Pit Grit! Knuckled Down!

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

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

"If I don't have at least a thousand Doriki, I'll run into 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, but his fist had already come down.

A Doriki Value of around 100 was terrifying for a child, but it was hardly worth mentioning to the Terror Black Bear, which revered strength above all else.

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

But Aeneas remained utterly unfazed. Instead, he laughed at 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 it took the Terror Black Bear's expression to change, his right heavy punch shot up from below at an unbelievable speed and struck the bear beneath the jaw.

"Bang!"

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

Its speed and force far surpassed the left heavy punch, leaving the bear no time to react. Its bear face was knocked upward, leaving it unable to move.

Aeneas withdrew both fists, swiftly widening the distance as he smiled.

"'Iron Wrist,' which comes with Pit Grit, lets my punches flow continuously from a left heavy punch into a right heavy punch. The left punch always goes first, and the following right punch instantly surges in speed and power—by around eight times!"

That was only Iron Wrist. Pit Grit also came with the special ability of 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, but its effects now seemed extraordinary.

Since his opponent was the Terror Black Bear, known for its strength, Aeneas had expected the left heavy punch to be less effective. But the terrifying boost from the right heavy punch was pain even the Terror Black Bear could not endure.

"Awoo!"

Clearly, even the tough and resilient Terror Black Bear had been hurt by that attack.

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

"Roar!"

Ignoring its swollen jaw, the Terror Black Bear roared and charged at Aeneas even faster.

"Little Black is this fierce?" Aeneas had not expected to rely on passives and take down the Terror Black Bear with two basic punches, but the bear's renewed burst of strength still surprised him slightly.

But no matter how fast it is, can it be faster than me?

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

But this time, Terror Black Bear did not choose to take it head-on. It did not know why the power difference between Aeneas's left and right punches was so great, but it only needed to swat them both away.

Aeneas saw the enormous bear paw coming straight for his fist. His left heavy punch seemed soft and powerless before that massive paw, unable to resist at all. Aeneas himself was sent flying once more!

"Rustle, rustle—"

Aeneas was slapped into the branches and leaves of the forest, breaking several branches as he crashed through them. His back throbbed with pain, and some thorns from the branches remained embedded in it.

"Hiss—"

Aeneas bared his teeth in pain, but before he could deal with the thorns in his back, Terror Black Bear leaped up, apparently intending to crush him to death with its rear.

Terror Black Bear weighed over ten tons. If it came down directly on him, Aeneas would be turned into a human meat pie!

"Not good!"

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

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

This is bad. I can't land the right heavy punch at all! Aeneas thought grimly.

His Iron Wrist could not cause every right heavy punch to unleash eight times the speed and power of the left heavy punch.

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

That was Aeneas's dilemma—one could say it was 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 burst from Aeneas's body, especially around his fists. An incomparably imposing aura suddenly erupted as Aeneas swiftly locked onto his enemy.

Wind seemed to rise beneath Aeneas's steps, as though his feet had been put on fast-forward. In the blink of an eye, he arrived before Terror Black Bear.

"Thud!"

"Bam!"

The left heavy punch flew out at high speed, followed almost instantly by the right heavy punch. Both punches dealt critical blows to Terror Black Bear, even denting its bloated flesh. The second punch in particular sent the bear tumbling to the ground.

Of course, Aeneas did not possess the strength to directly knock down Terror Black Bear, which weighed over ten tons. Rather, the immense force of the right heavy punch instantly threw the bear off balance, causing it to fall before it could steady itself.

After taking two consecutive punches and then falling hard enough to leave itself dizzy, Terror Black Bear would likely have already lost consciousness if not for its thick hide and tough flesh.

"Whew—"

Aeneas exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling the pain in his body lessen considerably.

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

"Huff!" Yet Aeneas's breathing grew more and more labored. "Everything else is fine, but I'm a little tired."

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

Knuckled Down was the first form of the Fighting Technique. When advancing toward an enemy head-on, movement speed increased, and the next two punches were thrown faster while dealing additional damage—the more health the enemy had, the greater this bonus damage became!

What Aeneas consumed was merely stamina. Every time he used this invincible move, Aeneas 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 its feet and faced Aeneas—they had both remained standing, and both still had the strength to fight!

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

Aeneas felt that the Grit swirling around his body had nearly reached its critical point.

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