Splash, splash.
The sound of water reached Luo Sa's ears, catching his attention.
"Phew, I finally found a water source."
Licking his parched lips, Luo Sa walked over.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Just then, a series of roars rang out, and a huge bear appeared before him.
"I'm really hungry, so... please hurry up and die!"
Luo Sa decided to end the fight quickly. He transformed into his Winged Gull Half-Beastman form, his wings enveloped in white light, and instantly killed the bear!
Dragging the bear to the riverbank, Luo Sa couldn't resist scooping up some water and gulping it down.
"Hmm? What's this feeling?"
Suddenly, Luo Sa's eyes widened, and an expression of disbelief spread across his face.
He sensed that his Transformation Energy, which had reached 270 points, had surged by a significant amount, reaching 275!
Just one mouthful of water had increased his energy by five points!
Moreover, as he examined the feeling closely, he realized that even his body had grown a little stronger.
Luo Sa's eyes lit up. He plunged into the water and began drinking greedily.
But...
Even after drinking until his belly was full, his Transformation Energy didn't increase at all!
"No, that's not right. I really did feel energy flowing into my body from the water, even if it was only a tiny amount!"
Luo Sa frowned, unable to make sense of the situation.
"Could it be like Devil Fruits, where only the first mouthful has an effect?"
Patting his uncomfortably swollen stomach, Luo Sa thought of one possibility.
He shook his head in disappointment, then slapped his belly and spat out all the water inside.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Right then, his stomach rumbled, reminding him that it was time to eat!
Luo Sa had no choice but to set his doubts aside and start preparing his lunch.
Half an hour later, Luo Sa lay comfortably beneath a tree, one hand resting on his round belly.
He began checking his Transformation Energy, wondering whether he'd imagined the earlier increase because he was so hungry.
The result was astonishing. After eating the bear, his energy had increased by another point, reaching 276!
Luo Sa grew eager. The monsters on Monster Island seemed to be rather special!
He looked into the depths of the forest, and a slaughter was about to begin!
It was now the third day of the Survival Trial.
Over the past three days, Distress Flares had occasionally gone up into the sky.
Each one meant another recruit had been eliminated.
Astonishingly, eight out of ten recruits had been forced to withdraw because of dehydration.
Of the rest, more than one in ten had been badly injured and forced to leave after fighting wild beasts for access to water!
It was hard to believe, but it was true. During this Survival Trial, the greatest threat hadn't been the wild beasts, but the lack of water!
"Phew, three days have passed! I've really gone wild during these three days. I've been eating around ten wild beasts every day—hunting and eating, over and over!"
Thinking back on the past few days, Luo Sa felt a little ashamed.
Fortunately, his efforts had paid off. His energy had now reached 300 points!
An increase of 30 points in three days—it was crazy just thinking about it!
But he wasn't about to be satisfied with that. His hunting continued.
"Hmm? So that's how it is? This is the third wild beast I've eaten, and my energy hasn't increased by even a single point!"
Luo Sa's face darkened after finishing another wild beast.
Just like last time, once his energy reached 300 points, it had become several times harder to increase it!
Even so, Luo Sa didn't give up.
Another two days passed.
During that time, Luo Sa ate a full thirty wild beasts before his energy finally increased by one point, reaching 301.
"The difficulty has gone up thirtyfold?"
Luo Sa looked thoroughly displeased. This was well beyond what he'd expected!
And this was on Monster Island, where wild beasts could increase his energy. If he left, who knew how long it would take to gain a single point!
Five days of the Survival Trial had passed, leaving only the final two.
By now, almost everyone still in the trial was strong. No Distress Flares had gone up for quite some time.
As the strongest recruit in this year's New Recruit Camp, Sakartam naturally had what it took to survive.
A day ago, he and Monkey had killed the wild beasts at this water source and claimed it for themselves.
Then, three days ago, a troop of monkeys had unexpectedly arrived at the water source. As a Zoan Type Monkey-Monkey Fruit user, Monkey had used his Devil Fruit powers to become their king.
Over the past two days, the two of them had lived quite comfortably. The monkeys took care of any enemies that showed up.
But today, an unwelcome visitor had arrived at the water source. It wasn't a wild beast, but a person.
"It's that Luo Sa!"
A glint appeared in Monkey's eyes as he watched from a tree.
"It really is him! This is great, just great!"
Sakartam's face lit up with delight, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Kill him, Monkey. We have to kill him!"
Monkey was startled and hesitated. "That wouldn't be a good idea. If Vice Admiral Garp finds out, he won't let us get away with it!"
"What are you afraid of? This place is so remote that even if we kill him, no one will trace it back to us."
"We've been careful to stay out of sight of the surveillance all these days. We won't get caught!"
"Besides... who said we were going to do it ourselves?"
Sakartam sneered. "He'll be the one who overestimates himself and challenges the troop of monkeys. Then they'll kill him. What does that have to do with us?"
Monkey's eyes lit up. It really was a good plan. Even if anyone investigated, they could stay out of it!
"All we have to do is this... then this... and then this..."
The two of them huddled together and whispered for a long while before finally breaking into satisfied smiles.
Meanwhile, Luo Sa had no idea he'd been plotted against again. He was still eagerly searching for prey.
"Hmm? Why is it so quiet here? There should be a group of wild beasts guarding every water source!" Luo Sa narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Could the beasts be in the water?"
Luo Sa didn't bother thinking it over. He headed straight for the water. In his Winged Gull form, he was practically invincible in this forest.
And even if he couldn't win, he could still fly away. There was nothing that could keep him there!
As soon as Luo Sa reached the water source, a sudden uproar erupted around him. A troop of monkeys charged out of the forest and surrounded him from every side.
Before you continue