"We’re getting closer to Nihility. Just two hours away..." Grozque’s update came from the front, ringing through the entire ship, even to the ears of Ryuk and Mason, who sat at the far back.
They had been seated silently for sixteen hours now, as the ship continued its journey.
’We’ve already spent sixteen hours just on the journey alone. It’s clear this won’t be a one-day mission,’ Ryuk mused silently to himself.
A moment later, a tiny beam emerged from his eyes, resulting in his Ammo Comms appearing before him.
’I should inform Mrs. Lynia I won’t be returning home for the night, lest she become worried,’ he thought, his hands quickly moving to the keyboard panel that appeared in front of him as he typed a quick message and clicked
"Send."
The message should’ve normally been carried forward instantly, but this time it continuously loaded and lagged for about thirty seconds before finally being sent.
’The service is also disappearing the closer we get to Nihility... or should I say, the farther we are from Ammora.’
’I’m guessing that once we reach Nihility, there’ll be no way to send or receive messages from Ammora,’ he realized, sending another message which took about three minutes before it finally went through.
With that done, he dispersed the Comms and turned to look around the room.
There had been a couple of exchanges between the group when the journey first began, and from that, Ryuk had eventually come to learn a few things about the group he was with.
The most eye-catching—and mysterious—was the silent woman piloting the ship.
She never spoke more than a "Hmm" or "No," and her name was Orraniel.
From the way the group addressed her, Ryuk could easily tell she was most likely the strongest among them, or someone with a powerful background that warranted the immense respect she received.
Still, her cultivation base wasn’t something he could sense at all.
Looking at her was like staring into a black hole.
It gave one the sense of nothing, yet... everything.
There was no doubt she was stronger than he in his current basic state—far stronger.
Perhaps, if he activated his Beyonder Dragon skill, then he would be able to pinpoint exactly what her cultivation base was.
Even though she was respected and, hypothetically, the strongest, she wasn’t the leader of the group.
That position went to Grozque—the one who had questioned him about his capability earlier.
He was the one who shared the knowledge of Nihility and warned them what to watch out for, such as abductors pretending to be the psychopathic tourists that occasionally visited Nihility.
It might be a desolate world, but that only seemed to attract the interest of certain types of people, making it easy for abductors to pretend to be tourists and lure targets.
Grozque knew the most about Nihility: dangerous zones, rumors of what happened in the past and what was happening now, various legends and superstitions, even pathways and the locations of important sites within Nihility.
He was knowledgeable, and just like Orraniel, the group also seemed to greatly respect him.
His aura radiated leadership, and he was most likely the second strongest in the group.
Just like Orraniel, Ryuk also couldn’t sense his cultivation base — a clear signal that the man was stronger than him in his current state.
The third in the group was a burly Angel called Gus.
One glance at him reminded Ryuk of Officer Rhys — fat, lazy-looking, and blunt.
His droopy eyes and blank stare gave off the vibe of someone who wouldn’t care if the world ended... or what even caused its end in the first place.
He radiated that "I just can’t be bothered and I’d rather blankly stare into nothingness" type of energy.
But even though he looked lazy, he didn’t look weak at all.
He was broad-shouldered, and the space around him seemed compressed, as if a heavy force surrounded him just from sitting in that chair.
Even the chair creaked slightly lower to the ground than the others.
It was a sign of heavy brute strength. And just like the rest, Ryuk also couldn’t pinpoint his cultivation, meaning Gus was most likely stronger than him, too.
As for the last in the group, it was the one sitting next to him: Mason.
Lanky and thin, with disheveled golden hair, sunken golden eyes, and dark eyebags.
He radiated the energy of a rat—nervous and twitchy. His fingers tapped constantly against the seat, and his eyes never stayed in one place for long. His thoughts were unreadable, yet his body language screamed unease.
He was the cunning type, most likely to go for a dirty "all-is-allowed" brawl rather than a fair boxing match.
Right now, his fingers were on the seat, lazily drawing something with his nail, even though there was nothing to be seen.
He was the only one whose cultivation Ryuk could deduce: Early Stage of Exignis.
One could say he was just as strong as Ryuk in his current state, and the weakest in the group.
’Somehow makes his nervous attitude more reasonable,’ he thought silently before his gaze drifted back forward.
He still had a quest completed and had yet to properly access it.
So, he ordered in his mind,
’Activate System Interface.’
[Congratulations! The host has completed the Secret Quest: Save the Abducted Group from Captivity.
[Rewards:]• +8,000,000 EXP• +3 Level-Up Cards• +50 Ability Upgrade Cards
╔════════════════════════════╗
║ SYSTEM INTERFACE 2.0 ║
╠════════════════════════════╣
║ Name: Ryuk Knull ║
║ Race: Beyonder Dragon ║
║ Age: 18 ║
║ Level: 189 ║
╚════════════════════════════╝
• EXP: 10,992,000 / 36,000,000
• Level-Up Cards: 3
• Use Level-Up Cards?
’Yes.’
[-1 Level-Up Card used]
[Host has leveled up to Level 190!]
[+50 Attribute Points Obtained]
[-1 Level-Up Card used]
[Host has leveled up to Level 191!]
[+50 Attribute Points Obtained]
[-1 Level-Up Card used]
[Host has leveled up to Level 192!]
[+50 Attribute Points Obtained]
Level-Up Cards Left: 0
╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ⚙︎ ATTRIBUTE PANEL ⚙︎ ║ ╠═════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ • Physical Dominance ▸ 10,000 ║
║ • Velocis ▸ 10,000 ║
║ • Core Stability ▸ 10,000 ║
║ • Memetic Awakening ▸ 10,000 ║
║ • Cosmic Gravitas ▸ 5,000 ║
║ • Attribute Points: 300 ║
║ Use Attribute Points? ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝
"Not yet," he replied as the system panel disappeared.
’Hopefully, I can harvest a lot of EXP and quests on Nihility,’ he muttered inwardly as the group made their way closer to the dark realm.