The morning after absorbing the Mythic-tier text felt exactly like surviving a twenty-four-hour gaming marathon fueled entirely by cheap energy drinks and sheer stubbornness.
Kaiser woke up face-down on his stiff Omega-Tier mattress, groaning as a localized earthquake seemed to hammer against the inside of his skull. His mana pathways, violently expanded by the Arch-Witch and subsequently overloaded by the Void Walker's Compendium, were screaming.
[System Warning: Mana Core Instability.]
[Status: E+ Rank Core is currently struggling to process the density of [Abyssal Devour (Lv. 1)]. Core temperature is critically high. Host requires a stabilizing elemental anchor immediately.]
"Stabilizing elemental anchor," Kaiser rasped, rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling. His skin was flush, radiating an unnatural, heavy heat that threatened to singe his bedsheets. "Right. So I essentially ate a piece of the Void, and now my stomach is upset. Beautiful."
He staggered out of bed, splashing cold water on his face in the cramped communal bathroom. His reflection in the cracked mirror flickered. His raven-black hair briefly flashed luminescent white, and his sapphire eyes bled into pitch-black for a microsecond before the [Aura Cloak] forcefully reasserted the disguise.
His control was slipping. He needed to cool his core down, or he risked exposing his anomaly status to the entire Academy before breakfast.
"Cool it down," Kaiser muttered. He thought of the deep, velvety dark magic of the Arch-Witch, but she was a volatile cocktail of heat and void herself. He thought of Seraphina's volcanic red aura. Absolutely not. I'd detonate.
That left one option. A walking, talking, SS-Rank glacier.
"Time to go find my favorite ice princess," Kaiser smirked, throwing on his midnight-blue uniform.
The second period of the day was 'Applied Artifact Appraisal', held in the grand Conservatory of Antiquities. The room was a sprawling greenhouse filled with floating display cases, ancient stone tablets, and rusted relics recovered from the Genesis Era.
As Kaiser walked into the Conservatory, relying entirely on his [Otaku's Insight] to keep him upright as his core pulsed painfully, the social dynamics of the room immediately shifted.
The students practically parted like a frightened flock of sheep. News of his flawless victory over Seraphina in the combat arena had spread like wildfire. The "weakling" was now a terrifying wildcard.
Kaiser didn't care about their stares. His eyes swept the room, instantly locking onto a figure radiating absolute-zero cold.
Princess Valeria Vespera was standing by a massive arched window, examining a fractured, glowing orb on a pedestal. The sunlight filtering through the glass caught her spun-moonlight hair, giving her an ethereal, almost divine glow.
Kaiser didn't hesitate. He practically made a beeline for her.
Alaric, the arrogant noble from the Labyrinth, saw Kaiser approaching and foolishly decided to step into his path.
"Watch it, Warborn," Alaric sneered, puffing out his chest. "Just because you got lucky against your sister doesn't mean—"
"Alaric, if you value your spinal column, you will step aside," Kaiser didn't raise his voice, but the sheer, agonizing heat radiating from his unstable core bled slightly through his [Aura Cloak]. It hit Alaric like a physical wave of oppressive gravity.
The blonde noble choked on his own words, his knees buckling slightly as the primal terror of the Labyrinth rushed back. He scrambled out of the way.
Kaiser stopped beside Valeria. Up close, the freezing aura radiating from her SS-Rank Ice Core was absolute heaven against his burning skin. He let out a soft, involuntary sigh of relief, leaning slightly against the stone pillar next to her.
Valeria didn't look up from the orb, but the faint, betraying dusting of pink on her pale cheeks proved she was acutely aware of his presence.
"You are late," Valeria stated, her voice crystalline and sharp. "And you are standing precisely three point five inches closer to me than social protocol allows for a non-relative."
"Protocol is for people who aren't currently burning alive from the inside out, Your Highness," Kaiser murmured, resting his forehead against the cool stone. "Do me a favor. Just... keep radiating that icy aura. Don't stop."
Valeria finally looked at him, her silver eyes narrowing. Her sharp intellect instantly caught the subtle signs. The slight tremor in his hands. The unnatural flush on his usually perfect, pale skin. The beads of sweat forming at his temples.
Without a word, she raised her white-gloved hand and removed her glove, exposing her flawless, porcelain skin.
She reached out and pressed the back of her bare hand against his burning forehead.
Kaiser let out a sharp gasp. The contrast was staggering. Her skin was so cold it almost burned, but as the absolute-zero mana seeped into his skin, it clashed directly with the violent, boiling void in his chest. It didn't fight the void; it anchored it, solidifying the frantic, tearing energy.
"Your core," Valeria whispered, her silver eyes widening in genuine alarm. She stepped closer, entirely abandoning her personal space protocols. "It feels like a dying star. What did you do to yourself last night, Kaiser?"
"Late night studying," Kaiser breathed out, his sapphire eyes fluttering shut as he leaned into her freezing touch. "Read a book I shouldn't have. Ate a bit too much magic. You know how it is."
[Target: Valeria Vespera. Emotion detected: Deep Concern, Intense Possessiveness, Intimate Thrill.]
"You are a fool," she hissed softly, though her hand remained firmly pressed against his skin, her thumb gently stroking his temple to transfer more of her cooling mana. "If you collapse in here, they will take you to the clerics. They will examine your core. They will find your anomaly."
"Which is why," Kaiser opened his eyes, looking down at her intensely, "I came to you. I need a transfer. Just enough to stabilize the pathways until my core digests the new skill."
Valeria's breath hitched. A mana transfer between an SS-Rank and an E-Rank was unheard of. Furthermore, raw mana transfers without a medium were an incredibly intimate, dangerous process.
"You are asking me to inject raw, absolute ice directly into an unknown, anomalous void," Valeria said, her voice dropping to a trembling whisper. "It could shatter your veins."
"I trust you, Princess," Kaiser smirked, reaching up and gently wrapping his hand over hers, pressing her palm fully against his cheek. "Besides, I hear you're quite good at freezing things."
The sheer trust in his voice, combined with the dangerous, intoxicating physical contact, completely shattered her remaining composure.
"In the alcove. Now," she commanded, her voice ragged.
She grabbed him by the lapels of his uniform and practically dragged him behind a massive tapestry depicting the Vesperian Royal Family, hiding them completely from the rest of the Conservatory.
The alcove was tight, forcing them to stand flush against each other. It was dark, illuminated only by the faint, shifting glow of the artifacts outside.
"Take off your jacket," Valeria ordered, her breath pluming in the cold air she was rapidly generating.
Kaiser complied, his fingers slightly clumsy from the pain. He shrugged off the heavy midnight-blue coat, leaving him in his crisp white uniform shirt.
Valeria didn't hesitate. She stepped into his space, pressing him against the cold stone wall. She placed both of her bare, freezing hands directly onto his chest, right over his heart.
"Brace yourself," she warned, her silver eyes locking onto his sapphire ones. "This will be agonizing."
"I've had worse," Kaiser whispered.
She pushed her mana into him.
It felt like someone had driven twin stakes of solid ice directly through his ribcage. Kaiser threw his head back, a strangled, guttural groan tearing from his throat. His entire body arched off the wall.
The pure, absolute-zero energy of the Frost Empress flooded his veins, rushing to meet the violent, boiling dark mass of the [Abyssal Devour] skill foundation. The two immense powers clashed within his E+ Rank core, a localized war between primordial cold and ancient void.
Valeria's face was inches from his, her expression entirely focused, but her own breathing was turning ragged. Transferring raw, undiluted mana was physically exhausting, and the heavy, magnetic pull of his void was actively trying to suck her dry.
"Kaiser," Valeria gasped, feeling the terrifying suction of his core. "Control it. You are... you are pulling too much!"
Kaiser's eyes snapped open. For a terrifying second, his disguise shattered. His eyes were endless, pitch-black voids, and his hair cascaded in luminescent white waves.
The passive [Alluring Abyss] combined with the active hunger of his new Mythic skill created a feedback loop. He wasn't just stabilizing his core; he was subconsciously feeding on her.
He looked down at the beautiful, gasping Princess pinned against his chest. Her silver hair was slightly disheveled, her lips parted as she panted, her flawless porcelain skin flushed with exertion and intense, overwhelming proximity.
She looked absolutely devastating.
Kaiser gritted his teeth, forcibly reigning in his otaku instincts and his gamer greed. If he kept feeding, he would drain her entirely.
With a monumental effort of will, he severed the connection, forcefully slamming the mental gates of his core shut.
The sudden cessation of mana flow caused them both to stumble. Valeria's knees buckled.
Before she could hit the floor, Kaiser's arms snapped around her waist, pulling her tightly against his body to keep her upright.
They stood there in the dark alcove, wrapped in each other's arms, chests heaving as they gasped for air. The air around them was a swirling mist of extreme heat and extreme cold.
"Are you... alright?" Kaiser asked, his voice a low, rough rumble. His core felt incredibly stable, heavy and dense, like a freshly forged iron anvil. The pain was completely gone.
Valeria didn't answer immediately. She was resting her head against his chest, her ear directly over his heart. She could hear the steady, impossibly strong rhythm of his pulse. Her hands were gripping the fabric of his shirt so tightly her knuckles were white.
Slowly, she looked up at him. Her silver eyes were blown wide, completely stripped of their icy indifference. They burned with a molten, terrifyingly intense possessiveness. The physical intimacy of the transfer, combined with the sheer, terrifying power she had felt lurking inside him, had firmly anchored her Yandere obsession.
She reached up, her trembling fingers gently tracing the line of his jaw.
"You are a monster," Valeria whispered reverently, her voice thick with emotion. "A beautiful, terrifying monster."
"And what does that make you, Princess?" Kaiser smirked, his sapphire disguise returning, though his blue eyes remained intensely dark. "You're the one who just injected absolute-zero magic straight into my heart."
"It makes me your keeper," she stated, her tone shifting into a sudden, royal absolute. She leaned up, her face agonizingly close to his, her lips brushing against the corner of his mouth. It wasn't quite a kiss, but it was a promise. "No one else is allowed to touch your core, Kaiser. No one else is allowed to feed you. If I catch you pulling mana from another woman... I will freeze you solid and keep you as a statue in my chambers."
[Target: Valeria Vespera. Emotion detected: Absolute Obsession, Lethal Jealousy, Deep Affection.]
[Affection updated: 26% -> 45% (Friend/Ally threshold utterly bypassed. Target has entered the 'Possessive Romance' phase. She views you as her exclusive property.)]
Kaiser's heart pounded, a wild thrill coursing through him. Forty-five percent in less than two days. The Frost Empress was officially hooked.
"I wouldn't dream of it, Valeria," Kaiser murmured, using her first name to seal the deal.
The bell for the end of the period suddenly shattered the intimate tension.
Valeria jolted slightly, stepping back out of his arms. She took a deep breath, instantly throwing her icy, unapproachable mask back into place. She smoothed her uniform, her expression turning flawless and porcelain once more.
"Your core is stabilized," she said coldly, though her silver eyes lingered on his lips for a second too long. "Ensure you do not overexert yourself in the combat trials tomorrow. I will not be so generous with my mana twice."
With a final, meaningful look, she slipped out from behind the tapestry.
Kaiser let out a long breath, slumping against the wall, a massive grin spreading across his face.
"System," he whispered. "I think I just won the ice route."
[System Notification: Host is advised not to get complacent. Target [Seraphina Warborn] is currently standing precisely outside the tapestry. She has been there for the last three minutes.]
Kaiser froze.
The heavy tapestry was suddenly ripped aside.
Seraphina stood there, her crimson hair practically on fire, her red aura leaking from her pores in jagged, violent waves. She looked from the flushed, retreating figure of the Princess across the room, to Kaiser, who was standing in the dark alcove with his uniform jacket off and his shirt slightly rumpled.
Her golden eyes narrowed into slits of pure, apocalyptic fury.
"Kaiser," Seraphina's voice was dangerously, terrifyingly calm. "What. Exactly. Were you doing behind this curtain with Her Highness?"
Kaiser slowly reached down, picking up his jacket. He looked at his furiously jealous step-sister, calculating his odds of survival.
"Would you believe we were discussing the geopolitical ramifications of localized climate anomalies?" Kaiser offered his most dazzling, innocent smile.
Seraphina drew her wooden practice sword.
"I am going to beat you until you forget your own name," she promised.
Ah, Kaiser thought, as the Seducing Survival Odyssey continued. The grind never stops.