As time passed, six days had gone by since Takeru and the others arrived at Jiffon Island, meaning only five days remained until the planned general assault. During these days, although Takeru was often away from the island, he was fully aware of the bald man's every move.
But Takeru did not do anything to startle him.
Over these days, Takeru had maxed out all his jobs. Mio and Hachiman had done the same, increasing their base attributes by about twenty to thirty points each, which was a very decent improvement.
Apart from this, their mana growth was also considerable. Perhaps because Takeru's base mana was over five hundred thousand, each time he changed to a Mage class, he gained an increase of over ten thousand. Advancing an Advanced Mage to max level even granted him an increase of over thirty thousand.
When Takeru asked Hachiman and Mio, their increases were only a few hundred. In the end, they gained roughly just over two thousand mana, but for them, this improvement was enormous.
This made Takeru realize that this likely involved a percentage-based increase. Although the percentage was relatively low, with Takeru's high base, his gains far exceeded theirs.
[Reincarnator No. 3: Nara Takeru
Race: Human-Demon
Bloodline Abilities: Senju Bloodline, Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan (Left Eye: Rewind, Right Eye: Kotoamatsukami)
Talent Ability (Unique Skill): Universal Perception...
Strength: 1093 (985) (Ordinary Person: 20)
Constitution: 1158 (8)
Defense: 1476 (2133)
Speed: 1053 (4)
Spirit: 1630 (38097)
Mana: 673000 (3260) (Ordinary Person: 0)
Skills: Creation Magic (Advanced), Necromancy Magic (Advanced)...
Resistances: Natural Effects Nullification, Abnormal Status Nullification, Mental Attack Resistance, Physical Attack Resistance, Pain Resistance, Magic Attack Resistance
Evaluations and Points: EX-Rank evaluation x1! S-Rank evaluation x1! A-Rank evaluation x3! B-Rank evaluation x3! C-Rank evaluation x5! Points 554800]
Aside from Takeru's own improvements, Yusuke, Yuka, and Kusue had also made leapfrog progress.
Under Takeru's training philosophy of train until you can't, die trying, and if you don't die, train harder, the three had, after several instances of being crippled, more than doubled their physical capabilities.
Most importantly, these gains were not from job leveling, but purely from physical training. This meant that when they did level up, they would experience another tremendous boost. This was something they had never imagined possible… that ordinary training could actually make them stronger.
Besides the improvement in physical abilities, their combat skills had also advanced.
Through continuous sword swinging, Yusuke and Kusue had basically mastered swordsmanship. At the very least, they were now proficient in the fundamentals of swordsmanship.
Thrust, chop, lift, hang, cloud, point, snap, and parry… they had mastered all these techniques. As for on-the-spot reactions in combat, that would rely on extensive practical experience.
As for Yuka, she was no longer limited to slightly warming the front ten centimeters of her staff. Under Takeru's guidance, she could now proficiently cast Fireballs. Takeru had even bestowed upon her an advanced Flame Spear skill. She now possessed preliminary combat capability. What she lacked was practical experience.
Takeru planned to begin their actual combat training today.
However, just as Takeru and the others were about to leave, Iu and Keita approached Takeru.
"Wait, Takeru, can you wait a moment?" Coming up to him, Iu called out to Takeru while still running.
"What's the matter?" Looking at Iu, who was still slightly out of breath, Takeru showed a puzzled expression.
"Well, Takeru, you've all been doing secret training these past few days, right?" Looking at Takeru, Iu inquired directly.
"Yes. Actually, it's not really secret training, but we have indeed been training." Hearing her words, Takeru corrected her wording.
"Eh, Takeru, we're teammates, right? How could you leave me and Iu out?" Hearing Takeru's words, Keita quickly spoke up.
"You mean you want to join us for training?" Hearing his words, Takeru asked with surprise.
"Is it possible?" Hearing Takeru's words, Iu asked nervously.
"It's not impossible. However, these three have all taken me as their master and must follow my instructions. So, do you two also wish to take me as your master?" Hearing her words, Takeru said calmly.
"Eh, take you as master?" Hearing Takeru say this, Iu and Keita were stunned.
"Yes." Seeing their shocked expressions, Yusuke and the other three nodded calmly. Starting from the second day, Kusue had made her decision. As for Yuka, seeing that both Yusuke and Kusue had taken Takeru as their master, she felt that not doing so herself would be somewhat odd.
Moreover, she had certain master-disciple fantasies and, with special delusions, also became Takeru's apprentice.
Similarly, although the two were girls, Takeru did not grant them special treatment. They also became probationary apprentices.
After all, Takeru did not plan to bring them back to the main world, so they were destined never to become formal disciples.
"I understand. I am willing to take you as my master." Seeing the serious expressions of Yusuke and the other three, Iu took a deep breath and spoke sincerely.
"Eh, wait, Iu, you're taking him as master? Then what about me?" Hearing Iu's words, Keita was completely dumbfounded.
After all, although Takeru appeared to be his peer, his actual age was younger than his own. This made him hesitate.
"Hmph, even if you wanted to take him as master, Master wouldn't accept you." Looking at Keita's expression, Yusuke directly spoke.
"What did you say, you mere defeated opponent!" Hearing Yusuke's words, Keita couldn't help but mock.
"Hmph, I'm not the same as I was a few days ago." Hearing his words, Yusuke said calmly.
"Enough. If you are willing to follow my arrangements, then come along. Today, the task I've given Yusuke and the others is hunting." Looking at the two, Takeru said calmly.
Hearing Takeru speak, Yusuke quickly shut his mouth.
"Hunting? Please take me along!" Hearing Takeru say this, Iu quickly spoke. Over these days, through arduous training, she felt her strength had improved considerably. Now was the perfect time to test herself.
"How about this, Yusuke, let's have another match. We'll compete in hunting monsters and see who kills more." Hearing Takeru say this, Keita spoke again.
Hearing Keita's words, Yusuke said nothing and simply looked at Takeru.
"Then it's decided. I will serve as the referee. Alright, let's depart." Saying this, Takeru simply snapped his fingers, and Takeru and the others' figures vanished from the spot.
"Th-this is... where are we? Weren't we on Jiffon Island?" Looking at the surrounding forest, Iu spoke dazedly.
"Iu, this is Master's spatial teleportation skill!" Hearing Iu's words, Kusue quietly explained to her.
"Spatial teleportation? Is that magic from some job?" Hearing Kusue's words, Iu again spoke with surprise.
"No, it's not. It's a skill Master learned himself." Hearing Iu's words, Kusue quickly shook her head.
"A skill... he learned... himself..." Hearing Kusue's words, Iu felt her mind couldn't quite keep up.
"Alright, monsters are coming." At this moment, Takeru spoke seriously to the group.
"I don't know what's going on, but leave it to me!" Looking at the ferocious goblin horde, Keita didn't overthink it. After all, he wasn't the type to use his head much.
Soon, Keita raised his spear and heavily thrust it straight through a goblin's heart. The powerful force pierced directly through, giving the goblin no time to react. Blood gushed out as it fell to the ground.
While he was still smug, a nearby goblin quickly reacted and bashed its club directly into Keita's head, instantly crushing him to death.
With Keita's death, Yusuke and the others immediately sensed it. Keita, now in soul form, didn't seem too concerned.
"They're coming. Let's move too." Watching the goblin that had killed Keita adjust its stance and approach them, Yusuke said to Kusue and Yuka.
"Hmph, I don't need your reminder!" Hearing Yusuke's words, Yuka said unceremoniously.
Then, to the shock of Iu and the soul-form Keita, Yuka directly raised her staff. Soon, a fireball formed before her.
"Fireball!" Shouting loudly, Yuka swung her staff forward with force. The fireball flew rapidly toward the goblin, and upon contact, it exploded, transforming into blazing flames that engulfed the goblin.
Yusuke and Kusue raised their longswords. As Yuka's fireball hit one of the goblins, they each moved to decapitate another goblin...