“Foxy, up so early again?”
After finishing his morning task of fetching water, Foxy walked back home to prepare for his next training session. Along the way, some villagers greeted him with simple smiles.
“Morning, Ernster.”
Waving his hand, Foxy smiled at an uncle stretching in his tiny courtyard, though his smile looked a bit lecherous due to his appearance.
“Brat, I’m your uncle.”
Ernster, over fifty years old, put on a severe face.
“You’re still fit for your age, but be careful with your back.”
Foxy chuckled and winked his triangular eyes at Ernster.
Ernster’s old face reddened, and he coughed to change the subject. “Is there anything you need at home?”
“I won’t hesitate to ask if I run out.”
Without stopping, Foxy had almost fully integrated into this small village over the past month, and Ernster had helped him a lot.
“This kid, he seems so different now.”
Watching Foxy leave, Ernster still found it unbelievable, as the change was too significant.
A month ago, Foxy could have been more polite and undoubtedly not this hardworking.
But now, many villagers have changed their opinions of him, which is a good thing.
“Aphelandra, you look prettier again.”
Passing by another house, Foxy grinned at Aphelandra, who was hanging quilts in the small courtyard.
“Is that so?”
Wearing an apron, Aphelandra, in her fifties, felt a bit pleased, looking at Foxy with affection. This kid sure knew how to talk.
“If I were born a few years earlier, Kurt wouldn’t stand a chance because I’d have captured your heart.”
Pointing to his heart, Foxy pretended to be sentimental.
“Oh my, how bold.”
Holding her cheeks, Aphelandra smiled sweetly.
“Foxy, are you flirting with my wife again early in the morning?”
A man in his fifties walked out of the house, grabbed the broom by the door, and angrily came at Foxy.
“Kurt, you’ve been married for so long, are you jealous?”
Grabbing Kurt, Aphelandra rolled her eyes.
“I really suspect you used unfair means to win her over.”
Whistling, Foxy continued teasing.
“You brat, dare you run away.”
Kurt looked fierce, but a closer look would reveal a smile at the corner of his mouth.
“Shameless, bullying a kid even in your fifties.”
Foxy narrowed his eyes, staring back.
Amid the bickering, the villagers around laughed kindly.
Some even joined in teasing Kurt along with Foxy.
After chatting for over ten minutes, Foxy said goodbye.
All the way, he sweet-talked everyone, praising the men for looking handsome and the women for looking beautiful, regardless of age.
Flattery always worked.
For instance, the seventy-year-old granny next door was delighted, her toothless mouth unable to close.
Returning home, Foxy cleaned up and solved his breakfast problem before starting his daily training.
The house Foxy lived in now was built by him over the past month, carrying logs from the back mountain. It had a small front yard with many stones scattered around for training.
Taking off his clothes, Foxy looked at his flat stomach, a result of his month-long efforts.
Shaking off his thoughts, Foxy began doing push-ups. His record was 400, but it was just broken to 401 yesterday.
Don’t underestimate those 400 push-ups; before crossing over, he could barely do 20, then would be exhausted like a neutered Teddy, struggling to breathe.
Honestly, Foxy had given up several times this month, thinking he could just live his life out in this village.
He was an ordinary person with no grand ambitions or goals, the kind who went with the flow.
Not to mention training, he would rather lie down than sit, sit than stand, carefree and unmotivated.
The training was truly exhausting, but he wanted to explore this world, meet the ladies, and taste the food…
So he persisted, slowly changing.
Even he couldn’t believe he had stuck to it for a month, breaking all his previous records.
Morning water-fetching, push-ups, frog jumps, running…
In the afternoon, he went into the mountains to develop his Devil Fruit ability and supplement his nutrition.
At night, he wanted to do some special exercises, but he was still too young and needed to develop stealthily.
In this month, there were no pirates or Marines, but Foxy learned from Aphelandra that merchant ships passed by the island every two months.
It had been 33 days since he arrived in this world, and there was still some time before the next merchant ship. So Foxy trained while waiting patiently.
His plan remained unchanged, and he was still aiming to join the Marines.
It was the safest and most secure choice for now.
Time always slipped away when unnoticed.
Another half month passed, and Foxy’s life remained peaceful and fulfilling.
Suddenly, a beast’s roar echoed from the depths of the back mountain, shaking the earth.
A five-meter-long tiger, with its mouth wide open, chased a figure through the forest, breaking branches along the way.
Foxy, with a ruddy face, ran and leaped through the forest like a monkey, faster than any sprinter from his past life.
Despite knowing the tiger for ten days, Foxy still felt nervous hearing its roars.
The first time they met, Foxy was nearly eaten, saved only by his Devil Fruit ability.
He missed the chance to kill the tiger due to panic, and the tiger became smarter, dodging his pink light rings.
Foxy often cursed the intelligence of this world’s animals.
From their first meeting, they had been enemies, gradually getting familiar with each other.
Foxy couldn’t tell if he was hot-headed or seeking a thrill, but he started provoking the tiger deliberately.
He didn’t use his ability, treating the tiger as a grindstone.
Tracking the tiger to its lair, he would harass it, throwing stones when it slept and then touching its tail—anything to make it chase him.
He found that training this way was much more effective, improving his heart’s endurance, reflexes, speed, courage, and more.
In a word: exhilarating.
Running with all his might, Foxy occasionally turned to make faces at the tiger, as arrogant as could be.
“Roar…”
The king of beasts roared, its voice booming; the tiger was furious.
Since meeting this human, its life has been hell. It is unable to eat or sleep well and looks quite haggard.
This time, it had to catch and kill him to quell its anger.
Driven by hatred, the tiger roared again, speeding up to chase Foxy. This caused a commotion among the birds and beasts along the way, a grand spectacle.
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