Leaving the portal, Noah saw that Harry, Wendy, and the man who survived had already given their reports, and by the appearance of the government agent, he was nothing short of surprised by what they said happened inside, for several reasons.

"Will anyone else come out of the fortress?

" The agent asked worriedly.

"No. Neither monsters, nor humans.

" Noah responded by returning to his normal appearance and the bored tone he always maintained.

"Damn ... my report to today's superiors will be boring to do...

" The agent grunted, making it clear that the reason for his concern was not with the lives that were lost in this fortress, but with how hard it would be to do the task he would have ahead of him.

Noah couldn't care less about this agent, since just as the man didn't care about their lives, he also didn't care anything about this low-ranking agent. Senior officers would definitely not want to work at Rank F forts like this where many Blessed people died, making the job very boring.

"Anyway, as usual, let's get to your report.

" The agent accepted the party's fate and called Noah to a separate corner where he could report on what happened inside.

Noah told what he witnessed inside, leaving out the part where he went out alone to kill monsters and replaced it with something like him walking in circles in the sewer trying to watch the rats without being seen.

"The others said that you were much more powerful than you normally seem in other Fortresses. What did they mean by that? They even commented that your Blessing was a flame that made the Super Boss scream out in pain.

" The agent questioned Noah with a slightly raised eyebrow. As he was responsible for the oversight of several Rank F Strongholds a year, he had already worked with Noah a few times, but never had anyone ever reported this young man's Blessing, so after four years having worked with him and no one ever having spoken of the Blessing, the agent could only assume that Noah did not have a Blessing or that Noah's Blessing was completely useless in a Fortress. But now, knowing that he had such a useful and powerful Blessing, the other Blesseds' reports left the agent quite surprised.

"Yes, my Blessing is related to the flame. But it takes a lot of energy and I was not able to practice so much that I could use it freely without something wrong happening before.

" Noah responded flatly while intentionally shrugging his shoulders sheepishly, using what he knew in body language to try to make it appear that he was ashamed.

"It has to be a Rank F...

" The agent mumbled softly in scorn, but it didn't escape Noah's keen ears. Not that he cared about it though.

"Okay, I'm going to use your report as the basis for mine. This Fortress will now probably have a bonus because of the increased difficulty, and since of the 15 people who went in, only 4 returned alive, the survivors will split 5.5 parts of the payment, while the other half of the dead's shares will go to the family of the deceased. In a few minutes you will receive the notification on your cell phone.

" The agent said all this as he fiddled with his tablet and walked away.

Noah had been a little concerned that the agent would ask too many questions, but because he was just a Blessed Rank F who almost died with the others inside a Rank F Fortress, the agent didn't care enough to ask too much, which was good for Noah.

After picking up his things from the closet, Noah headed for the bus. The bus, which had been packed with people and very excited because of the noisy teenagers who could not contain their exuberance, was now mostly empty, as well as deadly silent.

The man who could use invisibility sat in the last row and was sitting with his eyes closed, probably trying to rest mentally after the stress that was inside the Fortress.

Harry had sat in a corner in the front row; Wendy sat in the opposite seat of the same row.

When Noah got on the bus, the man in the back end ignored him. Harry glared at him with a slightly resentful look, while Wendy sheepishly waved a hand at Noah to sit beside her.

When Noah arrived at the row where Wendy was sitting, she thought he was going to sit with her because she is a beautiful girl, besides being a blessed Rank D Healer, which was a rare thing, but he did not sit down.

Passing straight past where Wendy was sitting, Noah went to the far end of the bus and sat on a random seat.

Wendy was surprised since she was sure he would sit next to her. In addition to her being used to men doing what she wanted, she thought she would be the first Blessed to treat Noah well, from which he would be grateful to her and she could proceed with her plan smoothly. But in the first stage of her plan, it was already foiled. Noah passed her without even taking a second look.

Wendy didn't understand what she was feeling. Like a curious cat, she turned around and saw Noah sitting on a bench with a bored expression, looking out the window and watching the employees working outside dismantling their armaments as the fortress had already been defeated.

Knowing she couldn't go on like this, Wendy got up and went over to talk to Noah, laughing inwardly that this was exactly what she would have done at the start of the trip if Amy hadn't stopped her. When she passed Harry, she didn't notice the look of disgust and anger he made when he noticed that she was going over to talk to Noah.

"Is this seat occupied?

" She asked with a shy attitude as she pointed to the seat next to Noah out of courtesy even though no one would be seated there, as it would be weird if she just sat down without saying anything.

Noah looked at Wendy and the expression he always kept of indifference faded momentarily. For a fraction of a second it looked like he was feeling disgusted.

"Yes, that place is occupied.

" He said as he took out the backpack he had placed on the floor beside him and placed it on top of the bench to which she pointed.

She was precisely the worst type of person in Noah's opinion: a woman who is only interested in status. It hadn't been because he showed no reaction on the trip to the Fortress that he did not hear what the girls were saying.

He knew very well that this teenager was interested in his appearance before they entered the Fortress, but when her friend said he was weak, the girl completely lost interest in him. She just wanted someone who was strong instead of worrying about whether the person was good or not.

If Noah's Blessing had not awakened before this trip to the fortress he was sure that this girl would not have even taken a second look at him.

When Wendy heard his answer, she froze. She wasn't just a pretty face; Wendy could read people fairly well, even if it was just superficially. And what she was seeing from Noah was exactly how she acted when some idiot came to talk to her.

'Nobody has ever treated me like an idiot before. Who gave him the right to think that about me?' Seeing how he acted, she started to get angry.

"Coming over to speak with you can be considered a favor, Rank F. Know your place. Who do you think you are to refuse me?

"

Her words only proved what Noah thought before - that she was a spoiled girl who had never had a hard time in life, being flattered by everyone and probably never told

"no

" for an answer. Unfortunately, she wasn't dealing with a normal person.

"Your friends just died. Did you forget about their deaths when you saw me as an opportunity to grow? Pathetic.

" Noah spoke again with a disinterested look on his face before putting on the headset and completely ignoring Wendy's presence.

When she heard what he said, Wendy froze. Again, this was the fault of those useless friends of hers. If Amy hadn't stopped her at that time, she would have come to talk to him and everything would be fine, but even after her death, Wendy's ex-friend would not hinder her plans.

Seeing that Noah was no longer listening to what she was saying, Wendy took a deep breath and returned to where she had sat before, across from Harry. At least with Harry, another Blessed Rank D like herself, she wouldn't be treated as an idiot like she had been with Noah.

Sunday's Extra Chapters Challenge!

1.000 Stones = 1 Extra Chapter

1.200 Stones = 2 Extra Chapters

500 Stones = 1 Extra Chapter