"If anyone else has a defensive Talent, it'd be best if you could help tank damage with me."
The other shook their heads.
Noah thought about it briefly. His Talent wasn't defensive either, so he remained silent.
The spectacled youth showed a trace of disappointment but didn't press the issue. With random matchmaking, it was normal not to get ideal teammates.
"It's starting."
As they spoke, the countdown reached zero.
The five officially entered the instance.
The scenery outside the light barrier came alive. The air was filled with the stench of blood and smoke. The realism of it all made a few people feel uneasy.
"Let's move."
As soon as they started walking, the team's lack of coordination became obvious.
The spectacled youth led from the front, alert and focused. Noah followed closely behind, observing their surrounding as well.
In the middle, the yellow haired youth strolled forward with his hand in his pockets, looking completely unconcerned.
At the rear, the female university student was clearly frightened by the realistic environment and clung tightly to her boyfriend's arm.
Five people, yet they had already formed three clear gaps.
"Huh? Look like a few slipped through the net."
Before they had taken more than a few steps, a startled voice rang out from the doorway.
As the voice fell, a man covered in blood stepped into view.
A horrifying scar ran across his face, nearly splitting it in two, giving him a vicious and terrifying appearance. In his hand was a long sword, blood still dripping steadily from its edge.
"Old geezer, who the hell are you?" the yellow haired youth shouted.
Noah and the spectacled youth, however, felt their hearts sink at the same time.
The blood soaked body, the sword that hadn't yet stopped dripping, the murderous aura....
There was no doubt about it.
The Villain.
They had just entered the instance, and had already run into the final boss.
What now?
"Now's our chance!" the spectacled youth roared. "Everyone, charge with me!"
"Old geezer?!"
The man's lip twitched, curling into a cruel smile.
He didn't bother understanding what was being said.
It didn't matter.
He only needed to kill.
In the next instant, he moved.
A violent gust of wind slammed into their faces as a blood red figure flashed forward.
Before Noah could even react, he saw the spectacled youth's head, who had been preparing to block the first wave, fly straight into the air.
His B-Grade Defensive Talent might as well not have existed.
Noah's vision blurred.
Then...
A tearing, searing pain exploded from his chest.
"Ahh!!!"
The agony of a sword piercing straight through his heart was worse that being stabbed several times before.
Fortunately, in the very next moment, the world before his eyes dimmed.
[You have died]
[Your Talent has been triggered. Please choose to revive at you current location or at a safe location]
[Ten... Nine...]
Because he hadn't been immediately expelled from the instance, Noah could still see what was happening.
The remaining three didn't escape either.
The two university students were cut down one after another, slain almost instantly by the villain's sword.
As for the yellow haired youth who had spoken so arrogantly.
He suffered the worst fate of all.
His limbs were severed first, turning him into a living human stump, before the villain casually ended it with a single sword strike to the neck.
From the moment they officially entered the instance...
To the yellow haired youth's death.
The entire process lasted less than ten second.
"Damm it... is this even an instance a human can clear?"
Watching the villain slaughter them like chicks, Noah felt completely numb.
But he didn't have time to dwell on how absurd the difficulty was.
His talent had already activated.
Ten seconds.
This was Noah's first time triggering Infinite, and he had never imagined it would be in this form.
Unlike the Spectacled Youth and others, who were directly kicked out of the instance upon death, Noah had choices.
They had only one life.
He had countless.
"Revive on the spot?"
Noah rejected it instantly.
The Villain hadn't left. Reviving here would only mean dying again.
"I choose to revive in a safe place."
[Do you want to exit the instance?]
Noah froze for a moment, then understood.
The safest place was naturally outside the instance.
But exiting meant failing the instance, and one revival attempt would be permanently consumed.
As long as he stayed inside the instance, no matter how may times he died, successfully clearing it would not reduce his revival count.
He wasn't about to waste a precious revival on so called "simple" zero level instance.
"No."
The world blurred.
When Noah opened his eyes again, he was inside a woodshed.
Should he move... or stay?
There was no hesitation.
Since the Talent placed him here, this location was guaranteed safe, for now. Wandering around would only increase the chance of running straight into the villain.
To survive, he had to stay low.
Noah checked his status panel.
Strength : 22.6
Agility : 21.6
Constitution : 22.6
Spirit : 21.6
Compared to when he first awakened, he was already far stronger.
Half and hour later...
"Little mouse. You're quite good at hiding."
A familiar voice sounded outside the woodshed.
Bang!
The door exploded inward. A blood soaked figure stepped inside, robes fluttering. A sword thrust through the firewood pile Noah had been hiding behind.
Darkness.
When he revived again, Noah found himself in a delicate, elegant room. Judging by the furnishing, it was likely a female family member's residence within Miller Family Fortress.
Twenty Five Minutes later....
"Hehehe... found you."
A sword pierced through the bed frame.
Another death.
----------
Next revival
A garden.
Noah hid inside a rockery, holding his breath.
Twenty Minutes later...
Boom!
The rockery collapsed.
And Noah died once more.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Each time, the hiding place changed.
Each time, the time shortened.
and each time, the sword arrived without mercy.