Chapter 385 - 383

"....."

"...??"

"....?!"

"...!!!"

In the silence of the chamber, Ray’s body slid down from the Spider Queen’s lifeless form as though it were a slide.

Thud!

His body rolled unconsciously for a few seconds before finally coming to a halt.

"Haaa....haaa...."

Ray panted heavily as though he hadn’t breathed in a long while.

That was because he had been holding his breath throughout his relentless barrage of strikes.

His daggers vanished back into his inventory as he lay there, gasping for air.

His chest rose and fell rapidly while blood poured from the countless holes riddling his body.

Ray’s breathing became almost ragged as he continued staring at the ceiling overhead.

But he wasn’t really looking at the ceiling.

His gaze was fixed on the system screens flooding his field of vision.

After taking down Nebula, dozens of messages immediately flooded his mind.

Honestly, he was still in disbelief.

He had defeated an Emperor rank beast?

If it hadn’t been for the system messages before him, he would have still thought that Nebula was pretending to be dead.

But it wasn’t like that.

It was real.

Nebula was truly gone.

Dead.

His cohort was also still in disbelief, which was evident from the way their mouths hung agape.

Even Trisha’s usually composed expression had completely fallen apart.

An Emperor rank beast with enough power and strength to reduce an entire city to ruins was what Ray had just defeated?

Even a Captain would find it quite difficult to defeat one.

Though it wouldn’t be easy, a Captain could eventually bring one down.

Yet here before them, an Aspirant had accomplished that?

Yes. They had all helped throughout the fight.

But if they were being honest, they had barely scratched the beast.

Ray was the one who had done the heavy lifting.

Yes. He had lost an arm and was riddled with countless injuries, but he still shouldn’t have been able to defeat an Emperor rank beast.

It was in the realm of impossibility.

Yes. He hadn’t overpowered the beast, but even so, this should have been impossible.

If the world heard that a fifteen-year-old kid had defeated an Emperor rank beast, it would send the entire world into an uproar.

An encounter with a beast of such a rank was usually enough to send someone to an early grave.

They hadn’t even expected to survive, let alone defeat the beast.

And to be honest, even Ray, who had declared that he wanted to bring down the beast, wasn’t certain he could actually do it.

Throughout the battle, if he claimed that he wasn’t scared, he would only be lying to himself.

Every second... every narrowly avoided strike from Nebula sent shivers running down his spine because he knew that a single mistake—one direct hit—would have been enough to finish him off.

The only reason he had managed to survive and ultimately take down the Spider Queen was because of his bloodlines, his system, his skills, his teammates, his own strength, and one more thing....

.... His daggers!

That was right.

Ray hadn’t been targeting the eyes simply because they were a soft spot, nor had he been striking over and over out of desperation.

It had all been calculated.

The two daggers each possessed different active skills.

One carried the ability to poison its target, while the other drained the target’s life force and energy.

That was why he kept switching and switching; alternating between poisoning the beast and draining it.

Being a pair of King rank weapons, they had produced an incredible result, though the victory had cost him dearly.

If he had been facing a King rank beast instead, he had no doubt that he would have won because of the daggers.

But against Nebula, he wasn’t really sure, and that was because of her entire body, which was covered with durable chitin-like armour.

Hence the reason why he took the backseat a few times to observe where he could lodge the daggers.

Unfortunately, he found nowhere safe or soft except for the eyes.

And to get to the eyes, one had to get past the legs and mandibles too.

It was difficult.

His body was battered, and he had even lost an arm, but it was all worth it.

His cohort was surprised, he was surprised, and even the system sounded like its mind had been blown.

[Fucking Hell! Host actually defeated an Emperor rank beast?]

[It’s clear that System has underestimated....]

’Yeah. Yeah. Show me my rewards already...’

[Rewards: ×3 Level Up; +100,000 EXP; +20,000 EXP for first time defeating an Emperor rank beast.]

[Warning; Host has reached the maximum level required for an evolution.]

’Wait... it’s time? I actually managed to get there? Fuck....’

Before he could even glance at it properly, movement at the edge of his vision caught his attention as he saw his cohort rushing towards him.

"Ra-Ray... are you okay?" Chloe asked, her voice filled with worry.

She was about to reach out when Felix held her back.

"... Of course I’m not okay. I have holes in my body," Ray barked back through ragged breaths.

Calming himself, he inwardly activated [Celestial Healing].

His evolution was sure to begin at any moment, and he wasn’t about to go through it while injured like this.

"Come on now, let’s go. Heal up, and we go through the gate n—"

"—No," Ray cut Kai off immediately.

He could feel his blood surging with every passing second.

The evolution was going to start soon.

"No? What do you mean?"

Ray huffed and grunted.

"You all should go. Leave me and go now. I will join you all later."

"Are you mad?!" Trisha shouted.

"That’s usually my catchphrase to you, Ice Queen." Ray managed a chuckle.

"... Buffoon. How do you think we would leave you like this? If you are a moron, do you think we are too?!" Trisha angrily yelled.

For the first time in a while, she was showing an emotion that wasn’t coldness.

Ray lifted a brow before coughing.

"What? You suddenly care about me? Why? Are we—"

"—For fuck’s sake! You all should stop treating me like I don’t have emotions. I might be stoic at times, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have emotions. And yes! I care because you are my friend."

"...."

The chamber fell silent as all heads turned towards Trisha, who was kneeling in front of the boy.

"Fr-friend?" Kai stuttered. He too was taken aback by her confession.

"But you said—"

"—Yes. I said that you all aren’t my friends, but-bu-but," Trisha squeezed her hands tightly and snapped her eyes shut.

"... I just didn’t want to show weakness, that’s why. You all are my friends. I care for each and every one of you equally."

She turned to look at Chloe, whose eyes were beginning to well up.

"Including you. I have always considered you a friend ever since the whole Gate Aberrant incident. You never made me feel lonely and also didn’t—"

"Uh.... I don’t have much time left for this damn drama! You all should leave now! We have ten minutes before this gate closes. Fucking GOOO now!" Ray screamed—his hands digging into his palms.

He was trying his best not to scream in pain—veins were beginning to bulge around his neck with every passing second.

Felix swiftly scanned the boy and saw the veins protruding all over his body. That was when it clicked in his head.

"An Ev—?!"

"GOOOO!"

[Evolution beginning in 3....]

[....2....]

[....1....]

Felix hurriedly grabbed Chloe and pulled her up.

"We need to leave."

"But—"

"—Don’t worry. I won’t die here. And neither do I have plans of staying trapped here. I will be out. I-I just need space, so please, trust me and leave now!" Ray shouted.

Kai closed his eyes for a brief moment before groaning in frustration.

Without saying another word, he spun on his heels and bolted towards the gate.

Trisha stared at Ray for several long seconds before finally turning away as well.

Dragging Chloe with him, Felix rushed towards the gate.

[ ...0....]

[Evolution has begun; Good luck Host.]

___

{A/N: If you haven’t joined my server yet,I implore you all to do so.