Chapter 58: Chain Breaker
Hide did not sit immediately.
The person behind the desk didn’t even look like he would be someone to sit here, but here he was and he watched Hide with the calm, cheerful patience of a man who had all the time in the world.
Hide walked to the chair in front of the desk and sat down.
"There we go," Maddox said warmly, as if Hide had done something commendable. "I was beginning to think you’d stand there the whole time."
"You said we had a lot to talk about," Hide said. "So talk."
Maddox smiled, completely unbothered. He leaned back in his expensive leather chair and folded his hands over his stomach. "I like directness. The people who come through that door usually spend the first ten minutes trying to figure out how to impress me." He tilted his head. "You walked in here like you were doing me a favor."
"I’m here because I need something," Hide replied simply. "So are you."
Maddox’s smile widened a fraction. "Smart kid."
He reached across the desk and pressed two fingers against a small service panel embedded in the edge. A soft chime sounded, and the panel lit up briefly. "Tea? Coffee? Water?"
"Water."
A glass rose from the counter panel on the side wall. Hide did not look at it for longer than a second.
Maddox sat forward again, resting his elbows on the desk, chin on his knuckles. "I heard you had quite fun in the northern district dungeon," he began. "Walk me through it."
Hide was not surprised, obviously a person sitting at such a position would know about it all, so, he did as he was asked.
He was careful about it. He described the gate forming in the delivery alley of Grid 8 just when he was taking a stroll there. He described what he did after he went inside the dungeon and why he avoided the official exterminators and all about the lesser calamity lord. He kept his voice level and did not use words he didn’t need.
He left out the Joker entirely and the meeting on the factory building’s second floor, the conversation about his mother being a government researcher. He left out every part of the reason he had been there that night in the first place, and he stitched the remaining facts into a shape that almost fit together.
He had been out, late, passing through the decommissioned zone because he was exploring the district. The gate had formed around him and he was pulled in without his permission.
Maddox listened to all of it without interrupting once.
That was what made it uncomfortable. He didn’t react to the Calamity Lord or the fact of how Hide defeated them and how was he able to fight a Lesser Calamity lord on his own.
When Hide finished, Maddox was quiet for a few seconds.
"You’re a genuinely skilled liar," he said. "Most people who lie would stumble once or twice over the details. Of course, every detail you told me was real. You just didn’t tell me which ones were relevant." He tilted his head, still smiling. "Whoever told you to be there, that night, you’re not going to tell me who it was."
Hide’s pupils contracted. ’This... this person is far too cunning.’
Hide kept his face exactly where it was. "The gate formed and I was pulled in. Everything after that I told you as it happened."
"Oh, I believe the dungeon part," Maddox said pleasantly. "Captain Rol’s report is sitting on my desk, and his description of you is considerably more colorful than yours."
The commander leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. "But we can table the mystery of your evening stroll for later. I want to see what we are actually dealing with." He raised his left hand, presenting his dark, ancient-looking status ring. "Point your ring at mine. A mutual scan."
Hide hesitated for a fraction of a second, then lifted his left hand, aiming his AAA ring at the Commander’s.
A pale blue light flared between them, expanding into a dual holographic projection that divided the space above the desk.
Hide reflexively checked the screen that Maddox’s ring displayed. It had his state information, laid bare.
--
Name - Hide Volter
Class - ∞
Current Class Rank - F
Class Evolution Percentage - 0%
Class Potential - S
Talent - Dark Liege
[You are the watcher in the dark, the song in death and the Ruler in the afterlife. Dark mana can be used to create faceless manifests called Phantom Court. These manifests can be given life by placing an anchor.]
Talent Rank - 5 Star
--
He forced his eyes toward the screen projected by his own ring that showed the stats of Maddox, the third commander of NEA and one of the 10 S rank’s in the whole country.
--
Name - Maddox
Class - Chain Breaker
Current Class Rank - S
Class Evolution Percentage - 100%
Class Potential - S
Talent 1 - Hidden
Talent 2 - Hidden
Talent 3 - Hidden
Talent 4 - Hidden
--
Hide stared. His throat felt suddenly like sandpaper.
’Four... four Talents??!!’
He was genuinely astonished beyond words. And just to show that it was not all.
He had his class’s S-Rank potential fully realized. One hundred percent evolution.
Four distinct talents, all completely masked by a privacy layer Hide hadn’t even known existed. The sheer absurdity of the data sitting in front of him was staggering. The man across from him wasn’t just a veteran; he was a walking natural disaster.
Across the desk, Maddox scanned Hide’s interface.
Outwardly, the Commander maintained his composed half-smile. Inwardly, his mind raced through a dozen tactical scenarios.
’This talent is far too vile to be left unchecked.’
Maddox understood the terrifying implications immediately. Most five-star talents possessed overwhelming but static power.
Dark Liege was generative. It was a sovereign-class authority and given enough time, this eighteen-year-old boy wouldn’t just be a powerful Exterminator; he would be a one-man military force.
The dual holograms dissolved into mist.
"You can’t see my talents," Maddox noted, breaking the silence.
Hide scowled. "How?"
Maddox tapped his ring twice, pulling up a semi-transparent submenu. "A fundamental setting most novices ignore. During a mutual link, basic class data is broadcast automatically. However, talents can be manually restricted."
He gestured toward the glowing text. "Change your visibility from ’Public’ to ’Hidden’. Other rings will only detect that the slot is occupied and won’t show your talent information."
Hide processed the instructions instantly. A few quick taps on his own ring, and his five-star anomaly vanished behind a digital veil. It was a minor relief, but a vital one.
"Now," Maddox resumed, folding his hands. "Let’s talk about why you are here. I want you in the NEA. We can offer you—"
"I refuse."