Undying Warlord

Dilan was unable to move, and his vision blurred even further over time.

The pain that spread through him was unbearable, but he didn't even have the energy to groan, or grimace.

If Dilan didn't know better, he would think that he was about to die.

But he did know that he wasn't fatally injured and it was just the concussion, his broken bones, and the blood loss that made it seem as if he was going to die, nothing else.

That was, at least, how he thought about the situation.

He didn't realize it at first, but after witnessing the huge Krendel's death, Dilan's mind was eerily calm, and his body relaxed.

Dilan simply accepted everything that happened around him.

Leaning against the broken wall, Dilan tried to find the most comfortable position to rest a little as his body didn't allow him to move properly.

He wouldn't be able to stand up for quite a while either.

'Heavily injured again…pain seems to have become my permanent partner, I guess?'

Dilan joked with himself, clearly knowing that he had only survived due to the help of the unknown woman.

He was thankful for her help, but it would be quite ridiculous if he were to die due to the attack of a horned rat or one of the smaller Krendels now.

A humorless chuckle escaped his dry lips but that only made him wince in pain.

All of a sudden, without any warning, several notifications popped up in front of his eyes, astonishing him.

He saw the azure-colored screens, but couldn't read them because his vision was still blurred.

Just when he thought about this, the somewhat familiar robotic voice resounded in his head.

[Host survived 3 deadly injuries! Requirement to upgrade Origin ability [Regeneration] has been met!]

[[Regeneration]- Tier-0 ★

1) Survive <3> Deadly injuries has been attained!

2) Health of <5> units has been reached!

Upgrade to Tier-0 ★★]

Dilan didn't even know that he could already take a look at the upgrade requirements for his Origin ability.

He was also not aware that he had already survived the third deadly injury because to him it felt like he was still enduring its aftermath.

But from the looks of it, the Log of the Ancient was certain that he would survive it.

'At least there is one thing we have in common. We both know how resilient I am…' He just thought before sensing a fresh wave of energy flowing through his body.

This led him to think about the changes of the [Regeneration] ability.

[[Regeneration]- Tier-0 ★★

[+5 Health], Passive →Enhances regeneration,

Active →Uses up 1 unit of Mana to further enhance the regeneration effect for 10 seconds!]

The only factor that changed about his ability was that he received three additional points in his Health stat.

That was a huge boost, and it allowed him to recuperate much more quickly.

Nevertheless, Dilan could only force a smile on his lips as the requirements to upgrade the ability were…harsh, to put it simply.

'If I need to endure being injured lethally in order to upgrade my Origin ability, it really looks like pain will accompany me forever!'

It was only logical for him to feel the need to enhance his Health stat. After all, the higher his Health, the stronger his body, and the faster he could recuperate from injuries.

Thus, if it was possible for him to upgrade his Origin ability, he wouldn't have to actively use status points for his Health stat.

There should be many other benefits as well, which made him feel conflicted as he would have to encounter deadly injuries and go through near-death experiences just to upgrade the ability!

Just a moment later another notification was unveiled by the robotic voice.

[-[Lesser Immunity] Ungraded ★★★★-

1) Essence of '60' infected monsters has been absorbed

2) Health property of -6- points has been reached

Upgrade to Ungraded ★★★★★]

His passive ability received an upgrade as well. This was pretty nice, but it didn't provide him any additional stats.

As such, he simply appreciated the upgrade, while trying to avert his focus to collect mana from his surroundings.

The enhanced Health stat and the passive effect of his [Regeneration] ability were working wonders, slowly healing his body.

But Dilan wanted to enhance this effect by using mana to activate his Origin ability.

It was impossible for him to know when a new batch of monsters would emerge from the Gate that was less than 100 meters to his left.

Thus, while enduring the pain that made him feel as if he was being torn apart over and over again, he gathered the surrounding mana.

It was more difficult than before owing to the distraction of pain, but Dilan was slowly getting the hang of mana.

Using the [Regeneration] ability every half an hour, several hours flew by until it took him only 25 minutes to replenish a single unit of mana.

Around five hours had passed, and he was able to activate [Regeneration] a total of 12 times.

Adding his natural healing capacities to it, Dilan's head had mostly recuperated, while the worst injuries were tended to.

Dilan stopped bleeding quite a while ago, and some of his bones had already mended and healed themselves, while those that had dislocated were now affixed to their prior position as well.

But none of that really decreased the pain he was feeling.

His entire body was still a wreck as he could feel the pain shooting up through numerous joints, bones and muscles that were slowly being repaired and healed.

This feeling was just weird and made him uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, the pain didn't help him a lot because he had no time to waste.

On the brighter side, both his Mana and Stamina were completely replenished.

He didn't use the [Regeneration] Origin ability again because it made him feel even weirder, every single time it was utilized.

Just the thought of using it caused chills to run down his spine.

'It's not a life-threatening situation right now!' He thought, telling himself that he was perfectly fine.

After all, it was only the broken bones on his back, his central knuckle on the right hand, the deep four gashes on both upper arms, and the lingering effects of the concussion that troubled him.

But, on the brighter side, he was able to see clearly, which was the biggest advantage at hand.

'There is some work for me to do, let's go!'

Telling himself that he had to collect all Essence crystals, Dilan's eyes fell on the massacre of a battlefield in front of him.

The entire hallway was littered with dead bodies, spilled guts, mashed and unrecognizable things that had once been alive, and blood…lots of blood!

Any other person would have been shocked by this sight but not Dilan.

He was quite calm as he averted his attention to the most important loot he had to get his hands on.

"Because I lost my weapon to you, little friend, I will take your Essence crystal and your claws in exchange!"

Even though he had just lost his trusted weapon, Dilan was not exactly bothered.

The claws of the huge Krendel were powerful enough to cut through a solid block of concrete.

It had been sharp enough to pierce its tough hide, which meant that it was durable and much more useful than the Reinforced Stone Spear.

But now, the problem was to separate each claw from its hand.

'Breaking them off won't work in my current strength, I'm way too weak…'

Even turning the huge Krendel on its back was not possible in his current condition.

Thus, he was not able to get hold of the Reinforced Stone Spear's blade, to test cutting off the huge Krendel's claws.

'I guess I shall lay my hands on the Essence crystal first…' He thought as he looked at the Krendel's head.

On one side of its head, he could see a small hole with charred edges.

Meanwhile, the other side had completely burst open like a squashed watermelon. The huge Krendel's brain mass was clearly visible.

This gave Dilan a good idea of where the Essence crystal should be.

But because he couldn't find it, his attention turned in the direction of the Gate.

'If the lightning bolt had accidentally hit it, the Essence crystal must have either broken, or it was flung in this direction!'

Hoping for the latter, he moved in the direction of the Gate.

Dilan was not afraid of venturing towards it. For quite some time not a single monster had emerged from it.

This gave him enough reason to believe that some sort of limit must have been reached, or a restriction activated.

It could only be something like this, or of course, a second wave.

That was something, Dilan could imagine as well; a new wave of monsters.

Thinking about it made him feel both excited, but also that he had to be a little bit more careful.

For the time being, he should only face opponents as long as his weapons are strong enough.

Otherwise, he would end up just like a few hours ago.

But given that he would level up again, and that he was certain to get his hands on the huge Krendel's claws, the problem of owning a powerful weapon was something he was not all that worried about.

Looking around, he found the Essence crystal lying on the ground not too far away from the Gate.

Distinct Bronze swirls could be seen within the crystal, and Dilan smiled while picking it up.

While he was examining the crystal, a message popped up right in front of him.

"Huh, what is that now?"