Verity looked down and let out a dry chuckle.

  ‘I messed up…’

  He’d managed to avoid death by a hair’s breadth, but by no means had he escaped unscathed. At the very last moment, he’d leapt backward to avoid the brunt of the attack, but his left arm had paid a dire price in the process.

  It was now mostly useless. What he saw when he lifted it was a charred and broken piece of flesh. The pain coursing through it was nearly unbearable and Verity felt that if not for his skill, he would have already collapsed.

  ‘Of course she has a barrier… I should have known…’

  Melinda grinned. “See? No matter the circumstances, you’re no match for me.” She ran her tongue over her lips. “Though I’ll admit I am impressed by your tenacity…I’m looking forward to opening you up..!”

  Instead of responding, Verity chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” Melinda asked, tilting her head. “Lost your mind already? That’s no fun.”

  Verity waved his ruined arm dismissively despite the unimaginable pain. “No… No. It’s just – you’re acting all high and mighty but…” He gestured toward her face. “You don’t seem to be doing too well either.”

  Melinda frowned, and brought her hand to her face. She frowned even deeper when her fingertips came away crimson as they passed under her nose.

  Verity smirked. “I don’t know much about magic but… it at least doesn’t seem like you can keep it up forever.”

  Melinda wiped the bridge of her nose and clicked her tongue. “Don’t get any ideas, you brat. I can kill you a million times before I run dry.”

  A scoff escaped Verity’s lips. “Really? To me it feels like I just have to outlast you.” He raised his spear. “The pillar of flames is far too slow, the small explosions do little damage, and I’m definitely not getting hit by that last one again.”

  Melinda’s eyes narrowed. “And you think your body will hold out until I’m spent?”

  Verity smirked as he lowered his stance. “I’ve been told I have good stamina, if anything.”

  Melinda let out a dry laugh. “The first thing I'll do when I’m done with you is rip out that tongue of yours…” She took a deep breath, and raised her wand. “But I’m aware you’re trying to buy time, so I’ll put an end to this.”

  Verity smirked, but inwardly, his muscles tensed. ‘Ah, seems like I’ve been found out…’

  Melinda’s face shifted from anger to absolute focus. This was going to be a big one.

  “O blazing sovereign, devour the air and ignite the void-”

  Verity had to move, fast. He was no mage, but he could feel that this one was different. Without wasting another second, he lunged to her, and lifted his spear to cut her down.

  BAM

  Once again, he was met with the invisible wall, unable to even scratch Melinda, though it did affect her.

  The purple haired mage winced as she continued. “By the embers of creation and the fury of the dying suns-”

  The air crackled beside Verity and a small explosion scorched the skin of his chest.

  Unexpectedly, Melinda could chant one spell whilst casting another. This was referred to as ‘Dual-casting’ and was considered an intermediate level technique for mages.

  The explosions came in droves. It was nothing like the devastating spell from earlier, but it still hurt like hell.

  “Let the winds howl and the skies tremble-”

  Verity felt a sense of urgency as his doom approached, so he put more strength into his attacks. If one attack would not get through, then he would strike her barrier ten more times.

  He struck, and struck, and struck, as the explosions assaulted his beaten body. With each blow, he could feel it weakening, and he could feel Melinda reeling under the pressure, but even then, it wasn’t happening fast enough.

  Melinda smirked.

  “By the pact of flame and fury, by the covenant of ash and ruin-”

  ‘He packs a punch, but he’s still a greenhorn. He won’t be able to break through it in time!’ Melinda thought confidently.

  The spell was about to descend, and it would certainly lead to Verity’s death.

  The young man gritted his teeth. There was no other choice.

  Verity had wanted to avoid this, fearing he’d destroy his own body, but at this stage, that was his only option.

  He hadn't mastered it, he still had not mastered Violence – the true Violence, not the watered down version he’d been using.

  “From the heart of the inferno, from the soul of the suns themselves-”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  But he would have to try if he wanted to break through.

  His body still being assaulted by Melinda’s miniature explosions, Verity poured all of his available Aura to his right arm, his only good arm, and closed his eyes. ‘Come on… enough to break through, but not so much that your arm implodes…’

  The Aura gathered slowly, but also rapidly. Controlled, but rushed, and Verity raised his spear.

  Violence was akin to releasing a pebble from a slingshot. The Aura was gathered, and then released for a burst of power. The principle was exceedingly simple, but too little would not allow the pebble to travel far, while too much would make the rubber band snap.

  It was all about balance.

  Verity opened his eyes, their amber color shining in the moonless night.

  “manifest now and reduce all to cinders-”

  He, too, chanted, though it was not needed. “Nine Hells Spearman ship seventh stance-”

  A torrent of Aura gathered to his arm.

  Vindiel’s hair stood on end as he watched the battle unfold beyond the walls of flames.

  Both attacks were ready. They spoke simultaneously.

  “Ashen Catastrophe!”

  “Violence…Downward slash!”

  Verity’s spear fell down, and at the same time, the very air itself around him- no, the entire mountain peak ignited. At that point, even running would not have allowed him to leave the spell’s effective range.

  The only option left was mutual destruction.

  But that could not happen.

  “Sorry Melinda.” Vindiel said as he knocked Melinda out of her spell, and in the same breath, swung his large axe toward Verity.

  Verity thought.

  Had he not expected such a development, he would have been sliced in half. Thankfully, he had, so he grinned, turned his body, and blocked with the shaft of his spear.

  He was sent flying through the gates, into the bandit camp, into one of makeshift buildings.

  CRASH

  Melinda fell to her knees, gripping her head, and blood leaking from her eyes. “HASN’T ANYONE EVER TOLD YOU NOT TO INTERRUPT A CASTING MAGE!?” She yelled.

  Vindiel clicked his tongue. “He would have killed you. That attack was dangerous.” He said dismissively.

  Melinda nearly burst a blood vessel as she glared at Vindiel. “I swear when this request is over I’ll–” A throbbing headache stopped her mid sentence.

  Vindiel scoffed as he put his axe over his shoulder and began walking toward where Verity had been hurled. “That’s the price you pay for your useless pride.”

  Verity coughed up a mouthful of blood as he lay beside the rubble. ‘Master’s going to scold me after this…’ He thought.

  He was hurt, mentally fatigued, and surely if it was him from before the tutorial, he might have run away already.

  But he did not wish to run, not now. He wanted to win, or rather, instead of winning, it was more accurate to say that he refused to back down-even if defeat seemed assured. He wanted to stand tall till the end.

  He vaguely recalled his class's description.

  ‘Is it affecting my personality…? I used to be lazy…’

  He tried to stand up. The man with the axe would be here any moment now. The pain was way past unbearable, but Verity gritted his teeth, and he raised to his feet despite his legs screaming in protest.

  His surroundings were dark, but the hole he’d made in the wall allowed the starlight to seep through and made it easy to navigate the inside.

  He slowly walked toward the exit when-

  DRIP

  Something cold splashed on his forehead from above. Curious, he reached for it, and it felt wet to the touch. He could not tell exactly what it was because of the surrounding darkness, but a strong metallic scent emanated from it.

  Perplexed, Verity looked up, where the drop had come from, and…

  He froze.

  The darkness made it impossible to make out any details, but the silhouettes were unmistakable.

  Verity gasped, nauseous. He was somewhat glad the inside of this hut was immersed in such darkness.

  On the ceiling above him were…countless bodies – hanging.

  A voice resonated from the entrance, smooth but laced with malice. “Ahh…I should have launched you somewhere else…” Vindiel scratched his head. “Now that you’ve seen that, I guess I have to kill you.”

  Verity remained silent, his gaze fixed on the gruesome sight above him.

  Something within him burned, it burned so ardently that it almost pained him.

  The system recognized his emotions.

  [You are engaging in a challenge where the odds are greatly stacked against you.]

  [You have gained experience toward your class.]

  [The skill -Beyond Reason- is being activated. Your stats have been increased accordingly.]

  Verity’s class was a particular one. His latest skill, [Beyond Reason] possessed unknown activation conditions. Verity had not yet even begun to understand what they were but thankfully, this was one such condition.

  His amber eyes shone brighter, two suns dancing within his pupils. His wounds did not heal, but as if he’d been reborn, he felt stronger, faster, and also filled with much more rage.

  “Is this your doing?” He asked, his voice cold and sharp.

  Vindiel smirked, leaning casually on his axe. “Ah, do you see someone you know?” He stroked his long beard. “Well, it wasn’t personal. We have demanding customers, you see.”

  Verity raised his spear, his broken body barely holding itself together. “I see.” The memory of Ash flashed in his mind. “You… there’s no point in letting you live.”

  Vindiel scoffed. “Yeah yeah~ Why don’t you ju-”

  Before he could finish, Verity’s spear was already at his throat.

  –

  Verity walked toward the black-robed mage. His right leg was broken, so he marched forward with a limp. The right side of his face was swollen, and he’d lost vision in one of his eyes. A concerningly large wound spanned across his chest, and blood flowed from it like the water from a waterfall.

  Vindiel had not been an easy opponent.

  “H-how are you still standing you freak?!!” Melinda exclaimed, her head feeling like it’d split in two and blood leaking from her ears, eyes, and nose.

  Fear gripped her heart as she caught a glimpse of Vindiel’s lifeless body beyond the gates. “This isn’t possible! You were weak!”

  Verity did not care for her words. Melinda watched him approach, two blazing suns dancing in his eyes.

  She desperately tried to crawl away as Verity approached her with his spear. “W-wait dammit!! I-I’ll curse you if you kill me!!” She raised her palm. “Have you forgotten I’m a mage?”

  Verity snorted and spoke through his cracked lips. “Do you think I’m an idiot…? If you could use curse magic, you would have done so already…”

  Melinda tried to chant a spell, but a streak of pain stopped her and she coughed up a few droplets of blood. “If it wasn’t for that bastard I would hav—”

  Without wasting any more of his saliva, Verity drove his spear through her chest. The cold steel found her heart, silencing her mid-sentence. A final breath, a hollow gasp, then nothing.

  [You have slain an enemy.]

  [You have leveled up.]

  [You have overcome a dire situation. You have gained experience toward your class.]

  [Your actions have led to a minor shift. You have earned 20 contribution points.]

  He let out a long sigh, too tired to listen to the system’s voice. As he began to fall, ready to collapse onto the cold rock floor, someone caught him.

  “You almost died.” Evangelina murmured, her tone unreadable.

  Verity scoffed. “Ha. You should have seen the other guys...” He replied, his voice tired.

  His Master could not help but smirk. “I have…You still need a lot more training, but…not bad, kid.”

  Before his consciousness slipped away, Verity bit his lip. “The bodies… we need to-”

  Evangelina stopped him. “I’ll take care of it. You’ve earned some rest.”

  With a smile, Verity nodded softly. “Great….” And as though pulled by a tremendous force, he slipped into the world of dreams.

  Evangelina looked upon the carnage, and scoffed as she effortlessly lifted him over her shoulder. “...Not bad at all.”