Ability User (2)!

"Ha... ha..."

Before he knew it, Merlin's heart had begun pounding violently. He couldn't help exhaling heavily, expelling the stale air from his lungs.

A look of disbelief flashed through Merlin's eyes. "Mera's that rich?"

"Not only is she an Ability User, she even has a Devil Fruit in her possession?"

By the moonlight, Merlin examined the strange fruit in his hand, its surface patterned with dark, flame-like swirls.

He crouched slightly, his eyes unfocused. "What kind of Devil Fruit is this?"

Merlin didn't know. He'd never seen a fruit encyclopedia.

Then an idea came to him. "The jungle wolf isn't a particularly powerful ability, and using it to expand my Equipment Slots will be more convenient for my future development."

More importantly, Merlin figured that if he extracted the fruit's essence—which had no physical form—it would probably scatter and "escape" right away.

And he had no way to contain that kind of Origin Power.

Merlin wasn't greedy. The fact that the Equipment Slot could strip a fruit's essence from an Ability User was already a stroke of luck.

There was no need to be too greedy.

Besides, he didn't have to rush.

The Zoan's regenerative ability should heal his wounds completely before long.

He stuffed the Devil Fruit into his pocket.

Merlin walked into the main building and took the sword from the rack. He looked around and soon spotted a two-meter-long cage in the corner of the living room. Inside it was a large, brownish-gray cat.

A lynx.

It was about half a meter long and looked like a half-grown kitten.

Its limbs were thicker and longer than those of an ordinary house cat. Black tufts stood erect at the tips of its pair of pointed ears.

Long fur hung down from its cheeks. Its upper body was light brown, its underside pale, and its tail was only about a handspan long, with a black tip.

It looked rather imposing.

But at the moment, it seemed listless. Its bright yellow eyes watched Merlin warily.

"Hss! Hah!"

The lynx opened its mouth, bared its fangs, and hissed threateningly at Merlin.

Merlin smiled, then went over, picked up the cage, and carried it outside. As he passed Mera's body, he spotted a piece of her revolver that had been blown apart. A flicker of regret crossed his eyes.

Without lingering, Merlin went to the artificial rockery, set the cage down, and stared at the lynx inside.

This kind of feline was one of the more powerful members of the cat family. If he equipped it, it should be more useful than the rat.

At that moment, Merlin's thoughts shifted. He activated his ability, and his body visibly began to change.

In the next instant, a jungle wolf covered in gray-brown fur and wearing clothes appeared at the mouth of the rockery's cave.

Feeling the explosive strength and abundant energy surging through his body, Merlin's eyes glimmered with a faint yellow light.

The little lynx's fur immediately stood on end. It let out a low, rumbling growl to frighten Merlin.

He moved around, jumping and walking on all fours. After transforming into this beast form, Merlin had an instinctive command of his body.

He moved without the slightest awkwardness, his nose catching the various scents in the air around him.

Then his body stretched and changed again, shifting into a half-beast form: a wolf's head on a human body, with sharp fangs and claws, and gray-brown fur covering him from head to toe.

Feeling his wounds heal faster after activating the ability, Merlin considered the matter. He could feel the strength surging through him, while his stamina and mental energy slowly drained away.

He jumped in place, punching and kicking.

He tested out his body's condition.

"My body's much stronger now than it was after equipping [Rat]. This is an all-around improvement."

As he analyzed the situation, cold sweat broke out across Merlin's back. He'd been lucky to act decisively and use the grenade to cripple Mera.

If she'd been more alert, he would never have made it out alive.

Still in his half-beast form, Merlin walked around the villa and found some ham and fruit wine inside.

After a hearty meal, he felt his strength return, and his wounds healed even faster.

In less than twenty minutes, the wounds had closed and scabbed over. They no longer hindered his movements.

Merlin went to the rockery and opened the cage. His left hand shot inside and seized the lynx by the neck, yanking it out. As it hissed and clawed at him, he punched it hard in the head with his right hand.

After two more punches, the lynx went limp in his hand.

He'd beaten it unconscious.

Merlin stuffed the unconscious lynx back into the cage. With a thought, the [Equipment Slot] appeared before him. He then mentally selected [Confirm] to consume the essence.

At that moment,

the wolf-shaped energy in the Equipment Slot was enveloped in a brilliant blue light.

It spread inward from the outside.

Merlin instinctively understood that this Origin Power was being absorbed and consumed.

A mere ten minutes later, the Devil Fruit's Origin Power was completely used up. Merlin looked at the two [slots] now sitting side by side in the Equipment Slot.

At the same time, as the jungle wolf's fruit power vanished, the strength it had lent him disappeared as well.

A sense of loss welled up inside him. Once again, Merlin felt how weak he was.

Then Merlin pressed his lips together and took the unknown Devil Fruit from his pocket. The next instant, it vanished.

In the first [slot], an image of a black fruit appeared.

[Name: Devil Fruit]

[Effect: Once equipped, grants you the ability to manipulate calamities. Using black flames as a medium, you can absorb, store, and release the effects of calamities (you must understand the principles behind a calamity's makeup to absorb and store it). Each of your ten fingers can store one type of calamity.

However, you will also be subject to a Natural Limitation (PS: This limitation is inseparable from this Origin Power. It can be "weakened," but not erased).]

[Synchronization Value: 1%]

[Evaluation: A supernatural creation born from the ingenious fusion of pure wish power and the origin of the world.]

Merlin's gaze sharpened as he sensed that same instinctive awareness returning to his body.

Through the Equipment Slot's display and his instinctive grasp of the Devil Fruit power he'd gained, Merlin understood what kind of ability he had received.

Paramecia. Calamity Fruit.

Then the name of the [Equipment] changed.

[Name: Calamity Fruit]

He felt the ability that had appeared within him, and knew instinctively how to use it.

Under the moonlight, Merlin's eyes lit up. "It looks like I can cure my Lead Platinum Disease."

The disaster and suffering inside his body were themselves forms of calamity.

And the Calamity Fruit's power allowed him to manipulate calamities within living beings, provided he understood how they were constituted.

At that moment, Merlin sensed several [calamities] within his body. One of them was the toxin-type calamity known as Lead Platinum Disease.

Merlin had been dealing with the Lead Platinum toxin for more than ten years. He knew it inside out.

He held out his right hand. A mass of deep, inky black flames rose up, bringing with them a sense of unease.

Merlin couldn't feel the slightest warmth or destructive force from the flames, yet they filled him with a deep, instinctive dread.

His right hand wrapped in black flames, he slowly pressed it against his chest. In an instant, the flames surged up and covered his body.

Through a unique kind of perception, Merlin could sense the various calamities within him.

The most obvious ones were...

The sickly white representing Lead Platinum Disease.

The light red representing external injuries.

And a variety of other shades, light and dark, that he couldn't describe or understand.

With a thought, the Lead Platinum toxins accumulated in his body began to be slowly drawn out.

Within the black flames, a faint, mottled-white glow emerged.

A moment later, Merlin let out a long breath. The persistent, bone-deep pain inside him had vanished completely.

The calamity representing his Lead Platinum Disease had been absorbed and extracted.

Merlin raised his left index finger. Its mottled-white color had disappeared without him noticing.

Since he understood the toxin, he had completed its [Absorption]. And because he understood it, all that remained was [Storage]. Merlin touched the middle finger of his left hand with his right. The next instant, the finger turned mottled white from the base up. He had successfully [Stored] the Lead Platinum Disease calamity.

At that moment, Merlin instinctively understood that he now had a [bullet] of calamity. He could [Release] it by making contact with black flames.

A glimmer of black fire flickered in his eyes. Merlin instinctively realized that a stored calamity was only a one-time [bullet]. Once released, it disappeared. It wasn't something he could keep permanently.

"I see. So that's how it works. A calamity is like a bullet that I have to store myself. Right now, I'm like a pistol that can fire ten rounds.

"Not a Desert Eagle with unlimited ammo."

"But Devil Fruits have a stage called Awakening, and the [Equipment Slot] can also deeply explore an [Equipment]'s potential."

"Maybe, in the future, I'll be able to permanently store all the calamities whose principles I understand."