'Huh?' Was all he managed before his every muscle, every limb gave up on him. He fell onto the ground, his whole body was numb.
It wasn't just his body, he felt like all of him was on the kind of fire you couldn't put out. Body, mind and soul, all three suffering, at the same time.
He tried using Gi to make himself cold again only to be rejected by something that seemed so loving before.
'System...I think...I think I'm dying...I guess its been a good run?' He was grasping at his consciousness as he thought.
The system didn't have a clue what was going on either, so it didn't say anything. There was no information on its vast ocean of knowledge about this and what it meant for its host.
'Of course you're quiet now.'
Even his eyes were failing him, but before he completely shut down he peered over and saw the monster disintegrate. The moment it did, he was out cold.
"Welcome back Master, how are you feeling?"
Levi wasn't all there yet, he felt a drunkeness he'd never felt before. He yawned, still on the ground, the only difference was the growing vegetation around him.
He looked around, he was still in his Hub. The pain he died experiencing was completely gone, he felt absolutely great.
"You didn't die Master, but you were close to dying, so was I. Its been exactly 207 days since the last time you were awake." It let him know.
'What? I've been asleep for almost a year? Why didn't you wake me?' He got up, only recognising the place because it was a big part of him.
"Tried everything. It was futile." It said briefly.
'Just what do you mea—'
"Master, I've ran a diagnostic. You're healthier than you were, you're also stronger. The stinger could've killed you but also made you stronger. But since you survived it, barely, you've gained strength instead." It explained quickly.
It was true, he could feel himself almost double his previous strength. He smirked, opening and closing his fists, power he'd never felt surged through them.
'So this was my father's gift. He didn't care if I died and it would be my own luck if I didn't? Cruel.'
The system felt sorry for him because as things stood, this was far from over. The little black hole still stood there, unmoving but at the same time screaming at them like they'd just killed a child of it.
'That's alright system, with this power. I can handle that thing.'
He sat cross-legged and amazingly the energy that rejected him 207 days ago accepted him strongly now. He felt a deeper connection than before, and the rate he was absorbing it was ridiculously fast for an infant that was almost 2 years old.
'It seems, even if I can't breakthrough, I can always make my Hub bigger and better.' He proclaimed excitedly.
He hadn't even sat down for more than fifteen minutes when he heard the hole crackling. It was far from him but he could somehow hear that it was birthing yet another monster.
He got up, not exactly able to hide his eagerness to face one of them again. Levi could sense that it was the same kind of monster and its strength had been adjusted but to only slightly more than half compared to his strength.
"Master..."
'Don't worry, I got this.' He declared proudly.
After the first scorpion came through another followed, then another...
'He's really trying to kill me then? Wait wait, four?'
Four of the same monster stood side by side, eyeing their prey. Levi didn't have time to panic, this was very unexpected but he wasn't going to allow himself to be flustered.
He'd also be damned if he let them move first. That's why he appeared in front of them, he threw a side jaw kick, sending all four to the other side.
He was left nursing his leg, 'fuck, it's like their body has been armoured now!'
The system of course knew this, that's why it tried calling out to him but it was already too late. So it kept the opinion to itself because it knew the blame would entirely fall on it.
Systems were created to follow orders, this didn't apply if the orders were to stand-by while the host was in a life threatening situation.
But a god was at work here, there was little it could do. It couldn't do anything, it was absolutely useless. Levi had to find his own way.
"Scanning the enemies...Master, their most vulnerable part is the torso area, the one that's covered."
'I know what a torso is.' He was annoyed but he appreciated the help nonetheless. 'I have to avoid the stinger no matter what.'
He wasn't keen on going to sleep again. This already took almost a year from him, he had only three years to train to greater heights. He had no clue what awaited him on the outside.
"They're coming!"
The system warned, Levi stood his ground. There was still no where to run so it would've been useless even if he wanted to.
The first one reached him before he was ready, his instincts instantly kicked in. He dodged to the side, grabbed its tail and proceeded swinging it around.
The three other monsters were too idiotic to have any kind of real strategies. All they did was go in headfirst, all they were programmed to do was attack and so they mindlessly did.
Levi swung the thing until the tail snapped from its body, tossing it from the far side of his world. He didn't even time to celebrate, as the three were already rushing him.
Seemingly angry about their comrade, which made them faster and stronger. If it weren't their pincers, it was their stingers.
As strong as Levi wanted to believe he had become, he couldn't hope to defend against three lethal monsters. It wasn't long before all three of them had their stingers deep inside his skin.