Chapter 376: Crushing battles
As the pressure on Rio's shoulder kept increasing, he kept his eyes on the opponent's body, scanning the flow of energy and trying to understand this method of channeling.
'System, scan the core principle of this technique and see if you can find me something better.'
[Why? It's a rubbish art.]
'For no reason. Just doing what the Romans did.'
[You really do have too many points, don't you!..]
'That's why you shouldn't ask too many questions and take what I give.'
[Humph. Scanning the art of sapin…]
[Searching the database library for an upgraded similar version..]
[....]
[...]
[12 matches found.]
[Do you want me to list them all?]
'Nah, just pick me the best one. Obviously the cheaper it….'
Before Rio finished his words, a surge of memories appeared in his head, while a copy of an art book called 'Elemental Infusion Art' got thrown into his inventory.
[ Elemental Infusion Technique
Description: This technique involves channeling elemental energies (earth, water, fire, air, darkness) into specific body parts to increase their weight and pressure.
eg.-- Earth Infusion: By channeling earth energy into their fists, the practitioner can make their fists as heavy as boulders. This involves grounding oneself deeply with the earth, drawing its dense energy upward, and infusing it into the desired body part.
The infused body part then becomes denser, harder, and heavier. Muscles swell with energy, skin takes on a rocky texture, and the weight significantly increases.
Effects: Enhanced striking power, the ability to shatter stone, and increased resistance to physical attacks.
Duration: Infusion of nature's energy can only last for 30 seconds. And cannot be superimposed forever.
Mana cost - 0
Efficiency - Depending on the surrounding aura or energy.]
'Humm, no mana needed, that's kinda cool.' Rio said after reading all the detailed information on system panel.
[Special Note - To channel the energy of elements into their body freely, the user must have atleast the master level control over that element first.]
'Hmm, so for now I can only use darkness huh'
[Normally yes, but with how abundant the energy of nature that exists here, plus the number of passive skills and blessings you have, you can barely manage the few basic elements like earth, air and water too.]
[So do you want to learn it.]
'Sure.'
[55000 points deducted.]
'You're a real bitch, aren't you.' After seeing the notification, Rio said instantly remembering this technique was probably the most expensive one listed earlier.
[You're the one who said take when you give.] System said with a cheeky laugh, before closing the search panels.
[Do you want me to increase it's mastery by a couple of levels? It'll only take a hundred thousand or so..]
'Leave it, you already sucked enough points for the day.' Rio said and shook his head, 'And besides, we got a few practice dummies in front of us, right now, I might as well practice my hand on them.'
[Cheapskate..]
The whole scene of conversation between Rio and system lasted only for a little fraction of a second, but this sudden scene of silence and his calm eyes still managed to piss off the 'alien' creature.
But when the poor thing increased the pressure on Rio again this time, what greeted him was not a scream of painful grunts, but a fist coated in the energy of earth with elements of darkness mixed into it.
A fist that shattered all his defenses and broke his heart , literally.
Pulling his right hand back, Rio frowned and waved it lightly, shaking off all the gooey parts of his forearm.
The sudden death caused a shocking scene resulting in gulps of surprise and wide eyes, which lasted for a few moments. Until another burly man standing few feet back broke out of his stupor and screamed in anger.
"Aiiiiyyyyyyyy, yunta chuse. Karthre. Buda deda."
Rio looked at the screaming man shouting in some native language that he couldn't understand a word of, and simply waved his hand.
Following his signal, a thin thread of mana spread in the air at high speed, slicing at the sapin's neck instantly.
The words of anger and grief which were still stuck into the burly alien's neck came to a halt, as his head slipped over his bones and fell down to the ground with a thud.
His body followed soon after standing still for a few seconds without any support or response to the death, except the fountain of blood oozing from his open neck.
The same shock swept over once again, but this time the scene of murder attracted the attention of everyone.
The group of dark sapin who first lost their leader and then his younger brother in front of their eyes, raised their arms and charged towards him after giving a battle cry.
Rio watched as they started surrounding him. Analyzing the changes their bodies produced after listening to that sonic cry from one guy, which gave everyone some sort of hardness buff.
He watched green lines popping here and there like veins on their brownish skin, and their eyes glowing with a fierce primal light.
"So no more looking down on me eh." Rio joked as he readied his stance too, ignoring the slight trembling on the ground he stepped over.
He dodged to the side and punched forward, hitting the sapin in front of him in the chest. But instead of his hand passing through their muscles ripping their heart, all it did was to break a shell of brownish bark.
The sapin stepped back and coughed a little green blood, but ignoring the pain, he still charged and punched Rio in the face.
At the last moment, Rio managed to raise his arm infused with the toughness of ground to block the hit. But it still gave him a numbing sensation.
'Humm so these idiots do pack a punch. That guy from earlier must be quite dumb to be solved in a sneak attack.' He thought, jumping sideways to dodge a kick and then kicking the air and flying high to dodge a sweep.
Another Dark Sapin reached Rio, swinging his massive arm like a battering ram. Rio sidestepped, barely avoiding the blow, and countered with a quick burst of wind-infused punches. His fists connected with the creature's tough skin, but the Dark Sapin barely flinched. While another alien lunged at him from behind, and Rio barely managed to roll away, the creature's claws grazing his back.
Rio clicked his tongue as he saw the flying pieces of his torn suit, which was engraved by the academy's defensive runes. But he still had that shining glint in his eyes which showed he was not at all sad, but rather satisfied with their battle skills.
'They can use wind to sharpen their hands, turning every nail into a sharp claw. Interesting.'
He kicked his feet and jumped up, using their 'air blades' as his stepping stone and reaching onto a nearby tree branch.
But before he could figure out his next plan of attack, the solid branch beneath him turned into a muddy liquid, trapping his feet.
Taking advantage of his distraction, a Sapin appeared right next to him and grabbed his neck.
"And this should be your racial trait. You merge well with trees." Rio said, pulling the alien's hand from his collar before swinging his head back and giving him a headbutt.
The sound of crack spread in the air like the collision of two heavy objects.
Rio looked at the sapin in front of him, watching as green blood slowly trickled over his forehead as visible cracks appeared onto his skin.
"You guys are tougher than you look." Rio said before pulling all the energy of ground he could gather and swinging his hand like a hammer, onto the head of Sapin like crushing a whack-o-mole.
The whole tree got blasted by the shockwave and splinters of wood flew into the air.
As the branch collapsed, the trap holding Rio in place disappeared too, and he was free to move yet again.
As he fell down, he was yet again surrounded by the dozens of them. They coordinated their attacks, striking from multiple angles at the same time. Rio blocked a heavy punch from one Dark Sapin with his arm, feeling the shockwave ripple through his body, while another alien struck his side, causing him to stagger. A little pain shot through him, but he just smiled even crazier.
The more fiercer and tougher a fight these aliens could give him, the higher the potential of skill he had spent over 50k points for.
Rio once again took to the air, jumping over solid air platforms. He looked over at the bodies of his prior victims, watching as they moved to the background of his siege and were absorbing the energy of elements to heal themselves.
'Cool..' Instead of disturbing them or killing them, he just kept observing them while fighting the others. Copying the method of healing in his mind. In which pattern the energy moved, or how much effect it could bring him.
The only Dark Sapin responsible for magical skills, like trapping him or giving buffs to his allies, roared in anger after noticing this and ordered everyone to kill him instantly.
The Sapin charged at him once more. But this time, Rio felt like it was enough. He had already gathered whatever information he needed, and watched the practical potential of his newly acquired skill firsthand.
So he just infused his fists with a tint of hellfire, the air crackling with heat as he struck out. His every punch ignited on contact, burning the tough skin of his enemies. Leaving nothing but ashes and cinders flying in the air.
"Trees and fires huh," After a second of confusion,a smile came to Rio's face, watching as his hellfire started spreading outward at a fast pace. Ignoring the spells of water and barriers of magic these aliens formed in defense.
He finally figured out the plot of this dungeon and our dear Leon's role in the victory and his rise to fame.
'Fate really is a doting mother, isn't she system?'
[Yupp, halo effects.] System replied and added, [You stole his fated opportunities, so she created this new one for him.]
[Pffffttt poor protagonist.]