Scarlet Everhart

~~~~1

In the grassy plain surrounded by trees, gusts of wind rustled the surrounding foliage, sending leaves drifting lazily to the ground. Within this peaceful space, two figures faced off against one another.

On the right stood a black-haired young man in a worn white shirt, as wind teased the frayed edges. Robin gripped his sword in a practiced defensive stance, readying himself for the coming spar.

Across from Robin, a black-haired woman with her strands of hair pulled back in a ponytail. Scarlet settled into a low boxing stance, clenching her fists at the ready. Her sharp eyes bore intensely into Robin's gaze.

A brief silence fell between them as the air grew heavy with intensity. For a moment, Robin and Scarlet stared each other down in a momentary standoff. Their gazes were locked, each evaluating the other's stance and skills.

The calm before the storm hung in the balance, the only movement was their steadying breaths. Without much of a signal, the two dashed forward simultaneously.

Robin swung his sword in a swift, calculated strike at Scarlet's neck. However, Scarlet sidestepped with nimble agility and spun, launching a backward kick.

"Kuu..." Robin grunted as he swiftly raised his sword to block the incoming blow.

Yet, Scarlet's kick landed with heavy force, pushing him back a step before he could fully react.

Wasting no time, Scarlet reappeared at Robin's side and delivered a piercing punch aimed at his right ribs.

Gritting his teeth, Robin took the hit and retreated another step back, as he feel the powerful momentum behind Scarlet's blows.

-Cough..

-Cough..

The force behind the punch delivered by Scarlet caused Robin to cough in pain.

He swiped the spilled saliva from his mouth as he repositioned himself. Scarlet also repositioned herself several places away, her cold eyes scrutinizing Robin.

"You're too hasty, you should've tested the waters with your first strike," Scarlet spoke as her cold eyes continued to glance at Robin's haggard figure.

She knew Robin wasn't very talented in combat, so she decided to purposefully lower her rank and restrict her combat abilities so that Robin could keep up.

"I've already limited myself to the same rank as you," she continued.

"So don't disappoint me, Robin."

Robin took a deep breath to compose himself as he listened to Scarlet, and nodded toward her.

He knew that despite her restricting her rank and abilities to his level, he still lacked her combat experience.

Instead of trying to out-skill her, he opted to use his intelligence to develop a strategy for defeating her mentor. He gazed at her perfect form, trying to find an opening.

Yet Scarlet's stance was too flawless - he couldn't see any openings at all. After a moment of thought, he dashed toward Scarlet.

However, Scarlet didn't move from her position, merely staring at Robin's incoming figure.

Robin appeared in front of her and delivered a kick, which Scarlet took with both hands blocking the hit.

Instead of delivering a strike while Scarlet blocked the kick, Robin decided to take a step back and reposition himself.

He knew that if he tried to strike while Scarlet was blocking, it would leave him open to a counterattack from Scarlet.

The time it would take to reposition and launch another strike would allow Scarlet to land a powerful punch in retaliation.

 By stepping away and readying himself again, Robin avoided an opening for Scarlet to counterattack.

"Not bad," Scarlet spoke with amusement as she repositioned herself.

"What will you do next?"

The kick delivered by Robin was testing waters, to gauge how fast Scarlet could react. With that information, Robin opted to formulate a new strategy on the spot.

He positioned himself, his foot stretched with veins as he propelled towards Scarlet.

In terms of agility at the same rank, Scarlet was a tad bit slower. However, her perception was much higher compared to his own.

But that was the old Robin, before acquiring the [ ■ Sight ] at his disposal.

With the permanent increase in perception by 5%, he could now see through Scarlet's movements.

While Robin lacked raw power strength, his agility and perception were his advantages. He could bait and avoid Scarlet's attacks, slowly chipping away at her stamina. That strategy was more viable than confrontations of power.

With his new strategy in mind, Robin reappeared in front of Scarlet and delivered a strike. Rather than a heavy blow, it was now a much lighter, feigned motion. However, even faint, it was still a sword.

Left with no other options, in the end, Scarlet could only narrowly avoid the incoming blade. But before she could reposition herself and launch a counterattack, the Robin in front of her had already moved to a new, separate location.

The speed at which Robin moved was fast, even to Scarlet's veteran eyes.

Though both were ranked as Novice [ - ], she now realized Robin's raw agility and perception far surpassed her own within the lower ranks.

She had previously maintained her advantage through combat experience alone, but in front of Robin, who was now using his intelligence to employ a strategic approach by leveraging his advantages in agility and perception, she could only rely on her fighting instincts to counter back.

Robin moved in a zigzag pattern, his strikes sometimes faint and sometimes heavy. After every strike he made, he always moved to a new separate location, trying to bait Scarlet out.

Yet all of his strikes were avoided by Scarlet, without her counterattacking.

She relied on her instincts to dodge the incoming strikes instead of thinking, waiting for the perfect opportunity to counter back.

Robin frowned, as he didn't expect her to so easily dodge the incoming attacks.

Even though he had considered the possibility of designing this strategy, he still didn't believe that anyone could avoid every single strike without moving from their position.

Especially given the fact that he knew Scarlet's perception to be lower than his own.

He thought that at times, Scarlet shouldn't have been able to react in time to the incoming strikes. Yet she always seemed to anticipate his attacks, avoiding them without counterattacking.

Robin's stamina began to deplete rapidly, his movements becoming much slower than before.

To Scarlet's eyes, Robin was now an easy target. The strategy had merit but it was not the smartest approach against talented monsters like Scarlet, who was able to awaken her Soul Link, [ Danger's Instinct ].

===

Link: Danger's Instinct

Type: Perception

- The host is capable of sensing incoming danger within a range of 1 meter.

(Fighting instinct enhances the host's perception by 10% whenever the Danger instinct is activated.)

(Decreases agility and perception by 2% permanently)

===

If it had been anyone else of the same rank besides Scarlet, they would have likely lost to Robin's strategy.

However, Scarlet with [ Danger instinct ] allowed her to perfectly avoid all incoming attacks without breaking a sweat.

She was very confident in her Soul Link, although she had said she would hold back. There was no rule stating she couldn't use her Soul Link skill if needed since it is a passive Soul Link.

Just like Robin who was taking advantage of the [ ■ Sight ] which gave him a permanent increase in perception, Scarlet is also taking advantage of the [ Danger's Instinct ].

The tables had now turned completely, with Robin instead becoming exhausted while Scarlet remained unfatigued.

"I surrender!" Robin shouted as he lay exhausted on the ground, panting to himself.

He did not want to experience another painful punch, as the ache in his ribs reminded him of Scarlet's formidable strength.

Scarlet let out a soft sigh and shook her head. "You're not very talented with close-quarter combat, however your talent lies in strategic close-quarter combat."

She then shifted her gaze towards Robin and asked, "Although I knew awakeners always had their own secrets, but.. what is your path anyway?"

Robin looked at her with bewilderment as the term 'Awakeners' wasn't quite familiar to him. However, as someone who came from a world where he had read countless light novels, he knew what it meant.

"What if I told you that I still don't have a path yet?" 

Scarlet's eyes widened in surprise, as she hadn't expected someone like Robin to be able to survive this long without a path. Not only that but his agility and perception were quite high for someone who doesn't have a path.

Robin cast a glance at Scarlet, who was looking at him with evident shock. He smiled at her and continued.

"Well, that's because @#@$%@%$"

Scarlet blinked in confusion and interrupted Robin. "Robin, what are you trying to say?"

"Hmm? Don't you know what I'm talking about?" Robin asked.

Scarlet shook her head as she remembered that, although Robin was saying something to her with his mouth, she did not understand any of it. To her, it was just a string of weird noises rather than actual words.

"After you began explaining, you started making weird sounds," she replied.

However, before Robin could respond, his eyes turned to horror as he gazed at the empty air before him.

Scarlet looked at him with confusion as she waved her hand in front of his face.

~~~~2

I glanced at the transparent panel that appeared before me.

[ The Trial is furious with your action. ]

[ ᚹᏌᏒᚹᛜᛢᛊ ᛈꖾᚣᚺᎶᛊ... ]

==============

[ Trial: Path of ■■■■■■■ ]

Difficulty : [IV]

Purpose: 𝗦̶𝘂̶𝗿̶𝘃̶𝗶̶𝘃̶𝗲̶ 𝘁̶𝗵̶𝗲̶ 𝘄̶𝗮̶𝗿̶ -> Kill a Corrupted General

==============

My face went pale, and my eyes filled with horror as my breath turned ragged. I felt a sense of deep inner fear whenever I read the text "Corrupted General".

Suddenly, another transparent panel appeared out of nowhere. This time it displayed a 3D model of a strange creature.

It had black and white scales with two tails resembling those of a Venus flytrap. However, the most unsettling thing about this creature was its Soul Links.

=====

Hunter : Corrupted General

Core ranks : Vitalis [ + ] ~ Dynamo [ · ] (Buffed)

- General of the Walkers, a creature that possesses a small fraction of ■■■■■'s blood. They are the evolved version of walkers. These creatures exhibit high intelligence and are known to be notorious for being highly formidable opponents. with each general capable of taking down dozens of Hunters-ranked foes.

---

Soul links : [ Soul Corrosion (Passive) ], [ Fury (Passive) ], [ Tail Bite (Passive) ], [ Corrupted Mucus (Active) ], [ Eyes of Void (Active) ], [ Corrosion Javelin (Active) ], [ Corrupted Clone (Active) ]

[ Tail Bite (Passive) ]: With twin tails now resembling those of a Venus Flytrap, the General possesses the ability to bite or chomp at anything or anyone. Its biting power is capable of penetrating even the toughest of bones, making it one of the most dangerous aspects of the General in comparison to the Walkers.

(The bite inflicts an extra 20% additional attack on a target)

(Its tail possesses the ability to sense danger and automatically transmit signals to the host.)

(It gains a 10% increase in perception whenever an enemy is in proximity to its tail.)

(Its agility is boosted by 7% whenever an enemy is near its tail.)

[ Eyes of Void (Active) ]: Its once-yellow eyes with red slits have now transformed into red eyes with a black slit. This pair of eyes instill an overwhelming sense of fear in anyone who gazes upon the host.

- Inflicts 'Fear' upon a target whenever the host activates this Soul Link.

Fear: Paralyzes a target for 5 seconds.

(Upon making direct eye contact with the eyes, it further reduces the target's perception by 5%.)

[ Corrosion Javelin (Active) ]: Utilizing its twin-tailed mouth, it can generate a blackish liquid javelin that inflicts a significant amount of damage upon a target. This javelin possesses the properties of Corrupted Mucus.

(The javelin inflicts an extra 60% additional attack on a target)

(It inflicts a poison effect, dealing 2% of the target's maximum HP every 10 seconds for a duration of up to 30 seconds, and also decreases the agility by 2% by 10 seconds. [The duration cannot be refreshed or stacked] )

(The attack requires a charging time of 10 seconds.)

[ Corrupted Clone (Active) ]: By harnessing Soul Corrosion, it can generate a clone of itself at the cost of sacrificing 25% of its total maximum HP.

(The clone only possesses 20% of the host's full stats.)

(The clone is capable of utilizing all the Soul Links available.)

---

Soul bane :

Soul Corrosion can be ignited.

(Destroying its tail, inflicts an additional 600% weakness damage)

=====

'I've messed up big time.'

I didn't know why, but deep down I sensed that Scarlet was someone very important to me - which is why I accidentally slipped up and said things I shouldn't have.

"Ughh..."

I groaned as I clutched my head with one hand, my breathing turning ragged. It felt as though something was invading my mind once more. 

"Robin!" Scarlet's voice rang out beside me.

...

The scarred man who was typing at the computer suddenly spotted a red line appearing on his monitor. His face creased into a frown as he stole a glance at Robin, who lay writhing in pain.

Reacting swiftly, the man grabbed the phone and dialed urgently. "Code Red!"

"I repeat Code Red!

"I may require some backup here!"

...

In a modest dorm room, four girls sat in a circle on the floor, chattering amiably. Four upper beds were arranged along the perimeters, creating a cozy nook for each occupant.

Each bed was equipped with a small table and chair, providing a designated workspace. Neatly stacked books and papers covered the surfaces.

The floral wallpaper lent a charming air to the space. A pattern of delicate white and pink blooms adorned the walls, adding a delicate, feminine touch. Its visual appeal softened the clinical lines of furniture and gave the shared quarters a warm, welcoming feel.

The light blue-haired girl stole a glance at her black-haired friend, noticing her complexion seemed paler than usual. Styled in her signature ponytail, she looked unwell.

"Is everything alright?" she inquired, a faint note of worry slipping into her tone.

The black-haired girl shook her head but attempted to seem unaffected. "I don't want you to worry. It's probably nothing."

Yet deep down, an ominous feeling gnawed at her gut. She sensed something bad was coming, though for whom, she couldn't say.

"Natalia.. I don't know," she admitted reluctantly. "Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I feel like something terrible will happen to someone I care deeply for."

Natalia's brow furrowed with concern. "Scarlet, is there something major happening today that have made you feel this way?"

...

Within a dimly lit room, a woman sat at her desk, as an old leather-bound book opened before her.

She gazed upon its pages with keen interest, seemingly engrossed in whatever it contained.

No other light permeated the shadowy space, yet she appeared not to notice or care, her attention fully captured by the mysterious text.

"Now it begins."3