Chapter 343: Preparing for the Final Stretch (1/2)

”One…two…heave!” With the match between the two of them now over, Argentum went ahead and helped Argento out of the hole he had created from the attack. Fortunately, it only took Argentum about five pulls at full power for Argento to be free from the Pseudo-Animate shaped hole he was in.

Removing all of the rubble and dust that had stuck onto his body, Argento then looked at Argentum with both awe and shock as he was not expecting the Pseudo-Animate he had just become friends with to be so powerful. At most, he expected that Argentum was only around 10-20% stronger than him. Never in his mind did he think that a single move from Argentum would send him flying.

Pondering over the reasons why Argentum won against him, Argento then recalled their earlier talk about the fusion of elements and such, prompting him to ask the former, ”So, is your power because of you trying to achieve Lesser Origin?”

”Well…I guess you could say that,” Argentum replied with a light yet awkward chuckle, knowing very well that most of his power had come from the inheritances he was partly owning. Nevertheless, he was quite surprised that another Normal-grade Pseudo-Animate like him had also undergone their first Power Baptism, prompting him to add, ”But you know, you never told me that you underwent your first Power Baptism.”

”And neither did you,” Argento said with a giggle.

”True,” Argentum responded not long after, laughing as well.

After laughing at each other for a while, Argento went ahead and asked Argentum a question that had lingered in his mind ever since the latter had unleashed his final move.

”Say…could you show me how to do that move you just did?” Argento asked with a hint of nervousness, knowing very well that there was a high chance of Argentum rejecting. Fortunately, Argentum did not find anything wrong with sharing his skills, given how he could change it on the fly if he wanted to. And so, with that in mind, he responded, ”Sure.”

Seeing that the two were going to take a while in the room Rosalia had haphazardly built, Rosalia asked Eleanor, ”Could you come with me to the storage room for a bit? I just need to grab some stuff to reward Argento with.”

”Alright, then.” Eleanor lightly nodded, feeling that Rosalia was doing this in order for both Argentum and Argento to deepen their connection.

And so, with the two now alone, Argentum went ahead and started teaching Argento the technique he had used as his final move. Surprisingly, it did not take long for Argento to understand the mechanics behind the technique, prompting Argentum to say to him, ”You're quite a fast learner.”

”That's what other beings say about me most of the time,” Argento said with a light chuckle before cocking his right arm back. He then channeled a great portion of energy towards his right palm as it was soon covered in a layer of Earth energy particles. Not long after, he pushed out with all his might, allowing a decently sized palm imprint to move for a few meters before dissipating from the lack of energy.

”[Terra Palm Wave]!”

Whoosh!

”Well, I guess I could consider you to be at the basic mastery of the skill,” Argentum said after Argento was done showing off his progress with the move, even though he had just used that skill for the first time in that fight. Of course, hearing that what he had done so far was just at the basic mastery level of the skill, he was now curious as to what the skill looked like at the highest possible mastery achievable.

”Could you show me the full power of the [Terra Palm Wave]?” Argento asked with a hint of excitement and curiosity in his tone, making Argentum instantly regret the fact that he said that. He then went silent for a bit, wondering what he could do to make it seem like he had reached the highest level possible for the skill. Fortunately, it did not take long for an idea to surface in his mind as he felt that it would work.

Imitating the sound of one clearing their throat, Argentum went ahead and said, ”Alright, then. I'll show you the full power of the [Terra Palm Wave], but just this once.”

”I'll definitely keep my sense of vision peeled,” Argento said as he profusely nodded.

Taking in a deep breath, Argentum went ahead with the idea he had in mind, silently activating the enhancement skills he had in his arsenal as he looked at Argento and said, ”At full power, the [Terra Palm Wave] isn't really called that anymore, but rather, it relies on the fusion of the elements you've mastered along the way. For me, the peak of this skill would be called the [Lesser Origin Palm Wave]. While for you, it could be called the [Terra Tempest Palm Wave] or the [Gale Mountain Palm Wave] or whatever.”

As he cocked his right arm back while allowing more and more Earth energy particles to coalesce around it, he continued to activate more and more of his buffs, allowing him to give off an aura that grew more terrifying by the second.

While that was happening, he continued to explain, ”Also, I don't really have full control over this stage, but essentially, you'll have to condense a large amount of strength in a short amount of time, which is a sign that you've achieved the peak of this skill. Combine the two things I've said and you'll definitely wipe out your foes in one move.”

”I see,” Argento said as the aura around him radiated more and more excitement, wanting to see the full power of the skill he had learned in action.

By the time Argentum was finished powering up his move, Eleanor and Rosalia had finally come back from the storage room, only to see that Argentum and Argento were standing in place. Of course, they noticed the move that Argentum was doing, wondering what was going on with his palm as the two of them noticed that the four elements converged around it.

Fortunately, the answer to their questions did not take long to arrive as Argentum looked at Argento and said, ”Step back.”

Lightly nodding, Argento distanced himself from Argentum, allowing Argentum to do his thing as he pushed his legs to the limit, making it seem like he had teleported in front of one of the room's walls in an instant. Soon after that, he pushed with his right palm with all his might as he shouted, ”[Lesser Origin Palm Wave]!”

Silence.