The Dreamer's POV

"Puahhh!"

Levi gasped back to life, feeling his heart stutter back into motion.

The gaping wound in his chest closed as he returned from death.

His enchanted blade lay shattered beside him, no longer capable of defending him.

Ignoring the raw pain, he rose, his rage ignited.

'Eight more to go...'

These words echoed in Levi's mind, and a sudden chill ran down his spine.

He felt like a cornered animal, hunted by an unstoppable predator.

'How did he do that? He's too fast. I couldn't even react!'

Millions of thoughts swirled within his mind as he came face to face with the monster that stood in front of him.

A bead of sweat trickled down his face as well.

'But I'm Levi Davis,' he thought.

He couldn't let his fears dominate him.

There had to be a way, a loophole to exploit, a trick he could use.

He had to regroup and rethink his strategy.

'My debuff effect should be wearing him down slowly, I just need to hold on for a while!'

Levi had eight more lives and a bag full of skills to use, but it was clear that the young man had abilities that were beyond his understanding.

The rock that shattered his blade and pierced his hardened skin was not a simple rock but an object infused with an incredible amount of energy.

It was not a move that he could copy, and he was suddenly at a loss for what to do next.

Nevertheless, Levi was not one to surrender. He would rather die than admit defeat.

'If I turn it into a battle of attrition, I should be able to lower his Stats and grant myself the advantage in no time.'

Now holding onto next life, he immediately used <Life Drain>, aiming to take some of his opponent's life force and possibly turn the tables on him.

"I only need to reach him this time..." Levi's eyes were alight with a frightening intensity.

The man before him said nothing, his face an emotionless mask.

With renewed vigor, Levi launched at him again, using the power of <Sprint> to increase his speed.

~WHOOOOSSSHHH!~

'This time, I'll appear in his blond spot, and I'll pay more attention to his movements since I'm going close range.'

If Levi could just touch the opponent, he would be paralyzed.

That was all he needed to win.

'Almost... there!'

Just as he was about to land a hit, his lips curled up in a wide grin, and his eyes bulging in anticipation... the man casually sidestepped.

'E-eh?!'

How did he know? How was he fast enough to dodge at precisely the right angle that he needed to?

'D-don't tell me... he already saw me coming?!'

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~WHAM!~

The young man instantly struck Levi in the back.

"Guack!"

Levi flew forward, his vision blurred. He barely had time to register the pain before another attack, a kick this time, sent him hurtling in the opposite direction.

~BOOOOM!~

He grunted as he collided with a tree, its trunk cracking under the impact.

Another life lost.

Gasping for breath, Levi staggered back to his feet.

"That's two lives..." The young man's cold voice rang out.

Panic bubbled within Levi. His attacks were being nullified, his lives taken away like he was nothing more than a small annoyance.

His arrogance from earlier seemed laughable now.

"Fuck!"

He attempted to activate <Life Force Enhancement> again, willing to sacrifice another ten lives for power.

Yet, as if reading his mind, the man was upon him, his fists a blur.

Each hit was a drum beat, relentless and unending, marking the countdown of Levi's lives.

One by one, they were snuffed out.

Levi tried again and again, using a variety of his skills, attempting to land a single successful hit.

But the young man remained untouchable. His every move was easily countered or ignored, and with each failure, Levi felt a sliver of his life force slip away.

He used <Sprint> to quickly approach the man, only to be stopped by a swift punch to the chest.

He tried <Skin Harden> and his enchanted himself with more Life Force in an attempt to compensate for his clearly disadvantaged state.

Unfortunately, it was all for naught.

"Ack!"

"That's three..."

~BOOOOOM!!~

"Four..."

"Puack!"

"Five..."

~FWIISSHHH!~

"Six..."

The count was like a death knell, pushing Levi further into despair.

Every time he fell, he rose again, only to be pushed back down. He was on his last legs, his spirit wavering.

"Haa... haaaa..."

His last hope was his <Life Force Enhancement>, using the last of his life force storage to increase his combat ability to its highest.

"You've got two left..." the man said, looking at Levi as though he was a bug ready to be squashed.

"S-shut... shut uuuupppp!!!"

With a final burst of determination, Levi charged, his body shining with energy.

~WHUUUUSSSSSHHHHH!!!~

But the young man just shook his head, raised his hand, and said a single word.

"Null."

In an instant, Levi felt the energy within him scatter, his enhancement dissipously.

"E-eh...?" He stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening as his last chance slipped away.

He could only watch helplessly as the young man approached him, his eyes cold and unforgiving.

"That's seven... And now... for the last one..."

The world went dark for Levi as he met his end, his arrogance and confidence crushed under the strength of his opponent.

His last thought was one of disbelief. He had been so certain of his victory, but he had been defeated, humiliated, and killed multiple times by the man he underestimated.

Levi Davis, the strongest among the Rankers within The Alliance, had fallen.

'H-how?'

Who is this man? How did he manage to push me this far?

And without even using any proper Skill. Everything was due to brute force and his Items.

"Why the hell are your Stats not dropping!" He screamed.

He had debuffed him for sure, yet the guy didn't seem to be getting any weaker.

It didn't make any sense at all.

"I have a higher resistance than your <Status Infliction (Mid)> Skill." The answer he gave was so simple that it felt so natural.

Yet, for some reason, Levi's eyes bulged as he took the information in.

"My... Skill... so you knew...?"

Hold on, of course he knew. From the very start, he knew just how strong Levi was.

How else was this monster able to surmise that he had multiple lives, and that his Lives kept reducing as time passed?

Why else would the man refuse to resort to Skills, despite possibly having a wide variety of them?

Levi felt like a fool for not realizing it sooner.

"Y-you can see my Status Window...?!" He screamed, his eyes widened in shock.

"Correct."

The calm response of the young man made him lose the last strand of his will.

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Shaky and battered, Levi fell to his knees.

He was down to his last life, with no possibility of winning , or any chance of success.

The man's gaze on him was cold and calculating, obviously not one what was willing to show even a strand of mercy.

"You should already know that I'm going to kill you. Nothing you say or do will make me spare you."

Levi knew all of this.

This young man, the same one who resembled the gullible brother he used to bully so much back on Earth—the same brother whose life Force he absorbed as the first step to surviving the Tutorial—was now going to kill him.

And he couldn't do anything about it.

"Fuck this. Fuck you..."

Levi gritted his teeth as he glared at the seemingly unbeatable for.

'There's no way I'm going down without a fight!'

If this was his end, he would make sure the man remembered him.

"Rahhhhhhh!!!" Rising, he poured all his remaining energy into his last attack.

His fists were aflame, energy crackling around him as he lunged at his foe one last time.

The man didn't dodge this time.

Instead, he raised a hand, and in an instant, a bright flash engulfed Levi.

'W-what? Releasing pure Energy?'

The energy surrounding him dissipated, leaving him vulnerable and defenseless.

'N-no wait... I changed my mind!'

Levi knew deep down what he wanted. It wasn't to go out guns blazing...

'I-I don't want to die!'

Even if it meant begging this man, or making any kind of deal, he wanted to preserve his life.

"P-please spare me—"

Levi didn't even have time to scream as the man's punch landed squarely on his chest.

~SQUELCH!~

There was a moment of pain so intense that he felt like his whole body was ablaze.

The man's hand dug straight into his chest, reaching for his heart.

"Die."

The hand crushed his heart, and then everything went dark.

"...."

When Levi blinked open his eyes again, he was staring at his Status Window.

It read '0 lives remaining.'

A harsh, mocking voice echoed in his ears.

"That's the last life gone. Game over, Levi."

All the Life Force he had stockpiled was now gone.

All that was left were his standard Lives.

He had no more Life Force to use as Enchantments, and most of his Skills were on cool-down.

Even of they weren't, they wouldn't be useful here.

He knew anything he said or did here would be meaningless.

Realizing this, he remained on the ground as the floating rock of the man lunged at him to deal the final strike.

~WHOOOOMMM!!~

And with that, the world around Levi faded into nothingness, his last life extinguished by an opponent who had proven to be far more powerful than he could ever have anticipated.

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[A/N]

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