One Piece: A Guide for Ordinary Players

Without the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the range of his spiritual energy radiation has been drastically reduced. It could only extend seven or eight meters in the air before, but now it can hardly penetrate the seawater.

Until dawn, Robert was unable to break free of the sea's surface, let alone use his Observation Haki to find the fish.

The next morning, Redfield's mocking voice came: "I wonder when I'll get to eat the fish you caught, make breakfast, and then we'll start our morning exercise."

Robert hadn't slept all night and was extremely listless. He forced himself to make breakfast, but kept dozing off while eating.

After finishing his meal, Redfield stretched and walked to the deck on his own.

"Do you know how to use Armament Haki?"

Robert followed behind and shook his head. He had acquired his Observation Haki through reward missions when he broke through level 10, and he estimated that he would not be able to trigger Armament Haki until the level 25 mission.

Redfield sneered: "This is the consequence of relying too much on Devil Fruits. Your physical abilities are clearly very strong. Even though you were severely weakened by Seastone, I think your physique is still several times stronger than that of an ordinary person. Yet you still haven't mastered Armament Haki."

Robert rolled his eyes. You only see my physical strength, but you don't know that it's all thanks to the system upgrades and stat allocation.

I've only been here for a month, and to be able to master Observation Haki is already way beyond my capabilities, okay?

Redfield extended his right hand and slowly wrapped a thin, black, metallic film around his fingertips.

"Everyone is born with an aura of dominance, but some people are more talented and their aura of dominance is easier to awaken, while others are less intelligent and need to put in more effort to cultivate it."

"But in any case, Armament Haki is the easiest to awaken. As long as your physical fitness is strong enough, it can even be developed on its own."

[You have received guidance from the story character Barolok Redfield, and have begun the Armament Haki Awakening Quest.]

[To withstand damage exceeding ten times one's maximum health without the aid of any external force]

[7-day time limit; timer restarts after failure]

Robert swallowed hard. After his Devil Fruit ability was sealed by Seastone, his stamina attribute was reduced to only 30 points. However, his maximum health was due to his maximum stamina of 60 points, and he was also affected by the skill that allowed him to break through the limits of stamina twice, increasing it by 150%!

For the first time, Robert was troubled by his abnormally strong abilities. He glanced at Redfield and asked, "If I were that idiot, how would I awaken Armament Haki?"

Redfield smiled mysteriously, took a few leaves from his pocket, threw them on the ground and they exploded, transforming into five fishmen of different heights.

“Getting beaten up is the best way. I can allow you to rest for four hours every day, but you have to weigh it yourself. You can’t neglect your training in Armament Haki and Observation Haki. In addition, you need to set aside two hours in the afternoon. I will teach you some close combat techniques.”

"We can start now. Hopefully, we can eat the fish you caught before we make our first trip ashore."

Redfield waved to Karina, who had finished clearing the table, and the two began studying the map under the corner sail at the stern.

The burly fishmen remained expressionless. Robert swallowed hard, adopting a look of heroic defiance: "Come on!"

At a command, a short, stocky fishman who looked like Jinbe made the first move, throwing Robert to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.

This attack was like flipping a switch. Several fishmen began to take turns attacking. Robert didn't even need to get up on his own; another person would pull him up from the ground and either punch or kick him, or throw him around.

The fishmen all tacitly refrained from using fishmen karate, instead beating up Robert, who was not fighting back, with the simplest physical techniques.

If it weren't for his powerful stamina, which also brought him strong defense, Robert felt he might have been killed by these fishmen in ten minutes.

Around noon, Karina and Redfield finished their morning discussion and barely recognized Robert when they saw him again.

Even in his most destitute moments, Robert tried his best to present himself in a respectable and clean manner. But just a few hours later, not only was he covered in bruises, but his face was also swollen and bruised, as if there wasn't a single unscathed spot on his body.

"Are you alright? Let's stop practicing, there's no such thing as cultivation!"

Karina felt genuinely sorry for him and instinctively wanted to stop this cruel method of training.

Redfield made no attempt to stop him, only looking at Robert with a mocking expression: "What do you think? Actually, you're strong enough with your Devil Fruit abilities alone, there's really no need for you to suffer like this."

Robert shook his head firmly. Damn it, he'd already taken a beating all morning; wasn't that all sunk costs? If he gave up now, all that beating would have been for nothing!

Seeing Robert's resolute answer, Redfield's smile widened: "Then what are you waiting for? We agreed that you'd be the cook on the ship, so no one else can interfere with the cooking."

Despite the aches and pains that permeated his entire body, Robert walked into the makeshift kitchen that had been temporarily set up on the deck.

Faced with this almost hellish training, cooking time became the rest that Robert longed for.

After dinner, Robert asked Padon to calculate the time and wake him up an hour later, then he fell asleep on the deck.

There is a type of intermittent sleep method that claims to provide more rest than sleeping a full eight hours at a time, by sleeping three to four hours at night and supplementing with one to two hours of sleep during the day.

Some say that Leonardo da Vinci slept for 15 to 20 minutes every four hours. Robert doesn't know if this kind of eccentric sleep method is reliable, but for now, he can only hope that it works.

When Robert is awakened, Redfield begins to teach him some systematic fighting techniques.

In previous battles, Robert rarely dared to engage in close combat, except when using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, because he hadn't fought much since childhood. Now, Redfield, a master of combat, is helping him fill in the gaps in his basic skills.

Robert's mind was practically blank. His daily routine consisted of getting a beating after waking up in the morning, sleeping for an hour after lunch, receiving physical training and getting another beating, fishing after dinner, and resting for three hours before dawn.

The attribute panel only displays basic attributes, but never shows health points. Robert doesn't even know how much health he has, and has no way of estimating whether he can activate Armament Haki after taking enough damage.

Karina and Padon could no longer bear to watch Robert train, so they could only quietly clean his wounds when he started fishing.

The only reason that kept Robert from giving up was that he found the training to be really effective. His Observation Haki, which had been completely ineffective against the seawater at the beginning, was now able to detect depths of up to one meter underwater in just a few days.

Although this level still cannot detect schools of fish, the hardest thing is to go from zero to one. Once you have become one, evolving to S will be a natural progression.

Robert had no energy to think about what Karina had been doing these days until the boat stopped at the shore.

Redfield had Padon disperse the fishmen who were beating Robert, and then smiled at Karina, saying:

"This is the Kingdom of Luoxiuwang, which means light. Now that we're here, we're all on the same starting line."

"Then, the competition officially begins!"

Chapter 10 I treated you as family, but you treated me like a Japanese?

Robert had been beaten so badly these past few days that he was almost numb. When the big man who had been kicking him in circles suddenly disappeared, he was stunned and reacted for a few seconds.

Redfield said, "It's unlikely we'll get any fish thanks to you. Let's go ashore and have something better to eat."

Robert had originally thought that instead of using the time he had to go ashore to improve his meals, he should take a good nap.

But seeing that Padon and Karina were both with Redfield, he felt uneasy and could only sigh and follow them.

Redfield had been imprisoned in Impel Down for too long, and the country had changed so much that he felt somewhat alienated.

Although Karina had never been to the New World, she had read many travelogues before. Like a dutiful granddaughter, she stayed by Redfield's side, recounting the various sights and sounds she had read about in the books.

Although Robert had been busy training these days, he noticed that Redfield was always dragging Karina along to study something. He had a natural distrust of the old man and always felt that while he was scheming against him, Redfield wasn't doing anything good either.

Take the Kingdom of Luo Xiuwang, for example. His decision to come here was definitely not accidental.

This kingdom has a distinctly Nordic feel, and in the small town on the shore where Robert and his crew landed, there stood a church that was far too large.

Redfield explained with a smile, "I visited this country many years ago, and their religious atmosphere is very strong."

Robert's Devil Fruit powers were limited at this point, and he knew that Redfield would be able to read his mind, so he simply stopped analyzing Redfield's motives and asked him directly.

"So your plan is related to religion? Can you tell us about it? Maybe I can be of some help."

Karina smiled and put her arm around Robert's arm: "This is a competition between me and the teacher, so just listen to our arrangements and save your energy for your training camp."

Robert looked puzzled: "Teacher?"

Karina replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, I apprenticed under Mr. Redfield and learned navigation skills from him. My dear, you should also call him teacher, aren't you learning from him too?"

Robert was suddenly enlightened. He realized that he had been so confused by the beatings he had taken the opportunity to become an apprentice. Luckily, Karina was still clear-headed.

Before Redfield could react, Robert had already bowed deeply to him with a beaming smile and sincerely called him "Master."

Redfield accepted his bow as a matter of course, but did not accept the offer of becoming his apprentice. Instead, he said to himself, "Let's rest in the Kingdom of Luoxiuwang for a while. You can rent a courtyard in this town. There are many training programs that cannot be carried out on that small boat."

Robert nodded without hesitation and turned to leave. Only after he had walked quite a distance did he begin to think and analyze Redfield's purpose.

He hadn't been completely oblivious to the other people on the ship these past few days; Karina had been analyzing data and charts with Redfield, but he couldn't directly ask Karina for advice.

Karina's attitude had been quite clear: she wanted to follow Redfield's lead as sincerely as possible, as she had subtly hinted. To avoid suspicion, Karina sometimes even had to explicitly side with him.

So there are some things I can only analyze myself after leaving Redfield's side, such as why they chose to come to this island.

After finally getting a half-day off, Robert didn't rush to rent a house as Redfield had instructed. Instead, he went to the very conspicuous church first.

The world of One Piece contains many Christian elements, such as the cross that Hawkeye loves most and the Bible that Bartholomew Kuma always carries.

The church was also a Christian church. Robert himself did not understand Christian culture. He just wandered around the church like a curious tourist, asked a kind pastor where he could rent a house, and then slowly left.

Robert informed Karina of the location of her new residence via Den Den Mushi, and then directed the crew that Padon conjured to sail the ship to the vicinity of the rented seaside courtyard.

Redfield and the others were still in town and hadn't returned, so Robert simply went back to fishing.

Just as Robert cast his line, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't baited the hook yet. Just as he was about to lift the rod, he suddenly sensed something approaching from underwater.

This feeling is extremely mysterious, as if the fishhook has become an eye, observing the underwater world on your behalf.

Just as Robert was about to grasp this feeling, he suddenly broke free from that mysterious state due to his deliberate actions.

Robert was not only not regretful, but also very excited. This was the first time he had sensed something underwater without the help of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, relying solely on his Observation Haki.

It wasn't until almost dinner time that the group leisurely found the place Robert had just rented.

Seeing Robert fishing on his own initiative, Redfield's lips curled up slightly.

Robert, carrying a wooden bucket, greeted him like a treasure: "Master, look! I knew I couldn't catch any bass at sea! They're nearshore fish! I caught over a dozen in one afternoon right by the shore!"

Redfield didn't even glance at the barrel: "What's the use of catching a lot of fish if they don't meet the weight requirement?"

Let Padon and Karina go to the boat to pack their things, while Redfield led Robert to a flat beach.

"Today's Armament Haki training took a little longer, but it's okay. The initial phase of simply getting beaten up was about over anyway."

Robert suddenly had a bad feeling that all the beatings he had taken might have been for nothing.

"The most talented people can awaken Armament Haki without doing anything, while the slightly less talented can awaken it after being beaten up for a few days. The most dangerous ones are like you."

Redfield pointed at Robert: "You went astray right from the start, only wanting to rely on your Devil Fruit ability while neglecting your own development. The stronger your Devil Fruit ability becomes, the greater the obstacles you need to overcome when developing yourself."

Robert has already felt it; because the freedom attribute provided by the Devil Fruit power has doubled, the beatings he's about to suffer have also increased exponentially.

Redfield changed the subject: "You've had your turn to suffer for a few days, that's enough. Today, our practical lesson will focus on defense."

After digesting the afternoon's learning, Robert felt that the beating he had taken a few days ago was indeed for nothing.

He had relied entirely on his Devil Fruit ability in previous battles, and his attacks were straightforward, with no way to deflect or defend when being hit.

Without a teacher's hands-on guidance, how many beatings would I have to endure before figuring out how to take a beating without feeling pain?

Life went on as usual, but the training location changed from the sea to the seaside, and the practical training was changed to early in the morning.

After the lesson, Redfield would take Karina and Padon out, and no one knew where they went, leaving Robert alone to train at the residence.

With Robert's current high attributes, he can learn combat skills very quickly. In just two weeks, he has already been able to skillfully combine Observation Haki with attack and defense in actual combat.