118: Ayaka's Battle

Ayaka's Battle

In the run-down house somewhere in Arizona.2

Ayaka's body kept twitching. Even though she had stayed in this house for a day, she still couldn't get used to the sight. She felt that even after living for weeks or even months, she would still not be able to stand the house interior.

All she could see was a study desk made of burly wood in front of her. Right in the middle was a thirty-centimeter dying mouse with not only a few stab wounds. The wounds were slowly regenerating, but it abruptly stopped as soon as the mouse died.

To the left of the mouse was a stack of neatly arranged books, numbering about eight. The wall on her right was dark with green-layered creepy wallpaper and yellow lamps attached to them.

Diagonally beside the lamp was a giant tube shrouded in a pale green glow. It contained something that threw Ayaka off.

A lion's corpse.

In front of the tube sat a beautiful middle-aged woman with a devilish body. She had grey-colored hair and beautiful silver eyes. Her expressions remained flat despite watching the tube and taking a few notes.

"Professor, can I get an answer already?" Ayaka asked with an impatient voice.

"Haha, what an impatient girl… Even Kai was more polite than you." She turned around, made a teasing smile, and walked toward her.

It turned out that the beautiful middle-aged lady was the 'Professor' that Kai was afraid of.

"Although you're blessed with a good aptitude, it's hard for you to achieve it. There are many factors that I need to consider, but above all, it's about my promise to that little guy." She put down her notebook on the table as she leaned on the wall.

"I need it, I need power!"

"You're just power-hungry. You're still a student, and I've read all of your records. To be frank, you're already a top talent among your peers." The professor rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"It's not enough. If it goes on like this, I'll only be left in the dust." Ayaka paused for a moment, recalling the past matters that brought her to tears. "Not long ago, I wasn't even qualified to know that my grandfather died and my family was on the brink of extinction. Then Kai stretched his hand to me, helping my family and me from the brink of death.

"Despite wanting to help my family and him, I'm powerless. They keep telling me that I can get stronger and take my time, but I'm a woman with my own dream and ambition. Those encouragements feel like insults to me! That's why I decided to take the risk despite knowing that I might not be able to meet him and my family again the next day! Even if the risk is huge, please, I beg you!"

"Pfft." The professor laughed abruptly as she made a coffee. The clicking sound of a glass and a spoon filled the room, creating a tense atmosphere. This situation made Ayaka think that the professor didn't have any intention of answering her as she put down the cup, sitting on her chair.

"Professor!" Ayaka slowly became frustrated after not getting any answer. If the professor just rejected or accepted her request, it wouldn't be this irritating to her.

The professor ignored her for a few minutes until she finally finished her coffee. "Ah, I finally finished this. If feelings alone could defeat opponents or get us through this, then humanity should have reclaimed the Earth. Unfortunately, that's not the case."

She didn't let Ayaka speak another word as she rose from her seat, walked toward the door, and said with an emotionless tone, "Follow me."

Ayaka didn't understand her and just followed her. The run-down house was quite big as they needed a minute before arriving in a room she had never entered before.

There were a few tubes inside the room. The professor walked toward a computer and typed a few things before looking at Ayaka. "Go inside one of them."

Ayaka didn't know what she wanted to do, but this might be her answer. Therefore, she walked inside one of them and entered a simulation world. It was a large white room without anything in it. She looked around, wondering what the professor wanted to do with this room.

A few seconds later, the professor came inside while putting her hand inside the pocket of her white robe.

"Well, you have too many shortcomings to even be qualified. So I'll be training you for now," she said before yawning like Ayaka was worth nothing in her eyes.

"But, Professor…" Ayaka didn't understand what she meant and was afraid of hurting her.

"If you don't want to get the chance, it's fine by me. I'm just testing you. If you want to get it, then come at me with whatever you have. If you can hit me once, then you pass," she said without a change of expression.

Ayaka looked left and right, not knowing what to do. Ultimately, she took out her spear. If she could only get it with force, then she needed to do it. "I'm sorry, Professor. I need to have it."

Looking at Ayaka pointing her spear at her, the professor only yawned. She raised her hand and waved her finger back and forth to taunt her. "Just come. I still have a lot of things to do."

"Here I go!" She narrowed her eyes and charged at her, thrusting her spear toward the professor's heart.

She should end this battle instantly by killing the professor, or at least that was what she expected. In reality, her vision suddenly turned upside down as she suddenly found herself lying on the floor.

The professor only snorted. "Weak."

Ayaka had yet to realize it, but it was clear from the professor's point of view.

"Get up." The professor looked down at her as though she was looking at trash. "As I said earlier, if you think emotion alone can let you defeat your opponent, the Earth would have already been reclaimed by humanity."

Ayaka looked up, rose from her position, and reached out to her spear before noticing a sharp pain coming from her hand.

"Argh!" The excruciating pain jolted her mind, freezing her brain for a few seconds. She placed her hand on the painful area, but soon noticed something wrong.

In an instant, she looked down, only to find that her arm was bent in a weird direction. "Aahhh!"

Tears came out. It was probably the hardest blow she had ever received. When she died in the simulation room back then, it was a quick death, so she didn't really feel anything. But this pain was killing her from the inside.

"Heh… I turned the pain reduction to zero, so you'll feel all the pain like how you would in the real world. I believe I haven't introduced myself. I'm Ria Ross. People know me as a mad scientist. I research various things, including the fusion between the blood of humans and magical beasts, calling it Zodiac.

"I saved Kai a few years ago when I visited United Asia… To be specific, it was after the raid of flying beasts that struck Tokyo. The little brat who was dying just to save a little lass had no other choice than to fuse with the blood of a magical beast to survive. Despite having wounds all over his body and almost dying, he uttered no word other than asking me to help the little lass.

"Compared to you, his determination alone far surpassed you. He managed to survive by relying on that will. Though it might also be the greatest setback in my life. At first, I was intrigued by his hearing and extraordinary magic power, but...

"After healing him, I taught him all the necessary things he needed to protect his loved ones, from knowledge and soft skills to combat. I became his instructor for about three years before I allowed him to graduate from my training… Well, you can also say that I'm Kai Carter's master," the professor finally introduced herself.

Ayaka was stupefied, never expecting this kind of introduction. There was only one thing that kept replaying in her mind.

'Kai's master?'

The thought alone startled her. She once wondered about how Kai could become that strong. Knowing that he had a teacher put her mind at ease.

"And I've said it before… If you can't even have the same amount of willpower, I won't let you take the test. However, there is another thing that I can apply to you to train your will. The simplest way is to kill you over and over… let see… a hundred times should be enough for now. Just tell me when you want to stop, you're free to go anytime."

Ayaka gritted her teeth and rose from the ground while enduring the pain. Even if she couldn't use her right hand anymore, she would continue fighting with her other hand. She created a magic circle, pointing it at Ria.

Unfortunately, Ria was nowhere to be seen. Right at this moment, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest.

She flew toward the wall, finding that Ria just kicked at her chest and broke a few bones.

"Come on, Kai has died more than a thousand times," Ria said nonchalantly.

If Michelle were here, she would tell her, 'That is the reason why Kai doesn't want to meet you.'

As for Ayaka, she could only look at Ria with blurry eyes as she felt blood rising from her throat and fell to the floor.

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