Chapter 293: Another Draw! DND Takes the Stage!
The completely failed artificial Devil Fruit project you rejected is about to enter a new phase now!Heh—after moving elsewhere, are you squeezed together with other scientists again?I, on the other hand, have the entire Punk Hazard Island all to myself!
"Hahahaha!"
Once again, Caesar let out a joyful laugh.
The Five Elders stood at the very pinnacle of the World Government's power.
One of the five had noticed him—and had even dispatched a CP0 member: the Puppeteer.
Though he didn't know why the codename sounded so strange,
From the other party's attitude, he could clearly feel respect, recognition even enthusiasm.
They even believed he had the potential to surpass Vegapunk.
Was there anything more wonderful than that?
In high spirits, Caesar floated out of the underground research facility, preparing to take in the spectacle of the ten-thousand-meter-high sky.
He had heard of Sky Islands before—after all, he was a top-tier scientist, and some of the special materials in his laboratory did come from that region.
But when he flew to the edge of the island and looked out over the sea of clouds, he realized there wasn't just a single island here.
Nearby, there was another island that looked extremely primitive.
And at the edge of that island, a familiar figure caught his attention.
"Hm? Monet?"
Caesar recognized her almost instantly—a Logia user who combined beauty and strength.
One of Doflamingo's subordinates!
At the same time,
Across the way, Monet also spotted the gaseous, floating Caesar. Her red lips parted in shock.
Caesar? Did I even leak this too?!
That bitch—so it really was that bastard Doflamingo who sold me out!
At the same moment, completely different thoughts arose in their minds.
"Hmph!"
Caesar darkened his face and turned away, leaving at once.
He had no interest in learning from her mouth what price Doflamingo had sold him for!
As for Monet—
Seeing Caesar leave without a pleasant expression only confirmed something in her heart.
Her heart sank.
She had originally wanted to probe the situation here, gather some intelligence—
Who knew when it might be useful?
But now it seemed… it was no longer necessary.
If Caesar is here, then the SAD supply is cut off. In that case… Kaido…
Monet left in a daze.
She no longer knew how to deal with herself.
Before that devil-like man, even death was a luxury!
Even staying alive meant living under constant, crushing pressure.
My family… and Young Master… will they really win?
For the first time, doubt took root in Monet's heart.
And in a place she failed to notice—
Emerald-green light swept past.
Ron withdrew his gaze thoughtfully.
"On the verge of collapse already? Looks like it's time for the next attempt.
If it succeeds, it should also work on Baccarat…"
The appearance of Punk Hazard Island stirred up quite a wave within the Divine Kingdom.
But with Ron's faction holding an absolute advantage,
Everything quickly unfolded according to his calculations.
He spent some time assembling a batch of Iron Knights, using a main control center modified from the Redstone intelligent core, and sent this group of 24/7 laborers to the island.
The Iron Knights were the type that were about to be phased out anyway—now repurposed as guards and labor, they finally had a place.
At the same time, Ron also dispatched a group of Glory Angels to be stationed there, with Zoro responsible for overseeing Caesar and the entire island.
Faced with what was effectively house arrest, Caesar expressed dissatisfaction.
But when a very real one billion Beli—packed into crates—appeared before him, the scientist had no complaints whatsoever.
Lock me up, lock me up—what's the big deal?
As long as you give me research funding, you're my dad.
Though he didn't say it out loud, that was how Zoro reported it.
After dealing with this minor episode,
Ron returned once again to the Divine Residence, preparing to continue drawing.
Premonition Perception had whetted his appetite, and he decided to carry out a more adventurous attempt.
Sea sacrifice—throw in a synthesis box.
This time, Lady Mazu clearly wasn't very impressed; the result was only a minor success.
Still, it was good enough.
As usual—lucky double hit.
Ron began the draw. The multicolored roulette spun, throwing out ten streaks of light.
{Drawn — Divine Favor · Fire Resistance}
{Drawn — Feat · Overclocked Reflexes}
{Drawn — Divine Favor · Lightning Resistance}
{Drawn — Divine Favor · Fire Resistance}
{Drawn — Divine Favor · Physical Resistance}
{Drawn — Protection from Arrows (C)}
{Drawn — Divine Favor · Poison Resistance}
{Drawn — Divine Favor · Ice Resistance}
{Drawn — Divine Favor · Physical Resistance}
{Drawn — Divine Favor · Mental Resistance}
This round of draws produced no tangible items—almost everything was some form of resistance.
Ron was a bit bewildered by this, but the light screen promptly popped up.
[Divine Favor · Lightning Resistance]
[Origin: DND Dimension]
[Type: Blessing]
[Effect: A bestowed power granted by a deity under the DND worldview. A permanent, sustained, zero-consumption state buff. Grants the holder resistance to lightning-type attacks. When facing attacks involving lightning, electricity, or electrical charge,damage is reduced by 5% upon contact, weakening the overall damage and negative effects inflicted.]
[Cost: None]
[Note: This resistance experiences diminishing returns by tier. After reaching the 30% stage, further increases to this resistance are no longer possible.]
.
[Divine Favor · Ice Resistance]
[Origin: DND Dimension]
[Type: Blessing]
[Effect: A bestowed power granted by a deity under the DND worldview. A permanent, sustained, zero-consumption state buff. Grants the holder resistance to ice-type attacks. When facing attacks involving frost, ice spikes, or freezing damage, damage is reduced by 5% upon contact, weakening the overall damage and negative effects inflicted.]
[Cost: None]
[Note: This resistance experiences diminishing returns by tier. After reaching the 30% stage, further increases to this resistance are no longer possible.]
.
[Divine Favor · Fire Resistance ×2]
[Origin: DND Dimension]
[Type: Blessing]
[Effect: A bestowed power granted by a deity under the DND worldview. A permanent, sustained, zero-consumption state buff. Grants the holder resistance to fire-type attacks. When facing attacks involving high temperatures, flames, or intense heat, damage is reduced by 10% (5% + 5%) upon contact, weakening the overall damage and negative effects inflicted.]
[Cost: None]
[Note: This resistance experiences diminishing returns by tier. After reaching the 30% stage, further increases to this resistance are no longer possible.]
.
[Divine Favor · Poison Resistance]
[Origin: DND Dimension]
[Type: Blessing]
[Effect: A bestowed power granted by a deity under the DND worldview. A permanent, sustained, zero-consumption state buff. Grants the holder resistance to poison-type attacks. When facing toxins, poisonous gases, or disease-type effects, damage is reduced by 5% upon contact, weakening the overall damage and negative effects inflicted.]
[Cost: None]
[Note: This resistance experiences diminishing returns by tier. After reaching the 30% stage, further increases to this resistance are no longer possible.]
.
[Divine Favor · Mental Resistance]
[Origin: DND Dimension]
[Type: Blessing]
[Effect: A bestowed power granted by a deity under the DND worldview. A permanent, sustained, zero-consumption state buff. Grants the holder resistance to mental-type attacks. When facing pressure, sanity interference, or mind-manipulation effects, damage is reduced by 5% upon contact, weakening the overall damage and negative effects inflicted.]
[Cost: None]
[Note: This resistance experiences diminishing returns by tier. After reaching the 30% stage, further increases to this resistance are no longer possible.]
.
[Divine Favor · Physical Resistance x2]
[Origin: DND Dimension]
[Type: Blessing]
[Effect: A bestowed power granted by a deity under the DND worldview. A permanent, sustained, zero-consumption state buff. Grants the holder resistance to physical-type attacks. When facing attacks involving shockwaves, direct kinetic force, or vibrations, damage is reduced by 10% (5% + 5%) upon contact, weakening the overall damage and negative effects inflicted.]
[Cost: None]
[Note: This resistance experiences diminishing returns by tier. After reaching the 30% stage, further increases to this resistance are no longer possible.]
Ron stared at the descriptions of these resistances and fell into deep thought.
Divine Favor from the DND worldview was probably the mainstream Western fantasy interpretation.
Although it wasn't the trait he had originally expected, calling it terrifying wouldn't be an exaggeration.
From the wording alone, resistance was effectively damage reduction.
Corresponding resistances reduced damage from matching attack types—for example, lightning and ice resistance directly reduced an enemy's output by 5%.
Which meant that if he fought Kuzan, he would passively reduce Kuzan's damage by 5%.
Even if Kuzan could still one-shot him, that was only due to the massive gap in power.
That said, enemies who relied on those attributes were relatively few.
Fire, however, was different.
First of all, it provided a hefty 10% damage reduction.
And one major reason "even dogs won't eat the Flame-Flame Fruit" existed as a saying was that anyone with real strength could dish out extremely powerful fire-based attacks.
It was a relatively universal category.
But even more useful than that was probably the 10% physical resistance.
After some examination, Ron discovered that essentially all kinetic attacks could be classified as physical.
Which meant he was now permanently wrapped in a zero-consumption, no-duration-limit buff—
Directly reducing physical damage taken by 10%.
Although it's not the trait I originally envisioned, in terms of results it's basically equivalent. This is an extremely powerful gain.
And it might even satisfy the requirements of the ability system. If physical resistance is stacked to its limit, maybe it'll produce a weakened version of a rubber body?
Ron pondered the possibility.
But soon, his attention was drawn to the remaining two prizes.
[Feat · Overclocked Reflexes]
[Origin: DND]
[Type: Enhancement]
[Effect: One of the dual-wield ranger's feats, greatly enhancing neural pathways, instincts, and other factors related to reflexive response.]
[Cost: None]
Is this like leveling up a class and gaining a class feature? From the description, it actually boosts neural reflex speed and instinct.
That's perfect—I've already felt that the Sharingan's reaction speed alone wasn't quite enough.
As expected of the hundred-million-level prize pool—this should be considered a high-quality reward even within it.
Ron continued examining the results.
(End of Chapter)