Ch 111
Still on the back foot, so to speak, with his HP slowly declining, Matt was desperately searching for any opening when he was unexpectedly saved by Bob. Bob pounced onto one of Matt's opponents from behind, creating a momentary distraction before leaping away. Though the interruption was brief, it was just enough to prevent what would have been a minor cut on Matt’s arm from becoming a bone-deep wound. In an instant, Matt activated his "Give Back to Your Enemy" skill as he healed, causing his opponent to suddenly lose the use of one of their arms. It was then that Matt witnessed what he assumed was the opponent using a skill of their own. Suddenly, his entire body was enveloped in a light blue glow, and his wounded arm began to move normally again, as if untouched.
When Matt saw this, instead of retreating, he lunged forward and tackled his opponent, leaving his back vulnerable to the other adversary, who hesitated too long to seize the opportunity. Initially, Matt expected to be struck by either a healing or a repulsive force, not the scorching force that seemed determined to dissolve his body. Nevertheless, with a swift twist of his hips, he released his foe, sending him crashing into his ally. He activated "give back to your enemy" and dropped to one knee.
A portion of whatever he had been hit with still clung to him, fighting against his ability to regenerate both his body and HP, as he had reached the critical threshold of ten percent. If not for his recovery kicking into overdrive at that moment, Matt knew he would be dead. However, observing the two opponents who had been slowly killing him now grappling with the same issues brought him a sense of relief. Despite this, the pain he was enduring showed no signs of abating, and he gritted his teeth, struggling to maintain control as he waited for the sticky substance clinging to him to wear off.
Matt's focus became so intense that he failed to notice the battle had ceased, as his comrades had already dealt with their foes, leaving only the two screaming adversaries before him. The situation was dire; the more damage the enemy who produced the sticky goop sustained, the more of it he generated. Even after separating from his comrade, the other foe was more covered in the goop than Matt himself. Watching this man slowly melt away, leaving only metal remnants behind, was a horrifying sight. Matt's heart raced with anxiety as his own HP dropped to below five percent. Desperation set in, prompting him to frantically scrape off the larger globs of the sticky substance clinging to his skin with his knife, hoping to stave off further damage.
Yet, as if they hadn't already survived a big enough threat, the goop that had once been their opponent dissolved and reformed into a blob about the size of a large exercise ball. It then rolled back to the man who had originally produced it and merged with him, leaving its armor behind as it melded into his body. The blob transformed from a circular shape into something vaguely human-like, now boasting over 20 slimy tentacles waving menacingly in the air. Matt swallowed hard as he felt a blast of frozen air wash over both him and the new threat. Although the cold reduced his health to a mere one and a half percent, it also froze the goop on him, freeing him from the searing pain as he stood up. This movement caused the goop to crack and break off from his body, and he received a system message.
Intensive challenge overcome.
Adjusting reward for duration of challenge.
Awarding two free base stat points to primary stat.
While the boost restored Matt from 6 HP to 34 HP, it was the subsequent notification that truly made him grin. His total HP had increased, and with it, his strength, dexterity, and durability each went up by one as his HP rose to 53. However, as the layer of ice that had formed over the humanoid slime began to crack, he knew he needed to refocus on the battle at hand. The only problem was, he had no idea what he was up against as fiery balls of magma started whizzing past his head, targeting the new monster. Emily shouted urgently to Matt, "I'm out of heals for the moment, and that thing is immune to physical damage. Plus, just touching it will harm you and heal it."
Matt could only frown as he considered his options and charged in despite others yelling for him not to. Just as he hoped, one of the tentacles shot right toward him, and he caught it with his left hand. As it tried to pull him in, he activated his ability, "Give Back to Your Enemy," and swiftly cut the tentacle free before retreating, his regeneration working hard to combat the damage he was taking. The fact that it counted as a single attack was key to his plan, and Matt gritted his teeth as he positioned himself at the front of his party. His HP stabilized at 53, which was 9.9% of his total health. Thankfully, it seemed like Greg’s relentless attacks were effective enough to slow down the slime monster. Emily called out its slowly dropping HP, her voice a beacon of hope, as they all carefully backed up toward the safety of the nearby safe room.
Matt found himself fending off a few tentacles here and there, using his already covered hand to block them and swiftly cut himself free. If anyone asked why he didn't simply run, it was because he sensed they were dealing with a creature that acted purely on instinct. If he didn't keep its attention on himself, the six prisoners would likely become its targets. Normally, Matt might not have cared about their fate, but seeing them bound in chains made him realize they could be a valuable source of information.
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Despite that, Matt frowned as each block caused more of the goop to cling to him, gradually decreasing his HP and effectively placing him on a timer. The increased pain was a downside, but the one positive was that it allowed him to stack more uses of "give back to your enemy" on top of the damage. However, he was quickly reaching his limit. He only had a single use left when the monster apparently decided that sticking around was no longer advantageous. It rolled itself into a tight ball and barreled directly toward the six prisoners, its intent clear.
Upon witnessing this, Matt didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately rushed after the creature. Before it could gain any momentum, he body-slammed the ball of goop with full force. This impact caused the creature to split apart, with much of the goop clinging to him. As Matt rolled back onto his feet, he used his daily ability of attack negation. This action caused all the goop that had adhered to him to fly off and rejoin the rest of the creature, which was slowly pulling itself back together. Meanwhile, Greg switched tactics and unleashed a freezing wind attack. The chilling gusts caused the goop to slow down significantly as it partially froze, and Matt shielded the portion on his hand, as it was still inflicting damage. Just five seconds later, the goop lost all structure; the unfrozen parts seemed to deflate, and even the portion on his hand ceased to deal any damage.
The system message that followed the fight's conclusion was particularly eye-opening. The three Godfrey enforcers, who hadn't transformed into slime monsters, collectively awarded them 140 experience points. On the other hand, the slime monster alone granted each of them 78 experience points, leaving Matt puzzled about the math. However, what was even more pressing was the message that greeted him after those experience points were added to his total, elevating him to level 17.
Rank D reached, prepare for bloodline awakening.
Bloodline unknown.
Effects of awakening are unknown.
Suddenly, along with the anticipated pain from the abrupt spike in stats, Matt felt the very fabric of his being torn apart. This experience lasted far longer than any previous level-ups, and by the time he had recovered enough to become aware of his surroundings, he realized that someone had dragged him back into the safe room. As he attempted to sit up, Matt noticed that his body felt peculiar, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint why. However, when he glanced at his own hand, he immediately realized something was amiss. Instead of the wrinkles he expected at each joint, there was just smoothness. This discovery nearly caused him to panic, as for a brief moment, he feared he was no longer human. In a rush of anxiety, he quickly accessed his status menu for reassurance.
Matthew Pierce.
Level 17
Strength: 993
Dexterity:1002
Durability: 987
Stamina: 1096
Spirit: 2392
Mind: 396
HP: 2361
MP: 434
Luck: 61
Species Human hybrid(D)
Bloodline: (Undocumented, has high adaptability and survivability, possible Prime bloodline)
Path: Lucky Death Defier (Increase Spirit by 90% Stamina by 45% Durability by 30% Dexterity by 15%)
Titles: Integrated, Front runner of species (5% boost to all stats), Lord of the Tomb of the Restless Defenders (Control the accessibility of fort associated with dungeon such that those within can enter and leave with or without challenging the dungeon. Can also relocate/repair the fort and dungeon associated with dungeon if needed resources are gathered.), King slayer (Increase in distrust from those who serve a monarch not allied with you. Deal double damage to any monarch and those in the line of succession), Lucky (Unlocks and doubles hidden luck stat), Defier of Fate (Your life was meant to end, and it didn’t, Fate will work to correct this) Rank crosser (Fighting those above your rank will be slightly easier).
Skills: Auto translate, Spatial storage, Cellular Regeneration, Injury control, Essence of selflessness, Essence of determination, Luck’s Essence, Adaptive body.
Matt felt like he was missing something as he reviewed his status. While all of his stats had more than doubled, he noticed two new titles. One of these titles seemed more like a curse than anything else, as it gave him the unsettling feeling that fate was conspiring to kill him. He suspected that the other title was earned from leveling up after fighting opponents above his tier, though he would need to check with his companions to confirm this. Despite expecting these changes due to Tempormr’s warning, his skill section felt oddly empty. The presence of the three essences was anticipated, as was what he assumed to be an even more advanced form of regeneration. However, the appearance of skills like injury control and adaptive body left him with a few questions, pondering their potential benefits and implications.
More than anything, Matt was intrigued by the words he saw under bloodline and species. The term "Human hybrid" made him curious about his own heritage, leading him to suspect it had something to do with his bloodline. Unfortunately, the specifics had yet to be disclosed, although the mention of a possible Prime bloodline only raised more questions in his mind. Fortunately, Matt didn’t have to wait long for answers, as he sensed Tempormr’s presence and soon heard his voice resonate in his mind.
"You need to ask questions," Tempormr advised, "and I can’t perceive all the changes that have occurred, but it seems your body has undergone significant transformations."
"I think that might be due to my new adaptive body skill," Matt replied thoughtfully. "However, I'm more concerned about my bloodline still being unknown, even though it's noted for high adaptability and survivability."
"Is that all it states?" Tempormr inquired. "No list of potential matches or conjectures?"
"What do you know?" Matt pressed.
"Only that you shouldn’t have been able to withstand the manner in which I intrude into your mind without succumbing entirely. Not that you would even be aware if you had—no, you would simply find yourself agreeing with me. So, this suggests you possess an ancient, heroic, legendary, mythic, or perhaps even prime-level bloodline. I suspect it is at least legendary or higher, as anything less wouldn't account for the drastic changes I'm observing in your body."
Matt found himself unsure of how to respond, suddenly feeling as if he held a card best kept close to his chest. Nevertheless, he realized that Tempormr wouldn't provide him with answers unless he was willing to share some information himself.
