Jouri realized what Frank was getting at and smiled. "Since you love role-playing so much, I guess I'd just have to join you."Frank snorted.Still, his hunch was right from the start—Jouri was very high on the pecking order and was considerably different from everyone else.As for the geezer, while he spoke with a casual demeanor, Frank had the feeling he had access to something that set him apart from the rest.Nonetheless, the geezer said just then, "Mr. Lawrence, you've done well with Mystic Sky Guild, and the so-called Martial Alliance is really unnecessary in comparison. You have my vote if the day comes for you to leave Shagan!"Frank simply smiled. "How should I address you, sir?"The geezer chuckled. "Feeling a little too respectful, are we? Anyway, while I'm not one for secrets, I can't reveal my identity to anyone—not even you. So just use my codename: Five. That's what everyone calls me anyway!"But if you don't like it, you can call me old-timer, geezer, codger… any
Frank raised a brow. "So you're saying that he's actually the mastermind behind everything?"Jouri nodded. "At the very least, he's several steps ahead of everyone else… He was also the one who led you to Shagan.""What?!" Frank exclaimed, utterly confused.Jouri shrugged. "With Sally York stealing the power of the spiritron vein, we had to find a way to find it a new owner. You're strong and could even reach the top of the world without the spiritron vein, but you have to understand that political influence is able to close that gap.""That's true! So what is this about?"Frank smiled, whipping out the photo of the girl. "You have plenty more resources than I have. Why not go find her yourselves?""Five works in mysterious ways," Jouri replied, shaking her head. "We have no idea why he'd asked you either, but he had express orders for us not to help.""Whatever," Frank replied, unbothered.Help aside, he definitely could find the girl if he wanted to.Soon, they were both ba
"Quit being so pessimistic, or I'd really be discouraged."Frank snorted but stood up. "Come on already. I have nothing else to do anyway!""You're the best brat ever!"Sylvie strode up and pecked him on the cheek, smiling cheerfully and unabashedly. "I have a huge reward waiting after we're done."Frank smiled but said nothing, since he knew very well what it was.-Nonetheless, they were in Shanton two hours later, passing the police line and arriving at the dig site soon enough.The dig team had been waiting for a while, their scowls quickly fading as they appeared hopeful to see Frank.Someone exclaimed, "Mr. Frankton's here! This is as good as done, just watch!"Another person promptly snapped, "Are you serious?! Do you think he can keep the hypogeum intact while the load-bearing structures are being set up?"Everyone turned to stare at the youth named Ernest Lane, the son of the construction team's supervisor.He had come to see if there was any work, only to be scared
While Sylvie and Frank continued their conversation, a rustling sound could be heard from a sarcophagus.Instead of getting spooked, Sylvie exclaimed excitedly, "Could it be a zombie? I've never seen one in my years of tomb exploration—I'd die happy if I actually see one!"Frank smiled in wry amusement—was this what a professional archaeologist should be saying?Still, it was understandable since tomb exploration movies were the trend, and being in the business meant Sylvie might be hoping to get in on the action too.Frank then strode up, ready to open the sarcophagus, when he remembered something.Turning to Sylvie, he asked, "Should I open it?"Archaeology was not tomb raiding—one did not simply pry into any oddities, and restoration was priority. They must not destroy anything if possible, which was why Frank would like Sylvie's opinion."Just open it." Sylvie shrugged. "Oddities have to be investigated, or they would terrorize the next guy."Frank chuckled and gently opene
Sylvie and Frank left the chamber and continued onward.The passage seemed to broaden the more they walked, and they were suddenly on top of a cliff!With the light from Frank's ring, Sylvie stared downward at the bottomless abyss."How is this possible?!" she exclaimed in shock. "This makes no sense, considering Shagan's geography!"Frank shrugged. "What's so strange about it? Corpses can stand in here. A cliff is plenty logical."Sylvie laughed at her own blunder. "Makes sense. Nothing is all that shocking when zombies exist."Putting a hand around her waist, Frank vaulted down the abyss, though they soon reached the bottom. Their feet touched the cool waters of a stream, and Sylvie shuddered from the cold.Seeing that, Frank put a hand on her shoulder to infuse her with warmth, quickly putting her at ease.She was certainly overjoyed. "With that power, even exploring Antarctica won't be an issue."Frank remained silent, however, his eyes fixed on a narrow passage just ahe
Red Shirt thought that Sylvie and the rest were agreeable at the prospect of getting rich. As such, he lowered his backpack and unzipped, revealing the gold and gems inside.Unlike antiques, these could be melted and sold for money!"You're crazy!" Sylvie rolled her eyes."Oh, come on!" Red Shirt retorted in annoyance. "You don't have to snap like that!""So what if I do? Even the tomb raiders in movies wouldn't sell the good stuff to foreigners! You people don't have any principles, and that's sickening!"Red Shirt glowered. "Don't bite off more than you can chew, lady!""No, no, no. Please let me have a bite," Sylvie retorted.As the leader of an archaeological team, she naturally thought differently than the gang of tomb raiders. In her mind, artifacts had no monetary value—only historical—and selling them was an utter waste, which was why she despised tomb raiders."You asked for it!"Red Shirt was incensed and whipped out a handgun, training it directly on Sylvie.Sylvie
Frank wanted to demonstrate his strength to Red Shirt just to break his will and make him more willing to answer his questions, only for Red Shirt to turn out to be a coward!Even as Red Shirt yelled in pain, his friends were trading looks, not expecting that their colleague would concede the high ground to Frank!Still, a woman picked up the gun on the ground and aimed it at Frank. "S-Stand back!"Frank smiled instead of showing fear."Open your eyes, people! A man's actually less brave than a woman, and he'd still call himself a man!"As the tomb raiders remained silent, Frank strode toward the woman. "Come on, lady! Shoot me! Don't worry about it!""S-Stop!" The woman was terrified and kept shouting threats at Frank. "Don't move!""Come on, words only mean that much!" Frank gloated. "What do they always say? Face your fears—it's the best way to triumph over it, so give it your best shot!"Sylvie was left giggling as Frank was clearly horsing around despite the tense situatio
Having never met Frank before and unaware of his personality, Red Shirt was genuinely concerned about reprisals.Taking his gun back from the woman, he nudged her. "Apologize already!"However, the woman was petrified and did not move, leaving Red Shirt fuming.He pulled her toward Frank, kowtowing in apology. "We never knew that you're a superior being, and we really meant no offense! Please look the other way this one time!"Frank smiled in wry amusement. "What did you just call me?""A superior being? Or just a god, if you like! I mean, aren't you one? Even bullets can't touch you!"Frank chuckled in exasperation. "Shagan really fell from grace, huh? Ascendant-ranked individuals can handle bullets, let alone a plain handgun like that one. Don't worry—I can be ruthless, but I won't kill a woman. I did goad her into shooting anyway."Red Shirt sighed in relief. "Fair enough…" "Wait!""W-We're innocent too! We never shot you, so just let us go!"The other tomb raiders were
Frank snorted. "Alright, I'm hanging up. I'm getting started over here soon.""Yeah. Good luck," Jouri replied.Hanging up, Frank looked up at the waterfall overhead, and then at Skyler, who was standing beside him. "So? Is it time yet?""Almost… Now!" Skyler's eyes were glowing even as she stared at her watch."Alright."Frank looked up just as the skies abruptly darkened. "Ah, there it is—the eclipse."The sun seemed to disappear, and the world was suddenly shrouded in darknesses.And beside him, a stone door imbued with the power of the spiritron vein also rumbled as it parted."Got it!" Frank rushed inside without another word as soon as he saw it."Hmph. I'm surprised that you could reach this place." A cold, wrathful voice resounded inside even before Frank got a hold of his surroundings.Looking up, Frank found a youth in a black cossack and sporting grey-white hair, standing upon a cliff as he looked down on him.Frank chuckled. "Hehe. Like I said, I've come to kill
Frank narrowed his eyes. "Is that so?'Crane shrugged. "I don't mind giving it to you straight—members of Torrent are actually… Ahem. A part of Torrent himself."Frank paused. "What's that supposed to mean?""You don't get it, do you?" Crane grinned. "Then let me put it to you this way—every member is a clone of Torrent.""A clone?" Frank gasped in realization."Yes," Crane nodded. "That's why I believe that challenging Crane is just suicide. You have no idea how powerful he is—only death awaits you down that path."Frank smirked. "Oh, but I don't think so."Crane rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever—now listen closely. You will find Torrent in the Mystic Trail, but you would only find that place when the sun and moon coincide, and the entrance is beneath the waterfall south of Horton."As he finished, he snorted coldly. "I have no idea if you can actually do it, but I'm hoping you do kill him… Heh. I'm getting tired of being stuck under his control for so long."Then, waving off
Frank abruptly turned, immediately noticing one of the Cranes crouching, ready to spring forward and blindside him."Got you!" He laughed."Hah! You fell for it!"Just as Frank swung a punch to pulverize that Crane, he suddenly burst into pus that splashed at Frank's face."Damn it!" Frank took a step back, surprised that the clone's presence was identical to the real Crane, and a trap on top of that!"Die!"The Cranes around him each whipped out a dagger, all of them stabbing at Frank at the same time."Get off!" Frank bellowed, unleashing a shockwave that sent all the Cranes flying across all directions."Frank! Above you!" Skyler suddenly shrieked."Yes! I'm right here!" A strange laughter sounded above Frank just as he wiped the pus off his face.Crane was suddenly directly above him, launching an aerial kick straight at Frank's head, and Frank had no time to dodge!"Die!" Crane's smile curled into a twisted angle as he saw that too.He was very confident with this kick
"Disgusting…" Skyler murmured through her hand.Despite being skinned and scalped, the women were all still alive and singing to the music that was playing despite their anguish."Talk about a terrible fetish."Frank was scowling too—why were all the members of Torrent such sick deviants? It seemed like his plan to wipe them out was absolutely correct!"So, you killed my clone?"The lanky man on the couch slowly turned to level his bloodshot eyes at Frank.His lips were wet with bed as they curled upward into an eerie smile."Clone?" Frank narrowed his eyes."Hehe. It's a sage art."Crane shrugged as he stood up and wiped the blood off his lips. "It's only natural that you don't understand… Still, you deserve praise. If you can kill my clone, that means you're not just slightly stronger than Ghost."Naturally, the man was none other than the real Crane.Still, as Skyler studied him from a corner, even she could notice the strange twitch of his fingers, and his veins were pro
Even as Crane ran, he was looking over his shoulder, his heart pounding. "No… I won't win in a one-on-one!"No, as long as I get back to my real body… we can do this together!" He frowned, having seen how Frank sliced off the pinkies of those hood rats. It hence quickly dawned on him that Frank was not just slightly stronger than Ghost, as Torrent had put it!"Almost there!" He gasped when he saw the signboard of Pegasus Showtown in the distance. "As long as I get there and rendezvous with my real body, that brat will lose—"That was when he turned and saw that a shadow had caught up with impossible speed."What?!" Crane's eyes almost popped out in bewilderment. "What speed is that?! Are you kidding—"Even as he spotted the shadow, the shadow turned into a youth with an impassive visage.His fist outstretched, he was clearly punching toward Crane's forehead!"Argh…"Even as Crane looked on, the youth's punch slowed down by tenfold, but his fist kept closing in.Then, whe
Seeing Skyler sigh, the tattooed thug presumed that his extortion worked.He strode up, grabbing Frank's shoulder. "No one's gonna help you, boy. Pay up, or you're not leaving.""Exactly! You're not getting away!" the crowd of hood rats hollered. "Last chance."Frank's eyes were cold and fixed on Dani, however. "Are you going to intervene? If you do, you can keep that check. If you don't…""Ugh. Fuck off! I don't care!" Dani spat, her expression smug as she folded her arms before her chest. "Who do you think you are to threaten me?!""Exactly! Pay up, and you can leave!""Yeah! Ten grand, at least!""You probably don't know my boss Wyvern, but when he's here, you won't get away with just ten grand!"Even as the crowd closed in, Frank shook his head. "Well, you had your chance. Don't blame me for what happens next.""You're giving us a chance?! Hah! Who—argh!"Even before Dani could finish gloating, Frank was suddenly in front of her, grabbing her viciously by the wrist."Arg
"Five grand?! Did you hear that?! He just threw five grand!""Must be a rich kid coming here for a secret rendezvous, out of prying eyes? Those types are the easiest mark!""Fuck! And Dani got one of us… It hurts me more than losing at the races!"Frank could hear the buzz around him but ignored it as he strode past the men flanking him and headed toward the street that stank of blood."Stop!" A big tattooed man grinned sinisterly as he intercepted Frank.As his buddies encircled Frank as well, Frank snorted—it seemed that they took his reaction for a sign of weakness and thought that he could be cowed.The tattooed man rubbed his chin as he leered at Skyler's voluptuous figure, chuckling. "Look, boy. I'm short on cash, so let me take a loan. I'll pay you back some other day, how about that?"His friend laughed. "Exactly! You just gave Dani five grand, and we won't ask for more… just four, how about that?"Skyler scowled in turn and glanced worriedly at Frank beside her—was he
Frank himself had just stepped out of the nightclub when his eyes narrowed."Blood," he murmured, his nostrils twitching."Blood?"Skyler sniffed the air, puzzled. "I can't smell it.""It's from the opposite street… I smell the blood of over a dozen people.""A dozen?!" Skyler did a double take.He could identify the number of people who were killed?! That was just ridiculous!"Come on, let's take a look."Just as Frank led the way toward the source of the stench, a woman suddenly came up, catching Frank off guard and throwing herself into his arms."Hmmm?" He looked down to see that she had thick makeup, average looks, and a rather pudgy belly."Argh! He touched me!" she pointed at Frank and shrieked even before he realized what was happening."What?!" Skyler was staring at the woman too, mystified."Oh, sister! You just didn't see it!"The woman kept hollering, pointing at Frank's face. "Your boyfriend grabbed my ass! Is that how you teach him manners?!""Teach him ma
Wyvern screamed even as he clutched the stump that was his hand, screaming so shrilly one might mistake his voice as inhuman."Oh, just shut up." The lanky man glowered and launched a kick, reducing Wyvern into puddles of blood and pieces of innards, splattering all around the lobby. "Argh!!!" the devilish lady screamed as she watched the carnage unfolded."Another sound, and you'd end up just like him." The lanky man turned and frowned at her impatiently."Hngh…" The devilish lady promptly clasped a hand over her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes as she trembled."What the hell?!"Outside, Wyvern's lackeys heard the screams and ran inside, looking for him. "Hey, where's Wyvern?!"However, the lobby was too dimly lit for them to notice the blood and guts scattered around the walls, and they only sensed that terrible stench."Hngh…" The devilish lady was too scared to speak, and tears trickled out of her eyes."Fuck!"One of the lackeys strode up and seized the lanky man