Chapter 518: The Mighty Health Bar Card
The card that Ryuunosuke flicked between his fingers was something he had picked up on a previous mission.
A Health Bar Card.
The moment it appeared, Atostana's expression shifted for the first time.
So it works on monsters like you too, huh.
Ryuunosuke narrowed his eyes. This was also his first time actually using the thing.
Originally, he had planned to save it for himself.
As long as the health bar was not emptied, he would be able to keep fighting at full power, just like in a game.
No fatigue. No pain. No slowing down from injuries.
A walking special effect.
But that strike just now had forced him to change plans.
Ryuunosuke was absolutely certain his sword had hit Atostana.
He had felt the blade bite into the man's existence.
Yet despite that, there had been no real damage.
For a brief moment, even Ryuunosuke started to doubt reality.
So when he saw Atostana visibly react to the Health Bar Card, he knew this was his chance.
The Health Bar Card allowed the user to directly set a target's maximum health.
Minimum two hundred.
Maximum two million.
Ryuunosuke did not hesitate. He set Atostana's health to two hundred.
"Ding. If the host wishes to use the Health Bar Card on another target, fifty thousand reputation points are required."
The system prompt rang in his ear.
Ryuunosuke froze.
Fifty thousand?
Why do you not just rob me directly?
These are my items!
I earned them with my own blood and sweat finishing missions, and now you are charging me rent?
Not to mention, fifty thousand reputation points was almost enough to recruit another incredibly strong crew member.
He silently cursed the system out in his heart.
"Use."
In the end, he still chose to confirm.
At this point, he had no better option.
Besides, he had three Health Bar Cards in total.
Using one here to test it on Atostana was worth the risk.
If it worked the way he hoped, this thing would be terrifying in the future.
"Ding. Congratulations, the Health Bar Card has been successfully used. The card's effect will last for three months."
"It will automatically expire after three months."
"Ding. Reminder. The target possesses extremely high level power. While limiting their health, a special ability has been generated and locked: Absolute Health Reduction."
[Absolute Health Reduction: Regardless of the type of attack received, unless it exceeds the system level, each attack will only deduct one point of health.]
The notification finished.
Ryuunosuke's expression stiffened.
So that was the catch.
No matter what kind of attack he used, from now on, every hit would only take one point of health from Atostana.
And the effect had an expiration time.
Three months.
If he failed to finish Atostana within three months, then those fifty thousand reputation points would be wasted, and the Health Bar Card would be completely gone.
Ryuunosuke felt his heart ache.
If he had known this earlier, he really would have used it on himself.
That way, he could have ignored Atostana's attacks and gone straight for the kill without worrying about defense.
Too late now.
"What did you do to me?"
Atostana's voice was low.
He could clearly feel something new clinging to his existence.
But when he tried to examine it closely, it slipped out of his perception.
Whatever it was, it lay beyond his understanding of the world's rules.
That alone was enough to make it extremely dangerous in his eyes.
"I can kill you from the source now," Ryuunosuke said lightly.
"I do not even need some kind of special trick."
"The source?"
Atostana's eyes narrowed.
"You mean, the moment you used that card, you locked onto my origin?"
"Captain Ryuunosuke, you may not yet understand that…"
"Slash."
Before he could finish, Ryuunosuke moved.
A simple, direct stroke.
The blade swept through Atostana's body.
A bright red number rose above Atostana's head.
Ryuunosuke clicked his tongue.
So the system was not lying.
His earlier strike had only shaved off a sliver of life, barely more threatening than a scratch.
But Atostana's expression was no longer calm.
Beneath his composed face, there was something else now.
Fear.
Because he could feel it.
That strike had not just cut his body.
A fragment of his very essence had vanished.
Not dispersed. Not broken apart.
Gone.
Simply erased from existence.
It was not that the slash was impossibly strong.
It was that it directly targeted the foundation of what made him, him.
Yes.
He was afraid.
Ryuunosuke, meanwhile, finally understood what the system had refused to explain clearly before.
This cursed thing did not just cap health.
It burned it away. Permanently.
Each of his attacks would now carve away a point of Atostana's original health.
Atostana's current maximum was two hundred.
So that one point just now represented half a percent of his total.
At their level, most battles were decided in a handful of exchanges.
If Ryuunosuke kept landing solid hits like that, there was no way anyone could endure it for long.
"The Vanished Boundary."
Ryuunosuke raised his sword again.
The force field around him warped, folding in on itself.
A strange, disquieting presence spread outward.
"Another rule."
"What exactly are you…"
The pressure pouring from Ryuunosuke made even Atostana swallow the rest of his words.
If he could, he really wanted to quote a certain ancient poem about ill fated meetings and wrong choices.
"Captain Ryuunosuke, wait."
"I came here to retrieve my people. If you refuse to let them go, then fine."
"But there is no need to go this far."
Atostana abandoned all pretense of composure.
If he had suspected earlier that Ryuunosuke was bluffing about harming his origin, now he was certain the captain had been deadly serious.
And the worst part was that he had lost the thing he had always been most confident in.
For the first time in hundreds of years, genuine fear wrapped around his heart.
"Leave?"
Ryuunosuke smiled coldly.
"What do you take the Dragon Hunter Pirates for?"
"You think you can appear in front of me, do as you please, and then leave whenever it suits you?"
"If you do not give me a proper explanation today, Mr Atostana, do not even think about walking away."
As his words fell, the surrounding space suddenly folded in on itself again, then snapped back.
Within that twisted instant, another invisible strike landed on Atostana.
The second bite of the blade tore away another portion of his essence.
Two hits.
One full percent of his original foundation was gone.
Atostana's breathing grew heavier.
He knew better than anyone that at their level, two hundred exchanges was nothing.
And Ryuunosuke was still holding back, clearly drawing things out on purpose.
If he went all out with that kind of origin erasing power, Atostana would have been wiped out in moments.
"You…"
"Has Jeff been here as well?"
"This old man…" Atostana let out a bitter laugh.
"Yes. I did come here to test Captain Ryuunosuke's strength."
"But I truly want you to join us. The Evictors."
"I have no other intentions. You must believe this."
He was almost pleading now.
His people had been killed and captured.
Yet somehow, the one who now seemed to be in the wrong was him.
Even if he wanted to leave, he no longer had that freedom.
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