[ — Novel Raider —
> Raider has reached the end of ’Resident Hazard II,’ raid complete. Raid progress and loot recorded. Returning in 3... 2... 1... ]
Apart from that near-fatal encounter with the protagonist, I had made it out without a single hiccup. The raid-complete prompt appeared the moment I crossed the city limits, countdown to return already running. The transition was instant. One moment, I was gripping the flight yoke of a massive Gargoyle Heavy Tiltrotor. The next moment, I was staring directly at the dusty underside of a chief archivist’s mahogany desk. The psychological whiplash was surreal.
Before I could even adjust to the shift in reality, a glowing, semi-transparent system interface flashed right before my eyes, reading:
[ — Novel Raider —
> Rewards:
i) All memories, experience, and assets of Crispin Cross have been inherited by the Raider. To access character stats, skills, and abilities, the Raider is advised to equip the Paladin class.
ii) A fully equipped Gargoyle Heavy Tiltrotor aircraft, along with all heavy weaponry and mana-tech recovered during the raid, has been commissioned in the Raider’s name through Hindinberg Ltd. Contact at your convenience to arrange delivery.
iii) High-purity mana stones recovered during the raid have been liquidated and converted to 700,000 mana coins, deposited into the Raider’s mana wallet linked to a savings account ending XX1446 at the Bank of United Archipelagos.
iv) The Raider is advised to equip the Summoner class to summon Project Goliath.
Note:
i) All legal procedures, documentation, and licensing pertaining to the above rewards have been filed and approved in advance to ensure no inconvenience to the Raider.
ii) The Raider will retain the stats they gained as Crispin Cross, but not Crispin Cross’s actual stats without equipping the Pladian class. ]
"This has to be a joke, right?" I blurted out as I went through the prompt. Then, just as I reached for my smartphone and was about to open my banking app, two texts from the bank arrived back-to-back.
[Bank of United Archipelagos: 700,000 mana coins have been deposited into the Raider’s mana wallet linked to Savings Account ending in XX1446. Thank you for banking with us.]
[Bank of United Archipelagos: Your Savings Account ending in XX1446 has been credited with UAD 930,124. Your available balance is now UAD 931,486. Thank you for banking with us.]
As I was trying to process where the money came from, my phone buzzed violently, the caller ID flashing a single name: Bank of United Archipelagos.
Before I could reach for the screen, a booming, authoritative voice echoed through the archive walls. "Is someone in here? This is the Valorant Guild, the situation is under control. Please come out with your hands visible and identify yourself."
Ignoring the ringing phone, I quickly scrambled out from under the mahogany workstation, keeping my hands high in the air.
"I’m an archivist working at this library! This is my official ID badge!" I yelled, my voice cracking from the adrenaline.
Standing fully upright with my arms raised above my head, I found myself staring down the barrels of two tactical weapons. Two imposing men stood in the doorway, clad in the familiar uniform of the Valorant Guild’s security force.
I wasn’t overreacting by being this cautious. In this world, accidental casualties during a rescue operation were a terrifyingly common reality. When high-ranking hunters cleared a monster breakout, they didn’t just look for beasts. They were on high alert for demonic entities. Demons were notoriously trickier, stronger, and entirely capable of mimicking human survivors to lower a hunter’s guard.
Just as the senior hunter was about to give me a nod after eyeing my library ID from a distance, his younger colleague abruptly held out an arm to stop him.
"Senior, wait." Fixing a hard, suspicious glare on me, the guard added, "I cleared this exact room minutes ago. There was absolutely no one under that desk previously."
I swallowed hard, utterly unable to answer him as I had no intention of revealing my Novel Raider skill. But there was no way to avoid their suspicion without a logical explanation. A cold sweat broke out across my forehead as my mind raced to find a way out of this predicament.
My tense silence and odd behavior immediately caused the guards to grow even more wary. Their mana-tech weapons shone subtly, locking squarely onto my chest. I screamed at myself in my head to say something, anything, but I knew that throwing out a random lie would only make me look like a disguised demon trying to trick them.
So, I just stood there with my hands raised high above my head, paralyzed by my own thoughts, trying my best to formulate an alibi without exposing my awakened skill. I was realizing, painfully, that this kind of situation seemed a whole lot easier when I was behind a screen in the comfort of my own bed.
"What’s going on here?" A stern, commanding female voice sliced through the suffocating tension. A striking figure slowly appeared in my line of sight. A redhead easily a full foot taller than me, with a fiercely athletic build and a gaze sharp enough to emasculate any man who dared hold it.
"Guild Leader!" The two guards barked in unison, snapping stiff salutes and quickly parting down the center to let her pass.
She walked deliberately between them, her piercing eyes locking onto me. Suddenly, her pupils flared with a brilliant golden radiance. She appraised me for a long, quiet second before asking, "Did you awaken during the outbreak?"
I nodded immediately, internally wondering if that golden glow was a specialized sensory skill she used on me.
In this world, it was legally mandatory for all awakened individuals to act as voluntary first responders if they happened to be inside or near an active dungeon break. Since I hadn’t stepped forward to help despite now carrying a distinct mana signature and along with my submissive reaction, it wasn’t hard for her to deduce that I must have awakened in a panic during this very outbreak.
"Sir, you are free to go," the redhead Guild Leader said politely, her sharp gaze softening just a fraction. "Please, don’t forget to officially update your awakened status at the Hunter Hall at the earliest."
With that, she turned on her heel and departed, the two guards falling into step right behind her.