A Waste of Time

Chapter 159: Lingering Attachments

Daemon burst from the lake in a spray of silver droplets, the surface below shattering into ripples that chased one another outward. His ascent broke the stillness, and for a moment his body arced high before gravity sought to drag him back down.

Before he could crash into the water again, a cyan halo bloomed around him — the energy of Wind swirling to coat his frame. Air currents caught him, lifting and holding him aloft as though unseen hands refused to let him fall. The halo rippled, then steadied, carrying him in a slow glide before propelling him forward in the direction he chose at random.

Experimentation came swiftly. With each twist of his will, he bent the air differently — sometimes shaping currents into tight coils for abrupt turns, sometimes flattening them into wide streams for smoother speed. The rush was exhilarating, like discovering an entirely new limb he never knew he had.

Yet every adjustment carried a cost. The faster he pressed, the more his Vitality drained, consumed directly from the acupoint at his right thigh where one of the Nine-Stars pulsed faintly with strain. Pushing the limit was tempting, but the expenditure rose at a brutal pace, sharper with every heartbeat.

Fortunately, he did not need to linger in the sky for long. The shoreline soon revealed itself, and Daemon descended with measured care, the halo of Wind easing his landing. His boots touched earth before the edge of a vast forest, its towering trees veiled in a creepy darkness. Silence hung thick within, oppressive and still — as if the entire woodland waited, holding its breath.

Daemon was about to step into the shadowed embrace of the forest, the thrill of its looming darkness tugging at his curiosity, when his sharpened senses caught something amiss far above. A subtle shift in the heavens, faint yet unmistakable.

He lifted his gaze. Against the endless blue expanse, one cloud moved unlike the rest. It stretched, unraveled, and unfurled in silence — not dispersing, but opening as though it were a colossal scroll. Upon its surface, letters of gold shimmered into being, lined in ordered rows.

Eight names blazed at the top, etched in radiant gold that gleamed like miniature suns. Below them, sixteen more names glowed silver, their sheen softer but no less proud. Trailing beneath were forty further names cast in bronze — some bright and steady, others dimmed with a single word carved beside them in cold, merciless clarity: Disqualified.

Daemon clicked his tongue, scratching his chin as his eyes narrowed at the display. "Hmm… I was gone for only a short while, yet these guys already knocked out more than half the competition."

His lips curved into a rueful smile. The truth was plain in the sky above — his own name sat buried in the bronze list, his score a stark zero.

Among the names were a few familiar ones: Han Ruyue, Liu Yuying, and Yu Tianwu occupied three positions in the Gold-List. Zhan Lei, Zhao Wei, and Chu Ren dominated the top three positions on the Silver-List. Meanwhile Xue Lian, Yue Lan, Lin Qinghai, and Shen Li clustered between seventh and fifteenth.

"Nuh-uh... I can't be the one to tail behind these guys in this trial," Daemon shook his head, then turned his attention back toward the forest. "It would be too shameful when we meet if these losers end up above me in the rankings. I've got to do something to gain points quickly."

"But it would be a waste of time to go hunting other contestants just to steal their platforms — those only give me a meagre amount of points when they're from the same environment as myself." He glanced toward the lake, thinking aloud. "And I don't know where to find others outside the water. I guess my only choice is to hunt Waves to eliminate, and to spend the longest time in this space."

The boy rubbed his palms once, flexing fingers that still tingled from the flight. He felt the forest pull at him like an unanswered question. Then he stepped into the shadows. Ten meters in, his silhouette was already swallowed by darkness — a small shape melting into the hush and hush-breathed green of the trees, intent sharpened like a blade.

Not far from where Daemon had entered the forest, a campfire crackled and spat sparks into the night air. Over it, the flames licked at a skewered creature, its flesh hissing as fat dripped into the fire below. The scent of roasting meat hung thick, carrying both comfort and hunger in its smoke.

One girl busied herself with tending the food, fanning the flames with practiced strokes of Wind Qi. Another sat a short distance away beneath the towering trunk of a tree, her legs folded into the lotus position, her stillness broken only by the faint shimmer around her body. The world near her seemed unstable, flickering between two opposite states as if her presence alone distorted reality.

They were Liu Yuying and Han Ruyue. Judging by their appearance, both had endured much in recent days — ragged edges to their robes, weariness clinging to their expressions. Clearly, these two had seen better days.

“Just where is that brat hiding?” Liu Yuying muttered, irritation flashing across her features as she stoked the fire. “We’ve looked everywhere for him and had to endure the harassment of Beasts on top of the regular Waves! How come nobody’s seen him anywhere in this round? He’s still in the competition, but his number of points is still zero! It’s been two days already — he should’ve at least twenty points! This doesn’t make sen—”

She froze mid-sentence. Her eyes shot upward, wide, her fan of Wind Qi faltering as the fire guttered. “He’s on the move! Big sister! He’s finally on the move!” she cried, pointing at the glowing cloud above, where the rankings hung for all contestants to see. Daemon’s score had leapt suddenly from zero to twelve.

Han Ruyue opened her eyes, and the shifting phenomenon around her body dissolved like mist. Yet in the depths of her pupils shone the faint twinkle of a budding cosmos, stars half-born in their darkness.

A mischievous smile spread across Liu Yuying’s face as she caught the sudden blaze of fighting spirit in her companion’s gaze. “I guess we’re on the hunt once again.”

“En.” Han Ruyue nodded, her voice quiet but resolute. Still, her lips parted slightly, and she licked them with a flash of longing as her gaze drifted to the meat glistening over the fire, each drop of oil sizzling as it fell. “Let’s eat first. I’m starved.”

Liu Yuying giggled, her laughter warm despite their exhaustion. She knew well the weight her sister carried. The past two days had been merciless — fending off other contestants with their schemes, surviving cunning Beasts that lurked at every turn, and enduring the brutal, unfair challenge of facing exaggerated numbers of enemies that descended like clockwork every four hours.

At least now, they had each other.

Daemon paused, flexing his knuckles after dropping the fool who had tried to ambush him. One punch had been enough — the strike hurled the hapless contestant like a blazing projectile, his layer of Fire Qi shattering in a burst of sparks as he crashed through a long line of thick trees.

A beam of light descended at once, enveloping the fallen opponent and whisking him away from the trial grounds. But before the figure vanished completely, two glowing Runes broke free from his form, streaking through the air like arrows. They sank into Daemon’s body with a flash too quick to avoid.

His chest tightened. For a heartbeat, panic stirred as he scanned his own physique for any corruption, bracing for intrusion. Yet instead of danger, a strange image bloomed within his mind: a coral-bed rising from the depths, supporting a lone platform. Upon it, a number gleamed — a number he instantly recognized.

It was the same as the one etched on the bamboo raft he had abandoned when this round began.

“Why do I feel like it was a mistake to leave mine behind?” Daemon muttered, scratching his head. He gave a rueful shrug, then turned away, his steps carrying him deeper into the woods where the shadows closed thick around him.

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