endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 61

The moment Vahn cut his arm off, the pain receptors in his body began sounding alarms. The pain almost caused him to lose consciousness, but [Rakshasa Body] kicked in and prevented him from passing out. Due to the massive damage he had taken, his form began to change slightly and the stump of his arm tried to seal itself.

Before the skill took full effect, Vahn put the second part of his plan into action. He exhaled before sucking in a deep breath and activate his [Wound Transfer] on the unconscious girl. Red strings of light began appearing from her body as the wounds rapidly began to heal. Thankfully, even her arm began to grow at a noticeably fast rate.

As the lines began to infuse with his body, Vahn fell to his knees and supported himself with his only remaining arm. Everywhere the light touched, puncture wounds and mangled flesh began to appear. The pain was so intense that, even if he wanted to, Vahn was unable to faint. He couldn't rely on [Rakshasa Body] to divert the pain as intentionally activating the skill would transform his body and close his wounds.

Vahn vomited when a hole opened in his stomach. His blood began to flow out rapidly, but he still managed to maintain his awareness. He noticed that the arm was healing at a slower pace and he wouldn't be able to last long enough for the process to complete. Using his final [Skill Enhancement Scroll] Vahn increased the rank of his [Wound Transfer] from B to A.

The increase had an immediate effect and Vahn could see the arm regrowing at a much faster pace than before. Fortunately, the increase in the skill level even mitigated some of the pain he was feeling so Vahn was able to withstand the process throughout its entirety. Now was the most important part of his plan, so he couldn't afford collapse yet.

He picked up his severed arm from the ground but dropped it as the result of an impact to his back. Vahn coughed a mouthful of blood as he turned his head and saw a Frog Shooter who had just fired its tongue into his back. He could feel that several of his ribs were broken, but he managed to reactivate [Will of the Emperor], which had deactivated when he was wracked with pain, preventing the monster from attacking again.

Withdrawing the dagger he obtained when he first entered this world, Vahn threw it directly into the eye of the monster. The shockwave created a large cavity as it passed through the body of the monster, and the dagger continued until firmly rooting itself into the dungeon wall. Due to the exertion and his current state, Vahn nearly collapsed, vomiting another mouthful of blood.

He quickly reached the location where he dropped his arm and attached it next to the mangled remains of his right shoulder. As he couldn't continue without a spare hand, Vahn ended up having to lay on the ground next to the severed arm. He withdrew [Heal] from his inventory and began channeling his energy full force into the staff.

The magic circle expanded to an area of 5m around Vahn and began to mend the wounds on his body. His arm, that was still detached, was also within the area of effect and the two disconnected parts were slowly trying to reattach themselves. The moment the flesh started to mend, he began to channel the full effects of all of his abilities including, [Yggdrasil's Favor], [Rakshasa Body], and [Heart of the Eternal Flame].

The three skills, in conjunction with the use of [Heal], began to rapidly regenerate his damage tissue while also modifying his body. Vahn could feel the muscles in his body become stronger as the 'molten' bloody pumped through his veins. Hair began growing on his arms and legs, including the previously severed arm. The hair on his head grew slightly longer and he could feel all of his senses increase in efficacy. There was even a strange discomfort coming from his lower back.

After several agonizing seconds, the pain slowly receded and Vahn became far calmer. The pain was relieved by [Rakshasa Body]'s effects and he managed to stand upright. He tried moving around his right arm, and even though there was a strange numbness, he was able to move and feel all of his fingers. After that, he inspected the source of discomfort on his back and found that likely due to his skill, he had actually grown a light grey tail with white stripes.