Chapter 227: This Fucking Unhinged Woman!

While City AF was trying to recover from what they’d just experienced in their City Qualifier, a completely different kind of battle was taking place several cities away. A pink-haired guy was trying to escape a devilishly monstrous-looking woman with glowing golden eyes and tentacles.

Inside one of the private arenas of the Ashard Estate’s Awakened Gym...

"GET BACK HERE!"

"No!" Silas shouted while running.

"STOP RUNNING!"

"No!"

"LET ME TOUCH YOU!"

"THAT’S EXACTLY WHY I’M RUNNING!"

The pink-haired young man sprinted across the enormous training arena at a speed that would have made most A-Ranks proud.

Behind him came Echidna, and she was terrifying.

Her golden beast eyes glowed brightly, her dark hair streamed behind her, and several enormous black tentacles had emerged from her back.

They moved independently, snapping through the air like living serpents.

Silas glanced over his shoulder and swiftly turned as one tentacle slammed into the floor behind him.

BOOOOOOM!

"WHY ARE YOU SO FAST?!"

"BECAUSE YOU’RE CHASING ME!"

"THEN STOP!"

"THAT IS NOT HOW CHASING WORKS!"

Another tentacle whipped toward him; Silas ducked. It passed over his head and smashed into a reinforced wall.

BANG!

The wall barely survived, causing Silas’s eyes to twitch. He almost screamed, "I used money to fucking make this!"

"This is a training session!"

"It is."

"Training means fighting!"

"I am fighting."

"YOU’RE TRYING TO TEAR MY CLOTHES OFF!"

Echidna smiled, licking her lips with a hungry look in her eyes. "That is also training."

"HOW?!"

She didn’t answer. Instead, three more tentacles shot toward him, causing Silas to jump. His feet left the ground. One tentacle passed beneath him, and another came from his left.

Silas twisted his body in midair and narrowly avoided it, and the third came from above.

"Seriously?!"

He crossed his arms.

WHAM!

The tentacle struck him, and he was sent tumbling through the air. He twisted, landed on one foot, and slid backward several meters. His clothes were already torn at the sleeve.

Echidna’s eyes brightened.

"One."

Silas stared at her.

"One what?"

"Piece of clothing." She pointed at his sleeve. "You’ve lost one."

Silas looked down.

"You’re enjoying this way too much."

"Very much."

She lunged, and Silas’s instincts screamed. He vanished, causing Echidna’s tentacles to crash into empty space.

"Where?"

Silas appeared on the opposite side of the arena. ℯℯ𝘭.

"Over here!"

Echidna spun, and he immediately ran again.

"COME BACK!"

"No!"

"You cannot escape forever!"

"Watch me!"

Echidna laughed, and the sound echoed through the arena. Her serpent-like monster traits began changing. Her legs bent, while scales spread across her skin. Her body lowered as several additional tentacles emerged from behind her.

Silas stopped running for half a second.

"You had more?"

Echidna’s smile widened.

"Many more."

Silas immediately started running again.

"THIS TRAINING SESSION IS CANCELLED!"

"No."

"YES!"

"No."

"WHO’S THE STUDENT HERE?!"

"You."

"THEN LISTEN TO YOUR INSTRUCTOR!"

"I am the instructor."

Silas nearly tripped.

"What?!"

Echidna laughed again.

"THIS FUCKING UNHINGED WOMAN! GROMDA!!!!!"

The tentacles followed, causing Silas to accelerate. For once, he wasn’t relying on his threads, his aura, or his abilities. He was just running.

His legs pushed against the reinforced floor with increasing force. His breathing remained steady. His muscles tightened. His body moved.

His physical stats, which he normally treated as something secondary to his supernatural abilities, were being forced to the forefront.

His Speed, Agility, Stamina, Endurance- all of them were being pushed, and Echidna noticed. Her golden eyes narrowed.

"Faster."

Silas glanced back.

"What?"

She smiled.

"Faster."

A tentacle slammed down; Silas jumped. Another swept across the floor; he vaulted over it. Two more came from opposite directions, but Silas twisted between them.

His movements became increasingly precise.

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

BANG!

Every near miss forced him to move faster. Every mistake forced him to react sooner. His body began adapting.

The ridiculous chase had unintentionally become one of the most intense physical training sessions he had experienced since awakening.

Silas gritted his teeth.

"You’re doing this on purpose."

"Obviously."

"You could just ask me to train."

"I did."

"No, you asked me to let you rip my clothes off!"

"That is training too."

"IT IS NOT!"

Echidna suddenly appeared in front of him. Silas’s pupils shrank.

"Shit."

A tentacle came from behind. Another from above. Two more from the sides.

He couldn’t dodge normally, so Silas pushed himself. He twisted his body, planted his foot, rotated his torso, and slipped through the tiny opening between the tentacles.

For an instant, everything slowed.

His Heartweaver Physique reacted, and his muscles moved before his conscious mind finished processing the danger. Silas landed behind Echidna and immediately sprinted again.

Echidna stared after him. Then she smiled.

"Much better."

Silas looked back.

"What?"

"You are finally using your body."

Silas’s expression became serious.

She wasn’t wrong.

He had spent so much time relying on Thread Manipulation, his Cupid abilities, his echoes, weapons, and supernatural powers that his physical abilities had become something he just assumed would always be there.

But now, he could feel every muscle, every movement, every adjustment, and every breath. His body was learning. His current limits weren’t fixed. They were simply limits he hadn’t pushed hard enough.

Silas grinned.

"Fine."

He stopped running, causing Echidna to halt as well. The tentacles hovered behind her like serpents, watching and waiting.

Silas rolled his shoulders.

"Again."

Echidna’s smile became predatory.

"Now you’re learning."

Silas lowered his stance, his pink eyes glowing brightly and confidently.

"But if you tear my clothes again..." He pointed at her. "I’m fucking your brains out till you beg me to stop."

Echidna laughed, her nipples stiffening in her clothes, while a very deep blush covered her face. Drool was literally dripping from the sides of her mouth.

"Deal~."

Silas regretted his statement, as the tentacles erupted forward. He knew she would do anything to rip his clothes.

Silas charged toward them, and for the next hour, the Awakened Gym became less of a training facility and more of a disaster zone.

BOOM!

BANG!

CRASH!

Somewhere outside the arena, Alpha finished his 43rd lap and slowly looked at the structural damage report.

He sighed.

"Again?"

Chloe, who was running with him, nodded.

"Echidna."

"Of course."