Amadeus asked Crown, his tone serious.
"Tell me how is difficulty decided?"
Crown.
"The system calculates it based on skills, stats, arts, weapons, armor."
" So, It's a pure comparison between you and the enemy."
Amadeus smiled.
"So their intelligence, bravery, or will to fight… none of that matters?"
Crown said.
"That's right, The system doesn't care if your enemy is clever or a complete idiot."
Amadeus smirked faintly.
I guess that explains why I could defeat Arex, even though he was marked as Hard.
Amadeus's smirk deepened into something darker.
"Then it's not impossible to defeat even an Extreme enemy."
Crown froze.
" Extreme enemy?, When did you meet one?"
Amadeus turned away.
"Don't worry about it. I'm speaking… theoretically."
His hand clenched slightly.
"Now, let's get moving. We have work to do."
From there, Amadeus collected every potion that respawned with each rewrite, stockpiling them.
For several days, he hunted slave carts. Thanks to his knowledge of their routes, ambush was easy.
But unlike before, Lio never appeared.
Amadeus's eyes narrowed.
So Xera abandoned that pawn… since i am doing things on my own.
Finally, on the fourth cart, Arex appeared again.
Arex cracked his whip as Amadeus opened the cage.
Then after killing all the slaves he stepped down.
"The stench of that cage was bad. But i think it was worth it."
The system marked him.
[ Normal ]
Arex laughed.
"Look at this mess. What a waste… they would've been fine workers."
Amadeus raised his sword, his tone flat.
"Enough talking. I don't have time for you."
Arex lashed out with the whip, but Amadeus didn't even flinch.
He simply dashed forward, his new agility making the strikes look like slow swings of rope.
Surprised, Arex drew a dagger, snarling.
"You filth—"
But Amadeus grabbed his wrist mid-swing.
"You're no longer worth my time."
One clean slash.
Arex's head flew into the air.
[ You killed a Normal human ]
[ Reward: 10 Essence ]
Amadeus exhaled slowly, checking his stats.
To defeat Xera, I must memorize every one of his attacks.
That means surviving as long as possible each time.
Otherwise, i will die before I learn anything.
He invested his essence.
[ HP lv 12 --) HP lv 17 ]
[ STM lv 12 --) STM lv 17 ]
Amadeus muttered.
"Now, for the next step."
He shouted into the empty air, his voice carrying across area.
"Xera! Or any of your dogs! I'll be waiting in the camp."
" If you don't come, I'll march to the Quarry—and by then your boss should be back."
" you don't want me, meeting him? right?"
Silence.
Crown stared at him like he'd gone mad.
" Did you lose your mind?"
Amadeus turned back toward camp, calm.
"I'm just sending a message."
Back at camp, Amadeus trained relentlessly with the Knight Memory.
He didn't eat, didn't sleep, surviving only on Stamina potions.
[ Sword Mastery lv 1 --) lv 2 ]
Amadeus collapsed to one knee, dripping with sweat.
" Only level 2, after all that?"
The Knight Memory crossed his arms.
"Don't belittle it. What took you two days would take most men months."
" But our training ends here."
Amadeus open his eyes to find himself surrounded.
Guards poured into the camp, surrounding Amadeus.
Amadeus exhaled, taking out his sword from the inventory.
" Finally. Took you long enough."
Xera appeared above, sitting on a cliff, smiling down like a wolf.
"You little dog… daring to threaten me."
" At first, I thought you might be useful."
His voice dropped, cold and venomous.
"But now, I just want to see you crushed."
Xera waved a hand and The guards charged.
They had no difficulty ratings above their heads.
they were Ants. In under a minute, Amadeus cut them all down.
Xera clapped mockingly from above.
"Not bad. You might actually be… fun."
He leapt from the cliff, landing on the ground. he took out his blade.
[ Signal of the End ]
Future flashes seared into his eyes.
He dodged slash after slash, surviving only by glimpsing the instant of his own death each time.
But it drained him. His breathing grew ragged. His stamina plummeted.
Soon, he was forced to block. Each clash felt like being struck by a boulder.
Finally, Xera's blade ripped through him, throwing him to the ground in a pool of blood.
Xera raised his foot, smiling.
" Goodbay, little dog."
Amadeus, with his last breath, whispered.
" See you later."
Xera crushed his skull.
[ You Failed ]
[ Rewriting Chapter 1 ]
Again and again, it repeated.
Each time, Amadeus trained. Each time, Xera came. Each time, he died.
But every loop, he learned more.
[ Sword Mastery lv 2 --) lv 3 ]
This time, Amadeus kept up with Xera without relying on Signal of the End.
He exploited a blind spot the Knight Memory had noticed and slashed Xera's face.
Blood spilled.
Amadeus smirked.
I did it, i was able to hit him.
Xera touched the wound in disbelief. His arrogance crumbled into raw fury.
" I'll kill you."
He charged, wild and reckless.
Amadeus dodged frantically, then parried.
But he was overwhelmed, disarmed, and slain.
[ You Failed ]
[ Rewriting Chapter 1 ]
Amadeus sat in the Memory domain, speaking with the Knight Memory.
"I think I found a way. If my Sword Mastery was just a little higher".
" I could finish him."
The Knight Memory nodded."You intend to use his ego against him."
" When he loses control, blind spots open everywhere."
Amadeus clenched his fists.
"Then I'll raise my mastery… until he falls."
More loops. More training.
[ Sword Mastery lv 3 --) lv 4 ]
When Xera returned, Amadeus reached the same point, cutting his face.
But this time, when Xera lost control, Amadeus endured longer—leaving a deep wound across Xera chest.
Xera staggered back, glaring, but then his fury cooled into icy focus.
Amadeus's eyes narrowed.
He's going to use something new.
Xera moved his sword with a technique Amadeus had never seen.
( Violet Sword - Piercing Blade )
A thrust faster than Amadeus could dodge.
[ Signal of the End ]
He saw it, but his body couldn't keep up.
The blade pierced through him, leaving a gaping hole in his chest.
" Too fast "
Amadeus collapsed, lifeless.
[ You Failed ]
[ Rewriting Chapter 1 ]
To be continued.