Frailty

Day four of the Training Camp. The training grounds.

"System, check my total slacking-off time!"

"[Training Camp Turmoil]: Total slacking-off time: 35/400 hours. Please keep up the good work, Host!"

The Training Camp ran from six in the morning until nine at night, with twelve hours of training and only three hours for meals and rest combined.

The daily quest required only eight hours of slacking off, so Carl had completed it with time to spare after skipping training for three days.

His System inventory now held six Designated Attribute Enhancement Cards, along with a pile of snacks and drinks. It was practically free money. Unfortunately, as his body and age returned to normal, Carl's good times officially came to an end.

Reluctantly, Carl returned to the training grounds and joined the rest of the group for basic exercises. They were supposed to begin training in the Six Powers today.

Zephyr stood at the front, looking ruddy and full of energy. His health was far better than it had been on the first day, and he could certainly feel the difference.

Ever since Carl had healed him with Holy Light, his chronic asthma had miraculously disappeared! For the past few days, he'd been breathing easily, and even running without getting winded, as if he'd never had asthma at all.

Without asthma holding him back, his strength had gradually returned. He still couldn't match that old monster Garp, but he was far stronger than he'd been before.

"Today, I'll personally teach you the training methods and techniques for Iron Body, one of the Six Powers. Whether you've learned it before or not, listen carefully. If anyone slacks off, you'll all be punished!"

Iron Body? A strange look crossed Carl's face. The only Six Powers techniques he knew were Shave and Paper Art.

One was for chasing after people—or running away—and the other was for saving your own skin—or dodging bullets.

He knew nothing else. It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to learn, but his body had been too weak. Even knowing the techniques, his physical limitations had kept him from using them. Now was a good opportunity to learn.

Besides, they had twelve hours a day! He wasn't worried about failing to complete his daily slacking-off quest.

"Iron Body is the only defensive technique among the Six Powers. It works by accelerating blood flow and muscle movement, giving your muscles the hardness of steel. Its drawback is that you can't move freely while using it."

"So, you must choose your moment carefully when using Iron Body. Don't get cocky and try to block every attack with it, no matter what your enemy throws at you."

"Good. Now I'll explain in detail how to train in Iron Body..."

An hour later.

"Ding! The world's combat technique—Navy Six Powers—has been detected and added to the System. It has also been added to the random rewards. Draw chance increased by 50% during the Training Camp Turmoil quest!"

Carl breathed a sigh of relief. The System could've told him sooner! He'd listened so attentively that he'd wasted a whole hour he could've spent slacking off.

"Good. I've told you everything you need to know about training in Iron Body. Does anyone still have questions?"

The recruits all shook their heads. Iron Body wasn't difficult; anyone with adequate control over their body could master it with ease. And even if someone really didn't understand, nobody would volunteer to stand out. They could always ask someone else later. No need to embarrass themselves.

"Excellent. Since you all understand, it's time to start training! I'll give you three days. If anyone still hasn't mastered Iron Body by then, heh heh!"

The training grounds soon turned into a contest of straining faces. One by one, the recruits furrowed their brows and turned red, looking as if they were trying to take a dump but couldn't. Carl was no exception.

Luckily, Carl had already mastered Paper Art after ten years of military service. He had far better control over his body than the other recruits, and after a few practice runs using Zephyr's method, he easily mastered Iron Body.

He had to admit, using Iron Body made his confidence soar. With bones of steel and muscles of iron, who could stand against him?

Too bad it didn't do much for that particular area. He guessed only Armament Haki could enchant it.

"Hm! That kid... He's learning surprisingly fast!" Zephyr, who'd been keeping an eye on Carl, brightened. That familiar sheen looked exactly like Iron Body. After a moment's thought, he called Carl over.

"Carl, have you studied the Six Powers before?"

"Yes, Instructor Zephyr. Commodore Charles taught me, but I could only use Shave and Paper Art before. I've only just mastered Iron Body."

"Charles, huh..."

A youthful face appeared in Zephyr's mind. It was Charles, back when he was young. Zephyr remembered him so clearly because Charles had been his very first student.

But Charles hadn't been especially talented. More than twenty years later, he'd only reached the rank of branch Commodore, though he was more than capable of guarding a branch. Meow Meow Novels

"That's still not bad. You're a little more talented than that kid Charles. Just remember not to get conceited. Keep practicing."

Carl readily agreed. Practice? Not a chance! It was almost time to start slacking off!

But first, he needed to find some unlucky guy to help him test the effects of Frailty.

He scanned the recruits and fixed his gaze on a strangely shaped fellow. That was it—Ainz!

Don't let his skinny arms and legs fool you. He was a Shove-Shove Fruit user, and he'd scored an impressive 451 points on the power test, taking second place.

All things considered, he was the strongest recruit after Carl. That showed just how badly the Navy's talent pool had dried up.

"Your name's Ainz, right? Could you help me test how well my Iron Body defends against attacks?"

Seeing Carl's cheeky grin, Ainz frowned instinctively. Of all the recruits, Carl was the one he liked least. Why didn't Carl have to train as hard as the rest of them, yet still get Instructor Zephyr's favor? Just because he was some kind of ability user?

He hadn't gotten a clear look on the first day, but most of the recruits had guessed that Carl was a Devil Fruit user.

After all, no ordinary person could produce a golden orb of light. They just didn't know what kind of power Carl had. And even if they wanted to ask, he was never around.

So when Carl made his request, Ainz instinctively wanted to refuse. But then he reconsidered. Testing Iron Body's defenses meant taking a beating, didn't it? In other words, Carl was asking to get hit? What a great opportunity!

"Great! I mean, I'd be happy to help!"

Ainz took back his words quickly, but Carl still caught the nuance. Judging by the envious looks from the others, Carl could easily reach one conclusion: he wasn't very popular. But he didn't care. Putting himself in their shoes, he couldn't stand himself either.

They were all recruits. Why should everyone else have to train their bodies until they were exhausted, while he got to laze around at home? It was only natural that no one would like him for it!

Carl ripped off his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body, and gestured for Ainz to attack whenever he was ready. Then he silently instructed the System: System, use Frailty.

"Frailty activated successfully. Defense -100%, chance of injury +1000%. Serious injury immunity granted. Duration: three minutes."

"Six Powers—Iron Body!"

Ainz, bring it on!