Rey, poised on the brink of battle with Jacob, halted and pondered for a brief moment. His strategy was to leverage the initial strike to inflict substantial damage at the outset. Assessing his surroundings, he sought to turn the environment to his advantage. With a plan in mind, he resolved to act.
Swiftly, he scaled the adjacent wall, ascending to the roof where, inexplicably, some rods dangled. There, he surveyed the area, biding his time until Jacob arrived at the designated spot. Poised and patient, Rey awaited the opportune moment.
A quarter of an hour passed, and as the moment arrived, Rey, inhaling deeply, confronted his greatest fear. He initiated a diversionary tactic to launch his attack.
"Boy, where are you? I know you're here. Come out, and I promise I'll give you a painless death," Jacob shouted, scanning the area for any sign of movement. He was poised to attack, ready to slice the boy apart should he reveal himself.
Employing telekinesis, he levitated six small fragments of machinery, a feat that taxed his mental fortitude. With a determined effort, he hurled them at Jacob, who was scouring the vicinity for the youth.
Jacob noticed the projectiles and reacted, swatting away two, but was struck by the remaining four as he contemplated his next move.
He leaped from above, drawing both daggers to strike with all his might. Despite his mental fatigue undermining the force of his attack, he managed to create an unstoppable momentum. Jacob, perceiving the looming shadow, attempted to evade but was a fraction too slow; the twin blades sank three inches deep into his shoulder.
Jacob, intent on activating his armor, managed to do so while simultaneously aiming to shatter the assailant's weapons. He succeeded with one, but Rey swiftly withdrew the other, too late to save it from destruction.
Now with only two daggers remaining, Rey decided to conceal one for a surprise attack. However, as he retracted the embedded dagger from Jacob's shoulder, he stumbled backward.
Jacob, hampered by his injured shoulder, resorted to using his legs, delivering a kick to Rey's chest that sent him crashing into a shelf laden with machine parts, which collapsed upon him, exacerbating his pain.
Struggling to rise, signs of exhaustion were evident in Rey's body, and he sensed impending failure in this trial. Yet, unwilling to endure the ordeal again, he played his ace. His damaged organs began to mend, and fractured bones in his hands and ribs knitted together. His condition improved, but at the cost of rapidly depleting stamina. Once he ceased using the skill, a passive healing effect took over, restoring his body at a tenth of the active skill's pace which eats less stamina from before.
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Supreme Regeneration: Utilizes stamina to heal the host's body, even capable of reattaching severed parts to some extent. [Enhances with rank].
Active: Consumes a significant amount of mana or stamina for rapid healing.
Passive: Expends a minimal amount of stamina to restore the body to its peak condition. Once the body and HP are at their peak, the skill enhances the body's strength and HP regeneration rate at a ratio of 0.0001 per hour.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
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He activated the skill's effect to rapidly heal his body. Jacob, still in pain, was shocked to see the boy nearly restored to his peak condition.
"It seems it's my lucky day, kid. I'm about to acquire an excellent artifact from you, and it appears it can be used multiple times," Jacob remarked, his eyes gleaming with greed.
His desire for the artifact grew; it was the perfect complement to his formidable armor and weapon, yet he lacked a healing artifact, and the boy possessed one.
"Today is a great day for me. I'll obtain the artifact and soon rule over all the kingdoms and the empire," he mused, letting his guard down as he indulged in his grandiose dreams.
Seizing the moment, Rey, who had been standing at a distance, attempted to slip away, but this action snapped Jacob out of his reverie. He lunged at Rey, swinging his massive mace to crush his head, missing by mere centimeters.
Rey felt a chill run down his spine and quickly retreated to avoid Jacob's attack.
Now more cautious, Rey looked for the right moment to strike, avoiding the reckless assaults of before.
Jacob, wielding the heavy mace, grew increasingly fatigued from moving in his cumbersome armor.
In a moment of consideration, he discarded his leg guards, thinking the boy couldn't reach him, and reinforced his upper guards and weapon instead. This increased both his power and the challenge for Rey, but thanks to one of Victor's skills, Rey was able to adapt to this new tactic.
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Godly Adapter: - Help host body to adapt to the surrounding in a matter of minutes.
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He was quickly mastering the situation, cleverly deceiving Jacob, whose arrogance grew with each passing minute, prioritizing offense over defense.
Jacob, in his overconfidence, shed his armor, intending to dispatch Rey as swiftly as possible. However, his hubris was his downfall; he stumbled over a piece of machinery, crashing down with a thunderous impact. This gave Rey the opening he needed. With swift and forceful action, Rey struck at Jacob's wrist, the one clutching the weapon, severing it to claim the weapon for himself. Despite this, Jacob managed to reclaim two-thirds of the Zero piece, leaving Rey with only a third.
In agony, Jacob screamed as his hand was severed. He hastily grabbed the severed limb, attempting to reattach it with surrounding particles, but to no avail. Yet, he could feel his hand as if it were there, and he sighed in relief, glaring at Rey with blood-red eyes.
"You're dead, boy," Jacob declared, encasing himself in armor to avoid repeating his previous error. Crafting both weapon and armor was taxing, resulting in less coverage than before, yet still shielding his vital areas. He focused on recovering the lost pieces, which now felt alien to him.
This sensation was new to him, and fear crept in as he realized Rey might steal the artifact he had fortuitously discovered.
Meanwhile, Rey, lost in thought, gazed at the status window screen as a notification appeared.
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He was stunned by the possibility of leaving this world now, but would he take it? One target remained, and with it, the chance to escape.
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