Eight | Back to 15 Years Ago (4)
Kafts Apartelle, Lipa, Batangas, Philippines
May 22, 2030
----
The tension in the apartment room was suffocating. Angelo and the rest of the group stood motionless, their hostility filling the air like a heavy fog. Ace, however, sat with an unsettling calmness, his fingers moving deliberately across his phone screen.
Snap!
The soft click of another photo being taken broke the silence.
Angelo's eye twitched, his frustration bubbling over. "You really don't know when to quit, do you?!"
Another photo was taken by Ace. He was obviously not taken aback by the intimidation of the group now.
"For your question earlier, I'm a D-Rank too." Ace unfazingly answered.
"What? Kekeke! A D-Rank shit too, hahaha." Angelo chuckled. "And here you are acting your ass high off. We have four D-Rank hunters here you piece of shit! What makes you think a single D-Rank like you can take us on?!"
The others chuckled darkly, Kristine chiming in as she flicked ash from her cigarette onto the floor. "He's so cocky. He keeps taking picture of us. How about we take his phone from him as "collateral" initial payment."
Ace's expression didn't waver. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, his voice calm while he is busy typing on his phone. "Say, do you do this often? How many victims have you scammed before me?"
The room went still. Angelo's grin faltered, his brow furrowing. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm asking," Ace said evenly, his tone cutting through the room like a blade, "how many people have you scammed using this little routine? Extorting money, pretending to be victims-it's a nice setup. I just wonder how many lives you've ruined along the way."
Ace's mind raced as he spoke, though his outward demeanor remained unshaken.
'Things like this can be easily resolved through the help of DHGD or police. There are tons of hunter police on each city. Why did I got scared and let myself be scammed before?"
Ace stared at Angelo, his gazed piercing, 'What took me three years before to finally be free from will be stop immediately at the beginning now!'
Angelo's fist clenched, his knuckles turning white. "What stories are you making up?!" His voice rose, his frustration adding layer by layer. He was about to grab a hold of Ace shirt but...
Ace's phone chimed unexpectedly, the robotic voice of an automated system echoing through the room.
< You have reached Department of Hunter and Gate Dungeon's emergency hotline. What may I help you with? >
'I succesfully connected to a police automaton?'
The color drained from Angelo's face. "H-Hey?! What are you doing! Cut that call right now!"
But Ace didn't flinch. All of the hunters present in the room is aware of the automaton police authority."Hello" he said into the phone, his tone calm, "I'd like to report unauthorized trespassing at my unit-"
"End that call right now you little fucker!" Angelo roared, lunging forward with his fist raised.
'Shit?!' Ace gasped as he tried to block it with his arm.
Thud!
Angelo's fist stopped inches away from Ace's face, collising with what seem like a hexagonal transparent thick glass, the size of Ace's head. The impact reverberated through the room, making it known that the punch given away is far stronger than a punch of an ordinary person. Angelo stumbled back, clutching his hand in pain.
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"Ouch--! What the hell is this?!" Angelo's voice was laced with panic as he stared at his reddened knuckles.
Ace's eyes widened briefly before narrowing in understanding. The familiar hexagonal shape is reflecting on his eyes.
'A barrier?! Wait, that's an Aura Barrier? Is that from my < Aura > skill card?! But I shoudn't be able to manifest something like that yet. When I was twenty years old before, I can only manifest Aura Pulse or Aura Dagger because of my low understanding of the skill. It should be still years off before I can go under enlightenment of the skill's true potential! How is this possible?'
RJ, the largest of the group, stepped forward with a growl. "What kind of trick is this?!" He swung a massive elbow tackle at Ace, his movement quick despite his size.
As if it was a muscle memory from years of being a hunter on his lrevious life, Ace immediately deployed another barrier again at the elbow attack trajectory.
Another hexagonal barrier shimmered into existence, absorbing the blow with a dull thud.
"Fuck?!" RJ cursed. It felt like he punched a bulletproof glass. His arm trembled from the force of his own strike.
Ace lowered his arm, his thoughts racing. He immediately went and opened an application on his phone.
< IPT Monitoring >
Ace has just finished and passed his initial assessment. As part of his application, his hunter details will be automatically uploaded and updated at the guild's monitoring app. It is also an application used by Iron Pulse Technology to regularly update their hunter's stats through monthly assessment.
His details appeared on the screen:
[ Name: Hanni Ace Jimuel De Leon
Position: Applicant
Hunter Ranking: D-Rank
Class: Mage
Country Affiliation: Philippines
Age: 20
Sex: Male
Guild: Iron Pulse Technologies (IPT)
Branch: -
Department: -
Section: -
Position: -
Raids Participated: 24
Raids Completed: 24
Raids Failed: 0
Stats:
Strength: 22
Agility: 25
Intillegence 40
Vitality: 35
Will: 40
Skill Cards:
1. Aura (D-Rank)
2. Doppleganger's Mana Heart (D-Rank)
3. Mana Ingrain (D-Rank)
4. Boiling Point (D-Rank) ]
Ace's face grew into even more confusion as he confirms the details of his initial assessment.
'My stats is as expected of a D-Rank mage. My skill card set was still the same as I can remember it. My < Aura > skill card is still on D-Rank cap.'
As Ace was still confused, he tapped the details for his < Aura > skill card.
[ Skill Card: < Aura >
Rank Level: D-Rank
Difficulty of Control: Very High
Skill Type: Hybrid (Active/Passive)
Mana Cost: Variable (Based on complexity and duration of constructs)
Activation Method: Mental Will
Cooldown: N/A
Scaling Factor: Int, Will
Aura is a complex skill card that allows the user to manipulate and shape mana directly through the strength of their mental will. By focusing their mind and willpower, the user can imbue their mana with intent, giving it physical form and function.
Forms:
1. Aura Pulse - Emits a force of mana shaped by the user’s will, capable of damaging or repelling enemies.
2. Aura Dagger- Shapes the mana in the form of a dagger that can be freely controlled by user. ]
As Ace confirmed it, there was no recorded data of Aura Barrier. '
'In my previous life, Aura was the personal skill card that I had after awakening as a hunter. "Personal skill cards" cannot be removed nor replaced under any circumtances. '
'And since the degree of difficulty on controlling it is very high, I only had full mastery on it on later years of my hunter life.'
'I discovered that there are different levels of Aura as I grow expert on controlling it. First, Aura Pulse, Aura Dagger and Aura Barrier all fall into
'In the first place, Aura Pulse and Aura dagger are names just given by the staffs at the initial assessment.'
Ace closed the app with a lot of questions still unaswered inside his head.
"Hello, sir? Can you please kindly provide your location? We will send help immediately", the automaton on the phone continued speaking.
"Ahh, sorry. It was just my friends playing pranks on me. Sorry dor the disturb." Ace quickly dismissed and end the call.
Angelo let out a relieved laugh, though it came out shaky. "Kekeke, you finally realized that you are in the wrong, huh? Good choice, little brat."
But Ace didn't back down. Instead, he snapped another photo, the sound of the camera loud in the tense silence.
"H-Hey, stop that!" RJ barked, shielding his face from the phone's camera lens.
Ace gaze was ice cold. "If you're so confident you're in the right, why does the thought of me reporting you to the authorities make you so nervous? Aren't I the bad one because I ditched you guys after causing too much trouble?"
"T-Tsk... That is..." RJ stammered.
"We all lived in a modern era after all. We need to follow as a law-abiding student." Ace continued to speak, confusing the other group now on who really has the upper hand on this talk.
"Law here, police there. You keep yapping here and there." Angelo snarled, unsheating his sword. "I'll fucking cut that arms of yours that is holding the phone and destroy that phone!"
Angelo charged with a swing of his sword. His sword emitted a light. The sign of mana being used to activate a spell card.
"Razor Slash!"
-To be continued-