Chapter 47: The Expedition

The parking lot of a random supermarket in the Provincial Capital's Suburbs.

A group of masked individuals were waiting, groups of twos and threes positioned sporadically across the open area.

Counting, there were no less than 30 Paranormals in the parking lot, and all of them waited patiently.

"So let me get this through my head; we've delayed the expedition for so long just to wait for one person? And he's not even a local, right? Am I the only one ticked off about this?"

The one who spoke was a man with a lionfish mask, the realistic whiskers swaying about as he talked and made his dissatisfaction known.

Theo, who was wearing a blank white mask, looked over. "You won the bid to join this expedition, but that doesn't mean you're the only one interested. If you want, I can refund you right now and give your spot to the runner-up. We're not lacking this bit of strength."

Theo's voice was low and cold.

The fish mask scoffed and didn't respond, but he muttered silently, "Act all high and mighty now, just wait till we're inside. See if I don't teach you to be humble."

Seeing that the troublemaker didn't say anything anymore, Theo checked his watch for the time, feeling a little anxious.

"Why is he so late?"

…

Hiro wasn't late—he was right above them, but the system had just finished updating the power levels from this world's universal concept to an RPG leveling system.

The update must have started ever since Hiro cleared Legend of Babylon, and it took some time for the system to gather the necessary data from all over the world.

The current {Tier} segment on his character profile was replaced with {Level} while the {Rank} segment was replaced by an experience bar.

Furthermore, his experience bar would increase when Hiro killed other Paranormals, as the system would automatically devour their life force and convert it into universal energy to be used by Hiro.

It wasn't limited to ordinary Paranormals, but the inhabitants and natives from other pocket dimensions also counted.

Not only that, but he would also get experience points from completing interpersonal, hidden, and high-priority missions in the future.

So, it wasn't that Hiro was late, but he didn't wish to reveal himself before the system's update finished.

"Finally," Hiro murmured as the upgrade finished. "This feels more like a gaming system, why must I follow the power system designated by the Holy Church?"

As he was landing from the sky, Hiro checked his updated status window.

[Name: Hiro Sciatis.

Class: Sorcerer.

Level: 11.

XP: 25%

Spells: Sorcerer's Guide to the Five Elements, Infinite Sword Matrix.

AP: 10,320.

Gems: 85.

Skills: Immersive Reading, Professional Calligraphy, Analytical Mind, Professional Combat, Professional Soccer, Espionage I.

Properties: Sciatis Holdings Limited, 5% Nebula Electronics, 23 Production Factories, 14 Scientific Research Institutes, Myriad Evils Nightclub, The Unfathomable.

Private Balance: 16,988,564 nexus dollars.

Company Balance: 27.8 million international credits.]

…

Satisfied, Hiro landed not too far from Theo.

The moment he landed silently, Hiro restrained his divine sense and allowed others to perceive his existence and see him in the open. Sёarᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Suffice it to say that his sudden appearance gave everyone a minor fright, perhaps with Theo being the sole exception.

"Master Babylon!" Theo exclaimed from behind his mask, feeling both surprised and relieved by Hiro's presence.

The gentle white river and clouds of obscurity provided him with a tranquil feeling, but he knew that the person standing in front of him was a powerful master.

Far away, the man with a lionfish mask was as equally stunned as everyone else, feeling perturbed.

"Hey, hey, hey… are you fucking kidding me right now? This is way beyond our league…"

The man next to him nudged his arm and whispered, "Just keep quiet, don't forget that Raymond also invited a powerful helper, he's just keeping a low profile, unlike some ostentatious people who like to seek death."

Similar hushed whispers could be heard among the other small groups, and while Theo and his small group didn't seem to hear it, Hiro heard everything.

It couldn't be helped; his divine sense was too powerful at the moment, it easily encompassed the small supermarket.

Passively too.

It seems like Theo did the right thing by taking precautions. Luckily, I alternated between Legend of Babylon and Transcendent Daoist for the last two weeks, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to contain my irritation and killing intent.

"Alright everyone, I'm going to open the gate now, come closer but not too close for comfort."

As Theo spoke, he brought out a familiar rectangular jade before he closed his eyes to focus.

Hiro knew that Theo was mentally imprinting the coordinates into the key, unlike his sophisticated system where he could add a preset save file with the coordinates into his bounded key.

After about half a minute of concentration, dark clouds gathered in the sky.

Oddly, the clouds gathered in a limited area above the supermarket, not spreading the disturbance any further.

It was as though an invisible boundary had separated them from the outside world.

As Hiro thought to himself, a silver bolt of lightning zigzagged its way down to strike the spot a few meters away from Theo.

Then, the lightning bolt went still, lagging in the air right before everyone's eyes.

From the jade, a beam of light shone onto the glitching lightning bolt, stabilizing it in space.

Then, Hiro watched with awe as the long silver crack morphed into an elliptical portal, splitting into a wide passage with an unfamiliar scenery behind it.

It was a gloomy canopy with dead, dry trees and noxious clouds of miasma weaving in and out of the open land.

"Be careful once we go in," Theo explained the lore of the pocket dimension. "This used to be a Demonic Stronghold, but like locusts; these demons consumed everything this land had to offer. That was very long ago, and according to credible intelligence, mindless beasts and demonic attribute resources are abound after thousands of years of gestation.

"Of course, the demonic miasma is corrosive and would surely cause some inconvenience to those on the weaker end of the spectrum. I hope everyone can put their focus on exploring for remnant demonic treasures, corpses, and valuable items.

"Once we sweep through this pocket dimension, if the profits are high enough, we can request the Holy Church to purify this pocket dimension for us and we can split the territory based on individual contributions, both practical and monetary."

After confirming that no one had any objections, Theo and his group were the first to enter the portal, followed by Hiro who was rather curious.

Then, the remaining groups exchanged glances through their masks before they rushed inside, one group at a time.

…

[Notice: Spend 1,000 achievement points to extract the pocket dimension's coordinates!

Yes/No]

Hiro blanked out for a moment as he saw the notification. At first, he almost selected no since this pocket dimension was useless to him.

The environment wasn't hospitable to humans and multiple people already had the coordinates, let alone the fact that the Holy Church might crusade here to purify the demonic miasma in the near future.

However, he quickly remembered that this place was very suitable for Arabella, and if he could get his hands on a dimensional key, she would be capable of entering this pocket dimension to get stronger in the future.

After contemplating his situation for a while, he decided to bite the bullet and extract the coordinates.

Whatever! Hiro thought to himself. Consider it both an investment and a reward for her hard work these past few weeks. I can't be stingy with my subordinates.

"Everyone split up in your respective groups, we will regroup every three hours when I launch a signal flare in the air. Those who are too far from my position at the time, and those who feel like going on their own, feel free to act independently."

Theo instructed everyone. Then, he turned over to Hiro and asked politely, "Do you want to follow my lead or?"

Hiro didn't mind and said, "I'm fine with whatever."

He hadn't even explored his own pocket dimension yet; other than testing the portal through the key.

Hiro didn't know if his system made it more convenient or something, but the portals he summoned didn't make much of a commotion.

They were standard oval-shaped portals like the ones seen in anime and movies.

Nevertheless, Hiro wasn't about to nitpick these inconsequential details.

Getting Hiro's permission, Theo gestured to the three masked men who seemed to be his subordinates.

Since they weren't lacking in firepower, Theo immediately headed in the direction where the demonic miasma was the thickest.

They were bound to find some powerful demonic creatures and demonic resources in there. In a sense, this miasma should be the product of the decayed body of a powerful demon.

After confirming Theo's direction, Hiro promptly spread his vast divine sense in the same direction, scouting for either danger or valuables.

Hiro's brows soon knitted together, quite tightly at that. Hmm, something actually blocked my divine sense?!