CHAPTER 82: GALACTUS SHATTERPULSE TECHNIQUE!

Leon started the day with practicing the Mountain Lord Hammer Technique. It was an E-Rank technique humans had discovered in a small remnant village of Titans.

It allowed him to bring out the might of a Mountain Lord, who was also the Chieftain of that village, for a short moment.

His strength grew explosive, and he could deal twice his normal damage with the Hammer. It might be considered low-ranked for others, but it was very suitable for the current Leon.

But it did take a lot of practice and hard work to reach Stage 1 of its Mastery.

If one wondered about the difference between Techniques and Skills, then they would get a very simple answer.

None!

At the core, both Techniques and Skills were the same thing. The term "Technique" was just more commonly used for physical body-related Skills like his Iron Skin and now the Mountain Lord Hammer Technique.

Meanwhile, something like Fireball or the Charm Ability of Natasha would be categorized in the "Skill" section because they worked on a different plane than the Techniques.

But at the base, they were still the same thing. It was clear from the way the system registered everything as Skills. Lastly, it was also rather difficult to master Techniques compared to Skills since it involved far more coordination from the body.

The only difference this division really made was that it separated Skills into two categories.

One was Passive, which meant that the skill would be permanently activated unless the user found a way to turn it off. Natasha’s Charm was definitely a Passive Skill.

The other category was Active Skills, which required a command from the user and consumed much more energy. Leon’s Skills came under this category.

Leon practiced for a few hours with the Mountain Lord Hammer Technique, which made sweat drip heavily from his body. After days of constant practice, his muscles had also toned down further and become denser, more compact.

Wielding the War Hammer with the Mountain Lord Hammer Technique wasn’t an easy task and required considerable strength if he wanted to use it properly in battle.

Leon slammed the hammer down after a low spin, making a booming sound that cracked the grassland below. Dust and dirt rose in the calm surroundings as he panted hard.

’Damnit! Keeping focus on the flow of Essence and also the body is so exhausting. If I was a woman, it would be even tougher.’

Since men generally relied on cultivating Essence to get stronger, their control over it was much better than women who drew their Mana directly.

That was the only reason aside from Time Dilation that he was progressing this rapidly. He could already feel that if he practiced a bit more, he would finally reach Stage 1 of the Mountain Lord Hammer Technique.

That meant he wouldn’t be so exhausted so quickly and would finally be able to bring out a portion of its true strength. But as it was only an E-Rank Technique, it only had four Stages in total.

The first Stage would allow him to bring out 125% of his regular strength with the Hammer. At Stage 4, it would rise to 200%.

Leon dropped to one knee but still didn’t let go of the War Hammer. He closed his eyes while regulating his breathing and thought.

’Once I reach Stage 1, I can go and hunt down the monsters in Sector Two. That way, I can obtain Skill Stones and use them on this Technique.’

That was his plan all along. Skill Stones couldn’t be used before achieving Stage 1 because they wouldn’t be registered in the system. But once they were, he could throw all the Skill Stones into it to reach the Peak Stage of that particular skill.

The only problem was the rarity of Skill Stones, but that was fine as well. He needed to level up anyway. These training sessions were more about getting better at using his strength rather than directly gaining new strength.

After a few minutes of rest, Leon stood up once again, and this time, he took out the Galactic Baseball Bat. It was as majestic as ever in his eyes, and a smile automatically formed on his lips upon seeing it.

"You’re still my best weapon."

It was time to begin his hardest training, the session to master the technique Amber had made specially for him.

Of course, since the creator of that technique was Amber, how could it be anything normal? No, "normal" was the last thing Leon would call it.

Galactus Shatterpulse Technique!

It wasn’t a Skill that caused massive explosions or smashed things out of existence—at least that’s what Leon had expected when Amber suggested the idea of creating a technique for him.

But it was exactly the opposite.

It was a silent but deadly Skill that targeted the opponent’s Pathways through which their energy flowed. It was simply a ridiculous thing to do, and Leon couldn’t even understand how she had created it in such a short time.

There were Skills that damaged the Soul and there were Skills that damaged the physical body, but the Pathways existed in a metaphysical state between the Soul and the body, so it was very difficult to actually interact with them.

Even among the higher ranks, Leon was sure he wouldn’t be able to find many Techniques that could actually affect the Pathways.

As for the importance of the Pathways, it didn’t even need to be explained. Pathways and Essence flow were the very foundation of an Awakened. They were the base of their entire powers.

When one used a Technique or Skill, they heavily relied on the different patterns in which the Essence flowed through the Pathways.

But what if one could actually affect that flow? What would happen if it was disrupted in mid-battle?

The Skills would be disrupted and become inactive, and even their form would crumble. It would basically create a huge weakness that Leon would be able to exploit to defeat them.

Of course, the Technique wouldn’t make him invincible as there were still counters to it. For example, the energy of higher-tier beings would be much denser, more potent, and higher in quantity, so affecting it would be extremely difficult. Not to mention their mastery over energy control would allow them to keep the energy in check even if the Technique hit them.

There was also the factor that people’s Pathway durability increased with each level, so there was simply no way the Technique would work on someone too far above him.

’But even with all that, this technique is just ridiculous. That crazy woman... how did she even do this?’ Leon wondered, though he already had a guess.

Amber was highly skilled in soul-related matters and the same went for the physical body. She was someone who took combat very seriously, so it was a given that she would study everything related to it.

Leon was going to start practicing the Technique when he understood something, ’Wait! If she can create something like this, then it means she already has many ways to affect other people’s Pathways. Damnation! She’s crazy strong.’

He finally understood one of the reasons why Amber was always so confident about her strength. With her Level, she could defeat any and all Awakened without even throwing a punch, even if they were at Tier 10.

Even if she faced the Ascended, Leon was sure she could affect their Pathways.

This was also one of the best things about this technique. Even when Leon achieved higher levels, the Technique would still work because it depended on his own capabilities rather than the rank of the Technique itself.

It was a rank-less Technique for a reason.