Over the next few days…
Nao didn't sleep at all.
Aside from his regular physical training and sword practice, he poured every remaining ounce of energy into mastering Armament Haki.
Thanks to the buff combo from two of his most powerful support tools, his progress outpaced even his own expectations.
By the end of the third day, he had already achieved basic mastery of Armament Haki coating—he could wrap it around his limbs, though the duration still wasn't stable. He'd need more time to lock it in.
During this time, a few elite camp members happened to pass by and catch a glimpse of Nao already using Haki. Their shock was matched only by their barely contained jealousy.
"Damn it! I'm still stuck grinding Six Powers (Rokushiki) for the next few months, and this guy's already training Haki?!"
They understood, though.
Even if any of them had the qualifications to begin Haki training, none could dedicate every waking moment to it like Nao—training non-stop aside from eating, drinking, and the absolute bare necessities.
That was the real kicker.
It wasn't scary when someone had more talent than you.
What was scary was when that person also worked ten times harder than you.
By the evening of the third day…
Having once again gotten too absorbed in training, Nao missed dinner—for the third time in a row.
Sure enough, when he arrived at the closed dining hall, there on the windowsill was another bento box, neatly wrapped and clearly prepared just for him.
Vedona the cook had done it again.
Nao scratched his head, starting to feel a little embarrassed.
Once or twice was understandable—but this was getting ridiculous. He kept making her go out of her way for him. Not cool.
He made a mental note:
Tomorrow, the elite camp's vacation ended and regular training would resume. He'd get back on track, eat with the others, and stop this late-night nonsense.
After three days of sleepless grind, that night's rest hit like heaven.
He woke at exactly 5:30 AM.
Just before his alarm could blare, his hand shot out from beneath the covers and slapped it quiet.
"Perfect."
Fully refreshed, Nao flipped up from the bed like a springboard, stretched out his arms, then headed to the bathroom. While brushing his teeth in front of the mirror, he opened up his system panel.
"Since I've already managed to coat with Haki, my skills list should have updated…"
He glanced at his status screen, and sure enough—at the end of his skill list, a new entry had appeared:
[Armament Haki: Beginner]
"Once I get hardening down, it should upgrade to 'Basic'."
Satisfied, he was about to close the panel—until he noticed a flood of new notifications waiting in his inbox.
The most prominent one read:
[Side Quest Completed: Hundred-Heart Conquest]
Rewards: 60,000 points, 2x A-Rank Gift Boxes — claimed
Note: Wow, third quest already? Quit pretending to be a pure-hearted protagonist. You're obviously a ladykiller, Sea King-style.
…
What the hell, system?
Still, completed quest or not—how had this one gotten done?
Nao stared at the inbox, completely confused. He hadn't been thinking about system quests at all these past few days.
"Wait a minute…"
Suddenly, it clicked.
During his solo Haki training sessions, the area had started out quiet—but by the second day, more and more people had shown up to watch.
Many of them were unfamiliar female Marines—usually arriving in pairs or small groups, pretending to just be passing by while clearly stealing glances at him.
Nao had gotten used to those kinds of looks and hadn't thought much of it at the time.
But now?
His charm stat had risen.
His first-place exam ranking had spread.
And now even non-classmates were flocking to catch a glimpse.
Some of them had apparently even hit initial affection level just by watching him.
...Is that really possible? Without even talking to me?
...Have I actually gotten that handsome?
Nao stared at the mirror in front of him, dazed.
If this continued, would he actually end up becoming the number one lady-killer in the entire One Piece world, like the system joked?
Being this good-looking really is a burden sometimes…
Sighing dramatically, Nao scrolled further up through the system messages—and sure enough, there were 70 to 80 new entries all marked:
[Initial conquest complete]
Each one only gave 100–500 points, but they added up fast—more than 10,000 points total.
Combined with the 60,000 bonus from the quest, Nao now had a staggering:
159,001 points
"Why does this almost feel like… I can't even spend it all?"
He scratched his head, feeling just a little smug.
Of course, he knew that was an illusion. The higher your stats, the more expensive the upgrades. No matter how many points he had, they'd vanish fast when it came time to allocate them.
"Alright. Time to open those gift boxes."
He turned to his inventory.
"Let's hope my luck hasn't run dry yet."
The last time he opened one was back with T-Bone—and that had landed him the Yone's Twin Blades, a top-tier pull. So it was hard not to get his hopes up again.
This time he had two boxes.
Double the chances. Double the joy.
[Opening A-Rank Gift Box… Please wait]
The familiar blue die appeared, each face labeled with one of the classic reward types:
Attribute Points
Consumables
Weapons
Skill Scrolls
Defensive Gear
...and the infamous "Mystery Egg"
[Roll complete — Reward Type: Skill Scroll]
"Hell yes!"
Nao clapped his hands in delight.
Weapons? He didn't need more. What he did need were skills—and scrolls were the rarest type. Jackpot.
"Please let it be a sword technique. A powerful one."
As golden light poured from the box, Nao closed his eyes and began silently praying.
"I'd even trade twenty years of both my roommates' bachelorhood for this. Just give me a dual-sword-style technique…"
Behind him, Shiryuu was still snoring like a beast.
The golden light faded—and in its place hovered a rolled-up, ancient-looking scroll. A floating message box popped up:
[You have acquired a new skill: Tough as Nails (Lv.1)]
Type: Passive Skill (Upgradeable)
Description: Your body is unnaturally resilient. Even a massive spiked club can barely leave a scratch.
Effect: Reduces all blunt-force damage—hammers, clubs, bricks, limbs, etc.—by 30%.
Upgrade to Lv.2 for 40% resistance.
Upgrade Cost: 20,000 points
…
Nao was silent for a long moment.
"…Not bad."
He smacked his lips, then added it to his skill list without complaint. The passive activated immediately.
Was he disappointed? A little. He still wanted a sword technique.
But this skill was honestly too broken to complain about. A passive 30% blunt-damage resistance—and it scaled?
Combined with his natural monster physique?
Damn.
Still, something felt off.
I'm supposed to be a fast, high-damage swordsman. Glass cannon archetype.
So why am I slowly turning into a tank?
He could already picture a future where he stood unmoving, a full Admiral, laughing with Sengoku while Kaido bashed away at him with a giant club and ran out of breath.
Just as his thoughts were spiraling, the second A-Rank box began to open.
The blue die spun wildly again.
Nao snapped back to reality and watched closely.
One more shot. He wasn't getting his hopes up too high—but still, fingers crossed for a sword technique.
[Roll complete — Reward Type: …Mystery Egg]
…
Nao:
"..."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin