NOVEL WEB Chapter 17: Chapter 17: You Learned It Just Like That?
The light-blue system panel appeared before Gawain:
Host: Gawain
Age: 24
Identity: Captain of the Gawain Pirates
Skills:
Swordsmanship - LV 5: 1021/1600 (Godspeed) Physique - LV 5: 280/1600 (Balance) Navigation - LV 1: 12/100 Silent Step - LV 1: 3/200
Badges:
Captain's Wrath: Crew stamina recovery speed +20% Rising Fame: View latent potential
Rating: Bronze - A notable figure in the Four Seas and Paradise, but in the New World, you'd better keep a low profile.
With Silent Step's awakening, Gawain's rating finally advanced to Bronze.
"Finally shed the weakling label. Not easy," Gawain smiled faintly.
A flood of Silent Step experience surged into his mind.
His legs warmed, a tingling itch spreading as if countless ants crawled beneath his skin, sparking spasms of pain.
Silent Step was reshaping his leg muscles and structure for optimal performance.
Minutes later, the changes stopped.
His legs felt longer, lighter.
Instinctively, he stepped forward, appearing meters away in a flash.
"This move needs practice!"
Gawain entered the training room to master his new skill, vanishing with a single step.
The next moment…
Boom!
He crashed spread-eagled into the wall. Even his enhanced body felt the jolt, though his physique spared him injury.
Dusty but undeterred, Gawain mused, "Silent Step's only LV 1, but my speed seems faster than Kuro's—and harder to control."
"Still, perception at high speed isn't an issue. I just need to get used to it."
"Practice!"
The training room echoed with familiar crashes.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
…
The relentless impacts mirrored Kuro's training days ago.
In the infirmary, ship's doctor Jaka, fresh from checking wounds, frowned at the noise. "The vice-captain's at it again?"
"I told him broken bones take half a month to heal, but he won't listen."
"Sigh, only someone that reckless could gain such monstrous strength. Right, Iso?"
Jaka turned to nurse Iso, only to see Kuro lying silently on a bed.
Baffled, he asked, "If it's not the vice-captain, who's in there?"
"I'd like to know too," Kuro said, his face dark, Gawain's image flashing in his mind.
"No way it's him… no way…"
"No matter what, learning my years-honed technique after watching it a few times is absurd!"
"Is it the Nyaban Brothers? Jango?"
Kuro's mind raced. Ignoring his injuries, he limped to the training room.
A crowd had gathered outside. Kuro shoved past the Nyaban Brothers, his eyes trembling as he peered inside.
"That's not the vice-captain? Who else knows Silent Step?" Jango asked, puzzled.
Having seen Kuro use it countless times, he recognized the move instantly.
But if not Kuro, who?
The Nyaban Brothers exchanged confused glances with Kuro.
Bandaged and hobbling, Kuro looked incapable of fighting.
"Then who's in there…" Sam and Buchi muttered, turning to Kuro.
"I want to know too…" Kuro gritted his teeth.
Most of his old crew was here.
Those absent were either injured or lacked the aptitude for Silent Step.
It couldn't be his veterans. That left Gawain's original crew—or Gawain himself!
"Learn my trump card by watching a few times? That's a sick joke!"
All eyes turned to the training room.
As time passed, the afterimage inside moved faster, with fewer wall collisions.
Half an hour later, only a flickering shadow remained, its mastery of Silent Step surpassing even Kuro's.
The figure slowed, revealing a tall, lean man with flowing muscles and a striking face—none other than Gawain.
Seeing the crowd, Gawain frowned. "What are you all doing here? Not training? Or do I need to push you?"
The crew scattered, leaving only the four at the front staring at Gawain.
"You've fully mastered Silent Step? Without losing control like Kuro?" Jango's jaw dropped, forced to accept the truth.
"And if I'm not mistaken, the captain's been mostly guiding us, barely training himself!" Sam exclaimed, his shock turning to dread.
Mastering Kuro's prized technique so quickly, with greater finesse, marked Gawain as a different breed.
The crew's gazes toward Kuro held a hint of pity.
Kuro's face paled, his last illusions shattered.
He realized why Gawain had mentored him.
Gawain had mastered Silent Step first—without even awakening Observation Haki!
When Kuro fully mastered it, how far ahead would Gawain be?
Kuro was so stunned he didn't notice his glasses slipping.
"When did you learn it?"
"Just now."
"Never before?"
"Nope."
Kuro fell silent, his eyes hollow.
Gawain patted his shoulder and left.
The Nyaban Brothers gave Kuro a sympathetic look before heading to the deck.
Gawain's progress pressured them. Falling too far behind meant losing value to the crew.
In the pirate world, that meant abandonment.
Kuro stood at the training room door, nearly grinding his teeth to dust.
Minutes later, he pushed up his glasses, face grim, and stormed to the infirmary.
"I don't care how, but I'm training again in three days!"
"Impossible!" Jaka threw up his hands.
Furious, Kuro ignored him, desperate to awaken the legendary Observation Haki.
"I don't care!"
"You have three days, or I'll throw you overboard to the fish!"
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