Master and Disciple

Though she achieved final victory, Ivette's experience was far from pleasant.

From her first encounter with the Six-armed Demon, she had been contemplating how to kill this fast-moving, nearly uncatchable Rank 3 Aberration. She concluded that the best approach was to use herself as bait, restrain it, and then blast it at point-blank range.

But as everyone knows, theory is one thing, and practice is another. A plan conceived entirely through imagination is bound to encounter unforeseen circumstances in actual execution.

For instance, in her desperation to ensure a 100% kill rate, she poured all her mana into the attack, leaving herself with almost no reserves. Another instance was the sheer power of the resulting elemental fusion explosion, which was so immense and indiscriminate that it even shattered her magical defenses.

Consequently, after the explosion subsided, the annihilated Six-armed Demon was reduced to nothing more than a small Mana Core that flew a considerable distance away. Ivette, meanwhile, like a slammed basketball, crashed into the ground with a thud, smashing into a deep pit amidst the flesh carpet and soil.

As the dust settled, Ivette lay at the center of the pit, her clothes torn and stained crimson, her face covered in dirt. Only her dark red eyes remained calm, devoid of emotion, like a soulless machine.

Then, she struggled to her feet, swaying unsteadily as she made her way towards the corpse of the Jellyfish Mist Beast at the edge of the area. The Six-armed Demon's Mana Core had flown off somewhere, and she now needed to retrieve the Jellyfish Mist Beast's core; otherwise, the Regeneration Pump wouldn't be able to contain the spread of the mutated factors.

Indeed, plans can't keep up with changes. Mental simulations are never enough, and the execution was also poor. I need to leave more safety margins in the future... she reflected, feeling as though every bone in her body was broken, experiencing excruciating pain. As she walked, she couldn't help but grit her teeth slightly.

But at that moment, heavy footsteps alerted her.

She turned her head and saw the Tide Worm Queen, which had seemingly reanimated at some point. Gazing at the murderous intent emanating from its six scarlet eyes, her heart sank.

During the previous battle, the appearance of the Six-armed Demon had prevented her from landing the finishing blow on the Tide Worm Queen. Moreover, the intensity and tension of the fight had completely consumed her attention, causing both her and the Six-armed Demon to temporarily forget that the Tide Worm Queen, lying motionless in the distance, was still alive.

Of course, the Tide Worm Queen was also in a bad state. It had been recovering from injuries, its body covered in cracks—possibly inflicted by the Six-armed Demon. Before it could fully heal, it was then heavily bombarded by Ivette's magic. Its massive lower insectoid body was scorched and shattered, oozing viscous pus as it moved.

However, this clearly didn't prevent it from becoming the opportune beneficiary of the situation.

How unlucky... Ivette's heart sank further. On her journey, she had encountered the Mechanical Tyrant, the Night Walker Demon, the Jellyfish Mist Beast, the Tide Worm Queen, and the Six-armed Demon, arguably the strongest Rank 3 Aberration on the island. Yet, she had only managed to obtain the Night Walker Demon's Mana Core, earning a meager twenty-something mana points. The other Mana Cores were either unobtainable or she hadn't had time to retrieve them. As a result, she was now completely drained, unable to deal with even a half-dead Tide Worm Queen. She was truly at the absolute lowest point of misfortune.

She stopped, looking at the approaching Tide Worm Queen, remaining motionless as if awaiting death. Just as the Tide Worm Queen's anthropomorphic face contorted with cruelty and it raised its scythe high, Ivette shoved a faint blue and white rune circle into its mouth.

In an instant, the Tide Worm Queen's smile froze, followed by its entire body being pierced by dazzling lightning. It slowly collapsed.

Simultaneously, Ivette's body lost its last reserve of strength and slumped softly to the ground.

This was the last bit of mana she had cast, at the cost of abandoning the maintenance of the Regeneration Pump.

Now, dark and violent mutated factors surged, churned, invaded, and assimilated within every blood vessel of her body.

This was the signal that she was stepping towards the end of her life.

The sky was dim, heavy dark clouds pressing down on the horizon. A violent wind howled between the mountains, kicking up dry leaves and dust, heralding an impending storm.

Within the withered forest, Rosaline panted as she used her Alloy Combat Blade to slay several approaching Aberrations. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, her brow weary yet her spirit bright, her eyes gleaming.

After defeating the Shepherd Sheep, she was in surprisingly good condition. Although her mana pool was empty, she had obtained the Mana Core dropped by the Shepherd Sheep, instantly restoring her combat power to near its peak.

If her teacher knew of such excellent performance, they would surely be happy, right? They would surely praise her, right?

Ah!

To receive recognition from her teacher, who was also her guardian and idol, there was no greater happiness in this world!

Speaking of which, she wondered how things were going on her teacher's end. But the fog had suddenly dispersed, so it should have gone smoothly...

Then, she checked her own condition.

Her stats had been restored, but she had then encountered some Rank 2 and Rank 1 Aberrations. Her mana pool still had forty to fifty points remaining. However, the energy in her Alloy Combat Blade had been depleted, which was a significant blow. Her combat power had been directly halved, potentially leaving her with less than a third of her peak strength.

Her magic-guided skateboard had been damaged during combat, forcing her to rely on her own two legs for the rest of the journey.

Oh, right, she still had a few elemental bombs in her waist pouch, but their power was similar to ordinary spells. Their greatest use was actually to be thrown into the sky to cast "Request Reinforcements," "Warning," "Retreat," and "Victory" signals based on their colors: red, yellow, blue, and green.

However, the fact that she hadn't seen any signal flares explode in the sky for so long suggested that her teacher was also entangled in a fierce battle?

Could it be that the "Lord" had successfully manifested, causing her teacher to be tied up for so long?

With speculations about the tense situation and concern for her teacher, she hurried along, passing through the forest, which had completely turned a purplish-red hue. She arrived at an open area covered by a carpet of flesh.

There, she saw the limp, massive corpse of the Tide Worm Queen and, beside it, the scarred, frail, silver-haired figure that looked as if it could be broken by the wind.

"Teacher!!!" Her pupils constricted as she instinctively rushed forward and embraced her teacher.

As if her anxious calls had an effect, a moment later, she saw her teacher's eyelids flutter open slightly, revealing dull, numb red eyes with little sign of life.

"Teacher, how are you? Are you alright?" Even though she had only a sliver of mana left, she unhesitatingly took her teacher's hand, palm to palm, attempting to transfer her mana. The Regeneration Pump was a continuous self-healing spell and could not be applied to others temporarily.

But to her surprise, her teacher did not accept it.

"The mutated factors within me have exceeded the limit of the Regeneration Pump and have already spread," her teacher said softly, the words striking Rosaline like lightning.

She knew what that meant. Even someone as powerful as her teacher could not resist the erosion of such a bizarre substance.

Her eyes instantly welled up, her chest feeling as if a mountain was pressing down on it. Then, she heard her teacher continue in a tone so indifferent, as if unconcerned about their own life: "I will try to contain the mutation, and you must leave here immediately."

Before she could finish speaking, a chilling rustling sound surged from all directions. Although the Tide Worm Queen was dead, the Mother Nest was still alive. Without its Nest Lord, the Mother Nest could still issue commands to the surrounding hordes of low-level Aberrations.

It was clear that if they didn't leave immediately, both of them would perish amidst the vast tide of swarming insects, be gnawed to nothingness, leaving no bones behind.

"I'll take you back," Rosaline said with a tone of promise.

"Think carefully," her teacher watched her. "You still have family, and you still have a chance to go home."

Hearing the word "home," Rosaline's heart wavered.

But it was only for a second; the stray thought vanished. She fell silent, hoisted her teacher's terrifyingly light body onto her back, carefully supporting it with one hand while gripping the cold hilt of her sword with the other, and charged towards the planned escape route.

"That was planned before we moved. It's a suitable route for a retreat, leading to an abandoned town with a magic-guided skateboard prepared in advance."

Since the swarm of insects was coming from behind, there weren't many Aberrations on the escape route. The few that attacked from the shadows were easily swatted aside.

However, even with that, it was still too difficult for her in her current state. Carrying her teacher made movement inconvenient, and enemies could appear from any direction. Besides the insect swarm behind them, flying Aberrations would also emerge from the sky, spewing scalding acid onto the ground. Against this, she was completely helpless, except for desperately dodging.

Gradually, the clouds in the sky thickened, condensing into an unyielding mass of ink, and the long-brewing storm finally unleashed its downpour.

The icy rain and mist soaked through her clothes, making the rugged, muddy road as slippery as fish scales.

As she rounded a mountain pass, a downward slope appeared ahead. Rosaline's foot slipped, and she tumbled down, rolling several times before her forehead slammed into a jagged rock. She couldn't help but let out a suppressed groan of pain.

But ignoring her own injuries, she suppressed the pain, struggled to get up, and rushed to check on her teacher. She found the silver-haired girl's eyes tightly shut, her chest unmoving, like a broken doll abandoned by the world. Apart from the rapidly spreading grey-black color beneath her skin, there was no other sign of life.

"Teacher...?"

There was no response.

In that instant, time seemed to stop. Rosaline felt her heart lurch violently, and the rain flowed into her eyes, blurring her vision.

Even now, she still couldn't believe her teacher might be gone. It was like a little girl who lost her parents in an accident, still expecting them to wake her up the next day.

The six years spent with her teacher accounted for more than a third of her current life. In her heart, her teacher was never just a teacher, but also an idol, a benefactor, and family. She wasn't ready at all, and she didn't know how to face a world without her teacher, a desolate and silent world where she was all alone.

A voice, hoarser than she had ever heard, emerged from her throat. Her slender fingers gripped the hilt of the Alloy Combat Blade, drawing forth a flash of steel that cut through the cold rain and the sobbing wind.

After repelling wave after wave of attacks from the Aberrations, she knelt exhausted beside her teacher and reached out to wipe the mud from her face.

As her consciousness grew hazier, a smile of relief and release suddenly appeared on her beautiful face.

She thought that if death had truly decided to take her teacher today, then it might as well take her too. Her teacher was so lazy and leisurely usually, she couldn't even cook, and needed to be called to wake up. She wouldn't be able to get used to living in the underworld alone; she would definitely need someone to serve her.

So—

She would stay here, always here, until her blood soaked this corrupted soil, until her marrow flowed out completely, until her soul fire was extinguished by the cold wind, becoming two weathered bones that no one cared for, yet leaned against each other.

The wind would carry their story away, telling it to the next traveler from another world.