E-Rank or SSS-Rank: I Awakened a Skill That Shouldn’t Exist

Aiden clenched his fists, fighting the urge to curse aloud. Their situation had gone from bad to worse.

Clara's armor suit was hanging on by threads; deep cracks ran across its metallic plates, some pieces sparking faintly as if the entire system was on the verge of shutting down.

She was moving, but only barely—her steps staggered, her breath uneven. Aiden didn't need to ask. He could see it in her eyes. She was pretending, forcing herself to appear steady, but she was already at her limit.

Technologically speaking, if Clara could somehow restore her suit back to full capacity, she might be able to rejoin the fight at her peak.

But that was a dream. Right now, she was running on fumes, both physically and mentally. Unlike Aiden, who fought using his physical body, skills, and skill energy.

Clara's combat relied heavily on her tech. Operating it in this damaged state must have been draining her in ways he couldn't even imagine.

In a single word, they were in trouble. No—dire was the better word.

And yet, as the saying went, a hero fights until the end.

Aiden wanted to believe that was why he was still standing, still pushing forward despite the odds.

But he knew the truth. He wasn't fighting out of some noble sense of duty or hope. He was fighting because he had no other choice.

The massive scorpion beast blocked the only exit. Its titanic body loomed over the battlefield like a wall of living flesh and steel, its six glowing tails swaying ominously behind it.

If they wanted to escape, they would have to go through it. There was no other way.

Aiden let out a sharp breath, irritation and exhaustion mixing in his chest. "Let's just end this damn battle already."

Clara gave a faint nod, tightening her grip on her broken arm-cannon. Together, they charged straight at the monster.

The beast reacted instantly. Its tails lashed forward, striking with the speed of whips. For some reason, it limited its attacks to mostly physical strikes rather than overwhelming them with elemental barrages.

That decision puzzled Aiden—was it overconfidence, or was there a restriction even Quint hadn't mentioned?

Either way, it didn't make the situation much better.

The scorpion's tails slammed against the ground, sending shockwaves through the earth. Dust exploded around them as Aiden weaved between the strikes, his body straining under the constant pressure.

The force behind each attack was enough to shatter boulders, and he could feel the raw destructive power in every blow.

Still, a strange thought surfaced in his mind.

It's powerful… but its control is shallow.

Compared to the Dark Emissary—the red-haired freak he'd once faced in Maurina—the scorpion beast lacked finesse.

That monster had nearly killed him with precise, devastating mastery over his abilities. In truth, if Clara hadn't save him back then, Aiden wouldn't even be alive right now.

He shook away the memory. This wasn't the time to drown in the past. If anything, remembering only hardened his determination. He refused to die here—not to a beast, not to Quint, not to anyone.

With a deep breath, Aiden launched himself forward, even as the odds pressed mercilessly against him.

He knew their chances of survival were slim—almost nonexistent—but he wasn't just fighting to live. He was fighting to kill.

To carve his way through the beast and strike down the hateful enemy that sat smugly atop it.

The battle roared on.

Four tails swung down toward Aiden while the other two kept Clara occupied. Each tail glowed with a distinct hue—red, green, yellow, and black—manifesting different elemental powers.

Against Aiden came fire, earth, wind, and the black tail, which seemed built solely for raw physical destruction.

It was overwhelming.

Flames surged across the battlefield, whipped higher and hotter by the gusting winds.

The scorpion's earth-infused strikes shattered the ground into jagged terrain, limiting Aiden's movements.

And that black tail—it didn't even need elemental energy. Its sheer brute force was terrifying enough, smashing through everything in its path.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

Aiden's current state—fighting through his elemental avatar—was reaching its limit. The heat from the fire attacks, amplified by the wind, gnawed at him mercilessly.

His once-fluid movements grew sluggish as his avatar weakened under the relentless onslaught.

The flames burned hotter, the beast's attacks grew more vicious, and his body felt heavier with every passing second.

The truth was cruel, but undeniable: if things continued at this pace, today could very well be his last day alive.

He gritted his teeth, refusing to yield. Every muscle screamed, every instinct told him to retreat, but he pressed forward. Again and again, he tried to land solid blows against the scorpion's armored body.

His strikes connected—but they barely left scratches. Its carapace was too thick, its regenerative abilities too strong.

And to make matters worse, the beast seemed to be growing more erratic, its movements unpredictable.

Its defensive instincts sharpened, forcing Aiden to commit harder, riskier strikes just to keep up.

Every second, the scorpion delivered attacks that would have annihilated him outright if not for his reflexes honed through endless battles.

Sweat dripped down his forehead. His breaths came harsh and ragged.

Aiden wasn't the only one drowning in danger—Clara was too. Her fight had turned into pure survival.

The beast's attacks targeted her with terrifying precision, and the worst part was how its elements perfectly countered her suit's capabilities.

The frost-elemental tail was her bane, every strike releasing waves of chilling energy that slowed her flight thrusters and restricted her agility.

It felt as though the cold air itself shackled her, dragging her body down even as she fought desperately to maneuver. Yet the scorpion wasn't satisfied with that alone—the lightning-infused silver tail crackled with blinding arcs of destruction, unleashing bolts that seared through the cavern with devastating speed.

Each strike was unpredictable, fast, and unrelenting.

Her suit groaned under the punishment. Fractures spread across its plates, cracks burned black from electricity, while glowing frost etched along the joints, reducing its mobility further.

Honestly, it was a miracle the suit was still operational. Aiden's heart twisted with anger as he watched. People tended to forget—he sometimes forgot too—that Clara was only human.

She hadn't awakened any ability, no innate powers, no elemental strength. She was a Zero.

Everything she achieved came from her brilliance, her technology, and her willpower. She had surpassed countless Awakened with her suit, standing shoulder to shoulder with monsters like him.

But no matter how advanced her tech was, the human body beneath it was fragile. Unlike Awakened, she couldn't absorb endless punishment—her limits were human limits.

With how damaged her tech suit was now, she had to be in unbearable agony inside, her body strained to the brink of collapse.

If he didn't do something, Clara might not last another minute.

Aiden's lips peeled back in a feral snarl, a guttural growl escaping his throat that shook the cavern walls.

His vine avatar mirrored his fury, its face splitting into a fearsome grimace. Without hesitation, he slammed his vine-clad hands into the ground, drawing upon energy he didn't have to spare.

He knew this would exhaust him completely—but he had no choice.

The earth trembled. Vines surged upward, weaving and binding together into a massive weapon unlike anything he had conjured before.

It wasn't a blade this time. It was a whip-scythe, long and flexible, its living vines twisted into a deadly lash with a crescent-shaped blade of hardened green at the tip.

The edge gleamed with unnatural sharpness, pulsing with his willpower.

Exhaling sharply, Aiden lashed forward. The whip-scythe cracked through the air with explosive force, striking the scorpion's armored body and carving open long, gaping wounds.

The beast shrieked in fury, its tails whipping around wildly, but Aiden was faster, his movements erratic—almost drunken—yet devastatingly effective. He swung again, and again, his attacks flowing unpredictably like a storm.

Each strike was a blur, a dance of chaos that tore chunks from the scorpion's frame.

To his own surprise, the weapon wasn't just an offense. He could use it to parry. The whip coiled around one of the tails mid-swing, wrenching it aside before slashing at another with blinding speed.

For the first time in the battle, the colossal beast was being forced back.

The cavern echoed with the chaotic symphony of whip cracks, shrieks, and thunderous impacts.

Clara, though barely able to hold herself together, bought Aiden precious seconds by distracting one of the lightning strikes.

Quint, high atop the beast, scowled deeply. His crimson eyes narrowed. "Why doesn't this make sense?" he hissed, his voice dripping venom.

"He's supposed to be breaking down by now!" His fury grew as Aiden's movements became harder and harder to read—wild, unrefined, but impossible to predict.

With a growl, Quint directed the beast. Its red tail swung high, charging a massive orb of fire that burned hotter than molten stone. In a roar, it launched the inferno directly at Aiden, who was midair.

It was a perfect trap. He couldn't dodge. Not from that position.

But instead of despair, Aiden's lips twisted into a grin.

His whip coiled around his own leg, anchoring him. In a shocking move, he kicked off the air itself, twisting his body in an impossible trajectory.

The inferno blazed past, scorching the air where he had been. And then—he was right in front of the beast's face.

"DIE!"

Both ends of his whip-scythe slashed downward in unison, carving twin arcs of green destruction across the scorpion's armored hide.

The beast howled in pain, stumbling backward as dark blood splattered the cavern floor.

Without hesitation, Aiden snapped the whip again—this time targeting Quint himself. The vine-blade scythed forward, aiming directly for the rider atop the monster. For a brief second, victory seemed possible.

But at the last moment, black energy surged over Quint's frame. His body became encased in dark armor, its jagged edges radiating sinister power.

The whip-scythe struck him dead-on, but instead of cutting him apart, the force sent him hurtling backward like a meteor crashing into the cavern wall.

The entire cave shook.

---

⚔️ To be continued…

AUTHOR'S NOTE

That's the chapter, everyone!

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– Ultra.

Here is the chap guys don't forget to vote and vote and vote and comments.

Here is the chap guys don't forget to vote and vote and vote and comment.

Stay tuned for the next chap.