Rise Of The SSS-Tier Flame Hero

The Serum

Five hunters in sleek suits, their insignias gleaming under the neon lights, advanced swiftly toward the table where the dealer and buyer sat with practiced precision, their weapons drawn.

"Damn it."

Cain cursed under his breath and quickly withdrew to his seat.

How did he not expect the Guild Association agents to be on the move? If he had been able to find the dealer, wouldn't the Association be able to do the same?

He should have seen this coming.

"You're surrounded! Don't even think about running!" one of the agents barked, a dagger glinting in his grip as he stepped forward.

The dealer stiffened, his breath hitching as he stuffed the package back into his coat. His gaze snapped to the buyer, who, unlike him, remained unnervingly calm. Then, in a flash, the buyer struck.

A ripple of mana burst out in a sharp, precise explosion, and the approaching hunter barely had time to react before he was blasted off his feet. His body crashed into a nearby stall, shattering wood and sending fruit rolling across the pavement.

Chaos erupted, and screams filled the street.

Civilians shoved past each other in blind panic. Chairs scraped against the pavement as restaurant-goers bolted from their tables, fleeing the scene.

Before the remaining hunters could recover, the buyer moved again. With a flick of his wrist, another pulse of energy shot out, and the next two hunters were thrown back as the blast hit them head-on. One was hurled into a vendor's cart, splintering it on impact, while the other slammed into an alley wall, groaning as he crumpled to the ground.

The final two hunters hesitated, eyes wide, and that moment was all the buyer needed to escape. With a sharp pivot, he bolted off, his long coat whipping behind him.

"Go! After him!" one of the hunters on the ground shouted.

Without hesitation, the rest of the agents took off in pursuit, their boots pounding against the wet pavement.

Cain barely spared them or the buyer a glance. His eyes were already on the real prize.

The dealer.

Who ran in the opposite direction, still carrying the serum.

Cain didn't think twice. The moment the dealer turned to flee, Cain was already in motion. His feet pounded against the wet pavement, splashing through puddles as he tore through the alleyways in pursuit.

As he ran, he wondered why the buyer hadn't taken the serum with him, but quickly concluded that it didn't matter and focused on the pursuit.

The dealer glanced back, his eyes widening when he saw someone closing in on him. He gritted his teeth and pushed harder, weaving through the labyrinthine streets in a desperate bid to escape.

A sharp left. Then a right.

Another turn...

And soon, he reached a dead end.

The young dealer skidded to a halt, nearly slipping on the slick ground. His breath came in ragged gasps as he whirled around, frustration burning in his eyes. But what he saw wasn't a Guild Association Hunter.

It was just some random guy his age in a hoodie.

"You?" he said between heavy breaths, his eyes narrowing. "Who the hell are you?"

Cain's chest rose and fell with deep, steady breaths. He ignored the question, stepping forward as he extended his hand.

"The serum," he said, his voice cold. "Hand it over."

The dealer's frown deepened. Then he scoffed.

"What the hell are you talking about? I ain't handing over shit. I don't know who you are, but you've got no clue who you're messing with. So reconsider whatever stupid idea you've got in your head and walk away."

Cain didn't respond, raising both fists.

There was no point in arguing. The agents might be on their way here even as they spoke, and if he wanted to avoid getting wrapped up in this, he needed to get the serum and get out of this place fast.

Cain's face still throbbed from Adrian's earlier beating, but he forced the pain aside, ready to throw hands with this young dealer for the serum.

The young dealer clicked his tongue in annoyance upon seeing this, and understanding that this wasn't going to end without a fight, he got into a fighting stance as well, his mana flaring. Then he lunged.

Cain barely had time to react before the air around him warped. The world lurched sideways, and before he could fully process it, a fist reinforced with mana blasted past his head, missing by inches but smashing into the brick wall behind him.

Multiple more punches were thrown, and Cain avoided them, albeit by inches, the last blow causing a massive dent in the wall that exploded into shards of stone and dust.

Cain staggered back, gritting his teeth. He was filled with caution after experiencing such strange attacks.

"That wasn't just brute force," Cain muttered to himself.

The young dealer was using a tricky and deceptive ability that manipulated the perception of distance and positioning within a limited range. This meant that when the young dealer attacked, his strikes appeared either closer or farther away than they actually were, forcing Cain to misjudge his reactions. A punch that seemed meters away could suddenly land point-blank, while an incoming strike that looked imminent might actually be just out of reach.

This meant Cain would have to react on instinct alone. And if he miscalculated even once, it would be him shattering instead of the bricks.

So far, so good.

Another strike came, and the air wavered. The punch seemed like it would take a second to reach him, but Cain sensed it was closer than it appeared, so he ducked, barely avoiding the fist that would have caved in his skull, and lunged backward.

Cain exhaled sharply, focusing not on the distortions but on the dealer's movements. The way his shoulders tensed before a punch. The slight shift in his stance before a kick. He let go of what his eyes told him and trusted his instincts, because no matter how much the space distorted, body mechanics didn't lie.

When someone throws a punch, their shoulder naturally shifts before the arm extends. Before a kick, their hips and stance adjust to generate power. By focusing on these cues instead of the illusion of distance, he could anticipate attacks and dodge correctly, even if his vision told him otherwise.

The next time the dealer lunged, Cain sidestepped, reacting not to the false distance but to the real one. Then his fist shot forward, slamming into the dealer's ribs.

"Hh-kgh...!"

A wheezing gasp escaped the dealer. Cain pressed the attack, landing a sharp elbow to the throat, a kick to the knee, and a brutal strike to the side of the head that sent the young dealer staggering sideways.

The dealer's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't believe he was losing.

He knew he was stronger. But this... this strange person had adapted too fast, too well, without using any abilities.

Looking at Cain, he doubted he was a hunter. He had barely sensed any mana within Cain and had assumed he was a civilian, but this civilian was not only keeping up, he was also shutting him down.

Cain charged at him once again, not giving the dealer any time to recover. He tackled him to the ground, and the dealer thrashed, trying to warp the space between them, but Cain stayed close, leaving no room for distortions.

A flaw of his spatial distortion ability was that it required room to manipulate perception, and Cain had managed to figure that out in such a short amount of time.

With a sharp twist, Cain forced the dealer's arm behind his back, grabbed his hair, and slammed his head onto the ground. Again and again and again. Until the dealer's body went limp.

Cain let go, and the dealer lay unconscious on the ground, his face bloodied. He was still alive, but his face had been badly damaged.

Cain exhaled and rose to his feet on shaky limbs. His muscles ached, his ribs throbbed, and a thin trickle of blood slid down his forehead, warm against the cold night air.

He wiped the blood from his forehead with the back of his palm, and his fingers trembled as he reached for the package.

He couldn't believe it.

He had somehow managed to acquire the serum despite the odds.

But as he tore through the wrapping, what he found wasn't what he'd expected. It was a strange rock and not a vial.

Cain's brows furrowed. The stone was pitch black, its surface laced with intricate glowing veins, like something alive. Strange runes spiraled across it, shifting ever so slightly, as if they weren't carved but growing.

At first, he was disappointed by what he was looking at.

Then he felt a pulse.

A faint hum, barely noticeable.

"What the hell?" he muttered.

The strange rock was giving off an unsettling aura that made him nervous.

"Was this the serum?" Cain wondered.

Was he supposed to break it open and have something come out? Was he supposed to drink its contents or inject them into himself?

Cain didn't know.

There were so many questions, and the dealer was unconscious, so he couldn't ask.

Cain sighed and rose to his feet.

What he had gotten wasn't what he'd expected, but he knew one thing.

He needed to get away from this location fast and investigate the strange rock somewhere else.

Cain brushed his finger against the rock and was about to put it into his pocket when the rock suddenly reacted to the blood on his finger. The veins glowed with a strange light before black tendrils exploded out of the rock, spreading and crawling over his skin like a brand.

Cain could barely scream before the blackness engulfed him.

And then he was gone. Along with the strange rock. As if he'd never been there.

A couple of minutes later, a Guild Hunter stepped into the alleyway, his boots splashing through shallow puddles. His eyes landed on the dealer lying unconscious on the ground, and he moved quickly, crouching before him and grabbing the front of his shirt.

"Wake up, you bastard," he barked, shaking him. "What happened here? Where is the stone?"

No answer came from the young dealer, only a groan.

The Hunter's grip loosened, frustration rising. He stood and scanned the alley.

The damage was obvious.

Fractured brickwork and a partially destroyed wall.

A fight had taken place here.

Then he saw it. A package, ripped open and abandoned a few feet away.

He walked over and picked it up, inspecting the torn wrapping.

It was empty.

He narrowed his eyes, his heart rate picking up.

The serum, or whatever had been inside, wasn't here anymore.

Someone had stolen it and escaped.