Successfully Faked an Accident

Ain pressed her lower lip together, her face pale. She had no mood to deal with Carl and staggered forward.

"Sigh..."

Carl let out a long sigh. This time, he really had treated Ain unfairly and gotten her into trouble. He had always repaid kindness with kindness and grudges with grudges. He owed Ain a favor now, and he would repay her next time.

"You two sure have some nerve! Causing trouble on your very first day of training. Ain, tell me: can he return to normal?"

"Mm..." Ain furrowed her brows and slowly replied, "With my current abilities, it should last about three days before Big Brother Carl returns to normal."

Zephyr nodded. As long as Carl could recover, the situation wasn't too serious. Still, they definitely needed to be disciplined.

"Ain, Carl, don't let this happen again. As punishment, you'll both do extra training tonight. Any objections?"

Neither of them objected. Their attitude pleased Zephyr greatly.

"Ain, go back to your group and keep running laps. Carl, given your current condition... Never mind. Go to the infirmary and get yourself checked out. If there's nothing wrong, come back. Once your body returns to normal, you can resume training and make up for everything you missed!"

[Limited-Time Mission Completed]: Reward: Active Skill [Frailty].

At the pleasant notification, Carl was delighted. He had finally gained control over when he could slack off. Whether he had to train was no longer up to Zephyr—it was up to the doctor in the infirmary.

The only problem was that getting injured too often and frequently missing training could cause Zephyr's opinion of him to plummet. It wasn't impossible that he'd be kicked out of the Training Camp.

Then Carl thought again of the Holy Light Fruit he'd obtained today. The world of One Piece was full of all kinds of strange abilities, but how many Devil Fruits could strengthen other people? There were very few.

The Cheer-Cheer Fruit, the Hormone-Hormone Fruit... Carl couldn't think of any others.

His Holy Light Fruit was undoubtedly among the very best, combining healing and enhancement. Its strategic value was immeasurable. Carl wouldn't make any other claims, but he was certain that if he ate the Holy Light Fruit, he'd become a prized asset in the Navy. After all, who wouldn't want a teammate like that?

The next benefit was that this Devil Fruit would let him slack off with a clear conscience. Just imagine: once a battle began, Carl would use Holy Light on his teammates, empowering them and completing his task. He could spend the rest of the time slacking off while his enhanced teammates easily defeated the villains. Everyone would be happy. Who could accuse him of shirking?

And finally, most importantly, this ability could very well attract the attention of the Navy's top brass. Even if his relationship with Zephyr soured, he wouldn't be kicked out of the Training Camp.

"Carl! Carl!!!"

The furious shouts by his ear brought Carl back to his senses. He hurriedly called, "Here!"

"What are you spacing out for? Get to the infirmary!"

Seeing Carl look as if nothing could faze him, Zephyr frowned. Why does that kid look so happy? Could he have done this on purpose to avoid training? No, no, I'm probably overthinking it. He's been a Marine for ten years, and his record is clean. Surely he wouldn't pull a stunt like that bastard Kizaru.

"Yes, sir!"

Carl nodded, hoisted his pants, and trudged toward the infirmary. There was no helping it—his body had shrunk so much that his clothes had become a burden.

Half an hour later, Carl quietly returned to the training grounds and sat beside the stands, watching the Recruits train. He couldn't help but marvel: So this is youth! But as he watched his slacking-off time keep adding up, his grin nearly split his face. In a word: awesome!

Under Zephyr's instruction, Ainz trained hard. Out of the corner of his eye, he happened to spot Carl sitting in the stands with a huge grin on her face. He couldn't help feeling angry. They were training so hard, while she was off resting—and on top of that, she was smirking! How infuriating!

Ainz wasn't the only one who thought so. Many of them felt the same way. They hadn't even been all that tired, but seeing Carl sitting off to the side with her legs crossed, enjoying herself, made them feel both exhausted and furious. Why should she get to do that?

Carl wasn't bothered in the least by all the glances directed at her. She calmly enjoyed her rare chance to slack off.

As if! She'd earned the right to slack off. Besides, she'd worked diligently as a Marine for ten years. Wasn't she allowed to enjoy herself?

Shuzo, who was supervising the Recruits' training, noticed what was going on with Carl and seemed to understand why they were all so distracted. Damn, that kid really knows how to undermine morale!

"What are you looking at? Carl may not have to train for now, but her Doriki Value is the highest among you! It won't do you any good to resent her—she can still beat you all with ease. So this is your chance."

"Now, get back to training, all of you!"

That was right! Carl was already strong. Now was their best chance to catch up with her. They let out a loud, synchronized shout: "Yes!!!"

Shuzo was very satisfied. Whether Carl would be ostracized or targeted was none of his concern.

Carl sighed helplessly. From the way those Recruits were looking at her, she might really end up being targeted. No, in her current state, she couldn't stop any bullying. She had to eat that Devil Fruit as soon as possible.

While no one was paying attention, Carl slipped into a blind spot in the corner and took the Holy Light Fruit out of her system inventory. The fruit looked like an orange, except it was golden yellow, with intricate circular patterns all over it. After taking a deep breath, Carl bit into it without hesitation.

"Blech! That's awful..."

Carl tossed the uneaten portion aside and fought back the urge to gag. As she watched a pale golden orb of light slowly emerge from her palm, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.

"Check my stats!"

Host: Carl

Age: 24

Physique: E

Perception: F+

Willpower: E

Special Ability: Still as a Virgin

Holy Light Fruit: 0% (Awakening Progress)

Active Skill: Frailty (Available)

Looking at her status panel, Carl was a little surprised. She hadn't expected eating a Devil Fruit to improve every stat except her willpower. Devil Fruits truly were among the most mysterious things in the world.

"Sigh... I can get stronger just by sitting around. Tell me, isn't that infuriating?"

After a quick test of the Holy Light's power, Carl found that it worked exactly as the system had said: it strengthened and healed. She couldn't feel the enhancement yet, since she was in the body of a fourteen-year-old.

As for the healing effect... Carl gritted her teeth and cut her palm with a fruit knife. One burst of Holy Light later, the wound closed instantly. Only the blood on the ground showed that she'd been injured at all.

"Phew... This Devil Fruit is even stronger than I imagined!"

Carl was a little disappointed that it couldn't make her fly or do anything like that. But this was the world of One Piece, after all. Even if a Devil Fruit ability wasn't enough, there were martial arts and Haki—and besides, the Holy Light Fruit was far from useless.