It might sound crazy to anyone else, but I actually took pride in trying to act like a professional degenerate.
That was my whole thing. That was my persona. Every ti things got interesting, the system found a way to cut short my fun ti.
But forget the system. She didn’t even give a chance. Not a pause. Not a word. If there was any consolation at all, it was this—she was a good kisser.
"Forget it," I grumbled and summoned my spear. Thinking about it any longer only added to the stress.
The skill window flashed open.
[Redirect: Allows the user to shift the impact point of an attack. The stronger the attack, the longer the casting ti. Effective range: a 250-ter radius around the user.]
[Relocate: Allows the user to instantly move to any location within a 250-ter radius.]
"FINALLY!" I jumped from the bed. I had been dreaming of this ability for a long ti.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t envious of Alexa and Hai-Yen. Now, I had the sa ability as them.
Without wasting ti, I headed straight for one of the largest training rooms. It was late, so I had it all to myself. Just to be safe, I even turned off the caras.
Next, I set paraters on the control panel to summon training dummies. These were designed to aid Seekers on increasing their long distances attack, which made them perfect for to test my ’Redirect’ Skill.
For now, I didn’t give them any movent commands. I just placed them a hundred ters away, in a varied formation.
I closed my eyes and tried to resonate with my spear. Since it was an external power, I needed to learn how to use it properly.
Every vibration, every pulse, reminded that the weapon would obey only if I pushed it just right.
’Inhale.’ I took a deep breath, making sure the only skill I used was Redirect. Combining it with my wind attack would co later.
I lifted the spear, adjusted my footing, and locked my gaze on the farthest dummy. Every detail mattered—the angle, the distance, the delay. Only after the calculation settled did I thrust.
The impact teleported, but I failed to accurately hit the target.
Weird. Kyle could control it effortlessly, just tapping his cane to the ground. How the did he make it look so easy?
My mind race to search for an answer, and the one that has the most promise was the nature of his own ability.
If I assud that his power was just about creating shockwaves with thought, and he only used the cane to extend range and smooth out casting, that would explain the difference.
He only had to tap, while I had to thrust my spear to generate the attack. Each thod had its own pros and cons.
First, his thod was capped by how strong his single attack could be. Mine wasn’t. I could stack ability after ability into one strike, turning it into super charged attack.
More than that, control over timing changed everything. If I could hold the impact until the last mont, then redirect it right before contact, the delay would disappear.
Of course, that was easier to think about than actually pull off.
There were too many variables in a real battle, and redirecting a powerful attack was exponentially harder than a weak one.
That explained why, when he used his trump card against , he tapped the ground multiple tis.
I tried again. This ti, I focused on a smaller scale, aiming for a dummy closer by.
The shockwave moved—but not enough. It fizzled halfway, barely denting the target. At least I was seeing progress.
On the third attempt, I pushed harder, calling on more force. The spear shuddered, the shockwave jumped but it landed too early.
I quickly realized what went wrong. The force of the attack was too strong, disrupting the redirection. I made a ntal note about it. One day, it could be turned into an advantage.
With ti to spare, I kept practicing nonstop. I only paused to recover my Qi, then went back at it again.
It wasn’t until a notification buzzed from the speaker by the door that I realized it was already 6:00 a.m
Wow. Ti really flew when I was actually enjoying training.
Stretching my legs, I decided to call it a day and deal with other guild matters. I was also curious about the chain reaction my deed had set off last night.
hiss!
The chanical door slid open.
"Oh, Alexa, what are you doing here so early?" I asked, seeing her in a black gym bra.
"I could ask the sa about you, Master," she said, glancing past my shoulder at the destroyed dummies.
"I did a bit of a workout," I admitted. "You should tell the maintenance team to replace these. I got a little carried away and ended up destroying everything."
I walked past her, thinking about getting a shower, but she grabbed my hand.
"Guild Master, can we spar? I want to see how much I’ve grown."
"Are you sure?" I raised an eyebrow. "Fighting strong opponents is good, but it could crush your confidence."
"Confidence isn’t built by winning every fight. I want to see where I actually stand."
I shook my head, though a small smile tugged at my lips. "You’re determined; I’ll give you that. But don’t co complaining if I go too hard."
"That’s the point," she said, letting go of my hand and stepping back "I need to know my limits."
I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. "Alright... but don’t expect to hold back just because you’re pretty."
She swallowed hard, her cheeks flushing. My god, she was too easy.
If I weren’t busy, I would have already conquered her without breaking a sweat. Well... that was paradoxical, because if I did, we would both end up sweating like crazy.
We cleared the dummies, giving us plenty of space to move.
"Are you ready?" I asked, not bothering to summon my spear.
"I am," she raised her dagger and took a deep breath. She didn’t know the exact step-by-step cultivation process, but her body rembered how I redirected Qi. That habit had beco second nature to her.
"Then—"
She disappeared. My body reacted on instinct, sliding out of the way, just as her blade cut through the air where my neck had been.
Damn... her teleportation speed had already reached Hai-Yen’s level.
Did I just create a monster?
Before I could even admire her achievents and shower her with praise, she attacked again.
The speed was insane—I ended up covering my entire body with Qi, just in case she accidentally took my head off.
SWOOSH!
SWOOSH!
Every ti I thought I had a read on her, she vanished and reappeared, her dagger slicing through air re inches from my skin.
My arms and legs moved on instinct, blocking, parrying, shifting, but she was relentless.
She flickered from one spot to another, forcing back step by step. My Qi shield thrumd under the strain, protecting from cuts that would have ended a normal fight.
Finally, she paused, stepping back and letting out a deep breath. Her eyes shone with a mix of awe and exhaustion.
"Master... you’re really strong," she admitted. "I thought I’d improved, but you’re able to dodge and block my attacks with your bare hands."
"You did improve, and don’t worry about it. My hands are tougher than normal tal," I said, letting a small smile slip.
"I know that, Master," she said, closing her eyes to steady herself. "That’s why I’ve been fighting with the intent to finish you off."
My lips curled in amusent. "That’s a very good way to motivate yourself. But if you really want that outco, you’ll need more attack power."
"Right now, your speed is already on par with Hai‑Yen’s, but your strikes are lacking. You could kill most S‑Ranks without much trouble. Against soone with a body like mine, though, you’d still struggle."
"I know." She nodded. "That’s why I want to try sothing new, Master. If this works, I’ll be able to beat Hai‑Yen easily in a direct confrontation."
"Oh." I caught the confidence in her tone right away. She was never the type to say sothing that bold.
"Are you sure?" I inquired. "We’re talking about Hai‑Yen here. She’s soone who is acknowledged in the whole country."
Her eyes flashed with determination, narrowing as my words stoked the fire of her competitiveness.
Since becoming an S‑Rank, people had always compared her to Hai‑Yen because their powers were similar.
Even so, the Checkered Sword Maiden had more fans—mostly because of her face. That probably irked Alexa, more than she wanted to admit.
"Master," she pointed her dagger forward. "Do you also think I’m inferior to her?"
"What kind of question is that?" I shrugged. "You’re my student, so of course you’re superior."
She cald slightly, but the determination in her eyes didn’t fade.
"Master, please do your best to protect yourself," she warned, gripping her dagger tighter. "My next attack is unlike everything you ever seen, I’m afraid I might accidentally hurt you."
The air around us grew heavier, and I wasn’t imagining it. Her aura was rising, and even the hairs on my arms stood on end, warning of the threat.
"Very well. Show what you got."
My shadow flowed up from my feet, wrapping around and forming a full samurai armor, complete with a helm and a long-sheathed katana on my hips.
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