The Author's POV

The next day.

"You work pretty quickly."

Opening the box that sat on the desk in front of me, I carefully picked up a small potion that was nestled in between a few wrappers.

98 million U

That was how much money I spent on the potion. Just thinking about the price made my face cringe, but I didn't regret my decision.

Holding onto the potion as though it was the biggest treasure in the world, I made my way towards the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

"Huu, it's about time I got rid of this look."

With both hands on the side of the sink, staring at myself in the mirror, and once again looking at my hideous face, I took a deep breath.

Then, uncapping the potion, without wasting any second, I quickly downed it.

—Gulp!

Within seconds of me downing the potion, a gentle and warm current flowed through the veins of my body. Opening my eyes, I could vividly see the burns on my face healing at an alarming rate.

In five minutes, much to my surprise, all of the burns on my face started disappearing. Then, once all of my burns disappeared, it was the scar's turn.

This process took a bit longer, as the poison on my face had penetrated quite deeply. With thick green lines appearing on my face, I felt a strange wiggling sensation crawling all over my face.

Lifting my head up and looking at myself in the mirror, I could see the strange worm-like lines wiggling all over my face as though they were alive.

It looked absolutely hideous.

Fortunately, this did not last for long as the lines shrank with each passing second.

This continued for a couple of more minutes before all of the green lines disappeared from my face. Following the green lines were the scars, and once they too were gone, what was left was a soft white skin devoid of any imperfections.

"I-is this how I look like?"

Staring at my reflection in the mirror, my fingers trembled slightly as I caressed the mirror in front of me.

"ha-aa..."

Biting my lips, I tried my best to remain composed.

But it was honestly hard.

This was the first time I had seen my face in eight months and the moment the scars from my face disappeared, it finally dawned on me.

I was free.

I was finally free from the horrible nightmare that I experienced at the Monolith. Although I still had a chip inside of my head, at least, for now, I could take matters into my own hands.

After a while, Scratching the scalp of my head and taking another potion, I muttered to myself.

"I should probably do something about this too."

—Gulp!

Uncapping the lid of the potion, I quickly downed the potion. Instantly, the moment I took my first sip of the potion, the hair on my head started to grow. Soon, they grew to the same length as it was before back when I was at the Lock.

"Better."

In this world, if there was a bald person, it was because they chose to be bald.

There was no such a thing as balding now. All it took me was a simple potion, and my hair was back to where it was back then.

Brushing my hair to the side, and staring at myself in the mirror for a couple of minutes, I took a deep breath. Then, turning around, I opened the door of the bathroom and went out.

"Smalsnake, I'm heading out. I'll see you in a bit."

Taking my coat and putting on a skin mask, I made my way out of the building.

As soon as I fixed my face, without letting anyone else see my face, the first thing I did was visit my family.

I really missed them.

***

At the same time, in a different place.

"Your lordship, please feel free to tell me if you need anything. I will try my best to assist you with anything."

Inside of a mortuary that was filled with corpses, a middle-aged plump man looked towards his right and nervously rubbed his hands together.

Beads of sweat dripped down from his forehead as he stared at a black-humanoid creature that was beside him.

With two horns on his head and deep red eyes that exuded boundless bloodlust, the black humanoid creature indifferently stared at the many corpses presented before him.

"Have you found your contractee, your lordship?"

The plump man asked.

"Mhhh, I have."

Opening his mouth, a chilly voice escaped from the humanoid creature's mouth. Then, moving towards a certain body, the humanoid creature bent down.

Turning towards the plump man, the black-humanoid creature asked.

"What is the cause of this youth's death?"

"This youth?"

Lowering his head and staring at a handsome youth whose face was now incomparably pale, the plump-man, started pondering. Then, after a while, he pointed towards many different areas on the youth's body.

"Hmm, just take a look at the bruises on the youth's body. Before death, we can tell that he has gone through a tough fight with someone. Perhaps they may have both been on equal footing, but..."

Pausing, the plump men suddenly bent down and pointed towards the chest area of the youth.

"...if you look closely, the real cause of death of for the youth is a clean strike to the heart. Honestly, judging from how clean the strike was, it can be inferred that whoever did this, did this in an extremely fast and precise manner. So fast that the—huh, your lordship?"

Startling the plump man out of his thoughts was the black-humanoid creature.

Tracing his finger over the hole on the youth's chest, the black-humanoid creature's body started trembling slightly. Then, the corner of his mouth sadistically twisted upwards.

"Y-your lordship?"

Noticing the demon's weird behavior, the middle-aged man called out. Then, out of nowhere, the middle-aged man felt chills run down his spine as a small chuckle echoed across the room.

"Kukuku..."

The chuckled soon turned to a raspy laugh that sounded from the deeps of hell.

"...so you were still alive, haAhhahahaahHA"

***

In a highly decorated lobby where people could be seen walking around everywhere, a middle-aged man walked up towards a certain desk that had the sign 'Reception' engraved by the side.

Stopping in front of the reception, the middle-aged man looked towards a young girl and asked.

"Excuse me, what should I do if I want to join this place?"

"Excuse me? Did you say that you wanted to join?"

The receptionist smiled kindly.

"That is correct."

The middle-aged man replied.

At his response, the secretary looked at the computer screen in front of her. Then, pressing onto a couple of keys. she asked.

"Alright, so you wish to apply to our guild okay, let's start with a simple question, what is your rank?"

"D+"

The middle-aged man replied without hesitation.

"D+ rank, I see...hm, wait, what!!"

It took a while for the secretary to process the information, and when she did, dropping everything she was doing she jumped out of her seat and stared at the man before her wide-eyed.

"Y-you're telling me that your rank is <D+>?!"

"Mhm."

Nodding his head, the middle-aged man released a whisp of his aura.

"...my god."

Feeling the terrifying aura exuding from the middle-aged man, the secretary cried out in surprise.

"It's true, you're really <D+> rank!"

Staring at the man before her, the secretary was terrified.

That was because the guild master of the guild she was working for was not as strong as the man before her. This man was a big shot!

Recovering from her stupor, the secretary hastily grabbed the phone that was next to her and looked at the middle-aged man with pleading eyes.

"Please wait a moment while I call the higher-ups."

"Sure, take your time."

The middle-aged man replied with a kind smile on his face.

His kind and patient attitude made the secretary sigh in relief as she nervously waited for the phone to pick up.

Soon, someone picked up, and the secretary started to speak to them.

"Yes, yes, <D+> rank...mhm, yes."

Talking on the phone for a good minute, the secretary soon hung up the phone and gestured.

"Please follow me, the guild master would like to meet you."

"Understood."

The middle-aged man obliged and followed the receptionist.

As they were walking, halting her footsteps, the secretary turned around and asked.

"By the way, have you already handed in your dimensional storage to the security?"

"Yes, I have."

"Good."

Checking her watch to double-check with the security at the entrance, once she got the okay, she directly brought him to the elevator.

Stepping onto the elevator and pressing onto the highest floor, the secretary turned to look at the middle-aged man.

"By the way, I forgot to ask, but what is your name?"

"My name?"

"Yes."

Pondering for a short second, the middle-aged man responded.

"Ren...my name is Ren Wright."

"Ren Wright?"

The receptionist once again asked.

"Mhm."

"I see, well, Mr. Wright, right now I will be bringing you to the guild master's office. As you are a highly distinguished guest, he will negotiate with you directly. Is that okay with you?"

"That's perfectly fine."

"Perfect."

Before long, the doors of the elevator opened up and the receptionist brought Ren to the guild master's office.

Arriving in front of a large wooded door that had a small sign with the words 'Ronald Dover' engraved by the side, the secretary halted her footsteps. Turning around, she politely said.

"This is as far as I can go. I hope you have a pleasant discussion. You may go in"

"Thank you."

Lowering his head slightly and thanking the receptionist, Ren opened the door. The moment he opened the door, the first thing he saw were two individuals.

Sitting behind a large wooden desk, was a tall man with black hair, and a masculine jawline. Though he couldn't have been considered the most handsome, he was fairly handsome in his own right.

Standing next to him was a stunning woman with golden hair and blue eyes.

Both of them looked haggard as dark circles appeared beneath their eyes. Even then, staring at Ren who had just entered the room, they stood up and put on friendly smiles.

"You must be the distinguished guest that wishes to join us. Please have a seat."

"Thank you."

Turning around and spotting a red sofa, Ren calmly walked towards it and sat down. Then, crossing his legs and extending his hand over the top of the couch, Ren suddenly waved his hand, startling the couple.

"What are you doing!"

Ronald Dover stood up and put his wife behind him.

Staring at the barrier that was forming around them, with his hand on his desk, he was prepared to call the security that was waiting outside.

"Calm down, I'm not trying to hurt you."

"Tell me, what is your purpose!"

Ronald Dover shouted.

"Before you do anything, please listen to what I have to say."

With a smile on his face, Ren nonchalantly put his hand on his face.

Then, grabbing onto his face, the couple watched as Ren's face distorted. Before long, a familiar face appeared in their vision causing the mind of both of them to blank out.

"Don't tell me you guys can't even recognize your own son?"

At his words, for a good minute, heavy silence enveloped the room.

After a while, the first one to speak was Ronald Dover who with a trembling finger pointed in Ren's direction. With a croaky voice filled with disbelief and confusion, he repeatedly stuttered.

"Ah..t-ha..Im-possible!"

"R-ren?"

Next to him, his wife was in a similar state of confusion as she couldn't mutter any words. Slowly the side of her eyes began to water, and tears started streaming down her cheeks.

Staring at the couple, Ren bit his lips and forced a smile.

"A-aren't you guys gonna say anything?"

"My boy!"

The moment Ren spoke, both parents quickly rushed towards him and embraced him tightly.

"Ren!"

"My son!"

"...Ah."

Feeling the warm embrace of his parents, biting his lips and staring towards the ceiling with reddened eyes, Ren muttered softly.

"M-mon, dad...I'm back."

End of Volume [2]/Part -3