The Price of Regeneration
I decided to run some experiments. A few days after obtaining Regeneration, I immediately began testing it in every way I could think of. After all, I needed to understand the limits of the ability before I could decide how far to push it in real combat. And the test subject was, naturally, myself.
“Ugh…!”
I slashed my own flesh with the holy sword, then hurled my whole body against the wall to create bruises. Each time, droplets of blood splattered nearby. I felt a twinge of self-loathing at the thought that I was literally mutilating myself just to test one skill… but thanks to my Pain Resistance, I managed to endure it.
Fortunately, the results were more than usable. Minor scrapes, cuts, and bruises healed in the blink of an eye. Since it was a replica of a Heavenly King’s skill, it performed at least at the baseline level. Of course, every regeneration consumed some mana, but the efficiency was excellent, so it didn’t drain me too heavily.
Satisfied with the data, I moved straight on to the next experiment. Because if we’re talking about the true flower of Regeneration, there was only one thing left to test.
“…I’m doing it. I’m really doing it…”
Inside the peaceful Demon Realm, I placed my finger on a rock and shouted. In my other hand, I gripped the dazzling holy sword and aimed it at my left thumb.
The experiment was simple. One clean slice and it would be over. I was going to cut off my finger, then check whether Regeneration could heal even a severed limb. If it worked, I would measure exactly how long the process took. To use the skill effectively in battle, this was an experiment I absolutely had to run.
But in the end, I was still only human. The moment I actually tried to cut my own finger off, fear gripped me. My right hand holding the holy sword trembled violently. The more it shook, the more I tried to calm myself.
It’s fine. You can do this. The preparations are perfect. Your Pain Resistance level is high, and even if it gets cut off, Regeneration will heal it automatically. And even if that fails, there’s a Saint and top-grade potions nearby. So just close your eyes and swing.
Just swing…
“…Haa. I can’t do it.”
In the end, I had no choice but to lower the holy sword. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t summon the courage. Me, personally slicing off my own finger? I wasn’t some crazy masochist.
I can’t keep hesitating like this.
My resolve kept weakening. When I thought about the battles ahead, losing a finger should be nothing more than a scratch, yet here I was, hesitating.
“Okay, cutting it with a blade is a pass.”
With no other choice, I gave up on doing it manually. If I couldn’t do it now, then I couldn’t. Thankfully, there was another method available to me.
The Authority of Sacrifice.
In fact, this was the biggest reason I had chosen Regeneration in the first place. If I could offer parts of my body while fighting, the results would be spectacular. And if Regeneration could heal severed limbs, it would essentially create an infinite production system.
Of course, I tried not to think about the mental torment I would suffer in the process… but the synergy was undeniable. Besides, I didn’t even have to cut it myself. All I had to do was speak the words. The psychological barrier was far lower than before.
Thanks to that, I was able to carry it out much more easily than I had feared.
“…I offer my left thumb to raise my level.”
Left thumb offered.
Experience gained: Minor increase.
At that instant—
Shuk!
My left thumb vanished, and bright red blood gushed out. It was a perfectly clean cut, as if someone had simply deleted it from a drawing. At the same time, a status window appeared before my eyes.
Experience has increased slightly!
The pain and emptiness forced a curse from my lips.
“You son of a—ugh…!”
It hurt! No matter how high my Pain Resistance was, this was fucking agony! But separate from the pain, the skill Regeneration was doing its job faithfully.
Shushushuk!
The fountain of blood subsided, and new flesh slowly sprouted. The severed bone and blood vessels reconnected. After several dozen seconds, my missing thumb had completely regenerated.
I had been groaning in pain, but now I could only let out a sigh of admiration.
“Haa… haa… Oh.”
As expected, even if it was a replica, it was still a skill from one of the Four Heavenly Kings. It was delivering exactly what it promised. To heal a severed limb in such a short time… On the other hand, my original skill, the Authority of Sacrifice, only made me want to swear.
I had clearly asked for a level-up, yet I had only received a tiny bit of experience. I had sacrificed an actual part of my body, yet…
So the infinite production system has limits after all.
It did work, technically. Experience had gone up. But the efficiency was terrible compared to what I had given. It was as if the Authority of Sacrifice was saying:
The value of something that can simply grow back cannot be counted too highly. Bring me something bigger.
“What a cheap bastard.”
Anyway, it was stingy. I realized once again that while this was certainly a powerful skill, it was by no means omnipotent. It was a high-risk, high-return ability that walked a dangerous line.
…Still, I had learned what I needed to know about Regeneration. This level of performance would definitely be useful in battle.
Satisfied with the data, I stood up. Then a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Wait. What if I offer something that doesn’t regenerate?
What if, instead of offering a body part that could grow back, I offered it permanently? Wouldn’t I be able to draw out efficiency on the level of lifespan…?
“Hmm…”
No. I shouldn’t think about that. What would be the point of winning if I had to fight that desperately? I had no desire to battle while permanently losing parts of my own body. I immediately erased the thought from my head.
It was time to return to the party.
*
“Hero! Why are you so late?! Didn’t I say we were supposed to gather the moment personal maintenance time ended?!”
“Whoa, sorry. I had something that took longer than expected.”
“I think anyone who can’t even keep time has no right to call themselves a hero.”
The moment I returned to the party, Kamilla and Lily immediately started chewing me out. It was only a few minutes. I had headed straight back after finishing my experiments, but I couldn’t help being a little late. Group life made it hard to find personal time, so I had crammed all the tests into one session, and it had taken longer than anticipated.
Besides, I couldn’t exactly slam myself into walls and slice myself open in front of the team.
If I did something like that in front of them, my image would plummet even further. Not that it had far to fall at this point.
“…What is that blood on your clothes?”
While I was thinking that, the Saint asked from beside me. Following her gaze, I looked down and saw my sleeve covered in scattered bloodstains. I mentally slapped my forehead.
Crap.
It seemed some of my blood had splattered onto my clothes during the experiments. I had been in such a hurry that I hadn’t checked.
“It really does look like blood…”
“Ahaha, I must have gotten splashed by something while I was running over in a hurry. Come on, let’s focus on packing. We have a lot to carry, don’t we?”
I spoke quickly and rolled my sleeve inward. If this got discovered, it would only cause trouble. The Curse of Distortion on my body could easily twist even something like this into something sinister.
I could already picture it: the mage accusing me of killing someone, the thief muttering about how suspicious I was, the knight demanding to know where the blood came from… And even if I told the truth, the Curse of Distrust would make sure they didn’t believe me.
Just thinking about it gives me a headache.
Avoiding that kind of hassle was the best course of action. Fortunately, the Saint didn’t press me any further. She simply stared at my left sleeve for a long time…
I could hear her quietly muttering under her breath, brow furrowed.
“Just what the hell are you doing out there…?”
It seemed I couldn’t escape the Saint’s suspicious gaze. Still, the fact that she wasn’t saying anything to the rest of the party suggested she was willing to let it slide for now. That was a relief.
Right now, there were far more important things than the origin of some bloodstains.
After our final period of personal rest, our hero’s party was busy organizing our luggage once again. It was finally time to move to a new location. We could be staying there anywhere from a few days to several months, so we had to pack thoroughly and efficiently. Since rest would become rare after this, we also needed to steel our minds.
That’s right.
We had finally arrived.
The castle of Valcan, the Insect King—first among the Four Heavenly Kings. The Insect Assembly Castle.
A massive, pitch-black fortress loomed before us, as if flaunting his power. It was so enormous that it looked less like a castle and more like an entire nation. In truth, that wasn’t far from reality. Since hundreds of millions of insects lived there, his royal castle was practically a country in itself.
We were about to walk into enemy territory that held tens of thousands of foes with only five people.
There was only one objective.
To cut the head off the king who reigned arrogantly at its center.
Just hearing it made me want to vomit from the sheer difficulty, but…
Well, what can you do?
We had to do it. If we wanted to clear this damned game.
And so, we stepped into the Insect King’s castle.