SSS Ranked Awakening: All My Skills Are at Level 100 - Chapter 324

Chapter 324: Upcoming Showdown
Leon started practicing the techniques he had just learned, determined to reach a higher level of mastery so he could use them effectively against the monster.

The Frost Fang Technique required precise mana channeling through specific meridian pathways, creating that deadly icy projection around his blade. He practiced the motions hundreds of times, then thousands, refining the energy flow until the pale frosty tooth appeared more vivid, faster, sharper, more lethal with each attempt.

SHING! CRACK! WHOOOOSH!

The Arcane Shackle was trickier—it required mental concentration alongside mana manipulation, creating invisible bindings that could lock down a target’s mana flow. He practiced on rocks first, then on the ambient energy itself, learning to feel for the right moment to snap the technique into place.

Time started to pass.

From time to time, Leon would teleport to check up on the monster and see what it was doing. Each visit followed the same pattern initially—the moment he arrived, the creature would attempt a sneak attack, lunging at him with that terrifying speed.

But it failed every single time.

FWOOSH!

Leon would simply teleport it back to its starting position before its claws could even get close. The monster’s frustration was palpable, its roars echoing across the grassy field with increasing rage.

RRRRAAAHHH!

As more time passed, however, the monster stopped attacking altogether. Whenever Leon made his routine check-ups, he would find it sitting on the ground in meditation, absorbing the abundant mana of the dimension.

Smart. It’s given up on catching me and is focusing on getting stronger instead.

Over the period of time, Leon could feel the creature slowly growing more powerful. The mana density around it increased with each visit. Its regenerated arm had fully reformed, and its overall aura felt denser, more dangerous.

But he had no choice except to focus on his own training to face it soon.

I can’t leave this place before somehow defeating this beast. If I let it out, it’ll be dangerous for my people living inside.

That thought alone was enough to drive him back to his training with renewed determination.

—-

In the outside world, forty-five minutes had passed since Leon and the monster had vanished into the dimensional realm.

In the same destruction-filled land—craters stretching for kilometers, forests flattened, the earth itself scarred and broken—several people had gathered. Men and women in well-equipped, high-quality armor and weapons, each radiating their own distinct aura of power.

They were investigating the area.

Some looked dissatisfied with their findings, expressions dark as they examined the aftermath of the catastrophic battle. Others appeared relieved, perhaps grateful that whatever had caused this devastation seemed to be gone.

“No bodies,” one investigator muttered, kicking at a pile of ash that might have once been part of the colossal giant. “Whatever happened here, both combatants vanished.”

“The spatial residue is off the charts,” another said, holding up a crystalline device that pulsed with faint light. “Someone was using extremely advanced space manipulation. Multiple black holes, dimensional tears…”

“World-class level combat,” a third concluded grimly. “And we have no idea who was involved or where they went.”

The investigation continued, but answers remained elusive.

—-

Seraphine and Loriel sat inside a restaurant in Conan City—one of the few establishments that had somehow survived those destructive earthquakes. The building’s walls showed cracks, and some of the windows had shattered, but the structure remained standing.

Both their expressions were serious. They had just returned to the city only a minute ago after searching the devastated area outside in the thornwood forest.

Loriel spoke first, her expression deeply worried.

“Seraphine, we didn’t find Leon in the place we guessed he might be. He was nowhere to be seen anywhere in that destruction.” Her voice trembled slightly. “What should we do? What if something happened to him…?”

Seraphine heard her question but didn’t answer immediately. Her own mind was filled with the same terrible uncertainty.

Where are you, Leon? What happened out there?

The only reason she wasn’t freaking out as much as Loriel was because she had absolute trust in her beloved. She knew Leon would keep himself safe even if he came across something life-threatening.

With his strength and that broken cosmic system of his, wherever he is right now, he’s safe. He has to be.

She answered Loriel with confidence, her voice steady despite her inner turmoil.

“Don’t worry. Wherever he is, he’s safe. Trust me.”

Loriel was surprised by her calm demeanor. She knew that the most worried person inside should be Seraphine—because of their strong bond and relationship, the purple-haired woman had the most to lose if something had happened to Leon.

Yet she was still so calm. So composed.

If Seraphine can believe in him this much, then I should, too.

Loriel stopped freaking out, not wanting to make Seraphine worry more inside by displaying her own panic. Instead, she suggested something constructive.

“Then… how about we go on a mission to increase our adventurer rank? When Leon comes back, we can surprise him with how much stronger we’ve become!”

Hearing her words, Seraphine’s amethyst eyes shone brightly. She liked the idea very much—it gave them something productive to focus on instead of waiting helplessly.

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

Right after, both women stood and left for the Adventurer’s Guild to pick out their next mission. The guild building was one of the few structures that had survived the earthquakes relatively intact, its reinforced construction proving its worth.

Wait for us, Leon. We’ll be stronger when you return.

—-

Back inside the dimensional realm, Leon’s strength was increasing at a tremendous rate.

A full year had passed inside the time-accelerated space.

His two new powerful techniques—Frost Fang and Arcane Shackle—had both reached Master level in mastery through relentless practice and refinement. Thousands upon thousands of repetitions, each one pushing his understanding deeper, his execution sharper.

His new skill, Elemental Surge, had reached level sixty-five through constant use during training. The duration had increased dramatically—from the initial sixty seconds all the way to six full minutes of boosted elemental affinity.

Six minutes of rank eight affinity. That’s… incredible.

He felt significantly stronger now. But one of the main reasons he’d received such a brutal beatdown from the monster before wasn’t just the creature’s overwhelming power.

It was that weird debuff he’d gotten at the time of his race change.

The system hadn’t even warned him about a one-month adjustment period where his body would be adapting to its new form, his affinity temporarily suppressed to one level. During that previous fight outside, he’d been operating at a severe disadvantage—using rank six affinity when he should have had access to much more.

But now the debuff had expired. He’d spent so much time here in his physical body that the adjustment period had long since passed.

At the previous fight, I was handicapped without even realizing how much. But now…

With Elemental Surge active, all of his elemental affinities would reach rank eight for six minutes. The skill still had a cooldown—now reduced to just one day from its initial three days—but that window of power was more than enough for a decisive battle.

He couldn’t describe in words how powerful he felt with rank eight affinity control. The elements responded to his will with such precision, such overwhelming force, that it almost felt like cheating.

I’m so much stronger than when I fought the monster outside. It’s not even comparable.

And now he was ready.

Ready for the battle that would determine whether he could end this threat or not. But he knew this fight wouldn’t be the same as before—the monster had also been growing stronger during this year. He wasn’t the only one who’d been training.

It’s been absorbing mana this whole time. Getting faster. More powerful. Healing its wounds fully.

The creature would be at its peak condition, just as he was at his.

This will be the real fight. Winner takes all.

Leon took a deep breath, centering himself. He checked his temporary equipment, his techniques, and his mana reserves. Everything was ready.

With a single thought, he teleported from his training spot to the grassy field where the monster waited.

FWOOSH!

He materialized in the familiar location, the endless green stretching around him under that ambient skyless glow.

And there it was.

The monster sat in the exact same meditation pose he’d seen during his last check-up, but something was different now. Its obsidian body seemed denser, more refined. The green flames in its eye sockets burned with greater intensity than ever before.

As Leon appeared, those burning eyes opened fully and locked onto him with predatory focus.

The ancient consciousness within the creature recognized the change immediately. The human felt different—stronger, more dangerous. This wasn’t the same wounded prey it had beaten down a year ago.

This was something else entirely.

Both combatants stared at each other across the distance, neither moving, neither speaking.

The final battle was about to begin.

The windless grass around them flattened under the sheer pressure of their presence—two forces of destruction poised like coiled storms. Somewhere in the silent stillness, fate held its breath.