The world snapped back into focus as a deafening bell chimed through Krad's skull.
DING!
[ Duel Cancelled! ]
[ External Interference Detected. ]
[ Cooldown Period: 24 Hours. ]
"What the---" Krad blinked, disoriented. One second he was ready to throw down with Drugo, and the next, the entire duel system just... vanished.
A figure materialized in the doorway, and Krad's brain short-circuited.
She was ethereal. Long, flowing hair the color of moonlit snow cascaded down her back. Her eyes gleamed like polished amethysts, and her presence radiated an authority that made even Drugo straighten up. But what really got Krad's attention was her beauty, it hit him like a physical force, knocking the wind straight out of his lungs.
"M-Miss, Vice..." Hanan whispered, her voice a mixture of relief and awe.
Krad's mouth fell open. Actual drool started pooling at the corner of his lips. "Holy... is she even real?"
Vice's gaze swept over the scene—the cracked floor, the writhing roots, and Krad standing there with silver energy still crackling around his fingertips. Her expression remained calm, almost amused.
"Well, well," she said, her voice smooth as silk. "I leave for one day, and you boys are already trying to demolish the neighborhood."
"M-Miss Vice!" Drugo immediately straightened, his aggressive stance evaporating. "This isn't what it looks like."
"Really?" Vice tilted her head, one elegant eyebrow raised. "Because it looks like you were about to crush a freshly awakened Godslayer vessel over a petty insult."
Krad finally snapped out of his daze, wiping the drool from his chin. "H-He started it! With the whole tree tentacle thing!"
"Tree tentacle?" Vice's lips twitched. "Is that the technical term?"
"You know what I mean!" Krad protested, gesturing wildly at the roots still embedded in the floor.
Vice sighed, shaking her head with what could only be described as fond exasperation. She snapped her fingers, and instantly, the roots retracted into the ground as if they'd never existed. The cracks in the floor sealed themselves, stone tiles reforming perfectly.
She stepped further, her presence commanding without being oppressive. "Drugo, you should know better than to engage someone who doesn't understand their own power yet."
"He called me---"
"Retired Tree Man. Yes, I heard." Vice's expression remained neutral, but her eyes sparkled with barely suppressed amusement. "And while creative, that hardly warrants attempted murder."
"I wasn't going to kill him," Drugo grumbled. "Just... rough him up a bit."
"A bit?" Krad threw his hands up. "Those roots could've turned me into elf paste!"
"You dodged them."
"Because instinct kicked in! And apparently, I can shoot moon lasers now, which is wild, by the way. Nobody warned me about the moon lasers!"
Vice's gaze sharpened with interest. "You manifested the Moon Eater's power already?"
Krad held up his hands, where faint traces of silver energy still flickered. "Yeah. It just... happened. One second I'm about to get tree-slapped, the next I'm firing light shows from my palms."
"Fascinating." Vice circled him slowly, studying him like a puzzle she was determined to solve. "Most vessels take weeks, even months, to access even a fraction of that power. Yet you've done it in a matter of hours."
"Is that good or bad?" Krad asked nervously.
"Both." Vice stopped in front of him. "It means you have incredible potential. It also means you're dangerously unstable. One wrong move, and that power could consume you from the inside out."
"Great," Krad deadpanned. "Just what I wanted to hear."
Hanan stepped forward, her voice gentle but urgent. "Miss Vice, what should we do? He needs training, guidance. He can't face the Rage like this."
Vice was silent for a moment, her amethyst eyes distant as if calculating a thousand possibilities at once. "Hanan," she said, her tone suddenly stern. "There's something far more pressing to address."
Hanan visibly tensed, her silver hair catching the light. "Miss Vice…?"
"Why didn't you fight back against your sister?" Vice's gaze pierced through Hanan.
Krad blinked, the words taking a moment to register. "Wait, wait, wait. Sister? That poop is your sister?"
Hanan's hands clenched at her sides, her lips trembling as if the words burned her. "Yes," she whispered. "Bruwa is my younger sister."
Krad's jaw dropped. The same Bruwa who had mocked Hanan, who had humiliated her without mercy, was her sister? The revelation twisted in his gut.
"But why?" Krad's voice was laced with disbelief. "Why would she do that to you?"
Vice stepped forward, "Because Bruwa has chosen the path of power. Liyab's influence has consumed her."
Krad clenched his fists. "But Hanan," his voice softened. "Why didn't you fight back? You're strong. You could've stopped her."
Hanan flinched, the pain evident in her eyes. "Because she's still my sister."
Silence settled between them.
"She wasn't like this before," Hanan whispered. "We grew up together at the castle. She used to laugh, sing, and dream about exploring the world. But when the Goblin Lord Damos destroyed our kingdom... everything changed."
Everyone froze.
Before anyone could respond, a loud, unmistakable sound echoed through the tense silence.
GRRRRRRROOOOWL.
Vice raised an eyebrow.
"Uh..." Krad scratched the back of his head, his pointed elf ears turning red. "That wasn't me. That was... the Moon Eater. Yeah. It's hungry."
"The Moon Eater doesn't eat regular food," Vice said flatly.
"Well, I do!" Krad protested. "And in case you haven't noticed, I've been through a lot! I think I died, got reincarnated as an elf, fought mutated goblins, discovered I'm hosting an ancient moon-devouring monster, and nearly got strangled by angry trees. A guy needs fuel!"
Drugo sighed, the fight draining out of him. "Fine. But this is the last time."
"You said that yesterday," Hanan pointed out quietly.
"And I meant it yesterday too," Drugo shot back. "But apparently, feeding this bottomless pit has become my responsibility."
"I'll pay you back, Handsome." Krad insisted.
Drugo's eye twitched at the nickname, but he was already heading toward the kitchen area of his establishment. "Don't call me that."
"Would you prefer Tree Man?"
"I'd prefer silence."
"Not really my strong suit," Krad grinned, following him.
Vice and Hanan exchanged glances before trailing after them. The restaurant portion of Drugo's place was surprisingly cozy despite its owner's gruff demeanor.
Hanan collapsed into a chair. "So, uh, Miss Vice. What brings you here anyway?"
Vice settled into a seat across from her with practiced grace. "I felt something was off. A disturbance in the area's spiritual energy." Her gaze fixed on Krad. "That would be him."
"Me?" Krad pointed at himself.
"The Moon Eater's awakening sent ripples through the entire region. Anyone with even a basic understanding of spiritual perception would have noticed." Vice's expression grew serious. "Which means others will be coming. Some out of curiosity. Others with far more dangerous intentions."
The weight of her words settled over him. He wasn't just some random kid anymore. He was a walking target.
"Fantastic," Krad muttered. "So not only do I have to deal with Liyab and his goons in three days, but I've also got potentially hostile forces heading my way?"
"Welcome to life as a Godslayer vessel," Drugo called from the kitchen. "It only gets worse from here."
"You're really not helping, Tree Man."
The sound of something slamming down on a cutting board echoed through the room. "Call me that one more time."
"Tree. Man."
Hanan gasped. "Master Krad, please don't provoke him again!"
"Relax, he's cooking. He won't leave his precious ingredients unattended." Krad leaned back in his chair with a cocky grin.
Vice studied him with an unreadable expression. "You're either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid."
"Can't I be both?"
"Most people who try end up dead."
Krad's grin didn't waver, but something flickered behind his eyes. A determination that ran deeper than his casual attitude suggested.
Vice seemed to notice it too. Her amethyst eyes narrowed slightly. "Tell me. Why did you really accept Liyab's challenge? You could have walked away. Avoided the Rage entirely."
The question hung in the air. Even Hanan turned to look at him, curious.
Krad's expression shifted, the playfulness fading. "Because I saw how they treated her." He gestured toward Hanan. "Like she was nothing. Like she didn't matter. And then I found out Bruwa is her sister, and it just..." He clenched his fist. "Nobody deserves that. I don't care if I'm Level 10 or Level 1000. Some things you just can't ignore."
Silence.
Hanan's eyes glistened with unshed tears. Vice's expression softened ever so slightly. Even Drugo paused in the kitchen, listening.
"Besides," Krad added, his grin returning. "I've never been good at backing down from a fight. Back on Human realm, I got into plenty of scuffles standing up for people. This world's got levels and magic and crazy tree dudes, but bullies? Those are universal. And I've always been really good at punching bullies."
"You can't punch your way through the Rage," Vice said, though her tone lacked its earlier edge.
"Maybe not. But I can sure try." Krad's golden eyes blazed with that same reckless fire. "And who knows? Maybe the Moon Eater will help me out. We're roommates now, after all."
"Roommates," Vice repeated, incredulous.
"What? We're sharing a body. That's basically roommates."
"That's possibly the worst way to describe a parasitic symbiotic relationship I've ever heard."
"I prefer to stay positive."
Drugo emerged from the kitchen carrying a massive wooden tray. The smell hit Krad like a beautiful punch to the face. Roasted meat seasoned with herbs he couldn't name. Fresh bread that practically steamed. Some kind of stew that looked like it could cure any ailment.
"Oh, Great Eldertree, bless this feast," Krad breathed reverently.
"Don't drag the Eldertree into your gluttony," Drugo grumbled, setting the tray down.
But Krad was already digging in, stuffing his face with zero shame. "Mmph, sho goohd!"
"Chew first, then talk," Vice said, though amusement colored her voice.
Krad swallowed. "Sorry. But seriously, Handsome, you could make a fortune with cooking like this."
"I do make a fortune. When people actually pay instead of eating me out of stock."
"I said I'd pay you back!"
"With what money?"
"I'll figure something out!" Krad waved a piece of bread at him. "Maybe I can do odd jobs, hunt monsters, become a street performer. I'm very versatile."
"You're Level 10," Drugo stated flatly.
"So? Level 10 today, Level 100 tomorrow. That's how this works, right?" Krad took another massive bite. "I just gotta grind."
"Grinding takes time. Time you don't have."
"Then I'll speed-run it."
Vice nearly choked on her tea. "Speed-run leveling? That's not how any of this works."
"It is now!" Krad declared confidently. "Look, I've got the Moon Eater, I've got motivation, and I've got three days. That's plenty of time to get stronger."