Lying on the field was boring. Incredibly boring. Especially when all Rob could see was the ground. His face was literally planted against the hard cold surface, leaving the blue sky on the edge of his sight. The latter was the only indicator that time was going on and was not frozen just to torture him for an eternity. And two days, which he had spent in such a position, were already on the verge of being enough to turn him insane. By this point, Robert was sure that scene was imprinted in his mind forever up to the single grain of earth.
A few times he saw some insects, crawling by their own business and completely ignoring him. Only once something akin tiny spider was interested in his eye, coming near to horrify him from the disgust. The hardest part was when it started raining. Even the tiniest drops of water made the experience quite horrible, taking into account he couldn’t move. Not only that, but Robert was unable to feel anything under his neck at all as if his spine was completely broken, sucking out all his strength. His head wasn’t better, being pierced by an awful pain each time he had tried to focus on conjuring the steel. Fortunately, it was becoming lesser and lesser with each passing hour.
The growing feeling of hunger and thirst was on the beginning of their way to be really disturbing, still not on the level he couldn’t manage. The decreased needs of his body by using the mana fuel for sustain helped a lot. However, even in the past year Robert preferred to eat at least per day to appear normal and for the sake of the taste with porridge or vegetable being the most favorite food. The long meat diet made an impact. Maybe that was the reason why, despite an ability to be without the nutrition, the lack of it pressed him too. He had to fight with his wishes before finally suppressing it.
That left him with his boredom. From time to time, Rob heard another snap as if his bones were returning to their place. He wasn’t sure about that though – previous experience had told him about the need to fix everything by himself. However, without having any real choice, he just lay as a broken unwanted toy. Enduring the weather and non-changing picture behind his eyes, Robert was slowly thinking over his past. He tried to create some plans, but all his life from childhood seemed like a corridor with forks. Rob could choose to go right or left, but that didn’t change the overall direction, nor did it give real freedom. And all his efforts were futile by this point.
Could have I changed anything in this realm? I think not – there was an almost non-existent chance not to be in the army during such a wide-scale war, taking into account when and where I appeared. Moreover, I don’t know anything useful other than fighting. So, nope, it would have been the same result. Maybe if I was cleverer or more cunning, but I am who I am. Just an ordinary soldier. At least I know how not to give up… And on rare occasions, it helps to endure and survive, despite the odds. My current condition is a straight way to the grave, but somehow my body clanged to life with everything it got... Or maybe it’s just a cruel joke of fate, which likes to watch my struggles and not wish to lose a funny toy too early.
Mentally smiling because his lips could barely move, Robert focused on a new series of attempts. It took one more day before his headache became tolerable enough to push a small pillar out of his forehead and finally change the scene. That gave quite a huge boost to his morale which transformed into increased efforts. The biggest obstacle was his inability to feel his own body. His conjuring always started from his skin, and insensitive summoning appeared to be quite a challenge. Still, it was just a matter of practice, for which he had plenty of time.
Therefore, when Robert managed to turn himself on the back, it felt like a record-breaking win in a competition. Like the first unaided step after a long period of illness. It was insanely hard, pushing him to the limits, while the result was so tiny that it would be completely missed by an average person. However, it made Rob sincerely happy and proud of himself. Because it was just the beginning.
After some rest, Rob continued this time aiming for a sitting position. Creating a steel board on the back of his head, he pushed it downwards along the spine. From there he made a few circular ribs to prevent himself from falling to the side. The following push by conjuring an additional pillar underneath the top of the board took all his mental effort. Not only did he have to be careful, but he had to suppress the outburst of emotions when he got a view of his body.
Rob was still dressed in the remnants of the pants and shirt while wearing a single boot. The other one was missing, which was not surprising taking into account the mangled something instead of his leg. Twisted in an unnatural direction, additionally, it had a protruding bone with signs of teeth. Another leg was better, but not too much, as the bone had clearly healed wrongly. His arms looked mostly fine, hanging like ropes.
Crap… I guess, the inability to feel anything sometimes is a good thing. Probably I will need to break my legs again and fix them in the proper position before letting my regeneration kick in. Everything, while trying not to be eaten alive by rodents. Hope, my spine will recover soon.
Looking around, Rob saw the very same field. Turning his head with the help of moving steel, he saw the burned hull of the dirigible far away from him, but not a single trace of a giant mech. Moreover, the surroundings were mostly cleared of the corpses, which indicated that the beastman not only had managed to capture the defensive line but also had enough opportunity to take their dead for future burial. That meant he was behind the frontlines, right on enemy-controlled territory. Precisely speaking, around a mile (1,6 km) from the nearest trench. Luckily, that helped him not fall under the sight of sentinels as their attention was aimed in the opposite direction.
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Well, if don’t fix myself fast, I am dead. Let’s start then.
Conjuring another plank from his shoulder along the arm, he raised it upwards by creating a few pillars underneath. Checking his limb to see that everything was fine, Rob conjured a huge metal ball before dropping it down right on his wrongly healed leg. Not feeling any pain, he still was shocked by the action. Especially, when it wasn’t enough to break the bone. But it was the only available way to repair himself. In the end, Robert had to repeat the process around a dozen times before achieving the needed result. After he just controlled the metal to push his leg in the proper position and kept the construct summoned.
At one point, Rob went so far as to create a knife on a manipulator just to cut the cloth and see the wound. Such mental gymnastics stressed his injured head, sending regular waves of pain. He couldn’t estimate the damage, but his skull felt intact, meaning it could be the consequence of shockwaves and sound blasts that were torturing his brain. His inhuman regeneration was slowly patching him up, but the speed felt like a crawl after his previous restorations.
Yep, it was much more convenient – I would be running already. Die, lose consciousness, awake already healed, just with few scars. Fucking power up and my greed!
Robert knew it was stupid to complain, taking into account that not a single of his comrades-in-arms had such ability and had to endure the injuries without magic help. And he had seen quite grim ones, leading to amputation, which could turn a strong person into a helpless shadow of a former self. Not speaking about regular concussions or the results of indirect damage from constant shelling at close distance. That could easily break something in my mind, twisting the whole person into a pathetic psycho.
Moreover, the fakery of God was another sign that his damaged connection was for the good. Robert didn’t understand many things and was sure that a noticeable part of the information given by Wepwakor was fake, but he also couldn’t deny the effectiveness of the abilities he granted. Precisely speaking, such effectiveness seemed to be too good not to have a price, especially the regenerative aspect. He just didn’t know what it was. Therefore, after some more mental whining, he finally stopped it. Still, the boredom was killing him, pressing his mind inside of his unresponsive body.
It took a few days more for his legs to heal before he heard the loud snap. Sounding from inside, it squeezed his lungs, cutting off any air for a second. With it, the heat came. Spreading from the spine, it enveloped whole his body in mere moments. It felt like a switch was finally turned on. The battery in the broken toy was changed, returning it to life. However, before he managed to enjoy the sensation, the pain came, but it only created a wide smile on his face. His eyes became wet, barely holding his emotions. Despite his belief in regenerative capabilities, he wasn’t totally sure. And the fate of being paralyzed and left lying in the middle of the field sounded horrible. Only his ability to conjure steel for possible suicide had prevented him from diving into a hopeless pit. Luckily, he wouldn’t need such a way out.
Robert spent the rest of the day slowly returning his form back to a peak while staying in the same spot not to be noticed by enemies. Most of his wounds were healed before the spine, thus making the process not so hard. Any movement felt more like he was restoring the old forgotten skill, which was imbued in his mind, but the time made it to fade. It was strange as Rob knew it was less than a week after his unsuccessful attempt to copy a well-known superhero. However, by the moment when the sky was captured by a starry night, he was ready.
Turning on his stomach and leaning to the ground, Robert once again checked the direction before starting to crawl. Trying to be as less visible as possible, he was carefully moving through the field. The flying flares above him regularly lightened the surroundings. Fortunately, aimed at the other side of the trench, they barely reached Rob’s position with their effect. Still, he stopped in his tracks each time, not willing to risk. Spending almost a year in similar circumstances, Robert knew how soldiers could use the night and relatively safe space behind defense lines to conceal their movement. A possible resupply or reinforcement, a search of valuable personal belongings from the dead, a smuggling of alcohol – there were too many things, which preferred the silence and coverage of the darkness. The list didn’t even end there.
Fortunately, his precautions appeared to be a correct decision as one of such examples was not far from him. The beastman was in a squatting position with his back, turned to Robert. The sounds of tense efforts and farts were a clear indicator of what was going on. Being occupied with the process, the soldier completely missed the approaching Rob. The latter had stopped all his motions a few meters from the enemy, getting ready to take immediate action.
What a view… I need his clothes, but not sure if can… Oh, no, you don’t!
Hastily rushing forward, Robert conjured a long rapier before thrusting it with all his strength. The thin blade had pierced the beastman’s neck from behind, effectively interrupting the movements of his hands, which were already pulling the pants upwards after leaving the pile of crap on the ground. The following kick had faced planted the already dead soldier and turned his figure into an odd triangle with a dirty butt on the top.
What a shitass! Why didn’t even try to wipe it? What the hell, man? Fuck, now I am not even sure if I want to wear your clothes. I can bet it wasn’t your first time doing it. Your furry ass is all in lumps. Disgusting!
Looking at the dead once again, Robert sighed, before kneeling near it. The pants were instantly crossed out without a single doubt, while other equipment looked too small. At least the rifle, which was lying near the corpse, didn’t have such a problem of unsuitability.
Two minutes later Rob was already wearing an unbuttoned shirt as he barely managed to fit in. Cutting huge holes in shoe toes, he pushed his enormous “swimming fins” inside, ignoring the tight space from the sides. The helmed was thrown away and conjured parody was on his head instead. Everything meant not to be recognized by a single glance to give him the opportunity to get inside the trench. Robert wasn’t naïve to think that even having a perfect copy of clothes, his large frame could fool anyone, not speaking about a human’s face. However, the night was on his side, but he surely had to hurry up as it wouldn’t be long before the sun would start its raise.