"This… is it."
Right in front of Rey was a door. It was so poorly made that it seemed crooked at best.
Any sufficient pressure applied to it would be enough to break the door into bits.
'They put slaves behind this? Are they not worried they'll try to escape?'
Rey surmised that the captors were probably confident that the captives would be unable to escape, so he shrugged the thought from his mind.
'Alicia and Billy are both strong. The people here must have a way to restrain them.'
That told Rey that he couldn't be complacent.
He activated [Safe Haven], just in case, and proceeded to open the door.
~CREAK~
The door easily opened without Rey exerting much of an effort, and it revealed a room shrouded in darkness to him.
'What's this smell…?' A sickly sweet smell filled the air, making Rey nearly nauseated.
Thankfully, his [Full Resistance] kicked in. Still, he felt like it would be safer to leave as quickly as possible.
'This is probably a sedative that keeps them this way.'
Rey used his Flare to lighten up the place, seeing four people inside.
His eyes instantly darted to the one that mattered most to him.
'Alicia!'
The dirty ground stained her unkempt brown hair, and her casual outfit had the form of rags. Her pure skin was marred with dirt, and her eyes were tightly shut.
She was unconscious, and her body seemed frail as she lay in a corner.
She honestly seemed like a fresh corpse.
Rey's eyes widened as he rushed to her side with unimaginable speed.
As he touched her body, he realized she felt cold—too cold!
'A-ah!' He placed his ears close to her chest, not minding the softness that greeted him as he did so.
'She's still alive!' His thoughts echoed within.
Rey swiftly brought out the White Amber and slipped it into its rightful place.
The moment he did this, a bright light suddenly enveloped Alicia.
~FSHUUUUU!~
The light warmly radiated all across her body, causing her pale skin to receive color as her breathing returned to normal.
Slowly, she was regaining her strength.
'Looks like the ring's effects work perfectly fine…' Rey made a slight smile under his imposing mask.
However—
"U-urghh…"
—A single voice made all his joy sink right under.
'This guy…!'
Rey turned to his side, a small distance off, and noticed Billy slowly stirring into consciousness.
If looks could kill, then Rey's glare at Billy should have destroyed him a million times over. His eyes glowed bright crimson as he looked at the muscular boy who was covered in filth.
'No, Rey… he's not worth it.' He calmed himself.
There was no need to go so far when all of this would be revealed to the Royal Council.
'[Sleep].' He used the Skill on Billy, causing the boy to sink back into slumber.
Rey also noticed that Alicia was regaining consciousness, so he did the same to her.
'They can't know who I am. Or that I came to save them…'
As the one known as Ralyks, he wasn't one known to walk the path of light.
Unless…!
'Ahh! A brilliant idea just came to mind.' Rey's eyes widened as he made a wide grin.
'That could work!'
********
Once Rey secured Alicia's safety, and confirmed that Billy's condition—albeit not stable—would not lead to his death, he decided to leave the room.
'There are two others here, but I don't think they're any of my concern.'
The most he could do was report to the soldiers and have the Alliance take it from there.
'I'm not abandoning them. They'll still be saved…'
It was just that Alicia and—unfortunately enough—Billy had more priority.
Using [Absolute Wind Magic], he raised the two in the air and decided to take them out using this measure.
Before he did this, however, he covered their entire bodies with long cloaks and hid their faces in masks—items that he took from his [Inventory].
'I guess I should be happy about having spares…' Rey made a wry smile.
'At least, this way, their identities would remain hidden even if I am seen with them. I'll activate [Projection] as well, but there's a chance that won't work.'
All the preparations were complete, so Rey made his way to the exit.
That was when he heard a voice.
"R-Rey…"
'H-huh?!' Rey paused right in his tracks as soon as his name echoed in the air.
It came as a soft whisper—barely audible—but he heard it clearly.
'Who… said that…?' His gaze slowly traveled to his side, where someone was lying on the ground.
His eyes widened as he noticed her hand gripping the edge of his cloak—albeit weakly.
She looked like a teenager—perhaps the same age as Alicia. Her short black hair and glowing blue eyes told him she was using some kind of Skill.
"H-help me… R-Rey… S-Skylar…"
Rey recoiled in confusion as he stared at her barely moving face.
Other than her lips and her shaky hand, which now crumbled back to the ground, the girl was paralyzed.
'She's definitely using a Skill. What is it?!'
Since Rey had just seen her eyes glow, and she had said his name, he could confirm that he 'technically' saw her using an ability.
"Status Window." He murmured under his breath.
[STATUS WINDOW]
- Name: Rey Skylar.
- Race: Human (Otherworlder)
- Class: Elite Enigma (B-Tier)
- Level: 33 (14.93% EXP)
- Life Force: 22 (+32)
- Mana Level: 84 (+32)
- Combat Ability: 30 (+32)
- Stat Points: 57
- Skills (Exclusive): [Doppel]
- Skills (Non-Exclusive): Nil
- Alignment: Neutral
[Additional Information]
You are a mystery to the world. While the underworld trembles in your presence, those on the surface do not understand your true strength
[End Of Information]
Rey tapped on his [Doppel] Skill to see what kind of ability he had just encountered.
[Skill Categories]
~ Attack Category: 29
~ Defense Category: 11
~ Buff Category: 10
~ Miscellaneous: 7
[New Skills: Please Select Their Categories]
~ S-Tier: Absolute Appraisal
[Total Skills: 58]
'What the hell?!' Rey's eyes nearly popped out of his head the moment he saw the Skill before him.
'She appraised me!'
*
*
*
Thanks for reading!
Now this is what we're talking about! A new Skill and a new… well, someone.
