Ever since he perfeCted his Physique into a well-rounded build and made a bet with Gavial, promising to marry her if he won an arm wrestle, Goki began focusing primarily on Strength.
Unlike in Yharnam, where each attribute point offered only a slight improvement, in Terra, every time Goki used blood echoes to strengthen himself, he could distinctly feel his body growing stronger.
With 25 Strength, according to Terra's standards, he was already considered mid-tier in the excellent Rank.
While still a long way from Skadi's monstrous strength, at least Goki wouldn't be out of breath when she pinned him down.
Of course, if it were a flying tackle like before... he would still get broken bones.
In Terra, Sarkaz are a race blessed and cursed by birth; while not all are inherently strong, their potential for growth is extremely high if they are willing to train.
Previously, when facing the First Speaker, the God of Burning Wind's Clone, and Sarkaz mercenaries, Goki suffered quite a bit in terms of strength, even being slightly outmatched in direct sword fights, only managing to win by relying on opportunistic tactics.
But now, things were different.
Bang—
A roar sounded. Facing the whistling punch, Goki extended his hand and firmly gripped the fist of the Sarkaz hooligan, who was specifically cornering Kafka.
Their arms collided, producing a tremor and a thud.
Goki used his cane to parry the truncheon swung down by the Sarkaz man in front of him, while his other hand, still clutching the man's fist, slowly twisted it to the side.
The Sarkaz population is vast, and not all of them are professional warriors. These Sarkaz, who grew up on the streets of Columbia, naturally hadn't undergone the rigorous training of the wilderness. They usually relied on their racial talent for brute force to bully others.
As long as they were careful of the horned Wyvern, almost no one could control them.
But this time, he encountered someone with greater strength than himself, and significantly so.
Crack—crack—
The sound of bones rubbing and muscles tearing occurred in the arms of the Sarkaz hooligan and Goki. Accompanied by a grating sound, the Sarkaz hooligan's arm was forcibly dislocated.
Goki's 25 Strength surpassed the Sarkaz in front of him, but his Vitality was only 20, a bit lower, and his Endurance was even lower at only 15.
In other words, while he had enough strength, Goki's body temporarily couldn't withstand such brute force, nor could he sustain it.
Fortunately, what he feared least was trading injuries for damage. As long as his strength caught up first, everything else would be manageable.
Previously, whether fighting the First Speaker, mercenaries, or the minor Incarnation of the God of Burning Wind, Goki was always clashing blades, but not relying purely on brute force. Instead, he used a Hunter's experience and skill, constantly deflecting and redirecting force, which allowed him to barely contend and seek opportunities for victory.
Of course, in Yharnam, Goki was also accustomed to facing enemies with completely unequal strength most of the time.
However, this time, he had a rare opportunity to bully one of Terra's strongest races in terms of pure strength.
If it were a real fight to the death, these street hooligans probably wouldn't last half a minute. But Columbia, after all, was a society governed by law, and Goki didn't intend to kill. Instead, he simply used these Sarkaz to test his skills.
The current Goki could now be considered among the Ranks of superhumans—at least in terms of strength.
"Ah ah ah ah ah—my arm!"
"What are you howling for? I'm not going to kill you. Don't you still have a chance to live? Who is your employer? Why are you looking for Kaltsit?"
Releasing the twisted arm, Goki directly grabbed the hooligan leader's neck and pinned the burly man, who was about his height but much wider, against the dilapidated alley wall.
"I, I don't know, spare me, sir—I just took this job from a company's field agent!"
What Goki didn't expect was that this tall and burly Sarkaz man immediately burst into tears and begged for mercy.
Well, it seemed that Sarkaz exiles were widespread, and not all Sarkaz were tough nuts to crack.
"Never mind then—Kaltsit probably knows more than you do anyway."
Goki slammed the Sarkaz hooligan's head against the wall to ensure he was completely unconscious, then injected a blood vial into his thigh to recover his torn muscles.
Around him, ten Sarkaz Gang members lay scattered on the ground.
These guys had basically no combat training; at most, they were common thugs. The fight just now ended in less than a minute.
Goki had knocked out about three, while Skadi had directly knocked out the rest with her hands, and one was dealt with by Kafka.
"Goki, your strength seems to have grown again—you're growing so fast, it's really impressive."
Applying light force, carefully avoiding fracturing the last Sarkaz hooligan, Skadi looked up, her cold face softening again.
As an Abyssal Hunter, she was exceptionally aware of Goki's changes.
Her good friend, also a Hunter, was improving at a terrifying rate. Whether it was Strength, Physique, or speed, Goki was much stronger than when she first met him.
Skadi had asked him why, and Goki had told her truthfully.
It was something about Yharnam Hunters being able to absorb some kind of power from powerful prey to strengthen themselves. Skadi had listened vaguely and didn't remember the details.
However, a friend getting stronger was a good thing, and Skadi didn't want to always make Goki's body creak and crack—even though he always said it was fine.
As for Goki's current strength, it was already completely comparable to Gavial's. He would definitely win next time they met, and the fact that her good friend would be taken away by another good friend... Skadi hadn't considered it at all.
Although there were many movies in the landship room, Goki would never show inappropriate, terrible love triangle movies like "X Photo Album" or "X in School" to Little Orca.
As for movies like "Deer X Record" or "To X Love-Ru," the more the merrier, of course!
"Thanks for the compliment, Skadi. Just you wait, soon my strength will be greater than yours!"
"Goki, if you want to compare strength with me, you're still far from it!"
The two Hunters tacitly exchanged a fist bump and then looked back at the young Liberi girl holding a strange magic staff.
Releasing a faint glow of Originium Arts, putting a Sarkaz into a dazed sleep on the ground, Kafka put away her staff and looked at the two people in front of her with a mix of awkwardness and fear.
These Mister and Nona, they weren't just some naive outsiders... if they really wanted to, their small, broken Gang in the slums could be shut down at any time!
Looking at the Sarkaz whose arms were twisted by Goki and Skadi, or who had even created dents in the wall, and now lay scattered on the ground, Kafka managed to keep from trembling thanks to 18 years of accumulated composure.
"I won't hide it from you anymore. I'm looking for Doctor Kaltsit. It seems her enemies are as numerous as ever."
Smiling at Kafka, Goki, of course, knew the little trickster's personality, and also her kind heart.
"All right, mature Nona Kafka, now, can you take us to that place?"
"..."
Kafka swallowed, then nodded eagerly. After fumbling a few large bills from the hooligan's body, she clenched her fists by her ears and put on a cute act.
"Eh heh, Kafka is actually only 14 years old, a good child who knows nothing~"
— — — — — —
"I can't prescribe you medication. My medical license isn't recognized in Columbia. But you also can't keep taking Originium fermentation liquid orally for pain relief; your kidneys can't fully clear the toxins."
On the second floor of an old apartment building, in a simply decorated room, a green-haired Feline doctor sat at a makeshift consultation desk, examining the Originium crystals on a Feline woman's body.
"The price of oripathy blockers in Columbia has been inflated by pharmaceutical companies to an unbearable level for ordinary citizens. However, I can write you a prescription. Go to a Yan Country pharmacy, get the ingredients listed, and I'll help you process them... Combined with the medicine I give you, take it for a week, then come back to me for a re-check of your infection status. It can at least slow down the progression of the disease."
"Thank you, thank you, Doctor Kaltsit—we haven't been able to afford regular pharmacy medicine for a long time, and insurance doesn't cover us either..."
Kaltsit watched the grateful Feline woman leave with her child and husband, finally sighing with a hint of weariness.
Immediately after, a familiar voice reached Kaltsit's ears.
"Teacher Kaltsit, I missed you so much!"
Kaltsit raised an eyebrow, picked up the nearby kettle, and made herself a cup of coffee.
"Mon3tr, throw that guy downstairs—welcome, Abyssal Hunter Skadi."
Kaltsit waved her hand, and a dark shadow emerged from behind, tackling the man at the door—the unique and intriguing Mister Hunter she had unexpectedly met had actually come to find her.
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