Lewd System: Every Scream and Moan is EXP-Chapter 265 : Karina, You Weren’t Her

Astrid was walking toward Karina with a grin on her face. But her walk told a completely different story.

She was moving like a drunkard, every step carrying the weight of the pain she had endured and the breaking she had gone through.

Her body was begging her to stop. Her muscles had already filed their resignation letter.

But despite all of it, something was keeping her moving. Something that had nothing to do with mana or stamina or physical strength.

She created a Barbed Whip using her magic. The weapon materialized in her hand, thorned edges glinting under the lights of arena.

"You look a bit lost, senior." She dragged the spiked end across the ground as she walked, the scraping sound filling the silence between them. "Should I bring you back to your senses? Or would you prefer I end this right now with the promised one hit?"

She played with the whip lazily.

Karina was confused but her rage hadn’t died yet. Her mind refused to accept what her body was telling her. She screamed with everything she had. "Fireball!"

Nothing came. The spark flickered at her fingertips and died before it could even take shape. Like a lighter running on fumes clicking uselessly.

And at that moment, her mind gave up too. She saw her defeat. She saw it walking toward her playfully, dragging a barbed whip across the ground with a grin that should not belong to someone who looked like they had been through a meat grinder.

It was the worst part. Not the losing. But seeing what Astrid had done to her. How she had torn her composure apart with words alone. And in return what had Karina accomplished? Nothing. Nothing except showing this miserable state to the entire world.

Tears started forming in the eyes of the mightiest student in the academy. But she refused to let them fall. She would not give her parents that sight. Would not give the people rooting for her that memory.

Her voice came out fractured. "What’s happening? How... how did this happen? How could I be so foolish to—"

Her mind was throwing questions at her faster than she could process them. But Astrid answered before the spiral could swallow her whole.

"Don’t blame yourself, senior. It wasn’t your fault to begin with." Her voice carried something that wasn’t mockery for the first time in this fight. "You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

She stopped walking. Stood a few meters from Karina and spoke clearly enough for every rune in the arena to carry her words.

"The result of this battle was decided before you ran out of mana. It was declared before I played with your mind. Before I filled you with so much rage and hate that you forgot the very principle of being a mage. The very principle of this gauntlet where you had been exhausting your mana core from the first match of the day."

She tilted her head.

"The result was sealed the moment I decided to win. The moment there was profit in winning. And trust me, it wouldn’t have mattered if it was you or even the Mage Tower head standing across from me. The outcome would have been the same. It would have been whatever I chose it to be."

She looked directly at Karina.

"You know why, senior? Because neither you nor anyone else here was me. Someone told me I was different. That I was gifted by god. And the best part? In their eyes, I had already won this tournament before I even set foot in the arena. Even before the opponents were decided"

Her voice steadied into something that went beyond confidence. Beyond arrogance. Into territory that sounded almost like faith.

"So there was no way I was going to lose. No way I was going to break that trust. And that’s what made the difference."

The crowd was hearing every word through the runes and broadcasting devices. But almost nobody caught the real meaning behind what she was saying. Almost nobody understood who she was talking about.

Except a few in the VIP box.

And Jax. Whose eyes were fixed on Astrid from the edge of the arena. He thought to himself. ’Why am I seeing my own mirror in her? Is this what they mean when they say a disciple walks in their master’s footsteps?’

Astrid continued. "So don’t feel small about this, senior. Accept that it was inevitable. And be a good girl and surrender."

The whip sliced through the air. The crack of it sent a wave of terror through Karina’s eyes as she ducked instinctively, reading the trajectory aimed just above her head.

Her knees hit the ground. "I... I yield."

She looked up. And saw the whip dematerializing in Astrid’s hand. And behind the fading weapon was a smile. Not the playful one she had been wearing all fight. Not the sarcastic grin designed to provoke.

This one was genuine.

"Thanks, senior. For this match. You really were tough. You put up a hell of a fight." Astrid extended her hand downward toward Karina. "If it wasn’t for my insults breaking your focus, you would have won easily. So just forgive me for everything I said."

Everyone who knew Astrid was stunned. Karina included. This wasn’t the girl who had been spitting fire from her mouth for her whole life.

But Karina realized something looking at Astrid’s face. She was genuinely happy. From winning or from something else she didn’t quite figure it out. But whatever it was, it was the reason this girl was glowing right now.

So Karina sighed. Returned the smile. And raised her hand to take the support being offered.

But before her fingers could reach Astrid’s, she saw it. Astrid’s legs trembling. Her eyes fluttering shut. The exhaustion that had been waiting patiently for its turn finally claiming its prize.

Astrid collapsed.

But she didn’t feel the ground. Because someone had caught her. She forced her eyes open with everything she had left and found Jax’s face above hers.

He was carrying her. Princess style. Just like he had carried Lilith.

Just like she had wanted.

Her eyes met his and she smiled with whatever energy her body hadn’t completely drained. "How can this day get any better? Everything is falling into place."

Jax looked down at her. "Didn’t I tell you to be careful? Why did you push past your limit like that? What if you can’t make it to our important strategic debrief tomorrow because of your body?"

Astrid ignored his question completely. Her smile only grew wider as she tightened her grip around his neck.

"It feels really good." She pulled herself slightly closer into his chest. "It was all worth it. Because I finally got the same treatment."

Jax’s jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"

—x—X—x—

In the VIP box, Claude was a man divided.

One half of him was cursing the heavens because he knew his daughter had just slipped away from his hands and fallen into the grip of someone far more dangerous than any rival merchant or political enemy.

The other half of him was relieved beyond words seeing her in this new light. Alive in a way she hadn’t been in years.

So he prayed. Quietly. Asking god to continue blessing both of them. As a pair.

During his prayer, Sylvie leaned over. "Hey Claude, see? Told you everything would turn out good in the end. So about my share for—"

"Fifty percent cost deduction on all items under my consortium."

Sylvie’s eyes lit up like someone who had just discovered gold in their backyard. "Fifty? You can raise that, right? Don’t you love your daughter more than tha—"

"I wasn’t talking to you."

He turned to Lysandra.

"Plus highest priority access for academy students on weapons and rare-ores under my guild. And access to the Labyrinth of the South under my control."

Lysandra’s eyes widened.

"All of that for one year." He started walking toward the exit. "I will mail you the contract."

Sylvie was petrified. Unable to move. Unable to speak. Standing there like a statue of a woman who had just been financially betrayed by her oldest ally.

Claude glanced back and actually giggled seeing her state. Then turned to Lysandra one more time.

"By the way, I still don’t like how that girl acted. What was her name? Ka... Kare... whatever." He waved his hand dismissively. "Just make sure she scores lowest in her evaluations. And give her a present from me by passing her at the very bottom of the rankings."

His expression hardened for just a moment.

"How dare she look down on my daughter? Has our influence diminished?"

He opened the door and walked away.

From behind him, Sylvie’s voice exploded through the corridor. "WAIT, YOU BASTARD! I SWEAR YOU FUMBLED SOME WORDS IN THERE!"

—x—X—x—

A day passed.

The last day and today went eventfully as well. Many fights were happening simultaneously across the tournament brackets. One such pair was Seraphina and Elira, who had won their semifinal match today just few hours ago and advanced to the finals scheduled for tomorrow.

Jax was deep in his own thoughts. Recalling the events of the past few days as he sat bored at a table in a café near the academy grounds.

He was waiting for Astrid. The girl who had shown him a side of herself he never expected to see. And he was genuinely curious about what was going on in that troublesome little head of hers.

Then she arrived.

She walked into the café wearing a cream-colored sundress that stopped just above her knees, fitted at the waist with a thin brown belt that made her figure impossible to ignore.

A light denim jacket hung open over it, sleeves rolled up to her elbows. On her head sat a wide-brimmed straw hat with a simple ribbon around it, tilted just slightly to one side.

Her pointed ears peeked out from under the brim. Low-heeled sandals. A small crossbody bag. Minimal jewelry, just a thin chain around her neck.

Jax stared.

And for a moment, he forgot what he was going to say.

—x—X—x—

[A/N: Big thanks to Ordici_T for the massage chair—it really means a lot. And thank you to Nicholas_Nelson_6506, Molleybrat93, tony_adams_4787, Drapnar, and Ordici_T for the golden tickets and your constant support.]