Starting With SSS-rank: I Get A New Skill Every Livestream-Chapter 57: Hardship

How long had it been? He couldn’t remember. Still, Kyle knew more than a day had passed.

He remained trapped within the grey box, always waiting for another monster to appear so he could kill it.

For support, he had been given a simple wooden stick to defend himself, along with his Genesis.

The system could not help him, and using his blessings was out of the question. Doing so would only tear down his safety net.

He wasn’t worried about the time spent here. The system had already informed him about the difference in time flow between this space and the real world.

So in that sense, he was safe.

But that safety meant nothing right now.

A four-foot-tall gnome lunged at him, feral and relentless, aiming to rip his neck apart.

"Fuck, die you bitch!" Kyle snarled, desperation seeping into his voice as he swung the stick at its head.

The gnome dodged with ease, its speed spiking unnaturally, before sinking its teeth into his wrist.

"Oh, fuck!" he shouted, too exhausted and frustrated to think clearly.

He grabbed the creature by the neck and tore it away from his arm, his wrist bloodied and chewed open.

Genesis had already begun working, stitching flesh and sealing wounds, but Kyle paid it no attention.

He pivoted on his heel, built momentum, and slammed the gnome’s face into the ground.

DHAK

Its head bounced off the surface.

Kyle didn’t stop. He drove his foot into its back, pinning it down.

The gnome writhed violently, twisting in a desperate attempt to break free.

Kyle wiped the blood from his nose, his eyes burning red as he leaned forward and seized its flailing arms.

Pressing harder with his foot, he pulled.

"Ahhhhhh!"

With a guttural roar, he wrenched with everything he had.

Both arms tore free.

Dark blood burst out, muscle ripping apart as it sprayed across the ground.

DHAK

Kyle flung the severed limbs aside, then dropped to his knees over the shrieking creature. Grabbing its hair, he yanked its head up.

"Sorry, bud... you picked the wrong time."

His jaw clenched.

He slammed its face into the ground again.

A wet squelch, flesh tearing, bone cracking.

He didn’t stop.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

Again and again, until the gnome went still.

Kyle exhaled deeply before pushing himself up.

His body was drenched in blood, but beneath it, not a single scratch remained.

Genesis still clung to his body like an immovable cloak, ever ready to defend against any danger this world could offer.

Just as Kyle began to expect another adversary, a voice echoed, "You did well."

The space around him distorted, and once again, he found himself facing the familiar woman.

"That... was an awful experience," he muttered, standing on the edge of striking her.

"And I am glad you enjoyed it so well," she replied, as if she hadn’t heard him at all.

She stepped closer and tilted her head. "Your Genesis reserve is... outstanding. You survived thirty-eight hours inside that chamber, and the quality of absence only grew purer with each passing hour. And yet, not once did your golden limb falter. I am astounded."

Kyle blinked, caught off guard. "Thirty-eight hours? ...why don’t I feel tired or hungry?"

"Because Genesis has been working within you the entire time," she explained calmly. "Naturally, you will feel some fatigue once you relax, but it will not be anywhere near what you should have felt."

Kyle hummed softly and looked at his hand. There were no marks, yet it trembled faintly. His body was exhausted, but his mind had yet to catch up.

"You did well, Kyle," she said. "I believe you now understand what it feels like when your body continuously operates with Genesis."

Her figure seemed to waver.

Or perhaps it was his vision.

Kyle couldn’t tell if she was fading... or if he was the one slipping into unconsciousness.

Regardless, he didn’t hesitate and asked at once, "Wait... so next time I face a Knull resident, should I avoid using a blessing and just rely on my golden limb?"

Aleda shrugged lightly. "You can trust your own body, but yes, I would suggest not diving headfirst into a hellhole just to test it, alright?"

"Ah... and when will we have another... session..." His eyes began to droop, his body swaying unsteadily.

Aleda was genuinely surprised. Even after everything he had endured over the past forty hours, he was still looking forward to another session.

’He’s resilient... and he doesn’t run from hardship,’ she admitted silently before answering him.

"I’ll call you," she said. "Until then, rest well and keep doing what you’ve been doing. That is, of course... live streaming~"

And with that, Kyle lost consciousness.

....

Amanda sat in her room, dressed in a pink nightdress that made her look more like a doll than a human.

Her skin still held a soft flush from the bath, her shoulders tinted red, her damp hair clinging lightly to her neck.

She settled onto the stool and stared at herself in the mirror.

Kyle was a Nightwalker.

Every time the thought surfaced, a storm of emotions swirled within her chest.

There was no doubt that, until recently, he had been completely normal. She hadn’t sensed even a trace of Genesis from him.

But then again... even today, sitting so close to him, she hadn’t felt it either.

Did that mean he had awakened long ago and had simply been working as a freelancer?

No... that didn’t make sense.

Amanda had been too involved in his personal life for him to hide something like that.

Yes, it sounded hypocritical, but Amanda allowed herself that selfishness when it came to him.

She knew, without question, that he hadn’t been connected to the aether world until recently.

And yet...

What she had seen today—

She knew she wasn’t mistaken.

And since he chose to show it to her... should she believe that he already knew she was awakened too?

"Kyah!" she squealed, hugging herself in pure delight. Didn’t that mean she no longer had to hide?

A rational part of her understood that Kyle was walking a dangerous path. But now, she could walk beside him, even if that path led them to ruin.

She wouldn’t have to keep secrets from him anymore.

They could live happily... forever.

They could walk down the aisle, exchange vows, have children... ah... she might faint from the sheer happiness of it.

"Kyle... I really want to see you right now..." she murmured, slumping onto the dressing table.

But at uni, he was still cautious around her. She couldn’t find the reason but even today, he has been secretly talking to her and even called her to the third floor to remain hidden from plain sight. And they couldn’t talk about this over the phone either... so when?

"I guess... Kyle coming on the trip is inevitable..."

She just needed to keep him hidden from Layena and the others. Maybe she could lock herself up with him in a basement or something.

’Ehehe... that sounds so romantic.’

She suddenly had a fantasy to enjoy tonight~

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- She is a goner. Thanks for reading though. If you have been enjoying the story, you know what you have to do.