The Author's POV
chapter-59

Inside a large dark room, the figure of an extremely handsome individual could be seen sitting crossed leg in the middle of the bed.

Tsssssss...

Sitting shirtless on the bed, steam slowly rose from the figure's body.

As steam poured out from his body, the figure suddenly tensed and relaxed his muscles repeatedly. He continued doing so for every five seconds time intervals.

As he tensed his muscles, the outline of his veins that traced all over his body became more apparent making him look extremely scary.

"Fuuuuuu....."

After a couple of minutes of continuous tensing and relaxing, the figure suddenly released a long breath and finally opened his eyes, revealing two scarlet red eyes.

Standing up and taking a towel from a nearby table, Kevin dried his wet body.

Turning around, he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

His body, which was chiseled to perfection had multiple scar wounds on both his abdomen and chest areas. His back was even worse, as it was riddled with scars that ranged from different sizes and shapes. Most notably, there was one that stretched halfway through his back.

Tracing one of the scars that appeared on his chest, Kevin was reminded of the time where he was forced to fight against multiple <G> ranked villains when he had just entered <F> rank.

It was a mission that the system had given him in exchange for a relatively powerful skill.

In the end, if not for the fact that he had multiple trump cards on him, he would've long have died that day.

All the scars on his body were reminders of the hardship he had gone through to get to where he was.

Throwing the towel on the bed, Kevin opened his phone and checked his most recent notification.

[Student rank 1, Kevin Voss - Mission target, Victor Hugh, Hollberg minister of finances. Charged with corruption and embezzlement. Target location at xxxxxx road. Target behavioral pattern....]

"...Corrupt officer huh"

Looking through the data file sent to him, Kevin quickly skimmed through the contents.

Stopping on a certain section, Kevin frowned

"Embezzlement, Money laundering, Soliciting and acting as an intermediary for drug trades, false imprisonment of government officials, sexual harassment..."

The more he looked through the series of crimes his target was accused of, the deeper Kevin's frown became.

"...such trash"

Turning his phone off, Kevin placed it in his pocket.

-Click!

Dressing up in a simple white T-shirt and black pants, Kevin took his black Kashmiri jacket and headed out of the room.

-Ding!

[Host has received a new mission, would you like to view it?]

Not surprised by the sudden notification, Kevin nodded

"Yes, open quest interface"

===System quest===

Difficulty rank : E+

Mission : Eliminate Victor Hugh, a corrupt minister that has been embezzling funds from Hollberg. Guarded by several <F> ranked individuals and one <E> ranked guard.

Mission reward : Rank upgrade [E+ ▶ D-]

Looking at the quest window that popped in front of him, Kevin frowned as soon as he saw the difficulty of the mission. However, that frown soon relaxed.

Opening his status window, he looked through his stats

===Status===

Name : Kevin Voss

Rank : E +

Strength : D

Agility : E +

Stamina : E -

Intelligence : E +

Mana capacity : E -

Luck : E

Charm : D +

--> Profession :

[Swordsmanship lvl.4]

--> Martial Manual :

[★★★★ Everlasting sunset] - Greater realm of mastery

Sword art primarily focused on creating faints and hiding true sword intent. By creating multiple illusions of sword art, the enemy will find it harder to defend as the true attack will always be masked under multiple faints.

[★★★ Sky steps] - Minor realm of mastery

Movement art that considerably increases user agility. Upon reaching a certain level of mastery, stepping on the air is possible.

--> Skills :

[[E] Overdrive]

A skill that enables user to push bodily functions to the extreme. For one minute, the user can exhibit power that is double of original user strength. User will also find their other stats increasing considerably. After usage of skill, user will experience extreme fatigue making it hard for them to focus and carry out ordinary tasks for the next few hours.

[[F] Mind cleansing]

Increases user computational and analytical ability for a short period of time. Can't be used for a prolonged period of time due to the risk of possible brain trauma.

[[F] Mana coating]

A skill that enables user to replenish mana more quickly by expanding the pores on the human body.

Finally, after more than four months of being stuck at E+ rank, he finally had a chance to increase his rank.

If not for the fact that he had enrolled in the lock, Kevin estimated that he would've already have reached <D-> rank.

He had wasted a lot of time at the academy. The environment wasn't like before where he would constantly be on the edge, almost dying multiple times a week.

Sometimes, the missions were so dangerous that even the slightest mistake could cost him his life.

The environment in the lock was much more relaxed than his previous environment, which in a way was good as it allowed him to learn other things aside from fighting...but it had also stagnated his fighting ability.

Only through constantly being on the edge of your life would you truly become strong. The more peaceful their environment was, the fewer chances for growth

That's what Kevin firmly believed.

...

Stopping in front of the reception desk, Kevin walked up to a young female receptionist and asked

"Hello, may I know if I can rent a bike?"

Looking up and seeing Kevin, the receptionist was momentarily stunned by his appearance. However, that didn't ask long as she quickly collected herself

"...a bike?"

"Yes, preferably a black one that goes at incredibly high speeds"

"Hmm, let me speak with the manager."

Knitting her brows, the receptionist picked up her phone and dialed a number. This was the first time that she had ever been asked to rent a bike, so she didn't know what do to.

Hence why she opted to call for her manager.

—Hello?

Picking up the phone, a middle-aged voice could be heard from the other side of the phone

"Sir, a student is requesting to borrow a bike"

—A bike? Why would he want to borrow a bike?

"I don't know as well, that's why I am asking for confirmation with you"

Pausing slightly, the person on the other side of the phone said

—...Can you ask for the student's name?

Covering the speaker of the phone, the young clerk lady looked at Kevin and asked

"Can you please tell me your name?"

Nodding his head, Kevin replied

"Kevin Voss"

"Alright thank you...sir his name is Kevin Voss I believe"

—Kevin Voss...Kevin...ah!

Repeating the name a couple of times, the person on the other side of the phone seemed to have had a sudden realization as his voice increased a few pitches.

"Boss?"

Realizing what he had done, the person on the other side of the phone awkwardly coughed and said

—Kheumm, it was nothing. Hand him the keys to the Larvey9027

Pausing for a second, the receptionist opened her eyes wide and said

"Y-you mean, the Larvey9027?"

Her shocked reaction was understandable.

It had to be noted that the Larvey9027 was the most advanced bike they had in their mansion. A single one of those bikes costs upwards of a couple dozen million U.

She also remembers clearly that her boss highly favored that bike...yet right now he wanted nothing more but to give it to a teenager?

—Yes, do it quick. You have my permission

Hearing the urgency of her boss's voice, the receptionist didn't dare refute and agreed

"Okay"

—If that student asks for anything else, make sure you try to please him as much as you can.

Overwhelmed by the huge favor the young boy before her was getting, the receptionist could only dumbly agree to her boss's orders.

A big shot.

The young boy before her was a big shot.

"...Okay"

—Alright, call me if anything happens regarding that student

-Tak!

Hanging up, the receptionist looked at Kevin with a complicated look.

"...Please follow me"

Opening a small safe box, the receptionist took a pair of black keys and urged Kevin to follow her. Soon they entered an elevator that brought them to the bottom floor

-Ding!

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Kevin was stunned by what he saw.

Rows upon rows of supercars appeared on the large floor. The large collection of cars were sorted by brand and age at which they were manufactured, with some of the cars dating as far back as 2015.

"Please follow me"

Without waiting for Kevin to admire the place, the receptionists moved towards where the bikes were parked and urged him to keep up.

-Di! -Di!

Stopping in front of a bike, the receptionist took out the keys and unlocked the bike.

"...Here's the bike"

Handing the keys to Kevin, the receptionist smiled at his reaction. It was that of awe.

Looking at the bike in front of him, Kevin couldn't help but be amazed.

As soon as the bike turned on, the body of the bike lifted upwards levitating right on top of its two thick wheels. The frame of the bike was matt black, and its long frame could accommodate two people comfortably.

"Thank you"

Satisfied, Kevin smiled and mounted the bike.

"Here"

Handing Kevin a nice black helmet that covered the whole face, the receptionist stepped back.

Putting on the helmet, Kevin lightly nodded at the receptionist. Tightened the grip of the bike throttle, the bike silently sped into the distance.

Watching Kevin leave, the receptionist smiled and said

"Have a safe trip"