Chapter 33: Mission

K crossed his fingers and rested his elbow against the holographic desk between them, "Let’s hear what this deal of yours is." He spoke in an amused voice while smiling behind his mask, clearly trying to intimidate Neolan through his demeanor.

Neolan, however, remained completely calm as he looked at the masked man and began explaining, "This mask has three different functions along with its unique appearance. The first is that it can completely bind itself to the owner’s DNA, and only when the owner permits it can anyone else wear it."

K remained silent without showing any surprise, as masks with similar functions were already part of his collection. He was far more interested in hearing about the other two functions, so he simply waited for Neolan to continue, "The second function is that it can completely conceal the wearer’s rank and strength, making the wearer appear to be nothing more than an ordinary Human to anyone who sees them."

A faint grin appeared behind Neolan’s mask when he realized that the second function had caught his attention.

Before K could ask any questions, Neolan continued, "The third function is that it can analyze an opponent’s rank during battle and even determine their combat prowess through the Nano AI built into it. It can also run simulations of that opponent inside its own Virtual Reality while keeping everything about them, including their powers and abilities, exactly the same."

The moment Neolan finished explaining, K abruptly stood up from his seat and slammed both hands onto the holographic table. The reaction made it obvious that this function had finally exceeded even his expectations, especially because the ability to perfectly simulate another person’s combat capabilities could be extremely valuable.

"What do you want in return?" K immediately got to the point, his obsession with masks clearly visible despite his face remaining hidden behind his own. He understood that if an item like this was being offered in a deal, then the thing Neolan wanted in return would have to be equally valuable, and something capable of matching the functions of this mask would undoubtedly be extremely special.

’Where did he even get something like this?’ K wondered as he looked at Neolan’s mask once again, carefully examining it despite having no way to see through its surface.

"I would like something called Bleatron Ore. I want to exchange this mask for it." The moment Neolan mentioned the name, K frowned slightly before asking, "What’s that? Something from an Asteroid?" From the word "Ore," he could already guess that it was some kind of material obtained from an Asteroid or another Planet, but the name itself did not ring any bells.

"That is correct, it is from an Asteroid, and as the owner of a Black-Market faction, it should be easy for you to obtain it."

Neolan paused briefly before continuing, "That Ore was stolen from a Museum some years ago, and I suspect that it is currently somewhere within this Black Market." K nodded in understanding as he considered the information, already beginning to think about where such a rare material could have ended up.

’Hmm, if that’s the case, then it might even be in one of the auctions. But there are hundreds of Auction Houses operating through the Black Market... I’ll need to contact Him.’ After reaching his conclusion, K exhaled and extended his hand toward Neolan.

"It’s a deal, then. The mask from you, and the Ore from me. Come back with the mask in two days, and I will have the Bleatron Ore in my hands." Neolan nodded before shaking K’s hand, finalizing their agreement without any further discussion.

He then lifted his wristwatch and tapped several times on the blue holographic screen before turning his attention back toward K. "I have sent you one hundred million Federation Credits from an anonymous account. Consider it an advance payment along with the mask. You will need it to obtain that Ore."

With that, Neolan took a single step forward before disappearing from the spot. K’s eyes widened as he stared at the empty space where Neolan had been standing only a moment ago, his expression revealing genuine shock for the first time.

’He... just stepped through space without using any Wrap Drive?!’ K remained frozen for several seconds, realizing that Neolan had once again displayed an ability that was completely different from what he had expected.

...

..

Neolan appeared somewhere else entirely, standing directly in front of a building that could be recognized with a single glance. It was the same Association where he had awakened his Astrine Blade, although this time he had arrived at the opposite side of the enormous building.

Without wasting any time, Neolan stepped through the glass doors as he pulled off his mask and sent it into the built-in subspace of the wristwatch and immediately headed toward the Awakened Missions section inside the Association. The area was already filled with many newly awakened individuals, most of whom were standing before large holographic displays while selecting the missions available to them.

After reaching the mission area, Neolan looked toward the real-time holographic screens displaying the available Rifts. Several different Rifts were shown across the display, each one marked with its corresponding rank and location, and his eyes eventually drifted toward the far-right side of the screen.

There, a Rift in the sky displayed a severe red color within the massive fracture, immediately identifying its rank to someone with experience. ’Hmm, a B-rank Rift...’

Neolan considered whether he should choose that Rift or attempt an A-rank one instead. With his current strength, clearing an A-rank Rift would not be particularly difficult, but doing so would raise far more questions than he wanted at the moment.

’As of now, I can clear an A-rank Rift, but... the Federation will become suspicious even if I am from the Ashburn Family.’ He had already attracted the attention of the Goddess of Niflheim through the theorem he provided for the AEGIS project, and displaying another absurd level of strength immediately after awakening would only make that suspicion worse.

’I guess B-rank will have to do for now.’ With that decision made, Neolan lifted his wristwatch and activated the holographic camera built into it. He pointed it toward the mission display for a moment before confirming his selection.

[Mission Registered: Antrox City Rift — B-Rank.]

Neolan glanced at the notification once before turning around and leaving the mission area. Most of the Awakened individuals nearby were members of Noble Families, and many of them already knew exactly who Neolan was. Because they already knew that he had awakened an SSS-grade Talent, none of them found it strange that he had selected a B-rank Rift, even though he had only awakened recently.

They understood that his Aspect Ability would naturally make him far stronger than an ordinary newly awakened person, so no one questioned his decision or attempted to stop him.

After exiting the Association, Neolan continued walking until he entered a narrow alley between two enormous skyscrapers. He stopped there for a moment before quietly speaking, "Void Steps." His figure immediately vanished from the spot without leaving behind even the slightest trace, but the moment he disappeared, several figures emerged from the shadows both in front of and behind the alley.

There were nine of them in total, and each one immediately focused on the empty space where Neolan had disappeared. One of them finally broke the silence, "Was that his Aspect Ability? Didn’t the Association confirm that it was something called Shadow Render? there was no Astrine release though..."

The man who spoke had white linen strips wrapped around his upper and lower face, with similar strips covering the rest of his body and leaving only small portions of his skin visible. His voice was slightly hoarse, while the dark circles beneath his eyes made his already covered appearance look even more unsettling.

The person standing across from him answered without hesitation, "Boss ordered us to eliminate him at all costs."

"He must have gone to his Rift clearance, and whatever that ability may be, we will kill him. That’s all that matters." A strange smile appeared beneath his own linen wrappings as he continued, "If we’re successful, our Nox will receive a very huge amount of credits, Huihuihui!"

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[A/N: 10 Chapters coming in October first in the privilege tiers, so do not worry if it feels like less Chapters, and after that 2 Chapters per day!]