Doriki Value

"Come to my Elite Camp! I'll teach you!"

Zephyr looked at Randall with shining eyes as he spoke.

He didn't care about Randall's strength. What he valued was Randall's talent.

Not just his exceptional ability to learn, but that mysterious power as well.

Though it hadn't shown itself much during the fight, Zephyr's keen eye had still discerned its potential.

Wild and explosive, it did not harm the user's body. On the contrary, it benefited it.

He had a feeling that Randall's future would definitely hold a surprise for him.

At Zephyr's words, Kong, Sengoku, and the others all looked astonished.

After all, they had always been the ones pushing recruits into Zephyr's Elite Camp. Zephyr had never taken the initiative to ask for anyone.

The only exceptions were those three Vice Admirals who could rightly be called monsters.

Though those three were currently Vice Admirals, their strength had already reached the level of Admirals. Once the time was right, they could immediately take over Sengoku's position as Marine Headquarters' greatest fighting force.

Randall was startled at first, then wild joy welled up inside him.

Now he not only got to avoid Impel Down, but he had an official position, too!

And who was the one making the offer?

Zephyr!

Leaving his strength aside, when it came to teaching, if he claimed second place on the seas, no one would dare claim first.

One look at the students he had trained was enough to understand how capable he was.

In terms of quality, there were the future Three Admirals.

In terms of quantity, more than half the Marines' officers had come out of the Elite Camp.

This disaster had turned into a blessing.

A thousand thoughts raced through Randall's mind, but in the end, he said just one word:

"Yes!"

"Excellent!" Zephyr nodded in satisfaction, then bellowed:

"Then report to the training ground at seven sharp tomorrow morning! Any problems?"

Randall jolted, immediately stood at attention, and shouted:

"None!"

Kong and the others exchanged silent looks.

These two had settled the whole thing just like that?

Only heaven knew how much effort they had put into reviewing the Elite Camp's admission list!

But forget it. That purple-haired old man had the final say over the Elite Camp anyway.

As long as he was happy.

A short while later, the big shots left one after another, and Pietro was carried away as well.

Randall was the only one left on the grounds.

He waited for a while before a Marine approached, glanced at him, and said:

"You're Randall, right? Come with me!"

Randall answered and hurried after him.

Before long, the Marine led him to a special training room.

An odd-looking machine stood inside.

Before Randall could ask, the Marine volunteered an explanation:

"This machine measures your doriki value. Just hit it here with everything you've got."

As he spoke, he pointed to the center of the machine.

Then he stepped back a few paces, leaving the space to Randall.

He watched Randall with a mixture of bewilderment and envy.

He had already heard that this boy, who still looked rather young, was a talent Zephyr had personally recruited into the Elite Camp.

The Elite Camp! He wanted to get in, too!

At that thought, the Marine couldn't help sizing Randall up again.

He looked like an ordinary boy. Frail, even.

Someone like him didn't even look as strong as the Marine himself.

He simply couldn't understand what had earned him Instructor Zephyr's favor!

Could he have gotten in through connections...?

Had Instructor Zephyr finally fallen from grace...?

Meanwhile, Randall stood in front of the machine.

He took a deep breath.

He closed his eyes.

He set his feet naturally shoulder-width apart.

He clenched his right fist and drew it back, gathering strength.

His legs tensed, his waist tensed, and his right arm tensed.

The energy throughout his body gathered in his right fist.

Seeing Randall building up power, the Marine grew serious.

He wanted to see just how much this boy could do.

He remembered that during the Elite Camp's testing, the highest doriki value had been four hundred—or was it five hundred?

That had been a genuine monster.

At just thirteen years old, that recruit had already reached a level he could only look up to.

He wondered what score Randall would manage.

He probably won't even break a hundred...

The next instant, Randall opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed through them, and he struck with all his might.

A loud boom rang out.

The Marine felt a gust of wind rush into his face.

He hurriedly checked the display.

Then his eyes widened.

"Doriki value: 558!"

He was utterly dumbstruck.

Was this machine broken?

Or was the world broken?

Randall glanced at the display.

Hmm, 558. Not bad, I guess... I thought I'd get some earth-shattering score.

Then I'd stun all the big shots and rise straight to the top.

Ah, looks like I'm just an ordinary guy after all...

Randall, who had felt quite a sense of superiority because he had transmigrated, began to face reality.

Fortunately, those words stayed in Randall's head. Otherwise, the Marine beside him would have questioned his entire existence even more.

Do you even know what a doriki value over five hundred means?!

Do you?!

As far as he knew, the current Vice Admirals had only scored around that level when they first enrolled!

What more could you possibly want?!

Are you trying to shoot straight into the heavens or something?!

What he didn't know was that Randall had already fought the Elite Camp's tenth-ranked recruit.

And they had been evenly matched.

Granted, if his opponent hadn't underestimated him and then lost his composure, Randall would most likely have lost in the end.

But the final result was that his opponent had passed out, while Randall was practically unscathed.

Compared with that, a doriki value over five hundred wasn't particularly surprising.

When they left the room, the Marine was still in a daze.

He led Randall all the way to the dormitory, then left in the same dazed state.

He would probably need quite a while to accept reality.

Watching the Marine walk away, Randall felt a little troubled.

Had I done something wrong?

Why does it feel like this guy has something against me?

Randall shook his head, deciding he must have imagined it.

He was so handsome. Even if not everyone adored him, surely no one would dislike him at first sight.

Randall smoothed his hair, then pushed open the dormitory door.

There were four beds inside.

Two were empty, while the other two had bedding laid out.

Randall picked a bed at random, made it, changed into the Marine uniform he had just received, and headed out in search of food.

It was already mealtime.

Following the Marine's earlier directions, Randall found his way to the dining hall.

Then, under the cafeteria lady's astonished gaze, he piled a tray high with all kinds of meat.

"Hey, kid! Can you finish all that? Wasting food is a serious offense!"

The cafeteria lady looked at Randall's scrawny frame and couldn't help asking.

"Besides, how come I've never seen you before?"

Randall rubbed his nose and said:

"I'm new! Don't worry! I definitely won't waste any!"

He had a huge appetite!