I wasn't sure how many days had passed three, maybe four, since I found my legs cooked and my hand snapped like a twig.
But injuries like that had become the norm.
I fought with mangled legs, snapped arms, and for the entire training session that day, she only targeted my legs.
The pain was unbearable.
And yet, through all of it, I started noticing something else.
This wasn't training. Not in any way.
Guro wasn't teaching me. She was just using me as a punching bag for her own enjoyment. The more I thought about it, the more everything she said felt like a lie.
I started doubting her story about being a fugitive.
Someone desperate to reduce their prison sentence wouldn't act like this.
The moment my legs healed enough to function, she changed her target.
My hands were next.
She beat me unconscious again. And when I woke up, they were ruined.
It kept happening. Over and over.
She would joke about cooked meat and how humans were delicious. Initially, I brushed off her ramblings as mere jokes, but soon, it became harder to ignore—especially when I noticed the gleam in her eyes whenever she looked at me.
Every time I regained consciousness from the torture, my Essence store would be full. And every time, I dumped points into Constitution and Psynapse.
I also noticed something else, my Essence storage space wasn't enough. Sometimes, it would fill up too quickly during fights with her since both Particle Absorption and the natural energy absorption from combat were always active.
I needed more room.
So I focused. I forced my Essence to condense, solidifying it into semi-solid spheres, freeing up more space.
I had no idea how long this would go on.
But one thing was clear, I needed to prepare myself for what was coming.
I could feel it. She was getting jittery.
She had noticed that my body was adapting. The heat didn't burn me as easily anymore, and I wasn't so simple to "cook" now.
I also started tracking her movements more often in our fights. She would joke about how I was growing stronger, laughing it off like it didn't bother her. But I saw the uneasiness in her eyes.
I hadn't leveled up even once, yet I was progressing fast. And she knew it.
I sat on a volcanic rock, closing my eyes to focus entirely on shaping the Essence swirling inside my core into semi-solid spheres. Three were already formed, floating steadily, and I was working on the fourth.
I started the process when my Essence was at half capacity 10/20.
Using [Essence Manipulation], I nudged the Essence, guiding it to condense into a solid form. It responded easily, gathering together like molten metal cooling into shape.
After a few tries, another semi-solid sphere formed, joining the others. Now, four floated in perfect balance, while the remaining gaseous Essence swirled around them.
I checked my Essence store: 2/20.
I grinned.
"Perfect."
Hopping down from the rock, I winced as pain flared through my left ankle. It had been broken in the last "training" session and was still recovering.
My gaze shifted to my chest. Claw marks covered it, some scabbed over, others still raw and fresh. I rolled my shoulders, feeling the dull sting from my wounds.
Today, I was going to punch that demon for sure. I had made decent progress.
I pulled up my status.
[Status]
----------------------------------------------------
Name : Billion Ironhart
Race : Human
Class : N/A
Laws : N/A
Level : 22
Talent :
- Generator 3
- Essence : 2/20
Attributes :
- Strength: 61
- Constitution: 83
- Dexterity: 66
- Psynapse : 80
Unused Stats: 0
Skills:
- Essence Manipulation (Innate) Level 3
- Psynapse Boost (Innate) Level 3
- Seismic Burst Level 1
Abilities:
- Apex Body – I (Passive)
--------------------------------------------------
I looked at the panel.
I had focused heavily on Constitution and Psynapse. Over the past few days, I had gained 36 stat points just from generating Essence and infusing it into my attributes.
I added six points to Dexterity and distributed the rest between Psynapse and Constitution.
Strength had fallen behind, but that didn't matter right now. What I needed was to catch that damn demoness—just once.
I scanned the area, but she was nowhere in sight.
Every day, she disappeared somewhere for a while.
This underground space had no forests or obstacles blocking my vision, so I could see far. But there were plenty of ditches and lava pools scattered around, making it hard to tell exactly where she was hiding.
No more orcs or any other creatures had crawled out of the lava pool, so I had no way to use them for leveling up.
Time passed, and then I spotted movement in the distance.
A figure sprinting toward me.
Guro.
I activated my Talent.
Then both my skills.
[Essence Manipulation]
[Psynapse Boost]
My heart thrummed as my mind and body synchronized in preparation for the fight.
I focused on her as she moved.
She was fast, so fast that her feet barely touched the ground. She skipped over the lava pools as if they were solid surfaces, covering the distance in moments.
Finally, she reached me and came to a stop, a grin stretching across her face.
Feigning concern, she tilted her head.
"You look ready, human. How's your ankle? Is it healed?"
I nodded.
"It's coming along nicely."
She clapped her hands together.
"Glad to hear that. So, should we start? I'm very excited, you know. Your training is almost over."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Almost over?"
She nodded, grinning wider.
"Yup. Today's your last day here. After this, you have to leave."
My brows furrowed.
'Is it already the end of the month?'
She continued, her voice carrying a strange excitement.
"So, I've decided we should have a grand finale. You asked me about my class before, right?"
Her grin stretched unnaturally wide.
"I'll show it to you today."
She leaned forward slightly, and then her figure blurred toward me.
But this time, I was ready.
My heightened Psynapse and skills allowed me to track her movements.
She swung her right hand, claws stretching toward my throat.
But something was off.
Her weight wasn't properly distributed for the attack.
'It's a feint.'
I pretended to move my right hand to intercept her.
She grinned.
Then, in a blur, she vanished again, this time to my left.
Her claws slashed toward my shoulder.
I felt everything, the way her body shifted, the force in her legs as she pushed forward. My eyes tracked her movement, and my brain processed it all at insane speed.
I saw how her muscles tensed, the slight bend in her knees before she launched herself. I noted the subtle adjustments in her posture, the way her shoulders dipped just before the attack.
More than that, I felt the disturbance in the air.
The heat particles around her swirled chaotically, displaced by her sheer speed. They twisted and scattered, leaving behind a brief, fiery trail that my senses picked up instantly.
I shifted, leaning onto my right leg, letting her attack pass just inches from my skin.
Then I turned, clenched my right fist, and threw a hook straight at her chin.
She was mid-motion, caught off guard.
Her eyes widened. She tilted her head up, trying to avoid the punch.
But I was faster.
I channeled Essence into my fist.
The punch connected.
A solid hit, right on target.
Guro sailed through the air and crashed into the ground.
I exhaled, rolling my shoulders, a grin stretching across my face.
"That felt good, right?"
She threw her head back and let out a loud, manic laugh.
Her voice echoed across the volcanic chamber. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, she rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck from side to side.
"Yes, human, it did feel good," she said, her grin widening. "Now, allow me to reciprocate."
She took a step forward, then another, closing the distance between us at an agonizingly slow pace.
I noticed her nails extending, growing at least an inch longer than before. The same thing happened with the nails on her feet.
Then, as she continued advancing, her palms and nails began to glow a deep, molten red. I watched as the heat particles in the air flowed toward her fingers, gathering around them like living embers.
"Before I acquired my class," she said, flexing her hands, "I hunted a lot. I always liked using my own hands to tear apart my prey. And so, the system rewarded me with a beautiful class."
She winked at me.
"Remember it, human. My class is called Hellclaw Reaper."