NOVEL WEB Chapter 97: My, My~
The whole room suddenly went pin-drop silent.
A sharp, echoing slap had just rung out loud and unforgiving.
Maria stood motionless, her face turned to the side, the echo of Razeal's hand still hanging in the air. For a moment, it was as if her body hadn't caught up to what had just happened. Slowly, almost delicately, she raised her hand to her cheek.
Her fingers brushed the skin hot, flushed, stinging.
Her eyes blinked. Once. Twice.
She looked at him, but not like she was seeing him. It was as if reality itself had glitched for her.
Across from her, Razeal shrugged, spreading his hands in a "What did I say?" gesture.
"I warned you." He said
But suddenly.. even before he could exhale, his Killing Perception flared violently in his mind pulsing, trembling, like a mental alarm screaming in his skull. He didn't need the system to explain; he could see it for himself. The red fog around Maria which was normal just seconds ago suddenly started growing denser by the second. Red tendrils curled around her shoulders, creeping upward like smoke, thick and alive.
"Really? Just one slap and she's losing it like this?" he muttered under his breath. "I've got a system set to 'Arrogance Issues' and still don't pop off this hard."
He shook his head in mild annoyance, but then her body moved unnaturally fast. In a blink, she tilted her torso, fingers flashing through the air.
SHHHHK!
A razor-thin blade of water ripped through the space where Razeal's face had been, missing by mere inches.
But for Razeal, it was nothing. He had already perceived the trajectory before the spell even took shape. His training over the past thousands of simulated hours. made this feel like child's play. His reaction was minimal, precise barely a backward step. If anything, he had moved more than needed… only because he was already predicting the nature of her ability and knew he needed space between them. For better safety
Yeah this he learned from training grounds too.
She stood there now, her chest heaving, eyes wild. The air around her shimmered unnaturally.
Then her voice cut through the air sharp, high-pitched, and laced with murderous intent.
"Today, you're going to die by my hands!"
The air vibrated as her killing intent surged. A violent splash of aqua-blue energy surged out of her, water beginning to swirl chaotically around her, pulsing with her rage. It rippling through the room like a tsunami. Water swirled around her from seemingly nowhere, pulled from the very air itself, orbiting her in an ever-growing storm.
"I'LL CUT YOUR LIMBS OFF, YOU.. C!" she screamed, her eyes blazing a dangerous, cold blue that gleamed like sharpened steel. She threw up her arms.
In response, the water floating around her began to harden, shaping itself into dozens of sharp, narrow spikes. They hovered, trembling in the air with latent energy ten, twenty, maybe even more, forming a circular perimeter. And then, they started to spin violently. Fast enough to make the air warp and distort, like they were surrounded by their own gravity. Each spike looked like a miniature, floating drill deadly and razor-focused.
Razeal could hear the high-pitched hum of the rotation.
She was serious.
She had lost it.
At her sudden, aggressive shift, Razeal just cracked his neck.
"So that's how far gone you are…" he murmured, almost disappointed. "Alright then. Let's see how much I've improved."
With a thought, he reached into his system space. A thin shimmer of light formed in his right hand, and a long, plain, perfectly straight blade emerged.
Nothing special. An E-ranked weapon. He'd taken it off Levy hour's ago because, honestly, he didn't have a weapon of his own in the real world well.. he had one but sadly someone just robbed it. And well perfect time to use it.
With casual ease, Razeal spun the blade in his palm before gripping it backhanded a style he had naturally adopted after countless fights with the Skulltrites. Maybe it wasn't a conventional technique, but for him, it worked. Holding the sword like one would hold a fist, the handle resting in his palm, allowed him to rotate and swing the blade in almost any direction. Defensive or offensive linear or unpredictable he had adapted the motion to fit his needs.
He didn't know if others would struggle with this grip, or if it went against swordsmanship norms, but to him, it was fluid. Natural and good. He had trained in it with instinct rather than theory.
And now, standing there calmly he stared at her, eyes steady, breaths calm.
He wasn't afraid.
He wasn't even tense.
This wasn't ego as most of times. This was certainty born from pain, experience, and thousands of deaths inside the system's simulation space.
The sheer amount of battle experience he carried now… it was no longer something that could be ignored it wasn't that he trained for long but he definitely gained more then most people doin there life.. being able to die and come alive? and just that feeling alone makes you stand at different prospective then most people. Also he wasn't worried about anything. He knew he'd handle it. Whatever way it came.
[Host, be careful.]
[That girl in front of you is at C-Rank reak level. I repeat: she's at the peak of C-Rank. There is a qualitative difference between D-Rank and C-Rank, you remember that right?.]
[And also don't forget this is the real world now.]
[Also note: this is the real world. Your reflexes from system training may give you muscle memory but they won't save you from death. You won't respawn. You won't regenerate.]
[Do not exchange injuries. This isn't the arena. This isn't for exp. This is survival.]
The system gave a direct warning just the facts. No panic, no lectures. Strangely, it's not freaking out about Razeal's suicidal moves right now. Why? Simple. Most of the time, it doesn't care. It trusts he'll handle things one way or another. And even if he doesn't right now? The fight will probably be interrupted before it gets fatal. That's what its calculations say, anyway.
The system only really loses its cool when there's zero way out or just pure stupidity like last time, when Razeal acted like an idiot in front of Nova. That wasn't just reckless. That was straight up unreasonable childlessness. Yes it could understand Razeal emotions
The system knew it Razeal could control it. And Razeal himself was fully aware of the consequences and gains tied to every action he made. He wasn't blind. Maybe, back then just by agreeing he could've wiped out most of his problems and walked away from everything.
Sure, it might've felt a bit dirty using the help of people who were technically his enemies. Maybe it felt wrong, even a little dishonorable. But that's exactly where the true challenge lies. Strong people are strong not because they fight fair, but because they make the choices others can't stomach. It might look shameless. Might even be disgusting. But sometimes, using your enemies even respectfully is the smartest thing you can do. It gives you room to grow. And when you're finally strong enough, you get to choose your own path.
That's how it's always been. History isn't written by the most honorable it's written by the ones who win. The ones who cling to their pride die early. But the ones who are cruel enough, even to themselves, the ones willing to go to any length for their goal they get the victory. Not because they're right. Because they're relentless.
The system understood this, even if it didn't like it. Maybe last time, Razeal's reaction wasn't the best from its own prospective. Maybe it just let fear creep in. But fear of death is powerful even for the system. Because if Razeal dies, it dies too.
It hated the way he made reckless moves, the way he sometimes acted without control. It made the system lose its composure too. After all, just imagine your life and death depend on your dog living or dying. A dog that barks at everyone, misbehaves constantly, and especially lashes out at people it had a bad history with. Wouldn't you at least try to teach it, or desperately convince it, to stop barking at those people? To save both your lives?
Outside system thoughts.
Now, Razeal exhaled slowly, steadying himself as he stared down the dozens of floating water drills spinning in the air each one aimed directly at him.
He took a series of system warnings in his head but even then, it didn't take him long to brush them aside.
He had much more important work to do right now.
He tightened his grip on the blade, letting his muscles relax. His breathing slowed.
He was going to win.
He could feel it.
Thalia watched from the front of the lecture stand, arms crossed. She didn't move. Technically, students weren't allowed to fight inside classrooms, but she was letting it happen. Everyone had their rights. And besides, this wasn't just a fight it was just sparing between students which is allowed by academy itself.
Thought her eyes narrowed, locked onto Razeal. In just a few seconds, she had noticed too many strange things. Something didn't sit right.
Did he just?.. Umm
Then Maria shouted, voice rough and wild:
"Fuck off, Perverted bastard!"
And in the same breath, she released all the spinning water spears at once. dozens of them ripping through the air at high speed. They were only a few feet away now. There was no margin for error.
Razeal moved slightly, drawing his sword back, trying to shift his stance, create the right flow for a counter.
But then he paused.
The projectiles were coming fast. Too fast. He could die here. Maybe if he didn't took it seriously.
And yet suddenly
"My, Myy~" came a voice, authoritative and calm.
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Yeah… it's the last day of this broken "one chapter a day" schedule. Hopefully, starting tomorrow, everything will finally be back on track.
sigh Honestly, I don't like it either.
Just… rough times lately.~
Anyways thanks for reading guys
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