"Well, shall we continue?" Kai grinned as he looks at Noelle, who seemed to be realising the same thing as him.

"Yeah...yes we shall" She mumbled, almost sounding...happy? No, Kai must be imagining things.

After both parties are ready, another hour of training commences.

******

Pain.

That is the only word to describe what Kai is feeling. After fighting Noelle eight hours a day for the last two hundred and eighty-seven hours, or just under twelve days, and with only three rest days throughout, pain is the only feeling in his body.

But with pain, comes learning, and with learning comes improvement, and with improvement comes... Noelle trying harder and still beating him effortlessly.

Sure there was a few times he landed a solid hit, one of them still showing on Noelle's right arm in the form of a faint bruise, but overall he was utterly dominated in every spar.

Groaning as he got up off the floor, Kai took a sip of his bottle and threw it to the side of the room. He stood up, stretched and got into position. The final hour was upon them...

Both of them knew this will be the final fight before they both reach level ten, and Kai knows this might be his only chance to win.

Who knows what could happen at level ten after all?

Getting into a stance he felt comfortable and semi-confident in, Kai took a deep breath as he tried to analyse Noelle's posture...but ultimately failed. The woman is an enigma, Kai cannot even begin to comprehend what the hell she was doing before The Flashing, which is what Kai named the bright lights he saw in the sky before he woke up here, to become so efficient at fighting.

The even worse feeling is that he knew that Noelle is holding back. He realised this after one of their fights where his hit was just about to connect with her jaw, only for her to do some move Kai had never seen before that ended with him ending up on the floor with a massive bruise, which is still on his chest from the hit she landed.

Kai knew he wouldn't stand a chance if he were to fight Noelle when she was going all out, but it still hurt his pride as a man!

...not that he actually had any, not getting injured was a much better idea than misguided pride.

Throughout all these spars, both Kai and Noelle have never used a skill or their innate ability. Well, Noelle might have without Kai realising, but it doesn't matter now... Because Kai was about to break that streak.

Time seemed to slow in Kai's eyes as he takes a deep breath. Only after exhaling did he activate his innate ability.

Will of the Kaiser

One of the perks of his innate ability allows him to borrow the powers of otherworldly creatures in exchange for Mana depending on the creatures power. And now, it was time to use it for the first time.

The only problem being Kai had absolutely no idea how to use the ability, all he did was activate it and pray for the best... And it worked, kind of.

Goblin mode activated

+4 Strength

+4 Dexterity

-11 Will

Lesser dagger proficiency -> Minor dagger proficiency

Grinning inwardly, Kai celebrated that it worked. His body felt stronger, his limbs more flexible, his mind more... huh?

A feral look appeared in his eyes as light flashed in his right hand, an almost corporeal dagger appearing in his hand. Even though it isn't fully formed, it still looks like it would be able to cut flesh with no trouble.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Noelle notices the change and her eyes narrow, she herself is going to get serious for the upcoming spar...no, fight.

Kai dashed forward, the extra dexterity showing as his limbs move easier, following his mind better. But his mind is a kind that had been corrupted by certain a kind of lust.

Dash, slash, cut, bleed, dash, slash, cut, bleed, dash, slash, cut, bleed, dash, slash, cut, bleed!

No matter how many times Kai swung his ghostly dagger, Noelle dodged all of the attacks, though not as effortlessly as the previous fights.

Minutes passed and this is by far the closest fight they have ever had by far. On Noelle's once flawless robe appear small nicks and rips, blood seeping through some of them. But the fight won't be close for much longer though...

Throughout the fight, Kai's mana has been burning at an almost monstrous rate. Ten mana per minute, meaning Kai doesn't have long left before he runs out... not that he cares. Due to his lack of Will stat after entering this state, all he cares about is seeing Noelle's pretty body bleed.

Another minute passed, for each nick or cut he inflicted on Noelle, he received two punches and a kick back. But his mind is lost, pain is numb and meaningless before his lust for blood.

Minute after minute passed, the fight was about to end. Kai's mana was reaching its limit...and so was Noelle's mind. Fighting a feral beast that wields a dagger while you are weaponless for nine minutes straight will mess with your mental state. The fatigue of constant daily training is also starting to catch up with her as her movements falter.

The feral Kai cashed in on this, his swings growing more and more relentless. He even managed to nick a small line across Noelle's flawless cheek. After what seemed like an eternity, the fight reached its climax. Both parties knew this is the end and go all out. Even though Kai's mind was lost, even the agressive goblin knew its time was nearly up.

Noelle even activating one of the aspects of her own innate ability.

Sirens toungue: ...Anyone with a Will stat 35% less than yours is compelled to listen to your orders willingly. Can turn this on and off...

"Sleep" is the only word that escapes Noelle's mouth, the tone soothing and calming... but also terrifying.

Due to the mixed effects of running out of Mana, built up fatigue and Noelle using her innate ability, Kai fell onto the ground, hearing a slight ring in his ears as his head bounced off the padded floor, passing out as it did. The see through dagger dissapeared from his band as his body relaxed and his eyes turn back to normal beneath his closed eyelids.

Noelle looked down at the sleeping boy and delicately touched the cut on her cheek, blood tricklee down the cut onto her tanned skin as she touched it. Noelle sighed and walked towards Kai's sleeping form, kicking him softly in the ribs before mumbling one word to herself.

"Bastard..."

Noelle walked over to the shower in the corner of the room and stripped. Turning the knob and feeling the hot water run down her body, she looked down to analyse the damage.

Many small nicks covered her arms and legs, and even some on her abs and stomach. The blood mixed with the water, creating a creepy image of red water washing down the shower drain...But she was used to such an image.

She traced a finger delicately over a previous wound she had. A deep wound on the left of her stomach that served as a reminder of what she has to do...

A few minutes passed and Noelle stepped out of the shower, her tanned figure looking like a model's... or a Goddess of war from all the small cuts covering her naked self. She dressed herself in the spare grey robe both her and Kai are given every day along with the food tray when they wake up.

After walking over to her bed and lying down, Noelle touched the cut on her cheek once more and began to analyse the fight.

I should have lost... No, I would have won easier if I used my ability earlier. But how did he do that? I realised a while back he resisted my ability... but I didn't realise he could do... that.

Noelle had been analysing Kai since their first meeting and had realised by now that he had resisted her skill. She didn't know how but she assumed it to be because of his innate ability or some skill he had, but she couldn't prove it so she stayed silent.

Now that I know though... does anything change? He isn't as useless as I first thought. The only reason he couldn't resist my ability this time is because whatever ability he used seemed to lower his will, making my ability work...

He may be more useful than I thought.

With a sigh, Noelle rolled onto her side, flinching slightly at the throbbing pain. She then opened her status screen to see what notification she got... and her eyes widened in shock once she saw it.

********

"Ugh..." Kai groaned in pain as he lifted his head off the padded floor.

Why am I on the floor? Is the first question to came mind, he hadn't slept on the floor in over two weeks after all.

Groaning as he stood up, Kai walked over to his bed, throwing a glance at Noelle as he did. Unlike him, who slept on the floor, she was fast a sleep in her bed. Once he reached his bed, he lied down and tries hard to remember what happened.

He can recall activating his innate ability, then...nothing... The only thing he remembered after that was wanting to see blood, and lots of it. Then he remembered seeing Noelle stand above him with a bleeding cheek while looking down at him.

Sighing as his head hits the soft pillow, he also remembered the ringing in his ears just before he fell passed out, so he opened his status...and couldn't stop the grin on his face from growing.

Level 10 reached

Obtained 6 unnasigned stat points

Skill selection unlocked

Class selection unlocked