"I have to run before anyone comes to check on the professor," Cale promptly threw everything into the black box, preparing his plan of escape.

Of course, Cale didn't forget to take the Professor's orb and tossed it into the box as well. The energy itself was rather strange, it felt soft, but as soon as he squeezed it, it became extremely tough. Either way, Cale was pleased with the fact that it could be brought together.

"Your armor will be in my care," Cale removed the guard protection, whose entire body was covered in crimson blood. After a few moments, Cale was already fully clad in the black armor which made him look quite intimidating.

Everything fit perfectly and it was quite light, causing a bright "smile" to appear on Cale's face, which simply looked like a twitching skull from a distance.

The only dilemma was that the helmet only covered the back and top of Cale's head, leaving the front completely exposed.

"It seems that leaving without being detected would be harder than anticipated" Cale silently accepted this fact, proceeding to take the valuables from the room, the most precious being a silver sword.

It would hardly be called a good quality sword, but in Cale's eyes, it was simply a gift from the god. Even if the quality was lower than that of the spear's, but with Cale's endless experience, it was the best choice for a weapon.

"Poof...then let's get started" Cale lightly opened the door and after perceiving no one in the perimeter, he stepped out. Before beginning his escape, Cale didn't forget to lock the door with the key he found among Kelton's valuables.

"There's no way back" Cale tossed the key into the space below the door, making it impossible to be opened without another copy.

Tap! Tap!

Cale didn't bother to think too much and just moved through the hall, sometimes taking out the map and rechecking his path of advance. It was rather bizarre walking with the medium-sized box literally placed between his ribs, but the discomfort was only temporary, unlike the success of this escape.

'Now that's some power' After a few moments of walking, Cale encountered his first obstacle. Countless cracks could be seen spread around the hole in the middle of the hall, seemingly caused by a single blow.

'This seems like a job of an expert, not such good news,' Cale sighed inwardly. It was frustrating to lose all the power he had trained hard to obtain since earlier he could easily defeat hundreds of experts without any struggle.

Now, however, he had to stay careful and never mess with this warrior, at least not until he got stronger.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind him as Cale's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't even sense anyone near, and yet he was caught in such a vulnerable moment.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"I asked what you were doing!" a voice repeated and Cale couldn't help it anymore. Quickly, Cale turned and rushed towards the enemy with all possible speed.

He was pleased to see the simple guard standing there, clutching a sword tightly.

"What are you?" the guard noticed the unusual appearance of the opponent, but it was too late to react properly as they both entered the fray.

Cale stabbed towards the guard's neck, aiming for a quick and silent kill, but it wasn't as easy as it seemed. The guard ducked and promptly let his leg slide to Cale's feet.

Boom!

Unexpectedly, the guard was flung backward before he could even touch Cale.

'Although my perception and Qi control have diminished, I still have my experience,' Cale smiled inwardly before pulling his foot back.

"What kind of creature are you! How did you get into the kingdom!" the guard finally stood up after being kicked, his face completely red like the soggiest tomato in the field.

"Dead men don't need to know anything," Cale said nonchalantly, charging forward.

"Arrogant!" the guard defended himself against the approaching blade.

Zin! Zin! Zin! Zin!

Countless blows clashed together, spreading ominous sounds throughout the hall. The sounds grew louder with each passing second until eventually, it stopped.

'How can I possibly lose? We have the same power, yet I'm already in such a state!' The guard cursed inwardly.

From the beginning to the end of the battle, Cale was completely dominating, not even letting the opponent catch his breath for a moment. This kind of fight left the guard exhausted, and along with the deep cuts all over his body, it could already be called a defeat.

"I give up," the guard fell on his butt as he threw the weapon away, "Please don't kill me...I won't tell anyone I saw you here. Just please spare me, I have a family back home!"

"I had a family once too, unfortunately, it didn't work out," Cale deadpanned as the head dropped. Blood fell on Cale's dark armor before he retrieved his blade back into its sheath.

'Sorry' Cale caught the guard's body before it could land on the ground and laid it down gently. Even though he had killed many people before, that didn't mean he liked doing so, especially after knowing they had a loving family.

Unfortunately, various life-threatening situations and the virulent environment forced Cale to kill and strive to survive.

Hiss! Hiss!

The entire hall was lit up after the ball of light rose from the guard's body. Cale didn't think twice and threw it into the box. Unfortunately, Cale's guess proved to be wrong and the energy orbs didn't coalesce into one but instead settled into two different paths.

"Faster" This time Cale increased his speed to the extreme and set off in search of the exit.

-

Somewhere in the cell, which was fully overwhelmed by the unyielding darkness, Katherine could be seen stomping angrily on the floor.

"That old man is so damn annoying! Not only was the stone stolen from him, but he's putting all the blame on me?!" Katherine roared in anger, "And now I don't even have anything to show my brother! I'm so dead!"

"Nnnn...nnnn" Fenrir, who had been severely beaten up, flailed as he tried to crawl away. His entire body was covered in deep cuts and dirt, even the edge of his tail was cut off.

"Don't cry, you useless beast," Katherine stepped onto Fenrir's forehead, applying more pressure with each passing moment. Wolf's vision blurred visibly and it was clear, his time was coming.

"You are no longer interest..." Just at the moment when Katherine was about to finish Fenrir off, the door that had been closed all this time suddenly slammed open.

A tall person stepped into the underground prison, his entire body wrapped in black armor. However, something was wrong, exactly where the person's head was supposed to appear, there was nothing but....skull?

'What an unlucky person I am' Cale sighed inwardly at the sight of Princess Katherine, whose hair turned up slightly after seeing the intruder.