Rise Of The Limitless One

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The entrance of the jet was more spacious than anything Lucian had ever experienced. Although his family was well off before the Priming, his parents were often busy. Which led to the sparse vacations. Be that as it may, Lucian wasn't resentful. In fact, he felt fortunate.

Because, although they were busy, they never missed a night of tucking him in. Which was also a reason why he was so hellbent on finding their whereabouts. Their gentle care often flowed through his mind when he was younger.

Just imagining their embrace was what allowed him to sleep better at night despite their absence.

Still, the interior of the jet allowed all 30 of the Guardians to be seated comfortably, with some even able to lie in reclining lounge chairs made from the finest fabric. Lucian, on the other hand, sat before a small table against the window.

While there were many more spacious seats, he favored the view over all the pleasantries the jet was outfitted with. Once everyone was seated, the turbines of the jet roared as Lucian watched the asphalt pass by rapidly.

Within moments, they were airborne. The ascent wasn't the slightest bit uncomfortable despite the rapid climb. As Guardians, if a little turbulence could unsettle them, then what were they worth?

Meanwhile, Lucian leaned on his palm while tapping his finger against the small glass window as they soon traveled above the clouds. A faint smile appeared on Lucian's lips as he examined them, 'They look like a dense gathering of Mana from this point of view.'

Because of how he looked at it, the sight reminded Lucian of when he used the healing ability duplicated from Quinn. In fact, he started to wonder if these clouds were in fact imbued with Mana. After all, the Priming had changed everything.

Surely, the atmosphere beyond what they interacted with was affected as well.

All of a sudden, a familiar voice sounded behind him. "Is this spot taken?"

Lucian shifted his gaze away from the window before looking at the newcomer. It was a charming beauty of an average height. However, Lucian's eyes instantly traveled to her pale blue hair and the eyes to match.

Although the temperature was cool, the newcomer only wore a light dress that conformed to her curves and light crystalline jewelry, without a coat or other garments to keep her warm. 

Still, Lucian shook his head, "It's not."

"May I sit then?" The girl asked while pointing at the seat directly before Lucian. From her polite attitude, it was clear she didn't realize who she was talking with. Anyhow, as Lucian was indifferent towards this request, he simply shrugged in response.

"No one owns it. You may take it if you like," Lucian said before turning his gaze back out the window.

The girl didn't ask further before taking a seat directly across from him. At first, she followed his gaze and looked out the window, but then she turned her attention back towards Lucian before introducing herself.

"Alana Frost," she said with an extended hand. "You are?"

"Lucian," he answered before grasping her hand for a brief moment. It was cold to the touch, but Lucian expected as much as he recalled her identity. This was the same girl who awakened a substantial ice ability in the Awakened Association.

Though, from what Lucian sensed, it was much stronger now. Evidently, it was the result of her becoming a Guardian. 'I didn't see her before but I guess she was lucky enough to be chosen.'

Withdrawing his hand, Lucian returned his gaze to the passing horizon.

However, Alana continued to look at him. Despite his different appearance, she had this gnawing feeling that this boy before her was familiar. Ultimately, she had to confirm her suspicions. 

"Have we met before… Lucian?" Alana asked.

Before answering, Lucian was slightly surprised for a moment. Apart from Cyrus, no one else felt he gave off a recognizable feeling. So the fact that Alana felt he was familiar surprised him for a moment. 

"If I say we have, what would you say?" Lucian answered with a small chuckle.

"I would believe you, because you give off a slightly nostalgic feeling, but it feels… new," Alana nodded. "So, have we?"

"We did meet before. About... a month ago I would say," Lucian answered. At first, Lucian was about to say something different, but he caught himself. He remembered that while close to 2 days passed in the Monolith, a month went by on Alteria.

'I have to get used to that conversion. An hour within the Monolith is worth a day in my world,' Lucian thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Alana pondered his words. 'A month ago? The only significant event from then would be when I awakened. But, there was no one like him there.'

"I'm sorry, what did you say your last name was?" Alana questioned. But Lucian shook his head.

"I didn't. But, it's Salvatore."

"Salvatore…" Alana murmured while revisiting her memories. Eventually, she found a memory related to this name. Though, when she did, her expression because even more befuddled. 

That was because the person in her memory was of great contrast to the person before her. Whereas the one who failed to awaken was frail and desperate, the person before her appeared collected and confident. Could it truly be the same person?

Suddenly, an assistant approached their table with a silver platter in their grasp. As it was placed on the table, there was a shrimp cocktail that gave off a tantalizing smell. On top of that, there were two dishes with succulent steak oozing flavor.

As he laid eyes upon them, Lucian grumbled. Now that he was re-acclimating to Alteria's temporal frequency, his hunger returned in droves. And, since the Guardian Corps was aware of this effect, everyone on board was given a complimentary and luxurious meal.

"Courtesy of the Corps," the assistance said with a respectful bow before walking away.

Lucian's eyes were glued to the steak as he gulped. As his family lacked credits, this class of meal was a luxury that he hadn't experienced in years. Not only did it bring back nostalgic memories, but it stimulated his appetite beyond belief, leading him to pick up the fork.

Alana watched his movements closely, soon picking up her fork as well. But whereas Lucian took a huge bite, she looked down before slowly looking back at Lucian, "Are you the boy from the Awakened Association and the Proximal Space?"

"Oh? You saw me in the Proximal Space? Why didn't I see you?" Lucian replied with his mouth still cradling his fork.

"I did. But, I didn't expect you to be so close to an Overseer, so I didn't approach you. They're… tricky beings, I guess you could say," Alana answered before finally taking a bite. According to what her aunt told her, Overseers were conniving at times.

At least, the one she dealt with. Unlike these two, Alana's aunt was in a completely different echelon. So the Overseer assigned to her was different as well. But, her analysis wasn't wrong.

Some Overseers only kept their own promotion in mind, leading them to take advantage of some Guardians in ways that didn't warrant punishment. As long as it didn't jeopardize the life of a Guardian, then the Overseers were permitted to act on their whims.

"Anyway, didn't you receive an F Rank Fractal Rating? Why don't you feel like one then?" Alana whispered. Since this was information that was bound to cause a disturbance, she spoke in a voice that only she and Lucian could hear.

"Because the Overseer said it was a fluke. I was simply an anomaly that wasn't properly registered. But, that's fixed now," Lucian answered. However, his answer was a twist of the truth.

While it was true that he was unregistered, that didn't affect the state of the Fractal Pillar. Fortunately, except for the Overseers, no one else was aware of this fact. So, Lucian managed to get away with this manipulation of information.

"I see. So what's your real ranking?"

"What's yours?" Lucian countered immediately. As he didn't remember her presence, he couldn't recall the state of her Fractal Pillar. Moreover, he wasn't exactly sure how to reveal his current rating.

Due to the weakened period, he was rated as E Rank. 

"Maximized Elite," Alana revealed with a proud expression.

However, Lucian was confused because this term was not in the information that Overseer Vohr gave to everyone. 

Since she understood his expression, Alana giggled a bit. "It just means that I failed to become the 9th Extraordinary Guardian. But, I awakened with 488 Accumulated Destinies."

Lucian's eyes narrowed because another way of saying this was that she missed the threshold by a sliver!