SYSTEM ASCENSION

Joran was trying to keep his anxiousness under check, but it clearly wasn’t working. The only person insane enough to burst into his domain was Elias. The reports described someone tall. He remembered the face looking down at him in the academy.

”That darn brat!”

He heard the door in the hallway click open, and next was Ume’s voice crying out.

Joran flinched. Anger soon coloured his face. He shoved his hand into his coat and stomped towards the door leading to the hallway. He pushed it open.

Just like the academy, Elias was standing in front of the door, towering over him.

He gritted his teeth, and put out his hand from the coat, revealing a gun. Immediately he pointed it and pulled the trigger, Elias dodged by an inch short, and the bullet drove into Ume’s shoulder.

The recoil sent her flying and slamming into the wall. She fainted from the shock of it.

Elias caught the hand with his right hand and drove the left hand into the man’s chin, sending him stumbling several steps back. The gun clattered against the ground and rolled under the couch.

Joran stumbled back, one hand covering his chin.

”You...”

Elias didn’t give him time to recover, but stepped forward.

Joran immediately raised his hand.

”Get away from me!”

The furniture around the room suddenly lifted from the ground. A chair flew toward Elias with a tremendous speed.

Elias tilted his head, and the chair passed beside him, crashing into the wall.

Another one followed.

Elias ducked beneath it and kept walking.

Joran’s eyes widened.

”Ability activate. Telekinesis!”

Everything around them began to shake.

The table, chairs, decorations and even pieces of the broken wall were pulled into the air and launched toward Elias from different directions.

Elias moved between them.

He didn’t use his ability, nor didn’t even look bothered. Joran gritted his teeth and sent everything flying at once.

Elias suddenly disappeared from his sight.

”What?”

A fist struck his stomach.

Joran’s body bent forward as the air left his lungs.

Elias grabbed his collar and threw him across the room.

Joran crashed into the floor.

”Urgh!”

He quickly pushed himself up. The pain was already disappearing. The wounds on his body closed almost immediately.

”Regeneration...” Elias muttered. ”Such a pig.”

Joran laughed.

”It’s my new found power.”

”You meant your new stolen power right?”

Joran wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled. ”It belonged to your dear late league master. Yunno, as time went on, I began to realise that he looked a lot like Rowen. Then boom! He showed up in the palace. Too bad he didn’t recognise me.”

”I didn’t ask for a story.”

”I’m saying you can’t beat me!” Joran yelled. ”Give it up!”

”Because you got the artificial version of his ability?” Elias shoved his hands into his pocket. ”I’m not interested in fighting. I came here to invite you.”

The man was taken aback. ”Invite me?”

”To black empire.” Elias replied. ”We’re all going.”

Joran sneered.

”Why would i—”

Elias was suddenly before him, right fist going for his head. He raised his hands and blocked it, but another one drove into his stomach.

”Wha...”

He looked down.

Elias fist was logged inside him.

”How...”

”I’m left-handed, you useless bastard.” Elias shrugged, and dropped his right hand.

The worst of this was that Elias’ hand was logged inside him, but he wasn’t feeling a single pain. He tried to yank himself back but it didn’t work.

”What did you...”

Elias turned his gaze to the second door that had been shut all this while.

”I’m sure the gentleman behind the door knows what I did.”

The person who had been hiding behind the door flinched.

”Isn’t that right? Traitor?”

The person immediately bolted down the hallway, disappearing from their vicinity in a blink.

”Back to this...” He returned his attention to Joran, and slowly pulled out his hand.

The pain was like a thousand bugs biting into a person, crawling and draining. Joran bit on his lip and gritted his teeth. Involuntary tears burst into motion, filling his eyes and running down his cheek.

Elias pulled out a thread from his vital core, and yanked it back, cutting it.

The opening in his stomach closed instantly, and he stumbled back.

”What did you...”

”I can change a vital energy into thread.” Elias looked at the wiggling thread. He grabbed the sealing stone around his neck and put the thread on it. The stone shone bright and sucked it in.

”What?!”

Elias yawned. ”Let’s do this again—”

Joran had already attacked him with a chair flying at him. He tilted his head, and the wooden furniture crashed into the wall.

”You don’t learn.”

”I don’t know what you did, but if you think you can beat me without using your ability? Dream on!”

He rushed forward. His fist swung toward Elias’s face.

Elias blocked it.

Joran followed with another punch.

Blocked.

A kick.

Elias stepped aside.

Another punch.

Elias caught his wrist and twisted.

Joran immediately used telekinesis to pull himself backward. He landed several steps away. His breathing became heavier.

Elias was still standing there, without a crack or even a change in expression. Joran’s face slowly became distorted with anger.

He charged again.

This time, the two exchanged blows. Joran attacked with everything he had, throwing punches and kicks without giving Elias a chance to rest, while using telekinesis to change the direction of his movements whenever Elias tried to counter. But Elias kept up. He blocked, dodged, and countered. Every time Joran thought he had found an opening, Elias was already there.

A fist struck his cheek, ribs, and then his stomach.

Joran stumbled backward.

His regeneration activated again, closing the damage almost immediately.

”This is impossible!”

Elias walked toward him.

”You’re not a worthy opponent for me.”

Joran raised both hands.

The entire room suddenly trembled.

”You’re nothing but a brat!”

Several objects shot toward Elias.

He moved through them with ease.

Joran dashed through it and swung his fist.

Elias caught it and their eyes met.

Elias drove his knee into his stomach and followed with a punch that sent him crashing through the table. Wood splintered across the floor, leaving Joran laying among the pieces, breathing heavily.

His regeneration slowly repaired the damage.

”You must think you can take me on because the two abilities bring you on par with an S ranker, yes?”

He shoved his hands into his pocket.

”But even two S rankers can’t take me on.”

Joran flinched. His hand suddenly began trembling. This was a boy who had begged him. Someone he had completely broken beyond sanity. Reverse is now the case.

”You’re coming to black empire with us. Bring your brat of a daughter too.”

He turned around and began walking away.

”Why should I follow you,” Joran mumbled. ”Why do you think I’ll follow you! Why?!”

”Your vital thread,” Elias glanced at him and tapped the sealing stone. The stone and his eyes suddenly glowed.

”If we arrive in black empire before you, the air will forsake you. Your lungs will be empty. You’ll gasp for breath but it’ll be useless, and when you think death is coming, you’ll not die. You’ll continue to suffocate,”

He grinned.

”And if you think you’ll get used to it, you’ll be teleported to black empire. Still, you’ll be there, falling into the pit, and hitting the ground. You think you can regenerate it, but before that, monsters will feast on you. It’ll be an eternal meal, because the ability allows you to regenerate from your vital core. They will tear at your limbs, eyes, guts, heart, kid—”

”Stop it!” Joran was already panting.

The glow in Elias’s eyes and sealing stone died down. He took a step closer to Joran who flinched, and leaned down.

”Did that traitor not tell you? The black eyes don’t make us black empire,”

”What?”

”We are curse users.”