CHAPTER 72: LEVEL 2 ABNORMAL HIGH EATER: THE TANKER — PART 3.

He couldn’t move. Could barely breathe.

Pain rolled through him like waves of fire. Every rib felt cracked. One leg refused to respond. His vision faded around the edges, dark and blurred.

The Tanker stepped forward again.

Its violet eyes locked on him like a predator watching its prey stop twitching.

Johnquis blinked, chest rising shallow.

His hand reached for the chain... But his fingers wouldn’t close.

"...shit..."

The light in the dome flickered again.

And the room fell quiet—

Except for the low, heavy breath of something ancient, watching him die.

Johnquis couldn’t feel his left leg.

His body screamed with every breath. His lungs burned, ribs felt like shattered glass, and blood was seeping into his coat. He tasted metal. He saw double. But his mind...his mind kept fighting.

The Tanker loomed closer.

One step at a time. Slow. Unrelenting. No rush. No mercy.

A predator that knew it had already won.

Johnquis tried to move but even lifting his hand was a battle. His fingers twitched near the broken links of his chain.

"Get up... move... pull something... anything..."

But his body wouldn’t listen. He was pinned by pain, breathing in shallow gasps, watching death approach on stone legs.

The Tanker reached down.

From a pile of rubble behind it, it dragged something massive—a fallen piece of the ceiling. A chunk of radiant stone fused with jagged crystals, metal supports, and roots. A slab the size of a wagon, studded with glowing ore. It gripped it in one hand like a toy.

Johnquis’ breath hitched. "It’s going to crush me."

He couldn’t block that. Couldn’t outrun it. He was done.

A slow smile tugged at the edge of his bloodied lips.

"Shit... "Guess this is how I go. Not even a blaze of glory. Just... squashed like a bug..."

The Tanker raised the slab high, both arms lifting the radiant chunk above its head. It turned slightly, bracing itself.

And Johnquis saw it—his death reflected in that rising glow. The weight of it. The certainty of it.

He closed his eyes.

His thoughts fell quiet.

He thought of Dancer—her scent, her breath against his neck that morning... the way her ears twitched when she was nervous.

He thought of Savier—his last smirk, those dumb grumbling jokes, the libido he was so damn proud of.

He thought of Jiana—of the nights they spent in the cathedral, curled up close. And the day she left him... because he was too weak.

That helplessness.

That same helplessness.

But even with that. Even with all the pain, the failure, the feeling of being unwanted—

He knew.

He wanted to live.

Not for them. For himself.

The Tanker roared. A grinding, bone-deep sound that shook the chamber and hurled the crystal-coated slab like a god casting judgment.

The moment froze.

Then—

Something flared in his vision.

A sharp, bright system ping. Hot and sudden, like lightning behind his eyes.

[FLESH MEMORY IS NOW LEVELED UP!]

[Flesh Memory — Emergency Flesh Memory Lvl 2]

[PASSIVE SKILL: Emergency Memory – Level 2]

– Your body stores a perfect memory of its uninjured state.

– When you are in a critical condition... Instantly restore all injuries and purge all active debuffs.

— When wounded or afflicted by a debuff, your body memorizes the damage type and builds resistance over time.

[PASSIVE SKILL: Emergency Flesh Memory – Level 2]

Activating...

A jolt ripped through him... warm, electric. Then—healing.

His lungs expanded.

His ribs reset.

Torn muscle zipped shut.

Blood vanished from his tongue.

The screaming pain in his skull evaporated.

For a breathless second, he felt nothing. Then everything. Light surged behind his eyes. His heart slammed like a hammer.

He gasped. Sat up. Eyes wide, lungs full.

"What—!?"

He didn’t have time to finish the thought.

The Tanker hurled the stone.

VRRRAAAAUGH—!!!

The glowing slab tore through the air like a comet, trailing sparks and crystal shards.

But this time, Johnquis moved.

He rolled sideways with perfect timing, body remembering the rhythm of the pressure waves, the delay, the impact zone. He slipped just outside its deadly arc—

BOOOOOOMM!!

The ground exploded beside him. Shards of crystal rained down in bursts of blue flame, the impact crater smoking.

He landed in a crouch, breathing hard. Eyes locked on the Tanker.

A stunned grin pulled at his face.

"You again..."

He muttered, heart racing. "You saved me again, didn’t you?"

His fingers tightened around the chain. "Emergency Flesh Memory... You remembered Rex. When he almost killed me—slit my throat and watched Dancer get torn apart..."

His voice was low, trembling with something between fury and awe. "And now you remembered this bastard trying to finish the job."

He rose.

Stronger. Steadier. The pain was still there, but it no longer ruled him. Something had changed.

But the Tanker wasn’t done.

Its eyes flared violently. Violet light cracked wider across its stone mask. A low growl rumbled from deep inside its crystal-crusted chest—rising to a scream.

"GRRRRAAAAAUUUUNNNNNGGGHHHH!!!"

The walls shook.

The dome trembled.

The sound hit like a shockwave of fury. The Tanker, now enraged that its prey had dodged death.

Johnquis didn’t flinch this time. He just lifted the chain slowly. His smile never fading.

"Yeah. Come on, big guy. Round two..."

The roar echoed through the tunnels, shaking the ground hard enough that even Savier vibrated against the walls.

"Fuck! Johnquis... what the hell did you do now, huh?" he muttered, gritting his teeth. "What did you do to make that thing scream like that... you naughty bastard."

He growled, dragging himself forward, hands bloody from the crawl. "You really love taking all the fun solo, huh? Come on, man... share the damn fun!"

He kept crawling, following the sound of the fight.

Above, in the starting chamber, Dancer was gone.

The roar echoed again—this time deeper, like it came from inside the walls themselves. Like a speaker with no source, howling through every crack.

And then—

Dancer was running.

But not toward them...

She was running away.

Until the chain snapped tight across her torso—

[WARNING: SYNC LIMIT - 100 METERS REACHED]

She paused.

Then, finally, she smiled. Her ears twitched once. She gripped the chain hard and turned back, sprinting toward the chamber. Following the tether.

Following him.