Solian awoke to the repetitive throb of his raft, the sun rising over the edge of the horizon. The waves were flat, the sea serene-appearing, but his thoughts were not peaceful.
His training was progressing well, but he had not really made much improvement in stabilizing his abilities. His rifts remained unstable, unpredictable, and difficult to master. The Solar Rift Fruit was powerful, but something that he could not use yet.
"Focus," he said to himself, adjusting his stance. "I need to master this. I need to get stronger."
Heaving a deep breath, Solian threw out his right hand, trying to build a rift. The air wavered, but as always, it dissipated and vanished before anything tangible could form.
Enraged, he struck his fist against the wooden planks of the raft. "Come on, Solian. You can do this."
His practice so far had been trial and error—mostly error. He had found that his ability to create rifts wasn't the issue; the issue was control. The rifts needed to be aimed, focused, and the harnessing of solar power in them required more concentration than he had anticipated.
A shrill shriek sliced through the air, followed by the crash of pounding waves. Instinctively, Solian's eyes flashed out to sea. Something massive was descending.
A colossal sea serpent, as big as his raft at least, erupted from the water. Its scales glimmered, reflecting the sunlight. Its massive head was crowned by teeth like razors. The serpent's eyes locked onto Solian, and it hurtled forward with awful speed.
Solian's heart raced, but his mind remained calm. Stay alive. He had to stay alive. His body moved faster than his thoughts, and he threw out his hand in front of himself, attempting to create a gap between him and the creature.
The tear seemed to appear—only a tiny rip in the atmosphere—but it was sufficient to cause the serpent to be deflected from its path. It slid beneath the water with a furious hiss, the scales rasping against the surface before it vanished.
"That was too close," Solian breathed, his chest heaving. He glanced down at his hand, where the slightest glow remained to surround his fingers.
He wasn't ready. His command wasn't fine-tuned enough for the demands of his Devil Fruit, but that attack had worked. A glimmer of hope sprang within him.
Training, training, and more training. He must push through this. He couldn't be weak—not here.
The rest of the day was a haze as Solian focused his rift abilities. He trained to use the rift not just to deflect or sidestep attacks, but to manipulate objects. He created small rifts to move driftwood, to carry supplies, and, out of desperation, even tried to boil water with his solar abilities.
Each experiment failed. His rifts were uncontrollable and unstable, but each failure was a learning experience. He began to see patterns, trying to control the rift's creation with conscious will and thought.
By nightfall, he was exhausted. His muscles ached and his mind was heavy with the weight of his ambitions. But as he sat at the edge of the raft, looking out over the sea under moonlight, something inside him changed.
He launched his system menu, his chest pounding with exhilaration. His System Points had increased to 10.
A fresh pop-up notification in the corner of his vision read:
System Menu
Devil Fruit Mastery: 4
constitution: 5
Strength:4
Agility:6
Endurance:5
System Points: 10
He selected the Devil Fruit Mastery option, and the following elaborate explanation was provided:
Devil Fruit Mastery: The more you utilize your Devil Fruit, the better at it you'll become. Points in this ability will stabilize your rifts, make them larger, and more effective.
Solian pondered for a moment. He now had to decide—where to invest his well-earned system points.
With a quiet exhalation, he spent 5 points on Devil Fruit Mastery and 2 on Strength, his arm muscles quietly more toned from it. His last 3 points were spent on Constitution, increasing his stamina.
His rift powers remained askew, but at least he now possessed 4% mastery. That translated to greater control. Greater accuracy. It wasn't much, but it was better.
As he lay back, he caught sight of something on the horizon—a ship. A little one. His heart leapt. Was it a pirate ship? Or a merchant ship? Either, and it would be answers, then, and a chance for Solian to put his new strength to work.