"Should I remove him or not?" Lucara Angels dropped her robes and stood naked in her room, observing the budding features of her still slightly juvenile body in the mirror.
After deciding her path, her caramel-smooth skin looked so supple and elastic. Although she used to fret over her decision, looking at this pretty chocolate reflection, she suddenly felt very satisfied. What could be better than beautiful youth? Had she never accepted these new powers and memories, she would have definitely aged quite a bit by now. However, she currently looked even more beautiful and youthful than when she was a teen.
If she kept this up her entire life, her beauty would far surpass that of her past life, where she had been a maiden before giving herself to the fire god. Why had she remained a maiden in the past? Who knew it held back her potential by such a large amount? Who said she was born to be a calamity? If that was the case, why was she reborn now?
After changing her attire endlessly and finally settling on a pink blouse, Lucara felt she was becoming sexier by the day. This was obviously thanks to her soul record, the Angelic Demoness Record, which she had trained to the bronze tier already.
"I have that lover of mine to thank for this...a pity. If I were a bit younger, this Bas wouldn't be so bad to look at. I've treated most of his friends like snacks, but he's the real deal. That hair is a bit much, though...his fro is too big. Why won't he cut it off? I wonder if he would cut it for me?"
Actually, Lucara already asked Bas to do so on more than one occasion. But they had never been intimate before. She wondered if she could change his mind if she put it on him.
At any rate, Lucara was a hunter at the fifth step of Hunt Expert, Fourth Class. With soul power at level 28, even 100 Sebastian King's wouldn't be enough to take her down. In spite of the fact that Bas was one of the hidden hunters in the city, since he possessed a formula inferior to her own, he was no threat to the mission.
Plus, Bas was infatuated with herself. Lucara would surely eat him up like the others if he proved useless. Soon, he may even become an asset rather than a nutrient. After all, no one who was valued by their family would be exiled to Mortalee, the Mortal Realm. They would still be in the Hunter's Society of the Twilight Realm.
"Hmph, what am I thinking?" Lucara mused to herself. "I mean, just look at me. It's obvious why he's here. He wishes to woo me just like our other two little friends. Perhaps he barely qualifies as a boy toy..."
Meanwhile, Bas wore a stylish black tank top with black joggers and posted up in front of the stoop that led to the Angels' household. He casually leaned on his hoverbike as he used his rym communicator, which looked like a piece of unbreakable glass full of colorful light panels. It resembled the smartphones that mortals used, so none were the wiser. Inwardly, Bas was reconsidering Simpson's words from yesterday.
Just now, Lucara's eyes flashed with a gaze that was full of pure shock. It was for the briefest of instances, but Bas possessed the experience and wisdom to identify it.
A normal boy would think she was just shocked to see how pure his intentions and how handsome he was today. After all, not only was his physique many points better than yesterday, but he even rode 70 miles to pick her up when their school was less than five minutes away from her home by sky taxi. Such a ride only cost two or three copper credits, and it was literally nothing.
Too bad Bas was not normal at all.
He felt a shift in the usual disdain that lay hidden deep within Lucara's gaze, momentarily replaced with surprise and uncertainty. Even a bit of anxiety. Why would she be so surprised? What was she uncertain about? Was it so worth being anxious? She had nothing to fear unless she could perceive the improvement in his soul power! If she could do so, then that could only mean one thing.
"I friggin knew it..." mumbled Bas under his breath.
He had long ago adopted a certain suspicion regarding this pretty girl.
"Lucara Angels is a hunter."
Not just a hunter but a hunter with a formula that surpassed his own by a wide margin. In fact, she probably wasn't even really a teenager! Depending on her soul power level, she could be close to 30 but still maintain a youthful appearance.
Through special means, she could be even older.
The devastatingly beautiful woman who led to his demise could absorb the blood essence and vital ryms of others through mere physical contact. This led to her eternal youth and beauty, which qualified her to enter the Eternal Realm.
Without probing her with his spiritual sense, there was no way to know for certain, but if she were significantly stronger than himself, this would only expose Bas quicker. In this strength-oriented world, to offend a more powerful hunter spelled death in most countries. Especially if she were already an adult, he would no longer be able to underestimate her wisdom.
"Even if she's a hunter, that shouldn't necessarily change anything between us, right?" Bas rubbed his smooth chin as he contemplated. He had never had a girlfriend before and wasn't particularly picky about the first. "After all, she has no clue I know her status. She could still be my woman, I guess. But there is one thing I don't understand. If she's this much stronger than me, then exactly why is she in Mortalee?"
This was something highly irregular, as far as Bas knew. Hunters rarely visited mortal countries unless they had family or a specific purpose there. Even then, they would not dare to linger for too long.
Yet, Sebastian King knew of this girl before he faded from existence. He liked her long ago but wasn't ready to deal with the fact that he had been banished to the mortal world. On the other hand, Bas looked down on the lower realms from the bottom of his heart. He felt nothing here could dazzle him, especially not women of this caliber.
However, a little hunter girl who could barely be considered a genius by the Hunter Society's standards was interesting, especially if she possessed some special physique, as his past muse had.
What could she have done that would keep talent such as hers tucked away in Mortalee for all these years? It definitely wasn't anything normal. However, wasn't he the same? Her story was bound to be less shameful than his own. Sebastian King was renowned as a phenomenal young hunter when he was younger. He started training his body and calculating his rym formula at four. He reached the Hunt Neophyte, Fifth Class, at five years old. He achieved Hunt Foundation, Fifth Class by six years old.
Most kids from his family only started cultivating at six years old. By age eight, they would barely have entered the Hunt Neophyte rank, only reaching Hunt Foundation around ten years old. This was already better than his younger brother Daz, but if Daz could formulate in the Twilight Realm, he would likely be much stronger.
Ten sub-levels measured every rank of Hunt Rym Formulation. Moreover, ranks of origin power aren't really defined by those sub-levels. To achieve the next class, you not only had to rise through the ranks, but you had to advance your power level past a certain threshold. It was necessary to level up your hunt ryms to advance your class.
Hunt rym progression is a very arduous process, and many people never make it past Hunter Fifth Class, or more accurately, soul power past level 10. However, for a kid like Sebastian, who reached the second rank of the Fifth Class at such a young age, he was almost certain to reach Third Class as a minimum result, even with the stagnation of his progress. With good fortune, Second Class was not out of reach, either.
Of course, now that the consciousness of Pharaoh Everflame had taken over this body, reaching Hunter First Class was inevitable! After all, Bas King's true goal was none other than the God Class.
Actually, becoming a Celestial Hunter was no longer impossible!
When Sebastian turned seven, his father started trying to teach the former his arte but was shocked to discover his son had zero arte potential. He could learn a few Hunt Skills relatively easily, but the arti were beyond his ability. This was because he couldn't find one his ryms were compatible with! Of course, that didn't mean he would never find one, just that he was unique or undertalented.
Either way, those were currently all things of the past.
What would his old man think the next time they met?
"Okay, I'm ready. Did you wait long?" Lucara slowly sashayed out of the luxurious townhome she lived in.
She looked charming and graceful as she smiled coquettishly at Bas, leaving him stunned momentarily.
'Ah, beauties are definitely a trap,' Bas thought to himself before replying, "How could waiting for you ever be long? It was my pleasure."