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*****
Despite his comprehensive array of skills, Fyne knew his current strength couldn't yet be called "mighty." At the very least, facing a version of Thanos who didn't even possess the Infinity Stones, he didn't have a shred of confidence in winning.
In terms of defense, he couldn't withstand a direct hit from a capital ship's cannon; in terms of output, he lacked long-term sustainability; his status buffs required meticulous focus; and his healing abilities were still inferior to certain high-tech medical wonders.
On the surface, he seemed incredibly versatile, but in truth, none of his individual abilities had reached a level of peerless dominance.
It was precisely for this reason that Fyne desperately hoped to draw a skill that was inherently powerful from the start, or failing that, to raise the Blue-Eyes White Dragon to its full potential.
After a period of constant nurturing, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was on the verge of its three-star evolution. Soon, he would be able to test whether it could finally absorb the energy of an Infinity Stone.
Somewhere on Vormir.
Fyne and the Red Skull were engaged in a battle that was, frankly, not very intense.
Compared to Fyne and his system, the Red Skull's strength had improved at a snail's pace. Consequently, Fyne now used these bouts primarily to practice his "Golden Ars Magna."
Fyne stood his ground, frying pan in hand, watching the Red Skull charge toward him. He chanted rapidly:
"Create: Stone Wall!"
A teal stone wall, not particularly tall but quite long, instantly materialized between them. Having fought Fyne for so long, this wasn't the Red Skull's first rodeo.
He didn't panic. He glanced upward first; although there were no obvious traps, he still chose not to leap over it. He had tried that last time.
In that instance, Fyne had immediately created a massive cauldron to cover his head, followed by a spear dozens of meters long that nearly skewered him while he was unable to change direction mid-air.
Therefore, the Red Skull was determined to keep his feet on the ground this time.
The stone wall was about ten centimeters thick and appeared to be made of ordinary brick. The Red Skull decided to go for a brute-force breakthrough.
"Hah!"
He clenched his fist and, with a loud shout, punched the surface of the wall.
Fyne's eyes narrowed as he shifted his strategy. His thoughts pivoted instantly, and he reinforced his mental command with a verbal decree:
"Change Material: Cotton! Envelop!"
The teal stone wall transformed into a mass of fluffy white cotton almost faster than the eye could follow.
The Red Skull, having committed his full strength to the punch, slammed into the soft cotton. Unable to check his momentum, he plunged headfirst into the mass.
Fyne did not hesitate to press the advantage. His thoughts shifted again as he continued:
"Material Change: Water! Flash Freeze! Reinforce!"
The cotton shifted once more. The Red Skull found himself submerged in water, and before he could even attempt an escape, he was encased in a solid block of ice.
The battle was over.
Looking at the Red Skull, who could no longer provide any real pressure, Fyne let out a sigh. As the two became more familiar with one another, the Red Skull felt the fights were becoming impossible, while Fyne found them increasingly trivial.
It had reached the point where Fyne could end things effortlessly without even moving his hands.
"Clear!"
With the experience points secured, Fyne liberated the Red Skull from the ice.
Observing the shivering Red Skull, Fyne handed him a Sumire Fried Chicken Roll. "Are you alright?"
The Red Skull shook his head. After so much time being "devastated" by Fyne, his mental and physical resilience had become his most improved traits.
"I might be leaving soon," Fyne said after a moment of thought as he watched the Red Skull recover while eating.
"Really?"
The Red Skull's eyes filled with tears of excitement.
"Yeah." Fyne nodded. Reflecting on the past hundred and fifty days, he felt a strange touch of reluctance to leave the Red Skull, who had been such a hardworking and reliable punching bag.
Even a pet develops a bond after a while, and on a planet with only two people, Fyne had genuinely started to view the Red Skull as a sort of friend.
"When exactly are you leaving?"
Suppressing his excitement, the Red Skull looked at Fyne with desperate anticipation.
"At the latest, I'd say within a month."
Fyne calculated the timeline. Even if something went wrong and Loki failed to activate the Space Stone, Fyne would ask the Ancient One to find a way to trigger it during her next visit.
The thought of enduring another month of beatings brought a twinge of sadness to the Red Skull's heart, but the joy of knowing liberation was only thirty days away far outweighed the pain.
And so, amidst the Red Skull's "eagerly anticipated" beatings, another week passed.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon reached three stars!
"It's grown again!"
Looking at the fierce giant beast before him, the Red Skull couldn't help but marvel. Fyne was already powerful enough; pairing him with such a creature was simply terrifying.
The transition from two stars to three stars was a significant change. It was as if the dragon had moved from infancy into its adolescent growth phase. Not only had its body expanded significantly, but it had finally gained its signature breath attack.
However, the move wasn't simply called "breath." According to the information on the card when Fyne unsummoned it, the skill was called "Burst Stream of Destruction."
To test it, he summoned the dragon once more.
"Go on, give it a shot. Burst Stream of Destruction!"
Fyne pointed toward a distant mountain peak, looking at the dragon with immense expectation.
"Roar!"
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon let out a deafening roar. Even at three stars, it still couldn't speak—and it likely wouldn't even at nine stars.
Following Fyne's command, the dragon faced the target. Its massive jaws opened, and a blinding white light began to coalesce within its throat.
Two seconds later, a beam like a laser cannon erupted, blasting directly toward the mountain.
BOOM!
Ever since Fyne arrived on Vormir, the planet's mountain peaks had been disappearing one by one.
The "Burst Stream" lived up to its name. Its sheer power left Fyne exhilarated; the destructive force was already comparable to his Explosion Magic. Furthermore, at that speed, Fyne felt very few enemies would be able to dodge it easily.
The system's evaluation of its "incalculable destructive potential" was certainly proving accurate!
The only downside was that the move seemed quite taxing for the dragon at its current stage; it could only manage three shots before being tapped out.
Still, Fyne was more than satisfied.
He didn't unsummon the dragon this time. After a quick goodbye to the Red Skull, he flew onto the dragon's back and commanded, "Take flight!"
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon beat its massive wings and soared into the sky.
After flying all the way to the altar, Fyne dismounted. At three stars, the dragon's speed had increased significantly; in a straight-line sprint, it was now nearly as fast as Fyne using his Sky-Dancing Technique.
Standing by the cliff of the altar, Fyne took a deep breath. He was nervous. He was about to perform a crucial experiment.
He needed to see if the Blue-Eyes White Dragon could finally withstand the energy of the Soul Stone.
If it could, the subsequent evolutions would be much simpler. If not, Fyne would have to pin his hopes on the four-star version.
After shouting at the cliffside for a good while, Fyne finally summoned the Soul Stone's consciousness.
"We had a deal. You need to provide energy once more," Fyne said quickly, looking at the glowing orange stone.
"This is the final time!"
The Soul Stone did not go back on its word, but it made its boundary clear.
Fyne thought for a moment and agreed. If this was successful, he would be returning to Earth soon and could use the Space Stone as a substitute. If it failed, he wouldn't have any use for the Soul Stone in the short term anyway.
Then, under Fyne's tense gaze, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon reached out and grasped the Soul Stone.
Accompanied by the dragon's thunderous roar, a surge of orange energy erupted violently.
(End of Chapter)