Ability Test

Dawn tore through the deep blue night, painting the rugged coastline with cold light.

Adams stood at the edge of the damp beach like a silent reef.

He removed the rapier from his waist and set it beside his feet on the coarse sand, along with an enormous burlap backpack nearly as tall as he was.

The backpack hit the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Adams took a deep breath, sank his consciousness into his body, and an indescribable force instantly surged forth, violently reshaping every part of him.

His bones warped with teeth-grinding cracks, while his skin was stretched apart by rapidly growing, bizarre tissue and covered in a hard layer of material.

In the blink of an eye, an aberrant creature that defied common sense replaced his former appearance.

Where Adams's eyes should have been, there were now only lifeless oval yellow patches.

His nose extended straight downward, while his lips became thick and two fangs grew out.

Brown ring-shaped patterns covered his entire body like tree rings brutally carved into ancient wood by the passage of time.

His limbs completely lost the shape of human hands and feet, becoming otter-like webbed claws covered in coarse, short fur.

(PS: After careful consideration, the author has decided to alter the protagonist's transformed appearance through changes in faith. As mentioned in the previous chapter, Baas's specific appearance came from the faith of the Sky Island people, but faith can be changed later on.

Considering that many readers find it ugly, the author can reveal in advance that after the faith changes, the beast form will become the protagonist's own appearance. Also, this most primitive beast form will only appear twice, and there will only be two such transformations in the entire story.)

Adams pulled a round mirror from the huge backpack. Its cold surface faithfully reflected that grotesque image, enough to freeze one's soul.

"Pfft, this really is ugly. Looks like I'll need a Rumble Ball makeover later."

He knew what Baas's idol looked like and had long prepared himself mentally for a bizarre transformation, but seeing it in person was still hard to accept. Without much thought, he decided he would make some modifications later.

"Hopefully this Mythical Zoan power is really worth it. Otherwise, I seriously got ripped off."

He casually tossed the mirror back into the backpack, his movements carrying a trace of barely noticeable irritation.

The instant the round mirror fell into the burlap folds, a small hand formed in the damp sand several steps behind Adams. Its palm faced upward, with a strangely embedded eyeball rolling nimbly at its center.

Far away, at the edge of the dark, damp forest beyond the coastline, an extremely tiny figure crouched behind a thick tree root.

Robin tightly covered her mouth, her small body trembling faintly with excitement. There was none of the shock or disgust one might expect on her childish face. Instead, a pure light of delight glittered in her clear blue eyes.

"So... cute..."

A tiny exclamation, as soft as a mosquito's buzz and filled with childish delight, slipped with difficulty through the gaps between her fingers.

Unlike normal people, she found this kind of strange-looking thing cute instead.

Adams had no idea about the spying eye in the sand behind him.

His mind was wholly immersed in exploring this body for the first time. His webbed claw gripped the rapier's hilt beside him. The blade left its sheath, drawing a cold arc beneath the newborn sunlight as it slashed without hesitation at his ring-patterned forearm.

Clang—!

A piercing metallic crash rang out as the blade struck something like refined steel and bounced sharply upward.

The bark-like scales on Adams's arm did not even bear the faintest white mark.

Only the violent recoil transmitted through the sword ran from his webbed claw to his shoulder, bringing a clear numb ache.

"Huh, this defense is pretty insane."

This defensive boost felt almost comparable to the Azure Dragon Fruit's dragon scales. After all, as far as he remembered, other Zoan Fruits did not seem to provide any defensive boost.

The beast form's defense was off the charts. Then... what about the hybrid form?

Adams shifted his thoughts again. The Devil Fruit power flowing through his body, like tamed lava, began to consciously draw inward and adjust.

His lips, nose, and teeth returned to normal. His webbed claws shrank back into human fingers.

Only the dark brown tree-ring patterns remained coiled over his chest and the outsides of his arms like living things. His eyes were still two oval yellow patches set into a face that had otherwise regained its handsome contours, adding several degrees of inhuman eeriness.

Adams took out the mirror, looked at his current appearance, then let out a breath.

"Thankfully, the hybrid form only makes my eyes look weird. I can barely accept this."

He slashed himself again and got the same result as before. Thus, he concluded that the hybrid form and beast form had no difference in defensive power.

He undid the transformation. Picking up the rapier from the ground again, he flashed the blade and mercilessly cut at his left arm.

A distinct red mark instantly appeared on his skin, slightly raised as its edges quickly became congested and swollen. A burning pain shot up his nerve endings straight into his brain.

"Looks like the defensive boost only applies after transforming, though my normal defense has improved quite a bit too."

Adams looked at the red mark and analyzed it unhurriedly. He clearly remembered that before eating the Fruit, a blade could still cut him badly enough to draw blood.

Next came testing the Mythical Zoan abilities.

Adams turned his gaze toward the smooth pebbles polished by seawater on the beach. He reached out and casually scooped up a handful.

The pebbles felt cold and hard against his palm. He focused his thoughts, and a heavy force, as solid as the earth itself, spread from his palm and gently enveloped them.

A miracle was born in his hand. The pebbles instantly broke free from gravity's pull and floated steadily several inches above his outstretched palm, as though held aloft by an invisible hand. They slowly spun in the morning light.

Adams looked past the floating stones and locked onto a black reef ten meters away, its surface riddled with holes carved by the waves.

The suspended pebbles turned into several blurred gray streaks, tearing through the air with sharp, piercing shrieks! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!

A string of dull, heavy impacts erupted almost simultaneously. Several clouds of stone dust burst across the hard black reef. When the dust dispersed, seven or eight smooth-edged, bottomless holes had appeared in the rock, as if invisible drills had pierced it in an instant.

Adams nodded faintly, satisfaction flashing deep in his eyes. It truly possessed the Float-Float Fruit's ability.

Records were only records. He would not be at ease without testing it himself.

Next was creating Baas—the enhanced version of the Clay-Clay Fruit's ability.

Adams held his palm downward and spread his fingers. Countless grains of sand surged forth, and within only a few breaths, a two-meter-tall soldier made entirely of dark brown earth and sand rose from the ground before him.

It had no facial features, only a roughly shaped head and torso. Its limbs were simple columns, though its ten fingers were clearly defined.

Adams stepped back, flicked his wrist, and turned the rapier into a swift streak of silver lightning that precisely sliced toward the clay soldier's neck.

Mud splattered as the soldier's head fell in response, smashing onto the beach and breaking apart into a puddle of sludge.

Yet the headless clay body did not collapse. At its severed neck, fresh earth surged upward like living black asphalt, stretching and reshaping...

In less than two seconds, an identical head appeared atop that rough body again, perfectly restored.

"As expected, just like the soldiers made by the Clay-Clay Fruit, they possess immortality."

Adams spoke with delight. Immortal soldiers meant he would not need to pay military wages or death benefits. It also meant workers who could truly work around the clock.

Just as he was getting excited, hunger washed over him like a belated tide, accompanied by a deep sense of exhaustion.

Adams understood that repeatedly using his abilities had drained his stamina. It was only natural for this body, which had never been trained, to react this way.

He took a cold rice ball wrapped in oil paper from his backpack, sat down on the spot, and began chewing in large bites. He had expected this situation in advance.

As he swallowed food to replenish his strength, he kept his eyes fixed on the clay soldier without blinking. At the same time, he pulled an alarm clock from his backpack and set it on the sand beside him. The ticking of its second hand became the only rhythm in that moment.

He needed to determine how long this soldier could last.

He looked at the soldier, whose feet were exactly the same color as the beach.

His thoughts began to wander.

The soldier created on the beach was a mixture of earth and sand. What would one created on ordinary ground be like?

Thinking of this, Adams did not hesitate. He ran to a patch of normal soil nearby and created another soldier, only to find that its surface was exactly the same color as the ground beneath his feet.

His eyes lit up. Based on what he was seeing, he believed that on Drum Island, he could create snowman soldiers, while at the North or South Pole, he could create ice soldiers.

So his ability to create Baas was actually conceptual? It depended entirely on the composition of the ground beneath his feet.

At that thought, he could not help clicking his tongue in amazement.

When the second hand tirelessly completed its final rotation and the alarm clock let out a crisp, urgent ring-ring-ring—, the first soldier he had created collapsed completely like a sandcastle stripped of all support. It reverted into an ordinary pile of dirt and sand mixed into the beach, leaving no trace behind.

Adams glanced at the alarm clock.

"...One hour."

He repeated it quietly, stuffing the last bit of rice ball into his mouth and chewing hard.

"I hope further development can extend the time. Otherwise, it can't be used as a laborer at all."

Next, Adams tested the ability to assimilate with the earth and travel through the ground. He found that it was indeed consistent with the descriptions in the records.

After finishing all that, he stopped testing, because he had discovered through the documents last night that gravity and earthquakes were awakened abilities. He could not use them yet.

The ability tests were over. There was not the slightest hint of relaxation on Adams's face. He picked up the cold rapier again and planted his feet firmly.

With both the Float-Float and Heavy-Heavy "templates," naturally he had to become a swordsman.

He assumed the most basic slashing stance.

Whoosh—!

The sword edge split the air with a short, powerful whistle.

Whoosh—! Whoosh—!

Once, then again.

There were no flashy techniques, only the most primitive, pure mechanical repetition. Slash, withdraw, slash again.

Meanwhile, beneath the dense shadows at the edge of the forest.

A pure smile quietly bloomed across Robin's little face like a flower bud opening for the first time.

TO BE CONTINUED