Chapter 45: I Have Grown Stronger, and My Confidence Has Swelled

On this particular day, it had been exactly one month since the full-immersion game "One Piece" launched. Tang Shen’s internal clock woke him precisely at four-thirty. Originally lying quietly in bed, he suddenly opened his eyes. In the pitch-dark, cramped room, it felt as if someone else were present—the fleeting gleam in his eyes cut through the shadows.

With a single, effortless leap, he was on his feet. He flicked on the light; clad only in underwear, Tang Shen pushed off with his toes. The movement seemed leisurely, yet in a blink, he stood before the washbasin. The once-scrawny figure from a month ago had transformed—now every muscle on his body was forged like steel. Unlike the bulky trainers at the gym, each muscle was perfectly contoured, radiating the streamlined explosive power typical of a panther, though his skin was a bit too fair, smooth enough to reflect the room’s light—something any woman would envy. It was a stark contrast to the sun-bronzed skin of his in-game self.

His hair was cropped short and black, eyebrows like swords, eyes bright as stars, nose high and straight, his face sharply defined. His gaze remained calm and cool, his pupils as deep as an ancient pool, unfathomable, exuding a mysterious allure that defied description.

Two minutes later, everything was in order, and he entered the game directly.

The moment he logged in and looked up, a petite figure appeared in front of him. They exchanged a knowing smile; after a month together, a wordless understanding had blossomed between the two.

"Kuina, morning!"

"Good morning, teacher!"

Together, they walked toward the training grounds. Each picked up a pair of stone weights, adjusted the load, then leapt up onto the wooden stakes.

Their morning training thus began—silent, yet harmonious.

Soon, another figure appeared to Tang Shen’s right—topped with a vivid green cap. Without a word, he squatted down into the horse stance—the very one Tang Shen had first taught Kuina.

It was none other than Zoro.

A few days ago, Tang Shen found some free time and taught Zoro once. To his surprise, the next morning, Zoro got up at the same early hour and began following along, squatting in the horse stance behind him. His form was decent, so Tang Shen corrected a few errors. To his amusement, though, Zoro collapsed like a spent dog after only a dozen minutes.

But then, Tang Shen remembered that he himself hadn’t lasted as long during his own first attempt.

Perhaps, he thought, he had grown a bit complacent lately.

Yet, if he was proud, he had every right to be! He gave Zoro a good scolding and cheerfully continued his training.

Unconsciously, Tang Shen’s real strength had already surpassed Kuina’s. Whether he could actually defeat her was another matter—her swordsmanship was more advanced, after all. Only a real match would tell, but in terms of sheer strength, he now had her thoroughly beat.

Kuina was still a child, not yet fully developed. Her strength didn’t even match some of the older students in the dojo, but her skill with the sword was leagues beyond theirs.

This was the true marvel of a full-immersion game: slaying monsters, leveling up, and gaining attribute points was far easier and faster than painstakingly grinding out physical, mental, and spiritual gains through relentless real-world training.

After a month, Tang Shen had already reached level eight, his strength utterly transformed. His basic swordsmanship had even advanced to the minor mastery stage during the latter half of the month.

Perhaps because of the various training methods he brought from his past life, his constitution, strength, and spirit had all increased notably during repeated extreme training sessions. This also granted him precise control over his newfound power.

He was no longer like a castle built on sand, all show and no substance.

Half an hour passed.

Thud!

A figure collapsed onto the ground, sprawling out like a starfish, gasping for breath.

Who else but Zoro? After four days of perseverance, he could now last a full half hour—an obvious improvement.

In the past, Zoro never understood. Every morning, he would greet Tang Shen and Kuina as he passed, often seeing them squatting motionless on the wooden stakes, but he doubted its value.

Standing still—was that really training?

Surely nothing beat intense exercise, he used to think, never questioning his belief.

Now?

Anyone who said that, he'd jump up and smack them on the knees, then roar, "Nonsense!"

Because after these past few days, he realized just how grueling this was—far more punishing than any morning physical drills, even more torturous than swinging a sword to the point of exhaustion. At his limit, his whole body seemed to scream for mercy, begging him to stop. It was agony beyond compare.

Sweat poured off him like water from a broken tap.

It was terrifying!

Lying on the ground, Zoro gazed up at the two figures on the stakes—utterly still, radiating a crushing presence. His eyes brimmed with unwillingness, but also deep admiration.

He had seen the heavy stone weights in their hands—never once wavering from start to finish.

If he didn’t know better, he might have suspected they weren’t even human.

After a short rest, Zoro clambered up again, leapt onto a stake, and resumed squatting.

This time he only lasted twenty minutes before tumbling back down.

Then, after another rest, up he went again.

Again and again, in endless repetition.

If he couldn’t endure for long stretches, he would just add the time up, bit by bit.

That was Zoro’s own idea.

From the first time Zoro fell, Tang Shen was aware. With each repeated effort, Tang Shen couldn’t help but marvel at the boy’s stubbornness.

Maybe it was this dogged refusal to give up that would one day make him the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, who never surrenders in battle.

Unwilling to fail, unwilling to fall behind, he simply would not give up.

Tang Shen soon tossed the thought aside, for the moment he relaxed, the fatigue threatened to overwhelm him. He had to remain utterly focused, losing all sense of self.

Each of Tang Shen’s stone weights was set to thirty jin, and the leg weights to seventy each.

Kuina’s stone weights, under Tang Shen’s supervision, were twenty-five jin apiece, with fifty-five on each leg—the absolute limit for her current physical development. As she grew, those weights would increase as well.

Even so, her leg strength was already formidable.

The benefit of training atop the wooden stakes was slowly becoming apparent.

At the same time, everything Zoro did was observed by Koushirou.

At first, when Zoro began learning the horse stance from Tang Shen, Koushirou found it rather amusing.

But seeing Zoro collapse after only a few minutes, he was disappointed—he remembered that Tang Shen had lasted over an hour, nearly two, on his very first attempt, and at that time, Tang Shen’s physical condition was not much better than Zoro’s.

The difference was clear.

Yet Zoro’s refusal to quit, time and again, earned Koushirou’s approval.

It was precisely this unwillingness to accept defeat that he valued most in Zoro.