Chapter 42: Comprehensive Improvement

As for the pitiful mere 8 points of Swordsmanship experience, Gao Wen could also understand.

After all, in the pirate crew nowadays, apart from himself, there were almost no skilled swordsmen left.

And those ordinary pirates had basically reached the limit of their potential; the experience points they could provide could only be described as better than nothing.

Gao Wen narrowed his eyes slightly:

"After recruiting Nami, the next step should be Zoro."

"However, compared to others, Zoro's willpower is undoubtedly much firmer; to get such a person to join the ship, relying solely on violence is impossible."

"Nevertheless, one must eat meal by meal, and walk the road step by step."

"First do well the tasks at hand, and rapidly improve one's own strength; that is the hard truth."

Having said this, the lamp in Gao Wen's room was extinguished.

In the month that followed.

Gao Wen's pirate crew entered a long period of recuperation.

The consecutive battles earlier had already severely drained the vitality of many; even with the logistical support from Raven Port, quite a few injured members still did not pull through, dying from wound infections or other complications.

Although everyone felt some sorrow, they were also accustomed to such matters.

The life of a pirate was far from as wonderful as portrayed in the original work; death, combat, and endless voyages were the norm.

However.

By this stage, those who had survived were basically out of serious danger, and would recover after just a bit more rest.

This could be counted as a great fortune amidst misfortune.

After witnessing more and more deaths, Gao Wen gradually became accustomed to this kind of life as well.

Night fell.

Gao Wen's room was brightly lit; the sea breeze blew in through the window, stirring Gao Wen's hair.

During this period, under the influence of Xiang Keluo and Ah Jin, those two workaholics, the vast majority within the pirate crew had begun nearly harsh cultivation.

One of these two was eyeing the position beneath Gao Wen's buttocks, while the other remained deeply resentful about having previously lost to Xiang Keluo.

Both had summoned all their strength, risking their old lives to grind relentlessly.

After their injuries healed, their strength had improved significantly; Gao Wen, moreover, reaped the benefits like a fisherman waiting for two clams to fight, harvesting massive amounts of experience points every day.

At this moment.

Gao Wen sat before his desk, carefully wiping the Guanshi Zhengzong in his hand.

Over this past month, although he still had not touched the threshold of Armament Haki, he and the Guanshi Zhengzong had become increasingly familiar with each other.

Looking at this blade now, Gao Wen actually felt a sense of bloodline connection.

Suddenly.

A familiar system prompt sounded in Gao Wen's mind:

"Physique Experience +133!"

"Swordsmanship Experience +6!"

"Spoon-Kill Experience +32!"

"Observation Haki Experience +54!"

Compared to half a month ago, aside from Swordsmanship, the other several attributes had all seen significant increases.

Accompanied by the influx of massive experience into his body, Gao Wen's long-stagnant Physique and Observation Haki finally welcomed the moment of transformation.

Physique-LV-6: 2987/3000 ——> Physique-LV-7: 120/5000

Observation Haki-LV-1: 998/1000 ——> Observation Haki-LV-2: 52/2000

Accompanying the successive level-ups of both was the change transmitted from his body.

A familiar stream of hot energy surged out from his heart, traveling with his blood to his limbs and bones, nourishing every cell within Gao Wen's body, pushing his already formidable physical capabilities to even greater heights.

His skin visibly turned red, even emitting bursts of scalding steam, as large quantities of impurities were expelled from his body through his pores.

Under such terrifying changes, Gao Wen felt no discomfort whatsoever, only feeling his body become increasingly light and coordinated.

After a few breaths.

The changes to his Physique gradually subsided, and the scalding steam within the room was slowly dispersed by the sea breeze.

"Hoo~!"

Gao Wen opened his mouth and exhaled a gust of hot air, then took off the leather armor on his body, revealing his rugged upper torso.

His physique had not changed much.

Even compared to before, he was somewhat thinner, roughly returning to the build he had just after waking up.

But he could feel that the basic capabilities of this body had once again been raised by a large margin.

Strength, Constitution, Agility.

Under the restriction of the Balanced Attribute trait, the three developed in equilibrium, ensuring that every improvement Gao Wen made could reach the most ideal state for this body, allowing every ounce of strength to be exerted perfectly.

Feeling the changes in his body, Gao Wen could not suppress the wild joy in his heart:

"Level 7 Physique; compared to Level 6, the three dimensions of Strength, Constitution, and Agility have increased by nearly forty percent, and compared to Level 5, they have nearly doubled!"

"If I were to fight Smoker again at this time..."

Gao Wen suddenly clenched his fist, confidence shining in his eyes:

"He won't have the chance to throw his Seastone trident into the sea anymore."

"And Observation Haki has also successfully broken through to Level 2."

"Let's try it out."

So saying.

Gao Wen activated his Observation Haki, and immediately a strange sensation, independent of his five senses, appeared in his mind.

The wind flowing through the air, the waves rising and falling on the sea surface, the chirping of insects in the corners, the snoring of pirates downstairs...

At this moment, everything floated up within Gao Wen's mind.

The enhancement Observation Haki provided to perceptual abilities grew increasingly monstrous as the skill level rose.

At this moment, Gao Wen even began to anticipate whether, upon raising this ability to LV-5, he would awaken short-term future prediction or other derived capabilities.

The next instant.

The Guanshi Zhengzong in Gao Wen's hand unsheathed, leaving his grip as a silver-white flying blade that crossed a distance of several hundred meters to slice a shark leaping from the center of the harbor cleanly in half at the waist.

Hiss!

Blood sprayed, dyeing the sea surface red.

The pirate responsible for the night watch rubbed his eyes; if not for the shark's corpse still floating on the water, he would have thought he was experiencing some sort of hallucination.

He had intended to sound the alarm, but upon seeing the location from which the blade aura had just emanated, he lowered the horn in his hand.

"I'm truly foolish; who else but the Captain could accomplish such a thing?"

"However, has the Captain become even stronger in such a short time?"

He turned his head to look at the distant pavilion, only to discover that the windows there had long been closed, as if what had just occurred was merely an insignificant triviality.

"This is truly... a monster!"

Inside the room.

Gao Wen slowly sheathed the Guanshi Zhengzong, and recalling the keen perceptual ability from just now, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration:

"Even a trace of aggressive intent from hundreds of meters away can be detected in advance; no wonder that fellow Xiang Keluo became so arrogant after awakening his Observation Haki."

"Observation Haki is indeed consistent with my inference; it can compensate for the deficiencies of Shao Si, and Xiang Keluo was even able to use it to push the speed of Shao Si to even greater heights."

"It's just that I can do the same thing, and even do it better."

A slight smile curled the corners of Gao Wen's mouth as he opened the system panel, causing a familiar pale blue light screen to float before his eyes:

【Host - Gao Wen】

【Age - 24】

【Identity - Captain of the Gao Wen Pirates】

【Skills:

Swordsmanship - LV-5: 1439/1600 (God Speed)

Physique - LV-7: 120/5000 (Balanced)

Shao Si - LV-3: 75/800

Observation Haki - LV-2: 52/2000

Navigation - LV-1: 13/100

】

【Badges:

Captain's Wrath - Subordinates' stamina recovery speed +20%

Rising Fame - View potential abilities

】

【Rating - Bronze: Looking across the four seas and even the Paradise, you count as somebody, but in the New World, please keep your tail tucked between your legs.】

In this past month, not only had his Physique and Observation Haki improved wildly, but even the Shao Si he learned from Xiang Keluo had risen two levels, reaching directly to LV-3.

(End of Chapter)