Chapter 537: Cake Time

Julius collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. Every single piece of his body felt like it was coming apart. He was covered in so many burns that he more closely resembled a piece of barbequed meat than a human being. Speaking of meat, he was starving.

He would take out some food from his storage ring or his lunch box, but at the moment, he wasn’t even able to move his fingers. He was forced to lie on the ground for the time being, desperately trying not to throw up.

He didn’t know for sure that the chimera was dead. But he felt the last core of the monster melt under the wave of flames, so if it was still alive, Julius was more than okay with conceding this battle to it.

He let out a sound that was a mix between a groan and a sigh as his body slowly healed the damage. Part of the issue of healing himself was the ruinous flames he used. While they were really good at interfering with the chimera’s own healing, it was that very same ability that prevented him from healing like normal.

Still, he was thankful he had been able to stymie the monster’s regeneration. If he hadn’t been able to do that, he didn’t know if he would have been able to overcome it.

Now he knew what it felt like to be fighting someone. Opponents who could self-heal were a pain in the ass. He didn’t want to deal with another half-immortal monster for a long time.

Speaking of self-healing monsters, he glanced to the side as Isaac stumbled over to him. The other teen had an excited grin on his face, one much too bright for the tired Julius.

“That was crazy. Are you sure you killed it?” Isaac asked, looking over at the crater of melted stone and flesh.

Julius shrugged. “I don’t know. If it’s not dead, then it can kill me. I am too tired to fight anymore.”

Isaac tilted his head and laughed. “Don’t worry. If it is still alive, I will grab you and run away.”

“I didn’t really take you for a person who runs away,” Julius commented as he lay on the ground.

“Eh, my aunt always told me that as long as I tried my best, there is no shame in running and trying again,” Isaac said.

“Hmm. Well, I appreciate the offer. Although I don’t know how retreating will work with the barrier still up,” Julius said with a sigh.

“Oh, it’s coming down now. I think the chimera was an integral part of the barrier. Whoever caused all of this probably used it as a connectional nexus that interlinked the barrier to its own existence. And the condition for it to disappear was probably fulfilled with its death,” Isaac explained.

Julius stared blankly at the musclehead who just said a bunch of words that he barely understood.

“Hmm.” That was all he said, and he looked over at the barrier that was indeed coming down.

His brain was already half melted, so he didn’t think too hard about it and instead pulled out a sandwich from his lunch box, making sure that he dusted off his ashy fingers.

He missed his mouth a couple of times, but eventually managed to jam a corner into his mouth. The relief from the food was magical. The life mana infusing into his body also soothed his weary soul.

Drasil suddenly appeared on his shoulder, and without a word, Julius handed his little helper the payment. Drasil cooed a quick thank you and proceeded to munch on it right beside Julius as he placed his tiny hand on Julius’s face, still healing him.

He was finally feeling a little better. The headache that had been jackhammering his skull was slowly dying down, and he was finally able to wiggle his toes as his legs healed.

However, his relief couldn’t last forever. Because Isaac plopped down next to him, drinking some kind of potion.

“Hey, do you wanna spar?”

Julius slowly looked at Isaac with a flat look and back at the carnage behind them.

“I mean, like after you eat,” Isaac said with a placating gesture.

Julius didn’t have the energy to explain to Isaac that that wasn’t the issue and instead decided to ignore the musclehead teen.

***

Julius felt another headache while Isaac kept on inviting him to spar. The guy wouldn’t stop talking either, and Julius was forced to shove small constructs into his ear to block out the sound.

While he ignored Isaac, he looked at the flood notifications he felt during the battle, as well as at the end.

[Armaments of the Arcane lvl 22 -> lvl 24]

[Sage of Savagery lvl 25 -> lvl 26]

[Phoenix Renewal lvl 17 -> lvl 19]

The author’s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

[Pyrokinetic Embodiment of Ruin lvl 21 -> lvl 22]

[Absolute Spatial Perception lvl 14 -> lvl 15]

[Inexorable Aura of Ruin lvl 20 -> lvl 22]

[Void Step lvl 11 -> lvl 12]

[Void Strike lvl 8 -> lvl 9]

[Spirit Fortification lvl 9 -> lvl 13]