n

n

n“This one was close,” Shang said to Sword.

n“But we won,” Sword answered.

n“We did, but only because it panicked. If it had any sort of combat experience, it would have focused on getting rid of me instead of continuously healing. We only won because I managed to take advantage of its inexperience,” Shang said.

n“But we won,” Sword said.

nSilence.

n“Yes, we won,” Shang said with a sigh.

nShang looked at the vanishing corpse. “Dogs aren’t famed for their defensive capabilities, but it was still incredibly hard to break its defenses. The physical bodies of beasts truly can’t be underestimated.”

nShang noticed that a leaflet had appeared, and he looked through it.

n“Companion,” Shang read.

nThat was the name of the dog’s species.

nShang sighed once again.

nHe didn’t regret killing it. After all, it was necessary.

nBut it still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

n“Apparently, they are being bred in the Skythunder Kingdom’s capital,” Shang said to Sword. “They mainly work for the King’s army.”

nThe kingdom’s capital was north of Duke Mithril’s territories. Duke Whirlwind was the ruler over the southernmost Zones, and Duke Mithril was responsible for the central-southern territories. There were several more Dukes that dealt with the other directions for a total of twelve Dukes.

nOne at the outer parts of each cardinal direction.

nOne at the inner parts of each cardinal direction.

nAnd one for each of the corners.

nSince the corners weren’t that wide, the Dukes responsible for the corners ruled over the outer and inner parts, making their territories resemble a line or a triangle more than a square or a circle.

nThen, Shang saw the God’s quote.

n“Who would want to punch a puppy? A monster!”

nShang took a deep breath and threw the leaflet to the side.

nAt that point, the wheel returned.

n“Level eight: Average Middle General Stage beast.”

nThe wheel began to spin, and Shang looked at it with an intense expression.

n‘I only won because my opponent was inexperienced. This won’t happen with the next one.’

nShang watched the wheel spin.

n‘The only way I can win against the next one is if I perfectly counter it.’

nThe wheel slowed down.

n‘Preferably, I need something with a weak defense.’

nThe wheel was close to stopping.

n‘It’s all up to luck now!’

nAnd then, the wheel stopped.

nShang saw his next opponent.

nThe image depicted a pig-like man with a lot of needles coming down his back. He was wearing sunglasses and looked like an intimidating bodyguard.

nA moment later, Shang’s opponent appeared.

nShang took a deep breath.

nIt was a brown porcupine with an obvious Affinity for Earth.

nIt was over five meters high, and its needles looked like they were made of granite.

nIts head was meaty and muscular.

n‘I guess that’s it,’ Shang thought.

n‘No way I’m winning against that one.’

nThe jester lifted his hammer and struck the bell.

nThe porcupine noticed the distant Shang and sniffed.

nShang didn’t move.

nHe didn’t even take out his sword.

nAfter some curiosity, the porcupine snorted and ran towards Shang.

nIt definitely didn’t like him.

nThe gigantic body of the porcupine destroyed parts of the earth with every step, and it was like a wall of doom was trampling towards Shang.

nWhen it came within ten meters of Shang, it opened its mouth.

nSaliva dropped from its gigantic teeth, and it opened its mouth, which was as big as Shang’s entire body.

nIts speed was around equal to the dog’s speed.

nOn top of that, it had a terrifying defense, and it definitely wasn’t inexperienced.

nShang wouldn’t be surprised if it could even use its needles as a ranged attack if it felt threatened.

nShang already had trouble evading the dog’s attack. What would he be able to do against a wave of needles that shot at him with even more speed?

nShang sighed.

n‘If it had been something like a cheetah or a bird, I could have won,’ he thought.

n‘Well, I guess that’s it for the beast category of the trial.’

n‘Seems like I will only get eight points.’

nShang pointed his left arm at the porcupine’s head.

nIts mouth was close to swallowing Shang.

nAnd then, Shang woke the hidden power inside his body.

nIn an instant, Shang’s body began to deteriorate.

nHis skin shriveled up.

nHis muscles shrank.

nHis bones became weak.

nHis organs became weak.

nHis blood lost a lot of its power.

nAnd on top of that, Shang’s left arm turned into black dust, which scattered into the wind.

nAnd then, without a sound, a gigantic hole appeared in the porcupine’s body.

nThe hole was a meter wide, and it stretched from its head all the way to its back.

nShang could easily see the horizon of his own world through the hole in the porcupine’s body.

nThere was no explosion.

nThere was no sound.

nIt just happened.

nA moment later, a storm of pure, Neutral Mana came from the porcupine’s body, and Shang felt like his body was bathed in pure Mana.

nThe porcupine stopped.

nAnd then, it fell over.

nDead.

nShang slowly walked over and used Darkness Absorb on the porcupine’s corpse.

nA lot of life energy left the corpse and entered Shang’s body.

nShang’s body had been empty of life energy, and after absorbing so much of it, it had fully regenerated again.

nExcept for his left arm.

nHis left arm was still gone.

nShang looked at his empty left shoulder.

n‘I don’t feel any growth.’

n‘I don’t even feel like I’m supposed to have a left arm.’

n‘It’s almost like I am already all that I am.’

nShang touched his left shoulder with his right arm, and he felt the skin that had appeared over the spot where his left arm had once been.

n‘I am already fully healed,’ Shang thought with a complex expression.

n‘I simply don’t have a left arm anymore.’

nShang looked at the vanishing corpse with a complex expression.

n‘A body part in exchange for an attack far above my ability. So that’s the price for this power.’

nAt the same time, Shang also felt that his Affinity had been locked.

nHe couldn’t feel Light, Darkness, Fire, or Ice Mana anymore.

nHe had also completely lost access to this special power.

nBut in comparison to his left arm, Shang could feel that he would regain control over his Affinity with time.

nIt would just take more time.

nBut his left arm would never reappear again.

n‘This is why I was afraid of using it.’

n‘Using this power means permanently losing a part of myself.’

n‘Luckily, I’m inside the trial. It’s a risk, but I don’t think that the God will resurrect me with only one arm when I die later.’

nShang took a deep breath.

n‘But that’s exactly it. I have to die. Otherwise, I will have to fight the warriors and Mages with only one arm.’

nShang saw the leaflet the porcupine left behind but didn’t look at it.

nHe just wasn’t interested in it right now.

nThis time, there had been no cheering.

nThe wheel returned and began to spin again.

n“Level nine: Powerful Middle General Stage beast.”

nShang sat down and waited.

nHe didn’t even look at his opponent.

nShang put Sword to the side since he didn’t want it to get injured.

nAfter a brief flicker of light, Shang’s opponent appeared.

nIt was a big hawk with a rigged and spiky beak. Its feathers also appeared incredibly sharp, and its entire body was silver in color.

nThe jester lifted his hammer and hit the bell.

nThe hawk looked at Shang.

nShang looked back.

nAfter a while, Shang could feel aggression come from the hawk.

nThe one-armed Shang only sat on the ground, looking at the hawk.

n‘I wonder how it feels to die. I wasn’t exactly conscious the last time it happened.’

n