How many times had I died by now?
Truthfully, I hadn't been keeping a strict count, so I couldn't be certain. However, tracing back through my hazy memories, I believed my total death count stood at roughly 540 before I began the battle against the Golden Living Armors.
Since I had started attempting to clear them alongside the Parasitic Sword: Puppeteer, I had already died nine more times.
That brought the cumulative death count to approximately 549.
In other words, this was my 550th attempt.
"Puppeteer, lend me your strength."
It was a request I had made countless times already.
"Sure thing, Master!" Puppeteer replied cheerfully.
"Hmm? Is something wrong, Master?"
I had grown lost in thought, and the sword was watching me with curiosity.
"No... I just realized you look more human than I expected."
When we first met, Puppeteer’s form bore no resemblance to a human. But now? Its shadowy mass seemed to be mimicking a human silhouette.
Indeed, I felt that with every loop, Puppeteer was drawing closer to a human appearance.
"Hmm, I didn't start out this way. My form just suddenly began to change."
Puppeteer seemed to have noticed the anomaly itself and sounded puzzled.
What did this mean?
Save & Reset was a skill that reset time—it was supposed to rewind everything to a previous state.
Yet, every time we met, Puppeteer was more human than the last time. This was a direct contradiction to the way time was supposed to rewind.
Could it be that only Puppeteer’s growth was exempt from the temporal rewinding of Save & Reset?
Well, there was no use dwelling on it now.
"Becoming human is your goal, isn't it? If so, this is a good thing."
"Master! How did you know my dream!?"
"I can see a person's ambitions just by looking at them."
"Whoa! I don't really get it, but that's incredible!"
In reality, I only knew because it had told me in a previous loop.
"What a coincidence that Master knew about this hidden room too."
"You're talking as if you already knew about it yourself."
"Well, yeah. Despite how I look, I’m quite the know-it-all."
"That's reassuring."
"Since I'm such a know-it-all, here's a warning. With your current strength, Master, you’ll die the moment you step inside."
"Unfortunately, I'm already aware of that."
"Hmph. You’ve got quite the personality if you have a death wish, Master."
Exchanging light banter with Puppeteer, I stepped into the hidden room.
Immediately, a group of twenty Golden Living Armors manifested.
"Black Blade."
The black sword appeared in my right hand instantly.
Thinking about it logically, the battle against the ten Bugbears had actually been more grueling. Back then, I had no weapons and no decent skills to speak of.
If I was the man who could survive that crisis, it would be pathetic if I couldn't slaughter the enemies standing right in front of me.
"Hey, you fodder. Come and get me."
I unleashed Provocation on the entire group of Golden Living Armors.
Every single one of them lunged at me at once.
It was a sight I had already witnessed many times.
Three seconds from now, a step to the right would dodge the first strike. After that, I would pivot my body and swing my blade down from overhead.
By doing so, I could deliver a finishing blow to a Golden Living Armor that was already reeling from friendly fire.
Yes, everything was unfolding exactly as predicted.
Monster subjugation confirmed. Skill points acquired.
That was the first one.
"Whoa, incredible, Master! It's like you already knew exactly how they were going to move!"
"I actually do know."
"No way... Master, do you possess some kind of precognition ability!?"
I kept my response to Puppeteer brief and moved to continue the cull.
"Hey, what are you guys waiting for? Your target is right here."
The battle had only just begun.