Code Collector

Lin sat on the couch where the group sat. Allen was sitting beside Jeremy on one long sofa while Jake and Jack sat on the opposite side, their men were behind them.

On a single couch that looked more like a throne, Lin sat. She looked at Allen and smiled, but the boy did not return the smile to her which made her worry.

"Is everything okay, Mr. Dante?" Lin asked. 

"She only cares about herself."

"She's not an ally."

"She just thinks of you as the next Nelson Drake."

The conversation between him and Bernard not too long ago echoed in his mind. He was now doubting his own decisions after thinking it through.

Lin indeed helped Allen reach Paradise quickly, but she was only rushing him. He has yet to face a high tier Rare grade beast and he was already in Paradise. Rare grades are like Basic grades for Paradise Hunters, and Allen should already master how to deal with them.

His ascension was premature all because Lin wanted him to become stronger quicker than how he should grow.

Allen was thinking if the woman was only indeed wanting for him to become the next Nelson Drake. She relied too much on the man and now that he's gone, she can't function properly. She wanted another Nelson Drake for her own desire, not because she wanted to overthrow the system.

"I-I'm fine," Allen lied. "What brings you here, but the way, Miss Lin?"

"Oh," Lin formed an O with her mouth, feeling that the boy was lying to her. She just shook the thoughts off and continued. "I'm here to tell you something that you might not know the answer to."

"That's what Jack had told me," Allen said. "So, it was you who wanted to see me."

"Yes, indeed," Lin said. She reached out of her chair and placed a finger on Allen's forehead. "Primordial Network."

Allen felt his body being pulled down. He felt like he was swallowed by the ground, making him close his eyes. When he opened them, he found himself inside a marble pergola.

The pergola was in the middle of a large plain fields of grass that were being blown by the wind continuously. Allen tried to feel where the wind was coming from, but he felt nothing.

"We're in a private communication network," Lin said. "Since this is the first time that we talk, I had to touch you. But the next time, I only need to see you so we can talk."

"Miss Lin, I have no idea what you want with me," Allen confessed. "Why do we have to talk here and not outside? And wouldn't it look weird for us to be in a paused state while the rest of them look at us?"

"Primordial Network allows for our minds to speed up with their function hundreds of times faster," Lin said. "An hour here would be approximately two seconds outside. Also I brought you here because I don't think Jake knew of your possession of the Snake. Albeit I know the child himself and he has no interest in taking the Code, I don't want to reveal unnecessary information that you don't want to reveal yet."

"Thank you for respecting my privacy," Allen said. "But I want to know what you need from me now."

"Right," Lin said. "I came here to warn you about the dangers in Paradise. If you failed to notice, higher grade beasts are in Haven't. That's all because the Primordial Beast Code is altering the beasts around it. It unconsciously upgrades beast and attracts stronger ones towards its user."

"That explains the abundance of Grand grade beasts in Haven," Allen said. "I was indeed curious on how they were here. I know now, thank you Miss Lin."

The woman smiled and bowed lightly. She stared at Allen, making the boy feel slightly uncomfortable. "Uhm, can I go now?"

Lin nodded and cleared her throat. "You just remind me so much of Nelson when we were younger and only starting out like where you are right now."

Allen confirmed what Bernard speculated. She was indeed only looking out for him so she can have another Drake Nelson. It was evident in her eyes that this was her true intentions.

"So, okay," Lin said and clapped her hands once. She smiled at Allen one last time before she released Allen from the network. They returned to the real world and now Allen woke up from the trance-like feeling.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to touch you to confirm something," Lin said. "Now that I confirmed it. I apologize."

"It's okay, miss," Allen said with a smile. "But what did you want to talk about?"

"I'm here to make a deal with the Wandering Trader in partnership with the Summers," Lin said. "I think we can reach a clear agreement because I'm looking forward for this."

"What is it?" Allen asked, looking at the Summers who were smiling.

"I want to sponsor you," Lin said. "And I partnered with Verta Carta and Summers Corp with this. I need to build a champion so we could find out who the real Roger Huntsman is."

Jack nodded, placing his glass of wine on the coffee table. "I think this would be a good opportunity to build the talents of this boy. Jake, you saw how good he is and you even used his powers for your own benefit."

Jake blushed lightly, "I… You know, it was me who saved him from the forest. I don't think you should even try to blame me for taking my reward."

Jack laughed lightly. "Reward. You're a user, that's what you are. But that's good. Seeing as you took care of your asset well."

Lin smiled and handed Allen a folder. "This contains all of the treasures and the money you need to ascend even more. In Paradise, it will be harder because there are more Grand grade beasts there. Although the curfew is inexistent, you still shouldn't stay in the woods for too long."

Allen nodded and took the folder. He opened it and read the files inside, seeing the multiple amounts of vaults scattered around the camp in Haven and in Paradise. There were so many of them that Allen was wondering if he really needed all of them.

"There's so many of these," Allen said. "And with different roles too."

"That's because you're not alone," Lin replied. "You have your allies now."

Allen nodded and thanked the woman. After a while, they left the manor and were now walking to the place they agreed to meet with Gary and Gwen.

"Where were you?" Gwen asked. "We were waiting for an hour. We thought something happened to you guys."

"Did you see the attack?" Gary asked. "I never knew Serratas would attack Haven. This is the first time." 

"You know about Serratas?" Allen asked. The three of his friendd looked at each other and then at him. "What?"

"You have learned a lot of things from books that involved Codes, but not about Serratas?" Jeremy asked. "Serratas are popular in fictions because they're literally extraterrestrials. People dig that."

"I don't read fiction that much," Allen chuckled. "But Jack explained it to me now. I know what they are already."

"Good," Jeremy said. "Because I saw the folder and the files. We need to be quick to get everything."

"Everything?" Gwen asked. "What everything?"

"Supplies," Allen replied. "Lin and Verta Carta gave us supplies."

While the group were running around the city, Lin was left in Jack's manor. They were left in a state of silence as Lin silently drank her tea while her eyes were closed.

"Err," Jake broke the silence. "Miss Lin, could I ask how you discovered Dante?"

Lin opened her eyes and smiled, "I have enough information to know that he's the Wandering Trader and he deals with clients. I happen to have a request for him, and he agreed."

"So, you've seen him fight?" Jake asked. "Like when he fought the Fire Dragon?"

"What happened at the battle of the Second Coming of the Fire Dragon was something that your uncle orchestrated," Lin said, turning to Jack and smirked. "He wanted to see how much poweful Dante was, so when he saw the chance, he forced his men to hold back and let Dante work."

Jake turned to his uncle, "So, you're the cause of the revival of the dragon?"

This made Jack spit his wine and shake his head, "Of course, not. That's too much of a hassle. And why would I even do that? Chen decided on his own. That cousin if yours is a lunatic, you know that."

"So you just wanted to test Dante," Jake hummed. "Want did you find out aftet the battle?"

Jack pursed his lips and thought, "Hmm. First, Dante is a Hunter who is already equal to the top Hunters of Paradise. Currently, he's up for ascension only if he has the EXP and money requirements."

"And?" Jake urged, making his uncle sigh.

"He has the ability to go beyond," Lin was the one who answered. "If this keeps up, in three months time, he will even surpass Drake Nelson."