Chapter 754: Testing out the Pseudo-Legendary Skill [2]

From that single strike alone, Moon had already grasped how fundamentally different this new skill was compared to its predecessors.

Curiosity finally winning out, Moon pulled up the full description.

[Cryothunder-Assimilation]

[Order: Second]

[Level: MAX]

[Rank: Pseudo-Legendary]

[Details: You can assimilate the Cryothunder fused-element into objects, threading both elements through their structure as a single unified field. Assimilated items carry the full force and effect of both elements at once with no decay. Once within the target’s tissues, the Cryothunder element forms ice crystals that propagate through their flesh and rupture it from within, the lightning accelerating the crystallization. +400% Elemental Control. +400% Elemental Damage.]

Moon read it twice, his eyes widening further with each pass.

Four hundred percent elemental control. Four hundred percent elemental damage. The numbers alone dwarfed anything his previous assimilations had offered.

And the effect, it doesn’t just freeze or just shock. The lightning drives the cold deeper, and the cold crystallizes inside the target and ruptures them from the inside out. The two elements amplify each other.

It explained the instant kill perfectly. The leopard hadn’t just been cut. It had been struck by a wound that seared its nerves, then flash-froze and shattered its flesh from within, all from a single contact point.

Moon looked down at the frozen, lightning-laced blade in his hand, frost and violet current still dancing along its length, and a fierce, delighted grin spread across his face.

"Pseudo-Legendary," he breathed. "Worth every single Life."

Another howl split the air from the west.

Moon turned his head and found a second dotted leopard, standing atop the corpse of the one he’d just killed, its eyes locked on him. But this one was different. The moment Moon took in its aura, his eyes widened.

It was stronger than Five-Star.

As if confirming his assessment, the leopard launched itself at him, exploding across the distance at a speed that dwarfed its fallen partner’s, fangs bared.

Surpasser-rank!

The realization sent a jolt of excitement through Moon, and he moved on instinct.

Air Step.

He kicked off into the sky, the air solidifying beneath his feet as he vaulted upward, retreating into the air and out of the leopard’s reach just as its strike arrived.

The leopard’s lunge found only empty space, and it landed beside the body of its dead partner. For a moment, it went still, looking down at the fallen leopard with something resembling grief, sorrow drowning through its cold eyes. Then that sorrow curdled into rage, and its head snapped up toward Moon.

"Roar!"

The shrill cry of fury shook the trees throughout the region, the pressure of it rolling outward, and every lesser beast within the region fled from its wrath, instinct driving them far from the enraged Surpasser beast.

Honeybun stepped forward at once, crystal already gathering across his shell, ready to tackle the beast that dared threaten its master.

"It’s okay," Moon said immediately, raising a hand. "Stand down, Honeybun. I’ll handle this one."

The little turtle hesitated, then obeyed, the crystal receding as he reluctantly stepped back. He ambled over to Mirage’s side and, after a moment, clambered up onto the steed’s back to claim a better vantage point, settling in to watch.

Moon didn’t blame Honeybun for wanting a piece of the fight. But this one, he wanted for himself.

A Surpasser-rank beast, enraged and dangerous, was the perfect first real test for Cryothunder-Assimilation combined with his full combat arsenal. Exactly the opponent he needed to find out whether his earlier words had been bravado or truth, whether he really could go toe to toe with a Surpasser now.

This was a very rare opportunity he didn’t expect to find. On average, it took them hours to find Surpasser-rank beasts within the floating island, but to his good luck, he had found one very quickly.

He descended from his aerial perch, landing lightly on the ground, his frost-and-lightning blade still blazing in his hand, the cold radiating from it, the purple current crackling along its frozen length.

The leopard crouched low, muscles coiling, its grief-fueled rage fixed entirely on the human who had killed its partner.

Moon settled into his stance, Cryothunder crackling through his sword, and met the beast’s furious gaze with a calm smile.

"Come on, then. Let’s see if I was right about myself."

The leopard struck first.

It lunged, closing the distance in a heartbeat, claws raking toward Moon’s chest. He met it head-on, his frost-and-lightning blade sweeping up to intercept, and the two collided in a spray of sparks and crystallizing frost.

The exchange was fast and brutal as Moon’s sword carved a shallow line across the leopard’s shoulder as it swept past, and the Cryothunder element went to work immediately, lightning searing the wound, cold crawling into the flesh, frost beginning to spread.

The leopard snarled and whirled, and Moon pressed on, his blade flashing in quick, precise cuts. Each one that landed drew blood and left frozen, crackling damage in its wake.

Even his basic attacks hurt it. That much was clear. The leopard’s hide, which should have shrugged off an Evolver’s strikes, was being opened by Cryothunder’s edge, each cut leaving a wound that the fused element worsened from within.

But it wasn’t enough.

The wounds weren’t decisive. The leopard was a Surpasser, its constitution and regeneration far beyond the Five-Star beast Moon had one-shot moments ago.

None of his previous attacks truly threatened its life. He was damaging it, with nothing but ordinary strikes and the raw power of his new skill, which was remarkable in itself. Yet the leopard tanked the damage, its rage undimmed, its strength undiminished.

It’s a Surpasser-rank beast. With Tempest Symphony’s full combination I think I can—

The aura around the leopard that had been simply defending against his attacks suddenly changed.

The leopard’s eyes flashed coldly, and wind gathered around its limbs in a sudden swirling vortex, and before Moon could finish the thought, the beast moved.

’It can control wind element! Shit!’