"My name is Kalgon Bayir. I belong to the 31st Military Corps." He spoke with a clipped, hurried cadence, his eyes darting toward the girl's body resting nearby before continuing. "Since you are with her, I accept that there is a reason. White Sand or Green Sand?"
Edard furrowed his brow, his confusion manifest. White Sand? Green Sand? What on earth is that supposed to mean?
As Kalgon took a half-step back and bowed slightly, Edard's mind raced. He realized these terms were likely some form of coded jargon or a secret handshake—shorthand known only to those within the 31st Corps of the Bayir military. He had to guess.
"White Sand," Edard stated, gambling on the phrase.
"Ah, White Sand indeed, brother. Truly, White Sand." Kalgon's face lit up with a pleasant, relaxed expression, and he bowed again, deeper this time. Seeing the relief on the warrior's face, Edard knew he had hit the mark. So, he thought, these words are used to flush out outsiders or those with ill intent—'technique thieves' as he called them.
Kalgon engaged in a brief, seemingly friendly chat before turning his attention toward the dungeon entrance. Edard let out a silent sigh of relief. He still had no idea what "White Sand" actually signified, and he hadn't checked his life-clock recently, but he was resolved: the moment he found a safe opportunity, he was going to rid himself of this girl's body.
She was a magnet for trouble. Clearly, her owner wasn't just some necromancer; there were deep, subterranean conspiracies at play here. Edard's stubborn nature wouldn't allow him to be swept up in a conflict that didn't belong to him. Once his time was stabilized, his first priority was separation.
Sinta had already fled with the other group. Good, Edard thought. Better to be alone. People like Sinta were unpredictable; they were the type to smile at you one moment and drive a knife into your back the next.
But the peace was shattered instantly. A long, jagged arrow fashioned from bleached, bone-dry earth erupted from the ground beneath him. It tore through the soil with violent force, piercing Edard's thigh before he could even blink.
Before he could process the pain, a hand made of swirling white sand, equipped with long, razor-sharp claws, clawed its way out of the earth and clamped onto Edard's injured thigh. A second, more ominous screen flickered into view:
"You gave the wrong answer, 'brother,'" Kalgon said, his voice echoing from a few meters away. He wore the same smile as before—a terrifying expression that sat somewhere between friendship and pure malice.
Edard had defeated a Lion Kin and a Great Gorilla, but he was learning a hard lesson: humans were far more dangerous than beasts. A beast might be stronger physically, but humans possessed the cunning to weave complex techniques and traps. A human's intelligence allowed them to develop ways to survive and kill that defied raw power. This was a truth Edard brought with him from Earth, but seeing it in action here was different. Kalgon was clearly a more lethal threat than the lion.
Kalgon manifested a new war hammer, larger and more menacing than the first. He intended to end this quickly, to send Edard to the afterlife with a single, crushing blow. He looked at Edard to deliver a final word, but the words died in his throat.
His muscles locked. His veins bulged as if the very marrow was being drained from his bones. He didn't know that Edard had just hit him with Intimidation—a skill that had brought a Level 7 Gorilla to its knees. A human mind, no matter how trained, rarely possesses the raw, stubborn ego of a wild beast.
"This is where it ends for you," Edard said, his voice cold with fury.
In an instant, he merged with his clone and manifested a dagger of Dragon Essence. He blurred toward the Captain, driving the glowing blade straight toward his heart. The impact was violent; flesh and blood sprayed across the clearing as the dagger found its mark. Kalgon should have been dead.
But what happened next stunned Edard. The blood, bone, and meat that had splattered onto the ground suddenly petrified, turning into solid stone. From that stone, another earthen arrow shot out, slicing into Edard's other thigh.
So, he can escape underground even while under the effects of Intimidation, Edard realized, recalibrating his strategy.
"You've confirmed my suspicions," Kalgon said, reappearing three meters away. "Psychomancy... a rare art we usually see among the Elves. It's so potent that most people lose their minds just looking at it. But in this part of the world, people despise that power. They recoil from it. Only those known as Denizens—and usually only those of royal blood—can wield it. So, are you a royal bodyguard, or a Denizen prince yourself?"
Kalgon continued, his voice dripping with curiosity. "Regardless, I don't know how you tricked my House into granting you an Earth-contract. We don't just give the power of the earth to anyone."
As he spoke, the earth beneath Kalgon's feet began to rise, slowly enveloping him. It didn't just pile up; it wrapped around his limbs and torso in a sophisticated, rhythmic fashion. Within thirty seconds, he was encased in a suit of shimmering, jet-black armor crafted from "boiled earth."
Edard used his Spiritual Sense to analyze the armor. It was an Earthen Silk—dense and extraordinarily durable.
Kalgon was careful now; he refused to lock eyes with Edard, having figured out that the "Psychomancy" (Intimidation) required visual or direct mental contact. Despite this, Edard felt he still held the advantage. He had his clones, and he had Violet Crush. The Captain could hide in the dirt, but he couldn't stay there forever.
"Violet Crush!" Edard roared.
A pillar of violet light slammed into the armored Captain, pinning him to the ground with overwhelming gravitational force.
"Gravity?" Kalgon grunted through clenched teeth. "Who... what are you?"
In this world, the Bayir House were the undisputed masters of the earth and gravity. But even within their clan, only the elites from the Inner Region—a place of pure, high-density Nature Energy—could manipulate gravity. How could this stranger command the earth, the molten lava of the deep, and the laws of gravity?
Edard didn't answer. He lunged forward, closing the distance to deliver a finishing blow to the Captain's heart. But history repeated itself. Kalgon dissolved into the earth, slipping away without a shred of shame.
Edard stopped to calculate his reserves. Maintaining the clone cost 40 Life Energy. His Lava/Magma essence had drained 30. The repeated use of Violet Crush cost 20 per strike. Combined with his Dragon Essence attacks, he had already burned through 150 Life Energy.
If this fight lasted more than fifteen minutes, his clone would expire. If it expired, he'd have to spend another 40 Life Energy to summon a new one. Combined with the Grave Sand Hex draining his life every minute, Edard knew that a prolonged battle was a death sentence.
Kalgon was doing the same math. His breakthrough had granted him a Substitution Skill, allowing him to merge with the earth. He could use this escape move seven times per minute. His armor and hammer cost very little to maintain because they were Acquired Skills, whereas the Grave Sand Hex was his Primary Skill—powerful, but usable only once per minute.
Edard decided to end the games. He unleashed Violet Crush a second time, slamming Kalgon down. Again, the Captain slipped into the soil. He reappeared directly beneath Edard, firing arrows upward like a shark attacking from the depths. To Kalgon, the earth was like water; he moved through it with the grace of a swimmer.
Edard took another hit, this time to the calf. It was a smaller wound, but the cumulative pain was staggering. He gritted his teeth and triggered Violet Crush again.
The cycle continued: Gravity, Escape, Counter-attack. Both men believed they were winning. Edard was certain the Captain's high-tier earth-swimming was draining more energy than his gravity. Kalgon, however, was equally convinced of the opposite. It was common knowledge: gravity skills were the most energy-intensive branches of elemental arts. Only the "Elite" of the Inner Region could spam them.
Kalgon viewed Edard as a fellow Secondary Awakening cultivator, but he gambled that Edard's life energy would hit zero long before his own.