บท 5: Chapter 5: Tower Gods & World-Class Hunters
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[The Tower God {Wielder Of The God Slaying Spear} says that you're perfect to become his Avatar!]
[He offers you great amounts of items, equipment, skills, and much more that will make it easy for you to climb the tower until you reach his world, where you can join and become his second wife.]
[He is confident you would make a wonderful heir with the strength you possess.]
"You're one of the first ones I'm killing."
[The Tower Goddess, {Queen of the Frozen Sea}, is disgusted by the remarks of the {Wielder of the God Slaying Spear} and offers you to become her sister in her own world, governing the Ice Titans.]
"Oh, the Titans? Is that so? Well, it's the same response either way. No."
[The Tower God {Snake That Circles The World} wonders if you could become his Avatar instead. He can offer you an egg that will hatch a mighty pet that can carry you through all the floors of the tower until you reach his world!]
[He honestly just wants a friend…]
"You're lying; you're just greedy. Nothing escapes my eyes."
[The Tower Gods are slowly growing angrier about your remarks! Many of them have developed a terrible impression of you.]
[None of them wants to give you a gift or a sponsorship anymore!]
[Some of them have begun to plot your demise.]
"Already? Well, I guess you're not so different from the old men of Murim then." I laughed. "I'll welcome every single challenge you throw at me with open hands. But be aware; the more you anger, the more painful your death will become."
[Some of the Tower Gods who are more aware of what you truly are capable of have begun cowering in fear! They have quickly decided to leave.]
[A few others are still looking at you.]
"Enough with you, creeps." I quickly waved my hand as I sat down in front of Nicholas, releasing a veil of Photon Essence combined with my Primordial Nine Heaven Fragment's power within my Inner Realm.
[You have conjured a strange, powerful veil that is fueled by foreign energy!]
[The System Broadcast Function has been completely disabled.]
[It can be disabled once the veil is taken away.]
[Because of the incredible feat of stopping the Constellations from watching over you, you received the [Mirage Veil (A): Lv1] Classless Skill!]
[The Skill [Mana Manipulation (C): Lv3] has Leveled Up.]
Another Skill, huh?
"Much better; it was getting very annoying."
"Were you talking to the Gods of the Tower, Lady Bing Xue?" Wondered Nicholas. "With the level of power you possess, I am sure you must be the Avatar of one, right? How far have you advanced in the Tower?"
"Advanced in the Tower? I have not done any of such things." I said, sighing. "For your information, I am still only at Level 37. This system thing was something I acquired an hour ago."
"Wait, what?!" Nicholas gasped. Mortals these days. "Y-You don't have a Sponsor, yet you possess a power that can surpass S Rank Hunters?"
"What is an S Rank Hunter anyway? A feeble label to simply measure your Realm of growth? Because it is very inaccurate." I said. "To begin with, if there are Levels for everyone, how come there are fixed Ranks for people? Wouldn't everyone eventually get to S Rank? Then what makes it such a unique of a Rank? At that point, you will be forced to make higher tiers, making everything increasingly convoluted."
"T-That's…" Nicholas was left speechless for a moment. "You're not wrong. This system is very old and rather outdated. But there are some foundations for it. You see, these Ranks were born at the beginning of the Apocalypse, when the Towers appeared, and the "First Wave" came. A series of Dungeon Breaks appeared all over the world constantly. Humanity constantly fought to survive for almost a year before the number of Dungeons Gate appearances finally decreased significantly. By then, half of the world's population was gone, and many countries were also destroyed."
"Half… of the world's population?!" I almost screamed in utter anger. "So those Gods… They've been killing my kind as if they were nothing but cattle?! I can see why, though, by killing humans, they get to harvest Life Force and Mana, isn't it? And also managed to filter out the weaklings and leave those that were able to assimilate Mana into their bodies, mostly. Giving them even more chances to harvest even more Mana and Life Force. Monsters…"
"I-I don't know what the Gods of the Tower intend, but... Indeed, it has been discussed and theorized by many of our government's figures that we are nothing but cattle to the Tower Gods." Sighed Nicholas. "However, such things are never revealed to the population. A-Anyways, moving on to the Rank System. Even though everyone can level up, not many can. There are people innately awakened with stronger skills, higher stats, and more talent than others. Then there are Avatars, which throw the balance off the charts even more with their bonus stats, items, and skills from their Godly Sponsors. Because of this unbalance, we had to create Ranks to qualify talent and strength. Of course, even F Rank Hunters, with enough effort, could theoretically rise to S Rank, but it is usually impossible due to their already very low initial power, which increases the chances for them to die fighting monsters."
"Hm, I see. I guess I do understand more." I nodded. "So it is also based on what you're given from the beginning… How many of these weaker people have risen to S Rank?"
"No more than a hundred across the world, but that's still a lot, I suppose," Nicholas said. "All of them are hardworking and admirable people... I was formerly A rank; I Awakened very strong Skills from the get-go and was also chosen as the Avatar of a God. Although it might be shameless, I had no choice. In those times, I needed strength to protect my wife and my daughters. But even with that strength, I couldn't... I couldn't save my wife."
"But you saved your daughters." I smiled. "You're a good and admirable father, Nicholas. I am sure your wife is proud of what you've done and accomplished. Make sure to raise those girls well."
"T-Thank you… It really means a lot coming from someone like you, Bing Xue." Nicholas felt slightly touched. "Anyways, your strength... It is completely unprecedented. It seems you're one of perhaps the only three unique cases in the entire world. People who had no powers suddenly awakened to overwhelming strength, surpassing veteran S Ranks without even Leveling yet. We call them World Class Hunters. There are only three in the entire world; you would be the first one in the States, ma'am, and the fourth in the entire world."
"Huh, interesting." I nodded. "World Class Hunter, eh? It doesn't sound too bad; it's much better than just a letter. Seriously, Murim has a much better naming sense than Earth."
"Murim?" Nicholas asked. "What are you talking about, Lady Bing Xue?"
"Forget what I said. Who are these three World Class Hunters?" I wondered.
"The first one ever comes from Africa; his name is Jamiel, often known as the Champion Of Wild Beasts. He awakened a power that allowed him to tame any beast and monster weaker than him, immediately forming a gigantic army of beasts that he used to singlehandedly protect Africa, one of the most vulnerable continents in the world, and unify various smaller countries that were devastated." He said.
"I see, an admirable man with the aura of a conqueror, I see." I nodded.
"The second is Yanisse, from Russia. She's known as the White Void. Her powers are the ability to control space and the element of the void to instantly devastate any foe, quite literally deleting them out of existence." Sighed Nicholas. "She's a cold and mysterious woman; most are afraid of her, but she's also very beautiful and quite popular in her country as a model."
"Oh, the Element of Void? Amazing." I felt slightly fascinated. "Perhaps I should meet this girl one day. I could earn a few things about this elusive element!"
"And the third is from South America; his name is Pablo, the most recent World-Class Hunter before your appearance." Said Nicholas. "He's known as the God of the Black Sun; he is not only capable of summoning a domain that encompasses everything in endless darkness, but he is also the avatar of several Aztec Pantheon Tower gods that govern their underworld. He is a Necromancer as well, controlling endless armies of Undead. He has protected South America since his awakening, and he's known as their hero. He was born in Peru but recently moved to Chile."
"Quite an interesting trio of fellows. I suppose I could meet them all eventually and gauge how truly powerful they are." I smiled, feeling slightly interested. "Jamiel, Yanisse, Pablo... I will remember those names. Now, can I register?"
"Yes, of course. First of all, I would like to, even if it might seem ridiculous, gauge your total stats and skills to some extent; this is a procedure necessary for registration. I know you are incredibly strong, but even then..." He muttered, feeling slightly afraid of my response.
"Don't be afraid, Nicholas. I won't feel angered by such things. Is that the orb I must touch?" I touched it. "Is that it?"
FLASH!
A flash of bright light surged from the crystal orb Nicholas offered to me, suddenly showing some numbers—my current System Stats. And also some of my Skills. The Privilege Skill was apparently hidden; it didn't show Titles either.
"S-So these are your stats. Wait, aren't they too low for how strong you are, Bing Xue?" He asked. "How does this make any sense…"
"I didn't let the System assimilate my body or soul, so these are the surface stats I am accumulating from a blank slate. I think of the system as a little piece of equipment that grows along with me." I smiled. "And well, it allows me to gather Mana more effectively too."
"S-So you were strong before even… The System Assimilation?" He muttered, his hands trembling in horror.
"Yes." I smiled with honesty. "Is that it, Nicholas? So what Rank do I qualify for?"
"I only possess the authority to give you A Rank. I will need to contact the HQ and ask them for a meeting later, where your true power will be tested, so we can see if we either give you the S Rank or the World Rank." He said. "I'm very sorry for this; I know you're at least S Rank, without a doubt. But I can't give you the Rank yet…"
"It's fine; give me any rank; I don't really care." I shrugged. "Are we done?"
"Not yet! Please wait a moment." He started printing some papers, and then he asked me to sign my registration. I read everything, and it was just frivolous things I wouldn't follow anyway. I won't be bound by stupid contracts. I am only registering because my family desperately wanted me to do so.
"And done," I said. "When is this meeting with the HQ you're talking about?" I asked him.
"Tomorrow, everything has already been set up. They will come running once they're done with their own jobs." He sighed. "About twenty Hunter Association Chairmen, the president of all the Hunter Associations, and probably the Prime Minister of the United States will all be coming. You might not know, but videos about what you've done are already circulating all over the internet; they need to address this quickly or there'll be an uproar over your existence."
"Huh, I suppose this is fine. That's a nice and quick response. It reminds me of my times in the Heavenly Court when I had to control every new little monster that wanted to join us, fufu." I laughed. "Well, I will amuse your little game for now. But I won't be wasting my time with all of you more than that, alright? After that is done, I hope I am no longer bothered. Those who attempt to do so will receive great punishment and, perhaps, a merciless death too. I am merciful and have great patience; I would not have lived eleven thousand years without them, but such virtues have limits. Is that okay with you, Nicholas?"
"Y-Yes…" Nicholas nodded. "It is perfectly good. I understand. We will not bother you anymore once tomorrow's gathering is done…"
"Perfect. I also expect some compensation for taking away my time, yes?" I asked with a gentle smile. "It is the least you could do to pay respects to me, as your great immortal venerable."
"Immortal… Venerable? Ah, yes, of course, ma'am." He nodded obediently. "And I apologize once again for what I did to you before... We all panicked; you kicked that man, so we thought."
"He was very rude, so I had the right to be rude to him as well," I said. "But when someone treats me with kindness and respect, I will do the same to them. I hope we can get a better understanding from now on."
"We will." He nodded with a gentle smile. "Thank you for being so understanding about this entire ordeal. I wish you a good day. And this is your Hunter Association License. You're now an A Rank hunter, Lady Bing Xue. Tomorrow, you might even become America's first World Class Hunter." The man handed me a very lame-looking silver card with my name and rank.
"So that was it? This card? Honestly, maybe I shouldn't even have bothered with this!" I laughed. "Oh well, fine, fine. I will play along. Goodbye, and see you tomorrow, Nicholas. Make sure to behave, son, and tell your girls I say hello! Here, give them these things. I am sure they will like them."
I handed him a box of cookies and chocolates I had crafted using ingredients inside my Inner Realm, a small show of generosity that Immortals often gifted to one another to keep formalities and respect with one another.
"Oohh! Yes, of course." He nodded obediently as I walked away. "A-And thank you for the sweets. I am sure the two will like them."
"Goodbye."
I walked away and moved downstairs, where my mother and my little sister greeted me. Well, now that was quite a long conversation we had there. But this gives me a better understanding of how the world has changed.
"Katherine, you're finally back! Did you register?" My mother asked, looking very exhausted and slightly stressed. I have made her feel this way; I should apologize.
"I'm sorry for worrying you so much, mother. I have brought shame to our family for making such a huge fuss about these feeble little mortals and their lack of mannerisms. Perhaps I should have simply ignored the barking dog." I apologized.
"Barking… dog?" My mother was confused. "A-And well, you're not too well yourself; you were away too long. I am sure you must be very tired and stressed. Let's go back home now, honey. You need to rest."
"There's no need to apologize, big sis; you kicked ass!" Ruby said. "You're so cool! It's been a while since I've seen such a strong awakening. Most of the time, they're just lame-looking dudes that think they're gods and are so cocky and annoying."
"Hahaha! Murim was also full of arrogant men like that." I laughed. "Do you know what I did with those arrogant men who thought that because I was a woman, I had to kneel before them and obey them? I crushed every single one of them. And I will do the same here if any of them, men or women, dare to stand before my new, peaceful life with my family."
"A-Ah, ahahaha…" My sister didn't take that too kindly; it seems she got a bit scared.
"Anyways! Let us go eat something, yes?" I smiled back at her, giving her a head pat and a kiss on the forehead. "Big Sis wants to spoil her little sister. How about we have a delicious feast inside my Inner Realm? I will show you all kinds of things there! You will be really amazed."
"S-Sure?" My sister said, "What's an Inner Realm though?"
"I am so confused right now." My mother wasn't in the right place either.
I suddenly noticed that the man named Juan was not around.
"Is Juan gone?" I wondered.
"Ah yeah, he has a night shift in his job, so he left already." Said Ruby. "He works as a porter and gatherer in low-level dungeons inside the tower's first floor. It's the only thing F Rank Hunters can do without risking their lives."
"Is that so? I should visit that tower soon; I am quite interested in how everything works there." I said.
"Ah, Katherine, so what's your Rank?" My mother wondered.
"A Rank for now, sadly. Tomorrow maybe World Class." I said.
"What?!" Both had the same shock in their reactions.
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