Ability User (1)!

Under the moonlight, Merlin saw his face clearly.

Meanwhile, in his right hand, he held a revolver aimed at himself. Merlin looked at him warily:

"Viscount of the Mela family, it's you!"

Mela's eyes darted around as he looked at Merlin, gritting his teeth. "Who are you? Was it you, bastard, who was throwing bombs around my house earlier?

Do you know this could attract enemy soldiers?"

Merlin's gaze didn't waver. "Laplace, my father is Lance. You should know him. Didn't you used to partner with him to mine platinum-lead ore veins?"

Mela's eyes flashed with ferocity for a moment. Lance? That stray dog from another country who got lucky and married Lucia.

At this moment, by the moonlight, Merlin saw the jealousy and hatred appear in his eyes. Without a word, he pulled a grenade from his waist, darted to the side, and pulled the pin.

Bang bang! Instantly, two gunshots rang out.

Merlin dodged the bullets, weaving left and right. Three seconds later, he hurled the grenade towards the window. A crisp landing sound was heard, followed by a booming explosion.

A miserable scream was mixed with the sound of the explosion. Merlin hid behind a sofa, panting heavily, and looked at the blood seeping from his right forearm.

Biting his lip, his eyes glinted with ferocity, and he took another grenade from his waist.

He gripped the safety lever with his right hand, pulled the pin with his left, and listened quietly to the sounds outside. A suppressed groan came from outside.

Without hesitation, Merlin pulled the pin and charged forward. In the first second, he ran two meters; in the second, he saw Mela rolling on the ground outside; in the third, he threw the grenade.

In the fourth second, he turned and dove to the ground. Boom! An explosion sounded.

A blast wave, mixed with flames, hit him.

He pulled another grenade from his right hand, rolled backward, and got up. Merlin looked at the situation outside, and his eyes suddenly widened.

Mela had transformed into a half-beast, werewolf-like form, struggling to get up, his eyes glowing green as he stared intently at Merlin.

He's an Ability User?

Click! Merlin pulled the pin, his eyes fixed on him. Seeing Merlin's action, Mela roared and stumbled to his feet, running outside.

In the second second, Merlin threw the grenade with all his might, hitting precisely near Mela's right foot. Boom! An explosion sounded.

Merlin lay on the ground, shielding his head with his hands, squinting and staring intently in his direction.

Mela was sent flying by the grenade and rolled away.

A few seconds later, seeing Mela lying motionless on the ground, Merlin gritted his teeth, pulled out another grenade, and pulled the pin. After counting for two seconds, he threw it at him.

As soon as the grenade hit him, Mela suddenly burst up and rolled to the side.

Boom!

This time the explosion sent him flying. Mela let out a piercing scream, his right lower leg completely blown off.

He pulled out another grenade, pulled the pin, and Merlin still counted for two seconds before throwing it at him.

Boom! Mela was blown to the ground again. A few seconds later, flames ignited on him. Merlin hesitated for two seconds, pulled out another grenade, held it in his left hand, bit the pin near his mouth, and slowly walked over, drawing a dagger from his leg.

He came to his side, who had reverted from his half-beast form. Merlin stepped on his mangled, bloody, broken leg. Mela's body twitched, but he made no other sound.

Merlin breathed a slight sigh of relief, slowly crouched down, and placed the back of his right hand on his broken leg. With a thought, a stunned gray rat appeared outside, and Mela's body vanished.

At this moment, Merlin sat on the ground, a deep sense of lingering fear flashing in his eyes:

"He's actually an Ability User. I've never heard of such a thing."

However, just then, as Mela was equipped, the [Equipment Slot] in front of him transmitted a peculiar piece of information into Merlin's consciousness.

Merlin understood this information.

[Detected a complete Origin Power, do you wish to strip it?]

His eyes gradually widened, Merlin's heart pounded. He suddenly had a guess and with a thought:

"Strip."

Then, Mela's image in the [Equipment Slot] blurred. After more than ten seconds, Merlin saw a swirling wolf-shaped mist of energy appear in the equipment slot.

Immediately, another message appeared in his consciousness.

[Each Equipment Slot can only equip one "Equipment". Choose the "Equipment" to equip at this moment.]

Without any hesitation, the next moment, Mela's tragic body appeared outside.

At this time, the image of the [Equipment] in the [Equipment Slot] changed, showing a ferocious wolf-like figure made of mysterious energy.

Then, a message appeared in his consciousness once more.

[Detected a complete Origin Power, do you wish to consume it to generate a new "Equipment Slot" frame?]

Merlin's mouth fell open. After clarifying the information, his heart stirred:

"So, the Origin Power of a Devil Fruit can be used to expand the number of my equipment slots?"

Without immediately agreeing, Merlin looked at Mela in front of him. His chest was still faintly rising and falling. "He's not dead even after stripping his Devil Fruit power?"

Could this be the special ability of his [Equipment Slot]?

Merlin wasn't entirely sure, but it didn't stop him from landing the finishing blow. Gripping his dagger, he plunged it into the enemy's neck. With a thwip, a spray of blood splattered across Merlin's cheek.

At this moment, he looked incredibly ferocious.

Without realizing it, killing didn't seem so nauseating anymore.

Merlin didn't know if this was good or bad, but he knew that by getting used to this, he might be able to live longer in the future.

He exhaled a breath of stale air.

Merlin looked at the equipment he currently had.

[Name: Unknown Origin Power]
[Effect: Upon equipping, grants the ability to transform into a jungle wolf and freely switch between human, beast, and half-beast forms, along with the biological traits of a jungle wolf.
However, it also comes with a natural limitation (PS: This limitation is intrinsically tied to this origin power; it can be "weakened" but not erased).]
[Synchronization Value: 1%]
[Evaluation: A supernatural creation ingeniously combining pure willpower and the world's origin.]

"Could this be the true origin of Devil Fruits?"

Shock flickered in Merlin's eyes. In his past life, the internet was filled with various theories about the origin of Devil Fruits, but he never expected...

He stopped dwelling on it. Existence is reasonable.

Merlin could sense a strange power suddenly appear within his body, and simultaneously, information about a Devil Fruit ability was instinctively understood.

"Zoan type. Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Jungle Wolf?"

Feeling his body enhanced by the Zoan-type Devil Fruit ability, an immense sense of power surged through him. At the same time, he noticed an itching sensation from the wounds on his thigh and right arm.

The wounds were healing at an accelerated rate.

Joy flashed in his eyes. It seemed fine to equip it for now. He looked at the [Equipment Slot] interface before him.

The name of the equipped item had already changed under the influence of his subconscious.

[Name: Zoan type. Jungle Wolf Form]

With a thought, the equipment interface disappeared from his sight. Merlin looked around, re-holstering the grenades on his waist. He looked at the four grenades remaining.

He pondered, "Should I go kill them again to snatch some more grenades?"

But the next moment, he quickly shook his head:

"Viscount Mela's existing injuries were likely caused by those soldiers.

I can't get overconfident!"

Looking around, Merlin thought about where Mela had appeared earlier. He stepped on the rat he had just equipped and then walked in a certain direction.

A wolf's nose is very sensitive. Even though the area was filled with the smoke of explosions, the scent wouldn't dissipate that easily.

He walked left around the broken window of the main building. After a minute, Merlin found a secret passage leading downwards in a well-hidden rock cave by the wall.

Merlin looked at the large stone that had been moved aside, revealing a circular opening about one meter in diameter.

At this moment, Merlin's eyebrows twitched as he looked at a briefcase beside the cave entrance.

Simultaneously, his nose twitched. He sniffed and detected no other scents from inside the cave. Recalling that Viscount Mela had never been known to be married or have children, A look of understanding flashed in Merlin's eyes. The briefcase likely contained his luggage.

Thinking this, Merlin opened the briefcase. The first thing he saw was stacks upon stacks of ten-thousand Belly bills exuding the scent of ink.

Each stack, in Merlin's estimation, contained about a hundred bills. He flipped through them casually; there were about thirty stacks, totaling thirty million Belly.

Continuing to rummable through the briefcase, he felt a hard object wrapped in cloth. Merlin grasped it, pulled it out, and opened it, his expression immediately turning solemn.

In his hand, he held a fruit with peculiar patterns.

Covered in spiraling arabesque patterns.

It was half the size of his palm, shaped like a plum.

It was a strange Devil Fruit.