I was always confident in my acting skills as I always observed people. I studied their mannerism, their expressions, and their ways of speaking.
It fascinated me how a simple movement or a subtle change in tone could convey so much emotion.
Though, I still didn't fully implement this acting every time I transformed into Ian. Fortunately though, no one seemed to know well both of my identities' characteristics yet.
I had planned this since the first time I got the Avatar Mask but couldn't execute the plan yet because of how weak I was. But now that I had got stronger—I meant my potential and its growth rate had improved, I could start executing my plan.
The plan was originally like this…
Zio would live as a normal student, with nothing extraordinary talent. But that seemed to be a failure as I already attracted too much attention, especially from the main characters.
So I reformed my plan.
As Zio, I would just let it flow however I wanted as a student in Octagram, letting my mood lead how I act. Instead, I would start focusing on my role as Ian Crow, a businessman who had a lot of secrets on his sleeve.
A cunning, enigmatic, and charming individual. The man who walked the path between good and evil.
With two slots left available in my Avatar Mask, I would use the third one to create my villain identity to infiltrate the ranks of their organization either Dystopia or Utopia. And save the fourth one for an emergency.
I had thought that I should just raise Utopia and led them by myself, but I didn't think I could do that without someone strong to be the organization's leader. After all, the villain organization's system was implementing a power hierarchy, those who were strong deserved a position in the organization.
So yeah, I canceled my thought to raise Utopia. And even if I was to do it, I didn't have much time. One year—8 months from now on, there would be a civil war between Dystopia's members.
There was no way I could get to SS rank in just 8 months. Even though my potential and its growth had raised to <SS> and <S>, it didn't mean that I could just bulldoze my way to the top.
The potential was how much you could get strong as Enhanced. While the potential growth helped your training speed and comprehension. And remember, my potential was inclined toward my magic.
So, only Magic stat was getting the 100% benefits of the potential limit and growth, while the other would just get slightly buffed.
Let's say it like this. Before I got my power-up, my magic would need a decade to reach <B> rank from <E> rank, while the other stats needed much more time than that, probably more than 15 years before I could maximize all of them to my potential limit which was <B> rank. All of this was calculated even with maximum training effort.
Now, comparing them to the current me who had a power-up. Instead of reaching <B> Magic in a decade, I might reach <S> rank. I didn't know about the other stats, maybe I could reduce it to half? 7 to 8 years for all of them achieved <S> rank. It could be even faster if I pushed myself to death. But, why should I do that? What if I died of exhaustion? Yeah, so, let's take it slow from now.
And by that time, I was confident I could face the demon's invasion.
"We've arrived…"
The majestic mountain range stretched out before me. The peaks towering like ancient sentinels, pierced the heavens and disappeared into the shrouded veil of dark clouds.
The mountains stood in magnificent panorama, their rocky faces weathered by time and the elements. Jagged ridges, like the spines of some mythical creature, defined the contours of the range, creating a mesmerizing silhouette against the stormy sky.
Occasional flashes of lightning illuminated the scene, revealing the sheer magnitude of the peaks.
The air crackled with energy, charged by the approaching storm.
Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance, its low growls resonating deep within my chest. The sound echoed through the valleys, reverberating off the towering cliffs and sending a shiver down my spine.
"Huuuu…"
I took a deep breath, the crisp mountain air filling my lungs. The scent of pine mingled with the earthy aroma of damp soil.
As I was about to take a step, Raven appeared from the shadow and grabbed my shoulder, stopping me in the spot.
"Wait." free(w)ebnovel(.)com
His voice came into pause as his eyes scanned the sky. Following him, I looked up to the sky.
The sky had nothing except the black cloud. So, why would he stop me?
'Wait, nothing?' f(r)eewebnovel.com
At that moment, I remembered what was missing.
The flying young wyverns.
"Shit, let's get back into the forest."
Raven suggested that I go back to the forest for cover, but we were too late.
"No."
"What do you mean?"
He stared at me cynically.
"We're too late."
Sreeeech—!
A piercing screech tore through the air, sending shivers down my spine.
Turning around, I found three young wyverns swooping down from the heavens, their scaled bodies glistening in the intermittent flashes of lightning.
Though they were not as big as an adult wyvern, they were still bigger compared to us, humans.
I didn't draw my weapons, instead, I turned to face Raven. His eyes frowned as he saw a smirk widen on my face.
"Well, I don't think I can fight B-ranked monsters. So I'll leave them to you."
Gently tapping his shoulder, I walked past him and disappeared into the greenery of the forest.
I admitted I couldn't do anything against wyverns and decided to run away. But, I just want to say something to justify my action.
I have an S-rank bodyguard. So, rather than risking myself, I should just let him do his job, whilst I hid under cover of the tree, watching the fight.
As I settled on the safety of the tall tree with a thick enough branch for me to stand on, I carefully observed Raven's fight against the wyverns.
A symphony of chaos ensued as Raven and the wyverns clashed in a dance of death. His movements were fluid, evading the lunging wyverns with ease. With each swing of his daggers, sparks flew, the blade carving through the air.
'I could learn something from his dagger technique.'
The first wyvern snapped its jaws, but Raven effortlessly sidestepped, his body a blur of motion. In a swift motion, his daggers slashed across the wyvern's scales, leaving a deep gash that oozed dark ichor.
The remaining wyverns circled Raven, attacking from all angles. Raven countered them with his shadow skill.
The wyvern had a big structure, so its shadow must also be larger than Raven's. That was what gave him an advantage in fighting against large creatures.
When the wyverns pinched him from all sides, Raven's body turned into a shadow, just like ink, he submerged into a circle of shadow underneath him.
The wyverns looked like a lost chick searching for their mother as Raven disappeared.
A moment later, I noticed the movement of the wyvern's shadows.
'Here it comes the shadow spike.'
My heart beating fast as I held the anticipation to see Raven's Shadow Spike with my own eyes.
Coming out from the shadow underneath them were small spikes of shadow at first. As the spikes rose up, their volumes thicken and their forms sharpen, penetrating the wyvern's body like a paper. Trapping them in a prison of shadow spikes.
Yet, It was not done.
As the wyverns growled in pain, the shadow spikes suddenly thickened and tore the wyvern's body apart.
Splurt—!
Dark tendrils of shadow burst forth from the wyverns' bodies, spraying dark ichor into the air.
It was an instant yet painful death for them.
The creatures were now reduced to motionless husks, trapped within the prison of shadow spikes.
Their dark ichor poured down from the sky like rain.
"That's it. That's the power of S-rank Enhanced."
Raven emerged from the shadows, suddenly appearing right in front of me.
Raven wiped his daggers clean on a piece of cloth, sheathing them back to their scabbards with ease.
"You praise me too much. It's just that young wyvern is only <B> rank that I was able to kill them with ease. I can't say much if it was an adult one which is <A> rank."
"Trying to be a humble guy, eh?"
He didn't respond to my blabber.
"Well, whatever that is. I can always depend on you on this trip, right?"
"That's what my purpose here is."
He nodded.
"Good. Because I changed my mind after seeing your fight. We will find the Phoenix as well as subjugate the dungeon boss. You okay with that?"
"Whatever makes you happy."
I smirked at his stoic response before he disappeared into the dense forest, back to his job as the overseer and invisible protector.
Jumping off the tree, I continued my way to the next destination.
There, up on that highest peak.
'I'm sure I'll find the Phoenix there.'
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