She lunged at him, eyes wide with obsession, desperate to claim the crystal—
But before she could touch it, the Poison Crystal vanished into thin air…
---
Morca knew this would happen. That was precisely why, after showing her the item, he swiftly stored it back in his storage ring without hesitation.
An unstable aura surged from Neo Laura's body, distorting the air around her. Her frame trembled slightly as she fought to suppress the whirlwind of emotions flooding her... fury and longing tangled tightly in her chest. It took every ounce of her willpower to keep her composure.
"What do you want? Name your price." Her voice had lost its earlier playful tone. What replaced it was sharp, cold, and serious.
Morca remained calm, unmoved by the weight of her aura. "All I want," he replied, voice steady, "is for you to take off your mask. That's all. I don't think that's too much to ask in exchange."
Laura paused, contemplating his request. Slowly, she removed her hat, letting her black-red hair fall freely. Her hand then hovered near the edge of her mask. But just as she was about to remove it, she hesitated.
"Why does this exchange require me to take off my mask?" she asked, eyes narrowing.
"Well," Morca said, his voice flat and emotionless, "you know me as Crimson-Black, but we're about to make a deal, yet, I don't even know your name or what you look like."
His tone didn't waver, and not even the slightest hint of emotion colored his face. The lie slipped so naturally from his lips, it almost sounded like truth.
Laura raised a brow. 'Lying with such a deadpan face?' she mused. 'Fine. I'll play along with your little game.'
"Aha... my bad," she said lightly, amusement creeping back into her voice. "My name is Laura Nihility."
The name struck Morca like thunder, but his expression remained unreadable. Internally, however, chaos churned.
'Did she know? Or is she just playing with me?'
He had spotted the name "Nihility" while checking the Bound status earlier, but the odds of her knowing the full truth had seemed too low to consider. Or maybe… that had just been his assumption all along.
"Alright, Laura. It's fine," he said calmly. "I'll give this to you as a thank-you, for not attacking me while I was unaware of my surroundings. Take it."
He held out the Bestower's Gift to her. The system had already notified him that he should gift it to her. He had no real choice but to hand it over. Not that he needed it anyway—if she did, then giving it to her wasn't a loss.
Laura accepted the gift, though a flicker of disappointment showed in her eyes. She had wanted to tease him a bit more, draw out the exchange—but since he had already dropped the topic, there was no reason to decline.
The moment she grasped the poison crystal, her aura violently erupted, fluctuating uncontrollably for a second before she quickly suppressed it. Without another word, she turned and melted into the darkness, her silhouette vanishing into the void beyond the cave.
Morca stood still, eyes fixed on her retreating back. A silly smile crept across his lips—an unconscious reaction, as if entranced by her presence. No one knew what he was thinking in that moment.
Then her voice echoed from the shadows.
"Well, thank you. see you again… at the academy. Bound."
The words clung to the air like a chill, and the smile instantly faded from Morca's face. His expression hardened.
She knew all along.
He felt an odd mix of betrayal and awe—a mischievous girl had completely outplayed him.
'But how?' he wondered. 'Did she have something like the system guiding her too?'
Nodding to himself, he leaned into the idea. That was the only thing that made sense. Everything happening around him lately had defied logic, as if fate itself was being twisted.
He eventually exited the cave. The night sky blanketed the dungeon trial ground above him, stars glimmering faintly like distant observers of his story.
"Let's check my ranking and status first," he muttered.
Tapping the academy-issued wristwatch, a translucent blue screen emerged before him.
-----
Menu: • Personal Profile
• Eden Domineer Academy Trial Rules
• Trial 1: Survival
• Ranking
• Points
-----
He tapped on "Ranking."
-----
Current Ranking:
1. Noe Laura – 1,950
2. Brain Magnus – 1,320
3. Jack Voidspace – 1,300
4. Gina Erickson – 1,200
5. Leo Mordric – 1,150
6. Denis Sherman – 1,050
7. Morca Sherman – 1,000
8. Karon Tarma – 850
9. Marcus Stormer – 770
10. Max Magnus – 700
11. Rider Wisewind – 620
12. Tyler Sherman – 600
---
Personal Profile:
Name: Morca Sherman
Gender: Male
Trial: Trial 1 – Survival
Progress: Secured two 2-star monster territories
Points: 1,000
Rank: 7th
Time Elapsed: 1:08:31:47
-----
Morca's lips curled into a thoughtful frown. 'I've dropped from second to seventh. Those ranked above must've slaughtered a ridiculous number of monsters... probably 1-star and above.'
'Only one day remains... That should be enough.' He tapped "Status."
-----
Status:
Name: Morca Sherman Nihility
Age: 16
Bound: Noe Laura (Black Scale Oblivion Dragon)
Rank: Saint Expert (Silver Rain Stage)
Level: 19
EXP: 400/1000
---
Attributes:
Strength: 27.6
Agility: 28
Endurance: 29
Intelligence: 27
Will: 25
---
Affinity / Class: Darkness, Shadow, Blood
Bloodline: Infinity Nihility / Battle Crimson Moon
Talent: Ultimate SSSZ+
---
Unique Skills:
Blank, Oblivion Blade, Crimson Moon Thread (+), Oblivion Eye
Acquired Skill:
Breathing Blood Codex (Codex 1/3)
---
Curse: Eternal Doom
---
Current Mission:
Admit into the Academy's Unique Class
Rewards:
• +1500 EXP
• +10 to All Attributes
-----
He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Bound section.
----
Bound: Noe Laura
Bound Skill: Fusion (Locked)
Description: ???
-----
'So... the moment I gave her the gift, she appeared here. This Bound stat must have some meaning. Fusion, huh?'
Morca's brow furrowed. 'What kind of fusion? Is it what I'm thinking?' The description was incomplete... just question marks.
'It must be locked because something hasn't triggered yet.'
He shifted his focus to his stats. All his attributes had crossed 20, with Endurance brushing the edge of 30. That confirmed his theory.
'19.9 must've been my max at the the Supernatural path. So my next threshold should be 39.9. I'll need to refine my foundation before the next breakthrough.'
His gaze fell on the new unique skill.
-----
Unique Skill: Oblivion Eye
• Paralyze / Mobilize
Effect: Immobilizes opponent if they look into the eye.
Limitation:Stronger enemies (2 Ranks or 3 Cultivation stages higher) are only slightly affected.
• Soul Needle (Locked)
• Eye of Truth (Locked)
• Soul Trap (Locked)
• Death Eye (Locked)
-----
Morca let out a breath of awe.
'No wonder the clone always looked disappointed whenever he saw the patch on my left eye. This eye... it's a Devine Eye. Five effects in one skill... how rare.'
As he scanned over everything again, something caught his attention. A "+" sign beside Crimson Moon Thread.
'What's this...?'
---
A/N
I think using supernatural path instead of awakened path sounds more good and it stand out.
Since awakened is a rank so I thought of changing it to supernatural path.