Chapter 275: Special Ops

Matthew would have laughed like crazy if he wasn’t still out of breath. He had been raised by a hidden special operations military unit, and throughout his childhood, he had always been praised as the strongest among the children trained there.

It wasn’t merely that he was considered talented. Matthew had been far ahead of everyone else, and the adults around him had constantly reminded him that he was different from ordinary people.

Yet now, he had encountered someone who could match him.

’Were there other hidden special operations units? He has to be one of them, right? There is no way a normal civilian can do this much.’

Despite nearly dying several times during the battle, Matthew’s eyes were filled with curiosity. He wanted to know more about Alex, including who he was, what his goal was, and how he could remain so calm while adapting to a battle at such an absurd speed.

Matthew finally walked toward him and extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Matthew Jonathan, a Rogue."

...

Alex was breathing heavily, and although the Basilisk had already died, the Origin Energy inside his body was still trying to petrify him. He could stop the petrification from spreading, but he still couldn’t completely force all of the Origin Energy out of his body.

Alex looked at Matthew’s hand for a moment before shaking it. "I’m Alex Mercer, a Mage. Nice to meet you too."

Matthew chuckled before turning toward the other two people who had fought beside him. "That’s Daniel. He’s a Warrior, and that’s Samuel, who’s a Priest."

Alex nodded before introducing his own companions as well. While everyone was getting acquainted, Petra moved closer to Alex and tried to help him remove the remaining Origin Energy, but her expression soon became grim when her Faith failed to enter his body.

Alex’s mana was simply too overwhelming at the moment. The mana he had released throughout his body was still rampaging through his flesh, preventing even Petra’s Faith from entering deeply enough to help him.

"Don’t worry. I have a way to deal with it," Alex said while gently patting Petra’s head.

His Soul Reinforcement Spell had just reached its maximum level and could now be evolved. With a stronger version of the spell, Alex’s Will should increase considerably, and that should be enough to force the remaining Origin Energy out of his body.

Finally, he looked at his notifications. Three of his spells leveled up twice, and soul reinforcement spell finally reached full mastery.

Before he could select an evolution, Matthew suddenly spoke again. "So, how long have you guys been here? We’ve been camping around this area for some time, but we never noticed how you dealt with all the Grim Apes around here."

Alex stopped what he was doing and turned toward Matthew. His expression changed slightly as he realized something didn’t make sense.

"It wasn’t you guys who dealt with the Grim Apes here?" Alex asked.

Matthew’s expression immediately changed as he understood what Alex was implying. He quickly looked toward the surrounding forest before raising his voice.

"Everyone, stay alert. We have company—"

A black blur suddenly shot through the thicket. It had clearly been hiding nearby and only attacked after Matthew and Alex’s group realized it wasn’t them who were responsible for killing the Grim Apes.

Alex was confused by the creature’s behavior because it seemed to understand their conversation. It had remained hidden while they talked, yet the moment they realized they weren’t the ones responsible, it immediately decided to attack as its presence had been compromised.

What surprised Alex even more was its target. The black blur moved through the group at blinding speed, completely ignoring everyone else as it rushed directly toward him. Alex tried to react, but his Superior Body Reinforcement Spell was still unavailable because of the enormous amount of mana rampaging through his body. The creature slammed into him and knocked him onto the ground.

As his back hit the earth, Alex’s first thought wasn’t about his inability to move properly or the danger of the attack, but rather why the System notifications had appeared earlier if there was another enemy nearby. The creature climbed onto his body and sat there, leaving Alex staring up at it in confusion.

He finally got a clear look at the large black cat and immediately recognized its appearance. It resembled the Netherclaw Prowlers he had encountered before, but there was something different about it.

The moment he recognized it, everything suddenly clicked into place.

"Don’t attack! It’s not a monster!" Alex shouted before anyone could launch an attack.

The System had sent the kill notifications because this monster was not an enemy.

His tense body relaxed as he lay back against the ground. The large black cat lowered its head and began licking his face, completely ignoring everyone else around them.

"God damn, Mia, you’re heavy. Move," Alex said with a chuckle as he reached up and scratched her under the chin.

The cat’s tail suddenly smacked Alex directly in the face. He had been prepared to block her paws since Mia always hit him whenever he called her fat or heavy, but it seemed she had realized he would be ready this time and had decided to use her tail instead.

Alex stared at her in surprise, and he had the distinct feeling that Mia was looking down at him with a smug expression. A chuckle escaped his lips because, although she had caught him off guard, her reaction to being called heavy confirmed that this really was Mia.

There was another thing that bothered him, though. Mia seemed to be deliberately hiding the fact that she was a Pioneer, and Alex had already suspected that for some time.

Back on Earth, she had clearly hunted monsters inside the dungeon that had appeared in the Supermart. Later, when monsters began appearing in huge numbers after Earth failed its first assessment, Mia had also secretly helped deal with them without revealing herself to the public.

Alex knew she had been involved because he had seen the little girl Charlotta healing her wounds back on Earth. That alone had been enough to convince him that Mia was far stronger and more intelligent than she appeared.

..

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