Chapter 58: Adrenaline Rush.

Rigel was brought back to life and he ended up in the same state as earlier. He died from a single punch from Nauce, and he still couldn't see Nauce's movements at all. He knew he was no match for Nauce, not even close, but he had no choice but to fight because the only way to leave was to defeat Nauce.

The 3rd chance he got, he decided to get rid of the water first by evaporating it. That was when he realized how slow Nauce's movement had become. He could dodge the first punch, but the next attack was a kick right onto his left ribs, breaking his ribs and puncturing his heart and lungs.

On the 4th chance, he tried to avoid Nauce's attacks rather than fighting him head-on because Nauce could be the strongest close-combat in the whole dungeon. Esmael was a mage, Serena was a tank, and Nauce would be the damage dealer if he had to categorize them like in a game.

He thought he could have time to cast magic, but he ended up being pushed to the corner and dying before he could cast anything. He was out of options and he decided to stay with Lysara'elmaris to think of something. But no matter how much he thought of a plan, it would be impossible, so he decided to keep dying until he got strong enough to not be overwhelmed by Nauce's strength.

He died over and over until it was his 11th resurrection in that place, and when he was about to fight Nauce, his body couldn't move. Nauce appeared right in front of him as he coated his left hand with water. Nauce decapitated Rigel and killed him without hesitation.

Rigel opened his eyes and he was out of breath as he looked at Lysara'elmaris staring at him with a cold expression. When he tried to stand up, he still couldn't move his body, and that also meant he couldn't open his mouth.

"You should remember about the agreement, Rigel," Lysara'elmaris stared down at Rigel. "The more you died, the less of you remained. You have died 13 times, and how does it feel when your body is no longer listening to your command?" she raised her eyebrows.

Rigel gulped and could only stare at Lysara'elmaris.

"This is just a warning, Rigel. I can control your body now, and the next time you waste your life, your mind will work on its own..." Lysara'elmaris went down to her knees and put her cold index finger on Rigel's forehead. "You could only watch as your body and mind were being used by me."

"I'm not the one who did this to you. You did this to yourself," Lysara'elmaris stood up as she walked away. "I never asked you to bring them all here now. It was you who thought that way. Now that you're in this situation, you have to accept the consequences. Use your time to think, and I'll send you back once you find out how to defeat Nauce," her voice echoed throughout the chamber.

Rigel could finally move his body again, and the first thing that came out of his head was to bring Stryg in. He closed his eyes and tried to connect with Stryg who lived inside his head, and when he opened his eyes, Stryg was there in front of him.

"I need your help," Rigel looked at Stryg as he approached the massive black dragon whose tooth was as big as his body. "I don't know if you can understand me, but I need you to lend me all of your power just for once. I need to defeat Nauce," he said with a serious expression.

"My power..." Stryg let out its bassy and low voice that trembled the whole room and Rigel's heart and lungs. "It's too powerful for you to handle right now. Even if you can handle it, it won't be enough to defeat Nauce," Stryg pointed out.

"You know Nauce?" Rigel asked.

"I do, and who do you think they learned their power from? It was we who taught them. We trained them and made them stronger than us with the Goddess's will so they could protect the tower. You know about Anima, and the stronger the Goddess's power, the stronger they become. It doesn't matter if they're dead or alive, they will keep receiving the power," Stryg answered and explained the situation.

"Then make me stronger than them..." Rigel stared into Stryg's eyes with a serious expression.

Stryg stared back into Rigel's eyes, but its eyes were filled with doubts. Stryg remembered something similar that happened a long time ago, and the result was a betrayal.

"I see greed in your eyes, and you're blinded by it. I will not give you my power," Stryg responded and disappeared into thin air.

Rigel was surprised by the answer that Stryg gave, but rather than being angry or frustrated, he took his time to reflect on his shortcomings. He knew he wasn't perfect, and he made a lot of mistakes that ended up putting himself in bad situations. He didn't want to blame anyone because this time he was given a second chance, and he made his own path that led him to where he was.

"(What should I do...)" Rigel looked at the ceiling and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.

Rigel stood there, didn't move a muscle for hours, and let the silence give him a clear mind. He remembered every power he had devoured and thought he could use them differently than how it supposed to be. He had the hands of Lindworm, Healing Flame, Flame Heart, Lightning Spine, Tough Skin and Muscle, Shadow Step, Dragon's Power, and lastly Anima.

He tried to remember the abilities that Nauce had used against him. He needed something that could make his body fast enough to match Nauce's while at the same time being sturdy enough to withstand his attacks.

"This... This might work..." Rigel released sparks of lightning on his hands and all over his body.

Rigel sat down and took a deep breath as he turned all his Mana inside his veins and around his muscles into electricity. His whole body tensed up, but he didn't stop and kept increasing the dosage of the electricity in his body. He tried to move his fingers but it felt like he was trying to lift a heavy weight on each finger.

He took his time until he could finally move his fingers while he was being electrocuted nonstop. His heart was racing and his eyes were throbbing because of it, but that put him on a high alert.

He was slowly moving his body until he could finally stand up, but then his body gave up after every part of his body had fried from it. He used the Healing Flame and healed all the nerves and muscles. He was pleased with the experiment and went as he expected because he wanted to put his whole body on high alert with the electricity while at the same time using the Healing Flame to prevent the damage it made.

He wasn't done because he decided to burn his heart, making it beat even faster. He didn't know how fast his heart was beating, but his nose started to bleed and popped all the veins and vessels in his body, and even his eyes started to bleed. He used the Healing Flame to repair all the damage while putting himself in danger.

"I need Anima's energy to reinforce the Healing Flame..." Rigel was on all fours as blood dripped out of his nose, eyes, ears, and mouth.

The Anima energy boosted his healing ability and made him unaffected by the side effects. He took a step forward and it was enough to crack the floor because not only did the experiment enhance his perception, it also enhanced his strength.

He tried to dash forward and to his surprise, he had already reached the other side of the chamber in an instant. He hit himself into the wall because he couldn't control his speed at all. He had to get used to his growth in that state, so he trained until he mastered it.

The idea came from the book that he read called The unbelievable strength of a human body. It was explained that a human body could produce strength and speed in a life-threatening situation. It was called an Adrenaline Rush where the body released Epinephrine in the bloodstream that heightened both physical and mental alertness. It was the mystery of the human body, and that was what he tried to do and succeeded.

Rigel was lying on the ground and his body was in immense pain because he tore every muscle in his body and exploded all the veins and vessels in his body. He could only use that method for only 2 minutes before he ran out of limited Anima energy and couldn't heal his body anymore. If it wasn't for those Cores he consumed, he wouldn't last 5 seconds and his body wouldn't be able to withstand it.

It took him an hour to completely recover, so he kept doing it over and over until he managed to control his body in an Adrenaline Rush state. He looked at the mess he made because every time sparks came out of his body, they ripped the ground he stood on. He also created afterimages every time he moved in that state, making it impossible to predict where he would go if he kept moving back and forth.

"Have you found the solution to your problem?" Lysara'elmaris appeared and looked down at Rigel while she was on her knees.

"I have done what I can," Rigel answered as his vision became so blurry because of the blood in his eyes.

"Good. It's time for you to go back," Lysara'elmaris put her hand on Rigel's chest and injected a needle-like substance into his chest. "Don't disappoint me, Rigel Eclair De'Margt..." She removed her hand and healed Rigel's body as a portal appeared behind her.

"I'll try..." Rigel stood up and looked at the portal.