Too Stubborn to Die Chapter 36

Mindbending Punch [ Rare ] This attack doesn’t just harm your opponent's body, but their mental state as well. When activated, Mindbending Punch fills the user’s fists with mental energy that bursts free on contact, releasing an attack that harms both the target’s body and mind.

Seismic Palm [ Rare ] Send the rippling force of your power tremoring through the world. When activated, Seismic Palm releases a torrent of powerful energy that is expelled as a shockwave. Shockwaves can travel for some distance through the air or even solid material, providing both range and penetrative effects.

Manipulative Will [ Elite ] Don’t just ask people to do as you wish; manipulate them with the power of your will. When activated, Manipulative Will compels others to do as you wish. Considered a minor mind control Skill, Manipulative Will is often used by Combat Psychics and defended against with the Willpower Stat.

Insurmountable Strike [ Epic ] This is no ordinary strike. Put up a wall, a barrier, whatever; it matters little. When activated, Insurmountable Strike fills the user’s chosen limb with gigantic amounts of mana and stamina, which are expelled in an instant when released into a strike. Skill comes with an extraordinary mana and stamina cost.

Overclocked Haymaker [ Epic ] Pour your power into a strike that will make your enemies tremble in fear at the sight of you. When activated, Overclocked Haymaker allows the user to pour a desired amount of mana and stamina into a supercharged strike, pushing it far beyond the limits it should possess. The power of the strike is relative to the amount of stamina and mana funneled into it.

Aaron nodded with a manic grin on his face as he read the options. The first two rare options were obviously dropped. Not because either sounded bad, but why would he select a Rare Skill when Elite and Epics were available? Although at least Mindbending Punch sounded interesting.

He was also quite intrigued by Manipulative Will. He must have earned the Skill option thanks to learning how to weave new threads of fate, since, in a way, that was attempting to manipulate and control an opponent. Though as intrigued as he was, the Skill didn’t tempt him in the slightest. It intrigued him that there was such a thing as combat psychics in the multiverse, but that wasn’t the path he wanted to go down. His fate-weaving wasn’t about controlling people, but predicting and controlling the battlefield. Maybe there were some similarities between the two, but he certainly didn’t see himself as some kind of psychic warrior.

Insurmountable Strike was impossible to go past. By raw power, it undoubtedly sounded like the strongest of every Skill available, and for that reason alone, he almost selected it. However, it even warned of its huge mana costs, which he didn’t like. Throwing all of his mana into a single strike just wasn’t Aaron’s style, even if it held incredible power. He was already walking a path and wanted something flexible to complement it.

And Overclocked Haymaker sounded like exactly that. This was both a power strike and one that he could dial up and down depending on how much mana was funneled into it. That was exactly what he wanted. His entire style was built around control, so what better than a Skill that did just that? Why waste mana on an extraordinary strike that threw more weight into a punch than necessary? Overkill wasn’t really his style. Well, maybe occasionally, to make a point. But it wasn’t a pillar of his path, at least he didn’t see it like that. So a strike that gave him some flexibility to decide how much power to put into it sounded perfect.

“I guess this is it,” Aaron muttered as he selected the Skill following a brief pause as he went over the list once more. He was confident in his selection, but this was probably the most important Skill he had selected yet; after all, he desperately wanted to impress Yendal. This was a long-term goal, and as great as having Oozagh’s support was, the ogre hardly resembled the style of fighting that Aaron was cultivating.

“Wait, don’t tell me!” Sooty exclaimed.

“Oh… ahh…”

“You asshole. Whatever, I’m out of here. At least Rudolf respects me.”

“Wait, Rudolf? Is that the name of the viewing room assistant?”

“What do ye think? Asshole. Don’t even have the common decency to ask a man’s name.”

Yeah. Maybe I deserved that one.

“Sorry, Sooty!” Aaron called out, but Sooty just flicked him the finger as he kept walking.

I’m sure he’ll calm down…

With a grimace, Aaron returned his attention to the tasks at hand. He didn’t feel great about forgetting to consult Sooty once again, but he wasn’t about to lament over it.

As much as he wanted to run off and challenge Yendal again, he knew that he first had to practice using his new Skill, but he also wanted to gain a few more levels in his Profession. After all, a few extra Stat points prior to challenging Yendal was nothing to look past. Anything that might give him an edge was worth investing in.

But first, he wanted to check out his new loot, and so he Inspected his new chain.

Unbreakable Chains [ Rare — E grade ]

Perfect for wrapping up some troublesome agitator you’d rather not kill, not yet, at least. Chains are nearly unbreakable for anyone of equal or lesser grade than the chains themselves.

“Wait, E grade?” Aaron nodded appreciatively. This was his first E-grade item, and while he didn’t currently have a use for it, it didn’t sound half bad. After all, he had seen what was awaiting him out there, thanks to the viewing room, and it was dangerous. Now, he had an alternative to just killing people. Not that he intended to become some kind of prison warden on Superearth, but having options was always nice.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

It had been a little bit of a bummer that he had gained just one level from completing the stage, but then again, he was level 20 now. It was hard not having anything to compare himself to, but he guessed that leveling got harder for everyone as they climbed the ranks. And unlike him, most didn’t have to die repeatedly without a single point of XP just to complete a single quest. They were out there slaying monsters and racking up XP, and then finishing quests for additional XP to tie it all together. Then again, he had already seen the difference in Skill options when leveling his Profession via more mundane methods. The difference was undeniable, and he didn’t doubt for a second that many of those out there killing monsters of similar level to themselves were gaining rather mid Skills in the process.

“Eh, look at the big picture,” he reminded himself. His situation was just a little bit of hard work for a nice payout later.

With that thought in mind, he made his way to the hallway to test out his new Skill. [ Overclocked Haymaker ] was everything he had hoped it would be. And fortunately for Douglas and everyone else, the obsidian tiles and bricks were indestructible.

Aaron threw superpowered punches at the wall and gasped at the sheer amount of power he could expel. Ribbons of green and blue energy rippled around his fist as he powered up the Skill, the length of which was relative to the amount of power he wanted to unleash. It was also intuitive and easy to control how much mana and stamina he put into the strike.

The Skill powered both his punch itself, which was where stamina came into play, and an explosive field around his fist that burst outward on impact. It was a double whammy of raw power and exploding energy, and Aaron couldn’t wipe the smile from his face. This was just what he wanted.

But Yendal was no joke. He went a few rounds with his pocket shadow, but the imitation sparring partner was less than ideal. It was decent enough for throwing new Skills at and gauging their power, but not much more. Besides, he could sense the power going into his attacks anyway.

No, what he needed before testing himself against the goddess was a real fight. He wanted to make a good impression, after all. And so with that thought, he strolled over and started the Trial of Domination.

The Trial of Dominance: Slay or subjugate the lords of the lizardmen to complete the trial stage.

Entering the trial, he found himself looking down upon a Mayan-esque town. Interestingly, the trial had similar wording to the one he had completed against the orcs. Except it mentioned the lords instead of a tribe. Aaron had a feeling that meant the exact same strategy he used against the orcs wouldn’t work here. Although if it came to it, he’d give it a try. Why not?

Glancing around, he scanned the valley. There didn’t appear to be an easy way down, besides scaling a sharp, near-vertical rockface. There were a lot of vines, and maybe he could Tarzan his way down, but it wasn’t his first choice.

Studying the town and the surrounding jungle, quite a few lizardman patrols seemed to be marching about below. However, he didn’t spot any patrols or paths scaling the rock up to where he was. The lizardmen straight-up didn’t seem to treat the rockface and jungle atop it as a serious vector of attack. This was probably because the stone walls and towers around the town were all stationed around the perimeter of the town, facing outward. Perhaps the jungle was considered part of their territory? There were a lot of guards stationed around it.

Hmm, going down and attacking from one of the walls is probably not the best idea.

The waterfall crashed into a pond at the center of the town, and there was a river that it drained into, which went under the walls as it snaked across the landscape. Maybe if he could find a way down, he could swim into the town via the river, but that plan wouldn’t be great if there were submerged bars blocking it.

Of course, there was a simple solution, he thought as his gaze shifted across to the waterfall.

What’s the worst that could happen? I die?

The trek up to the waterfall through the thick underbrush likely would have been quite the task if he had attempted it pre-integration. But it was nothing now. Heck, Aaron barely sank into the underbrush anymore; his light and quick steps essentially allowed him to float above it, bouncing between bushes and tree branches as he raced through the jungle like some kind of ninja wannabe.

Reaching the top, Aaron walked to the waterfall’s edge and glanced down. Shrugging, he then casually stepped off the edge and dove into the plummeting descent far below. It was actually pretty damn fun. Screw bungee jumping when you can just jump without the cable, he thought. And Aaron realized he was absolutely going to make the most of his superhuman body after the trials were over and seek out some extreme thrills. The possibilities sent a delightful shimmer tracing his body.

Then he hit the water, hard. But at this point, his Vitality was waaay too high for something like that to affect him. He had spent this entire time fighting against creatures and shadows that were so far above him in level, and he really hadn’t had much of an opportunity to appreciate how much sturdier he had become. But there was no denying it after that jump. He barely felt a tingle, and he was fairly certain he would be dead, or at least hospitalized, if he had been normal, pre-integration Aaron.

Once inside the water, he could have bounced straight out of the pool at the bottom of the waterfall if he wanted to, but first, he needed to make sure his surroundings were safe.

It was at that moment that he realized he had been underwater for several seconds and felt no pressure to get a breath. He was barely even paying attention to the trial at that moment, just swimming around casually. He counted thirty seconds and was still calm and happy. His body wasn’t pressuring him to resurface at all, and his lungs felt… well, they felt great.

Okay, this is freaking amazing. I can swim like a freaking fish!

He had been eaten far too quickly by the sea serpents to appreciate how little his body yearned for air during that trial, but now, well… this changed how he viewed water entirely. And maybe space, too, he thought. What about pressure? Could he delve down to the bottom of the ocean without being crushed by its pressure now? Whatever the answer was, he knew he wanted to find out. For now, it was time to experiment with breathing underwater.

Aaron remained underwater for almost half an hour before his lungs tightened up, and he felt his body pressuring him to resurface. It was quite frankly amazing. He was only an F-grade and could only imagine how his body would change as he got stronger and climbed the ranks. Abilities like this would no doubt get better. Maybe at E or D grade, he wouldn’t even need to resurface anymore.

Okay, enough playing around. Time to get to work.

He kept low in the water like a crocodile as he surfaced, just his eyes gliding atop the water, exposed. He paddled so softly that he didn’t even make ripples as he approached land.

There were a few lizardmen around, but they hadn’t noticed him diving down, probably because of all the foamy water and the roaring current of the cascading waterfall.

The entire reason he was here was to test out Overclocked Haymaker, and Aaron had half a mind to bounce straight out of the pool and start clocking lizardmen, but he held back. Why? The ominous pyramid humming with mana in the distance.

Okay, that thing looks like bad news. But whatever, that’s future Aaron’s problem.

He tightened his fists as he prepared to attack. There were a lot of good targets around, and it was time to turn them into punching bags.