Still puzzled, Ryuuzaki unsheathed the sword, gripped it in his hands, and gave it a few experimental swings.
[Congratulations, Host. Swordsmanship Talent Unlocked.]
A mechanical chime echoed in his mind. Ryuuzaki grinned and opened his status panel to check.
Sure enough, new talents had appeared:
Talent: Basic Swordsmanship (8)
Talent: One-Sword Style (7)
"Huh? One-Sword Style? That means there must be… a Two-Sword Style!"
With that, he grabbed a second sword. One in each hand, he began swinging again.
As expected, he unlocked:
Talent: Two-Sword Style (4)
Then he grabbed a third blade, copying Zoro's signature pose, one sword in his mouth, two in hand, and struck the stance of Three-Sword Style.
Another ping.
Talent: Three-Sword Style (2)
Not stopping there, Ryuuzaki continued the experiment.
He tried Four-Sword Style, Six-Sword Style, Eight-Sword Style, even Nine-Sword Style…
Each time, the system added a new entry, but only with 1 point each.
The deputy officer watched this entire scene unfold in silence.
Seeing Ryuuzaki standing there with so many swords sticking out from every limb, he rubbed his temples.
Has this kid fried his brain from overtraining...?
He sighed and left to report to Commander Bark. Bark had shown interest in this rookie, better keep him updated.
Meanwhile, Ryuuzaki grabbed a rifle, a bow, and even a slingshot, trying them all out one by one.
As a result, he gained:
Talent: Slingshot (3)
Talent: Archery (6)
Talent: Firearms (7)
"Ryuuzaki! What the hell are you doing?!"
Commander Bark stormed in at the worst possible moment, right as Ryuuzaki was posing like some martial arts clown, a gun in one hand and a sword in the other, striking a bizarre action-hero stance.
"Uh… I'm playing?"
Playing?!
Bark's expression darkened.
You still have energy to play?
The consequences were swift.
Ryuuzaki was ordered to do one full hour of push-ups.
At that point, even though all his individual talents were still in the single digits, his total talent pool had grown to:
82 Points.
As he did push-ups, Ryuuzaki redistributed all 82 points into:
Talent: Basic Strength (82)
Although his Basic Stamina had already reached LV4, his Basic Strength was still stuck at LV1.
The beauty of the Talent Reset System was that it allowed targeted grinding.
Maximize one stat, maximize the results.
But even so, Ryuuzaki wasn't satisfied.
If Lucci did push-ups, with his 90+ stats across the board, he'd be training strength AND stamina at once.
But me? With all points in strength, I can only train that one thing!
…I need to get back into the equipment room.
After the punishment, Ryuuzaki's body could barely move. He stumbled back to his room and collapsed into bed, snoring the moment his head hit the pillow.
The Next Day
After morning stamina drills, Ryuuzaki returned to the equipment room.
There were still a few weapons he hadn't tested yet.
He grabbed the most basic of all, a wooden staff. After a few swings:
Talent: Basic Staff Technique (8)
Then he tried a nunchaku, followed by a three-section staff.
Talent: Nunchaku (3)
Talent: Three-Section Staff (2)
Just like that, his total talent points reached 95.
Of course, Ryuuzaki wasn't done yet.
What about whips?
The storage room only had one model, but he gave it a few casual flicks anyway.
Talent: Whip Technique (4)
Now his total talent pool hit 99 points.
That afternoon, as training resumed, Ryuuzaki once again redistributed all 99 points into:
Talent: Basic Stamina (99)
After all, stamina was the foundation of everything.
No stamina = no training.
To maximize his gains, Ryuuzaki did something bold, he ran while carrying two swords across his shoulders.
These weren't wooden training swords.
These were real swords, with weight.
Running with them for five minutes? No big deal.
But running the entire afternoon like that… as a six-year-old?
That was brutal.
What he didn't expect, though, was that his antics would inspire the others.
Kaku, not to be outdone, picked up a log and started running with it on his back.
Then Lucci, the absolute madman, strapped a sandbag to himself, one that weighed nearly as much as he did, and continued his drills.
And others joined in too.
Ryuuzaki realized he was surrounded by future CP9 members.
He saw Jabra, Blueno, Kumadori, Fukurou, all of them.
Their average talent scores? Easily above 70.
"Heh heh heh…"
Running alongside Kalifa, Ryuuzaki shot her a mischievous grin.
Kalifa was clutching a lead ball while running, but she had clearly misjudged her own stamina, she was already gasping for air.
"What are you looking at?" Kalifa snapped. "This counts as harassment!"
Dang. That catchphrase? She already knows it at this age?
"Hi, I'm Ryuuzaki."
"I know your name."
"Your arms must be sore holding that lead ball."
"Thanks to you!"
Kalifa scowled.
This was all his fault.
Running was already torture, and then this guy had to start carrying swords, setting off a domino effect that pressured everyone else into doing the same.
Kalifa couldn't afford to look weak. She was still new, still scared.
What if she didn't train hard enough and got killed by the commander?
Ryuuzaki pulled one of his swords off his back and offered it to her.
Kalifa blinked in confusion.
"That lead ball's too awkward. You have to hold it with your arms, it throws off your balance.
Try carrying a sword instead. One for each of us."
Kalifa hesitated, but she wasn't dumb.
The moment she'd picked up the lead ball, she knew something was off.
It was heavy, but awkward, and she couldn't keep pace.
Now that Ryuuzaki had offered, she gladly chucked the ball aside and accepted the sword.
Instantly, her arms felt much lighter.
"Th-thank you…" she managed to mutter.
"Don't mention it. Actually, I should be thanking you."
"Me? For what?"
"Back during the first selection… I almost didn't make it. But because of you…"
"Because of me?"
Kalifa tilted her head, confused.
"I was watching you. Watching your movements. The way you… moved your, uh… never mind. You get it."
Kalifa narrowed her eyes.
She noticed where he was looking.
Specifically… at her butt.
She was a sharp girl. It didn't take her long to figure out what he meant.
Her face turned beet red.
"T-That's blatant sexual harassment!"
"Heh heh heh… either way, thanks for helping me survive. One day, I promise, I'll repay you with my body."
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter