"I’ve learned of almost all of the abilities of the Ultima Ten. The only person whose ability I am not aware of is Calidor Wail..." Ryuk mused to himself as he finally raised himself up, his injuries having all closed up.
"Still, even though I know their abilities, that only prevents me from being surprised in an open confrontation."
"Right now, as I am, I can’t beat any of them yet. I need to keep growing stronger..." Ryuk mused to himself as he cracked his back bone.
In the next instant, he summoned the holographic panel and began typing, sending new commands.
Not long after, another robot appeared in the middle of the room as Ryuk prepared himself for the 5th round of battle.
---
12 hours later...
It was currently 7 in the evening, and in the training room, a figure could be seen on one knee, a gigantic scythe in his hands, supporting him from falling.
Around him lay the severed bodies of robotic parts splattered across the entire area, with cracked walls and potholes all over.
[Congratulations, Host has defeated a total of 15 Core Stage Plane of Ascension Cultivators!]
[Host has gained a total of 5000 EXP!]
The system announced as the scythe disappeared from Ryuk’s hands, and he forced himself to his legs.
Right now, his entire upper body was revealed, his clothes having been burned away from destructive energy beams, leaving his torn trousers on him.
’Thank God I brought new pants just in case...’ Ryuk thought as a pair of pants appeared, and he quickly donned them.
Mist appeared around his body, clearing away the dust and soot on his skin, and his blood retracted back into his body from the power of his regeneration.
Once more, Ryuk resembled his usual self, almost as if he had not just been on his last legs a few seconds ago.
He had watched his own life flash before his eyes through the torturous moments he called training, and somehow, he could feel evertime he pushed through his limits, he grew stronger.
A type of strength he couldn’t explain, but he could easily sense it after coming closer to death every time.
[Total EXP: 5400/5000]
[Does Host wish to level up?]
The system couldn’t help but ask, and Ryuk nodded.
[Congratulations, Host has leveled up to level 15!]
[+15 Attribute points have been obtained!]
[Stats]
[Strength: 85]
[Agility: 85]
[Endurance: 85 (-70)]
[Charisma: 11]
[Intelligence: 40]
[Luck: Knull]
[Mana: 50 (-45)]
[Attributes: 15]
"Add 5 attribute points to Strength, add 5 points to Agility, and add the rest to Endurance!" Ryuk ordered.
Once more, he felt the warm streams of energy that caused his wounds to instantly close up and for him to feel all of his energy appear once more.
There was no doubt to it—he was growing stronger with every passing hour.
[Congratulations, Host has grown stronger!]
The system announced as Ryuk heaved a sigh of relief, a holographic panel appearing around him, which he quickly tapped on, causing the robots to disappear into the room, and all of the holes instantly closing up.
But this time, no more robots appeared.
Ryuk knew well—he had been here for close to 12 hours now.
It was time he went to the special cultivation room to recover his Mana while also hoping he gained an epiphany in his meditation.
Immediately, he headed out.
---
6 hours later...
"I managed to recover all of my Mana, but my Mana capacity didn’t increase even after 5 hours of relentless cultivation, and I gained no epiphany still..." Ryuk muttered as he walked down the cold, lonely street.
[Mana: 50]
Looking at his Mana panel, somehow, his Mana never increased, no matter how much Ryuk tried to absorb Mana.
His Mana remained the same ’50’ points nonetheless.
It somehow told him that he had currently reached a bottleneck and that he would need to reach the next level before he could increase his Mana count.
"It should be around 1 AM right now. I should go to sleep and call it a day..." Ryuk mused to himself as he continued on the lonely path.
But suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and he unconsciously took two steps backward.
In the next instant...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Something smashed down roughly in front of Ryuk, carving a deep chasm. Slowly, the dust settled, finally revealing what cracked.
It was none other than a hammer, one which Ryuk found quite familiar.
In the next instant, the hammer suddenly rose up into the air before flying in a particular direction and landing into a palm that rose up to grab it.
The figure was a muscular, burly Fallen genius standing at the top of a building, a sleek smile on his face as an evil light flashed in his eyes, staring at Ryuk, who looked back calmly at his evil expression before he turned his head to the side.
On another skyscraper to his left, there were two other Fallen family geniuses, and behind him, he could sense another three standing behind him.
A total of six Fallen geniuses.
’Thank God I’m in my full strength right now, or things might have been a little headache-inducing,’ Ryuk thought in his mind.
’And somehow, they chose a place far away from the dorm rooms and the instructors’ area. The perfect place for an ambush...’
"If you all want a fight, why stand so far away? Your scaredy balls can’t stand before a puny human?"
Ryuk’s disdaining voice rang through the silent twilight night, echoing with uncanny clearness as all of the Fallen geniuses had their smirks wiped off.
In the next instant...
BAAAANG! BAAAANG! BAAAANG!
BAAAANG! BAAAANG! BAAAANG!
A total of six bangs rang out from all directions as they all dropped to the ground, walking towards Ryuk and pausing five meters away from him.
"We had thought your tiny balls would decide to run. Who would have expected a little bit of courage in them?" a Fallen genius said with a chuckle behind Ryuk, as the others laughed out loud.
Ryuk nodded and chuckled too.
"That’s a good one."
"Anyway, you all are here to break a few of my bones right?"
"Well then, is there anyone here among you that is a top 20 or top 25?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"