Chapter 11: This is What a True S-Class Talent Looks Like
"Damn crow, you're the future Monarch of the Sky!"Richard wanted to strangle the crow that was sleeping on his couch, oblivious to the hatred he held.
Just moments ago, he had reviewed the surveillance recordings. The reason behind that massacre of the infected was no longer a mystery. He immediately recognized who had called the flock… and the future Monarch of the Sky.
Emma… she had awakened her innate talent.
Although it seemed to be only a partial awakening, because for her to truly become an Awakened she had to evolve to the stage known as the Threshold of Humanity. Otherwise, she would remain just a human.
But that didn't matter for those who awakened the Tamer talent. Most of the work was done by their contracted pet.
Richard ran a hand over his face, forcing a strained smile."Sometimes I really don't know how to feel about you… Emma." His smile was tense.
That girl had obtained the same ability that, in his past life, had turned her into a legend. Fate, damn fate, had played its cards once again: this time, she had received a Monarch-class familiar from the very beginning.
If that wasn't being favored by the heavens, then may lightning strike him down and end his life right there.
The number of Tamers who would shed tears of blood upon hearing of such a miracle couldn't be measured.
[Talent: Tamer] [Rank: S]
Richard looked at her as she slept. Her face, bathed in the soft glow of the television, reflected peace—a sharp contrast to the anguish she had endured only a few hours earlier.
He inhaled deeply, pushing away the dark thoughts trying to coil in his mind."I hope you take care of her…" he murmured, directing his words to the crow that watched him from the shadows, its eyes gleaming like blades.
That dark bird… the future Sky Monarch. The same creature that in his past life had almost killed him, turning him into its victim, its plaything, until the Snow Fairy saved him from certain death.
Richard clenched his jaw tightly. He remembered the pain and humiliation he had suffered. Endless days bedridden, delaying his progress toward the Ascended stage. And when he finally achieved it, he realized that growing over three meters tall was more of a curse than a gift. Living like that… was like trying to cram a tree into a cardboard box.
No one would fail to notice it—least of all the infected.
The memory filled him with bitterness.
A murmur pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Richard?"
Emma slowly lifted her eyelids, still drowsy. She couldn't fully comprehend the transformation Richard had undergone; her head was clouded by the remnants of a bad dream.
"Wait… what are you doing in my room?"Suddenly, her eyes widened. Uncertainty and fear shone in her gaze. Perhaps her mind was trying to protect her, masking recent memories as if they had been mere nightmares. It was understandable. Barely a day had passed. She was just a student, worried about exams and grades, not about surviving the end of the world.
"I'm glad you woke up…" Richard answered, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I brought you and your parents here after I found you unconscious."
He trusted that Emma would recall what had happened on her own. It was preferable this way: to see the collapse of the world firsthand rather than hearing it secondhand and dismissing him as a lunatic.
"Wait!" Emma sat up abruptly. "All of that was real? It wasn't a dream?"
Her usual sarcastic tone was gone. What remained was trembling uncertainty in her voice—the aftermath of spending hours trapped in a vehicle surrounded by monsters. She had felt powerless, fragile, to the point where her only response was to call Richard's name, as if that alone could keep her alive. How pathetic she felt.
Emma looked down at her hands. Now that she thought about it carefully, in those moments she had felt heat all over her body, as if she were burning alive. After that… she remembered nothing.
[Name: Emma] [Age: 18]
[Ability: Tamer] [Rank: S]
[Infection Level: None]
"Richard, can you see this?" she exclaimed suddenly, startled, pointing at the empty air. Her voice trembled with excitement. "This looks like a video game!" Her eyes sparkled with joy.
That sudden emotional swing had always made Richard think she was bipolar. Love was blind to things like that.
Her smile lit up the room, radiant, almost pure. For a moment, Richard froze. That same smile… he had seen it before, when they found out they were going to have a child. The memory pierced him like a hot knife.
Would that little girl he once carried in his arms for so short a time be born again in this new future?
Time felt like walking on the thinnest ice: one misstep could shatter the surface, revealing an endless sea of broken destinies.
"Richard, do you know anything about this?" Emma looked straight at him. "Wait… how did you change so much overnight? Don't tell me I've been in a coma for a year… right?"
She stood up, and to her surprise, had to tilt her head up to look him in the eyes. Those glowing green irises were an uncanny reflection of her best friend. Looking at Richard was like seeing a parallel version of him. One who hadn't skipped the gym, who had eaten his vegetables to grow tall and strong.
It was Richard… and yet, it wasn't.
Richard grinned playfully, stepping closer to corner her."Did you fall in love with me?"
Emma recoiled, nervous.
But before she could answer, a caw tore through the air.
"Get away from her!"
The crow, a shadow with wings, lunged furiously at Richard's head. Its beak, sharp as a screwdriver, jabbed again and again. At first, it couldn't pierce his skin, but Richard knew that with enough persistence, the winged creature could crack open his skull.
"Damn black pigeon!" Richard shoved it away angrily.
The crow glared at him with venom, its eyes like daggers. The creature had taken its instruction to protect Emma very seriously.
"What the hell did I ever do to you, huh?" Richard snapped. "In my past life, you were the one who almost killed me! I should be the one hating you!"
The tension was broken by a soft laugh.
Emma raised an arm, and with a simple gesture, the crow perched obediently on her shoulder like a pet dog. Richard stared silently. Handling a future Monarch as if it were a domestic animal… that surpassed anything he had seen. Emma's connection to the transformed creatures was unsettling.
After all, for a Tamer, controlling a beast meant establishing a mental link, exchanging ideas in a hidden language only they could understand. It was like connecting two devices with a code no outsider could decipher.
To others, the Tamer's words always sounded ridiculous: "just look it in the eyes and tell it what you want it to do."
But he knew it wasn't that simple.
"Is this crow… your pet?" Emma asked, gently stroking the black feathers.
The disgusting pest seemed to disagree. It acted more like a jealous wife catching her husband cheating.
* * *
Their conversation was interrupted by a deep voice at the doorway.
"So… why the hell do you have all these weapons?" Ethan entered with a scowl.
Richard's heart skipped a beat. Not because of the question… but because of what Ethan held in his hands.
An AK-47.
For someone who had spent his whole life working as a cook in a restaurant, it was like giving a gun to a monkey. The danger couldn't be measured until disaster struck.
"Uncle Ethan… careful where you point that," Richard warned.
The barrel of the gun wavered unpredictably—first aimed at Emma, then the crow, and finally Richard. Each second was like watching a child play with matches inside a gasoline warehouse.
"Don't look at me like that," Ethan growled nervously. "I went out into the hall and found a bunch of crates filled with rifles, pistols, even explosives! What the hell are you planning, Richard? A military assault?"
Richard held his breath. His strategy to keep the weapons hidden hadn't lasted as long as he expected.
"Well… so much for the secret arsenal…"
He hadn't been given enough time to hide the heavier weapons. The last thing he wanted was to see someone use an assault rifle to kill a cockroach.