As indicated by its name, Guardian was a skill related to guarding someone or something. But Ackster couldn’t remember putting that much effort into doing something like that. The information he got from Wilma had also been pretty specific about how it wouldn’t count if he merely protected himself. It was even better if it was something monetarily or emotionally valuable.

“Ah!”

Ackster put his hand on his head in realization and patted his fluffy hair.

“I guess it’s because of you.”

Although he hadn’t done it intentionally, he had ended up guarding Mio when the slime took shelter on his head. Apparently, that was enough for him to acquire Guardian. Ackster had a hunch it also had to do with the extreme situation he had been in when guarding Mio and all the ants’ existential power that flowed into him and fueled the acquisition of Guardian. Protecting Karandiel's golden egg was almost certainly a factor as well.

He had also gotten Iron Wall as expected. He was happy that it had only taken a single go. Well, a single bull. He had tangled with the bull until he was beyond exhausted and nearly died. So, he was happy he didn’t have to do it again.

Ackster was also satisfied that both Limit Breaker and Monster Muncher had ranked up once each. His other stats and skills had also shown some growth. It was nothing extreme, but Ackster felt that it was about time his growth slowed down a little.

He had already progressed with a thunderous pace as he had acquired and ranked up skills like he was on steroids. Most of it was thanks to Strong Body, which he could understand since most of his skills were things that affected or amplified his physical body. But even Strong Body would have a limit, at least until he could evolve it or somehow learn to strengthen it faster than the rest of him grew.

But until then, his growth would slow down and normalize a little.

Ackster was also encroaching upon the second wall of progress, the one between B and A. And since it was in the higher ranks, it would be more challenging to cross that wall than it had been to cross the first wall.

By now, Ackster had no doubt in his mind that he could do it. But that didn’t mean he thought he could advance as rapidly as before.

Well, things might change if he knew what he was doing or had someone to help him do it. That was why he was going to look for someone to help him as soon as he got the Sea God Manual.

But now that he had checked his progress with the Nominus card, it was time for a well-deserved nap.

Since he was in the middle of an underground ant nest, literally crawling with uncountable ants that would happily devour him if given the chance or if the ant queen ordered, Ackster didn’t enjoy a deep sleep. But he hadn’t done that ever since he first transmigrated, so it wasn’t anything new, and by now, probably thanks to Strong Body, he could sleep for a few hours each night and still be fine.

He wasn’t the only one to wake up, and the ant queen did the same shortly after. After that, it didn’t take long before the ant queen requested more of Ackster. Since it was the deal and the promise he had made to save his life, Ackster obliged until he felt it was enough.

The ant queen seemed a little reluctant but went to sleep to digest Ackster’s gifts all the same.

Since he had slept and eaten more than enough to make up for the loss, Ackster retreated to his room. He went to the corner he had put his things and grabbed the hammer and the chisel.

Practicing the stupidly painful secret technique in the middle of an enemy lair was a little risky. But he decided to trust the sleeping queen. A single Ackster wouldn’t be enough for whatever she planned to do with him. It also seemed like she had to spend some time digesting and extracting as much as possible out of the pieces he gave her. In that case, it would be better to keep up this exchange for as long as necessary.

Ackster didn’t think it would only be once or twice more, so he decided that he had to do as much as possible to get stronger while he could. And since he had to recover from the secret technique, which took time, despite Strong Body’s recovery, he decided to hammer a little bone. And while that healed, he could spar with the ant general.

Ackster put the chisel against his right pinky toe. He had done his left first, and now, to maintain balance and establish the necessary symmetry for maximum potential, he had to do his right. That was what Nold had written, and it was what Ackster would obey.

He found the right spot and raised the hammer, his heart filled with trepidation. He still remembered the stinging and explosively intense pain when he did it the first time. And while he thought he was pretty good at enduring pain by now—his Pain Tolerance skill was the highest-ranking one, and it wasn’t for nothing—the memory alone was enough to make him hesitate.

But the more he hesitated, the more he increased the odds of him failing in ten years.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Ackster rushed the anxiety and memories of the original story to spur his paranoia and self-preservation instinct into overdrive. He could either endure a trifling amount of pain right now or guarantee his death in up to ten years’ time.

It was an obvious choice, even if he could tell that he was lying to himself. It wasn’t a trifling amount of pain. It was enough to make him stop hesitating, and he tapped the hammer against the chisel.

The pain was just as bad if not worse than he remembered, and Ackster could feel his brain light up with signal flares as all the nerves in his toe were attacked by the vibrational explosion that rocked his toe and turned it into rough dust.

The pain of Nolding his toe overwhelmed Ackster, and he curled up into a ball on the floor while smashing his head against the ground in a futile attempt to vent and alleviate his pain. He clamped his jaws shut and ground his teeth together to prevent any screams from leaking out. It was less to disturb the ant queen and more not to get disturbed by the ants who would come to check on him if he started causing a ruckus, as if he had just seen all of his loved ones die.

But eventually, as he remained frozen stiff in pain, the initial bonfire of pain cooled down. And it remained that way until he moved.

“Hmm.”

Ackster held his foot up and gently moved around to sit more comfortably. The pain was at least as bad as he had expected. But, just like last time, it grew bearable after a short while. He looked at his toe, which was a little red but otherwise didn’t look that strange, maybe a little softer. As he thought about it, Ackster remembered how Nold had written that the secret technique wouldn’t affect ligaments and tendons and whatnot.

But he hadn’t explained how.

So far, Ackster had only touched two toe bones, so he hadn’t had the chance to see what would happen if he did it to a joint or something. But without knowing what would happen or why his non-skeletal body parts remained intact, Ackster was a little hesitant. Others had done this before him, and Wilma hadn’t said anything about it permanently ruining his joints or anything, so Ackster wasn’t worried there would be anything harmful.

But he was still curious about how it worked.

‘Might as well.’

It wasn’t like Ackster hadn anything better to do, so he might as well satiate that curiosity. It was that or continue with the secret technique. And Ackster wanted to wait until he could look at his toe without the pain flaring up again. Not that what he was going to do now would be any gentler.

Ackster grabbed his sword and put the tip to his toe, which confirmed that it didn’t only look softer. With the bone turned to dust-like fragments, it lacked structure, and it felt like touching a flabby belly but with a toenail.

That mental image helped Ackster stop stalling, and he gently pushed the sword tip into his toe.

The easiest way to figure out why and how Nold’s secret technique worked was to look at it. It was just that someone had put a layer of skin and some flesh, mostly skin since it was the toe, in the way. Doing this might risk the secret technique’s efficiency, but if it did, Ackster would simply have to redo it.

Ackster carefully used the sword to cut up his toe so that he could inspect what it was like on the inside. It was a little too dull to use as a scalpel, especially against Ackster’s body. But it seemed like Leather Skin, Strong Body, and Resilience didn’t take full effect when he didn’t want them to or when he was operating on himself.

“Hmm?”

Ackster had expected to see a white mess mixed with his veins and flesh inside his toe, drenched in blood now that he had cut up his toe. But instead of the fragmented mess he thought he would see, Ackster only saw a white, glistening knob. He hadn’t looked much at bones, especially not when they were still attached and inside the body, but to him, it looked like his toe was intact.

Nervously and curiously, Ackster set down the sword and poked the bone that should have been in pieces.

It took him less than a millisecond after doing that to realize it was NOT a good idea. And a millisecond after that, the pain shooting into his brain like a wave of wildfire confirmed it to the point where even doubting his realization would be an insult to the world.

But it wasn’t for naught.

After enduring the pain for what felt like longer than reasonable, Ackster wasn’t only left with an aching toe. He also retained the sensation of when he had touched his toe. It was soft.

He couldn’t confirm it with certainty without further research. But it felt like there was a thin membrane or bubble inside which his bone existed as dust. The secret technique left the outermost layer of the bone intact so that it wouldn’t interfere with the skeleton’s overall structure.

‘Neat.’

Although he already knew there shouldn’t be anything to worry about in regard to his body’s health if he continued with the secret technique, Ackster could now rest at ease. And if he had to guess, the remaining membrane would either grow stronger as the bone within grew stronger, or it would be handled in a later stage of the secret technique. In any case, Ackster would find out as long as he didn’t give up on the secret technique.

Ackster had yet to see what the technique could do for his strength, but until now, the pain hadn’t been quite enough to give up. And while he knew it would take some time for the secret technique to reveal its value, he didn’t know the specifics. If it took longer than ten years for it to be worth it, the secret technique’s only use would be to train his Pain Tolerance.

‘Maybe I should increase the pace?’

The thought of the technique taking more than a decade to finish learning gave Ackster a sense of urgency. He hadn’t gotten the opportunity to continue after his first toe since Karandiel fell, and when he had healed enough to consider doing the next toe, he was busy with that and the ants.

But now, it wasn’t like he had any prior arrangements that would distract him from the secret technique. Giving the ant queen pieces of himself wouldn’t detract from his practice since it would give him time to heal.

However, the more he practiced the secret technique, the more he would have to eat. Thankfully, the ant queen had prepared a fine selection for him to pick and choose from when she rested and digested pieces of him. Well, the selection consisted of identical ants.

Ackster sighed before picking up the hammer and chisel again.

The sooner he started, the sooner he would finish.