She chuckled.
"Yes, she was. But she was also the lowest-ranked being in this prison, so Commander had no choice but to send her. Even he didn't believe it when I reported that you killed her."
I raised a brow.
"That's not going to be a problem, is it? I mean, I did kill a prisoner."
She waved a hand dismissively.
"Nah, don't worry about it. She was charged with murder anyway. No one's going to lose sleep over her."
I nodded.
Feeling some control over my body again, I tried to sit up. June noticed and helped me, steadying me as I moved. My limbs trembled, but I managed to sit cross-legged.
I glanced at my hand. It was just as bad as I remembered. From the middle of my forearm to the tips of my fingers, nothing remained but gleaming bone. Muscle tissue twitched and squirmed, slowly trying to regrow over the exposed structure.
I turned to June.
"How long do you think it'll take to heal completely?"
She hummed thoughtfully, taking my palm in her hands and tracing a finger over the bare bone.
I felt nothing. No sensation at all.
"We'll get you to a healer once we go to Unit 02 compound. By tomorrow morning, it should be good as new."
A breath of relief escaped me. At least that was one less thing to worry about.
Carefully scanning my body, I noted the extent of the damage: claw marks, scratches, and dried blood crusted over multiple wounds. Torn muscles ached with every slight movement, burns stung against the cool air, and a fractured leg throbbed dully. Everything hurt.
And yet…
I pressed my hand against my chest. The spot where her claws had torn through, where she had almost ripped out my heart, my Generator Core, was completely healed.
No wound, not even a scar. The green tattoo remained etched into my skin, untouched, as if nothing had happened at all.
Lowering my gaze, I found the necklace resting peacefully against my chest, undisturbed. My fingers brushed over the cool metal as a thought surfaced.
'I hope you enjoyed the fight.'
Exhaling, I shifted my weight and pushed myself up, determined to stand.
June hurriedly waved her hands as if afraid I might shatter into pieces at any moment.
"What are you doing? Sit down! Your body needs rest."
A chuckle escaped me.
"No, Vice Commander. What my body needs is movement. I heal faster when I keep my body working."
She hesitated, watching as I struggled, groaned, and finally forced myself upright. Every muscle in my body protested, but I stretched carefully, letting the ache settle.
"Ahh, this feels good. Such fine weather."
June let out a small chuckle at that.
Turning to her, I raised an eyebrow.
"So, Vice Commander, I get that we all make mistakes, but don't you think I deserve some kind of reward or compensation for almost dying and, you know, actually surviving?"
Instead of answering, she stood up, turned on her heel, and started walking.
Frowning, I limped and followed her, only to spot Guro's body lying ahead. A deep breath steadied me as I approached.
We stopped beside her corpse, and I took in the aftermath of my best work yet.
Her face was gone, burned away completely, along with her hair and the skin that had once covered it. What remained was a scorched skull, her body broken and bloodied beyond recognition.
June's voice broke the silence.
"Your compensation will be deducted since you killed your training instructor."
My head snapped toward her.
"Vice Commander, she was no training instructor! That woman was insane! She wanted to cook me alive. And do other… unexplainable things to me."
She turned to stare at me, unimpressed.
"A murder is a murder, soldier. Even if it was a crazy demon."
I threw my hands up in exasperation.
"Vice Commander, I didn't know you were such a miser." Shaking my head, I muttered, "Anyway, are all demons like this?"
June sighed.
"No. Every race has crazy people, and she was one of them. Demons are wild, but they're crazy for battle, for fighting and not for cooking and eating people alive."
That was a small relief, at least.
I gave a slow nod.
"And why was she captured and locked up in the first place? She told me a story, but I doubt it was the full truth."
June sighed.
"She was caught trying to infiltrate a place she had no business being in. They arrested her and put her in a regular prison, but she was crazy and killed some inmates. After that, they transferred her here, a high-security facility for dangerous individuals."
'Awesome and the commander thought it was okay to release such psycho on me. I need to figure out if the old man have some kind of grudge against me.'
I ignored the thought and asked.
"So they thought she might be useful someday? That's why they kept her?"
June nodded.
"Yeah. Being a demon, she had value. They figured she could be of use in the future… but I guess that's not a concern anymore."
I shrugged and asked.
"So, what are you going to do with her body? Are you reporting this or something?"
June didn't answer right away. Instead, she stepped forward and knelt beside the demon's corpse. Then, without a word, she stood up.
"I'll handle it," she said.
She raised her hand over the corpse. Sparks flickered at her fingertips, crackling and snapping like tiny lightning bolts. The air grew thick with the sharp scent of ozone.
With a small motion, she sent a bolt of lightning down.
It struck Guro's body, making it jolt as if it had come back to life. But this wasn't revival, this was destruction.
The lightning wrapped around the corpse, burning through flesh and bone. The body blackened, then crumbled, turning into glowing embers. Even the blood on the ground sizzled and vanished.
In seconds, there was nothing left. No ash, no bones. Just a dark patch on the ground where she had once been.
June lowered her hand.
"All done," she said.
I stared at the empty space. Just a short while ago, Guro had been trying to kill me, laughing as she did it. Now, there was nothing left of her. No grave, no remains. Just… gone.
June turned to me and grinned.
"So, congratulations on reaching Level 25. You're the first to hit the milestone across all the Elite Units."
Her words pulled me out of my thoughts.
I smiled.
"Thank you, Vice Commander. By the way, what's your rank?"
I had tried scanning her earlier, but all I got was question marks.
She chuckled.
"You can only see the level and rank of those on the same rank as you."
Then, with a knowing look, she added, "Also, you're going to be famous soon. I'm sure the Commander will spread the news everywhere."
Grinning, I declared.
"That's good. I want everyone to know who is Billion Ironhart."
June flicked my forehead.
"Slow down, young man. No need to push yourself so hard. You're doing well."
"No, Vice Commander. 'Well' isn't enough. I need to be awesome. Perfect. Legend—"
She clamped a hand over my mouth.
"Alright, alright, I get it. Now shut up and rest. Let the potion work on your body. We'll move out in half an hour. Your little volcano vacation is over."
I raised my hands in surrender. Only then did she remove her hand, and I gave her my best sad face.
"As you say, Vice Commander."
Stepping back, I sat down again. It was time to go through my notifications.
I opened my status to look at the notifications.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level 22 → Level 25]
[Level Threshold Reached]
[Initiating Profile Creation...]
[Milestone achieved : Talent]
[Milestone achieved : Perfect 50]
[Milestone achieved : Pioneer]
[Milestone achieved : Essence Scholar]
[Milestone achieved : Unyielding Heart]
[Milestone achieved : Rule Breaker]
[Milestone achieved : Apex Walker]
[Profile Creation Done]
[Searching Suitable Class Options…..]
[Class Option Available]
And with that the notifications ended.
Saying I was surprised would be an understatement. I was flabbergasted, stunned and completely caught off guard. Some of the milestones the system listed didn't even make sense to me.
I understood Talent, Perfect 50, and Essence Scholar. Apex Walker probably had something to do with my passive ability.
But Pioneer? Rule Breaker? Unyielding Heart?
I had no clue what those milestones were about. They could mean a lot of things.
Pioneer might be for using Essence before getting a class or for creating skills with it.
Rule Breaker could be the same or maybe it was for killing a demon who had a class and was eight levels above me.
It could even be because I kept bending or outright ignoring rules in one way or another.
I had no way of knowing whether these milestones would help or hurt my class options.
Ignoring the swarm of thoughts in my head, I focused on the glowing [Class Options Available] notification.
Excitement surged through me. I had been through a lot to reach this point. This was the moment to see if all my hard work had paid off.