Later during dinner, Sr. Lee expressed his gratitude to Salvatore and the Luna Guild for their generous donation of food and water. Salvatore smiled gently, radiating an aura of friendliness and kindness, as if the world were shining brightly around him.
However, Axel ignored the scene, concentrating on his food. Kairos noticed that his brother was not eating meat and asked.
"Aren't you going to eat the meat?"
Axel remained silent for a moment before answering. A feeling rose in his chest but he ignored it.
"I don't want it."
His tone was direct and unhesitating, offering no further explanation. Kairos seemed to understand and didn't press the issue, continuing to watch his brother carefully.
Salvatore looked at him and smiled, but the didn't seem to be taken in by the charm. Salvatore then directed his smile to the girls, who were immediately enchanted.
Axel finished his dinner quickly and announced,
"I'm going on patrol." He left quickly, feeling a chill when he noticed Salvatore's gentle smile directed at him. There was something about that smile that didn't seem genuine, something that made Axel want to keep his distance.
By coincidence, Mr. Lee's grandson Zhou was there, surrounded by other boys who seemed to be bullying him. Axel watched the scene, puzzled, and wondered why they were doing this to the grandson of the man who protected them.
Who knows, Axel thought, if these guys knew that Zhou would soon awaken as a powerful S-rank, they wouldn't be doing anything like this.
Axel was curious about how Zhou would handle this situation once his power was revealed.
A red-haired girl appeared out of nowhere, with a determined look in her eyes, and ordered:
"Get away from him!"
The boys, surprised by the intervention, took a step back and protested:
"It was just a joke!"
The red-haired girl, Hana, frowned and replied:
"I'll tell Mr. Lee everything!"
The boys, fearing the repercussion, exchanged nervous glances and turned around, running away.
Zhou, with a soft smile, downplayed the incident:
"It was nothing, Hana."
Hana, still indignant, looked at Zhou with concern and said:
"They can't step on you."
Zhou smiled and stroked Hana's hair, replying:
"Don't worry about it, Hana."
The gesture was tender and reassuring, and Hana seemed to relax a little, although she was still visibly worried about Zhou.
Axel watched the scene from afar and thought.
This sounds like something straight out of a cliché romance novel with a female protagonist protecting the future male lead. He mentally rolled his eyes, thinking: Wow, how cliché. Axel couldn't help but notice the dynamic between Zhou and Hana, but he didn't seem impressed by what he saw.
Axel noticed something intriguing: Zhou and Hana were wearing identical rings. This made him search through his memories of his past life. He remembered the necklace around Zhou's neck, with two rings, and realized that Hana had probably died in the past as well. This would explain Zhou's melancholy, having lost both his grandparents and the woman he loved.
At this moment, Zhou and Hana looked at Axel, who was standing there watching them. Axel nodded politely, and Zhou responded with a happy nod, while Hana simply turned her face away, looking indifferent.
Axel thought that the girl, Hana, was quite 'fussy' (in the sense of temperamental or demanding), but he shrugged it off and didn't worry about it anymore. He had more important things to do, like checking on the patrol.
After all, any portal could appear at any moment, and it was his responsibility to be prepared. With a watchful eye, Axel moved forward, focused on his task.
The hours passed slowly, and Axel was almost dozing off, sitting in his vigil position, when he felt someone drape a coat over his shoulders. At the same time, a cup of hot coffee was placed in his hand. Axel was about to thank the person behind the kind gesture when he saw Salvatore grinning from ear to ear.
Damn, Axel thought, this guy is like a walking ray of sunshine. He couldn't help but think that he had an 'allergy' to overly cheerful people, and Salvatore seemed to be the epitome of that. The blond's radiant smile seemed almost palpable.
Axel looked at Salvatore with a skeptical expression and said.
"What do you want?"
Salvatore smiled even wider and replied:
"I just wanted to bring some comfort to our night watchman! You looked like you could use some coffee and a warm coat."
Axel rolled his eyes and muttered:
"I don't need comfort. I just need you to stop smiling so much."
Salvatore laughed and said, leaning in close:
"Oh, Axel, you're so serious all the time... I'm just trying to spread some joy."
Axel took a sip of his coffee and replied:
"Joy? Do you think a silly smile and a cup of coffee are enough to spread joy?"
Salvatore nodded enthusiastically:
"Yes, I do! Little things can make a big difference, don't they?"
Axel shook his head and grumbled,
"I don't know how you don't get sick of being so... positive."
Salvatore leaned back, placing his hands on his knees, and said with a smile:
"I can't be as negative as you, Axel."
Axel looked at him over his shoulder, with an indifferent expression, and shrugged:
"Do what you want. I'm not going to change."
Salvatore laughed and replied:
"I'm not trying to change you, Axel. I just want you to see the good side of things."
Axel snorted and looked straight ahead again, without answering. Salvatore continued to smile, apparently content to simply be there, by Axel's side.
Axel noticed Salvatore's hands, which were clad in the leather gloves he seemed to favor. He wondered if there was some special meaning behind it, or if it was just Salvatore's personal preference. Axel's gaze lingered on the gloves for a moment, before returning to his surroundings.
Axel thought about Salvatore's gloves and wondered why they seemed so important to him. He remembered a vague rumor from his past life about a woman who had become seriously ill after touching Salvatore's bare hands. However, when questioned, the woman had said that it was a lie and that she had simply been ill for a long time.
Axel didn't know what to think about this, but the memory had piqued his curiosity. He looked at Salvatore's gloves again, sensing that there was more to it than he knew.
Salvatore noticed Axel's gaze and smiled, asking.
"Why are you so interested in my hands, Axel?" .
Axel hesitated for a moment before answering, seeming to choose his words carefully.
"I was just noticing the gloves are nice. Do you always wear them all the time?"
Salvatore tilted his head slightly, his smile still present.
"Ah, yes. It's an old habit."
Axel asked again, with a hint of curiosity and suspicion.
"Why do you always wear gloves?"
Salvatore smiled and, with a smooth movement, removed one of the gloves. Axel's eyes widened when Salvatore touched his hand carefully, as if he were handling something fragile.
"It's because my ability involves poison," Salvatore explained, still smiling. "In other cases, my ability works like a protective shield that's always on alert... it poisons everything I touch."
Axel blinked in surprise.
"Wait, everything you touch gets poisoned?" He looked at the hand Salvatore had touched.
"Then why the hell are you touching me?" Axel asked, his voice tinged with confusion and irritation. "Shouldn't you be... avoiding contact?"
"I should, but it's just weird that you're immune to it. Maybe there's a connection between us that I don't understand yet."
Axel looked to the corner, noticing that the system had glowed and one of the skills locked in the padlock was being used, even though it was locked. He frowned, feeling a twinge of curiosity.
Damn, now I want to know what's in there! Axel muttered, mostly to himself.
He turned to Salvatore and said:
"It must be a coincidence."
Salvatore shook his head:
"It could be. Well, if you were to join my guild, we could investigate further."
Axel raised an eyebrow, skeptical:
"I'm not interested."
Salvatore noticed Axel's look of disdain whenever he mentioned the word guild. He seemed to sense there was something deeper going on, something that went beyond a simple disagreement.
Salvatore tilted his head slightly, studying Axel with interest.
"You have a very strong opinion about guilds, don't you?"
Axel looked away, his expression grim.
"None of your business."
An explosion echoed in the distance, and a portal opened with a bright glow. This time, the creatures that emerged were not human enemies or ordinary monsters, but rather Level 5 beasts: enormous wolves with fierce eyes and sharp teeth. The other hunters shouted to lead an attack on the beasts, while Salvatore remained seated, seemingly indifferent. Axel stood up, his expression irritated.
"Aren't you going to help?".
Salvatore smiled lazily.
"No, I won't. My team can handle it." Axel rolled his eyes, finding Salvatore arrogant.
"You're unbelievable.".
He joined the battle, where Kairos was already fighting with a sword of black flames. With a precise strike, Kairos cut one of the beasts in half, and Axel prepared to face the other beasts.
Kairos approached Axel and pulled him out of the fight.
"I'll take care of this, help the wounded with your protection and healing skills," Kairos said. "I'm going to fight so leave this to me."
Axel frowned, not liking being taken out of the fight:
"You don't have to do this, I'm fine."
Kairos looked at him firmly:
"Don't be stubborn, Axel. This is for your own good."
With a firm movement, Kairos led him away from the battle, leaving Axel with the wounded. Axel still looked displeased, but he knew that Kairos was trying to protect him.
Axel helped care for the wounded, creating a barrier to protect them and aiding in their healing. However, his mind was occupied with a question.
'It's strange that a portal opened so far from the city. Usually, they open close to cause more damage and deaths.'
Axel analyzed the situation and realized that all the hunters were there, which meant that the village was unprotected. He felt a shiver down his spine as he thought of the consequences.
At that moment, a beast emerged from the portal. It was the Boss of the portal: a half-wolf, half-skull monster, with sharp spikes emerging from its back. Axel's eyes widened, knowing that this creature was extremely dangerous.
"Shit," Axel muttered, preparing to face the beast. "This is not good."
Axel ordered, looking back.
"Everyone, stay inside the barrier!"
Axel thought, Maybe I can use my nature manipulation skills to hold him off for a while until the others come.
He concentrated, preparing to face the Boss, Axel quickly looked at the system, hoping to find some useful option.
"Damn, it's still blocked," Axel muttered in frustration. "This is no time to be petty, system, release a skill now!"
The system responded with an error:
[Error. Can't yet. Error.]
Axel gritted his teeth, feeling helpless. He would have to rely on his current skills to deal with the Boss.
Axel considered using that ability, the same one he hated having gained in the past. It wasn't the support ability he had awakened in the cruel government tests, but something darker.
He felt his eagerness return, but he kept his cool as he stared at the monster in front of him. Axel made the barrier behind him cloud over, not wanting anyone to see what he was about to do.
His energy became heavy and impure, so monstrous that the hunters below felt it. Salvatore noticed it too and smiled with interest:
"Who is using this power?".
Salvatore wondered, his curiosity piqued. He looked around, trying to discover the source of that sinister energy.
Axel still had fragments of his past memories, painful and traumatic ones. He remembered the government throwing them into a portal and locking them inside, without mercy. There were 100 people, some awakened and some not, all condemned to survive or die in that hellish place.
Axel could still taste the flesh and blood in his mouth, a memory that made him tremble with rage and hatred. He hated it more than anything, hated being reduced to a wild animal, fighting for survival.
When the portal opened again, Axel was the only one alive. The government thought he survived because he hid like a rat, but Axel knew the truth: he survived because he did what was necessary to survive. And that memory haunted him to this day.