Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord Chapter 66: A Seeker

"What’s a seeker?" Slya asked.

Xan nodded to himself, his eyes alight. "I said it! You guys are new to all this! You’ve never been to the second layer before, right? Did you even see the first layer? I once spent a week in the first layer before I was taken to the second layer for my impressive abilities, but now I’m returning to..."

I flashed a smile that resembled a snare. I understood now why people thought Xan was annoying, it was because he actually was. I cut him off. "Let guess, the impressive abilities aren’t about your talking strength, right?"

Xan trailed off with a sheepish look on his face, his eyes twitching. "Ahem, no," he cleared his throat. "Right. Seekers are important in a team. In fact, I’ll say they are the most important mbers of any group, but that’s only because of how impressive they are. Take for example..."

Just then, a black sword jutted forward and rested against Xan’s throat. The boy stopped talking and froze, staring down at it in bewildernt.

"Say more than needs to be, and you can say bye to your head," Slya said. Then she thought to herself. ’And I thought I was annoying sotis!’

Xan nodded as best as he could without cutting himself. He swallowed. "Right. Seekers are the most impo... they are the ones that search for ruins so a team can clear them. Basically, they look for new ruins for the team."

’There’s sothing like that?’ I thought. ’Co to think of it, it makes a lot of sense that there should be people going around to look for new ruins’

"And your abilities have sothing to do with the fact that you can sneak up on us?" I asked. I was still a little wary about that.

Xan nodded. "I’m a Knight rank of the Mystic Order, and my essence allows to do that. It’s impressive, right? I can seek sothing out and also cloak myself from people and monsters! It’d be as if I’m not a living thing. How impressive is that? Although I don’t have as much physical strength as other Knights, I can..."

I was suddenly in front of him, my eyes like two pools of green fire. "How old are you?" I asked in a voice that sent chills down Xan’s spine.

’This might not be an ambush, but it’s no coincidence either! If what he’s saying is the truth, then Xan can easily target a person and seek them out. Things aren’t as simple as they seem!’

"What? I’m twenty!" Xan answered, his face covered in shock. It seed as if I would throw fire directly from my eyes and burn him!

’Twenty? Even his face and looks are deceiving. Just what type of situation is this?’

I cald down but asked in a voice laced with anger, "Tell , why did you seek us out? Obviously, you were looking for us. Tell the truth now before I decide that I like you more as ashes."

Xan shuddered. He cast his eyes aside, then sighed in a defeated way. "I... I will start at the beginning."

I raised my brows. "We have ti."

"After I was kicked out of the Teams, I had nowhere to go, and not even the Ten would allow into the core..."

The others and I resisted the urge to stop him and demand he explain the unfamiliar terms he was using. ’What’s the Ten? What’s the core?’

"...so I was left adrift in the layers with no protection. I don’t have strong physical powers, and my Knightly powers are not suitable for combat, so I could only find protection with a group of outlaws."

This ti, I interrupted him as I asked in surprise, "What? There are outlaws in the Second Layer?"

"Yes. Of course, all the outlaws have bounties on their heads from the Ten, but they haven’t been actively taken out. They’re like cockroaches, they avoid the teams, and for the most part, the teams also avoid them. As long as they don’t do anything overboard, they are left alone to fight over the scraps."

I found the situation strange. ’There’s a bounty on their heads, and yet they’re being ignored by the Knight teams?’

"So I worked for one of the outlaw groups called the Blackened Blade. Their leader, Zara, took in when he learned of my situation. But things didn’t develop in the way I wanted... I sohow led them to a dangerous ruin, and now they want dead.

"I ran, and on my way out here, I used my ability to seek the best way out of the ss. I was led to you." Xan finished and swallowed his dry throat.

I waited and patiently took everything in. But sothing, sowhere, wasn’t adding up. ’Ruins can’t be good or bad; it’s totally dependent on the level of power of those who attempt to clear them. aning Xan didn’t say what he actually did to the outlaws!’

Tiber shook his head and stared at Xan with deep eyes that drew him in. "Tell us what actually happened to the outlaws. What actually happened?"

Xan shrank, recoiling. "No. Don’t worry, I’ll be on my way now... Wait. Unless you want to take in!"

I smiled faintly. ’Isn’t that the whole reason you ca here? Seeking to use us? Your ability found the best thod to deal with the outlaws, which is simply to use us. I must say, it’s not a bad essence ability at all’

I relaxed and said in a casual voice, "You want us to take you in, under our protection. But what will you offer us? That’s what I’m most interested in."

Imdiately, Xan grinned. "You’re new here, right? I’ll show you the ropes around here, everything you need to know. I’ll give you information and even guide you on how to choose the best team. I’ll also use my ability to seek the best ruins for you... No, you can use my ability as you wish."

"And in return?" I asked. As with everything in the world, it’s an exchange, one thing for another.