Chapter 7
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
Xenith was heavily breathing from all the running, but his pace did not falter the least bit.
His worried heart simply could not be quenched unless he sees his grandfather. He was sure that Grandpa Ben wasn't well enough to be on his own. "Tsk, it's my fault for not immediately returning." Xenith rebuked himself. Tears slowly fell from his face.
He might have been overthinking, but if his adoptive grandfather would also disappear, who would he have left but himself? A life Xenith was not yet ready to embrace. He had enough 'isolation' during his time in the adoption center, he could not bear another cycle of the same fate happening all over again.
…
"Little Xen?" A voice rang from behind Xenith who was still blindingly running.
Xenith had been running mindlessly for about 10 minutes, covering a third of his destination, which usually takes around half an hour to walk.
A tinge of familiarity came from that voice, which immediately relieved the teary-eyed Xenith. A loudly sniffing and a very red nosed Xenith expectantly turned around to see an old man calmly sitting on a wooden bench on the sidewalk.
"Grampa!" Exclaimed Xenith. He hurriedly ran towards Old man Ben and hugged him with the tightest hug he had ever given to anyone since his adoption day.
"Woah there young man, what's going? Wait… where have you been all day? I was worried about you." Shao Bin— Old man Ben— was taken aback by the suddenness of the situation. It was like Xenith had not seen him for tens of years.
However, Xenith had not replied, but had kept crying instead…
His fear to be left alone became apparent all of a sudden, "Don't worry lad, I won't be leaving. I won't be going anywhere." Shao Bin spoke with a smile on his face. "All is fine now, let's go home."
---
In a dark alley, only a few blocks away from where the apartment of nurse Amy was located, a man recuperating his wounds could be seen; laying down on the ground nonchalantly. A branding of some sort was apparent on his arm.
It was the same man that had encountered the Titan Wolf and survived. His face retorted in a way a madman would look, "Tsk, Those asshats in the association, they don't really care for the lower ranked ones, do they? They can't even spare some medicines! Pweh!"
Bran West spat the excess blood on his mouth. Apparently, he had not received any medical assistance from the association.
Although his reputation as a Mainland Warrior had passed on when he transferred in Shen City, the association branch did not spare him any favor whatsoever. Besides, he was actually no stronger than any other New Humans assigned for extermination—
He was barely a 3-star ranked New Human. Only higher by the tiniest margin from a 2-star ranked one. It was obvious that he initially thought and took pride from such a small breakthrough; thinking that the Shen City was some backward place compared to the Mainland. He was wrong though.
He was merely above average.
"It would have been worthwhile If I had gotten a monster core… damn it!" Bran rebuked once more, only to have another mouthful of blood leave his body. "A few more minutes and she'll probably be here, hehe, finally, this pain would wear off" He muttered.
Bran had been habitually coming to this place for two reasons. Free medical assistance, and if he's lucky, easy cash. For him, there was no shame in mugging the weak and taking advantage of those that are 'kind'.
Not for long, a series of footsteps resounded.
"Heh, good. She's here." Bran smiled. His eerie expression showed nothing but malicious intent. Nurse Amy was just around the corner of the alley where Bran was, it was obviously her that he was waiting.
Emerging from the alleyway, Bran 'greeted' nurse Amy with a malicious smile. The stench of blood coming from gash caused by the Titan Wolf was apparent, and Amy could only guess what Bran was aiming for.
"... You're really pushing your luck." Amy muttered.
"Oh? Am I now… Hmmm, let me think about it. See, missy, I am an exterminator, a New Human devoted to saving ordinary people like yourself. Am I not doing the right thing here? Is it not justice for you to always tend my wounds when needed be?" Bran argued, brandishing his own sense of fairness to the kind-hearted nurse.
In actuality, this exact same scene has happened quite a few times already.
The street towards her apartment had been a one-way path ever since the construction new buildings appeared. So it was obvious that their was no way she could avoid Bran when she goes home.
Nurse Amy could not count that times she had been taken advantage by Bran of off her kindness. But, knowing how much of a crooked New Human he was, Amy could not take it any longer. Her 'help' towards Bran would only cause harm to others, and it was something that she certainly would not want. Not anymore.
"I don't think that's how it works. You brandish your glorified names by slaying those otherworldly creatures, but you all are obviously in it for the money. Pathetic." Amy retorted. She let go of her bottled-up thoughts out of nowhere.
Seeing that Bran's wounds were barely fatal to him anymore, and would not obviously harm his life any further; she decided to just shrug the entire situation off and just leave.
What would bother her more than a guilt-trip is her conscience. Neither of which she would be thinking of if she leaves Bran alone.
"No… you're not leaving that easily." Grabbing a hold of Amy's arm, Bran pulled her back.
"Tend my wounds." Bran insisted. His glare was so intense that Amy could hardly breathe.
Even though Bran is a low ranked exterminator. He still is a New Human; a person way stronger than ordinary people. He would obviously emit a suffocating aura around normal humans. Amy was no exemption.
"No!" Amy was firm on her decision. She forcefully grabbed Bran's hand off of her arm. But, it was simply impossible to break free.
"Hmph, even if you won't let go of me, I won't ever recuperate your wounds. Never again, you scum!" Amy rebuked, spitting on Bran's face. Her spit dripped from Bran's face to his bushy beard.
"You ungrateful bitch!" With his one hand grabbing Amy's arm and another on her neck. Bran slowly squeezed Amy's throat. "Now, say that you won't help me. I dare you. You ungrateful bitch!"
"K— kra… k— I… I won't— you bas— tard." Raising one foot, Amy aimed for the Bran's fruit of origins, immediately giving him an unbearable surge of pain that he unconsciously let go of the choke. "You— Ah! You bitch! I'll get you!"
Amy ran back toward the main street. It was better than going home for now.
…
Amy gasped, it had been a few minutes since she ran away… but a rambling footstep has kept her followed. It was obviously Bran.
The main road felt like a lot of distance away as her strength was slowly fading…
A hand soon grabbed her disheveled hair. The grip was too tight that it immediately halted her steps. "Got you now…" A grin appeared on Bran's face as he dragged Amy back.
"...Oi, young man. Have your parents taught you any manners? Have they not taught you that grabbing a woman's hair is the death of your masculinity, tsk tsk shame." A raspy old voice suddenly resounded, grabbing the attention of Bran and Amy.
"O— Old man Ben!" Amy exclaimed. Albeit she knew that the old geezer was still sickly and could not help her out of the situation, she was still glad that, finally, someone was there.
The neighborhood their in is just too desolate that Old man Ben's appearance is suddenly a blessing.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Xenith was heavily breathing from all the running, but his pace did not falter the least bit.
His worried heart simply could not be quenched unless he sees his grandfather. He was sure that Grandpa Ben wasn't well enough to be on his own. "Tsk, it's my fault for not immediately returning." Xenith rebuked himself. Tears slowly fell from his face.
He might have been overthinking, but if his adoptive grandfather would also disappear, who would he have left but himself? A life Xenith was not yet ready to embrace. He had enough 'isolation' during his time in the adoption center, he could not bear another cycle of the same fate happening all over again.
…
"Little Xen?" A voice rang from behind Xenith who was still blindingly running.
Xenith had been running mindlessly for about 10 minutes, covering a third of his destination, which usually takes around half an hour to walk.
A tinge of familiarity came from that voice, which immediately relieved the teary-eyed Xenith. A loudly sniffing and a very red nosed Xenith expectantly turned around to see an old man calmly sitting on a wooden bench on the sidewalk.
"Grampa!" Exclaimed Xenith. He hurriedly ran towards Old man Ben and hugged him with the tightest hug he had ever given to anyone since his adoption day.
"Woah there young man, what's going? Wait… where have you been all day? I was worried about you." Shao Bin— Old man Ben— was taken aback by the suddenness of the situation. It was like Xenith had not seen him for tens of years.
However, Xenith had not replied, but had kept crying instead…
His fear to be left alone became apparent all of a sudden, "Don't worry lad, I won't be leaving. I won't be going anywhere." Shao Bin spoke with a smile on his face. "All is fine now, let's go home."
---
In a dark alley, only a few blocks away from where the apartment of nurse Amy was located, a man recuperating his wounds could be seen; laying down on the ground nonchalantly. A branding of some sort was apparent on his arm.
It was the same man that had encountered the Titan Wolf and survived. His face retorted in a way a madman would look, "Tsk, Those asshats in the association, they don't really care for the lower ranked ones, do they? They can't even spare some medicines! Pweh!"
Bran West spat the excess blood on his mouth. Apparently, he had not received any medical assistance from the association.
Although his reputation as a Mainland Warrior had passed on when he transferred in Shen City, the association branch did not spare him any favor whatsoever. Besides, he was actually no stronger than any other New Humans assigned for extermination—
He was barely a 3-star ranked New Human. Only higher by the tiniest margin from a 2-star ranked one. It was obvious that he initially thought and took pride from such a small breakthrough; thinking that the Shen City was some backward place compared to the Mainland. He was wrong though.
He was merely above average.
"It would have been worthwhile If I had gotten a monster core… damn it!" Bran rebuked once more, only to have another mouthful of blood leave his body. "A few more minutes and she'll probably be here, hehe, finally, this pain would wear off" He muttered.
Bran had been habitually coming to this place for two reasons. Free medical assistance, and if he's lucky, easy cash. For him, there was no shame in mugging the weak and taking advantage of those that are 'kind'.
Not for long, a series of footsteps resounded.
"Heh, good. She's here." Bran smiled. His eerie expression showed nothing but malicious intent. Nurse Amy was just around the corner of the alley where Bran was, it was obviously her that he was waiting.
Emerging from the alleyway, Bran 'greeted' nurse Amy with a malicious smile. The stench of blood coming from gash caused by the Titan Wolf was apparent, and Amy could only guess what Bran was aiming for.
"... You're really pushing your luck." Amy muttered.
"Oh? Am I now… Hmmm, let me think about it. See, missy, I am an exterminator, a New Human devoted to saving ordinary people like yourself. Am I not doing the right thing here? Is it not justice for you to always tend my wounds when needed be?" Bran argued, brandishing his own sense of fairness to the kind-hearted nurse.
In actuality, this exact same scene has happened quite a few times already.
The street towards her apartment had been a one-way path ever since the construction new buildings appeared. So it was obvious that their was no way she could avoid Bran when she goes home.
Nurse Amy could not count that times she had been taken advantage by Bran of off her kindness. But, knowing how much of a crooked New Human he was, Amy could not take it any longer. Her 'help' towards Bran would only cause harm to others, and it was something that she certainly would not want. Not anymore.
"I don't think that's how it works. You brandish your glorified names by slaying those otherworldly creatures, but you all are obviously in it for the money. Pathetic." Amy retorted. She let go of her bottled-up thoughts out of nowhere.
Seeing that Bran's wounds were barely fatal to him anymore, and would not obviously harm his life any further; she decided to just shrug the entire situation off and just leave.
What would bother her more than a guilt-trip is her conscience. Neither of which she would be thinking of if she leaves Bran alone.
"No… you're not leaving that easily." Grabbing a hold of Amy's arm, Bran pulled her back.
"Tend my wounds." Bran insisted. His glare was so intense that Amy could hardly breathe.
Even though Bran is a low ranked exterminator. He still is a New Human; a person way stronger than ordinary people. He would obviously emit a suffocating aura around normal humans. Amy was no exemption.
"No!" Amy was firm on her decision. She forcefully grabbed Bran's hand off of her arm. But, it was simply impossible to break free.
"Hmph, even if you won't let go of me, I won't ever recuperate your wounds. Never again, you scum!" Amy rebuked, spitting on Bran's face. Her spit dripped from Bran's face to his bushy beard.
"You ungrateful bitch!" With his one hand grabbing Amy's arm and another on her neck. Bran slowly squeezed Amy's throat. "Now, say that you won't help me. I dare you. You ungrateful bitch!"
"K— kra… k— I… I won't— you bas— tard." Raising one foot, Amy aimed for the Bran's fruit of origins, immediately giving him an unbearable surge of pain that he unconsciously let go of the choke. "You— Ah! You bitch! I'll get you!"
Amy ran back toward the main street. It was better than going home for now.
…
Amy gasped, it had been a few minutes since she ran away… but a rambling footstep has kept her followed. It was obviously Bran.
The main road felt like a lot of distance away as her strength was slowly fading…
A hand soon grabbed her disheveled hair. The grip was too tight that it immediately halted her steps. "Got you now…" A grin appeared on Bran's face as he dragged Amy back.
"...Oi, young man. Have your parents taught you any manners? Have they not taught you that grabbing a woman's hair is the death of your masculinity, tsk tsk shame." A raspy old voice suddenly resounded, grabbing the attention of Bran and Amy.
"O— Old man Ben!" Amy exclaimed. Albeit she knew that the old geezer was still sickly and could not help her out of the situation, she was still glad that, finally, someone was there.
The neighborhood their in is just too desolate that Old man Ben's appearance is suddenly a blessing.
Xenith was heavily breathing from all the running, but his pace did not falter the least bit.His worried heart simply could not be quenched unless he sees his grandfather. He was sure that Grandpa Ben wasn't well enough to be on his own. "Tsk, it's my fault for not immediately returning." Xenith rebuked himself. Tears slowly fell from his face.He might have been overthinking, but if his adoptive grandfather would also disappear, who would he have left but himself? A life Xenith was not yet ready to embrace. He had enough 'isolation' during his time in the adoption center, he could not bear another cycle of the same fate happening all over again."Little Xen?" A voice rang from behind Xenith who was still blindingly running.Xenith had been running mindlessly for about 10 minutes, covering a third of his destination, which usually takes around half an hour to walk.A tinge of familiarity came from that voice, which immediately relieved the teary-eyed Xenith. A loudly sniffing and a very red nosed Xenith expectantly turned around to see an old man calmly sitting on a wooden bench on the sidewalk."Grampa!" Exclaimed Xenith. He hurriedly ran towards Old man Ben and hugged him with the tightest hug he had ever given to anyone since his adoption day."Woah there young man, what's going? Wait where have you been all day? I was worried about you." Shao Bin Old man Ben was taken aback by the suddenness of the situation. It was like Xenith had not seen him for tens of years.However, Xenith had not replied, but had kept crying insteadHis fear to be left alone became apparent all of a sudden, "Don't worry lad, I won't be leaving. I won't be going anywhere." Shao Bin spoke with a smile on his face. "All is fine now, let's go home."---In a dark alley, only a few blocks away from where the apartment of nurse Amy was located, a man recuperating his wounds could be seen; laying down on the ground nonchalantly. A branding of some sort was apparent on his arm.It was the same man that had encountered the Titan Wolf and survived. His face retorted in a way a madman would look, "Tsk, Those asshats in the association, they don't really care for the lower ranked ones, do they? They can't even spare some medicines! Pweh!"Bran West spat the excess blood on his mouth. Apparently, he had not received any medical assistance from the association.Although his reputation as a Mainland Warrior had passed on when he transferred in Shen City, the association branch did not spare him any favor whatsoever. Besides, he was actually no stronger than any other New Humans assigned for exterminationHe was barely a 3-star ranked New Human. Only higher by the tiniest margin from a 2-star ranked one. It was obvious that he initially thought and took pride from such a small breakthrough; thinking that the Shen City was some backward place compared to the Mainland. He was wrong though.He was merely above average."It would have been worthwhile If I had gotten a monster core damn it!" Bran rebuked once more, only to have another mouthful of blood leave his body. "A few more minutes and she'll probably be here, hehe, finally, this pain would wear off" He muttered.Bran had been habitually coming to this place for two reasons. Free medical assistance, and if he's lucky, easy cash. For him, there was no shame in mugging the weak and taking advantage of those that are 'kind'.Not for long, a series of footsteps resounded."Heh, good. She's here." Bran smiled. His eerie expression showed nothing but malicious intent. Nurse Amy was just around the corner of the alley where Bran was, it was obviously her that he was waiting.Emerging from the alleyway, Bran 'greeted' nurse Amy with a malicious smile. The stench of blood coming from gash caused by the Titan Wolf was apparent, and Amy could only guess what Bran was aiming for."... You're really pushing your luck." Amy muttered."Oh? Am I now Hmmm, let me think about it. See, missy, I am an exterminator, a New Human devoted to saving ordinary people like yourself. Am I not doing the right thing here? Is it not justice for you to always tend my wounds when needed be?" Bran argued, brandishing his own sense of fairness to the kind-hearted nurse.In actuality, this exact same scene has happened quite a few times already.The street towards her apartment had been a one-way path ever since the construction new buildings appeared. So it was obvious that their was no way she could avoid Bran when she goes home.Nurse Amy could not count that times she had been taken advantage by Bran of off her kindness. But, knowing how much of a crooked New Human he was, Amy could not take it any longer. Her 'help' towards Bran would only cause harm to others, and it was something that she certainly would not want. Not anymore."I don't think that's how it works. You brandish your glorified names by slaying those otherworldly creatures, but you all are obviously in it for the money. Pathetic." Amy retorted. She let go of her bottled-up thoughts out of nowhere.Seeing that Bran's wounds were barely fatal to him anymore, and would not obviously harm his life any further; she decided to just shrug the entire situation off and just leave.What would bother her more than a guilt-trip is her conscience. Neither of which she would be thinking of if she leaves Bran alone."No you're not leaving that easily." Grabbing a hold of Amy's arm, Bran pulled her back."Tend my wounds." Bran insisted. His glare was so intense that Amy could hardly breathe.Even though Bran is a low ranked exterminator. He still is a New Human; a person way stronger than ordinary people. He would obviously emit a suffocating aura around normal humans. Amy was no exemption."No!" Amy was firm on her decision. She forcefully grabbed Bran's hand off of her arm. But, it was simply impossible to break free."Hmph, even if you won't let go of me, I won't ever recuperate your wounds. Never again, you scum!" Amy rebuked, spitting on Bran's face. Her spit dripped from Bran's face to his bushy beard."You ungrateful bitch!" With his one hand grabbing Amy's arm and another on her neck. Bran slowly squeezed Amy's throat. "Now, say that you won't help me. I dare you. You ungrateful bitch!""K kra k I I won't you bas tard." Raising one foot, Amy aimed for the Bran's fruit of origins, immediately giving him an unbearable surge of pain that he unconsciously let go of the choke. "You Ah! You bitch! I'll get you!"Amy ran back toward the main street. It was better than going home for now.Amy gasped, it had been a few minutes since she ran away but a rambling footstep has kept her followed. It was obviously Bran.The main road felt like a lot of distance away as her strength was slowly fadingA hand soon grabbed her disheveled hair. The grip was too tight that it immediately halted her steps. "Got you now" A grin appeared on Bran's face as he dragged Amy back."...Oi, young man. Have your parents taught you any manners? Have they not taught you that grabbing a woman's hair is the death of your masculinity, tsk tsk shame." A raspy old voice suddenly resounded, grabbing the attention of Bran and Amy."O Old man Ben!" Amy exclaimed. Albeit she knew that the old geezer was still sickly and could not help her out of the situation, she was still glad that, finally, someone was there.The neighborhood their in is just too desolate that Old man Ben's appearance is suddenly a blessing.
