"Goodbye, Nurse Monica!"
"Goodbye, Karl. I'll come see you again tomorrow!"
Karl waved enthusiastically as he saw the nurse off, his heart quietly fluttering.
He'd already done his homework.
Nurse Monica was twenty-seven years old, currently single—
or to be more precise, a Marine widow.
Her husband had been a Marine Headquarters Major. Five years ago, during a patrol mission, their ship was ambushed by pirates and destroyed by artillery fire. He never came back.
Five years.
How many five-year periods did a person's life even have?
For some reason, a strange sense of responsibility welled up in Karl's heart.
Taking care of Marine widows is the duty of our generation!
"Ooooh~ how terrifying~ Even after getting injured, you're still full of energy, chatting away happily with a nurse. Looks like your injuries aren't that serious after all~"
That familiar slow, lazy voice echoed through the ward.
Karl jumped in fright and snapped his head around.
Kizaru's tall figure leaned casually against the doorframe, head tilted as he watched Karl. Although his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, the teasing was unmistakable from the constantly shifting shape of his lips.
"Admiral Kizaru? When did you get here?"
Kizaru strolled into the ward at an unhurried pace, glancing at the bandages on Karl's chest.
"I arrived while you were flirting so passionately with that young lady."
Karl smacked his tongue.
So this old fox had been listening outside the whole time?
"Ahem… Admiral Kizaru, did you come here specifically to see me?"
Kizaru puckered his lips and replied nonchalantly,
"How could that be~? My lips have been a bit dry lately. I just came to the hospital to buy some lip balm. Seeing you was purely incidental."
Incidental, my ass. Then why were you eavesdropping?
"Uh… then thank you for your concern, Admiral."
The room fell silent.
Kizaru didn't speak.
Karl didn't speak either.
The two just stared at each other.
"Well, since you seem fine, I'll be on my—" Kizaru turned as if to leave.
Then suddenly, he stopped and looked back sharply at Karl.
"…You did it on purpose, didn't you?"
Karl sucked in a cold breath.
You knew?!
Was this some kind of unspoken understanding among professional slackers?
"Ahem! Admiral Kizaru, you can't just slander my innocence out of thin air!"
"Tch~ drop the act," Kizaru said lazily.
"I used tricks like this far more skillfully back in the day. Your injury is honestly pretty amateurish."
"But I won't blame you. After all, my batch had that monster Akainu."
That single sentence carried an insane amount of information.
Karl instantly understood why Kizaru saw through him so easily.
Because Kizaru had done the same thing before—
And the one who injured him back then…
Was Akainu.
"…Hiss."
As expected of a fellow man of culture.
When it came to slacking in training camp, Karl really needed to learn from Admiral Kizaru.
Aokiji?
Sorry—don't know him.
"Indeed~ you remind me exactly of myself when I was young," Kizaru continued.
"Those boring training routines really weren't interesting at all."
Karl curled his lips.
Exactly the same? That's an insult.
Look at your puckered flower-face, then look at my god-tier visuals.
How dare you say that with a straight face?
"Uh… Admiral Kizaru, what do you mean? I'm not quite following."
Deny.
Refuse.
Hold the line.
Kizaru grinned, a distinctly shady smile.
"You young people really are scary~ Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"But your ability is different from mine. You still need to train your body properly."
Then his tone shifted.
"However—if you're willing to become my adjutant, I can guarantee that no one will ever hurt you again."
"So? Want to think about it?"
The dagger is finally revealed.
Karl hesitated for a moment.
After careful consideration, he decided it was best to agree for now. Otherwise, if Kizaru kept dropping by whenever he was free, that would be unbearable.
"Sigh… since you put it that way, Admiral Kizaru, it wouldn't be right for me to keep dodging."
"How about this—when I graduate from the training camp and choose my assignment, I'll definitely choose you. That should put your mind at ease, right?"
Kizaru's face bloomed into a chrysanthemum-like smile.
The lines on his face deepened as he patted Karl's shoulder in satisfaction, turned around, and even thoughtfully closed the ward door behind him.
Once he was sure Kizaru had left, Karl finally let out a long breath.
Staring at the dimming sky outside the window, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Three days later—
the seventh day since the Marine recruit training camp began.
"Karl, I'm off duty now. I'm going to get dinner, then I'll come back. Take good care of yourself, okay?"
Karl put on a dissatisfied look.
"That's it? You're just leaving like that? Aren't you forgetting something?"
As he spoke, he pointed at his cheek.
Monica's face flushed red. She glanced around nervously to make sure no one was nearby, then quickly leaned in and kissed Karl on the cheek.
Karl grinned, wrapped an arm around her neck, and planted a loud kiss right on her lips.
"Hey! What if someone sees us?" Monica scolded him shyly, face full of springtime warmth as she pushed him away.
She wiped the glistening corner of her lips and hurried out of the ward, her footsteps hurried and flustered.
Karl laughed loudly at her retreating figure and wiped the lipstick mark from his own lips.
Over the past three days, Karl hadn't been idle at all—even while lying in bed.
Thanks to his charming humor and devastatingly handsome face, his relationship with his personal nurse Monica had progressed at lightning speed, easily capturing the heart of a woman who had been lonely for years.
Now, whenever no one was around, holding hands was easy, kissing was normal, and occasionally… they'd even rounded second base.
Ding.
[Accumulated slacking time has reached 8 hours]
Daily Mission completed.
Rewards obtained:
Chosen Attribute Enhancement Card ×2
Six Styles: Finger Pistol Skill Card ×1
Six Styles: Iron Body Skill Card ×1
[Career Mission: Training Camp Turmoil]
Total accumulated slacking time: 82 hours
Please continue your efforts.
Karl had now completed seven consecutive days of daily missions.
Currently, he possessed:
14 Chosen Attribute Enhancement Cards
Skill Cards: Iron Body, Soru, Finger Pistol, Tempest Kick (one each)
Assorted snacks and lifespan rewards (negligible)
"System, use 9 Attribute Enhancement Cards to strengthen physique."
He kept the remaining 5 as backup.
The next instant, a faint cracking sound echoed in his ears.
Warm currents surged through his body. His muscles tingled pleasantly, becoming firm and defined—especially the intentionally unhealed injured area, which itched intensely as the wound rapidly regenerated.
"System, check status!"
Host: Karl
Age: 24
Physique: E
Perception: F+
Willpower: E
Special Ability:Still as a Maiden
Holy Light Fruit: 0.5% (Awakening Progress)
Active Skill:Weak as a Breeze (Available)
Although his physique rating hadn't changed and remained at E, Karl could clearly feel that if he used a few more cards, he'd break through to E+.
As for perception and willpower—no rush.
Physique was true combat power.
Ever since obtaining the Slacking System, Karl's growth had been explosive. Still, compared to the monsters next door, he was absolute trash.
After all, at his age, some people were already punching Yonko and kicking Admirals.
"Phew… the great slacking cause has yet to succeed. I must continue striving!"
"System—use all skill cards!"
Ding.
[Detected that host already possesses Iron Body and Soru]
Skill cards converted into Iron Body and Soru proficiency.
As the system finished speaking, waves of usage knowledge flooded Karl's mind—especially Iron Body. It felt as though he'd become a confidence-bursting CP9 member, ready to block all techniques with sheer iron will.
After fully assimilating the memories, Karl sighed quietly.
"…Iron Body, huh."
"I should probably avoid using it unless absolutely necessary."
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