Shun POV:

I crashed to the ground; its surface unknown. All that kept the broken pieces together were the same words I muttered to myself for the next few hours: kill, kill, and kill.

Strength seeped back into my body, and soon enough, I struggled to my feet. Millions of bookcases extended as far as the eye could see within a bright white space. They were separated into multiple rows that converged toward the large arena I stood in.

A faint rose pattern shaped like an octagram covered the surface of the stone tiles. I traced the design with my eyes, questioning whether it deviated at any point when the deviation came in a different form.

Two black and dark green boots connected to a pair of slender leggings. The shape of her body, the flow of her hair; it was a beauty that transcended common sense, yet I felt nothing toward it. That woman peered down at me; her head tilted forward, and her cheeks failed to hold back the lips, making them rise.

“Took you long enough~”

“...Who are you?”

She cocked her head to the side and parted her full lips.

“I’ve been with you all this time, but you still can’t recognise me?”

“...What?”

My mind was still recovering, so not all of my mental faculties were working in an optimal condition. The woman rolled her arm like a wave before her upper body dropped in my direction. She raised her head halfway and made eye contact with me.

“I am the system creator, Koli. And I welcome you to Providence, Shun.”

The corners of my mouth rose. It twisted along with the opposite curvature of two eyes that greeted this newfound elation.

“It looks like my first target has changed.”

Clarity washed over my healed mind. My pupils dilated at the opportunity for revenge in front of me. I took a step forward and opened my mouth.

“You’re dead.”

***

The endless white ceiling was filled with fire. Crude flame swords rained down on Koli until her full lips formed a small opening.

“Foo…”

A small breath left her mouth, eradicating the flames from existence well before they could arrive. The same experience occurred with my strikes. Koli weaved through them without batting an eye at my desire to break her face into dust.

“You’ve wasted one week doing something so pointless~”

“Then stop running.”

Koli gave me a wink as my wind-empowered fist whistled past her cheek.

“Even though this is just a tiny fragment of myself, I can’t reduce my defence any lower~ Basically, if you hit me, your arm will shatter into pieces.”

I smirked at her words. Why would I believe her, of all people? There was nothing she could say to cool down the boiling anger inside of me.

“I’ll test that out for myself.”

My hand shot forward in an attempt to spear her heart out. Koli sidestepped the strike and wrapped her arms around my waist. The kiss she gave me on the forehead was loud enough to echo across the white space.

My veins popped, almost bursting apart as I glared at her close face to mine.

“GET OFF OF ME!!”

The bulging of my eyes tore the flesh at the corners. Blood spurted out, and Koli took a step back.

“I thought that’d calm you down, tehe~”

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!”

My Ki detonated, and our game of cat and mouse resumed once more. We flickered around the massive arena that had taken no damage despite the continuous attacks aimed at Koli.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“But didn’t it feel good? I’m quite confident in my looks, you know~”

She lifted her large breasts up and down while winking at me several times. My face contorted with nothing but abhorrent disgust toward her.

“I absolutely despise women like you.”

For the first time since we had met, Koli’s smile waned.

“That’s not very nice. Didn’t I teach you about the importance of not judging a book by its cover?”

“Judging? Do you think I’m stupid or something? I know damn well you’ve been giggling behind the scenes as you watched me suffer. As you watched my mind, and my will be taken away from me.

Your very existence makes me sick. So do me a favour and either send me back to my world or die.”

Her vibrant green eyes shook before another playful smile spread across her face.

“I may have brought you here on a whim, but it was just pure coincidence my magic worked. It’s impossible for me to send you back or interact with your world~”

It wasn’t what I expected.

The apparent truth of how I ended up in Ayadell was something like this? I knew there was no grand adventure. There was no fame or royalty; there wasn’t even any power upon my arrival, yet…

“On a whim? Pure coincidence? You made me suffer... for such trivial reasons?”

I bit my quivering lip and stared right into her eyes. They wobbled in response, but that was as far as Koli’s emotions went.

All of this... just to be a spectacle for her enjoyment.

“Is everything... just a game to you in the end?”

“...I really do care for you, though. I even made an effort to make the system more use—“

“Shut your damn mouth.”

The veins on the sides of my forehead popped, and a red filter covered my vision. I wanted to grind this idiot’s face into a puddle of flesh. I wanted to break her down into the insignificant little piece of trash that she was.

“I want nothing to do with you. I almost hate you more than that twisted psycho.”

Koli’s eyebrows turned inward. They rose while the corners of her mouth fell. The genuine expression that rippled over her face could touch the hearts of many, but I wasn’t many.

I was broken.

“It’s just... my nature...”

“Piss off.”

I walked away. I distanced myself from one of the core reasons for everything that had happened to me here. Tears wet the stone tiles, then wet the white ground.

I passed the endless aisle of bookcases until I could no longer see her. I sat down behind one and buried my face into my hands.

Alone and dejected.

I sobbed.

***

The white ceiling was just as endless as the aisles of bookcases, but I still stared at it in a daze. Every now and then, my lips would form a thin smile.

“H-hey... Look... I spent the last week really thinking hard about it, and while I don’t completely understand your perspective... I’m sorry...”

The slight shift in the air failed to reach my ears. I had organised all the abilities I wanted to create into several categories, but there was only one that stood out from the thousands.

‘Will it really work?’

I contemplated over whether that idea was viable or not in this world.

“Okay~ That’s enough.”

“?!”

Koli picked me up by the waist and launched me across the white space. I tried to manipulate the air, but the sheer speed I was travelling at made that an impossible goal to achieve.

I crashed down into the middle of the arena before flipping back to my feet. Koli flickered into view; this time, there was no semblance of a smile to be found on her face.

“Use your time here wisely. Your target is Chloe Ravendawn, right? Just so you know, the Ravendawns are powerhouses, and even though she’s nowhere near the top, she would crush you into dust with her Ki Pressure alone.”

“I don’t need your advice.”

I knew Chloe was strong. I... I knew that already.

“You do. I just told you that the Ravendawns are powerhouses among you humans. If you kill Chloe, do you think the rest of them are just going to sit back and let it slide? They’ll find you, and when they do, you’ll experience a pain inconceivable to what you’ve already been through.”

“...”

Within the Ten Families of Xera, the Ravendawns were in the top 5. Chloe... was only one of them. I couldn’t deny that.

“I may have messed around... a lot before, but I’m serious now. So I’ll say it again: Use your time here wisely.”

My gaze swept over Koli. This was just a fragment of her true self, so even if I could kill her, I wouldn’t have really killed her anyway. I clenched my teeth, but my trembling fists unravelled.

“...I have an ability in mind already.”

“Explain it to me. That’s why I’m here—to help turn your idea into a reality.”

I took a seat on the stone tiles, and Koli sat opposite me. An indescribable feeling of nausea from our close proximity made me triple the distance between us.

Her eyebrows quivered at my reaction toward her, but she chose not to say anything. I parted my lips and began explaining the ability I had in mind.

***

“It’s an incredibly diverse ability. I like how it’s tricky. Kinda mischievous too~”

“...”

I glared at her from the other end of the arena. Her knowledge about my ability wouldn’t change the fact that she would die by my hands after I was done with Chloe.

“Well then, shall we start?”

“The sooner I no longer have to see your face, the better.”

A flicker of sadness darted through her eyes before her cheeks rose.

“Then I take it you don’t want my Cultivation Techniques either?”

“I don’t. Whatever it is, I’ll get it myself.”

Koli’s smile widened, which meant the knowledge I had on cultivation techniques wouldn’t be of much use to me.

“Cultivation Techniques are the foundation of a Ki Practitioner. Without one, it can lead to Ki Deviation if you mess up. Also, your progress to higher Ki Stages past Shin will be reallyyy slow~”

“I don’t care.”

Koli pressed two fingers against the bridge of her nose and let out a deep sigh.

“I’m used to being hated, but the way you look at me reallyyy stings more than usual.”

“If only it could kill you too, wouldn’t that be great?”

She gave me a wry smile before shrugging her shoulders.

“Then let’s seriously start~ First, imagine the storage. Second, I’ll help you convert the information and place it inside. Finally, I’ll give you some assistance with the true core of your ability.”

I got to my feet and narrowed my eyes.

“I’m ready.”