Soaring Experience Points

Gawain was slightly taken aback.

The Swordsmanship and Physique numbers were fairly normal.

After all, Kuro and Akin were both severely injured and still unable to move normally. The only source of experience was the pirates in the crew whose potential had yet to reach its limits.

At most, they provided a dozen or so points each day; at least, only a few. It was better than nothing, though the overall trend was clearly declining.

But that was all within Gawain's expectations. What truly surprised him was the Observation Haki.

"There are only two people in the crew who've awakened Observation Haki. Akin's injuries are worse, so it can only be Kuro, who's recovering better."

"But..."

"Kuro can provide 33 points of Observation Haki Experience in a single day?"

"And that's while he's injured and physically inconvenienced. Once he fully recovers, he'll provide even more experience."

As he spoke, Gawain opened the System Panel:

[Host—Gawain]

[Age—24]

[Identity—Captain of the Gawain Pirates]

[Skills:

Swordsmanship—LV-5: 1171/1600 (Godspeed)

Physique—LV-5: 381/1600 (Balanced)

Navigation—LV-1: 13/100

Shave—LV-1: 3/200

Observation Haki—LV-0: 33/500

]

[Badges:

Captain's Wrath—Subordinates' stamina recovery speed +20%

Rising Fame—View potential abilities

]

[Rating—Bronze: Across the Four Seas and even Paradise, you count as someone notable. But in the New World, keep your tail tucked.]

Those who had returned to Para Island had clearly not abandoned their training either. Altogether, Swordsmanship and Physique had each gained over a hundred points of experience.

That was within Gawain's expectations. What truly puzzled him was Observation Haki.

"The experience needed to reach Level 1 exceeds what Physique needs to reach Level 4?"

"Does that mean that even among abilities, there are different tiers?"

Gawain frowned slightly. Though he was still puzzled, this was the only reasonable explanation he could think of.

After all, Haki would only become widespread in the New World, where powerful figures gathered.

In the Four Seas and Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line, there were plenty who trained in swordsmanship, martial arts, or even developed Devil Fruits. Yet those who truly mastered Haki were few and far between.

"By that logic, Armament Haki and even Conqueror's Haki will require even more experience later on."

"But..."

"Even at Kuro's current pace, I'll need less than half a month to reach LV-1. By then, I'll be able to truly use it in actual combat."

"Once the two of them recover, Physique and Shave will start increasing again as well."

"And I need to arrange for Armament Haki training too. Otherwise, I'll be far too passive against Logia Devil Fruit Users."

Thinking back on his battle with Smoker, Gawain felt stifled.

In terms of raw strength alone, he was undoubtedly stronger than Smoker. Yet Smoker's Logia elementalization had rendered his slashes completely ineffective.

He could only create ultra-high-speed thrusts and shatter Smoker again and again to barely keep him suppressed.

If next time he faced someone with a Flame-Flame Fruit or Magma-Magma Fruit—one with direct offensive power—Gawain would probably have no choice but to run.

"Haki is the manifestation of one's inner self. Everyone possesses Haki, but not everyone can awaken it."

"I already have Observation Haki. Can I draw parallels from it to awaken Armament Haki?"

With that thought in mind.

The next day.

After handing the crew's affairs over to Jango, and having the Catman Brothers lead a group of recovered men to hunt pirates in the waters near Raven Port as promised and keep the route safe.

Gawain began attempting to awaken the Armament Haki within his body.

It was easy to say, but another matter entirely to do.

Several days passed. It would not be accurate to say Gawain had gained nothing, but he had no clue where to begin.

Luck was not something he could count on twice.

Without anyone to guide him, Gawain's understanding of Haki was limited to a few posts he had read in his previous life.

Those things were not exactly wrong, but they were ultimately just bold claims—correct, but useless, offering Gawain no help whatsoever.

However.

While he made no progress with Haki, Akin and Kuro gradually began to exert themselves.

With the boost from the Gawain Emblem, Akin's injuries healed far faster than expected.

After only seven days, he removed the bandages around his body. Though many wounds were still covered in scabs, they no longer affected his normal movements.

Influenced by Gawain and Kuro, Akin gradually began training as well.

At this moment.

At the harbor, the sun blazed overhead, scorching the earth until the air above the ground visibly warped. The cicadas chirping all around only made people more restless.

The pirates had all retreated into the shade to escape the sun. Only Akin remained, throwing punch after punch at a scrapped Pirate Ship.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

His mangled, bloodied fists left one dent after another in the hull.

Under the stimulation of agonizing pain, Akin's mind instead became exceptionally clear.

During this time.

As Akin came to understand the Gawain Pirates better and better, he felt ever more deeply for what Gawain had experienced.

"The kindest pirate captain, the one who treated his men the best, was betrayed by his own crew in a moment of crisis. Forced to raise his sword against them, he changed completely afterward?"

"No wonder Captain Gawain could set aside his prejudice and save me, even though I was his enemy."

"Only those of us who share similar experiences can truly understand one another."

Time slowly passed. No one knew how long it had been.

Bang!

Only after the final punch landed did Akin realize that the distant sun had already withdrawn its last trace of light.

The pain in his fists also made him clearly realize that his body had reached its limit.

If he continued, he might only accumulate more hidden injuries. It was not worth it.

"Whew...!"

Akin let out a long breath and turned to leave.

Thinking of Gawain's fried rice, his heart was filled with something he had never felt before.

Night fell.

Gawain returned to his room after failing to awaken his Haki. Just as he was feeling frustrated, the familiar system prompt sounded in his mind:

"Physique Experience +127!"

"Swordsmanship Experience +8!"

"Shave Experience +22!"

"Observation Haki Experience +44!"

Gawain froze. Once he realized what had happened, his eyes widened.

"Physique Experience increased by 127?!"

"At the recent pace, the experience provided by the other pirates only amounts to a fraction of that."

"In other words, Akin and Kuro alone provided around 120 points of Physique Experience?!"

"Not to mention Shave and Observation Haki!"

"The efficiency of just those two is enough to rival a large pirate crew of several hundred people, and it can even last longer!"

"At this rate, my Physique can rise two levels in a month at most, reaching LV-7? In half a year, I should even be able to challenge LV-10 and obtain a second trait."

"As expected, a crew member with immense potential can provide as much experience as hundreds or even thousands of minnows."

"The gap in talent between individuals in this world is utterly unreasonable."