"Ten-Person Slayer"

[Shiya Clangard has completed the initial攻略; an ambiguous relationship has been established]

[The player has received the first-tier point reward: 1,000 points]

[Romantic relationship not yet established. Please keep up the good work and complete the final攻略 as soon as possible to obtain the second-tier reward]

[New side quest "Ten-Person Slayer" triggered. Please check the quest bar in the lower-right corner]

Noah let out a grunt and scratched his head, unable to make sense of it.

He had clearly rejected Shiya's advances, and he'd been firm about it, leaving no room for misunderstanding. So why had the system still decided they'd established an ambiguous relationship?

Could one-sided affection count, too?

Remembering everything that had happened on the training ground two hours ago, from her confession beneath the streetlamp and his rejection, to their bet and duel, and then Shiya silently crying as she watched him walk away...

Noah felt that, on the surface, those scenes might have carried a touch of romantic ambiguity, but they were still a far cry from what he considered "establishing a relationship."

He could only say that the system's so-called initial攻略 seemed to have a much lower threshold than he'd expected.

"Maybe that's good news..."

Noah glanced at the thousand points he'd received. Hm, that was only a quarter of Bell-mère's reward.

It seemed the game rules had been right: the point rewards for攻略 targets of different difficulty levels varied proportionally.

Shiya was an elite from Marine Headquarters, and her future accomplishments were certain to surpass those of most people in this world. Yet even with such an outstanding girl, establishing an ambiguous relationship had earned him only a thousand points.

It was easy to imagine how little the ordinary girls Noah could攻略 more easily would offer.

That only made him more certain of his resolve: he absolutely couldn't use earning points as an excuse to cast a wide net, collect as many fish as possible, and flirt his way through a crowd of women.

But what the hell was this sudden new quest?

Staring at the quest name "Ten-Person Slayer," Noah felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding.

Clinging to one last shred of hope, he opened the quest bar in the lower-right corner and quickly skimmed it.

"Side Quest: Ten-Person Slayer"

"Congratulations on completing two initial攻略s—and in a single day! WOW, what an achievement. It seems romance isn't all that difficult for you. Perhaps it's time to face a greater challenge!"

"Quest: Within fifteen days, complete the initial攻略 of ten Marine soldiers and establish ambiguous relationships with them."

"Reward: 100,000 points, 1 S-rank gift box"

"Crazy."

Noah rolled his eyes and couldn't be bothered to respond. He closed the system panel and, yawning, went to shower.

攻略 ten people in fifteen days—and they had to be his fellow Marines?

He might as well wash up and go to bed. Anything was possible in a dream.

Noah knew that in the Elite Training Camp, his looks were in a league of their own. It was true that he could easily make girls his age develop a crush on him.

But that kind of crush was just youthful admiration. Not every girl fell in love with him at first sight like Shiya, let alone had the courage to confess to him first.

There was no way he could count on points simply dropping into his lap like they had tonight.

And as for making the first move?

Even setting aside whether he could get past his own conscience, one Shiya was already enough to give him a headache. To stir up trouble with ten more of his fellow trainees? Even a rabbit didn't eat the grass around its own burrow. Just imagining the possibility of getting hacked to pieces made Noah's scalp prickle.

There was always plenty of time. He'd always been patient, too. He could wait until a suitable quest came along and then figure out how to complete it and earn points.

He slept soundly through the night.

At five thirty the next morning, the round alarm clock on his bedside table knew it was time and prepared to leap up with a cheerful ring.

But a hand had already shot out from beneath the covers. With lightning speed, it switched the alarm off before it could jump, then Noah flipped out of bed.

He looked around at Shiryu and Rosinante, still fast asleep, and sighed in relief. Then he headed straight to the washroom, took out his toiletries, and stood before the mirror.

The Elite Training Camp's morning assembly was at seven. Most people didn't get up until after six thirty, but Noah had long been used to waking an hour early to train.

Over time, he'd developed a biological clock precise enough to be frightening.

The only purpose the alarm clock served for Noah was to help him train his reflexes and make sure his mind snapped awake the moment he opened his eyes.

"Good morning, me."

The man in the mirror looked bright-eyed and handsome, full of energy. Noah grinned, showing eight pearly white teeth, then squeezed toothpaste onto his toothbrush.

After a night's sleep, he felt refreshed from head to toe. The fatigue and weariness from a full day of hard training had vanished without a trace.

He'd had this unusual constitution since childhood. Both his stamina and his recovery were far beyond those of an ordinary person.

No matter how hard or exhausting things got, a filling meal or a good night's sleep could fix just about anything.

And if that didn't work, he could eat his fill and then sleep!

Noah moved quickly. By the time he'd finished washing up and reached the training ground, less than fifteen minutes had passed.

He'd done the same thing every day for the past year. After an hour of extra training, he still had plenty of time to eat breakfast before assembly.

The first light of dawn glimmered.

Perhaps because Marineford was close to the harbor, dense fog hung everywhere at this hour, refusing to disperse.

Only two or three figures stood at the entrance to the training ground, all familiar faces from the Elite Training Camp. Noah greeted them as he took off his jacket. Once he'd hung it on the wall, he began running laps to warm up.

After warming up, he found a quiet, out-of-the-way corner and prepared to start the day's sword training with the simplest basic exercise: suburi.

Sword practice in the morning and hand-to-hand training in the evening—that was the routine Noah had gradually settled into over the past year. He also considered it the most reasonable way to divide his time.

"Shing—"

That was supposed to be the sound of a blade being drawn. But since they were at Marine Headquarters, where it was safe, Noah and the others used bamboo swords in their daily practice on Zephyr's advice, to minimize needless wear and accidental injuries.

Bamboo swords didn't have scabbards, so they couldn't make a sound when drawn. That "shing" was just Noah adding sound effects as he gripped his two bamboo swords.

The pitch started high and gradually fell, trailing off into a long, drawn-out note.

That was just how men were. No matter how old they got, when they were alone and nobody was around, they always seemed to sneak in a few inexplicable, over-the-top gestures.

Of course, Noah would never admit that. He firmly believed he was creating a sense of ceremony before practicing his swordsmanship.

He'd done the same thing every day. Since nobody ever saw him, he didn't feel embarrassed about it.

Unfortunately, it seemed he'd miscalculated today.

"Whoa, nice imitation, kid."

A voice suddenly came from above. Noah jumped and turned to look. A few meters away, a tall man was lying atop the wall.

Through the thick fog, Noah couldn't make out the man's face or expression. He could just barely see him lounging with one leg crossed over the other, yawning lazily.