SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System
Chapter 91: The Genius!

Chapter 91: The Genius!

He could feel the large group of pursuing Awakened behind them, their energy signatures a chaotic mix of greed and aggression.

They were being tracked, and he was going to lead them straight into the jaws of a monster.

The chase was intense and chaotic.

The bright red and orange trees of the Yang region blurred as Nyx, in her large wolf form, ran through the undergrowth.

Her powerful paws pounded a frantic rhythm against the soft, warm earth, each stride a small explosion of displaced soil.

The wind shrieked around them, a high-pitched song of desperate flight, carrying the crude, taunting shouts of the twenty-some recruits chasing them with the intensity of a starving pack.

"They’re gaining on us, Vance!" Ayra’s voice roared from her perch atop Nyx’s broad, furry back, her fiery red hair whipping wildly behind her.

She clung on with one hand, the other resting impatiently on the haft of her great-axe.

"Or maybe this furry taxi service of yours is just slow! I could run faster than this and I’d still have time to stop and break one or two bones for fun!"

"Nyx is pacing herself to conserve energy, Ayra," Lia’s calmer voice countered from beside her, though even she held tightly to the thick fur, her serene expression tight with concentration.

"And they are numerous. Their combined speed is formidable, and they are not conserving anything."

The pursuers were indeed closing the gap.

Their leader, a brutish man in a crude iron helmet that did little to hide his greedy eyes, laughed, his voice carrying on the wind.

"Hear that, boys? They’re getting tired! The pretty redhead’s mount is flagging! They won’t last much longer!"

Another pursuer, a wiry woman with a vicious-looking hooked blade, grinned maliciously.

"The captain’s just a runner! All that S-Grade speed and he hasn’t turned to fight once! He’s weak, hiding behind his women and their pet!

Once we corner them, we’ll see how fast he runs when we start carving up his pretty little friends!"

Their taunts were like buzzing flies to Daniel, who ran effortlessly just ahead of Nyx, his S-Grade [Hyper-Sonic Phantom Step] barely engaged, his movements a fluid, untroubled glide.

He just smirked, a cold fire dancing in his eyes.

Their arrogant underestimation was the very foundation of his plan.

He was leading them towards the shimmering, vast expanse of Yang Lake, a location the Academy archives had marked with a single, ominous warning: ’Territorial Apex Predator. Avoid at all costs.’

Costs were relative. For Daniel, the cost of a few dozen overconfident bullies was an acceptable price to pay for a little peace and quiet.

As Yang Lake came into view, its turquoise waters reflecting the bright blue sky like a giant mirror, Daniel skidded to a stop.

He turned, facing the oncoming horde, his expression one of almost bored calm.

Nyx, at his mental command, stopped a short distance behind him, letting out a low, rumbling growl that made the ground vibrate.

The pursuers slowed their charge, fanning out into a ragged semi-circle, their initial confidence slightly tempered by the sight of Nyx in her full, monstrous glory.

"Look at that," the helmeted leader muttered, his eyes wide. "That’s no ordinary familiar. That’s a high-grade elemental beast! We hit the jackpot, boys!"

"So what?" the woman with the hooked blade retorted, her greed overriding her caution.

"There’s more than twenty of us! It’s still just one beast and three recruits! He’s drawing a bow? Hah! What’s he gonna do, shoot us all?"

Daniel, ignoring their chatter, drew his B-Grade Reinforced Shard-Tip Bow. It felt almost laughably inadequate in his hands, a fragile toy compared to the S-grade power thrumming through his fists.

But he wasn’t aiming for them. He was aiming for the dead center of the vast, tranquil lake.

This wasn’t about killing them directly. This was about ringing the dinner bell for something far, far worse.

He nocked a single, shard-tipped arrow. He closed his eyes for a second, focusing his intent, drawing upon the myriad powers he had assimilated.

He activated his A-Grade [Flame Control], the arrowhead igniting with a white-hot, furious light.

He layered it with his A-Grade [Frost Control], creating a volatile, unstable fusion of extreme heat and cold that made the air around it hiss.

He pushed the crackling energy of his A-Grade [Electrocution] into the mix, making the arrow shimmer with raw, untamed lightning.

Finally, he channeled the full power of his A-Grade Hunter skill, [Trueflight Barrage], into the shot.

The single arrow began to vibrate violently, glowing with a chaotic, multi-colored light, straining against the bowstring as if eager to be unleashed.

"You’re a fool!" the helmeted leader roared, finally committing to a charge. "An arrow won’t save you!"

"It’s not for you," Daniel replied, a cold smile on his face. He released the string.

"TWANG-WHOOSH-BOOM!"

The sound was apocalyptic. The arrow erupted from the bow, a screaming comet of condensed elemental chaos that tore through the air.

Halfway to the lake’s center, the arrow split into five smaller, but no less terrifying, missiles.

They didn’t just home in; they converged on a single point in the water with malicious, unerring accuracy.

The five elemental missiles slammed into the placid surface of Yang Lake.

"KRA-KA-THOOOOOOOM!"

The explosion was biblical!

A massive column of water, steam, and shattered ice erupted hundreds of feet into the air.

The shockwave blasted outwards, flattening the fiery-leafed trees at the lake’s edge and sending the front line of pursuers tumbling backwards.

The ground trembled violently.

The entire lake began to churn and boil, its tranquil surface transformed into a furious, frothing maelstrom.

Daniel didn’t wait to admire his handiwork.

"Time to go!" he yelled, already turning. He leaped onto Nyx’s back behind Lia and Ayra.

"Nyx, run! Full speed! Don’t look back!"

Nyx, needing no further encouragement, bolted, her powerful legs eating up the ground as they fled the scene of their catastrophic prank.

The pursuers, scrambling to their feet, stared at the boiling lake in confusion and dawning terror.

"What was that?! Did he just try to boil the whole lake?!" the helmeted leader sputtered.

Then, from the epicenter of the explosion, a shadow began to rise.

A vast, dark shape, so large it blocked out the noon sun. The waters of Yang Lake poured from its colossal form as it emerged, its sheer scale defying belief.

It was the Abyssal Maw Leviathan!

Its body was a terrifying fusion of draconic might and crocodilian armor, easily over a hundred meters long, covered in thick, obsidian-black plates that shimmered with an ancient, powerful energy.

Its head was a fortress of bone and jagged scales, crowned with two magnificent, draconic horns that swept back from its massive skull.

And its maw... its maw was a cavernous abyss, vast enough to swallow a small building whole, lined with teeth like sharpened telephone poles.

It opened this maw and let out a roar, not of a beast, but of a geological event.

"BOOM!"

The sound was a physical wave of force that cracked the very air, shattering eardrums and crushing bone.

The Leviathan ignored Daniel’s fleeing team.

Its apocalyptic gaze, its eyes each the size of a small car and burning with the ancient, intelligent fury of a demigod whose nap had been rudely interrupted, fell upon the twenty-odd pursuers standing dumbfounded on its shoreline.

The massacre was swift, brutal, and utterly one-sided.

The Leviathan lunged, its massive jaws snapping shut on half a dozen recruits, swallowing them whole with a sickening crunch.

Its tail, a weapon of mass destruction, swept across the shore, sending bodies flying like broken dolls.

The wind from its movements was a hurricane, tearing pursuers from their feet.

The ground trembled and split under its immense weight.

Daniel, Lia, and Ayra didn’t look back. They heard the screams, the sounds of snapping bone and tearing flesh, and then... a profound, terrifying silence.

They found a secluded cave several kilometers away and rested. The plan had worked perfectly.

"Well," Ayra said, a newfound respect in her voice, her face pale. "That was one way to deal with them. Remind me never to interrupt your fishing trips, Vance."

Later that night, under the eerie glow of the twin moons, they cautiously made their way back towards Yang Lake.

The shore was a scene of utter devastation.

More than a dozen mangled corpses lay scattered amongst the shattered trees and cracked earth.

Their gear, their cards, everything of value had been either destroyed in the initial rampage or had sunk to the bottom of the lake. There was nothing to loot.