Fein and his friends arrived at the grand hall of the Northern Council, where the wise and experienced elders of the North resided. They were greeted by a group of stern-looking council members who were dressed in formal attire.
Fein stepped forward, introducing himself and his companions. The council members eyed them warily, but soon relaxed when they learned that they were on a mission to stop Adrian.
The eldest member of the council stepped forward, his voice deep and commanding. "We have been aware of Adrian's actions for quite some time now. He was once a powerful and respected member of our community, but his thirst for power corrupted him."
Fein and his friends listened intently as the council member continued. "Adrian's ability to steal souls has made him a force to be reckoned with. He believes that by amassing more souls, he can become a god among men."
The council member sighed heavily. "We have tried to reason with him, but he is too far gone. Now, it is up to you if you really want to stop him before he destroys everything we hold dear."
Fein nodded solemnly, understanding the weight of their mission. He could feel the eyes of his friends on him, and he knew that they were all thinking the same thing: they would do whatever it takes to stop Adrian and save the souls he had stolen.
The council members gave Fein and his friends information about Adrian's possible location and warned them about the dangers they would face. With newfound determination, Fein and his companions set out once more, ready to face whatever lay ahead.
"Damn, that guy... I didn't expect that he would have such a backstory." Fein sighed heavily. He felt that his luck wasn't good recently.
He just wants to get the soul artifact to heal his friend's soul and save them. Who would have thought that they would have to defeat an SS rank degu user? Worse, it was still one with soul-type ability.
'It seems I need to go alone to solve that guy.' Fein silently made a decision in his heart. Without Sofia, Voli, and Aoi. He doesn't have to worry about them facing Adrian's likely finally desperate attack.
'System, do you think I'll be able to resist an SS rank degu user's desperate soul attack with my current soul defense?'
DING!
System: Extremely unlikely. Although your soul defense is as powerful as your physical defense, Adrian's ability is specialized in soul stealing. There's a good chance that your soul would be severely injured facing his attack. And it was already the best-case scenario.
'Damn! What should I do!?'
System: The host, your experience points are already enough for an upgrade to SS rank after you killed Erica. Would you like to upgrade to an SS rank? But you won't have enough experience points to upgrade your talent after this.
'Di it now! The situation is urgent. After my ascension, I just have to kill a bunch of S ranks easily to upgrade my talent. But now, I have to focus on Adrian and retrieve the artifact and prevent him from harming innocents any further.' Fein clenched his fist. 'This is for Brick and Michael! And if I didn't stop him, I would let down captain Gregory'
Just like that, Fein told his plans to Sofia and his others. Although reluctant at first, Sofia, Voli and Aoi knew that Fein had his considerations, and they knew they would just become a burden in front of an SS rank that has a powerful soul type ability.
...
Fein arrived at the desolate kingdom, the sky overhead gray and foreboding. The kingdom was in ruins; the buildings crumbling and the streets empty. As he made his way through the abandoned town, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.
Suddenly, he heard a rustling in the shadows. His hand instinctively went to the hilt of his sword as a figure emerged from the darkness. It was an old man, hunched over with age and leaning heavily on a cane.
"Who are you?" Fein demanded, keeping his hand on his sword.
The old man chuckled, "No need for weapons, young one. I mean you no harm."
Fein relaxed slightly, but still kept a cautious eye on the stranger.
"I am the keeper of the kingdom," the old man said. "Or what's left of it, anyway. I've been waiting for someone like you to arrive."
"What do you mean, someone like me?" Fein asked, intrigued.
"Someone who can help me reclaim what was lost," the old man said, a hint of desperation in his voice. "The soul artifact."
Fein's heart raced at the mention of the artifact. He knew that he had to find it before Adrian did, or else the consequences could be catastrophic.
"I'll help you," Fein said, determined. "But first, tell me more about this artifact and how it ended up here."
And so, the old man began to tell Fein the story of how the artifact came to be lost in the desolate kingdom, and Fein listened intently, his mind already formulating a plan to retrieve it.
He agreed that he would return the artifact after he uses it to heal his friend's soul, which the old man readily agreed and thanked Fein a hundred times. If not for Fein telling the old man to stop, it was estimated that he would go on til the next morning.
Fein's purpose for why he went to this kingdom is for his promotion to SS rank. He doesn't know if his ascension would cause phenomena like what happened to Voli when he evolved into a mythical beast. He doesn't want to attract other SS rank degu users' attention since he already has Adrian on his plate. After all, if the other SS ranks hiding in the dark knew that there were two SS ranks in the North, a war would break out.
Since SS rank degu users needed the SS rank creatures to ascend to the SSS rank realm. Fein just wants to retrieve the soul artifact quickly and be done with it. Although he could actually kill them all as long as there's not someone like Adrian who has a powerful means to attack the soul in the group.
'System, I'm ready...' Fein prepared himself. His eyes filled with determination. With the promotion to SS rank, his soul defense would also increase drastically.
At that time, he doesn't need to worry about Adrian's desperate attack. And even if he encounters another SS rank soul ability user, he would have the confidence.
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