I will be the Strongest

Chapter 7

Kneeling before his own bed, Hye found himself in a dilemma. Sitting on the bed, radiating unparalleled beauty yet clearly in a foul mood, was a woman with black hair just grazing her shoulders.

"Are you telling me you lost your phone?" the woman asked, her tone firm.

"Yes..."

"You know I'm not going to believe that excuse, Lucas."

Lucas—a name Hye rarely heard from his aunt's lips, even though it was his given name, the one on his birth certificate. She only used that name when she was truly angry, or, as in this case and most others, worried.

"You can stand up now."

Hye wasn't kneeling in front of his aunt out of fear or guilt; he knew that. Like his sister, she was fully aware of his "condition," his difficulty in feeling emotions had become almost normal for her. Respect, the foundation of his upbringing, was what he was demonstrating.

"Aunt..." Hye didn't stand up; on the contrary, he lowered his head. To his aunt, that seemed strange, and for a brief moment, she considered the possibility that he was embarrassed. She dismissed that absurd notion with a small smile and a shake of her head. "..can I ask you a question?"

"You won't stay here, don't insist."

"No, it's not that." Hye hesitated. All these years had shown it to be impossible, yet Maria found it hard to believe it wasn't out of fear or simple hesitation. Which, in itself, would be a grand thing in her perception. "...Where should I take someone on a first date?"

"..What...?"

***************

"An S-rank portal? In Korea?" Lior asked as he lay on Alyia's lap. "That's impossible, especially right now."

"Not exactly," replied Yang Kai, sitting on the other couch. Leaning forward, he looked at Lior. "...After all, you two are here."

"What? No, but I..." Lior froze. For a brief moment, his eyes met his sister's, and that was enough to make him fall silent. "...When did this portal appear?"

"When? According to the Korean association, it was three days ago."

"Three days...?" Lior quickly glanced at Alyia again. That was the exact day she had arrived in South Korea. "I imagine you’ve already completed the dungeon. So, what exactly do you need?"

"Teodoro, I need you to bring him here."

"What? Why?"

"Although I sensed the dungeon's appearance on that day, I could only come to Korea today... but the dungeon's already been closed."

Lior looked at his sister again. "Don’t even think about it. Closing dungeons wasn’t one of the reasons I came here," she responded, without giving him a chance to even ask.

"Of course..." he muttered. "But looking for men was..."

"What actually happened was the dungeon shifted from E-rank to S-rank. I went to the location, and I could tell that the mana density was far beyond what any A-rank dungeon could produce. In some cases, maybe ten times more."

"If it wasn’t you or me, maybe it was one of the others?" Lior replied, scratching his reddened ear. "Daniel loves to leave Europe and visit other places."

"No, that was the first thing I considered as well, but there were two survivors from the dungeon, which was originally supposed to be a test for new hunters."

"A test? You guys are still using that method?"

"I don’t control all the Asian associations. Politicians are annoying. They say spending so many mana stones for a simple test would be a massive waste. Anyway, one of the survivors is out of the question. Even though he was in charge of the association's test, he's now with the Twins guild, and I don’t want complications. They said he isn’t well enough for an interrogation."

"An interrogation?" Lior smiled. "The way you say it, it sounds like they committed a crime."

"The other one isn’t in any guild, and he’s the one who gave a statement about what happened in the dungeon."

"So, you already have a statement. Why do you need Teodoro then?"

"Bugbears. He said the monsters in the dungeon were bugbears."

"D-rank monsters? Completing an S-rank dungeon would give him a lot of visibility and fame. Why would he lie about that?"

"I can’t say. S-rank dungeons aren’t common, and they’re the most dangerous so far. What I want is to know exactly what the monsters in the dungeon were... even if it's without his consent."

"...And what's this hunter's name?"

"Lucas," Yang Kai replied. "Lucas Santos de Oliveira. According to the association’s records, son of the late S-rank hunters Maicon Santos de Oliveira and Carolina Santos de Oliveira."

For a brief moment, Lior felt like his hair was about to be ripped from his head. He quickly stood up and looked at Alyia. "Sorry, it was an accident..." she said, smiling softly.

"Shall we?" Lior said, his tone slightly irritated. "You know where he lives, right? Or is he going to the association?"

"No, we're going to his house. But what about Teodoro? Aren’t you going to call him?"

"I already spoke with him. He’s meeting us there."

As Lior left the apartment, followed by Yang Kai, a voice echoed in his mind. Alyia’s voice.

'This is quite the unexpected coincidence.'

'What are you talking about?' Lior responded.

'I didn’t think you’d meet him so quickly.'

'Wait... You’re saying that...'

'Since you're going to see him in person, I won’t need to explain. But don’t forget—use your eyes well when you look at him.'

***************

'Ma'am, I... I will need to extend my stay in Korea a bit longer.'

Covering her mouth with one hand, Samantha was trying hard to contain her joy, her smile.

'What? No, why? You too, Sam?' the voice on the phone responded.

'I will return in at most a week, I promise. Other than the week of my daughter's birthday, I won't request any time off for the rest of the year.'

'What? No, you don't have to go that far. But tell me, is everything alright? Do you need anything?' the voice asked, in a concerned tone.

'No... I don't need anything else.' Samantha couldn't hold back. A smile spread across her face, and tears welled up in her eyes. Tears of joy.

'Damn... I knew I had heard that surname before,' Lior whispered, breaking into a cold sweat. 'Santos de Oliveira is my aunt's assistant's surname!'

'Why are you acting like this?' Yang Kai asked dismissively. 'She's just an assistant.'

'You don't understand,' Lior replied, his tone and expression serious. 'She loves this woman more than she loves us. And also...'

'And also?'

'And also, she apparently doesn't like hunters much,' replied the young man who appeared behind Lior. His hair alternated between two colors, white and black, perfectly matching his eyes that carried a similar peculiarity.

Both remained hidden beside the wall of a convenience store.

'Exactly! One of her conditions for working with my aunt is precisely not to interact directly with hunters, unless absolutely necessary, of course.'

Lior looked discreetly, and his eyes almost met Samantha's. 'Did you fly here, Teodoro?' he asked, hiding again at incredible speed.

'No, I swam. Of course, I flew. You didn't say she'd be here!'

'You guys are exaggerating. We just need to get in and talk to Lucas; she doesn't matter.'

Yang Kai started walking confidently towards the building but was quickly pulled back by Lior.

'You don't understand,' he said, his gaze and expression showing no hint of joking. 'If that woman says you won't meet him, you won't. And there's nothing I or you can do about it. At my aunt's request, even Alyia has never spoken directly with her. When that woman is around, she doesn't even come close. Do you understand now?'

Yang Kai nodded. Given the expressions on those two faces, he didn't dare argue. 'So what will we do?' he asked, anxious.

'Suppress your mana,' Lior said.

'What? But why?'

'She definitely sensed when Teodoro arrived here. If you go as you are now, you won't get past the gate.'

'Is she a hunter?'

'A high-level one,' Teodoro answered. 'My aunt said she might be A-rank or higher. From what I see, she's certainly superior.'

'Listen to me,' Lior said, catching Yang Kai's attention. 'Don't let a single trace of mana leak. Pass by her naturally, and when you get upstairs, open the window.'

'But, wait. Won't she recognize me? You might not realize it, but I'm very famous. Worldwide.'

Lior and Teodoro looked at each other. They almost laughed as they responded in perfect sync, 'No. Absolutely not.'

Yang Kai walked towards the building. Confidence hadn't been lacking before, but now his hands were even sweating. He passed by Samantha, who seemed excited, looking at something on her smartphone.

'Excuse me.' He froze at hearing her voice. 'Could you help me for a moment?'

Yang Kai turned. He couldn't decide what was more impressive about the situation: her stopping him just to ask for advice on men's haircuts and clothing, or the fact that she did it while speaking perfect Mandarin without him even mentioning he was Chinese.

'Wait... she's speaking in Mandarin! Did she recognize me!?'

During the conversation, his mind was in complete chaos. But that didn't stop him from doing his best to try to help her. It seemed very important to her.

"Thank you, thank you so much, and I'm sorry for wasting your time."

When he walked through the glass door of the building, a sigh escaped involuntarily. It was certainly due to the way those two were acting. Yes, that must be it. He tried to convince himself.

"Excuse me," the voice came again.

Yang Kai turned hesitantly, only to see her bowing before him. "Forgive my lack of manners," she said. "I shouldn't have just started talking to you in Mandarin without asking first. The last time I came to Asia was to visit China, so I guess I'm still a bit used to speaking Chinese daily."

"It's alright," he replied. "Don't worry, it's no problem."

A smile on his face, but anxiety in his heart. Yang Kai rushed to the elevator the moment he had the chance.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Yang Kai from the Hunters Association," he said as Hye opened the door to his apartment. "Can we talk for a moment?"

Upon entering the apartment, Yang Kai walked directly towards the large dark glass window. The window slid open when pushed to the side. "Sorry for the lack of manners, but I need to open your window for a moment."

"Phew! I thought I was going to have a heart attack watching you talk to her for so long," said Lior, sitting on the large gray sofa in the center of the room.

"Yes," agreed Teodoro, seated right next to him. "I was almost biting my nails."

Hye sat in the armchair to the left while Yang Kai closed the window.

Those people are strong, he knows that.

He couldn't even see them entering through the window; they are too fast for his eyes to follow.

But are they from the association?

If so, why are they here?

Because of the portal?

But he had already been questioned about that before... And why were those two looking at him that way?

"Is it him?" Teodoro whispered.

"She said it is..." Lior replied, his voice too soft for a normal person to hear even if they were next to him.

"...He's handsome."

"Yes... very. But... do you see that too?"

"Definitely. It's impossible not to. He doesn't have a single drop of mana."

"Doesn't have, or..." Lior appeared next to Hye. He strangely began to circle him. "We can't see it...?"

"What are you doing?" Yang Kai questioned. "Sorry about these two, we're here to..."

"No, wait," said Lior, standing in front of Hye.

"How do you do it?" he asked. His eyes see many things, in some cases the truth. But why can't he see anything now? "How do you hide your mana so perfectly? It doesn't even seem like you have any."

"What are you talking about? That's not why we came here."

Yang Kai tried to stay focused on his initial goal of leaving China and coming to this place. But that answer left even him surprised and curious.

"Mana..? What is that?"

The energy of life.

The universal energy.

The purest and most powerful energy that exists, is it possible to live without it?

If you don't have it, are you even alive?

A fact is that even the smallest insects have some amount of mana.

Babies? By having the ability to sense mana at a certain level, you could even say someone is pregnant before machines could detect it.

"You're awakened, right?" Teodoro asked, pushing Lior aside and approaching Hye. "What does your system say? How much mana do you have?"

Not just Teodoro and Lior, Yang Kai too. The three gathered, waiting for the answer from someone with an energy that even someone with the eyes of an angel couldn't see.

"Strength, agility, and endurance. There's no such thing as mana."

"What? That's impossible," Yang Kai stated.

"No, it isn't," Teodoro smiled.

[Level: 150

Status

Strength: 330

Agility: 330

Endurance: 330]

He could see, Hye was telling the truth.

Those were the only stats in his system.

However, how could someone without mana have and use an ability?

The Nephilim walked to the back of the armchair where Hye was. "I'm curious about how this is possible and would like to see for myself, but I need your permission."

"My permission?"

Something was strange. Alyia wasn't there at that moment, so why did Hye feel so nervous, agitated?

"What do you intend to do?" he asked.

"What do I intend to do?" Teodoro took a step back. His clothes began to move, and his body was enveloped in a white glow.

Suddenly, more than beautiful, a magnificent pair of white wings appeared on his back. His beautiful, shining feathers could both captivate and destroy those who looked at them. "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to read your soul. If your girlfriend were here, this wouldn't even be necessary, but I doubt she would want to do it..."

"My girlfriend..?" now Hye understood why the sensations were so similar, in the end, they are connected somehow. "You know Alyia?"

"She... she's my sister. And the blonde guy's too." Teodoro approached Hye and placed his hands on his head. Smiling, he asked, "So? Will you give me your permission? Don't worry, it won't hurt at all."

"Hey, wait. That's not why we're here. We came to..."

"Oh, please, an S-rank dungeon is nothing compared to the fact that he simply doesn't have mana. It's impossible. Now, don't interrupt me!"

What is mana? Is it that amazing? So important? Hye wanted to know. Was that a side effect of emotions? Curiosity? Besides, there was something even more important than that. Finding the source of the "voice."

'If I do this, will he be able to find it? Is that possible..?' Hye wondered.

Anyway, it doesn't matter, none of this matters. What matters is that, without making any gesture or saying any word, in his mind, he said yes, and that was more than enough for the Nephilim.

'What is this?'

Upon entering Hye's soul, transmitting his consciousness through a small piece of his soul, Teodoro saw nothing, nothing but pure darkness, the purest darkness.

'Is this his soul? Or am I still far away?'

No matter how much he wandered, how much he searched, the Nephilim found nothing.

No soul, no energy.

Concentrating, focusing to the limit, he expanded his soul's consciousness within that space.

The answer found?

He was merely searching in the wrong way and for an unnecessary amount of time, because, in fact, Teodoro was not even close to finding Hye's soul; perhaps he never would, because everything surrounding him was mana.

Pure and controlled.

Dense and calm.

So much mana that, because his soul was simply submerged in it, it was constantly being affected, diminishing his connection with his "real" self.

It was as if the part of his soul inside Hye's consciousness was drowning in an ocean of mana.

A calm and wave-free ocean. A lifeless ocean. An endless ocean.

"Incredible..."

An irregular. A Nephilim. And the second strongest man alive. Who would believe that someone like that would faint after simply looking into the consciousness of a mere novice hunter?

In the end, the answer to how the creation of systems with different "evolution difficulties" worked was indeed the most accepted theory. Talent. It all comes down to talent.