After the instructor's physical training session ended, Klein collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat. His clothes were soaked through, and he was gasping for air.
"It's finally over… I don't even want to move a finger..."
At that moment, Garp sat down beside him, one finger casually picking his nose while his other hand slapped Klein hard on the back.
"Hey, ponytail guy! Not bad today. You've clearly made progress," he grinned.
Smack smack—
"Cough, cough, cough—!" Klein nearly choked from the slap. "You bastard! Can't you go easier!?"
Garp laughed heartily. "Hahaha—just finished training, my strength's a little outta control. Let's hit the mess hall! If you want to be a top-notch Marine, you gotta eat lots of meat!"
"That's what my old man always said."
He rubbed his abs. After a full day of training, his stomach was already growling.
"Let's go. Let's grab Sengoku and Zephyr while we're at it." Klein had recovered some strength and stood up. 'Even Garp with his single-digit IQ noticed my improvement... guess I really have gotten better.'
Garp immediately shouted, "Hey! Afro guy! Ponytail guy says we're eating together! You too, Poison Boy!"
"Poison Boy...? That has to be Zephyr, right?" Klein's mouth twitched. Well, at least I'm just Ponytail Guy.
Zephyr's purple hair really did look like some sort of venom, which was why Garp called him "Poison Boy." Still, that nickname...
The moment Garp yelled, both Sengoku and Zephyr's faces darkened.
"You idiot, Garp! I've told you a hundred times—stop calling me Afro Guy!!" Sengoku stormed over, seething.
Zephyr clenched his fists, seriously tempted to punch Garp. But he knew the difference in strength between them was still too great.
"Garp, my name is Zephyr. Zephyr! Or call me Hero, dammit!"
When he'd first introduced himself, he'd told everyone his dream was to become a hero. That was why he joined the Marines.
"Hahahaha!" Garp roared. "Doesn't matter what you're called."
Mess Hall
Sengoku and Zephyr took out all their rage on their food. The table in front of the four of them was stacked like a mountain of plates.
Once they'd eaten their fill…
Their bellies were bulging like they were ten months pregnant. All four burst into laughter, pointing at each other's stomachs and cracking up.
When the laughter finally settled, Sengoku looked at Klein.
"Klein, your training rank's improved a lot since yesterday. Want to join us for extra practice?"
Garp slung an arm around Klein's shoulder with a grin. "Hey, Ponytail Guy, I found the perfect training spot. There's a scrapyard behind HQ filled with old Marine warships. They make great punching bags."
They clearly hoped Klein would keep training with them.
"I'm definitely not going." Klein tossed aside his toothpick and leaned back lazily in his chair like a salted fish. "Day training already wrecks me. And now you want to add night practice too? Are you nuts?"
"Klein, don't you want to become stronger?" Sengoku asked.
"Of course I do."
Klein made a face like reality had defeated him and muttered, "Ask anyone else—who doesn't want to get stronger?"
"I've been training for over ten years. I know my talent isn't anything special. That's why my dream was just to become a Marine captain. Guard a peaceful region. That'd be enough."
That was the official answer. What he really thought was: I've got a system. I don't need to grind like they do. After all, ten-plus years of effort...
Still just a cannon fodder. I've never had any illusions about becoming a powerhouse just by overtraining.
Be realistic.
Eat on time. Sleep on time. Graduate. After all these years of grinding, it's time to enjoy life.
Sengoku nodded. "Guarding a peaceful region is a fine goal too. The stronger you are, the heavier your responsibilities..."
He stood up and patted Klein on the shoulder. "The Marines don't just need powerhouses. They also need people like you, Klein—people who can guard peace."
Then he turned to Garp and Zephyr. "Hey! If you two have rested enough, let's start training again. Let's see which one of us ends up the strongest in this dorm!"
"Obviously me!" Garp shouted, fired up, as he joined Sengoku and Zephyr in another round of competitive overtraining.
Klein, on the other hand, returned to his dorm alone and started playing his game.
[Auto-training complete. EXP gained: 140.]
One week later
[Game Character ID: Imu's Dad][Level: 6][EXP: 812/900][HP: …][ATK: …][DEF: …][…][Physique: 20]
What caught Klein's attention even more was that after purchasing the daily special packs consistently, today he finally leveled up his training room to level 10!
[Swordsmanship Training Room Unlocked!][New Skill Unlocked!]
Two previously grayed-out icons on the main menu lit up with color and flashed red dots.
Following the prompt...
He tapped on "Swordsmanship Training Room." It was basically the same as the regular training room, except the punching bags had been replaced by wooden stakes and straw mats.
Swordsmanship Training Room Lv. 1 — +5% EXP gain.
But before Klein could explore further, a flashy pack promotion popped up on-screen:
[Super Value Deal! Permanent Bonus! Up to 1000% EXP rebate!!][Purchase Substitute?][Basic Substitute: 8,888 Berries][Bronze Substitute: 88,888 Berries][Silver Substitute: 688,888 Berries][Gold Substitute: 1,288,888 Berries][EXP per hour: Basic = 10, Bronze = 20, Silver = 50, Gold = 100]
Klein's mouth twitched. His inner voice exploded: 'Are you freaking kidding me?! This game thinks I'm made of money! These prices are insane!'
"Gold for 1.28 million Berries?! Are you serious!?"
"The previous special packs only cost 10,000 total and now this—"
If this were the old him, he'd have had enough money to buy the Gold Substitute no problem. But after recharging so much over the past few days...
His bank card was down to just over 600,000 Berries. Not even enough for the Silver Substitute.
"I bought a damn watch last year!"
Klein was stunned. He thought that 600k Berries would last him at least a month of daily packs... and yet...
It's only been a week, and he's already broke.
Looking at the four tiers of Substitutes, Klein naturally wanted the Gold one. With 100 EXP per hour plus bonuses...
It was clearly the best value both short- and long-term. But unfortunately...
He was flat broke.
"Shit! Where am I supposed to get more money!? I'm still a cadet!" Klein groaned. Only official Marines get paid. And even then, the salary's peanuts.
Buying a Gold Substitute? Dream on!
He'd need to save up until the next ice age... unless he became an officer and found a side hustle. Those guys, like Captain Rat, could pull in hundreds of thousands or even millions of Berries with ease.
But for a Marine cadet like him...
Even a penny could trip him up—let alone the gap of several hundred thousand Berries needed for the Gold Substitute.
Klein was stuck. "In my previous life, I could've just taken out a loan through an app, but in the One Piece world..."
"Loan Shark King's age aside, there's no way he's setting up shop in Marineford!"