Pit Grit! Knuckled Down!

Doriki Value was a measure of a person's strength in the pirate world. An adult marine had a Doriki Value of 10, while Aeneas now possessed ten times an adult's strength—roughly equivalent to a Doriki Value of 100.

That was still nowhere near enough for Aeneas to set sail.

"If I don't have at least a thousand Doriki, I'll hit walls everywhere once I go to sea. This is the North Blue, where powerful pirates emerge one after another. I still need to lie low for a few more years!"

Countless thoughts flashed through Aeneas's mind in an instant, but his fist had already fallen.

A Doriki Value of around a hundred was terrifying on a child, but for the Terror Black Bear, which revered strength above all else, it was somewhat lacking.

The Terror Black Bear turned his stiff bear face, a trace of mockery in his eyes, as though laughing at how painless Aeneas's punch had been.

But Aeneas was completely unmoved. Instead, he mocked Little Black for celebrating too soon.

"Pit Grit doesn't just raise my fighting spirit!" After Aeneas's left heavy punch landed, in the brief instant the Terror Black Bear's gaze shifted, his right heavy punch struck upward at the bear's jaw with unbelievable speed.

Bang!

The sound was like an explosion. The Terror Black Bear was caught completely off guard by the sudden force of the right heavy punch.

Both its speed and power far surpassed the left heavy punch, leaving the Terror Black Bear no time to react. His bear face was knocked upward, leaving him unable to move.

Aeneas withdrew both fists, quickly pulled back, and smiled.

"The 'Iron Wrist' that comes with Pit Grit lets me throw consecutive left and right heavy punches. The left heavy punch must come first, and the right heavy punch that follows immediately after has its speed and power skyrocket in an instant—by about eight times!"

That was only Iron Wrist. Pit Grit also came with the special ability, Half-Beast Heart.

"Half-Beast Heart lets me recover from injuries faster while I'm wounded!" It had taken Aeneas a long time just to master this passive ability, and now its effects were remarkable.

Since his opponent was a Terror Black Bear known for strength, he had expected the left heavy punch to have limited effect. But the terrifying boost delivered by the right heavy punch brought pain the Terror Black Bear could not endure.

Awoo!

Clearly, even the tough and durable Terror Black Bear had been hurt by that move.

But the Terror Black Bear suddenly bared his fangs, his sharp teeth grinding together with a screeching sound. He was truly enraged after being toyed with by a tiny human for so long.

Roar!

Ignoring his swollen jaw, the Terror Black Bear roared and accelerated even further as he pounced at Aeneas.

"Little Black is this fierce?" Aeneas had never expected to rely on a passive ability and two basic attacks to take down the Terror Black Bear outright. Still, the bear's renewed burst of strength surprised him a little.

But no matter how fast he was, could he be faster than me?

Aeneas flashed aside in an instant, then threw another left heavy punch.

This time, however, the Terror Black Bear did not choose to take it head-on. He did not know why the power gap between Aeneas's left and right fists was so huge, but he only needed to swat them all away.

Aeneas saw the enormous bear paw meet his fist head-on. Before that massive paw, his left heavy punch seemed soft and powerless, utterly unable to resist. Aeneas himself was sent flying once more!

Rustle, rustle—

Aeneas was swatted into the branches of the forest, snapping several limbs as he crashed through them. His back throbbed with pain, and some thorny spikes from the branches remained lodged in it.

Hiss—

Aeneas bared his teeth in pain, but before he could deal with the thorns in his back, the Terror Black Bear leaped into the air, seemingly intending to crush him to death beneath his rear.

The entire Terror Black Bear weighed more than ten tons. If he came crashing down, Aeneas would become a human meat pie!

"Not good!"

Aeneas rolled behind a huge boulder, then quickly sprang out.

The Terror Black Bear descended from the sky and crushed the boulder beneath him. The hard stone shattered into tiny fragments as easily as fragile glass.

Damn it, I can't land the right heavy punch at all! Aeneas inwardly cried out.

His Iron Wrist did not allow every right heavy punch to unleash eight times the speed and strength of the left heavy punch.

"If I lead with a right heavy punch, or if I don't follow the left heavy punch with the right one immediately, then its power won't increase at all. It'll just be an ordinary punch!"

This was the predicament Aeneas faced. It could be called a weakness.

"Sure enough, no move or skill is perfect!" Aeneas did not lose heart. "But I can make up for it with my own strength!"

Knuckled Down! Golden light suddenly flared around Aeneas, especially over his fists. An incomparably fierce aura burst forth as Aeneas swiftly locked onto his enemy.

Wind seemed to rise beneath Aeneas's feet with every step, as though someone had hit fast-forward. In the blink of an eye, he arrived directly before the Terror Black Bear.

Thud!

Boom!

The left heavy punch shot out, followed almost simultaneously by the right heavy punch. Both punches landed critical hits on the Terror Black Bear, denting even his bloated flesh inward. The second punch in particular sent the Terror Black Bear tumbling to the ground.

Of course, Aeneas did not have the strength to directly knock down a Terror Black Bear weighing over ten tons. Rather, the immense force of the right heavy punch instantly threw the bear off balance, causing him to fall before he could steady himself.

First came the two consecutive punches, then the fall that left him dizzy and disoriented. If not for his thick hide and tough flesh, the Terror Black Bear would probably have already lost consciousness.

Huff—

Aeneas exhaled a breath of stale air and felt the pain throughout his body lessen considerably.

This was the recovery power brought by Half-Beast Heart. The closer he was to death, the faster he recovered.

Huff, ha! But Aeneas's breathing grew increasingly ragged. "Everything else is fine. I'm just a little tired."

The pain in his body had lessened, and he could even force the thorns out of his back using his physical strength alone, but the accompanying stamina drain was also immense.

Knuckled Down was the first form of the Fighting Technique. When moving toward an enemy while facing them, his movement speed increased, and the following two punches would be thrown faster and deal additional damage—the more health the enemy he faced had, the greater this added damage became!

Aeneas only expended stamina. Every time he used this invincible move, he became even more determined to continue intensifying his training!

He swore to become a Monster with astonishing stamina!

Awoo—

The Terror Black Bear staggered to his feet and faced Aeneas—they had both remained standing, and both still had the strength to fight!

"Then let's continue!" Aeneas refused to yield. "After all this time building up to it, it's time to decide the winner!"

Aeneas felt the Grit wrapped around his body had almost reached its threshold.

"Heh heh, if that's the case, then I'll finish you with this move!" Aeneas stared at the Terror Black Bear. Both of them were gathering strength, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the other.