"Xiao Bai, unleash Gale Burst Shot."
On one of the Boin Archipelago’s islands, Karl was putting the well-fed little dragon through some exercise.
The little dragon opened its jaws and gathered a dazzling white radiance, threaded with crackling lightning, and roared a wave of light outward.
The wave struck a towering tree dozens of meters tall and so thick ten men couldn’t encircle it, blasting away nearly seventy percent of the trunk and leaving a swath of scorched, static-blackened marks.
It was only a casual snap shot from the little dragon.
If it put in a bit more force, it could absolutely topple the giant in a single blast.
"Not bad. A single hit like that could destroy a triangular-sail sloop."
Karl nodded with satisfaction, and before the little dragon could pounce back, he too opened his mouth; a glare even brighter than the dragon’s rapidly condensed before his lips into a head-sized sphere of light.
Then, with a bellow, Karl turned the light-sphere into a massive white beam and hurled it into the forest ahead.
Wherever it passed, every flower, tree, and creature of the Boin Archipelago touched by the beam turned to dust and vanished from the world.
When the white beam faded.
A straight gouge stretched out before Karl; the ground had been ploughed into a trench tens of centimeters deep, white vapor curling from the scar.
"So strong—almost comparable to the mysterious spear," Karl sighed.
The chibi dragon fluttered over in excitement and kept licking Karl’s face.
"Quit it. Let’s head back."
Karl rubbed the little dragon’s head and smiled.
The little dragon let out a juvenile cry and, under Karl’s gaze, its body shed a faint silver-white glow and began to grow, visibly to the naked eye.
In just a few seconds it was twice Karl’s height, nearly five meters long.
Leaping onto the Blue-Eyes White Dragon’s back, Karl patted its neck.
A roar like a beast’s, edged with a metallic timbre, burst from the Blue-Eyes’ mouth.
Then, with a single sweep of its wings, the Blue-Eyes shot skyward.
Linked to Karl mind-to-mind, it needed no orders to know where to fly.
If Karl pulled out the card within him, he would see that the Blue-Eyes’ star level had become four.
Today was January 8th, already several days past the time he’d agreed on with Karina.
Over those eight days, Karl had taken the Blue-Eyes to another food-paradise island, letting it reach four stars in just a few days.
Even after its body grew, the Blue-Eyes could still revert to its zero-star chibi form.
In truth, if the Blue-Eyes kept eating, later level-ups would be harder, but five or even six stars within a month wasn’t impossible.
Likewise, if Karl kept eating, he could push toward a third evolution.
But having just finished the second evolution, getting to the third would take at least a year or more of eating.
And after a month of it, Karl was sick of the place.
He likes eating, but not eating without end.
He likes roaming the world and tasting local delicacies, not staying where everything is edible yet there isn’t even anyone to share a meal and a chat with.
A month without Karina had him dying of longing.
Unless he’s right on the bottleneck for a third evolution, Karl absolutely won’t set foot on the Boin Archipelago.
As for the Blue-Eyes’ growth, Karl isn’t in a hurry.
When there’s time he can take it to hunt in the deep sea and use sea beasts to help it evolve.
life can’t be only eating and drinking; you need some fun.
"Karina, what’s that?"
Once the Blue-Eyes flew out beyond the Boin Archipelago, Nami spotted its silhouette at once.
Following Nami’s pointing finger, Karina’s face changed slightly. "A dragon... there’s actually a dragon on the Boin Archipelago?!"
"You’re kidding—do creatures like dragons really exist in this world?" Nami blanched.
"Wait... isn’t there someone on its back?"
Karina, who was about to cover the sloop with a Barrier-Barrier Fruit dome, suddenly paused, grabbed the single-tube telescope she kept on the table to watch the surroundings, and peered through it.
After one look at the Blue-Eyes flying their way, Karina lowered the scope and huffed. "Figures. I thought that guy forgot our rendezvous while he stuffed his face—turns out he even kidnapped a dragon back."
"Huh... is the person on its back Karl?"
Seeing Karina’s expression shift, Nami asked curiously.
Karina nodded, grinding her teeth a little. "Had me on edge all these days. When we get back, I’m definitely going to make him pay."
But her tough talk lasted barely ten seconds before it backfired.
The Blue-Eyes swept over the triangular-sail sloop, wingbeats whipping a fierce airflow that sent the girls’ clothes fluttering.
Karl leapt from the dragon’s back and, the instant he landed on deck, pulled Karina into his arms. "Karina, I missed you so much!"
"Dummy... I missed you too."
The scolding that had risen to her throat was swallowed back down.
Wrapping her arms around Karl, Karina spoke softly.
It was the first time in over a decade they’d been apart so long.
Without Karl at her side for a month, Karina had slept fitfully every night.
If the Boin Archipelago weren’t so dangerous, she would have taken Nami ashore to find him long ago.
Now that Karl had returned, the worry in Karina’s heart finally eased. Google seaʀᴄh 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽
If Karl asked to bathe together right now, Karina would say yes. Even if it cost her a couple of those requests, she’d half-demur and still agree.
Just then Nami, ever the mood-breaker, spoke up. "Karl, did you find that dragon on the island?"
The Blue-Eyes fluttered down and shrank back into its chibi form.
"Yeah. I found her on the island. She’s called the Blue-Eyes White Dragon—you can call her Little White," Karl said with a nod.
In fact, Karl had thought of naming her Kisara, then decided against it.
This Blue-Eyes belongs to him; there’s no need to be anyone’s knockoff.
If she can take human form someday, Karl will give her a name himself.
Nami was curious. "So is it male or female?"
Hands on his hips, Karl couldn’t resist a wolfish line. "From today on, you can address me as Dragon Knight."