System's Punishment Trial (part-2)

Qin Tianzhu tightened his grip around the energy saber, its glow pulsing weakly in his hand. He had no idea why his lives weren't decreasing the last few times. Was it a glitch? A feature? Or some kind of hidden rule.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury to care as the giant stirred again.

Massive. Towering. Its molten-red cracks pulsing with every breath. In its hands, the club scraped along the dead earth, sending sparks flying.

"I don't get it," Tianzhu muttered under his breath, chest heaving. "Why the reset? Why the mana refill? What the hell is this place?"

No answers came.

And there's no time to think. He rushed forward, tightening his grip on the saber.

The giant moved with blurring speed before, its club raised high. This time, Tianzhu tried to dodge early, to predict the swing, but the beast adjusted.

BOOOOM—

The club swung low in an arc, and the very tip clipped his left side.

CRACK!

Ribs shattered instantly.

"Argh…"

Tianzhu's body hurled through the air, bouncing off cracked stone and sand, coughing blood violently as his vision spun. He could feel the skin along his chest split open. The pain was quite unbearable.

His eyes flicked up just in time to see the shadow fall.

The titan landed its foot on him.

CRUNCH.

[Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 7/9]

*Gaaah*

He gasped awake with a scream, gripping at his sides before realizing his body was whole again.

No wounds. No blood.

And still, seven lives.

"What the fck is just going on?" he growled, staggering to his feet.

No time to ask.

Only time to try.

Again.

This time, Tianzhu didn't rush in head-on. As the countdown began above the frozen giant…

[Resume in: 00:10]

He ran. Not away. But around.

He moved behind the monster, hugging the curve of its towering heel. His mind spun with memories of human anatomy. "Achilles Tendon… it doesn't have tendons but…"

He conjured the saber again, letting out a sharp breath. "Let's see if this works

[00:00]

The monster moved again.

And Tianzhu struck.

A clean slash, right into the back of the heel. The blade dug quite deep.

SLIIIICE—

And for the first time, the giant let out a horrifying ROAR, its voice splitting the sky.

And it's blood, thick, black, slimy, and foul-smelling, gushed out of its legs, sprayed like a geyser straight from the wound, arcing back onto him.

HISSSSSSS

The effect was quite immediate.

As soon as his face was splashed by its blood, his skin started sizzling.

"Arghhaaaaa"

Tianzhu screamed as agony seared through him, the liquid burning through the flesh of his face, muscle, and even his nerves. Steam rose from his facial skin as he dropped to the ground, writhing. His saber vanished from his hand. His eyes bulged, mouth agape, and in no time, his entire face was melted into nothing.

Then, Blackout again.

[1 Life Consumed — Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 6/9]

He sat up again, coughing reflexively even though his lungs were intact.

But his eyes, they were sharp now.

Because this time, something clicked.

[Lives Remaining: 6/9]

He blinked hard. "Three deaths by stomp. Two by crushing hands. One by that blood—the acid bath. That's six in total. And yet…"

"Only three types are being counted?" he muttered, his voice hoarse, but steady.

The realization crashed into him like a storm. His eyes widened as a whisper escaped him, "It's the number of distinct ways I've died."

The system wasn't deducting lives for repetition. It was cataloguing deaths by method.

Three kinds had been 'registered' so far. Maybe that meant three 'lessons learned'—in the twisted logic of this place.

And with every death… his mana returned full.

Tianzhu chuckled bitterly, brushing dust from his shoulder as he stood again. "So that's how you want to play it."

The ghost of pain from the melting blood still haunted his skin, but the determination in his eyes became clearer than ever now that he understood it.

While his mind started calculating on how to maximize his chances to check its weak points while keeping his remaining lives as high as possible, the ten-second grace period reached the fifth second.

Tianzhu tightened the grip around his energy saber. He didn't hesitate.

He charged forward.

Circling around once again and closing in.

As the countdown began, he weaved behind the giant and took his stance.

[00:03… 00:02… 00:01…]

SLASH!

The blade bit into the tendon again, same as before. A geyser of black blood erupted into the air.

But Tianzhu was already gone, his movement perfectly timed, body twisting mid-step to escape the death-spray zone. A few droplets grazed his sleeve, but the main torrent missed him.

The roar came louder than ever.

And then, the giant fell.

A satisfying CRASH thundered through the wasteland as the massive form collapsed forward, kicking up dust and stone.

Tianzhu didn't waste time celebrating.

He sprinted forward.

The club in the Giant's hand swung wildly, blindly.

Meanwhile, Tianzhu leaped onto the back of the giant and reached its back. Then, the wild swing came at him. He ducked and charged forward.

Its shoulders bucked. Its massive arms flailed again.

He held steady, sliding forward, boots scraping stone flesh.

The nape of its neck came into view, at last. "I didn't expect to reach this, so fast…"

"Let's end it," Tianzhu growled, the saber in his hands gleaming as he raised it.

But the monster wasn't done.

Its left hand, still functional and terrifyingly fast, snapped back and grabbed him mid-lunge.

"No!"

A moment later, pain crushed his every nerve.

Bones popped.

Skin split.

His spine snapped like twine.

And then—blackness.

[Resurrection Complete]

[Time Suspension: 00:10 Seconds Remaining]

[Lives Remaining: 6/9]

He coughed, groaning.

But this time, there was no panic in his eyes. The lives remaining were kept intact.

"Foot stomp. Hand crush. Acid blood…" he whispered, recounting calmly. "I've only been truly punished for new mistakes. Yup, my theory is true. And now…"

The rules of this twisted dimension were starting to make sense.

"Your bad time has come," he murmured, eyes narrowing. "You giant…"