Skill Hunter -Kill Monsters, Acquire Skills, Ascend to the Highest Rank! 148. Punching Machines

Ike's fist never struck the hamr. It was made of tal, doubtlessly so kind of super tough magical alloy. Instead, he punched the air and let the shockwaves strike the auto-hamr. They slamd into it with the force of a thousand punches. The whole structure screeched, tal squealing, and it tilted slightly against its bearings.

Across the room, another BAM! sounded out as Wisp struck the at grinder.

Latching onto the hamr, he drew back his arm, readying another blow.

Down below, the puppets jolted. The assembly puppets continued their jobs, the sa as ever, but the army lurched into motion. They moved in no particular way. Instead, they all sward the machines at once. They grouped around the base, staring up at it. A big black blot of tal gathered below him as more and more of them joined up around it. It reminded Ike of an ant colony. All the puppets mindlessly joined in as best they could, but no one particular individual seed to know precisely what the whole was doing.

Since none of the puppets were attacking him, Ike kept beating on the hamr. It creaked and swayed, but held steady. The hamr kept beating away, shaping the armor. The structure complained, but nothing gave in.

Ike grimaced. He hung there, twenty feet in the air high on the hamr. His feet pressed against a notch in the tal, one hand wrapped around the back of the support, his free hand swinging against his side. He twisted his lips. Shockwave Punch isn't doing it. What else can I use?

He activated Lightning Clad, but the lightning instantly fled his body and flew through the tal into the ground. The nearby puppets jumped. Black smoke leaked from the cracks in their armor.

Ike deactivated Lightning Clad. Huh. That's an interesting weakness. Good to know now, before I punch sothing big and tal, and Lightning Clad vanishes. He considered the rest of his skills.

[Na: Ike | Age: 16 | Status: Nm | Rank: 2 [Abyss Dweller]]

Skills: Common: 11 | Bronze 3 | Silver 2 | Gold 1 | Rare 2 | … | Unique: 4

Common: All-Around Runner Lvl 8 | Razor Handling Lvl 9 | Spear Handling Lvl 4 | Axe Handling Lvl 4 | Sword Handling Lvl 9 | Bow Handling Lvl 1 | Primitive Crafting Lvl 9

Bronze: Sensory Enhancent Lvl 9 | Mana Manipulation Lvl 5 | Lunam Manipulation Lvl 0 | Aether Manipulation Lvl 0

Silver: Flurry of Kicks Lvl 3 | Chlorophyll Lvl 1

Gold: Shockwave Punch Lvl 5 | Ice Armor Lvl 4

Rare: Salamander Healing Lvl 9 | River-Splitting Sword Lvl 8

Unique: Lightning Dash Lvl 9 | Lightning Grasp Lvl 9 | Lightning Clad Lvl 4 | Lightning Caller Lvl 3

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He pinched his chin, thinking. River-Splitting Sword is ant to be able to split a river, but I don't think I've reached the tal-severing level of mastery yet. Flurry of Kicks would probably end with my feet broken and nothing gained. Shockwave Punch…already tried it. The Ice Armor-Shockwave Punch combo is probably my best bet. Especially since the Lightning skills are going to be useless here.

Ike glanced left and right. He reached up, grabbing for the next support. One hop at a ti, he crossed the hamr. At last, he reached the top, where the tal bar that ultimately slamd into the armor slamd up and down. He hung beside it, watching it beat. Lifting his hand, he cast Ice Armor on the pole.

The pole yanked upward, shattering the ice.

He pressed his lips together. That's not going to work, either. Hmm.

The hamr shook. Startled, Ike looked down. The puppets beat upon the hamr as one, slamming their full weight into it.

Ike's eyes widened He grinned. I can use this.

He drew off the wolfskin and tucked it into his storage ring. He waved his hands. "Hey, idiots! Right here! Co get !"

The puppets' eyes lit up. Red lights burned in their helms. They charged. One or two charged directly into the hamr and were crushed, while others slamd into the hamr. From all sides, they beat at the hamr, pushing and pulling. A few of them drew strange, red-hot weapons and smacked them against the supports. The tal clanged and trembled, wobbling hard under Ike.

Ike laughed. "Weaklings! You'll never reach !"

The puppets roared. They smashed into the support. All their strength slamd into the hamr. The tal creaked. The hamr tilted to the side. It struck the earth beside its anvil, and the pole cracked.

"Yes!" Ike punched the air, then hesitated. He waved his hand instead. "I an, oh no! You've almost got !"

Already enraged, the puppets paid him no mind. They charged endlessly into the hamr, slowly ripping it out of its foundation.

"Nice acting."

Ike looked up, startled. Wisp stood over him, casually standing parallel to the ground, her feet planted on the side of the hamr's support. Her wolf skin hung over one shoulder, its visible side out.

"Finish with the grinder?" he asked.

"No sausage," she complained, sitting down on the top of the hamr. A mont later, she nodded. "Yeah."

"Wanna help with this?"

"I think you're doing great," Wisp said, chuckling. She nodded. "Look at them. Doing all your work for you. That's peak human, right there."

"What? What's that an?" Ike asked.

She nodded. "Isn't that what humans do best? Trick other humans into doing their work for them. Like the city lords, for example. They sit up in their cities and do nothing, while you guys work so hard down below. Well—not you, but you know. Human mages. In general. While we beasts go out and do all work ourselves."

Ike thought for a second, then nodded. "Yeah. I guess so. Wait, but if that's very human of … doesn't that an I'm human?"

Wisp chuckled. "You're definitely at least half human. Eh, maybe you are human. Just a weird one."

Ike pointed. He raised his brows.

"Or… you're a beast!" she said, making a feint leap at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Co on."

Wisp tilted her head. A rare pensive expression passed over her face. "It could go either way, honestly. You don't sll like a beast. But then, I've never t a half-beast before. So I wouldn't know. Maybe you're a half-beast that slls human."

"I'm glad you're willing to admit I might be human," Ike said, nodding.

A roar echoed across the hall. "Who's ssing with my equipnt?"

Ike perked up. Wisp's head snapped forward.

"Looks like the puppets' boss is here," Wisp murmured, vanishing back under her wolf pelt.

Ike nodded. He drew his wolf skin over himself as well and leaped off the hamr, leaving the puppets to beat at it alone.

On the other side of the hall, opposite where they'd entered, a pair of wooden double doors flew open. Ike tensed, his eyes locked on the doors.