CHAPTER 91: CRUMBLING PSYCHE

Harry saw a punch approaching him. He had no time to dissolve into shadows or use any kind of barrier.

His hands instinctively raised, covered in Qi.

The girl had a calm and aloof expression. She was angry, but she didn’t know Harry’s power level and didn’t want to accidentally kill him.

Something within her restrained her from using her full strength in the punch.

Her fist landed on Harry’s forearm, causing his skin to ripple, but it only left a slight redness.

Harry’s skin had already been forged through immense training. On top of that, he had three types of cultivation backing him.

A half-hearted attack wouldn’t injure him so easily. But Harry had had enough—he didn’t care whether she used her full strength or not.

After defending the punch, his own punch followed immediately. Seeing it, the girl sidestepped in time to dodge it.

But as Harry’s fist passed near her torso, a blade suddenly appeared in his hand—seemingly out of nowhere.

It cut her stomach, blood oozing out.

She was startled. She had never seen something like that. Where did the sword come from?

Normally, people had to retrieve weapons from their space rings. She was sure it was a clean punch—until just before it passed close to her stomach, when the sword appeared in his hand.

The situation was so utterly ridiculous that her mind couldn’t cope with it. Blood dripped to the ground, but she felt nothing—still trying to make sense of what had happened.

Harry felt a connection to the blood, but something shifted in his mind.

He stepped back, pondering, "Why am I fighting her?"

The girl glared fiercely at him. She didn’t care about the injury. Brushing her clothes lightly, her slender figure trembled for a second before a white jade sword appeared in her hand.

"Hey... wait... wait," Harry backed away nearly a hundred meters, raising both hands.

"You tried to kill me and now you’re running? Shameless," the girl said, swinging her sword at Harry’s shoulder.

Caught off guard by her agility, Harry raised his sword just in time to defend himself.

"Why are we fighting?" Harry asked, barely holding his ground.

The area, once empty, was now crowded—over a hundred students had gathered, enjoying the spectacle.

"I was just playing around. You’re the one who tried to go all out and tried to kill me," the girl said, pushing Harry to the ground.

"Okay, I’m sorry... I’ll give you two space rings as compensation," Harry said, trying to buy time to get back on his feet.

He didn’t count on her mercy. In this world, mercy was a rarity. He was ready to run.

But, to his surprise, the girl sheathed her sword and extended her hand.

Harry was confused by her odd behavior.

"What?" he asked, looking at her outstretched hand.

"Two space rings," the girl smirked. Blood was still dripping slowly from her wound, but she seemed unfazed—no sign of pain on her face.

Harry handed over two rings, which she threw into the air and caught.

If she wanted them, why hadn’t she taken them when I offered?

"Wait... why did I give her extra rings?" That was the real question gnawing at him.

He knew himself well. He would never give away something that valuable without a good reason.

Nothing about this situation made sense. Grabbing his head, Harry pulled at his hair in frustration. It felt like there was major gape in his memories.

The girl looked puzzled at the bizarre sight of a guy tugging at his own hair, his small belly bouncing with every motion.

Harry took a deep breath. He knew his behavior was frantic, but he couldn’t help it. Still, his eyes glinted with confidence.

The girl cautiously stepped back, watching him go slightly insane.

"Eat this. You’ll feel better," she said, offering him a blue, apple-sized fruit with white dot patterns.

Harry’s eyes were vacant, as if he couldn’t recognize anything. But inside, his mind was racing—Trying to make any sense.

The more he focused on capturing a vague memory, the farther it slipped away.

Click... Click...

The girl snapped her fingers, seeing Harry’s absent expression. To her, he seemed mentally challenged—and his behavior only reinforced that.

Harry finally gave up and snapped out of it. Seeing the fruit in her hand, he grabbed it.

He stared at it intensely. He remembered promising himself something about this fruit... but again, the promise was vague.

He didn’t know exactly what he had decided, but the blue fruit touched his lips, then melted—delivering a dopamine hit unlike anything he’d felt before.

Before he realized it, the whole fruit was in his stomach.

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked, seeing his excited reaction.

Harry nodded. His mind had cleared.

Olivia said goodbye and left.

She wasn’t in mood to play around the person who almost killed her.

Harry walked back to his room, a smile blooming on his face. He wasn’t sure why, but today he felt fulfilled—like nothing could disturb him. There was nothing more he wanted. The settlement looked like heaven, a place where he was free from everything.

He sat in a chair, looking at a majestic tree. His eyes sparkled brighter with every passing second.

His mouth watered at the sight of the blue fruit on its branches. He grabbed a few and began eating, enjoying the mundane peace of settlement life.

There were no beast attacks. No struggle. Scuffles between peers were so rare, he hadn’t seen any yet.

The sun set on the far horizon and Harry sat cross legged.

He felt his energy waning—little by little. The decrease was so subtle that, if not for his soul cultivation, he wouldn’t have noticed it.

His mental fortitude was high thanks to his soul cultivation. The crazy part was—it wasn’t a temporary effect. The energy was leaving permanently.

To be precise, it felt like the opposite of his Soul Eater skill.

When he used Soul Eater, his cultivation permanently improved. But in this case, it was decreasing.