While Others Evolved, I Understood Reality

Riley could not understand it.

How was the boy this fast? Unless he was an elite heir with years of history, there was no way he could move that fast without a movement technique.

But there were possibilities. For starters, his abilities had to do with speed. That might have been why he had been ahead of the others.

As for the second possibility, she doubted if his understanding had reached such a level. Be that as it may, the situation at hand was not in her favour.

That surprise attack had caused her a lot of pain in her neck, and without a healer, that sting would hunt her for the rest of the survival trial.

As these possibilities rushed through her mind, her eyes focused on Adam’s every move, unwilling to be taken by surprise again.

"That kick could have done some serious damage had I not dodged in time. Are you trying to kill me?!" Adam demanded furiously.

"And what of it?" Riley shot back, her brows creased. "This is a survival test, and that means anyone can be the enemy."

She could also argue about how his attack could have injured her, but she held back. She had already made her point.

"I see..." Adam nodded as if accepting the reality of how things were. "So as long as it’s for survival sake, anything goes."

Riley’s instincts stirred as Adam uttered those words. She realised the boy was far more dangerous than she had initially thought.

"Then..." the boy continued, his expression dark. "...you wouldn’t mind if I got rid of something I perceive as a threat."

"!!"

The moment the last of his words landed, Riley’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. Adam vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing to her ten o’clock like a ghost.

Before she could even process the move, a boot filled that side of her vision. Without hesitation, her left hand shot up to block. The kick connected with extreme lethality.

Crack!

Riley’s eyes widened in horror as her hand gave way to the boy’s devastating kick. She let out an embarrassing yelp as she felt the bone snap on impact, the agony instantaneous.

The sound of her arm breaking rang out like a chiming bell, drawing everyone’s attention to the scene. They watched in horror as an elite heir was sent flying with a broken arm, grunting. The commotion over the meat died out in an instant.

Riley’s stolen meat fell out of her hand somewhere along the flight. She slammed into the hard ground with bone shaking force, luck saving her from crushing into a rock.

’Im-impossible!’

The thought crystallized with chilling clarity. The bastard was far stronger than she imagined! Her vision shook from the impact, darkness threatening to pull her under.

"Th-That was freakishly brutal."

"Did you see him move?"

"H-He’s a monster."

Many of them backed away, realizing just how lucky they had been. Had he chosen to fight them, most of them would have been done for. The realization sent a chill down their spines.

Riley struggled to get back on her feet, her eyes beaded with unshed tears. She dared not look away, clamping her broken arm as she groaned from the overwhelming pain. Her eyes tracked Adam’s movement as he slowly closed in on her.

He didn’t seem to be in a rush, like he had all the time in the world to prove his point. Coming to a stop a few meters away, he looked down on Riley with a cold gaze.

The Ashford girl gritted her teeth, despising the look Adam had in his eyes. She forced herself to her feet, her stance unsteady.

"Y-You—"

"How is that for survival?" Adam cut her off before she could get her words out.

"I-I’ll admit. You’re strong." Riley replied with a groan, clutching her broken hand in her right. "But strength isn’t everything!"

Despite her broken hand; despite the agony shooting through her neck and hand, the Ashford girl shot forward with a burst of wind, employing her movement technique.

She appeared before Adam in a flash, and with a knife-hand, hurled a diagonal wind blade at him. To her utter shock, however, Adam blinked and vanished, reappearing behind her in a flash.

’How?!’

Her heart skipped another beat as she caught a glimpse of Adam’s furious gaze locked on her from the back. As he pulled his right fist back, wind gathered around it like a spiralling storm, pulling at her hair and clothes.

Colour drained from her face as she felt death in that moment!

But just as that monstrous punch could blaze towards her, a golden streak flashed in the corner of her vision. Adam noticed it just a split second before it crushed into him like a thunderclap.

’Ryner!’

Relieve washed over her like she had never felt before. The golden lightning user had crushed into Adam with a dropkick, sending him stumbling across the hard ground.

Ryner turned to look at her with a scrutinizing gaze. He noticed her left hand glued to her chest and frowned. "Are you alright?"

"I-I’ll be fine." Riley replied and turned to look at Adam. "And thanks."

"Don’t worry about it." Ryner replied coolly, glaring at Adam. "I already have beef with that bastard."

The boy was already on his feet, gritting his teeth as he glared at the two of them.

Everyone was now staring at their confrontation, their eyes darting about in curiosity. As for the other elite heirs among the crowd, they opted for a wait and see approach. There was no reason to get involved when it had nothing to do with them.

Riley looked around and frowned, doing her best to ignore the pain in her left arm. She did not like the attention, as it made her and Ryner look like the bad buys.

But more than that was the terror that gripped her chest. That punch would have been lethal to her had Ryner not appeared when he did.

"Riley!"

The Ashford girl turned to see Derek running over. When he came to a stop, he looked at her with the same scrutinising gaze and then looked at Adam with hatred in his eyes. "I see he got to you as well."

"As well?" Riley glanced at the boys with a questioning gaze. "What did he do to you guys?"

"That Adam had the balls to attack us just so he could keep all the meat for himself!" Ryner spat out his version of the events.

Riley sighed but said nothing to that. She didn’t really care about how they got entangled with Adam. Just the fact that they were here was good enough. She had severely underestimated the boy, and it nearly cost her dearly.

Adam had not moved to attack since Ryner dropkicked him. His expression had turned dark and gloomy, like he was beyond furious. Riley noticed how he massaged his left shoulder, as it was that part that crushed into the hard ground.

’How is he not bleeding?’

That attack from Ryner should have kept him on the ground, groaning and crying out in agony. Yet there he stood, like that dropkick had barely registered.

"You know..." Adam suddenly spoke, his voice catching everyone’s attention. "...I had initially wanted to keep a low profile. But it seems that is making everyone underestimate just how strong I really am."

"Hmph. That still remains to be seen." Ryner sneered. "And I’ve already figured it out. Your advantage comes from the fact that you awakened both a physical and elemental affinity. You might have the advantage in one-on-one fights, but even you can’t fight multiple people at once."

’I see...’ Riley narrowed her eyes as everything clicked into place. ’He’s just someone who was fortunate to have awakened such affinities.’

"I guess that’s it for talking." Adam whispered softly as he rolled his shoulder. "No one truly accepts their reality until it’s shoved right into their faces."

Riley prepared herself for a fight. Although she was injured and hurting, she wouldn’t want to miss putting Adam in his place.

"Bring it on!" Ryner grinned as lightning crackled all over his body. "You may have won the first round, but this fight won’t be so easy!"

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