Chapter 246

Ray finally made it back to his room and proceeded to collapse onto his bed as a sharp ache of regret raged in his chest.

He glanced at his watch again for the umpteenth time since he had departed from Trisha and Chloe’s dorm, the numerical display mocking his newfound poverty.

His family had never been particularly well-to-do.

Before his father had perished in the war, he had managed to secure a modest house for them to live in with a few remaining credits in his account.

However, it had been years since his father lost his life, and that safety net was rapidly dwindling.

His mother had been forced to take up multiple jobs just to keep the household running.

They were perpetually forced to manage their resources with extreme care.

They barely ate meat—it was a luxury they enjoyed only on rare occasions.

Good clothes that could make their peers jealous?

Ha... they had none.

They lived on the bare minimum, especially since Wall Rose was considered little more than a rural village compared to the inner sanctums.

The compensation for the work his mother found was mediocre at best—just enough to pay the bills and keep them fed.

They couldn’t move to Wall Steel because living there required one to be exceptionally wealthy.

Or, a catastrophe had to occur that would force a migration, which was exactly how Ray and Van had ended up here.

That was the grim reality of the three walls—a strategic retreat option for humanity.

If one wall fell, an emergency evacuation to the second would commence.

This made Ray wonder, with a sudden chill, what would happen if all three walls were to fall.

Anyway, he had been forced to take on various odd jobs, earning a meager amount of credits over the span of three years.

Through that grueling process, he had saved enough to purchase his own ability book—the very one that had been destroyed.

Or had it?

He still couldn’t wrap his head around the mechanics of it all.

His lightning ability, which had manifested so violently, was categorized as a ’bloodline’ by the system instead of a standard ’ability,’ yet he still possessed meta-force.

Was it possible the tattered ability book had manifested this power before it was ruined?

But if so, why had he never heard of a lightning ability before?

Sighing heavily, he rubbed his face and stared at his account balance once more.

Receiving that huge lump sum of credits earlier had made him feel butterflies in his belly.

When his mother was alive, she earned roughly 1k credits a month, which was barely enough to survive, let alone save.

As soon as the money arrived, it vanished into food, bills, rent, and the medication for her health, which had deteriorated almost daily.

Receiving such a massive amount had been a heavy experience for him, which was why he had been so reluctant to distribute it to the others.

But now, the deed was done.

There was no turning back.

He had to live with his decision and the modest sum remaining in his possession.

2.5k credits.

’Well, that’s essentially two months of mum’s salary, so it’s okay. Besides, if I manage to join the Vanguard Order, I’m certain I’ll be compensated far more than this. Yes. The VO pays better than any other group.’

He nodded excitedly, his hands clenched tightly in a display of raw determination.

Sitting upright, he turned to see Van still lost in a deep slumber.

It had been over an hour now—the longest the boy had ever slept in one sitting.

’Good. He needs it.’

Ray wasn’t feeling sleepy at all.

Ever since he had evolved into a... uh... Tribrid Adept, his physiology had undergone a fundamental shift.

’Speaking of evolution; does that mean I’ll go through this at different stages? What are the other levels of evolution I’ll encounter, and just how strong will I become?’

He stroked his chin thoughtfully, staring into the middle distance.

A second later, he shrugged dismissively. ’Oh well. We’ll just have to wait and see.’

He paused for a moment before adding with a silent chuckle,

"Not like I’m particularly excited to go through that level of pain again, though." He rubbed his hair, the memory of the transformation still fresh in his mind.

He exhaled and slumped back into his bed, his gaze wandering around the small room in boredom.

’Ugh... nothing to do.’

Suddenly, his eyes twinkled and he sat upright again before equipping his gauntlet. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Staring at the weapon before him, he ran his fingers through the hairline crack located at the base of the metal—a lasting souvenir from his brutal battle with the Minotaur.

’Inspect.’

[Inspect]

[Name: Claw-Fanged Gauntlet]

[Rank: Advanced]

Putting the gauntlets on, he squeezed his hands a few times with satisfaction, feeling the familiar weight.

He then turned his gaze toward the system screen again, which suddenly updated to display his augmented stats.

[STR: 70] [+3]

[AGI: 70] [+3]

[Weapon compatible with skill ’Rending’: When used with gauntlets, skill will release claw strikes instead of a straight line of energy and will reach a range of ten metres]

’Woah. So I have been having an increase in stats all this time? No wonder whenever I put on the gauntlets or use ’Lunar Claws’ and then activate ’Rending’, the skill comes out as claw strikes instead.’

He glossed over the screen over and over, taking in every detail with a wide grin on his face.

He flexed his fingers experimentally before a realization hit him.

’So, if I wore a weapon of, let’s say, the King rank, this increase could be even higher? Come to think of it, when Trisha was wielding her sword, she did look a tad faster and stronger than she should be.’

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, the gears in his mind turning.

’I always thought it was her ability helping her or a sudden adrenaline surge. So, her sword was boosting her as well?’

His eyes then lit up as he lightly dragged his palm across his face in a "Eureka" moment.

’... No wonder Captain Jake uses a sword! He is benefiting from the effects. Spine Reaper indeed.’ He shuddered slightly at the mention of the Captain’s notorious moniker.

De-equipping the gauntlets and sending them back into the void of his system inventory, a certain mischievous grin flashed across his face.

"So, training isn’t the only way to get stronger. I will need to acquire some beast gear of my own. If I can stack all these effects, I will be considerably more powerful. Ah... I might just become a beast soon."

"Hahahaha!"

Ray burst out laughing incredibly loudly, lost in his power-hungry reverie, when a pillow whistled from across the room and smashed directly into his face with a muffled Thump—!

This was followed immediately by Van’s muffled, angry shout from under his blankets.

"Pipe down, you hyena! I’m tryna get some sleep here!"