The Freak Show Foreman

Wonderstein extended his fist, leaving behind a trail of dozens of meters of deep marks in the ground. Dust rose thickly like smoke along the path. At the end of the trail, there stood a rocky mountain that hadn't existed just moments before. It was where there had originally been a cliff along a hill slope.

Ella found it hard to believe that the result was due to just one person's punch. Thanks to this, she realized once again that the threat that he could take the lives of her remaining master and friends back in her hometown whenever he wanted was not an empty threat.

The most shocking thing was that the recipient of the attack was the Noua-Zakanuba himself. He checked his body, now buried under a pile of rocks, fortunately finding no major injuries except for a few broken bones. It was thanks to using the black wings on his back to shield himself right before being hit.

"What kind of human has this kind of strength…" He muttered as he gestured into the air, causing the rocks pressing against him to levitate.

As he pushed through the collapsed cliff, he faced a man in black approaching him. At first glance, there was nothing different about him from any other human. However, the Noua Zakanuba was not taking any chances.

He couldn't use his scythe for some reason. Maybe Wonderstein thought, now was the perfect opportunity to deal with him. While his physical abilities were enhanced, there was uncertainty about the outcome if the opponent could use the scythe. Most importantly, the reason he needed to hurry was that the power he was currently using was not permanent.

Thanks to Yurakne's Kindness, his stats had been doubled for an hour due to drinking the tea.

Now, his three basic abilities had all doubled. It was an incredible boost, far beyond just doubling. To increase stats conventionally, it would have required over 10,000 points of debulroots. It was an immense power boost. Although the conditions for Yurakne's x15 favour rewards were strict, its effectiveness was remarkable.

As the Noua Zakanuba charged again, Wonderstein also rushed towards him. His reinforced muscles not only increased his attack power but also his speed.

Muscle strength: 6.0 (+6.0 Yurakne's Kindness) (Serial-Eating Tiger -> T-rex descending from the glacier)

As the modifier appeared in his status window, Wonderstein recalled a domestically produced movie he had seen as a child. It featured a Tyrannosaurus rex endowed with superpowers by aliens as the protagonist. Awakening from an iceberg and causing havoc in the heart of Seoul, it was secretly nurtured and trained by a guerrilla unit deployed by the government.

Thinking of the protagonist's signature move from the movie, Wonderstein flicked his finger, aiming for the demon's thigh.

"Hi-yah!"

With a crisp sound, his thigh muscle tore apart like a piece of paper. But this time, he didn't seem surprised. Instead, he grinned, revealing his teeth.

The torn thigh was intentionally exposed as a weakness. After yielding his leg and immobilizing his opponent's arm, he planned to attack with his own claws.

Regardless of how he amplified his strength, it was still within the realm of living beings. If caught by his nails, Wonderstein would only suffer injuries.

His claws pierced Wonderstein's back.

The attack hit.

Just as he was about to burst into laughter, there was a cracking sound. Something had broken.

He was astonished to the point where his eyes bulged out. It was a sound coming from his own body.

His claws…

The pride of his race…

Had broken!

Wonderstein grinned.

It has to be quite tough.

Tissue Resilience: 6.0 (+6.0 Yurakne's Kindness) (Bulletproof glass -> Diamond armored vehicle)

Even though he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it.

That his claws couldn't penetrate human skin.

He wanted to deny it, but the chilling shock digging between his fingers reminded him that it was real.

His skin was tougher than his claws.

"I can't believe… this is… what…"

The reaper quickly stepped back.

Wonderstein smirked at him.

"Hehe, if you want to scratch my back, you'll need something tougher."

The reaper was no longer angered by Wonderstein's mockery.

He wasn't bragging or using tricks.

He was simply that strong, to the point of arrogance.

Just as a sense of defeat began to creep into his chest, he felt a signal flowing through the handle of his scythe.

The weapon lying far away on the ground.

The Reaper's scythe.

It was freed from Abyssal Chiral's restriction.

Ordinary physical force couldn't harm that human.

But what about the scythe?

With magical energy infused into it, it could cut through anything.

Even dragon bones.

He kicked the ground and flew towards his weapon.

Wonderstein followed behind him.

The reaper was faster.

No matter how much Wonderstein enhanced his strength, the structure of his muscles remained human.

The explosive power of a beast crouching on its hind legs favored the demon.

As soon as he grabbed the scythe, he infused it with magic.

A trembling sensation ran through the handle.

He swung it towards the approaching Wonderstein.

Swoosh.

It connected.

The demon's eyes curved like a crescent moon.

His scythe had severed the arm of that monstrous human.

"How does it feel? Being cut by the scythe?" Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

Wonderstein staggered in shock.

He already knew about the attacking power of the scythe.

The label "unavoidable attack" in the game was interpreted as "fixed damage" regardless of defense, but here, it truly meant an attack that could not be defended against.

But what he was worried about wasn't just the damage itself.

Limbs could be easily regenerated with the proper resources.

Moreover, there was no need for that now.

Cell regeneration: 6.0 (+6.0 Yurakne's Kindness) (Weed field after rain -> Bean sprouts photographed with a high-speed camera)

In less than a minute, his severed arm had completely regenerated.

Ella and the demon watched in awe at the sight.

When Ella saw the two exorcists, she had a momentary thought:

"What if I ask them to defeat Wonderstein for me?"

But now she realized how foolish that idea was.

Wonderstein stood in the same spot, staring blankly into the air as his arms grew back. His smile remained, but there was a hint of loss in his eyes.

"Demon."

He said with a resigned smile.

"Thanks to you, I've lost a few things."

Wonderstein sighed as he read the message that appeared in his status bar.

In the moment his scythe struck, some of what he had accumulated vanished.

[As a price for being struck by the Reaper's scythe, experience will be deducted prioritized over memories. {Do not show again (X）｝］

[Debulroots -180］

Most of his Debulroots disappeared.

As negative memories writhed in his chest upon being cut by the scythe, the symptoms vanished as the Debulroots were drained away.

It seemed the scythe, as per the game's setting, indeed instilled melancholy and robbed happiness. However, due to his possession of the system's power, it was possible to compensate with experience.

It was rather depressing news for him, so the scythe also served as some solace for its original effect.

"Kiki! It seems to be effective!"

The Reaper, hearing Wonderstein's words and observing his changing mood, felt relieved.

Though surprised by the opponent's formidable recovery, fortunately, the attacks themselves weren't meaningless.

Decapitation worked well, and memory absorption functioned properly.

"Kikiru! Let's continue!"

Feeling excited, the demon rushed towards Wonderstein.

They exchanged blows several more times.

During this time, the demon identified the opponent's weakness.

He had little combat experience.

His movements were perfect, but he often showed flaws in the timing of deploying techniques or coping ability.

Initially, it seemed like a deception, but after striking Wonderstein several times and seeing him struggle, it was certain.

Wonderstein was also aware of this.

Before coming here, he had used "Debulroots" in the "Skill Book" to register "Martial Arts."

Thanks to that, he could wield perfect techniques.

However, fighting was another realm compared to mere technique.

It was the same in real-life martial arts.

There were no professional boxers who couldn't throw perfect punches at a punching bag.

It was common for even lower-ranked players to show a trance-like state in sparring.

However, once in the ring, everything became a moment-to-moment judgment based on instinct, determining the outcome of the fight.

Regardless of perfect technique, the hesitation in distinguishing feints and real attacks and the split-second hesitation to calculate the number were what determined the outcome of the battle.

And allowing such attacks several times led to the worst result.

[As a price for being struck by the Demon's scythe, experience will be deducted prioritized over memories. {Do not show again (X）｝］

[Cell Regeneration: 6.0­>5.0］

Most of the Debulroots were lost.

The maximum capacity was also shattered.

Even the "Mouth in Hand" vanished.

And finally, even the basic stats were damaged.

The Demon also noticed this fact.

"Kikiru! What's happening? Recovery is significantly delayed! Is your stamina being depleted?"

The demon didn't know that his scythe was reducing Wonderstein's stats.

Detecting the opponent's favorability or the circus troupe's reputation hinted that the system operated in a form that transcended the cognition of the residents of this world.

The fight, which had lasted for over 30 minutes, momentarily reached a lull.

Wonderstein and the demon looked at each other, catching their breath.

"You think you can win without landing a single blow? There must have been several opportunities. You seem more tenderhearted than I expected."

The demon's taunt left Wonderstein unable to retort.

Indeed, if he had not hesitated to strike against the scythe, there were several opportunities for him to counterattack.

But that would have been a choice to sacrifice flesh for the sake of gain.

To conserve energy, he had to prioritize evasion, inevitably missing opportunities.

From the demon's perspective, it was only natural.

It seemed that Wonderstein was intimidated by the abilities of the scythe.

There were occasionally warriors who were mentally weak despite their innate strength.

"Is it that regrettable?"

"In the past few months, I've worked hard to build up. . . precious things."

Ella, who had been watching their fight from afar, also heard their conversation.

. . . worked hard over the past few months. . .

. . . precious things.

She clenched her fist.

Her nails dug into her palm.