Chapter 336: A Dangerous Game
Alexander flashed a cold smirk as he slowly rose to his feet.
"Since you want to play, let’s play," Alexander said.
Before his words could even finish echoing, Butch flicked his cigarette to the floor and lunged forward with superhuman speed. Alexander leaped to the side of the room to buy space, but Butch altered his trajectory midair, tracking him without losing momentum.
Just inches apart, Alexander opened his mouth and unleashed the skill he had kept hidden.
"[Shockwave]!" Alexander shouted.
The sonic impact at point-blank range was brutal. The blast caught Butch off guard, pinning him in place for a second amidst a violent ringing.
Alexander didn’t waste the opening. He raised his right hand toward the ceiling, channeling his mana with ferocity.
"[Wind Blade]!" Alexander commanded.
The air inside the cramped interrogation room began to warp with terrifying velocity. In an instant, a blender of invisible, pressurized wind blades enveloped Butch, tearing into the room’s concrete and metal framework. The slicing storm began ripping Butch’s flesh apart; the wind blades shredded his clothes and muscles until his bones were left exposed in several spots.
Seeing his subordinate on the verge of being carved to pieces, the suited executive reacted thrusting both hands forward.
"[Harden]!" the executive barked.
Butch’s wounded body turned a pitch-black, impenetrable hue, resembling reinforced steel. The wind blades that had been carving through his flesh now clashed against his torso with a flurry of sparks and metallic screeches.
The moment the sonic stun wore off, Butch lunged back into the attack. Ignoring the open wounds dripping blood over his hardened skin, he took advantage of the magical armor to charge straight at Alexander.
Alexander dodged the direct fist by the hair on his skin, feeling the wind of the impact graze his face. Without breaking rhythm, he opened his mouth once more at point-blank range.
"[Shockwave]!" Alexander repeated.
The sonic blast froze Butch in his tracks yet again, leaving him dazed once more. However, instead of finishing off the hardened brute, Alexander raised his hand and aimed it at the thin executive’s face.
"I’m guessing if I kill you, he won’t be hardened anymore, right?" Alexander said with a cold smirk.
The suited executive clenched his jaw and readied himself for the impact, all arrogance wiped from his face.
"Halt!" a authoritative voice echoed from the doorway.
The door to the room swung open to reveal an older man, impeccably dressed in a fine suit that highlighted his handsome, refined posture. The newcomer surveyed the destroyed room—the wind-carved walls and blood-splattered floor—before locking his eyes onto Alexander.
"Well, well... It seems we’ve gained a new silver-tier soldier. Excellent," the old man said with a calm smile. He then turned toward the glasses-wearing executive. "Dice, take your partner Butch to receive medical attention. You will be sanctioned; a novice backed you into this state because you understimated him. I hope this serves as a lesson: you are not invincible, you’ve just been facing weaklings until now."
Neither Dice nor Butch uttered a word. With dark expressions, they gathered themselves and exited the shattered room.
"Congratulations, young man," the senior executive added, holding a black folder in his hand.
He looked around for one of the few metal tables that hadn’t been shredded by [Wind Blade], walked over, and took a seat, gesturing for Alexander to sit opposite him.
"That pair is a bit temperamental, but they’re good boys," the old man explained calmly. "Their names are Dice and Butch, and they work terrifyingly well as a team. Butch possesses the skill [Strength]; his body is currently five times stronger than a normal human’s, and his durability increases the more he fights and trains. His partner, Dice, has the skill [Support]—he can grant buffs in agility, strength, defense, and reaction speed, stacking up to three simultaneously. He acts as the strategist. If they had taken this seriously from the start... I’m not sure who would have walked away worse off. I’m not underestimating you, don’t take it wrong, but those two are a handful when they go all out."
Alexander remained silent, listening intently while sizing up his conversation partner.
"Now, according to your records, you were on trial... You only lasted three days in that world, quite interesting," the old man continued, opening the black folder. "And in that short timeframe, you’ve already acquired three slaves and awakened. You certainly don’t waste time, kid. From what I observed a moment ago, one of your skills is [Shockwave], a basic bronze-tier skill, and the second is [Wind Blade], a basic silver-tier skill. A solid combination. Awakening twin skills is what makes you special; most people only awaken a single ability at first."
The old man laced his fingers over the table and leaned in slightly.
"In that world, there are stones known as ’Second Awakening,’ ’Third Awakening,’ and ’Total Evolution’... Or at least, that’s what rumors suggest; nothing is confirmed yet. But what is clear is that further awakenings exist. For instance, I have three awakenings. I am a Gold-tier executive, currently on the verge of promoting to Platinum. My first awakening is called [Sword]."
The old man extended his hand to the side, and out of thin air, a metallic gleam materialized into an unblemished rapier.
"It allows me to summon a blade wherever I am," the old man continued. "In my second awakening, I obtained the skill [Knight’s Fencing], turning me into an master of the weapon while boosting my physical conditioning. And in my final awakening, I gained a skill called [Ghost Step]."
Before Alexander could blink or tense a muscle, the old man’s figure across the table vanished into thin air. In a split second, Alexander felt the ice-cold steel of the blade pressing against the skin of his neck from behind. The sheer speed was so absurd that even his heightened perception hadn’t registered the move.
"I’m only showing you this so you don’t go around thinking you’re invincible just because you got yourself a couple of useful skills," the old man whispered right beside his ear, the tip of the blade grazing his jugular.