Rogue Villain-Chapter 252: Eyes Wide Open

Ackster used as much effort and force of will to immerse himself in his image training. His mind was the world that existed, and thus, the world that existed was his mind. What happened in his mind happened in the world, and his mind would mirror what happened in the world.

Ackster wasn’t even clear-headed or lucid enough to realize what was happening with his thoughts or that he was as good as temporarily deranged.

In the process of withdrawing his Spirit stat and funneling his mental will, Ackster ended up hyper-focusing on his image training to the point of forgetting who he was. He had done similar things and reached similar states before, such as the time when he let his body’s instincts take over when he realized his martial arts.

But releasing the reins to his mind while also training to manifest his Will in the real world was on an entirely different level. And if Ackster didn’t succeed, his mind would either crumble or stay locked, preventing any coherent thought from intruding.

It was a good thing Ackster had no intentions of failing, then.

Ackster continued replaying the act of cutting the stone wall in front of him countless times, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand, a million times.

There was nothing else inside Ackster’s head. There were no thoughts, no feelings, no instincts, and no ideas swimming around inside his skull. His body didn’t transmit any sensations picked up by his Overhuman Senses since all of his neural pathways were ablaze with the mental images Ackster repeated.

Ackster felt neither hunger nor fatigue. And with the sheer, single-minded dedication that consumed all the activity of his mind and brain, he quickly burned through the energy stored in Smelting Furnace to maintain his body and brain.

Ackster had more food and things to eat in his Inventory, but he didn’t even have a spare thought for his hunger, much less about eating.

Without care for his current state, Stubborn Well-Being and Iron Body continued their upkeep on Ackster’s body, maintaining his brain in a pristine state for as long as his energy reserves covered it. However, Stubborn Well-Being and Iron Body were nothing but glorified, doped-up accelarants of Ackster’s natural constitution and recovery. They couldn’t recreate and regenerate the broken and burned-out nerves in his brain out of thin air.

Before long, Ackster’s recovery started reaching its limits. That was the cue for Limit Breaker and Unstoppable to pick up the slack and start bringing out their own hidden energy reserves or simply force Ackster’s body beyond its current capabilities.

Limit Breaker gave Ackster the power to go beyond his limits. Even when his mind should have started breaking down, Limit Breaker gave it a figurative adrenaline shot and kept it going while helping it keep up appearances. It also boosted Ackster’s mind to a level beyond what it was originally capable of. It put further pressure on his brain, but that was the deal with Limit Breaker.

Ackster’s image training grew more vivid. The details he missed in the first few million iterations grew sharper and sharper the next million that burned through Ackster’s mind in a neverending stream of flashes. Limit Breaker also sped up how quickly Ackster created a mental image and how quickly he discarded it before trying again.

However, Limit Breaker, paradoxically enough, also had its own limit. If the skill continued pushing Ackster, the repercussions and backlash would eventually be enough to kill Ackster outright.

After Limit Breaker deactivated to spare Ackster’s life, it was time for Unstoppable to take the stage.

Unstoppable wasn’t as grand as Limit Breaker, nor did it boost Ackster’s capabilities beyond believable levels. Unstoppable only ensured that Ackster didn’t stop or die. It kept him going, moving forward. As long as Ackster wanted or needed, he wouldn’t stop.

Unstoppable was a manifestation of Ackster’s obsessive, tunnel-visioned, and goal-oriented nature. The skill relied on his will to work. It didn’t need food, rest, mana, life force, or anything like that to work.

The only thing that Unstoppable required of Ackster was an unyielding spirit and the will to never stop.

In a way, Unstoppable was already a creation of Ackster’s Will. It was just that it had been born out of the recombination of different skills through a baptism of fire instead of materialized directly, like what Ackster was trying to do now.

Since it was a skill connected to his soul through the Nomi and the laws of the world, Ackster wasn’t as in tune with as he was with his own technical skills. It was like using a tool. He knew what the tool did and was proficient at using it. But that didn’t mean he knew how it worked.

Ackster wouldn’t be able to pluck apart and piece together that tool if forced to, even if he knew what its components were.

It was the unexpected drawback of the way of the world with its skills and stats that only those with enough strength and awareness of themselves and their souls suffered from. If they relied solely on their skills, they would never surpass them. There would be a ceiling, and after a certain point, their skills would stagnate.

If Ackster wanted to become stronger, strong enough to save the world, he would need to break free from the chains that had hoisted him up first but were now holding him down.

Thankfully, he had experience with being unaffected by his skills. Bo’s seal had entirely prevented the skills and stats from touching his body. But that wasn’t quite what Ackster needed.

He needed the skills to be his own, not gifts.

The first step in that direction was manifesting his Will. He could then begin to ease out of the chains and turn his skills into true manifestations of his capability, not information and aid bestowed upon him by the world to reward his efforts.

In order to take that first step, Ackster needed to slash out with his mind as the Sword God had taught him.

Ackster opened his eyes.