BXBX NOVEL Chapter 110: Understanding His Strength
'That's why that female ghoul, who was weaker than me physically but surpassed me in dexterity and her skill, could give me such trouble.'
After reflecting on his battle for the past thirty minutes, he realised that there was a significant difference between a ghoul who lived one year and one who lived two years.
He spent the last hour in the dungeon testing his thoughts, using his Obsidian Focus and Blood Aura in synchronisation to tell the age of a monster and discovered what his mother tried to teach him about the Elite monsters, or Elders. It was nothing to do with bloodline, but a term for their [Age] to display their power.
'Well, let's write this down and have Mother help me study later. I am sure Dad could help with other races, too.'
[Ghoul - 1-Year-Old] - Average Physical Power: 50-60]
[Ghoul - 2 Years Old] - [Average Physical Power: 70-90]
[Ghoul - 5 Years Old] - [Average Physical power: 100-150]
[Ghoul - 10 Years Old] - [Average Physical Power 150-200]
"Because I can't speak to my mother right now, it's hard to confirm everything, but if the title Elite and Elder have nothing to do with bloodline but the age and power of a monster. Then it explains why that wraith was quite strong compared to the thralls and squires of the Faust family because they were weak and probably had ten years at most as a thrall."
Nikolai wasn't a genius, but he was very smart and would work on something until he understood it perfectly, something that was honed to the limit during his time in the military training unit.
'At first, I was horrible at timekeeping and assembling my weapon...' Yet after hours and hours of dedication and studying, he ended up ranked second in the entire unit for speed and maintenance level.
He shook his head, not wanting to become overconfident, because he also learned something once his strength reached over 200, and that was a monster's power would grow naturally over time doing nothing.
"So to get stronger, monsters can wait and rely on time and use their bloodline, kill things in the tower and drink that strange ichor and finally, a method that seems unique to my bloodline... sexual Relationships with supernatural women."
'Does a thrall grow slower than a squire because of the low bloodline? Then wouldn't a monster with pure blood grow faster than a monster with weak blood...'
Since he reached a suitable hypothesis, he looked at the final monster before the doorway to the third floor and his exit. Nikolai looked at the Cursed Ghoul once again and wondered if this was something akin to a boss monster from role-playing video games.
'Thankfully, there seems to be a limit for other monsters—Mother said that in return for an explosive growth in strength when I underwent my evolution in the arena. I gained a body that would never have a limit and could grow endlessly.'
Nikolai's eyes turned black, with a crimson pupil as a slit that slowly dilated, increasing the effect of his Obsidian and Blood art to analyse this monster.
[Cursed Ghoul - Racial Level 10 - Age 100] [Average Physical Power: 350] [Average Mental Power: 80]
Compared to Nikolai himself.
[Lupus Diabolus - Racial Level 3 - Age 25] [Physical power: 240] [Mental Power: 170]
'It's not so bad if I compare the difference in growth. This guy should have had over 1,000 Physical force if he didn't have some kind of bottleneck. Though I should ask my mother for more information, or check the Arena's information boards. Maybe even contacting my grandfather...'
Despite gaining a useful Spear Skillbook, Nikolai didn't have a spear and thus could only carry it in his trench coat, though he only discovered this halfway through the dungeon.
The pockets of his coat could hold up to ten items in another dimension, adding no weight to him. If Nikolai placed anything over ten items within those pockets, they just dropped out, but the pocket would continue to contain the ten times until removed by hand.
'Now... how do I deal with you.'
As much as he wanted to battle, fighting enemies at this level was something he used to train his senses and skills. A beautiful flicker of black aura floated around his body like a calm, dancing mist.
This was the effect of his training in the dungeon so far.
'My father's Moonlight Rend... changed to [Obsidian Rend] and [Obsidian Shroud] in the crystals panel. Although Mother cannot speak to me, I can at least use the sub-sections of her necklace.'
In the past three hours, Nikolai has been practising using his new skills and arts against numerous Ghouls. However, now that he thought back on his first few battles.
Nikolai realised he used too much energy instead of using just enough to destroy every opponent in a single strike. He would use enough to destroy two or three.
The flicker of darkness, like a shroud of death, flickered, undulating and condensing so it vanished from sight. His claws seemed to blur ever so slightly like a mirage.
In terms of attack power, Nikolai could explode with his full force at least ten times with a maximum force [Obsidian Rend] an attack which was more than enough for all opponents he's met so far. However, what he needed to learn now was something completely different.
To make the single blow, contain the force of ten blows.
"Let's fight. This monster doesn't have a weapon, but his claws are long and sharp, just like me. I can watch him and learn how to use them from a monster that uses them naturally."
Since Nikolai's life was spent as a human, the foreign feelings of his claws, tail and wolf ears were difficult to manage and control.
His hearing became too strong once activating the ears of a werewolf. It made his head almost explode from the pain. Same with the enhanced vision using monster eyes instead of human eyes.
All this time before, in battles, he was limiting himself to a human, never fighting as a true monster. But that was changing with each fight from the moment he evolved in the arena and killed the Dark Hound a second time.
Slowly, he was accepting himself as a monster and a former human.
He refused to abandon his past and wanted to keep all aspects of himself.
Nikolai stepped forward, his black claws shimmering with the Obsidian shroud, folding around the blades with silver tips as soon as he got close to the ghoul. He didn't swing but watched as the ghoul's green-tipped claws sliced at his throat.
'Fast!'
His head tilted ever so slightly, moving just enough for the claw to brush past his fur. Black fur swept up from the ghoul's fingers, floating across his face. The fur neck of Nikolai's coat was now trimmed shorter.
'It was this strong?'
When battling ghouls younger than twenty, the claws couldn't pierce his body and weren't so fast he could barely even sense them using Obsidian Focus and Obsidian Eye. The monster moved once again, slashing down from the high above onto Nikolai's shoulder.
Nikolai twisted, the claws missing by a hair's width before being forced to block the second strike of the monster, who threw a wild swipe with their other arm, a low growl from the ghoul's mouth as it drooled onto the floor. It was an erratic motion filled with untrained strength.
*Scccthhrring!*
The sound of metal blades rang through the empty floor as they clashed. A wide grin and grunt erupted from Nikolai's mouth, and his eyes were focused, the black iris like a black hole.
The sudden increase in pressure from the clash pushed him backwards, sliding against the rough stone ground as the Ghoul began to attack in a reckless flurry, twisting and slicing with its claws and fangs.
*Thud!*
Dodging left and right, Nikolai could feel the danger this creature posed because even with his enhanced senses. The blade-like claws seemed to come out of nowhere. It was challenging to defend, forcing him back more and more without a way to counterattack or dodge properly.
The longer he remained locked in battle, the closer he drew towards the wall of the dungeon behind him.
'This is quite educational!' Nikolai thought.
With no choice, he rushed forward into the monster, surprising its delayed brain. Nikolai's knee shot upwards, slamming into its abdomen, and before it could even scream, he closed its mouth. The world spun upside down, and the floor came to meet its face.
Nikolai used a human martial art, sweeping the monster's leg and using his palm to slam the ghoul's chin closed, crushing several of its teeth before it hit the ground.
The monster's spine seemed to have shattered from the force of Nikolai's attack, causing him to seem disappointed.
Nikolai kicked at the prone body several times until finally, the monster died, releasing another large pouch that seemed to have some kind of item inside as the door behind started to tremble before it slid open.
"Hmmm... this time, I didn't really learn much, but the fact I could use martial arts in actual combat was a pleasant discovery."
This didn't mean he was going to fight like Daniel-san, but he would take the vital movements in combat and implement them into his fighting style. He then looked at the item that dropped from the sack, and there was nothing there except for Nexus Coins and a bottle of blue potion.
'What's this?'
The colour of the ichor changed, which made Nikolai curious about what it would increase compared to the black ichor.