Chapter 18: Tamer’s ID
Clame had already formed her opinions about the Lee Family long before returning in Suran City. They were one of the true pillars of the city—the sole reason the city had survived the catastrophic outer sector breach a decade ago. Ever since the city was founded, the family’s immense power had driven its prosperity.
Due to Suran’s strategic location near the volatile Fringe, its citizens were naturally hardier and far more capable of defending themselves. They were forced to adapt just to survive. Compared to other major cities, Suran’s population ranked second in overall combat power whenever a crisis hit.
Seeing two young members of the Lee Family standing together, Clame had expected them to share at least a baseline level of sibling solidarity.
Instead, watching them face off, she realized the truth. Terrence’s past inability to awaken had completely severed their bonds as brothers.
Clame let out a quiet sigh. Her sharp eyes shifted onto Lucas, a spark of sudden interest rising in her gaze.
"A duel?"
Her voice cut cleanly through the suffocating tension.
Terrence caught the subtle shift in her expression and frowned slightly.
’Is she actually enjoying this? Wasn’t she annoyed by Lucas just a moment ago?’
Terrence felt genuine confusion, but he kept his mouth shut.
"I would like to see that," Clame continued, turning her gaze onto Terrence.
"Terrence, I would love to see you fight as well. This will help us evaluate whether we should continue doing business with you in the future."
A wave of confusion washed over Lucas’s mind. What he just heard made zero sense.
Clame wasn’t just an influential figure from Nara City—she was the one actively seeking out a connection with Terrence. Lucas couldn’t wrap his head around it.
To his knowledge, Terrence had only just awakened. He was absolute certain his brother was completely powerless when he was still under the family’s roof. There was simply no logical reason for someone of Clame’s stature to treat Terrence with such clear respect.
Lucas exhaled heavily, his shoulders stiffening as he glared at Terrence.
"I will arrange the duel," Lucas said coldly. "Let’s meet again in one week."
Without waiting for a response, Lucas turned on his heel and marched down the Agency’s polished marble stairs, slipping into a sleek black sedan that had just pulled up to the curb.
Terrence felt a wave of quiet pressure settle over his chest. He understood what Clame meant. To her, this was purely business, and proving his worth in a fight would solidify his standing.
Shaking off the pressure, Terrence turned to Clame with a calm smile and a short nod.
"If you say so... I will accept my brother’s absurd challenge."
He watched the sedan speed away, letting out a soft laugh.
"Didn’t even wait for my answer, did he? He was entirely sure I’d bite."
In truth, Lucas knew Terrence better than he cared to admit. Despite how much Terrence had been ridiculed over the years, his spirit had never been broken. He was weak, but he was never a coward.
With this challenge, Lucas wanted to see if his brother had truly changed. Whether Terrence had actually awakened or not didn’t matter anymore—Lucas wanted to force out whatever secret power his discarded brother was hiding.
***
Clame, Clara, and their security entourage waited patiently inside the main lobby while Terrence finished his registration process at the agency counter.
He filled out his basic personal information on the official forms before stepping up to the affinity verification station.
To verify a tamer, they had to place their palms onto a specialized reading pillar. The device measured their affinity, determined the maximum rank of the beasts they could command, and calculated how much rift pressure their body could endure.
Terrence felt his throat go dry with a sudden surge of nervousness. If the machine read his base affinity alone, he might fail the check.
Fortunately, there was another way to pass. Tamers who shared a deep bond with their beasts could utilize Skill Share during the scan, channeling their summons’ traits through their own body.
Taking a quiet breath, Terrence drew upon the remaining energy in his soul, activating the passive trait of his Mutated Iron Shadow Hound: Light Body.
THUMP.
The verification machine flared violently with intense light. The surrounding ambient mana surged for a split second before settling down into a steady, solid pulse.
The female attendant behind the desk blinked in surprise, checking the digital readout. After a moment, she stamped his file, verified his affinity, and handed him a sleek white card.
"Allow me to remind you of the basic rules every registered tamer must follow," the attendant said, her voice dropping into a routine recitation. "When entering any active gate, you must present your ID card to the rift guard. If you encounter an unrated rift in the wild, you are required to report its coordinates immediately rather than entering it."
She gestured to a wall chart displaying the threat levels.
"Rifts are categorized by rank. F-Rank displays a soft blue hue, E-Rank is green, D-Rank is yellow, C-Rank is red, B-Rank is purple, and A-Rank is indigo. Lastly, if you ever encounter an S-Rank black rift... do not enter under any circumstances."
Terrence nodded, taking the cool plastic card into his hand. Anticipation fluttered in his chest as he looked down at the newly minted Tamer ID to see his officially approved clearable rank limit.
It was a sleek white card featuring his name, a fresh portrait photo, and his verified combat status.
Right under his clearance level, it read: A-Rank.
A-Rank clearances were exceptionally rare for newly registered tamers. Terrence glanced up, expecting the attendant to look shocked, but her face remained entirely neutral.
Then he looked closer at the name line.
Terrence Lee.
A faint bitterness crept into his chest. No matter where he went or what he achieved on his own, the shadow of the Lee Family name was still attached to him.
’That’s a problem for another day’, Terrence thought, slipping the card safely into his pocket. ’I can’t get rid of the name just yet. Right now, I have real business to handle.’
A short while later, Terrence stepped out of the agency and rode alongside Clame in a private transport heading directly toward the Neil Residence in Suran City.
It was Terrence’s first time visiting the compound. While the residence was undeniably grand and heavily guarded, it was noticeably smaller than the Lee Family’s massive ancestral estate. That made sense—the Neil Family was an outside powerhouse, not a local family.
Even so, the fact that the Neil Family was permitted to maintain an operational stronghold right here in Suran proved just how massive their political weight truly was.
The ride from the agency didn’t take long. As the vehicle glided through the reinforced iron gates of the estate, Clame turned to face him, breaking the long silence between them.
"So... shall we talk about business?"