Chapter 905 So...
Sylas coughed up a mouthful of blood, another Great Ape collapsing before him. He wiped his lips with the back of a scaled hand, heaving for breath as he rested his palms on his knees.
Overwhelming Constitution seemed nice, but it wasn't endless. A much weaker strength, when it battered against a high Constitution—especially in the same spots continuously—would eventually accumulate damage no matter the gap.
As the Great Apes grew more skilled, they sensed the gap in stats faster and faster. This past one immediately understood and used more hit-and-run tactics, attacking the same three locations on Sylas' body again and again.
One at the side of his thigh, another right where his chest and shoulder met, and the last his head itself.
He felt his ears ringing, his movement hindered a great deal by what was not just almost certainly a concussion, but the limp in his leg. To make matters worse, lifting his left arm had become a laborsome affair.
It wasn't just pain; he could always tolerate that. But there was such a solid and growing lump there that his flexibility was limited and he couldn't control his body the way he wanted to.
He was beginning to grow frustrated.
This wasn't like him, but he also wasn't someone who couldn't figure things out quickly too. He couldn't remember ever struggling with comprehension-related matters before.
Even with the tomes and things of the matter, he didn't feel that his problem was that he couldn't understand them, but rather that he didn't have the time to. That was why he had chosen to rely on Gralith—for the sake of efficiency.
But this time, he had focused his entire being on this; everything else had been suppressed, and there was nothing to do but fight and fight.
And yet he still wasn't understanding.
The swipe of a claw came for his head and Sylas could only raise two forearms to block.
He barely managed to do so. Not only was his Constitution breaking down, but his opponents had Physical stats now crossing 4000.
He was lifted through the air and almost collapsed in the distance.
Managing to keep his footing, he made an attempt to pre-emptively dodge the next attack when he felt a sort of aura lock onto him. It warped around his arms, knocking him off balance and nearly to the ground.
He stumbled, unable to recover as quickly as he wanted.
With a rushed movement, he pulled his arms up again to block a shin coming for the side of his head.
He tumbled to the side, but right at that moment, the frustration in his eyes seemed to have faded away, a deathly coldness sitting within them.
'I see…'
Sylas popped to his feet with a somersault.
A foot met his chest, perfectly timed as though the Great Ape knew exactly what he was planning to do.
His body bowed and he felt that his ribs would have already given in had his Constitution not been so high. But he could also feel that the Great Apes, between their own Comprehension and Physical stats, were very close to overwhelming his over 9000 Constitution. Once that happened, he would likely die.
If he didn't improve, that is.
Sylas, in what seemed like an act of desperation, caught the Great Ape's ankle. But the result was that instead of pulling back, the beast man transitioned into an all-out stomp, pressing down on Sylas from above and driving his heel down.
The two crashed to the ground.
Just as they were about to hit, Sylas lifted his hips. His heel crossed the Great Ape's chest, becoming his leverage as he twisted to face the opposite direction and positioned his body on top of the latter's knee.
With a roar, Sylas drove his hips up with all the might he could muster, thrusting with his waist right through the Great Ape's kneecap.
CRACK!
BANG!
The sudden grappling maneuver caught the Great Ape completely off guard. His leg snapped in the wrong direction.
However, Sylas' own back slammed heavily against the ground, all the wind being knocked out of him. He managed to protect his head, but the jolt sent his vision spinning.
He sprawled out, the two practically ejecting from one another.
Rolling across the ground, Sylas slowly pushed himself up. The Great Ape tried to do so as well, but hopping around on one leg, it was clear that this battle was over.
Sylas hadn't used grappling since the start because he didn't feel that it was the point of all of this. But he had sensed something in this Great Ape he hadn't felt from the others.
Maybe it was a mistake to chase after the simpler ones, trying to extend those battles. He was basically trying to use the less talented examples to build up the whole picture in his head.
But that wasn't what he needed. He had a mind that he was supremely confident in. He didn't need bits and pieces of the story; he wanted the whole thing.
Sylas changed his tactics, his mind whirring to life once again as he ignored any attempts to grasp the secrets now. He only had one goal.
Win.
He swept toward the Great Ape, exchanging a series of almost sad blows. He slapped them out of the way with ease, wrapping to the beast man's back and squeezing his neck into a headlock.
A crack resounded and the Great Ape fell dead.
"Next."
Sylas did exactly that. He overwhelmed his opponents with his intelligence and sudden grappling skills, even when their Physicals began to surpass his own—approaching 5000 and then surpassing it.
It was when they began to approach 6000 that he started being overwhelmed again.
Mixed Martial Arts gave him a +550% boost to Dexterity. When he applied that to his grappling, the results were immediate. But it didn't matter if he could get his opponent in a compromising position if he didn't have the Strength to stop them from easily breaking free.
However, by the time he reached this point, Sylas' eyes were glowing.
'So… that's it…'