[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-reborn-as-game-s-final-boss":3,"chapter-the-villain-reborn-as-game-s-final-boss-the-villain-reborn-as-game-s-final-boss-chapter-44":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Villain Reborn as Game's Final Boss",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},551499,800,"Chapter 44: Risks","the-villain-reborn-as-game-s-final-boss-chapter-44",44,"\u003Cp>Haa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The absorption had finally slowed down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t stop, but the rate of absorption had reduced to more than half of its previous pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could feel that my core had stopped expanding as well. Still, I couldn’t rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I began using the mana to actively compress the core—again!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, the quantity of mana required was little compared to the monstrous amount required for the expansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ugh... I felt a little uncomfortable while trying to compress such a large core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to the unexpected expansion, I could feel that the size of my core had become almost five times its original size, and compressing it had become much more difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The resistance from the core was massive. It felt like trying to compress a football tightly packed with air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I wasn’t nervous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even average people with some talent could rank up from Iron to Bronze Core, so me failing in such an endeavour was amusing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the difficulty of the task for me was greater, so was my talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My potential for reaching the higher ranks had been increased by the ritual, and so had my mana control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I focused all of my willpower on compressing the core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The core began to compress under my pressure. The speed was slow, but there was a noticeable difference with each passing minute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After about ten minutes of actively compressing the core, it had been reduced to its original size.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now I had to compress it to its limits like before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pressure applied to the core also increased with every heartbeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was reducing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The size of the core had now reduced to what it was when I had first compressed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cracks on the core began to increase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could have reduced the compression and begun patching up the cracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had a different idea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What if I compressed the core further?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any mistake along the line could completely destroy the core. Compressing it further was akin to asking for death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A far more brutal death than anyone in history had suffered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The core had obviously increased in size due to my unique nature of absorbing the mana essence from the dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So couldn’t I utilize it to my advantage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the core could expand during evolving—something that shouldn’t have been possible—then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What stopped me from compressing it further than its original limits?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The risk was high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Very high!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But where there is a risk, there is a reward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chances of me failing in this reckless attempt were high, but so were the chances of actually succeeding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I was going to do wasn’t normal, but since when had I been normal?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I followed the average route, I would be limiting my growth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Iron Core was the foundation of one’s power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I made my foundation stronger than anything anyone in this world ever had, then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The result was obvious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My strength would touch ceilings no one had ever reached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A stronger Iron Core before evolving meant turning it into a much stronger Bronze Core compared to others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I would have greater mana reserves compared to my peers at the same core rank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coupled with my mana control and absorption of foreign mana essence...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just imagining the future sent an electrifying feeling across my body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t waste any time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compress!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I began applying more pressure on the already compressed mana core, trying to reduce its size to the smallest extent possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was becoming increasingly difficult to compress the core any further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The resistance I was currently facing was far more potent than what I had felt at the beginning of this compression stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I was doing was putting the mana core under immense stress—far more than what it should have been capable of handling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Result—the mana in my body was becoming volatile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Waves of mana started to bounce against the walls of my blood vessels. Much of the mana tried to escape the pressure from within my body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, I should have been able to control it, but...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of my focus and the entirety of my willpower were being used to compress the core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cough...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood began to spill from my mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes began to bleed, and so did my nose and ears. Mana began to leak from my body, creating tears across my skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pain from all of it was overwhelming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, I didn’t stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aghhh...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I used every ounce of my strength to compress the core. The cracks grew more pronounced with every passing second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The core felt like it could burst under the pressure at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it held—barely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A deep crack spread horizontally across the core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart sank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt like stopping and entering the last stage of patching up those cracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My greed took over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the last time, I applied tremendous pressure on the core. The resistance was crazy, but so was my will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The core had now compressed to nearly a tenth of the size of its previously compressed stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haa...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a small breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next moment, I inhaled deeply and controlled the mana to enter my body again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, I used the mana to heal those cracks in the core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The core was smaller in size, but the cracks were much deeper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another vortex appeared across my body, but this time it was smaller compared to before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rate of mana absorption increased as I continued to patch the cracks on the surface of the core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I willed some of the mana to compress the core simultaneously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surface of the core began to even out, with most of the cracks being filled with mana.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The core had now stabilized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just some more...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I willed more mana to fill the remaining cracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time ticked by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Done!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The core was now fully healed, with no cracks on its surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grew excited for what was to come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The core began to shine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something close to a brownish light was being emitted from the core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was ranking up!\u003C\u002Fp>",1032,"2026-05-30T14:45:47.000Z","2026-06-01T04:31:30.507Z",1,"novelbin.me","8177594ddaec84ae7bce4e34f1ef752322a68377729d36d7e6a765f10d6d43c6","the-villain-reborn-as-game-s-final-boss-chapter-45","the-villain-reborn-as-game-s-final-boss-chapter-43",257,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-reborn-as-game-s-final-boss-cover.jpg"]