Ability Development Progress:
Mature Vampire Physique: 52%
Bat Shadow (Mature): 27%
Weapon: Casull LV4: 9%
Blacklight Virus LV2: 16%
Hidden Shadow LV1: 9%
Compared to the development value gained from the previous battle with Zephyr, the gain from the fight with Kuzan was pitifully small.
However, in Alucard’s six years since his system awakened, this was actually quite fast, proving Kuzan’s capabilities.
This was considered an above-average speed.
One must remember that in the months before he left that isolated island, he’d gone through over a hundred battles and gained no development value at all, which was truly despair-inducing.
The battle with Zephyr was almost like an over-leveled fight, as if a beginner from the starter village had slain a final boss, which was why he gained such an exaggerated amount of development.
Kuzan, afterward, was a normal enemy, and the growth rate of development value naturally normalized.
After fighting Kuzan, Alucard didn’t return to the inn. Instead, he boarded the Bahade Pirates’ ship.
By now, the original pirate flag was gone.
Alucard hadn’t thought about his own emblem yet, so he simply had a plain white sail hoisted up. In this world, ships were primarily sailing vessels, needing sails to move. Without them, they couldn’t travel.
"I haven’t been out for long, and I’ve already met so many interesting people. I’m really looking forward to the future..." Alucard exhaled deeply as he boarded the ship and departed.
However, as Alucard sailed away, several Marines suddenly emerged from a corner of the port. Seeing Alucard leave, one immediately reported, "The target has departed. Report the news to Chief Instructor Zephyr at once!"
"Though he wasn’t recruited, I’ve managed to gauge a bit of his abilities."
Back at the Marine branch in Flevance, Kuzan recounted his battle with Alucard to Zephyr and presented his personal analysis of Alucard’s abilities.
"’Immortal’—that’s the most fitting word to describe this Alucard. No matter how severe the injury, even his head or throat can regenerate rapidly. He possesses some power that isn’t Armament Haki, yet can still strike a Logia user’s physical body. He’s proficient with a pistol that seems to have virtually unlimited firepower. Of course, I can’t confirm if it’s truly unlimited or if I simply didn’t notice him reloading."
Kuzan habitually scratched the back of his head before continuing, "However, ’immortal’ might be a bit of an overstatement. During my repeated attacks, I noticed he consistently blocked attacks aimed at his heart. It’s highly probable that’s his weakness."
Zephyr nodded. Indeed, there were many regeneration-type Devil Fruits, but to call someone "immortal" was perhaps too much. Having a single weakness, no matter how small, was enough to reassure Zephyr and his men.
"Based on the abilities he’s shown, I can’t discern which Devil Fruit power he uses, but that’s not a critically important question. Now, go investigate this kid’s background." Zephyr wasn’t particularly interested in whether Alucard was a Devil Fruit user, or what specific fruit he’d eaten. In his view, no matter the enemy’s ability, if they were an enemy, they were to be crushed and defeated.
"Dracula D. Alucard..."
Kuzan stroked his chin as he walked towards his room, muttering, "D..."
Ten minutes after Kuzan left, several patrol Marines entered. They saluted Zephyr loudly, then gave a detailed report of what they had witnessed at the harbor.
"He’s already left? No matter. Notify the Marines in the nearby sea regions to keep a close watch," Zephyr commanded with a wave of his hand.
’A guy like that, if he got a bounty, it should be at least 50 million Berries, right?’ Zephyr thought to himself. In this era, 50 million was already a bounty figure worth serious attention. "Notify Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Kong."
Zephyr had personally handled Maswick’s affair. Although he usually didn’t concern himself with such matters, once he did, and discovered these government "rats," he would absolutely suppress them.
Thanks to Zephyr’s intervention, Alucard wasn’t given a bounty for now, but it likely wouldn’t be long before he was.
Sailing ships were typically made of wood; even Marine warships were primarily wooden with steel as a supplement.
After several days of sailing, Alucard’s ship was in disarray. The damage mainly came not from enemies, but from Sea Kings lurking beneath the surface. Alucard had slain countless of them, but each battle was torturous for the ship.
Generally, both pirate crews and Marines would have someone specifically monitoring the sea to avoid Sea Kings.
Now, Alucard’s ship was on the verge of collapsing. He either had to find a new one or repair this one.
As he saw a gaping hole in the ship’s deck plugged with a bizarre, reddish, lumpy substance, an idea sparked in Alucard’s mind.