Chapter 75: To the Looming Bridge
After gathering all of the necessary information, Terrence and Noli took a similar route toward the Looming Bridge.
This was the exact same A-Rank rift Terrence had originally wanted to clear due to its remarkably high allocation of contribution points, though it was situated significantly farther away compared to the Hanging City.
Positioned directly between two massive mountain valleys, the Looming Bridge was another strategic fortress city constructed during the apocalyptic catastrophe a millennium ago.
Just like the Hanging City, its entire defensive architecture relied on the historical reality that no flying beasts had ever been recorded in existence—except for the fact that Terrence now possessed one, completely shattering the long-standing peace and tactical security of every strategic city and settlement built on that assumption.
"What did you mostly do right after you got kicked out of the family?" Noli asked, a tone of obvious curiosity lacing his voice. "You don’t have to answer if you don’t feel comfortable."
Terrence let out a short, quiet scoff, wanting zero pity or unearned empathy from his cousin. Though he slightly appreciated the gentle thought behind the gesture, who could possibly know if Noli’s intentions were genuine?
For all Terrence cared, Noli could have been secretly sent by the higher-ups of the Lee Family to woo him back into the fold, just like his estranged parents had attempted—though it seemed slightly less likely in Noli’s case.
"I tried to hunt a wild beast on my own," Terrence replied dryly.
Noli’s eyes widened in slight shock as he reached out to open the entrance door to the public transportation vehicle. He stepped aside to let Terrence climb aboard the scheduled public bus transport headed for the Looming Bridge first.
Terrence gave a brief nod of acknowledgment as he stepped inside, scanning his eyes across the numbered rows of seats.
Holding his digital ticket in hand, he quickly located his assigned spot.
"You actually did that despite failing your awakening ceremony?" Noli pressed, following close behind him down the aisle. "By the way, when did you officially awaken as a tamer?"
Terrence didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he turned his head and stared directly into Noli’s eyes with a look of cold indifference.
Noli instinctively took a slight step back, suddenly realizing how sharp his words and intense line of questioning sounded—almost as if he were interrogating him like a detective.
Noli awkwardly tried to ease the mounting tension between them, something he had been attempting since they first met at the Contribution Agency. He could clearly feel that Terrence remained deeply suspicious of his motives, but in truth, Noli was simply fascinated by Terrence’s sudden transformation.
Ever since their shared encounter in the B-Rank Snow Biome dungeon, Noli had been deeply curious about Terrence’s unusual thinking patterns and tactics. Terrence was obsessively focused on building raw personal strength, coming up with unique, highly creative ways to utilize the Skill Share ability.
Well, it was obvious that he had been relentlessly training himself as a novice tamer, but whatever had transpired in the short time since their encounter in that snow dungeon rift had changed Terrence drastically, elevating his overall combat competence to a whole new level.
"I don’t mind you asking me a few questions," Terrence said, his sharp, cutting words piercing through Noli’s thoughts. "But I don’t feel like you’re being particularly cautious with the way you frame them."
Noli absorbed the harsh notion, nodding his head submissively to signal his understanding.
"Don’t worry, I get it," Noli said quietly, lowering his voice. "I am not like the rest of the Lee Family. I see you as an equal individual now—not as my former cousin."
"Former cousin?"
Terrence was visibly caught off guard by the choice of words. Was that an official acknowledgment of his independence, or was it just another subtle form of denial regarding his place in the family lineage? For all he cared, neither option truly mattered to him, but the phrasing was surprising nonetheless.
"Yeah," Noli clarified as he adjusted his posture. "You explicitly stated before that you didn’t want to be remembered or labeled as a former Lee Family member, if I remember correctly. People all over the city were whispering about how you were determined to forge a brand-new name for yourself completely independent of them. And honestly... I think you’ve already succeeded."
Both of them finally reached their designated row, and surprisingly, their tickets placed them right next to each other.
It was entirely predictable, considering they had booked their transit passes at the exact same counter at the same time, yet the reality of sitting together still felt somewhat surreal.
"I see..." Terrence said, adjusting his tunic as he sat down. "I guess... thank you for saying that. But I’m really not comfortable discussing the private details of how I became a tamer. That’s nobody else’s business."
Noli followed his lead, squeezing through the narrow gap between the seats to take his place beside the window glass.
"Noted," Noli conceded instantly. "I can completely understand that."
’He is still heavily on guard around me,’ Noli thought to himself as he gazed out the window, a fleeting thought slipping into his mind that he tried to crush immediately. ’But I still need to do my part. Terrence must eventually reveal his secrets...’
The dark thought was like an instinctive impulse born from a deep, hidden thread of insecurity that occasionally surfaced inside him.
To be completely honest with himself, Noli felt a sting of lingering insecurity over how Terrence had managed to contract two exceptionally powerful beasts. Having multiple contracted beasts wasn’t completely unheard of, but it was usually restricted to much lower-ranked creatures.
Yet, Terrence commanded a powerful hound that possessed a rare shadow-mutated element, as well as a legendary flying beast that easily categorized as an A-Rank threat on its own.
Noli coveted that kind of overwhelming power, even though he fundamentally believed that a true tamer’s ultimate strength didn’t rely solely on the raw natural rank of their beasts.
At least, that was what he desperately wanted to believe ever since Terrence had re-emerged into the public eye.
He had personally watched Terrence train with an awkward, unrefined fighting stance while using Skill Share in the past. But now, Terrence moved with absolute precision and fluidity that surpassed the average tamer, making lightning-fast tactical decisions and commanding his beasts with a presence forged through genuine, lethal experience.
"Regardless, I really hope to work well alongside you today," Noli uttered sincerely, breaking the silence just as the massive transport vehicle let out a heavy mechanical rumble and began rolling smoothly down the concrete streets, leaving Suran City behind.
"This specific A-Rank rift is a critically important site to get cleared as soon as possible, especially since local reports indicate a dangerously high probability of an active breach."