His body bounced several time before coming to a stop.
'Special lesson, it's strong even without muscles,' he thought.
Neo's training with Death skill increased his mental endurance.
Thanks to it, he ignored the pain, and looked for the Gulwak's next attack.
Instantly, his vision was covered with a foot coming down to stomp his face.
There was no time to rest.
He jerked his head.
The Gulwak's attack missed, but it didn't let up, as it raised its sword.
Neo, on the ground, was unable to dodge.
He used the Necrotic Touch and grabbed the Gulwak's feet.
…?
The spell didn't activate.
Neo's Divine Energy control was poor and he tried to use the Magic Spell in a hurry.
Thus, he failed to trigger the Spell.
Just as the Gulwak was about to swing the blade, Neo, in a hurry, pulled its leg, and made it fall over.
He grabbed the sword that had fallen out of the Gulwak's hand and swiftly created a distance between them.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
Gulwak was… strong.
The skeleton stood up with a low growl.
Its eyes were fixed on the sword Neo stole from it.
But.
Neo wasn't looking back at the Gulwak.
'Shit.'
There were multiple Gulwak's crawling out of the beach.
'It had friends?'
Neo could feel his left arm throbbing from pain.
It almost broke during the first exchange.
The situation was quickly taking a turn for the worse.
He couldn't use his Spell and…
"O Great Child of the Monarch, as I thought, is it too difficult for the current you?"
Neo held the sword with his right hand while breathing heavily.
'Should I ask for help from the Grim Reaper, or maybe tell him to lower the difficulty?'
Neo froze, unable to believe the words that appeared inside his head.
'What am I thinking…?'
'Did I try to run away?'
'Again?'
'Am I going to be a loser in this world too?'
'Didn't I say I don't want to be mediocre?'
He tightened his grip on the sword.
'I need to make the effort!'
'There is nothing free in this world!'
'Fight! If I can't win, I'll die fighting! I won't become a failure again!'
Neo renewed his resolve.
"No need. I can do it on my own," he answered the Grim Reaper.
Amused, the Grim Reaper watched.
Neo calmed his trembling arms and drowned out unnecessary thoughts.
The Gulwak rushed at him with a roar.
Neo did not move.
He just stared at it.
Focus.
I can't activate the Necrotic Touch instantaneously.
Using Divine Energy is like moving arms or breathing, everyone can do it.
Right now, having awakened the Divine Energy recently, I'm like a patient who woke up from coma.
He continued to analyze himself.
The Gulwak covered half of the distance in the blink of an eye.
However, Neo continued.
After all, knowing oneself was half the battle won.
My muscles capable of controlling Divine Energy are weak.
They will improve as long as I train regularly.
But that won't help me now.
What can I do so win at this moment?
The Gulwak was almost in front of him.
It stomped its foot and punched.
Neo grabbed its fist with his left hand.
He heard a crunch, but he ignored it, and swung the sword with his other hand.
The blade beheaded the Gulwak.
Its body, lifeless, crashed.
Neo's left arm flailed like a dangling branch.
It hurt more than anything he experienced in his previous life.
However.
Dying was more painful.
He experienced it multiple times.
Unlike what he heard, it did not reduce the pain he was feeling right now.
It still hurt like a bitch.
The previous pain did not make the current pain painless.
It did, however, teach him to continue moving even if it was agonizing.
Two Gulwaks attacked him from different sides.
The one of the left swung the axe and the second Gulwak stabbed the spear.
Neo crouched.
The attacks passed over his head.
He stabbed the sword in the axe-wielding Gulwak's foot and activated the Necrotic Touch.
If he could not trigger the Spell instantaneously, he just had to activate it beforehand.
Black smokes came out his hand, however, they did nothing.
The Gulwak, having received an attack, growled and tried to attack when suddenly Neo let go of the sword and used an uppercut.
The Necrotic Touch hit its chin.
Its bones began to crumble.
Neo was about to continue when he felt a chill.
He grabbed the sword and swung it behind him, only to feel a resistance, as he blocked the spear luckily.
While his attention went to the spear-wielding Gulwak at his heels, the first Gulwak slashed towards his shoulder.
The blade penetrated deep into his skin.
It slowed, and the Gulwak increased the strength behind the axe.
Neo grunted and grabbed the Gulwak's arm to stop it from cleaving him in half.
He struggled to hold back his own against the two Gulwaks at the same time.
He was losing his strength.
Neo failed to realize his left hand had somehow healed.
Before the spear-wielding Gulwak moved, Neo increased the intensity of Necrotic Touch.
He applied two more stacks on the axe-wielding Gulwak's hand
Instead of smoke, black ink dripped out of his palm.
It spread on the Gulwak's arm and its elbow shattered like a glass.
The Gulwak lost its balance after losing the arm.
An opportunity.
Neo kicked the spear-wielding Gulwak, and rushed at the first Gulwak whose limb was destroyed.
He grabbed its head and used the last remaining stack of Necrotic Touch on its head.
With another Necrotic Touch applied to its jaw, the Spell's strength increased and the Gulwak's face crumbled into dust.
Suddenly, the second Gulwak pierced his left leg from behind.
Fueled by adrenaline, Neo grabbed the axe logged in his shoulder and smashed it on top of the spear-wielding Gulwak's head.
The Necrotic Touch finished the first Gulwak at the same time.
Neo fell to his knees.
The three Gulwaks were dead.
And.
He was at death's door.
His arm, shoulder, and leg were…
Huh?
Neo noticed his arm was no longer broken and the shoulder stopped bleeding.
It was slowly but surely healing.
After he pulled the spear out of his leg, the injury started to close itself.
"What is this?"
"It's your God Blood. You are the heir of Underworld, and it's helping you."
What the Grim Reaper described was not a skill, but an innate body constitution.
The children of Great Ocean God Poseidon were stronger when they fought underwater.
Those who carried the blood of High God Apollo grew powerful along with the sun's ascent and became weak when the sun disappeared.
The heirs of the High God Dionysus were gained a boost in the task they did while being drunk.
Neo was similar.
His stats and regenerative ability gained a massive amplification in the Underworld.
"It is also why you, a being of death, are weak in the world of living."
"…?"
Neo's face stiffened.
Was the reason why he was always felt tired, exhausted, and nauseous because of his bloodline?
Didn't it mean he was under a constant debuff?
The Grim Reaper hit the beach with his scythe.
Tremors, stronger than the last time, appeared.
"Trials of today will become your strength for tomorrow."
"As long as you keep advancing, you might learn to make the Underworld descend into the world of living."
"When that happens…."
"I'll be unstoppable."
Neo understood what the Grim Reaper meant.
The corner of his lips rose as he envisioned the future where he could fight without any restriction and have a constant buff.
"Glory awaits you, O Great Child of Monarch."
"So…"
"You must train hard."
The tremors died down and eight Gulwaks came out.
Neo's vision of the beautiful future shattered.
Beautiful or not, he would have to survive to first.
...
A/N:
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Over and out, Failedwriter101.