Qiwuhai has been around for more than ten years and has long since become too big. In the beginning, the world government may have genuinely considered using Qiwuhai to stabilize the seas; in fact, they have indeed done so over the years. Whether it is Moonlight Moriah or the Sand Crocodile, both of whom have been largely ineffective as original Shichibukai, or the top sea powerhouses like Tyrant Bartholomew Kuma and Hawkeye Mihawk, their existence has caused countless pirates to sink into the sand and disappear on the Grand Line.
In this respect, it has been a positive thing.
However, no matter what system, it will slowly decay with the passage of time. Just like the world government, the Celestial Dragons have already become the biggest cancer in the world, and the Qiwuhai system naturally cannot escape this fate.
A few years later, in order to obtain the ancient weapon Pluton, Crocodile brought disaster to the country and the people in Alabasta, provoking a war that plunged the entire nation into chaos. Currently, Doflamingo uses his identity as Shichibukai as a cover to build an underground port in Dressrosa for illegal transactions.
These events prove that the Qiwuhai system has begun to decay.
After all, they are pirates. Can a system be stable for more than a few years or even a decade?
Most of the Qiwuhai have long since become a thorn in the navy's side, and now the turmoil they have created is even worse than the impact caused by ordinary pirates. However, under the orders of the world government, the navy has no good solution. It is impossible to cancel this deep-rooted system overnight; they can only slowly gather evidence and wait for a fatal strike.
But these matters do not need to concern Loya right now. His current strength is limited, and he is just a recruit. No matter what Qiwuhai does, he cannot interfere.
After saying goodbye to Mole and Dr. Oliver, Loya returned to the dormitory and tended to himself.
The cold ointment applied to his skin made him shiver comfortably. After all, this is the headquarters of the Navy, and their medical capabilities are top-notch. He felt a burst of itching from his broken ribs as the burning pain receded like a tide.
After wrapping the bandages, Loya silently opened the panel with his golden fingers.
Name: Christopher Loya
Energy Stage: Second and Third
Energy Value: 400/700
Mana: 5000/5000
Mana Recovery Speed: 450/s
After this period of practice, Loya had finally reached the second and third floors.
Although the data on the attribute panel only shows the mana value and mana recovery speed, Loya can feel that with each upgrade, his strength, endurance, and physical capabilities have increased beyond what is displayed.
However, what has impacted him the most during this period was the combat experience he gained from the high-pressure training under Kuzan.
On the desert island, his opponents were all beasts with an IQ of less than 25. They were not as smart as the Mink Tribe, and he doubted they were even as clever as the Kung Fu Walrus. Fighting them, aside from getting familiar with his own power level, yielded little else.
But now it was different. Kuzan is not a yellow monkey. Whether it is the use of his fruit ability or melee combat, he is at the level of a general. Under his personal "guidance," Loya's strength has improved by leaps and bounds. His ability to withstand beatings has improved significantly, even surpassing Aldo's. Even if his defense is insufficient, his recovery ability is unmatched.
Of course, this is a rather sad thing.
"Today, I gained a total of 75 energy points, which is not bad." With the improvement of ability level, Loya and Kuzan's energy value increased by only 50 points now. Closing the panel, Loya prepared for the next practice session.
Dragon Slayer Magic is a skill that uses force to break through abilities. As the level of magic power increases, its power is greatly enhanced. And the ice modeling magic, combined with the freezing abilities of Kuzan, naturally improves very quickly.
However, this is not what Loya is pursuing.
Who doesn't have a bit of bloodlust in their heart after watching Riman? Loya yearns for the kind of fight that hits the flesh, rather than using skills to battle. But due to his own strength and other limitations, he cannot engage in that level of combat yet.
So, Loya is determined to develop a new move, one that can improve his melee ability.
The idea for the move comes from the explosive state in which the Dragon Slayer Mage absorbs a lot of magic power in the original Fairy Tail. But here lies the problem: although this world has a bug-level product like Devil Fruit abilities, it has no magic power, or at least no one who can use it.
I want the horse to run, but I don't want the horse to graze.
It is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice.
Thus, Loya thought of a solution. Magic—don't you have it? And since he can shape magic, why should he draw magic from the outside? Anyway, his Dragon Slayer Magic wasn't taught by the Dragon Mother. What if it could work?
So he attempted a risky experiment: he used modeling magic within his own body!
Although it was excruciating each time, after many attempts, he finally figured out a feasible solution!
Slowly gathering magic power in his hand, Loya recalled the feeling from the previous battle and pressed his hand against his stomach. Magic power is intangible and formless; as long as it isn't allowed to form ice cubes, it can be pressed from the outside into the body.
At that moment, as the magic entered his body, Loya's eyes widened. The sensation was like exposing his internal organs to dry ice and snow... very intense.
But the next moment, this feeling quickly disappeared, and the special physique of the Dragon Slayer Sorcerer sensed the invasion of external magic. Some changes began to occur that even Loya couldn't understand.
He felt a loosening in his hand, as the magic link from his palm vanished instantly. Then his body began to heat up, his heart raced, and the magic power started to boil.
Realizing he had succeeded this time, Loya stood up abruptly, took a deep breath, and wrapped the magic around his body. Next, he needed to test his strength.
Hum!
The magic power surrounding his body created a shockwave, expelling the invisible air in ripples like water. One after another, blue magic lines emerged from his body, flashing and disappearing with his breath, making him appear mysterious and unpredictable.
Feeling the boiling power within him, Loya raised his fist and struck the air twice.
Snapped! Snapped!
The crisp sound of breaking the air echoed, and Loya smacked his lips, shaking his head in disappointment. He felt a bit stronger than before, but the increase was limited.
Although he had gained a considerable boost, his speed and strength had nearly doubled, his physical stamina still couldn't match that of a general who had mastered the Navy's Sixth Form. It was still a long way from being able to use it as a conventional fighting method.
Just when Loya began to feel regret, he suddenly noticed a piece of skin on the back of his hand that seemed to be cracked, with the dried dead skin curling upward.
"What is this? Aged old skin..."
Loya used his fingernail to prod at it, but the sensation from his fingers made him blink in confusion.
"This hardness... is it a nail? No... it is!" Loya thought of a possibility, forming an ice needle on his finger and thrusting it down at the cracked skin.
Jingle~
The ice needle in his hand shattered, and Loya saw that the cracked skin flashed with a hint of dark blue. The surrounding dry dead skin was shaken off, revealing a blue outline the size of a fingernail. From the outline, it appeared to be the scales of something.
Recalling the scene from the original story, Loya retracted his hand and carefully observed: "This, is it a dragon scale?"
He vividly remembered the changes that occurred in him when he advanced from the first rank to the second rank. Since then, while there had still been considerable movement with each upgrade, the dragon's influence that radiated from him to others had faded from his memory.
Today, when he saw the dragon scale on his hand again, he immediately recalled what it was.
Loya caught a glimpse of inspiration, turning the dragon scale towards the light, half-squinting his eyes.
"Perhaps I can take the initiative to enter that... half-dragon state."