The guards rounded the corner—and immediately froze.
Three of them.
Two ordinary.
One different.
You could tell instantly.
The pressure around him was heavier than the others, mana flowing steadily beneath dark bronze armor etched with faint earth-element inscriptions.
His presence alone made the weaker guards straighten unconsciously beside him.
[E] rank.
Not close.
Not almost.
A real one.
His sharp eyes landed on us immediately, then flicked briefly toward the unconscious and dead guards behind us.
Understanding hit fast.
“Alarm the upper—”
He stopped mid-command.
Because I smiled.
Not a calm smile.
Not a confident smile.
An excited one.
My blood was boiling.
Finally.
A real fight.
The [E] ranker’s eyes narrowed instantly.
“…You’re enjoying this.”
“A little,” I admitted.
Behind me, Lyra’s black eyes shifted toward the other two guards.
“I’ll handle them.”
“Sure.”
The moment the words left my mouth, chaos exploded.
The weaker guards rushed Lyra immediately, blades flashing beneath the pale mana lights.
Meanwhile, the [E] ranker stomped forward.
Mana surged violently through the corridor.
Earth cracked beneath his feet.
“Die.”
Stone erupted upward instantly.
Sharp earthen spikes burst from the ground in a deadly wave aimed directly at my chest.
Fast.
Way faster than the [F+] ranker from before.
But—
‘[Blink]’
Space twisted.
The world folded sideways for half a second.
I vanished.
The spikes tore through empty air instead.
The [E] ranker froze.
Not for long.
But long enough.
His pupils contracted violently as he stared at the space I’d disappeared from.
Then I reappeared beside him.
Teleportation.
Honestly?
Still ridiculously fun.
I swung immediately, fist aimed toward his ribs—but the man reacted fast.
A thick layer of stone formed over his arm just before impact.
BOOM.
The collision cracked the corridor wall beside us.
The force pushed him backward several feet, boots grinding against shattered stone.
Not enough damage.
Too durable.
But the man wasn’t focused on the impact anymore.
He was staring at me.
Actually staring.
“…What…”
His voice came out quieter than before.
Uneasy.
I blinked.
“Hm?”
The [E] ranker took another slow step back.
“…That was space.”
Not a question.
A realization.
I grinned slightly.
“Good eyes.”
The man’s expression changed instantly.
The aggression remained, but something colder slipped underneath it now.
Apprehension.
Real apprehension.
“No…” he muttered.
“That’s impossible.”
The ground trembled again, but this time it felt less controlled.
Less confident.
“There’s only one person with spatial affinity…”
Ah.
That explained the reaction.
Interesting.
I tilted my head slightly.
“And?”
The man’s jaw tightened.
“You can’t have that affinity.”
“Feels pretty real to me.”
The [E] ranker suddenly attacked again.
Harder this time.
The prison floor exploded upward as massive stone spikes erupted from every direction simultaneously.
Walls cracked apart under the pressure while chunks of earth twisted through the air like spears.
No openings.
No blind spots.
Good thing I didn’t need either.
Space folded.
I vanished again.
The spikes collided violently where I’d stood moments earlier.
The [E] ranker spun immediately, breathing sharper now.
Fear.
Not overwhelming fear.
But enough.
Because every instinct he had was screaming the same thing.
Spatial affinity should not exist here.
I reappeared above him.
He reacted instantly this time, punching upward with stone-covered fists.
I twisted midair and narrowly avoided the strike.
The sheer force behind it blasted air across my face.
Damn.
That would’ve hurt.
I landed lightly several meters away and grinned again.
This was good.
No—
This was amazing.
Every nerve in my body felt alive.
The [E] ranker’s mana surged harder now, cracks spreading across the floor around him as earth gathered beneath his control.
“You…” he muttered darkly.
“Who are you?”
“Amir.”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.”
The ground exploded again.
Stone walls burst upward around me in an attempt to trap my movement while razor-sharp spikes shot toward my head from multiple angles.
‘[Blink]’
The world flickered sideways.
I appeared behind him instantly.
The man reacted fast for an earth affinity user, spinning with a reinforced elbow aimed directly at my jaw.
I blocked barely in time.
BOOM.
The impact launched me backward across the corridor.
I skidded against shattered stone and laughed quietly under my breath.
Okay.
Yeah.
He was strong.
Not unbeatable.
But definitely strong.
The [E] ranker didn’t attack immediately this time.
Instead he watched me carefully.
Warily.
Like he was trying to understand something he fundamentally couldn’t accept.
“…No one should be able to move like that,” he said slowly.
I rolled my shoulders.
“You’re really hung up on this.”
“You don’t understand what that affinity means.”
Interesting.
Before I could ask further, the man slammed both hands downward.
Mana exploded outward violently.
The entire corridor shook.
Massive slabs of earth rose around his arms like armor while jagged spikes formed along his shoulders and fists.
[Mid] Earth Affinity.
Strong control too.
Honestly impressive.
Most people would panic against this kind of pressure.
Instead—
I laughed quietly.
Because something felt different.
My affinities.
The [Star] affinity pulsed warmly inside me while [Space] twisted around it naturally.
Not clashing.
Syncing.
The sensation sent chills down my spine.
“…Interesting.”
The [E] ranker’s expression darkened further.
“What are you doing?”
I ignored him completely.
Because an idea had just formed in my head.
A stupid idea.
A reckless idea.
Which usually meant it was going to work.
Probably.
[Host…]
‘Yeah, yeah.
I know.’
[Your definition of “good ideas” is deeply concerning.]
‘I survive, don’t I?’
[Barely.]
I grinned wider.
Then mana surged through my body.
Voilet light flickered faintly around my fists as spatial distortion wrapped around it carefully.
The [E] ranker’s instincts screamed instantly.
His face changed immediately.
That cold apprehension sharpened into genuine danger recognition.
He attacked before I could finish.
The corridor erupted.
Massive earthen spikes burst toward me from every direction.
Front.
Sides.
Above.
No escape route.
Normal movement wouldn’t dodge this.
Good thing I didn’t need normal movement.
Space folded.
I vanished.
The spikes collided violently where I’d stood a moment earlier.
The [E] ranker spun immediately—
Too slow.
I appeared directly in front of him.
Close enough to see the shock hit his face.
My fist pulled back.
[Star] affinity condensed violently into a single point while spatial distortion compressed around it unnaturally.
Pressure built instantly.
Dangerous.
Unstable.
Perfect.
The skill formed on instinct alone.
No planning.
No structure.
Just excitement.
Just battle.
Just me wanting to hit this guy really, really hard.
[Host… you are literally inventing a skill mid-fight.]
‘Is that bad?’
[That depends.
Do you enjoy your arms exploding?]
‘Preferably no.’
[Then try not to fail.]
I grinned.
“[Nova Break].”
I punched forward.
Impact.
For half a second—
Nothing happened.
Then space imploded.
BOOOOOOM—
The explosion tore through the corridor like a collapsing star.
The [E] ranker’s stone armor shattered instantly.
His chest caved inward before the compressed force detonated straight through him.
Blood burst outward.
The man was launched backward violently—and crashed through the far wall with enough force to shake the entire prison sector.
Silence followed.
Dust drifted slowly through the ruined corridor.
I stared for a second.
“…Huh.”
Okay.
That was stronger than expected.
A lot stronger.
The system’s voice echoed calmly in my mind.
[Skill Created: Nova Break]
[Nova Break — Compresses stellar mana and spatial force into a concentrated impact point before detonation.]
“…Nice.”
[…You actually succeeded.]
‘You sound disappointed.’
[I was preparing emergency medical advice.]
‘Rude.’
The dust settled gradually.
The [E] ranker’s body lay partially embedded in broken stone several meters away.
Or—
Most of his body.
There was a massive hole blasted directly through his chest.
Dead instantly.
Yeah.
Definitely stronger than expected.
[…You made that skill on the spot] the system said flatly.
‘To be fair, it felt right.’
[You are disturbingly talented.]
‘That sounded almost complimentary.’
[Do not get used to it.]
Meanwhile, the other side of the corridor had become surprisingly quiet.
I turned slightly.
The two weaker guards were already down.
One unconscious.
One very, very not unconscious.
Lyra stood calmly nearby, silver hair swaying softly as tiny blood droplets stained parts of her sleeve and cheek again.
Seriously.
How did she keep looking prettier after fights?
That felt unfair somehow.
‘She is really pretty though…’
[I am choosing not to comment on your priorities right now.]
‘Coward.’
Her black eyes shifted briefly toward the massive hole in the wall behind the dead [E] ranker.
Then toward me.
“…Are you done?”
I turned fully toward her with a grin.
“Yup.”
For a second, Lyra froze.
Not visibly enough for most people to notice.
But I noticed.
Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at me standing there beneath drifting dust and pale mana light, smiling like I hadn’t just blasted a hole through an [E] ranker.
Then—
Very subtly—
She looked away.
“…Good.”
I blinked.
“…You okay?”
“Yes.”
“…You hesitated.”
“I didn’t.”
“You absolutely did.”
“You’re imagining things.”
“…Wow.
That’s becoming a habit.”
She ignored me completely and stepped past the shattered remains of the corridor instead.
But I caught it.
The faint redness near the tips of her ears before she turned away.
Interesting.
Very interesting.