[Total Death — 453]
"Aaah.. ahh.." Socrates breathed loudly as he clutched at his heart, his chest heaving violently as if trying to pull air from an empty world.
"I'm still alive.." He said to himself, his cracked lips trembling, but then he couldn't even feel his body.
It was as if he was already dead...
As if only his will was keeping him standing.
Over the past few days, Socrates had been getting crushed by the boulder... He had tried to stop the boulder from falling times without number, but it wasn't working..
His strength was not just enough... After some time, he managed to adapt to the boulder falling on his head, but still he couldn't push the boulder up, and when his muscles gave out, he'll end up getting crushed beneath its massive weight..
After dying over 90 times, Socrates' muscles could finally hold themselves against the boulder, veins bulging across his arms like tightened ropes, and then pushed it upward again with a desperate roar.
He kept pushing and pushing, his feet digging into the rough stone beneath him, and after thinking that his suffering was over, he suddenly felt a weight that was double of the one he carried...
Another boulder had fallen on the one he was carrying... The momentum and the shock made him lose his footing as he was crushed by two boulders at once, which spelt a 100th death he died by being crushed by a boulder.
After dying 100 times by the same factor, Socrates was sent back to the edge of the forest where he had to start again..
"Screech..." This time he heard the sound of the Vulture rushing at him from behind, its sharp cry echoing through the trees like a blade tearing through silence..
"What? The Vulture?" Socrates' mind screamed in alert as he moved instantly, narrowly dodging the talons of the Vulture that slashed through the air where his head once was....
The redhead bird made pursuit instantly as it followed Socrates into the forest, but the pathway was too small, which limited its mobility, giving Socrates time to run....
But Socrates wasn't anywhere safe... The arrows didn't start from one but three at once, and they were coming from everywhere—front, side, and unseen shadows above....
"The terrain had changed..."
Socrates knew, but still he managed to dodge everything.. Both the arrows that came from front or back. He escaped everything with ease....
His body moved instinctively, reacting before his mind could even think.
He crossed the rope bridge at once and jumped over to the other side with great easiness, landing steadily as dust rose around his feet.
Surprise and amazement filled his heart... These were places he was once struggling with... How was he able to dodge them with relative ease?..
"Training... This is a training world..." The realization crashed into Socrates' mind as all his body fired up at once...
The fatigue that was in his body washed away instantly as he realized how much he had improved these days...
He could clearly see all the arrows coming for him, their paths sharp and predictable, and he dodged everything with ease, then allowed one to stab him deliberately..
Surprisingly, the arrow couldn't get past his outer flesh, and he lost just 5 HP... For arrows that would have drained all his HP before...
In less than 5 minutes, Socrates jumped out of the forest and saw the bird already waiting for him....
This time, the bird spread its feathers wide as it shot sharp black feathers at Socrates, slicing through the air like blades, but he dodged them with relative ease before advancing forward with great speed..
The Vulture was shocked that it couldn't catch up with Socrates..
The same boy it was killing with one strike... It couldn't even touch him now..
Socrates arrived at the basement of the mountain when he leaped onto it instantly, holding onto the rocky surface with relative ease...
He leapt upward as he climbed with great ease... The sharp edges that were cutting his hands and legs were no longer hurting him as he climbed..
His HP was not even decreasing, and he got to the slope edge with ease...
The Vulture was still flying behind him trying to get to the edge, but Socrates knew better than to wait for the bird to come closer as he rushed to climb the mountain..
The boulder came again,, Socrates didn't complain... He already knew this was a training.. He braced himself for impact, feet grounded firmly, and with a hard struggle.. He managed to push the boulder upward..
When the second boulder rolled down and fell on it, Socrates didn't complain.. Instead he hung on as best as he could. He pushed his body to the limit till he could no longer and then died..
But he didn't die with regret as he was respawned there and then started again...
"Since this is a training.. I'll make the best of it.." Socrates was determined as he pushed the boulder with all of his might..
[Total Death 480/1000]
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[Total Death 490/1000]
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[Total Death 500/1000]
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[Total Death 510/1000]
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At this point in time, it wasn't just two boulders Socrates was rolling upward but three...
Three large round boulders, their surfaces rough and jagged, grinding loudly against the stone, and he still kept getting crushed...
But since he discovered that this was some kind of training.. He didn't mind, but one thing he was cautious about was dying another 100 times here..
But still his strength was lacking as he alone couldn't roll three boulders upward...
Just in this stage alone, Socrates died 400 times and restarted from the edge of the forest 4 times... He was mentally exhausted but still pushed himself to the very edge.. To the very limit...
After months of pushing and getting crushed by boulders..
Socrates finally pushed the three boulders to a tunnel... This was the tunnel that he would pass through to get to the end of the summit..
Socrates had blocked his way forward by himself..
But then he didn't panic....
"The first training in the forest was for my agility.... The second one against the Vulture was for speed, the third climbing the mountain was for endurance, and this one I just concluded is for strength..." Socrates analyzed calmly as he examined himself, sweat dripping down his battered body, as he looked at the boulders in front of him....
He already knew what was expected of him this time around..
" This training is for force... I've to carve a path forward... I've to break these boulders. " Socrates analyzed..
"I'll rest a little.." Socrates lay at the edge of the cliff as he closed his eyes to rest, his breathing shallow but steady..
At that moment,, he had a dream... In the dream was Mister Jaggers being tortured...
Hung on a cross with gladiators surrounding him while flogging him with a whip, each strike tearing into flesh as blood splattered onto the ground below...
Socrates woke up with a loud shout as he quickly got up..
"I can't rest... I can't rest at all.." He tightened his fist and then launched a punch at the boulder with all his force....
Boom!
There was a loud banging sound that echoed across the tunnel walls, dust falling from above, but that was just it..
Nothing more..
BOOM.. Boom..
Socrates punched once more but nothing happened.
"I won't stop... I won't give up.."
Socrates began punching... Days turned to weeks, weeks turned into months...
Socrates was still punching... At first his fists were moving irregularly, but then they started concentrating..
His attack speed started getting faster as the force increased instantly...
BOOM boom..
6 months passed in a blink of an eye... Socrates was still punching while resting at intervals, his breathing heavy, sweat mixing with streaks of dried blood along his battered arms.
2 years... 3 years... Socrates' hands had worn off, the skin torn and hardened into rough layers, but he was still punching without resting for long..
He knew he was not in his peak strength anymore, but he still kept punching till he shattered his fists completely, fragments of stone cutting deeper into exposed flesh.
Still he kept punching, blood trickling down his fingers in thin streams as he started using his palms till the boulder finally cracked and then shattered into pieces with a thunderous sound that echoed through the tunnel..
Fragments scattered across the ground like broken teeth.
Socrates moved to the Second boulder instantly, his breathing ragged but steady, and this time, he didn't use his shattered fists but his legs..
"If I die... I'll have to break that boulder again... wasting more time.. I did use my legs.." Socrates muttered hoarsely as he steadied himself.
Socrates kicked for years....
Resting at intervals as his hands healed naturally, the flesh slowly knitting itself back together, but his legs got fractured repeatedly from the repeated impact..
After 2 years of kicking, he finally broke the boulder with his legs..
The final strike landed with a deafening CRACK, sending fragments bursting outward as dust filled the narrow tunnel air.
Both his hands and legs were crazily damaged, muscles trembling uncontrollably, and Socrates still had one boulder to go...
He had spent a total of 5 years in this stage, and he still had one boulder left to go..
"My hands and legs can't do any more work or they'll be damaged completely.. I can't die now or I'll have to start again... So I guess I can only depend on you..."
Even Socrates couldn't believe himself as he slammed his head into the boulder...
BANG..
The son of Trueblood was getting mad...
BANG..
His forehead struck against the cold stone again, the sound dull and heavy, his skull ringing from the impact.
BANG..
Blood began to smear across the rough surface of the boulder, staining it dark red as cracks slowly began forming along its surface like spiderweb fractures.
His vision blurred slightly, but he didn't stop.
BANG..
Each strike echoed loudly through the enclosed tunnel, shaking loose grains of dust from above as pain surged through his skull.
The son of Trueblood was truly getting mad...