Science/Magic

For a long while after that, Liu Ying stayed silent. She seemed to be thinking about something complicated. Occasionally, she looked at Bloed as though wondering if he was serious.

Bloed did not expect that his words would impact Liu Ying so much, but he was being honest. The truth was, Bloed did not care much for the world.

In fact, Bloed felt disgusted towards this world. After all, this was a world that believed that people like him must die. It was a world where children like him were killed or abandoned.

Bloed did not hate magic. Rather, he liked it. He was curious about mana and why it could have such effects. ESP powers were powerful, but they were not as versatile. Mana, on the other hand, allowed people to do many things that were impossible with just an ESP power.

But his liking for magic was purely scientific, and it does have nothing to do with the people in this world that wield mana. Even with Liu Ying, he always felt that there was a barrier between them.

After all, he was different. He was manaless in a world where mana was everything.

For an instant, Bloed remembered the spaceship. He had left it for just a few days, but he already missed it.

That place was his home. There, he was normal.

Bloed shook his head and stopped thinking about that. He was going to leave the exiled lands soon, going back to the world that abandoned him. Depressing thoughts were not going to do him any good.

He had to face the world again eventually.

The group continued walking for a few hours. Soon, the already dark swamp started to turn even darker. Bloed checked the time and realized it was almost night.

"… We will rest here." He announced.

Regina nodded. "Understood. I'll start to prepare everything."

"Alright." Bloed smiled.

As soon as the tent was installed, Regina entered to prepare dinner. Meanwhile, Bloed stayed outside and installed some sentry robots and an energy barrier around the tent.

With the sentries, the barrier, and Tito and Leto keeping guard during the night, Bloed did not have to worry about being attacked while they sleep.

At least, he would have enough time to get ready to fight.

When he finished, he realized that Liu Ying was looking at the sky absentmindedly.

"Liu Ying?"

Liu Ying was startled and looked towards Bloed with a forced smile on her face.

"What is wrong?" Bloed asked.

Liu Ying fell silent for a moment before heaving a sigh and looking straight into Bloed's eyes.

"Do you have time for a chat?"

Bloed was surprised.

"Of course. Is anything wrong?"

Liu Ying smiled bitterly and sat in the ground. She did not mind that the ground was filled with mud. Anyway, there was mud everywhere in this swamp and her clothes were dirty after one day of travel.

Bloed followed and sat beside her.

For a few minutes, both of them stayed silent.

"… Bloed, why were you sent to this place?" Finally, Liu Ying asked.

Bloed furrowed his brows. That question was taboo. It was not something he wanted to talk about.

Liu Ying also seemed to realize it, so she did not insist. Instead, she started to talk.

"I was sent here after my family lost in a power struggle."

As expected… Bloed muttered inwardly.

Liu Ying continued talking. "My father, mother, grandfather, uncles, and aunts. All of them were very powerful. In fact, we probably were stronger than the other side, but…"

For an instant, an expression of hatred appeared in her eyes.

Liu Ying clenched her fist until they turned white. Her amber eyes turned slightly red, and her breathing became shorter and shorter.

"… We were betrayed." She finally spat out.

Bloed heard her silently.

"One of my father's friends poisoned my father, my mother, and grandfather before killing them. After that, the armies of two allied families attacked our home, suddenly killing all our loyal warriors and most of my family.

"In the end, only my uncle, two cousins, and I survived.

"Heh… Thinking about it, they probably would have not minded killing us. However, the remaining forces of our family resisted fiercely. In the end, they accorded to surrender in exchange for guaranteeing our lives. The enemy agreed, but we were forced to go to the exiled lands. Afterward, you know the rest of the story…"

Bloed nodded. In truth, Bloed did not find Liu Ying's story surprising. He was already expecting something like this when he deduced her identity.

Power struggles between families, kingdoms, and races were the daily bread of this world. Each time, the defeated party was killed, taken prisoner, or exiled; and the winning party would replace them.

Hence, although Bloed felt a bit of pity for Liu Ying, it was just it, pity.

Liu Ying took a deep breath to calm her emotions. She looked at the ground and clenched her fist while remembering the night when her family fell.

While remembering the last words of her uncle.

"When the horde of beast attacked our village, the servants of my family, my uncle, and my two cousins that were exiled here with me sacrificed their lives to give me a chance to escape… They... Their last wish was to restore the glory of my family…"

"… Is that your goal?" Bloed asked.

Liu Ying smiled bitterly and shook her head.

"No…"

Bloed was stunned.

A wry smile appeared on Liu Ying's face. "I know myself rather well. I'm not smart enough to restore my family... Plots and struggled for power... I'm not good at things like that. Most of the time, I'm a bit rash instead… My only talents are my bloodline and my cultivation speed. I managed to reach C-Rank before turning 15, that is pretty impressive.."

Bloed nodded. "Then, what are you planning?"

Liu Ying exhaled and looked at the sky.

"I want revenge."

"…"

"I want to kill all the people that killed my family. I'm not smart enough to restore my family glory, but I'm confident I can become a demigod eventually. And then, I'll kill every one of them… Strength, that is what I want." Liu Ying's voice was brimming with determination.

"A demigod, huh. That is a big goal." Bloed sighed.

"I know." Nodded Liu Ying. "But I'll achieve it."

She then looked at Bloed and bowed deeply. "Bloed, I'm very thankful to you and Regina. The two of you rescued me, healed me, feed me, and even took care of me in this hell. Maybe you will not trust my words, but believe me when I told you that I will repay this debt one day.

"However, I want to ask you for a favor… I know it's rather shameless, but I must do it."

Bloed looked at Liu Ying deeply.

"Do speak."

"… Can you teach me to fight?" Liu Ying bit her lips and asked.

"Hmm?"

"You and Regina are not much stronger than I am. Rather, I feel I'm faster and maybe a bit stronger than you… However, in actual combat, I'm much weaker. You and Regina's movements… It feels like everything is under your control."

"… So you want to learn it, huh."

Liu Ying nodded.

Bloed fell silent. He looked at the sky and thought about many things at the same time.

In fact, Regina could not learn his combat style. After all, she did not have the calculation capacity of Bloed.

However, he could teach her other things.

But... Bloed did not know if teaching her was alright.

After a few seconds, he finally opened his mouth.

"… There is not much I can teach you, but I will try."

...

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