My SSS-Rank Class Is Blood Monarch!-Chapter 351 - - Exo-Burst (Part 8)
*Outside the Void*
Several hours had passed since Isla came back from the Shard Tower, and it was consequentially several more hours since everyone knew that Arthur was completely lost. Nobody knew where he was. It was as if the world had swallowed him.
The group tried to discuss their possible next step during such an important moment. They knew how important Arthur was to them, and his disappearance was proving to be a huge problem.
To begin with, Arthur was the strongest player in the entire game by a far margin. His power alone gave them a huge upper hand over everyone else. The second problem was Lamenter's mysterious moves.
Their enemy was clearly trying to achieve something, and they still didn't know what it was. Having Arthur would be a huge advantage, even if there wasn't any physical conflict required.
However, the most important reason amongst all of these and the one they gave the most thought to was that… Arthur was simply their friend.
He wasn't merely a companion or a colleague, he was one of them. Someone they cared for and liked a lot. They loved his humor, his weird personality, and his amazing ability to achieve the impossible against all odds.
Losing Arthur felt like a huge part of their group had been stolen away. Their worry only grew, and their fear of what could've happened became more and more prominent. The one affected the most was Isla, and it was by a far margin.
After spending the night planning her next steps, Isla finally gave up waiting and decided to log out of the game since it was already morning outside and she had classes to attend. She had considered missing classes and trying to search for Arthur again.
However, their group stood firmly and refused to let her do that. They knew that she would only end up putting herself in more trouble if she goes out there again. They are already struggling as it is with Arthur going missing; if Isla goes missing too, then that would be the end of the world for them.
In the end, Isla was convinced, and she decided to stay. She also knew that she could not afford to leave the group in this state.
In the end, with a bitter taste in her mouth, she logged out. She made sure to tell the kids to remain alert in case Arthur came back. She trusted that they could deal with any situation, and they were also a part of the group, so she had no doubt they were going to take care of the situation if needed.
Isla had left everything in their hands.
***
"Hmmm…" Isla slowly opened her eyes to the world. She squinted, frowned, and then rubbed her eyes before she slowly left the capsule. Her hair and clothes were a little messy due to the long gaming session.
She quickly walked into the bathroom to take a shower. However, once she stopped in front of the mirror, she found herself completely lost in her reflection. She found herself eyeing every single feature on her perfect face.
However, she was far from admiring herself. Instead, the girl found herself completely lost in her own thoughts, and all of it was about Arthur. She slowly clenched her fists to stay calm.
'He will be fine… He always gets out of these situations one way or another.' She mused. 'All I have to do is make sure they don't try to make him the culprit for the killing, and he will be fine.'
Taking a few deep breaths, Isla was able to remain composed. She was feeling like her heart was being shredded to pieces at that moment, but for the sake of her group, and for Arthur's sake, she had to do what she had to do.
After a minute of thinking, she finally continued on with her day, taking a shower and making a quick breakfast before leaving for the academy.
The day passed very slowly, even with all the chaos happening. The battles between the students continued on, and the fierce rivalry grew. The entire academy had turned into a miniature battlefield where all the students tried to fight for the rankings.
However, Isla couldn't really find herself focused or invested. Her mind was in another plane of existence where nothing really mattered. The only reason she was still doing what she was doing was out of necessity and to keep her plans on track.
However, the entire time, her eyes were locked on that door, wishing to see Arthur walk through it with his usual smile. She wished to see him and apologize for everything she had said. That desire was perhaps the strongest she had ever experienced, and it only drove her closer and closer to insanity. Nothing that she tried to do helped her calm down or forget.
With that, the horrible day passed eventually, and she could leave the academy. She then immediately asked her friends to go check on Arthur and see if he had woken up or not. Since she had no access to the male dormitory, she could only rely on Herculia and Danny to do that.
But, as she expected, no matter how much they knocked on his door, he didn't answer. They tried to ask the staff to open the door for them, but they refused as it was completely against their policy to do that.
"We are only allowed to check on someone if they disappear for more than 4 days in the game, sir. I deeply apologize, but your friend's current situation isn't dangerous yet."
With that cold reply, the two left with their faces dark and twisted. They didn't know what to even make of this situation.
"... W-What should we even do now, Danny?" Herculia asked. "Arthur is stuck in the game, and they don't want to even help him out. What is this nonsense?"
"..." Danny stopped to think for a moment. "They won't check for 4 days… That is perhaps the worst possible outcome."
"Should we talk with the higher-ups? We can definitely convince them to check if-"
"No, I doubt that would work either. If there is one thing about Divinity corp, it's that they conduct themselves according to their own rules without any exceptions. They had shown that again and again and never backed down even against disasters. I don't think they will make an exception this time around."
"Then what are we…"
"Let's talk to Isla first. This situation is only getting more and more complicated."
'You're always bringing trouble, bastard. You better come back before things get out of control.' Danny clenched his teeth.
***
"Achu!!!" Arthur sneezed loudly. "Hmm? That was unexpected. Why did I sneeze?" He muttered as he rubbed his nose.
The boy felt a chill run down his spine for a moment there, as if someone was talking about him somewhere else. However, he quickly shook those thoughts away as he looked ahead.
"It has been an hour or so since that old man left. I'm feeling a lot more energized now. Should I go find him?"
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Although there was still a lot of room for recovery, he didn't want to waste any more time sitting around doing nothing. He needed to learn this skill and then quickly head for this island.
As he was contemplating that, he heard the door open, and the old man Yonathan walked out again.
"There you are."
"Did you recover, child?" Yonathan asked as he stopped in front of Arthur.
"Enough to move around freely, yes." The boy replied. "I feel so light, like a feather!"
Standing up, the boy hopped in his place. He was still not fully familiar with the way his body reacted to his intentions. It felt like the latency of his brain sending the signal to his body to do a movement had been reduced to basically nothing.
It was as if his body moved before his brain even thought, that was how fast he felt. Arthur didn't even need to think about it to realize how amazing that change was. It not only made him way stronger, but it also made his ability to defend and even react to things happening around him a lot more efficient.
'I feel like I can do anything I want!'
"Good." The old man saw the excited look on the boy's face and nodded. "That is the effect of having that huge weight crushing your body while exerting a lot of force. But Exo-Burst is a level above even that.
"..." Arthur immediately stopped.
"The technique isn't simply about speed as you might think, Arthur. To learn Exo-Burst, speed isn't the thing you need to improve…"
"Huh? Then what should I improve?"
"It's control." The man explained. "Control over your body and how each muscle moved. Control over your joints and bones, all to reach one goal… The ultimate movement."
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let's keep it up!
