Chapter 50: D Class Powerhouse, So Terrifying
[You have obtained Planetary Renown: Judgment of the Broken Wing!]
[A Class Main Story Quest [Cancer of Civilization] prerequisite quest [Stop the Plan] completed!]
[Evaluation: Incredible]
[Beginning reward calculation...]
[Planetary Renown [Liuli Star]: Judgment of the Broken Wing
On that day, inside Oluson's most heavily guarded courtroom, a Perfect Parasitism plan that had been hidden for years was ripped out by the roots. You did not merely judge an impostor. You severed the claws reaching from the shadows into the Empire itself. History turns here. The rot stops here.]
"Renown…"
Hodell let out a slow breath, and for once, even he felt a little moved.
Yesterday, he had still been dancing on the edge of the abyss. Today, that abyss had become something he could talk about calmly.
Without even noticing it, he had already climbed to this height.
In Star Ocean, Renown could be obtained in three ways.
The first was the hardest and the most stable. Complete a high level rare quest and achieve a sufficiently outrageous contribution rate. Usually, only a planet's main story events could give something like this.
[Cancer of Civilization] was one.
The [Glass New Star Project] was another.
The second method was much more random. Pull off a feat famous enough to shake an entire planet. Beat a big shot in public. Survive something no one should have survived. Do something outrageous enough that people had no choice but to remember your name.
The third method was the easiest in theory and the filthiest in practice.
Reach the top of certain rankings.
Assassin Rankings. Combat Rankings. Rising Star Rankings…
Hodell's expression became strange.
"I just hope there isn't some kind of Top Up Ranking for players…"
[Prerequisite quest [Stop the Plan] for [Cancer of Civilization] completed. Personal disruption rate: 64%. Evaluation: Incredible. You have received bonus rewards: 320,000 EXP, Potential Points +2, Free Attribute Points +4, and +800 Relationship with all Imperial institutions.]
Three hundred and twenty thousand!
Even Hodell's eyelid twitched.
This was the biggest single chunk of experience he had seen since arriving in this world.
The suspicion had started with him. The component had been brought back by him. The chain of evidence that nailed the entire conspiracy to the wall had also been completed by him.
It was only natural that his disruption rate had crossed half.
As for the rest, it probably came from the Obsidian Group's internal collapse, the Erhai School's investigation, and the bureaucrats who had done the follow up analysis on the component.
[You have received an Incredible tier bonus reward: Additional 120% EXP [384,000] and Special Item x2.]
"Special items…"
Now that really caught his attention.
In his memory, Han Xiao had once gotten four absurd character summon cards from an A Class quest with a Luck stat that was practically an insult to humanity.
A debuff card that cut enemy attributes by a savage percentage and could be used twelve times.
A future prediction card that could arbitrarily designate outcomes five times.
A full heal resurrection type card with six uses.
A mental assault card that chained three strikes and cut all stats by twelve percent eight times over.
Even by the end of the original story, those things were still ridiculous.
Hodell had no intention of competing with the Son of the Plane in terms of luck. That was just volunteering to get insulted by reality.
He only hoped he would not draw complete garbage.
[You have obtained [Character Summon Card: Elanis]!]
[You have obtained [Biphasic Conversion Valve, Experimental Type]!]
[Character Summon Card: Elanis
[Gravitational Turbulence]
Centers on the user. All enemies within 30 meters suffer 30% reduced Agility. Any projectile entering the field loses 2% speed per meter. Duration: 5 minutes. Uses: 0/8.]
Hodell's brows lifted slightly.
Useful.
Character summon cards were not the sort of consumable one wasted casually. They were trump cards. Flip one at the right moment and a hopeless battle could turn inside out.
Area effect cards were even rarer.
But then his attention shifted to the second reward.
"What exactly is this thing?"
He looked down at the spherical device in his palm.
It was only the size of a grown man's fist, and the outer shell looked rough, even crude in places. But inside the gaps, countless fine mithril gears were interlocked in frantic motion. At the very core sat a cracked red crystal, pulsing with an eerie, unhealthy glow.
"It looks like a stripped down component from the Perfect Parasitism project…"
Hodell frowned. The thing trembled faintly in his hand, almost like a living organ.
He checked the panel.
"Composite energy core? I see…"
He closed his eyes and stopped dwelling on it. The next moment, the flood of experience surged like molten metal and poured directly into [Adept of Ability Users].
He spent 870,000 EXP in one breath and leveled up five times in a row.
[[Adept of Ability Users] leveled up. Energy +30, Agility +1, Endurance +1, Mystery +3. Obtained 3 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.]
…
[[Adept of Ability Users] leveled up. Energy +90, Agility +1, Endurance +1, Mystery +3. Obtained 3 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.]
His energy level was still a little short of the next threshold, so without hesitation, he burned another 125,000 EXP to push [Lethal Critical Hit] to max.
[[Lethal Critical Hit Lv.10
Vital point critical damage increased from 200% to 250%.
When four vital point critical hits are dealt to a target within two seconds, there is a 0.1% to 1.5% chance to trigger a lethal attack.]]
[Your [Lethal Critical Hit] has reached max level. You have obtained 1 Potential Point.]
The familiar warmth of growth surged through him again.
Then the updated panel settled into place.
[Total Level: 30
EXP: 12,200
Sub Class: Scholar Lv.10
Main Class: Esper Novice Lv.10 / Adept of Ability Users Lv.10
Chaos Dao Path
[Energy Simulation], [Phase Shuttle] [2/2]
Personal Attributes:
Strength 32
Agility 64
Endurance 50
Intelligence 122
Mystery 64
Charm 24
Luck 6
Energy: 730 [Lv.5]
HP: 940/940
Stamina: 1408/1408
Energy Level: 1,000 Ona
Grade: D Class Superhuman
[You are no longer disposable battlefield rations. You are now an independent combat unit with a proper survival capability.]]
Hodell stared at the final line for a second.
Then his mouth twitched.
"Rare. For once, there wasn't a sarcastic comment."
Still, the numbers themselves were enough to quiet every other thought.
Level 30.
D Class.
For ordinary Supers, crossing into D Class was already a dividing line.
A D Class Superhuman could single handedly grind down a small armed unit, then turn around and run without dying on the way out.
A C Class Superhuman was even worse. At that point, the body itself became a weapon. Small caliber firearms became unreliable, ordinary explosive rounds stopped being decisive, and tearing down buildings by hand was no longer an exaggerated metaphor.
He exhaled slowly, suppressing the rising sense of power in his blood.
Then the world outside the panel came rushing back.
…
The General Administration of Mysteries stood in the heart of Oluson like a fortress forged from black alloy and frozen authority.
Tonight, however, it no longer looked like a seat of order.
It looked like a slaughterhouse waiting for the knife to fall.
Every corridor was soaked in cold white light.
All internal security systems had been forcefully taken over. The originally warm magic lamps had been shut down, replaced by harsh emergency strips that bled across the walls like surgical lighting.
Under that merciless glare, every official looked pale.
Badges had been removed.
Gloves had been stripped off.
Ranks no longer mattered.
One line after another of usually arrogant administrators, consultants, and senior officers stood in total silence, filing through a sequence of newly erected Deep Consciousness Filters.
No one dared speak.
No one dared complain.
Because everyone understood the same horrifying truth.
If even a Committee member could be replaced without anyone noticing, then who could swear the colleague standing next to them was still himself?
Beep!
The alarm split the corridor like a knife.
[Abnormal mental fluctuation detected!]
"No, wait, I only haven't been sleeping well, I'm not…"
The senior supervisor from Logistics did not even get to finish.
Two Gendarmes in fully enclosed magic guided exoskeleton armor seized him from both sides. One of them raised a hand, and the silencing device in his palm flashed to life. The man's mouth opened wide, but no sound came out. Only the frantic movement of air.
Then a suppression probe was driven directly into the base of his spine.
His body went limp at once.
An anti gravity restraint ring snapped into place, and he was dragged away like a sack of spoiled grain into the deep shadows of the corridor.
He did not even have the right to walk on his own.
As he was pulled past the queue, his eyes bulged with bloodshot terror, staring desperately at his former colleagues.
No one met his gaze.
The man who used to flatter him the most shrank back the furthest, staring down at his own shoes, sweat pouring from his palms.
This was the Empire's answer.
On this day, Oluson's upper class experienced its darkest moment in years.
Not because they were being punished.
But because they no longer knew who among them was real.
…
At the top floor, the Operations Command Center was silent enough to hear the heating array hum.
A vast holographic tactical map floated over the chamber, staining the room in the red glow of burning city blocks. After the Dark Feather Alliance had been forced into the open, they had dropped all disguise. Fires had broken out across Oluson. Evidence was being burned. Witnesses were disappearing. Cells were going dark.
Around the long table sat the heads of every major department.
Under normal circumstances, each of them could shake half the city with a single order.
Tonight, every one of them sat stiffly, breathing with caution.
Because the man standing before the window had reached the point where rage became colder than murder.
Director General Mars of the Oluson Branch stood with his back to the room, hands clasped behind him.
Outside the glass, Oluson glittered in the night.
Inside, the air had the pressure of a sealed furnace.
"The Grand Arbiter has already sent an encrypted communication," Mars said at last.
His voice was not loud.
It did not need to be.
"He said we have been raising a nest of insects inside our own heart."
He turned.
The room chilled.
Mars's gaze swept slowly over every face at the table, like a hawk picking livestock.
"Gentlemen," he said, "you have made me the laughingstock of the Empire."
No one answered.
No one dared.
"The enemy is burning evidence, silencing witnesses, and slapping the General Administration across the face in front of the entire city."
His finger came down toward the crimson tactical map.
"And you lot…"
He let the silence linger just long enough to become painful.
"…look like a flock of headless flies."
At the table, the Minister of Operations clenched his jaw and finally forced himself to speak.
"Director General, the enemy's retaliation is too extreme. Everything happened too suddenly, and they even knew our security deployments…"
"Suddenly?"
Mars looked at him.
The word alone carried enough contempt to strip skin.
Then his gaze slid to the Minister of Intelligence.
"Why is that?"
The Intelligence Minister went white.
"Director General… this kind of parasitic technique is unprecedented. Even the Ministry of Magic's own detection arrays failed to identify it…"
"That is an excuse for scholars," Mars snapped. "Not an answer from a soldier."
The rebuke hit like a lash.
He inhaled once, reining the explosion back into something colder.
"I've read your self review reports."
"The Intelligence Department blames an algorithm vulnerability."
"The Operations Department blames insufficient authority."
"The Internal Affairs Department says every procedure was technically compliant."
His lips curled in a thin, brutal smile.
"Beautifully written. Very professional. The logic is precise, the excuses are clean, and the responsibility vanishes right on schedule."
No one moved.
No one even shifted in their seats.
Mars pressed a communication crystal on the desk. The mental signature lock flared blood red.
"The standard command chain can no longer be trusted. I do not trust any of you. At this point, I do not even trust the guards outside my own office."
He looked toward the sealed door.
"So if this building is dirty, then I will use a clean knife."
"Activate the Wartime Special Review Act."
"Send Hodell in."
The air pressure door slid open.
Hodell stepped inside.
He had clearly been prepared for this.
Gone was the rigid uniform of the Rapid Response Department. In its place was a deep blue long coat robe bearing the insignia of the Special Review Team. The cut was severe, elegant, and sharp enough to feel like a warning in cloth form.
The room's many hostile, fearful, and appraising gazes landed on him at once.
Hodell ignored them all.
His steps were steady.
His eyes were calm.
He walked straight to Mars and offered a clean Imperial military salute.
"Director General."
Mars looked at him for a long moment.
In his eyes, a trace of complexity passed.
Then he spoke without preamble.
"The special delegation from the Imperial Capital will arrive in half a month."
From his own chest pocket, Mars took out a deep red sword badge, the metal dark with age and edge, and pinned it directly to Hodell's coat.
At that exact moment, a soft cough broke the silence.
The speaker was the Minister of Legal Affairs, an old man who had survived Oluson's politics for fifty years and looked as though he would survive fifty more out of spite alone.
Unlike the others, he had recovered himself.
He folded his hands calmly on the table and addressed Mars in an even voice.
"Director General, we share your anger."
His gaze shifted to Hodell.
"Mr. Hodell is obviously talented. And the Special Review Team certainly needs a sharp blade."
Then came the knife.
"However, under the Special Act, the Chief Investigator is required to possess at least a Level 3 administrative record. Mr. Hodell is… very young. If subsequent arrests are later challenged on procedural grounds, and the Council rejects them because the appointment itself was flawed, I fear the one whose future is destroyed will be this promising young man."
It was elegant.
He did not attack ability.
He did not challenge merit.
He challenged procedure, and did so under the banner of concern.
Mars's gaze darkened.
Before he could speak, Hodell smiled.
He adjusted his cuffs and walked calmly toward the old man's desk.
"Minister," he said pleasantly, "you are absolutely right. Procedural justice matters."
The old man gave him a reserved nod, not yet sensing where the trap lay.
Then Hodell leaned forward slightly, close enough that his next words were for the old man alone.
"Just like the consulting fees paid by the Obsidian Group."
The Legal Minister froze.
Hodell's smile did not change.
"While reviewing the data chain behind the Parasite Project, I happened to notice a few interesting financial fragments."
The old man's fingers twitched violently.
"You…"
"I was the first one to suspect the Obsidian Group," Hodell said softly. "And I kept backups. Quite a few, actually."
His tone stayed mild, but every word felt like a blade sliding between ribs.
"So here is the question, Minister."
"If I become Chief Investigator, those fragments remain flaws in an unfinished file."
He paused.
"But if I don't…"
The smile in his eyes sharpened.
"…they might become tomorrow morning's front page scandal."
It was not a negotiation.
It was not even a choice.
It was a clean, naked threat wrapped in perfect courtesy.
And it worked.
Three seconds later, the old man leaned back in his chair as though something inside him had gone slack.
"…Wartime exception," he said hoarsely. "Special circumstances justify special handling. The Council… the Legal Department… will explain the procedural matter."
The room went dead silent.
Any remaining schemes at the table vanished on the spot.
Mars watched the exchange with open surprise for a moment, and then his eyes hardened into approval.
Yes.
This was exactly the kind of knife he needed.
He swept his gaze over the room again.
"From this moment onward, Hodell is appointed Chief Investigator of the Special Review Team."
"No rank restrictions. No procedural obstruction. No delay."
Then his voice dropped until it sounded like iron scraping stone.
"I want every insect inside this building dug out. I do not care who they are wearing. I do not care what family name they borrowed. If one of them is wearing my face, you dig deeper."
He looked straight at Hodell.
"You may investigate."
"You may judge."
"And if necessary, you may execute first and file the report after."
The entire chamber stiffened.
Mars pointed out the window toward the burning city.
"But that is only one half of the war."
He held Hodell's gaze.
"You may take the Special Operations Unit into the field."
"Not to annihilate the enemy."
"Not yet."
His next words were measured, deliberate.
"You have only one task."
"Recover the evidence."
Hodell understood immediately.
He had expected promotion. It would have been strange not to happen after everything. But this was more than promotion.
This was elevation.
He was no longer merely a contributor.
He was being turned into the Empire's blade.
He raised his head, eyes cold and clear.
"Dignity is not recovered with reports, Director General."
His voice did not rise, yet everyone in the room heard the killing intent inside it.
"It is washed clean with blood."
For the first time that night, Mars smiled without restraint.
A hard, ferocious smile.
"Then go."
At that moment, the system prompt flashed before Hodell's eyes.
[Fourth ring quest completed. Gained 100,000 EXP.]
[Quest conditions updated.]
[Fifth ring quest condition: Promotion in position.]
[Fifth ring reward: 200,000 EXP.]
.....
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