Chapter 96: He Who Treads the Ancients Path

"This is truly a marvelous turn of event." Meng stared at Seeker.

"Who would have thought that you would be the one to fight me?"

"Well, facing you could be too much. The best ending would be me, defeating you. But if I can't at least I can stall you until Richie gets here." Seeker gave a confident smile.

"I see. So Richie and Lennox are busy as of this moment… Are you sure your little friends can handle my assassins?"

"Probably not if they stay the way they are. But like me, failing to grow, is tantamount to death."

The thick armor of Meng started giving a reddish glow.

"Then before Richie or Lennox arrives, I should eliminate you."

BOOM!

It happened so fast. An electrical yellow charge glowed around Meng. This electric glow was pointing towards Seeker's direction. Its appearance was barely a tenth of a second. Suddenly, Meng's entire body raced towards Seeker at incredible speed.

Seeker wasted no time and evaded the charge with a powerful boost.

"How creative. So this is how the primitive Dragon fights." Seeker smiled.

Suddenly, another set of electrical glows appeared pointing to Seeker's direction.

Bits and pieces of Meng's armor exploded towards Seeker.

Seeker gripped his sword tight, and with a fast-spinning slash, he struck the approaching metals, knocking it off course.

Strangely, the metal armors did not crash on the ground but another glow appeared on Meng's body and the pieces of metal were returning and reattaching itself to Meng.

"As expected of the nation which developed magnetic technology. A battle suit which is equipped with rail technology allowing it to move at incredible speeds. Of course, it would be useless for most humans as the heat it generates would short circuit any complex technology that suit is equipped after several uses. So the pilot has to be able to see and fight without technological enhancements at the speed of sound and withstand the scorching heat." Seeker rotated his elbows to relieve it from the stannous strike his arms just did.

"But of course, that fact pales in comparison to the question of what kind of a human are you? I mean... How hot is it inside that suit of yours? Being a human rail gun, the heat generated in one attack should've fried anyone piloting it on first use. Yet it doesn't seem to affect you. You seem more resilient than the Dawn Soldiers that my friends fought in Australia. And I know there are no experiments done on your body. Now that's just disgusting."

"Disgusting? Coming from someone who just used his bare hands to knock off a canon. If I'm disgusting, then what should I call you?"

"An Inhuman." Seeker smiled.

Meng raised his eyebrows at Seeker's strange answer.

"Then tell me Inhuman, where is Rosa?"

"Oh relax. We didn't even meet her. She isn't that weak anyways. This was all to get your attention. You are a very xenophobic and cautious man after all."

"So you used her name and led an attack just to talk to me?"

"Well... knowing your personality, the sensitive information that I have wouldn't be credible in your eyes. What we need to do, is defeat you first. Perhaps then, you'd listen to us.." Seeker gave an innocent smile.

"Then I want to see how you will defeat me."

Suddenly another electrical charge zoomed past towards the direction of Seeker.

BOOM!

The full armor of Meng charged forth towards Seeker. Despite the high-speed attack, Meng was mindful enough to observe Seeker's escape route.

Pieces of his armors started to rattle as the yellow electric glow appeared, cutting off Seeker's escape.

But then, Seeker who was about to evade did the most unexpected thing. He charged towards Meng's direction with his two hands gripping the sword tightly.

Meng sneered at Seeker's stupid move.

BOOM!

Seeker zoomed towards Meng and used the impact and his booster to throw him backward and after another boosts to the side, Seeker managed to evade the full strike of the charging armor.

Meng shook his head in disappointment.

Despite the successful evasion, Seeker's body was visibly trembling.

"I'll admit that you're strong. But if you want to defeat me, then you have to be disgusting as well." Suddenly, a stronger and more chaotic electric glow surrounded Meng.

"An Inhuman is not enough. You thought too highly of yourself. You still do not have the qualifications to stand before me, Gamer. "

In a different time, in a different place of a different reality…

Meng dragged Seeker's beaten and unconscious body and tossed it towards a calm and tranquil old man who sat on top of the rubble remains of an Aragarian Comet.

"I'm done with the spar. Here's your little project." Meng tossed Seeker's body towards the old man.

Seeker's body suddenly stopped and floated on midair. Then Seeker's body slowly floated towards a huge metallic pod placed at the side. The moment Seeker splashed into the pool of the pod, and then it's metal doors closed.

"So? How was it?" The old man asked.

"He clearly reached Ranked Hero. His physical body should be similar to those at Ranked Hero Proficient. You can make the announcement. This should greatly increase the morale of everyone."

"Oh? Why would it boost morale?"

Meng had a curious look on his face. But knowing that the Realm King wasn't a dotard of an old man, Meng gave a decent answer.

"Because its finally proven that Non-Believers can reach Ranked Hero. And even up to the Proficient stage."

"I wonder about that." The Realm King gave a mysterious smile.

"Arthur and Seeker. Two Non-Believers have reached Ranked Hero." Meng added.

"Arthur's special. His pseudo Path and Selective Unlocking makes him special. And let's not forget his heritage."

"So you're implying that Seeker's also special? He's clearly worse than Arthur. He has no Path. Even a Pseudo Path would have done well. All he has is the capability to match the Unlocking of Ranked Heroes in terms of Perception, Physical strength and endurance."

"That's exactly why. Do you really think that Lennox, who concluded it would be impossible for the Pathless or the average Non-Believers to ever reach Ranked Hero, would be wrong?" Realm King challenged.

Meng dared not say that Lennox was wrong.

"So if he is correct, then what exactly is Seeker Carlean?"

"People often assume that I picked Seeker to be my disciple out of pity and boredom. But what if I did so because I believed he had a Path?"

Meng gave a curious look.

"If he has a Path, then why hasn't he shown it yet?"

"What if he has." The Realm King gave a mysterious smile.

"Please save me from your mysteries. What is his Path?"

"The Unlocking." The Realm King gave a short answer.

"The Unlocking?"

"His Path put it simply, is the capability to rise up the stages of the Unlocking. It's a Path, but it's also not a Path. Quite a contradiction, right?" The Realm King laughed.

Meng gave a strange look at the Realm King.

"A Pathless Path?"

"Exactly. If Lennox is right, then this is how Seeker reached Ranked Hero. That's how he managed to form a physical body that a Non-Believer would be unable to. That's how, despite the absence of a Path or a Pseudo-Path, he managed to catch up with his peers and even surpassed some. After all, how many Ranked Heroes have reached Proficient? Even Arthur, who was the fastest to race through the Unbecoming and Inhuman stage has yet to reach the Proficient stage of Ranked Hero."

Meng was stunned silent at his words.

"If this is the case, is he a Believer?"

"No. He isn't a Believer. Because he could never believe the impossibilities to create a Path like the Believers. But what he has, is something interesting. He believes in himself. He believes that even without a Path, he can break through the ranks to reach the higher stages."

"Forgive me for doubting this disciple of yours. But your claims are very questionable."

The Realm King merely smiled as he looked towards the pod.

"I first noticed Seeker, during the Retaking of Pangea. He was of course, first amongst the Unlocked due to his close connection with Doctor Charles. But of course, he was quickly forgotten within the ranks of the army as his closest friends, the Empress of the Sun and the Prophet Elijah overshadowed him."

"And so you're saying that because he was overshadowed by these two, that he wasn't noticed?"

"Seeker's career is something that should've amazed anyone but since there were so many doubtful things about his progressive growth, he was never seen amongst the heroes. There are several miracles that he did, which we simply ignored. How is it, that he managed to achieve the same level of physical and cellular enhancement which other Ranked Heroes has? Think carefully. Reaching the Ranked Hero stage was already deemed impossible, yet Seeker not only reached that stage of the Unlocking but beyond the state of his brain, everything else caught up as well."

"That's because of the neuro- transcellular phenomenon!" Meng argued.

"Oh is it? Then why is it, amongst all the Ranked Heroes, excluding Elijah, only Seeker has reached the stage where both his mind and body reached Proficient?"

Meng couldn't retort.

"Let's say you're right. Then exactly, what is Seeker's Path?"

"It's similar to Lynd's. You could say it's weaker… but on a different perspective, it's also stronger. If Lynd can mimic and acquire the Path of every Ranked Hero or Champion, Seeker, can acquire everything else but the Path."

"What do you mean?"

"Anything that is not Path related, but related to the Unlocking stages, which means, physical enhancement, time perception, improved motor capability, Neuro-transcellular enhancement, and everything else, he can acquire. How else can you explain how he managed to reach the physical biology of a Ranked Hero Proficient this fast?" The Realm King gave a wide smile.

"Then you had him fight me to grow?"

"Yes. Although your physical body is strong because of your Path, even Lennox would agree that your body will undoubtedly hold the key ingredients that could help Non-Believers acquire the physical body of a Ranked Hero!"

Meng recalled his battle with Seeker and thought deeply.

"So it wasn't just a feeling. His physical body did grow stronger mid-fight."

"Oh… Looks like Seeker had some progressed in your fight. Good. If Lynd's path is the Narrow Road, the one who can gather all paths and produce the Way, then Seeker holds within his potential, the capability to break through the Unlocking without a Path. He simply knows the truth about the Unlocking."

Meng stood silently and unconsciously gazed at the metal pod which hosted Seeker.

"So that's why you adamantly fought the Tyrant Empress to have Lynd near Seeker. I thought you were just protecting Lynd's innocence." Meng contemplated.

"Well, yes. that and if Lynd manages to converge all the Paths, who knows how Seeker will mature. As long as Seeker can witness someone surpass World Champion, he has the potential to do so too." The Realm King smiled.

"So what do we report?" Meng asked a serious question.

"Relax. I know how important morale is. We'll tell the world that reaching Ranked Hero is possible even for Non-Believers. And of course, we cannot tell Seeker of his Path. He might doubt himself if we told him. Despite his strength, he is quite insecure." The Realm King heartily laughed.

The sleeping Seeker Carlean, couldn't hear the conversations between the two Overcomers. But recently, in the depths of his subconscious, as he was building the foundations of his Unlocking, he recalled this moment and heard what he couldn't hear before.

Before Seeker died, he not only saw but felt what it was like to surpass World Champion.

Seeker stood bravely as Meng's yellow charge grew brighter.

"I have no qualifications to stand before you? Perhaps before. But not now." Seeker sneered confidently.

"I am he who has stood at the crossroads and asked; where is the Good Way that I might walk in it? If no new Paths open before me, I'll just tread on a Path already trodden upon!"

Seeker dove forward once again to clash with Meng. But this time instead of evading, Seeker was bent on smashing that metallic armor to pieces.

"I am he who treads the Ancient's Paths!"

BOOM!