Chapter 277: Skill Tree (3) (1/2)

Leonel took a step forward.

He realized that no matter what he did, his steps were measured. Exactly 0.50 meters apart without the slightest hint of deviation. He couldn't speed up, nor could he slow down. Even taking a sidestep was difficult. If he wanted variations in his steps and speed, the only way was to begin unlocking the physical root.

However, he wasn't worried. He had already seen one person pass this test so all the stats of the beast had long since been reflected in his mind.

[Metallic Beast]

[Power: 1 Stars (Black)]

[Strength: 1 Star (Black); Speed: 1 Star (Black); Agility: 2 Stars (Black); Coordination: 4 Stars (Black); Stamina: ?? Stars (Black); Reactions: 4 Stars (Black); Defense: 3 Star (Black); Spirit: ?? Stars (Black); Force: ?? Stars (Black)]

[Power Accuracy: 100%]

Leonel knew that this assessment was 100% accurate. This metallic beast was purposely nerfed by Merlin. As such, all of its abilities were perfectly measured without the variation one would expect in real life.

In addition, during this first trial, it seemed that the beast's long, whip-like tail couldn't be used to attack.

There were only three attack patterns: 'Lunge', 'Sweep', and 'Bite'.

'The beast can lunge at most 1.5 meters. A sweep of its claws extended its range by half a meter at most. Bite will only activate if I enter a two meter range of its and also has a range of half a meter. It can attack only once every two seconds and will be stunned for 0.20 seconds after suffering a hit, however, if I hit it in that spot…'

These kind of perfectly measured battles… They were simply too easy for Leonel.

SHUUU!

An arrow appeared right between the brows of the metallic beast just as it was stalking its way toward Leonel.

'Stacked Shot.' Leonel thought to himself.

He reloaded his bow, shooting again.

Normally, having unlocked 'Quick Reload', Leonel could fire a normal 'Single Shot' once every 2.5 seconds instead of once every 3. However, when 'Stacked Shot' was activated, Leonel could fire two shots consecutively with a reload time of just 1 second.

Leonel used his steps, circling around the beast. A normal hit would stun it for 0.20 seconds. However, whenever its single eye was attacked, it would be enough to stun it for a full second, allowing one to get more hits in.

However, Leonel didn't use it in this way. He had a limited amount of arrows and wasn't like the others. It was inadvisable for him to just unload. In addition, a single second wasn't even enough time for him to do so.

Rather than doing so, Leonel took this time to constantly adjust his footsteps, taking care to control not only himself, but the angles of attack the metallic beast could use.

Leonel realized that while this space could hinder almost all of his abilities — whether it be his abilities as an Earth Mage or a Light Mage — the one thing it could not hinder in the slightest was his ability!

He realized this was the same for Little Blackstar as well. There were only two reasons he didn't use Little Blackstar. First, he needed to properly vet his new path and potential use for his Dreamscape himself. If he used Blackstar, it would defeat the purpose. And secondly, while this space couldn't block Blackstar's ability, what it could do was stop his ability to move at all.

Leonel believed that the moment he unlocked the Familiar special skill, Little Blackstar would be able to use his full range of abilities.

As Leonel was lost in thought, falling into the steady rhythm of battle, the demon who had gone before him felt his whole world plummeting. Why did Leonel make it look so… easy?