The resource Novus relies on the most with each of his fights, Immortal Energy, continues to fall down as he keeps slashing, cleaving, and severing the E-Tier Amber Slime whenever it attempts to regenerate itself, with a sharp, determined, and murderous expression on his face as he keeps his mind sharp, making sure not to touch any part of the slime more than he needs to.

[Immortal Energy: 30/200]

[Immortal Energy: 24/200]

"So that’s where you are huh?" not only did he performed ten slashes, but continues to dozens too, unstopping as he tries his best to prevent the slime from recovering, each of his slash making the healing body parts regenerate slower as its source of energy, the food it keeps in its body, starts completely dissolving one by one, from tens of fresh limbs now down to a single one.

And even this one doesn’t seem like it will sustain the slime for long.

A testament to this is the fact that its opponent already saw something that made that familiar maniacal smile creep up his face once again, that faint shimmer of a core being revealed, causing a new source of strength and motivation to course all across his body as he finds even more power in his already wasted and exhausted state.

[Immortal Energy: 18/200]

[Immortal Energy: 12/200]

One hand’s blade dissolves into nothing as he pulls it away, preparing for the next attack.

However, it wasn’t due to the exhausting gradually weighing down on his battered body, but rather due to his own decision, gathering mana in the air as he forms a volatile sphere of fire in his arm, the weapon to make sure he can end it all.

’This left me with just enough Immortal Energy to live...’ he thought to himself as he already sees the end of the path, this not being keeping on cleaving and tearing the slime apart as he will not be able to keep the makeshift weapon up the moment that he runs out of Immortal Energy, hence why he resorted to digging just enough to expose its core, before ending it with one final bang.

Keeping the slime from covering the core as he continues to cleave and slash with his other hand, Novus finally formed a fireball that he doesn’t even coat with a stabilizing flow of mana anymore, the urgency to deal with this creature already at an all-time high.

The next moment, he smashes the hand keeping the volatile fireball intact, the sphere of magic hitting right where the Amber Slime’s core is located.

It retaliated, performing a horrible act upon itself as it uses, no, devours its soft outer shell to accelerate its own regeneration, trying its best to stop the detonation of the massive explosive already about to blow its fuse.

But from all the damage it had sustained, devouring its own flesh is not nearly enough; its recovery allowed it to touch its opponent’s flesh once again, but there was no longer any trace of mana for it to absorb.

And absorbing just pure flesh without mana circulating around it would take too long for it to take effect.

A loud boom resounded, an entire circular field of around a couple of meters in diameter being deprived of the grass covering it, and a few more meters away from this central zone, blades of grass are either scorched or singed, the intensity depending on how close they are to the center of the explosion.

"Haah... haah..."

In the midst of this scorched land, a singular, masculine humanoid figure stands, not straight, but painfully disheveled and sporting a tired arch on his back, panting as if he had just run several miles and run for more, making it all too clear that he is tired, far more tired than he ever was before.

Despite this, however, he still managed to keep his smile on his face as multiple semi-transparent notification screens appeared in front of him, signifying that the cause for him to wreak this much havoc is already gone, from the very same explosion that drained him completely of the most reliable resource in his arsenal.

[Immortal Energy: 0/200]

As he collapsed and sat down on the ground, he still maintained his guard up, senses scanning the surroundings and making sure that not a single other being would be able to take advantage of him, before he finally checked the other notification that confirmed the end of this fight.

[Defeated: Amber Slime. Rewards: E-Tier Evolution Crystal (3), Slime Substrate (4), Malleable Amber (3)]

Seeing how much he received from this single encounter, a whole E-Tier Evolution Crystal more than he acquired after taking down his first E-Tier Shadow Slime, he couldn’t help but smile as he felt like it was all worth it, all that effort and pain, so long as he was rewarded for it, a reward system that feels is not all that bad.

’Still, I just can’t get used to it...’ feeling his body’s exposed nerve endings as even he himself got burned quite badly from his attack, due to him no longer having any time to protect his entire body with mana, he remarked to himself as he inhales from the pain of just moving around.

Unbeknownst to him, despite the pain not really reducing, his mind is already starting to get used to all the damage he had sustained, the intensity of pain that would previously make him tear up and cry is now nothing more than something that he is forced to inhale air from.

And the only reason as to why his mind thinks he will never be able to get used to the pain is the fact that he is dealing with more and more painful experiences as he continues to grow.

That will be for his own to discover later, as now, he wants nothing more than to close his eyes and rest, but the constant danger of the Evolution Domain that always wants to claim his neck making him unable to do so, despite laying down the ground, his muscle still tense, his senses still scanning with sharpness that shouldn’t be possible for an individual as injured as himself.

’Man, it would’ve been nice if there were some sort of safe spots in the domain, makes my life a little bit easier’ he thought to himself without thinking too much about it as he closed his eyes, only for that familiar screen to pop up in front of him with words that nearly made his eyes pop out of their socket as well.

[Searching for nearest safe zones... safe zone detected...]

[Verdant Expanse: Verdant Forest Central Pond (Due North)]

[A pond protected by a unique, natural magic formation that affects every single individual within its area. The magic nullifies damage from any attack weaker than C-Tier, and anyone who attacks within the area will be forced out of it.]

[Special Notes: The system user can teleport to a safe zone as long as they meet all these conditions:

The user must travel to the location at least once. The user must be out of combat for at least fifteen minutes before they can teleport to a safe zone. The user can only teleport to a safe zone that is in the same location they are in the Evolution Domain.]

Reading the screen in front of him, he just lies on the ground that feels extremely cold despite how scorched it is, as if this world is mocking him for only discovering it now.