MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 1211: Races

“A Human?” one of them finally spoke.

The being stood eight feet tall and possessed four arms. His skin was dark brown, with various tattoos running across his upper torso. He wore no shirt, only a pair of pants, while his crimson-red hair seemed to dance with the wind as he levitated in the air. Anthony could make out a small horn curving upward from the center of his forehead.

The being was from the Asura Race.

“It’s been a few years since a Human ascended,” another followed up as he stared down at Anthony.

The being stood seven feet tall, possessing two arms like any ordinary Human. His skin was pale green, and his ears were slightly pointed. Although one might mistake him for an Elf at first glance, Anthony, who had seen more Elves than he could count, immediately knew that this being was no Elf.

The being was from the Yaksha Race.

“I can’t believe I came rushing here for a Human,” a third followed with a sigh as she shook her head.

Anthony’s eyes shifted toward her. She possessed a humanoid physique and stood seven feet tall. Her skin was snow white, and extending from her back were two enormous wings covered in pristine white feathers, clearly marking her as a member of a winged race. Her eyes resembled those of an eagle, as though they could see across unimaginable distances and perceive even the most minute details whenever she wished.

She was from the Garuda Race.

“Are you looking down on Humans? Aren’t you being judgmental because of what happened to you?” the last of the four spoke with a smile on his face.

This being stood nine feet tall and possessed a humanoid physique much like the others. His skin was dark red, while his face was strikingly handsome, making him appear to be the most attractive among the four. His eyes were cat-like, and his fingernails were slightly sharpened, enough for Anthony to suspect that the being could use them as retractable claws whenever necessary.

He was from the Rakshasa Race.

“It’s not that I look down on Humans. Only a fool would,” the woman from the Garuda Race replied as she shook her head, “but you know a Human from a Lower Galaxy can only possess the Low-Tier Bloodline of their race, meaning they have less talent and are susceptible to being mentally controlled by those of purer bloodlines, effectively turning them into spies without either us or even themselves realizing it.” She paused briefly before continuing, “And I don’t even need to mention the resources and power required just to raise their Bloodline Grade by a single level. How do we even know this Human is talented enough to be worth investing such an enormous amount of resources into?”

Anthony remained silent the entire time. He didn’t utter a single word. Instead, he simply listened and allowed them to speak while trying to gather as much information as possible from their conversation.

“What you said is indeed true, but at the end of the day, this is our Ascendant Territory, and our Lords won’t be happy with us if we simply abandon an Ascendant. He can always be disposed of later if he isn’t worth the trouble. After all, just because someone managed to Ascend doesn’t mean they can pull their own weight. History has taught us that much,” the four-armed man from the Asura Race spoke, his tone remaining as flat as ever.

The other three simply nodded their heads, their attention finally shifting toward Anthony, who merely met their gazes calmly without displaying the slightest hint of fear.

“Human, nod your head if you understand what I’m saying,” the man with the Elf-like appearance from the Yaksha Race spoke.

Anthony remained silent for a brief moment before giving a simple nod.

“Good. At least this handsome one received the knowledge of language upon Ascension. He must be somewhat lucky,” the woman from the Garuda Race spoke with a sigh of relief, seemingly too lazy to find another method of communication had he been unable to understand them.

‘It seems Ascendants receive random basic knowledge upon Ascension,’ Anthony thought to himself.

Although it would have been far better if he had received some other form of basic knowledge instead of languages, considering he could comprehend virtually any language thrown at him within a day if he truly wanted to learn it. His intelligence was simply that absurd.

But at least the language was helping him here and now.

“You are currently within the Ascendant Territory jointly governed by the Asura Race, Garuda Race, Yaksha Race, and Rakshasa Race, hence our presence,” the man with the cat-like eyes from the Rakshasa Race began to explain, “and according to the agreement between our four clans, every Ascendant is allowed to choose whom they wish to follow upon arriving within our Ascendant Territories.”

“Upon choosing one of us, you will sign a contract and serve whichever faction you choose until the contract is fulfilled and you are freed. Although, with your handsome face, I advise you to join the Garuda Clan. With looks like yours, I’m sure you won’t be sent to die anytime soon, and someone is bound to take a liking to you rather quickly,” the woman stated.

As she spoke, she and the other three simply willed contracts into existence before them. Four separate contracts materialized before Anthony, and he was instructed to sign one with his soul as collateral.

Anthony didn’t need to think for long to realize that these were slave contracts. Although he was immune to soul attacks because of Romulus, that didn’t mean he was foolish enough to stake his soul on some random contract. Besides, there were several clauses hidden toward the very end, clauses Anthony was certain concealed something extremely sinister.

Although Anthony knew he had no choice in the matter and would most likely be forced to sign one of the four contracts, he still decided to ask.

“What if I refuse to sign it?” he asked, his tone remaining as flat as ever.

The man from the Yaksha Race replied, “You can choose to do that and find out what happens,” a smirk playing upon his lips.

The other three smiled as well, as though they genuinely wanted him to fuck around and find out.

‘Hey, ???, shouldn’t this be the perfect moment to deliver your gifts? I’m in a bit of a bind here,’ Anthony spoke within his mind, directing his thoughts toward ???.

But he received no reply.

Then it suddenly dawned on him that ??? usually communicated through the System, and with the System currently undergoing its evolution for the next few hours, there was no chance he would receive those promised gifts until it finished upgrading.

‘It seems whoever that guy was with the wooden talisman lied to the Spirit King and The Will of the Acarnis Galaxy,’ Anthony thought. He had already been here for several minutes, yet nobody had come looking for him despite having used the wooden talisman exactly as instructed.

Seeing that both ??? and the promised backer connected to the wooden talisman were nowhere to be seen, Anthony moved without another moment’s hesitation. His body vanished from the elevated platform as he shot toward the surrounding mountain ranges at immense speed.

The four members from the Upper Galaxy merely smirked before vanishing from where they floated. In less than a single second, they effortlessly closed the distance between themselves and Anthony.

How could Anthony possibly hope to escape beings of this caliber through sheer speed alone? That was nothing more than wishful thinking.

It hadn’t even been half an hour since Anthony had Ascended, yet he was already fleeing for his life.