Chapter 244

Chapter 244: 244

The engine vibration didn’t slow its pace for three hours after the lugger cleared the outer harbor channel. The thick oak timbers of the hull absorbed the steady thud-thud-thud of the props as the vessel ground its path straight into the open maritime trench—a miles-wide plain of ink-black water where the city neon runoff faded completely, replaced by a cold sea wind that smelled of deep kelp reefs and unfiltered primitive magic.

Jun-ho sat flat against the unpainted cedar chest in the center of the low hold, his massive rubber boots caked in a fresh layer of grey salt crust. He had laid the stone-gray panels of the Ashen Monarch Core Plate flat near his ankles, the rough mountain rock dry despite the heavy sea spray outside. His plain gray shirt was damp from the pure density of the mana behind his ribs, the cotton fabric sticking flat to his shoulder blades and outlining the dense lines of his chest muscles.

Right at the corner of his left eye, the solid black status text box opened across his vision, perfectly silent.

[ Level: 42]

[Unassigned Attribute Points: 5]

[Mana: 1700/10000]

[Active Trait: Ashen Domain (Phase 4 – 70-meter radius)]

He didn’t waste time thinking about the broken corporate councils or the frozen sub-nets behind the city walls. He focused his mind entirely on the choices floating in his vision, his fingers uncurling from the rough black hemp wrap of The Ash Remnant. To achieve absolute velocity during their transit to the next major offshore hub, his internal resources needed a precise, structural mapping.

"Put all 5 points into Speed," Jun-ho whispered into his own hood.

[Attribute Allocation Detected: 5 Points to Speed.]

[Applying 100x Multiplier to Resource Logic...]

[Speed increased by 500.]

The shift inside his legs was completely silent. The frozen reservoir behind his ribs expanded by another full circle, a deep, heavy density settling into his thighs and knees that made his large rubber boots feel weightless against the floorboards. The air right around his storage chest grew thin, the loose grey salt crust beneath his soles rippling in small, rapid circles as his Ashen Domain - Phase 4 locked its new boundary line seventy meters out into the dark water. ℯℯ𝑙.

Lilith slid onto the cedar locker right next to his side, her long bare legs exposed high along the silk line of her black tunic as she shifted her hips with a slow, deliberate swing. Her full crimson lips were inches from his jawline, her wild orchid perfume cutting right through the sour grease smell of the boiler pipe. Her long, ink-black hair fell across his shoulder line in heavy waves, the tight crimson leather of her outfit straining against her rounded fullness as her lips parted into a breathless murmur.

She leaned her entire weight flat against his ribs, her wide crimson eyes glowing with a lazy, dangerous fire under her long ink-black hair, her long fingers, tipped with sharp crimson nails, catching the wet hem of his gray shirt, pulling his torso an inch closer to her shoulder with a teasing, hot friction that made his skin prickle against the frost.

"Your internal speed is shifting again, big guy," Lilith whispered, her voice a deep, velvety purr that trembled with a sudden, fierce devotion. "My spirit belongs to your ribs now, Jun-ho. Let the water girl count her columns—I want to watch you clear the next vault from the inside of my skin. Every single drop of my demon energy is locked to your line."

She was falling for him completely, her primitive demon instincts locked onto his presence with a fierce, submissive passion that made her knees tremble against his boots.

"Move your chest back, demon," Eun-bi’s sharp, furious voice barked from the opposite canvas cot, her fingers tightening around her silver trauma scissors with an intense, biting jealousy. She walked two long steps across the narrow aisle, jamming her heavy rubber boot directly between Lilith’s leather trousers and the side of Jun-ho’s jeans. Her bare thigh pressed hard against his shins for stability as the boat hit a larger swell, her eyes locking straight onto his face.

She had the international guild assembly schedules spread flat across her knees, her fingers working fast under her headlamp beam as she checked the code lines. "The database log is still running the core synchronization, Jun-ho. If you let this rogue broker crowd the narrow track with her hair and her incense, the system will trace the mana displacement before we can even clear the drainage outlet. The registry belongs to the collective detail, not her private bedroom."

Rea slid off the secondary workbench with a slow, fluid stride that made the high-slashed silk of her black tunic rustle loudly against her long bare legs. Her golden-blue eyes spun slowly in a lazy, dangerous circle under the gray sky, her full crimson lips tightening into a thin, jealous line as she wedged her own voluptuous hourglass shape tight against Jun-ho’s opposite sleeve, her wild orchid perfume cutting sharp through Lilith’s sulfur incense.

"The little nurse is right about the timer, big guy," Rea murmured, her bare arm rubbing against his shirt fabric with a heavy, possessive friction that competitive edge turning her tone sharp. "The demon girl is a bit too forward with her placement. She thinks because she signed the soul bind she owns the whole ledger line. I have the master key for the lower drainage grid already logged on my console. We don’t need her sulfur codes to clear the path."

Jun-ho didn’t pull back an inch from any of them. He reached out his bare right hand, his fingers closing around Rea’s narrow waist under the loose silk fabric of her tunic, while his left shoulder remained pinned against the hot, firm line of Lilith’s leather top. The dual friction made the suppressed lake behind his ribs pulse in a deep, slow rhythm that filled the entire dark hold with a silent, heavy weight.

"The registry is clear," Jun-ho said flatly.

He didn’t look back at the options screen. He stood up from his cedar chest, his large rubber boots making a quiet, firm thud on the floorboards as he picked up the solid black wedge of his sword. They climbed through the low deck hatch onto the open stern deck, stepping over the rail onto the dark timber planks of the bow.

Tae-woo and the four elite vanguards formed a tight, heavy wall right behind his shoulders, their massive new Tier 4 frames forming a solid line of leather and muscle against the salt wind as the boat cut through the deep water toward the outer maritime trading hub, leaving the city sectors completely behind them in the dark gray mist of the open sea.