While waiting for the day to come, Kyle decided to kill time by practicing his combat skills in the local hidden realm.
"We should be there soon," Nuna said when she noticed a landmark pointing towards the direction of the hidden realm.
And truthfully, soon enough, they bumped into a group of cultivators, four men, exiting a seemingly invisible space below a cliff wall.
Kyle spotted the distortion from afar, and then he was left confused when the group appeared out of nowhere.
Nuna chuckled in amusement, seeing him make such a comical, surprised expression for the first time.
"That is it." She said.
"Wait, that is the entrance. I expected an actual entrance, a door." He clearly remembered reading about hidden realms, and all the author said in the description was that there was an entrance into the hidden realm, nothing further.
"???"
"Oh, that's right, you have never visited one before. Hidden realms are usually contained in a separate space, some might say another realm entirely. So you get teleported into the location each time you enter a hidden realm. Each time you enter, you need a key with coordinates, otherwise anybody could enter without paying, which is why we have this."
She flashed him a jade talisman with transcription written on it.
"And only the people in charge of these hidden realms have these coordinates, and can transcribe those onto a talisman like this, in which case, your family has authority and control over this whole hidden realm."
"Ohhh, that makes sense."
The duo was now right in front of the entry point.
The group of men was waiting right beside it, as if waiting for something. Kyle finally turned up to look at them.
They were dressed in plain, rudimentary robes, black in color. Typical clothing for the common populace.
Their features, as well, were plain, as one might expect; these were most likely a group of mercenaries.
"Well, well, would you look at that, ain't she a beauty... You have such good taste, my friend, do you mind lending the young lady to me and my men?"
The man on the front spoke, stepping forward, with a crooked grin on his face.
His front teeth were chipped and yellowed, Kyle noticed. A feature that was seemingly shared between the four of them.
They were all snickering and grinning like their companion.
Kyle understood their intentions. He instantly recognised their kind. The common mob mercenaries who liked to push their weight around.
He frowned.
If possible, he did not want to deal with them. Even though the chances that these people would let them go without a struggle were low.
He gauged their strength: two in the early Qi condensation stage, and the other two in the middle stage, including the one in front, who was most likely the leader.
'A subtle release of my aura should make them back off. Wait, actually, they might react differently than what I expect them to, their kind is stupidly unpredictable. They might even view me as an obstacle to walk over and get very hostile.'
"What's wrong, young man, cat's got your tongue?" The other man asked, he was buurly, the biggest between the four.
"Tell you what, you can run along back home, I promise we won't chase you, and you can let us 'take care' of the lady for you. A reasonable offer wouldn't you say?"
The group laughed uproariously, amused at their own brilliant offer.
"You better take it, or I might have to break a few of your bones before letting you scamper off. Not that, would be unpleasant."
They began to laugh even louder.
'That's it!'
Kyle snapped. He was just about to move, but then, a blur of motion flashed beside him.
Nuna reappeared from out of nowhere behind the lead mercenary, her hand snaking out to wrap around his throat with surprising strength.
The man stumbled, letting out a startled gasp before his eyes bulged comically.
The remaining mercenaries tensed, their hands moving to draw weapons.
But Nuna had already dispatched the first one with inhuman speed and grace. Her foot slammed into his groin as she twisted his arm behind his back.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking sounded in the forest.
"Ahhhhh!!!!"
He crumpled to the ground in agony, howling. She released him and darted behind the others just as quickly.
With an uncanny fluidity, Nuna danced through the mercenary group, her movements a blur of lightning-fast strikes and bone-crunching tackles.
She quickly and ruthlessly dispatched the other three just as easily. There were no wasted motions in her movement.
They were armed, she used her hands, and still, they stood no chance. It was scary. The fight was over before it even began.
Kyle's eyes were wide in awe as he took in the scene before him.
Four grown men now lay defeated, broken, and bleeding at their feet. They scrambled to their knees, their faces etched with terror, and began to kowtow to Nuna.
"Oh, please, milady, we beg of you, spare our lives! We had no idea you were a hidden expert!" one of them pleaded, his voice shaking. "We will do anything, please, just don't kill us!"
"Tch! Foolish creatures," Nuna said coldly, her tone dripping with disdain. "You dared to threaten to lay hands on my Kyle? You should be grateful I'm letting you keep your miserable lives. Now, drop your spoils and begone." She hissed.
"But...!"
"Did you say something?" She cut in.
"""Heeek!!!""" They screeched in terror. """No ma'am!!!""" The men shouted in unison.
The mercenaries whimpered and groveled, desperate to appease the deadly woman who had so easily cut them down.
They moved instantly, dropping all their spoils onto the ground in a comical display, with tears at the corners of their eyes.
'''She's a demon.''' They all thought at once. With that, they scampered to their feet and ran off into the woods.
Instantly, Nuna's aura changed, and she looked over at Kyle with a beaming smile on her face.
"!!!"
He flinched.
He did not know what scared him the most. The overwhelming show of strength, or the quick change in demeanour.
"You alright, Kyle?" She asked affectionately.
He nodded slowly, still reeling from the display of power. "Uhhh, yes...I'm fine," he managed to say. "It's just... wow.
One thing was for sure.
'Remember, never make her angry...' He noted it down on his list of priorities.
"Okay, let's get going."
Nuna held Kyle's hand in hers and flashed the talisman in front of them. They both vanished into a burst of particles.