Second Draft - Reincarnated Into a Game in Impossible Mode

[21:06 Wednesday, August 23, 2023]

"I've been unconscious for that long... Well, at least I'm not late..." - Ryoshu checked his watch after waking up.

His body ached all over. Even moving a single finger was excruciating for him.

Ryoshu endured the pain and tried to stir himself to sit up. It felt like every bone in his body had broken, making even just sitting quite difficult.

Ryoshu curiously examined his body. Every part of him had severe burn marks, looking quite horrific. These burns would heal soon. But it would still take a long time before his skin recovered.

His clothes had been completely burned away, leaving Ryoshu's body exposed. Except for the ring, everything on his body had been damaged.

"No wonder I feel so exposed..."

Ryoshu let out a long sigh. Perhaps he was also quite tired after those near-death experiences. Ryoshu's life had never been so close to the boundary between death and life before.

He put on another set of clothes. The reason Ryoshu was still proudly here was thanks to the ring.

'If I had activated the skill a moment later, I would have been dead.' - He tried to recall the outcome of that battle.

Fortunately, the ring that he chose to upgrade using the Equipment Upgrade exploit had worked immediately. And of course, he also lost that nice exploit.

But at that time, Ryoshu had no other choice. It was one of the exploits he was willing to sacrifice. Other exploits were too valuable to use against an ordinary Slime. The result was completely worth what he gave up.

Now the ring Ryoshu was wearing had almost transformed completely into a different ring.

The previous ring was already quite powerful, but after he combined it with an F-rank Magic Crystal with the Echidna flower that he had combined while using Hidden to avoid the boss.

Before, the gem had a calm blue color, while now it had changed to a deep red like a ruby.

'Revenge Necklace... so it belongs to the super rare Revenge set? Previously it belonged to someone who didn't share any information...'

He lifted the necklace, letting it dangle as he observed it carefully.

"At that time, thanks to the Reflection function, I was able to pierce through its hard defense."

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When activated, increase your "Attack Power" for your next attack by the amount of Damage you have received. 

And if that attack is a "Critical Hit", recharge Energy by one-fourth of the energy consumed. 

Energy: 69%.

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Thanks to the new function, the electric field explosion of the Slime was partially pushed back, just enough for him to survive. That function was truly too powerful to simply belong to a set of equipment.

'It's almost more like a skill than a function.'

Moreover, it had an additional new function called Protective Shell, the new name for Excessive Protection but much more powerful as it could reduce damage by 65% instead of 60% and could be used up to three times a day.

Ryoshu put the necklace back on and staggered step by step as if he was becoming a child again. Each step caused his body to ache terribly. The expression on his face wasn't pleasant either.

But by some force, Ryoshu continued to stride steadily without stopping.

The gate was fluctuating up and down constantly. It seemed to be rewarding.

A bright golden chest had been standing next to the gate for some time. He didn't hesitate to approach the chest that was shining with the color of prosperity.

The lid of the chest followed Ryoshu's hand movement and slowly lifted.

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[You have completed the Challenge of Bravery] 

Difficulty: C 

-Completion Reward: [Silver Bar] x10, [Book of Lightning Magic] (C) 

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"Finally, I've got the book I need." - Ryoshu held the ancient book decorated with a blue lightning bolt in the middle of the cover.

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You have completed 91% of the Temple, so you will receive an Additional Reward fitting your excellent performance! 

Rating: A+ 

Note: Quite lucky, but skillful and cleverly strategic and quick-witted! 

-[Additional Reward]: [Black Dragon Elixir] (S-)

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"Wait.... This is a Reward...? Appraisal!" - He quickly wanted to learn about the power of that elixir.

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[Black Dragon Elixir] (S-) 

Description: This is the perfect elixir made from the heart of a mythical Black Dragon. Unlike other inferior elixirs, this unique elixir is crystallized from both the blood of one of the most powerful dragons and the dark essence of the most ancient Death God.

-Revive

After absorbing the elixir, the muscles and magic channels in the body will be released and expanded. From then on, it accelerates the development rate of the person who absorbs this unique elixir. Additionally, excess impurities in the body will be completely eliminated.

-Dark Heart 

The heart will carry the dark essence that no human or other race besides Demons and Dragons can possess. The limit of strength and magic capacity will double. The growth rate and magic recovery rate will increase by one and a half times.

-? 

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"But... Why is it here...? Is it too unreasonable?"

Originally this elixir was supposed to belong to a mysterious boss from the Eclipse guild.

If he consumed this elixir, he might luckily unlock Dark Magic. And of course, not the common dirty dark shadow magic that could wither humans, which demons often use. The true Dark Magic that he would unlock would be the power of death god magic. Not darkness as humans often misunderstand as belonging to demons.

The dark power of the Death God is extremely pure and sharp. It can even do many interesting things like existing for a very long time without losing its properties. Additionally, it can move very quickly, unlike ordinary dark magic.

And there's another difference compared to ordinary dark magic, which is that this dark magic doesn't have weaknesses like being countered by light or divine magic.

However, to absorb it would require many complex stat conditions. The current Ryoshu would die instantly if he absorbed it now.

"But in the game, I only got a poorer version of this elixir... Because it was already absorbed, I only got the remnants." - Ryoshu recalled the battle with the first person who absorbed this black dragon elixir.

That was perhaps one of the "nicest" bosses in the entire game. Its pure strength was somewhere around S-rank along with countless skills that could one-hit kill players and other NPCs, including the main character.

"At least I've eliminated a stronger version of that boss... I just need to keep it a secret." - Ryoshu carefully put on his familiar mask. Then he stepped through the gate and vowed in his heart never to return here again.

He returned to the campsite. Now everything was in ruins. Only wooden fragments of the tent and the remains of the campfire remained.

"Although the experience here wasn't the best... I even almost died several times..." - Ryoshu looked at the remnants of the small camp distantly. On his lips still shone a weak smile.

"But... I've become so many times stronger... and can fight... against almost the weakest monster... And most importantly, I'm still alive. Isn't that the most miraculous thing in this damn hardcore game?"

Ryoshu sat on the familiar rock beside what used to be the campfire to rest his legs for a moment. Taking advantage of that time, his hand busily wrote his next destination on the Teleportation scroll.

'The alley right next to Angels' Whiskey.'

After writing, Ryoshu looked out into the endless void. That distant gaze was at the place where he had taken the life of a being for the first time in his life.

Those hands hesitated somewhat when wanting to tear the scroll.

Ryoshu felt some motivation pushing him to that place. He decided to follow his instincts and stood up.

After walking for a long time, Ryoshu still hadn't seen any Slimes.

'Perhaps they've moved somewhere else?'

He ignored his instincts and continued walking. An ugly grave gradually appeared before Ryoshu. This was the makeshift grave he had created to show deep respect to the two rabbits, the family he had ruthlessly slaughtered that time.

The closer he got, the clearer the memory of that day became. But the first thing that appeared in his mind was blood. The drops of blood that had splattered when he killed them. A disgusting feeling crawled all over him as if spiders or cockroaches were running all over his body.

Ryoshu unconsciously scratched his left wing. But suddenly realized that the more he scratched, the more serious the burn became. He tried to stop the self-harming action.

Drops of sweat began to pour like rain on his face from who knows when, even Ryoshu himself didn't know.

"I-I thought that after transferring to a different body... I would be less afraid of blood." - His voice was somewhat trembling.

Even Ryoshu didn't know when he developed the blood phobia... but he also didn't know if it was a real syndrome.

If he saw his own blood, there were no signs at all. But as soon as he saw other people's blood, Ryoshu would begin to experience some symptoms.

"Perhaps that's why I could mercilessly kill Slimes without feeling anything..."

"My syndrome is really strange..." - Ryoshu sighed deeply while placing a bright blue forget-me-not flower on that small grave, as if it could illuminate the whole pitch-dark sky.

It was a bit strange that it could bloom in summer. Because usually forget-me-nots bloom in spring.

'Perhaps... it's because Mana has affected even plants... not just animals?' - Ryoshu came up with a fairly reasonable hypothesis. And he didn't complain about such a gift either.

Since this would probably be the last time he would be here, before leaving he wanted to respectfully give the rabbit family something quite meaningful. And most importantly, Ryoshu wanted to remind himself not to forget the first experiences here.

The first time directly killing a... oh no, two beings at once.

'Don't forget us...' - Perhaps that was the meaning of the mother rabbit's gaze in her final moments, like the message of the bright blue forget-me-not flowers.

She hated him to the core.

She didn't forgive him at all.

But... she was still grateful that he had let the mother and child reunite in the same place.

'Sorry... I guess the only thing I can do... is to never forget you. Many apologies...'

Ryoshu clasped his hands and knelt down to pay tribute one last time.

"What mischief are you up to?" - A powerful, booming voice suddenly sounded from behind him, breaking the emotional atmosphere.

Every word of that person carried a hint of killing intent directed straight at Ryoshu.