SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System-Chapter 69: A Pup’s Playful Fury!

The small cave, hidden deep in the Whispering Mire, felt like a quiet refuge in a vast, eerie landscape.

Daniel, Lia, and Ayra had gotten a few hours of restless sleep, as the swamp’s heavy atmosphere made it hard to truly rest.

Daniel had woken first, his Tier 2 [Soul Assimilation] talent already humming with recovered charges.

The A-Grade [Predator’s Mark] he obtained from the Gloomfang Devourer’s fang sharpened his senses, while the B-Grade [Savage Might] offered a powerful boost to his already immense strength.

Nyx, Daniel’s Shadow Wolf Pup, was the first to fully wake after him. She stretched her small, shadowy body, then walked over and nudged his hand with her wet nose.

Her luminous blue eyes, usually wide with puppy curiosity, now held a spark of something else, a playful challenge.

She let out a soft "woof," then playfully nipped at his A-Grade Phantom Edge Striking Wraps.

"Feeling feisty this morning, are we, girl?" Daniel chuckled, scratching her behind the ears.

Nyx wriggled with pleasure, then suddenly darted back, crouching low in a mock pounce, her tail wagging furiously.

Lia, awakened by the soft sounds, sat up, her grey eyes still holding a touch of sleepiness.

"It seems Nyx is eager for some morning exercise," she observed with a gentle smile.

Ayra, on the other hand, was still resolutely unconscious, emitting a series of soft, rumbling snores that sounded suspiciously like a distant rockslide.

Daniel looked at his energetic familiar. An idea sparked. He needed to test his new B-Grade [Savage Might] skill, and Nyx, despite being a pup, had shown surprising bursts of power, especially after their encounters with potent energies.

"Alright, Nyx," he said, a grin spreading across his face. "You want to play? Let’s play." He still had that last Golden Sun-Kissed Fruit.

He broke off a small piece, about a quarter of it, and offered it to Nyx. "Here, a little power-up snack for my best scout."

Nyx sniffed the golden fragment, her eyes widening as she sensed the potent energy within. She devoured it in one gulp.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a faint, shadowy aura, laced with flickers of cold blue Soulfire, began to emanate from her small body.

She let out a surprisingly deep growl for her size, her muscles looking slightly denser, her eyes glowing with a more intense light.

The piece of the golden fruit had clearly amplified her latent abilities. freēwēbnovel.com

"Okay, now we’re talking!" Daniel said, getting to his feet and stretching. "Let’s see what you’ve got, little shadow."

Ayra and Lia, now both awake and watching with interest, observed as Nyx, her form still that of a pup but now radiating a noticeable pressure, circled Daniel warily.

Then, with a sharp yip, she launched herself at him, a blur of black fur and faint blue fire!

"Boom!"

Even with her small size, the force of her pounce was surprising.

Daniel easily caught her, but he could feel the new strength in her small frame.

"Not bad, girl! Getting stronger!"

Nyx wriggled free, landed gracefully, and then charged again, this time aiming a playful bite at his leg.

Daniel sidestepped, laughing. "You’ll have to be faster than that!"

This playful sparring continued for a few minutes. Nyx, empowered by the fragment of the golden fruit, was faster and stronger than before, darting in and out, her movements infused with her natural shadow affinity.

Daniel, holding back considerably, easily deflected her attacks, enjoying the chance to gauge her improvement.

"She’s learning quickly," Lia commented, impressed by the pup’s tenacity and the way she seemed to instinctively use shadows to her advantage.

Ayra, munching on a ration bar, grunted. "Still just a pup. Needs more... oomph."

Daniel grinned at Ayra. "Oomph, you say?

Alright, Nyx, let’s show Auntie Ayra some oomph!"

He decided to push Nyx a little, to see how she reacted under more pressure.

He increased his speed slightly, his movements becoming sharper, more deliberate.

Nyx, sensing the shift in her master’s intensity, responded in kind. Her playful growls turned into more serious snarls.

The Soulfire around her paws flared brighter.

She lunged again, and this time, Daniel didn’t just deflect. He met her pounce with a gentle push from his own hand, sending her tumbling harmlessly onto the soft cave floor.

"Whoa there!" Lia said, a little surprised by Daniel’s sudden increase in force.

Nyx scrambled back to her feet, shaking her head, a look of canine indignation on her furry face.

She let out a defiant bark, then, to everyone’s surprise, her shadowy aura pulsed, and she seemed to grow slightly larger, her muscles becoming more defined, her fangs looking a fraction longer and sharper.

"Now that’s what I’m talking about!" Ayra cheered, suddenly very interested. "Give him heck, little furball!"

Nyx, now radiating a palpable aura of shadowy might and cold fire, charged Daniel again.

This time, her speed was noticeably faster, her playful nips replaced by genuinely sharp snaps of her teeth.

Daniel found himself having to actually focus a bit to avoid her attacks.

"Boom!"

She slammed into his leg with surprising force, making him take a step back.

The wind from her sudden burst of speed was noticeable even in the cave.

"Good girl! That’s the spirit!" Daniel laughed, genuinely impressed.

He could feel the raw, untamed power in her, a miniature echo of the Blue-flame Skeleton Wolf he’d fought in the Ossuary.

He let her push him back a few steps, testing her strength, her determination.

She fought with a surprising ferocity, using her shadow affinity to appear and disappear in the dim cave light, her Soulfire-tinged claws leaving faint scorch marks on the stone where she landed.

Lia and Ayra watched, fascinated. "She’s incredible," Lia breathed. "For a Level 1 familiar, even with the fruit’s boost, that’s... exceptional potential."

Ayra nodded, a rare look of approval on her face. "Kid’s got fighting spirit. Like a tiny, furry, shadow-flame-spitting Ayra."

Daniel decided it was time to test his own new toy. Nyx was strong for her size and temporary boost, but he wanted to feel the surge of [Savage Might].

"Alright, Nyx," he said, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "Time for your master to get a little serious too."

He activated the B-Grade [Savage Might] skill.

"Boom!"

A wave of raw, primal power surged through him!

It wasn’t the explosive inferno of his Solar Flare Fist Art, but a deep, grounding strength, like the earth itself rising up within him.

His muscles visibly hardened, his stance becoming more solid, more immovable.

The air around him seemed to thicken. His Strength attribute, already immense, doubled, and his Vitality received a hefty fifty percent boost.

He felt like he could wrestle a Stonehide Crusher and use it as a bowling ball.

Nyx, facing this sudden, overwhelming surge of power from her master, hesitated for the first time.

The playful challenge in her eyes was replaced by a flicker of instinctual fear, quickly overshadowed by a look of awe and canine admiration.

Daniel grinned, a predatory light in his eyes. "Ready, girl?"

He didn’t even move fast. He simply took a step forward. The ground of the cave trembled slightly under his weight.

He extended his hand, palm open. Nyx, with a defiant yip, lunged one last time, aiming a Soulfire-wreathed snap at his outstretched hand.

Daniel simply closed his fist.

"BOOM!"

It wasn’t a punch. It was a declaration of overwhelming force.

The wind from his closing fist shrieked through the small cave, extinguishing their campfire in an instant.

Nyx, caught in the pressure wave from his S-Grade Savage Might-enhanced strength, was sent tumbling backwards through the air, yelping in surprise rather than pain.

She landed in a soft heap against a pile of thermal blankets, dazed but unharmed.

The ground stopped trembling. The wind died down. Silence descended, broken only by Nyx’s confused whimpers.

Lia and Ayra stared, their mouths slightly agape. They had seen Daniel fight, seen him unleash incredible power. But this... this was different.

Ayra swallowed hard. "Okay, Vance," she said, her voice a little shaky. "Point taken. That’s... that’s some serious ’oomph’."

She felt the familiar, frustrating feeling of the power gap between them widening yet again.

Daniel deactivated [Savage Might], the immense power receding, leaving him feeling invigorated.

He walked over to Nyx, who was now shaking her head and looking up at him with wide, slightly terrified, but ultimately adoring eyes.

"Good try, girl," he said, kneeling and ruffling her fur. "You’re getting stronger every day."

As he comforted his slightly shaken but visibly impressed familiar, he discreetly plucked another small tuft of her shadow-Soulfire-infused fur from her chest, where her energy had been most concentrated during her empowered state.

Gene fragments from an SSS-Talent master’s familiar, especially one recently enhanced by a Golden Sun-Kissed Fruit, were bound to be valuable.