UNLOCK: I CAN SEE MY STATS

chapter 33 : still just weak

A giant red energy blade slicing through the sky was reflected in the eyes of Marcus and his two companions, who gasped in shock. That sight shattered every expectation they had.

But while they were frozen in astonishment, Tawa , the special investigation agent, was anything but calm. He kicked off the air in desperation, trying to flee the attack. Unfortunately, speed wasn’t on his side.

A little farther off, the captain of the Marine Army investigation squad glared at the colossal slash staining the sky red. He growled angrily.

“Damn it... where the hell did that come from?!”

He watched in horror as the slash tore through Tawa, leaving him fatally wounded. Before he could even process it, another wave was already heading straight for him.

He shot upward just in time, but the rest of the squad wasn’t so lucky. They had just emerged from below deck, searching for the treasure crates Marcus had taken.

Boom!!

The slash ripped through what was left of the ship Marcus had already wrecked. This time, his mother finished the job, obliterating everything completely. Only the captain survived, boiling with rage.

“Damn... damn... damn it...”

He cursed out loud, eyes locked on the damned ship, specifically on the woman standing at its edge.

“That bitch...”

He snarled, then kicked off the air with incredible speed, launching himself straight at her.

“This... might be a bit tricky.”

Susanneth thought as she watched the Marine captain hurtling toward her. She took a deep breath, she had burned through a massive amount of energy to unleash those terrifying attacks.

Whoosh!

The captain appeared above the ship in an instant. Unlike Tawa, who had attacked cautiously to avoid destroying the vessel, this captain had no such restraint. He swung his leg like a cracking whip, striking downward.

Whoosh!

A sharp cutting wave burst forth. Susanneth raised her sword, blocking the blow, then tried to counter, but the captain suddenly appeared right in front of her on the deck and launched a close-range assault.

With a grim face, he swung his leg again.

“Didn’t expect to find a swordswoman of your skill in this gulf.”

Clang! Clang!

Then he roared furiously,

“But attacking the Marine Army is a grave crime... you’ll pay for it with your life.”

He kicked her hand with blinding speed. Susanneth couldn’t hold onto her sword,it clattered to the deck.

She stumbled back, coughing up a heavy gush of blood.

“It’s... worse than last time...” she thought bleakly, wiping the blood from her lips as she glared at her opponent.

The captain’s features hardened, and a wicked smile curved beneath his mask.

“Blood? And I haven’t even touched you yet. Looks like your body’s failing you... this will be far too easy.”

Then he lunged at her, intent on finishing it.

---

A short distance away, Marcus ignored the bracelet’s notification that the DNA had been successfully stored temporarily. He opened his jaws and crushed Tawa’s head, who had been wavering between life and death after his wounds. His fangs shattered the skull, ending it for good.

“Finally... dead.”

Marcus let out a relieved breath, then spat out the now-useless corpse.

After that, his face darkened as he looked toward the ship where his mother battled the Marine captain. Even now, he couldn’t quite believe the terrifying power his mother had revealed, someone he’d always seen as frail and delicate.

“But that man... he seems stronger than her.”

Marcus whispered, analyzing the clash that had torn the upper deck apart. Without hesitation, he dropped the treasure from his mouth, dove underwater for extra momentum, then surged upward.

Boom!

He burst from the sea like a missile, aiming for the Marine captain. He opened his massive jaws, lunging to swallow him whole but the captain dodged at the last second.

“Damn it... just what I needed.”

The captain snarled, kicked off the air again, and launched an energy blade straight at the giant serpent.

Boom!!

But Susanneth, who had leaped at the perfect moment, destroyed the attack. She cast a quick glance at her son’s incredible sea-king form and whispered, stunned,

“That boy wasn’t lying... but how in the world?!”

She didn’t connect it to the Dreambringer serum. The captain, however, instantly understood.

“ Dreambringer serum user , and he can swim freely... like those rare cases among the Promised.”

Because even Dreambringer users typically lost their powers and drowned in the sea, except for a handful of legendary exceptions who had tamed their abilities in astounding ways, tales of whom lived on in myth.

He dodged another lunge and said with icy contempt,

“You, serum user... you’re under arrest for the murder of one of the Promised.”

Susanneth froze mid-charge. She spun around to face the beast behind her and asked in a choked voice,

“Marcus... is that true?!”

Marcus heard how the captain described him. He lowered his massive head to the ground, then lifted his eyes to meet his mother’s stricken face.

He sighed, canceled the full transformation, and shifted into hybrid mode.

His body shrank to about three meters tall, covered in sharp claws and dark scales, with reptilian yellow eyes slit vertically.

He stepped toward his mother, greeted her in his rough, monstrous voice,

“Hey, Mom...”

He scratched the back of his head, covered his face with one clawed hand to hide his trembling tears, and confessed in a shaky voice,

“I’m sorry... I couldn’t save Dad... he...”

“It’s alright... I already know he’s gone.”

Susanneth patted his back with a sorrowful tone. Then her features tightened, and she asked,

“Tell me... was that filthy Promised involved in your father’s death?”

Marcus nodded heavily.

She clenched her teeth, eyes cold.

“Good... you did well to kill him.”

Then she pointed her sword at the Marine captain and commanded,

“Help me finish off this dog quickly. We have much to do.”

Clang!

She drove her sword into the deck, clasped her hands together, and whispered,

“First, let’s make sure he can’t run.”

Bzzzt!

She opened her palms, revealing a small red orb. It shot into the sky, expanding at lightning speed into a massive dome that covered the entire ship.

The captain stared, lowered his head, and muttered darkly,

“A Dreambringer user too...”

Meanwhile, Marcus’s bracelet displayed a prompt in his mind:

> [Unique life signature detected... confirm DNA scan?]

“No...” Marcus whispered, refusing it, ignoring his shock that his mother possessed a Dreambringer power.

He locked his claws, bracing himself, then charged straight at the captain, intent on killing him.

But the captain sneered,

“Even with your mighty serum... you’re still just weak.”

Then he slammed his foot into Marcus’s face with crushing force.

Boom!!

Marcus raised his arms to block, but he was sent flying like a cannonball.

Bam!

He smashed into the mast and slid to the deck.

“He’s right...”

Marcus wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and muttered bitterly, agreeing with the captain’s judgment.

Clang! Clang!

He looked up at the brutal fight raging between his mother and the captain. His hand clenched tightly, focusing every drop of his power on generating electricity, a limited ability granted by his transformation.

He kept charging it, analyzing the battle for an opening, until his body began to tremble from the strain.

He stared at his left hand where the sparks danced and said,

“It won’t kill him... but it’ll be enough to paralyze him.”

He stepped forward, summoned his courage, then lunged at the captain, who had just kicked his mother aside and was turning to strike again.

Boom!

Marcus caught the kick with his right arm. His arm instantly went numb, but he ignored the pain, bit down on his tongue to keep focus, and drove his claws into the captain’s gut.

Clang!!

It felt like striking steel.

“Damn... is this guy even human?!”

He growled , but penetration wasn’t the point. Immediately, he unleashed all the electricity he’d stored.

Crackle! Bzzzt!

Bolts of lightning surged from his claws into the captain’s body, forcing his muscles to spasm and disrupting the defensive hardening technique he’d been using.

Marcus roared,

“Mom! Now!”

Susanneth nodded, swung her sword powerfully, and unleashed a deadly red energy wave that hurtled straight for the captain’s head.