Chapter 4: The Imposter is Successfully Hit
Ain pursed her lower lip, her face pale. She was in no mood to pay attention to Karl and staggered forward.
"Sigh~"
Karl let out a long sigh. He had indeed been dishonorable this time, having tricked Ain. But he had always been one to repay kindness with kindness and enmity with enmity.
He would count this as owing Ain a favor, and he would definitely repay it next time.
"You two are really bold! Causing trouble for this old man on the very first day of training! Ain, this old man is asking you, can he return to normal?"
Hmm... Ain frowned, thinking hard, and slowly said: "With my current ability, it will probably last for about three days before Brother Karl returns to normal."
Zephyr nodded. It was good that he could recover; the situation wasn't too severe. But a reprimand was definitely necessary.
"Ain, Karl, this will not happen again. As punishment, you both will have extra training tonight. Any objections?"
Neither of them had any objections. Zephyr was very satisfied with their attitude of admitting their mistake.
"Ain, return to the ranks and continue running. Karl, your current condition... forget it. Go to the infirmary and get a check-up.
If there are no problems, come back. Wait until your body returns to normal, then rejoin the training and make up for everything you missed!"
[Time-limited Mission Completed]: Reward: Active Skill [Frail].
Hearing the pleasant notification, Karl's heart rejoiced. The autonomy to slack off was finally in his hands. From now on, whether he participated in training wasn't up to Zephyr, but up to his body.
The only potential problem was getting injured too frequently. Being absent from training often would most likely cause his impression in Zephyr's mind to plummet.
At this thought, Karl once again remembered the Holy Light Fruit he got today. The world of One Piece was full of all sorts of weird and bizarre abilities, but how many fruit abilities could strengthen others? Very, very few.
The Pump-Pump Fruit was one, the Horm-Horm Fruit could also be considered one, and the Shadow-Shadow Fruit? In any case, support abilities were not common.
And his Holy Light Fruit was undoubtedly one of the top-tier ones, integrating healing and enhancement. Its strategic value was immeasurable.
Karl couldn't say for sure, but he was certain that if he ate the Holy Light Fruit, he would definitely become a hot commodity in the Marines. After all, who wouldn't want a teammate like that?
Then there was the fact that this Devil Fruit could help him slack off with peace of mind. Think about it: a battle starts, Karl sends out a Holy Light, his teammate is buffed, and his mission is complete.
The rest of the time could be used for slacking. The buffed teammate easily defeats the villain, everyone is happy, and who would dare say he was slacking?
Finally, there was the most important point. This kind of ability was very likely to attract the attention of the Marine high-ups. At that time, even if his relationship with Zephyr soured, he wouldn't be expelled from the training camp.
"Karl! Karl!!"
The roar in his ear brought Karl back to his senses. He quickly shouted: "Present!"
"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and go to the infirmary!"
Seeing Karl's "dead pig not afraid of boiling water" appearance, Zephyr frowned, thinking to himself, "Why does this kid look so happy? He couldn't have done this on purpose to skip training, could he?"
No, no, he must be overthinking it. After all, this kid had been a marine for ten years, and his record had no blemishes. In all these years, he had only encountered Kizaru, who made him both angry and helpless.
This kid Karl looked so earnest and proper, he shouldn't be...
"Yes! Sir!"
Karl nodded, pulled up his trousers, and walked with difficulty towards the infirmary. He couldn't help it; his body had shrunk so much that his clothes had become a burden.
Half an hour later, Karl quietly returned to the training grounds, sat in the stands, and watched the new recruits train. He sighed inwardly, "This is youth!"
Especially watching his slacking time continuously accumulate, Karl's mouth was about to split into a wide grin. One word: wonderful!
On the training field, Bins was training hard. The corner of his eye happened to sweep over Karl, who was beaming with a smile in the stands, and he couldn't help but feel a little angry.
They were training so hard, while that guy was hiding off to the side resting, which was bad enough, but he was also secretly laughing at them. How despicable!
Bins wasn't the only one who thought this; many people shared the same thought. It hadn't felt that tiring originally.
But seeing that guy Karl enjoying himself with his legs crossed on the sidelines, they immediately felt both tired and angry. On what grounds!
Faced with the gazes constantly sweeping over him, Karl was completely unaffected, enjoying his rare slacking time with a clear conscience.
It was a joke! This master was slacking off based on his own ability. Besides, he had been a diligent marine for ten years; couldn't he enjoy himself a little?
Shuzo, who was instructing the new recruits, also noticed the situation with Karl. He finally understood why these new recruits were so distracted. So it was this kid who was affecting morale!
"What are you looking at! Although Karl isn't training for now, his Doriki is the highest among you! It's useless for you to be unhappy with him; he can still easily defeat you. So, now is your chance."
"Now, all of you, train hard for me!"
That's right! Karl was already strong; now was their chance to surpass him.
Fired up, they let out a loud and uniform roar: "Yes!!!"
Seeing this, Shuzo was very satisfied. As for whether Karl would be isolated or targeted, that was not his concern at all.
Off to the side, Karl sighed helplessly. Looking at the way those new recruits were looking at him, he might really get targeted.
But it didn't matter. He still had the system. He might as well eat that Holy Light Fruit right now!
Taking advantage of no one paying attention, Karl quietly moved to a blind spot in the corner. After looking around to make sure no one was there, he took the Holy Light Fruit out from the system space.
The fruit looked like an orange, with golden-yellow skin covered in circles of intricate patterns. Taking a deep breath, Karl bit into it without hesitation.
"Ugh~ So disgusting..."
Karl threw the unfinished part aside, forcibly suppressing the disgusting urge to puke. Seeing the faint golden ball of light slowly emerging from his palm, the corner of his mouth tilted up slightly.
"View attributes!"
Host: Karl
Age: 24
Physique: E
Perception: F+
Will: E
Special Ability: Maiden's Stillness
Holy Light Fruit: 0% (Awakening progress)
Active Skill: Frail (Usable)
Looking at his panel, Karl was a little surprised.
He didn't expect that after eating a Devil Fruit, all his attributes except Will would improve. This was all a bonus from the Devil Fruit.
"Sigh~ Getting stronger just by sitting. Tell me, isn't that infuriating?"
After a simple test of the Holy Light's power, Karl found it was just as the system said: enhancement and healing. He couldn't feel the enhancement effect for now, after all, he was in a 14-year-old's body.
As for the healing effect... Karl endured the pain and cut his palm open with a fruit knife. He applied one shot of Holy Light, and the wound healed instantly. Only the bloodstain on the ground proved he had just been injured.
"Huu~ This Devil Fruit is stronger than I imagined!"
Although he couldn't fly or move through the earth, which disappointed Karl a bit, this was the One Piece world, after all!
If Devil Fruit abilities weren't enough, there was still Haki and martial arts. Moreover, the Holy Light Fruit was far from useless!