The Red Spiritual Core

"I hope you won't kill me, at least."

"Oh, don't worry. I won't do this."

Hearing Eden's request, Miss Erika smiled, and in the next moment, they disappeared, and a dead silence transpired.

*CLASH!*

But suddenly, they appeared out of nowhere, with their blades colliding with each other and the sound of metal roaming throughout the area, with shockwaves emitted from their blades.

"Ngh!"

As anticipated, Eden was pushed back by Miss Erika's blade and slammed his legs against the ground to create balance.

'Tch. She's way above my league!'

Eden gritted his teeth and bounced backward.

While wiping the sweat from his forehead, he glanced forward, but surprisingly, Miss Erika wasn't there.

"Hmm? Where is she?"

"Lesson 1: Never get distracted during the battle."

"Hm–Ugh?!"

Eden heard her voice from behind, yet before he could even react, a hard kick landed on his spin, sending him flying forward and ultimately hitting a rock in that alternate dimension.

'Remember, a good fighter wasn't born; it gets initiated.'

Remembering the words of his mentor at the Land of Honour, Eden tried to get up, but since his legs started hurting, he knelt on the ground, panting profusely.

****

"Eden…"

Emilie made a pitiful face after noticing Eden getting beaten up.

While Charles, on the contrary, laughed with a continuation of yelling,

"Beat him up! Yes, very nice! Beat the shit outta that bastard!"

"?!"

However, in the next moment, he shut himself up as Miss Erika glared at him with a cold look. She could even see what was going on on the other side.

"Tch."

In frustration, Charles just clicked his tongue and averted his eyes.

****

"Damn it…"

After a few minutes, Eden gradually started standing up, wiping the dust from his clothes.

He caressed his neck and glared at Miss Erika, commenting,

"You're using these lethal attacks against me. Do you think so highly of me that you think I'll withstand them?"

"Heh," In response, Miss Erika just chuckled. Eden's words appeared to be a joke to her.

She started levitating in mid-air, commenting.

"What's wrong with that? I know you can take more than that."

Then, with a coquettish smile, she added,

"Isn't that correct, angel?"

"?!"

*CLANK!!!*

Her words fuel Eden's rage, and within a nanosecond, Eden appeared in front of her, landing a lethal blow from his blade, despite it getting blocked by Miss Erika's blade again.

****

"Hey, what did Miss Erika just say that infuriates Eden White?"

One of the students asked another.

"Don't know. It's not quite audible if they mumbled instead of speaking, you know?"

Another one replied.

It appeared like no one in the classroom had heard exactly what Miss Erika just said except one person.

'An…Angel…?'

With a perplexed look, Emilie blinked and gazed back at the screen, wondering,

'Did I just mishear it? Why did… Miss Erika called him an angel?'

****

"I knew it. You're just acting naive, aren't you?"

His words were emitting fury, and his gaze was sharp, as if he would do anything to force out the truth from Miss Erika's mouth.

"No, I'm not."

With breaking a sweat, Miss Erika replied and extended her right palm towards Eden, and while caressing his head, she replied,

"I'm just a little surprised to see another person from the Land of Honour other than me here, on Earth."

"Tch."

Eden drifted backwards and swirled his blade, asking in an intimidating tone,

"What are you plotting?"

It was obvious that he would get alerted. Divinity or not, what if she informed the Land of Honour about Eden's existence?

At the moment, Eden had two choices.

First, trust Miss Erika and tell her everything about him. But he rejected this choice because of the betrayal he got from his best friend Demenisis.

And then there was only the second option left. That was to eliminate Miss Erika.

'System!'

Eden screamed inwardly.

'Use all my 20,000 points but increase my LVL to be on par with her, or at least enough to eliminate her!'

"Ding!"

[Apologies, host. But you can only increase your LVL one time a day.]

System responded.

'What? Are you kidding me?!'

Eden bites his lips in apprehension.

[No, it's true. But if you want, I can improve your speed and agility and provide you with the ability to see the weak points of your opponents. This skill will take up to 10,000 points.]

'Then, take it! Hurry!'

Eden commanded with a tense look.

"Plotting? No, I'm not plotting anything, kiddo."

Miss Erika wore an amicable smile, but Eden continued to be wary of her, adding,

"I don't believe you, not a bit."

Hearing his testimony, Miss Erika just giggled.

"If you don't trust me…"

"Hmm? Ngh!!"

Eden turned around and blocked her attack as she appeared behind Eden while completing her words.

"...then, I'll create a sense of trust within you."

"Grrr…"

Eden gnashed his teeth while trying to push back Miss Erika's blade.

"Strength isn't the only thing that matters."

"?"

Eden raised his gaze after hearing her statement.

She smiled at him, adding,

"You need to observe your opponent's moment instead of just randomly swinging the blade for defense and attack."

Her eyes were locked with Eden's. For some strange reason, Eden didn't sense any animosity in her eyes; instead, her eyes emitted a sense of familiarity and tenderness.

'What's wrong with me?'

Eden felt strange, since for the first time, someone other than Lady Celestia made him feel secure.

'NO!'

Immediately drifting back from the clash, Eden placed his left palm on his face, adding,

'I won't fall for any tricks! No matter what…'

He raised his blade, commenting,

"...I won't lose!"

Miss Erika was left amazed after noticing Eden's determination to defeat her, then a little smile shaped on her face, as she spoke up inwardly,

'I don't know who exactly he is. But this sensation that I'm feeling, there's no doubt that this boy is somewhat connected with me.'

She didn't know Eden's real name except for his race but she acted as if she knew everything about him.

"Take this!!"

Eden screamed as he dashed forward, dove down, and launched his blade straight at Miss Erika's belly.

"Not bad."

Regardless, Miss Erika just stopped his blade with the pommel of her blade.

'She…she is a monster!'

"Ding!"

Suddenly, the system rang, reporting,

[Skill:- "Steepstyler" has been created. The skill increases the host's speed and agility and allows the host to see the weak points of his opponent.]

[Not only that, but if the host manages to hit the weak points of his opponent, the host will receive copies of his opponent's skills.]

"Finally…"

A dark grin shaped Eden's face as he raided his gaze, adding,

"Let's finish this up, Miss Erika."

"Hmm? Uh, sure."

Miss Erika, with a slightly confounded look, nodded.

'Where does he get this sudden confidence from?'

Later on, she wondered.

Eden moved a step forward and disappeared.

"Hmm?"

*CLANK!!*

Unexpectedly, just like Miss Erika, he reappeared behind her, but her reflexes were still better than Eden's speed. So, she managed to block it with her blade.

"Oh my, I'm surprised."

Miss Erika glanced back at Eden.

"That easily?"

Eden grinned and vanished again.

"Hm?"

*CLANK!*

Again, she blocked it from the front.

"Yes, I think I'm indeed surprised by your sudden increase in power. Do you, by chance, know some kind of sorcery?"

Miss Erika asked with a sense of suspicion in her voice and her gaze locked with Eden's.

"Bleh, if only I would have known, this match would have been over a long time ago."

Eden responded jokingly, however, deep within.

'Damn it! It's still not easy to land even a single strike at her. I can clearly see her weak points around her belly, cheeks, and back, but it's still like an impossible task to hit there!'

"Say, Eden."

Suddenly, Miss Erika called out, lowering her blade and asking in a low voice,

"Did you get exiled from the Land Of Honour? What exactly happened?"

"...!!"

Eden's focus shifted to her question as he lowered his gaze, adding,

"I…It's none of your business."

"It is!"

"Hmm–TCH!!"

Just as Eden started to lower his guards, he got ambushed by Miss Erika. It appeared that Eden's testimony infuriated her for some reason.

"It does matter! It matters to me! Do you hear me?!"

Her anger was erupted by her attacks as she thrust her blade against Eden's blade.

Eden kicked her belly and jumped backwards, raving.

"Why does it even matter to you?! Who the hell are you, anyway?"

"..."

Miss Erika, on the contrary, held her peace after hearing Eden's question.

"No comments, huh? Then, learn to be quiet."

Eden exclaimed coldly.

"?"

All of a sudden, an idea popped up in his mind as he slowly picked up a stone from the ground and added,

"And since you're this curious, then let me tell you one thing."

*CLACK!*

Again, their blades clashed, and in the nick of time, Eden moved closer to Miss Erika, replying,

"One day, I will slaughter every single entity on the Land of Honour, remember that?"

"?!"

Eden's statement stunned her like a deer in the headlights.

"What?! Why did you say th–"

Yet before she could complete her words, Eden flashed the stone at her.

"Tch!!"

In the very last second, she somewhat managed to dodge it, but the stone managed to give a scratch to her right cheek.

"You brat!!"

She screamed bloody murder, kicking Eden and launching a strike at his abdomen.

Eden tried to protect himself with his blade, but unexpectedly,

*CRACK!*

Eden's blade scattered, with the force making him fly backwards, and he ended up hitting the ground, creating a crater.

"What…the hell?"

Eden mumbled as his vision started to blur.

"Ding!"

[Congratulations, host! You've managed to land a total of two hits on Miss Erika. Even though it's not from your blade, a strike is a strike, no matter what way you use it.]

[You've earned 50,000 points with a red spiritual core as a reward!]

[Also, your LVL has been increased by LVL 20! Congratulations again! You're now a CC-rank human with LVL 2!]

The system reported.

"Hehe,"

In response, Eden just feebly giggled,

"That is…great…finally…a CC-rank…hehe."

However, in the next moment, his eyes finally shut down, and he lost consciousness.