CHAPTER 184: SEALED!?

The tails coiled tightly around Zarek’s neck, strangling him as she applied pressure. Yet, after some time, a frown settled between her brows.

"I can’t snap his neck... just how strong is his body?"

The thought echoed in her mind before she hurled his body against the wall.

A cloud of dust billowed up, momentarily obscuring her view.

She slithered forward, her gaze landing on the uninjured, frozen form of Zarek.

"Hmm?" she muttered, drawing a sword and plunging it straight into his heart.

But to her absolute astonishment, the blade shattered on impact, Zarek remained completely unharmed, not even a scratch on his body.

"What kind of monster—!?"

"Princess."

The Naga who had been hiding, sickly, frail, and fearful, stepped out from the shadows, their eyes fixed on Zarek with dread in their hearts.

"I’m fine," the Naga princess said softly, nodding her head before closing her eyes.

A bright light flashed as she separated from the totem. In that instant, her entire aura diminished noticeably.

Her eyes grew dull with fatigue, and she struggled to maintain her balance.

Her once-commanding presence weakened significantly.

"It’s fine," she repeated, glancing at Zarek, still frozen in place.

"What do you think we should do with him?"

"Hmm?"

The oldest among them stepped forward, his voice gravelly:

"We might be able to melt his body in Hell Water."

"I don’t think so," the Naga princess sighed. "You know his body is something else. He was completely immune to my red pupils and quickly developed resistance to my blue ones. I even used my second form on him, the Curse of Poison. It affected him at first, but after some time, he just... recovered."

"How... how is this possible?" the old Naga’s voice cracked with disbelief. "There are very few creatures that can resist our poison."

"My guess is that he possesses something, some force or trait, that allows his body to achieve such miracles. He might even break free from the chains of time itself, if we give him enough time," she added with a weary sigh.

"How is that possible, Princess?" the old Naga murmured. "I don’t believe he could break free from the binding of Time. For that, he would have to become..."

"...Above Time itself." The Naga Princess spoke softly, her eyes flickering with thought as she gazed at Zarek’s body, still frozen in time: "There’s always a possibility."

"Then... what should we do?" the old Naga asked, his voice trembling.

"We do what we can," the Princess sighed. "Bring out the sealing token. We’ll seal him and send him far into the Spirit Realm. Whatever he is... he’s no longer our problem."

"Are you going to break the old laws, the ones that forbid sending any humanoid creature to the Spirit Realm?" the old Naga asked, his pupils trembling.

"Do we have a choice?" the Naga Princess replied with a weary sigh.

"..."

The old man hesitated before speaking. "I believe it’s better to seal him and send him to the underground kingdom instead."

"Hmm?"

"It’s unnecessary, Princess. Even if he truly can break free from Time, it might take years, maybe even decades. We shouldn’t face any immediate threat."

The Naga Princess remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded after considering his words.

"You’re right. Let’s bury him here and leave this kingdom for now. Let our race return to the shadows, rebuild, and gather strength, until the time comes for us to rise again and slaughter the strong humans."

***

Beneath a roaring waterfall, a man with long golden hair sat cross-legged, deep in meditation, his mind focused and still.

Suddenly, he paused. His eyes opened slowly, revealing boundless blue pupils that shimmered with clarity.

"Hmm... this is trouble. Zarek won’t be able to escape that seal so easily."

Though Zarek remained frozen in place, every word they had spoken still echoed in his mind. He could hear everything but he couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, not even twitch a muscle.

"If he wants to adapt to that..." the man murmured.

Eryke rose to his feet and began walking forward, each step calm and deliberate. His weakness was gone now, purged completely. His mindset and presence had sharpened to their peak.

"But..." he muttered, suddenly frowning: "I still want to go home and play games."

He shook his head, as if disappointed in himself.

No matter how sharpened his mentality became, Eryke was a gamer and he would always be a gamer.

"I could shorten the process by leveling up the skill," he muttered, "but my Destiny Points aren’t enough."

He shook his head with a sigh.

The fourth level of the Adapt skill cost a million Destiny Points. A downright vomit-inducing number.

And right now, he barely had any left.

"Should I signal Gang Reyong to make a move?" His eyes narrowed in thought but he quickly dismissed the idea with another shake of his head.

Gang Reyong had created a martial art of his own but that alone wasn’t enough.

If he truly wanted to conquer the Orthodox Faction, he needed more.

He had already sent a clone into the Orthodox Faction, one with the Righteous Heart skill. Perhaps that clone of his might achieve something but until then, Eryke had to find a way to earn more Destiny Points.

Eryke’s thoughts drifted back to Drayken, the moment he first obtained a million Destiny Points.

"The one who was supposed to inherit that bloodline, didn’t."

He narrowed his eyes: "Drayken, I’m pinning my hopes on you."

With those words, Eryke stepped out of the jungle. He had trained his mind enough.

Now, he wanted to explore the Martial World for himself.

It would be quite the experience, he might stumble upon something that might help him improve as well.

***

"What’s wrong, Drayken?" Synthia asked, noticing that he had suddenly stopped in place.

"Nothing," Drayken replied, shaking his head. His gaze shifted to the human Telekinetic Master who was now following them:

"Do you know where the other humans are?"

"Y... yes," Yolanda stammered, snapping out of her daze. She quickly responded with a shudder in her voice.

"Good. Lead the way," Drayken ordered.

Just then, a shadow crept over them, darkening the ground beneath their feet.

Yolanda instinctively raised her hand and shouted:

"Who’s there!?"