"And how does that help your life? I only see a decision made from the furiousness of the heart," Old Jack said, puffing his smoke as Ryuk snorted coldly.
"As if I'll allow what took the life of my only family member to dance freely through the skies."
"My uncle's death will not be in vain!" Ryuk shot back.
Old Jack believed Ryuk's decision to hunt down the Knull that killed his uncle was a foolish one, carried by the fury of a grieving heart. But to Ryuk, it was more than that. He wouldn't allow his uncle to die for nothing.
He would seek revenge for his innocent uncle and kill the Knull. Then, maybe, Uncle Bob's soul would finally be able to rest in peace.
"And how do you plan to kill a Knull, one so powerful it wiped out your entire settlement?"
"Such a Knull could have been as powerful as even an A-grade Mutated Beast."
"If I may remind you, the last beast that tore your arm off days ago was only an E-grade beast. So how do you plan on winning? That is, if you ever manage to find a flying Knull in the first place," Old Jack challenged as Ryuk's eyes flashed.
Truly, the Knull had been incredibly powerful. Its aura and its pure, enormous size were enough to cast uncontrollable fear into Ryuk's heart. A gaze from such a creature would have been enough to send Ryuk himself to the shadow realm.
The Knull could very well be as powerful as an A-grade Mutated Beast, if not more. Right now, Ryuk could barely battle E-grade beasts, and he knew full well it would still be a close call. To fight an A-grade beast, which was four levels above an E-grade—it would be nothing but suicide for someone like him.
But a confident smile soon made its way to Ryuk's face as he felt a light flash at the corner of his eyes.
"I will find the Knull, and I will eliminate it, even if I have to go to hell and train with the devil himself. I will find that bird and sever its head, one day. Soon!" Ryuk declared.
Old Jack opened one of his eyes, looking at Ryuk. The young man's voice didn't contain just arrogance but confidence.
It was well known that some people, upon sighting a Knull even once in their life, would go mad from the sheer shock and fear. Yet here he was, smiling confidently, claiming he would sever the head of a Knull.
Not only had he seen a Knull, but he had also witnessed the destructive capability of a single one of these creatures. Yet he was not afraid. Instead, he seemed even more confident in his ability to defeat it.
While some might call this blind ignorance, such a heart was something rare to find, even in the higher-grade cities.
This was something Old Jack understood well from his own past life. A person with a brave heart that wouldn't entertain fear, like Ryuk's, was an extraordinarily rare one indeed. It would be a pity if such a heart were to stay here and rot away in this underdog world.
No amount of training one does here would be enough to even defeat a D-grade Mutated Beast, let alone a Knull.
The only way Ryuk could achieve his goal was by moving up the sector and finding a school. That would set him on the right path to achieving his goal.
And perhaps this time, Ryuk would be able to achieve what Old Jack himself had failed to do. The young man before him had a heart far stronger than his own when Jack had first started his journey.
The young man before him now had a goal—one he was determined to see through to the end.
And so, Old Jack decided to help him.
'Maybe this will be enough to pay back the one I owe you, Bob,' he thought.
"Ryuk, tell me. What do you know of the other sectors?"
"The other sectors?" Ryuk asked with a raised eyebrow as he turned to look at Old Jack, who took a long sip of his smoke stick while gently nodding his head.
"From what I've heard, there are a total of five sectors, also known as grades."
"There are E-grade sectors, the absolute lowest of the low, such as this place. It is said to be unsafe and offers little to no protection against the Knull's attacks—just like the attack that destroyed everything."
"The next higher-grade city is the D-grade city, which offers better amenities and is said to be more guarded and safe."
"Then the C-grade, followed by the B-grade, with the highest being the A-grade."
"The A-grade is the highest and is said to contain the most concentrated power in the entire world. It is a place where the most powerful races live side by side, and it is said that all Knull attacks are successfully negated, with any Knull daring to attack killed immediately. It is the safest of the sectors but also the most expensive to live in."
"In summary, the E-grade sector is the lowest of the low, and the A-grade city is the best and most secure place, even though not everyone can live there..." Ryuk replied.
Old Jack exhaled his puff loudly before placing it to the side and nodding his head.
"Do you know of the Apex Barracks just a few miles from this place?" Old Jack asked as Ryuk nodded his head.
The Apex Barracks was the only place in Sector E with communication to the other sectors.
Slowly, Old Jack rose up and walked toward Ryuk, bending to the ground and looking straight into his eyes.
"If you are really serious about killing that Knull—which I can see you are—then the only place with enough power to help you achieve your goal is by joining an academy."
"In short, you would have to leave this sector and move to another one," Old Jack said.
Ryuk smiled mockingly. "Leaving Sector E is impossible. One can only come in, not leave."
It was common knowledge. Some of the scrap hunters even referred to Sector E as a prison because leaving was impossible.
What Old Jack was saying sounded like pure fantasy.
At least, that was what Ryuk thought until the man raised his palm to him. A light coalesced together, forming an object that fell into Old Jack's palm.
"You must leave Sector E, Ryuk."