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Henry returned to his human form, still shirtless, and walked toward Ren. His presence felt completely different now, like a force of nature that had been unleashed.
"Huh. His aura definitely became much stronger," Ren observed.
"Before it was like a lake. Now it's like a long river."
Ren then take a deep breath and speak
"Now, are you ready, my brother?" Ren asked.
"Yes, I'm ready."
"Okay, don't resist."
Henry tense up and close his eye
"Fear of the Unknown."
"Blugh!" Henry's eyes and ears burst with blood.
"Aghhhhhhh!" He began bleeding from all the holes on his body nose, eyes, mouth, ears. Blood poured down his face like crimson tears.
SCHLIK!
One of Ren's tentacles pierced through Henry's abdomen, his intestines spilling out as the appendage pulled through his body.
"Now let's begin operating,"
.
.
.
At the other side of the clearing, the others were still processing the first notification.
[World System Notification]
A new Challenger has been born near you.
The previous last-rank Challenger has been demoted.
Let's give a warm welcome to the New Global Ranker
"What?!" Old Hans gasped in shock.
Irene's eyes widened. "Who advanced? Henry or Nox?"
"Has to be Henry," Hans said.
"He's been hiding his power this whole time."
"Well, looks like luck finally came upon us," Hans said with relief.
"A Challenger-rank hunter might actually stand a chance against—"
[World System Notification]
A new Master Hunter has been born near you.
The previous last-rank Master has been demoted.
Let's give a warm welcome to the new Master
"WHAT!!!!!!" Hans screamed. "WHO!!!!! Did someone advance again?!"
"Two advances in one day?" Irene stared at the notification in disbelief. "That's impossible!"
"First Challenger, now Master?" Irene whispered. "What's happening over there?"
"Maybe the system is broken?" Hans suggested weakly.
"Systems don't just break, Hans," Irene replied. "Someone just became one of the top 200 hunters in the world."
After a couple of minutes, Henry and Ren walked back to the group. Henry's aura was significantly stronger, so much so that everyone could feel the pressure radiating from him like heat from a furnace.
"Holy shit, Henry," irene breathed. "What happened to you?"
"Your power level..." Hans stared at him in awe. "It's completely different. You feel like..."
"Like a Master-rank," Irene finished quietly.
"Henry, how did you advance two ranks in one go?" Sarah asked
"And why do you look like you've been through a meat grinder?" Hans added, noticing the blood stains on Henry's clothes.
Henry just shrugged casually. "I just ranked up by luck. Nothing more to it."
"Luck?" Sarah raised an eyebrow. "You don't just accidentally become a Master-rank hunter."
"Sometimes the system works in mysterious ways," Henry said vaguely, not meeting their eyes.
Old Hans frowned. "Henry, Master-rank hunters are the top 200 in the entire world. You can't just—"
"It's really nothing special," Henry interrupted with a nervous laugh.
Then Henry turned to Ren and said quietly,
"Brother Nox, please, if I'm not near death, please please please do not cure me unless absolutely necessary."
Ren laughed and said, "I thought you liked scary stuff."
"Not to that level, Nox. No." Henry paled, which made Ren laugh even more.
"What are you two talking about?" Sarah asked suspiciously.
"Nothing important," Henry said quickly. "Just... medical stuff."
"Medical stuff that makes you look terrified?" Hans pressed.
"Let's just say Nox's healing methods are very... thorough," Henry replied with a shudder.
"Thorough how?" Irene asked quietly.
"The kind of thorough that makes you appreciate being healthy," Henry said firmly.
"Very, very healthy."
Ren checked his interface while the others continued questioning Henry.
Fear Points: 15,000
"Well," Ren said with satisfaction, "at least something good came out of this."
"What's good about nearly dying?" Henry asked.
"The screaming was very therapeutic," Ren replied with a grin.
"For who?!" Henry demanded.
"For me, obviously."
Sarah, Hans, and Irene exchanged glances. Whatever had happened between those two, it was clear that Henry was now significantly more powerful—and significantly more wary of Ren's medical procedures.
"So," Sarah said slowly, "we now have a Master-rank hunter on our team."
"A master-rank hunter against an Avatar... we might actually have a chance now."
"We better," Henry muttered, "because I'm never letting Nox 'cure' me again unless I'm literally dying."
"What if you're only mostly dying?" Ren asked innocently.
"Nox."
"What about severely injured?"
"Nox."
"Papercut?"
"I will shoot you with my own bow," Henry threatened.
Ren laughed. "Fair enough, fair enough."
Despite the banter, everyone could feel the change. Henry's presence alone had shifted the dynamic of their group. They were no longer just survivors running from an unstoppable force. They had become something that could fight back.