Chapter 64: Heavenly Flash
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
The gorilla was still chasing them.
And now the hippo had joined in.
Neither creature showed the slightest interest in fighting the other.
Cain stared at Ron for a few seconds before lifting one hand to his chin.
Ron immediately became suspicious.
"What?"
"I think I understand."
"Understand what?"
"Why they’re chasing us instead of fighting each other."
Ron’s eyes narrowed.
"What is it?"
Cain examined his face seriously.
"Your face."
Ron’s eyebrow twitched.
Cain nodded as if he had reached an important conclusion.
"It does look punchable."
"..."
"That must be why they both want a turn."
Ron’s face darkened.
"You fucking bastard! Can’t you be serious right now?!"
"What do you want me to do?"
Cain glanced behind them.
The gorilla was still furious.
The hippo showed no intention of slowing down either.
"Your luck is shit. You found two strong 1st Echelons Evolved Animals and neither is slow enough for you to lose easily."
"My luck?"
"Yes."
"You were the one who came up with this plan!"
"It was a good plan before your face ruined it."
"..."
Ron was speechless.
Cain laughed.
"Well... At most, I’ll just kill them if the situation gets out of control."
That finally stopped Ron from arguing.
Cain was still far too relaxed for the situation to truly worry him.
If either creature came close enough to seriously threaten Ron, he would interfere immediately.
The mission could always be attempted again.
They continued farther east with the two evolved animals chasing them.
Gradually, the surroundings began to change.
There were fewer dense rows of buildings now, while more trees appeared along the roads.
Cain also noticed several damaged signs near the sidewalks.
They were approaching the recreational district near the zoo.
Only around a minute later, another 1st Echelon presence entered his Sense.
Cain looked toward the right.
"There’s another one."
Ron immediately gave him a suspicious look.
"You still want to try? We already have two chasing us."
"What difference does one more make?" Cain smiled.
"..."
Cain immediately changed direction.
Ron could only follow.
They crossed a damaged road and entered a children’s park.
Colorful playground equipment stood abandoned beneath the trees. One slide had been crushed beneath a fallen trunk, while several swings moved faintly in the wind.
Near the center of the park, something large rested beneath the shade of an enormous tree.
Cain’s gaze shifted toward it.
A panda.
Its body had grown much larger than normal, though unlike the two animals chasing them, it did not appear aggressive.
Intricate green patterns stretched across its black-and-white fur, giving off a faint glow.
The panda slowly opened its eyes when Cain and Ron entered the park.
Its gaze moved toward Cain.
Then Ron.
Cain remained prepared to react.
The panda stared at them for a moment, then it closed its eyes again.
Cain and Ron continued running past it.
Ron glanced over his shoulder.
"That’s it?"
"Looks like it."
"Lazy bastard."
Moments later, the gorilla entered the park.
Unlike Cain and Ron, it did not bother following the open path.
A tree stood in its way.
The gorilla swung one arm.
Bang!
The trunk snapped.
The upper half crashed sideways through several bushes.
The panda’s eyes opened.
The hippo arrived soon afterward.
Its massive body pushed through another section of greenery, crushing several plants beneath its feet.
The panda slowly lifted its head.
The green patterns across its body brightened.
Its earlier laziness disappeared as the big animal pushed itself upright.
Then a furious roar shook the surrounding park.
ROOOAR!
Ron glanced backward.
"Oh." Cain raised an eyebrow.
"This looks promising."
The panda charged directly toward the gorilla.
Its enormous paw swung.
Bang!
The strike landed across the ape’s face.
The Level 41 gorilla was knocked sideways and crashed into another tree.
Its body smashed through the trunk before finally hitting the ground.
The gorilla recovered almost immediately.
Its attention was no longer on Ron as it roared and rushed toward the panda.
One enormous fist descended.
The panda raised a forelimb.
BOOM!
The collision shook the surrounding ground.
The panda slid backward, leaving deep marks beneath its paws, while the gorilla’s arm was knocked upward.
Before either could attack again, the hippo crashed into the fight.
Its massive head slammed into the panda’s side.
The impact sent the panda rolling across the dirt.
The gorilla immediately turned toward the hippo and swung at it.
The hippo opened its enormous jaws and snapped toward the incoming arm.
Within moments, the quiet park had turned into a battlefield.
Trees trembled around the three evolved creatures as heavy impacts echoed through the area.
Cain watched for only a few seconds.
"Let’s go."
Ron needed no reminder.
They continued running until the sounds of battle became noticeably farther away.
Only then did Ron slow down.
He looked back and found that nothing followed them.
"That actually worked."
"Of course." Cain chuckled.
Ron looked at him.
Cain pretended not to notice.
The amusement on Ron’s face soon disappeared.
"Will the System count it?"
That was the real problem.
The panda had interfered with the pursuit.
However, neither Cain nor Ron had asked it for help. Neither of them had even attacked the pursuing creatures once the chase began.
They had simply passed through the panda’s territory.
The gorilla and hippo were the ones that angered it.
Cain had no idea how the System would interpret the situation.
Several seconds passed, but nothing happened.
Ron frowned.
Then his expression suddenly changed when he finally heard the notifications that he had been waiting for.
[Ding!]
[You have become the target of a 1st Echelon being.]
[Pursuit condition satisfied.]
[You have successfully escaped the pursuit of a 1st Echelon being without receiving assistance.]
[1st Echelon Advancement Mission completed.]
Ron stared at the final notification for a moment, then a grin appeared on his face.
"Fortunately it’s counted."
"Good." Cain smiled with a nod.
He immediately opened his Inventory.
Four 1st Echelon Cores appeared in his hands.
Three of them had already been purified, while the last belonged to the evolved bear they had just killed. Unlike zombie Cores, the bear’s Core contained no dangerous contamination, so there had been no need to purify it.
Ron’s eyes immediately lit up when he saw the Cores.
"All four are for me?"
Cain had barely nodded when Ron reached out and took them from his hands.
"Good. I was going to take them anyway."
"You really don’t know how to be polite, do you?" Cain chuckled lightly.
"What’s the point? You already brought them out for me."
Ron shamelessly pocketed the Cores before sitting down beside the wall of a nearby building.
"Alright, watch my back."
Cain shook his head but said nothing.
Soon, Mana began gathering around Ron as he started his advancement.
Cain remained nearby, keeping his Sense focused on the battle behind them.
The three evolved animals were still fighting, and for now, none of them showed any sign of breaking away.
Around a minute later, a powerful pulse of Mana spread outward from Ron.
The surrounding energy quickly settled.
[Four 1st Echelon Cores have been absorbed during Mana Core condensation.]
[Your Mana Core has reached the Stabilized stage.]
[You have successfully advanced to the 1st Echelon.]
Ron slowly opened his eyes.
The change was immediately noticeable.
The Mana flowing through his body had become denser after the formation of his Core, while the advancement itself had doubled his Stats.
For someone whose greatest strength had always been speed, the improvement was enormous.
Before Ron could properly test his new body, another notification appeared.
[Please select the name that will represent you in the World Ranking.]
Ron barely needed to think as he immediately replied with a grin appearing on his face.
"Heavenly Flash."
[Ding!]
Golden light appeared before them.
[World Announcement: The 67th player to have successfully advanced to the 1st Echelon Rank.]
[The name "Heavenly Flash" shall be recorded in the history of this world.]
[The Heavenly Flash has received a Green Scroll and Orb!]
"How does it feel?" Cain chuckled.
"Fucking amazing." Ron replied with a wide smile.
He stood and stretched his shoulders before taking a few steps.
The difference was obvious.
His body responded much faster than before, and even that casual movement seemed lighter than it had been only a minute ago.
Ron focused briefly on the Mana Core inside him.
"Those four Cores really helped. Mine reached the Stabilized stage immediately."
He clenched one hand.
"With my current speed, losing those two crazy bastards chasing our asses would probably be easy now."
Cain chuckled. "Feeling confident already?"
"I just became twice as fast. Let me enjoy it."
Ron looked toward the direction they had come from.
The distant sounds of fighting could still be heard from the park.
Trees cracked occasionally, followed by deep roars that carried through the surrounding streets.
Cain also turned toward the sound.
"Let’s go back."
Ron stared at him.
"Why?"
"I want to see the situation there."
Before Ron could respond, Cain had already walked away.
Ron sighed before following him.
Fortunately, after advancing, keeping pace no longer required much effort.
The two returned toward the children’s park.
Before reaching it, Cain could already sense the three powerful presences still moving violently against one another.
He became slightly curious.
The panda had entered the battle after both animals damaged its territory, but Cain had expected it to struggle once the gorilla and hippo focused on it together.
When the park finally came into view, Cain stopped.
His eyebrows rose as the situation was nothing like he expected.