NOVEL NEXT Chapter 43: Chapter 43
[200,000 experience points have been used]
[Waterbending up to Level 13]
[Skill Tree has been upgraded]
[You are now a fully-fledged Grandmaster Waterbender.]
[Aqua Sense has been perfected]
[300,000 experience points have been used]
[Waterbending up to Level 14]
[You are now a Great Grandmaster]
[You have achieved the level of Great-Great Grandmaster]
[Bending with the mind has been upgraded.]
[Can now use humidity to sense surroundings.]
[+ Skills: …]
[Water Telekinesis has been acquired]
Like any successful capitalist entrepreneur, I used the acquired experience points to upgrade my waterbending.
But man, I almost felt like my head was about to snap off my neck. The information overload and the new muscle memory were overwhelming.
As the earthbenders jumped from the wall, the water tentacles moved in front of me. They no longer felt like water I was bending—they felt like extensions of my body.
Thanks to my Aqua Sense, they felt like limbs. And thanks to telekinesis, I could control them like limbs. In fact, I could reshape them like limbs.
The ends of the eight tentacles turned into hands with five fingers, and I could clench them.
This was a whole new level of waterbending mastery.
I jumped off the wall, using the water to slide down and lessen the impact of my fall.
It was enough to land without breaking or cracking a bone.
I looked at the soldiers, their eyes red.
I guess they had been crying while charging at us.
A few firebenders took their stances and aimed a combined fire stream at me.
One of the tentacles turned into steam.
You know, a liter of water, when turned into steam, can occupy a much larger space.
The tentacle collided with the fire, and since it was steam—which is wet—it absorbed the fire easily.
The steam didn't stop until it covered a few firebenders.
They had heat tolerance, that's for sure.
But cooking them wasn't my goal.
The steam then cooled down instantly, turning into water before freezing.
One of the soldiers managed to come at me from my blind spot.
But I could sense him somehow.
His shape, his appearance, his height, and even the size of his… well, you know. I could see it all without having to look at him.
I guess this was a perk of spending millions of experience points on my waterbending.
I pointed my hand at him and used Freeze Palm from a distance.
When I first acquired this skill, it took time to activate, and even more time at a distance.
But as I leveled up, the required time decreased.
And now, after gaining a few levels in a row, I wanted to test it.
The soldier who jumped at me was just one meter away.
Less than one second.
That's all it took for the fire soldier to have all the water in his body turn into ice.
I took a step aside, letting him complete his jump. As he landed, he fell like a statue, white mist flowing out of his body.
That was completely broken.
But considering the amount of experience I had spent on my waterbending, it made total sense.
And speaking of broken…
The earthbenders were thriving.
I looked at Haru, who simply stood facing a tank.
He stomped on the ground, and the tank flipped. He then pushed his hands forward, and the tank moved like a rock, smashing through a line of soldiers.
The others worked in sync, showing how overpowered teamwork among metalbenders could be.
I watched as armored soldiers flew through the air.
"How in the hell is this happening?"
"The tanks… The tanks…"
The Fire Nation tanks were crushing themselves, and the soldiers inside didn't stand a chance.
The bodies of the Fire Nation soldiers flew through the air and crashed into each other.
Others had their armor squeezed around them, suffocating them to death.
They shot fire streams left and right, but the earthbenders—now metalbenders—didn't give them a chance to aim.
It was a total massacre.
Seeing that I might only get a portion of the experience, I decided to take my turn.
I steamed the water tentacles, turning them into concentrated steam that occupied a large space.
I swept the steam over the Fire Nation soldiers, freezing it on them and turning them into ice statues.
Since they didn't have the light spirits on their side and weren't the Avatar, they were obviously dead.
Seriously, who could survive being frozen if not the Avatar?
Not even the fiber in food remains intact after freezing and thawing, let alone a living organism made of complex proteins, blood, glycogen, and other stuff.
Even if their bodies were preserved, there's no way they'd remain the same.
I didn't hear the notifications for a simple reason: I had deactivated them so they wouldn't distract me.
I looked at the mist in the air and decided to go all out. Otherwise, I'd lose a portion of the experience points to the earthbenders, metalbenders, and dustbenders.
I used my Chi Bending, controlling the mystical energy and creating an aura around my body. I felt more powerful and faster. At the same time, I knew I wouldn't last long in this form, so I had to make the most of the time I had.
I dashed into the mist, part of it following me.
I met the first enemy and placed my hand on him.
Steam rose from his body as I used Dehydration Palm, taking his life in an instant.
I could sense four more firebenders surrounding me.
When you're at a disadvantage or advantage in battle, the most efficient strategy is to take down the enemy's leader.
It's like taking the queen in a game of chess during the endgame.
I stopped in place and waved my hand, bending the steam to surround the firebenders. I used the Steaming skill to raise the temperature to the maximum. The steam didn't just heat their skin—it entered their bodies through their noses, ears, and mouths.
And unlike fire, steam doesn't burn—it cooks.
(Burns are caused by dry heat. Scalds are caused by wet heat.)
Once the steam passed over them, they dropped dead.
I continued fighting, and so did everyone else.
The firebenders and Fire Nation soldiers who had been on the offensive turned and started to run away.
The earthbenders, who had been oppressed for 17 years, 15 years, 10, 5—whatever time they had been captured—didn't let the chance slip to unleash their anger.
Wild screams echoed in the air, drowning out the cries of the armored men flying through the air.
Their numbers dwindled.
And soon, roars of victory could be heard.
The steam surrounding me scattered, and I panted, having used a lot of Chi.
[The battle is over]
[Calculating]
[Host defeated 30 firebenders and 50 normal soldiers. Counting masters, non-masters, martial artists, and their skill levels.]
[Thanks to your command, your men defeated 350 soldiers.]
[Counting…]
[Waterbending +20,000 experience points]
[Chi Bending +5,000 experience points]
[You've earned 150,000 accumulated experience points]