B.F.HUUPS
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Chapter 65
🕑 Added 2025-08-21 20:27:45 +0000 UTCIf Aaron thought he could manipulate a god into giving him additional boons, then he certainly wasn’t showing that ability in their fight.
Yendal’s attacks came just as fast and relentless as ever. He used all of his defensive Skills, and whilst he hadn’t ballooned up as much as he usually did, in an attempt not to offend Yendal, he still had a decent amount of energy stored in reserve.
Still, none of that mattered against the might of such a powerful goddess. His barriers and defenses were broken down. [ Equal and Opposite ] helped, but it was quickly overwhelmed like everything else, and she had the Skill too, and likely a more powerful version, and so the nullifications canceled each other out.
Soon, he was mashed to death. Perhaps it was punishment? Aaron didn’t know, but it continued for a couple of dozen deaths before she decided it was time to let him attack first.
Finally!
He eyed Yendal, who stood across from him. No doubt he was about to get punished again, but at least she was allowing him a chance to attack. When she wanted to, her attacks simply came too fast and too well strung together for him to do anything but retreat.
However, now that he could press the attack, Aaron had a few ideas for how to spice things up.
He had gotten so used to fighting close up that it was a little strange to work in ranged attacks. However, along with [ Gust Step ], he could employ some pretty impressive strategies.
Jumping up into the air, Aaron circled around Yendal, peppering her with [ Spectral Fist ] as he looked for openings. He restrained himself from viewing fate, not wanting Yendal to use it as an excuse to fight again.
He learned a lot from his duels with the goddess, but Aaron was increasingly sensitive about time. He wanted to get as much done as possible before the trials were done, and getting stuck fighting Yendal for a few months might just drag him to the trial’s end if he wasn’t careful.
But Aaron had achieved much before he even unlocked the Trait to view fate, and he had plenty of skills to make up for it.
The battle dragged on, Aaron firing off ranged punches from a distance and then shooting into melee in the blink of an eye to finish his combinations. He feinted and broke the engagement repetitively, paying supreme attention to the arena and where Yendal was positioned.
Just because he wasn’t looking at the threads of fate didn’t mean he could plan and predict. In fact, it had almost become second nature to him, and now he was picking up on the smallest of details, even surprising what he had been capable of before.
Yendal’s blessings also helped heighten his Perception, and the Stat itself had increased a lot, so it wasn’t necessarily surprising.
What was a little annoying was how much harder she was fighting. Aaron knew that he had gotten a lot stronger; he had proved it in the last trial. But it really didn’t feel like it, as Yendal was able to push the pace. What was worse, it was only stage five.
But realization hit Aaron in that moment. He had been fighting Yendal using the techniques he had learned from her. That was fine, she was a great teacher after all. But what was the reason she had manipulated him in the first place?
Energy. He was an Empty-Handed Energy Monk. Why was he just fighting her entirely on her terms?
A grin creased Aaron’s lips. He did have a tool she didn’t, or at least this version of her shouldn’t.
Yendal was still a goddess, and as such had unfathomable amounts of energy. But this shadow of hers was greatly weakened.
Her style was not abundant in energy. And that was not the reason her shadow was so difficult to fight. It was her precision. The absolute peak of martial performance.
But what if Aaron took that and threw stupid amounts of energy onto the fire?
Cycling stamina as he re-entered the fray, Aaron took a different approach. Instead of holding back and waiting for the perfect opportunity, he combined his Skills into combinations.
First, [ Spectral Fist ] flew forward, blasting at Yendal’s defenses. There was little effort put into ensuring they were used with supreme efficiency; instead, they were just a barrage of power.
And the openings they created, Aaron used to close the distance and throw haymakers out with reckless abandon.
It was a brutish display compared to Yendal. But he had not forgotten the countless lessons she had provided him. No, there was a method to his madness, and he still read and predicted the fight at a level well beyond even what an E grade should have been capable of.
Shockwaves burst outward as his superpowered fists slammed against Yendal’s guard, and whenever they broke, ghostly fists pummeled her, leaving never a second of reprieve.
His regeneration was insane for his level, and to aid it even further, he consumed energy from his adipose tissue and slipped bitesized meals in whenever there was even a second of lull in the action.
But the goddess was not to be bested so easily. Whether because he had room to improve, or she just decided Aaron needed to be humbled a few times, it was unclear.
A chaotic maelstrom of action blasted its way across the arena, and Aaron was not so easily subdued, but nonetheless, a fist powered with inner energy slipped through his guard and blew through his heart.
But that was when Yendal’s jaw really dropped.
Aaron wasn’t dead. He was healing, and more importantly, hanging onto a thread of life so thin it was stupid.
Unfortunately for Aaron, the next punch finished him off.
But this kind of fight was just what Aaron needed to get excited. When he respawned in the hallway, he had a wide grin.
When he had gone into the fight, he hadn’t been entirely sure where he wanted to take his training. But it was obvious now.
He had combined Oozagh’s energy and Yendal’s precision, but he had yet to truly master that combination in the heat of battle, and now he had been given the opportunity.
Aaron wasted no time restarting the trial. Stopping only to hastily consume and fatten up for the fight.
The battle began anew, with Aaron continuing to blast excessive power at Yendal.
He died again on the second attempt, but he pushed her harder than he had before, and at times it almost looked like she was starting to wilt under the immense pressure applied by the synergy of power and precision.
With a goal and plan in mind, Aaron bashed his head against the wall, determined to conquer it faster than he had in the previous fights.
The next dozen deaths, he tamed his ferocity, but not in the usual way he did, following Yendal’s style. No, this was more of a synergy of styles. It was about finding the perfect way to integrate overwhelming energy, and the battlefield became a crater-riddled mess as an explosion of energy rippled across it.
Half of his energized attacks weren’t even intended to land, but were rather about baiting and herding Yendal. Feints and misdirections. [ Spectral Fist ] crackled with power when he filled it to the brim, and Yendal’s shadow had to be careful about blocking the attacks.
The goddess could knock away his attacks when she was in motion, but when fully powered, she had to take care. A fully powered haymaker or even spectral fist against a rigid defense could daze her, and give Aaron an opportunity to land cleanly.
It was almost as if she looked frustrated as Aaron pressed the attack, pushing Yendal into retreat as he pummeled her with unrelenting power.
This was it, he realized. The fusion of styles he had been hoping to create, and it was marvelous.
**Yendal**
From far away in her inner world, Yendal watched. Occasionally, she sent direct commands to the shadow, but at this stage, it was competent enough on its own.
A crease in her brow softened as the fight continued. This wasn’t what she had in mind. It was… chaotic. But also, there was a strange harmony to it. One that she wasn’t familiar with.
She couldn’t hold a grudge, even if she had felt like it was a corruption of her style. Everyone had to forge their own path, and this was… impressive.
Once again, the human man had proven why she had taken an interest in him. This was far more than just relying on excessive use of power to overwhelm her shadow. There were flaws in the style, of course; he had only just started experimenting with it, after all. But what was forming was a near-perfect unity.
He used excessive energy where precision and style alone fell short. For example, forcing her into position. The shadow could easily block weak, unempowered strikes. But if he charged them with excessive energy, she was forced to dodge.
In Yendal’s style, such attacks would be savored for when you could land. But there was no denying that this worked.
She scoffed at that big asura. His power was incredible. Mindblowingly so for his level, and likely a candidate for a future god, assuming he didn’t get himself killed. But the way he used his excessive power seemed so infantile compared to Aaron.
It had been truly chaotic. Just blowing everything up and expecting enemies to die or yield. Of course, that hadn’t worked on Yendal. Her shadow was too fast and hard to hit for such an amateurish style to work.
But this, this was different. Aaron’s outlandish attacks all had purpose. There was a detailed strategy woven into his—
Yendal blinked, eyes wide. Had she been too distracted thinking about Aaron’s improved style?
He had charged straight through her attacks, eating two but refusing to die, just so he could land his own strike. It was insane. He had attacked with explosive spectral missiles and haymakers that rearranged the landscape, then, when she was on the back foot, simply ignored her attacks and closed in to land a lightning-fast punch straight into her chest. It hadn’t been powered up or anything special like the other attacks, allowing him to sneak it in through the wild melee.
He did it. He hit me. Hmmm, faster than expected.
Aaron had been mutated by her attacks with holes of flesh missing, and she could easily finish him now, if she wanted to. But she let him heal.
The human had gotten a lot stronger, but the trial stages allowed Yendal to power the shadows stronger to match that.
She had expected these duels to last a while. Weeks at least. She had wanted to teach him a lesson of sorts. To make sure that he left the trial understanding that her path was the superior one. That in combat, she couldn’t be bested, and that ogre was nothing in comparison.
But this held her tongue.
Yendal wasn’t so proud that she would punish the human for success. And whilst there was nothing binding her to yielding to Aaron because of a single strike, that had been her rule. It would be nearly impossible to beat her otherwise.
Interesting. So, he has come this far following this path?
It wasn’t just how he used energy offensively. Whilst his unusual soul was doing the heavy lifting, it was his abundant energy that allowed him to heal through some of her attacks.
Oh, Aaron, you are going to be entertaining to follow.
The multiverse was going to love this. The one hundred and first integration was going to be a popular one.
But more importantly, Yendal had secured an outpost within it. She wouldn’t be the only god with a herald in the new universe, but would likely be the only prime god.
Not that she was overly invested in the politics of the divine. But it was an interesting thought. If this universe were as compelling as it was currently shaping up to be, she would find herself in a position to stir the pot.
She realized Aaron was staring at her shadow. She had told him to come back here after his race evolution, and he was likely expecting something for it.
How shall I reward you, my herald?
