And in the very next moment, the doll moved.
Its leg rose slightly before a kick slammed directly into Rain's stomach with terrifying force.
BOOM!
Rain's body was sent flying across the room like a broken ragdoll before his feet could even properly touch the ground again. He crashed hard against the wooden floor, instantly rolling and skidding repeatedly to lessen the impact as the heavy greatsword scraped violently beside him.
The wooden floor cracked slightly from the sheer force before he finally came to a stop near the far side of the practice room.
"Kh—!"
Rain coughed painfully as he forced himself back up with visible struggle, a faint trace of blood leaking from the corner of his lips. His arms trembled slightly from the impact, his stomach burning in pain where the kick had landed.
But instead of fear—
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Not bad…" he muttered excitedly while wiping the blood away with his thumb.
'Considering it's supposed to be peak Spirit Realm… but…'
Before the thought could even finish—
Rain dashed forward again.
The heavy greatsword dragged across the wooden floor while sparks burst behind him. He swung horizontally this time, pouring all his strength into the strike, but the doll casually leaned backward with unnatural flexibility before countering instantly with a palm strike directly to Rain's chest.
BAM!
Rain barely crossed his sword in time to block, yet the impact still sent him sliding backward several meters, his arms going numb from the force.
"Tch!"
"This fucking piece of junk… really packs one hell of a punch," Rain murmured weakly while barely keeping himself from dropping his great sword from his hand's.
Without wasting time, he stepped forward again, swinging repeatedly in rough but aggressive patterns. Heavy plunge. Side slash. Upward cleave. Every attack carried raw force behind it, yet the doll avoided or blocked each one with terrifying precision.
Then suddenly—
Its knee slammed into Rain's ribs.
CRACK!
A sharp pain shot through his side as his breathing stopped for a moment. Before he could recover, the doll grabbed the wooden blade itself and swung Rain together with the sword before smashing him straight into the floor.
BOOOOM!
The entire room shook violently.
Rain barely rolled away at the last second before a follow-up stomp shattered the spot where his head had been moments earlier. Splinters exploded across the room while sweat poured down his face heavily now. Bruises had already formed across his arms, his ribs burned painfully, and blood dripped slowly from his lips.
With a deadpan look, Rain thought, 'Not gonna lie… this hurts pretty damn bad. Maybe I should stop acting like a lunatic in the future for my own good…'
The thought crossed his mind while he remained down on one knee, breathing heavily with the greatsword supporting his body as pain spread through almost every part of him. Unfortunately—he already knew he probably wouldn't follow his own advice anyway.
But just as Rain prepared to make one final desperate move with the barely remaining strength left in his battered body, the doll suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Its horrifying face twisted into a terrifying expression, that disgusting monster-like appearance becoming even scarier up close as it slowly pulled back its arm, preparing to throw a devastating punch straight toward Rain's face.
Rain's expression instantly stiffened.
With a frightened, awkward smile and sweat pouring down his face, he raised one trembling hand slightly. "H-Haha… can't we negotiate this out?" he asked weakly.
Unfortunately—
The doll clearly had no interest in diplomacy.
Its fist launched forward directly toward Rain's beautiful face with monstrous speed.
Rain instinctively closed his eyes.
He already knew this was the price for recklessly trying to push past his own limits. His body had completely given out on him; he didn't even have enough strength left to stand properly anymore.
'I'm done for…'
At best, he would wake up in a hospital bed covered in bandages.
At worst…
A graveyard.
And knowing his luck, nobody would even leave offerings on his grave afterward. Not that he had anyone to do that for him anyway.
Just a typical ending for a single and lonely guy like Rain—so pathetic that even gods and demons might feel pity after seeing something this miserable.
But just as the punch was about to land directly on Rain's face, a loud impact echoed throughout the room. Surprisingly, it wasn't the sound of Rain's face turning into minced meat—but something else colliding violently instead.
"Hm?"
'…Why don't I feel any pain?' Rain thought blankly before another horrifying possibility suddenly appeared in his mind. 'Wait… don't tell me I'm already dead!?' His expression instantly turned complicated with panic, confusion, and disbelief all mixed together.
Rain slowly opened his eyes, mentally preparing himself for whatever came next—heaven, hell, the yellow springs, reincarnation, judgment, or any other mysterious afterlife nonsense. Honestly, even he wasn't confident enough in his own deeds to guess where he would end up.
But when his eyes finally opened fully—
The first thing he saw wasn't some rusty old man with a long beard and a bald head shining brighter than a halo while claiming himself to be a god.
Surpringly it was…
A stunning beauty.
A woman dressed in flowing green garments descended like a storm of leaves, her long dark-green hair fluttering wildly behind her while translucent cloth and ribbon-like fabric danced around her body. Curved white horns rose from her head, giving her an exotic and dangerous appearance, while sharp green eyes locked forward with fierce intensity.
Her outfit resembled layered leaves and seaweed-like patterns, elegant yet strangely wild, exposing parts of her chest and legs while still carrying the grace of a fantasy warrior. Twin slender blades gleamed in her hands as she moved with explosive agility, her entire figure looking less like a person and more like a spirit born from nature itself.
Her sword blocked the doll's fist perfectly, the sharp metallic sound echoing through the practice room as the impact pressure scattered around them. Despite stopping such a terrifying attack, her expression didn't change in the slightest.
"Are you okay?" she asked in a calm, emotionless tone.
Rain stared at her for a moment before finally answering, "Yeah… I'm fine. Thanks to you."
'Looks like I'm somehow destined to keep meeting exotic personalities in my life, huh…' he thought with slight relief while silently accepting his strange fate at this point.
The woman glanced toward the doll before speaking flatly, "I can't allow you to damage an adorable face."
Rain blinked once before staring at her silently.
'At least this damn cuteness has some benefits…'
The doll slowly stepped back.
"Training interrupted… stopping… rebooting…" it announced mechanically.
Soon, the crimson glow in its eyes disappeared completely as it returned to its lifeless state once again.
She quietly offered her hand toward him, and Rain grabbed it to pull himself back up.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked again, her head tilting slightly while her eyes calmly wandered across his bruised and battered body, checking his condition without much visible emotion.
Then—
A familiar info dumper suddenly appeared before Rain's eyes.
[Another species of the opposite sex with unparalleled beauty below the Empress of Domination detected. Appraising…]
[Name: Kessi Saltess]
[Race: Dedaryn]
[True Core: Restraint of Green Algae]
[Originality: Extreme Salted Kelp]
Rain blinked quietly after reading it.
'Yup… it's definitely her.'
Kessi Saltess.
An A-Tier ultra rare character from OG. She was known for her pure personality and somewhat airheaded mind despite being absurdly strong. But unlike many troublesome characters, she was genuinely a kind girl.
Soon another notification appeared.
[Transferring further information about Originality…]
A massive flow of information instantly flooded Rain's mind again. This time, however, it didn't feel painful like before. Instead, it felt more like someone rubbing salt directly into an open wound—uncomfortable, burning.
Information about kelp rapidly surfaced within his thoughts.
A special kelp that grew within extremely salty waters would gradually lose certain natural qualities because of its environment, yet in exchange gain entirely new properties far greater than what it sacrificed. Since it existed within water itself, ordinary water-based influence barely affected it anymore. However, because it carried both the properties of salt and water together—
Thunder became its absolute weakness.
The pain spread through Rain's body like someone pouring fuel directly onto burning fire, his vision almost darkening from the overwhelming sensation. For a brief moment, he nearly lost consciousness entirely—but somehow forced himself to remain standing through sheer stubbornness alone.
[Hubby, are you okay!?] appeared with a deeply worried expression, her eyes almost turning teary.
'…Now you're remembering me? Where were you when I was getting beaten half to death?' Rain complained internally with a tired, suffering expression.
But while Rain was busy silently questioning his tragic life choices, Kessi suddenly noticed something unusual about him.
She leaned slightly closer toward Rain, her long green-tinted hair swaying softly as her calm eyes narrowed a little.
"Don't move," she said quietly.
Rain murmured under his breath nervously as she leaned closer and closer toward him. "W-What now…?"
But before he could think any further, Kessi suddenly moved right beside his neck. Her soft lips lightly touched his skin while her tongue gently brushed against the injured area as if carefully checking something.
Rain's entire body stiffened instantly. A strange shiver ran straight through his spine, and he almost let out a dangerously embarrassing soft moan like an elegant lady before barely forcing himself to hold it back at the last second.
[W-What are you doing to my hubby!?] appeared with a shocked and flustered expression.
Quickly grabbing her shoulders with visible hesitation, he stared at her in confusion.
"W-What are you doing?" he asked hurriedly, his face already looking slightly flustered from the unexpected situation.
She looked at him with visible confusion, her head tilting slightly again.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm healing you."
Rain just stared at her blankly.
"????"
For a solid moment, it genuinely looked like birds were flying around inside his brain while his actual brain had gone on vacation somewhere far away, completely refusing to process a single word she just said.