The ground under their feet started humming like a pissed-off beehive.
Shizu's eyes blew wide.
She was still half-naked, bra dangling from one hand, cheeks glowing from everything that just happened.
Her voice cracked high and terrified.
"Ehhh?! Why is the ground shaking?! It wasn't doing that two seconds ago! Reon—Reon what is happening?!"
Apparently The whole fight Reon and shizu attended was a hallucination. Side effects of the ecchi intimacy.
They Both wake up.
" What the hell, didn't we just defeated that fucking viper."
Reon's crimson eyes lit up like twin bonfires.
The fresh 764,800 Anium roared through his veins like rocket fuel.
He grinned—feral, sharp, pure chaos.
"Hell yeah my ass. That was a dream?."
The dirt exploded upward in a geyser of mud and roots.
A massive shadow burst out—thick as a tree trunk, scales shimmering oily black and ghostly white, eyes glowing like twin moons.
Ghost Viper.
15 meters of pure nightmare, fangs longer than Shizu's arm, body thick enough to wrap a house.
Shizu screamed—high, cute, full panic.
"WHY DID IT SUDDENLY COME OUT OF THE GROUND?! I didn't even step on anything! Reon—run! That thing eats people for breakfast!"
Reon blink his eyes, still in the shock. Then he realised he got a lot's of Anium.
"Nah. I've been waiting for this. Time to test the new me."
He grabbed Shizu's wrist, voice low and urgent.
"Get the hell out of here. Go to the Riverside. Now. I'll handle this."
Shizu yanked her arm back, stubborn as hell.
"No way! All my stuff is here! My tent! My food! My little teddy bear! My healing tonics! My books! I spent three weeks collecting those herbs! I'm not leaving my teddy behind!"
Reon stared at her. Thinking, "For fuck sake, real life can be a lot different then the fucking dream."
To Shizu,
"You're risking your life… for a stuffed bear?"
"It's not just a bear! It's Mr. Fluffington! He's been with me since the orphanage!"
The Viper hissed—loud, wet, rattling the leaves.
Reon didn't have time for this.
He spun her around, hand cracking down hard on her ass—SMACK—loud enough to echo.
"Jelly-ball launch, coming right up!"
Shizu squealed—half shock, half indignant.
"EHHH?! Reon you pervert—don't you dare—!"
Too late.
He grabbed her waist with both hands, lifted her like she weighed nothing, and hurled her toward the river like a goddamn softball.
"FLY, GREMLIN!"
Shizu flew—arms windmilling, legs kicking, hair whipping.
"REEEEEEOOOON YOU ASSHOLE—MY TEDDY—!"
SPLASH.
She landed ass-first in the shallow river, water exploding around her.
She popped up coughing, hair plastered to her face, still topless, pointing back at him with pure betrayal.
"My teddy! My tonics! I'm coming back for you, Mr. Fluffington! And you—Sky-Boy—you're buying me a new pair of panties after this!"
Reon smirked, already turning back to the Viper.
"Add it to my tab."
The ground was clear now.
No more fragile gremlin in the way.
He slammed his palms together.
CLAP.
Dragon-scale gloves materialized around his fists— Fire-red, gleaming, razor edges catching moonlight.
Power surged.
"Void Binding—let's see what you got, snake."
He thrust both hands forward.
Black-red void flames roared out—hungry, twisting, screaming toward the Viper.
The monster didn't even flinch.
The flames hit its scales… and fizzled like cheap fireworks.
Nothing.
Not even a scratch.
Reon's eyes widened.
"What the fuck?!"
The Viper lunged—fast as lightning, jaws wide enough to swallow a car.
Reon barely dodged—rolling sideways as fangs slammed into the dirt where he'd been standing, venom hissing and melting rock.
He skidded to his feet, furious.
"System! Why the hell didn't that work?!"
The System voice popped in, calm and almost amused.
"Host is currently Level 0. Void Binding at base form has limited penetration against high-tier beasts. Ghost Viper is a Tier-3 ambush predator. Abilities include: ground camouflage, seismic sensing, constrictive crush that can snap steel, paralytic venom that shuts down nerves in seconds, and swallow-whole digestion that takes hours of screaming. Current attack power insufficient."
Reon's jaw clenched.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Level zero? I just drank half a gallon of life essence and I'm still a noob?!"
"Affirmative. To upgrade Void Binding to Level 1, you need additional XP. Even scratches or punches will accumulate enough for the jump. Every hit counts."
Reon laughed—short, pissed, dangerous.
"Fine. Punches it is."
He created the leg booster boots next—sleek, black-red, thrusters humming to life along the calves.
"Super Dash unlocked in spirit—let's test it."
The Viper struck again—body whipping like a freight train.
Reon activated the boots.
WHOOSH.
He blurred—2x speed kicking in—dodging the massive tail sweep by inches.
The wind from the attack nearly knocked him over.
Shizu's voice screamed from the river bank.
"Reon! Behind you! It's coiling—don't let it wrap you! Mr. Fluffington would never forgive me if you become snake poop!"
Reon laughed mid-dash.
"Your teddy has opinions on my digestion? Cute."
He closed the gap—fists glowing.
CRACK —CRUNCH — THUD.
Three punches to the side of the Viper's head.
Scales cracked.
One fang snapped off with a wet *ping*.
The Viper roared —pissed beyond belief.
It whipped around, tail slamming toward him like a wrecking ball.
Reon dashed again —whoosh— but the Viper anticipated, body twisting in mid-air with impossible speed.
The tail clipped his shoulder CRACK—sending him flying into a tree.
Pain exploded.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Shizu screamed from the water.
"REON! Get up! You can do this! I believe in you—wait, no, I take it back, run! My tonics are not worth this!"
Reon pushed himself up, spitting blood, grinning through the pain.
"Level up… here I come."
Chapter 12 is Loading....