Chapter 17 Victory! New way to upgrade

Kuzan naturally saw Loya's action. He recalled that Loya had used that move last night and couldn't help expressing sympathy for Aldo. Although he didn't know the difference between the ice modeling magic and the ice dragon slaying magic, he was sure that as far as the freezing effect was concerned, Loya was no longer weaker than him.

"Where are you fighting, boy!" Aldo laughed at Loya, preparing to kick him away with a single blow. But when he pulled back hard, he found that this time the ice cubes were completely different from before. With this force, he almost stumbled.

"What!" Aludo's eyes widened as he looked at his frozen feet. The ice cubes that he had been able to break free from just moments ago now felt as hard as steel.

Loya coughed softly, spitting out the congestion in his lungs. He stepped on the ice blade made of ice and circled around Aldo with his hands behind his back, teasing him. "Yo, big man, come and beat me! I've been feeling itchy lately, and I really need to be beaten!"

"Hateful!" Aldo's calf turned black as he used his armed color to dominate. But let's be clear: Loya was not a real Devil Fruit user. Even if he were, once the ice cubes were created, they became existing objects and would not be restrained by armed domination. Armed dominance could make abilities ineffective, but it couldn't make objects disappear.

Although Aldo's strength increased after using his Dominance, he still couldn't move. The pain in his feet convinced him to abandon that idea, and he raised his fist to slam it down hard. "Even if it's steel, my fist will smash it!"

"Yeah, but I won't give you that chance!" Loya smiled and smashed the palm of his hand. An icicle, seemingly alive, circled through his armpit, binding Aldo's upper body. To prevent him from breaking free, Loya kicked upward, reinforcing the binding with Dragon Slayer magic.

After doing this, he slid in front of Aldo and spread his hands. "You're stronger than me, your moves are more flexible, and you can also use armed colors to dominate. You're definitely not my opponent when I rely on my rogue fist. But to fight, you have to use your brain. You're so stupid; I can't help but play with you."

...

In the end, Aldo reluctantly conceded defeat. Kuzan's face was as black as coal, but he couldn't say much and proudly announced Loya's victory.

After the match, the duo and Aldo left the training ground. The former was to inform their companions that a powerful guy was going to join the elite camp, while the latter was simply feeling beaten and unhappy.

Only the swordsman remained in the training ground, sitting cross-legged in meditation.

Although he was upset, Kuzan still performed his duties as agreed and explained things to Loya. "The ability to freeze seems powerful, but its point-based attack is far inferior to other natural abilities. For example, Akainu's lava will burn you if you get too close, but ice doesn't have that same immediate threat. If you want to freeze the enemy, it can only be through direct contact. Ice provides wide area coverage, so it's more of a support and field control effect. I also know your ability focuses on freezing, which is completely different from the large-area attacks of the natural types. Your next training should aim to strengthen your capabilities in this area and develop your own moves. You can't just imitate me and rely on brute strength."

Kuzan said this while turning his hand into an ice sculpture and moving his fingers. "And the most important point is that your freezing ability is a form of addition. It doesn't make a person immune to ordinary attacks. I suggest you strengthen the defensive power of the ice armor you just used. You should focus on protecting key positions instead of forming armor all over your body; it must be exhausting to do so."

Loya nodded, muttering to himself, "It really is exhausting. The consumption of 500 mana in one minute is enough for me to punch three times."

"Okay, mainly those two points. Now let's discuss your understanding of applying your freezing ability in actual combat."

...

It was getting dark, and the soldiers who had been busy all day gradually returned to the dormitory to rest. The huge naval headquarters slowly became quiet.

The process of developing fruit abilities is not about vigorous miracles; on the contrary, it requires more quiet thinking and exploration. Kuzan brought him here, not just because the space was big enough, but because it was quiet enough.

As for the little thought just now, Kuzan would never admit it.

After several hours of discussions and demonstrations, Loya was stunned. Many doubts and ideas were resolved and corrected, and various misunderstandings regarding his use of ice modeling magic were pointed out one by one. Meanwhile, Kuzan considered ways for him to improve. Dragon slaying magic could only rely on the system; that was not Kuzan's area of expertise.

Seeing Loya's contemplative expression, Kuzan patted his pants and stood up, looking up at the moonlight. "Ah la la, it's so late. Then, I'll go back first. If there are no accidents, we'll still meet here tomorrow."

Loya quickly stood up, bent over, and bowed. "Yes, please walk slowly, Mr. Kuzan."

"Don't call me teacher!" Kuzan waved his hand impatiently and slowly walked away with his hands in his pockets.

Watching Kuzan leave, Loya turned and followed.

"Well, Admiral Kuzan is indeed quite suitable for the position."

At that moment, Loya remembered the discussions among netizens about Kuzan when watching anime in his previous life. Because of the subsequent plot, everyone expressed confusion towards Kuzan. But so what? Loya believed Kuzan was definitely a good person.

Even if he was afraid of trouble, he did not brush off his promises and taught Loya seriously. Based on his habitual judgments, Loya didn't believe that Kuzan was really turning to the dark side.

After cleaning up, Loya lay on his bed, smelling the meat, and soon fell asleep.

Ms. S was kind to him. Knowing that he would be hungry soon, she prepared a pot of big meat bones and placed it at his door, covered with a lid for insulation, along with a note.

...

The next day, Loya got up to freshen up and hurried to the training camp.

Just kidding—General Zefa personally ordered him to clean the toilets for a month!

Carrying a mop and a bucket, Loya hummed a song while cleaning the toilet.

The major-general instructor of the seventh team walked in and heard Loya singing. He couldn't help but ask in a funny way, "Loya, what's so fun about cleaning the toilet? You don't like this job, right? Hahaha!"

"Cut, a child is not a fish and knows the joy of a fish~"

Loya snorted disdainfully and handed the mop to his feet. "Please let me be; be careful of slipping!"

Although he didn't understand what Loya meant, the instructor didn't care. Remembering that he had urinated on his pants and had to change yesterday, he hurriedly opened the door to the compartment and hid inside.

Of course, there was a reason for Loya's cheerfulness.

Just yesterday, he discovered an excellent way to quickly increase his energy value. Silently opening Goldfinger, Loya looked at it happily.

Name: Christopher Loya

Energy Stage: Second Order, Zero Layer

Energy Value: 120/400

Mana: 3500/3500

Mana Recovery Speed: 300/s

In one day, his energy value increased by a full 100 points!

The food in the naval cafeteria didn't increase the energy value much. Even with Ms. S's elaborate cooking and last night's showdown, the energy value only increased by 20 points.

Most of the 100 points of energy came from his duel with Aldo, and the rest came from his discussions with Kuzan.

Loya speculated that once the energy stage reached the second layer, the method of increase was no longer too reliant on energy intake. It seemed that the Dragon's body had reached a critical point, and more improvement would require his understanding of himself—commonly known as practice.

This kind of training could be a run, a duel, or a long talk. Anyway, as long as it was helpful for improving strength, he would gain a high amount of energy based on the situation.

"When the body of the dragon reaches 20%, I'm afraid that eating won't increase the energy value anymore."

Loya sighed. Although he had found a new way to be promoted, he still missed the days when he could promote himself by eating, sleeping, and playing Doudou.