The warehouse trembled from the clash of wind and shadow.
Kael stepped back, feeling the pressure. The boss did not rush. He was watching.
— Show me everything, — he said quietly.
In the next second, the air turned cold.
Frost spread across the floor beneath Kael’s feet.
The shadow behind the boss thickened… and began to take shape.
A massive figure slowly formed out of icy mist.
A bear.
Huge. Made of ice. Its eyes glowing with blue light.
The wooden boards of the warehouse cracked under its weight.
— A contracted spirit, — the boss said calmly. — You can’t do that yet, can you?
Kael remained silent.
The bear roared and charged forward.
Its paw smashed through the floor where Kael had stood a second earlier. Shards of ice exploded in every direction.
Two against one.
And the boss did not interfere at first.
He let the spirit apply pressure.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Kael moved quickly — the wind strengthened his steps. He slid between the blows, leaving cuts across the beast’s icy armor.
Crack.
Another strike.
The bear tried to pin him against the wall, but Kael twisted and unleashed a sharp wind slash across the spirit’s neck.
The ice fractured.
— Better, — the boss said.
Then he joined the fight.
Shadow surged forward, and the boss’s blade appeared near Kael’s throat.
Clash.
Sparks.
Wind against shadow.
Minutes stretched.
Three.
Five.
Seven.
Kael was breathing heavily. The ice spirit attacked again while the boss struck from another angle, forcing him to defend on both sides.
But gradually…
He began to read their rhythm.
The bear — powerful, but predictable.
The boss — fast, but calculating.
At the eighth minute, Kael made his move.
He let the bear attack.
On purpose.
At the last instant, he leapt upward with a burst of wind and brought down a reinforced strike directly into the spirit’s chest.
Ice exploded outward.
The bear shattered into hundreds of crystals.
For the first time, the boss stepped back.
Ninth minute.
Now one on one.
Kael accelerated.
The wind around him thickened, like a storm trapped inside the warehouse.
He broke through the shadow, their blades collided, and Kael almost knocked the weapon from the boss’s hand.
Almost.
The tenth minute was approaching.
— Interesting… — the boss said quietly.
And then he smirked.
Beneath the mask, a strange symbol was revealed.
His eye flared with a dull silver light.
Everything slowed.
Kael struck.
But the boss already knew.
A step to the side.
Counterattack.
Kael attacked again — faster.
But the boss had already seen it.
Second time.
Third.
Every movement Kael made was predicted a fraction of a second before it happened.
— The Eye of Foresight, — the boss said calmly. — I can use it as much as I want, as long as I have the Manora Artifact I obtained.
There was arrogance in his voice.
He avoided another strike.
— And you forced me to use it. Impressive.
Kael was breathing hard.
He understood now.
This wasn’t speed.
It was the future.
He made one final dash.
The wind exploded around him.
But the boss had already seen that moment.
The shadow blade stopped a centimeter from Kael’s heart.
Silence.
The tenth minute had passed.
The silver light faded from the boss’s eye.
He lowered his weapon.
— Enough.
The ice on the floor began to melt.
— You almost won.
Kael stood there, breathing heavily.
— Almost doesn’t count.
The boss smirked.
— You endured. A deal is a deal. Your companions will be released.
He stepped back into the shadows.
— But remember. Next time… I will use the eye differently.
Darkness closed in.
The warehouse fell silent.
Kael remained alone among cracked boards and shattered ice.
He survived.
But he understood one thing:
There is a higher level.
And now it’s personal.
But the boss had a plan — and that plan had already worked.
Kael had become interested in artifacts.
Which meant, without even realizing it,
Kael himself would lead them straight to the artifacts.
