It was only now that he had defeated his opponent that he finally got to know what he was dealing with, the numbers displayed on the floating screen in front of him finally making everything make sense in his mind.

[Detected victory over a new creature, new compendium entry created]

[Amber Slime]

[Combat Rating: F ~ E]

[Talent: Solidification (E-rank Talent)]

[Strength: 20~400]

[Agility: 20~400]

[Vitality: 20~400]

[Arcane: 10~200]

[Harmony: 5~100]

[Possible Drops: F~E-Tier Evolution Crystal (1~4), Slime Substrate (1~4), Malleable Amber (0~3)]

[Note: The tier of the Evolution Crystal dropped will be dependent on the tier of the creature; the higher the creature’s tier is compared to the lowest tier it can have, the less Evolution Crystal acquired, but the higher the quality is as well.]

[Due to the blessing of the Evolution Domain, Amber Slimes develop a high affinity with Earth Elemental Energy, greatly improving both their defensive and offensive capabilities. Once their skin hardens, they become near impervious to cold weapons and most basic spells.]

Curious about the abilities of the opponent he just defeated, Novus would’ve read more regarding this creature had it not been for the sudden interruption that hit him out of the blue.

Pain.

Pain so immense and torturous that he nearly fell completely flat onto the ground, his body now kneeling as he uses both his arms to keep his upper body up, that very same pain making him feel multitudes of things that he never thought he would experience in all of his life.

His muscles, twisting and twitching as if there are great serpents coiling around its lengths, his skin feeling like it was being thrown onto the fire, the burn exposing his nerves and the pain of being roasted alive getting worse ever-so-slightly for every passing second, his insides feeling like there’s someone there squeezing, squashing them into mush, all while his very bones feel like it is being shattered then put back into randomized pieces over and over again.

All of this while his mind is thinking that there will definitely be more threats within the Evolution Domain, meaning that he needs to always keep his guard up, such thoughts forcing him to grit his teeth and clench his jaws to try his best to endure this sudden wave of pain, all while also trying to figure out just where such pain came from.

It doesn’t take him long to finally figure out the source of this debilitating pain, forcing him onto the ground, the first few clues he got being the fact that the regions of extreme pain are exactly the parts of his body that were battered by the Amber Slime previously, pointing him to open information about himself once again, reading the latter part of his talent’s description.

[In exchange for immortality, the soul is condemned to bear torment more than the burden sustained by the body. Pain felt through physical damage is amplified by a magnitude of around 3000% (Reduced as mastery over the talent and its abilities increase).]

’Well... it makes... sense...’ he thought before laughing to himself as he recalls how good, no, great of a talent True Immortal Blood is just from his encounter with this Amber Slime, the mere fact that he can still continue fighting by endlessly healing from his debilitating injuries already making him a force to be reckoned with, the kind of threat that no one can ever truly get rid of no matter how small.

"Hahaha, so what!!" There is palpable trembling in his voice, yet he endures as he replies before he continues.

"This is fine, no, this is great!!" despite the pain numbing his entire body from any outside stimuli, Novus merely laughs in a high tone as if mocking whoever it is that gives this powerful talent such sick twist, thinking that even if it is hundred, thousand times the pain he should usually feel, he won’t be giving up on this absurd strength granted to him.

Closing his eyes, he did the only thing he can do that will help him during this situation, keeping himself calm, knowing full well that throwing himself around in an attempt to forget this pain will only cause him to plunge into this torture even further, hence why he no longer fight against it, allowing himself to fall flat, resting on the ground as he regulates his breathing, pouring all of his attention into it in an attempt to ignore even just a little part of the pain.

Time doesn’t seem to pass within the Evolution Domain. The sun that once on top of the daylight skies is still high within the heavens, the warm yet intense rays causing Novus, who had fallen asleep, to snap out of his rest, a relieved smile forming on his face as he had come to realize that the intense pain was now completely gone, along with the injuries that he had sustained from his previous fight.

’I will not really die here, but still, this place is really dangerous... I should be careful when picking a fight here. Now that he had a basic experience of how the Evolution Domain works, Novus was reminded of how he should conduct himself in unfamiliar grounds, raising his vigilance to a high level, prompting himself to be ready for any battle that might come his way.

Now having a renewed carefulness against this place, the young man finally stands up as he decides that just sitting and resting in one place will be a complete waste of time, that scene of utilizing his body fighting in a purely physical way makes him smile, thinking that this might be a good direction to develop in order for him to improve the utility of his talent even more.

It is only now that he realizes that the semi-transparent system screen is still open in front of him, still displaying information about the Amber Slime he had fought against, still displaying the consequences of his having a talent that effectively grants him genuine immortality.

"Hmm? Come to think of it, I recall there being some drops from the previous Amber Slime. Where did it go?" he asks more to himself as he closes the screens in front of him, only for another one to appear as if to answer his question.

[Storage Space is locked inside the Evolution Domain. Please go outside the Evolution Domain to open Storage Space.]

"I see, I guess hunting really is the only thing I can do here right now," the young man mutters to himself as he picks up a signature of life from a distance, a smile creeping up his face as he feels that familiar sign of life, making him sure that it is another slime even without seeing it yet.

And his guess hits right on the mark, that same, amber hue to a gelatinous structure that grazes the ground, appearing in front of him once again, this time, slightly bigger than the last, seemingly prepared to tackle its opponent the moment it senses mana gathering towards a single spot.

As if sensing itself being a target, the once gelatinous structure turns into a complete, impregnable circular fortress that denies damage from all attacks that might come its way, this form being maintained all across its body as if nothing can damage it.

Yet even then, the center of where mana is gathering itself continues to move forward, leaping with incredible speed towards the spherical fortress with fist clenched, sharp eyes, and a near maniacal smile on his face.

"My turn to beat you up now."