<strong>[HP has reached 0.]</strong>
<strong>[The yer has died.]</strong>
<strong>[Bad End 4 - Death in the "Deepest Abyss."]</strong>
<strong>[Calcting data.]</strong>
<ul>
<li><strong>Iteration:</strong> Second</li>
<li><strong>Chosen Configuration:</strong> Combat Aptitude</li>
<li><strong>System Title:</strong> Path of Struggle: Asura</li>
<li><strong>Cause of Death:</strong> Second-tier Alpha Monster "Kaeropt"</li>
</ul>
"Gyaaaaah!"
I couldn''t bring myself to ept this reality.
My hands and feet were trembling uncontrobly, and my vision wavered along with them, making the text on the monitor blurry.
I iled my arms, desperate for some way to vent my frustration, before clutching my head tightly.
"Ow, it hurts…!"
I let go immediately. I must have squeezed too hard, as tears sprang to my eyes. Rubbing my head with my palms, I stared at the monitor.
The screen still disyed the obituary for my second iteration.
I pursed my lips in a sulky pout.
The second iteration of <em>Savior.</em>
This was the iteration I had refined based on the mistakes and experiences of the first run.
The first, "vani" iteration had ended disastrously, so for the second, I sensibly utilized the character settings to assign a unique ability.
Unique Ability: "Combat Aptitude"
A skill-based category.
Its effect was simple: it enhanced learning and proficiency inbat activities.
Straightforward, which made it easy to use.
I just had to keep pushing through hell.
If I practiced swordsmanship, my skill with swords improved, and my proficiency with other weapons rose as well.
Since it was abat-focused skill, my overallbat ability increased alongside it.
In short, <em>Combat Aptitude</em> was a unique ability designed solely for battle.
Thanks to it, I managed to perform well early on, unlike during the first iteration.
Of course, I still failed spectacrly during the first semester''s Tower Entrance.
And that Hong Yeonhwa… What kind of lunatic is so hell-bent on tormenting the yer? I’ll never understand why she seemed determined to make my life miserable.
Baek Arin, on the other hand…
What a stark contrast. Even when my reputation was bad, she approached me, acting friendly. She always offered help when I needed it andforted me during the first iteration when my mental state was in shambles.
She was a kind and reliable figure, not to mention incredibly capable in every aspect. And her illustration? Stunning.
Of course, Hong Yeonhwa had also provided help during the first iteration… but still.
"Ugh… gah, cough!"
I choked on my own saliva, coughing violently.
After recovering, I shook my head and moved the mouse.
‘The second iteration ended in failure, too.’
In the end, the second run also concluded with my death.
What shocked me most was that, despite being vastly stronger than in the first iteration, I hadn''t even reached the Tower Master before meeting my end.
The cause of death: surrounded by a second-tier Alpha Monster and its horde for days until I was beaten to death…
‘Damn it.’
The second-tier Alpha Monster was undoubtedly strong. The match-up wasn’t favorable, and my attacks didn’t connect well. But still, I shouldn’t have died so helplessly.
The problem was clear.
‘I was too focused on one-on-onebat.’
The <em>Combat Aptitude</em> had evolved into <em>Ten Thousand Techniques.</em> Its hundreds of offshoots created a vast array of skill-based extensions.
For one-on-onebat, it was overwhelming. I could take down even top-tier heroes who unted their strength with ease.
But itcked effectiveness againstrge monsters or armies.
Its firepower was insufficient for breaking through hordes or giant creatures.
In other words, its limitations were ring.
Moreover, I had focused so much on honing techniques that I neglected to improve my base stats significantly.
In conclusion, the second iteration was a failure with clear limitations.
However, it wasn’t a wasted attempt. The knowledge gained from this run would be passed on to the third iteration.
"Click, click."
I felt thirsty.@@novelbin@@
Time to grab a drink and start working on the settings for the third iteration.
Clicking my tongue, I manipted the joystick attached to my wheelchair’s armrest.
Memories from the past shed by like a vivid montage.
It was a memory of shaking my head in frustration,menting the clear limitations of the second iteration.
At that time, I had been in a fairly unstable period of my life.
I had lost a leg, pesky journalists and others had swarmed around my old apartment, and though I managed to move, there wasn’t much else I could do.
Amid that chaos, I stumbled upon a game called <em>Savior</em> as if in a trance.
It fit my tastes well enough that I dove deep into it, trying to forget everything else.
— <em>Grrk…</em>
And now, I had almost died in an instant to the second iteration.
A sudden burning sensation on the nape of my neck pulled me out of my daze.
The first thing I became conscious of was… the pain in my neck.
‘Why is there pain…?’
In the Tower of Growth, pain was supposed to be dulled. Even if you were stabbed or cut, it would only register as a faint ache.
But this was far beyond that.
The icy sharpness of a de slicing through skin and muscle, grazing the spine.
The searing agony of the severed edge felt almost identical to reality.
The memory of just before shed in my mind.
The explosive speed of the white sh. The moment my head was nearly severed, and the vision of my decapitated self appeared in Observation.
At thest second, I twisted my neck and body, narrowly avoiding a direct hit.
The result: my neck was half-severed, hanging by a thread.
The cut was so clean it was almost admirable. Blood gushed out in torrents from the exposed wound.
<em>St!</em>
The crimson liquid sttered across the barren wastnd floor, greedily soaked up by the dry earth.
— <em>Grkkk…!</em>
I coughed up blood, the metallic taste flooding my mouth as I gritted my teeth. Desperately, I wrapped the Sky Wings around my neck, holding the severed edges together.
With <em>Homogenization,</em> I mimicked Elia’s <em>Healing Melody</em> to perform emergency treatment.
A soft white light descended upon my neck, hastily amplifying my regenerative capabilities without regard for future consequences.
‘Damn it…!’
If I’d moved a moment slower, if the barrier I’d set up hadn’t been there, if the <em>Proof of Protection</em> durability bonus hadn’t applied…
I’d have died for sure.
The life signal that had briefly vanished returned, and btedly, my system red warning signals as if it had just realized how dire the situation was.
As my senses came back to me, they were filled with chaos. There were too many confusing and unsettling details to process.
The enemy didn’t give me time to recover.
The man in the distance—the figure of my second iteration—blurred and faded.
The movements, which disrupted even the data from Observation, were likely the result of a skill-based extension ability.
Yet, it hadn’tpletely escaped my Observation. I could still track the movements and act ordingly.
I calcted where the second iteration would reappear and swung my left arm, infused with ayer of <em>Aura Force.</em>
Momentster, the second iteration emerged, as if materializing from thin air, and extended its sword toward me.
The de was wreathed in a blood-red aura, leaving behind a glowing trajectory.
— <em>ng, ng, ng!</em>
The strikes rained down on my left arm, the de tearing through the fabric and shredding the sleeve.
No injuries, though. Beneath the torn cloth wasn’t scarred flesh but a robust, white prosthetic arm.
It was a high-grade artifact, specialized in durability. Not even the second iteration could easily destroy it.
In other words, my left arm could act as a literal shield.
My left hand was dedicated to defense,yered with reinforced <em>Aura Force,</em> intercepting every attack before it couldnd.
My right hand, on the other hand, was for offense. From my subspace storage, I pulled out a spear and prepared to counterattack.
Except I couldn’t.
I couldn’t even switch to offense because defending was a full-time effort just to stay alive.
I kept moving relentlessly.
Dodging what I could, deflecting with my left hand what I couldn’t, and countering the rest with my spear.
When overwhelmed, I unleashed concentrated bombardments from my spirits or indiscriminately cast offensive spells to buy myself some breathing room.
Even so, injuries continued to pile up.
I could see the movements clearly with Observation, but interpreting them was difficult. Even when I managed to process them, my responsesgged behind. The second iteration always acted first.
The pitch-ck eyes of my opponent never stopped moving, locked onto me and tracking everything without missing a beat.
It felt like those eyes saw a broader world than I did, despite relying solely on sight.
The fundamentals, the advanced adaptability, thebat logic, and the instinctual reflexes—all of it was superior to mine.
‘This is insane.’
The relentless shes suddenly twisted into bizarre, unnatural trajectories.
Expansion Technique of Ten Thousand Techniques:
"Serpent Tail Surpassing the Spear Wall."
Startled by the abnormality, I twisted my body. The whip-like sh coiled toward my neck, and I deflected it with the shaft of my spear.
The attack didn’t end there. Using the rebound, the sh veered sharply, bypassing my guard.
Twenty-four strikes followed, serpentine in motion.
I dodged eighteen and parried five.
The final one grazed my shoulder.
<em>sh!</em>
Blood spurted from the wound, apanied by a sharp sting as I skidded backward, my feet dragging across the ground.
I quickly wrapped the Sky Wings around the injury to staunch the bleeding and prepared to…
— <em>Boom!</em>
Before I could counter, another sword strike came flying toward me. It wasn’t particrly fast, but evasion seemed impossible.
I blocked it with my left arm.
The impact pushed me back. The blow wasn’t heavy, but my left arm trembled violently, and my fingers twitched uncontrobly.
The <em>Aura Force</em>yer held, but strange vibrations spread from the point of impact, rippling through my entire body.
‘Ah, crap, this is…’
Expansion Technique of Ten Thousand Techniques:
"Resonance Strike."
— <em>Boom!</em>
The vibrations exploded within my body. My bnce faltered, and I coughed up blood as more crimson gushed from my mouth.
— <em>Grrrk…!</em>
In that brief moment, another expansion ability mmed into me.
‘I’m in danger…’
At that moment, the sword in the second iteration’s hand shattered into pieces.
The attacks halted for a moment. The second iteration discarded the broken sword and reached into thin air.
Space rippled around the hand—not a subspace… something different.
‘Inventory?!’
Why was <em>that</em> yer feature, which I couldn’t use, working perfectly for them?
I couldn’t let them arm themselves. Ignoring the pain, I activated the Authority of Space. Ripples emanated from my position.
"Spatial Domination. Boundary Control. Interference Regtion."
The second iteration quickly withdrew its hand, narrowly avoiding the copse of its spatial connection.
<em>Crack!</em>
The subspace closed a second toote.
I could have severed its wrist if I’d been quicker. Swallowing my frustration, I surged forward.
With my body saturated with mana and my enhanced physical techniques activated, I lunged.
<em>Thud!</em>
My legs drove into the ground, elerating my charge as I gripped my spear tightly and swung it in a crescent arc.
The de of the spear hurtled toward the second iteration, aiming to slice through.
Calmly, it extended its hand toward the attack.
Observation read the intent. The second iteration was activating its unique capability again.
Expansion Technique of Ten Thousand Techniques:
"Flowing Cloud."
Another expansion technique. I analyzed it—it wasn’t offensive but defensive martial arts.
I tightened my grip on the spear.
If they expanded, so could I.
I had the data.
Though I wasn’t proficient, reproducing it was within my ability.
My foundational skills wouldpensate for any gaps.
For the first time, the second iteration reacted.
Its eyes widened slightly as it broke itsposure, shaking its hand as if trying to dispel something.
Expansion Technique of Versatility:
"Thousand Variations - Serpent Tail Surpassing the Spear Wall."
The spear''s strange trajectory pierced through its defenses, aimed directly at the second iteration’s neck.