Chapter 14: Challenge
Satisfied with his purchases, Terrence stepped out of the tailoring shop with a relaxed smile on his face.
He felt strangely lightened by the intern’s words. In a ruthless world where tamers stepped on one another to survive, it was rare to find someone with such genuine, innocent kindness. Out here, people with that kind of mindset usually ended up dead or betrayed. Still, knowing that a spark of basic humanity existed in this city left a warm feeling in his chest.
"I used to be a kid like that," Terrence mumbled softly to himself, adjusting his collar.
Growing up as a member of the prestigious Lee Family, he had enjoyed a decent childhood. The patriarch of the family was his uncle, so Terrence was never forced into the spotlight of high expectations during his early years.
The Lee Family’s legacy stretched back a thousand years to the catastrophic era when spatial rifts first tore open across the continent. His ancestors were among the very first tamers who awakened talents to defend humanity against wild beasts. Because of those legendary forefathers, the subsequent generations never had to struggle for a foundation—they only had to prosper.
However, as Terrence grew older, he realized a bitter truth: the lavish lifestyle he enjoyed was built on the backs and demise of weaker people. It was a disgusting realization, yet he had swallowed it back then, telling himself that the weak simply suffered because their own ancestors hadn’t worked hard enough.
That twisted logic served as his reality—until he became useless to the family himself.
When he turned sixteen, the universal awakening age, heavy expectations suddenly crashed down on him. Coming from a bloodline renowned for high-rank affinities, everyone assumed he would awaken a powerful talent.
He didn’t.
At first, the family treated it as a temporary delay. But when he reached eighteen without a single sign of awakening, their patience evaporated.
The patriarch ordered his immediate exile, and it was Terrence’s own younger brother—the same affectionate brother who had once cheered for him—who cold-bloodedly delivered the news and threw him into the streets like trash.
Terrence swallowed the humiliation back then. But looking at his reflection in a glass storefront now, wearing his sleek new tactical gear, a dark, burning rage flared in his chest. His goal was crystal clear now: absolute revenge against the Lee Family, both for himself and for everyone they had crushed.
"First, I need a proper base," Terrence murmured, looking down at his black card.
Buying property in the inner district of Suran City was out of the question. It was too close to the Lee Family’s eyes. Purchasing land in the outer sectors or the city outskirts made far more sense. It would give him a quiet place to manage his system, establish a steady income stream, and keep a low profile.
He briefly considered leaving Suran City altogether, but moving to another mega-city like Nara City was complicated. Every city enforced strict residency permits to keep rogue tamers and underground syndicates out. To get a permanent permit elsewhere, an outsider needed documented military or rift contributions under their name.
’I need to visit the Contribution Agency first,’ Terrence thought.
The Contribution Agency was a neutral, continent-wide organization that tracked a tamer’s official rift achievements and raid merits. If he wanted to buy land or secure permits in other cities down the line, he needed to officially register his name there.
Terrence turned a corner, heading toward the agency’s office—only to freeze in his tracks.
Blocking the narrow alleyway in front of him were four massive, towering men in heavy leather armor. Standing right behind them was the average-looking customer who had tried to mock him inside the tailor shop.
"Well, well," the customer sneered, stepping forward with an ugly, triumphant grin. "Look who finally decided to come out."
Terrence narrowed his eyes. He instantly tried to trigger the system Skill Share that had empowered him earlier.
DING!
[Warning: You have reached the maximum daily limit for Skill Share output.]
[Note: To utilize higher outputs without physical recoil, you must improve your body’s base physical attributes.]
Terrence paused, quickly grasping the situation.
Standard tamer theory dictated that Skill Share provided a temporary burst of power, usually transferring only about ten percent of a beast’s strength to avoid tearing the tamer’s muscles apart. While high-rank beasts could passively share latent traits like heightened speed or sensory sharpness, active skill boosts placed immense strain on an unconditioned human body.
Without Skill Share available, Terrence knew he couldn’t take four heavily armored enforcers in a direct brawl.
’I can’t use Active Skills right now,’ Terrence analyzed calmly, shifting his weight. ’But the Shadow Hound’s passive agility should still be bleeding into my body. Even a tiny fraction of an S-Rank beast’s speed is insane.’
"Hey... we have some unfinished business, beggar," the customer said, cracking his knuckles as his four thugs stepped closer.
Terrence let out a heavy, tired sigh. This was typical behavior in Suran City. The city operated on a brutal ’survival of the fittest’ mentality, where bullies picked on anyone who looked weak to boost their personal reputation.
As Terrence scanned the group, his eyes caught a silver badge pinned to the customer’s jacket collar.
His heart skipped a beat.
’That emblem...’ Terrence’s breath hitched slightly. ’He’s from the Lovely Potion Merchant Group.’
The Lovely Potion Group was a shady, immensely wealthy syndicate that acted as a major financial partner to the Lee Family. Fighting them out in the open right now would attract unwanted attention from his former family before he was ready.
Terrence made up his mind instantly. Fighting them here was a complete waste of time and energy.
Reputation? Dignity? Pride? He didn’t care about any of that—he had nothing to prove to a bunch of thugs.
"Hey!" the customer shouted, misinterpreting Terrence’s silence as sheer terror. "I’m going to give you a choice! I challenge you right now—"
"I accept," Terrence interrupted smoothly, a sharp smirk playing on his lips. "In a race."
"What?!"
Before the customer or his four heavy guards could even process the words, Terrence kicked off the pavement with explosive force.
BOOM!
A streak of dark wind whipped through the alley. Utilizing the passive, high-tier agility granted by his Shadow Hound, Terrence blitzed past the four guards before they could even draw their weapons.
He darted between astonished pedestrians, rounded three sharp street corners in the blink of an eye, and completely vanished into the bustling crowd of the outer market.
The customer stared at the empty alleyway in stunned, motionless silence.
"What a fucking coward!" he roared at the top of his lungs, his face turning red with absolute fury as his voice echoed uselessly against the concrete walls.