The cave's darkness echoed with Shiv's breaths. Shiv ripped open another wolf's belly. His body was breaking from exhaustion, but his eyes burned with a strange passion.
"30 monsters down so far... but they won't stop coming," Shiv panted. "These are live ones, not like the academy's mechanical trial room monsters." A monster attacks with its claw; Shiv dodges and slices off its head.
"I need to use my Chakra properly because there are too many." Five minutes later, he hides in a wall crack. "Atikaya license... I need it. If I want to be the world's best Martial Artist, dying here isn't an option."
Shiv moves forward. Two paths appear—one straight, one left. Suddenly, sounds of swords and screams come from the left. Shiv arrives and is stunned.
A girl about his age is fighting a powerful wolf monster. She's wearing a white half-sleeve shirt, black vest, blue tie, and black skirt. She's pretty cute and confident. She lands an Energy Slash, cutting the monster in half.
Shiv blurts out in shock, "She's powerful!"
But the girl spots Shiv and strikes an aggressive pose. "Who are you? Did you come to steal the crystal?" Shiv is confused. "Crystal? What's that?" In the blink of an eye, she's behind him, slams him to the ground, and holds his own knife to his eye.
"Speak! Did you come here to steal the Crystal?" she demands angrily.
Shiv's in bad shape. "No! I just came for training!"
The girl looks him up and down in surprise. "Training? In this portal? Are you crazy or just eager to die?"
Shiv compliments her, saying she's strong. She blushes and says, "I don't talk to weaklings." Shiv snaps back, "I'm not weak, I came to become powerful!" The girl teases, "Want to become powerful? Nice dream." After some light banter, they head forward together.
More monsters come along the path. The girl says, "Stay back, I'll handle them." But Shiv doesn't back down. Shiv wields his knife like a pro. Shiv kills 39, and the girl kills 20. The girl is tired. Shiv says, "You've probably been here before, that's why you're fighting so well." The girl gets annoyed.
"What are you saying, that you killed more? I told you not to interfere in my fights!" Shiv explains that he had a knife while she fought barehanded, so she's strong. She blushes and says, "You boys are all the same.
Suddenly, an Evolved Humanoid Wolf appears in front of them. "This is a Middle-level monster! How is it in a low-rank portal?" the girl yells.
The monster throws an energy ball. Shiv dodges and stabs its back with his knife, but the knife breaks. The monster claws at Shiv's face; the girl saves him but gets injured on her left hand.
The monster swings a punch, so Shiv activates his Golden Tether Signature Skill and slams it into the wall. The girl is shocked. "What kind of skill is that?"
The girl creates a sword and attacks the monster's neck. But the monster turns into smoke and enters her body, starting to control her!
(The girl) attacks Shiv with her sword. Shiv uses T-Sense and dodges every move. He lands a punch, she falls, and he chains her up. As he absorbs the energy, smoke exits her body, and the monster reappears. Arina comes to her senses.
"You tore my dress!" the girl whines angrily with tears. "You're so cruel, you ruined my nice dress!" Shiv promises, "Once we clear the Dwara, I'll get you a new dress."
Shiv says, "Once we clear the Dwara, I'll get you a new dress—first, let's finish this monster!" Shiv yells.
They team up for the final attack. Shiv lands a powerful Chakra kick to its head; the monster stumbles, and the girl fuses Chakra into her sword, decapitating it. Shiv is shocked. "You're at Chakra Four?"
The girl says no, it's her Signature skill. Shiv asks where she got the sword from. "I kept it in my space pocket," she replies. Shiv thinks space pocket is cool.
When they reach the exit, the path is blocked. The girl says, "How? I came in when the exit was open." Shiv yells, "Grandmaster! I cleared the Dwara!" The boulder moves, and Grandmaster Vima stands there. Arina sees him and yells, "Grand-grandfather! What are you doing here?"
Shiv's mind spins. "Grand-grandfather?"
Vima smiles and says, "This is my great-granddaughter, Arina Chandravanshi."
Arina shyly hides behind her grand-grandfather when she learns Shiv is the last Main Bloodline Chandravanshi. Vima says, "Come on, let's go back inside the invisible barrier."
Then Vima drops the real bombshell. "Shiv, before your birth, your father promised me... that your engagement was fixed in childhood upon your birth."
Shiv's mouth stays wide open. "WHYYYY?!"
A little while later
They arrive at the mansion where Vikram and Sima are waiting. Sima sees Arina's torn clothes and says, "Where are you coming from?"
They head to the washroom. Vikram asks Grandmaster what happened to Shiv and why his face looks stunned. Grandmaster says he's learned about the engagement.
Grandmaster goes inside. Vikram pulls Shiv aside and says, "Son, don't back out now. That's Grandmaster Vima—if his granddaughter (Arina) gets hurt or Said, I can't save you either. Start your training to be a good future husband from today!"
Shiv clenched his fist. "Now I have to get strong... and also protect everyone."
DHAM! Vikram landed a solid right-hand punch on his back.
"Ouch! Why're you hitting me, Vikram?" Shiv yelped.
Vikram laughed. "Sorry kid, got carried away in excitement!"