At the start, the first lap was no problem, just a little bit of sweating.
By the third lap, some people started panting and were drenched in sweat.
By the fifth lap, many people’s breathing had started to sound like beating drums, and their speed had slowed down.
By the seventh lap, some people could no longer run.
By the tenth lap, more and more people were unable to keep running.
By the thirteenth lap, more than half had stopped from exhaustion, and some even collapsed to the ground, their trembling legs unable to stand up again.
At this moment, although Lucas had undergone over a month of training, he still felt as if his feet were filled with lead.
Every time he lifted his foot, it felt as if a stone was tied to it, and his chest burned with intense pain.
If not for the month of training with Tsuru, he likely would have been among the last few—not just likely, definitely.
“Hoo…
hoo…”
Accompanied by heavy panting, Smoker and Vergo caught up from behind; they were already one lap ahead of Lucas.
“Keep running!
Why are you stopping?
Is this the ambition you have for becoming a Marine?” Watching as many people slowed to a walk or even stopped after just ten or so laps, Zephyr roared mercilessly.
In truth, Zephyr knew these recruits couldn’t finish thirty laps; he just wanted to test their willpower.
When facing pirates out there, if stamina fails, willpower becomes the key to deciding victory.
Likewise, those with strong willpower can handle more intense training, leading to greater growth.
Think of Luffy; how many times has he relied on willpower to achieve victory?
If not for his tenacious willpower, would he have eaten all of Cracker’s biscuit soldiers?
That was the only time Luffy ever ate until he was stuffed.
When fighting Rob Lucci and Katakuri, if his will hadn’t been strong, he would have been defeated long ago.
Of course, nothing beats plot armor.
By this point, Lucas had run so much that he couldn’t remember how many laps he had completed.
He felt a sharp pain in his heart, yet amidst this pain, his heart kept bursting with power, and his whole body felt warm—this was his Photosynthesis Ability taking effect.
Eventually, Lucas reached his limit.
Hallucinations began to appear before his eyes, and he collapsed face-first to the ground, vomiting immediately; he was exhausted to the point of vomiting.
“Ah, get up!
Get up!” Lucas roared internally, controlling his legs, which seemed to no longer obey him, and with difficulty, he stood up and continued running.
However, three laps later, Lucas fell again and couldn’t get back up.
In the end, he ran 25 laps, and by this time, the sun was setting; it was evening.
On this first day of running laps, only two people completed them: Vergo and Smoker.
These two who completed the task on the first day were noted down in Zephyr’s notebook, and almost everyone who made it into that notebook would enter the elite class.
On the first day, Lucas didn’t wake up until it was very dark.
Lucas’s dormitory was a four-person room.
One of his roommates was from the Longarm Tribe, named Shuzo, who was big and burly and had a braid tied at the back of his head.
He was the one who carried Lucas back.
After Lucas woke up, the first thing he did was go to the cafeteria to find food, forcing himself to eat until he couldn’t anymore.
By the time Lucas finished eating, it was late at night.
While everyone else was lying down to rest and relieve the fatigue of the day, Lucas found a secluded spot and practiced continuously with a wooden sword; this was his homework.
Lucas was practicing only the basics: drawing the sword, cutting, slicing, stabbing, blocking, lifting, and sheathing—this was what Gion had taught him, telling him to practice them repeatedly.
These were the most fundamental things; Lucas would only rest after drawing and swinging his sword five thousand times a day.
Gale Swordsmanship required a very high foundation in swordsmanship to be used freely, so he had to practice diligently.
Before, he had nothing; now that he possessed the capital to become stronger, he had to cherish it.
In these days without a system, Lucas had come to realize that his talent really wasn’t anything special, so he could only work hard.
This scene happened to be seen by Zephyr, who was coming over for an inspection.
Zephyr was very moved by Lucas’s efforts.
“Lucas, is it?
Tsuru certainly recommended a good seedling,” Zephyr murmured.
The next morning, at dawn, Lucas woke up full of vigor.
This was the restorative nature of the Forest-Forest Fruit; of course, the food at the Marine Academy was also very important.
“Lucas, where did you go last night?
I waited for you for a long time and didn’t see you come back until I fell asleep,” Shuzo asked curiously.
“Me?
I was chasing my dream!” Lucas said with a smile.
“What is your dream?” Shuzo asked curiously as soon as Lucas mentioned a dream.
“My dream?
Everywhere my gaze reaches shall be a land covered by justice,” Lucas said, delivering a rather chuunibyou line.
“How noble!” Shuzo said, his eyes faintly shining.
Not far away, a Marine recruit with no eyebrows also heard Lucas’s words and couldn’t help but be slightly stunned, then he remembered Lucas.
After the recruits finished breakfast, they went on to run laps again.
This day was still thirty laps.
Lucas still didn’t complete them, but he had already run 27 laps.
After the evening, Lucas continued to practice swordsmanship.
During the day, he trained his physical fitness; in the early morning and half an hour after dinner, he practiced his fruit ability; and in the evening, he practiced swordsmanship.
This was Lucas’s schedule.
And on this day, Zephyr was still secretly observing Lucas.
He wanted to see if Lucas could keep persisting!
On the third day, training continued, and Lucas finally managed to complete thirty laps through sheer, tenacious willpower, becoming the third person among the current recruits to do so.
This also made Zephyr look at him with new respect, because Lucas’s growth was evident to all.
Increasing by two to three laps a day—this kind of growth was astonishing.
At this moment, paralyzed on the ground, Lucas felt like he was going to die.
He couldn’t catch his breath at all, and his lungs felt excruciatingly painful with every breath.
“Damn it, I’m exhausted.
I just felt my heart stop; I thought I was really going to die, damn it!”
Watching Lucas, who was collapsed on the ground in exhaustion, Shuzo, who had already fallen, stood up again.
Lucas’s appearance was what a Marine should look like, and he wanted to strive to make Lucas his goal.
However, after running one more lap, Shuzo still fell to the ground; his body completely refused to obey his commands.
A week later, perhaps because Lucas had inspired the others, in addition to Vergo, Smoker, and Lucas, Shuzo also completed it.
Besides them, Hina and someone named Shu also finished it; Shu was that guy with almost no eyebrows.
“This batch still has a few good seedlings,” Zephyr stood by the edge of the training ground, watching Smoker and the others with admiration.
At least this batch is stronger than the last one.