Selene had to jump back when all the liquid metal and stone shot towards her.
Luckily, she didn't need to jump too much since the fiery shockwave already pushed her back quite a bit.
The heat of the molten metal was nothing to joke about, and touching it would even cause her severe burns.
"Kyle!" she shouted as she looked at the tunnel submerged in liquid metal.
Most likely, Kyle was being burned alive right now!
Yet, a moment later, the liquid metal parted, and Kyle casually walked out.
When Selene saw that Kyle was uninjured, her brain stopped functioning.
How?!
Their bodies were at the same level!
She would receive severe burns. So, Kyle should also receive severe burns!
But there were none!
How was that possible?!
"Yeah?" Kyle asked casually.
Selene just kept looking at him.
"H-How? What?!" she shouted. "You- Are you alright?!"
"Yeah," Kyle answered as the liquid metal behind him started to flow down the sloped tunnel.
Selene just looked at Kyle.
What Kyle had just done seemed to break all conventions.
It seemed impossible!
"Did you get injured?" she asked in shock.
"No," Kyle said.
"How?" Selene asked.
The next moment, a bunch of liquid iron came out of Kyle's armored leggings and covered his entire body.
"Like this," he said with a muffled voice.
Then, the iron retreated again.
"But," Selen said, trying to understand what Kyle meant, "the iron would also just melt."
"So?" Kyle asked. "I know how to protect myself against molten iron."
Selene took a few seconds to understand what that meant.
"Wait, you're already focusing on Fragments?" she asked in shock.
"Yeah," Kyle said. "Why not?"
"But… Fragments are something you can't learn in the Second Realm!" Selene said.
"Says who?" Kyle asked.
"I…" Selene wanted to answer, but she actually couldn't find an answer.
Yes, everyone was only comprehending Fragments in the Third Realm, but nobody ever said that they couldn't be understood in the Second Realm.
"I… see…" she said, taking a deep breath.
By now, most of the molten metal had flowed downward, while a bunch of it had hardened again, creating a coating on the floor.
That was when Selene saw the humongous hole Kyle had made with a single strike.
20 meters!
One strike destroyed 20 meters of massive stone, essentially creating a new cave.
When Selene saw that, her mind stopped working again.
This was so much power!
Selene did some calculations, and the result of the calculations shocked her. This was the power of a Spell launched by a Peak Sorcerer!
Kyle was a Mid Warrior!
This seemed impossible!
How could someone achieve such offensive power with a two-level disadvantage?!
Yet, while it seemed impossible, it actually wasn't.
Kyle's Enchantments already improved his body by an entire level.
Then, the mix of having an improved Center and Mind gave his attacks incredible quality and Ether quantity.
On top of that, Kyle's hammer was already extremely destructive on its own.
Finally, Kyle had used an incredible number of techniques at the same time.
With all of this put together, Kyle managed to unleash such a devastating strike.
Michael's most powerful Spell was a joke when compared to Kyle's attack.
As Selene looked at Kyle, her evaluation of his strength changed drastically.
She had thought that she could still win against him in a fight.
Yet, that didn't seem to be the case anymore.
Just with the Enchantments, Kyle was probably already a bit faster than Selene, which meant he could catch up to her.
If he also managed to deal with a couple of arrows, he would reach her.
And, well, Kyle only needed to strike once.
Kyle probably even had several techniques he could use from a distance with his powerful Soul.
That was when Selene remembered something else she had sensed.
While the strike had happened, she hadn't paid attention to that feeling since she was too shocked by the destructive display.
What she had sensed was Kyle's Momentum.
It had been so powerful!
Selene already had quite a strong Momentum, but Kyle's was quite a bit stronger.
With such Momentum, Selene would probably become extremely nervous during a battle with Kyle, which would lead to her making several mistakes.
Meanwhile, Kyle would be completely calm.
Selene looked at the ground.
Back when she had met Kyle for the first time, she could have easily won against him.
She wouldn't even have needed to unveil her Aristocrat's Body. Skweera, her old companion, would have been enough as long as Selene bought it a bit of time.
Then, when Kyle had invited her to his team, she could have still easily won, but she would have needed to unveil her Aristocrat's Body.
The gap between them had grown far smaller, but it had still been significant.
But now…
In just a single year…
Kyle had overtaken her.
A battle between them would not be up for debate.
The result was clear from the beginning.
Kyle would slaughter her.
It didn't matter where they fought, from what distance their fight started, or how much preparation time Selene had.
She would simply lose.
"Why are you acting so shocked?" Kyle asked. "You're our strongest Warrior."
Selene just looked at Kyle.
"What do you mean?" she asked. It sounded a bit like Kyle was mocking her.
"What I said," Kyle said as he scratched the back of his head. "What am I supposed to do against you? You would just jump back and cover me with arrows. Yeah, sure, I can be pretty destructive if I can hit my opponent, but if I can't hit them, I'm just a random guy."
Selene tried to find any signs of sarcasm or mockery in Kyle's demeanor and tone.
Yet, there were none.
'Does he actually believe that?' Selene thought in shock.
'Does he actually believe that I am stronger?'
Selene took a deep breath.
"Don't make assumptions about other people's powers," she said with a serious tone.
Kyle scratched the side of his head in confusion. "Eh, sure. Sorry, I guess?"
'What's her problem? I was just giving her a compliment,' Kyle thought.
Selene closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm down.
This had been a heavy hit to her ego.
"It's fine. Let's continue," she said.
"Sure thing," Kyle said, continuing down the tunnel.
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