Chapter 45: HeartBeat

"Do you think she’ll survive that?"

Seana stood inside a small, invisible space barrier beside Lothe.

She glanced upward at him.

His arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her close while the distorted space protected them from the falling rocks.

Seana still didn’t understand why he was holding her like this.

When the meteors had started falling, Lothe had immediately created a spatial barrier around them. However, instead of making it as wide as possible, he had claimed that he could only maintain a small one.

Conveniently, the barrier was only large enough for the two of them.

Seana narrowed her eyes.

What a cunning little fox.

Lothe almost smiled.

But when Seana turned to look at him, his expression instantly returned to normal.

"Who knows?" he replied. "She analyzed the situation before attacking. We’ll have to wait and see."

His voice made it clear that he didn’t enjoy pointless questions, but he had already studied the battlefield.

The Nyren who had appeared before the clash possessed a completely different level of strength from the one they had met earlier.

She should have reached Level 3, Tier 1, Lothe thought.

The centipede wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful. Its greatest advantages were its ability to burrow underground and drain the strength of other creatures.

Nyren’s ice was the perfect counter.

Seal its escape routes.

Force it to fight aboveground.

Then weaken it.

That was exactly what she had done.

But Lothe was more concerned about the thirty-meter spiked beast standing near the academy gates.

It hadn’t moved once.

It only watched the battlefield like a general observing his army.

The pressure coming from it was overwhelming. Even without moving, it made the air feel heavy.

That was why Lothe had been conserving his strength. Once the centipede was defeated, he knew the real battle would begin.

For now, however, something else had captured his attention.

The girl in his arms.

He could feel the warmth of her body through the Shadow Weave Cloak. Without realizing it, his arm tightened around her waist.

"What’s wrong?" Seana asked.

She turned slightly. "Are you injured? You should dispel the barrier if it’s exhausting your Qi. We still have more battles ahead."

She turned fully to face him.

Lothe’s body stiffened when her chest pressed against him.

"Ah—no. I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong."

He suddenly began sweating.

"Then why are you sweating?" Seana asked.

She moved a little closer, completely unaware of the effect she was having on him.

"Dispel it."

"Ugh."

"Hmm?"

"I said dispel it immediately."

For a moment, Seana sounded less like a battle partner and more like a girlfriend scolding her boyfriend.

"Okay," Lothe replied obediently.

To Seana, he looked like a fox that had been caught misbehaving.

The spatial barrier slowly dissolved around them.

However, Lothe didn’t release her.

Seana placed both hands against his arms and looked up at him.

"Aren’t you going to let go?"

"No."

His answer was direct.

Seana froze.

"I want to hold you like this forever."

The words slipped out before Lothe could stop them.

He didn’t know how to confess his feelings properly, so he simply said the first thing that came to his mind.

A faint blush spread across Seana’s cheeks.

"You—you can’t just say things like that!"

She stepped back slightly, her face growing warmer.

"I li—"

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion shook the battlefield.

The dust from the earlier clash was still covering the area, but it began to clear.

The fifteen-meter, thousand-eyed armored centipede emerged from the dust.

Blood flowed from dozens of its crimson eyes, while several ice lances remained embedded in its damaged armor.

Standing on its back was Nyren.

She was breathing heavily, and blood flowed from her ears.

Before the clash, she had covered herself with several layers of ice. But the centipede’s rocky spears had shattered each layer one after another.

Fortunately, she had reached the beast.

The moment she landed on its back, she used her newly acquired skill.

Glacial Weave.

Thin strands of silver icy Qi spread from her fingers, weaving across the centipede’s body before anchoring themselves into the ice surrounding it.

The threads tightened.

Nyren’s ice Qi flowed through them, spreading deeper into the centipede’s armor and freezing its muscles.

The more she controlled, the more her Qi Core screamed.

But Nyren refused to let go.

She poured the last of her strength into the technique.

Cracks spread across the centipede’s armor.

Its movements slowed.

Ice crawled through its body from the inside.

Nyren’s vision blurred from exhaustion, but she still raised her sword.

SHING!

The blade pierced the centipede’s final crimson eye.

The beast trembled.

A weak whimper escaped its throat.

It could no longer roar.

Then—

PING!

[You have slain a Level 2, Tier 3 Thousand-Eyed Armored Centipede.]

[You have absorbed its raw Qi.]

[You have gained 100 EXP.]

[Level-up requirements fulfilled.]

[Beginning breakthrough.]

[Congratulations. You have reached Level 3, Tier 2.]

[All attributes and skills have increased.]

Warm energy surged through Nyren’s body.

Her silver Qi Core began spinning, sending waves of energy through her meridians and easing the exhaustion that had almost crippled her.

A smile appeared on her face.

She had broken through.

"System, show my status."

——————————

[SYSTEM STATUS]

Name: Nyren

Race: Human

Rank: Level 3, Tier 2

Class: Unassigned (Unlocks at Level 5)

EXP: 0 / 900

HP: 100 / 100

Qi: 200 / 200

[ATTRIBUTES]

• Strength: 20, • Agility: 25, • Constitution: 20, • Qi Control: 25, • Unassigned AP: 20.

[CORE SUPERPOWER]

Ice Manipulation: The ability to generate, shape, and control ice through Qi. As user’s power and Qi control improve, she can manipulate ice with greater range, density, speed, and precision.

Sub-Zero Glacial Domain: Spreads user’s icy Qi across a designated area, lowering the temperature while improving her perception and control over ice within the domain.

[SKILLS]

Glacial Weave: Condenses icy Qi into thin threads capable of binding, suspending, redirecting, and manipulating objects. The greater the weight and number of objects controlled, the greater the strain placed on user’s Qi Core.

[EQUIPMENT]

Frostveil Sword: A sword formed from condensed ice Qi.

+3 Strength, +5 Agility, +3 Constitution, +5 Qi Control

——————————

Delight flashed in Nyren’s eyes as she read through her status.

"System, distribute my AP equally."

[Distributing 20 AP equally among all attributes.]

[NEW ATTRIBUTES]

• Strength: 25, • Agility: 30, • Constitution: 25, • Qi Control: 30

Warm energy continued circulating through her body.

Then Nyren noticed a faint golden glow inside the centipede’s head.

She crouched and swung her sword.

SHING!

The armored skull split open.

A small orb glowing with deep yellow light rested inside.

"The beast core..."

Nyren picked it up and channeled her Qi into it.

Nothing happened.

She tried again.

Still nothing.

Her expression fell slightly, but she quickly shook her head.

She had already been lucky enough to survive and break through. She would figure out how to use the core later.

For now, she was satisfied.

"Nyren!"

General Ashford rushed toward her.

He pulled his daughter into a tight embrace.

"Are you alright?"

He released her and looked her over from head to toe, checking for injuries. Only after confirming that she was safe did he finally release the breath he had been holding.

"I’m fine, Father," Nyren said with a faint smile. "And I’ve broken through."

"Good," Ashford replied, nodding repeatedly. "Good. Very good."

Only he knew how worried he had been when she charged into the attack.

Asher and the others soon reached them. Oren arrived beside General Ashford, his expression filled with concern for his sister. Adrian followed closely behind Asher.

The earlier clash had destroyed a large number of zombies and mutated beasts.

Only a small portion remained.

But even that small portion was enough to threaten the weakened survivors.

And then there was the real problem.

The massive beast that had never moved.

Soldiers continued evacuating injured students and carrying them toward the helicopters.

General Ashford watched them for a moment before turning back toward the battlefield.

"A large portion of the beasts has been cleared," he said.

His gaze settled on the thirty-meter spiked behemoth.

"But we have a bigger problem."

Mist drifted around the creature’s enormous body, hiding its true form.

"We’ll need every available fighter to take it down."

That was the only way to escape the academy alive.

General Ashford watched another group of students board the helicopters.

For a brief moment, he wondered if the nightmare was finally ending.

Then—

"Wait."

His voice stopped everyone.

"What is it, Dad?" Oren asked.

General Ashford continued staring at the behemoth.

"Haven’t you noticed?"

His expression became serious.

"Even now, it hasn’t moved."

"It didn’t move when the centipede was killed," Adrian added quietly. "Is it waiting for something?"

Nobody answered.

No one liked the unknown.

Then—

BOOM!

A deep green spike fell from the crimson sky.

BOOM!

It pierced the ground.

Two figures leaped away just before it struck.

Lothe and Seana.

They had barely landed when Seana grabbed Lothe’s hand.

Lothe immediately pulled her behind him.

PENG!

His Inferno Dragon Spear collided with another incoming green spike.

Seana’s Blood Moon Sword flashed from behind his shoulder and cut through a second spike.

The barrage suddenly stopped.

Lothe looked toward the towering behemoth.

"It seems the boss is finally ready to act."

He glanced at Seana.

"Ready?"

Seana tightened her grip around her sword.

A fierce light flashed in her eyes.

"Let’s stay alive."

Nyren looked toward the battlefield.

"Dad, it seems the boss is about to move."

General Ashford nodded.

"Yeah. They’ll need help."

"What are we waiting for?" Oren asked, already drawing an arrow.

Nyren handed the beast core and the four glowing orbs to her father.

"Keep these for me. We’ll check them later."

General Ashford nodded and secured them.

Then they moved.

Every person there understood what this battle meant.

Their survival.

Their escape from the academy.

And perhaps, their future in this new world.

The true battle was finally beginning.