“Look out!” “Get out of the way!” …
Several cries of alarm rang out almost simultaneously.
Donald’s face changed, utterly unprepared for the injured man on the ground to suddenly attack him—and using such a bizarre technique at that.
Acting purely on instinct, he dove to the side, narrowly evading the barbed vines that shot past his cheek, leaving a few beads of blood in their wake. It was a close call.
But before Donald could even catch his breath.
The vine twisted mid-air and came barreling back toward him, giving him no time to dodge.
“Boom!” At that instant, a tremendous noise exploded in everyone’s ears.
Luca shot forward like a leopard, moving so quickly that no one even registered his actions; all they saw was a dark blur flashing past.
The next moment, the barbed vine stopped mere inches from Donald!
A large hand had gripped the snake-like vine, halting it just before it could pierce his heart!
Luca’s expression was grim, his hand tightly clutching the writhing vine. Despite its sharp, barbed spikes, his hand showed no sign of injury.
Everyone present gasped audibly. What had they just witnessed? How could a vine seem to attack of its own will?
And that speed—was it even humanly possible?!
Most of the onlookers felt as if they were dreaming. What they had just seen was beyond their understanding.
Even Coarmy, watching with a furrowed brow, couldn’t fully comprehend Luca’s speed. This guy’s strength was unbelievable!
“No way!” The young man on the ground, now one-armed, looked utterly stunned.
The strength of the older man had already been terrifying enough, but this kid was even more extraordinary! How could he have crossed that distance so fast?
“When did Luca become this strong…” Susie whispered, staring at Luca as if seeing him for the first time, her face full of astonishment. He was always home playing video games; how had he suddenly become so physically capable?
“Probably trained by Donald,” Darabont speculated, though he couldn’t hide his surprise. He knew Donald’s abilities.
But he’d never realized Luca had such impressive physical potential. He’d make a great candidate for the police force!
Sini was equally stunned.
She unable to comprehend how her son had changed so drastically.
“See? I told you, he’s like the wind!” Fuzzsir said with certainty, his focus clearly different from everyone else’s.
Luca ignored the curious looks from those around him and took a few steps forward, checking Donald’s injuries carefully. Seeing they were only superficial wounds, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Coarmy had swiftly handcuffed the young man on the ground.
While the cuffs weren’t particularly effective on players, it was better than nothing.
“This is the new recruit we’re bringing in? Not bad,” Quagmire remarked, sizing Luca up with a hint of surprise.
Just from those quick actions, he could tell this kid had an unusual level of skill.
“Not just ‘not bad’—he’s definitely reached A-Class!” Coarmy replied, still feeling a bit shaken from his earlier encounter with Luca.
“When we get some free time, I have to challenge him to a match!” Ivanka said excitedly, her eyes lighting up with battle fervor. Fighting seemed to be her only real hobby.
Quagmire chuckled. “Looks like we’ll have a bit less weight on our shoulders with him around.”
Just then, Luca approached, gesturing toward the gathered crowd, and asked Coarmy, “How are we handling all these onlookers?”
The people around them had seen far more than they should have. If they spread word of what they’d witnessed, it could easily lead to widespread panic.
Coarmy, shoving the young man into the car, assured him, “Don’t worry—Morning Star members will be here soon to handle it.”
With that, Luca didn’t press the matter further.
“Alright, now that we’re done here, it’s time for us to go,” Quagmire said, making no move to linger.
He waved at Luca as he climbed into the car. “Kid, come visit us at the Northern Division sometime.”
The engine roared to life.
Luca watched them drive away.
When he turned back around, he found Susie standing there, her face taut and serious.
And staring intently at him.
“What’s up?” Luca asked, touching his face as if to check for anything unusual.
“When did you get so strong? Are you secretly working out? Or did you sign up for a martial arts class?” Susie fired off a series of questions, her gaze unwavering.
“Oh? Want to learn?” Luca teased with a smile.
“Uh-huh!” Susie nodded vigorously, fists clenched and making tiny, fierce motions. “Then, if I run into any bad guys, I won’t be afraid.”
As they walked back to the house, Luca casually remarked, “Alright, start with twenty push-ups, and I’ll show you what to do next.”
“Twenty?” Susie’s face immediately fell.
She hadn’t even managed two before…
Back at home, Sini tried to ask Luca some questions, but he and Donald deftly sidestepped them.
“So this is the change you were talking about?” Donald asked later, touching the scratches on his face with an almost surreal sense of disbelief.
“That’s right,” Luca confirmed with a nod. “And this is only the beginning. We’ll likely be seeing more and more people like that.”
After this encounter, any doubts Donald had were gone.
With resolve, he said, “I’ll work on leveling up as quickly as I can.”
He had no intention of relying on his son for protection. That just wasn’t his style.
Luca smiled. That was exactly the outcome he’d hoped for.
Luca said, “In a while, I’ll find a way to send some resources over to you.”
Donald’s hometown was also in the Kingdom of Clinton, but it was a long distance from where Luca was.
Sending him any gear or equipment would only make sense once Donald’s strength had increased enough.
After chatting with Donald for a while, Luca returned to his room.
Just because nothing had gone wrong today didn’t mean they would be so lucky next time.
As more players gained Transcendent abilities, human society would only grow more chaotic.
Only by building sufficient strength could one ensure survival in the turbulent times ahead.
…
Southwind City, Inner District.
A flash of silver light appeared.
Luca materialized in the newly cleared plaza.
All around him, players and NPCs were hard at work, rebuilding Southwind City.
While construction in this Transcendent world wasn’t as challenging as in the real world, it still wasn’t something that could be finished overnight.
Luca wasted no time and headed directly to the residential area of Red Maple Academy. He planned to use this time to forge as many magic runes as he could from the materials he’d gathered.
During the recent incident, he’d nearly depleted all the magic runes he’d prepared, and he needed to replenish his supply quickly. Otherwise, he wouldn’t feel prepared for what might come next.
As he crossed the streets, many people greeted him warmly.
There wasn’t a single NPC or player who didn’t recognize the young hero who had saved Southwind City.
Luca smiled and greeted each of them in return.
Soon, he arrived back at the residential area.
He had just opened the door and stepped into his loft.
Not even closing the door yet when a familiar voice called from a distance, “Luca!”
He turned, a surprised look crossing his face.
“Professor, how did you get here?” he asked in astonishment as he saw two figures hurrying toward him.
It was none other than Sophia and Lucia.
Lucia looked the same as ever, dressed in an elaborate mage’s robe that she wore with effortless elegance.
But Sophia… there was something distinctly different about her. Her presence felt more powerful, and her aura was even colder than it had been in Riverfall City.
Luca’s gaze lingered a moment on Sophia’s cool, beautiful face.
But he quickly looked away.
Without enough information or evidence, guessing blindly would only lead him into a maze of his own making.
“We heard in Dawn City that there was a monster attack here, so we came as quickly as we could,” Sophia said calmly.
Lucia, on the other hand, wasted no time—she threw her arms around Luca in a big hug, squeezing him so tight he could barely breathe.
Tears in her eyes, she said, “It’s only been a little while since we last saw you, and you’re already skin and bones! I even heard you fought with a King-level monster?”
“Come here, let me check you over to see if you’re hurt anywhere!”
Luca’s mouth twitched slightly, and he said helplessly, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. That monster has already been defeated by me.”
Sophia studied Luca, a look of surprise in her eyes. “I didn’t expect your strength to have improved this quickly.”
When she’d last seen him, he had only recently broken into the Gold Grade.
Now, after only a few days, his aura had grown several times stronger.
Even she couldn’t help but be astonished at this rate of growth.
“Come on, you’re kidding, right? I’m still far from reaching your level,” Luca replied, genuinely impressed.
He could tell that Sophia had also made significant progress—she seemed to have reached the advanced level.
And her presence felt even more powerful. As he stood near her, he sensed a strange, threatening chill, as if his magic itself might freeze under her influence.
This kind of aura was certainly not typical, even for high-level professionals.
She must have had quite the opportunity in Dawn City…
Once the greetings had warmed up, Lucia brought up the main reason for their visit.
“We didn’t come just to check in on you,” she said seriously. “We’re also here to bring you to Southwind City.”
“Your actions have come to His Majesty’s attention. Saving two cities in a row is an enormous accomplishment, and His Majesty plans to award you a noble title as a count along with some land.”
“Additionally, there will likely be other rewards,” she added.
“A count?” Luca was taken aback.
Then he remembered that when he defeated Pandora, he had indeed received a significant amount of renown—enough to qualify for the title of count.
“And,” Sophia added calmly, “my father would also like to meet you.”
This statement surprised Luca even more.
Sophia’s father was none other than the President of the Clinton Mage Association.
A Superclass powerhouse, one of the most influential figures on the Eternal Continent.
Why would such a prominent figure suddenly want to meet him?