Eust and Carl rowed the small boat closer to Nicole. Onboard Nicole, other guards were ready to receive Jack and his group. After they smoothly boarded the ship, the small boat was pulled up and retrieved.
Eust and Sunny, however, did not get to meet any other officials of Nicole and were promptly escorted to the ship’s cabin by Jack. They were instructed not to roam freely, with food being delivered to them, essentially confined to the cabin.
This treatment was akin to being imprisoned, leaving both Eust and Sunny feeling quite frustrated. Additionally, Eust learned that it would take three more days for the ship to reach Shields Island, making their situation even more unpleasant.
Once Jack and Carl left, Sunny began to complain to Eust, noticing no one else was around. “Meow, Eust, didn’t you say that offering the treasure would make our stay better? Why are we in this situation? I don’t feel any special treatment, meow!”
“Sunny, what can I do? It’s the Age of Exploration. Even after being rescued, they still need to be cautious of us.”
“But don’t worry, Sunny. Jack did take the bribe and answered my questions along the way. He doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions towards us. Besides, the journey will only last three more days. We’ll get through this, just stay calm.”
“Meow, Eust, we need to get stronger quickly. Back in my clan, I knew that only the strong have a voice, freedom, and dreams. Eust, you better not hold me back, meow!”
“I know, I know. Can you issue a task now, Sunny?”
“Meow, I was expecting to be able to issue a task today. After what just happened, I feel like I can do it now. Do you have any specific requests for the task, meow?”
“Sunny, feeling stimulated can trigger the task ability? Maybe we should stimulate you more often, haha!”
“Meow, stop joking, Eust, or I’ll ignore you, meow!”
“Alright, Sunny. For the task: it should be an optional task, focusing on training, with a reward aimed at improving strength. The reward and penalty should be balanced. Let’s call this the ‘Plan A Task’ for future reference. Ideally, the task duration should be about a day.”
“Meow, Plan A plus a one-day duration. Got it, Eust. Leave it to me, meow!”
…
“Meow, Eust, the new task is ready. It’s an optional task, a training type. The specific content is eight sets of ‘I Want to Get Stronger 2’ physical training within 24 hours. The reward is a slight increase in physical attributes, and the penalty is 24 hours of fatigue. How’s that, meow?”
“Sunny, that’s great. You’ve executed Plan A perfectly, and the duration is just right. It seems you’ve improved your control over the Task Fruit ability. By the way, what’s the ‘I Want to Get Stronger 2’ routine?”
“Meow, the ‘I Want to Get Stronger 1’ routine was the previous training combo. The ‘2’ routine includes 200 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, and 200 squats. It’s an adjusted version considering our current environment, meow!”
“Alright, completing six sets shouldn’t be too difficult, but eight will require some effort. But I can manage. Let’s start the task right away.”
“Meow, let’s do it, meow!”
Time passed as Eust trained. Whenever someone approached, Sunny would alert Eust to stop.
Around midday, Eust had completed three sets and was working on the fourth. Jack had mentioned that food would be delivered at mealtime, and indeed, Carl arrived with a small portion of bread and soup—barely enough for an average person, let alone Eust and Sunny, especially with Eust’s intense training.
Carl left immediately after delivering the food without taking the utensils or giving Eust a chance to speak. Eust, recognizing this as a precaution against potential trouble from him, split the food with Sunny. Sunny, understanding the situation, took only the soup, letting Eust have the rest.
Eust lamented not bringing any food with him when boarding. If the limited food was a precaution against him causing trouble, they wouldn’t have allowed him to bring food anyway. He resigned himself to the meager meal and resumed his training after a short rest.
Determined not to abandon the task, Eust pushed through the food shortage, recalling Zoro’s endurance in his own dire circumstances. If Zoro could survive 20 days without food, Eust believed he could endure three days.
In the afternoon, Eust completed four sets and took a break for dinner. Carl, the same as before, brought identical food portions and collected the lunch dishes without speaking.
After dinner, with the evening setting in, Eust completed the final set of training and received the task reward. He felt a significant reduction in fatigue and a slight increase in physical attributes, although not as dramatic as the first enhancement, indicating a difference between “slight” and “small” increments.
Sunny’s earlier assessment of the generous rewards from the first two tasks seemed accurate. Eust wondered if Sunny’s luck attribute played a role but decided against mentioning it to avoid Sunny’s scorn.
Feeling his increased strength, Eust estimated a 3% to 5% improvement, suggesting that “small” increases were twice as effective as “slight” ones.
Eust attributed his ability to sense these improvements to a passive skill he gained as the task executor, reinforcing his belief in the feasibility of his dreams. The percentage-based strength gains, although seemingly minor, could accumulate rapidly, enabling exponential growth.
While theoretical maximum growth might be unattainable, Eust was confident that consistent task completion would yield significant progress. The challenge would be maintaining the rate of improvement as his strength increased, but he believed the initial stages would hold steady.
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