[Neraxis's POV]
"You're grounded," his mother's voice resounded from behind him just as he began walking up the stairs to his room.
"Okay?" Neraxis answered nonchalantly, before freezing in place and turning around to meet her fierce glare.
"Are you talking back to me?"
"I'm no—" His words were interrupted by his mother suddenly running up the stairs and winding back her arm as though she were about to hit him.
But just as he closed his eyes in resignation, he felt his cheek being caressed.
"Neraxis, look at me."
As soon as he heard her voice, one filled with sorrow, he opened his eyes, meeting his mother's.
They were still a bit red from crying.
"Do you even know how worried we were!?" she suddenly burst out, tears forming in her eyes as she continued, "Why did you not run? We saw the live feed. There was no one around to save; you ran in as if trying to die!
"If you hadn't come back, I... I..."
Neraxis listened to his mother's worried remarks, trying to muster up a few words to console her. However, he was unable to say anything.
It just felt like shutting up would be the right thing to do instead.
[It naturally feels shitty. Put yourself in her shoes.]
I know... But... fuck. He sighed inwardly. All he could do was stand there and watch as her eyes filled with tears.
All because he couldn't refute her. She was right, and he was wrong—plain wrong.
His previous mentality only worked because he had nothing to lose—aside from a one-sided love that, in the end, betrayed him.
But that had to change—he had to change.
After a few minutes of constant reminders of his wrongdoings, his mother calmed down, giving him a single glance before walking back downstairs.
She hates me now, doesn't she?
[Of course not, stupid. You just have to do better next time, just as I told you.] Evangeline comforted him as he began heading back to his room with a glum look plastered all over his face.
There were a few things he had to sort out, and in the meantime, think of an apology to give his mother.
Neraxis quickly changed, then headed downstairs to grab some food. His mother was by the table silently using the laptop, not even paying him a glance.
However, he had a purpose for coming here, and that was to ask his mother for permission.
Even at 16, he was grounded like a child, so it couldn't be helped—rapport needed to be built back up somehow.
"I am going to go outside for a bit... I will be back by midnight." Neraxis said, not even sure himself.
If all went well, he should be back sooner, but in the off chance it didn't...
"Do whatever you want," she replied, still not even taking a glance at him.
...Is that a yes? Or a no?
[It's a "do whatever you want until you apologize." Just make sure to come back before midnight. If you don't, then you can imagine the consequences.]
I can. Neraxis nodded at his mother and proceeded to walk outside, heading in the opposite direction from the academy.
There was a certain building on the outskirts of the city, near the docks, where a few interesting operations were being held, and if the timeline aligned as it should, then there would be quite a few boons there.
He did promise not to take unnecessary risks, but what awaited him was too good to pass up.
Infiltration was not his forte, however, it would be wrong to say that he was bad at it.
After all, he was once able to clear out an entire building without being caught.
[So are you going to rob them? Or are you planning on killing them?] Evangeline asked as he turned a few corners.
Both preferably, but depending on the circumstances, I might just rob them and leave. He explained, then suddenly stopped before turning to the nearest corner to hide.
I am not even close. Why are they here? He looked on with confusion. It was a group of people; however, there were a few recognizable faces—the ones that had appeared on the news in the past.
Rall and Skall... The twins who, in the future, become a bit of a problem. He thought inwardly with a scowl.
They were especially memorable because he personally killed them.
Never did find out which organization they were a part of, though...
Neraxis decided to follow after them, holding quite a fair distance. The twins were merely E-ranked Awakened at this current point in time; they would not be able to sense him.
Or so he hoped anyway; the others were unrecognizable.
Seven people in total, and he could likely kill all of them if given the right opportunity.
[You should hold back for now.]
Obviously.
After roughly 20 minutes of following them, they arrived in front of the docks where a bunch of cargo ships were floating about. They were the same docks he had seen in the news.
This particular day had a few high-value items being transferred, hence why even the twins were here, even if they were relatively weak.
Evangeline, is it possible for you to hide my presence? He asked just to be safe; his body held a bit of mana, enough to be detected by anyone above rank D.
[I can, but the moment you attack someone, the concealment will go away.] She said, to which he simply nodded in approval.
It was an auction-type event, and preferably, he would rather go in and out. There were bound to be some strong people present.
However, chances were, they would just turn a blind eye to him. After all, he's weak.
That reminds me... Status.
+-----+
Status.
Name: Neraxis Valen
Stigmata: [Fragment of Calamity {21%} (Seals Unlocked: 0)]
Age: 16
--Stats:
Rank: G+ -> F-
Strength: G -> G+
Agility: G+ -> F-
Stamina: G+ -> F-
Intelligence: F
Mana capacity: F-
--Secondary Stats:
Luck: G-
Charm: C-
--Skills:
[Eve of Ruin {G}] *
[Swordsmanship {G}]
+-----+
Oh? I guess I did get a bit stronger after all. Though... my progress is going to become much slower now. He couldn't help but lament inwardly, because the stronger you got, the slower your progress became.
That was the case, unless you were some sort of lunatic who got stronger simply by training nonstop.
[There are no easy paths, there are only shorter ones. So long as you take the long and arduous path, success will await you at the end.] Evangeline suddenly said, momentarily startling him.
What's with the poetry?
[...Never mind.]
Neraxis rolled his eyes at her behavior, then watched the twins and the rest head inside the building right beside the docks.
It looked abandoned, therefore drawing away most of the suspicion from the people.
Most did not even use vehicles to arrive, so it was much harder to track, aside from public cameras, of course.
But if the people behind this were as meticulous as he thought, then they likely disabled every camera in a couple of blocks' radius.
As he was lost in his thoughts, preparing for his next course of action, Evangeline spoke. [They do sound pretty meticulous, making it so that no one can track them down. I like it. They remind me of who I was back then...]
I see. I promise we will talk once I get everything sorted.
[Pinky promise?]
Sure. He chuckled and noticed another group coming in. Groups were arriving at 10-minute intervals.
Meaning, he had to sneak in through a little gap that appeared if someone happened to be late.
While he did trust Evangeline with presence concealment, breaking any code would not do him any good.
[I think you should have practiced the horizontal slash a bit more before coming...] Evangeline's worried voice echoed.
I have the gist of it now. While walking back home, I had a bit of time to replay it inside my mind. He assured her and once again began counting down.
A group went in, then another, and another, until finally, he couldn't see anyone in the distance.
Neraxis waited until the last 5 seconds just to be safe, then finally made a run toward the building.
As the seconds ticked down, he thought he would be late. However, the seemingly dark passage suddenly lit up, as if a door had just opened.
Taking this chance, he went straight in. Immediately, the door closed behind him.
He took a glance around and found himself in a damp, narrow hallway with a red carpet and all sorts of paintings strewn across the walls.
What stood out the most, however, was a singular red arrow and a sign saying,
"Auction #591."
Neraxis smiled upon seeing this and slowly began following the arrow toward the auction. It was time to either get a massive boon or fail miserably.
However, as he approached closer and closer, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. It felt as though someone was observing him.
[Be careful.]