Rogue Villain-Chapter 232: Maybe Cutting It A Little Close

For Ackster, drinking the blood leaking from the hole in the centipede’s layer of armor was more symbolic than about physically consuming the blood since it just flowed straight through his bare skeleton. Fortunately, that was all Ackster needed for Monster Muncher to take effect and begin extracting the essence, existential power, nutrients, mana, and life force from the centipede’s blood.

Of course, the amount Ackster could get from even a couple of mouthfuls of blood was minimal since the centipede was so ridiculously large. But the blood gave Ackster the energy and enough recovery to resist death long enough to crawl inside the centipede.

The higher temperature threatened to break apart and turn his skeleton to dust. That was why Ackster chomped down on the rough meat as soon as his head was inside.

His teeth, strengthened by Nold’s secret technique just like the rest of his skeleton, were enough to puncture and tear apart the rock-like muscles hiding beneath the centipede’s carapace.

Like a madman and with the beast tossing and turning like it was on fire, Ackster gorged on the centipede’s insides without a single break. If he stopped for even a single second, he was dead. So, he didn’t stop.

The centipede’s hot, acidic, and hostile insides fought against Ackster’s skills and persistence.

However, there was no way the centipede could compare to Ackster in terms of endurance or stubbornness as long as Ackster had something to sustain his skills. And currently, Ackster was partaking in the grandest feast he had secured so far.

It was only a matter of time before Ackster rose to the surface of the volcano’s lava pond after having devoured the entire centipede.

He quickly looked around and confirmed that the mage was still around. It had taken longer than expected to defeat the centipede since it was stronger than he first thought. It had also been difficult to use his martial arts under lava while riding a rampaging centipede. But it was good practice that deepened his usage and understanding of the Unimportant Whatever Art.

Still, he was relieved that he didn’t need to look for a new mage. He definitely wasn’t in the mood for that. All he wanted right now was to sleep like the dead and recover.

The dragonling mage stared in abject horror as a bare white skeleton crawled out of the volcano. Tissue, blood vessels, and organs gradually regrew on it. But even without eyes, the dragonling mage could feel the skeleton looking at her before heading over to the side, where it lay down. It looked like it had died, but after a while, the dragonling mage heard deep and slow breaths from the monster that had kidnapped her.

Since the dragonling mage hadn’t even tried to run and was white with fear, Ackster wasn’t scared of falling asleep. Besides, even if the mage did try to kill him, Ackster wasn’t sure she would succeed with how he was at the moment.

He could feel how several of his skills had ranked up, changed, and received new additions. He also had most of the centipede somehow stuffed into himself, supplying his skills and body with an energy supply that wouldn’t run out any time soon.

Not to mention how his Overhuman Senses and Iron Body would wake him up as soon as the dragonling mage tried something.

So, Ackster passed out to recover more mentally than physically since the fight had taken quite a toll on his mind and mental endurance. And when he woke up, his first order of business was to check the display on his Nominus card.

[Name: –]

[Profession: ■■■■■■■]

[Inventory]

[Stats:

[Strength: S]

[Agility: S]

[Fortitude: S]

[Mana: E]

[Spirit: SS]

[Stamina: S]

[Skills:

[Iron Body]

[Pain Tolerance: SS]

[Poison Resistance: A]

[Overhuman Senses: D]

[Survivalist: A]

[Clear Mind: S]

[Limit Breaker: B]

[Monster Muncher: B]

[Guardian: A]

[Stubborn Well-Being: S]

[Curse Resistance: G]

[Unstoppable: D]

[Hemorrhage Resistance: A]

[Sea God]

[Mana Manipulation]

[(Unimportant Whatever Art): B]

[Martial Body]

[Pyro Resistance: S]

[Pyro Affinity]

[Hydro Affinity]

[Smelting Furnace: D]

’Interesting. Smelting Furnace is probably why I could eat the entire centipede. I got Hydro Affinity due to my innate affinity for water and because I got Pyro Affinity after Pyro Resistance reached S-rank. Unstoppable is from my movement-related skills built around Stalwart Advance. Oh, and Last Stand, I guess. I liked the old name, but Unstoppable is probably why I lived there. That and Survivalist, Limit Breaker, Monster Muncher, and Stubborn Well-Being all ranking up several times.’

Ackster looked through his status. He had grown a lot from a single adventure. He had even reached SS rank in two areas: His Pain Tolerance skill and Spirit stat. Pain Tolerance being his first skill to reach that level somehow fit very well with how he had trained and grown.

And with Spirit at SS and Stubborn Well-Being, which seemed to be affected by his Spirit stat, Ackster was pretty sure it would take a lot for him to die as long as he wanted to stay alive.

Ackster could feel himself closing in on the level of strength he needed to save the world and his life. But he still wasn’t there yet. He had a long way to go before he could confidently stand in front of The Hero.

However, Ackster had once again confirmed that risking his life was the best way to grow quickly. He just had to continue doing that for the remaining more than seven years. Considering he still had to shore up his offensive strength with other people, Ackster didn’t mind progressing at a breakneck pace, even if he had to stop by the land of the dead a couple of times on the way.

But for now, Ackster still had to gain and train his magic and elemental resistances. So, he got the dragonling mage to get to work and start slinging spells like there was no tomorrow while he continued nolding his skeleton. With Pain Tolerance SS, Ackster barely flinched doing the same first stage.

Occasionally, he would also use Stormcaller and turn himself into a lightning rod to train his lightning resistance.