He heard the notification of the azure slime’s death in his mind; however, it didn’t display the achievement of killing yet another new variant of slime in a screen, as if the system didn’t want to disrupt his focus as he steels himself for the slimes coming to get him.

The ground shakes once again. This time, the way they close onto his location appears to be just a little bit faster, as if another slime being killed by him is another reason for them to completely remove him, a great threat to their own lives.

[Immortal Energy: 102/200]

’Tsk... Its recovery is too slow...’ A couple of minutes passed, and the first wave of slimes was already at an attacking distance near him, yet even then, his Immortal Energy barely recovered, forcing him to get as efficient as he could with its usage if he wanted to survive, or at the very least, harvest a lot during his battle against these slimes.

’Sensory Expansion.’

His being feels like it suddenly melded with his surroundings, allowing him to see everything around him, each blade of grass, each flow of wind, each motion that mana guides, and along with it comes that stinging pain in his mind as information starts overflowing, prompting him to raise his focus even more as he knows full well that the threats don’t end with the slimes he can currently see.

Once Sensory Expansion was fully activated, he saw it.

Tens, perhaps even hundreds of paths with the sole purpose of taking him down, targeting not only himself, but also the spaces he can move onto, causing him to widen his gaze as never in his life did he encounter an inescapable net like that.

"Haha... fuck..." that was all that he could say as he stared at what others can only think of as an imminent death, but that cursing was not from him fearing for his own life, but from him about to get tired of pushing himself not only to the limits, but way past them.

He didn’t even know when he moved; he just knew he did, not to dodge, but rather to create a path of escape where nothing exists.

’It’s not like I need to break the entire net, I just need to break its weakest link...’ he thought to himself as his senses frantically searched for that link that he can take advantage of, a smile forming on his face as he starts feeling himself improving as he dances, dodging, all while being under the immense pressure of death.

A step to the left, then moving half a step forward before completely lifting himself up the ground, leaping up and providing him a better vision of everything else.

The act, despite feeling smoother than he could ever hope to achieve before, wasn’t without its cost, however, as amidst the endless weaving around, he also sustained damage that made his lips twitch in pain as well.

Lacerations from his arms to his legs, faint traces and shallow wounds on his neck, and some deep, serious stabs on his torso, each of them making more than enough pain to render any normal person immobile, however as if already tempered by things way worse than this, Novus just endures it, refusing to lose his focus as he continues to search for the path off this net.

His flesh torn, his bones broken, but he continues to refuse to utilize Immortal Energy unless it is truly necessary, forcing himself to endure through the accumulating damage and pain through sheer will and the raw regeneration that True Immortal Blood provides.

’There...’ after continuous struggle, his gaze brightened as he saw something, a path of attack, ever so fainter than the other that it can’t even be considered that bad of an attack compared to all the others aimed for his life.

But that slight hesitation, that slight weakness, is more than enough.

Pushing himself forward, his legs that just barely recovered from the wounds inflicted upon him force him forward, blinking away from the center of the storm as he goes on directly toward the weakest link in this large group of Shadow Slimes, that explosive burst of speed bridging the gap between the two of them in no time at all.

There are no fancy techniques, no complex, taxing Mana Blade, nor any mana-reinforced punch that flew in the air.

Just sheer brute force as he punches through the still invisible Shadow Slime, and the result shows for itself.

Dead slimy flesh splashes down the ground as he watches the core of the now-revealed Shadow Slime collapse under the violent force of his attack, taking no time to celebrate for this kill at all, as the next net already locks onto him once more, prompting him to prepare for the next sequence of movements once more.

"Huuuh..." taking a deep, long breath to calm himself down, that satisfied smile gradually shifted into a more comfortable one to him, a smile that will make any opponent tremble should they see it, as that brutal, maniacal grin paired with that sharp, predatory gaze will make just about anyone feel like they are prey about to be butchered on the chopping block.

And butcher preys he did, as he maintains his previous momentum, taking in hits after hits so that he can deal with another Shadow Slime that hesitates to attack, breaking through another net of death just to find himself trapped in yet another one.

Analyze the paths of attack, trade damage, seek the weakest link, kill, repeat.

The near mechanical nature of his tasks causes the young man to gradually fall into a combative trance; his mind still there, however, as time continues to pass, he starts feeling like things are getting just a little bit easier.

Only in terms of analyzing the battlefield, that is, as opposed to dealing with the endless threats that just made him feel like everything is getting harder and harder to survive from with each passing second.

His blood flows down his body, then another Shadow Slime is dealt with a violent punch or a kick, each time a slime’s core explode yet another notification of the system ringing in his mind, but the screens didn’t appear, as if it shows that something like any distraction from it will be unforgivable, as it might lead to a premature death to the rapidly growing monster that is Novus.

He pushes through, and eventually, he finds yet another opening that he can take advantage of, this time, fainter than all the previous weak spots combined, making him smile as he thought of something.

He dashes, meeting the path of attack with anticipation in his eyes as the distance between himself and his target is closed in no time at all, and the next moment.

He turned around, choosing to receive the attack instead of dealing with the weakest link.

He reinforced his arms, bearing the brunt of the attack and allowing the Shadow Slime to slice through parts of his arm, a level of pain no longer enough to make him feel bothered, a testament to the fact that his face, whose expression is more of excitement than anything else.

Once he secured the attack won’t go anywhere, that’s when he revealed his other hand, and in it, a fireball that he plans to throw within the midst of the attacking Shadow Slimes.

This one, however, glows way brighter than usual.