Too Stubborn to Die Chapter 58

***Gigamorphed Blizzard Crow***

Drawing out even more energy, the human defied logic once more. Its body was beyond weakened, and yet the indomitable man readied to attack again, despite wounds covering most of his emaciated form.

“Guess what time it is?” The annoying human said.

The crow squawked and attempted to block the haymaker with its golden shield, but with fleeting energy, it couldn’t properly power it. The shield flickered and then shattered, consuming barely half of the human’s strike.

“Survived–that–one–huh?” The man said, stuffing his mouth between words.

What grotesque power, the crow thought. But nonetheless, it was impressive. The human had regeneration well beyond what an F-grade mortal had any right to possess.

The bird attempted to throw him off again, but another use of its golden shield had drained it further, and the pathetic attempt didn’t even come close to ridding it of the human anchored to its back.

And then it struck. Powering up its punches into the same Skill it had used earlier, pounding into the bird’s back.

And again.

And again.

The dragon-sized crow was bloodied and bruised, but the human was also weakened. It wasn’t charging strikes anywhere near as much as it had earlier. But they kept coming. Striking down on its feathers relentlessly and giving the crow no chance to recover.

It had to do something quickly. At this rate, the human would finish the job, even if its attacks were relatively weak compared to what a peak E-grade was capable of.

And the crow had the perfect Skill for just this situation. Channeling all the mana it could muster, it activated [ Crimson Lightning Cocoon ], and crackling red energy washed over it, thundering as it hit the human hiding upon it, and soon a stench of burned flesh filled its nostrils.

“And a powerful finishing blow from the Crow!” shouted the announcers. “I don’t see how an F grade could survive that.”

The human would not survive this. The crow could sense that it had grown overconfident, lowering its guard so that it could focus all of its energy into pummeling the crow’s back. What foolishness. The human had been dumb; what recklessness would possess it to lower its guard against a peak E-grade beast?

“Looks like this is the end, folks! He fought well, but he couldn’t bridge the grade gap.”

The crow staggered and fell several meters before catching itself with a labored flap of its wings. It was completely exhausted and was putting everything it had into zapping the annoying human on its back. At least it was over now, and it could afford to rest.

“Wait, what’s this?” The crow flinched at the sound of the announcer’s voice. “He’s alive! The human is alive!”

This thing is beyond stubborn, the crow thought.

But it mattered little. The fight was coming to an end, and whilst the human had fought well, it had bitten off far more than it could chew.

“His heart stopped, but it started beating again! How is this possible?” The crowd roared as the announcer spoke.

Steeling itself, the crow dipped into its reserves. Just a little longer. Everything was low. Too low. It needed to finish the human now and tried to push more mana into the lightning Skill, but it was running on fumes.

Still, it shouldn’t matter, the crow reminded itself. The human’s defenses had been down. There was no way it could survive. If it wanted to cling to life for a few additional seconds, then fine, it could suffer. The results would be the same.

But seconds passed, and the crow still felt the human’s presence. Even in its weakened state, surely the lightning was powerful enough to kill an F grade without defensive Skills activated?

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing right now!” shouted the announcer. “He died again, but now he’s back!”

Confused, the crow looked up as it flew through the arena. On a jumbotron, it saw the human’s body torn apart by the streaking lightning but hanging onto its feathers. Ribbons of flesh barely managing to keep that man’s body from falling apart, but somehow they did…

Is he dead? No, I feel his presence. How? How does the human survive through all of that?

The crow’s yellow eyes widened a second later as the human’s partially severed head rocked forward with a grin. The insane monster was actually laughing, but more importantly, it was healing.

Monster!!!

“How did he survive?” asked the announcer, barely audible over the roar of the crowd. “I sure as hell don’t know, but could this be the tide turning?”

The crow tried to zap it again, but the lightning had grown even weaker, and the insane human shrugged the attack off, his body healing itself faster than the increasingly weak lightning could damage it.

But even with high Vitality, it made no sense. How had that monster survived in its current state? It should be dead, and yet it found a means of clinging to life.

“Even a peak E grade isn’t enough to put this human down,” said the announcer. “The bastard’s just too damn stubborn to die!”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from NovelBin. Please report it.

The crow tried to summon its energy into another blast of lightning, but it completely fizzled. There was nothing. It was completely drained…

Yellow eyes watched the jumbotron in horror as the human straddling its back continued to feed like some kind of parasite, gradually healing its abhorrent wounds.

But if only that were it. Once the most serious wounds had closed, the human clenched a fist and channeled energy into it.

Stop, human!

Its pleas went unanswered, and the fist slammed into its already damaged back, once, twice, twice—

Coughing blood, the crow swooped low, barely managing to miss the arena floor. But the second punch took the wind out of its lungs, and it fell, tumbling along the ground and coming to a halt in a heap of broken feathers and gore.

“Sorry, it had to be this way,” the human said, landing effortlessly as it shoved a block of cheese in its mouth.

The monster had gone from looking like a corpse to superficial wounds and walking upright.

Every second that passed furthered the gap between them. At that moment, the crow knew that it was doomed. It had failed to best this human when it had the advantage, and every second beyond that had further cemented the human’s victory.

The beast sighed. It had come far. From a little hatchling with no expectations, it had fed first on its brothers and sisters, and then with the power it gained, it had taken flight in search of new prey.

Hailing from a harsh world of monstrous beasts, it had never expected to get far, but it had pushed itself. Taking and seizing opportunities wherever they could, and that mentality had given it the strength to ascend past what its parents had achieved.

It was so close, too. Had it reached D grade, it could have become a local beast lord. Controlled territory. Earned respect from the other beasts. If not for this little human.

But that was the risk that came with opportunity. It could have turned down the System quest, and it wouldn’t have found itself in this position. But it was exactly that character that had given it the strength to make it as far as it had.

I wouldn’t have done it any differently.

The crow closed its eyes. This was it. At least the human was strong. Its power would be consumed by one who would go far. A fitting end for a little bird who had defied its ordained place in the multiverse and dared to rise above it.

***Aaron***

Aaron’s gaze softened a little as he watched the crow’s massive eyes shut, and its shallow breaths calmed.

But this was the path he had chosen. He had chosen to be a warrior and to fight for autonomy in the coming multiverse. This likely wouldn’t be the last time he found himself in such a position.

What are you waiting for, human? You have won.

“Yeah, I know.”

Do it. Finish me. This is where my path leads. Just another dead end.

“Sorry.”

Don’t be. This is the choice made by all warriors of the multiverse. I had the advantage, and yet I still failed. Your path is the superior one.

“I guess,” Aaron kicked the dirt of the arena floor. But he knew the bird was right. It just felt less glamorous than he had hoped. “Well, you were a good training partner, if it is any consolation.”

It is. Perhaps you can reach godhood and take my memory with you.

“That’s a bit of pressure—”

“Fiiinish him, fucking finish him! The bird’s gone and busted itself up, and now needs its brains busted out!” The crowd began to chant in unison.

Give them what they want.

“This place is sick,” Aaron shook his head, but he knew there was no way around it, and turned away as he readied his haymaker. “Sorry again.”

The crow didn’t reply, and the haymaker slammed into its face at full force, ending its hard-earned ascension.

Aaron was already eating again. Perhaps it wasn’t the best time for it, but he still had wounds to heal.

“Rest well, big fella,” Aaron muttered and turned away from the corpse, only to realize the jumbotrons were focused on him, and the entire crowd was chanting.

“Aaron!” “A-ran!” “The human!” “He’s Aaaaaron—heee’s-toooo-stubborn. Heee’s toooo damn stubborn-to-die! He’s Aaaaron the bloody-stubborn-human! The man who’s too fucking stubborn to die!”

Did they make a fucking chant for me already?

He stared at the chanting crowd all around him with incredulity. They were actually chanting for him like freaking football hooligans. He had his own freaking chant already. What the hell was waiting for him out there in this twisted multiverse?

“Wowee!” The announcer boomed. “Did you see that, Grodok? The human actually did it. An entire grade apart.”

“I did,” another announcer replied. “I think we’ve got ourselves one to watch. Aaron Dober of the hundredth and first universe. A newly integrated human! Impressive,” he continued, sounding like he was reading from something.

“I’ll say! It looks like the hundred and first universe is gonna be one entertaining integration! I dunno about you, Grodok, but I can’t wait until their Tutorial is over. This is going to be one entertaining season!”

“You can say that again, Silvanas! Just listen to that crowd. They love him! Not often newborns get personalized chants before their Tutorials are even over.”

Aaron shook his head in disbelief, forgetting the pain still radiating from his wounds. What the fuck was this? What the fuck were they talking about? The multiverse just had to go and get even weirder, didn’t it?

“Ah, fuck me. This is gonna be one hell of a ride, isn’t it?” He muttered, pivoting on the spot as he eyed countless species of aliens cheering for him. The trials really were just the tip of the iceberg, weren’t they?

Gigamorphed Blizzard Crow [ Level 99 ] Slain!

Chain Quest: The Shadow Trials

Stage six of [ Trial of Dominance] COMPLETED!

You have tested yourself against a powerful beast and have emerged victorious.

Quest Rewards: Communication Orb [ Epic ], Unique System Store upgraded to level 6.

Experience rewarded for completing a quest stage!

Ding!

[ Brawler ] has LEVELED UP!

24 → 25

Quest: Challenge the Gigamorphed Blizzard Crow to a battle COMPLETED!

Quest Rewards: 100,000 Bonus Trial Points to spend at trial’s end!

Ding!

[ Class ] has LEVELED UP!

25 → 26

[ Point Distribution Pending Evolution! ]

Class Evolution Available!

Evolve your class?

Y/N?

***Douglas***

A notification appeared before Douglas’ eyes, dragging his attention away from the viewing port. Once again, that stubborn man had gone and overachieved.

What in the endless planes of the multiverse is that man?

Shaking his head, he dismissed the thoughts and got back to work. The notification was a warning. More guests would be arriving soon, and he had best be prepared.

Once they started to trickle in, the place would start to get crowded.