DEB 7

Even after vomiting his stomach out, Huiyun still felt queasy, and he felt like he might vomit again. 

He looked down at his trembling hands, which had swiftly dispatched seven zombies.

Although it was his own body doing the action, it still felt unfamiliar. The strange sensation of slicing through enemies lingered chillingly on his fingertips, causing his fingers to tremble even more. 

However, his mind remained as cool as a cucumber, as if he were accustomed to this behavior despite his body behaving like it was facing zombies for the first time. 

In a sense, this was even more horrifying to him, so Huiyun felt his stomach flutter once more and straightened his body, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Is the first floor finished for now…?”

He noticed that the zombies hated light, and other than sticking a spear into the ceiling, he almost didn’t do anything of his own volition. The seamless process of summoning a sword and slashing zombies felt like a reflex, it happened involuntarily and making him feel both uneasy and relieved.

Still, he felt that he wouldn’t die needlessly in this gate.

Even if his body was inexperienced, in a moment of crisis, his reflex seems to take over.

Wiping the blood splatter from his face, Huiyun glanced around and saw no other zombies besides the ones he had defeated. He continued to hold the spear, which was still illuminating the area, and headed towards the stairs. 

The staircase was blocked by a black curtain, but as he approached, it split apart, welcoming him to the second floor.

He climbed the stairs, catching his breath. 

“…At least my condition is okay.”

In the past, using abilities once would result in vomiting blood and makes him stumbled around. And he would have died before clearing the gate if that was still the case.

However, this time, apart from the vomiting, there were no major side effects. It was perplexing, but the system, fully engrossed in its role as a guide, displayed an explanation window.

[Within the gate, the penalty for using abilities is reduced by 50%. If you awaken your abilities, you will be 100% immune to the penalties!]

To seamlessly pitch a sale about awakening to him was a testament to the administrator professionalism. 

Huiyun pretended not to notice the suggestion for awakening and clenched his fists.

Reducing the penalty by half meant that the next time he used his abilities, the penalty would be applied normally.

It was like getting the penalty every time he used his ability twice.

Unless there was a reduction like this, there was no way he could have conquered this gate without major side effects.

This might take quite a while on the second floor.

He felt that he would need to spend more time recovering his physical condition than defeating enemies.

Huigang would be home before too long, so let’s make the most of it until then.

Thinking this, he climbed the stairs, which spiraled like a circle, and suddenly found himself on a long straight corridor. 

If multiple enemies rushed toward him…

It was the perfect strategy for pushing someone down the stairs.

Whether his thoughts hit the mark or not, a door on the right opened with a creak, revealing the next enemies. This time, unlike the zombies on the first floor, they seemed to possess reason, with clear eyes and no reckless charging.

These are the real demons.

First, ghouls on the first floor. So, while zombies resembled humans but were closer to superior monsters, demons started from the level of maids in maid uniforms.

Although the ghoul on the first floor had a human appearance, they are closer to a monster rather than a demon. These maid outfit wearing figures though, were the real demon.

-…

Twelve in total.

Twelve maids emerged from twelve rooms, six from each side of the corridor, and faced Huiyun. 

When their eyes met, they clapped their hands together, conjuring black weapons.

From double-edged swords, scythes, axes, great sword, bow, daggers, and even two-handed swords.

The maids, wielding various weapons, stared at him, making Huiyun swallow his saliva nervously. 

He summoned a new spear.

“It’s this body first time facing such a large-scale battle.”

Facing zombies with low intelligence and facing demons with reason were worlds apart. He anticipated a tough fight, and just as he suspected, one maid disappeared before his eyes. 

It served as a signal, and the remaining eleven maids rushed towards Huiyun at once.

Huiyun had to find the one who disappeared first.

He focused his eyes and spread his energy widely, chasing after the hidden figure’s aura.

…From behind!

Realizing this, he quickly swung his spear backward, causing a resounding clang to echo through the corridor.

Tinggg.

A faint vibration emanated from his hand. 

If he had been even a moment slower, the sound that would have reached his ears wouldn’t have been the clash of weapon.

Huiyun swallowed hard and turned his head. The maid whose attack he had blocked was now swinging a giant axe again.

Huiyun spun his spear around to parry the attack once again and kicked the maid in front of him, anticipating the maids rushing from behind him.

-…!

A maid who had been ambushed him tumbled down the stairs. Without even waiting to see her tumble down the stairs, the other maids were ready to attack him.

As two swords flew at him from both sides, Huiyun bent down and stretched his leg forward. Huiyun felt his heart skip a beat as he sensed the crossing blades above his head. 

His stretched foot tripped the sword wielding maid and she fell. Seizing the sword she held, Huiyun kicked her back down the stairs, then used the recoil to propel himself forward.

Boom!

A club came flying towards Huiyun’s head as he leaped forward. Instead of trying to block it with his strength and speed, he flew to the left. Grabbing onto the railing, he hung onto it and swung outside the railing to avoid the club. 

The club missed its mark and embedded itself into the ground with a loud boom, causing the entire second floor to vibrate lightly. 

“Hup!”

His system was amazed as Huiyun used his powers to jump back into the hallway.

[Wow! To move so vigorously with such a frail body! You look like a flying squirrel!]

It was a praise that went beyond mere admiration.

Once again, as Huiyun dashed towards the end of the corridor, he encountered more maids blocking his path. He swiftly snapped his wrist, sending his spear flying. Thanks to the maids either ducking or stepping aside to avoid the fast-flying spear, the path cleared easily.

Huiyun, having sprinted with all his might down the corridor once again, successfully arrived at his intended location. He glanced at the remaining maids and snapped his finger.

Crackle!

With an ominous rumble, a massive club materialized, large enough to fill the width of the corridor.

“Do you guys know why I came to the end of the corridor?”

As the maids gripped their weapons defensively in response to his question, Huiyun’s lips curled into a smirk.

Swinging their weapons would be useless. This wasn’t the kind of attack they could block.

Taking a deep breath, Huiyun exerted tremendous force to push the created club forcefully forward.

Booomm!

The massive club flew forward, sweeping across the corridor floor. 

The maids, taken aback, raised their arms and readying their weapon, but it was all in vain. 

The club advanced, pushing all the maids before their attacks could even land until they were all pushed back and tumbled down the stairs.

With all twelve maids successfully sent down the stairs, Huiyun snapped his finger once more.

Bang!

The massive club dispersed into dozens of daggers, raining down on the bewildered and stumbling maids. 

Seeing that the daggers he summoned reach its target without exception, Huiyun collapsed into relief.

As the maids on the second floor were swiftly defeated, the system chimed in, ringing and praising Huiyun for his remarkable feat. Whether out of excitement or simply disorientation, the system continued to spam the windows, but it wasn’t exactly the most important thing at the moment.

“Cough!”

Because he was too busy spitting out blood here.

Since he was about to receive the penalty anyway, Huiyun decided to boldly use his abilities more than usual, thinking he might as well learn how to fight and utilize his body more effectively. 

But he was paying the full price for it.

Not only was he spitting up blood, but his ears were also ringing. Collapsing onto the ground, Huiyun couldn’t hold back the rising urge to vomit and expelled the bile. 

His head was spinning, and he felt utterly drained. He felt like he might pass out any moment, but somehow, despite feeling like he might lose consciousness, it seemed like he was still keeping his wits about him, probably thanks to the system keeping him alert.

Still, somehow, he had won.

When he first saw the twelve maids, his mind had gone blank, but luckily, he managed to deal with them well, albeit with a stroke of luck. 

Suddenly, he felt a stinging pain in his cheek and neck, Huiyun grimaced. It wasn’t the blood he had vomited; it seemed he had been injured unknowingly while moving through the maids.

Judging by the amount of blood, the wounds seemed quite deep. Huiyun, with a grimace, slowly got up and leaned against the wall.

I’ll definitely pass out once the raid is over.

Since the next floor was an odd number, he wouldn’t receive any penalties, but that was only within the gate. He could already sense the looming penalties waiting for him once he completed the raid and exited the gate. 

In the midst of it all, despite using his abilities so extensively, he seemed to be relatively unharmed, aside from his battered body. His heart beat loudly, as if demanding him to use more of his ability.

“Just how powerful is this ability?”

Muttering under his breath, Huiyun, with his imperfect memories from his past life, made a resolution once again.

Never awaken.

If he were to use this ability without restrain, he would undoubtedly exhaust himself. 

His last life wasn’t particularly short, but it ended in an instant, and now he wanted to live a normal and long life, filled with peace and prosperity.