Chapter 31: Cybernetic Class Decided

A gruff voice emerged from the crouched Arlo, who slowly raised his head with a smile on his face amidst the blood raining down.

"I cannot argue my weakness."

"But dying a coward’s death?" Arlo asked as he rose upright and shifted into a battle stance.

Spreading both legs apart, Arlo clenched his right hand into a fist and placed it at his waist while stretching the palm of his other hand toward her.

It was the War Demon Stance of the Eclipsion Dynasty.

"Hmm, interesting," Captain Ennessa said, studying Arlo’s stance.

It looked like the base karate stances she knew, but also...primeval.

BADUUMP!

BADUUUMP!

BADUUUMMP!

Suddenly, Arlo’s heart began pounding in his chest.

It could have easily been interpreted as an adrenaline surge, but Arlo’s eyes quickly picked on the multitudes of panel that swiftly appeared before him.

[Rapidly Beating Heart Observed.]

[Mana Energy Present in the Body Has Begun Revolving.]

[Host Bodily Attributes Increased by Double.]

[Skill, Playful Magnifier, has been activated.]

[Mana’s Potency Has Increased by Double.]

[Host Bodily Attributes Strengthened by Four Times.]

In the next second, dark-colored veins squirmed beneath Arlo’s skin, especially around his legs, causing a gentle air undulation to ripple out beneath him.

And then...

BOOOOOM!

A violent punch tore through the air with speed as Arlo flashed forward and ruthlessly punched toward Captain Ennessa’s face.

With Arlo’s sudden speed, she was taking by surprises, eye widened in disbelieve, yet, her body was now slow as she reflexively dodged her head to the side, the air beside her face exploding outward like a tempest.

BAAANG

Arlo violently whipped his leg toward her waist. She instantly exerted strength beneath her feet, jumping up to avoid the scything leg below.

But Arlo immediately used the momentum of his right leg returning to the ground to leap up and deliver a back kick.

’That’s fast!’

Instead of trying to dodge, she sent a punch smashing toward his leg, and a violent ripple of air filled the point where they collided.

Arlo felt a colossal force smash into his foot as he was blown backward, flipping through the air three times.

Every step he took after landing created small indents on the ground before he finally came to a stop, sliding back into his original stance.

Captain Ennessa was like an unmoving block, retreating only two steps before stopping.

She looked toward Arlo and noticed the crater he had left behind during his retreat.

"Wait, did you just transfer the power of my punch into the ground?" Captain Ennessa said, noticing the reason for such crater as she turned to look at Arlo.

When she did, the earlier disdain was gone.

This could not have been done by a naïve, cowardly bastard.

The speed, the strength behind his kicks, and his combat awareness that instantly responded to her every defense.

"Quite Interesting," Captain Ennessa said as she took a single step forward.

At the same moment, Arlo did the same, and instantly, they both shot toward each other with speed.

BAAANG

BAAANG

BAAANG

The sound of intense reverberation rang through the room as Arlo moved with horrifying speed, dodging every punch and delivering devastating kicks in return, which were promptly defended by Captain Ennessa.

"You use your fists to block and your legs to attack?"

Captain Ennessa asked in shock, snickering to herself as Arlo rapidly shifted his head to the side and instantly kicked back toward her.

She dodged to the ground and whipped her leg toward Arlo’s legs.

He jumped into the air, avoiding being sprawled onto the ground. In the air, he whipped another leg down toward Captain Ennessa, who rolled away.

The ground where the kick landed was enveloped in tiny cracks as Arlo rapidly closed in on her, and their battle resumed once more.

"Your fighting art is very limited," Captain Ennessa said as Arlo kicked furiously and she dodged with ease.

"The legs deliver twice the damage of the hands. They are best for maximum attack, and the hands are mobile enough to make them best for blocking."

"How is that limiting?" he responded.

Captain Ennessa threw a kick toward Arlo’s chest, and he crossed both arms over each other as her leg slammed into his forearms, lifting him inches into the air.

He quickly brought himself to the ground before he could smash into the wall, hands jerking backward to deliever a punch when all of sudden, his face changed.

In an instant, all the strength in his leg disappeared, and both knees smashed into ground, as massive amount of sweat covered his face all at once, dripping together with the blood.

[Mana Points: 0/30]

[Energy: 0/100]

The system panel flashed.

’So quickly!?’ Arlo wondered in shock.

[Your fighting ability is extremely complicated, consuming mana in very large amounts in exchange for greater destructive power,]

Arlo’s eyes flashed in disbelieve.

’I used to do this every day for four hours before getting exhausted back in Umbrasol. How have I been drained in less than ten minutes?’

[Your earlier practice was without mana, a necessary life force for the technique. Only mana can bring out its true power, which also places enormous strain on your energy.]

[Besides, you are not fighting the air, but an opponent who is no ordinary mortal, and she is going all out with her physical might, which is, according to my estimate, approximately seven times stronger than yours.]

"Tch, so, I lost... once more..." Arlo said as he forced himself to rise.

After much struggle, he finally stood, supporting himself against the wall.

"For a fraction of a minute, your strength and bodily durability grew to the level of a first-Core cybernetic fighter,"

Captain Ennessa said with furrowed eyebrows, her gaze scanning his body, yet she noticed nothing abnormal at all.

"Are you saying I am strong?"

Arlo replied with a trick question as Captain Ennessa furrowed her eyebrows.

"No, you are not."

"But such bodily durability is beyond what a sixteen-year-old human can achieve, o matter how athletic. It faintly rivals that of a cybernetic fighter...which should be impossible."

"Whatever," Arlo said, shrugging his shoulders, and apparently still sulking over his defeat.

"I think I might have just found the perfect cybernetic fighter class for you," Captain Ennessa said as Arlo whipped his head up.

"Huh?" Arlo asked, but Captain Ennessa vanished from his sight and reappeared directly before him.

In the next second, he was lifted off his feet and found himself draped over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Arlo asked in surprise as she carried him toward the exit.

"Patching you up!" she declared.

Arlo furrowed his eyebrows.

"But what about the coffin? I thought you were going to test which class fits me best,"

Arlo said, remembering why all of this had started.

"There is no longer any need. I conducted a better test, and you passed," she said, removing her lab coat from the tabletop and tapping her tablet.

The hall reverted to its former state, every crack vanishing from sight.

"What the? The room can repair itself!?" Arlo shouted from below as Captain Ennessa giggled.

"More or less. The room has an auto-repair function that fuses everything back together," Captain Ennessa said, picking up the tablet and heading for the exit.

"Hey, put me down! I can walk on my own!" Arlo roared in embarrassment as Captain Ennessa giggled.

"What is wrong, kiddo? Never been carried by a girl before?"

"No, I have, and why do you look so proud of it," Arlo defended and Captain Ennessa chuckled.

"Hey Arlo."

"Huh?"

"Imagine being beaten up by a girl and carried away from the scene by her too." she teased and Arlo’s face turned completely red.

"Tsk,"

"But you should still be a little proud of yourself."

"You should not have survived twenty seconds against me, yet you lasted ten minutes. That is something to be proud of," she praised.

Arlo smiled mockingly.

"Yeah, I really should be proud of that..."

________________________

5 minutes later...

"So, you said you have found a perfect class for me..."

Arlo said as he lay on the bed, watching Captain Ennessa wrap bandages around his forehead.

"Yes..."

"Can I know what it is?" Arlo asked, his heart surging slightly.

"I have chosen the Prime class for you!" she said, and Arlo’s eyes narrowed.

"Is that not the one with the lowest survival rate?" Arlo asked, raising an eyebrow.

Captain Ennessa gave a nod.

"Yes, it is."

"And why did you choose that specifically? Do not tell me that after kicking my ass, you now want to send me to my death," Arlo said as Captain Ennessa grinned.

"I do not genuinely hate you that much. I just think you are very arrogant and cowardly," she replied, coming to sit before him.

"The success rate of cybernetic transfusion depends on bodily durability. The average human can easily handle the Deadeye transfusion because it places mild demands on the body, focusing more on the eyes and legs.

"The Colossus is very challenging on the body, making its success rate somewhat lower. The Warrior class has an extremely low success rate because of its intense bodily requirements."

"And you think I will survive that?" Arlo asked, looking into her eyes.

She gave a nod.

"Your bodily strength rivals that of a Deadeye who has already fused with a first Core."

"That is more than three times the durability of an ordinary human, the exact requirement for undergoing the Prime class transfusion," she explained.

Arlo’s eyes widened.

According to what he had learned from the system, the average human’s bodily strength was around five.

He currently possessed fifteen, truly three times an ordinary human’s strength.

He had easily passed the first requirement.

"Since you have passed the first survival requirement, I can rest assured. With my personal friend performing the operation, you should survive."

"Or at the very least, I can rest assured that she will fight with everything she has to make sure you survive,"