A week passed by in a flash.
Before Liam knew it, it was already time for him to step back and allow for the next rotation.
BOOM
Liam flew through the air, avoiding the Aura blades and beams that came his way. Utilizing Aerial Movement, he turned and moved with surprising agility, trying to make it difficult for his attackers to aim. At the right moment, he rotated his body. From his spear's blade, a Crescent Moon Wave was fired, obscuring his figure with its sheer size. The incoming attacks focused on the Wave, attempting to break it apart before it hit the forcefield. The closer the Skill got to the barrier, the more attacks were poured in its direction until it was finally overwhelmed, fizzling out over two kilometers away from the forcefield.
Underground, Liam sat still. He had taken the opportunity to fly downwards, piercing through the sand and hiding. Given how many attacks were executed every second around Cinzolia and how much Aura flooded the air, the small, human-sized hole he'd created was virtually undetectable.
He sighed, tapping his head against the sand wall behind him.
The last week had been anything but peaceful. Now more powerful than ever, he'd been consistently harassed by the defenders. His previous tactic of pretending to be weak in order to bait out a few soldiers at a time had been immediately turned useless. It was impossible for him to get within a kilometer of the forcefield without using Singularity.
'Should I go to my Squad?'
Used to fighting alone, he had decided to separate from his Elite Squad. Strangely, One didn't object, settling for simply staring at Liam with a gaze filled with suspicion. The youth had earned a bit of the Captain's respect after killing the enemy soldiers during the first rotation, but in the end, he'd grown too fast. His development had surpassed the realm of the talented or even that of a genius, reaching the status of a "monster." The only thing his comrades-in-arms felt towards him now was wariness and envy.
Fortunately, Liam was now powerful enough to act on his own. One wouldn't be able to stop him from doing whatever he wanted without exerting serious effort, which the Drakkhan was unwilling to do. Liam guessed that the lizardman was cautious of how much power he hadn't revealed. Of course, he had revealed everything he was capable of already. One was simply unwilling to underestimate him. It was a wise decision.
'I haven't killed any of them.'
Acting alone had given him more freedom, but it also meant that there was no one to help him approach the forcefield. The result was that Liam's kill count over the last week had been a grand total of zero. He hadn't acquired any XP at all. His Skill Proficiency had also made little progress, given how little melee combat there was with the forcefield still up.
Liam looked at the hole above him, extending his Aura Sight through it. He couldn't feel any individuals or Aura movement near the opening. Cautiously, he floated to the hole, moving his head out of it. Nothing happened. Then, with blinding speed, he shot out of the hole. A second afterwards, he felt the world go red. Danger Sense was flaring up, telling him to dodge. Slamming his feet on the ground, Liam used Waterstep, reappearing over ten kilometers away.
BOOM
The ground he'd been standing on exploded, upturning everything around it in a radius of hundreds of meters and missing him. Though different attacks were still being aimed at him, with his Movement Skill he was too fast for them to hit him. As such, Liam successfully retreated to Arimiar's ship. That was when his eyes widened.
A tall Drakkhan with navy blue scales awaited him, looking at his approaching figure silently. Behind the lizardman, all the other members of his Elite Squad could be seen. Liam ground to a halt in front of Arimiar, entering the forcefield and standing a few meters away from the Drakkhan. Wariness filled his heart. Why was Arimiar here? It was likely related to his explosive increase in strength. If so, what was the creature planning to do? Would he be interrogated?
Discreetly, Liam tightened his grip on his spear. Of course, it was noticeable to all of those present, given their high level and skill. He met Arimiar's gaze directly, both of them staring into each other's eyes. The Commander had an unreadable expression. Then, Arimiar smiled. Liam narrowed his eyes.
"While your growth has been very surprising indeed, I must say that I'm thrilled by it, Liam Allister."
"…Is that so?"
"Of course. The more powerful you grow, the more of use you will be able to be for His Highness and your species as a whole. Your development is a matter to be celebrated!"
The Commander shifted his body, extending his arm in the direction of the ship's entrance. Liam hesitatingly moved to enter the ship, walking beside the Drakkhan. Behind them, the Elite Squad members followed.
'I'm surrounded.'
The moment he entered the ship, there would no longer be anywhere to go. That was why the Elite Squad was blocking his escape route from the back. Naturally, the most worrisome factor was Arimiar. Liam didn't have the confidence of being able to escape from right beside the Commander. Should he try it? Should he put his power to the test? Cold sweat soaked his back. He didn't know what to do.
Step. Step.
The world seemed to move in slow motion as Liam's mind went into overdrive. He considered all the possibilities, trying to formulate a plan of action that would lead to survival.
Step.
He failed. Defeated, he looked at the ground, noticing Arimiar's feet steadily stepping forward. The Commander had everything under control from the beginning. Liam's only option was to follow him inside the ship.
Liam looked around, seeing the same humans that had led him to his training room before. Heads held up high even in front of the Commander, they bowed to him fearlessly.
'Ignorance is a blessing.'
Would they behave the same way if they knew just how weak Liam was compared to Arimiar? Maybe it was better for them to remain unaware. Liam signed to them not to follow, noticing their reluctant expressions as they nodded. The group bowed once more and stepped back.
Liam and Arimiar entered the ship and walked through its hallways. The Drakkhan's voice could be heard.
"We've replenished your training solutions… But the pond will remain empty, I'm afraid."
For a moment, Liam winced and closed his eyes, but hurriedly returned to his normal expression. While their discovery that the Ether was gone was incriminating, it wasn't too bad. There was no way for them to know that he had absorbed it. It was more likely that they thought he had stored the substance in his Inventory for later use, making him a simple thief. Of course, stealing Ether was probably a severe offense due to the substance's rarity, but it would be better for them to think of him as a thief instead of realizing the truth.
"I see. Thank you."
"I can't help but wonder how you've achieved this. No amount of training should have made you so powerful in such a short period, especially given that you only had a small amount of Ether available. Would you be willing to share your training method?"
The Commander glanced at him. Liam felt the pressure around him increase spontaneously. Arimiar's suspicion itself weighed on him like a physical force. Trying to keep his voice firm, he replied.
"What I've done cannot be reproduced by anyone else. Knowing about it wouldn't help you in any way."
It was the truth. Liam was almost certain of it. He didn't even know how he had acquired Ethereal Body to begin with, while Enduring Soul's acquisition was only possible because of the beings he had met. Even if someone else could get in contact with the voices in the darkness, Liam had no doubt that their soul would be extinguished. It was a belief that he'd developed from withstanding the existence of such incomprehensible entities. This was without mentioning the Creator's interference, which had saved his life. Unless all of these factors aligned once more, reproducing what Liam had done was impossible.
"I wonder. If you told me, I'd know how true that statement is."
"It is the truth. Whether you believe me or not is of little importance."
Liam circulated his Aura at the same instant that a humongous pressure crashed down upon him. He gritted his teeth. Purple Aura dyed the insides of the ship, pressing down on Liam's black energy. Arimiar continued to walk, uncaring. Liam followed him slowly, every step taking the entirety of his strength. He circulated his Aura to its limit, only then managing to move.
"What a shame. I'd hoped to make our soldiers stronger."
The Drakkhan continued to release immense amounts of Aura, making Liam clench his fists tightly. He hated it. He hated this feeling of powerlessness, of being incapable to react. Yet, there was nothing he could currently do.
For the rest of the way, the two of them didn't exchange any other words. The only sound between them was that of Arimiar's aura surging and raging, making the air itself grow turbulent within the ship.
'One step after the other. I'll get back at him later.'
In his entire life, Liam had never focused so hard on walking. The contraction of his muscles, the act of raising his foot, every step was painfully slow and premeditated. Naturally, his speed slowed down to a crawl. For what seemed like an eternity, this pattern continued. By the time Liam's eyes were hazy and unfocused, they finally arrived in front of the training room's door. As abruptly as it arrived, Arimiar's Aura retracted itself. Liam almost stumbled, steadying himself immediately afterwards. From below, he gazed upon the Commander's emotionless expression, rage clear within his eyes.
"It seems that you have grown powerful indeed. Forgive me for my rudeness. It was requested of me by His Highness to find out how powerful you had become by any means necessary. This was the only option I found to test your ability. Forgive me."
The Commander bowed deeply. Liam forced himself to smile.
"…Don't worry about it."
Then, unwilling to waste any more time, Liam opened the doors to the training room. It was just like he had left it. His eyes zeroed in on the empty pond, then glancing at the Commander. There was now no need to hide it since it had already been found out. The lizardman raised his body, nodding at Liam.
"I'll leave you to it, then. I can't help but be curious about your level of power the next time you leave this room."
"…"
Without saying anything else, Arimiar turned around and started walking towards the heart of the ship. Liam gazed upon his back for a while, before entering the training room and shutting the doors behind him. Taking off his armor, he let out a deep breath.