There is one fundamental exception to the rule that healing does not increase corruption, and that is revival. The sheer power of the energies needed to restore life to the recently deceased impact the body in the same way as exposure to high-Level mana.

  This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as ‘RIC’ or revival-induced-corruption. Fundamentally, RIC is what prevents someone from being killed and revived indefinitely. While the number of times a given individual can be revived is unpredictable, the outcome is inescapable.

  Eventually the body and mind break down and the patient descends into either violent insanity or total withdrawal. There are no documented cases of this condition being reversed, and the only remaining option is the coup de grace.

  - Tercia Lazarova, Level 34 Weaver of Life,

  My breathing was already hard and fast as I sprinted towards the nearest wall. I didn’t even bother to pull out my gun yet, I just put my head down and pumped my feet as fast as I could, then dove into a roll in the sand and skidded to a stop up against one of the walls.

  My Skill immediately triggered, and I felt mana flow into me, but I had no time to process any vague sense of relief as I heard the eerie triple howl of the spiderwolf echoing off of the walls around me. I risked a glance over the top of my cover, then threw myself flat as the top half of the wall exploded around me. The massive creature’s central head punched right through the foot-thick barrier like it was nothing.

  The other two heads followed on either side, completely decimating my cover. As it pulled back, I scrambled to my feet and started running to the side. I didn’t make it more than three steps before I was struck from behind.

  The blow sent me flying at least ten feet through the air, my barrier shattered, and I landed hard on my stomach, then flung myself to the side as a thick spider leg stabbed down into the sand behind me. Screaming, I rolled onto my back, summoned my gun, and unloaded shot after shot right into the creature’s looming jaws.

  Its barrier flared, and it jumped back in surprise, probably more at the sound of my shots than anything else. I threw myself back to my feet, my gun already gone into my Inventory, and dashed for another wall. This time I headed for one of the larger, thicker walls that I desperately hoped would provide more shelter than the first one.

  Nothing happened when I slid behind it, and I cursed, remembering that my Skill had a one-minute cooldown.

  I pulled my gun again, poking it around the side of the wall, and I pulled the trigger again as it leapt for me.

  BOOM! click-click    ARRRROOO!

  The monster jumped, covering easily half the distance to me, but as it landed an Earth Wall appeared directly under its feet, tangling it up and sending it crashing to the dirt and destroying the wall.

  I was sure it was my teammate that had put the wall in its path, but it had bought me only a moment. While the creature scrambled back to its many feet, I took off, trying to put some more distance between us. Sliding through the sand into the shadow of another wall, I resummoned my gun and fired twice more as Trite obliterated my last hiding place.

  My next mad dash wasn’t fast enough, and I was knocked from my feet, landing hard on my face. Spitting out sand, I flailed, and then agony exploded through my right leg and suddenly I was flying through the air, screaming. I had a moment of terrible clarity as I realized that I was flying the fifteen-foot walls of the pit, looking down at the stunned faces of my classmates, blood spraying from the bone-deep holes in my thigh.

  Then, just as I reached the top of my arc, I saw Zenia raise her staff, and I was floating, slowly spinning. I almost threw up as the hideous creature below me rose on its back legs and howled in triumph, then I was coming down slowly, landing in front of the Healer. I realized I was still screaming as she laid her hands on me. Then I passed out.

  I woke up as someone splashed some water on my face and I sputtered. Wolf was crouching over me, and I saw the concerned faces of my teammates crowding around him.

  “Dead gods Az, are you alright?!” I heard Raylan’s voice above the others, and I blinked water out of my eyes and seriously considered the question for a moment.

  Am

  My teammates, concerned by the lack of response, crowded in even closer, but Wolf snapped at them and they backed off. I sagged back for a moment.

  My leg didn’t hurt, at least. Apparently the Guild’s stance on healing pain was more flexible than Mason had implied. The absurdity of the thought made me giggle for a moment, then I was rolling to my hands and knees, breathing hard.

  I rose slowly to my feet, calling my gun to my hands and carefully reloading it with shaking fingers, blocking out all of the noise around me. It faded into the background as I slotted shell after shell into the loading port, then checked the chamber. I channeled mana to restore the expended shells, my breathing slowly steadying.

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  I met Wolf’s hard eyes, and still not having spoken a word, nodded. He clapped a hand on my shoulder, then shouted something I didn’t hear. The crowd parted before me, clearing a path. Even in my ultra-focused state, I could hear the deafening silence fall around me as I stepped back towards the stairs, my legs shaking just slightly. I carefully looked down, seeing that Trite had retreated to the far side of the arena.

  I did not. Nor did I the time after that, when I was struck hard enough to destroy one of Zaire’s walls with my flying body. I woke up that time still in the pit, with Lydia and Wolf crouched over me. It was only on my fourth attempt that I made it through the full minute-long cooldown before Trite caught up to me, this time pinning me to the sand by stabbing one of its forelegs right through my shoulder, just to the side of my metal breastplate.

  I discovered that it hurt far, far, when it slowly pulled its leg back through, before prancing off with another howl of triumph.

  That time, after being Healed, Wolf pushed me back down as I started to get to my feet. He was saying something, but it took several moments for me to realize that he was talking to me.

  “AZ! You’re done for today, that’s enough!”

  I shook my head, not processing the words at first. I had no idea how much time had passed, but as his words sunk in and I started to become aware of my body again, I realized that I was

  I would have collapsed if I wasn’t already sitting down. Once Wolf noticed that I was paying attention, he helped me to shaking feet and guided me to the stairs. I needed to lean on his shoulder to get out of the pit, where I was mobbed by my friends. Most of them were obviously worried about me.

  “Hah! Well done, Gunner! Truly, a performance worthy of the mark of mana upon you!”

  H’ruk roared his approval, his sister joining in a moment later, then suddenly cheers were erupting from the other students gathered around the pit. I could only wave a hand lamely in response, my brain still not fully functional.

  I staggered away from the group of watchers, Raylan and Zaire quickly moving to support me. I leaned on their shoulders and didn’t look back as I heard Thompson call out another student’s name. Somehow, we ended up in a booth in the bar, with a mug of beer in front of me. I drank reflexively, and almost choked on the powerful alcohol.

  Looking up, I found G’hala smiling at me, her mouthful of fangs seeming so small and harmless in comparison to – I forced myself not to think about that.

  “What the Wastes is ?” I asked, and my teammates laughed.

  “That’s E10, Az, we figured you might need something a bit stronger than usual after . Fuck, I don’t know how you kept getting back in there. Are you sure you’re OK?” Raylan was obviously concerned.

  “I… I don’t know, actually. It’s gonna take more than a minute to figure that out. I really don’t know how to describe it, it was all a huge blur in there. I think I just blocked out everything except trying not to get eaten.”

  I shuddered.

  “Whatever part of me knew that I wasn’t going to die, well, let’s just say that the rest of me wasn’t listening, listen with that thing coming at me. Wasted hells, I just thought spiderwolves were creepy before. Now… fuck me.”

  “I heard one of the second semester students saying the beast is at least high Tier 3, Gunner Az,” Zaire commented.

  “I have no idea, but I don’t think I even took down its barrier, did I?”

  G’hala and several others shook their heads. I nodded, then took another larger sip of my potent beer. It was Tara that raised an important question a moment later.

  “Well, that was one of the most insane things I’ve ever seen! But you didn’t tell us – did it work?”

  I blinked in confusion, realizing I had no idea.

  [Indeed you did, Gunner Ashley! A most thrilling encounter! You earned one Level in Tactical Reposition and have gained the General Skill Battle Focus! Congratulations!]

  Battle Focus: Enhances your ability to ignore distractions during combat

  Type: Triggered

  Cost: Focus will not regenerate while this Skill is in use

  “Yeah, I guess it did. I got a Level in Tactical Reposition, plus I learned a new General Skill called Battle Focus. Anyone heard of it?”

  “Indeed Azure, that is quite an accomplishment,” G’hala’s response was enthusiastic. “Our father has that Skill – at higher Levels it can help you shrug off the effects of pain and keep fighting!”

  “Yes! Truly a worthy Skill!” H’ruk raised his glass and enthusiastically clashed it against mine, nearly making me spill some of my beer. I smiled weakly and drank.

  “We are now quite glad that we do not have any triggered Skills,” Jayce commented. “We do not heal so easily as the rest of you, or at least, half of us does not.”

  That very interesting comment distracted me from thinking about the prospect of future training sessions with that smug fucking monster. We learned that while Jayce’s flesh parts could be healed with regular healing Spells, those had little effect on their metal half.

  “Our cybernetic parts will repair themselves over time, given sufficient mana, but it is a slow process. In theory, we could even regrow a limb, but we estimate that would take a month or more at our current Level.”

  “That sounds like quite a drawback,” I commented. The cyborg shrugged before replying.

  “There are corresponding advantages, Azure. For example, to our knowledge wounds to our cybernetic body are not vulnerable to typical venoms and toxins. In addition to being much more durable than flesh and stronger as well. That is why we hold our shield with our left arm, which better protects the more vulnerable parts of our body. Though, with access to Healers such as we have here, perhaps we should consider switching.”

  “Does your Strength Stat affect both halves of your body equally?” asked G’hala curiously. Jayce considered a moment before replying.

  “Yes, it does, in proportion to their original strength. We find ourselves sympathizing with Mage Zaire during our PT classes, as only half of our body can benefit from that training. Exercise will not strengthen our right arm any further, no matter how much JJ or Leon yells at us.”

  Zaire nodded sympathetically and the rest of us chuckled. Before I knew it, my glass was empty and I was feeling significantly more relaxed. I frowned as a fresh glass was shoved in front of me, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I knew that we had classes tomorrow, but it was still only mid-afternoon, right? I’d stop at two.

  Trite, in their natural habitat

  One moment he’s dying in a warzone — next, he’s naked on a moon full of real cultivators.

  Jake Sullivan just woke up in the wrong body, on a moon called Verdis, inside a cultivation academy where failure means getting culled back to Earth to live as a powerless mortal—and probably die uselessly in the upcoming alien invasion.

  His memories are mostly gone, but his spirit’s intact. His classmates? Rich kids with qi crystals and family techniques. The school? Doesn’t give a damn. Let the strong survive. With enemy agents already on campus, Jake will need to out-cultivate, outfight, and outsmart everyone around him. He has only one year to become a real cultivator.

  No dying this time!

  Dark humor. Sharp dialogue. Flower picking, teeth flying. A fresh blend of sci-fi, xianxia, and LitRPG.

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