Chapter 6

This guy sure is quick to get familiar. Guina used her chopsticks to pick up some rice and put it in her mouth, not even glancing at him, and said, "Your food is in the kitchen, go get it yourself!"

Zoro ran to the back kitchen with a few quick steps. Not long after, he came out carrying a large plate, which contained a bowl of rice piled high and a big fish.

He placed the plate next to the two of them, sat cross-legged on the ground, and raised the bowl, shouting, "I'm going to eat!"

Then he started to wolf down the food voraciously... It seemed he was starving.

"Hmph!" Guina couldn't help but snort when she saw Zoro's behavior, "You freeloader, you even dare to eat so much!"

The children who came to the dojo to learn swordsmanship paid tuition, though not much, it was still a source of income for the dojo. As disciples, the only two who didn't pay were Ian and the newly joined Zoro.

However, the dojo's assets also included a field for growing food, so Ian usually helped with farming, which meant he wasn't a freeloader.

Hearing Guina's words, Zoro was stunned for a moment, then he got up, with rice still stuck to the corners of his mouth, and suddenly bowed, saying seriously to Guina, "I'm sorry, I'll help the dojo in the future!"

After saying this, he sat down with a clear conscience and continued to eat, seemingly not bothered by Guina's words at all.

Ian was speechless, this green-haired idiot was really thick-skinned...

Guina's sarcasm didn't work, and she could only stab her rice a few times in frustration, making Ian want to laugh.

After finishing the meal, Zoro was already lying on the ground without any dignity, patting his belly and laughing, "I'm full, I'm full!"

Guina got up to clear the plates, but at this moment, Zoro stood up and said to Guina, "Since I'm full, let's have a match!"

Guina didn't want to pay attention to him, but Ian said at this moment, "I'll clear the plates, you deal with him!"

After saying that, he didn't give Guina a chance to speak, got up, and collected the three plates, walking to the back kitchen with a mischievous smile.

He knew very well what would happen next. If he remembered correctly, this idiot Zoro would live in Guina's shadow, ending up with a record of 2001 losses and 0 wins!

So, how could Ian let a small matter like clearing the plates delay him from watching this good show?

Sure enough, when Ian came out again, Zoro was already fighting with Guina!

Compared to yesterday's fight, Zoro's moves today were no longer random. He had learned the stance Ian taught him in the morning perfectly.

But that alone wasn't enough; his timing and strength were still problematic. After a series of attacks, Guina found a gap and thrust her bamboo sword forward, hitting Zoro's stomach and sending him flying.

Ian saw very clearly that Zoro's eyes were bulging...

"Cough, cough!" Lying on the ground, Zoro was almost vomiting, but despite the coughing, his eyes still showed a strong sense of unwillingness.

Ian had planned to watch for a laugh, but after seeing Zoro's eyes, he couldn't laugh.

Yes, that's the look, the look that never gives up!

Thinking of this, Ian stood up and walked to Guina, saying, "Guina, do you still have strength?"

Guina, who had just given Zoro a small lesson and was about to leave, was taken aback by Ian's sudden appearance. After a moment, she replied, "Of course!"

"Then, let's have a match!" Ian said seriously.

"Wow, it's rare for you to challenge me, Big Brother Ian!" Guina suddenly laughed.

Hearing this, Ian also felt a bit restless. He had never challenged Guina before; who would willingly seek out a beating?

However, after drawing the card, he wanted to see how much help it could bring him!

Seeing the two about to fight, Zoro stopped coughing and quickly ran to the side to make room, then sat down to watch.

In the field, Ian and Guina stood facing each other, holding bamboo swords and closely watching each other, sensing the slightest movements. When Ian saw Guina's shoulder twitch slightly, he thought, "Here it comes!"

The next second, Guina was already charging at him. Her footwork was very fast, but unfortunately, Ian's reaction was even faster. Without thinking, he thrust his sword directly at the direction Guina was coming from.

The speed of this strike exceeded Guina's expectations. She quickly shifted her position, sweeping her bamboo sword to block Ian's attack!

Then the two began to exchange blows, the sound of bamboo swords clashing continuously. They parried and counterattacked, exchanging dozens of blows in an instant!

The attack and defense between the two were not particularly flashy. The swordsmanship taught by Koshiro did not have any specific techniques. In fact, over the years, whether it was Guina or Ian, they had only learned basic movements.

However, it was precisely these basic movements that made their match particularly intense, to the point where the watching Zoro was almost dumbfounded.

Evenly matched! Ian could feel that he was fighting Guina to a draw for the first time...

He noticed a significant change in himself. His speed and reaction time had increased, and each sword swing was more powerful. Although the sudden increase in strength made it a bit difficult for Ian to control, there was no denying that the increase in strength caused a lot of trouble for Guina.

However, the intense movements also led to a significant drain on stamina. After fighting for a while, Ian and Guina stopped simultaneously, both panting and holding their swords, sweat dripping down their faces.

"Big Brother Ian, your improvement is amazing!" Guina, taking this opportunity, asked curiously, "You were still losing to me yesterday, how did you do it? You weren't letting me win, were you?"

"No!" Ian shook his head. He didn't dare admit that. If he did, Guina might never speak to him again. So he explained, "It's because I practiced more seriously than before, so I improved!"

"Is that so?" Guina immediately remembered Ian's focused morning practice. The dedication was obvious, so she accepted Ian's explanation.

"Can we call it a draw?" Ian wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I'm out of energy!"

Guina was still a bit reluctant. Like Zoro, she was a competitive child. Having never lost in the village, she wasn't willing to admit defeat. But seeing Ian's condition, she had to stop.

Well, a draw isn't a loss... right?

Guina left, and Ian stood there, catching his breath, looking down at his sweat-soaked palms. He thought that he might need to focus on physical and strength training. Although the match with Guina was short, he could clearly feel his lack of stamina. The strength and speed boosts from the card were significant, so he needed to adapt to these changes quickly.

His current attributes showed that his strength and speed were both 20, and his ki points had increased to 14. This meant that if he could fully utilize his attributes, he was already stronger than a standard Marine soldier.

But, he was still a rookie...

Thinking about this, Ian suddenly felt someone tugging at his sleeve. Looking down, he saw it was Zoro.

Ian, now a ten-year-old, was taller than Zoro, so he looked down at Zoro, while Zoro looked up at him.

"What is it?" Ian asked.

"Big Brother Ian, can you teach me? I want to beat that woman!" Zoro said.

This was the first time Zoro had called him that. Probably because of the match with Guina, Ian felt a strange excitement from the title.

Hearing Zoro's request, Ian was also a bit moved. Although he didn't want to admit it, Zoro's appearance had really spurred him on. If they could train together, with Zoro's intense dedication, it would greatly benefit him.

"Alright! Starting tomorrow, you'll train with me!" Ian quickly agreed.

The master of the dojo, Koshiro, didn't personally teach his disciples much. Most of the time, his junior did the teaching. Even Ian, as a formal disciple, rarely saw Koshiro in action. Koshiro's strength was always a mystery to Ian, so having Zoro train with him didn't seem to be a big deal.

So, the next day, when Ian started his morning training, he had a little tail following him.

"Let's start with running!" Seeing Zoro looking at him, Ian had to teach him, "Follow me, we'll run around the village once!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Zoro nodded vigorously.

Ian turned and started running, but after a few steps, he realized Zoro wasn't following.

Looking back, he saw that Zoro, the idiot, was running in the opposite direction...

"Come back!! You big idiot!" Ian's veins bulged as he roared, "You can even lose me in such a short distance!"

Hearing the shout, Zoro quickly turned around, trying to catch up. However, under Ian's watchful eye, he took a few steps and suddenly made a strange turn...

"..." Ian didn't know how to comment. From a young age, Zoro was known as the ultimate directionally challenged person, and it was indeed well-deserved...