The sudden voice made all the hairs on Rin's body stand on end.
What's going on!? I clearly set up a barrier to keep out idlers, and even if someone crossed the barrier, I should have sensed it. Moreover, even now, I can't sense anyone behind me... Rin stiffly and mechanically turned around. Even at this moment, Rin's presence detection still couldn't feel anyone behind her, but... a fair-skinned young man wearing a black shirt, black trousers, with short black hair and black eyes, stood less than 20 meters behind Rin. He looked gentle and smiling, kind and approachable, giving the impression of a good-natured person at first glance.
Aside from this perfect concealment of presence... Rin looked solemnly at the high-school-aged young man in front of her. He was clearly standing right there, yet he gave the impression that he didn't exist, or rather, that his presence couldn't be sensed.
What is presence? It is the information of a person, or a certain creature, independent of nature. The heat emitted by the body, the air exhaled from the lungs, the qi and blood flowing in the meridians and blood vessels, etc. All this independent information naturally emitted into the air by living organisms is part of their presence. In other words, as long as it's alive, it has a presence.
Concealing one's presence is not impossible; Rin herself could do it. Concealing presence relies on absolute control over the body's qi and blood, while also being able to perceive the rhythm and style of the surrounding nature, scattering one's own presence into the atmosphere, synchronizing one's heartbeat and footsteps with nature, achieving unity with heaven and earth, thus concealing one's own presence.
This ability, when taken to its extreme, is the "Circle Realm"!
What to do now? Should I kill him? I don't know how much he saw.
"You, why did you come over?" Rin asked him seriously.
The Black-Haired Youth replied with an unchanging smile, "Because it felt strange. When I was walking in the woods, every time I headed in this direction, I would naturally turn and change course. I felt no interest in this area, and that my destination wasn't here. What was even stranger was that even though I realized this, I completely lacked the curiosity to investigate further. So, out of curiosity, I walked in."
"..."
It must be said that the Bystander Repellent Barrier is helpless against such a perceptive blockhead. He sensed the existence of something abnormal, yet was interested in the fact that he wasn't interested in it. He was determined to enter. The Bystander Repellent Barrier only provides a physical obstruction. What else could he be but a blockhead?
"How long have you been watching?"
"Since you started hitting that rock."
Damn it, wasn't that from beginning to end!? This guy stood behind me for three hours, and I didn't even notice him!
A master, definitely a master, and a master of physical combat. But no matter how superb his physical combat skills, they can't be considered mysterious. He just watched Rin's entire training process from start to finish. Now, if Rin doesn't want her Magic power to decrease, she can only kill him.
Sorry, curiosity kills the cat, and it can kill people too. Now, I can only apologize... Rin quietly looked at the Black-Haired Youth in front of her, a murderous intent quietly rising within her heart.
The Black-Haired Youth, who had always seemed full of interest, suddenly frowned as he looked at Rin. "Though I don't know why, it seems you want to kill me." Realizing Rin's intent, he could no longer keep the smile on his face, looking at Rin seriously.
"Ah, yes," Rin replied calmly, admitting it.
"Why?" The Youth asked in confusion. "Is it because I saw your training method? Although it's unique, I won't reveal it."
"That's not the issue. Whether you reveal it or not is meaningless. Being seen itself is a huge problem."
"Then we have no choice but to fight, huh?" The Youth clenched his fists and looked at Rin seriously, taking up a very strange stance. If one were to describe it, it would probably be like a wolf... "What a shame, it truly is. Why did you insist on coming in...?" Rin sighed, and then, the Mana within her body directly exploded! A violent storm erupted with Rin at its center, and Mana fluctuations, like water ripples on a lake, enveloped her entire body.
Mana Burst!
Rin showed no intention of underestimating the Youth in front of her. To be able to completely conceal his presence through physical combat skills, this guy absolutely cannot be measured with the eyes of an ordinary person.
Reinforcement: Strength, Speed, Coordination.
Preparation complete!
Magic Circuits, like a spiderweb, emerged from every corner of Rin's body. Currents of Mana sparkled and flowed along the dense circuits. Rin shifted her feet, pushing off the ground, and with a howling gust of wind, instantly crossed the less than thirty-meter distance! Her heavily reinforced fist went straight for the heart of the Youth whose name she didn't yet know.
Perhaps she should have asked before acting. This was her first time taking a life for the sake of Magic's secrecy, striking down an innocent person. Indeed, compared to the true Rin, I lack her kindness... If he were an ordinary person, Rin's instantaneous burst, attack, and punch, exceeding the limits of human reaction, would have absolutely punched straight through his abdomen, causing his internal organs to rupture and kill him.
But was he? Clearly not.
A horizontal elbow strike landed on the side of Rin's fist, and Rin's powerful blow was directly parried! The Youth then followed with a hand-chop that extended from his elbow, aiming for Rin's neck.
Rin, relying on her tough reflexes and body, reacted the instant her attack was countered, quickly leaning back to narrowly avoid her neck.
Excruciating pain! It spread throughout her body from the location of her heart in her left chest. The Black-Haired Youth had raised his right knee at the same time he delivered the hand-chop, aiming directly at Rin's heart. Rin's powerful forward momentum and inertia prevented her from stopping her advance, and her focus, drawn to the hand-chop, failed to detect the true killing blow, causing her to be hit instantly!
Rin flew backward almost along the same path, managing to forcefully adjust her posture in mid-air, landing in a half-kneel. Her right hand plunged into the earth, carving a deep furrow, and she barely managed to stop her retreat before the boulder she had been training with earlier, avoiding a secondary injury from impact.
"Cough, cough cough..." Even with her body tempered through a thousand trials, receiving such a heavy blow, and to the absolute vital point of the heart, Rin supported herself on the ground and coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood. It was only because Rin's internal organs had long been strengthened far beyond that of ordinary people by the constant washing of Mana, and her Mana Burst protection absorbed most of the impact, otherwise this blow would have definitely shattered her heart, killing her.
Careless, still careless. Rin half-knelt on the ground, wiping away the blood from the corner of her mouth, self-reflecting.
Even though I knew he was absolutely not comparable to an ordinary person, where did I get the confidence to think a full-strength blow could finish him? My inner self repeatedly warned me not to be careless, yet I still was. It seems that from leaving home until now, everything has gone smoothly, and I've started to become overconfident.
Just before this, I thought my strength was already quite good. Now that I think about it, since my rebirth, I haven't experienced a single true battle. Whether it was destroying Matou or fighting those thugs, that wasn't the kind of battle I would face in the future; it was just child's play.
Youth, your appearance was truly timely. If I only woke up at the true critical moment, I'm afraid it would be eternal damnation. Next, life and death are left to fate. Let me experience a true battle!
"Um, are you alright? When I start fighting, I can't hold back. Can we... not fight...?"
"Not fight? How could we not fight!? Youth, you've ignited my passion! You'd better take responsibility and fight me to the death!"
"Eh?..."