Godfather! I Want to Improve So Badly!

The smell of disinfectant suddenly became pungent.

The reaction of Tessa, the female Reaper he had known for two days, left Ian completely baffled. He even wondered if he had mistaken her for someone else—was the one before him Tessa's twin sister?

There were quite a few Reapers.

Reapers existed everywhere in the world, scattered across every place where life could be found. They were a kind of higher life-form that wandered the human world, tasked with guiding those who had departed to the Homecoming where they belonged. Places like hospitals were naturally where Reapers often appeared.

Every soul on the verge of death would encounter a Reaper.

There were also theories and evidence suggesting that Reapers might be a special kind of Angel. Their duties differed from those Angels in Heaven, but the essence of their lives could be regarded as a special Angelic form. Regardless of which theory was true, one undisputed fact remained: all Reapers derived their authority from the Death Knight among the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

He was the most unique of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, one of the oldest beings in the universe, second only to God. Like Lady Death, He was an embodiment of the concept of death itself.

And because of that—

The identity of a Death Knight Kin might indeed bring Ian enormous benefits. Of course, it might also come with an enormous price. Either way, it was something Ian could not refuse in his current circumstances.

What was the big shot thinking?

Ian could not figure it out.

He only knew that if there were benefits, he would take them meekly. If there were downsides, he would rise up and resist. So far, being able to see Reapers was still a pretty good benefit.

"Tessa?"

Ian saw the female Reaper walking toward him.

"Huh?"

The female Reaper looked even more surprised. Ian had clearly not mistaken her; she really was Tessa. Yet she treated him with the unfamiliarity of someone meeting him for the first time.

"Seriously, you can't be so mad that you're pretending not to know me just because I used your blessing—no, your curse—to mess around in the bathroom a few times, can you?"

Ian's first thought was that this fickle old hag was petty.

However—

"I don't understand what you're talking about, child. You shouldn't be able to see me. That violates the rules." The female Reaper's gaze was suspicious, and her puzzled expression did not look like an act.

"Are you sure we've never met?"

Ian's throat bobbed.

He was very nervous.

Not because the female Reaper was getting closer, nor solely because of her unfamiliarity. It was because as she approached, he could not smell that pleasant scent.

The thought sent chills down Ian's spine.

If the female Reaper Tessa before him was not the same Tessa he had met, then who exactly was the fake Tessa he had encountered?

[Temporary Curse: For twenty-four hours, you will be immune to death.]

Other than a Reaper—

Who else had the authority to bestow such a curse?

Cold sweat—

Began to bead on Ian's forehead.

Perhaps his subconscious had already formed some kind of guess, but Ian's will and soul clearly had ideas of their own. He did not want to think about why he was breaking out in a cold sweat.

Don't think about it.

Round things up a little, deceive himself a few more times, and the whole world was more or less still peaceful. With his perfect logical loop, Ian gradually regained his composure.

"Have we met before?" The female Reaper stopped in front of Ian. The two stood inches apart, one tall and one short. After studying Ian with a serious expression, she shook her head.

"You feel unfamiliar to me. I think this is our first meeting." Tessa searched through her long memories but could not find even the slightest recollection related to Ian.

"Gulp~"

The sound of the boy swallowing became even clearer.

The hallway lights suddenly flickered.

The female Reaper abruptly turned toward the hospital room where resuscitation was underway. On the machine connected to the patient's chest, the electrocardiogram representing the fluctuations of life was nearly a flat line.

"Sorry, I don't have much time. I don't know why you can see me, but this isn't right." The female Reaper raised her slightly pale right hand.

"Relax. It won't hurt at all. You need to forget our encounter. I think such a special fate will guide us to meet again when you leave this world."

The female Reaper's voice was gentle, even carrying a sense of warmth. Her hand was about to touch Ian's forehead when she discovered that Ian had actually leaned his head forward of his own accord.

Except—

The female Reaper's hand did not touch the boy's forehead. Instead, the boy opened his mouth and bit down on her wrist. Caught completely off guard, she froze on the spot.

"What are you doing?"

Tessa looked utterly bewildered. She could feel Ian's teeth clamping down hard.

A moment later—

"Sorry. In the face of your underhanded attack, I just wanted to try something." Ian awkwardly released her hand, then politely took out a tissue and wiped the saliva from the female Reaper's wrist.

"It seems Einstein's theories are still rather limited." Ian looked melancholy. He did not want to believe that science had limits; he would rather believe his teeth simply were not strong enough.

"????"

This newly encountered Tessa was still bewildered. She understood every word Ian said, yet she had no idea what he was talking about. Still, she noticed something that she found impossible to believe.

"Teeth marks."

The female Reaper raised the hand he had wiped clean. Clear teeth marks were appearing where her wrist had been bitten, bringing her a physical sensation she had never experienced before.

It was pain.

This was absolutely impossible. Reapers should have been immune to all physical harm from the human world. Ian, who understood the nature of Reapers, could more or less understand the female Reaper's confusion.

"I think it's because of this. Can't you see it?" Ian raised the back of his hand, where the mark from the Death Knight was flashing.

"Some kind of magical power?"

The female Reaper could neither see nor sense it. She merely frowned slightly, then suddenly spoke into the air. "Andrew, I need some help over here."

As soon as she spoke—

The next moment—

A man in a black uniform with slicked-back hair appeared silently behind Ian. He was obviously a Reaper as well, and his well-defined hand pressed directly onto the crown of Ian's head.

"Tessa, you can't even handle a little boy with spiritual sight?" The male voice behind him was lazy, and he mischievously squeezed Ian's head hard.

"Buddy, you're messing up my hair." Ian was startled at first, but then he immediately spun around, raised his hand, and struck the Reaper behind him with a vicious backward grab.

A direct hit.

The handsome Reaper named Andrew stiffened all over, then dropped to his knees. He clutched his crotch with both hands in disbelief and let out a nearly heart-rending howl.

"It's shattered! It really shattered! It wasn't supposed to shatter!"

The pain grew worse and worse.

It made the male Reaper roll frantically across the floor. Many people passed by nearby, but they could not see the Reapers. They merely gave the strangely behaving boy odd looks.

"This is impossible! You can really hurt Reapers!" Tessa saw her companion's miserable state and felt her legs tighten. She hurriedly backed away several steps, putting distance between herself and Ian.

Ian did not answer the female Reaper's question. Having discovered that he truly could harm beings like Reapers, he merely raised his flashing, marked fist and fell into thought.

"This should be the big date you gave me, big shot." Ian pulled the mysterious pendant from inside his clothes and held it to his mouth like a phone.

"If it really was you, then please make a little sound, big shot! Otherwise, I'm going to call you my godfather." Ian's tone was not actually fawning.

It simply carried a desire to improve, a desire to exploit bugs and level up every day. This "call" may not have connected, because Ian did not hear any Whisper from an Ancient God.

However—

[Death Knight Kin]

On the status panel—

The original icon twisted.

It changed shape.

[Death Knight Envoy]

It had changed its appearance, and its name as well.