Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

Varkoth's claws, not wreathed in that sinister dark silver aura, cut through the air with a speed that was almost imperceptible, even to Alex.

The energy around them cracked ominously, even the atmosphere seemed to recoil from it's presence.

As Varkoth launched his next attack, the humans below were laughing at him, expecting it to bounce off just like his first attempt had done.

But the Red Demons knew better.

They knew of the stories surrounding Varkoth, and they held smirks on their faces as they watched his claws near in on Alex.

Alex's eyes narrowed as he observed the change in Varkoth's claws.

The dark silver energy was unlike anything he had encountered before.

It was more than just raw power.

But he couldn't quite put a pin on what exactly the power was.

Silver energy usually indicated the presence of the spatial element, but this time, Alex didn't feel a lick of space element in Varkoth's attack.

But Alex wasn't one to be so easily rattled.

Varkoth's claws came down, and Alex braced himself with his Phoenix Flames at the forefront just like the first time Varkoth came in to attack.

He expected his flames to shield him as they had before, but this time, something was different.

The moment Varkoth's claws made contact with the Flames, they sliced through them effortlessly, as if they weren't even there.

His claws were so potent that they bypassed the Phoenix Flames entirely, cutting straight towards Alex's exposed skin.

Alex had no time to react before he felt a searing pain in his thigh.

He gasped as he staggered back, his eyes wide in confusion.

He looked down to see three deep gashes in his thigh, the wound so clean and precise that his body had barely even registered that it was injured yet.

It was only when blood started pouring out that his body's natural defences kicked in.

'What the hell was that!?'

The pain was intense, but what Alarmed Alex more was how easily Varkoth's attack had penetrated his defences.

His mind raced trying to figure out what had just happened.

It was clear that that dark silver energy had something to do with it, but Alex had absolutely no idea what that energy was.

Varkoth, seeing the blood staining Alex's clothes, allowed a wicked grin to surface on his face.

"So the mighty Alex finally bleeds," he taunted with his voice dripping with malice.

"How does it feel human? To know that your precious flames couldn't even stop me?"

Alex furrowed his brows, fighting past the pain.

'That energy around his claws… it's not just enhancing his strength or speed. Its… something more.'

Alex could tell that there was a special aspect about Varkoth's claws.

"Wanna know what's so special about that attack?" Varkoth spoke, his tone clearly indicating he was taunting Alex.

But Alex didn't respond and simply kept his distance, not wanting to be caught off guard like previously.

"Well that's too bad. You'll have to find that out for yourself." Varkoth chuckled as he could tell Alex was frustrated by this taunt.

He could see in Alex's eyes the confusion surrounding how he could possibly have become so much more dangerous with that little change.

But why would he throw away his advantage by telling Alex the secret of his talent?

That would just be too cliche and stupid, like every movie villain ever explaining their main attack right before launching it.
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But unbeknownst to Alex, Varkoth had quite a unique talent, something that Alex would definitely never have encountered before due to its rarity.

It was called 'Penetration.'

Quite the interesting name, yes.

But disregarding that, it was actually quite powerful.

As an S+ rank talent, it was as strong as it could be, in terms of the known scaling for abilities.

And the key aspect of what made it special was the fact that it allowed him to manipulate the penetration power of his attacks.

In layman's terms, he could manipulate how 'sharp' his attacks were.

Which was exactly what that dark silver energy was that surrounded his claws.

His talents was special, as it scaled alongside his own rank.

It was an S+ rank talent in principle, but it acted more like a growth type talent.

As Varkoth was currently C+ rank, its own power equalled that of C+ rank.

At this rank he could adjust his sharpness to slice apart the air in the atmosphere, allowing him to achieve a speed of attacks that not even people at the same level as him could perceive.

There was no air resistance at all, like he was attacking in a vacuum.

The 'sharpness' of his claws literally created a microcosm vacuum wherever they sliced through, which was filled almost instantaneously.

It was unknown what the ceiling of Penetration was, but by the time he himself reached S+ rank, he suspected that he may even be able to splice apart atoms themselves.

As Alex regained his composure, Varkoth began to circle him, his claws once again glowing with that eerie dark silver energy.

"Come now, Alex." Varkoth spoke. "Surely you didn't think you were the only one who could wield such devastating power? This world is filled with talents far beyond your own comprehension. Mine is such a talent."

Alex listened to Varkoth's narcissistic rant, and he couldn't help but feel a little weird inside.

If anything, he should be the one to be saying this, considering even the System itself had confirmed his talent was truly unique, a one of one in the entire universe…

Alex tried to think, keeping an eye on Varkoth the entire time.

Varkoth's talent was unlike anything he had ever faced.

Varkoth lunged again, prompting Alex to narrowly avoid the attack, since he had anticipated it this time.

"Running already?" Varkoth sneered, his voice laced with disdain.

Battling Varkoth was like fighting both physically and mentally at once.

The verbal spats between the two in an attempt to get in each other's heads was perhaps just as effective as the physical side of the fight.

Alex didn't respond, he was too busy trying to figure out the gimmick that was Varkoth's talent.