"Are you...the Main Mind?"

The singular moment that followed felt like my entire body had paused in function. The implications of such a thing...the purpose of this trial...the method to prove myself...my perception of it all would have to change.

Sweat beaded on my forehead as I waited, until finally, the beast's claw raised, then came down to the tap the ground...Twice.

By Lysha'el...it really is...me.

First came the shock. Then the denial and disbelief. But then the information started to settle, and the ends of my mouth curled into a grin.

I can use this.

The biggest problem when it came to fighting beasts at a higher rank than me, was that the power, speed and frequency of their attacks could outpace my healing. Aside from that little caveat, and of course, the mind-numbing pain of having your body crushed into a pulp, fighting opponents with strength that eclipsed my own was only beneficial, because growing my Resistances just became that much easier.

So now, when my main mind had somehow taken control of the body of a Crisis-Class beast...I could only imagine the benefits. Just the sheer amount of information at its fingertips...I trusted the main mind was smart enough to analyze the Physiology of a Crisis-Class best it could. It would no doubt come to be useful when I ascended to the Gold-Rank.

Just that information alone would have been worth every injury, but now, in this environment, inside a Trial that required battle to acquire this 'Will Resonance', whatever it was... I could abuse the strength of the Scorpion's body to safely farm my Resistances, without the threat of death.

I swallowed, filled both with dread and excitement. The rewards would be plentiful, yes. But the rest...was going to be horrific.

My focus returned to the colossal scorpion before me, and I finally understood that amused look in its eyes. The Main Mind had figured all this out far earlier, it seemed.

Nonetheless, I knew what had to be done now.

I confirmed the same with the Main Mind, "I take it you know what we need to do, then?"

Two taps.

My grin widened

"Go on then," I said, widening my stance inside the crater as I readied myself for the impact, "Lets take 'em all the way to Gold."

The Claw was raised high into the air, coming to rest right above my head for just a moment, before it came down with that same crushing force I had absolutely no hope of withstanding.

whoosh!

BOOOOOM!

The Crater deepened as my body was smashed flat into the ground once more, body turned to mush, every organ and sinew crush flat into a pancake. The pain...couldn't be explained. There were no words heavy enough to describe this sensation. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it.

I hated it so much. But this was the only way.

System Prompts flooded my vision as I repeated those words over and over, lest I lose my sanity to the pain.

Its the only way. Its the only way. Its the only way.

Until finally, my healing kicked in, and my body knit itself back together. Bones regenerated, creating structure once again, muscles regained their volume, sinews re-attached, blood vessels, nerves, everything was rebuilt from that state of mush.

And when the next batch of System prompts poured in...

[Host's [Impact Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[Enhanced Impact Resistance VII --> VIII]

[Host's [Pierce Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[Enhanced Pierce Resistance VII --> VIII]

[Host's [Slash Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[Enhanced Slash Resistance VII --> VIII]

...there was only one thought that followed.

Worth it.

The pain was temporary. To be endured only for these short periods between when my body was injured and when it healed. But the gains...the growth...the strength I gained...these were permanent. And that made anything and everything I could endure between those few seconds...worth it.

[Will Resonance: 10%]

I stood back up as the bones snapped back into place, staring the Scorpion right back in its faintly glowing yellow eyes.

"You're enjoying this aren't you."

The claw lifted off the ground just a little, then tapped on the ground...thrice.

I smiled wryly, at the Main Mind's sense of humor, then looked down at my body. Somehow, due to the nature of these crushing attacks, my trousers remained intact. In fact, they looked straighter and neater than ever, as if the blunt force had flattened them into perfection. The boots...flattened. Perfect? Not so much.

I pulled them off unceremoniously, dusted myself off a little, and got right back into stance. "Ready."

The claw went right back up, and then right back down.

BOOOOOOM!

Mush.

Agony.

Damage Report Prompts.

Regeneration.

Resistance Upgrade Prompts.

[Host's [Impact Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[Enhanced Impact Resistance VIII --> IX]

[Host's [Pierce Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[Enhanced Pierce Resistance VIII --> IX]

[Host's [Slash Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[Enhanced Slash Resistance VIII --> IX]

Regeneration complete. Relief.

Since the attacks were all classed in the Gold Rank, Silver Rank Resistances did nothing to reduce the damage taken. Meaning, I could ride this simple strike from the scorpion until I reached Gold, and only then would the damage start being reduced with every upgrade.

Again, I got back into stance, nodded, and the endured the agony that followed.

[Host's [Impact Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[Enhanced Impact Resistance IX --> X]

[Host's [Pierce Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[Enhanced Pierce Resistance IX --> X]

[Host's [Slash Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[Enhanced Slash Resistance IX --> X]

When my mouth regenerated well enough to smile...well...lets just say I couldn't hold back the bloody grin that spread wide across my face. That smile, despite the pain, came right from the soul. From the satisfaction of knowing with absolute certainty, that I was now immune to all physical attacks at the Silver Rank and below.

Tremor Classes...were now inconsequential.

I was almost giddy with excitement, but it also made me feel a sense of...melancholy. There was a certain sentimentality to it.

Gerard had been Silver. Arthur had been Silver. The Gorge Wolves had been Tremor.

Those were the first humans I'd met, and the first beasts I'd fought. I'd looked up to them for their strength and prowess. Gerard was still far ahead of me in terms of Axe Mastery, but the factual truth...was that they would never be able to defeat me without the help of someone higher-ranked.

It gave me pride in my progress, and in my conviction to have endured as much pain as I had. But it was bittersweet, to have overtaken those I'd looked up to.

I stared up at that bright blue sky for a long while, letting myself feel all that I felt.

Surpassing Freya...was only a matter of time, now.

I needed to aim higher. The goalposts had to move further back. Higher up.

The images of several beings came to mind, but there was only one that was close enough to actually aim for.

Intisak.

The purple-eyed, purple haired woman was, no doubt, much stronger than Intisak. She'd said it herself. The only ones that could sense the berserk mana, were the others like herself. And if Intisak couldn't sense it, that meant he was weaker than them...whoever they were.

But even she might be considered 'easy' to reach, compared to the third being I'd considered.

Lysha'el.

I couldn't fathom just how far above everything she was, just that she was above. Without a shadow of a doubt.

I shook away the thoughts with that. I could day-dream all I liked once the Main-Mind had returned to me. Right now, I had to focus. There was still 90% Resonance to go.

And that meant...roughly 18 more strikes, assuming this rate of increase persisted. And I doubted it would be that easy.

Because it just never was.

Once again, I dusted myself off, got back into stance, and nodded without a word.

My teeth grit in anticipation. This next hit would take me to Gold.

The Claw came down once more.

BOOOOOM!

System Prompts flood my blacked-out vision once again, damage reports pouring in in the hundreds.

But the Regeneration that followed...felt different to before. My body was still being re-created, stronger, sturdier than before by every measure. But there was something more. Something different...like an additional layer to it all.

[Host's [Impact Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[The Silver-Ranked Skill [Enhanced Impact Resistance X] has evolved into the Gold-Ranked Skill [Advanced Impact Resistance I].]

[Host's [Pierce Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[The Silver-Ranked Skill [Enhanced Pierce Resistance X] has evolved into the Gold-Ranked Skill [Advanced Pierce Resistance I].]

[Host's [Slash Resistance] has increased greatly: x40]

[The Silver-Ranked Skill [Enhanced Slash Resistance X] has evolved into the Gold-Ranked Skill [Advanced Slash Resistance I].]

I gulped through my half-regenerated throat, taking in all the System Prompts that detailed my Skill Evolutions. Three of them at once. It was almost unfair...no, who was I kidding? It was most definitely unfair. But I was no judge or adjudicator.

I was all in favor of unfairness, so long as the unfairness was in my favor.

Advanced...Resistance, I thought, noting the new prefix, Heh. I like the sound of that.

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