SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System-Chapter 85: Terrifying Speed!

The dawn in the Taiji Basin’s Yin region painted the sky with ghostly purples and deep indigos, but down on the plateau, a blinding golden light erupted.

It was the Golden-Armored Blue Ape, the supreme guardian of these mountains, standing calmly amidst its dozens of Silverback Blue Ape subordinates.

These lesser apes, usually fierce and territorial, were now silent, their heads bowed low.

They moved with utmost deference, bringing glowing, elemental fruits and clear, shimmering water to their magnificent leader, serving it as if it were a king, or perhaps, a god.

The Golden-Armored Blue Ape was colossal, easily twice the size of its already massive subordinates, its fur a burnished gold that seemed to radiate ancient, regal power.

Its eyes gazed down at Daniel, Lia, and Ayra with an air of profound, almost cosmic contempt.

It didn’t roar or snarl. Its very presence spoke of unchallenged authority, of power so vast it barely needed to acknowledge their existence.

Ayra, her earlier bravado completely gone, her S-Grade [Primal Fury Berserker] aura still a distant flicker, could only gulp.

"Oh," she whispered, her voice surprisingly small. "That... that is not a regular ape. That is an ’Oh, we are so incredibly doomed’ ape."

Her great-axe, usually an extension of her wrath, felt suddenly heavy and insignificant in her grasp.

Lia, usually the picture of serene calm, was pale. Her hand tightened on her A-Grade Staff of the World Ash, its emerald light seeming to dim in the overwhelming presence of the golden titan.

The pressure radiating from it was suffocating, making it hard to breathe.

Daniel, however, felt a strange sense of calm amidst the overwhelming power. His newly evolved S+-Grade [Quadruple Sonic Phantom] skill thrummed within him, a quiet promise of impossible speed.

He knew, instinctively, that this creature was beyond any direct confrontation.

Its ’UNKNWON. TRANSCENDENT. DO NOT ENGAGE. FLEE. IMMEDIATELY’ threat assessment was not a suggestion; it was a cosmic truth.

But he also knew, with a certainty that settled deep in his bones, that he couldn’t just turn tail and run with Lia and Ayra.

They couldn’t outrun something like this. He had to face it, even if just to buy them time.

The Golden-Armored Blue Ape raised a massive, golden-furred hand, not in aggression, but in a clear, unmistakable gesture: Stop. You go no further!

The message resonated not just through the air, but directly into Daniel’s mind, a quiet, ancient command.

The pass to the Yang region, it seemed, had a final, and utterly terrifying, gatekeeper. And Daniel’s newly upgraded speed was about to be put to the ultimate test.

"Ayra. Lia." Daniel’s voice was low, strained, but firm. He didn’t look at them, his eyes fixed on the Golden Ape.

"This is beyond anything we’ve faced. You two need to leave. Now. Get back down the foothills.

Go the long way around to the Yang region, or try to reach the rendezvous point. I’ll... distract it."

Ayra stared, her face contorted in a mix of fear and defiance. "Distract it?! Vance, that terrifying thing?

Lia, ever pragmatic, shook her head slowly. "Daniel, we cannot leave you. We are a team. And even if we could escape, its presence might make the entire pass impassable."

"You’d be a burden in this fight," Daniel stated, his voice flat, trying to inject a harsh reality into their desperation.

He saw the flicker of hurt in Ayra’s eyes, the slight tightening of Lia’s jaw, but he needed them to understand.

"My speed, my specific abilities... I can survive this alone, at least for a while. With you two, I’d be forced to hold back, to protect.

And that would lead to all three of us dying." He hoped the directness would shock them into obedience.

The Golden-Armored Blue Ape’s sapphire eyes seemed to gleam, as if acknowledging Daniel’s words. It let out a soft, almost imperceptible hum, and the dozens of Silverback Blue Apes surrounding them all took a synchronized step back, their eyes fixed on Daniel.

"Go!" Daniel barked, not breaking eye contact with the Golden Ape.

He subtly nudged Nyx, who had materialized beside him, trembling with fear. "Nyx, stay with Lia. Guide them. Hide. Get them out of here."

Nyx, surprisingly obedient given the overwhelming aura, whimpered, nudged Daniel’s leg, and then darted towards Lia, rubbing against her leg before urging her to retreat.

Lia, her gaze conflicted, finally nodded. She grabbed Ayra’s arm. "He’s right, Ayra. He can move like a phantom. We would only slow him down. We have to trust him."

Ayra gnashed her teeth, a frustrated growl escaping her lips. To abandon a teammate went against every fiber of her being.

But the raw power emanating from the Golden Ape, and the cold logic in Daniel’s eyes, forced her to concede.

"Don’t you dare die, Vance!" she roared, her voice laced with desperate worry. "I’ll personally resurrect you just to pummel you for being so stupid!"

With a last, furious glance, Ayra allowed Lia to pull her away.

They retreated down the rocky slope, quickly vanishing into the dim light of the Dark Forest below.

Daniel watched them go, his [Aura Sense+] tracking their fading signatures. He didn’t breathe easily until he felt them put significant distance between themselves and the plateau.

Nyx, meanwhile, had transformed into her smaller, almost invisible Shadow Wolf form, clinging to Lia’s side, a silent, fearful guardian.

Silence descended upon the plateau.

Only Daniel and the Golden-Armored Blue Ape remained, two disparate figures under the vast, gloomy sky.

The air felt thick, heavy with anticipation.

Daniel decided to open with a ranged attack, a test of the Ape’s speed and his own upgraded arsenal.

He drew his B-Grade Reinforced Shard-Tip Bow, its material suddenly feeling flimsy in his grasp, almost insignificant compared to the presence before him.

He nocked an arrow, imbuing it with the crackling, unstable energy of his A-Grade [Electrocution] skill.

He focused, his [Eagle Eye] passive sharpening his vision. The Golden Ape stood perfectly still, watching him. Daniel released the arrow.

"TWANG!"

The arrow zipped through the air, a streak of raw lightning.

But just as it closed the distance, the Golden-Armored Blue Ape moved.

Its immense body seemed to blur, shifting by mere inches, but precisely enough.

The arrow, blazing with electricity, zipped harmlessly past its shoulder, slamming into a distant crag with a sharp crackle of static before dissipating.

The Golden Ape barely registered the attack, its sapphire eyes holding a flicker of almost imperceptible contempt.

It was too fast. Its agility was beyond Daniel’s initial estimations.

"Okay," Daniel muttered, his heart pounding.

"So, you’re faster than a lightning bolt. Noted."

He decided to try a more complex, multi-faceted attack. He nocked another arrow, channeling his power.

This time, he would use his A-Grade [Trueflight Barrage] to split the arrow into five tracking projectiles.

He added a touch of his A-Grade [Track] skill, just for emphasis.

He drew the bowstring to its absolute limit, his immense Strength pushing the B-Grade bow to its structural breaking point.

"THIS ONE’S GOT EVERYTHING!" Daniel roared, releasing the arrow.

"TWANG-WHOOSH-BOOM!"

The arrow erupted from the bow, screaming through the air as it split into five smaller, but no less deadly, projectiles.

Each was cloaked in flames, trailed icy mist, crackled with lightning, and oozed corrosive green ichor.

They curved, they weaved, they danced with impossibly complex trajectories, unerringly homing in on the Golden-Armored Blue Ape.

The Golden Ape’s sapphire eyes widened slightly. It sensed the power, the multiple elemental signatures, the tracking capability.

It twisted its immense body, shifted its colossal golden-furred hands, and with astonishing precision, it caught all five Trueflight Missiles.

"CLANG! THWUMP! HISS! FIZZLE! ZZZZAP!"

Each missile slammed into its massive, golden hands.

The Flame-infused arrow exploded with a dull THWUMP against its palm, leaving a scorched mark.

The Golden Ape grunted, its sapphire eyes narrowing.

It had caught them, but it had struggled.

Daniel, however, felt a sinking feeling.

His most powerful archery attack, a concoction of SSS-Talent infused elemental skills, boosted by an A-Grade Hunter skill, had barely registered against this titan.

He was pushing his B-Grade bow to its limit, and it simply couldn’t channel the sheer, overwhelming power he now possessed. The bow was a bottleneck.

He couldn’t use his S-Grade [Solar Flare Fist Art] or [Earthquake Colossus Form] through it. His raw strength was too much for the weapon.

He discarded the bow, letting it clatter to the ground.

It was useless for this fight.

"Okay," Daniel muttered, his mind racing. "Ranged isn’t working. Its elemental resistance and speed are too high."

The Golden-Armored Blue Ape looked at Daniel, its sapphire eyes unblinking. It radiated an aura of quiet confidence.

It had effortlessly countered every ranged attack, every elemental assault. It was waiting.

Waiting for Daniel to realize the futility of his efforts, waiting for him to break, or waiting for him to try something new, something closer.

The fight was about to get personal. Daniel knew, with grim certainty, that his ranged attacks were useless.

He needed to get in close. He needed to find a weakness, or create one.

The true test of his S-Grade close-combat power was about to begin.