Primordial Heir: Nine Stars

Let’s rewind to the moment each cadet was sent to different regions of the vast forest.

Elreth found herself in the heart of the forest. Her orange eyes swept across her surroundings as she extended her energy outward to sense any monsters nearby. Soon, she caught sight of one, and flames flickered in her eyes; her blood boiled with excitement.

Flames burst beneath her feet as she shot forward, charging straight at the monster. In her hand, her spear hummed with intensity, heat radiating from it.

As expected, the moment the orc wielding a rusted sword spotted her, its eyes flared with wild excitement. With a ferocious snarl, the creature lunged forward like a rabid beast.

Clang!

Elreth’s spear slashed down, waves of spear light crashing like a raging tide. Steel clashed against steel, and sparks erupted into the air.

The monster’s expression flickered with shock, but it quickly twisted into a more intense exhilaration. This human girl was strong; she could make a good breeding mate.

Thinking about dominating this human girl, who exuded an arrogant yet dangerous vibe, the orc felt its excitement surge. It decided to go all out.

Elreth could sense the monster’s disgusting musky odor, but instead of getting angry, she chuckled, ”Go on, I’ll show you your place. Crushing you will be fun; seeing you despair will be exhilarating.”

Unaware of the human girl’s thoughts, the monster unleashed its full strength, its muscles bulging as if they had increased in mass.

BOOM!

With an explosive crash, the ground beneath the orc’s feet caved in, forming a deep crater.

Then, like an arrow released from a bow, its monstrous form rocketed out of the pit.

A massive fist, the size of a volleyball, hurtled toward Elreth’s face with the force of a hurricane.

Shockingly, instead of defending with her weapon, she made a different choice. Without hesitation, she threw a punch in response.

This punch carried unfathomable power, compressing the air around it to an extreme before flames surged out, enveloping her fist to form a fiery glove.

Flaming Fist!

It was a fundamental martial technique, one her father had taught her.

The orc was stunned by this display, but confident in its physical strength, it didn’t withdraw its fist. How strong could this frail-looking human girl be? It believed it would eventually overwhelm her.

The fists clashed, creating a shockwave.

If anyone thought her physique was weak because she was a girl, they were gravely mistaken. She was a knight, a princess who had trained since the age of five with various equipment, honing both her skills and her physique through relentless training. She had worked hard to achieve her powerful form, tempered through hellish trials.

Now, driven by her indomitable physique, this simple technique exploded with terrifying power.

Each punch howled through the air, filling the battlefield with swirling gales mixed with intense heat.

Fists collided violently, turning the space between them into a chaotic whirlwind.

For the first time, the orc’s frenzied expression flickered with unease.

Bang! Bang!

Two crushing punches slammed down, but the monster blocked them, its feet sinking deep into the earth.

Elreth followed up with a spinning kick, forcing the orc back a couple of steps. The creature’s fists and parts of its torso were scorched, emanating a burnt odor.

The monster roared and charged at Elreth with its sword, intending to cleave her in two. But the princess merely chuckled, kicking her spear up and catching it. She took a thrust stance, her entire demeanor shifting; her hair began to float, heat surged around her body, and flames erupted from her spear, engulfing it entirely.

She rotated her spear before thrusting forward. The flaming spear cut through the air like a comet, and the monster could not defend itself before its weapon was sliced apart. The flaming spear tore through its torso, leaving a gaping wound in its wake. The monster died instantly, and in its final moments, it realized that this girl had been toying with it; it was no real threat to her.

Elreth gasped, canceling the flames on her spear. This move had taken a heavy toll on her, but she chuckled as she recalled the despair in the monster’s eyes. She loved witnessing that; her body shuddered with excitement. Then, light enveloped her, and she was transported away, completing the challenge in just twelve minutes, making her the fastest to clear it.

A few minutes later, two others cleared the test simultaneously.

°°°

Back at Nero’s location, having momentarily lost consciousness, he missed the sight of gray energy escaping from the dead orc’s body and entering his own. The orc’s body shrank in size as some of this energy was distributed to Nero’s muscles, strengthening and repairing the broken cells. Slowly, his lighter injuries began to heal at a visible rate. Meanwhile, the remaining energy traveled deep into his subconscious, entering a mysterious world within him, a realm where nine stars and a sealed vortex resided.

The mass of gray energy flowed into the vortex, which trembled in response. A thunderous roar echoed from within, shaking the entire mysterious world. As the gray energy transformed into golden energy, it shot out of the vortex and headed straight for one of the stars—the red star, the first stage—which had previously lost one of its chains. Though three chains remained sealing it, the golden energy latched onto them, gnawing fiercely at their bindings. A short stalemate ensued before—

Snap!!

Two of the chains broke, and the remaining one teetered on the brink of collapse. The first stage vibrated, as if expressing joy at its imminent freedom, its color becoming more vivid.

Outside, Nero’s body had healed from most of his injuries, though his arm still hung at an unnatural angle. The tattoo on his body became more lifelike, with what appeared to be two red eyes manifesting on a section of the design.

Nero soon awakened.

”Ugh!”

He pushed the orc’s body aside. It was a simple shove, yet the corpse, which had lost some of its mass, flew away, startling Nero as he noticed the change. But before he could dwell on it, his body was enveloped in light, and he was sent away, appearing simultaneously with another person.