Reborn With A Technology System In A Fantasy World

One moment the guards were chanting, their faces contorted in expressions of aggression; the next, every single one of them was on the ground with their limbs splayed awkwardly.

A collective gasp ripped through the air, followed by a chorus of wet coughs. Some clutched at their throats, eyes wide and bulging, desperate for air that refused to enter their lungs.

Others convulsed as a thin trickle of blood escaped their lips. They thrashed weakly, bewildered, their minds unable to comprehend the invisible force that had so utterly incapacitated them.

They were fish out of water, suffocating in an atmosphere suddenly devoid of oxygen.

Adrian let his aura linger for a few agonizing seconds, an oppressive blanket of power that crushed their spirits and bodies alike.

Then, with a silent command, he retracted it, though a lingering phantom of its weight remained in the air.

He stepped over their prone forms, his boots crunching softly on the wet gravel. No one dared to block his path.

He continued deeper into the palace, the only sound the rhythmic clang of his armor and the persistent drumming of the rain.

It wasn't long before more oblivious guards, deeper within the sprawling complex, discovered him.

They, too, cried out, preparing to engage, but Adrian simply let them experience what their comrades at the entrance had endured.

The same invisible force, the same instantaneous collapse, the same desperate struggle for breath.

But as he moved to step past this new wave of incapacitated figures, something made him stop.

His gaze fell upon a particular guard. Adrian exempted this one from his aura's lingering effects.

He reached down, his armored hand grabbing the guard's tunic, and pulled him to his feet with an almost casual ease.

"Show me the dungeons," Adrian's voice rumbled low and dangerously, yet devoid of any overt threat.

The guard, still trembling from the residual terror of Adrian's presence, nodded frantically, his eyes wide and unfocused. Without a word, he turned and, with surprisingly quick steps, began to lead the way.

They descended several flights of stairs, the air growing colder and damper with each step.

The sounds of the storm faded, replaced by the eerie drip of water and the distant, unsettling clink of chains. Finally, they reached a heavy, reinforced door.

~WHACK!~

A single, resounding slap sent the guards at the entrance flying, their bodies slamming into the cold stone wall with a sickening thud before sliding limply to the floor.

Adrian hadn't even broken stride. The door, despite its formidable appearance, yielded to his touch, swinging inward with a low groan, revealing a long, dimly lit corridor lined with iron-barred cells.

Adrian navigated the rows of cells with ease, his heightened senses guiding him through the oppressive gloom. Within a minute, his gaze locked onto her cell. Serena.

Then, his eyes registered another figure. Crouched beneath the cell directly next to Serena's, was a man with a white beard, a man Adrian knew all too well.

He was raining fireballs on a weak, unrecognizable man within the cell. The man shrieked in pain with each fiery impact.

Adrian acted as if the man didn't exist. His heart was immediately gripped when his eyes fell upon the frail body of his sister, lying helplessly on the ground within the cell.

Her usually vibrant hair was a mess, her clothes were torn, and her skin bore the ugly bruises of recent torment. His only focus was on rescuing her. Nothing else mattered.

He gripped the thick iron bars of Serena's cell, the metal groaning under the immense pressure of his hands.

With unbelievable ease, he yanked them completely out of their sockets, tearing them from the stone frame as if they were made of brittle twigs.

He casually tossed the mangled bars aside, where they clattered against the damp floor.

As he walked closer to find out how she was doing—

~SWOOSH!~

A massive fireball, blazing with an angry orange glow, whistled past Adrian's sharp ear.

It was obvious the fireball wasn't going to hit him; its trajectory was aimed directly at Serena, who lay unmoving on the cold ground.

The stupid move infuriated Adrian beyond measure. How dare he target an already incapacitated, helpless girl? Why would he perform such a despicable, idiotic act?

Adrian sidestepped instantly, reacting sharply despite the incredible speed with which the fireball flew.

He moved with an inhuman precision, perfectly intercepting the projectile. It hit him squarely on his armored chest, erupting in a violent burst of flames and smoke.

[Durability: 99%]

Adrian looked up, his glowing blue eyes piercing through the dissipating smoke, fixed on the shocked, horrified face of Lord Cedric.

The Duke's mouth was agape, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at the unblemished armor. Adrian was incandescent with rage.

He began to speak, his voice low but resonating with an almost physical presence that vibrated through the very air of the dungeon.

"I decided to ignore you. I decided to rescue her first. I had even decided to forgive you after giving you a good beating. I had decided to assume it's not your fault, that you were just a foolish old man caught up in something beyond your understanding."

His voice grew colder, infused with a chilling intensity.

"But this move of yours. This cowardly, despicable, truly wretched move of yours... it shall not be pardoned. It is unforgivable."

Adrian's oppressive aura clamped down on Lord Cedric, freezing him on the spot. The Duke's eyes were wide with terror as he heard his 'son's' chilling declaration.

But the moment Adrian finished speaking, the aura lifted just enough for Cedric's ingrained magical reflexes to kick in.

"I—" he began, frantically chanting, desperate to conjure another spell, anything to protect himself from the storm of fury he had just unleashed.

He could barely finish the first syllable.

~WHOOOSH!~

In a blur, Adrian was on him, moving with blinding speed, a speed Cedric could never have comprehended, let alone reacted to.

What he saw next was a metallic, armored fist smashing into his left cheekbone.

~CRACKKK!~

A sickening sound echoed through the dungeon. Cedric's head snapped violently to the side, his jaw dislocating with a sharp, painful pop.

A scream was stillborn in his throat as he was lifted off his feet by the sheer force of the blow, his body twisting uncontrollably in the air.

He fell to the floor in a heap, a pained moan escaping his lips, his hand instinctively going to his shattered cheek.

But Adrian wasn't letting him off that easily.

Before Cedric could even register the pain, Adrian grabbed him by the collar of his ornate robes, hauling him effortlessly off the ground.

Then, with a powerful thrust, Adrian shot upwards.

The dungeon was underground, a cavernous space whose ceiling was located a terrifying distance above the ground; easily over five meters.

Adrian didn't stop until he reached the very top, his grip on the Duke as firm as ever.

Time seemed to slow down for Lord Cedric. The agonizing pain in his cheek, coupled with the dizzying, instant ascent, sent his mind spinning.

He hung suspended, limp and disoriented, his body dangling helplessly in Adrian's iron grip. Before he could even begin to comprehend what was happening, Adrian withdrew his hand, pulling it back with a terrible, calculated power.