Chapter 103: The Skull Necklace

Ethan turned toward the voice.

Standing at the rooftop entrance was a bald, stocky old man with a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. A necklace made from small human skulls rested against his chest, swaying slightly as he walked. The bones were clean and yellowed at the edges. Uncle Ray.

Behind him stood the thin, goateed man Ethan had encountered earlier, the one whose Ability let him perceive the spiritual energy of people around him. The man’s eyes were half-closed, his head tilted as if he were listening to something no one else could hear.

The old man’s narrow eyes settled on Ethan before drifting toward the girl standing behind him.

Sofia.

A greedy smile spread across his face.

“Well, well. So this is where you’ve been hiding, little mixed-race beauty.” His gaze traveled over her disheveled clothes and the blood dried along her jaw. “I never expected you to possess an Ability strong enough to kill my men and escape their pursuit.”

Sofia’s body stiffened. The moment she recognized the bald man, the fear in her eyes turned into raw hatred.

“You…”

Her voice trembled. Ethan felt her fingers clutch the back of his shirt, tight enough that the fabric pulled.

The old man laughed as though her reaction amused him.

“What’s wrong with you? Cat got your tongue?”

He turned his head slightly toward the goateed man.

“Call the others up. I want every exit covered.”

The goateed man nodded. He stepped toward the stairwell and shouted down the stairs.

“Get up here! All of you!”

Heavy footsteps thundered from below. Within seconds, more than a dozen armed men rushed onto the rooftop. They carried rifles, shotguns, and a few pistols. Their faces were hard and hostile. They spread out behind Uncle Ray, forming a semicircle that blocked the entrance and the surrounding paths. Rifle barrels rose in unison. Every one of them pointed at Ethan.

The rooftop suddenly felt much smaller. Wind moved across the concrete and stirred the loose dust. Sofia stared at the men, her breathing becoming increasingly ragged. Then she looked at Uncle Ray.

“You monsters!”

The words burst from her throat. Tears rolled down her cheeks, cutting through the dirt and dried blood covering her face.

“You’re all monsters! What did my mother ever do to you? Why did you treat her like that?”

For a moment the rooftop fell quiet. Then Uncle Ray burst into laughter.

“Your mother?”

He scratched his chin, pretending to think.

“Oh, you mean that woman who kept screaming?”

Sofia’s face drained of color. Uncle Ray’s smile widened.

“Your mother was quite the fighter. She kept struggling even when it was obvious she couldn’t win. My men had been waiting for some entertainment, and she certainly gave them plenty.”

He chuckled, deliberately watching Sofia’s reaction.

“The more she screamed, the more excited those bastards became.”

“SHUT UP!”

Sofia lunged forward. Tiny ice spikes formed between her fingers, their sharp points glimmering faintly in the sunlight. But before she could take another step, the ice crumbled into a few harmless fragments. Her face twisted with frustration. She had already exhausted almost all her energy escaping the men who had hunted her through the city. Whatever strength remained was barely enough to keep her standing.

Her knees buckled. Ethan caught her before she hit the ground.

“I want to kill him!” she sobbed, clutching his shirt. “Ethan, please! I want to kill him and avenge my mother!”

Her voice broke.

“I couldn’t protect her. I couldn’t do anything…”

Ethan’s expression hardened. He could feel her entire body trembling against him. Every sob seemed to tear another piece from the fragile composure she had been desperately trying to maintain. He placed a hand on the back of her head.

“Listen to me, Sofia.”

She struggled to look up.

“You didn’t fail her. Whatever happened wasn’t your fault.”

“But…”

“Recover your strength first. I’ll handle these bastards.”

Ethan reached into his Survival Space and retrieved one of the blue Cores he had obtained from the mutant peacocks. He placed it in her palm. Sofia stared at the Core, then at him.

“Ethan…”

“Swallow it. Don’t waste the energy you’ve got left.”

She hesitated only briefly before following his instructions. The moment the Core entered her body, energy began spreading through her exhausted muscles. Her breathing gradually steadied, and the faint spiritual fluctuations surrounding her body became more noticeable.

Ethan turned back toward Uncle Ray. The warmth vanished from his expression.

The old man had been watching the exchange with growing irritation.

“Are you finished playing nurse, kid?”

Ethan didn’t answer. A series of notifications appeared before his eyes.

[Host’s current Ability level: Peak A-Rank.]

[Energy required to reach Quasi-S-Rank: 3,000 points.]

[You have gifted an Elite-Rank Core to a woman with a Beauty Score of 98.]

[Base Return: 200x.]

[Returned Energy Points: 4,000.]

[Once all returned energy has been absorbed, the host can advance to Quasi-S-Rank.]

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. Four thousand energy points. More than enough to push him past the threshold. The moment the reward appeared, an immense current of energy flooded his body. His muscles tightened. A sharp ache spread through his limbs, followed by a deep, almost unbearable pressure beneath his skin. It felt as though his body had suddenly become too small to contain the energy pouring into it.

He clenched his jaw.

So this is what a breakthrough feels like.

Until now he had judged his strength mainly through combat experience and the abilities he could use. He had never received such a precise measurement of his current level. Now he knew exactly how close he was to the next threshold. Three thousand points had separated him from Quasi-S-Rank. The system had just given him four thousand. He only needed to absorb the energy.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury of sitting down and meditating.

Uncle Ray’s patience finally snapped.

“Enough! I’ll carve that smug expression off your face myself!”

He thrust both hands forward. The scattered metal fragments covering the rooftop suddenly trembled. Steel bars, broken pipes, twisted window frames, and pieces of wreckage rose into the air. They spun around him for a moment before their sharp ends turned toward Ethan.

The old man’s grin returned.

“Let’s see how long you survive this!”

The metal fragments shot forward.

Ethan moved immediately. He twisted sideways as the first steel bar tore past his shoulder. Another grazed his arm, slicing through his sleeve, while a third struck the concrete where his foot had been a split second earlier.

Crack!

Concrete fragments exploded across the rooftop. Ethan rolled behind a low wall and activated Space Fissure. A black tear opened in the air. The incoming steel bars plunged into it and vanished.

Uncle Ray’s expression changed. He had expected Ethan to dodge or block the attack. He hadn’t expected the metal projectiles to disappear altogether.

Ethan didn’t give him time to reconsider. He shifted toward the left, searching for an opening. Before he could move more than a few steps, the goateed man spoke.

“He’s moving left. Five meters from your position.”

Ethan stopped. A burst of gunfire erupted. Three bullets passed close to his head, one grazing his cheek before embedding itself in the wall behind him. His eyes hardened.

He can track my movements even when he can’t see me directly.

The goateed man hadn’t moved from his position near the entrance. His eyes remained closed, and his face carried the same irritating smile. Yet every time Ethan tried to change position, the man seemed to know where he would appear. Uncle Ray reacted to each warning by moving his metal barrier into place. The two men were working together. One predicted Ethan’s movements. The other controlled the battlefield. A dangerous combination.

Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!

Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!