Chapter 142

R-a Chapter 142 (live in editing -v1)

A cold breeze swept through the air, carrying the sounds of various late-morning activities across the air. The temperature on the First Layer normally didn’t fluctuate by too much, but today was an unusually cool day.

For a brief moment, Sophia felt relaxed as she walked forward, in tune with the world around her.

That moment was promptly broken by a rather braggadocio voice talking from her side.

“Hehehe. Look at these muscles, Sophia. I can see why Micheal said this stuff could be addicting.” Shin grinned as he looked at Sophia, flexing his right arm appreciatively. The arm was lined in muscle and made him look like the type of person that had trained their body for years, focusing on power and strength.

Sophia shook her head at Shin, rolling her eyes out of habit.

Before they left, Micheal had made Shin get several sets of ingredients from the Godfather Organization’s storage units. By this point, Shin actually had to borrow the Contribution Points he needed to get the ingredients, but had managed to get away with it thanks to his status as a Sub-Executive.

They had then pooled their Points together to buy a few missing ingredients, all ones that Micheal combined to make three sets of a potion known as ‘Bracken Enhancement Fluid.’

It tasted awful, and had some rather annoying side-effects that were hard to get past, though Micheal grumbled that his first time had been much worse. Apparently he'd gotten better at balancing the ingredients after some experimentation.

The powerful boost the potion gave, however, was impossible to ignore.

Shin had said his body felt as if it had exploded with power and his senses expanded to a finer degree. He found it much easier to aim his gun and react faster, upping his combat prowess a sizable amount.

Sophia found similar effects. Not only did her physical strength go up a large amount, she felt that her Fairy Eyes seemed to have ascended to the next level. They became more potent and difficult to resist, all while providing less strain on her Soul.

She would never admit it, but she also quite liked the hard, toned look it gave her.

After catching Sophia’s attention, Shin’s smile dimmed as he continued, his gaze turning serious,

“Is it really fine for us to just waltz on by like this?” Shin rubbed his chin as he glanced off behind them.

They were currently walking across a solid, wooden bridge that connected one skyscraper to another. Behind them, six or seven people could be seen on a rooftop, resting and talking. The skyscraper they were moving to was empty, bereft of other people.

Their team had currently split up into a number of small groups. They had all parted ways and were making their way through the territory of the Nightrunners, moving without issue.

It had been surprisingly easy to move within the Nightrunners territory. No matter how complex the organization was, the territory each of the Big 3 controlled was simply too large to reasonably be locked down. All they had done was walked across a few bridges and they had already entered the general area.

As they walked, Shin truly realized how many people had come to the Main Cluster.

Previously, while it was common to see people out and about, the number of empty skyscrapers he’d pass was overwhelmingly larger than the number of occupied ones.

Now, however…

Shin eyed the empty skyscraper in front of him.

Of the 18 skyscrapers they’d moved across, this was the first one that didn’t have anyone on top of it.

Large groups of people had been present on most of the previous ones, oftentimes making noise or throwing things down below to draw the attention of various Morenkai. The Morenkai would typically climb up once agitated, usually in clumps of 2 or 3, and various fights would break out.

In the background, they could hear a few gunshots echoing out, a noise that was becoming annoyingly common. Not everyone had made the transition to using melee weapons or using guns that were quieter. At least Shin’s own Soul Pistol was a relatively quiet gun. The sniper rifle Micheal had given Shin, on the other hand, was anything but, though it also wasn't his primary weapon.

All of the attacking groups handled the Morenkai with well-practiced ease. Each rooftop had become its own Point farming factory. It was a surreal sight that felt like it belonged in a movie or a video game, not in real life.

Shin, in a fit of curiosity, had teleported down into a skyscraper. He’d found a similar setup down in the lower floors, where a team was drawing out Morenkai and hunting them down.

The sheer number of people actively hunting down Morenkai to grow stronger had reached a huge level.

And, despite all of that, they hadn’t been confronted or attacked. No one had tried to rob them or give them a hard time. It was almost like everyone had become obsessed with quietly growing as strong as possible while avoiding any trouble.

After a moment’s consideration, it made a bit of sense to Shin. Most people were primarily concerned about their own survival. While killing another human could grant a sizable number of Points, it also brought about a large amount of danger.

Killing regular Morenkai, on the other hand, was much safer, as long as you could avoid Abnormals.

It also probably had to do with the rumors of Erratic Morenkai that were running roughshod in the territory of the Angels Arcadia. Their numbers weren’t overwhelming, yet, but they were becoming a notable danger.

“I mean… it’s working, I guess? Let's just focus on reaching the pre-attack meeting point.” Sophia shrugged at Shin’s question, marching forward with determination.

Shin shrugged back after a moment and quickly followed. She had a point.

The guards working for the Nightrunners seemed decidedly… lax, for some reason.

It was true that two of the Godfather Organization's teams had split off and were causing commotions along the western part of their shared border. Shin had spotted several clumps of guards dressed in all black, led by a few strong-looking men and women, race by across nearby skyscrapers, headed vaguely in that direction.

But still, even with that said, it was like the Nightrunners had fallen into some type of mixed disarray. For a member of the Big 3, their current level of security was just awful.

Still, Shin wasn’t going to complain about it.

They continued their journey, following a series of specific directions. 22 skyscrapers this way, 19 skyscrapers that way, a turn here, a few turns there…

In all of that time, not once were they stopped by anyone at all. They passed by several groups of black-garbed guards, the customary outfit of members of the Nightrunners, but most of these forces were simply milling about, not going on patrol or questioning people.

Shin detected a faint hint of confusion present about most of them, as if they weren’t quite sure what they were supposed to be doing.

The only groups that seemed like actual guards were the men and women that had rushed by them earlier.

Shin and Sophia exchanged a number of puzzled glances, but were unable to make head or tails of the situation. They continued to move on the correct path, following the directions they were given and making solid time.

And finally, after what felt like forever but was actually less than an hour, they arrived at their final destination.

A rather unassuming skyscraper, situated in the north-eastern side of the Nightrunners' territory. The secret location of one of the two Permanent Nests controlled by the Nightrunners.

However, when Sophia and Shin finally came within sight of the fated skyscraper, both of them came to an abrupt halt, shock fluttering across their faces.

For, as soon as they arrived, they came upon an extremely unexpected sight.

The Nightrunners’ Nest B skyscraper was already under attack.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Meanwhile, still within the territory of the Godfather Organization…

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Micheal’s chest dipped down low as he ducked and twisted his body, bringing up his Ashari Blade in a wide, sweeping arc. Red energy covered the edge of his sword in a deadly, cutting edge, causing it to slash through the air without slowing.

He felt only the faintest hint of resistance as his arm finished slicing forward, cutting apart three regular Morenkai in one smooth motion. He then jumped up, kicking off the air twice with his Cloud Stepping Shoes as he quickly dodged out of the way of their acidic blood.

He ignored the series of Point notifications as he landed on the ground, a small smile appearing on his face as he looked at the dim orb floating in the air in front of him.

A pile of Morenkai corpses, including 3 Abnormals, lay on the ground behind him. Killing them had proven easy enough, even when they were working in a team thanks to the Nest Core floating in the air before him.

Around him, the lowest floor of a skyscraper spread out, lit by a series of neon, overhead lights. Micheal was the only living being currently in the room.

After making sure all the Morenkai were dead, he walked up close to the Nest Core and took a deep breath. He raised his Ashari Blade above his head as he exhaled, keeping his hands on it steady.

The temporary Nests would lash out and attack anyone that both tried to destroy them and had the potential to present a real threat. Micheal had learned this the hard way before.

However, the Nest Cores only seemed to launch its attack after it had first been attacked. Apart from that, even if walked right up next to it, it would remain perfectly passive.

Going with that logic, as long as he destroyed it in a single blow, he wouldn’t have to deal with it trying to defend itself.

Micheal held his pose for a split second as his eyes zeroed in on the Nest Core. The Advanced Tier Sword Energy on his blade rippled slightly, concentrated finely on the sword’s edge. Its light began to intensify as he focused more and more of the energy together, condensing it to an abnormally sharp level at one particular spot on his blade.

An instant later, his arms transformed into a blur as he cut down. His attack wasn’t super fast, but instead powered up with as much strength as he could bear behind it. It wasn’t as if the Core was going to try dodging it, after all.

With a loud, creaking noise, his Ashari Blade smashed into the Nest Core.

For a single, split second, the Core floated in mid-air, seemingly transfixed. An instant later, a webwork of cracks spread out, accompanied by a violent cracking sound and a flash of light as the Nest Core smashed down into the floor, crumpling.

.

—-Points Obtained —-

Points: 7,227

.

Just like that, he crushed the Nest Core in a single blow, neutralizing it without any issues.

“Alright.” Micheal muttered as he reached down and picked up the cracked Core. He tapped on his Spatial Ring, concentrating for a split second as he sheathed his Ashari Blade.

In his left hand, he held the newly cracked Nest Core. In his right hand… he held two other destroyed Nest Cores.

“That makes three.” He smiled slightly, taking a brief moment to rest. His clothes were soaked with sweat, as if he had constantly been rushing to and fro, straining himself to move as quickly as possible.

Instead of heading directly towards the Monster Class Nest, Micheal’s path to reach it had turned into a rather meandering river.

Using Shin’s connections, he had managed to acquire a network of all the listed Temporary Nest Cores that the Godfather Organization had marked down. From that list, he had picked out a series of Nests that could be found on the way from his location to the Monster Class Nest Core at the center of the Main Cluster.

And just now, he’d finished destroying his third Temporary Nest Core, each and every one without issue. His current power level made decimating the Nest Cores, and their guards, almost laughably easy.

‘Status.’ He called up the helpful stat screen as he stored all three Nest Cores in his Spatial Ring.

.

— - Status — -

Name: Micheal Care

Points: 39,028

Race: Human

Physique: 1 Star

Soul Quality: 1 Star

Age: 18

- Stats -

Strength - 80

Endurance - 56

Recovery - 55

Soul - 27 -> 28

Abilities - (5/7)

Life Orb Master

Ki Cultivator (Earth Tier - Early)

Grandmaster Sword Mastery (1/5)

Impact Release

Ceaseless Mind

.

He’d gained a very large number of Points from taking down the Nest Cores. However, he’d also found that the more he destroyed, the lesser the number of Points he obtained.

As for the ‘Minute Soul Enrichment’ reward that he’d obtained when destroying his first Nest Core, he found no sign of it reappearing.

Despite those negatives, however, he couldn’t help but smile as he focused on the increase to his Soul stat.

“It rose from 27 to 28 on the third Core, just like Isaiah said it would.” His eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke, a small bit of tension in his heart fading. He’d received the results of Doctor Isaiah’s last minute research in the morning, just in time to be helpful.

The first of the three Nest Cores he’d destroyed had raised his Soul stat from 26 to 27. However, it had taken two more Nest Cores to raise the stat from 27 to 28. According to Isaiah, the Temporary Nest Cores would eventually fail to raise his Soul stat at all, beyond the 14th destroyed Nest Core.

It was because of Doctor Isaiah, too, that he had found out a way to shatter the Nest Core without using his Impact Release Ability. The man’s intrepid ability to research, hypothesize, and theorize things was scary.

As long as he focused enough of his Advanced Tier Sword Energy to hit one single spot on the Nest Core, for just a split second, he was able to successfully shatter it without the need for any of his stored impacts. The Nest Cores seemed to automatically shatter if they were penetrated at a deep enough level, meaning he didn’t need to obliterate the Nest Core to take it down, just poke past its outer layers.

After the split second of examination, he brushed aside his status screen and took a deep breath.

A moment later, he broke out into a sprint as he raced for the nearby exit, his eyes gleaming with energy.

“Three down… three more to go…”

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