Beyond the Rank! Island Routine

Unknown sea, unknown island.

Ice Dragon's Iron Fist!

A furious shout echoed through the forest. Blue light flashed past, followed by a dull impact and the crackling sound of ice forming.

Loa dropped from more than ten meters in the air, tapping the ground lightly a few times before steadying himself.

"Good. This boar will last me three days." Loa looked at the frozen boar that had shattered into several large chunks, his tone full of emotion.

This boar was no small creature. The two exposed tusks alone were as thick as Loa's arms. Lying on the ground, it resembled a mountain. Even one of its shattered hind legs was taller than Loa.

Its size could no longer be measured in pounds, but in tons.

Yet even so, it was only barely enough to feed Loa for three days!

After becoming a Dragon Slayer, Loa began exploring the island. At first, for safety's sake, he hunted creatures that resembled rabbits but were covered in scales. By now, even these giant boars that ruled the island had been added to his menu.

Because in just a few weeks, Loa had sorrowfully discovered that these boars seemed to be the only edible creatures left on the island. Other than poisonous animals, he had eaten everything else!

A Dragon Slayer's unique body required a great deal of food every day. On top of that, Loa had to strengthen his attributes, so he needed to eat constantly.

At the very beginning, when he was at the first rank, level zero, the energy needed to level up could be fully replenished with just over a dozen coconuts. But from level three onward, coconuts could no longer provide Loa with even the slightest bit of energy. He had no choice but to change his diet and slaughter the island's creatures in large numbers.

He discovered that the stronger the creature, the more energy it provided, allowing him to keep up with the pace of leveling.

As he leveled up and changed his diet along the way, Loa earned his first rare achievement since crossing over: eating an island into poverty!

Dispersing the ice around him, Loa turned ice into rods and threaded the chunks of pork together. With both hands, he lifted them effortlessly, hoisting a boar kebab more than ten times larger than himself onto his shoulder.

The strength boost brought by Dragon Body was far beyond what he had displayed just after crossing over. Back then, Loa had not recognized his current strength, and his brain's instinctive protective mechanism had automatically limited how much force he could exert. After weeks of practice, he could now remove that limitation and unleash his true power.

Carrying the meat skewers, Loa quickly returned to his dwelling: a cave. This cave had originally been the lair of a three-meter-tall brown bear, but Loa had taken it over and killed its former owner for meat.

Taking out the lighter in his bag, Loa shook it. Only a thin layer of liquid butane remained inside. It looked like it would not last much longer.

After setting the meat skewers outside the cave, Loa went inside and soon came back out carrying a pile of tinder. These things, made by rubbing dry leaves into fluff, were extremely convenient for starting fires.

For that, Loa had Bear Grylls to thank. He was grateful to that man who had lived alone on a deserted island for four weeks. By watching the videos he had filmed, Loa had at least learned the most basic wilderness survival skill—starting a fire.

After finding some dry branches and stacking them up, Loa used his lighter to ignite the leaf fluff and quickly made a bonfire. Thanks to the great Ice Dragon Slayer Magic, he did not need to worry about starting a forest fire and burning himself to death.

Removing a chunk of hind-leg meat, Loa washed the massive piece of pork by the stream, skewered it on a thick wooden stick, and set it by the bonfire to roast. He skillfully froze the remaining food, then looked up at the sky and waited absentmindedly for the pork to cook.

The past few weeks had turned Loa from a cheerful gaming shut-in into a taciturn hunter on a deserted island. During the first three days, he had been terrified. Every night, he curled up by the beach to sleep, afraid of missing any passing ships.

But as time passed, that hope and anxiety had gradually been swallowed by despair. He had vented, roared, and cried, but none of it helped his current situation. He might as well use that energy to find more clean leaves for bedding.

After calming down again, Loa pulled himself together and used ice to leave upright SOS signs on the beach and at the island's highest point. He did not know whether people in this world would understand their meaning, but even if they did not, writing appearing on such an uninhabited island would be enough to draw attention.

Then came the long wait.

The white residue left by seawater on the rocks was Loa's source of salt these days. He knew the stuff contained slight toxins and was bad for the human body in excessive amounts, but without replenishing the salt in his body, he would not even have the strength to go hunting every day.

Sprinkling a thin layer over the roasted pork, Loa tore into it in huge bites. Before long, a chunk of meat thicker than his waist had entered his stomach.

Then he took out another chunk of pork and set it up to roast. His stomach was already full, but his energy value was still insufficient.

Loa silently recited, "Cheat," and the panel appeared before him.

Name: Christopher Loa (World Auto-Correction)

Energy Stage: First Rank, Level Ten

Energy Value: 85/100

Magic Power: 1000/1000

Magic Power Recovery Speed: 100/s

Because he had frequently used Dragon Slayer Magic during this time, Dragon Body had improved through training, rising from 10% to 1%. The increase in Dragon Power that Loa had feared had not appeared; it was still at 1%.

Aside from that, the greatest changes were in these attributes. His magic power had reached 1000, double what it had been when he first crossed over, and his magic power recovery speed had also doubled.

His energy stage had finally reached first rank, level ten. Today, following the usual habits of browser games, was the moment to break through to the second stage.

After eating several more large chunks of pork, his energy value finally rose to 100/100!

Loa sucked the grease off his fingers, placed one finger over the arrow, and chose to upgrade.

Bzzzz!

The familiar hum sounded, and a blue magic circle appeared once more. Streams of blue energy emerged, rapidly pouring into his body.

But today was a little different. Whether in quantity or intensity, this blue energy was greater and stronger than during his previous upgrades. In the blink of an eye, countless strands of energy wrapped around his entire body like a whirlwind, forming a blue cocoon of light. At the same time, an inexplicable pressure leaked out from within and spread through the surroundings. It was as if the entire forest had been put on pause; not even the faintest insect chirp could be heard.

The trees were still, the flowing water was still, and even the clouds in the sky were still. Within this frozen picture, the only thing still moving was that constantly flickering cocoon of light.

The sensation seemed to last thousands of years, yet it also seemed to last only an instant. Suddenly, everything around him began moving again. The sea breeze rustled the leaves once more, the stream resumed flowing, and the forest became noisy again.

Crack!

A soft sound rang out. The cocoon had turned a deep blue, and a thin crack appeared on its blue shell.

Crack, crack, crack!

The crack widened further and further. From the outside, a faint bluish glow could already be seen within.

Boom!!

With a sudden explosion, the cocoon burst apart. Intense cold shot in every direction, freezing a large stretch of forest. Within the white vapor, a humanoid figure gradually emerged.

There was no trace of Loa's original appearance. He had grown ten centimeters taller, and his body had become more muscular. Pale blue dragon scales the size of fingernails densely covered him; anyone with trypophobia might faint at a single glance. At the same time, Loa's pupils had become golden vertical slits, their cold, ghostly gleam radiating a dangerous aura that made one's spine tingle.

But this state did not last long. As the energy dissipated, both the dragon scales and his sharp nails slowly retracted, returning him to the appearance of an ordinary person. Loa quietly closed his eyes, feeling the surging magic power within his body. After a long while, he opened them and stared excitedly at the diamond-shaped mark on his hand.

"Finally, I can use my ultimate!"