Chapter 30: Rank Verified
The environment outside any dungeon rift was light and pleasant, often underestimated or simply failing to receive the proper recognition it deserved after the suffocating pressure of a portal.
Content with what they had achieved inside the rift, Terrence and Noli decided among themselves to leave the dungeon and report back to the agency.
They had been inside the rift for at least a day. It seemed that whatever personal agendas or combat training they had set out to accomplish were now officially complete.
Terrence had grown much more accustomed to moving with the extra strength provided through Skill Share with the Shadow Hound. He had practiced enough, carefully memorizing the different physical sensations that flowed from the imaginary bond he held with the beast.
For some reason, he had also grown closer to Noli along the way. It wasn’t a deep, unbreakable connection, but Terrence had learned that Noli possessed a vastly different personality compared to his parents and his older brother, Menard. Noli was an isolated case from the rest of the world—someone who preferred being alone and training constantly to improve his strength.
It was surprising how social the teenager could actually be despite not spending much time around people. To be truly talented, there was usually more to a person than what met the eye.
Terrence, on the other hand, really sucked in terms of natural talent.
Completely unaware of the looming threat that had slaughtered the rest of their squad behind them, the two turned back and retraced their steps leaving the rift.
"Hey," Noli called out, riding comfortably atop his Star Greater Wolf. "Why haven’t you summoned your beast this whole time?"
Terrence didn’t stray his focus, continuing to traverse the terrain under the thick foliage of the outer forest, its high canopy stretching out for kilometers. The warm afternoon sunlight kissed his skin wherever the gaps between the leaves allowed it to filter through.
He didn’t reply immediately, taking a moment to compose himself.
"I just didn’t feel like it," Terrence said simply.
Noli didn’t pry into it any further. He knew Terrence had his own reasons—whether complicated or simple—but he appreciated the direct answer. Noli pondered to himself, reflecting that Terrence likely didn’t trust him enough to show his hand just yet.
Noli nodded inwardly. That made complete sense. Who in their right mind would trust a stranger inside a misreported rift? Showing off his contracted beast meant exposing a crucial trump card.
The journey back became silent for a long stretch of time, until Terrence finally broke the quiet.
"What do you think about selling beasts?"
Noli raised an eyebrow, glancing down from his mount. "Selling? That’s completely inefficient. If you’re thinking about making money off beasts, you should just turn to commissioning. That way, you don’t have to deal with the constant maintenance of beasts you can’t even store inside your Pocket Sanctuary."
"That’s what everyone else thinks too," Terrence murmured.
However, Terrence was entirely different. Prying into the topic a little further, he said something that even he normally wouldn’t share with anyone.
"I am selling beasts."
Noli chuckled softly, trying to suppress a genuine laugh at the sudden, absurd notion.
Selling beasts?
"Nice joke," Noli replied with a grin.
Terrence didn’t really know his purpose in saying that out loud, so the long trip back continued to be wrapped in comfortable silence between them until they finally reached the outer perimeter of the city.
Stepping back into civilization, they headed straight to the Contribution Agency to file their official report.
"I am Terrence..." He gestured toward his companion as they approached the marble counter. "I will be reporting for rank verification. Please verify as well if Noli Lee is on the roster for the B-Rank temporary squad I joined."
The female attendant nodded politely, tapping away on her tablet screen until she finally found the corresponding log files.
"Verified," she confirmed. "How about you, sir?"
Noli looked up from his watch, giving a firm nod. "Please verify mine as well. I can vouch for him too." He pointed a thumb toward Terrence.
The attendant didn’t ask any further unnecessary questions to verify the specifics of their dungeon run and immediately approved their rank limit in the system.
"Sir Terrence, Sir Noli, your profiles are now officially approved to enter A-Rank rifts."
Terrence’s lips curled up slightly into a satisfied smile. He turned his head to look at Noli.
"I guess this is where we separate?"
Noli chuckled, a genuinely warm expression filling his face—a look that, for some reason, he couldn’t quite understand himself.
Terrence didn’t really understand it either. Noli didn’t possess the usual arrogant, ruthless Lee Family personality. Yet, he was still a Lee through and through. Why didn’t he share their repulsive traits? Or maybe he already did, and Terrence just hadn’t noticed or recognized it yet.
"Let me get your contact details," Noli said without even waiting for verbal approval. He unclasped his digital communication watch device, tapped it against Terrence’s wrist device, and initiated a quick file swap.
The black digital watch blinked with a bright blue light for a second before dimming back down.
"Just in case..." Noli added with a faint smirk.
Terrence let out a quiet sigh. He thought to himself that if only Noli wasn’t his cousin, he could have built a real, lasting connection with the kid.
Terrence wasn’t actually anti-social; he just found social interaction awkward given his unique background and past reputation. But with how drastically his life had turned around since acquiring his System, that lingering bit of an inferiority complex had completely vanished.
"By the way, sirs..."
Both of them turned around to look back at the attendant behind the counter.
"It says here in the network log that your squad didn’t officially clear the dungeon," she said, her brows knitting together in confusion. "Have you left the rift alongside the rest of your temporary squad as well?"
Both Terrence and Noli shook their heads in unison.
The confused attendant blinked, shaking her head to herself before tapping a few notes onto her tablet screen. "Understood. Thank you for your report."
Then, the two of them left the building together—one remaining with the Lee Family, and the other a former member who had been cast aside.
Outside the agency, Terrence took a completely different route, heading back straight over to the inquiry desk to search for active A-Rank rifts in neighboring cities.
Despite having had no proper rest for over twenty-four hours, his heart was pounding with intense anticipation. He was looking forward to finally harvesting an A-Rank beast core... and awakening his dormant S-Rank Vampire Butler.
Inside the B-Rank rift, the black figure roamed through the intricacies of the snowy biome. However, it stopped after making an observation.
It mumbled, "That ’thing’ left."