He felt her hungry gaze on him but tio ig as he quietly ged. When he was done, he saw the lost look in her eyes.

  He approached her and hugged her, which she eagerly reciprocated. Looking into her eyes, he said, “I won’t be away for long. I’ll plete these military missions, and then I’ll e back with a gift just for you.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you,” she said, trag her fingers along his chest through his t-shirt. “But be quick, okay? I ’t stand being apart from you for long.” As she spoke, her eyes grew darker. “If you don’t e back, I don’t know what I’ll do... Okay, D-A-R-L-I-N-G?” Her voice dropped into a dark tone, her eyes intense, like bck holes.

  To a normal person, it might have been creepy, but he holy just found her cute in her possessive, yandere ways. He leaned in and gave her a soft, chaste kiss on the lips before pulling away. “How could I stand being away from my lovely Kiara for long? Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon!”

  At his words, a small shiver ran through her body, and she g to him a little tighter. Mikael was stunned. ‘Did she just…?’ He thought, incredulously. ‘Really, yaypes are built differently...’

  Kiara stayed standing, ag like nothing had happened, but Mikael noticed the sweet st in the air and the liquid ohighs. He pretended not to notid simply said, “I’ll go now. Bye.” With that, he exited the room, and for once, Kiara didn’t try to stop him.

  Once he was gone, her face turned red as she murmured, “How embarrassing… lucky he didn’t notiything.” She clearly was in denial, as it was incredibly obvious what had happened. But she was wired differently. She quickly ed her underwear using her ‘powers’ as an AI, since her clothes were sidered part of herself—she could them or ge them as she pleased.

  Oisfied, she smiled but pouted, thinking, ‘It would’ve beeer if he had taken me while I was ging. I even exposed my butt to him—why didn’t it work?’ She inwardly questioned before returning to her puter, determio do some researd figure out how to ensnare him in bed so he wouldn’t have the energy to even think about another woma alone visit them. She wanted Mikael all to herself!

  Meanwhile, Mikael left the training room, brushing off the events with Kiara. He before entering his apartment where he decred, “Records, I want to take the military mission!”

  [Request uood. Mission transferred.]

  [Military Mission: Goods Prote

  Minimum power level required: Tier 1

  Reended power level: High-Peak Tier 1

  Details: This missioails safeguarding goods being transported by ship from potential attacks. The attackers are estimated to possess a power level of up to Peak Tier 1. Additional details will be provided upoering the mission world.]

  [Accept this mission. Yes/No?]

  He took a moment to review the mission's details, though they were sparse. fident in his abilities, he decided to proceed. The danger level didn’t faze him; even if he wasn’t necessarily the stroier 1 ever, his high stats, bined with his Bde Tempest and the newly developed Explosive Style, made him fident in his capabilities.

  [Mission accepted. Teleportation to the waiting room in 3... 2... 1... 0.]

  As the timer reached zero, he was enveloped in a bright light and vanished. When he felt solid grouh him again, he opened his eyes to find himself in a small, white room.

  The space was unremarkable—there were no doors or windows, just bnk walls. Mikael didn’t dwell on the peculiar design, attributing it to the practicality of teleportation rendering such features unnecessary. His attention was soon drawn to a faint message in the er of his vision.

  [Waiting time remaining: 00:48:12.]

  Seeing the tdown, Mikael realized he had some time to kill. Knowing he couldn't afford to waste a single moment if he wao grow stronger, he adopted a meditative pose, preparing to engage in mana and aura-intensive exercises. His goal was to deplete his reserves to around 80%, a strategy that would allow them to grow while maintaining enough energy to react to any immediate bat situations.

  However, he suddenly remembered that he was no longer in the Dirarnia world. This meant that perf such training here would be a waste, as there was no ambient aura or mana to absorb and expand his capacity. He could regee his reserves, but they wouldn’t grow.

  Frowning, he thought, ‘I pletely fot about that. When I get back, I should study arrays that solve this problem. For now, there’s nothing I do!’ He shrugged off the thought, still determio make progress.

  To avoid squandering the time, he retrieved an advanced trol puzzle from his iory. With focused i, he began training his trol, determio make good of the short training time.

  Time tio pass uedly. Soon, another fsh of light illumihe room. Mikael looked up to see a man heavy steel armor with a hammer strapped to his back appear. After a brief gnce, he returo his training, ued.

  The heavily armored man surveyed the room, noting its stark white walls and the small futuristic cube occupying Mikael's focus. He took a step forward, seemingly to approach, but upon realizing Mikael’s preoccupation, he decided against it and instead seated himself on the ground to wait.

  As time passed, more people began to arrive in fshes of light. By the time there were only ten minutes left oimer, the room held a total of eight people, including Mikael—five men and three women.

  At this moment, a retively handsome man with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing pristine white steel armor that gave him the air of a knight, stepped forward. With a fident tone, he addressed the group, “Hello, everyone! Why don’t we introduce ourselves so we cooperate better during this mission?” His words caught the attention of the group before he tinued. “I’m Tristan Coro, ae member of the Blue Fire Guild. For those unfamiliar, it’s a pretty powerful guild with several Tier 2 members. I’m a Peak Tier 1 and specialize in close bat.”

  As he finished, he gestured for the others to follow suit. One by ohey introduced themselves.

  “I’m Valerie…”

  “Jason…”

  The introdus tinued until it was Mikael’s turn. He gave a curt, disied response. “Name’s Mikael. I’m a Peak Tier 1 and specialize in close bat.” With that, his introdu ended, making it the briefest of all.

  Tristan maintained his smile and, now that the introdus were plete, proposed, “Since we all know a little about each other now, why don’t we elect a team leader for this mission? I propose myself. With my Peak Tier 1 abilities and leadership experience, I believe I’m qualified to lead. What do you all think?”

  The group nodded in agreement, except for Mikael, who remained disied. Notig this, Tristan directed his attention to him. “And you, Mikael, do you disagree?”

  The room turheir gaze to Mikael, but he remained unfazed. “Not really. I’m just pnning to go solo, so if you want to form a team, go ahead, but t me out.”

  A small twitch appeared on Tristan’s face, though he quickly masked it with a smile. He had hoped to unite everyone, especially Mikael, who was also a Peak Tier 1, as his inclusion would signifitly increase their ces of success.

  Tristan tried again. “Going in as a team of eight will be much safer than being alone, especially in an unknown world against an unknown enemy.”

  “I’m aware,” Mikael replied, his tone fident. “But I trust my strength. Ag solo will undoubtedly yield more Military Points than being in a team.”

  Seeing Mikael’s firm resolve, Tristan shook his head aed. “If you ge your mind, you’re wele to join us.” With that, the small group moved aside to begin strategizing.

  Mikael’s decision wasn’t solely about gaining more Military Points. He was fident in his abilities. During his time in Dirarnia, he had developed a sort of sixth sehat allowed him to approximate an oppo’s strength. Despite Tristan’s being a Peak Tier 1, Mikael could sehat his actual power was slightly below Amelia’s—a person Mikael regurly bested in bat. Coupled with his stats that weren’t limited anymore and the newly developed Explosive Style, Mikael saw no reason to rely on a group of weaker individuals who might hinder his progress and reduce his rewards.

  As the timer ted down to zero, the remaining group finalized a rudimentary pn. No additional people appeared in the room.

  Finally, as the timer hit zero, the eight individuals disappeared in a fsh of light.

  He felt the familiar pull of teleportation, and in the blink of ahe world around him shifted. He nded on soft ground, and before he could fully take in his surroundings, the salty st of the sea hit him, followed by a system message.

  [You have entered a world for a military mission! Starting from now until the end of the mission, all usual rules of the Records are deactivated. Extra isn’t possible until the mission is pleted. Good luck, and do your best while keeping in mind that everything you do will t toward yrade.]

  As he quickly sed the message, he heard a sound of awe.

  “Whoaa…”

  Mikael turned his head toward the voice. He saw that he was standing on a beautiful beach, the golden sand stretg out before him, and a calm sea as far as the eye could see.

  While taking in the sery, he heard a voice call out, “Lord, and dies are you the ones sent by the Akashic Records?”

  The speaker was a middle-aged man. He wore a crisp, navy-blue sailor uniform with a double-breasted jacket adorned with brass buttons, paired with wide-legged trousers and a white cap perched ly on his head. Strapped to his back was a flintlock musket, its wooden stock polished with great care.

  This was the test model of firearm, at least in this world, and undoubtedly extremely costly! “Yes, it’s us,” Tristan replied, stepping forward and assuming the role of leader.

  The man smiled. “Please follow me. I’ll be yuide,” he said with a bow before beginning to walk. The group of eight followed him, and as they did, he spoke again. “I don’t know what you know about this proteission, but I have some additional information to share. This mission will involve proteg cargo that will be transported by ship.”

  “What is the cargo?” someone asked.

  “Unfortunately, I ’t share that, as it’s cssified,” the man replied with an apologetic expression.

  He tinued, “What I tell you is that this mission will st approximately five days. During that time, you’ll stay aboard the ship and protect the cargo. As for what you’ll be proteg it from…”

  “It could be pirates, but the most likely threat will be sea beasts.”

  A wave of uainty rippled through the group. After all, fighting sea beasts aboard a ship could be terrifying.

  A young woman, looking to be around 18 or 19 years old, dressed in mage robes and with caramel-colored skin, asked with a slightly trembling voice, “H-how strong a-are these sea beasts?”

  The middle-aged man’s expression turhoughtful. “Hmm, it’s difficult to say exactly their ‘strength’, but generally, we expect sea beasts up to 10 meters ih at most.”

  Hearing this, the group’s ay grew. Fighting monsters on nd with a group was ohing, but battling giant sea creatures on a ship was a pletely different challenge.

  Seeing the unease spreading among the group, Trista his own worries under trol and spoke fidently, “Don’t worry, everyone. We’ve got this. If we’re careful, we’ll be able to take down these sea beasts.”

  “Yeah, he’s right.”

  “I think we do it.”

  The group’s morale began to rise as their fear dimihe middle-aged man smiled inwardly, noting Tristan’s quick leadership. He also observed Mikael, who was the only one in the group showing no signs of fear in respoo the mention of sea beasts.