Free Web NovelChapter 79: _Deserve A Massage
[B-Rank Aether Hybrid Evolution complete.]
[Host’s fire manipulation ability now at B-Rank.]
[Congratulations! You’ve acquired a new passive skill: Spatial awareness with a range of 200 meters.]
[Daily Quest Successful.]
Notifications after notifications played in Ambrose’s head as he lay unconscious on the grey desert sands. A faint blue glow surrounded his body, the wounds closing up at a visible rate.
Slow. But clearly abnormal.
His fingers twitched, consciousness fighting to come back. His eyelids fluttered slowly; the light around him suddenly felt too bright.
Once his eyes were successfully opened, he let out a shaky gasp. "... Fuck." He gritted his teeth, bringing his splayed arms to his sides. He sat up, panting heavily, each movement a painful struggle. "Aura? Aura, what are my stats reports?"
[Loading stats...]
[Name: Ambrose Hale.
Age: 22
Category: B-Rank Aether Hybrid (Infinite Esper Bond-linking.)
Occupation: Guide at Phoenix Flight Guild.
Strength: 15
Speed: 11
Durability: 10
Healing factor: 13
Reflexes: 13
Senses: 10
Intelligence: 10
Powers: Infinite Guide-Link. Death Sense. (Passive) Aether Protection Field. (Passive) Fire resistance. (Passive) Fire manipulation (B-Rank) Cold Resistance (Passive) Spatial Awareness (passive)
Current linked Espers: 2 (S-Rank)
HP: 600/1100
EP: 4000
Total Evaluation: Comparable to an upper B-Rank monster.]
Ambrose slid past most of the numbers on the screen, settling on one important thing...
... B-Rank.
He was finally at B-Rank.
After all these days, after one chaotic meeting with one powerful Esper after the other. His fists clenched on the desert sands, cupping handfuls of it.
"And my fire ability," he raised a hand, watching a tongue of blue flame flickering to life above it. Hotter. More concentrated and controlled. "It’s no longer stuck at a measly D-Rank."
He would be able to use longer-range attacks. He was finally seeing the ’progress’ with this system. There was just one... small problem.
Okay, scratch that.
A big ass one.
"No matter how powerful I am right now," he began, "I’m still not powerful enough to use my powers openly. Freely."
He was registered and known as a Guide. A C-Rank nonetheless. If the Federation or anyone found out he not only levelled up to the next Rank but could also gain Esper abilities... he’d be toast.
"I’m sure as heck not ending up as some lab rat," he grunted, forcing himself to his feet. He staggered a bit, his vision blurring at the edges. "No matter... I’ll just have to be powerful enough to no longer keep my true nature a secret."
Just thinking of crossing over to S-Rank and SS-Rank, being on par with forces of nature like Irina, Valentine or Magnus... that made his blood surge with excitement.
However, he couldn’t get carried away.
First things first.
"Aura? How long was I here for?"
[Exactly one hour and twenty-two minutes.]
His eyes bulged. "Huh?"
[You were unconscious for quite a while, hon.]
Rubbing a hand down his face, he murmured. "Whatever. How do I get out of here? Isn’t the Daily Quest over? Shouldn’t a door appear and take me back or something?"
As he said all this he picked up one of the Dragon Fang blades lying beside him. An A-Rank weapon. These are definitely good replacements for that forgettable B-Rank blade he owned.
He walked over to the shattered body of the B-Rank apparition. Its grey porcelain-like skin had cracks all over, a sizzling hot cut made through its torso.
The other blade stuck to the faceless head—which now had a large molten hole through it. He pulled out the blade, keeping them in the system’s storage space with a flick of his wrist.
His injuries were almost completely healed now, the influx of new Aether energy after his evolution restoring lost blood and vitality. All that was left was the mental scars and an annoying ache in his bones.
"God, I deserve a massage." He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes closing for a beat. Until he felt a small rush of wind coming behind him.
Something tugged at his senses.
He spun around, relief flashing in his eyes. "... Finally."
A black door had risen out of the sands, already wide open. The other side was swallowed completely with a bright white light, making him squint a bit.
[Black key has been stored in system storage space.] Ambrose had just taken a step forward when that system notification rang in his skull.
His brows knitted. "Absolutely not. Get that cursed ass key out of there."
[The host might need it for future special daily quests.]
"Special?" His eyes twitched. "Bitch, I nearly died. TWICE."
[But you didn’t.]
Ambrose shook his head. "You can’t even scan this thing’s origin. Why should I trust it? What if... what if it’s—"
[It was part of this system’s quest rewards, so it must be useful to the host in the long run.]
Like adding insult to injury, he felt something cold between his fingers just then. He subconsciously clenched his hand around it, sighing.
Yep.
The key.
"Fine then," he forced the words out. "Store it in the storage space."
The moment it vanished from his grip, he snapped his neck. He couldn’t help but wonder what had happened while he was away.
But also, there was this nagging feeling in his chest. Like he forgot something.
’Ugh, I’ll find out when I get back there.’ he shrugged, waltzing to the door. Once he crossed into the other side, the door trembled, sinking back into the sands.
Unknown to Ambrose, a mysterious presence had witnessed the whole thing from a distance. From his arrival. To the battle.
Everything.
"... Interesting..." they said quietly.
★★★★★
Phoenix Flight HQ
The air and space time warped.
Ambrose appeared in front of a toilet stall somewhere in the lobby downstairs. With an exhale, he walked to a mirror, taking a look at himself.
"Shit." Most of his wounds might’ve healed but blood still stained his clothes.
Not to mention his face was smudged with dust and ash.
Yeah—this wouldn’t do at all.
He glanced past the white marble walls of the stall. There was no one here.
Pulling out his phone, he was about to dial Devon for help and pray he didn’t ask any questions. Before he found the contact, however, a call came in.
His brows furrowed. "Viktor?"
It was then that he remembered what had happened before he left for the black key’s dimension.
He was on a call with Viktor! He can’t even remember hanging up, let alone explaining that he had to go.
After taking a couple of deep breaths, Ambrose answered. "Hey..." he tried and failed to sound neutral. "What’s up? I’m... sorry the call ended abruptly. I—"
"I’ve been calling for over an hour now." The ice Prince’s voice sliced through his words. "I thought something happened. Where are you?"
"I—"
"I just stepped into your Guild’s lobby." He added.
Ambrose’s composure cracked, his expression twisting with horror.
What the fuck?!
