Semi-digitization had many benefits, such as allowing him to directly understand his own strength.
Thinking about it this way, becoming stronger would be much simpler. He only needed to improve his physical attributes while strengthening his practical combat ability.
No matter how strong his attributes were, if he could not bring them out in battle, they were meaningless.
Moreover, Su Xiao guessed that since he could be transported to the One Piece World, he would certainly be transported to other worlds as well. He would have plenty of opportunities to become stronger then.
His current attributes were: Strength 7 points, Agility 7 points, Vitality 5 points, Intelligence 6 points, Charm 3 points, and Luck—a pitiful 1 point.
There was no need to explain Strength and Agility. Their effects were obvious and closely related to his melee abilities.
Vitality represented the strength of one's life force and resistance to blows. Intelligence was related to spells, though its effects were still unclear.
Charm was even more puzzling. Could increasing Charm make him more handsome?
Su Xiao shook his head. Charm clearly did not work that way. It probably improved social or summoning abilities.
As for the final attribute, Luck, it should be extremely important and almost heaven-defying, but it was probably very difficult to increase.
Su Xiao was skilled with a blade, so his future development might be related to attributes such as Strength and Agility. He had yet to decide on a direction. After all, this was his first Derivative World, so it was too early to think about such things.
As Su Xiao pondered, the sound of branches snapping echoed from the distant forest. A huge beast was approaching.
It was here!
The one gradually approaching was the Master of Mt. Colubo—a massive Giant Tiger.
The Giant Tiger looked similar to an ordinary tiger, except that it was enormous. It stood over four meters tall and was at least seven or eight meters long, somewhat larger than an elephant on Earth. The creature was about the size of a house.
The Giant Tiger's deep-yellow fur was extremely rich in texture, its glossy coat reflecting a faint gleam beneath the bright sunlight.
Su Xiao hid in a tree, staring intently at the Giant Tiger below and even lowering the sound of his breathing.
With a beast like this, even the slightest noise could be detected, so Su Xiao was exceptionally cautious.
After approaching the trap Su Xiao had prepared, the Giant Tiger twitched its nose as if it had smelled danger, refusing to come any closer.
However, the few dried fruits on the trap held a deadly attraction for the Giant Tiger.
Su Xiao had bought these dried fruits from a general store in the Royal Capital. They were called Mutianzhi.
Mutianzhi was a dried fruit unique to the One Piece World. In the real world, there was a plant with similar effects: catnip.
Although the Master of Mt. Colubo was enormous, it could not overcome the instincts of a feline animal. It had no resistance at all to Mutianzhi, which was similar to catnip.
Catnip was even known as a drug for cats, possessing a deadly attraction for most feline animals.
Seeing the Giant Tiger's drooling gaze, Su Xiao knew his plan had succeeded.
The Giant Tiger paced around the trap, extremely cautious. It had detected an unfamiliar scent but did not sense any danger.
Finally, under the temptation of Mutianzhi, the Giant Tiger gradually approached the center of the trap.
The Giant Tiger cautiously took a few steps forward, then immediately stopped. It even began turning its head and scanning its surroundings.
Su Xiao's eye twitched from the tree, and he secretly sighed. The animals of the One Piece World had much higher intelligence than ordinary beasts.
Judging from the Giant Tiger's behavior, it had the intelligence of at least a ten-year-old child, perhaps even higher.
Time slipped through his fingers, and a long standoff began. This was a contest of patience.
In the end, the Master of Mt. Colubo could not resist the temptation of Mutianzhi and pounced forward.
Boom!
Dust billowed up as the Master of Mt. Colubo swallowed all the Mutianzhi on the ground and began chewing.
Mutianzhi did not taste good. It was not only bitter but also extremely astringent. Yet the Master of Mt. Colubo chewed it with great relish.
After chewing for a while, the Master of Mt. Colubo began to react. It changed from lying on its belly to lying on its back with all four paws in the air, rubbing its back against the grass.
The Master of Mt. Colubo was rolling around.
After an ordinary house cat consumed a large amount of catnip, this was the reaction it would have: hallucinating and rolling all over the ground.
Although the Master of Mt. Colubo looked mighty, it could not suppress this instinct. Its constantly drooling mouth showed that it had fallen into a hallucination.
The time was right. Su Xiao raised the Flintlock in his hand and aimed at the ground beneath the Giant Tiger.
That was right—the ground. Even if the Flintlock in his hand were fired at the Master of Mt. Colubo's eye, the Giant Tiger would only be injured, not killed. And with his marksmanship, he could not guarantee that he would hit its eye.
Su Xiao had buried a large amount of explosives in the soil beneath the Giant Tiger. He had also made some additional preparations above the explosives. They would be enough to give this Giant Tiger a nasty surprise.
He extended his arm and pulled the trigger of the Flintlock.
Bang!
The gunshot echoed through the forest, shattering its tranquility and startling a large flock of birds into flight.
After being heated by the explosive combustion of gunpowder, a scorching bullet flew from the muzzle, pushing waves through the air as it spun into the soil. A lush green blade of grass was severed, and fragments of leaves flew up.
The red-hot bullet first pierced the surface soil, then entered the powder barrel buried underground. The several-hundred-degree heat instantly ignited the gunpowder.
The sudden gunshot made the Master of Mt. Colubo, which had been rolling on the ground, shudder. It immediately tried to get up and flee, but it was too late.
Boom!
The tremendous explosion echoed through the forest. Every animal within a one-kilometer radius shuddered in fright and turned toward the source of the sound.
The more than ten explosive barrels buried underground detonated one after another, forming a chain reaction. The successive explosions merged into a single deafening roar.
The soil beneath the Master of Mt. Colubo sprayed outward in all directions, forming a radial pattern. Among the flying dirt, iron nails could vaguely be seen. Su Xiao had placed them atop the explosive barrels to increase the lethality of the blast.
The Master of Mt. Colubo, a massive creature weighing several tons, was propelled three meters into the air by the explosion beneath it. Hundreds of iron nails, driven by the blast, plunged deep into its body.
Roar!
A mournful tiger's roar rang out, but the nightmare did not end there.
Flames surged into the sky and swallowed the Master of Mt. Colubo in midair. The smell of singed fur filled the air.
Bang! The Master of Mt. Colubo crashed to the ground. Thick smoke produced by the burning gunpowder engulfed the Giant Tiger, accompanied by the sizzling sound of flames.
Su Xiao stood on a distant tree, coldly watching everything unfold, but his expression was not pleasant.
It was not because his sympathy had awakened. He had already fed that sort of thing to the dogs.
The reason his expression looked so grim was that the Giant Tiger had not died. At least, Reincarnation Paradise had not issued any notification.
The plan had gone smoothly, but the strength of the creatures in the One Piece World was terrifying.
Leaping down from the tree, bare-chested Su Xiao drew Dragon Slayer Flash from his waist and walked toward the cloud of smoke with the blade held in one hand.
Since the explosives could not kill it, he would cut it to death. As long as there was even the slightest hope of victory, he had the courage to fight. He had never feared battle.
From a certain perspective, Su Xiao was someone who was passionate about fighting.
That razor-thin sensation between life and death during battle made him forget his hatred and his past misfortunes, allowing him to devote himself completely to the fight until he killed his enemy.
Ahem, I got up a little late. I've been furiously writing lately, to the point that I no longer distinguish between day and night.
Before you continue