The sun set in the west and the night passed to the ticking of the clock.
Hiroto, who had trained to the point of near collapse, lied on his bed waiting for the results.
[Effort King] triggered and scenes suddenly flashed before his eyes.
Hiroto grinned, because the scenes that appeared actually included his battle with Kuro.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Exercises, training, and even sparring with Zoro could be regarded as training or learning.
So how could more dangerous and high-pressure actual combat be excluded?
Between life and death, there is great terror, but also great opportunity. Although Kuro was far from being a life-or-death crisis, he was at least a weighty opponent.
In the One Piece World, intense combat was the most obvious way to get stronger.
He immersed himself in the emerging scenes, where the Hiroto within did not completely replicate the previous battle. It was as if an additional independent timeline had been created, where he fought Kuro over and over again.
A massive amount of experience accumulated, and soon a quantitative change led to a qualitative leap.
In the summary of experience from different timelines, Hiroto gradually gained insight, and in a flash of inspiration, he thought of the knowledge regarding 'Soru' from his previous life.
The so-called Soru involved kicking the ground multiple times in a very short period to obtain an extremely high initial starting speed, achieving an effect close to teleportation.
[Entry: Soru (Blue) acquired!]
But it wasn't over.
As if a long-accumulated force was finally bursting forth, Hiroto, building upon Nukiashi, Shakushi, and Soru, transformed them into something of his own.
[Entry Update: Shakushi → Instantaneous Burst]
Checking the messages, two new entries were displayed.
[Entry: Soru]
[Quality: Blue]
[Type: Active]
[Effect: Kick the ground multiple times in an extremely short period to gain immense initial velocity, achieving an effect close to teleportation.]
[Cost: Stamina]
[Note: Flash!]
[Entry: Instantaneous Burst]
[Quality: Blue]
[Type: Active]
[Effect: A technique developed based on Shakushi, incorporating the operational principles of Soru.]
[When charging, it is silent and soundless. Each step continuously accumulates kinetic energy, increasing initial velocity and reducing the constraints of inertia.]
[The accumulated kinetic energy can also be released all at once to gain a terrifyingly high charging speed.]
[Cost: Stamina]
[Note: The so-called assassination is to kill all witnesses in broad daylight!]
At the same time, new messages emerged once again.
[Panel Updated]
[Constitution: E++ → D (Bounty of over ten million)]
[Strength: D → D+ (Bounty of tens of millions)]
At this moment, Hiroto felt a sense of surprise. Surging power emerged from the depths of his body, breaking through shackles to reach a higher level.
He opened the panel, and saw that the data on it had changed.
[Name: Hiroto]
[Age: 21]
[Strength: D+ (Bounty of tens of millions)]
[Agility: D (Bounty of over ten million)]
[Constitution: D (Bounty of over ten million)]
[Perception: D- (Able to sense obvious potential crises)]
[Entries Held: Transmigrator (Rainbow), Gluttony (Orange), Incoming Chaos (Purple)...]
[Remark: Even if you're still a weakling, you're at least worthy of being called 'so-so'.]
In Hiroto's estimation, a single D-rank attribute could support a bounty of ten million. Now, almost all his attributes were D-rank, and his strength was even D+.
The past training had never seen such a significant increase. Clearly, such a significant boost was, because this time, he had an opponent of weight like Kuro. Combined with his previous accumulation, this progress was the result of accumulating strength and breaking through.
As expected, training alone obviously couldn't compare to the improvement brought by actual combat.
Hiroto was in a pleasant mood as he checked the descriptions for [Soru] and [Instantaneous Burst] entries.
The effect of [Soru] went without saying, and its appearance wasn't surprising. Kuro's Nukiashi amd Shakushi were considered by Hiroto in his past life to likely be inferior versions of Soru. However, judging by the entry levels, they were actually techniques of the same grade, which explained why Kuro had been so successful in the past.
As for [Instantaneous Burst]... it was superior to [Shakushi], with effects far exceeding Shakushi.
As for why it was still a blue entry...
In Hiroto's judgment, a purple entry's starting level would correspond to a bounty of at least a hundred million.
For example, the [Incoming Chaos] he held, which could predict the future, was a powerful entry but still only in purple grade.
This showed how high the upper limit of this grade was, and from it, one could catch a glimpse of the power of orange entries.
'Thinking about it, the East Blue really is a treasure trove for my development.'
Hiroto pondered as he got up and pushed open the door to go out.
He planned to test his skills and, while he was at it, communicate with Zoro beforehand about the mutual benefits of [Genius Trader].
Although it was late at night, the deck of the Going Merry was extremely lively.
There were three people there.
Smoker was tied to the mast with iron chains, a jitte still stuck in his abdomen, his wounds having been hastily bandaged. He was watching the intense fight before him expressionlessly, his thoughts unknown.
That's right.
The other two making the fight so lively were Zoro, who was on night watch, and Carina, who had taken it upon herself to watch Smoker and was currently sparring with Zoro.
As for Nami... since she was responsible for steering during the day and was extremely resistant to staying up late, she was likely already asleep.
Carina also cared about her beauty, but she cared even more about whether she was getting stronger. She had been constantly exploring her Smooth-Smooth Fruit's abilities during this time, and now she was even fighting Zoro to seek a breakthrough.
"Swordsman's nemesis—that's the second time I've heard Hiroto say that. Do you want to know what the first time was?"
With just this one sentence, Zoro's gaze became sharp, and he finally agreed to spar with Carina.
(End of Chapter)
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