Chapter 17: Marius's Strength

While Marius's family stayed within the Mountain Ax Senior's abode, Marius was currently engaged in a harsh training regimen within the outskirts of this dangerous mountain range. At this time, within a large tree with a branch that was even thicker than a building, Marius silently sat as he glared at the scene below him.

Looking at the sight, one would see two peculiar-looking rhino-shaped beasts, each roughly triple the size of a typical rhino with three yellow horns on their heads. Their bodies were of a brownish hue with as each of their tails shone with an earthen light.

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Ding!

[Host has grown stronger, your perception has increased, displaying creature stats!]

...

[Three Horned Rhinol]

[Race: Mystic Beast]

[Level: 11]

[Stamina: F]

[Strength: F]

[Agility: G☆]

[Dexterity: G]

[Mystic Power: G☆]

[Abilities:]

[Earth Spire - Max]

[Description: The ability to cause a sharp rock protrusion to launch itself from the earth towards its foe.]

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Though he wasn't expecting it, Marius was a bit surprised when he saw that the system had identified the creature, which was more powerful than himself by quite the levels.

As he went over the statistics, he furrowed his brows while grasping the battle-ax tightly as he pondered, 'Hmm, this (☆) star is much different from the darker and more full versions, could it be that these show up after every level? If that's so, then once you arrive at a certain level like maybe Level 3, it will transition to a (★) darker star. My only issue is its stats, why is that only its Stamina and Strength are of the F standard?"

When Marius though to here, the Rhinols had already shown signs of agitation; it seemed that they could sense his Mystic Power, despite him hiding his presence with his means used on Earth.

"Roar!" The two Rhinol's roared with reading eyes as an earthen light began to glow around their bodies, it seemed that they prepared to attack in all directions and flush him out of hiding.

Marius frowned as he looked at them, his eyes shone with battle lust as he licked his lips seeming like a different man as he thought with confidence, 'Heh, no matter. Maybe only some beings can likely grow with all stats, which means my victory against that tiger was probably due to it battling me in a contest of strength. Tsk, as for these fellows, even if it were that time, I would have been able to defeat them...'

The moment Marius wrapped up his thoughts, he firmly gripped the battle-ax and took a jumping posture on the tree branch as he held the ax at an angle.

At this moment, the two Rhinols suddenly looked up as they roared as if invoking a skill. Instantly, the earth rumbled and two different earth spires rose from the ground towards the tree branch.

Marius chuckled as he jumped from the tree and landed on one of the earth spires, his body sliding down its surface as if he was doing skating.

The Rhinol growled as it stomped its feet against the ground, causing a few spiderweb-like cracks to form below it. A dust cloud rose around its body, as its Mystic Power rose even sharper when it lowered its head, showing its three glaring horns.

"Ha, want to impale me? Not happening..." Marius ushered, as a smirk came on his face when the look in his eyes changed.

Suddenly, Marius, who was sliding along the spire vanished after a strange light formed around his body, the earth on which he previously stood now had ripples on its surface as if it was liquid.

A few seconds later, Marius appeared behind the Rhinol with his battle-ax raised in his vein-filled muscular arms. If one looked below his feet, they would notice that a strange ripple formed as if he was standing at the center of a pool.

Marius didn't waste a moment to chop his ax horizontally as it made a whooshing noise when it cut through the wind. Before the Rhinol could even notice the danger, the battle-ax had severed its head from its body, tossing it into the air as his neck spewed up a gush of blood.

The other Rhinol grew even more furious as it saw Marius killed its companion, its eyes turned blood red as it lifted its head and growled furiously.

"Raooooor!" With its roar, its energies scattered about wildly pushing away rocks and other obstacles in the vicinity.

However, despite this change, Marius didn't show any change in expression as he vanished after lightly tapping his foot against the ground. In that instant, a few obscure ripples were noticed on the earth, appearing at separate locations in a rapid fashion as if someone was stepping on water.

In less than three seconds, Marius had appeared on one of these ripples, his figure now standing directly before the Rhinol as if he didn't care if it attacked.

The Rhinol now berserk didn't even care that Marius had appeared in its face; it merely lunged towards him with all its might as its three horns that gleamed sinisterly were only one moment from piercing into his skin.

Marius gave a teasing look as he spoke as if he didn't mind it, "I could have killed you with your guard down, but I need to test my defense, you see... Strengthen All..."

Following his words, Marius's body exploded with his Mystic Power as his muscles bulged and grew sturdier. His body now carried a strong feeling as even his skin tone had a darker hue.

Ping! The moment the Rhinol's horn's struck into his raised palm, Marius only heard the sound of metal colliding, he looked down and realized that he only felt a tinge of pain, as a slight amount of blood leaked from a tiny point where the horn struck, looking more like a needle wound.

The Rhinol, having used its all-out attack, looked at Marius in horror when its berserk faded; it wanted to retreat, but sadly, it was too late.

Whoosh! Marius's ax cut through the wind at high speeds, as it sliced the Rhinol into two separate halves, its insides spilling out at is center along with its blood.

Marius then stared at this indifferently and waved the ax, causing the blood on its edges to splatter on the lush ground. He made a satisfied look while thinking, 'So my thoughts were correct, my defenses were more than enough to block its full power if I used my [Strengthen All] technique, I'm even able to utilize those combat skills after learning them once properly. It seems that much like on earth, I can grasp a complete understanding of any skill so long as I learn it.'

As Marius finished his thoughts, a notification soon after sounded in his mind.

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Ding!

[You have defeated two Three Horned Rhinol, converting both creatures' life force into EXP.]

Ding!

[You have leveled up!]

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Marius was excited at this, he wanted to check his stats, but at this time, another roar sounded nearby.

"ROAR!" The savage growl had a terrifying aura behind it, Marius felt his skin crawl just by the energies from its shout.

Nevertheless, rather than showing fear, Marius's eyes shone like those commonly seen on a young boy who discovered a new toy. He made a faint smile as he hoisted the battle-ax over his shoulder with one arm, and began to walk directly towards the source while thinking, 'Heh, it's attracted by the blood of the fallen, since its roar was big I could assume that its taste will be equivalent. Good, no matter that it is, I will take it home for the Ria and those kids to eat for breakfast.'

As if the creature heard Marius's thoughts another roar sounded from nearby, not long after, a large silhouette had appeared before Marius, causing his eyes to shine with fierceness as a new battle was only moments away from beginning.