The first descendant: My SSS Rank Awakening

Chapter 4

Ron's eyes opened beside Red's grave, but he was no longer alone.

The Limbo Beast stood over him with its six eyes fixed on his face. It looked even larger outside the dark space, with saliva dripping between its fangs as it lowered its head and lunged.

Ron threw himself aside, and its claws missed his shoulder by inches. Something roared inside him as he rolled across the frozen ground and rose to his feet.

He could no longer feel the cold. His body felt as if it had been broken apart and reforged with steel. His vision was sharper, his feet were lighter, and he could hear every movement the beast made behind him, but none of that made it less dangerous. Ron stretched out his hand and asked for fire, wind, lightning, or anything else that might stop it, but nothing came out.

“Oh, shit. I got one powerful class and suddenly thought I knew magic.”

The Limbo Beast charged again. “Running is still a skill,” Ron told himself before turning around and using it.

He broke into a run, and the beast followed closely behind him. Ron had always been fast because running from rich bullies was one of the few useful lessons school had given him, but this creature moved faster than a thousand horses.

It chased him through the woods, tearing through bushes and knocking down smaller trees. His heart slammed against his chest, and his lungs felt ready to tear open, but for the first time in his life, Ron actually wanted to remain alive.

He soon reached the old city wall and stopped. It was too high to climb, while thick thorn bushes blocked both sides. When Ron turned around, the Limbo Beast was already rushing towards him.

“Of course, I ran into the only place without an escape.”

The beast sprang for his throat, and Ron raised his hand without thinking before striking it across the jaw.

The impact shook the ground. The beast flew backwards, crashed through several trees and disappeared beneath a cloud of broken branches.

Ron remained beside the wall with his fist stretched in front of him.

“How did I do that?”

According to everything he had read, only an SS-ranked warrior could survive a fight with a Limbo Beast, yet one uncontrolled blow from him had sent it flying.

He turned towards the nearest tree and punched its trunk. The wood split down the centre before both halves crashed in opposite directions.

Pain travelled through his hand, but it was nothing compared to what moved through the rest of him.

“That dream was real,” Ron said as he stared at his fist. “I actually have the power of the First Descendant.”

The memory of everything that had happened inside the hall returned to him. He remembered Elijah's hand burning his mother, Henry laughing while his class was stolen, and the crowd cheering when his body was dragged away.

Anger moved through him, and the strange power answered. The ground cracked beneath his feet while the remaining trees bent away from him.

For the first time, he had enough power to correct what had been done to them. He could save his mother and make everyone involved pay.

A low groan came from the broken trees. Ron approached carefully and found the beast alive, although a deep wound now ran across its jaw. As he moved closer, a voice entered his head.

“Master, you wounded me.”

Ron stopped and looked around. “Who said that?”

“I am right in front of you, Master.”

The beast's mouth did not move. Beasts could not speak any more than ordinary animals could, so Ron couldn't understand why its voice was inside his head.

Then he began hearing everything else. A squirrel warned its children to hide, birds called to one another above the trees, and beneath those voices, the forest itself trembled over what was coming from the Underworld. Even nature was afraid of the coming apocalypse.

Ron looked back at the beast. “Did you just call me Master?”

“You carry the power of the First Descendant. I am the SS-ranked spirit beast that has always belonged to that power.”

Ron remembered reading that the First Founder had possessed a spirit animal, but the old books never said it was a beast from the Underworld.

“You tried to bite my head off.”

“It was your first lesson, and you passed.”

“That sounds like an excuse you invented after I punched you.”

The beast lowered its head, but Ron had spent the entire day watching smiling people turn against him, so its sincerity meant very little. A piece of Red's memories showed him how to form a temporary blood bond, one that would kill the beast if it tried to betray him.

“I can hear your thoughts, Master.”

“Then stop listening to them.”

“You can block me whenever you want.”

“If I knew how to do that, I would have done it already.”

Ron reopened the wound on his palm and pressed his blood against the beast's forehead.

“I don't trust you because you are a stranger, and I was taught never to trust strangers.”

“Master is smart. I can work with that.”

The beast accepted the bond. A faint red glow passed between them as their life forces connected, and Ron immediately felt its strength moving beside his own.

“If you attack me, the bond kills you,” Ron warned.

“That sounds fair. What do we do now?”

The question pulled Ron's mind back to his mother. He had no idea whether Elijah had allowed her to leave the hall or taken her somewhere else.

He wanted to storm Elijah's home and pull it apart with his bare hands, but one lucky punch did not mean he could control his new power. Rushing in blindly could get Maria killed.

He needed the Prince of the city to order her release. Once his mother was safe, Ron could think about revenge.

“Wait for me near the wall,” he told the beast. “A six-eyed monster will not exactly help me enter the palace peacefully.”

“You could introduce me as a large dog.”

“Nobody is that stupid.”

Ron left the beast in the forest and walked towards the capital. People stared at his torn clothes, bleeding hands and the dirt covering almost every part of him.

Most of them also recognised him. News had already spread about the trash who awakened an SSS-ranked class and lost it on the same day.

Ron ignored their whispers and continued towards the palace.

The gates had been left open for a public celebration. Loud music flowed from the main hall, while singing, laughter and the thick smell of alcohol filled the air.

Elijah had wasted no time turning Ron's stolen class into another celebration for his son.

Ron stepped inside and found Henry at the centre of the hall, demonstrating the combat power that had been taken from him. Henry flew across the floor and shattered several stone targets while the most powerful people in the city watched.

The Prince sat above them, clapping as Henry bowed. Ron searched the hall, hoping to find Damon, but the Association Chief was nowhere in sight. Then Elijah noticed him, and every part of Ron wanted to cross the hall and punch a hole through his face. This was not the right time, however, because he still couldn't control his power, his mother was missing, and revealing what he had awakened would only place another target on his back.

The strange pressure surrounding him still made the room quieter. One person turned, followed by another, until every pair of eyes rested on him.

Anger flared across Henry's face. “What are you doing here? I thought my father warned you not to cause trouble.”

“Trust me, watching you celebrate with something you stole was not how I planned to spend my night,” Ron replied. “I want my mother back.”

A smile crept across Elijah's face. “Since he is already here, why doesn't he help my son practise his new class?”

Henry's grin grew wider. It was another opportunity to humiliate Ron in front of the Prince and every powerful family in the city.

“That is perfect, Father. Let me show everyone just how weak this bastard really is.”

“Do you think you can handle him?” Elijah asked.

Henry stepped towards Ron as stolen power gathered around his fists. “You don't need to worry, Father. I will destroy him with one move.”