The fifth day of Vlad's coronation.
Dier acquired the ability to locate people out of thin air.
He roughly sensed Morgans' location.
Hmm... in the direction of the New World. A complete blank.
The seventh day of Vlad's coronation.
Dier gained telekinesis, allowing him to manipulate objects remotely.
Currently, he could only move a single popcorn kernel at close range.
The tenth day of Vlad's coronation.
Dier obtained a passive ability that enhanced his recovery.
This included stamina regeneration and self-healing, though he didn't actually feel any noticeable changes.
The twelfth day of Vlad's coronation.
Dier acquired a terrifying-looking passive ability.
He waved his hand and dispelled it.
All passive abilities he obtained could be dispelled.
Just like the negative passive ability he once had—"losing strength when falling into the sea."
Such an ability was utterly useless to him, so he dispelled it immediately.
However, he still felt weak when submerged in water.
If described in terms of a status panel, it would look something like this:
Before eating the fruit:
Occupation: Human.
Traits: None.
Passive Abilities: Weakness in water.
...
After eating the fruit:
Occupation: Ability User.
Traits: Weakness in water.
Passive Abilities: Weakness in water.
He could dispel passive abilities granted by his cheat-like power, but he couldn't dispel innate traits of his body.
Thus, he still needed to obtain a positive passive ability like "immunity to seawater effects" to counteract his trait.
The fourteenth day of Vlad's coronation.
Dier gained the ability to heal others' injuries.
At full power, he could make a mosquito bite disappear faster.
The sixteenth day of Vlad's coronation.
Dier acquired a passive aura that enhanced training effects.
Not only for himself—anyone within a certain range of him whom he acknowledged could also benefit from the boost.
Currently, the range was limited to about ten centimeters around him. As for the actual effect... well, he didn't notice any difference.
The eighteenth day of Vlad's coronation.
Dier obtained the ability to change someone's gender.
...
"What the hell am I supposed to do with this ability?!"
He called Geno, gritting his teeth as he asked:
"What kind of nonsense have you been spreading on the island?!"
"Nothing much," Geno replied, confused.
"Just followed your instructions and told the residents about your existing abilities and the ones listed on the note."
"Alright, then tell me—which of those two categories includes gender-swapping?!"
"Uh... among your existing abilities," Geno hesitated.
"Didn't you just press your hand to someone's forehead to change their gender?
And that woman had the same ability—she turned an old lady into an old man."
"That was the Favor of the Forest..."
Dier froze, realizing something.
Geno probably, maybe, perhaps... had no idea what the Favor of the Forest was.
The Apple Ship had arrived and departed on the same day, and Dier had summoned Geno to his room for questioning, never giving him a chance to speak with Sally.
Later, in the Forest Village, Geno had stayed at a distance, making it easy to overlook the already small Green Disc.
Seeing a woman turn into a man, Geno had simply assumed it was Dier's ability.
During the five-day return voyage, Geno hadn't gotten close to the people from the Forest Village. With a large group of children now aboard, as the leader, he was probably too busy dealing with daily chaos to notice anything else.
Upon returning to Colon Island, Dier found himself even busier, as he was, after all, the administrator of the Public Safety Department.
No one questioned the subsequent rumor control plan—following orders from above was simply the way things were done.
"Maybe... I should go suppress the rumors now?"
Hearing the timid voice on the other end of the line, Dier, who had already pieced everything together, could only sigh helplessly:
"Just leave it be. Go back to your work."
Click.
Stopping rumors was far harder than spreading them.
Active skills couldn't be dispelled.
But having this extra ability wasn't a big deal. Best not to hinder the development of the home base.
Dier was a nostalgic person. To this day, he still considered Colon Island his true home.
Even though the number of subordinates he commanded on Ghost Island far surpassed those on Colon Island.
Yet, he couldn't shake his attachment to the place where he first rose to power. He even planned to transfer some talent from Ghost Island to Colon Island.
Perona's Negative Hollow phased through the wall and spoke up:
"Brother Dier, someone else is here."
"Alright, I'm coming."
Dier nodded, pulling a pocket watch from his coat and fiddling with it as he walked toward the room reserved for Hypnosis.
The pocket watch had been bought on Ghost Island.
It was just a standard model, nowhere near as good as his previous custom-made one.
But since there were no dedicated watchmakers on the island, Dier had to make do with this one.
Pushing open the door, he found a man kneeling on the floor, weeping uncontrollably.
"In my next life, I want to be a bug."
This was the effect of Perona's Negative Hollow.
His Hypnosis didn't depend on strength—only on the target's willpower.
And those pierced by the Negative Hollows would fall into deep despair, their willpower at its weakest.
"Sir, would you like to find the meaning of your life?"
"Do you... trust me?"
...
Late at night, everyone gathered in the castle's dining hall.
Today was December 31st, 1502, on the Sea Calendar.
Once midnight passed, it would be the year 1503.
On the dining table sat a three-tiered cake nearly half a meter in diameter.
At the top stood three unlit candles.
Dier extended his hand, shooting three thin lines of fire to light them.
Under the bright glow, his smile was especially radiant.
"Come on, Robin. Let's celebrate our third New Year's Eve together."
Gazing at the flickering red candlelight, Robin couldn't help but recall their past two New Year's Eves.
On the last day of 1500, she and Dier had huddled together in a cluttered warehouse, embracing for warmth.
The foul smells around them kept them awake, and their thin clothes left them shivering in the cold wind.
On the last day of 1501, the two had hidden in a cave, evading pursuit by agents.
Dier had given her his last sandwich and even pulled out a lighter, calling it a candle for her to blow out.
And now, their third New Year's Eve.
She wore an expensive coat, seated in an opulent dining hall, with a table laden with lavish dishes—and a cake.
"Dier, thank you."
"Why say that between us? Come on, blow out the candles."
"Mhm!"
Robin stood up, rising slightly on her toes. Closing her eyes, she blew out a breath.
The crimson flames extinguished, leaving thin wisps of white smoke curling from the candlewicks.
"Alright, let's eat."
Dier plucked the candles from the top and casually popped them into his mouth. Then, he took out a large knife and divided the cake into several portions.
One for Robin, one for him. One for Hina, one for him. One for Perona, one for him.
As for Gunpowder and the other two—they could cut their own slices.
"Big Brother Dier, I want to eat that!"
Perona pointed at the bagel sandwiches on the other side.
To accommodate Robin's taste, the cake wasn't made too sweet, which Perona didn't like. She preferred the bagel sandwiches with jam and hot cocoa instead.
While Dier was getting the sandwich for Perona, Hina secretly pulled out a bottle of champagne from her pocket. She had wanted to try it for a long time but had always been strictly forbidden.
Pop!
The champagne cork shot out and happened to hit Dier right on the head.
Oh no!
Hina's smile froze, and in the next second, her precious treasure was taken away.
"No alcohol for minors."
Dier first handed the sandwich to Perona, then tossed the champagne to Gunpowder across the table.
Gunpowder caught it and poured himself a glass, but despite the feast before him, he had little appetite.
They weren't accustomed to having a reunion dinner on New Year's Eve. Dier had told the three girls to save room, but he forgot to inform the three men, who had already eaten dinner earlier. Now, faced with a table full of food, they had no appetite left.
"Since we're just sitting around," Boren deftly pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket, "how about a game of poker?"
...
The thirtieth day of Vlad's reign.
On Ghost Island, the number of people under control had reached two hundred, most of whom were high-ranking officials. The overall management was handled by the elder minister, Lake.
They would work together to govern Transylvania well, allowing Vlad to leave and join the Navy's training.
Dier had advised him to first disguise himself as a Zoan-type Ability User to avoid being taken by Navy scientists for blood extraction, which could lead to the creation of some Demon Warrior unit.
The Bone Sword was always carried by Vlad. Through deliberate training over this period, he could now control its size even without direct contact.
However, it wasn't yet the best time for him to join the Navy.
One day in the future, when pirates attacked again, he would charge into battle first. Only after a hard-fought struggle would he consider joining the Navy.
Dier didn't need to oversee this personally.
So early this morning, he left Ghost Island with the three girls aboard a passenger ship.
Next stop: the North Blue.