"Full Concentration!"
"Sun Breathing: Third Form: Raging Sun... Fifth Form: Fake Rainbow... Ninth Form: Setting Sun Transformation..."
With the Red Blade in hand, a cascade of sparks ignited...
The severely wounded Pig-headed Man, Sajin, gritted his teeth and picked up his hand axe, flanking Roy with Gongerdan from both sides.
From a nearby tree, two Scouts and a Ranger occasionally released cold arrows... Through the panel, Roy used "Identify" to ascertain their roles within this elite squad. With both hands gripping the Staff Blade, he dealt with the assaults from Sajin and Gongerdan, while Magnetic Force manipulated short strikes to intercept the arrows flying in...
His mind remained highly focused, constantly wary of "that one" lurking deeper in the jungle...
At a certain moment, risking injury to his back, he used Ten to endure a slash from Gongerdan. His pupils "pffft" ignited like two suns, and with the Eye of Truth, he predicted Sajin's attack 0.1 seconds in advance. As the axe glanced past, he fiercely stabbed into the blood-gushing throat of Sajin!
The Pig-headed Man, with his tough and sturdy physique, thrived in the Enhancement category, boasting high attack and defense. Undeterred by injuries, he disregarded everything... But Roy wasn't named "seize the opportunity when your foe is wounded" for no reason!
"Sun Breathing: Seventh Form: Sunflower Thrust" was Roy's fastest thrusting Sword Technique!
Even quicker than "Water Breathing: Seventh Form: Shizuku Wave Pattern Stab!"
A distant spark suddenly brightened... Blood sprayed from Roy's back, piercing Gongerdan's throat like lightning!
The wound, already severed, was brutally torn open, pierced through by Roy's sword!
"Aaaoo~" Sajin tried to howl in agony, opened his mouth, but couldn't make a sound. He reached to pull out the sword... yet his body suddenly lost all strength, his vision blurred, and his head tilted, collapsing heavily to the ground!
[Hint: "Swordsmanship" +50]
["Life Energy" +10]
'Too bad it's not a real human, wait, where did this "Life Energy" come from?'
Roy was stunned!
This was clearly within Grandpa Jager's memory, not the real Dark Continent. Even the panel's detection labeled it as "consciousness," so how did "Life Energy" surface?
The boy stepped onto the Pig-headed Man's chest, his sword still lodged in Sajin's throat~!
In that moment of distraction.....
Suddenly hearing several loud shouts: "Sajin!"
Broad swords, arrows, and spiked maces rushed in, enveloped in a frenzy of anger, instantly overwhelming the boy.
Roy felt darkness envelop his vision, "Memory" "recorded" at "three minutes and seventeen seconds," marking Sajin's death.
"Splash~" Sea waves crashed against rocks, shattering into tiny droplets....
In Roy's world of cognition.
Dots of light converged into a humanoid form,
Exiting [re: Game of the Dead], just as the panel hinted, Roy didn't return to the real world like other candidates after "dying," but instead linked with the illusion through the Gate of the Dark Continent, his consciousness "reborn" on the soft sands of the Sea of Cognition.
He opened his eyes, sprawled out, aimlessly staring at the azure sky...
Opening the panel, he confirmed [Life Energy +10], unable to distinguish between "illusion" and "reality" for a moment.
What was certain was... Great-grandfather knew from the start that offering sacrifices to Grandpa Jager would reveal nothing more suitable than [Game of the Dead] as an ideal "training ground" for "growth"!
He surely knew early on that this was nothing more than a fictitious scene conjured by Grandpa Jager through Nenryoku "retrogression," a place to hone skills like "combat," "swordsmanship," the "Four Major Principles," and other advanced Applied Techniques in Nenryoku, without any tangible "physical entity" that could be seen, touched, smelled, or brought into the real world!
But the ten points of "Life Energy" accrued from killing Sajin... remained glaringly listed in the panel....
Constantly reminding Roy... this wasn't "illusory" memory but a "real" world.
So... is it "illusory" or "real"?
Or maybe "Schrödinger's Truth"? A state between "illusion" and "reality"?
Headache... thoughts intertwined into a tangled mess, impossible to organize... Roy somersaulted to his feet, deciding to stop thinking altogether...
Since there's "Life Energy" to gain, regardless of "illusion" or "reality," he might as well take it first, and deal with everything else later!
The boy took a deep breath, leisurely walking toward the "Gate of the Dark Continent" floating beside the "Demon Slayer Gate"... Gripping the Staff Blade in his left hand, forming a Shallow Strike with his right, he plunged into... the rift connecting to Grandpa Jager's memory!
[re: Game of the Dead] continued!
The halted time began to flow,
After Sajin's fall, three remained on the field, the "Barbarian" Gongerdan, the "Scout" Daso, the "Ranger" Valen, and... that big guy hidden deep in the jungle, who had never shown himself!
"Whoosh——"
The Red Blade was once again dyed red, its dazzling light blinding to the eye...
Roy's lips curled into a faint smile: "Let's do this again!"
He flashed forward, blade aimed at Daso... this guy who only knew how to launch cold arrows from the back, first the young master would chop off your pig head!
"Swoosh... swoosh... swoosh..." Several sharp arrows enhanced with Shu flew straight for Roy's face,
The battle resumed instantly!
"Ding.. ding... ding....
"Cuckoo... cuckoo... cuckoo....
Four minutes... five minutes... six minutes... seven minutes....
Outside.
In the underground passage.
As time passed, those waiting for the result displayed varied expressions,
Wutong remained steadfastly by Roy's side, unwavering... Kurajing massaged Jinx, easing its confusion and anxiety from being "disconnected" from Roy....
Kate and Illumi each found a corner to crouch in, one buried himself in a hole with only his head sticking out, the other leaned silently against the passage wall, arms crossed...
Only Kangzai, overwhelmed by irritation, tugged at his hair, pacing back and forth... Until he could no longer hold it in, he asked Geiru: "Did you mess up?"
The yellow-haired one pointed at Roy: "Isn't that guy fighting Pig-headed Man?"
Kangzai wasn't unwilling to believe someone could be stronger than him, he just couldn't accept the reality that Roy, who seemed so young, lasted much longer than he ever did!
"Are you from the Enhancement category?" Geiru glanced at Kangzai.
Kangzai nodded honestly: "Yes, why?"
"No wonder you lack brain." Geiru didn't spare his disdain for Kangzai, saying slowly: "The fragrance of the 'Entranced Mind' cedar has always been there. If you don't believe it, open your mind, go back and see for yourself, won't it be clear?"
"After all, there's only one film reel, everyone sees the same 'movie'."
"Really?"
"Why don't you try?"
Kangzai cast a suspicious look at Geiru, truly "actively" opened his "mind," absorbed the scent of the 'Entranced Mind' cedar, and reentered the illusion... This time, he didn't even last until the fourteenth second before Sajin, wielding dual axes, cut him back!
"Stop fooling around." Botobai, in silence, reached out a large hand, lifting him aside,
The future Zodiac "Tiger" strugglingly shouted, "Let me go, haven't you heard of 'Perseverance'?"
A straight punch from Botobai, and he obediently passed out.
Chen Long glared at Geiru, instructing: "With such troublemakers, a good beating will calm them down, no need to make exceptions."
Geiru checked the time, responding in non sequitur: "It's been ten minutes,"
The future Zodiac "Snake" stared intently at Roy, inhaled and said: "Botobai, your record has been broken."