Rise of the Limitless One

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Lucian only stopped for a moment after hearing the voice. But, not even a second later, he before continued to walk away. After all, the voice belonged to someone Lucian wanted no relationship with. Just walking away from them required all of his patience.

If it weren't for his weakened state, perhaps he would have chosen a different course of action.

Unfortunately, it appeared the owner of the voice didn't appreciate Lucian's blatant disregard for the presence. 

Whoosh! 

A gust of wind accompanied their rapid movement as a lithe figure appeared before Lucian's view with a bitter expression, "Don't you know it's quite rude to ignore someone calling out to you?"

Lucian glanced at her before simply stepping to the side. However, the other side mirrored his movement, making it impossible for him to pass. Eventually, his anger seeped through his indifferent expression as he glared at the person before him.

"What do you want, Elaine?"

"It's not what I want; it's the principle behind the action. Why ignore my call?" Elaine asked in an offended tone. 

Lucian looked at her oddly before chuckling as if he had just heard the most amusing joke. Was the girl serious? Did she believe their relationship to be amicable, or that Lucian was obligated to acknowledge her existence?

"Listen. I don't know how it works in your little world, but in the real world, people tend to stay away from those who make a move on their life," Lucian said in a tone that made the atmosphere chill a few degrees.

Elaine's eyes narrowed as she inspected Lucian closely. "That wasn't our plan. We were only planning to dump you after farming the points from the tutorial and first floor. But, Priscilla acted outside of my expectation."

"Oh? Just yours? And, why do I care about this?" Lucian asked while tilting his head with a bizarre expression. The more he looked at this girl, the more the urge to snap her neck welled up inside him.

"Look, I'm trying to apologize for the way things took place," Elaine said with a frown. However, Lucian seemed uninterested as he looked away.

"Wow, that's some hell of an apology I'm hearing. So, when exactly will you be getting to it?" Lucian chuckled. His eyes shifted around while checking his surroundings. It was clear, meaning that Elaine was by herself. But, that didn't detract from the fact she still stood in his way.

However, seeing as Lucian was being entirely uncompliant, Elaine found herself becoming frustrated. "Why does it even matter? There will always be people sacrificed for a greater purpose. You should be grateful that you're alive! That's just the way the world works."

Elaine wasn't wrong. There were multiple incidences of weak Guardian being sacrificed in the tower to pave the way for even stronger ones. Typically, this tactic was employed by those who were strong but only strong enough to fill the middle-tier of Guardian.

To ensure optimal growth, those who feared being left behind employed questionable tactics to fortify their growth. Blessed individuals such as Maximized Elites and Extraordinary Guardians didn't need to resort to underhanded means. 

However, with no punishment for sacrificing the weak, the Guardian received an indirect green light to continue with their actions, which gave individuals like Priscilla the opportunity to perform their misdeed.

Of course, Elaine's brief outburst didn't sit right with Lucian. A savage aura burst from his body as he stepped before Elaine, "That's right. Expose your authentic emotions. Just know that I'm not the same person I once was."

Elaine didn't back down, looking up at Lucian with an expression just as fierce, "I had no part in it, but I won't tolerate your disrespect. As I said, just be grateful that you're still alive."

"No, be grateful that you possess a parent high in this organization. Otherwise, that mouth wouldn't be moving. Now…get out of my way," Lucian threatened.

Naturally, Elaine didn't appreciate the threat, but something about Lucian's crimson eyes truly put her off. Though it was hard to tell, a familiar feeling emanated from his body. It was even more potent than Mana.

Suddenly, a slightly worried voice sounded from not too far away. It was another familiar voice that belonged to a familiar individual.

"Is there something wrong, Lucian?" Ahri asked while approaching the conflict from the side. Elaine's face was familiar because she had once caught Lucian's gaze lingering on her party.

"No, I was just asking Elaine here to step aside," Lucian answered with a faint shake of his head. "Isn't that right?" 

Lucian leaned next to Elaine's ear and whispered, "I'm sure you don't want to cause a scene. If I'm not mistaken, that card in your hand is only for the First Division. What happens if I show this?"

Lucian slipped his hand from his pocket and slid a card between him and Elaine. It was his freshly created credentials, identifying him as a member of the Special Division. 

Elaine's eyes widened once she saw the information printed on the card. She couldn't believe that Lucian had made it into this division. She was the child of a Director, and even she failed to make it into the Special Division.

Granted, she was only an Elite Guardian and not a maximized one. Therefore, the Corps felt she fell short of the standard required to become an exceptional individual in their organization, even if her father was the Flame Sorceror, the Lord of Flames.

Once she saw the credentials, Elaine took a step back with a conflicted expression. There was a sour taste in her mouth as she looked at the once weak person rise from the ashes and cinch the highest privilege within the Corps.

Meanwhile, Ahri was in shock, but ultimately felt it was the right choice. After witnessing his display inside the monolith, Ahri felt Lucian more than earned the right to be called extraordinary.

Still, she was curious about the bad blood between these two. 'Just what happened in the past for Lucian to be so angered?'

Not too long after Elaine stepped aside, Lucian turned towards Ahri. "Walk with me. We have some things to get done."

"Okay," Ahri nodded before sparing Elaine a curious gaze while passing by. 'Elaine… one of the princesses of the First Division. I wouldn't think she'd but forced into this type of state.'

Meanwhile, Oryon viewed the entire squabble from the rooftop of a nearby building. Contrary to his identity, he was excited about the current drama. "So it is true. A deep betrayal is the only matter capable of producing this strong resentment. What an absolute shame. They've lost a potentially precious asset to their team. Even my boy has left the team."

"Mmm… I guess Matthias will have to pull an exponential amount of weight in the coming floors. It becomes quite horrifying following the fifth floor," Oryon muttered to himself before averting his gaze towards the core of the island.

'Skybreaker's awake? And he seems to be active. I wonder, what has riled him up,' Oryon thought before vanishing from where he stood. He used the buildings as his means of travel as he jumped between them.

…

"Where are the others?" Lucian asked while finally taking a seat in one of the island's expansive parks. Ahri sat beside him before sighing softly.

"Before any of that. I think you should be careful. You never know how people will retaliate, and I bet you still haven't recovered from whatever ability you used to clear our," Ahri said with a concerned yet thankful expression.

If not for Lucian, her attributes wouldn't have experienced their current increase.

"True," Lucian nodded. After a while, Ahri delivered the contact information to Lucian. Unsurprisingly, according to her, everyone was on this island, which is why she suggested that he come.

The only issue was that they were all in different Divisions. For example, even though Quinn possessed a vital ability, his temperament forced him into the Third Division. He was a risk to the clearance of Anomaly Rifts.

So, outside of the green rifts, the Corps couldn't afford to let him within any of the others rifts. Even then, he was only allowed into rifts that required large clearance parties. 

Until he proved otherwise, 8-man attack teams refused Quinn's presence. Of course, they didn't know that his temperament was experiencing rapid development.

Still, Lucian called for everyone to meet him where he stood.

"When will we enter the monolith again? How long before you are ready?" Ahri asked suddenly. Not only did Lucian's presence driver her to enter the monolith, but she also wanted to strengthen herself to prepare for her ability's unforeseen effects.

"Two weeks at the latest," Lucian answered.