Chapter 22

The recruits buzzed with chatter, eyes darting to Laurent Minnie with a mix of confusion and curiosity.

Tony in the elite camp? Made sense. But Minnie? That left everyone scratching their heads. How'd she make it with nearly half the points of others?

From the seventh team stepped out a blonde - Laurent Minnie. Loya was caught off guard. Minnie, from the North Blue, was known for her kicking skills during training. Usually, that wouldn't translate well in a point-based, target-killing assessment.

Yet here she was, second place and headed for the elite camp. Why? Loya and the other recruits were all wondering the same thing.

Then Loya spotted her shoes - sturdy sea animal leather, now blood-stained and tattered, with frayed edges and toes peeking out. Those shoes, made for kicking experts, told a story of hard work and grit.

"A hardworking genius," Loya thought to himself.

The instructors ignored the recruits' murmurs. These decisions, proposed by Zephyr and voted on by all instructors, weren't random. Minnie's inclusion had majority approval, validating her strength.

But the announcements weren't done. The instructor continued, amid puzzled looks.

"Third place, Simon Dennis Westin, step forward!"

Simon was a familiar face in boot camp. Navy blood ran in his family for generations, and he'd always aimed to keep that legacy going. Despite working his butt off in swordsmanship and martial arts, he was sickly by nature. But he had one big ace up his sleeve - he was a Devil Fruit user.

At Simon's name, the recruits fell quiet. It wasn't his family's military history that silenced them, but the power of his Devil Fruit. Every assessment, anyone with a decent fruit ability made it to the elite camp. After all, a Devil Fruit user's potential was sky-high. Plus, Simon was one of the best snipers among the recruits, even without relying on his fruit.

Loya nodded to himself. "Now that makes sense. Though I wonder what kind of fruit he's got..."

As the recruits boarded the ship back to headquarters with mixed feelings about the results, Mole noticed someone still on the shore. Squinting, he grinned.

"Hey, Loya! Why aren't you on the boat? It's about to leave. Planning to swim back?"

Mole's taunt was clear—Loya was a Devil Fruit user, paralyzed by seawater. Loya responded with an icy glare and an ice spear attack. Munching on his overcooked pork chops, he inwardly sighed. He'd bet big on Simon making it, even tweaked the odds himself. Now his Bailey was gone.

Running a betting pool was one thing, but a full-on casino? That was a whole other level.

Swimming back? No way. It wasn't fear of exposure; his weakness to seawater and Sea-Prism Stone was bound to come out eventually. The real issue was the Calm Belt—home of the Sea Kings. Getting swallowed by one of those monsters wasn't on his to-do list.

He'd tried before, nearly passing out and puking from the effort. His immunity only extended to stuff made by his own magic. Even if he had enough juice, the Sea Kings would be more than he could handle. He wasn't Kuzan, casually biking across the ocean. Ending up in a Sea King's belly? Worse than death, and a fast track to the navy's "mentally unfit" list.

Mole dodged the attack easily, closed in with a shave technique, and hooked an arm around Loya's neck.

"Alright, tough guy. I'll knock you out once we're on board. The warship's quick. We'll hit Marineford by nightfall."

Loya looked at him with disdain. "You sure you can even land a punch on me now?"

Just activating his blue dragon pattern, without even showing scales, made Loya's defense rock-solid. Aludo once said Loya's defense in this state beat most elite camp members. His punch resistance was only a bit below his own.

Seeing Loya's blatant contempt, Mole frowned, ready to teach him a lesson. Suddenly, a figure appeared behind them, landing two solid knocks on their heads.

Both men winced, quickly separating and standing at attention.

"Teacher Zephyr!"

It was indeed Zephyr. Though in the original story he was defeated by Luffy at 75 and needed meds to stay combat-ready, the current Zephyr was near his prime and only missing a hand. Handling these two was a cakewalk for him.

"What are you two doing? The boat's about to leave! Get on board, now!"

Loya and Mole exchanged a quick glance, then scrambled towards the ship, not wanting to face Zephyr's wrath any further.

Zephyr's presence was like a dark cloud, his eyes burning with rage. Nobody wanted to mess with him in this state.

"Let's go," he growled, stomping onto the warship.

Loya stumbled after him, barely making it onto the deck before collapsing face-first. His stomach was doing backflips.

Zephyr took a deep breath, looking anywhere but at Loya. "Set sail!" he barked.

The lead warship's siren wailed as it slowly pulled away from the coast, the others falling into line behind it.

A recruit from another team scurried over to Loya, giving him a little nudge. "Whoa, it's true! Loya really does get seasick!"

The other recruits turned to Zephyr, eyes wide with excitement. "Hey, Chief Instructor Zephyr! Can we do the assessment on board next week?"

Loya managed to groan, "You're all... gonna regret this..."

"Beat it!" Zephyr snapped. In one fluid motion, he grabbed Loya and hurled him through the air with a powerful punch.

Loya crashed into the cabin, leaving a Loya-shaped dent in the metal. He slumped to the ground, oddly peaceful.

The onlookers shuddered. One whispered, "Is Loya developing some weird masochistic streak or what?"

Late that night in Malinford, Loya sat alone in his dorm room, wincing as he dabbed medicine on his bruises.

"Jeez, what a jerk," he grumbled. "He knows I get seasick and he still hit me that hard..."

After swallowing his meds, Loya dug into the roast suckling pig Ms. S had brought him. As he ate, he mulled over recent events.

That fight with the silverback ape had been a wake-up call. He'd seen all his weak spots laid bare. Sure, there was the whole Wang Baquan thing in close combat, but using magic effectively? That was a whole other can of worms.

Loya sighed, setting down his fork. "I can barely get the magic started, let alone control it properly."

He'd come up with some flashy moves like Ice Coffin and Orochi, but they were just system commands. Not real magic.

Take his attempt at copying Gray's absolute freezing technique. He could make ice colder and harder, but controlling the magic's formation? Forget about it. Everything felt both natural and completely foreign at the same time.

"It's like... I can make the magic go faster or hit harder, but it's all the system doing the work," Loya muttered. "Once I cast a spell, that's it. No takebacks. Just like in some dumb video game."

He snorted. "The system probably thinks I'm some caveman when it comes to magic. I'm a total magic moron!"

But during that fight, he'd felt something. A glimmer of understanding that might help him break free of these limitations. To really control his magic.

And then there was that first move of his. The one that needed purifying fire after major power-ups. As long as the dragon's power activated by frost was restored, he couldn't control when the state ended.

"This might not matter much while I'm bouncing between recruit and elite," Loya mused. "But for someone aiming to be truly strong? These are major weak points."

He remembered something Kuzan had told him once: "Learning to control power is always easier than gaining power."

Loya knew he had a long road ahead. This would take endless study and practice.

Taking a deep breath, he recited his personal mantra, then opened the system that had granted him this power in the first place.

Name: Christopher Loya

Energy Stage: Second Stage, Fifth Layer

Energy Value: 900/900

Mana: 6000/6000

Mana Recovery Speed: 550/s

Dragon Power: 6/100% (Dragon power increases the strength of Dragon Slayer Magic, but above 30%, the body begins to transform; above 90%, the body begins to dragonify.)

Dragon's Body: 22/100% (Body adapts to the degree of the dragon's power, enhancing the all-around quality of the Dragon Slayer; temporary adaptation can be improved by absorbing energy, with significant aftereffects.)

Moves: Ice Dragon's Roar, Ice Dragon's Iron Fist, Ice Dragon's Wing Strike, Ice Dragon's Claws, Ice Dragon's Broken Teeth, Ice Dragon's Grip, Ice Shape Magic.

After three days of training and battle, his energy value was ready for an upgrade. The dragon's body broke through the 20% mark, officially announcing the second run's success.

But seeing the measly 6% behind Dragon Power, Loya's lips twitched.

"God, give me a break! At least throw me a bone here."

However, with Dragon Power at 6%, Loya could test his previous hypotheses.

He stood, eyes closed, hands slowly moving closer. A potent chill radiated, frosting the room's objects. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and whispered, "Coffin of Frozen Ice!"

Magic power surged from his palms, and the cold current turned into tiny ice chips upon contact with the air's moisture, making the magic power's flow visible.

Click!