Consumed by Rage!

Somewhere in an underground facility in Lahai-Roi's Darkhollow.

Dania sat on a cold chair, hugging her knees with her head buried in her arms. Expressionless, she said, "You promised me you'd let me make some friends at the academy."

"But I also said... I need you to have nothing." Holding a rabbit, Napomo stepped out of the shadows and stood over Dania.

"That boy... you like him a little, don't you?"

Dania jerked her head up at those words.

In the dim light, shadows fell across Napomo's face, making her look sinister and frightening. Dania was already afraid of her, and now that fear had grown to its very limit.

Playing with the rabbit in her arms, Napomo asked, "Back in the cafeteria, you were so desperate to run away. Were you afraid I'd do something bad to him?"

"...No." As Dania spoke, her heart raced, and her shoulders trembled incessantly.

"Really?" Napomo sneered and grabbed Dania's arm. "Then why is your body... shaking?"

Napomo bent down, brushed aside the bangs Dania used to cover her face, and stroked her cheek. Her voice was low. "What a pretty face you have~ You're getting better and better at disguising yourself... Dania."

"If he were to find out... that everything you've shown him is nothing but a carefully crafted lie, which way would things go, I wonder?"

"Now that I'm talking about it... I'm starting to look forward to it myself~"

"No... don't tell him..." Dania pleaded humbly. "Please... please, don't tell him..."

"Hmph~ What a pointless sense of self." Napomo pinched Dania's face so hard that her fingers left red marks. "The more you act like this... the angrier I get!"

"Can you tell me? What kind of potion did he feed you? He actually made someone like you have thoughts you shouldn't!"

"Mm..." The pinch hurt so much that tears welled up in Dania's eyes. "Because... he's good to me..."

"Good to you? How ridiculous." Napomo shook her head. "Oh my~ It seems things are worse than I thought. You've actually started using such a clumsy lie to cover up the truth."

She reached out, placed her hand over Dania's heart, and continued, "It's a heart... isn't it? Through your contact with him, you finally gained a heart of your very own, didn't you?"

"Oh my~ Your heart is beating so fast. Could it be that I've guessed your little secret?"

Napomo released her and slowly straightened up, her tone turning serious.

"Everything is born from nothingness... especially you, Dania... An individual without value should not be allowed to continue existing. You, of all people, should understand that."

"Love, friendship, even sincerity-I can allow you to have them for a little while. But remember, deception will only ever bring you a false bubble, and all it takes is one little poke from someone else to burst it on the spot."

"Remember your mission. Once you lose your value... everything you have, and even everything you might have in the future, will be taken back by me. When that time comes, you will have absolutely nothing."

"So make sure you stay useful to me, all right~"

Dania's body trembled violently. She lowered her head.

"Yes... I understand."

"Fucking Fractsidus president, what did you do to Dania?"

Watching Dania's affection level start bouncing wildly again, Lu Guan couldn't contain his anger.

He didn't need to think to guess that the damned president of the Fractsidus must have been using him to pressure Dania, making her emotions rise and fall. She was absolute human trash!

For now, the Fractsidus's plans in Lahai-Roi were beyond his ability to deal with, so Lu Guan could only vent his impotent rage on the holograms generated by the simulation training ground.

Because of Chisa, Lacerta had raised his evaluation to the same level as hers. In theory, he could try challenging projections of the Overlord Class Inferno Rider and Hecate.

But since it was Lu Guan's first time using the facility, he chose a conservative approach despite his burning anger. While speaking with B.I.N.G.O, the training ground's administrator, he selected a projection of an Elite Class Tacet Discord, the Clang Bang.

Looking at the hologram generated before him, Lu Guan chose to fully unleash his Resonance Ability in battle for the first time.

"System, claim all rewards!"

[Beep, reward obtained. Resonance Ability development increased by 10%.]

[Beep, reward obtained. Resonance Ability control increased by 20%.]

A primeval power awakened once more, but the violent energy soon became remarkably obedient, responding to Lu Guan's control as readily as his own limbs.

Clearly, that 20% increase in control was doing its job.

Now Lu Guan had figured out the pattern: the reward for 20 affection was a 10% increase in Resonance Ability development, while the reward for 60 affection was a 20% increase in Resonance Ability control.

In other words, to ensure his Resonance Ability didn't go out of control again, he had to reach the 60 affection milestone before claiming his next reward.

"Perfect ending... failure is not an option..." Lu Guan recalled the warning from the "future" that Chisa had relayed to him.

Perhaps the key to controlling his Resonance Ability wasn't merely practice, but had more to do with the system he had been born with.

"Since things have come to this... I'd better stop thinking about it." Lu Guan looked at the Tacet Discord projection not far away. "Now that quite a few of the restrictions on my ability are gone, let's try out my new idea!"

As it happened, he was furious right now, so...

"Rage of billions of sparks, burn this body to ashes!!!"

Dun↘ dun↗-dun↗ dun↘!

To the sound of powerful, resonant chanting, Lu Guan's clothes tore apart, and destructive golden blood burst from his body. He transformed into a little yellow and purple fish wearing big wings.

Seeing this, anyone who didn't run away would succeed at whatever they did.

Unfortunately, the Clang Bang in front of him wasn't a Tacet Discord, but a holographic projection. If it had been a real Clang Bang, its sense of danger would probably have sent it running the moment it heard "rage of billions of sparks."

As for why it wouldn't run away with its tail between its legs...

Perhaps the length of a bear's tail among animals was like Carlotta's height among her peers: seemingly not long (or tall), and indeed, not long (or tall).

But at least it was much better than Phrolova's family. After all, there was a big difference between existing and rolling wood.

That was why humans were said to be intelligent creatures. A Clang Bang would have trouble running away with its tail between its legs, but if Carlotta wanted to avoid drowning in the shallow end of a swimming pool, a swim ring would solve the problem.

Perhaps a child's swimsuit would work too, but that depended on how strictly the pool was supervised. Normally, even if Carlotta wore a child's swimsuit, she would be over the age limit and unable to enter the children's pool.

Ahem, that was getting off topic. Back to the training ground.

Lu Guan, now in his yellow-and-purple form, didn't attack immediately. Feeling power pour endlessly through his body, he was already almost too high to stand it.

"Oh hahahahahaha... this feeling..."

"The power just keeps pouring in..."

"Saikou ni high tte yatsu da!!!"

Somewhere Lu Guan couldn't have imagined, Lacerta watched his behavior on the simulation training ground's monitor, then glanced at Chisa beside her, whose expression was also somewhat unsettled. Lacerta's expression gradually began to crack.

Lacerta: 0.o?

In the end, Lady Blazing Sakura Shrine Maiden was better at keeping her expression under control. Chisa blew on the tea Lacerta had poured for her and sighed. "It seems all those years in Huanglong left this child terribly repressed."

"Tell me about it..." Lacerta still looked as though she was struggling to keep a straight face. "Coming to study at the academy has given this child's true nature a chance to come out."

"Let's keep watching." Chisa took a sip of tea. "It's still a little too early to make an assessment. There's no harm in observing for a while longer."

Still unaware that the two elderly "obasans" had seen everything he'd done, Lu Guan finally felt satisfied. He stopped his performance art and looked at the enemy before him.

"This power may be insignificant compared to the true 'Kaslana,' but it's more than enough to bring destruction upon the likes of you!"

"Blazing sun! Tear through the sky!!!"

With a thunderous boom from the sky, countless meteors trailed flames as they plummeted toward the Clang Bang. Like anti-aircraft guns firing at a mosquito, they smashed enormous craters into the ground around it.

Finally, a gigantic meteor of astonishing proportions fell, leaving a huge crater in the holographically generated ground before him. The entire scene was even destroyed by the terrifying blow.

Yet Lu Guan still wasn't satisfied. "Boxers, boxers! This little bit isn't even enough to let me enjoy myself in the slightest!"

After ending the holographic simulation, Lu Guan spoke with B.I.N.G.O again and entered the training ground.

This time, his opponent was the stone-hooking, flying shit monster designed by the private-fund planners, which had disgusted him more than a dozen times in the game.

The Maid of the Star-Hecate.

The fucking thing liked to fly? He'd send her flying himself!