As his consciousness faded away after his body was obliterated, leaving his soul behind, Arnold recalled all those days he spent with Sebastian during his training.
He remembered how Sebastian's voice, stern and unyielding, echoed in his ears, pushing him to the brink of his endurance. Even when his body was battered and broken, far from being healed, there was no respite. The next day would come, and with it, the relentless demand to continue. Sebastian never allowed him to falter, never let him rest until his body and mind were both forged in the fires of their brutal training. Each day was a battle against the limits of his strength and will, and was reminded time and time again of how weak he truly was.
"Many martial artists find it impossible to win against someone stronger than themselves. That person could be more talented than them or just had more years to train so it's only natural that you can't match their level." A conversation he had with Sebastian played out in his subconscious, "Martial artists—like many other classes have their own limits that's determined by their background and how they were trained."
Arnold, who was the age of seven, silently looked up at Sebas through his swollen eyes.
"However, one's body itself can transcend this limit." He tapped Arnold's chest, "And the mind can envision that breakthrough and force the body to follow." He then tapped Arnold's forehead.
"If you can understand the true limit of a mortal body using both your mind and body in unison then you'll achieve a state of enlightenment, something only destined Martial Gods are capable of. It doesn't matter if you are at the start of your martial training or nearing the end, you will become powerful once you attain this enlightenment. You must be wondering why I am telling you—a child—this. Well, I believe that you will one day become the first human in this era to make that breakthrough—"
As the darkness closed in around Arnold, death did not come as a gentle release but as an excruciating torment that clawed at every fiber of his being. It was as if his very soul was being ripped apart, piece by agonizing piece, leaving nothing but a raw, searing void in its wake. His mind, already battered and broken, felt like it was being set ablaze from the inside out, each nerve ending ablaze with a fire that consumed him slowly and mercilessly.
His non-existent lungs in this void filled with a suffocating pressure, as though he was drowning in a sea of molten lead, every breath a desperate, futile struggle against the crushing weight of the abyss. The pain was not just physical; it was a deep, primal terror that gripped his heart with icy claws.
Time seemed to stretch into eternity, every second an unbearable eternity of suffering that refused to end. The taste of death was bitter and acrid, a venom that seeped into his very essence. It poisoned him with an overwhelming dread. The mere thought of experiencing this a third time sent waves of cold, paralyzing fear through whatever remained of his astral consciousness in this void.
He was reminded again that dead is not a peaceful departure for someone like him, forced to experience pain even in the form of a soul.
The words Sebas said to him echoed again in his mind.
Even when he's so stern and harsh on Arnold, Sebas had such faith in him. He believed Arnold could become one of the strongest martial artists to ever exist. It was this faith that pushed Arnold to never give up since even his teacher believed in him.
The power of a martial god—something that's normally out of the reach of even Transcendents.
…
…
"!" Arnold's eyes shot open, a familiar sanitized smell filling his nose. The air felt dry and the scent of medicines and herbs stung his nose.
"—You're finally awake. Hmm, it's been a few hours since we lost but you died already." A familiar skeleton's face leaned over him.
Arnold lifted his upper body, noticing that he was still in the clone's body. He looked around, confirming that he was in the lab again.
"Didn't I just die…?" he looked at Mr. Merchant.
"I already said that I linked your soul to five clones, remember? If one dies, your soul will be transferred to another."
'Ah, that's right…'
"You are one of few people who can say they've tasted death more than once, kuku. Has this motivated you to be more reckless or cautious?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course I'll be cautious."
"Hmm, if you say so." He chuckled meaningfully.
Arnold took a second glance around the room, noticing that the [Virgin's Blood Ring] was on the bedside table.
"How did this get here? I'm positive my whole body blew up at the end of that fight."
His magic bag was gone too so he lost most of everything he brought into the dungeon. Now wasn't the time to feel sad. That said, he really wished he had the [Inventory] skill exclusive to players…
"I can't recall when it appeared there but it seems that little artifact can find its own way back to its owner on its own. If you were to throw it into the ocean, it'd appeared near you the next day."
He mentally asked the system if it knew anything. A familiar system update ding sounded in his head.
Patch notes: This artifact was entrusted to you by a virgin of demigod blood. Her divine powers now share a link with your soul. Until her virginity is taken, this artifact will always come back to you. This link is something created by demigods of an era past. The link is bound to gifts that the one party receives or gives to their loved ones. Each day, the man would throw the gift given by his beloved into the forest from atop a hill or into the ocean. If it comes back to him the next day then it tells him that she was still faithful but if it doesn't then her virginity was taken by another male.
'…Yorm's purity is what's keeping this link intact?'
He heard a "ding, ding!".
'I've heard about [Virgin] artifacts but I didn't know they had this kind of use…'
"How exactly did you die?" sensing the skeleton's intense gaze, Arnold went silent as he recalled his final moments.
He unleashed the raw power of Aether without considering the consequences. Unleashing the power was surprisingly easy but controlling it was another matter. Maybe bringing it out is easier now because he used it once before in his true body?
Despite being blasted by the power of Aether, Guinevere didn't show any signs of struggle or fatigue. A small barrier—constructed by the power of the sun and divinity combined—separated her from the destructive energy that Arnold forced out of that body. Yet he could not cause even a crack to form. If they were in a city then it would've been destroyed by now but the power was held back by a mere barrier.
"…I forced Aether out of my body. The result is… Well, as you can already guess"
"You did that despite there not being a guarantee that you will come back?"
"…."
He didn't think about it at all. Being looked down on as if he were an ant stirred something inside him, as if he couldn't allow himself to suffer such humiliation.
What right does he have to get angry at a demigod for looking down on a human? Even if there were obvious differences between both races (physically and genetically), he couldn't accept such disrespect.
"Astral links can be broken. There isn't a single reason as to how this can happen but they do happen. With your bad luck, I don't think you have three chances left. Maybe you'll come back the next time but the time after that you might disturb the astral link or shatter it completely. If this happens then you won't be going to the River of Souls like all mortals."
"I'll be sent into a void…"
This completely throws his "cautious or reckless" question out of the window. Of course, there's also no guarantee of the opposite happening—him reviving three more times.
"Indeed, that is why you should not attempt the same thing again, even if you are at a disadvantage. Remember, you do not need to win against that woman."
"I know…"
'Will she still be there if I go back…?'
Thinking about having to fight her again sent chills down his back. Impossible. It's just impossible to fight that woman.
"Are you going back immediately?"
"Yeah…"
"I see." Saying so, Mr. Merchant stood up and rummaged in his magic bag, "I've prepared new clothes for you."
"…."
As expected, it was a skimpy outfit again. With a sigh, Arnold stood up and began undressing, without minding that another person was in the room.
'Huh, it's still here…'
He looked down at his member that was hanging loosely.
"Did you… give the other three clones my genitalia as well?" it didn't matter how many times he saw it, it felt unnatural having it on this body. Then again, he had no right to complain since he wouldn't be able to live without sex until he gets his body back.
"Well, I had free time so I put it on all of them. Haha, what's with that concerned expression? I've hidden them away from the madam's perverted servants. Goodness, these girls are so sexually frustrated that the mere sight of a penis on a clone gets them in the m—"
"Stop. I don't want to hear anything further."
"Alright, alright~"
"Where is Lyra right now?" he expected to see her the first time he woke up in the lab.
"She is in the castle's library looking up something she calls the 'divine tree'. This castle once belonged to the Sky God during his time in the mortal realm and he left behind a huge collection of his books. She thinks that there might be answers as to what that divine tree is."
'Even Lyra is curious to know what it is…'
"But her search won't bear any fruit since the only recorded divine tree is the World Tree itself."
"Recorded…?" Arnold looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Oh, dear. It seems I've given something away, kukuku."
"You…" Arnold sighed at the know-it-all merchant who seemed to have the answer to most of everything, "What is the other divine tree called? Why isn't it recorded in texts and scrolls?"
"I do not have an answer to that. I only know it exists but is rare to find. Fate is believed to decide who gets to encounter it. Everything its power touches becomes a divine entity. If its power is given to a thousand-year-old tree then that tree will be granted a divine status. Similar to the origin of its power, it will be capable of granting others many abilities if they choose to accept its blessing."
He suddenly went silent.
"…It seems like you have something to say." Arnold noticed the light in his eyesockets were gone as if he was deep in thought.
"I asked the locals why the walls were gone and all of them said that there is a legend of some divine tree beyond the walls granting others eternal life and infinite power. They believe the person who killed all the monsters beyond the walls was granted the same blessing. According to them, the power that came from that person matched the pillar of light that can always be seen at night. Also, many can't seem to recall where they saw the light the very next morning, as if the tree itself is playing tricks on their minds."
"A tree that can grant blessings, eternal life and power… This sounds too good to be true."
"Yes, I believe the tree feasts on the lifeforce of those it gives its blessings to. It's like a magic crystal that must always be refueled with mana so that the scummy magic store owner can milk you dry."
"Of course it has its own conditions… So, it's basically a scam."
"We cannot say for certain since it's not known how many people encountered it and received its blessing. But I have a feeling that knight we encountered might just be the one we're looking for."
"Yeah…"
Her strength and endurance were simply unnatural. How could she withstand not just the vacuum of space but also the power of a black hole? Normally, you'd need special skills to protect you from such powerful forces.
'Could she be on the level of endgame Arnold and Luke?'
He had a feeling she was beyond that.
"If the blessing is really what's giving her all that power, then I need to find a way to get rid of it…"
The only means to do so would be to master Aether in this body. Whether mortal or God, this energy can close the gap between both beings.
"You are thinking of going back, hm? Do you remember that woman who was ready to sacrifice her life to allow you to escape?"
That's right. He almost forgot about 1B.
"Is she alive…?"
"Yes, but nearly all her bones have been broken. Miss Alchemist said that it would be too dangerous to use healing spells on her now since there's a possibility that her bones won't go back to normal. She's now left to wallow in a sea of pain until she's ready to come out of her bedridden state."
"Take me to her."
"…Alright."
…
…
1B's room wasn't that far from his so it was a short walk until they arrived there. Arnold stood over her bed, gazing down at her beautiful face. Her breaths were calm and slow.
Arnold noticed that her raven hair from before was now a pale blonde and she had bushy eyelashes that were a paler blond than her hair. It seems whatever magic or item she was using to conceal her identify couldn't do its job while she's unconscious.
Arnold could get her real name right now and determine what role she plays in the game, if any at all.
But… he didn't want to do that after what she did for him. She deserves this much respect at least.
She was lying in a rather awkward position with her neck raised by a few pillows and her arms suspended in the air, two gravity magic circles keeping them in place.
"She almost died for nothing."
"Indeed. But her mission was that important to her."
"What kind of snake superior—no, getting angry on her behalf won't help the situation. Did you manage to find out who she's working for?"
"I'm certain you will find that out soon enough, kukuku. Besides, I would rather her tell you herself since it would be rude of me to spill the beans."
"…." He looked down at her face, "I wasn't planning on returning until much later to bring Lyra to her other self but it looks like I'll have to take her back home, huh…"
"My, for someone with a rotten heart, you truly are kind. Ah, but I fear your delicious negative karma might be lost as a result of this... Please do not turn into a kind person, Your Excellency."
Arnold ignored him and touched 1B's face, feeling how cold she was, before leaving the room. He heard bones rattling behind him soon after.
"Are you going back immediately?"
"Yeah."
"Why don't we go together? My mana is almost completely recovered."
'What the hell... It hasn't even been a day since we fought that woman yet…'
"I'll face her alone. My job isn't killing her, after all."
"Hm, as you wish."
They entered the room Arnold woke up in. Arnold looked at himself in the mirror. A sheltered beauty with dead eyes stared back at him. He activated status. He confirmed that his level was about the same and the stats matched up with the previous clone.
Arnold glanced at the merchant reflected in the mirror. "Does Rafaela know I came back... after dying?"
"I'd rather not tell her," the other voice replied. "According to the alchemist, she's been emotionally unstable lately. If she found out you've died, it'd be like pushing a boulder off the edge of a cliff."
His tone lowered. "Remember, the fate of the realms rests in that girl's hands."
"Doesn't she already know about the clones you've prepared?"
"She knows, but the number of times you die and return doesn't matter. What would eat away at her is knowing what you're enduring, on top of everything she's already facing. Someone like her is unpredictable, so I'd rather keep this a secret for now. The clones are her reassurance that you'll come back, but there's a limit to how many bodies a soul can inhabit before it's damaged."
He was indirectly warning Arnold: don't be reckless.
The urge to go to Rafaela and tell her he could save her grew stronger by the second, but Arnold knew now wasn't the right time.
He slapped his cheeks, likely to clear his head, before attempting to pull out Luxtivin.
"It's not coming out, huh…" Its aura reserves must've run dry. He found it odd that it wasn't laying near him just like the first time he died.
"Do you have any swords I can borrow?"
He received a shrug in respond.
'My magic bag isn't here so I have nothing else to use for now.'
He's going to be forced to use his hands now. Was there ever a human in history so stupid to take on a literal demigod without weapons? Well, he's done so before and almost stood on equal grounds but only because he was the more experienced marital artist.
"…Then I'm going." Arnold put Yorm's ring on his finger.
"Wait, here are a few things that might help you." Saying so with a hint of glee in his voice, Mr. Merchant placed the items onto a nearby table.
Arnold's eyes widened when he saw those items.
Presented before him were the full ingredients necessary to craft the [Ascension Pill], a shortcut to achieving his breakthrough.