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Chapter 35: Tower of Jinma (3)

Demon King

Tower of Jinma (3)

The first thing I felt was fear.

Fear that I wouldn't be able to go back to being a Hob Goblin Assaulter.

And the fear that this would not end with being a Hob Goblin.

The trajectories I have passed… in other words, the monster forms that I've been through.

Even if I could beat the troll here, I would have to do it again in a Goblin Fighter's and a Goblin's body.

How could a Goblin face a troll?

"A!"

"Once you enter the tower, you can't leave without conquering it."

A cut off what I was trying to say, with his very calm voice.

"If it wasn't possible for you, you wouldn't be able to get in here. So, it is possible for Fate to conquer this."

"That's not true…"

As I was trying to protest, I felt the troll's huge weapon flying towards me.

I made a big mistake.

My strength was significantly reduced compared to when I was an Assaulter, but I timed my movement as if I was still one.

As a result, I could not completely dodge the attack, and my right shoulder was crushed.

"Arrrgh!"

After the strong impact, I felt terrible pain; but if I stayed on my position because of the pain, I would only get it worse.

I clenched my teeth and threw my body to the side, but the troll was still chasing me as if he wasn't satisfied with just one arm.

I used Leap and Beast Charge at the same time to put distance between me and the troll, but I forgot that it uses stamina.

With my severe injury, it was like a double-edged sword.

Without predation, I need to kill him before my health is completely exhausted…

As soon as possible!

Fortunately, my level and skills remain the same. All that reverted to the lower form were my physical ability and magical powers.

With that, it was already fatal, but because I have the same skills, I still have a fighting chance.

If I can reach him with my sword, I can still deal a Power Attack.

As a Goblin, it would be too much for me to kill him, but I can't worry about something that hasn't come yet. I need to focus right now.

If I can't overcome him, the only thing waited for me was a painful death.

I had to attack him.

"Koo-oh-oh-oh!"

His stupid head still hasn't changed. It just runs to the enemy it sees.

I felt more confident.

Haven't you already overwhelmed his simple, stupid brain?

Read his movement, avoid the attack, and swing your sword at a fatal point. That way, you can win!

I moved.

With my right arm crushed, I held the sword with my left hand. I am trying to regain my senses as a Hob Goblin.

I have to accept that I was lacking, and find the best way to move with a lacking body!

"Guaaaaah!"

The troll also sensed my hostility and shouted to defeat my will.

I run down the floor, ignoring his scream. I have not used my skills yet. I'll only use Leap and Beast Charges when I'm at his neck!

The blunt weapon flies again.

When it crushed my shoulder, I confirmed that it was just a huge and blunt wooden stick.

But I can't get hit again.

I jumped. The man's weapon swept past my side as I jumped into the air. His arm followed me, trying to catch my torso, and but I used Beast Charge and Leap.

He couldn't read my suddenly quick movements, and eventually, he had to be content with swinging his arms around, trying to get lucky.

In front of my eyes, I could see the troll's nape.

With urgency, I threw Blood Shadow with a Power Attack, and watched it bite through the flesh.

[Lower Power Attack has become Lv4.]

Blood spurted. Blood containing a lot of his vitality.

I felt it wash over my body, and instantly, my exhaustion was gone.

Although it's not as effective as predation, the blood was very helpful in my recovery.

"Kaaaaaaaah!"

"Hmm."

I heard the troll's scream and A's voice at the same time.

I didn't know if A was disappointed, admiring, or something else.

I just drank all the blood and landed on the floor, rolling immediately to the side to avoid the troll's furious kick.

I can't die.

A and Rain described the tower as 'safe', but the moment my shoulder has been crushed, their words didn't reassure me anymore.

Even if I won't die here, the terrible pain remains the same.

I was desperate not to get hurt again. I rolled on the floor and concealed myself, assimilating with the darkness.

I raised my Detection to the maximum in order to avoid any incoming attack.

Then, I jumped in again to cut his neck. This time, I buried the blade deep, showering blood once more as I fell back to the floor.

The troll screamed and rioted, but I no longer made the same mistakes as before.

[Lower Martial Arts has become Lv6.]

[Intermediate Detection has become Lv4.]

The growth rate of skills has been increasing faster than before. It seems that the more desperate I am, the higher the concentration, the higher the skills grew.

I can't deliberately create a desperate situation, and there is a limit to concentration in a desperate situation.

In this sense, the current situation was at least the best situation for growing skills.

It may be what Rain meant when he said it was a practice center.

[Lower Leap has become Lv6.]

[Beginner Fairy Tale has become Lv9.]

[Lower Resistance has become Lv10 and evolves into Intermediate Resistance. You will not be affected by low-level abnormalities at all, and you are more likely to resist higher-level abnormalities.]

There weren't many opportunities. I could not take a lot of time to end this.

The speed of the troll's regeneration was incredible, and my only chance to beat him requires me to attack harder than when I was a Hob Goblin Assaulter.

[Intermediate Surprise has become Lv4.]

Nevertheless, I was able to cut off his head with a fourth power attack.

However, as before, the moment I thought I've completely cut his head off, his regenerative power goes full blast to keep him alive.

His neck was connecting again to his head!

I squeezed all of my remaining stamina and swung my Blood Shadow once more.

Kik!

The troll's head finally rolled on the floor.

I shakily landed beside the troll's body. As I released my concentration and relaxed, the pain that I have been ignoring came flooding me at once.

I won.

My body was a mess, but I succeeded in defeating him anyway. I couldn't believe it even though I did it myself.

But it hurts so bad. If I don't start recovering right now, my victory will be meaningless soon.

I took a deep breath and started eating the troll.

A troll's body is definitely two or three times more effective than other monsters. Even with just a pair of arms, all of my physical injuries have already disappeared, and my stamina and mana felt full.

Of course, that maybe because I was in a weaker Hob Goblin body, but there was definitely a difference that I could not explain.

At that point, I asked A, who was still watching me inside the arena.

"A, if I don't eat all of this and move on to the next step…"

"The body disappears."

As usual, A seemed to know what I was about to ask. I ignored him and tried to put the troll's body in my inventory, but as it turned out, the inventory didn't work in the Jinma Tower.

My plan turned to trash, the joy of winning the battle vanished, and more fear came to me.

I'll soon turn into a Goblin Fighter.

I can't help but yell out in frustration.

"Physically impossible!"

"It is possible."

A immediately refuted me.

I ate the troll on the spot while fuming at the situation I am in.

Soon after, my body returned to its Goblin Fighter form, and the troll once again appeared before I had time to prepare myself.

"Koo-oh-oh!"

"Okay, damn!"

There was an enormous gap between the Hob Goblin and a Goblin Fighter. I began to notice the abilities I have taken for granted, and I found it hard to swing the sword as hard as I wanted.

How nice could it be if I just kept fighting trolls again and again as an Assaulter.

However, my body kept getting weaker and weaker each time.

As soon as the troll spawned, his blunt weapon was again flying towards my head.

As I avoided it, I didn't notice the troll's arm that was also flying towards me.

The whole world collapsed.

I was filled with a terrible rage, but I couldn't scream; a sense of despair filled me as my consciousness faded…

But when I opened my eyes, I was still there. I was still standing on my spot with the body of a Goblin Fighter, standing as if nothing happened.

I couldn't understand why this was possible, but I was happy that I was still alive.

But the troll appeared again. This time, it broke my head and ripped my torso!

"That… hurts…"

I was engulfed with pain and rage once more.

A was still watching me without a word.

Meanwhile, the troll was screaming.

I will kill him… I will kill him and eat his body without leaving a drop.

I began to move.

Chapter 36: Tower of Jinma (4)

Demon King

Tower of Jinma (4)

After that, I counted the number of times I died.

A hundred.

Again, a hundred times, perhaps another hundred times more.

I could not escape the terrible pain; I was covered in blood, despair, and faint hope.

And unconsciously, my Martial Arts skill grew until it reached the Intermediate level.

[Lower Martial Arts has become Lv10 and evolves to Intermediate Martial Arts. You will be able to move your body to the maximum possible capacity. You will be able to handle weapons that you see for the first time as skillfully as a soldier. The power of your weapon increases and the power of the enemy's weapon decreases. However, martial arts skills scale with enemy level. Lower level enemies will result in a reduction of skill effectiveness.]

Finally, I had the confidence to defeat the troll.

When I was a Goblin, my level and strength increased by 1 when I leveled up. When I became a Goblin Fighter, it changed to 2, and when I became a Hob Goblin, my strength and stamina increased by 3, and my magic increased by 1.

Lastly, when I became a Hob Goblin Assaulter, it climbed by 4.

Therefore, as I degenerated to a Hob Goblin, I lost 25% of my muscle strength and 50% magic, and when I degenerated as a Goblin Fighter, I lost an additional 25% strength, 33% stamina, and 80% of the remaining magic.

Right now, my strength and stamina were just over 140.

Naturally, my movements are slower than the troll's.

The Leap and the Beast Charge have to be used together to give instantaneous superiority in speed, but since they reduce my stamina, I couldn't use them blindly.

I've passed over a hundred deaths to analyze all that I have and to figure out how I could win.

I decided I need to raise the skills to the level I wanted.

Even if in the next moment I'll get hit by his weapon, and my head breaks again, even though the wounds I have inflicted on the trolls disappear when I get resurrected, the growth of my skills the next time I resurrect is sure.

[Intermediate Detection has become Lv3.]

Death is terrifying. I don't want to go through it again.

That's why I need to die in this place continuously in order to escape death in the real world.

I have to endure terrible pain, but the growth I get is worth it.

[Intermediate Resistance has become Lv2.]

[Beginner Beast Charge has become Lv10 and evolves to Lower Beast Charge. You can move faster, and more power is added to an attack following the charge.]

When I get out of this place and meet Rain, I promise I will swear at him.

[Intermediate Martial Arts has become Lv2.]

Martial arts, the more you fight, the faster the level up. The growth rate is faster compared to other skills. I'm glad. Martial arts is my primary skill that can be used to defeat the troll.

But that is not enough.

No matter how strong my skills were, a Goblin Fighter's body simply does not have the strength the swing a sword enough to cut the troll's head off.

So, how will I beat him? What options do I have that will compensate for my lack of strength and stamina?

I realized the answer was in Trap Creation.

[Lower Trap Creation Lv2]

[You can create the kind of trap you want by staying where you want to make it. The larger the size of the trap you want to build, the more time you need.]

[You will be able to create two traps at once. The higher the level, the more types of traps you can create, the more the power, and the less time you need to create them. Consuming material items can shorten the time to create a trap and increase the power of the trap. The generated trap will disappear if unused after a certain period of time.]

Among the skills that I can attack the target, the only skill that does not consume my stamina or magic was the creation of a trap.

Instead of magic or stamina, it needs time and materials.

This was a particularly unique skill. It was special enough to be in the special promotion at the dedicated store, and a skill I needed right now.

With my Intermediate Martial Arts, as well as my Surprise and Fairy Tale skills, I was able to gain the 'time' I need.

With these three skills active, the troll couldn't find me anymore, even if I was in front of him.

It was like my situation with A.

"Oooh oh?"

The Trap Creation skill has reached a Lower level, but the time required to build an effective trap was still long.

No matter how my skills developed, I needed the help of luck to make a sneaky trap without being noticed by the troll.

I have already died dozens of times being caught making a trap.

"Oooh, oh, oh, oh!

When the troll couldn't see me, he swings wildly in every direction. I moved cautiously, avoiding his attacks, focusing on not revealing my presence, as I create my traps.

I can't help but admire myself to be able to use this skill even if the enemy is right in front of my nose.

Finally, I succeeded surrounding him with traps, similar to mouse traps.

Suddenly, his foot was caught in one.

For the troll, the trap was just a trivial, annoying thing, and he just tried to shake it off, but the time I earned while he is distracted was precious.

"Koo-oh-oh-oh!"

The moment his foot was caught, I used the Leap and Beast Charge that I have saved up for this very moment.

"Oh, wow!"

I aimed for his little finger. It was the only thing I was confident I could cut off at once.

With it alone, it would become possible to recover my stamina.

I chewed on his little finger as I stepped out of his reach. I didn't have much range to move as I've created a lot of traps surrounding him.

I can hide my presence from him anyway, so the only thing I have to do was avoid getting hit. I don't have to run away.

[Beginning Fairy Tale has become Lv10 and evolves into Lower Fairy Tale. It becomes more and more natural to melt into the surrounding environment and increases the damage corrected by surprise.]

Finally, Fairy Tale, whose growth was so slow, finally evolved into the Lower level. As I rejoiced, I used its increased power to hide, and the troll jump angrily, not knowing where I was.

Not yet, I thought. Not yet…

I'll only attack when he's trapped. That's when I am sure that he wouldn't be able to avoid it.

"Ooooh oohh oh oh"

Now.

Anytime the conditions were met, I dive in for my counterattacks. Hiding, creating more traps, cutting off the troll's fingers and toes… I worked mechanically; all other thoughts were forgotten.

The only thing I was focused on was not dying, and the target I was attacking.

When three fingers off his right hand have been cut, he dropped his weapon.

Meanwhile, I maintained my stamina because I kept eating his fingers and toes one after the other.

With the loss of his blood, his stamina decreased gradually as well.

"Koo-oh-oh-oh!"

Without his weapon, he tried to kick me around and swing his arm, trying to get my position.

However, without his weapon, the range of his attack was much shorter.

I was fully confident I could avoid him even with my Goblin Fighter's body.

I cut off one more finger. And another. Suddenly, he got caught in another trap and fell down.

Of course, I was there to punish him.

"Kyaap!"

I struck straight at him. The Leap and Beast Charge were also more powerful, and I was even able to catch him before he even hit the ground!

I lifted my sword, stabbing the troll's stomach. Then, I struck off the last two toes on his feet!

"Koo-oh-oh-oh!"

The troll's pained screams really made me happy.

I crossed over to the other side of his torso, with his toes on my mouth, and stabbed my sword on his leg.

Naturally, it was impossible to cut his leg, but the blood that soared in large quantities from him wetted my whole body and restored the durability of my sword and armor and my stamina.

"Oh, ah ah ah ah ah!"

The troll screamed and tried to get up, but even if he was an intermediate monster, it's impossible to get up without his toes.

I kept slashing at him while I chew. He's starting to slow down.

He couldn't regenerate missing parts. He's able to connect his head back to his neck, but could not grow another head. The same goes with his toes ad fingers/

Finally, I turned to his neck as he lay helpless.

It took countless of slashes, but finally, he lost his life against a Goblin Fighter.

I exhaled with exhaustion and pride.

"Huh, whoa…"

"… Now, only one trajectory left."

A said in his usual calm voice as he watched me chewing the troll's flesh.

One more.

A goblin's body.

The first body I had when I opened my eyes from the first time after I died; the very body that gave me hopelessness and despair.

I slowed down and ate the troll slowly.

Compared to the Hob Goblin Assaulter, my stomach's size has decreased a lot, but I had to keep eating.

[Lower Regeneration has become Lv3.]

After fully consuming the troll's body, I opened my eyes.

All my injuries and fatigue were gone. It was good somehow that the opponent was a troll. There will be no other monster than would make Predation more efficient.

"Now, the first trajectory. Are you ready for battle?"

At last, A thought to confirm with me. I wondered if he felt remorse when he watched me die countless times.

I replied.

"Okay."

Another troll appeared. Unlike the ones I have defeated, this one was more energetic, and his weapon felt more threatening.

As he ran to me, I felt my miserable Goblin body and laughed bitterly.

This was unreasonable. The Goblin's body is far below that of the Goblin Fighter.

[Lower level Trap Creation has become Lv.3]

The troll soon reached me.