Klein wore a smug grin as he demonstrated proudly:
"Tekkai is strong and hard! Bullets can't pierce it, blades can't cut it!"
"Absolutely essential for survival on the battlefield!"
"But that's not all. Tekkai has endless hidden uses. It's a blessing for men… a guarantee of satisfaction for women! Unlock your masculine potential to the fullest..."
The way he hyped it up, Tekkai practically glittered in the spotlight, like it was the must-have technique of every great Marine sailing the seas.
Then you're outdated. Weak!
You belong at the kiddie table.
But when Klein started talking about the other uses of Tekkai, several female trainees blushed furiously, some openly, others muttering under their breath that Klein was "such a perv!"
What a moral landslide...
Still, after Klein's suggestive derailment, plenty of people couldn't help but imagine:
'If you actually used Tekkai during... bedroom activities...'
What would that be like??
Even if it's not useful now, surely one day it will be!
Little did they know...
Tekkai locks your body in place when activated. Unless you've mastered it to an extreme level, you can't move at all while using it.
So yeah—using it in bed? Not really an option.
Still, when you're selling something, you never mention the flaws. That's how you create desire.
"Tekkai's the real deal! I have to learn it!! A real man must master Tekkai!!!"
"The instructor said it himself—a proper Marine needs a strong body. It's definitely not just about personal enjoyment. Klein, can I get a 10% discount?"
"I can't wait to learn Tekkai, hehehehehe—"
"I wanna be a man of steel!" ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱
Even Garp, Sengoku, and Tsuru were dumbfounded watching this unfold.
The trainees were swarming around Klein, all rushing to sign up.
Not everyone was as focused on pure strength like Garp, Sengoku, or Tsuru.
Come on—how many people really have iron-hard willpower?
Garp muttered with a dark expression, "Women are just a distraction from my Tekkai training!"
Sengoku glanced at the brooding man beside him, only to see Garp's face shift into utter frustration:
"Damn it! Klein's already mastered Tekkai. In our match next month…"
Garp's eyes lit up with determination. He clenched his fists. "No way am I losing to that ponytail punk! I'm gonna train! I still have a month—Tekkai, here I come!!"
With that, he turned on his heel and stormed off toward the scrap shipyard.
"I've made up my mind! I'm pulling an all-nighter tonight! So long as I don't die—I'll train 'til I drop!"
Fired up by Klein, Garp couldn't calm down. He needed an outlet.
He needed to level up.
Sengoku followed closely behind. He really wanted Klein to give him some pointers on Tekkai...
Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to write Klein an IOU.
Now that the Rokushiki training course was officially open, Klein's daily workload had skyrocketed—but he couldn't have been happier.
Nobody had signed up for the Ultimate Annual Pass yet, but a few trainees had bought the seasonal card. Add in all the other little income streams…
Today alone, Klein made millions of Beli!!
His biggest haul yet!!!
"With this cash, I can fund over a month's worth of pay-to-win upgrades! Being rich feels amazing!!" Klein practically floated as he walked.
He was feeling light as a feather.
He even started daydreaming:
"Once I show off the rest of Rokushiki, even more trainees will sign up. Stretch it out for a few months... wait for the next crop of suckers—"
"Once the new batch of trainees graduates, I'll be free..."
"Then I'll try to score a Vice Admiral title. After that, bust some pirates, pocket a few bribes, take some 'processing fees'—make a comfy side income!"
"Next goal: pure gold, hehehehehe—"
"Living the good life? Now that's the dream!"
When Klein first got isekai'd into the One Piece world, before he awakened the system, his only goal was to survive safely.
But now that he had a system?
His dreams had to keep up with the times! Fighting pirates and risking your life out at sea? Nah. Not Klein's style.
He knew just how dull and joyless that life really was.
He got isekai'd—wasn't the whole point to enjoy himself?
So many beauties out there on the Grand Line—how could he not stop by to check on their wellbeing?
It'd be wrong not to.
This world's cuisine was insanely rich, and best of all—no such thing as "protected species." That means he could eat whatever he wanted!
Bro, treating yourself well beats everything else!!
After wrapping up the day's training and massage sessions, Klein returned to his dorm, took a hot shower, and plopped into bed.
Time for his daily TIMI session.
Buy those daily bundles! Open those daily bundles!
Every day, the mission was the same—snag the discount packs and wipe out all the little red dots on the game interface.
Klein had a bit of OCD, so those red dots had to go.
His game character hit level 15—and immediately, the system kicked in.
A surge of power rushed into his body, enhancing and transforming every inch of his physique.
Klein could clearly feel his muscles and flesh growing stronger.
In the game, it gets harder to level up the higher you go, but the returns grow bigger too—meaning the real-world feedback gets stronger.
He even grew about one centimeter taller. In the past few months, he'd gained several.
He really hoped those centimeters were in the right places.
Anyway, back on topic.
[Feature Unlocked: Faction System!]
Another new feature unlocked. Klein's face twitched. New features always meant new ways to drain his wallet.
Following the in-game guide...
He opened the "Faction" screen. One side was a snowy wasteland. The other, molten lava.
Only two faction choices: Pirate Faction or Marine Faction.
No options for national forces, bounty hunters, or the underworld.
Klein checked the descriptions:
Pirates form their own crews and set out to sea. You can recruit crewmates at the tavern and train them.
Clear Marine missions and challenge pirate stages to raise your bounty, gain experience, earn loot, and unlock titles, etc.
Titles included, but weren't limited to: "Supernova," "Warlord of the Sea," "Emperor of the Sea," and "Pirate King!"
On the other hand, Marine faction was about catching pirates, doing quests, earning military merit, rising in rank, and recruiting fellow Marine fighters. Same deal—XP, items, titles.
But titles were all military ranks—the usual Marine hierarchy.
"I'm already a Marine in real life. Picking the same in-game sounds boring. Pirate Faction it is," Klein decided.
[You have chosen: Pirate Faction]
[Name your pirate crew:]
"Hmm... what should I call it?"
"Naming stuff is so hard for someone like me—ugh—"
"I got it! Let's go with: The Amazon Pirates."
"Except for me, every crew member has to be a girl!! Also... let's just say this 'Amazon' isn't only about women, hehehehe—"
"Why? Because I'm a man, that's why."
Sure, it's just a game, but part of the fun is building your collection, right?
Klein had no interest in sailing around with a bunch of weirdos. Especially...
Newhumans. (You know the ones.)