章 32: Flashback Flashes Back
" Hey master~ Sorry I'm late."
Hearing the unfamiliar voice, every Hunter present directed their attention to the newcomer.
Next to him, a giant bull-man hybrid who they all recognized could be seen.
" Adam."
Irene hadn't dialed up Adam, but she knew he would make it regardless.
She had given up on understanding him long ago.
For the last few days, he had broken her common sense once again, but this time with his magical talent.
She wouldn't even be surprised if Adam got hold of the information regarding the gate breaks before she did.
" Oh? Who might this be ?"
Hearing the question from White Beard, Irene found herself in a dilemma.
Adam wasn't wearing his mask.
He wasn't RED now, the new S-Ranker, but Adam Zenith, an F-Ranker and the son of the strongest hunter couple to ever exist.
Before she could make something up, Adam introduced himself.
" Good day. I'm Adam Zenith, F-Rank."
To that information, everyone around the area deadpanned.
Even Irene was taken back by his straightforwardness.
" This young man is my adoptive son. He will be assisting us in today's gate break."
Kenji at the side said as he placed a hand on Adam's shoulder firmly.
" Don't underestimate him. He will be a key factor for us to survive."
Hearing those words coming from the mouth of an SSS-Ranked hunter like Kenji meant a lot.
" Wait."
But one thing everyone ignored was noticed by Hashirama.
" Zenith? As in Rose and James Zenith? You adopted their son?"
It wasn't a complete secret, but very few people actually knew of Adam's identity as Rose and James's son.
Some professors from the university, a few family friends and hunter colleagues. That was it.
" I sure did. But that's not important right now."
Once he removed his hold on Adam's shoulder, Kenji walked closer to the group of high rankers.
" We can talk about this over dinner after we're done. There's a lot of catching up to do."
The three old men smiled at that.
They used to be colleagues back in the days. Kenji was a sort of junior to them, someone they taught a lot about hunting when he was younger.
"Will he be alright?"
Makarov whispered at Kenji, who's sole reply was a resolute nod.
*CLAP!*
A thunderous clap dissipated the curiosity in the air, its source attracting the attention of the group once again.
" I will be brief. That thing is almost done forming."
Those who didn't know Adam personally immediately opened their eyes widely.
The authority behind his tone, the intensity in his eyes, the power behind his clap; everyone present noticed it at that point …
The young man before them was not a weakling, but an undercover beast.
" I have a lot of powers. When I say a lot, I mean it. Even if you think I'm in danger, do not come to help me, I can hold my ground just fine."
A mixed of amusement and curiosity were the primary emotions the hunters felt after hearing that.
" Gororo! He's as cheeky as his mother!" (White Beard)
" And he looks just like her too." (Makarov)
" Blood doesn't lie." ( Hashirama)
" I like your attitude young hunter!" (Almight)
Adam nodded, satisfied.
" Well, as I was saying earlier.
Don't die on me too soon. Let's kick some ass!" Said Irene in an uncharacteristic manner, who was feeling unconsciously more confident now that her disciple was here.
At the side, Kenji glanced at Adam's figure, who was standing a few meters behind the group of hunters whom by now were facing the gate with focus, entering a pseudo-battle ready state as they awaited for the inevitable battle to unfold.
" Adam. Be careful."
The young man just nodded at his father, knowing that the latter was the most worried about him.
Yet, his worries were unfounded, for Adam had made use of his tickets beforehand.
' Don't worry pops. I can't die anymore.'
With this thought, he directed his view towards the floating interface only he could see.
[ Immortal Adaptation ( Rank- 9th Order)]
' Let's farm more upgrade tickets shall we?'
Irene wasn't the only one feeling confident at the moment.
...…
'He's more handsome in person…'
At the side, the woman accompanying Tatsumaki looked at Adam carefully. His appealing appearance seemingly distracting her from her original task of assessing his strength in person.
As expected, Orochimaru and Donflamingo did a terrible job in their assignment. Which is the reason why they were given the job of provoking the gate break with their master's aid. An opportunity she knew they couldn't waste.
This time, she took it upon herself to oversee the mission personally.
Star city needed to be conquered, and so was Adam Zenith if they wished for their master to descend.
They couldn't take any chances anymore, not when their draconic ally was slowly but surely questioning their companionship.
' ?!'
Then she noticed it.
' I can't read his energy!?'
No matter how much she tried, Adam's energy was unreadable.
It wasn't as if he was energy-less in her eyes. There was a source somewhere, she just couldn't peek into its origin.
It was scary.
Even the big monsters she was surrounded by gave away their energy supplies.
High Rankers as they may be, it was well within Alice's capabilities to measure them up. Their existential class bared before her eyes.
Yet, Adam Zenith's was a mystery.
This would only happen if the person being measured is leagues above her own existence. But she could tell this wasn't the case.
It couldn't be the case.
After all, Adam was human.
Only gods or those close to them can negate her ability of distinguishing their energy capacities.
'This makes no sens-!!!!!'
A chill of unadulterated fear ran down her shivering spine when the man she closely followed with her eyes vanished from where he was.
Out of instinct she turned around, only to find no one.
Since everyone's attention was on the forming rift of monstrous magnitudes, she was the only one who noticed his sudden disappearance.
" Can you afford to be distracted, missy?"
Her heartbeat stopped for an excruciating second, the size of her pupils increasing in size as a consequence of her autonomous nervous system's sympathetic response to fear.
The man she was looking for was standing next to her, his eyes focused on the gate break.
The tone of his voice was playful, but she knew he wasn't playing around.
' This is bad. We underestimated him too much!'
At this point Alice realized why they always failed to capture or kill Adam.
" Cat got your tongue~? "
He was an irregularity, one they couldn't handle by themselves.
...….
' Sneaking a peek of someone's existence is bad manners. Could this be considered sexual harassment?'
Contrary to what Alice thought, Adam was indeed just playing around.
As always.
" I'm just nervous, Mr. Zenith. Our lives are on the line after all."
The woman next to him composed herself rather quickly. Too quickly for anyone to notice.
But Adam, as a man who's lived many lives before couldn't be fooled.
She was anxious.
' Existential Eyes of Truth '
[ Target's Name: Alice Blackwood
Age: 27 ( Biologically and spiritually)
Gender: Female ( Biologically and spiritually)
Race: Pseudo-High Human ( Not by external means)
Rank: Low-SS ( Half way through reaching Mid-SS)
Class: Magician ( Mind Control Magic Specialist)
Affiliation: Abyss ( Deviant organization with currently unknown purposes, higher level needed to complete assessment.)
Interpersonal Level: 5% ( Knows about the host, although not personally.)
Danger level: 2 ( The chances of dying from the target is extremely low. A decent level of precaution is recommended.)
State: Anxious, Fearful, Flustered ( Her emotional state could change depending on the circumstances, progress shall be updated as further scans are done. ]
'*whistle* Now that's more than I was expecting. Not only do I get more info about the target, but I also receive information not specific to the person. It is limited, but the more I level this thing up, the closer I'll get to omniscience…
Ok, maybe I'm taking things too far, but you never know with this freakish system.'
Once he applied an Upgrade Ticket on it, his Eyes of Truth evolved into something scary.
He was hoping to see the appearance of stats once the upgrade took place, but was once again faced with the fact that it was simply impossible for that to happen.
This was a constant remainders of how rare his existence was.
Others couldn't have stats because they simply didn't exist.
It was all a fantasy, a mirage to showcase Adam's power in a quantified manner.
Even the system confirmed it recently, but the concept was too complicated to digest.
.....
[Flash Back]
( 24 hours before the gate break, as Adam ended his afternoon magic lesson.)
In a destroyed room, big enough to fit the family tree of an elephant, a disheveled Irene could be seen on the floor, limbs spread widely as her chest frenetically ascended and descended in a rhythm of exhaustion.
" Welp! That was some nice training am I right? Anyways, I will see myself out master, gotta go do some needed fuc-, I mean studying. See you tomorrow ~."
With a poof, the unscathed young man disappeared from the spot he was standing.
' Should I just quit? '
Thought Irene, who conveniently ignored Adam's tongue slip.
( She had a nice warm bath later and did not quit 👍🏻)
( Back at Adam's place.)
" Did I go too hard on her?"
Adam couldn't lie, he was provoking Irene intentionally.
One thing he clearly remembers about Erza back in the days was how competitive she was. A quality that seems to have been passed down to her from Irene herself.
The teasing mature woman he first met had now been shaped into an equal, someone who recognized Adam's strength and didn't look down on him.
She still teased him, but now there was a deeper respect present in her every action, one that surpassed the feelings of caring one had for their friend's child.
These changes were micromanaged by Adam, who wanted Irene very badly.
' There are some steps that I shouldn't skip. Then there's Erza. I have to play smart if I want to make the two mine.'
At this point Adam's shamelessness meter was over the heavens.
Rumi's suggestion was a trigger to his desires, and he wasn't one to ignore them.
" Putting my love life aside for a moment, what the hell is this now…?"
[ ! ]
[ Achievement: " Overpowered Rookie" has been achieved. ]
' That's new.'
[ Since host achieved an existential level of B-Rank in less than 15 days, three possible rewards will be available. We ask you to choose wisely.]
" What?"
[ 1- Random 9th Order artifact
2- A forced power merge with two incompatible powers. ( The resulting power will be superior to the previous two in terms of rank, but its characteristics will be randomized.)
3- Three questions to the system.]
Adam was too busy processing the paragraph that preceded the list of available rewards to focus on the rewards themselves.
' " We ask you to choose wisely" ?…. Who is "we"? This shit just got more confusing…'
Then he saw the options, and that's when his brain engines started running at full capacity.
' I can get artifacts at anytime with my infinite Karma as long as the shop is open, so option 1 is out. The second option would be nice if I was mentally retarded, so that leaves option 3. How convenient…'
Truth be told, he would've chosen option 3 regardless. The need for information was that crucial.
" I choose option 3."
As soon as he worded his decision, the options disappeared from his system interface, and soon after, an AI like voice resonated in his mind.
["Ask away, Primordial Soul."]
This title was both confusing and expected to at the same time. A contrast of sensations he couldn't put into words.
Sure, he has knowledge of his many reincarnations, but " Primordial Soul" was a nickname he hadn't heard before.
Or did he?
Sadly for Adam, his memories as an incorporeal soul when he reaches the Limbo are impossible to access for the current him.
These "memories" feel like a dream you can't remember no matter what, with the only exception being his conversation with the Being from the Void who asked Adam to engrave their chat in his soul's essence.
How he managed to do that ? He had no fucking clue.
So maybe this title wasn't inaccurate.
' I know I'm ancient, but primordial entails much more than just that.'
With this in mind, a series of questions were formulated in his brain, questions which he ultimately analyzed until he was satisfied with the best three he could think of.
" Explain the leveling to rank relationship my system displays. This includes everything you can tell me regarding the "leveling" feature of the system."
" [ Mmh. Your question has been approved.] "
' Good.'
" [ The leveling feature of the system is a quantitative measure which tracks the host's progress in their existential journey. Each Rank falls within a level range, which fall under a total stat range:
F ) 1-10 (1-50 stats)
E) 11-20 (51-100 stats)
D) 21-30 (101-150 stats)
C) 31-40 ( 151-200 stats)
B) 41-50 ( 201-250 stats)
A) 51-60 (251-300 stats)
S) 61-70 (301-350 stats)
SS) 71-80 (351-400 stats)
SSS) 81-90 (451-450 stats)
EX) 91-100 (451-500 stats)
This measuring uses the host as a parameter for the sake of comparison.
We understand the hidden meaning behind the host's question, so consider the following as a bonus answer.
Universally, every being in existence is equally powerful at the same stage/phase of the same Rank.
For example: If individual A, of existential Rank-F has a fight with individual B, who is of equal Rank, the encounter will be determined by their progress within their existential rank.
If individual A is at the initial phase while individual B is at the intermediate phase, individual B will have a small advantage.
This doesn't take into account supernatural abilities or magical expertise, but raw existential might.
If the two individuals share the same phase within their existential rank, one might still be stronger than the other, but the latter may surpass the former in terms of dexterity, intelligence, endurance or luck. (Luck being stagnant throughout everyone's journey.)
The host's stats provide a systematic analysis of this characteristics within stages, and allows for them to arrange them in whichever way they wish.]
' This… this makes things more complicated. I will have to ask a question I wasn't planning to. Shit.'
" In that case, why is my Rank and stats not matching?"
"[ The host's existence is complicated.]"
'No shit, I know that much…'
"[ Since the very beginning, the effort necessary for the host to reach the next Rank is greater than that of everybody else.
This is the main reason why the host's rank appeared as F at first even though they were clearly qualified enough to enter the E rank.
We can't explain this further at the moment, please understand.]"
" I can't accept this as an answer, you left too much out."
"[ We understand. In that case, the host may ask an extra question, but we will only confirm or deny it, without expanding on it.]"
' Sneaky bastard!'
Although unsatisfied, he still agreed to the system's offer.
" Fine, then answer this. If what you're saying is to be believed, that means that me having 66 stats but still being F-Ranked makes me stronger physically than someone who just entered the E-Rank. If that's the case, then, doesn't that mean that I can only Rank up by leveling up? If I get a beating and my adaptation kicks in, increasing the stats in the process, will I still remain in my previous rank unless I kill something to obtain experience? Doesn't this make me superior to everyone in whichever Rank I am in?"
"[ … ]"
' Crap! I got carried away and asked too much.'
"[ We will let it pass since we also failed to answer your previous question. Here's the answer to your theories:
Correct, correct, and correct.]"
' I was expecting them to not confirm all of my assumptions since I surpassed the limit they set but… Well, they may be on a good mood today, whoever they are.'
' Still, this helps me have a better grasp of my fucked up ranking.'
"[ One question remains.]"
' I could ask something more useful, but I don't care.'
" Who are you? "
"[…]"
' Not answering I see-'
"[ We are the system overseeing all systems, the multiverses structure established by the founders to maintain order in reality. I hope that answers your question.]"
With that, the window interface before Adam disappeared, leaving even more questions behind.
*Ding!*
Just then, a phone notification broke the silence in the room, bringing Adam out of his turmoil.
As he checked the message he received, a small smile appeared on his face.
' Louis wants to hang out tomorrow with some people from campus. Just what I needed to clear my head.'
As he typed his replied, he called out with authority.
" Ragnar, arise."
As he pronounced his order, a pool of shadows morphed into a now more human looking Ragnar, who resembled an elf with an extremely muscular physique for one.
His face, although rough, was a far cry from the monster he used to be.
" My lord."
The kneeling man's voice was full of respect and loyalty, a quality that never changed since Adam took him in his army.
" We are changing the time for tomorrow's dungeon raid, I have an appointment. Tell the others."
With a short nod, Ragnar dissipated from existence, back into his lord's shadow.
" *Sigh* I need a vacation."
....
(Back to the present)
At the end of the day, Adam's expectations were for nothing.
The system itself clarified that the stats were only for him to see.
' At this point I should just accept it and move on. It's not like me to overthink this much.'
His leveling was simply a way to keep track of his existential evolution, and a subtle, but clear clue to his abnormal strength despite his rank.
That was it.
Altering his thinking speed with his recently added power, "Ultra State", it only took Adam a second to recall all of this.
The same amount of time it took him to come up with his next action.
'Hehe~ this will be fun.'
Adam turned to look at Alice directly for the first time.
Even though her veil prevented him from asserting her appearance, his lady killer meter was giving him a strong signal.
Alice froze in place once again, but this time not out of fear.
She couldn't explain it, but when she looked at those green eyes, it felt as though her soul was in full display for Adam to see.
" What's the matter Mr. Zenith?"
Adam smiled sweetly at the unknowing woman. Her mind unprepared for what came next.
" I was just wondering…"
In front of the talking duo the portal stopped forming, dark crimson energy sipping out of its entrance in a gloomy display of terror.
"Why the name Abyss?"
*GROWL!!!!*
*SCREECH!!!!*
Nightmarish sounds started to be heard by the group of hunters. Sounds that seemed to go unnoticed by Alice, who was too busy trying to keep her sanity intact.
"Isn't that name too childish?"
The stomping of hundreds of creatures of colossal proportions shook the ground, their incoming threat more imminent than ever.
" Be ready !!!!" ( Irene )
Far in front, Irene's scream readied the group.
' H-how?…'
Yet Alice was uninterested. What was happening before her eyes denied her from participating in the altercation that was seconds away from taking place.
This was also reflected in Tatsumaki, who was unresponsive the moment the portal began to expand. Now, with Alice's internal turmoil affecting her mana circulation, an almost imperceptible twitch moved her right hand.
" You Deviants need to work on your naming skills. Tell you what! I'll give you some ideas."
' NO! ' (Alice)
"How does the "Dark Crew" sound? Not good?"
' W-WAIT A M-MINUTE!' ( Alice )
"Then what about this one ? : "Vortex Mega!".
'' T-this man…' ( Alice )
"Mh? You don't seem to like that one either…"
'No, t-this monster…' ( Alice )
"Common Alice, work with me here, we don't have much time ~."
' Knows too much…' ( Alice ).
*AAAAAAARGH!!!!*
"They're here!" (Irine)
...…
As the gate opened on Adam's side, Ragnar, in an even more human appearance now that his shadow presence was hidden by Adam's powers, stood side by side with Zoro and an unusually serious Luffy.
The battalion under his command, which consisted of only humanoids for the sake of secrecy was scattered around the area, adding up to the number of hunters who were awaiting the gate break.
But then, just as the gate finished forming and an ominous energy spread out of it, a mental message from Adam invaded his consciousness.
[' A big level up is coming, be prepared.']
Ragnar's eyes opened widely.
A similar event took place by Stheno and Anansi's side, where Bang was present along with their respective battalions, also consisting of humanoids only.
As the three commanders internalized their lord's warning, the two SS-Rank gates they were each guarding began to open.
*SHRIEK!!!*
*AARGH!!!*
Despite the trepidation of an incoming war, one that surpassed anything they had ever experienced, a single sentence was enough to fire them up.
[ 'Don't disappoint me you three.' ]
Their lord's commands were divine law.
[ Yes! ] X3
And they would serve him as such.
....
A/N:
I wasn't going to upload this now.
I'm too busy at the moment and wanted to have the next chapter ready before uploading this one ( which is where the actual war begins), but I felt bad after reading a comment implying I had dropped the story.
This chapter has been on my notes app for a while, getting edited every now and then when I find the time to focus on the FF. I have deleted parts, came up with new ones, edited some others here and there. There were just so many things I wanted to include that I ended up prolonging the upload. Which wouldn't be a problem if I could do this frequently.
I wish I could do this daily, but I can't. One of my biggest regrets is discovering writing so late in my life ( I'm not old! ). I can only imagine how much I could have written if I got to do this back in high-school, when I had the least amount of worries and the most free time.
But anyways, I haven't dropped the fanfic. It's just hard on me right now.
Sorry for the long talk.
As always, I wish you a great day, and hope you enjoyed the chapter.
See you (not so) soon.
P.s.: Please point out any typos if you see any! I tend to miss them sometimes.
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