《My Bio-Nanotech System》
Chapter 1: Just Another Mission
Chapter 1: Just Another Mission
"We''re nearing the altar, and the presence of a stage seven Star rank beast has been identified on the route..." The AI voice of the spaceship rang out as the captain sitting in the pilot''s seat narrowed his eyes.
Immediately grabbing themunicator beside him, he said, "You all should prepare for disembarkation in the next 30 seconds..."
A group of seven, clothed in advanced dark-red colored battle suits, could be seen in a long hall, seated opposite each other.
Large Assault Rifles in hand and the different spaces on their battle suits were daggers and different types of other lethal technological weapons.
They all had Nano-helmets covering their heads, revealing only their eyes, which would make any man fall on his knees upon sighting those cold, predatory eyes that screamed of murder and madness.
This is a group of elite shoulders trained from a young age to be absolute killing machines capable ofpleting all missions whatsoever, no matter the danger. Each of them has stepped on the bones of countless others just to survive for this long.
A group named Death Soldiers...
The voice of the captain rang out as they all stood immediately at once, as if having rehearsed this moment for a thousand times.
The sound of seven guns being cocked reverberated through the hall in unison, creating an echo that made one''s heart pound faster in their rib cages.
"30...29...28...27..." The countdown by the AI of the spaceship began, but It wasn''t a simple countdown to descending a spaceship andnding on the ground.
It was that of descending into hell andnding in the abyss, as even the elite soldiers could be heard exhaling from their lungs, perspiration on their faces while some tightened their hands on the gun as if saying goodbye to their dying friends.
But there was a single anomaly among the group, standing at the utmost front, golden eyes narrowed dangerously in focus as he looked at the door they''ll be descending through, his gaze never, for once, blinking away from it.
There were no signs of emotions, no perspiration, or signs of nervousness, just a deep scary calmness.
"3...2...1..."
The space beneath them slowly opened, revealing the fog beneath them. The air pped around the entire hall enough to sweep away an ordinary mortal from his feet, but they all remained stationary as if glued to the floor.
The sound of footsteps could be heard from behind them, revealing a 2-meter-tall middle-aged man with ruby red eyes and hair,pletely d in an advanced Mecha suit and carrying a sma rifle twice as big as the rest carried by the others.
The man walked to the front of the group, turning his head back to stare at the group of seven behind him before focusing on the abyss below.
Suddenly, he got into a strange stature, with his upper body lowered, and his butt pushed out.
"Jump!"
Themand reverberated through the entire space as the man disappeared into the sea of fog below them, the entire group following just a secondter.
-- -- --
Eight figures jumping from a height of 500 meters in the air rapidly descended to the ground, inching closer to the ground with every passing second but when it looked as if they were about to kiss the ground.
They all suddenly revolved at the same time, legs facing down as thrusters zed beneath the soles of their battle suits, instantaneously stopping their descent as they gentlynded on the ground.
The captain grabbed his gun tightly, looking around at the sight of where they were.
A swampy ground covered with tall trees covered the distance as far as eyes could see.
Demolished ruins of buildings with vines growing all around them in the far distance, revealing signs of former civilization, while bones littered the swampy floor, bearing the grotesque shape of both humanoid and beastly.
The captain raised his hands, pointing to his eyes before pointing forward.
Immediately, the entire group moved forward with coordinated speed while he stayed at the back following behind them, eyes glued to the holographic on his hands which revealed 8 tiny dots and a singr red dot at the end of the image.
"Just 5 more kilometers..." He muttered under his breath, his eyes shining in delight, but his face immediately changed as his hands tightly grabbed hold of the gun...
"AHHHHHHHHH...." The shrill scream of a human rang out as the captain''s eyes narrowed dangerously, barely seeing one of the soldiers dragged into the ground with speed, his head quickly disappearing within the swamp, bringing an end to his scream and most surely his life.
This Happened In A Split Second!!!
"It''s a Wyrm, tighten the circle and leave no hole of attack..." The captainmanded as the group formed a circr format with him at the center of this format.
The silence in the ce was chilling, and the bone-biting chill emanating from the fog made matters worse, giving them no time to even take a deep breath, but they continued forward nheless...
The group slowly came to a halt and their faces slowly turned gloomy when they saw the swamp in front of them, suddenly twisting and turning as they watched it revolve.
And as if in a chain reaction, the other ''grounds'' beneath them also began twisting and squirming as they revolved around the group in a circr format.
The faces of the soldiers beneath the masks visibly paled as they looked at the five grounds that were twisting beneath them...
"Oh, no. It''s a total of five wyrms at the third star rank stage..." The captain said, swallowing a spittle, his voice like a bomb dropping on the entire group, but suddenly, he felt a golden pair of eyes turning towards him.
"No! It''s a wyrmir..."
"WHAT!!!" The entire group screamed out in shock on hearing that.
"Don''t you all realize we''ve been walking on their backs ever since we descended..." The emotionless voice of the golden-eyed soldier rang out as the entire group''s faces turned a shade paler, and they stared beneath their feet.
The Ground They Were Standing On Was Slowly Moving...
"Oh, no..."
"Shit, FIREEEEEEEE..."
VROOM
VROOM
VROOM
VROOM
SCRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICHHHHHH
The sounds of a sma gun being fired immediately rang out as the foggy area was illuminated in a destructive green light.
The soldiers immediately gathered back facing as they shot at their fastest speed.
SCRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICHHHHHH
The sound of the wyrms rang out through the entire area as gigantic snake heads tore out of the ground, revealing the full figure of the ten-meter-long abominations straight from hell.
With extremely hard scales that could rival iron in defense and sharp rowed teeth, thousands in numbers. They were the perfect abyssal anacondas from any psycho''s nightmare.
The wyrmsunched a brutal assault at the invaders, their gigantic maws snapping at them from every direction, but all their endeavors to tear apart the invaders were for naught as the green ball of energy emanating from the guns burned through their scales while a wyrm that tried to swallow them will only feel a circr iron ball enter into its mouth before its entire body blew up with a bang.
An even more powerful screech suddenly rang out as the floor where they all stood suddenly shook. The entire group immediately rolled away, a gigantic wyrm head bursting out of the ground a momentter.
The captain turned his head, his eyes widening in fear as he felt the aura around this wyrm which was at the 5thstar rank, but his eyes narrowed seeing a soldier high in the air who was slowly descending downwards, no doubt surely entering into the belly of the gigantic wrym in the end.
"Tch, and here I thought he wouldst the longest..." The captain said as he noticed the figure was the golden-eyed soldier who soon disappeared into the mouth of the wyrm which immediately snapped its jaws close tightly.
"His fate has been sealed..." The captain whispered, but as if in response, hot green blood sshed on his face as a de light shed through the world.
Hundreds of marks suddenly appeared on the gigantic wyrm''s body as it was immediately sliced into a hundred pieces and a golden-eyed figure burst out of its stomach in the next second, the same as the figure that got swallowed in the first ce except this time he wore no helmet.
The captain seemed to have seen a ghost on sighting those devilishly handsome face and the words in his mouth got stuck in his throat.
"You... You''re Khan The Hollow!"
Chapter 2: Life Flashes...
Chapter 2: Life shes...
Golden eyes, like the light of fireflies, and short golden-colored hair gently blowing in the wind, formed from the chaos happening currently.
Captain Morgan looked at the white-faced young man, whose handsome face only made him turn a shade paler.
The powerful screech of a wyrm rang out from the sides, its gigantic maw closing in on him, but he didn''t move a single inch from where he stood, still looking dazedly at the young man in front of him.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP
Blood sshed on the side of Captain Morgan''s face as the gigantic head of the wyrm rolled down to his legs, while the young man in front of him swiped the purple blood away from his de.
"This is tiring..." Thezy voice rang out, echoing throughout the swampy area as the golden-haired young man disappeared from where he stood.
A de shed through the world with speed, followed by a wyrm''s head soaring into the sky.
Using its gigantic body as steps, the young man rapidly climbed, ascending higher into the air before jumping off its body, his figure sting through the air.
A wyrm rapidly extended its mouth, wanting to snap the young man in the air, but he didn''t even look below him as he plucked three circr balls from his uniform and released them.
The circr balls were pulled into the wyrm''s mouth by gravity before a devastating explosion rang out, causing its gigantic body to explode into pieces.
The young man soared through the air, arriving before thest wyrm as two curved daggers appeared in his hands, the wyrm snapped at him, but the young man''s suit released mes from the thrusters, pushing him up slightly as he rolled midair, avoiding the bite while arriving at the back of the wyrm.
The two daggers immediately dug into the wyrm''s back and sliced down the wyrm''s body,pletely severing it into two as hended on the ground with a thud, both sides of the wyrmnding beside his leg.
"AHHHHHHHHH..." Stale white air puffed out from his mouth, his battle suitspletely covered in purple blood while beneath his shoes were remains of the wyrms, which he stepped on as he continued moving towards the captain.
Arriving before him, his emotionless eyes looked at him as he whispered, "Can we move on..."
"Ah yes..." The captain said, regaining his wit as he looked at the remaining soldiers.
Two of the soldiers were lost in the small fight that just took ce. With the first one that was killed by the wyrm, it made a total of three people dead.
Now their team was only left with five people, including the captain.
"If you knew this was the wyrm''sir when we first descended, why did you keep quiet about it? We could have avoided this unnecessary loss of life..." One of the soldiers suddenly challenged as he looked at the golden-haired young man with hatred in his eyes.
Khan slowly wiped off the blood off his uniform before turning to look at the soldier.
"You seem to be forgetting I''m an elite death soldier. I''m not concerned with your life or death; it isn''t relevant. I''m only concerned with obtaining that item and returning it to base. Whether you all died or lived, it matters not to me..."
"You..." The soldier clenched his teeth in anger, a vein popping in his forehead, but before he could do anything, the captain raised his hands, shutting him up.
"We continue..."
The group quickly got a hold of themselves as they continued on the mission.
Having lost a total of three soldiers, Captain Morgan grew more careful as he made sure to use the life-detecting scanner to avoid potential beasts.
While the path would be longer, they were able to avoid anyone dying.
Slowly, they moved past the swampy area and soon arrived in a clearing where apletely demolished building could be seen.
The rubble made of concrete and blocks was scattered around the ce, leaving nothing special about it, but at the center of the building was a small altar around a meter in height.
The altar was covered in strange blood-red runes that released shes of ominous red-colored lights. Two gigantic statues were at its side, one depicting a tiger with four wings, while the other was that of a bear with a scorpion tail.
But what caught the attention of the group was the blue-colored crystal gently floating at the top of the altar.
The captain''s eyes narrowed looking at the crystal before turning to look at the holographic, which confirmed this was really the target of the mission.
The group grew even more alert, clenching their guns in their hands as they all looked at the environment, but there was still no sign of life around the area.
The captain could confirm this by the life-detecting scanner in his hands.
He slightly rxed as he walked towards the altar, arriving before the crystal that revealed bursts of beautiful blue light.
He slowly extended his right hand towards it, but suddenly stopped just an inch from touching it.
Without pulling his hands back, he looked at the environment still, seeing it was calm before he finally grabbed hold of the crystal.
With the crystal in his hands, Captain Morgan breathed out a sigh of relief as he wiped away the perspiration from his face.
Walking back towards the group, he looked at them before a smile broke out on his otherwise sharp face.
"We''ve secured the object. Now we just need to head back to the ship; it''s just 2 kilometers away to the east..." He said as a smile broke out on the soldiers'' faces, but the Captain suddenly noticed there was a particr somebody absent.
Looking behind him, he saw Khan standing in front of therge statue of the four-winged tiger, as he kept looking at it dazedly.
"What''s wrong..."
"It is all too quiet. If you noticed, the Crystal was radiating powerful electromaic waves..." Khan said with his brows furrowed.
"And what''s wrong with that..."
"An object radiating a powerful electromaic wave in the middle of the wild. Tell me, who is the most sensitive towards electromaic waves..." Khan asked as the Captain replied absentmindedly.
"The Abyssal creatures..."
"Howe we didn''t see any of them here or even around here? It is like this ce is some sort of forbidden ground..."
The captain''s eyes narrowed on hearing that.
Khan''s attention was suddenly diverted towards the bottom of the statue as he saw the same blood-red runes on the altar on it.
His eyes narrowed as he dug his hands into the piece of sand beneath the statue and quickly came in contact with a solid matter.
Pulling it out, it was the skull of an especiallyrge Abyssal creature.
Captain Morgan bent to his knees to take a closer look like Khan cleared another part of the sand and brought out the ribs of another Abyssal creature.
"Unless this is a..." Khan said as he turned to look at the Captain, his eyes widening with every passing second.
"Deathtrap..." The captainpleted and then,
RUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE
The statue slowly began shaking as the sand it was made with slowly poured down.
The duo slowly retreated, hands on their guns. The entire group had their mouths widened to the absolute limit as they watched the ''statue'' pour down its sand, and a gigantic tiger with four wings slowly opened its red eyes while the bear stood upright, its scorpion-like tail sneaking around it creating loud slicing sounds of the air being sliced as its blood-red eyes turned down to look at the group.
"Me... Meteor rank stage abyssal!!" The captain said, every bit of hope fading from his face as the gun in his hands dropped to the ground, and he fell to his knees.
ROO000000000000AR.
While the captain himself was on his knees, the will to live of the elite soldiers was stronger as they immediately opened fire, throwing all their sma bullets at the beasts and their pseudo-atomic bomb.
A minor explosion raised the sands, but it soon cleared revealing the two beasts who stood at their initial position with not a single mark on their body.
Airwaves sted around the ce as the captain felt the crystal in his hand immediately disappear, the thief none other than a golden-haired figure shed by him with inhumane speed and quickly disappeared into the distance but it wasn''t long gone when the bear''s paw mmed out at the entire group.
KABO0O000000OM
It was like a nuclear bomb was dropped beside them as the entire group immediately exploded into blood showers just from the crushing force of the palm alone.
Khan''s eyes widened seeing the gigantic paw that was closing in on him, the wind already tearing apart his cloth and creating deep cuts on his skin, but before it couldnd on him, he rolled himself into a ball as he ced crystal at the front of his head.
BOO00000000000M
An apocalyptic force rammed into him sending him crashing through multitudes of trees as the sound of crushing bones rang out.
Khan finally mmed into a huge tree stopping his backward motion.
Blood gushed out of his mouth with bits of his intestines mixed in.
Landing face t on the ground, the world slowly turned dark as blood seeped out from the slight crack that was present on his forehead.
Yet even though, the bones in his body have been broken apart, his muscles torn to pieces, and his skull cracked.
Khan still extended his hands forward, as his fingers inched closer toward the blue crystal.
The world was rapidly turning ck the sound of the shaking ground was like a titan running towards it slowly grew quiet, yet there was nothing but a single thought in his mind as he extended his fingers forward to the crystal.
"The mission, the mission, the mission.." The gentle whisper was barely heard and his head dropped to the ground, lifelessly, but at thest second, his hands managed to touch the crystal while a single drop of his blood stained its ssy surface...
A bright sh of mesmerizing blue light!!!
Chapter 3: The Bio-Nanotech System
Chapter 3: The Bio-Nanotech System
The darkness was silent and still, but it was better than light, as it cast away the gloom and fear, the burden of life, like a child in the bosom of his mother.
But this neversted, as the shoving began. Khan opened his eyes, weing himself to the darkness surrounding him.
The darkness was illuminated with gigantic dark-colored crystals that covered the entire space as far as he could see.
He drifted past thousands of these crystals, as he slowly stretched his hand to the side to feel the crystal, and then he was immediately pulled away...
"Hey kid, why don''t you act like the good boy that you are and pass over the te of food..."
A group of four over-robust kids stood in front of a small kid, d in nothing but a torn-apart singlet and underwear, with a single te of food in front of him where two crumbled pieces of bread could be seen.
"But you took everything for the past three days. Let me take this one, just this one..."
"Hey, do you think we''re some beggars?" The leader of the gang said with a childish, sinister smile as he grabbed hold of the te in front of the boy before mming it on his head.
The sharp sses of the te dug into his head causing blood to stain the scanty golden hair.
"What kind of human even possesses golden hair and eyes in the first ce."
"He must be an abyssal creature who can transform into a human, haha..." The underlings thundered out, but the boy sat down, his gaze soulless as he looked at the crumbs of bread on the ground and his hands slowly reached out.
STEP!
A gigantic foot mmed on the bread, crushing it as the entire groupughed out loud.
"If I don''t have it, do you think you can..." The fat boy said with a sinister smile.
"This is a lesson for you kid. I''m guessing you''ll do right tomorrow, won''t you..." The leader of the bully said as the group moved away with loud mockingughter.
"Why..." A gentle whisper echoed out from behind them.
"Huh?"
"As he went mad, haha?"
"Why? Because in this world, there''s no ce for the weak like you. In due time, you''ll be dying soon.
So why waste so much food that''ll in the end be for naught, why not let the strong like us have it..." The fat boy said as he dragged the head of the boy upwards, but thest thing he saw was a ssh of red that covered his entire vision followed by the shrill scream of his underlings...
Khan snapped his eyes open as his hands slowly left the crystal. But the pull on him never stopped, as it kept dragging him forward.
Arriving before another dark crystal, Khan reached out, touching its ssy surface.
"He''s a monster, he''s a monster..." The shrill voice of a woman rang out, in front of her were three officers d in dark red uniforms.
A figure soon emerged from the door of the orphanage home, revealing it to be another one d in the uniform but with a small figure in his hands.
"He has been secured...." The officer said, giving a nod to the others.
"Don''t worry, mam, you can forget about him ever causing any trouble again..." The other officer reassured them as they entered the van, which soon moved out of the ce.
"We''ve secured him, sir, we''ll arrive at the Death Ground in less than five minutes..." One of the officers whispered gently to themunicator in his hands.
"Good. Bring him over and make sure none is behind your tail..."
Khan''s eyes once again snapped open as he drifted past the crystals arriving before another one, his hands reaching out for it.
It was a training ground where hundreds of young children around age fourteen could be seen sitting across the ce in a circr format, leaving a space where two kids could be seen.
One of them was on his feet, his face torn apart brutally with finger marks, while his right eye was snapped close, blood dripping down it like a waterfall.
The other was on the ground, his face bloodied and bashed in.
A middle-aged man slowly walked towards the battle stage, he arrived behind the boy who was standing and pulled out his katana from his waist, handing it to the golden-haired boy.
"Remember, Khan. There''s no ce for the weak in this world. There''s no love, no pain, no fear, no joy. There''s only a single word, survive.
The strong will survive, while the weak will forever get buried beneath their feet."
The man, covered In a mask in the shape of a demon''s face, said as the boy called Khan held tightly the katana in his hands.
Two older kids moved out from the group as they raised the boy on the ground, positioning his neck beneath the golden-haired boy.
"Only the strong will survive, while the weak will forever get buried beneath their feet..." The boy whispered as he raised his de, taking in a deep breath before...
RIPPPP
Khan''s eyes snapped open as he drifted past the crystal. Looking around him, there were hundreds of such dark-colored crystals, reaching a number that would be impossible to count...
Looking at his past, his eyes held no remorse, sorrow, or pity, they were justpletely emotionless.
The shoving force seemed to be unending, and he finally got tired of the memories, but his eyes suddenly brightened as he saw a dim crystal in the distance.
But what drew his attention was the color of this crystal. Unlike the others, it wasn''t dark-colored but actually gold!
Khan immediately forcefully changed his direction, as he inched closer to the golden-colored crystal with all his strength, his hands touching its warm surface...
Arge room, with tiles that shimmered with a beautiful golden light on the ground, while the ceiling was incredibly high, with arge chandelier at its top.
Khan could hear the slight murmur tunneling from beyond the room, making him quickly run through as he inched closer to where the sound wasmon from.
There was no door to exit the ce, but this didn''t hinder him as there was a small opening present, just enough for him to see through with a single eyeball.
Then he saw it, it was like some type of basement in the ce and Khan could see a small strange piece of equipment that looked like some type of basket.
From within the basket was the slight murmur of a child, and Khan stood there numbed on hearing that voice.
That Was Him!
The baby wasughing and muttering some things Khan couldn''t understand, but he could see its hand extending from the tub and pointing towards a particr ce, snapping and closing as if signaling for a person toe.
But Khan was unable to see that, the single hole never permitted it. But he could hear the feminine sobs and then a voice.
"They said you weren''t worthy of a name.
They said you were never part of our race, even with your golden hair and eyes, it''s still for naught with no sign of ability to cultivate Cosmic Energy. Your strange body is just too weak for that..." Khan stopped there for a second as he looked around the room trying to find some sort of exit, but there was none, making him extremely disappointed, he quickly focused back on the hole when he heard the talk begin.
The baby continued muttering words, his hands snapping and closing as if signaling for a person toe.
But Khan was unable to see that, the single hole never permitted it. But he could hear the feminine sobs and then a voice.
"They said you weren''t worthy of a name. They said you were never part of our race, even with your golden hair and eyes, it''s still for naught with no sign of ability to cultivate Cosmic Energy.
Your strange body is just too weak for that..." The sob began as a single line of tear escaped Khan''s left eye, but even he was oblivious to that.
"But I''m happy you can''t.
At least no one would care if you''re gone from this world.
At least, unlike us, you''ll be able to escape the cruel hands of fate and power that tighten its hold on us here with every passing second..." Khan stopped there for a second as he looked around the room trying to find some sort of exit, but there was none, making him extremely disappointed, he quickly focused back on the hole when he heard the talk begin.
The baby continued muttering words, his hands snapping towards where the voice wasing from.
"I''ve seen your intent. But I can''t. I''m a failure of a mother who has grown so strong my natural aura will eradicate you from existence.
But now, throughout the entire Takamahagara and the Nine nes of existence. You''re the one I love the most, Khan..." Khan''s heart broke into a thousand pieces as his emotionless eyes quivered thousands of times, something trying to forcefully show in it.
"Khan, the universe is huge, and the worlds are countless, I don''t know where you''ll be transported to. However, I''m sure it is a ce where you''ll be able to avoid his hands and his fate.
I want you to live a peaceful life, away from death, away from sadness. I want you to love and be loved. To be grateful for the life that you have been given..."
"I..."
"But if there trulyes a day when your body could harness Cosmic energy. I know one with this bloodline would never be content with living a simple life. Therefore, I''m leaving with you this ne, at least you won''t be like a headless fly...." Khan watched as he saw a small golden-colored ne float over and appear in the boy''s hands.
A circr golden rune suddenly appeared beneath the ground where the tub was as it slowly came to life, revealing bursts of golden energy.
The ground slowly changed, and soon it was in the shape of a revolving golden vortex with the tub slowly dripping inside it.
"I love you Khan and one day, I truly wish I could see your face again..."
The tub soon dippedpletely into the vortex and everything soon returned to normal except for the sobs of the woman who grew louder with every passing second.
-- -- --
Khan''s eyes snapped open, looking at the gold-colored crystal.
His hands moved towards his face as he swiped and saw the tears in his hands.
"Is...is this, emotion?" Khan never muttered before as shocked as he was now, but his attention away once again diverted towards another golden crystal as he tried rushing towards it, but a shocking absorbing force burst out through the entire ce, its aura pulling him away from the space as everything faded away.
-- -- --
Khan slowly opened his eyes only to be weed by a golden-colored notification panel.
[Congrattions, the Host has sessfully fused with the system.]
[Congrattions, Host has awakened The Bio-Nanotech System]
Chapter 4: A Parasite?
Chapter 4: A Parasite?
Khan looked nkly at the golden-colored panel, but his attention was elsewhere.
It was thest memory he had just witnessed. Slowly raising his right hand to his neck, which unknowingly to him had broken into pieces just hours ago, he felt the cold ne in his hand.
Golden-colored, just like the one given to him by thatdy in the memory.
"So it''s true..." Khan muttered as a drop of tear escaped his eyes.
Not remembering who he was for the first ten years of his life and having to grow through the inhumane treatment in the Orphanage where he didn''t even understand what they were saying.
Then three years of death training where all the people he grew up with died in one way or the other in his hands.
He had gone through pain.
Pain he didn''t even understand why he deserved.
He had sat down in the middle of the night alone, wondering who he was. Who his parents were, actually, what was even a parent in the first ce? What were colleagues?
He, Khan, was the hollow devil who understands nothing, cares for nothing, nothing but the mission.
"Now it all made sense..." Khan muttered under his breath.
#The orphanage, his inability to cultivate like the rest, the strange ne on his neck ever since he could remember. Now it all made sense.
Khan, I want you to live a peaceful life, away from death, away from sadness. I want you to love and be loved. To be grateful for the life that you have been given.
Those words echoed deep in his heart, resonating with something felt within him but as Khan raised both of his hands to his face, all he saw was a thick sea of blood.
"I... I''m sorry, mother..." The mournful cry rang throughout the wild, breaking the heart of anyone who had the slightest understanding of the true meaning of being lost, the true meaning of being strong for too long, and the true meaning of pain.
"I wish...I wish I could see more..." Khan muttered, teeth clenched and fingernails deep within his hands.
[Well, technically you can see more...] The same golden-colored notification panel appeared again as Khan finally gave it a bit of his attention.
"What do you mean?" Khan asked absentmindedly.
[If you''re talking about the memories you just witnessed, I believe there are more than a thousand of such all locked in that tiny ne on your neck. And if you''re talking about seeing your mother again.
Well, she left two hints, one is that ne and the other is the location she mentioned. She mentioned the whole of Takamahagara, I believe that to be a gxy or world, not urately sure but most definitely a ce. And checking throughout my database, I have found a location bearing that name..."
"What! Wait. Are you sure?" Khan asked jumping to his feet.
[Yes I am. Though I don''t really know much about the ce. It''s just like it''s present on my search button.
And the only thing I can tell you so that, it is at least a thousand gxies away from here which is more than trillions of light years. You can at least forget returning home for now...] The notification appeared, shutting down his hope.
Khan immediately stood to his feet, wiping away the tears in his eyes as he opened them and they returned to the cold predatory look he had before.
"What do you say you''re again?"
[I''m the AI of the Bio-Nanotech System. I havepletely fused with you due to your very highpatibility. The highest that has ever been recorded...]
"Hmm, are you from that blue crystal?" Khan asked, noticing there was still the sign of the apocalyptical collision but the crystal was nowhere to be found.
[Yes, I am. And I''ll once again repeat, I''vepletely fused with you. Even if you cut out your eyeballs, I''ll still appear in front of you. So put that knife back into your pockets and don''t do anything stupid...]
Khan''s hands, which were formerly pocketed, slowly released the object he held as he brought out his hands.
"Fine. You win..." Khan replied, stopping what he was about to do before.
"So start with my history. Well, I''ve been here for as much as I can remember which is no specific time. My former purpose was a single one and that is finding the perfect Host to attach with. Noteworthy is that I''ve rejected a million beings, the majority of which I sucked away all their energy into my core..."
Khan raised an eyebrow upon hearing that as he finally learned of the reason for the so many bones present around the ce.
[As for why I bonded with you. It''s because I can tell you''re the perfect host in this ce, the reason behind that something I know but strangely can''t say, it''s must be due to the restriction protocol ced on me...]
"So you''re a parasite..." Khan said, immediately concluding.
[Um, that''s a way to put it...]
"Is there a way to get you out of my head..." Khan asked, already tired of this long chit-chat. He wasn''t used to talking.
[No!]
"So you took all the trouble of staying here probably for a thousand years and rejecting hundreds of beings?
[Actually, it is millions,]
"OK, that number. So you must have a purpose, right? Like a true mission, your reason for needing a perfect host?"
[I do. Though you still can''t ess that information yet...]
"Ok great. Not like I care about it. Now that we''re chained together forever, we need to have some kind of benefit to each other if this is going to work out, and I think you''re pretty useless. At least I don''t see much of your usefulness other than screaming in my brain?"
[Actually, we can help each other. I''m a system designed to increase the power of my host. And if there''s someone who needs power the most right now, it''ll be you...]
"Are you sure?" Khan asked with a raised eyebrow.
[Yes. You''re an ordinary mortal. Which I can tell is very strange as your otherpanions are awakeners.]
"So that shows I''m weak or need some power? What makes you think they''re in any way better than me? I can literally decimate all of them in less than an hour..."
[Yes. Although you''re a mortal. You''re stronger than some Awakeners and that''s because of your weird constitution. Looking at your constitution, your body is strangely extremely weak!
But through inhumane training, it has been developed. As your bones break and fracture, your body gets stronger.
But I''m also detecting signs of strange body-developing serums.
Not only was your body getting broken down and growing stronger like that, but you were always infused with serums which made your body grow thrice stronger than they were supposed to, every time it broke down making you greatly above a mortal and even rival an awakener...
But even you know, your body is reaching its limits. ording to my calction, your peak of power, if you continue down this path would be a quarter of that of the statue that almost wiped all of you out in a single p.
You will never be able to reach half of that level of strength which yourpanion said is the meteor rank stage. I want to believe that stage isn''t the highest in the world]
"Yeah, it''s actually the second beginning stage..." Khan replied.
[So that means you''ll never reach the second stage of cultivation level of this if you continue down this path. Talk of the third and fourth...]
"Well, thanks for thepliment. But I don''t think I''ll need to reach that level. I mean I''m fine with without it..." Khan replied uncaringly.
[Are you sure about that, or have you forgotten that golden ne is still on your neck...] The notification panel appeared as Khan stopped dead in his tracks.
-- -- --
"One day, I truly wish for me to see you again"
-- -- --
[But this system is capable of not only improving your strength but also to a level that this world of yours can''t evenprehend...]
Khan''s eyes narrowed as he deeply thought about the offer.
"Fine, but before it bes a deal, show me if you''re not all just talks and no action..."
[To ess the power of this system, call out system Interface...]
"System interface..."
Chapter 5: Next Phase Of Plan
Chapter 5: Next Phase Of n
"System interface."
[Host Attributes] [Skills And Abilities] [Quests] [Shops]
Khan thought of the Host Attributes and the panel once again changed.
[Name: Khan Humana]
[Race: Human]
[ss: ??]
[Level: 1]
[Exp: 0/100]
[HP: 100/100]
[Nano Core Energy: 50]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 12]
[Perception: 10]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Charm: null]
"Pretty interesting, though they are lower than I thought,"
[An average mortal possesses 5 points in all their stats, but yours are all at 10 with some even higher. It is safe to say you''re twice stronger than a regr human.]
[Skills and Abilities]
[Basic Skills]
Dash >> Level 1 {Increases the host''s current speed by double.}
Regeneration >> Level 1 {Increases the host''s normal regeneration speed by double.}
Poison Immunity >> Level 1 {The host''s body is immune to low-level poisoning.}
[Bio-nanotech Skills]
Nanite Body >> Level 1 {Strengthens your entire constitution to twice its durability using Nanobots.}
Nanorunic Eyes >> Level 1 {Thermo reception; your eyes have been improved by Nanobots to perceive the thermal signatures of your environment.}
???
???
???
"They all sound interesting and it seems they can also be leveled up," Khan muttered beneath his breath.
"And what do those question marks mean?" Khan asked with a raised eyebrow.
[It means they''re still other skills but you''re yet to ess them due to your current low level.]
Khan immediately moved towards the other tabs.
[Shop] {Locked, unlock at Level 10}
"And the shop too has not been unlocked."
[It will be unlocked at Level 10.]
[Quests] {No active quests present}
"Ok, deal. Let''s help each other out..." Khan said, finally agreeing. About him reaching his limit, he was also well aware, and due to strange reasons, he couldn''t cultivate like the others. If he wanted to improve himself and fulfill the goals he just made for himself, then the system was the only viable option he had.
[Well, we''re already on the same page in the first ce since I''ve bonded with you. But still, I''ll take your deal to mean full cooperation.]
"Ok. Now I have to get out of here..." Khan mumbled, looking at thepletely dark area and the crimson-colored moon that was peeking from the horizon.
Directing his attention back to his body, he noticed his suit had beenpletely reduced to rags and all his equipment smashed to pieces.
"Now that I think of it, howe I''m standing perfectly fine..." Khan asked, finallyprehending the strange healthiness.
[My fusion with you solved all the issues including the bloating feeling due to the serums you take.] The panel appeared, to which Khan gave a satisfied nod.
"Well, time to head back..." He could remember the captain saying the spaceship was just three or so kilometers to the east, making him turn towards the ce.
"Activate Nanorunic Eyes..." Khanmanded as the sight around him suddenly changed.
The darkness around the ce became even darker, while all the trees around him glowed a red color...
"So this is thermoreception?" Khan asked with a raised eyebrow. Not only could he see farther distance than his regr eyes could.
He could also see through lurking red halos around the trees, depicting them to be small abyssal creatures that his normal eyes would have failed to notice but now they were just too ring.
Taking another nce at the crimson moon that was slowly appearing, Khan took a deep breath before getting in a running position...
"Activate Dash..." Khan pushed off the ground as the wind howled, his body seemingly tearing through the air creating howling sounds in his wake.
The abyssal creatures trying to sneak attack him were all immediately left in the dust as Khan blitzed forward with twice his normal speed, still able to avoid disorientation due to his Nanorunic Eyes that captured everything.
10 minutester...
The gigantic spaceship carefully hid itself among the trees and darkness of the surrounding area, perfectly blending in due to its dark painted crystalline obsidian ck covering.
An ordinary human being or abyssal creature would havepletely been unable to even detect its presence, seeing it to be a weirdly shaped gigantic rock but with the Nanorunic Eyes.
Khan already picked up on the heat waves, easily seeing its true form.
Arriving at the small entrance, a blue wave of light scanned him up and down.
"A Familiar wave has been discovered. Permitting entry," the AI voice rang out as the door slowly opened and Khan took in a deep breath of the fresh air, the opposite of the putrid air of the wild.
Immediately heading towards the Pilot room, Khan arrived before the thousands of controls he immediately got to work.
[You can pilot a spaceship? I thought you were just a soldier...] The panel appeared, but Khan ignored it.
Pressing a hundred or so buttons before pushing the controller forward. The engine of the spaceship immediately roared to life as it slowly ascended higher and higher into the air.
mming down his hands on the ring red button in the middle of the controls, the spaceship immediately blitzed forward with speed, moving twice as fast as sound.
"Route Identified. Heading back to Suicides City Port. Would you like auto driving or choose to pilot yourself..." The voice rang out as Khan clicked on the Auto-pilot button.
"You have chosen Auto-pilot mode. It will take 2 hours to arrive at your destination..."
Khan breathed out a sigh of relief before moving away from the control room and heading towards the hall.
Looking at the seven empty seats, Khan''s emotionless eyes drifted past it when he suddenly picked up a small card on one of the seats.
Picking it up, it reads, I''ll being soon.
Khan raised an eyebrow before turning to the other side of the card where the picture of a beautifuldy and a young girl of about five years old could be seen.
He looked at the card for some seconds before dipping it into his pocket.
[I''m really sorry my defense protocol killed yourpanions...]
"I don''t havepanions. I''m a death soldier. There''s only mission sess then me...." Khan snapped, growling at those words. This was the first time he had to say that twice on the same day.
[So you failed the mission since I''ve already fused with you. So what will you do now?]
Khan''s eyes narrowed before they rxed back.
"I''ll quit..."
[Great. So will you send a letter of retirement or...]
"Are you dumb?"
[What?]
"I said I''m a death soldier. The only way to quit is death! I would have died from failing this mission if not for your abnormality. No death Soldier retires. We allplete missions till the end and the only way to quit is to die trying toplete a mission. Just like all of them..." Khan exined, pointing to the empty seats.
[Oh, I never thought it was soplicated...]
"But right now I''m alive. And I''m sure sooner orter they''ll pick up on that. I have to move out of the city to one of the higher-ranked cities. That''s my next phase of n..."
[I''ve downloaded the information of this world from the memories of those who died to my defense protocol and it says around 70% of this world ispletely infested with abyssal creatures which I''m thinking you''re calling the wild.
The Human settlement upies the remaining 30%, separated from the wild by the great barricade. It has been divided into five cities, the further away from the great Barricade, the more advanced and the safer the city is.
[A/N: The cities rival an entire continent in size.]
"Thanks for the grab..." Khan said.
[So out of the five cities. Yours is the Suicide City which is the closest to the wild and also the less safest with the poorest conditions. It''s basically the slum of the entire human settlement.]
"Can you draw me a map of the Human settlement?" Khan asked, and a holographic image appeared in his head, the map of the Human settlement with the five cities perfectlybeled and his location specified.
"Hmmm, then God''s Ind it is..." Khan muttered making his final decision of where he''ll be hiding.
Chapter 6: Call For Help!!!
Chapter 6: Call For Help!!!
The humongous spaceship slowly inched closer to the blue dome of energy as it paused around ten meters away from it.
A blue wave of energy in the shape of a corona swam towards the spaceship, drowning it within its blue spectrum of energy before a space appeared in the dome through which the spaceship slowly entered.
Khan looked at the gigantic port where hundreds of such spaceships were present before flying towards the end of space.
Descending on the ground, he took a deep breath in to calm his slowly spiking heart rate as he switched off the entire operation of the ship before heading out.
The port was pretty deserted due to it being night time causing him to avoid strange looks due to the scanty rag on his body as he moved out of the spaceship area to the vehicle area.
There were multitudes of cars numbering more than a hundred as Khan moved towards an especially eye-grabbing one among the bunch.
It was an expensive-looking dark-colored sports car, with a sleek covering, the one that only the big shots of the entire Suicides city could afford.
Being a deathguard sure has its perks.
He tapped his fingers on the bo twice causing the car doors to open vertically into the air as Khan entered into it, the door zipping to a close after his entrance.
Sitting in the driver''s seat, he was about to start the engine when suddenly he stopped as he took his hands off the steering.
Looking at the side of his seat was a ck suitcase, ced in a resting position.
Clicking on the side of the driver''s seat, the roof opened up, and within was a set of white colored shirts, a suit, and long official-looking trousers.
"This will do..."
-- -- --
3 minutester...
A young adult could be seen, dressed in a proper shirt with long arm sleeves, folded to half the length of his elbow and wrist.
A sleek-looking trousers reaching out to his ankles, the crease at the middle extremely ring to see.
Handsome dark hair that glowed in the dark, a sharp pointed face, and a diamond watch on his wrist. The young man looked like the epitome of the young master of a multi-billionaire family.
Except this was no young master but actually Khan in disguise.
Grabbing the suitcase off the seat, he was about to exit the car when his eyes captured the rectangrmunication device.
Khan picked up the device, and its screen immediately glowed with light a single number present saved with "Oni-sama..." on it.
Exerting small strength in his hands, a line immediately appeared on the device''s screen, followed by five others before it got twisted and bent in an unnatural shape.
Flinging it to the ground, Khan took a deep breath in as he grabbed the suitcase off the chair and got out of the car.
"The next train will be 30 minutes from now, I can still make it..." He muttered under his breath looking at his watch as he ced the suit on his shoulders half wearing them before moving out of the port.
-- -- --
The streets of Suicides City were very long, with multitudes of skyscrapers spreading into the distance as far as the eyes could see.
Hundreds of cleaner robots moved around the streets, Vacuums, and different technological equipment in their grasp as they moved around the area all focused on their programming which is getting rid of any anomaly in the area.
The transportation system was incredibly diverse with hundreds of cars traveling the road. Above the ground, approximately 30 meters, hundreds of flying cars blitzed around, the lowest with half the speed of sounds, leaving only purple energy in their wake.
As Khan walked through the streets, flying jets skidded past him and he got quite the looks and nods from the people passing due to his dressing.
It was really a good illustration of how you''re dressed are you addressed.
He also raised his hands with a warm smile on his face to any person who waved to him ormented on him.
Being a death guard meant the ability toplete any and whatever mission. The ability to adapt was one of the top three most important tools of perfect missionpletion and he just happened to be a really good death soldier making his disguise skills top-notch.
Dressed in an office suit with a suitcase in hand and an especially warm smile on his face, who would have the slightest inkling that he might be a death soldier?
-- -- --
"Just what is going on."
"The officers couldn''t keep it safe..."
"There are still multitudes of stranded scientists in there..."
"Can someone call the EAF!!!"
Khan suddenly noticed the slightmotion at one of the gigantic structures in his pathway as multitudes of people gathered at the entrance, with greatly disturbed expressions.
Walking at his regr calm pace, he still maintained his facade of a regr young master and continued on his path, not at all paying attention to themotion.
"Just what is happening..." An individual asked a middle-aged man dressed in a white coat.
"The Mutant Beasts. Our test subjects, they''ve all been identally unlocked. The lowest cultivation is at the 2nd Star rank stage and the highest is at the 7th stage but our leader is only at the 3rd Star rank, there''s no way they would be able to fend off the beasts..." The scientist replied his voice quivering in horror.
"What the? Howe the EAF are not here yet..."
"Tch, idiots..." Khan muttered under his breath. This was just another urrence where a mishap will happen and the so-called heroes won''t arrive at the scene except when hundreds of lives have been lost and they''ll be praised as heroes at the end of the day.
Inhumane screams of horror could be heard from the structure while the sound of collision rang out shaking the entire structure.
But none dared to move forward as that would just be asking for suicide.
Khan ignored it, not like he was in any way rted to the organization or anyone in there. It will just be an unnecessary hassle that might one day backfire. So it wasn''t worth it at all.
"Help! Somebody, please help!!!" The scream of a young child echoed out as a young girl ran out of the building.
Tears streamed down her face, her long blonde hair ruffled with slight blood stains while her left arm was severed from the elbow as if bitten off by some strange animal.
"Somebody please help, my mother, is still in there..." The girl screamed out, ignoring her massively bleeding arms as she repeatedly pulled the trousers of one of the standby.
"My mom is still in there. Please do something. Somebody do something, anyone..." Ady d in a nurse suit grabbed the girl as she rapidly wrapped a bandage on her amputated hands before running towards the ambnce.
"No, wait! My mom is in there. Everyone is still there..."
"Don''t worry girl. The EAF will arrive soon, your mum will be safe I promise..." The nurse said passing her into the ambnce as it immediately zoomed off into the distance leaving only the scream of the little girl that slowly faded away.
None left their position, some even moving farther away as they looked at the fresh blood on the ground.
But who can me them? Even the regr enforcers who were awakeners are yet to return, talkless of them, ordinary mortals.
But they were all shocked speechless in the next second as they witnessed a young man in an official business suit and a suitcase in hand running with speed towards the building.
"Is he mad!!!?"
"Just who is he?"
"Perhaps an awakener..."
"No, I can swear he''s an ordinary mortal..." The shocked murmur of the crowd immediately rang out as the back of the young man faded away from sight.
Chapter 7: Rescue Mission
Chapter 7: Rescue Mission
A leg mmed theb''s door knocking it off its hinges as shrill screams immediately broke out from the group of five scientists.
They all kept screaming due to the horror of the event ying in their minds but soon quieted down after waiting for five seconds of nothing happening and all raised their head, their gaze meeting a young man dressed in official clothing and with a suitcase in his hands.
"Get out of your here..." That was thest words they heard before he disappeared and the next moment...
BOOM!
BOOM!
BANG!
The sound of collisions shook the entire floor.
-- -- --
A long pointy tongue rapidly pierced forward with speed emerging from a mutant beast with the strange physique of a dog but with the head of a frog.
In the line of the projectile was a young man with a suitcase in hand. Even though the projectile was heading towards him faster than the human eyes could track, he easily sidestepped, effectively dodging the projectile.
Faster than a bullet, the beast repeatedly flicked its tongue towards him causing huge holes to appear in the walls surrounding the ce as the young man seemed to have be one with the wind easily avoiding all the attacks without much of a change in his expression.
Khan finally arrived in front of the strange beast which quickly retracted its tongue before pouncing on him, but he immediately jumped upwards into the air avoiding the collision before delivering a powerful stump at the beast''s head from above.
BAM
Green blood and brain juices sttered across the entire ground as Khan slowly walked towards the door on the side, opening it.
"You all should get out of here..." He said emotionlessly before moving towards the higher floors. The groups of 15 scientists immediately ran towards the exit at their fastest speed, noticing countless corpses of the mutant beasts badly strewn on the ground.
"Did he do this?..."
"What an otherworldly sight..."
-- -- --
The entire crowd gathered at the entrance of the gigantic structure as they noticed the scientist pouring out like a wave from the building.
Asking them the same question, they all replied they met with a young man in an official suit who told them to exit.
This caused quite amotion as they tried to guess just what the origin of the young man who was thought to be a person seeking to pay a visit to the shadow realm quickly.
-- -- --
A gigantic bear-like beast was sent mming through multiple walls finallying to a stop with a gigantic hole in its chest area where the imprint of a foot could be seen.
"Fifth star rank stage beasts are truly troublesome..." Khan muttered with disgust looking at his arm which had an incredibly deep sh mark on it.
"Tch, this will take three days..." Khan muttered when suddenly his eyes widened as he remembered.
"Activate Regeneration..."
[Regeneration has been activated.]
[-20 core energy]
The golden panel appeared as Khan watched the injuries slowly close back up and within three seconds, his pale white skin was soon revealed again.
"Hmm, how convenient..." Khan replied satisfactorily when his Nanorunic eyes suddenly picked up on a flickering red object in the distance.
Immediately running towards that weak source of energy, he arrived before it as he deactivated his ability finally getting a natural look of the figure.
It was that of a blonde-haired woman, lying on the floor and an incredibly deep sh mark on her torso, oozing with blood and dark gases.
Her breath wasyered and irregr, a sign that Khan knew all too well to be that of imminent death. But taking a good look at the woman, he discovered she looked the replica of the small girl screaming out for help except much older.
Kneeling beside her before proceeding to open the suitcase. Finally revealing the content of the strange case and it wasn''t what anyone would have imagined.
It was a suitcase with a total of five spaces contained within.
Two of the spaces contained coldly gleaming curved daggers with red-ck hilts, the shape of a skull in its middle. At the top of those were small ss bottles where strange green serum could be seen.
Khan immediately picked up one of the ss bottles containing the green serum and he popped it before opening the woman''s mouth slightly and pouring it into her mouth.
There was no reaction at first but suddenly there were rapid heartbeats followed by rapid convulsions as Zeras watched the woman slowlye back to life, a groan of pain escaping her bloody lips.
The sh marks on her torso began oozing with even darker blood before it slowly began closing up, healing at a visible rate.
With a feat of cough, her eyes slowly opened, the sight of the bloody-shirted young man entering her vision.
"Where..."
"What?"
"Where is she...Where is Lisa?" The woman struggled to say as Khan raised an eyebrow.
"Do you mean that white-skinned blonde-haired girl?" He asked just to be sure.
"Yes. That''s her, she''s my daughter. Have you seen her..."
"Yes. She was the first to exit the building and was taken to the hospital. She''s safe. But your injuries are worse, I believe it''s time we get out of here..." Khan said as he slowly raised her.
"No, no, no wait...." The woman screamed out as Khan raised his eyebrows.
"Well, if you want to walk yourself then fine by me..."
"No, it''s not that. There''s still somebody, our base head. She''s stuck in the room of the ultimate Mutant beast on the highest floor. Please help her out. She won''tst much longer with the Night Werewolf..."
Khan''s eyes narrowed as he looked at the upper floor before immediately running towards the stairs area.
"And please be careful, the Night Werewolf is at the 7th star rank stage."
"What!!!?" Khan screamed out in surprise but his back soon faded away from the sight of thedy who slowly moved out of the area and towards the exit.
-- -- --
The deafening beastly roar of a monstrosity rang out as it wed forward, the air shrieking in pain as it was torn apart into two.
Aurelia quickly rolled on the ground avoiding the sh, as she rolled up from the ground and stretched her hands forward.
Hundreds of surgical knives present in the room slowly rose before drilling towards the wolf-like creature standing on its two powerful legs making it at a height of almost 2.2 meters
DING
DING
DING
The sharp objects immediately collided with the wolf who wasn''t able to dodge in time but the sound heard wasn''t exactly the most pleasant to Aurelia whose brows furrowed in slight worry as she looked at the result of her attack.
The majority of the surgical knives impaled the werewolf but they did little to no damage only causing some minor injury that didn''t even show due to the thick fur while some of the knives bounced away from its body revealing its shocking defense.
The monstrosity''s eyes grew even more red as it speedily advanced, its sharp ws tearing through the winds as they appeared instantly in front of Aurelia slicing towards her face but she also didn''t stay still as she rapidly dodged to the best of her ability.
SLASH
SLASH
SLASH
Every sh sent sharp whistling sounds that created slight cuts on her body just from the sharpness of the ws brushing on her skin.
SLASH
Aurelia dodged a sharp sh to her face but her expression changed when the fury legs mmed on her stomach as her eyes widened to their absolute limit.
BOOOM
A figure mmed through the walls digging into them, before finallying to a stop.
BLERRRRGGGGHHHH
Blood spilled out from Aurelia''s mouth as she quickly tried standing up but soon fell down back on her knees.
''The power of that kick. It was like a moving train traveling with Mach 2 speed...''
GROWL
The Soul-chilling sound could be heard followed by the sound of the floor vibrating intensely as the monstrosity ran towards her with full speed, its ws leaving a ck trail in the air as it appeared in front of her, immediately shing towards her neck.
Aurelia''s eyes widened to the limit as she felt the feeling, the one she had never felt before...
The Feeling Of Death.
''So this is how it ends. What a foolish way for the Mighty Princess Aurelia to go..." She thought with a mocking smile as she resigned herself to fate when suddenly he watched as a de light shed through her eyes and the monstrosity was sent reeling backward, while a figure mmed into her body as they were both sent flying into the wall.
KABOOM
Chapter 8: Battling A Night Werewolf
Chapter 8: Battling A Night Werewolf
KABOOM
Khan felt a horrifying amount of force vibrate intensely through his arm bones as he was immediately sent flying, mming into something soft before finally smashing into the wall, though the soft bosom cushioned his fall.
"NGGGGGHHHH"
The sound of someone screaming out in pain rang out from behind him as Khan turned only to see thedy stuck in the wall red blood streaming down the side of her lips.
Jumping up immediately, Khan''s body already tore through the air towards the monstrosity, leaving only a single word ringing in Aurelia''s head.
"Get out of here, now!"
BOOOM
BAANG
It was like two titans finally deciding to settle their grief after holding it in for a thousand years.
Aurelia immediately struggled to her feet as she quickly made her way to the closest exit. She could have exited the ce faster than anyone but that would have also meant all the scientists would have died because none would have been able to hold back the big bad wolf.
But before shepleted moving out, she brought out her device and took a photo of the battle before quickly running out.
"Shit..." The word escaped Khan''s mouth and he was immediately sent flying into the distance mming on the ground twice before finally doing a back role as he jumped up from the ground.
Like a mirage, the wolf was already in front of him, its w already shing towards his face, but with inhumane reflex, Khan closed in on it before suddenly shing vertically at its chest while also quickly avoiding the hand as he moved towards its back, cing the sword in front of him horizontally.
"GRRRRRRH"
The wolf slowly turned back as Khan saw the long bloody line on its chest, dripping with ck blood but soon watched as the line closed uppletely.
"What horrifying regeneration..."
The werewolf towered above the little thing in front of him, aa a mocking smirk appeared on its lip.
"Is that all I got? Then why don''t you find out..."
sh!!
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP
With extremely fast speed, both fighters went all out as Khan shed with speed, every of his sh cutting through the air infused with all his strength and the weapon''s strength aided with speed and every sh possessing the momentum of the former attack.
Yet the wolf showed its monstrosity as it kept up with the barrage of attack, any sh it couldn''t avoid rapidly closing up.
Time quickly passed with none of the fighters moving backward only focusing on killing the other and with the mark that was appearing all over its body, it was safe to say Khan was winning but his furrowed brows said it all.
''I''m running out of energy, the wolf would oust me in a contest of endurance..." Khan realized seeing the evil smirk on the wolf''s lips never left its mouth.
It already discovered the little human in front of him could easily avoid all his attacks and his ability to find an opening when it shes at it would backfire.
So since it was ousted in battle understanding. It has decided to go for a simpler route to catch its prey. To exhaust all its energy, and it could do that because of its Regeneration and strong body as the sword can''t even pierce into its bones.
BOOOM
With an extremely powerful sh that created a shockwave that pushed both fighters back, Khannded on one of his knees using the sword as a crutch to keep himself frompletely falling as he breathed in and out due to exhaustion.
The wolf looked at its arm which had the deepest sh mark since the beginning of the fight but its smile widened even more as it concluded.
"Its prey was on itsst leg..." Disappearing from where it stood, Khan watched as a gigantic beastly w extended towards him mming on his head with so much force, that his neck jerked to the back from the force and he waspletely lifted off his seat and into the distance.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP
The sound of something ripping through the air echoed out to his ringing head as the wolf appeared next to him like a phantom, mming its w onto his face forcefully halting his motion as Khan mmed into the ground, digging a cracked pit into it.
Dust erupted reducing the sight, but soon the dust disappeared, and right in the middle of the pit was a young man his entire face covered in blood as hey motionless on the ground.
STEP STEP STEP
The wolf slowly walked forward as its mocking smirk spread across its maw, the triumphant smile unconcealed.
Its ws sped on Khan''s head raising him from the ground as he dangled him around tauntingly, mming him on the wall with its ws digging into its prey''s shoulders, but suddenly those eyes opened as the golden pupils red with bright light...
"You fell for it..."
GRRRRRRH
SLASH!
The sword shed toward the wolf''s neck with speednding on the neck as Khan exerted all his strength and
RIP
The sound of a sword cutting into flesh...
GRRRRRRH
A growl of pain and madness as the wolf looked at its prey its eyes shing a deep red color and it pierced its ws forward to its prey''s stomach...
"NGGGGGHHHH..."
Khan clenched his teeth tightly in pain, as he felt a handpletely tear through his stomach emerging from the outside but he never let go as he exerted even more strength, the sword cutting through half the wolf''s neck.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP
The wolf immediately used its second hand, shing towards Khan''s face, no doubt ripping it in two if it made contact, but a hand stopped it dead in its track as Khan held on tightly to the w avoiding the attack.
NGGGGGGGHHHHHH
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR
They both screamed out in pain and madness as Khan clenched his teeth exerting all his strength into the sword the wolf screamed out in pain forcefully twisting its hand into Khan''s stomach when suddenly
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP
A gigantic beastly head soared into the sky as the two figures copsed on their knees at the same time, except one possessed a head while the other was headless...
-- -- --
The heroic image of the human battling the monstrosity already rapidly spread through the entire suicide city like wildfire as it gained millions of views andments within seconds with the tag of the New Suicide City protector.
With such a massive view, it definitely gets into the ears of all...
-- -- --
In a massive dojo-like structure at the top of an extremely huge mountain that extended into the sea of clouds...
"Are they back yet..." The masculine voice rang out from the entity sitting crosslegged on the throne and with a demonic mask on his face that covered his true facial features.
"No, Oni-sama, but the spaceship used for the mission has been found packed at the port..." The figure replied on his two knees and waspletely covered in dark robes making his figure look like a blend of shadows...
"Has any of the crews been found?"
"There has been no information at all, we already asked, but none of the port members saw anyone moved out of that spaceship..."
"Khan has not called me for mission sess meaning this mission definitely failed and he had definitely perished. The one who drove back the ship might probably be one of the lesser crews on the ship although I can''t imagine him being alive if Khan is dead..." The masked figure muttered confused when suddenly an intense vibration rang outing from the pocket of the figure kneeling but he dared not divert his attention.
"Pick it up..." Themand came as the bowed figure took out the rectangr device looking at its content but his eyes narrowed as he slowly turned the device to the figure on the throne.
"Oni-sama, does this look familiar to you?"
"Hmmmm, KHANNNN!!!!"
Chapter 9: Greatest Fear...
Chapter 9: Greatest Fear...
A young man walked through the corners of different subs and alleyways, a suitcase in his hands and a slight quickening to his steps, but if anyone could see, they would notice the small droplets of blood beneath his steps.
Khan finally arrived in front of a towering mansion he arrived before therge golden door and brought out a card from his pocket which he swiped on the card lock on the door.
"BEEP!" The door made a beeping sound but didn''t open as a blue wave of light emerged from the door scanning Khan from up to toe before the door slowly opened.
"Wee Back Master..." The AI voice rang out but Khan paid it no mind as he dropped the wardrobe on the ground before moving toward the bathroom.
Khan arrived in front of therge wall mirror, and he slowly took off his clothes revealing the horrifying amount of sh marks on his body.
With an especially ghostly gaping hole on his stomach that showed his internal organs.
[The Host''s body is in critical health.]
[Automatically activating Regeneration...]
It was as if a pure energy was being passed into his body as Khan felt the wounds slowly closing up and the pain was getting alleviated although it was incredibly slow due to his almost non-existent energy.
Entering the shower, the water poured down on his shoulder as he felt deepfort, the green blood mixed in with red and ck pouring down beneath his feet while his dark hair was stripped of the dark color, as it regained its normal golden color.
-- -- --
20 minutester...
A young man with golden hair and eyes sat in the gigantic bedroom, with a suitcase on his feet.
Khan slowly arranged the weapon back into the suitcase although there was now an unupied hole left which was that of the serum he used to bring the woman back to life.
Those were life-healing serums, a gift to him afterpleting 15 death missions.
A golden-colored notification panel suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Hidden Questspleted...]
[Save The Day]
[Rewards:
1.) +2 Level Up Cards.
2.) +1 Ability Upgrade card.]
[Side Quest: Defeat the wolf Mutant beastpleted.]
[Rewards: +50 EXP]
"And what''s this?" Khan asked raising an eyebrow.
[Those are the quests youpleted.]
"Oh?" Khan raised an eyebrow not expecting his little act to be taken notice of by the system.
Thinking of what he did hours ago, Khan''s eyes narrowed as he wondered why he even bothered. There was no reason for him to interfere but he did. It wasn''t the first time he''d watch a building under attack or even houses gettingpletely burned up but never for once had he ever bothered to pay attention to that.
But this time he just couldn''t. Hearing the young girl''s scream for help touched something in him that made his own body not listen to him and run towards the building.
After that it was toote to refuse so he just went along with the flow although it all went out well in the end.
''Just what is going on? What is the feeling?'' Khan thought feeling his pounding heart that had never beat this hard in around 6 years ofpleting different missions non-stop.
"System interface..." Khan suddenly called out cing everything at the back of his mind.
[Does Host wish to level up?"
[Yes...]
[Congrattions Host has leveled up to Level 2]
[+10 Attributes points obtained]
[Congrattions Host has leveled up to Level 3]
[+10 Attributes points obtained]
[Total EXP: 50/500]
[System Interface...]
[Name: Khan Humana]
[Race: Human]
[ss:??]
[Level: 3]
[Exp:50/500]
[HP:30/100]
[Nano Core Energy: 20/50]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 12]
[Perception: 10]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Charm: null]
[Attributes points:20]
"I''m guessing those attribute points are for increasing those points right?" Khan asked
[Yes.]
Khan looked at the panel as we wondered which attributes would be best to increase and he quickly made his choice.
"Add 10 points to strength, 5 points to agility, and 5 points to Intelligence..." Khanmanded. He figured there was no need to increase his perception for now due to his Nanorunic Eyes that could pretty much capture everything and widely increase his perception, adding would be a waste of points and also his charm which he did not need right now.
[Points added. Your strength has increased...]
A hot feeling spread out through his entire body from his heart as Khan felt a sudden increase in his strength, which was like two times increase in strength while he felt, even lighter as if gravity suddenly reduced its hold on him an also felt calmer and cooler, creating a euphoric feeling of control within him.
"So this is the result of leveling up? Interesting..." Khan said shocked as he felt if he was to go on a round two, then he''d be able to match the werewolf in pure brute strength.
Looking at his Attributes once again.
[Attributes]
[Strength: 20]
[Agility: 17]
[Perception: 10]
[Intelligence: 15]
[Charm: null]
[Attributes points:0]
"Great..." Done with that he immediately moved on to the Skills and Abilities tab.
[Skills and Abilities]
[Basic Skills]
Dash>>Level 1
{Increases the host''s current speed by double.}
Regeneration>> Level 1 {Increases the host''s normal regeneration speed by double}
Poison Immunity>>Level 1
{The host''s body is immune to low-level poisoning.}
[Bio-nanotech Skills]
Nanite Body>>Level 1
{Strengthens your entire constitution to twice its durability using Nanobots}
Nanorunic Eyes>> Level 1
{Thermo reception; your eyes have been improved by Nanobots to perceive the thermal signatures of your environment.
{Ability Upgrade Card: 1}
"Upgrade regeneration..." Khanmanded without even doubting for once. He was well aware of the terror of the wolf that could infinitely regenerate from all his attacks and it was quite the fearsome power to possess.
[The skill, Regeneration, has been upgraded...]
[Host''s Regeneration speed has now been tripled.]
Immediately, he could feel all the grievous wounds quickly closing twice faster than before.
Khan delivered a loud yawn as hended weakly on the bed, the sound of crunching bones ringing out.
"All my injuries should havepletely healed by tomorrow. I''ll visit the port at the first sight of dawn and travel out of the city before they notice any abnormalities..." Khan muttered nning the next day as he closed his eyes and soon descended into slumber.
-- -- --
Three hourster...
A total of a hundred shadows spread through the dark alleys and the roof sky as they all steadily advanced towards the Gigantic mansion which was none other than where Khan was.
Chapter 10: The Chase...
Chapter 10: The Chase...
Cold shadows flickering, through the hallways, moonlight illuminating those shing predatory eyes.
Four flickering shadows appeared in a gigantic room, their eyes shing at the figure on the bed.
"Target secured..." One of the shadows input onto the watch on his wrist before a notification appeared replying to the message.
"Just make sure he never leaves, don''t engage If you don''t have to..."
With a nod toward the others, they all waited for the next three minutes but they soon noticed an abnormality.
The figure on the bed strangely never moved or shook at all for thest three minutes. One of the flickering shadows had much doubt having known the reputation of their target slowly moved closer to the bed, as he finally noticed they were truly no sign of breathing from the figure on the bed.
Dragging the mattress thatpletely covered the body, what was revealed was a stic humanoid figure for testing clothes.
SHATTER
The sound of ss shattering to pieces echoed out loudly throughout the entire area as the robed figure looked out the window and saw a golden-haired young man who had already disappeared into an alleyway in the distance.
"Shit...He escaped..." He gnashed his teeth tightly before a hand came to rest on his shoulder.
"No, he only dyed his eventual demise. We have the entire 2 km radius under control..." The other robed figure said before they all jumped through the window and closed in on where he disappeared...
-- -- --
Khan''s eyes shed coldly as he ran with speed through the long cold streets, but even without looking back, he could already see the flickering shadows in the distance rapidly closing in on him and some at the far distance, where he was running to.
"Just how did they discover so fast..." He mumbled with eyes furrowed but quickly ced the thought back in his head.
"I need to escape..."
Rapidly turning through a silent dark corner, he continued running down it as he thought in his mind...
"Activate Nanorunic Eyes..." The darkness immediately cleared and then filled his vision was a darker shade of ck and also two humanoid figures that would haven''t been perceived before with his normal eyes but Khan never stopped and kept running as if he never noticed their existence.
SIU
A cold shadow shed in the darkness, as it shed with deadly precision towards his neck with a single intent of taking off his head in the blink of an eye but Khan was even faster as his hands immediately reached out, blocking the hand before.
CRAAAAAANNNNK
The sound of bones being broken echoed before Khan mmed his hands to the figure''s neck knocking him out before instantly cing the body on his.
Immediately, four needles pierced forth with speed towards him, but with the body, as a shield did not harm him while a knife dropped down from Khan''s sleeves as he flung it with speed towards where the needles came from
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP
The shadowy figure was about to ce another set of needles in its mouth before quickly concealing itself once again but before it could even bring out the needles, it felt something soar through the air, and then an object lodged into his head piercing directly into his brain as he dropped to the ground, his eyes still wide open in death as a figure continued running past him.
Khan finally exited through the alleyway as he felt the sound of a ring rm in the wide open street which was actually from the train that was moving into the distance.
"Activate Dash..." Instantly his figure zed with speed as he disappeared from where he stood and into the distance at his fastest speed, the train getting closer than ever but he felt the sound of a helicopter approaching from the direction where the train was going.
Taking a look at the helicopter, with Nanorunic Eyes on enabled him to see past the helicopter covering and what was within, and he discovered three red energies.
Two were at the control station flying the helicopter but looking at thatst figure on the helicopter, khan''s eyes widened to saucers as they disyed an emotion never disyed before...
FEAR!! SPINE-CHILLING FEAR
And instantly, he abandoned the thought of running to the train and ran back towards where he wasing from but there were more than 100 robed figures surrounding him from all directions.
He has beenpletely blocked from all distance...
Khan''s eyes shed as his brain worked full speed, but there was no way through the encirclement.
The 100 figures in front of him were dead soldiers just like him and the person behind him was...
"I don''t have a choice, I have to kill all of them..." Two des slipped down from within his sleeves as Khan clenched it in his hands tightly, for he knew well this might perhaps be thest fight of his life...
STEP
STEP
STEP
The hundred-robed figure all dragged out their weapons too as they also prepared for battle.
"I''m sorry..."
"Activate Nanobody..."
Immediately thousands of tiny Nanobots entered into all of Khan''s cells and bones merging with them making them twice as strong as they would normally be.
Following that, a powerful wave of aura undted from Khan''s body, as an object red to life just beside his chest, a blue-colored source of energy which was none other than his NanoCore.
His golden hair seemed to have turned a shade brighter ring with even more golden light as his eyes shed like a brilliant touch
STEP
The floor cracked into pieces as Khan took the fourth step and he disappeared from where he stood as if having teleported.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP
The sound of the air being torn as a golden-haired figure with abysmally cold eyes appeared above a hundred dead soldiers and shed downwards...
KABOOM
The moon shone its frigid white light on the dark alleyway, witnessing the brutal battle of survival as a group of 100 death soldiers engaged in a life-and-death battle with the Hollow death soldier...
Chapter 11: Oni-sama, A Demon God!
Chapter 11: Oni-sama, A Demon God!
Blood sshed out like a wave as a figure waspletely split into two from the head, his two sides falling to the ground, much to the horror of the other death soldiers.
Like a flickering shoulder, another one had his throat split open before he could even blink, but Khan was already unto the next one as he kept shing his dagger that cut through the entire group like a knife through butter.
"PIERCE"
Khan felt a long spear-like weapon pierce into his stomach but he immediately used that as an opportunity as he arrived before the dead soldier shing at his neck and killing him with a sh.
shing the edges of the spear with his daggers, his daggers entered back into his sleeves he grabbed the edges of the daggers before kicking a death soldier in his chin sending him upwards.
It was like a sled hammer shed on Keiro''s face as he felt sent into the air, his head spinning, but before he coulde back to focus, he felt a figure in the air sitting on him.
PUCHI
PUCHI
PUCHI
PUCHI
Hundreds of times, the end stick of the weapon was pierced onto his head as his brain was pierced, his body convulsed mid-air before he finally fell to the ground, his head reduced to mere brain juices and red blood.
A kick mmed on another death soldier''s neck,pletely severing its hold on his neck.
Jumping upwards and rolling in the air, the dagger once again slipped out of his sleeves as he shed out once more severing another death soldier.
The blood on the ground already formed a small pool, filled with bits of different organs as a horrifying battle broke out.
The death soldiers finally witnessed the power of the one called Hollow.
It was true. He never felt emotion not even pain as never had he once even winced when something pierced into his body.
He had been pierced countless times yet he never blinked using every attack to kill the attacker quickly.
Blood sshed around as he harvested souls yet his eyes never blinked for once, nor did his hands quiver at all. His decisions were firm, his opponents fell with only a single attacker and he seemed to go on and on as if he could go on forever.
Just who? Just who raised this abomination?
3 minutester...
A young man stood on the ground, around him the mutted body of countless others.
White smoke puffed out from Khan''s mouth as the core within him undted, barely stopping him from copsing on the ground.
But he regained his wits as he pushed down his exhaustion to continue running when suddenly he stopped before he could even take a step forward as he felt a voice echoing out from behind him.
"What have you be, my son..." Those words sent so much fear into Khan that his heart almost leaped into his throat.
Yet he clenched his teeth as madness appeared in his eyes.
"It''s all or nothing..." Gathering thest bit of whatever energy was within him...
BOOOOM
Khan appeared before the figure as if having teleported as his dagger shed at its neck wanting to sever it in a single blow.
CLANG
Even though the de made contact, it immediately shattered into pieces oning into contact with the red-colored neck and before Khan''s wide-open eyes, it faded to dust.
''It is hopeless...'' Khan thought as he fell weakly on his knees his head bowed as he epted his fate.
"You seem to have grown stronger, son. Normally, in the past, this would have made me feel pride but now I''m seriously considering if I''ve raised a criminal or a perfect soldier..." The voice echoed out to him as it slowly bent to his knees. It was a figure whose face was d in a demon-faced mask and wore a red-ck kimono robe.
His voice was incredibly deep at least the deepest Khan had ever heard and just kneeling before him gave Khan the impression he was standing before a god. His increase in strength only makes him feel even more terror of the man.
This was his master, Oni-sama. And truly, Khan believed he was a god!
"Your heart has gotten weak, my son, and you have suddenly be afraid of death. When did you be so weak..." A rectangr device was brought out of his hands as Khan struggled to raise his head and saw the image of him fighting the Night Werewolf.
''No wonder they found me so quickly. I knew that would be a disaster...'' He thought mockingly. In the end, his act of being a hero was what got him killed. How ironic.
"I had great ns for you Khan, truly great ns as I''ve made up my mind to turn you into me..."
"What!?"
"I''ve nned to turn you into a blood demon like me. I''ve ingrained all my art into you since when you were young, carefully raising you.
It filled my eyes with pride every time I saw you grow stronger. Every time you slowly escaped the mundane grasp of such things as emotions. Every time you got close to being truly free. I was simply waiting for you to reach your body''s fullest potential, then I''ll impart my demon cultivation techniques to you and finally get rid of your inability to cultivate like others..." He said his huge palms grasping tightly on Khan''s soldier and Khan felt the pain in his voice too.
"I will repeat once again, Khan. Evil or good, are all the otherworldly force that threatens to rule a man. They''ll only turn you into their ves in the end. ve to evil or ve to righteousness, I have raised you to choose none of them.
When you truly are beyond their grasp, then you''ll finally achieve your full potential and you''ll finally be ready to take my ce. But you have disappointed me, Khan," Oni said slowly rising as he brought out his katana from the side and dragged it out of its sheath.
It was a katana with red and dark colors mixed while a picture of a demon could be seen drawn all over it.
Instantly the world seemed to have been drowned in a tempest of blood and killing intent as the entire area gained an illusion as if it had be a sea of blood.
"Remember Khan, emotions, Evil, Good, they''re all nothing but otherworldly force meant to confine you. When you truly break out of their control, then you''ll be free and be a perfect being like me..."
The de slowly ascended into the air as Khan closed his eyes epting his death while mumbling hisst words...
"Emotions, Evil, Good, they''re all nothing but otherworldly force meant to confine you. When you truly break out of their control, then you''ll be free and be a perfect being like me..."
The de ascended higher and higher into the air but before it could be swung down, something shed by so fast it already disappeared into the distance in the next split second and Khan was nowhere to be found.
Chapter 12: Saved?
Chapter 12: Saved?
Khan felt something violently drag him up from the floor as he was raised above his feet and whisked away.
His vision was already turning dark from exhaustion but he could still see he was in some type of power bike where a figure wearing a helmet sat.
"Hold on tight!!!" The words rang in his ears as Khan held the figure''s waist tightly, his consciousness slowly descending into the darkness as he was slowly swallowed up, though his hold never left...
-- -- --
"BEEP"
"BEEP"
The sound of a beeping monitor.
Slowly opening his groggy eyes, he was faced with the sight of the white ceilings.
Immediately, he jumped up from the bed, as he rolled up, his predatory eyes scanning around the room. He was expecting his daggers which would normally slip down from his sleeves, but they have been removed. That made Khan feel like he was naked.
Looking around the room, he could see it was a simple hospital room, with the beeping monitor, the white bed, the different medical objects present around the room, and most importantly, his two daggers on the tray beside the bed.
He couldn''t help but raise his eyebrows and wonder why anyone would leave his weapon beside him unless...
Dipping his daggers back into the puffy feminine white garment he was putting on, Khan moved to the window he looked at it, seeing nothing but clouds that spread as far as eyes could see.
He was on a ne.
Clenching open the door knob, he gently opened the door as he headed out of the ce noticing the long corridor and the sound of music ying in the room close to him.
Khan slowly walked, not making a sound as his daggers slipped into his right hand and his left hand held the door knob.
"HUUUUHHHH..." Breathing out for what was toe, the door was swung open as the sound of fast music entered into his ears and he raised an eyebrow on sighting the image.
A youngdy was jumping around twisting her body as her pink hair bounced around her head.
She seemed to be really into it as Khan stood there for the next ten seconds unnoticed but strangely he found thedy a bit familiar.
"AHHHHHHH..." A shrill scream rang out as the girl jumped in shock...
"You!!!" She screamed out, her both hands covering her chest. pped her hands twice, the music stopped, and Khan raised an eyebrow at her.
Of course, he already kept his knife back in her sleeves.
"Don''t you know to knock before entering a room..." The girl chastised him with an angered expression.
"You''re thatdy that almost got killed by the Night Werewolf..." Khan said finally finding out the reason she was so familiar. She was the so-called Base head that he met fighting with the werewolf and saved from its ws.
"And also the one who saves your neck from getting sliced off by a katana. Also, I have a name, it''s Aurelia..." Aurelia said grumbling.
"And where is this..." Khan asked looking around the room.
"Is that Suicides City''s way of saying thank you for saving my life..."
-- -- --
"To appreciate the weight of life..."
-- -- --
The voice rang in Khan''s head as he stood still numbed for some time before bowing his head.
"Thank you for saving my life..."
"Now that''s more like it..." Aurelia said feeling much more satisfied.
"So where are we now..." Khan asked activating Nanorunic''s Eyes as his gaze pierced through the walls and he discovered bo more sign of energy which meant only hin and thisdy were together in the room.
"Come with me..." Aurelia said exiting the room as Zeras followed her outside of the room to a more gigantic opening which was the ne''s head as he saw the clouds even more clearly although they were able to stop flying out by the barrier surrounding the ce.
"I''m sorry for the trouble I caused..." Aurelia said with a saddened expression as Khan faced her.
"Where you the one that caused the mayhem in the Lab..."
"Yes. Even though that was a mistake, I was still the one who identally pressed the button and it even almost cost my life..."
"That?" Khan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Also, I was the one who took the image of you fighting against the night werewolf..."
''So obvious..." Khan thought to himself. Of course, it was only him and her that were present then so surely she was the one that took the image.
"Believe me, I don''t have any other intention, when I did. I just took it for..."
''It''s ok," Khan cut her off.
"I almost got killed by you and you saved me. That makes us even..." Khan replied looking into the clouds. Of course, he had seen them countless times and even closer gk them than now, just that he had never felt this peaceful before.
Aurelia looked at the golden-haired young man beside her, as her heart thumped within her chest. This was by far the most handsome and masculine of young men around her age that she had ever seen.
She had already seen the craziness he was capable of just a few hours ago and that, though, was supposed to make her distance herself, it only made her chest thump harder and so she decided to die in such a way wasn''t worth it, so she saved him...
"So where is the ne heading?" Zeras asked with a raised eyebrow. He still wasn''tpletely safe unless he was outside Suicides City.
"I''m heading back home. To EC..." Aurelia said brought out of her thoughts.
"You have a home in EC?" Khan asked slightly surprised. He was well aware of the rankings of the city, determined by the safety and power level of its inhabitants and EC was the ranked one in all of the world and also the farthest from Suicides City.
It was the most perfect ce for him to run away too. But living in such a ce definitely won''te at an easy cost and it''ll sure be crazily expensive.
Hearing her say she had a home there made him shocked but even more cautious as he knew someone like her wouldn''t be an ordinary basehead of a researchb in Suicides City.
That begged the question, just who was this grumpy girl in front of him?
Chapter 13: Level Up!
Chapter 13: Level Up!
Ever Since the Abyssal creatures descended onto earth, they encroached from every direction forcing humanity to its centre.
At this center of the earth was where Humanity''s settlement was ced and at the absolute center was EC city, which actually trantes to Earth''s Center.
Here, one would find the most powerful cultivators of Earth, making this ce not only the most secure due to its natural location but also due to the number of strong people who preferred to reside in this ce.
Never had this city been breached and it could be said to be thest pir of Humanity, its destruction signaling its end while its rise is like a burning sun slowly emerging from over the horizon.
A jet entered into EC, after getting scanned by hundreds of different rays of light before finally descending.
Its door slowly opened as gas oozed out from it, and the figure of two blurry humans was soon revealed.
One was a female around 19 years old with long pink hair and a pretty oval face, dressed in a pink colored skirt made of metallic-looking scales with a short top that revealed her arms and part of her stomach while the other was a golden-haired young man, with a diamond-shaped face and elongated jaws, dressed in a ck-colored official clothing with the suit on his shoulders.
Immediately on stepping down her private jet, Aurelia looked around the port seemingly searching for something and it didn''t take long for her to find it.
Opposite where the jet was parked was a car with the words, Top Nine, written at the ce where the car''s te number was supposed to be.
"There it is. We''ll be back in the family mansion in less than an hour..." Aurelia said pointing at the pink-coloured car parked in the distance before moving towards it as Khan also followed behind.
A man dressed from head to toe in a suit immediately sighted them as she gave a bow to Aurelia who replied with a nod before he took her luggage and opened the door for her.
As Khan moved forward, the man immediately extended his hand forward blocking him from entering Khan turned to look at the man who slowly turned to look into his eyes, and within three seconds.
Perspirations appeared on the man''s head, a clear sign of distress and nervousness, and this caused Khan to give an approving nod.
The majority of the people who sighted him would usually be attracted to him due to his looks and most importantly his mannerisms which have been cultivated to be as nice and easygoing as possible but only a very few would be able to immediately see through him on looking into his eyes. And this man in front of him was part of this rare group which elicited a nod of approval from him.
"He''s a friend, Mr.Kenji. Let him in..." Aurelia said from the car as the man slowly shifted to the side and Khan entered into the car.
"Don''t mind Old Kenji. He''s..."
"It doesn''t matter. He''s only doing his job and I''ll say he''s doing quite the good job..." Khan replied looking at the back of the man who started the engine before slowly driving into the distance.
The silence continued for a while as Aurelia closed her eyes reclining on the seat while the so-called Mr Kenji was focused on driving the car although he would at one time or another glimpse through the window to get a sight of him.
"The eyes are windows to the soul..."This is one of Mr.Kenji''s quotes and one he had slowly built his skill on over almost 60 years of working as a butler for one of the top families on earth.
He was already a master at his craft, able to pick up on others'' thoughts by simply looking into their eyes and managing to predict their next move but when he looked into those piercing golden eyes, perspirations immediately appeared on his face as he sensed absolutely nothing.
His eyes were nk like that of an infant. Normally this was supposed to be a good sign of someone''s pureness but taking a good look a the young man''s physique, he could immediately tell this was not the body of a monk residing in a cave in the wild and could only mean the young man in front of him had very little emotions and specifically simple reasoning which is a very dangerous and especially rare thing for someone as young as that.
''Activate System interface...'' Khanmanded in his head wanting to use the opportunity to check out some strange assignments he got before the fight began but didn''t have enough time.
[Congrattions, Minor Quests has beenpleted...]
[Defeat 100 death soldiers...]
[Reward:
1) +300 EXP
2) +1 ability upgrade card.
[Congrattions, the Main Quest sessfully escaped the ambush has beenpleted]
[Reward;
1) +500 EXP
2.) +20% increase in total body nanite]
[Total EXP: 850/500]
[Does the Host wish to level up?]
''Yes...''
[Congrattions, the Host has leveled up.]
[Level up to level 4 sessful.]
[+10 Attributes points obtained]
[System Interface...]
[Name: Khan Humana]
[Race: Human]
[ss:??]
[Level: 4]
[Exp:350/1000]
[HP:98/100]
[Nano Core Energy: 60/50]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 20]
[Agility: 17]
[Perception: 10]
[Intelligence: 15]
[Charm: null]
[Attributes points:10]
Khan looked at his status wondering which of his attributes he should upgrade but he closed it off as he chose to not use his attributes points yet. The ce he was heading to was unknown and this city was entirely alien. Who knew when he might need to increase a particr stat?
"System, what does 20% nanite mean?" Khan asked with a raised eyebrow.
[The host''s entire skills and abilities are based on the Nanobots in him, better-called nanites, including even the skills. Therefore, an increase in the quantity of nanites in the host''s body is an entire increase in the host''s functionality.]
"Oh?" Khan mumbled to himself finally understanding what the word meant but his attention was diverted as the driver turned back his gaze before announcing to them,
"We''re here..."
Immediately Khan looked outside and meeting his gaze was a golden coloured gate gate and written at its top was
The Abyssal Cores Guild.
Immediately, the car was scanned and slowly entered the gate followed by a loud announcement that was soon heard throughout the entire area.
[Wee back home, 2nd Mistress Aurelia...]
Chapter 14: If Everything Had An Other Side, What Is That Of Beauty
Chapter 14: If Everything Had An Other Side, What Is That Of Beauty
"What a perfect time. Arriving just when a family-together dinner is just three seconds away. What a perfect time..." The excited voice of ady rang out as a group of five, Khan included sat around a dining table.
One of the figures was the pink-haired Aurelia and the other was a slightly older one with purple hair.
From what he could gather, she was Aurelia''s older sister and goes by the name, Lilith.
Then was an older woman snuggling Aurelia tightly like she wanted to squeeze her out of her skin.
She was a middle-aged woman with long pink hair like Aurelia''s as she held Aurelia tightly in her bosom, giving her a smooch on her cheeks.
But the person who drew Khan''s attention the most was the middle-aged man in front of him with short purple hair and eyes.
From Khan''s senses, he could sense a massive amount of danger from the man who never broke off his eye contact with him for a single second.
Sitting beside such a dangerous person, greatly unnerved him and he felt super ufortable.
"So did you want to tell us about your experiment in Suicides City or you want to tell us about how you met with your boyfriend first..." Sophia asked as she stared at her cutestst daughter whose face soon turned into a shade of pink.
"Mama!!!" Aurelia said with an embarrassed expression as Sophia giggled, her eyes sneaking past the face of the golden-haired young man and noticing the spark in the air between her husband and the golden-haired young man.
"Or honey, what do you think?" Sophia asked, jabbing at him as Atherston finally directed his gaze away from the young man and faced her wife before looking at Aurelia as a smile broke out on his otherwise stiff face.
"Let''s talk while eating..." Atherston said raising his cup as the small family dived into their dinner session, in addition to the silent anomaly.
The dinner session continued as Aurelia continued her tale and the family''s shock was clearly present on their face when she mentioned the mishap in theb.
From the little conversation, Khan learned of Aurelia''s identity and it seemed her appearance at theb In Suicides City was due to trying to test a new serum created by her family.
He also learned Aurelia was the rare chatterbox as all the official, even regal aura, she normally had all disappeared strangely and she ended up narrating the entire scene, including the scenes of him saving her life, fighting the werewolf and also killing a hundred others.
Immediately the group''s face changed on hearing her ount as their eyes held slight horror unable to believe the gentle and shy-looking young man in front of them murdered 100 others in cold blood.
But unlike the group, Atherston immediately stood up from his seat and gave a small bow to Khan.
"I don''t what you''re or what your true identity is. But I''m extremely grateful for you saving my daughter''s life..." Atherston said as Khan remained quiet for some time unable to believe what was going on.
He was expecting them to call him some sort of freak after hearing Aurelia''s narration and soon chase him out of their home with a smile but what he received was appreciation and a pretty genuine one too from the man who was staring daggers at him, just seconds ago.
"It''s nothing..." Khan replied with a smile as he pushed off the matter quickly and the dinner soon ended after the family discussed other personal matters.
"If you don''t mind, can I have some words with you..." Atherston said as they stood up from the seat.
"Yes, sure..." Khan replied, following after him.
"And don''t you two dare stay all nightte, chatting. Go to sleep!!!" Atherston said in a fierce tone causing Aurelia to purse her lips and a small giggle to escape Lillith''s lips.
Immediately Khan moved out with Atherston as they exited the dinner room climbing up rows of elliptical steps and finally arriving at the small opening at the roof of the massion, a ce where the views of the city were greatly evident and provided quite the refreshing taste for the eyes.
"Beautiful isn''t it?" Atherston said as he reclined on the iron stand looking into the distant city, brimming with light and life.
"Every beautiful thing has its ugly side..." Khan replied, his eyes not appreciating the sight at all.
Suicides City was just like this, beautiful and secure looking at first sight, yet he was well aware of the undercurrents surging beneath it.
"You''repletely right. It''s so obvious yet 80% of the poption fail to see..."
"It shows you''re doing quite a good job," Khan replied looking at purple purple-haired middle-aged man beside him whose face shed with slight surprise which disappeared just as quickly as it came.
"You''re very smart..."-
Chapter 15: An Opportunity
Chapter 15: An Opportunity
EC is the number one city on the entire Earth when ites to security and neatness.
But who made it possible?
The highest thanks would have to go to the five powers that were ruling the city also known as the five great counsellors.
And one of these counselors is Atherston Corey. The Patriarch of the Abyssal Core Guild.
With one look at the mansion and reputation and the symbol, Khan immediately determined this man beside him was no ordinary man and could tell he was deeply connected to this city flourishes as it is and he seemed he wasn''t wrong.
"The price you have to pay to make this hold is something I can''tprehend..." Khan said genuinely surprised as Atherston directed his attention towards him.
This youngd was beginning to pique his curiosity. Talking to him felt like talking to another counselor and it filled him with surprise.
"What makes you say that?"
"I''ve seen the wild! I''ve been part of it, witnessing its growth and witnessing its terror! To me, no city is absolutely safe! Sooner orter, humanity be history! For you to make a group of more than three billion to think otherwise, then the price for that is something I can''t imagine" Khan said looking into the bustling city in the distance.
"You''re right and you''re also wrong..." Atherston said as his eyes shed with a stubborn look.
"Oh, might you enlighten me, Sir..." Khan asked, but he didn''t care much either, it had nothing to do with him.
"You''re right, what you say about the wild. And it seems you have strangely grown very conversant with it. Something I find very strange since no ordinary mortal or low-level cultivators are even allowed outside the barriers but I won''t delve into your matters..." Atherston said causing Khan to raise an eyebrow.
"You''re right when you say no city is absolutely safe, we the Higher-ups know that, and a few major people in the world. Even this peace is due to strange reasons but it won''tst. The wild is truly terrific. But you''re wrong when you say, Humanity will be history, HUMANITY WILL SURVIVE!!!" Atherston said, raising his voice higher and Khan watched as his eyes shed an intense purple light and his hair started floating in the air as if suddenly escaping the grasp of gravity.
Immediately, his mind shook, not due to the strengthpressed in those simple words but due to the conviction. It was a mad conviction rooted in his very being.
And Khan knew well of people with this mad conviction. They are all people with great wills!
Atherston finally got a hold of himself as he retracted back in his aura causing the purple light in his eyes to fade away and his hair to fall back down on his shoulders.
"I''m sorry, it seemed I got a little lost in it..." Atherston apologized with a smile.
"It''s okay..." Khan replied as they both turned back, looking into the distance.
"Judging from what Aurelia said, I''m guessing you can''t go back to Suicides City, at least not for now..." Atherston said as he looked at him.
"Yes..." Khan replied curtly.
"So you''re going to start a new life right? And if there''s a certain ce to start a new life, then EC will be the dream of many..." Atherston said causing a nod from him.
"Yes..."
"You know, young men your age actually go there..." Atherston said pointing to an especiallyrge structure in the distance.
"What''s that?"
"It''s Starlight Academy. The founder is a counselor just like me, and also a good friend of mine. They are an academy training young awakeners like you. All their graduates, even theziest, are all at the Meteor rank stage while their exceptional ones even reach the Cosmic Rank stage before graduating..." Atherston said causing a sh of surprise in Khan''s eyes.
Of course, he was well aware of the cultivation stages, the first was the Star rank stage, after that the Meteor rank stage then the Cosmic Rank stage, andstly the Gxy Rank Stage, each possessing 9 grades.
Although he never cared much about it since he couldn''t cultivate it, at least he knew their levels and also knew the higher levels possess strength beyond human imagination!
"So it''s a type of Mana school?" Khan asked just to be sure.
"Yes. So you want to go there too. My two daughters also go there..." Atherston replied but his smile faded away on looking at Khan''s nk faces.
"If it''s a Mana school, it''s useless for me..." Khan replied as he removed his gaze away from therge structure and back at the city.
"I can still sense you''re an ordinary mortal but perhaps you''ll be able to awaken..." Atherston tried convincing but his eyes suddenly narrowed as they shed an intense purple and immediately his face changed.
"You...You don''t possess Mana at all. Not even a single bit?" Atherston asked, the shock in his voice unconcealed.
This was the first time he''d be seeing a person without Mana at all. Looking at Khan, he could tell he was truly different. When he looked at others with his eyes, they were colors! Some are red, green, blue, and yellow. There had to be some color, but when he looked at Khan, there was nothing! It was like looking into a dark void that possessed not even the slightest light at all.
''But that''s impossible, the Mana in us is the embodiment of our being, including emotions and behaviors. How can he not possess any of that, he''s like a hollow person, like a great emptiness covered by human skin...''
"I''m sorry for your defect..." Atherston said as Khan slowly turned his gaze towards him.
"Is not possessing Mana a defect? It''s not to me..." Khan said as he clenched the iron bar in his hands and exerted strength.
In front of Atherston''s shocked eyes, the iron bar was immediately bent and twisted, and judging from Khan''s nk face, he could tell he wasn''t even cing much effort.
"I might not possess Mana, but I do possess my ways..." Khan replied bending the iron back to normal.
"Wow, that''s incredible..." Atherston said as his eyes disyed shock when suddenly a thought popped into his head.
"Since the Mana school is a waste of time, why don''t you work for me, for my Abyssal Core Guild? I believe you''re the perfect talent for me and the perfect ce for you..." Atherston said with a smile.
"Oh? How so?" Khan asked raising an eyebrow although in his mind...
''Finally got him where I want...''
Chapter 16: Joining The Abyssal Core Guild
Chapter 16: Joining The Abyssal Core Guild
"The Abyssal Core Guild. One of the top five most powerful organizations in EC..." Atherston began, face nk but Khan could feel the unconcealed pride in his eyes.
"We are mainly responsible for harvesting of abyssal cores making the wild to us a yground. The majority of our technology functioned on the power of the cores that are obtained from Abyssal creatures.
To continue growing, there''s no choice but to harvest those cores, that''s what the Abyssal Core Guild mainly does..." Atherston exined as Khan narrowed his eyes in understanding.
The entire world is in fear of the wild, but the cores present in Abyssal creatures are necessary to power them. If someone then decides to be the one to go to the wild and fight for their needs. No doubt bing a top-five organization in such a city is already aplete thing.
"Majority of the workers are soldiers, willing to risk the wild to harvest cores necessary for our survival! From what I have heard from Aurelia, it seems you''re not bad yourself..." Atherston said giving him a cursory look with his hands on his chin.
It was truly remarkable for the young man, an ordinary mortal, to kill a hundred others in a direct battle with nothing but two daggers. It was no doubt a sign of ability but more than anything else, it also gave Atherston chills. Just what was this young man''s background?
"Soldier or not, you''re still indispensable and can act as a guard on the wilds tour or perhaps take up missions yourself. And believe me, a top five organization of EC won''t pay shabbily, would they?" Atherston voiced out, though Khan kept staring into the distance.
"If the Starlight Academy would only slow you down and you want to ''live'' in EC. Then perhaps this is your best choice..." Atherston said as he brought out an envelope from within his pockets and handed it over to Khan.
"I look forward to your reply, Mr. Khan," He said, giving him onest look before heading back into the mansion, the sound of his footsteps slowly fading away.
Khan''s eyes were narrowed as he looked into the distance light of the city.
"AHHHH..." White air puffed out from his mouth as he slowly raised his head to look at the stars up above.
His hands moved towards the golden ne on his neck as he rubbed it in his hands.
They were cold yet gave him a feeling of security. A feeling of security he had never felt, not even when beside his Master.
"Hey system, do you know what this ne is?" Khan asked.
[Yes. The system witnessed the memories of the host, and therefore understands the true meaning of the ne.]
"Oh?"
[ording to the system''s understanding. The ne is not only a house of memories but in essence, a map that leads back to a particr ce.]
"A map?" Khan asked once again just to be sure.
[Yes. Although, it''ll be hard to once again enter the space anytime soon. Thest entrance was due to the fusion and it took quite the energy from the Nanorunic Core. Entering for a second time will require you to possess enough energy in you. An energy you''ll be able to harness only after reaching Level 10 of the system.] The golden panel appeared in front of him causing Khan''s eyes to narrow even more.
"Level 10. It''s not too far away..." Khan muttered, ns shing in his eyes as his body mmed down on the ground like a falling sandbag and the thousands of stars illuminated his face.
"No matter what it takes, I''ll find you... " He whispered gently, clutching the ne, and soon, his eyes closed off.
-- -- --
The Next Day...
"You won''t regret your choice, this I promise, Mr.Khan..." The masculine voice of a middle-aged man rang out as Atherston gave Khan a firm handshake.
"And also I''m a soldier!" Khan said with a smile.
"You seem pretty confident of your words..." Atherston said with a smile.
"A soldier''s confidence..." Khan replied, with a smile on his face that made light gleam fast in his eyes.
"You know I might just have the perfect job for you, Khan. A new ruins that was found just a week ago. Mind you, the entire top five organization of EC have their 100% attention to this Ruin and believed it to be a very important variable to the future event..." Suddenly a loud ringing sound echoed out as Atherston slowly brought out his device.
"If you''ll excuse me..."
"No problem, Sir..."
"Hello"
-- -- --
2 minutester...
Atherston dipped his device back into his pockets as a smile appeared on his face.
"Duty calls, Mr. Khan. But you might ask Aurelia about the Ruins if you''re interested. I look forward to seeing you next time..." Atherston sped his shoulder tightly before moving out and Khan watched his firm back slowly leave his sight.
"He''s a man of conviction..." He muttered quietly but soon turned his attention behind him.
"YOO-HOO" The excited voice of ady rang out as Khan raised an eyebrow looking at Aurelia who was beaming with a smile.
"Guess someone managed to join the top five organization of EC in less than 48 hours of arriving. What luck?" Aurelia said as she came to stand beside him.
"How do you even get along with that old foggy? All he says are business and business and business. This might be thest time I see him In the next six months..." Aurelia grumbled to which Zeras raised an eyebrow.
''Old foggy?"
The silence was stifling for the next few seconds and Khan decided to light the touch.
"Aurelia,"
"Khan,"
Both of them suddenly called out at the same time causing Khan to direct his attention towards Aurelia catching the pink shade on her cheeks and the surprise.
"Go on..." Aureliamanded.
"I''m just asking if you''re willing to let me on something..."
"Things about what?"
"About the new Ruins..."
"What! Father told you that?" Aurelia asked in shock but quickly regained herself.
"Sure. But this is not the ce for such a thing..."
"Huh?"
"Don''t worry, I''ve got just the perfect ce In mind!" Aurelia said beaming with a sinister smile that made Khan raise his eyebrows even higher.
Chapter 17: A Strange Outing
Chapter 17: A Strange Outing
Royalty Valley.
Thergest entertainment center in the whole of EC and perhaps the entire Earth. A ce where never-before-seen rxation technological pieces of equipment and also the finest reservations are present.
Royalty Valley wasn''t just a single building, no, it was an entire estate to itselfprising hundreds of skyscrapers, each dealing with different aspects.
But just as its name suggests, It is only for royalties.
A towering structure, one of thergest in the entire ce, could be seen, with the words,
WINE OF GAIA, at its top.
Two figures appeared at the front of therge snow shite revolving ss of the structure as they both entered into it.
Khan entered the towering structure, greatly shocked by the unbelievably advanced features, though not a single muscle moved on his face.
"Pretty Cool, right?" Aurelia said, beaming with a smirk on her face but couldn''t help but be disappointed noticing theck of surprise on Khan''s face.
"So, this is the ce to tell me about the ruins?" Khan asked with a raised eyebrow.
Looking at the people walking around all dressed in official business suits and with heads raised, unconcealed disdain and pride on their faces though they shook hands together with fake smiles on their faces.
Everything just offset him and he didn''t feel a single good thing about the ce.
"Rx, you''ll learn about the ruins soon," Aurelia said as she suddenly grabbed his hands and dragged him towards the elevator.
Immediately she pressed the number 463 on the button as the door shut and Khan felt a slight almost imperceptible shake as they were wheezed upward by the elevator.
DIIIIIIIING
Immediately the elevator stopped as its doors opened and Khan couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow at the new view.
"Pretty cool, huh?''
"Yes. It''s great..." Khan agreed looking at the view in front of him.
It was like a simple bar floor, but what was shocking was the coverings on the floor and the incredible design of the area.
There were less than ten round tables around the ce, each possessing five sits around the ce, while only around three were currently upied.
And simply judging by the aura the people exuded and their clothing, Khan could immediately tell they were big shots of whatever area they majored in EC.
"Over here," Aurelia led him to a table as they both sat down.
Clicking twice on the table with her index fingers, the ce she tapped suddenly morphed as a red button appeared which Aurelia clicked twice.
"A bottle of Grade Three Gaia Wine, please..." She voiced out loud as the button closed up morphing back to its regr smooth edge of the table.
DIIIIIIIING
Suddenly, one of the doors to the ce opened and a waitress slowly appeared walking towards their direction, with a tray that had two ss cups and a pretty big ss bottle.
"Here you go, Young mistress..." Thedy said shing a smile to Aurelia but soon raised an eyebrow as she looked at him, a strange expression appearing on her face.
Done with the serving, she hugged the tray to herself as she gave a bow to Aurelia before heading back towards the door where she came from.
"It seems you''re well known around the ce..." Khan said with an expressionless face as he looked to the side, seeing some of the customers on the other tables raise their cups to Aurelia which she returned with a smile before they looked at him with their eyebrows raised.
"This is one of the best bars in the entire EC, and I doe here sometimes, to, you know, take some day off from the academy and stuff like that..." Aurelia said finally pouring the strange pink liquor into both ss cups as she pushed one of the ss cups towards him and held the second.
"Cheers..." She said raising her cup to which Khan gave a nk look but still grabbed his cup as he raised it and watched Aurelia gulp it before he also did the same.
"Hmm, slightly hot and also cold at the same time..." Khan said slightly surprised as this was the first time he felt two temperatures running in his system at the same time.
A concept he couldn''t evenprehend how it was possible.
"So, what are we doing here anyway..." Khan asked looking around the ce. Of course, she wouldn''t take him to one of the best bars on EC just to tell him about some Ruins. She definitely had something strange going on.
"We''re here to..Um..congratte you..."
"Congratte me?" Khan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. You just got a job in one of the top five best organizations in the whole of EC. Do you think that''s not worth some couple of drinks?" Aurelia said.
"Hmm, you have a point..." Khan said with a thoughtful expression but he didn''t even understand what she was saying.
''Congrattions? Of what?''
DIIIIIIIING
Suddenly the door opened up and a group of people came in, their gaze scanned around the ce, and soon met with their seats and immediately they slowly walked toward them
Khan ignored them before turning to look at Aurelia and noticed something different about her.
Something about her aura. It had once again turned regal, looking like the ones of every other person in the ce and he could see a very slight sign of nervousness as well as shock as he watched her look at the group that was inching closer to them, or say, a particr figure standing at the front of the group.
A young man with luscious dark hair that reached to his shoulders, an oval-shaped face, hiding dark gem-like eyes, and with elongated jaw. He was no doubt a handsome young man.
He exuded an aura of regality and power as his eyes looked at Aurelia, and a smile appeared on his face.
"It''s a pleasure to meet you, Princess Aurelia of the Abyssal core guild..." He voiced out, his voice gentle to behold, although to Khan it sounded too feminine for his liking.
Immediately, Aurelia gently stood up from her seat as she shed him a smile,
"The pleasure is Mine, Sir Tyrone of Starlight..."
''Hmm, starlight?'' Khan thought, trying to find where hest heard of that word.
Immediately Aurelia announced who he was, the entire group present in the room stood up from their seat, before sitting down back, all except for a single person who continued sipping his juice without a single care in the world.
Immediately, the entire aura surrounding the ce changed.
Chapter 18: More About The Ruins
Chapter 18: More About The Ruins
Instantly the entire space changed. It wasn''t a physical change, it was the feeling as if an atomic bomb was suddenly dropped in the room, creating horrifying tension as Khan''s eyes opened wide and he looked at the four men who were behind the pretty young man.
From them, he sensed an unfathomable aura of strange power that caused the air around them to quiver just like how the air quiver above the top of a burning me.
But immediately, the feeling disappeared just as it came as Tyrone raised his hands.
"I''m Tyrone of Starlight, and you are..." He asked stretching his hands forward for a handshake.
"I''m Khan," Khan said, as his otherwise unbothered face, lit up in a slight smile and he took the handshake, immediately slipping his hands away when he felt the hold begin tightening.
"Forgive my disrespect, Sir Tyrone. This is a recruit of our Abyssal Core Guild. His name is Khan Humana..." Aurelia said with a smile, which Khan felt signaled something but he didn''t understand what and continued sipping his juice.
"New around here, isn''t he?" Tyrone replied with a smile to which Aurelia nodded gently too.
"Our meeting here today is due to a silver of coincidence, Princess Aurelia. I hope we meet once again soon..." Tyrone said with a gentle smile, before giving Khan a special gaze and turning back, his four guards following behind him.
DIIIIIIIING
The elevator was like the air freshener that slowly wiped away the pressure as Aurelia copsed on her seat, wiping away the slight perspiration on his face.
"A real gentleman isn''t he?" Khan asked Aurelia who took arge gulp of the ss.
"He is Tryone of Starlight. One of the most talented geniuses of the Starlight Academy and also the son of one of the Counsellors. His status rivals mine and is also slightly greater..."
"Oh? He seems to me more than just a genius of the academy..." Khan voiced out his opinion to which Aurelia''s eyes narrowed to points.
"You mean?"
"An ordinary genius shouldn''t rile you that badly up. You look like he had your life and death in his hands..." Khan said as he took another gulp.
Strangely he was beginning to like the feeling of Hot and Cold running through his body at the same time.
"Matters of the royalties are not something amoner like you can understand..." Aurelia voiced out, her tone taking a sudden turn but Khan never had any change of expression.
It seems she also finally realized what she said as her face changed...
"Khan, I''m sor..."
"So are you finally willing to tell me more about the Ruins, now?" Khan asked already getting tired of all this senseless blunder, which to him was none other than a waste of time.
"Yes, that!" Aurelia said as she tapped thrice on the table in quick session and a dome of blue appeared around them as Khan discovered he could no longer hear anything from outside.
"It''s a sound barrier that stopped our conversation from being sneaked on..." Aurelia exined as Khan put down his cup and his eyes shed with absolute focus, a change Aurelia didn''t fail to notice and she couldn''t help but wonder...
''Just why did he care about the ruins so much?''
"The Ruins is a new ruin that was recently found around a week ago. Pretty deep into the wild. When it bloomed to life, it sent out a violent ripple of electromaic waves that alerted every E-rm In EC and immediately its birth was discovered by the entire world..."
"Hmmm," Zera''s eyebrows furrowed on hearing that. From what he understood about Ruins, they were another entire part of a world, containing advanced knowledge and weapons, and also signs of ancient lifeform, although close to no living thing would be found in them.
Normally Ruins are found by ident as the majority of the time don''t radiate Electromaic energy which makes them even harder to find than Abyssal creatures. And also their numbers in the entire wild can be counted on one hand.
The higher the electromaic wave a Ruin gate gives off, the higher its quality. An Electromaic wave that rippled throughout the entire EC is definitely a super abnormality that has never been heard before if it was to be judged from past existence. It means the quality of this Ruin might be unlike any other the world has ever witnessed.
''No wonder it was able to pique the curiosity of all the groups in EC.
"Since the Ruin was opened around a week ago, a search party has been sent in, containing a group of ten, one of the best ruin explorers in the entire EC.
But only three out of the ten managed to return and we got quite the fairy take from them, all though they had proof to back up their words.
They brought out treasures, the lowest at the Mythic Tier and even one legendary tier enough to shock the entire world.
And when they were asked to give an estimate of the entire ce they searched, they said it wasn''t up to five percent of the estimated size of the ruin!
More than Nine Mythic Tier treasures and a single Legendary Tier treasure found in just five percent of the Ruin. Can you imagine what would happen if even just 50% of the ruins were properly searched!" Aurelia asked as Khan''s eyebrows furrowed.
"That''s... That is truly remarkable."
Treasures have been graded based on their level of rarity and it is divided into, Common, Rare, Epic, Mythic, and then Legendary. It was rumored there was a tier above that which is called Divine, but it''s nothing but a rumor.
Even legendary tier artifacts possessed by the entire Human poption can be counted on one hand.
The thought of a legendary tier weapon appearing in less than five percent of the entire ruin is defined as something unbelievable and definitely out of a fairy tale.
"One of the treasures was what I came to Suicides City to test. It was a green unknown serum and I tested it on the Night Wolf, a 2nd grade Star rank beast and you saw the result didn''t you?" Aurelia asked as Khan furrowed his eyebrows.
"It changed to a werewolf and its cultivation stage improved to the Ninth Star rank stage!"
"That''s true. Although, the beast lost all signs of intelligence in exchange. Even then, this Ruin is believed to hide secrets that we can''tprehend and therefore is right now one of the top five highest-ranked Ruins and kept a secret among the top five organizations. That''s why I was shocked when Father let you in on the information..." Aurelia said as Khan gave a nod but couldn''t help but notice there was something off about her speech.
"You said out of the ten explorers, only three returned right?"
"Yes..."
"Did those three ever say what happened to the remaining seven..."
"Yes, they did!"
"What killed them?" Khan asked.
"Undeads!"
Chapter 19: Arriving At The Abyssal Core Guild
Chapter 19: Arriving At The Abyssal Core Guild
"Undead? What''s that..." Khan asked raising an eyebrow as he noticed the slight change in Aurelia''s expression.
"ording to our information, the undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive.
Mostmonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, which have been reanimated by supernatural means, technology, or disease.
Normally this is nothing but fairy tales, but ording to the group, it said the entire ce was run by mindless undead and the undead type that did the massacre of their group is a pretty rare undead even in the fairy tale.
"Oh? What type of undead is it?" Khan asked curiously.
"A Vrykkas. It is a harmful, undead creature. It shares simrities with numerous other legendary creatures but is generally equated with the vampire.
While the two are very simr, a vrykkas eats flesh, particrly livers, rather than drinking blood, whichbined with other factors such as its appearance bring it more in line with the modern concept of a zombie or ghoul." Aurelia exined clearly to him.
"That is definitely new news..." Khan said with eyebrows furrowed. From the information, they seemed just like another race like the Abyssal creatures, but also at the same time different, since unlike the Abyssal creatures, they were dead and brought back to life.
''It seems this Ruin is not as simple as it seems..." Khan mussed with furrowed eyebrows.
"When next till the next search party is sent?" He suddenly asked as Aurelia''s eyebrows creased a little but she replied to his questions.
"Less than two days from now. And also the top five organizations would be sending out their search party this time. Our Abyssal Core Guild isn''t out and you can find the application in the guild..."
"I''ll need a single more request from you, Aurelia..." Khan asked with a serious expression on his face.
"What is that?"
"I need the location of the Abyssal Core Guild itself. Since I''m now a recruit, I think it''s time to get the true meaning of being a recruit at the Abyssal Core Guild." Khan said as Aurelia put down the ss of juice she was about to drink.
"Why the rush, all recruits have an entire week before they must resume," Aurelia asked, as Khan sensed slight surprise and reluctance in her voice.
"So you''ll do that for me, right?" Khan asked once again after she quieted down.
"Sure, if that''s what you wish."
"Thank you..."
-- -- --
The Abyssal Core Guild is one of the top five organizations of EC responsible for the harvesting of cores.
Khan slowly got out of the taxi and looked at the towering structure in front of him, the three words painted red written clearly at the top of the structure.
ABYSSAL CORE GUILD
"HUUUUUUU" Exhaling a deep breath in, he calmed himself as he stood upright, before moving towards the gate.
"Stop.."
Immediately the two guards at the front of the building stopped him and Khan stopped where he was.
"State your..." Before the guard could finish, an envelope was swung towards him as he caught it in his hand before looking at it scrutinizingly, his gaze quickly widening in shock as Khan continued walking and he quickly returned the envelope to him and opened the gate.
After Khan had long gone, the second guard, was a middle-aged, brow-skinned man with dark hair.
"What''s his deal anyway, he looks so young and also scary..."
"He''s a recruit."
"Hmm, he might perhaps be too young but definitely not the youngest recruit..." The man said not that much surprised.
"His recruit was an invitation and held the sign of the Head!" The guard said as the man jumped up on his feet.
"WHAT!!!"
-- -- --
Khan arrived before the revolving door, pushing it open as he looked around the ce where hundreds and hundreds of middle-aged men and women were walking around, some in battle suits while some were in normal official suits.
Khan''s gaze scanned the ce as he sighted the waitress in the distance typing away on her device and he slowly walked towards her.
"Excuse me, mam," Khan said as the waitress reluctantly raised her head from her keyboard.
"How may I....help... you..sir?" She asked, her voice slightly deviating away as she looked at the golden-haired young man in front of him, gobsmacked by his handsomeness.
But what attracted her to him most was those golden-colored eyes and that beaming smile on his face that just made her words stuck in her throat.
"I''m not bothering you, I''m I?" Khan asked as his eyes disyed worry and guilt that made her switch off the screen of her device as she wore her sses well.
"Not at all, Sir..." She replied, quickly regaining herself.
"Great. Please I''m a little lost. Can you help me out?" Khan asked as he handed the envelope to her.
"Hmm..." Slowly she unfurled it and her face contorted in pure shock looking at that sign on the envelope she then turned to give him a second look.
"Is anything the problem, mam,"
"Not a problem. This is a letter of sessful recruitment to the organization. Let me be one of the first to congratte you..." She said as Khan smiled.
"Thank you..."
"Give me just a minute, I''ll get you to the person who''ll take you through the registration process..."
Immediately she picked up her device as she dialed a number before conversing.
"Just a minute Sir..."
"No problem Mam..." Khan said with a smile before turning his back to look at the people entering and exiting the ce and he got quite the attention probably due to his looks.
Suddenly, the elevator made a ringing sound as a figure dressed in an official suit as he slowly moved toward him.
"Thank you for answering the call, Mr. Jim. This is the recruit..." She said looking in his direction.
"Good day, Mr. Jim. I''m Khan Humana, a recruit of your reputable organization. I look forward to working together In the future," Khan said drawing a raised eyebrow from the Middle-aged man with crooked eyebrows and nose.
The one Khan knew to find fault with every little thing.
''With a single look, he looks like a royalty but his cordiality is out of the way. A remarkable figure...''
"The pleasure is mine, Khan. Follow me..." The man ordered walking away as Khan slowly followed behind him but made sure to give a small appreciative nod to the receptionist whose gaze followed after him till he entered the elevator.
"He''s so...Hot!"
Chapter 20: Signing Up For The Ruins Exploration 1
Chapter 20: Signing Up For The Ruins Exploration 1
"The Abyssal Core Guild has its different hierarchy when ites to its workers. Mainly divided Into two groups: The Adventures and the Officials.
People like the waitress below, and important guides like me are the official workers of the organization..."
''Tch, official workers, you mean ve...'' Khan snorted coldly in his mind listening to the man''s shameless words but he kept his straight face walking closely with him, a step behind.
"The adventures are numerous reaching over a thousand and they all have their different hierarchy which is divided from Rank E to A.
The higher your ranking, the higher the benefits that would be obtained." Jim exined earning a firm nod from Khan.
"Very ingenious of the organization. Truly remarkable..." Khan said with a serious nod.
With such a hierarchy in ce, there will bepetition, and withpetitiones growth. That was his firm belief.
"Also the higher your rank, the more area you''re able to ess in the organization. New Recruits like you are automatically at Rank F, but if you feel you have the necessary ability to be at a particr rank, then you''ll head over to this area of the map to take the test to rank up..." Jim said pointing to a particr ce on the map that he held as Zeras stored the information on his head.
" Also the higher your cultivation base, the higher your rankings, for example, if you''re at the Meteor rank stage, then you can simply head there and you''ll be automatically promoted to the next rank which is Rank E or if a genius to rank D. Do you understand, Khan..." The man exined giving him a side nce.
"Completely understood, Sir Jim..."
''Hmm, how polite..." Jim said to himself. It has been a long time since he has been respected so much before. Those barbaric adventures don''t understand the meaning of gentlemanly at all. One like Khan was a rare gem.
''Then I''ll repay him by giving him what he needs to know...'' Jim made up his mind wanting to stop him from getting into unnecessary trouble.
That''s what he does to repay those brutish adventures. He left out some information that would cause them to enter unnecessary trouble and suffer a loss in their pay. It was his way of showing them who''s boss!
"We''re here. This is the recruits'' room, you''ll obtain your badge and also learn more about the perks that will be given to you.
Here''s the map to the area, the ces I marked red are Off-limits and all floors above this are also Off-limits for new cadets. I''vebeled the essible areas so you don''t get lost searching for areas you need and wasting time..."
Jim said as he passed the map to Khan who gave it a thorough look before turning to look at him.
"Words cannot describe how ted I feel Sir Jim. Thanks for the trouble..."
"It''s nothing at all. I look forward to seeing you be a remarkable adventurer Khan." Jim said before pocketing his hands as he moved away, head raised.
Now that he thinks about it, fully helping the recruits felt more good than misleading them.
"He really was worth the trouble..." Khan said rubbing his cheeks. Smiling so much all the time made him feel mild pain in his jaws but looking at the map in his hands and also the door in front of himbeled with
NEW RECRUITS AREA.
All the troubles were worth it.
Immediately, Khan walked through the door and he immediately processed his information, using his smiles and good looks to worm his way through faster.
-- -- --
A golden-haired young man walked through the corridors of the Abyssal Core Guild''s second floor, eyes glued to the map in his right hand, while his left hand grabbed hold of a white-colored suitcase.
"Hmm, the Missions Hall..." Khan muttered under his breath as he folded the map storing it in his pockets, while his hands held the new white briefcase tighter in his hands before entering the door.
The ce was bustling with activity with middle-aged men and women walking around, some taking a smoke in the corner, sitting down in groups as boisterousughter rang throughout the ce while some were clogged together in front of the huge holographic board present in the room.
And immediately he sighted therge holographic at the end of the ce, he found exactly what he was looking for.
?Mission: A New Ruin Exploration?
?Mission Rewards:
1.)+100,000 Star Coins?
2.)100 Promotion Points?
3.)A Free Rare Tier Treasure From The Treasure Room?
?Mission Difficulty: Cmity Level!!!?
?Remark: The Chance Of Survival For Those Below Rank D is 30%?
"Tsk, tsk, since when had there been such a rewarding mission for all ranks of adventurers..." A middle-aged man holding a bottle of wine in his hands said out loud looking at the ring mission at the top of the list.
"True. It''s very tempting..." Another joined in when suddenly a hand pped the back of his head.
"Idiot. You should better say the Devil is tempting you to your death. Don''t you see the difficulty level?" The man who pped the adventurer on his head said with a mocking expression.
"Cmity Level difficulty? Since the birth of the guild, there have not been more than five cmity Level missions, this makes the fifth. Even some Rank C expert lose their lives trying toplete such missions..."
"True, lower rank adventurers like us will be basically ying chess withdy luck if we dared sign up for the mission..."
"And you know what they say..."
"The number one workers on Lady Luck''s annoying list are us adventurers..." The entire group said at the same time before bursting intoughter.
"Excuse me..." Suddenly a voice rang out stopping theughter as the entire group slowly turned their attention towards the new figure.
"Huh? And who is the cutie pie?" The adventurer with a bottle in hand said drawingughter from the crowd but it soon died down when the young man didn''t reply as he climbed up the steps arriving before the holographic.
Standing before the holographic, Khan''s eyes disyed deep thinking before he folded his hands together as he turned to look at the adventurers.
"Cutie pie, you say, aye?" And immediately his hands stretched forward as he clicked on the button where the Ruin Mission was causing gasps from all the adventurers present as they all looked at him as if he was some horrific Abyssal creature.
"An adventurer has taken up the mission, please head to the Mission verification hall to verify..." The AI voice rang out as Khan slowly stepped back down the steps moving towards the door but soon stopped as he turned back his head sideways to the group before raising his right hand which now had a bottle of wine in it.
"Wait, where''s my wine!?" The surprised scream of the drunk adventurer rang out as he suddenly found his bottle missing.
"Just a cutie pie looking for a shortcut to Yama..." Khan said as he gulped the remaining content of the bottle before throwing the remnant back to the drunk adventurer.
The man immediately caught it back before itnded on the ground but raising back his head up, the young man was already gone.
"Who...who is he?"
Chapter 21: Signing Up For The Ruins 2
Chapter 21: Signing Up For The Ruins 2
Khan arrived before the 3-metre tall door, as he looked up at its top.
Mission Verification Hall
"HUUUUUUU..." He exhaled before gathering his wits as he raised his hands before knocking thrice.
KNOCK
KNOCK
KNOCK
"Come in..."
Entering his eyes was a gigantic roompletely covered in white paintings.
There were three other white-colored doors in the ce, tightly shut, and at the middle of the room, was a table with hundreds of piles of different books piled on it and a muscr dark-haired man sitting behind therge table, with a spectacle on his eyes.
"And you''re..." The deep masculine voice of the man rang in his ears as Khan directed his attention towards him.
"I''m Khan. Khan Humana..."
"Khan Humana? Hmmm..." The Man raised the device present on the table as he tapped quickly on it before his hand skidded to a stop and he raised his head, giving him a scrutinizing gaze.
"Imend you for being able to enter Atherston''s eyes. It seems you''re a fine young man..." The man said as Khan''s eyebrows furrowed a little.
''Tch, those idiots also put that in my file?'' Khan hissed. Being a Hollow Soldier, one of the things he hated most was getting widely known.
For someone with a line of jobs like his, poprity was a quick way to die faster. It was always better to be an unremarkable average person.
Yet more than that, he also took note of the way the man addressed the base head, calling his name directly. This is either disrespectful or means he was close to him.
"It''s nothing, sir. The Base Head was a benevolent man and he took mercy on me. That''s all..."
"ording to my report, you have been recruited less than three hours and you want to immediately go for a mission?"
The man asked with a raised eyebrow as Khan scratched the back of his head with a smile.
"Can I see your card..." The man suddenly asked as Khan dipped his hands into his pickets and brought out the card.
The man took it, inserting it into a small device on his table as the device soon made a beep sound.
"You chose to go on that Ruin Mission?" The man asked, shocked as he gave him a second look.
"Are you well aware of what you''re getting into young man? Or should I say, do you know what a Cmity Level Mission means?"
"Yes. I''ve been very well informed about that in the mission hall." Khan said with confidence.
"I''m sorry young man. But I can''t approve this mission..."
"May I ask why?" Khan repliedposedly, not at all ruffled by the denial.
"It''s because of your background. You are specially recruited by Atherston himself. This means he has identified great potential in you. But this mission will lead to your sure death and that would simply be a waste.
I''m sorry young man. You can choose an easier mission and if it''s the reward you want, I can find a way to increase it. But this mission is far above your level..." The man said, his voice leaving no room for discussion.
"Ok. But I want to tell you two things before youpletely make up your mind..." Khan said as the man reclined well in his chair looking at him curiously.
"Firstly, I didn''t know of this ruin mission. It was the base head that rmended it to me..." Khan said but all he drew was an unbelieving smirk from the man.
''Yeah right? Atherston really sent you on a Cmity Level Mission."
"Secondly, you mentioned my level. I just wonder what you mean by that. Do you have a special ability that makes you immediately scan me and obtain my level or did you simply judge the book by its cover?" Khan said as his voice slowly got colder and all signs of emotions began once again fading from his face.
He might seem rash or like a spoiled girl that didn''t get her usual lollipop but he knew what he was doing. His being cheerful and respectful to everyone was so he could get what he wanted faster and those things were simply the best way.
But on sighting the man, he could tell he was no idiot, or should he say, he had that dangerous vibes on him. He knew well his smiles and respect wouldn''t give him the Job and make him seem like a naive young chap instead.
Therefore the best way to obtain what he wants is to show just how badly he wants it.
It was just like Oni-sama''s favorite words.
-- -- --
"It is easy to appear weak when you''re strong and strong where you''re weak. But the true difficulty lies in identifying the moment..."
-- -- --
Audrey''s eyes shed in shock at the young man''s boldness and also the strange change in his aura but it only amused him even more.
Slowly he took off his ss as he stood up from his seat, towering above Khan by a head.
"Before you even enter the door kid, I can already tell you''re an ordinary mortal. Are you telling me I''m wrong?" Audrey said, his voice rumbling with the entire room creating an illusion of the floor shaking.
"Why don''t we find out?" Khan said, not at all intimidated, instead looking dead straight at him, unfazed.
A minute stare down urred between both men but a smile soon broke on Audrey''s face, widening to his ears.
"You passed the first test. At least you won''t be the one to go numb when you see an undead. Now let''s we what you''re really capable of..." Audrey said as he slowly walked towards one of the doors in the room, signaling for Khan to follow behind him.
Khan followed behind the man as they arrived inside the room and he couldn''t but raise an eyebrow on looking at what it truly was.
"A training room?"
"Show me what you got kid!"
Audrey said as a holographic appeared in front of him and he inputted into it.
Slowly from the ground, a humanoid robot the same height as him emerged.
"I can sense no Mana from you, So I''ll go easy with it so you don''t identally fall dead before I can save your ass. This robot isparable to a third-rank stage awakener. At least I should be able to save you before it could..."
Suddenly Audrey grew quiet as he watched Khan begin walking forward as he arrived less than a meter before the robot.
Slowly he took off the tie on his neck and wrapped it around his right hand before getting into a fighting position, both fists raised to his face as veins appeared on his arms, wriggling within like snakes.
"Can we begin?"
Chapter 22: Proving Ability
Chapter 22: Proving Ability
Immediately, two red dots appeared in the robot''s eyes as it directed his gaze to Khan who also moved in the next second.
BANG
A punch tore through the air as Khan lowered his waist, and punched at the robot''s head which quickly dodged his head to the side.
Immediately, Khan retracted back his right arm before bending to the side as his left hand sted outward delivering a solid punch to the robot''s stomach.
RIIIP
A minor shockwave rippled where his fist made contact and the robot was immediately lifted its feet smashing into the wall.
BANG
"You have cleared the stage!" The AI voice rang out as he stood upright and turned back to look at Audrey without saying a word.
Audrey''s eyes shed in shock at what happened as he watched an ordinary mortal easily take care of a third-rank stage robot! It was simply impossible and unheard of.
Yet his eyes quickly regained his calm as he hmphed instead.
"Barely worthy enough..." Immediately he inputted some codes into the holographic in front of him as the robot that Khan defeated slowly entered back into the space on the ground and in front of Khan another robot also came out.
"This one is at the fifth star rank stage. Don''t die quickly, boy..." Audrey said but Khan only snickered as he got into his fighting position.
Immediately the red dot in its eyes shed as they both moved instantaneously.
BOOOM
A robotic leg kicked forward towards Khan who took a step to the side dodging the kick before his right hand punched forward with speed.
CLANG
The sound of metallic collision as Khan''s hands jerked backward, but he was quick to regain himself, slipping back to his fighting position.
The robot managed to block his punch by covering its face with both arms.
''It''s tough...''
BANG
A punch tore through his face instantly but it was only a mirage as Khan''s head shifted to the side.
Another punch immediately rippled outward as he took another step to the side, dodging it again.
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
Punch rippled forward with increasing momentum as the corner of Audrey''s lips shifted slightly upwards.
"If all he can do is dodge, then this fight already has a winner..." The training robots aren''t justparable to human awakeners but actually are pretty much stronger than normal.
A couple of reasons include their body which is iron. Due to that, they have greater defensepared to normal human awakeners. Most importantly, is the programming on them that enables them to adapt to a person''s mode ofbat.
With that programming, their momentum and hitting power will only increase as time goes by and he was well aware as Khan was dodging around, the robot would soon capture its mode and react effectively to it. Soon, he wouldn''t be able to dodge his attack.
Yet, Audrey''s eyes slowly furrowed as time went by as he noticed none of the robot''s attack worked. Khan effectively dodged every single one of its kicks and punches and soon Audrey''s jaws dropped to the ground as his eyes shed with purple light.
''His dodges, they''re never the same. It appears to be in the same pattern but there''s a minute change In every one of it...''
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP
The air patted as the robot mmed his leg towards Khan''s ribs whose eyes shed, as he jumped up into the air, the kick passing below him.
And mid-air he rotated before mming his leg downwardnding squarely on the robot''s head, which was immediately sted to its knees as Khan skillfully turned andnded gently on the ground.
"You have cleared the stage..." The AI voice once again rang out as Audrey''s eyes shed in shock and Khan gave him another ''in'' look.
"You could have finished the fight in the first ten moves, why were you dodging the whole time..." Audrey said as a smirk appeared on Khan''s face.
"Wrong. I could have destroyed it in the first three moves, but my curiosity was piqued and so I wanted to see its capabilities..." Khan said directing his attention away from the fallen robot and instead turning to look at Audrey who had a look of disbelief.
But unknown to him what Khan said was the truth. Khan had a single defect and that is his inability to cultivate. Instead, he improves his strength using his system which mainly implemented Nanobots to grow his strength instead of Mana.
This caused a state of confusion for Khan as he didn''t know what stage his level of strength was. But with the robots, he can slowly tune up their strength and when he arrives at a particr level he can''t defeat them. Then he''ll know his level of strengthpared to gene awakeners.
"So is this enough to convince you or should I keep destroying them?" Khan asked as he slowly untied the tie from his hand before knotting it back to his neck.
Honestly, he hated wearing a tie but he had no choice. It was the necessity of business.
"Ok. I''ll give you the mission, but only under one condition..." Audrey finally conceded as Khan raised his eyebrow.
"And what is that?"
"There is a group of four other adventurers who also signed up for the Mission. You''ll be joining their group?" Audrey said but all he got was a questioning look from the young man.
"The lowest of them is at the D-rank while the highest is at B-rank. I believe you''ll be safer with them..." Audrey finally revealed as Khan nodded.
"I agree to the condition..." Khan said, not sparing it much thought.
He could simply abandon the group on arriving in the ruins if they turned out to be a hindrance to his n. Then he''ll simply cut them off.
"Great..." The duo finally exited the training room as Khan watched Audrey get to work, dipping his device into the different device on the table before passing him his card.
"You have sessfully been registered for the mission. Don''t forget it''s two days from now at 8:00 in the morning. The location will be sent to you soon."
"Thank you..." Khan said with a smile as he turned back, his hand reaching for the knob and he unlocked the door, moving out but before he couldpletely step out of the office.
"So, how did you get those robots?" Khan asked once again.
"I made them myself. How about a deal? If you survive this mission, I''ll help build a personal training room just like mine in your future house for free, but if you fail, then..."
"Then what?"
"Then the dead don''t bite, do they?" Audrey said with a smirk drawing an evenrger smirk from Khan.
"Deal..."
And the door zipped to a close, the sound of footsteps rapidly fading away.
Chapter 23: Who Is Ripping Off Who?
Chapter 23: Who Is Ripping Off Who?
"Huuu..." Khan weaved a sigh of relief after moving far enough from the office.
Getting signed up and also signing up for the mission. It was all stressful but he pulled through in the end. And that was a rare case as just confirmation might take an entire week, but he got it in less than 24 hours and even secured a mission at the same time.
"Now..." Khan''s eyes shed as he brought out the map from his pockets, his gaze roaming around it before keeping it back and moving towards the lower floor.
With the Mission now secured, it was time for him to prepare himself too...
-- -- --
"And how much is this?" Khan asked pointing towards a rifle in a ss case.
"Oh, that is the M11 Assault Rifle. It is a rare grade weapon able to burn through 9th grade Abyssal creatures with ease and even trouble some Meteor rank stage beasts..." The voice of the old man rang out as Khan looked at the dark rifle, his eyes furrowed before shining with bright light.
''This is the real deal...'' Yet his eyes held no emotion as he brought out another piece of equipment. A golden-colored Katana, with the design of a fanged demon on its entire length.
"And this?"
"That is the Oni Kitsuni. A light katana at the rare grade weapon. Capable of slicing through iron if properly wielded..."
"Hmm, not bad"
"What about this? They''re cute too right..." Khan said bringing out another ss where a pair of daggers could be seen, their edge creating a sharp light that refracted on Khan''s face.
"Those are low-level rare-grade weapons. Light as a feather yet cut through flesh like butter.
"Nice. I''ll be taking these too" Khan said as he brought out 10 other equipment...
"Hmm, 10 button-sized exploding grenades!? The old man asked as Khan gave a nod.
"So how much is all of this?" He suddenly asked causing the old man''s poor jaws to almost fall to the ground.
Normally, adventurers regrlye to his Tech shop to ess tools necessary for their mission but rarely do they buy. The majority of the time, they just ask and then leave.
The old man was already used to the job, giving the adventure the information about the tools that the majority of the time can only dream of, but never did he truly consider the young man would talk of buying everything he mentioned and judging from his expression, it seems he was pretty serious too.
''Hmm, the rich one isn''t it...'' The foggy thought ns to formte quickly in his foxy brain.
"Well, with one look I can tell you''re really in need of the weapons for a very important job that''ll being soon. And also you know what they say, no matter how much money you have, you can''t buy a second from Yama. So you definitely have..."
"Hey, old man. Get it all out already..." Khan said, his brows scrunched up in impatient.
"Perhaps your mission is closer than I think. Well, the katana is 2,000 star coins. The daggers are 1500 star coins. The rifle is 4,000 star coins and each of the exploding grenades is 100 star coins each making the entire ten 1000 star coins. That makes a total of 10,000 star coins. Cheap right?" The old man asked with a gentlemanly smile but a thunderous snort rang out in the room.
"It seems you truly have gotten old, old foggy. 2000 and 1500, and 4000, and 1000 star coins make 10,000?" Khan snorted coldly in disdain.
"Oh, forgive me young one. This one is just getting old. My mistake, it is just 8500.." The old man said with an apologetic smile.
''Seems like he has something in that small skull of his...''
"So how much is the discount?" Khan asked ignoring the old man. He was just too familiar with this situation.
"Well, of course, money is nothingpared to life. Still, it is an essential tool to live. Therefore, I''ll be merciful and reduce your burden. How about just 8000 star coins? You have to know our Abyssal Core Guild only sells the best Hunting tools in all of EC..."
"And I''m also sure you know who the head of the Abyssal Core Guild is, don''t you..." Khan asked with eyes furrowed as he stood tall, raising his voice a few octaves higher.
"Um..of course I do. If it''s not the revered Sir Atherston..." The old man replied but got shut as a hand mmed down on the table, almost causing his heart to leap out of his chest.
As Khan moved back his hand, the old man picked up the card dropped on his table...
"I''m guessing you know who that signature belongs to right?" Khan asked as the old man looked at the card, his eyes widening in shock.
"This mission is directed by the Base Head himself. And you want to rip me off, one of the adventurers on the next mission that might as well change the course of the entire human race.
It seems you''ve finally found another job in the wilds haven''t you.." Khan said swiping away the card from the man''s hands as he brought out a handkerchief and cleaned the ce that he touched before carefully hiding it in his pocket.
The old man finally gave the young man in front of him a good look as his eyes shed in horror and sweat dripped down the back of his neck.
''It seems I''ve underestimated who he is..."
"Hahahahaha. Forgive me. I never knew you were sent on such an important mission by the Base Head himself! Forgive me, how about we agree on 4000 star coins..."
Slowly, Khan opened the suitcase in his hands as he brought out three notes cing it in front of the old man...
"Hey, I said 4000 star coins..." The old man grumbled.
"3000 star coins and Sir Atherston won''t know I was here..." Khan said winking at the man who clenched his teeth tightly.
"Tch, FINE..." The old man screamed out sshing spittle on Khan''s face whose satisfied smirk only widened even more as he packed all the goods in a ck-coloured suitcase.
And immediately he patted his butt as he turned back immediately...
"It was nice doing business with you. Honestly, you''re such a good old man. I look forward to our next business..." Khan said with a sadistic smile as he walked out, an even more sadistic grin on his face.
"I wish you SUCCESS on your mission..." The old man said gnashing his teeth in anger as ck smoke rose out of his head.
"Even wishing me sess. What a big heart..." Khan''s voice rang out in the ce slowly fading away.
"Tch, damn kid..."
Chapter 24: A Robot?
Chapter 24: A Robot?
A young man moved out of the abyssal core guild, a grin on his face as he dragged two suitcases out of the ce.
With all the equipment obtained, Khan was ready to go through even hell.
"But, tch, tch..." Khan clicked his tongue twice in as he looked at the briefcase.
The total amount of money given to him for being a recruit was 3500 star coins. Having procured all the Techtools for the mission, he was only left with 500 Star coins.
Arriving at the highway, a sports car blitzed past him blowing his dress chaotically, as his tie floated in the air for three seconds straight.
He looked at the car, not retracting his gaze for almost three seconds before muttering
"I miss my car..."
Behind the sports car that blitzed past him was a yellow-colored taxi that stopped in front of him.
Immediately he opened the back space sittingfortably while cing his suitcase at the back of his seat.
"The nearest junction to the Abyssal Core guild Mansion..."
"Yes sir..." The middle-aged man replied before driving forward.
-- -- --
Khan looked through the ss, brimming with light, so much there was almost no difference between day and night.
Hoverboards flew past, cleaning robots passing through the streets, flying cars wheezing with speed above them. Stalls were arranged at the safe limit of the highways as traders hawk their wares getting quite the amount of customers.
It was all familiar yet different. His hands hugged the suitcase tighter as he looked at the golden ne on his neck.
"Don''t worry. I''ll find you..." Khan muttered as his eyes slowly zipped to a close.
-- -- --
Khan finally arrived before the gigantic gate with therge mansion he slowly opened the gate before entering.
Knocking twice on the door, he waited patiently, and soon the door clicked open as Khan entered into the door, his gaze meeting that of a woman who had an incredibly bright smile on her face.
"Mrs. Sophia..." Khan greeted, with a smile on his face but it only made her burst intoughter.
"You don''t really know how to replicate the smiling well, do you..."
"What?" Khan asked slightly shocked but only drew even moreughter from Sophia.
Gently, she locked the door when he was still looking dazedly...
"You werete for dinner by 30 minutes. But don''t worry, I''ll prepare you one..." Sophia said as the sound of the suitcase falling to the ground rang out.
Khan quickly regained himself picking up his suitcase before giving her a bow.
"Don''t bother yourself, Mrs. Sophia. I''ve already had a little something on my way over..." Khan said with an appreciative smile.
"Oh, You have?" Sophia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course..."
GROWL
The thunderous growls of tigers rang through the ce as Khan''s stomach growled intensely.
"You really have eaten a little something on the way over..." Mrs Sophia ruthlessly mocked him as Khan scratched the back of his head.
"How about helping me prepare dinner instead..." She offered something that sat well with Khan as he dropped the suitcase on the ss table before following behind her.
-- -- --
The sweet aroma of food wafted through the kitchen as two figures could be seen one cooking with the pot while the other was dicing the various vegetables.
"I''m guessing you got all the recruitment process done, right?" Sophia asked as Khan diced tea vegetables in his hands gently and with familiarity. Being a person who preferred to make his meals the majority of the time. He was a truly good chef!
"Yes," Khan replied curtly.
"You know, ever since Aurelia came home after her expedition to Suicides city. She changed..." Sophia said with a slight chuckle.
"Changed? In what way?" Khan asked with not a single change in his expression.
"She had been, positive. Happy, more rtive with others, and also blushing a lot more. But she suddenly came home today, all sober, and didn''t evene out of her room to eat dinner, no matter how much I nudged..." Sophia said and Khan could pick up slight worry in her voice which he didn''t quite understand the reason for.
A silence ensued in the kitchen as Khan walked towards her with the diced vegetable in his hands before pouring it into the frying pan.
A spoon was stretched towards him as Khan collected it and gave the regr polite smile, a "thank you" escaping his lips.
"And who taught you to do that?" Sophia suddenly asked.
"Do what?" Khan asked, flicking the vegetable around with his spoon.
"To smile like that?"
"Am I not doing it right?" Khan asked with a raised eyebrow.
He knew when one smiles at you, he must smile back. When talking to someone old, he must smile politely back. When given help, he must say thank you and politely smile back.
But strangely, Mrs. Sophia wasn''t giving the natural reply to his smile.
"When you smile, it is because you feel truly grateful within your heart. Because something excites you..." Sophia lectured but was shocked when she saw the nk look In those golden eyes.
"Noted," Khan replied before continuing his cooking.
''He..he truly didn''t understand!!?'' Mrs. Sophia thought speechless. Something she couldn''t wrap her mind around.
It was like he was a....robot!
"So did anything go wrong during your small outing?" Sophia asked curiously.
"I don''t think so. She was strangely over excited but then there this young man named Sir Andrea of Starlight entered. Ever since his arrival, she had suddenly changed..." Khan said, pouring the vegetables onto a te.
"What changes?"
"She had slight perspirations. Her hands twitched twice faster. Her voice quivered and she suddenly had this prideful gaze in her eyes, much like her unusual self! And when Sir Audrey left. It was like she was relieved of a mountain pressing down on her..."
"And?" Sophia asked, looking at him quite seriously.
"I asked what was the deal about him and she said matters of royalty are not something amoner like me should interfere in..." Khan asked as a small gasp escaped Sophia''s lips.
"I apologize for anything she might have done wrong..." Sophia said, bowing her head to which Khan raised an eyebrow.
"Did she do something wrong?" He asked curiously.
''What!!?'' Mrs. Sophia was given her second shock for the night.
"So you don''t want to know of her strange change in personality?" Sophia asked curiously looking intently at his expression.
"Um, is it something I should know?"
"Um, never mind..." Mrs. Sophia said with a smile which Khan returned politely.
-- -- --
30 minutester...
"Thank you for the meal, Mrs. Sophia..." Khan said with a smile drawing an even brighter smile from her.
"Sleep well, Khan..." She said before moving up the stairs.
-- -- --
Khan slowly walked towards the living room where he ced his suitcase but the sight before him made him raise his eyebrow as he slowly raised both hands into the air.
Chapter 25: Power Of Awakeners
Chapter 25: Power Of Awakeners
Khan suddenly paused in his steps raising both hands upwards. In front of him, the nuzzle of a gun was pointed, held by a purple-haired girl.
"M11 Assault rifle? Not bad..." Lilith said as she removed the weapon from his face, cing it back in the bad pack.
"You don''t mind, do you?" She asked Khan who raised his eyebrow seeing as how all his tools had been removed from the bag and ced on the table, but looking at the purple-headed girl who seemed to have been giving some type of toy, he simply shrugged it off.
"Hmm, a light katana. It''s so beautiful. And 10 button-sized grenades? Really cool..." Lilith said as she revolved the katana in her hands, taking swipes in the air before pointing it at his nose.
"All this equipment is cool but you know they aren''t much use right?" Lillith said staring at him with a deadpan expression.
"Oh? And what does that mean?" Khan asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"You''re fighting against gene awakeners. Even if your weapon can cut through them, will you be able to react fast enough before you get your head ripped off? They are called awakeners for a reason, you know?" Lilith said before cing down the Katana and picking up the rifle.
"Also the firepower of this weapon is great but against real gic abilities, then it''s nothing much. Against a fireball that moves at thrice the speed of sound and a thousand degrees Celsius or an awakener moving at thrice the speed of sound, you think a rifle is a good match...". Lilith said with a raised eyebrow.
"Let us just say I have my way..."
"Yep, a quicker way to die. Just a piece of good advice. Don''t face a Meteor rank stage awakener of abyssal with this. You''ll be reduced to a pancake quickly..."
"Oh yeah? How strong are Meteor rank stage Awakeners anyway?" Khan asked with an uninterested expression as he slowly arranged his Tech tools back into the bag.
"Hmm, actually 1st to 3rd stage Early Star rank is the first stage of cultivation and it''s not much different strength from a normal human. But 3rd to 7th grade is the strength of an adult. 7th to 9th is the Peak of human strength. Just a level higher than the strongest human on Earth.
But once reaching the Meteor rank stage. It''s a level beyond the peak of humanity. They are no longer human and better could be regarded as Superhuman. We call them awakeners instead. Not only stronger and faster than regr humans, they also possess abilities making them even more deadly."
"Very interesting, and what stage of cultivation are you?" Khan asked as he took the rifle, gently cing it back into his bag.
"2nd grade Meteor rank stage..."
Khan''s hands slowly buttoned the bag unknowingly slowing down as a glint shed in his eyes before he unzipped the bagpletely.
"You''re very strong at such an age too..." Khan said nodding and looking into Lillith''s eyes. He was sure she was at most just 20 years yet she was already at the 2nd Meteor rank stage. That''s truly incredible.
"Of course I am. What were you expecting from the number 12 most talented genius in Starlight..." Lillian said with pride.
"Umm, number 12?" Khan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"There are over 50,000 students in Starlight Academy..."
"Oh. Then that''s truly incredible..." Khan said packing both suitcases in his hands before moving towards the room.
"Thanks for the advice Lillith. I''ll be fine..." Khan said, his back disappearing from view.
''He''s strange. Clearly a mortal yet I can smell a dangerous aura from him. The weapons show he truly can''t use Mana or he won''t resort to using such inferiorities. Then why?'' Lillith thought to herself looking at the ce where he disappeared from view but she shrugged it off before moving in the opposite direction.
Without Mana. It is a dream to be able to defeat even 7th-grade star awakeners talkless of Meteor rank experts.
-- -- --
Khan arrived in the medium-sized room, cing the suitcase in his hands on the table before moving over to the table.
On it, a surprise package could be seen as Khan arrived before it before slowly unfurling.
And in it, were three round neck shirts with three ck pants.
Looking at the small piece of paper ced at the side, he opened it as it read
"Found a couple of things in the shop that might suit your taste,"- Sophia.
It seems she was the one who bought it.
"Thank you..." He muttered, gently tucking the letter in the box before covering them.
Since he just arrived here, the only clothes on him were the ones he wore on thest mission. His sleeping dress!
He already nned to get some clothes from the mall but he arrived toote from the Abyssal Core Guild and nned to get them the next day.
Now all he needs to get is amunication device.
"I''ll settle everything tomorrow..." Khan muttered before heading towards the bed as his tired bones made a squeaking sound, melting into thefort of the bed.
It could be said to be pure luck he came in contact with such a nice family. Not only did they feed him like he was their son, they even gave him a room to sleep in and immediately epted him into their family.
It was a great blessing yet also strange but Khan didn''t think too much about it. He would be getting a new home once hepletes the mission and resumes his life,pleting missions from the guild just like in Suicides City, except this time he was walking towards an important goal.
With that, he slept off, the sound of gentle snoring reverberating through the room a few minutester.
-- -- --
2 dayster.
The day of the Ruins exploration finally arrived and the ringing sound of a device rang throughout the room.
Chapter 26: The Day Of The Ruins Explorations Arrives
Chapter 26: The Day Of The Ruins Explorations Arrives
DRIIIIIIIING
DRIIIIIIIING
The intense vibration followed by the ringing echoed throughout the four walls of the medium sized room as a golden light shed through the room, a result of the golden rays of sunlight illuminating a pair of golden eyes.
Khan slowly sat up from the bed as his hands reached for the rectangr device ced on the bed.
Immediately his hands held it, the ringing sound stopped as Khan looked at the notification on the screen.
|Abyssal Core Guild: Mission Reminder|
|You have less than an hour to arrive at the Abyssal Core Guild. Lateness attracts punishment fees...|
Khan looked at the notification all signs of sleepiness fading away from his face after that as he immediately stood up from the bed moving towards the bathroom.
-- -- --
20 minutester...
An image could be seen on the wall-sized mirror ced in the luxurious bathroom.
It was a young man, oval shaped face with golden hair and eyes, red lips and white face.
Putting on a regr T-shirt and dark panties. A bag pack could be seen beside him, a litty puffy revealing quite something was ced in it.
One look at him, and one would think he was a college student. Never would they believe he was an adventurer and ced in his back were deadly Techtools.
Giving a satisfied nod moving towards the exit, before giving one look at the room and heading out.
Immediately he stepped out down the stairs, right in front of his eyes was a group of three seated on the dining table.
They were none other than Mrs.Sophia, Lillith and Aurelia.
"And look who''s awake..." Mrs. Sophia said beaming with a smile as she signaled for him toe closer.
"I..." Khan muttered with a slight frown on his face as he looked at his watch. He had around 35 minutes and the journey to the Abyssal Core Guild would take around 25 minutes.
Finally he obliged as he moved to the table taking his seat...
"Thank you Mr. Sophia..." Khan said with a smile before picking up the knife and fork.
"It''s nothing..." Mrs. Sophia said with her usual smile.
"Actually it is..." The voice suddenly rang out as all eyes turned to look at Aurelia.
"I mean this is truly thest time you''ll be having something "humane" in the next two weeks. 24 hours now and you''ll be feeding on the legs of undead rats!.." Aurelia said drawing chuckles from Aurelia and Mrs. Sophia.
"And that''s only if you were able to avoid being the "humane" thing those undead rats have eaten in a lifetime now..." Lilith said causing Khan to almost choke on his breath.
"Stop it you two..." Mrs. Sophia voice rang out followed by sshes of vegetables flying towards their head to which Lillith quickly dodge her head to the side while it suddenly paused in the air in front of Aurelia before moving towards her te.
"Don''t be offended, Khan..." Mrs. Sophia said as Khan shrugged it off.
"Thank you Mrs. Sophia. I should really be heading out now or I might bete for the mission briefing..." Khan said with a bow before slowly standing up from the seat.
"I''ve prepared the drive for you. Mr. Jim will be taking you.." Mrs. Sophia said drawing an appreciative bow from Khan as he slowly rose giving onest look at the family, his eyes staying on Aurelia for a few seconds longer before moving out.
At the front of the mansion, the pitch ck SUV could be seen, as Khan walked towards it, opening the back door before entering into it.
In the driving seat was a familiar figure who started the engine as the car slowly moved out of thepound, followed out by a pair of moist pink eyes, yet soon disappearing from the sight of the eyes.
"Even though it''s almost impossible, I wish youe back ok..." The whisper slowly dispersed into the winds as she slowly walked back into the house, her legs dragging harder on the ground than normal with her shoulder slumped down slightly lower.
On the roof of the mansion, a purple haired Lilith looked at the car disappearing into the distance, a glint shing inside her eyes before snorting...
"What a suicidal Idiot..."
-- -- --
The dark SUV finally arrived around ten meters away from the huge gates of the Abyssal Core Guild.
Khan heaved a sigh of relief opening the car''s door.
"Thank you Mr.Jim..." He said before moving towards the gigantic structure. He had received thousands of suspicious looks from the man through the ss at the top of the car''s door causing him to feel so stifled.
Arriving before it, he entered into the ce amidst the gazes of the official and non-official workers of the guild, maybe it was a figment of his imagination, their gaze lingered on him longer than usual.
Entering into therge revolving doors, he once again met with the familiar waitress as he gave a nod.
"The third floor, hall 107..." She said to him causing a nod from Khan who slowly moved on to the direction indicated.
"Is that him?" The words rang behind her ears as she gave a nod.
"Yeah."
-- -- --
Khan finally arrived before the iron door with the number 107 written at its top.
HUUUUH
Exhaling out, he clenched open the door before entering in and immediately a voice rang out in his ears.
" So this is the rising star of the guild?Coming just a minute from the mission briefing. The cocky one ey?" The voice possessing some degree of taunt echoed out as Khan finally closed the door before turning to look at the hall.
It was a medium-sized hall, a very high dais at its far end while in front of the dais were five seats, four of them upied with one of them empty.
And immediately he headed towards his seat taking his space before giving a look at the others.
"Hi..."
Chapter 27: Mission Briefing 1
Chapter 27: Mission Briefing 1
"Hi..." Khan said boringly before turning to look at the top of the empty dais.
"You!!!" Shock appeared on their faces looking at hisckadaisical attitude. They were all high-ranking adventurers, drawing the envy and respect of others. But looking at Khan, he had just a in expression on his face as he kept looking at the dais.
"I heard he is a new..." The voice was cut off due to the new figure that just appeared in the room.
A middle-aged man dressed in an official business suit. Yet that still was unable to hide his ferocious aura with the inhumane scar running down his left eye and his bulging muscles barely held together by the suit.
His piercing gaze was directed towards them all, especially on Khan the most before warming up his throat.
"This mission requires some important things that must be best kept secret by you all. Leaking any of the information that I am about to give you will lead to severe Punishment from the guild ranging from the demotion from your current rank and if incredibly serious, death!
"With that understanding, let us get into it.
Suddenly the man pped his hands twice causing a holographic to appear mid-air, the clear image of a circr vortex present on it.
"This is the ruin you all will be sent into..." The man said pointing to the image.
"It was a new ruin found just a week ago. An exceedingly special one as far as ruins rankings go. You might be wondering, ''Oh a new ruin? Good, but we''re not ruin explorers''. Yes, we''ve set ruin explorers into it, immediately on sighting, one of the best ruin explorers too but out of the ten only three returned alive.
But from the three that returned, they all came back with plenty of Mythic Level Artifacts and even a Legendary Tier artifact. All gathered from the ruin."
The man said as Khan heard the sound of exhaling and inhaling increase in the room causing him to turn his head to look at the others and he was disappointed with what he saw.
They all had their curiosity piqued and focused to the highest level. Something that wasn''t disyed until now.
''Tch, greedy idiots...'' Khan thought to himself removing his gaze from them. He knew of all these people too well and the majority of them didn''t return alive.
"That said, the ruin explorers only covered 5% of the entire ruin. A single building in a City-sized setting to be exact..."
"Only a single building and they gained so much treasure, what if the entire city was ransacked? This is a jackpot..." One of the Adventurers said drawing the nod from others, except Khan. Khan had his eyes narrowed instead.
"Do you have a question that is bothering you, Mr.Khan? I''ll advise you to tell us so I can rify that might just end up saving your life..." The man said as all attention gathered on him.
''Well, it won''t hurt, would it?''
"I heard you say the ruin explorers only covered a single building out of the entire city, right?" Khan asked.
"That''s the truth..."
"So you''re telling me a total of ten humans entered into only a single building out of perhaps a thousand and still 7 died? Isn''t that ringing a bell in all of your heads?" Khan asked turning to look at the others whose eyes started widening as they slowlyprehended what he meant.
It was true that their entire squad almost got obliterated while in a building. What if they moved outside it?
"That''s very true..." The man said, his perspective of letting a 3-day-old recruit join a cmity-level mission changing slightly.
"From the three survivors, we have gathered bad news too. It is said that the entire building was filled with mindless creatures. ording to the reports, we were able to draw the most urate image of the creatures..." The man said pping his hands together as the holographic changed and on the image was a creature.
A huge being was portrayed on it standing on its two powerful legs. From its toes, sharp nails emerged from its feet and its hand ended inrge steel-like ws that glinted coldly. Dried scales coated its entire body.
Two huge bat-like wings emerged from its back, and its face was elongated like that of a wolf with sharp rows ofrge homodont teeth emerging from its mouth.
"This newly discovered creature from the ruin has been named Devir. ording to our report, its strength isparable to that of a fifth star awakener and therefore very difficult for an ordinary mortal to go toe to toe with. Even then, the explorers sent were all above the fifth star rank stage, and handling a single one should be no problem.
But that is where the major problemes in. They were facing almost five hundred of these creatures all at once. They might be stronger, but the creatures are close to a thousand In numbers in the building. A thousand against ten, do you understand?."
The adventurers took in deep breaths on hearing that, the gleeful cheer in the room disappearing into nothing.
"An interesting thing about this is that these creatures have actually been once discovered by humanity before. In another ruin that opened up in the wild but it was the skeleton that was found. It''s a miracle that we found a living one in this ruin and so many too.
ording to the reports, these creatures are the only ones capable of stopping your expedition. If eliminated, then this ruin exploration would be a simple walk in the park.
Therefore great studies are ongoing that have produced quite the results. We were able to gather some very important information about the devirs."
Immediately ears perked up as his eyes turned to look at the man in absolute focus and he wasn''t the only one. The entire adventurers also had their curiosity piqued.
It was just as his master, Oni-sama always tells him:
" If you know the enemy and know yourself, Khan, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will sumb in every battle."
Chapter 28: Arriving At The Ruin Portals
Chapter 28: Arriving At The Ruin Portals
"The most important thing that must be noted about the devirs is that they are capable of evolving. This devir here is tagged by scientists as only a grade-one Abyssal creature.
A new creature has been noted by scientists, and when properly researched, is said to be an evolution of the normal devir. Its power was said to be at the Early Star rank stage.
This means, there might be a high chance you''ll be facing an even higher grade of devir in the ruins. The best advice is to avoid confrontation with the beast if you can, and in an asion where you can''t, then fight it together in a group.
More than that, it is also a possibility you''ll be facing other devilish creatures apart from the ones stated here. So don''t panic when faced with a new creature and think this is not part of the information. There might be the existence of new creatures in this ruin. Perhaps, you might even be the one to discover a new creature for humanity..."
''Well, if we don''t end up in its belly that is...''
"With that said. Another piece of information is that you won''t be the only one going on this mission. Elite students of the Star Bright Academy and other adventuring groups will also be going together with you in this ruin. It is advised you all work together to explore more of the ruins.
As for the treasures obtained from the Ruins. Half of it would be used to strengthen humanity. So do not go there thinking all the treasures will be pocketed by you. It won''t, the reward forpleting the mission is your reward.
Although you''ll be able to pick something out of your pile, it won''t be all. If you don''t agree to this, please exit..." The man said looking intently at them all, but none of them stood up.
"Good. Also, this mission is a Cmity Level grade due to its unknowns. There''s a ny percent chance of death, so if you want to get out of this, this is yourst chance to go..." The man said but all he received was silence.
Of course, they were all aware of that before signing up.
"Good. Know well in the ruins. It''s humanity against aliens. Please put away all form grudges and fight together as one at all times... With that said, I wish you a great expedition time..." The man said as he suddenly faded away from where he stood as if he was only a mirage, something that shocked Khan to his core, although the other awakeners weren''t.
"A space awakener huh?"
DRIIIIIIIING
His watch vibrated intensely as he looked at the image of a map written on it, a particr ce in red while his current location was in green.
And immediately, followed by the other four, he stood up at once, heading towards the direction of the points.
-- -- --
A ginormous spaceship could be seen right at the top of the Abyssal Core Guild, with three huge words written on its surface.
ABYSSAL CORE GUILD
In front of this ginormous spaceship stood
Five people, a glint of surprise evident in their eyes.
Slowly the door to the ship opened up blowing out strange white gas as they all filed into it, five seats already present in the small hall.
"Strap yourself in. The journey to the Magical Arcana Ruin in the wild will now begin..." The AI voice rang out through the hall as Khan''s golden eyes shed in memories.
It was just like how it always was! How he had always gone on the missions. It was the same procedure and slowly his body was reflexively responding to that feeling.
His breathing, aura, and demeanor changed quickly. Slowly, Khan felt his entire memories disappearing into nothing, reced by a single thought!
To Complete The Mission!
The group of adventurers began engaging in small talks, mainly showing off their respective abilities and exchanging battle achievements but Khan never pained attention. His eyes closed, head reclined on the back seat as he exhaled every five seconds.
Something that drew the curiosity of the other adventurers but none of them paid it no mind.
''Perhaps, he''s nervous due to this being his first mission..."
But there was a single adventurer whose gaze asionally turned to Khan, a sharp glint shing in his eyes every time heid eyes on him, quickly disappearing faster than anyone even Khan could sense.
-- -- --
The Wild!
It was a horrific name sending shivers down the spine of anyone who heard it.
Why?
Because it was a forbidden ce. A ce that once used to be that of humans but is now nothing more than a dwelling ce for the Abyssal creatures.
Yet in this always deserted ce, spaceships could be seen in the clouds all flying towards a particr direction in the wild.
The spaceship drew closer and closer to the location of the ruins as the AI voice rang out through the hall...
"Less than a minute to descend to arrive before the location. Please prepare for disembarkation..."
Immediately Khan''s eyes snapped open as he stood up Instantaneously, his hands positioned weirdly, but his eyes noticed theck of solid matter in his hands and the strange gaze from the group who were seated with not a care in the world.
"Take it easy kid. We''re not even at the Ruins yet and you''re all worked up. Don''t worry, papa will protect you..." The voice of an adventurer rang out, a middle-aged man, with anky, rectangr-shaped face which seemed to have been bashed in at the left side and a criss-cross mark on his de. The smooth work of a sharp de.
"Way to go Sharon..." The voice of the other adventurers rang out but Khan ignored their taunts.
"We have arrived at our destination..." The AI voice rang through the hall, the spaceship engine crawling to a stop before the staircase opened up as they all stood up and exited the spaceship, weing the new environment they were in.
"Quite a bustling environment for a ce like the wild.
Chapter 29: Entering The Ruins
Chapter 29: Entering The Ruins
"Quite a bustling ce for a ce like the wild..."
The voice rang out as even Khan himself raised an eyebrow looking at the scene in front of him.
A total of three medium-sized spaceships were packed, theirs making the fifth.
Camps have been built around the ce, and people could be seen walking in and out of them with smiles on their faces, greeting each other with shakes.
It was almost like this ce wasn''t the wild at all, and more of a little conference meeting in the jungle.
"Follow me..." The voice of the man rang out, the one who lectured them about the mission and also their pilot said, as they followed behind him.
Navigating their way through the camp setting, the six finally arrived in front of an extrarge camp.
"Stay here..." The man ordered before entering the camp alone. The sound of boisterousughter rang out in the next few seconds as the man exited with a smile on his face.
"You all have been registered and luckily for you, the Ruins will also be opening less than an hour from now. Follow me, let me give you a tour of the others that will also be following you."
-- -- --
"Right there is the Star Bright Academy," He voiced out pointing at a particr tent where different young men d in white-blue uniforms could be seen.
Immediately, Khan''s eyes narrowed to points as a glint shed in his eyes quickly.
His perception was telling him they were very dangerous beings and the slight quivering of the air around them was enough to make him ept the fact.
"Those are one of Star Bright academy elites. It will be your luck to be able to team with them on the Ruin exploration, although you likely will be refused. Don''t be offended and act stupid." The man voiced out sternly as they all gave a firm nod.
"That one is the UAF. Earth''s Military Force. They''ve also been included in joining the exploration..."
It was a tent with a dark red color and with men d in dark red uniforms. To Khan, they were ordinary soldiers. One could say he was a member of the UAF itself but he was also different. He was trained in a special category of the UAF, the death soldier category.
People like this to him were ordinary soldiers instead of Elite soldiers.
"And that is the REO. The Ruins Explorer organization, they''re the one who first entered into the ruins and lost 7 members.
But not only that, they''re also the ones that know more about the ruins than any of the organization entering as it was their men that first stepped foot in it..." He exined earning a nod from the others.
"When in the Ruin, remember to put aside the difference you may have between the organization and work together instead..."
RIPPLE
Suddenly a shockwave of dark energy rippled past them as Khan snapped his head sideways where he felt it originated from.
Immediately, the camp went silent, obviously disturbed by the strange pulses that soon rippled past them once again.
"It''s finally opening..."
An old figure suddenly appeared mid-air, silver-haired with a staff in his arms.
"The doors of the Magical Arcana Ruins will now be opening, I hope you''re all ready. Your main mission irrespective of your organization is scouting. Draw a map of whatever ce you explore down. Write about the different types of creatures you meet and urately give their pictures.
As for treasure hunting, that is only a second mission and not the focus of this Ruin Exploration. Is that understood?" The man asked, though old, spoke fluently like a middle-aged man.
"Yes sir..."
"Good. You will all be entering into the ruins in the order with which you came. Therefore the UAF are the first..." The old man said as the group representing the UAF, a total of 7, emerged and slowly moved to the gigantic dark vortex which possessed streaks of blood-red light within them.
Immediately, they arrived at the front of the vortex all holding hands together before disappearing within as one.
"Next is the Star Bright academy..."
Another group of 7 people d in a white- blue uniforms walked out of the group also holding hands before disappearing within.
"Next, REO..."
"Lastly, Abyssal Core Guild..." The man voiced out looking in their direction as the group containing three men and two women walked out closing in on the vortex.
Arriving before it, Khan felt two hands stretching to his side, one belonging to the man who taunted him and the other a white-haireddy.
He took the hand, exhaling loudly before they all walked into the vortex at once, their back disappearing quickly.
A minuteter...
The vortex crawled to a stop, soon unmoving as the remaining people left looked at it.
"It is only after a week that this will begin revolving once again and the exit portals will start appearing to them. I wonder how many will make it out alive and which guild will suffer the most devastating damage..." The voice of the old man rang out, almost like a sigh yet filled with hope, causing the various people present ok the scene to give a nod.
"Well, since we''re ''stuck'' here for the next week, how about a booze or two to settle down the temperature..." The old man said winking at all the people present as they all walked forward towards thergest tent in the ce, soon engaging in a crazy amount of drinking andughter.
And that was life and hierarchy in this world. The lesser in the hierarchy go into dangerous Ruins, brushing shoulders with death while the others sit down, drinking wine andughing while ripping the benefits of theirbor at the end of the day.
-- -- --
An intense shoving.
Khan could feel he was being shoved with speed through space, his eyes closed unable to be opened, but he made sure not to let go of the hold.
30 secondster...
The shoving finally stopped as he once again felt the solid ground beneath his feet causing him to open his bright golden eyes.
BLERRRRGGGGHHHH
The sound of vomiting rang out in his earsing from the other adventurers, due to the intense shoving they had just gone through.
Finally gaining control of themselves, turning to look at the surrounding area and their jaw dropped to the ground, eyes shing in horror as they took on the sights.
"What...what the hell is this ce!!!"
Chapter 30 Close Call!
Chapter 30 Close Call!
Carnage.
That was the word that could barely describe what was right in front of them.
Dried blood, covered the ground as far as eyes could see, submerging Khan to his ankles.
Around the ce were tall structures, all in a dark color, a touch of crimson sshes around them, where different deep cracks could be seen.
Yet, he was forced to ignore that when he saw the monsters walking out from the shadows. Devilish beings with horrifying forms all stood up from their feast, the murky bones in the river of blood, and slowly turned their attention towards the small group.
A seemingly humanoid form, withnky hands and legs reaching up to a meter in length, and coated in dark burnt scales.
Sharp demonic ws are seemingly darker than darkness, with crimson liquid dripping down from them. They turned their face revealing the singr eyeball of aplete crimson color that turned to look at them with a gigantic maw made of hundreds of teeth, blood, and intestinal fluid dripping down them.
GRRRROOOOWWWLLL
Thick blood dripped down their ws and bodies as they growled. But even more frightening was their growl alerting the others as they slowly pilled up more and more from the shadows.
"Get inside that building, now!!" The scream rang out from a red-haired adventurer who immediately raced towards the building close by, followed by the group.
SCREEEECCCCCCHHHH
Their running seemed to have alerted the predatory instinct of the creatures who all began crawling towards them with theirnky hands and legs, quickly catching up.
The wooden gate was kicked open by Liam[The red-haired adventurer] as they all burst into the ce, Khan following in the third, Liam and the man who made fun of him before, the one called Sharon beating him to it.
Immediately the fourth person entered, and the fifth person also ran in but her hair was dragged by the devilish creatures, stopping her from entering the door.
"Help! Help!" She screamed out struggling with all her energy to escape the grasp of the devilish creature, as the remaining devirs all ran towards her with their fastest speed.
Mitsuri watched wide-eyed as none of the adventures took a single step forward. In their eyes, she could see fear, scowl, and in some expressionless. None of them had any intent to save her.
"He...Help." She whispered with tears in her eyes when she felt the presence of a devilish being on her and slowly closed her eyes before the loud word boomed into her ears followed by a rapid increase in temperature.
"Common level Fire Art: Fireball!" Immediately, the red-haired adventurer burst out through the door as he raised both hands, a gigantic fireball forming within his hands, reaching the size of a football, before flinging it towards the devir standing on the female adventurers.
BAM
SCREEEECCCCCCHHHH
A painful screech rang out from the devirs mouth as the ming ballnded squarely on its chest sending it hurling toward the rest behind it as they all tumbled back into the river of blood.
Immediately, a hand grabbed Mitsuri''s hand as she was shoved up from her lying position and onto a firm shoulder.
Liam ran back with his fastest speed Into the house as the crimson-haired man, the fourth to enter before Mitsuri immediately locked the door shut, using all the various locks at the back of the door.
SCRATCH
BOOOOM
BOOOOM
BOOOOM
The sound of something colliding head-on with the door and scratching hard against it rang out as the group slowly backed away but it ended up well as the banging noise stopped and everything returned to normal.
"Phew, that was close..." Sharon muttered exhaling loudly.
"Are you ok?" Liam voiced out slowly dropping the prettydy from her shoulder as he ced her on the ground.
There was no scratch mark on her revealing she took no damage from the attack, but she couldn''t say a word as her heart thumped loudly, which in the silent room, was like a beating drum. N?v(el)B\\jnn
"Give her some space..." Liam said standing up as the remaining adventurers automatically backed away from him, and Khan chose to y along.
Slowly rising from his crouched position, Liam stretched forward his palm, a red sparkle appearing on it before turning into a small me that illuminated the darkness.
Finally, the group got a clear view of their environment, revealing it to be a medium-sized room, with two wooden chairs, covered in a strange fluffy material.
At the center of the room was a small mat made with strange materials and a wooden table with curved legs was present at the center.
Around the white-colored wall, different pictures were hung and candles could be seen in the four corners of the room, a window at the eastern side of the room.
Liam pointed towards the window as one of the adventures, the green-haired one moved towards it, gently shutting it uppletely while Liam himself walked towards the candle stand as he used his me ability to light them up causing the room to be illuminated.
Slowly he walked towards Mitsuri cing her on the chair and much to Khan''s surprise, she was already unconscious.
''Tch, she''ll be dying first...'' he thought to himself before turning to look at Liam.
"It would have been a joke if I had asked for introductions when we''re not here yet but now, I think it''s time we learn more about each other if we''re to see tomorrow''s sun," Liam said as the entire group walked forward taking their ce in the seat while Khan chose to remain reclining on the wall.
"I''ll start. I''m Liam Burnes, a B-grade Adventures. My ability as you all already know is mes and I''m at the 1st grade Meteor rank stage..." He said as the entire group had their eyebrows furrowed.
Not only was he a very high-grade adventurer, he was also a very strong awakener having reached the Early Meteor rank stage.
"I am Theodore Roosevelt, a C-grade adventurer. My ability is that of blood and I''m at Ninth Star rank stage..." The crimson-haired man said drawing a cursory nce from the others.
As if he could read their mind, he suddenly sank his fingers into his skin drawing blood that slowly tickled down but before they couldnd on the ground, they floated in the air rising into his palm before taking the shape of a sharp needle.
Pointing to the side, the needle soared forward with inhumane speed, nailing into the door before dispersing into normal blood.
''So this is blood Ability?'' Khan thought to himself very impressed.
"I''m Sharon Hilfiger, a D-rank adventurer. My ability is super strength and I''m at the 7th grade star rank stage..." Thenky man with sunken eyes and face said causing an eyebrow from Khan.
Who would have thought such anky man is a super strength awakener?
"I''m Mitsuri Shibuha, a D-rank adventurer. My ability is wood, specifically leaning on the healing side..." The prettydy said slowly rising from her sleeping position.
Holding the hands of Theodore who still had a slight cut on his arms, green energy emanated from her palms as the cut immediately closed up.
"A healer? How interesting..." Liam muttered though the others could easily pick that due to the silence.
With a healer in their group, then their chance of survival just rose by a notch.
''I guess saving her was worth the trouble...''
The entire group finally directed their attention towards the young man in the room reclining on the distant wall.
"I''m Khan and an F-grade adventurer. I''m not an awakener..."
"WHAT!!!?"
Chapter 31 Then Arent You Useless!!?
Chapter 31 Then Aren''t You Useless!!?
"WHAT!!?" The scream of shock could be heard from the group as Sharon and Theodore jumped up from their seat.
"You are an ordinary mortal?" The duo asked with shock.
"Yes..."
"You..."
Immediately, silence enveloped the room they were in. He already knew what type of expression they all currently had in their faces so he didn''t bother to check.
"Then aren''t you basically Useless?" Sharon asked with a raised eyebrow and with disdain oozing from his face.
Khan slowly turned his gaze towards him but didn''t need to say anything when the temperature in the room suddenly began rising.
The group turned their gaze towards Liam who gave a death stare at Sharon, the air quivering as if in mes.
"Call a person useless again, and I''ll test just how long It can take for my mes to burn a human to crisp..." Liam said as Sharon snorted before facing away.
Against a meteor rank stage awakener, he knew he had no chance of winning. Besides getting chased away from the group right now will be a punishment worse than death.
Done with the grumpy one, he turned his attention back to Khan, his eyebrows furrowed lightly.
"Though I truly sense no Mana from you at all, meaning you truly are an ordinary mortal. I''m sure anyone signed up for this mission is definitely far from ordinary. What do you have that can benefit the group?" Liam asked as Khan turned to look at him.
He didn''t understand why he was so particr about the group, even saving a person who would not doubt be a simple drag.
Still, he appreciated the reply given and decided to answer the question.
"See that?" Khan asked pointing towards the singr door in the room which probably led to another room.
Immediately, the entire group turned their gaze towards the door.
"And what is wrong with it?" Liam asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Inside there is a room in the shape of a bedroom. And there are a total of ten bat-like undeads hanging in Its ceiling all surrounded in a white cocoon. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
"What?" The group asked shock as they looked at the door once again before turning to look at him.
"Are you sure about that?" They all asked with doubtful expressions on their faces.
As if to confirm the information, Liam stood up from his seat, appearing before the door as he gently opened it quietly. The entire group was easily able to see the bat-like undead really surrounded in a cocoon up the ceiling.
But strangely the cocoons were unmoving as if the creatures within were in some type of slumber.
Sparkle
mes bloomed out of Liam''s n as a gigantic fireball appeared in his hands and was hurled upwards towards the ceiling.
SCREEEECCCCCCHHHH
The painful screech of the creatures rang out through the entire ce as the mesnded at their middle sending sshes towards even the farthest to the ce.
It was like the undead were some type of petrol as they Immediately began burning faster, burnt to a crisp before they could fullye out of the cocoon.
Two of the undead bats managed to break away from the me as they quickly moved outside into where they were all seated but suddenly dropped unceremoniously to the ground pping wildly before they were once again burnt to crisp by Liam''s me.
"The blood ability is truly handy..." Khan thought to himself witnessing the exchange. When the two bats came out, a red needle was immediately sent into their head which was the work of Theo causing them to fall to the ground and they were immediately burnt to crisp by Liam before they could stand.
"You can see through the walls. That''s really an interesting ability to have..." The grumpy voice of Sharon rang to his ears, insinuating a different thing, but Khan ignored him.
"With the ability to see through walls, then we can forget about sneak attacks and avoid unnecessary trouble. It''s really a handful ability in this ce..." Liam said drawing a small nod from others.
"As you all can see, the outside is not safe at all. Just then we were beseeched by almost twenty of those creatures. It would have been a gruesome battle had we faced them and their numbers only seem to keep growing with time.
What say we wait till the sun is up before moving out? We can rest here for now since it''s pretty safe, right?" Liam asked turning to look at him, when he mentioned the room being safe, as Khan gave a nod. There truly were no other creatures in the room ording to his Nanorunic Eyes.
"Ok." The group also gave a nod, supporting the idea. None of them was against it since they truly recognized Liam meant no harm and it was also the best choice of action.
"Also I''ll advise you to please keep things down so we don''t attract unnecessary attention to ourselves," Liam said to the group retreating into the bedroom.
"Wow. Sofy!" The loud voice of Theodore rang out as the group turned towards him with raised eyebrows.
"Quiet. Quiet. I get it..."
The bed was a veryrge one, able to contain at least seven men sleeping side by side and Theo immediately jumped on it followed by Sharon.
Less than three hourster, the sound of a soft snore could be seen ringing gently in the room.
"Tch, they can even snore in this type of situation..." Khan asked with a raised eyebrow as he slowly moved to the far edge of the living room, andy on the ground, his bag pack ced on his chest.
"Thank you..." He suddenly heard the feminine voice ring out, which was no doubt from Mitsuri.
"It''s nothing. I''m just doing my job." Liam said looking up at the white ceiling as he slept on the chair.
"Your job?" Mitsuri asked turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. It''s the natural job of the strong to help the weak. Though, we all have the power of choice."
Chapter 32 The Power Of Choice
32 The Power Of Choice
"It''s the natural job of the strongest to protect the weakest. Though we humans have the power of choice.
1
I could have stood at the side like the others, with a scowl on my face or disdain, perhaps fear and thought to myself,'' the strong prey on the weak!'', Or I could have chosen to move forward and save you.
Both choices were open to me, both good and bad. Though I chose the good, I still don''t think I''ll be going to paradise if I die right now, but, my years of experience taught me that, in most cases, the good choice always leads to a better ending, just like my saving you helping to gain a healer which is an automatic life saver..." Liam exined lengthily almost like he was talking to himself when suddenly both of them heard the increase in heartbeat as they turned towards the young man at the far edge.
"Quit the formality, the weak will die! And only the strong will survive. That''s the reality of life." The young man said with a in expression before turning back and facing the wall.
The silence ensued in the room for the next thirty minutes as Liam stood up from the seat and took out four of the five candles before moving towards the bedroom.
"See you allter in the morning and sweet dreams..." Liam said, jumping on the bed and dozing off.
Three hourster...
The ce was almostpletely dark save the candlelight barely illuminating the ce.
The sound of breathing in the entire ce was even, a sign Khan interpreted as that of deep sleep.
Slowly, he rose to his feet as he walked towards the candle and picked it up from the stand, cing it in amp-shaped object bedside the stand which was supposed to be some luminous refraction object for the candle.
Gently cing the candle in it and closing themp, the light brightened up a little providing much illumination as Khan raised it with the iron handle.
Mitsuri was the only one present in the living room and slept on one of therger cushions while the remaining three men were in the bedroom.
Seeing she was fast asleep, he walked towards the wall on the other side and raised the candle to see the image imprinted on it.
It was a simple picture, consisting of humans, except they all had long white hair that reached to their back both male and female, and with pointed ears.
1
It was a prettyrge image, looking more like an entire extended family taking a picture together and the camera couldn''t contain it all.
Nheless, he saw the pure bright smile on their faces that was like a rising sun at early dawn.
Moving away from it, he checked through the other images in the room.
From them, he could learn, that this house used to belong to a small nuclear family consisting of a father, mother, and a young girl about 15 years of age.
3
"Perhaps, these were the former people living here before it became this hellish of a ce..." Khan muttered to himself moving to the small desk present in the living room.
There was no book or written material and everything was in the form of pictures, some amateurish type of drawing which was no doubt from that of a childish girl.
"Mirena huh?" Khan muttered seeing the word that was written on the image depicting a young girl in between two peoplebeled ''Mum'' and ''Dad''.
Apart from the images, there was nothing else noteworthy Khan found but he at least learned they used to be a group that lived formerly in this ce.
As for how such a group became extinct or if they truly were extinct, he''ll learn of that the more he traveled.
Opening up his suitcase, he brought out his equipment, keeping the two daggers inside his sleeves, and the ten bottom-sized grenades were gently tucked into his shirt''s Inner pockets. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
1
The M11 assault rifle could be shortened to the size of a small shotgun and Khan did just that before hiding under his clothes, a space within his trousers and very close to his waist.
Even the clothes he wore were specially chosen by him, and definitely not an ordinary one.
Actually, it was a light battle armor, containing lots of spaces for hiding multitudes of Tech tools while also incredibly light reducing the weight on him for the added equipment and also ease of movement. However, it is still nothing worth mentioningpared to his Techno-Gamma grade Death Soldier battle suits, which had hundreds of extremely beautiful features, its ability to hover with the thrusters beneath it only being one of the multitudes. He had no choice but to do with this, since he couldn''t afford that yet.
Lastly was his Katana, and Khan sheathed it before cing it just beside his waist for all to see. It would be strange if he was walking around with no weapons at all and might leave his opponent wary, but with the Katana, he would create an impression of a swordsman on his opponents who wouldn''t be aware of the dangerous tools on him.
Though a little mundane, it has worked perfectly On many asions to catch his enemies off guard and drill a bullet in their skulls before they understood what was going on.
"HU"
Feeling everything in its right position, he heaved a sigh of relief as the feeling of being butt-naked finally disappeared.
Tomorrow was going to be a tough day for sure, but he was more than ready!
-- -- --
The golden rays from the sunlight passed through the lightly opened space of the window present in the room as Khan opened his eyes turning to stand up.
He could see the group was also slowly standing, all preparing for exit when suddenly his nose crunched together as a surprised expression appeared on his face which didn''t go unnoticed by the group.
"What is it?" Liam asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Um, is it snowing?"
"What!"
"Is he drunk? "
"Where did he get the alcohol?"
Khan ignored their senselessness before moving closer to the window and opening it. Immediately all of their jaws dropped to the ground.
"It''s... it''s truly snowing. But how?"
Chapter 33 Strange Snow
Chapter 33 Strange Snow
The wooden door creaked open, delivering a painful groan, a sign of its destion and its unique way of dering its need for change.
The group of five slowly moved out, their hands on their various weapons, ready for the brutal fight that would ur soon but they were shocked seeing what was before them.
The former river of blood, the inhumane bones and sinews floating atop. The group of devilish undeads feeding on them.
All was nowhere to be found, covered by a carpet of snow that covered everything from sight.
And slowly they moved their hands away from their weapons looking at what was right in front of them, eyes revealing shock as the pearls of snow covered them up, staining their hair in a color of white.
"Look at that..." The voice rang out from the crimson-haired Theodre as the group directed their gaze and looked at the group of undead, whose bared fangs dripped with blood mixed in with spittle.
Yet they never moved towards them, they remained under the shelter of the deste building.
The group''s face changed as there wasn''t any barrier stopping them from attacking but they kept growling at them and not stepping forward.
"I can sense fear from their otherwise mad state..." Mitsuri said her hand pointed towards them.
It would have been a perfect time to ask about her ability to sense something such as abstract as fear but the time just wasn''t right.
"Fear of what?"
As if to confirm the thought that was running in their head, Liam moved forward towards the undead, but even after standing at a close distance of less than ten centimeters away from them, they only growled and didn''t attack at all.
Liam inched forward even moreing to stand less than five centimeters, the growl growing to a deafening level but Liam wasn''t fazed at all.
Finally, it seemed one of the undead could take it longer and swiped quickly at his face.
SLASH
It was deadly fast and urate, something an ordinary human wouldn''t be able to react to, but not him an Early Meteor rank stage.
Immediately, his hand moved out with twice the speed, sping on the ghostly w as he exerted strength, dragging the undead up its feet and into the snow.
BANG
With a loud thud, the undead was sent rolling into the snow skidding to a stop close to the group of four giving them a clear view of the impossibility that would happen.
They watched as the falling snownded on the dark scaly covering of the undead who delivered a painful screech as smoke immediately rose from the spot where the snow fell on.
And a hole was burned open revealing its other side. Even though they were less than a meter from the undead, it never paid any attention as it scrambled towards the shelter but the falling snow alreadynded on its body before it could cover the distance, reduced to ashes just an inch from its ws entering the covering of the shelter.
It got reduced to ashes by the falling snow!
"They... They''re afraid of the snow." Theodore voiced out the conclusion in their minds.
"Hahahaha, how convenient. Too damn convenient. Then we can simply poach them to death. Eheh..." The devilishughter could be heard from Sharon who swagged towards the undead as he delivered a mighty punch on the face of the undead who found itself on the snow after a painful punch on its face.
Realizing where itnded, it immediately scrambled with speed towards the covering but just like the first was reduced to ashes too.
Another one was soon plunged into the snow by Sharon, burned to ashes like the others.
Sessfully, Sharon easily took care of the three undead. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Hahaha, this is really great. So satisfying. It seems the day will always be a bad day for the undead."
Saying that, he was already walking towards the second structure, disorientating them with a punch to their face before flinging them onto the snow where they''ll be immediately burned to a crisp.
"This is truly a strange ce. At night, it is a sea of blood and a feast for the undead but in the morning, it bes a sea of snow that immediately eradicates them.
At least we can be sure of our security in the morning and if we keep this going, might manage topletely clear them off from this area, turning it into a haven. I''m sure this is a piece of major information for the mission" Liam said with a smile, bringing out a notepad and a pen as he jutted down things quickly, drawing the satisfied nod of others as they watched Sharon flinging them out in the snow with a sadistic smile on his face.
"Hey, Sharon. Don''t just fling them unto the snow, enter into the buildings and try looking if there''s something good within." Theodore shouted out to him.
"Huh? You idiot. If you''re so greedy for treasures. Then enter the building and find one yourself. Hopefully, you don''t have your treasure ripped off by an undead bat before you find the treasure." Sharon said loudly with a sadistic grin on his face.
"And what is that treasure do I have?" Theodore asked confused.
"Your head, you idiot!" Sharon screamed out to him before roaring out with a sadistic smile that caused a vein to pop out on Theodre''s face as the group immediately burst intoughter.
"Tch, damn you..." Theodore immediately ran towards him shing his hands as blood poured off it soon forming the shape of a red-coloured hammer.
"Oi, what do you think you''re doing..." Sharon screamed out shrilly.
"What does it look like, fool? I''m adding a few treasures on your head."
"Oi, and who told you I needed more treasures on my head?"
"Don''t be shy. You can thank meter!"
"Oi, stop it. Help, he''s trying to kill me..."
"Keep it down you fool!"
The group looked at the two idiots running after each other as Liam directed his attention towards Khan and Mitsuri.
"You should check out the houses too. Be careful of the undead bats, they might be hiding within. Sense anything strange, run out, and call the group. Don''t engage if you don''t have to!" Liam ordered as Mitsuri smiled before walking towards the nearest building while Khan simply turned back and walked off to the closest opposite building.
"Ah, what a strange young man..." Liam muttered looking at the back of the golden-haired young man.
"Help..."
"You two, knock it off!"
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Chapter 34 Leveling Up
Chapter 34 Leveling Up
Clink!
CREEAAK
The door creaked open as Khan entered the ce, his eyes scanning the small living room, one with the same arrangement as the one they slept on, the first time.
His gaze scanned the room finding nothing as he walked into the ce.
"Activate Nanorunic Eyes..." Immediately the entire world changed, a conglomerate of dark and red infused within, one in the next room and one...
Immediately, Khan''s right hand moved towards his left waisting to rest on his katana head, as he dragged it an inch from its sheath.
SCREEEECCCCCCHHHH
SHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIING
An ear-piercing roar of an undead came from above his head, yet a brilliant sword light shed through the world like a shooting star in the night as Khan gently sheathed his katana before walking towards the door present in the room.
Blood sshed down like a waterfall, as the devilish undead fell to the ground with a loud thump, its head bouncing off the ground repeatedly before rolling to a stop at the corner of the room.
Clenching the door knob tightly before gently opening the door, Khan entered into the room, gently locking the door.
SCREECHHHH
SLASH
SHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIING
Different noises rang out from the room, one that of a bone-chilling screech, the other that of a katana being unsheathed and shing.
The sound was loud and managed to draw the attention of the group who all immediately ran towards the room, Liam at the forefront, quickly entering the house, the sight of the undead with a severed head greeting their gaze.
Liam bent looking to the level of the undead, his eyes narrowed as he looked at its severed neck.
"Severed in one stroke and incredibly smoothly with not a single hint of resistance. This is the work of a katana expert."
CLINK
Slowly the door knob twisted and turned as the group watched with raised eyebrows, a golden-haired young man exiting.
His eyes shed with a hint of surprise and also slight difort as he looked at them with a raised eyebrow.
"We heard the noise and thought you might have experienced some danger..."
"You don''t have to worry about me..." Khan replied as he moved out of the ce, leaving the group of four remaining In the room.
"Tch, what a cocky bastard..." Sharon voiced with displeasure as Liam slowly walked towards the door where Khan exited from.
Opening it, his eyes widened in shock looking at the blood dripping down from above the ceiling, belonging to undead who were unable to escape the binds of their cocoons while different undead bat bodiesy strewn in the ground.
"A Total of 10 Undead bats at the 5th Star rank stage all dead in a single stroke to their neck or chest. What an interesting youngd..." Liam voiced out with a smile much to the horror of the other adventurers.
-- -- --
[Congrattions, you have killed an Undead at the 6th star rank stage]
[+50EXP gained]
[You have killed ten undead bats at the 5th star rank stage]
[+ 250 EXP gained]
[Total EXP:
"Oh..."
Surprise shed in Khan''s eyes looking at the notification as a glint shed in his eyes. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
''So I can level up by killing the undead. Perhaps, this would be worth the trouble...'' Khan thought as he changed his mind before quickly moving on to the next building.
SCREEEECCCCCCHHHH
SLASH
SHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIING
"At least, he has killed more of the undead than you have..." Theodore replied with a mocking tone.
For the next seven hours, the group kept hearing the noise of the undead and the sound of collision. It caused them to keep running towards the building for the next two hours but soon they stopped, having met the same scene all the time once they entered the building.
Once again they watch him exit the building and enter into another.
"Does he ever get tired? He had been doing that non-stop for almost 7 hours right?" Theodore asked looking at the building where Khan entered, the sound of collision ringing loudly a momentter.
"Tch, talk of a show-off" Sharon snorted coldly ignoring him.
"At least, he has killed more of the undead than you have..." Theodore replied with a mocking tone.
"And so?"
"It means he''s stronger than you..." Theodore replied, a satisfied smirk appearing on his face seeing the vein popping on Sharon''s forehead.
"Tch, stronger than me. Open your blind eyes well and let me show you what it means to be strong..." Sharon snorted coldly before running towards one of the buildings.
"Haha, what a fool.."
-- -- --
"[Congrattions, you have killed an undead at the 5th star rank stage]
[+50EXP gained]
[Total EXP: 1700/1000]
[Does Host Wish To Level Up]
"Yes..."
[Congrattions, Host has leveled up to Level 5]
[+10 Attributes points gained]
[Total Attributes points: 20]
[Would you like to distribute your attribute points?]
"No..."
Khan replied, the holographic panel disappearing from his sight after that.
"10 hours of repeated killing and only leveling up once. The creatures are too weak and give too little points. The more level up, the more EXP is required, and killing these undead then would harvest too little EXP for a quick level up. I have to find a stronger undead if I want to keep growing quickly..." Khan mused before exiting the building.
"Uh?"
The sun had already gone down, leaving orange linen in the sky.
He could see the snow had stopped pouring down, and although all the undead around were already ughtered. He could see the carpet of snow disappearing and the river of blood slowly appearing on it.
"The Snow is retreating! The Undead will be moving out soon..." Khan mused as he turned to look at the group who were already gathered together in the distance.
Arriving before them, Liam turned towards him as the others moved towards the building where they came from.
"It''s already gettingte and as you can see, the undeads will soon be flooding here once again. We decided to rest tonight before once again moving forward tomorrow. We found some little clues here and there in the building and gained some type of map of this ce, though still unconfirmed, we''ll see about it, tomorrow." Liam quickly reported as Zeras gave a nod before moving towards one of the buildings.
"You know, it''s safer if we''re all in one ce. There''s no saying when an undead could enter a building, but all together we can easily handle it if such a scenario were to happen.
But of course, you''re pretty strong, I''m sure you would be able to handle it, although I''m not hundred percent sure about that." Liam said, causing Khan to furrow his eyebrows a little as he picked up on something strange in his words but ignored it as he kept moving towards the building.
"As I said before, you don''t have to be worried about me..." He replied entering the building before the door shut closed tightly, the windows also zipping to a close a secondter.
"Good night..." He heard the voice of Liam, looking through the small opening in the window as he followed him to the building where they all slept in the other day.
"HUUUUUUU..." Khan exhaled loudly.
Of course, he was well aware of the reason behind Liam''s proposal to stay together In one building, not only was it safer, but it was also easy to ward off any abnormality that might happen if they were together.
Unfortunately, he had other ns for the night!
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continue reading tomorrow, everyone!