Chapter 89: 89:Why Didn’t I Receive Any Invitation
And once again, he found himself back in the hospital.
He hadn’t sustained any severe injuries but was still kept under observation and for several checkups.
In the end, all the reports came back completely normal.
Later, members from the Federation arrived for the routine interrogation.
It was nothing unusual—simply the protocol they followed after a gate incident. They asked about the boss monster’s difficulty, the conditions inside the gate, and the strange visions he had witnessed.
Reigns faithfully provided all the details.
If he was correct, the gate was known as the Gate of Guilt, a special type of gate that awakened a person’s guilt and trauma. The whole thing was quite bizarre.
A guilt zone appearing directly inside a funeral home.
Such a phenomenon was terrifyingly strange.
What were the chances of a gate like that appearing there? And on top of that, it had an undead boss monster.
"Darling, I assume it’s because of the concentration of the Awakeners at that place," Nyx said softly as she scooped a spoonful of soup and stuffed it into Reigns’ mouth.
Reigns’ face immediately scrunched up.
’Hell! I am not even sick, so why do I have to drink this bland piece of shit?’
He groaned internally, but Nyx refused to let him have his way and shoved another spoonful toward him.
"Bahhh!"
The taste was far too bland.
Pushing aside his internal complaints, Reigns straightened slightly and looked at her.
"Isn’t every place full of Awakeners these days? So what’s up with this theory?"
Nyx shook her head and calmly placed the bowl back on the table.
"That’s just a saying. Nothing has been proven yet."
"Haa! I wish I had a bit more help. The gate was just filled with..." Reigns trailed off, feeling that finishing the sentence would be incredibly rude.
"There is a big difference between Awakeners who have entered zones and those who haven’t. Their levels differ. Inside the zones, you receive special rewards, but you don’t get those out here."
Reigns suddenly realized something as he remembered the Zone of Redact and this gate.
"That’s why the families hoard the dungeons that appear. They persist indefinitely and keep producing rewards, though the special rewards for clearing them can only be obtained once."
Nyx nodded.
Reigns thought for a moment before asking another question.
"What about Tier II zones? How do you enter them?"
Nyxara scooped another spoonful of soup and thrust it toward Reigns’ lips before answering.
"You will find out in six months, but for now, there aren’t any Tier II zones, only the Big Zone."
_____
Looking at the white ceiling with a nonchalant expression, Reigns finally asked,
"What are you two going to do now?"
After Nyxara left, Kellar and Lira had come to visit him.
Kellar looked at Reigns and raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you look so sullen?"
"I am not sullen. Also, about the question from earlier."
Lira and Kellar exchanged a glance before answering.
"I got an offer from a family."
"Me too!"
"You are joining the families? Which grade?"
Kellar immediately put on a proud expression and puffed out his chest.
"The House of Steel wants me in their arsenal. They’re a fifth-grade family."
"Fifth grade... that’s cool," Reigns replied with a small nod.
One’s level did not matter much compared to their Tier of Awakening.
The level of one’s Tier was almost synonymous with the kind of offers they would receive.
Grade One families chased after those with the highest tiers, while Grade Ten organizations usually looked for whatever was left behind.
Every time someone awakened, most of their details would become known to organizations and would be recorded in detail.
"Lira, what about you?"
Lira fidgeted with her fingers for a moment before answering.
"I have decided to join a Grade Six family consisting primarily of healers. They promised to support me while I level up. The family doesn’t have its own damage-dealing teams and instead allows its healers to join other parties. I think it’ll work well for me."
"I hope you two got good pay," Reigns said with a smile.
Kellar immediately lifted his chin.
"Aside from that, I also got an offer from the Federation, but God forbid, why would I join them?"
"The Federation...? What’s wrong with joining them?" Reigns asked doubtfully.
"What do you mean, what’s wrong with joining them? Everything is wrong with joining them, buddy!"
Kellar sprang up from his chair and started listing things on his fingers.
"First, they pay us less. Second, they’re the most overworked and miserable workers in town. Only Awakeners that nobody wants end up joining them, only to get beaten and subdued by the families."
He clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"Honestly, it’s pathetic. Didn’t you see how your girlfriend tossed them around? Apparently, they’re all in the hospital now."
"Hiss!"
Reigns shivered as he remembered Nyxara’s demonic expression.
Now why the hell did she become like that whenever she went crazy?
Even he was starting to get afraid of that dominant woman.
Hopefully she wasn’t into femdom-subdom plays.
’Che... What are you thinking?’
Reigns quickly shook his head and pushed those thoughts away before asking in a quieter voice.
"About them? Do they have a family?"
"..."
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.
Kellar rubbed his forehead with a guilty expression.
"Of course they do!"
"Ren and Mira were only children, but Arvin had a younger sister. Their parents died early, leaving the two of them alone. Arvin was the sole breadwinner, but now the sister has no one."
"Then how will she survive?"
"There is a Federation support scheme that will provide her with enough money to get by until she turns eighteen. After that, she’s on her own."
The squad continued talking, mostly about meaningless things.
Throughout the conversation, they were careful not to bring up the deceased again.
It was during that conversation that Reigns suddenly remembered something.
His eyes widened slightly as he sat upright.
"Wait a minute!"
Kellar and Lira turned toward him.
"Why haven’t I received any invitation?"
_____
Meanwhile, somewhere else...
A woman grabbed a pile of letters and stuffed them into a trash can.
Pulling out a lighter, she revealed a disturbingly sweet smile.
"Want to poach my darling?"
She flicked the lighter open and tossed it into the trash can.
WHOOSH!
The entire bin erupted into spewing flames, illuminating her creepy smile.
"Dream on!"
