Chương 45: Quickdraw

Nabi carved the air with her heavy scythe, each swing punctuating her rage.

"Fuck. You. System. And. Your. Shitty. Games." Gray hovered a few feet back from the rampaging Reaper, waiting until the tension finally bled out of her spirit. But she wasn't done. Nabi ripped the lanyard from her neck, hurled the keycard to the dirt, and ground her heel into it.

"Hey!" Gray yelped, already moving.

"You can't let that thing out of your possession for more than thirty seconds!" He snatched the fallen card and pressed it firmly into her palm. She tried to crush it in her fist, but the plastic didn't so much as flex. She exhaled sharply, raised her head, and locked eyes with him. A slow, predatory grin spread across her face. Gray's stomach dropped. He took a step back, but she clamped her fingers around his forearm before he could put any real distance between them.

"Ah!" He winced.

"Apparently the System stripped you of your abilities, not your strength. What do you want?"

"Well, I can't have a weak bodyguard now, can I?" Her grin widened.

"That's the real objective of this mission, isn't it? It was never just about escorting the key. The other goal is escorting your partner. Like a game of Protect the Princess."

"You mean protect the devil," Gray muttered, a sly smirk curling up his lips. Nabi's nails dug deeper into his skin.

"Okay! I get it!" He grimaced, twisting to pull his arm free.

"What are you suggesting we do?" She let go.

"Well, you've got some flashy new abilities now. It's time to prove you can actually use them in a real fight."

"I'm curious about something, though. Ava mentioned you spent your intermission cramming theory instead of actual training. What were you thinking?" Gray rubbed his stinging forearm, then raised his arms in a shrug.

"How do you expect to win a UFC match without understanding the rules first?" Nabi crossed her arms, unimpressed.

"Your mentor could've fed you the technical stuff through the transmission." She tapped her temple.

"Being book smart and being street smart are two different things. You wasted the perfect chance to have a Kaiser personally teach you how to fight. Besides, you're overthinking this. We aren't in an octagon, and there is no referee. The only rule that matters is stabbing them where it hurts." Gray blinked, the logic landing harder than he expected, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I wasn't thinking that far ahead." Nabi's eyes swept over him, head to toe, scanning every inch of his lanky frame. She let out a long, tired sigh.

"Looks like I'll have to fulfill the role of the mentor then." He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes into slits.

"Are you even qualified to teach me? I mean, you're a great fighter and all, but—" Wind cut across his back before he could flinch. The curved edge of her scythe settled against his neck, cold, resting right over his carotid artery.

"Any other objections?" Nabi whispered. Gray swallowed.

"No, Master. None at all." Contribution Points (CP): 9801 Ladder Rank: 241 Name: Gray Kim Level: 4 (47. 50%) Rank: Awakened Class: Mistveil Abilities Identify Unlocks information regarding targets or items. Hollow [Legacy] Cooldown: 5 minutes Active: Summon the smoke cloud of the Primordial Shroud. Cloud Mastery – TIER I Passive: Clear visibility through smoke. The ability to produce and manipulate the form of clouds. Imagination defines the limit.

Shroud Domain [Signature] - TIER I Cooldown: 5 hours Duration: 30 seconds Active: Disperse a shroud of smoke from your location, enveloping you and everyone within. Enter WraithForm while inside your domain. Initiating combat ends this state. Soul Blade Effect:??? Gravity Well [WIND] - TIER I Cooldown: 10 minutes Duration: 8 seconds Active: Designate a point as the center of gravity, pulling the surrounding area toward it. Wraith [Smoke] - TIER I Cooldown: 10 minutes Duration: 5 seconds Active: Enter WraithForm.

Equipment Nimbus Robe [Common] [Evolution] [Armor] [Disabled] Serves to protect the bonded Tobari [Common] [Soul Blade] Half a mile into their sprint toward the drop-off point, the duo spotted three Riftborn loitering near the rusted swing sets of a rundown playground. Chains creaked in the wind, and the plastic slide had long since cracked and faded. Granite Gladiator Lv. 5 Granite Gladiator Lv. 5 Granite Gladiator Lv.

5 The stone warriors were carved from rough granite, their joints grinding faintly with every step they took. In build, they passed for average men, broad-shouldered and thick through the arms. But where a face should have been, there was only smooth, polished rock, blank and featureless. Each gripped a pale marble sword in one hand, the other held a crude stone ball, slightly larger than a fist. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

From twenty feet out, the pack opened their assault. They hurled the rocks in a steady cadence, conjuring new ones the instant the old ones left their palms, keeping up a relentless barrage. The projectiles weren't lethal, and Gray and Nabi wove through the incoming fire without much trouble. Then a stray stone cut directly into Nabi's path after she sidestepped the previous. She drove a fist into it and shattered the rock into gray dust that scattered across the sand.

Warning: Engaging in combat is strictly forbidden. 100 Contribution Points deducted from both the Guardian and the Key Holder.

"How is that combat?!" Nabi yelled at the sky.

"It was self-defense!"

"I'll handle them." Gray drew his Soul Blade, steel singing against the sheathe. Nabi clamped a hand down on his shoulder.

"No abilities." Gray froze.

"What?"

"You heard me. You're not a standard mage. Most of your techniques run through the blade." She tapped her knuckles against the flat of his sword.

"You can't lean on the smoke armament every time you swing. Building a real foundation needs to come first, or the rest of it falls apart." She shoved him forward. Fine, Gray thought, tightening his grip on the hilt. I'll just have to hit harder, then. He surged at the lead gladiator. The construct dropped its rock, gripped its marble sword with both hands, and squared up to meet him. Steel met marble with a clang.

Gritting his teeth, Gray threw his weight into it, driving through the creature's guard until it staggered off-balance. He pivoted and swung his blade in a wide arc. Tobari cracked halfway through the warrior's stone skull with a heavy crunch. It dropped where it stood. The remaining two flanked him on either side, swords raised high for a synchronized overhead strike. Gray brought his blade up to block the first, but there was no stopping both at once. He parried one sword, and that left his other side wide open.

The second blade plunged straight toward his shoulder. Screw integrity and training, he thought. Wraith His body dissolved into a plume of vapor, Tobari vanishing alongside him. The incoming blade sheared clean through the smoke. With nothing solid left to stop them, both gladiators overextended and stumbled forward, swords biting into empty air. Suspended in his intangible state, all Gray could do was watch.

The two warriors caught their footing, turned toward each other, then slowly swiveled their blank faces toward the gray silhouette drifting between them. Confused, they swiped their stone hands through his form, scattering thin trails of smoke into the breeze. At this rate, he would simply materialize back into solid form in the exact same position he had occupied before becoming intangible—primed to be striken again. Then an idea came to mind.

If I can manipulate smoke with my mastery ability, why can't I manipulate myself? In theory, it should have worked. But when he willed his vaporous body to surge out of the way and create distance from the warrior, all he managed was to drift a couple of inches to the side. Luckily for him, they had no idea how long the spell lasted. His flesh solidified again, smoke still curling faintly off his shoulders, and he drove his sword down into the lead one's skull.

Gray struck hard, dropping the second warrior onto the sand. He readied another swing and surged toward the last one standing. The steel slid clean through the narrow joint between its torso and head, and it hit the ground with a heavy thud. You have slain [Granite Gladiator]+0. 5% EXP | +75CP Gray frowned at the system notification. Why is there only one kill notification? He turned to the very first gladiator he'd supposedly downed, only to be met with a marble sword crashing toward his face.

He wrenched back to dodge, but the tip caught him anyway, tearing a vertical gash down his right eye. Blood welled hot, blurring half his vision. He saw red. The floodgates of his Cloud Mastery spell storage burst open. Tobari siphoned its fill, and gray smoke ignited along the steel edge, curling and hissing off the blade. He drew the katana back to his side, lining up a piercing thrust, and lunged. Something interrupted his momentum. Bare fingers closed around his burning blade. Nabi.

Her other hand seized the gladiator's wrist, halting its swing mid-air. Warning: Engaging in combat is strictly forbidden. 1000 Contribution Points deducted from both the Guardian and Key Holder.

"You don't get to cheat again," Nabi said, releasing her grip on the blade. Smoke clung to the shallow cut across her palm before fading a few seconds later.

"Are you okay?" Gray blurted, seizing her wrist to check her palm for any sign of blistering or decay. It was just a thin nick, her skin completely untouched.

"It's nothing." Nabi pulled her arm back.

"Now focus on your enemy." Gray gave her a stern nod and let the smoke ignition fade from his blade. As Nabi stepped clear of the creature, Gray drove his sword through the stone joint linking its forearm and elbow. The gladiator's marble sword clattered into the sand, disarming it. The reprieve didn't last. A new hilt began to coalesce in its remaining hand. Before the blade could fully form, Gray's steel sheared through its wrist and took the hand with it. The rest was simple.

He slid his sword straight through the seam beneath its blocky head, and it dropped to the ground with a heavy thump. You have slain [Granite Gladiator] +0. 5% EXP | +75 CP Nabi stood off to the side, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on a point just over his shoulder. Gray caught the hint and spun, sweeping his sword in a wide arc. Steel met marble, catching the gladiator's strike dead in its path. The force of the parry tore the stone weapon from its grip and sent it clattering across the street.

Before the creature could recover, Gray charged, driving his blade into the narrow crevice beneath its chin, sinking it deep until the thing stopped moving. You have slain [Granite Gladiator] +0. 5% EXP | +75CP Nabi swiped at the system notification.

"It's reassuring to know I get the same CP and EXP from your kills," she said.

"Your form is atrocious." Her gaze snapped from the blank air to Gray's eyes.

"You fight like you and the sword are two separate things, instead of one."

"We'll start from the basics. Show me how you draw your weapon in a fight." She patted her hip, gesturing for him to sheathe it.

"Draw it?" Gray slid the steel back into its scabbard.

"I just… pull it out." He yanked it free, gripping the hilt tight with both hands. Nabi shook her head.

"Too slow." She reached behind her back and grasped the shaft of her scythe. In a blur, she whipped her arm forward, burying the tip of the blade into the sand in one swift motion.

"Combat begins the split second you draw." She let go of the shaft, leaving the scythe standing upright on its own, and beckoned for his katana. Gray released his grip and willed the sword to drift through the air until it settled into her waiting hand.

"The primary advantage of a katana over any other blade is the opponent only realizes the danger once you place your hand on the hilt. By then, they're already a second too late." Nabi snatched Tobari out of midair, testing its weight with a small flick of her wrist. She held both empty hands up, palms toward Gray, and gave him a mocking little wave, fingers waggling.

"If you want to walk into a fight with the upper hand, quickdrawing the katana is your best asset. Nothing else comes close." In the blink of an eye, the blade left its sheath. The tip stopped a mere inch from Gray's neck. He flinched back, pulse spiking as he stared down the length of steel. His gaze traced it down to the hilt, where a slick, dark limb woven entirely out of blood jutted straight out of the center of Nabi's chest, wet and glistening, its fingers curled tight around the handle.

Gray's eyes narrowed to slits, and his focus snapped back to her face.

"You consider this cheating, right?" Nabi asked. He gave a slow nod.

"And that's your second tool." She held his gaze.

"There's no such thing as cheating. Expect the unexpected and brace for anything, because this is the fucked-up world we live in now." Gray let out a reluctant grunt. The blood arm sagged, then dissolved into liquid, retracting into her chest with a faint, wet sound. Nabi caught the falling hilt before it could drop and pulled it away from his face.

"It's clear from your swings that you haven't grasped the fundamental rule of swordsmanship yet. You rely on brute force, pouring every ounce of strength into your arms while ignoring the other half of the equation entirely." She jutted both index fingers down to her feet.

"Your legs."