The Spare's Second Chance in Apocalypse-Chapter 198: Ch : B-Class Raid- Part 1

Zara was clearly not pleased with Selene’s decision to keep everything to herself, but she sighed in resignation.

She knew Selene well enough to understand that pushing her too much would only make her more stubborn. Instead, she softened her expression and let out a slow breath.

"At least promise me you’ll rest. You scared us, Selene. That fever was bad. We thought we were going to lose you."

Zara said, her voice quieter now, almost pleading.

Selene swallowed.

She hadn’t realized it had been that bad.

Selene had felt the fever burning through her body like wildfire, but she had assumed it was just an aftereffect of the strange dream.

Looking at Zara now, she could see the exhaustion in her features—dark circles under her eyes, her usually neat hair slightly messy, and the way she swayed slightly as if fighting off sleep.

Guilt tugged at Selene’s chest.

"I promise. Thank you for watching over me, Zara. Go get some rest—you look like you need it"

She murmured, offering a small smile.

Zara hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded, letting out a small, tired chuckle.

"Fine. But if you so much as wobble on your feet tomorrow, I’m calling Ethan, and you won’t be able to stop me."

With that, Zara finally left, and Selene was alone once more.

She let out a deep breath, sinking back against her pillows. Her body still ached, though the worst of the fever seemed to have passed.

The cool compress on her forehead was a relief, soothing her overheated skin.

But something nagged at her.

Despite the exhaustion pulling at her, her thoughts drifted back to the dream—the strange swirling colors, the distorted shapes that had passed by her like ghosts. And the voice.

That deep, almost hypnotic voice that had called out to her, that had spoken of a gift, of a ’higher being’ waiting for her.

The memory sent a chill down her spine, though she wasn’t sure why.

Unsettled, she slowly reached out with a trembling hand, summoning her system interface.

It flickered to life before her eyes, the familiar translucent screen appearing in the dimly lit room. But something was different.

New tabs had appeared.

Her fingers hovered over them, her breath catching slightly.

The first one was labeled Side Missions, something that had never existed in her system before. And right below it was something even stranger— Higher Being: Restricted Access.

Selene frowned, clicking on the latter. A warning immediately popped up.

[Warning: This path is classified. Revealing any information about it to outside sources will result in irreversible consequences.]

She shivered. The system had never warned her like this before. It was always cryptic, sure, but never... threatening. Her heart pounded as she moved to the next tab.

[Seed of Immortality: Consume cores to unlock greater access.]

Selene’s stomach twisted. She remembered that glowing eye in her dream, the way it had reached out to her, whispering promises.

Was this connected?

A sharp headache suddenly pulsed behind her eyes, forcing her to shut the interface.

Maybe it was too much to think about now.

She needed rest, and in the morning, maybe things would make more sense.

—

When morning came, the dream and the strange messages from the system faded into the background of Selene’s mind.

The lingering unease remained, but it was duller now, easy to push aside as she focused on the present.

She pulled herself out of bed, her limbs still sluggish but no longer as weak as before.

The fever had broken completely, leaving only exhaustion in its wake. Taking a deep breath, she stretched her arms before heading downstairs.

The scent of breakfast hit her first—the rich aroma of freshly baked bread, the slight bitterness of brewed coffee, and something sweet, maybe fruit preserves.

It was comforting, grounding her in the moment.

When she entered the dining hall, Ethan was already there, casually leaning back in his chair with his usual unreadable expression.

But the moment he saw her, his gaze sharpened.

"You’re finally awake,"

He said, placing his cup down.

"Three days, Selene. You were out for three whole days."

Selene froze mid-step.

"Three days?"

Ethan nodded.

"I was beginning to think I’d have to drag you to a healer. Zara refused to leave your side until she was sure you’d be okay."

Selene sat down carefully, absorbing that information. Three days... no wonder she still felt drained.

"What happened while I was out?"

She asked, reaching for a slice of bread.

Ethan leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

"A lot. First of all, the B-class dungeon raid is finalized. Everything is set, and the teams have been assigned."

Selene nodded, not surprised.

"And?"

Ethan hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Nora Vale reached out."

Selene’s grip on the bread tightened.

"She cleared Rize Spencer’s debt. So, as of today, Rize is free to leave"

Ethan confirmed.

That was good.

Selene had been prepared to help Rize deal with the consequences of her contract, but if Nora had handled it already.

"And there’s more. Rize signed a contract with us. She’s officially part of our center now."

Ethan added, watching her carefully.

"That’s good. It’s all going according to plan so far....barring the thing with me falling unconscious."

Selene processed that for a moment. It was good news—Rize was skilled, and having her on their side was a valuable asset. But something about it felt... too easy.

She took a slow sip of her drink, thinking.

"And how do you feel about it?"

Ethan smirked.

"I think it’s convenient. But I also think you should be careful."

Selene sighed.

"I always am."

Selene took another bite of her food, trying to ignore the nagging sensation in the back of her mind.

The system’s warnings, the dream, the strange new missions—it all felt like pieces of a puzzle she hadn’t figured out yet.

And something told her she didn’t have much time before everything changed again. But she did not have much time to think about it all because before she knew it, the raid was upon her.