[ Death Count: 48 ]
My eyes open.
The void greets me once more.
The first thing I do is check my body. I'm not worried or anything, but at this point, it's just become a habit.
After making sure all my body parts are still here, I breathe a sigh of relief.
I really shouldn't have to, this is my 47th death after all.
But a grin slowly spreads across my face.
"I did it."
The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.
For the first time since entering this trial, I actually accomplished something.
It's not much but it's something. A technique I created as an experiment actually worked.
Giving techniques names helps to activate it much easier so in honor of the reason that caused me to create this, I'll call this technique Dead Time.
Even though he was still moving fast, I could still track his movements. This is a pretty good step in my plan. I replay the memory in my head, the mana flowing through his sword, the shift of his stance, the tightening of his grip.
The grin fades.
"...And it still wasn't enough."
Because seeing an attack and dodging an attack are two completely different things.
I let out a sigh.
"Guess I've got another problem to solve."
And if I want my plan to work, then I've got to solve this problem first.
The light beneath my feet begins to spread.
Moments later, the battlefield returns.
The crimson sky hangs overhead, the rivers of flame burn endlessly. I walk to the broken structure and sure enough a figure stands at the top—
Onyx.
Just like always.
I immediately retreat behind a pile of corpses.
Then I suppress my mana.
The familiar feeling of weakness follows.
Good. At least he won't instantly find me.
At least for now.
I sit down, cross my legs and begin to think. I've got about 4 minutes give or take, so I gotta make this count.
My first idea is simple.
If my mind is faster than my body—
Then I'll make my body just as fast. Like I said, pretty simple.
I begin circulating mana through my muscles.
More and more and more and more and even more.
The muscles in my legs begin to twitch.
Pain follows shortly after. Then more pain and more pain until—
"...Too much."
I quickly stop.
The pain doesn't disappear, instead it only gets worse.
I look down.
Tiny tears have appeared across my legs.
Blood slowly seeps through them.
"...Right."
If I force it—
I'll probably rip myself apart before Onyx even gets the chance.
Not the way I want to go out this time though.
A few minutes later, I try again.
This time though, I only reinforce my right hand. There's still pain but compared to my leg, it's significantly lower.
Interesting.
Maybe it isn't how much mana I put into it but rather where I infuse my mana.
If that's the case then what about small body parts like my fingers and toes? Would that do something?
I immediately test it out by infusing mana into my fingers and it's like I thought.
There's no pain at all.
Ok, but I need to actually test whether I can move.
In that moment, I activate Dead Time.
I can feel the wind slowly brush through my face as the sound of the calling fire begins to change.
Sure enough, everything stops.
I turn my eyes to my hand and infuse mana into my index finger.
I then flick it.
My finger is definitely moving much faster than before, but it's still not moving at a pace where I can react to Onyx's attack.
Before I can think of anything, a shadow looms over me.
Shit. Guess I let my guard down.
Big mistake.
- - -
[ Death Count: 49 ]
"Ok, that didn't work." I say to myself as I sit in the void with my legs crossed.
Well, even though it's not at the speed I need it to be, it's still progress nonetheless.
"But I need to hurry."
I've got to finish this trial if I want to get out of here.
But do I actually get anything for completing this? I got the title The One Who Refused to Die and then I was invited to the trial, so up til now I've been doing this under the assumption there was a reward for this, or that it'd make me stronger.
But all I've been doing is being killed. Although I did develop Dead Time so I guess that's something.
Anyway back on topic, before I can think about gaining a reward, I first have to overcome the obstacle in my plan.
Ok, focusing my mana at small points in my body doesn't cause any pain and it seems I can move it a lot quicker than with my whole arm even in Dead Time.
That itself is already a huge breakthrough. But while it solves movement, that doesn't really help me with attacking though.
At least, not an attack where I have to use a sword or get into close range.
- - -
I suppress my mana and immediately run to the broken structure. Just like always, the black knight's there, so I quickly hide behind the mountain of corpses.
"Alright."
I'm a bit terrified to be honest. This is the first time I'm actually going to attack him.
But I have no choice. I'm going to have to do it at some point so it might as well be now.
I take a deep breath, and leap into the air.
"Fang."
Violent mana gathers around me as it begins to take the shape of claws and wings, unfolding from nothing.
In an instant I find myself on top of the back of Fang.
He flies in the air with a low growl as he locks his violent eyes onto Onyx.
I immediately activate Dead Time so I can track Onyx's movements. I don't need to be worried about Fang. He's linked with me so when I use Dead Time, he can perceive the same thing as me.
"Fang, breath."
The moment the words leave my mouth, Fang's jaws drop. A torrent of fire and shadow rips through the air, twisting and surging at a frightening pace towards Onyx.
It doesn't just stop there. I immediately stick out my middle and index fingers out in front of me.
A small black orb with a tinge of red hovers near my fingers.
"Vororin"
The orb is shot like a beam of dark light that seems to devour light itself. It's size is the same as the flames but its more intense and focused.
Onyx just stands as the fire/shadow breath and my spell make their way towards him. Then—
They vanish.
…what!?
What just happened? The flames and my attack made their way towards him and then they simply...vanished without a trace.
Did he block them? No, if he had I would have felt a shockwave or even a faint mana signature, point is I would have felt something but—
They're gone, like they was never there.
Beneath me, Fang's head tilts slightly. I can tell he's just as confused as I am.
Before I can try to figure out what happened, Onyx moves.
I see a golden light flash through the air and before I know it, Onyx is right in front of Fang's face. It's only thanks to Dead Time that I'm able to track him.
Onyx stretches his hand.
"Move!"
Fang tries to twist to the side, but Onyx's hand seems to follow him, like he had already predicted where he would move.
Onyx touches Fang's snout with two fingers, and just like that, Fang disappears.
Gone, the same way our attacks went. One second there's a forty-foot dragon beneath me, and next I'm standing on empty air. I immediately start falling to the ground.
I don't feel Fang return to me. It's like he's gone somewhere distant. I can still feel Fang but now the link between me and him feels…off. Like it's empty.
I hit the ground and roll once, twice before I come to a complete stop. I deactivate Dead Time and look up. I see Onyx just levitating in the air, his wings shine like gold. It's enough to make me lose focus for a second, but I manage to regain my senses when I see him touch the hilt of his sword attached to his waist.
I immediately activate Dead Time once more and just as I do I see Onyx swing his sword.
Alright, it's now or never.
I focus some of my mana into my toes.
In that moment Onyx releases his sword from its scabbard and swings at me.
I see the golden light. The light that had killed me forty-nine times already. But just like death forty-seven, I can see it.
The golden line stretches towards my chest.
I shift my weight. I don't leap nor do I dash. I just change the smallest redistribution my body can manage.
My heels lift for a fraction of a second while my toes hold onto the ground, and release. I do it all in the space of a motion so small it shouldn't matter.
The golden light reaches the area where my chest should have been, except it's gone.
The slash still continues, close enough that I can feel the heat coming off it, but nonetheless it doesn't hit me.
For a split second, there is only silence. Then—
It's gone.
It tears through the cracked stone behind me, clean in half. The same way it had split me forty-nine times.
The structure collapses in pieces.
Onyx's blade hangs in the air mid-swing. It's not because he has stopped. It's just because Dead Time is still holding the world at its own breath, and even a being like Onyx needs at least a couple of seconds to process what just happened.
In all honesty, I can't believe it worked. Ten small points of pressure. That's all it took for me to dodge him. Not strength, not speed, just precise control over my body.
"…I dodged it."
My voice comes out like a bratty little kid who just got what he wanted, but to be honest, this might actually be the only way I could have said this.
Forty-nine times, this attack has hit me with no hope of ever escaping, yet this time it didn't cut me down.
I want to laugh, I want to scream, I want to actually act like a kid and get excited over my minuscule victory. But I can't. The moment I do, Dead Time will deactivate and I might not be able to activate it in time in case Onyx decides to follow up with his attack.
Onyx turns and looks at me.
He doesn't say anything, physically or telepathically. From the looks of it he seems to be recalculating, trying to acknowledge that what just happened should have never happened, and won't happen a second time.
"Okay, that's one."
There was a one in a million chance to dodge it but nonetheless it was still there, and I managed to grab onto and execute that one chance.
Time around me lurches forward, snapping back to its true pace.
Crap, I let myself relax for a bit.
He's already moving.
I throw myself backwards as mana screams into my heels this time, and the pace of the world slows once more.