Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Acresia Reaches S-Rank — Reunion with Family

The moment I absorbed the phantom of Eos into Acresia —

WHOOSH!

The scenery shifted back to the study.

The pain in my leg vanished.

The piercing wound was gone without a trace.

Everything truly had been a phantom.

The book I had been holding — black cover inscribed with golden ancient script — was drawn into the Acresia portal that had opened before me, absorbing itself.

CRACKLE! SPARK!

Sparks burst violently from Acresia.

[Acresia has absorbed the 'Acresia Seal Release Grimoire.']

[Acresia covets the Seal Release Grimoire.]

[Acresia has 'Devoured' the Seal Release Grimoire.]

Acresia had absorbed the grimoire in the same manner as it had absorbed the phantom of Eos, then Devoured it.

Then —

[Through the Seal Release Grimoire, Acresia's seal has been lifted.]

[With the seal lifted, you have become Acresia's complete master.]

[By absorbing the phantom left by 'Eos,' you have partially absorbed the legacy of power she left behind.]

[All conditions have been fulfilled. Acresia has been promoted to its final rank: S-Rank.]

Promoted to S-Rank......?

After reaching A-Rank, its growth had been completely stalled.

But thanks to the test Eos had left behind, all conditions had been met, the seal was lifted, and it had been promoted to S-Rank.

On top of that —

[As an achievement reward, your Mana stat increases by +40.]

An achievement reward of Mana stat +40.

My previous Mana stat had been 160.2.

That meant I had surpassed 200.

[Third Awakening conditions have been met. Third Awakening commencing.]

As expected — exceeding 200 had triggered the Third Awakening.

'Ugh—!'

My heart felt as if it were being scorched.

I had experienced this during the Second Awakening, but this time it was at least twice as intense.

Smoke rose from my entire body.

Then warm Mana enveloped me, shielding my burning body.

After cooling the heat to a certain degree, the Mana converged toward my heart.

I heard something like a clear, resonant bell chime from within my body.

[Third Awakening successful. Your Mana Hall has been converted to a dual core. Mana efficiency has increased.]

Following the achievement of Acresia S-Rank —

I had undergone the Third Awakening......

Beyond that, a string of additional system messages scrolled upward.

All of Acresia's skill abilities had been enhanced. I had learned a new Acresia skill.

And I had acquired a new skill from the Third Awakening as well.

'My head is spinning......'

The rapid changes left me dazed.

But there was no time to process them one by one.

[All dungeons created by Eos will collapse shortly. (Time until collapse: 15 minutes)]

Only fifteen minutes until collapse.

Far too little time.

On top of that, the Eckard family was still in this place.

I had to evacuate them from the dungeon.

The door burst open.

"The dungeon collapse has begun. Please hurry, my lord!"

Maxim had called me "my lord" rather than just "master."

Perhaps because I had become Acresia's complete successor.

Moreover, he seemed to have known that passing the test would trigger the collapse.

"Understood. Let us go."

We dashed out of the castle.

Outside, the Eckard family dwarves had already packed their belongings into bundles and were standing by to evacuate.

'They all knew this place would collapse.'

It seemed they had conducted evacuation drills in advance for this very situation.

"My lord, the Gate portal leading outside the Rift is this way! Please follow me."

"Understood."

We ran toward the exit.

There was no time to waste.

The castle we had been in was already disintegrating into dust and vanishing.

The ground around the castle was also dissolving.

We arrived at the location where a Gate portal — presumably the exit — stood open.

Four Eckard family dwarves were waiting there, their belongings loaded onto carts.

They entered the Gate portal first.

Maxim turned to me and said,

"Please go in first, my lord. I would like to take one last look at this place before following."

"Understood."

I stepped into the portal.

***

The portal deposited me inside an enormous cavern.

More precisely, a dwarven underground city.

I was currently standing high atop a fortress, overlooking the entire underground city.

'This is incredible......'

To have built such a massive city underground.

Maxim arrived shortly after.

The Gate portal behind him vanished with a soft hiss.

'The dungeons Eos created must have been completely destroyed.'

For the Eckard family dwarves, it must have been bittersweet.

Their faces carried traces of wistfulness.

On the other hand, when they looked at me, I could see expectation in their eyes.

'A family that will follow me for generations.'

A total of twelve Eckard family members had emerged from the portal.

Maxim spoke to me as I gazed down at the underground city.

"This underground city, Creta, is a free city built jointly by the dwarven chieftains who were indebted to Lord Eos."

"I see."

Then they might be friendly toward me.

However, hearing Maxim's next words, that was not the case.

"However, aside from the Eckard family, members of other clans regard Lord Eos merely as a hero. They know nothing about Acresia, the power Lord Eos possessed. In other words, they are completely unaware of the prophecy that an Acresia successor would one day appear."

So unless the Eckard family disclosed information about Acresia, I was nothing more than a stranger here.

Maxim asked me,

"What would you prefer to do, my lord?"

"You are asking whether I wish to disclose or withhold information about Acresia from the other clans?"

"That is correct."

I did not see much benefit in revealing information about Acresia.

It would only increase the number of people targeting my life in order to seize it.

Even in the Hunter industry, I had refrained from disclosing the details of my abilities for the same reason.

The last thing I wanted was troublesome complications.

"I will continue to keep it hidden."

"As I expected. In that case, for external purposes, we will present you as a guest of our family."

"Understood. And......"

"Yes, please go ahead."

Now was not the time to leisurely sightsee the underground city.

Back at the Rift house, Ria and Rin had been anxiously waiting for me for five days now.

I could not let my family worry any longer.

"I will be taking my leave for today. I will visit this place again next time."

The successor their family had awaited across generations — and I was announcing my departure the moment I arrived.

They might feel let down, but taking care of my family came first.

Maxim bowed his head courteously, his expression unchanged.

"Understood. As you now possess the complete power of Acresia, you should be able to visit here whenever you wish, my lord."

"Thank you for your understanding."

Maxim then turned and spoke to his family.

"You all heard. I will accompany our lord and return. The rest of you are to remain here until summoned."

"Understood, Head of House."

Wait......

"Sir Maxim, you intend to come with me?"

At my question, Maxim replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Of course. As your retainer, I must follow wherever my lord goes."

"......"

The determination in his eyes told me he would follow even unto death.

Refusing would be difficult.

Then let me at least correct one thing first.

"My name is An Seon-u. Rather than 'my lord,' please call me Seon-u."

Being called "my lord" was too embarrassing.

Hearing that, Maxim made a face as if his world had crumbled.

"......Is that an order?"

If I said it was not an order, he would likely ignore it.

"Yes, it is an order."

"......Understood. Seon-u."

Much easier on the ears.

"Then let us go together."

"Understood."

I opened a Gate portal.

The destination was, of course, the Rift house.

I glanced behind me. The Eckard family members were watching me and the Gate portal with eyes full of anticipation.

'It really is a Gate portal.'

'He truly is the successor. Our new master.'

'Our family can finally fulfill its purpose.'

After the Third Awakening, my hearing had sharpened further.

I could even make out their quiet whispers.

The Eckard family was entirely well-disposed toward me.

They did not feel slighted at all by my immediate departure.

I addressed them.

"I apologize for leaving without a proper greeting. I will come visit again and introduce myself formally."

They received my farewell with a ninety-degree bow.

"Safe travels, my lord."

My lord......

Next time I visited, I would have to order them to call me Seon-u as well.

"Then, let us go, Sir Maxim."

"Understood."

Maxim and I stepped through the Gate portal side by side.

Toward the house where Ria and Rin were waiting.

***

Ria and Rin had been in a state of panic for days.

"Seon-u......"

Rin sat on the outdoor wooden platform bench, dejected, wiping at the corners of her eyes.

Moisture glistened on the back of the hand she had used to wipe them.

Ria sat beside her, holding her close.

"It is okay, Rin. Seon-u will come back safely."

She said the words, but her own heart would not calm down.

Her husband, Seon-u, had disappeared five days ago during the time she had gone to put Rin to sleep.

Ria had run everywhere searching for him.

She asked the Sword Saint, who had returned after spending the holiday with the knight quartet, if he had seen her husband.

She went to the restaurant outpost and asked the Hunters if they knew anything about Seon-u's whereabouts.

But no one had seen him.

That left only two possibilities.

He had stepped outside the Rift briefly and gotten caught up in some incident.

Or he had entered a random Rift location through a Gate portal and encountered a problem.

If neither was the case, her husband would never leave his worried wife and Rin without a single word of contact.

Ria prayed it was the former.

An incident outside the Rift would be less dangerous than one inside.

'Please come back safely......'

She could not leave the worried Rin behind to go searching.

If she did, they might only cross paths and miss each other.

All she could do was wait anxiously, praying.

Then Ashley and Fenrir arrived at the Rift house yard.

They had spent three days searching the northern and southern reaches of the Fourth Floor after hearing that Seon-u was missing.

Ria looked at them with a glimmer of hope.

Ashley and Fenrir averted their eyes and shook their heads.

"......"

Ria slumped onto the platform bench, bowing her head and covering her face with both hands.

The moment she showed weakness —

"Waaah!"

Rin burst into the tears she had been holding back.

Ria realized her mistake.

She should have shown only a strong front before the child.

She pulled Rin close and comforted her.

"It is okay, Rin. Seon-u will come back as if nothing happened. So do not worry."

Watching the scene, Ashley and Fenrir lowered their heads.

"This time, I will search the east and come back."

"I will head west."

Ria nodded to them.

"Thank you, both of you......"

Just as they were about to set off again —

A Mana signature emanated from behind the Rift house.

"......"

It was the same Mana wave pattern she felt whenever her husband, Seon-u, traveled home through a Gate portal.

Ria stood and ran to the back of the house.

There, as always, a portal was opening.

A figure emerged through the portal.

The moment she confirmed that face —

A surge of emotion overwhelmed her.

She launched herself at the husband who had just stepped through the portal.

"Seon-u—!"

"Ria......?"

She threw herself at him so hard they nearly tumbled to the ground together.

But Seon-u caught his wife effortlessly and held her in his arms.

***

Ria had been more worried than I expected.

I never imagined she would throw herself at me this hard.

But thanks to the Third Awakening, I caught her without difficulty.

Ria was light to begin with, after all.

"I am so glad you are back safe......!"

Ria's voice was moist with tears.

Hearing that voice made my own emotions surge.

"Yeah, I made it back safe. I am sorry for worrying you......"

I released my arms from around Ria and gently wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I will never make you worry like this again. I promise."

"Okay...... I believe you."

Then came a tearful little voice.

"Seon-u......! Waaaaah!"

Rin was running toward me on her short legs, both arms outstretched.

I crouched down and caught Rin as she threw herself into my arms, crying.

"Rin, were you very worried?"

"I was worried! Hicc!"

"I am sorry for worrying you. Everything is fine now, so do not cry. No more tears."

"No more......tears......"

Rin held her tears back tightly.

What a good girl. She listened so well.

I scooped her up in my arms.

Bell also showed an enthusiastic reaction, welcoming me home.

And so, I had returned to the family I feared I might never see again.

It was a time that reminded me, once more, of how precious family was.

"......"

Only after that tearful reunion did Ria notice the dwarf who had come with me.

"Seon-u, who is this person......?"