Chapter 41

After the fall of the earth's governments, Nayeli Whitecloud became the leader of the area formerly known as the United States.

Thanks to her hold over the territory, she had reformed the structure of the country to better suit the current environment of the earth, a place where strength was the most important factor.

Surprisingly, she kept the White House as her stronghold, which became the place where she held most of her meetings.

Inside the White House, a meeting was currently being held, with Nayeli sitting in the highest seat.

Nayeli was a native American who grew up admiring nature and disliking technology in her early years. However, as she grew older, she got more and more involved with societal norms, growing accustomed to the comforts of modern life.

Nayeli has always possessed a unique view of the world, ever since she was young. Her elders called this ability of hers a blessing from the gods. She had the ability to view life's energy, predicting the longevity and strength of an individual purely by sight.

After partaking in the 'culling', as she called it, she had become much stronger, but at a great cost.

Along with the other survivors, she strived to improve earth's strength in the eyes of the federation to get rid of their status as mere fodder, but she knew it would take a long time for such a thing to happen.

Her ability was called [Life's Eye], giving her the power to view one's longevity, strength, and true ability.

When Nayeli was weak, she would constantly encounter those that were stronger than her, but after her advancement in the ranks, she only feared one person, at least when it came to earthlings.

That person was Sylas Hayes.

Ever since she had first met him, she had always seen an incredible amount of power in his frame; however, even Sylas's strength couldn't compare to the sight she was currently witnessing.

Cold sweat had currently covered her entire body from head to toe. She was afraid to even move a single centimeter, despite being in a higher position than the other person.

Sitting across from her was a young man with long black hair and piercing blue eyes. His face could only be described as beautiful, possessing an unexplainable charm, while a unique symbol shone brightly on his forehead.

The young man wore robes that could only be considered old-fashioned, especially compared to current fashion trends. He wore what seemed like traditional martial arts robes with gold ornaments. Just from a glance, one could tell that the material wasn't normal.

Although that was the true appearance of the young man, in Nayeli's eyes, he was nothing more than a devil.

From her point of view, a green energy had covered the entire room, and a much larger blue energy had covered almost the entire city.

Even when compared to Sylas, the young man was at least a dozen times stronger than him. She knew that the green energy was the life energy signature, while the blue energy was the strength signature.

If it had come to just that, then Nayeli wouldn't have panicked as much as she had. She could see that around the young man's body, a potent black energy was running rampant, ready to shred anything that came close to it to pieces.

Although the energy didn't even extend a centimeter above the young man's skin, she knew it was more than enough for her immediate death.

It was her first time seeing black energy, even compared to the times she had scanned the alien life forms that had abducted her.

The young man, who had been patiently waiting for her to talk, suddenly tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Interesting skill you have there, but I guess it can only give you a vague understanding of your opponent's strength. Well, I guess it should be enough for you to understand that I mean no harm."

Nayeli was shocked even further when she heard those words, her body trembling slightly.

Originally, this meeting was supposed to be held for the purpose of examination, but things had taken a weird turn. It confused her even more that such a person was supposed to be her subordinate's deceased partner.

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Rui, who had just met up with Jane's superior, Nayeli, stared at her weirdly.

After using [Identify] and [Understanding] on her, he had comprehended why she was currently in such an awful state.

Shrugging, he compressed his freely roaming aura inside his body, causing the visuals Nayeli was seeing to disappear; the only thing remaining was the black energy around Rui's body.

Although Rui didn't know the extent of her abilities, he could come to some conclusions. Raising a hand, Rui covered his hand in runic energy.

"What do you see?"

He asked, curious as to what Nayeli was seeing with her unique ability.

I see blue energy, which means it's very pure and concentrated energy."

Nayeli replied, taken aback by the sudden question.

Hearing her answer, Rui rubbed his chin, curious to learn more about her ability.

"What does each energy color mean?"

He asked, having come to a conclusion of his own. After all, Rui also had a similar type of vision thanks to his physique, though he saw things differently.

Nayeli didn't immediately respond, as she took a bit of time to ponder the question.

After five minutes of silence passed, she finally spoke, her voice becoming more resolute the more she spoke.

"Green is the color of life energy, or, as I like to call it, vitality. Your vitality is probably the highest I've ever seen. I can assume that you will probably live for more than a thousand years with that large of an amount."

Rui nodded at her assumption. Compared to earthlings, rune masters were in a whole different league. Second-rank rune masters could probably extend their lives to almost five thousand years if they used longevity treasures, though most of them didn't need to do so.

Blue-colored energies are mostly pure-type energies that vary in density depending on how deep the shade of blue is. For example, your energy is a very deep blue."

Rui frowned a bit at her words, finding a flaw.

Before she could continue explaining about the rest of the colors, he raised his hand to stop her from talking.

Extending the same hand as before, he summoned [Sun Cutter] on his hand, activating its sword form while using his celestial and runic energy at the same time to perform a slash attack in the air.

Nayeli, who didn't even have time to comprehend the situation, opened her eyes wide in shock as the blue energy suddenly turned into a deep shade of magenta.

After performing his strike, Rui glanced at Nayeli, waiting for her explanation.

Gulping audibly, Nayeli responded.

"The color turned into a dark shade of violet from a deep blue. This means that the stronger the attack, the redder it becomes. I was going to explain about red energies just before you stopped me. Red means that the energy is way above my league, but this is usually in a very small amount and sometimes only appears when my enemy is in a life-or-death situation."

Taking a deep breath, Nayeli glanced at Rui's body, which was still covered in black energy, and shuddered.

"As for the last two types of energies, It's white and black. White usually means it's harmless to me, while black is a new one for me. I can only assume that black means death, since it's the opposite of white."

Rui scratched his chin at her explanation. It was a very useful ability, especially for scouting enemies. Depending on what she saw, she could determine if she would lose or not.

Sadly, she was a system user under the federation, so he couldn't really use her. He couldn't expose himself as a system user after all.

After the removal of Jane's system, Rui realized how little he knew about souls. Since he had mostly focused on his own cultivation, he hadn't delved into different types of energies.

For example, if he had cultivated his soul to the second rank of rune masters, he would've easily been able to remove the system from her body without wasting so many resources since, compared to his own system, Jane's system was of a lower grade.

If someone like Wuya San, who possessed the Soul Immortal Physique, were to be in a similar situation, he wouldn't even need a second to remove the system.

Sighing, Rui extended his hand forward and began casting a runic hex. Not long after, the room was covered by a transparent blue barrier.

"With this, no one will be able to spy on us. Tell me, how is Earth doing at the moment? I know fully well that you lot are manipulating the media."

Rui said while leaning back on his chair.

Since he was currently talking with Jane's superior, he didn't want to suppress her too much, especially since he had to wait for Jane to awaken.

Due to her soul not being strong enough, she suffered a bit of a backlash from the system's removal. Thankfully, though, it would at most take her a few hours to wake up.

Nayeli, who was profusely sweating so far, tried to relax herself by channeling her energy.

Since the earth had undergone an awakening, the energy on the planet was different from the runic energy that Rui was used to. Although it possessed the same properties, the energy of the earth was of a much lower quality than runic energy.

The earth's awakeners called that energy 'mana, based on the numerous fictions, games, media, etc.

After a few seconds of channeling her mana, Nayeli finally felt better. Although she wasn't back to her best condition, it was good enough for her to speak properly.

"The earth is currently under the jurisdiction of the Inter-dimensional Federation and more specifically under the Bowera Civilization, which itself is under the command of the K4 Orenad Civilization. As for Earth's current standing in the federation, we are considered nothing more than slaves. Every year we must send a certain number of newly awakened children to the Boweras while at the same time using the resources we gather from expeditions to the portals to purchase advancements for our civilization."

Nayeli began explaining the entire situation in great detail. As she kept going, her face began warping with great anger, as if she were pouring her heart out.

"They have informed us that if we rank up half a tier, we will be able to connect to the 'Cosmic Nexus', a virtual reality that mirrors our own world where all the members of the federations connect to, exchange information, and also enjoy life. For the goal of freeing our earth from the status of slaves, we, the supremes, have strived for improvement, but we are still far away from our goal.

With every sentence she spoke, she poured her heart out, tears slowly covering her eyes.

Rui didn't say anything and just pondered her words.

'Although she has given me a lot of information, it's mostly useless to me because I don't know anything about the federation. It's just a massive info dump without any context to it.'

Sighing, he scratched his head in annoyance.

"Rai."

He whispered, prompting R.A.I. to respond.

╓ Since my connection to the database has been cut off, I cannot confirm or deny any of her words. However, based on her actions, heartbeat, and emotional state, she seems to be stating the truth. ╖

Rui couldn't help but frown, dissatisfied by the situation. Since R.A.I. had lost connection with the database and had only recovered his freedom after the system error, he didn't possess core information about the federation.

All Rui could do at the moment was come to his own conclusions, but that would be useless in his current situation.

After all, the only reason he was able to return to earth was due to the trials. He was sure that after he completed the last trial, he would have to say goodbye to earth once more.

Thinking of the trial, Rui's frown deepened.

The fifth trial was a test of the spirit, which meant that he had already started the test from the moment he stepped on the old street.

Suddenly, Rui felt like his actions were being read like an open book, and the guardian had already predicted how the situation on earth would unfold.

This also meant that even though he had freed Jane from the system, he couldn't bring her with him.

'If the test is based on spirit, then the current predicament Earth faced also affected me due to past resentments and hopes. If I'm unable to disconnect my current self from my past life's karma, then the only thing I can do is endure it.'

Rui realized why the trial place was Earth.

Due to his attachments to his previous life and the karmic bonds he had made, it was clear he was still connected to this place.

If he couldn't solve these karmic bonds, the only solution left was to cut them, but Rui wasn't prepared to do so.

He had finally returned; how could he bear to lose it again?

However, since he now knew how to proceed with the trial, he decided to start where it all began.

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After his talk with Nayeli, Rui decided to visit his original house.

Outside one of the half-destroyed houses in New York, Rui expressionlessly stared at what used to be his childhood home.

The house was nothing but a ruin at this point due to the monsters.

His figure rapidly moved from place to place around the rubble, trying to find any recognizable fragments of the apartment.

After a few minutes of doing this, he found a half-destroyed wall with some words written on it.

Although the words had almost faded out, Rui could still recognize the writing.

The writing spelled out Rui's dreams and aspirations as a child. He vividly remembered writing it while trying to fall asleep. Of course, the place he had written it was hidden from his father.

Clasping the wall with one hand, Rui turned it to dust using his runic energy.

"A child's hopeless dreams…"

He muttered, his figure flashing and disappearing from the area.

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Rui's figure appeared next to an old building, its doors boarded up and locked for good.

Surprisingly, the building hadn't suffered any major damage and still stood there as if to mock the rest of the destroyed buildings.

A shadow flashed, and the door was opened in a fraction of a second. Rui, who had now entered the building, glanced around, feeling nostalgia in every fiber of his being.

"So they took all the books out at least..."

Rui couldn't help but smile at the now-empty library.

Bookshelves, now empty of any books and full of spiderwebs, covered the room. The front desk was half destroyed, and graffiti could be seen on every corner of the building.

Just looking at the familiar setup and remembering the times he spent here, even sleeping in sometimes in secret, Rui grinned happily.

Taking a deep breath, Rui extended his runic energy, blowing away all the dust in his vicinity.

Finding the environment appropriate, he decided to cultivate a bit.

It was only after he received a call on his cellphone that Jane had woken up that he finally stopped his cultivation.

Exiting the building, he glanced at the now dark sky and decided to take a detour before he returned to check on Jane.

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Inside a certain village's graveyard, a young figure could be seen staring at a grave.

The figure was, of course, Rui.

"Although you weren't the greatest mother, thank you for giving birth to me."

He muttered, lowering his head slightly in a salute.

Although Rui's memories were vague, he still knew that his mother wasn't a good person and was similarly a druggie like his father. However, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to hold a grudge, unlike how he had done with his father.

She died when he was too young. In fact, his father wasn't as mentally unstable while his mother was alive.

Glancing at the grave, Rui could clearly see that it was well maintained and that it was being visited on a regular basis.

Since his mother was buried by her family, it was not surprising that she was still being visited. Although her family never supported her actions and wanted nothing to do with her, they still had respect for the dead and paid for all expenses for her burial.

Although Rui felt a bit of loathing for not receiving their help when he was in need, he knew fully well that his father had cut off any ties with them after his mother's death.

Of course, they were still to blame for not caring enough for a family member, but Rui knew well that humans were selfish beings.

Just as Rui was about to leave the graveyard, he saw a figure limping over, holding a bouquet of flowers.

The figure was that of a dirty-looking man with unkempt hair and a beard. His entire body seemed to be covered in a fine black powder, but the man didn't seem bothered by it and even seemed hopeful for some reason.

The only clean thing on his person was the bouquet of flowers.

Just like Rui noticed the figure, so did the figure notice Rui.

Pausing slightly, the figure continued walking forward, bowing slightly at Rui after getting near him.

"Fine sir, could you please move out of the way? I brought these flowers for my wife, and I don't really have a lot of free time, so I need to be quick."

Said the figure, prompting Rui to move to the side in embarrassment.

However, strangely, the wife the figure was talking about seemed to be his own mother.

'It can't be.'

Rui thought as he looked at the kneeling figure.

In an instant, Rui used [Identify] and [Understanding] on the man.

[Frederick Brown, Age 65

Rank: [F-Rank Hunter]

Physique: Spirit specter physique

Combat power: 12

Character personality path: Repentant Monk

Luck: -1.215689 ]

In that instant, countless memories flashed in Rui's, no, Albert's, eyes as he looked at the man's back.

It had already been over twenty years since he had last seen him. After he was locked up, Albert made sure not to visit him or even think about him.

Looking at the kneeling man in front of him, who was even weeping for his lost wife, Albert was left speechless, not knowing what to say.

He wanted to be angry and shout at him, but he couldn't.

He wanted to kill him on the spot, but he couldn't.

He wanted to forget his past but he couldn't.

Staring at the man's back, Albert couldn't help but calm down.

All the rage in his heart had been extinguished.

He could clearly see that the man was not only sober but was clearly working hard.

Just from the fact that he had awakened as a hunter, Albert could understand how things had gone.

After the awakening phenomenon, awakened prisoners were used as labor for mana mines and other things. It was clear that Frederick had become a slave.

However, what truly calmed Rui was the status.

The character personality path represented the true side of a person and the final destination of one's character.

Rui couldn't kill someone who was repenting of his actions, no matter how much he wanted to. As for the physique, it was more of a reason not to kill the man.

Staring at the man's back, Rui could clearly hear sobbing sounds coming from him.

Raising his head slightly, the man spoke at the gravestone.

"Alissa, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Our son died five years ago. I just learned of this from one of the staff after pestering him for the past ten years! Those people wouldn't even tell me that my son had passed away! Thankfully, after meeting this month's quota, I was able to afford the transportation and these flowers. No, it's all okay; the body of a hunter is much better than that of a normal human. Yes, I know, I will take care of our son's grave as well, and I will try to talk to him as well, though I don't know if he would want to talk to this bastard of a father... Yes, I know you told me not to hate myself, but I can't help it, my love."

The man seemed to be having a monologue, which at first left Rui speechless.

He first thought that his father had gone insane, but quickly realized what was happening.

It all had to do with his father's physique, the Spirit Specter physique. It was a physique that allowed one to view spirit entities after awakening.

So his father was, in reality, talking with his mother at the moment.