Pan Long drove the enormous tentacle back with a punch and steadied himself, but he could not help frowning.
He had used Collapse Strike again. Yet this Hero System skill, which required A-rank Strength to learn, had failed to work as it had last time.
The golden light that could dispel any special effect met the green light on the tentacle, and the two exploded on contact.
Pan Long could more or less guess what that meant.
There was no such thing as an "absolute" ability. No matter how unscientific, mysterious, or unfathomable a "rule-based ability" seemed, it still came down to a clash of power.
The Hero System's skills were powerful, but even their power had limits.
Against the giant octopus in its previous crimson state, the skill had worked in a single blow. Against the octopus in its current green state, it could only fight it to a draw.
After all... it was only an A-rank skill.
The Hero System had S-rank skills too, but each cost ten thousand insight points. Pan Long had not saved up much. After learning Undying from the Endurance Element, if he also learned Mountain-Splitting from the Strength Element, he would not have enough left for several skills he had long wanted.
So he had prioritized the skills he needed. From the Strength Element, he had learned the C-rank Charge and the A-rank Collapse Strike. He had learned none from the Agility Element. From the Endurance Element, he had learned the E-rank Power Charge, the A-rank Grit, and the S-rank Undying. From the Spirit Element, he had learned the C-rank Light Sword Art. From the Mind Element, he had learned the C-rank Disease-Cleansing Art and the A-rank Life-Restoration Art—and, of course, the A-rank Life-Protection Art he had learned just today.
E-rank skills cost