He groaned, wincing at the sting along his shoulder, then blinked rapidly to adjust to the sharp sun beating down on him.

“What the…”

He sat up.

The world around him was no longer his bedroom but instead a barren wasteland, stretching endlessly into the distance. No trees, no buildings—just a broken horizon under a rust-colored sky.

His gaze dropped to his body; he was still in his pajamas that he wore in his bed, too.

“Where the hell is this? What’s happening?”

And the answer came with a shadow falling over him.

As a confused Theo stiffly raised his head, he saw a giant humanoid creature, towering over 5 meters tall, standing just a couple of meters away. Its skin was stone-like, veined with glowing red cracks. In its hands, there was a massive club.

“The Hell…”

*Ding!

*Ding!

[Welcome to the Overlord Trials. You were selected as the host candidate of the Codex fragment.]

Status: Time-Suspended Instance Realm

Objective: Defeat the Designated Guardian Beast to pass the test.

Remaining Lives: 9

Reward: Codex System.

Failure: None. The host candidate will forget about the trial.

*Ding!

[The host candidate has temporarily been assigned a skill. Note: The skill will disappear once the test ends. Use the Command: Show Character Interface for the details.]

Theo couldn’t help but stare as the screen floated before him with a frozen face. “Codex system? Guardian beast? Is this… this is like those system novels we read? Such a thing is real and not just fiction?” he muttered, slapping his cheeks to snap out of his daze.

A thunderous step echoed, all of a sudden, as the towering giant moved before he got out of his senses.

In no time, the towering giant started charging at him with its spiky club raised high. It moved with surprising speed, despite its hulking size.

As the club swung down at him, Theo dove to the right in reflex, almost dodging it completely.

Almost…

The edge of the club grazed his ribs, just a graze… and yet…

CRACK!

He was sent flying like a rag doll. He tumbled across the earth, rolling, before skidding to a halt a dozen meters away. His entire ribcage was shattered like glass.

“F**k,” He gasped, struggling even to lift an arm.

But the shadow loomed again, closer this time.

The giant was in mid-air, its club already coming down at him.

This time, Theo didn’t have enough time to move. He could only look up with pain-glazed eyes as he tried to raise a hand, to dodge, to do anything…

But…

CRACK

His world went dark almost instantly. The last thing he saw was a massive foot.

And then, just like that, he turned into a bloody pulp.

*Ding!

[You died]

However, a moment later, with a gasp, he came back to life.

Theo’s body reassembled itself to its normal state without any wounds or injuries, on the cracked earth where he had first stood.

A new notification hovered above him.

*Ding!

[1 Life Consumed – Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 8/9]

The stone giant froze mid-motion, just like how it was in the state for the first time Theo saw it. It was paused like a scene in a VR simulator.

Theo’s eyes darkened, and almost a growl escaped his mouth. “Such a test… this fuc*ing system…”

As the ten-second timer ticked toward zero, Theo shoved away all kinds of thoughts and sprinted away in the opposite direction, increasing the distance between him and the frozen giant.

“Show Character interface.”

With a swift scroll down, he clicked on Ability.

[Lightning God Armor.]

*

Without much thinking, he clicked on Lightning God Armor. A new holographic window materialized, displaying its details.

Lightning God Armor

Usage Remaining: 3

Duration: 60 seconds per activation

*

Theo’s fingers hovered for a breath. “1 minute per usage. That means I have roughly 3 minutes to defeat this monster?”

As he was wondering the strategy, the timer hit zero.

The screen vanished, and the stone giant’s body twitched. It resumed moving.

And then, Theo spun on his heel and ran toward it.

At ten meters away, his feet slammed into the earth, and he growled out the trigger.

“Lightning God Armor, Activate.”

CRACKK-KOOM!!

In an instant, his entire being erupted with a blinding flash of light.

When it disappeared a moment later, lightning enveloped his body in sharp plates, and sparks of electricity danced all over his body.

His hair shot upward wildly. Even the air around him began to hum, vibrating with unstable sparks of electricity. “Woah… this is so schway…” He looked at his arms and feet before clenching his fists tightly.

“Let’s see how you like this,” he muttered with his eyes fixated on the opponent.

As the giant continued to move, Theo shot off the ground like a thunderbolt.

BOOOM!

He shot straight at the beast’s head with his armored fist pulled back, lightning spiraling into his knuckles. And then, he struck with every bit of strength he had.

His punch crashed against the giant’s face with the speed of sound, releasing a shockwave.

CRACK!

But when the light cleared…

A faint white scratch, a hairline fracture across the creature’s right cheek, was seen.

But that’s it.

“Eh?” Theo’s eyes widened, and his face went pale in horror. “That was everything?”

He didn’t even get the opportunity to land on the ground to attack again as the giant’s hand closed around him like a cage.

CLASP

The Lightning Armor sparked violently, trying to resist the force. But it was no use against the mighty grip of the giant.

*Grrrr*

The giant growled, tightening its grip again as Theo’s ribs cracked under its sheer power.

“Arghh! Gahhhh!! Leave me, you fuc*er!”

With a sickening crunch, Theo’s bones gave way. His eyes rolled back as the armor shattered into shards of lightning. Theo was helpless to fight against it. He couldn’t get free from its grip, and eventually, his body ruptured inside the giant’s hand like a popped fruit.

The blackout is here again.

[1 Life Consumed – Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 7/9]

Theo reappeared in the same location as he had resurrected earlier, lying on his back, letting out a loud gasp as he sat up. His body healed instantly as if he hadn’t died and resurrected, but had gone back in time.

“Damn it… You shitty system… You gave such a shitty skill and call it lightning god armor.” Theo squeezed his fists as he roared at the sky. He stared at the giant, which had frozen again after the resurrection, just like last time.

The countdown began anew above its head.

[Resume in: 00:06]

“Six seconds,” he murmured, eyes narrowing. “Only six seconds left… no point in thinking unnecessary things.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep