Kael picked up his phone.
The first thing that appeared on the screen wasn’t Jonas’s message.
It was a bank notification.
[Account Balance Updated]
[+4,600,082,010+ Credits]
Kael stared at the notification for a few seconds.
Then he sighed.
To think that only a month ago, he had been worried about how he was going to secure three billion credits within the next three months for the upcoming auction.
The reason had been simple.
The elixir.
If the rumors surrounding it were true, then it could potentially cure their mother’s illness. At the time, three billion credits had seemed like an enormous amount of money, and Kael had spent quite a bit of time considering how he was going to obtain that much wealth within such a short period.
Now, only a month later, his account balance had surpassed that amount by a considerable margin.
And strangely enough, Kael didn’t feel particularly excited.
There was no overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
No disbelief.
No urge to celebrate.
It simply felt normal.
Kael looked at the number again before locking his phone for a moment.
"With the amount of wealth I have now, getting excited over four billion credits would be pretty weird."
His standards had changed.
That was probably inevitable.
A month ago, billions had represented a seemingly impossible target. Now, they were simply another number in his account.
Still, speaking of the elixir reminded him of something important.
Their mother’s condition.
Dun’s potion had already begun producing small improvements in her health. It wasn’t enough to completely resolve the problem, but there had been noticeable progress.
Unfortunately, the potion wasn’t something capable of producing miracles overnight.
Her recovery would still take time.
The elixir, however, was different.
If its description was accurate and it truly possessed the ability to cure every sickness, then it could dramatically accelerate their mother’s recovery.
The problem was that the auction wouldn’t take place for another two months.
Kael wasn’t particularly fond of waiting.
He had already instructed Joy to investigate the matter and look for another way to acquire the elixir before the auction.
Hopefully, something would come from it.
Kael pushed the thought aside and opened Jonas’s message.
There were several files attached.
The first one immediately caught his attention.
Information regarding the newly discovered rift.
Kael opened it.
Whenever a new rift was discovered, the Hunter Association didn’t immediately send in the main exploration team. A preliminary exploration team would first enter the rift to gather basic information about the environment.
Their job wasn’t to fully explore the rift.
Instead, they were responsible for determining the fundamentals.
Atmospheric composition.
Toxic substances.
Temperature.
Terrain.
Environmental hazards.
Potential abnormalities.
Anything that could affect the survival of the main exploration team had to be recorded.
The report Jonas had sent him was the result of that preliminary exploration.
Kael began reading.
The further he went, the more serious his expression became.
The rift was a snow world.
A world covered in endless cold.
According to the preliminary team’s records, the temperature within the rift was low enough to freeze exposed objects within moments. Ordinary protective equipment was insufficient, and anyone entering the environment without proper resistance to extreme cold would quickly find themselves in serious danger.
Kael paused.
"It’s at least A Rank."
That was his immediate conclusion.
The environment alone was already enough to eliminate anyone below the A Rank threshold from consideration.
And that was before factoring in the monsters.
The final ranking could easily increase once the main exploration team completed a more thorough investigation and mapped out the rift’s deeper regions.
Kael continued reading.
The first confirmed monster was the Yeti.
They were enormous ape-like creatures covered in thick, snow-white fur. Their natural coloration made them extremely difficult to distinguish from the surrounding environment, especially during the blizzards that constantly swept across the rift.
According to the preliminary team, the Yetis appeared to have developed an instinctive ability to use the environment to mask their presence.
They could disappear into the snowstorm almost completely.
The report specifically warned explorers to remain vigilant when traversing areas where visibility was severely reduced.
Kael continued.
The second confirmed species was considerably more dangerous.
Giant horned serpents.
They possessed blue and white scales that allowed them to blend into the frozen landscape, and their bodies displayed both water and ice-based abilities.
Their exact strength had yet to be determined.
The third species was where the report became considerably more concerning.
Falcon-like beasts.
There wasn’t much information regarding their physical abilities, mainly because the preliminary exploration team hadn’t been able to observe them properly.
There was, however, one characteristic that had been confirmed.
They attacked in hordes.
And they were extremely suicidal.
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
He continued reading.
The falcon-like beasts had been responsible for forcing the preliminary exploration team out of the rift.
The creatures would descend from the sky in massive numbers, attacking the explorers without any concern for their own survival.
Then they would explode.
Each beast would detonate itself upon impact, transforming its body into a violent burst of freezing energy and snow.
The preliminary team had suffered significant casualties during the encounter.
Eventually, they had been forced to abandon the exploration.
Some of their equipment had even been left behind as they fled the rift.
Kael slowly lowered the phone.
"Weird."
Beasts that self-destructed weren’t unheard of.
There were monsters in the world capable of sacrificing their lives to inflict massive damage on their enemies. It wasn’t particularly unusual when such a trait appeared in a rare species or under certain circumstances.
But an entire species whose primary method of attacking was essentially throwing itself at enemies and exploding?
That was different.
Kael didn’t like it.
Something about it didn’t sit right with him.
There was a certain logic behind most monster behavior, even when the monsters themselves were savage and irrational.
Self-preservation was an instinct shared by almost every living creature.
Yet these beasts seemed to possess almost none of it.
Kael stared at the report for another moment.
Then he shook his head.
It wasn’t worth overthinking.
They were going to explore the rift tomorrow anyway.
He would find out exactly what was going on once he entered the place himself.
Kael closed the first file and opened the second.
This one contained information about several individuals.
His team.
Or, more accurately, the people he was supposed to choose from.
Kael began reading through the profiles one by one.
Their classes.
Ranks.
Abilities.
Combat roles.
Previous experience.
Everything Jonas had managed to gather had been organized within the file.
Kael carefully went through the list before making his selections.
Once he finished, he moved on to the third file.
This one contained the expenses related to the damaged building.
Kael glanced through the beginning of the report and quickly understood what Jonas was doing.
But Kael wasn’t particularly interested in the details.
He closed the file.
Then he tossed his phone onto the bed.
"That’s enough for now."
Kael stood up and stretched.
His stomach had begun to growl.
Breakfast.
He needed to eat.
Since Lyra and Ezra were having their little girls’ sleepover, Kael figured the two of them had probably stayed awake for most of the night doing whatever girls did during those things.
Which meant they would probably wake up late.
Kael shook his head with a faint smile.
He couldn’t exactly let his sister and her friend wake up hungry, could he?
Besides, he was the best brother ever.
With that completely unbiased conclusion firmly established in his mind, Kael walked out of his room and headed toward the kitchen to prepare breakfast for himself, Lyra, and Ezra.