Level Up The Colony
Chapter 55: Sacrifice

Chapter 55: Sacrifice

Timothy tried to dive deeper into the mental link he shared with Gray, but it proved fruitless.

Sound, as it turned out, was a foreign concept to the termite.

Just then, the system notified him about the random box reward he’d selected from the daily quest.

Timothy checked it and it was decent enough.

At least he expected it, though. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s certainly useful in the right situations.

There wasn’t much he could’ve done to prevent the near-robbery earlier, except learn from it and avoid being that careless again.

The next two days passed quickly.

Timothy continued his raids, completed daily quests, and, much to his surprise, discovered that Miriam and Miebaka had somehow become best friends.

They had started showing up at his house a little too frequently.

As it turned out, Miebaka had been the third person who came over and left with Miriam that day.

Not that he cared much, but his house had apparently turned into a headquarters for uninvited hangouts.

It was chaotic.

A little annoying.

But also... kind of funny.

He appreciated the disturbance and noise while it was available.

On the third day, Timothy woke up feeling weak, not from overuse, but from a week of underuse.

His muscles were restless.

He’d missed out on a lot lately, but with the week ending, it was time to get back into the grind.

He was now officially a B-rank hunter, and ready to take on the world exaggeratingly

He had continued raiding with his usual random E-rank team and hadn’t bothered to change it yet.

With another ₦100,000 ($66) in his pocket for the two-day raid, this week was looking promising.

He kept an eye out for Miebaka, made sure to eat well, and even cleaned his house, just in case.

Kingpin raids usually happened at midnight or just before dawn, which meant he could be pretty chill during the day. That was until his phone rang.

The number was unfamiliar, but he answered anyway.

"B-rank hunter Timothy Walter?" a soft, feminine voice asked.

"Yes," Timothy replied.

"You have a scheduled raid today at 10 a.m. Will you be available?"

He paused.

A 10 a.m. raid? He hadn’t heard anything about that.

And the way she addressed him as a B-rank hunter meant the gate would likely be B-rank as well.

That wasn’t good.

He was suspicious a little

B-rank gates took time.

It might clash with his Kingpin raid schedule if he was also called early on.

And he hadn’t heard from Miebaka yet.

"I won’t be available," Timothy said having to relinquish that raid

"Okay. May I ask for your availability, then?" the voice responded without missing a beat.

Timothy blinked.

"Huh?"

"Newly-ranked B-rank hunters are required to participate in at least one raid on behalf of the association. Remunerations will be provided. If a hunter declines, it must be due to a near-death experience or comparable emergency."

Her voice was sweet, polite, even delicate, but it carried an undercurrent of something firm, unyielding.

Almost threatening.

Timothy sighed.

"Where is the raid taking place?"

"When you’re ready, a vehicle will arrive to pick you up between 8:30 and 9 a.m. Outside your current residence."

She ended the call before he could say more.

Her confidence made more sense now, Timothy remembered the association chairman mentioning something like this.

It hadn’t been an official request at the time, more like a suggestion.

Still, the girl’s tone made it clear this was premeditated.

He hated that he’d been given a phantom choice, a pretend option that didn’t really exist.

He pulled out his phone and called Miebaka.

The first ring dropped.

The second ring has the same result.

He waited, then tried again.

The third time, it connected.

"Hello?" Miebaka answered, voice low and cautious.

"You busy?" Timothy asked, noting the background noise.

It sounded like he was somewhere crowded or secretive.

"Not exactly. What’s up? You don’t usually call."

"It’s about the UHO," Timothy said, deliberately vague.

There was a pause, and then Miebaka responded.

"Yeah, I know we were supposed to meet. Not happening soon, so take today as a day off. I’ll send you details later."

Timothy considered mentioning the raid invitation from the association, but something told him not to.

’I’ll try to keep my dealings with the association and the Kingpin separate’ he decided.

He hadn’t told Miebaka about the strange intruder who broke into his place either.

Nor had Miebaka mentioned the cost of their supposed "settlement."

A lot of things were being left unsaid.

He was lost in thought when there was a knock on his door.

Barely 7 a.m.

Timothy sighed.

Who’s disturbing my morning meditation now?

He opened the door, and, of course.

"Why am I not surprised, Miriam?" Timothy stared at her, half-annoyed.

She brushed past him, stepping in quickly.

"Did you get the invitation to that compulsory raid from the association too?"

"You know I’m B-rank?"

"I saw your ID card lying around like a helpless puppy begging for attention," she replied with a grin.

Timothy couldn’t tell if she was joking or serious.

"I did get the invite at 10 a.m.," he confirmed.

"Same."

"Well, good for you," Timothy said.

"We get to raid together again. And this time, I won’t be a liability." Timothy finished saying, He paused, then turned to look at her.

"Don’t tell me this is about your friends again," Timothy said, clearly irritated.

"I’ve told you already, I can’t help you. It’s not that I don’t believe you, but I have no clue where Edward is. No leads, no evidence, nothing. Why can’t you understand that I’m not the person you should be asking?"

He let out a breath, his voice sharp with frustration.

It baffled him how, out of all the people in the state, hundreds, thousands, maybe millions, he was the one she kept turning to.

Miriam’s mouth parted slightly in surprise, but she quickly shook her head and replied.

"That’s not why I’m here. I rejected the raid invitation from the Association," she said, voice low and weary.

"Actually... I’ve rejected every raid since that day. I only came because I heard Edward was after you well, your mum. The point is, I can’t go on raids anymore, but I also can’t just give up my Hunter ID either."

Before she could continue, Timothy raised a hand and wordlessly walked off toward the bathroom.

A few minutes later, the sound of water running echoed faintly as he quickly brushed and rinsed.

When he returned, he gave her a pointed look.

"Not to kill your drama, but... have you had your bath?"

Miriam gave a reluctant nod.

"Good. Take a seat. I’ll be quick."

He called Gray over and handed the creature to her.

"Here. Company, of sorts. He’s got big ears. I think."

As he walked off, he whispered to Gray to

"keep her company however you can."

Miriam held Gray awkwardly, inspecting its stiff exoskeleton like she wasn’t sure whether to pet it or throw it out.

Not surprising giant mind-linked insects weren’t exactly common pets.

Fifteen minutes later, Timothy returned, cleaned up, and dressed casually: white tee, black trousers, scarf around his neck, and indoor slippers.

Personal hygiene was non-negotiable for him.

Some people could tolerate their own morning breath or skip showers like they were conserving water for wartime, but he preferred to look and feel presentable if not clean, at least responsible.

As soon as Gray spotted him, it stopped playing dead and zipped across the room, vanishing behind furniture.

The little bugger had already memorized the house layout and moved around like it paid rent.

Timothy sat on the edge of the couch while Miriam remained seated properly.

"So... you were saying? About the raids?" he prompted.

"My ability used to be healing," Miriam began.

"Water-based magic. I was a Healer, plain and simple. But after the dungeon... after the reawakening, it changed."

That caught Timothy’s attention.

He leaned in slightly, his interest piqued.

Something about this was relevant maybe even connected to him.

He’d never really asked how others gained their abilities.

It wasn’t system-based like his, but there had to be a link somewhere.

"Now, my ability is... Sacrifice," Miriam continued, her voice turning somber.

"And that’s not even the worst part. The worst is... I think everyone else’s abilities changed too."

Changed as in... improved?" Timothy asked, his curiosity visibly deepening.

Miriam shook her head, her expression tense as she clenched her fists on her lap.

"No. I call it Sacrifice, but it’s still healing, just... with a price. An equivalent exchange."

Timothy frowned slightly.

That didn’t sound that bad to him.

Sure, he wasn’t a power encyclopedia nerd or one of those superpower wiki junkies, miebaka might be one of them, but it didn’t sound as grim as she was making it out to be.

Still, something about her tone made him pause.

"In exchange for what exactly?" he asked.

"Can you show me?"

He half-expected her to shut him down immediately.

Instead, Miriam exhaled slowly and replied with a calm firmness.

"No need for that... I’ll explain."