Chapter 62: The Atrocious One
A few days after conversing with the strange viewers, Adam was left with a strive to a get stronger even faster...
He didn't specifically know the conditions to make sure the time reversal was kept permanent till the day the catastrophe arrived, but since those strange usernamed viewers told him to get stronger...
Then he definitely would do so.
Now standing within one of the captured orc settlements, Adam observed the gathering of Stream Hunters who had allied with the orcs.
Most of them had contributed to the faction war, but some had only shown up now, after the battle had already been decided.
Among the crowd, Kristoff frowned as he leaned toward Leila, lowering his voice.
"Tsk... some of these guys weren't even around during the attack. They doubted us, and now they want to reap the rewards?"
Leila, standing beside him, simply shook her head.
"Can you blame them? If someone told you that two people would take down an entire undead settlement, would you have believed them?"
Kristoff let out an annoyed huff.
"Maybe not. But still, seeing them here pisses me off."
Just as he was about to complain further, he suddenly froze.
A strange heat spread through the ground beneath them.
The air shimmered, and then—
FWOOOOSH—!
Flames erupted from the dirt, rising in a spiraling inferno.
A silhouette emerged from within the fire, stepping forward as the flames dissipated.
The man who appeared had wavy blond hair, an unsettling grin, and a massive broadsword strapped to his back.
His presence alone radiated an air of arrogance and recklessness.
Kristoff's eye twitched.
"Shit… speak of the devil."
The blond man smirked as he met Kristoff's gaze.
"Kristoff! You're looking as ugly as ever."
He greeted mockingly.
"By the way, your cousin's still single, right?"
Kristoff's expression darkened instantly.
"Bastard. You just ruined my day."
He crossed his arms.
"How the hell did you get here?! Weren't you on the other side of the floor?"
The man's smirk widened.
Kristoff's eyes narrowed.
"You put a teleportation mark on my cousin, didn't you?"
The man chuckled.
"Nope. I put a mark on you."
Kristoff froze.
"...What?"
The blond man continued smugly.
"Honestly, I thought you'd notice. But I guess I gave you too much credit. You really didn't bother checking yourself for foreign markings?"
Kristoff's expression twisted in fury as he frantically inspected his own body, running his hands along his arms, shoulders, and torso.
"Where the hell did you put it?!"
The man hummed in amusement.
"Try checking your forbidden areas. Might be there."
Kristoff's face turned red with rage.
"You—!"
his anger was cut off as he finally spotted the teleportation mark.
A reddish-black insignia burned into the side of his forearm.
Without hesitation, he channeled his mana, erasing it instantly.
The blond man sighed dramatically.
"Damn. I'll have to place the next one somewhere you'd never think to check."
Kristoff, barely containing his rage, pulled out his shield, fully prepared to bludgeon the smug bastard standing before him.
Leila, standing to the side, had already taken several steps back, distancing herself from what was sure to become a disaster.
'Kristoff is bad enough, but when paired with Cael...'
Kristoff was an uncouth loudmouth, but Cael... known by his stream codename, The Atrocious One, was in a league of his own.
He had no regard for social etiquette, constantly pushing the boundaries of acceptable behavior.
When these two were together, every conversation devolved into crude remarks, inappropriate jokes, and a complete disregard for the sanity of those around them.
Cael suddenly turned his attention toward Leila, grinning.
"Oh? My favorite fortune teller won't even greet me?"
Leila shot him a cold look.
Cael ignored it and leaned closer.
"I've been curious for a while now… Mind telling me how many wives I'll end up with in the future?"
Leila's expression remained unreadable as she calmly replied.
"I curse you. Your future wife will be a grotesque orc with four arms and three hundred sharp teeth."
Cael let out an exaggerated playful gasp.
"How could you be so cruel?!"
Leila turned away, uninterested in further conversation.
Meanwhile, Adam, who had been organizing the other Stream Hunters, finally took notice of the escalating commotion.
His gaze flickered toward Kristoff, Leila, and the unknown blond man.
He frowned.
"We are about to start the discussion. Quiet down."
His words carried a calm authority that made the group immediately fall silent.
Kristoff and Leila both shut their mouths and quickly took their seats.
Having spent the past few days under Adam's leadership, they knew better than to test his patience.
If they didn't keep quiet, he would probably forcefully shut them up...
Cael, however, was unfazed.
Instead, he turned toward Adam, raising an eyebrow before suddenly speaking in a loud voice.
"Hey, you're the so-called Chosen Conduit, right?"
The moment he said the name, multiple heads turned, their curiosity piqued.
Cael grinned.
"Damn. How did you manage to trigger a worldwide system announcement?"
[pb_jelly has donated 30 coins]
[pb_jelly] : This one's even more loudmouthed than Kristoff...
[Ken_The_Destroyer has donated 15 coins]
[Ken_The_Destroyer says to beat him up directly]
[Experienced Old Knight] : Hm, he has no social boundaries at all... Although I'm against constantly using violence as a solution, perhaps a little few punches will do good...
[Bird Hunter agrees]
[Frog Eater is frightened by the amount of violence seeping out of the chat]
Adam met Cael's gaze but didn't immediately respond.
There was a deliberate pause, a moment stretched thin between them, filled with nothing but the distant sounds of crackling torches and faint murmurs of other Stream Hunters in the distance.
Then, Adam finally spoke.
"...You're Cael. The Atrocious One."
Cael's grin widened, sharp and amused.
"Oh? You've heard of me?"
Adam let out a low hum, eyes scanning the man before him.
Cael, The Atrocious One.
The name wasn't just infamous... it was burned into history.
In his past life, this guy had gone berserk on the 15th floor, leaving behind nothing but corpses and bloodied halls.
Dozens of innocent people had been slaughtered.
No motive. No remorse.
It had forced the government's hand, leading to the reinforcement of the Stream Hunter Psychological Wellbeing Law, a measure designed to prevent such massacres in the future.
All Hunters were required to undergo psychological evaluations before advancing past the 10th floor.
Cael had scored the lowest in history.
A single glance at his report had made one thing clear: this man was a walking disaster waiting to happen.
But instead of undergoing therapy as mandated, he had escaped.
Using his ability, he had fled before they could force him into treatment, stating it was a 'waste of time' and 'pointless nonsense.'
Adam knew what that had led to.
He had seen the corpses.
He had seen the aftermath of what happened when someone like Cael was left unchecked.
Which was exactly why he wasn't planning to make the same mistake twice.
"Yes, I have..."
Adam said, his tone calm.
"Now, kindly refrain from retaliating."
Cael's grin faltered slightly. "...What?"
Before he could react, red chains erupted from Adam's hands.