Chapter 39 - I’m Dead!
Cale charged forward, hints of violet-black flames dancing across his palms as he closed the distance in explosive strides.
Although caught off guard, she was quick to respond in danger.
Scythe vaulted off a moss-covered boulder, a violent burst of black energy launching her skyward. Her descent was meteoric—an attack designed to split skulls.
Cale threw his weight to the side, diving into the mud as her strike shattered an ancient oak tree behind him with a sound like thunder. He scrambled back to his feet, breathing heavily as the crimson dusk cast long shadows across the glade.
She landed gracefully among the roots, her eyes burning with a sinister violet glow.
Even he realized, although she was fighting him while he caught her off guard. Her focus quickly shifted to testing his strength. And the reason was obvious, the new energy different from other newly admitted kids.
For all he knew, they could easily brand him as a spy, or some black magic user or something.
’Hah, I acted rashly just because she glared at me a bit! Well, what could I do, my emotions were a mess at that time.’
He focused on the fight again...
Using her telepathic grip, she lifted three iron throwing spikes from maybe her storage ring and hurled them forward with lethal precision. The projectiles whistled through the air like death itself.
Cale bounced off a pine trunk, performing a tight mid-air twist to evade the first two spikes. The third grazed his arm, drawing a thin crimson line across his white shirt.
Before his feet touched ground, she closed in—a brutal sidekick aimed at his neck.
Although they were fighting, he couldn’t sense a bit of interest in her, let alone intent. For some time he thought that she was out of breath because of her covered face.
She wanted to end this as quickly as possible, as if she doesn’t want to stay with him!
But there’s a possibility that she’s grinning at him... he could decipher those sounds at least!
He ducked beneath the strike, feeling the rush of wind ruffle his dark hair. She bounced backward, her boots carving shallow trenches into the earth.
"C-Can we stop fighting!" she sneered, her voice echoing.
Cale ignored her completely. He was enjoying this too now—the first real test of his new technique.
She slammed her palms together, her Aspect activating as a blinding light shed her dark coat. She rushed forward like a comet.
Cale didn’t hesitate. He channeled his Essence directly into his right arm, runes blazing to life along his skin in intricate patterns of violet-black fire.
Then he activated the domain for the very first time.
And it started doing wonders.
Scythe’s body went rigid mid-charge.
’H-How does an Advance stage cultivator have a domain!? And it’s even—it’s draining my energy!’
Her reserves were being siphoned the moment she entered that space, a constant hemorrhage of power she couldn’t stop. Within the domain’s boundaries, Cale’s will superseded hers.
But it was way too slow and less to affect her to the point of losing.
They collided in the center of the clearing, trading heavy punches and low blocks with increasing desperation on her part.
She struck his ribcage hard enough to crack stone. But Cale absorbed the blow and drove an elbow straight into her jaw.
A smug look spread across his face. Yes, he could feel it—her reserves emptying slightly faster than they should. While he couldn’t see the actual damage reduction his domain was applying, it had to be working.
The advantage was undeniable. Such little feats are important in group battles, he could literally suck out all their energy while staying hidden himself.
She skidded across the dirt, raising a glowing palm to unleash a beam of incinerating red flame.
Cale’s mind raced even as his body moved.
’She’s a Peak Advance stage, at minimum. Should I stop this fight? Well, I can always just say I felt an enemy presence and attacked unknowingly.’
He grabbed a heavy wooden branch from the ground, infusing it with runic fire to meet her attack.
The two forces collided in a violent explosion, setting the high grass ablaze and creating a shockwave that flattened vegetation for meters in all directions.
Cale leapt into the air above the flames, bringing his burning weapon down with the force of a falling meteor. His strike shattered through her barrier of violet threads, driving her straight into the earth with a deafening crash.
He landed heavily on one knee inside the smoking crater, watching her motionless form beneath the dirt.
Then she suddenly appeared right behind him—a feint, maybe like an afterimage or something.
His mouth twitched.
Scythe was drinking potions desperately, her wounds healing at a glacial pace.
’My injuries are closing way too slowly. Is this related to those small black flames? As expe—no, focus! He’s treating me like an enemy!’
Her violet eyes tracked him carefully through her mask.
The domain flickered and died. Cale’s chest heaved with exertion—he couldn’t maintain it for long, not yet. A newbie playing with god-tier techniques had limits, after all.
’Ah, why now!?’
He used his last Quickstep of the day, his body blurring as he rushed toward her. One final attack before she took complete control of the fight.
But something unexpected happened.
Right when his face came dangerously close to hers, her eyes widened. She stumbled backward, losing her footing entirely.
"Kyaa~"
Cale, already committed to his attack, couldn’t stop the momentum. He fell directly on top of her, their bodies colliding hard against the earth.
Two seconds passed in complete silence.
Then Cale realized exactly what his hands had landed on.
And in his grip—that familiar ’soft’ feeling.
He squeezed once. Then again.
His eyes widened in horror.
’Fuck fuck fuck, I’m dead.’
Yes, he was absolutely groping her breasts. But that wasn’t even the worst part.
She was awake. Staring directly at him.
Unlike before, she wasn’t embarrassed. Wasn’t squeaking or flustered. Hell, if someone saw her face behind that mask, they’d think she was having more fun than he was. The cloth of her mask moved slightly—the unmistakable lines of a smile.
He pulled back instantly.
’What the hell is wrong with this woman? No, maybe it’s just her age. That must be it. Definitely.’
Her body moved with inhuman speed, blurring away so quickly he couldn’t even track her departure.
Cale stood alone in the clearing, staring at his left hand.
Then he realized,
’I-I could have used the system to see her info. Am I... that dumb?’
He sighed deeply, looking at his palm.
"That... was a familiar sensation."
As a profound man of culture. As someone who’d only touched four women’s bodies in his life and experienced that exact feeling, he knew. Whoever that masked woman was—she was one of those four.
’Yeah, right! As if!’
’Sigh... I’d have to apologize eventually. It was technically my fault in this, after all. But I don’t even know where these ninja like people live.’
Walking back through the darkening grounds, his mind churned through larger concerns. The fight had been useful, at least. His control over the violet-black flames had improved—he could see the sparks dancing across his palm now, small wisps that responded to his will with increasing precision.
’Come on. It’s a god-tier technique. It would be weird if I started mastering it easily. Even I’d start doubting its authenticity then.’
But the broader picture gnawed at him.
This kingdom, hell even this continent—it wouldn’t last, even if they somehow persist, most of it is going to be destroyed.
The monster-infested wastelands between Velard and Inkarsia alone would require countless battles. And that was assuming he could even survive the journey.
This continent’s people weren’t idiots, but they were blind. They’d traveled as far as they could and found nothing, so they’d concluded nothing existed beyond their borders. No flying mechanisms, no cultivators who’d formed their own laws—certainly nothing that would allow them to see what truly waited in the darkness.
Of course they would conclude they’re one of the only few continents in this world remaining.
’I should apologize to her in the future. Sigh. Well, she looks like a beauty... her upper half of the face is at least.’
Thinking through it all, even his head started aching.