Cipher appeared inside Iris's lab.

He looked at his hands. Nothing. It seemed he could only teleport himself.

"That aside, what happened here?" he wondered, looking around. Why was the entire place covered in reinforced metal? It wasn't like this before. There was also a corpse in here... and Iris.

His ESP was picking her up, so she wasn't dead.

He walked up to her.

<Intruder detected. Scanning...>

Cipher was surprised at the sudden voice. He looked up at the speaker.

<Scanning complete. Individual identified as: Cipher. Trust Level: 1.>

"Trust?" Cipher wondered.

It seemed Iris had created this as a defense mechanism for her lab. That was so her.

What did "Trust Level: 1" mean though?

He glanced at the corpse on the corner of the room, well, as long as it wasn't turning him into that, he supposed it was fine.

He walked over to Iris and lifted her carefully. She seemed unconscious.

"You. The one talking? What's your name?" he asked.

<As an advanced learning model, I do not possess a personal identity, thus no name,> the voice replied.

Cipher wore a blank expression. "Do you know about the situation outside?" he asked.

<As an advanced...> it began.

"Bruh." Cipher shook his head.

He lifted Iris and carried her to one of the tables. He cleared the items on it and placed a few lab coats down before laying her on top of them. "Look after her," he said, then walked toward the corpse on the ground.

It was Luna.

He instantly understood what had happened. So you were the rat, he thought. Still, there was the possibility of multiple traitors existing, so he shouldn't let his guard down. He picked her up in his arms. "Open the door," he said.

<Opening the door.>

Part of the metal at the front retracted and the bars rose, revealing the door.

"Good. Lock it again once I leave," he instructed.

<Understood,> the voice said.

Cipher walked out the door. After exiting, he set down Luna's corpse. He'd carried it out just in case there was another necromancer who might reanimate her next to Iris. He then drew his sword and looked forward. He needed to find any of the remaining executives to figure out the situation. The others were still quite far away and might not even make it back in time.

…

A while later, Cipher arrived at the association's control center.

He didn't encounter any enemies as he moved through the corridors, which meant the association's forces were still holding their ground - at least for now.

From the control center, he could see what was happening through the security cameras.

The main association building which he was currently in seemed to be safe with no intruders, despite being the least protected since almost everyone had gone out to fight. He figured the attackers were probably waiting for Luna to cause chaos from the inside, but Iris had already dealt with that problem. No need to worry there.

As for the other buildings, the situation wasn't looking good. But what caught his attention most was the main gate, where the executives Zara, Knox, and Ember were fighting together against a single opponent.

Despite fighting him together, the enemy was still overpowering all three of them at once.

Considering all three were at the peak of C-rank, the enemy had to be at least a B-rank warrior type. If B-rank was all there was to it, then maybe the threat wasn't as serious as he'd thought. Still, he had to stay cautious - he was only C-rank himself, despite his ridiculous damage output.

Seeing how easily the B-rank was handling three C-rank executives, his secondary stats must be pretty high too, not just his strength. If he had overwhelming advantages in both agility and strength, he would be difficult to deal with.

Cipher walked over to the window and looked down at the scene below. There was no need to risk facing him head-on. He just needed a chance to deliver one powerful strike.

He opened the window and jumped out of the building - with fly mode activated, of course.

After jumping, he flew high into the air, then positioned himself in line with the three executives and the B-rank intruder.

Now that he was in range, Cipher activated Appraisal.

Looking at the stats, the B-rank was actually a berserker type. That would've been seriously troublesome to face head-on.

He watched the fight below. The three executives were struggling to keep up, their situation getting worse with each passing second.

Cipher retrieved his sword. He had to act now...

…

Cipher lined himself up with the B-rank fighter from his high position.

But keeping a lock on his target proved difficult - the man kept moving around as he fought, constantly shifting position with each clash.

Finally, after some waiting, he got his chance. The executives managed a lucky strike that pushed the B-rank back a few steps. They immediately scattered and surrounded him again, boxing him in from all sides.

The man let out a furious roar.

In that exact moment, Cipher flipped himself upside down in the air and released fly mode.

He dropped like a meteor, aura covered sword pointed downward, accelerating with gravity as the wind rushed past him. The B-rank berserker below had no time to react - no time to even look up.

Cipher's sword pierced straight through the top of the man's skull.

The blade split his head apart cleanly, carving through bone and flesh. But it didn't stop there. The momentum carried the sword down through his neck, chest, torso - splitting the entire body in two as Cipher continued his descent.

Just as he was about to crash into the ground, Cipher reactivated fly mode. His fall slowed, bringing him to a gentle hover just above the ground. He deactivated it again and stepped down onto the blood-stained earth, landing softly between the two halves of the fallen berserker.

[You have slain B-rank Human (Level 83)]

[+220,000 EXP]

[+160 Cheat Points]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

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