Chapter 30: Did That Bastard Just Fly Away?

Stay at Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter.

Caught off guard by the sudden offer, Walfred stared blankly at Bauer. Bauer let out a deep sigh and began to explain in detail.

"...I’ll be straight with you. As you know, our shelter is short on manpower. We’re in a situation where even one hunter with combat experience would make a difference."

Walfred agreed that they were short on manpower.

Even the Newark Galleria Shelter, where he’d been before he Awakened, had a hunter-to-non-Awakened ratio of about 1 to 10.

Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter’s ratio was 1 to 30.

A woefully inadequate number.

"We need hunters with real combat experience. That’s why I’d like to formally offer you a place with us."

Since Walfred was already aware of the shortage of hunters relative to non-Awakened, he could understand why Bauer was making this offer.

But there was one issue that needed addressing.

"You know I’m a frost attribute, right?"

"Doesn’t matter."

"No, I mean the Cold Emission. You experienced it firsthand, didn’t you? When I’m around, the temperature around me drops below freezing."

The moment Walfred finished speaking.

Bauer’s eyes lit up.

"I’ve got a solution for that."

"A solution?"

"Yeah. We just separate the shelter where everyone stays from the space where you’d stay. Or you could set up in a corner of this gate."

A simple, straightforward solution.

Walfred pressed his lips together.

’The offer itself isn’t bad.’

Quite the opposite; it was extremely appealing.

He wouldn’t need to wander around looking for water and food, and he’d have a safe place to sleep.

On top of that, Bauer already knew that Walfred was a frost attribute Awakened, and that his Cold Emission skill caused the surrounding temperature to drop.

The fact that he was making this offer despite all that meant Bauer thought highly of him.

’And...’

Walfred felt the same way.

Unlike Hector, the Bauer he’d seen was a rational and level-headed person.

"And then there’s the girl."

That was when Bauer glanced over at Lauren.

"With a fire attribute Awakened around, the cold should be offset to some extent, so living in the same space as us shouldn’t be a problem either."

"..."

He wasn’t wrong about that either.

But Walfred couldn’t bring himself to decide.

After gazing at Lauren, who was sound asleep, Walfred let out a quiet sigh and spoke.

"I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline."

A firm refusal slipped past his lips.

A faint tremor passed through Bauer’s eyes.

"...Mind if I ask why?"

"Her family is in Silicon Alley."

Walfred pointed at Lauren.

"And I have family of my own to find."

"Is your family in Silicon Alley too?"

"No. Key West."

"What...?"

Bauer looked incredulous.

Key West. With air and sea routes completely cut off, there was currently no way to reach the island.

But Walfred was serious.

He intended to get to Key West, where his niece Jenna was, no matter what it took. Sensing that resolve, Bauer’s expression turned bittersweet.

"I see. That’s a shame."

Bauer silently downed the rest of his beer.

Walfred watched him quietly for a moment, then muttered as if tossing the words out casually.

"But if you’d still have me after I’ve found my family, I’d be open to coming back here."

"...! Really?"

"Yeah."

Walfred nodded.

Shelters willing to welcome a frost attribute Awakened this readily wouldn’t be easy to come by.

In other words, it was a kind of insurance, a way to keep the door open.

No sooner had Walfred finished speaking than Bauer broke into a grin, as if a weight had been lifted.

"Good. Then I’ll keep a spot open for you."

"You mean you’ll take me in?"

"Of course. When you find your family, bring them here. We’ll be waiting."

It was exactly what he wanted to hear most right now.

Walfred nodded in agreement, and the two of them continued chatting about this and that.

Long into the night.

***

Meanwhile, at that same hour.

Fierce winds howled around the Newark Technology Park building where Hector and his hunters were holed up.

Winds blowing through the extreme environment of negative 76 degrees Fahrenheit were nothing short of razor-sharp. The sound of chattering teeth could be heard all around.

"Ugh, ughhh..."

"...It’s so cold."

Mostly the lower-level E-rank hunters shivered violently against the bone-chilling wind, struggling to endure the cold.

Watching this, the D-rank hunters gathered one by one and approached Hector. They spoke in a cautious tone.

"We can’t hold out here any longer."

"The lower floors are completely blocked by Ice Golems, and the wind up here is brutal. We have no water or food left. We’ve reached our limit."

As his subordinates kept piling on the negativity, Hector ground his teeth. Then he glared down at the dozens of golems packing the first floor.

Hector wanted out just as badly, but those insane chunks of ice had set up camp and sealed off the exits.

’Damn it...’

Hector clenched his fists.

Fighting Ice Golems, whose compatibility with water attributes was about as bad as it could get, was physically and mentally exhausting.

Five of them might have been manageable, but more than forty? That was a disaster. And above all, what was really driving him crazy was something else entirely.

’...Chaz.’

And the fire attribute Awakened, Lauren.

Hector was absolutely convinced those two were hiding somewhere inside this building. There were traces showing they’d entered, but none showing they’d left.

Yet even after tearing through the entire building, the two were nowhere to be found.

"Sir, maybe we should head back to the shelter for now..."

That was when a subordinate spoke up again.

He was already seething, and the whining only made his blood boil hotter.

"Quit your damn whining!"

BANG!

Hector’s face twisted as he kicked a metal cabinet with savage force. The cabinet crumpled with a loud crash under the powerful blow.

Sensing his fury, the subordinates shrank back. Hector’s rage-filled eyes gleamed as he shouted.

"If you’ve got time to run your mouths, use it to figure out where Chaz went!"

"W-well..."

"You said there were signs he entered the building but none that he left! So what, did that bastard just fly away?"

No answer came.

The subordinates glanced at one another, nervously gauging Hector’s mood. Then one man cautiously raised his hand and offered an opinion.

"What if he really did use a levitation skill..."

"Don’t make me laugh! Chaz doesn’t have anything like a levitation skill. If he did, you think he’d have left tracks in the first place?"

If he’d been flying from the start, tracking him would have been impossible. So the idea of escaping via a levitation skill didn’t hold up.

Then, just at that moment.

"S-sir!"

Someone came sprinting down the hallway in a frenzy.

It was one of the subordinates assigned to the search.

"I found it!"

"What? Chaz?"

"No, not that... I think I figured out how they escaped!"

"...What?"

Hector’s eyes flashed at those words.

"Show me. Now."

"Yes, sir! This way!"