Chapter 37 - Before the Storm (1)

Before the Storm (1)

Individual practice gym, Aegis base.

There is a state-of-the-art virtual training machine capable of assuming a preferred location and conduct a mock light battle. It stood in the middle of the spacious interior of the gym.

It was a facility that most companies would only dream of. It’s hard to believe that it’s only for a single Aegis awakener’s use.

Il-hyun was inside the facility doing a simple exercise.

He was standing up and down continuously, trying to calm his stomach.

Ether was flowing inside his body.

It was from the numerous cores he consumed inside the research area.

Even they are relatively low-power E-rank cores; he had consumed numerous amounts.

It did not end there.

He had to get and also consume the ether from the last Gate B0 operation.

The core that was paid to him from the operation was a lot more than what he usually gets.

Hundreds of E-rank cores and several B-ranked ones filled his body, and he felt bloated.

“Oh, it would be a big deal if you overeat with ether,” he murmured.

He didn’t feel any abnormality in his body, but the feeling of being bloated while he exercised was not good.

There seems to be a limit to what his body could accept.

‘There’s a huge chunk of energy in my body…’

It was the highest amount of ether he had consumed so far, so he expected this.

Shortly thereafter, all the ethers circulating in the body were absorbed and digested.

“Hmm.”

Il-hyun looked down and opened his right palm.

He felt stronger than before.

After reaching the B-rank at a rapid pace, his growth somewhat felt slower and duller.

It was difficult to get the same feeling that he had when he first absorbed ether, but this time, he felt it again.

He felt the intense feeling of growth again.

Now is the time to test his abilities.

Quaddeuk!

When Il-hyun gestured lightly, the floor rose.

The concrete floor transformed into tree roots and danced around.

Il-hyun felt satisfied as he looked at it. He did it with less power than before, but the result looked more refined and stronger.

He then proceeded to summon continuously.

He summoned on a whim.

He made bears with ferocious roars, huge carnivorous plants, small animals like rabbits.

There was one thing in common – all the features of his summons are now more delicate that they cannot be distinguished from the real thing.

It was a far cry from the time he made crooked mice.

“I don’t know if I can start making humans…” he thought out loud.

Then he reached out into the air.

The empty air in front of him twisted, then a green light burst out.

A little fairy appeared!

It was so small in size that it couldn’t fill his palm, and it floated gracefully with two delicate wings on its back.

“What?!” Il-hyun exclaimed, surprised.

He had never summoned humanoid forms in the past. He had been trying, but it was the first time he was actually successful.

He simply stretched his arm without any expectation at all that he surprised himself when it worked.

Kiying Kiying.

The fairy whirled around one side with a strange sound.

Il-hyun was speechless, then he looked at the fairy closer and muttered to himself.

“I don’t think it has special abilities…”

He was happy he succeeded in summoning a humanoid, but it didn’t seem to have any special power or strong physical strength.

It was hard to expect a lot from such a small size.

“But it’s just my first time…”

He had summoned a humanoid for the first time, and it was not yet in perfect form.

The fairy was shimmering in front of his eyes, but it just had a vague shape of a fairy, with no clear details, unlike his other summons.

“I should practice this for a while.”

Il-hyun thought about the possibilities.

Humanoid summons would be most effective in fighting against monsters.

He could send them out in a longer range than other summons if he can make communication possible.

In addition, he could make them carry AT swords.

Il-hyun checked the time. He wasn’t at the Aegis base to train. He can’t keep doing this for now.

Il-hyun dismissed the summons, cleaned up the room, and brought the core fragments to the lab.

Choi Eun-chae received the fragments with a smile. “Thank you. If you need anything, just ask right away.”

The researchers felt good, having secured a large number of fragments that could not be obtained anywhere else.

After coming out of the research area, Il-hyun encountered Ghost in the hallway.

“Where were you doing?” he asked him.

“Oh, I was just killing time because our schedule was canceled anyway.”

The two climbed together and headed upstairs.

“What does the research team say?” Ghost asked.

“I won’t say. You have to come to yourself.”

“You…”

Il-hyun laughed. “It’s nothing special. They just asked for help with some strange experiments.”

At that time, they suddenly came across Seok Pil-jun, who was quickly walking out with a feverish look.

Il-hyun turned to Ghost. “What was he wearing?”

“Oh, he’s wearing the Raven coat.”

“Raven?” Il-hyun didn’t know the meaning of the English word.

Ghost explained to him slowly.

Team Raven.

It was Aegis’ only interpersonal team.

Team Raven faces criminals and international organizations rather than hunt monsters and get cores.

When Seok Pil-jun entered Aegis, he belonged to Team Raven and worked with them for the first three years.

It was a team with a strong independent character, but it had little activity.

He was brought in by Jeong Jin-seong to Team A.

Il-hyun still felt upset. “Our team leader got hurt and needs to be confined. I thought we were going to get revenge, but it was quickly assigned to a different team…”

Ghost felt the same. “I was thinking of removing those criminals from the face of the earth.”

Suddenly, Lee Soo-yeon appeared and put her hands on their shoulders.

Ghost and Il-hyun jumped with surprise and turned around.

Lee Soo-yeon smiled. “If that’s your decision, what can I do? We’re going to dispatch as planned. We’re going to Mexico at 1:00 tomorrow. Go home and pack your luggage.”

* * *

The base of Cartel Del Lohas was located in the middle of a city in northern Mexico.

It was disguised as a different business, but it was not enough to prevent Aegis from pursuing it.

“Ueup!”

A member of the organization, who was a lookout at the rooftop of the building, choked. He collapsed, his neck was broken.

The intruder, who appeared silently, caught the man’s powerless body and lay it on his back gently.

Then, one by one, the other guards fell without a sound.

Two men and a woman stood in front of a locked door. It was the entrance of the basement.

All were wearing a protective coat.

“Are you sure they’re all here together?” the woman spoke through the communicator on her left ear.

-Yes, I’m sure.

Just a few hours ago, they heard that the boss of Del Lohas brought together the whole organization inside the base, possibly planning an attack.

It was the best opportunity to get them all at once rather than running around catching scattered members of the organization.

“Let’s go.”

The woman wearing a black baseball cap pulled the entire door out of its hinges with one hand!

The team quickly entered.

After a short stair leading downstairs, they faced another locked door, which was instantly smashed to pieces with a powerful kick.

Bang!

“What the…”

The Awakeners stopped and lost their words at the sight before them.

The information was definitely right.

More than one hundred and fifty members were gathered here.

But all that remained were their dead bodies.

No one was alive.