As Roy and Master Abraham’s clone traveled on foot, the latter narrated the situation further back to Roy.

Apparently, the Gate Boss of the Rank III Gate was a Corrupted Undead that was practically a gigantic flower pumping out pollen that turned any being, not excluding other abyss creatures, into an undead. The pollen was the greyish snow Roy almost caught in his hand. In addition, it had abyss creatures of lesser rank than it, helping it kill and infect other creatures in a way that was faster than the toxic pollen.

Master Abraham said he had a brush with those lesser undead once before, and they were the infamous ’Zombees.’

Roy shuddered when they were mentioned. If there was any insect he hated most, it was bees. And now they had come out from a Rank III Gate? He couldn’t wait to be back in the city andin the safe confines of his home.

Master Abraham’s clone explained that the Zombees were larger-sized bee-looking creatures with black and rotting bodies, and an endless hunger to suck on the brain juices of living creatures.

Apparently, they were now supercharged due to the toxic pollen of this corrupted flower, with the danger level equivalent to B-Class.

Roy used the idle time walking to test out the capabilities of the Weeping Ghost. It was night, but being under the moon gave him enough visibility.

Following his tests, he discovered three key things.

Firstly, Roy was the only one who could see The Weeping Ghost. Master Abraham could sense her presence, but he could not outright see her.

Secondly, she could stretch her hair and use it to affect things in the material world. Roy ordered her to make the tip of her hair sharp and stab an object. Her hair had easily cut into the metal of an abandoned vehicle from the ancient modern age.

And lastly, whenever she stretched her hair or exerted herself, it cost him more energy to maintain the summon.

Roy tried to make her attack Master Abraham, but through some diabolical means Roy had no knowledge of, he was able to figure out her movements and evade her attacks. The clone even mentioned that he could hurt her if he wanted.

Roy was eager to find out how, but of course, the damn clone didn’t want to tell.

Next up, he tested his new active skill, Cupid’s Kiss, on the binary clone.

Roy winked and blew him a kiss. A small pink heart formed from his lips and moved like a bubble.

Of course, Master Abraham’s clone was fast enough to dodge or destroy it, but he let it touch him.

And suddenly, he became more protective of Roy, repeatedly asking if the beating he gave Roy earlier still hurt.

Roy found the entire exchange amusing, but it only lasted four minutes, not at all up to the ten minutes mentioned in the skill description.

Master Abraham’s clone mentioned that it was because his mind-soul stat, Focus, was quite high.

Roy attempted again but used his 2x Multiplier to double the effect. And this made it last up to nine minutes.

Roy surmised that it was a good skill, but would be most effective when used on either weak or strange beasts and monsters.

After that, they hid from some migrating abyss creatures by using the suit’s camouflage and the clone’s Circle of Order to hide their scent.

By the time the abyss creatures had passed by, Roy was already asleep with his head resting slightly on Master Abraham’s clone’s shoulder.

However, there was no time for resting. He woke Roy up for them to keep moving.

They had walked for about three hours.

Roy checked his holoRadar.

Their destination was an underground military bunker that was built in the ancient modern era when gates began appearing to protect military assets in case of a state-wide emergency.

The ancient modern era was merely a slang term to refer to the period before the establishment of the E.A, the three world governments, and the twenty-seven zones across the globe.

The duo kept moving until the sun came up.

"Please... Mr. Clone... I’m dead..." Roy’s lips were parched, and his eyes drooped with tiredness. He rested on a wall and let his body slide down limply.

He had only managed to last this long due to his enhanced physique, which gave him higher stamina. But all that was gone now.

He had also spent his energy on his ’tests’ and was still trying to recover from that too.

"I need... to rest..." Roy murmured.

Master Abraham’s clone halted and turned slightly, considering Roy. He glanced up at the rising sun and the obstacle-filled path ahead.

The clone glanced up, and his gaze turned serious.

"Roy, we’re surrounded. Wake up."

Only the word ’surrounded’ registered in Roy’s mind, but he chuckled sleepily.

"Heh. Nice try..." Roy mumbled something else in addition as his eyes drifted off.

Master Abraham’s clone stuck his hand into an opening of the black box strapped across his back, while his gaze was overhead, scanning the top of the buildings surrounding them.

Thud! Thud!

Revealing themselves on the buildings were large orange hawks, twice the size of a bald eagle, with full-length, hairless, clawed arms similar to an adult human’s but ivory-coloured and thick-skinned. Aside from the arms that stretched out from their upper torso, their feathered orange-red wings still hung out of their backs.

Their eyes were a crimson red, and their beaks were jet-black.

About ten such creatures stood atop the buildings surrounding them. Roy and the clone had unbeknownst walked into their feeding ground.

The abyss birds tilted their head in curiosity, and one with the most colourful head let out an ear-wrenching scream.

"What the!"

Roy jolted awake at the scream akin to a woman in distress and felt a chill crawl up his spine.

He immediately sprang up to his feet, took hold of the hi-tech pistol Master Abraham lent him.

Behind the clone, the black box fell off his back in various pieces, revealing a larger, more rugged-looking chainsword with more width compared to what Roy was used to seeing the C-Class Executioner handle. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Get close!" The clone ordered Roy, and he jogged over.

Thud! Thud!

The birds stood on the edge of the building roofs... and descended in a frenzy.

Roy gritted his teeth and unsheathed his dagger, holding the gun in the other, as he anticipated their impact.

However, as they converged on the duo, Roy felt a mild heat and light that blinded him.

And when he strained to open his eyes, all he could see was ash floating down and landing on his hair and shoulders.

He raised his head and saw a slender figure in the morning sky as majestic as the sun.

B-Class Executioner, Sunfire, had arrived.