The Bookkeeper

"Leo showed me the key to accessing the 7th mana realm's enhancement abilities," Levi said, smirking as he pushed up his sleeves. "Don't expect another loss from me…"

Raiden faced him, breathing slowly and steadily. Despite the massive grin painted across his face and the thrill of euphoria coursing through him from his newfound skill, fear still held him captive. His boots shook as he locked eyes with Levi.

"So you can enhance your physical strength with mana now." His smirk broadened, fueled not just by euphoria but by the knowledge of his 8th realm ability—absorbing his contract's mana to amplify his own power. The stronger Levi became, the stronger he would become as well.

"Let's get this over with…" Levi muttered, his face growing dark before he disappeared entirely.

Raiden kept smirking, but panic crept in as he realized he couldn't move. His legs might as well have been glued to the ground.

"Shit…" he muttered, slamming his fist against the leg in frustration.

A fist drove into his stomach without warning. Before the agony could fully register, a second strike launched him into the ground with brutal force.

"This isn't even close to a fair fight," Levi taunted, becoming visible again. "Wouldn't you rather have me as your trainer?"

Frustration boiled over as Raiden clenched his jaw and hauled himself upright. The ache in his stomach somehow made his grin stretch even wider, though fear still proved to be his greatest adversary.

Raiden pushed through the pain and stared Levi down. "Ha… you think so?" Then it hit him—a realization that transformed his smirk into something truly wicked. He possessed the same invisibility power.

"This will be fun." His expression shifted to mocking amusement as he watched Levi's confusion dawn.

Levi disappeared instantly, prompting Raiden to burst into laughter. He centered his focus, channeling his power to turn invisible, and succeeded.

His eyesight instantly adapted, displaying the world through heat detection. In this new spectrum, Levi's warm form stood out clearly to the left, advancing with calculated ease—no footsteps, no haste, just quiet certainty.

It was obvious Levi couldn't detect Raiden's invisibility, yet fear continued to root him to the spot. Exploiting Levi's unawareness, Raiden let out a sharp, empty cry of terror, the sound serving as both release and distraction from his overwhelming dread.

Acting on raw instinct and sheer will, Raiden spun through the air, his left leg driving downward to boost his rotational force. Levi's jaw dropped in startled confusion, but before his mind could process what was happening, Raiden's right leg crashed into his windpipe.

Knowing the strike wasn't sufficient to end the fight, Raiden landed and immediately forced out another violent scream. His fists were clenched to the point of trembling, his throat scraping raw with the effort, while veins stood out like cords across his face, neck, and forearms.

Before Levi could even register the pain in his throat, Raiden drove two merciless punches into his gut. The rush of euphoria hit him like a drug, pulling a hollow laugh from his chest as he gathered every bit of power he possessed for one crushing final strike that sent Levi plummeting to the earth, shrieking in pain.

Instantly visible again, Raiden burst into laughter that sounded utterly deranged. He wrapped his arms around his stomach, tears of wild joy spilling from his eyes, yet beneath the euphoric high, fear still controlled his body—dropping him to the ground where he shivered with both terror and twisted excitement.

Levi hauled himself upright, confusion written across his features as he stared at Raiden's contradictory display. 

Unable to tell if those were tears of anguish or euphoria, he asked, "Are you okay?" while holding his injured stomach.

Raiden offered no words, just the endless sound of his hysteria.

"How did you see me, though?"

Only laughter answered him.

[ALERT]

[CURRENT STATUS: NUMBER 8: LEVEL- 20/100 XP.

MANA CONTROL: 25

DRAGON MANA POOL: 210/ 5000

PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 180

STAMINA: 175

DRAGON AURA: 40

SKILL PROFICIENCY: ACTIVE 2

—Swordsmanship: 80%

—Euphoria: 7%

FAMILIAR TRUST: 102%

—Linked Familiar: WHITE DRAGON 

CONTRACTS: ACTIVE 2.

—Name: [ASH]

—Bond Type: Sealed Pact.

—Name: [LEVI]

—Bond Type: Binding Oath.

NEW ABILITIES:

—Soul of Dragon: 6%

—Invisibility 

—Others Locked.]

As the system's voice ended, Raiden's hysterical laughter slowly died away. He repositioned himself to stare at the ceiling, taking in the small stars scattered across it while wearing a contented smile. 

For the first time, he'd beaten someone who outclassed him. His smile grew wider as his body trembled with delighted giggles.

"I need this 100%."

Levi dropped down beside him, lying on the floor as well. "What are you talking about?"

"…"

Raiden met his gaze, his expression sobering completely. "You need to take every opponent seriously, no matter how much stronger you think you are."

Levi narrowed his gaze and reclined on the ground, reaching his hand up toward the ceiling. "Are you saying I lost because I underestimated you?"

Raiden started getting up from the floor. "Yes…" After reaching his full height, he began patting the dust from his garments. "You thought I had no way to detect you, so you got cocky before securing your victory."

He took Levi's hand and hauled him to his feet. "Save the celebration for after you've completed the task."

"You haven't worked as an assassin before, have you?"

A smirk crossed Raiden's face as he headed toward the entrance. "Would you like to know?"

Levi shrugged. "Of course!"

Though Raiden refused to be open about his real identity, with Levi enslaved to him and likely to stay until he left this world, he viewed this as a prime chance to forge him into something more formidable.

Turning toward him, he commanded, "Follow me," before exiting the room. Levi fell into step behind him.

"Strength matters, but you need more than that."

He spoke while they walked out of the house. His expression darkened suddenly as a warning tingle shot through his mind—danger detection triggering. The sensation felt too far off to be immediate, so he chose to ignore it.

"What matters then?" Levi's question cut through his distraction as they passed the living room on their way to the entrance.

"Oh yeah…" He glanced back at Levi trailing behind him. "An assassin is coming here."

Levi's expression grew serious. "Want me to track them down or something?"

"Oh no, not now…" The instant Raiden stepped into the open, he stretched his body out of frustration. 

He could never adjust to the intense brightness—the light felt like spotlights burning into him, creating an uncomfortable sensation he couldn't shake.

He pushed his hands into his pockets and went completely still, his face turned slightly skyward as he attempted to calm his racing thoughts before the assassin reached them. Levi came to a stop next to him, fussing with his ponytail.

"Strength must be balanced with discipline." He spoke more softly now. "You need vigilance, caution, thoughtfulness, and above everything else—sharp instincts."

"Aren't you worried about the assassin?"

Raiden faced the fountain as he felt the assassin's approach, ignoring Levi's concern entirely. "If you want to develop true discipline, forget about humans—animals are your real teachers."

With his face still turned toward the sky, he recalled his very first kill when he was three years old: a goat. Despite having a knife as his weapon, the creature had fought for hours before he could finish it. 

Its survival instincts, alertness, and quick reactions had been extraordinary. After progressing to animals with even keener reflexes and raw power like deer and bears, human targets seemed laughably simple by comparison.

"Once you've mastered the kind of discipline you see in animals—tigers, lions, true predators," he looked at Levi with that familiar smirk, "trust me, you'll never struggle with discipline during a fight."

Levi turned toward him, energized by the prospect. "Then let's hunt down some ogres and beasts for practice."

The tingling in Raiden's head reached its peak. "The assassin has arrived."

His pulse quickened with alarm. "There are two of them," he whispered, rubbing his mouth as anxiety crept in.