Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Nia’s OP ability Rhian noticed she was quiet, eyes sharp but calm now. She wasn’t breathing as heavily anymore, just standing there with her arms loose at her sides.
They could probably go another round. He had the energy. So did she. But he didn’t feel like it.
Not because he was tired—but because the weight in his chest had finally started to lift.
He realized he’d actually enjoyed that fight.
More than that, he learned something from it.
His biggest flaw wasn’t power. It was experience. His new passive helped—he could feel his body adjusting to situations quicker—but he still had a long way to go.
𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦 He glanced at her and spoke up. "I noticed you didn’t use your other ability."
She tilted her head. "Mmh?"
"The one you used on the wolf. You didn’t activate it."
Nia gave a short nod, her lips curling into a small smirk. "Yeah. That’s not really something I use in a spar. It’s a bit... much."
He raised a brow. "Because you’d lose control?"
"No," she said, brushing a braid back from her face. "Because if I did use it, I’d win. Easily."
Rhian rolled his eyes but smirked back. "Right. Forgot how humble you were."
She shrugged, the smirk still tugging at her mouth. "Can’t help it. I’m just better."
Rhian remembered the way she nearly overpowered that D-rank wolf when she activated the ability.
For a moment, she’d looked unstoppable—fast, precise, her strikes sparking with energy.
But just as quickly, the form faded, and she’d dropped back down, clearly drained. He’d figured then she couldn’t hold it long.
Nia wiped the smirk off her face. "But seriously... if I used it, I would be stronger. That ability’s weird. You know how physicals like me can’t project energy outward like Mysticals? Well, this is the closest I get."
She tapped her collarbone with two fingers, then flexed her hand like she was feeling something under her skin.
"I won’t say it turns me into lightning, but it sort of does. My blood changes. Skin hardens. Nerves fire faster. For that short time, it’s like I’m pure motion. I could probably take down a D-rank if I used it right."
She paused, her tone turning dry. "The catch is I can’t hold it longer than a minute. And I don’t think I could bring down a proper D-rank in sixty seconds."
Rhian nodded slowly, impressed. That kind of power was rare at E-rank, especially for a physical.
It wasn’t just a last-resort move—it could be used to escape, to break a deadlock, or to overwhelm someone slightly stronger if the timing was right. But it wasn’t sustainable.
He remembered how she’d looked after the wolf fight. Even though she won, she’d been out of breath, muscles tight. She’d pushed herself.
"So there’s recoil," he said.
Nia nodded. "Yeah. Feels like I get hit by my own lightning after. Hurts like hell."
Rhian didn’t say it out loud, but in his head, he added another note to his growing respect for her. That kind of power—short, fierce, and costly—took guts to use. And discipline to hold back.
"Okay, okay—I shared mine. What about yours?" Nia leaned forward, one brow raised. "You’re kind of an anomaly with that freakish absorption speed. There’s gotta be something special going on. I mean, having both illusion and shadow abilities while being this physically strong? That’s not exactly normal."
Rhian coughed, caught off guard. The way she laid it out made it sound... off. And the more he thought about it, the weirder it seemed.
Two distinct abilities—illusion and shadow. Both functional, both different. That alone would’ve been strange. But then he remembered the others.
Aquatic adaptation. Poison resistance.
He hadn’t thought much of those at first, but they sure sounded like water and poison affinities.
Four in total, if he counted them all—shadow, illusion, water, poison.
He shifted in place, thinking harder now. One affinity was common. Two was probably rare. More than that? He’d never heard of it.
Nia laughed at her own comment. "Chill out. I’m sure it’s tied to your cu—evolved identity. You guys are kind of weird... not in a bad way, of course."
Rhian chuckled. He’d thought about that before. Iris could manipulate water, and from what she told him, that wasn’t common.
"What are you doing after this?" he asked.
She raised a brow. "Probably sleep. The others want to meet up, but I’m not feeling it."
"Same here. I was thinking of hitting up the forge shop. See if I can get some blades made."
"I’ve got mine from home, but I can come with you. Those guys are scammy as hell. You need a master negotiator."
Rhian gave her a side-eye. "Since when are you a master negotiator?"
"...I can convince people to do stuff. You just haven’t seen it yet."
Rhian smirked. "You mean intimidate."
She was about to smack him in the head, but his instincts kicked in. He tugged on her shadow—quick and subtle.
Her legs buckled out from under her, and she hit the mat with a thump.
Just like Iris.
Rhian laughed under his breath. I really enjoy doing that.
Nia blinked up at him, stunned for a second, then narrowed her eyes. "You tripped me."
"I didn’t touch you."
"You used your shadow."
"But I didn’t touch you."
She stood up, dusting herself off in one motion. "You’re lucky I like you."
Rhian went quiet for a second after she said it.
Nia frowned. "Don’t make this weird."
He tilted his head, smirking. "Weird? You said you liked me. That’s big news."
"I meant tolerable," she said flatly.
"Oh, now it’s tolerable?" He grinned, clearly enjoying himself.
She rolled her eyes and started walking faster.
Rhian yawned, stretching his arms behind his head. "Alright, I need rest. I’ll let you know when I need the master negotiator."
"Yeah, just make sure you don’t trip me again or I’ll start billing you."
He laughed, waving her off as they split at the hallway. "Add it to my tab."