Free Web NovelChapter 55: _Aether Hybrid
[Host has successfully gained a new category.]
[Do you wish to see it?]
Ambrose sat on the floor, still shuddering with each breath. He occasionally threw looks at the dead A-Rank beast only a few meters beside him, analysing everything that happened.
His arm still throbbed. His ribs still remembered the impact.
And yet... here he was. About to scrutinize numbers again.
He was a C-Rank Guide with a D-Rank Esper ability. Yet, his total aether energy/EP placed him somewhere sweetly between both ranks.
With all that aside... he was still nothing but fodder in comparison to an A-Rank existence. Guides were never built for fighting. It’s only B-ranks and above that have any physical boost beyond the average human.
He shouldn’t have survived this encounter.
For starters, the beast had already been injured on its weak spot before escaping to this shed. Then his stealth potion helped confuse it long enough to land a blow powerful enough to disorient it.
Even with all that advantage compared to any other C-Rank Guide out there, he didn’t even come close to killing it. That thing would’ve obliterated him if Valentine hadn’t shown up. The mere presence of the SS rank was enough to give it pause.
Make it feel fear.
"The past Ambrose could only dream of surviving an encounter with an A-Rank monster," he chuckled dryly. "This is still far from enough. I can’t keep on having close calls like I did today or I’m going to end up dead. Again."
Transmigrating into a world with literal superheroes only to get slimed by a random monster felt bleak. Which meant just one thing—
"I need to acquire more abilities," his fists clenched on the floor as the leftover adrenaline burned out, making his muscles relax. "And I need to get stronger. Seducing the Guideverse isn’t enough—I’ll conquer it."
With the system, he had no doubt about reaching his new goal. But first things first.
’Show me my new category and stats.’ he said mentally, getting off the floor.
[Loading stats...]
[Name: Ambrose Hale.
Age: 22
Category: C-Rank Aether Hybrid (Infinite Esper Bond-linking.)
Occupation: Guide at Phoenix Flight Guild.
Strength: 15
Speed: 11
Durability: 10
Healing factor: 10
Reflexes: 13
Senses: 10
Intelligence: 8
Powers: Infinite Guide-Link. Death Sense. (Passive) Aether Protection Field. (Passive) Fire resistance. (Passive) Fire manipulation (D-Rank)
Current linked Espers: 1 (S-Rank)
HP: 600
EP: 1700
Total Evaluation: Comparable to a higher D-Rank monster.]
Ambrose blinked at the system screen.
Especially at that odd new name where ’Guide’ used to be.
An Aether Hybrid?
"Does this mean I’m not a Guide anymore?"
[Not necessarily. It just means that now you carry the aether signatures of both a Guide and an Esper. A hybrid core.]
[But it also means that to realistically evolve into a new rank, you’d need twice the amount of EP points that an Esper or Guide in that rank would.]
His eyes slid to his fire manipulation ability. "How do I increase my Esper ability rank?"
[Once your EP crosses over to the next rank, so will any Esper abilities you have.]
[The host will need 4000 EP to be a B-Rank Aether Hybrid.]
Figures... Guides always had bigger reserves. Now he’s both. It made sense that he’d need even more aether energy reserves to evolve.
On a normal basis, neither Guides nor Espers could evolve their rank in this world anyway.
"Does this mean I would’ve needed only two thousand EP to evolve if I’d been just a regular Guide?" He came to a harsh realisation. "And only one thousand to be a B-rank Esper."
[Basically... yes.]
"So basically the system is stalling my evolution?"
[...]
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he swiped the screens away. "Well. I guess this is still somewhat good... it just means by aether energy base is higher than both Espers and Guides."
He said that but didn’t understand why his fire ability was still at D-Rank. Shouldn’t it be at least C-Rank?
’Whatever,’ he went back to speaking in his thoughts as he stepped outside. ’How many more minutes do I have for the stealth potion?’
[4 minutes and 25 seconds.]
Huh... not too bad really.
Being able to turn on and off the skill at will sure helped him save it.
[Would the host like to scan and trade the aether core of the dead A-Rank beast for seduction coins?]
He froze when he’d moved a few steps away from the shed. "I can do that?"
[Affirmative.]
Excitement bubbled inside him as he rushed back into the shed. However, when he squatted beside the body and asked Aura to begin scanning... he noticed something odd.
The monster’s body seemed to be dissolving. Slowly melting away like cheese under heat. And this wasn’t because of the damage Valentine left behind. No—what he did only rotted the body.
"What the..." he hesitantly reached out, touching a black liquid oozing out of its petrified remains like sweat.
[Scan completed.]
[Unfortunately, there’s no aether core in the beast.]
’That’s not right.’ Ambrose shook his head. ’Every dungeon beast has an aether core. And they can remain intact for months and can be used for weapons and tools... unless the past Ambrose really doesn’t know shit.’
[Oh, he knew shit alright.] Aura confirmed. [But my readings are accurate. If there’d been any core at all it seemed to have... vanished.]
’Is that some kind of side effect of Valentine’s attack?’
[Negative.]
He stretched out the sticky black goo between his thumb and middle fingers, holding himself back from sniffing it. He was right... It wasn’t sweat or blood.
It was the creature’s melting body.
"Something is wrong here." He shook off the goo from his fingers, glancing back at the shed entrance. "And for some reason, I feel like it has something to do with whatever Valentine was warning me about."
[Reminder: Host still needs to be within 50 meters of Devon for completion of the side mission.]
Ambrose’s jaw clenched.
Right.
He could sneak around and get close to Devon and then warn him from there. Plus, he’ll get the mission rewards once all this is over.
Three birds with one stone!
"Hopefully he doesn’t get mad or scold me in the middle of a damn battlefield." He murmured, strutting out of the shed.
His eyes shifted to the black sea ahead before he spun to face the fallen city. And the battle is raging harder than ever.
"Let’s get this over with..."
