rny branches, the sharp needles tear

water, was a young man. His black hair was plastered

dagger and crept closer. Her boots

ped from the edges of the wound, eating away at his flesh. His eyes were squeezed shut, his jaw clenched

ed the tip of her dagger to flick

ce clearly for

Her pulse slammed

The sharp cheekbones, the straight nose, the devastatingly handsome featur

g. The ulti

breathing was shallow, his chest barely rising. He was m

nuckles turned white. If she slit his throat

de, aiming the tip strai

uits drained dry, of being nothing but a disposable tool for others' gain. A bitter, icy resolve hardened in her chest. No. In this life, she absol

rike, a cold, mechanical voice e

tiny detected. Karma Inv

gger hovered an inch

front of her. It hovered over Cason's bleeding bod

ny Target to receive high-yield returns. C

orpse. She was broke, her magic circuits were damaged, and s

dagger and let o

nd ripped a long strip of fabric free. She pressed

e to push out a sliver of mana. A sharp pain stabbed behind her e

a sudden, terrifying jolt of resistance-a stubborn, violent surge of dark energy that crackled against her magic like dormant

She collapsed backward into the mud, her chest heaving

f her suddenly erupted in

ssful! Rated as '

High-Grade Mana Crystals, and one perf

her left hand, clinking with the sound of dense crystals. In her right h

e wealth than Silver Peak Academy saw in a decade. She

cork off the vial with her thumb and downed

through her veins. She heard a faint popping sound inside her own b

ain from severing the soul contract vanished entirely. Her

er humming under her skin. Her eyes burned with a fever

n broke th

ers twitched

She smoothed her expression into a mask of cold

d he was alive, pure, lethal hostility flooded his gaze.

lled at his chest wound. He hissed, his jaw clench

e and feeling the absence of the dark magic. He looked up

soft smile. She didn

id, her voice flat and devoid of any warmth.

boots sinking slightly into th