"System, you'd better not be lying to me." Even though the decision was already made and it was too late to regret it, Katie still felt uneasy. After all, this was tens of millions of exchange points, and spending that much in one go hurt.
"Don't worry, Host. I told you, within the limits of the rules, I will do everything I can to improve your strength. By combining the three abilities—Spatial Distortion, Rending, and Vibration—you can evolve them into a super skill: Annihilation."
"However, you'll also need to raise the other two abilities to the Transcendent level; otherwise, the power disparity would make it uncontrollable during practice."
"Understand this—Annihilation costs over ten times as much as any of those three skills individually. But once you grasp its transformations, it's a guaranteed profit."
"If only it could be fused directly… but now I actually have to train it myself. Who knows how long it'll take to master." Though the system was telling the truth, Katie—who was used to simply acquiring skills instantly—still found the idea of training to be troublesome.
This whole situation came about because Katie decided to take a chance by copying Whitebeard's ability.
And this time, Katie's luck was over the top—almost absurdly so. She not only selected Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability but also picked Marco's Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Phoenix.
For a moment, Katie thought she was blessed by the heavens… until the next moment when harsh reality struck her.
Just erasing the conflict between the Devil Fruits cost her a full ten million exchange points. On the bright side, though, he no longer had to worry about seawater or Seastone.
And because both Fruit abilities were above the Master level, each required additional points to obtain.
In total, choosing even one of the abilities cost her twenty million—and that was after lowering the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's ability level. After all, Whitebeard's mastery of his Fruit had surpassed the Transcendent tier.
If it were just that, Katie could still manage it. Two Fruits would cost forty million, and she could handle that.
But then came the problem: according to the system, to fuse a third Devil Fruit ability, it would cost thirty million just to erase the conflict between Fruits!
Katie didn't even bother asking why—obviously, it was another rule limitation.
So, simply copying two Fruit abilities would cost her fifty million exchange points. That was unacceptable, so in the end, she chose to fuse only one.
But then another dilemma arose: which one should she pick?
The Tremor-Tremor Fruit's destructive power was undeniable, but Marco's Bird-Bird Fruit was just as valuable. The Phoenix Zoan type made its user practically immune to all damage—even Admiral Kizaru's attacks were useless against it.
While Katie was stuck in her indecision, the system gave its recommendation: choose Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
The reason? Because of what it had said before—by combining Vibration, Rending, and Spatial Distortion, he could create the ultimate ability: Annihilation.
Rending and Vibration could only damage the surface of objects. Spatial Distortion could slightly affect internal structures.
But Annihilation was different. It erased the very existence of matter from its foundation.
"System, I want to enhance my physical strength. Any suggestions?"
Since she'd chosen to trust the system, Katie decided to hand the decision over to it. Her current Earth-level body was falling far behind her abilities. She needed an upgrade, or else she'd have the power but be unable to use it effectively.
She could always spend skill points, but Katie wanted to know if there was a better option.
"I recommend exchanging for a drop of Ancestral Dragon Source Blood. It will directly raise your physical strength to peak King level. While it's more expensive than using skill points, the benefits are far greater."
"Even a single drop can awaken the Ancestral Dragon Bloodline. Though limited in quantity, it's a qualitative transformation. The Ancestral Dragon was the progenitor of all dragons—its sheer physical might was enough to traverse and conquer the universe itself!"
"More importantly, once you awaken the Ancestral Dragon Bloodline, your body will keep evolving indefinitely. You won't need to worry about your physical durability again."
"How does the Ancestral Dragon compare to Kaido?" Although the system's description was impressive, Katie still needed a clearer point of reference.
"Kaido? Hah! He's nothing but a little caterpillar—he doesn't even qualify to be compared to the Ancestral Dragon. He's not even a flea on its body, understand?"
Katie couldn't help but doubt that. The Ancestral Dragon might be incredibly powerful, but Kaido was no pushover either. The guy could survive a free fall from ten thousand meters without injury. His physical toughness was off the charts.
Looking at the price tag of thirty million exchange points for the Ancestral Dragon Source Blood, Katie nearly ground her teeth to dust. It wasn't just "a little expensive"—it was outrageous.
An Earth-level body was equivalent to Master level; King level was equivalent to Transcendent.
Upgrading a Transcendent skill by one level only costs around twenty skill points. Adding it all up, the cost would be under twenty million. This was nearly double the price.
Even so, Katie bought it anyway. As the saying goes: if you choose to trust someone, don't doubt them.
She wouldn't use it yet, though. After all, she was still aboard Whitebeard's ship—if something strange happened, explaining it would be a problem.
"System, spend 150 skill points to upgrade Rending to Transcendent Level 1. Spend four million exchange points to buy 40 more skill points, and then upgrade Spatial Distortion to Transcendent Level 1 as well!"
In an instant, his 260 skill points were gone, and his 60+ million exchange points dropped to just 13.45 million. But Katie didn't feel a shred of regret—resources were meant to be used to get stronger.
With the Spatial Distortion skill, originally obtained from Breaking Void, having risen to Master Level 1 after his battle with Mihawk, she upgraded it along with Rending to Transcendent Level 1.
Now, everything she wanted was her. And once she merged with the Ancestral Dragon Source Blood, Katie believed she could even take on Akainu in her prime—and win head-on!
Gazing out over the vast ocean, she felt a wave of excitement wash over him.
Tomorrow—tomorrow, she would leave Whitebeard's crew and begin her own adventure. She had never sailed alone before, but rather than feeling nervous, her heart was full of excitement and anticipation for what awaited her.
Who would she meet? What kind of events would unfold?
Perhaps this was simply the adventurous nature of a girl's heart.