"Mm. Carina is right. That's one small weakness of Ultear's transformation ability."
"But that ability itself isn't meant for combat. Ain, I don't think you'll care too much about that, right?"
Arton nodded lightly, looking at Ain beside him, who was still visibly excited.
"Of course."
"Captain, I'm already extremely happy that you're willing to give me this template."
Ain nodded solemnly. At that moment, she looked incredibly serious.
And that was only natural. Ain had been waiting for this day for a very, very long time.
Only she herself knew how much effort she had put in during that time.
Of course, the physical hardship was one thing.
After all, once she broke through the limits in her heart, physical exhaustion merely meant that Arton could get a little closer to her.
If they were really talking about exhaustion, then getting closer to Arton was nothing compared to the period when she had undergone Marine recruit training under Zephyr-sensei.
Back then, Ain had truly felt how hard training could be.
By comparison, getting a little closer to Arton was something that, once she got used to it, Ain even found rather enjoyable.
So compared to the physical hardship, the mental fatigue was what had truly tempered Ain.
Ever since she came aboard Arton's ship, Ain had constantly worried that Arton might drive her away, causing her to lose the chance to obtain power from him and help Zephyr someday.
Because of that worry, Ain had no idea how many days and nights she had gone without being able to sleep properly.
Later, Robin had also come aboard Arton's ship due to certain circumstances.
And in order to stay on Arton's ship for good, she had pulled off a series of bold moves.
That only made Ain lose even more sleep.
Under those sleepless conditions, she had endured for a very long time.
Although Arton later promised to give her a template, before she truly obtained one, Ain had still been unable to fully let go of that worry in her heart.
Thankfully, she had finally obtained Ultear's template. For Ain, this was undoubtedly the sweet reward after all her hardships.
Now, she could hardly wait to properly test out this power.
"Captain, can I find somewhere to properly practice this ability?"
Ain looked at Arton expectantly and asked.
"Of course. This ability is yours now, so you can use it however you like."
"Just remember not to cause too big a commotion while training."
"I don't want to have to repair the ship later."
Arton smiled as he spoke.
"Please don't worry, Captain."
Ain nodded and answered.
Right now, she cherished this ship too much to even think of damaging it.
"All right, everyone, you can disperse. Go do whatever you need to do."
"The next time I draw another template, I'll call all of you together again."
Arton swept his gaze over everyone, then finally stopped on Raki.
"Raki, don't get too anxious either. Just give me some time."
"I'll definitely be able to bring out a template suitable for you, so you can become strong just like Ain and the others."
Arton gave her his promise.
"Mm. I believe you, Captain."
"Besides, you don't need to be in too much of a hurry either."
"I'm not desperate to obtain a template from you and become stronger."
Raki said with a smile.
Chapter 693: Ain's Request, Arton Doesn't Want to Refuse
Raki, who came from Skypiea, was different from Ain.
Raki had already achieved her dream. The enemy who had threatened her had already been defeated.
Ain, however, still had the dream of helping Zephyr that she wanted to fulfill.
That was why Raki wasn't especially anxious about obtaining a template.
As far as she was concerned, templates were a matter of fate.
Maybe, if enough time passed, she would eventually obtain a template with terrifying potential, just like Conis had.
Of course, just because Raki wasn't in a hurry didn't mean she would distance herself from Arton.
After properly "communicating" with Arton back on Skypiea, she wasn't about to stop interacting with him just because Enel had already fallen.
If Arton were willing, she would even be happy to run to Arton's room every single night.
However, life in the Flame Blade Pirates was different from life on Skypiea.
In the Flame Blade Pirates, there were far too many crew members who wanted to spend time with Arton.
And Raki was the last one to join the crew, so she felt too embarrassed to compete with Ain, Robin, Uta, and the others for time with Arton.
Under those circumstances, Raki could only read the situation and look for chances to properly have fun with Arton.
As exaggerated as it sounded, after coming to the Blue Sea for only this short period of time, she already felt that she had become incredibly strong.
If Arton could provide her with something to drink, she would be very happy.
"You really are honest about it. That's fine too. At least you won't spend every day as anxious as Ain did."
Arton smiled at Raki, then looked toward Ain beside him.
When Ain heard him say that, she somewhat sheepishly scratched the back of her head.
During this period, she really had been far too anxious.
Now that she thought back on it, even Ain felt that she had gotten a little too worked up.
Arton had clearly already promised to give her a template, so there had been no need for her to worry that much.
"Captain, could you give me a bit of guidance?"
Ain asked.
"Guidance?"
"How exactly do you want me to guide you?"
Arton raised an eyebrow and asked with a strange look on his face.
"Ultear's Ice-Make magic. I feel like my imagination definitely can't compare to yours, Captain."
"So I hope you can use your imagination to guide me in training my Ice-Make magic."
Ain spoke solemnly.
Although time magic was Ultear's specialty within her template, Ain didn't think Ice-Make magic was weak.
In certain situations, Ice-Make magic would definitely be more useful than time magic.
Especially when paired with an extraordinary imagination.
Unfortunately, Ain didn't think her own imagination was particularly good.
Luckily, she had Arton—a transmigrator from another world who had seen and experienced far more than ordinary people.
Ain was certain that Arton's imagination was absolutely not something other people could compare to.
If she could draw some nourishment from Arton's imagination, Ain would be extremely happy.
Perhaps through Arton's ideas, she could develop Ice-Make magic into an incredibly powerful form of magic.
Faced with Ain's request, Arton didn't really have the heart to refuse.
After only thinking for two seconds, he nodded and agreed.
"All right. Since you're asking me like this, how could I refuse you?"
"Come on. Let's find a place and have a proper talk about Ice-Make magic."
Arton said with a smile.
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.