Chapter 327: The City’s Reward

The celebration kept rolling through Mythal’s broken streets, hunters comparing scars, examining fresh weapons, laughing louder than exhaustion should have allowed. Then Kai’s System flickered quietly into view.

[City Leader Reward Available.]

He paused mid-step.

[Three Rewards May Be Selected.]

His eyebrows rose. "Three?"

Five options unfolded in front of him.

[1. Hunter Advancement]

[All Hunters below Level 50 will gain an additional 15 Levels.]

[2. Legendary Armament Grant]

[All Hunters except the City Leader will receive two Legendary Weapons.]

He stared at that one longer than the first. "...Two?"

[3. City Experience Blessing]

[Mythal gains a 4× EXP Multiplier in all Dungeons.]

His mind ran through the implications instantly.

[4. Six Calamity Authority]

[Gain Skills derived from the Six Calamities.]

His expression sharpened.

[5. Future Revelation]

[The System will reveal information concerning the future to you once.]

He went completely silent, reading it a second time. Not permanent foresight. Not an ability he could call on whenever he wanted. One glimpse, and the reward would be consumed the instant it was used.

Can you see these? he thought.

"Yes," Tiamat answered privately.

Which one should I consider first?

"Four."

He looked back at the Calamity option. The skills?

"Yes. Those disasters demonstrated powers you have never possessed. If you can wield them yourself, they will be extremely useful."

He studied it, running through everything they’d survived. Red Storm. Black Flood. Burning Earth. White Frost. The Golden Arsenal. That impossible six-sword creature.

"Exactly," Tiamat said.

His eyes narrowed with something close to excitement. Being able to use six completely different types of power... that could be useful.

"Very."

He selected it mentally.

[Option 4 — Selected.]

He moved to the first option next. One would be useful too. He looked around at the exhausted hunters scattered across the plaza, many of them still low-level, still catching up. The stronger the hunters in Mythal become, the easier future problems will be. A pause. And if they’re stronger, I can probably handle more dungeons without needing to share the burden with everyone.

Tiamat laughed quietly. "At least you’re honest."

I’m always practical.

"Of course."

[Option 1 — Selected.]

He glanced back at the fifth option. I’m surprised you’re not telling me to choose five.

"I am curious about it."

He raised an eyebrow. But curiosity isn’t the same as usefulness.

"You trust the Candidate."

I do.

"And you trust my guidance."

Yes.

"Then you don’t need to gamble on one glimpse of an unknown future."

Exactly. He looked at the option again. And I’m not even sure what the System would choose to show me.

"Then leave it for another time."

He nodded to himself.

"Then choose the Legendary Weapons," Tiamat said, prompting him back toward the second option.

He glanced at the hunters again. If I give every hunter two Legendary Weapons...

"You may have every hunter in Mythal loving you."

He blinked. Which means I’d have their full trust.

"Most likely."

He watched them a moment longer, thinking of everything they’d already given during the last six disasters. Giving them power in return felt right, not as a demand for loyalty, but as something honestly earned.

Then I’ll take it.

[Option 2 — Selected.]

The three glowed at once.

[Three Rewards Selected.]

[Processing...]

The first reward activated. Then the second. Then the fourth, a powerful sensation spreading through his chest and down into his limbs.

[Skill Acquired.]

[Ruler of Six Calamities]

[Description: Grants the user six unique Calamity Skills derived from the Six Calamities overcome during the Second Disaster.]

[Red Storm — Summon and manipulate destructive crimson lightning, violent winds, and crushing storm pressure.]

[Black Flood — Manifest and manipulate black floodwater capable of devouring and erasing what it consumes.]

[Burning Earth — Ignite and manipulate devastating earth-fire phenomena across the battlefield.]

[White Frost — Generate supernatural frost capable of suppressing energy and interfering with ability activation.]

[Golden Arsenal — Summon and control spectral golden weapons that can attack independently.]

[Six-Sword Asura — Manifest a massive Asura spectral over the user’s body for three minutes. The Asura possesses three heads, six arms, and wields six spectral swords, allowing the user to control its movements and attacks.]

[Calamity Skills can be used individually or combined with the user’s existing abilities.]

Kai stared at the last entry longest. "...Three minutes."

He pictured it, six arms, six swords, three heads, all of it wrapped around him like a second body.

"...That’s going to be ridiculous."

Before the thought could settle, golden light swept across the entire city. Hunters froze mid-motion as golden particles gathered around them, condensing into weapons in a flurry of light. A sword formed in one hunter’s grip. A spear for another. A bow. A hammer. A pair of curved blades. A staff. Different weapons for different hands, each perfectly matched to the person holding it.

[Legendary Armament Grant Activated.]

The hunters stared, and a notification bloomed in front of every one of them.

[Your City Leader chose the option of giving you all Legendary Weapons.]

Silence swept through the plaza.

"...Legendary?" one hunter whispered, turning his new blade over in his hands.

"This is real," another said, gripping his weapon tighter.

"Everyone got one?" someone called.

Another checked. "Two." His eyes went wide. "We got two."

Whispers spread fast. "He gave these to us?" "Why?" One hunter laughed, disbelieving. "Because he’s insane." Another looked down at the weapon trembling in her own hands. "I’ve never even touched a Legendary weapon before." A third could barely manage words at all. "I don’t know what to say."

Before the shock could settle, blue light spread across Mythal from every corner at once.

[Hunter Advancement Reward Activated.]

[Your City Leader chose to have all Hunters below Level 50 gain an additional 15 Levels.]

The city went quiet again, and then the notifications began cascading.

[Level Increased.]

[Level Increased.]

[Level Increased.]

"...Fifteen levels," one hunter said, staring at his interface.

"FIFTEEN!?" another screamed.

"It actually happened!" someone shouted, checking their status a third time to be sure.

"He just gave us fifteen levels!" another laughed, half-hysterical.

A low-level hunter dropped to his knees, staring at his own trembling hands. "I..." He swallowed hard. "I’m stronger."

The plaza erupted.

"KAI!"

"KAI!"

"KAI!"

His name rolled through the ruined streets, hunters raising their new weapons overhead, some shouting, some crying openly, one covering his face entirely to hide the tears he couldn’t stop. Nobody rushed toward him. Nobody needed to.

Their faces said everything already.

Kai stood quietly amid all of it, watching one hunter raise a Legendary Weapon toward the sky, another pull a teammate into a crushing hug, someone laughing and crying at once, someone else refusing to stop checking their new level over and over like it might vanish if they looked away too long.

Looks like I made the right choice, he thought.

He didn’t need to say a word. They already understood.

Then his System flickered again.

[External Attention: Surging.]

His eyes narrowed. Another notification followed.

[True Fans Gained: 723.]

[Total True Fans: 10,953.]

He blinked. "...723?"

The cheering rolled on around him, oblivious.

Then something shifted, subtle, almost too faint to catch. He glanced around, and a chunk of rubble broke free from a damaged building overhead, tumbling straight toward him.

He didn’t move.

The rock closed the distance, and then its path bent, curving just enough to slide past his shoulder as if the air itself had nudged it aside. It landed harmlessly a few feet away.

THUD.

He blinked at it. "...What was that?"

He thought back to Air Step, then Air Run, the same unfamiliar sensation threading through both. His Distortion wasn’t only improving his physical abilities anymore.

It was starting to change how the world behaved around him.

Was that...

"Your Distortion reacted again," Tiamat said.

Just like Air Step.

"And Air Run."

He looked at the empty air around him like he might catch it doing something else.

"It feels as though the wind and space around you are becoming easier for your Distortion to bend," Tiamat continued.

So objects can be redirected around me.

"Perhaps." A pause. "But you need to test it. How many objects can it affect? How frequently can it happen? How much control do you actually have?"

Still unknown.

"Exactly."

Then her tone softened, something almost fond in it. "But it’s impressive. You’re slowly breaking the shackles that normally bind a mortal."

He smiled. It really is amazing.

The celebration around him slowly began to settle, hunters still talking, still laughing, but quieter now, exhaustion finally winning out over adrenaline. He looked around at the city, relics dimming one by one, the wind easing to a gentle stillness.

For a moment, everything felt peaceful.

Then he noticed it. The silence was wrong. Too complete. His expression shifted.

He looked up. The clouds were moving, but not sideways the way clouds should. They were drifting upward, slow at first, then gathering speed.

Mana began spiraling through the atmosphere overhead, the air growing heavy in a way that had nothing to do with exhaustion.

Tiamat?

No answer.

He waited.

Tiamat?

Nothing.

His expression sharpened. She always answered, even when she had nothing useful to say. This silence felt different.

"...You’re scared," he said quietly, more statement than question.

A long pause stretched out before she finally spoke.

"No."

He waited.

"I’m remembering."

His eyes narrowed. Remembering what?

No answer came.

A strange sound rolled across the sky.

CRACK.

He looked up sharply. A thin line had appeared across the clouds, not lightning, not a natural break in the weather. A crack, exactly like the sky itself had become brittle glass.

His eyes widened. Another line split open.

CRACK.

Then another, the fractures spreading faster, the spiraling mana accelerating around them, clouds twisting inward toward the widening seams.

Kai stood completely still amid the celebration still echoing behind him.

For once, even he had no idea what was coming.

The cracks kept spreading.

CRACK.