Ragnar had been able to accept everything until now. From getting another chance at living, being alive even after getting Shift mutation, his ability that was definitely not suitable for him, accepting everything that happened in his past and then moving on.

He even accepted all the changes to his personality with open arms.

But this one seemed quite extreme, even for him.

Was he not interested in humans anymore?

That shouldn’t be the case, right?

He did not think he would fancy Shifted creatures or even Animals back on Earth for that matter.

In fact, if he really had to imagine himself getting intimate with someone, then the picture that formed in his mind was definitely that of a female human. Unfortunately for him though, that female did not have a face, at least not yet.

He was really glad right now. At the fact that his Shifted form seemed to lack the reproductive organs. Because if it had them, then he was sure that his human side would not stand a chance against the beast inside him.

It wasn’t even like he wanted to feel something towards this person before him in particular, its just the future repercussions of this discovery caused him to slight uneasiness.

Ragnar was ending his thoughts with the conclusion that he just needs to meet the right person when he suddenly heard a click in his mind. As if a link had just formed. Accompanying it was a smooth shift in the girl’s expression.

Her flustered look was nowhere to be seen as a calm nonchalance that Ragnar remembered had taken over her face. In fact, she appeared slightly arrogant.

“Are you going to answer me or keep gawking at my face?”

He realised at this point that he had been staring her down with a blank look for more than 5 seconds. Ragnar came back to himself as his eyes turned sharp. He inquired in a calm tone.

“What did you just do?”

Even though his voice sounded calm, it still gave her a shiver as her hair stood on end. But she still contained her expression and tried to smile, it came out as forced though.

“Ah… Yes, I should explain, shouldn’t I? Lest you harm yourself.”

Her words brought back some of her confidence as her smile turned genuine, genuinely cold that is, as she continued.

“I just linked our bodies. It’s my ability, you see. Now any wound I receive will automatically be transferred to you. Now, how about you answer my question?”

Ragnar also remembered her voice sounding soothing to his ears the last time he had heard it, but it sounded so plain right now.

*Sigh*

“Why couldn’t you just appreciate the kindness that has been shown to you?”

Ragnar mumbled to himself as his gaze became distant. He might have to break his code of conduct the first time it had come into effect.

But suddenly, sharpness returned to his eyes as he refocused his vision on her. He might not have to break it since he just came up with a good use for this girl.

The girl felt a feeling of foreboding welling up inside her as she stared into his abyss-like eyes. In turn, she became alert, expecting an attack. Albeit, it was useless.

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Without any movement from his muscles, Ragnar suddenly shot forward with a boom and came to a stop on her left, his hand now resting on her shoulder.

Ragnar had thought about what he could use the ability to create waves with any part of his body for. He didn’t have any good ideas at first but soon realised that it might be the aspect of his ability that influences his future battle style the most.

He could use it to move in ways that no one would be able to predict. People mostly used the micro movements in the body of their opponent to predict their next move. But what if Ragnar didn’t need his muscles to move around in the battlefield.

That was exactly what he had done just now, he had used shockwaves from his back to shoot his body forward and then used them again from his front to come to a stop. That was why he did not stop in front of her since it might have blasted her apart.

He had used enough intensity of waves that he doubted even a Spectral would be able to react in time. Let alone this girl who was just an Arcane.

In the next moment before she could take any action; both their bodies disappeared into the ground.

The surroundings suddenly went dark for the girl as she paused her actions. She had a feeling that this was not going to end well for her.

She did not try to move his hand away from her shoulder even after they had come to a stop. She still had control over her body but she could tell that the hand was the only thing preventing this darkness from devouring her.

She still tried to look confident as she opened her mouth to speak, but her voice broke at the first syllable.

“W-Where are we?”

Ragnar could hear her perfectly fine even under the Earth since their voices were also a part of them. Someone standing above him might not be able to hear him even if he shouted right below them inside the ground.

His mad grin had returned to his face. He realised that he was using it more and more as the days go by. His reply came in a playful tone.

“We are 20 feet below Earth. Now… if I remove my hand, what do u think will happen first? Will your body crush under the pressure before it has the time to transfer the damage to me, killing you alone? Or… will it kill me first before it ultimately crushes you as well, still killing you?”

The things he said definitely did not match the tone he conveyed it in.

Her confident mask finally broke as she said, “You are bluffing. Why don’t you try it?”

Ragnar’s expression didn’t falter as he answered in a calm tone.

“Alright”

He moved his hand slightly on her shoulder as if he was about to remove it but it was stopped before it could leave her shoulder. Another hand came and pressed it back to where it was.

“O-Okay, okay wait. Listen. We can talk about this. Tell me, what do you want?”

Her voice sounded more flustered than ever before. But even in this situation, she could deduce that the guy did not plan to kill her directly.

“How about we start with removing this link?”

Ragnar of course was not going to gamble with his life. As far as removing the link goes, he was sure he could remove it just by transforming. But he needed this situation to play out in order to further his plans. He also wanted to see if he could take a living thing inside the Earth with him.

The girl’s voice now became softer as if she was a child asking their parent for permission.

“You promise not to kill me if I remove the link?”

Even as she said that, Ragnar felt the link dissolving in his mind. He was quite baffled by her change in demeanour. That was how far her bold façade went. It seemed that she had lived quite a sheltered life until now. Still, his expression did not soften as he continued.

“I won’t kill you since I have a use for you. You are quite influential, aren’t you?”

He had guessed it based on the fact that even the staff lady at the stronghold seemed to recognize her. The girl’s helpless eyes suddenly showed a hint of determination as she exclaimed in a firm voice.

“I-I won’t give you my body, you might as well kill me then.”

Ragnar’s mad grin finally departed as he looked annoyed. She was just pouring salt on his fresh wounds.

“Do not flatter yourself and answer my question. You are not as useful in those aspects.”

The girl’s determined look faltered as she looked down at herself. She might not be the prettiest person on Earth but she was still quite confident in her appearance. And he just said…

Still, coming out of her reverie, she answered him. She had started to calm down a little since it seemed she won’t be dying today.

“Can I inquire as to what type of influence are we talking here? I might be influential in every way but still, just for confirmation.”

She didn’t dare to raise her voice anymore so it still came out as quite soft.

Ragnar’s tone had turned casual now since his threat seemed to have worked quite well.

“I need a new identification. Can you arrange that?”

The girl’s expression finally settled down as she regained some of her confidence. Her voice became slightly casual as well, following after Ragnar.

“That’s it?”

Ragnar replied after some thought.

“For now, yes. Oh, I almost forgot. I killed your 3 friends.”