"Hahaha, what a monster..." staring at the E-Tier Shadow Slime completely unfazed by his destructive attack, Novus laughs to himself as mana already starts converging above his palm, his conjuration of yet another fireball being interrupted as he sees the Shadow Slime already vanishing from sight.

’Oh no, you don’t!’ he thought as the process became even smoother than before, forcing him to create a stable fireball in mere moments as he threw it again towards where his target was supposed to be, but by then, it was already gone, like it was never even there to begin with.

’Dodge’

His instincts convince him as he realizes that eerie feeling is coming for his limbs once again, only this time, he is already a step ahead, mana already reinforcing his legs as he leaps forward, barely grazing the attack and keeping all of his limbs intact as he does so.

He managed to keep most of his body intact, most, that is, as he felt his right hand twitching while he kept up the momentum, already charging for the next dash to avoid the Shadow Slime’s next stealth attack.

While he does so, he stares at his right hand with three of his five fingers severed to its end, making him smile, not because he was mocking himself for being completely defenseless from the opponent he cannot even see.

No, the smile on his face is far removed from that helplessness.

It was the same maniacal smile from the thrill of having to fight with extremely high stakes on the line, the constant pressure pushing him to adapt to the situation faster, further honing his combat prowess as he continued to engage in the fight.

It was the same cycle that kept him extremely hooked.

Hit, miss, get hit, analyze.

Adapt, grow stronger, hit harder.

Draw out the enemy’s strength and rinse and repeat the process.

Learn from the enemy until he can no more, from either himself no longer being capable enough to fight due to such reckless behavior, or better yet, from his enemy being completely eliminated the moment he managed to devour all its lessons whole.

That’s why he smiles like this, the promise of growth, the feeling it gave him is just...

"Excellent... more!! HAHAHA" should Medea see this calm and collected young man crack into a maniacal grin as he battles gruesomely with a slime, she wouldn’t be able to help herself from having her own jaws falling loose from the shock, after all, just the contrast between this Novus and the Novus that she comes to know of is completely different, that even when she already saw how he, just like her, very much enjoy a good battle.

The second and the third strike come for his limbs, but again, it failed as even faster than his instinct, he moves with planned precision, albeit his execution of all of his moves being barely enough to keep him alive, but it is enough for him to fight, to learn, just a little bit longer than the Shadow Slime would like.

Lacerations hit him hard again, as a deep, winding gash that covers his entire left arm, causes his lips to twitch in pain, making this arm limp as the nerves connecting are completely severed as well, the exposed nerve ending making it more difficult and painful than it should be, as every brush of air it comes into contact with sends shaking pain down his head.

’Move.’

Then the last attack was there again, a great net that doesn’t allow any prey to escape, but before it could even completely form, he already sought the perfect time to slip out of its grasp, his instinct that kicked in the moment he sensed the eerie feeling being a beat behind once again.

’Calm down, no need to panic...’ he reminded himself yet again as he refused to attack the slime that just appeared, knowing that it was nothing but pointless resistance, just like what had happened previously.

Closing his eyes, he gathered a deep breath, knowing that there was still some time before the creature gathered its strength and launched its attacks once again, securing him just enough time to breathe and recompose himself without being hit by an attack out of nowhere.

[Immortal Energy: 80/200]

’Much better than the previous attack...’ he laughed to himself while realizing that his Immortal Energy consumption during this second exchange is better than the first, giving him the confirmation that, at the very least, he is gradually getting used to this Shadow Slime’s attack.

’Guess being a pseudo E-Tier isn’t just for show...’ he confidently thought to himself before he heightened his guard even more, the eventual disappearance of his opponent causing him to fall on his monstrous instincts first, but not until it was too late.

He noticed it as well, his movements getting more refined, his senses getting sharper, and his brain, his actions moving a step earlier than his instincts previously.

’Let’s try doing that again... calm down, expand the senses... take into account all the changes... there’s no way that bastard is in a phased state even when he’s on stealth, right?’ he reasoned to himself as he just remains standing there, waiting for the opportune moment for him to take advantage of to come.

As he expands his senses, the urgency also starts to sharpen bit by bit, all blades of grass, all flow of wind, and all beat of the ground clear, apparent to him, the mana dancing along the air further amplifying his senses and with it, his chances of picking up oncoming attacks before they can even reach a dangerous distance.

A line appears in his senses, an arcing one that is directly passing through his right arm.

Suddenly, he sees it all, the size, the trajectory, the intensity of the attack; he can see it all at once, as if a painting overlayed upon his senses, telling him what his opponent is going to do in the next succeeding moment.

He took a step forward, and then...

’Move’

His instincts warned, but the threat is no longer there, already removed as he creates a distance between himself and the trajectory of the Shadow Slime’s attack, the attack that was previously a constant threat to his safety now completely neutralized.

Well, not a total completion, however, as the next moment, his instincts kicked in again.

And he follows it with as much haste as he can as he feels a sense of impatience, not from him, but from the attack that succeeded the one he just completely dodged, this time, with his senses still in a bit of disarray because of the small celebration that pops up his mind the moment he managed to pull this little trick off causing him to get deeply wounded once again.

The pain doesn’t seem to bother him anymore, though, as excitement and anticipation begin to overwhelm it all, and riding off the high from his previous success, he expanded his senses once more, trying to pick up where the third of the four-chain attack will come from, and there he sees it again.

The line tells him where it will strike.

He takes a calm, confident step.