Sylas felt his vision swim.
There was another reason he had chosen Great Ape without hesitation. As he had said many tis already… what he struggled the most with now was attack power.
And sothing told him that he was about to find a solution to his problem.
Blade Aura was a nice start, and he bet that once he had the chance to go through their Lineage of techniques, he would certainly gain a great deal. But… he needed sothing that finally relied on a stat other than his Will.
He had burdened it too much, and it ran out too quickly in combat despite just how great it was.
As confident as he was that he would only continue to strengthen it, he needed more balance if he was going to lead Earth through this next challenge.
His vision cleared, and when he appeared again, his eyes narrowed when he found that he was standing at the start of the very sa road he had dashed through.
One suppressive effect after another landed on him, and he found that his Aether had been stripped away from him; his ntal stats were there, accessible, and yet not. But most importantly, his Skills and most other abilities had been restrained—including his Comprehensions.
Except for one.
Mixed Martial Arts.
'I see.'
Sylas understood. Calmly looking ahead, it seed that he had made the right bet. This was exactly what he wanted.
The statue to the right of him trembled. A glow ford and then bead down.
Soon, a towering figure at over seven feet lood over Sylas. His hair was thick, his canines prominent, the aura of a blood-thirsty warrior coming from him.
—
[Makra] [Level: 50] – [Physical: 997] [ntal: 644] [Will: 888] — Sylas raised an eyebrow.
So weak.
Makra lunged for him, his arms long and lanky. There was a vicious swipe that ca from the side, and the waters parted.
'Oh?'
There was a flicker in Sylas' gaze. The Great Ape's stats seed to suggest that he was quite weak, but the potency of his attack was great.
It reminded Sylas of sothing pretty important. His own stats weren't all that great compared to most he ca across, but how many of them had he crushed anyway?
There were Comprehensions, there was Effectiveness, and there was skill in general to consider.
The stats of the Great Ape were terrible, especially for a Level 50. But its Effectiveness was through the roof, and it seed to have exceptional control over itself.
The swing looked wild, but Sylas felt that if he countered, the Great Ape had any number of ways to follow up in either attack, defense, or retreat.
These feelings were all pouring in from the vague impressions of Sylas' currently dormant Mixed Martial Arts Comprehension. If he activated it, they would beco even more clear, and that ant one very important thing.
As amazing as the Great Ape was…
It wasn't enough.
Sylas' hand reached out, grabbing Makra's wrist out of the air and clamping down.
His fist flashed, drilling a hole through his chest.
The Great Ape froze, and then his body dispersed into motes of light.
The pressure on Sylas alleviated just the slightest bit, and he felt like he could move forward again.
'I see. Maybe the reason the Great Ape statue was so inviting to wasn't just because we share a lineage, but also because of my Mixed Martial Arts… I was made for this trial.'
The statue to the left buzzed and another appeared.
…
Sylas didn't find himself struggling as he expected, but after the tenth-or-so opponent, he began taking it slower.
This wasn't because he felt like he was running out of stamina. Although his Profession abilities had been restricted—not allowing him to use Hibernation Halo—his Constitution recovery alone, especially thanks to Scorned Wraps, was more than enough to keep up.
It was odd he faced such restrictions, and yet his Fusion with Nosphaleen hadn't been forcefully cancelled yet, but he took it in stride. He just had to be thankful for that, or else he might have long since died.
The real reason he was taking his ti, though, was because he felt that as the Great Apes slowly got stronger, there were things he could pick up and learn.
These statues should represent the strongest of the Great Apes during their era. Each one of them had great insights.
Sylas hadn't co across such a unique chance to improve his Mixed Martial Arts Comprehension before.
It was just pure close combat. Not a single one of them used a weapon, each one coming at him no less viciously.
Their bodies were their weapons, their flexibility, explosive power, tendon usage, and leverage comprehension being more exceptional than anything Sylas had seen before.
Their stats were pitiful, but there was sothing about this Race that was clear…
They knew how to use their bodies.
…
Sylas got halfway through before he began to feel real pressure. As expected, the stats of the Great Apes started to increase substantially. By now, their Physical approached double that of the first statue he faced.
This was still weaker than Sylas, but the fact that he felt pressure from them at all went to show just how great their martial arts were.
With more strength to work with, more speed, and more explosive power, they beca more unpredictable.
So of them even had claws to use no less sharp than blades. In fact, many seed to have a Claw-like Comprehension that only made them sharper, not to ntion increased their power further.
After reaching this point, Sylas actually began to suppress his own power on purpose, matching the Physical of the Great Apes across from him.
Their battles beca more substantial, several exchanges rocking the waters as they danced. Sotis, they beca so fluid, comprehending one another's feel so well that it almost looked choreographed.
Attacks t equal defenses, elbows slamming against forearms and knees parrying kicks.
But in the end, no matter the number of exchanges…
Sylas Brown ca out on top.
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