Chapter 10: The Path Towards Growth

After sleeping more soundly than he had in his entire life, Thomas awoke to find himself in his bed. More concerningly, he didn't have so much as a single strand of clothing on his body...

Popping up out of nowhere, Benienma revealed what Thomas already suspected, explaining, "I took the liberty of removing Master's clothes and cleansing your body, dechi. Once you have completed your morning routine, please make your way to the kitchen. Breakfast ended hours ago, but I made sure to save your portion."

Though his expression morphed into an emotionless deadpan as he imagined Benienma stripping him down and giving him a sponge bath, Thomas consoled himself with the knowledge that, at the very least, it wasn't Astolfo. He had held out hope that the pink-haired Paladin was a woman, especially when she appeared without a visible bulge in a bikini, but the truth became 'very' apparent when Astolfo invaded his shower...

Recalling the incident, a powerful shudder ran through Thomas's body, prompting Benienma to crawl onto the side of his bed so that she could feel his forehead with her palm.

"You don't seem to have a fever, dechi. Still, if Master is feeling unwell, please take the day off. It's fine to push yourself when you're healthy, but doing so when you're unwell will do more harm than good."

Retracting her hand from Thomas's head, Benienma hopped off his bed and departed the room without further comment. In her wake, Thomas just exhaled a tired sigh, briefly considering staying in bed before forcing himself to get up. Strength wasn't born from complacency, so he couldn't afford to laze about unless he was genuinely sick. Then again, even if he was, Asclepius could probably treat him in an instant...

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After dragging himself out of bed, getting dressed, and washing his face, Thomas went to the kitchen to find Musashi and Benienma waiting for him at the dining table. Benienma considered herself his Kosho, so she did her best to care for his needs. As for Musashi, she had purportedly reached a point where no amount of training would help her grow stronger. The only way to increase her strength further was through live combat, so most of her 'training' revolved around meditation and visualization. In other words, she had nothing to do until a strong opponent appeared. In the meantime, she followed him around to ensure his safety.

Though she had sensed Thomas long before he reached the kitchen, Musashi feigned pleasant surprise, adopting a smile as she said, "You've finally awoken. Rest after exhausting yourself is the best kind. Just make sure you don't overdo either."

Emulating Chiron, Thomas did his best not to lower his gaze to Musashi's perfectly sculpted breasts as he replied, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Thanks..."

Noticing Thomas's attempts at restraint, Musashi narrowed her eyes in amusement as she remarked, "Well, would you look at you...a single day of training, and you're already behaving more like a proper man. Keep it up."

Smiling wryly, Thomas took his seat and focused on eating the meal Beni had warmed up for him. Even reheated, it was exceptionally delicious, so he was in high spirits despite his impending shift in the Engine Room. He had an agreement with Drake, but more than that, he still had three more Servants to summon before he could focus fully on his training...

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Though he wasn't sure why they needed a Shipwright when Drake could repair the Hind using the Mana stored within the Equivalence Engine, that wouldn't stop Thomas from summoning them. As someone that had been a fan of the Fate Series, spending hundreds of dollars on games like Fate: Grand Order, there were a lot of Heroic Spirits he would like to meet.

While it was undeniably wishful thinking, Thomas held out hope that he would summon the remainder of his Top-3 Waifus. He had already hit the jackpot with Musashi, but if he could get Ishtar as his Sniper and MHX as his...anything, he would be over the moon. Of course, the biggest jackpot of all would be receiving the female version of Merlin, one of the greatest Mages in existence, but that was 'beyond' wishful thinking. If any version of the dick-wizard were to appear, it would most likely be the male...

Interrupting Thomas's shift, Chiron entered the Engine Room, followed closely by Drake. The latter had been spending most of her time within her quarters since she dispatched Astolfo to map the region, so Thomas was more than a little surprised to see her. Even more surprising was the fact that she was covered in sweat and had a slightly ruddy complexion...

Seeing the deadpan expression on Thomas's face, Drake gave him a playful wink and adopted a cheeky smile as she mused, "You summoned a good one this time. The two of us just had a nice long 'chat,' so you're free from Engine Room duties for the time being. Good luck with your training."

After stating her piece, Drake caused both Thomas's and Chiron's brows to furrow when she squeezed the latter's ass on her way out. When she was gone, Chiron exhaled a slightly exasperated sigh as he remarked, "If you had intentions toward our Captain, I apologize. Know that I harbor no feelings toward her."

As he was already well aware of the type of woman Drake was, Thomas just shook his head, adopting a wry smile as he said, "Don't worry about it. The six of you might be my Servants, but you're ultimately individuals with your own wants and needs. Besides, I would rather she sleeps with you than some random guy she picks up at a bar..."

Despite Thomas's words, Chiron exhaled another sigh before walking over to give the former a few claps on the shoulder. He could tell Thomas was more than a little bothered by what had occurred between him and Drake, so he adopted a kind expression and tone as he said, "Once you become stronger, you will find a woman worthy of your devotion. Captain Drake is a beautiful woman, but she is not someone you should entrust your heart to..."

Blinking in surprise, Thomas met Chiron's gaze as he asked, "Did you read my mind...?"

Shaking his head, Chiron replied, "While it is a capability I possess, I've never once peered into the mind of another without their consent. I just have a sense for these kinds of things."

Giving Thomas's shoulder one final clap, Chiron removed his hand and asked, "Now, shall we discuss your training? I believe I've come up with a method to help you realize your ambition of 'reaching the pinnacle of this world.' If you're still willing to trust me, that is..."

As he had already anticipated Drake sleeping with whoever she pleased, Thomas managed an awkward smile as he replied, "I'll do my best..." in a half-hearted tone. He didn't have much of a choice but to rely on Chiron if he wanted to grow stronger, so as long as the horse-like man didn't begin sleeping with every female member of the crew, he wouldn't 'completely' lose his shit...

Though he could sense Thomas's awkwardness, Chiron could also feel his sincere desire to grow stronger. Thus, after an approving nod, he began to lay out his plan for Thomas's training...

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As it would take literal decades to master something like swordsmanship and most traditional forms of Magecraft, Chiron set Thomas on the path he had been considering from the start, overwhelming his opponents with raw, in this case, magical power. More specifically, he would be teaching Thomas Material Transmutation, starting with basic Reinforcement Magic, Alteration, and eventually Projection Magic.

Though Reinforcement Magic sounded like it simply enhanced the user's strength, speed, and endurance, it was actually one of the 'fundamental' Magecrafts, one of the schools closest to 'True Magic.' Rather than simply strengthening the user, it reinforced the 'existence' of any person, place, or thing that could contain Magical Energy. In the case of a knife, it would enhance its durability, sharpness, and edge retention. Food would have its nourishment increased, plants would grow stronger, faster, and healthier, and animals could be driven to 'evolve' into far more powerful, potentially even mythical creatures.

Fortunately for Thomas, consuming the Mana-Man-no-Mi placed him in a position to benefit 'drastically' from Reinforcement. His body was already saturated and constantly producing Mana, so he just needed to learn how to convert it into Magical Energy. Once he mastered the basics, he would be able to 'reinforce' his physical parameters in the same way as a Heroic Spirit.

While there were no clear limitations to the amount of Magical Energy something could receive, everything from its internal structure to how it was perceived determined the effectiveness of the Reinforcement Magic. The same amount of Magical Energy channeled into an ordinary wooden sword would have a 'significantly' greater effect when conducted into a famous katana. In that same vein, someone that had never trained their physique would struggle to empower themselves as they lacked a proper 'understanding' of what it meant to be strong.

When broken down into its most simplistic form, Reinforcement Magic was effectively a modifier applied to an existing object. In the case of a person, it was akin to abilities such as the Kaio-Ken or the Super Saiyan Transformations. They were remarkably powerful transformations, but if your 'base form' was weak, they weren't nearly as effective.

To ensure Thomas wouldn't be helpless if he exhausted or started to run low on Mana, Chiron had him focus primarily on improving his physique and learning how to survive by tasking him to move from one side of the jungle to the other.

While the creatures within weren't a threat to even the weakest of Heroic Spirits, they were extremely perilous for someone at Thomas's level. The fear of death was a powerful motivator, so even if he 'knew' someone like Musashi or Benienma would step in to save him, Chiron informed Thomas that he would 'benefit' greatly from being hunted and forced to survive on his own...

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During the afternoon of his fifth day of training with Chiron, Thomas was enjoying some grilled fish prepared by Benienma when the Shipwright's Card abruptly activated. He had been pumping Mana into it whenever he had spare time, so, after five days, Thomas was expecting another God or a powerful Caster to pop out. Instead, someone he never expected, not in a million years, made an appearance...

Standing 174cm tall, nearly as tall as Chiron but markedly shorter than Thomas, was a fierce-looking woman with bronze skin, aquamarine eyes, white hair, and tiny, rabbit-like ears sticking out of her heard. As for her outfit, she wore predominately white, black-trimmed armor that hugged most of her incredibly feminine form, the only exceptions being a small gap above her breasts and the region between her thighs, exposing black fabric and a part of her voluminous ass.

By instinct, Thomas raised his hands to show that he wasn't a threat while keeping his gaze firmly fixed on the fierce woman's face. The other Heroic Spirits he had summoned had the same personalities as the characters he was familiar with, so he didn't want to make the bronze-skinned woman's shit list. She was famous for hating all Deities and the majority of men, so there was a real possibility she might attack him if he managed to piss her off...

Narrowing her eyes at Thomas, the white-haired woman, Caenis, asked, "Are you my Master?" placing extra emphasis on the word 'master.'

Instead of answering in the affirmative, Thomas replied, "Please call me Tom or Thomas..."

Looking away from Thomas, Caenis passed her gaze over Benienma before shifting her attention to the jungle where Musashi was lurking in the shadows of a tree. The latter gave her a 'very' dangerous feeling, so she restrained herself a bit as she stated, "My name is Caenis. And while I may be your Servant, I am not your slave. I will obey your orders if it's to fight, but if you try to have me serve you in other ways, I'll tear 'it' off and force you to eat it. Never forget that..."

Understanding what Caenis meant by 'it,' Thomas's forced smile became even wrier as he replied, "While my thoughts might wander, I would never do something like that..."

Since he couldn't lie in front of Benienma, Thomas had to be 'very' careful with his words. The truth was that he would jump at the opportunity to be with a woman of Caenis's caliber. However, even if his life and manhood weren't on the line, he would never try to force her...not after knowing her past...

Sensing no falsehoods within Thomas's words, Caenis gave an approving nod before turning her attention to the campfire they were seated around. Fish was a staple food during her era, so the aroma of Benienma's grilled skewers had been tickling her nose since her summoning. She could tell from the fragrance it was going to taste phenomenal, so she immediately took a seat when Thomas asked if she would like to join them...

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(A/N: Reinforcement is op, but Projection is borderline omnipotent...Chiron set our boy on a terrifying path. Also, for those who are upset/annoyed by Drake's behavior, you have a fundamental lack of understanding about the character. I'm not going to make her act like someone she isn't just to pander to the egos of Thomas and those who would supplant him within their minds. Drake just isn't a one-man kind of guy, and she would never, ever, be in a committed relationship. It would go against everything she stands for/believes in.)

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