After a while;
*Snap*
*Blackout*
[Resurrection Complete]
[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]
[Lives Remaining: 5/9]
Sungjun sat cross-legged, once more resurrected. The dry wind blew past, unbothered by his death or resurrection.
His bones no longer hurt as much as his pride… But he had no panic or worry on his face. It was completely calm. He opened his eyes slowly, letting out a deep breath. "Five lives," he muttered. "Still five left."
He closed his eyes again, thinking fast. "First, the mana saber is sharp enough to cut through its defenses. Secondly, its Achilles tendon strike is effective enough to bring it down. Thirdly, the giant's reflex range is insane. The left hand doesn't seem to let go of the club, whether it stands or falls. But the right hand, it's got way too much damn flexibility. It can be bent almost like 150 degrees and reach all the way to its lower back."
He took another breath.
A distant part of him wanted to curse the system. But he kept his calmness and let out another deep breath.
Instead, his fingers moved. He swiped his hand through the air and pulled open the Ability list.
Lightning God Armor
Uses Remaining: 2 / 3
Taking a deep breath, he murmured. "20 minutes have passed so far. I have gathered some information. Now, it's time to use the second one."
Unlike the mana, the Lightning God Armor didn't reset. He used it once, and that's it. He was only left with twice per day.
As the timer struck zero and the giant stirred, Sungjun opened his eyes and stood. "Let's do this."
He activated the skill.
Lightning God Armor: ENGAGED
After activating the Lightning God Armor, he conjured a blade of focused mana saber in one hand and a mana spear in the other. The double summon consumed nearly half his reserves instantly.
"Alright, let's go this…" He shot forward like a missile.
The giant swung as he approached it.
Sungjun blurred low and slid through its legs, motioning the saber.
SLASH!
He struck its right Achilles tendon clean. Blood gushed, but he vaulted high before it sprayed over him.
The beast wailed, dropping forward with an earth-rattling quake. Sungjun landed on the back of its thighs and ran.
The club thrashed wildly again. He ducked, dashed, and sprinted across its spine.
The neck came into view, along with its right hand, curling up in the air to capture him.
"Hmpf, predictable…"
Just as the hand lunged, he hurled the energy spear upward, not at the palm, but straight into the wrist.
THUNK!
A jet of steaming blood erupted as the mana spear stabbed deeply into its wrist, but he was already sliding backward to evade that acidic blood.
As it screamed, Sungjun couldn't help but grin. "That's right, scream, you bastard."
Then…
He sensed something, all of a sudden, and a shadow appeared all over him.
He looked up.
His eyes only captured the tip of its club at the last fraction of a second. "Come on," he whispered with blank eyes.
CRACK.
It landed squarely on his head from above like a hammer.
*Blackout*
He gasped as breath returned like a punch to the chest.
[Resurrection Complete]
[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]
[Lives Remaining: 4/9]
He lay there for a moment, blinking at the sky.
"Dammit. I thought it was only its right hand that had incredible flexibility. How can its left hand with a club just twist entirely to hit me? Isn't this too much?"
He looked up again as if staring at the System interface in the sky.
"Seriously?" he snapped at the system, finally. "You're just going to bend physics now without following any logic? Are you hell bent on finding new ways to beat me to death or something? Just unlock my ocular powers. I'll show this monster who is the boss…" He roared in frustration.
A groan followed, and self-criticism poured out of his mouth. "If I had known this would happen, I would have done workouts for hours to burn 5000 calories."
There was no response from the system, of course. Just that same damn blinking counter in the corner.
He stood up slowly, brushing dirt from his shoulder and letting out a deep sigh. "So," he said aloud, narrowing his eyes at the monster in the distance, now stomping around again. "Alright then. I see that the information gathered isn't enough. From this point on, I will find ways to break you down. Everything for that last attempt."
Time was no longer a number on a clock for Sungjun. It was counted in deaths instead.
And in lives remaining: 4 / 9.
He had one last remaining attempt to use Lightning God Armor.
Sungjun had managed to race up the giant's club arm, timing his movement with the beast's rhythm, bouncing between thick, boulder-like fingers.
He stabbed it once at the base of the nape. Evading the gush of its blood, he ran across the shoulders, leapt… And went for the eyes.
But the creature shook its head violently, like a bull swatting flies.
WHAM.
In mid-air, the club came up.
[Lives remaining: 4]
*
"Again…"
Same strategy.
Up the shoulder, try again. This time, he stabbed the side of its eye. It roared, eye leaking toxic blood.
There was some progress, but certainly not enough.
It's because the left hand grabbed him like a fly on its cheek.
Crunch.
[Still: 4 lives]
Another redundant death.
*
"Again"
He took to the skies, using a giant extra leap, powering up his legs with the mana that cost a third of his reserves, and hurled the mana spear at the hand holding the club.
The spear landed at its target. The wrist tore successfully as a scream escaped the giant.
The club dropped for the first time from its grip.
Victory?
Nope.
He landed badly and was slammed into the dirt by the same injured arm before he could dodge.
[3 lives left]
He groaned as he respawned, blinking against the sun, and muttered:
"Again…"
From above, conjuring a spear mid-jump, he aimed for the crotch this time, ignoring moral ethics, or whatever. The impact is connected successfully, too. The black toxic blood gushed out, too.
But then… a clean, casual swat struck his body.
*Gaah*
As he crashed to the ground with his ribs shattered, a foot stomp landed on his body.
[Remaining: 3 lives]
Sungjun lay on the ground after resurrection for a moment, "Okay… It's not a good spot cause there are no landing spots after striking the location. Got it."
He was on the shoulder again.
If he crouched lower, maybe the arm couldn't reach him. If he stood closer to the neck…
Nope.
The left arm still found him and crushed him like a bug.
[Remaining: 3 lives]
Another repeat kill.
Another red X in the invisible mental diagram he was drawing of this thing's body. "Again…" Sungjun only got more determined to find its weaknesses.
This time, with a series of combo attacks, one after another, he managed to inflict wounds on the giant. Its right wrist was bruised. Its left eye is damaged. Its tendons were slashed more than once. Even the crotch bore a tear in its armor-like skin.
But it still moved and killed him, fortunately with a footstomp, a redundant kill.
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 3 lives]
[Remaining: 2 lives]
[Remaining: 2 lives]
After several failed frontal assaults, Sungjun tried something different.
He once again waited behind the giant during its club swing as he did during the earlier attempts. The only thing he had forgotten was to slash its Achilles Tendons. As the club smashed into the ground ahead, Sungjun sprinted up its back instead, timing his run perfectly with the recoil motion.
Just as the giant lifted the club to swing again, Sungjun jumped, aiming to land on the handle of the weapon itself, hoping to use its own swing as a slingshot toward its exposed ear or jawline.
For a split second, it worked.
He rode the rising arc of the club like a surfer.
Then…
Snap.
The giant jerked its arm backward with unnatural speed, yanking the club into a sudden reverse swing.
Sungjun didn't anticipate the torque. His body flung like a ragdoll across the air as a result, and smashed his spine into a nearby rock with a sickening crack.
It was an instant death.
Lives remaining: 1