Afterward, Freya spent some more time at home “playing” with her superpowers, which included but was not limited to one-handed handstands, backflips on flat ground, and bending a kitchen knife with her bare hands before straightening it back out.
These high-difficulty moves, which she wouldn't have even dared to dream of before, were now incredibly easy to perform.
Now that she possessed extraordinary abilities, Freya no longer had to fear that death crisis. When the time came, she could simply summon her War Pathway clone and easily solo that stalker. The only thing she needed to consider was how to kill him without affecting her normal life afterward.
So, for now, she only needed to simulate the process of taking down that stalker. However, during the second simulation, Freya had spent a month in the Special Service, and everyone there was actually quite nice. Now that she possessed some crucial intelligence regarding the Obsidian Incident, she felt it would be best if she did something about it.
For example, sending an anonymous tip to the police!
After all, the current Freya didn't know Captain Nolan and the others. If she went straight to the police and claimed she knew one of Obsidian's strongholds, she felt Nolan would be more likely to arrest her than believe her.
But if she sent an anonymous letter, she just needed to write it in detail. Whether they believed it or not, Nolan and the others, who were actively investigating this case, would surely have to go check it out, right?
The main issue with the Obsidian Incident was that the mastermind was hidden too deeply, leaving no clues. But as long as they found one of their strongholds and caught a single slip-up, the subsequent investigation should become much easier.
No sooner said than done. Freya took out pen and paper and wrote down all the information she currently knew:
【The mastermind behind the Obsidian Incident is suspected to be from the neighboring country, the Pentagram Alliance. Not only do they possess the Devil Pathway potion, but also the War Pathway potion. The dilapidated blue warehouse on Sanheng Street in the south is suspected to be one of their strongholds.】
After writing down this piece of intelligence—which would probably make the mastermind curse up a storm if they saw it—Freya went out. As she passed the entrance of the police station, she wrapped a stone in the paper, aimed, and threw it with all her might. With a sharp clatter, the stone shattered one of the police station's windows, followed by a startled shout from a police officer inside, “Holy shit!”
As for Freya, she took off running. Time flew by, and evening soon arrived. Previously, she had to patrol and stake out, but now that she knew the stalker's active hours and location, she certainly didn't need to do that anymore. She just had to time her arrival perfectly.
At the same time and place, Freya quickly spotted the dazed stalker. This time, however, she didn't plan to make a move on the street. Instead, the moment she saw him, she actively waved and called out, “Reno~ over here~！”
She had learned the stalker's name from the owner of the Broken Axe Tavern. When she called out, Reno naturally looked over. After dazing for a few seconds, like a starving man seeing a delicious little cupcake, he uncontrollably began walking toward Freya.
Although he didn't know how Freya knew his name, he didn't care about that now. After all, he had been loitering around Freya's doorstep for a long time. Now that food had delivered itself to his door, he naturally couldn't resist.
Freya quickly turned around and walked toward a secluded spot, with Reno following close behind.
Because Freya had called out his name initially, the nearby pedestrians naturally assumed the two knew each other, only slightly wondering why they were walking so fast.
Soon, the two arrived at an empty alleyway. Seeing that it was a dead end with nowhere to go, Freya slowly turned around, with a panting Reno standing right behind her.
Freya's expression was calm. The first time she faced this guy, she was surprised and afraid. The second time, she was serious and desperate. But now, for the third time, her mindset was extremely peaceful. She even tilted her head slightly, asking with interest, “I'm curious, why do you keep staring at me? Why don't you go eat someone else?”
But Reno didn't answer her question. Freya could clearly see his pupils trembling and shifting, quickly turning into red slits—a sign that his sanity had snapped. “So fragrant... so fragrant...”
Well, it seemed asking this guy was a mistake in itself. Freya sighed, simply treating him as a lolicon pervert who just liked eating cute little girls.
Right at that moment, Reno could finally hold back no longer and lunged at Freya. His speed was incredibly fast, like a cheetah suddenly springing into action. If it were the old Freya, she definitely wouldn't have been able to react.
But now, her eyes could clearly track his movements, and her own actions were even faster. Just as Reno was about a meter away from her, Freya swiftly raised her hand and threw a punch.
“Thud—”
The punch landed squarely on Reno's face. As fast as the guy had lunged forward, he flew backward just as quickly.
Freya glanced at Reno rolling on the ground, then looked at her right hand. If she had to describe her greatest feeling right now in one word, it would be: “satisfying”!
Beating down the guy who had once beaten her down—was there anything more satisfying and cathartic than this?
The corners of Freya's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a cruel expression that didn't quite match her cute appearance, giving off a subtle vibe of a beautiful psychopath.
If that punch had hit an ordinary person, their skull would probably have been shattered. But Reno was an extraordinary after all; he slowly and unsteadily stood back up.
Even though his nose was completely caved in and his face was covered in blood, Reno seemed unable to feel pain. Instead, he kept muttering, “So fragrant, so hungry...”
Seeing this, Freya couldn't help but wonder: if she had drunk the Devil Pathway potion back then, would she have turned out like this too?
Reno stumbled toward her again, and Freya actively walked toward him. The distance between them quickly closed. Then, accompanied by the sound of tearing fabric, a cold-colored tail lunged toward Freya's face.
Freya quickly dodged to the side and tilted her head, but the blow still grazed her cheek, leaving a tiny scratch. Feeling the sting on her face, she frowned slightly.
As she sidestepped, Freya lowered her body and swept her leg out. Reno, who already had poor balance, was swept off his feet and crashed to the ground once more. Freya pulled out a dagger, aimed at Reno's eye socket, and decisively bent down to plunge it in!
“Pfft—”
A small amount of blood splattered onto Freya's wrist and clothes. Under this blow, Reno's struggling body suddenly stiffened, and his hands and tail fell limply to the ground.
“Phew...” Looking at the corpse on the ground, Freya slowly stood up. She gently touched her cheek with her left hand, then looked at the blood on her fingers.
Since this “speedrun” was a success, the next time she made her move in reality, she planned to add “no-damage” to her speedrun.
Freya turned and left the alleyway, jogging straight toward the southern part of the city. She planned to visit Sanheng Street—Obsidian's stronghold—once more to see if Captain Nolan and the others had resolved the matter.
Freya had only three goals in starting this fourth simulation: “getting familiar with her abilities,” “beating up Reno,” and “providing clues to the Special Service.” She had already completed the first two.
And next, if Captain Nolan's trip could help investigate the Obsidian case, then after ending the simulation and returning to reality, Freya would report it using the same method.
Because the distance was too far, even with Freya's current physical capabilities, she had to run for over an hour before reaching Sanheng Street. Not long after she arrived, just as she was looking for the blue warehouse, a loud rumble suddenly echoed.
At the same time, she felt the ground beneath her feet tremble. While the other pedestrians around her were still looking bewildered, not knowing what had happened, Freya ran straight toward the source of the sound. A dilapidated blue warehouse came into view.
Then, in the very next second, the side wall of the warehouse exploded outward, and a figure was thrown out like a ragdoll, crashing onto the ground right near Freya.
The moment she saw the person's face clearly, Freya's eyes widened in shock. It was Miles, one of the three members of Nolan's squad. Right now, he was clearly drawing his last breaths.
When Miles saw Freya, he thought she was just a bystander. He weakly raised his hand and said in a faint voice, “Run... get away from here...”
But upon hearing this, Freya instead picked up her pace and actively ran toward the warehouse. Having spent time in Nolan's squad, she was very familiar with Captain Nolan's operational style. He usually stationed his teammates in safe spots to perform support and backup duties, while he himself charged at the very front.
With Miles beaten to this state, it naturally meant that the captain who had charged ahead at the very front was highly likely already dead or dying.
But how is this possible? Captain Nolan is a Rank Four!
There were eight Special Service squads in this city, and Nolan's squad had the fewest members. The main reason they could maintain such a small number and remain safe was naturally Captain Nolan's personal strength. It was no exaggeration to say that Nolan was the strongest among the eight captains.
In other words, Nolan was the strongest “official extraordinary” on the surface in Auxerre.
With a light leap, Freya jumped over to the broken warehouse wall where Miles had just crashed. Inside, dense figures stood packed together. A rough glance revealed at least thirty to forty people. There were men and women, fat and thin, wearing all kinds of different clothes, looking exactly like ordinary pedestrians you could see anywhere.
But strangely, everyone had an extremely mechanical, numb expression on their faces. They looked like marionettes.
In the center of the warehouse, Captain Nolan was surrounded by this crowd. Each of them held a weapon, stabbing from every angle. Countless sharp blades pierced through his body, turning him into a human pincushion.
Blood kept spilling from the corners of his mouth, and his lips trembled slightly, his face filled with utter disbelief. “I didn't expect...”
However, Freya could no longer hear what Nolan said next. Accompanied by a whistling sound of tearing wind, an attack came. The speed was simply too fast; even though Freya had become an extraordinary and had her physical attributes greatly enhanced, she was completely unable to dodge.
The only thing she could manage was to tilt her head slightly and glance toward the direction of the attack, catching a faint glimpse of a red shadow.
Immediately after, Freya lost consciousness. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back in the school restroom—the exact place where she had started this fourth simulation.
A small prompt popped up in front of her:
【Simulation complete. Duration: 7 hours. Save this slot?】
There was no doubt she had been instantly killed. Because death had come so quickly, she hadn't felt any pain. She didn't know whether that was good news or bad news.
Freya curled her lips. “This prompt is completely redundant. Why would I ever save a dead slot?”
Watching the simulation enter its one-hour cooldown again, Freya returned to her classroom to continue her classes. This time, after the cooldown ended, she didn't rush to start a new simulation.
Time passed, and when school let out, Freya walked slowly on her way home, unable to help but wonder what she should do next.
This so-called Obsidian mastermind was far more formidable than she had imagined. To be able to defeat Captain Nolan, they had to be at least a Rank Five extraordinary, right?
And she was only a Rank One. More precisely, she only had a single Rank One clone, while her main body was still an ordinary person. And she was supposed to find a way to foil the evil plans of a Rank Five villain?
Facing the demon king right after leaving the starting village? Seriously?
To be honest, Freya was feeling a bit hesitant now. She was even thinking that since whatever this villain was plotting didn't seem to have anything to do with her, maybe she should just leave it alone for now?
As she was lost in thought, Freya passed an alley and suddenly turned into it without warning. Then, as if she had taken a wrong turn, she belatedly backed out and continued her way home.
However, just a minute after she left, another girl with her right hand wrapped in bandages, wearing different clothes but looking exactly like her, walked out.
Freya had entered the alleyway just now to deliberately pick an empty spot to summon her clone. With the time and location about right, she planned to easily and flawlessly speedrun the stalker first.
...
Rate on N.U.
