"Augh," the young man squealed as the girl's hand pressed against his back. A terrible cold aura seemed to enter every cell in his body, causing the young man's lips to suddenly turn purple. His vision blurred, but he could still hear the girl shouting repeatedly, "Control that energy. Otherwise, you'll die!" As she shouted, she continued to pump cold energy into his body. "What the hell?" Lucius inwardly grumbled, looking at his fingertips which had started to turn black earlier, his fingernails and toenails now turning purple. "Do I have frostbite?" he pondered as he lost the feeling in his hands and feet. "Control it, control the aura, and form a new core in your body," the girl hollered once more, causing Lucius to risk his life yet again. -- "Augh," the two people collapsed under the hot sun, drenched in sweat, the girl's curves made even more evident. This seemed to be a terrifying journey for Lucius, who was practicing this cold energy technique. Several times, he felt
The magic of ice seemed to cause several glasses of water to freeze instantly. The ice was shattered by a woman, none other than Nio's mother, and mixed with the fruit juice they had on hand. "Unique, and fresh," said Lucius. The man and woman who were Nio's parents, smiled widely. "So, when are you getting married?" Nio's father asked again, causing Nio to puff up her cheeks in annoyance. "Dad, don't ask me that again," she huffed, quickly grasping Lucius' hand to leave the room after finishing their drinks made by Nio's mother. "Where are we going?" asked a surprised Lucius. The girl just smiled mysteriously. However, not long after that, Nio finally disclosed their destination. "Do you see that hill over there? That's my favorite place. I'm going to show you something interesting from there," the girl announced cheerfully. Lucius, whose hand was being eagerly tugged, felt like a boy being dragged into play by a friend. "From what I've seen, there doesn't seem to be anyone th
"Red Lightning!" he shouted, stomping his foot to create an enormous repulsion force, launching them far from the hill. They spun several times mid-air to maintain momentum before landing near a dense forest. "Is it due to the cold core? I feel my technique is improving," Lucius mused, feeling his power increase. "Graahh!" "Damn it!" Lucius cursed, quickly surrounding himself and Nio with black lightning to shield them from the blazing flames that incinerated the surrounding trees. "Why is it so fast?" he growled, glancing upwards to meet the creature's gaze, seemingly tracking them with deliberate intent. "Wait, if I recall correctly, the painting world was similar. Each world has a hero," Lucius considered, clutching the agdis. "Does that mean Nio is this world's heroine?" he thought hard. But his pondering was interrupted as he had to dodge a thrown stone from the monster with the help of his Red Lightning. "Booommm" Trees were uprooted and the bizarre fire's heat intensified
Lucius knew that the energy in his body was limited, despite having obtained energy absorption techniques from the painting world."How do I gather that much energy?""I will teach you... but you'll need to do something in return later.""Do something?"Caught in an intense situation, Nio, the girl, blushed slightly."I know this world will be destroyed. All I want is to experience love-making."Lucius' mouth gaped open, not expecting to hear such a request amid the chaos."Are you... serious?""I'm serious," she replied firmly. Lucius sighed, considering the bizarre world he found himself in to be part of an unreal memory."Alright... then how do I harness this cold energy?""Follow me!"Nio swiftly took Lucius's hand, leading him away. Lucius was speechless; Nio seemed to be driven by a passionate desire.Not far away, the rampage of the rat-headed nega continued. As it ravaged everything, Nio guided Lucius to an underground cave.Inside the dimly lit cavern, Nio swiftly threw somet
"You've failed!" The speaker was no longer recognizable as human. His face was a network of cracks filled with flames, reminiscent of ocean waves, but aflame. "Why have you betrayed mankind?" "Why did I betray mankind? Isn't it obvious? Because I want to become a god," the figure declared arrogantly. He lowered his gaze to the man sprawled before him, bloodied and battered. The man was in his sixties; his hair had turned white, and wrinkles lined his face. But there was something remarkable about him, a defiant spark in his eyes. "God? Do you think you're a god now?" the man rasped, seemingly stalling for time against the menacing figure. "Ha, of course not. But I'm on the brink of gaining that immense power." "Ah, Lucius. I know you cherished this land. You fought for forty years, serving the people. Now look at us, the last humans on this planet. Everyone you loved is dead, Lucius." "To hell with you." Mustering the last of his strength, the elderly man tried to rise, reac
"Argh!" "What happened?" the young man looked up from his bed. A seventeen-year-old teenager, drenched in sweat. His breathing was ragged, and he seemed to be grappling with his reality. "Didn't I already die?" "Why am I here?" He vividly remembered how the monster came and crushed his head. An action that was too swift for the young man's eyes to track. Lucius, the old man who had been killed earlier, seemed to have unexpectedly traveled through time. "What happened to the artifact he was seeking? Was the underground bomb I set up able to destroy him?" He was immensely confused about it all. Especially since Lucius didn't live to witness the final outcome. He was the last human left, the one who should have stopped the world from being destroyed. But Lucius was merely an old man, and his opponent was a monster that had almost wiped out the entire human race. It was a one-sided battle that ended in a massacre. "Did I really travel through time?" he continued to question the b
"Bzzt!" With a swift jerk, Lucius roused from his apparent reverie. His hair seemed to stand on end, as if touched by an invisible current. The young man who had been nonchalantly lounging at his desk was now alert, his attention snatched by the unidentified pandemonium unfolding around him. "What's going on?" He mumbled, his brow furrowed in confusion. The clamor, while undeniable, held no discernible source or explanation. [System birth detected in the vicinity] The holographic message hung in the air before his eyes. An added feature of his holographic device, post consumption of the pearl-like artifact - the Eye of Time. "Thud!" In his haste, he knocked against the desk, rattling it. The abrupt noise pulled the attention of the entire class towards him - Lucius, the recent cynosure of all eyes due to his striking transformation. Post ingesting the Eye of Time, Lucius' skin had become as smooth as a newborn's, while his physique had grown more muscular and defined. He was alm
Lucius effortlessly avoided the initial attack with a slight shift of his posture, his movement as graceful as a feather riding the wind. "Assist Hari! Don't let this scoundrel get away!" Nevan, the thin, skeletal student acting as the brains of the gang, commanded his friends to coordinate an attack on Lucius. "Ah!" One of the attackers wailed as Lucius' powerful punch landed squarely on his chest, sending him flying backwards. The display of unexpected martial prowess had the gang's leader, Hari, blinking in stunned disbelief. "Since when did he become a warrior?" Hari whispered to himself, shocked at Lucius' agile maneuvers. "Poww!" The air echoed with the impact of Lucius' spinning elbow landing on Hari's face. The leader of the mischievous group crumbled to the ground, his nose bleeding profusely. "This is illegal!" Nevan shrieked, his skeletal frame trembling with rage. "Ah, your name is Nevan, correct?" Lucius strolled towards the frail boy, stepping over the groaning bodi