Rogue Villain-Chapter 223: Compensation

Ackster’s eyes widened in surprise at how good his vision was and who lay at the end of his gaze. He couldn’t believe it. But then again, he had turned himself into a beacon for every monster and beast in the ocean and within range. It was coincidental and unlikely but not impossible.

Most importantly, it was a very welcome happenstance.

"Mio!"

Ackster didn’t waste any time or force Mio to bob their way the last bit as he immediately paddled over to the slime, struggling against the gentle but larger-than-Mio waves.

Emotions once again overwhelmed Ackster after he picked Mio up and hugged the soft slime. First, his arm, enlightenment, bodily rebirth, updated status, and now Mio’s return.

Things were taking an emotionally uplifting turn for him, which was not something Ackster was used to. It felt weird to the point he couldn’t accept it. This much fortune and success was bound to be the precursor to trouble and misfortune.

But he set that aside for now.

"I’m sorry, Mio."

He first had to apologize to Mio. It was, after all, his fault that had forced the slime to wander the ocean all alone. If he hadn’t left the boat for so long, or if he had been more careful in exploring the Temple and didn’t get knocked unconscious, the pirates wouldn’t have gotten to his boat and Mio without getting through him first.

Ackster held Mio in front of his face and looked at the slime with emotional eyes to convey his sincerity. He felt deep regret and sorrow about what had happened to Mio. Mio was his only comrade and the one who had followed him his entire journey. Of course, he mourned the loss and regretted that he had let it happen.

However, Mio reached out with a tentacle and patted Ackster’s head as if consoling a child. Mio’s gesture of it being okay provoked a smile from Ackster.

"Mmm. It’s nice to have you back, Mio."

Mio made a nodding gesture by bending its upper half back and forth once before reaching toward Ackster with its tentacle and making a curling motion with the tip. It looked like Mio was asking for payment.

"Ah... It’s been a while, hasn’t it."

Without hesitation, Ackster used Stormcaller to cut off a piece of flesh from his arm, surprised at both his body’s toughness and the ease at which he cut through it.

"My martial body, combined with all my skills and overflowing vitality, must be quite the tonic, huh?"

Mio didn’t even show it heard Ackster’s words as it seemed to be fully concentrating on savoring and digesting the bloody piece of muscle it got from Ackster.

Mio was, despite its friendly attitude and intellect, still a monster. It, like the other monsters and beasts in the ocean, had found Ackster through his vitality. Mio was probably smart enough to control its desire since it would know it wouldn’t likely get anything due to the competition. But Mio had recognized Ackster’s life force and struggled through the ocean to him.

And for making Mio endure such needless struggles, Ackster would happily give up a piece of meat that had already regenerated without even leaving a scar. Now that he was more used to fighting with one arm, Ackster would even have considered letting Mio have the other as compensation. But that was mostly the accumulated guilt from losing Mio and it being the start of his killing spree talking. Mostly.

Mio fell into a slumber-like state after forcing Ackster’s flesh bit to decompose, but Ackster didn’t mind. He just placed Mio in his lap while he started paddling in a direction he felt was right.

With Iron Body and Overhuman Senses, as well as his generally advanced and strong self, Ackster wouldn’t be surprised if his instincts and hunches were several times more keen than they had been before his bodily rebirth, though that was also a hunch of his, so it wasn’t a reliable statement.

Ackster paddled and kept track of his direction by remembering the sun’s relative position, how the wind changed, and when the sun fell, he used the position of the stars and moons. Finally, Mio woke up.

But, to Ackster’s disappointment, the slime snagged another piece of him before going back to sleep. Ackster wanted to continue keeping the slime in his lap, but he also wanted to train, and since Mio was just going to sleep, Ackster placed the slime in a tiny mound he made from spare clothes. The wonders and convenience of having an Inventory were something Ackster dearly missed.

Ackster’s first order of business was to get used to having two arms again. Considering how he had learned how to fight and not just use brute force after he lost it, Ackster worried having two arms again would detract from his combat ability. But it was a needless worry.

His martial body, training, and skills worked in unison to make Ackster’s two-armed movements smoother than butter. It was as if he was born with two arms.

Ackster’s second order of business was to get used to his martial body and the strength it gave him when combined with his skills. Then, he had to not only get used to the strength but master it, too. It was only after mastering it he could start training with the Unimportant Whatever Art’s rippling punch.

And it was only after he mastered the usage of the rippling punch that he could start training his mana again. The feeling of his arm turning limp and ragged after a single successful strike was still a vibrant memory in Ackster’s mind. If it hadn’t been for his bodily rebirth, his arm would probably have been nothing but mush after his fight with the ocean.

Ackster had to ensure his body could handle his mana before he increased it. Of course, with his skills back, Ackster could just power through the damage and fatigue burdening his arm. But what if he was in a situation where he couldn’t eat? What if his skills got sealed again?

Ackster wanted to be able to control his strength.