Chapter 105: Run!

Night had descended upon Zenith City, but the metropolis showed no signs of slowing down.

Millions of lights illuminated the towering skyscrapers, their glass facades reflecting the colorful advertisements projected across enormous digital screens.

Streams of vehicles moved along elevated highways, while pedestrians crowded the sidewalks beneath the brilliant glow of streetlights. Even at this hour, restaurants, shopping centers and entertainment districts remained busy, filling the streets with the familiar sounds of a city that rarely slept.

High above the bustling streets, Jet Saint-Clair’s apartment was considerably quieter.

Inez had already gone to bed.

After returning home from his first official Dungeon Raid, Jet had spent the evening with his little sister, listening to her excitedly recount everything she had done while he was away.

She had asked countless questions about his day, although he had carefully avoided mentioning the two Green-Class monsters that had nearly killed him and Frey.

There was no reason to worry her unnecessarily. Eventually, after dinner and a little more conversation, he had tucked her into bed and waited until she fell asleep before leaving her room.

Now, having finished his shower, Jet emerged from the bathroom wearing a loose black shirt and comfortable grey trousers. A white towel rested across his shoulders, and he used one end to dry his damp platinum hair as he walked through the spacious living room.

His body still ached from the Dungeon Raid.

Although his injuries weren’t particularly serious, the strain of repeatedly using Asura Arms and Asura Mask had left his muscles feeling unusually heavy. He could still remember the tremendous weight of the Ironbound Castellan’s axe and the violent impacts that had shaken his entire body throughout their battle.

Nevertheless, Jet was satisfied with the day’s results. He had gained valuable combat experience, improved his control over his Divine Rune and discovered another application of his Weapon Master trait.

More importantly, he had returned home safely.

Jet approached the enormous floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Zenith City and stopped before the glass. From this height, the streets below resembled glowing rivers winding between countless buildings, while distant aircraft moved through the night sky.

He admired the view for a moment before reaching for his phone. There was something he had been meaning to do. Something that had weighed on his mind ever since his regression.

Jet unlocked the device and opened his banking application.

Several outstanding loan records appeared on the screen, each displaying the remaining balance, accumulated interest and payment deadline.

His expression became complicated. These debts had been one of the greatest burdens hanging over his head when he returned to the past.

Before the Second Red Moon, he had borrowed enormous amounts of money to finance the ten tattoos covering his body. The procedure performed by Master Kuze had been extraordinarily expensive, and Jet had exhausted practically every legitimate borrowing option available to him.

Unfortunately, the banks hadn’t been enough.

He had eventually turned to several questionable lending platforms, accepting ridiculous interest rates and repayment conditions because he desperately needed the money before the Second Red Moon arrived.

At the time, he hadn’t cared much about the consequences. Everything had depended on awakening his ten Divine Runes. And fortunately, his gamble had succeeded.

Jet looked at the outstanding balances before opening the first repayment page.

He entered the required amount, reviewed the details and confirmed the transaction.

[Payment Successful]

The first loan disappeared from his outstanding balance.

Jet moved to the next.

Then another.

Within minutes, he had cleared several of the smaller debts, including those belonging to the lending applications whose representatives had repeatedly bombarded his phone with repayment reminders.

He couldn’t help shaking his head when he examined the total interest charged by one particularly shameless platform.

"These bastards really know how to rob people legally," Jet muttered, staring at the ridiculous additional charges before confirming the final payment.

Another notification appeared.

[Payment Successful]

Jet exhaled and continued.

The remaining bank loans required larger transfers, but his financial situation was no longer what it had been a month earlier.

His earnings from Beyond, combined with the funds he had already converted into ordinary currency, had given him enough financial freedom to settle these obligations without placing himself in immediate difficulty.

He carefully reviewed each account before submitting the payments. There was no reason to rush and accidentally transfer money to the wrong destination. Eventually, only the housing-related debt remained.

Jet opened the corresponding account and examined the outstanding balance. For several seconds, he simply stared at the screen.

This particular debt had always bothered him more than the others. The apartment wasn’t merely a place to sleep.

It was Inez’s home. It was where she ate breakfast, watched her favorite programs, complained about homework and waited for him to return whenever he went out.

In his previous life, there had been periods when even maintaining a stable home for his sister had been difficult.

Jet had no intention of experiencing that again.

He entered the final amount and confirmed the repayment. A brief processing notification appeared.

Then the screen changed.

[Payment Successful]

[Outstanding Balance: $0.00]

Jet stared at the confirmation. A few seconds passed before he slowly lowered the phone.

"Done," Jet murmured.

A long breath escaped his lips. He hadn’t realized just how much tension he had been carrying until that moment.

His bank debts were settled. The ridiculous loans from those shady lending applications were finally gone. And with the housing debt cleared, the apartment was no longer burdened by an outstanding loan. ℴ

For the first time since his regression, Jet could look around his home without thinking about another approaching repayment deadline.

A faint smile appeared on his face. Of course, there was still one debt remaining.

Frey’s five million dollars.

Jet chuckled quietly at the thought.

Unlike the banks and lending platforms, Frey had never pressured him about repayment. His best friend had handed over the money without hesitation when Jet needed it, trusting him despite how absurd his plans had sounded at the time.

That trust was something Jet hadn’t forgotten.

"Five million left," Jet muttered, looking down at his phone. "I’ll settle that one too."

He wasn’t particularly worried about it. With his current abilities and the opportunities available to him, earning five million dollars was no longer an impossible task.

Besides, Frey would probably laugh in his face if Jet suddenly started apologizing for taking so long to repay him. Jet smiled at the thought before placing the phone against his palm and turning his attention back toward the city.

The night was beautiful. Thousands of illuminated windows stretched into the distance, and the enormous skyline seemed almost peaceful beneath the dark heavens.

For a brief moment, Jet allowed himself to enjoy the silence. His sister was sleeping safely in her room. His debts had finally been cleared.

His first official Dungeon Raid had been successful. And tomorrow, he would continue working toward becoming stronger. Everything appeared to be progressing smoothly.

Just then his phone rang.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

Jet glanced down, expecting the caller to be Frey. However, the name displayed on the screen immediately caught his attention.

[Captain Adesewa]

Jet raised an eyebrow.

Adesewa Afolayan.

The experienced Awakener who had led their expedition into the dangerous region of Beyond where they had fought over the Origin Treasure.

She was a powerful First Generation Awakener, and although they had exchanged contact information after their expedition, they hadn’t spoken much since returning to Earth.

Jet glanced toward the time displayed at the top of his phone.

It was already late.

"Why is Captain Adesewa calling me at this hour?" Jet murmured, his expression becoming curious.

He considered the possibility that something had happened concerning their expedition.

Perhaps there had been a development involving the Origin Treasure, or maybe Adesewa wanted to discuss another opportunity in Beyond.

Whatever the reason, it was unusual for her to contact him so late.

Jet accepted the call.

"Captain Adesewa?" Jet greeted, raising the phone to his ear. "Good evening. Is something wrong?"

There was no immediate response.

Instead, he heard breathing, heavy, ragged breathing.

Jet frowned.

The sound was unmistakable. Someone was struggling to catch their breath. There was also faint interference in the background, accompanied by several indistinct noises that Jet couldn’t identify.

"Captain?" Jet called again, straightening slightly as his expression became serious. "Can you hear me?"

For another moment, there was only that terrible, uneven breathing.

Then a woman’s voice finally came through.

It was Adesewa.

But her usually composed, authoritative tone was gone. Her voice sounded raspy and strained, as though speaking required an enormous amount of effort.

"Run!"

Jet froze.

His eyebrows drew together.

"What?" Jet asked, his grip tightening around the phone. "Captain Adesewa, what are you talking about? What’s going on?"

Beep.

The call disconnected.

Jet slowly lowered the phone and stared at the screen.

[Call Ended]

For several seconds, he remained motionless.

What the hell was that? Adesewa had called him in the middle of the night, sounded as though she could barely breathe and told him to run before the connection abruptly ended.

Run from what?

Jet immediately attempted to call her back.

His thumb had barely moved toward the screen when something changed.

A sensation struck him so suddenly that his entire body went rigid.

Dread.

An overwhelming, suffocating sense of dread.

It came without warning, flooding his consciousness with a certainty so powerful that his thoughts momentarily stopped.

Death.

He could feel it. Something was coming, something terrifyingly dangerous. Jet’s face turned deathly pale.

A freezing chill raced down his spine, and every instinct in his body screamed at him to move.

His heartbeat accelerated violently.

The phone nearly slipped from his fingers. Jet didn’t understand what was happening, but the sensation was far too intense to ignore.

He had experienced danger before. He had fought monsters stronger than himself, survived deadly encounters in Beyond and faced the overwhelming strength of Green-Class Dungeon Monsters.

But this was different. The pressure bearing down on him was unlike anything he had experienced during today’s Raid. It was as though death itself had suddenly appeared at his doorstep.

Jet’s head snapped toward the floor-to-ceiling window.

And then he saw it.

A brilliant red light. It appeared against the darkness outside, rapidly growing larger as it approached the apartment.

At first, it resembled a distant crimson spark.

Then, within a fraction of a second, it expanded into a blinding streak of red radiance. It was heading directly toward his window.

Jet’s pupils contracted. There was no time to think or time to investigate. And absolutely no time to wonder who had launched the attack.

Only one thought flashed through his mind.

Inez!

Jet moved. Mana surged through his body as he spun away from the window and shot toward the hallway leading to his sister’s bedroom.

He didn’t look back. He didn’t attempt to block the approaching light. He simply ran toward Inez with every ounce of speed his body could produce.

His bare feet struck the floor as he accelerated through the living room, his expression twisted with desperation.

The distance to her bedroom suddenly seemed impossibly long. Behind him, the crimson light reached the window.

And the moment Jet disappeared into the hallway....

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

-------

[Author’s Note]

And that’s a wrap! Volume 1: The Red Moon Rises Again has officially ended!

Thank you all for following Jet’s journey so far! But trust me, this is only the beginning. Volume 2: Beneath the Crimson Moon will introduce powerful Guilds, terrifying enemies, deadly conspiracies, and a much bigger world!

And after that cliffhanger... well, Jet’s troubles are just getting started.

Please keep supporting the novel with your Golden Tickets, Power Stones, Gifts, comments, and reviews! Every bit of support means a lot and helps the novel grow!

See you in Volume 2! — DD-Grimmoire