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The Apocalypse Grinder - Chapter 42
🕑 Added 2025-06-18 10:50:02 +0000 UTC<< Chapter 41 | Index | Chapter 43 >>
Ronan’s flickering hopes were shattered like china teacups as the hobgoblin’s fist smashed against the shield, shattering it into splinters. Terry’s arm snapped to an awkward angle, the bone protruding through.
To the man’s credit, he barely yelled. Actually, this was incredible progress. He hadn’t died in one hit.
Ronan didn’t have time to appraise his teammate’s fortitude because he was racking his head for ideas on how to reach the mana cap with what little time he had left. Divine inspiration did not strike.
He had about eighty mana to work with. He desperately formed mana bolts in his hand, smoothing minor imperfections in the hope it would grant him the reward he desperately needed.
When he was down to just 18 points of mana, Ronan gave in. It was hopeless. He heard the screams and gruesome sounds of battle. He watched Magriz’al rip and claw through his teammates as if they were crimson papier mache.
His heart ached at the loss. Even though he’d seen it happen before, it wasn’t easier to handle. Jackson was sobbing beside him, launching wild mana bolts at the goblin.
They actually burnt chunks of flesh away, but the wild hobgoblin barely noticed them. It lifted Keith in one hand and bit off his head with a gruesome crunch.
At that moment, watching his former boss being eaten alive like a meat skewer, Ronan had an idea that only a suicidal man could come up with. It was brilliant. It might be his only hope of achieving what he needed to.
It would also satisfy his wounded pride and thirst for vengeance, if only a little.
With the remainder of his mana, Ronan began summoning it for a mana bolt. As soon as he felt his heart tingling however, he grit his teeth and clamped down, forcing the mana to stay clumped in his chest.
The hobgoblin champion cackled maniacally as it raced towards the last two left alive. Ronan didn’t resist as its calloused hands wrapped around him, crunching his ribs in its iron grip.
The mana in his chest was going wild. It wanted to rush out of him, to form a mana bolt or simply return to the world around him. Ronan refused, even as the goblin dragged him towards its mouth.
The foul stench of its rotten breath wafted over him. He wanted to vomit. To tear himself free from Magriz’al’s filthy clutches.
However, those were only survival instincts. His body wanted to live, but his mind knew he was a dead man the moment he entered that room.
His hope of taking the boss down was a faint one. Clinging to it had been the last vestige of his naivete. That was shredded now, too.
Ronan’s chest was being savaged by two opposing forces. The hobgoblin’s fist crushing him from the outside and his mana burning it from within.
He wasn’t even sure this wild idea of his would work, but it sure felt as if he was on the right track. When he’d seen it eating Keith—a stark difference to the previous time where it had killed them all instantly—he’d thought of an old movie he used to love.
Well, this particular cliche was used in many action movies with big monsters, but the one he enjoyed most was against a big spiky lizard.
Realising that its hide was too tough, the brave soldiers realised the only way to kill it was from the inside. They all threw away their lives in order to toss a bundle of explosives into its mouth, which it swallowed.
It slaughtered them like livestock, but then received a nasty surprise as it was blown up from within, turning into a fiery corpse. Ronan’s idea was similar, except he planned to use himself as the explosive!
At best it was the half-baked strategy of a madman. At worst he was about to die in a ball of exploding, fiery mana instead of a clean death—all for no reason.
Whatever the case, he would return to the beginning of the tutorial once it was over. If it worked, he would’ve discovered just how badly his experiments with mana could go wrong. If not?
He’d just have to work even harder to reach the mastery cap in his next life. Simple.
The champion’s yellow and black teeth closed around his neck, right as he felt a crackling wave of mana erupt outwards from his chest. The last thing he heard was the faint chime of a system notification.
Ronan felt groggy as he woke up after his third time dying. The throbbing in his head reminded him of a hangover. He would’ve preferred that.
There was no reason for him to feel this way. His mind and body should have been restored to the condition they were in at the moment the tutorial began—slightly startled but otherwise perfectly healthy.
Clearly the aftereffects of being eaten alive while blowing himself up weren’t going to fade right away. The silver lining was that he was now utterly convinced that his returning to life after each death wasn’t a mere coincidence, but an inevitability.
Once was coincidence, twice was suspicious, but the third time’s the charm. Not that it helped cheer him up much.
He sighed as the system chimed, informing him of what he already knew.
Welcome to the tutorial of the 103rd Grand Integration! This introduction to the multiverse will serve to test your strength and skill. Upon completion, you will return to your newly terraformed planet for the 1st Phase.
Yes, yes. Get on with it you annoying, unfeeling bastard, he cursed the system in his head. As the rest of the usual messages appeared he ignored them, waiting for the only one he cared about.
His status.
Assessment complete!
[Status]
Name: Ronan Steele
Race: Human (G)
Heritage: ERROR: Unreadable (Analysis attempted: Results unreadable. DNA matches: 0. Recognised characters: ‘3’)
Level: 0 (22)
Class: N/A (Mage (Common))
Fortune: 0 (6,169c)
[Stats (1.050)]
Health: 60/60
Stamina: 90/90
Mana: 50/50
Vitality: 6
Endurance: 9
Wisdom: 5
Regeneration: 3
Resistance: 6
Strength: 6
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 8
Dexterity: 5
Acuity: 7
Tenacity: 12
Luck: 2
Charisma: 4
Available Points: 0
[Traits]
Personal: Inevitable (Epic)
[Skills]
Unified Language Adaptation (Universal)
Relentless Training (Common)
Magic Strike (Common)
Vital Surge (Common)
[Mastery]
Pugilist I 0/100
Mana I 0/100
[Cultivation]
Mind: None
Body: None
Energy: None
Soul: None
Ronan’s gaze scanned through his status. Unfortunately since it was technically his ‘first’ time seeing it he couldn’t get an abridged version.
He first noticed that his previous fortune hadn’t changed. He’d actually earned less credits in his most recent life than the one before. It also meant that it only counted his most successful life, rather than accumulating through each—for money, at least.
When it came to his stats, the number beside it had gone up. He realised it was a combined total of the levels he’d earned through all three of his lives.
It was also likely the reason behind his increased level each time. He had ended at level 22, a little higher than the 20 before that. The only explanation was his heritage, since he’d killed the exact same goblins both times—even accounting for slight changes since he was tossing mana bolts rather than punches.
All of those discoveries paled in the face of his sheer jubilation and relief when he reached the mastery section. Alongside the well-earned pugilist I, was the brand-spanking-new mana I.
If not for the fact his body was being held in an odd stasis by the system while he waited to be thrust into stage 1 of the tutorial, he would’ve yelled his happiness to the void. His desperate, suicidal gamble had actually earned him the final points of mastery he needed to hit the cap.
Unfortunately, because he’d died so fast, Ronan hadn’t been able to read the notification. That meant he had no clue what mana I even did for him.
He hoped he would be able to check. Focusing on his status, he willed it to show a description. He was once more surprised by the system’s generosity, even starting to believe it some kind of dastardly plot to make him less suspicious of its machinations.
Actually, that’s too far-fetched. I’m just one guy. If Earth is just one planet in all this, the system definitely has bigger things to worry about than my paranoid arse, he chuckled to himself.
[Detailed Partial Status - Ronan Steele]
[Mastery]
Pugilist:
I — All physical blows you inflict deal infinitesimally more damage. Successful parries grant you a 1% chance to instantly counter-attack with a blow of average force.
Mana:
I — Mana costs for skills are infinitesimally reduced. Activation and channeling times for skills which cost mana are infinitesimally reduced. Wisdom potency +1%.
In terms of the benefits, it was on a similar level to pugilist I. However, when it came to the reality of the applications, Ronan realised this was far more valuable to him.
Not only mana bolt, but even magic strike would benefit from those buffs. Which indirectly meant that his mana mastery would allow him to punch faster. Which was ridiculous.
It also opened up dozens of new avenues he’d not even considered. Would mastery over other paths bring benefits across the spectrum?
He’d already planned to raise as many of them as possible to the first cap using his repeating, vicious life cycle. It seemed he would need to get creative and discover as many masteries as he could while suffering one brutal death after another.
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Comments
Quyan640
I assume stamina mastery would be next. Maybe health through the vital surge skill. Stats could be another. How to effectively use strength, agility, etc
