Perfect-level Rankyaku
Below the valley, muffled sounds echoed like drums, striking the very heart and making one tremble uncontrollably.
Hughes appeared in the valley like a black streak of light, and upon closer inspection, a clear vortex remained where he had previously stood, lingering for a long time.
The sonic booms that shake people's hearts come from these cyclones.
This is the "Shave" technique from the Six Powers. The user needs to stomp on the ground more than ten times in a short period of time to achieve explosive high-speed movement by relying on the reaction force.
To be precise, it requires stomping on the ground more than ten times in 0.36 seconds.
This was the first time Hughes had used Shave so seriously since acquiring it. Initially, Hughes was quite interested in Shave, after all, it's hard not to like Blink.
But as his physical fitness improved, shaving became less of a practical solution for him.
With Hughes' current physical abilities, if he were to stomp on the ground more than ten times in 0.36 seconds, the resulting powerful impact would be enough to propel him across half of Magnolia Town in an instant.
Using Shave in a small-scale battle could easily lead to trouble.
Just now, Hughes was trying to see if he could incorporate the Shave technique into his combat system, such as reducing the number of stomps and controlling his body to shorten the distance of the Shave.
But after continuous attempts, Hughes quickly abandoned these unrealistic ideas.
The Taijutsu of shaving is based on a powerful burst of energy in an instant, and what he's doing now is practically putting shackles on it.
If you really want to improve your speed over short distances, it's better to improve your physical fitness. With a strong physique, you can just push off the ground with your feet.
With a sigh, Hughes stopped modifying the shaving and turned his thoughts back to the important matter of practicing the Rankyaku.
The essence of the Rankyaku is an advanced Taijutsu of shaving. It requires the user to compress the surrounding air with an ultra-high-speed kick, ultimately creating a vacuum slash to launch a ranged attack.
Hughes thought he would have to suffer a bit to successfully master the Rankyaku, but to his surprise, he simply raised his right leg and swung it a few times, and a transparent vacuum slash appeared.
The transparent, curved slash appeared a meter away from Hughes's feet, carrying a sharp whistling sound as it cleaved straight into the cliff face ahead.
"Bang!"
The transparent vacuum slash made slight contact with the cliff face, instantly sending rocks flying and causing the entire cliff to tremble violently. When the dust settled, a four-finger-wide, bottomless cut was clearly visible on the uneven cliff face.
Hughes squinted and looked down; it was about three or four meters deep.
[Host's self-taught ultimate skill, Rankyaku, has been detected. Current proficiency level is beginner. It has been recorded.]
The system notification suddenly appeared in Hughes's mind. Hughes was slightly stunned, then opened the panel.
[Special Skills: Shave (Perfect Level), Tekkai (Perfect Level), Geppo (Perfect Level), Shigan (Perfect Level), Rankyaku (Beginner Level)]
So, I've already mastered the basics of the Rankyaku Taijutsu?
After glancing at the panel a few more times, Hughes felt a little uncomfortable seeing four perfect levels and one beginner level, so he quickly closed the panel.
"Forget it, let's put the Kami-e aside for now. There's no rush. Let's focus on getting my Rankyaku Kick proficiency to the perfect level first."
After muttering to himself, Hughes swung his right leg in a whip-like motion, compressing the surrounding air. Soon, another transparent vacuum slash appeared in front of him, roaring as it slammed into the cliff wall.
"Boom!"
As the smoke and dust cleared, the huge "X" on the steep cliff face was extremely conspicuous.
Upon seeing this, Hughes raised an eyebrow with a hint of excitement.
Although no "proficiency +1" notification appeared in his mind, Hughes knew that his Rankyaku was a significant improvement over his first attempt.
Seizing the opportunity, Hughes continued his arduous training. After successfully unleashing a cross-shaped slash composed of two transparent vacuum strikes, the proficiency level of his Rankyaku on the panel automatically increased to intermediate.
Natsu and the others, who had already finished their meditation, stood atop the cliff, watching with great interest.
Every now and then, a few Kikoku would erupt, cheering for Hughes!
Mira, Erza, Laxus frowned, unable to understand why Hughes was wasting his energy learning useless things; these petty tricks wouldn't improve his strength at all.
Laxus stood atop the cliff, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the bottom. He casually turned to Mira beside him and said, "Aren't you going to try and talk to him?"
Mira for a moment, then shook her head slightly. Hughes may be childish, but he has his own opinions and isn't someone who acts recklessly. He must have his reasons for doing this.
"I reckon Hughes is developing Taijutsu that suits him. His physical abilities have improved a lot since this trip. If he has a suitable Taijutsu, his strength will definitely reach a new level," Mira said softly.
Laxus paused briefly with his arms crossed, then turned and left.
Regardless of whether Hughes was practicing Taijutsu, Mira was right about one thing: Hughes' strength had increased considerably after defeating the Phantom Evil Silk Guild with her.
Instead of working harder himself, he's wasting his time watching Hughes train. How can he possibly surpass Hughes like this?
I'm so stupid!
"Mira, Erza, you two keep an eye on these kids. There are plenty of wild beasts and magical creatures in the eastern forest. Call me if anything happens; I'm going to train," Laxus instructed.
Golden lightning flashed, and Laxus's figure vanished.
With the sun directly overhead and below the valley, Hughes used Geppo to float in mid-air. With a flick of his right leg, countless transparent vacuum slashes instantly appeared.
Then it poured down like a sudden storm.
"Boom! Boom!"
Dust and stones flew everywhere, smoke filled the air, and the entire valley shook as if it had been hit by a major earthquake.
Three minutes later, the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, revealing a scarred ground, and looking up, one could see an even more shattered cliff face.
[Congratulations, host! Your ultimate skill, Tempest Rankyaku, has reached the Perfect level!]
That's more like it! It's so frustrating to see a beginner among a group of perfect-level players.
Hughes grinned slightly, flames erupted from his feet, and his figure rose rapidly from the bottom of the valley, landing in front of Mira in an instant.
Mira, I'm hungry! Is there anything to eat?
"Wait a minute, Erza others went into the forest to find food. I can only cook after they come back."
Not long after they finished talking, Erza returned dragging a wild beast that Hughes didn't recognize.
"Mira, is that enough? If not, I'll go catch another one!" Erza put the beast down and patted her armor.
The clanging sound of armor striking each other made Hughes's lips twitch. He had been in the guild for some time and had never seen Erza take off this armor in his daily life.
Mira looked at the beast's carcass on the ground, made a mental assessment, and then reached out her hand to Erza.
"We still need one more, right!" Erza relief.
Although I don't know why there are fewer wild animals in the eastern forest, catching another one shouldn't be too difficult, it just takes a little time.
Seeing that Erza didn't understand, Mira waved her hand to make sure Erza could see she was holding up five fingers. "No, Erza, we need five more!"
"Five more... five more?!" Erza exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief.
The beast she caught was quite large, about the size of ten Happy!
Mira nodded affirmatively at her. Hughes was a big glutton and needed three heads; Natsu and Laxus were small gluttons and together needed one head, and the remaining ten or so people needed two heads each.
Six wild beasts, plus the wild vegetables that Lisanna and the others picked, should be enough to fill all their stomachs.