Chapter 887: Creative Kaijin Application(CKA): Death Sound
=Speaking of kaijin and the power they bestow, do you mind checking up on the other parties? I am curious as to see how they’re adapting to using [Chaos] and other forms of aether at once.
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*Bing-Bong!*
Wait a minute…I thought you said you weren’t doing these side POVs anymore?
|This isn’t a side POV, this is more like a…montage highlight.|
Uh…huh…
|Oh hush you.|
Whatever, whatever…you still want to get pudding after this?
|Always.|
*Bing-Bong*
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Bare Bones Knuckle Boxing.
“Come on, Xiao Hai! You got this!”
“Left, right, left, right!”
[Your family is very noisy.]
‘They’re excited, can you blame them?’
[I guess not…]
When Zhen Hai shared the idea that he was going to box the primates for their talisman treasure, his family thought he was a little nuts.
Why on Valresta would a bunch of apes and monkeys agree to sporting terms made by a human?
But lo and behold, that is exactly what happened.
After having Zhen Liu’s skeletal puppet (Screamira) suddenly enter Zhen Hai, the latter ended up learning this very old, very weird aether art that allowed him to speak the same language as the aether beast primates that were surrounding the [Talisman Monument of Healing Rain]. Granted, that’s not all that happened due Screamira’s possession but that’ll be explained later.
Once he could speak the same language of the apes, the conversation went a little something like this…
…
Old Sage Ape: Alright, alright! Who else’s wishes to challenge my student, Champion Long Arm? Remember the rules, aside from a small entry fee of a wild aether herb, you must also put up something to bet, winner takes all!
The surrounding primates all began to murmur amongst themselves, seeing who else would be willing to participate in this boxing match…only for a surprisingly awkward silence to befall them all.
That is l, until an unexpected visitor showed up and cussed everyone to flip out.
Zhen Hai: I do!
“Huh?”
“Who’s that?”
“A human?!”
“Wait, why is he spelling out language?”
“Better question is, why does he radiate undeath like a fellow mandrill of mine?”
The sage ape started at Zhen Hai with intense curiosity. The wily old primate knew what humans were and what they capable of, but…this was the first time he ever actually got a chance to talk to one before.
Besides, if things did go awry, he could just smash this human into pieces and be done with it.
Either way, they had allowed too much silence to fill the jungle air at this point and he wanted to know how this was gonna go.
Which is why he allowed the human to restart the conversation.
Zhen Hai: Is something the matter?
Sage Ape: Interesting…it’s not often you hear a human speak the language of the jungle…you wish to challenge Champion Long Arm?
Zhen Hai: I do.
Sage Ape: Do you have the necessary fees?
Zhen Hai:That depends…what do I need to bet to get my hands on that?
In a moment that can only be described as sheer audacity, he gestured directly at the Talisman Monument. Needless to say, the Sage Ape couldn’t help but to scoff in disbelief.
“It’ll cost more than whatever you think you have?”
“Then what about my life?”
“…One round, no counts or first blood. Knockout or takedown for the win.”
“Done.”
…
[You know it’s incredibly dangerous to bet your life on this, right?]
‘I do.’
[Then why did you agree to such a wager?]
‘Because it’s not a wager, if I know I’d…no, we’d win.’
[We?]
‘I get that you and the frog lady from before provided a subtle change to my abilities, to the point that others can’t really notice…but I am at least man enough to admit when I have had assistance, and know when to give credit when credit is due.’
[Huh…you sure know how to smooth talk a woman, don’t you?]
‘Telana did say I had a tongue as slippery as an eel.’
[Blatant innuendo aside… I’m going to teach you some little tricks in this fight to help you win.]
‘Oh?’
[They go like this…]
…
After that, the rest of Zhen Hai’s group learned what he did, could only scold him before he went into the ring and began to cheer him on as a form of encouragement. Zhen Hai found himself in a proper bare knuckle boxing match against the Misty Long-Armed Gibbon and was… (un)surprisingly, holding his own.
In fact, he seemed to appear that he was winning this match!
Despite being significantly smaller than the Misty Long-Armed Gibbon, and visually weaker, Zhen Hai managed to duck, weave and counter with a surprising amount of alacrity and power behind each blow.
Whenever the Misty Long-Armed Gibbon went for a jab, Zhen Hai would duck and barrel straight in for a jab of his own.
If the beast went for an uppercut, Zhen Hai immediately spun out of the way to land a blow on his opponent’s ribcage.
The funny thing was that Zhen Hai had no choice but to duck and dodge, because every single blow of the Misty Long-Armed Gibbon, was strong enough to shatter both of his arms, his ribs and spine into a million tiny pieces.
Did he know this due to him being a seasoned warrior who had sharpened his instincts in fighting not just in controlled environments, but in wild biomes where he and his cousins had to fight off both beast and bandit alike?
Yes.
Did it also help that a certain skeletal demon woman in his head was providing him an unusual power boost that allowed him to match blows with his long-armed opponent?
Also, yes.
In other words, Screamira gave Zhen Hai the means to fight back, but it was up to him to make it work.
…Rolling back a couple seconds…
[The first thing I’m teaching you is “Death Sense”. Pretty simple, whenever you feel that death is about to encroach upon you, you feel this bone-chilling sensation and a whistling in your ear.]
‘Was…was that a pun?’
[I think it was just general wordplay. Anyways, it’ll be up to you to figure out why and how to respond. I should also note that it won’t go off unless the blow to you is going to be fatal.]
‘I feel like I should be taking notes, but we’re in my head so…death sense will only trigger when I’m about to die, got it.’
[Yes, as for the second ability, I’m bestowing on you the ability to coat your fists with a thin layer bone plating that will allow you channel your aether into sound waves. This should make it so that when you punch this monkey, you’ll be punching him significantly harder than anticipated. That and you’ll be able to punch from longer distances if needed.]
‘Oooh, neat!’
[Indeed. The only problem is that your punches will be rather loud, so you’ll have to make full contact in order to maximize it. And you’ll have to reapply a new coating after every punch.]
‘Not a problem, but why?’
[I forget the scientific principle or whatever it’s called, but the power of sound gets weaker if it has to travel through air. It’s faster if it travels through solids and liquids, but if it goes through the former, it has a nasty habit of destroying whatever it goes through that isn’t solid stone or metal for…obvious reasons.]
‘Ah…,’ Zhen Hai nodded while imagining sound ripping through someone’s flesh…before realizing something.
‘Wait a minute…’
[What?]
‘Nothing, it’s just…you just said that sound travels faster through liquid than air, right?’
[I did say that, yes.]
‘Then…would it work if I coat the bone plating with water and then punch someone? I mean, it won’t be as fast or as devasting but it should cushion the bones enough time for me to do more damage, right?’
[I…huh…]
‘Why…why does it feel like you’re staring at me in disbelief?’
[Nothing, it’s just…you remember the frog woman who was in your head the last time you did this?]
‘Yes…’
[She said that while you had fierce determination and willpower, you apparently had little in terms of book smarts. Good to see that she was wrong about that.]
‘I…that’s not wrong, but I’m still a a little offended about that comment…’
[I’m aware, so…channel that frustration into beating this monkey, please.]
‘I mean, I will, but still…uncalled for.’
