Spectral Bullet Punch [ Epic ] This mutated version of Spectral Fist has transformed the ranged attack from a spectral fist missile of mana and stamina into something far more streamlined. Like bullets, the user can shoot these spectral attacks from their fists at remarkable speed, creating the perfect vessels for mana, stamina, and aether to be flung at their enemies from afar.

  Aaron honestly hadn’t really known whether his idea to mutate his spectral attack was going to work or not, so when he got the mutation prompt, he had been overjoyed. And seeing the Skill description before his eyes only made him more excited to test it out.

  Was it just hard work, or was it related to training here in Yendal’s divine realm?

  He pondered on that thought for a brief moment. There was definitely something special about training here, and whilst he had already mutated a Skill within the trials, he hadn’t done it in the same way.

  Not only that, but he had been using [ Faux Core ] for much longer before he managed to mutate it. He didn’t really understand it, but he felt certain that the divine realm did something to him that allowed him to speed through insights, and that stubbornly planting his feet down and willing his Skills to mutate wouldn’t work anywhere near as well elsewhere.

  A tapping boot dragged him from his thoughts and alerted him to Yendal’s glare that was resting on him.

  ***Yendal***

  “What are you grinning about?” Yendal said, eyeing Aaron, who was still crushed against the wall, his body twisted and bloodied. “Did I say stop?”

  “Gimme a minute,” he groaned, struggling to draw enough energy to heal himself as he climbed to his feet.

  “It looks like you need a moment,” she exhaled. Perhaps she was being a little harsh. He was still an E-grade infant, after all. “Come, let us eat. You should recover properly before—”

  Yendal’s words were cut short as Aaron started stuffing his mouth with food from his scabbard. It was quite the sight, especially considering the kinds of food he chose to eat, including what she could have sworn was the body part of a troll.

  “So unsightly,” she grimaced.

  “I only need a minute,” Aaron raised his index finger. “Almost there.”

  This was by far one of the most disturbing sides of Aaron, and a constant reminder of the ogre’s influence on him. But she would’ve been lying if she said she wasn’t impressed.

  His recovery was beyond inhuman; then again, recovery and endless energy had always been one of that brute’s strengths. And so it stood to reason that his pupil would inherit similar strengths.

  Yendal was different in that regard. She didn’t need all that energy. Her path was about supreme efficiency, and at her current level, she never used all the energy she had. What would she do with more? She had found her own way without it, but at the same time, she had to acknowledge that Aaron’s path was equally valid. Perhaps he would never reach quite the same level of efficiency as she would, but Yendal was Yendal, and Aaron was Aaron. She could not judge him by how well he imitated her. Though she still wanted him to be more efficient, as every path could benefit from more efficiency.

  But his ability to heal and recover so quickly wasn't really what impressed her. She already knew he could heal and survive death, and knew how far he could push it. She was much less familiar with his newfound durability, so when she saw him survive a direct hit from her D-grade avatar, she couldn’t help but nod with approval.

  This was a massive improvement in his durability, and whilst Yendal had never been known for landing the strongest hits imaginable, she was no slouch. It was quite frankly astonishing that he had managed to toughen himself up so much since the last meeting.

  Then again, with all the Titles and boons he was earning in the trials, it wasn’t too surprising. At the rate he was going, he wouldn’t just be skilled and hard to kill. It was only a matter of time until his Stats caught up.

  It was inevitable.

  If he completed three full trials, he would enter the Shadow Trials Hall of Fame. It was a remarkable achievement that few ever reached, and even though circumstances had brought him there early, Yendal doubted it mattered.

  If anything, turning up early had hindered him. If Aaron had been able to complete the trials as per normal, and enter as a high level, he would have cleaned up.

  And now, he was on track to overachieve in the trials and became what was known throughout the multiverse as a progenitor.

  She dismissed the thoughts and sighed. Aaron becoming strong on his own was great, but she had wanted to cook for him again. But it seemed that wasn’t going to happen; he had already stuffed himself.

  In a short moment, he had gone past healing himself and continued on to storing energy, and there was little purpose in stopping for a meal.

  It mattered little, Yendal told herself. He was well on his way to creating something unique for his Profession anyway, and there was little to be gained from trying to influence it further.

  In fact, the entire thought seemed so silly in retrospect. It had annoyed her that Oozagh had influenced his Class, and she had swung back. But it was beyond obvious now that Aaron had always been his own person, and was never going to remain a mere disciple. Not that her influence on his Profession was necessarily bad, and she was pleased that he was at least capable of making edible food now, but it had been rather petty of her.

  He would carve his own path, picking and choosing what to use from both gods, and with it, he would forge his own techniques. For those who remained stuck, unable to change, and mindlessly following in the steps of others were destined to mediocrity. As the most pure and most powerful paths in the multiverse, were an individual's own, as everyone was unique, and so must their path be.

  Yendal had always known this, of course. But the eons came and went, and so rarely did those worthy enough to forge their own paths to godhood emerge. Most were simple sheep, destined to follow, and were best treated as such by their shepherds. However, he was never going to reach godhood following her path alone.

  “Okay, ready.”

  She watched as Aaron got up and dusted himself off like the beating he had just taken was nothing.

  “What are you waiting for, Yendie? Let’s get start—”

  “What did you call me?” She hissed, brow twitching.

  “What? You mean, Yendie?”

  Before Aaron mustered a proper response, his face still twisted with confusion, the D-grade clone of Yendal was upon him.

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  Yendal maintained her angry demeanor, but internally, she was quite pleased. She was not a goddess who moved on impulse. She saw through what he was trying to do. He was just trying to have some friendly banter and provoke her to raise the difficulty. Friendly banter was something she had no interest in, but someone who sought out ever-increasing challenges was all she could ask for in a disciple. Still, the anger was not entirely feigned. It was just not directed at Aaron.

  Widow will pay for this.

  However, her anger was soon forgotten as she watched the fight escalate. She was impressed by his speed, his ability to avoid strikes, and even his pointless counters. She had been watching him train these exact skills, but seeing him do it in person, and even actively improve under the influence of her divine realm, was something else.

  Then, he started using his brand-new Skill. It was quite amazing that he had managed to mutate his Skill so quickly, even if her divine realm had done much of the heavy lifting.

  It wasn’t even the Skill itself that impressed her. It was the ability to grow. The vision required to direct one’s path to new truths and to grow stronger in the process.

  Maybe if I push him hard enough, he’ll be able to do it again before leaving.

  A smile played on her lips at that thought. It would be a long time before Aaron got access to a place so rich in truths and inspiration as her divine realm, and it was wise to make the most of it while they could.

  After all, she had drained her divine power to bring him here. Luckily, she had few other followers to worry about, and there would be little consequences for her actions. Still, it was no small cost, and not one she would be able to pay again anytime soon. It was one of the drawbacks of her solitude; without followers and prayer, her divine power was lacking, even if her inherent powers placed her amongst the strongest deities in the multiverse.

  ***Aaron***

  Bouncing out of range from another deadly attack from the clone, Aaron continued to test out the new Skill. Unfortunately, Yendal’s clone didn’t make it easy for him.

  The D-grade clone could kill him far too easily, and that forced him to remain on his toes, constantly moving and, for the most part, running away. It almost made him regret provoking her like that. However, pressed against the impossible was exactly where Aaron wanted to be.

  Not only that, but [ Spectral Bullet Punch ] was kind of perfect for just this kind of fight. As he ran away, he peppered the clone with spectral attacks, circling the arena.

  And while the quick-fire attacks didn’t do huge damage, it didn’t matter, as they weren’t going to land anyway. What they did do, on the other hand, was force the clone to dodge.

  Eating hits to land her own simply wasn’t Yendal’s style, and therefore, it wasn’t her clone's style. And so whilst the attacks were weak, they were somewhat effective at keeping her at bay and distracting the clone.

  He still died, of course. He was up against D-grade Yendal, after all.

  But he was getting his reads, practicing his new Skill, and making plans.

  Despite not being anywhere near as strong as his haymaker, the new Skill was still stronger than what it had been. The addition of aether into the mix undoubtedly increased its power.

  But what he really wanted to gauge was whether or not it was a good choice for the free slot in his combo chain. He wouldn’t just throw it in there without being sure.

  And so, he continued. Shooting spectral attacks at rapid fire, one after another, at times filling the sky between him and the clone.

  As he trained with the Skill, he noticed something curious. When he pushed the right amount of energy into the attack, it shot like burst fire, and he realized he could dial the Skill between different modes. There was a slower, more precise mode, a rapid-fire one, and a burst-fire mode. And it was this last mode that excited him the most.

  He could only add a single Skill use to his combo chain, and so having a relatively weak Skill seemed like a waste of a slot, but if he could use [ Spectral Bullet Punch ] once, but as a burst of attacks, then that changed everything.

  This better work!

  Reopening his combination window, he checked the options and ran through the selections available to him.

  [ Soul Shattering Strike ]

  One additional combo slot is available in the combo chain.

  Mentally, he turned the mode to burst fire, [ Spectral Bullet Punch ], prayed that his little theory worked, and slotted it into the free spot.

  One combo chain slot available.

  Link selected Skill to the chain slot?

  Y/N?

  Aaron mentally selected yes, and immediately realized he had a freaking god standing nearby, and he probably should have asked her if his little idea was going to work.

  He face-palmed, but his mood suddenly brightened again as the next screen appeared.

  Soul Shattering Strike [ Legendary ] [ Combo Starter ]

  First combo slot [ Turbocharged Haymaker ] +15% Power

  Second combo slot [ Spectral Bullet Punch [ Burst Fire Mode ] ] + Dazing Effect

  It had worked exactly as he had hoped it would. But there was more. His brow perked as he read the details of his new combination. A dazing effect? Would that multiply depending how many times he struck his enemy? If so, he might have just created something very nasty.

  “Are you just going to sit around all day?” Yendal called out.

  Her clone had stopped its relentless attack as Aaron’s thoughts clearly drifted from the fight.

  “Not a chance,” he grinned back. “Just had to make a few adjustments, that’s all.”

  “Oh?”

  He had caught her attention, but Aaron didn’t respond; instead, he decided to throw himself back into battle against the clone.

  However, it was kind of annoying. He had to spend an irritatingly long amount of time setting himself up against Yendal’s clone if he wanted any hope of landing something against her. This was rather annoying because he just wanted to test the damn attack. But nonetheless, it was what it was, and it was exactly this formidable opponent that had pushed him to get to where he was.

  With great care, he planned his attack and followed through. When he found the perfect opening, he started his combo with a grazing soul strike that barely shook the clone’s energy. It was almost impossible for him to hit the clone, so even rippling past it and shaking its energy reserves a little in the process was quite the achievement.

  But that wasn’t all. The attack was immediately followed up with a haymaker that was powered up by the combo chain. Which harmlessly flew past the clone as it dodged, and returned with its own counter that blasted a hole straight through Aaron.

  However, blowing a hole through Aaron wasn’t enough to get him to back off, and he finished his combination with a burst of what seemed like a dozen spectral fists shot out within a second of one another.

  The clone was fast, but it was also in the middle of its own attack, and not expecting such a large burst of counters to come at it all at once, and several spectral punches managed to land.

  The damage was nonexistent, but the dazing effect was. For less than a second, the clone stood still, dazed from his attack. Unfortunately for Aaron, he couldn’t capitalize on this, as he had been killed in the clone’s attack.

  Gasping, he returned to life, by which point the clone was well and truly recovered, and it struck him again before he even knew what was happening, sending him sailing across the arena, and dying again as he crashed into the wall with a reverberating thud and a shockwave.

  “Was that necessary?” Aaron groaned as he returned to life again.

  “Your attack… it was impressive.”

  Aaron noted the curve to her brow. She wasn’t lying. He had actually impressed her with his little combination.

  “You managed to stun my clone. Amazing. For that, it’s only fair you’re rewarded.”

  Stage nine of [ Trial of the Challenger ] COMPLETED!

  You have tested yourself in one-on-one combat against a weakened shadow avatar of a god and have emerged victorious.

  Quest Rewards: Well of Truths [ Legendary ], Dining Hall upgraded to level 9.

  Experience rewarded for completing a quest stage!

  Ding!

  [ Empty-Handed Energy Monk ] has LEVELED UP!

  40 → 41

  “But wait, we’re not done here… not yet,” Yendal said with an eerily large smile painted on her face. “I have you for another trial.”

  Oh, this doesn’t look good.

  But whatever fear Aaron felt at Yendal’s unusual expression, it was quickly drained out by the reminder of all he had achieved.

  Today had been a good day.

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