Chapter 397 Unknown
"What the-," the man exclaimed, his confusion evident.
An S Rank Hunter's body is designed to endure impacts that could easily dismember a regular person.
Yet, here he was, bleeding unexpectedly.
His bafflement was understandable.
Quickly, his confusion morphed into heightened alertness as he firmly grasped his spear.
Moments ago carefree, the man was now acutely aware of the lurking danger. His background as an S Rank Scout had honed his skills, making him adept at assessing situations.
That's when he recognized a familiar sensation, one usually felt within Dungeons.
It was the unsettling transition from being the hunter to the hunted, the shift from predator to prey.
"DAMN IT!" he yelled, as his mana surged uncontrollably.
Under normal circumstances, the released mana would have decimated his surroundings, obliterating everything with its force.
But the expected destructive power didn't manifest as he felt mana inside his body became stagnant, and in that moment, he realized he'd fallen into a trap.
He prepared to react, but it was slightly too late.
Slash!
Suddenly, his world turned upside down. For a brief moment, he glimpsed a figure in a black mask behind him before succumbing to his fate.
"It's a pity," Asher remarked, as he and Kai appeared seemingly from nowhere.
All three of them were concealed using Kai's ability, and it was Dane who had slain the S Rank Hunter.
Asher observed the lifeless body of the S Rank Hunter. Had he been the one to end the Hunter's life, it would have yielded substantial experience points, and he might have absorbed the Hunter's stats as well.
However, two significant issues prevented this.
Firstly, the System was currently non-functional. Although Rifir was unaffected, all aspects related to the System were temporarily sealed.
The second, more crucial reason, was Asher's own limitations. Even if he attempted, there was a considerable risk that his strike wouldn't be lethal enough for an S Rank Hunter.
Despite his ability to manipulate time, Asher's power remained constant.
As a C Rank Hunter, albeit comparable to a B Rank, his attacks were insufficient to fatally wound an S Rank Hunter. Such a Hunter, infused with immense mana and capable of decimating their surroundings, was not easily harmed by anyone below A Rank.
Different from mages who used their mana as a shield and lacked aura, other hunters depended on Aura to fortify their bodies and endure the harsh environments of Dungeons above A Rank.
Yet, unable to deal a fatal blow, Asher drew his sword and pierced the heart of the S Rank Hunter.
Although it was difficult to pierce the lifeless body, but because there was no struggle from the dead S Rank Hunter with the huge amount of aura that Asher used.
"Woah," Dane uttered, while Kai observed silently.
Neither understood Asher's intent, but the unique golden runes on the sword indicated it was an artifact.
Golden runes emerged from the sword's tip, absorbing the aura from the Mana Heart of the deceased hunter.
The Aura of an S Rank Hunter was distinctly more potent than that of A Rank or lower. It inherently strengthened the body without the need to actively use Aura as a shield.
Thus, Asher could do no more than inflict a deep wound on an S Rank Hunter, that would result in giving the S Rank Hunter the split second to react to that attack.
Because of this, Dane took on the task of beheading the man, as he was the only one capable of ending him with a clean strike.
Rifir emerged, drawn by the power of the Mana heart, but refrained from attacking the dead body while Asher was still in the process of absorbing the aura.
The potent aura's energy was being absorbed as Asher withdrew his sword from the corpse, observing the runes that were fading on the blade.
He had experienced this before, but in his memories, the structure of the runes always collapsed. The sword in his memories wasn't fully unsealed, so it couldn't reach its true potential.
But now, with just one S Rank, the sword had ascended to B Rank.
Even without the system, Asher felt a familiar sensation. Although it was far from its original S Rank strength, he sensed the sword was at B Rank, resonating well with his aura.
Holding the blade horizontally, Asher's crimson red eyes reflected in the shiny black blade. In his emotionless gaze, he recalled the many he had slain to instill fear of his blade in everyone who knew his name.
"Still too far... but," he muttered.
The blade was far from its peak; the blood it had absorbed until now was insufficient.
"It's faster...," Asher noted to himself.
In his previous life, to elevate the Sword of Chaos to an S Rank Artifact, Asher had to kill many S Rank and even SS Rank Hunters, but this time the process was much quicker.
'Is it because it's not a cracked sword anymore?' Asher pondered.
In his past life, the Sword of Chaos was like a cracked vessel, leaking aura energy and unable to surpass S Rank.
However, due to the sword's ability to weaken any aura user, Asher had never used another sword in his entire life.
This time, the Seal was properly undone, without the 'cracks' that previously limited the amount of aura it could absorb.
Asher glanced at Rifir, who, understanding his intention, proceeded to envelop the body with his black, fog-like energy.
For Rifir, the body of an S Rank being was a delectable treat, and unlike Asher, he had no restrictions preventing him from devouring the deceased hunter.
Dane and Kai were still adjusting to Rifir, whose presence now resembled that of a B Rank monster. Like Asher, Dane's instincts warned him that this small, unique, serpent-like creature was a threat. Despite their reservations, neither of them voiced their concerns, understanding that the beast belonged to Asher.
Both were acutely aware that possessing too much knowledge was often a burden and could lead to unwelcome consequences.
Half a year earlier, they had been on the run after deserting Spyder. The reason Spyder had exposed them to the World Association was precisely because they knew too much. The information gathered during their missions had ultimately become a liability.
Consequently, Dane and Kai had made it a point not to ask unnecessary questions, sticking strictly to mission-critical information.
Asher raised his sword into the air and swiftly brought it down. An arc of his aura surged forth, slicing cleanly through the nearby rock formation.
Observing the cut, Asher deduced that the passive ability of his sword, increased sharpness, had improved.
"Time to leave this city," Asher declared, turning towards the edge of the cliff.
***
Capital of Desmar,
In one of the Rothschild Mansions,
"So, you're telling me that this woman has managed to eliminate all the moles we planted within Abyss Corporation?" James inquired, his gaze fixed on his butler.
The butler could only bow his head in disappointment, equally baffled by how all their informants had been exposed.
Typically, it was common for one or two to be discovered, but now, all of them were unreachable.
The mana in the room began to fluctuate wildly as James Rothschild struggled to contain his anger.
"Find out who leaked this information," James commanded, his eyes piercingly focused on his butler.
With a respectful bow, the butler promptly left the room.
James was puzzled by the situation. The moles were not low-
level operatives; they were in significant positions.
However, the Rothschilds were not the only ones facing this dilemma. Many others who had deployed similar tactics found themselves in the same predicament.
The mastermind was Asher, who had cleverly orchestrated the entire scheme. He had instructed Tom to plant deceptive clues in the Abyss Corporation's database, leaving the rest to Sylvie.
Sylvie, the founder of Abyss Corporation, was adept at detecting any irregularities within her company. With the traps set by Asher, she could identify all the moles, including those Asher hadn't specifically mentioned.
With a heavy sigh, James activated the holographic screen and scrutinized it.
"I hope he doesn't complicate things further," James muttered to himself.
Initially, James was reluctant to confront the Grevilles, but following their recent confrontations, his stance had shifted.
The influence of other factions in Somaria had waned significantly in recent months.
After much deliberation, James resolved to play a card he had been hesitant to use: Louis Rothschild.
"He has been quiet for a while now; I should have faith in him," James murmured, lost in thought.
The challenge with Louis lay in his short-tempered nature and the significant troubles he had caused.
However, this time it was Dalton Rothschild himself who had instructed Louis, so James's concerns were somewhat alleviated.
Furthermore, since the incident involving Zephyr's theft, Louis had remained uncharacteristically silent, leading James to hope that he was ready to assume more responsibility and had matured beyond his earlier impulsiveness.
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