Brain - Buffing Up

Brain lowered his hips.

The technique that had chipped Shalltear Bloodfallen’s talon—the Nail Clipper.

—No.

This was no longer the Nail Clipper.

Originally, the Nail Clipper had required Domain (which guaranteed a hit) and Divine Strike (which boosted his speed) to set up an attack with Fourfold Slash of Light. That had been the crystallization of all his arts. And he had barely managed to shave off a sliver of Shalltear’s nail with it. Arguably, that itself was a feat that would go down in history—but knowing creatures like her existed meant he could not rest on those laurels.

He had sought greater strength. Sought out Gazef Stronoff’s teacher, the retired adamantite adventurer Vesture Kloff Di Laufen, and trained like a madman. The result had been the acquisition of the Sixfold Slash of Light. Sadly, he had not managed to get as far as Gazef had. Domain and Divine Strike were still in place, but his technique now used Sixfold Slash of Light instead.

Sixfold Slash of Light took far more focus to pull off than the Fourfold version—so he should not have been capable of swapping it in.

He’d pulled it off—for one reason.

Brain Unglaus had surpassed Gazef Stronoff—and reached the realm of the heroes.

And he’d gained a new art—the True Nail Clipper.

***

“Ability Boost.”

Brain activated a martial art.

True Nail Clipper, by its nature, took all the focus he had. There was nothing left to activate another art.

And yet—Brain’s eyes were turning red. Blood poured from his nose. Capillaries were rupturing.

With an almost audible snap, he went past his limits.

The art had taken hold.

Power surged through his body.

Yet, it was still not enough. He still stood no chance.

What next?

There was only one option.

Brain activated another martial art.

“Greater Ability Boost.”

Once again, Brain Unglaus did the impossible.

The man himself didn’t realize it, but his talent allowed him to increase his focus capacity. That was the only reason he’d been able to develop Nail Clipper in the first place, and by leveling up still further, he’d been capable of mastering True Nail Clipper.

But this was supposed to be Brain’s limit. He could not activate any further arts. That was the rule the world ran upon.

And yet, in this instant—Brain broke the world’s rules.

A second miracle.

***

Volume 14, Chapter 4.2