I Refused To Be Reincarnated

Chapter 189: The Third Trial: A Friend Lost, A Promise Made

As Ignatius' monstrous seven-meter body collided with the ground with all its weight, breaking the sturdy slabs, a lone silhouette hurriedly jumped out of its right eye socket. Its brown eyes glowed in satisfaction, and a smile stretched his lips.

Carried by his speed, Adam rolled upon hitting the ground, scattering the momentum and jumped to his feet.

"Hahaha. We won! I knew I could be the best abomination hunter if I wanted to." He exclaimed proudly, raising his right fist in victory and scanning the room to locate his friend. "Where are you, Misha?" He added, confused by her absence.

"I'm... in... your head." She answered, each word spoken with difficulty as she released the memories she had sealed using the brain chimaera's abilities.

The missing pieces of his battle with Ignatius and the scientist's transformation using his friend's body clicked in his mind, causing his lips to quiver and tears to well in his eyes.

"No!" He screamed in sadness, holding his head with trembling hands before adding reproachfully, "Why did you hide it from me? We could have found a solution to get your body back!"

"It's impossible." She started, her voice gradually growing weaker, "I merged my cells with yours, but your body is already rejecting them."

Her words echoed in his mind, deepening his sadness as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Don't die, Misha. Please, you are my only friend," He said, desperate to help her.

"It's alright. I accomplished all my objectives by defeating that monster and... saving you." She answered, her voice warm and soothing despite its weakness.

"Liar! Didn't you want to explore the world?" He yelled before an idea took form in his mind. "I know! Survive, and I'll build a human body for you with magic! It's possible. So, please, hold on."

However, a deafening silence answered him for a second before Misha said, "I'm sorry. I reached my limit already. But I assure you, I'm satisfied. So, don't cry too much for me and become the person you dream of... being."

Her last words were almost inaudible, a whisper in the wind, as the cells she roughly merged with Adam collapsed under his white globules' relentless assault.

Afraid by her voice's weakness, Adam hurriedly called for her, "Misha? Misha?"

Alas, she was already gone. Only his sorrow and unwillingness resonated in his mind. "Idiot," he muttered, clutching his chest, their short but impactful journey replaying in his mind.

From their initial mistrust and disdain to their banters and friendship until his fall into madness. Then, her subsequent help and encouragement echoed in his heart, causing him to murmur, "I regret we couldn't explore the world together and will never forget you and your words. Thank you for everything, my friend."

Despite his unwillingness, he knew he had to accept her departure to honor her memory. After all, no matter the cost, she unrelentingly tried to help him, knowing well what awaited her.

Releasing his grip on his chest, he said solemnly, his tears plopping to the ground, as Misha's radiant smile and golden eyes appeared in his mind. "I vow to become stronger and protect my friends with my own strength. I wish you the best in your journey and hope you'll reunite with your parents and friends."

As he bid his farewell to Misha, refusing to succumb to despair after her selfless actions, the system's transparent screens suddenly appeared.

[Remaining time: 0:0. Trial has ended.] Discover hidden tales at m,v l'e-NovelBin.net

Subsequently, the ravaged room slowly turned illusory. With a swipe of his eyes, he gazed at the cracked floor, menacing to collapse at any moment, at the deep holes drilled by the mana technique created by his mad version and, finally, at the hateful scientist who caused so much suffering to his friend.

"I really hope hell exists, for it is the only place you deserve to be in," he spat, condemning Ignatius and wishing for him to suffer wherever he was before remembering something. Swiftly, he retrieved a talisman and dashed to the old man's body, sticking it onto his head to retrieve his soul. If hell didn't exist, he'd force the evil scumbag to serve him as a card!

A second later, everything turned into light particles and vanished.

Soon, he stood in the middle of the familiar boundless white room, gazing at the changing text, displaying his last kill notification.

[Tier 4 Mythical boss: Ignatius, The World Devourer defeated. You have gained 2000 experience points.]

[Boss vanquished while being at a lower level, Xp+100%]

[You have gained 4000 experience points.]

He sighed, failing to be happy about the large Xp reward. Despite knowing everything would disappear, he needed time to digest Misha's departure.

[Challenger Adam completed the third trial.]

[Reviewing process and rating it.]

[29 tier two beast based ??? 32 Insect-based ??? Tier three boss ??? and ERROR.]

[In-depth analysis of the process.]

[Error]

As the messages unfolded gradually before his eyes, Adam scratched his head in confusion, wondering what he did for the tower to glitch. Didn't it design this whole nightmarish trial?

"Don't tell me I did something outside of its expectations." He said, lost about what was happening.

After five long minutes, during which he fixed his emotions, the tower's message finally changed, causing his eyes to widen.

[Extra boss defeated: Ignatius The World Devourer.]

[No life source detected.]

[Rating: Impossible to rate... Creating new rank.]

"... Did I really break the rating entirely?" He said, pondering for the reason until realisation struck him. Ignatius was never meant to be the boss. After all, he was only an old human scientist. It was his actions and relationship with Misha that allowed his transformation.

However, despite the increased difficulty, he didn't regret anything. Meeting Misha and defeating the hateful man made him grow mentally.

[Rating: EX]

[Achievement and title unlocked: Third Floor's Conqueror]

[Achievement and title unlocked: The Avenger.]

Upon reading his two new titles, he facepalmed and said, "Yes, yes. No one cares about those useless stuff. Bring the rewards."

Simultaneously, the two titles appeared and floated silently above his head.

The first one, a depiction of a gloomy underground complex filled with abomination, inspired dread with its blood-dripping font.

The second illustrated a man accompanied by a beautiful, transparent, golden-haired woman radiating warmth and facing a grotesque, seven-meter-tall monster. The font, a blood-red mist, emanated a disturbing sense of violence and madness with its spearhead-like corners.

Thankfully, he couldn't see his own floating titles, or he would drop to the ground in shame.