Free Web NovelChapter 227: _Such A Good Liar
"Phew. That was some real Lord of the Rings shit."
Ambrose basically dragged himself past the dungeon Rift, a hand behind his neck while the other lazily held onto the raid team’s loot backpack.
The Grave Keeper’s scythe was back inside the system’s storage space, although if an outsider listened closely they would hear the faint howls of the orcs he slew.
His boots crunched softly against the forest ground as he let out a sigh. "These crystals sure feel hefty." He reached back with a hand, fondling the bag slightly. "And I still managed to bring them out in one piece..."
Surely there has to be an extra reward for such a feat, right?
[The rewards are the people you helped along the way—words that would never come out of your mouth.]
’Tch. Right.’ Ambrose finally slid his hand off the bag. ’Whatever. At least I got all those cores. Then my new undead army.’
A while back he’d seen Valentine as so cool for having an army of undead A-Rank orcs. Although his army was filled with B-Ranks, Beherath would for sure give any of Valentine’s orcs a run for their money.
Although, to be fair... there was every possibility that Valentine had way more powerful beasts he hadn’t revealed yet.
’How many seduction coins do I have?’
[Total seduction coins: 26,050.]
He smiled wryly.
Buying the scythe sure took a lot of coins.
’Open system shop.’
As the screen switched to the system shop, he skimmed through, going to the section designated for aether energy-related items.
From aether bombs. To aether restoration pills. And even—
—Hold up.
’What’s this?’ he clicked on an item that instantly caught his eye.
[Permanent aether boosters.]
[One of these can boost the host’s total EP with 10000 points. Permanently.]
Ambrose’s eyes lit up.
However, that light died the second he scrolled down to the price.
’... One hundred thousand coins?!’
[You’re lucky it’s not more than that.]
’That’s a rip-off you psychopathic AI!’
[Sweetheart, Guides and Espers in this world have NO way of evolving past their awakened ranks. You’ve been climbing ranks consistently.]
’And?’
[Do you know how valuable such an item would be if it got out to the outside world? Every Federation and their governments would want to get their hands on it. Even SSS-Ranks might want to see if there’s a Rank beyond them.]
With that context, Ambrose’s shoulders relaxed as defeat settled in.
Ugh... Aura was right.
’Oh, well. Just keep it in my wishlist or something. Remind me if I ever get up to one hundred thousand coins.’
He was about to quicken his pace when spatial awareness picked up something. Then his ears followed suit a few seconds later.
There was a black car navigating past the forest clearing. Heading straight for him.
"Of course I can’t get a moment of peace." He scoffed, staying alert as the car finally came into view.
The closer it got however, the more... It looked familiar. Until it got near enough to pull to a halt.
That’s when it hit him.
"Rose?!" Devon barely let the car stop when he hopped out of the driver’s seat.
Ambrose immediately dispelled the system screen, allowing him to take in the man more. Maybe it was the afternoon sunlight but he seemed more sun-kissed than usual.
Plus, he wore a yellow short-sleeved shirt buttoned down enough to expose his toned chest with white pants to match.
"Hey, Devon," he waved after tearing his eyes off the hairs on his chest. "Sorry, I couldn’t call. I—"
"We thought we lost you." Devon didn’t let him finish, pulling him into a bear hug. His fingers brushed into his hair as he huffed with relief. "Viktor got word from Steel Falcon. They said there was a problem with the raid and... and you got stuck in the dungeon."
Ambrose’s gaze wandered to the car.
Viktor had stepped out, his hands in his pockets as he approached silently.
Shaking his head, Ambrose brought his eyes back to Devon’s fiery red hair. "Well, as you can see I’m okay."
"Just okay?" Devon pulled away but still kept his hands on his shoulders. "Ambrose... how did you even manage to get out?"
He racked his head for a good enough cover story.
And that’s when spatial awareness blared again.
More vehicles came forward, stopping right beside Devon’s car. He recognised one of them as a Steel Falcon vehicle and immediately felt like melting into the earth’s crust.
The doors opened and one by one, all sorts of people jumped out from each vehicle. Federation officials. A few journalists with cameras.
Then of course... a few members of his raid team, including Captain Killian and Leon.
"Thank God." Killian had a sling holding up his right arm. Yet that didn’t stop him from bolting to Ambrose, a mix of relief, confusion and curiosity on his face. "Guide Ambrose. You’re... you’re alive."
Ambrose’s lips stretched with a careful smile. "Good to see you’re getting better, Captain."
"I’m supposed to be telling you that." Killian drew closer as Devon took a couple of steps back. "How did you escape an army of orcs with barely any scratches?"
The question took him off guard—especially when Devon, Viktor and Leon turned their heads to him like they were eagerly expecting an answer.
"Orcs?" Devon and Viktor echoed simultaneously. "Wasn’t the dungeon C-Rank?"
Federation officials rushed past them, barking orders. They secured the Rift before any journalist could get too close, already pulling out yellow tapes and barricades.
Ambrose glanced back at them for a few seconds before speaking. "The orc king let me go." A pause. "Yeah, he didn’t see the point of keeping me once his anger calmed."
Leon inched forward. "Did you figure out why he seemed so pissed before the rest of us left?"
For a heartbeat, Ambrose thought he sensed something wrong. He angled his head to the Esper’s face.
"No." He shook his head. "He just let me go and—"
"The Rift!" An alarmed cry forced them to spin sharply in the Rift’s direction.
To everyone’s absolute shock, the glowing white Rift pulsed once—before shrinking to the size of an apple. Within another two seconds it disappeared without a trace.
Silence.
No one from either side said a word.
Meanwhile, internally, Ambrose let out a breath of relief. ’Gods. At least now they can’t go in there to confirm my story.’
Little did he know that he was being observed.
’Such a good liar.’ Loki sniggered mentally. ’He reeks of the orc king’s aether. And he definitely didn’t get that from dancing the tango with him.’
In other words... he fought the orc king. Or at the very least, got attacked and managed to escape.
Whatever the case was, one thing was crystal clear to the lord of chaos right now.
Ambrose Hale was no C-Rank Guide.
Which begged the question.
What exactly was he?
