In the courtyard.
Golden sunlight streamed down from above, filling the entire area with vitality.
At this moment, Roya’s body was moving rhythmically up and down.
His entire body was drenched in sweat, and he was breathing heavily, as though he were about to reach his limit.
He was performing the simplest form of squat training.
Sweat had already soaked the ground beneath his feet, while he continued counting under his breath between heavy breaths.
“Two thousand two hundred and one…
two thousand two hundred and two…”
His legs were already almost completely numb, with barely any sensation left in them.
Yet Roya gritted his teeth and persisted, wanting to find out exactly where his physical limit lay.
Speaking of which, the enhancement of the Sword Soul had indeed given Roya a considerable boost.
His physique had now improved to the point where he was no longer at the very bottom of the Marine Headquarters’ recruit camp.
“Two thousand three hundred and fifty-three…
two thousand three hundred and fifty-four…”
Finally.
Roya once again struggled to stand.
But halfway through the motion, his legs gave out.
He fell heavily onto the ground and was no longer able to stand.
All he could do was sit there, breathing heavily.
“Is my limit two thousand three hundred and fifty-four?”
Although his body was extremely exhausted, perhaps because of the Sword Soul within him, combined with the fact that his soul was stronger than an ordinary person’s, Roya’s mind remained completely clear.
Being able to push himself all the way to his physical limit was also possible because of his stronger soul.
This made him feel that reaching his physical limits wasn’t particularly painful for him.
Or rather…
He could easily endure that level of pain.
Roya sat there, feeling that his legs had become completely numb and were temporarily unable to support him.
He turned his head toward Garp.
The very next moment, black lines appeared across Roya’s face, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Garp was actually standing there asleep!
Roya sighed.
He couldn’t be bothered to wake Garp.
Even if he tried, he doubted he could wake the old man.
So he slowly closed his eyes and activated the Sword Soul System with a thought.
The status panel appeared before him.
Seeing that his Enhancement Energy had increased by another point, Roya nodded slightly.
The status panel then disappeared, and he began resting.
After a while.
Just as Roya’s legs seemed to be gradually recovering some sensation and he was trying to stand, Garp finally narrowed his eyes and woke up.
Garp showed no embarrassment whatsoever about having fallen asleep.
Instead, he immediately turned toward Roya.
The moment he saw Roya sitting on the ground, Garp’s eyes widened.
He initially assumed that Roya had been slacking off while he was asleep.
But the next moment, he noticed Roya’s clothes, which were completely soaked with sweat.
He saw the patch of ground drenched by sweat.
And he saw Roya struggling to stand, his legs trembling violently.
The reprimand that had been about to leave Garp’s mouth stopped in his throat.
A strange glint flashed through his eyes.
This…
Had he actually pushed himself all the way to his limit?!
To someone like Garp, a peak powerhouse who had developed his physical potential to an extraordinary degree, the trembling of Roya’s legs was instantly recognizable.
It was the unmistakable state of someone who had pushed his body to its absolute limit.
Reaching one’s physical limit was by no means easy.
At that point, it was no longer simply a matter of physical strength.
It was entirely a matter of willpower!
Garp hadn’t expected this kid’s willpower to be far stronger than he had imagined.
A faint smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of Garp’s mouth.
But in the very next instant, his expression returned to its usual sternness.
He didn’t reveal his satisfaction.
Once Roya had recovered some of his strength, Garp immediately began the next stage of training with the same strictness as before.
…
Nearly a month passed in the blink of an eye.
During this month, Roya was drenched in sweat almost every day.
Nearly every day, he broke through the physical limit he had reached the day before, continuously unlocking the potential hidden deep within his body.
With each new day, Roya’s physical abilities became slightly stronger than the previous day.
Perhaps because of his powerful soul and mental strength, breaking through his physical limits was something Roya could accomplish relatively easily.
And he could endure the resulting pain just as easily.
After an entire month, Roya’s body had changed considerably.
He hadn’t developed the enormous muscles that covered Garp’s body, but compared to his previously somewhat slender physique, his body had become much more refined.
It had developed into a streamlined, athletic physique.
This was already the physical condition Roya was most satisfied with.
Of course…
That was merely the change visible on the outside.
The increase in his underlying physical strength was far greater than the changes in his appearance suggested.
Over the course of this month, the improvement in Roya’s physical strength had actually surpassed the cumulative increases brought about by the several enhancements of the Sword Soul during the same period.
If Roya’s Strength had been 30 points a month ago, then it was now at least 100 points!
A threefold increase in a single month was practically unbelievable.
But this was the result of repeatedly breaking through his physical limits and unlocking his body’s hidden potential.
And the only obvious side effect of repeatedly pushing his physical limits was that his appetite became much larger.
Or rather, he needed to consume considerably more energy.
Only now did Roya truly understand why the protagonist, Luffy, could eat so much in the original story.
Aside from that, although the Sword Soul’s growth during this month hadn’t matched the increase in his physical strength, the results of its repeated enhancements were still extremely significant.
The translucent Sword Soul status panel floated before Roya’s eyes.
Stage Two: Ancient Sword Soul +6
Attributes: Attack Power +75, Strength +20
Special Attribute: “All Things in Creation, Turn to Ashes!” — Sword attacks can freely inflict additional fire damage (Evolution Conditions Not Met)
Enhancement Energy: 14/70
After reaching Stage Two, every enhancement increased the amount of Enhancement Energy required for the next enhancement by another ten points.
Even so, over the course of this month, Roya had already enhanced his Sword Soul to +6.
He seemed to be getting quite close to the evolution into Stage Three.
At the same time, Roya had discovered something else.
The size and range of the flames added to his sword attacks weren’t fixed.
They continued to grow as his Sword Soul’s enhancement level increased.
Initially, the flames produced by one of Roya’s sword swings could extend no more than one meter.
Now, when Roya swung his sword, the flames could shoot five or six meters forward.
They were almost comparable to a small-scale flying slash!
Although Roya’s swordsmanship hadn’t even reached the level of a swordsman yet, these flames were effectively equivalent to the kind of ranged slashes that a swordsman could produce.
And they were even infused with the unique power of his flames.
Without a doubt, Roya’s strength had undergone a tremendous leap over the course of this month.
As for exactly how strong he was now, however, Roya found it difficult to determine.
The only powerhouse he had been able to interact with during this period was Garp.
And Garp’s strength was simply too monstrous to serve as a useful benchmark.
Roya clenched his fist, feeling the power that was now completely incomparable to what he had possessed a month ago.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
“I really want to know just how strong I am now.”