Chapter 266: Promotion

As Kael flew closer to the surface, his Spirit Eyes caught movement below.

[Multiple signatures detected. Rank 5 to Rank 8 Mana heart sea beasts approaching. Hostile intent confirmed.]

The dwarf’s warning about "other dangerous inhabitants" proved true.

Below him, the ocean boiled with approaching predators. Jaws snapped at the Leviathan’s trailing body.

SNAP-SNAP!

SPLASH-SPLASH!

GRRRR-GRRRR!

A massive shape circled below—another Rank 8. Then a Rank 7. Then dozens of Rank 5s and 6s, all converging on the blood trail.

Kael sighed.

Hhhh.

He cracked his neck.

Crack-crack.

He gripped his Shadow Slayer blades.

"I guess it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet today."

The first wave hit. Six Rank 5 Ripsharks launched from below simultaneously.

Kael encased the Leviathan’s body in a cube of compressed darkness solidified into a container. The cube sealed shut, impenetrable.

THUMP.

The Ripsharks slammed into the cube and bounced off.

Then the larger beasts arrived. A Rank 7 serpentine creature with grey scales. A Rank 8 lumbering whale-shark hybrid with rough. They came from different directions.

ROOOAR! SHRIIIEEK!

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

Meanwhile, the surface.

The old man crouched behind his rock, knees pressed to his chest. His breathing was shallow.

Ssssh... sssh...

Ten minutes. It had been ten minutes since the young man had dove into the ocean.

Some villagers had wandered down to the shore, drawn by curiosity and fear. They stood in a cluster twenty meters back, peering at the churning, blood-red ocean surface.

"What’s happening out there?" a woman whispered.

"Is he dead?" a young fisherman asked.

The old man didn’t answer. He stared at the water—red with blood from the Ripsharks Kael had slaughtered earlier.

He’s dead, the old man thought. No one survives that. Not down there. Not with those things.

He glanced to his right. On the shore, two creatures feasted.

The shadow wolf was tearing chunks of flesh from the Mantis Crusher’s carcass. RIP-CHOMP-RIP.

The shadow serpent coiled around the Crusher’s remaining pincer, constricting until the shell cracked—CRACK—then swallowing the meat whole. GULP.

The old man had watched the entire fight. The serpent had lured the Mantis Crusher to the surface, dragging it onto land where the wolf waited. Together, they’d torn the Rank 7 beast apart in under three minutes.

The wolf paused its feeding. Turned its head and looked directly at the old man.

GRRR...

The old man froze.

The serpent lifted its head, tongue flickering—flick-flick.

Then both summons returned to their meal. They didn’t care about him. To them, he wasn’t relevant.

Who... who is that boy? the old man thought, his hands trembling. To summon creatures like those...

SPLAAASH!

The ocean erupted thirty meters from shore.

Kael burst from the water, holding the Trenchtooth Leviathan’s massive body aloft in one clawed hand. Water cascaded from his frame—splash-splash-splash—and sunlight caught the Leviathan’s glowing blue scales.

The villagers screamed.

AAAAHHH!

WHAT IS THAT?!

Children were scooped up. People ran.

Kael landed on the shore with a heavy thud.

THUD.

The Leviathan’s body slammed onto the rocks behind him. The ground cracked beneath its weight.

CRAAAACK...

He looked rough. Scratches lined his forearms—shallow cuts from scavenger teeth that had managed to grace him underwater. Teeth marks dotted his shoulders. But his body was already healing. The scratches closed, new skin forming over them in real time.

Sss... sss...

He coughed.

Cough. Cough.

Blood spattered from his lips onto the rocks. Splatter. His mana veins throbbed.

Hhhh...

He deactivated the Void Core.

The darkness in his chest dissipated. His aura collapsed from Mana Heart Rank 7 back to Rank 3.

It seems the limit is just 10 minutes, he thought. Any more, and my mana veins might start conflicting.

The Void Core was powerful. The compressed darkness elevated his cultivation artificially, but maintaining it put enormous strain on his mana veins.

The shadow wolf and serpent lifted their heads from the Mantis Crusher’s remains. Kael extended his hands.

"Come."

The wolf trotted over—pad-pad-pad—and pressed its massive head against Kael’s palm. Kael patted its head. "Good boy."

The serpent slithered forward, coiling loosely around his arm. Kael ran his hand along its shadowy scales. "You too. Well done."

Both summons dissolved back into his shadow.

Fssss...

Kael stretched.

Crack-crack.

"I guess the ocean is dangerous on every planet," he said to no one in particular.

He turned to the Leviathan’s body and got to work.

His Shadow Slayer blade cut through the junction points with surgical precision. He then harvests the Trenchtooth Leviathan’s Mana Core, spine segments, and jawbone.

All of it went into his System Storage.

Whirr.

Then he turned to the other carcasses. The Ripsharks that had attacked him earlier floated near the shore. He used Gravity Pull to drag them in.

Schloop... schloop...

Their cores were small—Rank 5 beast cores—but they had value. He harvested each one quickly, the Shadow Slayer blades making clean work.

When he finished, he had fourteen beast cores and several partial carcasses. He walked over to the old man, who was still pressed against the rock.

Kael extended his hand. The cores sat in his palm.

"Take these," Kael said.

The old man stared. "W-what?"

"The cores. The remaining body parts too. Take care of them."

The old man’s hands shook as he accepted the cores. He counted them. Fourteen Rank 5 cores. Each one worth thousands of credits on the market.

"These... these are enough to hire hunters for the village for over a decade," the old man whispered. His voice cracked. "I... I don’t..."

"Thank you, young master! Thank you!" He dropped to his knees. Thud. "Forgive me—for shouting at you earlier—"

Kael did not need them as they were only worth 10,000-15,000 credits. But he had millions of credits.

Kael stripped off his wet, salt-stained clothing and let it drop to the rocks. Plop.

From his System Storage, he pulled a fresh set of black clothing. He dressed quickly.

He boarded his skimmer without looking back. The engine hummed to life.

Vrrrrrm...

And he was gone.

The main island came into view within two hours. Kael landed at the port and walked directly to the Guardian branch base.

Hiss. The door slid open.

He walked to the reception desk. The dwarf looked up from his crystal terminal.

"Back already?" the dwarf said, eyebrow raised. "Don’t tell me you chickened out."

Kael grinned.

He reached into his System Storage and pulled out the Leviathan’s jawbone.

SLAM!

He dropped it on the counter.

The countertop cracked under the weight.

CRAAAACK!

The dwarf flinched. His eyes went wide. He leaned forward, staring at the jawbone, then at the core and spine segments Kael placed beside it.

"That’s... that’s a Trenchtooth Leviathan jawbone," the dwarf breathed. "You... you actually..."

He scanned the materials with a runic device. Bzzt-bzzt-bzzt. Confirmation pulses returned immediately.

The dwarf looked up at Kael. His expression was pure disbelief.

"Are you... are you really a Mana Heart Rank 3 guardian?"

Kael tilted his head. "I’m pretty sure the Guardian badge can clearly check that."

The dwarf pulled Kael’s badge from the counter and examined it.

This boy killed a Rank 8 Mana Heart beast at Rank 3, the dwarf thought. His fingers trembled slightly as he set the badge down.

I guess he’s a prodigy of one of the big families, the dwarf reasoned internally. His talent and combat prowess... might be equal to that of the Death Knights.

He tapped Kael’s badge with his runic tool.

Bzzzt...

Ding!

The badge glowed. The silver two-star insignia dissolved, replaced by a bright gold three-star emblem. The light faded, leaving the new ranking permanent.

"Three-star Guardian," the dwarf announced. "Congratulations. Access to Guardian main bases and three-star resources is now authorized."

Kael pocketed the badge.

"Pleasure doing business."

He left the base and pulled out his communication token.

"Brody. Yuki."

Brody’s voice came through first. "Sir?"

"Prepare for departure. We’re heading to Aurethys."

"Understood."

Kael walked back to the landing pad.

Kael boarded.

"How long to Planet Aurethys?" Kael asked, settling into his seat.

Brody entered the cockpit and plotted the coordinates. He studied the navigation display for a moment.

"We will arrive in a day and five hours if there is no issue on the way," Brody replied.

"Good."

RUMBLE...

The engines roared to life. The ship lifted from Planet Khalil’s surface, climbed through the atmosphere, and broke into the starfield beyond.

Kael leaned back and closed his eyes.