Training montage!
As the sun rises and a new morning begins David lets out a mighty roar.
''Aaaaah...''
'It is time!'
After brushing his teeth and taking a bath he tries to take the old dragon's hatred out of his inventory.
''Hnnng!''
*Sigh...*
'Still too weak...' He thinks to himself and prepares to start his daily training pass.
[Alright. Today is 318 two-handed lifts followed by 318 alternating one-handed lifts.] The voice instructs.
[You will then run 136 kilometers with the previous days weights. After that you'll do 1284 sit ups with the same weight that you did the two-handed lifts with.]
[We will be doing that 8 times, then we can start training on your skills ok?]
'Yes!' David responds enthusiastically.
~Four hours later~
''Whew~'' He lays down on the sandy beach surrounding the island, looking at the waves.
[You are performing far beyond my expectations David.] The voice praises.
'Thank you!' David responds, an anxious itch clawing at his conscious
...
...
...
'So they'll be waking up tomorrow huh?'
[So it seems...]
'So...'
'...What the hell am I supposed to do!?'
[I would kill one of them and immobilize the other.]
'No I can't do that! I promised Scott!'
[Don't be naive David.] The voice reprimands.
[You don't really believe that you can get out of this alive without killing someone do you?]
'...'
'I'll find a way.'
[To die that is.]
[Someone will take advantage of you and stab you in the back.]
[You should just do as I say.]
'...'
'I'm going to let them go free.'
[...What?]
'I'm going to let them go free. It's the only right thing to do.'
[No no no! You have to think about this logically!]
'I am.'
[Letting them go now won't take back what you've done.]
'I'm letting them go and that's final!'
'I'll find a way to do this right! Just you watch!'
[...]
'...'
[Ok David...] The voice responds.
[If that is the decision that you have made, I will go along with you until the end.]
David lets out a sigh of relief.
*Sigh...*
'Thank you...'
[Stop thanking me already! Anyway you've had enough of a break. It's time to start training your skills!]
'Finally! What should I start with?'
[That is a tricky question... One that you'll have to find the answer to yourself. What is it that you need most right now?]
'What I need the most right now...' David ponders the question for a bit.
'Hmmm... Let me make a dummy.'
David takes Alvida's mace out of his inventory and smashes it into a nearby tree and uses the leaves and wood to make a set of training dummies.
'It's not perfect but it'll have to do.'
'So what is my biggest strength right now?'
'It would have to be close quarter's combat right?'
'I have strength, dexterity and durability, but that doesn't mean anything if someone pulls out an atom bomb and decides that both of us are gonna die.'
'I need to find a way to close the gap and take them out instantly.' He decides.
'But how? Should I try to create a new skill?'
[A self-created skill should be very strong, but I am not sure how long it would take for you to create it.] The voice responds.
'Maybe I can buy a skill that let's me travel through space.'
[Too expensive.]
'How about one that makes me invisible?'
[Hmm... Well...-]
...
...
...
'Aaaaaah! This is to complicated! I'll just train the skills I already have and hope something comes of it!'
As he says that he gets out his old army knife and starts slashing at the dummy.
*Slash!*
*Slash!*
*Slash!*
As he slashes, one slash turns to ten, ten to one hundred, one hundred to one thousand.
After his five thousandth slash he stops.
'What even is a slash really?'
'Is it something you do with a knife? No...'
'Is it something you do with a blade? I don't think so either...'
'...!' An epiphany is reached.
'If you want to slash, isn't it simple?'
'You move something along a line, fast!'
'It's not something that needs a tool.'
'If you want to slash...'
David lets go of the knife and straightens his hand.
*Swish!*
The dummy gets bisected, the top end spinning in the air for a couple of seconds before touching the ground.
'...Just slash! There is no need for a blade, though it does improve the damage dealt.'
[Understanding reached! Now unlocking new menu options!]
'What's this?'
[I-I don't know. I've never seen this before.]
'I have some kind of feeling...'
''Virtual training room: Slash!''
The world disappears and a new one takes it's place, an endless featureless space.
[W-What is this?]
''Don't ask me! How would I know?''
''Wait! Why am I saying all my thoughts out loud?''
[...We seem to be inside of your mind.]
''What!? What does that even mean?''
Suddenly a man shows up across from David, buck naked.
''What the hell? Does it want me to fight him?''
suddenly the man dashes towards David, holding an open palm.
*Swish!*
David narrowly dodges the blow and tries to strike back, curling up his fist and aiming a punch towards the man's stomach.
*Swish!*
Faster than he can blink, the mans hand slices directly into David's forehead.
*Swish!!*
David wakes up in a cold sweat, barely catching himself from falling onto the ground.
'What the hell just happened!?'
'I feel like... I just learned something!?'
/\ Virtual room: Slash! (23H 59M)/\
[You should take a look at your slash skill.] The voice suggests.
'Good idea!'
''Status!''
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{Slash/LV.10}
Allows your slashes to be more deadly.
Gives you insight into the true nature of a slash.
(NEW) Gives you access to a virtual room where a deceased master of {Slash} transfers knowledge of {Slash} directly into your conscious.
Currently providing:
S: [Medium strength boost], L: [Intermediate dexterity boost]x2, U: [(???) boost].
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Whoa!'
[This is very fascinating!]
'What's up with the question marks?'
[It means that I don't understand it yet. I will notify you once I've gained an understanding.]
'Does this mean that I can do this with every skill if I get a better understanding of it?'
[That is a possibility. As I said, I do not yet understand this phenomena.]
'Well... Let me try!'
David then proceeds to train some of his other skills in a similar fashion but fails to reach an epiphany with any of his other skills.
At the end of the day he decides to check his status to see how he has improved during the day.
''Status!''
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: David Baird
Condition: Tired, Moderate muscle fatigue.
Hp: 100%
Affinities: (Skills), (Learning), (Understanding), (Brawling).
Sp: 2575
Skills: {Stab/LV.6(UP)} {Danger sense/LV.3} {Basic gun mastery/LV.5} {Basic footwork/LV.MAX} {Basic knife mastery/LV.7(UP)} {Mental tolerance/LV.6(UP)} {Kick/LV.6(UP)} {Thick skin/LV.5(UP)} {Basic climbing/LV.MAX} {Basic stitching/LV.MAX} {Sense weak point/LV.5} {Killing blow/LV.5} {Run/LV.8} {Slash/LV.10} {Trolls body/LV.MAX} {Sniper's intuition/LV.3} {Enhanced eyesight/LV.3} {Spear throwing mastery/LV.5(UP)} {Leap/LV.2} {Throwing/LV.4(UP)} {Strengthen Legs/LV.MAX} {Strengthen organs/LV.MAX} {Strengthen arms/LV.MAX} {Strengthen neck/LV.MAX} {Vampiric traits/LV.MAX} {Weight lifting/LV.7} {Training mastery/LV.7(UP)} {Strong body/LV.MAX}.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Yawn!*
'Let's sleep. I'll level up my skills more tomorrow.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the new day dawns David walks out of his quarters and strikes up a conversation with Ben.
''Hey, Ben...'' David starts with.
''Yes! Captain!'' Ben answers, slightly surprised.
''What do you want to do?'' He asks.
''What do you mean?''
''Exactly what I just said. I know that you'll regain control of your body in a couple of hours, so... What do you want to do?''
''You mean you'll let me choose?'' Ben responds, stupefied.
''Yes. What do you want?'' He once again asks.
''W-Well I'd...'' Ben responds, unsure.
''I'd like to take Alvida's ship and set sail on my own. Finding my own crew and my own adventures.'' The man responds, wistfully.
''Alright... You can have it.''
''Just take it once you wake up and leave.'' David responds, content with his decision.
''Wow...'' Ben says out loud, amazed at how things turned out.
''How about you Jingfei?''
''I'd like to somehow meet Luffy again and join his crew.'' She responds.
''Alright, take the dinghy when you wake up and leave.'' He replies confidently and then leaves to do his training.
''W-Wait! But why?'' Jingfei asks him as he walks away.
''Why? Why...'' He asks himself.
''It just felt like the right thing to do.'' He concludes and walks back to the island to do his training.
The two look at the man's back for a few seconds before looking each other in the eye.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After he finishes his basic training he sees Ben and all of Alvida's old crew preparing to set off.
As Ben sets off he says his final goodbyes to David.
''You were a bit of an asshole but, if you weren't here... I don't know if I'd have even survived! So thank you! Thank you, and... Goodbye.'' He says with a thankful expression.
''Bye Ben!'' David replies with a tinge of uncertainty.
'He's too nice for his own good...' David thinks to himself.
'...'
'Did I do The right thing?'
[Only time will tell partner. Only time will tell...]
'I don't even want to think of the fact that we might have to fight in the future...'
[That's enough of a break. Now go train!]
''Yessir!'
As he goes over to his set of dummies he notices a figure following behind him. He looks back and sees Jingfei looking at him.
He ignores her and walks up to the dummies.
He opens up his inventory and tries to pull out the old dragon's hatred once again.
''Hnnng!''
*Sigh...*
'Still too weak... I can't move it even an inch!' He thinks to himself and pulls out a basic halberd instead, to start training.
''Captain!'' Jingfei calls out.
''Please let me join your crew!''