Slacker suddenly pulled against Soren's jumpsuit, tearing off the arm.

"The eyes." Slacker began, "Take away from the other senses." He used the piece of cloth to cover Soren's eyes.

Pulling tight behind his head to ensure Soren could not see.

"They will be the last."

Ratler struck again with his tail, and Soren fell once more.

"Urhh... That's not fair. I was not ready." Soren lamented.

"Your opponents will not care for your readiness." Slacker strolled in slow steps around Soren.

Soren tried to follow the sound of his voice.

"...and neither will the Eldritchs."

Slacker attacked.

Using a roughly made dagger from Soul-steel.

It was swift.

~Slash

His arm burned.

"Feel the contact before the contact. The touch, before the sting."

Whoosh...

He moved again to attack.

~Slash

"What's wrong with you? You were doing good before. Feel the stab before..."

—Slacker's words muted.

No, they were isolated by Soren's ears—deemed not important for the task at hand.

The world narrowed.

Or rather, it became a tight sphere—Soren's sphere.

In Soren's mind, he suddenly saw it.

Not with his eyes.

No.

But with his senses.

From the moment the attack entered his sphere.

The hair on his skin shrank at the point the blade would cut.

And in turn, his skin molded itself in respect to the shape and edge of the blade.

His ears caught the air gliding over the surface of the dagger and the wind hitting Slacker's face as he launched forth.

Even the changing of his heart into lungs—hidden in his chest cavity—Soren's ears caught it all.

And as it got closer within the sphere, more things happened.

Soren's nose twitched, catching the distinct scent of the blade by proximity.

—and his tongue, catching the pressure about to be exerted.

For a slight moment, these senses came together to form a 3D map of Soren's immediate environment.

Everything within three meters of him was captured.

He moved.

Not excessive.

But with a slight precise turn, the blade narrowly missed.

Everyone paused. This included Handler, who was trying to hold back Vinegar—angry that Slacker had cut Soren.

Slacker frowned. 'A fluke maybe.'

He attacked again.

That same casual movement. Soren sidestepped.

Slacker's frown got tighter.

Soren's ears twitched.

He smirked.

Slacker increased his speed. The blade tore through the air again and again.

But Soren moved around the dagger's arcs like he was dodging a toddler playing a game of tag.

~Cough.

Slacker coughed, and Soren quickly removed the blind in worry.

He reached for Slacker, but Slacker raised a hand to stop him.

"You are not fine," Handler spoke up, worry in his eyes. "You lost control again, didn't you?"

Lost control?

Soren thought.

"Don't worry." Slacker wiped the blood off the side of his mouth. "I'm fine. I got it under control again. I'm fine."

But Soren did not think he was fine. He had heard a miss of the man's organs while changing form.

It was as if something shocked them, and for a slight second, they forgot how to change.

"Are you sure?" Soren asked.

Slacker nodded, standing upright with difficulty. "That thing you did just now..." he panted, "...that—that was not the Blackfield I know. Where is the fear?"

"Fear?" Soren massaged the back of his head. How was he going to explain that for his lack of fear of death, he had found something new?

Slacker's gaze narrowed. "Tell me."

Soren sighed, "Adaptation."

"Adaptation!?"

Soren nodded. "Fear teaches you what to avoid. Adaptation teaches you what will happen."

Slacker's eyes shone bright. It was like he had heard something revolutionary.

"Adaptation." He muttered to himself, nodding. "Good. Very good." He smiled.

In all his loops, this was the first time Soren was seeing the man give the semblance of a smile.

Of course, with the way his lower jaw actually looked, that smile would be terrifying.

"Come, there is much to learn." Slacker invited.

"Learn? I thought i already figured it—"

A tail caught him off guard, and he fell on his ass.

"Hahaha." Ratler laughed, giving Slacker a high five.

Slacker stepped forward, "And that is why I had you blindfolded. The eyes are too distracting.

You need to learn how to tame them in line with the rest of your other senses. Only when they walk together in harmony would you have learned Blackfield."

Soren stood up. However, a hug suddenly slammed into him from behind.

Vinegar.

"Congratulations, Soren," she whispered. "You managed to learn Blackfield in barely a day."

He turned to her and smiled.

She was close again—very close.

Soren was a head taller than her. When she looked up like that, he had a perfect view of her eyes.

The fractured sky reflecting in them.

It was... breathtaking.

But just as he saw himself getting pulled into them—

Cough—

Slacker interrupted the moment. She quickly stepped back, and so did he.

Handler and Ratler turned to Slacker, both of them resisting the urge to smack him.

"So... erm," he blushed, fondling the blindfold. "How long did it take you to learn Blackfield?" Soren asked Vinegar.

"Oh, I figured it out in about a week or two."

"A WEEK OR TWO!?" Soren's face was sour.

He felt like crying. Life was so unfair to him.

It took him over 200 days of continuous deaths to figure it out.

Was this really the fate of an F-rank?

"Lover boy." Slacker suddenly called. "It's time to experience the field.

Put back the blindfold."

...The moment the Whales showed up, Vinegar grabbed him by the waist as she pulled them up.

Even blindfolded, the lack of light had not diminished her beauty from his senses. Instantly fact, it had enhanced it.

After all, he paid better attention in this state.

He paid attention to... everything.

However, the moment they got on the wheels, Slacker interrupted his thoughts.

"I need you to touch 100 ore stones."

"HUH?"

Did he just say a hundred?

Soren did the quick math in his head. If each ore stone released an average of two to three antibodies, didn't that mean that he would have to face off 300 of them?

"Wait, I think there is mis—"

"Do you want to perfect Blackfield or not?" Slacker asked, tone straightforward.

"I do."

"Then touch 100 ore stones... now!"

Soren suddenly had a feeling that he was about to enter yet another world of pain.

(Author's note: I love when you guys comment. Also, this arc will blow your minds.)

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