My SSS-Rank Clone Talent: I Level Up Endlessly!
Chapter 150: The Terrifying power of Adapt!

The valkyrie pointed her sword at his neck.

"How dare you, someone so weak, have the guts to cause trouble in our empire?"

Eryke the Fifth was far from being in good condition. He clutched his slitted neck tightly, a pool of blood already forming at his feet.

But even then, his recovery had already begun, his wounds healing at a startling pace.

Slowly, he tilted his head. His mind replayed the valkyrie's movements, and for a moment, he stood there, still, almost dazed.

"I see."

The valkyrie, noticing that Eryke the Fifth was still standing, raised an eyebrow. She was just about to strike again.

However, at that moment, Eryke the Fifth simply tilted his head, effortlessly dodging the attack with unexpected grace.

The valkyrie swung her sword, aiming to sever his right arm.

In response, he struck back with a punch, his fist glittering with starlight.

The two clashed briefly before his fist overpowered her blade, bending it at an unnatural angle before it lightly grazed her cheek.

"Hmm?" Eryke the Fifth frowned. Though his punch had landed, it didn't feel like he had struck flesh at all.

Both of them were caught off guard.

The valkyrie's eyes widened. "How did you see through my sword?"

"I adapted to it," he replied with a grin.

"Hmph."

Her brows knitted together. She extended her hand forward and in an instant, Eryke the Fifth felt a terrifying force descend upon him.

Then, slowly, she raised her hand, and his body was lifted from the ground, defying gravity itself.

Eryke the Fifth's eyes widened. He struggled with all his strength and crashed back to the ground a moment later.

"I can lift seventy-two kilos using my telekinetic power," she said with a chuckle. "You're quite the heavy one, aren't you?"

"Do it again," Eryke the Fifth replied without missing a beat.

"Oh?" The valkyrie tilted her head, clearly confused but she obliged nonetheless, pointing at him and raising her hand once more.

Once again, Eryke the Fifth was lifted from the ground—but only for a moment. This time, the telekinetic force abruptly dissipated.

A glowing circle appeared in his pupils, as if etched into his very eyes.

[Your body has adapted to Telekinetic power]

[You have gained an exclusive skill bound to <Adapt>: <Resistance to Telekinesis>]

Eryke the Fifth began to laugh, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"This truly works."

He clenched his fist, brimming with satisfaction.

The valkyrie tilted her head, visibly puzzled. "What works?"

She raised her hand again, attempting to lift him with her power but the moment her telekinesis neared him, it failed completely.

"What did you do?" she demanded.

Of course, he didn't reply, he rapidly moved and tackled her, using his arms to perfectly encase her and bound her.

Caught off guard, the valkyrie couldn't react in time. The tackle happened in the blink of an eye—and before she knew it, she was pinned down. When she tried to break free, she found she couldn't.

Her muscles strained, fighting against his hold. Though his arms were lean, they locked around her like iron, unyielding no matter how hard she struggled. Worse, his grip only tightened.

"Ahhh—!"

She cried out, the sound sharp and desperate.

The other valkyries, still soaring above, immediately descended to her aid.

Eryke the Fifth raised his voice, shouting:

"Don't move, or I'll kill her."

His words echoed across the battlefield.

The valkyries froze midair, their gazes fixed on him in tense silence.

Then, one of them spoke, her voice cold and calm:

"Kill her, then."

"Alright," he replied calmly.

Blood burst from her five orifices as Eryke the Fifth's arms tightened with brutal force—he was on the verge of crushing her entirely.

In response, all the valkyries unleashed their telekinetic power upon him.

With so many focused on him at once, the pressure became immense. Eryke the Fifth's grip around the captured valkyrie began to loosen, slowly, but steadily.

At the same time, their voices rang out in eerie unison:

"Give up and be obediently captured."

But Eryke the Fifth only roared, his eyes burning with red, vein-like patterns.

"Nah. I did adapt."

Adapting, in simple terms, meant adjusting to a new condition.

And right now, even as he felt the crushing resistance threatening to tear him apart, he could feel it: his body was changing and evolving.

While he had gained a resistance skill through Adapt, that wasn't the full extent of how the ability worked.

In the previous situation, gaining Telekinetic Resistance had been the most optimal response. But now, resistance alone wasn't enough.

His body, mind, and spirit were gradually tuning themselves to the overwhelming telekinetic force, growing more and more attuned to it with every passing second.

But with that attunement came a terrible price.

An unbearable pain surged through him, wracking every nerve in his body. It felt as though his very being was being unmade and rebuilt at once.

Eryke the Fifth screamed, loud, raw, filled with agony, as the change tore through him.

Up in the sky, the valkyries hovered, stunned.

"We only restrained him for a moment... Why is he reacting like this?"

"It's strange," another muttered, eyes narrowing.

Nevertheless, the valkyries continued channeling their telekinetic power, slowly prying the screaming Eryke the Fifth away from the one he held in an iron embrace.

His Telekinetic Resistance delayed the process, but against the combined force of so many Level 9 Telekinetic humans, it was ultimately futile.

Resistance alone wasn't enough.

Helplessly, his arms were pulled apart, his body levitated into the air.

He hovered, limbs stretched, arms extended in a straight line, legs locked tightly together. The position resembled a "T" pose.

Every fiber of his muscles screamed in protest. His body trembled with agony.

The freed valkyrie stood unsteadily, glaring at Eryke the Fifth with a mix of hatred and a trace of fear buried deep in her eyes.

She pulled out a pair of metal handcuffs and began walking toward him, slowly and cautiously.

Above, the rest of the valkyries descended from the sky, surrounding him. Their expressions were unreadable, but a subtle confusion lingered in their eyes as they watched him writhe in pain.

"This man is definitely strange. He hasn't even awakened as a Telekinetic User, yet he can resist our power."

"Something's not right about him. We only just restrained him and didn't hurt him. Why is he crying in pain like his body is changing?"

"Let's take him to the research facility. We might've struck gold."

But just as they neared, Eryke the Fifth suddenly stopped screaming.

His eyes snapped open and a grin spread across his face.

Without warning, he broke free from the telekinetic bind with effortless ease.

[Your mind has adapted to Telekinesis]

[You have gained an exclusive skill: <Telekinesis> (Level 4)]

—

<Telekinesis> (Level 4) [Cannot be leveled up]

Grants the user the ability to exert up to forty kilos of force within a forty-meter range by his sheer mind alone.

—

The air shifted.

The valkyries froze mid-step, eyes widening as Eryke hovered freely in the air, no longer restrained by their Telekinetic power.

"How is this possible?" one of them cried out in utter terror.

"Everything is possible in this world."