Sector 4: The Synthetic Jungle
The air inside the portal was hot and heavy, smelling of wet earth and rotting vegetation. Giant ferns blocked the artificial sun, and the cries of strange beasts echoed in the distance.
"Formation!" Vanessa commanded.
Jax slammed his shield down in front, taking point. Mila stayed in the middle, casting a light wind barrier around them to deflect insects. Vanessa took the rear-guard position, her hand resting on the hilt of her crystal rapier.
Ren walked behind them, the heavy bag slung over his shoulder.
"Why is he here, Ness?" Jax grumbled, hacking through a vine with a machete. "He's just going to steal XP if he accidentally steps on a bug."
"Focus, Jax," Vanessa said sharply. But Ren noticed she was sweating.
It wasn't that hot.
Ren watched her closely. Her movements were graceful, but there was a slight tremor in her left hand. Every few minutes, she would touch her chest, grimacing.
[Passive Skill: PHEROMONE PRODUCTION]
[Status: Active]
Ren's enhanced senses picked up a scent coming from her. Underneath the smell of expensive soap and jungle rot, there was something else. It smelled like... ozone and freezer burn. Cold. Sterile. Dangerous.
She's leaking mana, Ren realized. Her core is unstable.
"Contact!" Jax roared.
Three Razor-Beaks—flightless birds the size of ostriches with serrated metal beaks—burst from the brush. They shrieked, their eyes locked on the weakest looking target: Mila.
"Mila, buff! Jax, hold the line!" Vanessa ordered.
She drew her rapier. The air around her froze. "Ice Lance!"
Three spears of solid ice materialized and shot forward. Two of the birds were skewered instantly, pinned to the jungle trees. The third one dodged, screeching, and lunged for Mila.
"Get back!" Jax shouted, trying to turn, but he was too slow. The bird was mid-air, claws extended toward the terrified support mage.
Vanessa raised her hand to cast another spell, but suddenly, she gasped. She doubled over, clutching her chest. The ice magic around her shattered into harmless snow.
She misfired.
Mila screamed, shielding her face.
Ren dropped the bag.
He didn't run. He blurred.
[Agility Check: PASSED]
Ren appeared between the bird and Mila. He didn't have a sword. He didn't have a shield.
He raised his right fist. The air rippled as the black gauntlet materialized, heavy and terrifying.
[Skill: VOID IMPACT]
He punched the bird in the chest.
BOOM.
It wasn't a wet thud. It was the sound of a cannon firing. The bird didn't just fly back; it exploded. Feathers, blood, and bones were vaporized in a cloud of black mist.
Silence fell over the jungle clearing.
Mila was shaking, covered in dust. Jax was staring with his mouth open, his shield lowered.
Ren stood there, the black gauntlet smoking. He shook his hand, dispersing the shadows, and looked back at Vanessa.
She was on her knees, her skin turning a terrifying shade of pale blue, frost forming on her eyelashes. She was shivering violently, unable to stand.
"The Corruption," Ren whispered to himself.
He walked over to her. Jax tried to step in his way.
"Stay back, trash! What did you do?" Jax shouted, raising his shield.
Ren looked at the tank. "She's dying, you idiot. Get out of my way."
Ren shoved the massive tank aside with one hand—a feat of strength that shouldn't have been possible—and knelt beside Vanessa.
She looked up at him, her vision blurry, her teeth chattering. "C-cold... so cold..."
Ren placed his hand on her forehead. It burned like dry ice.
[Target Identified: Vanessa, The Frost-Bound]
[Condition: Mana Hypothermia (Critical)]
[Corruption Level: 45%]
[Solution: Direct Yang Injection required.]
Ren leaned in close, his voice a low whisper that only she could hear.
"I can save you, President. But we need privacy. And you're going to have to beg for it."
"Jax!" Ren's voice boomed across the clearing. "She's going into mana shock. If I don't stabilize her core in two minutes, she freezes to death. Or worse—she detonates."
Jax looked at Vanessa's blue lips and panicked. "What do we do? We need a healer!"
"No time," Ren lied smoothly. He scooped Vanessa up into his arms. She felt like a block of ice against his chest. "I know an emergency grounding technique. I need to get her to a ley-line node. There's a cave fifty meters back."
"I'll come with—" Jax started.
"No!" Ren snapped, his eyes flashing with a commanding purple light. "You and Mila hold the perimeter. If anything interrupts us, the feedback will kill her. Do you want that on your conscience?"
Jax hesitated, then stepped back, nodding frantically. "Just... save her."
Ren didn't waste another second. He carried Vanessa into the dense undergrowth, heading for a small, secluded cavern he had spotted earlier.
Inside the cave, it was dark and damp. Ren kicked some glowing moss to create a dim light, then laid Vanessa down on his heavy canvas jacket.
She was fading fast. The frost was spreading down her neck, turning her veins blue.
Ren knelt over her, straddling her hips to pin her down. He reached for the zipper of her combat suit.
Vanessa's eyes flew open, panic warring with the hypothermia. Her hand weakly grabbed his wrist.
"Ren... what... are you doing?"
Ren leaned over her, his face inches from hers. He didn't look like a student. He looked like a predator who had trapped his prey.
"Your core is frozen, Vanessa," he said, his voice low and rough. "You have too much Yin energy. The only way to melt it—the only way to save your life—is to introduce a massive amount of Yang energy directly into your body."
He pulled the zipper down slowly, the sound echoing in the silent cave.
"I need to be inside you to do that."
Vanessa's breath hitched. The implication hit her harder than the cold. She was the Ice Queen. She was untouchable. And this... this "Trash" was telling her that to survive, she had to give him everything.
"No," she whimpered, tears freezing on her cheeks. "I can't... not you..."
"Then die," Ren said coldly, his hand pausing. "Freeze to death in the dark. I'll tell everyone I tried my best."
He started to pull away.
"Wait!" Vanessa gasped, clutching his shirt. Her survival instinct shattered her pride. The cold was unbearable; it felt like her blood was turning to glass. She needed heat. She needed him. "Don't... don't go."
Ren smirked. It wasn't a nice smile. "Then tell me what you want."
"Save me," she sobbed, arching her back as a spasm of pain hit her. "Ren... please."
Ren didn't wait. He finished unzipping her suit, peeling the white leather away from her freezing skin. He stripped off his own jacket and shirt, his skin radiating a supernatural heat that made Vanessa moan with longing before they even touched.
When he pressed his body against hers, the reaction was violent.
"Ah!" Vanessa cried out, her nails digging into his bare shoulders. The contact was electric. His skin was fire; hers was ice.
Ren didn't treat her gently. He kissed her, swallowing her protests, his tongue invading her mouth with the same arrogance he showed in the dungeon. Vanessa tried to resist, but the moment their bodies connected, the System took over.
[Skill Activated: DUAL CULTIVATION]
[Yang Energy Injection Started]
Ren positioned himself between her thighs. "Look at me," he commanded.
Vanessa forced her eyes open. She was flushed, sweating, her silver hair plastered to her face. She looked at Ren—the boy she had ignored for three years—and in that moment, filled with the anticipation of his heat, he looked like a god.
"Take the cure," Ren whispered.
He thrust his HOT hard dick between her cold, milky pussy forward, joining their bodies in a single, powerful motion.
"Ren!" she screamed his name, clutching him desperately.
It wasn't just physical sex; it was a lifeline. With every movement, Ren pumped pure, burning mana into her frozen core. The ice in her veins melted instantly, replaced by a liquid fire that made her senses explode.
"It feels... good," she slurred, her hips moving to meet him instinctively. "Too good."
Ren set a brutal rhythm, driving the corruption out of her body. The cave filled with the sounds of their wet, frantic union. The "Ice Queen" was gone; there was only a woman unraveling, whimpering and crying out as Ren took everything she had.
Ren felt the energy flooding back into him. It wasn't just mana; he was absorbing her Essence.
[XP Gained... XP Gained...]
The pleasure built to a breaking point. Vanessa clamped her legs around his waist, her back arching off the floor as the climax hit her. It was blinding, a white-hot explosion that purified every inch of her mana circuits.
"Ren!" She screamed one last time, her body convulsing in his arms.
Ren followed her over the edge, pouring the last of his energy into her, claiming her completely.