Chapter 23: Can Three Puppies Hunt A Lion? I Don't Think So~.
" Are they not done yet?"
Outside of the upper floor's training room, Erza could be found pressing her left ear against a certain door.
Hoping to hear something from the ongoing examination.
'I'm simply curious about who this super rookie might be for mother to be interested in him. Is not like I'm trying to peek or anything.'
She said to herself as she kept changing positions against the door as if trying to find the perfect spot.
' Are they perhaps-'
*Bang!*
As if to answer her inner monologue, the training room's entrance was slammed towards her, prompting her to take a face-first bonk in the forehead.
" Ouch! That hurt quite a bit."
Any other person would've been sent flying from the sheer force of the metallic door opening, yet the young lady was simply tossed a few centimeters away, landing on her buttocks.
As she rubbed the damaged side of her head, she looked up to the one responsible for it.
" Erza?"
" Good afternoon, mother." The daughter replied with an awkward smile on her face.
"*Sigh* Were you peeping again? We have gone through this before, sweetheart."
Irene shook her head helplessly with an exasperated sigh.
Erza was quite interested in strong people, so whenever she caught news of a hunter undergoing a possible Rank promotion on the upper floors she would get curious.
Though Irene rarely carried out any examination herself, those who did would always report having found Erza peeping outside of the training room where said examinations took place.
" It was done in the best of interests, dear mother! As an S Rank myself, I have a responsibility to look after my juniors!"
"Right…"
Irene could only deadpan at her daughter's righteous logic.
On the other hand, Adam, still in the process of coming out of the room, took a step back as soon as he heard Erza's voice.
' Eh, is that crush number 2?'
Erza has been best friends with Rumi since he can remember. She would come over to play with her when she was younger, but once they entered high school, the two distanced themselves from each other.
As their hunter careers drew closer and closer they couldn't find the time to meet as often as they used to.
They still contacted each other often, but it was undeniable that their relationship was not the same as back then.
That was especially so for Erza, who was currently affiliated with a hunter guild named "Fairy Tail", where she was one of the only S-Ranked members.
' Maybe that's one of the reasons why they're so apart from each other lately. Rumi must want to catch up to her, to see her eye to eye, like they used to in the past.'
Because of this relationship, and the constant interactions they had alongside Adam, he couldn't help but grow a crush on Erza too.
Though it was very subtle in comparison to the obvious feelings he had for Rumi.
As he thought about this, the conversation he had with Rumi in the car came back to him.
'Oh boy. She might've just awaken something in me.'
He was starting to consider the harem idea seriously.
' I've developed a strong liking for Irene lately, though. Both mother and daughter at the same time are just crazy.
Wait, isn't that what you would call Oyakod-'
" Nice to meet you, Mr. Red!"
As he was spaced out from reality, he resumed his walk and before he knew it he was out of the training room.
This resulted in his line of thoughts making a full stop, as he was interrupted by a bowing Erza.
" Sup."
He said, amused by the fact that she did not seem to have recognized him.
It couldn't have been blamed on her though, they hadn't seen each other in years, and Adam was like a different person.
While he was considered the "cutest" by those around him as a child, the present him was anything but cute.
A bit taken aback by the response she received, Erza raised her head to make eye contact with "Red".
As she did this, she squinted her eyes, trying to make a connection between Adam's face and a certain boy she used to fancy when she was younger.
" I apologize for my imprudence but, have we met before?"
' She's the same goodie two shoes that I remember~.'
Erza had the habit of being overly formal with everyone, yet expecting others to be informal with her.
Except for those she was close to, where she would allow some informality and familiarity to be present in her speech.
" I don't know, have we ?"
Adam said as he took a step forward, which closed the distance between the two.
Adam completely towered Erza in height, not as much as he did with Rumi, but the difference was still significant.
"E-eh?"
Having her personal space invaded alerted her, but she had no time to react.
'When did he shorten our distance? Is he a speed type?'
Irene at the side stared at Adam as if he was growing a second head.
' Is this brat flirting with my daughter after what happened in that room?! I can't tell whether he is too confident or just tired of living…'
Feeling the pressure coming from his side Adam broke in a cold sweat.
" *Sigh* You two are no fun."
As he said this, he opened his arms widely and encased the confused Erza in a bear hug.
"It's me, Adam, you airhead. You have grown so much since I last saw you."
At first, she was ready to push him away, but as soon as she heard his name this action came to a halt.
" A-adam?! What are you doing here?"
" I thought it was time to upgrade my Rank. What other reason could there be?"
A new wave of confusion washed over Erza's brain, and when she recalled where she was and who she came to see, she almost had a breakdown.
" You awakened!? But you were a normal unawakened 7 years ago !"
" Surprise~!"
Her shock was understandable. The age range of 8 to 14 was the official period for a person to awaken.
Some awakened way earlier but never had there been a case of a 21-year-old awakening out of a sudden.
" But how is that possible?"
" I'm special, just deal with it."
With that being said, Adam broke the hug before sending a wink to Irene's direction, who was staring at him with a murderous gaze.
" I'll get going since my job here is done. I'll catch you later, Erza. Oh, and see you around master~."
*Puff*
The next second, Adam was nowhere to be found.
" Did he just…"
" Yeah."
From reading his file she knew that Red was a pyromancer, so seeing him teleport without the use of any magic whatsoever came as a big surprise.
' So he possesses two supernatural powers? That's very admirable. Most people only have one.'
Scratching the side of her head in contemplation, Erza asked away the most eminent inquiry in her head.
Although this news was surprising, to say the least, she was still curious regarding "RED's new rank".
" Mother, what rank did he get?"
Since he was an F Rank before, she was expecting a promotion to D-Rank at most. Anything beyond that would be too much for a one-week experienced newbie.
Even Rumi, who has been a hunter for a few years was barely about to reach C-Rank, or B-Rank if her next promotion exam was satisfactory.
Though Rumi's case was special since Kenji was purposely delaying her promotions. The overprotective parent wanted his daughter to get as much experience as possible, or so he says.
Hearing Erza's question, Irene felt an incoming headache approaching.
" Don't freak out."
Erza opened her eyes widely at her mother's comment.
' C- Rank perhaps? That's some crazy promotion, Adam! I wouldn't expect any less from my childhood friend!'
( A/N: Eh… she just did, like 5 paragraphs ago…)
In her mind, the only plausible reason for her mother's intervention should be linked to the fact that Adam was not only her daughter's childhood friend but also the son of her ex-colleagues.
Though she was sure that Adam was oblivious to this fact until recently, he should've heard about it from Irene herself when he got his license.
'Maybe at that point, he was not satisfied with his rank, and mother proposed to let him get a few days of experience before reevaluating his rank a week after herself.'
Otherwise, why would an F-Rank be tested by her in a training room meant for A-Rank hunters and above?
With this in mind, she felt a bit embarrassed about what she said earlier. There was no way for there to be a new A-ranked or above hunter.
Not with a week-long history.
(A/N: Around 8 days actually 🤓☝🏻.)
' I was too quick to judge.'
Still, C-Rank was outstanding for a rookie.
" Go ahead," Erza said without hesitation.
With a sigh, Irene started walking away. Once she passed beside Erza, she muttered something under her breath, loud enough for her daughter to hear.
" S…"
Silence prevailed as Irene walked away and eventually reached her office.
Meanwhile, Erza remained in place, frozen from shock.
' S ?!'
.....
(Adam's bedroom.)
" Ragnar, Anansi, Stheno, arise."
Following their lord's command, the kneeling figures of three beings surfaced from within Adam's expanding shadow.
While Ragnar and Anasi looked the same as they used to a few hours ago after their latest evolution, the new commander of his army was completely different from her previous self.
With her dark violet hair fixed in a way that resembled an Egyptian queen's, Stheno's slit dark eyes stared at Adam with devotion.
The humanoid form she now had adopted was exquisite to the eye.
Her caramel skin tone was layered by an almost imperceptible scaly pattern, highlighting her serpentine origin.
Though not as voluptuous as her new colleague, Anansi, she still had her fair share of womanly assets that would turn any normal man into a horny monkey.
But, what she lacked in the bounciness department, she had in muscles.
A testament to this fact was easily reflected in her exposed abdomen, where a lean but defined six-pack could be seen.
Unlike what many might think, these muscles complemented her very well. No muscle in her body was too bulgy, but they perfectly fit her body type.
'She's hot.'
Adam couldn't help but think as he looked at her tights.
Yes, tights.
Unlike Anansi when she first turned into a shadow or before evolving, Stheno did not have a monster's lower body, but a beautiful pair of defined legs.
'Perhaps the higher their rank, the more they resemble their master's appearance? However, there are some of my shadows for which this is not the case. *Sigh* Yet another question I don't have the answer for…'
Another thing that bugged him was that although his commanders had a shadow coating around them, their skin itself wasn't pitch black. Unlike his lowered-level soldiers.
A feature that highlighted the fact that his authority was not as similar to the Shadow Monarch's as he first thought.
He wasn't complaining though. This characteristic made them look less creepy.
" How can we serve you, my lord."
Ragnar, as always, asked for Adam's orders as soon as he was summoned, eager to serve.
" I need the three of you to go dungeon dive for me."
Hearing this, the three commanders looked at each other, confused.
"Master, do you want the three of us to enter a dungeon with the army, at the same time?"
Though it had been done before, it was always Ragnar who would take care of raiding the dungeons.
He was more than enough to command the shadow legion in his lord's absence, or so he said.
Anansi had never done so.
And Stheno was new to the army.
This was partly because they did not want to leave Adam alone. If the time came when a foe he couldn't defeat appeared, having even a fraction of his army with him could decide whether he lived or died.
" No. Each of you will raid a dungeon. Ragnar, you will take 300 shadow soldiers, same for Anansi. As for you, Stheno, 100 shadows should be more than enough, you are an S-Rank after all."
Once her transition to a shadow ended, her irregular rank settled on S.
At first this worried Adam.
When checking his Authority's description, the energy requirements for S-Ranks were not shown. He believed that this meant he could not make a shadow out of the corpse of an S-ranked creature, but that wasn't the case.
He could make a shadow out of any monster he killed, regardless of rank. But due to his finite energy reserves, these high-ranked shadows would not be summoned until he gained a higher level and consequently, more EP.
But now?
His EP was infinite.
' What even is EP?'
He knew it stood for Energy Points, but what was 'energy' referring to?
Mana?
' If I remember correctly that's what mages use…'
As for the supernatural power type hunters, they were said to use some sort of "inner energy". A type of energy that was highly connected to one's stamina.
And he doubted that's what his energy was.
After talking to Irene, when the examination ended, he came to realize that although she could feel his presence when he wasn't using his concealment, she could never feel any sort of energy fluctuations from him.
No, she could feel something, but she did not know how to describe it.
"I can tell is there, probably because of my affinity with mana, a primordial energy. But, I can't put my finger on what it is, or its quantity." Or so she said.
Inner energy can't be easily felt, unlike mana, which can be materialized externally through a mage's intent.
But Irene was an SSS-Ranked hunter. An existence that could measure others based on their energy reserves regardless of what they were.
If even someone like her couldn't tell what Adam's energy was, then most likely no one would.
'Father probably noticed that he couldn't feel my energy reserves either. I wonder why he didn't bring it up.'
" But master, that means the whole army would be away from you. Isn't that a bit reckless?"
Before Adam could counter-argument, Ragnar turned to Stheno with a fiery expression.
" How dare you call our lord reckless, snake woman!!! Our Lord's orders are ultimate !! Ya hear me!?"
Adam could only shake his head. Ragnar was way too devoted to him.
" It's fine, big guy. She's just worried."
" If my lord says that much, your servant shall let it slide."
And just like that, Ragnar's demeanor did a 180-degree turn.
'Dude…'
*Cough*
" Anyways, to answer your question, Stheno, yes it is a bit reckless. At least that would be the case if I was powerless which I'm not. Also, if my suspicions are right, whoever is targeting me is only going to be doing so inside the dungeons. For now."
Hearing this both Ragnar and Stheno nodded in understanding.
On the other hand, Anansi licked her lips erotically.
" You got stronger again. Am I right to assume so, Master~?"
Due to the connection they all had, they could tell when Adam got stronger.
A.K.A when he leveled up.
They were affected by it too, so it was second nature to them.
But, this time, Adam was stronger in a different sense of the word. He hasn't leveled up at all since their last raid.
Anansi could feel it though. Her master was more confident now. Which could only mean one thing.
He gained new powers.
" Yes my dear, you are right."
And that sentence made Anansi extremely horny. To the point, she was struggling to stay in her kneeling position.
" *Tsk* Bitch…"
Stheno at her side wished to give her a spank more than anything right now. But decided against it since their master was before them.
" So, back to the topic."
Adam started removing his clothes as he spoke.
Ever since he came back from the raid, he was still wearing the spare outfit he had in his inventory for emergencies, where his mask could be found.
Thankfully, it did not suffer much damage from his fight with Stheno. And since Irene transcribed a "repair" function on it, it was as good as new after a few hours.
" I do not feel comfortable with you three going into an S-Rank dungeon without me. I'm sure that even if you come together it might be tough. There is a high possibility of encountering an SS-Rank boss. So, Ragnar and Anasi will go to a B-Rank dungeon each. Stheno will be assigned to raid an A-ranked dungeon instead. Am I clear ?"
The three nodded.
Well, Ragnar nodded.
The two female commanders were shamefully staring at Adam's bare chest.
Anansi was even drooling a bit.
" I will take you there myself, of course. Since I can teleport to the dungeons I've been in before, I can just go pick y'all up when you guys are finished."
The exp would be minimal, but it was needed.
If he could passively gain experience when he was outside in the real world, that would save him a lot of time.
Now dressed and ready, he ordered his commanders to get back into his shadow. Then, after checking for two B and one A rank dungeons in his hunter app, and renting the three for five hours, he wore his mask and disappeared from his room.
….
Instead of teleporting back after taking his three commanders to their respective dungeons, Adam took his time to walk back to the penthouse. Enjoying the sight of Star City.
Compared to the earth he slightly remembers from his last three lives, this place was surprisingly similar.
If you exclude the dungeons, the monsters, the magical engineering industry powering the majority of facilities, and some more, it is pretty much the same.
' Yeah, not alike at all…'
As he passed by a tall building, probably a mid-sized guild, Adam became alert.
'Someone is following me.'
Tailing behind him, Adam could feel three presences.
By estimating their inner energy and mana quantity, he believes they were around B-Rank.
Amused, he took a turn as he reached an alley at the end of the street. After walking for a few more minutes he was eventually met with a concrete wall. A dead end.
" Damn, for a smart guy, you seem to like making dumb decisions."
Hearing the unfamiliar voice of one of his stalkers, Adam turned to face them.
Ironically, they just made a really bad decision themselves.
Now as they were closer, he could confirm his earlier assumption.
They were all B-Rank.
[ Target's name: Dexter Connell
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Rank: B- Rank
State: Hostile, Jealous.]
[ Target's name: Marylin Lee
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Rank: B-Rank
State: Hostile, Curious.]
[ Target's name: Max Roger
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Race: Human (Tiger- Hybrid type.)
Rank: B-Rank
State: Hostile, Upset, Competitive.]
And after examining their untrained bodies closely he was sure that Rumi alone would wipe the floor with the three easily.
Now, you may ask. Why would a bunch of mid-ranked hunters approach a newly appointed S-ranked monster like Adam?
Well, first, he highly doubted that anyone knew he had that rank apart from Erza and Irene.
They most than likely believed he was an F-ranked newbie.
This brings the second reason why they were foolish.
They were unable to estimate their opponent's level and just assumed he was lower ranked than them.
When you can't tell another awakened's energy quantity properly that means they were either inferior to you or leagues above you, since the latter could hide with enough practice.
Since it was easier to encounter the former case, these idiots had no clue they were messing with the wrong guy.
" Nah, I'm not that smart. Handsome? Yeah, that adjective describes me better. I apologize though, you look like shit and sound like a dumbass, so I don't know what to call you…"
Dexter, the skinny blonde guy in the center of the group, wore a frown as soon as Adam finished his sentence. His friends on the other hand covered their mouths, trying to suppress a giggle.
" That's rich coming from an F-Rank trash. After I'm done with you people will think twice before calling you handsome."
With both hands in his pockets, Adam smiled playfully at his response.
"Eh~ Why are you so sure about my rank?"
Dexter didn't bother replying, instead, he started shortening his distance from Adam as he walked lazily toward him.
The other two stood behind him, covering the other side of the alley in case Adam managed to escape. This line of thinking was reinforced when the female mage chanted a spell under her breath, casting a transparent sphere around them.
' Is that to prevent sound from coming out, or is it an attempt to prevent me from teleporting out of here? Interesting.'
It seems like they also knew about his power.
Whoever sent them, leaked his profile.
And that was "Adam's" profile, not RED's. That, he was sure about. Or at least he hoped so.
When he was a few meters away from him, Dexter extended his right hand, where a spiraling ball of what seemed to be wind was formed.
" No hard feelings, I'm just doing my job."
With that being said, the ball of wind energy was sent flying toward Adam, whose hands remained in his pockets.
"Non-taken ~."
*BOOOOM!!!*
....
Hey, it's been a while. I am, like always, busy. This chapter was made in a hurry since I didn't want to leave the FF without any update before the month finished. For this reason, there might be more errors than usual, so feel free to point them out.
Next chap may come next week, but I won't promise anything.
Anyways, I hope you're having a great day !
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