CHAPTER 59: FIRST OPPONENT

Sighing, Razeal muttered, "Alright, start it already."

He had no choice but to go along with the system’s restrictions. Since humanoids were now off-limits until he could stand his ground against A-ranked opponents, he’d have to make do with monsters. Not like he had a choice anyway.

"Well, whatever. Just put it on the random section. But remember, system keep it F ranked monsters only."

Even though he wanted to rack up kill counts fast, Like he could choose customized weak monsters like without limbs maybe but that wasn’t the goal right now. What he really needed was experience. Real battle. Real instincts. He had too many cheats now revivals, infinite mana, stamina, and more. If he didn’t start earning his strength, then those advantages would be wasted. A man who leaned too much on ease was destined to crumble.

[Yes, host.] The system’s voice responded smoothly.

And with a single flash of light, Razeal vanished from the reception café.

When his eyes opened again, Razeal was already standing in a new place his body alert, his nerves tight, his senses on full guard.

"Fast," he muttered and immediately pulled out his dagger, holding it in front of his chest with practiced instinct. The system had already warned him that summoned monsters would be completely hostile.

[Don’t worry, host. You’ll always have a few seconds to prepare. I won’t summon the opponent until you say so.]

Razeal, who had been frozen with intensity, suddenly relaxed. His face twitched slightly, and he let out a long breath. "You could’ve told me before I started going into survival mode."

Still clutching the dagger, he finally took in his surroundings.

"...What the hell is this place?" he blinked, tilting his head as he rubbed his forearm.

Giant, towering green stalks hundreds of meters tall rose around him like forest trees, but there was no bark, no leaves, no wooden texture. Just endless green, thick, stem like pillars that reached the sky. The space between each was wide enough to build small houses beneath. It looked beautiful, strangely alien... almost like a dreamscape.

"Are these trees?" he asked.

[Incorrect. These are blades of grass.]

"...Grass?" Razeal repeated slowly, brows rising in disbelief.

[Yes. Since you selected random terrain, I dropped you into this micro-scale environment. You’re in a grass field... just, well, shrunken down to the size of a bug.]

[Giant Grassland Biome.]

"...You’ve gotta be kidding me." Razeal looked up again.

Everything suddenly made sense the green color, the shape, the texture... it really was grass. And that meant he... he was the size of a bug right now?

"Weird as hell," he whispered. "But also... kind of amazing."

He rotated his dagger in hand, adjusting his grip. "Alright, system. Summon my opponent. Let’s see what we’ve got."

[As you command.]

In the far direction ahead of him, a green shimmer started to glow, and small particles began swirling mid air. Slowly, the particles merged together into a solid, writhing form.

Razeal narrowed his eyes, taking a step back, blade raised.

A creature emerged about four feet tall, standing on four thin green limbs. Its entire body was an unsettling shade of emerald, with thorn-like protrusions running along its legs. But its most striking feature were its two large forearms, each curved like a deadly scythe. Razor sharp. Built to slice.

Its head was triangular, alien, and oversized. Two enormous compound eyes almost consuming 70% of its face glistened with a sickly sheen. It looked like a mantis, but something felt more sinister. More artificial.

"A giant mantis...? No wait I’m the tiny one," Razeal realized, gulping slightly. "Why the hell do F-rank monsters look this scary?"

[Be prepared, host. The opponent will begin attacking in four seconds.]

"Four seconds?! That’s barely enough time to breathe!" Razeal hissed.

He dropped into a low stance, dagger ready, eyes locked on the monster. A glowing countdown began ticking above the mantis’s head.

"Damn, I was hoping for something easier... like a slime or a goblin, not a bladed horror insect!" he muttered, his voice tense.

1...

He took a deep breath and widened his stance.

Zero

And...

Suddenly, the Mantis’ eyes opened locked onto Razeal like a predator born for this one purpose. Its posture dropped low, thin limbs spreading slightly as motes of dust scattered from beneath its insectoid claws.

Swish!

Razeal’s eyes were fixed on the creature, but even with that, it almost vanished from his vision just a blur, like a shadow slicing through the air. He barely managed to track it, not because of skill, but because his instincts screamed danger.

Agility: F.

Of course, he wasn’t fast enough.

His hand moved on reflex, raising his dagger to block the strike as he turned

but it was already too late.

The mantis appeared beside him with ghostly speed, its right scythe like claw arcing downward with gleaming, thorny precision.

Razeal lifted his arms above his head, expecting a top-down slash, guarding instinctively.

But the mantis was faster. Smarter. Atleast smart enough to see where to attack

Slash!

[Pain Inflicted +44]

Minor Healing (F): [2/100]

"Ouch," Razeal hissed, letting out a strange mix between a laugh and a sharp whistle. It didn’t even feel like a normal injury. More like someone pinched his nipple aggressively.

He stumbled back two steps, body reacting to the force of the impact. His feet braced just in time before he could fall, stabilizing himself.

Then he looked down...

"Bruhhh," Razeal muttered, utterly disappointed.

The right side of his chest was bloodied. Flesh torn. Skin flayed open. Everything underneath exposed. Yet strangely, no bones were visible not because they weren’t hit, but because his Obsidian Skeleton: Cave Rage Variant was harder than any natural strike could break.

At least something was doing its damn job.

"See? Worth it," Razeal mumbled to himself. The lack of pain? Thanks to his [Pain Tolerance: SS], another hidden blessing by that crazy women. Even though his flesh was torn up like shredded paper, it barely registered.

The mantis paused, confusion flickering in its giant, alien eyes. It tilted its triangular head to Razeal... then glanced down at its own claw.

Tiny dents.

Its scythe like arm had dents in the thorny edge.

It couldn’t understand. How did its attack fail? This human was supposed to be weak. Fragile. But it had hit something unbreakable.

It took a hesitant step back, unsure, the flicker of low intelligence evident in its movements.

Meanwhile, Razeal was regaining composure, holding the dagger with both hands now. He felt his arms weaken slightly, the injury affecting muscle coordination. He wasn’t in pain, but the loss of function? That was very real.

His breath slowed.

He couldn’t believe it.

He almost got killed.

By a fucking F-ranked insect.

"Just today I killed a damn D-ranked fire hound in hand to hand combat..." he muttered to himself. "And now this little bug nearly split me open?"

He exhaled sharply.

System... explain.

[Of course, Host. System only offers top quality challenges.]

Razeal twitched.

"Don’t start with the PR bullshit. Why the hell is this thing so fast and strong? This a C-rank in disguise?"

[Negative. While this mantis may be at the peak of F-rank within its species, it is still classified as F-rank. Your difficulty isn’t in rank but in type. It is a speed- and agility based predator. You can’t expect to catch something like that with your current stats. Your agility is still at F, remember? If you were a tank-type fighter, absorbing its blows with ease, this battle would’ve already been over.]

[You need to understand, Host rank doesn’t always define strength. What matters is compatibility.]

[Even a low-level monster can kill something ranked higher if the situation is right. Think about it flying-type monsters versus ground types. Who wins is obvious. Logically]

[In your case, this mantis is simply a terrible match up. Your body can’t respond fast enough. You lack the speed, and its attacks are unpredictable.]

[That D-ranked Fire Hound you fought earlier? You succeeded because you predicted its movement patterns before it could even act. You had preparation, timing, and several advantages like your special Obsidian Skeleton.]

[Without all that? You’d already be dead.]

The System paused for a moment, letting it all sink in.

Razeal quietly listened, then let out a long breath.

"So... you’re saying I chose the wrong kind of opponent," he mumbled, his voice calm but clearly annoyed.

[Exactly.]

[But even so, you still have to deal with it. Out in the wild, you won’t get to pick your battles. You won’t get to say, ’Wait, let me find a more compatible enemy.’ You fight what shows up or you die.]

"Tch... Fine," Razeal muttered, straightening up and tightening his grip around the dagger in his hand.

"Just wait... I’ll show you how to beat it."

He shut the System’s voice out, focusing entirely on the green blur standing before him.

If he couldn’t even kill a fucking F-ranked insect... with an indestructible skeleton, infinite stamina, revival, and pain resistance...

Then what good was he?

What future could he even hope to fight for?

No.

This wasn’t about just winning a fight anymore. This was about proving to himself that he wasn’t useless. That he could rise, no matter how pathetic he seemed now.

He stared into the insect’s massive, expressionless eyes as it twitched slightly, blades poised again.

A crooked smirk formed on Razeal’s lips. His lone visible eye sharpened, glinting with determination.

"Alright then... come on, you green piece of shit," he growled, dagger raised, stance low.

"I’ll make this your last swing."

---

After ten more minutes of brutal fighting, Razeal finally stood still barely.

There wasn’t a single place on his body that wasn’t bruised, cut, or bleeding. He looked like a blood drenched ghost, dripping red from head to toe, his clothes torn and tattered, sticking to his skin like wet paper.

"Haah... guess it wasn’t just that one last swing," Razeal laughed breathlessly, wiping blood from his chin with the back of his shaking hand. But even in that state, he couldn’t help the smirk pulling at his lips as he looked down at the dead mentis sprawled on the grass below him.

The monster’s body was a mess of blade wounds. One of its thin, wiry legs had been severed completely, and the other arms barely clung to its body, half dangling like snapped tree branches. A strange greenish white viscous fluid leaked out from its deep gashes, staining the ground.

A dagger was buried clean through its oversized head one eye to the other its chitin cracked and pierced like a shattered eggshell.

"Its defense was weak... If not for its speed and attacks, this would’ve been easy," Razeal muttered, shaking his hand out as his grip weakened. Blood dripped from his fingers, the dagger slipping ever so slightly.

Of course, he’d taken quite a few hits himself. He was a mess. But thankfully, none of them had been lethal. If this had been a real world fight, the biggest threat wouldn’t have been organ fail it would’ve been the blood loss. Lucky for him, that didn’t matter in this space.

He opened his system panel and checked his skill progression:

Minor Healing (F): [44/100]

Not bad. Not bad at all.

His eyes then dropped down to the monster’s claws, still barely intact.

"Yeah, those things are blunt now..."

The green thorny tips had all worn down to rounded stubs. A few were even cracked and crumbling off completely. Clearly, all that swiping and crashing against Razeal’s obsidian like skeleton outside thin membrane had taken a toll on them too.

"Guess I really am good for being a meat shield," he chuckled bitterly, examining his battered body with a distant look in his eyes.

Honestly, he felt weird. Like someone was tickling him all over the body.

[Pain Tolerance: SS] skill doing all the heavy lifting.

If it weren’t for that, he’d probably be crying right now. Well not really

"But still I’d have a completely different expression if I could feel pain... heh."

But his rest didn’t last long.

[Congratulations for killing ranked F Mentis, Host.]

[Killing Intent (F): 0.10 / 100]

[Second wave is coming, Host.]

Razeal didn’t even have time to groan. His body glowed with a soft golden light and in the next second, all his wounds vanished. The blood was gone, the cuts disappeared, and even new clothes materialized on him. He looked completely fresh, as if he hadn’t been refreshed.

Full health. Full stamina. Full reset.

"Well, that’s... convenient," he muttered, eyebrows lifting slightly.

But the next scene quickly wiped away any sense of relief.

In the exact same spot where the first mentis had appeared, ten more of the same monsters now manifested one by one. They stood silently for a second, claws twitching and heads tilting as their massive green eyes locked onto him.

The corpse of the first mentis evaporated into thin air.

[Prepare, Host. Attack will begin in four seconds.]

Razeal opened his mouth to say something... but closed it again. He didn’t have anything worth saying. He just raised his dagger in silence.

Three.

Two.

One

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Ten green blurs launched forward.

Ten minutes later.

[You have died, Host.]

[Congratulations. Your skill Minor Healing (F) has met the requirements to upgrade.]

[E Rank – Lesser Healing (0/100): Slightly faster and stronger; treats shallow wounds and aches.]

Razeal gasped sharply as he revived on the exact spot where he had died, his lungs filling with air like he’d just surfaced from deep underwater. His body once again looked completely untouched, freshly restored.

He blinked, looked down at himself, then at his surroundings.

"I mean... I fought ten of those fast ass bugs for ten whole minutes. That kinda counts as a win, right?" he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else. He sounded like a man trying to convince himself more than making a confident statement.

[All thanks to that Obsidian Skeleton, Host. You died purely due to blood loss.]

"You say that like I got that skeleton in a wedding dowry or something. I earned it after..." Razeal trailed off mid-sentence, face darkening slightly.

"Forget it. I don’t want to remember that moment."

The system remained silent for a beat.

[Should I summon wave two again, Host?]

Razeal sighed and shook his head. "No, that won’t be helpful. I’m lacking agility. I can’t read those movements. I need something else. Something like... perception. A skill that enhances my vision or something. Something that lets me see those attacks and process their speed."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Despite his sarcasm, his tone was dead serious now.

"I can’t keep fighting in the dark like that that be waste of time. Ten enemies moving faster than I can follow? No matter how much I train, if I can’t see the threat, I’ll always be late."

He recalled the blurry flashes, the sharp claws slicing air beside him, the constant panic of not knowing where the next strike would come from.

"For now, my priority is perception. Observation. Something that lets me understand and react in real-time."

He turned to the air, speaking directly to the system again.

"System, let’s not waste time. Send me to the best SSS-ranked perception-type villain available."

[Understood.]

---

Chapter’s out 2.6k words! Let me know what you think!

Also... how was the fight scene? First time writing one, so I’m super open to feedbacks...If any of you have experience or tips to share, I’d love to learn! Drop your pointers, I welcome them all!

Big shoutout to KarmelKorn for the incredible gift a massage chair! from now on my big round beautiful pumpkin

Because of that generous surprise, I’m giving you all an extra Chapter! See? Bribery works I’m not even pretending to be dignified about it. If you’re rich and want to make me work harder... well, this is the way. Shameless? Absolutely. Regrets? None.

Seriously though, thank you all so much for reading and supporting.

We’ve hit Top 30 in powerstones! (Though we may slide back again, let’s try to hold it). As for the other rankings... I honestly can’t even see them, lol.

Much love to every one of you. Keep cheering me on!

~Lazy

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