"…She let her hair down, her face pale as death, dressed in white, always moving with a whistling wind, her eyes full of endless resentment…"
Zhang Da Ye deliberately turned off the lights above the bar, lit a candle, and began telling Tom a ghost story in the eerie tone of a TV teacher he had once watched.
"G-g-g-g…" Tom's teeth chattered uncontrollably. He stuffed a hand into his mouth, eyes glued to Zhang Da Ye, trembling all over.
Tom had been like this since the beginning—afraid of ghosts, yet fascinated by ghost stories.
Many people share this oddity: terrified yet unable to resist listening, frozen in place even as fear makes them want to run.
Tom now was wrapped in a small blanket, still shivering, caught in that paradoxical state.
Zhang Da Ye didn't understand Tom's psychology; he simply told the story, mostly to pass time and amuse Tom while the tavern was empty.
The flickering candlelight danced with his breath, shadows shifting and adding to the eerie atmosphere.
Creaking sounds came from the side, caused by Artoria calmly munching on rice crackers. She wasn't afraid of ghosts; to her, heroic spirits were akin to supernatural beings, nothing unusual.
"She crawled slowly toward the camera, closer and closer… first her arms, then her hair, and finally… she emerged entirely from the screen!"
"Eeeek—ahhh!!!" Tom's piercing scream shook the tavern, but that wasn't all—
"Ah!!" *n
Around the candle, several burly men suddenly appeared, echoing Tom's scream in unison.
Startled by the voices behind him, Tom dashed behind Zhang Da Ye's neck, peeking out cautiously.
Zhang Da Ye covered his ears, waiting for the "tenor squad" to quiet down, then complained: "I'm telling a story to my cat, and you all make a racket? You're even more timid than a cat."
The group blushed, stammering: "N-nothing… nothing to be scared of…"
Emotions are contagious—Tom screamed, they followed. Now scolded, they felt ashamed.
Zhang Da Ye flashed a shrewd smile: "Five hundred Belly tickets each."
"Why? We didn't even hear the whole story!"
"Exactly!"
"I'll tell Goodman Uncle tomorrow, you were scared by a small story—guarantee the whole island will…"
"Kid, it's five hundred Belly, no need for formalities! No offense, just thought your story was excellent—worth the price!"
"Yes, yes!"
"Ha, thanks for your patronage!" Pleased with the extra cash, Zhang Da Ye asked, "Want more? I have even scarier ones~"
Everyone shook their heads, grabbed their drinks, and returned to their seats. Listening again? Not a chance.
No further disturbances came that evening. Zhang Da Ye, unsatisfied and craving more excitement, closed the tavern and began his evening training.
He started with stamina and strength exercises, then sparred with Artoria.
"Crack!" "Smack!"
"Snap!" Artoria's bamboo sword shattered, splinters scattering everywhere.
Zhang Da Ye swayed and collapsed, gasping: "What… happened?"
"Da Ye!" Artoria dropped the sword handle and rushed to help him.
"Meow?" Tom immediately dropped his snack and dashed to Zhang Da Ye, even faster than Artoria.
Zhang Da Ye felt weak: "I'm fine… just suddenly lost all my strength."
Artoria helped him sit: "That was magic."
"Magic?" Zhang Da Ye had thought it might be awakening Haki, but it turned out to be actual magic.
"Yes, though weak, it's magic like mine."
"Your sword training could develop magic?"
"No," Artoria said, "I only taught you swordsmanship normally. Your body naturally generated a faint magic, which you exhausted in one burst, breaking my bamboo sword."
Could I be a one-in-a-million genius? Wait, maybe I should suspect my summon ability first.
Zhang Da Ye looked at the magic circle on his left hand: "Is it because of this?"
Artoria nodded: "Possibly. You mentioned that after arriving in this world, you gained unusual healing—perhaps triggered after summoning Tom."
"And my body generating magic started after you arrived." Zhang Da Ye's excitement grew: "So you're saying I can acquire your abilities?"
"Maybe abilities, maybe physiology. We need time to observe, or wait for the next summoned friend to confirm."
"That's amazing! Even just Tom's physiology is great—nearly impossible to kill." He immediately thought of a test: have Artoria cut him in half and see if he recovers…
But he dared not—if wrong, he'd die. In terms of healing, he still lagged behind Tom. So it might only be partial.
Even so, having part of their physiology meant the potential to surpass ordinary humans. With effort, he could grow stronger—a truly fortunate situation.
Artoria considered the possibility: "Most likely, you've acquired part of our physiology. So far, it won't make you suddenly stronger."
"I'll keep training."
Artoria nodded, confident in Zhang Da Ye's dedication—she watched daily, sipping tea as she observed.
As excitement faded, Zhang Da Ye stroked Tom, recalling his last attack: "Artoria, why does magic feel… not practical? My full strike only broke a bamboo sword, then I lost all energy. Seems weaker than brute force?"
"That's because you released the magic roughly. If I used the same amount, I could snap a tree trunk."
"…" So basically, I'm terrible at it…