Chapter 98: Specialty: Azure Dragon Armament

And that wasn't all.

Just like when his Swordsmanship broke through to the Master Level.

The moment this domineering Hand-to-hand Combat Skill reached the Level 4 threshold, a brand new Specialty entry materialized on his retina.

[Through day after day of extreme tempering, you have etched this ferocious Martial Art into your very marrow. Amidst countless cycles of tearing and reforming, you have forged your arms, finally shattering mortal physiological limits and forcing your body to undergo a complete metamorphosis.]

[You have obtained the Specialty: Azure Dragon Armament (Hands)]

—

Azure Dragon Armament (Hands)

Specialty Level: Excellence/Extraordinary

Prerequisite: [Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style] at Level 4 (Mastery)

Effect: Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style will qualify as both an unarmed skill and a Weapon Skill. All of your unarmed attacks (including fists, palms, fingers, and claws) will be treated as sharp weapons. Unarmed attacks gain 10% bonus Physical Penetration. When striking an enemy's Unarmored areas with claw or finger attacks, you have a high chance of inflicting the "Bleed" status. Your arms gain +1 to their Natural Base Armor Level.

—

Sweat streamed down his cheeks, blurring his vision.

But Lance didn't even bother to wipe it away.

Because at this moment, his hands suddenly began reacting in the exact same way they had that afternoon when he'd acquired Solid Stone Membrane.

It was even more excruciating than before.

He could clearly feel the skin on his arms constantly tearing amidst intense pain, only to be swiftly reformed by some strange power.

Fortunately, this agony, like being flayed alive, came and went quickly.

Once the strange sensation completely vanished, Lance reached out and touched his arms. It felt as if he had just shed his skin.

He rubbed them forcefully and actually managed to slough off a layer of grayish-white dead skin, just like a snake's shed.

Lance hurried over to the water bucket, washed his hands, and then turned his gaze back to the Specialty's description on the panel.

After carefully reading every line, he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.

This Specialty could only be described as brutally powerful.

It was truly worthy of being a top-tier Specialty, somewhere between Excellence and Extraordinary.

The first two effects alone solved a major problem for him.

The number of Weapon Skills required to become a Pale Guard was directly reduced by one.

Because from now on, Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style wasn't just a Fighting Skill; in terms of the system's rules, it was also considered an additional mastered Weapon Skill.

But what excited him the most was the entry stating his unarmed attacks would be treated as "sharp weapons."

This meant it could actually stack perfectly with the Swordsmanship Specialty, Trench Rat's Bite.

Combined, it meant that when unarmed, his piercing attacks would gain a whopping 15% bonus Physical Penetration for free.

A single strike could punch a hole straight through a training post.

Not to mention the other additional effects.

In this world, the greatest weakness of hand-to-hand combat was its lack of defense. It was impossible to trade blows with monsters wielding sharp blades.

But now...

His arm Armor was instantly +1.

If he stacked that with the Solid Stone Membrane he'd just acquired this afternoon, the Hardness of his arms was likely enough to clash head-on with the fangs and claws of some Low Level Demons.

This greatly raised his margin for error in close-quarters combat.

As expected of an extremely rare Skill. Even the Specialty it produced was this absurdly powerful.

Lance sighed in satisfaction.

He walked to the steps, picked up the large water jug he had prepared, and tilted his head back to chug it down, GLUG, GLUG, GLUG, quickly replenishing the fluids he had just frantically burned through.

Setting the jug down, a fervent glint appeared in Lance's eyes.

The Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style had already shown such terrifying potential.

So then...

The Dragon Hunting Breathing Combat Technique, which the system considered even more domineering and extreme at the same level—

When it broke through to Level 4,

'What kind of heaven-defying Specialty will it produce?'

Just thinking about it made all the blood in Lance's body boil.

Lance wanted to press on and continue circulating the Breathing Combat Technique.

But a violent spasm suddenly shot through him from deep within his body.

The sensation was like a dry riverbed being forcibly pumped for water; his muscle fibers let out a mournful cry, unable to bear the strain.

His body was spontaneously issuing a stern warning: he absolutely could not push any further.

Lance stopped moving, panting heavily.

He placed a hand on his wildly beating heart, feeling the vibrations that threatened to leap from his chest.

His body temperature was frighteningly high.

He immediately realized what the problem was.

The Solid Stone Membrane he had acquired earlier, plus the Azure Dragon Armament he had just formed—these two extremely domineering Talents and Specialties were, in essence, a forced reconstruction of the human body.

The nutritional reserves his body had accumulated from constantly eating, and even the High Tiered Magical Beast Dried Meat he had just consumed, had been completely wrung dry by the frenzied strengthening of these two forms of Natural Armor.

No matter how tenacious his willpower, a physical deficit could absolutely not be replenished with Telekinesis.

If he forcibly acquired the next Specialty involving physical modification now, he was destined to lose control.

Best case, the strengthening process would collapse on the spot, and the potential his body had accumulated would be permanently eroded.

Worst case, his extremely starved cells would undergo a terrifying physical mutation under the stimulation of Ether.

That was the most horrifying outcome of all.

What gave him a lingering sense of fear was that in all the advanced guides he had flipped through in the library, there was absolutely no mention of a theory that acquiring Specialties back-to-back could lead to physical collapse.

This was purely his body's self-preservation instinct warning him.

But after calming down and thinking about it carefully, it made sense.

No one in this world had ever possessed such an absurd rate of progress.

For a normal person to achieve the two enhancements he had today, even a peerless genius would need half a year or even a full year of slow, patient work.

The extended period would give the body a sufficient window to adapt and replenish nutrients.

But he had forcibly compressed a year's worth of metamorphosis into a mere twenty-four hours.

Such an outrageous leap was truly unbelievable.

"I still underestimated the toll that acquiring these Specialties takes on the body's foundation."

Lance unfastened the heavy weighted bracers on his wrists and sighed with a hint of resignation.

'In this world with its long history, there's likely no one else besides the Heroes of Legend chosen by fate who could exhibit such an illogical leveling speed.'

'Only those Heroes can completely ignore the physiological limits of mortals.'

'But you have to remember, in the thousands of years since this world's birth, including the records from before the gap in history, only a mere three Heroes have ever been born.'

'That's a privilege granted only by the blessing of a god.'

'And me?'

'Just by relying on a panel, I've pushed myself onto a growth trajectory comparable to that of a Hero.'

Of course, Lance was well aware that he couldn't continue climbing the path of a Professional at this terrifying speed forever.

Because once he crossed the threshold of a Professional, advancing in strength would no longer be something easily achieved through mere diligence and hard work.

However, Lance wasn't worried about future bottlenecks.

With the help of the system panel, his growth ceiling would only become more and more terrifying.

Especially after he had hunted countless Demons and stacked all of their strange Racial Talents onto himself.

He had no doubt.

When that time came,

even against the lofty gods above,

he might just have a chance to draw his sword and slay them.