SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will - Chapter 378 Returning to the base.

Chapter 378  Returning to the base.

“Doesn’t matter how talented they are. They’re easily manipulated by veterans like me. A little kindness, a free inscription, a hunt together, and they let their guard down.”

He glanced sideways at Moon’s sleeping face resting against his shoulder.

“He has the potential to become a Surpasser in the next few years. Maybe sooner.” His voice dropped to a whisper, the words meant for no one but himself.

“Once the master gains a Surpasser-ranked servant, my status in her ranks will climb. Better benefits. Better treatment. Better everything.”

His smile widened into a grin.

“This is my lucky day.”

The forest was silent around him as he carried Moon through the darkness toward the base.

Frey encountered a beast along the way. A low-level creature that stumbled out from behind a fallen trunk, snarling at the two of them.

It didn’t take much effort. Frey moved Moon’s weight on his shoulder with one hand and reached into his pouch with the other. He pulled out two runes, threw both in a single motion. The first detonated against the beast’s torso in a sharp explosion. The second transformed mid-air into a sharp blade that buried itself in the creature’s skull.

The beast dropped dead before it hit the ground.

At the exact moment Frey’s hands left his pouch, Moon’s eyes opened.

His arms, which had been hanging limp and loose across Frey’s shoulders, locked down with sudden, crushing force. His hands, which had been without an ounce of strength a second ago, slapped multiple prepared runes onto Frey’s chest, wrists, and the back of his head.

Lightning crackled to life in Moon’s palms.

Before Frey could process what was happening, Moon twisted his body with the flexibility of a snake, sliding off the man’s back and wrenching both of Frey’s arms behind him in a single motion. His grip was iron. The Runesmith’s hands, the only weapons he had, were pinned against his lower back, fingers splayed uselessly in empty air.

“Wh— what are you—”

Frey’s voice came out strangled. His body jerked violently, trying to break free, but Moon struck his knees from behind.

His legs buckled.

“Ghhk—!”

A pained sound escaped his throat as his eyes bulged, darting wildly from side to side, trying to see Moon behind him. His fingers twitched, straining toward his pouch, but Moon’s grip kept his wrists locked in place.

“You— how— I—”

The lightning in Moon’s hands crackled louder as he sent the current in his body.

Frey’s body convulsed immediately his body’s hair standing on end. Every muscle locked tight by the current running through the runes on his skin.

He couldn’t move. He couldn’t cast. He couldn’t reach a single rune.

He was completely subdued.

Moon didn’t activate the runes he had placed on Frey, he didn’t need to. The lightning coursing through his hands was enough for now.

He kept feeding his current through the contact points on Frey’s chest and wrists. The Runesmith’s body spasmed beneath him, his muscles contracting and releasing in violent, involuntary bursts.

Frey tried to speak. His mouth opened, but only a choked, gurgling sound came out. His eyes were wide, veins bulging in his neck, every fiber of his body screaming against the current tearing through it.

Moon’s expression was cold. He had heard everything, every word Frey had muttered while he was “unconscious” till Frey was carrying him through the forest. The plans to deliver him like a gift to some woman he called master.

Joseph. Frey. Both of them were working for the same person. A woman with enough authority to have them at her fingertips. Rewarding their obedience, and treating people like assets to be collected.

Moon had solidified his suspicions from the moment he saw the tracking rune on his staff. Frey’s struggles grew weaker as his spasms slowed. His bulging eyes began to lose focus, the fear in them dimming.

[You have gained 12,500 Lives]

Moon released his grip. Frey’s body vanished the instant he died, dissolving into nothing.

A moment later, he respawned in the same spot, gasping, his chest heaving with ragged breaths. His hands were already moving before his eyes had fully focused, fingers diving toward his pouch on instinct. A seasoned Evolver’s reflexes, honed through years of surviving in a place where hesitation meant death.

But Moon had already prepared for this.

He activated the paralysis runes.

Frey’s body locked up mid-reach. His arms froze at his sides, every muscle from his neck down was held in place by the runes Moon had placed on his body.

He couldn’t move his body, but Moon allowed him to talk.

“H-How…”

Moon stared down at him. His expression was cold, devoid of the politeness he had been wearing throughout their entire hunt together. A blade materialized from his storage ring and he placed the sharp edge against Frey’s throat. The steel rested lightly on his skin, just enough pressure to let blood trickle down on his neck.

“This isn’t the time to answer your questions.” Moon’s voice was as cold as ice. “You’re answering mine. I think you already realize that one or two more deaths from me and you’re gone for real.”

Frey’s eyes darted to the blade on his neck, then back to Moon’s face. He was terrified, so terrified of the young man before him. Somehow, someway, he had lost more than ten thousand lives in an instant.

The veteran’s composure, all of it had evaporated. What stared back at Moon was the face of a man who understood exactly how few options he had left.

“Y-Yes.”

“Why are you looking for me? What does your master want?”

Frey stared at Moon’s eyes, searching for any sign of mercy but he found none.

“It’s… it’s a normal procedure.” His voice was shaky but the words came out fast.

“Every new Evolver that arrives at the base gets checked. Joseph handles the initial assessment. He gauges their strength, their temperament, how useful they might be.”

He paused, his breathing unsteady. “Those without potential are not given much emphasis. They’re useless, so they’re easily controlled. But those with potential are…”

“Seized by your master to be her personal servant.” Moon finished.

Frey flinched at the word. “Yes.”