Chapter 195: Seems we were being recorded...
Kelvin immediately rewound the video, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"Again." The footage played.
Silas kissed Echidna, and Kelvina’s eyes widened.
"Again."
She rewound it, causing another replay.
"Again."
The footage played for the third time, and Kelvina slowly placed both hands against her cheeks.
"What am I watching?"
She had seen plenty of ridiculous things in her life. She had watched S-Ranks destroy buildings during training. She had watched awakened students challenge monsters twice their rank.
She had even watched Silas kick an A-Rank monster hard enough to send it flying through a forest, but none of that prepared her for this.
The Mother of Monsters had just tried to kill him. Silas had nearly died. His mana was practically empty; it was obvious from how pale he looked. His body was covered in injuries.
And his brilliant solution had been to kiss her.
Kelvina’s eye twitched. "That’s not a combat technique!"
She paused.
"Is it?"
Her battle-maniac brain immediately began analyzing it.
"His voice became so smooth and silky..." She touched her face, which was beginning to get warm. Her eyes narrowed. What sort of power was that, being able to affect someone from across cities and a screen?
She stopped.
"He kissed her." Kelvina slowly lowered her hand. "That’s cheating, or his ability wasn’t really accurately analyzed. What am I even saying?!"
She stared at the screen again. The footage showed Echidna touching her lips after the kiss. Kelvina’s jaw dropped further.
"AND SHE LIKES HIM?!" She stood up. "This isn’t a fight anymore!"
She began pacing around the room.
"It’s courtship!"
She stopped.
"No." She shook her head. "It’s a boss fight with romance mechanics!"
The thought seemed to disturb her genuinely. Kelvina turned toward the screen again. Silas was now leaning against Chloe, clearly exhausted.
Echidna was standing nearby with an expression that looked far too pleased for someone who had just been punched through half a forest.
Kelvina stared, and slowly smiled.
"He’s insane." Her eyes began sparkling. "But..."
Her battle instincts took over, causing a grin to spread across her face.
"He subdued an S-Rank monster without killing her." She clenched her fists. "And he did it after fighting her head-on."
Her excitement rose.
"That’s incredible." She grabbed one of her massive swords and rested it over her shoulder. "I absolutely have to fight him."
She took two steps toward the door and stopped. Her expression changed.
"Wait." She looked back at the screen. "Did he really just kiss an S-Rank monster?"
The footage replayed automatically. Kelvina stared.
"I need to see that again."
She sat back down.
"Just for research."
A pause.
"Definitely research."
The replay began. Kelvina’s face immediately turned red again.
"WHAT KIND OF RESEARCH IS THIS?!"
***
Silas remained leaning against Chloe for several seconds. His breathing was slowly stabilizing. The pain that had been tearing through his body was beginning to fade.
Then he felt it... a familiar kind of warmth.
It started somewhere deep within his chest before spreading through his limbs. His muscles relaxed. The trembling in his arms disappeared. Even the exhaustion that had nearly dragged him unconscious began receding.
Silas blinked.
"Huh?"
A familiar series of notifications suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Combat successfully concluded!]
[Mythical Entity: Echidna has been subdued!]
[Mission Complete!]
[Experience acquired!]
[Massive Experience Bonus awarded!]
[Experience threshold exceeded!]
[Level Up!]
[Level 24!]
Another notification immediately appeared.
[Level Up!]
[Level 25!]
Silas raised an eyebrow.
"Oh."
The messages continued.
[Level Up!]
[Level 26!]
[Level Up!]
[Level 27!]
[Level Up!]
[Level 28!]
Silas stared at the rapidly stacking notifications.
"That’s a lot."
The system wasn’t finished.
[User has successfully subdued an S-Rank Mythical Entity.]
[Exceptional combat achievement detected.]
[Special experience multiplier applied.]
[Additional rewards calculated.]
[Statistical growth confirmed.]
Silas felt his body becoming lighter. He felt stronger, faster, and sharper. The fatigue that had previously made standing difficult was almost completely gone. His muscles tightened naturally, while his senses expanded.
The countless sounds around him became clearer: the wind, the distant aircraft, the movement of the remaining monsters, Chloe’s breathing, and even Echidna’s enormous heartbeat.
Everything became sharper. Another screen appeared.
[Status Update.]
[Level: 23 -> 28]
[Strength: Increased.]
[Speed: Increased.]
[Stamina: Increased.]
[Agility: Increased.]
[Intelligence: Increased.]
[Endurance: Increased.]
Silas glanced at the numbers for barely a second before dismissing them.
"I’ll check later."
Chloe stared at him. "You just leveled up?"
"Yep."
"And you’re ignoring it?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
Silas slowly turned his head toward her.
"Because there are two things here that are currently more interesting."
Chloe blinked.
"What?"
Silas looked past her. Echidna, the Mother of Monsters, was still standing several meters away. She hadn’t attacked, and hadn’t moved.
She was still staring at him. Her golden eyes followed every movement he made with an almost childlike curiosity, except there was nothing childish about her.
She was ancient, powerful, dangerous, and, judging from the faint flush that still remained on her face, thoroughly confused.
Echidna slowly raised one finger to her lips, and her expression became distant. She touched the spot where Silas had kissed her, and almost unconsciously, she ran her tongue across her lips.
"..."
"..."
Echidna seemed to realize what she had just done. Her eyes shifted toward them. Silas raised an eyebrow, and Echidna immediately looked away. The Mother of Monsters suddenly appeared far less intimidating.
Silas couldn’t help smiling.
"So..."
Echidna glanced back. "So what?"
"You’ve been doing that for a while."
"Doing what?"
Silas pointed toward her mouth.
"Licking your lips."
Echidna froze, while Chloe’s cheeks immediately turned pink. Echidna’s golden eyes narrowed.
"I was simply..." She paused. "...examining something."
"With your tongue?"
"Yes."
Silas nodded slowly.
"Very scientific."
Echidna’s cheeks became noticeably warmer.
"Do not mock me."
"I’m not."
"You are."
"A little."
She narrowed her eyes, and Silas chuckled. For someone who had just survived an encounter with a primordial monster, he looked remarkably relaxed.
Then his eyes moved upward. Something caught his attention, a tiny red light. It was blinking.
Silas squinted. "What’s that?"
Chloe looked up.
"What?"
Silas’s enhanced vision focused, and he saw it. There, above the battlefield, was the battered tournament drone.
It was barely functioning. Several sections of its outer casing were destroyed, one of its stabilizers was missing, and smoke occasionally escaped from its damaged frame.
Yet its camera was still pointed directly at them.
Silas stared at it, and the drone stared back. For a moment, neither moved. Silas’s expression slowly became amused.
"Oh."
Chloe followed his gaze.
Her eyes widened.
"We’re being recorded."
Silas looked around. Several military aircraft were visible in the distance. Some had clearly been observing the battle. There were also emergency monitoring drones scattered throughout the sky.
He slowly looked back at Echidna. She seemed completely unaware that millions of people were probably watching her. His lips curled upward.
"Seems we were being recorded."
Chloe’s face instantly became bright red.
"They saw that."
"Yep."
"The entire country."
"Probably."
"Silas."
"Hm?"
"Do you realize what you just did?"
Silas shrugged.
"I subdued an S-Rank."
"You kissed an S-Rank monster."
"Also true."
"On live broadcast."
Silas looked toward the battered drone again.
"Oops."
Chloe covered her face. Echidna, meanwhile, seemed to finally understand what they were talking about. She looked toward the drone, then back at Silas.
"So..." Her expression became strangely amused. "They witnessed it?"
Silas nodded.
"Pretty much."
Echidna smiled.
"Good."
Silas blinked.
"Good?"
She slowly approached.
Her enormous serpent body moved through the ruined forest, crushing already-destroyed trees beneath her scales.
"Let them witness it."
Chloe lowered her hands.
"Why?"
Echidna’s golden eyes remained fixed on Silas.
"Because I have nothing to hide."
Silas stared at her for a few seconds, noticing the confident and arrogant air around her as she said it. Then he laughed.
"You’re something else."
Echidna smiled.
"And you are mine."
The smile disappeared from Silas’s face, while Chloe’s eyes widened.
"Excuse me?"
Echidna tilted her head.
"You subdued me." She placed a hand over her chest. "You touched my soul."
Her eyes glowed faintly.
"And you awakened something within me."
Silas scratched his cheek.
"That sounds..." He glanced toward Chloe. "...complicated."
Echidna smiled.
"Life usually is."
Silas sighed.
’System.’
[Yes, User?]
’Please tell me this is going to be complicated.’
There was a brief pause.
[Extremely.]
Silas closed his eyes.
"Of course."
Another notification appeared.
[New Relationship Candidate detected.]
Silas’s eyes snapped open.
"Wait."
Chloe stared at the floating screen. Echidna smiled, and somewhere above them, the damaged drone continued recording every single second.