Chapter 550: Phoenix's Embrace
Sylas dashed through the forest, moving with a smooth pace. By his side, there was the Basilisk King and the Bone-Tailed Lizard, while Nosphaleen trailed behind them. Given the weakening of his physical stats, though they still struggled a bit, they were capable of keeping up with him. Though, the Bone-Tailed Lizard was somewhat amusingly clumsy.
This could only be blamed on Sylas, though. The lizard was still a baby, and though its state was exceptional given it was a Level o, its coordination was lacking.
Even Sylas had to work diligently at using his body; of course, a baby would have to.
After his first week in this place, he had already managed to fully master up to <Phoenix's Embrace>, the FFF+ grappling technique. So, he had decided that it was about time to start applying some pressure on his enemies.
Plus, part of his strength was also his beast companions. Letting them come to train was an aspect of Beast Mastering that he had neglected too much.
Most Beast Masters had to take the long and arduous path to help their beasts improve, going through constant battles and drilling Skills again and again.
Just because Sylas didn't have to do that, thanks to his array of Legendary Path Talents, didn't mean that he shouldn't try to use these methods from time to time.
Still, as he moved, his thoughts were consumed by <Phoenix's Embrace>. It was such a magical technique, one that enlightened him to the fact that grappling was far more special than he had given it credit for.
The growl of a bear came from ahead.
Sylas pressed a foot down on a tree trunk, accelerating forward. He could tell with a glance that this beast was too powerful for the Basilisk King and the Bone-Tailed Lizard, so he took the initiative himself.
[Andean Bear (F-)]
[Level: 22]
[Physical: 330]
[Mental: 217]
[Will: 101]
The bear was actually a very pale color from head to toe. It would have almost looked like a polar bear if not for the slight hints of brown and the fact it was much too small compared to that dangerous predator.
Sylas flashed before it, an illusory pair of wings appearing at his back. He stretched out a hand in a clawing motion, fast and deadly.
The bear reached out to meet him, but there was a flash of red-gold light before his hand appeared at its elbow. His body slid to the side as he clamped down on the arch of the bear's arm, pushing down.
He seemed to have targeted a perfect weak point, collapsing the creature's arm toward the wrong direction.
A roar of pain echoed, but Sylas' grip on the arm only tightened as he circled to the bear's back and ripped its shoulder out of alignment.
Sylas slammed his back against the bear, now forced to its hind legs. With a flex of his torso, he shoulder-threw the creature over his head.
BANG!
The ground shuddered, plumes of dust and soil kicking up.
The bear was belly up and completely disoriented, its head having slammed into the ground much too viciously. But Sylas' movements were just as fluid, the illusory wings flapping once as his legs almost magically appeared around the bear's throat.
The creature's muffled roars were stifled to silence as a sickening crunch echoed from a flex of Sylas' quads.
The bear's body convulsed and then stopped moving entirely.
Sylas stood, feeling that he was still missing something. He had reached Legendary Mastery in <Phoenix's Embrace>, and yet he still felt like he was just shy of true perfection.
After reaching Legendary Mastery in so many Skills, Sylas understood the gap between them and Progenitor Mastery. Maybe you could never truly display the real might of a skill unless you made it your own.
But there was something else as well, like a thin veil that obscured the truth of a Skill just the slightest bit.
<Phoenix's Embrace> seemed to be all about speed and leverage. It was a Skill Set that seemed combined with a movement technique. When activated, Sylas' ability to maneuver around an opponent was unmatched. The advantage of having short burst speed in close quarters was invaluable.
The bear couldn't even react to him despite having higher average Physical than he did in his current state. This was where the illusory wings came from.
But the Skill consumed a great amount of Aether. Even at Legendary Mastery, every burst was another Aether Unit down the drain. In that one short battle, he had used it four times. The consumption was far too much.
But that was only one aspect of <Phoenix's Embrace>. The other was a subtle comprehension of the body of the opponent you were facing, allowing you to target weaknesses, snapping bones out of place, and flipping over opponents with much greater strength and weight behind them.
'Phoenix's Embrace...'
Sylas looked down at the beast beneath his feet and casually put it away. Then, he continued forward.
Sometimes he would allow the Basilisk King to fight; sometimes he let the Bone-Tailed Lizard have a go.
The little guy was still trying to communicate with him with incoherent babble from time to time. Sylas found it fascinating, but he hadn't managed to find anything else impressive
about it.
It seemed he would have to let the lizard out more often so that it could develop its language
skills.
The Bone-Tailed Lizard rushed back to Sylas after killing a beast, its tail swinging with flesh and blood. But it didn't seem to notice at all as it nudged its head against Sylas' leg, looking
for praise.
Sylas patted its head absentmindedly.
'It should be close. I'll bring these guys back in for now.'
He had an entire Territory to himself and a map of all the best resources in it. Of course, these didn't include the ones deep underground, but that didn't mean he didn't still have a shocking
number to choose from.
First... he would have to add to his team.