This period of rest was a complete and thorough relaxation.
He slept straight through the entire afternoon and night, utterly at ease. It was not until the next morning that Roya finally climbed out of bed, feeling an indescribable sense of comfort throughout his entire body.
This comfort did not seem to come solely from his body, but also from his soul. It was as if his spirit and will, after undergoing a full month of relentless tempering, had become more condensed and powerful due to this wholehearted rest.
The most direct manifestation of this was that his enhancement energy had increased by more than ten points at once.
Of course, such an increase would be impossible if he simply relaxed like this every day without training. Roya understood clearly that this was most likely the result of a month of hellish training followed by complete relaxation, allowing his soul and will—after being tempered and nourished—to advance further.
As his soul grew stronger, Roya occasionally felt a strange sensation: was this Soul Sword System really the kind of "system" he had imagined?
Or was it actually something else entirely?
This thought only flashed through Roya's mind from time to time. He could not reach any conclusion, so he temporarily set it aside. All he needed to know was that the Soul Sword was fully fused with his soul and could enhance his strength—that was enough.
---
Marine Headquarters
This was the massive harbor in front of the Marine Headquarters fortress. Large Marine warships were docked here one after another, and with the towering fortress as a backdrop, the scene appeared solemn and imposing.
Inside the harbor, on a large warship, several Marines were busy transporting supplies in preparation for the upcoming departure.
The previous live-combat assessment had departed from this very harbor.
Now, the Elite Camp's live-combat mission—a mandatory assembly—was also departing from here. Many veteran members of the Elite Camp had already boarded the warship in small groups.
Aside from the Elite Camp members, the rest of the personnel on the ship—Marine officers or ordinary Marine soldiers—were responsible for logistics, navigation, or steering, and would not participate in the Elite Camp's combat mission.
This time, Roya did not arrive late as he had during the previous combat assessment. Instead, he boarded early and stood alone on the deck, gazing into the distance at the shimmering sea.
"This world is vast. I've been here for so long, yet I've only gone to sea once during the combat assessment. I've really seen very little of it."
Looking at the boundless ocean, Roya muttered softly. He then clenched his fist slightly, grinned, and said:
"Still, if you want to see the scenery… it's best to look down from above."
"Heh, that's quite a bold statement."
A beautiful girl with long blue hair draped over her shoulders and a graceful figure walked up beside Roya. She had just happened to overhear his soliloquy and chuckled softly.
"I can take that to mean you want to… overlook the entire sea?"
Roya glanced at her and immediately recognized her.
Ain.
A user of the Return-Return Fruit, Zephyr's disciple, and a member of the Elite Camp—one of the survivors of the attack on Zephyr in the original story.
At present, that incident had not yet occurred, and it was unclear whether she had already eaten the Return-Return Fruit.
"Perhaps," Roya replied casually with a smile.
Ain looked at him strangely. Just moments ago, she had sensed strong confidence in his words, yet now he spoke so lightly. His personality felt difficult to grasp.
In truth, as a transmigrator, Roya's true goal was far more than simply overlooking this sea—but that was not something he would say out loud. Goals were meant to be pursued, not spoken.
"What a strange guy."
Recalling how Roya had unleashed crimson flames with a single sword strike during the assessment, stunning everyone present and forcing Very Good to concede in one move, a hint of intrigue flashed through Ain's eyes.
Just as Ain's curiosity about Roya was beginning to grow, Zephyr boarded the warship.
"Instructor Zephyr!"
"Instructor Zephyr!"
Everyone aboard saluted and greeted him, including the logistics personnel and the navigators measuring wind direction and directing the sails.
Zephyr first looked at a Marine navigator and asked,
"How are the preparations?"
"Once two more barrels of fresh water are loaded, there won't be any problems."
"Good."
After nodding, Zephyr glanced at veterans such as Smoker, then shifted his gaze to the newcomers, including Roya and Drake.
"Because new members have just joined the Elite Camp, this mission's difficulty will be relatively low. The objective is to head to the South Blue and eliminate a pirate group's stronghold established there."
"This pirate crew once entered the Grand Line but later withdrew for unknown reasons. They moved to the South Blue and took control of the local underworld. The captain's bounty is 63 million Beli."
Upon hearing this brief introduction, the veterans such as Smoker remained calm, but the expressions of the newcomers, including Hina, immediately turned solemn.
A bounty of 63 million Beli…
Even in the first half of the Grand Line, such a pirate would be considered moderately well-known. Yet their very first real combat mission at sea would pit them against someone of this level—and from Zephyr's words, this was considered a low-difficulty mission.
The Marine Headquarters Elite Camp was fundamentally different from ordinary recruit camps at branch bases.
Zephyr looked at the new recruits with a serious expression.
For those who had just joined the Elite Camp, this would be their first clash with real pirates—a critically important opening battle. Zephyr cared deeply about how the newcomers would perform, especially Roya.
Roya's performance in both the live-combat assessment and the duel assessment had been exceptionally eye-catching. However, those were still training exercises, entirely different from real combat involving blood and corpses.
Recruits who had experienced true blood and fire before joining the Marines were, after all, a minority.
In many first battles, recruits could often only exert seventy or eighty percent of their true strength—some even less. Newcomers trembling at the sight of blood and bodies were common.
Seventy percent was considered passing. Ninety percent was outstanding. As for a full hundred percent—those were exceedingly rare.
"This is real combat. You must be prepared to die at any moment. A recruit's first battle often has the highest casualties. Although I will intervene if your lives are in danger… I do not wish for that situation to arise. Understood?" Zephyr said sternly.
"Yes!"
Nearly all of the new recruits responded in unison, tension visible on their faces.
However, Roya's tension was different from the others'. The trace of tension in his eyes resembled… anticipation.
The Soul Sword fused with his soul already seemed impatient for the upcoming battle, and Roya's naturally hot-blooded heart did not resist this feeling at all.