[System Notification]
[User has refused to flee.]
[Initializing new skills to increase user's chances of survival.]
[New Quest: Survive the encounter with the Calamity Threat.]
"Refused, huh?" Levi sighed, gripping the hilt of his blade. "More like 'User doesn't have a choice.'"
This was the first time the system didn't issue a penalty. No reward, either. The stakes were already clear—live or die.
Even with the new skills, his odds weren't promising. Five minutes. That was the longest he could realistically hold out.
His body still hadn't recovered from earlier. Energy reserves were running low and his breaths came in faster than they should.
He couldn't sense Emilia and Zenon's power enough to be able to give them specific levels, but something in his gut told him—this was beyond anything he had faced before.
"I don't have all day here." Emilia's said in a low tone, interrupting his thoughts.
"Levi…" Violet's voice was gentle and soft. She extended a hand, her eyes pleading with him. "Don't—"
"Like I said," Levi interrupted, stepping forward, muscles tensed. "It's obvious I don't have a choice."
Without hesitation, he launched his attack. No words, no system commands—just pure action.
The same move that had decapitated the Duskrend Wolf earlier, a strike fast enough to carve through steel. A blur of motion. A silver arc slicing toward Emilia's throat.
Both were made to look like nothing, as Emilia stopped Levi's blade with nothing but the tip of her finger.
The disbelief rushed to his face in an instant. His eyes widened with shock unable to grasp what just happened. He knew he was outclassed but was it this much?
He felt the impact reverberate up his arm, the sheer absurdity of it sending a cold shock through his veins. The blade trembled, but Emilia remained unmoved, her face showing no form of emotion.
"So you don't have to say those words or commands of yours every time." She muttered, loud enough for Levi to hear.
Levi leapt back, his instincts screaming at him to gain distance. His mind raced. How long had she—or rather, they—been watching?
"Come on," Emilia said, curling her fingers toward herself. "Try again."
She was toying with him. It was obvious. And that pissed him off.
"Fine." Levi gritted his teeth. "Let's see how much of a game this really is for you."
"Generate Aqua Element," he muttered, feeling the shift in the air as water responded to his call. Liquid drops began to appear around him, shimmering in moonlight.
"Hydro Lance."
A spear of compressed water shot forward at speed of a bullet, the air hissing as it cut through. Levi didn't stop there. Immediately, he twisted his fingers
"Merge spark—"
Before he could finish, the entire attack dissipated in an instant. Emilia had raised her hand—no flashy counterattack, no dramatic movement.
Just a wave of her fingers, and everything he summoned vanished into nothing.
Once again he was dumbfounded.
"I see…" The voice wasn't Emilia's this time. It was Zenon who he had forgotten was even present. His tone calm, almost analytical.
"I've noticed it too," Emilia added, turning to Zenon him slightly.
They had both caught on to another fact about the skills he received from the system.
While it was true he didn't need to verbalize his commands every time, there was an exception. For a skill he had never used before, the first time required activation by voice.
Levi's muscles were beginning to burn from the strain of all the attacks he had launched earlier. His breaths were uneven, his chest rising and falling.
Every move he made chipped away at what little stamina he had left. Meanwhile, Emilia stood there, her expression untouched by fatigue. If anything, she looked bored.
"You know what?" Levi gritted his teeth in frustration. "Generate flame element!" The command left his lips before he even realized it. His frustration had gotten the best of him.
A sphere of fire formed in his palm. Without hesitation, he hurled it at her, the force behind it enough to crack the ground beneath him.
The explosion that followed sent a shockwave ripping through the clearing, uprooting smaller trees and sending debris flying in every direction.
Smoke and fire swirled around Emilia's last known position, but Levi didn't celebrate—not yet. He had seen what she was capable of.
And sure enough, as the smoke cleared, she stood there without a scratch. Not even her clothes were burned. It was like the fire never touched her.
"You depend so much on the System," she said, brushing a speck of dust off her sleeve. "You make zero improvement to yourself."
Levi clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. He was frustrated. Every attack he had thrown at her was simply brushed off like pieces of paper.
After his big talk about beating answers out of them, he couldn't even scratch her. His pride had taken a lethal blow.
"Every attack you've used so far was strong," Emilia continued, tilting her head slightly. "But they lacked proper control."
"The System gives you the moves and pulls enough energy for them, but you have no real mastery over them. That's why you're failing."
Without another word, she raised her hand. A small orb of energy formed at her fingertips, Levi's eyes tracked it, muscles tensing. Was she about to attack?
Instead, she flicked the orb at a nearby tree. The moment it made contact, a shallow crater formed in the bark, the energy dispersing upon impact.
"That's it?" Levi frowned. "Is she lecturing me right now?"
"Now watch closely." She repeated the move, but this time, the orb was smaller, more refined.
The moment it struck, the tree didn't just shake, it split clean through, severed as if by an invisible blade. The upper half slid to the ground with a heavy thud, the cut smooth and precise.
Levi froze.
"Power alone isn't everything," Emilia said, crossing her arms. "Control determines whether you waste energy or maximize its potential."
Levi's jaw tightened, his mind racing. He knew she was right. But knowing and doing were two very different things. Moreover, his vision was beginning to waver slightly now.
Meanwhile, Emilia stood there, completely unscathed, her expression reflecting nothing but boredom. Not a bead of sweat marred her face, and her stance remained loose.
[Warning] [User cannot continue battle] [Please refrain from further movements]
"Shut up!" Levi snarled at the floating text, forcing his trembling body to stay upright. He had no time for this.
"Levi… That's what they called you, right?" Emilia's voice was calm, almost casual.
Something was wrong.
Levi's gut twisted as he instinctively glanced back at his companions—only to realize Violet was gone.
His blood ran cold. He quickly turned back to Emilia, and his stomach dropped at the sight before him.
Violet dangled limply in Emilia's grasp, her feet barely touching the ground. One of Emilia's fingers rested lightly against Violet's throat, and yet, Levi knew she could end her life in an instant.
When? How?
Even Violet, with all her awareness, had failed to register when she had been taken. Her wide eyes reflected the same disbelief.
"Captain Emilia, please wait!" Kyle's voice rang out in desperation. He dropped to his knees, bowing his head low. "We're sorry. My friend is sorry! This must be some misunderstanding. I'm sure—"
"Next time you see me, Levi," Emilia said, completely ignoring Kyle, "I'll take the boy."
Levi's entire body tensed. He tried to move, to lunge forward, but a searing pain shot through him.
He felt a sharp taste of metal on his tongue as he coughed up blood, his body failing him at the worst possible moment.
[Warning]
[User cannot continue battle]
[Please refrain from further movements]
"No no, not now... Not freaking now!" Levi clenched his jaw, every fiber of his being rejecting the System's limitations.
They warned him. Maybe if he had listened. Maybe if he didn't give in to his ego. This was all his fault.
He looked up at Violet and saw a gentle smile spread across her face—soft, almost serene.
It was like something snapped inside him instantly.
Golden arcs of lightning began to run wildly over his skin. His exhaustion, his pain—none of it mattered. His body surged forward like a bullet, a streak of pure energy cutting through the air.
No sword. No hesitation.
His hand, wreathed in lightning, swung like a blade straight toward Emilia's neck.
This time, she raised her full palm to block.
The moment his strike connected, a shockwave erupted between them, sending a violent gust of wind ripping through the surroundings. The force of his attack pushed her back slightly, and for the first time, Emilia's eyes widened in surprise.
"Good." Her lips curled into a smirk. "But not quite enough."
"GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE, LEVI!" Kyle's voice roared through the chaos.
He had barely attempted to move when he felt it.
A suffocating pressure slammed into him like a tidal wave, crushing the very air from his lungs. The sheer weight of it made his vision blur, his knees threatening to buckle.
Zenon.
Levi had barely noticed him move, but now the man stood between him and Kyle.
Up close, it was worse—unbearable. The overwhelming presence radiating from Zenon made every instinct in Levi's body scream in warning.
"Get... out..." Kyle staggered, his hand reaching desperately toward Levi.
But before he could finish, his body collapsed.
Levi barely had time to react.
He turned, his gaze locking onto Kyle. "Kyle!—" His scream was cut short as a cold, vice-like grip closed around his throat. The very hand that had been repelled just moments ago was now wrapped around his neck.
"Brace yourself," Emilia murmured.
Before he could even struggle, a devastating blow crashed into his abdomen. A shockwave traveled through the air, flattening the ground beneath them and sending trees bending as if struck by a storm.
Levi's body rocketed backward, an unstoppable force smashing through tree after tree, his bones rattling with every impact.
The world blurred, branches snapping, bark splintering—until finally, his body rolled across the ground, skidding to a stop in a heap of searing agony.
Blood flowed slowly out of the corner of his lips, staining the dirt beneath him. Every breath burned, every twitch of his fingers felt like his muscles were ripping apart from the inside.
"Violet... Kyle..." he rasped, his vision swimming. His fingers clawed at the dirt, dragging his broken body forward inch by inch. "I have to... I have to get back..."
[ Warning ]
[ User's life force fading ]
[ User will die within 10 seconds ]