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nBang!

nReynolds slammed into the wall heavily. Standing up, he vomited a mouthful of blood.

nFor the past three minutes, he had received injuries of different calibers. Some heavy, while others light. It was like they didn’t want to kill him hence they were holding back.

nHis vision was already blurry from the blood which entered his eyes. Defending had gotten hard, evading was even harder.

n‘Will I really die under the hands of people from the Starlight Academy. I don’t fear death, but I don’t want to die at the hands of these people. Okay, I’m scared of death, I mean, who wants to die?’

nReynolds’s mind was a mess.

nBut there was something he knew, he didn’t want to die. Even though he might eventually die, but not now. He still hasn’t married, hasn’t had a kid. And he hasn’t given his parents the good life he promised them.

nYes, he had a rare element and a great grade in it also. With this, his parents are living well, but that was on the premise that he is alive. If he dies here, they would go back to the way they lived previously, when eating twice a day was hard. Sometimes they couldn’t eat a meal all day.

nAs a kid, he was very malnourished and had to ensure he also doesn’t eat much because he didn’t know if he would have anything to eat the next day.

nBut it all changed when he went for his test, the moment his element was discovered, and also the grade of it. Their lives changed, his mother didn’t have to be mistreated at the place she worked just so she could earn enough for them to eat. His father could be said to be one of the unluckiest people alive.

nOn the first day he set out to become an adventurer, he was almost killed by a magical beast and had no option than to stop. With a grave injury, doing anything else was difficult.

nTwo years before his test, his family welcomed another child. At first, he felt upset at the thought of it, he even almost scolded his parents. They were already having trouble feeding, and they wanted to add another mouth to the fray.

nIn the end, he was the one who loved the little guy more. And the little guy could be said to be their lucky star since just after clocking two years, their entire life took a turn around. Coming from a poor family and having not just a rare element but also a high grade on it, was uncommon.

n‘Carl, your test will be coming in six years’

nWhen he remembered his little brother, tears filled his already bloodshot eyes.

nHe couldn’t fight back, standing on his two feet was even harder. He couldn’t hear anything except the high-pitched buzzing sound which was ringing constantly in his ears.

nHe placed both hands on his ears, trying to at least make the annoying sound stop. But it didn’t, he tried to speak, but no words came out.

nWith a ‘thud’ he fell on his knees. His legs couldn’t support his body anymore, his consciousness was slowly fading away.

n‘Will I never see my friends again? Alice, Grey, Klaus. My family, Dad, Mom, Carl’.

nHis fading mind did all it could to ensure he didn’t lose consciousness.

n‘No! This isn’t the end. I won’t die here’.

nGiving himself motivation.

nWith sheer willpower, Reynolds straightened his back, raising his left leg, he planted it firmly on the ground. Using his hands as support, he stood up. Although staggering, he was up.

n“Look boys, our prey still has some fight left in him”

nThe girl said with joy pointing at Reynolds.

nThe boys laughed when they saw the bloodied Reynolds struggling to stand still.

n“Your willpower is strong. Kekeke, just how I like them”

nThe girl gave off a sinister laugh while licking her lips.

nThe boys by the side uncontrollably took a step back. This is the part they hated.

n“Stop being a pussy you fools. I won’t do anything to him just yet. I just want to see how long he will be able to keep standing after falling”

nThe girl pouted before scolding the boys when she saw their scared expressions.

nSeeing her delicate face when she pouted, the boys didn’t even dare to admire her beauty, all they saw was an evil woman.

n“Luckily, we are from the same Academy”

nOne of the boys said in a voice that only he and his partner will hear.

nThe other boy nodded agreeing to what he said. If they were to be enemies with someone like her, then they would rather commit suicide than face her. Well, they wouldn’t know she was like this until they met her anyway. But still, they were thankful she was one of them.

nReynolds who stood on the same spot currently couldn’t discern his left from his right. There was only one thing going through his mind presently, that was, to live. As of now, nothing else mattered. He wanted to live, to fulfill his promise to his family, his friends.

nHe remembered what Klaus said before they separated.

n‘How can I die when the others are still alive? I can’t make them feel the pain of losing a friend’.

nHe thought to himself.

nAll this was to rekindle the fighting spirit in him. If his fighting wasn’t rekindled, then there was no way for him to have the strength to fight back.

nA little spark resurfaced in him once again. Slowly, the spark turned into a fire that started burning brightly.

n“I know I’m not the strongest, but the likes of you aren’t enough to keep me down”

nWith this, he stood as straight as an arrow.

nStaring dead in the eyes of his enemies, without any fear he started this round of battle this time. He didn’t wait for them to attack before he retaliated, he attacked first.

n‘Lightning rain’

nThe technique he had not been able to utilize for a long time, was used.

nThis was one of the strongest attacks, and also the one with the widest range in the lightning element arsenal they knew of. And for the first time in his life, he used it.

nThe attack was flawless as it was able to take his enemies unaware. The girl who was lmore alert compared to the two boys was able to escape from the range of the attack after being hit three times.

nBoth boys were not so lucky. One of them was instantly hit with paralysis, while the other managed to crawl his way out of the range of the attack.

n‘A chance’

nA glint flashed through Reynolds’s eyes when he noticed one of them had been hit with paralysis.

nSwoosh!

nThe sound of something breaking the wind was heard. And before anyone could figure out what was happening, a lightning arrow had already pierced through the head of the boy. With that, his body fell lifelessly on the ground.

n“One down, two to go”

nReynolds said coldly.

n“*Sigh* This is why mother said to never play with your prey, especially one as dangerous as this. You never know when they will strike back”

nThe girl said with a sigh.

nThe other boy looked at her, but she still wore the same casual smile she had on her face all this time. It was like she didn’t even notice one of their companions was dead.

n“He’s dead”

nThe boy couldn’t help but say to her.

n“And so? Don’t worry, after I’m done with this prey, we’ll get a new partner”

nShe said nonchalantly.

nThe boy alternated his gaze between the dead body of their companion and the smiling face of the girl. A thought told him to leave the place, but his rationality told him otherwise. The chances of the girl killing him if he tried to leave were quite high, and he was no match for her if they were to fight.

nSeeing he couldn’t blame the girl, he directed all his hatred to Reynolds.

n“It’s all because of you. You mutt, you killed him!”

nWith a roar, he charged at Reynolds and unleashed a sea of flames his way.

n“Haha, didn’t you want to kill me? I told you I will kill you all. His death is just the beginning, soon both of you will join him in hell”

nReynolds released a defensive technique that was able to easily deflect the sea of flames.

n“I want you dead”

nThe girl also joined the fray.

n“Strange, so do I”

nReynolds said icily.

nBoom!

nAttacks clashed against each other.

nAnd the girl was pushed back for the first time since they started attacking Reynolds.

n‘Something’s wrong’

nShe was able to quickly notice the difference in his strength.

n“Don’t attack him head-on, at the current state he’s in, we can’t take him down. Let’s go on the defensive, he shouldn’t be able to last long”

nThe girl said on seeing the boy was thinking of fighting Reynolds head-on.

nHer deduction was actually spot on. Reynolds won’t be able to keep this up for another three minutes. His boost from adrenaline will soon die down, and he will go back to his weak and defenseless state.

nThree minutes later…

nThud!

nReynolds once again dropped to the ground on his knees breathing heavily.

nHe couldn’t keep on, he was out of strength. Normally, with the boost he got, he should have been able to quickly kill them, but the girl was able to figure it out and told her partner they should go on the defensive.

nAfter attacking for over one minute with no results, he wanted to flee. But the girl was also able to stop him from fleeing.

n“Is this the end?”

nA teardrop fell from his eyes.

nThe girl walked towards him smiling widely.

n“Now, I will make you suffer”

nShe said every word slowly.

nIt was like she was afraid given Reynolds’s condition, he wouldn’t be able to hear her clearly if she spoke normally.

n‘No! It can’t be’.

nReynolds refused to accept his current predicament.

nUnwillingness rose in his heart once again.

n“I refuse to accept this!”

nRUMBLE!!

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