Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger - Chapter 300

Chapter 300: EX 300. Next City
Leon, Rachel, and Adrian all turned toward Lieutenant Lancelot the moment he said those words. His expression was grave, their was no trace of relief or satisfaction in their victory, just the weight of unfinished business reflected in his eyes.

“Defeating the guardian isn’t the end,” Lancelot said, his tone low but firm. “After all, it was just that, a guardian.”

Rachel’s brows furrowed. Her long ears twitched slightly as she spoke. “So our main focus should be… what it was guarding?”

“Exactly,” Lancelot replied, nodding. “And that would be the tether.”

Leon, Adrian, and Rachel exchanged knowing looks. The emperor had warned them about it back at the Imperial Guard Headquarters, the tether was always the heart of every cluster, the source of corruption that tied the void to Pandora.

“If we don’t destroy that thing,” Lancelot continued, “then all this fighting means nothing.”

Leon exhaled.

“Alright,” he said quietly, “let’s find the tether.”

It didn’t take long. With Leon’s sharpened senses, they traced the foul pulse of corruption beneath the city, under the largest pleasure house in Harlot’s Paradise. The irony wasn’t lost on anyone.

Originus’s voice rumbled in Leon’s mind.

“This must have been its base of operation.”

Leon nodded subtly as they descended through the ruined structure. The basement opened into a vast underground cavern. And there it was, a massive black gem, easily several meters tall, pulsing faintly with violet light. The air around it twisted and churned, the corruption so thick it felt alive.

Leon stared at it, jaw tightening. “It’s just like the one in Shantel,” he said, stepping closer. “But if that one was a pebble…” His gaze lifted toward the towering crystal. “This one’s a boulder.”

The lieutenant spoke grimly.

“This’ll be the hardest part.”

“That thing isn’t alive, it’s indestructible. Even a rank nine professional wouldn’t leave a dent. You’ll have to give it everything you’ve got.”

Leon didn’t answer. He only nodded and stepped forward, the dim violet glow washing over his features. Lancelot watched him go, unease flickering behind his eyes. ‘This cluster’s stronger than any of us expected,’ he thought. ‘If the tether’s power matches that, then… will he really be able to handle it?’

Leon stopped before the gem. The moment his hand touched it, the air vibrated violently. A deep, thrumming sound pulsed through the cavern, shaking loose bits of rock from the ceiling. Leon stood there silently, his palm pressed against the tether, the light from it reflecting in his blue eyes.

Seconds passed.

Then he let go.

He turned back toward the others, face unreadable. For a brief moment, Lancelot’s chest tightened. ‘Did he fail?’ he wondered, a pained look spreading across his features. ‘Was it too much even for him—’

The thought cut short as a sharp crack split the air.

Lancelot’s eyes widened as fractures began to race across the gem’s surface like lightning. Then

BOOM!

The tether shattered, exploding into a cloud of violet stardust that swirled like a dying nebula before fading into nothing.

Lancelot stood frozen, his mouth slightly open as he tried to process what he’d just seen.

“…What in the Emperor’s name—”

****

The moment Leon laid his hand on the tether, a sharp ripple of unease ran through him. His fingers tensed instinctively, the memory of Shantel’s tether flashing in his mind, how it had nearly swallowed him whole, and that one hadn’t even been half as large as this. The weight of that realization made his pulse quicken.

‘This one’s at least twice as dense,’ he thought, jaw tightening. ‘If that nearly took me…’

But he didn’t pull back. He’d come too far to start doubting himself now. The corruption pulsed faintly beneath his palm, cold and alive, like something aware of his touch. Leon drew in a breath, steadying his will. Then, he absorbed.

Instantly, the link formed. Energy flowed into him like a torrent, but instead of pain, instead of the searing agony he expected, there was… calm. No backlash. No haunting visions clawing at his mind. And most surprisingly, no pain. Just the steady pull of corruption being swallowed, refined and erased.

A moment later, the tether detonated in a quiet burst of light, scattering harmless motes of dark mist into the air. Leon blinked once, lowering his hand.

‘That’s it?’

He turned toward the others still shocked by the eaze of the whole thing, walking through the fading haze.

“I still didn’t rank up,” he muttered under his breath. It didn’t surprise him anymore. The more points he poured into his stats, the higher his threshold grew. Every gain demanded twice the effort now, but stopping wasn’t an option.

As he reached the stunned lieutenant, Leon’s tone shifted back to business. “Are we finished here?”

The lieutenant tore his gaze from the place where the tether had once stood. For the first time since the tether appeared, the air around the city felt clean, no whispering voices, no lurking dread. Only a fragile peace settling in its wake. He nodded slowly. “Yes. We’re done. We can head to the next city… but I’ll need to rest first. My strength isn’t fully recovered yet.”

Leon glanced at him, then at the others. “Alright. We’ll rest here for now. I’ve already sent a clone to inform the border guards we handled it, but I’m sure they’ve already noticed.”

The lieutenant gave a faint nod of acknowledgment. He looked exhausted, but relief softened his expression. The capital would’ve been a better place to recover, but the journey there was too long without flight. The lieutenant was in no condition to travel that far, let alone carry anyone else.

Still, it didn’t matter. The city was now liberated. For the first time since the operation began, there was no immediate threat.

And for Leon, that silence was enough.

****

As expected, nothing happened through the night. The city, once thick with corruption and dread, was eerily calm now. The team had taken shelter inside one of the pleasure houses at the city’s center, its shattered windows letting in the faint silver hue of Pandora’s moons.

They’d spent the entire night resting. For the lieutenant, that was enough. A Rank 7 professional could recover swiftly under normal conditions but the abnormally long nights of Pandora made it even easier. The world’s skies stretched on far beyond the length of a normal day, time bending in strange ways that Leon could never quite get used to.

He sat quietly on a broken wall, staring at the faint horizon that refused to brighten. “I’ve always wondered why the days are like this,” he murmured.

Before he could follow the thought further, Originus’s voice rippled through his mind, deep and calm as ever.

“The days in Pandora were not always this long,” the dragon said. “The only thing I can say being the cause of this is the one major change that happened after my passing.”

Leon blinked, already knowing what the answer was. “Corruption,” he said quietly.

“Exactly.”

A brief silence followed. The word hung in the air heavier than the night itself.

Moments later, footsteps echoed through the open street. Adrian and Racheal arrived with the lieutenant walking beside them, his aura stable again. They stopped at the center of the city, where Leon was already waiting.

“It’s time to move,” Leon said, as he stood up from the broken wall, brushing the dust off his coat, his gaze turning toward the east. The next city awaited another cluster to purify, another fight waiting to unfold.

****

A/N: We finally made it to Chapter 300! I originally planned to end the novel at this point, but I guess I’ll be going beyond that. Still, the end is near, though I’m not exactly sure how close.

Anyway, thank you for reading!

And before I forget, don’t forget! If we make it into the top 50 of the Golden Ticket rankings, we’ll have a mass release. So let’s make it happen!