Episode 16: Training Begins (Part 2)

After crossing Mount Nishino, we finally arrived at a port town and boarded a massive luxury cruise ship bound for the land where the Lux tribe resides.

I had expected panic when people saw Ligan—a monster—walking beside us. But thanks to his cute appearance, the townsfolk simply assumed he was a pet. Somehow, we avoided trouble.

Of course, the two who came from another world—and Ligan—had no money. So I ended up paying for all of us.

To be honest, I wanted to save money and take a smaller ship… but Zeke and Meow insisted.
“This is our chance to relax a little in this world,” they said.

And just like that, we ended up on a luxury cruise.

…Seriously, how were these two planning to travel without money?

Anyway, the journey to the Pledo Continent—home of the Lux tribe—would take eight days by sea.

And during this voyage, Zeke’s “training” continued.

Blindfolded drills—trying to identify Meow’s magic.
Staring blankly at the ocean.

…Wait a second. Zeke isn’t doing anything at all!

Ligan and I, growing increasingly anxious about whether we were actually getting stronger, spent our free time training together in real combat practice.

But Ligan was… too weak.

It barely counted as training.

Perhaps feeling sorry for us—or simply having nothing better to do—Meow began training us herself every day during the voyage.

I had seen her fight many times before.

But experiencing it firsthand… was something else entirely.

She was fast. Powerful. Precise.

There wasn’t a single wasted movement.

Even though she was holding back, she showed no mercy.

Day after day, Ligan and I were completely beaten down.

Since the voyage began, our daily routine looked like this:

One hour of Zeke’s mysterious “training.”
Three hours of sparring with Meow.
And another eight hours of strength training, practice swings, and sparring with Ligan.

Even after five days…

We couldn’t land a single hit on Meow.

Not even once.

Just what kind of training had these two gone through to become this strong?

Curious, I tried observing their own “training.”

But all they did… was stand on the deck all day, staring at the sky and the sea.

Watching them like that, day after day…

I began to think—

Maybe that strange “training” Zeke had us do… actually meant something after all.