Chapter 116: Newcomers Joining the Crew
"Ow, ow, ow!" In the training room, Eric was covered in bruises after being beaten by Scáthach . Finally, the devilish training session came to an end, and he went to the medical room to ask Da Vinci to treat his wounds.
"This won't do! How can a brave warrior shout in pain?" Scáthach said with a disapproving look.
Eric retorted, "I'm not afraid of getting hurt in battle, but when I get hurt, it still hurts! If I feel pain and don't shout out, wouldn't that be lying?"
"Hmm, honest? That is indeed a trait of a good person," Scáthach acknowledged.
[Scáthach 's affection increases, Bond level unchanged]
'Scáthach 's affection increased pretty quickly today...'
'Though Scáthach 's bond level is enough for the next summon, there are still many others on this ship who have been saved.'
'There are too many people around. To avoid revealing my secrets, I should wait a little longer to summon. I don't need to rush. The black sword Shusui is the only medium for summoning right now.'
'I wonder what their choices are...'
Scáthach suddenly complimented, "However, from your performance today, Eric , it seems you're more suited to using a spear. Your spear usage was excellent. Although it felt a little awkward at first, after getting used to it, your spear technique didn't look like that of a beginner."
Scáthach 's words interrupted Eric 's thoughts.
"Oh? Uh, thank you for the compliment, Master. I will keep improving!" Eric didn't openly admit that it was the effect of the system changing his attributes.
"Master?" Scáthach blinked in surprise.
"Don't like that title? I'll change it..."
Scáthach quickly denied, "No, I like it. There's just a feeling that this title suits me well."
"That's good..." Eric sighed in relief. He didn't dare call her a "purple-haired BBA," fearing that saying it would turn him into a human kebab.
"Here." Scáthach handed Eric a piece of paper.
"What's this?"
"Your training plan," Scáthach said seriously. "I've already prepared the exercises you need to practice. Just follow this plan to complete it."
"I will! And I'll exceed the training goals, Master!" Eric suddenly became serious and even saluted.
"Is that so?" Scáthach was slightly blushed by Eric calling her "Master" this time. "It would be great if you could meet my training goals. Just be careful not to overtrain and hurt yourself."
At first, Eric was excited about exceeding the training goals, hoping for praise, but the next day, he realized that Scáthach had used her foresight technique [Clairvoyance] to design the training tasks based on his physical limits. No wonder she said, "It's good enough if you complete today's training goals."
Lying on the ground, staring at the ceiling, Eric had no desire to move.
"After intense activity, you shouldn't lie down immediately, Eric -~" Kurumi handed Eric a homemade lemon drink.
"Ugh!" Eric sat up and drank the sports drink, "Thanks, Kurumi, I feel alive again."
"Scáthach - is really something else, designing such intense training for you."
"Can't say that, I'm just an ordinary person with mediocre talents. If I don't work hard, how can I surpass those who are born as monsters?"
"An ordinary person wouldn't awaken the Conqueror's Haki though, would they?"
"Only that one time with you, after that, I couldn't find that feeling again." Eric glanced at his Conqueror's Haki attribute, still stuck at a lonely one star.
"And I want to protect you all, protect this crew. This time, I made Esdeath lose an arm... Even though she didn't scream in pain, her slightly trembling body made me feel guilty and heartbroken."
Hearing this, Kurumi gently sat beside Eric and leaned her back against him.
Eric asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just like this about you, gentle Eric -~" Kurumi tilted her head back, gently touching Eric 's head with hers, "I'll work hard too. Let's do our best together."
The two sat back to back, heads touching, in the quiet training room, feeling a gentle atmosphere that words couldn't describe...
Until Esdeath came and interrupted the warm moment between them. Kurumi and Esdeath, both furious, started fighting again, but no one got hurt, which was a relief.
...
After three more boring days of sailing, according to Da Vinci's calculations, they had traveled nearly three thousand kilometers and finally arrived at the world-renowned Gourmet City.
To hide their identities, Eric didn't enter the dock openly like before, but instead circled to the quieter backside of the island.
At this moment, those ordinary people saved by Eric finally made their choice. Most of them wanted to disembark at Gourmet City, looking for new jobs or saving enough money to return to their hometowns, or perhaps forgetting their painful past and starting anew here.
At least, with the tourism industry booming, they could find work and support themselves.
Eric couldn't be too stingy, so he gave everyone 200,000 Berries as seed money for their new lives.
Although it was a small financial loss, Eric was very happy. This was the first time he had saved slaves in this world, and the sincere gratitude they showed him felt amazing.
He had Da Vinci and Mont Blanc Cricket, who weren't captured in the photos, lead those who wanted to disembark to different busy districts, just in case anyone got any criminal ideas, such as robbing women of their money.
Among the remaining people, aside from a few who wanted to join Eric 's crew, like the male fishman, Lant, and two former celestial dragons' dancing slaves who wanted to join the Dawn Pirates, the rest wanted to live peacefully in the East Blue.
The two dancers, named Carla and Kana, were sisters (not twins).
Eric thought, 'But I guess those troublemakers probably won't dare wander around Sabaody Archipelago anymore. I don't have the strength to go up to the Holy Land and rescue more slaves. For now, I'll settle down and build up enough strength before thinking of a way.'
"Captain, everyone has been sent off," Da Vinci's voice suddenly interrupted Eric 's thoughts.
"I'm done here too, phew," Mont Blanc Cricket's voice came through the communicator, followed by the sound of him exhaling smoke. "I didn't expect to be involved in such a world-shocking event. It's so romantic."
"Hahaha, finally accomplished one thing I had in mind. You guys wait there, Akame and the others will bring the new members to you. Be sure to enjoy the food in Gourmet City."
Eric looked at the three people in front of him and extended his right hand. "Welcome to the Dawn Pirates!"
(END CHAPTER)
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