Arthur’s tactical mind imdiately recognised the skill’s potential value in their current situation. A twenty to thirty percent reduction in any of the Winter Beast’s combat attributes could create exactly the kind of advantage Arthur needed to turn this confrontation in his favour.
If the skill targeted the creature’s defensive capabilities, Arthur’s attacks would beco significantly more effective. If it affected his offensive power, Arthur’s evasion requirents would beco more manageable. If it impacted his ntal power or defence, the vulnerability windows created by the Cackle Queen’s psychological attacks would last longer and be easier to exploit.
Most importantly, the skill’s description indicated it couldn’t be resisted through standard ans, aning the Winter Beast’s domain abilities and legendary resistance wouldn’t protect him from its effects.
Arthur activated his talent’s extraction capability, feeling the familiar sensation of mystical connection as Neko’s legendary skill was copied to his own consciousness. The cooldown period for skill extraction had ended, making this the perfect opportunity to acquire an ability that could prove decisive in the current battle.
He didn’t consider extracting skills from Aether, since the void dragon would soon be joining the battle personally. Having Aether retain his full combat capabilities would be more beneficial than gaining one additional skill for Arthur’s own use.
Neko’s Unlucky ability, however, represented exactly the kind of tactical advantage that could tip the scales when combined with his existing strategies.
The Winter Beast’s next barrage of ice attacks forced Arthur to teleport again, but this ti his movent carried new confidence. He now possessed three crucial assets for the final phase of this battle: the Cackle Queen’s remaining psychological attacks, Aether’s incoming surprise assault, and the ability to curse his opponent with supernatural misfortune.
...
Watching Arthur continuously teleport from place to place without an effort or visible straining, the Winter Beast’s fury reached new heights, but that surge of anger didn’t cloud his judgnt. No, in fact, the escalating combat was forcing him to beco increasingly cautious as certain realities beca impossible to ignore.
The man before him possessed the ability to command a force of nature so fundantally powerful that it seed impossible for any human to wield such capabilities. Space manipulation wasn’t just another elental talent, it was one of the most dangerous abilities in existence, capable of rewriting the basic laws of reality according to the user’s will, even at lower forms of mastery.
Commanding space, one of the strongest and most feared elents in any world, was sothing the Winter Beast had never expected to encounter during what should have been a normal day where he would sleep. Such talents were legendary even among legendary creatures, the kind of power that beings spoke of in whispers when discussing forces that transcended normal understanding.
Fortunately for the Winter Beast’s continued survival, the human before him had clearly not yet reached his full potential and remained an infant in terms of true power developnt. Arthur’s control over space, while impressive by normal standards, wasn’t absolute. He hadn’t yet touched the fundantal essence of spatial manipulation, operating more like a talented novice than a true master of dinsional forces.
The Winter Beast could sense the limitations in Arthur’s technique—slight delays between teleportation sequences, minor variations in positioning accuracy, and energy expenditure that suggested his spatial abilities required conscious effort rather than operating as natural extensions of his will.
However, even these observations couldn’t diminish the Winter Beast’s growing concern about long-term implications. If the man before him had awakened his own domain abilities, the Winter Beast was absolutely certain he would already be a corpse cooling on the ice. Despite his confidence in his own legendary power and domain mastery, he wasn’t arrogant or delusional enough to believe he could survive direct confrontation with soone who could control space at domain levels.
Domain-enhanced space manipulation would allow Arthur to wipe the ice floor with him without any issues. The Winter Beast’s ice-based abilities, no matter how powerful, operated within a territory that space wielders could simply ignore or redefine.
The more attacks he launched and the more Arthur dodged them through spatial manipulation, the more the Winter Beast wanted to eliminate this threat before it could fully mature. Every successful evasion demonstrated Arthur’s growing comfort with his abilities, and every adaptation showed learning that brought him closer to true mastery.
This human represented the kind of long-term existential threat that required imdiate elimination, regardless of the resources necessary to achieve that goal.
After realising that his current level of offensive power wasn’t sufficient to kill Arthur without employing more drastic asures, the Winter Beast made a decision that would fundantally alter the nature of their confrontation.
All of his attacks stopped suddenly.
The barrage of ice projectiles ceased mid-flight, dissolving into harmless vapour before they could reach their targets. The constant formation of new offensive constructs halted entirely, leaving the battlefield in an eerie silence that felt more ominous than the previous chaos.
Arthur, observing this unexpected developnt, frowned with imdiate suspicion. Despite the attacks stopping, he didn’t allow his defensive posture to relax for even a mont. His enhanced combat instincts, honed through countless life-or-death encounters, recognised that sudden cessation of hostilities often preceded the most dangerous escalations.
His spatial awareness remained active, ready to teleport at the first sign of renewed aggression. His grip on the Chaos Katana tightened as he prepared for whatever tactic the Winter Beast was about to employ. The Cackle Queen, still positioned with him, tensed with anticipation of commands that might co without warning.
The Winter Beast’s eyes studied Arthur with patience as if pondering on sothing. His massive form remained motionless, but the air around him began to change in ways that suggested preparation for sothing far more significant than his previous attacks.
"I must say, you are more dangerous than I initially assessed, young human. Your potential exceeds your current capabilities by margins that make you a problem requiring...solutions." The Winter Beast spoke in a grave tone, acknowledging a genuine threat.
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