Chapter 518

My body slammed through the wall another time. I had made no gains. It was like a child throwing himself against an adult. I used Air Cushion this time, but it didn’t feel like it softened the impact as dozens of bones in my body shattered. It hurt so much. Strong Heal! Strong Heal! Refresh! I struggled to get to my feet, my body not responding properly. It took three tries before I was finally standing.

I would have been dead already if I didn’t keep healing the damage. I had the distinct feeling that she could have attacked me while I was healing and ended it in an instant. She gave me time to recover after each attack. She kept hesitating, only attacking me with counter-attacks. Instead, she was just an impassable wall. I was completely outclassed here, and I wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer.

I may be able to heal all the damage, but without time, my entire body was starting to feel a weakness that sank into my bones. A strange numbness started to come from within after so many repeated healings. I never tested how much a body could take even with healing, but it looked like I’d be finding out soon enough. I only had one ability left that I could think to try. It was the True Hero level 20 skill, Final Blow.

Considering the name, it had a certain degree of finality toward it, so I was definitely hesitant to use it. However, it was a True Hero skill, so it couldn’t be weak. Since I was able to hurt her with the other ability, maybe I could at least knock her out.

“Goodbye, Deek!” She sighed. “Fatal Strike!”

She made her first true attack on me. Her sword exploded with light, and when she lowered it, the strike flew out, a light blade of death spinning toward me. I barely had time to think; thus, I could only swing with my own blade.

“Final Blow!” I struck the light blade of death while summoning the skill, hoping to deflect her own.

All of the power in me got sucked out and went into the blade. It struck the Fatal Strike, and a massive explosion tossed me back once again. The explosion erupted out, cracking the brick walls that made up the cell block. The ceiling partially collapsed, and dust and debris swelled up into the air. I went tumbling down a long, dark hallway. Was I still alive? I didn’t know. All I could do was feel pain for a while.

{Last Chance has triggered. You have 1 remaining hp.}

“Strong Heal…” I coughed.

I died; it turned out. I hadn’t managed to survive. Whether it was the Final Blow that sapped all my strength, or the Fatal Strike that blew me away, I couldn’t guess. However, my hp dipped below 1. It turned out Last Chance was what it sounded like — a second chance at life. For a Hero, it might not mean much except in a fight to the death. For a White Mage that could restore his body, it was as good as a 1-up.

Thanks to the collapsing debris, I had a bit of time. I understood I had been far too naive. My view of this world was narrow. It was useless to keep fighting, I’d never be able to win. Alysia outclassed me in every department, and it was even far greater than I ever anticipated. I could switch with Celeste and have her flee. That might work, although it would be putting Celeste in incredible danger to do it. No, Alysia would capture and kill her. I had that kind of feeling.

However, even if I could leave safely, I wouldn’t. Alysia would have the artifact, and the Ost Republic would carry out their plan. I couldn’t just leave them. This had to be stopped here. Yet, I had to accept the truth. I was not enough.

After healing myself, I did a skill reset. I had used 2 Portals, so at the moment I had exactly 25 dungeon points left. As Alysia walked out from the dusty cloud, I decided what I’d do. It was time to go for broke.