CHAPTER 39: LILY IS THE BEST!

Another swing came at him, and he ducked low, feeling the blade graze his shoulder.

SQUELCH-!

Blood spurted, But the wound heal almost instantaneously, Xavier gaining his first regen stack

The pain intensified, but he managed to keep his grip on his katana.

He needed to focus, to find an opening in the goblin’s relentless assault.

SWOOSH-!

The goblin swung again, and Leon sidestepped, barely avoiding the blade. He retaliated with a quick slash, but the goblin blocked it effortlessly. It laughed, the sound grating on Leon’s nerves.

Leon could feel his strength waning, his stamina depleting rapidly. He had to end this soon, or he would be overwhelmed. His eyes darted around, searching for anything he could use to his advantage.

Suddenly, Lily’s voice resounded in his mind before him.

"Xavier... mana circulation isn’t something to force during a battle like this...

I know how badly you want to push yourself, and I admire that about you, but even with all the knowledge from animes at Earth, this isn’t something to gamble with mid-fight... Still—don’t worry, okay?

It’s just a minor rupture in your mana conduit. Your regeneration is amazing... you’ll heal naturally, even from something this bad. It’ll hurt a little more than usual... but give it two minutes at most, love. I believe in you. Just hold on a little longer..."

"My heart is with you. Fight, survive, get stronger and keep being the man who makes me fall in love with him all over again."

Xavier smiled faintly at her words, his heart warming despite the situation. Just hearing her voice soothed something deep inside him.

Even when he was about to be sliced to pieces by a freakish goblin, her voice made the world feel gentler—made the pain more bearable. Her soft encouragement, her belief in him, made him want to survive even more. Love like that... was rare.

Now, with Lily’s explanation, he had a general understanding of what was going on. Still, the situation was tense.

He kinda always forgot that he had such an OP regeneration skill. Honestly, he could just stand there, take all the goblin’s attacks head-on with his body, and still survive. He could do that—but he wasn’t some mad masochist. He was a normal guy. No normal guy enjoyed pain tormenting every second of their life.

"Damnit!" he cursed as he suddenly saw a blade glint inches from his face.

He tried to dodge, but the attack was too fast. The blade still ended up grazing his cheek, marring his handsome face. The sting was sharp but fleeting—his skin already beginning to knit back together, the blood drying and flaking off like it was never there.

Xavier wiped the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, his eyes narrowing. The goblin commander halted its attack, licking the blood from its jagged blade and laughing viciously, eyes fixed on him like a predator savoring its prey. It had noticed Xavier could heal. Somehow... that seemed to excite it even more.

Xavier was furious—but he was still sane.

His mind was as clear as undisturbed water. Even in his anger, he kept his calm.

And that clarity gave birth to a crazy idea.

He remembered Lily’s words and smiled sheepishly. "Maybe I can really learn mana circulation while fighting," he thought.

In the dangerous and tense moment, Xavier did something unexpected—he closed his eyes.

The goblin saw this and scoffed at his foolishness. It lunged, slashing its blade toward his neck with deadly speed.

But with the [Goblin Intuition] skill, his senses were enhanced.

He heard it—the tiny whooshing sound of the short sword slicing through the air.

Time almost seemed to slow.

Xavier leaned his upper body backward, the blade zipping right past his face, just centimeters from his nose.

His eyes remained shut. His body moved instinctively, responding to danger like it had a mind of its own.

It was as if his mind had split in two. One half focused on dodging, moving with the enemy’s rhythm... the other half was turned inward, trying to circulate mana—to boost his strength, his speed, his everything.

With a calm heart, even in the middle of battle, Xavier focused. He sought the flow of mana within. The sensation was faint at first, like a quiet, gentle current brushing through his veins.

He concentrated harder.

He willed the mana to move—through his limbs, through his meridians.

The pain in his muscles intensified, like they were being torn from the inside... but he pushed through it, gritting his teeth, refusing to let go of the feeling. The mana spread. Slowly, steadily. Powerfully.

The goblin commander, furious that its strike missed, snarled and came at him again, blade swinging with brute savagery.

Xavier, eyes still closed, felt it.

He sidestepped calmly, the wind of the blade brushing past his ear.

Xavier, eyes still closed, could sense the movement. He sidestepped, feeling the wind from the goblin’s swing brush past his ear.

He could feel the mana flowing more freely now, easing the pain and refreshing his muscles. With each breath, he felt his strength returning, the pain fading, his senses sharpening. He opened his eyes, meeting the goblin’s furious gaze.

He smirked at the goblin and quickly closed his eyes again. He found his control and concentration in the mana circulation fading when he opened his eyes. Closing his eyes in this dangerous situation was the only way to stay calm and fight. There was no telling what would happen to him if he lost focus.

The goblin commander, seeing Xavier’s smirk and mistaking it for arrogance, became infuriated. While it had been aiming to kill Xavier before, it was also enjoying the fight, not bothering to end things quickly even when it had the chance multiple times.

Xavier’s pain handicap previously made the goblin feel like it could finish him anytime. But now, it was truly enraged; the mocking smirk on Xavier’s face made its green blood boil with rage.