Hals had no idea how much time had passed. He felt like it had been several hours, but in reality, only one hour had gone by.
“Ah~ it hurts so much.”
Hals covered his face with his hand, both his face and hand smeared with blood.
Using water magic, he conjured a large stream of water to wash away the bloodstains on his body. With a snap of his fingers, strange plants began to emerge from the cracks in the stone-paved courtyard. These plants were bright red vines covered in peculiar, sharp spikes. If observed under a microscope, it would reveal something interesting about these spikes.
Inside these spikes were tiny, almost invisible holes.
The spikes were incredibly sharp and quite long.
Among these holes, one was slightly larger, designed to draw blood.
The other smaller holes released a special toxin that wouldn’t kill but would paralyze and slow the clotting of wounds.
These holes were vacuum-sealed, allowing for rapid release of toxins and blood extraction. Once the spikes penetrated the body, the toxins would immediately enter the bloodstream, and blood would be drawn out quickly. The wounds were small but deep, and the bleeding was difficult to stop.
These plants were terrifying, although they weren’t particularly vulnerable to fire, they were extremely susceptible to cold. They were the most fragile among the third-level plants in terms of toughness.
These plants, called [Bloodsucking Vines], were specifically cultivated by Hals to clean up the blood left after his training. Fed with his blood, and given their incredible reproductive ability, they had already surrounded the courtyard. If Hals didn’t control them and prevent them from spreading, it would be a very dangerous situation.
Although not strictly necessary, these plants could also serve as guards for the courtyard, attacking anyone who wasn’t their master.
While the vines themselves had low intelligence, Hals had infused them with a second-level plant magic known as [Intelligence Spores]. These spores had the intelligence of a five-year-old child, capable of understanding and executing simple commands from Hals.
For example, setting specific individuals to not be attacked or scheduling tasks.
Because of the [Intelligence Spores], the [Bloodsucking Vines] could comprehend and follow Hals’ orders.
The finger snap had no real purpose beyond adding a touch of flair. The real command was given mentally.
[Plant Magic] involves growing plants to attack enemies, heal, defend, or perform other tasks, including turning parts of oneself into plants or controlling, accelerating, or destroying plant growth.
Each type of magic has its unique characteristics.
[Plant Magic] is incredibly versatile, offering offense, defense, control, and healing capabilities. In terms of healing, it’s second only to light magic.
However, [Plant Magic] has a significant drawback.
It’s not about vulnerability to heat, fire, lack of water, cold, or cutting.
It’s about needing space and time to grow.
In the One Piece world, this is usually manageable. Most battles involve opponents who will let you prepare your big moves.
Except for Katakuri, who interrupted Luffy’s Gear Fourth transformation.
Luffy’s Gear Fourth takes considerable time and involves using Haki, biting down, inflating, and expanding muscle.
Hals found this frustrating.
The [Bloodsucking Vines] absorbed the bloodied water, becoming tougher but not thicker.
With the courtyard cleaned, Hals returned to the petals of the giant flower.
Currently, his body training allowed him to gain 10 points of power per hour, a fast growth rate.
Hals’ progress was rapid. Initially, his bones wouldn’t shatter during training, but later, he pushed himself to the limit.
Having killed the Sapphire Pirates and other pirates on his way, Hals had accumulated many military merits, which he used to learn the Six Powers.
Despite his strong background, Hals couldn’t learn the Six Powers for free or at a discount.
In the Navy, military merits can be used for many things.
For example, promotion requires merits.
Learning new Six Powers techniques requires merits.
Acquiring certain Devil Fruits requires merits.
Obtaining famous swords requires merits.
Thus, military merits are crucial.
For regular soldiers, merits depend on years of service and the danger level of their post.
For higher-ranking officers, merits are earned by defeating pirates, bandits, and revolutionaries, and claiming their bounties.
Hals chose to learn [Shave].
Among the Six Powers, Hals found [Finger Pistol] and [Tempest Kick] the least useful.
These two offensive skills didn’t seem particularly impressive.
[Iron Body] was useful early on, offering significant defense against early enemies. Later, its defense boost was insufficient, with attacks breaking through it. [Shave] was better for dodging.
Moreover, [Iron Body] requires standing still.
You’d just be a sitting target.
The most useful techniques are [Shave] and [Moonwalk].
[Shave] offers incredible speed, outpacing most non-users. [Moonwalk] allows aerial combat, enhancing maneuverability, escape, and pursuit.
However, [Moonwalk] wasn’t very necessary for Hals.
Hals had wings and wind magic for flight, making [Moonwalk] redundant.
Still, Hals planned to learn it to master [Rokuogan] and [Life Return].
[Rokuogan] delivers massive damage, even severely hurting Luffy despite his rubber body.
[Life Return] enhances bodily control, which is crucial for someone focusing on physical techniques. Quick healing and mana recovery weren’t as important as Hals could manage those himself.
These techniques require mastery of the Six Powers, so Hals aimed to learn them all.
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