System: Inherited

Lucas didn't move, as he waited for the Ape to make the first move. It came flying towards his head, performing a jump kick. "So soon?", Lucas thought as he dodged it by moving to the side. He then did a foot thrust as soon as the Ape landed, and it budged from the place. Lucas began to do a combination.

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"Low kick, Switch kick, Straight Foot Jab", he thought as he did it. It was one of his combination techniques to throw an opponent off balance. And it was working with the Ape too. But sadly, it wasn't enough for him to win. 

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"Just one, and I will be able to move to C Rank", he thought. He didn't want to use anything, not yet anyway. He wanted to see if there was any strength difference between these Martial Apes according to the Martial Arts they practiced. Using his shin, he did a roundhouse to the back of the Ape's head, but his leg was stuck there.

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He was unable to move past the head, and it was like he was hitting a rock. He turned and looked at Emilia. "Just what kind of person are you to be able to damage this kind of Ape by hitting it repeatedly? I can barely damage one!", he thought. He then channeled his Aura throughout his body.

"Guess I'm still too weak. I have to improve myself, and since Father said a Storm is Brewing, it means that there must be something big happening there. And he has never given a device to anyone before. Not to Sam, and neither to Kate. This means that this is quite serious", he concluded.

And for that, he needed strength. He was preparing himself to face the threat that his father was referring to, but only when he came face to face with an Emperor Tier did he know his weakness. The Ape lunged again, and this time it performed a Double Collar Tie.

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Double Collar Tie is one of the clinching moves in Muay Thai. It is executed by placing both of your hands to the back of your opponent's head and pulling it down. This locks his opponent's head and shoulders in a dominant position, allowing him to perform some serious damage on them.

"The Double Collar Tie. This is going to be hard to break, especially against such a big stature", he thought as he was already deep into the lock. He moved his body lower and closer to the Ape, making it lose its momentum to kick using its knee. It grunted and let go, and he quickly moved away. 

"I can't do a suplex to this big guy. I am not strong enough to do that anyway", he thought as he moved backward. The Ape spun on place and kicked him in the gut. It pushed him away for many meters, and he slid and rolled away. He coughed up blood.

"Maybe this Aura isn't enough", he thought as he began to channel more into his body, pushing it to the limit. He then moved from the place and performed a back elbow right at its left ear. It stumbled back, and he didn't miss this chance as he did the same to the right ear, a second later. The Ape began to experience dizziness for a moment.

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Lucas wanted to finish this quick, and he performed a Double Under Hook. He lunged at the hip of the ape, and he was clenching it with all his strength. "Man, these Apes are tall", he cursed as he was clinching. The Ape snickered at him as it moved its hip backward, and Lucas went along with it. "This is not even an Under Hook. Damn", he thought.

He wanted to use his swords now. Then he remembered something. "When fighting someone bigger and stronger than you, remember to always maintain your cool. You lose that, you lose your only advantage against them", he remembered. This was one of his Master's many teachings, words of wisdom.

He then took a deep breath, and he called out to Valentine. "Activate the Rage Mode at fifty percent", he said. Valentine did it as he complained. "You know you can activate it yourself, right?", he complained.

[Rage Mode has been Activated]

[All stats have been increased by fifty percent]

[Eye of Prediction has been activated]

[Eye of Prediction - Will be able to perceive the next move of your opponent. Skill used to maximize the effect of Rage Mode]

[Mastery - 50%]

[Rage Mode activated at 50% intensity]

The mark began to pulse as his eyes began to see the movements of the Ape much more fluently. He was dodging them quite easily, but he still hadn't built any damage. "Maybe the increase in stats will help this time", he thought as he did a diagonal knee strike to its guts.

The Ape moved back slightly. This was a win for the already struggling Lucas. "Maybe this is the edge I needed to stand against this", he thought as he jumped again, this time doing a curving knee strike to its head.

He followed it up with a hook punch to its eye, temporarily blinding it. He then felt his Aura level increase, and he was happy about that. "Maybe I ranked up?", he thought as he felt the surge of newfound strength. The Ape was howling as it grabbed its eye. Emilia woke up from her previously fainted state.

"What's going on?", she thought as she looked around. She then saw the Ape that she had killed and Lucas fighting against the other Ape. when she was about to jump in, she heard Lucas talk. "No problem, I can take care of this on my own", he said as he landed.

He then moved swiftly, and the speed this time baffled the Ape. It was threatened, yet it smiled. It did a Back Fist Strike, and Lucas got hit and went sprawling to the ground. He coughed up blood.

"Not yet", he thought as he was seething with Rage. The intensity of the Rage Meter began to go up, as his rage increased. He was mad. For being weak. For being underestimated. And finally, for being unable to protect himself. "How will I protect my family, when I can't protect myself?!", he seethed.

The pulsing of the mark became stronger, and his eye was getting better. He didn't realize it, but he was slowly mastering control over his Rage Mode, increasing his mastery along with it.

"More. I need to become stronger", he thought as he dodged the strikes. The Ape which was threatened was now feeling terrified. It sensed the sudden surge of strength in him, and it wanted to eliminate him as soon as it could. Lucas performed a roundhouse kick again, and this time, he heard a crack in the Ape's legs.

[Congratulations! You have obtained Complete Mastery over Rage Mode]

[You can use Eye Of Prediction freely. You will not have to enter Rage Mode to access it]

Lucas saw the notification, but he didn't feel happy inside. Although he had complete mastery over it, he was still mad. He wanted to be able to stand next to his family without any of this. "I will become stronger", he vowed as he channeled his Aura into his fists and feet.

The Aura that he had channeled began to take shape. It shaped itself into knuckle busters with spikes on it. And the ones on his legs took the shape of a military boot. His eyes were red, but his sanity was still intact.

"You Ape. I thank you for making me realize how weak I am. But I can't let you win, not today. For I have a dream, a goal to achieve. I have people that I want to stand next to proudly someday so that they can hold their heads high. I hope you will understand", he said as he jumped from his place. The Ape began to look around, but it couldn't see where he was.

Lucas was high above his head, and he was coming down crashing with an Axe Kick. The Ape which wanted to fight, let down its guard. Lucas pierced through its eyes and made it blind in one of its eyes. The Ape then stopped Lucas and said the same things as the Boxing Ape said.

Lucas imagined the shape of a blade and his right hand's aura changed into one. He then moved back three steps and came running. He jumped and thrust his fist outwards, and twisted his hips for more momentum. The Ape stood there, satisfied that it had met someone stronger than him. 

Lucas's Aura blade pierced through its heart, bringing it near to death. Lucas's vision began to fade, and he was about to pass out. "Not Yet", he muttered as he went towards the Ape. He held out his fist, and the Ape did the same.. "Hope you find someone to spar with up there", he said as he fist-bumped with the Ape.