Chapter 12: Black Card
The guard felt completely powerless before Terrence, but his pride as a security officer wouldn’t let him back down.
Gritting his teeth through the throbbing pain in his wrist, he slammed an spiritual connection between him and his beast.
"Skill Share: Lesser Ogre!" the guard roared.
A heavy brown aura erupted around his body.
His muscles swelled, tearing the seams of his tactical uniform as raw monster power flooded his veins. His grip tightened violently around Terrence’s arm, his eyes bloodshot with sudden confidence.
[Active Skills Available]
[Iron Skin]
[Triple Slash]
[Dash]
[Transfigure (Locked)]
[You used Iron Skin]
[Passive Skill: Light Body – ACTIVATED]
"Behold, kid! This is a C-Rank Lesser Ogre!" the guard sneered, veins bulging on his forehead. "You’re nothing compared to me now!"
The guard applied every ounce of his augmented strength, attempting to crush Terrence’s forearm into splinters.
Nothing happened.
Terrence didn’t flinch. His arm felt like a solid rod of reinforced titanium, completely unyielding against the guard’s strain.
Panic flashed through the guard’s mind. Desperate, he planted his boots against the marble floor, pouring every shred of beast power into his hands.
It was utterly useless.
Terrence casually ignored the guard struggling against him. Instead, his cold eyes remained locked on the teller cowering behind the glass partition.
With a low scoff, Terrence raised his free hand, effortlessly peeled the guard’s thick fingers off his arm, and twisted the man’s wrist backward.
CRACK!
"AAAGH!"
The guard hit the floor again, gasping in complete despair. "How... how are you overpowering a C-Rank beast?! You didn’t awaken! You’re just an outcast trash from the Lee Family!"
"Tell me," Terrence said, his voice echoing with a low, metallic hum. "Have you ever heard of someone who didn’t awaken aside me?"
The guard froze, trembling. "N-No..."
"Then it’s not impossible that I awakened mine after leaving that pathetic family," Terrence said smoothly.
With a slight flick of his wrist, Terrence shoved the massive guard out of his path like a sack of grain, sending him sliding across the floor.
He turned and took slow, deliberate steps straight toward the teller’s window.
Behind the bulletproof partition, the teller’s mind went blank with terror.
"Impossible! What kind of forbidden tool are you using?! You can’t be an awakened!"
Terrence smirked, his eyes narrowing. "You sound so sure."
"Trickster! You’re using a dangerous gadget!" the teller shrieked.
Panicking completely, the teller abandoned his desk and bolted toward the private employee door at the back of the office.
Before his hand could touch the handle, the door burst open.
A middle-aged man in a tailored charcoal-grey suit stepped out. He wore a crisp silver tie, wire-rimmed glasses, and carried the neat, composed appearance of a corporate branch manager.
However, that calm appearance instantly disintegrated.
The moment Manager Vance stepped into the lobby, the suffocating density of Terrence’s aura hit him like a physical wall.
The air in the room felt thick and terrifying, saturated with the metallic stench of a top-tier predator.
Then Vance saw the shattered floor tiles. He saw his top security guard—a hardened veteran augmented with a C-Rank Lesser Ogre—writhing on his knees, his arm twisted at a sickening angle.
And standing right in the center of the destruction was Terrence Lee.
’Terrence Lee?!’ Vance’s mind shrieked, his heart hammering violently against his ribs.
’The talentless outcast who got exiled yesterday?! How the hell is he radiating the power of powerful beast with his bare hands?!’
Cold sweat broke out across Vance’s forehead, instantly soaking the collar of his tailored suit.
In the financial district, money was power, but absolute combat force was survival.
A disgraced noble with no power was trash you could ignore, but an unhinged, newly awakened monster with a grudge? That was a walking disaster.
If Terrence decided to flatten this branch right now, the city government wouldn’t even punish him.
They would award him a medal for awakening such terrifying strength!
Vance’s knees buckled. He threw himself toward the floor, bowing at a ninety-degree angle as his voice trembled violently.
"I deeply, sincerely apologize, Young Master Terrence!" Vance stammered, his vision blurring with sheer terror.
"Please! Control your aura! Whatever offense has been committed, this branch will compensate you ten times over!"
Terrence didn’t move an inch. He simply stood there, his cold eyes locking onto the pale teller. He raised a single finger, pointing calmly.
"That bastard took my cheque," Terrence said, his voice carrying an eerie, double-layered resonance that rattled the display cases. "He called it fake. He called me a thief."
Vance’s head snapped toward the teller so fast his neck popped. He lunged forward, snatching the paper right out of the teller’s paralyzed fingers.
The moment Vance’s eyes registered the metallic watermark of the Neil Family and the massive string of zeroes, his breath hitched completely.
Five million credits.
A direct draft from Clara Neil of the high-ranking Neil Family in Nara City.
Vance felt an ice-cold bucket of water drop straight into his stomach.
Terrence hadn’t just awakened terrifying power—he was already doing high-level business with top-tier noble houses from other strong cities!
"You absolute brainless, suicidal idiot!" Vance roared at the teller, his voice cracking with pure hysteria.
Blood rushed to Vance’s face as he shoved the draft into the teller’s chest.
"Do you have any idea what you’ve done?! You almost brought down this entire branch over a certified Neil Family bank draft?!"
"B-Because..." the teller gasped, tears of terror leaking down his face as he cowered against the desk. "I thought... he was wearing rags... I thought he stole it..."
"Shut your mouth!" Vance shrieked, slapping the counter so hard it cracked like a wood.
"You’re fired! Get out of my sight before I hand you over to the city garrison myself!"
Vance turned back to Terrence, instantly dropping back into a deep, desperate bow. His hands shook so violently he could barely hold his tablet as he processed the transaction on the spot.
"Young Master Terrence, please, forgive this unpardonable ignorance!"
Vance pleaded, pulling a sleek, obsidian-black VIP card from his inner pocket and handing it over with both hands.
"Here is your full balance of five million credits! Loaded onto an anonymous, unrestricted Black Card. No fees, no waiting time! I have also added a fifty-thousand credit compensation fee from my personal account for your trouble!"
Terrence looked at the glowing Black Card, feeling the heavy, satisfying weight of absolute wealth sitting in the palm of his hand.
The feeling of absolute power, paired with the total, trembling submission of the very people who tried to look down on him seconds ago, sent a sharp surge of pure satisfaction straight through his chest.
He casually took the card, slipping it into his pocket.
"Smart man," Terrence said softly, the oppressive dark aura vanishing from his body in an instant.
Vance let out a long, desperate gasp of air, feeling as if a mountain had finally been lifted off his chest. He wiped the sweat from his eyes, bowing again and again as Terrence casually turned around and walked out the front doors.
"Thank you, Young Master Terrence! Please grace us with your presence again!" Vance called out, remaining in a full bow until Terrence’s figure completely disappeared down the street.
Stepping out into the warm sunlight, Terrence felt a wide, cold smile stretch across his face.
Leaving the exchange shop behind, Terrence headed straight toward the high-end commercial district, the Black Card warm against his fingers.
’First step,’ Terrence thought, looking down at his dusty clothes. ’Time to buy some proper gear and clothing.’