Name: Nik Faran

Rank: 1 (81.45/100)

Age: 20

Affiliation: None

Bloodline: Lust Apostle

Talent: Exotic Escort

STR: 23--> 30

AGL: 21-->30

VIT: 26--> 30

ENG: 26--> 30

CHM: 12--> 15

LUK: 2]

Nik walked weirdly once again. After all, the pain of the sudden increase in stats was too much! Too much he says!

The Supernova Bucks was quite a popular café with private rooms for the hosts. Of course, to avail of these services, one must have enough System Origins, something Nik lacked severely once again. So, he simply entered the popular café with cool and otherworldly branding of items and space-like posters. From the corner of his eyes, Nik could witness the signature coffee— The MilkyWay— with his mouth salivating.

The black coffee-like drink resembled the expansive space with cream acting as the galaxy on the black canvass. Needless to say, the visual of the coffee was enchanting enough to make Nik order a drink for himself. How he would tackle the situation of him being a poor bloke, he will think later.

"Nik, you survived!"

Ray's appearance attracted many. After all, he wore a tight pink sweater that reached his thighs paired with black stockings and his silver hair was decorated with a star-shaped clip.

Needless to say, Ray was pretty hot in his own right.

"I ordered a MilkyWay for you, too. I hope you don't mind."

Nik smiled towards Ray and sipped on the delicious coffee. Ray took his seat and shook his head, "Thanks. Did you wait long?"

"No. So? Do you know what happened on that planet?"

Nik inquired with his spine trembling for a moment. The place was filled with chatter and various species both— real and disguise— so the duo had no fear for the listeners. It wasn't like they were going to openly identify themselves as the one they should be hunting down for rewards.

And battles in the unrestricted regions of the Paradise were met with extreme punishments, death being the least painful.

"Delicious!"

Ray's eyes sparkled with joy as he sipped on the coffee. His short stature allowed him to dangle his legs beneath the table while he placed the cup down and rested his cheeks on both of his palms.

"Man! Why would the Monster Paradise even attack such a low-level planet? Mostly, the various Paradises allows the planet to grow and mature before it reaps its rewards~"

Ray pouted in frustration. No doubt, even his losses were plenty.

"Ray, how long until you can level up?"

"I am at 97.9%... this travel was supposed to be my last travel as rank 1... agh! I hate this!"

Ray groaned while Nik nodded silently.

"Brian will be joining us... he said that he wants to speak with you."

Rat suddenly spoke up and exhaled deeply, pulling a frown from Nik. This was a piece of news that Brian should have informed himself. If he didn't, that must mean—

"This was a secret, right? You have one small stomach," Nik sighed and then inquired, "Did he Rank-up?"

Ray nodded, "He did. If a world trip takes a total of seven days according to the homeworld and the Paradise then the Rank-up quests are woven to be for a single day."

"Brian's message came in last night. He said that he received your message and wanted to check in with me, too."

Nik nodded and waited silently. Before it was too late, Nik also decided to confess, "Ray... I am sorry for treating you badly in previous world travel."

Needless to say, Nik's confession was received with much expected astonishing and Ray's relentless inquiries made Nik spill the beans— he had no money in his pockets at the moment— making Ray burst in a loud fit of giggles.

"Looks like you two got along well."

A gruff voice interrupted Nik and Ray. With a head full of pale-blue hair and crimson eyes, brian's appearance was shaggier than usual. Even his beard was unkempt and a long scar marred his neck. Evidently, his rank-up quest hadn't gone as he had expected.

"Brian, yo!"

Nik smiled while Brian nodded and sat on a chair. A deep exhalation escaped his lips and he cut to the chase, "You are no longer infernal. Before we chat, decide— Do you wish to remain in the Guild or Leave?"

The decision was not even hard for Nik. The guild provides too many benefits and to ally with a monster like a Brian was definitely a boon. Not to mention, Nik trusted the sincerity that Brian had shown until now.

"I'll stay," Nik nodded and grinned, "What happened in our rank-up? Did an angry husband finally find you?"

Hearing Nik's words, Brian grew gloomier and sighed, "Try crazy hook-up."

His words instantly attracted Nik's and Ray's attention. 

"You like to fuck women?"

They both inquired in symphony as Brian's expression only grew gloomier. Now the Temporal Fiend truly understood the saying— There are no sincere friends; Only pretentious enemies.

"Of course, I like women. Dumb bitches."

Brian cursed under his breath, eliciting the duo to snicker, "The person I was going to protect turned out to be Temporal Fiend hunter. Needless to say, I lost my contract with her the moment I stabbed my hand into her neck," Brian spoke somberly. The news did bring a wave of astonishment to the duo and they finally stopped chuckling.

"Either way, congratulations are in order. You evolved successfully. When are you going to give us a treat?"

Brian inquired as it was Nik's turn to grow gloomy. When Brian learned about Nik's monetary situation, his day finally grew a little better.

"Anyway, only you two are left to rank-up. So, in the next mission, be sure to collect an appropriate amount of world root to initiate your rank-up quests. I'll take a break, meanwhile,"

"A break?"

Nik raised his eyebrow in amusement.

"Yeah, my homeworld has a competition going on. I'll pass my time there."

The duo nodded as Ray and Nik teamed up and set their time of arrival. After everything was said and done, the trio dispersed. They all had only 3 days to fully digest their gains. When Nik returned to his room, he decided to finally look at the atrocious additions to his skill due to another talent— Skill Palace.

***

Back in the world that Nik and Ray had escaped from, an armored figure stood at the tip of the tallest mountain. His pitch-black visage painted a stark contrast with the bright sky and pure-white ice. Even when the cold wind blew in a menace, the feathery wings on the figure's back failed to move even a single inch. Only his hair fluttered wildly.

"How can his face be similar to Nirdai..."

The figure raised his face and gazed at the sky. In his vision, instead of the sky, an image of a youth with blue hair and violet eyes flashed as the memory of the same youth wielding a spear constructed from pure origin force made the lonely pitch-black figure close his eyes.

"After I defected from the Holy Force, I had long since tarnished the name my father gave me— Lucifer. Had I known that you would have died under his hands, I wouldn't have left for the world of undead...

How am I going to enjoy our battles, you fateless fool."

Undead Lucifer sighed and extended his palm while a burst of eldritch force corrupted the mountain and the sky in a mere instant. The world trembled in fear and the sound of the crashing of waves depicted the world's wailing.

"About time I ascend."

Undead Lucifer whispered as he recalled Nik for a moment. He was unwilling to face the fact that the familiar soul signal could ever be within someone whose face matched Nirdai's. Not to mention, Khooni's and Mirage's mark was all too apparent on his body.

He groaned softly. He loved to battle and slaughter the mindless and imperfect. The mystery was an imperfect concept and he did not enjoy solving mysteries.

So, he will wait until every thread of mystery untangles itself.

***

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