The spirit energy beads, right now, were worth about three hundred points each when recycled in the chat group. Not a huge amount, but if Brandon White really wanted to, he could produce quite a lot of them—after all, condensing them didn't take much effort on his part.
But there was no point in flooding the market.
Too many would probably throw off the spirit energy balance in the entire Vantora City region, and honestly, Brandon didn't even have much he wanted from the other worlds in the chat group. For him, the lottery draws were more about the fun than the payoff.
It was just like buying a scratch ticket—sometimes you get the urge, most days you walk right past the shop.
Maybe it was because it had been so long since he'd last pulled the Obito template, or maybe it was just boredom, but today Brandon suddenly felt like rolling the dice again. He'd accumulated some points, so… why not?
"Chat group, use one draw."
"Ding! One thousand points have been deducted from Child of Nature's account."
"Ding! Beginning draw…"
He barely had time to blink before the chat group's mechanical voice rang in his head.
"Ding! Congratulations to Child of Nature, you've drawn the Armament Haki from the Pirate World. Upon fusion, you will immediately obtain initial-level Armament Haki."
"Ding! Would you like to fuse now?"
Armament Haki, huh? Not bad.
It might not be as flashy as the Rinnegan, God Tree Fruit, Tenseigan, spirit crystals, or a Giant Statue, but it sure beat drawing a steel pipe or a Whitebeard plushie. Besides, this ability didn't conflict with his [Nature's Authority] at all—if anything, it would boost both his offense and defense, and scale with his physical strength.
"If I don't fuse right now, can I get a Haki training manual? One that's adapted to my world's rules?"
"Ding! After fusing, you will also receive a complete Armament Haki training method tailored for your world."
The chat group's reply made Brandon nod in satisfaction.
Sure, it was just a combat tool and not a path to direct cultivation, but honestly, it was a great draw.
"Fuse."
As soon as he gave the command, a warm surge of energy raced through his limbs. At the same time, knowledge of how to train and master Armament Haki appeared in his mind.
He flexed his right hand. A power, similar yet distinctly different from spirit energy, pulsed through his arm—coating it in a hard, deep violet-black shell.
Not pure black, but then again, Haki colors varied from person to person. Brandon couldn't care less about the shade.
He rapped his knuckles against his armored forearm. The sound was heavy and solid—just the feel of it told him this was serious defense. Considering how strong his body already was, this basic-level Armament Haki stacked on top of that, meaning someone with higher Haki but a weaker body probably wouldn't be able to overpower him.
After playing with it for a while, Brandon started getting the itch to test it in the field. Like a kid with a new toy, he just had to see what it could do.
He slipped his space ring back on, then quietly headed for the edge of the nature reserve.
Meanwhile, in the main building, Yue Frost was in the middle of her evening workout, trying to speed up the absorption of spirit energy from the mutant beast meat she'd eaten. Hearing the door click open, she looked up—just in time to see Brandon walking outside.
She blinked.
What's up with that? Didn't he eat enough at dinner? There were still beast leftovers in storage; even if they ran out, he could always dip into the "for the higher-ups" stash and hunt more tomorrow.
Why the sudden urge to go out?
Ah, maybe she'd figured it out.
Those "official" portions were always the blandest cuts—tough and dry, not nearly as tasty. Maybe Brandon was going out to hunt something fresher and more flavorful.
"Brandon!" she called, hurrying to the door.
He turned, eyebrows raised. "What's up?"
"If you find any tigers still hunting, grab their legs for me! They're absolutely delicious!"
Brandon froze, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Or if you don't see any tigers, wolves are good too—I've never had wolf before, and they hunt at night, so you should spot a few."
"Honestly, anything's fine. I trust your judgment. Just bring back something new!"
So, in your eyes, am I just a delivery boy for wild game? Brandon sighed inwardly. Sure, he'd probably end up bagging a few mutants and collecting their bodies while he tested out his new ability—but that wasn't the point. This was training!
"I'll go prep the veggies and seasoning!" Yue said brightly, already on her way to the kitchen. "Don't be out too late!"
"…Alright," Brandon replied, a little helpless, and headed into the woods.
As she started chopping, Yue paused and tapped her chin, thinking,
Was Brandon's arm… black just now? Or maybe a really dark purple? Must be the lighting. No way a person's arm could look like that—unless they were poisoned or something.
She shrugged it off. If anyone was immune to poison, it was Brandon.
Out in the night-drenched reserve—
BOOM!
A massive wolf crashed into a tree and slid to the ground, whining once before falling silent.
A chorus of howls filled the air.
One after another, more wolves lunged from the undergrowth, snarling and snapping. Brandon greeted each one with a fist, a kick, or a burst of that new, hardened energy. Bodies flew. Bones crunched. Not a single beast managed to get close.
He wiped the blood off his knuckles, watching as the Armament Haki faded from his skin.
No wonder all those protagonists in web novels loved close combat, even after getting god-like powers. Sure, they could just flick a finger and call down thunder—or wave a hand and level mountains—but nothing beat the satisfaction of good, old-fashioned hand-to-hand.
Those authors knew exactly what they were doing.
A real man wants to feel every punch land.
Brandon chuckled, gathering up the wolf corpses. He had no idea which cuts would taste best, so he'd just bring everything back and let Yue experiment.
Maybe tomorrow he'd let her have the tiger leg, too.
(End of Chapter 46)
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