Chapter 71: Truth Reveals
"Two days, huh?"
The runner had traveled for over twenty-five miles before either of them could even say a word, and it was Rena who spoke first.
Roman shook his head and didn’t look at her. He knew that there were already a lot of questions he would have to answer, and he had been waiting for that moment to come.
That moment was now, and even he couldn’t deny it.
"A meeting with her and her friends, yes," Roman replied.
"Well, it seems like you already knew her before. Where? Outside the Badlands? Was she your ex or your crush back at the academy? She must be one of the seniors, right?" Rena began to rain down questions.
"No. No, not that," he said, making her stop so he could explain properly.
Whatever he had been hiding before, he figured that this was the right moment to tell her everything, because he truly would be demanding the same from her right after.
"When I came into the Badlands, I received an invitation to a group chat. North’s group chat. It’s a group chat with only S-rankers as members, and I was surprised when they invited me and let me stay. Till now, I’m still wondering why I’m there and why I haven’t been kicked out.
North is the admin, and she chatted with me privately to join their mission, which will be in two days. Umm, I accepted because I was looking forward to seeing what it would be, and she acknowledged me for being brave enough."
"So you mean North allowed you into a Platinum Group Chat???" Rena asked, her eyes widening slightly in awe.
Roman nodded.
"Well... I was surprised too. She promised to tell me more about them when we meet again, so perhaps my curiosity will be satisfied soon."
Rena stared at him for a moment before nodding.
There was a moment of silence between them until Rena broke it again.
"I have to apologize, and I know it," she began.
"I’m sorry for lying about my family and everything. I never wanted to discuss them because I thought it was safer that way. I wanted to be free from the image of being the heiress of the Steel Empire, but unfortunately..."
"That’s a big title to turn off," Roman finished for her as she was already beginning to become emotional.
"I already forgave you before I found out. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have stepped up for you when the messengers came," Roman said with a smile, and she smiled back.
"I also have to apologize, because I know it. I lied about my Talent. Yes, of course, it isn’t Invincibility. It’s something else... It’s Soulmancy."
"Soulmancy? I’ve never heard of something like that before," Rena said.
"Yeah, me too. I was confused when I first got it, but it turned out to be something really useful," Roman explained.
"I’m able to collect the souls of monsters I kill and use them as servants. So yeah, when I summon them, they appear as direct replicas of their actual selves... That’s why you heard about the Goblin King, the Blade Ant Queen, and the Dire Wolf Alpha."
"That’s... pretty terrifying, because it’s not even a Profession. No one would see you as a threat with that kind of ability, unlike how they see Beast Tamers and Summoners. Besides, those are already rare," Rena said.
"True," Roman nodded. "I also have a special ability that allows me to change Professions. That’s why I was able to use Shadow Step, which helped me become invisible for a long time, because..."
Roman paused for a moment, sighed, and continued.
"Because I have limitless mana."
"What???! Are you kidding me, babe?!!!"
Rena’s eyes lit up in utter shock because, at that point, it sounded like he was telling a fairy tale.
Every word he said sounded like a lie, but somehow, at the same time, it also sounded true.
Because Rena had been trying to understand how controlling souls was related to becoming invincible.
But now, it happened to have cleared the air.
[Shadow Step] was indeed an Assassin Profession Skill, and that was what she had used to approach Roman back in the valley when he had just finished clearing the Blade Ant Colony.
She had stopped using it often because it cost more mana than her other skills, and she was still trying to save enough mana for other hunting activities.
What he had told her left her with a completely different and unbelievable perspective, and it was already beginning to look like she was afraid of him.
She wasn’t.
She was simply afraid of what he could become with such potential.
’Maybe... just maybe that’s why North wants him to join her group. She must have discovered something somehow,’ Rena thought.
"Channeling. That’s my Talent. When I take damage, I can convert it into Strength or Energy, and it multiplies by a hundred. When I use it, I release it with great force, and it can cause devastating damage. I’m not able to control it fully until I rank up. By then, I will be able to use different amounts, and I will be able to store as much damage as I want."
"I saw how you made the Godzilla regret every action it took against you. That’s one hell of a Talent, babe. It’s going to be massive," Roman said, giving her a reassuring look.
"I know," Rena nodded with a softened expression.
"So now that we know all this about each other, why don’t we get our asses back home and continue from where we stopped?" Roman said to her.
They both laughed as Roman increased the speed of the runner.
VOOOOOM!
...
The runner was already approaching Blood Trial Valley after several hours, and they were at a height where they could sight the outpost from afar.
The moment their eyes landed on it...
They both froze.
Roman turned to Rena and then looked back toward the outpost.
Rena turned to Roman and then looked toward the outpost again.
"No. No. No... It looks like something bad happened," Rena said.
"That’s a fair assumption. I can see broken walls and damaged roofs on the nearby buildings. It doesn’t look like an attack made by humans," Roman said, letting out a deep sigh.
"What? What do you mean? If it wasn’t a human attack, then what kind of attack was it?" Rena asked with a glare, completely confused and tense.
"If it wasn’t an attack made by humans, then we both know what kind of attack it was..."
"Monsters."
