In the following time, with nothing else to do, Xiang En sat on the ground and did a great deal of research on his fire ability.
First, based on his two previous releases, he perceived that the flames he released were not generated by his body. Instead, they required him to focus his mind, draw upon the Pyro Element power already existing in the air, guide it out, and gather it on his body's surface.
Because he was manipulating elemental force rather than controlling fire, he could not burst into large flames from his body like Ace, nor could he gain immunity to fire damage or elementalize his body.
However, compared to the Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit), his ability had another advantage besides being unaffected by seawater: the ability to burn objects remotely.
Simply put, within the ten-meter range his mind could cover, he could make the Pyro Element converge into flames and ignite any place in his line of sight.
This naturally included an enemy's body.
The thought of an enemy spontaneously combusting and turning to ash just by meeting his gaze made Xiang En quite excited.
While it sounded cruel, if he encountered a particularly difficult or hard-to-hit enemy, this might be a trump card for an unexpected victory.
However, after a brief experiment, Xiang En temporarily gave up on this idea.
He found that the further away from his body the target was, the slower the speed at which he could guide the Pyro Element power. For every additional meter of distance, the guidance time nearly doubled.
It took about one breath to condense a fireball in his palm. But at a distance of several meters from his body, conjuring a flame in mid-air required the guidance time to extend to nearly half a minute.
And at the limit of his mental coverage, more than ten meters away, the required guidance time was even more exaggerated: a full five minutes.
Seriously, what enemy currently engaged in combat would stand still and give you nearly five minutes to guide an attack?
Xiang En sighed, ceased further in-depth research, and turned his attention back to the summoning Golden Finger.
[Time until next summon: 3 days (Summoning Cost: 80,000,000 Beli)]
[Host's Remaining Assets: 479,000,000 Beli]
The summoning time was still only three days, but the summoning cost had increased to 80 million Beli.
For a moment, Xiang En didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The good news was that the summoning time was shorter than he expected, meaning he could summon more characters during the one-month shipbuilding period, making him feel more secure when setting sail.
The bad news was that the money wouldn't be enough.
This time, the cost jumped from 30 million Beli to 80 million Beli. Extrapolating from this, the next summon would require at least 200 million Beli, and the one after that might be as high as 600 or 700 million!
This was a figure that induced despair just thinking about it.
And more critically, if he spent all his savings on summoning, then future living expenses would become a problem.
Kagura alone could eat the equivalent of dozens of people.
He wouldn't count himself and Klee for now. The key was the third companion arriving in three days, summoned using a Dragon scale. Xiang En estimated that this person (or creature) was likely related to dragons. In the worst-case scenario, it might be an actual dragon.
And a dragon's appetite surely needed no explanation—at least equal to, or even greater than, Kagura's.
At that point, he would be spending over a million Beli a day just on food, not even including other living expenses.
"Sigh, it looks like I can't spend all my time training Haki this month. I need to take some time out and figure out a way to make money."
Thinking this, Xiang En couldn't help but sigh. He could already imagine his miserable life for the next month.
"But where should I start?"
Pirate bounties? There were many pirates with bounties over ten million Beli in the first half of the Grand Line, but he currently didn't have a ship or any navigation knowledge. How could he possibly find a target on the vast ocean and capture him?
Starting a business? He had even less confidence in that. Although he possessed knowledge from another world, he was just an ordinary person before transmigrating, had no business experience, and certainly couldn't be like other transmigrators who manufactured gunpowder or cannons. So, it would be easier for him to just rob someone than start a business.
Hmm... robbery? This seemed like the quickest and most suitable way for him to make money. After all, the first fortune he acquired in this world was taken with Rayleigh's help.
Moreover, the Human Auction House he robbed was apparently owned by Doflamingo. Robbing him wouldn't cause the morally-conscious Xiang En any guilt. However, according to the original plot, that auction house was abandoned by Doflamingo after the incident, and it was likely already disbanded and gone.
So, who could he rob on the Sabaody Archipelago now?
Nobles... Celestial Dragons?
Xiang En fell into thought. Leaning against the tree trunk behind him, he sat casually on the ground. He looked up at the courtyard gate, his gaze gradually becoming distant.
The setting sun's afterglow painted the sky. The sky was a hazy yellow, naturally blending with the distant ocean to create an oil painting scroll.
Xiang En was captivated.
He didn't know how long it had been since he sat and appreciated the sunset like this. Usually, at this time, he would still be stuck in an office building, working miserably.
It was only after transmigrating that he could enjoy such relative freedom.
He was also increasingly grateful for his decision to refuse the offers from Kizaru and Luffy a few days ago. If he had joined the Marines with Kizaru, he would probably be hauled off to Marineford as a laborer right now and might even be dragged into the Summit War in a few days, fighting against the Whitebeard Pirates.
And if he had joined Luffy, he would most likely have been sent flying to some random island by Kuma, which may or may not be lucky, but certainly wouldn't be as relaxing as the present.
Just as Xiang En was engrossed in his thoughts.
Two delicate little girls, like elves, suddenly burst into his view, adding life to the painted scene.
Their faces were tender and rosy, their eyes innocent and carefree. Light brown and orange-red hair was beaded with water droplets, and their entire bodies looked as though they had been submerged in seawater, emitting a faint mist.
Wait a minute... submerged in seawater?
Xiang En realized something was wrong. He snapped out of his daze and scrutinized the two little girls who hadn't returned since leaving this morning. His brows slowly furrowed.
They were soaked from head to toe, their hair plastered down, and a few strands stuck tightly to their skin, making the two Lolis, who had left looking pristine, appear quite disheveled.
"You two, didn't you go to blast fish? Why do you look like the fish dragged you underwater?"
He stood up, dusted the dirt off his clothes, and walked into the yard.
"Xia-chan!"
"Big Brother Xiang En!"
The two little girls simultaneously cried out in surprise, as if they had found their parent.
Their voices were unusually excited, giving Xiang En a gradually worsening sense of foreboding.
"You two didn't cause any trouble, did you?"
He slowly walked closer to them, focusing his gaze first on Kagura. He had spent many days with this girl, and usually, he could tell if she had caused trouble just by looking at her expression.
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