Kill the boss?
Kill the young master?
Bennon and Ciena briefly zoned out in thought, but this vulnerable moment only lasted for less than a second.
Immediately afterward, they both glanced over their shoulders in the other’s direction.
Within the depths of their eyes was a certain ruthlessness that could only be obtained through many life-or-death experiences. Should the other move, they would immediately stop them.
After making eye contact and realizing they had the same mindset, their expressions relaxed somewhat before returning to face their respective masters. These actions didn’t go unnoticed by Sahves and Lucius.
“Commander, I should like to inquiry why you are requiring the death of an innocent boy. To my understanding, we don’t participate in wanton slaughter.”
Bennon straightened his back and took a righteous stance.
His armor shined a frosty gleam every time the lights flashed on, while his red eyes burned within the darkness as the lights flashed off.
“Are you disobeying a direct order, Soras?”
Sahves’ words grew stern. He unraveled his arms that were originally crossed in front of him. Before he looked like a leader, but now his entire demeanor was transformed into one of a warrior.
Ciena overheard the exchange happening between the two of them, but she didn’t bother sparing a glance.
She focused her senses on the older man in front of her with heightened vigilance. She knew that out of everyone here, Lucius was likely the most dangerous one.
“Elder Sugo, assassinating an innocent is frowned upon within our organization.”
She chose her words carefully, bringing in the organization’s unspoken rules and principals in hopes of deterring the order.
“Innocent? Who said anything about the boy being innocent? He’s the son of a mass murderer and an unfathomable devil. He is guilty by default.”
Lucius snapped back in irritation and his body weight slightly shifted.
To anyone else, this small movement wouldn’t mean much, but to Ciena it meant he was ready to kill. She tried speaking up once more.
“Elder Sugo, the actions of the parent should have nothing to do with the child. Please reconsi-“
“Nothing to do with the child? You know best that a child born and raised in evil will only grow to know death and cruelty. Are you not an obvious example of this?”
Although Lucius rudely interrupted her, Ciena could only patiently listen to what her master was preaching. If this was three years ago, perhaps she would have even agreed with him, but things were different now.
It’s not true, because of that boy even someone like me can change.
Her inner thoughts wanted to be displayed out in the open, but her harsh training and loyalty silenced the words before they could escape her lips.
“Soras, I understand this might be hard for you to accept without evidence. Regardless, we will reward you two for your services after you complete this final action. We didn’t come to admonish you for foolishness.”
Sahves still spoke with an authoritative tone, but it seemed a tad gentler.
“Your wife and children… As I understand it, you wished for their protection should you guys start lives off world? This can be done. You’ll have a unit under your command solely for their protection. You’ll be able to have the freedom to achieve the greatest heights that you have always strived for.”
Sahves nodded his head in confirmation as if these rewards didn’t deserve a second thought. Three years ago, this was what Bennon wanted the most; the ability to continue his growth journey.
However, due to his worries for his family, he couldn’t simply leave for an extended adventure. Their protection was his duty as a husband and father.
Bennon was speechless after hearing what Sahves had to say. After all, he genuinely wanted to pursue greater strength. The only problem was that he couldn’t bring himself to follow through with his current order.
“Ciena, you were born for the organization. You were raised as a tool to kill, and your talent has long been recognized. After you accomplish this last mission, we can grant you the privilege of marrying into the Sugo family. You’ll have fulfilled your role and will never have to be used in such a way again.”
Lucius spoke out to the resistant woman in front of him. Once again, if it was three years before, indeed these were rewards she would have wanted.
Her line of work was not conducive for finding companionship, and often times the children of her organization were placed in prearranged marriages in order to continue the bloodline. Only the most talented would be given the honor of marrying into the Sugo main family in this fashion.
Ciena’s eyes glinted with a somewhat crazed light, but not for reasons that any of them men nearby could understand.
Separate me from the young master? Arrange me into some marriage? Use me as a tool? The young master understands me. The young master treats me like a human. The young master recognizes me as a woman. No…
Ciena gripped her daggers tightly as her emotions grew more erratic. As if Bennon could sense her change, he also gripped his greatsword even tighter.
Both Sahves and Lucius grew solemn as they took note of their actions.
“Soras, if you disobey here then you can forget about advancing further. This would be the end. If you do not accept this mission, then I will do it in your stead.”
“Ciena, are you willing to throw away your family’s heritage? For some boy that you do not even know? Do you even know his full name?”
Sahves and Lucius both spoke to their respective subordinates in threatening tones. Ciena let out a steady stream of air before uttering beneath her breath.
“I know his name is Jun, and that’s all I need to know. Enough talk.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Without a word, she disappeared from place after the next flash of light. Simultaneously, Bennon viciously swung his greatsword at Sahves.
Clang! Clang!
Woosh!
Sparks flew around Lucius as he calmly parried Ciena’s onslaught. His eyes were cold and calculative as he followed her movements within the darkness.
Sahves merely sidestepped the ferocious slash that came his way. He spun in a semi-circle and somehow withdrew a longsword of his own from seemingly nowhere.
He angled a deadly swing towards Bennon’s head, whom of which ducked barely in the nick of time.
Before everyone knew it, one of the most deadly battles in the world soon erupted within the former luxurious clubhouse. Mana coursed through the four powerful bodies as they each aimed to kill their adversaries.
Destruction soon found its way into their surroundings.
Different types of equipment were torn to tatters as they were strewn across the floor, while some of the most lavish decorations were demolished by mere aftershocks. The pace of the fight was cutthroat right from the beginning as both parties fought with their lives on the line.
----------------------------------------
In another space, Jun opened his eyes to a world of white.
There was no visible floor, but somehow he was still standing on a solid surface. A stream of words floated within the air. Just as he set his eyes on them, a pleasant and feminine voice sounded off within his mind.
“Welcome, registered user Jun Sugo.”
The voice was simply reading the floating words out loud. The text changed after the voice ended, followed by the woman’s voice once again.
“Account Type: Legacy.”
What’s a legacy account?
“Inheritance: Unlinked.”
“Please contact the inheritance holders to link your account, you may do this at any time.”
But my parents are dead, so I guess no inheritance for me.
Jun silently thought to himself, but the voice carried on regardless.
“Please determine your starting outfit…”
It was only just then that Jun realized he was completely naked. Despite this, he didn’t feel the least bit of embarrassment considering that he was alone and hadn’t started the tutorial yet.
This reminds me of that time Ana made her long black flowing dress on the spot. She even continues to wear it till this day. Ah, I was so young back then.
He soon lost himself within his memories as the voice called out once more.
“Long black flowing dress, confirm?”
Yea that’s exactly the one.
He nodded when the woman’s voice described the very same dress he was thinking about.
“Confirmed, long black flowing dress.”
“Wait! No wait!”
Just as he was calling out frantically, he felt a small weight over his shoulders. Too terrified to inspect himself, he held his breath before eventually feeling the soft threads of fabric brushing against his bare body.
Perhaps it was his imagination, but he could have sworn a gentle wind had just wafted between his legs.
“N-Not even under garments?...”
He called out desperately to the system. If he had no shred of embarrassment before, he was now incredibly consciousness of his every action.
Am I really going to start the tutorial in nothing but a dress!?
It felt like the woman’s voice was purposely not responding. Only after he noticed the changed text in front of him did she resume speaking.
“Registered user Jun Sugo, please pick a username to be used within the PSI System. Note, this username can be changed, but there is a possibility that you will lose certain benefits after such a change.”
Everything felt too rushed.
It was only just earlier in the day that Jun was making fun of Amon for coming up with outrageous usernames, and now here he was, dealing with the pressure of picking a fitting name.
Originally he entered this place with confidence, but that was easily shaken the moment his mind became preoccupied with his beautiful dress. He felt as if he needed to tread carefully from this point forward, no matter how simple the question seemed.
A username… a username… a username…
As he thought about it he soon heard the woman’s voice speak up.
“Confirmation will be asked before finalizing your name. Please select a name.”
Jun nodded as he reigned in his fears.
“The Ruler?”
He spoke hesitantly. He previously made fun of Amon’s choice of names, but now he couldn’t help but desire something that sounded rather cool.
“Unavailable.”
Figures, but that’s okay. There’s a multitude names to pick from.
“Savage King.”
“Unavailable.”
The system’s response was immediate, almost as if it was ready to shoot down his suggestion at a moment’s notice.
Who names themselves Savage King? Whatever, more names to pick from.
“The Kid.”
“Unavailable.”
“The Guy.”
“Unavailable.”
“Fiery Tempest.”
“Unavailable.”
“Raging Ruin.”
“Unavailable.”
“Galactic Meteor.”
“Unavailable.”
Jun paused for a moment. Silence crept into the air as he stared forward with a dead gaze. A minute passed by just like this, before suddenly…
“Who the hell picks these names?!”
“Please select a username.”
The system responded coldly as if his outburst of frustration were like a cricket chirping on a windowsill.
“Omega Overlord.”
“Unavailable.”
“Joren Solem.”
“Unavailable.”
“Apex Arrow.”
Why did I just pick that-
“Unavailable.”
Before he had the luxury to finish his thought, the system had already declined his choice.
“Eskober The Pure.”
“Unavailable.”
“Sushi Lover.”
“Unavailable.”
“Bennon’s Boss.”
“Unavailable.”
Really? Bennon’s Boss is unavailable? What a joke.
“Ciena’s Boss.”
“Unavailable. Please follow the guidelines to pick a possible username.”
Wait, there was guidelines this whole time? Well that would have made things much easier if I had known beforehand instead of coming up with these ridiculous names.
“What are the guidelines?”
He called out confidently, his black dress fluttered about in the absence of wind.
“Selected usernames are not allowed to be ambiguous towards the user’s identity and must be unique amongst users.”
Jun waited patiently for the system to continue speaking. After a few seconds of silence went by, he realized that was it.
Those are the guidelines?! How are they supposed to help me pick a username?!
He face twisted in anger and he grit his teeth while quietly fuming.
“Kohi Demon.”
“Unavailable.”
Of course that wouldn’t be available. I bet whoever picked that name must be having a hard time anyway.
“Heaven’s Favorite.”
“Unavailable.”
“Hell’s Favorite.”
“Unavailable.”
“Anyone’s Favorite.”
“Unavailable.”
“Hate You.”
“Unavailable.”
Jun’s eyes seethed with anger. At this point, it was no longer about selecting a username that he liked; this was about selecting any username at all!
“If you’re going to be like this… then I can only respond in kind. I’ll just spam usernames until one of them sticks!”
----------------------------------------
While Jun was busy shouting out usernames in rapid succession, his new training facility was steadily being ripped apart with reckless abandon.
The central lighting and sound formations had long been destroyed, casting an eerie atmosphere throughout the building. A hole had somehow been created in the ceiling of the building, which allowed moonlight to pour through the top.
Five figures were spaced apart from each other. However, two of these figures were kneeling on the floor in the middle. Throughout the central area, dark bloodstains could be seen as they reflected the celestial lighting.
Bennon gripped his greatsword that was stabbed into the ground for support. His breathing was ragged and multiple lines of blood could be seen flowing outward from his helmet.
In front of him, Sahves simply stood there with a condescending gaze while his arms were folded across his chest.
On the other side, Ciena’s appearance was similar to Bennon’s. It was clear she had fought with her life on the line as one could clearly see multiple puncture wounds that were dangerously close to vital areas.
Her gentle hands were bathed in blood, especially the hand that was currently holding the side of her body where a grievous wound was hidden. She had long since dropped one of her daggers to the floor.
“Tell me, Ciena. Is this worth it?”
Lucius took a step into the moonlight with his hands folded behind his back. The lighting gave him a sinister appearance and his eyes maintained a chilly light.
She tried to speak, but only coughed up another mouthful of blood. Between Bennon and Ciena, she definitely suffered more life-threatening injuries.
This didn’t mean that Bennon was more skilled than her. In contrast, it only displayed the level of skill and lethality that Lucius had over Sahves.
“Even if we lose our lives tonight, we’ll die knowing that we did what we could.”
Bennon coughed up more blood as he mustered what small reserves of energy he could.
“I can die peacefully this day. I know Ciena feels the same.”
Ciena’s mind shook as she heard this, but it was not in fear of her own death.
I can’t die here. If I die, he’ll die. Is it possible to kill these three? The third person hasn’t even moved this entire time. I can’t match Elder Sugo. What do I do?
Before any additional exchanges could be made between the four of them, a steady voice called out from the final hooded figure.
“That’s enough.”