Felicia finally released him, her grip loosening as Adam pushed himself back to his feet, chest still tight from the impact. He glanced between her and Scott, steadying his breathing, grounding himself in the mont.
Scott stepped forward without hesitation, placing a firm hand on Adam’s shoulder before giving it a reassuring squeeze. "It’s good to have you back, Adam." His voice was steady, but the relief underneath it was obvious.
Adam nodded once, eting his gaze. "It’s good to be back." They clasped hands firmly, a silent exchange passing between them before letting go, both understanding more than either needed to say aloud.
Felicia didn’t give them long to settle. She crossed her arms and exhaled sharply. "Alright. You two should get ready." Her tone had shifted, urgency creeping back in as if she had just rembered sothing important.
Adam frowned slightly, still catching up to everything. "Get ready... for what?" The question ca out slower than he intended, his mind already trying to piece together what he might have missed.
"For the press eting," Felicia replied without hesitation, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Her expression didn’t change, but her eyes stayed locked on him, waiting for his reaction.
"A press conference?" Adam blinked, caught completely off guard. "For what?" The idea felt sudden, almost out of place compared to everything else he had just processed monts ago.
Ivy stepped in before Felicia could respond again, raising a hand slightly as she clarified. "I forgot to ntion that part earlier. During the two years you were unconscious, we had... complications with the shareholders of Eden Group."
Redy’s eyes narrowed slightly, her voice calm but edged. "So those geezers finally grew a spine when they realized I wasn’t around?" There was a hint of amusent there, but it didn’t fully hide the underlying irritation.
Ivy nodded once, confirming it without hesitation. "Exactly. And we couldn’t disclose your actual condition at the ti." She paused briefly, glancing between Adam and Redy, asuring their reactions carefully.
"So what did you tell them instead?" Redy asked, her tone sharpening slightly now, curiosity replacing the earlier annoyance as she folded her arms.
"With the Saint’s approval..." Ivy began, her gaze settling more firmly on them. "The official statent is that you were on a mission in the southern hemisphere alongside the Saint’s disciple."
Redy’s expression shifted instantly, surprise breaking through her usual composure for a brief mont. Then, slowly, a small smile ford at the corner of her lips. "...That’s actually smart."
****
Adam glanced between Ivy, Redy, Felecia and Scott, a faint frown forming as he realized sothing obvious. Everyone else seed to understand the situation perfectly. He was the only one still catching up.
He exhaled and spoke up. "Wait... why the southern hemisphere?" His tone was calm, but direct. "Why use that as the excuse for the mission?" His eyes shifted to Redy, expecting an imdiate answer.
Redy blinked once, slightly thrown off. "Excuse ?" She tilted her head, as if checking whether she heard him correctly. The question clearly wasn’t what she expected at this mont.
Adam didn’t hesitate. "I an, why there specifically?" He crossed his arms slightly, thinking it through as he spoke. "Isn’t the southern hemisphere basically a death zone? Using that as a cover sounds... risky."
For a brief mont, the room went quiet. Not because he was wrong, but because he was absolutely right. The southern hemisphere wasn’t just dangerous, it was one of the most unstable regions left in the world.
Five hundred years ago, when essence first flooded the world, everything changed. Continents shattered and reford under overwhelming pressure. The planet split into two major landmasses, each shaped by how essence flowed and settled.
The southern continent beca a chaotic territory, ho to the Alliance and vast wild zones filled with monsters. Survival there demanded constant strength. Every inch of land felt contested, unstable, and alive with danger.
The northern continent was different. It beca the origin point of the essential races, where essence was far more concentrated. Compared to the south, it was structured, controlled, and far more developed in terms of power and civilization.
Between them stretched two massive oceans. Oceanus Minus divided north and south, acting as a natural barrier. Then there was Oceanus Magnus, a vast, overwhelming body of water that covered most of the southern hemisphere.
But Oceanus magnus weren’t feared because of monsters. In fact, that wasn’t the real threat at all. The danger ca from sothing far worse, sothing tied directly to the imbalance of essence itself.
Since essence originated from the northern hemisphere, most of it was absorbed before ever reaching the southern oceans. Martial artists and monsters consud it constantly, leaving the deeper regions starved and unstable.
That imbalance created a deadly phenonon known as Negative Resonance.
Redy studied Adam for a second longer before a small smile returned to her face. "Exactly," she said calmly. "That’s why it works."
Redy held Adam’s gaze for a mont longer. "It’s because of Negative Resonance," she said calmly. "That’s exactly why using the southern hemisphere works so well."
She took a steady and confident tone as she explained. "A mission there naturally justifies a long absence. No one expects quick results in a place like that."
Adam nodded slowly, piecing it together. It wasn’t just dangerous, it was a region no one could easily verify, no one wanted to investigate, and no one would question if things took longer than expected.
Felicia stepped in, crossing her arms as she added her own point. "Exactly. Negative Resonance from that region can even affect high-ranking martial artists."
She paused mid-sentence, her expression shifting as sothing clicked. Her eyes moved between Adam and Redy, scanning them more carefully now, as if reevaluating sothing she had overlooked earlier.
"...Wait." Her voice lowered slightly, uncertainty creeping in. "...Master rank?" The mont the title left her lips, the words ca out with disbelief, like she was imagining things.
****
Author’s Note: Thank You For Reading
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