Caral's face flushed a deeper red, her breath quickening as an overwhelming excitent coursed through her. "It's love, isn't it?" she whispered again, her trembling lips forming a crazed smile.
That's what she decided this feeling must be—love. A new kind of love she had never experienced before.
To Caral, everyone who adored her was beneath her. Their love was only natural because they were inferior beings compared to her beauty. But now? Now, she saw herself as lesser than Maruti.
"Yes, that's it," she thought, her eyes wide with determination. "As an inferior being, I should love her! I should dedicate myself to her completely. Be hers forever! Do whatever it takes to make her mine!"
Her crazed grin widened, and her eyes sparkled with a fiery excitent.
"Ms. Caral, did you hear what I said? You don't need anyone else! You have !" a concerned female voice cut through her thoughts.
But Caral barely spared her a glance. Her lips curled into a sneer of disgust. "No! I don't want anyone else. I only want her. I *need* her!" she muttered, her tone filled with conviction.
Without another word, she turned and stord out of the cafeteria, her steps quick and purposeful.
---
The sky had darkened by the ti classes ended, and the academy halls were quiet under the moonlit evening.
In Esdeath's dorm room, however, the air was filled with the sound of fists eting flesh and feet thudding against the ground. Esdeath and Selene were locked in intense combat training.
Selene, though just a few days old, had already grown at an extraordinary pace. Her physical strength was at least two to three tis greater than Esdeath's, and her height had increased again. She now stood just shy of Esdeath's waist—a feat considering Esdeath's long, graceful legs accounted for 60% of her height.
Despite Selene's natural strength, Esdeath held the upper hand with her superior combat experience. She moved with precision and restraint, teaching Selene through action rather than overpowering her.
"Focus," Esdeath said, her voice calm but firm as she dodged a wild punch from Selene.
Selene gritted her teeth, trying to mimic Esdeath's fluid movents, but her punches were still unrefined.
Esdeath countered with a low kick, sweeping Selene's legs out from under her. "You're relying too much on your strength," Esdeath instructed, extending a hand to help Selene back up.
Selene's frustration was evident, but her eyes were filled with determination. She refused to give up.
Esdeath observed her with a mix of pride and urgency. "We don't have much ti," she thought. "Even if she's only a few days old, she needs to learn how to fight—and even kill—within a year."
Esdeath stretched her arms and let out a tired sigh, sitting down on the bed with a sense of accomplishnt after finishing Selene's training for the day. Her eyes softened as she glanced at the young girl, who was still catching her breath.
"That's it for today," Esdeath said with a small smile. Selene nodded but stayed standing, her determined gaze still fixed on Esdeath.
As soon as Selene stepped away to grab so water, Esdeath whispered, "Status," and a glowing interface appeared in front of her, visible only to her.
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: 146
: 122
: 116
: 717
Current skills in possession:
- Sharpshooter (E) Upgradable: When used, ti will slow down for five seconds. Can only be used once every 50 minutes.
- Iron Gaze (D) Upgradable: Can see over great distances with precision Can see the flow of mana Can see at 250 FPS rate.
- Paralyze Bullet (E) Upgradable: After using this skill, the first bullet fired by you will have a paralyzing effect that can immobilize both monsters and awakened individuals up to D-rank for around 10 minutes.
- Echo of Restoration (C) Upgradable:Heals injuries gradually by "echoing" monts in ti when the user was uninjured, slowly nding wounds to mirror their forr state.
---
Esdeath's gaze lingered on her skills as she thought about upgrading one of them.
"Sharpshooter is incredibly useful," she mused, recalling how many tis she used it in battle. But upgrading it would likely require over 20,000 SP. If she used that much, there wouldn't be enough left to boost her other skills or stats.
She shifted her focus to another skill. "Paralyze Bullet," she decided.
With a single thought, the interface responded.
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Effect: The first ten bullets fired by you will have a paralyzing effect that can immobilize both monsters and awakened individuals up to D-rank for around 20 minutes.
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Esdeath's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Now that's a real upgrade," she thought.
Previously, only her first bullet could paralyze, and the effect lasted just 10 minutes. Now, the first ten bullets carried the sa effect, and the paralysis ti had doubled. Though it was still limited to D-rank monsters, it was a solid improvent.
"Efficient and worth the SP," she nodded, ntally congratulating herself.
As she contemplated her next move, Selene suddenly waved her hand in front of Esdeath's face. "What are you doing, just staring at the air like that?" Selene asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Shhh..." Esdeath hushed her, turning back to the glowing screen.
Her focus shifted to her remaining skills.
"Echo of Restoration is already a C-rank skill. Upgrading it would cost far more SP than I have right now," she thought, tapping her fingers lightly on the bed. "Besides, it's already powerful enough to heal most injuries."
She then considered Iron Gaze. While it was tempting to upgrade, she decided against it for now.
A new thought crossed her mind. "Should I buy a new skill?"
But after weighing the idea, she dismissed it. "The skills I know from the ti path are too expensive for my current SP. And taking the ti to learn and master a new skill isn't practical right now. A big battle is coming, and I need to prepare for that instead."
Esdeath's gaze darkened slightly as another realization surfaced.
"My star constellation," she murmured, her fingers tightening into a fist. "Unlike Ethan, whose constellation is dead, mine can be still alive. If It made its incarnation, then it can discard just as easily."
Her heart beat heavily as the thought lingered. She couldn't rely entirely on her constellation's power.
"I need to build my own strength. I need essence stones , physical strength, and abilities that belong to alone." Her determination burned brighter with each word.
Next Esdeath Used SP to increase her stats.
Esdeath sat cross-legged on the bed, her crimson eyes glowing faintly as she focused. She decided it was ti to boost her stats and strengthen her body further. With a quick thought, she began the process.
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