Chapter 8

While Henry was still complaining about everything that had happened that day, Adam had already entered the bank.

He had just used his X-ray vision to scan the building. Inside, there were about twenty robbers in total: eight were guarding the hostages in the main hall, four were hiding near the stairs, likely to prevent special forces from launching a surprise attack, two were stationed at the passage leading to the vault, four were inside the vault stuffing gold into bags, and two were in the storage room, attempting to forcibly open a security deposit box.

With this knowledge, Adam bypassed the police and began his debut performance!

---

Bank Underground Vault

As the mastermind behind this operation, Erik Hansen remained calm as he gazed at the safe before him.

While everyone assumed that the robbers were after money, only Erik knew that the real target was a ring stored inside this vault—an enchanted ring his family had been searching for over a century.

Yes, a magic ring.

If anyone else had been present, they would have thought he was crazy. After all, no sane person would risk robbing a bank for something as fantastical as a magic ring.

But as the last surviving member of the Hansen family, Erik knew that magic was real. Before the family's downfall, they had been a lineage of mages. Though he himself had never used magic, that was only because his bloodline had not yet been awakened. Once it was, he could become a world-shaking sorcerer.

The Hansen family traced its magical heritage back to the time of King Arthur. They had once been a prestigious name in the world of magic. Unfortunately, no family can escape decline. Two hundred years ago, in a mysterious incident, all direct members of the Hansen line perished—leaving only a single illegitimate child, Erik's ancestor.

As a bastard, this ancestor had no right to inherit the family's magical knowledge. He was cast out from the magical world and lived as an ordinary nobleman. However, he never forgot his heritage. After years of research, he discovered the key to unlocking their magical bloodline—the Hansen family's enchanted ring.

He dedicated his entire life to searching for it. Before he died, he passed the secret to his heirs, instructing them to find the ring and restore the family's honor.

Generation after generation, the Hansen family pursued the lost ring. After nearly a century, as science flourished and magic was dismissed as mere fantasy, the mission was reduced to a family legend, recorded only in Erik's grandfather's journal.

Erik should have lived as an ordinary person, far removed from magic and superpowers. But fate had other plans. By chance, he discovered a hidden side of the world—mutants.

Fascinated by supernatural abilities, Erik began studying mutants. This led to him provoking the Hawk faction, led by Magneto, and becoming a target for assassination. His parents were eventually killed in one of these attacks.

Grief-stricken, Erik recalled the stories his grandfather once told him. He decided to visit his family's old manor, where he discovered his grandfather's journal.

After years of research, he uncovered long-lost family records and spent a decade verifying them. At last, he had found what he had been searching for—the magic ring. And now, it lay before him in this vault, just within his reach.

As Erik stared at the safe, lost in his thoughts, his most trusted subordinate, Jason, hurried over.

"Boss, the police have surrounded the bank. We need to leave now!"

Erik snapped out of his thoughts. "Understood. Go check on the others—make sure they don't draw attention to us."

Jason nodded. "Yes, boss. I'll handle it."

He left the storage room and headed to the vault, ordering the men to speed up loading the gold.

With Jason gone, Erik took a deep breath and carefully opened the safe. Inside an exquisite box lay a silver ring embedded with a purple gemstone. He bit his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the gemstone.

A faint purple light flickered.

Erik's expression shifted to pure excitement. This proved the ring's power was real. With it, he could gain extraordinary abilities—and finally take revenge on those damned mutants!

Just then, Jason burst into the room in a panic.

"Boss, bad news!"

Erik frowned. "What happened?"

Jason, breathless, said, "We've lost contact with our men upstairs!"

Erik's eyes darkened. "Lost contact? Has the SWAT team already stormed in? Do they not care that we have hostages?"

Jason shook his head. "It's not the police… It's one of them! Our guys reported that the enemy moved too fast, and their guns suddenly became scorching hot."

Erik's gaze turned cold. "You mean… a mutant?"

Jason knew about mutants but was unaware that their mission was to obtain a mere ring. He had met Erik while the latter was on the run from mutant assassins, and out of gratitude, had sworn loyalty to him.

Jason nodded. "Yes, boss. Our men won't hold out much longer. We need to go!"

But instead of fear, Erik sneered. "Leave? Why should we? I finally have it… This is the perfect chance to test its power!"

With that, he chanted a spell he had just inherited from the ring.

The ring suddenly emitted a brilliant purple glow. When the light faded, Erik's black casual outfit had transformed into an elegant purple mage's robe. In his hand, he now held a staff as tall as himself, its top adorned with a fist-sized purple gemstone.

Jason stared in shock. "Boss… is that you? Is this the weapon you were looking for?"

Erik admired his transformed appearance, murmuring, "So this is the ring's true power… Ha ha ha… Such immense power!"

Jason gulped. "Boss? Boss!!"

Erik smirked coldly. "Jason… I'm afraid you've seen too much. So… would you mind dying for me?"

His refined tone made his words all the more terrifying.

Jason's eyes widened in disbelief. "B-Boss…?! You can't be—"

Before he could finish, a magic blast struck his chest, killing him instantly.

At that moment, Adam—who had finished dealing with the robbers upstairs—strolled towards the vault with a satisfied grin.

Standing before the storage room, Adam called out, "Hey there, fellas! Looks like your little party is over!"

With a single punch, he blasted the door open—just in time to witness Jason's death.

Adam frowned. "Damn… This is messy. Didn't expect my debut fight to go like this. What do you say, Mr. Magician?"

Erik scoffed. "A rookie? Heh… A perfect first target for my vengeance against mutants. Die!"

He waved his staff, launching a magic sphere at Adam.

Adam dodged swiftly and rushed behind Erik, aiming for a knockout blow. But just as he reached him, dozens of lightning bolts erupted from Erik's body, sending Adam flying.

Boom!

Adam crashed into a wall. He shook his head and muttered, "Damn it! Never trusting those novels again!"

Erik, relieved that the ring's defense activated in time, realized he wasn't yet strong enough to fight Adam head-on. He needed to retreat.

Meanwhile, Adam grew frustrated. This was his first hero fight—why was he facing such a tough opponent?!

Erik, sensing Adam's inexperience, mocked him mercilessly throughout the battle.

Adam growled, "Dammit! Aren't mages supposed to be elegant? Where's your honor?!"

Erik laughed. "Honor? That's for nobles. Do I look like a noble magician to you?"

With a sneer, he deflected Adam's heat vision back at him, blasting him against the wall again.

Coughing through the dust, Adam saw that Erik had vanished.

"Ugh… At least that bastard is gone…"

***

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