"Hmph. Just call me Lenny" Lenny waved his hand, ignoring the handshake as he turned back to face the city.
Lieutenant Colonel Russel smiled bitterly; he was annoyed, but he contained it deep within him.
He sighed, redrawing his hand. "Well, that's fine, but you should know why I'm here, right? Lenny" He asked.
Lenny nodded, "Yeah I do" He paused for a second before continuing, "Once an Awakener evolves into a Fallen Regulator"
"They will be referred to the Regulator's Association, to register as an official Player of the Fallen Realm"
"I will be paying the Regulator's Association a visit, to register myself and get the required benefits"
"As you can see, I'm a broke man" He said. Lieutenant Colonel Russel chuckled, "Well I feel ashamed for asking in the first place"
"I shouldn't have forgotten that you came from a Great House" He said, "But what do you have to say about working for the Government?" Lieutenant Colonel Russel asked.
Lenny had expected it.
He knew the Government wouldn't let him be, as they would be seeking to recruit him before the other Great Houses did.
They were quick as well.
Lenny shook his head, "Nah, I'll have to pass that offer," He answered. Lieutenant Colonel Russel wasn't surprised.
"If I may ask, why?" He asked.
Lenny glanced at Lieutenant Colonel Russel for a moment, "Really? Do I have to answer?"
"Where should I start from? You guys locked me up for over half a decade, I was thirteen then"
"While locked up, there are dozens of medical personnel who ran tests on me"
"And I was deemed a threat to society, treated as a virus. Why would I even think of joining the Government?"
Lieutenant Colonel Russel breathed deeply, "Fair enough, it would have been suspicious if you agreed in the first place." He smiled.
His smile faltered for a second, "But you know the twelve Great Houses want you right?" He asked.
Lenny shrugged, "Sure, those old geezers have been sensitive about letting me live, yet they wouldn't bring themselves so low as to kill me"
"House Night may be gone, but it's still a Great House after all" He bragged, he folded his arms.
Lieutenant Colonel Russel nodded, "Then what are you going to do?" He asked, Lenny shrugged, "Well I don't know for now"
"I will need to register myself in the Regulator's Association then visit the Fallen Realm again"
"I prefer going solo, don't need a party" He answered. Lieutenant Colonel Russel nodded, "True, I'll even be worried for your teammates if you had a party in the first place"
Lieutenant colonel Russel stated with a grin, he threw a smartphone at Lenny who instinctively grabbed it.
Lenny's eyebrows furrowed, "What is this?" He asked, while observing the smartphone.
"That'll be your new smartphone dummy, you weren't an Awakener neither did you participate in the Awakening Ceremony"
"You have no rights to be directly registered into the Regulator's Association so the Government helped you"
"Since your past records were erased, we created a new record for you, a new account in the Regulator's Association"
"A new bank account, your acct no is 3456908 and your bank pin is 234, your Regulator's acct password is your bank no"
"You've been registered into the Association's data as a Rank 1 Fallen Regulator but you'll still need to fill out some Informations" Lieutenant colonel Russel explained.
Lenny breathed deeply, "Informations like what?" Lenny curiously asked.
Lieutenant colonel Russel chuckled, "Well informations like your primary Fallen Rune and your secondary Fallen Rune"
"What Fallen Paths do they belong to, but you can keep aside other sensitive data like your Fallen Treasures"
Lieutenant colonel Russel tilted his gaze, he pointed at the metallic box, the officer who held the box approached a wooden table.
Placing the metallic box on the table with a loud sigh, Lieutenant colonel Russel continued "Inside this box contains equipments necessary for your Regulator's journey"
"This is all the Government could do for you" He added.
"Naturally every Rank 1 Fallen Regulators are paid $5,000 monthly by the Regulator's Association but the Government will be in charge of your monthly salary"
"You'll be paid $15,000 monthly, expect it in about an hour time"
"It'll be a form of contract, when you're near a gatebreak, you will be called upon to prevent a major disaster," Lieutenant Colonel Russel explained.
Lenny grinned inwardly 'Is this a form of bribery? To keep themselves in my good books now that I'm free?' He thought.
Lenny nodded, "Sure enough, I don't have a problem with saving a life or two, but I can reject if I want tho" He stated..
Lieutenant Colonel Russel stayed silent for a moment, "Since you have been certified as a Fallen Regulator, the Government has no need to control this building anymore"
"The rent expires in a month, you'll be required to pay the next rent or move out of the apartment"
He was about to leave the room when his movements suddenly halted "Mr. Lenny, I know you hate the Government for locking you up but we also protected you"
"Now that you're free....you know what that means right?" Lieutenant colonel Russel asked.
Lenny slightly frowned, he breathed deeply, "Yeah I do" His eyes flickered, "There will be those who will come for me, to kill the last descendant of the Great House Night"
Lieutenant colonel Russel nodded with a subtle smile "It's good that you're informed, Goodluck Regulator Lenny"
He left the apartment building shortly after, alongside the soldiers deployed to secure the perimeter.
Leaving Lenny alone in this apartment building.
Everyone who had rented rooms here was asked to leave, but will be returning in a few days.
The Government was done with this building.
Lenny watched them from the window as the soldiers exited the scene.
"Finally'' He heaved a sigh of relief, "Even though they won't be able to control me as a Fallen Regulator"
"They'll still keep tabs on me, the Great Houses as well." His lips curled into a faint smile.
"Now that I'm free, I have a few things to do, but before I do anything…." He glanced at the metallic box as he lingered for a second.
"I need to check my information first, with the Fallen System updated, there should be some notable changes," He concluded.
"Status" He summoned the status window.
The transparent crimson panel appeared before his eyes once again. He received the whisper of the Fallen System.
[Uploading Player's Information]
[Name: Lenny Night]
[Age: 18]
[Race: Human]
[Player's Status: Fallen Regulator]
[Player's Rank: 1]
[Player's Stage: Initial]
[SP: 0/100]
[Fallen Rune Status: Awakened]
~
[Fallen Rune: Rune of Imagination, Rune of the Undying]
[Rune Class: Deathless]
[Class Description: You are dead, a restless soul banished from the Underworld, you are the last gift from the Fallen of Death to a world he left behind]
[Fallen Rank: Divine, Divine]
[Rune Level: 1]
[Rune Description: Imaginations are reality]
[Rune Description: You are banished by Death]
[Mana Aptitude: Passive]
[Rune Slots: {0/3}]
[Your imagination resets every 24 hours]
Lenny was excited to see his information; this was a confirmation that everything he saw was real.
He really awakened a secondary Fallen Rune, one whose rank was also Divine.
Just like his primary Fallen Rune, his secondary Fallen Rune wasn't focused on any fallen path.
It simply told him he couldn't die.
He was banished by Death, making him a technical immortal.
Lenny gently caressed his jaws "My evolution into a Fallen Regulator increased by Rune Slots by 2, making it three currently available"
"I could imagine three Runes at a time, it's still temporary and can only last for 24 hours," He sighed, "But through Rune Mastery, when I master them…"
"They will be permanently registered as my Runes, my Rune Mastery of the Runes of Flames and Lightning should still be at 15%"
"Runes of Earth, Wind, and Water should still be at 6%." He shook his head, not hiding his disappointment.
"I'll need a lot of time and concentration to get them" He smiled bitterly, "That means making an imagined Fallen Rune permanent won't be happening anytime soon"
"But atleast I'm not tied down to a single Fallen Rune, consistently imagining multiple Fallen Runes and slowly mastering them will surely increase my battle strength"
He was satisfied, "This should make things easier in my next expedition in the Fallen Realm"
Lenny gave out a satisfactory sigh, he was excited about the changes. He lingered for a moment, "I should check out my Stats as well"
[Uploading Player's Stats]
-Strength: 10
-Speed: 10
-Intelligence: 10
-Mana: 10
-Endurance: 10
He had already maxed out and saturated his Stats beforehand, now as a Rank 1 Fallen Regulator.
He could increase his Stats by hunting Apocalypse creatures once again.
But this time, the saturation limit is 30 for the Rank 1; he would need to evolve to Rank 2 if he needs to increase his Stats after the max number of 30.
Lenny clenched his fist, "Right now, I'm at the lowest in the supernatural race, but I could say I'm currently the strongest Rank 1 Fallen Regulator out there"
"While they are bound to a specific path and class, I'm not, I could imagine any class and Rune I need"
His lips curled into a faint smile as he lay back on his seat, "They won't see me coming, not even that monster"
His attention drifted back to the metallic box, he opened the box to see a few gadgets.
In the metallic box, he saw a brand new HP Probook, an emerald wristband, and a congratulatory note from the Association.
He brought out the laptop, and kept it on the table...
He wasted no time switching on the laptop, and the brand logo of the Regulator's Association was displayed on the screen.
Lenny's lips curled into a dark grin, "Lets see how far the world has grown, in the absence of the Nights"