Shun POV:

“Reaver, who is this idiot talking about?”

I peered down at the kneeling Tunnelmen. Droplets of sweat seeped into the white shadow fur around his neck. His beady eyes darted around, unsure of the mistake he had made. He dropped to both knees, but I was already annoyed.

“...Katherine Brightfield, my liege.”

‘!’

I shot to my feet and recalled the shadow monsters still roaming around the Floor. They formed sizeable groups before rushing back to the area I was in.

“Map.”

A light blue window popped into view. It showed the intricate pathway of the 5th Floor that was more complex than the 1st.

“Point to it.”

Reaver’s finger drew an X at her location. It was on the opposite side of the map, far from where we had set up base. He slipped his hand back into his white shadow cloak when the veins around my mouth bulged.

‘Why her?!’

I forced away the image of her genuine smile. I pushed away the care that radiated out of her gentle character.

‘Why...’

“All of you wait here. I’ll deal with Katherine myself.”

The shadows bowed, and I bolted down the destroyed road. Either Katherine hadn’t met anyone on her way here, or Phoebe didn’t stop her from searching for me on her own. The latter was unlikely since she should know that I wanted to be alone.

It didn’t matter anyway.

Some minutes later, my feet came to a halt. In the middle of a wide street stood Katherine, dusting off the dirt from her long skirt. Once our eyes met, her lips spread into a bright smile that tried to penetrate the darkness.

But she wouldn’t succeed.

“Shu—“

A kunai cut past the space above her shoulder. It blasted a hole through the head of a goblin that peeked out of its hiding place.

“I met with Aiden on my way here. He is currently on the 20th Floor, waiting for everyone to come up.”

I observed her mannerisms, demeanour, and movements. The way her gaze never left me. The irritating radiance of light her pure blue eyes possessed. The way her smile spread out, the angle of its highest arch, and the now prominent nasolabial folds: creases in the skin that extended down from her nose to the corners of her mouth.

“What Floor were you on?”

Katherine took a step forward before parting her lips.

“The 28th Floor.”

“Do I look stupid to you? This is the 5th Floor, so how did you only meet Aiden on your way here?”

Despite my outward annoyance, I continued to study her reaction. There was a slight dip in her eyebrows that creased the flawless skin in between. However, Katherine broke eye contact, choosing to rest her gaze on the fractured ground instead.

“...I was worried about you.”

‘Tch.’

She closed the distance between us and bowed her head.

“I’m sorry.”

‘...’

Katherine’s slender fingers interlocked with mine. Her eyes searched my own for forgiveness.

“Can you forgive me, Shun?”

I looked away when she turned my face back toward her. Tears threatened to spill over from the silence that answered her.

“Shun...”

Katherine pressed her thin lips together, increasing their allure and softness. They travelled to their destination, but only made it halfway.

“?!”

Blood spilt down the sides of its mouth from the hand, spearing through its chest. An opening appeared, and I took advantage of it.

“You’re in my way.”

I ripped its heart out before dashing the body to the side. It crashed into the rubble and laid there motionless.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Reaver.”

“Yes, my liege?”

I peered down at the fake Katherine’s glazed-over eyes.

“Kill that stupid Tunnelmen.”

“...As you command.”

I ignored the shadow that vanished out of existence and finished sorting the new information I obtained into appropriate categories.

The first mistake that dumb monster had made was dusting off the dirt from its dress. Katherine possessed the Wind Ki Nature, so why would an Elementalist do something so out of character?

Most wouldn’t.

The second mistake was its priority. Katherine was fair; her care extended to everyone equally. She wouldn’t ignore the other party members to find me, no matter how strong they were. In other words, there was no plausible way Katherine would appear in front of me alone.

The third mistake was its choice of words. Katherine’s politeness wasn’t a facade; she said ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ without question. This never changed with those she was close with. “Can you forgive me, Shun?” should have been “Please, can you forgive me, Shun?” She also didn’t use the word ‘sorry.’ She preferred to say ‘I apologise’ or ‘Please forgive me.’

The fourth mistake was showing such a deep level of affection toward me. The monster confused her care with romantic love, and that was the final red flag. Katherine would never try to kiss me when her master was the only one in her heart. She also was aware of Phoebe’s feelings and wouldn’t want to intrude on them.

The fifth mistake was the quality of its skin. Katherine had no prominent crease when she smiled; the clarity of her fair skin extended to all areas visible in an equal manner.

These findings verified my original hypothesis. The desolate city was once inhabited by a monster species the Sentri had almost driven to extinction. That was why Byeol’s report had a hint of uncertainty regarding the Sentri Teachers.

“This dungeon is good enough.”

The corners of my mouth rose as I made my way back to the shadows.

***

I sat across from Zinyul, meditating in the Lotus position.

Sentri Charge converted a small amount of the damage received into empowered Ki. Once that empowerment reached its limit, the Sentri’s arms would begin to glow, and the next attack or technique would be anywhere between 2x to 3x stronger.

He had learnt how to redistribute Sentri Charge back into his Ki Channels via Sentric Focus. This led to a pseudo-state where his entire base was elevated by 1.5x for the 2 minute duration of Sentri Charge.

It was time to move on to the next step of the plan.

Sweat trickled down Zinyul’s dark skin. It accumulated at the bottom of his chin before splashing into the earth. His bright yellow eyes opened with a slight sadness to them.

He had failed again.

“Zinyul, stand up.”

“Yes, my liege.”

He bowed and got to his feet. I directed him to stand in the Sentri stance when Talky started her massage again.

“What does your stance mean?”

Zinyul’s raised eyebrows fell. He thought about the question for an entire minute before reaching another dead end.

“...I’m not sure, my liege.”

“The palm to the earth represents dominance. It’s symbolic of the Sentri’s innate desire to conquer. The palm facing the opponent represents truth and honesty. The opponent you face is yourself, not what is physically in front of you.”

Zinyul’s entire body shook at this revelation. He dropped to one knee to express his sincere gratitude, but I could care less about that.

“Thank yo—“

“Don’t annoy me, Zinyul.”

He let out a faint sigh that he masked with a caring smile. Zinyul shifted back into his stance and focused.

“Zinyul, my liege’s words imply that both palms form a connection. If I were to give an example, it is the same as the motion of throwing a correct punch. The energy starts from the feet, moves to the hips, then travels along the arm till the fist expels it.”

“Talky, do your damn job.”

“Y-yes, my liege!”

My lips curved upwards at her correct analysis of the situation. Zinyul bowed toward her, understanding what he was missing while Talky hummed away.

Zinyul stood in the same position for the next 5 minutes when my eyebrows dropped. I didn’t know if it was that hard to achieve what I wanted him to, but I also didn’t care.

“Fishy.”

“Yes, Master!”

Fishy flickered into view, excited to be a part of the training again.

“Copy the stance.”

“Understood, Master!”

Zinyul stepped to the side and examined Fishy’s movements. Time passed, but she didn’t move.

“...”

Fishy folded her arms. She unfolded them three minutes later before assuming the stance again. This time, her Ki erupted out of her like a stream of coiling air currents.

“Can’t I use this too, Master?”

“No.”

She pouted but understood she hadn’t achieved anything. She had simulated the likely result of what I was after by using Ultimate Fishnin Style: Troubling Eye. The technique projected a weak illusion that covered a 10-metre radius. Its only purpose was to confuse predators stupid enough to fall for it.

“Can I give you a massage then, Master?”

“Will you shut up if I say yes?”

“...Probably not?”

I swivelled my eyes toward Fishy, holding back a laugh. Receiving everyone’s support uplifted her mood by this much...

‘...’

Zinyul continued practising once I sent a reluctant Talky to check on everyone else. Fishy took her place and began massaging my cheeks first.

His struggles only increased with time. It formed a puddle of sweat at his feet, but only a calm happiness resided on Zinyul’s face.

He was growing.

“Master, do you want Zinyul to form a connection using Sentric Focus, which would allow the Sentri Charge to be harnessed as it was meant to be?”

“That’s right.”

“...I think that’s impossible though.”

If Sentric Focus was a resource formed from the Sentri’s gathered focus, then it should be possible to manipulate the form of that resource.

Concentration itself consisted of several levels that could be split into similar categories to Ki Stages: Low, Medium, and High. Talky’s report on Zinyul’s usage would indicate the lowest form of concentration. Hence why he didn’t need that long to gather it. This would also support why Talky believed the more advanced Sentri could keep it active at all times.

As for Medium and High, a longer length of time didn’t equate to greater concentration; monsters weren’t exempt from this fact. The threshold for Sentric Focus allowed for 5 empowered techniques at most before the resource would be depleted.

In other words, the method of gathering the focus was key to utilising it in a more versatile manner. Sentric Focus wasn’t an ability resource, so it couldn’t be constrained to the same limits those contained.

This was my current line of thinking; it wasn’t impossible, but it didn’t help that it couldn’t be taught either.

“I don’t want you to leave me behind, Master.”

The shakiness in Fishy’s voice spread to her large gloves. Her webbed fingers failed to improve the circulation of blood in the needed areas. She was slowing down my recovery rate while thinking I wanted to hear her annoying sobs in my ear.

“Go make some friends.”

“Yes, Master!”

Fishy rubbed her cheek against mine before running off. None of them mattered to me. Nothing mattered to me other than growth.

My lips spread into a wide smile at Zinyul’s presence that was already two times stronger than when he first started this training.

‘Keep on growing, Zinyul. You’ll bring me much closer to where I need to be when I kill you.’