Chapter 4: Chapter 4
The air grew cooler as Glen ascended the winding stone path toward the surface. The heavy oppressive atmosphere of the mutated dungeon faded replaced by the faint smell of industrial smog leaking in from the portal ahead.
He walked with a steady rhythmic pace. The twin swords of the fallen A Rank Hunter rested comfortably in his hands. Just an hour ago these weapons would have been too heavy for his F Rank body to wield properly. Now they felt like extensions of his own arms.
Glen opened his status window. The pitch black screen with burning crimson text materialized in his vision.
Name: Glen Mcdonald
Class: Skill Predator (Unique)
Level: 6
Strength: 45 (Previous: 10)
Agility: 60 (Previous: 12)
Vitality: 40 (Previous: 8)
Mana: 85 (Previous: 5)
Core Capacity: 2 of 3 Slots Filled
Active Skills: Lightning Movement A Rank, Savage Strike C Rank, Thunder Phantom Step B Rank.
Glen stared at the numbers his dark eyes reflecting the crimson light of the system screen. The massive influx of experience from killing a mutated C Rank boss had completely rewritten his physical limits.
Every hunter in the world could level up by absorbing ambient mana from defeated monsters. But the system was inherently rigged. A person’s starting class determined their growth ceiling. An F Rank hunter could grind in low level dungeons for fifty years and they would be incredibly lucky to ever reach the physical stats of a D Rank or a C Rank. The lower your starting class the harder it was to level up. Only those who awakened as A Rank or B Rank had a realistic shot at reaching the legendary S Rank. The system was designed to keep the weak at the bottom and the strong at the top.
But looking at his massive stat jump Glen realized a terrifying truth. His Unique class did not have a ceiling. He was not bound by the rules of the Awakening Crystal. He could steal he could merge and he could grow infinitely.
He closed the screen. A dark smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. For years he had kept his head down. He had swallowed his pride ignored the insults and accepted his place at the absolute bottom of the food chain. The world had told him he was a victim.
The world was wrong.
Outside the shimmering black portal the logistics camp was in a state of controlled chaos. Red warning lights flashed from the armored guild vehicles parked in a defensive perimeter. Heavily armed mercenaries stood near the barricades holding mana rifles scanning the area for any monsters that might slip through the gate.
Duncan Carmichael stood near the central command tent tapping furiously on his digital clipboard. The corrupt manager looked annoyed rather than concerned. A dungeon mutation was a logistical nightmare. It meant endless paperwork lost revenue and investigations from the Hunter Association.
Standing next to Duncan was Kael the arrogant leader of the Vanguard party. Kael and his four surviving teammates looked completely unharmed. Their pristine armor did not have a single scratch on it. Kael was currently speaking to a guild investigator waving his hands dramatically.
"The mutation happened too fast" Kael lied his voice loud enough for the surrounding mercenaries to hear. "We tried to hold the line against the boss. We really did. But the porter panicked. The idiot screamed and broke our formation. We had to fall back to the upper levels to survive."
Duncan tapped his digital clipboard his face grim. "My monitors show the A Rank Hunter patrolling the upper levels went down to investigate the mutation. His vitals flatlined ten minutes ago. A tragic loss. The F Rank Mimic was a liability from the start. I never should have let him enter. We will seal the portal and write off the casualties."
"Are you sure about that?" a voice echoed across the camp.
The chaotic noise of the logistics pavilion instantly died. The mercenaries lowered their rifles. Duncan stopped tapping on his clipboard. Kael froze his mouth hanging slightly open.
Everyone turned toward the portal.
Glen stepped out of the shimmering black gateway. He looked like a demon crawling out of the abyss. His cheap leather armor was torn and soaked in dark monster blood. A thin red scar ran across his cheek. In his hands he held the twin silver swords of the fallen A Rank Hunter.
He walked forward his boots crunching against the gravel. He did not look like a terrified porter. He walked with the relaxed confident swagger of a predator.
"You" Kael stammered taking a step backward. "How are you alive?"
Glen stopped ten feet away from the command tent. He looked at Kael and let out a short mocking laugh. "I tripped over your massive ego on the way out. It broke my fall."
A few of the hardened mercenaries in the perimeter chuckled but quickly silenced themselves when Duncan glared at them.
Duncan stepped forward his face twisting into an ugly scowl. He looked at the blood soaked boy and then his eyes locked onto the glowing crimson object bulging from Glen’s pocket. The ambient mana radiating from it was unmistakable. It was a C Rank boss core.
Greed instantly replaced Duncan’s confusion. A core of that purity was worth millions of credits. It was enough to buy a luxury penthouse in the upper spires of the mega city.
"Mcdonald" Duncan barked his voice dripping with false authority. "You survived. A miracle. But you are in possession of guild property. Those swords belong to the fallen A Rank Hunter and that core belongs to the Vanguard party who weakened the boss. Hand them over immediately."
Glen tilted his head. He looked at the swords in his hands and then looked back at Duncan. "The Vanguard party weakened the boss? That is a fascinating story. Because from where I was standing they ran away crying before the monster even swung its sword. They never even saw the A Rank Hunter."
Kael’s face flushed bright red with embarrassment and rage. "Shut your mouth trash. You are an F Rank failure. You probably hid in a corner and looted the bodies after the A Rank did all the work. Give me the core."
Kael drew his enchanted broadsword. The blade hummed with a bright orange light. He stepped toward Glen trying to project an aura of intimidation. He was a trained academy elite. Glen was just a slum rat.
"I am going to count to three" Kael threatened raising his sword. "One."
Glen did not draw his weapons. He did not take a fighting stance. He just smiled. It was a cold terrifying smile that made the hairs on the back of Kael’s neck stand up.
"Two" Kael said his voice wavering slightly.
Glen sighed dramatically. "You talk too much."
Glen moved. He did not even need to use Lightning Movement. His new Level 6 base stats were more than enough to handle a pampered rookie who had never fought a real-life threatening battle.
Before Kael could even register the motion Glen closed the distance. He sidestepped the glowing broadsword grabbed Kael by the wrist and twisted violently. Kael screamed dropping his expensive weapon into the dirt. Glen swept his leg kicking Kael behind the knee and sending the arrogant rookie crashing face first into the gravel.
Glen placed his heavy blood soaked boot squarely on the back of Kael’s neck pinning him to the ground.
The entire camp erupted into chaos. The mercenaries raised their rifles aiming them directly at Glen.
"Shoot him" Duncan screamed pulling a sleek black mana pistol from his own holster. "He has gone rogue. Kill him."
Glen looked at the dozen rifles pointed at his chest. A week ago this would have been the end of his life. Now it just felt like a game.
"Lightning Movement" Glen whispered.
He vanished.
The mercenaries gasped as the boy simply ceased to exist. A trail of crackling blue electricity zipped through the camp moving faster than the human eye could track.
Duncan Carmichael felt a sudden rush of displaced air behind him. Before he could turn around a hand gripped his wrist with the crushing force of an industrial vice.
"Looking for me?" Glen whispered directly into Duncan’s ear.
Duncan panicked and tried to pull the trigger of his mana pistol.
Glen applied pressure.
A loud sickening snap echoed through the silent camp. Duncan’s wrist broke completely backward. The corrupt manager let out a high pitched shriek of absolute agony dropping the pistol to the ground. He collapsed to his knees clutching his ruined arm tears streaming down his greasy face.
Glen stood over him casually resting the flat blade of one of the twin swords against Duncan’s throat. The cold metal silenced the manager’s screams instantly.
The mercenaries stood frozen. Their rifles were still raised but none of them dared to pull the trigger. They were veterans. They knew a monster when they saw one. The boy moving with blue lightning was not just an F Rank Mimic. He was something entirely different.
"Let us get a few things straight Duncan" Glen said his voice calm and conversational. "I killed the boss. I kept the core. I am keeping the swords. If you try to write a false report framing me for the A Rank Hunter’s death I will come back here."
Glen leaned in closer his dark eyes locking onto Duncan’s terrified face.
"And if you ever send anyone after me" Glen continued "I will not just break your arm. I will feed you your own teeth. Do we have an understanding?"
Duncan trembling uncontrollably nodded his head as fast as he could. "Yes. Yes we understand. Take it. Take whatever you want."
Glen smiled. He pulled the sword away from Duncan’s throat and spun it expertly in his hand before sheathing it in the leather scabbard he had taken from the dungeon.
He turned his back on the kneeling manager and the terrified rookies. He walked straight through the line of heavily armed mercenaries. Not a single one of them moved to stop him. They parted like the red sea letting the blood soaked boy pass.
Glen walked out of the logistics camp and headed toward the glowing neon skyline of the mega city. The smog filled air tasted sweeter than it ever had before. He reached into his pocket and felt the warm pulsing energy of the C Rank boss core.
His mother was going to get the best medical treatment in the city. And after that he was going to find out exactly how far his new class could take him.
