Celia had a trembling smile.
"I— I was just joking," she said, trying to sound alluring and put off Isaac’s anger.
But Isaac simply kept smiling ’calmly’ and beckoned her with his finger.
The reason he could activate her skill despite her command simple. After the skill was upgraded into a Transcendent-rank skill, it was no longer truly her skill anymore. Her version was SSS+ rank while his had surpassed that level entirely.
Of course, calling two skills different just because their ranks differed was a loophole. Normally, Celia’s commands would be interpreted according to her intentions. The passive skill [Fatal Attraction] would enforce that meaning.
However, Isaac’s mental defense was absurdly high. He could partially resist her control, and that tiny gap was enough for him to exploit the loophole. If his willpower had been weaker, he would never have noticed it and would have obediently followed her commands like a good boy.
"Y-You are not angry, right, Master?" she asked carefully.
The corner of Isaac’s lips twitched. Just moments ago she had been proudly calling herself his master, and now she had immediately switched sides without hesitation.
Celia truly was the embodiment of strategic retreat.
She did not even try to resist. The moment she sensed danger, she surrendered instantly.
"Will you do something like this again?" Isaac asked while sitting on the edge of the bed.
"No," she said, shaking her head rapidly while standing in front of him with her hands behind her back.
Isaac rolled his eyes internally. He knew this chaos gremlin like the back of his hand. If she ever got another opportunity, she would absolutely try again.
Still, his tone softened a little.
"I’m not against things like this, okay? But give me some time to adjust. Recording stuff like that feels too abrupt for me."
"That’s why your unwilling expressions make it feel exciting, and why I want to do it," she mumbled under her breath.
"What?" Isaac narrowed his eyes.
"I said, ’Understood, Master!’" she replied immediately.
Isaac finally broke into laughter.
Celia secretly let out a sigh of relief. He was not truly angry. He had just been scaring her a little in return.
Then both their expressions suddenly changed. Their eyes snapped toward the livestream screen floating nearby.
"These bastards," Isaac muttered coldly.
...
Ruins of Old, First Area, Great Dungeon.
A few minutes earlier.
"I’ll start trying to tame it," Emily said as she stood before the corpse of the Mini Boss.
The surrounding monsters were already swarming toward their location from every direction. Broken streets shook under heavy footsteps while distorted screeches echoed through the ruined city.
Lume, the Abyssal Trickster, darted through the battlefield like a shadow, cutting apart monsters that got too close. Beside him, Stoneward, the Abyssal Mammoth, stood like a moving fortress. Its gigantic body blocked entire streets while its trunk smashed charging monsters aside.
The rest of the team finally gained a brief moment to breathe.
Emily took out the Soulbound Spirit Core, the Legendary-grade item she carried carefully inside a Spatial Ring.
Just as she was about to begin the taming process, a violent gust of wind exploded around them.
The force nearly threw everyone off their feet. Dust, broken stones, and debris spiraled upward as the wind rapidly intensified. Above the corpse of the Mini Boss, a small tornado began forming.
The corpse stood directly at the eye of the storm.
"Is this a Mana Wind!?" Averon shouted. He immediately dashed toward Stoneward and grabbed onto its thick fur to stop himself from getting blown away.
Mana Winds were one of the environmental dangers in the First Area. They appeared without warning and could tear weaker awakeners into pieces. Even powerful awakeners risked being thrown thousands of meters away if caught unprepared.
Emily tried to fly upward and stabilize herself, but the wind pressure was too strong. Her body tilted violently in the air.
Alice reacted instantly.
Draconic wings unfurled behind her as she shot forward at terrifying speed. In the next second, she grabbed Emily’s wrist tightly.
Then she activated the Gravity Well skill of her Legendary-grade hammer.
The hammer’s weight multiplied instantly.
Alice and Emily were dragged downward like meteors before slamming into the ground with a deafening boom. Cracks spread through the stone beneath them, but the hammer remained firmly planted despite the raging winds.
Alice wrapped one arm around the handle while holding Emily with the other.
It felt as though the wind was trying to rip them apart.
Then Alice noticed something strange.
The tornado was moving away.
Her eyes narrowed sharply. The corpse of the Mini Boss was no longer where it had fallen. It was trapped inside the eye of the storm and being dragged away.
Emily had her eyes shut because of the ferocious wind and could barely see anything. Averon was too far away to notice clearly as well.
But Alice understood immediately.
"It’s not a Mana Wind! It’s an Awakener! They’re trying to steal the corpse!" she shouted.
The winds intensified instantly, becoming nearly twice as violent.
Dozens of compressed wind blades materialized around the tornado before shooting toward the group from all directions.
Emily immediately activated Phantom Ward skill. A layer of ghostly barriers formed in front of them and intercepted the attacks, but sharp screeching sounds still rang out every time the wind blades collided with the shield.
A dangerous light flashed across Alice’s eyes.
Golden flames erupted around her as she activated Solar Dominion skill. The surrounding winds only fueled the flames further, causing them to spread even faster.
Within seconds, the battlefield turned into a sea of golden fire.
With Alice’s precise control, none of the flames harmed her allies. The monsters charging toward them were not so fortunate. Burning creatures screamed as they collapsed one after another.
As for the tornado—
"AAAAAAAH!"
A shrill scream echoed from inside it.
Despite the scream, the tornado did not disappear. Instead, it accelerated, clearly trying to escape with the corpse.
"Crim! Fifth Eye!" Emily commanded.
The Crimson Sky Wyrm flying overhead roared loudly. One of its giant eye trembled, releasing a strange crimson glow.
[Skill Suppression].
The tornado immediately destabilized. The violent winds shrank rapidly before dispersing entirely.
What remained floating in the air was a human-sized mass of grey mist.
"A Mistborn..." Alice muttered.
Mistborns were the native species ruled under Lord Bella’s territory. Every Mistborn Alice had seen entering the Great Dungeon wore specialized Steam Suits. Those suits sealed their bodies and protected them.
This one was not wearing any.
Without the Steam Suit, Mistborns could utilize their stealth-focused racial abilities, allowing them to become incredibly difficult to detect. That was likely how this one had ambushed them successfully.
Alice could not identify which Mistborn it was without the Steam Suit. Frankly, she did not care.
Her only concern was recovering the corpse before the spirit dissipated. If too much time passed, Emily would lose the opportunity to tame it.
Alice raised her hand. Golden flames condensed behind her into a massive spear. She launched it along with golden flames of the Solar Dominion skill.
The grey mist suddenly expanded outward and released a concentrated wall of wind.
Unlike before, this wind flowed in only one direction, pushing Alice’s flames backward instead of fueling them.
"It’s Serisa! The leader of the Mistborn teams! This is our chance! She isn’t wearing the Steam Suit! Attack!" Averon roared from the distance. His eyes lit up fiercely as he charged forward.
There was an unusually excited look on his face, almost as if he had finally found an opportunity to settle an old score.