“Haahhhhhhhhhhh!”

Going back to his fully prepared state in the beginner cave, the first thing that Damian did was let out an enraged sigh!

The Hobgoblin’s attack was even more cruel this time. Coming from the ground, it obliterated Damian’s shoulder before it blew his head off. However, this wasn’t what pissed Damian off!

Although the transmitted pain almost exploded his head a second time, he was angry with himself more than anything.

Damian was fully aware that being the final victor of this imbalance battle was easier said than done, but he at least wanted the chance to try! He still had at least one more minute of steam!

A single moment of hesitation ended up destroying a pretty great run before the real part of the battle even started…

If this was back on Earth, Damian would have likely contemplated smashing his keyboard.

{Dam… Sir Damian?}

Looking at her own crazed eyes, Iris felt a shiver in her nonexistent spine. She was spooked enough to instinctively go back to formal speech.

“I… I’m fine.”

The rage, the pain, the regret… All of it was washed away as soon as Damian came back to his senses.

‘Let’s hold it together.’

Unlike how much Damian made it seem like a failure, this run was actually quite the success. Just the discoveries that he made were more than enough to make the brutal death worth it!

‘Considering how far I had come just based on a simple map…’

Rather than look at the material gains which were still nothing, comparing the progress of the last two runs showed the huge difference that a few hints of information could make.

Everything he had learned this time was useful, but if Damian had to pick the star of the show, then the MVP had to be Combat Instincts!

During the first try, Damian’s senses were not only dulled early on but being completely surrounded also made complete evasion impossible.

Even when going back in time to the very first battle, Damian was completely detached from the thought of fighting that he ended up slowing his body more.

The fact that he managed to experience it for the first time once he had an actual handle on things made sense to Damian!

‘It can be abused within limits.’

Now that he was properly aware of the talent’s existence, Damian felt that he was becoming more and more optimized for respawn battles.

Instead of dying dozens of times to perfectly read his opponent’s pattern and then finally learn how to avoid it. He could be a little more reckless and wing things through.

Rather than performing worse, Combat Instincts’ auto-correction could likely give better results than tedious pattern-countering plans.

After all, this was no longer just a computer game where every event was already scripted. Who knew if the pattern would hold forever?

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

As long as he didn’t go about it very haphazardly, Damian was sure he could minimize the number of necessary deaths that he had to endure!

At the very least, the half-dozen Goblins no longer felt that fearsome!

‘Isn’t this how Iris survived as well?’

Looking back at Iris’ backstory, the very beginning of it only started to make sense now.

Unless an Advanced Magical Beast was weaker than Damian expected it to be

Looking back at Iris’ backstory, Damian suddenly felt enlightened. It all made sense now!

Unless an Advanced Magical Beast was weaker than Damian concluded it to be, then Iris needed a miracle to survive its attack long enough, and Damian believed that Combat Instincts was that miracle!

‘The butler likely wasn’t betting on her lasting that long.’

This was all just a hypothesis, but using the long list of cliche betrayal stories that he read… Damian guessed that the butler didn't mean to rescue Iris, to begin with.

She was probably supposed to die to the Magical Beast. It was just that Combat Instincts allowed her to survive for far too long that the butler could no longer remain indifferent.

Then, using the little trust he earned by saving Iris, he pushed her to the Labyrinth when she turned her back to him.

Failing to save the clumsy girl that stumbled into the magic portal was still more plausible than ignoring her absence!

‘Chosen ones are truly different.’

Funnily enough, even before Damian was assigned to be her Plot Armor, Iris was lucky enough to avoid direct death through a string of coincidences.

Ultimately, she ended up falling into the one place that could be the perfect catalyst for her growth. Although…

‘It still all depends on how I handle this.’

The task that had sprung itself on Damian was certainly heavy, but it wasn’t like he didn’t have any advantages. As a supposed embodiment of cheats, he had to act the part!

{I tried floating further away so I could find the ones that were hiding, but something held me back… It seems like I can’t be too far from my b- You.}

Seeing the calmness returning to her face, Iris felt like she could breathe again as he reported her own find in this run.

She wasn’t just being slow because of the horrors of the situation. Iris’ actions were forcefully limited.

‘That also makes sense.’

Damian was the Plot Armor in place. He was the one that had to control Iris’ body. If all he did was send out Iris to scout, then who was truly helping who, him or her?

“Either way, you still did much better this time. If you have discovered anything else, then now is the time to say it. Otherwise, just leave this to me.”

{You are going back so soon?}

Iris had only witnessed both horrible deaths, but she was feeling reluctant to go back so soon. She couldn’t put her head around it.

Just what kind of life did this Damian lead before for him to be this determined?

“I have to.”

If it was up to him, Damian was all up for some mental battle reenactments to optimize his attack plan. Even going a step further and imagining his enemies for a quick shadow battle was something he considered.

He also thought about staying in place to grind his skills before moving out, just like he did many times in Fate’s Guide.

However, not to mention the lacking food and stamina that wouldn’t support that. There was an even more important element that Damian couldn’t afford to screw up. Timing!

‘If I’m not wrong…’

The Hobgoblin’s late appearance suggested that he was busy with something at the exact time that Damian arrived.

Moving out any later would mean missing out on the small window of time that made clearing the Den possible!

If Damian had to face the whole green crew just for the sake of a few extra steps of preparation, then he might as well give up on this run!

{In that case…}

Trying her best not to infect Damian with her lack of determination, Iris slowly pointed out another crucial piece of information as he marched towards the Den for the third time…

“Greee!”

Seeing the Goblins’ ugly faces again, Damian took out his knives.

He had to make quick work of them in order to have the rematch he wanted!