Chapter 34: The Weekly Assessment Arrives! Traversing the Frozen Winter Island!
Page 1 of 3
Chapter 34: The Weekly Assessment Begins! Crossing the Frozen Winter Island!
Cui Ze had no idea that the Admiral was about to “arrange” things for him.
Yesterday afternoon.
Thanks to the sudden increase in his Strength attribute, Cui Ze went on a killing spree in the ingredient-processing room. His fish-killing speed soared, and he harvested a total of forty F-rank Baits.
It was the peak achievement of a legendary fish butcher!
That evening, Cui Ze went to the weapons workshop and collected the two new weapons he had commissioned from the old marine.
A short flintlock pistol.
A fish-bone slingshot.
While Vice Admiral Tsuru and Instructor Zephyr were discussing official matters, Cui Ze was in the shooting range practicing with his two newly acquired weapons.
As for the short flintlock pistol, Cui Ze fired only one magazine. After discovering that its accuracy was essentially flawless, he casually tucked the weapon into his waistband.
The fish-bone slingshot was the real focus of his practice.
With the assistance of Precise Shooting, Cui Ze’s proficiency with the slingshot rose rapidly. Before long, he had the weapon under control.
Within a range of ten meters, its accuracy was comparable to that of a musket!
That was good enough!
After half a morning had passed, Cui Ze finished testing his new weapons and turned toward the warship’s close-combat training room. He had yet to test the ability trait he had newly obtained: Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery!
His gaze swept across the bustling training room. Cui Ze quickly found his target and walked over with a brilliant smile.
“Vergo, my good brother! Let’s practice martial arts together!”
Cui Ze’s target was Vergo, who had a small octopus sausage stuck to his face.
“I practice martial arts, while you practice Iron Body. It’s a win-win situation!”
Vergo: You son of a—! You—
…
Vice Admiral Tsuru came and went in a hurry.
The moods of the young female marines were like those of ardent fans abandoned by their idol: dejected and dazed. As a result, their training efficiency dropped noticeably.
Cui Ze, on the other hand, felt nothing at all. He continued improving his abilities in every aspect.
Just like that, another three days passed.
The Marine training ship stopped beside a small island covered in snow and ice.
The climate of the Grand Line was bizarre and unpredictable. However, the weather on most islands was relatively stable and could generally be divided into four types: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Of course, there were also a tiny number of extreme exceptions, such as Wano Country and the Island of Forty-Eight Seasons.
Page 1 of 3
Page 2 of 3
At that moment, the island approached by the Marine training ship was a typical “winter island”!
And this winter island was the venue for the training camp’s weekly assessment!
“Cadets, this uninhabited island of ice and snow is the first stage of your weekly assessment!”
Instructor Shuzo stood in the most conspicuous spot on the warship’s deck and delivered the announcement to the neatly assembled marine soldiers.
“The first stage is called ‘Crossing the Deserted Island’!
“Within a single day, you must cross this small island covered in ice and snow. During the journey, you will have to deal with the bitter cold, snow and ice, hunger, and every other problem on your own!
“Before setting foot on the island, each of you may choose three items to bring along. They may be cold-weather clothing, firearms and ammunition, cooking utensils, or anything else—but you may carry only three items!
“Five o’clock this afternoon is the deadline. Any cadet who has not crossed the deserted island and reached the opposite end by then will fail this weekly assessment!
“Finally, a friendly reminder!”
Instructor Shuzo folded his arms across his chest and gave the marine soldiers a chilling smile.
“This island of ice and snow is close to the Kingdom of the Future! Yes, that’s right—the homeland of Dr. Vegapunk!
“Before joining the World Government, Dr. Vegapunk was active in his homeland for many years and subjected quite a few of the creatures in the Kingdom of the Future to ‘technological modifications’!
“Therefore, the enemies you will face while crossing this island will not merely be harsh natural disasters. You will also encounter technologically modified beasts created by Dr. Vegapunk!
“Now, the assessment begins!”
After receiving their orders, the marine soldiers immediately left the deck of the Marine warship and ran toward the snow-covered island below.
Cui Ze, brimming with excitement, mingled with the crowd.
At last, the first weekly assessment had arrived! He would finally have a brief period of free activity!
In other words, the bait he had accumulated over so many days could finally be put to use!
Breathing evenly, Cui Ze charged into the inner forest of the frozen island at astonishing speed, leaving most of the training camp’s members behind.
And most importantly, this island was close to the Kingdom of the Future—the homeland of the super-scientist Dr. Vegapunk!
Who knew what sort of ability traits he might fish up?
As he stepped into the deep forest of the winter island, Cui Ze quickly slowed down. His Enhanced Hearing and the extraordinary vision granted by Sniper operated simultaneously, keeping constant watch over everything around him.
“This range still isn’t large enough!”
Cui Ze stood where he was as the various techniques of Beast Breathing surfaced in his mind.
“Beast Breathing: Seventh Form—Spatial Perception!”
An invisible wave of air spread outward from Cui Ze in all directions, rapidly giving him a rough understanding of everything within several hundred meters.
“There are no large beasts nearby! I can fish safely!”
Cui Ze withdrew Beast Breathing.
This breathing technique, which had once provided him with a tremendous boost, now offered only a negligible improvement to his physical abilities after all three of his primary combat attributes had reached D rank.
Even so, Cui Ze continued to hone the techniques of Beast Breathing.
Page 2 of 3
Page 3 of 3
After all, Beast Breathing did more than merely enhance his physical abilities.
It was also an accelerator for training Iron Body!
By now, Cui Ze could maintain Beast Breathing continuously throughout the day. However, he still found it difficult to maintain the required frequency while sleeping at night. He was still a considerable distance away from achieving “Total Concentration: Constant.”
Cui Ze summoned the light screen and looked at all the bait he currently possessed.
Through his efforts over the past few days, his total stock of bait had reached—
Two hundred and forty F-rank Bait!
An unprecedentedly enormous quantity!
“Although I have a great deal of bait, the abilities of F-rank items are no longer particularly useful to me at this stage.”
Cui Ze pondered silently.
“I’d better fuse them first!”
Of the two hundred and forty F-rank Bait, two hundred had come from miscellaneous fish and sea beasts, while the remaining forty had come from the pirates previously connected to the Donquixote Family. All of them could be considered mid-grade F-rank Bait.
After a round of fusion, the two hundred and forty mid-grade F-rank Bait in Cui Ze’s possession transformed into fifteen top-grade E-rank Bait.
“An odd number of bait… Then I’ll fish once first!”
Cui Ze took out an E-rank Bait. This time, he did not even bother checking the size of the Goddess of Fortune and began fishing immediately.
[Type of catch obtained this time: Item]
[E-rank Item: Health Band]
[Source: A Certain Magical Index series]
[Description: A wearable smart device]
[Effects: 1. This wristband can automatically record real-time data from daily exercise, sleep, breathing, heart rate, and more; 2. Solar-powered, waterproof, and cold-resistant]
[Evaluation: I’m a boy with a little hair tie now too~]
“It’s just the right tool for improving Beast Breathing! Looks like my luck is pretty good today!”
A pure-black smart wristband instantly materialized in Cui Ze’s palm. Its screen, brimming with futuristic technology, was set into the band and was roughly the width of a finger.
Without a close look, one might mistake it for a black woven bracelet.
“The important thing is…
“The Kingdom of the Future is actually connected to the world of A Certain Magical Index?!
“Then can I fish up Railgun?”
“Whether it’s Big Sis or Little Sis, I’m fine with either one!!”
End of Chapter.