Cyrus approached the empty can of water, stretched his hand, and activated the [Chained Lock].
A sleek, black thread shot forth from the center of his palm, snaking through the air like a striking serpent. It glided effortlessly toward the bottle, slipping through the plastic without a hint of resistance, as if it were an incorporeal string.
'Is this a chain? Can this even bind a toe of my foot?' Cyrus thought.
He attempted to move the empty can, but it felt as if he were trying to shift a rooted tree, but the water in the can shook. Three seconds later, a sharp headache struck his head like a freight train.
His vision spurned and tears formed at the corner of his eyes. Staggering backward, he had to walk with wobbling steps until he got to a seat, where he slumped down weakly.
Breathing deeply and slowly, the headache gradually faded after about five minutes, allowing him to regain his senses.
Cyrus sat up, heavy breaths still escaping his lips. "That was terrible. I forgot that I don't have any Etherion, so forcefully using my skill leads to disastrous consequences. Now that I know my body can level up without any issues, it's time to advance before my potential goes stale. I've been stalling for too long."
He couldn't risk absorbing improperly stored cores—beast cores that were not preserved correctly develop impurities when exposed to the atmosphere, which can hinder potential if too many are absorbed. This made independent Elites hunt for their cores to avoid compromising their potential. While impurities don't affect the cores' usefulness for other applications, a portion of their energy would be lost.
The thought of trying the Nullfire crossed his mind but he quickly extinguished the temptation.
Urgent, rapid knocks made him flinch. He stood up and walked to the door of his shop, unlocking it.
There, he saw Tracy, dressed in a loose gown with her hands on her waist and a worried look in her eyes.
When she saw Cyrus, she exhaled in relief.
"Phew! Thank goodness you're alright."
"Why wouldn't I be alright?" Cyrus arched his eyebrow in confusion.
She waved her hand, trying to gloss over the topic.
Cyrus merely chuckled, "So, you care about my well-being, huh?"
"Who cares about a deadbeat coward like you? If something happens to you, I won't have somebody who can fix my team's equipment," she snapped, trying to hide her feelings, but Cyrus didn't point it out.
"If that's why you are, then you should be happy because I am fortunate to be alive after coming face-to-face and battling against death," Cyrus said while laughing carefreely.
Tracy's eyes roamed over Cyrus before she burst into a loud peal of unrestrained laughter while placing her hand on her chest.
"Did I say something funny?" Cyrus questioned, his face a bit lost.
Tracy quickly waved her hand. "No, you-you-you di-didn't…"
She tried to speak but the laughter made her speech incoherent, and she continued laughing.
Cyrus could only watch her, clueless about what was making her laugh. Tracy had shoulder-length, wavy, chestnut brown hair that framed her oval face, with a pair of bottle-green eyes. She was around the same age as Cyrus.
She finally caught her breath, but her chest was still rising and falling. "Sorry about that but I couldn't hold it when a coward like you, spoke about fighting death face-to-face."
Cyrus' confused face finally morphed into a deep scowl.
"I said I am not a coward."
Tracy finally lost her smile, her eyes firm and challenging. "Then come hunt with us. Come and join us in our mission. We would love to have a talented Artificer like you."
"Hey! We've done this so many times, and you know my answer is always 'no', so why bother?" Cyrus shrugged.
"If you don't explain, I will drag you–"
But Cyrus interrupted her, "Do you even listen to yourself? Do you want me to join you with my meager ability? Do you forget my rank? I'm a little Awakened, the rank swimming at the bottom, but you are an Eminent rank. Although it is one rank above mine, the level of control you have over your skills, coupled with your constitution and the power upgrade is nothing to scoff about.
Lastly, I'm sure you're not just any Eminent rank human out there from the way Private Institution comes to seek your service. Worst, your rank is almost nearing the peak of Eminent, if not at the peak already, and ready to take the Eminent Trial to push yourself to the third rank—Archon. Is that what you want me to play with my tiny life? Maybe you don't know that the difference between life and death in this world is just one powerful slap from a monster; just one slap and I will cross the line."
Cyrus would typically brushed aside the issue, but today, Tracy didn't seem willing to accept 'no' for an answer. He realized he had no choice but to explain himself—who knew what this ferocious girl might do?
She stepped closer until their faces were just inches apart, their breaths mingling in the air. With fierce intensity in her eyes, she began to speak, punctuating her words by poking his chest with her index finger. "That's not what I meant; I'm not stupid. What I want to know is: why haven't you taken your Awakened Trial? Are you scared of death? Do you plan to remain Awakened for the rest of your life? If you wait too long, your potential will diminish, and the trial will only get tougher. You need to face it early."
Her eyes grew more challenging.
"Fine. Congratulations on your persuasion because I was about to leave the town tomorrow to go fill my etherion value, so off you go," Cyrus said.
"Really?" Tracy's jaw dropped and her eyes widened like she heard the most outlandish thing ever said.
"What? Do I look like I can't hunt?"
Cyrus arched an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching in reaction to her disbelief.
She quickly waved her hand, "Of course, you can, but doing it alone is dangerous because you're an Artificer."
Cyrus's expression darkened at her words, and he began to walk away, his legs trembling slightly—whether angry at her comments or the weakness of the ordeal he had just faced, or maybe both. He passed her, heading toward his house.
"Hey! I was just telling the truth, Cyrus! You're an Artificer, and hunting alone is suicidal. Even a team of five can die if something goes wrong!" she roared at his back.
Cyrus continued walking away.
"You thick-skulled, ingrate, ball-less coward! Fucking listen to me!" Her roar attracted attention to them.
She strode up to him, and forcefully turned him to face her.
"If it's what I said, just forget about it, okay? I can arrange for five trusted Awakened to join you. Don't worry, I won't do what I previously planned," she hurriedly said.
"What you previously planned?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow as he repeated.
Her eyes widened when she realized that she had made an inadvertent revelation.
"Forget about it and follow my arrangement." She hastily waved her hand while avoiding his direct gaze.
"Tell me what you planned and I will tell you how I plan to hunt alone," Cyrus said with a tempting smile.
"Really?" She questioned, her tone suspicious.
"When have I ever lied?"
"So many times."
"But it is different now."
"Well…" she threw her head aside. "I bought a steel cage, a whip, and a handcuff, to teach you a lesson for a week until you change your mind and challenge your Awakened trial."
Cyrus' face morphed into that of horror when he thought of how he was going to spend a week in a steel cage but when he thought of what she bought…
'A whip, handcuff, a steel cage… why is that ringing a bell for a different activity? Yes! That!'
A gleam flashed through his eyes and he gave her a strange look.
She snapped, "Why are you giving me that look?! I swear, that was the look the seller was giving me when I bought it."
A knowing smile tugged Cyrus' lips.
"What?!" She barked. "I don't have your time, so tell me what is your plan."
"Do me a favor and use your connection to buy daily necessities required for a person in the wild for one week. Bring it to my house tomorrow morning…" Cyrus quickly turned and ran away, his voice echoing back from a distance. "...and I will tell you my plan."
Tracy was stunned and when she regained her senses, she yelled at the top of her lungs, "CYRUS!!!", not minding the look she was receiving.
Her chest rose and fell in quick succession.