"Head Cameron is in this building?" Micheal froze when he heard s.h.i.+n"s next words."Yeah, he dropped by around half an hour ago to talk to me. My injuries and everything are still pretty fresh." s.h.i.+n replied quickly.
Micheal felt blood pound in his ears as a mix of horror, excitement, fear, and worry flooded him.
If Head Cameron was in this building…
Then it was very likely the G.o.dfather would know Micheal was here with s.h.i.+n.
Head Cameron of the G.o.dfather Organization was a very powerful S Ranker. Officially, he was ranked second, right behind Director Prime on the Main Cl.u.s.ter Ranking List.
Micheal was well aware of the man"s Abilities, able to recall reading about them due to his own personal interest.
In particular, Cameron"s Gravity Domain Type Ability was what was worrying him now.
This Ability allowed Cameron to project a Domain that could cover a huge amount of ground, anything within roughly 200 meters of him. The area it affected was a giant sphere, with Cameron"s body at the exact center.
Cameron was aware of any living creatures within his Domain. He could pinpoint their location within a meter, knowledge that he gained innately. He also could build up a vague image of the world in his domain, enough to form a rough mental image.
Through his Domain, he was able to manipulate gravity, limited only by the power of his Soul. At his current Soul stat, per history, Cameron wasn"t able to affect his entire 200 meter Domain, but could pick out any 10 meter large clump and s.h.i.+ft gravity within that range. The closer that clump was to him, the more he could s.h.i.+ft its gravity.
His Gravity Domain Type Ability had a downside as well, however.
He was not immune to the effects of the modified gravity. After all, reality itself was s.h.i.+fting. He was unable to prevent that s.h.i.+ft from affecting himself.
In the past, the Ability had intrigued Micheal and he"d done a little research on it.
If one"s Soul stat was sufficiently high, it was actually possible to manipulate gravity using this Ability and remain unaffected. Down here on the First, however, achieving a high enough Soul stat was near impossible. The advent of using Nest Cores to boost one"s Soul stat was a new avenue that might work, but Micheal got the feeling that it would offer diminis.h.i.+ng returns as he broke more Nest Cores.
"He knows I"m here. He will know I broke in through the window." Micheal"s heart continued to pound as he processed this thought.
"But he doesn"t know I know that!" Very little was known about Head Cameron"s Limited Type Ability, outside of its gravity manipulation powers. The fact that he could sense people"s location in his Domain was something the G.o.dfather had successfully kept as a secret, one of his trump cards.
Micheal whipped his focus back to the present as he looked back at s.h.i.+n.
"Is everything alright?" s.h.i.+n asked first, staring at Micheal with concern,
"You aren"t going crazy on me again, Micheal?"
Micheal paused his reply for a split second as he gave s.h.i.+n an odd look,
"Again?"
"In 6th grade you told me you liked Nickelback." s.h.i.+n shrugged nonchalantly.
Micheal blinked slowly. He resisted the urge to hang his face in his hands a third time as he sighed, a small smile forcing its way onto his face. The smile faded as his eyes turned serious.
"s.h.i.+n, I need you to listen to me very carefully."
.. .. .. .. .. ..
A small amount of time later...
.. .. .. .. .. ..
s.h.i.+n looked at the big, Heaton Sniper Rifle Micheal had given him after they finished talking.
It was large and felt resoundingly solid in his hand. It didn"t feel heavy, largely thanks to his boosted strength, when meant maneuvering it would be easy.
Once Micheal learned that s.h.i.+n had gone with a long range and/or gun heavy fighting style, s.h.i.+n"s best friend had taken it oddly. s.h.i.+n didn"t find it too surprising, considering the vision of the future Micheal had seen. He, supposedly, was very different then.
Micheal hadn"t argued against that choice, but had instead given him what he termed a "spare gun" that he no longer needed. s.h.i.+n had taken it gladly.
This gun condensed energy from the air to form a "heat bullet," according to Micheal. s.h.i.+n was extremely curious about how this would interact with his Expand Ability.
"I can"t teleport energy, at least for now. How about Expanding it?" The thought was one he couldn"t shake.
s.h.i.+n hoisted the gun up with his right hand for a moment, tucking it with his arm. He then spun it up to lean on his shoulder, craning his neck to be able to look through the scope.
He frowned.
"Aiming it with one hand will be a problem."
According to the medical review of his injuries, his arm had been severed at a very deep level. The attack had sliced through his arm to a microscopic degree, imbued with an energy that was extremely invasive.
Micheal had recognized his injury after learning that Number 6 dealt the blow, saying it was caused by a "Weapon Mastery" Ability. It was possible to regrow his arm, according to Micheal, but it would take a very long time if he started the process here on the First Layer. At least a year.
Instead, Micheal had recommended s.h.i.+n seek out another option for now.
Abruptly, s.h.i.+n heard footsteps echo outside his door. His eyes flashed with a hint of appreciation, tinged with disbelief as he stored the new sniper rifle in his Spatial Ring.
A light knocking echoed out.
"Sub-Executive s.h.i.+n? Mind if I come back in?" A polite, gentle and familiar voice sounded off, carrying through the door.
The voice of the G.o.dfather, Head Cameron. The man had dropped by to visit again, just minutes after Micheal left.
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Exactly like how Micheal said he would.
"Yes sir!" s.h.i.+n leaned back in his bed, donning an exhausted look that was entirely fake.
Head Cameron"s familiar form appeared as the man walked in, giving s.h.i.+n a calm smile. He took several steps into the room, till he was around two meters from s.h.i.+n"s resting bed.
"My newest Sub-Executive. I thought I sensed a presence down here. I figured I"d come check on you to be certain of your safety." s.h.i.+n felt vaguely jealous of Cameron"s deep voice as he heard the man continue.
"Ah, that was a friend of mine, sir. A man I knew before the advent of the 7 Layers and someone I trust like a brother." Like Micheal had instructed, s.h.i.+n openly told the truth.
Something appeared and then vanished in Cameron"s eyes, far too quickly for s.h.i.+n to notice. The G.o.dfather then smiled back at s.h.i.+n.
"Oh? Well, if that is the case, I won"t begrudge him sneaking in. His feat is rather impressive given the security perimeter we have set up here." Cameron looked around the room and nodded his head slowly.
s.h.i.+n continued,
"He"s decided to join Sophia and I, more permanently as part of my own team." All the Executives and Sub-Executives had their own private forces. The G.o.dfather Organization fostered an environment of freedom and compet.i.tion in that aspect.
"He actually just left to go meet up with her. I told him where she was staying." s.h.i.+n stayed perfectly calm as he shamelessly mixed the truth with lies. He and Micheal had worked this plan up in less than a minute, forming a believable excuse.
While it might not hold up under extensive review, that didn"t really matter. After all, according to Micheal, they would be done here on the First Layer within 30 days.
"If you find him trustworthy, I won"t have any objections to the team you form. However, he can"t just be traveling about unescorted so far into our inner territory." Cameron shook his head as he raised his right hand and tapped on a Spatial Ring.
A smartphone popped out. Cameron quickly typed something out on it, sending a message before he returned his attention to s.h.i.+n with a smile.
"As long as he remains within the building, there won"t be any issues."
"He"s going to stay here, don"t worry! I already let him know." s.h.i.+n ducked his head as he quickly replied.
"Very well." Cameron nodded. He glanced back towards the doorway, as if he was preparing to leave, his mission here completed.
"Ah, Head Cameron? I have a request I would like to make." s.h.i.+n jumped in before he left, trying his best to remain perfectly calm. There was something about the Head that made one nervous just seeing him. He had a certain air about him that practically emanated authority.
"Hmm? Go on." Cameron nodded at s.h.i.+n.
"I"d like to request a Melding Plate Arm from the Armory." s.h.i.+n directly requested what Micheal had suggested he ask for.
A Melding Plate Arm was an Artifact that costs 68,750 Points in the Shop. It was a variation of a Melding Plate Artifact, one of the rare Artifacts that had a slew of sub-options to select from.
It was a magical tool that could connect to his stump of a shoulder and form a completely new, metallic arm. The power of his arm would sync up with his body, but also be largely dependent on what metals it had absorbed.
"A Melding Plate Arm?" Head Cameron looked at s.h.i.+n for a few moments in contemplation.
"That"s a pretty pricey Artifact, if I recall correctly. But, on the other hand, I can see how lacking an arm could greatly impact your effectiveness as a Sub-Executive." Cameron seemed to weigh his options for a moment before he smiled at s.h.i.+n.
"Alright, I can give the Armory the okay to send you one. But in return… I"ll need you to do a small favor for me."
s.h.i.+n listened on, partially in awe.
Micheal had given s.h.i.+n two scenarios of how he thought events with Head Cameron would play out. And so far, almost everything that Micheal had said might happen in his second scenario had happened, with near unnerving accuracy.
s.h.i.+n raised his head proudly, pus.h.i.+ng aside his awe as he yelped out,
"I would be happy to!"
.. .. .. .. .. ..
A small amount of time later...
.. .. .. .. .. ..
Micheal felt a drop of sweat drip from his forehead as he knocked gently on a door in front of him. The door was made of wood and looked ornate, with a pink trim around the side of it.
Behind him, a mostly empty hallway spread out. This was one of the VIP sections of the Medical Bay, filled with various patients. Getting in here at all had proven a trial for Micheal, requiring a bit of subterfuge and sneakery.
In the end, it had been a bit easier than expected. He"d managed to fake his way through a squadron of guards in one of the stairwells almost too easily. It felt, to his experienced eyes, that they were letting him through on purpose.
Still, he pushed his suspicions to the side for now as he focused on the present. He needed to check on Sophia, first and foremost.
The G.o.dfather might have been infected by the Vile King and he had just visited Sophia. There wasn"t too much known about the Seeds the Vile King spread. Micheal knew that they were more effective on those that had recently suffered through some traumatic event or had a weakened force of will.
Head Cameron"s return from essentially death was a solid example, one that led Micheal to believe s.h.i.+n. In history, Admiral Cardell was a powerful S Ranker that rose to power through his own skill.
Becoming an S Ranker was nearly impossible. In the current Main Cl.u.s.ter, there were only 6, after all, and each one held incredible power.
The leaders of the Big 3 were the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ranked S Rankers. Prime, Cameron, and Sylvester. The remaining 3 kept out of any major political issues, pursuing their own goals.
Tandrum the Explorer, a man obsessed with discovering the secrets of the First Layer, worked alone.
Anastasia Myu, a woman that had formed her own private kingdom in a side Cl.u.s.ter, but had a neighboring small chip of territory she claimed control of in the Main Cl.u.s.ter.
And finally, Hou Shenyeng, the Enlightened Monk. A wandering monk that focused on "enlightenment" and his own understanding of his Abilities, ignoring outsiders unless they interfered with his actions.
These 6 were the only S Rankers that had formed of the tens of millions of human beings that lived in the Main Cl.u.s.ter. While it was true that millions more had moved on to the next Layer, the number of S Ranker-equivalent humans was still an incredibly diminutive number.
The chances of Admiral Cardell developing into an S Ranker right after Head Cameron died, even if he was as powerful as he currently was, were still pretty slim. If the Admiral was constantly being boosted by the Vile King over time, however…
"In fact, didn"t Number 1 also become an S Ranker in the near future as well? His rise to power was through raw talent too." Micheal frowned as the thought pa.s.sed through him.
All of a sudden, he felt as if the number of people he could trust or be certain of had drastically fallen. Even with his foreknowledge of the future, there was so much he didn"t know.
"h.e.l.lo? Who is it?" Sophia"s voice broke into Micheal"s thoughts, echoing out from beyond the closed door.
Micheal took a deep breath, steeling himself as he prepared to reply. His eyes flashed with grim promise as he gathered his will.
The chance was slim… but it was possible Sophia had been infected by the Vile King.
And if that was the case…
He might have to kill her.
.