Under the crowd’s gaze, Nash slowly inched toward Natasha until they were only an arm’s length apart.
"What do you want to—"
Before Natasha could finish, a crisp slap rang across her face.
Too shocked to react, she couldn’t dodge as another palm struck the other side of her cheek.
"That’s better... equally red and pink," Nash muttered, as if admiring his handiwork.
In a fury, Natasha swung her arm, aiming to disintegrate his body.
Unfortunately, her hand only passed through a virtual form, giving her a chuckle in response.
"Not bad. I didn’t expect this virtualization function would work."
From a guest to a basic user, Nash’s virtual permission allowed him to virtualize his body, like a spectator who couldn’t be harmed.
Hearing his mocking chuckle, Natasha was enraged and went berserk, destroying everything in sight.
Unable to move under her pressure, most couldn’t virtualize in time and were brutally killed by Natasha.
"Bad luck! The witch went berserk!"
"Luckily I clicked virtualization in an instant!"
"That brat was so daring. Isn’t he scared of death?"
"Don’t mention it—he must have balls of diamond!"
"Haha, seriously? How could he hit that witch? Twice, no less!"
"What are you laughing at?! How dare you praise such an ungentlemanly act?"
"Are you even a man? How could you slap a girl like that?!"
"Tsk, Camilla must have poor taste! How could she like a violent man?"
"Perhaps she’s a masochist!"
As they argued over Nash’s outrageous actions, Natasha calmed down after trashing half of the grand hall.
Soon, those who had died also began to materialize, informed by others that Natasha was done.
Still feeling the pain of their deaths, they glared at Nash with hatred.
Though they couldn’t die in the virtual world, the pain felt as real as it could be.
"Your name is Noir, right?" Natasha gritted her teeth, recalling Nash’s name.
"It is... It’s an honor you remember my name. But, next time, please be gentle and less arrogant. It might ruin your elegant image."
"Good! Good! You, Noir, are truly daring! Camilla, it seems the man you found is wilder than you!"
"Haha, Captain, don’t take it to heart..." Camilla laughed wryly, sensing her anger.
She hadn’t expected Nash to slap Natasha so boldly.
"Will you be alright?" Nash whispered, his voice laced with deep worry.
"Don’t worry. Though Captain Natasha is fierce, she’s not bad at heart," Camilla said with a smile.
Natasha might seem like an impulsive woman, quick to anger, but when it came to responsibility and loyalty, Natasha could even sacrifice her life for others.
About seventy years ago, Natasha was only eliminated from the Domain-Level Cosmic Competition because her teammates held her back.
Facing unprecedented danger, she held the fort, giving time to others to escape the Dark Plane.
Unfortunately, the battle caused devastating injuries, ending her ability to continue the trial.
After this, Natasha should have learned his lesson and picked a stronger teammate or gone alone.
However, instead of that, she honed her strength to better protect her team.
Not joining the following cosmic competition after, she has trained until now.
This was why the Nova Military Academy entrusted their top students to her, confident they wouldn’t be betrayed or endangered.
"I see. If you can’t stand her, come with me..." Nash said, holding her hands.
Having offended the strongest among them and left a bad impression, Nash doubted he could join any team now.
Meanwhile, seeing Nash still had the guts to ignore her, Natasha touched her cheeks, as if recalling the slap.
"The new generation is getting more and more audacious."
As if her words took form, an otherworldly man with silver hair elegantly walked through the ruined hallway.
As he moved, the world seemed to burst back into color.
Skylar Nova, a direct descendant of the Nova family and the greatest prodigy since the Nova Sector’s founding.
Awakening his genetic ability at birth and enhancing it to heaven level with his first genetic potion, he was hailed as the Star Nova who outshone his entire generation.
Behind him followed equally gifted individuals.
Luca, the most talented void tamer, who single-handedly subdued a cub of a War God beast.
Nora, a beauty with both brains and brawn, who became a Tier 1 scientist at such a young age.
As they entered, the chatter subsided, replaced by looks of respect and admiration.
"Tsk, what a show-off," Natasha muttered in annoyance.
"Isn’t that Alessia?" Nash thought, spotting the woman beside Skylar.
He hadn’t expected the woman who helped him in the library to be the famous child prodigy.
No wonder she knew so much about the rules of the Spirit Pavilion.
"Is that girl pretty?" Camilla squinted, noticing Nash’s attention.
"What girl? I’m looking at Skylar. Is he more handsome than me?" Nash whispered in Camilla’s ear.
"There’s no comparison. If your appearance is that of a god, he’s at most a prince of an empire," Camilla murmured without hesitation.
Though Nash’s appearance lacked special effects, it was only because he hadn’t mastered the elemental laws.
In terms of raw looks, Skylar barely reached a tenth of Nash’s.
"Is that true?" Overhearing them, Natasha glanced curiously at Nash’s mask.
"No, it’s not! My husband is very ugly!" Camilla quickly denied, eyeing her defensively.
She was thankful Nash wore a mask; otherwise, she might not have been able to control her captain.
"Tsk, isn’t it just a face? Can’t I take a look?"
The more Camilla hid it, the more curious Natasha became.
"Is Skylar really that strong?" Nash asked, watching Skylar and his group settle in, waiting for the assembly to start.
"Strong? Hah, strong is an understatement," Natasha muttered, her voice tinged with complex emotions.
"If he’s so strong, why is he only a Void Warrior right now?"
Despite the restrictions on how early one could absorb void energy, given his resources and devastating talent, Skylar should have been at least a Void Commander now.
So why was he lingering at Void Warrior rank?
"Hah! It’s because that brat is quite ambitious. You’ll find out in the future..."