Chapter 10: Summary of Experiences! Condensing Traits! (Seeking Favorites, Seeking Recommendations)

Chapter 10: Experience Summarized! Traits Crystallized!

The air rippled with the gentle, humid scent of the ocean—warm and intoxicating. Between waking and sleeping, Cui Ze felt the bed swaying, much like the rhythmic rocking of a ship.

"Don't bother me..."

With his eyes closed and brows furrowed, Cui Ze, sprawled across the large bed in a spread-eagled "Ben" shape, instinctively reached out to pull someone into his arms.

*Huh!?*

*That's not right!*

*I remember smashing Kaido with a slash!*

Cui Ze, who had been having a pleasant dream just a second ago, jolted awake.

Reflected in his deep brown pupils was not the dark, cavernous void from before he closed his eyes, but rather a ceiling of unfamiliar, dark brown wooden planks.

Cui Ze pushed himself up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that every inch of his exposed skin was wrapped in bandages, not a finger left uncovered. He was in a simple, functional cabin. The walls were made entirely of wood, and the air was filled with the scent of seawater and a faint trace of antiseptic—not unpleasant.

Bright sunlight streamed through a square window the size of a basin, the pale golden beams appearing almost solid. Outside the window, there was nothing but a vast expanse of azure blue.

*I was saved...*

In a brief moment, Cui Ze reached this conclusion. Judging by the gentle swaying of the bed, he was clearly still on a ship.

*It’s the Navy!*

Having reached this second conclusion, Cui Ze felt as though he had finally found a trustworthy organization. His body went limp, and he collapsed back onto the bed, his nerves, taut for days, finally finding complete relaxation.

Only then did Cui Ze feel the throbbing pain radiating from his bones into his brain, along with the hunger screaming from every single cell in his body.

He was in pain and starving!

But it wasn't as painful as he had imagined. The hunger, however, was very real.

Cui Ze suppressed the bile rising in his throat and lifted his bandaged hand, flexing his fingers repeatedly. His little right hand was perfectly fine. So was his little left.

"I remember getting smashed into the base of a mountain by that old brute Kaido with his club... If I’m not talking about 'shattered meridians' or 'broken bones everywhere,' this outcome should have been impossible... Why does it just feel like I haven't eaten in a few days? Wait! How long have I been unconscious?"

There was no one to answer the questions in Cui Ze's mind. For now, there was no answer.

Without rushing to get out of bed, Cui Ze let his mind flash back to the experiences on the zombie island before calling up the light screen.

The content refreshed on the screen was astonishing.

[You used the E-rank item "Tanjiro Kamado's Special Rice Ball" on the young female Ghost and young male Ghost!]

[You used the E-rank item "Nezuko Kamado's Bamboo Muzzle" on the young female Ghost and young male Ghost!]

[Your F-rank item "Gas Mask" was completely destroyed in battle!]

[Your E+ rank item "Nichirin Sword (Beast Breathing)" was lost in battle!]

[You have comprehended "Beast Breathing: Total Concentration." Your F-rank ability "Beast Breathing" has been upgraded to F+!]

[You failed in your battle against the A-rank powerhouse "Kaido," and failed to obtain the Victory Bait!]

[You have completely departed the zombie island... Summarizing experience... Your gains are as follows:]

[You killed a large number of low-level zombies and obtained the F-rank information trait "Zombie Slayer"!]

[F-rank Trait: Zombie Slayer]

[Trait Effect: Slightly increases damage dealt to zombies and other undead creatures.]

[Trait Evaluation: In the past, you needed a heavy hammer blow to kill a zombie; now, you only need eight-ninths of that force to finish it off.]

[You caused a massive explosion and obtained the F-rank information trait "Blazing Skies"!]

[F-rank Trait: Blazing Skies]

[Trait Effect: Self-influence increased, Command attribute gains +1 F-rank bonus.]

[Trait Evaluation: A minor arsonist not worth mentioning.]

[After surviving a grueling four days and three nights, your E-rank talent "Toughness" has improved, and your Durability attribute gains +2 E-rank bonus.]

[You saved a Slit-Mouthed Woman ghost and a Half-Brained ghost and obtained the D-rank information trait "Friend of Freaks"!]

[D-rank Trait: Friend of Freaks]

[Trait Effect: Makes it easier to gain favor with creatures of sinister and terrifying appearance.]

[Trait Evaluation: Your strangeness is my favorite.]

[You faced the Yonko "Kaido" head-on and survived. You obtained the C-rank ability trait "Dauntless Courage" and the C-rank information trait "The Emperor's Defeated Foe"!]

[C-rank Trait: Dauntless Courage]

[Trait Effect: 1. Self-Command attribute gains +1 C-rank bonus; 2. Hidden Spirit attribute gains +1 C-rank bonus. Simultaneously grants immunity to all mental-type impacts of C-rank and below, including but not limited to aura, intimidation, and eye contact.]

[Trait Evaluation: A tiger or leopard cub may not have its stripes yet, but it already possesses the spirit to eat an ox.]

[C-rank Trait: The Emperor's Defeated Foe]

[Trait Effect: 1. Self-influence increased, Command attribute gains +1 C-rank bonus; 2. Your reputation begins to spread across the Grand Line, and you will be noticed by certain interested parties.]

[Trait Evaluation: We failed to penetrate the enemy's armor.]

The information refreshing on the light screen was far too much at once. Cui Ze simply closed the notifications and switched to his attribute panel to view the overall changes.

—
Name: Cui Ze Fate
Strength: F+
Durability: E+
Agility: F+
Command: C+
Haki: Not awakened
Luck: D (Bonus applied)
Talent Traits: "Visitor from the Otherworld" (EX), "Wild Body" (EX), "Toughness" (E)
Ability Traits: "Fishing" (EX), "Dauntless Courage" (C), "Acute Hearing" (E), "Beast Breathing: Total Concentration" (F+)
Information Traits: "The Emperor's Defeated Foe" (C), "Friend of Freaks" (D), "Zombie Slayer" (F), "Blazing Skies" (F)
Item Traits: Victory Bait (0)
Overall Evaluation: D
—

"Excluding Haki and Luck, all other attributes have seen an overall increase, with the Command attribute seeing the most significant boost! Strength and Agility seem to be natural growth, which is also the slowest."

"The effect of the talent trait 'Toughness' has improved, enhancing my endurance; I've obtained a new ability trait 'Dauntless Courage,' and 'Beast Breathing' has leveled up!"

"I obtained four information traits at once: 'The Emperor's Defeated Foe,' 'Friend of Freaks,' 'Zombie Slayer,' and 'Blazing Skies'!"

"My overall evaluation has skyrocketed from F to D!"

Cui Ze looked at the massive changes on the light screen, his eyes bright. What excited him most wasn't just the number of new traits, the increased power, or the higher evaluation.

What truly thrilled Cui Ze was that he had finally found a regular way to obtain light screen traits!

The light screen message flow stated it clearly: "Summarizing experience" leads to "Crystallizing traits"!

"Hoo..."

Cui Ze let out a long breath. Now, he was no longer just an ordinary angler relying solely on "Fishing" to get by.

"But then again, to get so many high-level abilities just from being hammered by Kaido a few times—this trade isn't a loss at all!"

"It's just that the 'interested parties' mentioned in 'The Emperor's Defeated Foe' are a bit strange..."

"A guy defeated by a Yonko... Does this seem like a hidden condition for becoming a Warlord of the Sea?"

"The two longest-serving Warlords, 'Sand Crocodile' Crocodile and Gecko Moria, both seem to fit this. The former lost an arm to Whitebeard and completely lost his spirit; the latter's crew was wiped out in Wano, and he degenerated into a fat otaku who collects figures..."

"Whatever, no need to worry about such trivial matters!"

Cui Ze closed the panel and rubbed his stomach, which was churning with acid. To have been hammered by Kaido and covered in bandages, yet still be this energetic—it was undoubtedly his EX-rank "Wild Body" at work!

*Click, click!*

Cui Ze rolled out of bed, twisted his still-sore neck, and stepped toward the door.

"This EX-rank talent fished up with a Devil Fruit is truly strong! And it doesn't have the fatal weakness of fearing the sea!"

"In other words, I've obtained a protagonist-level recovery talent."

"No matter how intense the fight is, just sleep it off, eat well, and I'll be fine overnight!"

"You've got the Golden Leg~ I've got the Iron Head~ Invincible Iron Head~"

Cui Ze walked to the center of the room. Before he even reached the door, it was pushed open from the outside.

A young girl entered along with a fresh, crisp sea breeze.

Beneath a blue-and-white Navy recruit cap was a gorgeous, dashing mane of long, straight light-pink hair. Her fair, delicate face was accented by a pair of glistening ink-black eyes. Looking further down, her lithe, well-proportioned figure was wrapped in a crisp, white Navy uniform, and beneath her extremely short white hot pants was a pair of long, snow-white legs.

Cui Ze fell silent instantly, looking toward the door. He blinked, vaguely recognizing her, but unable to confirm her identity.

Fortunately, she spoke first, her voice soft and charming.

"Oh? You're awake? Hina is happy. Instructor Z has asked that I bring you to see him the moment you wake up."

"Hello, Miss Hina," Cui Ze feigned confusion. "But Instructor Z?"

"Instructor Z is the Chief Instructor of the Navy recruit training camp and also a Navy Headquarters Admiral. Hina admires Instructor Z very much," Hina said, not hiding her worship of Z. "Also, it was Instructor Z who brought you to the training camp."

Hearing this, Cui Ze lowered his eyelids, his gaze flickering slightly.

*Z didn't just see me as a 'patient,' but wants to 'bring me into the training camp'?*