“What are you doing here? It’s not ti for us to work yet,” Kei Y said flatly as he opened the door.
The supervisor—tall, stern, and already radiating tension—glared down at him. “Khenu, you’ve been getting far too disrespectful lately. Best learn your place befo—”
The door slamd shut in his face mid-sentence.
Kei Y turned back inside, completely unfazed.
“Was that the smart thing to do?” Kei M asked.
“He didn’t seem very happy,” Inpu added, wincing slightly.
“Should I start making breakfast now?” Mia asked innocently, already halfway to the kitchen as Silvie gently tugged her back.
Then, with a deafening crash, the front door exploded inward—splinters flying as it was smashed off its hinges.
“Are you really that prepared to face the consequences, Khenu?!” the supervisor roared as he stepped inside, aether rolling off him in waves.
“You better be prepared to pay for that door,” Kei Y shot back without missing a beat.
The supervisor’s eyes narrowed, clearly not amused. He stepped up to Kei Y, towering over him by at least three heads, his presence oppressive and his aether surging—coiled and ready to make good on his threat.
Kei Y stared up at him calmly.
Completely unbothered.
As if the mountain in front of him wasn’t worth more than an eyebrow raise.
While the supervisor’s full attention had been locked onto Kei Y, Silvie moved quickly, giving Mia a subtle signal. Mia imdiately understood and reverted to her weakened, original state—limbs trembling, posture slouched, and breathing shallow. Within monts, she looked as fragile as ever. Silvie helped her sit down gently before she collapsed under her own weight.
A soft groan of pain slipped from Mia’s lips, just loud enough to draw the supervisor’s attention.
His eyes shifted from Kei Y to the rest of the room, suddenly registering everyone else present.
“…What are all these people doing here?” he asked, suspicion dripping from his voice. “What are you up to?”
Kei Y blinked at him with all the concern of soone being asked why the sky was blue.
“Just because nobody likes being around you doesn’t an it’s the sa for everyone else,” he said coolly. “Must be kind of sad, huh? All those guys you’re so desperate to hang out with won’t even stay in the sa room as you.”
The supervisor’s eye twitched.
“Can’t really bla them, though,” Kei Y continued, voice still casual. “You sll like shit and unwashed ass.”
The room went still.
“You’re willing to put your life on those words?” the supervisor asked, voice low, dangerous.
“Oh no,” Kei Y replied dryly. “Did I hurt your feelings?”
The man’s aura surged.
Kei Y just waved a hand in front of his nose. “Can we skip the drama and just get to the part where you tell why you’re here? I’m already tired of holding my breath to avoid slling you.”
“We’ve been getting word of your little group’s activities,” the supervisor said, voice tight with restraint. “Fractured zones in this area, reports of fighting matching your group’s description—seems like you’ve been busy.”
“Since when is it illegal to enter public zones?” Kei Y shot back. “They’re open for anyone. And how we train? That’s none of your concern.”
The supervisor clicked his tongue in irritation. “If you're going to enter zones, you're expected to pay taxes on your gains. Unless, of course, you’re looking to invite trouble.”
“You’re so useless that you need to threaten people just to scrape together coin?” Kei Y said, folding his arms. “Aren’t you tired of being so pathetic? Even I’m starting to feel bad for you.”
The supervisor 's eye twitched. “So you’re saying you won’t pay?”
“I’m saying your life is so worthless that ending it would feel like littering. I’d rather not punish my blade by making it touch you. But—” Kei Y smirked darkly, “—if you’re fine with throwing your life away, I’d be happy to help.”
Suddenly, the supervisor laughed—and Kei Y’s system flashed a notification in front of him:
[You have been challenged to a Death Duel by Nekhtem.
Accepting this challenge will initiate combat to the death.
Do you accept?]
Kei Y pressed [Yes] without a mont of hesitation.
“It’s a sha,” Nekhtem said, his smirk returning. “Those guys you worked with really seed to enjoy the food you made. At least they’ll get their gourt feast from the canteen every day… once I’m done.”
“You’re awfully confident for soone who only just ford a core,” Kei Y replied coldly. “You must’ve been desperate—pathetic enough to sell yourself just for a bit of power. throwing you on your back must’ve shattered that brittle pride of yours.”
Nekhtem’s grin vanished. “Just wait. The ti of our duel will co soon. And after I kill you—your friends here? They’ll be mine.”
He turned, storming off.
“Don’t forget to pay for our door, you idiot!” Kei Y shouted after him.
Having witnessed the entire encounter, Inpu looked visibly concerned.
“Do you think that was smart?” he asked. “You just said he ford his core—aren’t you worried?”
His question was t with calm, almost bored expressions.
“It’s not really much, to be honest,” Silvie replied casually.
“Yeah, what she said,” Mia added weakly from the back, still acting like support.
“Oh, right… I forgot who I was talking to,” Inpu said with a nervous laugh, realizing how outclassed he was.
“Forget about him,” Kei Y said, waving the thought away. “We’ve got more than enough Rock Hen at stocked up—I’ll sell so of it and cover the door repairs. Mia, Inpu, get ready. You’re both joining us in fractured zones later.”
Mia blinked. “Wait, too?”
“Yep,” Kei Y confird, already thinking ahead.
Then, as if sothing had just clicked, he turned back to the others. “Also—speaking of who we are… how exactly do I go about forming a spark? I’m not reconnecting with Breeze Force fast enough. Feels like I’m only at ten percent force progression again.”
Inpu nearly choked. “Holy hell—what do you an only ten percent again?! What are you now?!”
“…Fifty percent?” Kei Y said like it was nothing.
Even Kei M’s brow rose in surprise at that one.
“That’s insane,” Inpu muttered. “Feeling like you lost that much force progression and still moving like you do—what the hell even are you?”
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Mia cut in, raising a timid hand, “but I only just started training like two days ago. Am I really ready to enter a zone?”
“You’ll be fine,” Kei Y said without hesitation.
Silvie gave Mia a nod of encouragent. “You’ve already taken your first real step. That’s more than most ever do.”
“Besides,” Kei M added, “we’ll be there. If anything happens, you’ll be covered.”
Mia didn’t look reassured, but the trust they showed her was enough to make her nod.
Even if her knees still felt like jelly.
“Well, forming your spark really depends on you,” Silvie explained, arms crossed as she paced in thought. “You can connect with an item and channel your aether through your God Spark title. There are layers to the stages, but honestly, just having the desire is enough to begin the process.”
She turned to face Kei Y more directly. “Or you can focus on a skill that really represents who you are. Sothing core to your identity. Or—if you want sothing more advanced—you can focus your intent through a concept. That one’s more difficult, since it requires a much deeper connection to yourself. It’s almost like summoning the ethereal form of your spark.”
“Sounds complicated,” Inpu muttered.
Silvie shrugged. “It is. But there’s no ‘best’ thod. All of them can produce the sa quality of spark. The important thing is progression. Focus on the stages once your spark is ford. That’s where the growth really happens.”
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“Got it,” Kei Y said, already walking away with bundles of Rock Hen at slung over his shoulder.
He made his way to his usual vendor, a woman with sharp eyes and sharper blades.
“You know,” she said, barely glancing up as he approached, “if you keep spoiling like this, I’m gonna be forced to be nice to you.”
“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing,” Kei Y replied smoothly. “I’m a naturally likeable person, after all.”
“Mm. Not everyone would agree with that,” she said, tying off a package. “Seems like Nekhtem isn’t your biggest fan.”
“You heard already?” he asked.
“I have my ways of gathering information. Besides, the big idiot wasn’t exactly subtle—yelling that he’s going to kill you before the day’s over.” She glanced at him, a cleaver glinting in her hand. “Want so help getting him off your back?”
Kei Y imdiately sensed the danger radiating off her blade. “He’s been doing that, huh? Let him. He can enjoy his life while it lasts. But I should be fine. Thanks though… That cleaver feels awfully dangerous, by the way. You must’ve been sothing back in your good young days.”
He ducked—just in ti—as the cleaver whistled over his head, slicing clean air where it would’ve split his skull.
“You really must have a death wish, you little prick,” she snapped, slamming the cleaver into the counter. “Here’s your paynt for the Rock Hen at—and because I don’t want to see your face again too soon, here’s so extra coin. Take it, and stay away before I sue you for harassnt.”
Kei grinned, already backing up. “Hehehe… you think I’m going to win. Knew you believed in !”
He bolted out the door before she could swing again.
Right as he left, a shnnk echoed behind him—followed by silence.
Then the building behind him slid cleanly apart.
And the buildings behind that.
Each split in half as if cut by a blade so sharp it didn’t disturb the wind.
From down the row, another vendor—still clutching a sack of onions—raised an eyebrow. “To think he got you that worked up, Auserre. You must really like that kid. You sure you don’t wanna deal with Nekhtem yourself before he kills Khenu?”
Auserre watched the distant figure of Kei running and smirked.
“Khenu’ll manage. He’s been clearing fractured zones like they’re nothing. A big oaf with a barely-ford core? He can handle it.”
“So…” the vendor glanced at the trail of destruction behind her, “…who’s paying for all that damage you just caused?”
“What damage?” Auserre asked imdiately, already tucking her cleaver away.
“I wasn’t here today.”
And with that, she took off running in the opposite direction.
After getting his daily round of teasing in with the vendor, Kei Y made his way back ho to finish preparing breakfast—this ti properly, with Mia under supervision.
The others had made sure to physically restrain her from touching the kitchen until Kei returned. To her credit, the little girl had put up a hell of a fight, nearly clobbering them all in her desperation to feed everyone.
Once peace was restored, they got to work.
Silvie made sure Mia reverted to her previous "frail" state, careful to maintain appearances so no one outside suspected anything unusual. To make moving around easier, Kei Y even crafted her a pair of crutches, reinforced with vines —strong, but light enough for her to swing around easily.
As for what Kei M did during all this... no one knew. And no one dared to ask.
When it was ti to work, Kei Y and Inpu headed back out, joining the other workers scattered across the area. Kei Y imdiately felt the weight of several stares—the kind of stares that said, "We heard about your little death match."
“Hey, Khenu!” soone called out with a teasing grin. “Just when we finally started eating good, you had to go and get yourself killed, huh? You couldn’t have waited a few more days? Look at my belly! I was finally putting on so weight!”
There was laughter, but under it, Kei Y could hear it—worry. Real worry.
They teased him like an annoying little brother they didn’t want to lose.
And Kei Y, smiling easily, accepted it all.
Even if he was just the cook to so of them, even if they only saw him as the guy who kept them fed—it still ant sothing.
He mattered to them.
And for Kei Y...
That was more than enough.
"Don’t think that dying ans you’re getting out of your paynts," Kei Y called over his shoulder with a grin, causing a chorus of groans to ripple through the workers.
Despite the humor, the workday wrapped up quickly. The mood was heavy—not just from exhaustion, but from the looming duel everyone had heard whispers about.
As the sun dipped lower in the sky, Kei Y made his way toward the village's arena—a wide, worn circle of stone and packed earth built specifically for settling death duels. A grim necessity in a world where disputes weren’t always resolved with words.
Inpu walked beside him, hands shoved deep into his pockets, clearly anxious.
But after everything he’d seen in the past few days—after witnessing Kei Y’s casual strength, his confidence, his ability to stand toe-to-toe with things no normal human should handle—Inpu managed to calm himself.
He put his faith where it belonged.
In the center of the arena, Nekhtem already stood waiting.
The man was a mountain—broad-shouldered, dense, his newly ford core making his presence even more oppressive. His arms were crossed, and he exuded the smug, caged-animal energy of soone convinced of their coming victory.
Kei Y barely gave him a passing glance.
Instead, he simply took a deep breath, feeling the world settle around him, and walked steadily to the center of the arena—unhurried, unbothered.
When he reached his mark, he stood quietly across from Nekhtem, loose and relaxed, like he hadn't a care in the world.
As Inpu peeled off toward the sidelines, he spotted Silvie, Mia, and Kei M already waiting.
He made his way over, joining them without a word.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the two figures standing at the heart of the arena.
The duel was about to begin.
And no matter which way it ended, the village would rember it.
As they stood across from each other in the arena, the system flashed a translucent prompt in front of both of them:
[You have been challenged to a Death Duel. Confirm participation.]
Without hesitation, both Kei Y and Nekhtem tapped "Yes."
The instant they did, a translucent barrier shimred into existence around the arena—an unmistakable signal to everyone watching. No interference. No escape. Only one would walk away.
"Tsk," Nekhtem scoffed, rolling his shoulders. "To think you'd be so eager to die."
But his words trailed off as he noticed sothing odd.
Kei Y was standing still… but his face was steadily turning blue.
He was holding his breath.
Then, with a desperate gasp, Kei Y exhaled heavily—and imdiately started coughing violently, doubling over slightly as he fought to breathe.
"Even on your last day alive, you couldn't even bother to bathe yourself?" Kei Y wheezed between coughs, glaring up at him with watering eyes. "Whoever has to move your corpse is going to suffer the most vile punishnt humanity could ever invent."
Around the arena, a few strained chuckles slipped out before being quickly stifled.
"You still have ti for jokes?" Nekhtem growled, stepping forward—only to suddenly jerk backward violently, his head snapping from the unexpected force.
Kei Y had already moved.
The mont the duel began, he’d pulled a crafted brick from his side and hurled it with pinpoint precision—activating the acceleration rune strokes carved into its surface. It hit like a cannonball, smacking Nekhtem square in the forehead and staggering him back.
At the sa ti, a borrowed force quill—courtesy of Inpu—was already in Kei Y’s hand, aether surging into its tip.
"You’re right," Kei Y said coldly, as his hand raced through the air, carving blazing-hot rune strokes directly into the ground under Nekhtem’s feet. "I shouldn’t be joking around."
The temperature around the arena spiked instantly. Heat waves shimred around Nekhtem’s position, the ground beneath him beginning to sear and crack.
"Because your body’s going to be so incinerated," Kei Y continued without rcy, "there won't even be a corpse to move."
He smirked as a second brick slipped into his free hand, already humming with force.
"I shouldn't have given you the hope that anything would be left at all."
"Hmm..." Mia tilted her head, tapping a finger to her lips as she watched the arena. "Is he... using fire runes?"
"He is," Kei M replied calmly, arms crossed. "He probably doesn’t want to reveal his real capabilities with Breeze Force. As long as you understand the structure behind rune strokes, it's possible to use runes aligned to forces different from your own."
He glanced toward the swirling heat forming around Nekhtem.
"But," he added, voice lower, "very few people can manage sothing like that. It’s… scary rare."
"You think he'll be okay?" Inpu asked, worry creeping into his voice as he gripped the edge of his seat.
Silvie, who had been quietly watching, finally spoke. "He'll be fine."
Inpu blinked, surprised by her certainty.
She continued, her eyes sharp as they tracked every small movent in the arena. "The bigger danger isn’t Nekhtem. It’s all these eyes on him."
She gestured subtly at the crowd gathering around, more and more cultivators drawn by the spectacle.
"A recruit class beating soone who’s already ford a core? Especially when that recruit’s only at level 3?" she said flatly. "That’s enough to make... questionable parties very curious."
Her gaze narrowed.
"Too curious."
She leaned back slightly, her posture still relaxed—but her tone held an edge. "That idiot Nekhtem? He's the least of Kei’s worries."
As the rune strokes flared to life beneath Nekhtem’s feet, he finally moved.
The ground rumbled slightly as he summoned Graveltide Force, a minor earth-aligned force that manipulated the compression and movent of small rocks and dirt into fluid, surging forms. Aether rapidly gathered, molding the ground under him—and in the blink of an eye, a massive boulder ford, compacted and swirling with the rough, grinding energy of Graveltide.
With a roar, Nekhtem hurled the boulder toward Kei Y like a living cannonball.
Kei Y dashed forward the mont it launched, lowering his stance sharply and sliding beneath the hurtling mass of stone. Dust and debris kicked up around him—but he moved with such fluid control that it barely disturbed his balance.
And as soon as the boulder cleared overhead, Kei Y exploded into action.
A volley of kicks slamd into Nekhtem’s body—rapid, precise, and sharp.
From the outside, the scene almost looked ridiculous.
The size difference was comical: Kei Y looked like a kindergartener picking a fight with a full-grown senior linebacker. Nekhtem lood over him, muscles bulging and veins throbbing with raw force, while Kei Y’s blows barely seed to shift the larger man's stance.
But each kick was purposeful.
Each strike layered with hidden force.
Nekhtem scowled, feeling the sharp, building pressure—but still stood firm, convinced that raw power would win out.
He was about to realize how wrong he was.
After taking that first brick strike to the head, Nekhtem staggered, montarily dazed. In that brief window of disorientation, Kei Y moved.
Without hesitation, he began weaving fire rune strokes across his hands and feet—not with the force quill Inpu had lent him—but purely through willpower, manipulating the aether in the environnt directly to trace the strokes into existence.
At the sa ti, he kept up appearances by dragging the force quill along the ground, drawing more fire runes where everyone could see. A perfect distraction.
The truth was, the volley of kicks Kei Y launched just now hadn't been ordinary at all. Each kick had been enhanced by fire force, the rune strokes layered across his limbs adding explosive striking power and burning aether to every blow. Combined with the searing rune field heating up the ground beneath Nekhtem’s feet, the big oaf’s pain and growing frustration were inevitable.
Grimacing, Nekhtem swung out with one massive hand, aiming to grab Kei Y in a brutal grip.
But Kei had already invested all twenty of his free stat points into Dexterity—and thanks to his relentless physical training, his Strength, Agility, and Constitution had climbed naturally too. His new body, enhanced both systemically and naturally, moved with a seamless sharpness he was still studying, ntally noting the differences between earned strength and gifted stats even in the middle of combat.
With a subtle flare, Kei ignited the fire runes inscribed on his feet, giving himself a sudden burst of propulsion. He zipped aside, effortlessly dodging Nekhtem’s grasp, and twisted midair to bring down a second brick—this ti slamming it right into Nekhtem’s skull with a heavy thud.
Thunk!
“Tsk… no wonder he’s so damn stupid,” Kei muttered under his breath, shaking out his hand. “Having a skull that thick must’ve replaced whatever brain he had.”
But even as he observed Nekhtem staggering back, groaning and furious, what truly annoyed Kei Y wasn’t the enemy in front of him.
It was the system.
From the mont the duel started, all the carefully prepared rune strokes Kei had drawn on his body before the fight had vanished—cleansed the instant the system locked in the duel conditions.
It was as if the system itself was scolding him, saying: "Fight fair, you little cheater."
Kei Y clicked his tongue, genuinely irritated. “Can’t even cheat in peace. Stupid system…”
anwhile, Nekhtem was stumbling around in growing rage and agony, unaware that his opponent was more upset about his foiled cheat sheet than the actual battle.
It was probably for the best.
If Nekhtem ever learned the real reason Kei Y was fuming, he might just die from sha before the fire runes finished him off.
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