"Hi. I'm Silas. It's a pleasure to meet you" Shin said with a smile.
'Silas?' Hugo thought.
"Silas! That's a good name" Hugo said.
He extended his right arm to shake Shin's hand. Shin nodded and then shook Hugo's hand.
"There is so much for us to discuss!" Hugo said.
Tora who was on the side, was looking at Shin with a weird gaze.
'His eyes are orange yet he defeated an A rank dungeon and came out without any injuries?' Tora thought to herself.
'What is he?'
Shin noticed Tora's gaze. He smiled at her.
Tora nodded in response.
Leo walked towards them and said with a delighted smile that reached up to his ears.
"Silas was it? I, your best friend, would like to extend an invitation to you. An invitation to join our guild" Leo said.
'He wants to invite him? He's quite smart as always' Tora thought.
Hugo couldn't help but sigh.
'Although he's got orange eyes, just the fact that he could defeat an A rank dungeon proves that his capabilities are at the top of all the A ranks!' Hugo thought inwardly.
'Sigh, we really can't contain any powerful SMB in this town of ours...'
"Join your guild?" Silas said with great shock.
"Yes." Leo said as he nodded.
The other SMBs watching, especially the two rank Bs were looking at Shin with envious eyes.
"Can you give me some time to think about it? It's a pretty big matter" Shin said.
"Of course. Give me a call once you've decided." Leo said as he handed Shin a card.
Shin accepted the card and then nodded.
After that, the incident was deemed as closed and resolved.
Leo and Tora left along with their teams.
Hugo told Shin that they reward him with medals and awards but he declined.
He also declined his offer of joining one of the three guilds.
"What a pity..." Hugo said with regret.
"This is my home town. I wouldn't let anything happen to it. Don't worry" Shin said with a smile.
This comforted Hugo a little.
Indeed, it didn't matter whether Shin joined a guild or not as long as he was willing to provide protection to the people of Irosin!
"Call me if you need anything. I'll do my best to help you" Hugo said and then similarly gave him a card.
"I will" Shin said.
Shin then used the skill on his Heaven's boots called Sprint as he rushed off towards his home.
He circled and used Sprint until its effects vanished. After confirming that there wasn't anyone following him, he proceeded towards his house.
Since he changed his appearance. He naturally didn't want anyone following him to his house.
Just outside his house, he changed his appearance and his clothes.
He summoned Quilge.
"Quilge, take with you 20 Undead Creatures from my army and scatter them in the whole subdivision. Inform me if there are any suspicious movements." Shin said.
"Yes My Liege" Quilge said respectfully as he knelt with one leg in front of Shin.
"Appear!" Quilge said.
In an instant, the ground opened and then 20 Undead Creatures appeared. It was a mixture of Orcs and Skeletons.
"Go now" Shin said.
"I hear and obey" Quilge and the other 20 disappeared and scattered themselves.
Because they were ultimately creatures from the void, they could easily hide in dark places or in the earth below. It was easy for them to do this. Unless it was someone who had an extremely great affinity towards spirits, there was not a single person that would be able to see them.
Shin entered the room and then he saw Shaun.
"Kuya! I'm glad you're safe!" Shaun said with worry in his eyes. He ran towards Shin and gave him a hug.
"Of course I am. Your kuya is very powerful." Shin said as he patted his brother's head.
"Don't boast too much or you might really end up screwed over" Shaun said as he teased.
"Well don't predict it hahaha" Shin said.
"So what happened? There was news that an A rank portal appeared in Patag and then orcs suddenly appeared." Shaun said.
"Yeah. It was horrifying. But thankfully, it was contained by a group of brave and strong SMBs. I helped out but only in evacuating the civilians" Shin said with not a single hint of hesitation.
Shaun looked at him suspiciously and then nodded. He didn't quite believe it but it was a bit reasonable so he'll let it go.
"Anyways, here's the ingredients. I'll cook it now. Good thing it's only 11am. We can still cook it" said Shin as he walked towards the kitchen.
After 30 minutes, a flavory smell wafted across the house.
Shin appeared with a bowl filled with Sinigang. Sinigang is a delicacy that is famous in the philippines for its sour taste and meaty flavor.
"Wow. I missed the way you cooked Sinigang. It's like mom's" Shaun said with delight.
"Hehe. It seems I still do know quite a bit even after three years" Shin said with a smile.
The next two weeks, Shin would spend time with his mother. In the mornings, he would drive Shaun to Sorsogon and then drive him home at 5pm.
He took a break from all of the dungeons since he knew he had obtained a massive power up. Even though he saw that memory where a man with horns was standing, he still didn't feel the need to urgently level up. Right now, Shin has the money. A really really big amount of money. Something that only those really rich families could ever achieve.
Shin held his mother's hand and then said,
"I've been looking at other hospitals Mom. I'll get you to a better one and make sure you can get better faster" Shin said with a tearful smile.
Based on the doctor's description, the loss of an arm was the most negligible part. There was an even more dangerous injury lurking in his mother's brain and if they were to do something about it. It's a 99% guarantee that Shin's mother will die. They simply did not have the capability to treat Shin's mother.
But now that he had 54 million kilograms of Crystal Stone, he could fasten his mother's recovery rate by an astonishing speed.
"Mr. Salazar, someone is asking for you" A nurse said as she opened the door.
"Who is it?" Shin asked.
"He says his name is Jack" the nurse said.
'Jack? The one from Sorsogon City?' Shin thought.
"Let him come in" Shin said.
"You can come in" The nurse said silently.
Then a 5'7 black haired man with bronze skin appeared.
This was Jack.
"Mr. Salazar! I've been looking all over for you!" Jack said and then he looked at Shin's mother.
"Is she your mother?" He asked.
"Yes she is."
"How...how is she?" Jack asked with a pained expression.
"She's doing great and will be even more if you helped out. So, you coming here means you've considered my offer." Shin said.
"Me? Yes-yes I have. I've quit my job and finally made a decision. I'm sorry that It took so long" Jack said with an apologetic expression.
Shin laughed.
"It's alright."
"Then I'd like to ask you something. This will be my test on whether or not you are accepted" Shin said.
"Oh... Test? What-what is it?" Jack said nervously. He gulped down a mouthful of saliva.
"Will your loyalty forever be mine?" Shin said.
Shin placed great importance on loyalty. It didn't matter if his ally wasn't powerful or handsome or perfect. As long as he/she was loyal. Shin would wholeheartedly protect them.
Jack stood there in a daze. He hesitated for a moment.
'forever? Ah f*ck it! It's not like I quit my past job for this one right?' Jack thought to himself.
He nodded.
"Very well. Then Jack, do you wish to become a being much more powerful than an SMB?" Shin asked.
"A being as powerful as an SMB...?" He muttered.
'So it's not an SMB but something much more powerful than It?' Jack fell into deep thought.
"This job that I am offering you, it is filled with death and dangers. If you want to really become my ally, then I shall naturally grant you..."
"Power" Shin said this word in a very low volume. It would invite disaster if someone heard him say that. If somebody else knew that he could grant people power that was much more powerful than an SMB, who knows what would happen?
Giving Jack power, naturally was in accord to his plans. It was to test the Evolved skill on someone that was a person that he considered, was on his side.
Hearing that, Jack didn't hesitate any longer.
He nodded and said, "My loyalty shall forever be yours"
"I hope you know the weight of your words" Shin replied.
"Alright, let's leave first. I'll take you someplace else. I don't want to disturb my mother's sleep." Shin said.
Jack nodded.
The duo rode Shin's car and then went to somewhere quiet.
The duo stood in front of a vast forest as they looked at each other.
"Live" Shin said.
In an instant, the ground beneath them opened.
"What is this? What's happening??" Jack said as he did his best to stay on his feet.
And then,
Samson and Wrath appeared. Along with a hundred Undead Creatures.
"This..." Jack stared in shock.
"You...you're the SMB that singlehandedly cleared the A rank dungeon in this town?!" Jack shouted in surprise.
"Correct."
"Wow" Jack replied. His heart clenched with excitement.
'He's the real deal! If I give him my loyalty, then it is really possible that he could give me powers!' Jack thought.
Shin looked at Jack.
'System, activate skill Evolved' Shin ordered.
[Ding Ding! Activating skill! Extraction has begun]
In an instant, Shin felt as if a strange power was awakening within him.
He stretched out his left arm and then suddenly, his fingers cracked.
"Ahk!" Shin screamed in pain. He dropped down on his knees.
'What...?' Shin thought.
"Mr. Salazar! What is happening to you?" Jack said as he hurriedly ran towards Shin to assist him.
His left index finger finally broke down on its own. There was no blood, no flesh or skin. It was just a bone. A finger bone.
"Argggghhhhhhhhh" Shin yelled in agony.
"Ahhhh!" Jack screamed in horror as he looked at Shin's index finger that was lying on the ground.
[Ding Ding! Skill activated. Waiting for the target to consume the bone]
[Ding Ding! Extracting completed. Regenerating bone]
In the blink of an eye, a bone was rapidly growing out of the place where his left index finger was. As if it was never gone in the first place.
Shin screamed in pain once more but as the bone got longer and longer, the pain gradually lessened until it finally went back to what it was before.
Shin's eyes opened.
He looked at the finger bone on the ground.
'The system didn't tell me that it was going to be like that! Dammit' Shin thought to himself.
[Ding Ding! Insufficient data before. Sufficient data now. Warning! Usage of Evolved skill will detach a part of your skeletal system from your body and give an insurmountable amount of pain. It will regenerate soon after.]
'And now you tell me?' Shin grunted as he thought.
He looked at the finger bone, grabbed it and then said,
"Here. Eat it"