Charles felt his body burning, as if every muscle vibrated with energy he could barely contain.

Blue sparks danced around his hands, casting an unstable but intense light across the cave.

Despite the pain still pulsing through him from the system's upgrade, he felt incredible.

The guardian snake, with its glistening white scales and furious red eyes, hissed before him, but Charles was ready.

However, before he could act, the system's interface flickered in his vision with a message in red letters:

[Warning: Energy reserves at 10%. Recommend ending combat quickly to avoid disadvantage in the dark.]

Charles turned his head just in time to see the snake shift its focus to Nora, who was on her knees, gasping from pain and exhaustion.

The creature opened its mouth, revealing razor-sharp fangs, and lunged at her with a deafening HISS!.

"Nora!" Charles shouted, reacting on pure instinct.

His legs moved at a speed he didn't know he had, propelled by the electric sparks still coursing through his body.

He sprinted toward her, grabbing her by the waist and yanking her aside just before the snake could reach her.

THUD!

The force was so strong that they crashed into a rocky wall, Charles shielding Nora with his body.

The impact knocked the air out of him, and a sharp pain shot through his shoulder, but Nora was safe.

Nora coughed, leaning against him as she tried to catch her breath.

"What the hell are you doing?" she exclaimed, her tone a mix of confusion and anger. "You almost crushed me against the wall…!"

Charles laughed, though it came out more like a gasp.

"Didn't you see that?" he said, his tone trying to be teasing but full of relief. "That thing almost had you for lunch! What did you want me to do?"

Nora huffed, pulling away slightly as she struggled to stand.

"I would've blasted that snake in the face!" she said, her tone dripping with frustration. "I didn't need you to save me like some damsel, only to slam into the wall like an idiot…!"

Charles raised an eyebrow, though he knew she couldn't see it in the dim light.

"My fight, my strategies," he said playfully, letting her go.

But as Nora stood, the light from his blue sparks illuminated her back, and Charles saw the wound: her skin was red and raw, with patches where the snake's saliva had burned through her tunic and the flesh beneath.

He frowned, a pang of guilt hitting him.

The snake, now enraged, lunged at them with a SSS! that echoed through the cave.

Charles reacted quickly, channeling electric energy into his right hand.

ZAP!

He landed a direct punch to its face, and the electric energy surged through the creature, lighting it up with blue flashes.

But the snake barely flinched, shaking its head as if the attack had only annoyed it.

Now, its red eyes were locked on Charles, completely ignoring Nora, who could barely stand.

The system's interface flickered again with an urgent message:

[Energy reserves at 5% and dropping. Immediate action required.]

Charles cursed in his mind, dodging a stream of venomous saliva the snake spat at him.

SPLASH!

The corrosive liquid hit the wall behind him, filling the air with an acrid stench.

He knew he couldn't waste any more time.

"System," he said firmly, "focus all my energy into my right fist, a small portion to my legs for movement, and the rest to my eyes for night vision, like before."

[Processing request,] the system replied. [Redistributing energy: 80% to right fist, 15% to legs, 5% to enhanced vision. Warning: This will deplete all energy reserves. Confirm?]

"Confirm!" Charles said, feeling the blue sparks in his body fade, plunging the cave back into darkness.

Nora let out a frustrated yell.

"Rian, what are you doing!" she exclaimed, her tone desperate. "I was prepping an attack, but now I can't see anything! Turn that light back on!"

Charles's eyes began to burn again, and the cave became visible in grayscale, like looking through a night-vision camera.

He could now see the snake clearly, its twisted jaw and glistening scales shifting as it prepared to strike.

Nora, beside him, was raising her hands, likely trying to channel another gust of air, but she couldn't aim properly in the dark.

"Trust me, idiot!" Charles shouted, charging at the snake.

His legs, fueled by the remaining energy, moved faster than he expected.

The snake opened its mouth, ready to bite, but Charles was quicker.

With a yell, he raised his right fist, where all his electric energy was concentrated, and slammed it into the creature's forehead with a deafening BOOM!.

An electric explosion lit up the cave, the impact roaring like thunder, making the walls tremble.

SCREECH!

The snake let out a pained scream, its body writhing as blue sparks coursed through its scales.

Charles landed on the ground with a THUD!, gasping from the effort, as the creature collapsed with a dry CRASH! that echoed through the cave.

Nora's ears rang from the explosion, and she instinctively covered her head, shouting, "Shit, my ears…!"

Charles, still on the ground, gave a weak thumbs-up with a faint smile.

"I did it," he said between heavy breaths.

The system's interface flickered, confirming his victory:

[Hostile entity eliminated]

His enhanced vision deactivated, plunging him back into darkness, and he felt a void in his body, as if he'd spent everything he had.

He wasn't physically exhausted, but his electric energy reserves were completely drained.

Nora, still gasping, crawled toward the sound of his voice.

"Did you really kill it…?" she asked, her tone a mix of relief and curiosity.

Her voice was low, almost a whisper, as if she didn't want to wake the creature in case it was still alive.

"Hey, Rian, can you do that blue light trick again? We need to find a way out, and I can't see a thing…"

Charles laughed, though it came out more like a sigh.

"Give me a moment," he said, getting to his knees and starting to do push-ups on the ground.

It was how his body generated energy, and though it sounded ridiculous, he knew it worked.

Up, down, up, down.

Each movement sparked tiny blue flashes in his hands, faintly illuminating the surroundings.

Nora, seeing the blue light return, blinked in disbelief.

"What the hell…?" she exclaimed, her tone a mix of confusion and amusement.

'So that's how Rian's power works?' she thought, still processing what she'd seen.

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