As he approached, he noticed something strange about her appearance. Where her hands should have been, huge green roots had grown instead. They were thick and twisted, wriggling through the air like living creatures, moving in slow wave-like patterns. The sight was both strange and unsettling, but Fai's body showed no hesitation. It continued forward at high speed, heading straight for her.

  Suddenly, a figure stepped into his path, blocking him.

  "If you want to get to her, you'll have to pass through me first," the boy said firmly.

  It was the white-haired boy, Arnold.

  "Arnold, be careful," Dian called out from behind him. "He took out Van in seconds. That guy is dangerous."

  "I know," Arnold replied calmly. "That's why I'm not going to take it easy on him." As he spoke, he adjusted his stance, lowering his body slightly and planting his feet firmly on the ground.

  While Arnold and Dian were exchanging words, the System once again activated Fae Eyes.

  [FAE EYES]

  [NAME: Arnold]

  [RACE: Mutant Human]

  [STAGE: Bronze]

  [MUTATION: Wind]

  [STRENGTH: ?]

  [STAMINA: ?]

  [SPE---

  As usual, the screen vanished almost as soon as it appeared, giving Fai no chance to read it properly. Everything was happening far too quickly for him to process.

  The next moment, Arnold charged forward. The short boy with white hair ran toward Fai at full speed, extending one palm in front of him as he shouted, "WIND BLAST!!" Instantly, two massive waves of compressed air burst from his hand and shot toward Fai like invisible missiles.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Fai's body reacted immediately, shifting from side to side and letting the attacks rush past him. The powerful gusts tore through the air, missing him by only a narrow margin. Even while dodging, he kept his eyes fixed on Arnold, refusing to lose sight of his opponent.

  "WIND BLAST!!"

  "WIND BLAST!!"

  Arnold continued shouting as he launched more attacks while advancing. One after another, powerful wind blasts rushed toward Fai, forcing him to dodge, duck, and even jump to avoid them. His movements were fast, smooth, and precise, guided entirely by the System. Each time an attack came close, his body shifted just enough to escape.

  Despite the constant barrage, Arnold continued moving forward, gradually closing the distance between them. Soon, he was only a few meters away. Fai could see him clearly now, his expression focused and determined.

  As a wind user, Arnold had just eliminated his greatest advantage: distance. For ranged fighters like him, distance was crucial. With enough space, they could attack safely and overwhelm their enemies without even approaching them, especially against hand-to-hand fighters like Fai .

  On the other hand being in close range was dangerous, because it allowed direct physical attacks and left little time to cast their skills and evade blows.

  By closing in, Arnold seemed to be throwing away his advantage. It looked like a foolish decision, but appearances could be deceiving.

  Now that Arnold was within reach, the System immediately recognized the opportunity. Without hesitation, it prepared Fai's body for an attack. His muscles tightened, and his right arm shot forward in a powerful punch aimed directly at Arnold's face. The strike was fast and precise, fueled by his enhanced attributes.

  Just as his fist was about to connect, Arnold suddenly smiled.

  "Wind Slide," he said quietly.

  The moment the words left his mouth, a layer of wind formed beneath his feet. His body began to glide smoothly across the ground as if it were covered in ice. In an instant, he slipped past Fai's attack and disappeared from his front, reappearing behind him.

  Before Fai could react, Arnold delivered a strong kick to his back. Caught in the middle of his own forward momentum, Fai had no way to stop himself. His balance was shattered, and he was sent crashing toward the ground at full speed.

  "Damn it," Fai thought helplessly.

  But it was useless.

  He was no longer in control of his body.

  And there was nothing he could do about it.

  Unpredictable.

  If there was a single word that could accurately describe Arnold's sequence of actions, then unpredictable would be the only correct choice.Even the System hadn't seen it coming.

  Caught completely in the middle of his own forward momentum and Arnold strike , Fai's body failed to adjust in time. The force carrying him forward had nowhere to go, and the next instant, his body collided violently with the ground. The impact sent a sharp shock through him, pain rippled across his back and chest at the same time.

  *[DING ]

  [-2HP ]

  [HP : 38/40 ]

  Luckily, the attack didn't deal significant damage. There were several reasons for that. First, all of Fai's attributes had already been boosted to twenty, a level far beyond what a normal human could achieve. His HP had increased alongside those attributes, now resting at a solid forty. More importantly, his endurance stat stood at twenty as well, and that single fact alone meant that his body could withstand blows that would normally leave others crippled or unconscious.

  With an endurance of twenty, Fai could take hits and walk away from them almost unscratched, at least compared to before. The pain was there, yes, but it wasn't crippling. It didn't slow him down enough to matter.

  As his body slammed against the floor, panic flickered through his mind for just a brief second. It was instinctive, the natural reaction of someone who had lost balance in the middle of combat. However, that panic didn't last. Before it could even take shape, the System had already calculated the optimal sequence of actions.

  That was one of the most terrifying things about the System.It was fast.Not just fast in terms of execution, but fast in reasoning. Its ability to analyze, predict, and react in real-time combat was frighteningly precise. In battles like this, speed of thought was everything.

  A single moment of hesitation, a single delay in decision-making, could cost someone their life. The System did not hesitate. It did not doubt. It did not second-guess itself. And that was what made it terrifyingly powerful.: