Time Flies

A year had passed in the blink of an eye.

Every morning, he practiced swordsmanship. In the afternoons and evenings, he trained his body. At night, he occasionally went to his master to ask about swordsmanship. Aside from seven hours of sleep and mealtimes, he spent all his remaining time practicing the sword and training his body.

During that time, he had partnered with his master and Roy to sell intelligence several times, earning over a million Beli.

Werther had also been constantly researching the development of the Lightning Core. Besides the original Lightning Thorn, he had developed another new ability.

Though rather than developing it, it would be more accurate to call it an accidental product born from a series of failed experiments.

After Werther's body had adapted to the low intensity of the Lightning Stimulation Method, he slightly increased the strength of the lightning. The effect was immediately obvious. The training effect jumped directly from three times to four times.

When he had just returned to the Sword Hall, he wanted to see whether he could increase the intensity even further.

Sure enough, greed was a fine virtue possessed by everyone. The moment Werther increased the lightning intensity by another level, he experienced an instant of pain worse than death.

His entire body felt as if countless insects were biting and writhing inside him. Then, Werther blissfully passed out.

When Werther woke up, it was already broad daylight. He was lying in his own bed, with an IV still connected to his right hand. Roy was talking with a middle-aged man who looked like a doctor. When they saw Werther awake, they came over.

"You brat, do you really have to go that hard? You trained until every muscle in your body cramped up. I really don't know how you managed it. Even the doctor had never seen symptoms like this before. You passed out from the pain, right? Really? What a blissful experience."

Looking at Roy's wicked grin, Werther really wanted to smack him. Once they had gotten familiar with each other, Roy was nothing like the steady, dependable man he had seemed when they first met. His sharp tongue suited that lecherous face of his perfectly whenever he smiled.

"Hehehe, you're actually laughing at me? I'll tell Second Senior Sister that you went to get a room with a restaurant waitress." Werther let out his distinctive laugh and said something that made Roy feel utterly insecure.

At first, neither Roy nor Master Nisse had heard Werther's unique laugh. Later, once everyone became familiar, Werther loosened up. He still remembered the first time he had laughed in front of them. Both of them had worn expressions as if they were wondering whether the kid was having some kind of episode.

"Hey, hey, what kind of joke is that? Do you want your Eldest Senior Brother dead? You absolutely can't joke about that in front of An." Roy looked wary as he spoke seriously to Werther.

"Ah, I'm hungry. What should I do? I really want seafood fried noodles from town." Werther looked at Nisse with an expression that plainly said, If you don't buy them for me, I'll badmouth you in front of Second Senior Sister.

Roy smiled, called him a brat, then went out to buy Werther seafood fried noodles.

Werther smiled as well, recalling the scene when he had first met Second Senior Sister.

At the time, he had been training on the back mountain with Senior Brother Roy. From far away, he saw a tall, mature beauty walking toward them. She had long black hair, a tight purple top with a deeply open collar that revealed a hint of her full chest, black trousers, and black high-heeled boots. A dark Red-Haired sword hung at her waist.

Just as Werther was wondering why such a beautiful woman had come to this desolate back mountain, and why she was carrying a sword, the woman said something that nearly made his jaw drop.

"Hubby, this must be Junior Brother, right? He's really young." The beauty asked Roy in a soft, husky voice.

After hearing her, Werther's heart filled with admiration and respect for Senior Brother Roy. With your looks, old brother, how did you find such a beautiful and seductive wife? Please teach me your ways.

Just as Roy was about to reply, he noticed Werther muttering something under his breath. He vaguely caught several keywords like flowers and cow dung.

He kicked Werther in the backside and roared.

"What disrespectful thoughts are you having, brat? Don't you dare say them out loud!" After saying that, he huffed angrily several times, making the beauty laugh under her breath.

Roy straightened his expression and introduced her to Werther.

"This is my wife, Olivia An. She's also a Swordsman. You can call her Second Senior Sister, or Senior Sister An."

"Hello, Senior Sister An. My name is Werther. It's our first meeting, so please forgive me if I've been lacking in any way." Werther politely greeted An. Joking with Roy was one thing; after all, they had spent half a year together. But An was someone he had just met, so proper manners were still necessary.

An nodded to Werther as well, said a few things such as, "Hello, Junior Brother," and, "How has your training been lately?" Then she said no more. She seemed to be someone who did not like talking much.

"Honey, why did you suddenly come back this time? You didn't even tell me in advance. Have you settled the matters outside?" Roy asked An.

"Not yet. I mainly came back because Master has some things to tell me. I also came to see the new Junior Brother. If there's nothing else, I'll be going first." With that, she turned and headed toward the Sword Hall.

Thinking back on that, Werther smiled.

He took a sip of water and sank into thought.

Why had increasing the lightning's intensity caused such a huge reaction from his body? When Werther had first awakened lightning, its intensity had definitely been far greater than it was this time. Yet he had only felt a prickling pain then, instead of hurting so badly that he fainted.

As he slowly sensed the Lightning within his body, Werther seemed to find a clue.

When he had first awakened Lightning, he had not controlled it. So, the Lightning should have circulated through his muscles and bones.

The Lightning Stimulation Method, meanwhile, was something he had developed by drawing inspiration from the Raikage's techniques, using lightning to stimulate the body's cells.

So the two could not be lumped together. One stimulated the body's bones and muscles.

The other stimulated much smaller cells, so naturally the intensity they could withstand was different.

With that thought, Werther slowly circulated his Lightning. This time, he did not stimulate his cells. Instead, he stimulated his muscles and bones.

He started at an extremely low intensity, then gradually increased the lightning's strength. Once his body began to feel that prickling pain again, Werther stopped increasing it and maintained the greatest intensity his body could endure without pain.

Looking at his body, the sensation was completely different from when he used the Lightning Stimulation Method. This time, a faint blue glow radiated from the surface of his body. He also felt that his speed and neural reaction speed had increased tremendously, to around twice their usual level. His strength and stamina, however, had only increased by about 1.5 times.

This... this move was pretty good. He had actually developed such a practical technique by accident. Just as Werther was feeling pleased with himself, a new idea suddenly appeared in his mind.

He got out of bed and opened the cabinet. Inside were two swords Werther had commissioned at great expense from what was said to be the finest swordsmith in Loguetown.

These two swords differed from the swords of the Pirate World. They were straight swords, but they were also different from traditional straight swords.

The entire sword was 1 meter long, with an 80-centimeter blade and a 20-centimeter hilt. In appearance, it looked more like a Rapier, though its blade was somewhat wider than that of a traditional Rapier, about 8 centimeters wide, or just under three finger-widths.

Rather than using the traditional four-sided design, it used an octagonal design, enhancing both cutting power and durability. No matter how much force it endured, it would not bend in the slightest. The blade was 8 centimeters wide near the Sword Hilt and gradually narrowed toward the tip, ultimately forming a perfectly streamlined straight sword.

At the bottom of the Sword Hilt was a black circular pommel, a final means of defense if an enemy got close. Like the blade, it was made from an extremely expensive metal, nearly bankrupting Werther despite his million-plus Beli. The grip was wrapped in finely processed black hide from a large Sea King.

It felt soft in the hand and did not slip, giving it a matte texture.

The crossguard was not as long as that of a traditional Rapier. Instead, it was slightly thicker on both sides and narrower in the middle, serving both as a guard and as an attractive design. Together with the equally black Sword Sheath, the sword looked completely black while sheathed.

The blade itself had been treated along the spine to prevent reflections. It had no other color and shone silver. Only the blade gleamed with a cold light, giving off an impression of sharpness.

The two swords as a whole were created by Werther from a combination of the octagonal Han sword from Earth and a Rapier.

As for their black appearance, that had been a specific requirement from his master. When Werther had told his master that he wanted to commission two swords, his master had instructed him to choose dark colors such as black, Red-Haired, or purple, rather than eye-catching colors such as silver or gold. He did not explain why, only saying that Werther would understand in the future.

Werther respected that request from his master. After all, during his time at the Sword Hall, his master had taken good care of him.

He took the two identical swords from the cabinet, hanging one at each side of his waist. Crossing his hands, he drew both swords.

Although Werther was now around 1.8 meters tall, wielding two one-meter-long swords was still somewhat difficult for him.

I wonder whether this idea will work. If it does, I'll have struck it rich.

He closed his eyes and activated the method from earlier, circulating Lightning solely through his muscles and bones. This time, after it spread throughout his body, he did not stop. Instead, it extended toward the two swords in his hands, until both blades took on a faint blue color.

Werther did not stop there. He continued increasing the lightning's intensity around the swords, and a faint crackling sound gradually filled the room.

The swords no longer looked as they had before. Amid the pale blue glow, they now gave off a silvery radiance.

He gently brought a blade to the corner of the table and slowly lowered it. Werther barely felt any resistance before one corner of the table was cut off and fell to the floor.

"Hehehe, just as I thought. Lightning attached to a weapon can increase its sharpness. If this hits someone, then unless they're far stronger than me, wherever I cut will break. What a great ability. I should give it a name so it's easier to remember." With that thought, Werther withdrew the lightning and put the swords back in the cabinet.

With my current stamina, I can maintain this ability for about two hours. What should I call it? The Minute Lightning Stimulation Method for Internal Muscles and Bones? Lightning Muscle Method?

That name was simply too beautiful to look at directly. Better change it.

I'll call it Lightning Mode. Simple and easy to understand, and most importantly, easy to remember. What if I gave my move a name today, then forgot it the next day?

When fighting an enemy, I might shout something ridiculously dramatic like, "Take this—" and then go blank. That would be too embarrassing. If that momentary lapse got me killed, it would be an absolute tragedy.