The thunder rumbled, and sharp claws howled.
The “Ancient King,” with the momentum of tearing through the Lightning Strike, bared its fangs at me. When I evaded, it stepped on the air and turned, flexing its spiked hammer tail like a whip.
“(Shape Lock!)”
I took that blow with my bare body.
The tail strike, which engraved absolute ‘Change,’ hit my dazzlingly glowing body, but it slipped off without leaving even a slight scratch.
If ‘Change’ and Shape Lock are of equal output, my 〖Toughness〗 shouldn’t lose.
Then, a Drone rushed in, colliding with the “Ancient King” and blasting it with a Lightning Strike at point-blank range.
“(Alright, other than the fangs, I can reliably take no damage now.)”
While dealing with the “Ancient King” moving at high speed by kicking off the air, I felt the growth of my 【Unique Skill】.
Since the start of the battle, the growth of 【Thunderous Cycle of Rise and Fall】 has been remarkable.
My 【Unique Skill】 grows in battle, and I understand that the god’s words were correct.
“(Well, it’s not just that, though.)”
The more I used it, the deeper my understanding of the power became. The feeling of grasping the core that I had since [True Evolution] accelerated.
I became able to grasp the target on which the power was acting.
It was something I half-knew, but my 【Unique Skill】 also applied a correction to the acquisition of ‘Experience Points’ and 〖Skill〗 proficiency.
And it seemed that the effect also extended to the 【Unique Skill】 itself.
In addition, the 〖Courage〗’s ‘Correction to all abilities’ was also boosting the performance of the 【Unique Skill】.
That’s why 【Thunderous Cycle of Rise and Fall】 was able to catch up to the output of the “Ancient King’s” ‘Change’ in such a short time.
“(I want to go all the way to succeeding in an instant kill, but… that’s too difficult, isn’t it?)”
In the first place, the plundering of 〔Soul (Arche)〕 isn’t an ability that works against an equal opponent. You need to be a level above.
And to reach the rank of a Star God, above a 〖King Beast〗, an immense stimulus that breaks the rules is essential.
My 【Unique Skill】 can’t do that, so I’m steadily raising my 〖Level〗, and aiming for that is impossible.
If I just want to make instant death easier, I could weaken the opponent, but that’s also difficult because of ‘Invariance’.
“(That’s why this (….) approach is necessary.)”
“Grua!”
“(Shape Lock! Lightning Strike!)”
I parried a claw strike with a Drone and countered with lightning.
The Drone, being light, was blown far away by the impact, but the other Drones bought time until it returned.
When I first started sending out Drones for interference, they were positioned quite far away, but recently, they’ve been maintaining a distance just out of reach of the “Ancient King’s” tail.
This way, all seven Drones can be used for interference, and I can also move acrobatically to confuse the opponent.
On the other hand, the risk of being caught off guard like before has increased, but the benefits are still greater.
Against the current “Ancient King,” who can now kick off the air normally, the worst thing is to have the distance closed while leaving the Drones behind.
“(Lightning Strike!)”
“Grrrrrruuuuuoooooo!”
And so, our battle fell into a kind of stalemate.
However, it was a balance achieved after both sides had given their all.
I evaded the attacks of the “Ancient King,” whose pure 〖Stats〗 were far superior, with my enhanced thinking speed and evasion 〖Skill〗. What I couldn’t evade, I deflected.
As the “Ancient King” got used to the Drones’ Charge, I explored angles and timings that could catch it more off guard.
Similarly, the “Ancient King” also gradually changed its tactics so that I couldn’t avoid it.
It learned that anything other than its fangs wouldn’t be a decisive blow, and it started to attack with biting as its main focus while using other attacks to break my stance.
Such attacks and defenses changed the stage rapidly. One moment we were fighting in the air, and the next, both of us fell to the ground, bounced to the lake, and the impact of the jump exposed the lake bottom.
I jumped up to evade the “Ancient King’s” fangs and went back to aerial combat.
If I let my guard down even a little, I would be caught. A stalemate like a taut thread.
In the midst of extreme tension, I could feel my 【Unique Skill】 growing rapidly.
The more I swung it, the more 【Thunderous Cycle of Rise and Fall】 increased in precision, accuracy, and strength. This was probably partly due to the strength and nature of the opponent.
‘Change’ is an ability that opposes Shape Lock, so it’s perfect for training.
With each swing, it felt as if my 〔Soul (Arche)〕 was being sharpened and polished.
So that I could use it quickly and without waste. So that I could target a wide range and a large number.
While my abilities were improving rapidly, I noticed that it had become dark.
Darkness wasn’t an obstacle for either me or the “Ancient King,” but it was an indicator of how long we had been fighting.
“(Repair Moonlight!)”
“Gyaruruaaa!”
I used a recovery 〖Skill〗 to dispel fatigue and regain my stamina.
The “Ancient King” continued its fierce attacks without such a process.
It didn’t seem to feel any fatigue at all. Did it have a constantly active recovery 〖Skill〗, or was this also the power of ‘Invariance’?
We had been fighting for more than half a day, but neither of us seemed to be running out of resources.
This was largely because we were ‘collecting’ 〖Mana〗 from the vast 〖Zone Control〗. Thanks to that, we were able to repeatedly use 〖Skills〗 that consumed 〖Mana〗.
Especially for me, since I am a Mana Crystal all over, I can automatically absorb from the surroundings, so the consumption from 【Unique Skill】 and others is not a problem at all.
And when the sky was filled with twinkling stars, I succeeded in stopping the fangs without taking any damage.
“Guru!?”
“(This is it.)”
It probably never imagined that an attack that had worked at first would become ineffective in such a short period.
The “Ancient King” was shaken by the unexpected sensation. It reflexively tried to create distance.
But there was no way I would let this opportunity slip.
I unleashed the trump card I had been timing all along.
“(Shape Lock, target: air!)”
I released my 【Unique Skill】 from the Drone inside the “Ancient King’s” mouth.
It was still under the force of forced ‘Change,’ but now I had the leeway to allocate power elsewhere.
“Gu, goo…!?!”
The “Ancient King’s” movements momentarily dulled due to the confusion of having its breathing obstructed by the solidified air.
It wasn’t realistic to suffocate a 〖King Beast〗 with enormous 〖Life〗, but I could create a small opening.
“(Super Leap! 〖Binding〗!)”
And I pressed the attack in this opening.
I closed the distance in one breath, clung to its face, and activated 【Thunderous Cycle of Rise and Fall】 while surging with 〖Mana〗.
“Shape Lock, target—”