One Piece Dragon King - Chapter 22

After an hour of training, Hals felt hungry and drank a bottle of Energy Elixir. The energy from the elixir would be enough for two more sessions of training.

Hals didn’t want to practice Dragon Body Technique because, although the bleeding had reduced significantly with each session, there was still a lot of blood loss. After such training, Hals needed to use a Healing Elixir and consume a lot of food to recover. Despite the availability of Energy Elixirs, he still had to rely on Healing Elixirs for recovery.

He couldn’t train in such a manner in front of Dadan and the others; they would worry. Hals needed to find a secluded place where no one and no animals would disturb him for such rigorous training. Now wasn’t the time for that.

After two more training sessions, the energy from the Energy Elixir was fully consumed. Hals, having absorbed the energy, didn’t wake up midway.

Meanwhile…

“Luffy, you must have upset Hals. He’s been locked in his room for three hours,” Ace said.

The three of them didn’t feel like going out today since they had enough food.

“Luffy, I think you should just be direct and tell him,” Sabo suggested.

“Yeah,” Ace agreed.

Luffy stayed silent, feeling it was all his fault.

Hals emerged from his room, looking refreshed.

“Three hours of training, and my soul feels stronger,” Hals thought as he checked his status panel.

– Body: 17
– Soul: 16
– Blood: Magic Dragon (Can master all kinds of magic) [Dragon Meditation Technique: Beginner] [Dragon Body Technique: Beginner]
– Negative Emotion Points: 196,790
– Magic: Water Element Level 1+ (1/10)

He was close to two million negative emotion points, thanks in part to Whitebeard.

Ace, take care of your old man; he’s a good guy, Hals thought.

Hals hadn’t bought any new magic yet, feeling it was pointless at the moment. It was better to focus on mastering water magic first. The only helpful potions for training were the Healing Elixir and the Energy Elixir. Hopefully, more advanced versions of Body and Meditation Techniques would appear in the future.

Hals stepped out of his room, noticing it was already getting dark.

“Hals,” Ace called out seriously.

Sabo looked slightly apologetic, while Luffy was very serious.

“What’s up?” Hals asked.

“Luffy has something to say to you.”

Luffy gathered his courage and spoke to Hals.

“Hals, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said I wanted to become the Pirate King in front of you. I didn’t know what you had been through…”

Luffy trailed off, unable to continue.

Hals’s expression didn’t change. How would the story progress if Luffy didn’t aim to become the Pirate King? Hals certainly wasn’t going to stop him but felt the need to play along.

Hals pretended to be surprised, then thought for a moment and smiled.

“Actually, Luffy, it’s okay,” Hals said.

“No matter what you do, what profession or role you take on, just remember to be a good person. Don’t hurt others unnecessarily. If someone harms you, you can defend yourself. That’s all that matters.” Hals found himself at a loss for words. “You can become a pirate, but you don’t have to be the kind of pirate everyone fears. You can be an adventurer. You can do the work of a marine under the guise of a pirate, or you can engage in trade as a pirate.”

“And besides, haven’t you made a promise to someone?” Hals patted Luffy’s straw hat, feeling its rough texture.

“Yeah,” Luffy nodded, feeling happy as he remembered Shanks.

“But, Hals, what about those pirates who hurt you?”

“I’ll catch them and feed them to sea kings. No big deal.”

Hals smiled, but it seemed a bit sinister to the others as if a black dragon was roaring behind him.

“So scary,” Ace and Sabo murmured.

“Oh, by the way, Hals, what were you doing in your room?” Luffy asked curiously.

“Training to become stronger.”

“Oh! I want to become stronger too, just like you, Hals.”

Luffy seemed very enthusiastic, waving his small fists at Hals.

“You should aim to be as strong as Grandpa. He’s even stronger.”

Hals didn’t want to train with them, fearing they’d discover his tedious training or see him suddenly bleeding.

It was already 4 PM, and dinner was at 5 PM.

“Okay, you guys go play. I need to continue my training. And I’ll skip dinner tonight; you guys eat without me.”

Hals returned to his room.

“Alright.”

He resumed practicing the Meditation Technique.

Hals wanted to fully master the first level of water magic before moving on. It wasn’t that he couldn’t learn other magic, but a stronger soul would enhance the effectiveness and accuracy of magic. Also, using magic with a weak soul could cause harm.

Learning magic would generate magic power, and Hals already had some magic power in his body. Unlike other Devil Fruit users who relied on physical strength, Hals’s magic power was akin to physical stamina. Magic power could be restored through meditation, with a stronger soul leading to faster recovery and higher limits.

Thus, Hals’s ability was somewhat similar to other Devil Fruit users, whose stamina depended on their physical strength.

Once magic was learned, it could be directly converted into various types of magic during use. As a Magic Dragon fruit user, Hals found controlling magic as easy as moving his hands.

After a long time, Hals came out of his room again. It was already 7 PM.

Hals saw Ace playing with Luffy.

“Are you sure you don’t need dinner?” Ace asked.

“No, I already ate in my room. Since my training takes a long time and I might get hungry afterward, I always prepare some food in advance.”

“Is your training special? If not, why not train with us?”

Luffy invited Hals to join them.

Hals thought about the three kids fighting. Even without using his fruit ability, he could easily beat them.

“Forget it, I have my own plans.”

Hals declined.

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