Elric swept the fallen golden Ability Tree with one last glance.
More than a dozen fruits still clung stubbornly to the dying branches—glowing softly like golden embers in the fading twilight, pulsing with supernatural energy that called to him.
Naturally, he took every single one of them.
"Whoosh!"
In just seconds, Elric had efficiently pocketed all twelve ability fruits, plus that rare golden crystal the crocodile had coughed up before dying.
He stood there for a moment, mentally reviewing his absolutely chaotic trip to Chicago:
He didn't find Emily Watson—she'd already been evacuated to some mysterious safe zone.
But he did gain Elizabeth Holt, a 97-point genius scientist who could potentially unlock the secrets of this apocalypse.
Plus Nina Ward at 90 points—a crude, foul-mouthed energy warrior with surprising potential.
Plus a rare golden ability crystal from a major threat-class creature.
Plus a dozen fresh ability fruits straight from the source.
Overall assessment?
"Still completely worth it," he nodded to himself with satisfaction.
The gains far outweighed the risks and effort involved.
Elric turned and walked toward the bearded man who'd been standing nervously nearby, clearly hoping for some kind of recognition or reward.
"Alright," Elric said casually. "We're heading back to our city now."
His face fell slightly, obviously hoping to be invited along.
Elric had already decided he wasn't taking him into his core group—at least not yet. Too many complications with adding random men when his group consisted entirely of women.
But he didn't tell him that directly.
Instead, Elric painted an appealing future possibility:
"Next time I return to Chicago—and I will return eventually—I'll look for you specifically. If you're still alive and doing well, I'll seriously consider making you one of my permanent people."
The bearded man's eyes actually welled up with emotion, nearly bursting with desperate excitement.
"Mr. Elric—thank you! Truly, thank you!" He bowed repeatedly. "If you ever return to this city—if I'm still breathing—I, will serve you with absolute loyalty forever!"
Elric waved a hand dismissively, then casually reached into his storage space and pulled out:
Several large bags of premium white rice that would last weeks.
Cases of mineral water—clean, uncontaminated.
Two hundred Desert Eagle pistols with ammunition.
The supplies appeared from literally thin air, materializing in neat stacks.
His eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. Even Elizabeth, standing nearby with her equipment case, stared sharply at Elric—her usual scientific indifference momentarily broken by genuine surprise at this casual display of this spatial abilities.
Elric completely ignored her reaction.
He quickly exchanged phone numbers, and gave him two specific tasks:
First—protect the Watson family members still in Chicago to the best of his ability.
Second—if Emily Watson ever returns to the city for any reason, contact Elric immediately. No delays.
He agreed instantly, almost overwhelmed by both the trust and the resources. This was more than he could have hoped for.
Elric grabbed the still-unconscious Nina Ward, casually slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of supplies, and headed toward the waiting SUV.
The stretched, modified off-road vehicle had been designed for long-distance apocalypse travel, with three rows of seating:
Front Row — Driver's seat occupied by Elsa, passenger seat currently empty.
Middle Row — Unconscious Nina propped against the window, Elizabeth sitting rigidly beside her while clutching her precious equipment case.
Back Row — Elric himself, stretching out comfortably.
Elric settled into the spacious back seat, resting his head against the soft leather. Even though he wasn't particularly tired, lying down just felt good after the day's chaos.
Elsa said nothing—she simply started the engine with practiced ease.
The SUV's powerful motor rumbled to life, and they began rolling out of ruined Chicago, heading back toward their home city several hours away.
The sun was setting behind them, painting the destroyed skyline in shades of orange and red.
As soon as they hit open highway—what remained of it, anyway—Elric pulled out his collected treasures:
The golden crocodile crystal, still faintly warm and glowing.
All twelve ability fruits, arranged in his palm like colorful gems.
Elizabeth immediately glanced back at him from the middle row, her cold analytical eyes flashing with unmistakable scientific interest. She was clearly dying to study whatever he was about to do.
Elsa peeked curiously through the rearview mirror, her attention split between the dangerous road ahead and the mysterious process happening behind her.
Even unconscious Nina occasionally twitched and mumbled incoherent curses in her sleep, completely unaware of her new circumstances.
Elric carefully counted the fruits spread across his hands.
"Twelve total. A few of these are pretty small—must not have been fully mature yet when the tree got damaged."
Didn't really matter though. He would absorb all of them regardless.
His internal Devil Tree would grow rapidly from this massive energy injection.
This trip had genuinely turned into an absolute jackpot.
The twelve ability fruits sat glowing faintly in Elric's palms—twelve concentrated sparks of supernatural energy, plus that golden crocodile crystal that radiated heat and power.
This haul alone was enough to push multiple Devil Fruits forward several levels.
Elric didn't hesitate even slightly.
"Let's start with the ability fruits."
He lifted the first fruit to his mouth and inhaled deeply, drawing the energy directly into his body through his unique absorption method.
Across from him in the middle row, Elizabeth Holt watched silently—her eyes cool and calculating, but clearly tracking every motion, every fluctuation of supernatural power with precision.
Elric noticed her intense observation but didn't particularly care. Hiding the system's absorption mechanism wouldn't really help anything at this point.
"Whoosh!"
The first fruit dissolved completely into pure energy, flowing into Elric's body—and the familiar system chime rang in his mind.
System Prompt
Ding! Detected host ingestion of supernatural energy source.
Converted: +7 Devil Fruit EXP.
Elric nodded with satisfaction.
"Seven points... about what I expected for immature ability fruits."
The smaller, less-developed fruits gave proportionally less experience. But twelve fruits averaging somewhere between 7-9 points each meant a serious windfall of total EXP.
He methodically absorbed them one after another, the energy flowing smoothly into his system.
Final fruit count: 87 EXP total from all twelve fruits combined.
Enough to significantly raise an entire fruit's power level, potentially even multiple fruits.
But he still had that golden crocodile crystal waiting.
Elric took a steadying breath and absorbed the crystal's concentrated energy.
System Prompt
Ding! Detected ingestion of high-grade supernatural creature crystal.
Converted: +25 Devil Fruit EXP.
Elric actually whistled softly, genuinely impressed.
"Damn. No wonder that crocodile managed to wipe out an entire professional armed team by itself."
The crystal's energy was incredibly dense and pure—far more concentrated than regular ability fruits.
Combined total: 87 + 25 = 112 Devil Fruit EXP
This was easily his largest single EXP gain since acquiring the system. Absolutely massive.
Time to spend it wisely.
Elric had already mentally planned his upgrade priorities:
Magma Fruit → Currently his lowest level, desperately needed improvement.
Fantome Fruit: Allosaurus Form → Newly acquired and seriously under-leveled.
Operation Fruit → Already quite strong, could wait for now.
Gaze Fruit → Needed utility improvements for better support abilities.
Step 1 — Magma-Magma Fruit Upgrade
He mentally allocated 30 EXP toward his nature-type fruit.
The energy flowed smoothly into that particular Devil Fruit's development tree.
Magma-Magma Fruit: Level 1 → Level 3 (1/100)
Immediately, Elric felt new abilities and understanding flooding his mind.
Step 2 — Dragon-Dragon Fruit Upgrade
Another 30 EXP poured directly into his Allosaurus transformation form.
Level 1 → Level 3 (1/100)
The change was dramatic and instant. The prehistoric power lurking in his body surged—more controlled now, more explosive, more refined. His hybrid form would be significantly stronger.
Step 3 — Gaze Fruit Enhancement
He allocated 18 EXP into the Gaze Fruit for better utility functions.
Gaze Fruit: Level 2 → Level 3 (1/100)
His abilities sharpened immediately—better range, faster activation, more precise control over his various sight-based techniques.
He kept the remaining EXP carefully stored in reserve for future emergency upgrades or new fruit acquisitions.
All Primary Devil Fruits Now at Level 3
Elric felt the comprehensive changes through his entire body immediately.
His muscles tightened and became denser without adding bulk. His senses sharpened dramatically—he could hear Elsa's breathing pattern change as she drove, smell the faint ozone scent of Elizabeth's equipment, even sense Nina's slow return to consciousness.
Even his physical appearance subtly shifted:
Sharper, more defined jawline. Brighter, more intense eyes that seemed to capture light. Overall charisma visibly boosted to another level entirely.
The system chimed once more with satisfaction.
System Prompt — Status Panel Update
Ding! Host attributes have been comprehensively updated.
Generating new status panel...
In the rearview mirror, Elsa's eyes widened slightly as she glanced back.
Had Elric somehow become even more handsome in the last five minutes? That didn't seem physically possible, but...
Elizabeth's analytical gaze had intensified as well, clearly recognizing that something fundamental had changed about his power structure.
And in the middle seat, Nina Ward's eyes finally fluttered open.
She groaned, confused and disoriented: "What the hell... where am I? Why does everything hurt?"
There is 60 chapter Advance, in my patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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