Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

"The more I know, the more I hate those councilors. What a fucking waste…"

For the first time, Aleph cursed the councilors on top of Fire MOTH.

"Wasting talents like Mobius and being too incompetent with defending human cities… Fire MOTH is more rotten than I thought."

The past month taught him more of the underhanded dealings within Fire MOTH. If it wasn't for him giving one of his credit cards, Mobius would've continued eating the same cup of ramen everyday.

The bleak atmosphere within the fifth institute is a telltale story on how bad their situation was compared to the others.

"We really need to rectify it…"

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[Embryonic Power System: Sorcerer]

[Cursed Technique: Ratio]

[Cursed Technique: ???]

[Cursed Technique: ???]

[Cursed Technique: Adaptation (Locked)]

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[Cursed Energy (Converted): 930]

[Estimated Grade: Semi-Grade 1]

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Without much to do, Aleph opened the panel corresponding to his first reward. Two weeks ago, it changed. The [Estimated Grade] appeared alongside his current cursed energy.

Fortunately, it gave an explanation regarding the rankings itself.

[Jujutsu Ranking: An unreliable way of standardizing modern sorcerers.]

[Rank: Grade 4 → Grade 3 → Grade 2 → Semi-Grade 1 → Grade 1 → Special Grade]

While further explanations regarding this ranking wasn't available, Aleph felt that his current rank was strong enough.

"I need more achievements. I have a feeling that it'll change once I reach one thousand."

Beep-!

Just then, a loud beeping noise came from the driver's seat.

"Doctor Ainsworth. We're placed in the Yellow Alert."

Every time he visited the fifth institute, a convoy filled with bodyguards and military personnel were present. 

"What happened?" Aleph asked.

"The road ahead was spiked. The front team is currently—"

Boom-!

Before the driver could finish speaking, a loud explosion blasted their eardrums. Red clouds of dust rose from the ground.

At this moment, Aleph felt the danger coming with his [Danger Sense].

"To the left!"

He reached out the steering wheel from the driver's seat as he shouted.

Swoosh-!

Screech-!

The wheels made another round of noise as they drifted.

Sou-!

Boom-!

Several rounds of projectiles struck the road ahead of them. The momentum caused by their explosion was enough to overturn the entire vehicle itself.

[Achievement Unlocked: Pre…]

Bam-!

Clang-!

Aleph's body was shaken back and forth inside the vehicle. Two of his armed bodyguards died swiftly as their necks got bent by the waves of impact.

Although disoriented, Aleph did not suffer much from the tumbling of his vehicle.

"I used the APS in time…"

The first thing that he did was to check the others. Aside from him and the two in the front seat, he was with another bodyguard. He was Morris' protege who currently served as the head of his convoys.

"...Damn it."

Only his protege survived among the ones inside this vehicle.

Upon confirming their status, Aleph turned his thoughts to this sudden ambush.

"Our routes are monitored by the satellite above. Concealing from it… it's definitely a force from the higher ups."

Bam-!

The car door was kicked open by his legs enhanced by APS and cursed energy. The bulletproof and tempered iron door stood no chance with his physical strength.

Aleph took a peek with his head to see the situation outside.

Bang-!

Bang-!

Gunshots were all over the place. Some personnel from the convoy are firing the incoming convoy.

"Two jeeps, three humvees, and a tank..?"

Sou-!

Sou-!

The sounds of helicopter rotors came next.

"A Hind Chopper? What the actual fuck..?"

The Hind started releasing its rockets to the remaining convoy personnel. The heat-tracking missiles painted the entire battlefield with crimson red flames.

"Two rifles… five grenades in total."

Aleph decided to return inside the vehicle. He took the five grenades that two of his armed personnel has before crawling out of the flipped vehicle.

With [Sphere Boundary] being able to be formed fifteen centimeters away from him, his stealth was on another level.

The terrain was filled with green grass and soil. The explosions on the main road caused them to burn intensely. The smokes from the exploded cars and the grass fire formed the best camouflage for Aleph.

"Knight Killer…"

Currently, he was wearing a lab coat. What many didn't know was the knife holster below it. 

The red gleam formed by the jagged blade brought a moment of peace to him.

Thinking of the lives that will be lost today, Aleph gripped the dagger tightly.

"This is on me."

With a sigh, he set off to the battlefield.

*****

"Your stupid ass nearly cost us everything!"

"I'm sorry. I never thought the wind was that strong!"

"This is a capture mission. What would we capture if the target was aleeady charcoal?!"

Two people inside the jeep argued. They were armed men with no identifications whatsoever.

"Haven't you heard about him fighting honkai beasts alone? He should be able to…"

"Nonsense! You're talking your shit through—"

"Enough. This will be dealt with later."

""Yes, boss!""

The two men fell silent. Their boss, with a cigarette in his mouth, continued monitoring the radio channel.

"First squad wiped. Confirmed kill."

"Second squad wiped. Confirmed visuals of two survivors."

"Target vehicle was overturned."

Hearing the last line, the middle-aged man whom they called boss ordered:

"Send two teams to the target. He must be captured alive."

"Understood."

Their formal operations were on-par with veteran military personnel. It could be seen that their group wasn't quite simple.

Two minutes later, another update was heard on the radio.

"Knight One has reached the target. Lookout for survi—"

Boom-!

Buzz-!

The communication line turned into static without a warning.

"Hostiles! Hostiles! Knight One ex—"

Boom-!

Buzz-!

The second humvee sent out to deal with their target had their lines cut off. The same explosion was heard moments before their line ended.

Everyone fell silent. It took a while for the boss to issue commands.

"Enemy hostiles on the target. Beware of explosives, particularly grenades."

"Turning on heat sensors."

The remaining humvee as well as two jeeps became alert.

Updates kept coming from the Hind Chopper operator. The kill count kept increasing as the eagle from the sky cleaned the remaining survivors.

"The coast is clear, King One. The heat sensors are funky. There aren't any sighted survivors left on the surface."

"Copy that."

Just as the boss responded, a shout from another radio channel disrupted them.

"Boss! There's a strong heat readings near you!"

"What—"

Boom-!

For the third time, the ghost claimed another group of victims.