Carefree as ever, Falkor was actually delighted to see her master "sneaking off" with her.
There was indeed a lot of delicious food here, but after so many days of stuffing herself—and with nothing but sweets at that—she was getting a little sick of it.
If she could go out with her master and have some proper meat for a change, even just fish, she'd be overjoyed.
What Falkor didn't expect was that what awaited her next wasn't good food or good drink… but her master's harsh training!
Very soon, the two humans and one dragon left and flew to a small, deserted island, where their training journey began.
"Eh?!"
Ain hadn't expected that she was included in this as well, and when she faced Creed, she found herself completely unable to refuse.
This time, though, Creed had none of his usual gentleness. His expression was even a bit stern.
"Come. Use your strongest move.
Your strength is decent, but when it comes to what's ahead… it's not enough."
Creed was thinking entirely for Ain's sake.
Although Ain already possessed overall SSS-class strength, and the power of the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) was extremely formidable, it still wasn't enough.
For the battles to come, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that SSS-class powerhouses would be cannon fodder. Even SSS+ might not be enough to matter.
Only those at SSSS-class, at the very least SSSS-, might barely be able to keep their lives.
So Creed intended to use this period of time to train Ain, pushing her strength up another level.
Of course, he had another goal as well—at the same time, he wanted to use a Beast Upgrade Card to raise Falkor's strength.
Right now Falkor's overall strength was already at SSS+-class, just half a step away from SSSS-class.
He just didn't know what level that Beast Upgrade Card would be able to push her to.
"Ying ying ying!"
Falkor, however, showed none of Ain's hesitation. On the contrary, she was bursting with enthusiasm, shadowboxing with her tiny fists and feet, itching to PK with Creed right away.
The Dragon Might Creed had released back at the VIP building had stirred up a mysterious fighting spirit inside her.
It was hostility born from the depths of her bloodline.
She could suppress it, so it wasn't as intense as when she'd seen that sky dragon before—but it was still there.
On top of that, Creed had just finished goading her:
"Don't you want to defeat that sky dragon you saw that day?"
"Haha! Look how fired up Falkor is. All right, our training officially starts now!"
Creed rubbed Falkor's little head, then quietly activated the Beast Upgrade Card.
Beast Upgrade Card: When used on a beast, it stimulates the creature's potential and raises it by one full major level!
"Use."
Creed muttered to himself.
"Ding! Target: Falkor. Beast Upgrade Card in use… Ding! Beast Upgrade Card successfully used. The host's pet has been raised by one major level. Overall strength: SSSS-?-class!"
A soft, clear light began to glow from Falkor's body, growing brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding, then slowly faded away.
After leveling up, Falkor's body grew a size larger than before. Lightning patterns and faint flame-like markings appeared on both of her wings.
Even so, she was still only slightly larger than a palm—she really wasn't much bigger at all.
This made Creed very curious.
With how much this little glutton ate and drank every day, where did it all go?
"Hm?"
A moment later, his attention settled on the strange question mark still sitting behind her overall strength.
To Creed, this was a completely unexpected pleasant surprise.
The question mark was still there. In other words, Falkor was still half a step away from truly stepping into SSSS-class!
This Beast Upgrade Card was insane—it really was a one hundred percent, no-fluff, full major-level increase.
"Yi yi yih?!"
Sensing her own power soaring, Falkor stared at her claws in amazement, then flapped her wings experimentally.
"Boom!"
With just a light flap of those small wings, she whipped up a gale of over ten levels, toppling the trees in the distance, blowing them all slantwise to the ground.
This was true SSSS--class power.
At her side, Ain could clearly feel a mysterious pressure bearing down on her.
"Falkor, this is…?"
She hadn't expected Falkor to break through just from Creed patting her on the head. Ain couldn't help feeling envious.
If only having Creed-nii pat her head could make her break through like that too—how great would that be.
But then, her thoughts shifted and she suddenly felt a little uneasy.
If she broke through too quickly… she might not be able to stay by Creed-nii's side for very long.
"Ying ying ying!"
Falkor officially issued a challenge to her own master.
Not only that, she also demanded that Creed use Dragon God Mode again.
"All right, all right, come on then."
Creed immediately activated Dragon God Mode, but he didn't go all-out. Instead, he manifested a translucent divine dragon phantom over ten meters long.
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"Awooo!"
The moment Falkor saw that dragon phantom, her usual "ying ying ying" cry vanished, replaced by what she clearly believed to be a ferocious beast's roar—though in reality it was still ridiculously cute.
"Gala!"
With that roar, she entered Dragon God Mode as well.
Her tiny body suddenly expanded into a massive dragon over thirty meters long, lightning coiling all around her body, eyes gleaming viciously, fangs and claws fully bared.
Even the previously clear sky above them instantly turned dark with thick clouds, streaked by crisscrossing bolts of lightning.
Dragon God Mode could alter the weather as easily as breathing.
Once she entered Dragon God Mode, Falkor instantly changed from adorable pet to ancient ferocious beast, radiating killing intent.
Compared to the ten-something-meter dragon form she'd shown before, her current size had increased by several times. The two forms simply couldn't be mentioned in the same breath.
A rolling wave of Dragon Might swept out from her, forcing Ain to retreat in a hurry.
This Dragon Might wasn't the least bit weaker than Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) of the same level.
The instant it descended, every living creature on the island was forced flat to the ground, trembling and unable to move. Even the beasts on neighboring islands collapsed under the pressure.
They were all shaking in terror, as if they had just laid eyes on their king.
"Boom!"
Falkor's Dragon Might collided head-on with Creed's defensive Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki).
The ground within dozens of meters in front of Ain cracked apart and caved in.
"Good!"
Creed didn't use any other moves. Instead, he continued to manipulate the divine dragon phantom formed from Dragon Might, clashing fiercely with Falkor.
On that dragon phantom forged from Dragon Might, he could stack Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) and Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) together.
Especially when Dragon Might and Haoshoku Haki were combined, one plus one became greater than two. The power it unleashed was extremely terrifying, enough to completely block Falkor's attacks.
Seeing her repeated assaults fail to break through, while her own master still looked relaxed and at ease, Falkor finally got a little angry.
"Roooar!"
At last, in her massive dragon form, she managed to unleash a dragon's roar that could intimidate all beasts under heaven.
Then she opened her jaws wide. A blast of Dragon Breath locked onto Creed and roared out.
From the outside, that Dragon Breath was wreathed in lightning. But within, it contained flames of extremely high temperature.
The instant that Dragon Breath left her mouth, the searing heat incinerated the surrounding trees, flowers, and grass into charred ash.
This was Dragon Breath made of thunder and fire combined.
Creed was caught off guard. His divine dragon phantom was annihilated in an instant, and he himself almost ended up covered in soot. Fortunately, his defensive Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) flared to life in time, sweeping the oncoming Dragon Breath away.
"What?"
Falkor had always only wielded the power of lightning. Suddenly manifesting flames—and of no low level at that—left Creed thoroughly shocked.
He immediately had the system scan Falkor's status panel in secret.
[Abilities]: Lightning Control (SSSS-class), Fire Control (SSS+-class, extractable)…
[Innate Abilities]: Dragon God Mode (SSSS-class), Dragon Breath (SSSS-class), Dragon Might (SSS-class)
[Overall Strength]: SSSS-?
"So it really did derive a new ability. System, extract Fire Control for me."
Creed didn't hesitate for even a second.
(End of Chapter)
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