Jolting awake like returning from the dead.
Time in the Equipment Slot was practically frozen. Because Merlin hadn't hit it too hard back then, the shock of hitting the water instantly snapped the lynx back to consciousness.
Splash, splash! A pair of thick front paws flailed wildly against the water's surface. With its head held high, it opened its jaws and let out panicked, terrified yowls.
Merlin gave it a complicated look, a brief flash of murderous intent crossing his eyes. Should I just kill it? It...
But the thought vanished in an instant. It's just a little beast that can't even speak. It doesn't know much, and it has no memory of me. From its perspective, it just closed its eyes and woke up here.
Just then, the lynx spotted Merlin—the culprit who had knocked it out without a second thought. Its pupils dilated in sheer terror, and it practically launched itself out of the hot spring.
Seeing it leap out of the water, Merlin stood up abruptly. His right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing it firmly by the scruff of its neck and leaving it dangling in mid-air.
Watching the lynx thrash wildly in his grip, Merlin swung his arm in a wide arc and tossed the creature—the very creature that had been so incredibly helpful to him—out of the pool.
It yowled in panic, but its agile body easily reoriented itself in mid-air. Smack! All four paws hit the ground perfectly.
Arching its back, it locked its bright yellow feline eyes on Merlin, remaining perfectly still as it coiled its muscles to strike.
Merlin just looked back at it, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Get lost. You're free."
Incredibly, the lynx seemed to understand him. It began to make tiny, cautious head movements, surveying its surroundings. Realizing it was in a mountain forest, a deep, vibrating growl rumbled from its throat. It lowered itself to the ground and began backing away, step by step.
When it saw that Merlin wasn't making a move to attack, a flicker of suspicion crossed its eyes. Then—whoosh!—it whipped around and bolted.
Leaving a trail of wet paw prints on the surrounding rocks, it moved as fast as a phantom, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Merlin watched it escape.
"Hope you can survive out here," he muttered softly.
At the same time, he could distinctly feel his body grow somewhat "weaker." The physical boost—the sheer strength of a lynx—had vanished.
But the impact wasn't actually that massive. After all, the three special perks he'd gained from the lynx were permanently his. Losing the [Lynx] equipment buff was fine; it was only a temporary gig anyway, and he had mentally prepared for this. The raw stats he just lost could be easily regained through a bit more training. And when he earned that strength back, it would be purely, genuinely his own.
Pushing the thought aside, Merlin sat back down in the hot spring.
This time, he fully reclined, letting the water submerge his chest until only his head remained above the surface. Instantly, a profound wave of exhaustion washed over him. It felt as if all the surging vitality within him had been forcefully stripped away.
[The Constraint of Nature].
It was the natural world's inherent suppression of unnatural anomalies like Devil Fruits. Merlin could still sense his powers inside him, but he couldn't project the black Calamity flames outward.
Quietly enduring this terrifying, hollow exhaustion, his gaze hardened. "I need to adapt to this weakness. I can't just be some beached fish. Even if I can't use my powers, my physical foundation is still there."
He felt the dormant abilities within him and took stock of his current state. He felt like a fierce beast locked inside an alloy cage. But even if he couldn't break out, he still needed the ambition to roar.
The mind and will are limitless. Even with his powers locked within his body, he wasn't the kind of "average" scrub who solely relied on a Devil Fruit to throw his weight around. This suppressed exhaustion... wasn't this just another form of training? You have to learn to find joy in the suffering.
That was how Merlin viewed it. If one try didn't work, he'd do two. If two didn't work, he'd do ten thousand. Eventually, his body would adapt.
It wasn't like he hadn't experienced this over the past six months. Every night before bed, he would submerge himself in a full bathtub up to his neck just to train. At first, Yol had to stand by and watch him to make sure he didn't drown from the sheer weakness. Now? Even submerged up to his neck, he wasn't completely paralyzed.
Merlin remembered clearly: Kaido of the Beasts, the so-called "Strongest Creature on Land, Sea, and Air," was also a Devil Fruit user. If Kaido could shrug off the sea's weakness—even if his fruit was the Fish-Fish Fruit—it meant that building up a resistance was theoretically possible.
And the items in his [Equipment Slot] were his ultimate trump card for pulling that off.
A while later, Merlin finished his adaptation training. Using the water's buoyancy, he sat up in the hot spring. Almost instantly, that hollow exhaustion receded like an outgoing tide.
"It really is fascinating. This mechanism where Devil Fruit powers are suppressed by 'Pyrobloin' particles," he muttered. "If seawater can be used to train myself... what about Sea Prism Stone? That should work too, right?"
Merlin knew all about Sea Prism Stone. It was a crystallized concentrate of Pyrobloin and deep-sea minerals. An incredibly bizarre ore—indestructible, harder than diamond, and possessing extraordinary toughness.
"But it's way too rare. You won't find it stockpiled in just any average town." He started brainstorming ways to get his hands on some. "Maybe... rob the Marines?"
The moment the thought surfaced, he squashed it. That was highly unrealistic right now. So then...
Awooooo—! Suddenly, a miserable, bloodcurdling howl echoed from deep within the forest.
Merlin bolted upright, splashing loudly as he stood up in the hot spring. He shot a glance toward the distant treeline, vaulted out of the water, quickly threw on his pants and shoes, grabbed his dagger from the rock, and dashed toward the source of the scream.
He knew exactly who that sounded like.
Sprinting nimbly through the mountain forest, Merlin soon arrived at a rocky clearing. Up ahead, he saw the little guy—its feline eyes wide with panic—cornered against a massive boulder by a pack of seven timber wolves.
Merlin's mouth twitched. "You bolted out of there so decisively earlier, and now you're being chased around by a few stray dogs like a miserable stray cat. Pathetic."
By then, the wolf pack had noticed the shirtless human stepping into the clearing. Instantly, after a few whines, the wolves tucked their tails between their legs and scattered in panic.
A smirk tugged at Merlin's lips. He had practically lived on this mountain for the last six months. All the meat he, Yol, and Lami ate came from hunting here. Wolf meat was actually quite tender and delicious. Especially the younger ones.
On Petrel Mountain, he was the apex predator.
Shortly after, Merlin stopped about ten meters away from the lynx, staring at it unblinkingly. The lynx stared right back.
After ten or so seconds, Merlin flashed a grin, turned around, and walked away. Given their "history," saving it since he happened to be in the neighborhood wasn't a big deal.
The lynx's pupils dilated. It stared blankly at Merlin's retreating back. For some reason, it felt a deep sense of familiarity. It was as if it already knew this human incredibly well, like they had been together for a very long time. Without even thinking about it, the lynx cautiously stretched its legs and began trailing him from a safe distance.
Merlin's sensory system was incredibly sharp now. [Beast Instinct] didn't just give him a potent sixth sense; it heavily buffed his regular five senses too. However, it was a bit of a shame that after unequipping the [Lynx], he noticed his eyes had lost their ability to adjust focal length like a zoom lens. That probably meant the lynx's night vision was gone too. Ultimately, [Beast Instinct] wasn't a specialized vision perk.
Gradually, Merlin acclimated to his newly "weakened" body.
A little while later, by a crystal-clear stream, Merlin used his dagger to gut a massive, thigh-thick, ten-meter-long grayish-brown reticulated python. He chopped off the head and tail, washing the meat clean.
He built a campfire by the stream. Skewering thick chunks of snake meat onto sharpened wooden sticks, he propped them up over the flames to roast.
Merlin shot a glance at the lynx, which was lying on the ground a hundred meters away, staring at him unblinkingly. He picked up the discarded python head and lobbed it over.
Thud! It hit the dirt, kicking up dust.
The lynx jumped back in alarm, but quickly realized Merlin had completely ignored it. It looked at the roasting meat over the fire, then stealthily crawled forward until it reached the python head. After giving Merlin a wary look, it decisively clamped its jaws onto the head and scurried off into the distance to enjoy its meal.
Merlin chuckled softly and ignored it, planting his hands on the ground to do some push-ups. He moved at a steady, continuous pace, often pausing for several seconds at the peak or valley of the motion. He quietly focused on the dynamic and static forces coursing through his bones and muscles. His muscles tensed and relaxed; sometimes he pushed explosively, other times he held a static plank perfectly still.
Time slowly ticked by.
Having [Lasting Endurance] meant that breaking his limits was becoming increasingly difficult. But by the same logic, whenever he did shatter a limit, the resulting growth would be vastly multiplied.
Not too far away, the lynx hugged the python head, munching loudly and happily. Over the campfire, the sizzling fat from the snake meat dripped onto the firewood, crackling and popping. Whenever Merlin got up to switch exercises, he'd rotate the skewers so the meat cooked evenly.
Before he knew it, the sun was directly overhead. It was almost noon.
The meat was perfectly roasted, the skin a glistening, oily gold, and a rich, mouth-watering aroma filled the air. Merlin took the skewers down and slid the chunks of meat onto some lotus leaves he'd laid out. Pulling a small cloth pouch from his pocket, he opened it and sprinkled a generous pinch of crystalline salt over the meal.
The aroma instantly exploded, becoming even more savory.
Merlin sat on the ground and used his dagger to carve off a piece of the fully cooked python meat. He grabbed a chunk and took a massive bite. The taste was impeccable. The meat in this world was packed with raw energy, and this snake meat in particular was incredibly tender, smooth, and delicious.
Just then, the lynx lying in the distance locked its unblinking eyes onto him once again.
Merlin glanced over, a smile tugging at his lips, and casually waved it over.
To Merlin's surprise, the little guy actually trotted right up. It quickly plopped down just three meters away, its stubby tail wagging left and right. Drool was literally leaking from the corners of its mouth. It let out a low, ingratiating awoo, awoo from its throat.
So, Merlin grabbed a chunk of piping-hot roasted meat and tossed it.
The lynx leaped up and caught it perfectly in its jaws—only to instantly shriek in pain, spit the meat out, and roll around on the dirt. Clearly, it had burned the absolute crap out of its mouth.
"Hahaha!" Merlin couldn't hold back his laughter. He chuckled and scolded it, "You big dumbass, haven't you ever heard of taking small bites?"
The lynx actually seemed to understand. It opened its mouth wide, panting heavily at the offending piece of meat. Then, it raised a paw and gave it three rapid smack-smack-smacks.
Finally satisfied, it laid down and started taking delicate, tiny bites.