chapter 333 : breakthrough

    with a sadistic grin on his face, alex charged at his opponent, who had barely risen to his feet. the bastard hadn''t waited for alex to regain his composure when he was at a disadvantage, so why would alex pull his punches now that froze was disoriented?

    seeing alex rushing toward him, froze remained calm, his sharp gaze narrowing as he activated his ability once more while adopting a firm fighting stance.

    the instant alex crossed the perimeter of two meters from froze, he could feel himself falling under froze''s ability effects, but like in their previous exchange, this didn''t stop alex in the slightest.

    he sidestepped just in time to avoid froze''s fist, the air whistling past his ear, before sending his own punch straight at the drazen''s face.

    froze managed to block alex''s strike by crossing his arms in an x-shape in front of his chest. however, the sheer force behind alex''s punch sent him staggering backward, his boots skidding against the floor as he barely stopped himself from exiting the stage ring.

    ''i might''ve hit a bit harder than intended,'' alex chuckled to himself, his tone laced with amusement. while he had gained better control over his body''s movements, froze''s ability still interfered enough to prevent him from perfectly regulating his strength or speed. not wanting to risk a weak attack, alex had simply punched with all his might. considering the vast difference in their physical capabilities, each of alex''s punches landed on froze like a battering ram crashing through a castle gate.

    as alex pondered how to reduce the strength of his attacks to prolong the fight, giving himself more time to experiment with his newfound technique, froze finally came to a halt. lifting his head, he locked eyes with alex, and in that moment, an involuntary tremor of dread coursed through him.

    ''arcanor... that monster... he''s already adapted to my ability!''

    froze couldn''t begin to fathom how such a thing was possible. he knew that with enough time, one could grow accustomed to the effects of his power—after all, he himself had learned to fight under its influence—but that process had taken him decades of rigorous training. yet, arcanor had managed to adapt after only two exchanges. how could anyone achieve such an impossible feat?!

    taking a deep, steadying breath to calm his wildly beating heart, froze made a decisive choice. he deactivated his ability for good. since it no longer affected alex, there was no point in wasting mana on it.

    with his ability rendered ineffective and the damage from alex''s previous strikes taking its toll, froze knew the battle''s outcome looked grim. but he refused to despair. gritting his teeth, he poured the last reserves of his mana into his body, drastically enhancing his strength, speed, and resilience. this temporary augmentation would push his physical limits far beyond their natural capacity, but it came at a steep cost—once his mana was completely depleted, his body would be left weaker than ever. still, froze didn''t hesitate even a second.

    as alex sensed the sharp spike in mana fluctuations radiating from froze, he instantly understood his intentions.

    ''well,'' alex thought, his lips curling into a smirk, ''so much for experimenting. guess i''ll just have to finish this the old-fashioned way.''

    if someone could have peered beneath alex''s skin at that moment, they would have been horrified by the sight of the smoke coiling around his inner muscles like living serpents, embedding themselves as though they were a natural part of his body.

    suddenly, alex felt his control over his body skyrocket to unprecedented levels, his movements becoming even more precise and efficient. but with this newfound power came an almost overwhelming wave of mental exhaustion.

    confused by the sudden strain, alex disengaged from froze for a brief moment to assess what was happening.

    it only took a split second for him to notice the coiling smoke around his inner muscles and for alex to understand why he was being drained mentally.

    although it didn''t ask for a strong mental effort on his part, the simple act of manipulating his body through the smoke around him was already a little taxing mentally for alex, and now that the smoke had also penetrated his skin and was wrapping directly around his muscles, it demanded a conscious effort on his part.

    manipulating his body externally and directly controlling his muscles via the smoke was too demanding. alex had great mental strength, mostly thanks to the black heart and the lust energy blessing, but it didn''t mean that he was great at multitasking.

    although draining in mental strength, the kind of control alex had at that moment was simply... exhilarating.

    more than that, he could feel it—his body was evolving with every passing second. it wasn''t just his control that had been boosted. his strength, speed, and precision were soaring by leaps and bounds, but so were his defenses. the smoke forming a layer beneath his skin acted almost like an internal armor, cushioning his body from external blows and reducing the strain caused by his enhanced movements. his resilience had increased to an entirely new level, making him feel almost invincible.

    from the very moment he had become a smoke sovereign, alex''s progression in manipulating his element was always fulgurant. the smoke element practically whispered in his ears, delivering all its secrets to him. everything always came naturally for him.

    however, for the past weeks, that ability of his sovereignty had been somewhat dormant. while it was true that alex had been focusing on mastering everything he already knew, his progress had been lackluster compared to the days he had obtained his ability. but right this very moment, that dormant ability had awakened once again, and under its effects, alex was making breakthrough after breakthrough.

    in that moment, he realized that his manner of using his element was, to put it simply, basic at best and rudimentary at worst. even though he had become the sovereign of the smoke element, alex had always considered it as an external force, separate from himself. but was that truly what it was?

    he was the sovereign of the smoke element. and how did he attain that sovereignty again? by linking his soul with the one of the smoke element spirit. and what was that spirit if not the personification of the smoke element itself? put like that, it became apparent how wrong it was for him to consider the smoke element as something external. his soul was linked to the very element—it was something as internal to him as his heart. hell, it was much more intimately tied to him than even his heart!

    as he came under those realizations, the breakthroughs simply continued to rain on him, his mastery over the smoke element reaching an entirely new level.