hell is it?!"
Right then, the trees at the edge of the swamp exploded outward. A massive beast lumbered into view, scales shimmering like molten steel, tusks as long as spears, and glowing eyes fixed on us.
{Ego}:Designation: Hellboar Titan. A mutated version of hellboar Temperament: aggressive. Current mood: hungry.
Aqua squealed and clutched my arm. "W-why is THAT here?!"
The skies crackled. A booming voice echoed down from nowhere.
RBG: "Because, my cute little pawns, you've been training for a year! And what kind of story doesn't have a test after a training arc? Now fight or die! Also, I skipped lunch, so consider this monster your 'final exam.'"
I shook my fist at the sky. "YOU STUPID GAMEMASTER !!"
RBG: "Love you too~."
The Hellboar Titan roared, its breath melting the sand beneath it.
Aqua's teeth chattered. "S-s-s-Sunnyyyyy… I can't purify THAT thing! It's like ten churches worth of evil!!"
I hardened my fists with Armament, Observation already flaring. For the first time, my body felt steady—trained. My haki burned around me.
I smirked. "Good. Then it's the perfect test."
{Ego}:Statement: I recommend you survive. I am not responsible for your stupidity if you do not.
"Thanks, Ego," I muttered, settling into my stance.
The Hellboar Titan pawed the ground, tusks gleaming, ready to charge.
Aqua whimpered beside me, raising her staff. "O-okay… fine. I'll buff you. But if we die, I'm blaming you!"
"Deal."
The air shook as the beast roared and charged.
End of Chapter 5.