Liam’s expression eased a little, doing his best not to show he wasn’t gloomy still. "Na’s Liam," he said.
"Alright, Liam. I’m Amir," the other man replied, reaching out for a handshake. Liam took it, and they exchanged a brief handshake.
Elaine stepped in quickly, "Well, Liam’s a special agent."
"Oh, so not part of the team team," Amir said with a small grin. "But welco to USOV Michigan."
"Thanks," Liam nodded.
Elaine then asked, "What about Sarah?"
"She should be back soon," Amir replied.
Elaine gave a small nod, then turned to Liam. "Co on, we can head to Mr. T now." then she turned to Amir again, "He earned his gear the traditional way."
Amir smiled. "Good one. You’ve earned my respect, man."
Liam nodded affirmatively and Amir left it at that. Elaine then gestured to Liam to follow her as they headed toward Mr. T’s lab. They arrived at the weapons creation lab to find Mr. T busy slicing up monster parts. Without looking up, he said, "You guys are back already?"
Elaine replied, "Yeah, Liam killed it"
"Damn, that was quick," he muttered, finally turning toward the weapon racks. He motioned to Liam. "Take a look and pick sothing out or did you bring back a part for to work with? Actually, where’s the monster? Cleanup crew still handling it?"
Elaine and Liam exchanged a brief glance. After a mont, she sighed and said, "Yeah, the crew’s still working on it."
She wasn’t obligated to cover for him, but sothing told her Liam would rather keep it all quiet. Liam walked along the weapon racks, scanning each item with interest. As he reached for a green-handled dagger, a screen suddenly flickered into view in front of him.
[A Green Dagger: 2 Attack Power]
"hm?" he muttered, that’s weird, he thought to himself. Another weapon caught his eye, a spherical object, and again, a screen popped up.
[A Mana Bomb: 20m Explosion Radius]
Then a sword,
[A Double-Edged Sword: 4 Attack Power]
And a potion nearby.
[A Potion: 30 HP Recovery]
This had never happened before, not even during the battle with the Ice Elf, when the creature had summoned twin blades. Liam figured it had to be a system update likely triggered by his recent level-ups. It wasn’t a skill though, not exactly. Just a new feature the system had now he guessed.
It kept going like that; each weapon he looked at ca with a screen, describing its abilities and assigning stats in the system’s familiar format. Then Liam’s eyes landed on a particular weapon encased in protective glass. The mont he focused on it, a screen appeared, listing so very interesting capabilities. It was an elongated sword, its light-toned blade etched with a thick black line running down the center. A curved golden guard swept downward at the hilt, giving it an elegant but dangerous look. The stats read as follows:
[Weapon Type: Long Sword → 30 Attack Power / Special Effect → Weather Control / Second Special Effect → Attack Power increases further under a wielder who can awaken its true potential]
Inwardly, Liam muttered to himself, "Damn." Then, out loud, he asked while pointing at the display case, "What about that one?"
Mr. T burst out laughing. Even Elaine chuckled a bit and shook her head.
"Aren’t you a bit too greedy?" Mr. T said, standing from his seat and walking over to the sword. "Well, to get this one, you’d need clearance from Mr. Grey himself. Or..." he paused, tapping the glass with a grin, "...if you can break the protective case, it’s yours."
Elaine scoffed. "Never mind. It’s futile. Even an S-rank would have a hard ti breaking that glass." She was just about to tell Liam to let it go and pick sothing else when, suddenly, he took a stance, lightning energy surging around him. Elaine then paused, and decided to watch "Hmm."
Mr. T narrowed his eyes down, now fully focused to see how Liam would do it
[Muscle Boost] [Contract Borrowing → Pip]
Liam’s muscle mass swelled slightly, whilst he channeled wind magic behind his strike to amplify the force, then he launched a punch at the glass.
A gust of wind blasted through the lab, scattering tools and materials across the room. All agents in the USOV building snapped to attention, sensing the burst of high-level magic energy and turning toward its source.
Mr. T, who had ducked behind a wall, slowly rose and adjusted the welder’s mask that had been knocked up onto his forehead. Elaine, who had turned her face away from the blast of force, looked back at Liam still frozen in his punch stance with her eyes widened, stunned by the sheer output of magical power.
The glass, however, held firm and Mr. T let out a sigh of relief. He’d bet his life any day on the strength of that barrier. Liam clicked his tongue, he was disappointed. "Tsk." He lowered his hand, eyeing his fist. He was definitely sure that would been enough.
Elaine shook her head and said, "You keep surprising . Sorry about the ss, Mr. T."
That was when Liam finally noticed the lab in disarray. "Oh—my bad. Sorry about that."
"Nah, it’s alright," Mr. T replied with a wave of his hand. "So, you still want to check out another weapon?"
Liam shook his head. "Nope," he said, then grinned. "But I’ll be back for this one."
The mood lightened after that, it gave him sothing to look forward to. Just then, Jim Kent stepped into the lab. "I felt a spike out here. What happened?"
"Liam was trying his luck with the reinforced glass," Mr. T said casually. "That so?" Kent looked over at Liam.
"Yeah," Liam replied, brushing his clothes off a bit. "Still standing though, so.." He adjusted himself and started heading toward the exit. "Is Mr. Grey in his office?" he asked, tossing the question back to Kent as he walked out.
Kent replied, "No, he had so business to attend to."
"Alright," Liam said, already heading out. Elaine followed right after.
Kent’s gaze drifted toward the display case. He narrowed his eyes, then let out a small chuckle. "Mr. T, you might want to rework that protective glass." With that, he walked off. Mr. T raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to the fra. Scanning its surface, he spotted it, a thin crack but barely visible, causing his mouth dropped slightly in shock.
anwhile, Elaine caught up to Liam and asked, "Where to?"
"The cafeteria," Liam said, rembering it from the tour earlier.
"Alright. I’ll head back to my team now," she said, then added with a glance over her shoulder, "I don’t know what you are, Liam, but good first day."
Liam gave a small smile and a nod and then they went their separate ways. Not long after, he arrived at the cafeteria and treated himself to so coffee and biscuits, then took a seat in a quiet corner. Pulling up his player stats, he decided it was ti to review his new skills and current level.
[EVOLUTION SYSTEM – PLAYER: LIAM VELMONT]
Main Class: None
Sub-Class:
• Combatant
• Caster
Level: 1.35
Authority: Beast Tar
HP: 600 | MP: 925 | STA: 1150
STATS
• STR: 39 • AGI: 34
• CS: 30 • PRC: 35
• Stat Points Available: 3
Skills
• Regeneration
• Contract Summoning
• Contract Borrowing: Lv.1
• Muscle Boost: Lv.1
• Unity Weaving: Lv.1
Inventory
• Mystery Box (1)
He allocated the available stat points; one to STR, one to AGI, and one to CS.
[STR 39 → 40]
[AGI 34 → 35]
[CS 30 → 31]
His eyes drifted to the PRC stat. He couldn’t recall exactly what it did again, so he clicked on it. As usual, the system highlighted it for an explanation.
[Perception: Improves user’s five senses and danger perception ability. User can also see through illusions and deceit.]
"Hmm," Liam muttered, saying nothing more. He then clicked on the new skill — Unity Weaving.
[Unity Weaving —> User can share his own skills with any contracted summons/ user cannot use the shared skill simultaneously]
"Woahhhhhhh," Liam breathed out. "Damn! Imagine Pip or the goblin or even Lazark being able to harness lightning or use regeneration when in danger."
His mind raced through different combos, a happy grin spreading across his face. Then, his thoughts drifted to the sword behind the glass, Ray Hooks’ earlier outburst, and finally Kai Egnis. He muttered under his breath, "I wonder where that guy is anyway". With those swirling thoughts, his resolve only grew stronger, he was determined to beco even more powerful.
Then, at that mont, an alarm blared again; this was a monster breach warning. Liam’s lips curled into a smirk as he said, "I love it here already," lightning beginning to course through his body and in an instant, he blitz away.
The day passed quickly, and soon night fell. Liam entered his house, dragging three suit bags behind him, utterly drained from the day’s events. His first day at USOV sowhat shaped up exactly as he expected, although exhausting. There were a few hiccups, of course. The expected ones where sotis he’d arrive at a breach site only to find a faction had already set up periter controls. Other tis, USOV agents were already present, and to avoid complications with using his abilities, he’d steer clear of the fight entirely.
Still, the number of breaches USOV handled daily was staggering, and despite the many factions around Michigan, Liam found chances to tackle breaches on his own. Besides Lazark, he’d acquired two more summons and leveled up further, unlocking new skills. One summon was a B class threat; a gigantic bear-like mythical creature capable of growing even larger as it had a gigantification ability. He recalled the fierce struggle to subdue it. The other was a reptilian B-class threat, a colossal dark serpent with iron-like fangs and scales. He then pulled up his player stats to check his progress.
[EVOLUTION SYSTEM – PLAYER: LIAM VELMONT]
Main Class: None
Sub-Class:
- Combatant
- Caster
Level: 1.6
Authority: Beast Tar
HP: 650 | MP: 1100 | STA: 1310
STATS
• STR: 40 • AGI: 35
• CS: 31 • PRC: 35
• Stat Points Available: 5
Skills:
• Regeneration
• Contract Summoning
• Contract Borrowing Lv1
• Muscle Boost Lv1
• Unity Weaving Lv1
• Sovereign Hands Lv1
Passive Skill
• Aegis
Inventory:
• Mystery Box (1)
Of the two new skills he’d gained today, one was passive, which was his first ever one, but before diving into that, he decided to allocate his remaining stat points, putting three into STR and two into CS.
[STR 40 → 43]
[CS 31 → 33]
Then he clicked on the new skill, starting with Sovereign Hands.
[Sovereign Hands Lv1: User can move objects with his mind within a 30m range]
"Hmm... Interesting."
He then checked the passive skill.
[Aegis: User’s body takes 20% less physical damage]
It made sense he’d gotten Aegis after fighting the serpent with iron-like scales. Well Liam’s day ended with a win in his books. He lifted his hand, stretching it as if trying to grasp sothing from the sky, then drifted into sleep.
...
The scene reopened on a lonely road that night. A van cruised steadily toward a destination, its side marked with an insignia resembling an angel’s diagram; the Netherlights emblem. Two people were in the front: the driver and Kel Anthony, an A-tier Visor seated in the passenger seat. Inside the van lay the skewered body of an A-tier beast they had taken down earlier that day.
Then, all of a sudden, a loud thud echoed from atop the van, as if sothing had fallen on it. The driver slamd on the brakes and parked, both of them stepping out to inspect the noise. They saw a puncture on the roof.
"The hell?" Anthony exclaid just then, a voice ca from behind them.
"We et again, Trashcan."
Anthony imdiately recognized the voice and spun around. It was Ray Hooks, with a devious smirk curling his lips.
"What do you want?" Anthony asked, now drawing his blade in anticipation of an ugly face-off. Anthony, one of the 3 A-tiers from a few days, was in a turf dispute with Ray; a conflict serious enough that USOV had to step in.
Ray stepped forward slowly. "I’m taking that," he said, pointing at the van, "...off your hands." A golden aura began to rise around him.
The driver, a man in his mid-30s, took off running in the opposite direction, but before he could get far, another Visor appeared, slicing his throat. The man was an E-tier cleanup crew mber for the Netherlights.
Anthony realized he was in deep trouble, an S-tier standing before him, and another at least B-tier behind. The visor behind began advancing, but Ray motioned sharply for him to hold back. "This one’s mine," he said. That prompted Anthony to lunge forward, yelling "argghhh!..", with his blade swinging toward Ray, who only grinned.
Monts later, Ray’s boot kicked over the fallen A-tier’s body as he wiped his bloodied hands with a handkerchief, then pulled out his phone and answered.
"Yes, boss. We just secured another," he said. "Yes." Then, "Okay, got it."
He ended the call and told the other man, "We’ll take this to base first, then strap it onto the Flyer Jet. It’s heading to Dallas tonight."
...
In the Chief Director’s office within USOV’s main-branch in New York, two figures sat on couches facing each other. Garene Grey and a man as tall and imposing, Mr. Lucien Cifer. Lucien had white hair, a slightly older but still fit appearance, and wore eyeglasses. Between them was a table with two wine cups freshly poured by an agent who promptly exited on Lucien’s gesture.
Lucien began, "I was told you’ve been in New York for a few hours. Sorry I’ve kept you waiting. The eting with the President and chief of defense staff ran longer than expected."
Grey replied, "It’s all good. I bided my ti at Mitz Parlton."
Mitz Parlton was a top-class hotel in New York.
Lucien nodded. "Alright, let’s get to it, Grey." Then Grey who didn’t waste any more ti than necessary asked, "Do you rember the na, Velmont?"
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