BXBX NOVEL Chapter 178: CHAPTER 177 - Emberclaw.
From the moment Alex had been connected to the AI, even before the apocalypse started, he had been provided with nourishment.
The golden line that Alex saw inside his body was a mass of energy that was connected to the AI, making it possible for his body to gain something extra, something that was not in his body.
If the magical element of the world, along with the power the humans had, were to suddenly vanish, Alex would find out that his body, which was already strong before, was better than before.
That same nourishment was healing his mentality as well—it was healing the wound he got from the betrayal.
That was something that made Alex\'s emotion get suppressed; it gave him a gash so deep that he wasn\'t able to recover even with how cool and practical-headed he was.
This nourishment was something Alex wasn\'t aware of, and the AI wasn\'t telling him as well.
The AI knew that if Alex got a hint of what was happening, he would want to stop it; he would grow doubtful, starting to wonder if it was really necessary. The AI, however, knew that this was making Alex better and not decreasing his power in any way.
The manipulative nature of Alex—the enjoyment he got from it—was suppressed before when he got betrayed, but now it was coming up again.
If the cold Alex killed anyone when he thought them to be a nuisance, the old Alex, the one who was called by many names, of them being \'The Master of Strings\', would play with them.
He could want to suck his enemies dry. No matter what they had, everything would be in Alex\'s hands by the time they died.
Right now, however, that same Alex was facing a very serious problem...
*Crackle—BOOM*
*Woosh—BASH!*
"GHHH!!"
He gritted his teeth, his arms crossed in front of him, as he felt his body stunned by the aftermath of the thunder that had just smashed down on him.
\'What the...\'
He looked at his palms only to find them trembling, but it was not just his palms; his whole body was trembling.
He, for a second, got distracted, making it hard for him to move out of the way and get attacked.
One thing was sure from this, though: The one in front of him wasn\'t playing right now.
<Coping Possible.
Copy Condition: Make the Emberclaw in front of you, yield without using the wind\'s whisper.>
This was the thing he was looking at, and this is what had made his attention get diverted, but his sharp reflexes helped him save himself from a full blow head-on strick.
The notification from the AI was due to the update it went through. Now, instead of making his enemy keep repeating the attack until the AI had copied it, all he had to do was fulfill certain conditions that the AI would provide him with.
According to the AI, it was a way for it to penetrate the weaknesses of its targets.
For example, if one were to be very prideful, all you would have to do is humiliate them in front of many people; that would feel worse than death to them, and during that moment of weakness, the AI can copy the skills even without looking at them twice.
It was the AI exploiting the weakness of his enemies.
Alex\'s eyes then turned to look at the spot where the attack had landed, staring at the crater formed on the ground, charred black, and the drag mark of his feet extended to where he was right now.
He slowly moved his arms away from the defensive position, clenching his fists to stop the trembling.
\'It\'s strong...\'
He muttered inwardly. The strike missed him, only scrapping him a bit, but that alone was enough to send him skidding back, crashing into a tree and breaking it.
He didn\'t even want to imagine what would happen if he were to take a direct hit from that ability.
His eyes finally moved to look back at his adversary.
[[Name: Unnamed Emberclaw.
Race: Pyrovoltus.
Title: Maneater (Uncommon)
Stats:
→ Strength: Class 3 Mid (Tier 1)
→ Defense: Class 3 Mid (Tier 1)
→ Agility: Class 3 Low (Tier 1)
→ Stamina: Class 3 Low (Tier 1)
→ Mana: Class 3 Low (Tier 1)
Skills:
→
Beast of Thunder
(Epic+): An ability for a being capable of controlling thunder to a certain extent, making it a formidable opponent to face.
– Thunderclap Strike - An ability that lets the user burn their man to create a bolt of thunder that would strike their opponent at a speed that almost makes it hard to follow.
– Thunder discharge - An ability that lets the user fill any one of their limbs with thunder, and with a bash to the ground, that thunder could be discharged, attacking anyone and everyone surrounding the user, standing on the ground.
– Lightning Dash - An ability that makes it possible for the user to have an exponential boost in their speed for a certain amount of time.
→
Beast of Flame
(Epic+): An ability for a being capable of controlling fire to a certain extent, making it a formidable opponent to face.
– Inferno Breath - The user can exhale a cone of intense fire from its mouth, engulfing everything in its path in scorching flames. The heat is so intense that it melts through metal and stone, but this ability uses 50% of the user\'s mana.
– Flashfire Evasion - The user can clock themselves in a cloak of fire for a moment, giving them a boosted speed, and the heat waves of the cloak make it impossible for the enemy to perfectly hit them.
– Volcanic Shield - The user can summon molten rock from the ground, creating a temporary shield of volcanic magma around its body. The shield absorbs incoming damage and burns any enemy who comes into contact with it.
→
Charged Claw
(Rare): The user can charge their claws with both fire and lightning, imbuing them with destructive energy. Their next few attacks deal enhanced elemental damage, leaving searing cuts and electrical burns.
→
Pain Tolerance
(Uncommon): Due to constantly being burned by fire and thunder streaks across the scales, the user has developed a minor pain tolerance.
]]
It was a classed beast, a being that even Alex had a hard time searching for.
Alex had always been looking for classed beasts since he faced the Kobold Chief because he knew that only from classed beasts would he be able to get some good skills.
He was always raring to go against them, as he knew that only a classed beast around the same power level as him would be able to make him go all out.
Up until now, Alex had either faced beasts that were too easy to kill or too hard to kill, with only the Gigglewraths and Wrathborn being the exceptions.
Other than those demonic beasts, Alex had never really faced a challenge when it came to fighting a beast with power around the same as him.
But as he stared at the beast in front of him, hissing as its slitted eyes glared at him, he knew that this was in no way going to be an easy fight.
The problem, however, was that he couldn\'t use his wind\'s whisper, and running away was also not an option as the certain god\'s quest was still ongoing.
\'Ghh!\'
He could just growl inwardly, knowing full well that he would have to fight this beast, no matter what the circumstances were.