# Chapter 45: Your Ability Is So Shameless
The iron-black light gradually enveloped the chubby man, his mana rapidly decreasing. The 10% health cost of Steel Body was manageable, but the 300 mana points were a significant number for him. He had spent a high price to purchase equipment that increased his mana cap.
The chubby man's arms slowly turned iron-black. He immediately put away the shield he was holding to prevent metal assimilation.
"Since you're both so eager to die, I'll grant your wish."
The chubby man's expression turned somewhat ferocious. That light gold scroll wasn't provided by the Blood Gate Adventurers but was something he had obtained by chance. Since it wasn't "public property," using it pained him.
Activating Steel Body required a short buffer period. The chubby man was inside an alternate space, and once Steel Body was activated, he could ignore Su Xiao and Umbrella Brother's attacks.
Just as the chubby man revealed a cruel expression, ready to unleash his ultimate move to kill Su Xiao and Umbrella Brother, his expression suddenly froze. The reason was a notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Insufficient Mana, Skill Interrupted.]
This notification from Reincarnation Paradise felt especially jarring to the chubby man.
"How is that possible! I deliberately reserved 300 mana points to prevent..."
The chubby man suddenly paused, recalling a previous notification.
[Affected by Unknown Energy Erosion, your Mana has been Devoured by 140 points.]
The chubby man had a total of 475 mana points. For a tank focused on stamina attributes, this amount was already quite high.
Earlier, when the chubby man fought Umbrella Brother, he activated a skill on his shield, consuming 50 mana points, leaving him with 425. After that, he hadn't consumed any more mana.
But after taking a slash from Su Xiao, the chubby man's mana dropped to 285 points, making him unable to activate Steel Body.
Space rippled as the chubby man was expelled from the alternate space. His face was ashen. Nothing was more frustrating than failing to activate a big move. He had invested countless resources to develop this ability.
Steel Body was indeed powerful, but if he couldn't use it, it was useless. Well, not entirely useless—at least it looked impressive when viewing the skill list. After all, it was a high-tier ability at LV.40.
The chubby man didn't want to look at his skill list now. Every time he saw those grayed-out LV.20 or LV.30 skills, anger surged within him. They were all dim and unusable.
"Scared the hell out of me. Thought you were about to unleash a big move."
Umbrella Brother, who had calmed down, taunted him. As a main tank, his control abilities weren't strong, but his trash talk was decent.
The chubby man stood silently. The wound on his back had already closed into a scar—a recovery ability derived from high stamina, along with passive skill effects.
The chubby man not only had strong physical defense but also considerable recovery ability. Among third-rank contractors, he had a nickname: Iron Egg. Though not pleasant to hear, it represented how tough he was, like an iron ball.
Iron Egg was in a bad mood. That wasn't the main point, though. The main point was that he felt he might die here.
Just as this thought entered his mind, the chubby man shook his head.
"Sun Z~"
Umbrella Brother shouted, his face full of a smug grin.
"This is a trick I've already used."
The chubby man cast a contemptuous glance at Umbrella Brother, but he remained vigilant toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao stood at a moderate distance from the chubby man. He couldn't cut through the shield the chubby man held. He was waiting for Umbrella Brother to occupy him. After giving Umbrella Brother a meaningful look, the latter's mouth twitched.
"I have to go first again?"
Umbrella Brother smiled awkwardly.
"You're the tank. Should I go first?"
Su Xiao glared at Umbrella Brother, who rubbed his already swollen, pig-like face.
"I've been beaten into this sorry state. Having me go first—won't your conscience ache?"
"Stop wasting time. Get on with it."
Su Xiao kicked a stone on the ground. It hit Umbrella Brother's mechanical gauntlet.
"Fine, fine. Such a 'thoughtful' teammate."
Umbrella Brother hesitated for a moment, then shouted at the chubby man, "I R N M M P!" before charging forward.
Although the chubby man didn't want to bother with Umbrella Brother, he was still an enemy. Ignoring him completely wasn't appropriate. In the chubby man's mind, Su Xiao was a sharp blade that could cut his throat at any moment, while Umbrella Brother was like a stubborn plaster—impossible to kill, impossible to shake off, and utterly disgusting.
The more disgusted the chubby man felt, the happier Umbrella Brother became.
"Where's that arrogant attitude from before? Keep showing off."
Umbrella Brother pounded on the chubby man. The chubby man's defensive focus wasn't on him; he kept his eyes fixed on Su Xiao.
Su Xiao slowly circled the battle group. If the chubby man showed any opening, he would immediately rush in and land a slash.
Because he was constantly on guard against Su Xiao, the chubby man inevitably made mistakes when defending against Umbrella Brother's iron fists, taking several hits. As for counterattacking, the chubby man never even considered it.
At this moment, the chubby man revealed how helpless an adventure group member was when isolated. His single-dimensional abilities left him without even a chance to retreat.
Fortunately, the chubby man had already contacted Huang Fen, who was rushing over at full speed. After Die died, the chubby man vaguely sensed that things were going wrong, so he decisively contacted Huang Fen.
Umbrella Brother, now fully in the zone, leaped into the air. Normally, this would be suicide, but the chubby man completely ignored him.
Realizing how much the chubby man underestimated him, Umbrella Brother smiled.
"Opportunity!"
Umbrella Brother shouted as he descended, signaling Su Xiao.
Twenty times gravity.
White patterns appeared on Umbrella Brother's mechanical gauntlet. His punching speed noticeably slowed, but the force was immense.
The chubby man immediately sensed something wrong and blocked his side with his shield.
Boom!
The massive mechanical gauntlet, now twenty times heavier, smashed into the shield. The chubby man's jaw muscles bulged as mud splashed beneath his feet.
Pfft!
The chubby man felt a chill on his back. Another deep slash had appeared.
"Ah!!"
Umbrella Brother roared, pressing down with his mechanical fist.
After delivering one slash, Su Xiao followed the momentum of Dragon-Slaying Flash and raised the long blade on the other side of his body.
The long blade tore through the air. Pfft. Another slash landed on the chubby man's back, forming an X-shaped wound.
After taking two consecutive slashes, the chubby man spat out blood with a "wa." He immediately tried to activate a knockback skill, but Reincarnation Paradise notified him of insufficient mana.
At this moment, the chubby man wanted to roar, "I curse your ancestors!" He accepted being cut to the bone—as a main tank, he was used to taking hits—but what the hell was this mana devouring? His mana was already low. After taking three slashes from Su Xiao, he had only 5 mana points left.
Glancing at his remaining health and mana, fear finally appeared in the chubby man's eyes.
Umbrella Brother raised both mechanical gauntlets in front of him, ready to receive the enemy's knockback or charge skill.
After waiting two seconds, Umbrella Brother was surprised to find nothing happened. The chubby man just kept his shield in front of him while Su Xiao swung his blade wildly, sparks flying from the strikes.
"Why aren't you using skills?"
Umbrella Brother was puzzled, but that didn't stop him from charging forward to beat the chubby man.
Su Xiao and Umbrella Brother, one in front and one behind, continued their assault. After a few minutes, the chubby man was covered in blood. He was helpless. Not only could he not use his own abilities, but he couldn't even activate the low-cost skills attached to his equipment.
"Just wait. Your deaths are not far off."
The chubby man wasn't making empty threats. Huang Fen was about to arrive.