A giant green fist smashed into Ronan's raised forearms. The impact made his entire body tremble as he was knocked backwards. When he lowered them, they felt like jelly.

It took everything he had in him to raise them back and ball up his fists. "Come on you stinking, green bastard. I know you've got more fight than that left in you!" he roared, taunting the hobgoblin champion to attack once more.

Ronan wasn't the only one injured. Magriz'al sported bloody wounds and bruises all over its body. Many of them from Ronan's punches, once again empowered by his skills—he wanted to improve, not kill himself via hobgoblin.

Unlike the hideously ugly boss, Ronan wasn't fighting alone. While he kept the monster enraged and locked in close-quarters combat, his four party members were doing as much damage as possible in an attempt to defeat it.

Keith darted in and out, stabbing it with his sword whenever he spotted an opening. The blade was like a toothpick to the gargantuan hobgoblin, but this was a war of attrition. Each wound was a win for their party.

Dana was employing similar hit-and-run tactics, delivering cracking lashes with her whip that made the boss snarl in rage each time. It tried to retaliate against both of the annoying fighters, but Ronan ensured it never had the chance.

Terry was a tinkerer this iteration. He had that strange crossbow of his, peppering the boss with powerful bolts from afar. Jackson was doing the same, but lobbing screaming mana bolts rather than fired crossbow bolts.

The hobgoblin champion was on its last legs. So was Ronan. The next engagement would be the last.

To psych himself up, Ronan roared in the boss' face. The hobgoblin's cracked lips peeled back to reveal rotted teeth as it snarled in reply. The two charged, fists raised.

Ronan was a mountain of a man, over six feet tall. Even so he was dwarfed by the hobgoblin. Magriz'al was nearly twice his height. It didn't stop him from giving it his all.

Fists flew, blood coating them all. Even with double strike, magic strike, and vital surge working in concert, the hobgoblin was an unstoppable force.

Ronan felt the knuckles in his left hand shatter. A tendon in his right wrist snapped, but it broke through the boss' guard. His right fist smashed into the hobgoblin's jaw right as the monster's own fist buried itself in his chest.

He saw his health dropping dangerously low. Bleeding would kill him in the next few seconds.

The hobgoblin's head snapped to one side and it staggered from his own blow. Ronan grimaced. It was still standing.

At that moment, a barrage of mana bolts, crossbow bolts, whip lashes, and sword stabs struck the boss from all sides. It had been teetering on the line between life and death, and Ronan's party had given it the final push.

The monster collapsed to the ground face first in an expanding pool of its own blood. A kill notification appeared in Ronan's vision, right before his own health was about to hit 0.

You have killed [Magriz'al the Crazed — BOSS][Lv.40 Hobgoblin Champion]!

Experience has been split among your party members!

Party Experience Bonus has been applied!

+4 Bronze Credits

+197 Copper Credits

+27 [Pain] Mastery

+34 [Pugilism I] Mastery

+16 [Stamina I] Mastery

+5 [Mana I] Mastery

+Hobgoblin Fingers (Uncommon)

+Bone Charm Lv.40 (Uncommon)

+Boss Shard Lv.40 (Body)

You have leveled up to Lv.38!

You have leveled up to Lv.39!

You have leveled up to Lv.40!

You have leveled up to Lv.41!

You have leveled up to Lv.42!

You have leveled up to Lv.43!

You have been restored x6!

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+6 Vitality

+6 Endurance

+12 Strength

+12 Agility

+12 Dexterity

+6 Acuity

+12 Free Stat Points

The levels were nice, but Ronan cared more about the huge gains to his masteries. He wondered why they were so much greater than the previous times he'd killed the boss. It didn't take long to reach a conclusion.

The first few times he'd won by ambushing it. This time he'd put his life on the line and fought Magriz'al to a standstill using nothing but his body and his skills.

No pain, no gain.

The rewards were certainly worth the suffering he'd endured to earn them. Pugilist mastery was already approaching the cap for tier I. Ronan knew he could hit tier II in this iteration, but that still wouldn't be enough to take down Lord Rockmore. No, he would likely need a few more tries.

However, he no longer felt that would be as difficult as he'd expected. Looking back, he smiled as he saw Terry and Jackson high-fiving. Everyone had made it.

Ronan had a big grin on his face as his body was obliterated by Lord Rockmore's overpowered magical rapier strike. His death wasn't so important—thought it was damned painful.

The reason he was smiling was because right before this he'd delivered a breathtaking punch to the fake aristocrat's nose. It was squashed and leaking blood, the man's hateful glare a great source of joy to the dying Ronan.

More than the satisfaction of breaking Rockmore's nose, it was the notification that had accompanied it—well, two notifications—that made Ronan so pleased with himself.

You have gained advanced insight!

+3 [Pugilist I] Mastery

You have reached the mastery cap for [Pugilist I]!

Pugilist I has evolved to Pugilist II!

All physical blows you inflict deal a minor amount more damage. Successful parries grant you a 2% chance to instantly counter-attack with a blow of average force. Strikes to vital areas have an extra 5% chance to deliver a critical hit.

Not only had his physical strike buff improved, but the chance to deliver an instant counter-attack upon parrying an enemy's strike had doubled. Two percent was still not a huge chance, but even at one percent it had activated a few times during the most recent tutorial run. And that wasn't all.

Tier II of pugilist mastery also gave him a greater chance to land critical hits when he accurately struck his opponents' vital areas. That was great for two reasons. The first being the most obvious—critical hits did more damage, therefore killing his enemies faster. However, it was the second reason that made him most excited.

Landing more critical hits meant more opportunities to benefit from his critical experience skill. With his experience multiplier taken into account, his leveling speed would only increase thanks to this latest improvement.

He went into this death with a smile still plastered on his face and an immense feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment radiating through his soul. At least until a familiar but perplexing notification interrupted his journey to the void.

Unprecedented modifications detected…

Analysing…

Unable to determine harm-benefit of modifications. Deferring to inheritor

Physical body has mutated, resulting in the following:

Magical damage reduction +3%

Mind has mutated, resulting in the following:

Mental resistance +4%

Keep mutations?

He accepted. If that was how Rockmore was killing him, it was only a matter of time before he was able to take the annoying bastard's blows. Why mental resistance though? The errant thought was brief but left him puzzled. Before he could think on it further, Ronan's ninth death claimed him.

The last death hadn't earned him any new chronos merits. A shame, but not a true disappointment. His multipliers had all improved.

Besides, he'd known the next few iterations would be quite boring. At least as boring as the fucking apocalypse itself could be.

Fighting hordes of goblins, mutated foxes, and gangsters parading as medieval lords was quite fun. Childhood Ronan would have slapped him if he knew how frivolously he was treating the dreams of every fantasy novel reader.

Pugilism having already reached tier II, it was time to shift his focus. Adaptive martial artist gave him increased pain and stamina gains also, but he wouldn't reach level 50 while still in the tutorial. Not yet, anyway.

Even so, they were the easiest two to improve. So, they were Ronan's focus during the tenth iteration.

He let the endless waves of goblins strike him as though he were a pinata. It was torturous. Mostly because of the shrill screeching noises they made. Their actual blows had become bearable the more he suffered their effects.

His routine was simple. Let the goblins attack him until he was on the brink of death, then unleash all of his skills in a brutal barrage of fist and foot. The kills healed him and granted him the mastery points he'd accumulated through his efforts.

That was how he managed to get the first of two notifications he'd been waiting for when the last of the goblins in stage four was defeated. Aside from the boss, that is.

You have reached the mastery cap for [Pain]!

Pain has evolved to Pain I!

Your pain is converted into a regeneration buff at an infinitesimal exchange rate. The more damage you suffer from an opponent, the more you resist their strikes (Lasts until death or five minutes after combat ends).

Actually he'd hoped that stamina might be the first to tier up, but Ronan was more than happy to earn tier I for pain. The buffs it provided were both suited to a berserker. He never intended to become that sort of fighter, but the thrill of throwing his life on the line in a raw battle of strength wasn't easy to ignore.

Whatever the case, the gains were beneficial no matter what fighting style he employed in the future. A glance at his status told him that stamina still needed over thirty points to hit tier II. He might not even earn it in this iteration, which would be a pain in the arse. He'd just have to give it his all.

As the trembling ground signalled the arrival of Magriz'al the Crazed, he felt his heart pumping like a war drum in his chest. Every blow landed on the hobgoblin bastard was revenge for the times it had killed him and his allies.

I think I'm starting to enjoy this a little too much. Is the system messing with my head? Ronan wondered as the stone tiles exploded. I'm sure my heritage would protect me from that. Time to make goblin mincemeat.

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