Chapter 146 A Ruthless Hunt For Power



Marco Frey.

Marco watched anxiously as the video clip from the CEHA Exam Entrance continued, until he saw the moment when someone injured Muramoto and he was left in a critical state. 

"Muramoto!" Marco tensed up, his fists clenching tightly and his breath quickening. 

"If only I had forbidden Nathan from asking Muramoto to accompany him," he thought to himself.

He thought for a moment and slowly shook his head. "If this thing happened, and it is somehow related to Olivia, there is a chance that someone deliberately planned it. Could it have been Leon?"

Marco still couldn't get rid of the thought that Leon, and maybe even his mother, had something to do with what had happened at CEHA. 

Leon's actions had been far too brazen for him to be playing games with the people around him and his involvement in what had happened to Nathan before.

Marco's expression darkened as he watched Nathan and the others depart. "Where is he going? Does he intend to abandon them in that time of crisis?"

His suspicions only grew when a powerful General Grade Monster appeared, and yet Nathan was nowhere to be seen. Even when Olivia was granted the status of God Apostle, Nathan still didn't show himself.

"God Apostle of Kindness?" Marco muttered incredulously. "The blessing of virtue grants its user a form change and wings? Is this only applicable to Olivia?"

Marco opened another screen on his tablet and began to jot down his thoughts. 

"28 August, the first time Muramoto and I encountered Nathan, we noticed that they seemed to be in a state of disarray; their clothes were tattered, and their skin was singed as if they had been exposed to intense heat. Clearly, they hadn't simply walked out of a dungeon; it would have been impossible for them to have opened the dungeon door from inside the car, or for them to have lit a fire that could have caused such burns." Marco pondered the situation.

Marco jotted down some more notes on his tablet.

"September 4th, the same day as a week prior. Nathan and Edna vanished from the car for roughly 30 minutes. When they returned, Nathan had acquired a new golem. It was precisely the same time as he did the week before."

Prior to this, Nathan had been preparing for a rescue mission for Linda.

"If Nathan can do it every seven days," Marco said, nodding slowly as his mind raced to explore various scenarios, "then he should be able to open the access again on September 11th. But, of course, he'll likely delay it because he wants to be able to use it at the most crucial time - September 15th, when Muramoto was so severely injured."

"It looks like Nathan brought all the party members with him," Marco said, taking a sip of his drink. "There's a chance he needed their powers for something, so he brought them to his secret place. Maybe it's some kind of pocket dimension that only he can access."

"Nathan hoped that Meriel could help save Muramoto by tapping into the potential of the pocket dimension; maybe it was connected to another, beyond New Earth." 

"Is that Yunatea?" Marco queried, "or is it another dimension, like what Bastien is searching for?"

The chronology continued until Olivia and the other participants failed to defeat the monster hydra. And it had gotten to this point if Marco had not known from the start that they would win the challenge; he would have felt they had no hope. 

And when everyone seemed to be getting desperate, Nathan came up with a brutal attack that made the monster hydra with its large body fall to the ground.

Olivia lent Nathan her wings, and he even managed to upgrade them to four pairs.

Marco nodded slowly, "Self-transcendence—is it possible that Nathan is a Sloth? Or perhaps he is also a virtue, blessed with Diligence?"

Marco summarized the various thoughts running through his mind. "In this situation, it's possible Leon has seen what he wanted from Nathan. However, Nathan doesn't appear to have gained the same transformation as Olivia, so it's likely he isn't a Virtue." 

Marco took a deep breath, feeling overwhelmed by all the possible outcomes he had been considering. And what made it worse was when, in the next moment, all the cameras went dark, and then Nathan was triumphant in defeating the massive Hydra.

"I'm not sure if Nathan can be deemed 'smart' in this situation," 

Marco said, his voice trembling slightly, "but it was obvious he was trying to hide something by turning off all those cameras. Who has the ability to do that? Not Meriel, Linda, or Yudan. Could Nathan have acquired new powers? Something with a wilder element I can imagine – a shadow element?"

Marco closed his eyes tightly, thinking of Muramoto and the sorrow that suddenly filled his heart. His hands shook as he tried to compose himself.

"Hey, you!"

Marco felt a sudden push on the back of his head and spun around to find a beastkin with a buffalo-like head, complete with two horns, glaring at him.

"So, you're the one who applied to be a scout on our expedition?" the buffalo man asked, his voice stern.

Marco stood up and nodded, "Yes, sir. I am a scout and a treasure hunter. I even have a spirit beast that can help track down enemies."

"Level?"I think you should take a look at

"115, sir." Marco answered quietly.

"Show me your spirit beast."

Marco nodded in agreement before raising his mechanical hand to the side. A magic formation circle instantly appeared on the floor and, from it, emerged a black-furred, medium-sized, muscular and athletic dog with a thick coat, pointy ears, and a sharp muzzle.

[Elite Bloodhound Lv. 110]

"It's quite good at tracking, scouting, and hunting," Marco explained, gesturing with his hands. 

"Not bad," the bull man replied, before turning and trudging away from the tavern. 

Four other people, one of whom was human, followed him. As they left, a man with a thin frame and deep metal flakes in his eyes stared at Marco expressionlessly.

That night, beneath the luminescence of the moon, they arrived in a clearing, with a few trees and shrubs scattered throughout. The five of them, led by Marco, set out to explore the land in search of any sign of rare monsters; their monster cores were highly coveted and valuable commodities.

Marco took the lead, with his dog walking alongside him and sniffing the ground for any trace of the monsters. As they ventured farther and farther away from the settlement, the group continued their search.

"He must be a New Earther," Marco muttered to himself, examining the lone human male who was standing with the beastkin. "What is he doing here all by himself?"

The beastkins trailing after Marco were chattering and laughing loudly as they guzzled their drinks. 

"Ch, these beasts sure are noisy," Marco murmured to himself.

"Hey, human trash!" one of the beastkin called Marco. Mockingly, he added, "We've been walking for three hours and still haven't found our target? Is your dog useless?"

Without even turning around, Marco answered, "Don't worry, we are close."

Marco paused and looked back, "I need to take care of something," he said. "I'll just be a few minutes, wait here for me."

The buffalo man grasped Marco's collar and asked, "Where are we headed? We can go on ahead and you can catch up later, if you can manage it without dying."

Marco glanced back and replied confidently, "I'll be fine! It won't take too long. Don't leave me! We should go this way," he said, gesturing in the direction ahead. "Just keep going and I'll catch up soon."

The buffalo man released his grip and nodded. "Alright then, we'll keep going and wait for you." With that, they continued their journey.

Marco pointed in one direction, and the buffalo man let him go immediately. Then those five people walked on leaving him.

Marco opened his mouth and yawned, then he found a secluded spot in the bushes near the rocks, lowered himself into it and reclined against them before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. 

When he awoke the next morning, his face was noticeably tired, yet he still managed to gulp down a bottle of water before scurrying in the direction his party members had gone the previous night. 

After a few minutes of running, Marco was horrified to find them lying on the ground, their bodies cut into various pieces.

"Son of a bitch!" the buffalo man groaned in pain as he glared at Marco. 

But Marco walked slowly and confidently, his sword drawn and ready. He raised the sword and, with a swift jab, the blade pierced the buffalo man's eye. 

"Give my regards to god," he said coolly.

[Level Up]

Marco sauntered slowly, then viciously kicked a nearly-dead beastkin, driving the tip of his sword into the man's mouth. 

After leaving the only other human alive in the area, he slowly approached the man and sat beside him. His stomach had been cut open and was oozing blood, and half of his face had been completely destroyed.

"Help me! I have a daughter!" The man desperately cried out, but before he could finish his plea, Marco thrust his sword into the man's mouth, silencing him forever. With a satisfied smirk, he received yet another level-up.

Marco was still yawning, his exhaustion from not sleeping the past few days still lingering. His activity had been repetitive and dull, and while he had advanced quickly, he was used to taking on much more formidable foes than these monsters, leaving them barely alive. He felt this was far too easy.

"It's looting time," Marco said quietly, hoping his catch this time would not be too bad.

He needed to find Edna soon and couldn't afford to delay any longer.