Impel Down, Sixth Level, Infinite Hell.
Liam Ross's clones had nothing better to do. Every day, they entertained themselves by tossing bombs around with Barrett and the others, bragging and boasting to an absurd degree. If the walls weren't thick enough, they probably would have collapsed under the sheer nonsense that flowed from Liam's mouth.
At first, Barrett and the others listened with genuine interest. Occasionally, one of Liam's tales would spark a moment of reflection. But after a few days, it became painfully clear: this kid was absolutely blowing smoke.
"Kid, yesterday you mentioned the other vice-captain of the Sky-Breaker Pirates, what was his name again?"
Barrett's cold voice drifted from the next cell.
Liam replied casually, "Oh, you mean that guy? We affectionately call him the Bald Demon King… Saitama."
"Right, right, that little bald guy. Are you seriously saying he could punch through an entire island?"
Barrett mulled this over for a whole night. A name like "Bald Demon King"? If his strength was truly that outrageous, how could anyone have not heard of him?
So naturally… he assumed Liam was lying.
"Of course! That guy's fists are unmatched one punch splits the sea, one punch shatters mountains, one punch obliterates meteors. Even the Navy's toughest warships? One punch, and they're gone. All without breaking a sweat."
Liam's mouth opened like a floodgate, words rushing out in a torrent. The imprisoned pirates around him froze in disbelief, their jaws practically hitting the floor.
"Hmph. Kid, you've got some nerve. Do you really think a mere human could split the ocean?"
"Yeah, and shattering mountains, sure, maybe. But meteors? Come on, are we idiots? Do you really think someone could punch a meteor from space?"
"Ugh, I told you yesterday this kid is just talking big. Take it as a story and move on. Don't take him seriously."
Hearing the pirates debate among themselves, Liam snorted coldly. "So… none of you believe me, huh?"
"Kid, believing you would make us fools."
"Fine, then. If you want proof, summon the Sky-Breaker Pirates. We'll perform right in front of you."
Just then, Barrett's voice cut in at the perfect moment: "Kid, between you and this Bald Demon King, who's stronger?"
Liam feigned deep thought. After two minutes of deliberate pondering, he spoke slowly:
"Saitama's fists are incredible. He's reached a level of complete unity between body and mind."
"You two never fought?" Barrett asked skeptically. In this world, strength dictated status. Barrett knew Liam was a vice-captain, and if Saitama was also a vice-captain, surely they had tested each other.
"Of course we sparred. As vice-captains, neither of us would bow to the other," Liam said, a hint of indignation in his tone.
"And who's stronger?"
"Honestly, I can't beat him. Power is evenly matched. I'm basically the third in command on the ship," Liam replied with a straight face, though everyone knew he was exaggerating.
"So, you're really strong?"
"Barrett, what are you implying? If it weren't for these Seastone shackles, I'd have you picking your teeth off the floor!"
"Hahaha! You alone?" Barrett sneered, clearly unimpressed.
"Just you wait, Barrett!" Liam barked furiously. Of course, this was all posturing. At his current level, he genuinely couldn't take on Barrett.
In Infinite Hell, darkness ruled eternal. Time lost all meaning. None of them could tell how long had passed.
Time slipped by like sand.
Half a year passed since Liam enrolled in Marine Academy. He had made the facility his regular checkpoint. Every week, every month, he accumulated resources, leveling up steadily.
With the help of various utility items, his mastery of the Six Martial Arts had jumped from outstanding to top-tier.
He also obtained two Strength-and-Bone Enhancement Pills, drastically improving his physical constitution.
His three types of Haki Armament and Observation remained at the top tier. From top-tier to strongest required a staggering 10,000 experience points.
Conqueror's Haki, however, surged under the acceleration of the Haki Training Card. Daily practice steadily increased his experience. By now, it had reached the Outstanding level.
The one headache remained his Swordsmanship. Two hours a day were devoted to practicing with the wooden sword provided by the academy. His improvement, however, crawled at a snail's pace.
Swordsmanship: 30/100 (Proficiency)
Seeing this number made Liam feel miserable.
For his Devil Fruit development, Liam focused mainly on his Clone Fruit.
Clone Fruit: 480→800/1000 (Outstanding)
The Earth Fruit remained at top-tier.
After six months, the system rated his overall combat power as approaching mid-tier First-Class. Improving to Admiral-level strength was notoriously difficult. Only rare items, like the Golden Skill Boost Card, could provide the jump Liam needed to make exponential progress.
As Liam's main body grew stronger, so did his clones, reaching high second-tier. According to the standard ranking of the Seven Warlords, his clones could probably rank fourth or fifth. Even someone like Dracule Mihawk, though a Warlord, had real-world combat strength comparable to an Admiral, securing the top seat among the Warlords.
Of course, that was twenty years in the future. For now, everything remained uncertain.
Despite improvement, Liam's performance at the academy was mediocre. Initially, Zefar had high expectations after Liam awakened Observation Haki. But after six months of training, Liam's exam scores came in: dead last.
The exams tested martial arts and Haki. Some students, like Smog, excelled with Devil Fruit abilities and Six Martial Arts mastery, securing first place. Other top students included the cute Hinata and a few others.
Most students had mastery in one or two forms of the Six Martial Arts. Liam, however, had just begun Iron Block, and his Observation Haki showed no progress.
Zefar was furious. He thumped his chest in despair and scolded Liam in front of the entire class, using him as the negative example of the cohort.
Liam, however, remained unfazed. Words passed through one ear and out the other. He understood well: standing out too much wasn't necessarily a blessing. Being last? Fine. Being a negative example? Even better. No one was losing limbs over it.
The title of Strongest Underachiever belonged solely to him.
One day, Liam examined a unique item: the Friendship-Hatred Card, a prize from a previous weekly check-in scratch-off. With nothing pressing to do, he decided to test it.
"Click!"
The card snapped cleanly, releasing a faint glimmer of light that vanished instantly.
"System, that's it?" Liam asked in confusion.
"Please be patient, Host," the system replied.
"Patient for what?"
"For the arrival of someone destined to form a bond of friendship or hatred with the Host."
Liam blinked, speechless: ⊙﹏⊙‖