He shut his eyes and breathed in slowly. Then, focusing his will, he reached into his body and pulled forth mana reserves he had in his body and shaped them.

HSSSSHHHHK

A saber of translucent golden-blue energy ignited in his palm, humming with unstable mana. “What I need isn’t a fist but a saber…”

A simple conjured blade, rudimentary, yet sharp enough to cut most monsters. Or atleast that’s what he believed at the moment. “If it can’t be destroyed with brute force, then I must cut it down.”

Taking advantage of its stillness, Theo launched himself forward.

The saber glinted as he raised it overhead and brought it crashing down on the beast’s left leg, hoping to restrict its movements.

But… the moment his mana saber struck the giant’s leg…

BOOM!

A ripple of force exploded outward instead of hurting the monster.

Theo’s body was flung backward like a rag doll. He struck the ground with a thud, and a massive pain jolted up his spine. “SH*T!”

He hit hard and coughed violently; before he could move further, the countdown vanished.

[00:00]

The giant roared back to life and took a giant leap forward once again, as usual.

CRACK—BOOM!

Theo barely got his arms up before the titan’s foot came down on his body.

The world went black for the third time. And a familiar notification appeared.

[Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 7/9]

Theo’s body reformed again in the dust with his eyes fluttering open in confusion.

“Ugh…” He sat up slowly. But then, as his eyes fell on the holographic screen, he felt something wrong. “Hmmm?”

He had died three times so far, so the notification should read: [Lives Remaining: 6/9]

But instead, it still read: [Lives Remaining: 7/9]

He blinked. “Okay, what’s going on?”

Then came the second shock. His mana core pulsed inside his chest.

His reserves were completely full.

Theo rose to his feet, blinking rapidly. “Wait… not only does this death number not go up, but my mana was restored?”

He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers. “Why?”

After a while, Theo tightened his grip around the energy saber. He had no idea why his lives weren’t decreasing the last few times. Was it a glitch? A feature? Or some kind of hidden rule.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury to care as the giant stirred again.

The giant moved with blurring speed as usual, with its club raised high. This time, Theo tried to dodge early, to predict the swing, but the beast adjusted.

BOOOOM—

The club swung low in an arc, and the very tip clipped his left side.

CRACK!

Ribs shattered instantly.

“Argh…”

Theo’s body hurled through the air, bouncing off cracked stone and sand, coughing blood violently as his vision spun. He could feel the skin along his chest split open. The pain was quite unbearable.

His eyes flicked up just in time to see the shadow fall.

The titan landed its foot on him.

CRUNCH.

[Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 7/9]

*Gaaah*

He gasped awake with a scream, gripping at his sides before realizing his body was whole again.

Still, seven lives.

“What the f*ck is just going on?” he growled again, staggering to his feet.

No time to think.

Only time to try.

Again.

This time, Theo didn’t rush in head-on. As the countdown began above the frozen giant, he moved behind the monster. “Achilles Tendon… it doesn’t have tendons but…”

He conjured the saber again, letting out a sharp breath. “Let’s see if this works

[00:00]

The monster moved again.

And Theo struck first with a clean slash, right into the back of the heel. The blade dug quite deep.

SLIIIICE—

And for the first time, the giant let out a horrifying ROAR, almost deafening Theo, who winced at the sudden roar.

However, the roar was the least of his problems. It’s blood, thick, black, slimy, and foul-smelling, gushed out of its legs, sprayed like a geyser straight from the wound, arcing back onto him.

HISSSSSSS

The effect was quite immediate. As soon as his face was splashed by its blood, his skin started sizzling.

“Arghhaaaaa”

Theo screamed as agony seared through him, the liquid burning through his flesh like acid. Steam rose from his facial skin as he dropped to the ground. His saber vanished from his hand. His eyes bulged, his mouth agape, and in no time, his entire face was melted into nothing.

Then, Blackout again.

[1 Life Consumed — Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 6/9]

He sat up again, coughing reflexively even though his lungs were intact. But his eyes were sharp now.

Because this time, something clicked in his head.

[Lives Remaining: 6/9]

He blinked hard in realization. “Three deaths by stomp. Two by crushing hands. One by that blood, the acid bath. That’s six in total. And yet…”

“Only three types are being counted?” he muttered, his voice hoarse, but steady.

His eyes widened as a whisper escaped him, “It’s the number of distinct ways I’ve died.”

The system wasn’t deducting lives for repetition. It was cataloguing deaths by method.

Three kinds had been ‘registered’ so far. And with every death… his mana returned full.

Theo chuckled bitterly, brushing dust from his shoulder as he stood again. “So that’s how you want to play it.”

The pain from the melting blood still haunted his skin, but the determination in his eyes became clearer than ever now that he understood it.

While his mind started calculating how to maximize his chances to check its weak points while keeping his remaining lives as high as possible, the ten-second grace period reached the fifth second.

Theo tightened the grip around his energy saber. He didn’t hesitate to charge forward again. He circled it once again, closing in before taking his stance.

[00:02… 00:01…]

SLASH!

The blade bit into the tendon again, same as before. A geyser of black blood erupted into the air.

But Theo was already gone, his movement perfectly timed with a body twist and escape from the death-spray zone. A few droplets grazed his sleeve, but the main torrent missed him.

And then, the giant fell.

A satisfying CRASH thundered through the wasteland as the massive form collapsed forward.

*Thud*

Theo didn’t waste time celebrating and sprinted forward. He then leaped onto the back of the giant and reached its back.

Then, a wild swing of its club came at him. He ducked and charged forward.

He held steady, sliding forward, boots scraping stone flesh. The nape of its neck came into view, at last. “I didn’t expect to reach this so fast…”

“Let’s end it,” Theo growled, the saber in his hands gleaming as he raised it.

However, the monster wasn’t done.

Its left hand, still functional and terrifyingly fast, snapped back and grabbed him mid-lunge.

“No!”

A moment later, pain crushed his every nerve. His bones were crushed like a walnut crushed by a hammer.

And then…

[Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 6/9]

He coughed, groaning as he sat up.

But this time, there was no panic in his eyes. The lives remaining were kept intact.

“Foot stomp. Hand crush. Acid blood…” he whispered, recounting calmly. “I’ve only been truly punished for new mistakes. Yup, my theory is true. And now…”

“Your bad time has come,” he murmured with his eyes narrowing. “You giant…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep