This time, with a series of combo attacks, one after another, he managed to inflict wounds on the giant. Its right wrist was bruised. Its left eye is damaged. Its tendons were slashed more than once. Even the crotch bore a tear in its armor-like skin.

But it still moved and killed him, fortunately with a footstomp, a redundant kill.

[You died.]

[Remaining: 3 lives]

[You died.]

[Remaining: 3 lives]

[You died.]

[Remaining: 3 lives]

[You died.]

[Remaining: 3 lives]

[You died.]

[Remaining: 3 lives]

[You died.]

[Remaining: 3 lives]

[You died.]

[Remaining: 2 lives]

[You died.]

[Remaining: 2 lives]

After several failed frontal assaults, Theo tried something different.

He once again waited behind the giant during its club swing as he did during the earlier attempts. The only thing he had forgotten was to slash its Achilles Tendons. As the club smashed into the ground ahead, Theo sprinted up its back instead, timing his run perfectly with the recoil motion.

Just as the giant lifted the club to swing again, Theo jumped, aiming to land on the handle of the weapon itself, hoping to use its own swing as a slingshot toward its exposed ear or jawline.

For a split second, it worked.

He rode the rising arc of the club like a surfer.

Then…

Snap.

The giant jerked its arm backward with unnatural speed, yanking the club into a sudden reverse swing.

Theo didn’t anticipate the torque. His body flung like a ragdoll across the air as a result, and smashed his spine into a nearby rock with a sickening crack.

It was an instant death.

Lives remaining: 1

“Okay, this is the last one,” Theo muttered with his gaze as cold and hard as an ice berg. He clenched his fists as the countdown timer above ticked down. “If I want to change my fate, I have to do this.

Ten… nine… eight…

With a mana saber in his right hand and a mana spear in his left, the instant the timer hit zero, Theo darted forward with full speed, his movements honed by failure, pain, and vast experience he had accumulated over like twenty consecutive deaths or more. He made his way to the giant’s backside, just as he had done several times before.

Without hesitation, he sliced through its right Achilles tendon.

GRAAAHHHHHH—!

The beast collapsed, roaring in agony as it hit the ground. Theo didn’t stop. He circled around and cleanly severed its left Achilles tendon as well, ensuring it had no chance of standing again.

As its toxic blood gushed from the massive wounds like a jet spray, Theo jumped onto the monster’s back, sprinting along its spine while the massive club came swinging toward him.

He ducked under it and slid forward.

At just the right moment, he plunged the energy spear into the beast’s club-holding wrist.

SHRIIEEK!

A flood of burning blood shot out.

Just as its right hand bent backwards to catch him, Theo murmured. “Activate, Lightning God Armor.”

The electrical sparks erupted from his body, and he instantly vanished from the blood’s path in a streak of blur, zigzagging away as the right hand just missed him.

While charging ahead, he conjured another spear in mid-motion.

“Die, you bastard.”

Without hesitation, he drove the spear deep into the base of the spine, right where the nape connected to the skull, and jumped back as another wave of acidic blood sprayed outward.

Still in mid-air, he saw the giant’s eye twitch toward him.

*Graaa* gra* graaaa*

The beast could no longer move its limbs. Its head shook faintly, roaring in pain and struggle. With every bit of strength left, the creature slightly turned its neck and opened its jagged, grotesque mouth to swallow him whole.

But Theo landed perfectly, right on one of its front teeth.

Using it as a launch pad, he kicked off again with full force, rising high above its face.

In that instant, two sharp spears, smaller and hastily forged, appeared in his hands, created from the last stretch of his mana.

“Oraaaa. Die…”

With a roar, he hurled one down.

PFFFT!

The spear pierced the giant’s eye. It howled in pain.

Theo landed safely below, panting heavily, but he wasn’t finished yet. “C’mon…”

Amidst its agonizing screech, he rushed forward one final time, leapt onto its chest, and climbed up to its face again.

He stabbed the last spear straight into the other eye, burying it deep until only the hilt remained. Then he jumped away and landed on the cracked, dusty ground with his mana completely spent.

Graaaaaaaa!

Behind him, the colossus let out one last broken scream before going utterly still. Its body began to twitch, then collapse.

At once, its entire body slammed to the earth.

Theo didn’t move. He simply stood there, staring at the monster’s corpse, waiting to see if it would rise again. There’s still half a minute left before the final Lightning God Armor dissipates.

However, the giant didn’t wake up. It slowly disappeared.

He let out a long and quiet breath as the floating screen finally returned, shimmering above him.

*Ding!

[Congratulations, you passed the trial.]

[Congratulations, you became a Codex system user, inheriting the power of the Overlord of Shadows: The Assassin.]

[You activated the Assassin System.]

Returning to Origin World in: 10… 9… 8…

Theo exhaled as he muttered under his breath, clenching his fists as a breathless smile curled on his lips. “Finally… I actually pulled it off…”

His eyes fluttered shut. The moment of peace felt almost surreal after 20-odd deaths and continuous repeated battles.

3… 2… 1…

Soon, the timer hit zero, and a soft pulse of white light engulfed him. Theo landed softly on the bed, returning to his room.

Theo blinked rapidly, looking around to confirm that it was indeed his place. However, when he snapped his eyes to the smartphone on the bedside table, he saw that the time was stated: 00:43.

That’s exactly the same number of minutes he spent fighting the monster.

*Ding!

“Eh?” Theo was forced to stop mumbling as the same floating screen gently blinked above him again.

[Welcome, host.]

“Whoa…” Theo sprang up to his feet, “So this is real… Hahaha…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep