The increase sounded like only thirty percentage points, but with Isaac’s current strength, even a five percent improvement was enough to noticeably raise his combat power.
"Your stats increased, didn’t they? That’s only the most obvious change. If you become more proficient at controlling your Aura, you’ll eventually be able to slightly alter the effects of your skills as well," Catherine said.
Isaac stared at her for a moment before the meaning of her words truly sank in.
"You mean I can actually change what a skill does?" he asked. The idea sounded almost unbelievable, considering skills were supposed to have fixed effects.
"You can only make minor adjustments. The stronger and more complex a skill is, the harder it becomes to influence it with Aura. Even so, those small changes can make a huge difference during a fight if they’re used properly," Catherine explained.
Isaac slowly nodded while countless possibilities flashed through his mind. He finally understood why Overlords stood so far above Champions despite only being one rank apart.
"This is incredible. I want to spend some time experimenting with Aura, but let’s deal with the Special Monster first. We can test everything else afterward," Isaac said.
Catherine agreed without objection as Isaac reached into his spatial ring.
He took out the four Special Monster summoning tickets they had gathered. Emily’s team had originally obtained one ticket, which had doubled into two because of his Lord Talent, and he had later copied both of them to make a total of four.
The four tickets floated into the air as Isaac willed them together. Bright light surrounded them before they fused into a single golden ticket.
Without hesitating, Isaac activated it, and the ticket dissolved into countless particles that shot toward the sky.
The light gathered high above them before condensing into a strange golden fruit that floated in midair.
It remained completely motionless, almost as though it were waiting for something to arrive. Neither Isaac nor Catherine spoke as they watched it carefully.
Several seconds later, the ground beneath them suddenly trembled.
Long cracks spread across the earth as though something massive was forcing its way upward. Isaac instinctively activated Sovereign of Land, and the moment his senses reached below the surface, his expression became serious.
Something enormous was rising toward them.
Isaac immediately thought about Emily. If the monster turned out to be suitable, he could always bring her here tomorrow and let her tame it instead of killing it. Before making that decision, however, he first needed to understand exactly what kind of monster they were dealing with.
Without wasting another second, Isaac scooped Catherine into a princess carry. At the same time, he recalled all of his ground-based summons into the Soulbind Pendant, leaving only his flying summons outside. A single flap of his wings sent both of them rapidly into the air.
The earth exploded open behind them as an enormous creature emerged. It was a gigantic turtle with a broad shell, and growing from the center of that shell was a giant pale flower that swayed gently despite its massive size. The creature was almost as large as the Crimson Sky Wyrm.
Instead of attacking them immediately, the turtle fixed its attention on the glowing fruit floating in the sky. It slowly began flying toward it with surprising ease despite its enormous body. Isaac immediately understood the purpose of the fruit.
He darted forward, grabbed the fruit, and flew away at full speed. As expected, the giant turtle changed direction without hesitation and began chasing after him. His flying clones quickly spread out around the monster while attacking it from every angle.
Isaac watched the results carefully as they flew. Every attack landed cleanly, but almost none of them produced noticeable damage. His brows gradually furrowed as he observed the monster’s reactions.
"I don’t know how strong its attacks are yet, but its defenses are absurd," Isaac said while keeping his eyes on the turtle,
"How absurd?" Catherine asked as she looked over Isaac’s shoulder toward the pursuing monster. Since she couldn’t fly on her own, she simply relaxed in his arms while watching the battle unfold.
In her heart, she felt a little happy. Which girl wouldn’t like to be held like a princess by the man they loved and flown through the sky? The fact that there was a ginormous monster following them didn’t disturb Catherine in the slightest.
The flower growing from the turtle’s shell slowly gathered sunlight before releasing a concentrated beam of golden energy. The attack wasn’t particularly fast, making it easy for Isaac to dodge, but the amount of power contained within it was obvious. Even he would be fatally injured if he took it head on.
Isaac deliberately stayed within the monster’s range while changing directions repeatedly.
He wanted to provoke more attacks so he could study its habits and identify any hidden abilities. After several minutes, he had a fairly good understanding of its combat style.
When he was satisfied with what he had learned, Isaac tossed the golden fruit to one of his flying clones. The clone immediately sped away while carrying the fruit, and as expected, the turtle ignored Isaac completely and began chasing after the clone instead.
"What are you planning now?" Catherine asked as she watched the clone lure the monster away. She had grown used to Isaac making decisions on the fly, but she was still curious about what he intended to do.
"I’ll let my clones keep it occupied until tomorrow. Emily’s equipment should recover charges by then for her to tame more monsters. She can tame it instead of us killing it," Isaac replied.
Catherine smiled wryly after hearing that. Most awakeners would panic if they encountered a Special Monster, yet Isaac was calmly discussing how to keep it occupied for an entire day. It was hard to believe how much he had changed over the past months.
Without realizing it, Catherine placed a hand against Isaac’s chest while he continued flying, and caressed him. Not long ago, she had constantly worried that he would be in danger if he awakened a Talent and went into the wilderness to level up.
She had vowed to protect him.