"Not again..." Spes grunted, his face pressed against the cold wooden floor.
"I didn't know she was holding back so much!" he thought as he slowly stood, returning to a fighting stance, his sword pointed at Crystal in front of him.
"Not bad... You've truly mastered basic swordsmanship," Crystal said, spinning her sword in her hands before readying herself for another round.
[[Warning: Brace for impact!!]]
The Seed's voice suddenly resounded in his head as Crystal took a step forward. Her silver eyes narrowed, her hair fluttered, and within the span of a single breath, Crystal vanished from Spes's sight, an ominous feeling building in the young man's gut.
[[Melee Hit Incoming! Recipient's Left Side!!!]]
[[Directive: Low Parry]]
Spes immediately turned left, guided by the Seed's combat assistance. The Seed's predictions were accurate; as he completed his turn, Crystal was already there, her sword aiming for an undercut toward his ribs.
Of course, Spes had anticipated the move. He steeled himself, grunted, and shifted his body, attempting a parry with his sword.
Unfortunately for him, before he could fully extend his arm, Crystal's cold blade had already reached him, its edge stopping just in time against his white shirt.
"You'll need a lot more practice," she said, retracting her sword and stepping out of melee range.
"You have good combat sense, but your body can't keep up with your reaction time."
"I'll have to report to Decus on your performance."
"Until then, you'll have to get more used to wielding the sword," Crystal added, gesturing for the young man to come at her again.
For the next few hours, old Captain Oblitus's hysterical laughter echoed every time Spes's body was flung to the floor.
"Ah... dem yung'uns. Reminds me of dem days I sailed through dem seas in dem good ol' times," Oblitus smiled, revealing a single tooth hanging alone in his empty mouth.
"Ya know, before the goddamn war, me baby would be filled with all kinds of exotic goods!" Oblitus turned his head, speaking to Decus, who was watching the small battle below.
"Even dem wood dwarves." He pointed his shriveled hand at the dwarves silently cleaning the deck.
"I brought dem all from da East..."
"Dem was good days..." The old man sighed, tapping the ship's helm.
"Change..." Decus smiled wryly, his gaze turning upward, staring blankly at the sky.
"Hehe, yeah, dem things really did change." The old man laughed, spinning the ship's helm.
The day passed quickly for everyone, especially for Crystal and Spes. Hours of training seemed like minutes. Under the setting sun, the two parted ways—the young man heading back to his cabin, while the beautiful Crystal walked toward Decus and Oblitus.
"I told you. He's a genius," Decus said, turning toward Crystal as she walked up the stairs.
"..." Crystal said nothing until she reached Decus, leaning her arms on the wooden rail.
"His body is slow. What's his Physique?" she asked.
"It's a Mortal Tier One."
"Shame..." Crystal whispered.
"He'll still be a very powerful knight once he breaks through. Even better than us back then," Decus said with a wry smile.
"You may be right, but with his Physique, being a Greater Knight will forever be out of his reach," Crystal replied, shaking her head.
"We'll never know... The kid tends to show us miracles," Decus laughed, remembering how Spes managed to defeat his captain.
Crystal glared at him, sneering quietly before returning to her cabin.
Meanwhile, as Decus made his way through the ship's narrow halls to his own cabin, he crossed paths with a figure he hadn't seen in a while.
"Vota!!" Spes's eyes lit up at the sight of his fat friend.
"Where have you been!? Didn't you say you'd be training me?"
Hearing Spes, Vota's face turned pale as he mumbled weakly, "Um... I've been feeling quite seasick... I think our training will resume once we get to land..."
Without waiting for Spes to respond, Vota quickly walked away, leaving the young man standing alone, slightly stunned.
"Weird..." he thought, heading back to his cabin.
Once inside, Spes immediately jumped onto the small bed and stretched out.
"Ahhhh! Finally, some rest!" he grunted with satisfaction.
"There's no time for rest, Spes. You have to be consistent with your daily meditation sessions," Liber's robotic voice resounded in his head as Spes was about to lay down, enjoying the warm sunrays from the nearby window.
"..."
"I almost forgot about that..." Spes sighed, thinking of the long day he'd already had. Even after all that, he had to return to training. Still, as reluctant as he felt, he sat on the bed and adopted a cross-legged pose.
"Hehe, got you right there!" Liber laughed, making Spes raise an eyebrow.
"Project 2.1 has been completed!"
"Project 2.1?" Spes repeated, confused by what his other self meant.
"The Automated Ki Redirection Module!"
"Ah, right!" Spes's eyes brightened as he finally remembered the task the Seed had initiated the day before.
Liber sighed, sending the information about the module in case Spes hadn't fully recalled what had happened.
The Automated Ki Redirection Module
Description: Using the Seed's advanced sensors, Ki is detected, gathered, and redirected toward the recipient's Dantian.
"Activate it, then!" Spes rubbed his hands together, eager to see the module's effects.
"It has already been activated."
"Huh?" Spes frowned in confusion.
"It has been active since this morning. I didn't tell you because I wanted to test whether you or anyone else could notice the changes in the surrounding Ki."
"And my theory proved correct. Unless in a meditative state, a person cannot perceive the movement of Ki."
Spes then sent his Spiritual Sense toward his Dantian to check for any changes.
"My Dantian... It's fully nourished!" Spes smiled widely, seeing strands of floating Ki in his Dantian. Ki that would usually disappear to nourish the Dantian now remained, meaning his Dantian was fully developed.