CHAPTER 37: WORLDWIDE QUEST - II

For several moments, the world around Lucian had fallen completely silent. The soft breeze of wind, the subtle rustling of tiny beings beneath the surface of earth—everything that could not be heard otherwise chimed in everyone’s ears loud and clear.

After the system’s abrupt announcement about the new world-threatening task, the world had been shaken to its core. Hunters that felt a mix of pride and arrogance in their powers were frozen in an inexplicable feeling.

It had been approximately a month since the world was overthrown by the deaths of one-third of the total human population. Ever since the system’s emergence, countless figures have gained importance and popularity due to their newly awakened strengths. As such, humanity quickly stabilized itself under their guidance and protection. Several new factions rose overnight, consisting of hundreds of potential talents and those that were already being praised as the saviors of humanity.

When the old world government tried to exert its feeble authority over these powerful factions and attempted to tie them down under a leash, the factions bit back harder than they could ever imagine. In a single all-out rush, the military was single-handedly crushed, and the world government fell apart.

However, humans were never the kind that could be given free will. Although it was true that judging any race collectively was unfair, it was also true that a race as intelligent and selfish as humans would not be able to sustain itself—given the times when such extraordinary powers are introduced to the world.

Thus, the World Hunter Association was formed under the alliance of all 3 continents, and a major branch was established in all 75 regions. The association—backed by every powerful faction in the world—quickly gained recognition and announced a set of friendly, yet equally strict, rules that allowed both the awakened and unawakened to live under favorable conditions.

Under their orders, the collapsed buildings and structures and the rotting bodies across the streets were being cleaned up. Recognized hunters of the associations patrolled streets to ensure fulfillment of civil rules. And the gates were being continuously cleared in a systematic way.

Life, it seemed to be getting back on track.

However, merely a month after they presumed that everything was getting better, the world was yet again shaken by the system’s announcement.

The hunter’s party that stood in front of the giant black gates exchanged concerned gazes at first. In complete silence, their eyes talked louder than their thoughts. Even the nervous gulping down from one’s cold, dry throat added more to their anxiousness.

Constantly staring into the screens, their eyes caught glimpses here and there as if they were desperately searching for signs. Signs that they were indeed in a dream.

Standing at the very back of the group, Lucian noticed it all. Every small movement in their bodies, expressions, and even their breaths. To him, this task felt like something inevitable, yet something that was obvious since the beginning.

"Hmm, yes," Lucian shook his head slightly, "It may be obvious to me, who remembers the story, but to them, it’s nothing short of a surprise."

"After all," his gaze swept across the dozens of trembling figures in front of him, "they have neither the collection of my story nor me in their minds."

As surprising as it sounded, what Lucian said was the truth. It hadn’t been long since Lucian as well learned of the truth.

Yesterday, just as Silas vanished into thin air alongside the young woman accompanying him, Lucian stood frozen across the street. His eyes were widened, almost as if he had seen a ghost in reality.

The small conversation that he had with that young man left him utterly shaken. Not only did someone recognize him so nonchalantly, even his power level seemed to be levels higher than Lucian’s.

It was the first time that a thing that Lucian didn’t predict had happened. Even though his mind seemed full with the surfacing thoughts about what the man—Silas—warned him about, a small part seemed overly sensitive. It was almost as if Lucian was forgetting something crucial.

Then, something snapped in his mind, and his eyes widened. "We’re still standing in a crowded place, and that man, he called out my name in public."

"But... why do I not sense any presence?"

Subconsciously, upon feeling nervous, Lucian’s energy had leaked out of his body. It stretched as far as it could and created a small area about the size of 10 meters. In this area, Lucian could feel and sense every single movement as if it was a part of his own body.

However, in a place that should’ve been bustling with people, Lucian couldn’t sense a single movement. Confused, he turned around and was instantly taken aback.

He didn’t need to look afar, or even look around, because what he wanted to see was lying all around Lucian. People that should’ve been gasping upon learning Lucian’s identity, they were lying unconscious over the ground—their bodies hunched all over the street.

Lucian rushed to the one lying nearest to him and bent down near him. Gently slapping the young man’s face, he yelled in a slightly loud voice, "Wake up!"

Within moments, the young man woke up, mumbling as if he had been sleeping for ages. Snapping back into reality, his eyes focused. Looking at an unknown face of Lucian, he was surprised and shocked.

"Wh-Who are you!?"

Realizing that the young man was back into his senses, Lucian gripped the man’s collars tightly and picked him up in the air withe ease. He felt uneasy, but there was no other choice if he wanted to confirm his doubts.

Gulping down hard, Lucian asked, "The Apocalypse Cultivator! Do you know of it?" His voice was loud and solemn.

The man seemed visibly nervous, for what he saw was a pair of eyes glaring at his soul—threatening him to speak if he wanted to live.

Feeling the slightly trembling hands across his collar, he closed his eyes and mumbled out loud. "N-No!"

In an instant, Lucian let go of the man, letting him fall to the ground with a loud thud. Without uttering a word. He clenched his fists, turned around, and began walking across the street.

The other people that were lying unconscious—he didn’t care about them. But to hear what the young man had said, it seemed rather impossible. Lucian’s book was a piece that claimed the number 1 position all across the world. There was no way that there existed someone who didn’t know about its existence.

But then again, if they truly didn’t know about it, then how come he had heard someone talking about his book not long ago?

As he walked, Lucian instinctively stopped passersby and asked them a specific question one by one.

"Do you know anything about Lucian Cross or the book—The Apocalypse Cultivator?"

And every time he did so, he was met with a single reply. A reply that rejected all such possibilities—no.

On his way, Lucian was fairly disturbed. It didn’t pain him that the world had forgotten about him; in fact, it brought him joy.

But the fact that the world had forgotten him right after he heard that his existence was being hunted by the world—it felt eerie. Especially so, since the man—Silas—recognized him.

In the end, he concluded on not to think of it any further. "If the world truly has forgotten about me overnight, that’s better for me. I won’t have to worry about exposing myself from now on."

A blessing in disguise, he called it.

Although it made him feel uneasy, it also allowed him to act more freely, without having to worry about others crossing blades with him just because of his identity.

As such, the whole thing about this new mission gave him nothing but a raw feeling of excitement, something he was looking forward to.

’Roughly speaking, my raw strength matches a B rank in this world. But even so, I can fend off a normal A ranker with ease.’ He thought as he noticed the slowly rising movement in his vision.

The hunters in front had begun to move. With nothing to rely on, they had no other choice but to enter the gate as is.

One after another, they started entering the gate in a straight, systematic line. Naturally, Lucian stood at the last, even behind the workers assigned by the world hunter association to ensure the safety of others.

As his number arrived, he was the last one standing in the vicinity. If Lucian wanted, he could run away, and no one would know. But that wasn’t something he wished. To him, this task seemed like a present. A gift prepared by the system to boost his strength.

Loaded with all sorts of cheats and buffs, he didn’t think too highly of the gate’s difficulty.

With a careless demeanor, he raised his hand and rested it over the softly churning portal. All of a sudden, a sharp sensation resisted Lucian’s hand, forcing him to retrieve his hand instantly.

Although the sudden pain didn’t hurt him in the slightest, it caused a change within the portal.

The portal that was glowing in a grim dark hue, a bright sparkle shone in its center. It wasn’t cerulean like before, but something even brighter. Its shine glittered Lucian’s vision in an instant as it rapidly spread across the entire portal.

Eating away at the darkness, the bright golden hue lit up the entire vicinity in its sun-like light.

At the same time, a cerulean light peeked through the golden hue, expanding into a small system window right before Lucian’s eyes.

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[#~System Notification~#]

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[Your element of creation—Infinity—is reacting vigourously upon sensing a familiar resonance.]

[Your trait—Transcendence—has sensed a peculiar connection. It is actively creating a path for resonance.]

[Your authority—Infinite Qi—is forging the path with its endless energy.]

[A long-forgotten realm is reacting tremendously to your presence.]

[Sensing your presence, the realm calls out to you.]

[Will you respond to the realm’s call?]

└ [Yes]

└ [No]

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