Cough!
Max coughed out a mouthful of blood, wincing in pain.
'Damn woman! Weren't you apologising just a moment ago? Why do you have to be so violent in the next moment? Was this the only way to prove your point?' He thought hatefully.
Whoosh!
Mina, Anna and Amara arrived by his side, looking at him with worried looks.
"I'm alright. She didn't hit too hard." Max spoke lightly.
Jack's parents' eyes lit up when they saw the woman in white attack Max and a fleeting thought — she might not save Max—flashed through their mind, but they knew it was just their wishful thinking because she was clearly someone related to him.
Max then slowly stood up with Anna's help, his entire body aching in pain. However, he didn't show it on his face, walked over to the woman in white, looked into her eyes and nodded, "You are right. A strong person's dignity shouldn't be undermined."
He then added, "But there is another saying something like: Don't bully the young or you may regret it when they grow up?"
Mina and Anna became worried when they heard this. What if this woman took this wrong way attacked again? After all, most of the strong people were infamous for being moody.
When the woman in white heard this, a mocking expression flashed in her eyes as she nodded. "You want revenge?"
"Can't I?"
"Of course, you can." She nodded, and then a downcast expression briefly flashed through her eyes. If it was for Max staring at her from up close, he might have not noticed it.
The woman then said, "But if you want revenge, you have to do it within half a year."
If Max hadn't noticed that flash of emotion just now, he wouldn't have bothered to ask her what she meant, but since he had seen it, he became curious and questioned,
"Why?"
The woman looked at him and smiled. "Maybe I would no longer be alive after that."
Max frowned. 'Is she referring to the war?'
Suddenly… a window popped up in the corner of his retina.
[Status]
Name: Garima Wakes.
Age: 26
Stage: Early-stage 6-star mage.
Physique: Ice Yin body (Low level)
[Description: She has a special constitution, Ice Yin body. This helped her grow rapidly, and she became a six-star mage at the tender age of 26, despite the lack of resources and guidance in her early years. However, Ice Yin body has a flaw.
If it's not cultivated with special Ice cultivation techniques, the host will periodically suffer from bone chilling coldness and pain after the age of 14, draining host's vitality each time and leading to their eventual death in just over 10 years.
She has used some external sources to suppress her physique forcibly, thereby prolonging her life for 2 years. Unfortunately, her methods can only suppress her physique for less than half a year more.]
'Oh?!' Max raised his brows when he saw this and almost exclaimed out loud. 'So, this is the improved [Status] function that can show me others' status too.'
'A unique physique, huh?' He thought, understanding her reason for saying that she might not live past half a year after reading the description.
All the anger he felt at her for 'slapping' him away vanished as the emotions of pity for her surged in his heart. How could he not pity her when he knew she had been suffering for 12 years, only to die half a year later? Just how sad her life was?
The white clothed woman frowned when she saw his look of pity and laughed coldly, "What's with that look? I only said that to encourage you."
Max, however, didn't respond to her because right now, he was looking at another window on his retina.
[Ding! Mission: Make Garima Wakes your woman! Time limit: Half year.]
[Reward: Supreme grade Ice Yin cultivation technique.]
[Punishment: Garima's death.]
[Do you accept the mission? (Yes)/(No)]
He stared at the mission window with a dazed expression. This sudden mission surprised him. The system was clearly trying to save this woman's life.
'Although I won't get any reward for myself, having a six-star partner would be a tremendous help until I become one myself.' He thought, 'But first…'
He removed his gaze from the window and looked at Garima properly for the first time.
She was a beautiful woman with an attractive, albeit cold, face. Her brown eyes were deep and mesmerising, her nose was sharp but cute, her lips — a light shade of pink — were thin like soft flower petals.
Her skin was ice white and smooth that every man would love to caress, if not for the freezing temperature around her. She had waist-length long, grey, almost silver hair. Her breasts were not too big but not too small either, from what he could tell.
'Hm? A unique beauty, I must say.' He muttered in his heart. She was almost as beautiful as Anna or Flavia.
'What should I do? If I accept the mission, how am I supposed to make her mine? Do I tell her I can save her?' He fell into deep thought.
"…Hey, what are you staring at?" Garima's cold voice brought him to his senses.
"Oh? It's nothing. I was just thinking if what you said really wasn't true, because I can see that you have a unique but deadly physique." Max said, while mentally accepting the mission.
He had decided to make her his, as they would both benefit from this. She wouldn't have to die while he would gain a powerful companion.
Garima, who was ready to punish him for desecrating her body with his not so pure gaze, got stunned when she heard this.
"H-How do you know I have a special physique?" She asked, surprised. Furthermore, this wasn't the first time he surprised her. The first time was when he accurately identified her cultivation realm. However, she didn't ask him because she was angry at that moment.
As for now, her surprise was bigger because very few people knew about special physiques.
Why? Because they were even more rare than bloodlines. Moreover, it wasn't easy to tell if someone had a special physique just by looking at them. Even her master, an emperor mage, couldn't do it.
However, this guy, who was only 18, could tell?
