Success, The Choice of Lineage

The fruit in my hand looked exactly the same as the one I ate before.

"Doctor,"

Bright couldn't help but ask, "Did you make another replica of the Azure Dragon fruit? Except this time, it contains a different Lineage Factor?"

"What nonsense are you talking about,"

Vegapunk, sprawled lazily on a large chair, closed his eyes and said languidly, "The fruit you ate was one of a kind."

"Lineage Factors can be replicated as many times as you want, but for the ability, replicating one is already my limit."

What did he mean?

Was it that there wasn't enough material to replicate the Azure Dragon fruit? That there was only enough to replicate one from scratch?

Or perhaps, even though Vegapunk had broken the unique law of Devil Fruits, he couldn't overstep too much?

Devil Fruits were truly strange.

What exactly was this so-called ability?

In what form did it exist within the human body? Why could eating just one fruit grant people all sorts of magical abilities?

Why, after a Devil Fruit User died, would their ability detach from their corpse and randomly reappear in a fruit somewhere in the world?

Bright was extremely curious about the secrets of Devil Fruits.

But unfortunately, Vegapunk, possibly the only one in the world who held these secrets, showed no intention of explaining them to him.

Vegapunk said, "This fruit's purpose is to add new abilities on top of the previous fruit, or rather, to activate the dormant Lineage Factor within you."

Bright began to understand. It was like comparing the replicated Azure Dragon fruit's ability to a game's base version, and this new fruit was like a MOD.

"Try it, kid," Vegapunk sat up, his eyes revealing a strong sense of eagerness. "You should be satisfied."

Bright nodded. There was indeed no reason to hesitate.

He had prepared himself mentally; the taste of the last fruit was still fresh in his memory.

Opening his mouth, Bright took a large bite out of the fruit.

Unexpectedly, while the taste was still awful, it was much better than the last one.

Without further delay, Bright swallowed the remaining half of the fruit in another bite.

"Is that it?" he asked.

"Yes."

Vegapunk nodded. "Now, we just have to wait for it to mature."

"Can't I see the results yet?" Bright felt a bit disappointed.

It was like getting an amazing weapon in a game but not being strong enough to equip it, making one feel impatient.

"I told you, the fusion of Lineage Factors is different from abilities. Don't expect immediate results!"

Vegapunk said irritably, "You can think of it as your body gradually growing a new organ. Going from nothing to something naturally takes time."

Bright understood. "I get it. And after the organ forms, I'll need to train it, right?"

"Even guys like Kaido and Charlotte Linlin didn't stop training and fighting when they were young," Vegapunk said as a matter of course. "It should take a few days for it to take effect."

"You can go back and think about what kind of bloodlines you want. I'll see you in a week."

Bright nodded.

He really did need to think about this carefully.

"So, Doctor, how many bloodlines do I need to think of?" Bright asked the crucial question.

"Hmm..."

Vegapunk held up his hands and bent his left thumb and index finger in sequence. "Oh! Eight. That's about the limit, isn't it?"

There were that many?

On the way back, Bright's excitement hadn't subsided.

With eight remaining slots, that meant, including Kaido's Lineage Factor and the one he just received, a total of ten!

Bright even felt like it might be a bit too much of a cheat.

But then he thought, in the end, these were just abilities possessed by living beings, far inferior to Devil Fruit abilities.

However, it was enough. If he couldn't match the quality, he could make up for it with quantity, right?

Rear Admiral Hag, who had been following Bright the whole time, frowned. Why did this Fishman seem so happy today?

Did Dr. Vegapunk say something to him?

They returned to the prison without a word, and Bright immediately began his routine training.

Time flowed by, little by little.

Four days passed, and Bright felt that enough time had gone by, so he decided to try it out.

To see if the fruit he ate four days ago had any effect.

He chose the quiet late night, turned off the lights, and lay quietly on his side in bed.

As for the experimental method, it was very simple. After preparing himself mentally, he bit down hard on his tongue.

His teeth, sharp enough to easily crush steel, tore several bloody holes in the soft flesh of his tongue.

Bright's entire body tensed. His tongue, filled with nerves, was incredibly sensitive, and the pain from biting down was excruciating.

If he hadn't been constantly monitored in the prison, he wouldn't have resorted to biting his tongue.

Blood continuously seeped from the wounds, and Bright could only swallow his own blood.

Fortunately, the bleeding wasn't too severe and was manageable.

However, the bleeding didn't last long before Bright felt it stop.

Then, as time passed, the pain gradually subsided.

After about two hours, the deep wounds on his tongue had initially healed. After three hours, they had completely recovered.

Success.

Bright was certain in his heart.

The first lineage ability he chose came from a super-ancient sea cucumber, which granted the power of regeneration.

While it seemed unimpressive now that it took several hours to heal a bite wound on his tongue, in reality, according to Vegapunk, that sea cucumber possessed immense regenerative capabilities, able to regrow even if more than half of its body was bitten off by an enemy, as long as it wasn't dead.

Bright's life goal was simply to survive in this chaotic world, and he couldn't refuse the power of regeneration.

Bright was very excited about activating his first Lineage Factor.

Perhaps he could become an incredible powerhouse in the future?

In the darkness, Bright couldn't help but smile.

However, instead of fantasizing, it was better to think about what other abilities he might need.

First, of course, would be fundamental stats like defense, strength, and stamina, right?

Even though his potential in these areas should already be extraordinary after fusing with Kaido's lineage factor and his own, why not make them even better?

Fundamental stats were the most important.

Then he could consider lineage factors that could complement his abilities, like fire, lightning, or wind.

Hmm, he shouldn't just focus on combat-related abilities. Perhaps he could also solve his inability to swim?

Bright thought seriously for three days.

The agreed-upon time arrived.

Thank you to the great 'System That Wants Cheats' for the 100-point reward, and thank you to the great 'Xi Cun' for the 1500-point reward. Thank you to both great patrons for your generosity!