บท 14: The Thumps That Ripped Off His Legs

OOOM!

Romulus felt a wave of power rush over him, causing him to acclimate to a new Element. With the violent power of fire coursing through his veins, he realized something else about this world and its various powers. "It seems that whenever I acquire a Skill related to an element, my affinity with that element improves by a certain amount," he mused. "Moreover, this improvement is largely related to the rank of the Skill. For example, my B-Rank Lightning Burst Skill gives me an affinity with lightning that exceeds my recently obtained affinity with Fire by a specific degree. Furthermore, it looks like this ability to create new Skills is very picky and unusual with what rank skill it gives me."

In Romulus's mind, if this ability to wish Skills into creation were omnipotent, then he would automatically receive S-Rank Skills every time he wished for something. But since that was not the case, this ability had more to it than meets the eye. Then, there was the time when he wished to fly up and escape the haunted medieval town by air, and yet that did not happen. Therefore, not all wishes were granted, which made Romulus think that it wasn't actually the power of wishes that gave him these Skills. It was something else…

"It's almost like these Skills were already mine to begin with, given how familiar my essence is with them. But I just don't understand how that could be, and why only some of them are being unlocked—"

"Screeeechh!!!"

While meandering within his thoughts, a soul-piercing howl echoed across the eerily quiet ghost town. Romulus had now entered into the territory of the inner town circle, meaning that death was around every corner…

Thump, Thump. Thump, Thump!

The ground started to violently tremble as something's large, booming stomps reverberated through the air. In the distance, Romulus could see a giant, harrowing shadow moving through the thick blanket of mist that obscured his view. The shadow became larger and larger with the passing of the seconds as it came closer and closer to the raven-haired young man. Before long, the Shadow had become as large as a five-story building, and then, with one final ear-deafening stomp, it poked its ghastly head out of the mist. Its giant googly eyes wobbled all over the place, instilling a sense of fear in the very atmosphere itself. Yet, they eventually focused, and their demonic slitted irises honed in on the tiny, moderately muscular humanoid dozens of feet below.

Silence.

As they locked eyes with one another, Romulus felt something well up within him — something new — something invigorating. His heartbeat increased its rate of thumping as his veins burned up in excitement. For the first time since his transmigration, he was excited about a fight. And this excitement further excited him!

[Grimwatcher (Lvl 34) - Threat Tier: Black] - [In possession of B-Rank Dark-Element Skills and B-Rank Physical Skills. Caution is warranted.]

|B-Rank Lightning Burst (Lvl 3)|

Without wasting a single second more, Romulus blurred through a puff of lightning and zapped up the Grimwatcher's foot, then its leg and torso, before ultimately making it to its face. His arm reeled back as fire and lightning energy gathered in his right fist.

[Ding! You have received the A-Rank Skill |Lightning Flare (Lvl 1)|]

With the acquisition of this Skill further increasing the amount of power contained within his body, Romulus's muscles popped and exploded with immensity. Then, with one final air crackle, he conjured up his Pearlescent Cleaver and struck out at the Grimwatcher's left eye. Originally, it was looking down below with an unmoving gaze, but as soon as Romulus thought he had won, the Grimwatcher's googly eyes shot in his direction. A wide, toothy grin spread across its horrifying face as it beckoned its jaw muscles.

"!!!"

Thanks to his keen reflexes and Sixth Sense Skill, Romulus instinctively retreated from its attack. Yet, even with his quick wits, the Grimwatcher had already made its move. With one disproportionately-sized chomp, both of his legs were ripped off clean at the base, then with an effortless head swing, Romulus was sent spiraling through the air like a cannonball. His figure turned into a blur as he crashed through the wall of one building, then out the other side, and into several more buildings.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

It was only after exploding through a dozen medieval houses and leaving them in complete ruin that Romulus stopped moving. He lay limp against a collapsed building, his blood staining a pile of shattered bricks. His eyes flickered a little, attempting to see through the blood that covered his whole face. He then tried to move his body, but none of his muscles were responding. Moreover, the stomps of that monstrosity were getting louder and louder.

He had to get up and run! But how!?

'It looks like I severely underestimated the danger of a black-tagged monster,' he thought despairingly, his mind remaining the only functional part of him. 'This is why complacency is the bane of mankind. Overconfidence leads to one's downfall… Only now do I truly understand that principle…'

As the light slowly faded from Romulus's eyes, a blue, illusory screen suddenly flashed in front of him, informing him of something that could be considered no less than a miracle.

[Ding! You have received the A-Rank Skill |Hyper Regeneration (Lvl 1)|]

Right when this Skill pop-up appeared, Romulus's severed leg stumps began to rapidly heal up. The tendons in his thighs shot out and expanded, with various parts of the legs wrapping around one another and creating a small protruding thing of skin and meat. After another three seconds, both legs were fully restored to the way they once were. Some of his internal organs were still in terrible condition, but it would take no more than two more seconds for them to fully heal up as well.

This was no less than a divine miracle—!

Thump, Thump! Thump, Thump!!

The thumping had become so loud that building roof shillings began to crumble and shatter on the thick cobblestone roads. As soon as Romulus looked up, he saw two massive feet plummeting down from the heavens, almost covering up his entire vision!

"!!!"

…