Chapter 133 Taking Advantage



What greeted him inside a medical center was despair. The room was filled with desperation and fear. People crowded the lobby with a gloomy atmosphere, most of them had grimaced expressions.

Unconscious victims lay across the left wing, and the seats around were moved away for more space. The Meds and Heroes were busy checking on the unconscious victims and calming down the confused masses — the ones who had woken up from the Voice Impact.

"It's okay everyone. Don't panic!"

It was a blonde-haired man, probably an Enhanced because he could amplify his voice so it would work as though he used a speaker to speak, resounding clearly in the room.

"How are we supposed to not panic in this situation?! An eye monster appeared in the sky, and its voice caused millions of people to fall unconscious, some even died?! What the hell is that thing?! What is Omega doing?!"

The group of civilians protested. Their faces expressed a mix of fear and hope.

"You all will be safe, trust me!"

"Safe?! What proof can you give us if we will be safe?"

Jin smirked at the group's desperate question. He lifted his hand, pointing outside. The crowd curiously followed his hand. At first, they were confused. Then sometime later, they realized the direction Jin pointed at was where the Western Region — Omega HQ, Lunaria Tower, and Enhanced Zone were located.

Noticing the crowd's expressions brightened, Jin smiled as he clasped his hands together, gathering their attention.

"The Omega and Lunaria have called all countries leaders for the emergency meeting."

He took a moment to pause so it would somehow fascinate the crowd.

"We refer to it as a Global Meeting!"

Zio smiled as soon as he heard him controlling the crowd.

'What a snake. He really deserved his title as a Commander. If only he didn't betray humanity.'

He walked past him and the crowd with closed eyes, trying to locate Lux with his Pathfinding. But his concentration was soon broken by someone's voice calling his name and tapping his shoulder.

Turning around, he found Jin standing in front of him, smiling widely. His eyes flashed with recognition as he finished taking an observation on Zio.

"Hey, kid! We meet again!"

Zio returned his smile.

"Oh, it's you… uhh…"

"Jin. My name is Jin."

"Yes. Jin. Haha, sorry, I'm not good at remembering names."

Zio scratched his head as he lied.

"It's fine."

Jin took in Zio's appearance once again, seemingly looking for something. His face displayed a curiosity.

Zio noticed his expression and asked him a question.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Ah, sorry. I'm just remembering about your last slash to the demonic human back then. I was curious where you got that sword, it seems like it's a high-ranked weapon knowing it can cut the demonic human in one swing."

Zio narrowed his eyes upon hearing him.

'Hmm… is he interested in the sword or…'

As he was in his thought, Jin continued.

"Can I see your sword? I'm a sword enthusiast and I'm so curious about the sword you used to kill the demonic human. I'm sure it's a high-rank quality!"

Zio raised his hand and shook his head slowly, indicating that he disagreed with Jin. He guessed that it was just bait thrown by Jin so he could get more from him.

"Haha, sorry. I don't have it right now."

Surprised, Jin crossed his arms in front of his chest, his head was tilting slightly as though in thinking.

"You don't have it? Did you sell the sword? If so, can you tell me to whom you sell it to?"

"No. I never sell things, especially my belongings  to other people."

Jin raised an eyebrow at his statement.

Before he could say anything, Zio continued talking.

"Anyway, I don't have the sword because it was already broken the moment we returned to the Earth that day."

"Broken? How…?"

Zio shook his head slowly. Right now, he was fully immersed in his acting to hide the truth from Jin. He knew exactly what Jin's personality was even if he wasn't the owner of the Avatar Mask now.

Telling him the truth was never a correct choice.

"Well, I'm not sure. It just broke into pieces when I returned to the real world. I'm guessing it had to do something with the artifact skill."

He especially pronounced the word 'artifact' with intensity, trying to get Jin's interest in the subject.

Upon hearing Zio say the sword was an artifact instead of a normal sword, he hammered his palm with the fist of his other hand. Thus, he had his full attention on Zio.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed.

"I knew that was not just a simple sword. Too bad it has terrible durability despite showcasing a delicate outer appearance and sharpness."

Jin sighed, seemingly unmotivated to continue the conversation.

Behind him, the crowd was handled by his companions — the other heroes. Unlike him, the two heroes couldn't manage what Jin could do. They couldn't contain the crowd's protest and fear anymore.

One of them approached Jin who was talking with Zio. While they were talking to each other, Zio took in his surroundings without his skill, trying to spot Lux. After making sure that Lux wasn't in the lobby, he closed his eyes and used Pathfinding to locate him instead.

A moment later, two images were projected inside his mind. 

One was the image of a patient room. He could see a white-haired boy sitting on a chair facing toward the window, chewing on the fruits.

The other image was showing the corridor situation. It particularly highlighted the room number where Lux was probably treated.

Unlike civilians or low-ranked Enhanceds who were treated in the lobby. Lux as an Octagram Student was treated in a patient room. It was just a privilege of being a student of Octagram Academy.

Successfully locating Lux with his Pathfinding, Zio opened his eyes again and found that Jin was about to finish his talk with his companion.

After waiting for some time, Jin finally talked to him.

"It's nice to talk to you, kid. But, I'm afraid I must go. As you can see, my friend here can't handle the crowd right there. They need my help."

Zio chuckled. Soon after, he waved his hand dismissively.

"Right. They look like they are in need of a hero to calm their ass down. Good luck appeasing the crowd."

Jin and his friend returned to appease the crowd. 

Zio observed them for a while before he decided to head for the room where Lux was occupying.

Arriving in front of the room, he knocked on the door and called his name. Immediately, the door was opened in full swing, revealing the excited-looking face of a white-haired boy behind the door.

"Zio!"

Zio was surprised by how quick Lux was in opening the door. It was as though Lux waited in front of the door, expecting someone to knock on his door, and then quickly opened it. But, that wasn't the case.

Lux was just bored. The moment a familiar voice was entering his hearing, he quickly reacted.

"Is it okay for a patient to be full of vigor like that?" Zio asked teasingly.

Lux chuckled, hitting Zio on the shoulder playfully.

"It's completely fine! I'm just waiting for the doctor for the dischargement. By the way, how do you know I was here?"

Zio grinned.

"Well, I wonder about that…"

He simultaneously used his appraisal of Clairvoyance while he was speaking to Lux. It required a solid focus to be able to do that, and Zio just did it. A few moments later, a screen appeared in his vision.

Name: Lux Virtus (♂)

Age: 18

Race: Human

[Stats]

Strength: D-

Agility: D-

Intelligence: D

Stamina: D-

Magic: E+

Charisma: B

Luck: A

[Hidden Stats]

Perception: B

Mental: A

Potential: SSS

Health: D-]

"What do you think?"

The moment the information about Lux was extracted, Lux noticed he was being appraised. His eyes perked up. He stared at Zio dumbfoundedly.

"Oh. Wow. You have an amazing skill…"

Lux said surprisedly. His eyes, though, were not looking at Zio but at the empty air as though he was seeing things in his vision.

In Lux's vision, an information screen about the skill Zio had used on him was floating, and a female voice was reciting the description of the skill written on the screen.

'This is why I don't want to use my skill against him. This lucky bastard is babysitted by his personal Odyssey system. Once someone used a skill against him, the Odyssey would analyze it and gives him a brief explanation of how the skill is working.'

Despite knowing the disadvantage he had after revealing his Clairvoyance to Lux, Zio didn't falter. He was grinning all the time.

By the time Lux noticed his grin, he tilted his head.

"Uhh, is there something wrong?"

"Hmm, well, if I must say. Can you tell me how my skill works?"