SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will-Chapter 107: Seeing the Truth
Arthur used this to his advantage.
He let the insanity of the man guide the rhythm of the fight. When the man overextended, Arthur punished him. When he raged, Arthur baited him further.
A vine grazed Arthur’s thigh, slicing deep enough to draw blood. He hissed but didn’t retreat.
Instead, he layered execution intent into his next strike, the dagger cutting deeper than before. Fire exploded from the wound, forcing the corrupted mana back.
The battle dragged on, and signs of its late stage became clear. The man’s movements grew heavier. His attacks were powerful but less precise.
Arthur stood at the center of his domain, breathing steadily.
He felt it.
The edge was his.
Yet he didn’t rush the finish.
He moved with purpose, shaping fire into new forms mid-battle, chaining attacks together in ways he hadn’t tried before. Spear to explosion. Explosion to chain. Chain to close combat.
Creative and fluid.
The man lunged again, screaming without words as Arthur stepped forward also to meet him not giving the man space to breathe.
And the assault continued.
Fire burst around him in sharp waves while his dagger cut through the air again and again. Every movement was clean, deliberate, and overwhelming. The battlefield was completely under his control now, and the corrupted man was forced into pure defense.
Vines shot out wildly, but they no longer carried the same pressure. Arthur cut through them before they could even take shape.
A burning spear pierced the man’s shoulder.
A chained flame wrapped around his arm and tore it apart.
A blast of fire followed and swallowed half his body.
The corrupted man screamed, stumbling backward as parts of his flesh burned away. Charred fragments fell from him, dissolving into blackened dust before they even touched the ground.
Yet the fight did not end.
The tainted mana around him surged violently once more.
Arthur slowed slightly as he watched.
The man’s body twisted in a disturbing way. His bones shifted under his skin, stretching at unnatural angles. The burned flesh began to grow back, slowly reforming as dark energy gathered around the wounds.
It wasn’t healing. It was reconstruction.
Arthur clicked his tongue.
"You’re stubborn."
The man didn’t respond. Whatever mind he once had was almost gone. Only rage remained. His eyes rolled wildly as more corrupted mana filled him, forcing his body to regenerate piece by piece.
But Arthur didn’t give him time.
He stepped forward again.
Faster.
Heavier.
More explosive.
His intent surged with each attack. Fire exploded at close range, his dagger striking with precision while flames followed every cut. The corrupted man tried to form vines to defend himself, but Arthur was already there, interrupting the flow before it completed.
A barrage followed.
Strike after strike.
Burn after burn.
Deep wounds stacked over one another as Arthur pressed forward without pause. His attacks were no longer simple reactions. They flowed like instinct, chaining together naturally.
The corrupted man was losing pieces of himself faster than he could restore them.
And yet...
No matter how much damage he dealt, the man kept recovering.
Slower now, yes. Weaker than before, yes. But still regenerating.
Arthur jumped back as a sudden explosion of vines tore the ground where he stood moments earlier. He landed lightly on a broken trunk, eyes narrowed.
If he keeps getting fueled like this... this fight won’t end.
His gaze sharpened.
But there was also something else.
The pressure from the battlefield behind him had reduced. He could feel it faintly even from this distance. The overwhelming tainted mana that once flooded the area had thinned.
The corrupted energy was concentrating here.
On this man alone.
Arthur exhaled slowly.
"He was the center."
That meant only one thing.
The source had to be feeding him directly.
And if the source remained, the fight would never truly end.
The only solution was to cut off the supply.
His eyes followed the man’s body as it regenerated again. The flesh twisted, reforming under the influence of the tainted mana, and with each forced recovery the man looked less human.
His limbs grew uneven.
His skin hardened in patches like bark.
His movements became more beast-like. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Arthur frowned slightly.
He’s losing himself completely.
But Arthur didn’t care about saving him. His focus was simple.
End the threat.
Still, he needed to understand how the regeneration worked.
He didn’t know how to scatter the ritual formation that fed the corrupted mana. He didn’t even fully understand the process behind it. Charging blindly would only waste time.
So instead, he chose to observe.
Arthur slowed his attacks just enough to watch carefully. He dodged a vine and cut another aside while paying attention to the flow of energy around the man.
He focused.
If he could sense it clearly enough, he could find the answer.
But soon a thought crossed his mind.
"Sovereign’s Perception".
If his sensitivity improved, he might be able to trace the source directly.
Without hesitation, he called the interface.
A faint transparent panel appeared before his eyes.
✦══════════════════════════════════════✦
❂ SOVEREIGN INTENT SYSTEM ❂
✦══════════════════════════════════════✦
⟦ Skill Upgrade Available ⟧
✦ Target Skill: Sovereign’s Perception
✦ Type: Perception / Environmental Awareness
━━━ CURRENT STATUS ━━━
• Current Rank: F
• Next Rank: E
━━━ UPGRADE REQUIREMENTS ━━━
✦ Intent Point Cost: 10 IP ✦
✦ Intent Alignment Requirement: 10 IP ✦
⟬ Upgrade Outcome Projection ⟭
→ Enhanced ambient mana sensitivity
→ Improved detection of corrupted energy patterns
→ Increased awareness of structural distortions
⟬ System Query ⟭
→ Proceed with rank advancement?
[ Y / N ]
✦══════════════════════════════════════✦
Arthur didn’t even pause.
"Yes."
He had nothing to lose.
The response came immediately.
A strange sensation spread through his senses. It wasn’t physical pain, but a sharp expansion of awareness, as if something inside his mind had opened wider.
While the new information appeared on the interface before his eyes.
✦══════════════════════════════════════✦
❂ SOVEREIGN INTENT SYSTEM ❂
✦══════════════════════════════════════✦
━━━ SKILL UPGRADE COMPLETE ━━━
✦ Name: Sovereign’s Perception
✦ Type: Perception / Environmental Awareness
✦ Rank: E
✦ Status: ACTIVE
⟬ Core Evolution ⟭
Perception transcends surface disturbance.
Ambient mana is no longer sensed—
it is read, traced, and interpreted.
⟬ Skill Description ⟭
Your senses now penetrate deeper into ambient mana structures, allowing perception of flow, density, and directional movement rather than isolated disturbances.
━━━ EFFECTS ━━━
• Detects mana distortions with higher clarity and extended range
• Tracks flow direction of ambient and corrupted mana
• Distinguishes layered energy patterns and their origin points
• Identifies energy channels connecting sources and targets
• Detects regeneration anchors and concentration nodes within living beings
• Rapidly recognizes unstable or tainted mana circulation
• Sensitivity increases with focus and intent control
⟬ System Assessment ⟭
→ Environmental awareness significantly enhanced
→ Tactical prediction capability improved
✦══════════════════════════════════════✦
