abcnovels
Chapter 59: Near Death
Chapter 59: Near Death
Chapter 59: Near Death
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"Ah!" Ron's eyes slammed open, and he sat up with cold sweat rolling down his forehead.
He looked around with shaking eyes and trembling lips. He then saw Adam patting dust off his trousers and standing up.
The players were celebrating their victory.
"What the..." Ron touched his neck, feeling tight. "No, that isn't possible."
"Yo, you got rolled." Ramon's taunting voice came from behind him.
Ron turned around and saw a grinning Ramon; he then asked, "How long was I unconscious?" "Only about three to four seconds." Ramon smirked. "That's still our victory, no?"
'That long...' Ron touched his head with a shocked expression. 'In a life-and-death match, Adam would've killed me. What in the world happened?!'
Adam stood silently, touching his chest. He was pale-faced, as if all blood were drained from his face. Something was happening to his body.
'The devouring is about to start. With the Flasks of the Setting Sun and Rising Moon I have a chance to survive, but I will need to act quickly...'
"Adam..." At that moment, Ron spoke up and stood up with trembling legs. "Tell me how you defeated me."
"You want to know everything?" Adam stopped touching his chest and turned to Ron with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, I need to know." Ron said, taking deep breaths.
"First of all, I tricked you." Adam raised one finger.
"Tricked?" Ron frowned.
"That tackle that failed, I intentionally did it badly." Adam said. "This made you less wary of my grappling abilities. Instead, I made you only focus on my striking. That was an important part of the plan.
"Second, I never used my top speed, not even against Kuruma. I knew that if I saved it for later, it would catch you off guard and give me a chance.
"At the end of the match, as you slammed me to the ground, I wrapped my legs around your neck with my top speed. You couldn't react in time, as you thought you already knew the limits of my speed.
"Third, you thought I gave up on Unarmed Combat as I picked up my sword and shield. I never did. I always planned on using grappling as my final gambit.
"Lastly, I had to make you believe that you've won. As you grabbed me by the collar and slammed me to the ground, your muscles loosened and your mind eased, causing your reaction time to slow down.
"That was when my setup was finally completed. You fell right into my trap."
"Unbelievable..." Ron whispered in shock. "I got tricked by mere Coinfeeder..."
"I was lucky; it was a big gamble." Adam said. "If you hadn't limited yourself, if you had used Kiryoku, it would've never worked. In a real match, without any restrictions, I would have a zero percent chance of victory.
"There's one thing I can't understand." Ron said with a frown. "Before everything went dark, I saw strange... illusions. It was why I didn't see that I was put on a triangle choke hold." Adam smiled and thought to himself. 'Little God Style, Coiling Serpent. Little God has the ability to create illusions that can deceive even the most skilled fighters. After I put him into a triangle hold, I put Ron under a small illusion.'
'Again, it would've never worked if Ron had used Kiryoku. This illusion skill is also weak; as I am only a Coinfeeder, it becomes more powerful alongside me. I was indeed lucky that Ron decided to limit himself to this extent.'
"Your mind probably played some tricks on you." Donald approached the two. "With that speed and strength, your supply of oxygen was stopped so suddenly that your brain played some tricks on you."
"Maybe..." Ron said as he rubbed his head. "It doesn't matter; the truth is that I lost."
At first, they only had to scratch Ron to "clear" this floor. If they had, it wouldn't have counted as Ron's loss. However, now that he lost his consciousness, he actually lost. It was something unheard of.
There was a gap of six ranks between the two combatants.
RUMBLE!
At that moment, the platform started shaking, and from the ground, a flight of stairs appeared that led fifteen meters into the sky. Then, at the top of the stairs, a glowing door appeared.
It was a strange door-it was a white door with angel wings that were slowly flapping up and down, emitting a soft golden light.
Ron looked at the door, let out a sigh, and said, "The door to the fifth floor is open. You all have officially cleared the tutorial!"
After hearing that, the players erupted in cheers. Some heaved sighs of relief, some were nervous about scores, but they were all excited about finally leaving the tutorial.
It had been a long month.
The players started rushing up the stairs towards the door.
'I lost, huh...' Ron turned to Adam, who was strangely standing still and not speaking a word. 'Still, I don't feel too bad. I lost to a very special individual.'
At that moment, Adam fell down to his knees and coughed up black blood. He wasn't looking good at all.
"Are you alright?" Ron kneeled in front of him and asked in worry. 'His body is breaking apart. What kind of techniques was taught to him that his own body couldn't handle?'
"Y-yeah, just give a moment." Adam breathed heavily.
Inside his body, a bloody snake head appeared from his heart and started hissing menacingly. Then, the snake head started to slither inside him, devouring him from the inside out.
'I-I am about to die...' Adam whispered inventory and, with a shaky hand, brought out the two flasks of vastly different-colored liquids.
'The Flask of the Setting Sun and Rising Moon.' Ron thought to himself. 'That's why he wanted those. Those are the only things that can save him.'
Adam popped open the two flasks and grabbed both. However, he wasn't drinking them yet. He was waiting for the devouring to end.
'If I drink these before the devouring is over, the Little God will still continue to consume my insides. I have to drink these once the devouring is over to fix everything.'
'Why isn't he drinking?' Ron frowned.
Adam looked extremely sickly and weak as he sat there, staring at the flasks in his hands.
His insides were a mess. Little God left nothing behind except a beating heart and a soul that
was slowly fading away.
At that moment, Little God vanished into a mist of blood.
'Now!' Adam moved the flasks to his lips and started drinking both of them at once, hoping it wasn't too late to save himself.
While traversing through his throat, the two liquids mixed with each other, creating a violent reaction that sent excruciating pain throughout his entire body.
'Deal with it; it is just pain!' Adam's veins bulged out of his flesh, and he looked like he was
about to burst.
At last, the medicine started to work its magic, and all of his internal organs started to restore themselves to their usual state. His broken flesh slowly began to heal, and the color returned
to his face.
His two missing fingers magically appeared, and the broken fingers of his other hand, which were broken by Ron's elbow strike, began to straighten out and reconnect as well. "Haaa!" Adam let out a relieved sigh. It sounded like he had been holding his breath for far
too long.
"You alright?" Ron asked, wanting to make sure.
"Yeah, I am great..." Adam slowly stood up and smiled. "Shall we also leave for the Fifth
Floor?"