Seraphine wanted to resist being captured, but Vaelor's grip remained immovable—like trying to escape from steel manacles.
"Damn it!" she muttered with frustration.
After their sparring match concluded, Vaelor purchased energy drinks from a nearby vending machine. He handed the lime-flavored one to Seraphine, who was still sulking visibly.
She accepted it and took a long gulp, her cheeks still puffed out with residual annoyance.
"You were cheating!" she accused, swinging her legs from her perch on the swing.
Seraphine's expression radiated resentment. After suppressing Vaelor academically and physically for three straight years, being surpassed so dramatically in their final semester felt deeply unfair.
Vaelor laughed. "When exactly did I cheat? Don't make baseless accusations."
"I don't care—this match doesn't count!" Seraphine glared at him stubbornly. "We'll compete again during the Martial Aptitude Examination."
"Let's see who scores higher in the dungeon trials. Whoever loses has to be the winner's servant for an entire day!"
"Those are pretty high stakes," Vaelor observed with amusement.
"Hmph! I just want to know if you dare accept."
"I suppose I could—"
Vaelor's gaze swept over Seraphine appraisingly.
He had to admit—she'd grown into a genuinely beautiful young woman.
Glossy black hair tied in her signature twin buns. Porcelain skin without visible flaws. Delicate features on a heart-shaped face. Slender neck leading to shoulders left bare by her branded black athletic top, which failed to conceal her surprisingly mature figure despite her petite stature.
Her narrow waist emphasized what could only be described as impressively proportioned curves. White sports shorts hugged firm, toned legs—thighs full and shapely, calves lean and defined.
No wonder she'd earned the "class beauty" designation.
"If I win," Vaelor began slowly, "I want you to—"
Want me to...?
Seraphine's face flushed crimson. She crossed her arms protectively over her chest. "W-what are you saying?! Don't get any weird ideas! Be careful—my dad's a Tier 3 Warrior now! He'll beat you senseless!"
"What are you thinking?" Vaelor's expression remained innocent. "If I win, I want you to wear a maid outfit for the day."
Seraphine realized she'd completely misinterpreted his intent. Her face turned an even deeper shade of red as she attempted to regain composure.
"Hmph! We'll see about that after you actually win."
They finished their drinks and walked together toward the transit station, conversation flowing naturally.
"How are Uncle Vex and Aunt Vex doing lately?"
"They're fine. What about your father? Has he returned from the border garrison yet?"
"No. Still stationed."
A brief silence fell between them—the weight of absent parents serving dangerous duties settling over both teenagers.
Seraphine broke the quiet. "Which Combat University are you planning to apply to? With your current strength, you'd definitely qualify for a prestigious institution."
"I'll decide after the examination results."
Seraphine nodded, then reached into her jacket pocket and withdrew a small vial. "Here. For you."
Vaelor accepted it and immediately recognized the contents.
Essence Restoration Elixir—a high-grade genetic medicine that replenished potential, increased vitality reserves, and repaired accumulated fatigue. Market value exceeded 100,000 points.
"Thank you."
Vaelor didn't offer false politeness. He'd simply consider this a favor owed—one he'd repay when opportunity arose.
"You're really shameless, you know that?" Seraphine said, though her tone carried affection rather than criticism.
"Want me to return it then?"
"Hmph! There's no taking back what I've given. That's final."
Seraphine spoke with exaggerated hauteur, chin raised imperiously.
Vaelor smiled, about to respond—
When his Martial Senses detected an anomaly from his right side.
His expression shifted subtly. Without conscious thought, his hand shot out and caught Seraphine's wrist, stopping her from walking forward.
"?" Seraphine turned toward him with confusion. "What's wrong?"
But Vaelor didn't answer, his attention fixed on a single-family residence to their right.
The house appeared normal enough—lights extinguished, windows dark, nothing overtly suspicious about its nighttime appearance.
Yet his enhanced senses detected something profoundly wrong. Not dangerous to him personally—his current battle power approached Tier 6 levels despite being only LV0 and unawakened. Whatever lurked inside that house posed no threat to his existence.
But it was corrupted. Tainted with abyssal energy that resonated with wrongness on a fundamental level.
Something contaminated is inside, Vaelor thought analytically. Probably from the King-Tier entity's residual influence earlier today.
At the same time, his Spatial Displacement Intent detected a subtle distortion approximately fifteen meters away—someone concealed within a spatial fold, observing the area.
Interesting. Someone's already investigating. Tier 4 at minimum, based on the spatial manipulation sophistication. Should I leave this to them?
"It's nothing. Let's go," he said aloud, preparing to leave with Seraphine.
But just as they turned away—
CRASH!
The house's front door exploded outward with tremendous force!
A grotesque figure burst forth—what had once been human but was now corrupted beyond recognition. Its body constantly shifted between solid flesh and liquid shadow, covered in pulsating black tumors. Multiple eyes had sprouted across its torso, each glowing with sickly purple light. A massive maw split its face horizontally, lined with jagged teeth.
It launched directly toward them with the speed and ferocity of a Tier 1 Warrior. Seraphine screamed in genuine terror.
Vaelor's expression remained calm, almost disappointed.
Just a contaminated Tier 1? I was hoping for something more challenging.
His right fist cocked back casually, drawing on barely a fraction of his actual power. He channeled his Primordial Inferno Concept, wrapping his fist in white-gold flames that contained both purification and annihilation properties. Vibrational Force ripples layered over it. Multiple Intents synchronized—Fire, Plasma, Kinetic, and Impulse all harmonizing perfectly.
With Limit Break's passive tenfold amplification, his effective strength exceeded 50,000. Against a contaminated warrior with maybe 3,000 battle power at best, this was grotesque overkill.
Vaelor threw the punch almost lazily.
BOOM!!!
The contaminated warrior didn't explode—it simply ceased to exist. The purifying flames consumed it at the molecular level while the kinetic force obliterated anything the fire missed. The shockwave created a visible distortion in the air and shattered every window in the nearby houses.
The residence behind where the creature had been standing partially collapsed, structural supports vaporized by residual energy.
Nothing remained. Not black residue, not corrupted flesh, not even ash. Complete annihilation.
Seraphine stood frozen, her scream dying in her throat as her brain struggled to process the casual display of overwhelming power.
"(°口°)!" Her mouth hung open, only capable of shocked sounds.
At the same moment the contaminated warrior died, two microscopic fragments of corrupted flesh—somehow having been expelled before the main body's destruction—shot toward both teenagers.
Vaelor flicked his finger at the one approaching him. It disintegrated on contact with his purified chaos qi.
Simultaneously, the spatial distortion he'd detected earlier manifested. A twisted void opened and consumed the fragment heading toward Seraphine, erasing it from existence before it could make contact.
So whoever's watching decided to reveal themselves, Vaelor noted with interest.
A young woman with flowing blue-gradient hair emerged from the spatial fold as if stepping through an invisible doorway. She held a three-scoop ice cream cone, licking it casually despite the grisly scene. Most strikingly, a black silk blindfold covered her eyes completely.
"Ah, so that's the source," the woman said pleasantly. "Residual spiritual contamination from the King-Tier entity that manifested earlier. These warriors were corrupted at the fundamental level—their bodies and souls twisted into abyssal spawn."
Her voice carried a musical quality, light and friendly.
Seraphine stared at the newcomer, momentarily distracted from her earlier shock by the woman's otherworldly beauty and strange appearance.
Vaelor studied her with analytical interest rather than wariness. His Absolute Insight rapidly assessed her capabilities.
Tier 4 Warrior. LV39 approximately. Legendary-tier profession related to spatial and ocular abilities. The blindfold is actually a seal limiting her power—probably to prevent collateral damage in populated areas. If she released it, her battle power would spike to around 800,000.
Interesting. But still well below my current effective strength of over 500,000 battle power.
He could take her if necessary, though it would be troublesome and attract unwanted attention.
"Who are you?" Vaelor asked, his tone polite but neutral.
"Me? My name is Seris Valthorn—just a beautiful university student who happened to be investigating nearby!" The blue-haired woman grinned cheerfully.
"..." Vaelor's eye twitched at the obvious deflection.
"..." Seraphine mirrored his skeptical silence.
"You're from the Inspection Bureau," Vaelor stated rather than asked.
"Ding ding! Close but not quite! I'm helping out a friend who works there. I'm actually still a student at Divine Martial University." Seris's grin widened.
Divine Martial University. One of the Four Supreme Combat Academies, Vaelor thought, filing away the information. That explains the high level at her age.
"I was tracking this contaminated warrior," Seris continued, "but you eliminated it before I could engage. Very thoroughly, I might add."
Despite the blindfold, her head tilted toward Vaelor with obvious focus. "I observed the entire encounter from concealment. Quite impressive—eliminating a corrupted LV7 warrior in a single strike before even graduating. You didn't just kill it; you completely purified and annihilated it. That level of control is exceptional."
Vaelor maintained his neutral expression, though internally he was recalculating.
She saw me from spatial concealment. But did she realize I detected her presence before I struck? Probably not—she seems to think she was perfectly hidden.
"For record-keeping purposes, what are your names?" Seris asked. "Don't worry—your information will remain confidential. This won't cause any problems for you."
"Seraphine Vex," Seraphine offered immediately, still somewhat starstruck.
Vaelor considered briefly before responding. "Vaelor Draeth."
"Vaelor Draeth and Seraphine Vex. Perfect!" Seris's smile brightened. "You two should head home. I'll handle cleanup and continue the investigation. The Inspection Bureau will take care of everything else."
As Vaelor took Seraphine's hand to leave, Seris spoke again—her tone shifting to something more serious despite her continued smile.
"Vaelor Draeth. Would you be interested in applying to Divine Martial University?"
Vaelor's steps didn't falter, but his eyes flickered with interest.
"I'll consider it," he said simply, continuing to walk away.
Seris watched them depart, her smile fading into a more contemplative expression.
"That boy..." she murmured to herself. "His battle power felt wrong. Way too high for someone who hasn't officially become a Tier 1 Warrior yet. And that purification effect in his attack—it completely countered abyssal corruption."
She pulled out her communication device. "Brother Marcus? I found the source of the contamination incidents. Also... I think I just witnessed something very interesting. We should talk."
[Ding! You have slain an LV7 Abyssal Contaminated Warrior]
[Life essence extracted and absorbed]
[Experience gained: +700]
[Stats gained from life essence absorption: +2 all attributes]
[Ding! Level increased to LV1! All attributes +10. Free attribute points +10 acquired.]
[Ding! Level increased to LV2! All attributes +10. Free attribute points +10 acquired.]
[Ding! You have reached Tier 1 Warrior status]
[Amplification opportunity available. Select attribute or ability to amplify by 100,000x minimum.]
The system notifications flooded Vaelor's consciousness as he and Seraphine walked toward the transit station. Pure energy materialized within his body, surging through his meridians and elevating his existence to a new threshold.
His vitality erupted outward briefly in a controlled crimson storm before he suppressed it, not wanting to alarm Seraphine further.
"Vaelor... you..." Seraphine looked at him with wide eyes, having sensed the energy fluctuation. "What just happened?"
"I reached Tier 1 Warrior status," Vaelor said simply. "The experience from killing that contaminated warrior pushed me over the threshold."
And I have my first amplification opportunity since awakening, he added mentally. Time to make it count.
Seraphine's mouth opened and closed several times, her brain refusing to process the implications.