I WAS The Rank–1 Hero-Chapter 147: Red Skull [1]

"It's a good thing. Now that we have some privacy, Lily can roam around a bit."

"Indeed," said Ruby, placing Lily on the floor.

But as soon as Ruby let go of Lily's hand, she met my gaze, flinched, and hurriedly hid behind Ruby's back.

"Haaaa…" I sighed with a broken heart. "I'm not a monster, you know. You don't need to be scared of me."

I tried reaching my hand toward her head to pat her, but as it got closer, her eyes turned moist. Before I could touch her, tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes.

"Umm…hic...hic…"

"H-Hey, please don't cry."

I pulled my hand back and looked at Ruby, distressed.

"Heehee," she giggled at my state, gently picking Lily up again. "Here, try doing it this time."

She asked, holding Lily in her arms.

At her request, I reached out again. Lily's ocean-blue eyes quivered, but she didn't flinch like before. Placing my hand on her soft white hair, I gently ruffled it.

Seeing her not react as before, a pleasant smile spread across my face.

"See? I mean no harm to you."

Maybe she was just shy...

I kept ruffling her hair.

Oh, she's so cute!

Her pointy ears even twitched as she let out a sweet little cry.

"Mwaaa… umm…"

"Oi!" Ruby slapped my hand. "Enough, you're making her uncomfortable."

I pulled my hand back.

"Sorry, Lily."

Well, at least she didn't seem to hate it.

And maybe, slowly, she'll even let me hold her.

As I turned to look at the view, my gaze froze on a group of warships in the distance.

We had been sailing for over thirty minutes now, headed toward the southern district of the Great Ocean of Aquadore, and according to the markings on the map, I was certain these warships belonged to the Red Skull.

"Ruby," I said, alerting her.

Noticing the seriousness in my voice, she first coaxed Lily back inside the cloak.

After that, we both moved into the small room beside the deck, located just below the captain's cabin.

This ship only had three passengers—me, Ruby, and Lily—and as for the captain… well, this ship didn't need one. It was fully operated by an AI. We just had to set the coordinates, and it would automatically sail to the destination.

Quite handy in our situation.

Slowing down the cruise with a single command from the tablet on the table, I turned to Ruby.

"Let's revise the plan one more time."

She nodded before changing her appearance to a new one. I watched as her hair shifted to a light shade of yellow. Then, she zipped up her leather boots completely, all the way up to her thighs.

As for her face, she took out a white carbon fiber face mask and wore it across her face.

Finally, she placed a steel katana with a golden hilt beside her belt before putting on the Dimension Cloak over her body.

"All done." Checking her reflection in the mirror, she twirled around to show me her disguise.

"…" I was in complete awe.

Aren't you gonna change? she asked, tilting her head.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I tried to control my excited hormones. "Y-Yeah."

From my inventory ring, I took out Velya, the AI mask I had purchased from the Auction House.

It had a smooth membrane surface with a transparent body, and by concentrating hard enough, I could even see a few nanochips integrated into it. It offered functions like identity protection, threat analysis, and even real-time combat prediction.

But just to be on the safe side, I checked its functionality using my <Appraisal> skill.

A holographic window appeared in front of my eyes, displaying the full list of the mask's features.

— — —「Velya」— — —

→Rank : B

→Durability : High

→Type : Equipment (Support)

→Description : A thin, translucent membrane embedded with nanochips designed for full facial integration. Velya serves as an advanced AI interface, offering real-time threat analysis, identity concealment, and predictive combat algorithms. When activated, it synchronizes with the user's neural signals, allowing instant data processing and battlefield awareness. As it adapts through continued use, its response accuracy and predictive range improve exponentially over time.

— — — — — — — — —

"W-Wow," I mumbled, going through the information in front of me. "This thing has some cool features…"

"We're about to enter their range," reported Ruby, checking the map.

"Got it."

Listening to her words, I placed the mask over my face. As soon as I did, it sank in completely, spreading smoothly across my skin.

Opening my eyes, I was met with a glowing interface. It looked completely different from Fate's Interface.

The first thing it displayed was a layer of text, followed by a few options to select the mask type.

—--------

[Velya System Booting…]

Neural Sync: 87%... 94%... 100%

Cognitive Link Established.

Welcome, User. Identity Shield Protocol Active.

Please select preferred Mask Type:

→ Mode Selection Interface Displayed

▶ Solid Overlay

→ Stealth concealment: High

→ Expression modulation: Low

→ Voice sync: Advanced

▷ Transparent Model

→ Stealth concealment: Very Low

→ Expression Modulation: Advanced

→ Voice sync: Standard

▷Neuron Analysis

→ Stealth concealment: Advanced

→ Expression Modulation: Advanced

→ Voice sync: Advanced

—----------------

"Interesting…"

Beside the mask type, there were all shorts of 3D designs.

After carefully reading the description, I understood that Solid Overlay would be the ideal choice for this one, as it only covers my facial feature and not alter it, and for this mission this much will suffice.

—--------------

[Solid Overlay: Selected]

Altering in progress…

10… 50… 80.. 100

Altering compete.

—--------------

The process went on. I felt the mask shifting on my face, like a snake crawling over my skin. And for a few seconds, I felt disgusted.

The membrane hardened, and looking at myself in the mirror, I found a black solid mask with a golden border and a star on one of the eye holes.

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The color matched my overall black outfit. Just like Ruby, I was wearing black boots and a large, body-slim trench coat on top. As for my hair, I had altered it to sky blue.

For my entire time in Aquadore, I'll use only my Water Essence, so I created this persona specially for it.

"Looking great," complimented Ruby.

'She's correct,' added Sera.

I nodded my head multiple times in satisfaction.

Taking out my katana, I fixed it on my belt. The Essence around us was completely dominated by the Water Elemental, so Ruby was nearly weak when it came to her essence in this kingdom.

Turning her attention to me, Ruby asked,

"What should I call you?"

I glanced at my reflection one last time, the black mask, the golden border, the star marking my eye. It was a persona born from purpose.

"Call me… Star Eye."

Ruby raised a brow, then she started chuckling.

"Pfttttt-"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Why, not to your liking?"

Ruby calmed down and spoke, "No—it suits you—Pfttt—heehee… Star Eye… Pfft."

Her non stop chuckling gave me second thoughts, but it didn't bother me much since we were approaching the group of warships.

"Alright, let's get moving."

With that, I halted our cruise ship just two hundred meters away from them.

Stepping onto the deck, the view of the Red Skull ships automatically zoomed in thanks to the AI mask I was wearing, giving me a clear look at the crew members onboard.

The Red Skull was clearly painted on a huge flag waving fiercely above each ship. Changing the viewing angle, I counted the number of heads and informed Ruby,

"Total: 37 members, and I'm detecting five intense Essence readings from that side."

Nodding, Ruby jumped right beside me.

"Shall we blast them off?" she asked, her voice muffled by her mask.

I shook my head. "No, it'll damage the ship."

Tapping on my wristband, I set the timer.

"Two minutes. We'll take only two minutes to hijack all the warships. But remember, do not kill any members."

"Understood," she nodded.

"Alright."

For them to lose their composure, I needed to inject fear into them.

And I had the perfect skill for that.

Absorbing a sheer amount of Essence, I activated my skill.

"Ruler."