Chapter 74: Space Manipulation
Jane furrowed her brows. Her combat instincts kicked in again, screaming at her to check her flank. The moment she turned her head, Scar was already there, his dagger thrusting violently toward the unprotected side of her gut.
Jane shifted her torso inward at the last possible microsecond, letting the razor-sharp blade sail harmlessly past her stomach. Scar, realizing the attack missed, instantly halted his forward momentum, then used a burst of kinetic energy to leap backward and put ten feet of space between them.
Jane looked at him in awe for a moment. Then, she burst into laughter. "That’s not fair, y’know. You didn’t even let me get ready." She chuckled in genuine amusement.
"Well," Scar said, putting his pistol back into his inventory. His eyes were cold and focused. "Letting you get ready gives you all the time you need to ensure that I lose. The best way to defeat an enemy—especially one stronger than you—is to catch them unaware. Use the element of surprise."
Then, without waiting for her response, he charged forward again. But this time, he decided to add a little extra boost.
"Activate Dash." He whispered mid-sprint.
[Skill Activated: Dash]
[-50 Ep]
Scar’s speed was instantly tripled in a terrifying, explosive burst. He shot forward like a bullet, the air shattering around him as he closed the distance instantly, his dagger aimed at her chest.
This time, Jane saw him coming, but she didn’t flinch. She simply smiled and waited, raising her kitchen knife to intercept the strike at her sternum. Just as Scar reached her, exactly as she predicted, he thrust the dagger toward her heart. Her blade was already there, perfectly angled to block and counter.
But a millimeter before the blades collided, Scar suddenly let go of his dagger. The blade dropped from his right hand, falling to the ground. But in the same motion his left hand snapped out, caught the hilt, and redirected the blade toward the unprotected side of her abdomen—the same place he had missed earlier.
Jane’s eyes widened. She hadn’t anticipated the switch. Scar’s initial strike to the chest had been a calculated distraction.
As the blade was about to pierce her side, Jane let go of her own knife. Then she quickly reached down and clamped her bare hand directly over the sharp blade of Scar’s dagger. She wrapped her fingers tightly around the metal, but it didn’t even cut through her hand. It was as though her hands were made of steel.
Scar pushed forward with all the superhuman force he could muster, but the blade didn’t budge. Jane’s grip was like an hydraulic vice. The weapon refused to move a single millimeter.
"That was a close one," Jane exhaled.
"I’m not done yet," Scar growled, still trying to wrench the weapon free.
"Just give it up, dear," Jane said calmly. "Your blade is directly in my hands. All I have to do now is lower its rank and make it even weaker than it already is. And at that point, it will simply just shatter."
Scar already knew that. But he wasn’t going to just give up because of that. He still had one more trick up his sleeve.
As Jane held the blade tightly in her hand, completely focused on stopping him from pushing through, Scar did something unexpected.
He released the hilt of the dagger and simply let go.
Jane felt the sudden absence of pressure. Before she could react to the sudden loss of resistance, Scar vanished from her front. He reappeared instantly behind her back and opened his palm. And prior to the it’s active skill, the dagger instantly disappeared from Jane’s grip and materialised in his own hand.
Without wasting a single second, Scar adjusted his grip and brought the blade down swiftly toward her carotid artery. But he didn’t intend to hurt her. He just needed to place the blade against her skin.
Jane felt the displacement of air behind her, but she was entirely out of position. It was too late to dodge or counter. Scar’s blade made contact with her neck... but at the same time it didn’t. Because, the very millisecond the metal touched her skin, the world warped. And Jane vanished.
There was no sound, no rush of air, and no visible movement. She was just gone.
Scar blinked in awe, lowering the dagger. He looked up only to see Jane standing perfectly still at the exact spot where both of them had been. While he was standing at the far end of the clearing, where he hadn’t been a second ago.
His eyes widened in shock. What the hell just happened?
That’s when the realization hit him: Jane didn’t vanish, she didn’t move from her spot at all. He was the one who was moved.
He had somehow been instantly transported from behind her back to his original starting position.
But how?
Scar stood frozen, completely stunned beyond words. He looked across the massive arena at Jane, who was smiling smugly, brushing off her shirt.
"My, that was a close one," she called out. "You almost had me there, Roy."
Scar walked slowly toward the center of the ring, his mind desperately trying to process the impossibility of the what had just happened. "How...? How did you do that?" He asked, his mind still reeling from the experience.
Jane chuckled. "Do what?" She asked, feigning innocence.
Scar pointed to the space behind her. "I was over there..." he said, still not sure how to explain it. "Then you moved me. From behind you, all the way here."
Jane laughed, a bright, melodic sound. "No, Roy. I didn’t move you," she said, her lips curling into a knowing smile. "I moved the space around you."
"Woah," Scar’s eyes widened in profound awe. "Is that... your second ability?"
Jane nodded, her smile widening. "I promised I’d show you eventually, didn’t I?"
"Wow," Scar breathed, genuinely impressed. "It’s really cool."
"Thanks." Jane chuckled.
"So you can just... control and manipulate the space around yourself?" Scar asked, out of curiosity.
Jane shrugged modestly. "I don’t really know the mechanics behind it, but yeah, that’s pretty much it," she stated. "I believe it’s called; Spatial manipulation."
Scar chuckled in amazement. He had run through dozens of guesses regarding her secondary ability, but he hadn’t anticipated something so incredible. "With an ability like that, long-range attacks would never even reach you. And you could always just warp away from fatal blows. Just like you did now."
"It’s not that simple," Jane chuckled, picking up her dropped kitchen knife. "There are strict conditions and limitations to how and when I can bend space."
Scar shrugged. "Still, I think it’s pretty awesome."
"You’re flattering me," Jane laughed. "How about we take a break? After you rest, we can begin practicing any martial arts form you feel like learning first."
"Okay," Scar agreed. "But what about the duel? Can I get a rematch sometime? I really need that upgrade."
Jane chuckled softly. "Actually, Roy, I would like to concede the win to you today."
Scar raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?"
"The way you used your speed and dagger was unlike anything I have ever seen before," Jane said, her tone turning deeply respectful. "Also, causing a distraction with your pistol, and that mid-air attack switch... it was impressive. You created an advantage against a much stronger opponent." She smiled at him, looking impressed. "You seem far more experienced in raw combat than I expected, Roy, and your adaptation to the battlefield is exceptional." She smiled. "In fact, you would have won that round if I hadn’t resorted to my spatial ability at the last second."
Scar chuckled, crossing his arms. "Now you’re the one flattering me." He snickered.
"I’m not," Jane insisted gently. "I think you will become a great fighter one day. And the fact that you’re a speedster already gives you an unfair advantage. All you need now is a more durable weapon and a little extra practice."
"Okay," Scar nodded. "I’ll work on that."
"We will work on it together," Jane added with a smile.
Scar smirked. "So... does this mean you’re going to upgrade my dagger?"
Jane laughed, shaking her head. "Yes," she said. "But not today. Increasing the rank and molecular grade of an object is very exhausting and consumes tons of mana cells. Right now, I’m a bit too tired. But if you leave it with me, I will upgrade it as soon as I recover some energy."
"Alright. No problem," Scar said, handing the chipped weapon over without hesitation.
Jane took the dagger, her storage ring flashing briefly as the weapon vanished into its virtual space. "Come on. Let’s go freshen up." She said, already turning to leave.
Scar nodded, falling into step beside her as they walked out of the underground arena and headed toward the main house. As they climbed the stairs, his curiosity got the better of him. He decided to do a little prying.
"Why do you keep using a kitchen knife whenever we spar?" Scar asked. "Why not use an actual dagger?"
Jane chuckled. "Because if I use a real dagger, I’m afraid I might hurt you."
Scar scoffed lightly. "It’s not like that kitchen knife can’t hurt me either."
"True," Jane conceded. "But with a basic knife, I am forced to pull my punches. I can’t deal fatal attacks easily, which limits my lethal skills. But with a real dagger? A single thrust could shatter your weapon and injure you severely. Why do you think I spend our entire sessions mostly on the defensive rather than attacking you?"
Scar hummed, thinking back to the spars. "Yeah, I did notice that. But why would a single thrust deal such damage, unless you rank the weapon up beforehand?" He asked.
Jane chuckled softly. "Sometimes, I don’t even upgrade the weapons I use when fighting."
Scar’s eyes widened in shock. He stopped walking. "What? You can’t be serious."
"It’s true," Jane smiled. "What rank do you think I put this kitchen knife at when sparring against your A-rank dagger?"
"I figured it had to be at least A or S-rank," Scar reasoned. "Otherwise, it couldn’t possibly match the durability of my own blade."
Jane laughed again, a bright, clear sound. "Roy, this knife is only an F-rank, at most. Honestly, I’m not even sure it technically has a rank," she explained. "I never upgraded it. I simply took it from the kitchen and brought it to a fight."
Scar was completely stunned. "How is that even possible? That knife shouldn’t have been able to withstand my dagger for a single second. It should have shattered on the very first contact."
"Yet, it didn’t," Jane said mysteriously. "My ability is not as simple as you’d think. There is a lot more to it than just ’upgrading’ and ’degrading’."
Scar chuckled, shaking his head as they resumed walking. "I’m starting to think there is a lot more to you in general."
Jane giggled. "I could say the same thing about you."
They reached the upper floors and stopped outside the luxurious room designated for Scar whenever he came over to Jane’s estate.
"I’ll have someone bring some fresh clothes up for you immediately," Jane said.
"Okay, thanks," Scar replied. He paused, his hand on the doorknob. "Oh, by the way... is Alicia around?"
Jane’s smile brightened. "Yes, she is. She should be down in her lab."
Scar nodded. "Okay."
"See you soon," Jane said, turning and walking down the hall.
Scar entered the room, stripping off his sweat-soaked tracksuit. He stepped into the adjoining bathroom and took a quick, scalding shower to wash away the grime of the intense spar. When he walked back out, a neatly folded set of casual clothes was already resting on the edge of the bed.
He dressed quickly in the dark jeans and fitted grey shirt. He cracked his neck, staring at his reflection in the mirror for a brief second before turning toward the door.
He had made up his mind.
It was time to go see Alicia.