Of course Patty picked yes! Possessing the powers of an A-class Teqx included a resistance that was in line with the element of the powers itself. Since the Sunverk Explosion Teqx used explosion and heat to generate power, it would only make sense that their user also had increased resistance to it. Patty could only guess the reason why those D-class Teqx didn't give him any resistance. It was probably because they were low class and didn't have enough mastery over an element compared to an A-class Teqx.
He was surprised that he could permanently acquire these resistances. He thought he would have to equip the Teqx everytime he wanted to have that resistance, but it looked like the SSS+ skill saved him the trouble of wasting more energy.
If he were to get more A-class Teqx that had different powers and elements, Patty could basically arm himself with so much resistance that he would practically be invincible at one point! This was another really good incentive for Patty to hunt down Teqx users to try and copy their powers. But Patty was lazy, so he wouldn't do that. What he could do was have them come to him instead. That would be the ideal scenario, given that he didn't have to fight every single one of them.
Patty shook his head. He must remember that he was still fighting a very dangerous Griff at this moment. This was not the time to fantasize about what he would do later.
Griff bit his lips. No matter how much explosives he threw at Patty's way, his seemingly normal skin was able to fend off every single one of them. It didn't matter if he added more. It felt like he was trying to scratch a diamond with an iron nail. No matter how many times he tried or how hard he pushed, there was no way he was going to make a single cut. The difference between them felt like a chasm that he could never overcome, not even with the teachings of his father.
This frustrated him to no end. What did all those hours of training do for him? What did he break his bones for if it wasn't even tough enough to fight against Patty? Why did he immerse himself in explosive gunpowder every night if his flame wasn't even enough to burn through Patty's skin? Why did he endure his father's harsh lessons if it didn't even work against Patty, who he would have described as a pathetic weak man?
His father was always right. His teachings should have held up under all types of scrutiny. It should have been enough. HE should have been enough. But he wasn't. Using all of his powers and skills that he polished through years of hard work, he lost against someone who spent all his time in bed. He lost against someone who didn't have a speck of muscle in his bones. He lost against someone who never even broke a sweat. How was that possible?
That can't be. He still hasn't done everything.
Fourth step on how to fight against someone like Patty: find their weakness. This should have been directly after analyzing his opponent. He should have found a weakness and used it to take down his opponent. But as he realized, Patty had no weakness. Every part of his body was as tough as the rest of them. His head, which most consider to be the most critical and vulnerable part of most humans, was somehow so much stronger than his body. He couldn't even imagine how strong it was. It broke the laws of physics. He felt his own bones and tendons start to break and splinter even when he just performed a light tap on Patty's head.
No wonder Ryan and the others were knocked out in one hit. He was surprised that they didn't break their skulls from the impact. It made him realize that even when he fought them, he was still holding back. Patty made sure to use a very small amount of force, just enough to make them unconscious, but not enough to give them a fatal injury. That fact was terrifying.
If his entire body was invulnerable, then Griff must find a weakness outside. His eyes went towards Grammo. He was the key. He would be Patty's downfall. If he dies or becomes incapacitated, then his expulsion will be all but guaranteed.
Griff used the explosions in the soles of his shoe and rocketed towards Grammo. He grabbed him by the neck, imprinting a flame symbol on his neck. With just one signal from his brain, Grammo's head would be blown up into smithereens.
"Don't move if you don't want him to die!" Griff shouted to Patty.
"You don't know me, do you?" Patty said with exasperation. Don't people know that he was too lazy to walk?
Grammo woke up from the pain he was feeling from having his throat in a chokehold. He was already in a great deal of misery from the growing poison sac in his larynx and Griff's grip only made him feel even more hellish. He couldn't even utter any sounds of pain.
His eyes looked over at Patty and gave him a look that signaled his surrender. He didn't want to be the reason why Griff finally beat Patty. He didn't want to be the reason someone died. Not again.
'Please don't care about me. Don't fall into Griff's trap,' Grammo thought to himself. He tried his hardest to say this to Patty with just his eyes. That was all he could do. He hoped that Patty wouldn't become a hero and try to save him. He had already done enough. But knowing Patty, he would probably still try to save him, under the guise of being lazy. He was that kind of person. He was a good friend.
"I don't care about him. Kill him." Patty said immediately. He didn't even look at Grammo. He simply shrugged at Griff's threat.
Griff knew that he was bluffing. Probably. He dragged Grammo and the chair he was tied to, towards Patty. With each step he took closer to Patty, his heart raced through the roof. This was his last resort, his final attack. He would finally end this fight. Either Patty dies, or he dies. There was no in between.
He kept eye contact with Patty, never letting any of his actions get past him. If he moved even a slight bit, Griff was ready to blow Grammo's neck at a milliseconds notice. But he knew that Patty wouldn't move. Throughout this whole fight, even when he fought against his lackeys, he never moved a single step. He was anchored in that one spot, never leaving, never taking his foot off the ground.
"Both of you have gotten on my nerves. This bastard right here kept on trying to prove that he will be a singer. It was annoying. Then, I found out why he wanted to become a singer, and he became even more pathetic. He was a sight for sore eyes and a sharp pain in the ears." Griff tightened his grip on Grammo's neck. He was choking him.
"And you. You lazy bum. You were supposed to be weak." Griff pointed at Patty. "I was supposed to tower over you. I was supposed to treat you as nothing but a bug that I crush with my shoes. My triumph over you was supposed to be my stepping stone. It was supposed to prove my regality in this world."
Griff's emotions made his flame powers get even more powerful, his heat got more intense. He was a barrel of gunpowder, ready to explode at any moment.
"You proved me wrong. I admit you are strong. Even if you did nothing to deserve it, even if you are an idiotic fool who spent no hard work to get your strength, I still admit that you are strong."
Then, he smiled, taunting Patty.
"But you can never win against me. I already won. The moment that I destroyed Grammo's dream, I have doomed your future. Before you even arrived here, your battle was already lost. You can never win against me. No matter how powerful you are, you cannot undo what I have done. It is my win."
Griff finally stopped just an armspan's length away from Patty. "You may have won the fight, but I have won the war."
Without any warning, Griff took out the hidden silver cube behind his back and activated this once again. Just like before, a vortex of black and violet suddenly appeared, similar to that of the deepest and darkest depths of the universe. He already used this before, and it was a proven weapon that can damage Patty.
It was the Fiendish Armament.
This time, Griff will not miss. He will hit Patty square in the chest and destroy his rib cages, crushing his heart into a bloody mush. This was checkmate. If he moved away, Grammo would be nothing but a headless corpse. If he didn't, then he would die.
"Now what will you do, Patty? Will you continue to stand your ground or will you prove yourself to be a traitor?!"
BBBZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
BBBZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
BBBZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
[Energy: 5.87]
This was the first time in a while that the Muscava Cyclo appeared automatically. Even the system was reminding him that he didn't have enough energy to regenerate his health from fatal injuries. If this hits Patty, it will result in his death.