"Guess I can't use my katana now," I sighed, wiping the blood from my face.

I had already sensed the incoming attack of the armoured troll through my Divine Sense, but at that moment, my soul didn't agree to dodge the mace. I took the attack as a sign of respect for the troll who sacrificed his life to protect his king.

After that, it didn't take me much time to kill the remaining frozen trolls using Blazing Yang Fist.

"Vivi, show me the status screen."

"Loading the Status Window..."

"Host Name: Raj

Age: 22

Realm: Late-Stage Spirit Warrior Realm

Stats:

Strength: 425 Agility: 440

Stamina: 423 Defense: 418

Attribute: Yin-Yang

Yin Energy: 37600/70000

Yang Energy: 13000/70000

Skills:

Non-offensive Techniques:

– Voice of Tranquility: Level 2

– Pain Tolerance (Passive): Max Level

– Unshakable Mind (Passive): Level 5

– Divine Sense: Level 2

– Phantom Simulator: Level 1

– Inventory: Level 2

Weapon Techniques:

– Infinite Thrust: Max Level

– Advanced Mace Skill: Max Level

– Advanced Sword Skill

– Sword Aura: Level 1 [Locked]

Attribute-Based Skills:

– Yang Blazing Fist: Level 3

– Pure Yang Orb: Level 3

– Breath of the Grave: Level 2

– Void Step: Level 2

– Pseudo Sword Aura: Level 2"

"My yin energy has increased more than it should have," I mumbled, my eyes narrowing at the sudden increment. "Hmm, it means that the armoured troll dropped more yin energy than the other trolls."

After taking a quick glance at my stats, I began refilling my yang energy using Soul Stones.

Meanwhile, Alex came out from the darkness where he had been hiding and informed me, "There are twelve trolls that went to the location where Instructor Payal and the rest of the group are."

His dried, blood-covered face carried no expression, as if he was unaffected by all the bodies of trolls lying on the tunnel's surface.

I shot my eyes open, jumping to a standing position, and sighed, "Why can't I have a moment of rest?"

"You can. They aren't related to you. Why bother saving them?" Alex asked, his face expressionless. "Besides, your head is bleeding. You should rest while the trolls are busy with them."

"Th-this kid… What has he experienced at such a young age to have a thought process like that? I guess it's not him, but the world that has changed," I thought inwardly, but didn't dwell on it.

"Well, Alex, you are probably right. I'm not related to them, nor will it provide me with any benefit if I save them. However," I said, my voice serious, "the calmness of my mind and the serenity of my heart would be completely destroyed if I chose not to protect those I knew—without a doubt—that I had the power and time to save."

"It's your call. Do whatever you want," Alex replied, pulling the hoodie over his head.

As we began to move out, I told Alex to grab my katana. If I held the sword while bleeding, the curse would be activated, and I had no idea how it would turn out.

---

AT THE STARTING POINT

Tang… clang… slash!

Ashish was barely holding his ground while fighting against ten trolls. Dhruva and his four lackeys were fighting five together, while the remaining seven were up against Payal and the group of girls.

"Th-that bastard must have died trying to act brave," Dhruva muttered, barely blocking a troll with his sword. "If he had stayed with us, we could have defended ourselves against them."

From Dhruva's right, where Ashish was fighting, a loud scream occurred. Dhruva turned and realised Ashish's shoulder had been bitten by the tusks of a troll.

"Instructor Ashish!" Dhruva shouted, losing his focus.

As a result, a troll slammed its mace against Dhruva's greatsword, forcing it out of his hand.

In the same instant, the mace descended downward, coming for Dhruva's head—his very life.

"I-is this how I'm going to die?" Dhruva murmured, drenched in cold sweat.

Just before the mace could split open Dhruva's head, the troll's head began glowing with bright, flaming energy, and in the next second—

Boom!

The troll's head exploded. It fell to the ground, revealing me standing behind him.

"You should work on your habit of backbitching," I said before turning my focus to the other trolls.

"Mr. Raj!!!" Payal and the group of girls exclaimed in unison, a ray of hope appearing on their faces upon seeing me.

"Oy, trolls!" I shouted, gathering the attention of all the trolls present there.

"Come at me."

Both of my fists glowed with bright, blazing energy, obliterating the trolls into oblivion one after another.

---

"Guess that's the last of them," I said, popping the head of the last remaining troll.

"Th-thank you for saving us again, Mr. Raj," Ashish said, falling onto his back. His body carried numerous injuries, and his breathing was heavy due to the prolonged battle.

Not just him—everyone present there had numerous wounds all over their bodies. However, none carried any fatal injuries.

"You did well holding on till now," I said, sitting down and leaning against the cave wall.

The bleeding on my head had already stopped, and the wound was almost closed by clotting blood.

"Since there's no more blood coming out, I should be able to hold the sword," I thought inwardly before ordering Alex, "Bring me my sword."

He handed me the sword, and thankfully, the curse wasn't activated.

"Now only the bosses of this dungeon remain," I announced, rising to my feet again.

"Y-you mean there won't be any more monsters coming here?" Dhruva asked, his eyes brightening with joy. "Now we can just rest here and wait for the dungeon break!"

While Dhruva and his group started celebrating, I moved past them, heading toward the tunnel again.

"Mr. Raj, where are you going?" Payal called out from behind.

"To kill the boss monster, of course," I replied, my pace unchanged.

"What's the need for that? The professional awakeners of the Academy can take care of it," Dhruva scoffed, arrogance laced in his voice.

My steps halted. I turned back, and my sharp gaze pierced through Dhruva.

"Even before we entered the dungeon, you kept disrespecting me. Unlike my kind brother who spared the life of your Guildmaster, I'm not a saint. The next time you disrespect me, I will kill you."

My warning sent a chill down Dhruva's spine. His legs buckled, and he fell onto his back.

In that same moment, a pool of water appeared between Dhruva's legs.

The idiot had pissed himself.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.