The serene glow of the moonlight, prying through the curtain, complimented the pale aura coating Alex's body.
Drenched in sweat and panting rapidly, he opened his eyes without a moment of hesitation and found Alice to have fallen asleep by resting her head in his lap. Choosing not to disturb her, he brought his hand forward and carefully clenched and unclenched his fist, trying his best to adapt to the newfound strength coursing through his veins.
A day after he reawakened, he had finally ranked up and stepped into the rank of E. It was quite a long way from SSS, which was considered the peak of this world, but it was progress nevertheless.
"Now at full strength, I can draw out power equal to a C-rank warrior."
His talent amplified his knowledge in combat and weaponized not just his body but his aura also. In essence, it was an amplifier on top of another amplifier — which was his aura.
"With my efficiency, it will take me a few more weeks to reach the peak of E, and in total a month to breakthrough the next stage."
As he analyzed his progress, one might think he was disappointed, but he actually wasn't. Cultivation — or rather, aura absorption to differentiate it from those of the east — was rather harmful at such a young age.
Humans, no matter how far they had come in this era, still hadn't fully adapted to the various energies scattered across the cosmos. Children had it far worse, and if care was not taken, their bodies might grow unstable in due time. Because of that, for children, cultivating in long strides wasn't recommended.
Alex, no matter how power-hungry he was now, didn't want to risk a potential negative effect on his body, hence why his calculations were somewhat spaced out.
"Either way, I should be strong enough by now."
Performing an exhausted stretch, he murmured, a yawn following after. His opponent was Selena, a year older than him and currently in the peak of the D-rank stage. She also had an unidentified unique skill, putting her at maximum a C-rank.
Basically, the gap between them wasn't so wide as before, bringing his chances of victory to about 50%. A coin toss, if he wanted an analogy. The kind containing two possibilities.
The head, his victory.
The tails, her victory.
To put it simply, he needed probability on his side for victory, but Alex wasn't one to rely blindly on luck or chance. The world had already given him a golden finger, now he had to carve his own path.
"I can't wake Alice up now... so I'll train later when she wakes up."
Leaning back and resting his head on the soft pillow of the bed, Alex muttered and closed his eyes.
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The city of Shard, located east of the Evernight Plains.
It was a bustling neon metropolis, and the grandest of architectural marvels within the region of the Evernight Plains. From jungles of towering skyscrapers, smooth asphalt roads, and luxurious settlements.
On the far outskirts of the city stood a chain of dojos, circling around a majestic temple. The sight, a clear inspiration from the buildings of the Eastern regions, was currently in fire.
Echoes of bells and sirens sounded in the dead of the night as an army of not less than fifty were dispatched, each a warrior of the highest caliber around. They held weapons of all kinds, from sabers, axes, to maces and even scythes.
Their eyes burned with rage as they bolted through the burning hellscape, all so they could ambush the uninvited guest. As they reached the center of the conflict, they saw her... no, rather, it.
Inferno-colored aura crackled around her, distorting reality itself. Silver armor, dented but equally resilient, reflected the bloody carnage she had unleashed. Her cape, red with the blood of those who came before them, violently fluttered behind her, its crimson hems dripping with blood.
The bodies of several elite guards littered the marbled ground around her, and in her grasp was the head of a soldier, which she effortlessly twisted and left dead.
"So this is the best the branch family can offer."
Vanessa Bladeheart, licking the blood of the man she had just killed, furrowed her brow, a bit disappointed by what she had come to witness.
"I haven't even used my technique and you all wind up dead after a brush in with my aura."
As she spoke, she lifted her head up high and pried deep into the souls of her new victims. Seeing them shiver, her gaze further locked onto the building at the highest peak of the hill.
It belonged to her uncle, Kain Bladeheart. The head of the branch alliance and the sole reason she almost lost her siblings today.
She could still recall the traumatized gaze Alice had given her as she described her account of the incident. She could still visualize the bandages cloaking Alex's body. The boy, barely a teenager, had abused his unique skill all so he could survive and protect Alice.
Because of her uncle's greed, those two had almost become casualties, and that she couldn't forget. So just as her uncle sought to get rid of any obstacles that threatened his rule, so too would she tonight.
She would kill anyone or anything that tried to prevent her from enacting her revenge.
As she resolved herself, a threatening voice boomed from the shadows, and a man of impressive build dropped before her, completely leveling the surrounding.
"Vanessa Bladeheart. Your rampage must stop now. Surrender and accept your punishment for this needless slaughter, or fight and be prepared for the consequences."
The man, radiating an impressive aura colored gold, rubbed his beard, his muscles bulging underneath the tunic he wore. At first she felt a chill, only to crouch and grab a greatsword laying idly on the ground.
The middle-aged bearded man narrowed his auburn-colored eyes.
Vanessa smirked, "Over my dead body, old fossil."
The middle-aged man sighed. There wasn't much else he could say to convince the child.
"So be it then!"
Taking a lax martial arts stance, he launched a punch just as Vanessa charged at him.