Artis got off the Arena, his body, still screaming in pain, as he took the Healing potion attached beside the arena to rejuvenate his body and heal any potential injuries.
It was a common rule to have a healing potion attached to a Battle arena after the duel to heal any potential injuries. The healing potion heals the injuries only sustained within 30 minutes but life-threatening injuries still have to be treated in any hospital.
As Artis played the entire duel in his head, Jaden walked alongside him, casually cracking his neck, his confident smirk still intact despite his loss.
"You know," Jaden said, breaking the silence, "you're the first opponent to figure out the phasing pattern so quickly. Most just swing wildly until they tire themselves out."
"Yeah, well...I've had a fair share of seeing different [Unique Skills], so all I had to do was try out everything and hope for the best! Though I'll admit, you pushed me harder than I'd like to admit."
Jaden laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Same here. But that's what makes it fun, right?"
Artis raised an eyebrow, stopping just outside the arena's exit. "Fun? I'd call it survival."
The two shared a laugh as they parted ways and Artis headed towards the the Spirit Store to get himself the Whispering Requiem!
'Phew...It's still there! If someone else bought it then I would've gone insane!'
After buying the whistle and learning about its abilities, Artis kept the whistle inside his pocket and headed back toward his room to tell Alice all about the duel that happened and flaunt how he won!
...
The next day, Artis and Alice's room, 6:00 AM
Artis woke up, feeling the pain in his body, as he sat up upright. Glancing at Alice, who still seemed to be asleep, he sighed as he looked down at the whistle he kept on the table and grabbed it.
Looking at its design, he couldn't help but smile. This was the first item he won in a fight and it felt good looking at it. A sense of pride swelled in his chest as he studied the intricate patterns of the whistle.
Currently, he had no idea what he wanted to do today so he dressed up in his trackpants and sweatshirt and headed out.
Wandering around moving floor to floor, he also saw various people waking up either stretching their arms and legs or going to the gym area located on the 5th floor.
He then decided to go to the deck to bathe in the morning sunlight and do some light exercises.
As he was done with his exercise by running around 10 laps and doing basic warm-up exercises, he decided to go to the pool area this time.
As he made his way towards the pool area, he could hear a loud collective noise coming outside from the pool area.
Curious, he checked to see over 200 people, lined up on both sides taking positions and practicing throwing fast successive punches at a very high speed as their hands were covered with a strange white aura.
Some people, in the middle of the pool, were standing up sparring with each other as some ducked under the pool to attack their opponents only using martial arts.
While some people over the edge of the cruise ship with planks attached to it were fishing for some food.
"There ya go, you slangs!" screamed a loud booming yet familiar voice, "Keep practicing until you get a hang of it!"
Artis, surprised for a moment looked above where the source of the voice was, to see Captain Fervier, standing up straight, with hands behind his back looking confident ordering his crew to keep practicing.
"Captain!" Artis called out unconsciously.
Captain Fervier, snapping out from his thoughts looked downwards and greeted Artis with a warm smile on his face.
"Oh! Artis lad! What brings ya here?"
"...." Artis took a while to respond as he looked at the crew training, "It's nothing Captain...it's just...I was just watching what these guys were doing."
Captain Fervier looked ahead and chucked, "Oh? Interested aren't cha? Why don't you come up and see it from here?"
"Eh? I can?" asks Artis surprised.
"Ohoho!" Captain laughed, "Of course, Of course! I am the Captain around here! None of the lads can complain about my decision!"
Artis, a bit unsettled by Captain's unusual personality, didn't reject the offer and went upstairs and stood beside the captain who towered 2 feet over him.
"So? Are you interested in what these lads doing here?" Asked the captain.
Artis nodded slowly, not saying a single word.
"These guys are out here, training! These lads have to become strong and versatile so that they can kill any challenge out there in the seas! I personally train all of them every morning for an hour or so." the captain said as he looked on proudly at the crew members.
"I see..."
Artis continued, "But, what are those guys practicing over there? You know, the guys with white aura covering their hands?"
Captain looked around and let out a heartfelt laugh, "Oh? I am teaching them an easy, strong yet an effective move. [Aerial Ace]."
"Aerial Ace?"
Captain nodded, "Aye! A basic yet destructive punch that only works with having high critical speed and momentum. The higher the speed and momentum, the bigger impact this attack will have. Oh, and? If you are successful in landing this punch, it does a critical damage to your enemy's body!
"I taught this move to your sister few years ago, and she grasped the basics for this really quickly! So, are you interested in learning this skill?"
Artis, snapping out of his thoughts looked at Captain in shock, "Wait, Why do you want me to teach this skill?"
"Because you are Alice's younger brother! She always used to tell me how weak and pathetic her brother really was! And looking at you, she's right! You are weak!" said the captain laughing hoarsely.
Artis's eyes twitched hearing Captain's tone as he mumbled softly feeling a surge of frustration rising within him, "Weak? She says? Please, I'm just as talented as she is. I just liked performing and studying more than doing hard gritty work! Hell I even beat Jaden for the whistle yesterday!"
"Believe it or not, I did see you fight yesterday! And, comparin' yer body now to how you fought yesterday, there is a difference of heaven and hell out there! You use your whatever Skill to balance out yer physical strength right?"
Clenching his fists, he looked down thinking about what the captain said. He was right, he does uses [Magician] powers to move efficiently in the battle and if it was discovered, anyone could realize his weakness! He turned towards Captain and declared, "Captain! I may not be as talented or strong as my dear sister, but I'm also willing to do hard work to prove her wrong! I am willing to get stronger, so please, teach me?"
Captain Fervier regarded Artis with a mixture of surprise and approval, a glint of respect gleaming in his eyes. "Well said, lad. Determination is the first step on the path to strength. If you're willing to put in the effort, I'll be more than happy to train you.
"First! Run 50 laps around the whole ship! Then, build your muscles in arm! Go to the gym area and do dumbbells each! 5 reps! Then! Do 30 push-ups and then punch any wall in the area 100 times! Do it, till the duration you are here!"
"Wait, Wait!" Artis interrupted the Captain, "We are doing this now!"
"Of course lad! Time waits for no one! If you don't start today! You'll never be able to start! So stop wasting your time! And get started!" declared Captain Fervier with authority in his voice that made Artis unable to refuse.
"Oh? And I'll be watching you keenly! You declared to be my pupil! Even if you are Alice's younger brother, I won't go easy on you! So, move them legs!"
'Oh! C'mon! What did I get myself into!' complained Artis as he was about to leave to start doing laps around the ship.
But, just as he was about to leave, he heard a shout coming from above him.
"Cap'n!"
Captain Fervier looked up to see another crew member wearing sailor uniform having bulging muscles and a bandana over his head.
"Captain!" A panicked shout interrupted the captain's orders.
Both Artis and Fervier turned to see a crew member in a sailor's uniform, his face pale. "Something's coming, Captain! A beast, heading straight for us at full speed!"
"What in blazes?" Fervier roared, his eyes narrowing.
The ship shuddered as the waters ahead began to churn violently. Waves rose unnaturally high, and the crew braced themselves as a massive blast of water surged toward the ship.
Artis's heart pounded as he gripped the railing. "What... is that?"
Fervier's expression darkened, his usual jovial demeanor replaced by a steely determination. "Brace yourself, lad. Looks like yer training's gonna start sooner than expected!"