SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System-Chapter 165: Minute Details!

"Ayra, please," Daniel whispered, hands raised defensively. "This isn’t right."

Her sneer widened. "You humiliated me, Vance. Now you’ll feel powerless." She stepped closer, gauntlets humming with latent power.

"No running," she taunted, seizing his wrist with iron strength. She shoved him onto the bed, pinning him with her knees and gauntleted hands.

His struggles were futile against her monstrous power, his sealed cultivation betraying him.

"Stop fighting," she hissed, her face inches from his, her breath hot.

Her words recalled their past encounter, now twisted into revenge.

She tore at his clothes, her gauntlets bruising his flesh. Her berserker aura flared, feeding her relentless dominance.

Daniel’s pleas weakened, his body exhausted, her actions a calculated stripping of his confidence.

Footsteps outside went unnoticed until the door creaked open.

Olenna, Daniel’s intended companion, stepped in, freezing at the sight of him pinned beneath Ayra, his clothes torn, face engraved with fear.

Ayra’s eyes snapped to Olenna, daring her to act.

The morning after Ayra’s revenge was a masterpiece of suffocating awkwardness.

The four of them sat at the vast, sunlit dining table in the villa, the silence broken only by the clinking of forks against plates and Nyx devouring her shadow-kibble under the table.

Ayra, her fiery hair pulled back into a tight, severe ponytail, was aggressively stabbing a piece of melon as if it had personally insulted her ancestors.

Her face was a mask of simmering annoyance, her cheeks still holding a faint, rosy blush.

Daniel, meanwhile, found the patterns on his plate suddenly fascinating, his gaze fixed downward.

Olenna sipped her tea, a single, perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched in amusement.

Her calm, knowing smile, Daniel thought, was far more unsettling than Ayra’s open anger. Lia, ever the diplomat, stepped in to break the silence.

"The Combat Techniques School has a fascinating regimen, Ayra," she said, her voice a gentle melody.

"I passed by their training grounds this morning. The sounds were... very energetic."

"Hmph," Ayra grunted, finally spearing her melon with a triumphant jab.

"Travis Standen says I need to work on my emotional control. I told him my emotions are perfectly under control, they’re just usually set to furious."

"Well, your progress is undeniable," Lia offered kindly.

The tense silence returned, thicker than before.

Daniel knew he couldn’t put it off any longer. His month of humbling cultivation had been a success, but the final, crucial step remained: having the seals removed.

More importantly, after last night’s... incident... he felt an urgent, burning need to have his full power back.

Not just for the quest, but for his own peace of mind. And maybe, just maybe, for a little playful payback.

"I need to go see the Principal," Daniel announced abruptly, pushing his chair back. "I’ve... completed the first stage of my training."

Ayra’s head snapped up, her eyes widening slightly.

A glint of something, perhaps panic, or maybe just renewed interest, crossed her face before she schooled it back into a defiant stare.

She watched him leave, a silent, unspoken challenge hanging in the air between them.

The journey to Principal Alistair Finch’s workshop felt different this time. Daniel drove the Voidshadow sports car with a newfound physical competence, though the neural interface still felt distant.

When he arrived, the old man was exactly where he’d left him, sitting in his comfortable armchair, sipping tea and looking out at the sweeping view of the platform.

"Ah, Daniel," the Principal greeted him, his ancient eyes twinkling. "Back so soon? I trust the radishes were... enlightening?"

"They were a lesson in humility, Principal," Daniel admitted, standing before the old man.

The month of grueling labor had stripped away the last vestiges of his arrogance. He understood now.

"Excellent," Alistair said, a genuine smile gracing his lips.

"Humility is the vessel into which true power can be poured. You have learned the most important lesson. You are ready."

The Principal didn’t move from his chair. He simply raised a frail-looking hand.

The air around Daniel shimmered as a gentle but unyielding force wrapped around his limbs.

With a series of soft, resonant clicks, the heavy Strength-Sealing Manacles on his wrists and ankles simply... fell apart, dissolving into motes of dust before they even hit the floor.

The sensation was instantaneous and overwhelming.

"BOOM!"

An explosion of pure, unrestrained power surged back into him.

The air, which had been a struggle to breathe, now felt light and thin.

The quiet hum of his SSS-Rank [Soul Assimilation] talent roared back to life in his mind.

He felt his S-Grade skills, [Solar Flare Fist Art], [Earthquake Colossus Form], [Twilight Phantom Step], all ignite within him like newborn stars.

His connection to Nyx, which had been a faint whisper, now became a clear, vibrant bond.

He closed his eyes, savoring the thrilling return of his true self. It felt like returning home after a long, difficult journey.

"Incredible, isn’t it?" the Principal’s voice was soft beside him.

"The feeling of one’s own power, fully restored. But do not forget the feeling of its absence, my boy. That memory is your most valuable shield against pride."

Daniel opened his eyes, his gaze now sharp, his presence filling the workshop with a quiet, confident power.

"I won’t, Principal. Thank you."

"The next three stages of your cultivation will be significantly harder," Alistair warned, his expression turning serious.

"The Luminark Stone, the Everfrost Aetherium, and the Erymanthian Boar Blood.

Each presents a unique and perilous challenge. Do not underestimate them. Your foundation is now tempered, but it is not yet complete."

Daniel nodded, a new, unshakeable resolve settling within him. "I understand. I’m ready."

Back in his car, the Voidshadow now felt like an extension of his own will once more.

He didn’t just drive it, he commanded it, the neural interface forming a seamless connection between mind and machine.

He took a moment to truly assess the changes within him.

The month of sealed training had done more than just build his physical foundation.

It had forced him to rely on precision, on technique, on the idea of his power rather than the raw application of it.

His mastery over his vast energy had increased by orders of magnitude.

A slow, dangerous smile spread across his face as he thought of Ayra.

Her revenge had been predicated on a temporary imbalance of power. She had no idea that he had returned not just as he was, but far, far stronger.

"Oh, Ayra," he murmured to himself as the Voidshadow purred, a predatory glint in his eyes.

"The score isn’t settled. Not by a long shot."

He guided the car towards the coordinates of the Western Mine, his mind already formulating a plan for his next quest, and a far more personal plan for a certain fiery-haired Rock Pugilist when he returned.

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