Chapter 11: Losing all possessions in a dangerous zone

Nova fell sick immediately after being teleported into a pitch-dark place.

He instructed Cyre to start a fire using the manual method he had taught her—spinning a wooden rod against tree bark.

Once the light came on, they realized they were inside a cavern, next to a vast green river.

They were lucky that no creature appeared nearby when the light came on. Instead, the new creature showed up about eight meters ahead of them—it was a black ball, two meters tall, rolling toward them. Its body had a latex-like texture.

Cyre tried to run toward it, but Nova grabbed her shirt and pulled her back. He wanted her to stay close so he could help somehow, even though he couldn’t move.

Cyre waited until the creature was about five meters away. Then, wielding a stretched arm weapon in each hand, she slashed at it. But two spikes suddenly emerged and blocked her attacks. A sharp, metallic clang echoed through the cavern as Cyre's weapons clashed with the spikes.

Cyre continued piercing and slashing, but each strike echoed with the sound of clashing metal. Every attack was blocked exactly one meter away from the creature—it had a defensive range of one meter.

It wasn’t until the creature closed in to two meters that Cyre launched her attack—just as the creature's spike came within a meter of her. At that moment, Nova grabbed the back of Cyre’s shirt and subtly redirected her, causing her nearly blocked strike to tilt slightly and pierce the creature’s body. The creature stopped rolling forward in an instant. It was dead.

Seeing that there was a wall to their right and a river to their left, and that the only paths enemies could take were from the front or back, Nova instructed Cyre to help move him back fifteen meters away from the fire. He then asked her to create another fire fifteen meters behind them. With fires on both ends, the only path the enemy could take would be illuminated. Their visibility would be clear, while they could still hide in the darkness, since the light’s effective range was only around nine meters.

Nova had noticed earlier that the head and one of his other weapons had transformed again—more lines had appeared, and their colors had deepened.

A thought crossed his mind. “I see… it was a territorial conflict. The strong gain areas with higher-density energy. And each creature evolves when exposed to that energy.”

As he focused on his weapons, a green light began to glow beneath Nova’s skin, spreading across his entire body—even his face. The green light in the oval grid pattern, flickered and trembled softly.

After Cyre took a closer look, she said, “It’s some kind of insect, big brother.”

The small oval shape, which generated a grid-like swarm, squirmed and flickered with a green light beneath Nova’s skin. Just by appearance alone, it looked extremely dangerous.

‘No, my body’s fine for now. A pain is a sign of danger. And right now, the only pain I feel is in my heart. I’ll focus on protecting that,’ Nova thought.

Sensing the swarm of insects creeping closer to his heart, Nova channeled all his energy to protect it. However, it felt like trying to lift a spiked barbell—his body strained under the pressure. Blood erupted from his mouth as he struggled to hold the swarm back. In no time, his entire body was drenched in sweat. At times, a considerable amount of blood trickled from his lips.

One after another, the black balls came rolling in. Some were easily taken out with sneak attacks, while others required Nova’s help for Cyre to finish them off. But as time went on, Cyre began defeating a few on her own. She had started to learn the art of feinting.

…

A day had passed since then. The fire had been re-lit many times. As they sat, eating the latex-like creature grilled over the flames, Cyre asked, “How’s your condition, big brother? Will you die?” Tears began to well up in her eyes.

“It’s fine. Look, I only cough up blood sometimes now. I used to spit out a lot more before, so don’t worry,” Nova replied with a smile. His face, however, was still drenched in sweat from enduring the sharp, pressing pain in his chest.

Nova had considered the possibility that letting the creature reach his heart might make him stronger. However, as long as there was even a small chance it could kill him, he refused to take the risk.

Footsteps echoed through the cavern.

“Hey! Over here! Please help! My big bro is sick—he needs help!” Cyre shouted.

The footsteps turned into the clashing sound of metal.

“Go help them, Cyre! But, don’t come forward, only supporting from afar.” said Nova with weak voice. He cough up blood afterward.

…

A few minutes later, Cyre returned, smiling. “I brought help, Big Brother!” she shouted.

From the shadows, five figures emerged. Four of them looked like thugs—wearing tattered clothes, with pierced ears and noses, and untidy hair. The last one stood apart, wearing armor. His steps were sharp and solid, a stark contrast to the dull thuds of the other four.

“Look at that big bag, guys. It’s a haul,” said the armored man, who seemed to be the leader.

“Yeah,” the other four responded in unison, grinning.

“…Cough!” Nova tried to speak but was interrupted by a violent cough. Blood even trickled from his mouth.

“Oh, you’re talking about our haul? Actually, Big Brother made it. We can give you some for free, even if my Big Brother wasn’t sick. But only for today—and only if you help him, I will give you some.”

“Cyre! Run over here!” shouted Nova, his condition returning to normal.

Cyre's eyes widened in surprise, but she immediately obeyed, running toward him. She reached Nova’s side shortly after.

“We're really lucky, huh? A sick old guy and a little girl,” said thug A.

“Let’s just go. We don’t need to beat anyone this time,” said the armored man, pointing to the bag.

Thug B grabbed the bag and immediately walked off. The others turned and followed him.

Nova sighed, resigned to his fate. Meanwhile, Cyre glared at their backs, her hands clenched tightly.

Without warning, Cyre leapt forward, attacking Thug B from behind. Thug B was sent flying, crashing stomach-first into the ground, leaving the bag behind.

Noticing their comrade had been thrown forward, the other four quickly searched for the cause. They turned to face Cyre.

Cyre had been waiting for this moment. As Thug C turned, his stomach met Cyre’s powerful kick. He was thrown backward, crashing into the wall.

Cyre lunged forward, aiming a kick at Thug D, but it was just a feint. In a swift motion, she spun low and tackled Thug D's legs instead.

She quickly jumped backward, using her elbow to strike Thug A’s stomach, sending him flying into the river.

Then, Cyre leapt toward the armored man, positioning herself in front of him.

Understanding that targeting the stomach would be difficult, and realizing that the man had already seen Thug D’s legs get tackled, Cyre decided to launch an unexpected attack aimed at his head.

With a swift stomp, Cyre drove her small foot into the ground, creating a large crater. She had learned this move by observing Nova’s battles.

The armored man, whose legs were already within the crater’s range, lost his balance and fell forward, bringing his head directly into Cyre’s striking path.

Quick and precise, Cyre delivered an uppercut to the man’s incoming face. The armored man was sent flying upward. He then crashed hard to the ground.

“...Cyre! Cyre! Stop it!” shouted Nova. It took a while before Cyre finally heard Nova’s shout—not until she had vented her anger.

“No!” Cyre responded, her voice firm and unwavering.

She continued fighting the thugs who had gotten back up, punching and kicking them, sending them flying in all directions. However, as the five of them surrounded her, a few minutes later, the armored man caught her.

“Damn little girl,” said Thug D, swinging his clenched fist upward, ready to slam it down on Cyre.

“Wait! I’ll give you all the information I have,” Nova quickly interjected. “It’s about unlimited food, a new kind of power, and how to use the weapons in that bag. Even if you have it, it’s all useless if you don’t know how to use it. Plus, I know multiple methods for using those weapons, which will massively increase your chances of survival. Let my little sister go first in exchange.”

“Deal, let’s hear it.” The armored man stopped Thug D’s slamming hand mid-air.

Nova glared at Cyre, blood trickling from his mouth at that moment. His concentration wavered slightly as he struggled to hold back the swarm of insects that were getting dangerously close to his heart.

Cyre, unable to say a word, turned and ran from the scene. She left everything behind, only grabbing a torch-like wooden stick on her way. As she ran, a creature appeared in front of her. Without hesitation, she stomped the riverbank, cracking the ground beneath her feet, causing a two-meter section to break apart and send the creature tumbling into the river.

…

Nova shared all the information he had, but kept one piece hidden, hoping that luck would be on his side. Now, all he could do was accept his fate.

As Nova sat in despair, blood still trickling from his mouth, the five thugs reveled in their victory. Grins spread wide across their faces.

After hearing Nova’s explanation, they tossed the creature’s head weapon aside.

“Huh, so this disgusting head is useless then?” said Thug B, who was carrying the bag. His grin remained unwavering.

“Give him the copy of the paper!” the armored man ordered, gesturing to Thug A.

“But boss, this is the blood of our brothers. Are we just going to give it up like that? On top of that, we even used some of our brothers' lives to test its safety,” said Thug C.

“The guinea pigs are irredeemable scum. Most of them are murderers and human traffickers,” the armored man replied.

“But boss,” Thug C insisted.

“Don’t you have any conscience? We’re thieves, not killers. If we leave them like this, they’ll really die because of us. At least we should let them struggle,” the armored man said.

…

The five of them left Nova alone afterward.

A few minutes later, a light appeared from the shadows. Cyre was running toward Nova.

When she arrived, she cried and gently hugged him, knowing that Nova was injured and sick.

…

As time passed, Nova's control over his energy improved. He was able to stack a thicker layer of protection around his heart. However, the pressure from the insect swarm also continued to grow. This cycle—Nova growing stronger while the insect swarm became more powerful—repeated for several days. It went on for another two days before Nova finally made a full recovery. When he used his enhanced eyes, he also couldn’t find the insect swarm inside his body anymore. Instead, he found that his energy now enveloped his entire body, and its capacity had increased significantly.

For these two days, they were safe from the creatures because Nova had asked Cyre to break the two paths leading toward them, just like how she had stomped on the ground before.From the broken ground, a large hole was created, allowing the river's water to flow into it. Any creature that came rolling their way would fall into the hole and be swept toward the river.

During this time, Nova also read the paper that had been given to him. It contained a wealth of information.