I Possess the SSS Skill: Future Sight-Chapter 18: Mission

- Kyle Valtier’s POV -

I opened my eyes slowly, my chest rising and falling violently as if I had been drowning in an ocean of ash.

The smell of burnt flesh and sulfur still clung to my throat, refusing to leave me, as if it were a curse tattooed onto the walls of my lungs.

I sat on the edge of my bed in my cold apartment and wiped the cold sweat that had soaked my face and shirt completely.

The memories... those cursed memories I thought I had buried in the deepest, darkest corner of my mind, resurfaced, pulling me by the hand back toward that blazing hell.

I remembered Morfind’s face melting under the flames. I remembered Victor’s blond lock of hair stained with ash.

And I remembered who pulled me out of that hell at the last moment.

The Magical Rescue Unit.

Those who stormed the collapsing palace while I was unconscious, waiting for death to devour me.

Among them... was a young man wearing a volunteer relief uniform, a young man with dark circles under his eyes and a left eye that twitched nervously.

Zak.

Yes, my friend Zak was one of the team members who dragged my thin, burned body out from the ruins of my family.

Whenever I remember his face as he screamed at the medics to save me, my body shivers.

It was Zak who later told me his theories—that the fire wasn’t an accident, and that humans are worse than monsters.

"I’m a coward..." I whispered to myself in the dark room, my voice trembling.

"I’m a coward and scum. Yes, I admit it."

Since that day, since I left the hospital, I haven’t been able to return to the "Dawn Hope" orphanage.

I couldn’t even pass by the street it was on. I was afraid.

So afraid that even thinking about going back to search for Kayla or to find out what happened to the other children made me vomit blood from the sheer stress.

I knew what was happening there, and I knew I was too weak to change anything.

I left them in hell... and ran for my own life.

But... I shook my head violently and slapped my cheek hard until I felt numbness.

"It doesn’t matter... none of that matters now. I don’t want to remember. I can’t remember! The past is dead, and I must focus on the future if I want to survive."

I got up from the bed and headed to the sink, washing my face with icy water to wake my mind from the coma of the past.

I looked at my reflection in the broken mirror.

My crimson eyes were glowing in the darkness, carrying a new coldness.

I had used the skill [Future Sight - SSS] for the second time.

I didn’t want to do it, as the psychological pain this skill causes is enough to tear apart the mind of a grown man.

But I had no choice.

In the second vision, I didn’t see the direct end of the world. I saw a path.

I saw myself walking through a dark, terrifying tunnel, reeking of ancient death, and at the end of that tunnel... there was a weapon.

A legendary sword, its blade black as the void of space, unbreakable, unrusting, and pulsing with terrifying Eitra energy capable of tearing the fabric of reality itself.

I saw myself drawing that sword before the tunnel collapsed on me.

The problem wasn’t the tunnel, but its location.

The sword lies somewhere beyond the peaks of the Erebos Mountain Range.

And those cursed mountains are nothing but the terrifying natural barrier that precedes... the "Cursed Forest."

"Damn it!" I cursed as I put on my black tactical coat and made sure my Eitra-infused Glock was loaded.

"I shouldn’t have gone anywhere near the Cursed Forest or its surroundings. I should have stayed away from those mountains whose very terrain screams at you to keep your distance."

To reach the Cursed Forest and the tunnels surrounding it, there are only two ways in this twisted world.

The first: crossing the deadly peaks of the Erebos Mountains.

The second: through the ocean.

And the ocean... is far worse than these mountains.

A million times worse. It’s enough to know that magical gates have been detected opening at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean... SS-rank gates!

Do you know what that means? It means there are mutations and sea nightmares the size of entire cities swimming in the darkness.

If those monsters weren’t somehow restrained and prevented from leaving the Pacific Ocean for land, no one on this earth would be able to stop them.

Perhaps with the exception of the "Seven Supremes"... those humans who broke through SS rank and shattered the ceiling of existence.

The ocean is certain suicide. So, the mountains are my only option.

Why do I have to go there in the first place and risk the life I barely saved? Why not just steal from guilds in the city?

For two reasons. First: the legendary weapon I saw in the vision, which I will definitely need to kill high-rank monsters when doomsday comes.

And second... the greater disaster: the damn system mission!

I mean, what the hell do I need a sword for that will put my life in danger now when I’m just a filthy G-rank? But the system didn’t leave me a choice.

The flashing red screen appeared in my mind again, provoking me with its sick words:

[Mandatory Mission: Retrieve the Forgotten Blade]

[Location: Erebos Mountain Range – Entrance leading to the Abyssal Tunnels.]

[System Note:] > This is a fundamental mission before we make you rely on yourself, you useless bastard! Maybe we’ll assign you a few more tasks to make you independent, or maybe this will be the last and we’ll leave you to face your fate. Move.

[Reward:] You will obtain a unique offensive skill if you successfully complete the mission.

[Failure Penalty:] Death.

[Penalty for ignoring or delaying the mission:] Clinical death and complete extraction of Eitra.

[Final Warning:] Do not think about running away.

"Not think about running away?" I scoffed bitterly as I closed the apartment door behind me.

"I’m running toward my grave with my own feet."

...

...

...

The Erebos Mountain Range is considered one of the most dangerous places on the planet.

Even the strongest guild squads do not approach it except with a small army.

It is enough that terrifying legends and theories claim that SS-rank monsters make their nests among its peaks.

I stood at the beginning of the highlands.

The scene before me crushed the soul.

Pitch-black mountains, their rocks sharp and jagged like the fangs of dead dragons piercing the earth toward the sky.

Where is the highest peak? I couldn’t see it.

It pierced through the dense gray clouds and vanished into the upper layers of the atmosphere, charged with violet Eitra storms flashing like lightning.

The air here was thin, cold, and saturated with primal Eitra pressure that made breathing feel like swallowing crushed glass.

"Alright..." I drew the Glock with my right hand and pulled out a long tactical knife with my left.

"Let’s begin this suicide."

I began climbing and walking through the narrow mountain paths.

I hadn’t even crossed the first kilometer before the welcome began.

From between the rock cracks and beneath the cold volcanic ash, eyes began to gleam.

Not one or two. Dozens. Then hundreds.

Monsters of ranks J and H.

They were called "Ash Hounds" and "Lesser Rock Ghouls."

They were the size of large wolves, their skins made of gray rocky scales, and their mouths dripping acidic saliva that melted the snow beneath their feet.

To an A- or B-rank hunter, these monsters were mere insects to be crushed with a glance.

But to me? I was G-rank.

Which meant I was only slightly stronger than them... and their numbers were... terrifying.

"I hope the monsters stay like this..." I whispered from behind my black mask (which had repaired itself) with its glowing blue smile.

"If something C-rank appears here, I’ll be its dinner."

One of the Ash Hounds roared and charged at me like a rock projectile.

Bang!

A single Eitra-infused bullet from the Glock pierced its eye and exploded inside its rocky skull, turning its head into black dust and ash scattering in the air.

But that was only the opening bell for a massacre I hadn’t expected to be this brutal.

The rest lunged all at once.

Like waves of rotten flesh and stone.