Chapter 40: A Natural Genius? Or Just a System-Enhanced Genius?

His approach was simple. The Katunas leapt out from the water to bite him. And, he had to kill them in the short duration they were out of the water. Compass Carburettor activated his sword once, slashing it on the ground, noticing a sharp line form on it, 'The sword is sharp and pretty sturdy.'

He then sensed within himself, 'The Darlac expenditure didn't increase when I slashed at the ground. That means it wasn't damaged in that attack.'

He then deactivated it, placing the Armament closer to the ground, activating it now, watching the blade pierce it. He only felt a bit of knockback, 'Even though the energy blade doesn't have a weight, it is sturdy. And while expanding from zero to its maximum length, it generates considerable force. I barely felt the resistance the ground offered against it.'

Only by personally feeling it was he able to understand how the Armaments worked the best. Until now, he was subconsciously treating them as shape-changing items. That's why he tried to use regular slashes to attack the Katunas.

Instead, he should have better used the Armament's property.

Compass Carburettor then activated his shield, noticing that it was oval in shape, spanning a metre in length and half a metre in breadth. Keeping it activated, he arrived before Fealta, "Can you kick this shield?"

"Sure," In the instant he asked, Fealta replied with a kick.

"Gah!" Compass Carburettor skid on the ground a little, surprised at the force Fealta was able to output. He then entered a stance, facing her as he said, "Now, kick me once again."

"Sure!" Fealta said as she ran a quick few steps, jumped, and landed a heavy blow on the shield, surprised when she saw Compass Carburettor remaining steady like a tree. His feet barely slid by a centimetre on the ground. Seeing the power he could exhibit once he entered a stance, she said in a remark, "You're strong. With some training, you'll be stronger. Have you never fought in your kingdom?"

"I solved everything with money. I never had to lift a finger back there," Compass Carburettor lied without batting an eyelid. Though, upon linking the fictional Plottopia to Earth, it was easy to just convert the scenes. So, he wasn't even lying in the end.

'So, the shields don't have any capability to absorb shock.' He noted, deactivating it as he told her to attack once again, activating his shield right when her kick landed.

This time, he didn't even budge, frowning as he was deep in thought, 'When the shield is expanding, it generates some force. And, if I defend at this time, I won't even face much of a shock. Fealta's latest attack only seemed half as powerful.'

"During the activation, an energy blade is at its strongest state," Compass Carburettor muttered, deactivating both his Armaments as he sprinted towards the water body, leaping onto a nearby foothold, immediately sensing a Mental Energy stream land on him.

He then waited, watching a shadow appear in the water before a gaping maw exited it, aiming right at his upper body. Compass Carburettor actively sidestepped while inserting his left hand into the opened maw, activating the shield right as the Katuna clamped its mouth shut.

The shield expanded instantly, causing the Katuna's mouth to bulge alarmingly. Compass Carburettor had only activated it for the fraction of a second, having thought through and timed everything accordingly at the start.

He just followed everything he had already planned out, inserting his left hand into the Katuna's mouth, activating the shield, deactivating it immediately as he retracted his hand.

Compass Carburettor watched the Katuna pass by right before him, noticing its fins slap him along the way. As he watched it crash into the water, he could assert with assurance, 'It's either dead or unconscious.'

After all, when he expanded the shield, he had aimed at the insides of the Katuna from where the Mental Energy stream was being generated from. So, it should have been the Katuna's brain. After all, the moment the shield expanded, he noticed the Mental Energy stream being cut off.

Only if it had been dead or unconscious would it be unable to think. Compass Carburettor immediately leapt onto a nearby foothold, repeating the same when another Katuna jumped at him. He was still a bit awkward in using the Armament, but the more he used it in battle, the faster his proficiency with it grew.

Cognition—Level 9!

It allowed him to understand the concept and ingrain it into his muscle memory faster, making him adapt to the battle pace, soon becoming capable of dealing with two Katunas simultaneously.

Seeing his rapid growth, Fealta and Caithy exchanged looks, shocked at his progress. But, they didn't show anything on their faces, silently watching him, intending to protect him the moment he was in danger.

Once he got accustomed to the shield, Compass Carburettor switched to using the sword, poking repeated holes in the Katunas that jumped at him. He hacked and slashed, mostly sticking to piercing attacks by exploiting the Armament's feature.

Soon, the water body around the area he jumped around began to be dyed a dark shade of crimson. Having understood the timing of the foothold's stay on water while he stood on it, and the duration it took to resurface after sinking, he was able to think up his actions in advance.

Moreover, thanks to the Mental Energy streams, he was able to notice the direction the Katunas would come from, able to react and plan in advance.

But right as he got the hang of it, having either killed or knocked more than ten Katunas unconscious, he suddenly noticed a dense number of Mental Energy streams fall on him. And, the source for them all were the pillars farther away.

Compass Carburettor knew not to bite beyond what he was capable of. After all, it was just his first training session. He didn't have any foolish thoughts of turning into a master of war five minutes after using a weapon.

Without any hesitation, he retreated behind Caithy, causing her to snort as she noticed quite a few Shruugers flying their way.

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