Transcendent Regeneration
S-rank rune.
Kugugugugu. My body began to tremble like there was an earthquake.
'Kuh.'
A faint groan escaped my lips. It felt like needles were pricking every organ in my body. A scorching heat surged up from within, as if my blood had turned to lava.
'Is it because I absorbed an S-rank rune in the Infant Stage?'
I gritted my teeth, guessing at the cause of this agony. It wasn't without reason that they advised absorbing runes only after the Growth Stage. In the Infant Stage, with such low physical durability, people sometimes died from shock during the process. Especially with high-rank runes.
The Origin Protection Rune I'd gotten before was an extremely rare case where the absorption was painless.
Drip.
Hot blood trickled from both nostrils. My insides were a total mess if I was bleeding from the nose. My ether circuits were in the same state—precariously on the verge of tearing apart.
Thanks to the Origin Protection Rune, I was at least avoiding the worst-case scenario. Still, my condition was dire, and the pain I felt was beyond imagination.
'But I've endured worse than this.'
When I fought the Emperor Scorpion clan's grand general, their poison lingered in my body for a month. The pain back then was at least as bad as this, if not worse. I'd survived that hellish torment—that was me.
'Wind Qi Gong.'
I began circulating the Wind Qi Gong heart method. The rampaging energies throughout my body started to lose their momentum.
'It's working.'
Confirming that Wind Qi Gong could control the energies, I pushed harder into the practice.
Swaaaa.
I lost track of time, immersing myself solely in the Wind Qi Gong. When I finally couldn't gauge how long had passed, a refreshing energy welled up from within my body.
'……!'
My mind snapped alert. A smile of ecstasy leaked out.
This was proof that my body had successfully absorbed the rune.
Of course, some parts of my body still throbbed with intense pain from damage to my meridians and circuits. But now that I'd absorbed this S-rank rune, those were minor issues.
'Because this S-rank rune grants near-immortal regenerative power—Transcendent Regeneration.'
Transcendent Regeneration. One of the most overpowered runes, capable of rapidly regenerating even fatal wounds. Theoretically, if the rune's proficiency reached the Transcendent stage beyond Mastery, even a single cell could regenerate the body completely.
For example, before my regression, the one who possessed this rune was a King Mantis named Jin Sam, who had just entered the Complete Body stage.
'His history was so astonishing it made you gasp.'
Despite being only at the early Complete Body stage, he single-handedly crushed an army ant legion. He survived a swarm of billions of primal locusts. He slew an adult tarantula primal. Most of his feats were ones even I doubted I could achieve at Complete Body.
'He devoted all his time to maxing out the rune's proficiency rather than training to reach Complete Body.'
Naturally, the more you use a rune, the higher its proficiency, gradually unlocking its potential. At the Transcendent stage, beyond Mastery, where you comprehend the rune's true essence, new abilities awaken.
'Jin Sam ended up captured by the four great lords, subjected to all sorts of experiments, and sealed in the Millennium Prison.'
Did Jin Sam awaken the power of immortality by grasping the true essence of Transcendent Regeneration? The four great lords, despite their might, failed to kill him and sealed him away instead— the possibility was high.
'If Jin Sam had reached Ultimate Body…… he might have swept away the four great lords far more easily than I did.'
My solo defeat of the four great lords relied heavily on specific events and luck aligning. But if this Transcendent Regeneration reached the same level as Jin Sam's……
I could deal with them even more smoothly without such luck. And with the still-unfathomable power of the Megaera Mantis clan added……
Just imagining it sent thrills down my spine.
Lost in thought, I realized my wrecked internals were healing at a rapid pace.
Brr.
I shivered at the cool sensation of my body mending. Wounds that would have taken months or even years to heal—or might have been permanent—vanished in an instant, clean as new.
Even fresh out of absorption, I could feel its ridiculously overpowered regenerative power firsthand.
'Status window.'
The Transcendent Regeneration rune sat proudly among them, gleaming brilliantly. I couldn't help but grin.
'Now the first button is fastened.'
Transcendent Regeneration was my top priority after regression. Whether I got it or not was a major fork in my path.
'Without it, reaching Complete Body would have taken far longer.'
To widen my range of actions, I needed at least Complete Body. That's when I'd start seriously dismantling the four great clans.
Chung Hak Gwan.
'I've secured my foothold to head there.'
The place that gathers the continent's promising prodigies. Where records and research on ancient primals are compiled.
With Transcendent Regeneration, I could demonstrate the divine feats needed for selection.
'A perfect place to exploit Predation's advantages fully.'
I'd lay the foundation there to rocket to Complete Body. Smiling at my next steps, the plan felt flawless. Complete Body seemed just around the corner.
But there was one side effect.
Grrrrumble—!
"……."
My stomach roared thunderously. Transcendent Regeneration seemed to demand massive calories.
'Dizzy from hunger.'
That day, clutching my starving belly, I devoured three days' worth of food Robed had brought in a single meal.
* * *
In the southern reaches of the Abian Continent. In a region once said to have suffered divine wrath, there lay a massive natural cave large enough for several great cities.
Inside, towering skyscrapers rivaling those called ma-cheon-ru lined up densely.
Among them, the tallest in the center resembled a tower at first glance.
That was the residence of Craig, one of the four great lords and sovereign of the Amar King Centipede clan.
"……and so the bomb orbs were dismantled, and all assassinations failed."
On the top floor of the tower, in his office, Craig stared at his subordinate who had finished reporting with an expressionless gaze.
"And?"
"Yes? Ah! So, I've ordered all noticeable personnel pulled from Mantis Hall. Only those who've blended in seamlessly remain……."
As the man continued, whoosh!
A tentacle shot from Craig's back, wrapping around the man's neck like lightning.
"Guh, guuuuh! Cr-Craig, sir……."
The man clutched the tentacle with both hands, drool spilling as he struggled desperately against the crushing pressure. But the more he thrashed, the tighter it coiled.
His body lifted into the air. His eyes began losing focus.
"Did you think the money I've poured into you was for such pathetic reports?"
Craig eyed his half-conscious subordinate coldly. He'd given this capable-seeming guy piles of cash, only for him to shit the bed spectacularly.
Assassination success rate: 0%.
Unbelievable. It wasn't just missed opportunities. Years of effort vanished in an instant—astronomical sums evaporated.
The situation Craig hated most.
Crack—.
Bones snapped, and the man went limp. Neck broken, instant death.
Thud.
The tentacle released him, and he crumpled to the floor.
Snap.
The tentacle's tip split open into a massive maw, sprouting hundreds of razor-sharp teeth.
Crunch crunch.
It devoured the sprawled corpse. In minutes, no trace remained in Craig's room.
"Tch, wheel clan always tastes like shit."
Craig clicked his tongue, recalling the report.
'Kind, broad mantis clan. Discovered ghost ant codes by spilling aphid drink by chance…….'
His brow furrowed. Pure coincidence? Or some exceptional newcomer?
'Tch, per the report, just luck.'
Kind's life story was detailed. Nothing remarkable.
'Hmm, still, good candidate for next cicada target.'
His mind raced. Perfect for the next cicada host. Even if by chance, credit for uncovering codes made infection unlikely suspected.
"Kuremlin."
The door burst open, and a dark brown-haired man strode in.
"Yes, sir."
He saluted crisply.
Craig gazed at him blankly before speaking.
"Garan fucked up royally."
"My apologies."
"Not your fault. Garan took my money and botched everything. Erase all his traces. Handle this solo for now."
"Understood."
Craig instructed, then continued.
"Kiria escaped cleanly?"
"Yes, sir. Hiding near Mantis Hall outskirts, awaiting orders."
"Hm……."
After a moment's thought, Craig asked.
"Any report on how the mantis lord dismantled the bomb orbs?"
"Not yet. My apologies."
"Tch…… nothing satisfactory. Massive losses this time."
Kuremlin flinched, eyeing Craig cautiously. Craig despised financial losses. Money-mad bird, golden bug—nicknames born of his obsessive greed. He got prickly after setbacks.
"That Kind from the report. Use him as new cicada host."
"Ah! Yes, sir. But with heightened cicada infection alerts, implantation failure risk is high…… proceed?"
"No investment without risk?"
Craig smiled thinly—usually icy, now chilling.
Kuremlin shivered, realizing his life hung on this.
'Garan just got eaten too.'
Failure meant the same fate.
Feeling chills crawl up his neck, he replied carefully.
"I'll give it my all."
Craig smiled again—hair-raising to Kuremlin.
"Oh! And those bomb orbs have too many flaws. Dismantled too easily—useless for the grand plan."
"Apologies. Pressuring bomb ant and bomb dust beetle clans. Improved version soon. I'll expedite."
"Good."
Kuremlin bowed lower, vowing flawless prep—his life depended on it.
* * *
Days had passed since acquiring the S-rank Transcendent Regeneration rune. I'd focused on adaptation training.
Mantis Hall's chaos kept Norton away, allowing uninterrupted self-training.
'More impressive every day.'
I marveled daily at its greatness. Prioritizing it was the best decision.
Kwaaaa.
Closing my eyes and drawing ether, far more flowed through my circuits than before.
'Hup.'
My frail circuits couldn't handle it, tearing with each pass.
But Transcendent Regeneration healed them instantly.
Repeating toughened them gradually.
Training ether circuits from Infant Stage! Unheard of—anyone hearing would call it mad.
This tiny edge would snowball massively later.
'Operating ether trains circuits, deepens Wind Qi Gong, raises Origin Protection and Transcendent Regeneration proficiency.'
One stone, multiple birds. Perfect training.
Even just doing this, my stats leaped recently.
'Molting soon.'
As if my words triggered it, golden light particles gathered before my eyes, forming text only I could see.
[First Stage for Megaera Mantis Evolution.]
1. Molting to enter Juvenile Stage.