《Transmigrated With A Resolution System》


 Chapter ?1 To The Bar!

    "An art thief?! Who do they think they are referring to as an art thief?" Nix tightened his grip on the side of his phone as he checked his Onstagram ount, the followers dropping, coupled with the level of hate speech directed in his messages.


    It had been three months since he had been used and reported as stealing an art of someone he had thought was his friend.


    He had been called lots of names, but the one which had hurt were the terms, "giarist" and "Art thief". This had tainted his career more than he could imagine. No matter what he drew, there was a level of hate speech and reports on his content.


    ''This is what you get for having a famous friend who is also an artist. No one believes you.'' He sighed.


    It was new year''s eve and he was going to spend the night alone for the first time in a while.


    He looked down at his half drunk bottle. Taking another drink from the bottle he had set before him, he angrily drops it on the counter.


    "What am I going to do now!" He yelled.


    "Does anyone know?" He looked behind him, raising his bottle.


    The people in the bar looked in his direction, thinking of him as nothing but a troubled young man spurting nonsense due to being drunk.


    "Hello!" He pulled out his phone. "I''m sorry, my work was just removed again." He spoke to the phone.


    Shaking their head, they only felt sorry for this young man who was talking back to his phone.


    He had five bottles emptied already, with the sixth one about to be among the empty ones.


    "Can someone please take him out of here before he throws up? I for one wouldn''t like to be witness to that shit anymore." A man raised his ss to the bartender.


    "It''s you again." A brte waitress, pped her hand on the table top. Her countenance gave off a different feel to the smile on her face.


    Nix looked up at her with groggy eyes. He hadn''t expected he could attract such a beautifuldy in front of him. A smile crept onto his lips, probably he could go with this to distract himself.


    He tried his best topose himself, but his eyes kept blinking to keep awake. He needed to concentrate, she hade specifically for him.


    "Sir!" She began, not pleased that he woulde by at their bar and always made a scene. Paying for the drinks or not, if this continues they are bound to lose some customers.


    "Yes, beautiful?" He slurred on his speech, pping his cheeks to stay awake.


    "You need to leave, now!" She repeatedly tapped her feet on the floor, awaiting an answer.


    "Leave?" He repeated, squinting his eyes at her. "Why would I do that? I just barely started,"


    "Starte¨C" She looked down at the number of bottles on the table.


    Pinching the bridge of her nose, cursing under her breath at the bartender for giving her the task of escorting this customer out every single time.


    Taking another gulp, he set the bottle down like he had done.


    That was the breaking point for the waitress, he couldn''t be so carefree about hitting the bottle¨Cit was ss and not stic. That would tell on all their paychecks if he were to break one.


    Pulling him up, she hissed at the body weight. She couldn''t even move her traveling luggages without help or it having wheels. Yet she was pulling a full grown man out?!


    "Wait!" Nix pushed her off him.


    Her patience level was growing thin as she watched him sit back down, ''what could he possibly want to do now?''


    Taking the bottle, he gulped down the rest. Shoving his hand in his wallet, pulling out his wallet, he pped the money on the table top.


    "Keep the change." He winked, which was then followed by a hup. Staggering towards the door and pushing it open.


    A wave of cool breeze fanned his face the moment he stepped out. Opening his hand wide he screamed into the night. It would be another year soon. "I should make a... hic... wish!"


    Taking in air, he exhaled while shouting out the words: "I wish to be in a fantasy world of my making! F*ck this feeling!"


    "I want to escape this reality!" He coughed right after, pping his chest.


    Passersby looked at him strangely, carefully bypassing where he stood and the direction he faced. Taking a quick nce at the bar luminous sign, they could only shake their head at the thought on why he was yelling without a bridled tongue.


    Finally getting that out of his system, he turned towards the direction of his home.<sub> </sub>


    "Nope, it''s the other way." He said to himself, turning in the opposite direction,ughing at how stupid he could be to forget the path that led to his home which was merely a few blocks away from the bar.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    It was yet another miracle that he had managed to find his way to his apartment.


    "Drui, I''m home!" He called out, pushing in the door to his apartment.


    He frowned as realization dawned on him. That b*stard had left their apartment the moment he was med for stealing his own digital art.


    Tossing his phone on the table, he staggered to his bed, falling face first. He could only groan to the impeding hangover that was going to happen the next day.


    "I''m going to kill that idiot once I get to know his location." He punched the bed.


    Buzz!


    The vibration of his phone made him raise his face to see where he had kept it. Now the table seemed too far off his reach as he stretched outzily.


    Buzz!


    "Couldn''t you levitate and make your way across to me?" He frowned at how he still kept his hand outstretched for something impossible.


    Buzz!


    Buzz!


    The vibration kept on with its annoying buzz sound. If he didn''t get up, he was going to be frustrated to his limit.


    Sitting up with a slouched back, he huped once more. His whole vision was spinning and a bit blurred, but he fought against it and walked towards the table with the help of using the wall as support.


    Finally he had reached the table, and to his surprise what he saw vibrating wasn''t his phone but an iPad 10.2 inch, to its side was an apple pencil 1.


    "How the hell did this get here?!" He scratched his head. Now, he believed he was totally hallucinating.


    Exhaling, he tried to be positive. He had drunk a fair amount of bottles, so he must be delusional.


    "Yes that''s it." He pointed usingly at the device.


    His phone wasying on some of his sketchbooks, it wasn''t possible he was hallucinating, it was were he had tossed it.


    The iPad was the very equipment he had discarded after his reputation was ruined. So how could it magically make its way to his room?


    "I had made sure to toss you in the garbage then." He pointed usingly at the device.


    Buzz!


    Buzz!


    The vibration he was witnessing was enough to term it as real, but to make sure, he needed to touch it.


    Lightly touching the power button at the top, the luminous light reflected on his face showed him a picture of an anime girl dressed in a revealing maid outfit.


    Nix jumped right back, this wasn''t a figment of his imagination? It was definitely the same wallpaper he had used.


    Taking a peek at what was causing the vibration, it was nothing but a single notification.


    How could he have a notification when he had not connected it to the WiFi. He had made sure to disable it before tossing it.


    If he didn''t attend to this soon, he was going to live while listening to vibration for a long while.


    Rubbing his palms he breathed out, "okay, here goes nothing!" He ced his middle finger at the Touch ID to unlock it.


    ''Ha! I always knew one day this gesture would fit you perfectly.'' He snickered in mischief.

 Chapter 2 Escape Reality

    The notification interface popped up on the screen. The annoying buzz finally stopped.


    Pulling out his chair, he took his seat. Stretching, he adjusted the iPad with it''s pouch. If he could find out what had made this device appear in his room, probably he could sell it out again and not live this weird nightmare.


    ''Didn''t the person want this? It did cost a lot, yet I sold it cheap. Why return it to me?''


    He had sold his equipment so he couldn''t be reminded of his troubled past. He was still confused as to why he had kept his art themed Onstagram ount.


    Probably that still reminded him of what he had lost but still couldn''t give up.


    Shaking his head, that was the least problem. This device was his main focus, he was definitely going to request the apartment''s feed on who had yed a trick on himter on.


    Clicking on the notification, the screen just showed one option.


    "Escape reality by drawing out your fantasy?" He read out the words more of a question than a statement.


    He cast a nce at the stylus. It had been months since hest drew anything, he might as well term himself as rusty.


    Another notification popped up after that one, yet again he clicked it to see what it just might tell.


    [Redeem yourself, with your creativity. Find the path to enlightenment.]


    Nix stared at the screen for quite some time, could he really redeem himself? What kind of redemption was this all about?


    Taking the stylus, he had made his decision¨Che would draw thisst artwork, he couldn''t care less about redemption anymore.


    It was his passion and he had almost forgotten about that.


    "You want me to draw out my fantasy huh? I''d show you how creative I can be." He couldn''t believe he was talking to a device yet again.


    Closing all notifications, the more he scrolled through his apps, he was certain this was his.


    Clicking on the desired app, a clean sheet was presented.


    His hand was suspended over the screen for a while as he thought about what he wanted. ''How good would it be to have an alternate world filled with gifted people, dragons and magic?''


    A smile crept on his lips as he sketched what he had in mind first.


    Looking down at his artwork, he frowned. It was nothing more than doodles, in his head he had assumed he was drawing at his best, but right now, it was far from his best.


    "Stupid alcohol!" He spat in spite. The more he looked at the doodle, the more displeased he got.


    [Would you like for a reconstruction of your work?]


    "Reconstruction?" He questioned the notification.


    [How you visualize your artwork, it would be reconstructed to fit]


    He blinked a few times, contemting making a decision. He understood he couldn''t make a perfect sketch because of his vision being altered, but it was another thing for an artist to rely on such shortcuts.


    "No!" Shaking his head, he refused to go with it.


    [You have only today to redeem yourself]


    "I don''t care about redemption, my career is already tainted." He turned around, burying his face into his palm.


    [Would you like to detoxify your alcohol level?]


    Nix turned around at the sound of another pop up message.


    "You can do that for me?" He asked, his hope taking a new turn.


    [Y/N]


    Staring at the notification only made him understand that it wasn''t going to answer anymore questions. It had given him a chance to draw in his sane senses once more, this wasn''t something to be taken lightly.


    Clicking on the "Yes", he felt a tingling sensation course through his body. Moments after, his vision stilled and so did his mental state.


    "I''m surprised it did work." He voiced out his amazement.


    Rubbing his hands, he proceeded to go at his sketch again.


    Satisfied with the oue, he proceeded to make ayered line art for each part.


    After what could be termed as several failed attempts by using the two finger tap gesture to undo severally. He was certain he had be rusty.


    If he was going to n his dream fantasy world, he was determined not to sleep until he did so.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    pping the stylus on the table, raising his hands up in the air, he whooped in joy at finallypleting his masterpiece.


    "Then what?" His once high spirit dampened as he stared at the screen, not knowing what he was meant to do in rtion to the notifications he had received.


    Drumming his fingers on the table, he waited for another notification to pop up, surely he was meant to see some sort of confirmation.


    "No notification?"


    Looking at the time, it was almost midnight, marking the beginning of a new year.


    His patience was at it''s peak. Frustrated, he got up from his seat, picking up his phone and shoving it into his pocket while pacing about the room.


    "Such a waste of time." He muttered.


    "What was I thinking?" He paused, dipping his hand in his pocket and checking the time on his lockscreen.


    [23:59]


    ''Atleast I''d be awake till the start of a new year.'' He sighed.


    Making a countdown in his head on the possible seconds that would be left.<sub> </sub>


    Instead his vision began to blur again, "what the..."


    He tried to stay awake but that was proving abortive. His vision was clouded in ck.


    Thud!


    He dropped down unconscious.


    [00:00]


    [Congrattions on your sessful creative work]


    The silent notification popped on the screen, followed by a blinding light engulfing the whole room.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    "Is he dead?" A squeaky voice of a female spoke to someone.


    "He''s still breathing so it surely couldn''t be." A male voice replied.


    "What is mother going to say about this?"


    ''What... no. Why is my bed feeling wet? Why does my body feel wet? Did I die from over drinking?'' Nix''s body shook a little, scaring the two who were keeping a strict eye on him.


    ''Hmmm?" He could have sworn he heard some voices earlier.


    Taking a sniff, he instantly regretted it as a rush of mud went straight into his nose.


    He jolted awake with a yell, holding onto his head.


    He had to get out whatever had gotten into his nose, so he repeatedly blew his nose to get it out.


    "Yes. Not dead." The person confirmed it to the other. "Then the danger has been averted. We are saved."


    ''Voices? Yes, voices. I heard voices.'' He turned around to have a glimpse of whoever had spoken.


    "Get the hell away from me." He yelled, crawling away from them, his eyes darted around his surroundings.


    This was not his room. It couldn''t have arge space with grasses sprouting as tall as trees. Looking down he realized heid down on a muddy floor earlier.


    ''So that means what had gotten into my nose was... was mud?!'' His eyes widened in horror.


    Looking across, he could get a glimpse of the two people who had been talking. One was a underage female with a childlike appearance who had her blue hair tied in twin ponytails dressed in a casual tank top and shorts in an all ckbo¨Cthis made his mind instantly trail to a loli character.


    ''Am I in an anime world? How cool! My dream must have been so messed up by my drinking, to think this feels so real!'' He was getting excited at the possibility.


    To her side was a ck haired male who looked probably his age, his arms were folded with his eyes narrowed, he wore a ck long sleeved shirt and a pair of ck trousers tucked into his boots and didn''t look friendly in any way as opposed to his loli counterpart.


    ''Is there a funeral I missed?'' He narrowed his eyes at their choice of colourbo.


    "Who are you?!" He pointed usingly at the two of them.


    "Who are we?" The maleughed, "you must have hit your head pretty hard."


    "Hit my head?" Nix couldn''t understand why he would think of some stupid excuse such as that.


    ''I was sleeping! Sleeping I say! The only thing I was expecting when I woke up was a goddamn hangover that never came. Instead I''m stuck with this dreamlike world.'' His eyes said more than his lips could.


    "Is there something wrong with elder brother?" The female looked up at the other male with teary eyes.


    "Who?" Nix did a double take. Since when did he have siblings? He was an only child, an orphan in fact.


    He couldn''t understand why his dream was punishing him with these two facts, giving him nothing but a fleeting moment.


    "Aimi, our brother must have been badly injured for him not to remember us." The male scooped his sister into his arm.


    Getting up, he needed to be out of this dream as soon as he could. But how does one wake up from a dream you are conscious of?


    "I don''t know who you are." He pointed at the male.


    "I just know you cause your brother called your name earlier." He pointed at Aimi who had her hands clutched on her brother''s neck.


    "Let''s skip all this bullshit. Could you just please hit me, I need to wake up from this real soon. I''m yet to get confirmation from that notification." He kicked on some mud, falling down in the process.


    Aimi let out a slight chuckle at his actions, he was starting to give off the vibes her brother used to have¨Cgoofy and carefree.


    ''Sure, even someone as cute as you couldugh at my predicament.'' He closed his eyes momentarily to calm his nerves.


    "Brother is back!" She squealed, stretching out her arms. She wanted to be carried by her elder brother.


    Nix cringed at her outstretched arms, how could she be his sister. He would have preferred her as a loli on his phone''s wallpaper.


    Cross popping veins appeared on the male''s head. Setting Aimi gently on the muddy floor. He pushed her behind him.


    "Kindly stand while brother brings him back to his senses." He shed a smile her way.


    Reluctantly, she nodded her head, when their eldest brother made up his mind, who were they to go against him. At least he couldn''t kill him, they were family.


    "You needed someone to wake you up, right?" He had a devilish grin on his face as he punched on his palm. His blue eyes glowed a brighter shade as he spoke.


    ''What the hell is that glow?!'' Nix panicked at the strange phenomenon.


    Towering over him, Nix began to tremble at how menacing he looked now.


    When he said that, it was just a slip of the tongue because he was just frustrated.


    ''F*ck!''

 Chapter 3 Delusional

    "Surely we cane to a reasonable conclusion. You wouldn''t hit your brother now, would you?" Nix forced a smile to calm his pounding heartbeat.


    No matter how hard he tried, to calm his racing heart. He just couldn''t. This feeling of fear felt so real. Was this not a dream?


    "Now you view yourself as my brother." Naz squatted, raising his chin.


    ''Why the hell would you pull up my chin at such a close range?'' Nix fought his inner thoughts from saying that out loud.


    He had to think of a way out of this. He had to in order to survive.


    "You are right. I hit my head so I haven''t fully recovered my memories." Nix covered his nervousness with a slight chuckle.


    ''Would I ever recover memories that were never there?''


    Humming, the male let go of Nix. "At the very least you still fear my capabilities so that''s a headway."


    Aimi ran forward, defying his words to stand and watch, she wanted a hug from him.


    Pointing at her eldest brother she decided to help him out with his name. "He is brother Naz."


    "Have you bothered looking at your reflectiontely?" Naz interrupted with a frown.


    "I don''t see why that would be needed, but if I do have one I could do it." Nix shrugged.


    Naz shook his head, raising his hand, he used an index finger to make a circr motion. Crystal clear water sprung from the mud and following the movement of his hand but forming a continuous loop in a rapid motion, thin enough for it to reflect an image.


    Nix''s mouth dropped open. He blinked twice to be sure if what he was witnessing was still true. Maybe he still needed to be hit.


    "I''m you... no... you are me." He pointed back and forth at himself and Naz. "And how could you possibly do that?" He looked at his reflection from the water, he wondered how his mother could tell them apart.


    ''Does everyone have powers? This is oddly simr to the gifts I had drawn.'' He tilted his head in thought.


    Naz sighed, his brother''s condition was far worse than he had intended. If he could forget he had a twin brother, what else could he have forgotten?


    ''My face!'' Nix panicked, looking down at his hands, surely then it looked like his but judging from the face, he was surely not the same person.


    "Brother Nix is still delusional." Aimi wailed, running towards Naz forfort.


    "At least my name didn''t change." Nix let out a sigh of relief. That was one identity crisis avoided.


    ''Oh please, spare me all the sentimental worries.'' Nix rolled his eyes. He never thought well when it came to crying females.


    "It''s alright." Naz patted her head, frowning at him.


    "Get up this instant!" Naz yelled in rage, the same blue glow in his eyes activated.


    He didn''t need a memo, he pulled himself together, his clothes soiled from the mud. He would need to wash up soon.


    Aimi groaned, holding her head.


    "What''s wrong? Do you see something?" Naz searched their surroundings, he had hardened the water into sharp icicles surrounding them all.


    "What is it?!" Nix asked.


    "Shh!" Naz hushed him.


    ''How rude!'' Nix narrowed his eyes. For one thing, he never liked being kept in the dark.


    "They areing. We have to go." Aimi opened her eyes, it had glowed the same blue as Naz had.


    ''You also have powers. Just great! Then what is my power?''


    Pulling Nix down, theyid on the ground. Ayer of water prevented them fromying totally in the mud. A tremor urred a few secondster.


    Nix looked at Naz and Aimi who tried not to make any sound.


    ''What could we possibly be hiding from?'' Nix wondered, even Naz had hidden, surely whatever they hading was a formidable foe.


    This was a dream after all, he could definitely risk it and sneak a peek at whatever wasing.


    "Nix, don''t!" Naz hissed, his brother must have gone mad after the ident.


    Ignoring his call to get back, he slowly made his way in the direction of the tremor.


    [Congrattions you have unlocked a new trait: Courage. A daring move to face the danger is achieved]


    Nix tried to push off the user interface in front of him, surely his love for gaming couldn''te crashing in on his dreams.


    ''I am not here for games. I need a way to get back to my original body. If I can''t get hit, I might as well get scared shit and wake up.'' He thought.


    "Nix,e back!" He could hear the distant voice of his brother.


    The tall grasses were proving a hindrance to his vision. Pushing some of them out of the way, he set his eyes on a boulder up ahead, he could use that to rebound and collect his thoughts.


    The interface popped up again, he was d he had hid behind the boulder. All he needed to do now was navigate it so it could be removed.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 1]


    [Health: 90/100]


    [Exp: 50/100]


    [Energy: 100/100]<sub> </sub>


    [Strength: 66/100]


    [Agility: 99/100]


    [Trait: Courage]


    [ss: None]


    [Gift: Fire]


    His eyes widened at thetter part, ''G... gift''. He gulped, his eyes nced above him, it was all starting to rush back to him. He didn''t understand why he hadn''t realized it earlier. This was the world he had drawn back in his apartment.


    ''If this is the world I drew, then that means the cause of the tremor...'' Nix bit down on his lips, his heart pounding to the imminent danger.


    A snarl could be heard at a close range. He gulped, there were few creatures he had drawn that could make that sound if they were awakened.


    Looking to his side, Nix witnessed heated light streamed between it''s razor sharp teethe into view. The sheer size of a staggering 11 feet, made him tremble in fright.


    The thick horns sprouted amidst it''s ck scaly body. It''s yellow eyes were yet to take into ount his presence until it took a sniff of the air.


    Turning its head, it''s ring locked onto him. It was the very dragon he had drawn. He cursed his luck on why he hade up against such monstrosity.


    [New mission: Tame Raiken]


    "Tame?!" Nix hissed, his legs were barely able to move and yet he was meant to tame it?!


    He definitely couldn''t die in here, he had no guarantee he could respawn if he actually did so. This was his fantasy world, the world he had created, a mere dragon shouldn''t be a problem.


    "Oh ho! So you''re Raiken." His head looked upwards at the gigantic size of the monstrosity.


    ''I must have been foolish to draw such a thing.'' He was instantly regretting this detail in his art piece.


    "Brother!" Aimi yelled to get the dragon''s attention.


    ''Shit!'' He panicked, wondering where Naz was to let her out of his sight.


    Fire brimmed in Raiken''s mouth as he prepared to attack on sight.


    Aimi ducked to hide her presence, crawling with her hand closer to the scene. She was stopped from any more crazy action by Naz, who had his grip tightly on her ankle.


    "What is wrong with you?" Naz hissed.


    "But..."


    Nix let out a sigh of relief, the danger had been averted, he wouldn''t forgive himself if she was hurt. Wherever Naz was, he hoped he would get to her in time.


    "What are you looking at?" Nix sneered at the dragon.


    Spitting a wave of me at Nix, it closed its mouth, confident it had killed it''s target.


    "Nooo! Brother!" Aimi''s voice was muffled by Naz water gift. He couldn''t afford her running out of his grip anymore nor put herself in danger because of their stupid brother.


    "You brought that upon yourself." Naz closed his eyes to prevent the tears from falling.


    As the smoke died down, it revealed Nix unscathed. He blew on the smoke, coughing.


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    [Health level dropped by 2 points]


    <o>,m A grin made its way on lips, a new found hope activated.</o>


    [Congrattions you have unlocked a new trait: Hope and survival. A new found expectation to deal with the problem]


    Angered, it let out a roar, raising it''s w scaled hand to smash the boulder.


    Rolling out of the way, if he hadn''t done that he would have been turned to jam.


    Nix''s eyes sharpened at what he perceived as a threat. If it was going to y it''s game that way. He was going to show it who''s boss.


    ''I made you, so yield!''


    Steadying his ragged breathing, he dashed to the left, he aimed to climb on it through the tail whichid on the floor.


    He had no weapon on him, so he had to rely on brute strength to his advantage.


    He ducked his head low to evade the swinging w at him.


    Evading another wave of fire shot at him once more, he was pleasantly surprised this creature would use the same tactics twice.


    Even though it had little effect on him, he couldn''t afford to lose a bit of his health.


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 45%]


    "It''s time to end this." He dashed, switching his position just to confuse Raiken. Luckily it worked like a charm.


    It spat out it''s fire at Nix in a blind rage. He evaded each and every one of it''s attacks, getting a step closer to his target.


    Meanwhile, Naz couldn''t believe his eyes. The moves he was using were far tooplex and he was trying to get closer to the dragon, why?


    No one had ever dared challenge the dragons, they were mythical beings that held untold power. In their defense, they were in their territory. They would never attack back home due to the magical barrier ced above the whole city down to the outskirts.


    "What really happened to you, Nix?"

 Chapter 4 Plot Armour

    Swiftly evading the movement of Raiken, he made his way to the nape of its neck.


    Roooaaarrr!


    Raiken let out a roar, spreading out it''s folded wings as it prepared to attack mid-flight.


    Missing his footing, he fell to the ground with a thud.


    Getting up, he brushed himself, ring at the monster.


    ''I created you, so you must concede defeat sooner orter.''


    While he had drawn the dragons, he had made it that their weaknesses were in the nape of their neck.


    A smile made its way to his lips, never would he have thought that little detail would actuallye in handy.


    ''Thankyou plot armour!'' He was eternally grateful for the anime inspiration he had gotten.


    Luckily, he had negated the thought of making their scales made of armour. He was d he didn''t have that brush tool to finish the deal. He would have been definitely done for, trying to punch that.


    Even though the dragons had scales, they were nothing but a ruse. They were just made of its fleshyered to look like scales.


    He was sure no one ever dared try to find the truth about these dragons because they were created several hours ago and would not be able to gather much intel about the situation.


    Second, he made these dragons formidable opponents when threatened. They had their own territories and were severely territorial.


    Looking at his feet for a while, he wondered why this body he was in happened to be where they could be killed. He had definitely not drawn this character, nor Naz.


    He could excuse the fact Aimi looked like a loli, he was to me for the simrities, his obsession was getting in the way of his art.


    His reflexes kickstarted, raising his hand, he absorbed the fire aimed at him by Raiken.


    ''I was here having a moment and this monster dared disturb my line of thought?!'' He looked up at the dragon which was cautiously studying him.


    "You seem to forget something." He pointed at the dragon, he couldn''t care less if it could understand him or not.


    Sensing his pointed finger as a threat, it dived downwards for a swoop.


    Kneeling and sliding with the help of the mud, he narrowly escaped the w aimed at him as the dragon swooped downwards.


    Nix closed his eyes. The fight was dragging for far too long.


    When he yed, he never liked to drag out a fight, which was why he always took the offensive approach. But looking at Raiken in flight, he could see this would be harder than he thought it was, after all this was his first time fighting a dragon with little experience.


    He was sure with taking down this dragon, he would he able to gain more experience.


    Roooaaarrr!


    Nix hissed, the sound was getting on his nerves. If this monster wanted to fight with him, why go through the trouble of flying?


    "You seem to forget... oh I apologize." He pinched the bridge of his nose. Internally facepalming at his slip.


    He was not talking to a person, but a dragon! A mere dragon! So how could it possibly remember anything? He was even doubtful if this character had evere in contact with a dragon before.


    But he wanted so badly to sound cool while talking to it, it needed to know what he wanted to say that he considered was his trump card.


    "Get yourself together, Nix." He mumbled to himself, inhaling and exhaling.<sub> </sub>


    "Get your head together, Nix! Watch out!" Naz yelled as the dragon''s mouth brimmed with something else other than fire.


    ''Oh! There he is.'' Nix waved in the direction of his brother. He was starting to worry if his brother had been able to find Aimi, but now he was sure she was safe.


    ''He even thinks like me.'' He let out a chuckle, rubbing his chin.


    Tilting his head, he realized there was something other than thinking like him that spewed from his mouth.


    Naz was getting anxious, was he wrong to have misjudged his brother? It did seem he was still as goofy as before. He wondered how anyone could be calm in such a dangerous situation, let alone be deep in thoughts.


    He needed to help. With his hand movements he decided to conjure up arger amount of water instead. Focusing his attention on the dragon, he aimed at it with full force.


    "Don''t you dare touch my brother!" He yelled.


    Raiken was about to finally release all the energy he had gathered in his mouth, but then a wave of highly pressured water hit it, pushing him momentarily off bnce.


    The sprinkle of water and some dropping onto Nix brought him back to reality. He had totally forgotten he had a monster hovering above him.


    pping his hand he finally realized what he had missed, "you said watch out, didn''t you?!" Heughed, wiping the water that trailed from his head to his face.


    ''Is he crazy? Why would he beughing now?!'' Naz facepalmed at his situation.


    Before he had realized, Raiken had made a new target. It increased its speed to fly in his direction.


    Whoosh!


    If it couldn''t have asting harm on its previous target, it would prey on the one which had spoiled one of its powerful attacks. That was unforgivable.


    Nix watched as the dragon made it''s daring move towards his brother.


    "Shit!" He cursed.


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 43%]


    Nix couldn''t let the monster slip out of his grasp, he didn''t want to kill it, the mission was to tame it.


    The killing intent he sensed earlier had vanished. If his thoughts were correct, it was aimed at his brother now.


    ''You can''t go anywhere!''


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 45%]


    Even with his speed, he still couldn''t catch up if it continued like this.


    [Gift: Fire whip in effect]


    Creating a long leash of fire, he grabbed hold of it like a rope, throwing it around Raiken just in time before it got too close to his brother.


    [Strength activated. Your attacks have been increased by 33%]


    He dug his heel into the floor, but the mud was proving a hindrance to his action.


    ''I can''t keep this up!'' He struggled to both maintain his gift''s form, utilize his strength and bnce.


    "A little help would be nice, brother!" He yelled.

 Chapter 5 Sick Logic

    It felt as though he was holding down a wild bull. If this kept up, he was sure to lose his grip.


    [Energy level dropped by 70 points]


    [Gift: Fire whip deactivated. Energy level critical]


    [Strength deactivated. Energy level critical]


    Snap!


    Raiken broke free, flying out of range and far into the sky, obscured by the clouds.


    Looking above, he expected it to get back anytime soon. But for now he had bigger problems to attend to.


    [Mission failed: Tame Raiken]


    ''Just great! I lost it.'' He thought as he kicked on the mud in anger. How was he meant to tame something which was far from his reach? Would it even return? What would happen to him since he failed the mission?


    "Come back and fight if you''re monstrous enough!" He yelled into the sky. That coward just ditched their fight!


    "Naz?! What was that for? We could have gotten it." He red his way. He just needed a moment of help from him and yet he froze.


    Where was all the chill he got the first instant they had met? Why would he be so shaken up he couldn''t move, enough to dodge it''s imminent attack?


    On a second thought, he began to feel pity for him. As a stray tear trailed down his cheeks.


    ''What the hell is going on in this world? Was there something I had missed while I made this?'' He frowned, his attention drawn to something below.


    He didn''t know why he hadn''t seen it before, there Aimi was, protected in a water ball and Naz had focused all his energy on to protect.


    ''He couldn''t help because he was protecting our sister?'' Nix had a fresh new view of how he saw his brother.


    "Naz?" He felt guilt stricken for being so insensitive as to not understanding the situation earlier.


    Naz closed his eyes, the tears which had run down his cheeks evaporated like it was never there. He gritted his teeth at his inability to help everyone around him.


    The dragon territory was a forbidden area, standing in it was as good as a death wish. What he couldn''t understand was why his brother had run away into this ce. He couldn''t possibly say why he had passed out?


    A bigger issue still remained, why was he acting differently? Aside from his gift, he showed so much dexterity and control of his movements, he had a moment of doubt on who his brother really was.


    "Gotten it?!" Naz''s eyes glowed a brighter shade of blue. He made sure to keep Aimi in it, he would not want her interfering in his next action.


    "Brother Naz, please no!" Aimi hit the ball trying to get out. With his current state, she was unsure what he could do.


    "Stay out of this." He snapped, "your brother here seems to have forgotten how things work around here."


    ''I made this world you dumb*ss, even though being in it is different from drawing the detailed world. I still know how it works to a greater degree once I recognize who are in it.'' He narrowed his eyes but said nothing.


    Ever since he had known a bit of his capabilities, he was dying for the moment to test it out with his brother in a sparring session.<sub> </sub>


    Now he didn''t seem that scary anymore. Currently he was at a disadvantage, his energy level had dropped to a staggering 30 points, there was no way he could utilize his gift properly, nor could he use his strength.


    He cursed at how unlucky he had been getting ever since he got to this world. Now he couldn''t even defend himself against his brother.


    Yet again, he deserved every anger he was going to receive in the form of a beating. He still didn''t get why they were in the dragon territory but all he could deduce was that he must have been the source of their arrival.


    "Brother!!!" Aimi cried, her tears floating and merging with the water ball she was in. She never enjoyed watching them fight, it never ended well for brother Nix.


    Ignoring her pleas, Naz formed an iceyer on his knuckles, he was determined to carry out his anger on him¨Cfor making them search for him, for scaring Aimi into thinking he had died, for putting her in danger.


    "How could you?!" He raged, punching Nix on the face.


    Nix had not expected that contact to have great impact on him as he flew a great distance before making a thud on a boulder, several miles away.


    [Health level dropped by 10 points]


    ''What the hell?!'' He hissed to the pain, it felt like all the bones in his body had been fractured. A sharp pain shot up from his leg as he tried getting up.


    His body began to tremble, the fear he had for his brother was returning tenfold. Raiken only had an effect on his health status by 2 points but his brother had managed to decrease the same health stats by 10 points?


    He couldn''t understand the sick logic to that, could it be because it''s a twin thing? We share the same soul connection, so it would be easier to cause more damage to our health?


    Shaking his head, he had to look for a way to get up. He had to. This might not be his body, but the pain was sure as hell real.


    His eyes widened as he watched Naz glide on mud at high speed towards him. Aimi is still in the bubble in tow.


    ''F*ck my life.'' He deadpanned, expecting anything soon, it''s not like he could move to dodge the attack anyways.


    Grabbing a hold of his neck and raising him above his ground, Nix struggled to get free.


    "L... let... go... of... me!" He yelled, his breath was getting choked up. Was he really going to die in the hands of someone who looked like him?


    ''No! This was seriously messed up.'' If he ever got back, he was sure to cherish the simple boring life he got. More importantly that iPad was to be incinerated, selling it for a few bucks wouldn''t do.


    "Brother!! Please forgive him. Take it out on me, I''m the one who willingly rushed into danger."


    Naz''s hand trembled as he stared at the helpless state of his brother, his heart began to hurt for him. He had gone a little bit too far with his anger.


    ''You should just count yourself lucky my energy was drained. This wasn''t meant to be my end!''


    Nix''s vision was starting to blur, the corner of his eyes were darkening and clouding in on his vision gradually.


    He could faintly hear the cries of Aimi, everything yed in slow motion like in the movies. He had expected a sad background music y to set the mood but that didn''te.


    In its stead, came darkness.

 Chapter 6 Tell Mother, Whats Wrong?

    ''Where am I?''


    ''Have I been reborn?''


    ''Am I back to my apartment?''


    ''A hospital, maybe?''


    ''Why is it so dark in here?''


    He tried to move but couldn''t, he wondered if he had be mummified. The air did seem thin.


    His ears tingled from theck of sound. This deafening silence was driving him crazy.


    Kicking, turning, he tried tomand a limb to move but all effort felt futile. Or could it be he was just a floating brain or in limbo?


    If there was anything to believe in, he wanted out of this prison. Better awake and trapped than be confined to a spot, yet engulfed in darkness.


    This wasn''t the death he had imagined, he had always dreamed of a time when his presence would leave a mark when gone.


    But all he could think about was the teary eyes of Aimi as he was being choked by his own brother!


    ''I can''t believe I really just thought about that idiot as my brother!''


    He knew it, he couldn''t respawn in that world. Now he regretted his reckless actions while he was there.


    ''If I do get out of this ce, I will show them all I''m not someone to be messed with.''


    [Would you like to escape reality?]


    [Yes]


    [No]


    The blue interface popped up in front of him.


    ''Escape reality? Why does this word sound awfully familiar?''


    He stared at the screen, not just because of the notification he had received illuminated the once dark space, but because it served as his only hope of survival. Finally he could get out of this prison like entrapment.


    There was a bit of a problem. Even if he could choose, how would he do that if he couldn''t move at all?


    ''Damn you bad luck. I''m in need of a good one right about now! Give me back my speech or the feeling in my hand.''


    After what felt like forever, he felt a warm sensation inside his stomach.


    ''My hands! Not my stomach!'' He internally facepalmed at what could possibly have kickstarted his stomach.


    His sensation was gradually returning to him. This was the luck he just needed.


    He could only hope the interface would stay for as long as he could escape. For a brief second, he began to get suspicious of the interface as it suddenly popped up another notification.


    [You have one minute to make your decision]


    [01:00]


    [00:59]


    Narrowing his eyes at the timer, he was certain it could hear his thoughts and was intentionally messing with him.


    ''Thoughts!'' His body shook a bit. He could actually get out of the ce without necessarily using his hands or voice.


    [00:45]


    [00:44]


    ''Yes!'' He internally screamed, hoping this method would work.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on your sessful choice]<sub> </sub>


    The user interface closed, leaving him in the darkness he was in earlier.


    ''But... but... I chose yes!'' He was starting to feel anxious about his decision, was that notification a joke?


    "Nix!" He could hear muffled voices call out.


    It must have been in his mind, no one cared about him anyways.


    "Mother, please save him."


    ''Mother?'' Nix felt confused. How many times did he have to emphasize that he never grew up knowing the feeling of the word parents, but now he had a mother?


    He felt a tug at his cheek, not caring about the pain. A smile made its way to his lips, he could finally feel something. Something soft pressed onto his chest.


    "Nix?" A gentle voice spoke with concern.


    Waking up with a gasp, he sat up. Shutting his eyes immediately due to the blinding light. He had not yet gotten ustomed to it.


    "Oh my! You scared me." He heard the voice speak again.


    ''Am I at the hospital or still in that world?'' Nix tilted his head in thought, his eyes still closed, his ears trying to pick up anything familiar.


    A little hand gripped his waist from behind.


    "Oof!" He groaned, the vice-like grip was choking the air out of him.


    He frowned, opening his eyes. He needed to see who had the audacity to do that. He wasn''t going to experience another near death experience.


    "Little hands?" He mumbled in confusion.


    "Brother, you are awake." Aimi squealed.


    "Hahaha!" He hid his horror stricken face with a chuckle. Sweat dripped down his face, he wasn''t in the hospital, and he could definitely never forget that voice anywhere.


    It was Aimi.


    ''So that means¨C''


    "Mother, eldest brother,e look. He''s alive?!" She squealed, her grip tightening even more.


    He had wondered what they were feeding her, she had the strength of an adult at such a tender age. ''Could it be a passive gift?''


    Take for example, Naz. He had the passive gift of solidifying his water gift into weapons for offense.


    He still didn''t know to which extent Aimi''s power was, but she was definitely going to be the death of him if she continued.


    "Ai...mi.. please let... go." He tried pushing her away.


    "Listen to your brother, he''s still in a moment of shock." He heard ady''s voice.


    Turning around to face whoever had spoken, he was met with a woman who had long and wavy blue hair, blue eyes.


    She wore a tight fitting ck dress which hugged her curvaceous body, leaving little to the imagination. It had a deep V-cut which let her ample bosom be revealed. His eyes went straight to her cleavage.


    ''Does everyone here seem to be prepared for a funeral of some sort?''


    He couldn''t tear his gaze away from her cleavage no matter how hard he tried. His one thought on what he was thinking when he had drawn her character.


    She looked a lot like the grown up version of Aimi but more sexually appealing.


    "My boy, how are you feeling?" She opened her arms wide, pulling him for a hug.


    Nix''s mind was lost in the soft feeling of her bosom on his face. He had not picked up on that clue. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment.


    But that was short lived, she pulled away, her hand on his shoulder, she examined him. "Are you hurt anywhere? Tell mother, what''s wrong."


    With those words, his heart broke into a million pieces. His face scrunched up, he was on the verge of tears for the wrong reasons.

 Chapter 7 System Is Messing With Me!

    ''Why? Why does life have to be so cruel to me?''


    His eyes glued to his mother''s cleavage once more, guilt tugged at his heart for doing something forbidden. He med it all on her choice of dressing.


    ''Why weren''t you a step mom or something?'' His eyes began to tear up.


    "Is there anything the problem, Nix?" She took him into her arms again, caressing his hair.


    ''Yes! Just like that. Thought wise, you aren''t my mother.'' He continually repeated to himself till he believed it.


    Naz watched with displeasure at their mother spoiling his brother. She shouldn''t be doing that, he''s meant to be scolded for running into an enemy territory.


    Forming an ice ball, he flicked it towards Nix. To his disappointment, a barrier stopped his projectile.


    It was his mother''s doing. She released Nix, who reluctantly let go of the way his head felt on the soft cushion her bosom gave.


    ring at Naz, her eyes glowed, her blue hair flying wildly around her.


    Naz shivered, he had messed with the wrong person. He had wanted to run, but his movements were restricted. His mother had her hand outstretched binding him in ce.


    "Your brother is recuperating and you dared try to bully him." She began to tighten her hold on him.


    ''Maybe having a mother isn''t so bad.'' Nix had a smirk on his face, watching things unfold. Judging from the dexterity in which she used her gift he could tell she was inflicting pain on him but not a damaging one.


    "Mother, I plead for mercy." Naz begged, groaning in pain. He wanted nothing more than to end the pain.


    "Where were you when your brother was attacked? You should be d I''m not choking you right now for what you had done earlier." She raged, tightening her telekic grip on his neck instead.


    "You should be protecting your brother, not trying to kill him."


    "Mother, brother Naz has learnt from his mistake." Aimi held on to her leg. Bringing out her ace card¨Ca big puppy dog eyes brimmed with tears, pouting.


    "Has he?" She looked down at her daughter, her hold on Naz loosening.


    Aimi nodded her head with a smile.


    Closing her eyes, she deactivated her gift. Her hair fell back in ce like it had never flown widely around her.


    "Let this be a warning to you, Naz. No one messes with the Lae family, except me. If I get as much as a word on you trying to kill your brother again..." She paused, what was the use of saying it when she could instill much fear by her actions instead.


    Her hair flying wildly around her again, she concentrated her attention on a flower vase ced at the window sill.


    Crack!


    Crack!


    Naz shuddered, falling to the ground, shaking at the warning he witnessed the tiny cracks made its way on the vase.


    Deactivating her gift, she sighed. This wasn''t how she wanted her day to be.


    Looking over her shoulder, she said in one final note: "Don''t end up like your father."


    Nix widened his eyes at her statement directed at Naz, ''what did she mean by that statement? Was there something he had missed while drawing all of this? Where was this ploting from?''


    Turning her attention towards Nix, she forced a smile, rubbing her shoulder. Squatting, she scooped Aimi into her arms. Calling on Aimi''s dragon toy with her gift, she passed it to her.


    "Here you go, my darling." She tapped her forehead, giving a cheeryughter.


    Aimi let out a giggle, she always enjoyed when her mother doted on her.


    Nix stared in awe at how two faced his ''mother'' was. Now he could see where Naz had gotten his temper from. From what he had deduced, Aimi had the ability to calm these two ticking time bombs in her different ways.


    ''Aimi, you have suddenly be my favorite person... well aside from being my sister.'' He smiled at the lovable scene in front of him.<sub> </sub>


    "Naz, go set the table. Your brother must be hungry." She sneered, raising her nose, she walked away in whatever direction the door she went in through, leads.


    The flower vase exploded upon her exit, emptying it''s contents onto the floor.


    ''Coincidence? I think not?'' Nix deduced she had held the vase shape with her residual gift. So once she left, the residual gift seized to exist, therefore the vase couldn''t keep up with the damage it had been forced to keep.


    Nix was shaken by this, but looking at Naz, he seemed to be very much ustomed to it. All flying ceramics had been stopped mid flight by his water gift engulfing them in tiny water bubbles.


    "Yes, mother." He sighed, feeling dejected. He couldn''t even have the time to get angry at Nix, he was the least of his problems now.


    Nix sat on the bed, guilt stricken. His rational thoughts said he should follow him and help. He had recovered, at least he could feel it.


    On second thought, he was never good at chores, he was pretty good atzing around. The word was in a distant part of his dictionary. Instead he decided to sit it out and pretend not to be capable.


    ''Recuperating was more important'' He nodded to himself.


    "Stats." He called for the user interface.


    He waited for several minutes, yet nothing. He wondered if the stats appeared on its own ord.


    ''Is it broken or something?''


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 1]


    [Health: 100/100]


    [Exp: 58/100]


    [Energy: 100/100]


    [Strength: 70/100]


    [Agility: 89/100]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival]


    [ss: None]


    [Gift: Fire]


    [Mission sess/fail: 0/1. To make up for a failed mission click on ''Make up mission'']


    Nix smiled, finally the stats were up and to make it even better, it made a makeup system. It reminded him of the close shave he had once back in college. If there wasn''t a provision of a makeup test, he was sure he would have failed.


    ''Who knew there would be a simr setup in this world?'' He was starting to get all excited about the whole thing.


    Pausing, he realised that, this was his creation. There were bound to be something''s he would have subconsciously or intentionally added.


    Rubbing his fingers, he breathed out. Clicking on the ''Make up mission''.


    [Make up mission: Assist Naz in setting the table]


    [Make up mission: 0/10]


    Nix cleaned his eyes as the pop up notification appeared in front of him. It was at this point he knew the system was messing him.


    ''Are you f*cking kidding me?!''

 Chapter 8 One Question

    "What are you doing here?" Naz sneered as he looked over his shoulder momentarily. Taking a ss cup and filling it with water from the tap.


    Nix''s gaze wasn''t on Naz in a sense but on the interface in front of him.


    [Get 4 dishes to the dining table in 2 minute]


    [01:59]


    [01:58]


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been been increased by 43%]


    Running at top speed, he searched the house for the dining area.


    ''How hard could that possibly be?''


    "It''s the door to your left." Naz rolled his eyes. Walking out of the kitchen to the said direction.


    Nix screeched to a stop, deactivating his skill momentarily, puzzled as to how he had guessed where he had been searching for.


    It was his first time in the humongous house. From all he had seen so far, they were definitely from a rich and prestigious family.


    [01:09]


    Naz clicked his tongue, shaking his head. He still couldn''t figure out why his brother had suddenly lost his memory. It was sickening watching a copy of his face act all stupid and goofy.


    "You seem to forget we share one mind when ites to these things." Naz set down the sses of water on the table. "Our minds¨C"


    [00:45]


    Nix had wanted to stay and chat, but he couldn''t, he had to perform the task before it was toote. If he missed the make up mission, that couldn''t mean he would get a make up mission for that also.


    "Sorry, can''t talk right now." He dashed back to the kitchen, horridly stacking four tes on one another.


    He had wanted to run but realized how delicate the objects in his grasp were.


    ''Come on!'' He pushed himself to walk faster.


    [00:27]


    [00:26]


    He was almost there. Pushing down the knob with his elbow, he kicked the door in with his leg.


    [00:12]


    Naz sat for a while at the chair, seemingly waiting for him. There was something different about his brother''s action.


    p ''You never do chores.'' He narrowed his eyes, getting up.</anda>


    Nixpletely ignored him, he could speak only after he was done with the mission at hand.


    Carefully setting the dishes onto the table, he wiped his forehead, letting out a satisfactory sigh. He had been able to make it.


    [00:03]


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on your sessfulpletion, you have a total of 10 points earned]


    [Make up mission: 1/10]


    Nix could finally calm himself down. Turning around he was met with an upclose Naz staring at him suspiciously.


    Falling to the ground, he held his chest. Nothing had been more scary than that. "Why would you do that?"


    Naz took a step further, towering over him.


    This position was all too familiar for him. He wondered if his brother enjoyed oppressing people.


    "There''s something strange about you." He folded his arms.<sub> </sub>


    "Aha ha ha." Nix let out a strainedughter. "Strange? What do you mean "strange?" He pulled on his cor to give him more breathable space. His throat suddenly felt dry.


    [Make up mission: Convince your mother and sister to head down to the dining table]


    Nix closed his eyes, he could only see the system using him as a servant to the advantage of the others. He was d no time limit was included, this way, he didn''t need to be bothered so much about it until he wanted to.


    [You have 5 minutes]


    [04:59]


    Internally facepalming, he made sure to make a mental note, never to let his guard down when it came to what he thought about a situation.


    "Here we go again!" His voice was devoid of any enthusiasm as he got up.


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been been increased by 43%]


    "What?" Naz questioned. He had been voicing his concerns earlier but it was certain he was merely talking to himself. Again!


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    "It should be this room." Nix deactivated his skill.


    He hade across this room while he was searching for the dining hall. He had heard a giggle. This had to be Aimi''s room.


    So it was rtively easier to locate her room.


    Knock! Knock!


    He took a step back, rocking his feet as he waited for her soft footsteps to approach the door.


    [4:21]


    Click!


    Aimi was dressed in a blue sleeveless, silk satin strapce night dress. Her hair cascaded down her back. The cuteness overload was starting to get to him.


    ''Yes, that''s right. Loli.'' He shut his eyes momentarily.


    Aimi looked up to meet the eyes of her brother.


    [4:10]


    Nix''s senses kickstarted, he needed to be quick about it.


    "Aimi!" He called with a voice full of enthusiasm.


    Her eyes shone with happiness at having recognised which twin she was looking at. She had always been able to identify them by their personality, for a second there, she had thought it was her eldest bro Naz.


    Just to make sure, she was going to give him a little test like she always does.


    "Would you care toe down to the dining hall? The aroma of the dish is sure to blow your mind away." He went straight to the point, he had no time for much sweet talks.


    Aimi stood her ground, staring at him.


    He looked awkwardly to the side, her gaze was starting to make him self conscious.


    [4:00. A minute has been used up]


    His panic level started to rise when the notification popped up in front of him. If he couldn''t get to her innocent little heart within a minute, he was skeptical if he could have enough effect to do the same when it woulde to his mother, once he was done here.


    "One question, that''s it and I would go down on my own will." Aimi had a smirk ying on her lips.


    She had met instances when their house had been attacked by enemy forces. It was only through her gift could she perceive the intruder who had shapeshifted into the likeness of her brother.


    Nix didn''t like the tone in her voice, it sounded like he was walking into a trap. But if this was the only way he could get her toply. He had to do it.


    "Alright. What is it?" He smiled, determined not to show how uneasy he felt.

 Chapter 9 Sibling Hunch

    "What is my favorite color?" She narrowed her eyes.


    ''Seriously?'' He deadpanned.


    There was definitely only one answer she could like since she was his creation. He never had a preference to a particr color and loved them all the same, so it definitely should be that.


    "You don''t have one, because you like them all." He smiled, confident in his answer.


    Aimi stared at him for a while, studying him. He had gotten it right, she had always used that as a trick question to those who might pretend to know her.


    [03:45]


    Nix was beginning to feel anxious, there was still one person he needed to convince.


    "Brother Nix!" She squealed, hugging his leg.


    "Yes, yes. So would you honor your promise now?" He hid his concern under the guise of a big smile.


    Nodding her head. She had a big grin.


    [Conviction: 1/2]


    "Aimi?" He called, he had a little favor to ask of her.


    Going down on one knee, he whispered what he needed.


    Aimi tilted her head in confusion to his request. "What do you possibly want with¨C"


    "Shhhh!" He hushed her before she could talk further about his request. "This is a secret between the both of us." He had a devilish smile at Aimi.


    Aimi stared for a while, then shrugged, going back into her room to get it.


    "That''s a good girl." He smiled, taking it from her.


    "I don''t know how you knew I had it, but I would be keeping my charming eyes on you." She narrowed her eyes, pointing back and forth from hers to his.


    ''Charmi¨C'' He couldn''t even finish the word in his thoughts before he burst outughing at her subtle narcissistic personality.


    "Let''s just call it a sibling hunch." He smiled.


    ''Sibling hunch.'' Now that he thought about it, the name didn''t sound too bad. He wasn''t kidding when he said that though, he could literally feel she had what he needed in her room.


    Probably that was what Naz had wanted to tell him when he had been searching for the way to the dining table. He knew if he were to ask about what they had discussed, he was sure to give it a fancy name in contrast to his.


    "Sibling hunch?" She looked at his hand wondering what he would do with that piece of clothing.


    "I need to do something before I leave, so... could you get out!" She smiled one of those innocent looking smiles but her sharp tongue made him narrow his eyes.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t want to leave, he still had his mother to attend to, but he was unsure if she would go with their promise once he goes there.


    [03:00. A minute has been used up]


    [2:59]


    Noticing he wasn''tplying, she decided to help him out.


    It was at that moment Nix was sure her passive skill was super strength. She had easily pushed him out of her doorstep, mming the door right after.


    He had no time to waste, he needed to head to his next target.


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been been increased by 43%]<sub> </sub>


    Looking up at the door, it was much harder to knock on his mother''s door than Aimi. He couldn''t tell what she could be wearing. If a dress could be that revealing, then, what could her nightdress be like?


    He had a silk ck, kimono robe in his hand. He came prepared for the worst.


    [02:39]


    Shaking his head, he was d for the timely reminder by the system. He shouldn''t dwell much on that, after all it was just a simple meal.


    ''Nix, get your thoughts together. Remember, she is your mother now. me it all on your stupid fantasies.'' He nodded to his own thoughts.


    He had wanted to knock on the door when it flew open, his arm suspended awkwardly in the air.


    His mother was in a peachce backless suspender skirt nightdress, she looked at him in confusion, a scroll was in her hand.


    Immediately concealing it behind her, she cleared her throat.


    ''I am not blind.'' Nix internally facepalmed. He tried so hard to concentrate on her face.


    He could tell.


    Stretching out his hand, he passed on the short kimono robe to her.


    She looked at the clothing, puzzled as to how he had taken her clothes. "Nix... I..."


    "Please do wear it because of the cold." He lied, his cheeks flushed.


    "Oh!" She took the robe. "If you do insist."


    Nix was about to have a nosebleed. He didn''t know which was worse, her nightdresses covered in a ck kimono robe or just in the nightdress.


    "Is anything wrong?" She was hesitant to move because of what she was concealing.


    He needed to distance himself from her. He still had not gotten ustomed to such a tempting mother.


    [01:16]


    She had wanted to help, but she needed to guard the treasure in her hand. No one was meant to know it''s details.


    "Could you please join us at the dining table?" He said in a huff.


    This was the very distraction she needed, "If that is what you want then, I''ll be sure to follow you." She smiled, taking calctive steps back.


    "Stop!" He called out.


    She froze, not understanding why he would speak to her in such a way.


    Nix had noticed her weird behavior, she was definitely hiding something.


    ''Could he have been onto the scroll?'' Her gaze turned sharp and narrowed. She couldn''t let him know it''s content, no one except her should.


    Nix saw her countenance change, she looked ready to mess with his mind. With the scary shit she had done with his brother, he knew his limitations for now.


    So his number one objective was to get on her good side. Ignore all the crazy¨Cat least until he gets stronger.


    [01:00. A minute has been used up]


    "Promise me you will be there." He went with this approach instead.

 Chapter 10 Terror Of The Make Up Mission

    If this would give her ample time to hide the scroll, she would definitely agree to it.


    Nodding her head, she smiled, "of course, I promise."


    [Conviction: 2/2]


    Nix sighed, finally he was able to get through to her in time. His work for the time being was finally done, this just confirms how tasking doing chores could be.


    Although, it felt a little too easy to him. He could only attribute it to the scroll she tried hiding. Turning around, he took a quick nce at her.


    "Go on." She cajoled, "I just need to take care of things, I will be down soon."


    His eyes went to her hand hidden behind her. He wondered what could be so special about that scroll.


    Nodding his head, he turned to leave. He didn''t need anyplications in his life whatsoever.


    As he walked down the stairs, the user interface popped up in front of him.


    [Congrattions on your sessfulpletion, you have a total of 10 points earned]


    [Make up mission: 2/10]


    [You have earned the ss: Wheedler]


    The next day, he had made up his mind to explore this world of his creation. Staying home was like being put in a cage.


    ? He needed to increase his stats if he wanted to level up and get stronger.


    Pushing in the door, he was surprised how fast everyone had made their way to the table. Had he really walked so slow to have missed something in time?


    Aimi was munching on her food, mouth full like a chipmunk.


    His mother too had weirdly managed to get to the table before him. She had taken a napkin, dabbing the corner of Aimi''s mouth.


    Naz gracefully munched on his food, his eyes closed.


    ''Show off.'' He rolled his eyes. Taking a seat at the dining table. Maybe eating could take his mind off the emptiness he felt.


    Looking down at the dish before him, it''s pleasant aroma-infused steam deepened his sensory connection. It was indeed the distraction he needed.


    He looked to the side, thereid a pair of wooden chopsticks ced horizontally on it''s wooden rest.


    ''Chopsticks?'' He facepalmed.


    He had always been fascinated by East Asian culture, and his love of anime had also contributed to this.


    He had tried eating ramen with a chopstick once and from that initial experience, his clothes were all soiled with the broth as he tried slurping the noodles he could barely pick up with it. Numerous times he had tried, but his little patience as arge eater, ended up using a fork.


    Luckily, a fork and a knife was ced beside it. He smiled, picking it up


    He narrowed his eyes, knowing fully well what was about toe.


    [Make up mission: Make use of the chopsticks to eat]


    mming his hand on the table in rage at the stupid missions he was getting. Did he really need to go through with it?


    The others were startled at the vibrations that rocked their tableware.


    "Don''t you like the dish?" His mother turned her attention to him, worried.<sub> </sub>


    "If you don''t like the dish, how about you go make another? Instead of causing a scene, disrupting the peace of the family." Naz countered, ring at his brother.


    Nix had just about had enough with the missions. He could as well think of this as a punishment by the system.


    ''Punishment system is more like it.'' He clenched his hand into a fist on the table.


    "Brother Nix?" Aimi tugged at his sleeve, this was just what he needed to bring him back from the pool of rage and despair.


    His features softened. He couldn''t possibly stay angry with the load of cuteness standing in front of him.


    "Are you okay? This is your favorite dish, don''t you like the dish anymore?" She questioned.


    Exhaling, he couldn''t possibly transfer his aggression on his innocent little sister. But he could on his obnoxious brother who was ring at him like some culprit.


    ''Care to switch with me? Let''s see how you fare with these stupid missions!'' He raised his brow at his brother who did the same but still held the re.


    Turning his attention back to Aimi. He shook his head to her questions, "I am fine and I surely still like this dish."


    Although he had never tasted it before, the aroma was enough reason for him to determine it must have been this body''s favorite.


    "Could I feed you then, brother Nix?" She squealed in delight.


    This was his chance to negate the silly mission. "I would love¨C"


    [Warning: Decline]


    Nix frowned at what he saw, it almost felt like he was being watched by the system. Even a simple meal of him being fed by his sister couldn''t be realized because of the system?!


    He had not yet known what punishment could be given if he failed to ignore the warning. He couldn''t drag her in whatever tricks the system was pulling.


    ''F*ck this make up mission!''


    Aimi picked up his chopsticks, waiting for his response eagerly.


    "Aimi, please go take a seat. He''s not a baby, you should be the one treated like a princess." Naz mmed his chopsticks on the table.


    Aimi ignored her eldest brother, her big blue eyes a little bit too enticing. He had to tear away his gaze, biting down on his bottom lip to what he was going to do.


    Taking the chopsticks from her hand, he ced it back on its rest. Holding her little hands.


    "I would love to... but your brother would like to eat this himself." He lied, internally battling with himself to speak out his real thoughts.


    "Oh..." She looked down, dejected.


    "Aimi, how about you feed me?" Their mother called out, trying to sound as cheerful as she could be.


    "Okay." She sighed as she dragged her feet towards her mother.


    "Wait!"


    She felt her wrists wrench at both sides.


    Naz red at Nix who held Aimi''s other wrist.


    Aimi looked sideways at both brothers as she was caught in the middle of an unknown feud.

 Chapter 11 Subdue Naz

    Naz and Nix both held their ground in Aimi''s hand.


    Whimpering, she hung her head low, her wrist starting to hurt.


    "Let go of her hand." Nix growled.


    All he had wanted to do was apologize for unintentionally hurting her. She had wanted to show her affection, yet he had let her down.


    He didn''t know why Naz held on to her too, but he was definitely not going to be pushed over likest time.


    He still had a score to settle with this overbearing brother.


    "You have no right to say that after hurting her." Naz spat.


    Nix couldn''t understand why his brother held so much hate towards him, but he wasn''t going to sit by and watch him carry out his anger on him.


    ''You are at a disadvantage now, jerk. I wasn''t as weak as before.''


    "Enough!"


    Feeling a telekic hold on their necks, they were thrown off bnce.


    Their mother had smashed the table into two with her hand. All the tableware went crashing into the damaged middle of the table.


    [Make up mission failed: Make use of the chopsticks to eat]


    [Make up mission: 2/10]


    Aimi was pulled towards their mother, a blue aura surrounding her as she was kept afloat.


    ring at the boys, her eyes glowed, her blue hair flying wildly around her. She was enraged, if they had an issue, why would they dare carry it out on their little sister?


    "This is thest straw!" She yelled, tightening her telekic grip on their neck. "Can''t we just be a normal family for even a day?!" Her eyes brimmed with tears but fueled by anger.


    "Mother please!" Aimi cried, pulling on her mother''s nightdress.


    "Stand back." She levitated Aimi and held her in ce while she teaches the boys how to behave in her presence.


    Nix could now see what Naz had faced in the hands of their mother, what was worse was the fact that although there was a grip on his neck. If it were to be human hands, that would mean that the person was close and that was enough to counter attack at that range.


    But this feeling, they were choked, yet their mother was at a great distance, to the normal eyes, there should be nothing trying to strangle them.


    Gritting his teeth, he couldn''t afford to lose any of his energy points, that was specifically reserved for the idiot in the same predicament as he was.


    Trying to draw in breath, he was determined to make a ceasefire for a greater purpose.


    "M... mother, let us ha... handle this oursel¨C" He was already losing his breath.


    His mother raised a brow to his words, loosening her grip on both of them. They dropped with a thud.


    Coughing, they hung their heads low as they tried to draw in all the air they could.


    "I couldn''t quite hear you earlier," her malicious glint shot at him. "Care to say it again?"


    Naz held onto his neck, he looked at his brother in confusion.


    Nix stared right back, but a new found determination was set in.


    [Congrattions you have unlocked a new trait: Determination. Whatever you set your mind on, with the right resolve would be aplished]<sub> </sub>


    [Resolve: Counterattack of the weak]


    "Let us handle this ourselves." He repeated, ring at his brother. He was about done with him being treated like trash¨Ca weakling.


    If he hated him so much, at least he should know why he''s being hated on. Instead he''s given a cold shoulder and death res.


    If it weren''t for the fact that they were twins, he would have sworn he was adopted.


    Maybe this was why this character had run away from home. This should be why he had woken up in the muddy field. He probably had tried to run away from all of these, and this could only be aplished by going to the one ce everyone feared¨Cthe dragon''s territory.


    ''You want to fight me so badly? Then you''d get that chance today.''


    [Make up mission rescheduled. Complete this mission, it takes care of all others]


    [Make up mission: Subdue Naz]


    A grin made its way to his lips, finally a mission he itched to aplish.


    "How are you supposed to do that?" His mother folded her arms.


    "Simple, I get to see how far Naz can go against me." He pointed at his brother who stared at him in surprise.


    "You want to spar against your brother?" His mother was shocked at what he was suggesting.


    In the past they had always had squabbles, but it had always ended with Nix being beaten to a pulp. Could she really allow him to be so stupid to go against his brother?


    "Brother Nix, you don''t have to do this!" Aimi cried.


    Nix couldn''t bear to see her hurt, this was all the more reason he wanted to break free from the strings of his mother and brother. All this while, the only person who had deeply cared about him was his sister.


    "Ahhh!!" Aimi held onto her head.


    Deactivating her gift, she caught on to Aimi who dropped in her outstretched arm.


    "It''s acting up again?" Her hands trembled as she pushed back Aimi''s hair.


    Nix and Naz had rushed to have a look, but a barrier had kept them from getting closer.


    "Don''t you twoe closer!" She yelled, cradling her daughter to her bosom. "You both have done enough damage, settle whatever differences you have before you are allowed to see her." She threatened, looking over her shoulder with a death re.


    Without another word, she climbed the stairs.


    There was no time to waste, they needed to settle this once and for all.


    "Follow me." He growled, shoving his hands into his pocket, takingrge strides towards his desired location.


    "What makes you think I would follow a loser like you?" Naz taunted.


    Nix halted in his steps, the more Naz spoke, the more it fueled his resolve to go through with this.


    "If you are such a wimp then I guess it can''t be helped." Nix shrugged, resuming his movements.


    "I''ll show you who''s a wimp!" He yelled, stomping his feet, following in tow.


    ''Just wait and see.'' Nix snickered, a bright blue glow shone in his eyes.

 Chapter 12 No Holding Back

    Naz pushed back his hair, when his brother had told him to follow him, he had actually thought he was merely bluffing.


    He let out a series of chuckles at where he stood. It was the very ce they trained for years, it was the ce where he had always established his supremacy over his brother.


    "I do wonder if you do enjoy a good beating." Naz taunted.


    Nix had a poker face, although he was listening to his brother''s little taunts, he was more focused on the user interface in front of him.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 1]


    [Health: 92/100]


    [Exp: 62/100]


    [Energy: 100/100]


    [Strength: 70/100]


    [Agility: 92/100]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination]


    [ss: Wheedler]


    [Gift: Fire]


    [Points: 20 to be distributed. Once evenly distributed to all, only then can you level up]


    [Do you wish to distribute your points to any of the stats?]


    Looking over to Naz, he needed a brief time to think on a strategy. Fighting with Naz was more than a mere battle of strength, it also deals with the mind.


    "Okay, listen up." He raised his hand to gain the attention of his rambling brother. "We are going to establish rules around here."


    "What''s the use of rules?" He sneered, "or are you a wimp as you always were?"


    Cross popping veins appeared at the side of his forehead as he tried quelling his anger.


    For one thing, he didn''t know the true extent to his brother''s gifts. Second if he does use rage in fighting, although a good offense as it would augment his gift. Nevertheless, it would take a big toll on his energy points, that he couldn''t risk, if that was down, then he would be rendered useless likest time.


    "We have rules, so I don''t mistakenly kill you, my dear brother." He took a daunting step closer, leaning to whisper into his ear: "We wouldn''t want to mourn a certain someone''s death so early, now would we?"


    Flinching, Naz pushed off Nix. A chill ran down his spine at the aura he had perceived earlier. This was something he hadn''t felt even while being an ice passive gift user.


    Nixughed maniacally as he regained his bnce, never removing his hands from his pockets¨Cat least not yet. He was d he could have some sort of effect on his brother.


    "So believe me, it''s a rule protecting you from me." He threatened.


    Naz gulped, he had never felt such a demeaning aura, other than his mother. Aside from the loss of memory his brother faced, he couldn''t understand how that could change a person''s attitude.


    "So let''s get started on the rules. It''s quite simple actually." He sat in a lotus position. Switching his gaze from Naz and the ck interlocking foam tiles.


    Naz stared for a while, not wanting to oblige.


    "It isfy to sit on while we talk." Nix shrugged. "But if you insist on being an icicle, it''s also fine by me."


    "Why, you¨C"


    Nix couldn''t care less about his opinion, people like him deserved all the respect they could gather.


    "First rule," he raised his index finger. "We are not allowed to kill each other. I think that about sums up the whole meaning, right?" Heughed it off.


    Naz narrowed his eyes, but nodded in agreement.


    "Second rule," he popped up his middle finger, "there is no holding back until one or both of us is subdued. Got that?!"


    "Fair enough." Naz folded his arms.


    Remembering he had one more rule up his sleeve. "Whoever loses has to treat the winner with respect from now on and willingly concede defeat."


    Naz hummed in response. He couldn''t see anything changing in that respect anytime soon.


    Drawing water around his fingers and freezing it. He sent them forward, shooting them Nix.


    He had narrowly dodged the projectile as he turned to the side. He red at Naz who gave an eye shut smile.<sub> </sub>


    "Whoops! My hand slipped." He shrugged.


    ''That''s how we are going to y it, huh?''


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    [Gift: Jabs of fire in effect]


    His punches produce miniature fireballs and missiles of blue me.


    Naz created two rotating rings of water, levitating and around his body. Which he used to block his attacks.


    "Is that the best you can do?" Naz chuckled. He couldn''t believe he had doubted his ability a few minutes ago.


    Nix didn''t need to answer, a smirk yed it''s way to his lips as he studied his brother''s movement. He mostly relied on the defensive when attacked.


    That would be his undoing.


    Stand with his feet approximately shoulder width apart. He performed a swift and swirling kick and punches, generating diverse shots of fire.


    Naz had a hard time assessing where the mes were going to hit first. Instead, he had prepared for blocking another wave of fire directed at him.


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 46%]


    Creating the diversion he needed, he dashed out of Naz''s line of sight. Everything was going just as nned.


    Naz had wanted to block his attacks once more, but the fire sts were redirected at his back using fluid motion.


    This had caused a great impact on him as he was sent flying. Tumbling and rolling out of control until he hit the wall. Series of tiny cracks made, carved out the shape of his body before he fell to the ground.


    [30 points gained]


    Naz breathing was ragged, enduring the great pain, he shifted his nose back in ce.


    Crack!


    Biting down on his bottom lip to stifle a groan. His body shuddered to the pain.


    His vision was starting to blur, blood dripped from his head onto his face. There was something not right about not hearing a sound. Looking up, he was met with the menacing glowing eyes of Nix.


    "I haven''t shown you what I got!" He snickered.


    [Gift: Fire deactivated]


    [Strength activated. Your blows have been increased by 35%]


    Grabbing a hold of his hair, he smashed it back on the wall, pulling him off.


    [20 points gained]


    "Careful, we wouldn''t want to break rule number one." He taunted.


    Grabbing him by the cor, he balled his hand into a fist, punching him in the face. He couldn''t care less what happens to his brother''s face.


    [10 points gained]


    He had gotten to know from Aimi that their mother had a passive healing gift and super strength. He was determined to leave him in a bloody mess.


    "Mother is going to take good care of you." He sneered, punching him once more.


    [10 points gained]


    [Energy level: 60 points. 30 points before deactivation]


    Naz was beginning to lose his consciousness, what''s more, his body felt numb.


    Nix ignored the interface, he was hell bent on using his brother as a punching bag and a subtle way to gain points.


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    Augmenting his punches, he covered his knuckles with his fire. If a mere punch could bring him such points, then it being augmented was surely what he needed to get more.


    Raising his hand, he had wanted to deal the final blow, but felt a grip on his wrist.


    In blind rage, he gritted his teeth, looking behind him to see who had interfered in their sparring session.

 Chapter 13 A Ticket Out Of Here

    "You''ve had your fun." His mother said through gritted teeth.


    Looking down at his brother, he was out cold and his head dangled backwards.


    ''Pathetic. I must have been really weak and foolish back then.'' He clicked his tongue.


    Releasing his grip on Naz''s blood soaked cor, he pulled his hand forcefully away from her grip.


    [Make up mission: 10/10]


    [Congrattions on your sessfulpletion, you have a total of 170 points earned]


    Hurriedly summoning his status window.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 1]


    [Health: 88/100]


    [Exp: 62/100]


    [Energy: 50/100]


    [Strength: 62/100]


    [Agility: 87/100]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination]


    [ss: Wheedler]


    [Gift: Fire]


    <o>,m [Mission sess/fail: 1/1]</o>


    [Points: 170 to be distributed]


    He smiled at the total number of points he had acquired. All he needed was a bit of rest so the stats climbed back to how they were.


    Once he had recuperated, he would make use of the points.


    "Yes I surely did." He snickered, walking away.


    ''That should put him ce.'' He shoved his hands back into his pocket.


    "Where do you think you are going?" His mother questioned. She couldn''t fully use her gift as she concentrated her energy on her passive healing gift on Naz.


    "You did say, when we settle whatever differences we had before we can be allowed to see Aimi." He shrugged.


    "That''s what I n on doing, so please concentrate on healing my dear brother. I wouldn''t be able to bear the sight of him being bedridden for the whole week."


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Stroking her hair, he looked down at her still body. He had never bothered knowing what causes those seizures. Has she always been like this?


    He could remember his mother made mention of it acting up ''again''.


    "What kind of troubles have you been through while your brother was ignorant?" He held onto her hand.


    She was the one he had considered family, yet there was nothing he could do than sit by and watch.


    Jolting awake with a gasp, she held onto his hand, trembling.


    His eyes nced around, he couldn''t understand what could make her violently shake like that.


    "Brother Nix!" She cried, her tears running down her cheeks profusely.


    Rushing to hug her, she held onto him, soiling his clothes with her tears.


    "I''m here. You can talk to me." He whispered into her ear.


    His words only made her cry more.


    He didn''t understand why she would be acting this way.


    Sniffling, she pulled away from him. She needed to get something in her closet.


    "What is in there?" Nix looked at her confused as to why she would suddenly walk towards her closet.


    "If it''s a change of clothes, I can help you with it." He offered.


    Shaking her head, she stopped him from moving any closer. She needed to get it herself. "No."


    Pulling open the closet by the handle. She picked up a scroll holder, examining it''s content.


    Nix''s eyes widened at the object, this was the same object their mother had hidden from him. Why was it in the possession of Aimi?


    "Here." She ced the scroll in its holder on his palms. "Please guard it with your life." She begged.


    ''Even Aimi knows about the content of the scroll?'' He looked down at the scroll in his hand.


    "Why are you giving this to me? Mother had clearly not wanted me to see this, but here you are in possession of it?"


    "Let me call mother." He had swiftly wanted to dash out, until he heard her words.<sub> </sub>


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 43%]


    "It''s already toote." Her eyes brimmed with tears.


    ''What did she mean?'' He tilted his head in confusion.


    "It''s here, it''s all doomed." She coughed, her eyes wide in horror. "Save yourself, please keep it safe, it''s your one ticket out of here."


    "Aimi, you aren''t making any sense. What is this? Who wants this? What do you mean by my ticket out of here? What about you?" He shook her slightly.


    He needed answers, but the more she spoke, the moreplex it sounded to him.


    "Ahhh!" She held onto her head once more as a sharp pain struck.


    He was caught in a dilemma, to go out and get their mother or stay by her side, there was no way he was going to leave her.


    ''Mother is still healing Naz, there is no way she would be able toe here in time.'' He reasoned.


    Reluctantly he deactivated his agility, dropping down onto the chair.


    "Brother Nix, don''t just sit! Go!" She yelled.


    "What do you mean by yourst statement?" He yelled in confusion.


    When they were in the dragon''s territory, she had urately predicted the arrival of one of those monstrous beings, and now this?


    What nonsense was she spitting about them being doomed and him saving himself? What about her? What about their mother and brother?


    Nix shook off his worries momentarily, if he was going to save himself, he was going to do so with her in the picture.


    Scooping her into his arm, she struggled to get out of his grip.


    "Aimi, please stop this." He held onto her tight, no matter what she was thinking, he wasn''t going to leave without her.


    What''s more, his family is a prestigious family, who would dare attack them?


    "I would only be a burden to you." She cried.


    ''Burden? I don''t care. We would both survive this.'' He activated his agility. He needed to go find


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been been increased by 43%]


    "Mother! Brother!" Nix yelled in a panic, he tried to see through the dense smoke that engulfed the room.


    Covering his nose with his sleeve, he needed an escape route. What had happened here?


    Boom!


    Flying away by the explosion and mmed into the wall, Nix groaned. He had been separated from her.


    Luckily he found the scrollying not too far from where he was. Immediately grabbing it, his eyes darted everywhere.


    ''This could have been the perfect time Naz''s powers would havee in handy.'' He gritted his teeth at his incapability to do anything about the smoke


    Coughing, his ears tingled, shaking his head, he looked around in search of where Aimi could be.


    Aimi trembled, she was in tears, her hands outstretched in the direction of her brother.


    "Brother Nix!" She groaned, she could sense something or someone was approaching her at an rming speed.


    "Please save yourself." She said in barely a whisper, her strength was diminishing the more she tried to struggle to get up.


    He needed to get out of there, if he was going to make it out alive.


    Pushing himself to his feet, he tried to look in the direction of her voice.


    Rhhhng!


    He heard heavy footsteps approaching, the smoke was starting to settle and his vision was beginning to normalize.


    "Aimi!" Nix yelled once he had caught on to where shey helpless.


    A figure slowly approached her from behind. A silhouette of a weapon, probably a sword could be seen raised and aimed at her.


    "Nooo!!"


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 43%]


    He dashed towards her in hopes of getting to her in time.


    The figure raised the sword, plunging it into her neck.


    Stab!


    Nix halted as something tugged at his heart. A sharp pain caused from watching her soulful blue eyes widen in horror before she was stabbed. Blood spurted out of her mouth.


    Her once outstretched hand, dropped. She jerked a bit before finally losing the color in her eyes. Her blood oozing out and making a trail towards him.


    He dropped to his knees. His grip on the scroll tightened in rage.


    [Congrattions you have unlocked a new trait: Rage. Right the wrong caused by seeking revenge]


    [Resolve: Personal vendetta]

 Chapter 14 Just What He Needed

    [New mission: Kill the enemy]


    [Enemy killed: 0]


    [Enemy to be killed: 1]


    He held half of his face, his eyes gleamed dangerously with killing intent. The system did know how he felt about the situation around him.


    He was beginning to see the system as a manifestation of his inner thoughts, right now he had all the more reason to act on based on the mission given.


    ''Just what I needed.''


    He started with a chuckle, before it slowly turned sinister.


    He couldn''t believe just a creature such as this could cause such damage to their house and had killed what was left of his family.


    It had just been two days since he had known them, yet he had grown so attached. Even though his brother was obnoxious and made his skin crawl, that was not enough reason to find joy in what had befell his family.


    It was only at that moment had he realized why Aimi had been crying, why she had spelled doom for their household, why she had told him to escape.


    Pulling out the sword, the figure came out of the smoke, revealing an indescribable green creature in hooded coat, trousers, gloves, and shoes, all made from mail which covered the entire body of the creature except the face which looked a lot more human than it should.


    ''She was trying to save me, even during herst breath.'' His eyes brimmed with tears, fueled by untold anger towards the creature who seemed to have a stered smug look on its face.


    Rhhhng!


    It gnashed it''s revealing dangerously pointy jagged teeth.


    It held a sinister smile, it''s slit yellow eyes concentrated on its new target. Blood still dripped off the sword as it dragged itzily on the floor.


    He felt irritated that such a face was brought to this world. He had definitely not created this creature¨Cwhich means there might be various other things which had evolved into his art piece and materialized here.


    Nevertheless, he finally had something to vent his anger on, he had been unable to do so with Naz, but the thought of the creature being a good substitute only fueled his drive to exert himself.


    He definitely couldn''t fail this mission. He would rather die than see this creature escape from his grasp.


    "You just messed with the wrong household." He yelled.


    Investing his points in his health, energy, strength and agility.


    [Health level has been increased by 12 points]


    [Energy level has been increased by 50 points]


    [Strength level has been increased by 38 points]


    [Agility level has been increased by 13 points]


    [Health: 100/100]


    [Energy: 100/100]


    [Strength: 100/100]


    [Agility: 100/100]


    [Points: 57 to be distributed]


    He noticed the creature''s gaze had turned towards the scroll in his hand.


    "You want this?!" He raised his hand with the scroll in the air.


    Rhhhng!


    The creature drew up its sword, lunging forward as it aimed at his head for the kill.


    ng!


    The creature''s sword and Nix''s scroll holder collided in the air as sparks flew off.


    [Strength activated. Your blows have been increased by 50%]<sub> </sub>


    ''As expected!'' He held the stance, looking down at their weapons which were locked in a deadly embrace as they continued to push against each other.


    He must have been crazy to fully trust the scroll holder would work in his favor. But he had guessed correctly, this was no ordinary scroll, it came as a shock to him that such a fragile looking scroll holder could hold against this creature''s sword.


    ''Ha!''


    Unable to hide it''s shock, the creature looked up at Nix''s face.


    It opened its mouth, a green liquid brimming in it.


    Sensing the danger, Nix pushed against the sword, doing a backflip. Pulling his back up straight as he stuck hisnding.


    His gymnastics sses were finally paying off.


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 50%]


    He increased his speed, gaining the distance he had created earlier as he prepared his next attack.


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    [Gift: zing rings of fire in effect]


    Using a circr motion with his feet to create multiple expandable, slicing rings of fire aimed directly at the creature.


    It swiftly dodged each attack with it''s counterattack of the liquid it spat from its mouth.


    Rhhhng!!!


    [Energy level: 45 points. 15 points before deactivation]


    ''Damn it!'' Nix huffed, his energy was gradually declining.


    He had been so focused on killing this creature without properly thinking of a n, he had relied on his rage to augment his gift.


    Instant regret came over him as it had taken a big toll on his energy points. He had to invest the remaining points in his energy stats.


    [Energy level has been increased by 55 points]


    [Points: 2 to be distributed]


    Steadying his ragged breathing, he had to think of another way of getting close to it. His grip on the scroll holder got tighter as he nced at the lifeless body of Aimi.


    He needed to gather his thoughts, if he was to exert his revenge.


    Rhhhng!


    He had not noticed it before, but the creature''s movement had quickened tremendously.


    ''It''s gotten faster?!'' His eyes widened.


    Whoosh!


    It closed the gap between them in a blink of an eye as it sank it''s sword in his side.


    Stab!


    [Health level dropped by 30 points]


    Uwaaagh!


    Nix spat out blood, gasping for breath, pulling away just in time before it could raise its sword, severing his left arm in the process.


    Holding onto his side and wiping the corner of his lips with his sleeve, he added pressure to the wound with his left hand. At this rate he would die if he couldn''t utilize the time he had left to exert his revenge.


    "You really do have what it takes to cause such a ruckus here. I did underestimate you." He acknowledged.


    He needed to be more careful now, he had been able to do no damage to the creature yet, on the other hand, he had sustained an injury from the stabbing.


    ''That sword needs to go!'' He narrowed his eyes at the weapon in the creature''s hand.

 Chapter 15 Play Toy Gone

    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 1]


    [Health: 70/100]


    [Exp: 62/100]


    [Energy: 100/100]


    [Strength: 92/100]


    [Agility: 94/100]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination, Rage]


    [ss: Wheedler]


    [Gift: Fire]


    [Points: 2 to be distributed]


    Taking a quick nce at his stats, he needed to know the current state he was in so he could focus more on the one of importance. Before he could be given any time to react, the creature attacked again.


    Whoosh!


    The creature lunged once more, trying tond another deathly blood on Nix.


    ''Don''t you even think of causing this much injury to me again!''


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 47%]


    Swaying to the side, he narrowly missed the strike, few strands of his hair weren''t so lucky.


    It was hard keeping up with the creature''s movement and also maintaining the pressure needed to stall the bleeding on his side while still holding the scroll.


    He was forced to be on the defensive, staying alive and looking for an opening was better than making rash decisions like he had done quite a few times.


    There was only one way he could effectively use it without the use of his hands.


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    [Gift: Fire breath in effect]


    Opening his mouth for an intake of air, he blew out a wave of fire out of his mouth.


    The creature couldn''t stop his impending attack and was caught by the me.


    Rhhhieeek!!


    It screeched in pain, a patch of burnt flesh made its way on the right part of its face. It''s yellow slit eyes thinned in rage, as it gained its bnce once more.


    [30 points gained]


    ''Yes! A direct hit!''


    Nix was a bit stunned at the point gained from merely causing a bit of damage to the creature, the mail on its body was a tad pain in the ass.


    Not being able to use his gift effectively was annoying enough. Several times he had tried to discard the scroll as it was proving a hindrance to his abilities.


    However, knowing what the creature wanted, he couldn''t give it the satisfaction of bolting away with it.


    He still had a score to settle, as long as he had the scroll, the creature couldn''t leave even if it wanted to.


    [Health level dropped by 5 points]


    Nix was starting to lose the feel of his body, so was his strength.


    Removing his blood soaked hand to check the level at which the injury had progressed, he frowned at the oue. The blood was spreading slowly, soiling his cloth.


    Pressing his hand back, he hissed to the pain. His attention was now divided.


    It would be a few minutes before his vision would start to blur if he doesn''t do anything about it.


    In frustration, the creature threw it''s sword at Nix.


    Slink!<sub> </sub>


    The sword cut through the air with a sharp sound.


    Nix had just raised his head to the sound, but had little time to react.


    ''Is this really my end?!''


    [Congrattions on unlocking your passive gift: Telekinesis]


    Automatically, his gift activated.


    [Passive gift: Telekic Maneuver in effect]


    Altering the sword''s directional course, it was deflected, plunging into the ground with a hard thrust.


    Nix looked around, he was in a daze at what had just happened. At first thought, he had imagined it was his mother who had helped out. She was the one with the gift, not him.


    ''What the hell is going on?'' He looked around himself. Nothing seemed to have changed, his hair wasn''t flying wildly like his mother whenever she activated her gift.


    The congrattory user interface was the only thing that confirmed he was the one who had subconsciously carried out that feat.


    Tossing the scroll in the air, he kept it levitating several inches into the air.


    ''Finally, I get to use my right arm again.''


    Rhhhng!


    The creature removed it''s mail gloves, jarring it''s ws. It wasted no time in charging towards Nix.


    He heaved out a sigh of relief, with this new found gift, he was surely at an advantage.


    [Gift: Fire deactivated]


    It was time to make use of something he had learned while watching his mother.


    [Health level dropped by 5 points]


    A sharp pain coursed through his body, bringing him back to the impending danger to his body.


    ''D*mn it!'' He cursed, groaning to the pain.


    [Passive gift: Telekic field in effect]


    A blue energy orbited around him, extending to where the sword was plunged, acting as a shield.


    The creaturended onto the field, unable to get through. Punching and wing it made an earnest effort to get to the scroll which was levitating, no longer in the human''s grasp.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    Nix chuckled at the puny efforts of the creature. He wasn''t going to call off the field until he had found a way to stop his bleeding.


    He had to solve one problem at a time to be able to deal with another. The issue of continuously holding the scroll holder had been solved, now it was time for his injury to be treated to the best of his knowledge.


    Bang!


    Scree!!


    Nix couldn''t care less what the creature did outside the field, it was blinded by rage, it didn''t think of another method to break the field than hitting and scratching it, while asionally using its teeth to test out it''s theory.


    ''When you aren''t with your y toy, you are quite pathetic.'' He momentarily stopped to hold the re of the creature who had done the same at that moment.


    Bringing the hem of his shirt towards his mouth, he ripped it with his teeth, carefully pulling it around him until he got the desired length he had needed to wrap his wound tightly with the right pressure.


    His V-cut abs in full disy, his stomach constricted as he pulled off the remaining shred of clothing that was left, using it to apply pressure on his wound while he used the ripped one like a bandage to wrap around his waist tightly.


    ''That should do it for now.'' He nodded in satisfaction.


    Now he had full concentration on the creature.


    "Where were we?" He had a smirk ying it''s way to his lips.


    He would definitely enjoy slowly killing this creature.

 Chapter 16 Hidden Truth In The Scroll

    [Passive gift: Telekic field deactivated]


    [Passive gift: Telekic binding in effect]


    Raising his hand with an outstretched palm, he slowly clenched his hand.


    The creature was lifted and held off the ground by the neck.


    Struggling to get free, it''s mail slowly digging into it''s skin, it''s legs dangling and it''s hand trying to break free from the grasp on its neck to no avail.


    Like he had once seen his mother inflict pain on Naz, he was sure to increase his pressure on it as seconds went by.


    Rhhhieeek!!


    [40 points gained]


    The creature squirmed, trying to escape. The mail which had covered its body were forming creases slowly all over its body.


    "Why did you attack this ce?! Who sent you!" He yelled in rage. Closing his eyes momentarily, he couldn''t bear to face the direction in which Aimiid.


    Rhhhieeeckkkk!!


    [50 points gained]


    Although he knew the creature couldn''t speak, which annoyed him greatly, he needed to vent out his anger on the very thing which had wreaked havoc on what he once called a home.


    Whoever had sent this thing had definitely wanted to keep their identity a secret. They were after the scroll but until he had definitely carried out his revenge on it, he wouldn''t be able to feel the peace he once had.


    [Energy level: 35 points. 5 points before deactivation]


    He rolled his eyes at the interface. It would seem this gift takes a greater toll on his energy points. He needed to end this quickly before he missed his chance.


    "I am wasting my time with you." He growled, clenching his fist.


    The creature''s head imploded as it was crushed by force.


    Thud!


    The creature''s remains dropped to the ground.


    [200 points gained]


    [You have earned the ss: Beast yer]


    [Congrattions on your sessfulpletion, you have a total of 322 points earned]


    [Passive gift: Telekinesis deactivated]


    nk!


    The scroll fell to the floor. Looking to his side, he had almost forgotten about that piece of object. Picking it up, he sighed, once he was done, he would check it''s content.


    [Passive gift in effect]


    He needed his hands free, so he levitated the scroll in the air like he had done before, with it following him wherever he went.


    This form of the gift didn''t need any energy consumption whatsoever, due to the rtive light weight of the object.


    Slowly, he dragged his feet towards where Aimiid.


    The pain in his heart increased as he looked down at her blood trail. He had gotten his revenge, but why was his heart feeling like a thousand needles piercing it?


    Dropping to his knees, his hands trembled as he stretched his hand towards her face. It was cold, all warmth gone.


    Shaking his head, he refused to believe what stared at him right in the face. "Aimi, it''s time to wake up." He tapped her face.


    He forced a smile, his vision blurring with tears.


    "I''ve gotten revenge on that vile thing, you can stop pretending now." He let out a strained chuckle.


    "..."<sub> </sub>


    Pulling her in an embrace, he rocked his body, "pleasee back to brother. I won''t be so ignorant and weak anymore." He cried.


    After what felt like forever, with no tears able to drop anymore. He hyperventted, his reasoning starting to get back to him.


    He had yet to confirm the state of his mother and brother. With an optimistic mind, he assumed they might be hurt but not in the gruesome state Aimi was.


    ''Yes! Surely mother has telekinesis, they wouldn''t have been able to deal devastating damage to them while she''s there.''


    Sniffling, he wiped his nose. He needed to get back to the sparring room where he had left them.


    Ignoring the pain that was beginning to jab at his side. He cradled Aimi, in search of them.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Kicking open the door, his sensory senses were attacked by the smoke which had been an issue for him earlier on.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    [Passive gift: Telekic field push]


    The smoke was forcefully pushed out of the 20 meter radius he had created.


    It was enough for him to clearly see the bodies of his mother and brother.


    "Please be alive." He increased his pace, careful not to exert himself too much.


    Once he had gotten to where they were, he reluctantly took a step back. Carefullyying Aimi on the floor.


    "No!" He yelled, holding onto his head, pulling on his hair.


    p There his mother was in a kneeling position, the same way he had seen her healing Naz at that time.</anda>


    She didn''t have any injury, so did Naz, but there was something off about their skin and hair color. Their skin had been reverted to a sickly gray and their hair white.


    Judging from the position they still were, the attack had been a swift and devastating one.


    He took another step back. Guilt immediately took its effect on him.


    ''You caused this.'' His thoughts condemned him.


    "No." He held his head, shaking it.


    ''If you had not lured Naz and beaten him to this extent, he would be alive and so would mother.'' His thoughts continued.


    "I didn''t cause their death." He yelled to no one in particr.


    Hitting on his chest, the fleeting feeling of finally having a family was ripped from him. This made his heart ache more painful than the stab he had sustained.


    He couldn''t bring back the dead, all three of them dead, and what was he left with? A scroll?


    Calling the scroll to him, he opened the scroll holder, pulling out the very scroll his mother had been reading then.


    His eyes doubled as he read it''s content.


    In it was listed the number of secret human experiments and their gifts forcefully taken and transferred to others which had been done over the past two decades.


    ''Gifts can be transferred?'' He tilted his head in confusion.


    The names of it''s investors and corrupt officials who had all gained gifts through this method were listed.


    They were all linked to an organization said to nurture and groom the gifted to serve their city as heroes, this was merely a cover to carry on their experiments.


    ncing down further, the names of the scientists involved in such an experiment were also listed.


    The scroll dropped from his hand in shock at what he had seen. His fingers began to tremble once more.


    "It couldn''t be!"

 Chapter 17 A Bond With A Gold Medal

    [Name: Lyra Lae]


    [Age: 32]


    [Gender: Female]


    [Gift: Telekinesis]


    [Position: Ex Head Scientist]


    If a picture of all the scientists weren''t attached, he wouldn''t have believed it so readily. He hadn''t known her name, but now he knew about it in the worst possible way.


    There his mother was, her soulful blue eyes staring sharply ahead and her wavy blue hair was pulled in a high ponytail. She looked a bit younger than she was now.


    Her torso was adorned with the typical whiteb coat.


    With shaking hands, he picked up the scroll once more. He couldn''t understand why his mother had partaken in the experiments.


    [Status: Defected]


    [Reason: Unknown]


    Reading more on her information, he clearly saw the stamp of the organization with the words ''defected''.


    "Defected." He repeated, looking up the year it was issued, it was about a decade ago, the reasons unknown.


    This didn''t make any sense to him. If she had defected, why was the reason unknown? How did she get in possession of the scroll?


    ''They had definitely wanted to get back this piece of information that could as well expose their evil deeds.'' Nix reasoned.


    "Why were you with such dangerous evidence?" He turned his attention to the body of his mother.


    Aimi had made mention of the scroll being his ticket out of here. Were they not allowed out of the house? What was his mother hiding? How did she get involved with these people?


    Tossing the scroll in frustration at all his unanswered questions rushing in.


    nk!


    He looked at the scroll holder, he had totally forgotten that was there. A golden gleam shines from within.


    Taking the scroll holder, he turned it upside down, a hexagonal gold medal with little wings below it dropped to the ground.


    He stared at it cautiously, wondering how something with that shape had managed to fit into that scroll holder.


    ''This is some sort of plot twist. Don''t get involved.'' He warned himself.


    He needed to find the person who had found their home and ordered their termination. This he could do with the help of the scroll.


    Curiosity got the best of him, prompting him to pick up the medal. A bright light shone as a gush of air blew on his face, then everything reverted to how it was originally.


    [Bond with the medal pass sessful]


    "What? Bond?" Nix''s mouth went wide open in shock. He didn''t want to bond with anything, the system interface was enough for him.


    "Take it back! I don''t want to get involved." He threw away the medal from his hand.


    Redirecting it''s motion, the medal went right back to his palm in one swift motion.


    Staring in horror at the object, he observed there were some words engraved on the edges.


    ~Shibui Gift Academy~


    "What am I supposed to do with this? Go to school?" He rolled his eyes, pulling off the medal from his palm, shoving it into his pocket.


    Although this academy had a simr name with the organization. He could only safely assume this was merely it''s breeding branch for their secret experiments, under the guise of having an academy for training them to be better.


    There was something which had made him curious.


    He took up the scroll once more, the hierarchy of the organization was a closely knitted one which had the names of business moguls, medical practitioners, security personnels and those who had rtions with the head of the city. With all these, the head of the organization, written, was strangely mysterious.


    [Name: ??]


    [Age: ??]


    [Gender: ??]


    [Gift: ??]


    [Position: Shibui organization head]


    ''Just perfect. No leads on the person.'' He sarcastically thought with a frown.<sub> </sub>


    He decided to levitate the scroll in the air like he had done before. He would know what to do with itter on.


    [Health level dropped by 5 points]


    Groaning, he exhaled. He needed to tend to his wounds soon.


    [Passive gift: Telekic Object call in effect]


    He concentrated his thoughts on one object, the sword that was thrusted into the ground earlier.


    He had no weapon, this was the closest he could get to actually possessing one.


    Rrrnnn!


    The sword made it''s way to him.


    Firmly gripping the hilt, he made it join the scroll which was suspended in the air again.


    He casted a dejected nce at the bodies before him. Whoever had ordered their death were bound to return to cross-check their actions soon.


    He needed to mask his death along with the others.


    Adjusting his mother''s position, he made her back rest against the wall. He also did the same for Naz, so that there was an empty space between them.


    Cradling Aimi in his arms, he carefully ced her in between them.


    Tears brimmed in his eyes, this was meant to look like a loving family picture, but instead it was nothing more than their burial ce.


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    With a heavy sigh, he stepped out of the house through the ce where it had been destroyed.


    It was hard enough to burn down the beautiful house, but harder considering who were in it.


    He had to do it if he was to make sure his traces couldn''t be tracked, before they would notice it; he''d have made a reasonable head start in his personalized mission.


    "Goodbye mother."


    "Goodbye brother."


    "Your dear brother will keep you forever in his heart, Aimi."


    Gritting his teeth as tears cascaded down his face, he closed his eyes.


    [Gift: Fire stream in effect]


    <o>,m Shooting continuous streams of fire from his fists.</o>


    [Energy level: 33 points. 3 points before deactivation]


    He ignored the notification, the house was already in mes, with its structure gradually crumbling, sparks of light popping out of it.


    He kept on until his energy points reached its limits.


    [Gift: Fire stream deactivated. Energy level critical]


    Hyperventting, he got to his knees, punching on the grass continuously.


    [Health level dropped by 1 point]


    [Health level dropped by 1 point]


    [Health level dropped by 1 point]


    Unable to go on anymore, he let out huge breaths of air. Now he had no family yet again.


    Shoving his hand into his pocket, he brought out the hexagonal gold medal, his grip tightening on it in a new found rage.


    "Shibui Gift Academy, huh?!" His lips held a smirk, his hand tracing its engraved letters.


    Getting to his feet, he looked ahead. He needed to get stronger before he got to the academy.


    There was always something constant anywhere¨CThe weak gets trampled upon.


    If he gets epted into the academy, he wouldn''t go weak like a freshman.


    ''Something stronger...'' His thoughts trailed, thinking of a possible lead.


    [Mission rescheduled: Tame Raiken]

 Chapter 18 The Very Place It All Started

    Pushing on the tall grasses which were proving a hindrance to his vision. A wave of nostalgia rushed in on him.


    It was the very ce he had woken to this would from. He looked down at his boots, the mud stuck closely to it. The only difference was he was shirtless and injured.


    His mind made a mental portrayal of when Aimi had rushed to hug him. For a brief second, it brought a sad smile to his face.


    It transitioned to when Nix had approached him with a demeaning aura. He let out a chuckle, for a moment, he had missed the internal rivalry between his brother and him.


    This had been the driving force to him wanting to get stronger, initially.


    It all yed like a broken tape.


    ''The very ce.'' He sighed, turning his eyes away from the scenery.


    Before he faced Raiken he needed to utilize his points earned.


    Summoning his status window, he stared at it with a poker face as he watched it disy before him. This was starting to get boring.


    He had yet to level up throughout the time he had continuously risked his pride and life, yet again he was met with the same user interface.


    Today was the day he would level up, he had amassed a great deal of points from that creature. It had served a purpose far greater than the one which was given to it.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 1]


    [Health: 52/100]


    [Exp: 62/100]


    [Energy: 30/100]


    [Strength: 92/100]


    [Agility: 94/100]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination, Rage]


    [ss: Wheedler, Beast yer]


    [Gift: Fire, Telekinesis]


    [Points: 322 to be distributed]


    Investing his points in his health, experience, energy, strength and agility.


    [Health level has been increased by 48 points]


    [Experience level has been increased by 38 points]


    [Energy level has been increased by 70 points]


    [Strength level has been increased by 8 points]


    [Agility level  has been increased by 6 points]


    [Health: 100/100]


    [Exp: 100/100]


    [Energy: 100/100]


    [Strength: 100/100]


    [Agility: 100/100]


    [Points: 152 to be distributed]


    Ding!


    [Level up]


    ''It''s about time!'' Nix deadpanned.


    [Level up reward are now avable]


    Another notification popped up.


    Click!


    [The following rewards are avable]


    ~Reward 1~


    Health Potion: Heals any form of injury inflicted within the space of twelve hour. It can only be used once a day.


    The usage and effectiveness can be increased with points earned during missions or quests.


    Nix looked at his side, the wrapped cloth was starting to get soiled with his blood again, he would definitely need this potion.


    ~Reward 2~


    Inventory: Storage of a set number of items. Items gotten from the reward section automatically get stored.


    Size and storage of the inventory can be increased with points earned during missions or quests.


    ''Why wasn''t I given unlimited inventory?'' He facepalmed at the need to use his points on this too.


    [Inventory avable]


    [Number of items: 0]


    [Storage space: 5 items only]<sub> </sub>


    [Would you like to add an item to the inventory?]


    [Y/N]


    He thought for a moment, his attention went straight to the scroll and sword. It was about time he got rid of them hovering above him.


    Clicking on the ''Yes'' option.


    Ding!


    [To select the items, touch the desired object]


    Deactivating his gift, he caught on to the two items. They morphed into a ball of blue light and were transferred into it.


    The healing potion was automatically moved to the inventory.


    [Number of items: 3]


    [Storage space: 2 items only]


    Clicking on the inventory, he scrolled to the health potion.


    [Health Potion avable]


    [Usage: 0]


    [Time limit: Once a day]


    Pulling out the vial, he gulped down the blue liquid in one go.


    [Health Potion unavable]


    [Usage: Complete]


    He could feel his body warm up, a tingly sensation coursed through him. He let out a sigh of relief, unintentionally belching.


    Touching his side where the bandage was, he couldn''t feel any pain as he put pressure on it, but the blood which had stained was still present.


    He needed to see how well it had worked. Hurriedly, he pulled off the bandage, using it to clean the blood off his side.


    "The injury is gone!" He touched his side to confirm once again.


    He let out a chuckle, he was fully healed, he had leveled up and his stats were at their maximum.


    His experience points had made him more sensitive to his surroundings. His senses were heightened.


    Whoosh!


    He swiftly moved aside, changing his direction  before the imminent danger had made its impact on him.


    Raising his head, he had a smile even before he had set sight on it.


    "We meet again, old friend." He chuckled.


    His mood lightened up the moment he set eyes on Raiken.


    Roooaaarrr!


    It pped its wings in mid flight, this time it wouldn''t make the mistake of staying on the ground.


    Even the ear piercing roar of the dragon was like a pleasing tune to the ears.


    "Even that doesn''t bother me anymore." Heughed.


    "What''s more, you got a bit smarter. Why don''t you y in the mud with me?" He said with his wordsced with taunts.


    Even though the dragons couldn''t speak, he knew they could understand what they said. His motive was to spite the dragon to act irrationally.


    Spitting a wave of me at Nix, it continuously poured in for a while, hoping to burn any trace of Nix in the process; there was a limit to how one could absorb it''s mes.


    [Passive gift: Telekic field in effect]


    Closing its mouth as it waited for the me to die down, it roared in anger at failing this simple task.


    Pinching the bridge of his nose, Nix couldn''t get why this creature didn''t use another approach. The first time they had met while it was in flight, it had used a simr approach.


    "You are truly a beast after all." He mumbled. He had expected much more.


    "Nevertheless... you are under my control today!" His eyes gleamed coldly.


    If he wanted to slowly seek revenge on everyone of those people listed in the scroll, he had to be stronger.


    p [Passive gift: Telekic field deactivated]</anda>


    [Passive gift: Telekic pull in effect]


    He made a downward movement with his hand, exerting enough force to pull the creature to the floor.


    Thud!


    The mud sshed in all directions.


    Using his passive gift, he blocked the mud from getting to him. He still had his boots in the mud, getting his body on the same level wasn''t an option.


    [50 points gained]


    His eyes hooded with a smirk, he was going to make good use of this mission before he settled on actually taming it.


    ''Let''s dance!''

 Chapter 19 Friendly Guide

    The more it tried to get its footing, the more force Nix exerted to keep it in ce.


    Summoning his inventory, he scrolled to the sword. It was time he tested the full extent of this sword.


    Pulling out the sword, his hands began trembling.


    Plop!


    The sword fell into the mud.


    His eyes stared in horror at his trembling hands. The very moment he had tried to wield it forbat, shes of the moment he had watched Aimi die, rushed in.


    Cursing his luck, again. He had a weapon but couldn''t use it.


    He would have to return it, only when he had exerted his revenge could he fully let go of the sword.


    [Inventory avable]


    [Number of items: 2]


    [Storage space: 3 items only]


    [Would you like to add an item to the inventory?]


    [Y/N]


    Clicking on the ''Yes'' option.


    Ding!


    [To select the items, touch the desired object]


    Dipping his hand into the mud, pulling out the sword, it morphed into a ball of blue light and was immediately transferred into it.


    He frowned at his predicament.


    ''Strength it is then.''


    [Passive gift: Telekic pull deactivated]


    He released his pull on Raiken for his enjoyment.


    "Show me what makes others scared of you, my creation." Heughed maniacally, he sounded much more of a viin than he intended.


    Roooaaarrr!


    [Energy level: 55 points. 25 points before deactivation]


    Investing his points on his energy level.


    [Energy level has been increased by 45 points]


    [Points: 147 to be distributed]


    Raiken knew it was out of the question to fly, the prey was more dangerous than the first time they had met.


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 50%]


    Heunched forward, using his gift, he lifted the mud from the ground to form a wall as a diversion.


    Raiken spat out mes to counterattack the wall.


    With the mud solidifying, it broke it with the swing of its w.


    It had expected to see it''s prey but he was gone. It looked confused.


    ''Just a bit further.'' Nix gave a brief countdown, watching the dragon let out mes in any direction, it was getting frustrated at not being able to catch its prey once again.


    Nix was thankful for the cover the tall grasses gave, he needed Raiken to unintentionally get closer to him while in its frenzied state.


    [Strength activated. Your blows have been increased by 50%]


    Clenching his hand into a fist, his gaze was locked on the nape of it''s neck above.


    He had gotten what he needed, the tail hadid close to his direction.


    Climbing onto it with the use of it''s protruding spines, he made his way to it''s neck slowly.


    Raiken had noticed a strange disturbance on its body. Spreading out his wings, it prepared for it''s flight.


    ''Here we go again!'' Nix internally facepalmed as he held on tightly to the back spine.


    Raiken tried to shake off what was on its back by making swift turns, spins.<sub> </sub>


    Nix felt like throwing up, he couldn''t hold onto the spine forever. He needed a new n.


    Slowly he made his way to the neck.


    The nape of its neck was staring right at him, it was the only ce where the spines didn''t protrude from.


    Seeing this as his only opportunity, he dealt a devastating blow on the dragon.


    Riiieeee!


    Raiken screeched to the pain, it lost its knowledge of flight momentarily as they came crashing down like a lighting bolt.


    Boom!


    Raiken still put up great resistance with it being pinned to the ground by Nix.


    "There is no use struggling!"


    Roo¨Cooa¨Caaar!!


    He kept his hold on the dragon until it gradually felt the effect of it.


    Along with a gasp from the dragon, several notifications popped up in front of him.


    [500 points gained]


    [You have earned the ss: Dragon tamer]


    [Congrattions on your sessfulpletion, you have a total of 647 points earned]


    [Level up]


    [Level up]


    He steadied his breathing as he looked down at Raiken. He had finally done it.


    Wiping the sweat off his face, a smile made its way to his lips. He has been able to climb up three levels in the space of a day.


    These were the kind of missions he wanted.


    ''The stronger they are, the more useful they are to me.'' Nix reasoned.


    [Level up reward are now avable]


    Click!


    [The following rewards are avable]


    ~Reward 1~


    Disguise pill: Conceals and changes your outlook within the space of six hours. It can only be used once a day.


    The usage and effectiveness can be increased with points earned during missions or quests.


    Nix rolled his eyes, he had expected thetter part. It seemed everything intended to consume his points.


    The disguise pill was automatically moved to the inventory.


    ~Reward 2~


    Friendly guide: Morphing into the form of your desires. It has the ability to interact with its host and provide help when called upon. It is totally invisible to everyone apart from its user. It provides answers to what might seemingly sound strange in this world.


    "Like the system!" He nodded.


    [Yes, like the system!] A seductive female''s voice could be heard from his ear, scaring him.


    "Who said that?" He looked around until it finallynded on the culprit.


    It was a six inches female whose red hair was styled normally with a single strand of her bangs braided, as well as the sides of her hair pulled back,rge green eyes, a voluptuous yet slender frame and a partially coveredrge bust.


    She wore a shoulder-less maid-like dress with a deep V-cut with a pair of high waist leggings and boots.


    There was something oddly strange about her size and her appearance, it felt oddly familiar. All he needed was a brief second to understand what was levitating before him.


    "No way!" He eximed, his mouth hung open in shock.


    Looking back at the reward, it had clearly said it provides help when called upon.


    "I didn''t call for you." He tried to avoid staring in the wrong ces.


    [Do you really need to call for me, master?] She hummed, making her way to his face, so he could concentrate solely on her.

 Chapter 20 You Got Bigger

    ''What the hell was the system thinking of giving me such a reward? No... what was I thinking, indirectly creating this ticking temptation?''


    Closing his eyes, he refused to look at her.


    [Master, you haven''t given me a name] Her little hands tapped on his face to get his attention.


    "If I give you a name, would you only appear when I tell you to?" He questioned.


    [Of course] She giggled.


    "Your name is Mune." He guiltily replied, internally hoping there was nothing like anguage trantor in this world.


    There were things he had checked pertaining to the Japanese words and this was one of them. All he had done to name her, was take the most prominent part as her name.


    [Mune? What a lovely name!] She squealed.


    ''Nonguage trantor! Got it.'' He released a sigh of relief at saving himself the embarrassment.


    Opening his eyes, he was met with Mune in front of him, she had her head resting on her palms, as shey suspended in the air with her legs crossed over the other behind her.


    The position she was in was significantly a dangerous one for him, her bust was prominently more pronounced than he had intended for him to witness up close.


    ''She is just a six inch person and figment of your desire, don''t get any silly thoughts.'' He gulped, turning away from her direction.


    "I thought you agreed if I gave you a name, you would appear when I need you, just as the system says." He turned his back to her as he spoke.


    Mune couldn''t understand why her master wanted to get rid of her, after all she is the manifestation of his desires, shouldn''t he be d she was created just to help him?


    [Master, do you not want me?] Mune questioned.


    "It''s not that, I just need a moment with the system to work on some things and I didn''t call for you." He internally facepalmed at theme nonsense of an excuse he was giving.


    Morphing into an adult size version of herself, she stepped lightly on a thin disk of blue light, avoiding all of the mud below the disk.


    Walking over to him, she frowned, folding her arms under her bust making it push up a bit.


    Nix was startled by the ability of Mune to change into a size that couldn''t be distinguishable with other females.


    "You... you got bigger!" He pointed an using finger at her.


    Mune''s mood dropped drastically, even in this form, her master still didn''t want her?


    [Do you hate me that much] She had tears brimming in her eyes.


    ''Not the tears, please!'' He pinched the bridge of his nose. He had enough of a teary moment in the past.


    "No I don''t." He said with a sigh. "I''m just confused as to why you were able toe forth without my approval."


    Mune''s mood brightened at that statement.


    "There must be a bug in the system." He mumbled, closing all notifications.


    [You did call for me] Mune nodded.


    "What?" He questioned in confusion.


    [In there] She ced her hand on his chest innocently.


    Ba dum!


    Ba dum!


    Nix felt his heart thump faster, staring at her face. He tore his gaze away immediately, taking few steps backwards.


    Clearing his throat to ease up the tension. He needed to think clearly.


    "The system said I should tame Raiken." He casted a look across at the dragon which was unconscious for the time being.


    [Yes it did] She nodded her head.


    "What am I supposed to do with it? Clearly after defeating it, shouldn''t I have an option to make it be under my control?"


    Muse thought for a while, it was true. The notification was yet to pop up because he had made use of the reward 2.


    [Does master want to be in possession of such a monster?] She tilted her head in confusion.


    "Hell y¨C" He paused. "I mean yes."


    [As my master wishes] She nodded.


    Ding!


    [To Control Raiken: You need 300 points]


    [Do you wish to continue?]<sub> </sub>


    [Y/N]


    Nix frowned at the notification. Looking up at Mune.


    "Care to exin what this is?" He pointed at the notification.


    It was frustrating enough to risk his life for points, but getting more than half going into controlling the very creature he had subdued? Really?!


    [It is how the system shows] She replied.


    ''How does that help?!'' Facepalming, Nix narrowed his eyes at Mune who stared innocently at him.


    With a heavy heart, he clicked on the Yes option.


    Click!


    [You have earned the ss: Beast summoner]


    Raiken''s body morphed into a ball of ck light, redirecting it''s motion towards Nix, disappearing once it had touched his chest.


    Nix felt a wave of energy course through his body.


    "What just happened?!" He touched his chest.


    [You have bonded with Raiken and would be able to summon it at will. In addition, it augments your health, energy, strength and agility] Mune exined.


    Nodding his head to her words, for once he had been d he actually had a guide.


    [There is one thing you should know, master]


    "What is that?" Nix answered.


    [You can only possess the skill to tame and control dragons, nothing more. Any attempt to summon another would be rejected by the system due to the dragon''s strong territorial behavior] She said in a toneced with a warning.


    Nix thought on the words for a bit, it did make a bit of sense to him. Even though Raiken was lurking inside him, it would regard him as its new territory.


    ''Does this make me a half dragon, half human protagonist?'' He rubbed his chin in thought.


    "Besides dragons, are there other creatures which are stronger?" Nix curiously waited for an answer.


    Although he had made these creatures to be strong when he had integrated it into his art piece, there were several other things that weren''t involved in his drawing that were popping up.


    [No. The others are of lower rank or have been augmented artificially¨Ctherefore are merely trying topete with its strength, but are mindless]


    Nix ced his sped fingers on his forehead, thinking of his next line of action. He had gotten a bit stronger. Getting to the academy wouldn''t be much of an issue anymore.


    "Where are the other dragons?" He asked.


    If he could get more dragons to add to his summons, he could climb faster up the level.


    [They are scattered outside the barrier of the city. Just like this ce, there are many other unexplored territories around the city]


    ''Interesting!''


    The user interface popped up, showing his status window.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 4]


    [Health: 98/200]


    [Exp: 100/100]


    [Energy: 93/300]


    [Strength: 91/200]


    [Agility: 94/200]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination, Rage]


    [ss: Wheedler, Beast yer, Dragon tamer, Beast summoner]


    [Summons: Raiken]


    [Gift: Fire, Telekinesis]


    [Points: 347 to be distributed]


    He had observed the increase in the level of the parts augmented by Raiken. One thing was to be happy about, the energy level had increased exponentially to the benefit of using his gift more effectively.


    "It''s time to show those b*stards whose family they messed with." His eyes gleamed with determination.

 Chapter 21 To The Academy Gates!

    Sneaking into a home in the city, Nix peered out the door, making sure nobody was looking as he carefully closed the door.


    The warm and inviting aroma had caught his attention. The growling in his stomach pushed him to find where the culprit hid.


    Creak!


    Lightly stepping, he pushed in the kitchen door leading closer to where the pleasing aroma wasing from. His nose, his only guide at the moment.


    His sole focus was on the food before him. Salivating, he looked around for any sign of someone approaching.


    Going with the unconventional, he hungrily dug into the food with his hand, stuffing his mouth.


    Closing his eyes, he let out a satisfying moan to the taste, the aroma had surely not disappointed him.


    He felt a stick poke at his chest.


    "Y... you... g... get a... a... a..way f... from m... m... my d... dish!" A woman in her mid forties stuttered, a mop in her trembling hands.


    Nix furrowed his brows at the situation he had found himself in. He had closed his eyes for just a few seconds and was met with the owner of the house?


    The woman held out the wooden end of her mop, her grip tightening. She refused to back down on holding the mop stick aimed at him.


    "Ma''am, I do apologize for my crude behavior, but I''m not a thief." He raised his hands in surrender, his hands soiled with the food.


    Nervously chuckling, he could see how hard it was for her to believe him when he was caught red handed.


    For some reason, this scene reminded him of the time in his previous life when he had been used of being an art thief by those who had supported Drui, but this time it really did feel and look like he stole something.


    The woman looked on at the shirtless male, he seemed to be telling the truth, well apart from the obvious food theft.


    Nevertheless, she couldn''t let her guard down just yet. Gaining more confidence, she raised the mop stick at his face instead.


    "I just needed a meal and a shirt, that''s all and I would be on my way, it would be like I was never here." He added.


    He was trying to blend into the background and get into the Shibui Gift Academy by learning about the main city first.


    It''s been merely a few hours since he had gotten to the main city, and yet he had little to no clue what to expect or learn.


    Mune had made mention of the main city as the best ce to blend in and know a bit about the academy.


    The city was always assigned members of the academy to protect them whenever the citizens alerted them to a danger.


    Most especially those who refused to go to the academy and chose to use their gift for personal gains.


    These citizens had no gifts and had to rely on the academy for their safety.


    It was only a miracle to birth a gifted one, it wasn''t hereditary but merely a blessing¨Chence its name.


    The rare urrence of having siblings with gifts made it all the more intriguing.


    This made him wonder how his mother had managed to birth three children with gifts.


    From his observations, he had noticed when they were in danger, they had always pressed a small device which was given to each and every one of its citizens.


    Hence, he had expected this woman to press the ck device as well.


    She hesitated as she stared into his eyes. Slowly her hand dropped, so did her mop.


    Dropping to her knees, she wailed, tears dropping continuously from her eyes.


    Nix was taken aback by her action, he couldn''t connect the dots as to why she would resort to that.


    "You remind me of my son," she began, sniffling and wiping away the tears.


    "Whenever he came back from an athletic event with friends, he would alwayse back shirtless and sweaty. The first thing on his mind would be my dish." She gave a sad smile as she reminisced on that moment.<sub> </sub>


    From the tone in her voice, Nix knew it didn''t end well for the son. He couldn''t get involved further than it already was.


    ''Do not ask any personal questions.'' He cautioned his tongue.


    "I do apologize about what happened to your son. I willpensate you one day for the damage I have caused you." Nix promised, drawing the attention away from the sad story.


    "I don''t need your money." She replied, "I had always put that up so the memory of my son isn''t lost." She retorted.


    ''I never said I would give you money.'' Nix''s thoughts screamed, his brows twitched to her reply. But said nothing out of respect.


    Nix was left speechless. There was no way he could think of tofort such a broken hearted woman. He had no experience in such things.


    "What is your name, young man?" She walked up to him, pulling him by the hand towards the living room.


    Nix didn''t want to get involved, he had his fair share of causing danger to his family. He couldn''t bear to think of reliving such a scenario again.


    "I''m sorry ma''am, but I can''t say. It''s better that way." He pulled away his hand, "I appreciate you caring for a total stranger." He bowed his head, ready to leave the same way he hade in.


    "Did I say something wrong?" She looked up sadly.


    ''It isn''t you, but me.'' Nix facepalmed at how true the statement is but how overly used it was in another setting.


    "I would rather be alone, for your sake too." He replied coldly, turning around to leave.


    "Wait! Please give me a moment to search for something." She held his wrist, before letting go to hurriedly search for the said thing.


    Halting in his steps, he could hear distinctive running around the house. He wondered what the woman was searching for.


    ''What if she calls for help from those ignorant academy members? What if this is just a diversion to keep me here till they arrive?'' He felt uneasy, his trust level critical.


    Coming back out from her son''s room, with a shirt in hand. Her expression fell.


    He had left.


    "I just wanted to give you a shirt at least. You should be the same size as he was." She mumbled to herself.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Huff!


    Huff!


    Running, Nix didn''t stop till he caught sight of a ck shirt hanging loosely on the washing line. Hiding in an alley, he activated his telekic gift, slowly pulling the shirt towards him.


    He was careful not to let the passerby see what he was doing.


    Finally getting a hold of the shirt. He threw his hands into the air, silently celebrating his achievement.


    He couldn''t approach the academy gate without properly looking the part of a responsible gifted citizen.


    [You have earned the ss: Pilferer]


    "No! No! Cancel that ss. You stupid system!" He hissed. "This was merely just a one time thing, how could you give me such a ss?!"


    Pulling on his hair, he kicked the walls in frustration, how could the system regard him as a thief just because he had done that.


    "I had a good reason! I was going to return it when I get into the academy." He muttered to himself until he believed it.


    Finally realizing no matter how much he whined, the system wouldn''t revert it''s decision, he wiped down his face slowly.


    Dipping his hand into his pocket, he pulled out the hexagonal gold medal with little wings below it. He couldn''t waste any more time sulking. It was time to pay a visit to the academy gates.

 Chapter 22 Information Not Verified... Yet

    The gate was closed, but there were several window openings to which different guards were assigned.


    He raised his head towards the sky as he took in the majestic insignia of two faceless people, a male and a female; facing one another with a glowing aura around them on therge ck gate.


    ''Here goes nothing.'' He sighed, walking up to one of the openings.


    "Good day Sir, I am¨C"


    "Pass!" The guard cut in, not interested in whatever he had to say.


    "Oh!" Nix reached into his pocket, sliding it into the space meant for the said purpose.


    Looking up at Nix then looking back down, the guard carefully examined the hexagonal golden medal pass.


    "Hmmm."


    He had a thin stick in his mouth, pushed to the corner of his lips as he yed with it. The constant movement of the stick made Nix''s eyes go up and down subconsciously.


    Shaking his head, he reached out to take his pass back. He had thought all he needed to do was show the pass as an object of being chosen to be in the academy.


    Retracting his hand, the guard hummed. "The information hasn''t been verified." He sneered.


    Nix''s brows knitted in confusion.


    ''What did he mean? It''s merely a golden pass which sometimes sticks to its host.''


    Lightly tapping it, it brought out the holographic info on its user.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Gender: Male]


    [Age: 22]


    [Gift: Fire]


    Pfffff!


    The guard spat out the stick from his mouth in shock.


    Just to make sure he had rightly seen that, he zoomed in on the information. He looked back and forth at the information and Nix.


    Nix was in another world of his own. If he could clearly see correctly, the pass had brought out his information?!


    His mouth was opened wide in disbelief.


    ''It wasn''t merely a t piece of gold?''


    "Wee to Shibui Gift Academy!" The guard''s expression lightened up with a smile as he pushed back the medal through the same ce it had been given.


    "Thank you?" Nix felt self-conscious with the overly excited guard who never wanted to break eye contact with him while keeping up with the big smile stered on his face.


    ''A minute ago, you were so hard on me. Now you''re doting on me like a favorite child?'' He raised the corner of his lips in irritation.


    Slowly, the gates opened up automatically, letting him in.


    "Such a creep." He mumbled, shoving the pass back into his pocket.


    "Mune." He whispered, careful not to sound crazy on his first day.<sub> </sub>


    [Master! I was beginning to think you have forgotten about me.] She squealed, rolling in ecstasy in the air.


    Momentarily, his eyes locked on her cleavage, "there are things that I can''t forget." He coughed out, tearing his gaze away from that spot.


    Observing the high rising building of the academy, it was a great sight to behold. Therge buildings were made up of a metallic material that reflected the sun''s rays and made it so bright that it was difficult to look at.


    At the center of the academy, there was arge fountain that was illuminated by the same metal as the buildings.


    In the middle of the fountain, there was a statue of a winged female with a small golden medal embedded in her chest. It was surrounded by smaller metal statues of people which could be seen from any angle. The name of the academy was inscribed on the wristband of the statue in a simple yet elegant lettering.


    "They sure have a lot of money toe up with all of these." He rolled his eyes at the extravagance. "I didn''t know that the academy could even afford this much."


    [They do get the money from the organization] Mune corrected.


    He watched as some of the students walked inside, some of them even nced over at him. Some of the girls giggled, as they chattered among one another.


    "Tch-" He scoffed at how quick the girls were to stir trouble for him.


    He wasn''t really there to make friends. He was there to get enough intel to help catch those b*stards who had robbed him of his family.


    There were about a dozen names which had been linked to the school mentioned in the scroll. Even though he had seen the names, he didn''t recognize any of them.


    He had to be careful; thest thing he needed was to be caught with his guard down. He needed to get to the bottom of who was behind this.


    Whoever it was, they had to be powerful enough to afford all of these. But most importantly, they had to be powerful enough to have bred such a creature to do their bidding. It must have been someone pretty big to have that much influence behind the shadows.


    "Good day, Mr Zhao!" One of the students greeted as he passed.


    He turned around to spot the person who had been called by that name.


    He clicked his tongue, finally seeing one of the persons he had been looking for¨Cthe name matched perfectly and so was the description.


    He was a man with a gray beard, and a simple but elegant blue robe. The only thing that stood out was the teardrop golden medal which was hanging from his neck on a chain.


    Mr Zhao had sensed someone stare at him, looking up, he saw Nix standing there.


    "My word!" He eximed in surprise, holding his chest as he tried to breathe out in relief.


    "Were you scared that you wished you''d chosen death instead of that happening once more?" Nix spoke in a deep hushed voice, the sound of his voice being masked in the silence of the wind.


    "What did you just say?" Mr Zhao''s mouth hung open.  He was clearly taken aback by the statement of this student.


    [Uhhh... master? What are you doing?] Mune tapped his cheek.


    It was the enemy he was talking to so casually. If he were to get a whiff of something amiss, they just might miss their chance.


    ''Shoot! I had almost forgotten I wasn''t meant to engage them yet.'' Nix chuckled slightly, stering a big grin on his lips to mask his initial words.


    "Pardon my words, they sometimes slip as I get into the mood, they are mere wild talks." He bowed slightly.


    Swiftly changing the topic, he continued, "I''ve been hearing a lot about you, Mr Zhao. They say that your way of teaching is quite unique. Is that true?" He asked, trying to sound as if he was just wondering.


    Pulling on his beard, he nodded to the indirect praise. He was d to hear the students finally acknowledging his teachings.


    "What student did you hear these fine words from?" He gave a hearty cheer.

 Chapter 23 Pretty Face

    He grimaced at the question directed at him.


    ''How am I meant to answer that? I just got here!!'' His thoughts screamed, but he masked his frustration with a smile.


    "Student..." His voice trailed, looking around him for any clue.


    Upon sighting a red haired female, he pulled her to his side closely.


    She was stunned by his action, but quickly recovered.


    "What the hell are you doing?" She hissed through gritted teeth.


    She reminded him much of Mune, she had every characteristic apart from her attitude and choice of clothes.


    ''The academy even allows this kind of clothing.'' He stared at her in awe.


    She wore a revealing cloth, a ck mini dress that just barely covers her buttocks and a pair of knee-high, low-heeled ck open toed sandals.


    This was the safest bet for him, he had to use her presence to his advantage.


    "Help me this once." He pleaded, "your name, please."


    It took a moment to understand what he was driving at. He wasn''t even properly dressed, but his shirt caught her attention.


    "That cloth..." She began.


    "Lumina, do you two know each other?" Mr Zhao tilted his head to the side, he couldn''t understand why they were bickering at each other.


    "No."


    "Yes."


    Lumina growled in his direction, her big green eyes ring daggers at him.


    "She was the student who told me so much about you." He pped her back, making her jerk forward.


    Electricity sparked out of her eyes, she vibrated in rage at the embarrassment she had just endured.


    ''So her gift is lightning!'' He took a few steps back as he instantly regretted his action.


    He was only trying to establish the cordial rtionship he wanted to portray to Mr Zhao.


    "How dare you!" She clenched her hands into a fist about to attack.


    "That''s enough!" Mr Zhao mmed his hand into the wall, causing a hole in it to get her attention.


    Nix jumped back a bit at the immerse strength of this teacher, clearly he needed more intel on them before engaging.


    Lumina''s rage subsided greatly, she dropped her hand. "You were able to slip through my fingers this time." She sneered.


    ''Oh please. More like you were lucky I hadn''t activated any of my gifts.'' He rolled his eyes, her usefulness was already way overdue.


    "Please control your anger, for your sake." Mr Zhao reasoned.


    He could sense something was different about this student. Whatever it was he would keep an eye on him for the time being.


    "What is your name?" He turned his attention towards Nix.


    Pretending to be slow witted, he pointed at himself then at Lumina. "Are you talking about me or her?"


    She facepalmed at his answer. First he had gotten on her nerves, now he was outright ying stupid.


    "Do you have a death wish?" She snarled, the more she stayed, the more angered she got.


    "Oh, you meant me!" He nodded his head.


    He didn''t need any confrontation yet, what better way than ying dumb to keep the big dogs from your trail?


    [Master, what are you doing?!] Mune hissed into his ears.


    "I didn''t call for you." He whispered, hoping they couldn''t hear what he was saying.<sub> </sub>


    [I felt your heart waver the more you looked at thisdy] She ignored his questions, rather ring daggers at Lumina.


    Lumina frowned, not only was he pretending to be slow witted, but he was also trying to prove he could be crazy?


    Realizing everywhere had suddenly turned silent, he raised his head to see them staring at him closely, awaiting an answer.


    "I am not crazy." He raised his hands in defense, he needed to establish that fact before he continued.


    "Alright, Mr not so crazy." Lumina spat. "Teacher Zhao obviously asked a question earlier."


    "You''re really pushing it pretty face!" He muttered under his breath.


    "How can I also address you that is more fitting, since we are so close to one another?" She ced her hands on her slender waist.


    [Master, would you like me to shut her up?] Mune raised her imaginary sleeve, her little hands glowed a distinctive gold.


    Shaking his head at Mune, she lowered her guard, sighing.


    "My name is Nix." He replied curtly. "If there are no more questions, I will be on my way to find my dorm now."


    "I haven''t seen you around the premises before, you must be a new recruit here."


    "Surely he is, Sir." Lumina replied in his stead. "Or else he would know the basics."


    "Could you please shut up!" Nix barked, startling both of them.


    Exhaling, he bowed in the direction of Mr Zhao. "I will be taking my leave now, Sir."


    "Wait!" Lumina called after him.


    Excusing herself, she gave chase to Nix.


    "Nix! Wait up!"


    Cross popping veins made their way to Nix''s forehead, it almost felt like he was digging his grave. He didn''t want to be followed, attention was the least of his worries but now this pretty face with a sharp tongue was making it a lot difficult for him to move down the hallway unnoticed.


    Halting in his step, he turned around to face her squarely.


    Lumina didn''t have the time to screech to a stop, colliding into his arms.


    Nix froze, the soft cushion of her bust squished in on him.


    Recovering from the initial shock, he pushed her off him, clearing his throat.


    "What do you want?" He looked away from her, his cheeks were starting to heat up.


    Lumina''s hand shot up to her chest, steadying her breathing. "I... I..."


    ''What a total waste of my precious time.'' He internally facepalmed.


    "If that is all, I would request you stop shouting my name. In no way would I like to be affiliated with ticking time bomb." He responded.


    "Time bomb?" Lumina tilted her head in confusion.


    Nix facepalmed, he had wanted that to irk her, yet she looked more confused about the word, than the meaning.


    "You know what? Just forget about it." He sighed, he couldn''t stand there anymore. He needed to find his ward first.


    "Steer clear of my path." He warned, his eyes gleaming coldly.


    She shuddered at the demeaning aura that seethed off him, gulping she reconsidered her actions carefully.


    "Wait! Please!" She pressed on.


    Nix raised his face upwards, her persistence was starting to get to him.


    "Your shirt, where did you get that?" She finally spoke out.

 Chapter 24 Dormitory For Two

    Nix had to look down at his shirt in confusion


    ''Does she know I literally borrowed this?'' His eyes darted around them in a panic.


    "My shirt? Does it look familiar to you?" He asked with a raised chin, trying to show he was confident.


    Lumina stared at him for a while, contemting her next words.


    "Y¨C"


    "Whatever." Nix turned around, not giving her enough attention to listen.


    He couldn''t stay in that same position any longer and risk being the topic of discussion among the other students.


    He needed some rest and afy bed.


    "I hope we don''t cross paths again, pretty face." Nix waved his hand, before he could realize what had unintentionally slipped out of his mouth.


    Lumina had caught on that snippet of words he had used to describe her. Her cheeks were flushed, as she was stunned and fixated to the spot in a daze, watching the distance between them increase with every step he took forward.


    "How do I find the dorm?" He muttered to himself.


    In a fit to get rid of those he had interacted with, he had totally forgotten one small issue, where the dormitory building was. He had only gotten to hear from the whispers of other students it was in the direction he was taking, but he hadn''t settled down to get the rest of it.


    Where he stood was devoid of any student, the deafening silence made him wonder if he was actually taking the right path.


    With his hands shoved into his pocket, he brought out the hexagonal gold medal pass, flipping it out of boredom.


    "Huh?!" He looked down at the number engraved on its back.


    "69?" He muttered, his brows twitching in frustration.


    ''Even the number is mocking me.'' He wiped down his face, his mind had definitely drifted to a different meaning to that.


    "Now isn''t the time for stupid thoughts, Nix." He cautioned himself.


    The number glowed brightly. Suddenly he felt a pull towards the direction in the right.


    "Woah!" He eximed, steadying his footing and tightening his grip on the pass while increasing his pace to match up with the pull he was getting towards that direction.


    "Mune, what''s going on?" He yelled in a hushed whisper.


    [It''s taking you directly to the specified dormitory, this way you can never get lost as long as you have your pass with you] She giggled, hovering above him but moving along with him in tow at his pace.


    In a few minutes, the pull stopped.


    Phew!


    Resting his hands on his knees, he exhaled and inhaled, trying to catch his breath.


    Raising his head, he was faced with a metal door. There was no knob. This was a door that only opened from the inside. The only way in or out was via the pass. He wondered if that was the case for all rooms in the building.


    The only ce was the hexagonal bottom winged dent on the door. Raising his pass, he could only assume that was where he was meant to insert the pass into.


    [It''s the only way] Mune whispered into his ear in a singsong voice.<sub> </sub>


    "Shh!" He hushed, carefully inserting the pass into it.


    Rrrhhhh!


    The sound made after it had merged with the door, caused him to move back a bit.


    Click!


    The door slowly opened. The pass had automatically recognized the person it was meant for, only after verifying that it was the right person would it allow ess.


    Nix walked in.


    Surveying his surroundings, he found that the room was simple and functional. There was a bed against the wall on the right, and a desk against the wall on the left.


    The window was on the wall opposite of the desk. There was only one chair.


    It had the view of the statue and fountain outside.


    The door leading to the bathroom was on the right side of the room, it was left ajar.


    ''Who is in charge of room service around here?'' He frowned.


    There was a pleasant smell ofvendering from the bathroom. It smelled like a female had been in there. Not that he minded, but the fact that he assumed it was a one person dorm, it was highly unlikely.


    A closet was next to the bed. The only thing that was out of ce was the bed. It looked as if someone had been sleeping there, but no one was there now. The sheets were rumpled, as if someone had been lying on them but had gotten up abruptly, leaving the bed in such a state.


    The nket was tangled at the foot of the bed, as if it had been pulled off in haste.


    There was no other furniture in the room. The space was too small to amodate anything else. But then again, it was a dorm room. It was meant for sleeping and minimal other activities.


    He was a little disappointed. He had been hoping to find a living room or a study room or something.


    "Didn''t you say the academy was funded by the organization?" Nix asked. He approached the bed, his eyes scanning the room for something interesting, or at least something.


    [Yes, they concentrate their funds on the school building, the dormitory is just a sleeping space. Luxury isn''t a priority] Mune replied.


    "Those selfish jerks!" He blurted out, his face a picture of frustration. He was regretting asking now. It was obvious that the school didn''t care about the students, why would they care about the dormitory?


    He should have known better. He should have expected it. But the building looked so impressive from the outside. He had been hoping that the school was at least trying to make the students feel like they mattered.


    He looked at the bed once again, his face pensive.


    [There is another thing you should take note of... uh...] Mune looked to the side, unsure if she should say this next part.


    "Just say it." He said, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. He already had his share of disappointment, what else could go wrong?


    Mune looked at him, her optics looking up at him. It seemed like she was trying to gauge his reaction. When she saw that he was still unconvinced, she looked back to the bed.


    She took a deep breath, before raising her hand and motioning him closer. He sighed and walked towards her, his footsteps echoing in the small room. He stood in front of her and waited for her to continue.


    [This is a dormitory for two] She said in a whisper.

 Chapter 25 Sensitive To Touch

    "What the hell?!" Nix eximed in shock. He didn''t know what to say. He had been hoping that there would be something interesting in the room. Anything. But two? There was no way two students would share such a small space. There would be no privacy.


    He looked at Mune, his mouth hanging open. He had been so hoping for something different, he hadn''t even considered the idea of two students sharing a room.


    "That would exin the condition of the bed and the bathroom." He facepalmed.


    [Sooo... You might or might not be too pleased to know who your roommate is] Mune looked at him, a worried expression on her face.


    "What do you mean by that?!" He red in her direction, making her squeal and rush into the closet to hide for the moment.


    Click!


    Nix turned around to see the roommate who had been given ess to the room too.


    The girl in that familiar revealing ck mini dress was standing in the doorway, a look of utter shock on her face.


    ''Pretty face?! She''s my roommate?!'' His mouth hung open for a while, before he regained hisposure.


    [I did say you might or might not like it!] Mune''s distant, yet loud voice could be heard from inside the closet by Nix.


    "And a little toote, don''t you think?!" He growled through gritted teeth in response.


    "Y¨C you again!" She pointed her using finger at Nix.


    He gulped and nodded. He should have expected this too. There was no way this pretty face had been chosen to share the dormitory. Nix took a step back, raising his hands up.


    ''Of course, pretty face came back to haunt me.'' He chuckled bitterly at his twisted predicament.


    Lumina took a few steps forward, her eyes narrowing. She grabbed a hold of Nix''s shirt, pulling him close to her. She stared at him for a while, her eyes narrowing even further.


    "You specifically said I should steer clear of your path, now you invade my dormitory like a creep." She hissed, her body tensed. Her voice was cold.


    ''Your dormitory?! A creep?! To hell with those words. The pass directed me here too, goddammit!'' His thoughts raged.


    "There seems to be a misunderstanding here." Nix said instead, it was useless returning the same energy she was disying.


    He wasn''t sure how to respond, she wouldn''t really believe him so easily anyways. He had been hoping that they hadn''t started off at the wrong foot. He hated the arrangement as much as she did.


    "I was hoping to be paired with a handsome young man, not some..." Lumina cut off her own thoughts, her eyes widening in horror. She was about to say "man like you" but managed to stop herself in time. She was clearly trying to think of a better way to word it.


    However, the way she was looking at Nix made it clear that she didn''t think he was handsome as whoever she had pictured. On the contrary, she looked disgusted by his presence. She took a step back and looked out the window.


    With his gaze staring at his boots, Nix''s mood darkened at her choice of words, it wasn''t that he wasn''t good looking but how she had referred to him felt insultive. He hated to admit it, but he wasn''t the type of person who liked being made fun of.<sub> </sub>


    He wouldn''t sit there and take it. He raised his head and faced Lumina, ring at her. She looked surprised at his sudden change of character and looked away. He waited for her eyes to return to him, before walking up to her and pinning her against the window.


    She let out a small squeak at this, before looking back at him, her eyes wide. Leaning forward, he whispered into her ear, "I can do this all day, pretty face." His lips brushed up against the earlobe.


    A wave of electricity went through her at the touch. She moaned a little into the ear. Instantly regretting her action, her handstched over her mouth.


    ''So she''s sensitive to touch!'' Nix snickered in his thoughts.


    She turned her head, and stared up at him, her eyes looking at the lips that had touched her ear.


    Her cheeks med at the thought. She was shocked that he would do such a thing. She had tried to avoid the touch as much as possible. In fact, she had hoped that he would do just that.


    Nix chuckled a little. He knew that she wouldn''t say anything. It was obvious from the way she was blushing, that she liked what he did. He knew that she was thinking about it.


    He reached up, and stroked her cheek. "You know, I really like the way you blush... I mean the way you get all flustered around me." He whispered into her ear.


    Lumina shivered a little, her eyes closed.


    "I''d like to see you blush more often." He continued.


    Suddenly, he pulled away, shoving his hands into his pockets.


    Lumina looked at him, a puzzled expression on her face. He noticed that she was still blushing.


    "I didn''t think it would be proper for a young man with such an appearance as I do, should make you feel this way, don''t you think it''s a little strange?" He asked her, a mischievous glint in his eyes.


    He had gotten what he needed from her reaction. She had merely said that in a fit of rage.


    She had no other reaction than to blush. She had to admit that she was feeling it.


    Nix knew that he was getting to her. He was really starting to enjoy this. He smiled inwardly. He had not expected to enjoy any part of this at all.


    Easing the tension out of his shoulders, he gave her a reassuring smile. "Don''t worry, I won''t do anything you don''t want me to." He assured her.


    She stared at him nkly.


    He couldn''t read her expression. He couldn''t tell if she was mad about what he said or if she found it amusing.


    "But I do have one question." Nix said, his eyes turning behind him towards the bed. Looking back at her.


    She looked over at the bed, her eyes widening at the sight. "Um... okay?"

 Chapter 26 Do You Want It?

    "How could ady be so messy?" He asked her, his eyes looking at the bed.


    Lumina was about to ask him what he meant until she saw the rumpled sheets and nkets. She blushed and looked away, before turning back to him.


    "Um...I''m not sure how to put this, but um... when I was on the way to ss, but had no time to make the bed, so I decided to leave it..." She took a deep breath.


    Her face looked like it was about to burst into mes. She looked at the bed again before turning away.


    "Um...I''m going to have to clean this up."


    Shrugging, Nix began unbuttoning his shirt.


    "What the hell are you doing?!" She shrieked, looking away shyly.


    Scrunching up his face, he looked back down at his naked torso, then back over at her.


    "You do know it''s alright for me to do this right?" He frowned, pulling it off his hands and throwing it on the bed.


    "This is literally a breath of fresh air, that I''m not sure you can rte well to." He mocked, narrowing his eyes at Lumina''s cleavage.


    He had noticed she didn''t even feel in any way self conscious with his lewd gaze on her for a moment then.


    She was distracted, looking at his chest and V-cut abs all the while, her eyes getting bigger and bigger.


    Heughed. "You like it, don''t you, pretty face?" He said, looking at her. His eyes widened a little at the sight of her blushing.


    "Well too sad." He said, kicking off his boots, his hand sliding down his body, to his pants. He looked over to Lumina. "Look away, why does it look like you''re salivating?" He asked her.


    Hurriedly, she turned around, her cheeks blushing a bright red. She could feel her heart beating in her chest. She had just realized that he was right. She was salivating.


    ''D*mnit!'' She cursed in her thoughts.


    "After all I don''t have the looks like you said, so you have no right to see the rest of the package." He said with a scoff.


    "Jerk!" She muttered in reply to his cocky response.


    "Where is the bathrobe?" Nix muttered, his eyes searching the room. He was having a little trouble finding it. He thought about asking her to show him.


    Burying his pride, he said his concern in a low tone to her once again.


    "It''s in the closet." She replied, her voiceing out a little t. "Whatever clothes you want, it magically conjures it up, it''s the least this sh*tty dormitory is good for."


    ''So she also has some sort of grudge against this ce.'' Nix looked at her. Nodding his head, he moved off towards the closet.


    Phew!


    ''Gone!'' He was d Mune had not been in there anymore. He couldn''t guess what her reaction might have been, if she had been listening in on their conversation the whole time.


    He opened the door, a bright light shone on his face, once it gradually reverted, he found a ck bathrobe hanging there.


    ''It truly is magical!'' He wowed, pulling it out, and moved to where Lumina was still standing, her back still facing his direction.


    "That shirt."  She said in a whisper.


    ''Again with this topic!'' He internally facepalmed.


    "Why are you so interested in the shirt, anyways? Do you want it?" He asked her.


    Lumina couldn''t get another chance such as this to ask him the same question. Her heart was pounding, and sweat was running down her face as she waited for his reply.<sub> </sub>


    She could clearly remember that cold and demeaning aura she had felt then.


    "You can turn around, I''m in a bathrobe." He reminded her, his eyes still on her.


    "Please, just answer my question." She persisted.


    Nix couldn''t understand why this shirt meant anything to her. He wasn''t even sure if he would ever wear it again. He had no desire to.


    Not after the system had termed him a pilferer because of the shirt. He was definitely going to return it like he had promised personally.


    He was just a little bit curious, but he knew he shouldn''t be. "If you tell me what the significance is to you, maybe I might be generous enough to answer your questions." He offered.


    "It was the only shirt of its make that reminded me of him." She finally turned to face him, rubbing her arm nervously.


    ''Him?'' Nix was left stunned at herst statement. She had answered his question, but he was still left clueless on who she was talking about. He wondered if she was just trying to get out of answering his question.


    "Who?" He asked, his eyes widening. He had been so wrapped up in their conversation that he had forgotten he needed to take a bath.


    ''Once you get the information, be sure to bathe and not get sucked even more in all of this.'' He made a mental note.


    "It was the only reminder of someone so dear to me, he was¨C"


    "Stop!" Nix raised his hand to her face, cutting her off.


    ''...your lover, ...your brother, ...your cousin maybe?! Well I don''t want to get involved to that degree.'' His thoughts spiraled away to the possible options avable to fill in her words.


    Lumina''s mouth hung slightly open, this was the second time he had cut in while she tried to exin herself.


    He didn''t want to hear her say it, especially the first. If he did listen, he might be asked about his hurtful past, that he was not ready to share.


    If he dives further into her personal life, she would one day want to know his story. That was basic logic.


    "You know what?" He pulled down his hand.


    Shaking her head, she didn''t understand why he suddenly had a change in mind, he was the one who wanted to know who earlier.


    "Let''s forget I asked." He sighed, shaking his head at how troubled he had felt at her close rtionship with whoever the true owner of the shirt was.


    "What?!" She eximed in confusion.


    "You want the shirt? You can have it."


    "But I need¨C"


    "Well I don''t need anything from you." He yelled in frustration. He felt threatened, he had tried to establish a cordial rtionship since they would begin living together during his stay.


    Attachment to anyone wasn''t a priority, she was making that simple task hard for him.


    "Just take it, if it''s so important to you." He sneered.


    There it was again, that familiar demeaning re he had when she had tried to pry further earlier.


    He turned around to the bathroom.


    Bam!


    He mmed the bathroom door shut.

 Chapter 27 Memories Of Last Night Shared

    "Lumina!" A female called, jumping in front of her upon sighting her best friend.


    She was a blonde girl who had her bangs covering one of her eyes while the rest fell loosely behind her down to her hips.


    Lumina shrieked, letting out sparks of electricity out of her body, jumping back due to the scare.


    Muffledughter by the perpetrator of this act could be heard.


    Stiffly, she turned towards her friend, she had warned her severally to stop her jump scare pranks.


    "That does it, Fae!" She snapped, she zapped her by shooting out a little amount of electricity from her index finger on her.


    "Ow!" Fae groaned in pain, rubbing her side to the sting.


    "Academy rule number one, remember?!" Fae scrunched up her nose.


    "We are not allowed to use our gifts on one another except when we are training, sparring against one another or called upon to the city." Lumina recited the rule in an indifferent tone.


    "That''s right!" Fae nodded, "but I would forgive you once again. I won''t tell a soul."


    "R-i-g-h-t!" Lumina rolled her eyes, a smile made its way to her lips.


    Throwing her hands over Lumina''s shoulder, she held a big smile, "Why didn''t you tell me you have a new roommate?"


    "That''s because I didn''t even know until I got to my dorm." She deadpanned.


    "Oh, I see." Fae nodded her head. "I heard he''s a hot one at that."


    ''Hot?! More like roasted duck!'' Lumina raged in her thoughts.


    She was yet to get over what Nix had done to her the previous day, He had deliberately ignored her question about that shirt. When she had decided to retire for the night, while he took his bath.


    He had somehow managed to slip behind her unnoticed and lift her off the bed, tossing her to the floor like a rag doll, with as little as giving her the nket he had requested from the closet to sleep on.


    While heid peacefully on the bed with his arms cushioning his head, his tempting muscles flexing.


    Several times she had tried to use her gifts on him, but he had managed to deflect her attacks by covering himself with a telekic field. He held a smirk all through as he slept with no care in the world.


    She instantly regretted not finding out more about his gift before she had tried attacking in the first ce. With that ability, it somewhat nullifies hers, which made her more pissed than before.


    Her thoughts raged the more she thought back on that hellish night she had.


    ''How could a guy be so cold to me?!'' She gritted her teeth in suppressed anger. Cross popping veins making severalebacks on her forehead.


    Fae could sense something was wrong with her friend''s countenance and took a step back, masking her nervousness with light chuckles.


    "I think that question could be answered another time, right?"


    Rolling her eyes, she ignored her friend''sment, taking a seat at her desk. Sparks of electricity coursed through her eyes. She began to rub her hands together to calm herself.<sub> </sub>


    ''You jerk, you had a good sleep while I didn''t. Yet my best friend has the guts to call you hot!''


    "Good day everyone." Mr Zhao said, his voice loud and deep. "Today I would like to address the news of a new recruit in the academy."


    The other students began to murmur among themselves, some could clearly tell who it was. They had seen a strange face in the school halls the previous day.


    Lumina on the other hand, bit down on her bottom lip, holding her breath as she waited for Mr Zhao''s address on the issue. She knew it was her new roommate, Nix.


    Taking long strides in, Nix had his hands in his pockets. He had his chin raised, as if he was trying to look his best.


    He had pulled his ck hair back, showing off the cut back and sides which made it shorter than the top, allowing his hair on top to sit over the sides.


    He was wearing a gray long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up. It showed a lot of his muscr arm. A ck jacket hung from his fingers and loosely behind him, and he wore a pair of ck pants. With a pair of ck boots, he had been dressed well for his first day in the academy.


    ''He uses the closet''s magic so well, he creates weird styles of clothing.'' Lumina had the corner of her lip raised in distaste.


    He had his eyes mostly on Lumina, who was sitting at her desk and trying to appear calm and her gaze as far away from his direction as possible. The only thing that gave her away was the sparks of electricity in her eyes.


    He let out a soft chuckle, he could clearly remember the previous night they shared. Obviously she didn''t think she was the one who would sleep on the floor and not him.


    Mr Zhao was a bit surprised by the chuckle he heard, he had wanted to address that at first but decided to go with a different approach.


    "Could you please introduce your¨C"


    "The name''s Nix." He interrupted Mr Zhao, a smug smile on his face. He looked coldly to the rest of the ss.


    In contrast to what he had wanted to portray, all they saw was a new student who gave off the brooding bad boy kind of look while only making the girls swoon over.


    There were sounds of squealing from the rest of the girls in the ssroom, as well as a couple of giggles.


    Most of the males casted a displeased look over at Nix, who didn''t spare them a nce of any sort.


    Lumina looked around her in disgust, she thought if these girls were to have their way to switch with her to be his roommate, they would dly do so. She was a strong and tough girl, she didn''t need this kind of treatment.


    Mr. Zhao pointed at an empty seat to the far left of the third row.


    Lumina heaved a sigh of relief, that was two rows ahead of hers, that was far enough away to not be so close. She was d she didn''t have to find a way to avoid Nix.


    Burying her head in her arms, she squealed in her own form of ecstasy.


    Bam!


    Her table shook violently, bringing her back to reality.


    "Would you mind having some manners?" She sneered as she raised her head, locking her gaze on the perpetrator.

 Chapter 28 Hand Over Your Pass

    "You!" She sneered.


    "Might I take this seat?" Nix asked politely, looking at her with a smile on his face.


    Lumina gritted her teeth, he was shameless to request that of her, now all attention was drawn to her.


    "Not until you prove you can treat everyone with a modicum of respect." She snapped.


    "Isn''t that word a little too proper for your tongue?" He teased.


    "Get the f*ck out of here! This seat is already taken." She pulled on Fae''s arm, pulling her to sit.


    "Did something happen between you both, yesterday?" Fae leaned to the side, whispering.


    "What happened?! Nothing happened between us both." Lumina pulled on Fae''s ear in retaliation to what she had thought she insinuated.


    Nix grinned, turning around to where he had been offered a seat originally. There was no use arguing on the issue, he had just wanted to gauge her reaction.


    Mr Zhao shook his head at what he had witnessed, this was the first time Lumina had been so rude and blunt to another student.


    "Nix, could you tell the ss what your gift is?"


    "Do I really have to?" Nix retorted, folding his arms.


    Cross popping veins appeared on Mr Zhao''s forehead, he steadied his breathing, he shouldn''t give in to little provocations.


    Nix''s lips curved into a smirk, he could tell he was trying his best to calm himself.


    "Yes!" Mr Zhao answered with a forced smile.


    All eyes were directed at his desk, they were as curious as they were interested in what he had to say.


    "Fire." He shrugged.


    "What?!" Lumina was the first to react, not because of the uniqueness of the gift, but rather he had a passive gift totally different from his gift he had disyed the previous night.


    Realizing all attention was now drawn to her, she let out a nervous chuckle, covering her face with her hand.


    ''But... but he disyed telekinesis the other day. How could he have two different gifts?'' She began to tremble at the thought, she had definitely messed with the wrong person.


    She could now see why the aura seething off him was so strong. He had a huge aura, it was more than his body could contain.


    She stared in his direction, wondering why he had not made mention of his passive gift. This made her more curious and wary of him at the same time.


    "Wow!"


    "How cool is that?"


    "We got a fire rank!"


    Nix couldn''t understand why they were so excited about his possession of that gift. ''It''s just fire!!''


    "You possess the gift of fire?" Mr Zhao asked in a moment of disbelief.


    ''I already said that. Are you deaf?!'' His thoughts deadpanned.


    "I don''t see what''s so special in that gift." Nix crossed his legs on his desk.


    "Neither do I understand why you all would be flustered about it anymore than I am. What''s so special about it? It''s pretty much the same as most people''s gift, right?"


    The whole ss gasped, there was clearly something he was missing.<sub> </sub>


    "The fire gift is one of the four gifts, it''s believed to be the most powerful gift ever known." Mr Zhao stated. "It is a power not known among most mortals."


    "So you are trying to tell me that this gift is more powerful than any other gift?" Nix shook his head, he had to be mistaken in what he was saying.


    Gifts? When he had given each character a unique one in rtion to his mood and his interaction with his natural surroundings. The thought of one being more powerful than the other was still new to him, he never made it that way.


    The only thing more powerful were the dragons, his love for those beasts had influenced his creation that way. Now they say his gift was the most powerful gift? How powerful though?


    Life inside his creation was totally different from what he had expected, they had even developed a hierarchy in the power rank. Moreso, it had a driven plot, one that had not been incorporated into his art.


    Although he did notice, all that he saw wasn''t merely just what he drew, it spanned from all his digital creations from the very beginning of his art journey.


    "There are four, and the fire gift is just one of them." He muttered in repeat, taking in the information.


    This would mean there were others, he was sure to ask either Mr Zhao or Mune andpare both information.


    Nix blinked twice, his face nk for a bit before he burst intoughter. He looked back at everyone, hisughter continuing to shake his whole body.


    All looked at him, shocked at the sudden change in his personality that made them ufortable.


    "Nix could you hand over your pass?" Mr Zhao requested.


    Nix''s eyes widened, he couldn''t possibly let this teacher know he came from the Lae family. Even though it would seem he couldn''t recognise him, probably because Mr Zhao couldn''t recall how he would look after his mother''s disappearance all those years.


    Hisst name was sure to sell him out if he handed his pass over to Mr Zhao.


    This was a moment in which he needed Mune, she could have a way around this. Hopefully.


    [You requested my presence, master?] Mune jumped in excitement at finally being useful. Her bosom jiggled with each bounce of her body.


    ''Hmmm!'' He pinched the bridge of his nose, he needed toe to terms she was just a creation spurn from his desires sooner orter.


    Nix squinted his eyes, he needed to establish a different way tomunicate with her without sounding crazy to the rest while he needed her help now and in the future.


    [Are you trying tomunicate telepathically?] Mune questioned, noticing he was squinting his eyes at her with so much concentration.


    He gave a slight nod in reply.


    "Nix?" Mr Zhao called his name once more, all he wanted was to confirm his gift. Yet he seemed distracted by something.


    He had met some students who had imed to possess that gift in the past. Yet their pass showed to the whole ss what gift they truly possess.


    There was only one who had possessed that gift apart from Nix who might also be one of that rank.


    "Are you too chicken to hand it over? You lost all your cool or should I say heat?" A male snickered from behind Nix, kicking his chair.


    He had his brown hair done in a spiky, unkempt style, his eyes were red, his skin was pale white. He held a grin that showed a perfect set of white teeth, his canine more pronounced than the others.


    ''Pathetic!'' Was the first thing that came to Nix''s mind, he began to roll his eyes at the guy for hisment and action. He wouldn''t waste his efforts on such a person.


    [Your request has been granted. What do you want me to do for you master?] Mune asked.


    ''Mask myst name off the pass.'' Nix instructed her.


    ''I would take care of the rest.'' He stared straight at his teacher, reaching into his pocket to get the pass.


    She nodded her head in understanding, doing as she was told.

 Chapter 29 It Sucks To Be The Main Protagonist

    "What do I get if my gift is confirmed?" Nix asked confidently with a smirk, throwing his pass in the air, catching it easily.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Mr Zhao felt insulted that he would dare ask for a reward for his gift that was yet to be officially confirmed.


    "It is as I said, Sir." Nix shrugged.


    Nix raised a brow, clearly he didn''t think he would easily release his pass to someone he considered an enemy¨Can aplice to whatever his mother had tried to break off from.


    What better way to use this opportunity to his advantage?


    "Let''s just call itpensation for not trusting my abilities at the beginning." Nix said with a smirk, looking back to his teacher who couldn''t help but return her smirk.


    "You are bold." Mr Zhao said. "But it''s okay with me. You have my word, anything within the academy''s limit would be granted." He walked up to Nix.


    "Only if you actually are of that rank." He narrowed his eyes, opening his palm, awaiting the pass.


    ''A bit smaller than I imagined, but I can go with it!'' Nix stretched his arms up, trying to make his body look more tall and imposing.


    Tossing the pass towards Mr Zhao, "There''s no going back now, Sir." He said with a smirk.


    Mr Zhao lightly tapped on it, it brought out the holographic information on its user.


    [Name: Nix]


    [Gender: Male]


    [Age: 22]


    [Gift: Fire]


    "Well aren''t you the smartass!" Heughed at his ownment. Nix was indeed a fire gift user.


    There was an uproar in the ss, those who had second thoughts on his abilities were now in awe at the prodigy in their ss.


    Lumina on the other hand, had her head buried into her arms, her body trembling slightly at having repeatedly hurled insults at him, she had even dared attack him. He surely hid his other rare passive gift for a reason.


    ''Telekinesis is also one of the four gifts, that would mean he possesses two of the four, what does that make him?'' Her thoughts spiraled into confusion and panic. She couldn''t dare speak about the other to the whole ss.


    "Lumina, why are you putting your head down? You should be watching this!" Fae whispered through the corner of her mouth.


    Raising her head momentarily, she gave a ruse smile, bringing her head back down immediately.


    "What could the academy offer you?" He asked with an eye shut smile, he had made a promise and now they were bound by it.


    Nix looked over to where Lumina sat, then back at Mr Zhao who was trying his hardest to maintain his smile, the corner of his lips were already trembling and his brows twitching.


    ''Your expression is obviously fake, but even you can''t escape the promise you made.'' He snickered in his thoughts.


    "I don''t have any in mind, yet." He shrugged. "But when I do, your word would matter greatly." His voice turned cold.


    The students felt the tension in the air, silence suddenly befell the whole ss.


    Mr Zhao felt a bit uneasy with the switching personality of Nix, he could only term it as a phase he was going through, he would need to report this to the higher ups soon.


    "Yourst name wasn''t included in your data." He pointed at the holographic interface.


    "That''s obviously because I don''t have one." He retorted.


    "How true can that be? Students here were either given the pass by the academy or given through their parents or guardians." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.


    "It turns out I found mine by chance..." He replied in half-truth.


    His mind trailed to actually knowing about it at a crucial part of his life.


    "... whoever had it, probably didn''t want it." He reasoned.


    "Where exactly did you find it?" His nails traced the edges of the bottom wings.


    He used his vivid remembrance of where he had been to paint an borate description of the alley he had been to.


    "I see." He pulled on his beard in thought, nodding his head.<sub> </sub>


    "That means you must be an orphan, no family, no background." He locked his gaze on Nix.


    <o>,m "I did wake up not exactly knowing where I was at first, I''m still trying to grasp the workings of everything." Heughed off the reality of his situation.</o>


    "My apologies for digging past wounds and insecurities."


    ''No, you would be sorry for being a part of the whole conspiracy.''


    Walking over to Nix, he stretched out his hand, then handed back the pass.


    "I wouldn''t call them insecurities, but I do appreciate your concern, Sir."


    "We would be testing your abilities shortly." He said on a final note, leaving the ss.


    Nix nodded his head, he had been totally expecting that, and he was prepared for the challenge.


    With no supervision in the ss, it immediately turned rowdy once more, they had all their attention on Nix. They all came prepared with their questions.


    Lumina couldn''t take the uneasy feeling she was getting. She needed to leave while she still could.


    "Lumina! You can''t leave just like that?!" Fae called after her.


    Nix looked in the direction of the disturbance, the pretty face didn''t look all too happy with his presence for some reason. She had her pace increased as her friend followed in tow.


    ''Did I go a bit too far yesterday?'' He wondered.


    A female student who was dressed in a knee length pink kimono styled gown suddenly froze when her eyes glowed.


    All the others who had gathered around Nix cleared a path for her to get to wherever she wanted to go while under a trance like state.


    "Here we go again." A voice said.


    This was the male who Nix remembered had tried to spite him, he satid back and was indifferent to the attention Nix was getting.


    "Now we will have some fun!!" He whooped.


    From his tone, this wasn''t the first time something of this sort would happen.


    "What does he mean?" He turned to the others for answers.


    The others were entranced by her actions. They couldn''t answer his question just yet m.


    Her ck hair flying wildly around her, she sat in a lotus position on the floor.


    "You!" She pointed.


    Nix immediately dodged her finger which was meant to point at him, instead it fell on another male.


    ''That was a close one. That female reminds me of my mother.'' He heaved a sigh of relief, he didn''t need involvement, why was he the center of everything?


    [It sucks to be the main protagonist] Mune whispered into his ear.


    Mune''s appearance was starting to get random, but he couldn''t care less, right now she was absolutely right, it would seem he was the main character.


    ''Shit! I revoke being the main protagonist. All I need is to right the wrongs caused to my family.'' He replied firmly, he was a bit shocked he had readily taken them to be his family.


    ''What did I just say?!''


    What happened to his previous life as an orphan? Was that life slowly slipping away and reced with this character''s life?


    [That''s what the main protagonist would say, hmmm...] Mune replied in a singsong voice.


    ''That is definitely not helping, you are meant to be of help to me not making it worse!'' He frowned. He could sense footsteps approaching him.


    [You''re a walking powerhouse with a disaster and attention ma tightly strapped to you, isn''t that just great, master?] Mune squealed in delight, clearly not understanding the gravity of what she was saying.


    He didn''t have enough time to respond to Mune''s words, a shadow had been cast on him by someone.

 Chapter 30 Summoned To The Zoar

    "Why, hello there." He waved to the girl who had pointed in his direction earlier.


    She held a nk look, her glowing eyes gazing down at him.


    "Ha! He''s been summoned." Someone whispered to another.


    ''Summoned?'' He tilted his head in confusion.


    "You have been summoned to the Zoar." She said in a monotonous voice.


    Turning around, she casted a marked out blue energy circle of space on the floor. Turning back at him, she pointed in the direction of her magic circle.


    ''Magic! Finally someone showcases magic.'' His attention darted from the magic circle and back to her.


    He had been wondering where those who possessed magic were, it turns out they were also recruited into the academy.


    He could now understand why she acted so strange earlier.


    "I don''t suppose I''m meant to go in there." Heughed it off, but she made no reaction whatsoever.


    He turned to the other students for help in what he was going through.


    They all had their eyes wide and with a grimace, no one dared talk. When their teacher had said they would be testing his abilities, they didn''t expect this extremity.


    ''Mune! What am I getting myself into?'' He called upon her once again.


    [...]


    He looked to his side where she hovered and was shivering, this was the first time he had seen her this scared. What could possibly be on the other side?


    ''Mune?!'' He yelled in his thoughts to get her attention.


    She jolted from her thoughts, turning to face him with herrge green eyes that had lost its sparkle.


    [M... master? Why would they send you there?] She looked back at the magic circle''s array.


    ''The students all have the same expression you possess, could you just tell me what to expect?!'' He frowned in frustration.


    The girl in front of him moved back to her lotus position, awaiting his decision. "You have five minutes to make your decision."


    ''Decision?! Was I ever given an alternative?'' He deadpanned at the distraction in the form of that girl.


    He was yet to weigh his situation from Mune.


    ''Mune, you may proceed.''


    [That is a ce known to test your abilities based on your rank. It is said those who go in there either get killed while trying or escape barely and there are few who have ever done so] She shuddered.


    ''That doesn''t sound too bad.'' He stared at the magic circle glow fluctuating.


    "Three minutes, twenty eight seconds." The girl reminded him.


    Nix frowned, ''She reminds me of the system''s annoying countdown notifications.''


    [Master what troubles me is I wouldn''t be able to be called upon in that space] Mune had her eyes teary now, she didn''t want to lose her master so soon.


    ''Do you underestimate my capabilities? Even if I''m on the verge of death, I would find a way. I can''t possibly die now.'' He said with determination, canceling his call on Mune.


    ''Thankyou for your help!''


    He had finally made up his mind, he was in the least curious to whaty in that space. Getting to his feet he approached the female.


    "What do I need to do?" He looked down at her.


    "That took you long enough." She muttered, nodding in the direction of the magic circle. "Step into it, you would know what to do once you are there."


    "Goodluck, I hope you do make it out alive! I''m rooting for you my dear fire god." The same male yelled, his wordsced with mockery.


    Nix halted, his brows twitched in annoyance, it took all in him not to act on provocation. Exhaling, his expression changed to that of a more positive and peaceful outlook.


    Doing as she said, he walked towards the magic circle. He felt a pull on his body, forcing him to his knees.<sub> </sub>


    Aghhh!!!


    It felt like thousands of needles piercing his body, the blue glow spiraling around him before converging into a beam, aimed at him. In a matter of seconds, he cked out.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    "Nix, wake up." A voice echoed around the room in a singsong voice.


    Clip!


    Clop!


    He slowly opened his eyes and looked around only to find a pair of yellow slit eyes looking right at him, jolting him awake fully.


    He crawled back in shock at the familiar eyes, his heart beating faster. With each heartbeat, he felt his skin getting tighter. His chest felt like a rock pressing into it.


    "Nix!" The voice called again.


    He gulped, turning to the source of the voice. It was ady, her ck hair in a messy bun and wearing a whiteb coat and a pair of white skinny pants and open toe pumps. She stepped over to him, her heels making that clip clop sound on the marble floor.


    Clip!


    Clop!


    ''Lab coat!'' His mind looked over at her outlook, she had a simr garb as his mother did in the scroll.


    Judging from no information about thisdy in the scroll, she must have reced his mother a few months after she defected with the valuable information in the scroll.


    He looked around in confusion, was this Zoar? Or was he hallucinating? He felt exhausted, thisdy''s presence didn''t help alleviate his mood, instead it merely angered him, she was part of the conspiracy.


    She couldn''t be trusted.


    Her eyes looked familiar, but he couldn''t just ce his fingers on it.


    "Who are you?" His voice cracked as he asked. He needed a name of some sort, that would help in his goal.


    "Rx, I''m here to detoxify your body." She stepped closer.


    Clip!


    Clop!


    "Stay back!" He shot out an arm at her, making her step back. "Don''te near me!" He yelled, his voice echoing through the room.


    Nix looked at his knuckles, he had actually expected to shoot out balls of fire to scare her, yet nothing had happened?


    "Shocking right?" She snickered, using her hand to cover her mouth slightly. It was as if she could read his thoughts in one nce at his confused state.


    "What just happened?!" He growled in rage. Did they just nullify his gift?


    [Warning: Toxins found in the body]


    ''Now you tell me.'' Nix narrowed his eyes at the system''s notification, then back at thedy for a usible exnation.


    "Take it as we have your rank in our midst, research has gone a long way to curb threats like you if you decide to go rogue." She gave an eye shut smile.


    His body still ached, he med whatever that magic circle''s beam had shot at him before he cked out. If he was in his normal state, he wouldn''t be this weak and vulnerable, he could feel thisdy was intentionally messing with him.


    "Which is why I''m here to detoxify you before you can begin on your test." She pped her hand in delight, like a child.


    "Is this Zoar? This is supposed to be the Zoar, right?" He asked, staring at her. "What test am I meant to face?" He asked, his voice getting louder.


    "You aren''t in the right state of mind to participate in the test, yet!" She said, holding her hands up. Her eyes were still yellowed and glowing.


    "What exactly are you?" He questioned, for a certainty; she either possessed a gift or magic. He felt uneasy around her, she looked like a dangerous and formidable opponent.


    "What am I?" Sheughed at him, dropping her hands momentarily, causing him to feel like he was being mocked.

 Chapter 31 Survive Zoar

    Nix grimaced, he had realized that wasn''t the best question to ask a human.


    "I am the one who is supposed to be detoxifying you." He could see the anger shing in her eyes.


    Raising her hands again, she closed her eyes momentarily. A soft glow surrounded her body.


    Nix felt his muscles start to rx, his body began to unknot. The pain in his chest started to disappear. He was about to ask how she did that when she opened her eyes.


    "You see I am not the one who is supposed to test you, I am simply the one who is supposed to detoxify you." She exined, her voice gentle and calm.


    "The test is in the next room." She whispered.


    A door magically appeared in front of her. She walked forward and opened it. She stopped and looked back at him. "If you were to pass this test, we would have known your true capabilities." She pointed to the room.


    ''We?'' He thought with the raise of his eyebrow.


    "If you fail..." She paused, her eyes glowed again as it turned a bit sinister.


    Nix was left hanging in suspense. ''What would happen if I failed ?'' He thought to himself, the question still lingered in the back of his mind.


    Thedy stepped to the side, awaiting him to enter the room. "I think you should find out for yourself, don''t you think?"


    He hesitated for a moment. It was toote now, if he was afraid to do this, he wouldn''t be able to. He shook his head as he stepped inside.


    "Good luck!" She whispered then gave a wink.


    The room was dark, the only light was a bright green light which shines through the ceiling. It was like a green haze hung in the air. It gave off that eerie feeling, like something was watching him. He walked forward, his footsteps barely audible against the thick carpet.


    Bang!


    The door sealed shut behind him.


    Nix was a bit uncertain as to what he might face, he needed to call on his user interface.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 4]


    [Health: 100/200]


    [Exp: 100/100]


    [Energy: 300/300]


    [Strength: 100/200]


    [Agility: 100/200]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination, Rage]


    [ss: Wheedler, Beast yer, Dragon tamer, Beast summoner, Pilferer]


    [Summons: Raiken]


    [Gift: Fire, Telekinesis]


    [Points: 347 to be distributed]


    Whatever he was going to face, he was surely going to invest his points on his health and energy if the need calls for it.


    Rhhhng!


    Nix''s ears were pricked up, he could feel something was wrong. He turned around in the direction in which the sound came from.


    From the shadows he could see glowing yellow eyes staring back at him. It all came rushing back to him. The battle in his home. It was the same creature! This was no time to be afraid, he had to use that knowledge he had gainedst time.<sub> </sub>


    The creature stepped forward, It''s armor was made from mail which covered the entire body of the creature except the face. It was made from metal, a mixture of gold, silver and iron, its eyes glowing as they stared right at Nix.


    This meetup only confirmed what Nix already knew. The creature was really sent from this organization, he was sure of it. It looked like it was built for fighting, but Nix had an advantage now, he had fought one of its kind.


    A piece of scrap metal shouldn''t be a problem with his newly acquired strength and level.


    The eyes made him uneasy, it had mirrored the way thatdy had looked at him. He couldn''t help but feel some sort of connection between them.


    <o>,m [Survive Zoar]</o>


    ''Survive? Does that mean I won''t be able to defeat this creature?'' He wasn''t sure, but this encounter had given him a new outlook on the creature. If he could defeat it, he might thwart what the organization was trying to do with him.


    "You must be the one..." It paused, it looked at him for a moment, then it spoke again. "Yes, I can feel it!"


    ''It can talk?'' He frowned at the creature.


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    He was d his gift had returned, he had a feeling it would be disastrous to let on he had a passive gift also.


    He had not seen or heard of anyone who had a second gift, like his family had. His family might just have been special gift users.


    He began to wonder if that was the reason they were hunted, but what he couldn''t still understand was why they had attempted to assassinate them.


    The creature brought unpleasant memories to him, so was his brewing hatred.


    He couldn''t take any chances with this creature, if it could speak, that means it had some sort of intelligence and that was not a good sign.


    Mune had said that this was a dangerous test.


    "Mr Zhao!" He yelled in hopes of being heard. Surely they were watching him from somewhere.


    There was no response as expected.


    His brows furrowed in disappointment, they were definitely ignoring him to face his fate.


    His attention went back to the creature. Balling his hands in a fist and gritting his teeth.


    "The one?" Nix questioned what it had said earlier, taking a defensive stance.


    "You are the fire gift user!" Its eyes gleamed more than it already was, it''s nose scrunched up in a growl.


    "I think that was already verified before I was sent here." He deadpanned in response.


    "Let''s see how far you''ve grown." It bent down and stretched it''s back. It turned its neck from left to right and popped it with a series of clicks in rapid session.


    The corner of Nix''s mouth raised in disgust, ''was all that really necessary?''


    "Don''t hold anything back or I am not going to enjoy killing you." It snarled at Nix.


    "Like that is going to ever happen!" Nix shrugged his shoulders, smiled, and slowly brought one foot behind his back. He put his weight on it and brought an open palm up.


    He had to deactivate his gift because it was going to take a toll on his energy level. He had to start relying more on himself than his gift.


    His hunch had him thinking that this was done to test his capabilities as a fire gift user, that he wasn''t going to give them the satisfaction.


    This creature was trained to meet his rank, this could probably have been determined by whoever thatdy had spoken of, who also possessed his gift. Therefore it would know his attacks and ways to counter it.


    [Strength activated. Your blows have been increased by 100%]


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 100%]


    He would have to go with an unconventional approach.

 Chapter 32 Battle With Just Fists?

    From the one way ss, thedy, Mr Zhao and three others watched as the scene unfolded.


    "Sir, do you think it''s wise using Zokanar to test his abilities? He''s going to be in pain and be exhausted after I had merely just detoxified him, a few minutes is essential." Thedy spoke from a safe distance beside where he sat.


    Mr Zhao paused and took a few seconds to think, with his chin resting on his intertwined fingers.


    "Have you suddenly developed a soft spot for this student?" He questioned usingly.


    "Of course not!" She replied defensively.


    "He is a fire user after all. Let''s see how he responds under this kind of pressure." Heughed.


    "If he overpowers Zokanar, it will support his ability. If not, we can follow up with another action. I''ll be the one taking the lead on this and I don''t want to be interrupted." Mr Zhao spoke.


    Thedy nodded in agreement. The other men on the other hand didn''t say anything, they simply stood there. They were all pretty much on the same page as Mr Zhao. They wanted to see how well their fire user would perform. How much could he really unleash?


    "This is essentially paramount for our organization head." He reminded with a fair warning as to no one having a say in all that was going on before them.


    They watched as Nix dropped his jacket to the ground, he was going to go all out, it would seem.


    "Is he crazy? He hasn''t activated his gift yet!" Thedy mmed her hands on the desk in shock and anger. "How is he meant to attack with just his fists?"


    The creature was circling around him, its hands stretched out.


    "Are you too scared to face me squarely?" He asked, taking a defensive stance.


    "Instead you decide to walk in circles?" His words were sharp and precise. His muscles were bulging as his body prepared to strike. His fists were raised high above his head.


    "It would seem he intends not to." Mr Zhao replied with a smile.


    ''How could he have thought things through to this extent?'' He pulled slightly on his chin in deep thought at the method Nix was going with instead.


    Nix''s eyes gleamed coldly, as he focused his attention on the creature, and with a quick flick of his fingers towards it, as if to say. "Bring it on!"


    Rhhhng!


    It screeched in rage, it''s ws protracting from its hands as it prepared to strike. The creature seemed to have made its decision, it charged towards Nix.


    The battle was on.


    Nix rushed at the creature with full speed, sparing only a nce at the creature''s fist as it came swinging down at him. He quickly ducked underneath it, the metal of its armor making an audible ring as it hit the ground instead.


    Sparks flew out as its ws trailed on the wall, with it stepping forward gradually.


    Nix held his ear, that mere action was bringing on a sharp pain, it seemed as if the metal was scraping against the bones inside of him. In the background he could hear the creature charge forward, it''s heavy foot mming onto the floor in each of its steps.


    Nix sidestepped to the right, narrowly avoiding the creature''s w which came swinging down at him. His left cheek was grazed, blood trailing down from the cut.


    [Health level dropped by 1 point]


    He quickly turned around and brought his right fist down, the creature''s head was hit hard as it came flying down to the ground into a torrent of splinters that rose up around him in the air.


    [30 points gained]<sub> </sub>


    Rhhhieeek?!


    Every person watching the fight secretly was so enthralled, watching for the next move in the unpredictable fight.


    He felt a sense of satisfaction as he heard the crunch of the creature''s nose being broken.


    Nix threw his leg back, putting the weight of his leg into a powerful kick.


    The creature was pulled off his feet violently and was thrown across the floor.


    It skidded and tumbled along the ground, uncontrolled. It was stopped by the other end of the wall, making a branched crack on the wall.


    A groan escaped his lips as the pain from the attack started setting in, dent marks appeared on its mail.


    [50 points gained]


    Nix took a quick look at the creature, it was still moving, it was a little disoriented, but it was still moving. It seemed to have regained some of its senses.


    It was still clutching its nose, it''s eyes glowed with a sense of rage. It was obviously not happy with the way the battle was going.


    "I''m going to kill you, filthy mortal!!" It let out a high pitched shriek afterwards.


    The creature was closing in on him, its ws were reaching out, Nix could feel the air being distorted by the speed at which it was moving.


    Nix quickly backed up in quick session of numerous back flips, his back now against the wall. He was cornered.


    ''Sh*t!'' He cursed at his overindulgence in his acrobatic skills.


    With his heart beating faster, he could feel the sweat umting on his forehead.


    Nix could see the creature''s movement slowing down. It was getting less coordinated. He was right, it needed a source of fire to unleash its full potential.


    ''Ha! Sucks to be you!'' He had a smile now, wiping the sweat off his forehead.


    It was getting weaker and weaker. It looked at the fire user who was standing just a few feet away from it, it''s slit yellow eyes ring at him.


    It was clearly frustrated at its inability to fight at its full strength, it had readily expected this mortal to use his gift, yet he had chosen not to.


    Left with no choice, it concentrated it''s remaining strength for one final strike.


    It seemed as if it was about to let out a familiar green liquiding out of its mouth. It was obviously going to try and use its ability.


    Nix knew too well what this ability was, there was no way he would allow this creature to spit that out on him.


    Nix quickly looked around, he needed to find a way out of this situation. He didn''t want things to get any worse. He was already on the advantage, he wouldn''t let the tables turn on him now.


    It was getting harder for him to keep hisposure but his anger was rising at the mere sight of the creature.


    He looked down at the cracks on the floorboard. This was the only thing that could help him escape from this.

 Chapter 33 Did You Have Your Fun?

    As he looked at it, he found the only way was to punch it to widen the cracks.


    Bam!


    The vibration resonated to the floor, causing a few more cracks to appear.


    [Health level dropped by 2 points]


    He hissed to the pain, his knuckles began to bleed as splinters bored into his knuckle.


    Bam!


    [Health level dropped by 2 points]


    Bam!


    [Health level dropped by 2 points]


    He needed to do this quickly, otherwise the creature would soon spit out the liquid. He looked up at the creature who had finished gathering the liquid in its mouth.


    Bam!


    [Health level dropped by 2 points]


    Bam!


    [Health level dropped by 2 points]


    It was about to spit out the liquid at Nix. It started to move towards him, as it closed in on him, he saw a look of satisfaction in its eyes.


    He tried to roll out of the way but the liquidnded on his left foot, eating it''s way into his boots and sparsely onto the skin of his foot. He could feel it''s effects, the burning sensation was spreading through his body.


    He was d it wasn''t directly on his leg or else he would have no choice but to prepare for the worst.


    The healing potion might be there, but how would he exin his miraculous healing, once they noticed this feat?


    He quickly threw his hands up, punching once more on the floorboard, as he felt his feet go numb.


    "You have nowhere to run now!" It''s hoarse voice snickered.


    Bam!


    [Health level dropped by 2 points]


    Taking arge broken piece of the floorboard, he turned around, aiming it at the creature''s head.


    The creature''s eyes widened in surprise, it''s slit yellow eyes were focused on Nix when the floorboard struck its face, causing a massive amount of green blood to stter everywhere.


    Rhhhieeek!!


    Rhhhieeek!!


    It held its face, screeching in untold pain and helplessness.


    It could not see as it was blinded. Nix was satisfied. Pulling out the splinters from his knuckles, he had no reaction whatsoever, as he had grown numb to the pain.


    Limping at his pace due to the pain still coursing through his left foot, he had nothing to be worried about as he watched it writhe in pain.


    It swung it''s w wildly in all directions, to which Nix swiftly dodged, closing the distance between them, dealing a great blow to the creature''s stomach. He could hear the creature gurgling as it tried to catch its breath.


    [30 points gained]


    He quickly grabbed the creature''s throat, his fist squeezing the mail into the creature''s body. He could feel the creature''s green blood flowing down his fist, it was intoxicating.


    The creature was nowpletely immobilized.


    "Sir! He''s¨C" Thedy gasped in shock at what they were all witnessing.


    "Shhh!" Mr Zhao hushed her, his face serious, he was pleasantly surprised Nix had gotten the idea of the test in a few seconds before it had begun.


    [300 points gained]


    [Congrattions on your sessfulpletion, you have a total of 757 points earned]


    Nix had a devilish grin on his face. He could feel the excitement of the kill coursing through his body. He hadn''t felt such thrill when he had killed thest one back at his home.


    [Level up]


    This only made his grin widen, this was the thing he loved to hear, by leveling up, he would by no means be stronger, with or without his gift.


    [Level up reward are now avable]<sub> </sub>


    He looked at the user interface, he couldn''t possibly click on the rewards yet, he was sure he was being watched.


    "He actually defeated Zokanar."


    "It would seem so."


    Nix tilted his head, his hearing had been augmented.


    ''Is this a side benefit of the level up?!'' He thought.


    Nix ears pricked up at the muffled sounds, this only confirmed what he had thought¨Che was being watched.


    Releasing his grip on the creature, he coldly watched as it fell to the floor, one of its limbs iling wildly.


    Thud!


    "Could you please lend me your arms for a few minutes? I''m sure you wouldn''t mind." Stepping over the creature''s corpse, he ced his right foot on the arm, he pulled on it and with a loud cracking noise, after a few seconds, he sessfully pulled it off.


    R-i-p!


    They all watched the gruesome scene, letting out a collective wince for the creature. He had killed it, why did he still rip out its arms?


    Nix looked down at the arm, the green fluid that he had seen earlier was leaking out of the wound. He had dealt a fatal blow. He took the creature''s hands in a form of shake.


    "I guess I was wrong about him." Thedy gave a sinister smile.


    "He does have a lot of potential, to have sessfully defeated Zokanar without the use of his gift." The man nodded in agreement.


    "Yes, he is already stronger than the other candidates we have seen up until now." Thedy said with a satisfying smile on her face.


    "Nice to meet you Zokanar. Are those people, wherever they are, controlling you?" He turned around with the arms dangling in his hands.


    Those behind the one way ss all gasped in horror. It was obvious what was happening, he had heard them. But no one said anything, they were all too confused to say anything, anymore.


    He looked around, trying to pinpoint where the sound hade from.


    "Quiet, are we?" He mumbled, closing his eyes.


    The faint sound of metal dangling, from his guess¨Cthe teardrop golden medal, he had seen on Mr Zhao''s neck, caught his attention.


    He turned his attention to the direction of the noise. It seemed like he had been right, he could hear the shuffling of a foot on the floor also. A faint flicker of movement from the right.


    ''Lock on!'' Looking down at the limbs in his hands, he had a devious thoughte to mind.


    He threw the severed limb in that direction with great precision, the limb sailed through the air and struck the wall on the other side of the ss, with iting down in one great crash.


    A dust cloak rose in its wake.


    The noise it made told him that someone was there.


    With a smirk on his face, he turned towards Zokanar, ripping out the other limb with little effort, and hurling it in the same direction.


    This time, he heard a gulp and a sharp intake of breath.


    "That''s enough, Nix!" Mr Zhao''s voice thundered, in his grasp was the limb Nix had thrown, it''s finger was closely in front of one of those men who had also watched the test given.


    ''So it was that sh*t face who had reacted so cowardly.'' He felt sad about the target, he was clearly not the one who he had targeted, although he couldn''t recognise the person well due to the smoke, he could clearly see Mr Zhao, his beard and robe-like dressing was nothing to miss.


    "Finally you show your faces... uh.... I think." Nix burst into maniacalughter, "those sh*t face better disappear if they don''t want to be caught in my sh*t list like poor Zokanar!" His mood darkened quickly, his eyes gleamed with a faint hue of blue.


    If they thought watching him fight for his life was all fun and games, or like one of those reality TV shows, in the name of testing his gift. Then they were clearly mistaken.


    He might as well show them what his gift and ability could really do, the moment he was able to have a clearer picture of their faces once the dust settles.


    Mr Zhao''s hand began to shake as he looked at the limb hurled earlier, the force he had used was frightening, the mere strength of this student was overwhelming even for him who possessed the fortitude gift.


    He could only assume that they were lucky the first had just missed them by a hair, it would seem he had merely aimed to destroy the ss.


    But If he hadn''t stopped the second one in time, the missile-like limb would have killed one of their core organization members in an instant with its w ripping through his head.


    "Turn and leave. Now!" He said in a low growl to the other three men.


    Thedy walked up to his side, she had a smile on her, in contrast to Mr Zhao''s displeased look.


    Not needing any memo, they scurried off like rats in fear, through the back door.


    "Did you have your fun?" Mr Zhao casted a disapproving look at Nix.

 Chapter 34 Grovel At Your Fire God

    Even though they had left him for dead, Mr Zhao considers his retaliation as fun? They should be thankful he had just done that to scare them and not necessarily kill them, it took all it had in him to just target shaking them up a little.


    "What would you call putting my life in danger?" He asked with a frown on his face.


    "It wasn''t exactly that way, now was it?" Mr Zhao tried to cover up their actions with a slight chuckle, pulling on his beard.


    Turning his back at them, he picked up his jacket that he had dropped earlier. "I think I''ve had enough for today."


    Looking down at his left foot, he frowned at how ruined the boot was because of that damn creature spitting it''s liquid in his direction. He could clearly see his toes poking out of the hole which had been created by it.


    "What an annoying ability. There''s no way that I can use these boots anymore..." He looked disapprovingly at his left foot which was caked with dust, grime and blood. "I guess this is the end for them." He tossed his boots off into a corner with a look of annoyance.


    He shivered at the cold feel shooting up from the sole of his feet throughout his body before it got regted.


    "Nix, you have to understand that we do this just to test your gift, not to harm you. If it were up to us, we would let you live!" Mr. Zhao said in a stern voice.


    "Why do I not feel convinced, Mr Zhao?" He asked, not bothering to hide his disdain. He slowly walked towards them, looking at them coldly.


    Thedy looked worried, she had been quiet this entire time, her glowing yellow eyes were fixed on him. "You surpassed the expectation." She said.


    "They have their own agendas, you don''t have to believe me." He said.


    ''Again with the mystery lurking in the shadows!'' He rolled his eyes at his statement.


    "I hope you do remember that you owe me a promise, so be mindful of what I could ask, Sir." He made sure his tone was formal, yet threatening.


    Turning his attention to thedy, he held a smile, "ady as beautiful as you should have a name that rightly defines you."


    He had to know her name before he was sent back, this would aid in his ns.


    She had a shy smile, her cheeks flushed at hispliment.


    Mr Zhao raised a brow at Nix''s behavior, he had originally thought he had a liking to Lumina which was why he had arranged both of them staying in the same dorm, but it turns out that was merely something casual. Now, he felt stupid.


    "Sesa." She said in barely a whisper.


    "As beautiful as you are." He said with a wink.


    He had gotten what he wanted, he was definitely going to take down this note in the scroll, a new addition had been verified.


    Ahem!


    Mr Zhao cleared his throat, looking back and forth at the two. They obviously shouldn''t be thinking of flirting on his watch.


    "It would be wise if you could send me back up, I''m sure my fans would be d to see me. I promise that I shall send them all your best wishes from Zoar." Nix said with a taunt in his voice. He would not be intimidated, he hade too far to be stopped now.


    "Fans?" Mr Zhao tilted his head in confusion.


    "My fellow students." Nix substituted in frustration. There was no way he was going to exin what that word meant, to them.


    "As you wish, you have earned it." Mr Zhao said with a slight bow. He extended a hand to Sesa to take over, "but first, ept this as our apology for the time being."


    Nodding her head, Sesa raised her hands, a soft yellow glow started to emerge from them. She directed it towards his feet, gradually it began to heal up.


    "That''s new." Nixmented, he was impressed, he wouldn''t need the healing potion.


    "Now that''s done." She ced her palms facing one another, the glow gathering and forming into a ball of yellow light.<sub> </sub>


    Throwing it in the air, "To your ss it is." She said in a soft voice.


    The glowing light dispersed, forcing Nix''s eyes closed. As the glowing light disappeared, Nix opened his eyes. He felt like he had just woken from a long sleep.


    He had emerged from the very magic circle he had entered.


    As he looked around the ss, all the rest of the students had their eyes widened at the sight of Nix. Some were in awe and wonder, others were inplete shock and disbelief.


    The girl who had called out to Nix earlier, walked up beside him. "I''m d to see you alive. You had better exin yourself this time." She said in a yful tone. Her hands now rested on her hips.


    For one thing, he was d that she had returned to her usual self instead of the creepy aura and behavior she disyed while looking like she was possessed.


    "What happened to your face? Where are your boots?" She gasped in shock.


    Nix''s hands shot up to his cheek, the dried blood made him frown at the memory of what had caused it. He didn''t even bother looking at his legs, he was already over that, it didn''t phase him anymore.


    "It''s nothing special." He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets.


    His gaze searched the ss for Lumina, he wondered where she might have gone for quite some time.


    Instead, itnded on the male who had gotten on his nerves earlier.


    Walking over to him, he ced his right foot on the table. Leaning forward, he ced his hand on the male student''s backrest. "I am d that you see me. I hope you grovel at your fire god like you are supposed to." He said as his blue eyes gleamed coldly.


    The male trembled slightly as he looked up at Nix who loomed over him. His body now felt like it was going into shock, his eyes felt like they were beginning to tear up. "I have no idea what you''re talking about." He said quietly.


    If anyone could survive Zoar, their rank must have surely surpassed the expectation of the authorities. He wasn''t one to be messed with, it would seem.


    Nix leaned back, he had taken a step back from the male. "What is your name, it''s only fair I know yours, you already know mine, anyways."


    He didn''t want to end things on a bad note, those who acted the way he did must have other insecurities they are trying to hide and make themselves feel better.


    "I can tell you all about me!"


    "Pick me!"


    "I have a sister who would willingly give her name with a token of appreciation."


    "I can tell you mine, I''m sure you''d like my services even if we are of the same gender."


    "Do you want to know me in other ces?"


    "My name could only be heard when I go down on your¨C"


    Nix shook his head, he hadn''t still adjusted to his heightened hearing, their whispers getting to him, and from what he heard, he felt like he was going to puke at how shameless the males and females were.


    He would need to work on how he could regte thister on.


    "Would you all be quiet?!" He turned in irritation at the others, who widened their eyes, wondering if he had heard them.


    "Thank you!" He smiled at the silence that was achieved.


    Turning his attention back at the male, he had a smirk, awaiting an answer patiently.

 Chapter 35 Way Out Of This Mess

    The male''s eyes widened, there was nowhere left to hide. "My name is Lank."


    Nix frowned, it looked so much like he was bullying him, to anyone who would walk in.


    Even though he hated bullies or being bullied, he never wished to be one.


    "Why is it that you must be so dense, you know so much as to what I am but you have no idea what I''m talking about?" He said, his voice now sounding more condescending than before.


    "A piece of advice, never pick on anyone because you think you are better than them or feel intimidated by them. Bullying is never the answer." He left it at that on a final note.


    Shoving his hand into his pocket, bringing out the medal pass, he turned towards the direction leading to the dorms.


    He could hear his ssmates whisper to each other.


    "So cool!"


    "Lumina is so lucky!"


    "I wish I shared a dorm with him, I would have¨C"


    Nix increased his pace, now this augmentation didn''t feel great anymore, it felt more like a curse instead, he couldn''t even filter what he heard anymore.


    ''Focus on something much better and uplifting.'' He told himself.


    Bam!


    Nix staggered backwards. "What the hell are you doing?" He asked as he looked up at the student who had collided into him.


    "I¨C I''m so sorry." The female said with a dazed expression on her face.


    "I''m sorry, please ept my apology." She took a step back.


    Nix looked at the female closely, he was sure he had seen her with Lumina.


    "You are the friend of Lumina, right?" Nix asked.


    "Yes." The female affirmed with a nod.


    "The one who had followed her," he continued.


    She looked up at him, pushing back a strand of her blonde hair that had fallen in her face.


    "How did you know?" Fae asked.


    Nix paused for a moment, he was about to ask the girl a question but decided against it. "Nevermind that." He said slowly and bowed slightly as he took his leave towards his dorm.


    Her eyes slowly darted towards his bare feet in confusion.


    "Wait!" Fae called out.


    Nix halted in his steps, he looked over his shoulders, "It better be a good reason!"


    Fae thought over what she had wanted to say but instead went with thetter, "it''s about Lumina."


    She knew this would spark his interest, him turning in her direction finally was a proof of that.


    "What about her?" He had a look of worry, she hadn''t returned to ss since the moment he had seen her leave, till he was done with the test in Zoar.


    The only person who had been with her was pretty face''s friend. This made him anxious about what might have happened.


    "Is there anything going on between you two?" She asked in barely a whisper.


    ''Anything? In what sense exactly?!''


    Nix blinked several times, trying his best to process what he had heard. "I''m sorry, could you repeat that?"


    Fae grimaced at his words, that question was meant to be a one time thing, she was sure he had heard her in the first ce, but yet he wants to listen to it again?


    "I can''t seem to process Lumina''s feelings towards you, ever since she heard about your gift, she had been acting a bit strange." She revealed.


    "How strange?" He questioned.<sub> </sub>


    "She wouldn''t say, but her eyes kept darting towards the bed, she wouldn''t go to sleep on it, no matter how hard I persuaded her." Fae searched Nix''s eyes for any sign of recollection of what might have happened.


    She had thought probably her best friend had been sexually assaulted by this handsome male in front of her.


    He did look strong and had a cold aura that was indeed inviting but also worth keeping a distance considering the amount of power he possessed. What other reason could shake up her tough skinned friend in such a way?


    Nix thought for a moment on what she had said, putting lots of meaning on it. There must have been a reason she had specifically made mention of the bed.


    Then it clicked, he was facepalming at how low she must have thought of him at this point.


    All that had transpired between them the previous night, was him not letting her sleep on the bed using his passive gift. That was the only way to deflect her gift.


    He pointed his finger towards her, opening his mouth to speak but nothing came out.


    Trying again, he finally got the voice to say it out.


    "Do you think that I¨C I sexually assaulted her?!" He frowned at the only suggestion that coulde to his mind.


    Fae looked awkwardly to the side. Even though she had contemted that as an option, his tone of voice clearly states otherwise.


    Tilting her head in confusion, she wasn''t quite sure as to why Lumina had acted that way. "I do apologize if it sounded that way."


    "What a sick presumption." He snarled, he instantly regretted listening to her in the first ce.


    Fae jumped back in fear at his reaction, he really did seem angry with her for that specific reason.


    "Please speak with her, if you can." Fae bowed, scurrying off in the opposite direction.


    Exhaling, Nix realized he had wasted valuable time speaking with her. He actually med himself for being so drawn in on the mention of Lumina.


    ''What is wrong with you, Nix? You barely know pretty face.'' He pped his cheeks.


    Bringing out his pass, this time the pull wasn''t as great as the first time. This time he casually walked with it until he got to his door.


    Click!


    Walking in, he heaved a sigh of relief as he found no one in the room, the bed was still in the same way he hadid it. He could see why her friend had been so concerned about pretty face.


    The sound of trickling watering from the bathroom alerted him of the fact she was truly in.


    Tiptoeing, he jumped onto the bed. There was no use in bothering himself about the reason for her unusual behavior.


    He had slowly drifted to sleep on the bed when he heard the sound of a door opening. He was instantly wide awake, listening to the sound of the light footsteps of someone walking out of the bathroom.


    "What the hell are you doing here?!" Lumina screamed upon sighting Nix. Her hands clutched the towel wrapped around her chest, her eyes were wide open in panic.


    Nix looked around, in case he was actually hallucinating. The pass couldn''t have led him to another dorm.


    The whole position of the furniture was the same as it had been before.


    "This is our dorm." He deadpanned, trying to lighten the mood. It did not work, the look in her eyes was anything but positive.


    She walked over to the closet, "look at the wall, don''t you dare look at me." She ordered.


    He did as he was told, he could feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment. This was what he got for sharing a dorm with a female, and now he has her thinking his intentions were a little more than friendship.


    He was d her feisty attitude had returned, there was never a cause for rm as her friend had thought it to be.


    "Who are you, really?!" She asked, her voice was still slightly angry, but there was more than just anger in her eyes now. She had a hint of fear in them.


    "Excuse me?"


    "Who are you?!" She repeated, leaning on the wall, staring daggers at him.


    He began to wonder if he was that scary, "This is Nix, you know me. I am an acquaintance, if not a friend." He said, hoping that would calm her down.


    [You are yet to im you level up reward]


    His eyes darted from the interface then to Lumina. He was curious to know what was in store for him, but yet did so without raising any suspicions. He would have to find a way out of this mess.

 Chapter 36 Quests With Great Benefits

    "I don''t know why you are acting strangely, but I think we can settle whatever differences we have amicably." He smiled.


    "How do you have two gifts? In fact not just two gifts but the other, which is also one of the four gifts." She raised a brow.


    "Telekinesis is one of them?" He questioned in disbelief.


    "Of course you didn''t know." Lumina rolled her eyes.


    The more she spoke with him, the less anxious she became. He was still as clueless as she was when it came to things like this.


    "That would exin why you blurted out in ss then." He facepalmed.


    ''If my passive gift is one of the four, that would exin how mother could use it with such skill.'' His eyes began to tear up at the thought of his family.


    Lumina noticed his eyes were glossed in welled up tears. Rushing towards him without thinking, she cupped his cheeks with her palms, searching his eyes for some answers.


    "Tell me, what''s wrong?"


    Ba dum!


    Ba dum!


    The thumping of his heart could be heard by his ears. Turning his face away from hers, he couldn''t let himself look weak in front of her. He shook his head, yet said nothing.


    The words she spoke were oddly familiar to the one he had heard his mother say the moment he saw her the first time.


    <o>,m He didn''t like this feeling, he bit down on his bottom lip to control his emotions. In reality, he was an orphan who never knew his family, but this alternate world gave him something he had longed for, yet it was forcefully taken from him again.</o>


    "Why?" He muttered in anguish, not necessarily speaking to her.


    Lumina looked down helplessly, she could tell whatever front he was putting up was nothing but a cover for his true emotions, one he so desperately wants to keep hidden.


    In a few seconds she realized where her handsid on. As if burnt by fire, she retracted her hands quickly. "I¨C I''m sorry."


    Nix got up from the bed, "don''t wait up for me. You can have the bed. I seem to have messed up a lot of things for you."


    Lumina raised her head to meet his gaze. "Where are you going?"


    "I owe you no exnation. Do not try to follow me." He said coldly.


    She was left stunned and unable to speak another word to him, his constant change in mood was so dynamic, she hoped one day she won''t fall into his bad side. The only thing she could do was watch him walk out the door.


    ''Mune!'' He called.


    [Master! You''re alive!] Her little fingers hugged his neck, she wouldn''t let go until she was satisfied and sure he was as real to her as the warmth she felt.


    Nix on the other hand was notfortable with the hugging method she was using. Her bust repeatedly squished into his face.


    ''Mune! Let go!'' He cautioned, clearing his throat right after.


    He looked behind him, to be sure no one was following.


    ''Mune, do you know any quiet ce I can go to and not be watched, while at it?'' He requested.


    Thinking for a moment, she tapped her cheek with her index finger.


    [I got it!] She snapped her finger in excitement.


    ''Spill it!'' He deadpanned, there was no time to spare.


    [The library! It''s rarely visited and it''s also a great ce to gather information about the academy] She reasoned.


    ''Lead the way, then.'' He shoved his hands into his pockets. He needed to get as far away as possible from Lumina, she was a distraction he couldn''t afford to foster.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    C-r-e-a-k!


    Applying a little bit of force, he pushed his way in through the door. It''s stiff hinges were a testimony to the fact it had never been opened for quite some years.


    Coughing due to the excess dust built up. "When you said rarely visited, I didn''t expect this kind of thing." He grimaced as his face was caught in a spider''s web.<sub> </sub>


    Pulling it away from his face, spitting out bits of it that got in his mouth, in disgust, he narrowed his eyes at Mune, who shrugged and had an innocent look on her face.


    [Let me handle this, master!] She raised her hands, a huge gust of wind blew forward, some of the books falling to the ground. Gathering up the dust into a hard ball, it dropped to the ground.


    [There we go!] Mune dusted her hands, levitating the books that had fallen and returning them to their rightful ces.


    Nix''s mouth went wide open at what he had witnessed, his hands touching the shelf to determine how effective her powers had done to the dust.


    Bringing his hand back, he didn''t see or feel a speck of dust. "Amazing!" He gasped.


    "You didn''t tell me you possessed magic!" He narrowed his eyes at her usingly.


    [You didn''t let me show you what I can do] Mune countered with pout, morphing to her adult size version.


    "You''re kidding right? Why would I ever stop such a useful power?" He pulled her in a hug.


    If only he had Mune from the very beginning, he would never need to do chores again.


    Mune squirmed in his grasp, her master was hugging her too tight. She had to revert to her miniature size.


    "Where have you been all my life?" He blurted out, not fully realizing he was hugging himself.


    [Master!] Mune tapped on his head to get his attention.


    "Right!" Nix pulled himself together, sitting on the floor in a lotus position.


    [How were you able to escape Zoar?] Mune questioned excitedly, circling his body for any sign of injury or the fight.


    "The system aided me to a proper degree, a good thing that was still able to function. But like I said before, do not underestimate me." Heughed it off.


    Not wanting to waste more time, he took a nce at his reward notification.


    Click!


    [The following rewards are avable]


    ~Reward~


    Paintbrush & Canvas: This allows you to bring your creations to life under the duration of an hour. These creations could interact with anyone or engage in battle under yourmand. It could also serve as a mental picture illustrator for future purposes.


    "The usage and effectiveness can be increased with points earned during missions or quests..." He said by heart in a monotonous voice, "...yeah yeah I already got the gist."


    Already knowing his points can never be safe with the more his level up rewards increased, he sighed in disappointment.


    This reward reminded him so much of a character he knows with the same ability.


    ''Except mine has a goddamn limit!'' He gritted his teeth in frustration, balling his hand in a fist in front of him.


    Manifesting, the said items dropped to his crossed legs.


    ng!


    Thud!


    His lips were upturned in a grin. He had finally gotten something he was originally good at.


    "Beware Shibui Gift Organization, it''s only a matter of time before I get every single one of you!" Heughed maniacally at his words.


    [Uhhh...] Mune raised the corner of her mouth to how awkward her master was acting.


    [Congrattions, you have unlocked the daily quest]


    Nix''s moment was cut short with that notification popping up in front of him.


    "Daily quest? This is what the reward section was talking about¨Cquests, right?" He turned his attention towards Mune in displeasure.


    [Yes, but ites with great benefits!] Mune nodded her head.


    "What kind of benefits?!"

 Chapter 37 An Inscription On The Golden Statue

    [You get to do what you love and also improve your cognitive skills]


    "That doesn''t really sound much like a benefit, now does it?" Nix deadpanned, he was unimpressed.


    [There''s more!] Mune slowed her speech for a dramatic effect.


    Nix had no reaction whatsoever, he simply stared at her, waiting for an answer, something that could excite him.


    The thought of drawing and bringing things to life did appeal to him, but if he needed to be intrigued, she would need to do better than that.


    [You would be able to listen in on wherever you draw, not to mention viewing it from above like a map]


    Nix''s eyes sparked in interest, "you just said anywhere, right?" He needed to make sure he was hearing right.


    Mune nodded her head.


    "How do I start?" Nix rubbed his palms together in mischief.


    [The daily quests would guide you]


    [Daily quest avable]


    Clicking on the notification, another popped up.


    [Walking: 0/5km]


    [Visualization: 0/10 views]


    Nix frowned at the quests before him, there was no way this was going to help him. All he could feel was it giving him some sort of chore again, like the make up mission.


    "Mune?!" He called, his lips drawing into a thin line.


    [Before you say anything, master. These are indeed important for what you want to do]


    "How so?"


    He was getting tired of being forced to do things he didn''t want to, by the system. He was given something he loved doing, yet he was asked to walk for 45-60 mins while visualizing?


    [While you walk, take your time to observe the surroundings, it would aid you greatly] She tried exining while keeping it vague as well.


    Bringing up the inventory stats, he looked down at the two items on his legs.


    [To select the items, touch the desired object]


    Touching them, they morphed into a ball of white light and was immediately transferred into it.


    [Number of items: 5]


    [Storage space: Full]


    Calling on his user interface, he needed to see how far he had gone in his usage from thest fight in the Zoar.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 5]


    [Health: 87/200]


    [Exp: 100/100]


    [Energy: 230/300]


    [Strength: 82/200]


    [Agility: 72/200]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination, Rage]


    [ss: Wheedler, Beast yer, Dragon tamer, Beast summoner, Pilferer]


    [Summons: Raiken]


    [Gift: Fire, Telekinesis]


    [Points: 757 to be distributed]


    "I could as well level up now." He chuckled.


    ''What about the rewards?'' His thoughts reasoned, he wasn''t ready to shoulder another reward yet.


    Narrowing his eyes, he got up from his sitting position, walking out of the library. He looked down the hallway, there was a ce he would like to visualize and that was the center of the academy.


    [You have 2 hours toplete the daily quest]


    ''Does everything I do always have a time limit?'' He thought with a frown. But what could he do? As much as he wanted to do it at his pace, there was a tendency for him to beid back.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    [01:42:08]


    He looked behind him, as expected, the students all peered out their window. Curious as to what he nned on doing.


    "Look, Nix is at the fountain side."<sub> </sub>


    "As a fire user, I guess it has its perks."


    Nix shook his head, he had nearly forgotten about his hearing.


    ''Mune!'' He called, there must definitely be a way he could suppress this augmentation.


    [How may I be of service?] She twirled in the air in glee.


    Hiding behind the statue. "There must be a way to control what I hear!" He tried to reason.


    "He''s hidden behind it!"


    "Probably he is just fooling around."


    "What a waste of time?"


    Nodding her head, she could help with that, but knowing her master, her next words could as well irritate him.


    ''What''s with that face?'' He pointed to her wide eyes and her nose scrunched up.


    [I don''t think you would like it] She turned her back towards him, giving him enough visual of her smooth bareback.


    Shutting his eyes, he hated the fact that his desires were slowly mirroring that of pretty face and this was telling on Mune. It didn''t help that she shared simr features even before he had met pretty face.


    "If you have a way, just tell me." He said through gritted teeth, he couldn''t care less if he could be heard now or not.


    Mune shook her head, from his tone of voice, she could already tell he was frustrated, the mention of that word might as well set off some fireworks.


    "Mune?" His voice carried some sort of warning. He hated the fact that she was deliberately holding back valuable information.


    [It would need a certain amount of points] Mune said a little too quickly.


    Turning around slowly, she was met with the dark gaze of Nix. This was the reason she had not wanted to say anything in the first ce.


    "Are you or the system trying to rip me off my hard earned points?" He growled in rage.


    Everything had dealt with points, now he could see it was a good idea not investing his points to level up then. Yet, he had hoped there would at least be something not worth using his points.


    ''Is it even worth leveling up?'' He began to have doubts in his thoughts.


    For every level upes an equal downside to his points, negating his efforts by nearly half its usual amount.


    [I knew you wouldn''t like to hear it] Mune cried out, sad her master was angry at her.


    Nix''s features softened, he shouldn''t carry out his anger on her, she wasn''t the main cause, but rather the system.


    "How many points?" He asked with a forced smile, hoping it would elevate her mood.


    Mune stole nces his way, trying to determine if all traces of his anger had dissipated.


    [01:30:00]


    Nix''s smile increased, now his cheeks were starting to hurt. Nevertheless, the faster she answered him, the better it would be for him to begin with the daily quest.


    [450 points] She muttered.


    Nix did a double take, blinking severally, his brows twitched at the words he picked up from her lips.


    He burst out in a silentughter. If she actually meant for him to believe he would spend that ridiculous amount of points, she must be joking.


    "You must be joking, right?" He said amidstughter.


    Mune grimaced, shaking her head in a no.


    All forms ofughter vanished as it came. "No?" He repeated.


    [No, that''s the point. With it, you could activate it at will] She chipped in.


    Nix looked down, muttering incoherent words and profanities. Reluctantly he nodded his head. He couldn''t bear to one day listen to something crude or private within the students.


    It would only be beneficial while he''s in the midst of the teachers or one day in the organization.


    Ding!


    [Hearing augmentation deactivated]


    [Points: 307 to be distributed]


    He held his right hand from punching the statue in frustration, "alright, since that''s done. I can carry on with what I was tasked to do."


    "Visualize, visualize." He repeated continuously as he looked up at the statue of the winged female, she was about 5 meters high. The gold around her chest glistened in the sun.


    He stood there and looked up at the sky. He was a bit tired, even the walk didn''t help. He wondered what the statue was about and he found himself lost in thought.


    His hands traced the curves on her body, until it touched something like a slit opening, "an opening?" He looked to Mune for answers.


    She shrugged, having no idea that was ever present.


    It looked like there was a small door carved in. He pulled on it, looking up at the statue once more, the inscription on the wristband had changed with the refraction of the light.


    [Master, don''t!] Mune called out, realizing the hidden meaning in its words.

 Chapter 38 Agathas Awakening

    [Visualization: 1/10 views]


    "Lora Li Nar Agatha?! What the heck does that mean?" Nix turned in her direction, but she was already toote to stop him.


    The meaning didn''t matter now to Mune, but the chain of events that was to follow.


    Rrrrgggg!


    His eyes widened as he looked up at the statue, pulling out her leg from the ground. Her movements were slow, and paused as she gathered enough energy to move.


    The water sshed about, the crack on the floor caused by the pull, made all the water to be diverted into the ground.


    The other metal statues fell onto one another like a trail of Dominoes.


    nk!


    nk!


    The ringing sound of the metals as they made contact with the floor resonated.


    ''What the heck is happening?!'' Nix jumped back a few meters in preparation to defend himself.


    [You mistakenly awakened the statue by repeating the words on her wristband] Mune''s eyes looked above, gasping in shock at the sheer size of the statue.


    ''How many points do you think that could give?'' He asked with a mischievous grin.


    [Master, what exactly do you think you are doing? Don''t tell me you''re going to¨C]


    ''You are smart, I like that!'' Nix side stepped.


    He had been hoping for some fun, the toll on his points had made him lose a bit of hope on what he had aplished. Seeing this statue only boosted his morale.


    ''Finally a way of possibly leveling up or gaining huge points.'' He stretched his hands.


    He still kept in mind the quest given to him, his visual was locked on this statue.


    [Visualization: 2/10 views]


    He took in the beautiful wings that were folded behind her.


    ''Beautiful isn''t it?'' He looked towards Mune.


    [Master, you can''t possibly face that!] Mune called in worry.


    ''Wait for it!'' Nix held out his hand at her.


    The ground shook slightly, this was enough to alert the other students of what was happening outside.


    A screech erupted from the statue in the direction of the academy.


    [Destroy Agatha]


    Nix''s eyes gleamed coldly. He had gotten a bit used to taming creatures, he hadn''t expected the system to give him such a task. Nevertheless, the corner of his lips raised into a smirk.


    Finally he could go all out without thinking of the consequences.


    ''There we have it, my sweet notification popping up!'' He looked in the direction of Mune.


    It never failed him when situations like this presented himself.


    He didn''t want any more distraction, so he dismissed his call.


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    The statue''s feet mmed its feet onto the brick floor, a gust of dust was left in its wake as it made its way towards the academy. It''s eyes gleamed a glowing red, searching it''s surroundings.


    It''s wings stretched out, before it folded in rest.


    "Hey! Agatha dear!" He threw a broken brick at the head to get its attention.


    Turning around, the golden winged female looked down at the culprit.


    Winking at the statue, he let out a chuckle. He was going to enjoy this. Knowing the name of his victims only made him thirst forpleting the task much faster.<sub> </sub>


    "Let us help!" Lank called in a loud voice.


    Agatha''s attention was divided once again, turning its attention at the sound of another voice.


    Nix heaved a sigh of displeasure, he had just ruined his cooleback.


    Looking to the side of the statue who still stood uncertain, to get a glimpse of Lank.


    His hair was much more spiked, his canine growing down to his bottom lip, his nails had grown into long ws. His red eyes glowed.


    Nix put his hand on his chin, nodding his head. ''Well he does look a bit menacing now.'' He admitted with a smile.


    The others made a formation beside him, he had noticed several magic circles conjured by that girl.


    The academy building was covered in a magical barrier by some others who also possessed that ability.


    It would look like these were more on the defensive than the offensive.


    ''Is this some sort of party?'' He frowned. The thought of the fact that this wasn''t the city of ordinary people, but an academy full of gifted people made him want to smack his head on a pir.


    There was no way he was going to let them take credit for this statue, he needed toplete his mission. There was no way he was going to get stuck with a make up one. That was a horror he didn''t want to relive.


    His mind slightly trailed, imagining the horrific things the make up mission could request from him if he fails this.


    Help students with whatever was needed?


    Apologize to Mr Zhao?


    "No!!!" He yelled out, a little too loudly even for him.


    The statue''s eyes turned in his direction, shooting out red beams from her eyes.


    He jumped out of the way, not before taking another visual of her eyes before the beam hit in his direction.


    [Visualization: 3/10 views]


    "You can''t possibly fight this thing alone!" Lank growled.


    "Everyone attack!" Launching at the statue, his ws in front of him.


    Nix had just gotten his footing, his time limit notification, popping up.


    [01:16:09]


    [Walking: 1/5km]


    [Visualization: 3/10 views]


    ''Yes, I know, time isn''t my friend at the moment.'' He thought in frustration.


    There was something he had noticed as Lank and the others engaged the statue, it was grounded to the same spot as it let out it''s beam in their direction.


    Nix''s eyes narrowed at the gold around her chest glistening in the sun. From a closer view, it looked like it''s stored up energy was kept preserved in it.


    [Visualization: 4/10 views]


    ''Ah! I see!'' Nix could tell this statue wasn''t really created to move about that well. This would definitely be to his advantage.


    He could as well walk his way through this, killing two missions with a few skills.


    [01:06:45]


    In a few minutes it had nullified all attacks that had been directed to it. The only ones still standing were those who were casting a barrier on the academy.


    ''What a great help you all have been!'' He thought sarcastically.


    They trembled at the sight of their defeated mates, there was no way of calling on the teachers, they had been called to a meeting at the usual time. This was on them.


    Agatha narrowed her eyes, it dug its feet into the ground, gathering enough force to propel forward.


    "Now where do you think you''re going?" Nix clicked his tongue, quickly discerning what it had nned on doing.

 Chapter 39 It Sees All

    Agatha wasn''t pleased with the distraction. Turning around she shotsers at him.


    Easily dodging it, he shook his head in disappointment, it was getting tiresome for him. If it weren''t for the quest given to him, he would have ended it a long time ago.


    "You should count yourself lucky, Agatha dear." He muttered.


    Shooting out balls of fire in it''s direction, he casually walked in a bid to circle it as he continued his assault on it.


    They only bounced off its body.


    Internally facepalming, he realized these sort of attacks do not work on it. That would definitely exin how the others were easily taken down.


    Agatha stood, not moving. From his guess, it was still gathering energy into whatever that contraption ced in its chest.


    That became his primary target.


    A wave of electricity traveled through its body. Nix furrowed his brows, he refused to believe this was a robot.


    ''It must be pretty face''s gift.'' He deduced.


    "Did you really think I would let you have all the fun?!" She red.


    "Fun? You call this fun, pretty face!" He retorted.


    She rolled her eyes, mming her hands on the ground, channeling her electricity onto the ground; it traveled towards the statue and also at Nix.


    The statue fell to its knees, it''s head shook a bit at her attack.


    Nix on the other hand froze for some seconds, the nasty current traveled through his body like a rash, his teeth chattered in response.


    Gritting his teeth, he forced his hands towards his stomach, punching himself to gain control of his body.


    "Whoops! It slipped my mind." She grimaced at her action.


    Nix narrowed his eyes at her, he didn''t need to be told that her action was something simr to her personal vendetta against him.


    Stretching his body, he was starting to get full control of his limbs again.


    Agatha had finally regained her consciousness. She could sense a threat from behind.


    Nix could see Agatha''s eyes move, she had clearly detected another threat behind. In the form of pretty face.


    His passive skill unconsciously kicked in.


    [Passive gift: Telekic push in effect]


    Lumina felt a force sending her flying towards the academy.


    Skidding across the floor, she made contact with something oddly soft, cushioning hernding.


    Looking behind, the soft material was nothing more than a magic array conjured by the others. They had a nervous smile on their faces.


    "We are sorry that we can''t join in the battle, that''s how far our powers go." One of the six students spoke in behalf of the others.


    They lowered their heads in dismay, feeling they were as good as useless if directly attacked or their defensive barrier weakened.


    "No, no. It''s alright." Lumina smiled, their powers had saved her and that she was thankful for.


    Looking ahead, her eyes widened in horror to what she had seen, the statue''s wings were spread, it''s golden feathers protruded like spikes.


    Although she couldn''t see Nix, she could only guess he was the cause of the push she had felt. He had saved her from being impaled by those.


    He looked to the side, Nix could see she was in safe hands. It was about time he didn''t let anyone else be in danger because of this thing.


    [Passive gift: Telekic binding in effect]


    He was thankful for the cover Agatha gave him, this way he could exert full control over it.


    ''Now over to you!'' He had a deadly re over at Agatha.<sub> </sub>


    Slowly he forced it on it''s knees, several bricks and debris suspended mid air, by the force used to keep it in ce.


    Little cracks made it''s way on its golden body. It tried to struggle out of its binding. Going against Nix''s grip, it turned its head in his direction.


    Aiming it''s beam at him.


    Zzzzzzznnnn!


    It left a trail of a narrow space which had been left in its wake.


    Nix simply sidestepped, chuckling at how slow it was, he couldn''t imagine his mates were defeated by it.


    He made a mental note not to run, the quest was still in y.


    [01:03:59]


    [Walking: 2/5km]


    He still had approximately 30 more minutes of walk time left.


    Deactivating his passive gift, he needed the thrill of killing a moving target. The only issue was the size of this target prevented it from moving like he wanted it to.


    Agatha realized the force which had been applied on her had been lifted. Raising her hand, she aimed at smashing this little threat.


    [Visualization: 5/10 views]


    Her right arm caught his attention, he dipped and weaved left as he was about to reach it.


    A gust of dust shot up. Agatha''s anger was rising at her inability to get to him.


    Her wristband dangled wildly with the movement of her hand. He had noticed Agatha immediately steadied the movement at a still point.


    It did look suspicious, there was something definitely going on with that wristband. It was the source of the problem he had to deal with now.


    He heard a groan from the others. He watched in horror at the sickly gray skin and white hair of all.


    It reminded him so much about what he had witnessed in his home. His body began to tremble at the sight. His breathing was strained.


    This familiar sight was getting to him, he couldn''t understand why and how they had reverted to such a state. The only thing that kept him sane was they were still breathing.


    "What did you do to them?" He growled in rage.


    Agatha simply stepped forward and towards him.


    He felt foolish for asking a statue a question just like he had done for that creature in his home. He needed to understand they were incapable of speech.


    "They aren''t the one I am after!" Agatha''s angelic voicemunicated to him through his thoughts.


    Nix did a double take, he couldn''t believe it was actually the one speaking. Just when he thought he was stupid, it turned out he wasn''t.


    "How are you doing that?" He growled, he didn''t like that it felt like she was intruding into his thoughts.


    "I see all." Agatha simply replied.


    Nix created a fire wall, raising it as high as 6 feet, but this didn''t stop Agatha from approaching, she simply walked through it like it was merely nothing.


    Nix backed away slowly, he was torn on the thought of using his passive gift, now that he knew that was one of the four gifts. He could only imagine he would be targeted by the organization if they were to find out.


    His mother was the only one he had seen to possess this gift, they were certainly going to trace his family history if they found out.


    Agatha''s words were also a cause for concern, if it could see all, that means there was someone who might be taking its feed after the day''s event.


    Now he could see the sense of what the system had ordered. There was no way he would let this statue give out the information it had witnessed.


    What happened to his mother and brother was a reminder of what he was aiming to stop from happening to the others.

 Chapter 40 Symbols On The Feet

    As long as her attention was drawn away from the others, he didn''t mind. He couldn''t afford any casualties for what he had caused.


    "Bring it on." He brought his hand forward, with a quick flick of his fingers.


    [Visualization: 6/10 views]


    His eyes captured the view of its left arm.


    Straightening her back, she advanced towards him with an improved speed.


    [Visualization: 7/10 views]


    [Visualization: 8/10 views]


    He took in the intricate designs on its legs, there several symbols which had been inscribed on its ankles. They glowed with each huge step it took.


    There were some symbols that caught his attention, the numerous symbols that showed magic circles and weird runic symbols. But one in particr was eye catching, it showed fangs, with a drip of what could only be assumed as blood trailing from the fang.


    ''Lank! That''s definitely Lank''s symbol.''


    Nix''s eyes widened in realization, that would exin how it could have easily defeated his mates. It had drained them of their gifts, leaving them frail and without a means of defending themselves.


    ''It really is possible.''


    The truth found in the scroll were all starting to make some sense to him.


    There was no way he would allow his gift to be taken.


    Nix did a backflip, jumping onto the fallen metal statues.


    "I assume you know what you have to do!" He yelled enough for Lumina to catch on. "I wouldn''t want more people witnessing this."


    [Gift: Fire deactivated]


    She furrowed her brows at his words, she didn''t still quite get what he meant. Then it clicked.


    Looking to her side and to those who had their concentration on the battle. They were distracted enough for her to use her gift on them.


    She had a smirk, seeing them interlock their hands and forming a chain in front of the building, only made her motive easier.


    ? ''This isn''t the first time I''ve broken academy rule number one.'' She shrugged.


    Rubbing her palms together, she tapped one of them on the shoulder, "hello!" She shed a bright smile.


    The person in question felt the sensation piercing every bit of his body from his shoulder.


    The other students experienced violent spasms as the wave of the current flowed through their interlocked fingers. Falling  to the ground with a thud, they groaned in pain before their bodies went numb.


    The barrier surrounding the school crumbled.


    "I''m sorry." She whispered, casting a regretful look at them. "You would recover from this in a few hours."


    Lumina gave a thumbs up towards Nix, she had fulfilled her end of the bargain.


    Nodding his head, he could finally level the ying field in his favor.


    [Passive gift: Telekinesis in effect]


    This gift was the only one which had made a form of effect on it. Switching was the best option at the moment.


    Agatha let out a screech in anger and frustration, all she wanted was a way of taking his gift, he was the one who had a great deal of use to her.<sub> </sub>


    The inability to get to him only made her conscious of how slow she was inparison to the little prey who kept slipping out of her hands.


    ''An aesthetic, maybe?'' Nix had noticed it couldn''t make use of the wings. He was d he had little to worry about when it came to things of this sort, unlike Raiken who gave him a hard time


    In ce of its speed, it made up for it with itszers.


    Zzzzzzznnnn!


    He couldn''t afford to be hit by thezers. Judging from what was going on, it didn''t hurt when a person was hit by thesers, but rather they were stripped of something much more valuable to them¨C their gift or power.


    [Passive gift: Telekic field in effect]


    Deflecting the rays, he simply walked away from it, buying himself enough time toplete the quest.


    [Passive gift: Telekic binding in effect]


    There was a thrill that came with this particr skill of the gift.


    "Kneel!" Hemanded, raising his hand and bringing it down. He brought it to its knees.


    [00:45:18]


    [Walking: 3/5km]


    The notification popped up in front of him. He had to search about its body on those tiny little details, that way he could sessfullyplete his visualization.


    He could only assume it would retaliate with the very thing he couldn''t control at the moment¨C it''szers.


    [Passive gift: Telekic Object call in effect]


    His gaze was directed at the spears in the metal statues'' hands. They shook slightly before it got ripped out of their hands.


    They were suspended into the air, concentrating their aim at Agatha''s eyes, they shot through the air with a hissing sound.


    They lunged into its eyeballs, deactivating the red glow in it''s eyes. Screeching in pain, it couldn''t move it''s body to pull it out.


    Lumina watched with wide eyes at what she was witnessing. He wasn''t the usual flirty and warm person she hade to believe.


    He had a cold look in his eyes, but what she didn''t understand was why he kept on walking in circles around it.


    ''What are you doing, Nix? It''s already at your mercy.'' Lumina gritted her teeth in frustration at what she was witnessing.


    [00:35:51]


    [Walking: 4/5km]


    [Visualization: 9/10 views]


    Nix looked up at the statue, he noticed it had another inscription on its stomach. He dared not read it out loud, better kept in his memory with the aim of asking Mer on.


    "You are a tough one." He ced his hand on her thighs, feeling the cool texture of its body, running his hands he felt tiny bumps on it. Looking closely, he could see wavy marks on it.


    "That''s new." He observed with a nod.


    [Visualization: 10/10 views]


    Lumina''s mouth gaped open at what he was doing, to her, it looked like he was rubbing it''s thighs pervertedly.


    "What the hell are you doing?!" She yelled out in rage. "That''s a goddamn statue that''s trying to kill us, remember?"

 Chapter 41 Stay Put

    Nix pulled his hands away. She had disturbed his line of thought.


    "I can clearly see that!" He spat. "Why do you make it sound like I did something terrible?!"


    She sounded like he was doing something out of the ordinary, this didn''t sit well with him at all.


    Ignoring her was the best option for the time being. Arguments would only waste the precious time that wasn''t friendly at that moment.


    To make sure she wouldn''t interfere, he created a 5 meter radius around her. "Stay put!" He growled.


    "Hey! Why the hell would you put me in this... this thing?!" She banged on the field with her hands.


    "If I were you, I wouldn''t use my gift in there. We both know what that could do to you, if you decide to test out if I''m kidding." He clicked his tongue, turning his attention back to Agatha.


    Lumina''s face went pale with his words. Her gifts were rtively useless in the field. The first night they had spent together was a testament to that.


    Left with the only option of watching, she stood defenseless and stopped her struggle to get free from it.


    Focusing on his only remaining quest, he decided to take a stroll around what was left of the fountain.


    Lumina''s interest rose to the strange attitude disyed by Nix.


    ''Why has he been walking in circles since?'' She narrowed her eyes. As much as she wanted to shout to get his attention and ask what was going on with him.


    She merely took her seat on the floor instead. He wasn''t going to answer her anyways.


    He had so much proficiency in using this gift, the mere thought of what he could do with his fire gift was still unknown.


    "How did you possibly survive Zoar?" She muttered, watching him make the 13th round around the destroyed fountain.


    Nix looked at his timer, anxiety was starting to set in. ''I am definitely not going to do a make up mission, ever again.'' He resolved in his heart.


    [00:12:01]


    [Walking: 4/5km]


    ''Come on!'' He called out in his thoughts.


    Ding!


    [Visualization: 10/10 views]


    [Walking: 5/5km]


    [150 points gained]


    [Sessful questpletion, you have a total of 457 points earned]


    Heaving a sigh of relief, he looked behind him at the statue, it was time to carry out what the mission had said.


    Nix climbed onto its body with the knees used as a stepping stone.


    Even with that, it was still a long way up to get to its chest with the position it was kneeling.


    If he does bring it down more than it already was, it could kill some of the students whoid on the floor unconscious.


    That possibility annoyed him greatly, they were a responsibility he didn''t need.


    [Passive gift: Levitation in effect]


    Going with the only option he could think of, he hovered in the air, making his way upwards.


    He looked at the gold medal that was embedded into its chest.


    "The source." He muttered, tracing his fingers over the medal.


    Agatha struggled to break free to no avail. The force holding her in ce was just too much for her to dispel with her strength alone.


    Nix only tightened the hold on it, clenching his fist if he felt as little as a flinch from her.


    "You aren''t going anywhere!" Heughed.


    With the loss of her only way of hitting him without necessarily moving her body, her energy was gradually losing its use.


    Balling his fist, he aimed at the center of the medal.


    [Strength activated. Your blows have been increased by 82%]


    Crack!<sub> </sub>


    Tiny little cracks made its way on the medal. A bright light seeping through the crack.


    With one final punch on the medal, his hand shot right in it, engulfing his arm with the light.


    [600 points gained]


    [Congrattions on your sessfulpletion, you have a total of 1057 points earned]


    "Ahhhg!" He yelled in pain as he tried pulling his hand out.


    "Nix!!" Lumina yelled in worry, hitting the force field with all she got.


    She could only see the statue''s back, knowing what happened to him was certainly a problem.


    Looking around the field, she thought of ways in which she could find some sort of w in it.


    ''I can''t be stuck in here forever!'' She charged at the field, using the side of her shoulder.


    Bam!


    She was thrown back, tumbling and was upside down, her legs raised above her head, her hair in a mess.


    "You son of a¨C" She paused the moment she felt something throb behind her.


    Changing her position, she looked at the field, it was flickering continuously.


    Lumina took a step back, unsure what was going on. Cautious not to get her back on the field either.


    Crrrrk!


    It crumbled and dispersed afterwards.


    "No, it can''t be!" She shook her head to the thoughts which ran in her mind.


    She feared the worst, there were little reasons that could prompt such a thing from happening. It was either the user deactivates his gift or the user was unconscious or dead.


    ''Please don''t be thetter!'' She thought as she rushed towards the scene.


    "Please don''t be the¨C"


    Her mouth gaped open momentarily at the first thing she had seen.


    There were several pieces of golden debris on the floor, whatever Nix had done, he had caused a great deal of damage to it.


    ''Where are you?'' She looked around, he was nowhere in sight. A tiny bit of the debris dropped onto her head.


    Dusting the debris off her hair, her head shot up, so did her eyes double in size.


    "Nix!" She sighed in relief.


    She was just d he hadn''t just about disappeared with that bright light she saw a few moments earlier before she heard him yell in pain.


    He looked unconscious, his head was dropped low, and she could see his face, his eyes were closed, but the furrowing on his brow only told stories of an untold pain he had felt.


    The only thing keeping him from dropping to the ground was his right hand which was still inside the medal on the statue''s chest.


    "How the hell did you get to such a height?" Lumina facepalmed at the almost impossible height she was going to reach if she wanted to save him.


    Looking around for possible ways she could use to get to him at such a height.


    ''It''s knees!'' She thought, going along with her thoughts. Jumping on one of the metal statues, she skipped onto it''s knees.


    Her hands kept perpendicr to her body as she tried to maintain her bnce after that stunt.


    ''I''ming for you!'' She nodded her head, cing her leg on the carved out cloth on the statue''s body.


    Rrrrhhhh!


    A whirring sound caused her to lose her grip on it, rolling to the floor.


    "Damn it!" She punched the floor, pushing herself back up, making another attempt at climbing the statue.


    Rrrrhhhh!


    Her head snapped back up at the sound, with it being a beam of white light escaping from the embedded broken medal.


    She readied herself for an unknown possible threat. Electrical currents running through her palms.

 Chapter 42 Saved And Slapped

    The beam broke off into several bits of different coloured balls of light which hovered in the air.


    In confusion, she tilted her head, dropping her hands to her side.


    The balls of light dashed towards the students with great speed. Scattering about and hovering in front of each student momentarily before touching the chest of each one, then disappearing on contact.


    All the students who had been affected by Agatha''s beam gasped and jolted awake, confused and disoriented but all unharmed. They were slowly gaining back the warmth and color they had lost.


    Creak!


    Lumina looked up at the cause of the sound, Nix''s hand was slowly slipping from the crack. The broken piece of the medal tearing into his flesh.


    Tap!


    Lumina touched her forehead, looking at her hand, she saw blood.


    ''Blood?!'' She looked back up, his arm had been torn by the medal as he had broken in it.


    "Fae, conjure something that could break his fall!" She yelled at her friend who was still struggling to process what was happening to her.


    "Yesir! Gia! Anybody?!" She yelled to those names she knew personally, who could do the same.


    Her eyes darted from Nix''s dangerously dangling body and the students.


    "Come on, he''s about to fall!" She called to them, her hands grasping and shaking in panic. Nix''s body was still hovering a few feet in the air and from the looks of it, he was also losing blood.


    ''Dammit!'' She gritted her teeth.


    Waiting wasn''t an option, the students were still in a confused state. It was pointless to rely on them. The only thing to do was take action herself.


    "So much for teamwork." Lumina scowled as she looked at the students one more time before she prepared herself to climb the statue again.


    Jumping onto the metal statues again, she skipped and grabbed the hands of the statue. It was more difficult than thest time to get up.


    She took a deep breath as she ced her foot on the metal. Sticky and smooth it seemed. She lifted her leg and put it on the other leg. It was a bit easier this time and she managed to pull herself up. She stood on the statue''s hand and climbed up.


    Pulling herself up the statue''s arm. She was making progress but it still wasn''t easy.


    ''Whatever you did to get up there, is a problem now, Nix!'' She held onto the arm, feeling frustrated and a little out of breath.


    She tried to pull herself upwards, her hands slipping from the statue again. She was running out of ideas to save him and with a huge sigh of exasperation, she looked upwards at Nix''s body.


    "I''ll save you." She yelled to him, her voice breaking with frustration and fatigue.


    Swinging her leg over the statue''s arm, she let go with her other leg and let gravity take over. Merely a few feet away from him, she stretched out her hand to him. "Wake up, Nix!" She yelled at him.


    "Fae, now would be a good time to get your thoughts together and help out here!" Lumina yelled, her face and hands now covered in sweat.


    She was trying her hardest to help him but her concentration was scattered. One second she was looking at Nix, the next she was looking at Fae, then she was looking at Nix again. It was a problem!


    Fae''s hand was on her head, she was trying to recall what she was supposed to be doing. The yell from Lumina got her attention eventually, she looked up and saw Nix''s dangling body and in that moment, she knew what she had to do.


    Raising her hands above her head, she began to chant. She was focused on Nix and the chanting slowly began to clear her head of the tiredness. She was able to concentrate and her hands began to glow and so did Lumina and Nix''s body.<sub> </sub>


    Feeling the magic flowing through her body and into Nix and Lumina.


    "Jump!" Shemanded Lumina, and Nix''s body began to fall. He was falling straight towards her arms.


    Lumina closed her eyes, focused on Nix and then jumped. Landing on her hands, she pushed off against the statue and managed to catch his body. With the help of Fae, she was lowered from the statue once she had secured him.


    Fae looked up at Lumina. "That was close." She said, as she tapped the shoulder of Lumina.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Nix sat up in bed. His body was covered in bandages all over his arms and chest. He was clearly exhausted from the ordeal and was still in a daze but he was slowlying out of it. "How did I get here?" Nix asked.


    "You were brought here." Lumina deadpanned.


    "Shhh! Lumina, he''s still recovering." Fae reprimanded, nudging her in the side.


    He looked around to see where he was. The room was white and the walls were covered in white tiles.


    ''A hospital room? An infirmary?'' He wondered.


    "I shouldn''t be in here." He nned on getting down from the bed.


    "Suit yourself!" Lumina said in anger, receiving yet another reprimanding from Fae.


    He tried to move his arms to feel his wounds and he remembered the pain.


    "F*ck!" He winced as he moved them.


    "You got that right." She sneered in response to the word.


    This was a good time he could have used his health potion. He would rather have them right now than have to feel this pain. He thought back to thest time he did it and how it felt.


    He looked up at the mirror beside him. He knew that the potion would heal his wounds and he knew he would be able to heal himself, but there were a sizable number of eyes watching him, preventing him from using that.


    <o>,m "I will be fine. You two don''t need to watch over me like I''m going to die." He said to the two, forcing a smile. "Go rest. In fact, go have a good sleep. You''re both dead tired, you will need it." He told them.</o>


    If they could go, he could use the potion and show that they need not worry about him.


    As he said this, Lumina''s brows twitched in annoyance. Her boiling rage was about to spill over at his words.


    "I heal incredibly fast. Just go have some rest and watch as I make it happen." He winked.


    ''That''s thest line, you egoistical knucklehead!'' She fumed, walking up to him.


    "What are you doing?!" Fae hissed at Lumina.


    Nix masked his confusion with a smile, "even with a frown, you look so beautiful." He teased.


    Raising her hands at him, she pped him across the face.

 Chapter 43 The Masters Subtle Reveal

    The resounding action came as a shock to Nix, his face to the side momentarily.


    ''I was actually pped.'' He searched his thoughts for a possible reason she would have done such a thing.


    What felt strangely odd was that he felt no anger whatsoever to what she had done. All he felt was guilt and a tingling pain on his right cheek.


    "You''ve got some nerve pping me, pretty face." He chuckled like as if nothing had happened.


    "Lumina! You need to apologize, right now." Fae panicked.


    Her eyes darted from her then over to Nix.


    "Why would I want to do that?!" Lumina retorted.


    "He''s a fire¨C" She gulped, expecting the worst to happen soon.


    Lumina turned her attention back at him, grabbing him by the cor of his opened shirt. "It is not eptable to talk like that to your friends! You are lucky you still have a face to talk to. You are lucky you''re talking to me right now!" She yelled at him.


    Nix blinked a few times, there he had it; the answer he was looking for.


    ''She didn''t just do that merely out of anger, but because of the overwhelming care for me!'' A smile made its way to his lips.


    ''He really is smiling!'' Lumina frowned at his reaction to her words. Her grip only tightened on his cor.


    No matter what she did, he only found amusement, chuckling at her feeble attempt to keep him in line.


    "And don''t act so self-righteous because you did nothing to help us." She said.


    "You could have been killed today, you were the one in the most danger!"


    "Yet I didn''t, pretty face." A smile appeared on his face as he looked at her. "You are a very capabledy." Nix said with a chuckle.


    "It is obvious you have more in you than just your beauty." Hemended with a grin. "I will have to remember that." He said with a wink.


    "Do you honestly think we''re going to go back to our boring life after this?" She finished.


    "We had a life together?" Nix asked in a mocking voice.


    "Ugh!" She scowled, letting go of his cor in disgust, there was no use speaking with him.


    "At least I get to sleep peacefully tonight." She sneered.


    Then she turned and left the room. mming the door hard.


    Bam!


    Nix watched her leave the room and sighed and then put his arms back over his chest.


    ''What a day.'' He said to himself.


    "Is she always like this?" He turned his attention to Fae and asked.


    Fae froze, she had wondered why she didn''t follow her friend when she did. ''Act cool, Fae. He just asked you a question.''


    "No. She''s usually more reserved." Fae responded. "But when she''s angry, she does tend to act more aggressive." Fae answered.


    "I see. Feisty yet gentle." Nix concluded.


    "It''s not because she wants to be aggressive, it''s because she wants to make sure that you understand how angry she is. It is best if you do not argue back. She will get even angrier by your response." Fae stated.<sub> </sub>


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    "Master, our means of keeping an eye on the students has been destroyed." A male crouched down on the destroyed statue, that once held the information they needed in the broken medal. His hand traced the cracks and pits with his finger as he spoke.


    "It''s not just a scratch or a small dent. The majority of it is destroyed." He adjusted his sses and peered at the ground.


    "Such brute strength!" Another male marveled in awe, covering his mouth the moment he caught sight of their master''s cold glowing blue eyes in the shadows.


    "I''m afraid there''s nothing I can do about it now. I could repair it," the first quickly cut in. "But I would have to remove what''s left of the head to do so, and that would only raise suspicion since it''s been seen in action by all the students."


    "It''s of no use if the medal was destroyed." The master replied in a deep voice.


    "I''m sorry master, I will find another solution." The male bowed his head.


    "And the gifts acquired?" He asked. He stood in the shadows, looking at the broken statue. He seemed to be taking in the damage to the statue and the surrounding area.


    "The gifts are gone." They both replied.


    "They are gone." He sighed, as he remembered there was no symbol in sight on its legs.


    "It''s said to be one of the new recruits that caused this right?" The master in the shadow questioned. He had his hand in his pocket, his fingers touching the edges of a small device he held.


    The two males nodded their heads then gulped at what that could mean for their whole operation.


    "I was told this new recruit was an orphan, can you believe that?" He questioned with augh. "Survived Zoar also without using his fire gift, isn''t that just interesting to note?" He said sarcastically.


    An awkward silence filled the air. "This is the second time this has happened." He added. "but I''ve never seen this happen before. This is bad." He stated.


    He stared at the statue again and then he slowly moved out of the shadow, taking long strides.


    "Master, you can''t expose yourself out in the open." The second male said. He was still crouched over the damaged statue next to the first male.


    "Is it a master''s thing to not be seen by his students?" He said. His blue eyes are cold and hard.


    "No, but there was no reason for you to see this yourself." The first male states in worry.


    "Your gift is in progress as we speak," the master said, ignoring thement.


    He got a nod in response.


    "As long as your gift is in ce, all who might look out the window would see nothing other than the illusion you ced on how the statue was, am I not correct?" The master asked, as if he knew what was happening.


    "That is correct, master." The first male responded, readjusting his sses on the bridge of his nose.


    "But, you two will do your best to not let anyone else know what really happened." He stated.


    "It has to be fixed. Something is going to happen soon. I can feel it in my bones. I can feel it in my blood." His voice was chilly and wary as he looked up at the sunset.


    "Do contact Zhao. He''d know what to do about this little problem." Hemanded.


    "As you wish, master!" They both bowed.


    The master said creating a portal, stepping in partially with one foot in and the other out, he looked over his shoulder and said. "You two are dismissed."


    Both the males bowed their heads in response.

 Chapter 44 "I Dont Care... Shes Just A Pawn

    [Having a few days leave does have its perks?] Mune beamed in ecstasy, watching her master''s closing his eyes while deep in concentration.


    She watched as his hand made some quick movements on the canvas with the paintbrush.


    "Shh!" He hushed, opening his right eye, taking a peek at her then closing it right back.


    Mune flew to the headboard, she wanted to do as she was requested. Tossing and turning, the area felt a little chilly, so she switched to the mattress, going under the covers.


    The ce felt a little too warm to getfortable with. Phasing through the covers, she poked her head out, searching for another spot to stay while trying to maintain a quiet demeanor.


    Frowning at the reminder she saw literally everywhere, she threw her hands over her head, her mouth gaped open at the strands of red hair she saw all over the ce.


    [Thisdy is as dirty as a snotlout] She scoffed, flying towards his shoulder toy, instead.


    "Mune, you shouldn''t be disturbing!" He hissed as she got up from right shoulder and walked on his head then to his left shoulder.


    [Whoops!] Flying back immediately to his right shoulder, she rested and crossed her legs behind her while she beamed in ecstasy.


    Looking down at what her master was sketching, she was amazed by the detailing in the art work. At first she had expected he was drawing the golden statue that had been destroyed a few days ago, but she was pleasantly wrong.


    [Master, were you an artist in your previous life?] She asked as she stared in awe at the masterpiece.


    <o>,m Dropping the brush, he set it down on a table, looking to Mune. His expression fell at her seemingly innocent question.</o>


    There were times when he would think of his past as an artist, and it still felt like a burden.


    ''An artist who couldn''t stand up for himself, took the brunt and was regarded as a total cheat!'' He clenched his trembling fingers.


    With his reputation tainted then, he had not realized how far he was slowly drifting from what he loved doing best.


    "I don''t even know anymore." He said, wiping down his paintbrush with a cloth.


    "I haven''t been a good role model for anyone. I was just a guy who was really good at art, then I turned it into a career. But even that isn''t mine anymore." He gave a bitterugh.


    He wished so badly to get the justice he so deserved. It had hurt to be betrayed by someone he had thought was his friend, that word only made him feel sick to the bones.


    ''Drui, just you wait. If I do return to our world, you would totally regret having done this to me. I will be the person you wish you never met. I will be your worst nightmare.'' He vowed.


    It wasn''t until that moment had it dawned on him what could be happening in his world. He missed his phone, he missed drawing on his tablet, more than anything. Most importantly, he missed the simple and boring life he once had.


    ''All the things I''ve loved have been forcibly taken away from me!'' He bowed his head.


    This should be one of the reasons he is so hellbent on taking revenge on his family''s death. He couldn''t do so in his other life, he was sure as hell not going to repeat the same mistake twice.<sub> </sub>


    Mune looked down in despair. There was a lot she wanted to say to her master, but it was hard to know what to say to someone like him. He seemed to have his own problems, which he was trying to deal with.


    To her, a person who would happily sit on a chair in a room for days and days trying to draw, would never be bothered by being asked questions.


    [I''m sorry, master] She apologized in a soft voice, looking back at her master.


    He held his head in his hands, and she could see the tears rolling down his cheek. She couldn''t help but feel her heart breaking at seeing him like this. She was worried about her master, and she was worried at the fact that he was feeling so helpless. She wished she could have done something to make it better, but she couldn''t think of anything.


    Instead, she hugged his cheeks in an attempt to console him.


    Nix froze at the care shown to him, he had not wanted to look this miserable. Although d that it wasn''t pretty face who saw him this way.


    "It was just dirt in my eyes, okay? Just dirt." He exined, pulling away from her little hands.


    [Master, do you feel okay?]


    "You don''t need to make this feel like it''s your fault." He exined. "I just don''t wanna talk about it right now. I just wanna stay here, and enjoy myself." He replied.


    He wanted to forget about everything that had happened in the past, at least until he returned, he would take one action at a time.


    "You can watch me if you want though, I don''t mind." He added.


    [Master, what are you going to do with this painting?] She asked, feeling a little concerned.


    It was a painting of a beautiful woman with wings, and her eyes were closed. There was a light dusting of sparkles on her face while she smiled, as if her eyes were closed from a dream.


    "I''m yet to finish it." He replied with a chuckle. "I still need toplete its painting on the legs." He exined.


    [Aren''t you concerned about what is going on in ss?]


    "It was never the academy I was after, this is only a stepping stone to what I n to achieve." He replied immediately, shaking his head as he mixed the wrong color for the paint.


    [How about Lumina?] Mune watched his reaction for any sign of second thoughts or regret.


    His mood changed drastically. After she had walked out of the infirmary two days ago, she had avoided as much as a word from him and treated him like a gue. It was almost like he was the same as the inanimate objects in the room to her.


    He had reminded himself so frequently she wasn''t in his n and he wasn''t ready to keep any for anyone. She was merely a pawn used by the organization, it was a matter of time before she would be disposed of secretly like the rest of the so-called heroes then.


    "I don''t care about anyone who has ties linked to the organization." He snarled.

 Chapter 45 Be My Guest

    [Are you really sure, master?] Mune stressed, pinching his cheeks to get a favorable response.


    Cross popping veins appeared on his forehead. He was serious about what he had said and meant it. He would not let anyone, nor anyone''s feelings bother him. He would remain unaffected no matter what, and would not let anyone go through anything like he had.


    There was no time to waste his efforts on someone who might die because of him. He could tell Mune was just genuinely concerned about him, there was no reason to get overly angry because of the question.


    Exhaling, he could feel his body rx and his thoughts elevated from the anger he once had.


    "I would take no chances." He vaguely said, turning his attention back to his painting.


    Mune furrowed her brows, not understanding what that word meant, but decided to keep shut for the time being.


    It was pointless asking him what that meant. Instead she decided to go with a different approach, one she knew would work. She had done well so far, he didn''t seem to give off the vibe of being angry or sad anymore.


    [sses should be over soon] She reminded him.


    "It''s a good thing I was given a week''s sick leave, or I might have been doing it at the library instead." He said, chuckling. He was happy for the fact that he was given the time off because he was able toplete his current task.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In magic ss, Gia had been observing her teacher closely. He looked to be in a good mood; he had a rxed face and his hands were sped behind his back.


    He was wearing a ck coat which is patterned with four golden buttons on either side with a distinctive white streak running through the side to the front, with a white shirt, and a simple dark blue pants with it''s end tucked underneath low-heeled, knee-hight white boots. He had a pair of sses, which he had taken off when ss started.


    "Gia, do you mind showing the rest of us the spell you have been practicing?" The teacher turned and looked at Gia, who had her head bowed down. She was visibly nervous, but also excited.


    As she lifted her head, she was greeted with a huge smile, which spread to the rest of the students. The teacher had a look of approval, "Gia, you show them. It''s fine to feel nervous, don''t worry." He said to her encouragingly.


    At that, she began to recite the chants, her hands moving quickly to the objects she needed. He stood by her side, allowing her to do all the work. She was using her imagination and creating the spell on her own.


    Opening her eyes, she looked at the ss. The silence was deafening, she could feel her palms start to sweat. This was the moment of truth.


    "That''s it." She said after making thest symbol and finishing the chant.


    Everyone in the ss was very quiet, they knew how powerful the spell was. If done properly, she would have the ability to make an object disappear, to be invisible. She could do all this without a single physical object.


    The only way to test this spell was to use a real object. She could have used a candle, but that would be too easy.


    She thought about how she would test it, and the teacher''s sses on the desk came into her mind. She went on to say, "I think it would be easiest to test it on your sses and see if it disappears, Mr Gaviel." She could feel her excitement grow with each second that passed.<sub> </sub>


    The other sses looked on, nervous and excited at the same time.


    "Be my guest." The teacher consented, "All right then." Gia went to the desk, picked up his sses and raised her hands as a purple glow engulfed the sses.


    They flickered with a brilliant blue light. The light hadpletely disappeared in a matter of seconds.


    The rest of the ss was so shocked that they could say nothing. Gia, on the other hand, was so excited and relieved that she had seeded.


    Mr Gaviel, too, seemed relieved, but looked proud of his student, even though he could only vaguely see what she had done as he suffered from longsightedness.


    He made another gesture of approval. "Well done Gia. I knew you could do it." He said, "You''ve passed the test. You can try a more powerful spell next time."


    "But could you bring back my sses?" He nervously chuckled, he wouldn''t want to be in an awkward situation where he would need them but couldn''t get them.


    "I can try." Gia replied, her confidence now at an all time high.


    Mr Gaviel, however, was still surprised at how easily his sses had vanished. He had only wished to test Gia''s ability to perform a spell, but it had exceeded his expectations. It was her first time, and he was more than impressed. He felt that she was ready to advance.


    "Here you go." She said, handing him his sses.


    "I see a bright future ahead of you and several others who have made exceptional progress." He put his sses back on.


    "Thank you, Gia. I hope to see you all at the graduation ceremony a few months from now." He said.


    "That''s it for today, any questions could be directed to Gia. I''m sure she would love to discuss it with you all." He smiled, taking his spell books from the desk and walked out of the ssroom.


    In a matter of seconds, she was swarmed by her mates.


    "How does it feel to be the one who had summoned the fire rank student to Zoar and also get the recognition of our teacher?" A female squealed, her brte bangs disheveled at her movement.


    The others nodded their heads in agreement to the question.


    ''Didn''t Mr Gaviel say they could ask me any question based on what I had done today?'' Her brows twitched in frustration.


    "Uhhh..." Gia thought on how she could possibly answer the question without giving out the wrong information about her rtionship with Nix.

 Chapter 46 The Stupidity In Being Paired

    "Is anyone interested in the spell used to make Mr Gaviel''s sses disappear?" She asked with a nervous chuckle, scratching the side of her head.


    "We could always learn that with enough practice, but we wouldn''t get enough time to speak about this." The same female spoke.


    Gia looked around at the others, hoping they didn''t share the same sentiment.


    They all nodded their heads, their eyes big and curious.


    "It''s nothing special, it''s just a simple magic circle withmon arrays. Besides, I wasn''t in the right state of mind there." She exined, waving her hands frantically in front of her.


    "But you were the one that was selected out of the lots of us." A male persisted, his eyes sparkling in interest.


    ''You dimwit! You all know this, what else do you want to hear?'' She yelled in her head, but outwards she put on a smile, sweat dropping at how persistent they were.


    They weren''t really interested in how she had done it, but rather were trying to find a loophole and link her actions as having some sort of feeling towards him.


    "Are you interested in Nix? You two seemed close after he had returned from Zoar."


    Her head turned to her right, the person who had spoken was a male who has light green hair parted to the right that doesn''t reach his eyes. Having light yellow eyes with prominent lower eyshes.


    She internally facepalmed at the obvious turn of events, this was the question they had actually wanted to ask for a while now.


    She couldn''t necessarily deny as she did feel some sort of connection towards him. His cool and aloof personality was the first that had drawn her attention, not mentioning his unique and endearing looks.


    If she were to deny that she had no feelings for him, then her chances were sure to go down the drain. If she were to voice out her interest, she might be ridiculed or seen as a threat by other females.


    She had lived a quiet life while moving up her rank in her magic practice in the academy. It wasn''t until that day she had been randomly selected to summon Nix to Zoar, did she start to see a turn of events in her life.


    Mr Gaviel had never really paid attention to her before, nor had she told him about her practice, but it did seem that they had their eyes on her now.


    ''Someone, please help me out of here.'' Her thoughts screamed, hoping there was at least one person who was interested in her abilities instead.


    "It''s Nix!" She could hear someone whisper to another.


    Looking at the window, she could see Nix casually walking down the hallways.


    Their main focus being on Nix, with curious gaze, their eyes locked on his every movement.


    Taking long strides, he finally came into view,ing into their ssroom. The others immediately dispersed, allowing him ess to their ssroom.


    "Wee to magic ss B." A female said in a squeaky voice, conjuring up confetti, throwing it in the air.


    Nix paused the moment the tiny strips of coloured paper touched his body. His brows twitched in annoyance at what he had to endure.


    The female began to have a rethink on her choice of introduction to their ss. Antipathy seething off him, causing her to back away gradually.


    Deeming the right thing to do was tocorrect her mistake by cleaning up the mess she had made, she summoned the courage to approach him cautiously.


    "I''m so sorry!" Her voice quaked with fear, trying her best to dust off the paper from his shoulders, then his hair.<sub> </sub>


    Immediately sensing his aura had instilled fear into this female, he was determined to stir it in a different direction. He wasn''t here to trample on anyone, but in search of someone.


    Nix raised his hands to stop her before she made any attempts. "It''s fine, it''s just a mere piece of paper, it isn''t something that could kill me." Heughed it off, brushing it off himself.


    He wouldn''t let any femaley their hands on him just yet.


    The female''s fear was reced with awe instantly. Her admiration for him had just shot up the roof with his actions.


    "Why is he here?" He could hear whispers behind him.


    "Wasn''t he on a week of sick leave, specially directed by the higher ups?"


    "Did hee for Gia? Does this mean they are a couple?" A female said to another a little too loudly. Her voice wasced with jealousy.


    "Shhh! I think he heard you." Someone knocked the head of the female.


    Nix had a nk expression, he was still fixated to a spot as he took in all they had said. He could finally see why the mission had told him to get to ss 7 and make a bond with someone he could definitely gain from.


    While he was at it, he made do with the daily quest he had been given.


    [Walking: 5/5km]


    [Visualization: 10/10 views]


    He had made sure to take in the hallways as his next main focus for the day.


    His n was simple, once he was able to take in all the ces in the academy, he would be able to draw a detailed map which could give him a live feed on what was going on in the academy.


    ''My very own CCTV!''


    Saving up his points was another bonus for him, there was no use leveling up for the time being. The burden of the rewards also scared him from leveling up, only when necessary would he attempt to use his points.


    ''Who knows, I might be forced to use the points for another goddamn stuff Mune might suggest.'' He grimaced.


    [Sessful questpletion, you have a total of 2357 points earned]


    Ignoring the notification, he looked around the ss, he had been so curious as to who he would be given to bond with that he had left his humble dormitory and went in search of ss 7.


    ''Couple?'' He internallyughed at the stupidity of the word. It hadn''t even been up to a week he had gotten to the academy, and yet he is already being paired with someone.


    "Typical!" He mumbled at the one thing that never changes anywhere¨Crumors.


    The fact that he was paired with someone made him all the more curious to know who this Gia was, he wondered if she was the one who had spread the lies or if she was the one the system had said he would bond with.


    ''Gia, Gia, Gia!'' He repeated in his mind as his eyes nced around the students for anyone who looked suspicious.

 Chapter 47 Wouldnt Change A Thing!

    Gia wondered if he hade to their department to see her.


    Adjusting her messy ck bun, she straightened her back, pretending to be looking out the window.


    Nix''s eyes finally caught someone of interest, a smile finally made its way to his lips.


    [Bond identified]


    ''Wouldn''t change a thing!'' He said in thought, pleased with the result.


    Gia''s heart began to thump louder, it was bing harder to pretend not to look his way as he made an advancement in her direction.


    When she had felt it was time to respond to his advance with a greeting.


    "Good day, I d¨C" swallowing her words immediately, she was in a state of shock and disappointment when he passed by her without sparing her as much as a nce her way.


    "Lank!" Nix pulled up a seat, a grin on his face as he sat close to the male who had been distracted the whole time.


    p "W- when did you get here? How did you find me?" He nervously asked, unsure why he was sitting close to him.</anda>


    "Are you trying to hide from me?" He threw his hand around the shoulder of Lank, pulling him closer to himself. "I don''t want to make you ufortable."


    Lank felt a chill run down his spine at the action. The aura he was seething off wasn''t in sync with his facial expression.


    His palms began to feel sweaty, wondering if he came for a payback for not listening when he had told the rest of the students to attack the statue. He had felt a sense of guilt about what had happened then, affiliating it with his actions.


    ''Could it be he wanted to warn me personally?'' He gulped.


    "What the hell are you thinking?" He pulled on his cheek yfully.


    Lank froze in ce at the warm affection from this monstrosity in the form of a human was doing to him. Recovering from the initial shock, he shrugged his hand off. "I don''t go around bullying people anymore, so why are you here?"


    Gia''s body trembled at the scene she had witnessed, he hadpletely ignored her because of Lank?


    The whispers spread by the other students turned on her. They began to tell that they were wrong about their rtionship. It was also clear to everyone that Nix barely knew her to acknowledge her.


    Feeling utterly humiliated, she stormed out the door.


    m!<sub> </sub>


    Looking over to where the noise had been made, he could see a female walk by in anger. This only reminded him of the time pretty face had walked out the door when he was first introduced to the general ss.


    ''That''s the female that summoned me to Zoar!" Nix''s eyes widened. He wondered why he had failed to recognise her earlier. Then again, he probably hadn''t because she had been in a different section and personality that day.


    His brows furrowed at the familiarity of the setting, yet he did know he had much more important things to think about and right now his mission was a priority.


    Nix sighed at how difficult it is toplete this mission with Lank''s attitude. He made it seem that he hade with bad intentions.


    "Did you really think I came here to do something as petty as that." He retorted in a whisper.


    Stunned by the answer, Lank was still unsure what to believe. He had always liked to get the attention from his mates, but being with Nix didn''t seem to add well with him.


    Looking around, he suddenly felt embarrassed that he had spoken so casually, he had forgotten the others were still watching and whispering to one another. He had intentionally blocked out their words from his mind. Only when he had activated his heightened hearing, did he instantly regret what he had heard.


    "You would dare?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, shooting a deadly re at a male who had just whispered to his counterpart.


    The male was shorter than Lank and he had spiky ck hair and a tattoo on his arm that read "Chant". He had a sly smile stered on his face, a clear disregard for what had just happened. He didn''t even show any remorse. It was as if he was used to doing this and was quite satisfied with his actions.


    pping his fingers on the tabletop, he immediately jumped onto the table and leapt, pushing the male down and hard onto the floor." The male began to struggle to get back onto his feet. And as he did, he got caught in a leg trap he failed to notice.


    "Remember, we can''t attack one another under such circumstances!" The male hissed at him quietly, trying to get away from the leg trap.


    Lank''s clenched fist was raised at the male, ready to strike at his cheek at any moment. His canine teeth only lengthened as the male still had a sly smile present . His eyes dared him to make the first move.


    "What did you just say earlier?" He asked with a growl, his red eyes began to glow coldly. He held the male by the cor, gradually tightening his grip with each passing second.


    ''Didn''t he just say that he doesn''t bully people anymore?'' Nix deadpanned as he watched the scene with interest. He could tell whatever had made Lank react in such a violent manner was because of what the male below him had said.


    ''So you also have heightened hearing?'' Nix thought to himself in amusement as he looked at Lank.


    "You little¨C" he was interrupted by the sound of a loud yell from behind him. Turning around, he could see in Nix''s palm was a floating blue me as his eyes gleamed coldly as he looked down at Lank.


    "But he said¨C" Lank began to protest at the attention directed at him instead of the male below him.


    "This isn''t how to deal with trash." He reminded, "I have told you that there are other ways to deal with the problem." He shifted his attention towards the male below who began to tremble in fear as he felt the energy emanating from him. It was as though his skin crawled, his eyes began to bulge out and his hair suddenly stood on end.

 Chapter 48 Get Rid Of The Stench First

    With horror stricken eyes, the male trembled below Lank.


    "Would you just stop struggling, it''s not like he''s going to kill you or something." He chuckled.


    He had never met anyone who could bring up such a reaction from anyone. With just those words from Nix, he could feel the quaking in this dude''s body.


    "Lank, do you remember what I had said to you the other time?" Nix nodded in his direction.


    Lank looked back in confusion, trying to search his thoughts on the specific words he had spoken. There were just a few spoken interactions between them, he was bound to make a connection.


    Nix watched for a while, clearly getting frustrated that he couldn''t piece the information so easily. The answer was staring at him in the face, yet he had his brows furrowed while trying to recollect what he had said.


    "No," he raised his hand, stopping him from saying the answer, it wasn''t like he had lost his memory; this should be easy.


    Snapping his fingers, he finally got what he actually wanted to remember.


    Nix''s lips drew into a thin line, his eyes narrowed, waiting for an answer. Only when he says it himself, could he know the true meaning of the words behind them.


    "Never pick on anyone because you think you are better than them or feel intimidated by them. Bullying is never the answer." He ryed with enthusiasm, his face lit up as Nix nodded in agreement.


    His enthusiasm was slowly reced with remorse as he self reflected on what he had done.


    "Bullying is never the answer." He whispers to himself.


    Looking down at the frightful male, he began to have second thoughts on his actions.


    He could tell the other students had been waiting, watching for something to happen. He was the odd one, the ck sheep of the ss.


    Ostracized by the ss due to his strange abilities which couldn''t necessarily be termed a gift nor magic, he was relegated to the sideline and thrown to where they could find a closer match to his abilities¨CMagic.


    Unlike the rest of the students, he had heightened smell, eyesight, hearing and strength, which he had fully used to his advantage without truly relying on his abilities.


    ? Only finding the thrill in his existence whenever a fight, training or a mission came up. Those were the few avenues in which he could fully let go of himself, only then do they listen to his fighting tactics and directions when faced with a threat.


    The way they looked at him had never changed ever since he was admitted into the academy, the scornful look, the asional whispers and sneers that came his way. He was the only person without a roommate, no one wanted to stay with a freak. But in that moment of despair, he hade to understand that they never really wanted to face him head on because of how unpredictable his abilities were.


    He had enjoyed a measure of superiority because of this, trampling on the pride of those who dared cross him, resorting to bullying the rest who had made him feel bad about himself. Creating the name and image for himself, in a bid to not be forgotten by his peers.


    ''Better to be known for something bad or good, than not to be known at all.'' He thought.


    Ever since Nix came into the picture, things had taken a drastic turn for him. No longer seen as someone of interest.<sub> </sub>


    "I can tell you''re reminiscing on whatever past event in your life." Nix said with a smile, interrupting his train of thoughts.


    "How did you¨C"


    "You spaced out." Nix quickly interjected, "and your canines had drastically reduced to its normal length, so have the glow in your eyes." He added.


    "How do we then dispose of the trash?!" Lank questioned, curious to know what he had nned.


    "Good question." Nix pped his hands, leaning on his knees to have a better view of the both of them.


    "Getting rid of the stench first." He looked around, his eyes ncing over all the present students.


    This male wasn''t necessarily the target but several others who enjoyed spreading rumors. He nned on cutting short the supply of that channel.


    "So..." He paused, standing up.


    The students all gasped, taking a step back in the process.


    Internally facepalming, he noticed a subtle hint of fear in their eyes, like they could tell what he had to say next.


    "If I hear as much as a derogatory word about Lank," he put on a bright smile. "well except if he truly deserves it, let''s say if he goes back to his old ways." He intentionally muffled his words by coughing through thetter part of the sentence, but enough for them to listen and understand it.


    "Then the trash would need to be disposed of." He concluded, ring at everyone.


    The ssroom fell silent, no one dared look at the other, all attention was solely on Nix, nodding their heads in response.


    "Seriously, the trash outside the ss needs disposing." He tried joking, pointing towards the hallway.


    The rest all gave nervous chuckles, not really knowing how to react than to pretend to be amused.


    Lank''s mouth opened wide, he could see why he was admired and feared at the same time. Even though those words were spoken in defense of him, he could tell Nix was serious about what he said and was actually willing to use his gift if need be.


    Even he felt the intensity in that little speech. It all felt so unreal. He had remembered when Lumina had talked down on this person right before them all. He wondered if that was one of the perks of sharing a dorm with someone. The person suddenly has the right to insult the other if ocasssions call for it.


    "Awhhh You''ve gotta be kidding me!" Lank growled as he suddenly felt some sort of warm liquid begin to soil his lower area.


    "What the heck is wrong with you!" He yelled, pulling the male by the cor. His anger was starting to return once again at the new turn of events.

 Chapter 49 Not Going To See That Happening

    The male began to whimper, with tears filling his eyes. Continually shaking his head and refusing to say anything.


    ''What a loser!'' Lank sneered in his thoughts, pulling his arm back tond a punch anytime soon.


    "Don''t!" Nix shook his head, stopping Lank from punching the male in the face.


    "It wouldn''t change anything." He emphasized.


    "But¨C" He wanted to speak up, to justify why this couldn''t be termed as bullying. But the words didn''te out as he had expected. There was something about Nix that made arguing with him difficult.


    His grip only tightened on the cor of the male instead, he had expected the others to burst outughing at his predicament, but that was far from the contrary.


    All turned around immediately, he could see the back of their feet as his re was still fixated on the male.


    Something didn''t feel right about their reaction, he looked back, attributing it to one person¨CNix.


    "Lank, what the hell do you think you''re doing?" Gia screamed at the top of her lungs.


    "Gia?" Lank was stunned by her return, his anger gradually dissipating. His grip also loosen on the cor of the male.


    Nix looked over to the female who had managed to calm Lank and was pleasantly surprised at who he had referred to as Gia.


    ''So she''s Gia.'' He nodded his head in understanding, watching the scene unfold.


    At that point, he immediately assumed the rumors he had heard were definitely just what it was¨Crumors.


    Lank quickly got off him, his face scrunched up in disgust and trying to gag. He stood with his feet apart for as long as he could widen them.


    His crotch had a darker patch on his blue pants. Immediately shooting a re towards the male, thinking of that little action as a deliberate assault on his image.


    "How..." He brought out his hands in a strangling gesture, his ws protruding from his fingers. Licking his lips as he tried toplete his sentence.


    "How could you soil my pants with your filthy body waste?" He kicked hard on a desk. He wanted nothing more than to teleport to his dormitory.


    ''Gosh I wish I had Haze''s gift right about now!'' He said in thought. If he did, he would be able to avoid the humiliation he was forced to be subjected to.


    It was tempting to strip his pants right there in ss, but the more he thought of it, the more stupid it sounded and would look.


    The male looked over at Nix, unsure of what would happen to him. Crawling back slowly.


    ''You really think you could escape if you wanted to, on your own?'' Nix raised a brow and just stared down at him instead.


    Shaking his head at the male, he was clearly disappointed even after his little speech, he was still feared when he was yet to do anything.


    ''Why am I not surprised?'' He thought, clicking his tongue.


    "Just go clean yourself up." Nix sneered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I do hate it when an empty trash''s stench intensifies."


    Taking cue, the male hurriedly scurried away and out of the ss.


    The sound ofughter could be heard outside the door. It was definitely the gifted students jeering at the male who had run down the hallway in a hurry to get to the bathroom.


    "Finally a breath of fresh air." Nix sighed in relief, pegging his nose the moment he sniffed the same smell but only slightly less repulsive.


    Looking to the left, he had remembered there was another sharer in the problem. "I spoke too soon about the fresh air, you also need to go change, Lank." He blew on the air with his hand.


    "You think I don''t know that?" Lank retorted. Exhaling and inhaling, trying to calm his boiling anger.


    Nix raised his hands in a surrender, shrugging and looking over at Gia.


    Gia looked over at Nix who sat confidently on a chair with his leg crossed over the other.<sub> </sub>


    They both locked gazes for a brief second before she tore off hers, looking elsewhere.


    She had originally returned after thinking things through. Walking away from ss with such a mindset was never the answer, they weren''t even in a cordial friendship to begin with.


    She had no right to be angry over something that wasn''t even established from its foundation.


    But the main reason she had returned,id on the fact that she had forgotten to take her books when she left. It contained a piece of her embarrassing scribble of a confession letter she had nned on finishing.


    In a bid to prevent it from slipping out if the book was mishandled, she rushed back with top speed, only to be met with Lank in apromising situation that might as well get him in trouble with the academy''s authority once again.


    She had always been assigned to him the moment he got into trouble. Putting up a caring persona for someone she barely wanted to make contact with was tiresome.


    Enjoying the cover her timid personality gave, she didn''t need to speak to him but instead rationally speaking up for him or appealing on his behalf so the issue dies down easily.


    It always came as a mystery as to why he would always get into fights or cause trouble, but if this would be the first one she would disrupt in order for her not to be directly involved by the authorities, she wasn''t going to let that chance slip out of her fingers.


    Taking a quick nce at his outlook, she noticed he had a soiled crotch, looking away in an instant, hoping she didn''t seem perverted just by doing that.


    "Are you okay?" She tried to reach out to help in some way, the faster it''s done without any teacher noticing, the better.


    "Why are you here anyways? I thought you had something important to do outside." He scoffed, taking a step back.


    Pulling off her blue cotton jacket, she offered it to him, "here you go... for your little issue."


    Lank looked down at the jacket offered to him in her palms, she had a broad smile, awaiting his response.


    Lank''s cheek flushed at her kind gesture, he had always seen her as his anchor, the only person who ever stood up for him when everyone else didn''t.


    Although she had been kind to him, this was the very first time they had spoken to one another and he couldn''t help but stare at her for a moment.


    The students still had their backs turned, the influence of Nix was one too great to oppose, just to observe what was transpiring between the two. Listening was still a better option they could only rely on.


    "It even matches your pants." She pointed out, giggling.


    "It even matches your pants!'' Nix repeated in his head in a high pitched voice, rolling his eyes to the scene ying before him.


    "No I can''t." Lank shook his head, refusing to take it.


    "But¨C"


    "Ughhh!" Nix eximed, disgusted by the progress of the scene. Feeling disturbed it might as well soon escte to both parties showing those love dovey eyes, slow motion, coercion, sweet talks, or worse¨Ckissing.


    ''No! Definitely not going to see any of those! I came here to bond with someone, now I''ve found him, all I need is eptance. That is all I''m going to do!'' He yelled out his frustration in his thoughts.


    "Okay, let''s break up whatever moment this is." He began, leaning forward and cing his elbows on his thighs, gesturing his hands around them, to make his point.


    Gia and Lank shared a confused nce at one another, not understanding what hade over Nix.


    "Don''t you look back!" Nix''s voice rang out louder than it already was as he warned a pink headed girl who tried to sneak a peek on what was truly going on. "You might as well step out, the ss was over an hour ago." He waved his hand.


    "Remember, curiosity killed the cat!" He made references to the fact that he could see protruding cat-like ears sticking out ontop of her head.


    The girl immediately looked forward, her eyes wide in surprise at how easily he had caught her trying her luck. Listening was fine by her at that point, there was no way she was leaving until the drama was over, just like the rest were thinking.


    Bringing his attention back on the two, he gave the two of them an indifferent look.


    "Gia, you want him to take your jacket, right?" He questioned, acting as a mediator.

 Chapter 50 Are You Ready?

    ''He called my name, he knows my name!!!'' Gia''s thoughts went into overdrive. But in reality she froze the moment he called her name, spacing out deep in her subconscious.


    "Gia?!" Nix tried again.


    Gia snapped back to reality, she nodded her head.


    "Yes, it''s a sign of care." Gia said with a pout. Looking over at Lank to trap him with the guilt trick.


    Nix nodded his head at her answer, he wasn''t necessarily concerned on the reason she wanted to do that, but what he wanted to avoid a situation that could cause him to gag.


    "You want to protect your pride as you walk out that door, right?" He nodded in the direction of Lank, awaiting his answer.


    "Yes?!" He responded, somewhat not sure if he was even making the right decision by answering.


    Nix closed his eyes, cing his head down on his sped fingers. It took all in him to calm down before he nned on speaking soon.


    Gia had clearly wanted to give him the jacket because of the soiled patch on his pants. She didn''t want to be associated with someone who might be the nextughing stock of the whole academy.


    Yet they had almost put him through hell to watch the unforgivable wait to happen?


    "Okay, so that''s reasonable." He nodded his head in understanding, having a smile as he pointed to Lank.


    "Alright?" Lank responded, looking over to Gia.


    "Do you know what you should do now, Lank?" Nix questioned, taking a deep breath, his hand slightly pinching on his nose.


    "..."


    "Take the goddamn jacket, Lank!" He pulled on his hair in utter frustration. There was no use dragging the whole issue.


    Lank stood there frozen and stunned by his response, that was definitely not how he had pictured his advice to go.


    "Or..." Gia stressed on the word, waiting for them to ask her the obvious question.


    "Just spill it out, we all have a life out of these four walls." Nix berated, he was in a hurry to get back to the dormitory.


    ''Uh! Excuse you!'' Gia scoffed in her thoughts.


    Outwardly, she had her mouth slightly agape, cross popping veins on her forehead. Clearly disappointed he had the nerve to speak and ruin her great moment.


    "I could test out my powers that I''ve been practicing to perfect for some time now." She exined.


    Nix watched, immediately intrigued by what she had to say that was better than knotting the hands of the jacket around Lank''s waist.


    He had hoped that would bring on a new dawn of fashion that was a notable trend back in his world.


    ''If you think I would ask you what you have in mind, then you''re clearly mistaken.'' Nix raised a brow, determined not to say a single word while they waited for her so-called powers to kick-start.


    "I could make him disappear for 10 seconds." She finally said. Looking at Lank with her head tilted slightly. She was teasing him. "Are you ready?" she said.


    Lank shook his head, refusing to acknowledge what he heard. "You aren''t doing some sort of experiment on me," he grumbled. "I''m not some piece of object to toy with."


    "You were present when I did my presentation during Mr Gaviel''s ss. You witnessed my demonstration of my powers." Gia exined.<sub> </sub>


    "If anything goes wrong, I will hunt you down and make sure thest thing you experience will be the feel of my powers" He threatened.


    "Oooo scary!" She deadpanned, walking over to his side, rubbing her palms in preparation.


    "So you decide, I either make you disappear," she paused, a devious smile present.


    <o>,m ''I wished it was the real kind that disappeared anyways.'' She sighed.</o>


    "...or you take the jacket and use it." She let him decide. There was a part of her that didn''t want to waste her energy on him doing that spell.


    "The jacket." He reached out for the piece of clothing.


    ''This could have been solved a few minutes ago.'' Nix facepalmed at his answer, shaking his head.


    He was starting to have second thoughts on the bond the mission had given him, was he meant to bond with aplete idiot?


    Gia refused to give him the jacket, she needed to hear him say it. "So...?"


    "So what?!" Lank snapped, frustrated by her actions. All he needed was the jacket, yet she was intentionally withholding it from him.


    Unable to bear it anymore, Nix got up from his chair. Standing in front of Lank, he ced his hands on his shoulder, leaning forward so he could whisper what he had in mind earlier.


    "What are you doing?" Lank went red at how close he was.


    "Do I really make you ufortable?" Nix whispered into his left ear.


    All his hair stood upright at the tease, he had wanted to push Nix away but the grip on his shoulder tightened the more he tried to struggle.


    "Wait," Nix sighed, shaking his head on how difficult a bonding could be, even the bond with his pass was much smoother.


    There was no point witnessing all the weird drama, it was about time to fully utilize his remaining 4 days of rest.


    "When you are done with whatever it is you want to do, could you meet me at the library?" He requested.


    "Library?" Lank repeated in a whisper, he had thought it was closed and off bound for decades. "There''s a reason that ce is off bounds."


    "Don''t worry I know a safe way in, I just wanted to show you something." He chuckled slightly. "If you''re interested, meet me there in about 2 hours."


    Pulling away, he shoved his hands into his pocket, looking to the side. "Do take good care of Lank while I''m gone."


    Gia stood in front of his way, she couldn''t hear what they had said but his current words almost sounded like they were never going to see again.


    "What is going on?" She raised her chin, narrowing her eyes.


    Nix looked down, shaking his head, her actions only reminded him of pretty face. He missed their interactions, their little arguments and misunderstanding. It made him realize how boring it would be to head back to the dormitory. He derived no joy anymore ever since her personality changed.


    "Why do you still insist on speaking with me?" He raised his head finally, he needed answers, he wanted to know the real reason why she could deliberately avoid him for such a good number of days, yet the rest were different.


    "That includes all of you, too." He spoke out a little louder for them all to hear him, "you don''t need to have your backs turned anymore, I apologize for going against what I stood for."


    "I¨C " Gia hesitated in her speech, searching her thoughts on the real reason she had jumped in to stop him from leaving, without thinking.

 Chapter 51 Favorite Is A Little Over The Top

    Hesitation to seemingly simple questions was something he always frowned upon. This was nothing more than allowing second thoughts or fear to invade into the mind. The stuttering that could follow, also added me to the already crumbling patience.


    Knitting his brows, he shook his head. Considering this as another wasted opportunity, if Lank didn''t meet him up at the library.


    "You don''t need to exin anything." He replied coldly, looking to the left side where all the other students stood.


    "It would do you all a favor if you don''t mention anything that had transpired here, we wouldn''t want a rumor of a certain stenching from this department, am I right?" He gave an eye shut smile.


    "Did he just low-key threaten us with¨C"


    A hit to the side stopped the male who had wanted to whisper the rest of his question to his friend.


    "I''m sorry, but could you be quiet on this subject?" He cautioned in a whisper, sweat dropping at the re he had to endure because of the sharp tongue of his friend.


    He had a forced smile, "of course we won''t, we never gossip. We know what to talk about and what isn''t supposed to be mentioned." He agreed, hoping to get on the good side of Nix.


    The rest all nodded their heads in agreement, sharing awkward nces at one another.


    Lank and Gia on the other hand, were fixated to their spot, mute and in awe at the domineering aura he possessed over their department.


    ''Are we like some sort of puppet he can control at his disposal?'' Gia gritted her teeth.


    ''He must really think he''s a fire god. Isn''t this called bullying?'' Lank folded his arms, clearly not pleased that he had been outsmarted in his own game.


    "It was a pleasure interacting with you all." He smiled, his features lightening up.


    "Especially you," he pointed at the female who had conjured up a confetti, the moment he had stepped into their ss. Even though he had hated it at first, he hade to realize the beautiful intention in just that action.


    "Eeee!" The female squealed in delight at the acknowledgement.


    He gave a quick nce over at Lank, sighing.


    Maneuvering his way towards the door from where Gia stood, in a fluid motion.


    Gia shook her head, confused at what she had witnessed. It looked like the moment she blinked, he wasn''t in front of her anymore.


    "What the hell?!" She looked behind her, he was already at the door post.


    Halting, he looked over his shoulder. "I hope you all grow to be stronger and prepare for the worst that''s yet toe. But if I were some of you, I would easily stayid-back and do nothing, there are some benefits to doing that too."


    With those final words, he walked to the right in the direction in which he came.


    "What does he mean by that?" A female tilted her head in confusion, her index finger ced over the corner of her lip.


    "Did he just tell us to give up?" A male questioned.


    Lank made use of the confusion to get the jacket from Gia, wrapping it around his waist, he dashed out in an instant.


    "Hey!" Gia hollered at him. She had no intention of giving him the jacket, ever since the time he had shown little regard and trust in her powers when she had offered an alternative.


    "I will hand it to you once I''m done with it!" He responded, his voice barely audible to her because of the distance he had covered in a short amount of time.<sub> </sub>


    "You suck!" She hissed, raising her hand in the air, raining profanities.


    "Miss Gia!" Mr Zhao''s deep voice startled her. "Mind your manners!" He chastised.


    Gia''s mood dropped instantly, she regretted speaking with Lank.


    Nervously chuckling, she put her hands behind her, turning to the left, then the right in quick session. Operation puppy dog eyes in motion.


    "I am so sorry, Mr Zhao. It was a mistake that would never happen." She batted hershes, sping her fingers tightly as she pouted.


    Mr Zhao shook his head at her antics, he was in no mood to discipline anyone today.


    "What are you all still doing in the ss after the teaching hour?" He yelled at the rest.


    Scurrying out in fear, the students began to gradually disperse, the ss devoid of students; except Gia who stood at the doorpost awkwardly.


    "You''re standing here, why exactly?" Mr Zhao looked down on her.


    "I would just go get my book..." Gia''s voice trailed as she walked in, picking her book, walking back to the door, she made a quick run for it. "I apologize for my disturbance, Sir!"


    "Hormonal youths." Mr Zhaomented, shaking his head, walking away in the opposite direction.


    Once she was certain that she had been able to go out of the sight of Mr Zhao, she slowed down her steps, walking at her regr pace.


    Holding her book made her remember the activities they had done in ss, before the whole incident of Nixing into the picture.


    A smile made its way to her lips. She was so proud of her aplishment. She had be the first in ss B to make a breakthrough in her practice, and she felt so happy.


    She was so excited to have made it, that she whooped in joy. "I really did it! I did it."


    "Fancy meeting you here!" A female voice could be heard behind her.


    "Senior Ayanami?" Gia looked behind her, wanting to be sure she was the one in question that was spoken to.


    Confirming the theory, she looked at her senior who had her long straight ck hair which reaches just below her waist, turning a blue color as it passes her elbows, parted in the middle and sideswept from the right behind her ear.


    She has a soft-looking, pale purple eyes that appear a lighter color around the rims of her irises, nted downward toward the sides of her face and framed by notably long eyshes.


    She wears a white kimono with a blue feather pattern, the lining in blue, secured by a sky blue and white hanhaba obi with an ck-threaded obijime and a sky blue obiage. Over this, she sports a long, dark-blue haori that reaches her calves, as well as a pair of z¨­ri with blue straps and white tabi socks, wrapped with thick pieces of ck material.


    Gia looked puzzled as to why an upper rank A would be talking to a lower rank B, like herself.


    "Oh let''s cut the whole senior shenanigans. It''s Ayanami to you." She said with augh. "Besides in the general ss, all are of the same rank, am I right?"


    "I just wanted to say, wee to the club of Mr Gaviel''s favorite students!" Ayanami winked. "You''re one step further into joining our ss!"


    "Thanks. But isn''t ''favorite'' a little over the top?" She replied with a raise of her brow.


    She didn''t know what to believe with the response gotten from Ayanami. She was no where as worthy to earn that position.

 Chapter 52 Marked

    Having no intention of standing, she decided to continue walking. "I''m sorry, please excuse me."


    "Says the one who I heard summoned Nix to Zoar." Ayanami wiggled her brow.


    She and the other high ranking students had been alerted to the havoc that had been caused in the city by a rumic¨Cthose who had chosen to use their magic for evil.


    "Oh!" Gia''s voice toned down. She had remembered the news which had been circting within the academy.


    Ayanami''s team had lost three of her teammates that day, with the exception of a male and a female, who are still in the infirmary.


    Gia''s brows knitted, she wondered why she was in a good condition while the rest wasn''t. It almost looked like she had never left the academy''s vicinity. Neither did she carry the air of sadness or grief about the dead teammates.


    "Are you alright, Ayanami?" Her voice warm and soothing.


    "Umm... yes?" She was momentarily stunned by the randomness of the question, but decided to y along with it.


    "I see." Gia looked down, nodding her head at some wild thought in her head.


    She only hoped that the variation of the story she had heard was nothing more than rumors.


    ''Not one of them never knew this tragedy was going to befall them. It''s purely coincidental.'' She kept chanting in her head until it stuck.


    "I would have wished we were present that day, what fun would it have been to help out one way or another." She squealed.


    ''What about your teammates?! Who would ditch a mission to see some fire gift, narcissistic, attention lover?'' Her thoughts screamed.


    Gia had a poker face the whole time, not pleased by the fact that even her senior was interested in him, with little disregard for the ones who are still alive and in a critical position. "You barely know him."


    "So does everyone in this academy, it''s been three days since we had arrived after he had courageously defended our school singlehandedly¨C"


    ''Single handedly? Isn''t that a little too much?'' She grumbled.


    "¨CSo we are all rooted deep in this together." She sped her hands, grinning.


    Gia was starting to have second thoughts on why she was approached by this senior.


    "Did you just want to talk with me because of my little interactions with him? Or was it because of Mr Gaviel''spliment?" She narrowed her eyes.


    "I needed to get to know you more, after all you are the one with the most interaction with him," she smiled. "Excluding that loud mouthed red haired." She muttered thest part to herself, masking it with a nervousughter.


    Gia increased her pace, she was starting to get agitated by the fact that if this news does continue to spread, she would be known as nothing but someone who summoned Nix to the Zoar.


    ''What would happen to my skill as a magician? Flushed down the drain, because of him?!'' She sighed.


    Ayanami noticed that whatever she had said had incurred a reaction from Gia and not one for the better. "I didn''t mean that I came in search of you because of that." She increased her pace to match hers.


    "We all have our strengths and weaknesses, but that doesn''t just define us, we do so ourselves." Ayanami spoke. "My time with my teammates taught me to take life as it is, risks and friendship are meant to be taken or built before it''s gone just like it came."


    ''Touching!'' Gia nodded her head, wiping her eyes by pretending to be moved by her story.<sub> </sub>


    There was definitely something she was hiding, the tone in her voice didn''t carry any form of grief or regret.


    Finally being able to catch up with Gia, she wrapped her hand around Gia''s shoulders. "I was just so happy to finally meet another protege."


    "Uhuh!" Gia grunted, but she wasn''t going to be easily swayed that way.


    "Can I introduce you to my friends, some other time?" Ayanami batted hershes, hopeful about her answer.


    ''Some other time, sounds like a great n.'' She had a smile present on her lips.


    If saying yes could make her leave, so she could go to her dormitory with a calm mind, then she would dly do so. "Yes, sure. Maybe some time."


    ''I hope we don''t interact in the future.'' She sneered, putting on a smile.


    Until she knew her true motives, it was best to steer clear of Ayanami.


    "Great!" Ayanami squealed. "Well it was fun talking with you." She waved, shapeshifting into a quetzal, it''s wings disying its iridescent blue hue and its white colored chest and belly as she flew away.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    ''They actually think they are looked upon as individuals here!'' Nix scoffed at the thought, shaking his head and dragging his feet as he walked.


    He had not forgotten about the experiments his mother had been working on. All he could see the school as was a grooming center, a ce to cultivate their powers and gifts.


    Once that was done, they are sent on a suicidal mission in the form of saving the city and these makeshift heroes were nothing more than fodders to a sick n by the organisation.


    ''This needs to end soon.'' His hand tightened on the edges of the pass, Nix sighed. Shoving it back into his pocket. The time he had spent in the academy was bing much more agonizing with the passing day.


    He wanted nothing more than to be handpicked by the organization, giving him much more ess than the one he was limited to in the academy.


    There was still the issue of hiding his passive gift, he wasn''t sure how long he could hold that up.


    "What the heck¨C" He shook his head, trying to shake off the unsteady feeling he was getting.


    ''Mune!'' He closed his eyes, momentarily losing his bnce andnding on the floor. He winced as the cold floor struck the back of his knees.


    [Master, what''s wrong with you?] Mune was concerned. She had seen Nix''s reaction after she spoke to him. It was unlike him to be in this state, especially when he had been so active during the week.


    Using the wall as a support, he got back to his feet, brushing himself off the dirt as best he could. He would have liked to tell her what had happened, but he didn''t understand what was going on either.


    Dizzy, his vision was blurring, so was the movements on the floor, as a glow emanated from his right arm branching in the form of veins trailing down his arm to his fingers.


    Fluctuating, as it throbbed painfully.


    "Aaargh!" He held his hand, leaning on the wall, his breathing tense and strained.


    [You have been marked] Mune gasped in horror.

 Chapter 53 Repercussion Of Trying To Be Selfless

    ''Marked? Why does bullsh*t always happen to me?'' He opened one of his eyes, his body shaking, he used his left hand to navigate his steps.


    [Master you need to get some rest] Mune cried out, there have been rare cases of this ever happening to anyone.


    Nix shook his head, he wasn''t going to rest, not in the same room as Lumina. He dreaded spending any time in there with her, it would only hurt more to watch those ring eyes, or not even a nce at the least.


    Several times he had tried to reason that this phase would soon be over, he had made a full recovery due to the health potion. Even after that, she still gave him a cold shoulder and it got worse the more he tried to exin the situation without giving out too much information.


    He had risked his life, but it was for the greater good¨Chis mates. As much as he wanted to ignore their presence then, his instinct kicked in when their situation reminded him so much about his mother and brother.


    [But master¨C]


    "Are you my guide or are you just going to keep on pestering me?" He growled in anger, unable to speak telepathically to her anymore.


    Her persuasion was aggravating his anger, so was the throbbing pain in his right arm. He couldn''t even bear to look at the veins which had branched down to his fingers anymore.


    [I exist to help you with anything you need] Mune replied firmly.


    Looking ahead, a smile was forced onto his lips, the library was just a few steps away. He couldn''t turn back now, there was still Lank to speak with.


    "I can''t go back." He persisted.


    [Master...] Mune''s voice trailed as she watched him hold his hand, making his way to the library.


    "What do you know about this..." he looked down at his hand, frowning at its condition, "...thing?" He hissed to the pain.


    [It''s a mark which could he likened to a defense mechanism in certain objects, it''s said that the only way to fully cure this is to coerce the person who had ced it to cancel their hold on it]


    "So that means the person who did this is still alive." He reasoned.


    [Theoretically speaking¨Cyes!]


    "Why theoretical?" He frowned at the weird possibility of things bing moreplicated.


    [There are cases when it isn''t just one power but multiple, this way, the efficiency is higher] Mune looked at his arm worriedly.


    This was never supposed to happen to him, he wondered if he had made a mistake by destroying that medal on Agatha''s chest in that manner.


    ''This is what you get for trying to be selfless.'' He scolded himself in his thoughts.


    "There are two ways to go about this, either I kill them or coerce them to cancel this, right?"


    [Master? Kill a person, really?] She folded her arms, shaking her head.


    "I was just kidding." He nervouslyughed, hissing right after as the sharp pain brought him back to reality.


    ''No you were not!'' A voice in his head corrected immediately.<sub> </sub>


    "I would just need to do a little chit chat with such a person, I promise." He forced a smile, but his twitching brows gave him away.


    He was trying his best to endure the pain, but by the passing minutes it was getting a lot harder to maintain.


    [Master, you need to rest! You could do this some other time]


    "No, it''s now, there is no way I''m going to do a make up mission." He grimaced at the dreadful thought.


    This was meant to be by far the simplest mission he got, and he wasn''t going to let it go to waste by forgoing it for a torturous set of mini taskster.


    Mune was conflicted, even if he didn''t get enough rest, there was no way of dying the inevitable. If he was still as persistent as he was now, the pain was sure to knock him out cold and slowly drain his life force, if he was to sumb to it.


    Opening the door, he stumbled in, falling to the floor on his side.


    [Are you alright?!] She whooshed towards his side, the moment she had heard a thud.


    Nix used his left hand to push hinder up, he began to chuckle softly, pushing back his disheveled hair from his face.


    [Did something happen to master''s brain also?] Mune tilted her head in confusion at the unbelievable possibility of that happening.


    Nix heard what she had said and onlyughed a bit louder.


    Mune had her mouth gaped open, confusion setting in deeply, his current reaction didn''t match up in the slightest to what had happened a while ago.


    "It''s funny how I can naturally open a door few hours ago and now I fellpletely to the floor because I struggled to open one."


    Mune''s eyes widened at his exnation, but her brows furrowed, thinking if that was the reason for hisughter, that was still scary in its own right to be conceivable.


    "Breaking news," Nix brought his clenched fist like a microphone, pretending to be a reporter.


    Mune raised a brow, she was beginning to fear that there really was something wrong with her master.


    [Master, what is my name?] Mune hoped if she started from scratch, then they could find out the other things she might have missed in this weird personality.


    He stared at Mune for sometime, almost giving her a high expectation on what he wanted to say. His mouth opened slightly as if he was indeed going to answer her question.


    Turning his head away from her direction, he ignored the question, continuing with his announcement. "...the once intimidating Nix had been relegated to falling to the ground because he couldn''t make good use of his right arm anymore and a pain in the hand is gradually weakening his whole body due to his selfless action. All means of avenging his family washed down the drain."


    Nixughed at his words, not because they were funny, but because it sounded so inconceivable that even he didn''t believe it would happen. Not once when he was drunk did he evere so close to being so powerless as not being able to open a door and walk in at the least.


    His mood darkened immediately, gritting his teeth as the veins began to throb once more.


    Mune''s mood depreciated after hearing what was on his mind. She finally understood the reason for hisughter and was saddened by her inability to help.


    "I know something which could help." He raised his head, his face was devoid of the once glum look he had.

 Chapter 54 Acting Weird

    [But master, there is no other way¨C]


    "Of course there is!" Nix countered.


    Calling up his inventory, he scrolled to the health potion.


    [Health Potion avable]


    [Usage: 1]


    [Time limit: Once a day]


    [Ummm... master, I don''t think that''s the solution to the problem at hand. The only way is to find out those who had caused this to happen in the first ce!] Mune shook her head to his action.


    Whatever he was attempting with the health potion was simply not worthwhile in this case. It dealt with physical injuries, not binding ones. At its best, it could only dy the inevitable if not solved fast.


    "It''s the only way." He replied, "even if it''s just a temporary relief, I''m willing to take it into consideration."


    Mune watched with sad eyes, she had wanted him to tell him the downside of relying on the system, how it was going to change so many things in his life. This was just merely the beginning.


    Deciding to reveal a bit of what she knew about the system, she pressed on his cheek, making a duck face out of him.


    Nix looked confused, wondering what was going on with Mune, "I need to use this, and you can''t possibly stop me." He replied, pulling away from her grasp while he had assumed that was the reason she had acted that way.


    [Master, you shouldn''t @</#*^|?''*] Mune''s voice was altered at thetter part, confusing her. She glitched a few times before it stopped and she merely just hovered in the air.


    Nix had noticed that tiny glitch she had disyed, it did feel a little too suspicious to the eyes.


    "Mune, what was that?" He questioned, poking her mildly.


    Mune blinked several times, she had her eyes on the floor. Not saying a word for that moment. Her memories were vague, she tried recollecting what she had wanted to say but all attempts proved futile.


    "Mune?" Nix called out once more to her, "Ahhhg!" He held his arm, hissing to the pain.


    Whatever was happening to Mune, he was going to get to the bottom of it, but before then, he needed to ease the pain he was going through, there was no way he would let Lank see him in such a vulnerable state.


    Pulling out the vial, he gulped down the blue liquid in one go.


    [Health Potion unavable]


    [Usage: Complete]


    The pain in his arm felt like it was dipped into a cool liquid. Looking at his arm to see the first hand effect of the potion, the branching glow which had trailed down his arm were gradually dissipating.


    Letting out a sigh of relief, he clenched his hands in a fist to get back the feeling of his right arm.


    "I knew it would work!" He turned towards Mune.


    Mune''s position was still the same way as it was previously. This greatly troubled him.


    Grabbing her by the waist, he sat her down on his palm, staring at her for a while. She made no intention of looking up at him, nor talking.


    "Something went wrong with you." He said in a hushed whisper, poking at her body to get some sort of reaction, any would suffice.


    He had known she had wanted to say something to him, he wondered why she suddenly glitched, but if the victim can''t speak, how was he supposed to know how to help?


    Zzzznnnn!


    Nix thrusted his hand forward and away from him, the second he had heard that strange sounde from Mune. Preparing for the worst.


    [Master? What are you doing?] Mune crawled towards his wrists, her eyebrows raised at the strange position he was in.


    Nix looked at himself for a while, his position did look a bit strange. Immediately withdrawing his hands, he brought her close to his cheek for a hug.


    Mune''s tiny hands groped his cheek, hugging his face. Her bust created a soft push on his face. Nix felt a sense of relief wash over him, he closed his eyes, wishing the time taken could be longer.


    "Don''t you scare me like that!" He said, his lips in a pout.<sub> </sub>


    "What''s going on?"


    Nix''s body stiffened the moment his eyes shot open. Stiffly raising his head to look up at the perpetrator.


    Lank had his brows raised as he stared down at Nix with an incredulous look. "Who had managed to scare you?"


    Lank had changed into a simple ck pants with his hands into his pockets.


    ? When he had decided to meet up with Nix at the library like he had been asked to, he didn''t expect to see something unexpected and so out of character of the fire god he knew.


    Nix was dumbfounded, he still had Mune in his palm and had not yet broken the hug they were in. He looked at Mune, closing his eyes momentarily.


    Internally screaming and wishing that Lank had seen just a bit and not necessarily anything substantial.


    He immediately dismissed Mune. Heaving a sigh of relief that he was the only one who could see her.


    Nevertheless, since he couldn''t see her, that would mean he looked stupid while he looked to Lank like he was hugging nothing and talking to no one.


    "How much of it did you hear?" He quickly questioned  in a panic.


    Lank walked closer to him, then did a ny degree turn, ignoring his question instead.


    "I love what you did here." Lank nodded his head, observing the numerous shelves. "I was expecting cobwebs and dust."


    ''Technically, you aren''t wrong.'' Nix sweat dropped, remembering what he had to suffer when he was first told about the library.


    "Underneath that tough exterior, do you do cleaning as a hobby?" Lank walked up to the closest shelf in front of him, wiping his finger across it, he found no speck of dust.


    ''What is this idiot spouting? You should thank your pale ass that it''s totally because of the mission I''m speaking with you.'' Cross popping veins appeared on Nix''s head, he had wished he could speak out his thoughts.


    Looking behind him, he was startled by the look in Nix''s eyes, "why does it look like you were about to pounce on me like a¨C"


    "What brings you here?" He interjected.


    "You told me toe here!" He deadpanned, his patience was already growing thin with Nix''s strange behavior.


    "You are acting weird," he pointed out.


    Adjusting his posture and getting up, he brushed the dust off his body.


    "Save it," Lank took his ce on the floor, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Just because I act proud doesn''t mean I didn''te from a humble background." Lank smiled, tapping the floor.


    Nix nervously chuckled, he reluctantly sat back down.


    "Now that wasn''t hard!" Lank pped the back of Nix yfully, making him jerk forward.


    Nix had realized something was different about Lank, as opposed to the two instances when they had a confrontation, he was not in the slightest scared of him.


    "Aren''t you scared I might hurt you, perhaps?" He raised his hand, blue mes hovering above his palm.


    "What''s that supposed to do? Light up a candle?" Lank rolled his eyes, folding his arms.


    "I finally do not look like a monster to you. I''m d." He chuckled.


    Lank did his best to restrain himself from giving in to the pleasant mood, by maintaining his poker face. He needed to know what was so important that he would be called to such a deste ce.


    cing both hands behind his head, he remembered the reason why he was in the library.


    "Why was I called here?" He questioned.


    Nix''sughter died out in an instant, reced with a frown, he had suddenly remembered the reason he had called him in the first ce.


    "I''m sure you had a good reason for calling on me to this ce which is totally off bounds." Lank''s lips curved upwards, holding the re of Nix.

 Chapter 55 Lets Start Over

    "We started off on the wrong foot in the beginning," he offered his hand in a shake. "How about we start over?"


    Lank looked down at Nix''s hand, skeptical of the reason for the change of heart. Why would he want to be friends with him? Nothing added up.


    "Are you sure this isn''t a trick?" He looked wearily at his hand.


    Nix sweat dropped, even if the mission hadn''t told him to do this, there was no way he was going to let him off like that. It would have been dyed but he was still going to do it.


    After his friendship with Drui had been severed, it had made a great impact on how he viewed that word and people, but he had decided that he was going to take this friendship in good faith.


    Lank was a loner, treated differently because of his unique existence. In his perspective, this was the perfect recipe for friendship.


    Lank thought about the opportunity to be friends with Nix. It had been a long time since he had someone he could freely converse with while being himself. Nix had seen past his facade and was willing to be friends with him.


    Nix shook his hand, reminding him that his hand was still suspended and eagerly awaiting his response.


    Finally making up his mind, he took Nix''s hand and shook it warmly, feeling the odd sensation of the handshake.


    Lank had tried pulling his hand away after it lingered for far too long past hisfort zone, but Nix''s grip was strong. Nix looked at him, amused, before letting go.


    "What the hell was that for?" Lank massaged his fingers, staring daggers at him.


    "You don''t happen to have a roommate, do you?" Nix asked out of the blues.


    "No I don''t," Lank replied, but immediately caught up with what he was thinking. "My answer is still no, you have a roommate and you should head back to your dormitory."


    ''Then it''s a good thing that I had learnt about the rules with the help of Mune.''


    "There wasn''t anywhere in the academy rules which states that we aren''t allowed to hang out with students of another dormitory," Nix said, his expression shifting to a bit more serious.


    "I just have a feeling this is a bad idea. It''s just..." Lank stopped talking. "You''re not that bad, it''s just that..." He looked worried, and Nix could tell that he was having doubts.


    "I''m in a strange ce. I don''t want to do anything that''s going to change that. The feeling of being here alone, it''s fine. But this...I don''t know what to say."


    Nix was about to say something, but Lank started talking first, with a sudden surge of energy."I appreciate that you would even give me an opportunity to be friends, but I can''t drag you down with me. You''re a fire g¨C"


    "I think you''re great. I am just a living, breathing being, just like you." Nix tried to smile, but it seemed a bit feeble. "It sucks being referred to in that manner though."


    "What about Lumina?" He asked, hoping to distract him somehow, since he really didn''t want to say the big reason behind his refusal.


    "There''s nothing between us." Nix grinned at him.


    "I just don''t want to get involved with you two." Lank didn''t want anything that might provoke a reaction from Lumina.


    "I need a break from there." Nix took a moment to enjoy this time with his new friend, he suddenly realized how much he had missed this.


    "You know, there''s nothing wrong with being a loner. There''s always people who need to be alone." Nix looked him in the eyes. "I can be your friend. You don''t have to be alone, Lank."


    Lank looked at him, a bit surprised. "Enough with the sentimental talk, it''s getting a bit sickening." He cringed at how deep the conversation was going, "let''s head to my dormitory, that should shut out all of this."


    [300 points gained]


    [Congrattions on your sessfulpletion, you have a total of 2657 points earned]


    "Finally!" Nix whooped.<sub> </sub>


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    cing his finger on the door, he waited for a brief scan.


    Hmmmm!


    Ding!


    Sensing Lank''s presence, the door swung open.


    "You don''t use passes?" Nix asked, looking up at the door number which read ''9'' and back down at Lank''s hands.


    "Turns out I was deemed not worthy of one, so I was given a special room." He gave a bitter smile.


    "I never would have guessed you would be treated more like an outcast than most of the people here. You look like a student that everyone wants to be with."


    "Well, here we are." Lank interjected, ignoring hisment as he walked in and into the room.


    Nix looked around the room. He didn''t even bother to look at the bed, there was no way he was considering it, that''s if he could make out where it was anyways.


    The room was oddly dark, the light from outside barely reached inside the room.


    "I guess you can say that I am a bit sensitive to light." Lank chuckled, tossing his shoes, it made a thud after it had collided with the wall.


    "Woah!" Nix took a step back as he noticed Lank''s glowing red eyes.


    He stopped moving when his feet hit a piece of furniture.


    "I can put up the curtains if you like."


    Nix stared and countered, "I think the light bothers you."


    "Not exactly, I can walk in the sunlight. Remember the statue we fought the other day?"


    "Right." Nix looked around the room for something to use to brighten the room so that it would be morefortable for him to.


    "I hope you don''t mind me pulling away the curtain for then. It would just be for s brief amount of time."


    "Feel free." Lank nodded his head.


    "I hope you like the room," Lank added, as he gestured around, "please don''t mind the mess...if anything, it''s my fault, I keep the ce so clean that it doesn''t look like a mess on a normal day." He gestured to the mess.


    Nix couldn''t possibly believe what he had just said, he was also a guilty party back in his world, but nodded anyway.


    All the tables and chairs were a dark te gray. As if sensing the sudden shift in mood, Lank stared at him.


    The chair was a deep maroon. "What happened to your eyes?" Nix asked, a bit curious.


    "What''s wrong with my eyes?" Lank countered.


    "I have never seen anyone''s eyes glow like that, while their powers or gifts are not in use." He raised his hands in defense, feeling he had probed a sensitive topic.


    "Oh, you mean that." Lank''s mood suddenly darkened, turning around, "You''ll probably want to grab something to eat. I will be back."

 Chapter 56 The Eyes

    Nix sat on the chair, his eyes darted everywhere, taking in the blood marks on the wall.


    He wondered why anyone would choose such a weird pattern to decorate their walls.


    Click!


    Looking over to the right, he could see Lanke back with two bowls.


    "You didn''t have to¨C"


    "Take it!" Lank cut in, shoving the bowl in his hand.


    Walking over to his bed, he sat cross-legged, dipping his spoon and taking a sip of the liquid.


    ''A liquid?!'' Nix''s eyes widened in horror, he never dealt well with foods that were majorly liquid. He couldn''t even tell all that had gone in it.


    Looking at the bowl before him, his expression fell in an instant, it was some sort of soup that smelled like a mix of chili and beef.


    His stomach never went well with spicy food and he couldn''t tell if this fell in that category. The only thing that had caught his fancy was the submerged beef, but even that could have soaked up enough broth to almost be indistinguishable.


    Setting it on the table, he pushed it away from himself, looking back at Lank who was sipping on the broth.


    ''Is this a payback for asking you a question I wasn''t supposed to?'' His brows twitched at howfortably he looked while eating whatever that had been prepared.


    "Lank..." He began.


    Raising his head, he stared at Nix for a while. "You called?"


    "What is this?!" He pointed at the bowl, he wasn''t going to eat something he wasn''t ustomed with, especially something not remotely rted with ramen at the very least.


    ''I for one didn''t draw this sort of food, so where the hell did thise from?'' He had wanted to say.


    Lank narrowed his eyes, but never said a word. Instead he looked back down and continued eating, gulping down the rest.


    Nix''s mouth gaped open for quite some time, he couldn''t believe he could be ignored in such a manner.


    "I guess you aren''t hungry, I totally made a miscalction." Lank finally replied, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "If it''s a bother, how about I help you with it?"


    Nix could sense he wasn''t pleased with how he had spoken earlier, he was yet to taste it and yet had outrightly condemned it.


    "No, it''s not a problem actually." He chuckled nervously, "I was just curious what was put in it to make it smell so well. You know what? Let''s forget this conversation ever took ce." He looked back at the bowl.


    After repeated contemtions, he dipped the spoon in, he fought the urge to pull his hand away from his face and instead did the opposite.


    Shoving it quickly into his mouth, he gulped down on the broth.


    Closing his eyes, he expected some sort of reaction, his taste buds didn''t react in any way.


    "Hmmm..." his interest peaked at that moment, he wasn''t expecting such a savory taste.


    Lank shook his head, a smile made its way to his lips as he watched Nix hurriedly eat.


    "Be careful of the broth, you might choke if that goes on." He warned.


    "I gurt tit!" Nix''s words were muffled by the beef in his mouth, giving a V sign with his fingers.<sub> </sub>


    Lank looked weirdly at the hand sign, guessing he meant he had understood.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    "So did it still taste as bad as you thought it was?" Lank questioned, looking at the guilt stricken face of Nix.


    Nix on the other hand, belched in response. "Excuse me." He nervously chuckled.


    When he had finished the food, he hadn''t expected to be in such a position to be guilt stricken. He had to admit he had expected things to go worse than it had, but was pleasantly surprised.


    "You got me." Nix raised his hands, conceding defeat. "It tasted great actually." He chuckled.


    Lank nodded his head, a smile gradually making its way to his lips again.


    Nix was d even if his actions could bring a smile on Lank''s face, it was worth it.


    "You know..." Lank''s face suddenly went sober, "you are the first person whoplimented my cooking.


    ''Sh*t it was his cooking! No wonder he got offended when I asked.'' Nix sweat dropped, he covered his nervousness with a chuckle.


    "Oh!" Nix looked away awkwardly.


    Then something did have asting impression on him, if he had heard correctly, he had said the first person.


    "Yes, no one has ever tried my food except you of course." Lank replied as though he had read Nix''s thoughts.


    "Not even family, perhaps?" Nix pressed on, hoping to find at least one person who could be ounted for.


    "..."


    He tried to get him to talk. "Lank, are you an orphan like me?


    Lank looked away, feeling a bit ufortable discussing his life with someone who he was just getting to know.


    "It doesn''t matter if you are or not, but¨C"


    "Yes," Lank said in barely a whisper, he had known Nix was during schooling hours, in fact everyone did.


    He had been scared to let this news out as he felt if his weakness was exposed, he would be seen as one truly not deserving of love.


    "I never knew my parents." He looked down, "all I remember was being brought here by someone when I was little."


    "Someone? Could you remember any little detail on how the person looked?" Nix questioned, this story was a little too suspicious to be taken lightly.


    "It all felt like a dream actually." He rubbed his arms, as if he was cold and needed warmth. His eyes stared at the wall for quite some time as he spoke.


    "I was strapped to a chair, and injected. It must be a dream!" He held his head as it began to ache, the more he tried to remember.


    But there was one thing that he couldn''t help but chant continually. "Her eyes!"


    "Lank, focus." Nix said firmly. "What is the color of her eyes?"

 Chapter 57 Why Would You Care?

    "It''s all a dream." Lank muttered to himself.


    Pulling him up, Nix pped him across the face. "Would you get yourself together?!"


    Lank was stunned by this action, he stared at Nix in confusion.


    Nix closed his eyes momentarily, he had hoped that it would work, it had always worked in the movies. But with the way Lank had stared at him, it almost felt like he had done the wrong thing.


    "If you''re expecting sympathy, then you must really be mistaken." Nix shook him slightly.


    "..."


    Lank had wanted to say something, but the words wouldn''te out.


    "Her eyes. What is the color of her eyes?" He narrowed his eyes, pulling on his cor.


    There was something about what he said that just made him feel that they were having the same picture of the culprit.


    "Yellow!" Lank shuddered. "Slit yellow eyes."


    ? Lank couldn''t understand why the image kept on shing through his thoughts, and why anyone would have such eyes for a human.


    To suppress his memories, his mind had made him think all he had gone though was nothing but a dream, a figment of his imagination.


    "Yes, it''s all a dream." Lank spoke to himself, his eyes wide in what could only be known as a mixture of fear and confusion at what was going on.


    Nix let go of his cor, he could instantly tell who he was referring to. There was only one person who could fit perfectly into this description¨CSesa.


    ''What the hell did they do to you?'' Nix looked pitifully at Lank who stared into nothingness, quiet and immobile.


    "You need to calm down. It might seem as the least you could do, but until youe to terms with what had happened then, only then could you fully ovee this."


    He began to wonder if this was the reason Lank was different, maybe not born different but forced to be different through whatever sick experiment this organization had in mind.


    What he couldn''t understand was what category Sesa belonged to, magic or gift? She had shown some sort of detoxification and healing capabilities, but even that couldn''t outrightly pinpoint her main affinity.


    It all started to make sense. No matter how Lank had disrupted the peace of the academy, he had never been severely sanctioned. He could only guess that it all had to do with them letting their experiment loose and watching how far he could go with his growth.


    "Nix, promise me you wouldn''t tell anyone about this." Lank looked up at Nix.


    ''How am I supposed to go about talking about your business? I don''t even interact with those people!'' He internally screamed, offended by theck of trust Lank had in him.


    "My actions would speak for itself." He coldly replied, looking away.


    Lank nodded his head, understanding the truth and sincerity which lurked beneath his words.


    "I don''t understand how I got these powers, nor why my eyes glow or why I am hated so much by the others." He clenched his fingers. "But I couldn''t let them oppress me even if they tried."


    "So you resorted to baseless fights and bullying at the slightest provocation." Nix deadpanned, shaking his head at how he had tried justifying his actions once again.


    Lank looked down, dejected. He knew he had been in the wrong and was trying to be a better person, but all that would require patience, something he hadn''t been ustomed to.


    "If you expect me to take your side on that, then I guess I shouldn''t have reconsidered my actions of wanting to defeat that statue no matter what means necessary. Even at the cost of everyone''s life." He red at Lank.<sub> </sub>


    "After all, I never knew any of you too well to care." His eyes gleamed coldly, he was sick and tired of Lank pulling on the pitiful victim.


    Gulping down hard, Lank realized what a huge mistake he had made for blurting out those words earlier.


    The news has spread among everyone on how much of a savior Nix was to everyone. He had risked his life to prevent them all from being killed by the statue while they were unconscious.


    He hadn''t yet gotten over the fact that he had a hand in putting everyone in danger when he had insisted that they would join the battle that they couldn''t win.


    "Enough about all of this," Nix yawned, stretching his arms. "We should get some sleep."


    "You really are sleeping here?" Lank questioned.


    "Well I don''t see why not." He shrugged.


    "But¨C"


    "If you make mention of pretty face, you''re gonna wish you weren''t born." Nix threatened.


    ''Pretty face?'' Lank scrunched up his face, cringing at the word he used to describe her. In his opinion, she was more of a devil than anything pretty.


    She was one of the people he could say was a bit on his level. Her gift was something he never wished to experience personally though, which was why he was d that nothing had ever brought them to cross paths.


    "Well I was going to say devil¨C"


    He closed his mouth the moment he got another re from Nix.


    ''Didn''t you say I shouldn''t call her by her name?'' He raised his hands in a surrender.


    "Make one more mention of her in that manner..." He snarled, immediately reverting to his usual self.


    He had his hand on the bridge of his nose. He couldn''t understand what was going on with his thoughts, he shouldn''t be taking sides and most especially not hers.


    "You told me nothing was between you two." Lank blurted out, he couldn''t care about the consequences that might arise.


    "Why would you care about that?" Nix countered.


    "As a friend, isn''t it normal for me to be concerned about why you would go to great lengths to avoid staying with a female, a pre¨C" He swallowed his words, smiling sheepishly.


    "What I mean to say is, if I was the one, I would dly take the opportunity." He said with a pout, blinking his eyes trying to be cute.


    Nix cringed at his action, kicking him in the stomach, "don''t ever make that face again. That''s just disgusting."


    Groaning, Lank curled in a ball on his bed, he had expected a reaction of that sort, "noted." He managed to say.


    Nix watched as he writhed in pain for quite some time, looking at his wrist as if watching the time. "Are you done?"


    "Not until you tell me why you decided to choose to stay here." He said amidst groaning.


    "Then you are going to continue in that manner for a long time." He scowled, "care for me to add to the fake pain you''re disying?" He raised his feet again, ready to go at it again.

 Chapter 58 Wheres The Fun In That?

    Rolling off the bed with a thud. Lank immediately crawled away from his proximity, his back against the wall.


    "You sure are a friend!" He pointed an using finger at Nix, who only scoffed once he had been drawn out.


    "Tch-"


    ''Such insult!'' He gasped, lowering his hand.


    "I''m the best you could ever get!" He said with pride.


    "Says the person who can''t even hold a sensible conversation with females or solve whatever conflict he has with Lumina but instead hides in my dormitory like a rejected pet!" He countered, a smirk ying on his lips.


    Finally he had been able to say a bit on his mind and he was so d by the oue. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulder.


    ''Who said fire gift users are to be wary of?'' He wondered, thinking he had gotten away with what he had said.


    Blinking, he was shaken to the bones at the close proximity Nix had with him, his hand on his neck in a quick hand movement, raising him upwards, his legs dangling from the floor.


    [Congrattions you have unlocked a new trait: Defensiveness. A quick response against real or perceived threats or criticisms]


    ''Wary! Yes, definitely be wary of them!'' He panicked, his eyes widened in shock.


    He had tried to retaliate, but when he saw a blue me-like glow engulf Nix''s hand, he felt it drain in on his strength, making him drop his hands to his side and defenseless.


    "For the sake of our friendship, I''ll spare your life." Nix replied coldly, letting go of his grip on Lank, the me immediately dispersed.


    Thud!


    Lank was left in a coughing mess, it took some while before he could get the feeling of his hands, but when he did, his hand shot straight up to his neck as he tried catching his breath.


    Exhaling and inhaling continuously until he had found a steady pace and his breathing had normalized.


    "What the hell was that?! How did you just close the gap between us in a blink of an eye?" Lank blurted out in rage.


    He had a near death experience in the hands of someone he had termed for the first time in his life as a friend.


    "Surely I deserve an exnation." He snarled, it wasn''t all fun and jokes anymore.


    Nix looked at his hands, he had a confused expression. What he had done felt a bit out of character, he never attacked innocent people but something he had said had triggered his reflex action.


    "I don''t know." He replied, clenching and widening his fingers, observing.


    "You almost killed your friend!" He said thest part in spite.


    "I apologize for causing you harm. It wasn''t intentional." He took a seat, resting his elbows on the table top. Resting his head on his interlocked fingers, deep in thought.


    "Just that?" Lank queried.


    Nix''s brows twitched in frustration, he didn''t need any form of confrontation. Until he could figure out what had brought about that unlock of a new trait, he might as well be caught in it''s trap once more and whoever it might be, wouldn''t be so lucky.


    "What else do you want? A bow or a gift?" Nix countered, his head still lowered and his face obscured by his hand.<sub> </sub>


    Lank watched him for a while, he realized he was asking for more than necessary. He had gotten an apology, he should be content with that, until he found out what had happened to Nix.


    "That was totally unexpected," Lank admitted, leaning on the wall once more. As much as he hated to admit it, he could see why the fire gift users were termed dangerous to deal with.


    "I didn''t expect you would react in such a way to my taunts, if I had known¨C"


    "What did you just say?" Nix rose his head, his interest immediately sparked up at that sentence.


    He turned to the side to face Lank, he had been trying to rack his thoughts on what could have triggered that notification, but what he had said might have some sort of connection.


    "I said I didn''t expect you would react in such a way to my taunts..."


    "Taunts!" Nix repeated, nodding his head in understanding.


    "A quick response against real or perceived threats or criticisms." He muttered to himself, finally understanding where Lank''s words fell in.


    "I would advise you to cut down on your taunts when speaking with me." He advised.


    "Where''s the fun in that?" He scoffed.


    "If you don''t want a near death experience, I advise you to stick with my simple advice." Nix retorted.


    ''This is what you get when you agree to having a roommate¨Ceven a temporary one into your life.'' He internally facepalmed.


    "Simple advice, my ass!" Lank rolled his eyes, displeased by the mindset Nix had towards his words.


    Nix shook his head, a smile made its way to his face. He still didn''t understand why the system had said he should bond with Lank, but ever since he did, he had been immersed and surrounded by other people''s lives in the process too.


    It was a breath of fresh air from the usual loner attitude he had hoped to maintain while being in the academy.


    But he had also realized that he shouldn''t have taken out his frustration on his friend in the process as well.


    "I can tell you''re reminiscing on whatever past event in your life." Lank said with a raise of his brow, folding his arms.


    Nix looked at him, chuckling at the familiarity of the words, "using my words against me, huh?"


    "Well...you spaced out." He continued.


    ''Again, with my words.'' Nix shook his head, a smile gaining in on the corner of his lips.


    "Exactly when are we going to sleep?" Nix switched the mood of the whole discussion.


    "When you tell me why you chose to stay here instead of your dormitory." Lank blinked, pouting, and trying his best to put up an innocent face to the best of his ability.


    ''Again with that topic!'' Nix internally facepalmed, he had been expecting it to be brought up once again.


    But there were still some pressing issues he needed to take care of, in the form of that face Lank was making.


    "How many times do I need to stress? Do not use that face with me!" He scowled, ready to aim a pencil on the table at Lank.

 Chapter 59 Do Whatever Pleases You

    Lank eased up his features, smiling instead. He raised his hands in defense. "Fine! Not like I enjoyed the kick thest time."


    Nix looked away instantly. He had done a few things he regretted, but there was just something about Lank that set his mood off in some cases¨Cjust like a friend would.


    "Good. I''m d you realized your mistake." Nix replied.


    He knew if he didn''t speak on the topic that was constantly mentioned by Lank, he might be nagged to his limit. This was something he owed him at the very least for staying in his dormitory.


    Getting up from the chair, he walked over to Lank, witnessing him flinch and bring his hands in front of him in some sort of feeble attempt at defending himself.


    "So you are scared of me." Nix deadpanned, taking his ce on the floor, next to Lank.


    "You have no proof!" Lank raised his chin, hurriedly putting his hands down.


    "Whatever." Nix shook his head.


    He knew he deserved such a treatment, after what he had done to him, it was only natural he reacted in such a way.


    "I am not hiding, neither am I running away."


    Lank raised a brow in confusion at what he had just heard, there was no connection whatsoever to what he had said. "What?"


    "You wanted to know why I was here, am I right?" Nix shrugged.


    Lank nodded his head, interest sparking up immediately as he drew closer to him.


    Nix internallyughed at how easily pleased Lank was.


    "I just needed a time away from the distraction and to find some inner peace with myself." He exined.


    Lank had narrowed his eyes, his lips raised while he nodded his head. He had put a lot of effort in trying to look as serious as he could while he listened.


    "So... that means you two had some sort of lovers bout!" He concluded.


    This didn''t sit well with Nix, he couldn''t resist the urge to hit him on the head. "What the hell goes on in that mind of yours?!" He hissed.


    Lank had his hands on his head, wincing to the pain. "I was in the wrong!"


    "That''s enough for today, no more silly questions. I''ve done my part, now please do yours and let''s get some shut eye." Nix yawned, getting up from the floor and stretching out his hands above his head.


    epting his answer for the time being, he nodded his head in understanding, getting up also.<sub> </sub>


    "So I only got one bed," Lank dragged on his speech, ncing over at the bed. "...and it wasn''t designed to amodate another." He nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.


    Nix looked over to his right, he observed the nket that was neatly ced on the bed, before looking back to Lank. He sighed, deciding to follow suit, pulling the nket down.


    ''One bed. Well, I can sleep on the floor if I want to, so I might as well save myself the trouble.''  He thought to himself.


    "I''ll take this ce then." He replied, pointing to the floor, spreading out the nket.


    "The floor?! No way, it''s too cold for you to sleep on the cold floor." Lank objected.


    Nix looked at the nket he had ced on the floor. He internally facepalmed at how stupid that sounded. "This is a nket on the floor, I''m very sure if I sleep on it, it isn''t termed a cold floor anymore."


    Lank was taken aback by his reply but instantly got his footing, "it doesn''t matter, that is a thin fabric not designed to be slept on in such a way."


    "I don''t mind, I''ll just take some nkets from the closet and make myselffortable then." He countered, walking over to the closet, bringing out the desired clothes.


    ''At least the magic still works in this closet too!'' He noted. Switching the nkets, Nix waved his hand dismissively, already taking his position on the floor.   He folded his arms across his chest, looking over to the left.


    Lank stood awkwardly for a moment, slightly guilty that Nix had to choose to sleep on the floor rather than the bed. He felt like he had to make some kind of gesture to apologize, but he was unsure on how to do that.


    He watched as Nix unfolded his arms, sitting up and stretching out on the floor.


    "You can go to bed, I''d just sit for a while, I won''t get in your way." Nix shrugged, he looked up to the ceiling. He couldn''t help but smile, knowing that Lank was still standing there unsure of what to do.


    "Good night." He said, still looking up.


    He heard the nkets rustling, followed by the sound of a body settling down on the floor next to him.


    "What are you doing? You can''t sleep on the floor." He spoke back.


    Turning around, Lank saw Nix, looking back at him.   "And why not? It''sfortable. You don''t seem to mind sleeping on the floor." He responded. "I slept on the floor every night before I came here."


    Nix''s mouth was turned upwards in an amused smile as he looked back over to Lank. "Fine, do whatever pleases you."


    Lank nodded his head, d that Nix had not made a fuss about this. He didn''t really want to sleep on the floor, it was ufortable and brought back painful memories, but he didn''t want to be rude to Nix either.  It wouldn''t be right to sleep on his bed for the night.


    "Goodnight." He replied finally.


    Nix had watched Lank for a moment, before turning his head to the right and looking up at the ceiling. He waited for the right opportunity to begin what he had in mind.

 Chapter 60 His Life Or Mine

    The first chance he got, he got up from the floor, heading to the table, talking a seat out for himself. He sat down, his fingers drumming on the table.


    ''Mune!'' He called her out.


    [It''s about time I was let out] Mune grumbled to herself as she turned her attention to Nix.


    Nix shook his head, trying to clear his eyes from the fuzz that had formed. "Come on, stay awake." He said softly, rubbing his eyes.


    Briefly taking in her surroundings, in an instant she realized they weren''t in his dormitory.


    [Master, don''t tell me that you went to his dormitory?] She asked, crossing her arms. She refused to look at the sleeping figure wrapped in the nkets on the floor.


    As much as she despised Lumina, she was still a better match to him than any other she would encounter.


    Nix chuckled, nodding his head in reply.


    ''You need to focus. I still have an urgent issue to address.'' Nix insisted, looking back down at the tabletop.


    Mune sighed to herself. She sat on the table, folding her arms over her chest. She didn''t like Nix''s tone. [Fine. What is it you need to address, master?]


    Nix looked behind him, just to make sure Lank was truly sleeping. On hearing soft snores, he nodded his head and looked back at Mune.


    Calling upon his user interface, he stared at the numbers, shaking his head.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 5]


    [Health: 174/200]


    [Exp: 100/100]


    [Energy: 280/300]


    [Strength: 182/200]


    [Agility: 200/200]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination, Rage, Defensiveness]


    [ss: Wheedler, Beast yer, Dragon tamer, Beast summoner, Pilferer]


    [Summons: Raiken]


    [Gift: Fire, Telekinesis]


    [Points: 2357 to be distributed]


    [Are you ready for some point loss?] Mune snickered, knowing fully well how he hated that.


    ''Shut it!'' He snapped. The mere thought of actually going through with it was sickening.


    [Why do you suddenly want to do this?] Mune questioned.


    He had been saving up his points for some days now, she wondered why he would want to give that up. He was yet to meet anyone who could match his level, even at its little stage.


    ''Don''t you get it?'' Nix shook his head, thinking of the best option to go for, the more he stared at his stats.


    [Get what?] Mune furrowed her brows.


    ''I need the mark gone, I wouldn''t want to be caught unawares when it decides to act up again. I might not be so lucky to have the healing potion at my disposal, or worse still, in a battle and I copse suddenly. What do you think my opponent is going to do to me at that moment?''


    Bringing up the inventory stats, he grimaced at the options.


    [Number of items: 5]


    [Storage space: Full]


    Scrolling over to where he had ced the scroll. Pulling it out, he opened the scroll holder, pulling out the scroll.


    ''So over the past two decades we finally got another name.''


    Picking up the pencil, he circled the name he had written a few days ago¨CSesa. He had listed all he knew about her from the brief time he had spent in the Zoar.<sub> </sub>


    ? Then he made a line which trailed to Zhao. Whoever this teacher was, he was surely as root deep as the rest. Making him question if he really was a teacher, or just a cover-up, a disguise in order to get closer to the students and study them.


    Tapping the pencil top on the corner of his lips, he tried to figure out who could have possibly ced that mark, and why?


    [Master, do you think she has any connection to all of this?] Mune ced her tiny hand onto the ''e'' in Sesa.


    ''I almost forgot. Lank over there is probably one of their manyb rats they had nurtured for who knows what n.'' He looked over, he could see Lank move a bit, he had turned his face in his direction. Yet his face looked so peaceful while he slept.


    pping his cheek, he tore his gaze away, shaking the thoughts away from his head.


    [Why would they conduct experiments on a rat? Was he a rat?] Mune raised a brow.


    Nix facepalmed, if this continued, he might actually just lose his manner of speaking in this world. But for the sake of easing up themunication between them, he could sacrifice exining a few things to her.


    ''It''s just a manner of speech to refer to those who were used as the subject of an experiment or test and they aren''t especially willing.'' He exined.


    [Oh!] Mune nodded her head in understanding.


    ''Aren''t you supposed to provide me with answers about this world? Howe you don''t know about that?'' He inquired.


    [That''s because they aren''t referred to asb rats!] Mune deadpanned.


    [They are called Ix] Mine scoffed.


    ''Strange name.'' Nixmented, ''anyways, if Lank could be an Ix, then there just might be several others who fall in that category.''


    [What are you gaining at, master?]


    ''Do you have any idea on the names of those who had carried out experiments or had a connection with the statue over thest decade?'' He pushed the scroll to her, hoping she could identify any of the names on the list, if possibly she could add a few.


    Sesa was a slip he wasn''t willing to take anymore. If she wasn''t mentioned, then there was a probability that there were several others who had joined when his mother had defected.


    Mune nodded her head. Looking down at the scroll, her eyes scanned the names.


    [Him!] She ced her hand on a name.


    [Name: Fegan ji]


    [Age: 45]


    [Gender: Male]


    [Magic: Curses]


    [Position: Sculptor]


    "How the hell is a sculptor specializing in curses?" He blurted out.


    Mune cleared her throat, signaling to him that there was still someone in the room who could possibly hear him if he wasn''t a deep sleeper.


    Nix grimaced, nervously chuckling. To make sure, he looked behind him once again.


    He let out a sigh of relief, having confirmed that Lank was still sleeping.


    Looking down at the scroll, he realized that if he was the sculptor, it was highly likely that he was the one who was put in charge of carving out Agatha.


    ''We''ve found the culprit, it isn''t a group of people but just one I need to dispose of.'' He rubbed his hands in delight, it had be a lot easier for him to deal with.


    [Master!] Mune raised her voice, sensing malicious intent in his speech.


    ''What?! It''s not like I said I was going to kill him.'' He shrugged, trying to mask his true intentions.


    [You didn''t say it, but it sure did look like you would] Mune countered.


    Tired of faking his true intentions, he dropped the act, ''If he deserves such a judgment, then so be it! It''s either his or mine. And of course you know which I would go for, right?''


    [...]


    Mune had no words to say, she had been the one in the wrong for allowing him to foster another way in which he could get the mark off of him, but from the way he was speaking, it looked like he wasn''t really considering her option.


    ''I am already ced in harm''s way, if he can''t be appealed to reasoning, then there are other ways to go about it.'' He shrugged.

 Chapter 61 Trait Usage Unlocked

    ''So now we need to speed this up quickly. I need this mark gone entirely.''


    He looked at his right hand. The mere thought of being debuffed because of that, was way too risky.


    [There is a slight problem to that though] Mune nervously chuckled.


    ''Isn''t there always a problem?'' He deadpanned. Not in the least surprised at hearing those words.


    He never expected anything to be easy when it came to what he needed at the time.


    ''What is it now?'' He sighed, hoping it was something usible he could work with.


    [Humans with curses as their power are unpredictable, and judging from how it has caused damage to your right arm. I would grade him as being in at least the 27th or 30th level in his rank, which whenpared with yours would be about 8th or 11th level]


    Nix''s lips drew into a thin line. As much as he wanted to listen to that, he was lost after the rank.


    ''Could you rephrase that? Could you tell me why we''reparing levels again?'' He addressed.


    Mune''s mouth gaped open before she pped on her face, dragging it down and frowning.


    Nix shrugged, he wasn''t going to pretend to understand and go about risking his life for the problem Mune was trying to exin to him. He was going to sit back and rx and watch as she tried to break down her words to the simplest of sentences.


    Exhaling and inhaling, Mune lowered her hand and raised it ordingly. Finally ready to speak, she proceeded to exin.


    [The mark is having a greater effect on you because your level is still too low to manage the problem]


    ''Ouch! That hurts right here.'' Nix ced his hand on his chest, beating it lightly as he feigned being in pain.


    [You can''t face him, not until you know you are able to manage the mark in a way it wouldn''t cripple you. If all you can feel would be just a tingle, although the end result is the same if not solved, but it would be a lot better and not necessarily weaken you like it had done earlier today]


    Mune was a bit out of breath after she had exined to the best she could. Hyperventting, she tried to steady her breathing.


    Nix on the other hand, had his eyes wide and the corner of his mouth raised.


    ''So I really am still weak!'' He clenched his fingers, disappointed with himself. If he was still considered weak against a sculptor with enough experience, he was starting to have doubts about those who had a greaterbative skills or prowess that he would have to face.


    [That isn''t what I was trying to say, master!] Mune shook her head, hoping she could appeal to reason. She had merely just hinted that he needed to level up and this was a lot easier with him, but all he had picked on was the negativity of the whole exnation.


    ''Leveling up is a criteria huh?'' He rubbed his chin while deep in thought.


    Finally giving in, he decided to see how far he could go with manually leveling up.


    Investing his points in his health, energy, strength and agility.


    [Health level has been increased by 26 points]


    [Energy level has been increased by 20 points]


    [Strength level has been increased by 18 points]


    [Health: 200/200]


    <o>,m [Exp: 100/100]</o>


    [Energy: 300/300]


    [Strength: 200/200]


    [Agility: 200/200]


    [Points: 2283 to be distributed]


    Ding!


    [Level up]<sub> </sub>


    [Level up reward are now avable]


    ''That''s just about it?'' He stared at his full stats, he was expecting something more of a refill, but now it was just static. With this, there was no way that he could level up manually again.


    [You have been able to level up!] Mune jubted.


    ''Would you cut it out?'' He held his head, looking down at the floor in despair.


    Mune couldn''t understand why he was troubled. He had managed to level up, so that was an achievement to be happy about.


    ''How am I meant to level up if I can''t refill any of these stats except I use them while engaging in battle? But it turns out it would be in stupid going about looking for a battle while I feel like sleeping.'' He sighed, hitting his head on the table top, angry at himself.


    [Level up reward are now avable]


    The notification popped up.


    Nix didn''t bother to look up at the notification, if he were to click on it, then he would have an extra responsibility of having an unknown buff at his disposal, which was ready to feed off his points like a parasite.


    He was yet to upgrade his inventory, so whatever he would be given couldn''t possibly be stored till he needed it.


    [Level up reward are now avable]


    The notification popped once more.


    The popping sound reminded him of that dreadful buzz he had heard from his iPad at the time.


    ''How many points do l need to invest to increase the usage of the inventory?'' He questioned, raising his head.


    [600 points] Mune whistled, looking away.


    Nix let out a bitterughter. If only that could help him level up, he wouldn''t be so bitter about it. He didn''t even have it in him toin.


    ''Whatever. Just do it.''


    Ding!


    [Inventory upgrade sessful]


    [Points: 1683 to be distributed]


    "Here goes nothing." He said as he proceeded to finally see what was in store for him in the reward section.


    Click!


    [The following reward is avable]


    ~Reward~


    Trait usage: Automatically identifies what characteristic can be used to boost a specific status within the space of an hour. It can only be used five times a day.


    The usage and effectiveness can be increased with points earned during missions or quests.


    Nix had a smile on his face this time. For the first time, he was actually d about this reward.


    He had acquired traits and had not understood what those could do for him, but judging from the reward, he finally found a pleasant surprise lurking. To top it off, the usage was fair enough for him for the time being.


    ''Finally, some useful reward!'' Throwing his hand in the air.


    [Ahem!] Mune cut in, frowning at hisst words. Putting meaning to what he had said, that had made her existence practically useless.


    Nix tried not to lock eyes with her, he knew he had made a mistake by thinking in such a way. ''You didn''t let me finish my statement.''


    [Did I?] Mune red daggers at him, waiting for what sort of excuse he could give.

 Chapter 62 I Could Do It Again

    Nix nodded his head, thinking of possible excuses in his head.


    ''Finally, some useful reward that is inanimate.'' He shone his teeth, hoping she bought it.


    [Hmmm...] Mune kept her gaze fixated on him, but decided against dragging it any further.


    [It''s about to get absorbed by you] She pointed out, turning her back towards him.


    To a degree she was happy at what was going to happen soon, her master was in for a big surprise.


    ''Wait... what?'' Nix saw a ball of white light emerge from the notification, directing it''s motion towards Nix.


    Whoosh!


    He had wanted to jump out of his chair, but was toote, it disappeared once it had touched his head.


    His eyes glowed for a moment before it reverted to its normal state.


    Realization suddenly dawned on him at that moment. "I had wasted 600 points for nothing?!" He hissed, pulling on his hair.


    "What''s going on?" Lank''s hoarse voice made Nix panicked, pushing the scroll forward, hoping with his angle, all he would see was the edge of the tabletop.


    "Nothing is going on, how about you continue sleeping?" Nix suggested.


    As much as he wanted to leave the room to continue with his discussion, unlike theirs which just needed a medal pass inserted in the door, Lank''s door was much more annoying.


    There was no way he could steal his hand to unlock it without waking him up.


    He had constantly told himself that he had nothing to worry about when he had made sure he was sleeping, but at that moment, he couldn''t think of a good reason why he would be in possession of a scroll in a room clearly belonging to Lank.


    "How long have you been awake?" Lank questioned, scratching his eyes and yawning loudly.


    Mune crawled to the edge of the tabletop, staring at Lank. She frowned, not because he had woken up, but because he had ruined the reaction she wanted so much to see and hear from her master.


    [It''s your fault, master. You just had to blurt out, what happens to talking telepathically?] Mune looked over at him.


    Mune returned her attention towards Lank, it was time to test out her new powers. Rubbing her hands, a ball of white light gathered, suspending it over her palm, she aimed it at Lank.


    Lank had just begun to get a clear glimpse of his surroundings, he was stunned by a glowing white ball aimed at him.


    "What the..."


    Poof!


    It dispersed into a thick cloud of smoke, causing Lank to cough out in difort, falling back down on the nket immediately.


    ''What did you do to him?'' Nix questioned.


    [I didn''t kill him, obviously] Mune scoffed.


    ''Oh, so we could just knock out anyone by choice then.'' He sarcastically replied.


    [If they are about to find out about the secret you hold dear, I wouldn''t mind doing it again] Mune shrugged.


    Picking her up by pinching on her cor, he moved her to the center of the table.


    Mune pouted but never struggled with the way she was handled. Instead her hands were folded, waiting for him to drop her anytime soon.


    Nix looked at her inly, there were sometimes he would forget that she was merely a figment, even though she felt so real.


    [If I morph into my adult size, would you still treat me this way?] Mune questioned.


    ''What''s that supposed to mean?'' He spoke back, gently cing her on the table.


    [Hmph!] She refused to answer. She had better things ahead, and hoped he would realize what he had wanted to say before.


    In this kind of moment, she relished in his frustration.


    Nix recalled what he had wanted to say earlier, ''could you exin why I had wasted my points on upgrading the inventory when I clearly didn''t need it for this reward?''


    Mune''s lips curved into a smirk, it felt like a p to his face. She refused to look at him, remaining firm in her decision to not talk with him until he realized his mistake.<sub> </sub>


    ''Mune?'' He called, pulling on the hem of her dress.


    [You would rip my dress if you pull in that way] She warned, zapping him with her powers.


    Nix retracted his hand, hissing to the pain he had felt. ''You actually zapped me!'' He gasped in shock, rubbing his hand.


    [It was for the interest of my dress, except you would like it being a little less, then I would apologize]


    ''If you were in your adult size, that would have been tempting. But definitely not in your six inch self.'' He rolled his eyes at the thought.


    Nix raised his hand, he had the urge to flick her, he didn''t understand where she had gotten such an attitude from, nor why it looked like she was rebelling against him.


    ''Okay... okay... I was wrong when I dismissed your usefulness, it was a grave mistake on your master''s part.'' He ced his hand to his chest.


    [And?] Mune stressed, waiting for him toplete the apology.


    ''There''s more?'' Nix thought, frowning at the uncalled situation he found himself in.


    ''I''m sorry that I had med you, instead of thanking you for helping me with the issue with Lank. He actually deserved it.'' He chuckled at the memory.


    Mune turned around, a smile evident on her lips. She had finally been able to get her retribution.


    [I could do it again, if you want me to] She pped her hands in delight.


    ''You have so many different powers I don''t know of.'' He observed.


    [I don''t like to brag] She batted hershes, feeling shy all of a sudden.


    ''Right!'' Nix rolled his eyes to her exnation, smiling right after.


    [You aren''t so bad yourself, master. You would eventually be the strongest!] She flew to his hair, ruffling it after several attempts, causing him tough at her feeble attempt.


    ''I suppose I would still need the inventory upgrade sometime soon.'' He shrugged, finallying to terms with the decision he had made.


    Calling on his inventory, he wanted to see how much it had changed since it''s upgrade


    [Inventory avable]


    [Number of items: 4]


    [Storage space: 21]


    [Would you like to add an item to the inventory?]


    [Y/N]


    He looked over at the scroll, he was done with using it for the moment. Rolling and shoving it inside the holder, he had made his decision.


    Clicking on the ''Yes'' option.


    Ding!


    [To select the items, touch the desired object]


    Touching the scroll, it morphed into a ball of blue light and was transferred into it.


    [Number of items: 5]


    [Storage space: 20 items only]


    ''Not bad.'' Hemented, pleased with the added space he was given.


    [Master, it would be unwise to engage Fegan without leveling up like I had advised] Munemented.


    Nix put up his hand to stop her from speaking, he was trying to think of various ways in which he could easily level up without relying on gaining that manually.


    After some while, it finally clicked. Snapping his fingers, he smiled at the idea.


    ''Remember what you had told me before we had gotten to the academy?'' He questioned, enthusiasm kicking in instantly at the one way he could think of.

 Chapter 63 Set Up By The System?

    [Woah! Master, please don''t move too much] She grabbed onto his locks, she wasn''t prepared to hover just yet.


    Nix''s lips drew to a thin line at herint. How did she expect him to stay still while he was finally excited about something?


    ''You know you can fly, right? So why do you still stick with sitting on my hair like a bird on a nest?''


    [Your hair isfortable, and it smells nice] Mune shrugged, intentionally pulling on his hair to get a reaction.


    "Ow!" Nix yelped, flicking her off his head.


    He momentarily looked back at the awkward position Lank was in, and cringed. He had his arms and legs opened wide, his tongue sticking out as he snored softly.


    ''You really did do a number on him.'' He chuckled at how stupid he looked like.


    [Do you want me to test it out on you? It looks like you need a goodnight rest] Mune hovered in front of him, rubbing her hands while she let out a cackle.


    ''You wouldn''t dare.'' Nix narrowed his eyes, taking up the challenge.


    Mune dropped her hands to her side, sighing heavily. She had hoped her spineless threat would get to him.


    [Master, please get up] She flew to the door.


    Whoosh!


    Nix looked to his left, shaking his head at her weird request.


    Obliging, he stood up, folding his arms, he wondered what she was going to do.


    ''So... what''s going on? We still have a disc¨C''


    [Catch me!] Mune squealed, morphing into her adult self.


    Nix instinctively opened his arms, catching her before she could hit the floor. ''What the f*ck was that?''


    Muneughed, wrapping her arms around Nix''s neck, giggling with her legs kicking a little in the air.


    ''Did you hit your head or something?'' He asked incredulously.


    [No... I just wanted to feel the thrill of taking a risk, just this one time]


    Nix looked down at her, grinning in an amusing manner. ''That''s enough with the crazy,'' He said, patting the back of her head, settling her down on her feet.


    [I knew you couldn''t resist me] She said, her face slightly tilted in an amused smile.


    Nix rolled his eyes. ''Yes, I couldn''t resist watching my guide make a bad decision when I still needed her.''


    Mune''s face fell, her heart sinking at this.


    ''I''m just kidding.'' Nix chuckled. He was d she was okay. He didn''t like seeing her sad. He rubbed her head, causing her to smile again.


    [Yes, that''s better] She sighed, settling back into her miniature form.


    ''Quick question though,'' Nix said, a hand on his chin. He didn''t want to force her, but he wanted to know.


    [Oh... Kay?]


    ''Can you bleed? Can you feel pain? Can you be killed? What if I had not caught you?'' Nix questioned. He waited for her to answer.


    She was silent for a moment, before speaking. [I don''t know. I can''t feel anything, after all I was created from your desires] She said.<sub> </sub>


    Nix was shocked at her answer, and a little sad as well. He had hoped she would have some kind of resistance like he did.


    [Anyways you had asked a question earlier, so, if you want to know about anything, well, let''s find out] Mune said, a slight smirk on her face.


    ''Well I made mention of discussing something before we came here.'' Nix deadpanned.


    Mune looked at him confused. There were tons of things she had told him before he had gotten to the academy.


    [Which one exactly, master?] Mune pointed out.


    ''About the dragons.'' Nix hinted. Walking back to the chair.


    Mune snapped her fingers, finally getting what he meant. [Oh, you mean those words]


    Nix nodded his head.


    [Are you nning to go search for them?]


    ''Why search, when you can lead me to them?'' Nix reasoned.


    [But... they are scattered outside the barrier of the city, unexplored territories] Mune countered, she dreaded going to such ces.


    ''Are you scared? It''s not like you''re the one who is going to engage them.'' He shrugged, pushing back his chair and throwing his feet onto the table.


    [I''m not scared. After all, I''m not the one who''s nning on confronting those beasts] She protested with a pout.


    ''Good, so how about I use my remaining sick leave to pay a visit to my friends.'' He wiggled his brows, hoping to get a positive response from her.


    [Since when do you have friends?] She narrowed her eyes.


    He had actually meant the dragons, but with the way she had said it, he felt the need to prove he did have at least a friend or two.


    ''Lank''s my friend, you''re my¨C''


    [No, it''s just the system that set you up to this] Mune cut in, raising her chin.


    Nix stared for a while, he couldn''t quite ce why her words had struck him so deeply. He had originally thought of Lank as someone worthy of redemption, like he had and that reminded him of himself¨Cconfused, impulsive, lost and lonely.


    That was what drew him to Lank. The system only made him have the courage to approach him faster.


    He didn''t understand why she was always so antagonistic when he tried to get close to anyone, in his defense he rarely does.


    ''I can''t believe I''m saying this,'' He pushed back his hair, chuckling, ''but you''re wrong!''


    [Huh?]


    ''If you think my friendship with him is purely based on the system, then I say our closeness is nothing but an act set up by the system also.'' He reasoned.


    [Master?] Mune''s lips quivered at his words.


    ''I had been thinking about this for a long time, why is it that the system gives me such weird missions? Why are they mostly personalized?'' He looked down at his hands, determined not to be swayed by Mune''s teary eyes.


    ''Then it finally all started to make sense. It wasn''t just making things personalized by random, it was being triggered by how I feel, what I know and how I perceive things.''


    Finally summoning up the courage to lock eyes with her, he raised his head. ''So you tell me, was your creation or my bond with Lank merely set up by the system?''

 Chapter 64 In Need Of A Disguise

    [...]


    Shaking his head, he proceeded to end the discussion there.


    ''We leave for the dragon''s territory tomorrow.''


    Mune gave it a thought, she understood that battling against them would bring about a positive increase in his leveling up. She nodded her head in response.


    Canceling his call on her, he pushed Lank away from his sleeping space. Laying down in his position.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    The sun''s rays crept in through the window, reflecting off the ceiling, casting a hazy light around the room.


    Lank sighed, rolling over. He then felt something on his neck¨Ca strange feeling. He squinted his eyes, but the strange feeling did not leave. He was startled the moment he saw a leg. He gasped, and looked closer in case of a mistake.


    He was finally able to determine that it was Nix''s foot that he had felt on his neck. He had not wanted to believe it was Nix, but he had no other exnation. Nix was here.


    "Don''t you know how to sleep right? You''re supposed to sleep on the other side." he said, rolling his eyes.


    "Says the person who couldn''t maintain his sleep schedule." Nix said, sarcastically, leaning against the wall. He then proceeded to stretch his arms, then his legs before getting up.


    Walking over to the door, he lightly tapped it, signaling he wanted to leave. There was no time to spare.


    Lank got up, and went to the door, cing his hand on the door.


    "There you go." He gestured out the door.


    Click!


    Nix pulled it open, stepping out, he looked over his shoulder at Lank, who was still standing in front of the door.


    "Thank you." he said, then turned around and walked out.


    Walking down the stairs, he carefully ced his feet on each step, not making a sound. He came to a stop, and turned around.


    He could feel something, there was a faint presence behind him, lurking in the shadows. He turned around, looking for it, "show yourself!" He growled.


    Stepping out was a quetzal, it''s golden talon in full disy.


    ''It''s just a weird looking bird.'' He heaved a sigh of relief.


    There was something about it that had triggered his senses, and he continued to look at it for a while, thinking of what it meant.


    ''It''s her, my shapeshifting character!'' he stared, waiting for her to transform, with eyes filled with curiosity.


    As he had expected, she shapeshifted to her normal human form, staring at Nix in silence.


    He didn''t want to speak. He just stared back, in awe at how cool that looked as opposed to his artwork.


    "I know what you''re thinking, but you don''t need to feel awkward, my name is Ayanami. I knew I might not get a close up glimpse of you in ss, so I had waited to meet you here for a formal introduction." she paused, and slowly approached him. Stretching her hand forward.


    "I don''t do handshakes." He replied dryly. "Not especially to those who stalk me like a creep." he looked at her, and she could see the anger in his eyes.


    His interest was totally lost the moment she had indirectly confirmed his suspicions.


    "Do not cross my path in such a manner, it would be saddening if I ended up with a roasted quetzal in my hands." He sneered.


    Ayanami kept her hands to her side. Then she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She had not expected such a reaction from him.<sub> </sub>


    He should know that she was from ss A, one of the most elite teams in the whole academy.


    "You don''t know who I am?" She ced her hand on her waist, removing her red-threaded obijime, slowly and seductively.


    ''What the heck is going on?'' Nix stared with wide eyes.


    "Not that I should care." Nix retorted, gulping down and tearing his gaze away from her as soon as she also dropped her obi wrapped around her waist.


    "Have you gone mad?" Nix hissed. He had realized she was really serious with what she nned on doing. To make it worse they were out in the open, someone could walk by at any time.


    She paused, her gaze fixated on him, the moment he had said those words, "you''re right. It''s so shameless doing so here, how about we get to your dorm? Lumina should already be in her ss by now." She giggled.


    Nix was majorly angered by the fact that he was dyed by a total stranger. When he leaves the academy, he wasn''t expecting anyone to be following him, especially someone who seems to have some information on him, like a spy.


    "How conceited you must be." Nix snarled.


    "Perhaps, are you into a different kind of fun?" She taunted.


    ''Be calm, be calm. It was an error drawing such a despicable character. You can do this!'' He closed his eyes momentarily, clenching his fingers.


    Ayanami had her soft pink lips raised at the effect she was able to have on him. Those who she had developed an interest in had never turned her down and he wasn''t going to be the first.


    "Have you made your decision yet?" She questioned, adjusting her clothing to the way it was.


    At that moment, a student passed by, a confused expression on her face before she looked ahead, trying to mind her business.


    "Don''t try to follow, I will be able to sense you. I won''t be so generous next time." Nix warned, his eyes gleaming coldly.


    Ayanami felt the aura around him change drastically. Reluctantly, she nodded in reply. Then she turned around, shapeshifting into a snake with blue scales and a white stripe on the back of her head. She then slithered down the stairs at a fast pace.


    Nix was furious. The taunts she had used, however, was not his concern right now. He had other things to think about. He started walking down the stairs. His primary objective was to find a way to save himself.


    Pulling out his pass, he let it lead him towards his dorm. ''69... 69...'' he repeated in his thoughts, until he finally saw the door.


    Click!


    The door was opened, and he walked into the room. Heid down on the bed, taking a deep breath, and closing his eyes.


    The familiarvender scent of the sheets caressed his nostrils. He sighed, rxing as he felt his body drifting to sleep. His eyes suddenly shot open.


    He had a goal in mind, he couldn''t sleep, he had to keep his mind sharp. He walked into the bathroom, and turned on the water. He sshed the water with his hand, and waited for it to get warm. "Perfect."


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Nix sat down on the chair, thinking of the best way he could n his escape without bringing much attention to himself.


    The experience with the statue was enough incentive to think this through and n it ordingly.


    ''The roof!'' He got up, and ced both his hands on the window sill. He peered towards the roof. He witnessed one of the guards look in the direction of his window, and he brought his head back in, hiding immediately.


    ''I need a disguise...'''' he thought. Even if he was spotted, he would definitely not want to be identified so easily.


    ''The only way to escape undetected, would be topletely change my outlook and be a different person.''


    He racked his thoughts on the possibility of being in possession of something of that choice. His eyes widened briefly before it changed to something more sinister.


    "Now who said the rewards aren''t a blessing in disguise?" He raised a brow, calling up his inventory.

 Chapter 65 Character Customisation

    Clicking on the inventory, he scrolled to the Disguise pill.


    [Disguise pill avable]


    [Usage: 0]


    [Time limit: Once a day]


    Pulling out the pill, he looked at the blue pill in his hands and rolled it between his fingers. The blue liquid in the pill seemed to be a mixture of water, and another strange substance. He stared at it for a while, before deciding to swallow it.


    Touching his face and body, he expected something to happen, but from the looks of things, it seemed to have no effect on him. He shook his head, disappointed.


    [Disguise pill unavable]


    [Usage: Complete]


    Getting up, he took a quick glimpse outside the window again.


    ''Mune.'' He called.


    [Master?] She bowed, hovering in the air, a few inches from the window sill.


    Nix raised a brow at her current attitude, she sounded a little too formal for a person who usually wore an air of nonchnce.


    Turning around, he leaned on the wall, staring at her for quite some time.


    The tension in the air caused Mune to look at the ceiling awkwardly.


    "Would you cut that out?" He snapped.


    [Cut what out?] she asked.


    He narrowed his eyes, and looked at her closely. He could swear he saw a faint smile on her lips.


    "If you don''t speak like you normally would, there isn''t any need for your help," he replied.


    Heaving out a sigh, she cleared her throat.


    [I thought you were still mad at me, master] She replied.


    He was silent for a moment, but then he let a small chuckle escape. "If I hold grudges for things like this, I''ll never be able to achieve my goals." he deadpanned.


    [I''m sorry for my previous attitude, I didn''t mean to offend you.] she looked down at the floor.


    "It''s fine, it''s all in the past." Heughed a bit.


    "Now, let''s talk about how we''re going to escape. Or rather, how I''m going to escape this fortress." He looked at her again, and saw her nod.


    [I see you''ve taken the pill] She stated with a slight smile.


    He grinned at her. "I had no choice, attention should be the least of my problems," he replied.


    Mune rolled her eyes at his subtle hints of self praise.


    "Come to think of it, that''s why I called for your help. Could you tell me why I didn''t feel anything change? Wasn''t my appearance meant to change?"


    [Did you pick a character customisation?] She asked.


    He shook his head, and walked back to the chair. "How do I do that?" He asked.


    [All you need to do is visualize while you close your eyes and the pill will take care of the rest] She replied.


    "How is it that you know, but I wasn''t informed by the system?" He said with a raise of his brow.


    [If it were that simple for it to exin everything to you, then what would be the purpose of my existence?] She narrowed her eyes at him.<sub> </sub>


    "Fair point."


    Going with her exnation, he closed his eyes while imagining a short messy blonde hair with bangs hanging below his eyes.


    He felt something change. He reached up and touched his hair, a few strands of his blonde hair in his fingers.


    Picking up a hand held mirror from the table, he looked at his reflection.


    It was shorter, and it was also slightly messier than he had it normally. He looked at it, and smiled. He let out a sigh, and then stood up, pacing for quite some while, and brushed his hand through his hair.


    "It really worked!'''' He said to her, "I really should have figured that out." he told her.


    She smiled at him. [It would be best if you change your facial outlook too. There is no way just your hair change would be enough to fool anyone that knows your face]


    Thinking of an anime character was the best choice scenario at that point. He imagined himself with thin eyebrows as well as small brown eyes.


    ''sses? No, that would look terrible with this hair.'' He shook off the thought immediately.


    He felt his face change. He touched his face, and felt a slight pinch.


    ''The horror! Is this how doing a face alteration feels?!'' He said to himself, feeling the pull on his face at the side and a slight pain on the side of his face. After some while, it stopped. It was just a slight change, but it was enough to feel like he had gone under a knife.


    "How do I look?'''' He asked, opening his eyes.


    Mune cringed at the final result of his customisation. She contemted how she could bring up her sentences without it being an outright insult. Instead she temporarily went with a wide grin to buy out time.


    He looked up at her, his mood dampened at the knowledge of giving that face. "Is it really that bad?" He asked.


    After her reaction, he dreaded checking himself in the mirror.


    [But master, aren''t you some sort of artist? Even your artwork had better facial expressions than... than... this. Why this face?] She blurted out even before she could filter out her words.


    Her hands immediatelytched over her mouth, but the words were already heard.


    [Ha... ha... ha... Who said that?] She masked the awkward situation she had out herself in with light chuckles.


    Nix was hurt by her words but saw the sense in what she had said. He had been thinking of customisations from a mixture of some anime characters, that he forgot he could just go with a generic character.


    "Any suggestions on what looks wrong?" He questioned, closing his eyes.


    [Maybe if you change the hair style and the eyebrows, it might look better.] she said.


    "I''m not too fond of the hair style anyways, I was just testing out the customisation feature." He exaggerated.


    Taking another redo of his hairstyle, he imagined a blonde hair styled with a neat part. His brows were also slightly thicker.


    [That''s much better!] Mune beamed with joy.


    Confident due to her answer, he pulled up the mirror, staring at his reflection for a while. He smiled at his new look.


    ''I look like a reasonable character now!'' He said to himself.


    [Are you satisfied with the customisation?] She asked.


    "Yes, this is fine." He replied.


    Ding!


    [Customization sessful. You have 6 hours before deactivation.]


    [06:00:00]

 Chapter 66 Were In Big Trouble

    In G&M ss, all students would converge to be taught on how they could use their gifts or magic as one unit when faced with a threat or called upon to the city due to attacks caused by rumics or raenzs.


    This had proven to be of great help when it came to coordinating their powers.


    Only those of upper rank sses were allowed to go on missions outside the academy, the lower ranks were obliged to participate in the one ss all could be present at the same time, so they could have a foreknowledge about what they might be tasked to do once they had qualified to be in the upper rank.


    Lumina, an upper rank gift user, had taken it upon herself to get to ss extra early.


    She flipped through the pages of her books absentmindedly, ncing through it''s content without necessarily gaining any information off it.


    "Ugh!" She groaned, cing her head down on it, her cheeks squished on the book. Her gaze was fixated on the empty seat to the far left of the third row.


    "Are you okay?" Fae whispered, leaning to the side, tracing her line of sight to an empty chair.


    ''Oh!'' Fae could already guess what seemed to have ruined her day.


    ''Does this sound like I''m okay?'' Her thoughts snapped.


    Instead of going with her thoughts, Lumina rose her head, turning to her left. She gave a ruse smile, hoping it would work.


    "That''s so fake, please try again." Fae pointed out.


    She realized that Fae was just concerned like any best friend would and an exnation was all she actually needed with that sort of question.


    "It''s  because of him, isn''t it?" She continued, hinting about the fact that she had not seen Nix go in the direction of their dorm the previous day.


    But everyone in upper rank A had heard about Nix''s little detour in lower rank B magic ss. On the same day, she wondered why he had gone there.


    Curious, she had been present when Ayanami spoke so highly of having first hand information about what had happened from one of the lower rank B, but she wouldn''t say a word to the others.


    ''How spiteful!'' She sneered at the memory. narrowing her eyes as she looked over at Ayanami who looked like she was concentrating on what their teacher was saying.


    She had been hoping to bump into him, to know how he was after that incident, but he had always managed to dodge her radar.


    Lumina''s mouth gaped open, she had wanted to outrightly deny that fact, but the more she thought about it, the more it likely was true.


    She had stayed up all night, waiting for him to get back so she could apologize for her uncaring attitude after the day at the infirmary.


    This reminded her of her mother sitting at the door everyday. Waiting for her brother to get back, even washing and spreading his shirt outside on a daily basis.


    Her actions had been driven by her hurtful past and she had mistakenly taken out that frustration on him. After several attempts at cross examining her thoughts, she had made it a goal to apologize to him.


    But when he didn''t return the previous night, her panic level began to rise. Several what if scenarios yed in her head.


    Slowly she nodded her head to Fae''s suggestion.<sub> </sub>


    "I knew it!" She nodded her head, "I told you not to mess with him, now look what you''ve done. You drove him away." she hissed.


    ''Drove away? What''s going on in your head?'' She had a grimace on her face, hitting Fae on the head for thinking about such a ridiculous instance.


    There was no way she could drive a blockhead like him away, all she cared about was why he didn''t return the previous night.


    "Ow!" Fae yelped, covering her hair with her hand. "You just ruined my perfect looks." She hissed.


    "Oh! Please..." She rolled her eyes.


    "Would you two care to tell the ss what is so interesting that you wouldn''t concentrate on the team''s formation?" A tall woman, in her early thirties, called them out on their disturbance in a loud voice.


    Dressed in a red and white id short sleeved shirt and ck cks, she wore sses, and had long, curly orange hair, and a nose that was slightly turned up.


    Standing behind the white acrylic lectern, she looked down at the two students with a stern look on her face, adjusting her sses in the bridge of her nose.


    Lumina and Fae''s head shot up straight ahead, frozen in shock as everyone''s attention was solely on them. They had a very strong feeling that they would be in trouble for this.


    "Funny you should mention that Mrs Neider, we were discussing a strategy that might work." Fae said, trying to sound as innocent as possible while batting hershes.


    "Does anyone buy that story?" Mrs Neider asked the others.


    No one dared speak, instead they just stared in silence.


    "I thought as much." She nodded her head.


    "We are in big trouble, right?" Fae whispered through gritted teeth.


    "You think?" Lumina hissed in a like manner.


    Mrs Neider was a magic user, and her powers render a person who has low resistance or rankpared to her, trapped in a void of total darkness with the deepest fears realized in the mind.


    This makes anyone who falls into her trap go crazy if the time spent in the void is prolonged or vulnerable to whatever she might have up her sleeves.


    "The two of you look like you''re up to some mischief. I''m starting to get suspicious, so you better make up your mind right now." Mrs Neider raised her left palm up, and began to point at them with her finger.


    ''What I do for friendship.'' Lumina thought in a brief moment of regret as she closed her eyes, rapidly thinking of a way out of the situation they were in.


    "Please pardon my friend, Mrs. Neider, but she gets a little bit hyperactive when she feels like she''s being used of something." Lumina responded, looking directly into Mrs Neider''s eyes.


    "Hey!" Fae hissed with the corner of her mouth, "what the hell are you doing? This is so far away from ''hyperactive''."


    Ignoring Fae for the time being, she had to prove that she was not lying, and more importantly, that she was not guilty of any usation. She knew that she was going to have to tell a lie, but she just couldn''t tell Mrs Neider what they had been discussing.

 Chapter 67 Foul Play

    "Lumina, please tell me you aren''t going to¨C"


    "You could ask any question about what you had mentioned earlier, Mrs Neider. I''m sure most of you have something to ask, and I would be happy to answer it." Lumina said.


    All attention was back on Mrs Neider, who had begun shuffling through the stack of papers on her lectern.


    "Are you crazy?! You haven''t opened your book, nor were you listening!" Fae hissed, quickly adjusting herposure when she noticed Mrs Neider nce their way.


    "Shhh! I''m trying toe up with aeback." She looked around and among the students for her possible target. "There''s no way I''m going to suffer such cruel treatment from Mrs Neider."


    "Let''s see, okay, here we go." She pulled out a report. "What went wrong with thest team''s formation that had incurred lots of casualties?" Mrs Neider asked.


    Fae adjusted her sitting posture, ufortable with the question posed to Lumina. That was a case simr to a staggering number of others in which no one had been able to know the cause.


    What was strange was the fact that those who were dead, their bodies were never recovered from the scene. But if the they were never recorded, why were they concluded, dead?


    Lumina''s gaze went straight to Ayanami, her eyes narrowed.


    ''I would like to see how you escape this!'' She could sense the irregr signals seething off Ayanami, clearly pretending to draw the formation on the holographic board, with a pencil which was clearly not sharpened.


    "It would seem there was a bit of foul y, as anyone could rightly put it." Lumina said.


    The whole ss gasped in unison, the news about team Ruid had been a delicate one, and the students had all been curious to know what had actually happened, but none of them were willing to go too in-depth with their questions, for fear of ending in such a situation.


    Lumina had a smirk on her face. She had been searching for someone who could fall into her trap and it just so happened that Mrs Neider gave her the right incentive.


    "Are you suggesting there was foul y, Miss Lumina?" Mrs Neider asked. "That''s a very serious allegation, one that you shouldn''t be making, especially without any proof."


    Lumina nced over at Ayanami one more time, and then looked right back at Mrs Neider. "Well, it''s not a hard thing to find out." She shrugged.


    Ayanami turned around at this information, her curiosity was suddenly piqued. She wanted to know how far Lumina had gone into investigating the case file which she had tried to keep under wraps.


    "Those two in the infirmary clearly stated that they had¨C"


    "That''s a total lie! They are paralysed, how could they possibly talk?" Ayanami blurted out without thinking about her words.


    "There''s nothing a good jolt from me can''t do to any limp body part!" She wiggled her brows, showing a preview of her gift, tiny electrical currents ran through her palm.


    Ayanami frowned, she suddenly felt that she had jumped right into a trap with her words.<sub> </sub>


    Proceeding to continue what she had started, she cleared her throat, bringing her attention back to Mrs Neider, waiting for her permission.


    Being given a nod of approval, she smiled and continued.


    "... lost the feel of their body while in action. The reason? They felt a sting of some sort, and within a matter of seconds, they were unconscious." Lumina said, raising her hand and pointing at Ayanami.


    A frown made its way to Ayanami''s brows at the outright usation made directly at her.


    "One of your shapeshifting forms could cause paralysis, am I right?" Lumina questioned with a grin on her face.


    "So what?" She scoffed.


    "You could have chosen to make it happen at any time, yet you waited for the others to be in the wrong position, and then you had the nerve to try to im victory. That was such a dirty move, and I can''t imagine how you could be so cold-hearted."   Lumina said, looking away from Ayanami.


    The room had fallen quiet, not a single noise could be heard from anywhere in the room, except for the soft shuffling of papers as Mrs Neider shuffled through the papers she had, trying to check the statements that were given.


    "You are using me of what?" Ayanami asked with a shriek, "I thought you were just trying to find a way to get back at me. You were always getting back at me before, and this is exactly the same. I''m sure you didn''t think this through beforeing up with such a bold and stupid idea."


    "You shouldn''t have said that, especially not to my face. It''s not worth it." Ayanami hissed.


    "So Ayanami, care to exin?" Mrs Neider asked, but it was more curiosity than a challenge. She didn''t want to make a huge deal out of it if this was all a misunderstanding."


    "Not at all." Ayanami responded calmly. "In fact, I''m not even sure where I was when it happened. All I remember is being in the middle of a battle, and then I woke but was surprised I was spared unlike the rest." She said, her eyes tearing up as a slight sniffle happened.


    ''What ame excuse.'' Lumina rolled her eyes.


    Mrs Neider didn''t believe her words either, but for the sake of knowing how far she could go with her words, she allowed her to keep on speaking.


    In lies, there were tiny bits of truth. This was the only way to make it as believable as possible to anyone listening or watching.


    There was a reason she had brought the case in the form of a question to Lumina. She had been an ace student who was calctive and smart when it came to tactics and the use of her gift.


    With the turn of events, she was more than impressed with the results.


    "It''s a lot harder to exin. I don''t know what happened to me too, but I promise you, it''s not something I was involved in." Ayanami looked down, pretending to cry, burying her face in her palm.


    Knowing her face was obscured by her cascading hair, coupled with her hand covering the lower half of her face, a sinister smile spread across her face.

 Chapter 68 Confrontation

    But the ss didn''t get a clear picture of her true feelings.


    Lumina knew what Ayanami was doing, but more than that, it was obvious that it worked to her advantage.


    ''How did a formation question, suddenly turn to an usation with a sabotage and murder case by one of the teammates?''


    Mrs Neider was in a dilemma now and she didn''t know how to handle the situation which had spiraled out of her control.


    Left with no choice, she decided to go for the peaceable approach, this new development would have to be taken to the higher ups for reviewing.


    "Well, wasn''t that insightful? We all havee to know and love one another." Mrs Neider said sarcastically, but to be quite honest, she was secretly impressed by Lumina''s answer.


    Whispers filled the ssroom as they started to talk to one another.


    "You know, I think Lumina is right about her spections."


    "She''s a disgrace to what we train for, putting her teammates in harm''s way."


    "That''s enough!" Mrs Neider''s loud voice thundered.


    The students all looked ahead and a total silence swept through the ssroom. They watched as her powers subconsciously activated and caused them to have a brief preview of their deepest fears.


    Noticing their looks, she looked behind, waving her hands in the air and apologizing for such a mishap.


    "That''s it for today, I hope you all have been able to learn something new. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your day." Mrs Neider said in a more serious tone, then she turned to walk out of the room.


    Stopping in the doorway, she looked back as the majority of the ss were startled by her uncalled presence.


    "Don''t cause anymotion while I''m gone, tomorrow is going to be a spectacr sparring session. There will be no doubt about it, the one who will emerge victorious will gain a prize. But for now, enjoy each other''spany and prepare yourselves."


    Mrs Neider walked out of the room leaving a stunned, and slightly confused Lumina and Fae looking at each other for a moment.


    "Here we go again, the unfair sparring between the upper rank and lower rank." Someone spat out in spite.


    "I hope I am not paired with an upper rank."


    "What do you think the prize would be?"


    Several upper rank gift or magic users raised their brows at the whispers their ears were feasting on. It almost looked like the lower ranks had forgotten it was a mixed ss.


    Ayanami looked up, taking her hands out of her hair.


    She had a small smile on her face as she looked across the ssroom, seeing all the eyes on her.


    "Why are you all looking at me like that?" Ayanami asked, "You know I''m not that type of person." She said, looking down and looking at her hands.


    "Lumina wasn''t at all wrong, but I hope the person who had done this to my teammates, pay for their crimes." She sniffled, shedding a few tears.


    Lank narrowed his eyes at her words, shaking his head. He knew the tactics of Ayanami, she might fool everyone, but definitely not him.


    Sick and tired of watching her drama, he had turned his attention away and was instead startled by the sudden appearance of Gia in front of his desk.


    "What the hell was that?" He said, turning his head to the side, his breathing quickened for quite some time.


    Gia folded her arms and frowned at him. "My jacket."


    Lank sighed and rolled his eyes, "are we really doing this right now?" He asked, his voiceced with annoyance.


    He had remembered he had promised to return it when he was done with it. That definitely didn''t mean the next day.


    "That was one of my favorite jackets." Gia replied.


    ''Yet you handed it to me.''<sub> </sub>


    "Then it''s an honor to have used it to my advantage." He said with a grin, then added, "you''ll get your jacket back when you start speaking to me in a civil tone of voice."


    This was one of his favorite things to do¨Crelishing in witnessing her reaction as he annoyed Gia.


    Gia crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "I guess you need further discipline from the management."


    "Like as if that ever worked out." He chuckled, "but if you make a headway do send my sincere greetings to them while you''re at it."


    The sudden urge to zap him with her powers was great.


    ''You need to calm down Gia, academy rule number 1.'' She constantly repeated in her head till the urge gradually subsided.


    "If you don''t¨C"


    "Well if it isn''t the odd one." Ayanami interjected, looking at Lank and frowning.


    "Hello Gia. How have you been?" Ayanami asked with a smile.


    Gia looked at her and shrugged her shoulders, not bothering saying a word, she was trying to cut her ties with her anyways.


    After what she had heard Lumina say, her suspicious level did rise more than it did when shest spoke with Ayanami. It was better to steer clear from trouble for the time being.


    "What trouble have youe to stir up now?" Lank growled.


    "Lank, be polite. She''s an upper rank and we can''t afford to be rude to her." Gia replied quickly in an attempt to calm him down.


    ''But... she doesn''t deserve the respect. So you''re free to go all out on her.'' Her thoughtspleted, knowing fully well Lank wouldn''t listen to her words anyways.


    "What would you like to be called, Gia or odd one?" He snapped.


    "..."


    Turning his attention back to Ayanami, "we''d know who''s an upper or lower rank tomorrow." He sneered.


    He very well understood his powers exceeded that of a lower rank B, what he didn''t quite understand was why he was ced in a ss full of them.


    There were whispers behind Ayanami''s back, some of the students felt the need to make a snide remark, "I heard he was meant to be in upper rank A." A student said, and then continued. "I guess he messed with higher ups."


    Ayanami decided to take all that was being said to her advantage, sping her hands together with a pout on her lips.


    "Lank, I''m so sorry I upset you." She said, "I hope I didn''t hurt your feelings. Please, forgive me."


    "No, it''s my fault. I should have been a little more polite to an animal in the form of a human." Lank retorted in a cool, calm voice.


    He was quite pleased with the pun he had made regarding Ayanami''s shapeshifting abilities.


    Ayanami''s mouth gaped open at his indirect insult, her inner self balling her hands in a fist, ready to pick a fight.


    Instead she gave a nervous chuckle to ease the tension.


    "Now spit out what you have to say." He replied through gritted teeth. "I''m done trying to be nice to those who don''t deserve it." He said in annoyance.


    The advice given to him by Nix was far from being called easy. Bullying was much easier.


    ring at the others, they all moved away from their proximity, giving them a bit of privacy.


    "If you must know, I had a bit of a run-in with Nix." Ayanami answered bluntly. She didn''t like the fact that he was snarling at her. "But, I did wonder why he was in a different room than usual."


    Lank could already sense the tension in the air. "Why are you telling me this?"

 Chapter 69 Quaking In Your Boots?

    Walking closer to him, she had a smug look on her face as she said. "I want to know why Nix would stay in your Chambers." She said calmly.


    ''She saw all that!'' He realized, internally facepalming.


    Even though she had witnessed it, there was no way he was going to admit it.


    "You allow people in your dorm?" Gia''s eyebrows furrowed and her mouth pursed in an O, then she looked at Lank, her eyes widened.


    ''And that''s supposed to bother you, how?'' He questioned in his thoughts, there was no need exining himself.


    Everyone in the academy knew that the higher ups had given him a special dorm and no one wanted to be associated with a freak like him, anyways.


    Ayanami nodded her head, "it would seem he has some special preferences."


    "F*ck off!" He snarled.


    Although she had not outrightly said what she insinuated, he could already guess from her subtle hint. Getting what she meant sickened him to the bones, he had been misunderstood, yet she seemed to take pleasure in that piece of information.


    A light giggle was heard, she ced the hand over her mouth. "Does this disturb you that your secret has been leaked?"


    "Gia, please leave here. I''m not sure what''s going to happen if an animal keeps trying to speak in humannguage." He overturned his table, his red eyes gleamed coldly.


    They both jumped back at his action, all attention was drawn to them in an instant.


    "There he goes again."


    "I guess he can''t change who he is."


    "Would you all shut up?! Why are you still in the ss anyways? ss is over, please leave." Gia yelled in annoyance at the side remarks she had heard from the others.


    They knew nothing about what had transpired and yet they had begun judging. It was only at that moment, did she feel the pain and loneliness he had been enduring all these while.


    "Who makes you boss, lower rank?" A higher rank male of the magic users challenged, his purple eyes glowing at the audacity she had to speak to everyone in that way, especially the higher ranks.


    He had a messy ck hair with bangs hanging right under his chin, he wore a sleeveless ck overcoat seamed with greenish-ck hemlines over a leafy green robe with ck cor and sash. He ties ck ribbons in a crisscross pattern over the lower half of his sleeves, ck pants and a pair of dark brown boots oveid with more criss cross-patterned ribbons.


    He raised his hand, a cloak of green smoke spiraled in the air, as he waited for her to respond to his challenge.


    All others watched to see how this would unfold, suddenly all went silent.


    Gia gulped at her slip, she had yelled at the rush of the moment. She had always been calm when she spoke on behalf of Lank. But at that moment, something didn''t settle well with her, maybe because she had witnessed first hand what had happened, unlike those other times, she would be called upon to defend him and would go with what others had said.


    Now she really knew she had messed with the wrong people with her manner of approach. Internally facepalming at her outburst. This was a confrontation she wasn''t ready for, nor could she match up with his level of proficiency as a higher rank, yet.


    "I''d love to see where that little magic trick of yours would end you up in." Lank snarled, taking up the challenge in Gia''s stead.<sub> </sub>


    ''Lank!'' She looked up at his back, she was amazed by how fast he had bypassed her and stood protectively in front of her.


    Gia sensed killing intent in him at that point. There was no way she was going to let him engage like that. Even though Ayanami''s words were the whole cause of all this.


    She looked to her side and saw Ayanami having a smirk on her lips, leaning on the wall and having her own fill of what she could only see as her having fun.


    ''That two-timing snake!'' She sneered.


    "Hahaha," the male let out a mockingugh," if one bunch is rotten, the whole bunch should be dealt in one blow, huh?"


    "What makes you think that as a higher rank A, you have the right to speak to anyone in such a manner, Arion?" Lumina retorted.


    "Lumina, I''m not sure you should¨C" Fae had wanted to object to a confrontation with one of her mates or the use of their powers against each other as it wasn''t the next day for the sparring at the least.


    If they did, they would be in bigger trouble for breaking academy rules. But immediately shut up after seeing and feeling her change in countenance.


    Her green eyes gleamed, this was a feat she never does mostly as it did take a toll on her energy if she made use of it for a designated period of time.


    Nevertheless, when she did, it never went well with those who challenged her. She would turn monstrous at that point, the limit to her powers would be augmented greatly.


    Currents coursed through her hands, making light cackles as they traveled through her body, she wanted so badly to vent out some of her anger and disgust at that point.


    Arion''s confidence dropped drastically at that point, there were few people not to be messed with and Lumina was greatly among them.


    "What is that I see? A little quaking in your boots?" She taunted with augh. "Not so high and mighty now, right?"


    Dropping his hands, he dissipated the cloak of green smoke immediately. "I didn''t mean it in such a way, it''s just that she was defending the freak over there and had no right to speak with us, higher ranks still present."


    His words were much more sickening the more he spoke.


    Szzzz!


    Her lightning struck in a blink of an eye on Arion''s desk, splitting it in a fine line.


    Everyone gasped at the action. There was also another reason Lumina was feared and respected, she would never refrain from showing a bit of her strength just to break up a fight or pick one if needed be.


    This was quite surprising that Lank had not gotten into her bad books yet.


    Arion''s face looked like the color had been drained from his body, he had his legs wide just in time, if he hadn''t he would have to say a final speech to his legs and future generations.


    He was in the state of hyperventtion, he had heard about this unpredictable part of her gift, said to divide and kill instantly any target below her rank and those above would sustain injuries as per the level they had attained.


    "Whoops, looks like I missed." Lumina gave a disturbing eye shut smile.

 Chapter 70 Yandere Lumina

    Gia bit down on her bottom lip as she tried to stifle augh. The scene before her only made her enjoy the thrill that came with seeing higher ranks banter or go against one another.


    "Didn''t you hear her words? She said you should all leave!" Her voice boomed.


    The whole ssroom went silent at that point. None wanting a confrontation for the time being.


    Immediately the lower ranks began to disperse in groups, murmuring among one another.


    The higher ranks however, sat back for a while and watched with curious gaze, they never intended to cause any discord among themselves, especially with Lumina.


    "We do hope you know what you are doing?" One of the higher rank A of the magic users spoke on behalf of the others.


    They all nodded in unison, and with that, slowly they too began to leave in the order of their department.


    "I would let this rest, for now." Arion sneered, focusing his re at Lank. "See you at the sparring hall, tomorrow."


    "Whatever, fart face." He said with a mocking tone.


    Cross popping veins appeared on the side of his forehead, gritting his teeth. Confrontation that involved Lumina, as she watched, wasn''t an option at the moment.


    "Have fun for today. You''d need all the help you can get." He said through gritted teeth, he nced at Gia, leaving with the rest.


    Fae let out a breath of relief she hadn''t known she held.


    "What the hell was that?!" She hissed at Lumina.


    Lumina closed her eyes momentarily, exhaling. Opening them, her eyes had reverted to normal, "what part do you mean?" She batted hershes like nothing had ever happened.


    "Thank you, Lank." Gia spoke softly, ying with her fingers.


    Lank looked back at her, his smile broadened at the acknowledgement.


    "Are you two alright?" Lumina cut in.


    "Yes!"


    "No!"


    Gia and Lank replied respectively. They stared at each other with a questioning look.


    "Senior Lumina, you were awesome!" Gia''s eyes sparkled in awe, with her hands sped in front of her and her teeth showing.


    p Lumina sweat dropped at such a reaction, "it was nothing, I just can''t stand those blockheads oppressing others when they have others who are much stronger than them."</anda>


    Ayanami pped her hands, to get their attention. "I must say, I need to thank you both for getting rid of those nosy people. I had actually needed you to hear this also, Lumina."


    With a raise of her brow, she kept quiet knowing answering the likes of Ayanami would be a waste of brain cells.


    "I had told you, f*ck off!!" Lank snarled at her, he knew where she was heading if allowed to keep on talking.


    "I''m sure you''re wondering where Nix was the previous night?" Ayanami rolled her eyes at Lank''s words.


    Lumina''s attention was caught with merely that statement, "what do you know about Nix?" She narrowed her eyes, giving Ayanami a look.


    "I guess we are going to find out now, isn''t that right, Lank?" She said with a mischievous grin.


    "I owe no exnation to you or anyone else. I have no ns to tell you where I was, when I was, or who I was with. I will not be a ything for you, Ayanami." He was silent for a moment, but then his words came out, "If you really are curious, Lumina, how about you ask why she had waited and met with Nix this morning?" He nced at Gia, who nodded to him.


    Ayanami''s eyes widened as she looked at him in utter shock. "That isn''t important, Lank!"


    "It did seem to be important when you were bragging about it earlier, Ayanami." Lank scoffed at her.


    "I was just wondering why he would be able to resist a female, if it isn''t that he has a thing for you." She grinned at him.


    Feeling irritated, Lank growled at her. "Try not to act like an idiot all the time. You''ve had more than you can chew."


    Sszzz!<sub> </sub>


    Ayanami felt a hand grip her neck, causing her to gasp for air. In a second, she found herself on the ground, Lumina pinning her to the floor with a strong hold.


    She struggled but could not break free from her. Gasping for air and she was still being held down.


    "You talk too much, Ayanami. Lank was right, you are an idiot." Luminaughed, her eyes glowing in it''s distinctive jade green.


    She let out a derangedughter, finally getting to vent out a bit of her anger and frustration on someone, with the unlucky participant being Ayanami below her.


    Refusing to acknowledge the insult, she simply struggled harder to no avail.


    ''Shit! What has gotten into her?'' Ayanami was left with no choice than to shapeshift into a snake to escape her.


    Lumina was quicker to react. She tightened her grip around Ayanami''s neck, and quickly channeled enough current through her fingertips before she could shapeshift.


    "That was a slippery trick you almost pulled off, Ayanami!" She scolded.


    "Let me go!" Ayanami protested, "you''re hurting me."


    "I don''t know what you might have done to think he has special preferences," Lumina whispered in her ear, "but if you did try to seduce him, I''m sorry to say but his special preferences don''t amodate animals."


    Ayanami''s eyes widened in shock and pain. "I never..."


    "If you ever refer to Nix in such a manner anymore, consider your wings, tail, hind legs or whatever animal you chose to be, to be gone." Lumina''s hand remained on Ayanami''s neck.


    "Lumina, please that''s enough!" Fae appealed.


    "You know it is funny that this is the height of a higher rank magic user," she chuckled, "Fae I''m deeply sorry for ever doubting your abilities, you''re better off to hold your ground a bit with me." She said, as she released her grip around Ayanami.


    ''Why the hell did she go psycho mode?'' Fae screamed in her head. Putting up a smile as she was indirectlyplimented by her friend nheless.


    Coughing as she was able to inhale again, Ayanami gasped for air.


    "If I could remember, the order given earlier was also applicable to you." Lumina sneered, walking up to the window, "but since you''rete, your exit is this way."


    Immediately, Ayanami shapeshifted into a quetzal, ready for her to escape from Lumina''s range. Flying out of the window, she soared off into the sky.


    ''You''ll pay for the humiliation you just brought to me.'' Ayanami vowed in her heart.


    Gia and Lank''s mouth had gaped open at what they had just witnessed. Neither of them said anything as they watched the scene y out before them.


    He could clearly see why she had been a top student in the whole academy. She was rarely seen in action due to the higher ups preventing her participation.


    He had to admit, he was quite fond of her for she was the first student he had ever seen with such power, currently with the exception of Nix. She was also quite beautiful, with a pair of beautiful jade green eyes.


    "Thankyou for what you did there." Lank mumbled, cing a hand on her shoulder.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were..."


    Crrrk!


    "Ahhh!" Lank yelled, as she twisted his hand off her shoulder, forcing him to his knees. Lank winced as she held his hand. Her grip was surprisingly strong.


    Gia and Fae let out a collective wince for Lank who was in an unimaginable pain.


    "...you!" Faepleted as she looked down in despair.


    She had forgotten to put up a warning about Lumina''s behavior once she goes into this mode in which she merely refers to as psycho mode. It wasn''t because she had such unpredictable ability that the higher ups prevented her from participating in the sparring sessions, but due to the fact that they couldn''t pinpoint her trigger into a violent and dangerous individual.


    This would be dangerous to the students who would be paired against her, if she ever went psycho mode, so it was best she was kept from such issues.


    Fae on the other hand, had been able to navigate her way through this mode, and this had been one of the reasons she had been the only one to establish a close bond with Lumina.


    "Where is Nix?!" Lumina''s face was nowpletely white with rage as she stared down at Lank.

 Chapter 71 Low-Key Psychopartners

    Her hand is now covered in fast moving currents, pitch ck and blue lightning bolts. It coursed through Lank''s shirt and body, sending waves of electricity through him. This was an intense pain that was unlike anything else, and he struggled to breathe as he watched the bolts course through his skin.


    ''What is this feeling?'' He groaned.


    There was something in what she had done that made his power not to function, he could only make a simr reference to Ayanami''s inability to shapeshift once Lumina had done the same for her.


    "Where is Nix?!" She yelled out in rage.


    "How the hell am I supposed to know? You''re his roommate after all." Lank spat in reply, judging from her intense killing intent, he had to think of a way to break free before whatever she had nned would be a reality.


    This didn''t sit well with Lumina, as she tightened her grip on his arm, twisting and dislocating his shoulder.


    He never knew both could react in different ways when ites to the other. It hadn''t been long that he had received beatings from Nix because of making fun of Lumina, now reverse was the case¨C Instead she was much more deranged than he was.


    "Let me go! We have to help him!" Gia struggled to break free from Fae''s binding spell.


    As much as Fae wanted to help, she knew her limit, it was pointless to engage if they didn''t want to get caught up in the trap Lank was in.


    "It''s better if you stay here, if Lank is any smart, he would know what to do." She replied coldly.


    "I don''t care! She''s going to kill him." Gia yelled in protest.


    "If you would like to join him, it''s your funeral. I do hope with your reasoning you can get to our rank one day." Fae rolled her eyes, releasing her hold on Gia.


    "I don''t know where he is goddammit!" Lank barked.


    He hated the fact that he was rendered useless by her gift, this would be the first time he would ever feel such overwhelming force on him. Coming to the right conclusion, it was best to assume she was indeed stronger than everyone in the academy, excluding Nix.


    The other high rank users had been wise not to engage her when she had stepped in to help then.


    He could only regret enjoying Ayanami taking a beating from Lumina, experiencing it personally, he could feel her pain at that moment, although he was sure that this was a more concentrated version of what he had witnessed.


    ''I was right, she is a devil!'' He closed his eyes momentarily.


    Opening his eyes, he could see Gia running towards his direction.


    ''Are you stupid? I am stronger, yet look where that got me... and you daree in to interfere ?'' He gritted his teeth.


    "Do you have a death wish?!" He yelled with whatever ounce of strength he had left.


    Gia stopped in her tracks momentarily, stunned by his outburst.


    Nevertheless, she let out a magical beam aimed at Lumina, if she could just stun her, she might have enough time to get Lank out of her range.


    To her horror, a lighting bolt cage formed behind her, deflecting Gia''s beam in her direction.


    Jumping out of the way, the beam hit the wall, boring a hole in it.<sub> </sub>


    "What a dumb move!" Fae clicked her tongue, she had simply stood where she was, having created a magical barrier around herself which had protected her from the iing beam.


    "Lumina, please he would talk. Just give him time." Fae tried to intercede, hoping this would distract her attention from what Gia had just done.


    Lumina''s grip slowly eased on Lank''s hand, the creases on her brows began to even out.


    Letting out a sigh of relief, Lank held onto his arm in pain, wincing at the humiliating ordeal he had to go through.


    He was surely d that Lumina wasn''t participating in the uing sparring session. It was as good as making all of them dead weight.


    ''Is she some kind of psychic?'' Lank looked over at Fae who had managed to calm her down a little, so much so that she was able to release her monstrous grip on his arm.


    Setting his dislocated shoulder, he let out a stifled groan, biting down on his bottom lip.


    "Lank!" Gia rushed towards him, hugging him tightly as she burst into tears.


    Momentarily forgetting about his pain, he was stunned by her reaction towards his ordeal. He wondered if this was truly a sign that she cared for him.


    In an instant, it vanished, clearing his throat, he grumbled, "you''re causing me more pain as you press on me that way, I can''t have bone rubbing bone."


    Gia''s tears immediately subsided as she instantly understood what he meant by that statement, "are you calling me t?!"


    Lank rolled his eyes, he had said what he wanted to say, it was up to her to determine what she wanted to make of his statement.


    The major concern was the female in front of them, who had her back turned against them, he wondered what sort of connection Lumina had with Fae.


    ''Could it be a high ranking thing?'' He wondered, pushing off Gia from him, getting up.


    "Hey!" Gia protested as she fell on her buttocks.


    "You got soft cushions, it shouldn''t hurt as much as my arm right now." He tried to raise it as some sort of reference, but failed miserably, bringing it down and grimacing in pain.


    "Now that I think about it, it serves you right." She scoffed, confused as to why she had shown Lank care in the first ce.


    Fae clicked her tongue as she watched the two banter, she was quite amused as to how they could discuss with Lumina''s intimidating presence still hitting strong.


    "Lank," she called his attention with a wave, "you seem to forget why she had let you go." She chuckled maniacally.


    Lank sweat dropped, he could finally see why these two could get along so well, they were both low-key psychopaths who understood each other so well.


    Thinking about what Fae had just said, he began to realize what he had faced was far from being over as Lumina loomed over him, a big devilish grin with her fist punching on her palm as tiny lightning bolts ran through her body.


    "What sort of devil is she? Nix, what the hell did you do to her?!'' He began to tremble at the sight.

 Chapter 72 Is It Over?

    He wondered what Fae meant when she had said he would talk. His suspicions about her being a psychic was far too overwhelming.


    "It''s best to recall what you know aboutst night." Fae warned, shaking her head. As much as she wanted Lumina to calm down totally, she also needed her friend to know a bit of the truth about where Nix was or what had happened that night.


    "How did you¨C"


    Shrugging, Fae had a grin on her face, "I just had a feeling you might know, and frankly you just gave yourself out."


    Gia''s brows furrowed in confusion as she watched the three of them, it did seem like her presence wasn''t needed in the very least. As good as invisible at that point.


    ''What are they talking about? How''s Lank supposed to know after he took a beating from her?''


    "You''re just spouting nonsense." Lank rolled his eyes.


    "Am I?" Faeughed, "I guess interceding for you shouldn''t have been a priority. All she needs is the location of Nix, or any news that sounds important, that shouldn''t be hard for you to remember."


    "What is she going to do with such information? Run into his arms?" Lank taunted with augh.


    "You seem to forget I am standing right in front of you!" Lumina pulled him by the cor.


    pping her hand away, jumping back a few feet, Lank wanted no connection with her as long as she was in this state. The activation of his powers depended on the distance he could keep from her.


    "By chance, have you suddenly fallen for Nix?" He questioned, pointing an using finger.


    To his surprise, Lumina''s eyes widened in shock and her body began to tremble in response to his question.


    ''So it is that way, huh?!'' He shook his head.


    "I don''t know what''s wrong with females these days, he had merely arrived a few weeks ago, yet he already has female admirers?" Heined with a pout.


    "Hey!" Gia protested.


    "Are you among those females?!" He narrowed his eyes.


    "You''re speaking nonsense." She rolled her eyes.


    Reacting just in time, he did a backflip before Lumina could get a grip on him.


    "You sure can act crazy, I don''t want to fight with you." Lank responded, taking a defensive stance.


    Even though he couldn''t understand how Fae had done it, he did get a glimpse of the previous night and was beyond shocked at what he had secretly witnessed.


    He had wanted to sleep, but then he had heard a word that made him turn in his previous sleeping position. Deciding to use that opportunity to watch him while pretending to be asleep.


    It was something about a sculptor and curses, thenter on about points he had eximed in a loud voice. It almost sounded like the time he had caught him talking to himself in the library.


    His eyes were a bit hazy, he had tried to speak, but was distracted by some sort of whitish bright light. This made him question if truly Nix was speaking to something or someone before he cked out.


    "I have no clue about where he was headed. But he did act a bit strange the previous day, he spoke about a sculptor and curses and something about points." Lank decided to let out a snippet of the information he knew.<sub> </sub>


    Dropping his hands, he straightened his posture, there was no way he could fight in a proper condition with his hand.


    To his favor, Lumina''s features softened, the lightning bolts coursing through her body stopped, then she let out a sigh, closing her eyes.


    He sounded sincere enough to her to be able to return to her normal state. But she did have a hint of regret at her action and also disappointment at not getting the information she needed.


    Gia poked her head up from behind a desk. This was her only form of shelter, she had known it was not wise to get on the bad side of this senior. She had realized the rumors surrounding her powers were definitely true and not doing justice to the monstrosity she had just witnessed.


    ''Phew! Is it over?'' She hoped, staring and wondering why there was suddenly silence.


    "If you really want to know what happened, I would suggest you wait for Nix to get back or find out his connection with some sort of sculptor that possesses curses." Lank continued. "I don''t know why you would treat me as that vile snake, but I hope we could settle our differences."


    He offered his hand out for a shake, hoping to part ways on an amicable note.


    Pushing back some of her strands of her hair, she looked down at Lank''s hand, guilt eating deep on her heart. She had tried to suppress this side of her, but when provoked by Ayanami, she lost it.


    "I''m sorry for what went on there." She mumbled, her head lowered, her bangs casting a shadow on her face, "you weren''t my initial target, I had merely lost control and went overboard."


    ''I knew it, she didn''t mean what she had done.''


    "But... that was one hell of a twist on my arm. Who would have thought you had that kind of strength in you?" He joked, rubbing on his shoulder.


    "Dimwit! You had iting." Gia yelled out, blowing a raspberry. "You had your ass handed over to you." She burst out inughter.


    "Why you¨C" He narrowed his eyes on Gia, ring at her.


    "If you don''t know where he is, then do you think he suddenly vanished because of me?" She asked with a sigh, feeling dejected.


    She hadn''t been of the best character after he was hospitalised, so it was a bit expected.


    "He isn''t like that to run because of a female." Lank''s said with a smile. "He must have had a n going on that needed to be settled."


    Rubbing her shoulder, she nodded her head, trying to believe his words and hope he returns soon.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In the dragon''s territory Az,


    "Two down, one to go." Nix spoke, looking coldly at the dragon beneath his feet.


    [Your level has increased drastically, master!] Mune beamed, squealing in delight.


    "It would seem so." Nix dismissed her happy go lucky vibes.


    He had climbed up 5 levels because of this, but that wasn''t enough for him, if he wanted to have an unfair advantage over Fegan, he needed to climb higher.


    "Such a boring fight, this was." He sneered.

 Chapter 73 Tame And Level Up

    This dragon had a simr look to the one he had fought previously, both of their scales being blue in color with ck triangr spikes running down from its neck to its tail, he could only guess that they might have been twin dragons.


    The only difference he could pinpoint was that their points and level benefits should be different, since he could jump 3 levels ahead with the current defeat of this dragon.


    The previous making him jump only 2 levels ahead and with points of 700 and a 200 points deduction for having it under his control.


    Looking at the notification which popped up, he was right about their differences.


    [900 points gained]


    [Points: 3083 to be distributed]


    Rubbing his chin, he thought of a name, as opposed to Raiken, these two dragons didn''t have a name attached to them, he could only assume it was because it wasn''t a mission assigned to him by the system or it was because they never had a name to begin with.


    "Your name is Raz." He said, naming the unconscious dragon.


    [Isn''t that name a bit boring? Why not name it something like Sarza?] Mune suggested.


    Nix rolled his eyes at her words, "how about you give me a suggestion when you are able to subdue one yourself?"


    Mune''s lips drew into a thin line, looking away with a pout, mumbling incoherent words.


    "As I thought." He clicked his tongue.


    A smile made its way to his lips, this was just what he needed to boost his level manually when he needed to. It would serve as motivation. He would make sure he would not die until he got thest of the dragons.


    <o>,m Ding!</o>


    [To Control Raz: You need 400 points]


    [Do you wish to continue?]


    [Y/N]


    Clicking on the ''Yes'' option, he waited for the next action to take ce.


    Raz''s body morphed into a ball of blue light, redirecting it''s motion towards Nix, disappearing once it had touched his chest.


    Clenching his fingers, he let out a groan as a burning feeling intensified and his body became numb, then a blue light shed around his body momentarily. He tried to calm himself down so he could think rationally.


    [The effect was much stronger and deadlier than expected] She observed, watching Nix struggle to try and fight it to stay calm.


    His eyes were closed, he was breathing heavily. It was obvious this was no ordinary augmentation from a dragon, it was definitely much more stronger than that of Raiken and if not properly subdued and controlled, it could be fatal.


    "You think?!" He yelled out, startling Mune.


    "I''m sorry for yelling. I just had this sudden surge of emotions." He said in a low tone.


    [I understand, master. It''s definitely not your fault] Mune said with a reassuring smile.


    Calling upon his user interface, he stared at the numbers, as expected, it did augment his health, energy, strength and agility like Mune had rightly said.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 11]


    [Health: 163/500]


    [Exp: 101/200]


    [Energy: 240/400]


    [Strength: 182/400]


    [Agility: 103/300]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination, Rage, Defensiveness]<sub> </sub>


    [ss: Wheedler, Beast yer, Dragon tamer, Beast summoner, Pilferer]


    [Summons: Raiken, Rekor, Raz]


    [Gift: Fire, Telekinesis]


    [Points: 2683 to be distributed]


    "Where could the other be hiding?" He said to himself.


    [Hearing augmentation activated]


    Roooaaarrr!


    Looking over at Mune, who had a huge smile on her face, Nix nodded his head in understanding, thest dragon had been sessfully spotted.


    [04:13:56]


    The timer reminded him of the fact that his disguise would wear off in a few hours. Nix had to make sure that the dragon was taken down before that time. He had to work fast.


    It was obvious that he was stronger than the others. Why else would the ranking have increased this high?


    The dragon would have to be caught before the time was up and he could be identified, if word ever does go out.


    "Let''s go pay a visit to our scaly friend!" He said to Mune.


    Running in the direction of the sound, they proceeded to the next level where the dragon was located. As they approached, the sound of the dragon''s roar echoed throughout the area.


    [Hearing augmentation deactivated]


    The light of the dragon''s mes reflected in the area, lighting up the areapletely, sparks of light and a thick cloud of smoke floating in the sky.


    Snap!


    ''Darn it!'' Nix grimaced at the unintentional stepping on a twig below his boots.


    It was a red dragon with its head turned towards them. The green eyes of the dragon were cold and unfriendly. This was no ordinary beast.


    [Uh... master, be careful] Mune looked upwards at the seventeen feet dragon who looked wayrger due to her miniature size.


    There was something strange about this dragon, it had its cold gaze on Mune.


    "Mune, what''s going on? Can it see you?" He questioned.


    Gulping, Mune nodded her head, she had totally forgotten that the higher the level of a dragon, the more visible she would be to it as it was a creature spawned from a mixture of magic and gift.


    Mune''s expression didn''t sit well with him, there was something she wasn''t saying.


    Moreover, her eyes were locked on the dragon as well, trembling. He hade to his conclusion that it could see her. But how?


    Shaking his head, he wasn''t going to put her in danger because of hisck of experience on this aspect, immediately canceling his call on Mune.


    The dragon''s gaze returned to Nix, as he continued forward, with it watching him the whole way. It was obvious that this dragon was extremely dangerous, a huge gust of hot steaming out of the corner of its open mouth. It had deadly sharp yellow teeth and curved iron ws that looked like it could cut through any material.


    Sensing him as a threat, the dragon started to get angry at the sight of him, it began to roar and growl.


    Roooaaarrr!


    Nnnnnn!


    With these sounds, it charged forward at him.


    The ground trembled under the weight of the dragon as it made its way towards Nix.

 Chapter 74 Fire Gift Evolution

    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 103%]


    Jumping out of the way, he narrowly escaped the wave of mes being thrown at him, falling on the ground andnding on his back. He looked up, seeing a set of sharp teething right at him.


    ''For its size, it sure is fast.'' He observed, grateful for his newly increased speed.


    "What big teeth you have." He said,ughing at the sort of reference he was actually making. "I bet they are as cold as your heart, that''s if you are allowed to possess one." He said while rolling out of the way of the attack.


    [Strength activated. Your blows have been increased by 182%]


    [Gift: Fire fist in effect]


    Increasing his speed, he made arge floating fist made out of fire,rge enough topete with the size of its face.


    Launching himself at the dragon, the fire fist striking its face, the me dispersing upon impact.


    Bam!


    It made a loud crunching sound as it hit its face. The dragon''s eyes lit up red as it started to rage.


    Swiping at him, it''s ws scratched the flesh of Nix''s upper arm.


    [Health level dropped by 30 point]


    "Arrgh!" He yelled in pain, holding onto his arm. As his skin started to bleed.


    ''There is no way I''m going to lose to the likes of you, not now, not ever!'' His eyes gleaming red, he felt a surge of anger within him.


    He was yet to get rid of the mark imposed on him, there was no way he was going to ept defeat at the hands of a creature he was meant to tame.


    [Trait usage: Rage in effect]


    ''Two can y that game.'' He said in his thoughts, feeling a change in his strength, agility and fire power.


    [300 Strength augmentation activated]


    [300 Agility augmentation activated]


    [Gift: Fire power evolution activated]


    ''Fire power evolution?'' He repeated in confusion, as he watched a change happen to him.


    A red like glow was seening out from his body, his wound began to rapidly heal until there was no sign of him ever sustaining any injury. In an instant, a torrent of mes erupted from his hands and shot forward towards the dragon.


    With a loud roar, the dragon raised it''s head and let out a bellow, the mes hitting the dragon''s snout. As the mes hit the dragon''s face, it let out a sharp cry.


    Looking at his palm, he was as stunned at the amount of fire power he shot out. It all began to make sense how the trait usage augments certain parts of his stats.


    The color of his mes had also changed from its usual blue to a red.


    His eyes nced over to his arm, the injury was also gone, this was beyond his expectations. But he began to wonder to what extent this trait could heal any injury he might sustain before this trait unlocks automatically.


    The dragon pped its wings, snarling at its perceived threat. Making its way into the sky, using the clouds as a makeshift concealment.


    Whoosh!


    ''Here we go again.'' Nix rolled his eyes at the trick these sneaky dragons only knew how to do.


    Raiken, Rekor and Raz had all done the same thing as theirst resort, making use of the free space in the air to their advantage, or so they thought.


    [Would you like to evolve your gift to your advantage?]<sub> </sub>


    [Y/N]


    He stared at the interface in confusion, the words didn''t even have much meaning in a sense.


    Looking above, he could see how proficient this dragon was than the others when it came to making use of the concealment.


    His eyes widened as he saw a wave of me directed at him at great speed.


    [Passive gift: Telekic field in effect]


    Letting out a sigh, he was d that this part of the gift automatically operates when faced with a danger directly aimed at him in close range.


    Frowning, he could only count himself lucky he had such a passive gift, that attack was way too fast for him to react in time.


    His hands clenched by his side, teeth gritting at his inability to rely basically on one gift at a time.


    [Would you like to evolve your fire gift to your advantage?]


    [Y/N]


    The notification appeared in front of him again.


    Cross popping veins appeared on the side of his head as it was interfering in him thinking of a n to get this over and done with.


    In a bid to satisfy his curiosity, he clicked on the ''Yes'' option.


    [Pick any of the evolutions: Maniption that suits your choice would be in effect ordingly]


    [Solid me maniption]


    [Liquid me maniption]


    [Gaseous me maniption]


    ''What is this? Some kind of experiment and I''m it''s test rat?'' He stared wearily at the options he had in front of him.


    If it weren''t for the telekic field orbiting around him, he wouldn''t be asid back as he was at the moment. The dragon also seemed to be nning something, it was only best that he hurries up with his choice.


    Clicking on the first option which turned hard like some sort of volcanic pattern, he felt something different about his gift.


    [Ability to create solid objects or weapons from your mes]


    ''Solid fire weapons, huh?'' He rubbed his chin at the wild thoughts that immediately came to his mind.


    ng!


    He looked upwards at what caused the sound, and as expected, it was the dragon which had swooped down to test out with it''s iron ws, the durability of the field.


    Whoosh!


    It dashed back into the concealment provided by the thick clouds.


    Tut! Tut! Tut!


    He shook his head with a smirk, even though it did leave a trailing crack on the field, it just showed him how strong this creature was to have caused such damage to it.


    Nevertheless, he didn''t need its shield anymore, he had just acquired a rare chance given to him by the system, one he was excited to make use of apparently.


    ''Let''s see how you can hold your lot against me, silly creature.'' His eyes gleamed coldly, ready to test out how the evolution of his gift could be.

 Chapter 75 Find Fegan

    [Passive gift: Telekic field deactivated]


    [Hearing augmentation activated]


    If he couldn''t urately pinpoint where the dragon was, there are other ways of doing so. Closing his eyes, he tilted his head, his right ear slightly raised than the other as he listened to the faintest sound of the dragon dashing through the thick cover provided by the clouds.


    Whoosh!


    He shifted his attention to the left.


    Whoosh!


    Then behind him, but this time he didn''t make a move, this way the dragon would think it had him fooled and aim for his perceived weak point.


    ''For a beast, you sure act as cunning as some I know.'' He snickered in his thoughts, maintaining his position.


    Whoosh!


    As expected, he could hear the dragon swoop in for a sneak attack.


    Gliding his fingers, as he did, molten magma solidified as a long-ded weapon having a hilt was created.


    Waiting for just the right moment, he stilled, carefully concealing his weapon.


    ''A little more.'' He told himself.


    At just the right moment, he turned around.


    sh!


    Slicing through the dragon''s iron ws, the impact sent sparks and two of its ws flying in the air.


    [Level up]


    Roooaaarrr!


    The beast was enraged now, having lost some of its ws, with a loud roar and a wave of mes, itunched its attack at him again.


    He rolled to the side, avoiding the mes just in time.


    "Just count yourself lucky that you are useful to me!" He taunted.


    If it were a creature as the one he had faced in his home or Zoar, they were as good as dead.


    A secondter, it started to fire again. This time, itnded on his side. The impact caused his body to buckle and be thrown over to the ground.


    Left with no choice, he swiftly threw the sword at the dragon''s wing, manipting its motion and aimed for the weak spot of the wing.


    The de flew and bored deep into the dragon, stabbing and slicing into its right wing melting upon his control and bursting into mes.


    Riiieeee!


    It burned right through the wings for a while then it dissipated.


    [50 points gained]


    Creating another sword in an instant, heunched that one at one of its eyes.


    [50 points gained]


    The dragon started to howl, its mes shooting high into the sky. It was getting weaker by the minute.


    This would have been a great opportunity for him to finish it off. He had to get it down before the time was up.


    [03:02:45]


    As much as he wanted to kill it, it wasn''t an option. He had to tame it.


    [Passive gift: Telekic pull in effect]


    It struggled to break free from the pull, as it gradually sumbed to the force pulling it down.


    ''Yield!'' He made a downward gesture.


    This time he was sessful, it came crashing down. Dust engulfed the area in its wake.


    [Level up]


    Cough!


    Cough!


    Nix blew on the dust, away from him as he walked closer towards the dragon.<sub> </sub>


    [Passive gift: Telekic field in effect]


    He watched as a wave of fire was blocked by his gift. Shaking his head, he wondered how it still had the strength tounch such an attack.


    "It wouldn''t seem fastening you to the ground wasn''t enough." He increased the force used, this time applying the same separately to its mouth.


    "Now, let''s see how you would let out mes." He clicked his tongue.


    [Passive gift: Telekic field deactivated]


    Clenching his fist, his hand was covered in solid mes. Dealing a final blow on the head of the dragon.


    Bam!


    [Level up]


    [Level up]


    [2000 points gained]


    [Points: 4783 to be distributed]


    One hit wasn''t enough for Nix, for some reason, this dragon pissed him off more than the others he had tamed.


    Bam!


    He gave it another hit to vent out his frustration, pulling out his knuckles, he could see blood stains on it.


    Holding onto the right side of his face, he had realized his rage trait was still functioning and would have to cancel it before he went berserk.


    [Trait usage: Rage deactivated]


    In an instant, he felt a relief course through his body, letting out a sigh.


    "Time to name you." He rubbed his palms together while having a dubious smirk on his lips.


    This was his favorite part of the whole battle, naming dragons was like a hobby to him, a way of releasing the stress.


    ''Red!'' The name popped into his head.


    Judging from the color of its scales and its attitude, it was the perfect match for such a name.


    "Red it is." He snapped his finger, nodding his head as he had made his final decision.


    Immediately he had named it, a notification popped up.


    [To Control Red: You need 600 points]


    ''Of course, therger the points.'' He looked down at the notification with disdain.


    [Do you wish to continue?]


    [Y/N]


    Clicking on the ''Yes'' option, he waited for the usual action to take ce.


    Red''s body morphed into a ball of red light, redirecting its motion towards Nix, disappearing once it had touched his chest.


    [You have earned the ss: Dragon master]


    Immediately his tamer ss was reced with the master ss.


    The timer popped up again.


    [02:47:00]


    A smile crept onto his face, he still had a bit of time before it would end.


    Looking down at his right arm, he felt a slight tingle as he watched the familiar glow branching in the form of veins trailing down his arm to his fingers.


    ''I did it! I finally surpassed his rank!'' He had a faint smile.


    If this mark couldn''t affect him as much as before, and ording to Mune, he could stand a chance against Fegan at his current level.


    "Watch out, Fegan, you would regret joining forces with the wrong people and marking me with your curse!" He vowed.


    [New Mission: Locate Fegan]


    Closing his eyes, he nodded his head. The mission he needed had finally made itself avable to him.


    Having a system which could know his resolve and turn it into a mission was truly a blessing in disguise. Deriving points from what he set his mind on was just an added bonus he was sure to take advantage of at every given opportunity.

 Chapter 76 As You Wish, Master

    In an undisclosed location,


    The room was slightly dim, very well maintained, had many books stacked up in shelves, and was a bitrger than a typical living area. The walls were made of a dark, brown wood, with a small door in the center of the walls that was a bit darker. Above the door was a small sign that said, "SECRET."


    A male could be seen walking into the room, upon getting in, bowed immediately.


    He was wearing a simple white shirt and ck pants, with a ck belt. A silver ne with a red gem hung around his neck. A white mask that had some sort of symbol on it was on his eyes. "Master, we had a problem with the house." He looked down at his feet as he spoke. "It''s gone."


    With glowing blue eyes illuminating in the darkened room, the master looked down at him. His body is still obscured by the shadows.


    The male seemed a bit nervous as he continued to speak. "We could not find a scroll or anything else, but the house was burnt to the ground. There were no living beings in the house, just the charred remains of what had been there."


    "You could not find the scroll?!" The master''s voice boomed out and echoed throughout the room, the gleam of his eyes intensified. "You failed me."


    "Master¡­" The male started, but he was cut off when the master spoke again.


    "The creature?"


    "Dead." He replied quietly, "the reason is still unknown, but we assume that it had been killed by a force unknown, yet strong. The ws were what was left in the scene."


    "Who the hell could have done that?!" The master roared, then stood in silence. All he could think was that the scroll was gone, the very scroll which was the key to everything. A scroll that could take everything away from him.


    Standing in silence, he thought for a while, the only sound being the ticking of the clock that was on the wall. As the ticking stopped, the master looked up and his eyes began to glow. With a single word out, the lights in the room went on.


    Letting out a deep breath, he spoke. "Find out who did this!"


    "As you wish, Master." He bowed once again.


    "Halt!" He ordered, and the male froze in ce, then fell to his knees and bowed again.


    "How could a house of that size be burnt to the ground?" The master questioned, going down on one knee and staring into the male''s face.


    The male was still unable to look up. "Was it necessary to investigate this, master?" The male looked up, his eyes showing a lot of fear.


    "You confirmed the creature dead and the scroll gone, with the house magically down in ashes and you couldn''t deem it possible to have investigated who had done this?!" The vein in the side of his face, bulging in rage at the stupidity of those around him.


    The male did not answer, and the master just stared at him until his eyes looked to be glowing with an intense blue glow.


    As the blue aura was almost blinding, the male looked away and began to tremble, his eyes widened.


    "No, no, no, master please! You won''t hurt me, you won''t¡­" He cried as he fell to the floor, the master just stared at him.


    "Are you telling me what to do?" The master was furious as he got up from his kneeling position.


    The male just kept on crying. "Please spare me!" He cried, holding onto his head in pain, mming it on the floor, his skin breaking and blood trailing down his face.<sub> </sub>


    "It hurts, it hurts so much¡­." He cried, unable to stop himself from mming his head continuously, as the master looked at him with a sneer on his face.


    "My hold on you is only due to your stupidity." The master growled, then began to walk towards him.


    "You are just a pathetic weakling with a gift not worth taking." The master looked down at him, pulling the red gem from the ne, then with one swift motion, he picked the male up off the floor and threw him into the wall.


    With a powerful kick, he sent the male flying into another wall. The male was sent back towards the ceiling, his body hurtling through the air before he crashed onto the floor with the loud thud of his body hitting the ground.


    The master looked down, and he smiled. "Incapability of that miniature detail means nothing more than trash to me."


    Opening up a portal, he created a force that sent the male through the portal. He was tossed into a volcanic wastnd. The male was screaming as he was thrown into the fiery mes. Within minutes he was gone, though his cries could be heard all the way from outside the walls. The master smiled, and closed the portal.


    "Now that was tiresome," he muttered to himself, shoving the gem into his pocket.


    He proceeded to call upon another name, one he hoped was as capable as he was rmended by the organization, "Zephyr!"


    The young man teleported immediately into the room.


    He had his white hair tied in a ponytail, his eyes were green and intelligent, and he wore a ck hoodie, gray pants and ck boots.


    He was younger than thest male, and he looked a lot more innocent. "I''m sorry, master," he said. "What did you ask me to do?"


    "Zephyr, I need you to find out who did this. I need you to kill them, whatever it takes."


    "Yes, master," Zephyr replied, but he seemed nervous.


    "You don''t have to be afraid of me, Zephyr. I will protect you, and look after you. I won''t hurt you." He promised.


    Zephyr was still nervous, and he tried to look up, but couldn''t.


    "You may leave." The master said, rolling his eyes. He could only hope the rmendation given was right.


    "As you wish, master." Zephyr took a step back, then turned around and teleported out of the room.


    The room was silent again. The master sat down on the couch and rubbed his eyes, his breathingbored.


    A sudden rush of pain caused him to cough out blood on his trembling hand.


    ''Damn you!'' He cursed in his thoughts at the cause of his ailment.


    "Lyra, I hoped you liked the present I gave you? After what you did to me, you thought you could hide from me after defecting?!" He spoke to himself,ughing maniacally.


    "Whoever is with that scroll you stole, must die! It must be dealt with. I must have it!" The master''s voice echoed back and forth as he spoke.

 Chapter 77 Come Forth

    Huff!


    Huff!


    Nix exerted himself while running, the gate to the academy within his range of sight as he skidded to a stop.


    Hiding behind a tree, he had his back resting on it as he tried to catch his breath, hyperventting.


    The timer suddenly popped up in front of him.


    [00:05:45]


    ''Sh*t! Was I really too slow?'' His hands shot up to his face, feeling a glitch in the customisation.


    It would be a matter of minutes before he reverts to his original form. From what he had experienced when he had tried to escape the academy, the guards had some sort of mental radar which could securely identify who was going in and out.


    If it weren''t for his speed, identity change and the fact that he had blocked a guard''s precise beam with his field, he was sure to have been caught.


    To his credit, they couldn''t identify his passive gift and merely thought it was magic, therefore, it was safe to assume that they thought it was one of the magic users who had escaped.


    Even if he could recreate all, there were two ws to the whole thing. First, his identity would be discovered once he changes back. Second, he was going in and not escaping, that would mean creating a scene of being caught.


    Looking behind for a while, he noticed the security had been tightened, as opposed to guards just stationed at the gates, there were some still patrolling the premises like a guard dog.


    ''Dammit!'' He cursed. Attention was something he wouldn''t want to attract like all main protagonists do, there must surely be a way for him to sneak in without the guards noticing.


    There was only one option he could think of, a rather risky one. It was the only way that he might be able to get in, while evading the guards.


    Summoning a dragon would be a great risk. No matter how he thought about it, his identity was sure to be known. Fighting wasn''t an option, given his current state he would likely be caught anyways.


    "It''s time to create a disturbance." He rubbed his hands together as he began to concentrate on the dragon of his choosing. He suddenly felt the connection between him and the dragons.


    <I''m better suited for this! I would make sure that I won''t rip their hearts out¡­ yet!> Red growled.


    Rekor and Raz growled in unison.


    <¡­> Raiken chose not to respond like the rest.


    Nix was stunned by their ability tomunicate in his subconscious. The enthusiasm in the three was a cause of concern.


    Red had a somewhat killing intent which he pathetically tried to conceal, while Rekor and Raz were somewhat taking this like an adventure. Raiken on the other hand proved like he was uninterested in whatever was happening.


    Having made his decision, he proceeded to choose Raiken. The familiar feeling of the system picking what he was unwilling to do, was beginning to make a lot more sense.


    <The rest are willing, I would rather sit this one out> Raiken snorted in reply.


    [00:00:00]


    [Customization deactivated]


    Internally facepalming at the sheer luck he was experiencing, his disguise vanished immediately.


    ''Just great!'' He narrowed his eyes at no one in particr. He could only me this on his poor choices.


    "You answer to me, do you understand that!" He hissed.


    <¡­><sub> </sub>


    <Self centered beast> Red sneered.


    There was no way he was going to let a beast dictate what was best for him, he had chosen Raiken and he was going to stick by it.


    "Come forth, Raiken!" Nixmanded in a deep voice, mimicking an exaggerated form in which he had seen in the movies.


    To his dismay, nothing happened. Cross popping veins made its way to his forehead.


    "What the hell? Why won''t you obey me?"


    <Although I do not have the ultimate power to ignore your call, but there is no way I am going to answer to a sickening voice like the one that had spewed out of your human mouth> Raiken sneered.


    Sweat dropping, he was instantly regretting taming Raiken, he had no fear for his master, nor was he giving him the respect he deserved like the rest.


    "What a waste of points!" He rolled his eyes. With his current attitude, it only made him desire Raiken more for the job.


    "Come forth, Raiken." He repeated confidently.


    A thick fog of ck smoke covered the ground, it began to converge into one point as it materialised into the dragon, towering and belittling the trees before it.


    ''No... No... No...." He grimaced at what was to follow, internally facepalming at his inability to think it through.


    A gust of wind blew on him, then a thick cloud of dust followed.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    Nix blew on the dust, hoping what he would see would be far from what he had imagined.


    Several trees fell to amodate its wide wingspan, tail and bodymass. Then settled into the ground, creating arge circle around a tree stump.


    Krrrkk!


    It''s yellow eyes red as it took in its new surroundings.


    <Is this the forsaken ce you brought me?> Raikenmunicated telepathically, instead he held a growl as he looked around him.


    "Would you watch your tone? They would..."


    An uproar was hearding from some guards, "what the hell is that doing here?!"


    "It''s a dragon?!"


    "Our barrier has been breached!"


    "Call reinforcement!"


    ''And I finally got the attention I so rightly hate." Nixmented in a quiet and low tone. Turning around, he began to m his head on the tree in frustration.


    <Instead of doing that, how about I have some fun?> He replied, spreading out his wings.


    Pulling his head away, Nix nodded, he needed to set his priorities right, a quiet entry was what he had originally wanted and that was what he was going to do.


    "Go cause some damage, anyone who puts up much resistance, break a few bones." Hemanded with a smirk.

 Chapter 78 A Familiar Beast

    <Just what I like to hear>


    With that, Raiken began to p its wings with a low roar.


    ''Be careful!'' Nix nodded his head, still maintaining hismunication with him.


    It made arge arc in the direction of the guards. The noise from the sound of the wings echoed in the air.


    Whoosh!


    Swiftly evading the beams shot at him by the guards, it made several turns and spins.


    Bam!


    There was a sneak attack which had managed to have caught Raiken unawares. Temporarily stunning Raiken, the feel of its wings stiffened. Crashing down, it searched its surrounding area on who had done that as it gradually recovered its feel.


    ''Raiken!'' Nix stared in horror at what he was witnessing, he had managed to see the guard who had done it.


    <Human, I can''t be subdued by suchme trick>


    ''To your right, that was who yed it dirty.'' He alerted, he had been able to sessfully pass through an opening in the gates that he had created.


    Raiken had its eyes fixed on the very guard in question. Pretending to still be affected by the beam, it let free fall take effect for some while.


    "Yes! We finally caught a dragon!"


    "Our days of fear are finally¡­"


    "Watch out!" One of the guards alerted as it realized there was something oddly strange with its fall.


    Whoosh!


    It took him under its ws, tearing a huge chunk out of the ground where he was standing. It continued flying past other guards, each time they reacted by trying to run in the opposite direction. Raiken had no interest in them, he was just meant to cause a scene like he was instructed to.


    Letting out a wave of me at them, they all jumped out of the way, with some managing to protect themselves by creating a magical seal to protect those who couldn''t react in time.


    "Let me go, you vile beast!" The guard struggled to break free from the dragon''s ws on his upper body.


    <Beast?!> Raiken''s roar of fury echoed throughout the forest. It continued to fly, dragging the guard underneath it''s ws.


    Intentionally, gliding through the trees of the forest like a bat. He made several sharp turns and rotation.


    The guard was left in a state of daze and the nauseous feeling strong.


    ''Raiken, that''s enough.'' Nix ordered.


    Reluctantly, it let go of the guard on a tree branch, leaving him to fend for himself.


    Shaking his head, Nix turned his attention back to the academy, using his hood to conceal himself, he walked through the forest path.<sub> </sub>


    The students and teachers had all gathered by the window and were watching with anticipation. Seeing Raiken fly by, they all ducked in fear.


    This was the first time they hade in close range with a dragon, let alone seeing one in the flesh.


    They were just about to begin to rx, when a cry of rm broke the silence.


    "Run!!!" A guard yelled. The students looked around in confusion. They had all expected the dragon to make a huge impact when itnded, but it was missing. The only thing that could be seen was a cloud of ck smoke.


    Then it suddenly disappeared, as though it had just been created out of thin air. The crowd fell silent. They were all wondering if they had all just experienced something unexinable.


    Nix let out a sigh, it had been a close call, but when the dragon had locked its gaze on Mr Zhao, it had nearly broken free from his control. The reason for this was something he would have to figure outter.


    <Let me out!> Raiken raged, angered that his summoning was canceled.


    ''Like I would listen to you, weren''t you the one who didn''t want to be out before? Consider this my apologies for letting you out in the first ce.'' Nix retorted.


    He had sensed a killing intent from Raiken, there was no way he would allow him kill Mr Zhao, not while he was still important to his ns, that would be done at a different time, and by his hands.


    ''I don''t know what he did to you or why you want to kill him, but I appreciate the effort. When the time is right, I will dig further into this mystery, but for now, just rest!''


    With that, he cut off themunication in his subconscious, there was no way he would allow the dragon''s voice to override his thoughts.


    Fortunately, his distraction was enough so that his n had been sessful.


    He had sessfully made it through the gates into the academy without being seen.


    The crowd suddenly started talking once more, it was safe to say that they had recovered from their shock and were ordered to return to their dorms.


    Looking down at the forest path, Lumia immediately spotted Nix walking, her sensory level had been heightened and could effectively pinpoint his location, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.


    ''What exactly are you?!'' Her hands were tightly clutched on the window sill. She could clearly tell whatever had just happened was likely linked with him.


    "Why are you staring into the forest path so intently?" Fae wrapped her hand around Lumina, looking back at her. She seemed to be more curious than anything else. "Is there something out there? A dragon? A beast?" She was clearly in doubt. Fae looked around the ssroom, as she whispered.


    Rolling her eyes, she turned her attention away from the window, "I thought I saw a familiar beast."


    "A familiar beast? What does that even mean?" Fae questioned, wondering why Lumina was suddenly leaving without another word.


    "Hey!" Fae called after her.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Climbing in through the window, he lightly dropped in with a thud. Closing the window right away.


    "That was a close call." He let out a sigh of relief, stretching out his limbs.


    "If I had not watched that myself, I would have thought our academy''s security wascking." Lumina''s voice broke through the silence.

 Chapter 79 Stay With Me

    Frozen in ce, Nix blinked a few times. Scratching his eyes, he had to make sure her presence wasn''t just a figment of his imagination.


    She sat on the chairid back, her right leg over the other, with her gaze intently on him.


    He hadn''t seen her in a while, so he hoped it was just his wishful thinking.


    "It is I, Lumina, the one and only person you refer to as pretty!" She said in self absorption, rifying she was indeed real.


    "What are you doing here?" He gave a nervous chuckle, hoping to steer the topic away from him.


    With a raised brow, Lumina narrowed her eyes even further.


    "Hmmm..."


    Looking anywhere but her, he did wonder how long she had been there.


    "I just came in not too long. Thinking it might be nice to rest up a little after the strange event of today," she began, almost as if she could read his thoughts, "I had thought I might catch a thief while at it."


    "Haha good one." He said with a straight face.


    Shrugging, Lumina got up, folding her hands, she simply stared without another word.


    ''This is getting really awkward.'' Nix thought, looking at the table where a piece of paperid, from the looks of it, it had a seal, one too simr to the academy''s insignia.


    Lumina traced his line of sight and was instantly thrown into panic as she rushed towards the paper and squeezed it, shoving it into her pocket.


    "It''s just ss projects." She exined.


    There was no way he was buying that excuse, even when his mother was still alive, she couldn''t even hide the fact something was definitely wrong when she tried hiding the scroll.


    Whatever it was, he couldn''t care less at the moment. All he had managed to get was an excuse to avoid the discussion steering in his direction again, and that was just about enough for him.


    "If that''s all, I would like to take a break. I feel like my mind is still foggy." He mumbled to himself. "I''m not sure I can continue any more. It''s been quite a stressful day."


    He turned to leave, but before he could do so, Lumina walked past him and stood in the doorway. Nix''s back stiffened.


    "What are you doing?" He questioned.


    Lumina looked at him, wondering if he was going to tell her what had just happened.


    "Are you going to leave me again? I can''t stand it, Nix!" The words came out in a torrent. It was clear that she was in tears. She had to fight back the urge to cry in front of him.


    ''Again?'' He had never seen her like this. He had never seen her cry. It was quite the contrast from his previous encounters with her.


    He was about to exin himself, but she quickly interrupted him.


    "Can you just stay the night like we used to? I want you to stay with me." She wanted to make sure she had not been too forward, but it was already toote. She had already made her intentions clear.


    Nix looked at her as though she was crazy. Taking a sniff of the air, he could smell her breath, there were no traces of alcohol in her breath. She clearly wasn''t drunk.<sub> </sub>


    "If this is about the other¨C"


    Lumina pulled on his cor, forcing him into a tight embrace.


    He hadn''t even had a chance to exin himself before she started kissing him, her lips moving frantically against his own.


    Gently, he pulled her out of the embrace. "I''m sorry but I don''t think you are in your right senses at the moment." He was trying to be patient to exin himself, but she didn''t seem to be listening.


    His senses could tell something else was triggering her suddenly being too forward, it almost felt like a trade.


    As much as he wanted to go further, he would not allow that to be used as a tool to reel him in, that was his forte.


    Commitment was something he also feared, having someone too close to him was something dreadful. The guilt he still felt in memory of his family being killed still haunted him.


    Until he could forgive himself, there was no way he would be able to allow anyone to go through something as gruesome as they did.


    ''I am a walking disaster ma.'' He reminded himself of the thought of being the main protagonist in this world.


    The movies had taught him the fates that befell several females that were close to their counterparts.


    Lumina was disappointed that he had refused her, and she had to admit that, in all honesty, she had been a bit too forward. But the only thing she could think about was the fact that he had left her. She was in the middle of making up to him, and he had left without a word.


    The weird recollection of what Ayanami had said, left asting impression on her. Now that he was present, she thought it best to give him a chance to exin himself. "Nix, where were you, yesterday night?"


    ''Seriously? That''s the question?''


    Nix looked at her, and in a calm voice, he said, "It''s not something I need to say to you."


    "Oh!" She looked disappointed.


    "By any chance, do you have any special preferences?" She muttered, unsure of why she would ask such a stupid question.


    Nix''s mood immediately darkened at her question, there was something oddly familiar with the way she spoke.


    It almost felt like someone had instigated her to say such nonsense.


    A shiver went down her spine as she noticed how her words had affected his mood. Shaking her head, she realized she had merely allowed Ayanami''s words to get to her for her to think in such a direction, just because he had rejected her advances.


    "Who put you up to this?!" He growled in rage. There was only one person he could think of and this made him more furious at the thought. All he needed was for her to confirm it.


    "No one." Lumina sweat dropped, knowing fully well that it had been unwise to go with what Ayanami had proposed in the first ce. If she reveals that to him.


    Judging from the way Ayanami spoke, they weren''t really on good terms, and the mere mention of her name might spark a negative reaction in his current state of mind.


    Forcing her up against the wall, he had both hands on the wall and trapping her from moving, closing his eyes, he tried to stay calm as he spoke once more.


    "I would only ask one more time, who put you up to this?" His eyes searched hers as he awaited an answer.

 Chapter 80 Tempting Little Fox

    As a method she could only use to distract him, she leaned forward in a teasing manner, her lips pursed together as she looked at his lips, it was a little bit tempting to kiss him again.


    ''What the hell is wrong with you, Lumina?'' Her thoughts scolded.


    This was the same person she had outrightly belittled when they had first met, it felt strange as to why she considered him a lot more attractive than he was before.


    cing her hands on his chest, she grabbed his shirt with her right hand, pulling him closer and leaning forward. Her bust pressing aggressively against his chest, his eyes closed when it happened.


    ''She''s trying to tempt me. Don''t do it! Don''t do it!'' He repeated to himself in an attempt to resist her actions. As much as he wanted her to confirm who had ced her up to this, he wasn''t certain if he could concentrate on anything else besides what she was doing.


    "I''m not forcing you to do anything, I was only expressing how I felt." She looked at him with a soft, yet inviting expression.


    His body could only react to her actions as he groaned, cing his hands on her waist as he pushed her back against the wall, leaning forward to get a better look at her cleavage.


    She could feel his strong hands on her. Lifting her up a little bit, wrapping her legs around his waist eagerly as her hand held onto his neck for support. Feeling his hands on her waist, as his lips made their way down her neck.


    "I really want to do this." He whispered, as his hands pressed against her skin.


    He kept his eyes closed, so he could not see her reaction as he kissed her neck. He couldn''t deny the sensation that she was giving him, as a boner former in his pants.


    ''Goddamnit! Now''s not the time!'' He tried to control his desire.


    Feeling something pressing in on her, her head immediately faced downwards, but her gaze was cut short as he pulled her chin upwards so she stared into his eyes.


    She could clearly see his face flushed, this could only mean that which she felt was what she thought it was.


    ''She knows...'' Nix felt like his spirit had departed from his body at that point and returned a few secondster, his tough exterior crumbling with the knowing look in her eyes.


    To make whatever that might be going on between them more interesting, he pulled away yet again, chuckling at the sick thought in his mind.


    ''I must be really out of my mind to be the one pulling away from her.'' He thought to himself as he tried to shake off the thoughts.


    But it just wasn''t working. He couldn''t help but stare at her. She still looked beautiful. No matter how much he tried to deny it, he couldn''t bring himself tomit until he knew for certain how much she liked him.


    How far she would go, even if he asked her to do so. There was still a lot of uncertainty in the matter. And it was because of that, that he couldn''t tell if she really was flirting with him. Or was it all just a game?


    Lumina frowned, she couldn''t figure out what he was thinking. He had just told her he wanted to do this. In all honesty, she couldn''t wait to feel what it felt like to be with him, but there was something that always prevented him from going further.


    "You are one tempting little fox." Heplimented, a wicked grin on his face. Then he ran his hand down the side of her face, brushing her cheek. "Even more than I thought." He said, his voice growing soft, she could barely make out the words.<sub> </sub>


    "How far are you willing to go for me?" He couldn''t resist asking, despite the fact that he knew he shouldn''t. He felt he had to know. She could make him lose his mind if she''d only give him the chance.


    "I would go to any length." She replied, a little too quickly.


    This was just about all he needed to hear from her. If this was going to work, he didn''t need a damsel in distress, what he needed was a damsel who could as well protect herself and fight alongside him.


    This would greatly negate the fate of whatever might befall her if he allows her to get too close to him.


    "Are you up for the challenge?" He asked, his voice growing more intimate as his finger traced the line of her lips.


    Lumina''s eyes brightened up at his words, she could only process his words as, "pass the challenge and I will be yours."


    Nodding her head frantically, she waited for his next response.


    Her attitude only made him let out a chuckle, ruffling her hair.


    Ufortable with the gesture, she let a faint wave of current course through her body, zapping him.


    Immediately, Nix retracted his hands, shaking out the numbness that followed. "What was that for?"


    Lumina looked downwards, disturbed that his action had triggered a sad memory. "Nothing." She mumbled, looking anywhere but his face.


    "You just zapped me because you wanted to remind me about your gift or something?" He raised a brow at her.


    "I''m sorry, it just kicked in unexpectedly." She replied, closing her eyes momentarily while fiddling with her fingers.


    Ignoring her action and exhaling, he summed it up as she didn''t like the gesture in general. There were still the conditions he was supposed to give out in which she could work towards.


    "Look at me." Hemanded, feeling uneasy by her countenance, first it was the tears thest time, now this?


    Reluctantly, she raised her head, locking gazes with him. Pulling her emotions together, she was determined to be more confident around him.


    "Do you want the challenge or not?" He folded his arms.


    "I never turn down a good challenge." She said confidently with a smirk.

 Chapter 81 Ill Kill Them All!

    Nix nodded his head, rubbing his chin, he narrowed his eyes as he thought on how well he could make the task he would give her as challenging as possible.


    "I want you to prove to me how much you can grow," he began. "I don''t want a dead weight clinging to me."


    "Hey!" Lumina nudged him on the side.


    Rubbing his side to the pain, "I never mentioned names, and that doesn''t mean you are the only one who is trying to cling to me."


    Lumina narrowed her eyes at those words, "what are their names, department or ranks?" Her voice grew cold at the thought of thepetition.


    Nix took a step back at her action, there were sparks of currents traveling across her body as she stared at him.


    "Would you calm down? You overthink things." He shook his head, even though he knew her action was mainly due to jealousy, at the very best she shouldn''t mistakenly zap him with one of those currents, he was the victim here.


    ''It''s the plot''s fault for creating the situation in this way.'' He facepalmed.


    "I''m overthinking things?" She asked with a raise of her brows.


    "I don''t appreciate overbearing females, nor do I want to have anything to do with those who would be what I had described as dead weight." He shrugged.


    But there was something about Lumina, it almost felt like she had something special the moment he had met her, he could only hope his senses weren''t wrong.


    "Let''s get this right, I need to see how well you can hold your lot against the others in this academy..."


    Lumina immediately burst outughing, tears brimming in her eyes as she pointed a finger at him, then bending over inughter at his words.


    Nix furrowed his brows in confusion, wondering why she would react in such a way, he wasn''t even done with his words and she was already belittling his words?


    As much as Lumina wanted to brag, she knew it was unwise to speak on what she could truly do. There was always the next day during the sparring session, if she was allowed to participate, she was sure to go all out to prove her point and show him the kind of gift she had.


    "Am I missing something?" Nix folded his arms, clearly not pleased with her current attitude.


    Realizing her mistake, she bowed overdramatically, "My apologies kind Sir, it''s just that you really aren''t acquainted with the remaining two gifts." She raised her head to lock eyes with him.


    Nix''s interest immediately grew upon that snippet of information, he did recall he had wanted to ask more on that from her.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "What you don''t know is that my gift is one of them, but inparison with the rest, I do not possess the ability to develop a passive gift, but we can feel each other''s aura as long as they are within reach." She looked away shyly.


    p This was the way she could sense his presence in the forest path at the time.</anda>


    He was stunned by this news, now he could feel it from within, one of the reasons he had taken a liking to Lumina.


    "What''s thest gift?" He questioned, there was something oddly strange about his feelings, it was almost like he could guess thest one.<sub> </sub>


    "Water," she tilted her head in confusion.


    ''Naz!" Nix''s eyes widened in horror, he could remember the condition he had found in his mother and brother. Now it all made sense why they had targeted his home. They must have tried to steal his mother and brother''s gift.


    Gifts weren''t just a miracle, they were no more than their life force, if taken it would kill them and strip them of their warmth. Hence, how he had seen his mother and brother.


    This had been made more prominent when he had fought with Agatha, the other students were in a simr condition.


    But thinking about it, it couldn''t possibly be Agatha who had been at their home, it was toorge and a key monument of the academy, there was no way it would leave without anyone noticing.


    Whoever or whatever had caused such a scene while he had battled that creature was going to pay for what they had done.


    His guesses were that his brother''s gift was taken, but he wondered how and why his mother''s gift had been transferred to him. What was the connection or what went wrong with the extraction?


    Why did they have to kill Aimi in such a gruesome manner? She was an innocent child!


    "Please don''t tell me, you also have the water gift." Lumina took a step back, weary of the kind of monstrosity he would be if he had that in conjunction with the two he had.


    He looked down at his palms as if it weren''t part of his body, they were trembling violently. He dropped to his knees, looking downwards and holding onto his hair as he pulled on it. "No! I wasn''t the cause! I didn''t do it, you have to believe me!" He yelled.


    The thought of him being the one who had made both his mother and Naz vulnerable and not being able to look after Aimi, burning down their home with his gift. He couldn''t help but have an inner struggle in his thoughts as he remembered the painful past.


    Lumina jumped back in shock, she had never seen him in such a state before.


    He had finally had a family aftering into this world, yet that was stripped from him when he was just making a connection with them.


    His face reddened as he clenched his fists. "They will pay for this." he said, his teeth bared as his eyes grew distant. "I''ll kill them all!" He punched the floor repeatedly in a fit of rage.


    [Health level dropped by 2 points]


    Bam!


    [Health level dropped by 2 points]


    Then he stopped when he saw the dent created by his fist.


    "What the hell is going on with you?!" Lumina screamed, she had wanted to get closer to him, but paused as soon as she saw the look in his eyes, second thoughts immediately set in.


    Nix knew he could do it, that it was only a matter of time before he could infiltrate the organization and kill every person who stood in his way. His n was simple, he would start small like he had done in the academy, infiltrate the organization and gather information, so he could make a n to get revenge on the people who had taken everything away from him.


    ''They had taken everything from me, it was now about time that they paid for their crimes.'' He thought.


    He had nearly forgotten that he wasn''t alone in the room as he raised his head, looking at the female in front of him, her face staring at him as if she was waiting for him to exin what had just transpired.

 Chapter 82 Whats The Catch For Participating?

    But he didn''t know what to say. Thest thing he wanted to do was talk about what had just happened.


    Closing his eyes, he looked down, internally cursing at the fact that he had made a fool out of himself in front of her.


    How could he exin what had just happened? It wasn''t like he actually felt there was any need for him to exin anyways.


    Getting up, he noticed she took a step back at his movements.


    Her eyes were still glued to the concrete floor. She wondered to what extent his strength was to have caused such a dent in there.


    Raising his head, he wiped down his face, hoping to smooth out what had just happened.


    "Pretty face, it''s just that¡ª"


    Raising her hand to stop him from exining, she had gotten something from all he had said, instead she went with the unconventional approach.


    Closing the gap between them, she took him in an embrace, cing her ears on his chest. "It''s okay if you struggle with guilt, just don''t hurt yourself while doing that." Her voice was muffled by her cheek pressing on his chest, but just enough for him to get the message.


    This hug had felt strangely different from all the others, it was warm andforting, nothing arousing in any way. He had his hands awkwardly raised to his sides, unsure if he should return the favor after his outburst.


    "You don''t need to exin anything to me if it''s notfortable for you to do so." She replied, her voice holding a hint of sadness. "I understand."


    Slowly he let down his hands, his face drooping lower as he stared at her hair. The faint smell ofvender engulfing his senses. He leaned forward and further into her embrace, his chin resting on her shoulder.


    A single tear rolled down his cheek, dropping onto her shoulder.


    He stared at it, he had never let himself show weakness to anyone, but right now, he felt like he wanted to be vulnerable. He felt like he wanted to feel loved.


    He needed to be certain that he could protect whoever he would be close with.


    Feeling a slight trembling run through his whole body, she hugged him even tighter. "I''m so sorry, Nix.." she said, letting go of him, her face showing a faint smile as she watched the single tear run down his cheek.


    She had recalled when he had been introduced to the ss officially, he had made mention of him being an orphan. Although she couldn''t believe most of the story, she hade to a rightful conclusion that whatever had happened a while ago was because of a traumatic event he might have witnessed in rtion with his family.


    In contrast, her brother had been killed, she never knew her father, but she still had her mother, alive to take care of once she could be chosen to work in the organization like every other exceptional student of the academy, so the pain could only be half felt.


    "I would definitely get stronger, and I won''t let whatever had happened to you repeat itself." She replied confidently.


    "Who would have thought you had this emotional side to you? You always seemed so cold, like whatever you did, didn''t really matter. Yet here you are, being so vulnerable." She said, wiping the tears off his cheek and pulling on them so he unintentionally made a face.


    She let out a smile at witnessing how unappealing he could be in that weird cheek pull.


    Shaking his head, he pulled his cheek away from her grasp. Seeing her smile, he started to feel better. The coldness he had felt was starting to wash away and was reced with the warmth she shared with him.<sub> </sub>


    ''I''m not cold, I''m just hiding all this from the world because I can''t have anyone get hurt. So I try to keep things I don''t want people to know a secret.'' He had wanted to say as he simply stared at her.


    Lumina couldn''t hold his gaze as a blush made its way to her cheeks, immediately she pushed him away from her in a bid to hide her embarrassment.


    Her hand on her chest, she tried to steady her breathing. "I''m sorry, it''s just that I couldn''t control my heartbeat for a second there." Sheughed, trying to y it off.


    Turning around, she was stunned by how fast and silently he had walked up from behind her.


    "Is there anything you might ne¨C"


    He pulled her by the wrist, she was met in a lip lock for a few seconds before he broke away almost immediately, leaving her wanting more than just that.


    ''Control yourself Lumina.'' She internally cautioned her thoughts.


    "I did mention before that I liked the way you get all flustered around me." He replied, his voice sounding more like himself as he smiled.


    "I wasn''t blushing!" She denied the obvious, a blush evident on her cheeks again.


    Pointing the mirror to their side, he gave her the chance to stare at her reflection and get a sense of what he was saying.


    Her eyes widened in realization, her cheeks were indeed pink at the edges. pping the side of her face, she shook her head, trying to control her emotions. "You saw nothing!" She warned.


    Raising his hand in defense, he took a step back, "saw what?" he feigned ignorance.


    Smiling, she realized something she had forgotten to chip in all the while. "Are you going to participate in the sparring session tomorrow?"


    "Sparring what now?" He replied immediately, confused as to where she had heard such information.


    "It was said in ss today, the one you didn''t attend due to your sick leave." She made air quotes with her fingers on thetter part.


    Clearly, the one standing in front of her didn''t need such leave anymore. He had outrightly escaped the premises of the academy on an unknown journey, definitely he could participate.


    She wanted so badly to watch him whoop some ass, her mates had a sharp tongue that she wished she could dish out what they put out to them, if only the management allows her to participate.


    Internally she raged at the unfair and boring treatment that restricted the thrill she once used to have a year ago in the academy.


    "Why would I need to join the sparring session?" Nix shrugged, leaning on the wall. "I would rather pity those paired against me, it''s definitely an unfair arrangement if I''m in it."


    "You just had to put it that way, didn''t you?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes.


    "What''s the catch for participating, anyways?" He asked with a raise of his brows.

 Chapter 83 Why Did You Get Involved?

    Shaking her head, her brows knit together. "Who said there is a catch?"


    "What''s the point of participating then?" He asked. "I''m not joining the sparring session, is there something else?"


    As expected, she had merely wanted to get his thoughts on the matter if she had said that, but in reality, there really was a catch, or else, they all wouldn''t be so eager to participate in it¨Cshe wouldn''t be eager to set it in mind to go against the management on her suspension.


    There was still a score to settle with Arion, he owed her a duel she so rightly wanted to engage in because of that. Ayanami was nothing more than an easy target, theirst fight had been a testimony to that boring fact.


    "You wouldn''t join for the experience? You could learn about the others'' different sparring styles, you would learn a lot about yourself in the process, or maybe about someone who is not as talented as you think."


    She sneered at the thought of Ayanami probably bragging in front of him when they had met.


    "I''m stronger, all I''d do is embarrass and waste precious time and the energy of your friends." He shrugged.


    Lumina facepalmed, narrowing her eyes at how he outrightly bragged without letting up.


    "I''m strong, but I would probably learn more from you from sparring with you, because you could teach me a few things only both of us can achieve." He wiggled his brows.


    Her eyes widened in realization to what he had actually meant to say underneath his jest. "You and your sick thoughts." She scolded, flicking his forehead.


    Feeling there was a need to hint him on what she had meant to say earlier, "so you know, some of the officials from the organization would be watching their students'' performance, and they would give a better judgment of who was the best in the academy."


    He chuckled, a little surprised that she was serious about what she had just said.


    Deep down, this had sparked up a curiosity from within him.


    "I see, well, I''m willing to take the chance. It''s a rare opportunity." She shrugged, "We only get a limited time for it, and the rest of the time we just do boring lessons, things I already know of."


    Climbing onto her bed, she patted the covers.


    Simply staring at it, he needed to know the contents in that piece of paper, there was a chance it could be important and a possibility that it even contained a secret.


    "As a female you should know the very first thing about cleanliness, please go wash up before I think of even getting on that." He pointed at the bed.


    Sweat dropping, he knew he had practically spoken something rting to nothing more than stupid talk. All in a bid to get her to remove her clothing so he could inspect the content of the paper.


    Lumina narrowed her eyes, unsure about what he was gaining at.


    "You sound suspicious." She pointed an using finger at him.


    "Think whatever you want to, but I''m not getting on there." He stood his ground, "I might as well make do with the floo¨C"


    "Fine!" Lumina raised her voice, spilling out profanities at the wall.


    ''Finally!'' Nix whooped, watching as she reluctantly got up, walking to the closet. cing her hand momentarily, she thought of getting a bathing robe.


    Opening the door, what she had thought of,id folded inside. Pulling it out, she stared at Nix who blinked in response.


    "Are you going to stare at me as I change?" She questioned.<sub> </sub>


    "If I recall, there was a time when a certain someone drooled because of my naked torso." He tapped his chin lightly, looking at the ceiling as he feigned thinking on the memory.


    Lumina''s cheeks flushed at the embarrassing moment, she immediately turned around. "I wonder who that lucky girl was."


    "Whatever... just hurry up, I would also need to wash off the stress I had invited." He shrugged, turning around and giving her enough privacy.


    ''You can rightly endure this, it isn''t your first time seeing or ignoring one before.'' He reminded himself repeatedly.


    Click!


    The sound of the door closing, alerted him that she had gone into the bathroom. His gaze immediately spotted her denim shorts on the bed.


    Walking over to it, he searched the pockets with his hand, bringing out the piece of paper he so rightly needed.


    Unfolding it, he looked to his side, to be sure she was dutifully busy with showering. After confirming the sound, he looked back at the piece of paper.


    His eyes nced over the heading and was visibly shocked at the content. It was indeed an information sent to her from the organization, but its content didn''t seem to add up.


    ''What the hell do they mean, keep a close watch on the fire rank user?'' He frowned at the sick plot twist that stared right in his face.


    He had wanted so badly to believe that there might be another fire rank user, but the odds of that happening, coupled with the students reaction at finding out his rank could only mean one thing¨Cthis was a once in a blue moon gift.


    "Goddamnit!" He cursed under his breath.


    Reading the rest, he had gotten to know this was like some sort of pass to get into the organization. At the end, it required her signature, the space still unsigned for the moment. He began to wonder if he had interrupted her signing process when he had jumped in through the window.


    ''Had I been a fool to have trusted her words so blindly?'' His fist clenched in rage, he couldn''t tell what was real anymore.


    ''Was all she had said earlier just a ploy to get closer to me as they had ordered?'' His eyes gleamed coldly at the audacity of trying to betray him.


    Squeezing the paper, he shoved it back into the front pocket of the denim shorts. Walking over to the chair, he sat down, his chin resting on the intertwined fingers, deep in thought.


    ''You all are interested in me, huh?'' He forced a smile, letting out a chuckle at the thought of what he had seen.


    Betrayal was something he couldn''t tolerate, if she was on their side, he could y their game and see who wins at the end.


    He was good at hiding his true emotions, and this he could keep hidden and y the game of cat and mouse.


    ''Why did you get involved with them?!'' He punched on the table.


    Crrrk!


    He watched the table break and fold inwards, all what was on it, sliding into the middle.


    "What''s going on this time? Why would you just break a perfectly innocent table?!" Lumina''s voice boomed from behind.

 Chapter 84 Miss Lotus

    ''If it isn''t the spy!'' Nix sneered in his thoughts, turning around.


    In one swift mood change, he had his expression in an eye shut smile. He made sure not to show any hostility, however.


    ''You can do this Nix, do not be swayed by some pretty face and volupt¨C ahhh! What the heck am I thinking? She''s going to betray you.'' He tore his gaze away from her slightly opened bathrobe, leaving little to the imagination as it hugged all her curves so effortlessly.


    He had to remind himself that she had probably still done this to get to him. Exhaling, he made a self conscious effort to speak calmly and gaze only into her eyes.


    "I had totally lost control of my strength and I just broke it by ident. It must have meant alot to you, I apologize for that. It won''t ever happen again, I promise." He lowered his head in a mocking bow.


    His hands shook as he felt the sweat trail down his forehead. Keeping his emotions in check was getting harder than it seemed. He had his hands balled into a fist, hoping to keep his thoughts from painting her in a bad light as he avoided staring at her body.


    "By ident, really? Do I look dumb to you?"


    ''Well you certainly aren''t if you could hide your intentions so clearly without a trace of guilt in your eyes and action.'' Nix''s thought snapped.


    Instead, he merely shrugged at her question. He had apologized for something unnecessary, there was no point justifying himself anymore.


    ''So many strange things have been happening to himtely,'' Lumina observed as she dried out her hair with a towel, running her fingers through her damp hair.


    "I''d have to speak with Mr Zhao for a recement." She joked.


    ''Was he the one who handed you the letter?'' He wondered, his lip twitched, a slight smile on his face.


    The mere mention of that name triggered Nix''s temper. He stood up, quickly gathering a few things. It would seem he would have to pay another visit to Lank again.


    "Where are you going? You said you were going to¨C"


    Bam!


    She jumped up with such force, the windows vibrated in response to the impact, the chair he was sitting on toppled over and fell to the floor.


    "Did I do something wrong?" She croaked, choking on a sob. "What did I do?!" She could feel the hot tears forming in her eyes as she stood at the spot.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In the sparring hall the next day,


    The brick walls were covered in thick green vines, and they were crawling all over the floor, the ceiling, and even out of the windows.


    Clip!


    Clop!<sub> </sub>


    The sound of heels could be heard. All attention was immediately drawn to the door, which had opened almost as if it had been the wind that had done the honors.


    It was ady walking in the hall, her arms were crossed and her lips were puckered in disapproval. Her long green hair was brushed and tied in a ponytail, with two face framing tendrils, hanging loosely. Her blue eyes were cold and her face was lined with anger. She was dressed in a white silk flower patterned dress with a green belt. A lotus shape carved on a golden medal which was hanging from her neck on a chain,id perfectly on her perky bust.


    She took in the scene and her eyes swept up and down the sparring hall. All the students were standing in lines, waiting for their sparring match. She walked up to the teacher, the man who was to introduce her to the students.


    He was a tall dark skinned man with long ebony hair that was slicked back and a goatee beard. His deep blue eyes were twinkling, and his lips were pursed in an admirable smile. He was dressed in a long loose-fitting white shirt and ck pants. He looked to be around six and a half feet tall.


    He stood behind the podium with his arms crossed. He was one of the teachers assigned to be in charge of the sparring hall, and his name was Mr. Doliu. He was watching the woman walk up to him. A sly smirk was etched onto his face.


    Nodding her head as a form of acknowledgement, she raised her chin high with pride, awaiting his little introduction.


    Clearing his throat, he turned to the other students, "I would like to introduce you all to a special guest from SGO, Miss Lotus of the Greenwich society."


    The students all stood up in turn and bowed their heads.


    "Now, she will be supervising in the sparring hall today, as you can see the vines are spreading all over the room."


    The students began to whisper among themselves. They had wondered why the hall had been saturated with vines as it was not part of the main sparring hall some of them remembered. Now they knew the vines were spreading all around because of her influence.


    "Could it be a gift or magic?" Someone asked in a hushed whisper, afraid of being spotted, yet curious about the truth.


    "It''s definitely a gift!" A student retorted quickly.


    ''Noisy students.'' She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to stay calm while they went on discussing without regard to if they could be heard or not.


    All the students were amazed to see that a youngdy was there to supervise them. There were only two other female sparring instructors, and they were old and not that good at it.


    This was almost a dreame true for them. There was a slight hush on the sparring floor. The students watched as she took a few steps back and waited for the next step.


    The students were nervous. Many of them had never sparred against anyone else, and most of them, if not all of them, were not at their best. Mostly consisting of lower ranks, they were all new at this, and they felt the weight of the task before them.


    They watched in awe as the vines twisted and ovepped themselves, forming a thick green chair for Miss Lotus.


    Sitting down behind the podium, her dress made a swooshing sound as it moved through the air.


    Mr Doliu walked up to her and handed her a letter. "The letter from Mr Zhao." He said, bowing a little and showing his teeth in a smile. "He asked me to deliver it." He whispered, bowing again and walked away.


    As she opened the envelope she saw arge red stamp with the organization''s insignia, and her eyes lit up. She quickly unfolded and read the letter.


    ''Interesting.'' She was intrigued. She read it several times. Her eyes were now focused, and she had to smile.

 Chapter 85 We Object

    She had cut off ties from the organization for a while to concentrate fully on cultivating her babies to the purest point of maturity, it was on a special note had she been invited back to supervise with a great reward on the side.


    She could feel the students watching her, and she knew that all of them were wondering why she was so calm.


    They all were wondering what she was up to. Soon they all began discussing it among themselves in hushed whispers and sidements.


    Turning her attention to the students, ncing over the crowd. "Let''s begin!" She said in a loud voice.


    Her grip tightened on the letter she had in her hand and hidden behind her. She had forced a smile as she contemted what ''The fun is yet to begin'' meant.


    Theplications and secrecy that went on in the organization forced her to take a break, knowing quitting was never an option. She left for a while under the guise of cultivating her creations.


    The students all stood up and waited for her instructions.


    The sparring hall waspletely silent. Everyone was waiting to see what she was going to do. They all were wondering if she was going to call out their names or tell them to break into pairs.


    Then she announced their names, one by one, the students stepped forward and bowed their heads.


    All their attention shifted to Lumina who had her head lowered as well, a smirk evidently present.


    Miss Lotus could clearly see the side nces each and every one of the students gave at Lumina the moment her name was called.


    ''Could she be the one to bring the fun?'' She took a nce at her in curiosity.


    This was something she hated about Zhao, he was always so secretive and cunning, she couldn''t help but feel he had just sent her the letter in order to hype thepetition, as her interest was nearly impossible to please.


    Once they were all standing, she told them, "I am going to call out the names of the pairs, starting with identifying the team leaders of each department, both lower and higher rank students."


    "Step forward." She called out.


    The respective team leaders stepped forward and bowed their heads.


    A gasp could be heard throughout the hall. The upper rank team leader of the magic users was surprised at who had represented the gift users, and his expression was that of disbelief and somewhat fear.


    The other lower rank team leaders were visibly shocked at why Lumina had joined the sparring session as the gift users team leader.


    She was dressed in a ck pleated mini skirt, a blue zippy top that went well with the ck, pulled just a bit downwards, to amodate her voluptuous bosom which showed off her cleavage and curvaceous figure. Along with fingerless ck gloves and knee high boots. Her long red hair was pulled back into a messy bun for the asion.


    "What the heck is going on?" Ayanami was the first to speak confidently. "Mr Doliu, are you in support of this?"


    Mr Doliu sweat dropped at the question directed to him. This was a question he needed to answer with caution.<sub> </sub>


    Knowing the ns the organization had for Lumina, it was best to handle this issue with care.


    Shooting a re at Ayanami, she cut in before the teacher could reply, "I''m a little tired of you, you know. If you''re going to just lie around and mope all day about me participating, I''ll be forced to make you spar with me. You know how much I love a good fight." She gave an eyeshut smile, hinting on the very fact of theirst brawl.


    It took sheer willpower not to go over to the crowd, single out Ayanami and continue where theirst fight had ended.


    Gulping, Ayanami looked down at the floor silently, wondering if Lumina was going to call her out, she was in no position to challenge her strength at the moment.


    If she couldn''t appeal to her remaining suspended, it was best to keep a low profile.


    "Lumina, you know the rules, are you trying to go against the management?" Mr Doliu scolded.


    Lumina simply rolled her eyes, she had her focus more on trying to prove how strong she could be in this, hoping wherever Nix was, he was watching her.


    Ever since he had left the previous night, she had been thinking about what had made him drastically change in the space of her going into the bathroom.


    At the sight of Lank, she had approached him in regard to Nix. He simply chose not to answer outrightly, but instead gave a vague message that he would be watching.


    Miss Lotus smiled, she was starting to see what sort of fulfillment the letter had promised her, thisdy was definitely someone fun to watch, her interest had been raised just a bit with her attitude.


    "Does anyone else have an objection?" She asked. The crowd remained silent for a while.


    p "I do." A female student with a long dark braid said as she stepped and bowed her head.</anda>


    "I object to you being chosen." She said, "you are not supposed to participate in the sparring session. A suspension by the authorities was for the best."


    "How can we be sure that you will not kill one of us?" She asked. "What assurance do we have on your self control?" She finished.


    She had been at thest sparring session the previous year and had witnessed Lumina''s rampage, this had left a scarring impression on most high ranking magic and gift users.


    The entire room fell silent, and the crowd seemed to be looking for an answer.


    Miss lotus let out a silent chuckle, she was not sure if this was a trick or not, she wondered why Lumina''s name was written if she wasn''t allowed to participate.


    ''What sick thoughts was going on in your head Zhao, to let a loose cannon into thispetition?'' Her brows twitched in frustration.


    "Miss Han?" Miss lotus looked over at Lumina, "is this true?" She inquired.

 Chapter 86 Bring It On, If You Dare!

    "Even though what they said is true, I''m sure a weapon can be allowed in ce of our gift or magic, that way I still have control over my actions." She defended.


    ''And would try my best not to inflict much damage to anyone who underestimates me just because I would wield a weapon.'' She secretly added in her thoughts.


    "Is this allowed?" Miss Lotus turned towards the other teachers who sat stiffly, a few meters away from where she was.


    The vines began to move and wrap around a teacher''s leg when she got no response from them.


    "Y¨C yes!" The female teacher squeaked, her sses dropped to the floor the moment she jumped up in rm when the vine''s grip only tightened further.


    A cry could be heard from the teacher who picked up the broken pieces in dismay, a welt forming on her ankle.


    ''What pathetic losers!'' Miss Lotus rolled her eyes at the audacity they had to keep silent while she asked and still kept her waiting. They were merely disposable staff not worthy of joining the organization but instead moved to supervise and cultivate their future test subjects.


    "Is there anyone who would like to join Lumina in the use of weaponry?"


    <o>,m They all stared back at her, none had ever held anything as close to a weapon other than a knife or cutleries while they were still in their respective homes. It was much more safe to use their respective abilities.</o>


    "No one?" Miss Lotus'' voice carried an air of disappointment. It''s not everyday one could see a weapon user, using an unconventional approach than what they possessed.


    Satisfied that she had made her decision set in stone, she confidently spoke up, "to all who think I still can''t participate, how about you fight me for it?"


    "..."


    "If you seed, I''ll be d to ept the crippling defeat, I will step out of this, but if you lose, let''s hope youe out in one piece." She threatened with yet another smile.


    Fae watched among the crowd, holding back herughter as her cheeks filled with air. She had known this was going to happen, it was best they all tread lightly when it came to her.


    She was more of a psychopath with a weapon than with her gift. If they thought it would be fairly easier to gain an upper hand against her because of what she had proposed, then they were in for a surprise, one she wasn''t going to be a part of.


    Miss Lotus gave a quick, yet firm nod, then read their names out loud. "Miss Han, do step forward."


    She could clearly tell why Zhao had a personal liking towards this young woman, at first she had wondered why her name was written with an asterisk, but now she was more than happy to see a promising battle approaching.


    Stepping over was Lumina with a confident attitude. She threw a mischievous wink towards Arion.


    With a smirk, he scoffed at her fake disy of familiarity with him. His main focus was on how he could now easily take care of her, she was left seemingly defenseless with weapons he couldn''t see in sight.


    ''Self absorbed th*t! You would pay for embarrassing me thest time.'' He wiped his chin, letting out a low chuckle.


    Watching from the shadows casted by a thin sheet of metal board hanging from the rear ceiling, was Nix. He had his back resting on a pir as he levitated.<sub> </sub>


    Hiding his presence by supressing his demeaning aura, he was careful not toe in contact with the vines created by the nt freak of a supervisor from the organization.


    He had been wondering when he woulde in contact with another of his creations. It so happened to be her.


    ''Drawing you was a mistake, and why the hell is your name Lotus?!'' He sneered in his thoughts.


    If she was just a mere teacher in the academy without any direct connection, he would have excused her existence, but the thought of one of his creations joining the organization he had grown to hate, she had instantly been put on his cklist.


    His eyes were glued on Lumina, he was conflicted by the oue of thispetition. A part of him was proud of the attitude and power she was giving out. It would seem he did underestimate her capabilities.


    It did make sense that Mr Zhao had taken an interest in the likes of her and was more than curious about how things would y out.


    The whole academy was showing some sort of fear towards her. This could exin why she had found his words funny at the time.


    ''How did I not see this side of her?'' He wondered with furrowed brows.


    Wanting to see how strong Lumina was, he waited patiently for who she would be paired with. He leaned forward a bit as a male was picked, it looked like the same male she had winked at.


    He wore a sleeveless green overcoat with ck cor and sash. He had his usual ribbons tied in a crisscross pattern over the lower half of his sleeves but instead of ck, they were red, ck pants and a pair of ck boots oveid with more criss cross-patterned ribbons.


    ''What is this guy, a walking Christmas tree?!'' He narrowed his eyes in jealousy. There was something about the way he looked that made his skin crawl.


    What made it worse was Lumina''s calm appearance.


    "Hey fart face," she called out to him, grasping her ankle and gently pulling her heel up and back and switching with the other to ess boot carry to get her weapon stealthily, while pretending to take a bit of a stretch in preparation for the battle approaching.


    "What did you just call me?!" Arion raged, a cloak of green smoke spiraled in the air, a cackling sound could be heard as he prepared to attack.


    Crrkk!


    Pointing at him and the others behind him. "Why don''t you go sit down in the loser corner over there?"


    crrkkk!


    ''Yes, that''s it, give into your anger.'' Lumina had a smile, this was the distraction she needed to mask her true intention on what her other hand was doing.


    She took on the sidewise L stance, beckoning him to take the first try with a quick flick of her fingers towards him.


    "Bring it on, if you dare!"

 Chapter 87 Thats A Forbidden Spell

    "Don''t think you''re so high and mighty, now that you chose to nerf yourself!" He scowled, his fingers spread out in front of him as his brows knitted together.


    Lumina could only picture a wolf who had lost its lunch on the gestictions that Arion showcased.


    ''Who says I need my gift to win?'' She raised a brow at him.


    "What can I say? I had to lower myself to your level, I''m just trying to be considerate." She shrugged, sidestepping as she quickly reacted to his sneak attack.


    "But it seems even that isn''t appreciated." She let out a sigh of disappointment.


    "You are nothing without your gift!" Arion retorted.


    Clenching her hands in tight fists, she had a sly grin, as she gave him the cold eye. "You know, there''s a difference between being an upper rank jerk and being one who knows how to fight!"


    Creating a shield of smoke around him, he used the momentum to create a whirlwind and the wind from it to push her back and send her flying.


    Trundle!


    Her back hit the wall, saliva spurting out from her mouth upon impact.


    A gasp could be heard from the other students who watched, they were in a state of shock at what they were witnessing.


    ''What the hell are you doing Lumina? What kind of sick n do you have mapped out?!'' Fae''s thoughts screamed in frustration. Her eyes were hurting at what just happened.


    Her feet drummed on the floor as she anxiously watched. There was something off about the way she had allowed Arion to easily swat her to the wall.


    She should have been happy for Arion, after all they were in the same rank and department, but when it came to battling, there was no way he was inparison to Lumina.


    That was an easy attack that she could have dodged. She also wondered why she was yet to use her weapons.


    ''Use the freaking weapon!'' Fae boiled in discontent at what was happening.


    Nix had his hands clenched to a fist beside him, veins bulging and his fingernails digging into his palm, the more he tried to squeeze them.


    This was an internal battle he had with himself. On one hand, he wanted to swoop right in and interrupt the battle, on the other, she was still a suspect with ties to the organization but on the other he wanted to see to what extent she could go to prove herself to be stronger.


    ''What the heck is wrong with me?!'' He questioned before swiftly dodging a vine that swung his direction.


    "You should consider yourself stupid for not using your gift to your advantage." Arion had an evilugh as he created a whirlwind of smoke with his hands and sent it at her.


    ''You should consider yourself lucky that I had thought to go easy on you. That''s the only area I could call myself stupid.''


    Miss Lotus was more than curious as to what gift she had, she felt a bit sad that it was something she could not use at the moment in battle, but rather than take it as a bad sign she decided to let it go and choose a weapon instead.


    Lumina wiped her lips with the back of her hand, she was more than tired of him and his attitude. She had to admit, he was a good fighter and good at long range attacks too. But he was still a loser if that was all he could rely on¨Chis magic.


    It was time to be a lot more serious, revealing the push daggers that had been concealed in her gloves, she held her hand out and swiftly maneuvered the daggers into the middle of her palm as she made a fist.<sub> </sub>


    "You would wish you never did that!" She spoke coldly, jumping in the air anding down with a diagonal sh, with one hand she pushed forward, using the push dagger in the other to attack.


    Swish!


    Swish!


    Doing a backflip, Arion did his best to dodge, but his guard was nowhere near as good as hers. She was faster, and more agile.


    Looking down in horror as strands of his hair fell to the ground.


    There was a bit ofughtering from behind as the others took amusement in his misfortune.


    "Would you stay still?!" He yelled, trying his best to get a shot at her. But she was always one step ahead. He was starting to get frustrated, but he could tell that she was having fun.


    "Who in their right senses would stay still? Is he really even an upper rank?" Someone made a sidement, loud enough for him to listen in.


    "Even with his magic, he still isn''t a match for her." Another said with augh.


    Arion gritted his teeth at the humiliation he was feeling.


    "Ha ha ha!" Series of cackles could be heard as he realized that he was about to lose if he let this continue.


    Circling the smoke around himself, he had to try something different. He could not take the chance that she would hit him if given enough opening.


    Letting it spread all around him, he began to cast a spell. "Mordovius!" He called out to the element of gasses.


    "No! You can''t, that''s a forbidden spell!" Mr Gaviel yelled in horror, standing to his feet immediately.


    "MORDOVIUS!" He called out again in a louder voice, ignoring the warning.


    The spell spread across the area, and the smoke began to spread in a ring-shaped manner, growing evenrger, eating its way into anything in its path.


    He couldn''t care less what was happening around him, if that would mean that he could get rid of Lumina once and for all. This was the only chance he could get to go all out on her without getting sanctioned.


    As long as his focus wasn''t interrupted, he could maintain this spell for as long as he could before it would take a hard toll on his body.


    "Miss Lotus!" Mr Doliu called out for her assistance. She was in the best position to handle this.


    There was no way they could shield everyone in time.


    Nodding her head in understanding, Miss Lotus used her gift to create a dome shield of vines, encasing all of the students and teachers except for Lumina.


    "Noooo.... Lumina!" Fae called out in anguish, rushing towards the little opening she could see, but she wasn''t fast enough as she was met with her one chance of helping blocked.

 Chapter 88 Let Me Go... You Freak!

    The vines grew evenrger and thicker.


    ''I''m sorry but you have to face this alone, if you really are special in the eyes of Zhao, you should be able to find a way out of this.'' She turned her back, holding out her hand to keep up the vine shield.


    The smoke was slowly eating its way into the vines, with more ovepping to make up for the losses.


    ''Stay calm, she can handle this!'' Nix closed his eyes momentarily, activating his passive gift''s field as a safety precaution in case the smoke eventually diffused to the rear, where he was.


    Looking over at the dome shaped vines that were ovepping, Lumina held a shocked expression at the fact that what Miss Lotus had done was simply a ''take care of your mess'' move.


    "Great! Just great!" She deadpanned, shaking her head at the being left to face this half baked psycho alone.


    Slipping her weapons partially into her gloves for a while, she did several backflips in quick session, until she was met with a dead end¨Cthe wall.


    ''You really think some useless forbidden spell can get to me?!'' She held a smirk as she wiggled her brows at Arion, angering him further.


    Her hands feeling on the wall for the vines she had seen earlier, she couldn''t afford to take her gaze away from Arion.


    Using the only chance she had at escaping this gas before it got to her, she used the vines as a propelling apparatus, she sessfully skipped over the several vines.


    She had noticed how some vines were dangling several meters in front of her, all she could think about was how vulnerable he looked while in the middle of the ring-like gas.


    That was the one ce that didn''t have the gas diffusing into. This would simply exin how he could still be safe while walking through his creation.


    Making a quick n on what was to be done, she needed to force him into canceling the spell.


    ''What you don''t know is that I have more than one hidden weapon.'' She snickered in her thoughts.


    She quickly drew her throwing stars, throwing in to her designated target.


    Woooo!


    Arion sidestepped, shaking his head as she missed her target. But was met with a smirk on her lips. His eyes widening in realization at what she was trying to do.


    Looking above, the vine wasing down on him with great speed.


    ''Target locked!'' She smiled, proceeding to her next n.


    The only natural approach to handle the vines dropping were to jump out of the way or using his spell to reduce it to nothing.


    The only downside to him choosing thetter was that it would be in a closer range to him and would be potentially dangerous to him. This was the ultimate double edged sword of a spell.


    As expected, he jumped out of the way.


    At that same moment, and with a swift movement, she threw one of her push daggers towards Arion.


    If it had hit, it would have done a lot of damage. But his guard was up, and the dagger just hit his shoulder, causing him to let out a yell of pain. This only intensified when he pulled it out forcefully.


    She was now within an area that was barely lit. There would be no way for him to see her, but she was ready. She had her eyes set on him. With a swift move, she charged at him while he was still reeling from the pain.<sub> </sub>


    The spell was cancelled immediately as soon as he lost focus. He coughed out blood, his vision blurring and his breathing strained.


    His hand went to his throat as he tried to take in air to the best of his ability.


    Gasp!


    Gasp!


    He wondered why the effect had shown so soon, he had merely just used it for a few minutes, the toll shouldn''t reflect until a few hours.


    Hearing some shuffles in the shadows, he thought she was going to attack him from behind, but instead he was met with her in close range.


    His eyes widened in shock when she brought her hand up and made a fist, taking a shot at an uppercut, with a tooth flying out, his body tumbling a few meters before he made a hard contact on the wall.


    "Ooooo!" Nix let out a wince for Arion. She had done quite some damage in just that punch, and he could only guess he would probably be seeing stars for a while.


    This reminded him of his encounter with his brother at the time, and he couldn''t help but let out a chuckle.


    Sitting on him, she pulled him by the cor of his overcoat. "You''re a sore loser!" She yelled at him as she began to slowly lower him down to the ground.


    "Am I still at a disadvantage?" Sheughed maniacally, and he could feel her eyes burning into his.


    Her feet held his arms down, this made him more vulnerable than he already was. Looking at him, a burning hatred began to grow.


    "How could you put the others in danger just because you''re trying to make a point?" She shook him slightly in disbelief at how he had acted.


    ''Yet I''m called the monster?'' She gave a sad smile at being left with no choice than to go with the unconventional.


    When Arion refused to say anything. Her body shook in rage at his indifference.


    She punched him on the right cheek, then the left and this continued for somewhile until she was hyperventting after her action.


    To her displeasure she felt no satisfaction in what she had done, his bloody face still carried no remorse.


    "Just let me go," Arion said, blood spurting from his lips.


    Lumina raised the corner of her lips, her face scrunched up in disgust as some of the blood had made its way to her face.


    He struggled with the strength he had left, trying to get her off him again.


    She merely looked down at her with a nk expression at his puny efforts, letting out a sigh at how troublesome the battle had been.


    "You''re nothing without your magic." She returned the favor, remembering when he had taunted her at her choice of going with weaponry.


    "You freak!" He sneered, spitting on her face.

 Chapter 89 Courting Death

    Lumina was stunned by his outburst, momentarily zoning out. But all that changed the moment she had taken a hold of the wrist on his hand and began to twist it.


    "Aaargh!" He let out a scream of pain.


    "I hope you heal quickly, because you won''t be able to use your magic for quite some time." She said, letting go of his hand.


    Miss Lotus had heard another scream and noticed how the vines weren''t affected anymore.


    Slowly she released her hold on the vines, they began to unwind and pull away.


    Fae continuously pushed away the closest person as she made her way to the left side of the hall.


    She could only hope that Lumina was alright. She let out a sigh as soon as she saw Arion on the floor, defeated.


    ''What were you thinking? It''s Lumina!'' Fae internally facepalmed.


    All eyes followed her next move, eager to know what she had nned next.


    "We should stop her from¨C" with a whisper, Mr Gaviel had made an attempt to move forward, but was stopped by one of Miss Lotus'' vines.


    "Do not interfere in this..." she snarled, her blue eyes gleaming coldly.


    This was the best she could do for Lumina after she had to make that decision. This would be somewhat like a test to see how far she could go and prove all of them wrong.


    From what she could see, she was no monster, nor did she look like someone who could easily lose control for no apparent reason.


    Mr Gaviel gulped, looking over to Mr Doliu for some sort of assistance in stopping Lumina.


    Mr Doliu simply looked away, there was no way he would go against a high ranking representative of the organization. That was as good as being suicidal.


    He sweatdropped, making it known that he was in no way going to assist, this was a battle with changed rules at the onset, there was little to nothing he could do.


    Miss Lotus makes a hush sign to the rest, urging them to watch to fill their curiosity.


    Lumina bent down to pick up her push dagger he had pulled out of his shoulder earlier. Looking at the blood stains, she had a satisfied grin on her lips.


    "Here you go, you can use this one to do your best while your hand heals. I hate things which have been tainted with weak blood." She threw it in between his opened legs, with itnding dangerously below his crotch.


    "F*ck!" He pushed himself away from where the dagger had lodged itself in.


    Arion knew it was over, he had lost. He looked at the dagger below and could clearlye to a conclusion that she had an issue with his future generations, this was clearly not the first time she had intentionally missed his crotch.


    Turning around, Lumina did a double take, she had been so immersed in the heat of the moment, that she had totally forgotten that she was being watched.<sub> </sub>


    "When did you all..." She shook her head, that wasn''t how she had wanted to begin.


    "I''m d you are all okay." She said with a smile, but then her eyes stopped on Ayanami and she instantly regretted her words.


    ''... well most of you.'' She corrected in her thoughts, her brows knitted together in disdain. The mere sight of her ruining her good mood.


    Whoo!


    "Watch out!" Lank called out in the crowd.


    Lumina subconsciously caught her push dagger aimed at the back of her head with her index and middle finger.


    Bringing the dagger to her line of sight, she had caught sight of the filthy blood stain on it. She looked back with a momentarily shock ridden face at the perpetrator.


    ''You are courting death!'' Her inner demon raged at the close call she had at death if she hadn''t caught it.


    The thought of dodging was an option, but then that would inadvertently be a stray projectile hitting any of the students and that would as well be as fatal as the first.


    Arion had a smug look on his face, "I did my best." He said, letting out a strained chuckle, but couldn''t continue with the shocking speed Lumina used to close the gap between them.


    Currents traveled through her body, as her eyes glowed in rage, she gripped his neck and pressed him down, the force creating cracks onto the floor.


    Uwaaagh!


    The battle between them had been drawn, she had won fairly, yet that sort of sneak attack triggered an emotion she had been keeping at bay while they battled.


    "Did your best? You f*cking tried to kill me while you thought my guard was down! Your mistake!" She hissed into his ear, pressing one of her fingers into the injury on his shoulder.


    "Ahhhhg!" Arion let out an ear piercing yell at her action. "Please, I know I was wrong!" He managed to speak through gritted teeth.


    "You know you were wrong?! What part, trying to kill me or thinking you got it in you to kill me?" Lumina let out maniacalughter at his pathetic attempt to appeal to reason. He was beyond showing sympathy at this point. This was the second time he had tried to kill her under the guise of sparring.


    He had made a mistake in trying to use her weapon against her. She could literally feel the kic energy as it coursed through the air, which had aided her quick response.


    The students and teachers all watched in horror and were frozen in ce at what they were witnessing.


    Miss Lotus'' eyes doubled in size at what she was witnessing, this was definitely one of the four rare gifts, moreso, she was using it almost proficiently.


    ''Zhao! You scoundrel. Was this why you took an interest in her?!'' She took a step back, finallying to terms why the students had all been fearful of her using her gift in any way.


    This duel shouldn''t havemenced in the first ce. Guilt ate deep into her thoughts on what could be the oue of this unfortunate student at her mercy.

 Chapter 90 Rest

    Arion''s eyes widened in fear, he couldn''t move his body no matter how he tried, the only conclusion on why this was happening, would be it had something to do with the current she channeled into his body with her hand still on his neck, slowly blocking his airflow.


    Gasp!


    Gasp!


    In her defense, she could use her gift now since she had proved she didn''t need it to win in her first duel. The rules of sparring didn''t apply to this anymore.


    She had a sadistic smile as she proceeded to augment her punches with electricity, then in one quick session, she pulled him up by his neck.


    Gasp!


    His legs dangled in the air, his hands limply to his side.


    Throwing him at a good distance, he tumbled until he had his back on the wall, letting out a groan in pain.


    "Lumina!" Fae called out in rm and worry.


    Nix leaned forward, his eyes widened at the change in aura that Lumina gave off. There was no denying, if this were to continue, she was going to kill the Christmas tree.


    ''What the hell are you all doing, watching?!'' He clenched his fists, forcing himself to keep calm while he watched things y out, interfering wasn''t in his ns.


    ''Mune!''


    [Yawn!]


    Mune stretched out her arms as she floated in front of his face, opening then squinting her eyes, she wondered why he had a frown on his face the moment she had materialized.


    Looking around her surroundings, she was shocked to see they had changed to a new area.


    Pulling her by her little feet, he made sure she wasn''t obstructing his view.


    [Hey! That''s rude!] Sheined in a high pitched voice, steaming out from her ears.


    Rolling his eyes, he pointed ahead, "Watch."


    Following where he pointed, Mune let off a squeak, dashing behind his ear, her little fingers held his helix.


    ''Let go of my ear!'' He scolded, her little fingers were holding on a little too tightly.


    Ignoring hisint, she had her wide green eyes on the battle.


    [Why is she seething off with a strange aura?]


    Nix raised a brow at her question, this was the first time she looked very confused and worried.


    ''You don''t know about this?'' He picked her up by the straps of her dress, finally free and relieved from her grasp on his ear.


    Shaking her head, she looked over at Lumina one more time, [it''s almost like she''s a different person]


    ''You think?'' Nixid her on his palm, closing his eyes momentarily, disappointed that she had no answers to this strange behavior.


    [There could be a number of reasons but I think one could be of interest!] She raised her hand.


    ''Mhmmm'' He nodded his head, curious as to what she was going to say.


    [There is a magic that could cha.../@#<¡Á>~]


    Opening his eyes, he frowned at the break in her words, this was clearly some glitch again. He caught a glimpse of her whole body glitch, causing him to worry.<sub> </sub>


    Irritation set in this time, there was no way she would want to give out valuable information and then something goes wrong with her speech and her body construction.


    ''What the hell is wrong with you?! What''s doing this?'' He pulled her closer to examine her.


    Just likest time, she merely just blinked several times, and had her eyes on his palm this time. No words spoken for the moment.


    Zzzznnnn!


    This time, he was determined to watch what would happen as the familiar sound graced his ears.


    Mune cringed and let out a sneeze. [What just happened?]


    ''Really? You''re asking me that?'' He deadpanned with a straight face. ''You are my guide, it should be the other way around.'' He poked her on her stomach to lighten the mood.


    She giggled at his action, rolling on his palm.


    ''I would definitely find out what''s wrong with your make up!''


    He had expected his user interface to pop up with another mission to suit his resolution, yet nothing?!


    He furrowed his brows at the unreal development. This didn''t feel right at all. The strange thought of the system not wanting him to investigate further into this phenomenon, by not conforming to his resolution greatly shocked him.


    Rubbing his chin, he looked over at Mune, worried about any future urrence, it couldn''t be allowed to continue in this manner. This was some vital information getting masked to his detriment.


    Feeling his wrists ache, he slipped her into his front pockets of his long sleeve heavyweight henley shirt, which had two of its buttons opened.


    ''Stay nice and cozy, okay?'' He lightly tapped his pocket. To which she nodded submissively.


    With determination in his eyes, he had made it one of his goals to find a solution to, but in all she had said, there was still something that had proven useful.


    Whatever that might be happening to Lumina was all rted to an unknown individual''s magic, but who?


    From his guesses, the system didn''t want him to know who the mysterious person was.


    "Fae, step away from the area this instant." Mr Gaviel ordered. "Now isn''t the time to jump into a raging fire."


    His ears pricked up at the warning Mr Gaviel called out to a student if she didn''t listen to his order.


    Nix let out a slight chuckle, already knowing what option this blondie was going to take.


    Looking over, he could see Fae cautiously approaching Lumina from behind.


    ''What the hell is she doing?'' He shook his head, wiping down his face.


    "Lumina, it''s me, Fae." She said softly, "as much as he is an assh*le in life and ss. He isn''t someone you should waste your abilities on."


    As much as she wanted Arion to be taught a lesson, she couldn''t bear to let her friend be stigmatized as having killed one of the students in front of the whole academy.


    If it were those going rogue, she wouldn''t have been this considerate to Arion as she is now.


    Lumina turned around, her hands covered in fast moving currents, she had been distracted by Fae from dealing a final blow on him.


    Tilting her head, Fae could finally get a clear glimpse of an out cold Arion. Grimacing at his condition, she turned her attention back to Lumina.


    "Rest!" She mouthed the words to Lumina.

 Chapter 91 Awkward Fight

    In that instant, Lumina''s body went limp, her eyes closed as she dropped to the floor.


    ''What the heck happened?!'' Nix narrowed his eyes, not understanding exactly what he had just witnessed. Angling was a major factor in this confusion.


    [It''s thatdy with the blonde hair, she did something] Mune narrowed her eyes.


    Pulling her up, she stroked Lumina''s hair lightly, "it''s over."


    Slowly opening her eyes, she looked up at Fae whispering, "I did it again, right?"


    Shaking her head, Fae assisted her in getting up.


    Straightening her posture, she nodded her head towards Fae, signaling she didn''t need her help in standing anymore.


    With a bow, she raised her head to lock eyes with Miss Lotus.


    "It''s beyond any doubt, Miss Hans wins." Miss Lotus called out, feigning ignorance to what had just happened.


    They all shared a look, none wanting to say anything.


    Walking back to the crowd, all eyes followed as they paved the way for her to stay.


    Clearing her throat to get their attention, Miss Lotus'' vines wrapped around Arion, transporting him onto a stretcher.


    Mr Gaviel cast a spell which levitated the stretcher, hovering and making its way out of the hall and towards the infirmary.


    "We move on to the next pair." She said out loud. There was no time to spare because of one casualty.


    "Miss Drui." She looked over at who bore that name.


    Timidly, Gia stepped forward, looking behind her and towards Lank, who gave a thumbs up in encouragement.


    ''I can do this.'' She repeatedly spoke in her thoughts.


    She was already thinking about what she was going to face with the other lower rank gift user who red daggers at her, awaiting her call.


    She began to question why Mr Gaviel had chosen her to represent their ss.


    "Miss Fritz." Miss Lotus called out the team leader of the lower rank gift users, her eyes narrowing as thedy stepped forward.


    She was dressed in a blue Spandex which had some sort of cloud like patterns on it, her gray hair was tied back in a high ponytail to expose her neck, revealing the thin white scars on her throat. Her white eyes were cold as she stared down at the girl in front of her.


    This was Cara, her gift of wind was well known among the others, because of her ability to blow through objects and her cold demeanor she gave off.


    As opposed to her wide range gift, she didn''t have that luxury as her close range was more of a hindrance in this spar.


    Gia gulped, her heart beating in her throat as she stood there, waiting for the order to begin.


    "Begin!" Miss Lotus called out, bringing down her hand.<sub> </sub>


    A gust of wind swept through the hall, bringing up dust, causing Gia''s hair to fly all around her.


    "Woah!" Gia dug her heels into the ground, trying to keep her bnce.


    Her body was engulfed in a purple aura and then she immediately became invisible. Cautious about her opponent''s gift, she began to move slowly towards her.


    Being light on her steps to the best of her ability, she continued her movements towards Cara.


    Due to being capable of perceiving subtle shifts and vibrations in the surrounding air currents, she could detect Gia approaching with ease.


    Encircling herself in a spiraling air current, she began to spin in circles, creating a tornado of dust in her wake. The gust of wind blew up and around her, making it harder for Gia to move.


    She had to get out of the way as she felt the wind pressing against her.


    The other students were held in ce by Miss Lotus vines. They wrapped around each and everyone''s ankle. The vines then made their way up their legs, until it stopped at their thighs.


    Unable to keep up with the whirlwinds of her opponent, Gia was forced to move backwards. There was no way she could cast her spell without getting close to Cara.


    Closing her eyes, she listened for movements due to her inability to see Gia. After a few seconds, she heard a small rustle to her left. She opened her eyes just in time to feel Gia''s presence closer than she had expected, stretching out her hand, she grabbed a hold of her neck and held it in ce.


    Gasp!


    To the others it looked like she was holding onto nothing, but in reality, she had wrapped her hand around Gia''s neck, the other girl''s body was suspended in the air, as she struggled to be free.


    Slowly, she began to extract the air in her lungs.


    "Your magic is worthless against me." Cara said, her voice was cold and emotionless, "did you really think masking your presence would protect you from my gift? I can see and feel straight through you."


    Gasping for breath, Gia forced a smile on her face, she had gotten the close range she needed. It was time to set her n into motion.


    Creating a magic circle with her free hand, she lightly touched Cara''s forehead and closed her eyes.


    Cara released her grip on Gia''s neck immediately, her vision gradually began to distort, her body began to sway to the feel of herself being pulled apart.


    Gia''s energy had been depleted because of this, coupled with the fact that she still had a hard time breathing. Her invisible cloak deactivated.


    Using her hands to w on the floor, Cara was in a fit of rage at what she was experiencing. No matter how much she tried, her vision continued to spiral in front of her.


    Mr Doliu sweatdropped at the condition they were both in. This was by far the most awkward fight in all his years of supervising.


    Although they didn''t see what had transpired between Gia and Cara after she had grabbed hold of presumably invisible Gia, it was impossible to tell what Gia had done to cripple her in such a way.


    Leaning towards the left side, he whispered to Mr Gaviel, "how do we determine the winner in this case?"


    Shrugging to his question, he refused to speak, he nodded towards where his attention mainly was, on Miss Lotus who stared at the two lower ranks from her seat, deep in thought, she was the one with the final say in all of this.

 Chapter 92 Where Mune Comes In

    Her brows twitched in frustration at what was going on.


    "What the hell was that?" Miss Lotus pped her hand on the table. She had expected something much better than what she had been forced to watch. "Clearly you all don''t expect a winner in this, do you?"


    Sounds of suppressedughter could be faintly heard from the students, as they heard her angry outburst.


    "Okay, we have gotten our answer." Mr Doliu sat back down, he looked awkwardly to the side.


    Using her vines, she wrapped it around Cara and Gia''s body, handing them over to the other students.


    Lank offered to take Gia, carefully taking her from the vines.


    A male from the lower rank gifted users offered to help Cara, he gave a heated re at Lank.


    ''Do I know you?'' Lank rolled his eyes, walking towards the back of the line.


    Nix shook his head, there was no way he was going to watch the sparring anymore. He had gotten the information he needed about Lumina. ''Maybe there is something I can still work with after all.''


    "These pairs are nullified." She called out in a loud voice, her face in visible disappointment.


    Landing on his feet lightly, he looked ahead, careful that they didn''t notice his presence as he prepared to leave.


    Turning to the left, he was about to take the secret passageway he had found out afterpleting his daily quest of visualization.


    "I knew you''de." He heard a familiar voice speak.


    ''Sh*t!'' He cursed on the fact that Lank could see in the dark. What surprised him the most was the fact that he had managed to pinpoint his location so easily.


    Pretending he didn''t hear anyone speak to him, he continued to walk towards his exit, interaction wasn''t part of his ns, nor was attention seeking.


    Lank shook his head at the strange behavior of Nix, having a smile on his lips as he watched him go through another exit.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    He had just locked the door behind him when he let out a hiss to the slight pain that coursed through his hand.


    Ding!


    [Mission: Locate Fegan]


    [Master the mission, you haven''t done so] Mune looked up at him, getting the perspective of his chin when she looked upwards.


    ''I know, I was distracted for the wrong reasons.'' He made his way towards his dorm.


    [Master, could you make it?] She asked in worry, knowing fully well what the mark could do to the unlucky person.


    ''I won''t be nerfed by this. It''s time to get serious with this.'' He looked ahead in determination.


    cing his pass into the door, he pushed it open with his shoulder.


    Looking around, he needed a n, there is no way he was going to jump into such an unpredictable battle.


    Calling up his user interface, he wanted to see how far he had gone with hisst battle with the dragons.


    Ding!


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 15]


    [Health: 200/500]


    [Exp: 102/200]


    [Energy: 300/400]


    [Strength: 200/400]


    [Agility: 200/300]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination, Rage, Defensiveness]


    [ss: Wheedler, Beast yer, Dragon master, Beast summoner, Pilferer]


    [Summons: Raiken, Rekor, Raz, Red]


    [Gift: Fire, Telekinesis]<sub> </sub>


    [Points: 4183 to be distributed]


    Looking at his level and points, he couldn''t help but have a wicked smile.


    [Master, would you like¨C]


    ''No! Don''t say it. Just because the points are there doesn''t mean I have to use them.'' He shook his head, hoping to make his point.


    Mune struggled out of his pocket, zooming around him, finally settling on his hair.


    ''What joy do you derive in making my hair your nest?'' He tried grabbing her and off him, but she swiftly dodged his hands every time.


    [Concentrate on the objective ahead, master] She said with a pout, holding onto his hair to spite him.


    Closing his eyes, he exhaled. He could concentrate, she was merely just a little disturbance that he could ignore.


    Calling up his inventory, he scrolled to the Paintbrush & Canvas.


    [Paintbrush & Canvas avable]


    [Usage: 0]


    [Time limit: an hour]


    The items dropped onto the table with a ng.


    ''Damn no! An hour can''t do.'' He frowned, his eyes narrowed, cing his chin on his sped hands knowing what needed to be done.


    Mune understood why he had suddenly grown quiet, an evil grin made its way to her lips. Dashing to hover in front of him, she wiggled her brows, rubbing her little fingers.


    ''You look much like a viin now actually.'' He deadpanned.


    [Muahahaha!] She let out a forced sinisterugh.


    ? ''You know what I want to ask.'' He facepalmed, already feeling the loss of his points before it could be deducted.


    [If you don''t use it to your benefit, what''s the point of umting points?] She tilted her head, shrugging.


    ''You had to say something smart, huh?'' Nix narrowed his eyes, shaking his head.


    [It''s what I do, if I can''t say smart things when you can''t keep up, what would that make me?] Mune''s chin was raised a bit as she said in pride.


    ''Yet I''m considered proud.'' He rolled his eyes.


    [How many hours increase do you want, master?]


    ''How many points are required per hour?'' He questioned.


    [Just 400 points] She closed her eyes with a satisfied smile.


    ''Just?!'' Cross popping veins made its way to his forehead.


    He had originally nned on having his creationst for at the least 12 hours. Yet that couldn''t be possible if he was going to go with that point depletion.


    [You have enough points to sacrifice, master is strong enough to get them back in no time] Mine wiggled her brows.


    ''Ha ha, very funny.'' He said with a straight face.


    [Master do remember that once you do this, it''ssting, you could always use the upgrade] She beamed, ready to go with whatever choice he was going to invest in the upgrade.


    With a heavy heart, he calcted the one he could manage to forego. He constantly reminded himself that this would be to his benefit and a one time upgrade for the time being.


    ''I would invest 3600 points.'' He sighed, closing his eyes.


    Ding!


    [Master, you have invested 9 hours of your time limit. You currently have 10 hours of usage time]


    [Points: 583 to be distributed]


    Spreading out the canvas, he looked up at Mune, ''this is where youe in.''


    [Me?] She pointed at herself, confused.

 Chapter 93 My Guardian Angel

    ''As a guide, you sure know little about all this.'' He pointed out.


    Trying her best to process what he meant, she still couldn''t. Whatever he wanted to say, she would wait till he could say what he had in mind.


    [Could you please just say what I can do, master?]


    ''You know this ce a bit more than I do, especially those which had been added.'' He reasoned.


    She nodded her head to his brief exnation.


    ''Then you are in the best position to tell me where I could start looking when ites to finding a certain someone.'' He rubbed his chin, wiggling his brows.


    [What exactly do you want me to do, master?!] Mune stressed once again, she couldn''t work with just vague words.


    ''I need you to project ces where one could find gold in arge quantity, where sculptors could be and somewhere the organization presides over.''


    Mune''s lips drew into a thin line, his request was twisted and a bit confusing. Moreso, she would have to work twice as much to narrow down the possible ces.


    Nix stared at her, it had been one of his dreams to talk to an AI and get the coordinate of a ce. He felt 10 times smarter speaking to Mune and trying to get the coordinate of Fegan.


    His lips were curved upwards, this made Mune furrow her brows as she thought about why he would have such a weird expression while he stared at her.


    Closing her eyes, she ced her hands to the side of her head, putting in all the conditions he gave.


    Hmmmm!


    A faint humming sound came from her.


    Nix watched her patiently, hoping to get an answer soon. He looked at his wrist subconsciously, forgetting that a watch wasn''t somethingmon in this world even though they had wall clocks¨C it made no sense at all.


    ''That''s what you get for concentrating on fantasy characters.'' He ced his cheek on his arm, tired of waiting already.


    ''Anytime now.'' He drummed his left finger on the table impatiently.


    To make up for the time he was losing, he got up, walking over to his nightstand.


    Pulling it open, he brought out the colors he had kept in little jars, picking out the ck little jar.


    His brows twitched at the memory of the time he was used to a digital device. Heaving a sigh of disappointment, he missed all the tools he could use at his disposal.


    Using the paintbrush and a canvas, almost made him feel like he was practicing writing in a foreignnguage, preferably Japanese, picturing how he had worked with different strokes to practice his kanji.


    ''My brush library, alpha lock, clipping mask,yers... I miss you.'' He reached out to nothing in particr, remembering all he could do without much of a hassle on his iPad.


    Shaking his head, he used the back of his foot to close the drawer pulled from the nightstand, walking back to the chair.


    Dropping the little jar, he opened it a bit, waiting for Mune still.


    ''This is taking longer than expected.'' He stared at her, slouching and picking at his nose to distract himself.


    [I got it!] She beamed, opening her eyes.


    ''It''s about time.'' He straightened his posture, taking the paint brush, opening the jar.


    Whoosh!


    She zoomed around his head with massive speed, so much so, her body blurred, forming a ring-like pattern around his head.


    His eyes couldn''t register her movements anymore. He had expected her to either describe or say the names, the option of touching his head to transmit the information was another brilliant idea she could have used, but circling around his head?<sub> </sub>


    ''Why are you¨C''


    He froze for a bit, almost as if he was possessed, his eyes shone forcefully as he let out a gasp to what he was witnessing.


    It almost felt like he was in a simtion, and it felt so real. He could see a small vige and people walking in it. Looking at his hand, he was glowing, this looked closely like he was being projected into the environment instead.


    ''Woah! Mune, are you there?!'' He called, hoping at the very least that she would be projected like he was.


    To his disappointment, Mune didn''t respond. He could understand that probably where he was, was merely a projection of her thoughts and he could see it vividly like how he had imagined if she had transmitted the information.


    Clink!


    nk!


    His attention was drawn to the sound of a metal being hit. Walking towards the area, he swiftly dodged people as if he could actually interfere with their actions.


    "Father!"


    He stopped, looking to the right, seeing a little girl, she was dressed in a in ck and white polka dot dress, her ck hair styled in a messy bun, with a few strandsing out at the side of her face. Her big orange eyes stared at the man who was with a hand bush hammer hitting a t straight chisel on a golden object.


    Clink!


    nk!


    The man wiped off the sweat that had formed on his forehead, picking up a cloth, he used it to clean his hands. His handsbed through his ck hair, he had his hair in a wet messy man bun. His orange eyes stared lovingly at his daughter.


    Opening his arm wide for her to run for a hug.


    Running into his arm, she gave him a body m, hugging his legs tightly.


    Nix stood fixed to the spot, he didn''t mind that his vision was obstructed by a metal sheet to the left, preventing him frompletely viewing the man''s creation. His attention was solely on the girl who had caught his fancy.


    ''Another of my artwork was brought to life, huh?'' He stared in awe at how cute she looked.


    "Hana, what are you doing here? You know I need to finish this." He scooped her up in his arms.


    She let out a giggle at his action, "I am your guardian angel, if I don''t stop you now, your hand would be all injured again."


    "My guardian angel," he repeated with a heartyughter.


    "If I don''t do this, your¨C"


    "No... don''t say it!" Hana held out her hand, "I don''t want to listen to that anymore, you need a break."


    Nodding his head, he looked back at his unfinished creation, letting out a sigh, he gently dropped her down. "How about we go get a meal?"


    "Yay! Food!" She beamed in delight, holding onto his hand, swinging it as they walked out of his workshop


    Nix had a bitter smile all the while as he watched them leave, he had never experienced such love, watching them only reminded him of what he never had.


    Letting out a sigh, he had a real smile. He was genuinely happy for the girl who had been able to find someone she could look up to and hoped it would stay that way.


    Moving closer to where they were, his eyes widened in shock at who this person he had been watching was.


    He could clearly see the wings of Agathaying on the table on which he was working.


    ''Fegan?''

 Chapter 94 A Trip Back In Time?

    Walking circles around it, he could see clearly how the various piece''s done were made to make it more of machine parts incorporated into his sculpting abilities.


    His guesses were his gift of curses made the statuee to life when he had mistakenly repeated that trigger word.


    He looked behind him, totally forgetting that he couldn''t be seen.


    ''You''re the one who put the mark on the statue,'' he narrowed his eyes in thought.


    ''But why?!'' His brows furrowed at the number of unanswered questions.


    A faint humming sound could be heard once more, he looked at himself, noticing some changes.


    Taking a step back, his projection began to fluctuate as well as fade gradually while he began to hover, floating upwards.


    ''No... No... No!'' He tried to hold onto this reality of things. There were still some things he needed to find out.


    Left with no choice, he calmed himself; epting his fate, he took in the surroundings with his bird''s eye view. At the very least, he would be able to carry out his original n.


    It all came in a rush and he woke up with a gasp, choking on the huge intake of air when he had opened his eyes.


    ''F*ck!'' He cursed at the sharp pain that coursed through his body from his arm, whichter subsided as fast as it came.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    [Master!] Mune held onto his cheek, examining him.


    Putting out his hand, ''I''m okay, I''m okay!'' He repeated, steadying his breathing.


    [Were you able to get the information you needed?] She questioned, pinching on his cheek.


    Picking her off him again, she had her head lowered and arms limply to her side, epting her fate as she whimpered.


    Her dress to which he was holding with his index finger and thumb, the only thing keeping her from falling at that point.


    ''You don''t need to look so glum, I didn''t mean that at all.'' He released his grip, apologizing. All he had wanted to do was get her off his cheek. With her actions, it felt like he was bullying her.


    She let out an ear piercing squeal, zooming around with great speed and repeatedly yelling, [Master does care about my feelings!]


    At first her outburst did bring a smile to his face, but he needed to concentrate, so he cleared his throat and said, ''of course I care about you, but still we have some important matters to attend to.''


    She slowed down her movements, finally realizing the seriousness of whaty ahead.


    ''What sort of vision was that? I took a freaking trip back in time!'' He looked up to her for answers.


    [It was the only memory I could vividly bring up, with all you had requested, master] She defended with a pout.


    Nix sighed, he knew he shouldn''t have overreacted, he had gotten what he wanted. But the only underlying problem was the issue of how they might look currently, not to mention that it was highly unlikely that they might still be in the area.<sub> </sub>


    ''Do you think they could still be there?'' He questioned, already hating the fact that he might waste his time heading there without an assurance.


    [It doesn''t hurt to try, master] She shrugged.


    Without much dy, he began to sketch out what he had seen earlier. There were some parts that he could clearly remember he had drawn separate from the one he had seen extending from it in his bird eye view vision.


    [You do have a good memory of detail, master] Mune looked over his shoulders, smiling as she witnessed him sketch a male holding hands with a little girl and several other miniature people, trees, road paths, stalls being captured in the moment.


    ''There are some people I will never forget in this lifetime.'' He focused his attention at the continuous stroke he made on Fegan and his daughter''s hands linked as he drew them from their rear.


    Immediately he was certain that he was done with the detailed sketches, he looked down at the road links with one leading to the academy.


    ''Finally!''


    Rolling it up, he slipped it into his cross bag, pulling it over his head. Standing up he looked out the window with a sigh.


    The only advantage he had was the experience he had gained in order to evade the guards easily after hisst two encounters.


    [Master, are you still going to do as you nned?] She hovered in front of him, with a look of worry on her face.


    Thinking deep on her words, he had remembered what he had said before, but after that disturbing revtion, he wasn''t so sure he could go along with it except that was thest and only resort.


    The thought of Hana being pulled into the loop of revenge was something he didn''t want to spark up, she looked so happy with her father that it almost broke his heart when he had thought on what he had hoped to achieve.


    There was also the suspicious scene that depicted he was doubtful, visibly drained and reluctant to continue. He could only me Hana from interrupting her father when he wanted to give a reason for why he had to continue.


    He would need to know why he had continued, only then could he determine his next line of action.


    ''Do you know how many years back that vision was?'' He raised a brow.


    [A decade]


    He gulped, wondering how mature Hana would have been from how little she was then, if she was still with her father.


    ''Does that mean that the academy was founded about 10 years ago?'' He wondered, rubbing his chin in thought.


    [Definitely not, the statue was merely an added feature for some unidentified purpose]


    ''Even you don''t know that information?'' He sweat dropped at her inability to break down that information for him.


    [I''m sorry but the system doesn''t allow me to dig deep into that information] She gave a nervous chuckle, afraid she would glitch again if she tried.


    ''Again with the system interfering!'' He frowned.


    ''I would surely get the underlying cause of this.'' He balled his hands in a fist, looking out the window.


    cing his feet on the window sill, he proceeded to pull his hood over his head, jumping down from the height.

 Chapter 95 What The Heck… Ninjas?!

    Pushing some branches away from his face, he spat out, cleaning his face.


    ''Bug!'' He coughed out, holding his throat.


    [It''s not going to kill you!] Mune rolled her eyes, casually phasing through the branches that were in her way, not bothering to dodge any like her master did.


    ''Says the one that could phase through things at will.'' He retorted, gritting his teeth.


    [You are flexible though] Mune chuckled, changing her form into a gtinous blob, wiggling her body, mocking him.


    ''Good thing I look better than you did when I did whatever that body movement was.'' He said with a cringe.


    With a pout of disappointment, she reverted to her miniature form.


    Huff!


    Huff!


    He rested his hand on his knees, wiping the sweat on his forehead. The only thing he was grateful for was the shade the trees gave, only letting a few rays of light seep through from the ces where the branches didn''t ovep in twists and shoots over one another.


    ''When drawing the map, how did I miss this detail?'' He fumed, breaking another branch in front of him in frustration.


    [It didn''t catch your fancy and this is not the same path that leads to the vige where you have seen people walking around] She deadpanned.


    He had been walking for over an hour in this forest wastnd. Yet, he had stared at the map several times to confirm he was going in the right direction, but the arrow which hovered over his creation only confirmed his disappointment.


    [You could use your speed] Mune looked awkwardly to the side, then upwards just so she wouldn''t witness him re at her.


    Nix shook his head, that wasn''t the best option to go with, no matter how tempting that sounded. If he uses it on something as non-engaging as this, his agility stats would be drained before he engaged the


    enemy.


    ''I can do this without the use of augmentation, what''s...'' he pushed on another branch, ducking before it retracted and hit him in the face.


    ''... a simple branch even in their hundreds going to do to me?'' He finallypleted.


    [Stupid master] Mune muttered under her breath, her cheeks filling up with air.


    ''What did you say?!'' He raised a brow, reaching out to pull her down to his height.


    Hmph!


    She zoomed forward, purposefully making it obvious how easy this obstacle course was simple for her.


    ''If I get you, you''re so...'' His eyes narrowed as a bright light clouded his vision.


    Using his hand to shield his eyes, he closed them and a few secondster he opened them. Tiny sparks of lights trailed in his vision and moved about in the air.


    Shaking his head, he knew this was due to the light and tried to correct his vision by massaging his eyes for a bit.


    ''What the...'' he felt ripples and a cool liquid continuously flow past his ankle.


    Forced to open his eyes, he looked down at what that could be.


    ''A brook?'' His tense muscles eased, as he gave a satisfying breath of relief.<sub> </sub>


    [Finally! There you are] Mune came up behind him.


    Walking out of the brook, he shook the water out of his shoe. ''This is not my day at all.''


    Pulling out the map, he studied the next direction he was going to take. The arrow pointed to the left, with a name written above¡ªFegan.


    This brought a smile onto his face, even though it didn''t lead to the vige like he had expected it to be, he was d he was going in the right direction.


    [Looks like he changed his location] Mune snickered, happy about the new development.


    With a scoff, he focused his attention on the map, it was his idea to incorporate the visuals and details from the scroll while he drew out the arrow, this way it would be easier to locate his target.


    Rolling it back up, he slid it into his bag, holding onto the strap, he exhaled.


    ''Say no to being nerfed.'' He repeated in his mind, looking dejectedly at his arm, his right hand clenching into a fist to his side.


    [Correction! Say no to dying] Mune folded her arms, frowning. He didn''t have the right mindset and that troubled her. If it was losing his arm, she wouldn''t have been so scared the moment she had seen the signs on his arm.


    Shaking his head, to a weird degree that put a smile on his face. He proceeded to walk in the direction westward.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Hiding in some bushes, he was wary of a cottage in the middle of a forest. His guess was that could only be where Fegan lived. Pulling out the map, he examined it just to be sure.


    The arrow affirmed his thoughts, the arrow had grown bigger and its pointer which was on the cottage kept shing a bright white light before reverting to its original ck.


    Rrssssss!


    A rustle in the bushes made him alert. Looking behind him, he immediately activated his gift.


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    ''Sh*t!'' He cursed at how unfortunate he was, he was literally in a bush, hiding. His gift wasn''t a friend in such an environment. Although he knew the fire couldn''t hurt him, any wrong move, he should be prepared to lose his map and most importantly his clothes.


    Rrssssss!


    His eyes tried to keep up with his presumed location of the person, this couldn''t be Fegan, the arrow had made sure of it, then who?


    Whoosh!


    He dodged by a hair whatever attack directed at him, taking a quick look, he saw a kunai bore deep into a tree.


    ''What the heck¡­ ninjas?!'' He jumped out of the way as more kunai was thrown in his direction.


    "Show yourself if you''re confident!" He challenged, taking a defensive stance as his fists were covered in blue mes.


    In the shadows, he could hear a sinisterugh. "Oooo we got a fire user!"


    Nix eased his stance a bit, swayed by something strange he had noticed about the voice.


    ''A female?!''

 Chapter 96 Spanking And Release (1)

    ''What''s a female doing in this far side of the forest?'' He took a few steps to the side, looking behind him, wary about it having some sort of trick to it. Watching a certain anime didn''t help one bit.


    "I had wanted to go hunting, but never had I envisaged I would get a handsome catch." The female''s voice echoed, making it difficult to pinpoint the location from which she spoke.


    ''At least she called me handsome.'' Nix nodded his head in agreement. Aiming fireballs in a presumed location. Setting aze some of the branches it hade in contact with, temporarily illuminating the shadows in the forest, then it suddenly died down.


    p!


    p!


    He gritted his teeth, this was getting annoying, the thought of burning the whole forest to bring her out was a bit tempting but also felt stupid at the same time.


    Stepping out of the shadows, revealed the female, her long ck hair flowing behind her in the wind.


    She was dressed in a sleeveless see-through top; underneath it was a ck singlet that had a deep V-cut that showed her cleavage, a in chain ne falling into the middle.


    ''Who lets their daughter dress this way under their watch?!'' Nix gulped, tearing his gaze away from her cleavage, convincing himself that she was still a danger to him if he couldn''t appeal to reason.


    Cursing under his breath at his earlier speech of telling her to face him if she was confident.


    She put her hands into the pockets of her ck, skinny pants, with ripped on her knees, she was wearing a pair ofbat boots, and a pair of white gloves as her orange eyes were glowing.


    "Were you nning on burning me along with the forest?" She sneered, raising the corner of her lips.


    <o>,m ''Orange eyes, that face!'' He stared, finally facing the one character he didn''t want to see at the moment.</o>


    This would only make his task a lot more difficult than it should be.


    Nix recognized her as the same little girl he had seen in that vision.


    ''Well... not so little anymore.'' He deadpanned with a frown, making sure his eyes didn''t go to her bosom. It almost felt like she grew overnight, and staring almost felt wrong.


    It all started to make sense, she was merely treating his presence as an intrusion into her territory.


    "I''m not here for you, nor am I stealing anything." He tried to reason with her, she was innocent in his eyes, and he didn''t want to engage in a senseless battle with her.


    Tilting her head to the side, she narrowed her eyes at his words; yet didn''t reply.


    "You aren''t scared of my gift?" He pointed out the strange yet warm feeling he was getting from her.


    With a raise of her brow, she threw a kunai at his ankles as he dodged it.


    He jumped back, but his reaction was a little too slow; his eyes widened as a red light exploded into his vision, a strong scent of smoke drifted into his nostrils, and his eyes widened even more as he felt a burning sensation spread throughout his body.


    "Arrgh!" He gripped his throat as an excruciating pain coursed through his body. Spurting out blood in the process.


    It felt so simr to the pain he had felt in his arm at the onset but worse.


    "I have to confess, you are strong. One doze of that is meant to kill you." She rolled her eyes andughed at his reaction. "I''m sure you have never seen my kind in your entire life."


    Gasp!


    [Warning: Toxins found in the body]


    ''You think?!'' He screamed in his thoughts at the user interface in front of him, the message was unnecessary.


    Forcing one of his eyes open, he needed time to use his healing potion, there was no way he was going to let her get close to him, to hisst breath, he was going to be the one to teach her a lesson once he recovers.<sub> </sub>


    He growled as his eyes snapped shut, his mouth forming a thin line as he tried to speak, "That... was... a... wrong move." His voice was low and dangerous.


    [Gift: Fire dome in effect]


    A dome of blue me burst out, encircling and epassing the area around him with a 10-meter radius of a fiery aura surrounding him, he knew he couldn''t move his legs anymore, but she couldn''t also get to him.


    She did several backflips in other to escape the heat and the mes.


    Using that as a distraction, calling up his inventory, he quickly pulled out the healing potion and gulped down.


    [Health Potion unavable]


    [Usage: Complete]


    The me dome died down. And in its wake was an enraged Nix.


    Wiping the corner of his lips, his eyes glowed.


    He wasn''t one to hitdies, but after what she had done even when he tried to speak with her. It was thest straw.


    Hana stared with shock at his ability to recover in such a quick period, that was impossible, even her father couldn''t concoct such a concentrated form of a curse that she had developed herself even without possessing such a gift.


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 100%]


    In a blink of an eye, he wasn''t within her line of sight anymore. "What the heck¨C" She felt him grab her neck and raised her upwards.


    Her fingers wed at his hand, trying to get free no matter what.


    Nix hissed to the pain that was caused by her actions, welts forming right after in thin long strokes.


    [Trait usage: Defensiveness in effect]


    A blue me-like glow engulfed Nix''s hand. Hana''s eye was in shock at what was happening, she felt it drain her strength, making her drop her hands to her side.


    Satisfied with her inability to move, he proceeded to release his grip. She dropped to the ground with a thud.


    Hana let out a sigh of relief at having escaped his grip. This was different from what her father had told her about the fire users. She hoped he would at least leave her in her state. He did say he wasn''t here for her.


    To her dismay, she felt him lift her by the waist and onto his shoulder.


    "What are you doing?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, cursing at the fact of her inability to move her body.


    "Your father didn''t properly educate you on the dangers of picking a fight with your elders... so I''ll do it for him. You''re wee!"


    p!


    "Kyaaaa!" She screamed at the p to her buttocks. A tingling sensation coursed through her body, gradually she gained the feel of her limbs once more.


    p!


    Nix snickered at the sounds she made as he continued his actions. "I won''t kill you, but ept this punishment."


    p!

 Chapter 97 Spanking And Release (2)

    "Stop it, please!" She cried out like a baby, her mouth wide.


    p!


    Nix was determined to punish her for what she had done, humility would be enforced. He couldn''t stand another creation of his falling out.


    She was a cute little girl that shouldn''t have changed while they supposedly lived in istion.


    p!


    "Father! Help me!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.


    "There''s no way he can hear y¨C"


    Kt! Kt! Kt! Kt!


    A wooden puppet protracted its ws aiming at Nix at great speed.


    Merely sidestepping, he dodged the sneak attack aimed at him. Grabbing the puppet by the leg and mming it to the floor.


    The head split open, a white substance spilling out as it twitched, trying to move its body. In a rage, he stepped on it, causing the body to give one final shudder before it went limp.


    [20 points earned]


    ''Pathetic!''


    "Father?!" Hana questioned, unsure if it was his doing. Given her position and the fast swing her body moved concerning Nix, she was left in a state of confusion for the time being.


    But that sound of what had attacked was all too familiar. Feeling a rush of  adrenaline course through her, she squealed in delight, "you would regret trespassing, you monster!"


    ''Monst¨C'' He frowned at her words. Now he could rte to the reason Lumina had gone berserk on that Christmas tree.


    p!


    "Kyaaa! Fa-therrr!" She yelled out once more.


    "Shut it!" He snapped. Ripping a part of the hem of her transparent top, he shoved it in her mouth. "That should keep the bugs out!"


    "Mmmmmhhmmm!!!!!" Her screams were muffled and her brows were at a tight angle.


    Jumping a few meters back, he felt the presence of several puppets like the one he had destroyed, approaching.


    Kt! Kt! Kt! Kt!


    Kt! Kt! Kt! Kt!


    The cking sound made him grimace, shaking his head.


    He was done caring about the forest. The sheer size of those little abominations was increasing at a distance.


    Looking at Hana, who was still on his shoulder, he began to feel she was dead weight. Without any warning he tilted his shoulder, releasing his grip on her waist.


    "Mmmmmmm!!!" She screamed, falling to the grass.


    "Whoops... I apologize for the slip of my hand, but your screams for daddy were a bit irritating." He sneered, squatting to stare at her motionless body.


    Touching her forehead with his glowing hands, she immediately felt drowsy, her eyelids heavy; slowly her vision began to blur, and then darkness.


    Standing, he focused his attention on the imminent threat ahead.


    Kt! Kt! Kt! Kt!


    Kt! Kt! Kt! Kt!


    Kt! Kt! Kt! Kt!


    Kt! Kt! Kt! Kt!


    They were increasing by their number, his eyes observed where the one who had initiated this was. They were puppets, surely there must be someone controlling them from the shadows.


    He didn''t need to focus on Hana. It would be a couple of minutes before she would regain consciousness.


    Finally realizing he needed some augmentation, he called on his fire evolution stats.


    [Solid me maniption]


    [Liquid me maniption]


    [Gaseous me maniption]


    He clicked on the second option which melted into molten magma and attached itself to his hand like a symbiote.<sub> </sub>


    [Liquid me maniption]


    [Ability to a create streams of me that can be shot]


    Raising his hand, he made a fire wave, to which it bathed the floor, burning anything in its path. This had caught most of the puppets, some merely jumped on the trees, using them as propellers and jumping onto the next one before it went into mes.


    [1000 points earned]


    ''Smart are we?'' He raised a brow at their change in tactics.


    Clenching his fist, he stopped the mes from crossing a particr barrier, to which it merely sshed and maintained its boundary.


    Several puppets jumped over his head, it wasn''t until he saw them rush towards Hana, did he realize he was never the target from the beginning, but her.


    "Step away from her!" He yelled, creating the wave to surround them which continued to spiral, creating a cylindrical space with all in the middle and its supposed safe zone.


    The puppets stared at one another, unsure of how to go about this, any wrong move, they could be pushed into the spiral mes and obliterated.


    "Scared?" He snickered, finally he had the advantage, they were in an enclosed space and one of the natural gue of their make.


    Realizing that they didn''t move, pissed him off to a great extent, this wasn''t what he wanted.


    Bored by their static movement, he began to pull them into the cylindrical liquid mes one at a time with the help of extendible tentacles.


    Upon contact, they were reduced to ashes, with several white substances evaporating subsequently.


    [20 points earned]


    [20 points earned]


    [20 points earned]


    [20 points earned]


    [20 points earned]


    He was more than pleased with their sheer number. He repeatedly got more notifications, definitely due to the others trying to get in the cylinder or they were caught in his wave of mes.


    With a smirk on his lips, he finally realized there was still something good that came from this.


    Looking down at Hana, he squatted once more, pushing back a fallen strand of her head behind her ear.


    Her eyes opened, the first thing she saw was a hand outstretched to her, then her eyes moved towards who had done such.


    "Mmmh!" She screamed, using her tongue to push out the cloth, "You!" She finally corrected, spitting out in disgust.


    Nix was frozen in embarrassment, he had envisaged what was going to follow if she asked a question.


    "What exactly were you going to do with me?" She screamed, already feeling filthy, thinking she had not only encountered a dangerous psycho, but also a pervert who tried to take advantage of her while she cked out.


    The feeling of her limbs was gradually returning, it was only a matter of time before she would be able to move freely, therefore she needed to stall for enough time.


    Recovering from his embarrassment, he gritted his teeth, "your thoughts do travel wide." He raised her by the chin.


    ''Just bear this until you can move and stall for enough time.'' Hana repeated to herself. She was about to say something but was interrupted by an iing object.


    Immediately sensing danger and also the look in her eyes, Nix looked upwards, pulling her with ease, deactivating the cylindrical liquid me as he rolled out of the way.


    Boom!


    The crash had caused a huge gust of steam in its wake and smoke emanating.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    Nix was over her, his hands to her side, the only thing which had made him remain suspended above her.


    Ba-dum!


    Her heart thumped, her eyes widened at his willingness to save her nevertheless, and used his body to protect her from any flying debris.


    Her cheeks flushed, and closing her eyes, she frowned at the turn of things.


    Nix let out a huff, he was tired of all the confusing things going on, but the sound of movement alerted him.


    Looking back, he red in the direction where a silhouette of someone was approaching.

 Chapter 98 Golden Gladiator

    Opening her eyes, she brushed a strand behind her ear. She had made up her mind to thank him for saving her.


    "Thank¨C"


    "Fegan!" Nix growled. The moment he saw those distinctive glowing orange eyes reveal themselves as he stepped into the light.


    p "Father!" Hana cried. Her fingers moved a bit, but it was more frustrating when she tried to move her whole body but ended up rolling to her side.</anda>


    "Hand over my daughter!" He said through gritted teeth.


    "As much as I hate to say this," Nix pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. "How about we have a discussion based on the real reason for my arrival?"


    Looking around, he took in the several ck patches made by this kid''s destructive gift, not to mention his daughter was held captive.


    "You don''t give the orders around these parts." He pointed usingly at Nix.


    Nix couldn''t get over the fact that these two considered his gift as every other one and were willing to fight a battle they clearly couldn''t win.


    "No diplomatic approach?" He questioned while taking a defensive stance, clenching his hand in a fist and putting his right hand out. "Fine by me!"


    "I was living a quiet life here until you came along." He had his fingers spread as he was exerting his power on something.


    ''I was living a calctive life till your creation ns to nerf me and ruin my ns.'' He retorted in his thoughts, rolling his eyes.


    If they were to y the me game, he had more reasons to go on.


    The ground began to tremble, "You''re going to pay for the disrespect, little boy!!!" He raged, the glint in his eyes, shining brighter.


    "Father!" Hana mumbled, scared of what he had nned.


    In all her years of staying with him, she had never seen him this angry, nor had he tried using the ability he was carrying out; it could well take a toll on his life.


    Stories and pictorial references were all she had seen of this ability; judging from the size of what she had seen, this would spell doom for who would be caught in it. But it was also a danger to her father, whatever damage the statue would take, it would reflect on her father.


    "No... father don''t!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Her hands were able to grab some of the grass on the floor.


    This fire user couldn''t be trusted, he has a hidden ability he didn''t want to make use of¨Cshe could feel it, if this were to be unleashed, her father would be the one in danger.


    Nix looked back at Hana for a second, wondering what could be so dangerous about what he was nning on doing that would make her react in such a manner. ''He can''t put his daughter in harm''s way, can he?''


    Cursing at her slow progress, she locked eyes with Nix, her eyes pleading. "Please don''t let him release that... that thing!"


    She let out a gasp, gust of wind blew on them; forcing her to roll on the floor once again before her back mmed against a tree.<sub> </sub>


    Nix had his hands crossed in front of him and tried to maintain his ground and bnce. Dust rose into the air, making use of the opportunity of camouge, he removed his cross bag, throwing it up so it could hang on a tree branch for the time being.


    There was no way he was going to have a serious fight while he has his bag with the map in it. Satisfied with the height and location he had hidden his bag, he looked ahead preparing for whatever had caused such a huge amount of wind.


    Whoosh!


    Like a blur, he felt a gigantic hand, hold him by the torso then throw him several feets away.


    Fegan rushed to his daughter, cradling her, his eyes brimming with tears. "Hana, speak to me!"


    "F... fa... t... ther?" She tried to speak. Her arm raised, trying to wipe the tears from his face but she lost the strength, with it falling back down.


    "I''m sorry I couldn''t protect you." He rocked her, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall.


    "That fire user! Where... where is he?"


    Fegan cringed, it took a while for him to process if they were thinking of the same person. "You don''t mean..."


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Flung across the forest, Nix broke several trees before hitting a huge tree.


    [Health level dropped by 50 points]


    Groaning, he tried to get up, the pain he felt was nerve-wrenching. Spitting out some blood, he wiped his lips. He had let his guard down and underestimated the enemy, but this time he wasn''t going to let whatever had grabbed hold and thrown him get that same chance.


    His mouth gaped open when he saw a golden statue, approaching with great speed as it ran in his direction.


    ''How the hell can it move so fast with such size?!'' He panicked, the floor trembling as it moved, didn''t allow him to maintain his bnce.


    This statue''s presence was a definite answer that Fegan was the one who sculpted Agatha, even if he hadn''t seen that vision. This statue on the other hand was more agile, faster, and twice as huge.


    It was designed like a Roman diator, a scaled shoulder te made from metal on the right arm. The bottom, open on one side, bright gold and draping asymmetrically, is held up by an adjustable chain around the midsection, and its forehead is decorated with a small metal victory wreath pendant with more gold chains ending in heavy beads.


    ''A little over the top, don''t you think?! You really went over the top for a father and daughter gold statue duo.'' He jumped onto its hand at just the right moment when it had wanted tond a hit on him, possibly aiming to crush him to the ground.


    Running on the hand and to its wrists, the statue shook its hand, throwing him a distance away again.


    ''What the heck?!'' Nix held onto his head, quickly getting up, as the trembling ground signified it was approaching again.

 Chapter 99 No Legs, No Running

    "Where is he?!" She tried to sit upright, but fell back into her father''s arm, groaning to the pain in her back.


    Realizing something was wrong, he turned her around, to his horror, he saw his shirt had a faint stain of blood, her back and her top was soiled in blood. Her body gave quick spasms, sweat began to form on her forehead.


    "Did I do this?" His hands trembled.


    "It''s fine," she let out a strainedugh, "nothing a hotpress, bandage, ointment and a good rest can''t fix."


    He forced a smile at her words, even though she was trying to prove that she was okay, he could tell she was struggling.


    Quickly he removed his shirt which exposed his ripped torso. He wrapped it around her, "this should keep you a bit warm."


    "Thanks, father!"


    He shook his head. "I keep telling you to put on more clothing, I don''t understand why you never listen to me on this, you were almost molested by that kid." His eyes nced at the torn hem of her transparent top.


    "I hunt for fun, there hasn''t been any human that has been able to find out where we are until he came along, so I could dress any way I wanted." Her cheeks were flushed again at the thought of Nix.


    Fegan had caught on to her reaction at the thought of that kid, "I forbid it! He made you immobile, he tried to molest you, is this one of his tricks again?" He raised a brow, definitely not pleased with the turn of things.


    "No... it isn''t what you think!" She quickly defended, "I never said I find him attractive."


    Fegan raised a brow at her words, "really?"


    Looking away awkwardly, she gulped at the slip. Wanting to correct it, but was immediately reminded of the pain.


    She curled in his arms, shaking in pain and groaning.


    "Hana, please just bear it for now." Lifting her, he was about to go in the direction of the cottage, when he felt her hands tightly grip his shirt.


    "No!" She protested, finally getting the feeling of her legs. She kicked, forcing him to stop.


    "What the heck is the matter?" He looked down at her, "you can''t possibly be thinking of that kid, he would be defeated soon. Right now, you need to be medicated immediately."


    At the mention of being defeated, she lost it. With what she had noticed, there was no way he could lose, and that spelled danger to her father.


    "Father!" Hana gritted her teeth in fury, she clenched her fingers and opened them as she contemted what she wanted to say, exhaling so she could think and speak rationally.


    "Please no more distractions, we still have time at home." He shook his head, not bothering to stop for any more words.


    "He survived my curse dust!" She looked up at him, gauging his reaction.


    His eyes doubled in size, which was beyond what he could imagine and a feat even he had a hard time getting out of his system when they trained.


    "Do you have any idea what that means, father?!" She stared at him, searching his gleaming eyes for the answer.


    "He''s the one." He said with a sigh, closing his eyes.


    He refused to believe this, opening his eyes, he looked back down at his daughter in disbelief.


    "Is there a time your abilities were ever wrong?" He blinked, hopeful she would nod her head.


    To his dismay, she shook her head, "I am your guardian angel, after all, my magic never fails." She forced a big grin.


    That didn''t calm him down at all, anxiety quickly rushing in.


    "I''m in danger, right?!" He looked down, realizing why she had been asking about the fire user. His link to the statue would put him at risk if it were to be destroyed.<sub> </sub>


    She gave a nod, "you need to stop the statue before it''s toote. I don''t want to lose you."


    Letting out a sigh, he shook his head at the tight spot he found himself. He wished this revtion was wrong.


    "So... it has begun." He muttered, looking above for some sort of sign.


    Calling up one of the puppets which had been standing on a tree above them, he handed over Hana. "Make sure she gets to the cottage safe and sound, and provide anything she requests concerning her injury."


    The puppet nodded its head.


    Ruffling her hair, he had a sad smile. "Father needs to correct a great wrong."


    With that, the puppet dashed towards the cottage.


    Looking in the direction of the damage caused by his statue and the user, he felt some imminent danger like the one his daughter had spoken about.


    ''Oh no! It''s in danger!'' He picked up his pace in search of where the two dueled.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Huff!


    Huff!


    Nix had tried several attacks, but then he had realized, just like Agatha, they didn''t have much effect on the body, and had resorted to dodging several attempts to have him squashed.


    ? ''What the hell did he make you with? That can''t be just gold!'' His eyes searched the surrounding area for his next line of action.


    The wreath pendant glistened, almost like it was gathering something.


    ''What can it do, shootsers too?'' He rolled his eyes, jumping onto a tree, using the branches as a way of creating more distance as he jumped on several and away from the statue.


    Zzzzzzznnnn!


    His ears pricked up at that familiar sound, facepalming and immediately changing his direction to the left before theser could destroy everything on the left side of the forest.


    ''You just had to think of this annoying feature to the statues, huh?!'' He scolded his thoughts.


    Unlike Agatha, this did pretty good and wide scaled damage and wasn''t meant to steal gifts and magic¨Cthis was meant to kill anything in its path.


    His chest thumped in panic.


    Hiding behind a tree, he could see the cottage at a distance, his guess was the statue couldn''t attack using itssers in this direction. The vibrationsing from the movements on the floor could only show that it had slowed its steps a bit and was searching for him.


    "So it boils to this." He looked at his hands.


    ''No legs, no running.'' Thinking of the only choice left was to create a wave of liquid me in order to slow its movements and melt its feet with the concentrated heat.


    Jumping down from the tree, he waved his hands above his head to call the attention of the statue.


    "Come on big boy, I''m right here!" He called out loud, his hands on the side of his mouth.


    It charged in blind rage towards his direction.


    ''Yes... that''s it!''

 Chapter 100 It Wasnt Meant To Be You

    "Halt!" A voice called out loudly, stopping the statue from taking another step closer. It bowed its head and was immobile.


    ''What the¨C'' He clenched his fist. His eye twitched for a while as he tried to control his disappointment. He had finally gotten the right n to take down this menace, yet it got ruined at thest moment?!!!


    Raising his hand, he prepared to carry out his ns, this statue needed to go. He could only feel this as a trick to let his guard down again.


    "Please don''t!" Fegan called out in a panic, "I beg of you, if it''s damaged or destroyed, it will reflect on me also."


    From a distance, he saw Fegan approaching on a wooden horse.


    Clop!


    Clop!


    "Oh, it''s Fegan." He facepalmed, his hand still aimed at the statue''s legs, ready to do what he had in mind if he did anything that pissed him off.


    Jumping off the wooden horse, it made a clicking sound before it dismantled and stacked itself, then reduced in size before Fegan absorbed the white essence from it.


    Before turning to face Nix, he was hit by a ball of me, pushing him several feet away.


    "Why the hell would you create such a dangerous statue, knowing the consequences?!" He fumed, ready to carry out his anger on the progenitor.


    "As expected, how did I not see it sooner?" He muttered under his breath. Letting out augh as he got up.


    "That''s a temper you got there kiddo." He turned around, raising his hands in defense.


    ''Kiddo?!'' Nix raised a brow at his reference, mes engulfing his hands again, ready to pick a fight with him for his choice of words.


    "I. am. not. a. kid!" He said slowly through gritted teeth. He had excused thest two times a simr reference was made. This was unforgivable.


    ''But you are to me, you should be a few years older than my daughter.'' He looked away awkwardly at his own thoughts.


    "You are right." He said instead.


    Nix was stunned by his docile actions and strange behavior.


    "What did you just say?"


    "You are right?" Fegan said in more confusion and a question than a statement.


    Nix narrowed his eyes, still not wanting to believe he would just make a U-turn in behavior.


    "Oh I get it," he pointed a finger at Fegan. "Did my abilitye so close to crippling the statue and in turn you, that it humbled the high and mighty Fegan?"


    Fegan''s brows furrowed at his manner of speech. Even though he was someone with a special ability and with great conviction¨C the one, he still couldn''t tolerate his approach.


    "At the very least respect your elders, you brat! You''re still a boy who doesn''t know what lies ahead for you. Didn''t your parents teach you some manners?!" He spat. The one or not, he wouldn''t tolerate the disrespect.


    Nix was taken aback by the scolding he had just received. A sharp pain shot to his heart. He took a handful of his shirt, groaning in pain, hyperventting.


    Fegan stared in confusion at the reaction to his words. "Are you alright ki¨C" he paused in his words, remembering he didn''t like to call in such a manner.


    "Stay back!" He threatened, aiming his fireball at Fegan''s side.


    He tried to control his emotions, gritting his teeth and punching a tree continuously.


    [Health level dropped by 2 points]


    Bam!


    [Health level dropped by 2 points]


    "Would you stop that?! Your hand is bleeding." Fegan yelled.


    Nix stopped, looking at his knuckles, his eyes blurred with tears.<sub> </sub>


    Biting on his bottom lip, he realized that he was never taught any manners, to begin with. It was all about survival at the orphanage. Only when he was approached and taken out by Drui, was when he had a change of heart.


    ''F*ck you, Drui!'' He cursed at the thought of what he had lost was far greater than when he had not met him.


    Fegan could see his body trembling, fixated on the spot. "Hey!" He called out, hoping he could turn around so he could see his countenance.


    Wiping his tears with his sleeve, he turned around giving a slight bow, "I am deeply sorry for the disrespect."


    There was no need to justify his actions with his family history.


    Fegan''s mouth gaped open a bit. Confused at the behavior change, wonderingly why he had channeled his anger on a tree and in the process got his hand injured. Or why he suddenly spoke calmly and even bowed.


    Ripping a part of his cloth with his teeth, he wrapped it around his hand for the time being.


    "What''s with you and ripping clothing?" Fegan pointed out, "and you need to clean that up well." He added.


    Raising his head, he hade to realize something about Fegan. He wasn''t the deranged sculptor he had expected but kind and thoughtful.


    [500 points gained]


    [Congrattions on your sessfulpletion, you have a total of 2803 points earned]


    The trip to finding Fegan and engaging his puppets was one of the best that he had epted.


    It was in to see why it said ''find'' and not ''kill'' him. The system wanted him to know the real person within before he made whatever decision he wanted to make.


    ''Mune, you were right.'' He gave a faint chuckle in his thoughts.


    Exhaling and inhaling, he looked at Fegan with a new mindset, "I need a favor from you, and I''m hoping you could fulfill it."


    Shaking off his initial reaction, he cleared his throat. "What favor?"


    When he raised his right arm slowly, it sent the wrong signal to Fegan as he jumped back, wondering what he wanted to do.


    "There''s no need to engage." He tried to reason.


    "I was just raising the arm that needs your help specifically." Nix deadpanned.


    "Oh... I knew that." He chuckled until it trailed out, dusting himself. "So what can I help you with?"


    "I was marked by one of your creations." He replied. "By Agatha," he said more specifically.


    "What?!" He yelled in panic. It had been a decade since he had seen and heard of his creation, his body began to tremble at the memory of that one creation.


    p Nix shrugged, not understanding why he was taking the news of the statue so seriously.</anda>


    "Where did you see Agatha?" He walked closer to Nix but maintained a 3-meter distance.


    "You don''t know?" Nix was more than confused by his question.


    Shaking his head in reply, he wished he could get closer and shake the answers from him.


    "The Academy, obviously you should know the ce," Nix replied with a raise of his brow.


    "What were you doing in Shibui Gift Academy?" He questioned, as his eyes doubled in fear.


    "An unfortunate event brought me there." He sighed


    A gasp escaped Fegan''s lips, he pulled on his hair in anguish. "No... no... no... why there?!!!"


    He began to hyperventte, his eyes darting everything. "It wasn''t meant to be you! Why now?!" He spoke to no one in particr.

 Chapter 101 Wrong Answer

    "It wasn''t meant to be me?" Nix repeated, curious about the full story.


    If there was a back story to this, he was willing to hear it, right after he was cured.


    "Sir," he decided to change his tactics in speech, "I can be cured, right?!" He stared, hopeful that he would hear a positive result. Mune had told him whoever had ced it could remove it, but he needed to be sure.


    "They said they were using it for a test drive in the organization, why the academy?" He punched a tree in rage, the glow in his eyes increasing with every frustrated yell he let out.


    ''I should be asking you.'' Nix deadpanned.


    "Sir, does this mean that you don''t know about the use of the statue you created?" He tilted his head in confusion.


    He had thought he was working on cohoot with the organization, little did he know that the tale just got a lot moreplicated.


    "How could they do this?!" Fegan spoke out again, staring at Nix. He was guilt stricken that he might have caused something he shouldn''t have.


    "Who?!" Nix probed, his questions didn''t make any sense if he couldn''t at least exin them logically and one at a time.


    "Hana was right," He facepalmed. "I shouldn''t have listened to their threats."


    ''What the hell man?! You haven''t even given an exnation to the first confusing question, now you just want topile them?'' His brows furrowed.


    With lips drawn into a thin line, he folded his arms, refusing to speak again unless he was done rambling.


    "How did this happen? How and why did you go for the medal on the chest?! Are you crazy?!" He chose to ask several questions instead, finally getting a grip of reality. His hands trembled as he bit on his fingernails as a stress relief behavior.


    ''Are we done with the questions?'' Nix stared, nodding his head when he could tell he was actually waiting for him to speak.


    "Well..." Nix sweat dropped, "it''s a long story. Not one that you might like to listen to."


    Shaking his head, he held out his hand to stop Nix from saying anything. "Let''s get to my cottage first."


    ''It''s about time.''


    "Kot awaken." He called onto the golden statue.


    Nix took a step back, the size of the thing still scared him when it was up close.


    "You do have a beautiful way of naming your creations." He stifled augh.


    The ground shook for a while as Kot stomped his feet in displeasure at thement.


    ''It can understand the hidden meaning?'' Nix stared at it for a while.


    "You owe Hana an apology for your kind words." Fegan narrowed his eyes.


    ''Sh*t, it was the girl who named them!'' He internally facepalmed at howplicated it''ll be for him to face her eventually.


    "Aren''t youing?" Fegan looked over his shoulder, his hand on the outstretched palm of the statue on the floor, with it ready to lift him.


    "On that cra¨C I mean beautiful golden statue?" He raised his head to meet the gaze of Kot, shing a grin at it.


    "Suit yourself." Fegan walked onto its palm.


    Kot raised him, cing him on its shoulder. Looking down at Nix for his response.


    "Yeah I''m good." He waved his hand in front of him. "The distance isn''t something I can''t cover in a short while."


    "Let''s go." Feganmanded Kot, holding onto the beads that draped from its victory wreath pendant.


    Uggggg!


    With a huge leap, it covered a huge distance with that.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    ''Alone atst!'' He looked around him, finallying to terms to damage that had been caused by the statue majorly.<sub> </sub>


    "That was some fight." Heughed it off, it reminded him of the dragons he had tamed.


    They had done more damage and he was nearly killed by Rekor and Raz. ''Plot amour hits again.''


    ''Mune.''


    [Yawn!] She stretched her arms, opening her eyes slowly.


    ''I''m sorry for doubting you.'' He looked down in embarrassment.


    Tilting her head, she stared at her master for a few seconds, not registering what had made him resort to that sentence when she had just been summoned.


    ''You were right about the approach on Fegan.''


    [You met him?!] She gasped in shock.


    ''Well...'' His eyes roamed the forest.


    [You did this?] Her mouth opened in shock at the level of damage.


    ''That''s not the point, I was invited to his cottage.'' He pointed out.


    [After this sort of damage? What does he want, a duel in his home?] Mune rolled her eyes, folding her arms.


    Nix shook his head, smiling at her funny representation of what he had said. ''He knows his limit, besides his daughter is with him.''


    [She survived, huh?] Mune''s voice wasced with scorn.


    Although he had not outrightly confronted her, he had noticed her behaviour towards females was always unpleasant at the onset.


    ''Do you have any idea on what he might want to discuss?'' He questioned, shoving his hands into his pockets.


    Walking, he searched for the spot where he had hidden his bag. Looking upwards, he had a frown at the broken branch he could have sworn he had hung it on.


    "What the hell happened here?!" He eximed loudly, jumping on the tree branches until he got to the top.


    Mune followed closely, floating beside his head. [You kept something important here?]


    Inhaling and exhaling, he tried to calm his emotions before he spoke to her telepathically.


    ''My map was meant to be here, my bag!'' He kicked on some leaves.


    [Master, look!] She pointed at a writing on the bark of the tree.


    Walking closer to it, he read it and the more he re-read the words, the more his anger rose.


    ''Mune?'' He called, trying to keep his emotions in check.


    [Master?]


    ''Would it be wrong to beat the heck out of someone because of this?'' He forced a smile, internally screaming at the thought of what he had read.


    [Violence is never the answer] She raised her index finger, raising her chin as she spoke.


    ''Wrong answer!'' He said through gritted teeth, jumping down from the tree, doing a barrel roll and getting up.


    There were no second doubts about going to meet Fegan, he had enough reason to meet him.


    ''You made a mistake doing that.'' He looked ahead towards the cottage.


    [Agility activated. Your movements have been increased by 90%]


    [Master, wait up!] She zoomed to meet up with the speed he had utilized, making his way towards the cottage.

 Chapter 102 I Would Know If Youre Lying

    m!


    Fegan jumped back as he watched his solid wooden nk design door crash. A gust of wind blew in its wake.


    Several animal sculptures fell to the floor, breaking upon the heavy impact they had sustained.


    "What the hell?!" He eximed, calling up ten of his wooden puppets, ready to attack whatever had caused damage to his front door.


    He looked behind him momentarily. With worry on his face, his daughter whoy on a hammock would be woken from her sleep as it rocked to the side for a while.


    "Fegan!" Nix raged, stepping into the living space.


    [Master, no!] Mune waved her hand in front of him, hoping she could stop him from making a mistake.


    [He''s the only one who could remove your mark, remember?] She tried to reason.


    "Kiddo?!" Fegan eased his stance the moment he had seen it was the boy from the forest.


    He couldn''t understand why he came in angry. They hade to an amicable conclusion a few minutes ago.


    "Where is it?" He hissed with eyes searching the cottage.


    ncing around, fresh flowers decorated the window sills of each window.


    Rather than hiding original beams with faux ceilings, it was open to seeing, with a climbing nt encircling each beam.


    A ssic cast iron stove could be seen at the far end of the living space. He felt the warmthe from an open fire, with most of its heat lost up the chimney.


    There were several wool sofas all encircling a mahogany table.


    He caught sight of Hana on a hammock who was still unconscious.


    Fegan protectively had his stance in front of her.


    His features began to ease at the unpleasant feeling it brought to him.


    "I don''t know why you woulde up here in such a manner, but I don''t know what you''re talking about." Fegan defended.


    ''It was written on that tree of your ns to burn my belonging.'' He gritted his teeth, trying to quell his rage.


    "My bag, where is it?" He growled. This was the only way he could use to get back to the academy without a hassle. He had spent enough points to care about not losing it.


    Fegan smiled once he had known what had caused such a reaction, "oh, you mean that junk?"


    His puppets were the ones who had brought back the bag to the cottage.


    ''Junk?!'' He repeated in disbelief.


    [He didn''t mean that!] Mune shook her head, tapping on his cheek to get his attention. He needed to see the bigger picture, it wasn''t worth it.


    "A few minutes ago, you were so docile. Where did all that respect go?" He taunted with a raise of his brow.


    "Circumstances changed."


    "Ohoho! You need my help remember?" He had a smirk on his lips.


    Clenching his fist, he watched with glowing eyes as Nix hissed to the pain. He noticed something a bit strange about his reaction.<sub> </sub>


    Exhaling, Nix calmed himself, controlling the pain he felt.


    "How could you withstand that so well?" He queried, taking a step back.


    Letting out a strainedugh, he dismissed Mune before she could speak again.


    "The only thing stopping me from engaging is because you need to help me with this mark." He pushed back his hair, his hand covering the right side of his face.


    Looking back at Hana, he couldn''t help but wonder why she still had not woken up after that noise. "Why is she still unconscious?"


    Fegan grimaced at his question. He couldn''t bring himself to say he was at fault for what was going on.


    "Could you please take a seat?" He canceled his hold on the puppets.


    Switching nces between Hana and the sofa, he was skeptical about what was going on.


    "We have a lot to discuss." He patted his hand on the space on the wool sofa.


    ''It wouldn''t hurt to know what he had to say.'' He tried to convince himself.


    Observing that Nix was having a hard time trusting him, he called up one of his puppets to get the bag from the greenhouse.


    "It''s heading towards the location of the bag as I speak. I assure you, it wasn''t burnt down as opposed to what was written on the tree, it was just baited in case you were having doubts abouting as promised."


    "Now sit, so we could talk." He cajoled.


    Reluctantly, he took a seat on another sofa with three others in between, careful to give enough distance between them.


    "I know you have questions, and during the brief time I had spent here before your arrival, I too have some questions."


    Nix was about to respond to his words when he was interrupted.


    "I have an important question that needs your honest answer." Fegan narrowed his eyes, cing his chin on his sped fingers.


    With the tone of voice, Nix could only guess whatever it was, it was not something simple.


    ''There is no way he could tell which is the truth or not.'' Nix concluded in his mind, thinking about the only way he could go about the question if he couldn''t tell the truth.


    "I would know if you are lying." Fegan sounded his warning.


    ''What the hell?!'' He eximed in his thoughts. On the outside, he merely gave a smile to hide his difort at the striking coincidence.


    Adjusting his position, he turned slightly to face Nix fully, clearing his throat before he began.


    "How did you know the name of my daughter and me?" He paused, leaving the question hanging.


    Nix''s eyes widened momentarily, he had to look away to hide his shock at the slip he had made. There was no way he could justify his knowledge about him and his daughter.


    "As I thought," Fegan shook his head,ughing at how unreal it felt. "I can''t believe this is happening now."


    Slowly turning his head to face Fegan, he wondered what he was talking about. Although curious, he knew if he were to speak, the first question asked might be brought to light again.


    Pointing an using finger at Nix, he stated inly. "You''re not from our world, are you?"


    "What?!" Nix got up from his seat in disbelief at what he had heard from Fegan.

 Chapter 103 Another Transmigrator?

    "Don''t lie to me, I can tell." Fegan reminded, shaking his head, cautious about his ns to do otherwise.


    ''There''s no way.'' Nix concluded.


    "How could I possibly be from another world, there is only one wor¨C"


    "How many times do I have to say, do not lie to me?!" Fegan punched on the tabletop in frustration.


    His expression dulled, the moment Fegan had spoken. There was no way he could urately exin where he originated from, nor could he trust him enough to exin what was going on.


    Feeling his heart thump in his chest as Fegan''s eyes bored into his, he tore his gaze away.


    ''You need to calm down, there can''t be anyone who knows about my weird travel into my art piece.'' He told himself, exhaling to maintain his calm.


    "I don''t know why you would think I coulde from another world. Is there another I didn''t know of?" He questioned, folding his arms.


    "Hmmm..." Fegan hummed, looking over at his daughter who stirred in her sleep.


    Standing up, he walked up to the hammock, "Forgive me." he mumbled, preparing to forcefully wake her up.


    His hand glowed with a white aura, he gave a slight hit to her stomach, retracting his hands as quickly as they came down.


    Gasp!


    Cough!


    Cough!


    Hana repeatedly coughed, with her hand to her throat.


    "I''m sorry." He wrapped arms around her, "it was the only way to get a certain someone to own up to the truth."


    Hana pushed him away from her, she needed all the space she could get to breathe properly. Trying to reach for the injury at her back. "It''s healed."


    "Hana, concentrate please." Fegan facepalmed.


    Pushing back her hair, she looked up and did a double-take upon sighting Nix.


    "Father?" She faked a smile, speaking through closed teeth. Her eyes nced from her father then to Nix.


    "I told you he woulde eventually."


    "Not in the right way, anyways." Nix cut in, rolling his eyes at how he had put his speech.


    "He''s denying the obvious." Feganughed, pointing at Nix.


    ? Nix dodged the attention, he wasn''t going to let himself be pointed at without knowing what they were talking about.


    None of what was happening was making any sense to him. This wasn''t what goes in line with the regr plots.


    For the first time, he saw her eyes glow like her father''s. She had the same ominous look as Gia.


    ''Oh, another one.'' He cringed, almost getting a scope on what her magic might be.


    "The one who had crossed from another world, wee." She said in a monotonous voice.


    Nix took a step back, creeped out by her ability and tone of voice. "What nonsense is she spouting?"


    "There''s your answer," Fegan folded his arms.


    "The nonsense she is spouting is nothing but the hard truth that you''re too adamant about not owning up to." He made an air quote at the beginning.<sub> </sub>


    She pointed a finger in his direction, her fingers shaking slightly, "beware, there is another who would pose a threat to your ns."


    Nix''s ears pricked at that piece of information. Not being able to keep up with the pretense. He walked closer to her hammock, that piece of information directly concerned him, and to a degree, he understood what it meant.


    ''There''s another person who transmigrated here?'' He raised a brow.


    "How is that possible? When did that happen?" He queried.


    Hana closed her eyes, then opened them again and the glow had deactivated.


    She stared with wide eyes at how close Nix was, her cheeks flushed once more. Bowing her head, her hair cascaded to cover her face.


    Blinking several times, he couldn''t process what sort of reaction she had just disyed.


    "Get away from my daughter, prediction is over," Fegan called out from behind, pping his hands.


    He still didn''t trust that his daughter wasn''t having some sort of attraction toward this kiddo.


    ''s, I get to see a magic user who can predict things.''


    Raising his hand in surrender, Nix took two steps back. "As you wish."


    Her look reminded him of the one he sees on Lumina. If it was anything close to how she stared at him, he didn''t want anything to do with Hana. He had enoughplications with females to add another to the collection.


    "So do you now believe what I said was true?" Fegan narrowed his eyes, a smirk on his lips.


    Whistling, Nix looked away again, he was caught, but he couldn''t help but be interested in that prediction.


    "What did she mean there was another?" He looked over to Fegan.


    Putting his hand out to stop him from asking any more questions, he needed to know some answers first before answering his.


    "Now that is confirmed, I would need to know something." He paused, looking over to Nix to get his reaction.


    Nix closed his eyes for a moment, letting out a sigh, he nodded his head inpliance.


    "What''s your name? I guess kiddo isn''t going well with you." He said with augh.


    Conflicted about sharing that part of him, he shared an awkward look with Hana who immediately hid her face again.


    Fegan still had his smile, awaiting his response, "you already know our names, which only confirms my daughter''s prediction. So please, do go on." He cajoled.


    "Nix." He replied.


    "Pleased to meet you, even though we have tried to kill one another on our first meeting." He joked, stretching his arm out.


    Nix gave a brief chuckle, "you and I both know where that would end." he said with a smirk.


    "Right, right." He nodded, "it''s a good thing that it was known before things escted."


    There was no time to waste on that strange prediction Hana had given, he needed his answers too.


    "So about thest prediction she had given..." his voice trailed, looking over to Hana again.


    Slowly raising her head, she looked to her father, when he gave her a nod in confirmation, she let out a sigh.


    "Fine, but you might not like what you hear." Her demeanor darkened when she thought about what she had predicted.

 Chapter 104 On Her Knees

    [Master, are you alright?] Mune rested on his shoulder, staring at him with her big green eyes.


    cing his hand on a tree for support, his chest hyperventted as he remembered what Hana had told him. His body shuddered at the thought.


    [At the least, the mark''s cured] Mune tried to sound as positive as possible.


    ''Why did I call you out, again?'' He looked to his shoulder in confusion.


    Whistling, she looked up to the branches above, her eyes following the trail of its twists and curves.


    Pulling out his map, he looked ahead, finally getting towards the brook he once stood in.


    [Canvas time limit: 04:08:56]


    ''The time limit will soon be up, yet I''m still in whatever forest this is.'' He frowned, pushing away the branches in his way.


    [Master are you ignoring me again?!] Mune flew in front of him, stretching out her arms to her side, forcing a frown on her face.


    This made him stop momentarily, ''Really Mune?''


    She bopped her head in a yes, wanting to know his thoughts on the new revtion.


    [You are not okay, I can feel it] Her tone mellowed in despair.


    ''Not okay?'' He raised a brow, then gave a strainedugh in response.


    [...]


    ''How does it feel when the person you never want to see ever againes haunting you but you don''t know how it''s going to happen?'' He pointed a finger at her, easily evading her little blockade done by her body.


    Mune still didn''t understand why what that ck-haireddy with the glowing orange eyes had said made him so distressed.


    [It''s just a prediction that hasn''t had its fulfillment, nor was she sure of it happening] Mune called out to him, noticing he wasn''t beside her anymore, flying off and following behind him closely.


    ''Did you say ''just a prediction'' ?'' He turned around to re at Mune.


    It was hard for him to believe to what extent Hana''s ability was or why he should trust her predictions so easily. Even though the evidence was obvious, he wished it wasn''t.


    ''Another transmigrator is out there from my world, how sick is that?'' Heughed at the possibility, shaking his head as he looked back down at the map to get the next pointer.


    Mune could see the hurt on his face, whoever this transmigrator was, he knew the person and was not pleased with the news.


    [Master is that the¨C]


    ''Don''t!'' Nix''s body shook, his hand trembling while trying to maintain his grip on the map. ''Don''t mention that name, only I can curse at it.''


    Mune kept her lips sealed, conflicted on how she could make her master cheerful.


    ''Let''s just maintain the peace until I get to my dorm, it''s already getting dark.'' He faced forward, jumping into the brook.<sub> </sub>


    With drooping shoulders, Mune flew onto his hair, curling into a ball and taking a rest there.


    ''My hair isn''t¨C'' he paused in his speech. Confused as always whenever she did that. He bringing himself toin about it didn''t feel right, the moment he had heard her snore so peacefully.


    "To the academy." He said to himself.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Watching as the door closed behind her. Lumina looked to the left, to the right, then behind her again, with a drop of caution.


    "Nix!" She whispered, hoping she got no response in return.


    Her intuition told her he wasn''t present, she couldn''t sense him so it should be urate, but to be so sure in case he has a trick up his sleeve that she didn''t know about, she needed to double-check.


    After a while confirming that he wasn''t present, she dashed to his nightstand, pulling open the drawers. Looking back every once in a while as she searched for them.


    ''Who could he be?'' She questioned, curious as to his true origin. He had no luggage when he came to the academy, the only confusing thing that had caught her attention was the mystery behind him getting a hold of her brother''s shirt.


    His gifts couldn''t just be of someone who was an orphan that had found the gold medal pass to get into the academy. Knowing Mr. Zhao, he didn''t buy his excuse one bit and had entrusted her with the task to unearth who he was.


    Just because of personal reasons did she willingly agree to this task, once she could satisfy her curiosity, she could rest in her endeavors, and pretend she didn''t find any clues leading to him when she needed to report to Mr. Zhao.


    Pulling on a drawer, she felt up thepartments, remembering this ce was his favorite spot he usually lurked often while in their room. It had to be something important that should be there.


    Her hand finally scraped something silky and strange. ''Is that a fabric?'' She lifted her brow, grabbing onto the tip and pulling.


    "I guess even in our dorm, we have to worry aboutck of privacy from the other party." Nix''s voice came as a taunting whisper.


    Lumina froze, pulling her hand out of the drawer and closing it as fast as she could.


    ''I had been so cautious and careful, what the heck just happened?'' Her eyes were wide with shock and disbelief, looking over to the window to make sure it was still locked.


    To her horror, it was still locked, so that meant he hadn''te in through the window this time. Stiffly turning around, she looked behind her with a forced smile on her face.


    Her eyes widened and her lips were upturned the moment she noticed his eyes gleamed coldly.


    "Care to exin what your hands were doing searching through my stuff?" He nodded towards the nightstand. "You are entitled to other things, why touch the very ce I had to myself?"


    Slowly looking back at the nightstand, she jumped away from it as if she had never done anything of such. "I can exin..."


    "No, no." He shook his head at her feeble attempt at hiding the already known fact.


    [Passive gift: Telekinesis in effect]


    Creating a force to push her down to her knees, he felt his heart hurt at the outright betrayal he had just witnessed. He was only a few hours out and she had thought it alright to search through the only ce he kept his things?


    "Why?!" He queried through gritted teeth, the thought of the news Hana had passed on to him still haunted him as he exerted enough force to keep her on her knees. His sense ofpassion dwindled with every passing second.

 Chapter 105 Who Threatened You?

    His trust was already starting to die out the more he lived in this world, no one could be trusted and that was what he hated the most.


    "Nix, please you have to trust me." Lumina struggled to get free, pleading for a release.


    The more she pleaded the more he increased his hold on her. "Tell me, what were you doing?"


    Tears welled up in her eyes at her inability to break free from his hold. If things kept up, she would be forced to bow to him.


    "I was coerced!" She yelled.


    "Coerced?" He repeated, loosening his grip on her, so she could speak.


    When the feeling of the force had been lifted, she let out a gasp of breath, finally feeling free.


    When she looked up, she was met with an intimidating re from Nix.


    "Don''t think because I let you off the hook, that you are free." He snapped.


    She gulped, finally preparing her mind to spill the truth.


    If she was allowed the option of choosing, she would dly be on his side. But approaching him hasn''t been easy nor does she know him as much as she had known Mr. Zhao.


    "I will talk," she locked eyes with him, "but I want you to know that if I do, you shouldn''t seek justice by your own hands."


    ''What sort of bullshit is she talking about.'' Nix frowned.


    "You should know that there''s no way that I can make such promises." He replied, shaking his head.


    Lumina''s eyes widened in horror, she knew what he had in mind and if he were to find out the truth, it wouldn''t end well.


    "Are you having a change of heart?" He said with a raise of his brow.


    Shaking her head, she could only imagine thest interaction he''s had with Mr. Zhao, there was a high probability that his reaction wouldn''t be all too amodating once he hears her out.


    "My mother is in danger¨C"


    "Really?" He cut in, feeling irritated by the use of that line. "Are we going with the sick, threatened, or maybe even indebted parent excuse?"


    Lumina''s mouth gaped open a bit at his insensitivity, she couldn''t tell if it was because of hisck of having parents ording to the borate excuse given, or he was just that way.


    "This isn''t what you think, right?" She looked up to him, hoping for some positivity.


    Nixughed at her words, he couldn''t differentiate between what his true feelings were anymore.


    "I suggest youe up with a better excuse," he folded his arms. "I''m listening."


    Tears trickled down her cheek, disturbed by the change in his attitude.


    "Would you please stop crying and give me some answers." He pped his hand, walking in a circle around her for a while.


    Sniff!


    Sniff!<sub> </sub>


    She wiped off her tears. She couldn''t me anyone but herself for what had happened. All she could have done was decline the offer.


    "It mighte off as a lie or highly improbable and a bit exaggerated but it''s true, okay?" She gave a heads-up.


    "Hmmm..." He rubbed his chin, choosing to go with what she had said.


    "My mom is what I would call mentally challenged..." She paused, having a hard time speaking on the topic.


    "... do you remember my obsession with your shirt at the time?"


    Nix was taken aback by such a question, all he wanted was answers, not some riddles he needed to piece together to form arger picture.


    "You were even more annoying then and carried fewer emotions. Oh! How I miss those days." He replied with a hint of regret.


    ''That''s not the point you jerk!'' She bit on her bottom lip, it was obvious that he was trying to spite her to engage first.


    "Anyways," she shook her head to clear her thoughts so she could concentrate. "I need you to know that was for my brother."


    ''Isn''t that just fate trying to screw us both?'' Nix internally grimaced at the sick reality of things. He had thought he merely only had some sort of connection when he had wanted to use her presence to trick Mr. Zhao.


    "So what if it was your brother''s, that doesn''t help with the reason you were lurking.


    Sweat dropping, she internally cursed at hisck of patience while she yearned to tell him bit by bit.


    "Would you please listen, it''s best this way." She got up from her kneeling position, feeling ufortable speaking to him in such a manner that made it look like she was carrying out a form of worship towards him.


    As she got up, her knees wobbled due to the strain that had been carried out on them previously.


    Nix watched with a curious gaze as she got to her feet, walking backward and sitting on the bed.


    He had been leaning on the wall since he had released his grip on her and wasn''t in any mood of being within the same vicinity as a traitor.


    "My mother is in danger and I was merely brought to the academy because of the rarity of my gift, just like yours." She exined.


    "By danger, what do you mean?" Nix picked on that part of the information.


    Looking out the window, she stared at the sunset, mesmerized by the orange and red hue that delicately colored the blue sky.


    Getting up, she ced her hand on the windowpane, closing her eyes momentarily, thinking deeply about what she was about to reveal.


    "I wasn''t meant to be in the academy. I wanted a simple life free from all of this..." She clenched her hand, bringing it down to her side.


    Turning around, her brows were knitted at the agony she was going through. "I was coerced to be a part of the academy or my mother would suffer a much worse fate than my brother did."


    Her teeth gritted in rage at the thought of what she had heard that day. It was at that point she knew her brother didn''t die a hero as all others thought, but rather he was killed.


    Nix gauged her reaction and bodynguage for a while before he hade to the right conclusion that she was indeed telling the truth.


    "My brother was killed... killed like he was some sort of y toy and I never got to know why!" Lumina spat, tears flowing down her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around herself to feel somefort while she shuddered at the memory.


    "Who threatened you?!" He growled, his eyes gleaming once more.

 Chapter 106 Something Dark And Unconventional

    Biting on her bottom lip, she looked away. Telling him would bring nothing but more trouble to her mother if he were to act rashly.


    "How the hell can I truly believe you aren''t lying to me?" He folded his arms.


    "You don''t." She shrugged knowing fully well she had never told anyone her life''s history, not even Fae.


    From the very first day that she had met Nix, she could tell there was a burning hatred he had for Mr. Zhao. If she was going to talk, then she also needed to know why he felt this way even if it was the first time they had just met.


    "I will talk, only if you tell me why you dislike Mr. Zhao." She conditioned.


    At the thought of her words, heughed out hysterically. "I don''t dislike him..." he let his voice trail off momentarily.


    Lumina let out a sigh of relief, thinking she had thought wrong all along.


    "I despise him." He snorted. "Trust me, you wouldn''t want to know why I do, but it isn''t something pleasant."


    Her eyes nced around, hoping to find some sort of distraction. It was best to leave the sleeping dragons lying.


    "Something tells me I already know who the culprit is." He observed with the narrow of his eyes at her.


    Maintaining a poker face, she decided to remain silent. There was no point in confronting him.


    "It doesn''t matter anymore, all I want is to get to the organization, only that way can I break free from the bond that ties me here."


    Nix clicked his tongue at her exnation, he had wanted so badly to reveal that he had foreknowledge about the paper she had hidden in her pockets a few days ago.


    "Let me guess, you don''t want me interfering with your problems."


    Lumina exhaled with a smile, nodding her head.


    "That''s stupid." He replied bluntly, turning around and walking towards the closet.


    Lumina watched as he pulled out a bathrobe and a towel from it. He almost looked like the Nix she hade to know and admire. Underneath all that pent-up rage was a feeble heart, one she knew too well had gone through a lot.


    "I''m sorry." She said in a whisper, looking at her bare feet awkwardly.


    Closing one of the closet doors, he peered out and onto her timid outlook, "that doesn''t tell me who had threatened you." He retorted.


    Guilt ate deep into her mind, she felt that not telling him was also equivalent to not helping him, but then the case of his rage and impulsiveness made her rethink what could be done.


    "Why do you act on impulse?"


    "Excuse me?!" Nix questioned, the corner of his lips raised.


    Pulling off his shirt, he watched as she had one of those dazed looks again. "I had thought you had gotten over whatever was happening to your face."


    He pointed all around her face, shaking his head.


    Immediately closing her mouth, she shook her head, "Would you please respect yourself and go dress somewhere else?"<sub> </sub>


    Bringing up his hands tob through his hair, her eyes caught sight of the bandaged hand, "why do you have a bandage there?"


    "So you do care about my welfare?" Nix questioned with a raise of his brow, looking at his hand.


    The thought of Hana tending to his wounds and dressing them brought a smile to his face.


    He had wished it was Lumina who had done that for him but after seeing what she had done while he was out. His guard had been raised higher than ever.


    There was still the issue of the other person who could thwart his ns.


    ''Why can''t you tell me that it''s Mr. Zhao?'' He wondered why she tried so hard to keep the truth at bay while trying to stall for time.


    The organization epassed so many secrets that were rooted deep in people and their daily activities.


    "Are you ready to tell me who had coerced you?" He rolled his eyes, questioning. Even though he could tell who the culprit was, he wanted her to say it personally.


    There was no way he was going to make the same mistake he had done with Fegan. The mention of the paper was going to stay as something he had never seen in his life.


    With the glint in his eyes, she had an uneasy feeling in her stomach that made her doubt that he was ignorant about all that was going on.


    "What would you do if I told you?" She spoke, being able to guess his next words.


    If it was the Nix she knew, he was going to say something dark and unconventional.


    "Kill whoever, of course!" He replied calmly with a smile.


    Once he had spoken, she almost choked on her saliva.


    That could never be the case with Mr. Zhao, if anything were to happen to Mr. Zhao, the organization would never turn a blind eye to his demise and would hunt down each and everyone who had been involved with him¨Cthat would include her mother.


    ''Do you think I never thought about doing the very same thing to him?'' She gave a perfect roll of her eyes.


    "You are kidding, right?!" She hid her nervousness with a chuckle, but it gradually began to fade the more he didn''t reply nor give any form of reaction to her reply.


    Nix smiled, throwing the towel onto his shoulder. "You take things too seriously."


    Lumina''s heart thumped, and her eyes searched the dorm aimlessly.


    "Killing whoever that causes it would be a disadvantage, breaking a few bones and enough torturing is more like it." He snickered.


    Creating a barrier around the nightstand, he red at Lumina. "Until you are ready to talk, you are under my watch."


    Tension in the air, she bowed her head in understanding. "I''m sorry, once again."


    "Don''t apologize to me, it disgusts me." He sneered before mming the door of the bathroom behind him.

 Chapter 107 Stay With Me

    "Finally, you''re awake!" Lank beamed with joy upon seeing her stir in her sleep.


    "Lank?" Gia muttered in confusion.


    Taking her hand in his, he nodded his head in affirmation.


    "What happened?" She held her head, trying to sit up straight.


    Talking in her surroundings, the white drapes and tiles on the wall and floor, coupled with the smell, she could easily tell this was the infirmary.


    "You passed out due to the strain on your magic during the umm..." he coughed on thest part, unsure of how he could describe the spar she had with the other female gift user.


    "Did I win?" She looked up to Lank.


    ''You nearly got yourself killed and you ask me such a stupid question?!'' Lank facepalmed.


    "I think where you are should tell volumes on the oue." Lank rolled his eyes.


    Gia looked disappointed with her abilities. If this were to continue, she would never be able to graduate and be one of those specially picked to be in the organization.


    "I''m a failure." She muttered to herself, fiddling with her fingers.


    Picking up on her words with his augmented hearing, he had chosen to stay silent so he could give her a moment to wallow in her sorrow.


    Feeling things were going to get awkward soon, he got up, ready to leave.


    "Wait." She held onto his hand.


    Lank froze upon the strange feeling of being held back.


    Looking over his shoulder and to her side, "is there anything else I can help you with?" He said through gritted teeth.


    Gia''s heart thumped, unsure of what her heart persuaded her to say. Her pupils dted with every passing second as she continued to stare at him.


    Feeling self-conscious, he pulled out his hands from her grip. The silence wasn''t helping in any way.


    "Could you please stay with me?" She looked up to him expectantly.


    Ba dum!


    Ba dum!


    Lank shook his head while trying to get a grip on the reality of what he had just heard.


    Taking the shake of his head as a no, Gia looked down at her hands while biting down on her bottom lip, feeling dejected.


    "It''s okay, I understand if you don''t want to." She turned around, pulling the cover over her head. "Let''s just forget I ever asked."


    "What?!" Lank eximed in confusion. He was yet to answer but she had outrightly canceled his one chance?!


    "You don''t need to feel any pity for me, thank you for bringing me here."


    Gia bit on her fingernails, she began to wonder why she felt terrible the moment he had rejected her offer. Moreso, the ache she felt in her heart made her conflicted about her feelings.<sub> </sub>


    "I never said I wouldn''t agree." Lank blurted out. He was done hiding his feelings for her, if this was the first step, he would dly take it.


    Gia pulled down the cover, and a mixture of shock and confusion spread on her face. "But... But you shook your head the moment I had... you know." Her cheeks were flushed in embarrassment, unable to bring herself to say it again.


    ''So that was her conclusion?'' Lank realized the mix-up and drew circles on the side of his forehead.


    "I was just in a moment of disbelief. No one had ever requested my presence before, I was used to being rejected, ostracized, and called all sorts of names because well... you know what I mean?" He gave a bitterugh at what he had endured while at the academy because of his strange abilities.


    Gia''s heart ached at what Lank had said. He had been right about all age had said and to make things worse, she had been one of those who had contributed to his reasoning.


    ? Even though she hadn''t acted on it like the others, she had tried to keep her distance and pretended a lot while around him.


    "But you aren''t like them, you have stood by my side on numerous asions, spoken on my behalf, and most importantly kept me in check, and I appreciate you for that," Lank said with a smile.


    Gia closed her eyes, grimacing at his words. There was just a hint of truth in all he had said, all those others were due to her being told to do them by the authorities.


    His smile felt like a p to her conscience. She was unsure if she could do so if she wasn''t ordered at the time.


    "I''m sorry." She whispered, but enough for him to hear.


    "For what?" He cocked a brow.


    "I was never really into being kind to you on the onset. I was¨C"


    Lank held out his hand, shaking his head with a smile. "What were you going to say? You were given the task to be like a guide to me? Keep me in check because you were ordered?"


    Gia''s mouth gaped open in shock at how urate he was in his guess.


    "They could have chosen anyone, but they chose you, why is that?" He gave her a body scan, wondering what made her special.


    "Unless..." He rubbed his chin, moving closer to her one step at a time.


    Gia''s eyes doubled in size at what he was going to say, this was something she had never told anyone. Shaking her head at the thought, she wasn''t all confident anymore that he didn''t know that little detail.


    "You chose to do it willingly." He said with a smirk, pulling her chin up so he could search her eyes.


    Gulping, she shook her head, trying to deny that fact. She merely chose to do it when no one wanted the task, thinking of it as a challenge and a way to seek dominance over the school''s bully.


    ''It was his looks that drew you in at first, silly!'' Her thoughts scolded.


    "No!" She eximed, immediately closing her mouth at her outburst.


    "No?" Lank repeated, bringing his face dangerously closer to hers. His eyes stared at her eyes then trailed to her lips, then back again to her eyes.


    Gaining on what he was doing, her heartbeat quickened at the proximity and intention.


    ''Do it, you know you want it!'' Lank''s thought teased.


    "Lank?" Gia called, worried about the way he shook his head slightly while he closed his eyes. It looked almost like he was in a battle with himself.


    Immediately he heard his name, he opened his eyes, to which theyglowed a deep red before dampening. He had finally made his decision.

 Chapter 108 Out Comes The Canine

    His breath fanned her face, making her heart thump faster. She wondered what he was going to do.


    His breathing was irregr as he stared at Gia, and so did the glow in his eyes.


    ''No!'' He spoke in his mind, trying to fight his inner thoughts trying to break loose.


    His canine protruded and retracted several times.


    Gia was rmed by what she had seen, "Lank?"


    Letting out a low growl, his canine was at full length as he prepared to take a bite.


    As a defense mechanism unlocked by Gia, a magic circle stopped him froming any closer to her.


    Lank shook his head, he pushed himself back and onto the marble floor.


    His eyes switched continuously from glowing and being their normal shade of red.


    "What the hell was that?" She let out a shriek of disbelief at what had just transpired. That wasn''t the reaction she had expected from him.


    Lank sat on the floor, his leg opened wide. He looked down at his fingers in confusion. He had not expected that part of himself to break loose so easily.


    ''Why now?'' Lank questioned his thoughts. He had thought he had it under his control, but judging from the way he had acted, it wasn''t the case.


    He had originally nned on kissing her, but his emotions had been so overwhelming that it had let his inner demon loose for a while.


    "I didn''t mean for you to witness that." He spoke after a brief silence enveloped the infirmary.


    Getting up, he made sure he didn''t make eye contact with her, unsure if that could still trigger his emotions. It was better to take his leave while he could.


    "Lank!" Gia called out again, but even when she did, he didn''t listen this time and still made his way to the door.


    "What the hell..." Gia said in frustration, conjuring a barrier on the door to stop him from proceeding further towards it.


    Lank bowed his head in despair, his hand suspended in the air, he had nearly touched the handle before the barrier had proved to be a nuisance.


    He didn''t want to turn to face her, but with this obstacle, he had no choice.


    "Gia, please don''t do this." He said, reluctant to face her.


    "What was that?" She repeated.


    Lank shook his head, the internal battle had been triggered again. "Forget... you... saw that!" He said through gritted teeth.


    "No I won''t, your eyes it was glowing and you had wanted to¨C"


    "Gia!" Ayanami called in a loud voice, pushing open the door with it mming right onto Lank.


    Gia gave a wince to what had just happened, she had forgotten that the spell she had done stopped anything from leaving but didn''t stop anything froming in.


    Ayanami looked around, wondering why she had heard a groan behind the door.


    "What was that?" She raised her head, smacking her lips at the weird sound she had heard.<sub> </sub>


    Gia grimaced, looking over at the door and who was behind the door. She whispered an apology in his direction.


    "Nothing," Gia called out in a loud voice the moment Ayanami went close to the door to inspect what might be there.


    Ayanami looked back at Gia, suspicious about what was going on.


    "I guess it was a pointless thing." She shrugged as she walked up towards Gia.


    ''Why the hell are you here? What do you want?'' Gia masked her uneasiness with a grin. Her eyes went from where Lance was pushed to with the door and Ayanami.


    There was something oddly strange that Ayanami felt. She paused momentarily upon feeling some sort of tension in the air, coupled with Gia acting all weird.


    Within a blink of an eye, she shapeshifted into a blue bear.


    Running on all fours, she advanced towards the door, but before she could get close to it, she saw the door ripped from its hinges.


    Screeching to a stop, she tilted her furry head in confusion, but all that changed when she saw the door lifted a bit then it was tossed in her direction.


    Digging her ws onto the floor, she lost her footing on its slippery marble make, forcefullyid t on the floor and gliding with her stomach, she immediately reverted to her human form as she tried to run away from the direction of the throw.


    ? Gia facepalmed at what she had just witnessed, it was as cringe as she had imagined it. She couldn''t understand why Ayanami had shapeshifted into a blue bear.


    Creating a magic circle, she deflected the door in the opposite direction and away from hers too.


    "Lank!" She hissed in anger at what he had done. There was no way he could justify what he had done as a mistake.


    "I hate the stench of losers and her kind disgusts me." He sneered, his chest hyperventting at the strain he had gone through doing that.


    Ayanami had released her body from the curl she had done by shapeshifting into a purple metal-ted back on an animal.


    "Is it over?" She questioned, her eyes widened in shock.


    "You!" Lank said through gritted teeth, setting his nose in ce.


    Her unintentional mming him to the wall had triggered a fit of anger he had kept at bay.


    Ayanami reverted once again to her human form, confused as to why Lank was in the infirmary. Her attention shifted from him to Gia, and back again.


    "What''s he doing here?" She pointed an using finger at him.


    ''The issue should be, what are you doing here? He''s in a better position to be here than your annoying presence.'' Gia rolled her eyes at her inability to say what she had in mind.


    A part of her wanted to understand why Ayanami hade to visit her when the others didn''t.


    "I should be asking you the very same question." Lank retorted, folding his arms.


    Dusting her pink kimono with a floral pattern, she got up from the floor and looked at Gia for exnations.


    "Why are you staring at me like that?" Gia wondered. She wasn''t the right person to ask that question. "If you have any problem, he''s right here to answer your questions."

 Chapter 109 Is An Escape From The Barrier Possible?

    Ayanami did nce at Lank, cautious about how she was going to interact with him.


    "I wouldn''t if I were you." Lank hissed.


    Ayanami gulped, it was at that point she knew that ranking never really mattered in the first ce. To him, she was nothing more than average inparison to his abilities.


    Losing his zeal, he found this as the only opportunity he could get before his abilities went loose again, he stepped out of the infirmary in a rush.


    Gia was left stunned by the action, her mouth gaped open at the ripped door. She wondered how she would exin this to Mr. Gaviel, even if she could fix the door, the damage caused around her wouldn''t be something so easy to repair with her current state of prowess.


    "He just left?" Ayanami questioned in confusion.


    "It seems he did." She frowned at the oue of things. Her hands glowed a faint blue and so did the door. Lifting it from where ity, she carefully made it repair itself.


    "Your abilities are really magnificent." Ayanami marveled at what she could do with her magic.


    Turning her attention back to Ayanami, she had a forced smile on her face. "It''s nothing, really. Everyone can do that."


    Sitting on the side of the bed, she stared at Gia for a moment, deep in thought.


    This weird action made her feel self-conscious. "Ummm... so what brings you here?"


    ''Stop with the weird stare.''


    Shaking her head, Ayanami was finally able to process what she had in mind.


    "You don''t know what you possess." Her voice was low and cold, her eyes gleaming a purple glow.


    Gia closed her eyes, weary of the reason she would activate the glow in her eyes in such a manner.


    After all, she had heard in their G&M ss from the interaction made by the upper rank gift user¨C Lumina, and their teacher Mrs. Neider, it was wise to be cautious around her.


    "Do I feel like a threat to you?" She questioned, reaching out to Gia''s cheek.


    Shrugging her hand away from her. "Please keep your hands to yourself."


    Ayanami let out a sinisterugh, shaking her head. "If only you would join me, you would see there are boundless opportunities that await you."


    ''What the heck is she talking about?'' She wondered, looking away, never maintaining eye contact with her.


    Ayanami felt left out, disturbed that she was being ignored yet again by someone she could potentially gain from.


    "I assure you, I am not the enemy." She tried to reason, careful of how she speaks around her.


    "Please leave," Gia spoke coldly. The uneasy feeling did not settle well with her at that point.


    Deciding to strike at a better time, she obliged with her words, "it''s alright. If you do want to know how you could get to the organization, I would always be a call away. They need users with your abilities."


    Gia''s eyes double in disbelief at what she had just heard. "Did you just say the organization?"<sub> </sub>


    Ayanami got up from the bed, looking over her shoulder, she had a smirk on her lips at the curiosity she had sowed in Gia''s heart.


    "Curiosity is a very dangerous trait, one I hope you find the right path someday," Ayanami replied with an air of ambiguity.


    Shapeshifting into a multicolored parrot, she snickered as she flew towards the window sill. "See ya!" The crackling sound came off it.


    Gia brought her legs down onto the marble floor, rushing towards the window before she could fly out.


    Already toote, she could only reach out as she watched Ayanami fly up and safely bypass the barrier ced over the academy''s vicinity.


    ''How is that possible?'' She stared in horror. Whatever means she had used only confirmed what Lumina had said, she had a hand in what had happened to her teammates.


    "How far have you fallen out?" She wondered, bringing her hand down. Turning around immediately with the slightest shift of movements.


    Her hands glowed with magic circles in front of her, ready to attack whoever had tried to sneak up on her.


    "Woah! Woah!" Fae raised her hands in surrender with a basket in her right hand. "I just thought I could bring fruits for you."


    Letting out a sigh of relief, she deactivated her powers, resting her back on the wall. She had enough visits for one day.


    Careful of how she threaded, Fae slowly let down the basket on the white-coated metal bedside table.


    "You look hale and hearty to me, for someone who''s supposed to be bedridden after that experience," Faemented.


    "I healed fast," Gia replied with a grin.


    "So it would seem." Fae observed the destruction of things around, "so were you the one who had ripped the door off its hinges?"


    "How did you¨C"


    Fae raised a brow at her words, she had enough experience to know when an amateur magic user did a fair repair work on a structure.


    "You missed a bolt, it''s still on the floor. Besides, the destruction over there." She pointed in its direction, showing the rough shape of something being in its ce earlier.


    "Oh!" Gia masked her nervousness with a chuckle, "it wasn''t his or anyone''s fault."


    "Who?" Fae frowned, walking over to the window and peering out. She was curious as to why Gia was staring out when she had entered.


    "No one, just forget what I said something of such." She coughed on thetter part, walking over to the window. She had other pressing questions that she hoped that as a higher rank as Fae was, she might have the answers to.


    "Senior Fae?" She called out, her voice mellowed.


    Fae tilted her head to the side at the mention of her name, "hmm?" she hummed in reply.


    ? "The barrier, is it possible to pass through it?" She asked with a motive in mind.


    Fae''s eyes widened in surprise at such a question directed to her, "did anyone manage to do that? Was that why you were in a daze as you stared out?" She ced her hand on the side of Gia, wanting answers

 Chapter 110 Open Up

    "I was just curious." Gia pulled away from her grasp. They had been told about the barrier being set up. It wasn''t just done by a few magic users, they were a collection of top-ranked users there in the organization.


    Recalling what Ayanami had said, she couldn''t help but think there was some foul y involved that could have gotten her mixed with their caliber.


    "Curious is an understatement, whoever might have done so can''t be trusted," Fae said with an air of warning. "Only those of higher rank who have ties with the organization can. Except the individual has an insurmountable power."


    Gia gulped, finally understanding why it was stupid to go along with what Ayanami had said. Whatever might have gone wrong was not something worth mentioning.


    "Do we need to be one of the best selected during theing graduation?" She queried, unsure of her skills as a magic user.


    Leaving the window, she closed the curtains. "It''s not about being the best, but about your usefulness to the organization."


    Tilting her head to the side, she stared at her in confusion wondering what she could be saying. "I''m not following."


    "As it''s said, if you aren''t useful you can never... and I mean never graduate no matter how many times you try." She said in a whisper.


    ''But... but Ayanami has ties with them.'' Gia took a step back in horror. She had always wondered why she had been approached by her.


    Looking around, hyperventting, she held onto a grab bar on the wall for some support.


    "What''s wrong?" Fae questioned, worried about what was going on.


    "She has ties with the organization." She said in a breathy voice, her vision began to blur as she tried to stay awake.


    "Gia?!" Fae assisted her in keeping her bnce, concerned about the sudden behavior change. Whoever she was referring to could wait, Gia''s current state was a bit rming and needed attention.


    "I''m f..." Her speech slurred, then she went limp on Fae''s shoulder.


    "Shit!" Fae cursed looking around for the possible solution to this.


    With a touch on her shoulder of Gia. Through levitation, Fae transported her back to her bed.


    Gently pulling the covers over Gia, she looked down at her for a while, her eyes narrowing, deep in thought.


    "What the heck happened here?" She asked no one in particr.


    With a sad look, she sighed as her attention was on the fruit basket.


    She had seen a simr experience and was surprised by what just transpired.


    "Please be safe." She whispered as she watched Gia''s body shiver. Whatever was going on in her mind, someone was trying their best to stop her from speaking.


    Raising her hands, she cast a spell that surrounded the infirmary. This way no one could break the barrier she had set.


    There was only one person she could meet to ascertain her suspicion.


    m!


    The door made as she left the infirmary.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C<sub> </sub>


    "Lumina, open up!" Fae knocked on her door in quick sessions.


    Click!


    Jumping back at the shock she received when her eyes were glued to the towel-d Nix.


    Her mouth hung open for a while in disbelief at the steam that came off him. He had another towel drying his wet hair.


    The smell of the samevender she had gotten used to from Lumina graced her sensory nerves. There was something about his smell that felt different, and intoxicating.


    Nix looked down on her, his eyes following her gaze to where it had been glued to for a while.


    Fae gulped, immediately closing her mouth before she began to salivate at the well-defined abs he had.


    ''What the hell is wrong with you?! Pull away!'' She tried to force her gaze away from him before it turned awkward.


    Nix raised a brow at her reaction to his half-naked body. "You have a male dorm counterpart, am I right?"


    That were the right kind of words she needed to get herself together. Straightening her back, she tried to look in, below his armpit. Trying her best to dodge the question.


    Even though she had a male counterpart, he was as shy as most girls caught changing their clothes. No matter how she had tried to bond with him, he was always clothed and wouldn''t try to attempt what Nix had done.


    ''You lucky fox.'' She thought with envy of what Lumina enjoyed.


    Nix shook his head, understanding what she was trying to do.


    "Are we allowed to roam the hallways during this time?" Nix questioned, even though he would never follow the rules set if there was ever one.


    "Nix! You are back?!" She quickly changed the subject, hoping that wherever Lumina was, she could hear her as she increased her voice as she spoke.


    ''Where the hell are you, Lumina?!'' Fae sweatdropped as she began to feel anxious standing as stiff as a pir in front of Nix.


    ''Why would you answer the door while being in only a towel and worse, in front of me?!'' Her eyes widened, speaking volumes as she tried to speak but couldn''t.


    "Is that question also tooplicated for you toprehend?!" Nix said as he shook his head in disappointment.


    All Fae had done after she had seen him was open her mouth with no words except grunts and a definite blush spread across her face.


    ''I don''t need that look right now!'' He did a facepalm.


    Tired of waiting for some sort of exnation, he took a step back, throwing the smaller towel he was using to dry his hair over his shoulder.


    Fae had considered his actions strange, her intuition told her he was about to act.


    True to her suspicion, Nix slowly closed the door, enough for them to maintain eye contact as he did so.


    "No... wait!" She called out in desperation, using her ability to hold the door''s jamb before it closed in her face. What she had nned on doing wasn''t aplished.

 Chapter 111 Wild Imagination

    "This academy needs to establish rules that prevent unwanted disturbance thiste," Nix spoke, his eyes glowed in irritation at her persistence.


    Fae froze, unsure of what he might do, her magic deactivating.


    He momentarily looked behind him and into his room, his telekic field surrounding Lumina as she slept peacefully.


    He couldn''t allow any form of interaction. "She''s asleep."


    "If I could just make my presence known well, and she knows why I''m here I''m sure she''d be d I woke her up." Fae insisted, hesitant on moving closer to Nix.


    ''What part of she''s sleeping do you not understand?!'' Nix pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head at her defiance.


    "Leave!" He hissed.


    ''I won''t concede to being trampled on.'' She ducked under his hand, dashing in swiftly.


    "What the heck?!" Nix eximed, immediately deactivating his passive gift as fast as he could, his eyes in horror at the thought that she might have gotten a glimpse of his second ability.


    "Lumina?" Fae kneeled by the bedside, shaking her body a bit, worried that she wasn''t responding to her call, she turned her attention to the one culprit behind her.


    "What did you do to her?" She hissed, her hair flying wildly around her as her body was covered with a faint white aura.


    Nix paused in his advancement. He bit down on his lip to stifle augh at her attempt to get serious with him before knowing the whole truth.


    "Do to her... now that''s just pushing the statement to a high and sick degree." He narrowed his eyes at Fae in displeasure.


    There are things he might doter in the future that might go against his conscience, but never would he assault women in whatever way Fae thought of him at that moment.


    When he mmed the door of the bathroom, he had heard her move about a bit in the room.


    Curious, he had peeked into the room only to find her lying limp on the bed. It was the same moment he had heard the very knock which had brought nothing but trouble in the form of a blondie.


    With curiosity he watched her take things a bit more personal than they should. He owed no exnation, nor did it interest him.


    ''To what extent is your level of damage, as a high rank magic user?'' Nix wondered, feeling nothing but pity for her if she were to engage him.


    "If I were you, I would verify my sources before acting on them." Nix pointed towards Lumina, who was slowly waking up.


    In his thoughts, he wished to see how far Fae could go when she had wanted to challenge him.


    "W... what happened?" Lumina said with a groan, looking around until her eyes fixated on Fae.


    Fae had immediately deactivated her powers, her hand holding onto Lumina''s. "You''re awake! I''m d." She pulled her in a hug.


    "Easy on the hold," Lumina said with a strainedugh.<sub> </sub>


    Sitting up on the bed, she scratched her eyes then let out a yawn and choked the moment she saw Nix only in a towel.


    "Are you seeing what I''m seeing?" Lumina whispered to Fae with the corner of her lips. Her eyes never left where Nix stood, his arms folded over his bare chest.


    Fae nodded her head not bothering toment on his appearance, she had just disgraced herself in front of him. There was no way to save her face if she were to speak to him.


    Fae merely nodded and covered Lumina''s mouth from spilling any more questions that could leave an awkward tension in the air.


    Nix had a stern raise of his left brow at what they could be talking about that could make Fae react with a blush on her cheeks and have her hand over Lumina''s mouth.


    "Whatever it is that you two want to discuss that''s so important that she had to barge in uninvited, I''m not interested." He rolled his eyes, walking towards the closet.


    Their eyes had followed his every step closely. Not until he had his hand on the handle and opened it to bring out the cloth that he had thought of. His back towards them.


    Their eyes widened in horror the moment he let down his towel slowly. Immediately acting on reflex, their eyes closed shut.


    Nix looked over his shoulder with a smirk. Looking down at his body, underneath the towel was ck underwear. Thinking about what he had done to trick them, he held in augh at their closed eyes.


    ''There goes their wild imagination.'' He shook his head and pulled out a new pair of clothes.


    Slipping on his over a loose long sleeve cotton linen top, ck cargo joggers. He pushed up his sleeves to his elbows.


    Throwing his towel on Lumina, he had a smirk on his lips as he spoke, "you can have that."


    Lumina''s eyes went open in anger at the strike she had just received to her head. "Hey!" She protested.


    Fae burst out intoughter at what she had just witnessed, pointing a finger at Lumina to mock her for what she had to suffer.


    "You two have half an hour, anything more than that, and I''m kicking her out. I need some shut-eye eventually." He narrowed his eyes at them.


    m!


    Lumina and Fae jumped at his action which had reverberated on the windows.


    "What sort of brute strength was that?" Fae questioned in confusion. The door wasn''t wood but metal, the purest and reinforced with sculptor''s magic.


    "You wouldn''t believe it." Lumina shook her head, letting out a sigh. As much as she wanted to discuss more what she had known about Nix, she didn''t need him on her throat if he were to find out.


    Treading carefully was her motto for the moment, there was no way she would act without a reason no matter the pressure from anyone¨C not even Mr. Zhao.


    "Lumina, we have a problem on our hands." Fae facepalmed, remembering the condition she had left Gia in. "It''s inevitable."

 Chapter 112 Dismembering, Really?

    Lumina got up in shock, "no... no... it can''t be." She pulled on her hair, some of its red strands caught in between her fingers.


    Looking down at her hands, she shook them off, irritated by her action.


    "I saw it happen in front of me." Fae insisted. "There''s no doubt about it. I''m sorry."


    "Who''s the new target?" She said in a low hiss, looking back at Fae.


    Fae let out a sigh, getting up, dusting her knees, and walking up to Lumina.


    "Gia." She said in barely a whisper, afraid of what Lumina might do if she remembers who that might be. "I don''t know if you would remem¨C"


    Zzznn!


    The gust of wind pushed into the room.


    "What the hell do they want?!!!" She let out a yell in rage.


    There was no way she could forget such a person, they had conversed on several asions, and defended her a few times.


    As much as she wanted to get into the organization, she had other reasons that were way different from the other students who had an interest in the prestige that came with affiliating with the organization.


    "Shhh! Please Lumina," Fae begged.


    She looked around them, unsure if there was anyone who could listen in on what they were discussing.


    Lumina let out a derangedugh, making Fae walk back in a bit of fear at what she was thinking.


    "Don''t bother, no one can listen to what we are saying, not while that door is locked." She snickered, turning around to face Fae.


    "I know this is hard on you, but I want you to know, you would have your revenge." Fae tried to reason with her.


    Lumina inhaled and exhaled. "Could you tell me what happened, maybe it might just be a silly assumption and nothing really is wrong with her. It might have just been exhaustion, that happens to everyone, right?" She spoke at length, biting on her finger and forcing a smile as she rambled in hope that at the very least one of her assumptions would be the right one.


    Fae shook her head, as much as she wanted that to be true. She also knew the reverse was the case.


    "Maybe it''s best to get back there and have a look at her." She suggested.


    "I... I can''t." Lumina hesitated. Seeing the innocent girl lying defenseless, would only trigger memories that were best not brought up.


    Wounds she had wanted to be nothing but mere words.


    "I understand, but we need to hurry," Fae looked down at her fingers as she twirled the right over the left index finger.


    "When I had spoken with Mrs. Neider, she had thought I was speaking with one reference in mind." She shook her head at the questioning look she had received that day in G&M ss.


    "We should let Nix know about this, maybe he could help." Fae pulled Lumina''s hands, trying to appeal to her reason.


    "No... not until we have a lead, if we tell him now, there is no assurance he wouldn''t tear down all we had built," Lumina said with a dismiss of her hand.<sub> </sub>


    Pacing about the room, she thought of various ways they could go about this new information.


    "He''s our only hope and you know that." Fae countered.


    Lumina paused at the mention of the one-sentence she had been denying in her subconscious all along.


    <o>,m She had always thought it was merely a coincidence that she had met him on that day, and in the shirt that had instantly caught her attention.</o>


    "Even if he is, he''s headstrong, arrogant, and mysterious. There''s no way I can put my faith in him, at least not yet." Lumina replied, dropping to her knees in despair.


    It had been over a few months since she had worked her way to being the best and most respected student in the academy.


    Never would she believe that all that coulde crashing with the mere presence of Nix who had be the golden boy of the academy overnight.


    "F*ck his gift and good looks." She spat, punching the floor.


    Fae had felt sympathetic all the while, watching with no way offorting her but on the mention of herst words, her head tilted and her lips curved upwards in a smirk.


    "What did you just say?" She asked with the wiggle of her brows, eager to change the mood.


    Lumina''s eyes widened at the recollection of what she had said and bit down on her lips in embarrassment.


    "I said nothing." She replied almost too quickly.


    "Of course you said nothing." Fae narrowed her eyes, folding her arms.


    ''So what if he''s good-looking? He''s still as dangerous as he is hot.'' Lumia rolled her eyes at the tease.


    Realizing she had dragged the tease for a little too long, she raised her hands in surrender, "alright you win, Lumina. So what''s the next phase of action?"


    Lumina''s mood instantly darkened to the question, tiny currents began to course through her body, the more she stared at the wall while deep in thought.


    "I asked a question on what we could do next, not that you should kickstart your weird and unpredictable gift." Fae immediately took several steps away from Lumina.


    She could not afford to be zapped like several times she had put all her faith in Lumina that she could put her powers in control.


    Lumina looked at her shoulder and chuckled, "I guess my emotions need to be calm. I had thought of different ways I could dismember whoever was in cahoots with the main problem here."


    "Dismem¨C" Fae''s eyes bulged at the extent to which she was thinking on the issue.


    As much as they had been a pan in their operation. Dismembering wasn''t the answer.


    "How are you going to do that? With your gift?" Fae had simply joked as she chuckled right after.


    "No..." Lumina shook her head, her lips in a devilish grin.

 Chapter 113 What Are Daggers Used For?

    Fae cast an uneasy look in Mae''s direction, not liking what she had brought upon herself for asking such a question.


    "Why use my gift when my babies are sitting still and collecting dust?" She shrugged, getting up and walking over to the wall.


    "What are you..." Fae''s mouth gaped open at the sight of Lumina pushing a secret button, a puff of smoke escaped the moment it opened up revealing an array of daggers lined up.


    ''So these are your babies?!'' She cringed at the different shapes, lengths, and cutting edges.


    "What the heck are you doing with all these?" She gawked in disbelief.


    "What are daggers used for?" Lumina retorted, rolling her eyes.


    Fae''s lips sealed shut at the witty response. Although that wasn''t what she meant, she couldn''t help but feel that her question did warrant such a response.


    "You win this time." She shook her head, sitting on the floorfortably, looking upwards and shaking her head at what she had seen.


    Lumina shook her head, pulling out taking a pair of draconic curved daggers with part of its side and the tip having a jagged edge, in a signature reversed grip, her gaze darkened.


    "This would definitely make the culprit have a slow and painful death." She snickered in a blind rage, channeling her gift through its de.


    The glow came off and made Fae raise her hand to shield her eyes.


    "Lumina, you know I can''t always be there to calm you."


    Looking over her shoulder, she gave a slight rise of the corner of her lips at what Fae had said.


    Although it had always been a miracle that whenever she had gone on a rampage, she had her friend to pull her out every time. But sometimes she wished to be left alone.


    "Do you think I need you to calm me if we get to know who it is?" She brought the dagger close to her face to inspect its jagged edge.


    Fae was once again tongue-tied. Although she knew that Lumina would never feel guilty for whatever she had nned, she needed some sort of push to change her thinking.


    "Although I can''t really say I have a push driven motive as you to get back at them, do you think that''s what Ian would want?"


    Fae''s words struck a chord in Lumina''s heart, one she had not wanted to open.


    Closing her eyes momentarily, she groaned. "I thought we had discussed that we wouldn''t talk about him."


    "..."


    Looking around she hoped that half an hour was up. Wishing Nix would barge in and throw her out.


    ''Shit! I had crossed the line.'' She sweatdropped at the building tension in the air.


    cing the dagger back on the vertical metal dagger wall mount. She pressed the same button which closed the opened part of the wall.


    Finally, she had enough attention to be directed at Fae.


    That was a name she had not wanted to be reminded of, it brought nothing but hurtful memories.


    Fae masked her nervousness with a chuckle, pushing back with her feet, and shaking her head at an approach by Lumina.


    "We can discuss this amicably." She voiced out, cautious about what awaited her.


    ''You just had to go with that approach!'' She facepalmed, cursing repeatedly in her mind.


    Thest time this had happened, that was the first andst time she had battled with Lumina.<sub> </sub>


    At the time she had ced too much regard on the strengths that she had developed over the few months before she had been recruited to the academy that she underestimated Lumina''s abilities.


    It was on that same day she had been humbled and had vowed never to mention that name ever again.


    ''Stupid, stupid!'' She repeatedly referred to herself as she expected another unfair advantage when it came to being beaten.


    She switched her gaze from Lumina who was nearly close to her and the door, expecting some sort of miracle.


    Click!


    "I hope I didn''t interrupt anything?" Nix barged in, tired of waiting at the door as he had done since he pretended to leave.


    [Hearing augmentation deactivated]


    Whatever was going on that wasn''t exined, and probably due to eye contact didn''t sound like it was pleasant. There was no way he would let a brawl happen where he was meant to sleep.


    Lumina took a step back, turning flustered all of a sudden.


    Fae''s lips jaw dropped open in shock at what she had just witnessed, this was a different character from the same person about to whoop her ass for that slip.


    ''You got to be f*cking kidding me!'' She wasn''t too shocked at the reaction but rather the switch she had disyed.


    Even she couldn''t bring about such a change from her in such a short period.


    Getting up quickly, she brushed her buttocks, straightening her back and clearing her throat.


    This was the best time to dash out. What she needed to confirm had been done there was no need to be alone with Lumina. That was as good as signing a trip to the infirmary.


    "No, you didn''t do anything!" She eximed, bowing to Nix and out of character.


    Nix raised a brow at her action, then turned his attention towards Lumina who had a bashful appearance.


    "It''s alright, your time was already overdue anyways." Nix nodded his head in dismissal.


    "See you tomorrow in ss!" Fae called out before her voice began to trail in the hallway.


    Finally done with her presence, he let out a sigh of relief. ''Atst, she''s gone!''


    "Nix, I..."


    He had merely walked in her direction, then past her like she was never in his way.


    Dropping on the bed, face first. He spread out his hand wide. Felt that her eyes were burning holes at the side of his head.


    Slowly adjusting his posture, he rested on his side with his hand supporting his head.


    "If you feel that you want to be secretive, I can assure you, I won''t pressure you to speak." He emphasized with a shrug of his shoulder.


    "..."


    Lumina had wanted to speak, but the more she thought about it, the more difficult it was to voice out her concerns.


    Fae had just triggered a memory they had vowed to keep to its barest minimum, yet it was open.


    ''Could he have heard?'' There was a feeling she got, thinking Nix could have heard what she and Fae had been discussing.

 Chapter 114 That Which Isnt His

    "Watch what you say." Nix interrupted her thoughts. "As much as I respect privacy, I hate when one chooses to intentionally deceive me, that''s as much as considered a betrayal."


    ''I''ve had enough of being betrayed. At the least, I should get those I can rely on or not in the first instance.'' His eyes conveyed more emotions than what he was thinking.


    Lumina gulped, she knew the one at fault was her, and giving a thought to what he had just said, she knew where he was going with the look he was giving.


    "I wish we could go back to when you were fondly my ''pretty face''." He said with a sigh, releasing his hand from his face.


    Allowing his head to drop back on the bed, he turned around, his back towards her.


    He had been so distracted from his original aim of getting to the academy that it sickened him to the bones he was having a conversation such as the one they were having.


    ''Stay away from people, you said.'' He thought to himself, disappointed that he couldn''t get by with what he had promised himself.


    "Nix..." She spoke out again, her hand reaching out but hesitant at getting close.


    What she had said to Fae was nothing but her insecurities ying a major role in her decision. Scared with his help, she wouldn''t feel the real thrill of aplishment she would if done without being relegated to the background.


    ''You seem too far out of my reach.'' She stifled a cry by biting down on her bottom lip. Dropping to her knees and sitting on the floor.


    Nix heard the thud cone from behind him, he could only guess she was on the floor, wallowing in self-despair.


    Not regretting what he was about to say, he saw it as a way for him to rid himself of whatever setbacks she might bring to him in the future if this continues to ur.


    ? "Until you are ready to tell theplete truth, I would appreciate it if you pretend not to know who I am. We are nothing more than roommates."


    He could hear a gasp behind him. Closing his eyes, he exhaled and continued.


    "I don''t want any setbacks, nor do I want to lose my self-control if ites to my patience when dealing with you." He exined.


    "..."


    Lumina looked down at her fingers, uneasy by his request.


    Unable to sleep, Nix got up and smoothened out the creases on the bed.


    Looking over at Lumina, her hair cascaded down her face. Her plump pink lips were downturned and her eyes swollen with tears.


    His heart ached at the sight. He had inadvertently yed a part in her current state of being.


    He noticed the more he stared at her, the more she was determined to look at the floor. Lowering her head a little while causing her red hair to sway with the asional wind blowing in.<sub> </sub>


    ''Control yourself Nix. Now isn''t the time to feel some sort of pity.'' He cautioned himself on his next action.


    "Lumi¨C" he paused, cringing on the feel of calling her name. He had been so used to referring to her fondly that using her original name left a bad aftertaste when he had tried to go with that before he continued in his speech.


    "Please look at me." He requested softly.


    Understanding females was like a level he could never reach if it was his system.


    Lumina was hesitant in responding to his request. She didn''t find itfortable to lock eyes with him.


    "Please!" Nix intensified his effort to get her attention.


    Going by the only way he could think of, he walked towards where she sat, still and unmoving. Kneeling in front of her.


    Pulling her chin, he was able to achieve what he had requested in the first instance. "See... It wasn''t so hard." He forced a smile to ease her troubled heart.


    As much as he wanted to hate her for her initial action, after her outburst and the snippet of information he had gotten from it. He hade to a hard decision to understand that her target wasn''t necessarily him but the organization.


    They shared a simr motive, although in their little and different ways.


    Secrets were something that woulde to be a part of their lives. To hide the hurt they had in their hearts they would have to keep their true motives from each other.


    There was only one way to get her talking. The only way that he also could use to let out some of the hurt he had in his heart, not just from the experience he had gotten to feel in this world, but in his previous and original world.


    "Whatever that''s bothering you, I want you to know you aren''t at fault." He said, speaking also to himself at that point.


    He couldn''t quite ce it on why he acted the way he did when it came to a family that he barely even knew so well but felt so much attachment to.


    A part of him wanted to believe whatever that was going on was simply the feeling of the original host of this body he possessed. Another part felt that it was hisck of parental or family love that made him crave what wasn''t his and he had wanted to hold onto that which wasn''t his till the very end.


    A stray tear trailed down Lumina''s cheeks, unable to hide the hurt she had suppressed for a long time.


    Pulling him in for a hug, she held onto his back tightly, her face on his chest. "I should have stopped him when I had the chance."


    Nix was caught unawares by her action, his hands raised awkwardly, unsure of returning such a hug. Her current words confused the heck out of him.


    "Who are you referring to? Your brother?" He questioned, going with the first person that came to mind that could be concerning to what she was saying.

 Chapter 115 Following In His Footsteps

    Nodding her head, she sniffled.


    Sniff!


    Sniff!


    She pulled away almost too quickly for Nix to register what had happened.


    "I''m... I''m sorry." She apologized, avoiding making eye contact again.


    She had been so overwhelmed with her emotions that she had forgotten what he had said earlier.


    ''Here we go again! Back to square one.'' He internally facepalmed at her withdrawal.


    "I don''t mind being a shoulder to cry on," he suggested with a straight face.


    Stealing nces in his direction, she moved away from him with a push with her leg, unsure if she could trust all he had said.


    "We are nothing but roommates after all." She mumbled, sulking as she spoke with a pout.


    Nix raised a brow at her words, he didn''t expect she would take those words in that concept.


    Letting out augh at her childish reaction to his words, he caught a glimpse of her brows furrowed and her lips mumbling some incoherent words.


    Immediately he sealed his mouth shut to her reaction. "Fine," he made a zip motion on his lips and threw the key so it was long lost.


    Her features eased as a smile made its way to her lips. Bringing her hand to her lips she covered her lips and giggled.


    "How I had missed that!" He said with a sigh.


    Her mood instantly darkened at his words, her eyes narrowing at his words.


    Zzznn!


    Nix''s hairs stood on all ends at the feeling he had just experienced.


    To his dismay, Lumina burst outughing at his current state.


    Narrowing his eyes, he hade to understand that she was the one who had secretly channeled her gift to his direction, making him feel the slightest wave of electric currents pass through his body.


    "Very funny, pretty fa¨C" He paused in his speech.


    Although it did sound and feel better than calling her by her name when it was just the two of them, he did still wonder if he was ready to fully ept the uncertainty between them.


    Lumina had noticed this change and had a smile on her face at the presumed hope she could get if they continued on the right track.


    "It''s alright, I never found the reference offensive." She muttered, pushing back several strands of hair out of her face.


    Her green eyes sparkled with much intensity. She felt the need to grab hold of him, but she didn''t want to ruin the moment that they had just established.


    ''You are finally winning his trust, go with the flow.'' She thought to herself.


    Nix felt at ease the moment she had given a go-ahead in his fond name for her.


    "That''s fine by me, but I won''t until I know what you had said when you had an outburst earlier." He said with a smirk.


    Adjusting his posture, he sat cross-legged and had all his focus on her, waiting for her to satisfy his newfound curiosity.


    "Really?" She questioned, unsure about how she couldfortably exin her hurtful past.


    Nodding his head, he was determined not to speak unless necessary.


    Inhaling and exhaling, she looked down at the floor. If she could use that as a distraction, she would have the courage to speak up with much confidence.<sub> </sub>


    "Okay, here goes nothing." She said in a whisper.


    Nix had his eyes fixated on her, he had always been curious about that shirt, but given how he had gotten it, he had always felt some sort of shame while thinking about it.


    "My brother, Ian," She choked on her words. Her hands trembled as she tried to gather her thoughts.


    ''So that was the same person that Fae had referred to.'' Nix finally got a bit of the puzzle fixed.


    Lumina inhaled and exhaled, something she had done whenever she felt a weight on her heart. It had been several years and she still couldn''t understand why it hurt like it was the previous day.


    "My brother was chosen to join the academy like every other person here... well umm..." She looked upwards and at Nix.


    Recalling what he had said, she couldn''t help but feel uneasy with his mode of joining the academy.


    Nix understood where she was going with her pause and the way she looked at him.


    "You believe my appearance in the academy can''t be by chance, right?"


    Slowly nodding her head to his words, there was no use hiding her suspicions on that part.


    "Well, you aren''t wrong!" He said with augh.


    Lumina did a double-take at his response, she wasn''t expecting him to reply to her suspicions so easily.


    "It''s true?" She asked in disbelief.


    "Yep!" He said with a popping sound of the ''p''.


    "But... how?!" She questioned, inching closer to him unconsciously.


    Nix circled himself with his passive gift''s telekic field. "Easy there, pretty face."


    This discussion wasn''t about him being the central focal point but her story to tell.


    "You would get your turn, but for now let''s stick with one story at a time, alright?" He reasoned, his eyes switching from her distance between them and her fingers which were dangerously close to the field.


    Lumina''s eyes trailed and followed his line of sight. Retracting her hands, she realized she looked like she was about to pounce on him anytime soon.


    Masking her embarrassment with a chuckle, she sat back down and cleared her throat.


    "He had been one of the ace students..."


    "Why does that sound like you are just following in his footsteps?" Nix cut in with a chuckle.


    Lumina fumed at his reference, aiming a lightning bolt at him, forgetting how the telekic field stays invisible when dormant.


    "Shit!" She hissed when it merely struck the surface and deflected her bolt back at her.


    Raising her head, she deactivated it upon close contact with herself.


    The temporal visibility of the field began to weaken with no form of contact with it.


    "You seem to forget all that this can do," Nix said with a taunt, wiggling his brows.


    Lumina had a pout, turning her face sideways, rolling her eyes, and folding her arms.


    Nix gulped upon seeing her bust jiggle slightly with that action. Turning his attention away, he brought his hand to his face to shield her from seeing him flustered.


    "What''s up with your face?" She questioned with an incredulous look.

 Chapter 116 Born Without A Gift

    "Could you just continue with what you were saying?" He questioned, not wanting to steer away from what she had been saying.


    Lumina nodded her head, she had managed to get out some of the uneasiness she feels when speaking about the past.


    "He had always sent letters to us at home, telling us of the training they all got while trying to harness their full potential," She pausedughing at how stupid and naive she and her mother were then.


    "What gift or magic did he possess?" Nix interjected, curious to know to what extent siblings having gifts or magic could vary.


    "He possessed a gift," she said as she looked at her palms watching as tiny currents crawled on them, rising and giving off a faint humming sound.


    "He had lightning!" She said, closing her palm on the lightning that rose a few inches above her palm.


    "How is that possible?" Nix blurted out, confused about the rarity of their special gifts.


    Lumina had a smirk on her lips at his words. She could remember when she had told Fae the very same thing, it wasn''t surprising he would react the same.


    "I never had my gift in the first ce." Sheughed off what she had just said.


    p Nix had a frown at how little she was taking what she was saying.</anda>


    ''Is it even possible not to be born with a gift but possess itter on?'' He studied her, unsure if he were to believe what she had just said.


    Shrugging, Lumina shook her head, urately guessing what Nix was thinking with the way he had given her a quick body scan.


    "No, if one isn''t born with a gift, then they are just like the majority of the citizens of Arkai." She clicked her tongue.


    ''Arkai, it still shares the same name of the world I had given my characters to live in.'' He nodded his head to the new information he had gotten.


    Preupied with the troubles of this world, he had forgotten to ask Mune about the name of the city.


    "You were born without any, so how could you get not just any random one, but one of the four rare gifts?!" He raised a brow at her, not buying her words.


    Lumina bopped her head in confirmation, "you see, the thing about having a rtive having a gift is it can be transferred at will upon one''s death."


    Nix froze at her words, his telepathic field deactivated with a shatter-like sound.


    An uneasy feeling rocked his mental bnce. With a mind trailing back to when he was facing that creature in his home.


    ''Mother had died then?'' His hand dug through his hair, shaking his head to the revtion that dawned on him.


    The thoughts of the possibility of him having just a few minutes he could have gotten to still save his mother if not for the distraction caused by the creature.


    The thought of how the gift had saved him from his inescapable death at the time.


    He could only see it as his mother protecting him with herst strength as the only surviving child at the time.


    "Nix?" Lumina called out, concerned about his actions, his eyes darted everywhere in rapid nces.<sub> </sub>


    His behavior was strange, even when she had realized the truth about her sudden acquisition of a simr gift, she had not carried out such an expression at the time as she was still in self-denial.


    ''I just developed a simr gift like my brother.'' She would think to herself then.


    Whatever was going on with Nix only reminded her of the time he had an outburst when she had spoken about the rarity of the other gifts.


    Concerned that whatever she had said that day had triggered something.


    "What''s wrong?" She took his hand in hers, sharing a faint current through him.


    Gasp!


    Nix let out, his eyes wide and brimming with tears. "Why? Why?" He repeated.


    Lumina stared, unsure of how to answer that ambiguous question. "You have so many secrets and burdens, how am I meant to know which one you are referring to?" She questioned, downhearted by her inability to help.


    Wiping his face before the tears could trail down his cheeks, "tell me how this thing works."


    Lumina blinked a few times at his calm demeanor after the weird scene that had yed out again.


    "Umm... I''m not sure I should continue for now." She looked upwards, uninterested in continuing after what she had seen.


    Inhaling and exhaling, Nix realized she had merely said those words because of him zoning out and haunted by his guilt like a psycho.


    "I assure you, I''m fine." He forced a smile, holding onto her hand, not wanting to let go.


    Shaking her head, she refused to believe what he said. Something was bothering him and she was determined to know what it was, just as he was curious to know hers.


    "You can tell me what''s bothering you, we could scale it together." She offered with a smile.


    ''Can I trust her to that extent?'' He wondered, reluctant to speak of hisplicated life since he had gotten into this world.


    Resorting to a subtle approach, he decided to go with the general and nonsuspicious start.


    "I lost my family to an attack I couldn''t prevent." He went straight to the point. His head dropped down in despair.


    "I was too weak to protect them." He mumbled his words.


    Lumina''s heart ached to what he had said, the pain she had experienced from her brother''s death and her mother''s degrading mental health, it could never beparable to what he could have felt.


    "No... don''t say that." She scolded him. He wasn''t to me for what had happened to his family.


    Thinking about the attitude Nix had disyed towards anyone who tried to get close to him, she could only see it as a defense mechanism he had acquired to protect himself from any hurt.

 Chapter 117 Monster Behind All Of This

    "Look at me." She repeated the same words he had used on her when she felt weighed down with despair.


    Reluctantly, he raised his head, his blue eyes set on her green ones. She felt the spark she had always seen in his eyes, lost.


    "I told you I can be stronger, you won''t need to protect me." She ced her hands on his cheeks.


    Nix''s eyes widened as he had a sh of a hidden memory of the original Nix''s body.


    He had seen Aimi hold his cheeks with her little hands and say the same words to him.


    "Aimi." He spoke in a trance-like state, his eyes brimming with tears.


    All uncertainty was starting to dissipate on why he felt the way he had felt towards Aimi especially.


    His heart couldn''t take the influx of memories rushing in of Aimi, he could finally see why she had been so stubborn and wanted to cling to him on the very first time they had seen each other.


    She was merely acting on their previous close bond. Yet he had treated her like some stranger after waking up in the grassy field.


    "Who?" Lumina questioned, confused by that bit of information.


    Nix pulled away and turned around with a shake of his head.


    He let out a subtle chuckle, it almost sounding like he had lost it.


    ''Here I thought this life was actually mine, it turns out I''m still acting on this body''s thoughts.'' He examined his fingers like they weren''t his.


    "Nix?" Lumina called out, hoping she could reach out to him somehow. His behavior wasn''t in the right state of mind.


    "As much as I would like you to know more about my past, now isn''t the time, nor would I want you in danger because of me." He replied coldly, shaking his head.


    Lumina stared at his back, unable toment on what he had said. Believing with time he would confide in her.


    "Is it necessary that the transfer of gift must be voluntary? And what happens to those who die with their gift?" He questioned, looking over his shoulder.


    He had been curious as to why it had only been his mother''s gift that had been transferred.


    "A gift can only be transferred once to another rtive before the imminent death. Take it as a way to prevent anyone from taking your gift forcefully or it goes to waste upon death." She reasoned with a shrug.


    "You... you know about that?" Nix turned in her direction in disbelief. He had merely known because of his mother''s scroll, but Lumina?


    "You do too?" She said with a gasp, shocked by his knowledge about the very thing that had her brother killed.


    Slowly he nodded his head to her question.


    Lumina gulped, this had increased her curiosity about the knowledge Nix possessed. This was information not known to anyone.


    "Before you ask me, how did you know that sort of information?!" She responded quickly, afraid he would back off from the question after she had responded.


    Tongue-tied, he wondered how he could escape from such a trap she had said without knowing about hers too.<sub> </sub>


    "I guess there''s no way out of this, right?" He said, wiping down his face with his hand.


    "Nope!" She popped the ''p'', folding her hands and waiting for him to respond to her question. "You need answers? Then do the honors."


    "It was a piece of information left in my care before my family''s death." He spoke quickly hoping she couldn''t grab a word he had said.


    "So... anyone who knows of this usually ends up dead." She said while deep in thought about what he had said.


    ''In the end, she heard.'' He brought his head down in disappointment. The rate at which this conversation was going was a reason for concern.


    "How did you manage to escape it?"


    "The same way you did." Nix deadpanned.


    Narrowing her eyes, lightning coursed through her body, boiling to shoot them at him due to his witty reply.


    "What are you going to do? Zap me for replying in the right manner?" He asked with a raise of his brow. This time, he wasn''t going to use his gift to protect himself and see how well he could protect himself from her.


    Gradually, her gift subsided and she exhaled. "Judging that you had said you were weak then, well I thought..." She ced her hand on her lips to stifle augh.


    Nix narrowed his eyes at her words. She had intentionally used his words against her.


    "Says the one born without a gift." He retorted with the wiggle of his brows.


    "Well yed." She acknowledged defeat, with a smile.


    "My brother was killed when he had almost gotten word of who the true monster behind all of this weird phenomenon going on which had started over a decade ago." She willingly said, feeling morefortable in exining what had happened in the past.


    ''So it wasn''t only my mother and the members who had known about this.'' Nix nked out at what she had just revealed.


    "It would seem whoever is behind all of this wants their tracks to stay in the dark." Nix rubbed his chin.


    Suddenly a thought popped in his head, immediately he pointed an using finger at her. "How am I sure you aren''t trying to y some sort of game again, likest time?"


    Lumina raised her hand in surrender, "when have I yed games?"


    ''Shit!'' He internally facepalmed at that slip. The information he had gotten from the paper she had tried hiding from him just like his mother had done.


    Covering up the awkwardness he felt after being questioned, he let out a forcedugh. Dropping his hand as quickly as he had raised them to use her.


    "So do you share some sort of memory of his?" He asked, dodging herst question.


    Her eagerness to respond to any question about her brother had been the cause of her forgetting all about what she had asked previously.


    "Well all I had gotten about the organization was from my brother''s, so the right answer would be yes." She said with a shrug.


    ''So how is it that I haven''t gotten any from mother, yet?'' He scratched his head in confusion.

 Chapter 118 Triggering Memories

    "I see." Hemented.


    "Well it wasn''t like that at first," she closed her eyes at the painful thought rushing in.


    "What do you mean?" He inched closer to her, hopeful that she could exin to his understanding.


    "You need a strong emotion to trigger the memory, and well mine was the drive to find out who had killed my brother."


    ''That''s almost the same drive as mine.'' Nix furrowed his brows at what could have gone wrong with his.


    If he could tap into the memory of his mother, it would have been enough of a cheat he needed to know whoever she had worked for and all who were in the scroll-like he was watching the feed from a CCTV, and in turn, know who he was up against.


    He shook his head, he was at a disadvantage, wondering when he could get that privilege of getting such a connection.


    "When you said you wanted to know who killed your brother, you meant you wanted revenge, right?" He asked, curious as to the reason she had been able to ess hers.


    Lumina raised her brow at hisment, shaking her head and having a crooked smile. "I wouldn''t hide the fact that I did feel that way in those first few months I had been in the academy. Keeping a secret like that isn''t all that simple."


    She could remember that as being the one thing that caused most of her rampage. The fear of experiencing death at the hands of someone made her guard increase to an unfathomable level.


    Determined not to be killed by anyone''s hand, she would rather find some sort of way out of her life-threatening situation than being killed and if she hadn''t been stopped by Fae, she knew how many she would have killed because of the situation she had been put in.


    Arion was an example that she hoped wouldn''t repeat itself, the next person wouldn''t be so lucky.


    "In other words, you''re trying to say it''s not fueled by revenge," Nix interjected, confused as to what else could be the reason for her wanting to know who had caused all of these.


    She nodded her head with a smile. "When I was blinded by revenge, I acted on my little knowledge on what was at stake." She got up and went to the table to get a piece of paper and a pen.


    Sitting back on the floor, she pped the paper on the ground and in between them.


    Drawing a circle, with two arrows on it which showed it in a cycle. In the middle of the circle were the words she penned down¨C Revenge.


    "This is the one thing that I had gotten from my brother when he was still alive and with us back home." She smiled at the fond memory.


    When she was little, he had drawn this circle numerous times when she had been mocked by the kids in the neighborhood for not possessing a gift like her brother.


    As a kid, she had been hyperactive and had been affected by the words they had used to refer to her. In retaliation, she had caused little disasters to befall each of them. It could be nting a ho''s nest in the city''s yground, and creating traps by digging holes with a ruse covering where she knew they trod daily.


    Notorious for every trick, she had been cklisted by the children''s parents and ostracized by the neighborhood.<sub> </sub>


    Her smile only broadened at the thought of what she had gone through as a little girl.


    "My brother had caught me sitting on a boy with a knife aimed at his neck..."


    "You were daring even as a kid." Nix was shocked at her words.


    "I guess it''s always been there." She shrugged, "could I continue?"


    Bowing in apology, he brought out his hand, gesturing that she could continue.


    "I had been pulled off just in time before I had slit his throat." She made a slit throat gesture, her eyes a little crazed as she spoke.


    Nix pushed back himself from where he sat. Ufortable with the way she had acted while rting the story.


    "What the hell could that boy have done that would warrant that?" He shivered at the thought.


    Even when he was little, he didn''t have such tendencies. This only made him want to be more cautious when he would be dealing with her.


    He could recall her retaliation on Christmas tree when he had tried to stab her when she was distracted; if she wasn''t convinced by Fae, he would have been dead at her hands.


    "Simple, he rained curses and most especially one stating my family was better off dead as our father had abandoned us."


    Nix''s face suddenly turned sad. Her words had hit him deep, this was something he could actively sympathize with as he was abandoned by both parents at his birth.


    Bullied by this in the orphanage, he had always questioned why he was born. But in all of this, he had tried to maintain a positive mindset, hoping things would be better than it was.


    "That doesn''t still justify killing him, you could have just beaten him ck and blue!" Nix suggested with a straight face.


    "ck and blue? Why and how would I do that?" She questioned in confusion at the sort of words he speaks at times.


    ''Again? You can''tprehend my simple normal human words in my world?!'' He deadpanned in his thoughts.


    "I meant to beat him till he was bruised all over." He rified.


    "Oh!" She had a devilish grin on her lips at the understanding. "Well, I did beat him ck and blue before I attempted to kill him for those unforgiving words."


    "Eyes on the paper, pretty face. Eyes on the paper, you aren''t done with the main point of drawing this circle." He stressed, tapping his hand on the paper to bring her back to reality for a moment.

 Chapter 119 Perfect Circle And A Dirty Mind

    "Right!" She brought down her hands, giving a nervous chuckle. "It''s only normal I was scolded back at home, even after I had exined what that brat had said." She hissed in memory.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    Clearing his throat, he was d it had brought her back to her senses.


    "I had not intended to kill him. Just a scare and some mild cutting¨C"


    "Since when is a knife to the throat ever going to be a mild cutting?" Nix cut in, shaking his head to her pointless excuse.


    shing a grin, she opened her mouth, wanting to exin what she meant. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she really would have truly done it.


    "Good point." She epted her actions.


    "Anyways, my brother has drawn the same perfect circle as I''ve drawn." She looked down, cing her hand on the paper.


    ''Perfect?!'' Nix nearly choked on his saliva at the blow to his pride as an artist.


    Nix shook his head to what she had called a perfect circle. He had merely excused her flimsy attempt at drawing a circle all because of the exnation that coulde with it.


    With closer observation, it looked more like a distorted circle with uneven and bumpy edges.


    ''A nearly smoothened out amoeba is more like it.''


    "That''s far from a circle, don''t drag your brother''s perfect circle into this." Nix made a flick of his finger using his passive gift to give a light smack on her forehead.


    "Ow! Academy rule number¨C"


    "Save it for when you also learn how to abide by it." Nix retorted.


    "F*ck you!" She cursed under her breath.


    "I would really like that." Nix wiggled his brows, his eyes glinting with mischief, putting a different meaning to what she had said.


    "You have a dirty mind, do you know that?" She said with a roll of her eyes.


    "You have a dirty mind if you understand." He retorted.


    "It''s better you just continue with the perfect circle." He said with a taunt.


    Exhaling and inhaling, she tried to calm herself before she would continue.


    "He had written the word revenge in its middle..." pointing at the paper once again.


    "...he had told me that as harmless as the word might be when allowed to grow could devour and corrupt even the purest of souls."


    "How does that exin how you had gotten in touch with your brother''s memories?"


    Facepalming, she was starting to get pissed off by hisck of discernment.


    "He was all about no revenge even when that brat deserved his treatment. He should be d that we haven''t set eyes on each other after I was called upon to this forsaken farmhouse." She looked all around the walls of their dorm.


    "So there''s a possibility he''s still out there." Nix rubbed his chin.<sub> </sub>


    "Wherever he is, I hope we don''t cross paths." She said with a smile.


    "As I said," she raised her head to look at Nix. "Until I had let go of my vengeful tendencies, only then was I able to get the memories of my brother. Knowing the sole motive which had driven your rtive before their death is the only way to fully acquire their memories."


    Nix nodded his head in understanding, disappointed with such a method of acquisition. "You''re sure that''s the only way?"


    "That''s what my brother had always said, I had thought it was merely a way he used tofort me since I had none at the time." She scratched the back of her head.


    "Until I had taken his words seriously, only then did I finally get his memories. Instead, I''m going to find out who that monster is and stop him from causing more pain to families." She said with a shrug.


    ''Damn it.'' Nix cursed at the unlikelihood of that ever happening since he had never spent much time with the family he had lost in a sh.


    cing his right hand to the right side of his face, he mumbled incoherent words as he had the self task to recover the memories of the original Nix. Only then could he know the kind of person his mother was.


    "As much as I want to have my revenge, I still need my brother''s memory to have a clear mindset."


    "That''s enough memory acquisition today!" Nix put out his hand in front of him, rubbing his temple to what that would mean for him.


    Lumina''s lips drew into a thin line at being cut off in such a manner.


    ? "Could we get some shut-eye," he stretched, picking up the piece of paper.


    Lumina stretched out her hand, thinking he wanted to hand it over to her. "Thank¨C"


    Scrunching up the paper, he aimed for the waste bin and scored a shot. "That''s 50 points for the best yer in Arkai!" He said in a cheerful whisper, praising himself.


    ''What the heck?! That''s my paper you self-proimed jerk!''


    Lumina''s mouth hung open at the utter disrespect to what she had drawn on the paper and the meaning behind it. His disregard for her effort left her speechless.


    "Go Nix! You''re the guy!" Nix basked in his self-acimed victory. Proud that he had gotten rid of that eyesore drawing that had triggered his OCD.


    Only when he looked down at her, did he realize that she had electricity coursing through her body, on the verge of blowing up in his face anytime soon.


    Zzznn!


    "Hey!" He said with an upbeat. "What''s ''currently'' going on?" He stressed the pun intended.


    This didn''t help the current situation Lumina was in.


    Her eyes narrowed further, unable to take the taunts, she touched the ground, channeling her current through it.


    Quick enough to react, Nix did a backflip and onto the bed. "Shit! You just made me ruin a perfectly made bed."


    "You should just be d that you didn''t get into my high voltage wave." She clicked her tongue, getting up from the floor with a shake of her head.


    Using his passive gift, he made a pull on her in his direction.


    Against her will, she felt a pull towards Nix. "What are you¨C Woah!"


    He gently ced her on the bed with him over her, "now that it''s ruined, what do you think we could do?" He gave a suggestive wiggle of his brow as his eyes gave a nce at her body.

 Chapter 120 Pleasure-Pain

    Ba dum!


    Ba dum!


    Lumina''s heart thumped at the ambiguity of that sentence. The loss of breath coupled with the redness of her face gave away her understanding of the word.


    Nix stared at her for a few seconds. At first, he had wanted to trick her like he did when he had referred to her, and the disarranged bed he had met the first time he had gotten to know about the dorm.


    His breathing began to slow as his mind had another thought in store for him.


    ''She might not like it.'' His thought reasoned.


    Pupils dting, the only sound of them breathing intensified the atmosphere, the rest was a ringing sound to distract him from the main point.


    "Nix," Her voice was low and breathy as she said his name when she felt his breath fan her face.


    Not willing to resist the desire that came with the proximity between them.


    Tilting his head to the right, he slipped his hand behind her neck, "Could I?" His voice was husky as his lips halted inches away from hers.


    Ba dum!


    Ba dum!


    Slowly she nodded her head.


    Without a moment of hesitation, his lips were on hers, as he greedily took her lips in his.


    Bringing up both hands, he cupped her face, deepening the kiss by parting her lips.


    Instinctively pressing her body against him while wrapping her hands around his neck, her hands trailed to his head, taking a handful of his ck hair. She pulled hard on it, arching her back.


    "Uhnn!" Nix groaned in pleasure-pain, biting down on her bottom lip before pulling away. "That''s going to hurt, you know?!"


    His hands made their way to her thighs, traveling further up, underneath her nightdress. The feel of her smooth skin surprised him, recalling all she could have gone through.


    The heat surged from every inch of his body, his control over his thoughts dwindling as his lips kissed down her neck, melting into her corbone, making her moan.


    Lumina closed her mouth, stifling her moans as Nix straddled her, parting her legs, he shuddered as his bulge pressed against her warm crotch, he grinded, groaning to the intense pleasure.


    Crkkk!


    She gasped as she felt his bulge poke at her crotch through her shorts. Looking down, her chin was pulled back up immediately as Nix captured her in another lip lock.


    "Lumina!" He moaned, his self-control nearly lost by the second as he tugged on the little buttons in a haste, some of the buttons popping out from their buttonhole on her torso.


    "Nix?" She whispered as embarrassment suddenly washed over her. Trying to cover her exposed cleavage.<sub> </sub>


    "You are beautiful, just the way you are." Nix huffed, his voice hoarse as he cuffed her wrists, with his hand over her head, taking her into the warmth of his mouth once again.


    Lumina''s eyelids betrayed her, and she moaned into the kiss, tugging at his shirt.


    "Wow." She blushed hard as his V-cut abs which were on full disy. His chest rose and fell with every breath.


    "We..." He stared into her eyes, "don''t have to do this if you aren''t ready." He said with a groan, closing his eyes to the wave of pleasure that coursed through his body at the tiny discharge of electricity she emitted.


    He had wanted to continue, but that slight pain he would feel in every connection they had, needed to be addressed before he could continue.


    The bandaged injury on his hand thobbed to the continuous pump of tiny voltages through their body contact.


    ''F*ck!'' He cursed under his breath and hissed to the pain, swallowing hard as he thought about how far deep he had gone. If it continued, he wouldn''t be able to pull out of it.


    ''Aren''t ready?'' Lumina had wanted to speak up on this, but even she had doubts about what was going on.


    "Not now!" Nix hissed to the recurrence of the pain.


    Her eyes immediatelytched onto his injury and his bandage tapping into the current she was unintentionally producing. "I''m sorry, how is it?" She reached out to examine it.


    "Lumina!" He groaned, cing both hands over his eyes as he took his head back, he stood up from the bed, creating enough distance between them.


    ''Commitment is one thing I still have to battle with.'' He wished to exin. Although they had built a bit of trust, he had subtly wanted to still watch her for a while.


    "I''m sorry for taking things a bit far." He said with a sigh, bringing about false hope while at it.


    Lumina''s mood dropped at his words, and her whole happy and giddy memory shattered. "No... no... it''s alright, I''m sorry I made things feel too cheap."


    With a sigh, she pulled the sheets over her body. "I feel so sleepy, suddenly." She faked a yawn, blinking her eyes as she pretended to slowly drift to sleep.


    Guilt ate deep in his mind, he did not want things to be a bitplicated. "I know you aren''t asleep, but I want you to know that I am trying to work on my interactive and trust issues."


    Lumina thought about his reasoning, she had been so blinded by what she wanted that she failed to see the struggles he was also going through.


    Turning around and on her side to face him, "you don''t need to feel bad about this." She replied with a genuine smile.


    "Could I?" He asked, wanting to stay on the bed with her. The cold floor discouraged him from considering testing out that theory.


    Having had his fair share of staying on the floor, it still didn''t help, but rather just made him understand that the floor wasn''t the best as he had developed body cramps afterward.


    "You mean on the same bed with me?" She asked for rification on what she had heard.


    Nix nodded his head to her answer. "Do we have another bed?" He said with a drop of sarcasm.

 Chapter 121 Digging Up Burnt Pasts

    With a slow nod of her head, she adjusted her position.


    She felt a dip on the bed, behind her. Her breathing seized for a moment.


    "Don''t even think about it. I''m sleepy as it already is." Hemented with a shake of his head.


    "How could you tell?" She replied in a whisper.


    Nix looked at her back and shoulders which had little currents spreading all around her whole body. Faint, but present.


    "Your body tells what your lips are too shy to speak."


    Immediately after he said that the current seized as she pulled the cover over her head. "You have no proof!"


    Nix had a smile on his lips at her words. Patting her head, "don''t betray me."


    Lumina''s eyes widened at his words. Turning around, she saw his eyes closed as little snoring sounds escaped his slightly parted lips.


    Her eyes were fixated on his lips for a while. Closing his lips, she stared in awe at how peaceful he looked. "Let me share your burden." She said in a whisper, cing her hands on his cheek.


    Slowly, her eyelids began to weigh on her ability to stay awake until her vision began to cloud in darkness.


    At that exact moment she drifted to sleep, Nix''s eyes opened, revealing he had merely been pretending to sleep all along.


    ''Are you sure that you can bear it?'' He wondered as he searched her face.


    Once again, he closed his eyes.


    Riiiiiing!


    Nix jumped out of the bed, falling to the ground at the ear-shattering sound of a magic rm clock.


    "What the hell?!" He frowned, using his gift to burn the clock in rage.


    Lumina yawned, stretching out her arms. "It''s morning, already?" She wondered before looking out the window.


    True to the time, the sun''s rays seeped in through the window and onto Nix''s face.


    Raising his hand to shield his eyes, he used telekic maniption to close the blindfolds.


    "This day hates me in every... possible... way!" He said amidst kicking on the table by his side.


    "My rm clock!" She shrieked in horror at the blue liquid puddle created by his heating it till it melted onto the bedside table.


    "We could always get another from Mr. Zhao, I''m sure the academy has lots of money at their disposal." He said with a grin and shrugged.


    Lumina did a facepalm at theirck of sleep. "What are we going to do?" She said in a panic, jumping off the bed and searching for her bathrobe.


    "You do whatever you think is right, and I stay here for an hour or two and catch up on the sleep I so deserve."


    Getting up, he fell onto the bed, letting out a sigh of relief at the feeling of calmness.


    A voice muffled by the left of his cheek on the bed, he said with a wave of his hand in dismissal. "Go without me."


    Lumina paused in her steps, wondering if he hadn''t noticed. "You''re serious?"<sub> </sub>


    Nix raised his head in suspicion, there was something about the sound of her voice that made him have second thoughts about what he had just said.


    "What about it?" He questioned curiously.


    "You can''t y supreme overlord because you have one of the four special gifts. Hello? I also have one, so get your ass out of the bed and prepare like I am for ss!"


    Just as he had guessed, she would use every opportunity to remind him of how ordinary he was without his gift.


    "They wouldn''t even notice I''m there. Besides, I''m still on a..."


    "Sick leave?" Luminapleted his words. "I wonder. Are you, really?" She pressed on to what she aimed for in the discussion.


    Yet again, her words only made him have doubts about what he had just said. "Let me guess, it''s a no."


    "I guess you didn''t count your days well since you''ve been doing some few outdoor tourstely." Lumina leaned forward, her hands in akimbo as she used her eyes to nce over him in a rapid move.


    "Damn it!" Nix punched on the bed in disappointment.


    "I''m going to bete!" She hissed, leaving him to attend to his affairs as she dashed to the bathroom in a rush.


    "Where does that leave me?!" He called out after her before the bathroom door mmed.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In the burnt down home of the Lae''s,


    The sound of footsteps could be heard on the charred remains of what was left.


    Kicking on some broken remains of a ceramic te, Zephyr picked up a piece and stared at it.


    "This was some serious case of covering up one''s tracks." He observed, looking around him for some clue.


    Taking in a breath of the polluted air, his eyes widened to something he had failed to notice earlier. "Is that syth?"


    Wiping his finger on the floor, he brought up a bit of the ck remains close to his nose for proper identification.


    There were only a few people who could tell the difference between a burnt substance caused by a fire user with the smell referred to as ''syth'' and those naturally burnt.


    With this, no one could easily me any fire user born in their lifetime.


    Graced with the skill of sensing the difference, he had to double-check his proposed theory with the ck substance on his finger.


    With a sniff, he immediately wiped his hand on his ck pants. His eyes stared at the floor in horror at what he hade to realize.


    "A fire user!" He said to himself in a whisper, "the survivor was a fire user."


    He looked around him again, eagerly trying to piece the information he had gotten from the organization together.


    ''There has been a reported case of a fire user who had gotten into the academy under strange means.'' He rubbed his chin.


    ''Also reported to be an or¨C'' he paused in his thoughts as his eyes widened to the realization that finally dawned on him.

 Chapter 122 A Difference In His Aura

    "It was that sneaky bastard!" He sneered, rubbing his palms in mischief.


    "Nix... Nix Lae, huh?!" He thought of the weird way in which he had been able to manipte his name on the golden medal pass.


    "You won''t escape the wrath of our master now!" He snickered with a smug smile on the corner of his lips.


    Walking backward, he took one final look around and turned towards the direction from which he had teleported, only to hear a ringing in his head and a sharp pain coursing through his head.


    "Ahhh!" He held the side of his head, his vision blurring.


    In a bid to get away from the environment, he tried to teleport out of the area.


    "What the heck''s ha... ppening to me?" He said, almost out of breath.


    Looking upwards at the sun, beads of sweat trailed down his head and onto his eyes. The stinging sensation made him groan in pain.


    The corner of his eyes had already darkened, staggering towards a nearby tree he was looking at from a distance.


    ''I need some sort of leverage!'' He pushed forward, in hopes of getting to the tree.


    Vision blurring and doubling, he let out a heavy breath of air.


    ''Someone, please... help me!'' He stretched out his hand, about to get a grip.


    Tripping on his footing, he fell facedown to the ground with a thud.


    Then came darkness.


    Lightning coursed through the sky, and a rumbling sound boomed as though an oing storm was approaching.


    Zephyr''s body shook to the sound, then stilled.


    A portal opened up, revealing the mastering out from it and so did two of his subordinates.


    "Zephyr!" A female yelled in worry, rushing to his side.


    Kneeling, she turned him around, resting him on her thighs. "Wake up! Please wake up."


    "Enough with the sentimental acting, Rumi." Mr. Zhao sneered, rolling his eyes at the outward disy of affection.


    Rumi''s ck eyes clouded the sclera. Her canines protruded and her white hair flew around. A low growl escaped her lips as she took his words as an insult to her concern.


    "You wouldn''t understand since you have caused the death of your loved ones!" Her voice echoed in two different voices as she spoke.


    Mr. Zhao rolled his eyes at her perceived threat, "know your ce, or I will teach you where you stand."


    Rumi looked down at Zephyr, her brows creased in worry as she deactivated her magical ability. "I''d let this slide for now."


    "I would love to have a duel with y¨C"


    "You two weren''t brought here to have a little chitchat, were you?!" The master got up from his squatting position, dusting his hand from the soot stain.


    Mr. Zhao took a step back and lowered his head, and so did Rumi.


    "No, master!" They said in unison.


    Nodding his head in satisfaction, he looked over at Rumi. "If it weren''t for you, we wouldn''t have been able to be alerted to what was going on."


    Rumi bowed her head in respect, a smug smile on her face as she knew how envious Zhao would be of thepliment she received from their master.<sub> </sub>


    "Female''s luck!" He hissed with a sidement.


    "Shut it, Zhao." The master sneered.


    Gulping, he nodded his head. "I apologize, master."


    It felt like tiny pins pricking his body at the sound of Rumi''s giggles. No matter how he wanted to voice out the unfair treatment he received even though he had been in the organization longer than most¨C including Rumi.


    "Tell me, what''s wrong with him?" He continued, looking down at Zephyr.


    cing her hand on his face, she closed her eyes as her hair flew wildly around her. In a few seconds, her hair cascaded down her back.


    "There''s something different about his aura, like... like..." Her eyes widened in horror, unsure about what she was feeling.


    "Is your ability broken?!" Mr. Zhao taunted.


    Irritated by the continuous bickering he had to endure, he turned to Zhao in rage. Activating his gift, he created a portal that had a suction-like space, pulling him in.


    "Master, please!" Mr. Zhao begged, using his gift and digging his fingers into the ground to get some leverage, his legs raised and hitting one another. He looked back at where the pull would take him.


    To his horror, it looked like a ck space, one known to put anyone in a state of limbo for all eternity in the mind in a matter of seconds.


    He remembered witnessing several others who had betrayed him over the years, were caught, and had been pulled into the ck void, only to be let out and left in a deranged state and used for more experiments.


    The only one who could stand his hold was Mrs Neider, as there was a simrity in her ability with the skill in their master''s gift.


    Clicking his tongue, he closed the portal. "I hate noise, and you know that!"


    Mr. Zhao fell to the floor. For a moment, he felt the need to catch his breath on the floor than get back up immediately.


    His heart thumped at what he had nearly gone through. That was one of the most dangerous moves their master possessed, never in his line of service did he think he would also experience that firsthand.


    Bowing with his head on the floor and his hand making a triangle with his two thumbs and index fingers, above his head. He stayed that way until he was released.


    "You may rise."


    Rumi''s eyes widened at what she had just witnessed, "it feels like a different person is in this body." She finally concluded her hypothesis.


    "A different person?" The master looked back at Zephyr, wondering what had gone wrong with sending him to this forsaken ce.


    Memories shed by his thoughts. Rubbing his temples, he tried to maintain a hold on himself in front of his subordinate. He could feel the familiar sensation about to rear its ugly head once again.


    ''Curse you Lyra! I will seek retribution.'' He hissed in his thoughts, turning around so they couldn''t see him cough out blood on his palm.


    "Master?" Zhao called out in worry, wanting to take a step forward but was stopped.


    "Don''te any closer!" He warned.


    "Take Zephyr back to the base," he put out his hand, making a fist, then opening it, a portal opening in its wake.


    "He needs all the care he can get, when he''s recovered, only then can I know what our next phase of action is."


    "But, master¨C" Rumi interjected.


    "Go!" He yelled.

 Chapter 123 Dont Even Dare

    Mr. Zhao moved closer to Rumi but was shunned.


    "Take it easy, I merely want to help with the burden and lift him in your stead." He reasoned, opening his arms so Zephyr could be given to him.


    Hesitating, she stared at his hands cautiously, unsure about going with the n.


    "Sesa would be able to help in healing. All I need to know is are you willing to allow him the care of being in special hands?" Mr. Zhao raised his brows.


    Reluctantly, she nodded her head. Sesa was one of her closest allies, if it was her, then there was no cause to worry about where Zephyr would be taken to.


    Mr. Zhao had a smug look on his face. He had always found satisfaction in finding the one weakness in anyone. Seeing the depressed state of Rumi only brought him that satisfaction he so rightly wanted after being scolded because of her.


    Lifting Zephyr from the clutches of Rumi, he walked towards the portal.


    "Master..." She paused, casting a worried look at him.


    Even though he didn''t say anything, she could feel a change in his mood.


    "Nothing goes by without you noticing when you share a connection." The master spoke with a slight chuckle.


    "You''re dying." She revealed.


    "I won''t, not without achieving what I want to." He defended, wiping his lips with his sleeve. Staring at the blood-soaked part. "I can''t be brought down because of this, that is why I need that scroll."


    "You''re conflicted, master," Rumi noticed, shaking her head.


    "That''s enough discussion for today." He said in disregard.


    Knowing she had crossed the line of proper questions. "Yes, master."


    "Now, leave me. I need to take in all of this." Hemanded.


    With one final bow, even though she knew she had crossed the fine line betweenfortable. "As you desire, master."


    Walking through the portal, she had a smile on her lips.


    Closing it with the clench of his hand, he turned back at the burnt remains. "What''s missing?!''


    A thunderp in the sky made him look above with a frown.


    ''This isn''t a good sign.''


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    "Did you feel that?" Lumina whispered towards Fae, careful not to get the attention of Mrs. Neider.


    "Feel what?" Fae questioned, looking around them as though she would get the sense of what she was missing.


    Tilting her head to the side, she ced her pen on her lips, "I felt a thunderp, but I don''t know why and how that''s possible at this time of the season."


    Leaning to the side, she was about to say another word on the matter when her lips froze after opening them upon the heavy re given by Mrs. Neider.


    "You two again?!" She hissed, pping her marker on the pen tray.


    Fae''s lips sealed shut, straightening her posture and pretending to concentrate from the onset by nodding her head and looking at the smartboard.


    "Interesting..." Shemented, scribbling on her paper.


    "Interesting?" Mrs. Neider repeated with the raise of her brow, looking back at what she had written.


    On the board read ''Spar review'', nothing more and nothing less. They had just begun the G&M ss when she had gotten a feeling those two were at it again with the light whispers she had gotten.<sub> </sub>


    "What''s interesting?" She asked with a raise of her brow, displeased by their constant disturbance.


    Lumina pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head at another reurrence of thest time they were caught in a dilemma.


    ''How the hell are we best friends?''


    Fae was about to speak when Lumina zapped her with her gift.


    "Don''t even dare." She hissed.


    "I''m listening." She said with a nod of her head, her curious gaze fixated on her.


    Fae gulped, the dilemma was killing her slowly. Sweat dripped, scared of what Mrs. Neider could do with her magic.


    "Mrs. Neider," Lumina interjected, standing up. "It''s all my fault. I started all of this."


    Fae''s mouth gaped open at the courage disyed by Lumina.


    All attention was directed at both of them.


    ''You''re in for it now!'' Ayanami snickered in her thoughts. Wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, the moment she locks eyes with Lumina.


    Unable to carry out punishment due to her dealings with Mr. Zhao, she sighed and shook her head.


    "Let''s carry on ss." She turned around, picked up the marker, and began to scribble some notes on what they had learned.


    Lumina sat back down, letting out a sigh of relief.


    "That was sick!" Fae mouthed the words. She had noticed she wasn''t good at whispering, the only option was not saying any.


    Making a slit throat gesture, she had her eyes fixated on Fae.


    In a matter of seconds, they bothughed at how they were able to avert the danger.


    "Fae," Mrs. Neider''s voice boomed.


    Cringing at the direct call of her name, Fae turned her head slowly towards the board.


    "Could you rte to the ss what went wrong when you faced off with an upper rank A gift user?" She raised a brow and adjusted her sses.


    ''You''re doing this to pull me down ma''am!'' Fae''s brows twitched in frustration.


    She looked to her side and down at Lumina who merely looked the other way.


    "You mean what went wrong with that gift loser?" She taunted.


    "What the heck?!" The male in question eximed.


    He had pale green eyes, thin eyebrows, and arge nose. Maroon hair was cut short andpletely framed his head with sideburns.


    "Apologize to Vandaz this instant." Mrs. Neider scolded Fae.


    "I don''t see why I''m the one who needs to answer such a question when he was the one who lost to me in a few minutes." She retorted, raising her chin in pride.


    Vandaz had a frown at the memory of what had transpired during the spar. He never envisaged she had several trump cards up her sleeves that she had never used.


    To make things much more infuriating, he noticed Lumina stifling augh.


    "Do you have a problem with that, frea¨C"

 Chapter 124 Dont Come Close

    "Now that''s enough!" Mrs. Neider cut in, afraid for his well-being if Lumina had heard his demeaning words.


    ring at him, a ck aura seeped out.


    Immediately he noticed this, Vandaz shook in fear, "I¨C I''m sorry Mrs. Neider!"


    Deactivating her magic, she shook her head in disappointment, "can''t we all be a little cultured while conversing?" She facepalmed.


    ''Why was I put in charge of these loose canon students?'' She thought with regret.


    She had merely wanted to pick on Fae, but that witty reply was so sudden and concise to dispute.


    "Vandaz please do take her question," she turned her attention towards him.


    "Mrs. Neider?!" He did a double-take at her question, his face going red with embarrassment.


    Lumina cast a dark re Vandaz''s way, even though he had notpleted what he wanted to say before he was cut off, she could tell what he had wanted to say.


    Fae ced her palm on Lumina''s shoulder, "only those who are trash refer to you in that way. Ignore them." She whispered with the corner of her lips.


    Lumina looked to her side, a smile on her face at theforting words from her friend.


    Nodding her head, she inhaled and exhaled. Immediately she felt a calm wash over her.


    ''Where are you, Nix?'' She wondered as she looked at his empty seat.


    "Have you seen Nix?" Fae questioned, tapping the corner of her lips with her pen.


    "Are you sure I''m the right person to ask that question?" Lumina hissed, shaking her head at one of the most stupid questions she has hearding out of the mouth of Fae.


    "Oh!" She gasped in realization. "I mean do you know when he''sing back to ss?"


    Lumina took a moment to stare at Fae''s dazed gaze at Nix''s chair, "out of the question."


    Caught in the act, she tried to arrange her posture, shaking her hands.


    "I would never..." her voice trailed off and ended with a cough.


    "Speak of the devil," Lumina muttered the moment she felt his familiar aura approaching the door.


    "Who?" Fae questioned, tilting her head and confused.


    Pointing at the door, she made a countdown, "3... 2... 1..."


    Click!


    A loud gasp escaped from all the other students as they watched Nix walk in.


    "How did you know he wasing in?" Fae changed her nce from Nix and Lumina in utter disbelief.


    There was no cause for exining this to her, so she merely shrugged at Fae''s question and gave a vague answer. "I just... did."


    He was wearing a ck shirt along with a white jacket and trousers along with a ck belt, and metal chain on his neck.


    His hands in his pocket, he casually walked in.


    He had a broad smile on his face, knowing what was to await him.


    "Stop right there!" Mrs. Neider called out to him, pulling off her sses as her hazel eyes glowed in suspicion.<sub> </sub>


    Vandaz had a grin on his face, slowly he sat back down. d that this sort of distraction presented itself.


    ''Haha, I''m no longer the center of attraction!'' He whooped in his thoughts, giving a fist bump to his friend beside him.


    "Booyah!" They said in a whisper after making the spirit hands.


    "Good day Mrs... Mrs..." Nix had a hard time trying to figure out who she could be.


    Although he didn''t know her name, nor could he recognize her as one of his creations, he had a smile on his lips.


    "What''s with that face, young man?" She hissed, her magic seeping out, unsure as to why he would interrupt her ss nor did she know who he was.


    "I''m sorry if I came off as rude, I was just d." He replied with a slight bow, still shing that smile her way.


    Secretly he was d, if he couldn''t recognize her, then it only meant one thing¨C she wasn''t part of those involved deeply in the organization, nor was she a threat he needed to be wary of.


    "d?" She repeated in the form of a question. She looked at the students who were all silent for some reason and attention directed towards him.


    He simply nodded, not bothering to exin the information he would keep to himself.


    He nced over the crowd of students in search of faces he could recognize, especially Lumina''s.


    ''Gotcha!'' His eyesnded on Lumina at the first nce. In a fit of excitement, he gave a wink her way.


    She blushed and looked the other way, the memory of what they had done the previous night shed in her thoughts.


    "Are you feeling okay?" Fae questioned, adjusting her seat and away from Lumina.


    "What are you talking abou¨C" Lumina paused as she saw tiny currents course through her body and much visible on her face and hands. Putting it under control, her heart began to thump hard.


    Locking eyes with Nix, he had a devilish grin, confident in what she had been thinking.


    ''F*ck you!'' She cursed in her thoughts, covering her face and pulling her hood over her head.


    ''F*ck you, huh?!'' Nix guessed with her demeanor.


    "Who are you?" Mrs. Neider pointed an using finger at Nix.


    ''Great! It''s been a while since I''ve introduced myself.''


    "I''m Nix." He gave a slight bow again.


    "He''s a fire rank user, Mrs. Neider!" A female called out from the crowd.


    ''What the f*ck!'' Nix rose his head, his eyes searching the crowd for the telltale.


    He had hoped to be treated fairly for once and not some preferential treatment.


    Now all that had been flushed down the drain the moment he heard a gasp from Mrs. Neider.


    "You... You''re a fire..." She took a step back, putting back her sses.


    Nix tore his hard re from whoever had blurted out, that he was going to deal with that problemter.


    "Mrs. Neider," Nix began slowly, he didn''t know why she felt triggered by the mention of his gift. "I''m just a mere student like everyone else. Please don''t make a fuss about this."


    "Don''te close!" She shot a wave of her ck magic in his direction.

 Chapter 125 Need To Find Someone Urgently

    ''You''ve got to be kidding me!'' Nix raised the corner of his lips. Displeased with what he had to face the moment it was mentioned.


    On second thought, he finally calmed himself, not wanting to engage, it felt unnatural to do so.


    There was a reason Mrs. Neider had not been informed about Nix nor his gift.


    Observing her hyperventting and wary of his next steps, he could deduce that the academy had intentionally kept this news from her, but why?!


    "Mrs. Neider!" Mr. Gaviel dashed in, pausing to catch his breath as he had been running down the hallway the moment his green gem had alerted him of the potential danger of Neider engaging a student without authorization.


    ''This is what I get for having Zhao and Sesa as special forces still having a role as a teacher.''


    "Mrs. Neider, please calm your ability." He brought out his hand, walking slowly in the opposite direction from Nix.


    "No!" She refused, not minding therge leak of ck aura from her body.


    "Nix, please get a seat soon." Mr. Gaviel pushed aside Nix. Only when her concentration was pulled out of the trance-like state she was in, only then could she fully get back to her old personality.


    "Thank You... Sir?" Nix said in more like a question, confused by the whole situation himself.


    "You all didn''t tell me we had such a user." She took one nce at Nix with scorn.


    Furrowing his brows, he couldn''t concentrate on the chair he was about to sit on, nearly slipping at the miss on the armrest.


    "Woah!" He steadied his body before he could fall.


    "It''s because of the way you would react that made us take a unanimous vote on keeping you in the dark." Mr. Gaviel responded, speaking slowly.


    He was careful not to trigger any emotions that could let her unleash the full power of her ability.


    Even if others could dispel her hold among the higher rank A''s, it was highly unlikely for the majority of the lower rank B''s toe out of it.


    "It was his kind who killed my family, remember!" She hissed, ring at Nix.


    Nix did a double-take at her re, his mind trailed to that person who had made a slip. ''Beaten ck and blue wouldn''t cut it this time.'' He resolved in his mind.


    [Find and teach the culprit a lesson]


    ''Thank you system!!'' The corner of his lips raised as he looked behind him searching for the idiot who had put him in that mess.


    He felt like he could kiss the user interface, it had given him the right incentive to search faster.


    He stared at Mrs. Neider who was on the verge of losing control over her magic, she needed a distraction, and a distraction she was going to get once he caught the progenitor of all that was happening.


    ''You just messed with the wrong person!''


    His eyes nced over Lumina, ignoring her wave at him. The person who had caused all these problems needed to be repaid with a lesson.


    Studying all students'' facial expressions, it felt almost impossible to get the desired result.


    "Hey," Lank ced a hand on Nix''s shoulder, "remember me?" He said with a deep voice, the raise of his lips.


    Nix froze with the sort of hold that was on his shoulder, only when he had turned, did he finally rx.


    "Lank?"<sub> </sub>


    Lank smiled, d that his friend was back, "I''m d you''re doing well." He whispered.


    "I''m about to be swallowed by her if I don''t get something." Nix''s sweat dripped as he exchanged nces between Mrs. Neider and the Lank.


    "And that is..." Lank folded his arms, waiting for full detail.


    Swallowing on his saliva, he looked at Lank''s eyes and a thought came to mind. "What are the abilities in your eyes? Well apart from seeing in the dark."


    Lank furrowed his brows, looking at his side, ufortable by the question, yet curious. "Why do you need to know?"


    "I need to find someone urgently."


    Boom!


    They all lowered their heads to the loud sound that came from Mrs. Neider.


    She was shaking her head, in denial at the words that were spoken to her.


    Two other teachers arrived at the scene, close to the doorpost. "Mr. Gaviel?"


    Mr. Gaviel looked back at them momentarily, a hint of fear on his face. She was the most unstable out of all the teachers, and one of the most unpredictable and dangerous.


    Recalling her ability was just a miniature version of their master''s as she was bestowed the enhancement of her original ability by him.


    They had all witnessed the true capabilities of this dangerous ability from their master.


    "Get back. Don''te close!" She aimed at them.


    Nix immediately looked back at Lank who had his mouth opened wide at the show before them.


    "Lank!" He mmed his hand on the table, causing a crack to appear on it.


    Lank''s eyes slowly lowered to the crack, his mouth still maintaining its open space. "What the f*ck?!"


    Ignoring his attitude, there were pressing issues to resolve, "Can you help me track down who did this?" He questioned, hopeful that Lank could with his eyes.


    "I''m sorry but that isn''t a part of my ability..."


    Nix''s face fell in disappointment at the words, "oh... I''m sorry to have bothered you."


    "Wait!" Lank eximed, holding onto the sleeve of Nix. "It would interest you to know that my hearing is much more sensitive than others¨Cjust like you."


    ''Sorry to break it to you buddy, it didn''t ur to me that I should have let my hearing augmentation on and be bombarded with useless chattering.''


    He forced a nervousugh, there was no way he had been able to decipher who it had been.


    "Well, I''m asking your help to know who it is for a reason." He deadpanned.


    "Right!" Lank nodded his head, his eyes narrowed at a particr individual.


    "The person who had done so isn''t as hard to find as you thought it was." He had a devilish grin as he locked gaze on the culprit.

 Chapter 126 It Was You All Along

    Nix''s eyes followed the line of sight of Lank who had a hard re at Ayanami.


    Ayanami could sense someone was staring at her intensely.


    Looking around to identify who it was, her eyes widened in horror at the very people she didn''t hope to stare at her.


    "Her?" Nix questioned, unsure about it since his system had not confirmed the truthfulness of the usation.


    "As much as this might be biased since I had developed an ever growing hate for that animal in human''s body. I''m not mistaken." He affirmed, narrowing his eyes.


    Raising both middle fingers at her, he mouthed the words, ''F*ck you, thot!''


    Ayanami gasped at the disrespect, her cheeks puffed up in annoyance. She had wanted to get there and strangle him if she shapeshifted into her serpentine form.


    She nced over to Nix who looked conflicted about it. Slowly she began to move backward, wanting to escape.


    [Culprit identified]


    Nix''s eyes widened the moment the system confirmed what Lank had said. "Her again?!" He hissed with the grit of his teeth.


    He noticed that she was trying to escape without causing as much trouble as Mrs. Neider did.


    "She''s trying to escape!" Lank whispered with the corner of his lips. Ready to attack if told.


    He couldn''t care less if they attracted attention with what he was going to do, all he needed was a go-ahead from Nix.


    To his pleasure, he saw Nix nod his head.


    ''Finally!'' He grinned, his canines and fingernails elongated.


    A low growl escaped his lips as he prepared to increase his speed and get to her in a matter of seconds.


    Ayanami sensed the danger approaching when she saw Lank take on his feral form, ditched her initial n, and turned around making her way towards the exit.


    Whoosh!


    Lank dashed past the students in his way like they weren''t moving.


    The gust of wind in its wake pushed back Nix, forcing him to take a seat. "Awesome!" He gaped in awe at the ballistic speed of his friend.


    The other students yelped in surprise at the change of wind and the echoing sound that followed. Their attention was divided as they all turned towards their side.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    ? A gasp and series of coughs could be heard, "let me go, you feral!" Ayanami wed on Lank''s hands which tightly grasped her throat.


    "I''ve been wanting to do this for a long time." Lank tightened his grip, his ws digging into her neck, drawing out blood slowly.


    Cough!


    "You''re b... brea... ki... ng academy rules!" She struggled to say, her pale purple eyes glowed in rage.


    "Why don''t you show me what an upper rank A can do?" Lank challenged.


    She shot a re at him with her eyes glowing, her legs thrashing about.


    "Do you really think that trick works for me?" Lank hissed only to her ears, chuckling at her puny effort. "That''s a fragment of my skill that was forcefully extracted by the organization."


    Ayanami whimpered, shocked that no one had interfered up until now.<sub> </sub>


    "You... don''t know what happened to Gia!" She spat, letting out augh.


    Lank was momentarily stunned by her words.


    Catching him unawares, Ayanami shapeshifted her legs into a purple snake''s tail,tching it around his neck and pulling it down and away from her hard.


    Lank had almost lost his grip on her neck and gasped for breath.


    "Lank?!" Nix called out in worry, stepping forward, he was stopped by a hand by Lumina.


    Shaking her head, she pointed at Lank, "watch!" She said with an evil grin, amused by the show before them all.


    Although she wished to be the one who had taken down Ayanami with just a single blow. Her gift could nullify her shapeshifting abilities with ease.


    Nix tilted his head, wondering how things would progress.


    ''Lank, please find a way.'' He said in his thoughts, itching to interfere when the situation bes unbearable to watch.


    Lumina had a reassuring smile, secretly taking a hold of his hand and giving it a light squeeze as she channeled her electricity to him.


    Feeling the jolt, Nix turned his head stiffly towards Lumina.


    Shrugging, she pretended to be clueless about what had happened and nodded in the direction of Lank and Ayanami''s struggle to gain control.


    Gathering sheer willpower, Lank shed at her tail on his neck, the purple blood sshing on Ayanami and staining his shirt.


    Ayanami let out a shriek of pain, reverting to her legs which had sustained scratch marks with the welts irritated.


    "Shouldn''t we do something?" A female teacher questioned Mr. Gaviel, horrified by what they were all witnessing.


    Mr. Gaviel inhaled, shaking his head at her question. Lank was almost as special as Nix. There had been a reason he was able to get away with almost anything.


    Although he hated to admit it, he felt a sense of satisfaction as he watched Lank slowly drain the life out of her.


    Retracting the ws on his right hand, he balled his hand in a fist. "I''m not afraid to hit a girl, not to mention one who acts like an animal!" He snickered in mischief.


    Bam!


    The whole ss made a collective wince at the punch to Ayanami''s face.


    [50 points gained]


    Nix almost choked on his saliva at what he saw appear in front of him. His eyes doubled in size.


    ''I can gain more points if I wasn''t given a specific method to aplish it personally?!'' He stared at the hunched-over back of Lank as hended another blow to her stomach this time around.


    [100 points gained]


    "You''ve stirred enough trouble as it is!" He growled.


    "You don''t know what you''re dealing with!" She hissed, spitting out blood onto his face intentionally.


    She turned her attention towards Mrs. Neider, ignoring Lank above her. "I hope you liked my little present then and now?!" She let out a derangedugh.


    Mrs. Neider''s eyes widened at the words, her mind trailed back to when she had queried Lumina on her rivalry and usation of Ayanami and now.


    "It was you!" She eximed, calming down her ability and frowning in rage.

 Chapter 127 It Might Kill You

    Blood trailed down her forehead. The trail got into her eyes, an evil smile still present.


    "Would you shut the f*ck up!" Lank yelled, raising his hand yet again, about tond another on her face.


    Looking at her bloody face, didn''t satisfy his hatred.


    "Make me!" Ayanami hissed, scale marks making their way on her body.


    Bam!


    Lank made a hit on her face before she could shapeshift and make a slip.


    [50 points gained]


    [300 points gained]


    [Congrattions on your sessfulpletion, you have a total of 3303 points earned]


    ''Herees another leveling up soon!'' He said to himself with a grin, pleased with the number of points he had acquired.


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Lank let out a crazedugh, his chest heaving slightly at the strain he had gotten from channeling all his hate in a punch.


    "Lank!" Nix called, there was no use in picking on Ayanami anymore, she had testified to her falsehood and was seen by everyone to be a liar and a maniptor.


    Ignoring the call, he prepared to hit her once more.


    "Enough!" Mrs. Neider yelled out in rage, dispelling her ability around the ssroom.


    "Mrs. Neider, noooo!" Mr. Gaviel called out in disbelief at the oing ck fog.


    Judging from her mood before it leaked out, it wasn''t going to be pleasant.


    "Students, prepare your minds for what''s toe." He warned in a loud voice.


    Whoosh!


    There was a loud gasp as the fog enveloped everyone in its darkness, sparing no one.


    p Hyperventting, her chest heaved as she tried to recollect the repercussion of what she had done. Her hands turned ck and were slowly crawling their way towards her entire body.</anda>


    ''No. Please!'' She tried to push back on the oing ck vein-like appendages that stuck so diligently onto her body and were spreading all over.


    A thick ck fog had saturated the room, turning solid wherever there was meant to be an escape from the fog¨C sealing up any form of escape root.


    Feeling a swift kick to Lank''s head, he let out a groan, distracted by fog that had temporarily blinded him.


    Ayanami let out a hiss, shapeshifting into a snake and slipping away with the distraction she had gotten.


    "Damn it!" Lank punched on the floor, he had a slow reaction time after being kicked off Ayanami.


    Rubbing his head, he activated the glow in his eyes, clearly seeing the number of students sitting on the floor, their eyes wide, pupils minimized as they stared at the floor.


    He let out a sigh, they looked more like lower rank users who still hadn''t been able to dispel the hold on them.


    Their hands crossed over their head, shaking to whatever horror they were relieving in their minds.


    "No... Please!"


    He looked to his side, seeing a female student pulling on her twin peach ponytails, trying to rip them off, her eyes rapidly moving from her hair, and back to the floor.<sub> </sub>


    Eager to understand how to help her, he squatted and took a look at her face very well. "What''s wrong?" He said with a low voice.


    She paused at his words, her hands dropping momentarily. She almost looked like she had gotten her grip on reality.


    "Get away from me you cunning viper!" She pulled on her twin ponytails again.


    Brows furrowed, Lank took a deep breath, and he tried to keep a calm mind. Constantly reminding himself that she wasn''t talking about him, but merely whatever she was seeing.


    "Please don''t do that!" Lank pulled down her hands, shaking his head at it.


    "It would kill you." She hissed, pushing his hands away.


    "You must have lost your¨C"


    ''Mind your tongue, she''s merely under the fog''s influence.'' He scolded himself, letting out a sigh.


    "Those are snakes, right?" He asked, deciding to y along with her thoughts.


    She nodded her head, grimacing as he pressed on.


    "I''m here to help you rid yourself of the viper." He said with a grin, knowing full well she couldn''t see him.


    Hitting the side of her neck, Lank simply stared at her, waiting for her reaction.


    Touching her neck, she looked back at her hand, a part of her fingers in one of her ponytails.


    "My hai¨C" she couldn''tplete her sentence as she immediately lost consciousness.


    Catching her just in time, he had a smile, "you''d wake up soon."


    Slowly he let her sit upright against the wall.


    Taking a few desks, he pushed them to make a barrier in case others might stumble on her.


    ''Why am I not affected?'' Lank furrowed his brows, confused by what he was witnessing as several others were sitting and caught in fog traps.


    ''Besides, where is Nix?'' He wondered, looking around.


    Feeling a hand on his shoulder, his hair stood on all ends and his teeth gritted as he growled.


    Holding onto the wrist, he prepared to flip the unsuspecting person over.


    "Hey! Lank, it''s me." Nix said a little too quickly, deducing what he wanted to do when he had grabbed a hold of his wrist.


    "Nix?" Lank turned around, relieved that he could stillmunicate with at least someone.


    "What''s wrong with them?" Nix questioned, confused, "Why can''t I see anything?"


    "If you couldn''t see, how did you know I''m here?" Lank was starting to disbelieve that he had not been affected.


    "Your blood stink led me to you easily," Nix exined with a shrug of his shoulder.


    ''Should I be d by that statement?!'' Lank''s brows twitched as he was conflicted by the thoughts behind the words.


    Lank''s morale was wasted at that word. "Is that all that led you here?"


    He had hoped he could chip in a few lies¨C ''Our close bonds are inseparable that it urately led me here.''


    He mimicked how he pictured Nix speaking those words. A smile made its way up to his lips.


    "What''s so funny?" Nix snapped at the sound of Lank''s chuckle, he was getting frustrated by the sudden darkness.

 Chapter 128 Hello, Nix

    Lank ced his hand on Nix''s temples, making a circr motion.


    Nix''s eyes widened at the sudden intrusion. Unintentionally, his eyes glowed.


    In a few seconds, he marveled at his ability to see everything far much better than he had expected.


    "You could do this before?" Nix gasped in awe and admiration.


    He was more than grateful that the system had made him take a bold step in approaching Lank.


    The first thought that came to mind was intentionally walking into the darkest ce just to test out how far he could go with this borrowed ability.


    The mystery surrounding Lank''s abilities was yet to be solved.


    Lank raised his shoulder, "not that I really enjoy it, they..." He looked at his side and then behind himself before speaking.


    Confirming that they weren''t been spied on, "...had extracted this from him on numerous asions for whatever secret testing and mutation." He said in a whisper.


    Nix''s mood darkened at the direct mention of the organization.


    Lank staggered forward at the push at his back.


    "Mr. Gaviel?" Lank questioned with a raise of his brow.


    "Lank?" Mr. Gaviel did a brief body scan. "You look fine," he said with augh.


    A ring of luminous light levitated in front of him. This merely only illuminated a few meters in front and the sides of him.


    ''So his magic is rted to luminance.'' Nix kept quiet as he shoved his hands into his pocket.


    A part of himself was troubled by the constant trouble that crossed his path whenever he tried to do things like a normal human would.


    Regret had been what he had felt ever since he had stepped foot into the G&M ss.


    It would have been best if he had taken a personal vacation and stayed as he had originally wanted to do all along.


    Whoosh!


    A gust of wind sucked on the dark fog, the darkness moving in the direction of the window.


    "Mast¨C"


    Mr. Gaviel covered the mouth of his fellow teacher, his face stern and disappointed by the slip the male teacher would have caused.


    "Are we good?!" He questioned the teacher.


    Getting a nod of confirmation, he slowly let go of the teacher''s lips.


    The fog was almost totally sucked out, the students who had been trapped in their darkest fears, were slowly getting back their sanity.


    Nix''s head darted towards the window, having followed the teacher''s conversation.


    Narrowing his eyes, he dashed towards the window, wanting to get a glimpse of the big bad, the unnamed in his mother''s scroll.


    Thest bit of fog had been sucked in, leaving Mrs. Neider unconscious on the floor.<sub> </sub>


    Torn by his loyalty to the organization and his willingness to help Mrs. Neider. Mr. Gaviel picked thetter, rushing to her side.


    Confident that their master couldn''t be seen so easily, nor would he want a disturbance in what he had nned for such a long time.


    "ss is dismissed for today!" Mr. Gavielmanded in a loud voice.


    Gritting his teeth, it was at these moments that he wished Mr. Zhao or Miss Sesa were actively present in the academy.


    ''This would have been readily solved, without master''s interference!''


    He gave a re to the other teachers who stood like the other students, unsure of how to coordinate them.


    "What the hell is wrong with you all?!" He yelled in frustration, his sses falling to the floor. Looking down momentarily at it, he brought back his attention towards them and frowned.


    This was the very first time they had all seen him this mad. They began to leave the ss in clusters, and murmuring ensued thereafter.


    Mr. Gaviel''s breathing was uneven from the shouting. Sad about the escape of Ayanami.


    He didn''t understand how and why she had done what she did or had the nerve to go against one of the rules against letting Mrs. Neider in on a user with the fire rank.


    A stray tear trickled down his eyes as he was struck with two mountain-like burdens on his heart.


    The first is the drastic change of one of his top students in magic ss.


    Even at the thought of that, it didn''t hurt as much as thedy in his arms that he rocked, hoping with every inch of his being, that she would wake up.


    Anyone who is termed as a hindrance or disturbance in his ns, he doesn''t hesitate in putting an end to their lives.


    With the method he had used to suck the fog engulfing the whole ssroom, he was sure to suck up her life force too.


    His hands trailed on her pale face, her rosy lips were slowly turning a dark purple and shrinking. Looked at the rose-shaped medal hung on her neck on a chain.


    He watched as the once bright red was slowly cracking and getting darker until it shattered into tiny pieces.


    "Noooo!" He yelled in despair, hugging her tighter, hoping to give her some warmth.


    ''I failed to protect you!'' He teared up, burying his head in her shoulder as his body rocked from the stifled tears that he couldn''t let out for fear of what his master could do to her body while his presence is still very much alive outside the window.


    Nix had a tight grip on the window sill, breathing heavily. Instead of a person, what he had witnessed was merely a portal that had sucked the fog.


    "Hello, Nix!" A smoky voice came through from the portal with a snicker.


    Nix''s eyes widened at the identification, but then soon calmed his racing heart, realizing he should have known about him if Mr. Zhao could be readily interested in his actions.


    A sh of memory crossed his head.


    "Arrgh!" He staggered backward, caught by Lank.


    "I got you," Lank assured him with a nod.


    Nix held his head, unsure about what he had seen. Those weren''t the original Nix''s memory, but rather his mother''s.


    "Nix?" Lank questioned, tapping his face. "Talk to me."

 Chapter 129 Ability Forcefully Taken

    Pushing against him, he steadied his steps by leaning on the wall, rubbing his forehead as he tried to steady his double sighted vision


    It all felt like a wave had hit him.


    Lank simply stared, at loss for words on how to help him.


    "Let me." Lumina''s voice broke in the silence, stepping forward, interlocking their hands.


    Slowly she led him out of the ssroom. Halting in her steps momentarily, she looked back towards Lank, "please keep an eye on Gia."


    "Uh... yeah. Sure." Lank nodded his head, slightly disturbed by the reference made.


    "I need to leave," Lank realized, ufortable by the words he had remembered Ayanami had said in spite.


    In a rush, he dashed past Lumina and Nix, heading straight for the infirmary.


    ''Please be safe.'' He begged.


    Lumina''s attention was divided as she watched him react swiftly. Shaking her head with a sad smile, she let out a sigh as she looked over at Nix who had rxed in her arms.


    ''We will go through this together.''


    She had immediately recognized the confused yet dazed look in his eyes. One that was far too simr to when she had experienced the first wave of her brother''s memories.


    ''What did you possibly see or hear that triggered this?'' She wondered.


    "Fae, please assist Mr. Gaviel..." She looked over to where Mr. Gaviel was, depressed and heartbroken.


    "R... Right!" Fae walked awkwardly towards Mr. Gaviel, unsure of where to begin.


    Without another word, she assisted Nix out and towards their dorm.


    Fae''s mood dropped as she wished she wasn''t caught in this. It almost felt like a constant reminder that she had no one to lean on, no significant other to worry about.


    "Mr. Gaviel," she began, ufortable with the cool chill of death looming in the air.


    Responding quickly with a jerk of his body, he raised his head to nce at who had called him.


    His swollen and puffy red eyes had lost all their hope, "I never wanted this for her." He mumbled, sniffling.


    He thought back to the time when he had a part in what had happened.


    He had met her in a greenhouse in the city while on a mission.


    He had wondered why she had her magic activated in such a ce. The nts were dying at the slight contact with its petals or leaves.


    Curious, he got closer to understanding why someone with such dark ability was potentially sucking up every bit of light energy present in that building.


    To win her heart, he shared his simr love for nts.


    Life in the organization had been purposeless, not until he met Neider.


    "Oh, you''re married." He remembered asking when he noticed the ring on her finger, she had always rolled the ring on her finger when she felt flustered.


    He noticed that immediately after she had heard those words, a frown had made its way to get brows.


    After several chances at getting to know what had made her so unhappy with the question.


    She had hissed in rage as she squinted her eyes and pursed those plump lips he had grown to adore whenever she made that face.<sub> </sub>


    The trust he had built with her wasn''t achieved in a day or week.


    Repeatedly he had visited the greenhouse after fulfilling his mission, to create as much familiarity as possible.


    Only then did she open up to him about her vow to avenge her family burned by a fire rank user.


    Born with magic she had considered useless to her cause¨C Dark void. She needed his help to get to the organization''s mysterious leader, said to be a catalyst to the ability of others.


    This had been what had secured his hold on the whole city and far beyond the uncivilized areas reaching towards the dragon territory.


    Now that he thought more on it, the more he hated himself for being so foolish to help her get into the organization.


    "She wasn''t meant to die in this way." He muttered, forcing a chuckle that made him sound like he was on the verge of being deranged.


    His sses fell off the bridge of his nose and onto the floor.


    Fae took a cautious step back.


    Thinking over what her teacher had just said, she did a double take. "Dead or just unconscious." Her eyes glued to Mrs. Neider''s pale skin, still wishing it was nothing but the cause and effect of her ability being nullified by a strange interference.


    When Mr. Gaviel gave nothing order than a sad look down at Mrs. Neider still in his arm, he closed his eyes. "I wish I had your mindset, Fae."


    "That''s not po¨C" Fae''s voice faded as she looked over at Mrs. Neider one more time as she observed.


    p There was no sign of her breathing, still and lifeless was she.</anda>


    "Shocking, right?" Mr. Gaviel''s voice began to break as he tried to steady his emotions.


    Slowly she nodded, her eyes glued to Mrs. Neider.


    "Is that why you had dismissed the ss?" Fae questioned.


    "I still can''t believe she''s gone," he said with a sigh, ignoring her question like a gue.


    "She was blinded by her rage for his kind, and I had led her to her demise." He beat his chest in regret, hugging her body as he spoke.


    "Sir, there might still be a way to save her. We still have time¨C"


    "Nooo!" Mr. Gaviel yelled to stop her in her tracks.


    Confused, she furrowed her brows, "you don''t want to see if there''s a chance of saving her?" She questioned.


    "She''s dead!" He spat, "there''s nothing anyone can do about that."


    Looking at the window, his mood dropped further, forcing him to lower his head in self loathing.


    "Her ability was forcefully taken when it was dispelled." He said through gritted teeth.


    "That was what happened?!" Fae''s mouth gaped in shock. Looking around the ss, a foreboding feeling could be felt.


    She had wondered why Nix had run towards the window in a rush.


    ''He felt and saw something we couldn''t perceive at the time.''


    "Any minute now, they woulde for her corpse." He said with an air of warning.

 Chapter 130 Heres Her Body, Just Take It

    "Who?!" She questioned with a raise of her brows.


    <o>,m Bam!</o>


    The door flew open with a m, the wall covered in a yellow aura that spread and branched around until it covered the whole area.


    Fae took a step back, closer to Mr. Gaviel in fear of the strange people who had intruded on their academy.


    The aura that reeked off them was overwhelming.


    Two men with identical pristine white hair and sharp, well-kept, creased ck suits. Both had on simr wingtip shoes, with ck socks and gold rolled handkerchiefs in their pockets.


    A shiver ran down her spine as she saw a yellow glow gleam toned down by the ck shades they wore.


    "Sir, what''s..."


    She was cut off by Mr. Gaviel making a hushed sign. Shaking his head and signaling she maintains her cool while he gives up Neider''s body.


    ''Sir, no!'' She had wanted to tell as she watched him arrange the neckline of Mrs. Neider''s ck satin dress.


    With a kiss on her forehead, he forced a smile and replied coldly. "I know she will be handled with care."


    Fae noticed a brief change in his countenance as he tried to keep hisposure.


    Narrowing her eyes, she let out a sigh, confident he was merely only lying to himself.


    Whatever they had nned on doing with her body would be far from being pleasant.


    "No!" Fae''s lips opened up, to the shock of Mr. Gaviel and even to herself.


    The two mysterious males raised their heads to her defiance to keep to her ce.


    Her hands began to tremble on their own ord and so did her breathing quicken.


    "Please, no!" Mr. Gaviel fell facedown, bowing before them, "she''s just a student who doesn''t know right from wrong."


    ''Right from wrong?!'' Fae raged, gritting her teeth, knowing he was merely exaggerating to get on the good side of these two.


    "Is that so Miss Fae?" One of the males spoke, his voice deep and hoarse.


    Fae trembled at their knowledge of her. If they knew her name, what else could they have known?


    Nodding her head to the question directed at her, she could only think of why her teacher had suddenly be so respectful in their presence.


    Whatever was happening, she would need to handle things with caution and immediately report all that she had witnessed to Lumina.


    The foes they are up against weren''t what they had expected. If this was an underling, there was no telling what the master was like.


    Something felt strange about these two, it almost felt like she knew the silent one.


    At that moment, her eyes widened as her brain did a quick match on the distinctive little mole on the right corner of his cheekbone.


    "Ia¨C"


    In the blink of an eye, he handheld her face, mming her down with a great force.<sub> </sub>


    Coughing out blood, her eyes doubled in size by the great speed that overwhelmed her, not giving her enough room to react, she was thrown to the far end of the ssroom.


    Thud!


    Her body dropped on a table, destroying it immediately. She tried tomove, but it felt like all the bones in her body were broken, her breathing was strained as she tried to take in air.


    "Forgive her, please!" Mr. Gaviel cried out, afraid of what they could do once she became their target.


    "Here''s her body, just take it. I have no objections whatsoever." He tried to draw their attention away from Fae.


    ''No, don''t! You don''t understand what they could do with the body?'' Fae had wanted to defy the pain she felt in her jaw, but words didn''t escape.


    Stray tears trailed down her face as she recalled who had resurfaced. It was in these moments she wished she possessed teleportation.


    ''They would turn her to a¨C'' her line of thought was cut short as she coughed out more blood.


    Her trembling hands touched her side, it felt cold and throbbing. Bringing her hands back up, she hissed at the pain that shot up to her arm.


    ''Blood?!'' She was on the verge of crying, her hand ced on the thin piece of wood lodged in her side.


    This wasn''t how she wanted her end to be, nor had she gotten the chance to tell Lumina what she had witnessed.


    Sweat dripping, Mr. Gaviel wished they would leave soon so he could attend to Fae.


    A groan could be heard from where Fae had been flung to.


    "Fae!" Mr. Gaviel felt uneasy, unable to verify the extent of the damage she had sustained.


    The two males gave a nod to each other. The second male used his ability to pull Mrs. Neider''s body towards him.


    "You have been let off this time," they said in unison. "The master wouldn''t be so lenient next time."


    Taking a gulp, he nodded his head, reaching to pick up his sses, to his dismay the first male raised his feet and brought them down with great speed on his sses before his hand could get to them.


    ''Curse you all!'' Mr. Gaviel hissed in his thoughts as he witnessed the shards of his sses get stuck to the sole of the first male''s shoe.


    Pulling it out, he flung it in the direction of Mr. Gaviel in a quick movement.


    Barely dodging by the hair, it merely scraped a part of his cheek.


    Blood trailed down his chin from the cut.


    "If you think that you had dodged that, then you''re mistaken." The first taunted him, shaking his head.


    Even though he hated to admit it, he understood that they were correct about what had transpired, even though he doubted it was almost easy to dodge a throw with the initiator''s quick movements.


    His legs were itching to run towards Fae. If he could at least save someone, he would be able to atone for his sins.


    ''Leave! Why don''t you leave?!'' He questioned his thoughts in irritation.


    "Mr. Gaviel..." The second spoke, looking to his side and to where Faeid, probably unconscious.

 Chapter 131 How Rude!

    Switching nces between them and the area in which Fae was, he felt his anxiety rise.


    Forcing his eyes to stare at them so he wouldn''t provoke any further reaction.


    "You know how to handle this," the second continued.


    Nodding his head, he hoped they would leave if he cooperated willingly.


    As much as he wanted to yell, and call for help. This aura that covered the walls was a top magic act that had to be at least 3 times his rank because of their enhancement from Sesa and the master.


    No matter how well one yelled, he and the magic students knew how hard it was to break such a spell when cast. No sound or sight could be seen from the outside¨C no interference.


    ''Sesa what sort of monsters do you create?!'' He questioned, his hand up to his throbbing cheek. The blood was beginning to clot and sting a little.


    "Let this be a lesson to anyone who dares interfere with our master''s ns." The first said, looking over at Mrs. Neider''s body and nodding to the second.


    The second nodded back in response, almost as if they had spoken telepathically. Adjusting her on his shoulder. He turned around, walking over to the door.


    The first in tow. As they walked out, the aura which had covered the walls had gradually pulled out.


    Once it was confirmed they couldn''t be seen anymore, he rushed towards where Fae was.


    "Fae!" He called out in worry. To his horror, he saw her struggling to move her body at the call of her name.


    "Don''t, please." He called out, quickly scooping her up so he could get to the infirmary and get her treatment.


    "You''ll be fine!" He whispered to her as he rushed to the best of his ability to get there with extra weight on his arm.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    m!


    Lank''s heart thumped as he had expected the worst when reaching the infirmary''s door.


    "How rude!" The nurse screeched in irritation at the loud m caused by the door hitting the wall.


    "I''m sorry miss..." His voice trailed as his eyes searched for Gia.


    The moment he located her and saw her chest rise and fall slowly in her sleep.


    ''She''s here.'' He ced a hand on his chest, relief washing over him.


    "Hello?!" The nurse hissed, still holding a grudge at what he had done earlier.


    "Sorry miss." He took a bow.


    "Finally, some manners!" She scoffed, turning around and heading to her desk.


    ''Good thing she wasn''t here thest time.'' He smiled at the memory of him attempting to crush Ayanami with the ripped door.


    He wished in his heart that Gia hadn''t defected his powers when he had the perfect shot to put an end to her miserable existence.


    Dragging his feet, he took slow steps forward and towards her bed.


    Pulling a chair before he got to the side of the bed. He set it down in front of her, sitting and staring at her for some seconds like aplete psycho.


    "What did she do to you?" He wondered, angry at himself for leaving her with that sly devil. "I made a wrong move, could you forgive me and wake up?"


    Taking her hand, he gave it a little squeeze, forcing a smile on his lips.<sub> </sub>


    Gia groaned in her sleep, slightly turning.


    Lank''s heart took a bit of a leap at her movements before it was reced with disappointment.


    Lowering his head, he wondered when she would be able to get back up.


    Ahem!


    "Lank." The nurse had a white nose mask on, and a glove on her hand which was glowing at the activation of her powers.


    "Oh, right!" Lank sighed, pushing back on the chair and allowing the nurse to proceed with her hourly healing.


    He watched as she ced her gloved hands over Gia''s forehead.


    "Miss, has anyone visited since yesterday?" He asked, concerned about the presence of Ayanami to what she said while below him, vulnerable at the time.


    ''F*ck!'' He cursed, regretting the slip that could have been avoided if he had not been distracted by themand given to him by Mrs. Neider at the time.


    "Not anyone that I should be cautious of." She replied vaguely.


    "Meaning?" He stressed, confused by that message.


    The nurse temporarily deactivated her abilities. Raising her head towards the ceiling and letting out a low growl at the annoying questions which pricked at her insides.


    Heal and observe, she had beenmanded by Mr. Gaviel, not to heal and be interrogated.


    "Miss, your ability is deactivated." Lank pointed out, his hand pointing at her hands which made them look more like regr gloves at that point.


    Raising her fingers, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you know what these gloves are for?"


    Rubbing his chin, he shook his head to her question. It sounded more like she had diverted the conversation away from what they were talking about.


    "It''s to regte the amount of energy I emit from these bad bitches."


    Lank cringed at her words, that didn''t sound right, no matter how many times he tried to justify and rey them in his head.


    Her innocent face framed by ck bangs, and pale white eyes, plump pink lips had been ruined with those words falling off her mouth so effortlessly.


    The nurse noticed he was a bit ufortable and had to ask, "are you feeling okay?"


    Nodding his head and drawing his lips into a straight line. He scratched his nose to prevent himself from frowning at the memory of what he had just heard.


    Letting that excuse slide, she continued. "That''s why I chose this line of the field, so I have an excuse to wear these all the time and put my power to good use."


    "Good for you!" Lank gave a thumbs up, "could you please activate your abilities and heal her?"


    "I thought as much." She narrowed her eyes and shook her head.


    She had merely wanted him to stop asking more questions and feel how it was to interfere in something each of them considered important and were time conscious.


    Bringing back her hands on Gia''s forehead, she reactivated it, "please just shut up while I work."


    Her words immediately shut him up as his mouth was already open, ready to ask a question before she stopped him.


    "Noted." He replied instead.

 Chapter 132 This Is Going To Hurt

    m!


    "Who the hell is it now?!" The nurse yelled at the recurrence of what had happened, "how could you still do that again, you little kid?!"


    ''Little kid?" Lank''s ears picked up, rubbing the sleep off his eyes and smacking his tongue on the roof of his mouth.


    He didn''t expect to be woken up with a bang, nor did he expect to be called a kid and used of being the one who had caused a ruckus.


    At the least, he had understood why she was cranky at the first instance when he had done the same. Sleeping for a few minutes, that sound didn''t sit well with his hearing.


    He looked over to where Gia was still sleeping, still unaware of his surroundings.


    The nurse got up from her seat to check out if it was Lank who had be unresponsive to her first warning.


    Huff!


    Huff!


    "Huh?!" Lank turned around, only to see an anxious and breathy Mr. Gaviel. His line of sight trailed down to who he saw in his arms.


    "Fae?!" He wondered, pushing back the seat and rushing over to help.


    He had remembered clearly she was still alright when he had left, this bloody sight wasn''t what he expected.


    "What happened, Sir?!" Lank hissed, taking her body from him and cing her on the next bed close to Gia.


    "I said it, you don''t have any ma¨C" the nurse paused in her words, caught unawares by the appearance of a teacher.


    She pieced the information together on the reason the teacher had kicked the door open in such a way when she saw a bloody student.


    Letting out a gasp at the amount of blood that had been lost, she rushed toward the student.


    cing two fingers on her wrist, she closed her eyes and counted to 5.


    "How long has this been?!" She questioned Mr. Gaviel, while she ripped the side of Gia''s floral chiffon dress from the cut that had been made from the wood lodged in the very ce.


    Mr. Gaviel had spaced out and couldn''t respond. His mind had trailed on what he had been told to do.


    ''You know how to handle this.'' This sentence rang in his thoughts like a broken record.


    If word should leak out about what he wanted to do, he was surely putting himself at a disadvantage and in opposition to the organization.


    The thought of letting her die made his stomach churn in disgust. There was no way he could stomach two deaths in a matter of minutes.


    Shaking his head to the thought, his breathing began to quicken and was visibly audible to Lank and the nurse.


    "Mr. Gaviel?!" Lank nudged him on the side to get back his attention. "She would be fine, there''s no need to feel so guilty for whatever had happened."<sub> </sub>


    He understood that the nurse had deliberately toned down on the cause of her injury, instead of focusing on the time if it had happened so she could know how to administer her healing abilities in the right amounts.


    "Mr. Gaviel!" The nurse increased her voice, frustrated that he was yet to respond to her earlier question.


    Clearing his throat, hisshes flickered as he tried to get back his hold on reality.


    "Right! Right!" He repeated, "what was the question again?"


    Lank internally facepalmed, this was so unlike the teacher who had always maintained a calm and calctive approach to things.


    Now that he thought about it, he realized he wasn''t wearing his sses, and he had some sort of cut on his cheek for some mysterious reason.


    ''Were they caught in a fight? Where''s Mrs. Neider?'' He wondered as he did a full-body scan of Mr. Gaviel.


    The nurse slowly pulled out the piece of wood, applying enough pressure while she tried to heal without any knowledge of the right time.


    "Uhhhh!!" Fae groaned loudly to the pain that shot up at the tightness she felt in the area where the nurse healed.


    Frowning, the nurse stopped in her tracks, deactivating her powers.


    It felt frustrating that she couldn''t regte her ability without knowing a bit of what the patient had gone through, most especially the time frame, or else she could mistakenly speed up the healing process, causing extreme pain as she did.


    Turning around and towards Mr. Gaviel, she pulled him closer by the cor, so they locked eyes.


    "If you want her to survive, you better tell me what I asked!" She growled, speaking through gritted teeth.


    "I..." he hesitated and looked down at Fae, his eyes teared up. He couldn''t go through with what he was expected to do with her, "I want her alive." He finally said, closing his eyes and epting the fate that awaited him if this was found out.


    Pulling her hands away from his cor, she nodded her head and adjusted her gloves.


    "I don''t suppose you had another answer anyways." She said with a scoff. "Tell me what I need to know... What was the time frame? A close rough estimate would make me mentally prepared."


    "Twenty-one minutes?" He replied in more of a question, calcting the time he had also used to rush her to the infirmary.


    Her eyes widened, and she pinched the bridge of her nose, ming herself for jumping to a fast conclusion that it had been more.


    ''No wonder she had reacted to my healing in such a way.'' She thought with a sigh, walking over to a shelf and pulling out a blue dualyer mouthguard with a rubber outer frame.


    Then over to Fae once more, she let out a sigh and gently helped her put up the mouth guard.


    "This is going to hurt." She said to Fae, mentally preparing her.


    Fae was sweating, her vision wasn''t all too clear either, but she trusted her.


    Giving a slight nod of her head, she closed her eyes the moment she saw the nurse''s hand on the protruding end of the piece of wood, readying to pull any second.

 Chapter 133 A Message Before Its Too Late

    "Mmhhh!" Fae let out a muffled scream as she felt the piece of wood being slowly pulled out. The stinging pain throbbing. The only relief she was getting was the nurse''s healing ability.


    Her back arched upwards while trying to fight the urge of ckening out.


    "There we go!" The nurse said with a smile, bringing up the blood stained piece of wood, for all to see.


    "That''s a long piece of wood you got lodged in you." Lank stifled augh.


    "Ow!" He held his head, the moment he felt a hit to his head by the nurse.


    "She almost died, you moron!" She scolded, raising her hands once again to hit him.


    "Please heal her quickly." Mr. Gaviel said in a matter of urgency.


    He needed Fae to leave and hide as soon as possible, the academy wasn''t safe anymore for her to be in.


    Lank could sense an uneasiness in the way in which his teacher stood, his eyes darted everywhere, confused and conflicted about what he was going to do.


    "Someone''s in a hurry," the nurse rolled her eyes, cing both hands over Fae''s side as she concentrated on the glow of her hands.


    "Could you be a bit faster?" Mr. Gaviel''s eyes darted about, looking backward.


    Raising his hands to the windows, he made sure to darken the folds so they couldn''t be seen from the outside.


    He couldn''t ce them all in danger too. If he was to face the wrath, he would dy the inevitable.


    "You don''t rush these things!" The nurse hissed at the pressure he wasying on her. Unintentionally increasing the intensity of the healing, causing Fae to hiss in pain.


    "Oh... I''m so sorry!" She softened her features, turning towards Mr. Gaviel and ring.


    Mr. Gaviel shook his head, he needed this done so she could be transported for the main time before her existence could be discovered.


    "Lumina..." Fae whispered, trying to get up when she felt the bleeding had stopped.


    "Oh... No, you don''t!" The nurse frowned, forcing her back down to take a rest, "I wouldn''t want that ruptured again."


    Fae stared at Mr. Gaviel in silence, causing him to look down, feeling uneasy.


    Lank switched res between the two, now he could tell they were hiding something.


    Curiosity got the best out of him, he had to ask. Before that, he walked over to the nurse, whispering something into her ears.


    She made a gasp and nodded her head in understanding, taking a step back. "I would be sitting over at my desk. Just pretend you never saw me." She hid her nervousness with a chuckle, quickly dashing in the said direction.


    Mr. Gaviel looked up at Lank, confused as to what he had just said to the nurse to make her so nervous.


    "What did you tell her?" He questioned with a narrowing of his eyes, wary about this particr student''s tactics.


    ''Just the right incentive I need.'' Lank thought with a grin.


    "If I answer your question, you have to promise to answer mine." Lank conditioned.


    "Forget I asked." Mr. Gaviel shunned him immediately, suspicious about the sort of question he would ask in return.


    Lank''s mouth gaped open at the downright refusal, "you don''t just turn down juicy information, Sir."


    "Sorry to break it to you, but the less that know, the better." He retorted. Looked over to Fae and maintained eye contact, knowing what thoughts she was thinking even though she stayed silent all the while.<sub> </sub>


    "Then you know what I was about to ask." Lank narrowed his eyes, looking at Fae, hoping she could give answers.


    "It''s best to remain ignorant," Mr. Gaviel called to the attention of Lank.


    ''So you wouldn''t have to leave abruptly.'' He finished in his thoughts, ming himself for not shunning Fae when he still had the chance to save her from this fate.


    "Lank..." Fae finally spoke, pausing to collect her thoughts.


    "Yes?" He turned his attention towards her, smiling at her willingness to finally speak to him.


    ? "Come closer." She said in a breathy voice.


    Leaning closer to her face, he realized she had wanted to tell him some secret.


    Cupping her hands, she whispered what she needed to pass across to Lank.


    His eyes doubled in size at what she had revealed, although the name mentioned sounded foreign to him, herst words didn''t.


    ''... leave now, tell her before it''s toote.''


    He wondered what could be so special in what she had said and why she had made an emphasis on it being so urgent.


    Intending to get a bit of an answer from Lumina instead, he thought against questioning further.


    Whatever the case might be, he needed to carry this out before Mr. Gaviel got word of what transpired.


    Staggering backward, he gulped and stared for a while, his red eyes flickering from their glow and back to their original form.


    Fae shook her head, she needed this to be kept a secret no matter what. Only Lumina and in turn Nix needed to know.


    "Go!" She mouthed, prompting him to ignore the inquisitive call of Mr. Gaviel, and slowly back up as he prepared to leave.


    "I''ll... I''ll be back." He said, dashing towards the door.


    m!


    "You are pushing it, Lank!" The nurse yelled from her corner.


    Mr. Gaviel looked back, shaking his head at the noise they had made for some time in a ce meant to be quiet.


    With a sad nce at Gia, he let out a sigh, "she was one of my top students, I had never thought to think about this being used on her."


    "Only Lank can save her from this," his hand traced the bed frame before he retracted his hands, "only he just doesn''t know it, or is too scared to do it."


    ''So Lank can counter the spell ced on her, but how?'' Fae wondered, not wanting to share the news of her surface knowledge of what he was talking about.


    Her brows simply furrowed in confusion.


    "Don''t worry, with his level of luck and unnoticed backing and knowledge, he will." Mr. Gaviel said with a smile.


    Turning towards where the nurse was, his mood darkened and so did the glow in his eyes.


    "What are you going to do, Mr. Gaviel?!" Fae whispered, holding onto his sleeves, wary about his intentions.

 Chapter 134 Signing A Death Sentence

    "Trust me." He replied vaguely, pulling off her hands from him.


    Fae had learned a great deal from thest encounter she had with those psychos from the organization.


    Nodding her head to his words, she humbly waited for his return.


    "Hello, Miss Galena." He pped his hand on the table to get the attention of the nurse.


    The pen in her hand jumped out from her loose grip. Her hand went to her chest as she hyperventted to the unintentional scare given.


    "Mr. Gaviel." She responded coldly. She had tried to avoid anything rted to the organization and his presence was starting to irk her.


    "Thank you for saving her." He slightly bowed with a smile.


    Stunned by his uncalled-for action, she pushed back her seat and shook her head at his words.


    "I did what any other nurse with my ability would have done." Miss Galena shrugged, seeing nothing special in what she had done.


    "I''m surprised you haven''t asked about what transpired." He raised the issue that has been on his mind.


    "Does it look like I''m keen on aligning myself deeply with the organization?" She scoffed, rolling her eyes.


    "..."


    Mr. Gaviel could understand the point of view she was speaking from. But how could he tell her that saving Fae had just brought about the very thing she had hated to be in?


    "I simply chose this line of the field because it suits my ability," she popped up her index finger for the first reason.


    Popping up the middle finger to make a ''V'' sign, "Second, I needed the money it could give, obviously..."


    "The organization pays better than this shit hole." Mr. Gaviel interjected, merely stating the facts.


    "Why did you leave then, smartass?" Miss Galena retorted, folding her arms under her bust and frowning.


    "Fair point," Mr. Gaviel shrugged his shoulders, not ready to exin what was already lost.


    The very person that he had stepped down for was dead, gone from the very existence of that which he had created for them both.


    His face scrunched up in anguish forcing a smile to the bluntness of Galena.


    "Interfering with the organization is like signing your death sentence." She rted all the hearsay and experience she had acquired over the years.


    ''You''ve signed your death sentence when you helped Fae recover.'' He thought about that issue sadly.


    It was only a matter of time before the organization found out if they detected a slip.


    The only way to stall as much time as possible is to make all involved forget what had transpired, up until now.


    He had never envisaged he would use one of his peak abilities in such a way.


    Galena felt something a bit strange in his actions, "is there something you aren''t telling me?"


    "Could we part ways with a shake?" He requested, offering his hand.


    "Why are we parting ways, what''s going on?" She took a step back, his actions looked questionable, and so did his weird excuse of a handshake.


    ''Damn it! She suspects me already?!'' Mr. Gaviel didn''t like the fact that she was quick-witted and sensed danger.<sub> </sub>


    Slowly dropping his hand, he nodded to her words. He had a smile on his face, prepared for the worst that could happen.


    "I''m sorry if I seem awkward to you," he smiled, "but it''s for your good!"


    Jumping over the table, he kicked her over to the wall.


    Bam!


    Galena wasn''t much of a fighter and hated herself for that. She immediately began to internally heal herself from the injury she had sustained with the hit to the wall.


    Before she could fully get up, she felt his hand on her forehead.


    "Nighty night!" He said in a singsong whisper.


    A few secondster, he watched as she dropped to the floor and into his arms.


    Caressing her hair, he made a hush sound. His heart pounding at what he had done earlier, whispering the words, "I''m sorry."


    Lifting her, he gently ced her back in her chair, making it seem like she had fallen asleep on her desk.


    ''Now you wouldn''t have to worry about being involved in this.'' He stroked her hair one more time before leaving her side and moving to Fae.


    Fae had heard all the ruckus that went on, her gaze following Mr. Gaviel as he approached.


    "You''ve been hiding that development in your ability, Mr. Gaviel?" She clicked her tongue.


    "I had to, but now it was inevitable." He exined.


    "Let me guess, I''m meant to die." Fae deadpanned, not mincing words.


    Mr. Gaviel did a double-take at her precise words. As much as he wanted to shake his head at her words and prove her wrong.


    She was indeed right about that bit of detail. This was why he had hurriedly told the students to leave, he knew they would send someone toe collect the body.


    "Your silence says it all." Fae''s voice lowered, deep in thought as to why she was still alive.


    "Why did you save me?" She questioned, tears dripping down her eyes. She wanted to be alive, but she also wanted to be in control of what she had lost¨C the right to live.


    "..."


    "What''s going to happen to me... no! To you." She corrected. It was only natural that if he didn''t carry out the job as instructed, he was going to be killed.


    "..."


    He refused to speak, merely allowing her to pour out those pent-up emotions she had kept at bay while Lank and Galena were present.


    "Who are those people?" She shot another question at him, hoping he would answer one eventually.


    "They are called collectors." He immediately responded to that question.


    "They collect bodies, dead or alive." He pinched the bridge of his nose, missing his signature sses. "Once targeted, it''s almost impossible to escape."


    He looked around them once more. What he had originally nned needed to be executed with caution.


    "Am I targeted?" Fae asked, feeling there was nothing more life-changing than that.

 Chapter 135 Should I Go Harder?

    Mr. Gaviel let out a strainedugh at her question, "don''t tter yourself."


    "Which was why I was ordered to... umm you know... do so myself." He facepalmed.


    "What''s next?" She cut in, knowing her fate had been altered the moment she was caught in that scene.


    Assisting Fae to her feet, he heaved a sigh, knowing what he was going to ask was going to sound crazy.


    "There''s only a way to buy out time," he said in a whisper. "You have to escape the academy to a remote greenhouse in¨C"


    "Mr. Gaviel, that''s like asking for a quick death." She hissed, shaking her head at the proposal.


    "You are going to die anyway if they get to know you''re still alive." Mr. Gaviel hissed, irritated that she wasn''t making his ns any easier.


    Her lips drew into a thin line, "I apologize for talking without thinking things through, please continue." She timidly responded.


    "I know you are worried about escaping the barrier ced on the school..." He nodded towards the hold bar on the wall.


    Grabbing it, she wondered what he had nned.


    Pulling his coat, he revealed the green gem underneath. Closing his eyes, he chanted iprehensible words. The moment he did so, it gleamed brightly.


    "Wow! They could always do that?" Fae spoke with awe, tworge starsically recing her eyes.


    "You thought I wore this for some sort of fashion?" Mr. Gaviel raised a brow, his eyes still closed but knowing who he was talking with.


    Scratching the back of her head, her actions merely gave the impression she did think in that line. "Well..."


    ''Save it." Mr. Gaviel cut her exnation short, they had no time to waste.


    "Repeat after me," he began, waiting for her confirmation that she was ready.


    With a nod, she eagerly waited for the next line of action.


    ? "Drea je rier."


    "Drea je rier," Fae repeated, but immediately she said the words, it left a bad aftertaste.


    "What was that feeling?" She questioned, her hand scratching her throat.


    "I had transferred a tiny portion of my ability to you¨Cnamely just the part that allows you to pass the barrier with ease and I could keep track of your vitals.


    There was something about the way he exined what he did that made her ufortable.


    Mr. Gaviel realized the face she had as she suddenly zoned out.


    "It isn''t what you think," he shook his hand frantically, "if you encounter any danger I would be there with the call of my name. Remember only in times of danger."


    Letting out a breath of relief, she dreaded the thoughts that popped into her head.


    "Where do I go? I can''t go to my home in the city." She shivered at the thought of being a fugitive on the run.


    "A greenhouse on the outskirts of the city, you would meet a friend of mine. He would know what to do once you pick out a rose and hand it to him."


    ''So cheesy.'' She cringed at the thought of giving a stranger a flower in such a manner. Her mind couldn''t handle all the meaning she ced on that gesture.


    "Is there another way to do that,"


    "We have little time." Mr. Gaviel cut in quickly, the conversation was prolonged to a triggering degree.


    No one was to know what next he had nned.


    "Hit me." He pointed at his cheek, turning the right cheek for her to give a shot.


    Taking a step back, she suddenly thought her teacher had gone crazy with such a request.<sub> </sub>


    "I can''t... won''t!!" She whispered, shaking her head.


    "I need the n I have in mind to be as real as possible." He tried to exin, shaking his head.


    Fae narrowed her eyes at his half-baked information. That definitely didn''t exin what she needed to know.


    "You need a usible escape, one that doesn''t get both of us killed,"


    This sentence proved to appeal to Fae immediately. "I''m listening."


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Dorm 69,


    Standing in front of the door, Lank''s sweat dripped, wondering what he would witness or interrupt.


    "Uhh!" A groan likelying from Nix graced his augmented hearing.


    ''What the heck?!'' He began to dread taking up the message from Fae.


    In all his years of having this ability, he had never thought it could embarrass him in the way he was feeling listening to what was going on behind closed doors.


    "Should I go harder?!"


    "Go a little easy on me," Nix replied to Lumina with another groan escaping his lips right after.


    ''That devil moved so fast on him!'' His cheeks flushed, cupping his hands to cover his ear.


    Clearing his throat, he raised his hand to knock on the door. He was going to wait for them to finish whatever business they were engaging in.


    ''Time to spoil your fun!'' He thought with a snicker.


    Knock!


    He stood awkwardly, waiting for a response.


    He could hear a thud, someone had fallen to the floor.


    ''Come open the door for the cockblocker!'' He prided himself in ruining what he couldn''t attain for the time being.


    Click!


    "Nix!" He greeted in an elevated tone, immediately it fell t at the sight of a bandage all around his forehead.


    ''Did I miss something?'' He titled his head, he had expected to see Nix in a robe at the least.


    To his surprise and shock, he was merely just shirtless and his hand on his bandaged head.


    "What''s going on? Why are you here?" Nix asked in a hoarse voice.


    "First question actually belongs to you, the second I can answer with no stress." He pointed an using finger at Nix.


    There was no way what he had heard and what he was seeing added up.


    To test Nix, he requested Lumina''s presence.


    "I was summoned?!" Lumina popped her head from behind Nix the whole time, to get a glimpse of Lank.


    ''Fully clothed?!''


    Lank''s lips gaped open, shifting nces rapidly. Already condemning the dirty thoughts that crossed his mind earlier.

 Chapter 136 Take A Chill Pill

    "Do you have any reason you came searching for me?" Lumina pushed Nix''s hand ced on the jamb.


    Closing his mouth, he nodded his head as words didn''te at the right time.


    "Let''s hear it." She stared at him, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity.


    "It''s about your friend..."


    "Fae?" Lumina questioned, wanting a reaffirmation of her doubts.


    He nodded his head to her question, "but I can''t say it here." He pointed around the doorpost in which he was.


    "Come in!" She made a flick of her hand.


    "Where do you think you''re going?" Nix obstructed Lank''s entry.


    "Take a chill pill, I am simply following Lumina. What I need to tell her is important and secretive." He said with a wink.


    "Let him in, not like we did anything that would warrant suspicions." Lumina waved her hands.


    ''Well, I guess I thought wrong about all of these.'' Lank whistled, walking in.


    "Since when did you two get back together and act all lovey-dovey." He whispered with the corner of his lips as he passed by Nix.


    "Who says we''re lovey-dovey?" Nix hissed in response.


    "A couple of days ago, you had slept in my dorm, remember?" Lank wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "almost made me thought you were ga¨C"


    "What the heck are you talking about, moron?!" Nix clenched his fist and gave a huge blow to his head.


    Holding his head, he searched his hair with his fingers for any sign of blood, "what in the actual¨C"


    Cross popping veins had made their way up the side of Lumina''s forehead, just by watching these two.


    ''I''m right here you idiots, do I look invisible to you?'' She rapidly tapped her feet on the floor, loud enough to get their attention.


    They both stiffly turned their heads in Lumina''s direction.


    "He started it!" They pointed at one another usingly.


    "Would you like me to jolt your memory?" Lumina threatened, raising her right hand, a lightning bolt rose and fell onto her palm.


    In a bid to sway the conversation away from the road it was bound to lead, he raised his hand, "I have the information that''s of importance."


    "How is Gia?" Lumina cut in, remembering the advice she had given him before leaving.


    "..." He made a sound with gnashed teeth.


    "What?" Lumina questioned, not epting the cackling noise.


    Shaking his head, he cleared his throat. There was something that made him feel like reporting was a big mistake, he was meant to be with them till she had recovered properly.


    "It''s about Fae," he managed to smoothen out his words. The need to get this over with and return was burning on strong.


    "Fae?" She repeated, her anxiety level rising, remembering the task she had given her.


    ''Was I wrong to have left her with Mr. Gaviel?''


    "What about Fae?!" She hissed, generating a static charge at the thought of losing something.


    Fae would never send Lank to deliver an important message, without the urge to do so herself.


    "Woah!" Lank took a step back, his back hitting Nix''s chest.


    "Back up!" Nix pushed Lank off him, "not like she''s going to kill you or anything."


    "You think?" He hissed, wondering if he had been driven by pity to carry out the request.<sub> </sub>


    "What about Fae?!" She raged, walking up to him slowly.


    "Ian is alive but not how you would have imagined it to be." He rted. "That was what I was meant to tell you, she said it was a matter of urgency."


    Lumina let out a gasp, staggering backward.


    Nix rushed over to Lumina''s side, assisting her to steady her weak knees.


    "Who is Ian?" Lank questioned, wondering what the significance of rying such information could do to Lumina.


    From the looks of it, even Nix had a vague idea of what was going on, even his eyes widened like he had heard a ghost story, while he tried tofort Lumina.


    ''Tears?!'' He felt rmed at watching the beautiful devil cry and look so pitiful.


    Snff!


    She drew back snot, wiping her cheeks.


    Stomping her way towards the door, it opened automatically upon her proximity.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" Lank questioned, not wanting to believe the crazy thing she was nning on doing.


    "Get out, now!" She growled.


    Lank shared a nce with Nix and shrugged his shoulders.


    Internally he was happy he would be able to get back to Gia in one piece.


    He had merely walked past her when he felt his cor held by a tight grip, the band digging into his neck.


    "I wasn''t done yet!" She hissed into his ear, enjoying him choking to her action.


    ''What an impossible dream I had.'' Lank began to regret not using his ability to dash out of the room instead.


    "Lead the way." She finally said, releasing her grip on the cor.


    "Why would you want to go¨C"


    "You better do as she says," Nix nodded his head to Lumina''s words. Standing behind her, but close enough to help him out when she had almost strangled him with that action.


    "Sometimes I wonder if we are friends," Lank said with a suppressedugh, massaging his neck.


    "We are," Nix assured him, "but right now, I''m merely trying to save your life and help out pretty face."


    ''You could destroy her if you wanted to, why not do that and help me out?'' Lank''s eyes conveyed as much information as possible to Nix.


    As if understanding what he had thought, Nix shook his head. "You don''t have much patience left for your case."


    Lank gulped, forcing a smile. "What are we waiting for? Let''s head to the beautiful venue." He said through gritted teeth.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    m!


    Lank had readied himself for exining the reason he had done the habitual mming of the infirmary doors to alert his presence.


    "Miss?" Lank called out, an uneasy feeling building up by the silence that made the infirmary almost deafening.


    Lumina and Nix shared a look, not understanding why Fae would be in such a ce.


    Unable to take the uneasiness he felt, he pulled away from the cubicle curtains.


    "F*ck!" Lank cursed immediately heid eyes on what was behind the curtain.

 Chapter 137 This Is A Setup

    Pushing him away, Lumina''s eyes searched the bed. Her brain zoned out for a bit at what she had seen.


    She turned her attention towards Nix who had his mouth gaped open, as shocked as they all were.


    "Mr. Gaviel!" Luka lightly kicked on his side, trying to wake him and minimize injuring him at the same time.


    Lumina stood silent and confused as to why they were brought here. Looking around, the only normal thing that caught her attention was the hospitalized Gia. But where was Fae?


    "Where is Fae?!" She hissed, her anger level rising, thinking he was ying some game.


    "Something isn''t right!" Lank yelled back at her.


    This was much moreplex than it was presented. Fae was gone.


    ''Did she tell me this to get me away from the environment?'' He wondered, leaving an unconscious Mr. Gaviel.


    Walking over to the nurse''s desk, he pped his hand on the tabletop. "Miss..."


    No response.


    "What is going on!" Lank pulled on his hair in frustration. Things had escted more than they were supposed to.


    "Lank!" Lumina yelled in rage, held back by Nix. "So help you!"


    "Miss," he lightly tapped her cheek, her body heaved slightly. "Now isn''t the time to take a healing nap, wake up."


    "Let me go, Nix!" Lumina raged more, and slowly static energy began to pull towards her.


    rmed, Nix let go. He couldn''t contain her with his passive gift while Lank was present.


    ''Just great!'' Nix raised his hands, taking a step back. With Lank present, he was as vulnerable as Lank is.


    He could use neither of his gifts.


    If his fire gift was used, he would risk burning the whole infirmary and the people in it.


    If he used his passive gift, he would risk being put in a tough situation, one he wasn''t ready to go on about exining, or be more of a juicy target for the organization.


    ''I''m sorry Lank, but you''re on your own on this. On the bright side, she won''t kill you.'' He reasoned in his thoughts.


    Instead, he decided to warn his friend of the danger thaty if he didn''t turn around soon.


    "Get away from there!"


    "Whaaa?" Lank had merely just turned when he was tossed aside by Lumina.


    Her glowing eyes cast a look at the sleeping nurse. In need of answers, she gently ced her hand on the nurse''s shoulder.


    "Aaaak¨C Kkkk!" Miss Galena jolted awake with a body spasm.


    Toning down on her powers, Lumina simply stared at thedy, waiting for her to settle her thoughts.


    At that moment, she turned and gave a hard re at Lank, making a cut-throat gesture as if he was lying about where Fae was.


    Lank gulped and looked to Nix for help.


    Nix closed his eyes and nodded, signaling everything would be okay. This time he could handle her if the need arises.


    "What are you doing here?" Miss Galena questioned Lumina in front of her desk.


    Gasp!


    "Did you use your gift on me?!" She hissed, holding the side of her head as a throbbing headache followed instantly.<sub> </sub>


    "I''m sorry, Miss Galena," Lumina replied in a timid voice, reverting to her normal self, forcing a grin.


    ''You two-faced devil!'' Lank''s jaw dropped in disbelief.


    ''That''s pretty face alright.'' Nix chuckled, shaking his head.


    "You had been asleep, it looked almost like you were unconscious and that was the only way to wake you up," Lumina exined, batting hershes and sping her fingers.


    "What brings you three here?" She pulled her hand away from her head so she didn''t seem weak in front of them.


    "Miss?!" Lank protested, she sounded like she had not remembered his visit. The hostility she had disyed earlier had also vanished.


    Something was not right after he had left.


    ''Where the hell is Fae?! How could she be let out?!'' He had a series of questions that needed answering.


    "Yes," Miss Galena replied. "And you are?"


    This dealt a blow to Lank. This was getting too chilly to imagine. If she couldn''t remember who he was, then there was only one answer¨C her mind had been tampered with.


    Lumina looked back at Lank with a frown, "do you think this is a joke?!"


    "This is a setup!" Lank hissed, pissed off by how it all turned out to look like he didn''t know what he had experienced a couple of minutes ago.


    "I totally believe you." Lumina sarcastically replied with a roll of her eyes.


    "What is going on with you all?" Miss Galena questioned, tilting her head she caught sight of Mr. Gaviel unconscious on a bed.


    "What is he doing here?" She pointed, pping her hand on the table.


    Not waiting for an answer, she stormed her way to the side of his bed. "Gaviel, get the hell up!"


    "..."


    "Who brought him here?" She turned to the students, her growing anger increased as her gaze fell on Lank.


    At first, she wondered why she developed some sort of rage when she had her eyes set on him. Nheless, she needed answers and from how it felt, this student knew the answer.


    "It wasn''t me. I swear!" He shook his hand, "he came in through that door with a bang¨C I... I mean with an emergency."


    ''Damn it, what am I even saying?!'' He internally facepalmed at the stupidity that was said a few seconds ago.


    "Miss Galena," Nix finally spoke after moments of silence and observation.


    Even though things seemed rather unclear and suspicious, he believed in Lank. Something didn''t feel right and it almost looked like the same way he had acted when he had woken up in this world.


    Lost...


    Confused...


    The very action he had portrayed when told he was someone he wasn''t.


    "Could you tell us thest thing you remember?" He said calmly, hoping to appeal to reason, better than the other two could.


    [Congrattions you have unlocked a new trait: Charisma. The ability to influence without the use of logic]


    ''Cool!'' Nix thought with a smirk ying its way to his lips, it had been a while since he had seen another trait being unlocked.


    [Trait usage: Charisma in effect]


    Folding his arms, his eyes glowed momentarily, passing on the message he had just said as a signal, influencing her to rte as much as she could remember.

 Chapter 138 Im Not Crazy

    She exhaled, trying to calm her thoughts before she replied.


    "I remember when this student was brought here." She pointed at Giaying on the bed. Her thoughts could only recall seeing her.


    "And?" Lank interrupted, angered by the fact that he was the very person who had brought her, so there was no way she was meant to forget his existence so quickly.


    "Excuse me!" Miss Galena said with a heavy tone of voice, pointing a finger and moving it around.


    Raising his hands over his head, Lank prepared to give up on all that had happened. If this looks like a game to her.


    Nix furrowed his brows. Nothing added up and things did seem pointless.


    "Could you tell me why you were unconscious on your desk?" Nix questions.


    "I think I was hit... Uh... It was a strange feeling." She replied only to him.


    "She was meant to be with Mr. Gaviel and Mrs. Neider," Lumina interjected. "Why is he the only one we see here and not Fae?!"


    "Would you shut the hell up, I am as confused as you are!!" Lank spat.


    For a moment Lumina was stunned by his outburst.


    "She was over there," he pointed at where Mr. Gaviel slept, still unconscious. "She was over there..." he repeated as his voice trailed off.


    "I am not crazy." He mumbled, dropping to his knees and staring at Mr. Gaviel, wishing he would wake up soon.


    Nix squatted by the side of Lank, cing a hand on his shoulder. "I believe you, you don''t have to beat yourself up for it. We''d get through this together." He assured with a smile.


    Lank''s tense muscles eased with his words, it felt like water had doused his heated nerves.


    "Thank you." Lank patted Nix''s hand and smiled.


    Standing up, Nix looked over to miss Galena. "Could you please go back to your desk and take a quick nap?"


    Nodding her head to his words, she walked back to her desk and ced her head down.


    Slowly she drifted back to sleep.


    ''An ability of a fire rank?!'' Lank''s mouth gaped open at what he had seen. If he hadn''t been the one to have knocked on their dorm door, he would have thought Nix was behind all of this.


    "What the hell was that?" Lumina hissed, shocked by the easy way he had been able to get information from her and order her to get back to where she was.


    What he did was not normal. Given Miss Galena''s temper, it wasn''t that easy for a student to cajole her to do anything, other than appealing.


    "What was what?" He tilted his head, confused by the usation posed to him.


    Folding her arms, frowning. Several things confused the shit out of her at that point.


    First, it was the news about her brother being alive but not in the way she imagined? Coupled with Fae going missing. Second, does Nix have some sort of ability that could control people?


    "What other abilities do you have?" He did a brief body scan at him, wary about being a victim of what she had seen happen.<sub> </sub>


    ''Pretty face, this isn''t an ability, per se.'' He smiled at her question, refusing to answer.


    ring daggers at him, it almost reminded her of how he would seamlessly deflect her gift. Her res were not having the right hold on him that she had expected.


    He was meant to feel guilty, tensed at the least. Instead, he had a big grin and it looked like it only increased gradually as she stared.


    Unable to break eye contact, she spoke to Lank. "Why was she here?"


    Lank raised his head to her question. If he were to say what had happened to her, she would only get more cranky than she already was.


    "She wanted to pay a visit to Gia like Mr. Gaviel wanted to." He lied.


    Finally being able to break eye contact with the strange exnation she had heard, she gave full attention to Lank.


    "Do I look like a fool to you?!" She hissed. "I had given her a task back in ss which involved Mr. Gaviel and Mrs. Neider."


    Lank simply shrugged at her words. There was no way that he could exin what was going on, "think whatever you want to think. I delivered the message and that''s fine by me."


    Looking around, Nix shook his head. They were caught in a tight position, one that they couldn''t easily decipher.


    From what he had heard from Lank, it seemed the answersy with Mr. Gaviel. All they needed to do was wake him up.


    "Lumina, that''s enough. He said he doesn''t know." Nix pulled her back.


    "But my brother¨C"


    ''Her brother?'' Lank did a double-take. All the dots began to connect in his thoughts. The anger she had felt seemed to be a bit justified.


    "I had thought you were an only child." Lank interrupted, guilty about what he had said earlier.


    Lumina red at him for jumping to such a conclusion. Even though she had not said anything about her past to anyone apart from Fae, that wasn''t a go-ahead to term her the only child.


    "If you had asked, maybe you might have known!" Lumina spat.


    "Clues..." Lumina began, pacing about as she was in deep thought on what she needed to do.


    "The ssroom!" She eximed. Walking at her top speed and towards the said ce.


    Nix and Lank followed in tow.


    m!


    Immediately they had gone towards the ssroom, Mr. Gaviel opened his eyes slightly.


    He let out a groan that he had kept at bay while they were present. "That foolish boy almost blew my cover."


    Frowning he looked over at Gia who was still unconscious and gave a hush sign to her as if she could hear all that had transpired.


    ''This is the only way. Please be safe, Fae.'' He thought with a sigh. Recreating his position he had been since they had entered.

 Chapter 139 Try Not To Get Killed

    "I''ll be damned." Lank walked into the ssroom after he had seen Nix and Lumina go in as well.


    "You can say that again." Lumina was quick to agree with his words. There were a lot of things that had gone on while they were absent.


    "Look over there." Lank pointed at a corner of the ss which had blood stains and a part of a table ruined.


    "What happened here?" Nix questioned, suddenly curious about the bloodstains. It was obvious there was a fight that had not ended well.


    What was much more suspicious was the fact that no one knew of what transpired.


    "That''s for Mr. Gaviel to exin," Lumina replied through gritted teeth.


    Making a U-turn, she stormed her way back to the infirmary ready to jolt their teacher awake. "Academy rules or not, I''ve had enough of this confusion."


    "Here we go again!" Lank rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh of displeasure at the distance they would have to cover by going back.


    "Nix?" Lank called on him. He was fixated on a spot and not responding.


    Looking over his shoulder, he waved his hands to them, "you go without me, I need to take care of something."


    Reluctant to leave, Lumina stared at him. "We wouldn''t leave until youe along."


    Shaking his head, he refused those words, there was an odd feeling he was getting. If this persisted, they might end up being in a serious situation, one he wasn''t so sure he could go all out if they were present.


    "Leave!" He hissed, his eyes searching the area quickly.


    "Maybe we should go." Lank pulled on Lumina''s arm.


    He had learned the hard way to question Nix''s motives. It was best to wait and see what was the result of such decisions.


    Deep down, this was the only way in which he could return to be at Gia''s side. She was currently the only person that felt sane to him.


    The person who he calls friend, and the pretty devil were all crazy in their own right.


    "Fine," Lumina said, her voice dropped in disappointment.


    Scrunching her nose, she raised her chin and scoffed.


    Lank had wanted to follow Lumina immediately, but paused and spoke about his concerns.


    "Whatever it is that you''re going to do, given that it''s you, we''re talking about." Lank facepalmed. "Try not to get killed."


    "Is there ever a time that''s ever an option?" Nix chuckled, "care more about getting the right information and keeping them all safe while at it."


    "What about you?" Lank asked, worried about the oue of whatever was about to her face. "I could say to you, I''m not as weak as you think of me."


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    "I would never doubt your capabilities, but right now isn''t the time for some chitchat,"


    He made a ring of fire at the sound of an iing threat.


    "Now go!" He yelled in a matter of urgency.


    With a final nod of understanding, Lank closed the door and made his way toward the infirmary.


    ''He''s going to be safe, I know it!'' Lank thought as he ran at his top speed to catch up with Lumina.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C<sub> </sub>


    Clenching his fists and releasing them, Nix prepares for the worst that could happen. The aura he detected was greatly different from what he assumed it would be.


    Whoever or whatever it was, it wasn''t like anything he had faced.


    "Come out," Nix turned to his right and faced the wall and out the window. "I know you''re there."


    Shooting a fireball in that direction, the person deactivated the ability and made herself visible.


    Her lips pursed in a smirk at his ability to detect her presence.


    p!


    p!


    "Bravo, fire ranker." Her angelic voice broke the tension in the air.


    Nix''s hands clenched and his teeth gritted to her words.


    "It''s Nix, stupid!" He snapped, irritated by the vague reference.


    She let out a gasp and ced her hand on her chest and pretended to be hurt by his words.


    She pushed back a strand of her gray wavy hair behind her ear.


    She wears a long-sleeved bodysuit, hugging tightly to her well-defined curves. The bodysuit had a heart-shaped opening on her chest, giving ample visual of her firm cleavage. ck ankle-strap sandals wrap her long slender legs in ck fis stockings.


    "I hope you love stupid, cause I could be one if you''d like." She took a step forward, walking in a catlike motion.


    Bringing her hands together, she used to push up her bust.


    Nix hissed in irritation at what was ying before him. "I advise you to stop what you''re doing and tell me why you are here."


    "At least have some fun." She said with a pout. Biting on her bottom lip.


    Wary about his surroundings, his eyes searched around for possible clues on what might have prompted the arrival of this strangedy.


    Smiling, Nix shook his head. "I would have more fun if you join me in doing some chores,"


    Looking over towards the broken desk, "would you like to clean up the blood with your body, maybe?"


    She tilted her head in confusion at his possible words. "If that pleases you."


    Internally facepalming, Nix felt the urge to strangle this strangedy. She was getting on his nerves, even more than Ayanami.


    "Where are my manners?" Thedy brushed her bodysuit, her hands trailing down her curves seductively. Her eyes locked on Nix, gauging his response to what she was doing.


    "I''m Aer." She said slowly, letting the words roll off her tongue.


    ''Gift or magic?'' Nix wondered, trying to gauge her ability from what he had seen.


    She had the ability to be invisible, but what could be the form? Why was her aura on a dangerous level, even for him?


    The thought of that made his skin crawl. This was a grim reminder that he needed to level up faster and gain more experience.


    "Do I look so desirable to you that you stare at me so well?" Aer said with a smirk, throwing a kiss his way.

 Chapter 140 Leave While You Still Can

    Nix cringed at the way Aer acted towards him. If she was trying to flirt, she would get a big F.


    ''Be careful, pretty face might set your body on fire.'' He thought with a smirk.


    "I''ve seen more trees with curves than what I''m seeing." Nixughed at her futile effort. A part of him wanted to continue with the taunts.


    Aer frowned at the obvious disregard for her efforts. She had been sent by the organization to get rid of anyone who had managed to get in touch with the evidence before it was cleaned.


    Immediately she had set eyes on him, she felt smitten by the intense power his body gave.


    Her pink eyes glowed with fury at his disregard. She was considered a temptress back in the organization and adored by most.


    The more she thought about his attitude towards her, her anger zed, and the once smitten Aer slowly died off in that respect.


    "Are you referring to me?!" She growled, her body blending in with the environment as her ability activated, making it seem like she had only a few parts of her body visible.


    Nix smiled at the activation of Aer''s ability, "finally I get to see the better part of you." He snickered, unintentionally escting the issue more than it already was.


    Her invisibility was much more appealing to his eyes¨C ironically.


    Although he knew what she was doing was going to be a dangerous move, he felt the thrill of adrenaline at the thought of what he was going through.


    His hands zed with fire, "I hope you aren''t too angered by my words."


    She had only her face visible to him, but there was something that wasn''t right about the way she smiled at him.


    Aer''s brows wiggled as she looked down at a magic circle she had cast.


    With horror-stricken eyes, he looked down at the pink magic circle he was caught in. The pink glow spiraled around him before converging into a beam that shot upwards.


    "Not agai¨C"


    Zzzpp!


    He was immediately sucked into the circle.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Thud!


    Cough!


    Cough!


    Blowing on the dust that rose into the air with his hand.


    Nix let out a groan which echoed andsted for a few seconds longer.


    ''Zoar?'' He wondered if it was the very ce he had been transported to in the past.


    Pushing himself up, he wasn''t rmed by what he was going to see. It couldn''t be anything as bad as Zoar. If he could ce his bet, he would go for this very ce as being the one which he had been in.


    Scratch that...


    ''You gotta be kidding me.'' Nix stared into darkness, lowering his head immediately and having a rethink about his whole life''s achievement.


    ''Darkness, really? You turn invisible and they transport me to a ce where I''m like nothing but a mole?'' He frowned.


    Shooting a wave of me in the direction of where he had felt a change in the air. He cursed at the echoing snicker.


    "Face me if you know you have it in you!" He yelled in a particr direction of his choosing.<sub> </sub>


    At first, he had not understood how and why she was considered dangerous by his senses. Not until he felt a cut on his cheek.


    His hand immediately shot up to his cheek, rmed by her capability to get closer to him without his knowledge.


    "Hahaha!" Her voice echoed, fueling his anger the more it repeated to his hearing.


    "You''re special," Aer began, her voice suddenly turning shady and like it was a convergence of two voices.


    ''Coming from you, I would not ept your debasedpliment aimed only at sweet talk me into falling for some trap."


    Ignoring his words, she continued. "Yet, you''re hindering yourself from essing your true potential."


    "Who sent you?!" Nix growled in rage, randomly shooting his mes in the proposed shift in the wind pattern.


    He hated the fact that he couldn''t hear a single clip-clop sound of her heels, he began to wonder if she was floating.


    Acting on reflex, he sidestepped. The sound he had heard right after caused a shiver to run down his spine.


    A shattering sound shook the walls, the floor reverberating the very disturbance.


    Shooting a fireball in the direction in which that sound had been caused. He was able to get a nce at a pink glowing metal.


    ''What is that?!'' He wondered, immediately dodging another aimed at him.


    The only advantage he had over this new upgrade to her tactics was it was a piece ofrger equipment that was bound to make more noise.


    Sweat dripping, he needed all the abilities he could at his disposal.


    A wicked thought crossed his mind as he calcted his next move.


    [Hearing augmentation activated]


    ''You''re so screwed!'' He felt a calm wash over him in an instant.


    [Gift: Fire deactivated]


    "If I were you," Nix said in a loud voice, assured she was aware of what he was saying.


    ''Which I never will dare think of.'' His thoughts countered.


    "I would leave while I still can." He offered one chance for her to change her mind.


    "..."


    To his disappointment, he didn''t get a response from her. It felt like she knew the sort of word game he was ying.


    ''Fine, have it your way.''


    Taking arge inhale of air and exhaling immediately, he concentrated on the ability he could use his passive gift.


    [Passive gift: in effect]


    Aer watched him with keen eyes, her right palm creating a F¨±ma Shuriken she had been throwing in his direction.


    ''You would regret disrespecting me,'' she gritted her teeth, deliberating not to make any sound that could give her away.


    Nix had his eyes closed, with his ears picking on her presence almost instantly, detecting her breathing behind him.


    ''Gotcha!'' He opened his eyes, ready to counterattack what she had nned for him. He was d that he could use his passive gift without any surveince.

 Chapter 141 Shit List

    Bam!


    Aer was left in shock at what had happened to her.


    She felt a force pull her to the floor, forcing her to crouch. She ced her hand on the floor, trying to force herself back up.


    "What is this?!" She groaned, fighting back with the force that had a great toll on her.


    Letting out a sigh, Nix smiled as he was finally able to hear her voice which only confirmed his suspicions earlier.


    ''She was levitating.'' He concluded his thoughts.


    Unable to hold on much longer, Aer''s arms weakened and she let go, the force mming her to the ground, causing rubles to fly up in the air.


    Tzzzn!


    Nix looked to the left as a source of light illuminated the once dark enclosure.


    Tzzzn!


    Nix looked behind him as another source of light illuminated, causing the room to get brighter.


    Stretching out his arms, he let out a satisfying breath of relief at getting the one thing he missed¨C being able to see once more.


    "There''s nothing like light needed to brighten up one''s day," Nix spoke as he looked down at Aer who had scratch marks from the initial struggle.


    ''What do I do with you?'' He rubbed his chin as he took a leg over her. With both legs by her side, he squatted so he could have a better look at her face.


    "Actually you don''t look that bad." Hemented with a nod. He was about to pull her up and throw her over his shoulder when he heard a noise, one that wasing at a distance.


    His eyes widened in shock at an iing weapon attack.


    At just the right moment, he caught sight of the weaponing at him, he looked behind him for possible ways for him to escape.


    "Don''t bother, it''s a dead end." Aer''s eyes opened, revealing she had faked being unconscious, just to draw him out in the right ce.


    Her hands gripped his leg tightly and her legs crossed over him to keep him in ce, her pink eyes glowing and waiting for the right moment before he would be hit by her projectile.


    Nix grimaced from the tight grip on his leg. Raising his other leg, he gave Aer a kick to her stomach. To his dismay, she had created a magic circle that had blocked his kick, leaving her unharmed.


    "Ha!" Sheughed at his effort.


    "Let go of me, you narcissistic psycho!" Nix yelled, angered that she had shown no sign of letting go of him. Her grip was frighteningly strong and almost suicidal.


    Looking down he gritted his teeth at the annoying magic circle he was standing on, wondering how she had managed to cast it with such speed.


    ''You''ve got to be kidding me!'' He yelled in his thoughts in frustration.


    This experience only scarred his mindset on how he viewed females in this world.


    Trying to use his hand to grab hold of her, but since his legs couldn''t move, he cursed at her counterattack to his action.<sub> </sub>


    She created a magic barrier around her and his leg, preventing him from holding her while she prepared for the worse that was yet toe.


    "I would be as stupid as possible so you can love me." She snickered, clutching onto his leg firmly and maintaining her hold on it while focusing the majority of her ability on keeping it that way.


    "Are you trying to kill us both?!" He freaked out, trying his hardest to move but couldn''t.


    "Are you afraid of dying?" She countered, a devilish smirk on her lips as she spoke.


    ''Afraid of dying is an understatement,'' Nix rolled his eyes at her question, more focused on how he was going to break free from the bondage he was in.


    Time wasn''t enough for him to dodge this attack if his leg was still magically fixated to the spot.


    ''It''s official, you''re on my shitty list.'' He thought, noting down her name and face in his mind.


    Once he gets out of this somehow, he was going to make sure she regrets messing with him. He would do far worse than what Lank had done to Ayanami.


    ''No mercy!'' was his motto as he thought of the possible options that wereid out to him.


    [Congrattions, you have unlocked the shit list]


    Even though Nix was in such a life-threatening situation, it took all it had in him not to burst out inughter at what the interface had written.


    No matter how he thought about it, it was better said than reading. ''Shit list, huh?!''


    "Let''s die together." Aer interrupted his line of thought, she felt d that she had finally gotten a way of outsmarting and killing a fire rank.


    Nix raised the corner of his lips in disgust at the smirk on her pink lips.


    "Maybe in the afterlife we would-be lovers." She said on one final note.


    "Uproot and bury that forsaken thought from your mind," Nix growled in response, agitated by all she had said from the onset.


    "It''s toote to dispute, don''t you think?" Aer wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.


    The F¨±ma Shuriken''s des cut through the air with a hissing sound. There was little reaction time.


    Sweat dripping, he was a little anxious about taking the only possible way. Left with no choice, he activated another skill of his passive gift.


    ''I''m so going to regret thister on.'' He internally facepalmed at what he was going to do next. If it meant preserving his life, he was going to incorporate it immediately.


    [Passive gift: Telekic Maneuver in effect]


    Altering the F¨±ma Shuriken''s directional course, it was deflected, one of its des plunging into the ground with a hard thrust.


    Aer''s eyes were closed as she had prepared to die, but when what she had heard nor felt nothing happen, she opened her eyes, confused.


    Knocking on her barrier to get her attention. "Hello there, it would seem that the afterlife only has one slot."

 Chapter 142 Not Convinced

    She let out a gasp of disbelief at what had happened.


    "That''s impossible!" She hissed, still refusing to let go. It was more than obvious that if she were to let go, he could do more wonders than she had seen.


    ''It''s a good thing he doesn''t know the full extent of his rank yet.'' Aer thought with a smile. If he did, she would have been toast before she could counterattack.


    [Passive gift: Telekic Maneuver deactivated]


    Uninterested in prolonging the fight any longer, he resorted to using his fire evolution stats.


    [Solid me maniption]


    [Liquid me maniption]


    [Gaseous me maniption]


    ''Gaseous me maniption.'' He thought of the third option, the thrill of choosing thest one, wanting to see to what extent this evolution could take his gift.


    Aer felt something was wrong with the way Nix didn''t focus on her anymore, it almost felt like she didn''t exist as he concentrated on something invisible even to her.


    Immediately Nix had chosen his option, it blew a gust of hot air at him, his hair blowing backward.


    [Gaseous me maniption]


    [Ability to a create gust ofbustible air]


    Aer''s body trembled in fear, the moment she felt the intimidating force of the gust of hot air that brushed past her.


    Regret set in as she contemted her actions, whatever upgrade he had acquired in a matter of seconds, this was a dangerous treading she had ced herself in.


    Visible steam escaped from the nose of Nix, opening his mouth, a steam ring popped out.


    Raising his hand, he opened his palm and clenched it immediately. The steam followed his hand movements and engulfed his fist.


    This feeling almost felt like he was high in the clouds, his body as light as a feather.


    His eyes glowed a faint blue, a ring of glowing white on his iris. Looking down at Aer, he had a devilish grin as a wicked thought came to mind.


    "Remember when I had told you there was only one slot?" Nix questioned his demeanor and action a bit unsettling.


    He managed to squat to meet her at eye level and lock gazes even though there was a barrier covering her.


    Aer gulped, fear gripping her by the throat. She forced herself to stop her hands from letting go of his leg.


    She wondered how he was able to move his leg to squat. This only made her feel like her magic circle had no hold on him anymore.


    ''If he can move... that means¨C'' She immediately pushed back and away from him.


    Getting to her feet, she immediately turned invisible. The lights that had popped on, switched off again, leaving both in darkness.


    The corner of Nix''s lips raised at her futile attempt to catch him unawares.


    His eyes stared at her, being able to see in the darkness and directly at his target through heat signatures that his eyes had unlocked due to the evolution.<sub> </sub>


    "How far do you think you could go before I get you?" Nix snickered, locking his gaze on her but pretending otherwise.


    He watched as she took light steps to the right. In her right hand, she was conjuring another one of those F¨±ma Shurikens again.


    ''Oho ho no you don''t!'' Nix shook his head, not waiting for her toplete her dangerous move.


    Pinpointing her heat signatures, he clenched his finger, targeting the very ces which gave off more heat than the rest.


    Slowly the heat in her body began to get sucked at great speed.


    Aer''s hand stiffened, shattering the process of creating another F¨±ma Shuriken, she wondered what could be the cause of what had happened to her right hand all of a sudden.


    Nix slowly took a step forward every time she let out a low groan at the strange urrence on her body.


    Shivers coursed through her body. Unable to bear it anymore, she wrapped her hands around herself as tight as possible.


    "What. are. you..." She began but couldn''t continue anymore, focusing much of her attention on rubbing her hands on her side, seeking warmth.


    Choosing not to respond, he left strategic heat signatures on her body so he could still pinpoint her location, but enough to force her to be immobile and vulnerable.


    Aer had heard his footsteps so close that the moment she raised her head, she felt his grip on her neck.


    p He pushed her up against the wall, raising her with one hand. Her legs dangled in the air.</anda>


    To her surprise, she felt warmth from his palms.


    "Mmmmm!" She brought out her tongue in satisfaction with the warmth Nix unintentionally provided.


    Frowning, Nix could see her heat signatures return and spread from her neck to her torso with just one grip.


    Immediately letting go, he cursed at the fact that he couldn''t touch her if he wanted her to suffer not having the privilege of having warmth.


    "No... Please!" Aer called out, crawling and reaching out to him.


    Dodging her efforts, Nix squatted, giving at least three feet of distance between the both of them.


    "Do you want some warmth?!" He questioned, knowing the answer she would give.


    Without a doubt, she nodded her head to his question, "I would answer! I swear I will." She vowed, feeling the right side of her body stiffen, underneath her skin, she could feel tiny piercing cold needles jab at her constantly.


    "I am not convinced." Nix shook his head, feigning disinterest. Getting to his feet, he was about to proceed and leave when he heard her call out desperately.


    "I would do anything, just... just please take this feeling away." She begged.


    Closing his eyes momentarily, he nodded to her request.


    "Any change of heart would earn you a straight ticket to the afterlife, do you get that?" He warned, having a feeling she had some sneaky trick up her sleeves.


    She bobbed her head continuously to his warning. "I wouldn''t dare do such a thing, now please..."


    Walking close to her, he pulled her in for a hug, feeling her bust press against his body.

 Chapter 143 Dont Trust Anyone

    "Don''t take this the wrong way." He cautioned, ufortable with the moans that escaped her lips.


    She bopped her head, the only thought on her mind was to get back the warmth she felt.


    "Now that''s enough!" Nix pulled her away, clearing his throat and backing away.


    "But..." She hesitated, realizing how she sounded and hated herself for that.


    "Now fulfill your end of the bargain." He folded his arms, "or you know what would happen to you."


    Aer felt a gust of hot air push back her hair. Immediately the force had stopped, and parts of her hair came rushing back and into her mouth.


    "I get it!" She spat out her hair, tying it with a few strands of her hair and rolling it up into a messy bun.


    "Get me out of this shit hole!" He ordered, feeling helpless being trapped in the darkness with nothing other than relying on his augmentation.


    "I will do that now, but is that¨C"


    "Tell me, why were you there?" Nix cut in, realizing if they were out, she might make use of the opportunity to escape.


    Aer''s lips opened and closed several times, no matter how she wanted to tone that down, there was an underlying fact that she would spill too much information with just that question.


    "I was sent there." She replied, knowing the question that would follow.


    "Who sent you? and what is their..." Nix paused, shaking his head at the question he was going to ask. What he needed was a more direct approach.


    "What is the name of this person who is referred to as ''master''?" He questioned, recollecting what he had heard one of the teachers blurt out when the dark cloak was sucked out.


    Aer''s body stiffened under the direct approach of such a question, what''s more, he knew how they referred to their leader.


    ''How did he know? Who made a slip?'' She made a quick calction in her thoughts.


    "Don''t look too shocked." Nix clicked his tongue, shaking his head.


    "We aren''t allowed the privilege to know his name." She said with a pout and avoiding eye contact as much as possible.


    "Is that so?" Nix questioned, clenching his fist and pulling on her warmth.


    "I swear, I''m not lying!" She called out in desperation in keeping her warm.


    "What''s his purpose?" He switched to a much more prying question.


    Aer swallowed hard, this question had her in a tight corner. If she were to reveal even the little she knew inparison to the others, she was as good as dead once she''s identified as a mole in the organization.


    "He needs a certain object to get something in return." She replied vaguely once more, angering Nix.


    Aer let out a hiss at the jabbing pain under her skin. She would rather endure the pain than spill more than that.


    [Trait usage: Charisma in effect]


    "What is his n?" He stressed, enforcing a hold on her to spill the truth.


    ''I''m as good as dead if I say much more!'' She held his gaze, choosing to rather defy him than her master.


    ''Why isn''t this working?!'' Nix thought in frustration, then his eyes trailed to a faint glow on her chest. Looking away so he wouldn''t be termed a pervert.


    "Then I guess you''ve made your choice." Nix let out a sigh of disappointment.


    [Trait usage: Charisma deactivated]


    Sisisi!


    Nix''s ears picked up on the hissing sound caused by a metal object.<sub> </sub>


    Sidestepping at just the right moment, two throwing knives brushed past him.


    Giving them a bit of a push with his gust of hot air, they propelled forward, one lodging in Aer''s shoulder and the other in her neck.


    Blood trailed the corner of her upturned lips. She closed her right eye in pain.


    "Nix..." She tried to speak, spurting out blood this time.


    Not flinching, he simply watched her struggle to stay alive.


    Spreading out her hand, she cast a magic circle simr to the one she had used to suck him in.


    "Don''t trust anyone." She warned, "if... if... you..."


    Gasping for breath, she began to convulse.


    Nix was still fixated on the spot, this was the first time he had caused the death of a human, and his eyes merely widened in horror.


    Doing a quick analysis of what could make her react so violently to the stabs she had gotten.


    Squinting his eyes, he could see some sort of purple liquid dripping from the jagged edge of the throwing knives.


    ''Poison!'' He deduced and frowned at the only possible exnation.


    "Ahhh!" She let out an ear-piercing scream in pain.


    "Go!!!" She yelled at him, forcing her magic to stabilize just to allow him to escape.


    Nix looked at her with sad eyes, as much as she had deserved what she was passing through, a part of him still wished there was a way to save her, she could help in his goal.


    "It''s better this way," she said with a forced grin, turning invisible so he couldn''t see her facial expression.


    "Na... na!" She tried to speak, but a gasp followed.


    Her invisibility was deactivated, revealing a lifeless body. Her pink ne gem which had been hidden between her cleavage spread into a throbbing vein-like chain and stabbed into her body, draining her of her magic.


    ''That glow was from a gem? It blocked my hold on her?'' He pieced the information together.


    "No!!!" Nix yelled at the horrific death ying out, his urge to head over there was cut short when he realized the once glowing magic circle was beginning to flicker.


    Deactivating his gifts and hearing augmentation, he was left drained.


    Left with no choice, he ran towards the magic circle, just in time to transport him back to the ssroom.


    Zzzpp!


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Opening his eyes, Nix shielded his eyes immediately from the blinding light. Staying in the dark for that long had made him sensitive to the light.


    Slowly he began to open his eyes, so he could search for what hade of the ss.


    ''Arranged?!'' He was as confused as ever.


    He had tried to walk to the door, only to stagger and hold himself up by leaning on the wall.


    His mind trailed to what Aer had done to his leg. Facepalming, he could only me her for what he would have to endure for a while as he gradually felt blood rush back to his feet.


    Walking at his own pace, he locked the door behind him, head-on straight to the infirmary. "Please be safe."

 Chapter 144 Cut The Act

    "Not you too!" Lumina frowned at the haggard state Nix was in, the moment he showed up at the door.


    Nix looked around, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, causing him to force a smile on his lips.


    "I''m d." He mumbled, staggering forward.


    "Woah! Easy." Lank sprinted towards his side to hold him up.


    "You encountered trouble didn''t you?" Lank whispered into Nix''s ears.


    With a nod, he gave a slight chuckle at Lank''s words.


    Assisting him to an empty bed, Lank took a step back to allow Lumina some privacy with him.


    "Lumina how about you create one of those electric field thingniys."


    Lumina looked over her shoulder and gave a raise of her brows to his suggestion.


    Raising his hand in surrender, he tried to rify what he had just said. "What I meant to say, was you should cover you both so you can say one of those cheesy lines to one ano¨Cyikes!"


    He jumped and dodged one of her lightning strikes aimed at him.


    "Did you just try to zap me?" He questioned with a pout, blinking his eyes like an innocent child requesting a favor.


    Disgusted by his pestering, she went along with his suggestion.


    A tiny branch of chain-like electricity buzzed and engulfed Nix and Lumina in its field.


    Lowering the intensity of the field, so she could brief Lank on the dangers of getting close to what she had created.


    "Any mistake on touching this if your rank is lower than mine¨Cwhich it is, would charge your whole body and I assure you, it''s not in the right ways." She exined, her eyes trailing down to his crotch.


    Lank felt self-conscious just by that stare and subconsciously, his hands covered his crotch.


    "You know how to maintain an upbuilding conversation." Lank sarcastically responded and chuckled, covering up his ufortableness.


    Rolling her eyes to his words and turned her attention back to Nix, increasing the intensity to its max, blocking out any sound or disturbance.


    "Call me when you both need something, beautiful devil!" He teased, knowing she couldn''t have heard what he said, pulling the curtain.


    Turning his attention towards the bed on the other side of the infirmary. Taking his time to get close to the person he had in mind.


    His ws protruded, a wicked smile on his lips as he stared down at Mr. Gaviel.


    "I know you''re not asleep nor unconscious." He said in a hushed whisper.


    No response...


    ''You want to y this game, huh?'' He thought with a smirk.<sub> </sub>


    He had wanted to apply this method for a while, all he was considering was Mr. Gaviel spilling what he didn''t want Lumina knowing in her moment of weakness.


    If she knew Fae was carried in, injured, she would blow a fuse; one that would be shared by many. Until he could understand what was going on, it was best to keep Lumina in the dark.


    "Mr. Gaviel, you are one of my favorite teachers," he looked at his ws and then back at Mr. Gaviel who was trying his hardest to still his body.


    Lank''s ears readily picked the thumping sound of Mr. Gaviel''s racing heart.


    "Would you like for that statement to be in the form of a past tense, Sir?" He leaned forward, grazing on Mr. Gaviel''s face ever so lightly.


    His grin revealed his long canine as his red eyes glowed. There was one thing he had enjoyed while he bullied others, the joy he had derived while establishing the territory over all he trampled on came rushing back tenfold.


    Given it was a teacher who was as helpless as the other weak students, his adrenaline pumped.


    ''Thank your lucky stars I''m merely trying to calm my tendencies because of Nix.''


    His thoughts trailed to different scenarios of what Nix could do to him if he was caught bullying others.


    Shivering at that thought, he shook his head to rid of those thoughts off his head. He deemed what he was doing, right in his eyes. All he needed was answers, only then would blood not be drawn.


    Mr. Gaviel stirred and turned his sleeping position so he could face the other way and away from Lank''s hard re.


    ''Are you f*cking kidding me? Am I a joke to you?!'' He let out a low growl.


    "Mr. Gaviel do you know what could happen to you if she knows Fae was in your arms all bloody? I might as well bring that up and add that you buried her before I could get back with them and pretended to be unconscious to hide your tracks." He threatened.


    ''He wouldn''t dare!'' Mr. Gaviel said in his thoughts, not bothering to concern himself with what Lank was saying.


    Deactivating his ability, he let out a sigh and looked above and stared at the white ceiling for a while. Wiping his hand down his face, he nodded to the fate Mr. Gaviel had chosen.


    "Oooo! I like a good dare." Lank rubbed his palms, nodding his head, he was about to walk by and carry out what he had intended to do.


    Lank had reasoned, that if he put it the way he had practiced in his head and exined, taking it as the only resort left if he was caught in a tight situation, the me would fall hard on Mr. Gaviel.


    p ''You''re so screwed, Sir!'' He smiled at the thought.</anda>


    "Wait!"


    He heard a whispere from Mr. Gaviel.


    His lips curved into a smirk as he turned around to listen to what Mr. Gaviel had to say.


    "My word!" He eximed, feigning ignorance to his obvious pretense. "You''re finally awake, it''s a miracle!" He exaggerated with a heavy ent.


    Mr. Gaviel let out a sigh, looking to the left and right, confirming there were no prying eyes on him except those of Lank, at the moment.


    "Cut the act!" Mr. Gaviel warned, irritated by Luka ruining his well-thought-out n. "What do you want to know? If it''s within my capacity I would respond ordingly."

 Chapter 145 Something In Common

    "Let''s be generous, you have a big capacity that could amodate all I need to know." Lank countered.


    Mr. Gaviel shook his head, he had made a big mistake by stopping Lank from doing what he had threatened.


    "It depends on what you''re asking." He replied, folding his arms.


    Rubbing his palms he snickered at the thought that crossed his mind.


    "What happened to Fae when you had brought her in?" He whispered, still unsure if Lumina''s barrier was trustworthy when it came to filtering out sounds.


    Making a hushed hand, he pointed in the direction of where the two love birds were catching on the lost time together.


    Narrowing his eyes, he turned his attention back to Lank. "Is that really important?"


    "I guess I''d just call someone more interested in her whereabouts than I am." He shrugged, stomping his feet and heading towards Lumina.


    "Wait!" Mr. Gaviel called out once more, gritting his teeth right after.


    Taking a few steps back, Lank hummed and smirked at how he was able to get away with this once more.


    "You four have something inmon."


    "Excuse me?" Lank did a double-take on what he had heard.


    "Me... who, who and who?" Lank pointed at himself and the rest he couldn''t ce them so pointed to his side.


    Mr. Gaviel shook his head at having to watch Lank y stupid in front of him and facepalmed as he thought of the best way of putting it in its simplest term.


    <o>,m "The organization gives a special preference to Nix, lumina, Gia and you¨Ceven though you are the stupid one of the bunch." He mumbled on thetter part.</o>


    Lank''s brow twitched in response to what he had heard. He shed his teeth at Mr. Gaviel, making him feel ufortable with his actions.


    "Mr. Gaviel," he began, trying his hardest to stay calm. "You seem to forget I have better hearing than the average human¨Cnot that you should care or anything."


    Sweat dripping, Mr. Gaviel''s heart raced, recalling what he had said earlier.


    "Whatever you might have heard is mere whispers going around." He tried to justify his speech, feeling he had toyed with his speech recklessly.


    Lank shook his head at his pathetic attempt at convincing him otherwise.


    "That''s not the reason I called your attention to that aspect," he rted.


    "Why is the organization giving preference to just the three of us?" Lank was curt as he asked.


    "You four have something no other student can give to the organization." He rted.


    His thumbs were ying and twirling around each other, staring and deep in thought.


    "I see, you don''t want to respond to the question because you might get killed." He said in one go and immediately gasped for some air.<sub> </sub>


    "It''s best you''re kept in the dark. When the time is right, you would wish you had a simple life." He replied grimly, thinking of what he had lost when he joined the organization.


    "Where''s you know who?" He hissed, wanting answers to that at the least.


    He had to mentally prepare himself for the worst¨Cit couldn''t pass the fact that she was dead.


    "She''s..." Mr. Gaviel paused, looking to the left, then the right, and lowered his tone more than it already was, confident Lank could still hear him. "I want you to promise not to say a word, I am only telling you this because you are the one who was actively present at the time."


    Lank nodded his head to the request even though he understood quite little of what and why that was required of him.


    "I had to send her away to a friend, don''t worry she''s in safe hands... so long she keeps hidden for the time being." He added.


    "So not dead," Lank affirmed all that he had heard with a nod.


    His smile only broadened to the news, his mind calmed at the prospect of one day seeing her again and of being forced to a corner, he could have an answer to give Lumina or Nix.


    "Why was she sent there?" He questioned, suddenly confused as to why that was needed since she was healing just fine with the help of miss Galena.


    "She had unintentionally meddled in the affairs of the organization and deemed a threat meant to be eliminated by me."


    All the hairs on Lank''s body stood after he heard his exnation, his eyes glowed as his once calm demeanor changed to rage.


    "What gives them the right to dictate who lives and who dies?" He growled.


    His eyes red daggers at Mr. Gaviel, skeptical about all he had been told so far. "How am I sure you aren''t lying and secretly killed her and reced all of this with bullshit?"


    A smile graced Mr. Gaviel''s lips, not even flinching to Lank''s feral side emerging. "If I had wanted to kill her, do you think I should bring her in that bloody state to be healed and then killed again?!"


    He looked up and held a re at Lank, "what do you think?"


    Lank hesitated, his nerves calming at his exnation. Deactivating his ability he exhaled and inhaled. "The organization does weird shit, you should know that."


    Mr. Gaviel nodded his head to the statement, his mood darkened at the thought of losing Neider to that cause.


    "I have lost all that''s dear to me," he said with a sigh, looking up to the ceiling and forcing a smile. "There''s nothing more I can do for anyone, so to redeem myself I had to go against the orders of the organization."


    Lank''s eyes softened to his words, this was one of the rare moments in which he would see Mr. Gaviel in such a gloomy mood.


    "What does that mean for you?"


    Mr. Gaviel brought his attention back to Lank and chuckled, "so long the secret isn''t out, I stay alive. But until then, I''d make good use of the little time I have left." He shrugged.


    "Who''s a sculptor that possesses curse magic?" Lank suddenly switched the conversation.


    Mr. Gaviel did a double-take on what he had heard, shocked at the fact Lank knew such a confidential description of a rogue magic user.


    "Where did you hear this?!" He hissed.

 Chapter 146 Where Are The Other Three?

    Lank narrowed his eyes, his lips gradually rising at how he had managed to get the attention of Mr. Gaviel.


    ''That jerk does have valuable information he''s hiding.'' He deduced in his thoughts, recalling what he had heard Nix exim while he pretended to sleep at that time.


    "Do you know the gravity of what you just said?!" Mr. Gaviel hissed, the urgency in what he had just said sickened him.


    The very information the organization needed to get Fegan after he had managed to escape from the roving eyes of their master, just like a gift user who had been the fancy of their master.


    "If I knew, would I be asking you?" Lank rolled his eyes. "So that''s why I need answers, the answers I think you should be aware of."


    "What makes you think I would know?" He questioned, raising his brows and folding his arms.


    "You have even more secrets than I do."


    Silence followed after Lank''s statement, none wanting to start up the conversation.


    "Mr. Gaviel!" Lank eximed, pointing a finger at the glow gleaming brightly underneath his white button-up shirt.


    Mr. Gaviel had not noticed that tiny little detail until he looked downwards, his eyes doubled at the meaning of that signal.


    "No... no..." He jumped off the bed, quickly slipping his legs into his ck shoes.


    "Why is that thing glowing?!" Lank questioned, curious about this new development.


    "Do not follow me if you do not want to be in a simr situation as Fae, or even worse." He warned.


    "What is that?! At least tell me what that is?!"


    Pulling off his coat from the chair, he threw it over his shoulder, not bothering to give Lank the audience anymore.


    ''Don''t make this difficult for me, Lank?'' He looked down at the marble floor one more time, contemting how he and the others would take this news.


    "Mr. Gaviel?!" Lank called out to him as he watched him sprint down the hallway.


    Caught in a dilemma of telling Lumina and Nix or sprinting in tow.


    The words he heard from Fae when theyst interacted showed a struggle deep down. She had probably faced a simr situation that Mr. Gaviel was going to face.


    It was only reasonable that he thinks rationally.


    Exhaling, he walked over towards Lumina and Nix, pulling open the curtain.


    His mouth dropped at the shocking revtion.


    ''Gone?!'' His eyes blinked a few times wondering how he couldn''t have picked up a sound.


    Then he realized this was Nix and Lumina he was talking about. "Those two devils! How dare they sneak out without letting me in on the fun?" He raised his hand in the air, raining profanities at the two.


    "Lank?!" Gia''s voice broke up the long line of profanities he wasposing.


    He let out a gasp and took a step back, his eyes doubled at the constant rounds of surprises that filled the day.


    Her hair had gone from ck to blue ombr¨¦ hue seamlessly. If it wasn''t that he had watched over her for several days and could almost swear on his life that she had not left the infirmary, he would have thought she had her hair dyed.


    Gia held her head as a ringing headache continued, she let out a groan, opening one of her eyes so she could still concentrate her attention on him.


    She had managed to walk over to where he was and had her hand on the wall to steady herself.


    "You''re... You''re awake!" He eximed, still not bothering to get closer to her from what he could see.<sub> </sub>


    His eyes began to switch from their glow like he had expected them to be when it came to Gia.


    ''What''s happening to me?'' He closed his eyes immediately to calm his racing heart.


    "How long have I been sleeping?" She questioned, finally getting control of her state of mind, the headache gradually subsiding.


    "A few days." He replied vaguely, not bothering to exin further.


    ''Stay back! She can''t be that to me!'' He warned his inner thoughts telling him otherwise.


    "All this while, you''ve been here?" She asked, taking a look around.


    Not bothering to answer, he coveted the distance between them in the blink of an eye, engulfing her in a tight hug.


    "Don''t do that to me!" He warned, holding her head in ce, wishing they could stay that way. Slowly he nuzzled his face into her neck.


    Gia was in a state of confusion, her hands awkwardly raised and still in shock at what he was doing.


    "Yes I know, I''m hugging you. Don''t act too surprised." His words were muffled by her hair but enough for her to grasp what he had said.


    When he hugged her, he felt his heartbeat calm, the thought in his head disappeared as well.


    "I didn''t die." She squirmed, trying to break free from his grasp.


    Not wanting to let go, he held her in ce, "please, just give me a few moments."


    She stopped struggling at the words and stilled.


    "Could you hold me?" He pleaded, feeling lost and confused.


    A blush made its way to her cheeks at the request. It was at that moment she began to question her feelings towards Lank.


    Giving a slight nod, she held onto him, feeling the warmth that came with it.


    "Thank you!" He whispered.


    "What are you two¨C" Miss Galena paused, rubbing her chin.


    Lank and Gia immediately pulled apart, their faces flushed.


    Lank cleared his throat, trying to avoid eye contact with Miss Galena, while still holding onto Gia''s right hand.


    Gia''s eyes bulged at the bold move by Lank. A part of her squealed in delight at what this might mean, but all that was spoiled with the next words from the nurse.


    "Wait for a second," Miss Galena narrowed her eyes at Gia, "you''re finally awake! I''m d." She smiled.


    "You shouldn''t be moving around so early," she walked up to the two and separated their hands, pushing Gia towards her bed.


    "Gia..." Lank called out in a whisper, knowing it was best not to speak much on it, she was merely doing her job.


    Turning her attention towards Lank right after assisting Gia back in bed, she raised her chin and scoffed.


    "Where are the other three?" Miss Galena frowned, suspecting Lank had a hand in all that had happened.


    "Which other three?" Gia''s voice cut in.

 Chapter 147 Dont Try To Stop Me

    Lank facepalmed at the info he didn''t want Gia to know about.


    "There was Mr. Gaviel, a ck-haired male and red-haired female." Miss Galena responded immediately.


    Lank''s mouth gaped open at how fast things progressed, "miss if you could allow me to speak with her privately." He said with gritted teeth.


    Staring him down, Miss Galena rolled her eyes, consented, and walked away.


    Sitting up, she ced the pillow behind her back, resting her back on it, letting out a sigh.


    "What is it that you are keeping from me? Why were Nix and Lumina here?" She questioned, deducing the description from how Miss Galena had put it.


    "They came visiting." Lank immediately replied, shing a grin.


    "Oh I suppose they came with Mr. Gaviel too, so they could visit me as well." Gia''s sarcastic reply caught Lank off guard.


    "Of course!" He replied immediately afterward.


    Gia frowned, she could tell he was lying to himself, the constant flicker of his eyes was an underlying factor that he was having an internal battle with something.


    <o>,m "Do you think I''m stupid?!" She deadpanned, not pleased that he was trying to put her in the dark.</o>


    "No... It''s just that¨C"


    "Save it!" She hissed, bringing her leg down so she could get up.


    "What are you doing?!" Lank questioned,ing closer so she wouldn''t leave.


    "You very well know what I want to do, stupid!" She hissed, pushing on his chest, so she could leave the infirmary.


    "You know what I mean." Lank held her, forcing her to take a seat on the bed once more.


    "I''m tired of the smell of this ce, a breath of fresh air to clear my head is needed." She tried to duck her head under his arm.


    "Why are you so eager to leave once you heard who had been here?" Lank questioned.


    Pausing, Gia looked up with a frown, "the same reason you bank on and trying to keep me in the dark."


    "That doesn''t make any sense." He countered.


    "Please, let me leave." She pushed on him.


    "Miss, can this patient leave without your consent?" Lank yelled in a loud voice, hoping that Gia''s request would be turned down if heard in such a way.


    Miss Galena walked towards them, her hands akimbo on her waist. "Did the other three, especially the two that needed care..."


    Gia looked at Lank, her eyes narrowed at him for the first part of his lies exposed.


    Biting down on her lips to prevent all she was holding deep within for Lank.


    Lank facepalmed at the first part of his exnation, ruined. Instant regret of calling on a person who never liked him haunted him the moment she continued speaking.


    ''... did they request permission before leaving? I think not! If she''s alright and confident that she doesn''t need to be healed, then I think it''s a good option to take a breather."


    Lank''s mouth fell open, he had called for her to be against the idea, not promote it so well!<sub> </sub>


    Gia ced an arm on Lank, pinching down on his shoulder.


    Lank hissed slightly, biting on his bottom lip to stop himself from hissing loudly.


    "Thank you, Miss Galena." Gia shed a broad smile, "that would be all."


    Smiling at Gia, the nurse nodded her head, turning in the direction of Lank, she rolled her eyes at him before walking back to her desk.


    Gia had made sure that Miss Galena was out of sight. Once confirmed, she pped the back of Lank''s head.


    "Ow! What the hell was that for?" He hissed, looking in the directory of the nurse, he frowned and wished she was back.


    "You are seriously asking me that shitty question?! You lied to me and tried to fool me!" She screamed at him, hitting him.


    Lank fought the urge tough at her light tapping on his chest. Considering it no longer pleasurable, he held them and frowned.


    "As much as I would like you to continue to vent your anger, you aren''t in the best position to distract yourself with things that don''t need to be disturbed."


    Gia shook her head at his exnation, no matter how she had wanted that to y out well in her thoughts, it all still didn''t make any sense whatsoever.


    "I need to leave." She persisted.


    "Fine," Lank gave up trying to convince her, "but at the least let me pay a visit to Fae."


    ''Why the hell would you suddenly bring her up at this crucial moment?'' He internally facepalmed at the terrible timing.


    "Why would you need to see her?!" He chuckled to cover up how ufortable he felt to be discussing this.


    "She was thest person that came to visit me after you ran away and left me with Ayanami." She narrowed her eyes at him, clicking her tongue right after.


    Her words came like a hard p to his face. At a loss for words, he began to rethink his choices starting from that point.


    ''I shouldn''t have left her to be with that vile snake!'' He thought in regret.


    If that had not happened, she probably wouldn''t have been unconscious for a few days.


    "I''m sorry." He muttered, feeling bad about himself.


    "Whatever," she waved her hands, "I need to speak to her, we had some things we had not finished speaking on." She hurriedly slipped on her slip-on sandals.


    "That could wait." Lank stood in front of her, shaking his head in the new direction she was headed.


    "Let''s go search for Nix and Lumina, they could help." He suggested, pleading in his thoughts that she would buy the suggestion.


    Raising her brows, she paused and gave deep thought to what he had said.


    Finally concluding, she let out a sigh, "did anything happen to Fae?"


    "Why would you suddenly think on that line?" Lank countered the question with another.


    Gia shook her head, she had finally gotten the answer she needed. ''I was right, his eyes do flicker when he''s ufortable and hiding something.''


    "Don''t try to stop me," she warned. "Now step away." She snapped.

 Chapter 148 Organizational Hazards

    Lank had a smile to her words, given a chance to duel with him, she stood no chance. If she wanted to find out the truth the hard way, he wasn''t going to stop her either.


    With every wrong turnes lessons learned.


    "Suit yourself," he raised his hands in surrender. "Wherever you go, I would follow, just for protection, that is." He emphasized.


    Nodding her head to his condition, she called out to Miss Galena on her leave.


    "I hope I don''t see you here again." She called back enthusiastically.


    Gia had a smile on her lips before she opened the door.


    p Looking to her side, where Lank stood protectively of her. "Let''s go."</anda>


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In the Mr. Gaviel''s office,


    "You got the same signal, didn''t you?" Mr. Zhao frowned while his finger traced his teardrop golden medal which was hung from his neck on a chain.


    Mr. Gaviel nodded his head, wondering what this secret meeting meant.


    "Aer had been killed," he rted, his hand tightly squeezing his gold medal in rage.


    "How could that be?" Mr. Gaviel questioned, shocked that one of the best in the organization had been so easily defeated.


    "What was the cause?" He quickly switched the conversation, realizing that part struck a chord.


    Aer had been one of Mr. Zhao''s best students he had trained two years ago. The death must have had him shaken to the bone.


    "She had been attacked with her weapons, her body temperature had also been lowered before the attack..."


    "That''s a strange ability, not one I''m conversant with." Mr. Gaviel cut in, rubbing his chin to the words.


    "Her pendant had ended her life as a defense protocol when she had tried to give out valuable information about the organization." Mr. Zhao bit down on his bottom lip, deep in thought about the betrayal.


    "She was coerced l, I just know it!" He vouched for Aer, still in disbelief that she would willingly try to betray their organization.


    "I''m so sorry to hear about that..." he said in his condolences. His mind momentarily trailed to his witness of Neider''s death. "Take it as an organizational hazard."


    "She had been sent to clean up your mess if it weren''t for you!" Mr. Zhao pointed an using finger at Gaviel.


    "What do I have to do with all of these?" Mr. Gaviel responded, shocked that he could, he suspected.


    "Where were you after you were told to do your job!" He raged, gritting his teeth.


    Venting out his anger, Mr. Zhao punched a hole in the wall, his frown creasing his forehead.


    "At the infirmary after I had done away with the task." He said in a whisper, hoping no student would be as foolish as to interrupt them while they conversed.


    "That doesn''t exin why you needed to be in there!" Mr. Zhao countered, his white eyes glowing, ready to engage.


    "I had to create an alibi," Mr. Gaviel countered.


    Even though on a nce at him, he looked confident in what he was saying, deep down his heart thumped wildly.<sub> </sub>


    If he was found out, that would mark the end of his life.


    Thinking fast, he needed to divert the attention away from himself and onto another part that would be distracting.


    "Besides, my ability deals with anything about light." He exined, giving a brief preview of his ability.


    Mr. Zhao shielded his eyes, "turn that thing off, I get it!"


    Finally getting out of that mess.


    "Does the master know?" Mr. Gaviel questioned.


    "Of course he does," Mr. Zhao red at Gaviel. "Which is why I have called you out to rte the orders given to me."


    Mr. Gaviel nodded his head, d that he had not been found out. Moreso, he was given another task.


    "It''s about the exceptional students of the academy," Mr. Zhao began, gauging Gaviel''s facial expression.


    "But I''m not the one in charge of all the students." He tried to refuse the task that was to be passed to him.


    "It''s been decided." Mr. Zhao firmly replied, "and the master approves of it."


    "But... but it''s too early, they still have a lot to learn." He tried to appeal a chance of a revocation of the decision.


    "The duel supervised by Miss Lotus was duly recorded and precise. It''s not about how much that''s needed to learn, but about how well anyone can use their ability for the prosperity of the organization.


    Handing him a neatly folded paper, it had a gold seal with the organization''s insignia on it.


    "There''s no point trying to say otherwise," Mr. Zhao smiled. "You have two days to carry this out."


    Looking at the paper on his palms, he wished this task was given to another teacher.


    Testing out his luck, he called out the only teacher''s name that came to mind. "How about we let Mr. Doliu take this up!"


    Mr. Zhao raised a brow to the suggestion, he had thought he was merely joking, but on a closer look, it did look like he was dead serious.


    Angered by the continuous disruption and questioning of their master''s decision. He needed to treat his defiance like a gue, he grabbed Mr. Gaviel by the neck.


    "I could kill you this instant." He said through gritted teeth, watching Gaviel struggle to breathe.


    "You should be grateful you were considered by the master and not any one of us who are willing to do this. For someone who had chosen to take this lowly position in the academy as your fitting ce, you sure do like a good challenge!" He snapped.


    "O... kay!" Mr. Gaviel wheezed out.


    Releasing his grip, he wiped down his face to calm his boiling rage. He had not wanted to blow up in that way, nor was he humble enough to apologize.


    "I wish it didn''t have toe to this," he began, looking at Mr. Gaviel struggling to take a breath.


    "Do not disobey the master and you would live fine, and mourn in peace." He hinted at the incident that had happened with Mrs. Neider.


    "Two days, that''s all you are given." Mr. Zhao repeated. Brushing past him and walking out, leaving him to his thoughts.

 Chapter 149 As It Should Be

    Giving one final nod, Mr. Zhao patted Gaviel''s shoulder. "Think of this as a farewell, one easy andst task."


    Contemting the offer he was given, he realized that was the best offer given. Considering he had backstabbed them without their knowledge, for the time being, this was the very opportunity he could get to escape from the organization before they realize it.


    A breather and disappear just like Fegan. The perfect disappearing act.


    ''The very opportunity you could use to escape, take it."


    "I get to take off this sickening piece of junk." He muttered, looking at his pendant.


    It was quite tempting to pull on it and risk the consequences.


    "If you do so without authorization, get prepared to lose your life with it." Mr. Zhao gave a devilish grin.


    This had been a method the master had made sure none leaves without his consent. This had also been able to help the organization track those who had absconded.


    The only exception was Fegan, he had managed to get off the pendant because he was the one who had made them.


    Thinking about it, Mr. Gaviel felt the urge to rain curses on Fegan. Wherever he was, he hoped it stayed that way.


    Because of his creation, all who were chosen to be in a special rank in the organization were expected to keep this on until their services were no longer needed.


    The time limit for this was never mentioned, so in other words, it could mean a life''s allegiance to do the bidding of the organization.


    "If I do carry this out soonest, I get to be a free bird once more." Mr. Gaviel said with a smile.


    Mr. Zhao raised his brow at the point of view created in the thoughts of Gaviel. "You would live as nothing but a worthless citizen of Arkai."


    Mr. Gaviel grimaced at his words, these were people they were talking about, people who lived a normal life, had a normal childhood, foundsting love, and a peaceful mindset.


    There was nothing worthless about them. He had always considered the gift and magic users as being cursed, there was nothing good that hade out of such privilege.


    The good and the best had been corrupted by the power they held and abused it, those who had tried to maintain a neutral ground had been oppressed, targeted by the organization for some experiment.


    "That''s much better than what I currently possess." He hissed in reply.


    The thought of Mrs. Neider''s death shed before his eyes, his heart hurt at the thought. There was nothing that held him down and tied to the organization.


    Mr. Zhao shook his head at the shallow thinking Gaviel had developed. "You were good, if not too good. It''s a pity you gave up part of it and now you want to fully give that up."


    "Are you sure once I''ve done this, I''d be rid of this junk?!" Mr. Gaviel cut in, not interested in Zhao''s degrading discussion.


    ? "You aren''t the only one dealing with the death of someone you hold dear." Mr. Zhao said with a sigh, shaking his head.


    Even though they had their differences, he had always respected Mr. Zhao, up until this day.


    "That''s right, I''m not the only one." Mr. Gaviel replied through gritted teeth, hurt by what he was implying. "But it does seem like I''m the only one who cares."


    Turning his back against Mr. Zhao, he hoped he would take the cue and leave. There was nothing to discuss anymore.


    "You''d get what you want," Mr. Zhao said with a sigh, shaking his head at how foolish he viewed Gaviel for taking up this decision but too tired to appeal to his reasoning.<sub> </sub>


    "The master never goes back on his words." He concluded before walking towards the door.


    Click!


    Looking over his shoulder, Mr. Gaviel let out a breath he had kept at bay. Finally free from his prying eyes.


    Giving himself a few seconds to collect his thoughts, he mentally prepared himself for what he was to read soon.


    ''Okay, it isn''t that hard. All you need to do is call the students and bring to their attention this new development that would be pushed earlier than intended.


    Looking down at the paper in hand, he unfolded it to have a look at its content.


    His eyes nced over the first few names, closing them immediately and pinching the bridge of his nose.


    ''As expected.'' He thought, shaking his head at the obvious names.


    Something didn''t feel right about the names selected, if this happens there would be an uproar amongst the others.


    Sweat dropping, his heart pounded at the familiar voice he heard from behind him.


    "What do you have there, Mr. Gaviel?" Nix''s voice reverberated, and so did his heart. Panicking, he wondered where they had been hiding or if they had heard all that had transpired between him and Zhao.


    Stylishly bringing the paper behind him, he shed a bet


    Turning around, he shed a grin, "what are you two doing in here? How long have you been here?"


    He couldn''t act too suspicious, nor could he tantly tell a lie.


    Nix studied him carefully, it almost felt right to use skill¨Cpreferably charisma.


    Thinking of testing out a new trick he had realized Lumina possessed, he nodded to her, giving her the signal.


    Closing his eyes and thought of random things so he could block an invisible static wave Lumina released.


    He opened his eyes, ready to see how well her skill went.


    "How are you up? Weren''t you hospitalized earlier?" Mr. Gaviel blurted out, not being able to bridle his lips as he spoke.


    ''Congrattions you have been given a Neuro charge!'' Nix snickered in his thoughts.


    Mr. Gaviel had not realized his slip until the corner of Nix''s lips raised in a knowing smirk.


    "What the hell?!" He eximed in shock.


    It was at that moment he realized that he wasn''t the only one who was hiding fractions of the ability he had developed.


    "As it should be." Nix nodded his head.  "The better question is how a seemingly unconscious teacher knew I was hospitalized."


    Mr. Gaviel''s lips quivered, he tried to keep them shut, "please don''t..." He begged, biting on his bottom lip.

 Chapter 150 Youre Smart, I Like That

    His body shook as he tried to struggle to keep his thoughts in check and not spill any, the hold on him was getting arger hold on him than he wished.


    "I don''t want to die, not while I''d soon get my freedom from this hellish ce." He said through gritted teeth, shaking his head as he struggled to keep his words as confidential as he could.


    The fear he never knew he had developed set in, after hearing of the death of Aer and the cause, he couldn''t determine what sort of words were alright to say and what not to say.


    Wanting to be on the safest side, he would willingly choose silence. If he could fullyplete the task that was given to him, maybe he could fill them in on all he knew.


    "Not now, please. I can''t say or spill what I know." He yelled in frustration. The ability that had been ced needed to be removed immediately as he was almost losing himself.


    How he envisioned dying was not at the hand of the cursed pendant.


    Nix signaled Lumina to cancel her skill. He had not realized how powerful her hold was, if not stronger than the current stage of his charisma trait.


    While they had discussed back in the infirmary, he had pointed out something was unduly strange about Lank suggesting she puts up her barrier.


    Deactivating the soundproofing barrier, they had caught word of Mr. Gaviel''s knowledge of the whereabouts of Fae.


    The interest had been sown, but all that had been interrupted by his sudden rush out the door.


    Not wanting to be held back by Lank, Nix had made it possible to escape through the window with his passive gift.


    They had wanted to confront him for a while, watching and following him with the shadows of the hallway as a cover.


    Little did they know that Mr. Zhao was present.


    Hearing whispers, they chose to wait it out, there was no way they would stay too long in Mr. Gaviel''s office.


    Immediately they had heard Mr. Zhao storm his way out, quickly slipping in, in his stead before the door locked.


    At that exact moment did Nix have spoken that had brought about Mr. Gaviel''s awareness of the fact that he wasn''t alone.


    Nix studied Mr. Gaviel, as much as he thought Mr. Gaviel was a crucial part of their investigation. What he had said sounded like he was telling the truth.


    "Is there anyone who doesn''t hold secrets here?" He questioned.


    Lumina pped the back of his head. She was as guilty and so was he. They had no right to develop aplex on that.


    Mr. Gaviel''s eyes widened at the interaction between the two. Thinking back on the paper given, he could only hope they stay this way.


    "Nix..." He called out, letting out a light chuckle at their brief banter.


    Nix hands his hand rubbing his head to the pain that Lumina had inflicted on him.


    Looking up to Mr. Gaviel at the call of his name. Curious about what he wanted to say.


    "Could you two promise me one thing?" He looked down sadly, feeling he was going to make a bad decision that would benefit him greatly.<sub> </sub>


    "It depends on the promise." Nix shrugged.


    "You''re smart, I like that." Mr. Gaviel said with a smirk. He looked over to Lumina who stood quiet and her green eyes locked on him.


    "I need you to promise you would always treasure those that are dearest to you. Not just keeping them close, but protecting the bond that has been formed. Look out for their welfare and never get sucked into the debased world of power."


    Nix''s mouth gaped open, he didn''t have the time to process all that had been required of him, nor could he tell why this was being said to him.


    Mr. Gaviel facepalmed, instantly regretting making a statement about him being smart. He couldn''t even understand if he was merely pretending or was slow to catch on.


    Lumina nodded her head, pulling Nix by the ear forcefully. She whispered a summarized version of what Mr. Gaviel had wanted to pass across.


    Nix''s eyes widened as she rted all that had been said in simpler terms.


    "You should have put it that way..." Nix scoffed, folding his arms in disappointment.


    Mr. Gaviel lips drew into a thin line, narrowing his eyes at Nix.


    "I do have a question that I need an answer to," Nix spoke up. "What makes you think I have dear ones?"


    He had always chanted in different ways, a mantra that he had kept up until now¨C do not get too attached to anyone.


    "You don''t have anyone dear?" Mr. Gaviel furrowed his brows in confusion, his attention hinting towards Lumina.


    Nix''s eyes followed his eyes which hadid on Lumina. At that moment, he let out a sigh and shook his head.


    "It seems you have things jumbled up, if the situation calls for it, I would protect those who need it but only those I consider weak and I''m willing to help or they are willing to ept it."


    This statement confused him further, he knew Lumina was formidable, but he had never thought Nix had so much faith in her capabilities to consider not worth protecting.


    A smile formed on his lips at the fond memory they had created. "Thank you for giving me this."


    Nix cringed at the appreciation that he couldn''t rte to.


    This was the very drive he needed to continue living, knowing there was at least some good that would be able to stand against the master with time.


    ''I hope it won''t be toote.'' He focused his attention on Nix.


    Nix shifted under the gaze of Mr. Gaviel, feeling ufortable.


    "You might not understand now, but you wouldter on." He gave a heartyugh.


    "You would all do great, that I can see." He nodded his head to his words, finally making a final decision in his thoughts to go through with the task given to him with a hopeful mind.


    "Where is Fae?" Lumina cut in, tired of waiting for the conversation to switch.

 Chapter 151 I Cant Take It Off

    ''Who would have thought that she''s of so much importance. The moment she disappeared, it''s been nothing but her name'' Mr. Gaviel''s sweat dripped as the corner of his lips twitched non-stop.


    If he had known he would be caught in such a tight situation he would have chosen the option of fleeing with Fae.


    "Where is F¨C" Lumina''s words were muffled by Nix''s hand covering her mouth.


    "Please do pardon her, she didn''t have enough sleep today." Nix chuckled slightly, holding his lot against her struggle.


    Stylishly conveying through a whisper the repercussion of using her gift on him.


    Mr. Gaviel watched the two, confused about the rtionship. He had outrightly spoken of not having anyone he cared about, but did that also mean that he saw her as nothing but a teammate?


    Ahem!


    He cleared his throat, trying to pull their attention back to him. When he had realized what had caused their banter, instant regret set in.


    Nix facepalmed at his n failing with the interruption.


    Pulling his hand away from her lips, she stared down at Mr. Gaviel.


    "It''s not safe to ask such questions, not now and not here." Mr. Gaviel whispered, skeptical about the danger that coulde with revealing such information.


    Creating a barrier around them, Mr. Gaviel jumped away, just in time not to be caught in the lightning chain that interlocked around them. The buzzing sound made its way to his ears.


    Covering his ears, he wondered why Nix looked unaffected by the noise.


    "If you were in something simr earlier, this should not be a problem for you," Nix answered, rightly guessing what Mr. Gaviel was thinking.


    After he had a brief talk with Lumina while being in the infirmary, he had grown ustomed to the sound.


    "Now," Lumina cut in, looking around them, "it''s only best if you answer my question."


    "She''s safer than she is here. Whatever I did was for her benefit and survival." Mr. Gaviel replied, not bothering to go into details.


    He looked to Nix for some help, surely he must understand why he did such a thing.


    "I know it was you." He spoke as he looked at Nix, narrowing his eyes at him.


    Nix was caught unawares by the statement, yet confused on why he had referred to him.


    Pointing to himself, he furrowed his brows.


    Mr. Gaviel nodded his head, he had thought of a logical exnation of what Zhao had said and came to only one reasonable conclusion¨Cit had to be Nix.


    "Aer... Surely her name should ring a bell."


    Nix''s eyes widened at the name, and suspicion sets in instantly.


    Lumina looked to her side, uneasy by the way Mr. Gaviel had referred to this female when speaking to Nix.


    "What about it?" Nix growled, clenching his hands to his side.<sub> </sub>


    An unidentifiable rage began to swell inside him. If Mr. Gaviel could know such a dangerousdy, then it must mean that he had some ties with the organization, one that even he had failed to realize.


    "I knew it..." Mr. Gaviel let out augh tears welling up in his eyes.


    "..."


    Nix simply stared, needing to know how Mr. Gaviel had known, yet curious about what that meant for him.


    "Mr. Zhao had told me about her death..." he began, gauging Nix''s response.


    Nix''s rage subsided immediately at the words, remembering what had happened, and let out a sigh of despair. This was far from what he had imagined.


    "What''s he talking about?" Lumina held his face up so she could search his eyes. All she needed was a sign, some sign to point her in the right direction.


    "Let him be," Mr. Gaviel said with a sigh. "It''s not something he might want to talk about now."


    "She was the reason I had needed attention in the infirmary." Nix''s voice was low and slow as he rted what he had gone through.


    ''You just had to say that after I had humiliated myself, didn''t you?!'' Mr. Gaviel deadpanned in his thoughts.


    He felt the urge to hide away somece and never speak on this ever again.


    Nix had always thought if faced with those who he considered enemies, their death would mean nothing to him.


    Strangely, the death of Aer had reshaped the way he saw those working in the organization, they all weren''t there because they chose to, but thought they were in the right. Controlled by those gem pendants, unable to carry out what they truly wanted.


    His eyes lingered on Mr. Gaviel''s emerald, "I had not realized even you possessed one of those." He said pointing at the pendant hanging loosely on Mr. Gaviel''s neck.


    His hand subconsciously shot up to the pendant and held it in his palm, giving it a light squeeze.


    "I had always tried to hide it, even from myself." He replied with a slight chuckle.


    There had been several times he had tried to remove the pendant, but all effort had proved abortive. Every single time he had tried to take it off, he felt like his life force was forcefully being ripped out.


    His magic would deteriorate at that point, leaving him weak and on the verge of passing out.


    A part of his mind trailed back to what he had seen happen to Neider. Fear instantly gripped him as he held onto the gem tighter.


    "I can''t take this off, nor tell you what you need to know, not while this goddamned thing is still on me." He said with a sigh.


    Lumina raised a brow at his words, all that was said sounded foreign to her, this wasn''t part of what she had studied about the organization''s activities.


    "Wait a second." Lumina gasped, feeling into the pocket of her shorts.


    There was something about the present given to her by Mr. Zhao that made her uneasy.


    Pulling out a luminous thunderbolt pendant ne, she let out sway for a while.


    "Where did you get that?!" Mr. Gaviel took a step back in horror.

 Chapter 152 Fast And Cunning

    Shooting lightning from her fingers in a gun-like manner. She aimed at the switch.


    Tzzz!


    The office went dark at the action.


    "Great! Now that''s spoiled." Mr. Gaviel said bitterly.


    "Watch!" She whispered in the darkness.


    Slowly the pendant began to glow, tiny sparks twitched on the thunderbolt.


    "Oh my!" Mr. Gaviel held onto the desk behind him.


    Snapping her fingers, a wave of electricity spread out.


    The flickering lights continued in that way until they stabilized.


    "Who needs a switch when I''m present?!" Lumina prided in her gift, raising her chin.


    Nix cleared his throat, shaking his head at the quick switch in conversation Lumina presented.


    "Where did you get that?!" Mr. Gaviel persisted, his eyes glued to the pendant.


    ''Talk about persistence.'' Lumina pushed her lips to the right in a pout.


    The hypocrisy was sickening. Although he couldn''t answer her questions the main time because of that pendant, she could answer him without any limitations.


    "I was given," she looked at the pendant fondly. "After what you had said, now I don''t know if this was a gift."


    "What do you mean?" Nix pulled on her shoulder, snatching the pendant from her fingers.


    Needing answers, he wasn''t going to release it until she answered him to the littlest details.


    "Mr. Zhao had given me that pendant as a gift, saying it reminded him of my gift." Sheughed at how stupid that sounded to her now.


    Nix stared at the pendant, his anger climbing up levels as he pieced the information together.


    "He tried to use this to get to you!" Nix deduced with a growl.


    "I loved the design, it reminded me of my gift." Luminaughed at her view on the pendant.


    Considering its true capabilities of it, she was d she had the mindset of wearing it only when she had gotten to the organization.


    She had always loved the teardrop design on Mr. Zhao''s pendant.


    "I had not expected Zhao to be so fast and cunning." Mr. Gaviel facepalmed.


    Even though Fegan had not been present for years, there was a way of getting another way to make more of the cursed pendants?


    This thought shook the perfect bnce he had created in his head. He had originally thought that if Fegan wasn''t present anymore, there would be no way of recruiting more to do their bidding.


    This had made him think that was why it was harder to recruit more from the academy.


    Before Fegan''s defection, they were with a restricted number of cursed pendants and he had remembered clearly the one Lumina had shown wasn''t one of the limited ones.


    ''How?! Just how is this possible?'' He wondered, confused by the secrets that the organization branched on.


    "Have you worn it?" Mr. Gaviel queried.


    Shaking her head to his question, she grinned widely at the close shave she had with falling for such a trap.


    "As much as I love jewelry, the pendant wouldn''t go well with my choices,"


    "Good, good!" Mr. Gaviel nodded his head, letting out a sigh of relief.<sub> </sub>


    Nix gritted his teeth, feeling he had been of no help when this had happened.


    "When was this given?" Nix interjected.


    "The day after you had dealt a blow on that creepy statue."


    ''It''s been that long?'' He looked down sadly at the pendant.


    "Never wear this, if you want to be in control of your life." Mr. Gaviel warned.


    Pacing around in the enclosed field, he rubbed his chin as he thought about what was the next line of action.


    "Nix," he said, finally thinking of one.


    When he was sure he had gotten the attention of Nix, he ced a hand on his shoulder.


    "Remember when I said you should promise me to protect those dear to you. Things are about to change and I hope you maintain what you have currently."


    Nix furrowed his brows, his words almost sounded like he was about to do something he would regret.


    "Something tells me whatever you are about to do involves some of us and the organization."


    Mr. Gaviel nodded his head, "I was right, you are smart."


    Eyes locked on the piece of paper in Mr. Gaviel''s hand, he began to understand what was going to happen.


    "When is it?" Nix asked, pointing at the paper in Mr. Gaviel''s hand.


    "In two days was all I was given. I had not wanted this for any of you, but it''s out of my control." He replied, looking away from the hard re of Nix.


    ''A straight-up ticket to the organization?!'' Nix''s brow twitched, trying to contain his emotions.


    "Hahaha!" Nix burst out in a peal ofughter.


    This reaction was unexpected by Mr. Gaviel, wondering if the overwhelming emotion had gotten the best of his mind.


    "Nix, are you alright?!" Mr. Gaviel called out to him, "this is an unpredictable organization we are talking about, filled with lots of secrets and not for the faint-hearted."


    Nix''s jolly mood was ruined by those words and a frown immediately reced.


    "Do you think that''s not what I want all along?" He pointed out.


    "Who would have thought this opportunity would present itself so quickly." He muttered to himself but enough for the others to hear.


    "You''ve been waiting for this opportunity?!" Mr. Gaviel''s mouth gaped open in shock.


    This would be the first time someone would be so enthusiastic about getting into the organization even knowing the vile practices going on there.


    "Well, that makes the two of us." Lumina timidly cut in, coughing and scratching the back of her head.


    Nix looked at her with a smile, he understood what prompted her to desire to join the organization.


    "What the hell?" Mr. Gaviel eximed, his eyes darting from Nix to Lumina in disbelief.


    "You two can''t be serious! Even after what I had said?!" He tried to appeal to reason.


    All it took was refusing to join the organization when their names were called. That would make his conscience at peace with himself.


    "As you have your secrets, I have mine that''s best not known to you," Nix said with a smirk.


    "What are the other names on the list?" He nodded in the direction of the paper.

 Chapter 153 Degenerated Minds

    "It''s best you know the names when I announce them." Mr. Gaviel coughed. "Now, please excuse me and kindly leave me be."


    Lumina tilted her head, the urge to question more on what he knew was looming.


    Let out a sigh, she shook off the thought.


    Deactivating her ability, she turned around, "let''s go, Nix!"


    Nix nodded his head, walked closer to Mr. Gaviel, and whispered a few words to him.


    Mr. Gaviel was left stunned by the words, unable to speak. His gaze never left Nix as he waved and left.


    m!


    "He''s alive?" Mr. Gaviel dropped to his knees, unable to contain the shock that spread on his face.


    ''Fegan''s alive, also his daughter?'' His thoughts spiraled into a series of questions on the likelihood.


    "It needs to be done tomorrow!"


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In the hallway leading to dormitory 69,


    "Do you think they would branch here?" Gia questioned.


    They had been leaning on the wall, a few feet away from Nix and Lumina''s dorm for over an hour, yet no sign of their arrival.


    "Everyone''s got to sleep sometime!" Lank shrugged.


    "Look."


    Pointing at the approaching figures, it was the very two they were waiting for.


    "You have some nerve!" Lank growled, pushing back imaginary sleeves up his elbows, ready to pick a fight with Nix.


    Alert, Nix shot out a ball of fire towards Lank.


    Sidestepping, Lank narrowed his eyes at the first sign of attack.


    "I thought you wanted a fight," Nix shrugged, giving him a stoic look.


    "Hello, Gia!" Lumina waved at her, brushing past Lank and not sparing a nce at him.


    She had unintentionally held a grudge, thinking of what he had done in the infirmary.


    Zzzt!


    She zapped his side with her lightning.


    Lank jumped up, reacting to the pain that shot through his whole body. He was not expecting she would attempt to attack him in such a manner and frowned.


    "What the hell was that for?" Lank raised his hands.


    "You deserve every attack that''s in store for you, stupid!" She hissed, rolling her eyes. Pushing back her hair, she scoffed and walked further toward Gia.


    Lank''s mouth was left hanging when he saw her pull Gia into a hug.


    "I''m so d you''re back," she squeezed her in a hug.


    "Easy, please," Gia struggled to break free from the grasp on her side.


    Pulling away, Luminaughed at her reaction.


    "Woah, why didn''t I realize this earlier?" Lumina pushed her fingers into the waves of Gia''s hair, admiring the ombr¨¦ hue that stuck so well.


    "Did you get this just from waking from your sleep?" She fawned over the color, picking and observing.


    Gia had temporarily forgotten about this slight change in her features. When it was brought to her attention, she couldn''t help but also bring up some of her locks for her to see and admire.<sub> </sub>


    "It would appear so..." Gia replied with a smile.


    "Nix, do you think I should also sleep for a few days?"


    Nix had his hands wrapped around Lank''s neck, hitting him on the head with an evil smirk. Lank biting on Nix''s hand like an animal trying to get free from a predator''s clutches.


    When they had heard that the question was directed toward them, they froze under the confused stare of Lumina and Gia.


    "F*ck man, you almost ripped my hand off." Nix hissed at Lank, unable to contain his countenance even though Lumina had her focus on both of them.


    Lank''s hand shut up to his head, shooting a re at Nix while he massaged.


    A chill ran down the spine of Nix, he felt something was wrong somewhere and brought back his attention to Lumina.


    Her eyes glinted slightly, "you two can''t keep your hands away from each other every time you meet, do you?" She innocently asked, blinded by rage at what she had seen.


    p Nix and Lank stiffly turned their heads to share a look. Her words didn''t sit well with them.</anda>


    They turned their attention away from each other, gagging on the way they had thought on that line which was far different from her original idea.


    "What''s the matter with you two¨C" She gasped, finally getting the meaning they had ced on her words.


    Gia stifled augh, even though she had that first thought, wondering how it would look in that way.


    "You two need help!" She hissed, narrowing her eyes at them.


    "Let''s go in," she pulled on Gia''s hand. Bringing out her gold medal pass so she could open her door.


    "But..." Gia hesitated, this was the first time she would be visiting Lumina''s dorm.


    "Don''t worry, it''s much better than staying with these two degenerated minds," Lumina spoke softly with a smile.


    ''Does that make me third?'' Gia had wanted to question but thought against it at thest minute. It was best to still be considered pure in her senior''s eyes.


    Click!


    "Finally!" Lumina took a deep breath and exhaled, pulling Gia in.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    "Well... That went well." Lank said with a chuckle.


    Bam!


    Nix hit Lank''s head in irritation, "you''re the cause of all of these."


    Lank whimpered in pain, "did you have to hit me on the head again?"


    "You lying, cunning canine!" Nix continued, punching his palm as he approached Lank.


    Taking a step back, Lank instantly regretted being left alone with Nix. He had promised to take Gia to meet both, yet he was the one left with the irritable one.


    "When did I ever show those traits?" Lank sweat dripped, shing a nervous smile, in hopes of getting through to the friendly Nix.


    "I''m surprised you aren''t asking why we had disappeared." Nix narrowed his eyes, cing both hands to the side of Lank''s head.


    Forcing him against the wall, "tell me one good reason why I shouldn''t teach you a lesson?!"


    Lank''s body shrunk in fear, he had figured out that they might have heard what he had conversed with Mr. Gaviel earlier on and that might have prompted them to ditch him for clues.


    Now that it was mentioned, it all verified all he had thought were right.


    Click!


    "What the heck are you two doing?!"


    The voice of Lumina broke up the tense moment.

 Chapter 154 Plain Truth

    Nix froze, his eyes widened. Turning his attention back to Lank who had the same horror-stricken eyes stared right back.


    The questionable position they were caught in, would never go down well with their pride.


    Pulling away instantly, Nix facepalmed at the awkward tension that arose in the air.


    "Why do you keep ruining the moment?!" Nix facepalmed, shaking his head.


    Lank on the other hand was eternally grateful for the interruption but also felt awkward about what had just transpired.


    "You call that a moment?" Lumina spat, frowning.


    "That''s not what I meant and you know it!" Nix replied, frustrated by the situation he was in.


    "Is it true... about Senior Fae?" Gia''s timid voice carried an air of sadness as it broke up the two''s conversation.


    Nix raised a brow at Lumina, needing answers. In a space of a few minutes, Gia''s mindset had changed.


    "What did you tell her?" Nix spoke through gritted teeth, lowering his voice so only she could hear.


    "I told her nothing but the in truth." Lumina pushed back her hair, using the opportunity to give a signal through a wink, coughing right after.


    Nix nodded to the subtle signal given, "oh!"


    "She''s gone?" She huped, tears running down her eyes. "I hadn''t even said a goodbye and she was taken?"


    Lank rushed to her side, wrapping his hands around her. "It''s okay, you don''t have to cry anymore."


    Irritated by his words, she pushed hard on him. "You knew, yet you chose to keep me in the dark."


    Stunned by her action, he stood for a while contemting his options.


    There was only one person to me for all of this, and it was none other than Lumina. He had been held back by Nix and had unounted for the part where Lumina might spill the beans when asked.


    "I hope you know what you''re doing." He growled, walking off.


    There was no need to stay back, not after what had happened. Stopping at the side of Nix, he looked up at him sadly. Patting his shoulder, he walked off feeling dejected.


    "Lank,"


    "It''s alright," Lank shook his head, taking one look back at Gia, he let out a sigh.


    "Don''t go." He called out desperately.


    "I''m already leaving anyway, I can''t force my presence on those who don''t want me." He gave a sad smile.


    Activating his ability, he dashed towards his dorm in a hurry.


    "Lumina," Nix spoke through gritted teeth, trying to calm every inch of his boiling nerves.


    Lumina cringed upon the call of her name. If he had reverted to calling her in such a manner, then his words weren''t going to be pleasant.


    "Could you give Gia and me a moment?" He gave an eye shut smile which hid the negativity that was building in his heart.


    As much as Fae was her friend, she had no right to speak to Gia who had juste out of a traumatic event.


    p Her exnation would also force them to continue in on the lie of the death of Fae.</anda>


    Gulping, Lumina felt the pressure under the intense re of Nix.<sub> </sub>


    "Of course, was there ever a doubt?" She replied, sprinting towards the door and closing it, without saying another word to her.


    A strong force gripped Gia as the intimidating gaze was focused on her.


    ''Is this the power of a fire rank?'' Gia wondered, lowering her head to his presence.


    "Gia," Nix frowned, feeling the pain Lank would be going through at the moment.


    Lank had every reason to keep it from her, she had just woken up from an impossible slumber, and there was no need to burden her with the information she was still going to learnter on.


    "Have you ever felt the love of a family?" He began, his anger ring at the thought of his own life inparison with Lank''s.


    As he asked the question, it felt like he was talking more about himself as he questioned.


    Gia looked awkwardly to the side, knowing where this would lead if she answered wrongly.


    "Yes I have," she nodded her head. "I still have my parents back home."


    Herst response irked him, it felt like she was pouring salt on his wound. Mocking him, if she knew about his family history.


    "Do you know the history of Lank?"


    Folding his hands, he leaned on the wall, trying to conserve his energy. The toll of hisst fight still weighed him down after he had ditched a full treatment in the infirmary.


    Gia shook her head at his question. No one knew his history, as far as she knew.


    No one was that close to him to get any history lesson from him.


    Her thoughts searched for the answers. There had to be a reason he had asked such a question.


    "You know..." She finally replied.


    "You got that right," Nix hissed, not understanding how and why he and Lank felt something special to insensitive girls.


    They kept fluctuating from being warm and cuddly one moment to cold and irritable the next.


    That disy of rejection she had given to Lank was like a string had been pulled and made him lose all sense of pity.


    First, he would deal with Gia, then onto Lumina.


    "Do you know why I''m the only one who knows so much about him, even though I am considered to every one of you as a new student?"


    Gia began to sweatdrop, knowing the answer to this question, but too guilt-stricken to respond without being cut in the very web of the response.


    "As I expected," Nix shook his head, pushing his back off the wall.


    "You have no answer because you know what that would mean, even for  you." He pointed an using finger at her.


    There was no way he was going to mince out any words. If she doesn''t realize it now, there was no way she would see Lank in a better light.


    ''Lank you deserve better.''


    "He doesn''t have anyone, nor does he remember who they are," Nix yelled at the top of his lungs. "Something you would nevere to realize at the least. How do you think he feels being rejected by the one he cares about?"


    Gia''s eyes widened, shocked by his outburst.

 Chapter 155 Settle Your Scores

    "He... He cares about me?" She stammered, still unable to believe what was just said.


    Nix rolled his eyes at the obvious answer.


    "There are so many things wrong with your outlook, and I hope Lank doesn''t fall too fast in all of these." He facepalmed, turning around so he could quell his anger.


    "I know I am not the best at deducing people''s feelings, and neither do I know how I''m meant to go about my feelings. But there''s one thing I would never tolerate¨Clying to me or hiding the truth from me."


    The corner of Nix''s lips twitched at her self-proimed answer. It was not worth dragging the issue on.


    ''This is Lank''s problem, what the heck am I doing?'' He thought, punching the wall for wasting precious time.


    Turning around, he forced a smile, offering his hand in a truce. The person he needed to settle scores with was hiding in their dorm.


    "Settle your scores, however, you see fit." He shook his hand, still waiting for her to take his gesture.


    Slowly grasping his hand, she frowned at how in the contact felt, she was expecting some sort of spark at finally making direct and deliberate contact with Nix.


    Quickly pulling her hand away, she stared at it in confusion. This just affirmed that her attraction towards him had died out drastically.


    Awkwardly dropping her hands to her side, she swung them so she could pull her mind away from the current situation.


    "Till we cross paths?" She questioned, hoping to end their conversation on that note.


    With a nod of his head, he repeated. "Till we cross paths."


    He watched as she hurriedly increased her pace, whichter turned to run. He had a smile slowly make its way to his lips.


    Even though she was a bit irrational, she was still considerate in her respect.


    ''I just hope you know what you''re doing,nk.'' He thought with a sigh.


    ? Click!


    The light click his ears had managed to pick on from their dorm door brought him back to the reality of things.


    ''I haven''t forgotten the scores we need to settle.'' He thought with a smirk.


    Making his advancement as slow as it could be, he pushed the door open.


    "It''s time to own up to your mistake.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    It was an unfortunate day, the day that Mr. Gaviel so wished could be postponed.


    He wondered how time flew so fast and rushed on to the deadline¨Ctwo days from when he was given the task by Mr. Zhao.


    He realized that the integrated system consisting of a touch interactive monitor,puter system,plete audio system, document visualizer & projector had only been used whenever there was a graduation ceremony.


    The students all knew what was toe of this. They were visibly shocked to receive the news that it had been rushed to be done a month before the actual date.


    Mr. Gaviel exhaled loudly, brushing his sweaty palm on his blue tight-fitted pants tucked into his brown boots.<sub> </sub>


    His feet tapped ever so lightly as he tried to calm his nerves.


    ''This is the day you get your freedom, so be happy and make the best out of it.'' He nodded to himself, trying his best to believe the words in his mind.


    With eyes watching the students all flock into therge hall. His anxiety began to rise at the low murmurs that erupted afterward.


    Feeling a hand ced on his, he unintentionally let out a gasp.


    "Gaviel, I know it''s hard to face the crowd and give such shocking news but I am positive that they will handle it well." Mr. Doliu squeezed his hand, giving a reassuring smile.


    Mr. Gaviel smiled back, although the news of some students being transferred wasn''t the problem.


    Instead, the problemy with the revtion of the death of Mrs. Neider, it might note as shocking to any as the mysterious force that had pulled them out of the thick ck fog did show its effect on her.


    If it wasn''t because of his outburst, there would have been more casualties when the collectors were sent to retrieve her body.


    The much tougher task, on the other hand, was presenting a probable exnation on how Fae¨Cwho had been alive as of the time all were leaving the ssroom, would suddenly be announced dead.


    Facing Lank, Lumina, and Nix, all of who knew a bit of the truth, while making such an announcement would be like hell to him.


    ''For Fae''s sake!'' He nodded his head as he got up from his seat.


    Standing at the lectern, he ced his hand on its top. Clearing his throat, he ced a file that hadpiled all that he needed to say.


    Adjusting the gooseneck condenser microphone and LED flexiblemp, he pulled on the buttoned-up cor of his white shirt.


    There was silence immediately after he stepped on, all watching to know the oue of being called to the hall.


    "Good day everyone!" His voice cracked midway and he had to cough to the side to stabilize his thoughts.


    ''Why the hell are you trembling?!'' He thought in horror, looking down at his hands.


    The only good that came with the lectern was the high rise front that gave him a little bit of privacy, the very one he needed to get his fingers in check without the students realizing.


    "Good day Mr. Gaviel!" A female whooped at the far back of the hall.


    All other students momentarily broke off eye contact with Mr. Gaviel and looked back curiously to identify the female who had replied so enthusiastically.


    Sweat dripping, Mr. Gaviel suddenly regretted his choice of clothing and was pleased with the temporary distraction.


    Gathering his thoughts together, he raised his head high as he spoke.


    "I wee you all to another wonderful graduation ceremony, and it is with a great pleasure to announce that¨C"


    "I do apologize for the interruption," Arion cut in, raising his hand and standing to his feet so all could focus on him.


    Mr. Gaviel raised a brow at the student''s action, closing his mouth, he gave a nod for him to continue. If he could prolong this, he would dly take any step necessary.


    "Why was this event rushed? Is the organization needing more hands to do their dirty work?" Arion questioned with a wicked smile.

 Chapter 156 Dead Joke

    ''Why you little ¡ãfcg¡ãstgk¡ã'' Mr. Gaviel thought cursing in his native tongue.


    This questionpletely threw him off bnce.


    As much as he wanted a distraction, neither did he want to be tongue-tied.


    "Young man watch the way you speak about the organization!" Mr. Doliu red up, his body covered in the rising steam.


    "Doliu now isn''t the time." One of the teachers beside him whispered, shaking his head.


    Understanding what he meant, he deactivated his magic, shaking his head at the disrespectful student.


    Mr. Gaviel shook his head and facepalmed at the tough situation he found himself in. Regretting giving Arion a chance to make things moreplicated.


    He had all things nned in his file, all the necessary things he could say while he focused on the script.


    ''Yet you allowed a little brat to ruin all of that!'' His thoughts deadpanned.


    "Arion," he turned his attention to the student, forcing a smile while he tried to keep his emotions in check.


    "Sir?" Arion dragged on his speech, enjoying the fact he had caught the teacher unawares.


    These were words the other students were too conservative or afraid to speak on.


    After getting away with using a forbidden spell while participating in the duel, he never feared the oue of his actions and would willingly do so again if that was the only way he could get an upper hand¨Cas long as the person in question didn''t have a destructive wit like Lumina.


    The humiliation was enough tost a lifetime, but also enough drive to push him harder to break his limit every time he trained.


    "What makes you so certain that the organization engages in dirty works?" His voice was louder due to the augmentation by the speakers.


    Arion had wanted to speak on that when he heard the voice of Lumina cut in.


    "Only a piece of trash could be sent to do the dirty work of any organization, so watch what you say fart face." Lumina sneered, her voice booming amongst the crowd.


    Her hands were folded under her bust. She had a simple off-shoulder yellow top with sunflower imprints on it, tucked into denim shorts.


    Her eyes were closed and a cross popping vein on her forehead.


    The budding urge to jump three heads away from where she sat was a little tempting.


    Arion froze upon her words. It was pointless starting an argument with her.


    Stiffly turning his head, he looked over the others to spot where her voice came from.


    To his dismay, the first person he was able to lock eyes on was none other than Nix.


    He had his blue eyes glowing, not saying a word, but those eyes were enough to force him to look away with immediate action.


    The rest of the students stifled augh that they desperately wanted to let out. This wasn''t the first time he would be humiliated and had expected such a disy and disregard for his presence.


    ''I will get you one day, mark my words!'' Arion vowed, lowering his head in despair.


    Mr. Gaviel watched the whole thing with narrowed eyes. He couldn''t me the rest of the students as he saw the smiles on their faces.


    In a bid to help themugh without thinking of the consequences and in turn, let out the one they held back, he cleared his throat to get their attention.


    "Wasn''t that just il''lumina''ting the st''arion'' night?" He let out a chuckle at his bad joke, having referred to those in a heated conversation.


    The animated sound of cricket only made things worse coupled with the deafening silence that followed.<sub> </sub>


    "Moving along." Mr. Gaviel facepalmed at the awkward situation he had put himself in.


    "Today marks the start of new beginnings and the end of old ones..." His voice trailed off, hurt by the memory of what he was about to say.


    The students all looked on, quiet as they could be, waiting for the big news.


    "It''s with a sad heart that I would have to announce the death of Mrs. Neider..."


    Gasp!


    The collective gasp of the students stopped him from smoothly running over that news.


    ''As expected.'' He lowered his head in despair.


    Words erupted concerning what was just said.


    "She''s just hospitalized, right?"


    "Mr. Gaviel, if this is one of your bad jokes, I couldugh this off."


    Mr. Gaviel''s brows twitched on that note, he hadn''t realized that his jokes had never been taken well to that extent.


    "She''s gone and that''s all you need to know!" He yelled in rage when the number of questions crowded his thoughts.


    "Gaviel!" Mr. Doliu cut in, shaking his head, hoping he would calm down and think more rationally.


    Mr. Gaviel looked at the shocked expression of each student.


    ''Did I go overboard?'' Mr. Gaviel thought with a sigh. The whole day was getting a lot more disheveled than he had imagined it to be.


    "I apologize," he bowed his head low, "it was uncalled for."


    Silence.


    "It''s just... just that I rather not speak on that anymore." He forced a smile.


    The zeal he had felt to announce both situations fell down the hill. If they could react to Neider''s death in such a way, then he couldn''t quite ce how they would take Fae''s seeming death.


    Ahem!


    He raised his head with a new resolve, "that isn''t why we are here today. What I''m about to say affects the whole foundation as we know it."


    "Never in the one hundred and thirty years of the school''s existence has a situation such as the one that''s to happen, present itself." He spoke enthusiastically.


    ''Never would it happen again anyways!'' His thoughts werepleted.


    "We would be having the graduation sped up than expected." He looked down at the script he had prepared.


    Opening the next chapter to read out its content.


    "We have had some exceptionally good rmendations for the organization and it is with great joy..."


    ''Sadness!'' His thoughts cut in again as he paused in his speech, almost wishing he could say those words.


    "... to call out the names of those who were able to get such remarkable rmendation, specially handpicked by Mr. Zhao."

 Chapter 157 Beyond Redemption

    ''Let''s see how you get out of this one, now!'' Mr. Gaviel thought with a smirk.


    It was best to push all the me on Zhao before his departure. At the very least, the students would still have the luxury of speaking with him once in a while.


    Lank had a gloomy look all the while, sitting at the far end on the right.


    His eyes searched the crowd for Gia. When he had seen the distinctive ombr¨¦ blue hue which she had rolled in a messy bun, he let out a sigh.


    ''You little devil!'' He hissed in thought about what Lumina had caused.


    He asionally stared daggers at her, remembering what had transpired two days ago.


    Lumina rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly feeling she was being watched.


    Scanning through the crowd, she turned her head in just the right direction to lock gazes with Lank.


    He was fuming, his chest visibly rising and falling as he tried to keep his anger in check.


    Bringing out her tongue and blowing a raspberry, she turned around and pretended nothing ever transpired between them.


    Lank''s lips fell open, visibly disturbed by what she had done, but his actions were cut short by the booming voice of Mr. Gaviel.


    "Let''s begin with the number of students chosen for this."


    He flipped another page, read through it quickly, and looked back up.


    "The number of students chosen for this year''s graduation is seven¨Ca lucky number, if I do say so myself." Mr. Gaviel prided on his ability as a magic user and its significance.


    Silence followed right after again.


    Covering his nervousness with a chuckle, his eyes searched the crowd for students in question.


    "Nix..."


    Getting to his feet, he stretched out his hands, giving a view of his ck fingerless gloves.


    He was wearing a ck leather jacket with a gray top underneath. A denim pants which was ripped on the knees and tucked in a biker boot.


    The female students swooned over his looks and the air of charisma he gave out, giving a cheer on what he had managed to achieve in such a short time since he joined the academy.


    "Pathetic!" Nix muttered under his breath, pushing his way towards the front.


    He had his hands sped and behind his head. He had a stoic expression, whistling to stall his boredom.


    Lank let out a chuckle at the attitude that Nix was putting up, that was surely the kind of friend he wished to maintain.


    "Lank..."


    There was a collective gasp from the other students who had heard his name being mentioned.


    As expected, whispers of side remarks erupted.


    "Why was he chosen?"


    "Good thing we wouldn''t be bothered by his presence anymore."


    The corner of his lips twitched uncontrobly. The undue hate was starting to get to him.


    "Shut your pie hole, he was chosen, so he must have more skills than your sorry ass." Gia snapped, springing to her feet and ring at the female who had made such a remark.


    Lank''s mood brightened, this was the same Gia that had caught his fancy.


    Gia gave a thumbs up, smiling. "You can do this!" She mouthed.<sub> </sub>


    Nodding his head to her words, he got up in preparation to meet Nix upfront.


    "Gia," Mr. Gaviel cut in, surprising everyone.


    They all stiffly turned in the direction of Gia who was as shocked as they were.


    "Me?" She pointed at herself in disbelief.


    "Mr. Gaviel don''t you think there''s a problem with the names chosen?" A male higher rank A magic user objected.


    "Fae would have been in a better position for this, but no one seems to notice she isn''t present at this ceremony." He looked around, bringing the other students'' attention to that one simple truth.


    "What the hell do you have to say Lumina, she is your closest friend, you don''t seem worried by the poor choices in recement of your friend."


    ''You just yed with lightning, you moron!'' Nix facepalmed, already knowing where this was going to lead.


    Zinn!


    Lightning broke through the roof,ing down at top speed.


    Students jumped away in a bid to escape the direct destruction that was to follow coupled with the target of the one who had triggered her anger.


    Boom!


    Smoke and dust erupted.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    The higher rank A male trembled upon seeing glowing green eyes amidst the smoke.


    "Lumina, that''s enough!" Mr. Gaviel yelled in a loud voice.


    Activating his ability, he illuminated the whole area so everyone could visibly see amidst the smoke.


    He could only me himself for not rifying what had happened to the whole ss.


    "There are some who are beyond redemption!" Lumina hissed in response to Mr. Gaviel, boiling in rage as she tried to locate the male that had spoken.


    "He didn''t know, none of them did and that was my mistake." Mr. Gaviel spoke slowly, trying to appeal to her reason.


    They didn''t need any explosive energy at the moment. Even Nix wasn''t much of a problem as she was.


    Sprinting to the male in question, he pushed him just in time before another lightning that broke through the roof could aim at him.


    "Fae got caught up in the crossfire of Mrs. Neider, she''s gone and it would be best to know your facts before you judge anyone." Mr. Gaviel yelled so everyone could hear.


    Lumina''s rage subsided at the revtion of those words, although she knew the true situation of things, it was best to keep it that way.


    All who did not know of this were visibly shaken by this news and could only feel empathy for what Lumina must be going through.


    "Now apologize!" Mr. Gaviel pulled up the student, turning his head so he could visibly see Lumina at a good distance.


    "I''m sor¨C"


    "Save it for those who are interested!" Lumina spat, turning around to get back to her seat.


    Once she sat down, she looked around at the shocked expression of the other students who were all standing and watching her.

 Chapter 158 The Fun Isnt Over

    "I''m sorry Mr. Gaviel for the disruption." She mumbled, looking away.


    Pushing the male away since there was no use of dead weight, Mr. Gaviel let out a sigh of relief.


    "You were awesome!" Gia whooped, seeing nothing wrong in what Lumina had done.


    It was fun to watch those who thought they had a say in what goes around in the academy just because they were of a higher rank.


    This wouldn''t be the first time Lumina had stood up for her and this had earned her admiration.


    Her high spirit was cut short by the res she got for her praise. The majority of them were put in danger just because of how ''awesome'' Lumina was.


    The chairs and floor began to return to how they were. It was the magic of one of the other teachers who had been silent all through the ceremony.


    Her brown hair flew around wildly as she covered all the damaged parts with her brown aura.


    She was wearing an orange jumpsuit, which features a halter neckline, a cinched waist, and elongating wide-leg pleat trousers. A ck belt around her slender waist. A pair of ck pumps.


    Her hazel eyes focused on what she was reconstructing. Oblivious to the stares her way.


    Some of the students were mesmerized by the beauty of the teacher. She had earlier sat at the far end of the teachers'' long line of seat upfront.


    p Now they wondered why she had never made herself more pronounced as she did. Fact that this was the first time they had seen her, they looked to Mr. Gaviel for answers, trying to rify what they thought of her position.</anda>


    "That is right, she is the recement of Mrs. Neider."


    "Miss Leah." Mr. Gaviel called on her attention.


    "Give me a moment." She called back, exerting more of her energy to cover the hole that had been created by the lighting.


    Raising her hands upwards, she sealed the holes in the roofing.


    "Ha! Done!" She stretched, deactivating her ability.


    Whipping her hair back, animated sparkles circled her face as the students watched.


    "Hello students, it''s nice to meet you." She timidly waved her hand, pulling it down immediately.


    To her difort, the majority of the students looked at her with big lovestruck eyes.


    "Uhh!" She sweatdropped, looking at Gaviel for some help.


    Ahem!


    "Gia, could you move forward? We still have four more to go." Mr. Gaviel walked back to the lectern.


    "Right!" Gia scurried past the others.


    "I need you all to know that this isn''t my decision but approved names suggested and picked out of the numerous students by the organization." Mr. Gaviel exaggerated.


    Deep down he knew the truth, but that was far from telling them in his current situation.


    If they could believe this excuse, that was all he needed to buy out the time he needed.


    "If you have any other objection to the names called, I would suggest you take it up against the organization." Mr. Gaviel said, trying to give them a scare.


    Pleased with the fact that it had some hold on them as they had their eyes wide with shock.


    "Okay, let''s move further..."<sub> </sub>


    "Who are we going to have next, Lumina?" Arion blurted out, rolling his eyes at the suggestion he had given.


    ''Are you trying to court death?'' Mr. Doliu''s brows twitched in annoyance at the constant interruption by this arrogant student.


    Mr. Gaviel smiled at his words, "in fact, yes. Lumina, could you join the others?"


    Lumina sighed, knowing she would be picked, this was something she had known for quite some time. Mr. Zhao had already assured her that she would make it when the graduation was held.


    "Thank the heavens!" Arion rose to his feet, raising his hand in happiness at the news, d to rid himself of the pain in his side.


    The other students dared not speak, they knew what he meant and were d they would be given a fresh and normal start at the academy with the move of Lumina.


    Her presence was even more dominating than Nix. They felt admiration and respect for Nix, but Lumina on the other hand was induced respect through fear.


    Mr. Gaviel raised his brow at the attitude shown by Arion which riled up his anger.


    ''Don''t be too happy about this.''


    He looked down at the remaining names, these were of students that had done exceptionally well during the spar session.


    ''Cara, Solis, Luna.'' He read in his thoughts,ing up with a wicked n.


    ''Cara... Cara... Cara...'' he repeated in his thoughts, thinking of the next n of action.


    She had been the one who had faced Gia in the duel, this might not end too well if Cara still held grudges for what had happened that caused their humiliating draw.


    ''Presto chango!'' He said gleefully in his mind.


    Secretly cing his hand over the paper a faint glowing off it, he duly reced Cara''s name with Arion.


    "The fun isn''t over, Arion." Mr. Gaviel smiled. "Care to know whose name''s next?"


    Arion straightened his posture, clearing his throat and nodding.


    "You, my friend, won a one-way ticket to the organization as the fifth candidate," he said with a wide grin. "Isn''t that just great?"


    "What?!" Arion eximed in disbelief.


    Although he was ecstatic about the news of being chosen, he also thought about the fact that he was still going to see and be forced to interact or work with Lumina in the future.


    He had not grown his ability to her level, this would be part two of the bullying in that sophisticated environment.


    ''Humiliation is looming!'' His thoughts dered.


    Nix was also present, which would only spell doom to him if he gets in his bad book just because of Lumina.


    "You are the fifth," Mr. Gaviel pped his hand, "step forward to join the others.


    He sweatdropped, feeling this was some sort of punishment for his active words during the ceremony.


    Looking to the side to get a glimpse of Lumina, she had her thumb gently glide across her neck, giving him a death re.


    Gulp!


    "Arion?" Mr. Gaviel cut into his thoughts, a mischievous grin on his lips.

 Chapter 159 Rarity Of Twins

    "Mr. Gaviel, you must be joking," Arion eximed.


    "Shouldn''t you be d that you were chosen?" Mr. Gaviel retorted.


    He was pleasantly enjoying his mental breakdown of Arion.


    ''You are sure as hell going to be a valuable y toy for the organization.'' He thought with a smile.


    Knowing all the troubles he had caused, it was only a matter of time before he would fall into the dark path of the organization.


    Only then would he know the right way to go about things, if he can ept that he had chosen the wrong path.


    Lank had a darkness that had been locked in him and regretted not being able to tell him, not while the pendant was still on him.


    Although he had such darkness just waiting to be unleashed, he had managed to control it. The way Lank looked at Gia couldn''t go unnoticed.


    That was the same look he had for Neider, the very person who had pulled him from his dark path. This he had high hopes would also work in Lank''s favor.


    "How could I pair with two abom¨C" His breath hitched at the thought of continuing with his speech.


    There was no way that they would let him off, it was best to keep a low profile.


    ''Take this as a way of getting more offensive training to crush your enemies.'' He tried to convince himself.


    Lumina narrowed her eyes, she could already tell someone would have his ass whooped repeatedly.


    She had heard from Mr. Zhao, that the organization operated on a different rule¨Cthe strong rules and controls.


    He had made mention of all he had gone through to get to where he was and had faith she could achieve much greater heights.


    Her focus wasn''t on greater heights, but rather to find out the truth about her brother.


    She knew they knew about the transfer of her gift from her brother. Thinking hard on why she was approached, only one thought came to mind¨Cthey are trying to control her, since they couldn''t do that for her brother, they thought they could only do that for her.


    ''You''re so wrong, the weather''s going to be so cloudy once we get there.'' She snickered in her thoughts as she red daggers at Arion.


    No matter how she wished to bury the hatchet with him, he had always managed to get on her nerves every time.


    "Are you afraid of a little responsibility, fart face?" Lumina teased with a pout, winking his way.


    "Grrr!" Arion growled in rage, unable to do anything so much so that it frustrated the gas out of him.


    "See, fart face," Lumina bit down on her bottom lip to stifle augh. "Be careful how gas escapes from you, we wouldn''t want¨C"


    "That''s enough Lumina." Mr. Gaviel cut in.


    If he allowed her to continue with her taunts, it was inevitable to watch both fights till the death.


    ''Please respect yourselves while here, you could fight till the death while in the organization.'' He thought with a sigh, shaking his head.<sub> </sub>


    Lumina scrunched her nose, folding her arms.


    "Watch how you talk while everyone is looking," Nix whispered to her with the corner of his lips. His hands are in his pocket.


    "I''m sorry I''m not as cool-headed as you are." She hissed, raising her chin, displeased by his words but also agreeing nheless.


    "Nor can you bring up the heat as I can." Nix chipped in, his face in a smirk when he heard her scoff.


    Mr. Gaviel''s eyes followed Arion as he walked up to the others, making sure to keep his distance from both pairs.


    He was visibly disturbed by the fact that the four who would be considered his teammates were the ones he had an issue with, some greater than the other.


    ''There better be other sensible ones!'' He frowned at the thought of another annoying ranker being called out.


    The remaining two were unclear as the most prominent students in their school had been picked.


    The anxiety rose in the air as they debated amongst themselves who it could be.


    "Could I get everyone''s attention?" Mr. Gaviel pped his hands.


    "Much better, thank you." He said with a smile, nodding his head, he proceeded to call the two names at the same time.


    These two had a good record from the very beginning and one of the most special sets, "Solis, Luna, please do join the others." He smiled.


    Solis and Luna were the only known twins with magic who were in contrast with one another.


    Solis had his hair in a sleek back orange hair which had highlights of yellow at the side, yellow eyes. His dressing consisted of ckce-up jogger stitching zipper pants and a ck shirt that had a moon with a word¨Cilluminating the starry night that curved around the moon.


    Luna had her white hair in a strip taper fade undercut bun which had highlights of gray on the bun. Her dressing was rightly simr to Solis, the difference being her bust more prominent and the sharp contrast of color and theme on the clothes.


    Instead of ck, this was an all-white mashup. On her shirt was the sun which had a melting effect text right below¨CBurning through the day.


    Nix watched the two for a while, his lips raised in a smirk.


    ''Twins huh?'' Nix felt the need tough at how ironic this looked and satisfied with the fact they were fraternal.


    The two did look simr in their own way, the only difference was their gender, hairstyles and the color of their locks. This came as a harsh reminder of his brother who was a spitting image of him.


    ''F*ck you Naz, we could have been like these two right here, all dark and sunshine.'' He spat in regret when he remembered the little time he had with Naz.


    From what he had realized, even though it was rare for siblings to have gifts or magic, it was a rare phenomenon for twins as they were bound to have and it woulde in contrast.


    He never took his eyes away from the pair as they made their way to join them on the stage. His interest in them intensified all of a sudden.


    ''Why haven''t we met since I have been here?'' He narrowed his eyes at them.

 Chapter 160 Till We Meet Again

    The students all looked at the two strangely, these two had been fluctuating when it came toing to ss.


    It was unclear why it was so or why the organization never implements the academy rules on them.


    They would have thought they were proud and conceited if Solis had a different personality.


    In contrast to their powers and gender, they also had personalities different from the others.


    Solis was full of sunshine, outgoing, and approachable. Luna on the other hand was as stiff as a board and had a stern outlook which made her unapproachable.


    Her beauty was mesmerizing, but also a warning to back off when her brows were furrowed.


    They couldn''t dispute the fact that they were strong in their own right and treated with much respect.


    After Lumina, they came in close range with her smarts and prodigy in whatever sheid her hands on.


    Luna nudged Solis on the side, secretly nodding towards Nix.


    "I don''t know why, but he''s looking our way," Luna whispered to her brother.


    "Maybe he''s into you," Solis responded in a singsong manner, wiggling his brows at his sister.


    Bam!


    "Ow! What the heck sis?" Solis hissed, quickly adjusting his hairstyle before it waspletely ruined.


    "That''s for spitting out rubbish to your elder sister." She hissed, pretending she had not done anything.


    The other students watched things y out, ufortable by the sort of strength Luna possessed.


    The males gulped, seeing their opportunity slip out of their grasp. If she could do that to her brother, it could mean they would be bullied when the time calls for it.


    ''Why the hell were they called?!'' Arion had wanted to blurt out.


    All who had been called out had a significant other they could rte to within their spare time, while he had no one except he was nning to be a third wheel.


    This made him feel lonely suddenly.


    ''You have an opportunity to befriend those of the organization, think positive thoughts! Not one of these idiots would ruin this for me.''


    He nodded his head and felt a calm wash over him.


    Luna took asional looks at Nix while Mr. Gaviel gave a speech that was boring her out.


    She had unintentionally locked eyes with Lumina who frowned at the constant stares she had noticed Luna had done in Nix''s direction.


    Luna looked in the other direction, her heartbeat quickened at being caught.


    "Sis, are you okay?" Solis whispered, noting her flushed face.


    "I''m fine, let''s just concentrate." She hit her chest lightly to calm her heart.


    This had never happened and she refused to believe it was ever going to have a hold on her.


    ''I refused to be smitten by such a person.''


    Nix shook his head, aware that he had been stared at for an ufortable long minute.


    ''Mune!'' He called on her, he had missed her cute presence in his life.


    He had been so caught up in so many things that it had encroached on his moment with her.


    He could only remember calling on her when he needed information on a particr thing he would read in the Armeanguage of Arkai.


    Reading some of those books with the help of Mune had boosted his experience points greatly.


    He needed her to have a record of the day''s event, just in case, he might have missed something while the ceremony was on.


    So he could have some sort of excuse to call on her, he felt ecstatic when a ball of white light popped revealing her.


    Her hair was in a messy bun, with two curls of face-framing tendrils. Her little off-shoulder green flowing sparkly dress with its length way above her knees.


    [Master!!!] She squealed, zooming to the side of his face, hugging it.


    Nix felt like he was walking on hot coals but couldn''t react in any way as she hugged his face. He wanted to fawn over how cute she looked, how he had missed her presence.


    As much as he wanted to do that, people would only term him crazy since they couldn''t see Mune. It would simply look like he was speaking to imaginary things and fawning in front of them.<sub> </sub>


    That might as well cancel his one-way ticket to the organization and the ticket taken to the mental institution for proper treatment.


    ''How are you? I hope you haven''t been too lonely?'' He asked her enthusiastically, happy to while away the time Mr. Gaviel used to give such a boring speech.


    Mune nodded her head and turned back to look at what was going on.


    [They organized this much earlier than expected] She said with a sigh.


    ''I got some information ahead of you this time around.'' Nix teased her.


    Nodding her head, she had to acknowledge that fact. This wasn''t part of what had been programmed in the system.


    ''Let''s watch how things progress.'' He told her, bringing his attention to the students who were silent, listening attentively to Mr. Gaviel.


    "... I hope you all can grow in your endeavors, remember you all have a beautiful ability inside of you!" Mr. Gaviel said in a final note.


    Cheers and ps erupted, they were so pumped up for striving to do better that they felt couldn''t help but make a lot of noise.


    "Student... Please, that''s just about enough." Mr. Gaviel tried to control their noise.


    He turned his attention to the seven that were selected for the organization.


    They also looked his way, raising their heads so he could see their faces and expressions.


    ''It was nice knowing almost every one of you.'' He thought with a smile.


    Bringing down his hand, he spread them, chanting a spell. White magic glowed with all brightness before dimming.


    Gia''s adrenaline pumped at knowing the high-level spell he was attempting.


    "Kindly step into the circle." He called on the seven.


    ''Not again! Another circle?!'' Nix dreaded the memories that their seamless glowing markings had done to his life up until now.


    [Master, this is it. You would be able to go to the organization and fulfill the ultimate mission of the system!] She whooped, flying to his head to rest.


    ''Why do we need to take the route through that abomination?''


    [No one can ess the organization except through this means, this is how it has maintained its secrecy over the years. And thinking about it, it''s much faster]


    ''F*ck the elevator service?'' He cursed in his thoughts.


    Reluctantly Nix followed the others to the magic circle.


    ''Why do I feel like I''m going to regret this?'' He wondered.


    If there was a possibility of taking the stairs instead of the elevator, he would dly take the stairs¨Cin this case, scenario.


    Mr. Gaviel walked and brought up his hand, casting a bright light that swept through the hall.


    To others, this was nothing more than a light wave that made them gasp in awe, but to Nix, Lank, Lumina, and Gia. Their eyes widened at the secret information he had embedded in their memory.


    "Mr. Gaviel¨C" Nix had begun, shocked by what he had seen in his thoughts.


    "Goodbye, do with the information well." He whispered.


    "Nooo!" Nix yelled as an increasing brightness engulfed them, cutting short his actions.


    Zip!


    "Till we meet again, my friends." Mr. Gaviel muttered, clenching his fist to his side.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Author''s note


    ? I want to thank you all for reading this far, it amazes me that you could read this far to get to the end of this arc.


    ? While writing this, I had to cope with a lot of backlogs, hate speech, bad reviews,ck of sleep as my inspirationes knocking at the door then, (¤Ã??¨q¨r??)¤Ã but with the help of positive feedbacks, chapter unlocks, gifts and the confidence boost I was given both here and in the server, I was able to scale through this sessfully. Thank you so much.


    ? Stay awesome like you so rightly deserve.


    ? Drop a +1 if you''ve gotten here, please review my book, I need your support and thoughts on this so far.

 Chapter 161 Wrong Time Not To Wear A Bra

    "Nix, wake up!" Lumina''s voice broke into his thoughts.


    [Master, wake up!] Mune echoed, floating in front of his face.


    She was d that they had all been able to survive the magic formation that brought them to the organization.


    "What?" Nix mumbled, pushing himself off the ground.


    He tried to open his eyes, but the blinding light forced him to close them again.


    "Solis, could you ease up on the light?" Luna requested.


    Solis had activated his ability, his body giving off a bright light that illuminated the once dark environ.


    Reducing the light he gave off, the room instead was poorly dim.


    "Just the way you like it, sis," Solis said with a pout.


    Bam!


    "Darkness is my thing, I just need your light for some of our sync moves." She hissed.


    [Master, it''s alright to open your eyes] Mune said softly.


    Nodding his head to her words, he put his hand like a cover on his forehead, shielding his eyes as he opened them again.


    The first thing he saw was the outstretched arm toward him by Lumina. Then a floating Mune by her side.


    His eyes darted from Lumina to Mune.


    Mune whistled, pretending not to care about his choices. Since he was the only one who could see her, it was impossible to interfere except they were fairly alone.


    She looked at Lumina and pointed at her and said in a whisper, [Take it!]


    "Come on, grab it." She nodded to her palm.


    When he took her gesture, she nodded her head and tried to pull him up.


    Not calcting his body weight inparison to hers, she was pulled instead downwards.


    Nix''s eyes widened as he saw her bodye at him in a slower movement than it was supposed to be.


    ''What the hell?!'' He thought in confusion, opening his arms to catch her before she crashed in on him.


    Solis yelped at the impending disaster, only to be met with a strange and calcted move from Nix.


    Lumina had her hand around his neck, shocked that he had broken her fall at just the right time.


    "What the heck are you two doing?!" Arion''s voice broke the awkward silence.


    He was slightly disgusted by the sight of the two. "Is that what you two do behind closed doors?" He cringed and turned his attention to the in metal walls.


    His hands feel for some secret exit.


    Turning his attention back on them, he frowned, feeling he was the only one that was concerned that they were in an enclosed metal box-like room.


    The others were more concerned about Nix waking up orforting each other even though they had just arrived at such a weird ce.


    "Am I the only one concerned about why we were taken here?" He frowned, ring at every one of them.


    Nix looked around them, this wasn''t some metal box, a sh of a memory from his mother made him gasp.


    "Nix?" Lumina steadied him from staggering back and falling.


    "You felt it too?" She whispered, having a clue about what was going on.


    Nix nodded his head, he could guess she would feel the same way since her brother had also been here.<sub> </sub>


    "What does that mean for us?" She whispered from the corner of her mouth.


    "Are you alright, Nix?" Lank''s voice cut in, he walked towards the right corner of the room where Nix and Lumina stood.


    "You''ve got to be kidding me!" Arion rolled his eyes, giving up on them and finding out how he could get out.


    Activating his magic, he let out a trail of gas from his index finger, hoping to find an escape from his gas and in turn the exit he needed so badly so he could get away from them all.


    "No! Stop!" Nix yelled out to him to step away.


    From the memory he had witnessed, using your magic or gift on the walls would trigger a defense mechanism while being in the metal confinement.


    This was done to test the endurance level of those who had refused to go by the organization''s rules.


    His mother had been the one in charge of such experiments, he had seen how heartbroken and torn his mother was as she watched those who had been put in this very room.


    Although this had inadvertently exined where they were, this was a bad sign for Arion who had triggered its defensive mechanism.


    Zzzzznnn!


    Currents traveled at lightspeed on the wall, reaching Arion''s finger, forcing him in ce while it slowly drained his magic.


    "Oh no, you don''t!" Lumina dashed towards the wall, and ced her hand on Arion, she felt the current pass through her at that point.


    ''Ha, you picked the wrong defense mechanism!'' She snickered in her thoughts.


    She wouldn''t give the organization to snuff out Arion while she was present. They weren''t allowed to ruin the one person that she could casually tease and remind of his ce.


    Pulling him and tossing him to the side, she ced both palms on the wall.


    This was the very technique her brother had used to escape this containment.


    All she needed to do was absorb every ounce of the artificial current.


    zzzzznn!


    Zzznn!


    Zzznn!


    The buzzing sound was gradually depleting with every passing second.


    The speed and force she had used to pull in the current began to rip her top.


    ''What the f*ck!'' She internally screamed in shock, pulling her hand away from the wall, quickly grabbing what was left of the yellow top and covering her bust to the best of her ability.


    ''You picked the wrong time not to wear a bra, Lumina.'' She internally scolded herself from the tough position she had put herself in.


    Refusing to turn around in embarrassment, she cursed out in regret for helping Arion.


    Arion was left unconscious after that ordeal.


    Gia raised her hand towards Lank''s face as Lumina''s bareback was exposed. "I refuse the temptation."


    Solis deactivated his magic so he could give some privacy. Darkness gradually returned until Luna activated her gift, having absorbed enough from Solis.


    "Hey, she''s¨C" Solis had wanted to protest his sister''sck of regard for Lumina''s dilemma.


    "She needs just a bit more light than you think." Luna rolled her eyes, "you''re not a female after all."


    ''Does that even make sense?'' Solis'' lips drew in a thin line, not being able to object.


    Nix walked past them, pulling off his leather jacket as he approached Lumina.

 Chapter 162 Need To Stop

    "I''m sorry I couldn''t stop that from happening." He whispered, wrapping her with his leather jacket.


    She bit down on her bottom lip, unable to face him.


    Nix looked around at the structure, it almost looked like the same metal that was used to create their door back in the academy.


    [Hearing augmentation activated]


    ''Are you thinking what I''m thinking?'' He spoke to Mune, his focus still on the wall, trying to pinpoint if they were being watched like how his mother and her colleague had done.


    He had heard some whispers, this wasn''ting from any of them. This had to be out. Just like the sick show he had inadvertently put out while he was in Zoar.


    ''They just don''t give up.'' He internally facepalmed at the sick game he was ced in again.


    It all started to make sense why he was tested in such a way then.


    They had merely arrived, yet they were put in a shit hole to test them?


    He turned his attention to the direction of the noise to the right. A faint flicker of movement from the right alerted him to the fact that whoever was watching them was definitely from that area.


    [Master, do you think it''s possible to break through this? It''s a fortified wall]


    Looking over at where Lumina stood, she still had not turned in their direction, the only good thing he could think of was the fact that where she had faced no prying eyes were watching in that direction.


    The thought of the possibility of them watching in some way while she had almost been rendered naked to the eyes of everyone, shook his very being.


    Clenching his fist, he took a deep breath, his eyes glowed in rage.


    [Gift: Fire fist in effect]


    ''I''d also like to know to what extent that wall can take.''


    Lank narrowed his eyes at what Nix was nning on doing, it didn''t seem like he was in a good mood either.


    ''Shit''s about to get real.'' Lank took a step back, dragging Arion away by the hand from the floor.


    "If I were you three, I would leave that part, except you would like to be a partaker of the destruction that''s to follow." He hissed to the others.


    Lumina looked over her shoulder at the sound of hearing Lank''s remark.


    Curious to know what Nix was nning on doing when he walked up to the opposite side of the wall.


    Bam!


    "Is this how you wee recruits to the organization?!" He raged, pulling out his fist from the wall.


    Lumina''s eyes bulged upon seeing the imprint of his knuckles on the wall.


    Bam!


    "This is by far the best wee party I''ve had in years!" Nix snickered, shaking his head and continuing with rapid punches.


    Bam!


    Bam!


    Bam!


    "He''s going to destroy the Metabox!"


    Nix paused, raising his brow at thement that he had managed to hear from outside the box.<sub> </sub>


    His lips curved into a devilish smirk. If they were so concerned that he would destroy the confinement, it was best to give them a good show.


    Investing 50% of his energy level into his gift efficiency, the mes on his hand increased.


    Bringing his hand back, he prepared for a devastating blow.


    Click!


    A door opened from behind him, temporarily stopping him from carrying on with his action.


    "Nix! You need to stop!"


    Nix''s grin only turned more sinister when he looked at who was trying to stop him from going through with his action.


    ''Sesa.'' Nix acknowledged in his thoughts.


    He had wondered where she had been for some while. Now he understood that her station was never the academy but rather the dreaded organization.


    He looked at his hand which still had the mes burning wildly.


    "Well, I would have," Heughed. "But the issue is, this can''t go to waste while I''m already invested in carrying through with it."


    Without giving her a chance to intervene, he continued from where he left off.


    Boom!


    The whole area trembled to the force that was used, dust rising in its wake as the metal in front of him burst open.


    ''I guess it''s still as weak as the one back in the academy.'' Nix thought with a sigh, shaking his head.


    [Awesome, master! Show them who''s boss!] Mune cheered.


    Looking behind him, he threw a wink at the shocked Sesa. Her mouth fell open at his wink.


    Lumina red daggers at Sesa from behind, she had watched what had transpired between the two and felt slightly offended.


    Although they had defined what they were, she still couldn''t help but feel jealous that this strangedy had captivated his attention.


    Judging from the way she had easily opened the door from outside, she must be one of the members of the organization.


    Nix turned his attention immediately to the groan he picked up a few feet in front of him¨Cwhere he had blown up to vent his anger.


    [Hearing augmentation deactivated]


    He already had enough of the augmentation for the day to be haunted by anymore.


    Stepping out, he was mesmerized by the intricate design of the area. The flooring was made up of fully automated, white molded strips.


    The room was equipped with four motion-detecting light switches, which flickered on and off as Nix tried to concentrate on one at a time.


    ''What the hell is all of this?!'' His mouth hung open at the advanced interior technology he was currently witnessing.


    This was opposed to the dwindling civilization of the city. Even the academy couldn''tpare to this most scarcely.


    The ceiling was an unimaginable, intricate, marble-like pattern, which repeated itself at nearly every centimeter.


    Several video cameras mounted on the corners of the metal walls, which were all searching for signs of movement, stopped and zoomed in on Nix and the scientists trapped under the rubble.


    ''Oh f*ck me!'' Nix cursed at the bad luck he had developed upon noticing a shadow cast over him. Looking up, he noticed arge rock floating in the air with a ck aura outlining its edges, right above his head.

 Chapter 163 A Proper Welcome

    "Enough, Nix." A voice thundered in rage.


    Looking to the right, he saw Mr. Zhaoe up from the shadows, his hands behind him.


    His beard had grown considerably longer, reaching down to his shoulder de level. He had a frown on his face as he locked his gaze on Nix.


    "Fancy meeting you in this wonderful ce, Mr. Zhao." Nix gave an eye shut smile.


    Deep down, whoever was holding up the boulder above, meant business. If it did drop, he could easily destroy it, but might not be fast enough to shield the others from the debris.


    ''I can''t let them get away with this!'' He thought, looking around for the sign of the person.


    Mr. Zhao gave him a brief body scan. It was way out of what he had imagined for the likes of an inexperienced fire rank user.


    Unlikest time, he had never used his gift in a fight. This time he had readily used it to break out of one of their most reinforced encasement.


    ''How strong are you?'' Mr. Zhao''s brows twitched in frustration.


    In all his years working for the organization, he had never seen such nimble actions before.


    [Master, over there!] Mune called in a loud voice, floating above him and pointing ahead.


    Releasing his grip from the wall, an unknown male jumped down from the 8 feet metal hanging nter.


    A handsome young man with short silver hair, parted bangs, wolf ears, and a foxtail?


    ''What sort of mashup are you?'' Nix looked at this character in confusion.


    His dressing consisted of a ck jacket, a silver fluffy top with a horrifically distorted wolf logo on it, and ck fitted pants tucked into a silver knee-high boot.


    His bound forearms and knuckles in bandages were raised, still holding up the boulder above Nix''s head. His silver ws glinted with the reflection of the light given off from the lights mounted on the walls.


    His silver slit pupils glowed amidst the ck sclera. He stared at him with a mischievous smirk.


    ''Reanimation?'' Nix tilted his head at the weird reference popping in his head the more he looked at the male.


    "Teacher, his low life wouldn''t be a nuisance anymore." The male spoke, sneering at Nix.


    Nix let out augh at the reference, he had merely just arrived, yet a proper wee was so far out of reach for any of them.


    From the corner of his eyes, he could see Lumina being assisted out by Gia, Lank carelessly pulling out Arion by the arm. Solis and Luna stepped out slightly.


    Nix closes his eyes, d that they could safely leave the one ce that drew him back.


    With the distance they had made by relocating to a safer part of the environment, he couldn''t help but let out a smirk.


    ''Freedom to teach this fool a lesson.'' Nix thought, his fist raised in front of his face as a cross popping vein made its way to his forehead.


    "Mind what you say, Obsidian!" Mr. Zhao snapped at the unsuspecting male.


    His face carried so much shock from the scolding he had gotten from his mentor. He gritted his teeth as he stiffly turned his head towards Nix who was visibly trying to stifle augh.


    "You!" He growled, his hold on the boulder tightening.


    Little debris dropped on Nix''s shoulder.


    Brushing it off, he raised his head to lock eyes with Obsidian, "I would suggest you don''t dirty this priceless shirt."


    Watching the show unfold in front of them, his teammates facepalmed at that cringe-worthy line.<sub> </sub>


    ''Don''t... just don''t, Nix!'' Lank hissed in his thoughts, almost regretting he is friends with such a guy.


    They were at the prestigious academy, it wasn''t best to ruin their reputation so early.


    ''Take things slowly, then we strike, you dimwit!'' Lumina thought with a sigh. There was no way of convincing him otherwise, this was going to go shitty real quick.


    [Show him who''s the boss!] Mune whopped, riled up for the fight.


    Nix hissed to the disturbance, he momentarily looked above, not at the boulder, but rather on Mune, who was acting a little bit out of the conventional way of doing things.


    ''Are you sure you''re okay, today?'' He questioned, bringing his attention back to Obsidian.


    [Of course, I''m okay, never been better!] Mune smiled, cing her hand on her blush-stained cheeks.


    ''Hmmm...''


    Sensing Obsidian was going to do something sneaky, he had to prepare himself for the inevitable.


    Wanting to activate his gift, he frowned at the notification that popped up in front of him.


    [System down, reconstruction in progress]


    ''What the hell is this? It was just fine a minute ago.'' He zed in his thoughts to the notification which continuously came up as he tried to risk the use of his passive gift instead.


    [System down, reconstruction in progress]


    [Guide reconstruction in effect]


    [Master...]


    Mune had a horror-stricken face, trying to reach out to him before she glitched and was immediately sucked into her void for the said action.


    ''It''s just not my day, today.''


    The corner of Nix''s lips twitched uncontrobly, he almost let out a crazedugh at the unfortunate predicament.


    He had spited this devil incarnate just a few feet away, the boulder was steadily above his head, waiting for the beautiful opportunity to make a jam out of him if given the chance.


    His arrogant ass would have to think of a better n before he gets himself killed while waiting for the goddamned system to make its construction.


    At that moment, he realized he had lost a huge part of himself and his routine to the system. This had made him realize how weak-minded he was without any augmentation from his gifts and system.


    Although this was a world governed by those with power and how far they could go to implement them. Never in his life had he thought that he would be suspended from using anything trick he had up his sleeve.


    ''Are you trying to kill me while I just got here, goddamn system?!'' He screamed, unable toe up with a logical solution to how this would turn out.


    Obsidian looked riled up for battle, eagerly expecting a go-ahead from Mr. Zhao.


    ''Now would be a good time to remember our good days, Mr. Zhao.'' Nix sweatdropped.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Author''s Note


    ? Have you ever felt confused, angered, or powerless when what you depended on fell through?

 Chapter 164 Unidentified Bullshit

    "Anyst words?" Obsidian snickered, ready to let go any time soon.


    Pointing in the direction of Mr. Zhao, "I think he has something he wants to tell you."


    Looking to his side, Obsidian awaited Mr. Zhao''s response eagerly.


    Twak!


    Obsidian''s face was forced to the side by a rock that had struck him.


    Wincing to the pain that traveled up his cheek, blood trailed down from the graze that he had sustained.


    Obsidian''s eyes darted in search of the perpetrator. In a blind rage, he focused his attention on Nix.


    Nix raised his hand in surrender,ughing at the usation. Although he wished he was the one who did it, there was no way for him to pick up a rock and stir trouble with his current state.


    "As much as I want it to be me, it sure isn''t," Nix said with a shrug.


    "Liar!" Obsidian spat.


    Twak!


    A tiny piece of rock hit the side of his nose. This was the very information he needed to know that it was never Nix, to begin with.


    "Hey fair-skinnedd, I don''t know the rules that guide here so well," Lank spoke up, tossing a rock in his hand in the air and catching it.


    Obsidian''s eyes followed the continuous loop of the rock in the air and back to Lank''s hand. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he frowned.


    "It was you!"


    Nix looked to his side, his face in disbelief at what his friend had done.When he got a wink from Lank, his muscles rxed as opposed to the feeling he had gotten initially.


    "You have a problem with that, gramps?" Lank used his brows to gesture to Obsidian''s hair, shrugging right after.


    ''Don''t kill him... yet!'' A snickering voice inside of him spoke.


    "I would teach you your ce as a student from the academy only relying on this fire rank user like a cheap dog." Obsidian snickered.


    Nix boiled in rage at such a description, he had hated being vaguely called with his gift, he had a name at the very least. Referring to his friends in such a demeaning manner didn''t settle in well with his current mood.


    ''System or no gift, I don''t care, I refuse to be trampled on!'' Nix clenched his fist.


    "Obsidian, that''s not¨C" Mr. Zhao''s words were cut short by Nix''sment.


    "U...B... S!" Nix slowly spelled the words through gritted teeth, his gaze on the ground trying topose himself.


    Obsidian rxed his muscles,ughing at the pathetic attempt to speak on behalf of the others.


    "Are you so scared you don''t know how topose your words anymore?" He said with a taunt.


    "I would dly wipe off that smirk!" Lank barked, angered that he was held back by Lumina.


    "It''s not worth it, Lank, we are in their territory. We need to strategize before jumping into a fight." Lumina said with a whisper.


    "But..." Lank had wanted to protest.<sub> </sub>


    "Can''t you tell he isn''t truly human? If we engage without knowing his true skill, say goodbye to your free ticket to this ce, you dimwit!" Lumina hissed at Lank, dropping any attempt at stopping him if he still wanted to engage the strange male.


    ''He looks more feral than I am.'' Lank''s heart pounded, shes of what experiment they had done on him only made him realize Obsidian must be a more perfect version of something they had also done to him.


    He looked more in control of his ability, there was no exnation for the aura that still engulfed the boulder and how much energy he was exerting to keep it up for that long with rtive ease.


    "Unidentified... Bull... Shit! That''s what you are!" Nix yelled out, pointing usingly at Obsidian.


    This wasn''t how he had expected his first day in the organization to be, so many things were wrong on all levels. Mr. Zhao wasn''t in the mood to intervene anytime soon.


    "I had thought at the least I had finally graduated from that shit hole of an academy and head on to something much less crappy." Nix snapped, raising his hand in front of him, bringing one foot forward in a fighting stance, ready to go with yet another unconventional method.


    In addition to his artistic skills back in the real world, he had also hidden the fact he learned some martial arts. When he had been granted the system, he merely used the augmentations to his advantage, but now he would have to rely on his raw strength and agility to carry out what he had in mind.


    "Never did I envision seeing such an abomination spit out shit like you are!"


    Lank let out augh at Nix''s words. Even though he was in a bad mood, this was the one word that had lightened the tension.


    Bam!


    "Would you like to be pulverized?" Luna hit Lank on the head in irritation.


    They were sitting ducks to this strange feral person. If he could hold his lot and not show any iota of fear towards Nix¨Cthen there was a problem.


    Only Nix could fend him off, all they are is cannon fodder. It was best to bask in the shadows.


    "Someone''s carried the torch." Solis let out a cackle, finally, happy someone else had been hit by his sister other than him.


    "Let him be," Gia stepped in front of Lank. "What you should be more worried about is Nix and that handsome silver-haired m¨C"


    "Hey!" Lank harrumphed loudly, enough to draw the attention of Obsidian.


    "I had almost forgotten you six still exist." Obsidian rolled his eyes at theckeys.


    Raising his hand, he cast a ck barrier around them, so thick it blocked out the source of light.


    Thump!


    Thump!


    "What the heck is this?!"


    The voice of Lank could be heard thundering inside the barrier as he tried to break free by scratching at it with his protruded ws.


    "Save your energy fool, I don''t want to fight with you anyways." Obsidian clicked his tongue, shaking his head at the pathetic attempt that any of them might have done.


    He had studied them a few weeks before their arrival through the data collected by Miss Lotus during their duel, devising a temporary counterattack until he could truly engage them.


    His focus wasn''t on them, but rather on Nix. He had always wanted to know the true strength of a fire rank.


    "Looks like you want your ass beaten." Obsidian had a devilish smirk as he bowed to Mr. Zhao to be granted permission.

 Chapter 165 Combining Contrasting Abilities

    Mr. Zhao nodded his head in acknowledgment.


    Since the time in Zoar and the destruction of Agatha, he had wanted to witness the progress of Nix. Thinking it through, he realized letting Obsidian was the perfect bnce he needed to use to know how well Nix could hold his lot.


    ''Fire ranks are known to have an indomitable willpower, how well could you hold your lot against one of our best members?'' He narrowed his eyes at both males.


    Obsidian wasn''t just an experiment, but rather a perfect manifestation of a sadistic maniac. Trained to view those he is given information about as ipetent, evil, and corrupt.


    He had merely fed the recruit''s information to him in case of such events like the one that were going to happen anytime soon.


    "Do not go easy, yet don''t let him die. We need him alive... for now." He said in a whisper, walking away immediately after he had given a go-ahead.


    Obsidian nodded his head, turning his attention towards Nix.


    "How about we settle this mano-a-mano? No abilities, no tricks, just fists and kicks too if that''s something you can do!" Nix stretched, confident in his ability if things were evened out until he could personally murder the system for bringing him so much trouble when he needed positivity.


    Obsidian raised a brow at the challenge. His eyes looked up at the boulder he was still holding up. There was no way he could just throw that away without putting it to the best use he could think of.


    "Of course," he cracked his knuckles, smiling at the offer.


    Nix felt ufortable with the ease in convincing him to that condition. It almost felt that something cunning was to follow before the duel began.


    "Don''t mind if I do take out the trash first, let''s see if they can survive this!" He called down the boulder on the barrier he created around the six at great speed.


    "Gia, Lumina activate your abilities if you want to survive the boulder directed at you!" Nix yelled at the top of his lungs. Conflicted on how he could help


    Inside the ck barrier,


    "What''s going on outside?" Gia rubbed the side of her arms, feeling a chill run down her spine.


    "Something isn''t right!" Lumina sensed, activating her gift. Her green eyes glowed in suspicion.


    "Something ising, something huge." Lank ounted, cing his hand on the floor and feeling the ground tremble faintly.


    Luna had her hand on the barrier, slowly sucking on the dark aura. "This dude just earned himself a fan!" She giggled as she continued with the only thing she could do to weaken the barrier for the sake of all of them.


    "Sis?!" Solis frowned at her poor choices in choosing someone to get her attention, this was a crazy, handsome inhumane male they were talking about.


    "Shhh!" Luna hushed her brother the moment she felt the barrier weaken.


    A yell with a piece of urgent information made them all freeze at the meaning behind it.


    Those words sounded like it wasing from Nix, whatever could have made him yell in that manner could only mean one thing.


    "The boulder!" The five of them concluded in unison.


    They all looked at the still-out-cold Arion on the floor, facepalming at the dead weight they had.


    Lumina looked toward Gia, "ready?"


    Gia looked uncertain, unsure if this would work. "I''m not so sure, but I can try." She replied timidly.<sub> </sub>


    "Uh... boys and girls," Lank covered his nervousness with a chuckle, "I can''t help in this, not at that range. Nix was right, you two would do the trick."


    ''Stupid!" Lumina grumbled in her thoughts, slightly pissed that he was still repeating what she already knew.


    Opening her palm, a tiny jagged current rose and fell, "together." She nodded her head towards Gia.


    "Together," Gia repeated, activating her powers, the luminous bright blue glow cackled and increased its glow, startling her.


    This wasn''t how she had remembered her ability. Whatever had happened to her at the infirmary had changed a lot of things that she would need to explore.


    "Focus!" Lumina yelled at her, stern on her concentrating on the task ahead.


    Pulling her by the hand, she interlocked their fingers so their abilitiesbined.


    "Remember what we were taught in G&M ss?" Lumina asked softly, a smirk on her lips.


    When she had gotten a nod from Gia, they looked up at the barrier that had shielded them from the others.


    "Any time now," Lank rapidly tapped his side with his hand, anxious about being killed in such a way.


    ''I can''t die this way, there was so much I wanted to do, there is still the truth about my past! F*ck this feeling!'' He frowned at the thoughts that crossed his mind.


    There was a faint humming sounding from the two.


    Lank bent over to pull Arion away from where they were. "When you wake up asshole, you have to thank me for shielding your sorry ass every single time." He spat in disdain.


    Solis and Luna took a step back, moving towards Lank, unsure of what they nned on doing bybining magic and gift ability.


    Lumina''s eyes glowed, and so did Gia as they were all charged up. They moved in sync, raising their hands, and a beam shot out from both hands.


    Boom!


    The beam obliterates the boulder and shatters it to dust.


    Tiny particles rained on them instead.  Lank''s mouth gaped open at such destructive power ofbining contrasting abilities.


    "Pfffft!" Lank spat out in disgust as some of the particles went into his mouth.


    "That''s what you get for opening that feral mouth of yours." Luna rolled her eyes, covering her brother and herself with a gray cloak like an umbre.


    Huff!


    Huff!


    Gia and Lumina''s abilities were deactivated, leaving them gasping for breath.


    Unable to gain control of their stability, they dropped down, unconscious.


    Lank''s mouth gaped open once more, but this time Solis and Luna had a valid reason to be as shocked as he was.

 Chapter 166 F*Ck You, System!

    "Really? Now?!" Lank pulled on his brown hair in frustration. Instead of one person to look over, it had transitioned to three!


    Obsidian''s brokenughter cut in.


    "I see, so you all aren''t off on a bad start." He pped his hand at how they had managed to escape that almost smoothly.


    "UBS, look here," Nix called his attention, he wasn''t going to allow him to target them anymore.


    Obsidian hated himself for listening to the call as he had known what it meant, yet he had unwittingly answered the call without giving it a thought.


    "You are ying with darkness." Obsidian clenched his fist, referring to himself and ready to engage.


    At a distance were Mr. Zhao and Miss Sesa, the duo who were almost inseparable when watching scenarios of this kind.


    Leaning to the side so she could speak in a whisper, "do you think he can defeat Obsidian, like¨C"


    Her lips sealed shut the moment she saw his hand raised to stop her from speaking. Her cheeks filled with air and her mouth in a pout.


    "Would you please not ask such a question?" Mr. Zhao shook his head at the disturbance she was creating. "Why do you think that I had allowed for such a duel?"


    "If the master finds out that¨C"


    "That''s enough, Sesa. Just watch!" He forced the words out through gritted teeth.


    Any more questions and he would lose his cool.


    Feeling that she had drawn thest straw, she simply nodded her head to the vague reply. She didn''t want anything to go wrong with Obsidian''s mental stability, there were on some asions that he had gone berserk on some of their members.


    This wasn''t part of what was programmed in him, he had tried to think for himself and had turned on them in a fit of rage. If he fought with Nix, she couldn''t be so sure the same wouldn''t happen.


    "Would you stop overthinking?" Mr. Zhao spoke through the corner of his mouth. He had a feeling that she would think on the line of the what-ifs.


    "What?" She shook her head to his words bringing her back to reality.


    "What you were just doing, daydreaming, nking out, having day vision, or past information collection?" Mr. Zhao shook his head, still knowing the answer.


    Sesa looked down, guilty as charged. She had lost control of Lank, which had made her take him to the academy and decided to do more tests on another subject that she felt would be the perfect trial.


    With their experiment slowed due to the destruction of Agatha, things had been a little slow on their end.


    "I don''t think Obsidian would be able to go through with this, even if he did, we aren''t so sure that any would want to go easy on the other." She pulled on Mr. Zhao''s sleeve.


    Facepalming, he looked at her sternly. This wasn''t what he had wanted in the first instance on the recruits'' arrival. The only reason he had agreed on the duel was so he could teach Nix a lesson, the need to wipe that smirk off his face so badly without drawing attention to himself.


    "Fine," he said with a sigh. Walking forward, only to stop at the first sh he witnessed from both.


    sh!


    "Hmmm, I guess I can''t ruin a good fight." He chuckled, nodding in the direction of the two. "Get those who would repair all these damages as fast as possible."<sub> </sub>


    The walls trembled at the sh between the two.


    Miss Sesa shook her head in disappointment but still applied to go through with what he said. "I''ll go do that now then."


    "You''re good." Obsidian wiped the corner of his lips where the dirt from Nix''s boot had made a mark when he sustained a kick to the face.


    Nix jumped up and hopped to the left and the right. Riled up to give another strike.


    From the way Obsidian moved, Nix could deduce he wasn''t so skilled in this area, this made Nix smirk at the first impact he had managed to inflict on him.


    "I wish I could say the same for you." He paused, waiting for his attack.


    Obsidian had noticed a bit of the tactic he implemented. "Are you too chicken to attack me first?"


    p Nix simply shrugged, he wasn''t going to let any of his counterwords get to him. He couldn''t afford to be angry or act irrationally on such words.</anda>


    The first rule he had learned while watching Drui train with an old but wise master Kai¨Ckeep a straight head while fighting, the moment that is lost, the opponent gets an advantage and uses that against them.


    Instead, stir up the opponent so they can''t perceive their next move effectively as they would be blinded by rage.


    If he had his gift he would have utilized the rage trait he so cruelly had to suppress.


    ''F*ck you, system!'' He cursed when he tried to still call upon the system but nothing as little as a notification popped up.


    He frowned at the contrast to what he had believed.


    "I don''t know what it is, but it feels like you''ve lost something in you," Obsidian said with a smirk, bringing out his hands with a flick of a finger.


    "Come on, if you dare!"


    Nix rolled his eyes at the offer, he had considered himself lucky at that time. Currently, Obsidian was much stronger and quicker than he was.


    Whoosh!


    Nix looked to his right, following the sound of Obsidian''s movement. He had tried to utilize a sneak attack.


    Sidestepping, he caught the fist of Obsidian, flipping him over and to the floor.


    Thud!


    Sitting on him before he could react, Nix balled his hand in a fist, ready to give a final strike on Obsidian''s face.


    At thest moment, he hesitated, tilting his head to the side at the dark aura that was in the shape of the slits in his eyes.


    ''That isn''t right.'' He continued to stare, curious about this piece of information in front of him.

 Chapter 167 Truce?

    Getting off him, Nix took a few steps back in shock at what he had seen. Whatever that was, it triggered his curiosity.


    Obsidian pushed himself up with his elbows, confused as to why Nix hadn''t given the final blow.


    Getting up, he stared at Nix for a while. The two engaged in staring down, their eyes speaking volumes.


    ''He''s different, something is strange about this fire ranker. Why?'' Obsidian wondered as his brows furrowed.


    ''That aura is suspicious... something must be manipting him, but what?'' Nix tilted his head, never breaking eye contact.


    Lank switched nces from the two, ''what the hell is this? A stare fest?''


    "Truce?" Nix offered, holding out his hand.


    Obsidian looked at his hand strangely. This gesture was foreign to him, so much so that he growled in response instead.


    Nix awkwardly withdrew his hand, disturbed by the animalistic tendencies more pronounced than Lank.


    "If you didn''t want to shake hands as a form of friendship, you would have just said so." He shook his head trying to understand the kind of person Obsidian is.


    He could be of great benefit if he joined the team, a great recement for the Christmas tree.


    He would dly choose anyone over Arion, anytime.


    Obsidian had wanted to respond, his mouth slightly opened before he was interrupted by the sound of Mr. Zhao''s pping as he approached.


    p!


    p!


    p!


    "You''ve improved over a short period." Mr. Zhao pped the back of Nix, jolting him back to reality.


    He didn''t understand why the two had been staring at each other in that way, but he also didn''t want the two being too close to form a bond.


    Nix winced at the pain in his back from the seemingly good gesture.


    Obsidian simply stared, conflicted about his actions. They had started on a bad note and that one bit of kindness threw him off.


    "I do apologize for the inconveniences, could you please forgive this ferald?" Mr. Zhao spoke to Nix.


    He had felt uneasy by the swift way he had dealt with Obsidian, yet again without using his gift. Although unpredictable, it was safe to not be so sure about all that was to happen to him if Nix were to put him in a bad light.


    "Nix!" Lank yelled for his attention. There was still the issue of Lumina and Gia being unconscious.


    "Thank you, Sir, but I need to¨C"


    Unable toplete his sentence as he sprinted immediately towards Lank''s direction.


    Obsidian watched with curiosity at Nix holding up Lumina''s head and cradling it.


    ''What is this feeling?'' He wondered, his hand reaching to his chest as he felt a thump from his heartbeat louder.


    Mr. Zhao noticed the way Obsidian was watching Nix, if left unchecked, he might be influenced by them.


    "Obsidian," he said in a low voice, bringing his fingers together for a quick rethink on what was next on the list.<sub> </sub>


    Whipping his head to the side, he bowed slightly to the call of his name by his teacher.


    "Could you go back to your room, I would deal with this." He said through gritted teeth.


    Obsidian could sense the disappointment in his voice. Nodding his head, he gave one final nce at the group before he turned around to leave.


    Mr. Zhao narrowed his eyes at them, their presence would have to be contained, even after the damage caused upon their first day, it was hard to determine where this would lead them.


    "What the hell happened to her... to them?!" Nix hissed at Lank.


    "You said they shouldbine their abilities and they took your word seriously." Lank retorted, staring down at Gia with worry.


    "She isn''t dead either, just passed out from exhaustion."


    "Uhh... Guys?" Solis cut in as he could see Mr. Zhao approaching.


    "Lumina?" Mr. Zhao questioned, shocked by her unconscious state. He had wanted to drop to his knees to get a look at how she was.


    "Don''t..." Nix said through gritted teeth, closing his eyes to keep his anger in check.


    As much as he wanted to believe that Mr. Zhao cared for Lumina, there was still the issue of him coercing her into the academy, and giving her that pendant which would likely be anything from good.


    In his observation, he was using her to get what he needed in the end. This form of care was triggering his mental stability.


    Mr. Zhao was surprised by Nix''s behavior. He had remembered when Nix made mention of nothing going on between them. His current action stated otherwise.


    "I would like some rest, not... not this!" Nix said with a sigh, sick and tired of all that he had gone through for the day.


    ''If I don''t get my system or Mune back, I would need to find a better way of getting new information on this ce.'' Nix''s eyes darted about as he contemted his next move.


    Mr. Zhao nodded his head, "we do apologize for the poor wee. This is basically how things work around here."


    ''Conducting experiments and staging fights is how things work around here?'' Nix raised a brow to Mr. Zhao''s response.


    "Anywhere out of this shit ce would be nice." He brought Lumina''s head closer to him.


    He dipped his hand into his pocket searching for the gold medal. To his shock, there was nothing inside.


    "What?" He gaped in shock.


    "What?" The others questioned, confused by his loud outburst.


    "My gold medal, it''s gone." He said, switching the hand that held Lumina''s head and using the other hand to search for the medal in the other pocket.


    Lank quickly did the same, he paused when he realized it wasn''t there too.


    Solis and Luna tried their luck, but it had proved abortive as well.


    They were left speechless as they looked over to Mr. Zhao for answers.


    If they were going to be taken to their rooms, then they would need their pass, that was how they had been raised in the academy.


    Mr. Zhao burst outughing at all four of them. Their expressions told of the conflicted horror they felt from losing the one thing that had been a part of them.


    "Could you all just pause and listen to my exnation?" Mr. Zhao began

 Chapter 168 Nothing Lewd

    They all continued to stare, stiff as a tree awaiting rainfall.


    "You don''t need one here." He exined facepalming.


    "What?!" Luna eximed, disturbed by the loss of her one-time friend and support.


    "So you mean anyone can get ess to our room, now?" Lank narrowed his eyes, not liking this rule anytime soon.


    "You say it like you would do the same to someone else." Mr. Zhao retorted, pointing an using finger at Lank.


    "We could be umm... doing you know..."


    Bam!


    Luna''s eyes zed at Lank''s crude meaning, she could understand where he was driving and wasn''t going to let him finish his statement.


    That was best kept private, even from the tongue when speaking on privacy.


    Solis smiled, frankly enjoying the treatment Lank was getting. His days of enduring hits to the head from his sister were finally getting a reality check.


    "Did you have to hit me?" Lank hissed at the pain he had felt, he already had enough of beating from friends for one day.


    Mr. Zhao had not processed the information too well before it was interrupted.


    "Could you exin what you meant by your iplete words?"


    Lank looked towards Luna, knowing the consequences that would follow if he spoke.


    "No, I''m good." He gave an eye shut smile.


    Nix had repeatedly facepalmed in his mind. All he was d about was the fact Mr. Zhao hadn''t understood the true meaning of the little Lank had said.


    "Sometimes I wonder why I chose such a degenerate as my friend."Nix hissed from the corner of his mouth through a forced smile at Lank.


    "I have the same feeling," Lank whispered, rolling his eyes.


    "Things are quite different from how it is in the academy. Even though it''s a branch, you would have to realize that there is a difference between the two."


    Lifting Lumina off the ground as Nix stood up, he adjusted her in his arms as he prepared to head on to the room that would be assigned to them.


    "We still operate in a mixed dorm... I mean room." Lank mischievously questioned a dirty smirk on his lips as he thought of the numerous possibilities of what he could do.


    He swiftly dodged the hit on the head from Luna, after she had heard his demoralized question, the need to let him know his ce and when not to spout nonsense.


    "Do you have a problem with that, Lank?" Mr. Zhao frowned, confused as to why he would think otherwise.


    Looking down at Gia in his arms, he shook his head at the question raised.


    This would be able to give him and Gia ample time to get to know one another well, and in turn a spontaneous intimacy.


    He wasn''t going to let her slip out of his grasp again, they would make good use of their time while at the organization. This was the perfect opportunity to bond.


    Mr. Zhao looked at Lank suspiciously, only after a few seconds did the answer rightly click in his thoughts.


    He had forgotten the possibility of those things happening while having two young adults living in an enclosed space together.<sub> </sub>


    "Don''t get any funny ideas, and y it safe." He coughed on thetter part, clearing his throat and walking towards the door that led to the hallways.


    The door automatically slipped open with a soft chime, as Mr. Zhao stepped out into the hallway.


    The hallway was dimly lit by several hanging, bulbous, white, spotlights, which were focused on every centimeter of the floor.


    The hallway floors were made of marble. The walls also were made of tempered ss which could be morphed into opaque ss for privacy.


    The ceiling was an unimaginable, intricate, marble-like pattern, which repeated itself at nearly every centimeter.


    "Woah!" Nix looked upwards, amazed by the interior of just the hallways; he had once said they had enough money to spare on the academy, but the organization was on a whole different level.


    "You could say that again." Lank concurred with his expression.


    The hallway was lit by spotlights mounted on the walls and pointed right at the ceiling, as they focused their beams of light on the marble pattern.


    There was a subtle, soft hum in the air, which was the result of a constantly running, undercurrent of the air conditioning.


    "Just how I like it!" Luna said in a whisker, feeling the slight chill that came with it.


    "E... easy f... f... for you to say." Solis stammered through ttering teeth, adjusting Arion''s arm around his neck.


    This had drastically reduced the warmth he had so rightly enjoyed.


    Coupled with that, he wasn''t pleased to be the one who had to drag Arion, disheartened that he had not woken up since the first incident. This left him with little arm support left so he could rub his arms to provide a little bit of countermeasure.


    Walking towards the door to the rooms on the left side of the hallway, Mr. Zhao spoke once again, "open the doors."


    Click!


    Click!


    Click!


    Click!


    The four doors leading to different rooms fell open.


    All four of their mouths hung open at how the technology was indeed advanced.


    "Mr. Zhao," Lank began once again, confused by something that had just popped up in his mind. He hated himself for thinking in such a way, but this was the only time he had to address this issue.


    "Yes, Lank?" Mr. Zhao''s brows twitched furiously at the number of questions he had been asked over the span of a few minutes by the same person.


    "Not again..." Luna shook her head and sighed.


    "You know the way you had just spoken and the doors instantly opened," he paused, already guilty of the sort of question he was asking and where it was leading, just like the previous ones.


    "Yes?" Mr. Zhao stressed the word, already fuming at where it would lead.


    "I swear it''s nothing lewd." Lank shook his hand in a bid to exin himself.

 Chapter 169 Technological Advancement?

    "The more you speak, the more you make it worse." Luna spat.


    "Is it possible to change the voice recognition thingy? I for one wouldn''t want to hear you say open while I''m inside my room." Lank furrowed his brows, expecting a response.


    Mr. Zhao''s anger subsided at the question raised. As much as he wanted to re up earlier, this question was genuinely correct and valid, he couldn''t help but nod to the answer.


    "It''s possible to change it, my voice is nothing but a default input for a few things." He exined, folding one of his hands on his back and the other stroking his chin.


    "Consider that the first thing to do on my list." He looked at the rooms, conflicted about choosing a room.


    "Since you''re so indecisive, I would take the first step." Nix shook his head as he walked to the first door.


    Without another word, he used his leg to kick the door shut.


    "You could just¨C" Mr. Zhao began but was cut short in his speech with the loud sound that drowned his exnation.


    m!


    They all jumped back at the trembling it had caused.


    Mr. Zhao had wanted to make mention of the fact that the door could still close automatically like the one back in the academy. Looking at the way Nix had mmed the door, it was pointless to speak on it again.


    "Dibs on the second!" Lank dashed into the second, hyped about finally being alone with Gia. He needed to care for her frail body at the moment, enough rest was all that she needed.


    "I''m d you feel that way, but¨C" Mr. Zhao''s lips drew into a straight line, refusing to speak on the issue anymore.


    m!


    "That leaves this guy." Luna sneered at Arion.


    p Nodding in the direction of the fourth room, she had her brother nod as a mischievous grin was present on their lips.</anda>


    Solis left no room for debate because he readily agreed with his sister about this particr action.


    Walking to the doorpost, he threw Arion onto the bed. As he stepped outside, and as soon as he crossed the threshold, the door slid shut in front of him.


    Click!


    "Oh, it could still do that?" Solis chuckled slightly, realizing what Mr. Zhao had wanted to say.


    "Obviously..." Mr. Zhao deadpanned, narrowing his eyes at the two.


    "That leaves the third to us." Solis and Luna said in sync.


    Giving a high five, they cackled, walking into the room. They stepped inside, and as soon as they crossed the threshold, the door slid shut behind them.


    Click!


    Nix had his back on the door, as he listened to the words spoken outside.  He was yet to take note of his room.<sub> </sub>


    Once he heard the final click, he let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the distant footsteps of Mr. Zhao.


    Looking in front of him, he did a double-take on the interior of the room, revealing a huge white, triple-paned, window, which looked out upon a small garden, with arge, round, ceramic fountain in the middle of the greenwn.


    This almost gave him a nostalgic feel of the fountain that was in the academy.


    ''Agatha!''


    He looked suspiciously at the fountain, wondering if that too coulde to life even if it wasn''t in the shape of a human or creature.


    There were so many things that could not be trusted in the organization. This was the breeding site and they were the test monkeys, just awaiting the right time to be used or manipted.


    Walking towards the wellid bed, he crawled onto the bed with his knees. Trying to maintain his bnce with Lumina still in his arm.


    Using his knee to push away the red duvet, he gently ced her on the bed. Staring at her sleeping form. Her beautiful red hair disheveled and spread around her head.


    His hand traced the side of her face, mesmerized by how peaceful she slept.


    "Thank you for staying alive." He said in a whisper.


    Sitting on the bed, he wiped down his face and let out a sigh. The day had been such a wreck and now he would have to deal with keeping a low profile while he figures out what thatst system notification meant.


    ''If I''m just in some sort of mystical beings simtion, they just earned themselves a foe.'' He furrowed his brows as he stared out the window.


    Pulling off his fingerless gloves and tossed them on a furnished wooden bedside desk.


    He nodded his head to how spacious the room was inparison to their dorm, this had been one of the good things he was thankful for.


    He looked over to the TV whichy on top of the marble desk, facing the bed and positioned at the left side corner of the room.


    It was a massive, t, ck, 80-inch, sma disy that was attached to arger, t, ck control console, with severalrge, multi-function buttons.


    Nix continued to stare in a daze, this gave off a more realistic approach to the real world. The technological advancement came as a shock to him. If they coulde up with a television, security cameras, and voicemand gadgets, what else could they do?


    ''Are these gadgets just for the organization or do the citizens also possess one?'' He wondered, shaking his head at the thought.


    He gave a thought to the fact that even if they do have some of the technology presents in the organization, they would be nowhere inparison orcking a few of them.


    He couldn''t dispute the fact that they would have the best of the best engineers, technicians, and medical practitioners who were all recruited for a chance to acquire something that was originally thought impossible¨Ctransfer of one''s ability to a citizen born without one and possibly not sharing any blood rtion.


    Nix walked over to the control console, ncing through the channel in a haste, "not a single thing about the organization nor the academy?" He said under her breath.


    If these were the same stations the citizens probably used, then the information could be manipted at will.


    His eyes narrowed at a headline scrolling by slowly that caught his attention.

 Chapter 170 Fugitive Of The Law

    ~Outside the city, the vast part of the unknown, it was discovered there was a sighting of what could only be known as the burnt remains of a building said to have been home to fugitives of thew.~


    ''Fugitives of thew? How the heck did this get on the news?!'' Nix gaped in disbelief at what he thought was the beginning of his identity being discovered.


    He looked around, in search of a security camera, this would be detrimental to his views on how things work in the organization.


    ''They wouldn''t spy on us, would they?'' He searched around for any form of ruse item, yet nothing seemed out of ce.


    ''I''d trust my guts this time.'' He narrowed his eyes in thought.


    Walking over to the window, he ced his arm on the pane, putting his head on his arm. He would need to get more information on the headlines he had seen.


    ''Fugitive of thew! What sort ofw was mother trying to run away from?''


    "Nix?" Lumina called, a groan following right after.


    Turning around, he tilted his head in confusion at her adjusting the pillow behind her back.


    "You should be resting." He replied, shaking his head while moving to the bedside.


    Lumina let out a chuckle at his words, "do you think I would be easily knocked out?"


    Nodding his head to her question, it earned him a pout, and her eyes showed a glint of electricity.


    ''Heck no! I have no gift to deflect it. I''m a freaking normal human!'' Nix panicked, taking a step back and covering his nervousness with a low chuckle.


    "Shouldn''t you get enough rest?" He narrowed his eyes at her, internally screaming that she doesn''t let out her gift.


    Inhaling and exhaling, her gift subsided, raising her head she was met with Nix staring at her at such a close range that she could feel his breath.


    Pushing back, she panicked by how he had caught her unawares. "Nix..."


    "Hmmm..." He hummed to her call, the more he watched her fidget and try to avoid eye contact.


    "Did I scare you?" He began, inching closer to her again.


    With nowhere else to go once she had her back against the headboard. Her heart pounded at what she could only see as going to progress into something more.


    "We just got here..." She began, exhaling and trying to calm herself. "Besides I''m still trying to recover from what had happened back then."


    Nix paused, tilting his head in response to her answer, a broad smile spread across his lips.


    He understood what she had meant, but it was more fun to spur her to think in that direction, even though that wasn''t his original n.


    ''A hug would be nice.'' Nix thought in his heart and smiled, he wanted to convey his feelings through that simple gesture.


    Ignoring her words, he proceeded to approach her again. The cotton bedspread formed creases under the pressure from his knees and hands.


    "I just want to assist you to undress, I swear it''s nothing lewd. You''d need help to¨C"<sub> </sub>


    "Nix? Don''te closer, I would zap you. I will do it, I say!" Lumina said a little out of breath.


    Nix simply shook his head, "you sound like I n on raping you."


    Lumina''s breath hitched at the thought of what her words meant. "Nix... I..."


    Retracing his steps, he made sure to give enough distance between them before he spoke, "do you think I''m of that sort?"


    Turning his back towards her, he couldn''t see her expression. He looked out the window while he waited for her response.


    Lumina''s heart thumped loudly, she knew her words weren''t the best approach one could think of and the thought of apologizing was the only thing that crossed her mind.


    "Sometimes I wonder what we are," Nix said with a sigh when he couldn''t get a response from her after waiting longer than a minute.


    He had tried too hard to be understandable, toe out of his shell and socialize, get into a real friendship like he was trying to do with Lank, gain allies, and most importantly get the trust and care of the one person he had begun to care about.


    ''You''re so stupid, all of this is stupid.'' He thought with clenched hands, gritting his teeth.


    Considering all that had happened was a total waste of time. He simply shook his head and turned towards Lumina.


    "What we''ve done together meant nothing to you?" He said with a bitterugh, getting up.


    This was far from what he had considered being right. The fact that he couldn''t leave the room to clear his thoughts angered him.


    Lumina looked at Nix, guilt-stricken by what she had said. What she had done was merely out of impulse and had not taken into ount what it meant to the both of them.


    "You just woke up from..." He choked on his words as he recalled what had almost happened.


    He hated himself for being weak and not being able to help them out of their situation then.


    When he carried her in his arms, it brought back the memory of Aimi. He couldn''t lose another person close to his heart because he was weak and they were involved with him.


    His heart had skipped a beat when he stared at her after hearing her words the moment she woke. A strange calm washed over him at that exact moment.


    Turning around as his eyes brimmed with tears. He exhaled, cing his hand on his chest so he could calm his heart.


    ''Don''t get attached you said. Why then, do you feel this way?'' He spoke to himself, confused about the way he felt.


    His body stiffened the moment he felt Lumina''s hand snake under his. She reached out and held him tight.


    Her bust pressed behind him as her grip on him tightened.


    "What are you¨C"


    "Shh..." She said in a low voice, "let''s stay this way for a while."

 Chapter 171 Someones Pretty Excited

    "I had admired your confidence, charisma, and the way you had interacted with the others, never did you show intimidation." Lumina began.


    Nix could feel her cheeks move on his back as she spoke and gave a smile at the thought of the possibility of seeing it from another perspective.


    Nevertheless, her words needed to be more detailed than that. If she wanted him to trust her more, she would need to do better than that.


    "You''re not the most handsome, but you are someone I would dly ept your ws and all." Lumina nodded her head, a mischievous grin on her face as she could already guess how he would react.


    "Now that''s just a blow to my pride." Nix tried to release himself from her grasp to no avail.


    ? His ears picked up on the giggle behind himing from Lumina.


    ''What''s so funny about that?" He frowned.


    "I like wed people, you are a bag load of it. That''s what makes us still human."


    ''Cheesy but alright.'' Nix nodded his head but kept silent.


    "You make me feel special. I''m sorry for making you feel that you didn''t matter. You are the only one who has ever made me feel jealous and happy at the same time." Lumina spoke at a fast pace, scared about his response.


    She had revealed what she truly felt and was in a state of panic about what he had to say.


    This felt more like a brief preview of a confession. She had wanted to say those three words, but she was reluctant to go through with it.


    Until she could properly understand how she felt about Nix, she wished they could just continue in the stage of their rtionship they were in.


    Nix raised a brow at her words. He has caught on to why she had said and smiled. That was a fair point and he wouldn''t deny the fact that he had been instantly drawn to her on their first interaction.


    "Could you release your grip?" Nix looked down at her hand which was like a belt on his chest.


    Lumina was having second thoughts about going through with that statement. It sounded more like he wanted the opportunity to catch her off guard.


    Noticing she was conflicted, he took advantage of the situation to turn them over.


    Lumina gasped at how quickly things changed in the blink of an eye.


    Her back up against the wall, her lips parted by his. She unconsciously wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him in.


    With a moment of regret, he pulled away to stare at her dazed eyes.


    Her breathing was ragged, both of them trying to catch their breath.


    "I wouldn''t." He replied shortly, shaking his head. He had made sure that they wouldn''t be sucked in the pleasure.


    She gave a pout, dissatisfied.


    "Not today," he chuckled. "You need to get changed and rest up." He reached for his leather jacket on her, pulling it off slowly.


    She gulped as she maintained eye contact with him, feeling a shiver run down her spine as he did so.


    Nix closed his eyes immediately and what was left of her top dropped to the ground.


    Lumina''s breath hitched at the action.Her hands immediately shot up cupping her boobs.<sub> </sub>


    "You... you can s... stare if y... you want t... t... to." Lumina stammered, feeling vulnerable.


    She looked at him, expecting him to do what she had asked, instead he chose not to go through with her words. Simply shaking his head to her words.


    "I know you''re beautiful just the way you are, no need to make yourself ufortable when the time isn''t right." Nix shook his head.


    Taking things slow and steady was the best, even though his mind said otherwise, he couldn''t help but feel the need to turn down her offer.


    "Alright, I would respect your decision." She smiled, turning her back.


    Opening his eyes, he stared at her bare back, her hands showed that they were still holding up something in front.


    ''Gee I wonder what it is.'' Nix deadpanned, a faint smile on his lips.


    Without any warning, she turned around to face him squarely. Pulling him by the shirt for a hug.


    Nix inhaled and couldn''t exhale after the shock that he had received. It felt a bit strange to have her bust pressed without some sort of clothing on her.


    ''I can feel her¨C" he shook the thought out of his mind as soon as it came.


    Shaking his head to the growing boner that was about to rear its head.


    "Thank you." She said in a whisper.


    Nix simply nodded his head, raising his hand upwards awkwardly. If he touched her bareback, he might just lose it.


    "Lumina, could we do this another time?" He said through gritted teeth, sweat dropping at the tough spot he was ced in.


    ''don''t you dare react to this, you little...'' He closed his eyes and his body stiffened when Lumina pulled away.


    "Someone''s pretty excited." Sheughed at him.


    ''You should count yourself lucky to be in the situation you are in now.'' Nix thought with a grit of his teeth.


    "To the bathroom!" He ordered, hoping she would just walk in there and he could calm his libido.


    Nix felt a pull on his shirt once more, the next moment he had his back on the bed. Lumina climbed on him, enjoying the fact that he still had his eyes closed.


    Straddling him, she gave a wicked smile at what she nned on doing.


    "As His Majesty orders." She whispered into his ear. A smile crept on her face as she heard a subtle groan from him.


    Unable to take the tease anymore, his eyes went wide open, his eyes glued to her barely covered boobs.


    She had understood there was no way she could resist something of such and had been quick to cover herself in the best possible way with her hands.


    "Don''t get any silly ideas." She said with a wink, immediately getting off him.


    "But¨C"

 Chapter 172 Are We Shooting A Movie?

    "Sesa what''s the situation?" Mr. Zhao questioned as he ced his hand on the window.


    Sesa looked to the left at Rumi who merely shrugged at the stare she got from her.


    "Why are you looking at me for?" She snapped. She was as sick as everyone else who had not understood why Zephyr still hadn''t woken up even after the several attempts to tap into his energy source.


    What angered her the most was the fact that their master refused to help out. He called it a way for Zephyr to prove that he was still useful to the organization.


    ''That''s the only person who ever showed me some form of kindness." She raged in her thoughts, triggered by her inability to help.


    "I didn''t say anything Rumi." Sesa hissed, feeling threatened by her words.


    They were both tasked to get him out of wherever his thoughts had drifted to. Yet they couldn''t figure out what had be of him.


    "Even if you didn''t, your eyes did sure say a lot." Rumi retorted.


    Mr. Zhao shook his head, now he could understand why their master had snapped at both him and Rumi. This was beyond irritation when they had a goal in mind.


    Their master believed that Zephyr had learned of something that had forced him into the state he was currently in.


    This had made resuscitating Zephyr a top priority.


    Yet these two were arguing instead of concentrating on the task ahead, which could cost them their lives if they were caught cking off.


    "Would you two quit your yapping?" Mr. Zhao hissed, turning around at the two and frowning.


    His eyes went to Zephyr who was still lying unconscious behind them.


    "Mmm..."


    Sesa and Rumi jumped back at the sound that came from behind them.


    Stiffly turning their head, their mouth hung open in shock at what they had seen.


    "Are you seeing what I''m seeing?" Sesa spoke up first, shocked by the reveal.


    Rumi nodded her head in agreement. She had tears brim in her eyes. Unable to contain her emotions, she rushed to his side, giving him a warm hug.


    "I''m d you''re back." She whispered into his ear.


    Her eyes only widened in horror when he pushed her away from him. "Who are you?"


    Rumi was in a state of shock, biting down on her bottom lip to calm her nerves.


    Zephyr held his head, confused as to what had happened to him.


    Mr. Zhao decided to step in, probably being able to help the situation. "Zephyr, it''s me teacher Zhao." He said slowly, hoping to pass across a message.


    ''How did I get here?'' Zephyr wondered, confused about where he was.


    Looking about, he frowned. This wasn''t his room, and not his bed either.


    "Zephyr, you are merely just suffering from¨C"


    Pushing back, he shook his head. "Who the hell is this Zephyr you talk about?" He hissed.


    Tears streamed down her eyes, disoriented by his behavior. This wasn''t the same Zephyr she knew and loved.


    Sesa stared for some while before she burst intoughter at what she had heard. She took it more or less like a game.


    "You were always the funny one in the bunch." She wiped a stray tear off her eyes.<sub> </sub>


    Mr. Zhao took on Zephyr''s words seriously, walking closer to him.


    "Tell me, what do you remember?"


    Zephyr threw a pillow at Mr. Zhao''s head.


    Sesa burst intoughter once more. "You got hit by a pillow. I''d say it''s a beautiful way to end this."


    She shut her mouth the moment she saw Zhao growl at herme joke.


    Hiding behind Rumi as her only savior. She dreaded the fact that she couldn''t use her gift on any one of the organizations except told to do so directly.


    This had made her rely solely on Rumi and would almost hold her lot against him.


    "Back off!" Rumi sneered, irritated by the clinging hand of Sesa.


    Immediately sensing danger from both parties, she chose to keep shut totally, nodding her head and releasing her grip.


    Mr. Zhao narrowed his eyes at them but turned his attention back to Zephyr.


    ''What sort of ce is this?! I was crossing the road... crossing the...'' He paused, his eyes wide with shock at the probability of that happening.


    "Zephyr?" Mr. Zhao called on his name, going slowly instead. Unsure of what had happened to thisd.


    If their master knows about this, they would be dragged into this mess.


    ''Did I get transmigrated into this ce like a clich¨¦d character?'' He pulled on his hair, beyond confused.


    His hands dropped when realization dawned on him. ''Road, here... Road... here!''


    Zephyr''s body trembled in fear at what he thought of, he locked gazes with the female who merely just stood there without saying another word after he had rejected her weird familiarity.


    "He really lost it." Mr. Zhao facepalmed, taking a step back and shaking his head.


    "Who are you all?" Zephyr pointed at every one of them.


    They let out a collective gasp at his words. This wasn''t something that could be considered normal anymore.


    "Zephyr, it''s me." Rumi pointed to herself, her eyes red and puffy from the tears.


    "And you are?" Zephyr stressed on the word, going slowly as he gave side nces to the other two. If they still chose to call him in such a format, then he was going to go with it until he got his answers.


    "Zephyr isn''t there anything that could jog your memory on the incident that had happened."


    This was asked to know to what extent Zephyr had gotten from the scene.


    "Ummm... Excuse me..." Zephyr gave a slight chuckle, thinking of his next words.


    They all had their attention on him.


    "Are we shooting a movie?" Heughed right after, with it slowly dying down when he realized they had not picked on the joke lightly.


    "We can ''shoot'' a movie?" Sesa folded her arms and brows raised.


    His breathing hitched at the dawning thought.


    ''What the f*ck is going on here?!'' He internally facepalmed.

 Chapter 173 Numerous Bounds Of What-Ifs

    "Zhao tells me he''s going to be fixed." Rumi looked up to him in worry.


    Mr. Zhao''s lips were still hung open at what he would have to face in the hands of their master.


    He shook his head, exhaling and inhaling as he tried to get a clear mind.


    "We would need to get what he knows before it would be more than that, that''s taken away from us." Mr. Zhao sweatdropped, his heart beating fast.


    "What are you all saying?" Zephyr narrowed his eyes at them. "This isn''t some sort of movie huh?"


    "Not if we are acting for those low-life citizens." Mr. Zhao said with spite, sneering at the thought of what they are kept preupied with.


    He had developed a disdain for those who didn''t possess an affinity for being a gifted or magic user. Zhao had always seen them as a liability, fodder for the greater good.


    Those words by Zephyr only triggered his curiosity about what this new personality could bring.


    "Tell me about yourself, youngd." He shone a big grin.


    Zephyr became disturbed by the sudden change in action. He couldn''t properly respond to the question. Instinctively, he looked toward Rumi for help.


    Rumi''s mood was brightened by this gesture. "Yes, Zephyr... It''s me¨CRumi!" She blinked in a manner of signaling to him to y along.


    She couldn''t bear to see him being treated as the lesser rank just because of a slight memory realignment.


    ''He''s still my Zephyr, he is.'' She said in her thoughts, hoping that the rational part in him would understand the danger of losing his memory at this point.


    Zephyr narrowed his eyes, trying to get an idea of what Rumi was trying to pass across.


    Mr. Zhao looked beside him and at Rumi, wondering what had made Zephyr stare with such great intensity.


    Rumi quickly adapted, narrowing her eyes and rubbing her chin with a pout.


    "Hmm..."


    Zephyr tried to ce the information in his mind, connecting the dots from her lips movements.


    ''You''re... I''m in danger?'' He widened his eyes in shock at the sort of the way things yed out in this world.


    Knock!


    Knock!


    They all whipped their heads towards where the sound came from.


    Pushing the door so it was slightly opened, a female with green hair tied in a high ponytail poked her head to check on the three. "Oh! Hello everyone."


    Zephyr''s eyes doubled in size, it looked like he had seen a ghost in the person of Miss Lotus.


    "W... Who..." He couldn''tplete his sentence, as his breathing was irregr and hitched.


    Mr. Zhao narrowed his eyes at the new introduction of something more interesting than what he needed to hear.<sub> </sub>


    "You know thisdy?" Mr. Zhao questioned with a smile.


    Responding to his words, he nodded his head but still had a hard time speaking to the familiar face that was currently haunting him.


    "Did you all n this? Are you trying to get a reaction from me? Why would you dress up like Nix''s art character?" He used, pointing at all of them, one by one.


    Mr. Zhao''s lips were upturned in a grin and it was turning more sinister than he had imagined it to be.


    "What the hell is Zephyr saying? He''s clearly delusional, why would I dress up as myself?!" Miss Lotus raised her voice, offended by theparison.


    Rumi stood there motionless, it was as good as sure that he would be taken to the dungeon for interrogation if he continued on this path.


    On the other hand, Mr. Zhao was more than pleased to hear one name¨CNix. If he could mention his name and be so sure about it, it might just mean it is indeed true.


    Zephyr tried to calm his breathing severally, ufortable with the presence of Lotus. She was the very character he had used as his when he secretly promoted her design as his.


    This made him wonder if Nix was also present in this world.


    "Do you know a certain Nix?" Mr. Zhao cut into his brief time in his mind. He needed all the information he could get on that prideful fire ranker.


    This was the first step he needed to take him down on behalf of his master.


    Miss Lotus rolled her eyes at the insult she had received by being mistaken. mming the door behind her in anger. "Youngsters!"


    Zephyr was still distracted by Miss Lotus'' presence even when she wasn''t there. His gaze was still fixated on the door.


    "You know Nix?" He finally got his thoughts aligned right as he looked over at an eager Mr. Zhao.


    "I don''t trust you enough to speak." Zephyr spat in disdain, shocking Mr. Zhao.


    Sesa who had been quiet for some time couldn''t keep theughter at bay anymore.


    Zhao frowned at her constant childish behavior and reactions. It was certain that she knew the current situation. But after being smitten by that demon, she had never stood by him like how she is now.


    "Oh I''m sorry," Sesa raised her hand to his face, shaking her head at how he had been roasted to his very face by someone new to all that went on in the organization.


    "Rumi, could you take me back to my room?" He looked over at the timid female. She was the only source offort in this confusing world.


    He dreaded the possibility that this could mean Nix was in this world. If he could truly transmigrate to a world where Nix''s characters were, that only spelled bad news for his survival.


    ''This isn''t even my body anyways, there''s no way to be anxious.'' He nodded his head, smiling the moment Rumi assisted him on his side.


    He felt his body warm-up at the slight touch of her hand.


    ''Did this original host share a mutual rtionship with her? Is that why I feel so calm when around her?'' His mind spiraled into the numerous bounds of what-ifs.


    They had just crossed the threshold when he choked on his saliva. He had just realized that the original host and this female were very close, but how close?


    ''Oh no!'' He freaked out on that possibility.

 Chapter 174 Keeping Up With The Charade

    Zephyr pulled away from her the moment the door closed behind them. It was enough to agree with her actions to escape the others, but to follow through with it was a whole different ball game.


    "I appreciate you standing up for me." He began slowly, unsure of how he would continue.


    Rumi nodded her head to his statement, hoping he had finally gotten her motive.


    "But... I don''t think you understand what I''m trying to say," he paused, unsure of how she might react.


    "I am not..."


    "Shh!" She hushed, secretly nodding in the direction of the top right corner of the ceiling.


    Zephyr''s lips sealed shut at her warning. Secretly ying along as he looked up, seeing a glint of light from the upturned bulbs reflect.


    ''A security camera? How the heck is this world advanced?'' He looked around him, realizing how true his words it was.


    "Rumi, what''s going on¨C"


    He let out a gasp in fear at the re she shed in his direction, her sclera all covered in ck.


    "Follow me..." She said, pulling on his wrist against his will.


    This didn''t settle well in his mind. If they were heading towards ''their'' room, that could spell doom for his virgin self.


    ''I am not who you think I am, nor have I ever had proper interaction with anyone, unlike Nix!''


    He had always found some sort offort with his friend, loyalty was the driving force for both of them. Nix was good with thedies and the embodiment of charisma.


    At one point in his life, he had felt unworthy of such friendship, watching how far he had gone with his artworks. This had been the beginning of their discord.


    As he was dragged towards the unknown, he wished he had learned a few things from Nix at the time before their separation.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    As soon as they got to their doorpost,


    "Open!" Rumi''s angelic voice called out.


    Click!


    The door flung open, as well as Zephyr''s lips.


    ''Even I don''t have ess to this form of technology back home. What sort of ce did I transmigrate to?''


    His thoughts were cut short with the pull on his wrist again. Rumi had a devilish smirk at finally being alone with him.


    Deactivating her ability, she let out a giggle.


    Zephyr''s heart continuously pounded in his chest, wondering what she might do with him in his vulnerable and confused state.


    His body stiffened the moment he felt her hand snake its way under his shirt.


    Closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth, pissed about the fact that this body seemed to have a mind of its own.


    ''They surely had something more than friends.'' He made a mental note, wondering how he would escape from this.<sub> </sub>


    Forcing him up against the wall, he let out a gasp in shock at how strong she was.


    The newfound pleasure was on the verge of engulfing him. "Rumi, I''m not Zephyr."


    He had managed to dodge a kiss his way, as much as he wanted to go through with this as a first trial, she needed to know who she was dealing with.


    Not paying attention to his words, she needed him to remember, thinking that only the option of reliving their first night could bring back some of the precious memories they both shared.


    "Rumi, stop this madness. Right now!" Zephyr yelled in desperation when he realized she had intentionally not listened to him.


    Rumi paused her attention on him, waiting for him to continue. Her eyes looked ever so eager at him.


    "I don''t know how far-fetched this must be to you, but I''m known as Drui in my world." He ced his hand on her shoulder, pushing her back.


    "That... That can''t be." She shook her head, believing what he was currently going through was a dissociative disorder.


    "Let''s go along with Drui then if that''s how you want it," Rumi said with an eye shut smile, hiding the hurt in her heart when he had pushed her away.


    While they were together, there was never a time when he had tried to deliberately hurt her both physically and mentally.


    "No!" He reputed her words, panic-stricken by the thought of Nix being in this world. He had a change of outlook and voice, that was enough to go undercover and not be noticed so easily.


    How Rumi looked at him spelled danger, she had her eyes narrowed and from what he was seeing, her sclera was slowly covering once more.


    ''Is this some sort of power?'' He did a quick rethink of what he had said.


    Believing that he was different was a threat that needed to be eliminated. Given her strength, he could only guess she was nning to attack him.


    Holding his head, he rubbed his temples, a sh of thought of the original host crossed his mind.


    ~You''re the darkness to my light, Rumi.


    His brows twitched continuously at how cheesy those words were, it didn''t reflect anything good in a sense, and wondered how she had taken this weird reference.


    The only thing that he could see as a reference was her eyes, but even that wasn''t enough for him to refer to her if he was the original host.


    Exhaling, he was at the least grateful for this opportunity that this memory had given him.


    The right one he needed to escape this danger that was looming.


    "Rumi, my darkness and embodied beauty." He said, looking into her eyes without flinching.


    Rumi''s brows were upturned and her once fully ck covered eyes subsided greatly and brimmed with tears.


    "Zephyr, is that you?" She covered her mouth, slowly walking close to him.


    ''Keep up the charade if you don''t want to jump from frypan to fire.'' He cautioned himself, careful of what he would say or do around her.


    If the original host could love such an unpredictable person, it would only mean there was something worth loving.


    All he needed was to find out what that thing was.


    "Although my memory isn''t that good anymore, I remember saying simr words to you." He exaggerated, hopeful in his heart that she would buy such a silly excuse.

 Chapter 175 Looming Danger

    He had made a mental note to be known as the original host''s body, that was the best and most reasonable approach to his current unexined mystery.


    Tears trailed down her eyes, happy he had recovered even if it was just a bit of his memory.


    She wrapped her arms around his neck, a loving look on her features with a bright smile.


    "I knew you''d be back."


    ''I don''t know if he''s back!'' He countered, hoping whoever this Zephyr character was someone that wouldn''t take over at the wrong time.


    Pulling his head down, Rumi raised her legs so she could kiss him ever so lightly.


    Zephyr allowed it this time, the moment she ced her lips on his, a sense of greed overcame his senses.


    Flipping them over, he pushed her against the wall. She had a broad smile at how aggressive he was getting with just the touch of her lips. This only served to assert that Zephyr was slowly recovering his memories.


    Unintentionally activating his gift, he teleported towards the bed.


    The bed creaked in response to the drop from a few feet.


    Her legs wrapped around his waist, and she pulled him further down to her crotch.


    Pushing off her, "undress." Hemanded in a breathy voice.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In the city,


    A young girl could be seen hopping along with each brick which had the color blue built as a pattern.


    She had her ck hair ited in cornrows which with its tip held by two blue ribbons.


    She was a short little girl with a height barely above 120cm. Her pleated blue dress bounced in response to her skips made with every step.


    Her green eyes searched the floor for the pebble she had dropped while sent on an errand by her father.


    "One, two, three..." She said as she waved to some of the neighbors that waved back in response.


    "Get away from there!" One had managed to yell but wasn''t heard on time.


    He looked over to where she had waved to, and frowned at the dawning fact¨Cno one was there, yet she had waved at who?


    Those buildings had been abandoned for several years, he had lived in seclusion in hopes of seeing his family return to him


    The girl simply smiled and continued her search. If her father knew about her little escapade, she was going to be in a lot of trouble.


    The male was in his 20s, uninterested in what the world had to offer him, he hade out of seclusion only to sense someone was walking right into a danger zone, this had prompted him to call for the attention of the girl and warn her.<sub> </sub>


    ''I am so going to regret this!'' He internally facepalmed, letting out a sigh and shaking his head before he would call out to her once more.


    "Get a... way..." The male paused, realizing that his words had no form of effect on this girl who had a focused view of what she wanted.


    ''Don''t head down that path... the aura isn''t right in there.'' His mind warned, unsure of whaty ahead.


    A good part of him took the better part on his decision. Canceling the thought of only himself, he rushed in pursuit of the girl. The area she was headed to wasn''t anything near fun.


    ''How the hell did you find this ce?'' He wondered, understanding that he had merely stayed for a reason and kept isted from the rest of the city, but how did she know of this ce?


    His eyes looked down at the pattern of the brick flooring. The strange blue looked a bit disturbing, thest time he had seen this was when a raenz attacked.


    The bricks on the floor had been a tell tale of looming danger, this had not happened in over 8 years in this part of the city. This had been the major reason his family and all others had run for safety.


    Leaving him behind when he had been so clumsy enough to lock himself in his room. They had promised to return to get him. Understanding that to protect him, they would need to flee to draw out the enemy in their direction.


    "You''re in danger, girl. Stop!" He yelled in desperation.


    The girl looked back only to realize someone was chasing after her. In fear, she sprinted to the best speed she could garner at the moment.


    "Please don''t hurt me!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, tears dropping, her heart pounding.


    The approaching footsteps were enough for her to choke on her saliva hinting at how well she was not handling the situation.


    stained floor


    Looking to the floor, the blue bricks were starting to fade, revealing the dried blood that had been concealed so well.


    Screeching to a stop, the girl hyperventted, sniffling and trembling at the sight before her. "Where... Where am I?!" She wailed, finally getting a grip on her actions.


    Finally getting a hold of the little girl, the male ced his hand on her shoulder and felt her tremble under his hold. "Shh!" He hushed, feeling the dawning danger approaching.


    Rogue gift users were considered the most dangerous and unpredictable among all other rogues.


    This was a forbidden area, his hand held onto the ck device, his heart also pounding at the danger he had unintentionally jumped into.


    The little girl stiffly turned her head to who had touched her and her eyes widened in fear. It was the very person that had been in pursuit of her.


    She had wanted to scream when his handtched onto her mouth.


    "Shhh!" He hissed, shaking his head. It was enough hassle to be in here, but another to draw their attention to them so easily.


    Pointing back to where they hade from, he pulled on her hand. In case of any attacks, he pushed on the button which had sent a static charge all around the vicinity.


    "Well... well, what do we have here?" A smoky voice snickered from the shadows.

 Chapter 176 Testing The Sense Of Morality

    "Little girl, my name is Alex... Alexandre." The male spoke as a matter of familiarity.


    If he could create a sense of security with this girl, maybe she could escape and reference what he had done to help her.


    Pushing her behind him protectively, Alex walked back slowly, careful of how the unknown person who still hadn''t made an appearance freaked him out.


    "Run, while you still can," Alex whispered, pushing her off.


    "But..." She mumbled, hesitant about leaving.


    "Go!" He yelled at her, disturbed that his sacrifice might be in vain if she was caught in this.


    This was the very thing she needed to rush out. "I will get help and be back!" She promised.


    Alexandre looked back with a smile seeing the girl slowly go out of view.


    "Hahaha!" The voice snickered, "did you think we were interested in such a small fry?"


    Alexandre felt a ck tentacletch onto his neck, pulling him towards the shadow slowly and inadvertently choking him in the process.


    "We need a big fry to attract the other fishes." The voice snickered in a peal of crazedughter.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In the organization,


    p Wi! Wi! Wi!</anda>


    Wi! Wi! Wi!


    The rm went off in a loud and repeated manner, alerting everyone of the perceived threat.


    "A raenz!"


    "It''s a raenz!"


    The words spread to the others as they confirmed the sort of rm triggered by the ck box.


    "A..."


    "Hold it!" Obsidian cut in, pulling on the cor of the male who wanted to continue the chain of reports.


    Groaning, the male began to choke when Obsidian tightened his grip on his cor.


    "What do you mean a raenz?!" He growled in rage as his silver slit pupils glowed.


    "W... we have an a... alert that was triggered by a citizen." The male croaked, ufortable by the choking and disturbed that no one tried to interfere.


    Tossing him aside, Obsidian stormed towards the main office.


    ''If a raenz is back, that could trigger a citizen to call on our help from a ck box...'' Obsidian thought as he ran across the hallway at top speed.


    "I''m going to kill whoever it is!" He growled out in determination.


    This would be the first time he would ever be let out for a mission and the adrenaline that came with it made him ecstatic.


    Skidding to a stop, his silver ws made trails of scratch marks on the marble flooring.


    He had been able to identify Mr. Zhao, just in time and his journey was cut short by half.<sub> </sub>


    "You heard that too, teacher?" Obsidian questioned, walking back to where he had seen Mr. Zhao.


    Leaning on the wall of the door jamb was Mr. Zhao, he ced his hand over his mouth so he could stop his yawn.


    "Hear what, Obsidian?"


    Obsidian tilted his head in confusion. That rm had traveled to the farthest ce in the building, there was no way no one could have heard about it.


    "The rm..." He began, trying to hide his disdain for theck of regard by the very person who had taught him to stand up for what was right.


    Mr. Zhao raised his brows, unconcerned about the news, " we aren''t theirckeys, whoever had encountered them, surely couldn''t keep their little legs to themselves."


    Shrugging, he shook his head to the shocked expression on Obsidian''s face. "Wipe that despicable look off you!"


    He had taught him to be a ruthless and unforgiving warrior. Trained him to know what was right and wrong from the organization''s perspective.


    The citizen in danger wasn''t part of the organization''s activities. They were more focused on getting the gift and magic of those who mattered. Losing a few of their members meant more workload for the others.


    "You should know what is expected of you." Mr. Zhao sneered, "don''t have any funny ideas when you haven''t gotten the experience of the others."


    Obsidian simply blinked, gritting his teeth to calm his raging thoughts. The disappointment hidden behind his stoic expression had lowered the respect he had for his teacher.


    This had gone against all he had been trained for, this also made him question those who he had been taught to consider as the enemy.


    His mind trailed towards Nix and the rest he had calledckeys. The bond they had shared was something he had craved.


    Even though they had been weaker than he had expected, they were still considered equal by Nix.


    He had always thought about why the enemy was recruited into the organization. If they aren''t the enemy, who is?


    "Obsidian?!"


    "..."


    "Obsidian!!" Mr. Zhao''s raised voice finally got through to him.


    Shaking his head to get a clear mind. He stared, not saying a word still. The mere sight of his teacher registered danger and enemy.


    What he had said earlier had gone against all he had been taught, as much as he loved a good fight, he would never stand for what was wrong. Kill if he must just to restore the true bnce of what he thought was right.


    All of this he had seen from someone who had gained his respect¨CNix.


    ''If those sore losers could stand up for their friend and vice versa, there must be something that they do cherish in one another.'' He made a quick mental note in his head.


    "You cked out..." Mr. Zhao frowned at how strangely Obsidian was acting. Disturbed that Sesa had not made any significant change in the molecr structure of this loose cannon.


    "Leave and forget this ever happened." He said in dismissal, turning around, crossing the threshold, and mming the door.


    m!


    Obsidian''s fist balled in anger by his side.


    He had a lot of questions that were left unanswered and the only way he could get them was to do the one thing that went against his set morals.


    ''You brought this upon yourself, teacher!'' He snarled at the thought.


    Sprinting in the direction of the recruits, it was time to test their sense of morality.

 Chapter 177 Ready For An Adventure?

    Ding!


    Ding!


    Diiiiiiiiiiiing!!!!


    A loud groan erupted from the first door of the recruits.


    "F*ck whoever is at the door, making a trashy habit of disturbing at this early hour!"


    Obsidian let out a chuckle at the words he heard, his index finger suspended over the doorbell as he considered spitting him the more.


    Ding!


    Ding!


    Di! Di! Di! Diiiiiiiiiiiing!


    "This isn''t the academy, goddamnit! Now you just made me hate bells." Nix''s irritated voice came sting through the little spaces on the door.


    Obsidian could tell it was Nix who had made that sort of noise and was d he had triggered an angry response.


    Hearing footsteps approaching the door, Obsidian brushed himself up so he could look as presentable and dignified enough to plead for forgiveness with the most mischievous look ever.


    This was what he wanted, thepetition, the thrill of antagonizing for the right reasons, and just about enjoying someone''spany for the very first time.


    From the response he had gotten, this was just about the beginning of what he could say or do until they met physically.


    "What the f*ck man, I told you that you should¨C"


    "Hello!" Obsidian waved, scaring the shit out of Nix.


    "Ahhh!" Nix jumped back in shock, bringing his hands out in front of him, ready for a battle if the need arises.


    He had wanted to be left alone, training with Lumina on her vast skills in weaponry.


    He had been pleasantly surprised with the simtion the room could morph into to suit their training desires.


    But right now, he had originally thought he was yelling at Lank for disturbing, never in his few months of constant surprise, not even the one he had received from the f*cked up system that had left him hanging and defenseless, has been as nerve-wracking as Obsidian at his door.


    "Obsidian!" He said through gritted teeth, ufortable by his presence.


    "I was wondering if you heard some sort of rm..." He began, forgetting what he had wanted to say earlier as nned.


    p Click!</anda>


    "You feral beast!" Lank''s voice thundered in disdain, his head poking out as he red daggers at Obsidian.


    Obsidian raised his chin in pride, "I know a brother when I see one, and you are also a feral."


    "Broth¨C what the heck do you think you are?!" Lank yelled.


    Nic facepalmed at the banter that Lank initiated. What Obsidian was pointing out sounded important and Lank just interrupted.


    "Your feral brother." Obsidian deadpanned.


    "Lank! When would you begin to use your brain more than your mouth?!" Gia walked up to him, hitting him on the head.


    "Gia?!" He yelled, disappointed that he had been betrayed by the one close to his heart. "Are you also smitten with him? Is he much better than I am?!"


    Gia''s face scrunched up in disgust, hitting him once more in annoyance. "Sometimes I wonder how I kissed those lips."


    "Could you please shut the hell up?!" Nix yelled to get back the order he so rightly deserved.


    Immediately he spoke, and a calm followed.


    Click!


    Click!


    Solis and Luna poked out their heads, finally getting word on who had sparked up the noise.


    Arion reluctantly opened his door, frowning at the sight of another person who looked a little demeaning.


    "Who''s this mascot?" He blurted out in a murmur.


    Obsidian''s ears picked up on the description, his face turned to the right. His gazetched onto the culprit.


    In an instant, he registered Arion as bad in his thoughts. He had noticed how Lank had treated Arion while he was unconscious, from his guesses, he could deduce that he wasn''t part of that warm group that had tried to stick to one another.


    His silver ws grew an inch longer in size and so did a cold glint sh from his eyes. "You have bad intentions!" He growled.


    There was an aura that seethed off him that didn''t sit right with him. His words the moment he met him officially cemented this feeling into his head.


    "Shut the hell up fart face, I''m the only one authorized to call him remotely rted to that." Lank hissed.


    Noticing Obsidian ws, Lank''s lips raised in a smirk, a devilish grin on his face.<sub> </sub>


    "If I were you, I would apologize!" Lank whistled, looking anywhere but Arion''s direction.


    "What do you¨C"


    Bam!


    He felt forced to the ground with a hard grip on his neck.


    Opening one of his eyes as he winced to the pain, he had got angered by the fact that he had been disrespected once more by someone who had a superiorityplex.


    "So... what did you call me again?" Obsidian pressed Arion''s head on the floor, cracks appearing to the pressure he exerted.


    All let out a collective gasp at what was going on.


    "What''s all this noise I keep hearing?" Lumina yawned,ing out of her room so she could see the action for what it was.


    Her eyes widened at the scene before her. Lightning bolts coursed through her body.


    "No one bullies him to this extent than I." She said through gritted teeth.


    Raising her hand, she called down currents gathered from the appliances in the corridor.


    Bam!


    Obsidian did a backflip before he could be hit by her lightning.


    Arion on the other hand wasn''t too lucky, his body spasmed from being caught in the attack.


    "You''re spunky, I like you!" Obsidian looked at Lumina in admiration. This earned a frown from Nix.


    "Easy there, Sid." He pulled back Lumina so she could be where he could watch over her. "What is it that you wanted to say?"


    Ufortable with Arion''s presence, he turned back momentarily and cast a ck sphere around Arion like he had done when he tried to kill them.


    "Make sure you don''t attempt anything funny while in your naughty corner." Obsidian taunted, tossing him inside his room while still trapped in his sphere.


    "Now, onto the main reason why I hade to search you out." Obsidian''s voice turned serious with a devilish smirk.


    "Would you like to go on an adventure with me?" He said with a smirk.


    Nix still felt uneasy by the double personality disyed by Obsidian, one moment he disyed a vile attitude of a mad dog, and on another, he was as soft and cute as a fluffy puppy when speaking with him.


    "Why do I feel like you are toying with me?" Nix narrowed his eyes, unsure if he could go along with his words.


    "In this situation, I am not and I feel you are the best choice for this task."


    Raising a brow at his words, Nix shared a look towards Lumina, then Lank, Solis, and Luna.


    "We are listening." He said, folding his hands.


    "There''s trouble in the city," Obsidian nced around them, "a citizen needs our help."


    "Our help?" They all chorused in confusion.


    "Surely you all heard the rm." He looked at them desperately, they needed to act fast, yet they were having a discussion even he couldn''t hold on to for such a long while.


    From the looks on their faces, it revealed that the organization had intentionally kept it a secret from their section.


    He had always wondered why their rooms were off the ones given to the members of the organization. He had put it down to being recruits, segregated from the others so they could be groomed personally.


    "You all didn''t hear it, did you?" He turned his attention to Lank, hopeful that his part as a feral would have helped him in having a better hearing augmentation.


    "Well..." Lank whistled, guilty that he had dismissed what he heard as an annoying rm. "I had thought it was an rm clock, put there to be a pain in my..."


    Gia pped him on the shoulder, shaking her head. "So you thought it right to disturb my sleep because of something that you thought was an annoying announcement?"


    Lank shrugged, guilty as charged but not willing to admit to his fault.


    "If you knew that it was a person in danger, would you have willingly gone to help out?" Obsidian asked in curiosity.


    They all nodded their heads.


    "It is the right thing to do," Nix spoke on their behalf.


    "And some butt-kicking, throat-slitting, bones breaking, flesh-ripping while we''re at it!" Luna whooped in happiness at the thought of letting loose.


    All attention was drawn to her with raised brows.


    The only exceptions are Nix, Lumina, and most especially Obsidian.


    For a second, he had forgotten what he had wanted to rte to them as he stared at Luna in a daze.


    "Ahem!" Solis cleared his throat intentionally to pull Obsidian''s attention away from his sister. Nudging Luna on the side when she was in the same daze as he was.


    Shaking his head, he looked away with a blush. "As a matter of urgency, I need to know if you all could apany me to save someone."

 Chapter 178 A Good Reason To Believe

    <o>,m "Why do you need us for this? Nockeys needed." Lank rolled his eyes, harrumphing.</o>


    Obsidian smiled, "that''s because no one is smart enough to consider people in danger as they should. So I needed a few to prove my theory wrong."


    Luna felt bubbly with the little words spoken. "Let''s go do this!"


    "Sis, now isn''t the time to fawn over anyone who looks down on us." Solis snarled, dissatisfied with what was going on between Luna and Obsidian.


    Solis had always been all fun and games, but the booming rtionship between the two was disturbing.


    ''You never gave any male a chance, yet you want to choose him?!'' His eyes darted to the obvious tail behind Obsidian which swayed to the side now and then.


    This feral had judged them so lowly, that he would have to do more than that to convince him.


    His yellow eyes glowed as he activated his ability, ready to attack if triggered.


    Obsidian noticed the perceived threat but fully understood his fear. Raising his hand in surrender, he looked up to his fingers and the long w.


    "I didn''te here to fight, all I ask is someone who I can trust." He retracted his ws so he looked docile to them.


    Nix rubbed his chin, contemting what was said. He had gotten to the organization not to participate in their silly games of the showy disy of heroism, but rather to get to know the truth, especially about that voice that triggered his mother''s memory.


    Getting that was just one ticket he needed to gain more advantage over the organization.


    "Give me one good reason why we should believe you."


    Lowering his hands, Obsidian facepalmed, nodding his head right after. Trust was something meant to be earned, and he was still in the process of getting it.


    "Fine," he unintentionally snapped at them, ufortable he was put in such a vulnerable position.


    "I was trained for one sole purpose, uphold what was right, destroy the corrupt and evil when the need arises." He rted with a low tone, embarrassed to reveal a bit of himself.


    ''If you could get some friends and a better mentor in the process, it''s best that I hurry with this.'' Obsidian concluded in his thoughts.


    Lank mimicked Obsidian''s gestures, rolling his eyes at how he cooked up the lie so well that he was almost moved to believe.


    "I was taught to view you all as the enemy before your arrival, and when I had seen Nix attack on the first thing when you were all transferred from the academy¨C"


    Nix shook his head at that reference, it was no surprise when he stopped Obsidian from continuing for a while, it was a breach of what he had originally thought was right.


    "Attack is but a strong word, they were trying to experiment on us on the first time we had just gotten here, what did you expect me to do? Sit back and rx?" Nix narrowed his eyes, shaking his head.


    epting his misunderstanding, he continued, "with that thought in mind, it was only natural to believe what was said."


    "So the organization painted us in a bad light, huh?" Lank let out a bitterugh.<sub> </sub>


    "Still doesn''t exin why we should help though." Nix pointed out.


    "I noticed how you all cared for each other and shared a bond that even I was envious of." Obsidian rubbed the side of his arms, feeling shy about theck of interaction he had gotten.


    Raising his head, he frowned as he rted what had happened earlier, "a citizen is in danger, yet I was told to stand down as it would be of no benefit to the organization."


    His face scrunched up in anguish, anger, and difort from who had told him to do that.


    "So you want our help because you went against the organization''s perspective and need to carry on with your sense of what is right, all you need is an affirmation that we know what''s right from wrong!" Nix concluded, raising a brow to how tant his interpretation sounded.


    Obsidian nodded his head, his tail wagged in ecstasy, happy he was finally understood. With this, he had little doubt on if Nix was the right one.


    "We would never¨C"


    "We''d do it!" Nix cut in on Lank''s protest. Knowing Lank, he was merely speaking out of spite; once he was a bit more open, he would bond easily with Obsidian.


    "Really?!" Obsidian pounced on Nix, licking his face.


    Nix pushed back, using his sleeves to clean his cheek repeatedly, "what the hell?! Don''t make me change my mind."


    Obsidian whimpered, sad that he had been cast for something he had never done to anyone. The feeling was overwhelming for him, enough that he had carried out that act.


    "Don''t you ever try that with me!" Gia hissed through the corner of her mouth to Lank.


    Lank raised his hands in surrender, whispering back in protest. "I''m not that much of a feral as he is."


    Spitting out, Nix straightened his shirt, "let''s head out before I have second thoughts."


    "Hold up!" Lumina raised her hand, "how do we get out of this shit hole?"


    She gestured around them, seeing the organization as a more fortified wall than the academy.


    She looked over to Nix and could tell he might have some trick up his sleeve. Little did she know that he was having an internal battle with himself due to hisck of ess to his system and gift.


    ''Now would be the right time to finish with your goddamn reconstruction!'' Nix''s sweat dropped, cursing with all he could muster in his heart.


    His only line of attack and defense would be the little he had learned from Lumina.


    "I have a way to get out of this ce, the location of the signal triggered is simply fifteen miles from here." Obsidian had a devilish smirk on his lips as he looked to the left, then to the right.


    "Follow me, I know a shortcut, it cuts the distance by half!" He said in a whisper, walking towards the ce from which he came.

 Chapter 179 Stay On Guard

    "By half, you meant nothing, right?" Lankined, pushing on some branches in his way.


    "Look out!" Yelled in a whisper at Nix, hoping he could dodge before the branch hits him.


    Twak!


    The branch pped Nix across the face, leaving a red mark on his cheek. Lank winced to the sound, feeling guilty as charged. The others stifled augh at what had happened.


    "You should be happy Arion isn''t here, that would have left a beautiful reminder to that jerkface." Gia snorted, trying to make light of the situation for Lank''s sake.


    Inhaling and exhaling, Nix forced a smile, "let''s carry on, shall we?" He pointed in the direction of where Obsidian led in front of them.


    Pulling the saber from its sheath strapped at his back, he took a slice on the very branch that had pped him on the face.


    "You wouldn''t be a nuisance anymore." Nix snickered watching the branch fall into the mud below.


    Bam!


    Lumina pped him on the head in rage.


    "I had taught yourzy ass how to use a sword to defend yourself, not to use it on nt life as a practice course!" She bellowed, her cheeks puffed up with air.


    Putting the sword back in its sheath, Nix made sure to look the other way and avoid any form of eye contact with Lumina.


    Lank pulled Nix away with his hand over his shoulder. "Let''s get away from all these crazy!"


    "Who are you calling¨C" Lumina raised her hand, held back by Luna and Gia, with Gia''s hand over her mouth.


    Obsidian looked behind, his nose in the air as he sniffed out a faint smell of the ck box.


    "What are we looking for, again?" Solis narrowed his eyes, heating the branches that would remotely be in his way.


    "The ck devices that all citizens have?" Obsidian reemphasized, disappointed that he had forgotten so easily.


    Solis narrowed his eyes, he knew that was what they were searching for, the reason he had asked was because of the path they took.


    Raising his leg from the mud, he shook his head at how filthy he felt.


    They had been walking for more than two hours, yet all they had seen were nothing but trees and thick forest and more mud.


    "Yet we took the safest and cleanest shortcut in existence." Solis countered.


    The one thought of heating his boots and those that he deemed worthy of his ability to be used once they were on the leveled ground felt so surreal.


    "Do you want to be seen by the citizens? How about smiling for the curious citizens of Arkai while you''re at it?!" Obsidian snapped in irritation.


    They were going to face one of the most unpredictable races of their kind¨Craenz.


    They were said to be power-hungry, cunning, and brutal when it came to engaging anyone who crossed their paths. Only the best had ever been sent to engage any of these rogues.


    Even though he was confident in his abilities, Obsidian wanted to experience the thrill of being part of a team. If he had a better driving force, maybe then he would be as brutal as he wanted to be if what he was trying to protect was in danger.


    He had just pushed down some of the branches, smiling at the sight of a blood-stained floor.


    ''Gotcha!''<sub> </sub>


    Making a hush sign, he warned all to keep a low profile while they walked closer.


    His ears pricked up to the sound of muffled voices. His face brightened by the confirmation of the citizen in their grasp.


    Looking over to Lank, he was d he nodded back in understanding what was going on. The others all fell deadly silent.


    "Stay on guard," Obsidian warned, giving hand gestures only he could understand as being trained in the academy.


    "What the f*ck is this guy doing with his fingers?!" Solis hissed in anger, gaining a hush from all others.


    ''Hand signs!'' Nix happily thought with a smile.


    Obsidian facepalmed at the confused expressions on their faces. This was a simple gesture aimed at telling them where they needed to go.


    "Speak with your lips, it''s much easier to understand that way." Solis sneered in a whisper, folding his arms.


    Luna held all she could not hit her brother on the head, his actions were detrimental to her and this didn''t sit well with her.


    All hairs stood on Obsidian''s back, his attention was immediately drawn to the cause of his senses kicking in.


    "It''s about time some bigger fish arrives." A smoky voice spoke a few feet in their direction.


    They all looked ahead and took a defensive stance against the perceived threat.


    "You love darkness as well, huh? Well, it would interest you to know I''m darkness personified." Obsidian chuckled, pushing back his silver hair.


    ''I love it too...'' Luna had wanted to blurt out as she was temporarily distracted by her gaze on Obsidian.


    From the shadows, a pale leg came into view.


    ''Webbed feet?'' Nix frowned at the strange phenomenon.


    "Yet another UBS!" Nix pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.


    From his guess, he could already imagine a sick mashup of a character. There was no need to tell him why this person had be a raenz.


    A whirring sound could be heard in the background.


    Unable to contain his excitement, Obsidian protruded his silver ws, running on all fours.


    Jumping in the air, he made a sh at the person who still tried to hide.


    "Ah ah ah!" The voice said while clicking his tongue.


    A tentacle sent Obsidian flying towards a tree, destroying a few in its wake.


    They all let out a gasp at what they witnessed. This wasn''t what they had expected to happen so easily in just a few seconds.


    Luna sprinted in the direction of Obsidian without another thought.


    "Sis? Don''t!" Solis yelled.


    A peal of crazedughter could be heard as the perpetrator came out slowly from the shadows.

 Chapter 180 Away From The Abominations Grasp

    "Gross!" Lank couldn''t help but blurt out when he could see the raenz in broad daylight.


    The raenz stood 196cm in height, pale-skinned that rivaled Lank''splexion. He was bald with a distorted shape with several bumps on his head.


    Several gray suckers spanning all around his body changed their original position every few seconds. A tiny squishing sound could be heard from them.


    Donning a ck low rise metal-studded kilt underwear skirt as the only form of clothing, which managed to cover his crotch barely. It gave off a weird feeling to all who took a nce at his outlook.


    His gray eyes with dumbbell-shaped pupils red at them.


    Behind him were 6 ck tentacles which moved about in a random motion all around him.


    Solis felt his stomach churn, the urge to puke was threatening badly. Closing his mouth after the initial shock, he forced back the feeling barely.


    On one of the tentacles¨Cthe first from the top of the three on the left was Alex, it wrapped around his neck loose enough to allow him to breathe, while the other two wrapped around his body, sturdy enough to hold him in ce a few feet above ground level.


    "I think you should return to the darkness from which you came." Lank continued, pegging his nose, disgusted by the smell that reeked off the raenz.


    Lumina stepped forward, her eyes locked on Alex, her hair flew wildly around her as her eyes glowed, a wicked smile on her lips.


    She had hoped for a day to unleash a bit of her suppressed abilities while in the academy.


    "Nix, let me take care of this, it should be fun. Let''s have fun while you watch, it''s our turn to pull the trigger, don''t you think?" She looked behind her momentarily.


    Currents coursed through her body, and her fingers spread as she got ready to attack at the slightest provocation.


    "You don''t need to protect us ore to our rescue every single time." Gia supported Lumina''s im. Her body is covered in a brilliant blue aura.


    ''Even if I wanted to protect you all, I''m as powerless as an average citizen with weapons at the disposal.'' Nix stifled augh, cursing the system once more at the thought of what he was facing.


    The only happiness he derived was the fact that he had gotten over his initial dread to hold a weapon.


    His one thought was on the sword in his inventory, if he gets his system back, he was sure to use that to his advantage better.


    He looked to the right in which Obsidian had been flung and wondered how he was doing with that sort of force used on him.


    "Octosechs, look over here!" Lank cajoled with his demeaning taunts on how he looked, wiggling his brows.


    "It''s Octac." He hissed in irritation at being mocked.


    Lank was taken aback by simrities with what he had said, blinking several times. The name made him cringe.


    He had wanted to question if that was his original name given by his parents or a self-assigned name? Name given to him when he was abandoned?


    Lumina sneered at Octac, unconcerned with his name.


    The main focus was to get the citizen from the abomination''s grasp. Nothing was ever said about the raenz¨Cshe loved to think of the numerous possibilities that coulde to this unfortunate person.


    For a brief moment, Nix looked at the back of Lumina with awe. This reminded him so much of how Drui had been so protective of him.


    Sniffling, he had a sad smile at the memory.


    Pulling out his saber, he brought it in front of him, not wanting to sit back, if he could help in this way, he would.<sub> </sub>


    Boom!


    A resounding st erupted, and the wind blew all back.


    A gust of dust rose in the air.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    "What the heck was that?" Solis hissed, he had been recharging his ability from the sun and was thrown off bnce by that st of wind.


    "Is everyone alright?" Nix questioned, concerned if they weren''t injured by push.


    "Presently alive!" Lank groaned as he pushed himself up to stand.


    "All good, thank you!" Gia raised her hand, shaking the dirt off her hair.


    "All sunshine I guess!" Solis chuckled, he hadnded with the soft cushion from a bush.


    "That''s not the issue now, what happened there?" Lumina narrowed her eyes as the dust was settling.


    They all looked in the direction in which Octac had been.


    The sound of hitting and sshing could be heard.


    "You thought you could throw me off like a rag doll huh?!" Obsidian''s voice boomed in rage.


    The need to see what was happening was overwhelming and they all turned towards Solis.


    "What?!" He questioned, self-conscious with the look they gave.


    "Shed some light dimwit!" Lumina hissed.


    "You have a worse temper than Luna." Solis shook his head, agreeing to the demand nheless.


    There were sometimes he had wondered if his powers were meant for actual battle and if he was used as a source of light on numerous asions.


    Making a rectangr shape with his thumbs and index finger. Looking through it, his yellow eyes glowed casting a light that was able to prate through the dust.


    Their eyes widened at the bloody sight before them. A tentacle had been ripped, the one which had held Alex.


    To have the means of defending himself, Octac released his grip on Alex and focused more of his attacks with the remaining five tentacles.


    "You don''t attack defenseless humans!" Obsidian yelled, punching Octac in the face, ck blood dripped from his knuckles as it was suspended in the air for a few seconds before he brought it back for another punch.


    A tentacle had its appendage wrapped around Obsidian''s neck, slowly choking him, he groaned and made a sh on the tentacle.


    "Defenseless?!" Octac yelled back, hissing to the pain, staring in horror as he saw six inches of his tentacle drop to the floor, and dodge another hit to his face.

 Chapter 181 Devour

    "Are you sure we are needed?" Lank whispered towards Nix.


    They had not even attacked before the ballistic speed and punch from Obsidian came blowing up in their faces.


    He had wondered why they were requested to apany him on this rescue mission.


    Nix watched Obsidian, his thoughts nk for a while. When he was shaken by Lank, only then did he realize he was the one that was being spoken to.


    "Yeah?" Nix blinked.


    "You didn''t hear anything I said, right?" Lank pouted, feeling betrayed.


    cing a hand on Lank''s shoulder, he shook his head and leaned close to his ear, "of course not."


    The tables turned immediately as Octac flipped them over, Obsidian''s hands were wrapped by the tentacles, raising them.


    "Do you think he is just a defenseless citizen?!" Octac yelled, angered that he was forced to be a raenz because of his appearance and weird ability.


    The academy refused to take him in even after they had done several tests on him to verify if he had not modified his body in some way.


    In the end, he was rejected and cast out by the very people he thought could help him with the body distortion he had while growing up. Acting in a fit of rage at those who had made fun of him while they were sent on various missions, he had attacked every single citizen who had been guilty of this in the city.


    Fleeing this distant part of the city, he had to kill all innocent citizens to create a haven for himself until he found a worthy opponent.


    The more he looked at Obsidian, the more he felt the thrill that he had been killing to feel.


    Obsidian looked over to the unconscious Alex, he had never given it much thought before, but the more he looked at him, the more he felt the suppressed aura within him.


    ''He possesses an ability also? How did the organization not get to know this?'' Obsidian frowned at the strange phenomenon.


    Octac couldn''t discern which sort of ability this citizen possessed, it was best he could devour this strange-looking human that shared some sort of body maniption as he did.


    "You on the other hand are strong, possess an ability like I haven''t and I like that." Octac snickered, preparing to devour him.


    "I see, you have this ability too¨CDevour!" Obsidian broke off the restraints, the tentacles on his arms wiggling around his wrists.


    Grossed out by the sight, he shook off his hand, tossing them far away from his direction.


    Left with just two non-damaged tentacles, Obsidian gave him a kick to the stomach.


    Using his feet, he threw Octac over his head. Looking to his side, his jaw dropped at the others watching him fight with this crazed raenz.


    They were meant to do this together, yet they were doing the exact opposite.


    ''Just because I can handle this guy doesn''t mean I don''t desire help.'' He facepalmed.


    "You need to save the citizens, remember?!" He yelled at them, sprinting to get a hold of Octac.


    Nix ced his sword back in its sheath after realizing Obsidian could take care of this.<sub> </sub>


    "You don''t control us!" Solis balled his hand, waving it threateningly at Obsidian. "Where the heck is my sister!"


    He had been relieved that Obsidian was alright and doing all the hardbor for them. But after a few seconds, it hade to his knowledge that his sister had not returned after she had foolishly followed that creep.


    Pointing to the direction in which he was flung, he made no move to speak as he held Octac on the neck, his silver ws drawing blood slowly.


    "You wouldn''t believe it," Obsidian wanted to spark a conversation with this raenz. "I had almost forgotten I could gain your ability by doing what you had prepared to do on me. Isn''t that just good news?" He gave an eye shut smile.


    Octac''s heart thumped loudly at these words. He had always believed he was the only one who possess this ability.


    "How did you¨C" He couldn''t continue, shock rocked his body when he came to a personal conclusion.


    ''The tests!'' He thought in fear, they weren''t testing on how to help him, but rather stole his DNA to create this monstrosity that was going to use his ability against him.


    Obsidian was tired of wasting any more time, opening his mouth as wide as it could go, his fangs grew in size, a few inches above his chin.


    "No... Please!" Octac screamed in horror.


    "What is he doing!" Lank hissed, holding back Nix.


    Shaking his head, Nix knew what was to be expected soon, Octac had iting and he wasn''t going to do anything about it.


    "Don''t interfere!" He warned Lank.


    "Ahhhh!"


    Lank''s head whipped back to the ear-splitting sound, his eyes widened at the sight of Obsidian ripping off the flesh on Octac.


    Pulling out the remaining tentacles which weretched onto the back. Blood spilled in all directions behind him.


    His already pale skin was draining the blood in him, showing a faint glimpse of his blue and purple veins.


    Lank covered his mouth, as much as he was a carnivore, there was no way he would eat anything raw in that sense.


    Making several shes onto the face of Octac, Obsidian held his head and pulled. The skin on his neck was stretched beyond the limit, slowly tearing off his head.


    Rip!


    Gia gasped in shock at the horrific sight before them, she looked over to Lumina who scarily didn''t have any reaction whatsoever. Her stoic face even looked more disturbing.


    This wasn''t part of what they were taught in the academy¨Cthey don''t kill their enemies and if it was thest resort, not in this way in which Obsidian followed.


    The head of Octac was tossed to the floor, hisst reaction stered on the lifeless head. Those rectangr pupils widened and the mouth was slightly open.


    "Nix?" Lank questioned, disturbed by the smirk on his lips. He needed to ask one question, the very question he had wanted to ask from the time he had been able to escape Zoar.

 Chapter 182 Misplaced Identities

    His response would determine how he would interact with him.


    "Have you killed anyone before?" Lank paused, his breathing hitched as he waited for Nix to reply.


    Slowly Nix turned his attention towards Lank and a creepy smile was what was given in response.


    Lank didn''t understand what that meant.


    "Kill, sure I have done to some abominations before." He replied lightly, turning his attention back on Obsidian.


    Internally he was conflicted, angered by the thought of the first creature who had caused the death of Aimi, that was surely a memory he wished he didn''t recall now and then.


    Lank flinched at the words, "what did you face in Zoar?" He pressed on, curious about the possibility of anyone ever surviving that.


    "They had tried to kill me with some sort of abomination, I had to do what had to be done." Nix shrugged.


    Lank took a step back, he was shocked by the news, when Nix had returned from the portal, he had a bubbly personality and even demanded he grovels at his feet. Never did he think he had faced such a dangerous task even when that was just the first time he had been introduced to the ss.


    "I... I..."


    "You shouldn''t be apologizing to me," Nix cut in, shaking his head.


    None of what had happened was his fault, those who were the real culprit would get their retribution sooner than they realize.


    "Should I tell you a secret?" Nix leaned in a whisper, a mischievous grin on his face.


    Lank was unsure about what he wanted to say, going with the flow, he nodded his head, curious about what he had to say.


    If this discussion could take his attention away from the disgusting feasting of Obsidian, who was he to refuse?


    "I had yed with the arm of that creature that had attacked in the disguise of testing my capabilities." Nix wiggled his brows.


    Lank had tried to imagine that y out in his thoughts, but no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn''t picture Nix being that barbaric.


    "They would pay for all they''ve done!" Nix sneered at the thought of those who had sent the creature to his home.


    He had always wanted a normal family in this new world, but even that dream was a fleeting one.


    "..."


    Pretending not to hear what was said, he simply looked away, watching as Obsidian cleaned the blood off his lips.


    ''You are remotely a person, more or less monstrous.'' Lank gulped.


    Obsidian''s eyes glowed, and a silver-ted tentacle protruded from his back.


    "Heck no!" He hissed, closing his eyes. There was no way he was going to look like that freak raenz.


    Acting onmand, the tentacles retracted into his body. Touching his face and looking at his arms, he let out a sigh at narrowly dodging the sucker characteristics he had seen on the original host.


    That was the one thing he had hoped he didn''t possess while he inherited the abominable gift.


    He would get acquainted with the ability when he was alone in his room.


    Deactivating his ability, he looked behind him, readily expecting the looks he got from the others. Horrified, confused, or both.<sub> </sub>


    ''As expected!'' Obsidian smiled.


    Getting up, he waved at them, walking over to them as if he had simply lost something on the floor, picked it up, and was returning to the group.


    Gia took several steps back, weary of the feral. Lank reached out to her and held her in ce. "It''s alright." He whispered to her, bringing her head to his chest.


    Shooting a re in Obsidian''s way, he looked over to Nix, curious about what he would have to say regarding what had just happened.


    "Cool ability you got there. You were awesome out there." Nixughed, yfully pping the side of Obsidian.


    Obsidian stared at where he was hit, then looked back at Nix. His pupils dted as a stray tear dropped down his cheek.


    Nix was caught unawares by such a reaction that he couldn''t help but be in shock at the change in mood.


    "Uhhh, Sid?" He questioned, patting him on the head.


    It was only then did he realize that he was just 2cm above Obsidian''s 186cm height.


    He couldn''t understand why someone as ruthless as he was would suddenly tear up because of that little gesture.


    Sniffling, Obsidian forced a smile, "I had never beenplimented on anything before."


    Nix''s lips drew into a thin line, wondering how the organization treats its members.


    Testing out his luck, even though a system notification wasn''t present, he made it his mission to win the heart of this strange feral.


    "What do you say... friends?" He opened his palm for a shake.


    Obsidian snarled at the outstretched hand towards him, perceiving it as a threat.


    Nix looked down at his hand, unsure if he made any mistake or had something frightening there.


    "Are you nning to attack after a truce?" Obsidian snarled, a low growl could be heard from him.


    "That''s how you agree to something in this part of the world, silly!" Lank interjected, shaking his head.


    "How did you grow up?" Nix narrowed his eyes, unsure of the kind of environment he lived in to make him suspicious about most things.


    "I don''t remember." He tantly replied, blinking after he said so.


    ''This reply was a little simr to what Lank had said, but unlike Lank, this was a worst-case scenario.


    Lank''s mood instantly fell, it grimly reminded him of the fact that they both had lost identities that needed redemption.


    Nix''s brows were furrowed deep in thought, it was only a matter of time before he would have to speak with Sesa.


    This little experiment would have to stop soon. Memories and lives would have been lost in the process.


    Rushing towards them was Solis, in his arms was an unconscious Luna.


    His aura seethed off killing intent as his yellow eyes glowed as he red daggers at Obsidian. "What did you do to my sister?!"

 Chapter 183 Not Ordinary People

    Raising a brow to Solis'' usation, Obsidian walked over, stretching out his hand so he could carry Luna.


    Solis'' body glowed, reflecting light and heat as he prepared to attack in a blind rage.


    He had not said a word about what transpired, but still, he wants to gain ess to his sister?


    "Back off!" He sneered through gritted teeth until he knew what went wrong, his anger would continue to ze.


    Lumina casually walked and stopped in between the two. Holding the re meant for Obsidian.


    Even though he didn''t understand what was going on, Obsidian scratched his head, hoping to also know the reason she had fainted.


    The question asked by Solis could wait, what they needed was to take Luna back to recuperate.


    "I don''t know what happened to her, but what is needed now isn''t that, but rather a ce to rest¨Cshe''s not dead goddamnit!"


    The only thing he could remember when he was flung across the forest was the face of Luna by his side. She had healed the wound that he had sustained when a broken tree impaled him in the midriff.


    She looked fine when he charged at great speed towards the raenz, there was nothing that could point in the direction that he had done or seen anything wrong.


    "Hand her over." Obsidian insisted, stretching out his hand once more.


    Lumina looked behind her, angered that Obsidian wasn''t going along with keeping shut as nned.


    This was someone who was a happy-go-lucky personality, the rare moments he gets angry especially when ites to his sister was something not worth allowing to linger.


    The air felt warm, Luna absorbed as much radiation of light even while unconscious.


    "Solis, please calm your nerves." Lumina forced a smile. "As you can see, she is not dead. She''s absorbing your radiation, if she absorbs too much of it, you know what might happen."


    Looking down at Luna in his arms, his expression turned sober immediately. Regret setting in. "Fine!"


    Looking over to Obsidian, he targeted the heat signatures on his body, heating it rapidly.


    Obsidian dropped to his knees, his tongue out. His palms were on the floor as he tried to push himself upwards.


    Nix''s eyes widened, this looked simr to his fire gift evolution. Although this was just a subtle form of what he could do, he was pleasantly surprised someone else had the same affinity for regting body temperature.


    "What is this?!" Obsidian struggled to his feet, feeling weighed by the helpless feeling.


    "Solis stop, Luna wouldn''t want this!" Luna hissed, looking down at Luna who snuggled into her brother''s arms.


    Solis gritted his teeth, struggling to calm his zing thoughts about Obsidian.


    "Let Luna wake before you jump to several conclusions." Lumina tried to reason with Solis, "He saved us all from the raenz, there''s no way that he would have hurt your sister."


    With those words, he reluctantly deactivated his ability. "You got lucky this time."<sub> </sub>


    Obsidian looked at the ground in confusion, never had he experienced what he felt before, nor felt a weakness overwhelm him in such a manner.


    cing his hand on his chest, he let out a sigh as his body temperature slowly normalized.


    The grudge Solis still felt resonated on his face, the ability he had used drained a significant amount of energy from him. This would be the seventh time he had tried this but would be the first time he had to exert so much energy to maintain his hold.


    If it hadsted a minute more, his hold on Obsidian would be broken, he had to rely on Lumina''s words as a cover-up to regain the lost strength from the sun.


    His legs wobbled a bit, causing him to lose his bnce.


    Obsidian dashed just in time to hold onto Solis before he could fall. "Luna..." He offered the suggestion once more.


    Solis had a pout on his lips, feeling vulnerable. Shrugging off Obsidian''s hand after he got his footing, he reluctantly gave Luna over to him.


    "If you so much asy a finger on her, I would rip those ears and tail off you!" He threatened, his facial expression proving false to his im.


    Deep down he was still scared of the sort of power Obsidian possessed, all he could attribute to his power over him momentarily was luck and perfect timing.


    Obsidian looked down at the sleeping Luna, his brows furrowed, he was having his fingers on her.


    "I guess we''re done here!" Nix cut in, holding up Alex with his arms over his shoulder.


    Obsidian nodded his head to Nix''s words. They needed to hurry back if they wanted to hide their tracks.


    "It''s him!" A little girl''s voice broke off and got the attention of all.


    They looked to their side, confused as to why a little girl would bring another citizen with an ax to this dangerous part of the city.


    The male''s legs knocked together in fear at the menacing looks of the people in front of him.


    Tilting his head at the sight of a blood trail, he let out a yelp at the sight of a head staring back at him.


    "A raenz!" He gulped, his ax dropping to the floor and with him dropping to his knees, giving a bow.


    If they could kill a raenz, then they weren''t ordinary people either.


    "Sir, but that''s uncle Alexandre, he''s the one who saved me. We can''t leave him with these people!" She pulled on the male''s sleeve.


    He was the only one who had offered to help when she had spread the word in the stalls.


    Her hopes were dashed by his actions. All she needed was the uncle that had saved her.


    "Little girl, go home. Uncle isn''t even blood-rted to you, so why bother?" Obsidian hissed, he could tell the bloodline was different just by their scents. Turning around and preparing to leave, he felt a hand hold onto the hem of his shirt.

 Chapter 184 Busted

    Cross popping veins made their way to Obsidian''s forehead, he was meant to leave not loiter around and be distracted by some girl.


    "Back off!" He said through gritted teeth, looking down at Luna so he could keep his calm.


    The little girl flinched at his words, whimpering as she felt scolded. He looked like the leader of the group they were in.


    "Little one," Nix''s voice broke through the uneasy silence that followed.


    The girl turned her head towards Nix, uncertain if she could open up to this person, he was the one holding up the uncle.


    "Uncle..." She opened her arms toward Alex.


    Nix looked over at Alex at his side and a sad smile crossed his features. She reminded him so much about Aimi''s desire to hold him in her little hands.


    "Little one, even if I should release him over to you, do you think he''s in safe hands?" Nix reasoned.


    The little girl looked at her hands, then over to the trembling male she had called on for assistance.


    Her thoughts began to question the very existence of what she knew.


    "I... uh... umm..." She stammered, unable to speak much on what she was unsure of.


    "My thoughts exactly," Nix nodded his head. "We would take it from here, we aren''t the bad guys¨C"


    "We can be if you decide to disrupt our ns!" Obsidian cut in with a growl, his eyes glowing as he looked menacing.


    The little girl shrunk in fear, unconsciously moving closer to Nix forfort.


    Nix stifled augh, they were meant to keep a low profile since this girl had gotten the courage to return with someone to get Alex.


    In his eyes, although stupid; it would seem she was someone who Alex had tried to save and got caught in the trap of the raenz.


    "You still have a family, right?" He looked at her expectedly.


    The little girl nodded her head, "my father..."


    "Return to him, we will take good care of your uncle." Nix smiled, adjusting Alex on his shoulder.


    "Pathetic!" Obsidian muttered, walking off so he could not witness the overload of sweetness that was sickening.


    p Reluctantly the little girl took a step back, her eyestched onto Alex.</anda>


    "Could I..." She reached out to Alex.


    Tilting his head in confusion as to what she had nned, Nix lowered himself, leaning so that Alex was at the level of the girl.


    Standing on her tippy toes, she ced a little kiss on Alex''s forehead. Removing her white bangle from her hand, she clipped it into his hair.


    Her eyes glued onto the bangle she had used to decorate his hair, a sad smile on her lips.


    "Tell uncle Alex that I''m sorry and would be careful next time." She waved at Nix.


    "Let''s go, Sir." She gently touched the male that still had his head lowered in respect.


    "Stay out of trouble!" Nix waved. "And don''t get yourself killed." He mumbled on thetter part.


    Lank took a hold of Alex''s arms, "let me take over this, you''ve exerted a bit of your strength. You need to rest when we get back." He concluded with a wink.


    "I..."<sub> </sub>


    Lank frowned at the initial objection, without giving him as much as a look, he dashed away with Alex in tow.


    This confirmed how strong Lank was inparison to his normal non-augmented body.


    He looked up to the sky, heaving a sigh and wondering when he would get his gift or system. The presence of Mune was already overdue.


    "Let''s get back," Lumina said with a smile, patting him on the back.


    ''Yeah, back to the shit hole!'' Nix sneered at the thought of returning to the very ce that could end them if they couldn''t n their affairs well.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    p!


    "You what?!" Mr. Zhao yelled, spit droplets flying in Obsidian''s direction.


    "You can''t do that Sir!" Nix objected, furious that he was held back by Lumina.


    She shook her head, whispering now wasn''t the time to interfere with the issue of Obsidian and Mr. Zhao.


    His eyes were red with rage as he stared at the others who had gone through with the n headed by Obsidian.


    Obsidian''s cheek had a red welt from the p he had endured from his teacher.


    He hissed to the pain and his face furrowed in suppressed anger.


    Mr. Zhao''s eyes traveled to the female in his arms, shocked that he had been willing to care for someone other than himself.


    His thoughts did a number on the possibility of him bonding with the recruits as dangerous.


    "I had specifically told you to let it go!" He yelled in Obsidian''s face.


    "Would you please keep it down, you would affect Luna''s sleep," Obsidian said through gritted teeth, trying to be as polite as he could be and maintain his cool.


    Mr. Zhao was left stunned by his words, he could only attribute it to the influence of the others telling on him.


    "Hand her over to her brother this instant!" Mr. Zhao snapped, narrowing his eyes at Obsidian.


    Obsidian felt triggered by the order, his breathing hitched and his slit eyes thinned.


    His emotions stabilized with the touch on his shoulder by Solis. "It''s not worth it, I believe you."


    Obsidian''s eyes widened at the smile from Solis who had finallye to a reasonable conclusion that he meant well to his sister and the team.


    Stretching out his arms, he nodded to them, gesturing that he could let go and hand over as Mr. Zhao had said.


    Reluctantly, he looked away as he did as he was told.


    "Thank you for giving us the thrill of the outdoors. Till we cross paths again." Solis whispered with a smirk.


    "I''de along, I could assist..." Gia whispered, wanting to be away from Mr. Zhao as possible.


    Watching them leave, he stopped Lank and Nix from leaving. As his eyes cast a re at the suspicious male in their presence.


    "Did you think you could sneak an unknown into the organization?!" He thundered.

 Chapter 185 Recalling Owed Favour

    "Who said anything about sneaking in an unknown?" Nix shrugged, looking over to Lank who still had Alex in his arms.


    Lank shook his head, positioning Alex and wondering how long it would take till he woke up.


    Mr. Zhao frowned at the cunning reply from Nix. Knowing him well enough, he would try to escape trouble.


    "Who is this?" He pointed at Alex.


    "He''s an uncle of some little girl," Nix replied with a smirk. He dutifully expected Mr. Zhao to blow a fuse soon.


    "Un¨C" Mr. Zhao pinched the bridge of his nose, trying his best not to overreact.


    Looking over to Obsidian for a direct answer, he asked again. "Who is this?"


    "Whatever the fire rank says, goes." Obsidian shrugged, sounding distant yet evasive of the question.


    Nix smiled knowing the sort of tactics Obsidian used so he could seem that he still maintained the lofty attitude he had developed on their initial introduction.


    "No one is authorized toe in here, except I say so or I ammanded by the higher-ups." He barked at them.


    "Rx Sir." Nix chuckled, "he''s more than just an uncle, he is a citizen with a suppressed aura."


    The statement felt wrong on many levels for the rest. They forced their hands to stay down and not facepalm.


    Raising a brow at his words, Mr. Zhao had a mental note of the fact that Obsidian would need to be cross-examined. He was slowly getting out of control if this should continue.


    "What do you mean suppressed aura?"


    Looking left, and then right, Nix ced his hand to the corner of his lips, "we would need another room to discuss this."


    "Hand him over for cross-examination." Mr. Zhao said with a firm tone. Listening to Nix would be a waste of time¨Cthis he was currentlycking.


    "That would be impossible to grant, we found him, he should be in our care!" Lumina objected, stepping forward with her green eyes glowing.


    Mr. Zhao''s heart thumped in fear, this reminded him of a simr incident when Ian had stood up against him. He couldn''t allow this to continue any longer.


    "I think I could make that work." Mr. Zhao conceded defeat for the time being. "But there is no way that three could share a room."


    Nix rubbed his chin for a while, thinking of the right n that could be the best in the bunch.


    His lips curved in a devilish grin at the thought that crossed his mind.


    Obsidian switched nces from Nix to Mr. Zhao and back again. Curious as to why Nix had that suspicious grin on his face.


    ''He''s definitely up to something.''


    "Do you recall when you owed me a favor?" Nix began, feeling gleeful as he thought of the perfect n to rid himself of the Christmas tree.


    ''What favor?'' Obsidian''s eyes glistened with curiosity. His tail swayed to the side and then upwards once in a while.


    He tried to listen in on Lumina''s whisper in the direction of Nix.<sub> </sub>


    "What the heck are you doing, Nix?" He heard her hiss in Nix''s direction.


    Mr. Zhao cringed, thinking of the various aspects from which he could speak. "Back in the academy, but I had made mention of¨C"


    "Academy, organization... seems the same to me. Besides, it''s quite easy to fulfill." Nix wiggled his brows.


    "You are indebted to me after all." Nix rubbed in his words as he spoke. He couldn''t waste any more opportunities such as this.


    A part of him was d that he had not used the favor then. Thankfully he had thought against requesting a change of dorm back then.


    ''Look who''sughing now!''


    "What I ask is simple. There are four rooms for us recruits, am I correct?"


    Mr. Zhao nodded his head, confused as to why this was brought up.


    "Great," Nix rubbed his chin, looking over at the pupil dted Obsidian. He looked ok expectantly at Nix, feeling something good mighte from this if he yed along.


    "I would need the presence of Obsidian and Alex in the same room, while Christm¨C I... I mean Arion," he choked on his words, disgusted by the mere mention of his name on his lips.


    "I need him relocated to a better ce," Nix said, grinning from ear to ear.


    Mr. Zhao finally understood what was going on. Thinking about what this would mean for them, he refused without thinking twice.


    "Anything but that."


    Shaking his head, he stood his ground on the request, this was what he wanted, and was going to get it done no matter what.


    "If you are against this, then you would need to exin your thoughts on the reason you want Obsidian away from others." Nix challenged.


    Obsidian turned his attention towards Mr. Zhao, curious about this information that concerned him greatly.


    ''He''s an experiment that needs to maintain his hostile attitude, the less interaction, the better the usefulness to the organization. He might be influenced by your group and question all he was ever taught...'' Mr. Zhao''s thoughts gave a list of what he couldn''t say to answer the question in reality.


    Forced to the corner, Mr. Zhao frowned, having no valid excuse to give that wouldn''t be used against him since the person in question was present.


    "What about Arion, wouldn''t the others protest against letting Obsidian take over the room?" Mr. Zhao tried to steer the topic away from himself.


    "I wouldn''t mind, even if he''s a jerk," Lank muttered, pouting his lips and looking away in embarrassment.


    Obsidian''s mood brightened up, his tail wagging in response to Lank''s weird form of eptance. In his eyes, any form of eptance was alright.


    "I would have to go with that too," Lumina said with a smile, winking at Obsidian.


    Nix closed his eyes, repeatedly telling himself that Lumina was just trying to be friendly and amodating. Opening his eyes, he let out a sigh and had a smirk.


    "So... What do you say, Sir?" Nix inquired.

 Chapter 186 Fart Face Is At It Again

    "Never mind that, it could be arranged." M.r Zhao said with a sigh. "All I need is the time and it could be done."


    There was a high chance of knowing the answer that would be given. All he needed to do was wait and hear it soon enough.


    "How about we get rid of the trash before it starts to smell?" Nix replied with a wide grin.


    ''You''re bold if you could call a fellow student trash.'' M.r Zhao shook his head, a smile present on his lips.


    Walking ahead, he led the way towards the rooms. "I could get that arranged quite nicely."


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In room 4,


    Bang!


    "Hey!" Arion''s voice could be heard as he repeatedly hit the ck barrier.


    Bang!


    His strength was slowly depleting, it had been hours since he had been trapped, yet not a means of escape in sight.


    Since his arrival to the organization, he had regretted being chosen. The whole event that had yed out felt more like a punishment than a blessing.


    He missed his friends back in the academy, he had been manhandled by some freak in his wake. This didn''t give him any time to recuperate and grow in strength as he had nned.


    Now trapped in the barrier, he contemted the number of hours or not days that he would be stuck in since there was nothing like daily sses¨Che might as well be forgotten.


    Bang!


    "I cannot be stuck here!" He growled, hissing at the pain that traveled up his harm when he invested all his strength in trying to escape.


    Bang!


    Click!


    "Who''s there? Get me out of here!"


    Bang!


    "Would you hold your horses? Which do you want to satisfy, who is it? or getting you out of here?" Obsidian snapped in displeasure.


    It was enough to return to this filthy ce that was upied by the living trash he had contained. He reeked off a dark aura, one that wasn''t on the darkness of the soul but of the mind.


    "That voice!" Arion hissed, knowing fully well who it was, even if it wasn''t the name, he could as well remember who had caused his entrapment.


    "You!" He yelled in rage, "let me out of this, right now!"


    "Someone''s a bit feisty. What are you going to do, bite me?" Obsidian challenges with augh.


    Nix leaned on the door jamb, using his leg to hold the door open in ce, sharing an awkward look towards Lank and Lumina who stood by the doorpost.


    Lank walked in a hurry, carefully cing Alex on that bed. "That''s more like it."


    Walking back, he gave a thumbs-up to Obsidian.


    Mr. Zhao watched their corporation with suspicion. This was far from what he expected, Sesa would have to do a great modification on Obsidian.


    Feelings of this kind, bonds weren''t meant to be part of this perfect experiment. It almost felt like he was evolving from his original programming.<sub> </sub>


    Bang!


    "If I get out of here, I swear I would¨C"


    "Use your forbidden spell? Be beaten like the wimp you are?" Obsidian tried toplete his sentence, recalling the file he had read on Arion''s previous duel.


    He gave a grin as he looked at Lumina, in awe that she had given him the beating he had deserved at the time.


    Lumina giggled, immediately understanding his expression.


    There was a part of her that was d they had agreed on epting Obsidian, he wasn''t as terrible as she had thought on their first encounter, all he needed were the right people by his side.


    ''Sesa, if this can''t be fixed, we would have yet another problem on our hands!'' Mr. Zhao grimaced at the growing fondness between them all and his inability to stop it.


    "You had attacked me when I was unprepared, just let me out of here so we''d see what''s wrong and not!" Arion barked.


    "Fart face is at it again." Lumina and Lank said in unison, sharing a look and bursting into inaudibleughter.


    "Keep it down," Mr. Zhao cut in, not pleased with the turn of events.


    ring daggers at Obsidian, he needed him to deactivate his barrier. Wondering how he had kept this on even while he left the organization on his little quest.


    cing his hand on the barrier, he was amazed at how dense it was, there was no escaping so easily. He could only feel pity for thed that was trapped in it.


    "If I do release him, what''s the assurance he wouldn''t be more of a feral than I am?" Obsidian sneered at the thought of obeying themand.


    "If he gets a glimpse of me, I think it would all be settled." Lumina prided in the fact that she held a special ce in the fear he held in his heart.


    "You aren''t the only freak around here."


    Obsidian let out a sigh, shaking his head. Raising his hand he caused the barrier to levitate.


    "Woah!" Arion gasped as he was tossed about in the barrier.


    "Obsidian, don''t!" Mr. Zhao warned, having a bad guess on what he wanted to do.


    Lowering his hand and making a snap with his fingers, Obsidian dispelled his barrier.


    Pop!


    Arion''s panic level rose as he saw himself crashing to the floor in a matter of seconds.


    m!


    The others let out a collective wince for Arion, smiling right afterward.


    "Ow!" Arion groaned in pain.


    Obsidian dusted his hands, pride in his action set in. Ignoring the hard re Mr. Zhao gave his way, he gave a thumbs up to the rest who returned the favor.


    Pushing himself up gradually, Arion opened his eyes slowly. The first face he caught sight of was Mr. Zhao.


    "Mr. Zhao, this fr¨C" he gulped, seeing the hard re sh his way from Obsidian, Lank, Nix, and Lumina.


    "Hello fart face, remember me?" She waved in his direction, giving a disturbing eye shut smile.


    "W... what are you doing in my room?" He pointed an using finger at her.

 Chapter 187 Welcome To Hell

    "Arion, there has been a change of ns."


    Looking over at Mr. Zhao as soon as he said that, he could already feel the emptiness in those words.


    "You''re kicking me out?" Heughed, confident that was what was happening.


    A part of him felt relieved, he would be able to return to his friends and far away from all the craziness in his life, the other part was furious at having his right to stay forcefully taken from him.


    "Yes and no." Mr. Zhao replied, shaking his head at how wrong that was portrayed.


    Little did Arion realize that someone was sleeping on his bed. The moment he heard a snore, he jumped back and got a glimpse of an unsuspecting male.


    "My word!" Arion eximed, "I have been kicked out and reced before I even had a say." He clicked his tongue.


    "Who''s he?" He pointed at the stranger, "some powerhouse?"


    "An uncle," Nix interjected with a devilish grin, knowing that wasn''t the answer Arion was looking for.


    Rolling his eyes, Mr. Zhao red daggers at Nix, knowing this was the very tactic he used on him.


    "He''s someone new..." Mr. Zhao replied, even though he didn''t have all the details of this person.


    One thing was certain, he did have a suppressed aura in him, all they needed to do was find out how to unlock it.


    This has brought about new possibilities that they had never imagined. The possibility of citizens passed the age of infancy being able to hide their gift or magic till an age such as the person on the bed.


    The thought of studying this person was the only driving force to let him stay until that was resolved. Knowing the source could be undutifully helpful to Sesa in her research.


    "What am I, someone old?" Arion retorted. It had been the third day in here and he was going to be reced because of some strange guy?!


    Nix rolled his eyes at the statement, this was dragging on more than necessary.


    "It isn''t that you''re old, just not needed." Nix wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, adding fuel to the me.


    Arion growled at the perceived threat.


    "Don''t even think about it!" Obsidian thundered, his demeaning aura seething off him as he stared down the defenseless Arion.


    Gulping, he forced himself to his feet, letting out a series of sighing and groaning, displeased with what he was going through.


    "It was you, right?" He pointed an using finger at Lumina.


    "Save your me game for another day, fart face," Lumina blew on her nose as a form of telling him to get lost.


    With drooping shoulders, he walked out slowly.


    "What''s going to happen to me?" He questioned, worried that there might be a rule of being killed if rejected by the organization. There was never a time he could recall anyone leaving the organization out of their own ord.


    "I said yes and no to your earlier question," Mr. Zhao hissed in irritation at having to repeat himself on this.


    "You aren''t kicked out per se, consider it more of being moved to somewhere more promising."


    He had bigger ns for Arion, if he could develop such hate at such a tender stage, all he needed to do was build on it when the need arises.


    Reluctant to follow through with this, he hesitated.


    "Bye-bye!" Lumina taunted with a smile.


    "You watch your back!" Arion hissed, walking off with Mr. Zhao.


    They all watched until those two were all out of sight.


    Pushing the others in, Nix closed the door behind him.


    "So... now what?" He looked at the others for advice.<sub> </sub>


    Obsidian raised his hand and his silver ws protruding, "I could kill him and pretend none of this ever happened."


    "A bad joke indeed." Nix chuckled, turning his attention to Lumina and Lank.


    To pass the time while he stood bored and not doing anything, Obsidian licked the back of his palm, using it to wipe down his head and then his face.


    "More animalistic than necessary." Lank grimaced. "Good thing I''m more human than him."


    Obsidian red at him but said nothing, he just followed his instinct and was proud of it.


    Sniff!


    Sniff!


    "Good thing that he''s about to wake up." Obsidian nodded in the direction of Alex.


    Twisting and turning, Alex groaned as his eyes fluttered open.


    A faint glow caused a maroon static energy surrounding area to blow up in their faces, pushing them back.


    "Not again!" Lank groaned as he got up. "I carried you back here, asshole! And this is what you pay me with?"


    Alex''s eyes flickered back to their usual gray. He looked at the sound of voices.


    "Who..." He croaked.


    "Wee to thend of the living, jerk ass!" Lank snapped, pushing back his hair and adjusting his shirt.


    "Where am I? Who are you all?" Alex questioned, pushing himself up so he could have a better look at all of them.


    Obsidian rolled his eyes at the question, it reminded him so much of Arion. "One answer is all you got, choose wisely."


    "Where am I?" He went on with that instead.


    p!


    p!


    "Wee to hell," Nix said with all enthusiasm, opening his arms.


    Alex flinched looking all around him as he contemted what this person meant.


    This wasn''t the abandoned area he was in before. The raenz wasn''t anywhere to be found and with this let out a sigh of relief.


    ''The little girl!'' His eyes widened at the memory.


    "You''re scaring him." Lumina hissed at Nix.


    "But it''s true," Nix whispered back.


    "The girl, where is she?" Alex said in a manner of desperation.


    Nix''s face fell upon hearing these words. "So you are an uncle figure."


    Furrowing his brows, Alex tilted his head in confusion. "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "The little girl was so adamant about getting her uncle." Obsidian cut in, rolling his eyes and clicking his tongue.


    "Is she safe? Did you all receive my message sent from the¨C" he reached into his pocket but found nothing.


    ''The ck box, where is it?!'' He thought in a panic, stiffly raising his head as he stared at them.

 Chapter 188 System Is Fully Operational

    "Are you looking for that little device? What good is it when you''re in the organization?" Obsidian shook his head.


    There was no point holding it if he was right in the very ce that attended to such alerts.


    "Was I searched?" Alex frowned, ufortable with that notion.


    "If you call helping getting rid of unnecessary equipment and forms of identification that could be detrimental to you, then yes, you were searched." Obsidian snapped.


    Alex couldn''t understand why this strange animal-like human was being so antagonistic to all he said or asked.


    Looking over at the other three, they seemed more approachable.


    Pulling Obsidian to his side, Nix grinned as he nned on introducing the roommates. "Sid here..."


    "Obsidian to you!" Obsidian snarled at Alex, he could only condone that nickname from Nix and no one else.


    "Sid here," Nix repeated a little louder than before so he could maintain control of the conversation. "is your handsome roommate, isn''t that awesome?!"


    Alex''s eyes widened in shock at the revtion, he switched nces from Obsidian to Nix and back again.


    "Someone''s not happy with the joyous news." Lank teased in a sing-song manner.


    He was d that he had someone he could share his warmth with¨CGia, thankfully not some block-headed feral who had little knowledge of human interaction.


    "Whose order was it to pair me with... with him?!" Alex took a nce at Nix, trying to get up and out of this entrapment.


    He wasn''t meant to be in the organization, this was the very ce he dreaded but for some reason, he found himself here.


    Nix obstructed his path, putting a smile. "Where do you think you''re headed in your condition?"


    Alex raised his brow, there was no use stopping him from leaving, he was nothing but a normal citizen, so why are they treating him like some sort of important figure?


    "Back to my home in the city? Far away from this ce." He responded, shaking his head at how stupid they all looked trying to stop a mere citizen.


    They had been taught to know their ce in the hierarchy, they do not interfere with the lives of those with abilities and vice versa.


    This had made them reliant on the ck box, it had been the only option to call on the gifted and magic users toe to take care of their abominations.


    Seclusion¨Cthis had been Alex''s motto for quite some while and he enjoyed every bit of peace, not until he crossed paths with that girl.


    Staying in the organization would be a deterrent to what he had built for himself.


    Nix and Lank burst intoughter at his statement, earning a displeased look from Alex.


    He had tried so hard to decipher why they had reacted in such a way, but none crossed his mind no matter how he tried.


    Nix''s happy mood immediately disappeared as fast as it came, he looked down with an air of pity at Alex.


    "Even if you try to leave, it''s out of the question for now," Nix replies coldly.


    He had simply brought Alex for a greater n he had in mind. All they needed to do was act in line with that for the time being.


    Build a reliable team he could trust and share the mutual benefit of working with him.


    "Why would I be kept against my will when I don''t possess any sort of ability like you all do?" He raged.


    ''Nah... I''d pass.'' Lank took a step back seeing his eyes flicker to its faint maroon glow. He wasn''t going to experience another unnecessary st.<sub> </sub>


    "As much as I hate to admit, I had sensed a suppressed gift in you." Obsidian scoffed, raising his chin.


    "Have you looked in a mirrortely?" Lumina pointed out, shaking her head at how stupid this felt, speaking to him yet he thinks they were lying due to no visual proof.


    They couldn''t identify what sort of gift he had, apart from the static st they had experienced minutes ago, another wave wasn''t necessary.


    Alex''s hand searched on the bedside table for some reflective surface. The moment he was able to get the hand mirror, he brought it closer to his face to identify the issue.


    A gasp could be heard from Alex as he stared at his reflection, witnessing his eyes flicker every two seconds.


    "Your ability is unstable, not after unlocking it after such a long while of being suppressed." Lumina pointed out, speaking from part of the memory she had acquired from her brother.


    She had never envisaged the time she would ever understand some of the research he had done, not until the opportunity presented itself.


    "No..." He mumbled, throwing the handheld mirror at the wall in a rage.


    Crash!


    k!


    k!


    He hyperventted, looking down at his legs, contemting his next action.


    There was no way he was going to believe the bullshit he was being spoon-fed.


    "How dare they experiment on me?!" He yelled, pointing an using finger at them slowly.


    "Here we go again." Lank facepalmed, sick and tired of the me game and the mess that came with an unpredictable ability.


    His red eyes glowed and so did his fangs and ws protrude as he prepared to engage.


    Looking to his side, he let out a slight chuckle at the quick transformation Obsidian had undergone, they both had thought in the same line.


    ''Contain the problem before the problem overwhelms you!''


    "All of you stand down!" Nix hissed, raising his right hand so he could stop his team from attacking as a form of defense.


    Alex was just confused and angry, this could be resolved with the right approach and not senseless brawling.


    Holding the glowing re that Alex had, he noticed Alex''s demeanor change into a flinch.


    Alex felt a demeaning aura overwhelm him the moment he stared into Nix''s glowing blue eyes.


    "I... I..." Alex tried to exin while he made a futile effort to pull his gaze away from Nix''s.


    Beep!


    Beep!


    [System reconstructionplete]


    [Congrattions host, the system is fully operational]

 Chapter 189 Beautiful Angels Or Devils?

    The user interface made its familiar appearance in front of Nix.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 16]


    [Rank: Anaex]


    [Health: 500/500]


    [Exp: 0/200]


    [Energy: 250/400]


    p [Strength: 200/400]</anda>


    [Agility: 240/300]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination, Rage, Defensiveness, Charisma]


    [ss: Wheedler, Beast yer, Dragon master, Beast summoner, Pilferer]


    [Summons: Raiken, Rekor, Raz, Red]


    [Gift: Fire, Telekinesis]


    [Points: 0 to be distributed]


    Nix''s eyes widened at what he read at a nce.


    ''What the f*ck!'' He cursed, a cross popping vein making its way to his forehead.


    All 3303 points he had worked for were all reverted to 0?


    Looking at his stats he wondered what was reconstructed apart from the increase in his level and the weird ranking he got.


    Rolling his eyes, he made a mental note to go over the stats thoroughly once he was alone.


    Right now he had bigger issues to solve and that involved the male in front of him.


    A smirk on his lips as he felt alive once more.


    [Trait usage: Charisma in effect]


    [With every minutees a deduction of 2 points from your health stats]


    ''Well, that''s new.'' Nix could slowly see what the system spoke on as reconstruction.


    With that seen, he would have to be more conscious of his timing when using this and any others that could be in the same category that could have a toll on his other stats.


    "Alex, we aren''t your enemies, you can trust us." He said calmly with a smile.


    Alex felt a strange calm wash over his body, slowly his head nodded in agreement.


    [Trait usage: Charisma deactivated]


    The glow in his eyes reverted, he let out a sigh, he had managed to do that without using up a minute.


    ''Sucks to be you, system!'' He blew a raspberry to an imaginary system that felt cheated by what he had done to bypass the interface.


    Lank took a step back, remembering when this had been a bane to him. This reminded him of the time when Miss Galena had acted as weird as Alex did.


    Obsidian was more than curious about what Nix did, surely this couldn''t be a feat that fire rankers could do. This only boosted his drive to stick with Nix.<sub> </sub>


    Lumina scoffed, unfazed by the strangeness. "Look here, Alex, whether you think we are the enemy or not, I don''t f*cking care. If you can''t trust us, then your loss!"


    Nix, Obsidian, and Lank had their mouths slightly gaped at her outburst, she had rounded up all they had said in a tiny explosive sentence.


    "When you''re done calming his shit down, you know where to find me, Nix," Lumina said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I can''t stand this anymore or it might be tempting to slit his throat or something."


    Alex flinched at her words, his eyes widened in horror at the unthinkable words that spewed out of her mouth.


    He began to wonder if he had disturbed calm waters by his actions. He had wanted to justify his initial anger but the more he thought about it, Nix had stopped the others from treating his attempt of shooting himself in the leg if he had tried to attack first.


    ''They saved you from the raenz, they can''t be as you think. Think straight, you stupid blockhead.'' Alex pped his cheeks to get a grip on himself.


    "You better watch your back! I got my eyes on those set out to look for trouble for no solid reason!" Lumina snapped while she used her hand to make a slit throat gesture.


    Her green eyes glowed brightly and red at Alex for an ufortable time that forced him to look down momentarily.


    ''Such a scary re!'' Alex thought, making sure to keep his head lowered until she left as she had said earlier.


    "Nix, if there''s trouble, I''m just three rooms away." She blew a kiss his way.


    With that said, she stomped her feet to her room, unable to take watching this strange guy act unthankful for their gesture of kindness.


    Once it was certain that she had left, he let out a sigh of relief even he didn''t know he held.


    "That went better than expected, don''t you think, Nix?" Lank chuckled.


    "Yeah!" Nix exhaled. "I was expecting knifes flying or lightning but she did quite well for keeping her cool while itsted."


    ''You call that keeping her cool?'' Alex grimaced at their interaction.


    Alex gulped and turned his attention to Nix who looked smitten and the opposite of what he felt.


    This was the first he hade to realize something was going on between those two. If he wanted to maintain his head, he would need to be in the good books of this male who could probably hold his lot against her.


    "Are all your females in the academy like this?" Obsidian pointed in the direction where Lumina had stood earlier.


    First, it was the strange preferences and energy that Luna had that had drawn him towards her. Now it was the crazy and threatening personality of Lumina that kept him in awe.


    "Nope, we got sweet beautiful angels like Gia, not all are dev¨C"


    Bam!


    Nix hit Lank before he couldplete his sentence, he couldn''t stand him referring to Lumina in such a way while he was present.


    "Mind your words asshole." Nix hissed.


    Lank held his head, whimpering. "How could you let a girle between our beautiful friendship born of two handsome-looking guys?"


    Nix clicked his tongue, wondering how he had been able to tolerate Lank for so long with his tongue.


    Obsidian watched, feeling a little out of ce.


    Ahem!


    He faked a cough to get their attention before they were sucked into the conversation that they forgot he existed.


    "You two seem to forget something... or should I say in particr¨Csomeone!" Obsidian narrowed his eyes and nodded in the direction of a confused and timid Alex.


    "Oh... him." Lank''s lips drew into a thin line.

 Chapter 190 Riling Up Desires

    Alex stared at them with wide eyes once their attention was focused on him.


    "Uhhh... I uhh..." He stammered, pushing back on the bed.


    Plop!


    He looked puzzled at the white bangles that dropped onto the bed.


    "Damnit!" Nix punched this hand in regret. "I had forgotten about that little detail."


    Alex looked up at Nix the moment he said those words, they sounded important and most of all something he should have known earlier.


    "The little girl strapped it onto your hair, it''s strange you carried that for a while without noticing," Lank responded with a tease.


    Alex''s hand immediately ran through his blonde curtain hairstyle, disheveling it in the process. His mind trailed to when this had gone unnoticed.


    ''When I was unconscious.'' He concluded, picking up the bangles and staring at them longingly.


    "She said she wanted to apologize for putting you in danger and she would be much more careful next time." Nix rted.


    Nodding his head in response, he smiled at the bangle in his hands.


    Not wanting to spend the whole day with Alex, he proceeded to round things up at that and let them rest.


    "Sid, is there anything you would like to take from your previous room?" Nix sped his hands together, looking hopeful at him.


    ''Previous room? Ha!'' Shaking his head in response, Obsidian smiled at how ignorant Nix was and so were the others.


    "I don''t have anything to move over here apart from the clothes I''m wearing." Obsidian shrugged, proceeding to lick the back of his head again and brush it over his ear.


    Nix felt disappointed with that statement, it almost felt like he wasn''t treated humanely at the least.


    His guesses on his change of clothes would be attributed to the fact that their walk-in closet still works the same as their wardrobe in the academy.


    Feeling the awkward tension going on after Obsidian''s words, he chose not toment on it, but rather dash out while he still could, pulling Lank along with him.


    With those two gone, Obsidian stood awkwardly still, slowly turning his attention towards a scared Alex.


    Without as much as a reason, he left the room, mming the door behind him.


    Knock!


    Knock!


    "It''s Obsidian, could Ie in?" He whispered, looking up at room 3''s gold tag on the door.


    Click!


    Solis was the first to appear, his smile broadened at the sight of his new feral friend before he immediately masked his initial joy with a stoic expression.


    Clearing his throat, he raised his chin and spoke, "what brings you here?"


    "Would you just let him in?! Stop acting all high and mighty, goddamnit!" Luna''s voice boomed from the inside.<sub> </sub>


    Obsidian''s tail wagged in delight at the pleasant sound of the very person he came to check on.


    Solis'' shoulders drooped at the scolding from his sister, this was one of the times he wished his sister was still unconscious, she was less feisty that way and more docile.


    ''Way to ruin my big moment, sis.'' Solis raised his hands to his face while he closed his eyes in regret.


    Moving to the side, he allowed Obsidian ess to their room.


    "If you as much as touch her¨C"


    "Solis!!!" Luna yelled in rage.


    Solis let out a sigh, shook his head, and walked out.


    Obsidian leaned on the wall, unsure of his next words nor why he had specifically cared to know how she was faring.


    Luna simply stared at him with a big smile, her eyes never missing the number of blinks Obsidian did.


    Enjoying the blissful silence, she let out a sigh to break off the mood. "A great adventure, am I right?" She let out a chuckle to ease the tension.


    The corner of his lips raised, but augh was far from his mind. He still couldn''t figure out what sort of magic she had done on him. The more he looked at her, the more grateful he was for her help.


    "Thank you..." He finally said in a whisper. He had wanted to tell her this after the fight with the raenz as his pride wouldn''t allow him at the initial stage.


    When he had learned that she had been unconscious after he left, it felt like a stab to his heart.


    Tilting her head to the right, she adjusted her posture on the bed by sitting up straight. Picking up the pillow and ced it behind her.


    Her ck lingeriece chemises v back cotton a-line nightgown came into a full disy, causing Obsidian to gulp at the bold disy.


    Luna''s eyes trailed to where his eyes were glued, her full cleavage left little to his imagination as he tried his best to pull his gaze away.


    This was the first time he would get to see a semi-und female''s body in such a light.


    His body heat rose and his thoughts were clouded with a bit of rising desire.


    A smirk made its way to her lips. She was d that her body had garnered such a reaction from him.


    This only proved that he was more than a stiff wood¨Cas referred to by her brother.


    ''Stay in control of your emotions, Obsidian!'' He scolded himself, tearing his gaze away and focusing on the spiral design of the white ceiling.


    Luna cursed at the fact that she couldn''t walk for the time being as her lower half wasn''t fully healed from the numbness she felt.


    Sensing she was in a dilemma, Obsidian looked around for what she might need. Taking a sniff of the air, he walked towards her bed.


    There was a faint smell of an ointment that made his desire get riled up.


    Pulling away the covers from her body, he stared wide-eyed at the see-through nightgown below. Her matching ck underwear made him do a double-take.


    "What the heck are you doing?" Luna hissed, unprepared for the sudden leap in action he took without as much as a proper warning.

 Chapter 191 Something Strange About Nix

    Obsidian took several steps back at her outburst. She gave off a scent that proved false to her actions.


    "Your scents," Obsidian began, unsure if he could continue. She smelled like an animal in heat.


    Luna tried to rack her brain on what he meant by scent and why his eyes ravaged her even without touching.


    Feeling self-conscious, she instantly regretted her choice of clothing. "Please leave." She whispered, scared about what he might do to her in his state.


    Her eyes widened after she finally came to the right conclusion. Remembering her brother had rubbed something on her in the guise of it being an ointment.


    ''You are going to love the experience.'' Thinking back on his exact words, she cringed and bit down on her bottom lips.


    ''Solis!'' She hissed, making a mental note of choking the light out of him when they saw.


    This little trick had a negative influence on how she viewed herself. She couldn''t differentiate which attracted Obsidian, her personality, outlook, or just the pheromone that he brother had ced on her.


    "I understand and I''m sorry for causing you trouble," she raised her hand, letting out a sigh so she could calm herself before she continued.


    Obsidian nodded his head, understanding nothing she said.


    "I would like to be alone." She finally replied.


    "Luna..."


    "Please!" She stressed, closing her eyes so she stayed firm with her words.


    Slowly backing away, he respected her decision.


    "What''s going on?" Solis'' voice could be heard at the doorpost as he whined to Obsidian.


    "Solis!" Luna''s voice boomed in rage, calling on her brother to meet her.


    "Looks like you are in trouble. Thanks for the try anyways" Obsidian said with a sigh, understanding what he had done to help him.


    Patting Solis'' on the back and leaving like he had been told to.


    Solis slowly walked in, fearful of what his sister might do to him in her state of mind.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In Room 1,


    "Nix, tell me something." Lumina furrowed her brows at him, sitting on the table and leaning on the wall behind.


    Nix scratched his head, nervous about what was to be discussed, judging from her tone, it sounded anything but lighthearted.


    "Depends on what needs to be said." He shrugged, not making any promises.


    Lumina had a smirk on her lips, as she was already expecting such a response.


    "It doesn''t matter what I say, if you do want to speak, I''m sure you will and I know with time you will."


    Her speech made him ufortable, as far as he could tell she was suspecting something about him, but the issue was what it was.<sub> </sub>


    "You have a lead, you might as well just say it." Nix folded his arms, trying as much as he could to y it cool.


    "There is something strange about you." She narrowed her eyes, pointing an using finger at him.


    Nix''s sweat dropped at her words, unsure of what she meant.


    "What do you mean strange?" Nix covered his nervousness with a low chuckle, making sure to maintain eye contact so he wouldn''t look too suspicious.


    "You possess far more than what a fire or telekic user." She pointed an using finger at him.


    ''What the heck happened just a brief time apart?'' Nix wondered, his thoughts calcting the possibilities he might have missed along the line.


    "I don''t know what you mean, nor can I confirm how true your words are without any valid proof." He tried to justify himself.


    Lumina couldn''t be swayed by such petty words, she had observed enough to know she was telling nothing but the truth.


    "Your heartbeat has quickened, the amount of jolts your body produces has also increased and yet you say you don''t know what I''m talking about?" Luminaughed at his flimsy words.


    Nix''s mouth gaped open a bit at how urately she had deduced that without touching him. This only boosted her morale to continue her prying questions.


    "Tell me why you had wanted to learn how to use a sword." Lumina began, using every bit of intel she could gather at her disposal.


    Nix''s brows furrowed at her first attempt at trapping him. "Nice try, but a sword is used for both an offensive and defensive approach and whichever side I''m on, I needed to learn so I could rely on that if all others fail."


    ''F*ck it! My system alongside my gifts failed. What did you expect? I learned how to protect myself.''


    "That I can still tolerate, but with your gifts, there is no justifiable reason you would go with that when you aren''t fairly matched." Lumina antagonized.


    ''What the heck is wrong with pretty face? Now she questions my every move ever so often.'' Nix grimaced at the change in tone.


    "You have something that augments your abilities, something unseen by us, but surely visible to you." She hissed, pointing circles at him.


    ''What the f*ck is going on here?!'' Nix screamed in his thoughts. There was no way anyone could detect this so urately, their first thought normally goes in line with he was crazy or a minute of craziness, just definitely not this.


    "You''ve got to be kidding," heughed it off, shaking his head and pushing off the wall as he walked to the window.


    Deep down in his heart, it thumped loudly and shook his entire being. He wasn''t meant to be this exposed, he was sure no one knew anything about systems, or there would have been some sort of sign that only he would have recognized.


    When he turned around, he was pulled by the cor, and forced to stare into her glowing green eyes.


    "Nix, tell me the truth and I will tell you mine." She pressured, tightening her grip on his cor.


    Letting out a groan in protest, he pushed her away from himself. "What''s gotten into you?" He spat, unsure of her sudden behavioral diversion.


    "Nix... I can''t do this anymore." She cried out, dropping to her knees, her head drooping downwards.


    ''All of this is very confusing, what is going on?'' Nix frowned, unsure if it was wise to approach her in such a state.


    "All I want is the truth, no secrets." She mumbled.

 Chapter 192 Dont Ruin The Moment [Bonus Chapter]

    Nix''s lips gaped open at her request. If he did this, there was no going back, he would feel naked and without a backbone.


    "Do you trust me?" He began, heaving a sigh, going on one knee, holding onto her hand.


    Lumina''s brow raised to his question. She knew what he meant and that was something even she couldn''t quite ce.


    "I don''t know, not while you are so secretive." She responded, looking away from him so he couldn''t see the hurt in her eyes.


    Nix smiled at her answer, knowing that was the best she could give to him. It was for the best.


    This felt like he was a superhero and she was the lover of such a hero. That sort ofbination was the recipe for disaster when it came to the other captured about an attachment to the hero.


    "For your safety, it''s best you know who I am currently and not my past." He held her gaze.


    Lumina''s mood dropped at his words, there was a part of her that had expected this, but a little part of her was reluctant to believe he wouldn''t put enough faith in her.


    "Is this because you think I would spill?" Lumina pulled him so he was forced to his second knee.


    Nix was shocked by how sporadic her actions were.


    "Nix, don''t look at me like that," she pleaded, her eyes brimming with tears.


    Immediately this was noticed, Nix looked away.


    ''Oh,e on!'' Nix grimaced at the slight disy of tears he could see from the corner of his eyes.


    Forcing his gaze on the table by his side, he shook his head at her attempt to guilt trap him.


    "I would never tell anyone, you have to believe me. Don''t you trust me?" She pressured.


    She had been suspicious of him ever since he had been able to bypass the academy''s barrier. The brief appearance of dragons flying past the academy was no coincidence.


    Even though she had had her suspicions, she had respected his secrecy, but after what had happened to Alex, coupled with the reaction given by Lank. It became more ring that he had some sort of hidden potential that he didn''t want anyone noticing apart from his passive gift.


    "I trust you enough to respect your privacy, I just wish it was the same for you." Nix shook his head, getting up before he was swallowed by her wallowing in despair.


    Lumina made no effort in stopping him from leaving where she sat on the floor. Instead, she pondered over all he had said and felt she had touched on a delicate topic.


    "Nix, I l¨C"


    Quick to react, he turned around and pulled her up in a hug.


    His chest thumped hard in a panic about what she had wanted to say. He wasn''t ready for suchmitment, nor was he ready to answer if she said so.


    "Lumina, please don''t be so curious about your endangerment. I will always be the Nix you know, don''t get sucked in by my dark past." Nix said in a low whisper, holding her right against him.


    She let out a gasp, feeling his heartbeat and body heat. His body was trembling as he held her.<sub> </sub>


    Feeling guilty, she nodded her head and epted his words for a while. If he wasfortable in sharing his past, she would be there to listen to him.


    "Nix, whatever you do I will always be there to support you. Just don''t keep me in the dark for too long."


    Nodding his head to her request, she pushed him away, only to pull him immediately by the cor and for a deep and passionate kiss.


    Nix''s eyes widened at the boldness she disyed, this was his thing, but he couldn''t understand why he felt flustered by such an action.


    Pulling her by the waist, he pressed her on him as their mouths fought for dominance.


    Pulling away for air, their chest heaved as they stared at one another in a daze, their cheeks flushed.


    Licking her lips, she pulled on the back of his head for another kiss. Raising her leg slowly and seductively up the side of his leg until it got to his hip.


    Nix groaned into the kiss, pushing her up against the wall, his hand reaching under her top. He stopped when he noticed he was touching not her bra, but...


    ''flesh?'' Nix''s eyes widened, and his hand immediately retracted.


    Lumina let out a giggle at how innocent he yed once he had touched her.


    "You seem surprised." Her breath fanned his face as a devilish smirk graced her plump lips.


    Nix couldn''t speak, it had been a while since he had felt that exquisite softness in all its glory, not since he had transmigrated.


    Back in his world, he had been much of a flirt and yer but had always made it clear of no strings attached. But theirs could neverpare to the size he had just felt.


    In his thoughts, he had reasoned she had some sort of lift or increase because of the support from her bra, but feeling it without that negated all he had ever imagined.


    Looking again, he noticed how her nipples poked on her top, his brows furrowed wondering how she had been able to maintain it being that perky.


    He had considered those females as mere toys he could discard when he felt tired. When he had experienced being ditched by the one friend he held so dear to his heart like a brother, his reasoning changed drastically.


    Ba dum!


    Looking at Lumina, his heartbeat quickened. She was the first female that had ever had some effect on his stone-cold heart and this thought scared the shit out of him.


    If he proceeded further, there was no way of going back, not while there was still the issue of trust.


    "You chose yet another time not to wear, you sure do act naughty at the wrong times." Nix shook his head with a smile.


    "I am only for you." She smirked, pulling him for a hug.


    "Let''s not ruin the moment, could we stay like this for a while?" Her voice was muffled by her cheeks on his shirt.

 Chapter 193 The First Mission

    "Zhao, what''s the report?" A cold voice questioned, sitting cross-legged.


    Mr. Zhao had his head lowered in reverence, eyes fixated on the ground as he prepared to reply.


    "They had been able to settle on quite nicely."


    "Shut the hell up and answer the real question directly." The voice hissed in rage, the distinctive icy blue gaze onto Zhao.


    "He''s contained, no sign of defiance whatsoever." Mr. Zhao finally corrected it.


    "I would need to reveal my identity, soon enough." The voice snickered.


    "Master..." Mr. Zhao shook his head, fearful about the consequences, the few that knew of his identity, the better.


    "I have been curious about Nix, he had not directly engaged in a battle using the full force of his gift," The master smiled with a mischievous glint in his eyes.


    Leaning forward so that his elbowsid on his thighs, he sped his hands together and ced his chin on them.


    "It would be fun to watch him, won''t it?"


    Mr. Zhao''s eyes widened, realizing he was being talked to, and immediately nodded his head in agreement.


    Joining the organization was just the first step in getting closer to Nix. Being the one who had personally requested he joins the organization alongside his friends to avoid suspicion from the others in the academy.


    "Prepare a task¨Ca mission as you all call it. I would love to see how well he fares without using his gift or with his gift." Hemanded.


    Mr. Zhao crawled back, skeptical about such an assignment, Nix could not be bossed around without a proper and logical exnation.


    To make things worse was the fact that Obsidian was in cahoots with him, it was highly unlikely not to involve the whole team in this.


    "Master, if you could give some time, I could arrange¨C"


    "Do you know what I hate apart from weakness and failure?" The master''s chilly voice spoke calmly.


    Mr. Zhao trembled, remembering thest member who had failed to carry out his task. His inability to think of an answer to the question disturbed him greatly.


    Rubbing his forehead, the master let out a sigh of disappointment. "Zhao, for the sake of what we have aplished together, I would forgive this only once."


    Mr. Zhao gulped at the words, knowing any other time would be hisst.


    "A change of my n would never go unpunished, do you get that?!" He rified.


    "Yes, master. I will proceed as ordered." He hurriedly got up, ready to dash out before he was told about something else.


    "Zhao!"


    He flinched at the call of his name, stiffly turning around and forcing a smile on his lips.


    "How''s Zephyr''s memorying along?"


    Mr. Zhao''s heart thumped hard in his chest, he tried to stabilize his eyes on the floor and make sure his breathing was controlled.


    As far as he could tell, Zephyr''s condition was still unclear. Rumi hasn''t let him out since the time they had gone to their room. This was as good as him being in the dark as their master.


    ''Rumi, you would pay for this!'' He vowed in his heart.


    "He is slowly gaining his memory, but he is quite hostile to me and only speaks with Rumi." Mr. Zhao bowed in reply.<sub> </sub>


    "As expected." The master shook his head, remembering their bicker


    The master couldn''t


    "What part of his memory could he recall?"


    Mr. Zhao cringed at the question, he had hoped he could just leave after that statement.


    "He knows the fire rank user."


    The master had a wicked grin on his face, he needed not worry about the issue anymore, all that was needed was time.


    "Let him join the team for the task, maybe that could jog his memory." He snickered, pping his hand at the new decision.


    This wasn''t pleasant news to him in any way, it looked to him like he would be giving the only asset they had to the enemy.


    "But Master, he isn''t fully..." He paused, remembering what he was reminded of previously. "I... I mean that can be arranged."


    "Know your ce if you want to maintain it." The master snarled.


    Mr. Zhao gave one final bow, hoping that was all for the day.


    ''No calling of my name!'' He noticed, internally rejoicing as he took several steps back before he dashed out of the dark room.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Rubbing his hands, he looked behind him, Zephyr walking beside him, a confused face as he looked around the hallway like it was the first time he had been in there.


    ''This is going to be harder than I thought.'' He shook his head at the unusual behavior of Zephyr.


    "Sir, where are we headed?" Zephyr called on his attention, wondering why the path they took looked too lonely.


    "To meet your team for your first official mission." He smiled, crossing his fingers for the sess of this suicide mission.


    He had always wondered how his master came up with all the crazy ideas that they implement. This mission was a little too concise to students who had just been transferred, coupled with a member who was suffering from memory loss.


    ''The bestbination of a team.'' He thought sarcastically.


    "Team?! I never said I wanted a team. Why isn''t Rumi tagging along?" Zephyr questioned in a protest, wanting to return.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you," Mr. Zhao shook his head, "she knows her ce in this organization, do you?"


    ''I don''t even know what all of this is! I just got a glimpse of my memory while being with her.'' Zephyr had wanted to say it out loud but refrained from speaking directly to Mr. Zhao.


    There was something sneaky about him that had his guard raised.


    "Wouldn''t you like to meet with Nix and the others, they are over¨C"


    "Why isn''t it Nix and the team?" Mr. Zhao walked up to Nix, pulling him in a hug.


    Lank''s mouth gaped open at the awkward gesture.


    Nix tried to pull away, but when his eyes locked on Zephyr, his breathing hitched and he lost all sense of what he was meant to do.

 Chapter 194 Crash Course

    ''This is the Nix that was spoken about?'' Zephyr narrowed his eyes, a little confused by the appearance of this person in front of him.


    "Long live Arkai..." Zephyr mouthed the words, barely audible, trying to get some sort of reaction from Nix.


    Nix''s body stiffened from that bit of information. This was a word he and Drui had always used when they conversed on the world they would create, how they had incorporated a few anime references to Nix''s creation, and a few of his suggestions.


    Mr. Zhao felt the rigid behavior by Nix and was curious about what had made him react in some way.


    "Why is this loser here?" Obsidian spat in disdain.


    Nix pushed back, finally being able to be free from Mr. Zhao''s clutches.


    Solis looked around, concerned about the fact that the females weren''t included. He could only rely on Lumina and Gia to watch over his sister.


    This looked more like a male mission of five.


    Zephyr held the re of Obsidian, never saying a word. Having transmigrated into this body, he couldn''t gauge how good the rtionship with the original host was with this strange animal-like male.


    Thread wisely was his motto. The only one he felt some sort of conversation was with Nix who strangely shared the same name with his ex-friend.


    Nix was troubled by this new information, looking distracted with his eyes searching the marble floor.


    Mr. Zhao cleared his throat, pulling Zephyr to his side, "it is my pleasure to announce that Zephyr would be apanying you four to your very first mission."


    Obsidian snarled, all hairs on his body stood in defiance of the news. The scent that came off Zephyr didn''t sit right with him, it almost reminded him of Arion.


    "What the heck is going on between the two of us?" Zephyr snapped in response, tired of the one-sided hate that he couldn''t attribute to.


    Obsidian merely scoffed, "it would seem that peekaboo doesn''t remember anything. Great!"


    ''Great?! What the heck happened between these two?'' Zephyr sweatdropped, feeling that he was caught in some crossfire.


    Nix stared at Zephyr, trying to piece the information together. Hana''s words continued to ring in his head. He couldn''t quite ce if the other transmigrator was Zephyr¨Chis supposed loss of memory could be attributed to his chances of being the one.


    ''If he is... then how is he going to be an opposition to my ns?'' Nix sighed, shaking the thought off his head.


    "Wee to the team, I guess." Solis tried to sound like his enthusiastic self but couldn''t.


    He was much more concerned about finishing the mission and going back to his room to personally care for his sister. She was on the verge of full recovery and he wanted to be there for her when that happens.


    "Thanks, I guess," Zephyr replied in a like manner.


    Mr. Zhao watched for a while, curious about the tension that was among the five of them. For a split second, he considered the wisdom of his master''s decision.


    He noticed how Nix and Zephyr stole suspicious nces at each other. They seemed to have something against the other but were too calm to act on it¨Cyet.


    "Alright then, since the introduction is over, we head down to business..."<sub> </sub>


    Nix raised his hand, skeptical about this whole setup, it was strange that they had been given a mission just four days after getting into the organization.


    The part of single-handedly picking out only the males was suspicious enough, but including someone who made his skin crawl? That was intentional.


    Until he could find out what they were hinting at, he would have to be as cautious as possible.


    Mr. Zhao gritted his teeth, trying to calm his angered thoughts on the pause in his words. With a reluctant mind, he nodded his head to Nix''s hand.


    "Why do I feel like we are cannon fodder?" Nix raised, suspicious about the mission they were about to embark on.


    Zephyr''s eyes widened at the word, this was the same word Nix uses when he feels reluctant and suspicious about where he was headed.


    All he hoped was this was merely a coincidence of words, all should be acquainted with such a word.


    "What''s cannon fodder?" Mr. Zhao questioned, confused by such a suggestion.


    ''Damnit, curse you Arkai and your vocabry!'' He rained down profanities on the world he was in.


    It looked to him like he was a little out of ce, asionally exining the simplest of words.


    When his attention drew to Zephyr, he noticed how shocked he was, almost like he had understood what was being said, if that was the case, it would be a bad sign in his book.


    Nix looked behind him, expecting some sort of help from them, this was as simple a word as it could go.


    "This shouldn''t be too hard," Nix smiled.


    When he got looks that showed they were merely avoiding him, he let out a sigh of disappointment.


    ''So it would seem only Zephyr knows about this.'' He internally facepalmed.


    "I meant that do you consider us expendable enough to put us directly in the face of danger?"


    Mr. Zhao burst intoughter at his words, this was by far the best that Nix had said since thepliment he got back at the academy.


    "You know what? You''re weird and I like weird." Mr. Zhao said with a smirk.


    ''Well, I certainly do not like you.'' Nix replied in his mind.


    "Even though you spoke in a weirdnguage..."


    ''A weirdnguage that I certainly can rte to.'' Zephyr cut in, on his thoughts.


    "... I would like you to know that any mission given by the organization is a dangerous one, one that would only build you up in strength and energy. Take it as much of a crash course, you learn it on the mission, it is a mandatory task for male recruits, the females would have theirster on." Mr. Zhao exined to the best of his ability while covering up the real truth.


    "If that''s the case, why is he tagging along?" Obsidian hissed, pointing at Zephyr.

 Chapter 195 From Fire To Frying Pan

    Zephyr did a double-take on the question, even though he was confused as to why he was picked, but if it meant he could meet the very person who shared the same name as the person he knew in his world, then it was all worth it in the end.


    Mr. Zhao shook his head at how well he had been yed by these two, wondering why they couldn''t be like Solis and Lank.


    "Zephyr is here to make sure your mission goes on smoothly." He finally replied.


    "I am?" Zephyr questioned in confusion about what was going on, he had never agreed to such a task and he would never do it, not when he didn''t even know anyone he would be assigned to if that was the case.


    Obsidian wouldn''t stand by when he felt something odd about this whole arrangement. He had worked with his teacher to know of the tricks he uses to the detriment of those he targets.


    In their case, they could be termed as the targets.


    "We don''t need a babysitter, and it most certainly isn''t him," Obsidian growled, his fangs growing as he prepared to attack.


    A white aura outlined Mr. Zhao''s body, bringing his hands into a fist. "Would you like to test our abilities? I have always wanted to know to what extent you could go with your training."


    Hesitating, Obsidian let out a sigh. Deactivating his ability and shaking his head at the change in favoritism.


    "So... It has turned out to be this, teacher?" Obsidian mumbled.


    Mr. Zhao''s mind was disturbed by the words of Obsidian, but to maintain a neutral ground, he needed to be apathetic about the whole arrangement.


    "You have been given the coordinates, you all have a day toplete the task."


    Tossing a in metal twelve inches board towards Nix.


    Nix looked down at the board, unsure about what he would do with the board.


    "Tap it." Mr. Zhaomanded.


    Nix felt like he had some of his brain cells lost at that point. Forgetting even the simplest of things or appliances could never be just that, not while they were in the organization.


    Lightly tapping the board, a holographic interface popped up, shocking him slightly. It had a nearly simr make to his system user interface.


    "Is there anything wrong?" Lank questioned, cing a hand on Nix''s shoulder.


    This was the needed boost that jolted him back to reality. Forcing a smile, he shook his head. Scanning through the coordinates quickly, he closed its tab.


    "Got it!" Nix smiled.


    "Good, so I hope you all get along with Zephyr just well." Mr. Zhao pped the back of Zephyr and let out a cough.


    Zephyr froze, he had seen the hostility in Obsidian''s eyes, the unsure looks of the other two and that of Nix were more or less of suspicion.


    ''Please don''t leave me with these ravenous wolves.'' Zephyr begged in his heart, reaching out to him with his eyes.


    Ignoring the help requested by Zephyr, Mr. Zhao patted his shoulder. "I''m sure you''d do perfectly well, you could as well teleport them to the right destination. I hope to see you all soon."


    "What?" Zephyr''s lips fell open in shock at his inability to stop this overly dressed man in robes.<sub> </sub>


    ''From fire to frying pan, at least I can''t be killed, right?''


    Zephyr''s eyes followed Mr. Zhao, unwilling to tear his gaze away from his movements until he was out of his line of sight.


    Hearing a growl behind him, Zephyr stiffly looked behind him, knowing who would be the cause of such an animalistic sound.


    "I should tear you in pieces," Obsidian growled, held back by Nix.


    Nix couldn''t let Obsidian act irrationally, it would disrupt the truth he was trying to get out from this strange male.


    ''Could he be Drui? Or is this a character which reflects that asshole''s personality or thoughts?'' Nix thought, his eyes narrowed.


    "We don''t have time for this." Nix cautioned, "let''s save up our energy for the suicide mission."


    Zephyr raised his brows to Nix''s words, this was another which could point him to the right conclusion.


    After they had agreed to his words with a nod, simultaneously they all looked towards Zephyr.


    Zephyr''s eyes widened at the weird looks his way. He frowned at his inability to understand why the four of them stared at him.


    As they all stared at Zephyr, they partially epted the reason he had been chosen to join the team.


    ''Teleportation magic.'' They all thought in unison.


    Obsidian had always developed a slight disdain for Zephyr, he had been one of the very few magic users who had been ced in high reverence in the organization by Mr. Zhao¨Cthe very one who despised people of that caliber.


    The fact that Zephyr had been recruited at the same moment he had woken to the world inside the organization made his body itch with envy.


    The Zephyr he knew was egoistical when those members with much experience in the organization were not present. Readily exercising his authority in the wrong way.


    Only Obsidian could see through that double-faced sore for eye silver-haired loser in front of them.


    The news of him losing his memory angered him, feeling this was yet another trick he was using to have the others under his wraps.


    "Peekaboo, I hope you still know how to do your stuff." Obsidian coughed on thest part.


    Zephyr''s mind immediately trailed to the steamy night he had with Rumi. How he had repeatedly and subconsciously used his ability then.


    His face flushed at the thought, unaware the others looked at him in confusion.


    "He''s lost it." Lank dered, rolling his eyes at the dazed expression of the male in front of them.


    "What the heck is this?" Solis burned in rage at the dy, ufortable with the deafening silence. Ever since he had arrived at the organization, he had been in a mood opposite to what he stood for.


    "Zephyr, could you please take us to that coordinate?" He nodded towards the board in Nix''s hand. "The faster we get the hell back."

 Chapter 196 Unidentified Threat Approaching!

    Outside the city were what they called the ounds and the dragon territory(ies). It was a ce of the unknown, a ce said to be void of civilization or those who had lost their humanity.


    Those sent to the ounds to keep the city safe from threats far bigger than raenz and rumics were few as only a minute set ever returned to tell the tale.


    They had maintained the bnce of keeping away from the dragon territory, steering clear of this mythical creature was the one step toward maintaining peace between barriers.


    This was also the perfect site for some rogues to flee, banished citizens charged with serious crimes lurked.


    Whoever managed to survive in this area would be considered a formidable foe among the gifted and mages.


    This was the very ce that the coordinates had directed Zephyr to as they teleported onto rocky terrain, sparsely filled with strangely twisted trees that grew irrespective of the floor''s make.


    Nix''s eyes were glued to a distant ce that he only knew too well. The tall grasses that looked normal a first nce 150 feet away only brought nothing but memories he had tried to bury in his heart.


    ''At least here it isn''t muddy.'' Nix tried to lighten the mood in his heart as he tore away his gaze from that direction.


    <That brings good memories for you and me, doesn''t it? We had so much to converse personally in there while bringing on the heat, remember?> Raiken mocked Nix in his thoughts.


    ''You tried to kill me on several asions, you reptile!'' Nix retorted, shaking his head.


    <It was all part of the game, I haven''t had that much fun in years!>


    <Don''t be so self-conceited, you ck demon!> Red snapped, ready to antagonize Raiken with every fire left in him.


    <Nix, let us out...> Rekor paused, waiting for his twin toplete the sentence.


    <...we promise to be good> Razpleted as nned.


    ''Just because I had a shback that involves Raiken, doesn''t mean you make some ruckus in my thoughts. I never brought you all to the party, why did you suddenly pop into my thoughts?''


    <What triggers one, triggers all of us!> Red deadpanned.


    ''I am your master, so shut the hell up!''


    <Oooo we are so scared!> Raiken taunted.


    The others chuckled to Raiken''s words, happy about his littleeback on their behalf.


    Cross popping veins made their way to Nix''s forehead, they were making fun of him and he couldn''t summon them out and teach them a good lesson without scaring the shit out of the others.


    Deep down, he was a little d that he was speaking with the dragons, he had missed their annoying voices, but the timing they had chosen was a bit random.


    Taking a breather, he blocked out theirmunication before he got sucked into their depraved and maniptive speech.


    "We''re here, now what?" Zephyr looked around them, pushing away a tree branch that hadtched onto his hair, pulling hard on his scalp.


    To his dismay, a few of his strands hung loosely on the branch the moment he was able to break free from its grasp.


    "You''re the babysitter, you tell us." Obsidian snapped, a mischievous smirk on his lips.


    "We were taken to the outskirts of the barrier that surrounds the city. That would mean right now, we are in the ounds." Solis calmly muttered to himself.


    He had always wanted to know what the outside world looked like, apart from the little glimpse they got from the television back in their home.<sub> </sub>


    Being in the very ce he had been curious about did no justice to where they were currently standing in.


    "What exactly is this mission about? Who the hell are we meant to go against?" Lank pulled on his hair in frustration at the variety of unknowns he would have no answers to.


    He looked wearily to Obsidian, cautious of what he might do if they encountered a threat.


    ''Would another head roll? Or would it be Nix who is going to be the one that carries this out?''


    "Shhh!" Nix hushed them all.


    [Hearing augmentation activated]


    Going on one knee, he ced his hands on the rocky floor.


    [Danger: Unidentified threat approaching, 50 feet away]


    ''Well, that''s new information. Real helpful.'' Nix noticed, confident about the reconstruction his system had undergone.


    Slight trembling on the ground made some pebbles roll out of the way, some were thrown up slightly.


    Getting up to his feet, he looked behind him as a snarling sound could be heard from a distance.


    "That doesn''t sound friendly at all." Solis pointed out, taking a step back. His eyes glowed as he activated his ability.


    "Solis... Don''t!" Nix yelled but was already toote to stop the shot of the light ball in the dark direction of the approaching threat.


    The light ball traveled a little distance before it was met with obstruction and scattered into tiny sparkles.


    Rrrriiii!!!!


    The trembling of the floor intensified as the threat intensified its pace.


    Rushing towards the others, Nix yelled for them to get to a substantial cover before he devised their next attack.


    [Warning: Acid fluid detected]


    "Everyone! Duck!" Nix yelled in a manner of urgency.


    At thest minute, they leaped forward with their hands outstretched in front of them as they jumped behind a thick bush.


    Their back against trees, they hyperventted as they all shared a look, mentally taking note that they were all alright.


    "What the hell is that?" Zephyr hissed, his hand on his chest as he tried to calm his racing heart. Apart from teleporting, he still couldn''t understand what else he could do with his ability.


    He could recall Rumi had tried to jog his supposed memory of him being proficient in weapon handling. The katana strapped to his back was as good as useless if he couldn''t remember the basic techniques.


    Kak! Krrrr!


    "What was that?" Solis slowly said, his voice rocking in a panic to the sound behind them.

 Chapter 197 Now Or Never

    A tree that had been bathed in the acid that was spat in their direction caused to slowly break from the little support it had after most of its trunk had been eaten away.


    Acting on impulse Zephyr made a quick sh at the tree that was about to copse on Solis before returning it to its scabbard.


    Zephyr''s eyes widened at the action which had shocked him to a great extent.


    ''So I do know how to use a weapon.'' He concluded in his thoughts, quickly pulling himself together as he noticed the others looking at him strangely.


    "Reflexes." Zephyr shrugged.


    "Thanks, man." Solis rolled out of the way.


    Zephyr had a smile on his lips, but all that turned into a frown the moment he locked eyes with Obsidian.


    ''Back to square one, I presume.'' Zephyr rolled his eyes, not ready to be caught in the loop of unknown hatred.


    Rrrrr!


    The snarling sound continued, but this time much closer than they imagined it to be.


    Obsidian and Lank took a sniff of the air, their ability kick-starting. Fangs grown, nails grown and their eyes glowing as they searched their surrounding environment.


    Nix closed his eyes so he could urately pinpoint the location at which the threat was.


    The inability to identify the threat made it all the more frustrating for all of them.


    Forming a circle with their backs against each other, they all had their attention up and ready for an imminent threat.


    <o>,m The faint clicking sound that followed, caused Nix, Lank, and Obsidian to look above them.</o>


    He had to immediately deactivate his hearing augmentation if he wanted to still be in control of what he heard.


    There the threat was, a 10 feet tall creature with the body of a giant spider, its surface irregr, having been an assemge of bodily tissues with bones jutting out from various parts of its body.


    The elongated head and six legs that branched off to form several appendages that were used for mobilitytched onto the bark of arge tree towering over them.


    Sharing a knowing look, they all pushed back, ready to separate anytime soon.


    [Threat identified: Scraw]


    Nix narrowed his eyes at the notification, there were just some things that couldn''t be changed about the operations of his system¨Cwhen he identifies the threat or culprit personally, only then does the stupid notification pop up.


    ''What the heck am I supposed to do to this creature? Kill it? Tame it? Rip its limbs? Come on! Give me some signs!''


    [Evade its acid saliva]


    Nix frowned at the notification but understood its meaning. From what he could tell, the system was avoiding anything that could rte to a mission, for the time being, making him revert to a passive approach.


    Nodding his head, he signaled to the rest to act on what they had nned.


    Scattering, they all dashed in opposite directions to confuse the creature.


    The creature was equipped with several prehensile tentacles that it used for offensive attacks. The maw of the creature was filled with circr rows of jagged teeth, dripping from its jaw was a trail of acid saliva.


    Rrrriiii!


    It screeched in response to their coordinated diversion.<sub> </sub>


    Dum!


    Dropping to the ground, the floor trembled under the weight of Scraw, debris flying upwards at the drop of the creature.


    Its bloodshot six red eyes followed Nix''s movement. Gathering energy from its environment, it sprinted in the chase in the direction of Nix as its first target.


    [Agility, an increase in the speed activated]


    [With every minute usedes a deduction of 2 points from your energy stats]


    ''As expected.'' Nix facepalmed, making use of his agility so he could outrun Scraw.


    Whoosh!


    Nix gasped in shock at the increase in speed Scraw developed. He could see it by his side, trying its best to keep up with Nix. To slow him down, it spat out its acid to a tree branch ahead of them.


    Krrr! Kkkk!


    Nix dived under the bulk of the tree trunk, just in time to watch it crash to the ground behind him.


    "Silly spider." Nix smiled at how sneaky it thought. This was far from the usual creatures he had dueled¨Cit almost felt like this had much more tact when attacking and a calctive approach.


    [Mission: Use your team to destroy the threat]


    [300 Points to be earned from each teammate''s deadly attack]


    Nix tilted his head to the notification, this reminded him of the task that he had given Lank at the time when they confronted Ayanami.


    ''This should be so much fun.'' Nix thought with a smile.


    Looking to his right, in the cover of the shadows cast by the trees, he was able to notice the stealthy approach of Obsidian, his smile only broadened.


    He had never had such a theme when engaging in an attack, but the adrenaline that rushed up his body was enough testimony that he needed to engage in this more often.


    Obsidian followed unnoticed by the creature. He watched in awe at how well Nix''s speed rivaled his, leaving him to barely keep up and tag along.


    He needed the right opening to ambush the creature.


    Nix had signaled his willingness to be bait while leaving the opening for Obsidian. If this was the only way to gain his points, he would willingly be cannon fodder.


    Riii!


    Nix felt alike appendagetch onto his back, inadvertently pulling him back.


    ''What the f*ck!'' Nix yelped at the suddenness of such an attack.


    Reaching for his back, he felt the sticky appendage on his body.


    [Gift: Fire activated]


    [With every minute usedes a deduction of 4 points from your energy stats]


    When he had thought of reconstruction, he could perfectly see some things that had been changed. His points would only be a bloody battleground for all the stats he would need to replenish once he was done with a mission or anytime he would utilize his gift or ability.


    ''It''s now or never!'' Nix thought as he raised his hand, targeting the appendage behind him.

 Chapter 198 Dont Think Its Over

    ''A web?'' Nix furrowed his brows at how thick it was, it felt like an appendage but he was wrong.


    Snap!


    [Gift: Fire deactivated]


    [4 energy points deducted]


    The web broke off just in time.


    "Now!" He yelled to Obsidian to follow through with his n.


    Obsidian jumped out of the shadows,nding onto Scraw, raising his hand, his eyes glinted in mischief.


    Jumping back, he used his ws to slowly make his way down the body by dragging his hands down the body, drawing out the green goo from its open flesh.


    His hand stopped at a bony structure that made him cringe at the smell that attacked his nose.


    Scraw staggered back, its limbs raised to its side to attack the perceived threat at its side.


    Pulling his hand out, he grimaced at his ws covered in the very goo he dreaded.


    Coughing and jumping away from the putrid smell, hetched onto a tree just in time before he was hit by its limbs.


    [100 points gained]


    Nix shook his head to the point notification, that Obsidian had not dealt the blow he needed.


    ''So long it''s wounded, right?'' Nix let out a sigh, trying to be as positive as he could.


    Rrrik!


    Scraw screeched in pain, its eyes glinting in fury, its gaze fixated on Nix once more.


    ''Not again? What the heck did I do to you?'' Nix internally facepalmed, jumping across trees, he needed to think of a better way to use his teammates to his advantage.


    He cursed on the fact that his energy points were little which meant he would have to ration how he used his gift.


    [Warning: Acid spray]


    Nix, having been rmed by his system, jumped up a tree, temporarily walking up on it before holding onto a branch. His legs dangled, his whole weight supported by his grip on the branch.


    "Nix!" Obsidian yelled at hispanion''s situation.


    "Shut the hell up, don''t draw attention to yourself in such a manner," Nix yelled back, looking around him, observing the damage caused.


    The acid spray that Scraw spat out covered a distance of about 10 feet ahead.


    The trees that had not been so lucky slowly crashed to the ground.


    Nix felt the tree he was on sway slightly.


    ''You''ve got to be kidding me!'' Nix narrowed his eyes, already having a good guess on what was happening.


    Looking below him, the tree he was on was slightly affected, slowly the midriff broke and tilted.


    Swinging by using his legs, he leaped to the nearest avable tree. Carefullynding on the tree branch.


    Bam!


    He wasn''t given enough time as the very tree he stood on was shaken by Scraw.


    Losing his footing, he slipped, falling towards the direction of Scraw below. Its jagged teeth rotated like a de in a circr motion.


    Nix could only see himself as pork chow if he fell into that rotating bullshit of a mouth in that spider.<sub> </sub>


    "Gotcha!" Lank snickered, snatching Nix just in time before he could drop into the mouth of Scraw.


    Holding Nix in a princess carry, Nix frowned in embarrassment. This wasn''t going to end well for him when all of this was done.


    "Drop me you beast!" Nix protested, wishing to be let down before the others could see him in such an embarrassing situation.


    If Lank was present, that could only mean that the others were also present.


    Lank bit down on his bottom lips as he tried not tough out loud at the situation he had put Nix in. Enjoying every bit of it.


    "Doesn''t the princess like that her prince charming came to her rescue?" Lank taunted.


    Nix cringed, wasting no effort in punching Lank in the stomach.


    Lank let out a groan, still holding his grip on Nix.


    "Jerk ass, you dare make fun of me, did you sign a death sentence?" Nix barked.


    Lank looked behind him at the fast-approaching creature, they weren''t meant to be bickering. Both their lives were in danger, yet Nix was taking things too lightly.


    "We signed our death wish the moment we epted that goddamned mission from old man Zhao." He replied, focusing his attention on keeping his bnce as he jumped on the branches.


    He looked to his side, spotting Zephyr and Solis following up as they moved forward.


    "I can run on my own, dumbass." Nix deadpanned, his lips drawn into a thin line, not pleased he was still carried in the most embarrassing position.


    All he needed was to be let loose, he couldn''t outrightly jump off his clutches when they were still in motion.


    Whoosh!


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    "Watch out!" Nix yelled, raising his hand and sending a fire st at the creature.


    Lank looked to his right, shocked upon seeing the creature drop to the ground.


    Slowing his movements, he halted, releasing Nix.


    Deactivating his gift once more, he let out a sigh of disappointment at how restrictive he felt because of the point deduction with his little energy of 248 points.


    Nix''s legs touched the branch, straightening his posture, he frowned at Lank. Ultimately hitting his head.


    "What the heck were you thinking? You could have gotten us both killed with that distracted mind of yours!" Nix scolded.


    Lank whimpered at the scolding, the corner of his eyes brimming with ruse tears.


    "I can''t fall for that trick, you sneaky little feral." Nix looked away, happy that the team had joined them.


    Zephyr and Solis dropped to the next branch.


    He felt they were just starting in terms of Scraw, they had not dealt the blow he needed to gain points as the system said, yet it had been affected by just his little st?


    ''That can''t be right.'' Nix concluded, rubbing his chin.


    Obsidian had his ws lodged into the side of another tree, his gaze still on the fallen creature. There was something strange, his senses still alert as he stared at it for a while.


    It had its back on the floor, its legs raised, twitching uncontrobly.


    ''That can''t be right!'' He thought, looking momentarily at the others.


    "Guys, I don''t think it''s over." Obsidian rted to them as a matter of urgency.

 Chapter 199 I Hate Bugs

    They all followed Obsidian''s line of sight, he had his wide eyes on the sight below.


    "There''s something in it that''s alive." Obsidian pointed out.


    The stomach of the creature moved, showing like something moving inside of it, ready to burst out anytime soon.


    Zephyr''s brows furrowed, this wasn''t what he had signed up for and certainly wasn''t going to die so fast.


    Taking up his katana, he aimed at the center of its stomach.


    Stab!


    His precision was on the spot, his disdain for the creature ever-growing. ''I hate bugs!" He snorted


    [300 points gained]


    The creature screeched and the movement on the stomach stopped abruptly.


    Nix, Lank, Obsidian, and Solis all looked at Zephyr in shock and confusion.


    "Was that all that was needed to destroy this big hairy guy?" Lank blurted out, looking over to Obsidian for answers.


    He knew Zephyr better than any of them did. The suspicion of what else this mysterious male could be hiding made him worried.


    "What the heck is in that de of yours?" Lank questioned.


    Zephyr looked down at his katana one more time, teleporting towards the creature, pulling out the katana.


    Teleporting back towards the branch he was standing on. He ignored Lank''s question, his attention on the green goo that had covered the majority of his katana leaving only the hilt.


    Obsidian and Lank hissed at the putrid smell that came off it.


    "Get that filthy thing away!" Obsidian barked.


    Nix blocked out the bickering from the three, he had his attention stuck on Scraw, this wasn''t as simple as it should be.


    Zephyr had been able to deal the right damage, but that still left out Lank and Solis to inflict theirs, Obsidian would need toplete his.


    Kiiiiii!


    His eyes widened as the stomach of the creature burst open, narrowly escaping the shot of web directed at him.


    "Definitely something." Nix coughed, taking a defensive stance against such a threat.


    [Mission: Use your team to destroy the threat]


    The same notification popped up, angering Nix. He dismissed it, taking it as a glitch.


    He wondered how he could rely on his teammates'' help when he was in danger? He would have to face it himself if the need arises.


    ''Go f*ck yourself system!'' He hissed, not caring about the consequences of such disregard.


    If the asion calls for it, he would fully utilize the mission given, but if he was caught in the situation of the web shot at him, there was no way he would stay idle and wait for the others to get to his rescue.


    Crawling out of the belly of the creature were three 7 feet tall miniature versions of what he could only call their mother.<sub> </sub>


    Their faces were covered in green goo, hair drenched in its sticky make. They had set their eyes on the team, seeing them as potential food to satisfy their hunger.


    Rrrik!


    Rrrrkkk!


    Eeeee!


    Crrrk!


    They couldn''t face them on such a shaky structure.


    Zephyr nodded his head, concentrating on several trees ahead that could buy them time.


    The moment they teleported, they dropped down in hiding so that they couldn''t be easily spotted as they nned their next line of attack on four new threats.


    "I take back what I said earlier, you idiot just gave us four extra problems." Lank hissed, clicking his tongue and shaking his head.


    "They were bound to appear anyways, so shut the hell up and help in thinking of the best n out of this." Zephyr snapped back at him.


    Silence immediately came over all of them upon the sound of the creatures slowly walking and searching for them.


    They closed their mouths, looking below them as they waited for a safe time to continue the discussion.


    Nix watched as the creatures scouted, curious as to why they had forcefully made their way out the moment their mother died.


    This had made him realize the energy he had used was a little over the top for Scraw. Thinking things through, he could only conclude that Zephyr had killed one of the little ones not necessarily Scraw.


    ''Why the hell didn''t I get any points when I had killed Scraw?!'' He frowned as realization dawned on him.


    This could only mean no matter how well he would engage in the battle, it was either he was ready to lose his points or follow through with the mission set out for him.


    "I have a n," Nix whispered, facepalming on the fact that he had no other choice than to ept the fate set out for him.


    "I would need all to cooperate, if you want to survive this, you might as well listen to what I have to say." He exined.


    Zephyr rolled his eyes, feeling uneasy with Nix''s presence. The first words by Nix reminded him of the Nix in his world¨Cthe very words he used when they were paired with some students back in college.


    The n Nix spoke of fell on deaf ears as he contemted why he was with this team. He was meant to be with Rumi, the only source offort for him.


    "Zephyr?"


    Nix''s words brought him back to reality, shaking his head so he could get his thoughts settled.


    "Yeah?" He replied, his brows furrowed at the stare from them all.


    "Did you get the n?" Lank cut in, his left brow raised, narrowing his eyes afterward.


    He had been watching Zephyr, he had been distracted for a long while and it was only when he had brought Nix''s attention towards Zephyr did they realize how zoned out he was.


    Solis frowned at the dy that was getting more prolonged than he could imagine. "If you don''t have someone you need to take care of, then I guess you shouldn''t have been on this team, that way you won''t slow us down." He snapped.


    "Hey, be calm, now wasn''t the time to attack anyone¨Cyet." Obsidian patted the back of Solis. "We have a pressing issue roaming the grounds." He brought back their attention to the threat below.

 Chapter 200 Stay The Funny One

    Restating the n to Zephyr, they all gave a final nod.


    Dispersing into different trees, they watched as the creatures roamed below in search of them.


    Lank narrowed his glowing red eyes, ready to carry out the first part of the attack.


    Dropping to the floor, he steadied his feet and looked ahead.


    "Hey! Bone bugs!" He waved his hands over his head.


    The creatures all screeched as they looked behind them, excited to finally get their prey.


    They paused but didn''t bother to approach. The very action Nix had predicted.


    ''I''m not juicy enough, huh?'' Lank thought with a pout, a little disappointed that he was just a distraction from the appearance of Nix.


    "Waiting for me?" Nix''s voice boomed from above.


    They all looked above, ecstatic about their next action, their limbs dug into the ground with great speed, rushing towards his direction.


    "Ha!" Nix said happily, dropping to the ground beside Lank. Giving a fist bump, winking at Lank before sprinting to his left.


    Huff!


    Huff!


    Nix had tried to understand why these creatures were onto him more than the others.


    The dragons didn''t have this sort of attention drawn to humans like these little Scraws.


    Nix muttered out a curse word the moment he realized he had made a fatal mistake by rting his situation with the dragons.


    ''...and here theye.'' Nix shook his head, internally facepalming on what was going to happen soon.


    <Such a weak human> Red sneered.


    <We could burn them all with just one wave!> Raiken roared.


    ''Shut it you two, I''m trying to think here.'' He hissed at them.


    [Warning: Acid web, 4 feet behind and approaching]


    Jumping just in time to dodge the shot from behind, he did a barrel roll, confident that his team was putting the n into action.


    Activating his gift, he punched onto the ground, channeling a trail of blue me up the trees. Slowly the trees broke, bringing out sparks of mes as they fell to the ground.


    Krrrr...Doom!


    The creatures scurried back in a bid to avoid the falling trees. Trapped and cornered by the trees which burnt continuously as long as Nix kept up with his ability.


    Obsidian jumped out, activating his previous devour ability. ck tentacles sprung from his back. Materializing sharp spikes from three at his left and sharp des on the right.


    Nix stared at the ability Obsidian had derived from the raenz they had fought out into use for their n.


    When they had discussed this n, he was skeptical about Obsidian''s willingness to try out his ability in battle, arguing on the fact that he had trained on how well his thoughts could control the shape of such tentacles.


    If they needed something that could spice up the firepower of their attack, they would need all the hands they could get. Doing a front flip, two of the tentacles wrapped around a branch, pulling it along.


    Creating a space for Obsidian, he temporarily causes a small part of the tree to be devoid of mes to allow Obsidian to stand on it with no trouble.


    Stepping onto the fallen trees, his smirk only widened at how well Nix''s n wasing along and how well these creatures were going to suffer slowly. Looking down at the creatures below, all he needed was to blind every single one of them and follow through with the n from there.


    Slicing a thin chunk of wood from the branch pulled with the tentacles, he repeatedly kicked them in strategic and fluid motion as they rained and lodged into the eyes of the creatures.


    [200 points gained]


    A series of ear-piercing shrieks burst out at theck of sight and pain that rocked their body. Their limbs jabbed the trees in reckless abandon.


    Doing a backflip, he watched as Lank switched ces with him in quick session.


    "It''s my turn to shine!" Lank''s teeth bared, and his ws protruded. Sprinting at top speed, he dived under each limb, severing each one the moment he slid under them.


    One after another they dropped to the ground with their skins ripped and bones broken at the sh from his w.


    [300 points gained]


    Nix''s lips raised at the pleasant notification that graced his sight, this mission wasn''t as bad as it seems. All they needed was Solis'' to follow through with the n.<sub> </sub>


    Solis cast a ray of light above them, making sure they were caught in its beam. Once that had been confirmed, he turned up the heat on them.


    The hairs on their body burned in response, they screeched to the pain, unable to move due to the severed limbs. With the increase in heat, they were set aze, lighting up like a campfire.


    [300 points gained]


    Ding!


    [Sessful questpletion, you have a total of 1500 points earned]


    [Level+1]


    <o>,m Getting up from his position, he alerted Solis and the others to get out of the way. His revenge on these creatures wasn''tplete.</o>


    Creating a fire wave that burnt through the forest and the remains of the creature.


    Zephyr took a sniff of the air, a smell graced his nose. A sh of a building came to mind.


    He held his head, staggering back, and let out a low groan.


    ''Syth... what''s syth?'' He wondered, his breathing ragged by his memories triggered upon that weird smell.


    "Are you alright?" Lank pointed out, noticing the disturbed expression on Zephyr''s face.


    "Syth..." He said out of breath, "what is a syth?"


    Nix looked behind him at themotion going on. That word sounded oddly familiar, something he could have sworn Mune had exined to him in the past.


    ''Mune!'' He called out in desperation, wondering why his heart pounded upon hearing those words, especially from someone like Zephyr.


    The surrounding area slowed down to this disturbance. Nix looked around him, the birds above flying across the trees all pped at a very slow pace.


    Bringing his attention back down to his team, he noticed how slow they moved.


    ''Am I a speedster now?'' Nix wondered, tilting his head at how strange and wonky everything felt.


    A ball of light materialized slowly before bursting open. Nix jumped back at the sight, taking a defensive stance against the strange phenomenon.


    The tiny sparkles reveal Mune''s curled into a ball, her red hair flying wildly around her and her body outlined in a bright white aura, the green knee-length dress covering only a small portion of her shoulders and flowing down into a beautifully draped neckline.


    It''s afortable fit which gives the dress a rxed, yet graceful look.


    Her arms were covered only halfway down. The sleeves are a loose fit and, in a way, help put focus on her soft skin.


    She wasn''t the six inches, cute Mune that he once knew, instead she had transformed into a full-grown young adult of 162cm.


    Nix''s mouth gaped open just a bit at how shocking this took him by surprise.


    ''What the f*ck?!'' He eximed, wondering what his system had done to Mune. The reconstruction he recalled had just pped him on the face again, first, it was the removal of all his umted points, then the set timer for his abilities, and now this huge change to Mune''s physique!


    The only thing he hoped for was the fact that she still remembered who he was.


    Slowly, Mune''s eyes opened and she let out a yawn, her hair falling back in ce, blinking several times until she had herrge green eyes fixated on him. Her legs floated just a few inches off the ground.


    Even with the new increase, Nix still looked down at her, worried about what she was going to do.


    Silence.


    Nix felt the awkward silence, Mune wasn''t this cold, she was bubbly, cute, and outspoken, ''What the heck is this? Who are you? Why did you respond to my call?! I want the old Mune back!'' Heined in his thoughts, simply staring at Mune suspiciously.


    Mune''s lips slowly raised and burst intoughter.


    Nix blinked several times, unsure if he heard and saw right. ''What''s so funny?!'' He frowned.


    [I got master, good!] She blew a raspberry, wiggling her brows.


    Nix''s eyes widened at the words, after a few seconds, only then did he process what she meant.


    ''You would dare trick me?'' He pulled her by the hand and ruffled her hair.


    Mune pouted, squirming from his grip, [I''m a bigdy now, you can''t treat me like a baby anymore]


    Nix froze upon hearing those words, they sounded right, yet disturbing at the same time, there was no way he was going to let her grow up. She was perfect the way she was.


    ''The system said you were created from my desires, so it would seem my desires have changed just a bit because of Lumina. That doesn''t mean I want you to change your personality¨Cstay the funny one, okay?'' He pleads, pulling on her cheeks until he gets an answer.

 Chapter 201 Dont Let Him Know

    Mune had a devious smirk on her lips to his words.


    [Did master miss me?] Mune wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.


    Nix''s breath hitched at her words, temporarily stunned by her choice of words and how it targeted his emotions especially.


    He had missed her presence since his system had gone MIA. There were times he needed her active energy and sharp wit. The one thing he wished could return was her size. She reminded him of a sister-like figure to Lumina.


    If others could see her as he was, Nix was certain she would be mistaken as a blood rtive of Lumina.


    ''Why did my desire turn out this way?'' Nix internally facepalmed.


    Getting straight to the matter of urgency, Mune called his attention back to why she was called upon.


    ''Syth...'' he paused, thinking things through as he continued. ''What is syth?''


    The words of Zephyr still clouded his thoughts on how unsettling it made him feel. He could tell that the word rted to him a great deal.


    Mune gasped at the word, looking to her left, then her right before she spoke.


    [Where did you hear this, master?] She said in a hushed whisper even though no one apart from Nix could hear her.


    ''The white-haired suspicious person over there.'' Nix nodded in the direction of Zephyr.


    [Don''t let him know... he''s one of those people] Mune narrowed her eyes at Zephyr, scared about what he would have recalled for him to say those words.


    ''Mune, what you''re saying doesn''t make any sense.'' Nixined, agitated that he had to go through a whirlwind ride of confusion.


    [There are only a few people who could urately tell the difference between a burnt substance caused by a fire user like you are and with the smell known as ''syth'' and those naturally burnt] Mune exined, skeptical about how and where Zephyr could have smelt such a substance.


    Nix raised a brow at her exnation, as much as he wanted to believe what she said, it still didn''t exin how that rted to why he felt anxious.


    ''Mune, please exin to me something that rtes to how I feel about the subject.'' Nix called out desperately, there was no time to lose on this. They couldn''t be stuck in motion for so long.


    Mune blinked several times as she tried to process what he meant.


    [He hase in contact with something that has your gift all over it, preferably back at your home, the remains of the burnt home] Mune facepalmed, giving that she needed to give an in-depth exnation of this strange phenomenon.


    Nix''s eyes grew twice their size at the revtion, never had he imagined that action would cause such a backlog that would hunt him down.


    [From the knowledge that I have acquired, he had lost his memory. Hypothetically speaking, he didn''t just lose his memory but also his soul] Mune rubbed her chin, evidently skeptical about the true nature of Zephyr.


    Nix took a step back, the words of Hana haunted his thoughts once more.


    ''No... It can''t be.'' Nix shook his head, refusing to believe what Hana had told him.


    Mune couldn''t ce what was giving him a hard time, nor why he was refusing to believe her guesses.


    That was the only logical exnation for what was going on.


    Casting a look over to Zephyr, the pieces were starting to align slowly. He hadn''t thought things through before, but the more he stared at him, the more the answers pped him in the face.


    ''Why didn''t I get this before?'' Nix took a step back, unsure of the revtion.


    His teeth gritted as he focused on the truth of what was going on. ''How dare he try to ruin all I had nned to build here once more?!"


    His eyes burned with rage. Hana had told him of a transmigrator that would try to thwart his ns. He had been so blind not to see the signs right before him.


    The clues¨Cthe exchanged res between them, the fact that he reminded him so much of his ex-friend, Drui.


    ''How the heck is he here? What did I ever do to him?!'' Nix red daggers at Zephyr, ready to carry out what he had failed to do in their world.


    [Master?] Mune cried out in worry, suspicious about his actions.


    In a bid to bring him to his senses, she stood in front of him, her hands spread out at her sides. [No, you cannot] She stated firmly.


    ''Move," Nix warned through gritted teeth, his re still fixated on Zephyr.


    This very person he had hoped to escape from had been allocated the job to thwart the ns he so desperately wants to finish. He had been betrayed once, it was only logical that he would again if he put his trust in a liar.


    [Killing him wouldn''t solve the problem,]


    Shaking his head to her words, he let out a bitterugh. "It would solve a lot of things, trust me."<sub> </sub>


    He proceeded to move forward, making the best use of the stopped time to his advantage.


    [Getting your revenge without knowing the answers or the person in question, defenseless; would never elevate the hurt in your heart]


    ''Bullshit! I refuse to be manipted once more. If he is one of those who can detect this, then I hate to say this, but he would give out my secret.'' Nix snarled, angered by the fact that he couldn''t do anything until he crossed the border in the form of Mune.


    [You know the right thing to do, master... I know it]


    With those final words, she dissipated with a bright smile.


    Nix''s anger began to subside, he could see a timer count down from 20 seconds, he could only assume it signaled the looming end of the whole slow motion.


    ''If I can''t kill him now, I can at least do something before everything reverts to its normal timing.'' Nix snickered in his thoughts about the n he had in ce of the first.


    [00:00:14]


    His lips curved up into a smile as he approached Zephyr.


    ''I would never have envisioned youing back haunting me. Well, guess what? I am not the stupid little friend you once knew.'' He sneered, staring daggers at him.


    Balling his hands in a fist, he brought it behind him,nding a punch on Zephyr''s face.


    "Ha!" He let out a satisfiedugh. His chest heaving as he watched Zephyr slowly fall to the ground.


    Thud!


    The timer was just three seconds away from deactivating.


    Feeling his energy drain drastically, he dropped to the floor, coughing and taking in air the best way he could.


    Deactivating his gift, he readied himself for the heart-wrenching notification, knowing he had exceeded the given time after being reckless with his energy points.


    [252 energy points deducted]


    [Gift: Fire deactivated. Energy level critical at 48 points]


    ''I got what I deserve.'' Nix had a bitter smile on his lips, his hair obscuring his face from the others.


    Zephyr let out a gasp at the awkward position he was in, not understanding how he had gotten to the ground.


    Sharp pain on his forehead and nose caused him to groan and frown.


    ''What the hell happened to me?!'' Zephyr pinched the bridge of his nose.


    Raising his head, he locked his gaze on Nix who was also on the floor but out of breath.


    "Are you alright, dude?" Lank went on one knee, examining his friend by pulling up his face to see the extent of the strain he had endured.


    Lank''s hold on his cheek forcefully put Nix in a pout. "Hmmm... you just need rest, with that little brain of yours working its magic, we were able to scale through this one."


    Nix pulled his head away from Lank''s grip, hitting his head before his mouth spewed more nonsense.


    "For once in your life, use your little brain when speaking with me!" Nix scolded, before abruptly coughing and feeling the toll of using his physical strength.


    "It''s what friends do, you dimwit! I''m trying to care for you, but all you do is hit me." Lank feigned sadness, whimpering.


    Nix couldn''t take that face and be almost tempted to hit him once more.


    On second thought, he rubbed his chin and said with a smile, "Thank you."


    They stared at each other, none saying a word to the other, almost feeling as though they were the only ones in the forest.


    Suddenly, they burst out in aughing fit.


    Zephyr watched with curious eyes, his eyes brimmed with sad tears, their interaction made him feel a bittersweet nostalgic feeling, wishing he could recreate that with the Nix in his world.


    "You two disappoint me!" Solis spat, "how dare you two cheat on those beautifuldies waiting for you with yourselves? I assume it''s high time they know the truth."


    Solis rubbed his palms in mischief, quite satisfied with the n to cause a bit of chaos when they returned.

 Chapter 202 Something On You

    Walking back to the ce they had been, Solis had a huge bulge on his head, lightly touching it and wincing to the pain.


    Nix and Lank harrumphed, raising their chin, not sparing Solis another look.


    Obsidian had a smile, satisfied with the way the mood was for his team. He was d to be a part of this weird bunch.


    Zephyr on the other hand had his mood flushed down the drain, disturbed by what he couldn''t ount for and the fact that this Nix was gaining more poprity than the former.


    ''Why does he always have to get everything good?!'' He sneered in jealousy.


    "Zephyr..." Nix''s voice cut in on his thoughts.


    Whipping his head to the side, he blinked a few times after he had gotten a word of his name.


    "What''s up with your hearing?!" Lank snapped, clicking his tongue.


    "What?!" Zephyr questioned in confusion, nothing made any sense with why he was called nor why he was spoken to in such a manner.


    "Teleport us out of this goddamn ce, we already did our bid for the organization''s little game." Obsidian snarled, his eyes glowing in suppressed rage.


    "A little nicely would do." Zephyr snapped, rolling his eyes at the way he had been addressed.


    If he needed to help them, it was only fair they treated him a little nicer.


    Obsidian took his words as a challenge, "are you calling up for a fight?!"


    Zephyr''s lips raised at the threat, "you and I both know who will be the victor, but know this, if I die, there is no way of you getting out of this beautiful ce."


    Obsidian red at him but said nothing, he was right about what would happen to them. It would take about a day for him, Lank and Nix but for people like Solis, it would take two days or more to get back to the organization on foot.


    "Pompous bastard!" Obsidian spat under his breath.


    "Fine!" He decided to sacrifice his pride. "Could you please take us out of here?"


    Zephyr nodded his head, a devilish smile present. "Now we are getting somewhere."


    Concentrating on the area behind them, he pictured the organization, continuously staring at the area.


    "Uhh!" Lank''s mouth opened, confused by the fact that nothing was happening like he had thought it would.


    "What''s going on, Zephyr?!" Nix cut in, tired of the strange and disturbing stare of Zephyr in a particr area.


    Zephyr ignored them, increasing his focus and blocking out the others from his thoughts, "it''s..."


    Giving up on the trial, his eyes widened in shock and confusion. "My magic isn''t working." He said in a panic.


    "What do you mean your magic isn''t working, there''s no way our magic can just stop working!" Solis snapped, rolling his eyes to the news.


    This would be the first time he had ever heard anyone make aint of this sort of trouble, it could be attributed to being tired could weaken the effectiveness of their magic, but not working at all? That was nearly impossible.


    As a magic user, he could readily rte with their energy source, but what Zephyr was saying only made him believe there was something called bullshit.


    "That''s a whole lot of bullshit!" Solis snapped, angered and suspicious that he was intentionally not going along with the team''s decision to leave.


    "No I mean it, I can''t even act on it myself," Zephyr spoke quickly in a panic, confused and scared that he had reverted to a normal human Drui even in this fantasy world.


    The one thing he was d that had made him different, special was gone?


    Bam!


    Obsidian punched his hand through a tree in rage.


    Krrr! Kkkk!


    Trails of lines ran across the trees until it slowly brought the trees to their knees and ultimately the floor.


    "I had lowered myself to calmly ask you asshole after you dared to put a condition and you tell us your magic isn''t working?!!!" He barked, his eyes glowing in untold rage.<sub> </sub>


    Silver ws protruding, he had a devious smirk on his lips, murderous intent seething off him.


    "You are of no use to us anymore." He said in a peal of crazedughter.


    Zephyr''s eyes widened in horror, turning around and quickly sprinted for his life.


    "Stop!" Nix yelled, causing Zephyr to screech to a stop and look over his shoulder. His chest heaving at the scare.


    Nix gritted his teeth, he was all in for the action by Obsidian, but no matter how much he wanted that so badly, they needed to know the underlying cause of his loss of power.


    This wasn''t what was written in the scroll, he couldn''t understand what could have made him lose his power at such a critical time.


    ''Unless...'' Nix''s head whipped up, frowning at the thought.


    "What use is he to us?!" Obsidian protested, angered that Nix had inadvertently stood up for him.


    Cursing on the fact that he had a strong attachment to him, viewing all of his actions as right and for a bigger cause. He med his sense of loyalty to those he fully trusted for his body immediately resisting the killing intent he had originally developed.


    Nix dashed towards Zephyr, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him to the ground.


    Zephyr was caught unawares by such an action that he gasped when Nix had him by the neck and coughed out blood the moment he was forced to the ground. Shocked to the bone by the speed Nix possessed and the distance he had covered over the blink of an eye.


    Lank took a step back, even though he was shocked by the speed that Nix had disyed. He could only guess he had been hiding this much of his speed for some reason.


    Obsidianughed at the show, hiding his initial shock and bending over tough some more. This was far from what he had envisioned from his new mentor¨Cthere were so many hidden abilities that intrigued him, there was the only way he could fully get acquainted with this strange and mysterious individual.


    Nix let out a satisfying breath of relief at finally venting out a bit of his frustration and anger on Drui who was masking in the body of Zephyr.


    ''F*ck you! Jerkass!'' Nix sneered.


    When he realized that he was being stared at, he released his grip and staggered back. He needed to put on an act and remember what he had wanted to confirm before his mind take over his body''s actions.


    "I... I''m sorry for that," he stammered, hoping his acting was superb. "I don''t know what came over me, that wasn''t intentional." He walked up to Zephyr, stretching out his hand so he could take it.


    Zephyr cleaned the blood on the corner of his lips with the sleeve of his blue long-sleeved shirt.


    Pushing back, he refused to ept his supposed kind gesture from Nix. If the others couldn''t see it because they supported him, he could see Nix for who he was.


    ''Maniptive bastard!'' Zephyr spat his re onto Nix who feigned innocence.


    Nix could tell that Zephyr had be wary of him, but to gain his trust, he needed to check on something on him, before he spoke.


    "I do apologize for the strength used, I had thought I could control my powers well. What I wanted was to tackle you to the ground so I could search for the culprit that might be on you."


    <o>,m Zephyr listened but blocked out all he had said, the only thing that had sparked his interest was thetter part of Nix''s words.</o>


    "What do you mean the culprit might be on me?" He raised a brow, pushing back once again with the approach of Nix.


    Nix had a smile, d that Zephyr was a little disturbed with his presence. He cast a dark gaze on Zephyr for a while before swiftly switching to a bright smile before he answered.


    "That is what I was trying to do." Nix smiled, the gesture effectively disturbing Zephyr.


    Zephyr''s brows raised, suspicious of how well Nix could switch emotions so easily, disappointed that he was the only one who could see how quick his moods changed.


    He would intentionally put on the angelic and supportive character when looking behind him and still having a conversation with him.


    On the other hand, when it was a one-on-one discussion, his mood would darken, almost to the point he was hiding untold rage behind those eyes.


    If he needed to survive in this world, it was best that he gets back the memory of this body and get why he happened to be with someone who shared a simr name with his ex-friend.


    "I need you to do something for me, it''s either I do it myself, or you do." Nix folded his arms, a frown ever-present.


    "Which is?" Zephyr reluctantly asked with a raise of his brow.


    "Remove your shirt." Nix blurted out, the words not matching his face stern as he spoke.

 Chapter 203 Another Story To The Pendant?

    "F*ck no! You''ve finally lost every sense of reasoning." Zephyr snapped, ring daggers at Nix.


    Facepalming, Nix finally realized the problem with what he had said, he couldn''t understand why his brain hadn''t immediately warned him before it transmitted the information to his lips.


    ''Yet again, I''m misunderstood.'' He let out a sigh, shaking his head at how stupid he felt.


    If he would wish to save his face, he would need to think fast about how to correct that error.


    "That''s not what I wanted to say..." he began.


    "But you still said it!" Zephyr hissed, narrowing his eyes. Pushing himself up, so he could stand on his feet once more.


    Nix''s lips drew into a thin line. He looked behind him to gauge the reaction of the rest to this little misunderstanding.


    Lank gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up, understanding what he meant, having been there when Mr. Gaviel exined the ropes through that weird wave of light that had hit them before being transported to the organization.


    He could also rte to the fact that they had been misunderstood several times by others.


    Nix let out a little chuckle at Lank''s behavior, that was enough to lighten his mood.


    Obsidian raised a brow, confused by the weird expression. In blind loyalty, he chose to blindly believe Nix said it with a good reason as always.


    Solis had his mouth gaped open, eyes wide with shock and curiosity. "I had joked about you and Lank, but I didn''t know you had eyes on Zephyr, who would have thought that..."


    Bam!


    "Shut it you ball of sunshine, cut down on the rays, will you?!" Lank hissed, his hand raised from Solis'' head after punching him on the head to shut him up.


    When he had heard him speak, he could already tell it would be nothing but trash spewing from his lips all in the name of a ''joke''.


    Solis took several steps back, holding onto his head and whimpering, it was best he took a good step away from them all as he was still a target of hits on the head, even though his sister wasn''t present.


    Nix shook his head and wished he was the one who had hit Solis so he could let out more steam built up for Zephyr.


    Stiffly turning his attention towards Zephyr in front of him.


    Zephyr jumped back in surprise, instantly regretting that he had not used the opportunity to dash away while they were distracted¨Cespecially Nix.


    Another part of his thoughtsmended him for holding his ground; if he had tried running, Obsidian''s gaze was still locked onto him. He would inadvertently invite a bigger fry to his side.


    Another hit to the ground was something he dreaded. In his ears, a ringing sound still gued his eardrums like a broken rm.


    Gritting his teeth, he could only me the fact that he wasn''t equipped with anything like his abilities nor his weapons to defend himself.


    He still couldn''t understand why he was the only one who had suddenly be a victim of this weird gue.


    "Don''te any closer." He barked as Nix took a step towards him.


    Nix had his right leg in front of him, a grin on his face. "Don''t tell me you''re scared of little me?" He said with an air of mockery, enjoying every bit of it.


    ''Little? You''re way taller than me anyways. That skill you showcased on me earlier, you call that little you?'' Zephyr''s thoughts rambled on with disappointment at how far he would have to suffer if he would mistakenly ept Nix''s words.


    "I don''t care what you say, but don''t you dare take a step forward." His voice trembled when he tried to calm his racing heart.


    "Is that a warning?" Nix questioned, taking a step forward to spite him.


    He was curious about how far he could go with an attitude and body such as his.


    Frantically shaking his head, he frowned at how fast he was reacting to Nix''s words but was also relieved that he refrained from approaching anymore.


    "I''m d you know the limit to your words," Nix shone a bright smile that forced up a nostalgic feeling in Zephyr.


    "I did say that they are..." Solis gulped.


    Whoosh!


    Holding back on his words, it was best not to speak any more about what he was witnessing the moment he felt a chill run down his spine and a demeaning figure behind him.


    Stiffly turning his head, he gasped at the deathly re from Obsidian. This was far different from the one given to him by Lank or Nix.<sub> </sub>


    There was always something different about Obsidian, when he had seen Obsidian almost lose control of his temper, it had made him d that he was on the neutral side of the problem.


    Now he wasn''t so sure he still maintained that position, he was sure if he spoke any more lines about the two, he could be pulverized.


    "We''re good!" He assured, "I will stop speaking now."


    Obsidian''s brows eased on the affirmation, giving a nod.


    "Open your shirt and check underneath. Do you have some sort of neck chain with a pendant, gem, or medal hanging on it?" Nix specifically constructed his question.


    Tilting his head in confusion, Zephyr blurted out the word, "what?!!"


    Nix held his stare on Zephyr, he wished he wouldn''t interfere with him, but this affected them all, there was no way he would let this slide.


    ''For the ease of their transportation back to ourfort zone.'' Nix chanted in his thoughts and exhaled.


    "Do the words I had spoken earlier ring any bells? It''s your body anyways, you should know what''s on you." Nix couldn''t stop himself from sneering at the reply from Zephyr.


    "Uhhh!" Zephyr plunged his hand into his shirt, feeling for the said object, pulling out a cloud-shaped white pendant which had a silver outline, which slid to his finger which had pulled on the silver chain. "Do you mean this thing?"


    ''Are you freaking stupid?! Didn''t I make it clear earlier? Why ask such a triggering question?!'' Nix''s lips twitched uncontrobly, almost wishing he would rain down curses on his face.


    Zephyr could tell Nix was having an internal battle with himself, his brows and crazed expression only made him ufortable. "I know I had f*cked up, and this was uncalled for."


    Hoping that his words could calm Nix and be given the exnation he had unintentionally rejected when he didn''t calm his nerves before judging.


    ''Of course, you did, jerk! You think the world revolves around you?'' Nix''s lips drew into a thin line of disappointment.


    He was curious about how Nix had guessed that he was wearing one, all he could hope was he forgives his initial outburst.


    Going with an experimental solution, he ordered him to take the pendant off.


    Zephyr tried to understand why he would do that. Rumi had specifically told him that they couldn''t do anything about the pendant on them and should avoid every attempt to do so or they would both reap the consequences.


    At first, he thought this was some sort of pendant that proved the love she and the original host had for each other, but the more he thought about it now, the more strange and disturbing it felt to nitpick on her words.


    ''There''s another story to this pendant?'' Zephyr thought, stunned and in shock.


    "Take it off!" Nix ordered in a loud voice.


    "No!" Zephyr refused, his hand holding firmly onto the pendant and taking a step back, shaking his head.


    ''I can''t, I feel something would go wrong if I do.'' Zephyr thought in a panic, his heart pounded as he stared wide-eyed at Nix.


    Nix could see it, those knowing eyes, he wondered if Drui masking as Zephyr could almost easily ess the memory of Zephyr better than he could of his mother.


    "You won''t or can''t?" He pressed on, trying to force him to the corner so he specified to what extent he knew about the pendant.


    The reaction by Zephyr was only a testimony that this pendant was the main cause of his ability deactivation.


    Someone somewhere was remotely controlling the activities of Zephyr''s ability.


    He looked around them, hoping to get some sort of information or location. This could be the ability of another user in action.


    From his guesses, the user needed to be close to their location as this wasn''t a problem when they attacked Scraw and its underlings.


    ''Mune!'' He called on her presence again.


    Pop!


    She popped into view from a ball of light, almost scaring the shit out of him. He had to maintain hisposure in front of everyone that still thought they were all alone.


    ''Don''t do that to me.'' Nix hissed, his heartbeat quickened as he took a step back from Zephyr.


    [Sorry, master!] Mune apologized with a pout, sweat dripping, sping her hands together and batting her longshes.


    [What can I do for you, master?]

 Chapter 204 Tear Him Apart

    ''I think someone is keeping an eye on us.'' Nix''s eyes darted about at possible locations in the trees that could be used.


    Mune rubbed her chin in thought, closing her eyes afterward as she gave a slight hum while she processed the information.


    Her eyes shot open as she pointed in the direction a few miles away from their current location. [Over there!]


    Nix''s head whipped to the left, far out of the rocky terrain causing his brows to furrow at the sight of the tall grasses.


    ''That ce? Again?!'' Nix said in exasperation, internally facepalming at how stupid it all felt.


    Whatever that could be hiding in there would be anything far from good.


    <Atst, you go back to my former territory! How dare anyone take possession of mynd, I would rip them apart!!> Raiken snickered in Nix''s head.


    "Nix, what''s going on?" Lank cut in on Nix''s thoughts, cing a hand on the shoulder to get his attention.


    Nix whipped his head back at the call, his eyes devoid of the warm look Lank once knew.


    "Do not follow! I would deal with this." He snarled, shrugging off Lank''s hand.


    "Deal with what? Where are you headed?!" Lank queried because of being thrown into confusion but Nix''s words.


    "You owe me!" He sneered at Zephyr, pointing an using finger at him, and sprinting off towards the tall grasnd.


    Lank was pushed back to the floor due to the propelling force garnered by Nix. He had thought Nix was at his fastest, but this was by far faster than what they could imagine.


    "Did I do something wrong?" Zephyr rubbed the side of his arm, still wary of releasing his grip from the pendant.


    "You are bold, I have to hand you that." Solis pushed on Zephyr''s chest in anger. Irritated by the fact that they were stuck and their perfect quartet ruined the moment he was assigned with them.


    Obsidian tilted his head at the sight, notmenting like the rest. Rather than that, he ced his hand on the floor, feeling subtle vibrationsing from the same direction in which Nix had run off.


    His instinct readily told him to follow even though Nix had warned none of them should. This could be just as overwhelming as the creatures they had faced.


    Hisst words to Zephyr made him worried about the reason he would risk his safety for a low life like Zephyr.


    Getting to his feet, he looked at the bantering trio, their presence would not be of any use to Nix.


    "We should help him." Lank whooped and raised his hand in the air. Just like Obsidian, his senses told him that Nix was headed for a dangerous path.


    ''No!!'' Obsidian snarled in his thoughts, he couldn''t allow any of them to interfere in his ns nor disrupt that of Nix at the same time. They would only be a source of distraction and draw him back if they followed the same path Nix did.


    "Lank..." Obsidian spoke softly, trying to calm his thoughts before he made do with his n.


    Lank looked up to Obsidian with a smile, "yes?"


    "Zephyr, Solis?" Obsidian continued, e closer, let''s discuss this better."


    Zephyr stood fixated on the spot, ufortable by the mood of Obsidian, something wasn''t right with his words.


    "What do you want to say? Say it here for us all to hear." Zephyr snapped, putting his pendant back into his shirt and shoving his hand in his pocket.


    Obsidian hissed at the disruption that Zephyr was creating for his ns.


    "We are the only four here, dimwit!" Obsidian said through gritted teeth.


    Narrowing his eyes, Zephyr looked at the other two who approached Obsidian without questioning his intentions.


    "Don''t you two feel something is wrong?"


    Zephyr''s eyes nced from Solis and back to Lank.


    Silence.


    ''Calm your thoughts, Obsidian, this is going to work out.'' He said to himself, inhaling and exhaling.


    Giving up on his initial suspicion, he exhaled and walked toward the group.


    "So what is it?" He folded his arms and frowned.


    Being the only one without abilities, he was as good as a sitting duck, if he needed to scale through whatever that woulde their way, he would need to stick by this weird team.


    "Nix had always been there for us, now it''s our turn to be there for him." Obsidian began with a nod, his face stern as he spoke.


    They all nodded in agreement except for Zephyr who merely rolled his eyes, not agreeing with the words. As far as he could tell there was nothing special about all Nix had done up until now.


    "Now he''s off to save your sorry ass." Obsidian hissed at Zephyr when he witnessed him roll his eyes.


    The corner of Zephyr''s lips raised at the choice of words. "Just because I''m powerless doesn''t mean I''m useless, you beast!" He snapped.


    ''Calm down, it''s all falling into ce.'' Obsidian repeatedly told himself so he wouldn''t react without control.<sub> </sub>


    Lank cringed as he expected some sort of reaction, those weren''t the sort of words a defenseless person says to a person such as Obsidian. ''You just signed your death sentence.''


    He was thrown into shock when he witnessed a smirk on the lips on Obsidian''s lips, he didn''t look fazed by such degrading words, instead, it looked more like he was enjoying it.


    ''What the hell?!'' Lank did a double-take.


    "I don''t attack things I consider weak, but that doesn''t stop me from killing them if they step on my toes," Obsidian responded in a manner of ambiguity, a disturbing smile forcing Zephyr to gulp.


    "Now where were we?" He dusted his shirt.


    "The part where Zephyr was a sorry ass!" Solis snickered, amused by the sound of it from his lips. It felt so much better to refer to him in such a manner.


    Nodding his head to the recollection even though he could remember, all he needed was someone to echo what he had said to stress home the point.


    Clearing his throat, he continued with the n he had for them all.


    "Are we in?" Obsidian questioned, stretching his hand in a fist bump.


    Lank looked at the gesture for a while but followed suit if it meant helping Nix somehow, bringing out his hand, his knuckles touching just the edge of Obsidian.


    Solis followed suit, taking the other side of Lank''s knuckles. From what it looked like, they were doing a square-shaped fist bump.


    They all turned their attention towards Zephyr who was the missing bunch of the lot.


    ''This isn''t right.'' Zephyr''s heart pounded, wondering why he was the only one who was seeing something wrong with the n in its entirety.


    <o>,m When he noticed their heated gaze on him, he let out a sigh, reluctantlypleting the square fist bump.</o>


    He let out a gasp the moment a ck tentacletched onto his wrist. "What the heck?!"


    Raising his head, his eyes widened in shock at his suspicions being realized.


    Solis and Lank had their wrists and body wrapped by the tentacles generated by Obsidian. His silver eyes were gleaming and a devilish smirk was present.


    Looking around him, a ck barrier engulfed them in darkness.


    "You deserve every bit of this!"


    Those words from Obsidian were thest thing Zephyr heard before he was knocked out unconscious.


    Stepping out from the ck spherical barrier, Obsidian stretched his hands, his eyes narrowed in the path from which Nix had taken.


    "What secrets do you hide?" Obsidian mumbled.


    Looking back at the ck sphere, Obsidian ced his head on it, remembering the shocked expressions from Solis and Lank.


    It was the only method he could use to trick them into getting into one ce where he could use his ability to trap them.


    "I''m sorry my friends." He whispered, pushing himself off the sphere, sprinting towards the direction in which Nix had followed.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Screeching to a stop, Nix hyperventted.


    [Master, be careful] Mune said in worry.


    ''What I''m to face can''t be as crazy as facing a dragon with their massive size.'' Nix negated her concern.


    <I was so good to you, wasn''t I?> Raiken replied sarcastically.


    ''Shut it!'' Nix hissed, not pleased with the disturbance.


    <Let me out! No one should be in my territory, they should be burned and ripped apart!> Raiken roared, his voice causing a ringing in Nix''s ears.


    "Aghh!" Nix staggered back while cupping his ears.


    ''If you don''t turn it down, you would know the true meaning of me being a dragon tamer.'' Nix threatened.


    <Hmph!> Raiken harrumphed, choosing to listen to Nix for a while.


    <Tear him apart if you don''t let me out, that''s the only way you would sessfully appease me> He concluded and let the case rest for a while until the culprit was identified.


    Tzzzz!


    Nix''s head whipped to his right, the faint sound of a sizzle made him curious.


    [It''s here!] Mune''s voice trembled.

 Chapter 205 Dragons Secret Let Out

    Nix bit on his lower lip, holding backughter as he fully took in a creature that was 2 feet tall.


    Its two shuttered eyes stared at Nix from their deep sockets. A small nose rests below, but it''s the ordinary mouth below that took all the attention. A shy smile reveals two sharp canines and a little forked tongue.


    Thin squared ears sit on each side of its small, wide head, which itself is covered in thick white hair.


    On its head were two antennas with electricity bouncing back and forth on each end.


    [Target identified: Zeen]


    <This is the thing that invaded my territory?!!!> Raiken roared in Nix''s head, feeling triggered by how little it looked and what damage to his reputation this had brought.


    <I don''t believe its size is real, it must be hiding its true size. Let me out so I can show this creature what a true dragon is!!!>


    ''Easy Raiken, as much as I would want tough at this thing, its size and calm demeanor should be an object for questioning.''


    [Although they may look cute with a creepy mix, Zeens are naturally hostile when provoked. They tend to work with a single person in mind and link their very being to an object that is in connection with its weaker vessel host. Severely loyal creatures to the first person that approaches them with a bribe]


    Mune tried to exin to the best of her vast knowledge with the short time frame allocated, knowing she was forgetting some sort of vital information made her narrow her eyes at the Zeen as she racked her thoughts for the answer.


    ''Bribe? What do you mean by a bribe?'' His brows furrowed in confusion.


    [A head of a human] Mune gulped, sweat dropping to the response she gave.


    ''I wonder where it could find a head to get bribed.'' Nix rolled his eyes after his sarcasticment on what he had just listened to.


    There was only one way it could be bribed and given such a specific task¨Cit would be none other than the organization''s doing.


    Since it had to be a specific object, Nix could well understand why they had not made him a target of these creatures, it wasn''t nearly as strong as him at the peak of his energy nor did they possess any of his personal belongings.


    Finally, he could understand why the task was said to take a day, they would be forcefully trapped in the ounds, kept to face every sort of creature they could encounter as they tried to get back.


    ''Not on my watch!'' Nix red at the Zeen, if he could take out this creature, they would be able to sessfully return to the organization.


    [Be careful, master] Mune warned him of the dangers of witnessing one of these creatures out in the open.


    Tzzzz!


    Nix took a step back and was wary of its little approach. Whatever this thing was, he needed to be careful for his sake, and the warning given by Mune, his energy consumption had drastically affected how well he could use his gift.


    He had warned his team not to interfere with his ns, as hisst resort was going to be summoning a dragon¨Cthat he didn''t want anyone to know about.


    Thinking things through, he wondered if it was ever possible to reason with this creature to let them leave but cut off its connecting ties with Zephyr''s pendant.


    ''That jerk is indebted to me!'' Nix proimed in his thoughts.


    ? Tzzzz!


    Ttttt!


    Raising a brow to the strange soundsing from Zeen, he prepared himself for any attack that might pop up soon.


    [Something is wrong, I think I remember now] Mune hid behind Nix as a message popped up from the user interface.


    [Warning: Zeen feral mode]


    ''Feral what now?!'' Nix did a double-take as he stared at the screen with wide eyes.


    [Things are about to get a little big around here] Mune warned, scared of the oue.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Jumping on some trees, Obsidian made sure he threaded lightly then stopped on a tree branch and took a sniff of the air to determine the location of Nix.


    Tudum!


    His head whipped in the direction of the strange noiseing from the tall grass-like area with few boulders. ''What in the dark¨C''


    Obsidian gulped, eyes widened in horror at the growing emergence of a white creature a few meters away from where he stood.


    ''Nix!'' Obsidian noticed his figure at a distance.


    The creature grew in size, forcing Nix to raise his head and his mouth ajar at the growing sight of about 15 feet high.<sub> </sub>


    The Zeen''s body grows into a long athletic one that slightly hunchs over. Two broad arms hang at its sides and end in gentle hands with thick fingers, each with thin long ws. Its legs are small and stand straight, each ending in broad feet.


    ''You''ve got to be kidding me, a weird-looking yeti?!'' Nix took a step back, readying himself to summon Raiken as things had escted more than he could imagine.


    <I knew it! Nevertheless, it could never rival my kind?> Raiken scoffed, eager to be let out.


    Nix rolled out of the way the moment he saw the creature''s hand sweep through the tall grasses.


    He had always wanted to see how well Raiken could hold his lot with other creatures within his height range. Left with no choice, he called out in a loud confident voice.


    "Come forth, Raiken!"


    <Finally! I am free!> Raiken growled in enthusiasm within Nix''s thoughts before he began to materialize out of his body.


    A thick fog of ck smoke covered the ground, as it began to converge into one point as it materialized into Raiken,


    Its massive wings starting from just below its shoulders and ending at the lower end of its back spread out as it stretched.


    Rooaarrr!!


    Raiken''s roar cut across a great distance.


    Nix took a step back in a calctive retreat. If he stays there, he would be like a nt suffering the burden of two elephants fighting.


    ''You do your thing, while I go recuperate behind that boulder.'' Nixmunicated to Raiken before dashing out of their sight.


    The Zeen screeched at the escape of Nix, attempting to go after him. Its leg had merely taken a step when it felt a sh to its leg which caused it to trip and fall to the ground.


    Badoom!


    Several des of grass were leveled and served as a cushion to thisrge creature.


    <Not on my watch!> Raiken''s telepathic voice still cut across to Nix from where he hid, his heart pounding at the problem he had brought to himself.


    Looking behind the boulder, he felt a hand pull him back by his cor and push him against the rock behind him.


    Acting on impulse, he pulled on the wrist of the perpetrator, flipping them over and raising his fist. "Who are you and wh¨C"


    "Obsidian?" Nix did a double-take, releasing his grip on his shirt.


    "It must be fun having a towering pet to fight on your behalf, don''t you think?" Obsidian chuckled, raising his hands in surrender.


    Nix''s eyes grew twice in size to Obsidian''s words, he couldn''t believe there would be someone who could catch him in the act.


    ''If he is here that means the rest would be here in a matter of¨C''


    Obsidian noticed the conflicted look on Nix''s face and smiled, he could rightly guess what could bring about that horror-stricken face of his.


    "They are safely trapped in my ck sphere, there''s no way of theming out anytime soon. You should know how authentic that is." Obsidian chuckled, shaking his head at how well Nix was bad at hiding this secret.


    He had always known there was something strange about Nix, but not something as powerful as a dragon stored inside of him¨Cthat was trapping the impossible.


    Looking behind the boulder in his stead, Obsidian chuckled at how well the dragon was holding off the creature he had seen grow in size.


    "How long do you think you can keep this secret?" Obsidian wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.


    Nix grimaced at the facial expression, not too pleased that he had been caught in the act.


    "I don''t think, I do," Nix replied with a roll of his eyes.


    "Sure looks like you do," Obsidian replied sarcastically, turning his attention back to the duel between the two creatures.


    "Woah!" Obsidian hid behind the boulder, narrowly avoiding the mes from the dragon.


    "That''s some firepower he got there." He chuckled as he turned his attention back to Nix.


    "Why are you here?" Nix questioned with a frown and narrowed his eyes at him. As much as he was d that the person who had found this secretive part of him was Obsidian, he wanted to know why he was followed even when he had ordered otherwise.


    "Surely you should be d it''s your trustee friend." Obsidian pointed to himself, grinning from ear to ear.


    Narrowing his eyes even further at the sort of response, he didn''t look pleased with it all. "I need an answer."

 Chapter 206 I Can Freely Kill Him?

    Shaking his head to the words, Obsidian''s grin only seemed to widen at the displeased expression on Nix''s face.


    "Does my presence bother you, o chosen one?" He taunted with pursed lips.


    "..."


    "Fine, fine!" Obsidian felt pressure by the continuous stare his way, "I couldn''t let you face whatever you were going to meet with your body condition just because of that jerk."


    Nix nodded his head, urging him to continue with his exnation.


    "Well, it turns out I''m here and pretty useless." He chuckled at the trembling floor that was caused by the colossal creatures.


    Nix hummed to the exnation, it was usible enough for him to go with and the fact that he had taken the news of a dragon in possession of someone quite well, put him at ease.


    Offering his hand to Obsidian with a smile. "You speak about what you saw to anyone including the team, I might consider you a snack for Raiken."


    [1000 points gained]


    "Raiken, huh?" Obsidian repeated with a chuckle while he took Nix''s hand.


    "Did it tell you its name or did you name it?" Obsidian said in a squeaky voice whileughing.


    "He named himself, but I guess I''m not the only one who thinks that was a little rude." Nix snorted, folding his arms as he used his brows to direct Obsidian''s attention behind him.


    Rrrrf!


    A puff of steam blew forward Obsidian''s hair alerting him of the presence of the dragon behind him.


    "It''s behind me, right?" Obsidian''s teeth chattered, refusing to look behind him.


    Nix had an evil smile at the confirmation. "I won''t be responsible for any loose ends. He personally loves tweaked humans." He snickered.


    Obsidian gulped, closing his eyes. This was the first time his instinct had programmed fear so vividly and the feeling was overwhelming. He had known Nix had something strange within, but not this intimidating creature.


    "You must be joking." Obsidian chuckled, refusing to believe what he was told.


    <Should I kill him? He dares question my name?> Raiken looked to Nix for permission.


    "Apologize little Sid." Nix taunted, feeling over the top with the threat.


    Obsidian bit down on his lips, reluctant to go through with the words.


    The movements of Raiken caused the ground to tremble. He searched for the right ce to restfortably and await the right apology from Obsidian.


    <Is this the little feral that you spoke of?> Raiken sneered at Obsidian.


    Nix shook his head, he had spoken about Lank to him, Obsidian was just a recruit that still had appeared just after his system went MIA.


    He had been so preupied with his troubles with his system that he had forgotten that he had summons he could still talk to nor was there anything that could trigger their presence in his subconscious.


    ''He''s a recruit that''s still learning the ropes and the only one who knows of your existence.'' Nix replied.


    <That means I can freely kill him??> Raiken snickered, showing his ws and itching to stab Obsidian with it.


    Nix grimaced, he couldn''t still believe the sort of dragon he had tamed. All it knew were a few words with a vocabry consisting majorly of ''kill''.


    This made him wonder if that was all that went through Raiken''s mind when he was still an untamed beast.


    ''Do you just wish to kill everything in your path?'' Nix questioned with his eyebrows raised.


    <Yes, and the only thing I know how to do with joy!> Raiken deadpanned with his teeth ring in a grin.


    Obsidian opened his eyes and felt another strange thing about Nix, he wasn''t speaking, but merely looking over him and preferably Raiken.


    ''What the hell is this? Are they trulymunicating?'' He gaped in shock and confusion.


    Nix realized that Obsidian had finally opened his eyes and was liable to face the wrath of Raiken if he didn''t step in.


    "Little Sid it would be best to speak up or face my lovely pet''s wrath, you hurt his feelings." Nix wiggled his brows as he enjoyed every bit of the taunt.


    Unable to keep his calm any longer, Raiken picked up obsidian with the tip of his ws, raining him several feet off the ground.


    "Nix, tell it to drop me this instant of I''ll¨C"


    "You''ll what?" Nix interjected with a smirk.


    Obsidian''s lips drew into a thin line, he was forced to the edge, if he were to be the first to attack, that could spell instant doom for himself.


    Instantly switching to a passive mode, he whimpered, giving big puppy dog eyes, batting hisshes and hoping to appeal to him somehow¨Cif he was happy, maybe Raiken would release him.<sub> </sub>


    "As much as that almost touched my heart, Sid. All Raiken wants is an apology if you''d be willing before you''re dead." Nic whispered, wiggling his brows.


    "Oh, I forgot to mention." Nix ced the back of his palm to the corner of his lips as he continued to speak, "he holds a big grudge and it is territorial and here happens to be his territory."


    Obsidian''s eyes widened to the information, as a feral, he knew the significance of territory. If he had mistakenly threaded the dragon''s territory, it was only a matter of time before he would be ripped apart when he didn''t go along with what was told.


    Raiken shook Obsidian''s body and took him for a spin like a child would do for a toy.


    Obsidian vision began to double because of the action, yelling, and thrashing about in response.


    "Let me go!" He yelled in a plea.


    Nix shook his head, tired of exining what he needed to do to make that a reality.


    Raiken had the sudden urge of eating his y toy and slowly brought him down. His mouth opened, showing his jagged bloody teeth.


    Nix''s eyes darted to the blood on his teeth, he had merely thought the Zeen disappeared or blew up, but from what he could see it looked more like it was eaten by Raiken.


    "Sid, I think it''s time to reconsider your actions, we have no time for this. We need to get back to hell." Heughed, impatient in returning to his room.


    Raiken tossed him upwards and caught him by the leg, making Obsidian stare at a closed distance¨Cinside Raiken''s mouth.


    ''No... No... No... I can''t be food for a creature, I''m the one who devours and not the other way around.'' He hissed in regret.


    Left with no choice, he yelled in a loud voice, "I... I am sorry! Your name is awesome and I was wrong."


    Immediately he let out those words, he felt embarrassment wash over him and his skin turned a deep shade of red.


    "Ooo! Looks like someone is burning with embarrassment." Nix taunted with pouty lips.


    Obsidian narrowed his eyes wondering why he was still held upside down. He had apologized, it was only fair he should be let down.


    "Hello?!" Obsidian hissed, pointing down at the still opened mouth of Raiken with him still dangling the only thing holding him back from falling was the grip on his ankles by the dragon.


    <Should I still go ahead with what I had nned?> Raiken''s enthusiastic voice resonated in Nix''s thoughts.


    ''F*ck no! He apologized." Nix vehemently dismissed his words.


    "Raiken, let him down," Nix spoke slowly, hoping this wouldn''t backfire.


    Raiken snorted, refusing to listen, lowering Obsidian toward his mouth.


    "What the hell!!! F*ck you Nix, you said all I needed was to apologize to it, why am I still lowered like food?" He struggled for his freedom but failed with every sh he made when he was able to get to its ws holding him.


    Nic frowned, taking the sight he saw as a test of his faith in Raiken. ''He can''t eat him.''


    Letting go of Obsidian, he watched as he yelled in horror as he was falling in the direction of his mouth.


    Quickly shutting his mouth, he turned around and pped Obsidian away with his tail onto a boulder.


    His body outlined the rock and tiny cracks spread out in its wake.


    Bam!


    "Oof!" Nix winced at the sight, closed one of his eyes, and refused to stare in Obsidian''s direction.


    Dropping to the floor, Obsidiany on the floor with a groan, trying to push himself back up.


    <Hahahaha!> Raiken snickered in mischief, happy with his actions.


    Nix shook his head, feeling that his services weren''t needed anymore, he canceled the summon.


    <Noooo!> Raiken roared in protest, using thest ounce of his strength to crawl towards Nix.


    His w had scraped the ground that was a few inches before Nix''s location and then a cloud of ck smoke erupted in its wake.


    <You sneaky little human!> Raiken sneered, angered he was sent back into Nix''s subconscious.


    <Wee back, elder> Red taunted his fellow dragon.


    Nixughed at the little tantrum Raiken made. ''There''s no way you''reing out after what you did to my friend.''


    <Hmph! He deserved what wasing>


    Rushing over to Obsidian, he offered a hand for the second time. "I''m sorry for the circus y, but we need to head back. I''m done with this ce!"

 Chapter 207 Hes Missing

    Bam!


    Bam!


    "Let us out of here, you beast!" Zephyr yelled in rage.


    They had been in the ck sphere for who knows when.


    The thick ck fog inside the sphere made it impossible for them to know where the other was, so to avoid any casualties, they sat and hoped to be let out sooner orter when Nix or the originator of the act arrived.


    Bam!


    "Would you cut it out?" Lankzily snapped. "You''re starting to piss me off."


    What they faced wasn''t something new to him or Solis, they knew how futile it was to go against the strange sphere.


    All he majorly cared about was the reason for their enclosure by Obsidian.


    ''He isn''t like that,'' Lank shook his head in denial.


    "I''m starting to piss you off?" Zephyr barked, pointing in the direction of the voice. "At least I''m trying to get us out of here!"


    He had not heard a word from Solis but knew he could hear him somehow. "What the heck is the perk of your magic anyways if you can''t fight darkness?!"


    It felt all too good to point an using finger at someone, anyone who could have done something to prevent the current situation they were in.


    He had warned them all of trusting Obsidian, but they wouldn''t listen, it felt tempting to rub their failure in their faces, andugh at them while at it.


    "Shut the f*ck up!" Solis hissed in response, unable to take the me for what had happened and his inability to get them out of the forcefield.


    This wasn''t just some regr magic that could be tamed with light, nor was it even magic at all.


    "You criticize me for not being able to use my ability on this." Solis continued, that he was done being a pushover because of his bright personality¨Cthose who deserved such an attitude would be the only ones to witness his carefree behavior.


    Zephyr on the other hand had struck a chord that ached his heart when he hit on a delicate topic.


    "Do you have any magic to get us back so I can see my sister, my friends? Could you hold your lot against the very person you call a beast?" Solis yelled back with equal force.


    "..."


    The space fell quiet and Solis shook his head at how hypocritical Zephyr was.


    "We should have left Obsidian in your care, not bothered to save a useless piece of trash as you are, maybe Nix wouldn''t have gone to risk his life." Solis spat, wishing they had some form of light so he could visibly see all of them.


    Lank''s cheeks puffed up with air, it would be the first time he would see Solis so riled up by another''s words. It was almost unreal to watch Solissh out so well at Zephyr so much to shut him up in his tracks.


    They needed a way out of here before the two eventually felt provoked enough to feel the need to sort the other out and attack.


    ''I don''t want to be here and in the middle of the crossfire.'' Lank sweat dripped onto his navy green skinny cargo jeans.


    Tfff!


    Pop!


    The popping sound made them all grimace before opening theirs to see they were finally free.


    Lank got excited by his ability to see his surroundings, he had wanted to call on them so they could share in his joy but immediately shut his lips as the heated res flew in two directions¨Cat Zephyr from Solis and vice versa.


    Rolling his eyes, he decided to concentrate more on how they had been freed.


    "Aahh!" Lank yelped in shock by the sudden appearance of Obsidian behind him.


    "Hello!" Obsidian said in an upbeat voice, chuckling right after.


    Bam!


    Lank instinctively punched Obsidian in the face and instantly regretted his action.


    Obsidian had his face forced to the side, a look of shock and disbelief on his face.


    Nix burst outughing at the scene. Obsidian had enough of smacking for one day and this wasn''t what he had nned.


    Even though he regretted his action, there was no way he was apologizing to the person that had trapped them.


    "Serves you right." Lank harrumphed.


    Nix looked over to the two who were still ring at each other and oblivious to their presence.


    Obsidian clenched his fist and exhaled so he would calm his thoughts.


    "What''s up with those two?" Nix pointed out Zephyr and Solis. "What pissed off Solis?"


    Lank looked behind him, shaking his head. That was another chapter he wished he couldn''t read to them.


    "Care to figure it out yourself?" Lank let out a sigh while he facepalmed.


    Nix walked toward the two. "Solis?" He began, hoping to get his attention.


    Whipping his head to the call of his name, his jaw dropped at the sight of Nix.


    Jumping onto him, he held Nix''s neck tightly. "You''re back!!"


    Nix choked on the hold on him. "Leh gow!"


    He wondered why Lank had not reacted in such a way to him, instead, it was Solis that acted strangely.<sub> </sub>


    Whispering into his ears, "beware of that jerk!"


    All the while he said those words, he put on a forced smile, speaking through his teeth while he tried to maintain the bnce in his facial expression.


    Pulling away from Nix, he maintained the smile he had and stared hopefully at him.


    "Zephyr," Nix spoke calmly and calcted his words as he conversed with his disguised ex-friend.


    Zephyr rolled his eyes but said nothing more in response.


    "Feeling okay?" Nix questioned vaguely, hoping his action in the grasnd had some sort of effect like he had nned.


    Zephyr examined his hands, legs, and his hands on his face and pulled lightly on his cheeks. "Nah, nothing other than the usual."


    Nix facepalmed at the answer. He had expected the dimwit to understand what he meant, but he was wrong¨Che was as dumb as a fish.


    "I have one question for you smartass." Nix shook his head, having to converse with Zephyr personally again.


    "Have you felt that something was different about you recently?"


    Zephyr looked at his palm, clenching and unclenching them. "Not really."


    ''No wonder you couldn''t notice that even your acquired ability was taken from you. How stupid!'' Nix deadpanned in his thoughts, giving a poker face.


    "Why don''t you do a test drive on your magic?" Nix said through gritted teeth.


    Taking a defensive stance and thinking about the area of choice, he teleported out from his current location. Reappeared by Obsidian''s side and punched him in the face.


    Obsidian growled in response to the slight pain he received from that magic-augmented punch.


    "There goes another one," Lank muttered, shaking his head and hoping Zephyr would get away with it.


    "You''re pushing it peekaboo!" Obsidian sneered, keeping his cool as they needed him to get back.


    Raising his chin in pride, Zephyr blew on his nails. "Not as much as the death sentence I had almost gotten for being ''useless'' like you had said."


    Obsidian''s nose scrunched up in a suppressed rage, narrowing his eyes.


    Nix''s lips drew into a thin line, he had hoped to be asked what he had done to make it a reality, but the disappointment that washed over him was insurmountable.


    "Let''s just get out of here, self-conceited fool." Nix snapped. "Before you suddenly be useless again."


    Zephyr raised a brow at Nix''s words, he knew he must have had something to do with him regaining his magic. On the other hand, he couldn''t bring himself to thank him.


    "Fine," Zephyr replied.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In the organization¨CMr. Zhao''s room,


    Mr. Zhao hummed to a melody as he flipped through a book while he leaned in on his fluffy purple pillow.


    Zip!


    Zip!


    Two males who are identified as collectors made their appearance in his room.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    He hit his chest and quickly hid his purple pillow behind the other ck and white pillows.


    "What the heck are you doing in here?!" He hissed, looking around his room.


    The high windows enclosed by ck veils allowed only a little bit of luminous light in.


    He wondered how they had happened to enter his room.


    "We bring some news to you." One of the collectors announced with his voice cold and calm.


    Raising his brows to their words, he cleared his throat, signaling they could continue with their report.


    "Gaviel is missing." The other replied almost instantly. "It''s been three days till now."


    Flinging his book away in shock, he punched a hole right through his bed.


    "How is that possible?!" He growled. The corner of his lips twitched uncontrobly.


    The collectors walked towards the window, pushing away the veil to allow more luminous light in.


    They had their hands behind them as they stared out.


    "Have you forgotten he doesn''t have the medal on him anymore?" One of them snapped, cing his hand on the window sill.


    ws protracted and he scratched down the ss. "A mistake had drawn the attention of our master."


    Mr. Zhao''s eyes widened to be news, his chest-thumping loudly as he anticipated their next action.


    They turned around and towards Mr. Zhao, a devilish smirk on their lips and their eyes glowing as they approached.

 Chapter 208 This Should Be Fun

    "I can prove my innocence!" Mr. Zhao yelled, taking a defensive stance against them.


    "You would need to get past us before you get the chance to do that." They both replied in unison.


    ''Damnit! How did I get tangled in this?'' Mr. Zhao frowned, taking a step back.


    The collectors were almost invincible due to a special secret about them¨Cbeing an undead created by some of the talented magic or gift users.


    They were difficult to kill as they were already dead and biologically manipted and experimented on by a team of scientists headed by Sesa.


    These collectors made use of their peak ability with little to no use of energy, which meant that they packed a punch without even trying.


    Their only form of weakness was certain abilities that could be found in the ferals and rare gift users.


    "You have things confused with the wrong person." Mr. Zhao tried to reason.


    Even though he was trying to go against them, there was a limit to what he could take¨Ctwo collectors weren''t so much part of the deal that he envisioned.


    "That''s left for you to convince our master..." The collector to the leftbed through his pristine white hair with his ws, a smirk ever-present.


    "....if you can survive." The other snickered in mischief.


    Boom!


    Mr. Zhao gasped at the appearance of the recruits, Zephyr and Obsidian in his room.


    Nix boldly stepped forward as he stared down at the two odd-looking males, they looked more like agents in a secret agency than they are meant to in a fantasy world.


    ''How the hell did Arkai give birth to you two abominations?'' He wondered in his thoughts about the strange characters that exist in Arkai.


    The strangeness only led to diversity, with a minute poption of the citizens of Arkai known to him as his creations.


    "Step away fire ranker." The male on the left sneered, his yellow eyes glowing underneath the shades covering his eyes.


    ''Fire ranker? Again? I have a f*cking name!!'' Nix''s irritation with the word only triggered his anger issues with the choice of words.


    "Nix leave, this is a personal issue that I don''t want interference." Mr. Zhao cut in when he noticed the heated res between the two.


    If they were to fight, he was certain that they would trash his room before he could point a finger at the culprit.


    Nix looked behind him, confused and his temperament rising with the lying bastard who needs their help.


    Obsidian took a stance beside Nix, ready to join him in fending off these weird males that he had nevere across since his time in the organization.


    A sharp pain coursed through Nix''s head, "ahhhh!" He suppressed the groan with his teeth closed, holding his head.<sub> </sub>


    From behind, Lank also groaned in pain as the same feeling rocked his entire body.


    "What''s going on?" Solis questioned, stabilizing Lank firmly in ce.


    After a short while, the pain disappeared as it came. In its ce left Nix and Lank enlightened.


    The sharp pain that had coursed through their body was nothing more than the memories of Mr. Gaviel forcing its information on them, making them understand just a bit of what these collectors had done in the academy.


    Nix shook his head, realizing the pictorial description in his head which showed the identical pristine white hair and sharp, well-kept, creased ck suits with ck socks and gold rolled handkerchiefs in their pockets.


    Lank''s eyes stared at the wingtip shoes, there was no mistaking what he had seen.


    They were the very people who had attacked Fae and brought about such an injury back at the infirmary.


    Without giving it much thought, his fangs grew in size, red eyes gleaming with rage, and ws bared as he leaped to attack in a blind rage.


    "I knew I wasn''t crazy!" He spat, making a sh at the one with ws simr to his.


    The reaction time for the collector was a second too early and allowed him to quickly sidestep, evading the sh that was aimed at his throat.


    "No, no, no!!! No one fights in my room!" Mr. Zhao yelled even though the two in question couldn''t care less about his opinion.


    "Zephyr! Teleport us all out of here and into the arena, now!" He yelled at Zephyr at the top of his lungs.


    Zephyr jumped up to the intensity and urgency the words had on him. d that he had been given another bit of the original host''s memory just by the mere word and intensity.


    He could remember the real Zephyr going head-on with Obsidian in an arena, it looked like they were on to serious business, and looked like a killing intent had been the motivating force for such a scene to y out.


    With just that brief preview that shed through his thoughts, he picked on the arena''s location.


    "Sir, I would like to object and not be a part of this madness." Solis protested, wishing not to be known with them, the only person in mind being Luna.


    He needed to be with his sister, the suspense was killing him. Thinking things through, he had just gotten back to the organization, he was just a few minutes close to returning to his sister.


    Zephyr picked on what he heard from Solis, he had noticed that Mr. Zhao was having a rethink about his decision on forcing everyone along.


    ''Ohoho, where do you think you''re running off to?!'' Zephyr grinned at the mischievous thoughts going on in his head.


    "Solis," Zephyr called in a loud voice, " I hope you shine some light on this as you''re about to jump into darkness!"


    Solis'' shoulders and eyes widened to Zephyr''s words, he had wanted to dash out the way to the exit but was toote as Zephyr had activated his ability.


    ''This should be fun.'' Zephyr''s voice lingered in the room moments before he teleported them all to the arena.

 Chapter 209 Terminate The Threat

    At the arena,


    ''What the heck is this ce?!'' Solis sneered, blinking several times before he adjusted to the dimly lit arena, slipping on some sort of armor and falling to his bottom.


    Lights flickered on automatically to the presence of a moving life force.


    They all shielded their eyes except Solis, this was the right kind of light he needed to observe his surroundings more.


    He frowned at the first thing that caught his attention¨Ctree life.


    The forest is littered with wounded fighters, bodies, and destruction. Red, khaki, and ck are the new colors of what was once a serene, luscious forest, which has now be the stage of a terrible duel.


    He instinctively pushed back to the shocking sight. His hand touched a cold substance.


    Gulp!


    His teeth chattered, internally making up for what he could have touched. In a quick hand movement, he brought it towards his face and the crimson color that dripped from his hands propelled him to open his mouth and was about to scream when Nix''s handtched over them just in time.


    "No..." Nix shook his head in disapproval. They didn''t know for sure what was in store for them in the weird ce.


    Unable to tell if this was part of the organization, he pulled Solis up.


    The air which would normally carry the sounds of arge waterfall, small rivers, and nature''s wildlife is now thick with the stench of blood, gore, and death, enough to destroy whatever courage is left in the survivors'' thoughts.


    ''This is just a simtion.'' Nix continuously repeated in his thoughts what he was witnessing.


    He could only think of it as a simtion due to the simrities it had with the training course he had with Lumina in their room.


    ng!


    Whoosh!


    sh!


    This sound of uninterrupted battle ensued behind Nix. He noticed Solis'' eyes grew to the scene in front of him.


    Turning his back to where the sound wasing from, he facepalmed on how ballistic Lank had gone on with the collector.


    ''Not so docile I see.'' Nix observed, shaking his head and letting out a sigh.


    Shoving his hands in his pockets, he looked over at the other male who had not made any attempt to fight but rather watched their every move.


    The growling sound of Obsidian as he prepared to engage if given the right incentive as Lank.


    Mr. Zhao took a reluctant step back, wary of the collector''s calm demeanor toward their standing figures.


    "We don''t know why you were chosen to be our master''s pawn, but until you atone for your transgressions..." The collector paused, pulling down his shades to reveal the burning yellow gaze of the face behind it.


    ''The same bullshit talk about this mysterious master!'' Nix rolled his eyes at the collector''s words.


    Mr. Zhao gasped not due to fear of what the collector could do to him nor why he had let out the word ''master'' in front of the others.


    Instead, his panic stemmed from the thought of Nix recognizing the simrities this male had with Lumina.


    Nix''s body stiffened in shock at the slight resemnce this male had to Lumina.


    ''I must be seeing or imagining pretty face''s eyes even on a male now.'' He smacked his head, hoping to recover the real picture of the male in question.


    Blinking he stared again, but the more he looked, the more his suspicion grew, the only difference would be the eye and hair color.


    ''That can''t be right.'' Nix took a step back in shock and disbelief.<sub> </sub>


    He could recall Lumina actively describing her brother to him a couple of weeks ago, coupled with the fact that Lank had made mention of thest piece of information from Fae to her.


    His head whipped to Mr. Zhao whose eyes bulged, he looked more like he was trying to hide a secret with the hope of no one finding out.


    Calming his facial expression hid his emotion well from Mr. Zhao when he was stylishly observed by their teacher.


    He seemed more concerned about Nix''s expression than that of the male ring daggers at him.


    He tried to piece all of the information he had gotten, with a huge chunk of it springing from Mr. Gaviel''s shared memory.


    Pushing back his hair, he internally screamed in frustration, visibly disturbed that Mr. Zhao refused to take his gaze away from him.


    ''What''s your problem, old man? Why are you trying to gauge my expression so badly?'' Nix snapped, pretending not to be aware of such a gaze.


    [Would you like to scan for simr facial recognition?]


    Nix stared at the screen and forced a cough, turning around.


    ''What the f*ck, you can do that?!'' Nix hissed in excitement.


    This made him feel more like he was in an iron suit and talking to a supeputer that could perform a highly ssified unauthorized scan on people''s lives with just their faces.


    It was unbelievable that the system would ask him such a question, ''heck yeah I would!''


    Beep!


    [Scanning....]


    [Loading... 69%]


    [Loading... 85%... 92%... 100%]


    Ding!


    [Face identified: Ian Han]


    [Status: Dead]


    Nix stared at the user interface for a while, shocked by the name and its meaning.


    ''How the heck is this person standing here?'' His head throbbed to the frustrating information.


    How could someone who is confirmed dead by his system, walking and talking/threatening like an average living, breathing human?!!!


    This only made him feel the need to seek out Fae, she had known something that had made Ian specifically attack her.


    ''Fae was right! Ian is alive¨Csorta.'' He hyperventted, stiffly turning back to the said collector.


    Nix''s lips curved in a smile, he had valuable information he could use to trap Mr. Zhao when the time was right.


    All that was needed was to y his cards right and act oblivious to this new information, yet cautious of the action of someone that was the organization''s favorite and a person who Lumina had looked up to, and gotten her gift from.


    Ian raised a brow at Nix, sensing something strangeing off him.


    Whoosh!


    Dashing at top speed, he bypassed all who had taken a defensive stance against him with one aim in mind, ''terminate the threat.''

 Chapter 210 When The Cats Out, The Mouse Shall Play

    Boom!


    A cloud of smoke erupted andrge rocks rose in the air.


    Solis'' mouth gaped open in shock, "what the hell is this? A death battle?!"


    They had, on one hand, Lank kicking it off with the first collector and another attacking Nix.


    Obsidian growled, angered by the fact that he needed to protect the others and not engage unless provoked.


    Zephyr teleported to the far end of the arena, hiding behind some makeshift shield he had made from the prop bonesying on the floor.


    He wasn''t going to be a target of those two psychos and he was going to make sure of it.


    Nix had his hand crossed over his face, blocking his augmented punch of Ian.


    "I see..." Ian snickered, ripping off his shirt to reveal stitch marks running down from his corbone to his chest.


    Nix scrunched up his lips in disgust, it looked more like a Frankenstein experiment gone wrong. The stitch marks glowed.


    "You survived that punch, but you are still a weak fire ranker." Ian spat, wiping the corner of his lips.


    Bringing his hands up and towards his face as he took an L-stance. Currents traveled from his chest and to his fist.


    ''How the hell is this possible? He still has a bit of his lightning ability?!'' Nix did a double-take on the sight.


    Lumina was still alive and used her gift as every other gift users do¨Cif not better, so how could Ian still possess lightning?


    Mr. Zhao facepalmed, hoping with all his being that Nix knew nothing about the other rare gifts that he had mentioned back in the academy.


    Nix exhaled, this wasn''t a problem for him. He had always tried not to use his gift while the teachers or students he wasn''tfortable with were, but given the situation, he would have to get a little bit serious.


    ? "I don''t want to kill you," he spoke to Ian, trying to throw off Mr. Zhao from his trail.


    There was no reason to make him suspicious of anything¨Cfor the time being.


    "Kill me? That isn''t a problem for a weak¨C"


    Bam!


    Ian felt a punch to his face, forcing it to the left. Bulging veins made their way to his forehead at the disrespect he felt by such an action.


    "How did you do that?" Ian snarled.


    ''That''s the ability of a telekic user, Ianstein! Not that anyone would notice if it''s subtle.'' Nix exins in his thoughts.


    He could see Obsidian''s lips raised in a smirk, he was sure his feral instinct was kicking in.


    It was almost as if Obsidian could tell it was yet another secret of his, it was only a matter of time before he would be raided with questions.


    "Admit it, I''m not so weak as your dead brain perceives things." He mocked.


    If Ian was a creature, he would have wasted no time in destroying the filthy trash before him, but the fact that he was the brother of Lumina made things a lot worse.


    ''Lumina needs to see him one way or another. Until then, he needs to be alive.'' Nix deduced.


    "Zephyr!" Nix yelled, calling the attention of the coward hiding.


    Zephyr refused to answer, instead of closing his ears to the words. It was not his fight, nor did he wish to get involved.


    "Either you teleport your sorry ass, Solis, and gramps out of here or so help me when Ie after you when I''m done with this loser." Nix hissed, thinking of the things he could legally do to Drui while they were forced into the arena.


    "Gramps?" Mr. Zhao protested angrily, displeased by the demoralization.


    Zzzt!


    Nix sidestepped, understanding hero logic couldn''t apply in this world¨Cthe bad guys don''t wait for one to make some sort of over-borate n.


    Whoosh!


    Bam!


    The two pushed back and did a flip as Ian chuckled at how well Nix had deflected his power. He couldn''t understand how but that wouldn''t stop him from taking care of the threat.


    Nix shook his head, he had developed a way to counter Lumina''s gift by coating himself with ayer of his telekic field, this way, he could move at will and still be protected.


    ''Thank pretty face for this new method.'' Nix raised his chin in satisfaction.


    "Master would be pleased with your sacrifice!" He hissed, charging himself once again.<sub> </sub>


    "Zephyr!!!" Nix yelled, angered by the fact that he stood still watching them as the rest three did.


    There was no way he would sit by and watch Solis get killed in the crossfire. Mr. Zhao doesn''t deserve to be killed by anyone but him and he was sure to make that a reality.


    Zephyr on the other hand could die for all he could care for, right after he had teleported his friend out of the arena¨Cthere must be another way out of the arena afterward.


    Acting quickly, Zephyr got to his feet, rushing towards Solis and Mr. Zhao. "We need to leave, now!"


    Solis nodded his head, understanding the urgency of what was demanded of Zephyr. This was the perfect opportunity for him to leave all the crazy that had happened during the space mission day.


    ''I could meet my sister now.'' He heaved a sigh of relief.


    Reluctantly, Mr. Zhao stepped forward. He wasn''t all too happy to leave the heated duel between the two prodigies, but that would give him ample time to escape from the clutches of these two unpredictable collectors¨Cmeeting and pleading his case with his master.


    Zzzt!


    "Watch out!" Solis yelled out, pushing Zephyr away just in time to prevent him from sustaining a lightning strike from the sky called down by Ian.


    Ian had a devilish smirk on his lips, d he could get their attention and foil their ns temporarily. "No one goes anywhere."


    Nix gritted his teeth, angered that Zephyr had not listened to him earlier when they still had a chance at an escape.


    "Especially you, Zhao!" Ian pointed at the trembling Zhao who stood frozen, this was his favorite student at the time, he had taught him almost all that he knew¨Cbut he had developed a special technique even though he feared the oue.


    The lightning strike was just one of such techniques that could be as deadly as being struck by a thousand volts in a second.


    He needed out if he was going to survive any of this in one day.


    "Nix, you need to distract him, he needs to be distracted to have a divided mind and confuse him."


    "How about we switch ces Mr. Zhao, I distract him, while you hold him off in the process." Nix snapped before he was kicked several feet away.


    Obsidian growled, tired of watching things y out without doing anything.


    "I can do it," Obsidian offered with a grin.


    Jumping into action, he ced his hands on the floor and gave a spiral kick at Ian, stunning him momentarily.


    "Now!" Obsidian yelled at Zephyr, "if you ck off, you''re next!"


    Zephyr crawled towards the two, scared of the double threat he faced if he didn''t carry out what was being said.


    Holding onto Solis and Mr. Zhao''s hands, he teleported out of the arena.


    Nix forced himself up, punching the floor. He could only me Zephyr for not leaving earlier, the one person he dreaded seeing him use his ability was present.


    "Stupid!" He growled, getting to his feet.


    Now that the cat was out of the equation, it was time for the mouse to y.


    Obsidian made a sh at Ian but was caught unawares by the lightning redirection Ian had put in ce.


    "Ahhh!" Obsidian yelled with a groan, his body shook to the jolt of electricity. Inadvertently dropping to the ground with a thud.


    "Obsidian!!" Nix yelled in concern.


    His eyes glowed as a newfound rage engulfed him.


    "He was weak, no wonder you needed help," Ian scoffed, walking slowly towards Nix like a predator to prey.


    A sibling or not, he couldn''t care less what this reanimated character felt, he was going to pay for what he had done.


    Not having enough fun with what he had said, he only continued, "you all tend to help one another when you''re weak."


    Looking behind him, he could see Lank getting overpowered by his counterpart¨Che had sat on him, a wide grin on his lips.


    The only thing preventing him from making a final sh and giving a deadly injury was Lank holding onto his wed hand and pushing it back from his face.


    "Yield!" He growled at Lank.


    "Looks like someone is having it tough as you would be soon enough." Ian snickered.


    Sprinting forward, Ian dashed up a nk thatid on the numerous skeletons as a propeller. Jumping and shooting out the current from his fist.


    pping away the lightning-like it was a broomstick shot at him. "You call that lightning inparison to Lumina?!"


    "Pathetic!" Nix''s body was covered with a blue aura as he stood his ground and flick his fingers edging Ian on, awaiting the approach of Ian.

 Chapter 211 Well See Who Dies Now

    Gritting his teeth, Ian sprinted forward with great speed towards Nix.


    With a fluid-like movement of his hands around him, he created rings of lightning around him.


    Whoosh!


    Nix looked over at Lank, he was still in a critical position and might not survive the struggle going on between him and the other collector.


    ''Lank, I''ll be there to help in a moment, after I deal with my friend over here.'' Nix let out a sigh, shaking his head.


    He watched as Ian''s hand got closer to his face, the lightning springing out came out in slow movements that caused Nix to tilt his head to the side.


    He wondered why Ian''s movement slowed to him.


    Sidestepping, he ducked under the spiral rings of lightning.


    Making a quick 180¡ã turn, he gave a kick on the back of Ian.


    At that moment the whole surrounding area elerated and returned to the way it is.


    Propelling Ian forward, he skidded across the arena, his lightning dispersed upon a hard contact with the ground.


    Ian''s body trembled as he tried to force himself up, coughing out blood from his lips.


    "Who would have thought that you could bleed?" Nix''s cold voice could be heard from behind Ian.


    Looking over his shoulder, his hair falling on his face. He heaved heavily with a re at Nix''s approaching figure.


    The swift way in which Nix had countered his attack scared the hell out of him, no one apart from his master could easily evade his attack.


    Yet the inexperienced fire ranker had swiftly done so. This didn''t feel normal at all.


    "No witty remarks?!" Nix hissed in irritation at how pathetic Ian looked.


    Even though he wasn''t going to kill him, he was sure as hell going to make him pay for hurting his friend. Until there could be a way of allowing Lumina to see to what extent her dead brother had fallen, he would let him off with a mark.


    [Gift: fire in effect]


    [me sphere barrier]


    Ian yelled in rage as a ball of me covered the surrounding area around him. This was one of his weaknesses, the ever-burning me by a fire user was a bane to his fragile body that wasn''t suited for such a situation.


    Making sure that the mes burning intensified, he cut out ess to visibility from Ian''s viewpoint.


    Unable to hit on the barrier, he simply sat on the floor feeling dejected and useless.


    Nix had slipped in a bit of his passive gift around the mes to curtail its sparks.


    "Stay down for a while, I need to take care of your friend over there," Nix muttered.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    "Why don''t you just give up already?!" The collector spat at Lank, his ws an inch away from Lank''s eyeball.<sub> </sub>


    Lank''s chest thumped hard, he had regretted jumping in without thinking things through, now he had triggered a monster who had simr power to his.


    "Fat chance!" Lank snarled, holding his lot against him.


    The collector only grew angry at what Lank had said, he couldn''t believe a mere recruit could hold him off for this long.


    He had pushed downwards as he tried to gain a better advantage over the inexperienced feral.


    "You should have been powerful, you and your feral friend hold power that rivals most gift and magic users," he snapped, feeling angered that their talent had not been cultivated to its peak.


    "Still you both hold yourselves back and that would be a fatal mistake as you met the wrong opponent this time. Die and await unlocking the full potential of your ability!"


    Lank scrunched up his nose, his face in a twist of confusion at the nonsense he was listening to. As much as he was trying to get some information out of this crazy collector, none of it sounded smart to him.


    ''What the f*ck are you talking about?'' Lank cocked a brow at the deranged look on the collector, careful not to lose his guard while in a fire situation.


    "What was it about death?" Nix cut in, his strong hand on the collector''s shoulder as he gave a disturbing eye-shut smile.


    ''Ha! We''ll see who dies now!'' Lank had a smirk as he watched the collector be pulled off him like a piece of rag doll.


    Even though he was d about the timely arrival of Nix, he was also worried by the sort of aura that was seething off him¨Cthat was way too far gone.


    He could tell from the blue aura that outlined Nix''s body that it was far from over for the collector.


    Nix stood tall and cast a demeaning look at the collector. Without thinking much about the consequences of his actions, he activated his passive gift.


    [Passive gift: Telekic binding in effect]


    "You''re of no use to me." Nix sneered, his eyes gleaming coldly.


    Since he was of no use unlike Ian, he was free to use his gifts the way he pleased. They were all alone, devoid of the watchful eyes of the organization.


    ? If Obsidian could learn about the secret of his summons, he wasn''t going to hide this secret from Lank.


    Lank crawled back, shocked by the ability Nix was disying in front of him.


    ''What are you?'' He panicked, disturbed by the collector forced to his knees.


    He could see the collector struggle for freedom, but the crooked gesture of Nix''s fingers facing downwards only told of his undisputed hold on the collector.


    "Yield!" Nix said in a peal of crazedughter.


    Underneath the collector''s hands, the ground broke as they were forced into the ground. A w snapped and then broke off from his finger, ripping out the flesh along with it.


    "Aaagh!" The collector screamed in excruciating pain as he watched his index finger bleed.


    "Who do you think would be dead today?" Nix questioned, wanting him to plead for mercy.


    "You... just... got... lucky..." The collector forced the words out of his mouth.


    "Lucky?" Nix repeated as he crouched and pulled up the collector''s chin so they could stare into each other''s eyes, "I would love for you to repeat that."

 Chapter 212 Sleeping On The Job

    The collector''s eyes widened in fear at Nix''s glowing blue eyes. Stunned by such an action, he stared wide-eyed at Nix unable to speak.


    He suddenly felt his chin crease under the touch of Nix. "Uwah!"


    Nix shook his head to the reaction, he was expecting much more resistance to the clenching gesture he was making on his chin.


    "As an undead, you should be able to withstand pain. What''s that I hear?" Nix cupped the back of his ear, pretending he needed to hear his groans better.


    The collector''s body trembled at the words of Nix.


    There was no way he was meant to know of their kind, how could he know they were undead? Most importantly, what was the gift he was currently using? It wasn''t that of a fire ranker.


    "Don''t tell me you can''t talk." Heughed, crushing his windpipe.


    "Nnnghh!" A groan escaped from his lips. This was far too dangerous even for him to bear.


    He internally wished that he hadn''t gone against the fire ranker, he could only me himself for being too slow in killing Zhao.


    ''Please spare me.'' He internally begged, scared for his life that was doomed never to be brought back if he were to die again in the unfortunate situation.


    Nix watched as the collector''s mouth opened and closed, unable to speak out the words in his thoughts.


    Looking behind him and over to Lank, he had a devilish grin at his friend.


    Lank flinched, pushing himself back again and uncertain about what Nix nned on doing. He could recall he did say he had killed before, seeing him in a crazed outlook, he couldn''t help but agree with the notion.


    All he could be thankful for was the fact that he was on Nix''s side, which meant he couldn''t be a partaker of the scary demeanor of his friend.


    ''Do not piss him off in the future, got it!'' Lank sweatdropped and stared wide-eyed at Nix.


    Nix never said a word, not until he saw Lank''s scared eyes did he begin to have second thoughts.


    "Are you okay?" He whispered in worry, the glow in his eyes fading as his thoughts wavered, his hold on the collector loosening.


    The collector felt at ease, the pressure was no longer as forceful as in the first instance, and this was the right time to attack while his adversary was distracted.


    Lank nodded his head to Nix''s words, feeling the care of a once deranged friend. He had wanted to tell him to stop as they needed to simply subdue the collector and get the needed information from him.


    All that was diverted to warn Nix of the looming danger in front of him. "Nix, behind you!"


    Nix whipped his head to the said threat and ducked under the sh of the w from the collector.


    Snap!


    The collector yelled in pain as he watched his ws get ripped out in front of him.


    "Such an eyesore!" Nix sneered, his intent only intensifies as the collector tries to use an ounce of a chance to get at him.


    Nix held onto the collector''s white hair andughed, "if you were older, I would have postponed your imminent death like Mr. Zhao, but considering this is just an aesthetic..."


    Rip!


    "Ahhhh!" The collector let out an excruciating pain as strands of his hair were ripped out of his scalp, watching as Nix let go of his hair to the floor.


    Bam!<sub> </sub>


    Giving an uppercut, he had a grin as he watched the collector fly into the air.


    Activating his levitation, he chased after the collector, not giving him enough time to react or drop to the floor.


    Bam!


    He punched him in the stomach, causing the collector to pummel quickly to the ground.


    Boom!


    A cloud of smoke rose in the air in his wake.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    Lank hurriedly got to his feet, there was no way he could stay anymore and watch the show.


    He looked around for any sign of the others, finally understanding that he hadn''t paid attention to his surroundings.


    ''Where are you g¨C''


    Lank''s eyes were glued on an unconscious Obsidian. "Dude..."


    He rushed towards Obsidian in a hurry.


    p!


    "What the heck are you doing sleeping on the job?" Lank hissed, hoping to get through to Obsidian. Shaking him slightly to gain a response. "Wake up, you idiot!"


    Gasp!


    Obsidian instinctively pushed back on the hand that held his face. Giving a punch to Lank''s stomach.


    "Dude!" Lank eximed, holding his stomach and frowning.


    He could decide on which was better¨Cto leave Obsidian all on his own and suffer the brawl that might or might not get to his part of the arena or wake him so they could join forces and help Nix when the need arises but in the end, take a beating in the stomach.


    "What are you..." Obsidian muttered, staring at Lank in awe.


    Lank felt a sense of satisfaction from the way Obsidian looked at him. He suddenly felt special and superior. ''Yes I know, you feel sorry for hitting your savior but you just don''t know the way of we ferals that still know the human way of things.''


    "You''re alive?" Obsidian blurted out in a daze, he had not expected him to survive that duel with that amateurish move he did with the other collector.


    ''The collector!'' His thoughts jolted to the memory of the real threats.


    Lank''s lips were drawn into a thin line, this wasn''t the sort of response he was hoping to get with that sort of gaze, and felt it more like a p to his face at such words.


    His displeased furrowed brows and narrow eyes glued on a confused Obsidian who was looking around them as he was searching for something.


    "What''s the issue?" Lank asked, curious as to why Obsidian''s attention was divided.


    When Obsidian looked behind him, his attention was hooked by the sight. "Please tell me if you see what I''m looking at?" He pointed in the direction of the sphere of blue mes which continuously ovepped itself obscuring something from the outside, much like his dark sphere barrier.

 Chapter 213 Logic Behind A Little Task

    "What is that psycho nning?" Obsidian mumbled and shook his head.


    Not wanting to look vulnerable, he pushed himself off Lank. "Don''t take this the wrong way."


    "Aggh!"


    Obsidian''s head whipped in the direction of the sound. To his surprise, he watched Nix rip off the hand of the very collector that Lank had engaged with earlier.


    "So that''s how you were able to still breathe up until now." Obsidian deadpanned.


    "Hey! I did hold my lot for a good time." Lank protested.


    He knew how well Nix had helped him and was grateful for the opportunity, but getting the situation rubbed in his face, he didn''t feel all too pleased.


    "Mentor got some sort of secret weapon again?" Obsidian blurted out, tilting his head as he spoke.


    "Again?" Lank caught on to that word and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. There were more things he didn''t know about Nix that he suspected Obsidian knew about.


    Feeling he had let on more than he wanted to, Obsidian whistled lightly focusing his attention more on the gruesome duel. It was fun to finally see Nix go ballistic on something.


    "That freak of nature caught me unawares, but not anymore, now I can counter productively," Obsidian spoke to himself, nodding his head to the resolve.


    Bam!


    "How long have they been at it?" Obsidian questioned curiously, seeing the collector take a beating and countless little cuts from Nix.


    Nix''s attacks looked more like he was aiming not to quickly discard the collector, but slowly make him suffer.


    sh!


    His telekic wave creates a sharp cutting edge on the object of his choice.


    Lank''s jaw dropped at the cut sustained by the collector, there was no contact whatsoever and that scared him.


    "H... How the heck did he¨C"


    Obsidian chuckled at the new ability that was confirmed, not only could he summon the most powerful beast in all of Arkai, but could also use telekinesis with some dangerous techniques at will.


    "How the heck does he have another rare gift?" Lank hissed, hoping to get the answers from someone he thought would have direct information about the weird anomaly.


    Obsidian merely blinked as he knew the question was directed at him but there was no way he could answer that.


    "You''re asking the impossible." Obsidian finally responded. Clicking his tongue.


    "What happened to him, he looks..." Obsidian racked his thoughts for the right word to describe how Nix was as he went ballistic on the collector.


    Even he somewhat felt pity for the victim of Nix''s rage.


    "Crazed? Ruthless?" Lank suggested, wiggling his brows.


    Obsidian simply nodded to the words, what Nix was doing wasn''t in any way near normality.


    "That someone was on the verge of killing his friend," Lank replied proudly, secretly happy that this was done because he was in danger.


    He was sure that Obsidian would get the sense of what he meant by ''killing his friend''.


    Obsidian tilted his head and said, "I was about to be killed?"


    Dejection clouded in on Lank''s thinking, his brow twitched at how twisted Obsidian''s thinking was.


    "It was me, you idiot!" He said through gritted teeth.


    Rolling his eyes at Lank''s jealous attitude, he held a smirk, content with the fact that he had caused trouble in their little friendship.


    "How is it that you are the only one present and the others are..." Lank paused, hoping Obsidian should understand what he meant.


    "Since you were so preupied with your little rage fest, you had missed out on the fact that the weak and uninterested link had to be taken off," Obsidian said with augh.


    Pulling Lank to the side, they watched as an arm flew in their direction.


    "That''s never going to grow back," Obsidian said with the click of his tongue.


    "You think?" Lank hissed in reply.


    "How do you think the others are faring right now?" Lank continued, secretly wishing he was in their stead, gettingfortable in Gia''s arms.


    "Faring better than we are." Obsidian retorted.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In Mr. Zhao''s room,


    Whoosh!<sub> </sub>


    Reappearing in his room, Solis took a step back and away from Zephyr and Mr. Zhao.


    He stumbled on the right words to say to convey his thoughts to the two people he could consider strangers. "I... I... got to go."


    Mr. Zhao nodded his head, he had his hand on the wall to steady his footing. Never in his life had he been reminded of the fact that he could die at any moment while he worked for the organization.


    Solis dashed out without a second thought when given the chance.


    Immediately he was sure that Solis was far away, he cast a dark gaze on Zephyr.


    "What was that?" He snapped in irritation.


    Zephyr did a double-take, unsure of what this old man meant and why he was still lingering.


    Trying to ignore trouble, he walked towards the door but was disturbed when the door mmed in his face.


    "Automatic... don''t even bother teleporting, so long as the damping effect is present in my room, you shouldn''t have that privilege here." He had the corner of his lips raised in triumph.


    It was specifically because of Zephyr that certain doors were made so that they couldn''t be targeted by him while they were vulnerable.


    It was either they deactivate it or Zephyr finds another route out of there.


    Zephyr looked around, trying to make use of his ability, but was shocked that he was facing the same kind of mess that found himself in while they were in the ounds.


    "This is something you should be aware of." Mr. Zhao hissed, narrowing his eyes.


    He had tried so hard to keep the disdain he felt for his little breakthrough for falling out of favor. He had also wished that the team''s little mission would be theirst¨Che had made sure of it.


    Zephyr raised a brow at what was said, he knew what an automatic door was, but instead was troubled by how Mr. Zhao said those words. It felt as though he was trying to get a word out of him.


    "Is there anything I should be concerned about, sir?" Zephyr gave a slight bow, trying his best to stay in the good record of the person who seemed to have a hold on the others.


    Mr. Zhao had a wry smile on his face, "I do need to know how you managed to get your ability up and running again."


    Zephyr stared at the man who pretended to be interested in what he had to say.


    He had wanted to reply on how ignorant he was of that information as it was all thanks to Obsidian''s timely intervention in thwarting his n of getting first-hand information.


    Although he was sure that Nix was the cause of such, he began to calcte what had led up to the question but couldn''te up with one, the reason for mentioning it was something to be worried about.


    "I never mentioned anything that has to do with my abilities, sir." Zephyr countered.


    He was confident he had made the right choice to not trust Mr. Zhao, there was something fishy about him and the manner of approach wasn''t well-pleasing either.


    Mr. Zhao grimaced, internally cursing at the fact that he had made a slip without thinking of linking questions.


    "Our organization can detect a change in one''s aura, and you had yours disturbed for a while." Mr. Zhao quickly lied to cover up his previous words.


    ''Lies! I''m not a fool.'' Zephyr hissed in his thoughts and narrowed his eyes.


    "Thank you Sir for the concern, but I will be heading back to my room now." He gave a final bow, hoping Mr. Zhao took this as a sign of his willingness to leave.


    Mr. Zhao hummed, unsatisfied with his words, but willing to let him off if he could carry out a little task.


    "I will let you off if you can do something for me." Mr. Zhao conditioned.


    ''Herees making a deal with the devil.'' Zephyr rolled his eyes at the words but nodded his head nheless.


    "You need to find out what Solis has to say to the rest when he gets back and¨C"


    Feeling the need to point out, he cut in immediately, "he''s already left, what makes you think that I can¨C"


    Then it dawned on him what his abilities were. ''Goddamnit!''


    Understanding that Zephyr also knew that he had made a slip with his words, Mr. Zhao had a smirk on his lips. "I see you finally get the logic behind my little task."


    "What makes you think I would work for you on this?" Zephyr questioned, curious about how he could be tied down once released.


    pping his hand, he let out a sigh of satisfaction. "It''s interesting to know that you are interested in the consequences."


    "How''s the pendant on your neck faring, losing its glow?" He snickered.


    Confused, Zephyr brought out the pendant only to watch in horror as the color was starting to fade and his breathing strained.


    Huff!


    Huff!


    "What..." He forced the word, "...is this?"

 Chapter 214 Do As I Had Ordered

    "That is your life force being sucked up into your beautiful cloud pendant." Mr. Zhaoughed at how clueless this current version of Zephyr was.


    "In other words, death is knocking and is out to pull down your door in a few minutes." He looked down at Zephyr with disdain.


    All core members of the organization knew of its consequences. This had been the reason for their well-behaved attitude towards their master, the only one who could relieve them of such binding spells.


    He had maintained an upper hand with the others as he could manipte those of lower ranks just like his master.


    Right then, Zephyr had inadvertently fallen for his trap and had dared him to do what he wished not to showcase for the time being.


    Zephyr''s body trembled to the strain it was having on his breathing and body in general. He had his mouth opened so he could take in air manually.


    ''Make it stop!'' He begged in his thoughts, instantly regretting that he had dared such a devil.


    "I..." He had tried to voice out his willingness to go through with it.


    Mr. Zhao leaned forward, "you''d do what?" He pretended not to understand what he meant.


    ''You''re nothing more than a bully!'' Zephyr hissed in his thoughts, angered that he had no other choice than to go along with him.


    He looked up at Mr. Zhao with one of his eyes open. He wanted him to feel the hate resonating with him.


    The disdain for being under someone else''s shadow had forced him to do what he did to Nix and his reputation at the time, but now in this world, he had been coerced to go through with a n that might put him in danger?


    To a reasonable degree, he began to wonder if it would have been better to join Solis as he left or better still join their team with weird bunches.


    "Did you say you''d go along with my problem-free task?" He hummed while putting on a big smile.


    With no way of responding correctly, he simply nodded his head.


    "I don''t believe you." Mr. Zhao replied, dismissing his actions.


    Frantically shaking his head to the meaning of such words, he forced himself to crawl to Mr. Zhao''s feet. He tried to mumble out words, tears freely pouring out.


    "Aaack!" He grimaced in nerve-wracking pain and let go of the hem of Mr. Zhao''s robe.


    His body trembled and shook violently.


    Tut!


    Tut!


    Going down in a squat, he simply shook his head at the sight. "I liked you, I did. You''re the first magic user that had earned my recognition, yet you had to have a weird personality change all of a sudden."


    He covered his mouth with his hands and looked around his room one more time as if he were searching for something.


    Getting up to his feet, he punched a hole right through the wall. "You were meant to be my one ticket to getting back the favor of our master and you had to pop up with goddamn amnesia?! Are you kidding me?!!!" He yelled.


    Pushing off all the books he had on his nightstand in rage.


    "Now I have another problem on my hands and master doesn''t trust me anymore," he continued with a huff, feigning ignorance of what Zephyr was going through.


    "Do you know how that feels?!" He hissed.


    His anger began to subside after he realized he had been talking to himself for quite some time. There was no way the person wreathing in pain would want to listen to his woes.


    ? ''Ease!'' Hemanded in his thoughts, letting the seal on the pendant reduce its dampening effect.<sub> </sub>


    Gasp!


    Cough!


    Cough!


    Zephyr was d that he had finally been able to get that excruciating pain out of his system. His back on the floor, he stared at the ceiling for quite some time.


    "Zephyr!" Mr. Zhao yelled impatiently.


    Jumping to his feet, he staggered back before he got his footing. His vision swirled, he had to close his eyes and ce his hand on the wall to keep himself stable.


    "Go do as I had ordered, there isn''t much time left to get more information on the subject." He reminded.


    Inhaling and exhaling, Zephyr nodded his head to the order given.


    "As you wish!" Zephyr hissed, trying to curtail his anger toward the man in front of him.


    Mr. Zhao knew the sort of rtionship that had been established between the two of them, he wasn''t in the least bothered that Zephyr would be seeing him in a different light.


    ''They only know how to obey if a little force is utilized.'' He thought to himself.


    Click!


    "The door is open, your ability can be activated." He exined, nodding to the slightly ajar door.


    Zephyr reluctantly nodded his head and immediately thought of where he was tasked to go.


    Whoosh!


    Mr. Zhao let out a cackle at a backup n set in ce.


    Clearing his throat, he picked up a few items under his pillow and went out of the room with one motive in mind¨Cto prove his innocence to his master.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In room 3,


    Solis'' hand was suspended in front of the door, unable to bring himself to knock, it had been nearly a day and he had not gotten a word from his sister.


    ''Would she want to kill me?'' He wondered,ughing at himself on the wildness of such an assumption.


    They have never been separated for more than half a day. Getting into the organization would only mean that this would be a reurring thing.


    He wished he could go back to the academy, they would have been less known there than being the target of the one person that he had despised.


    Click!


    Solis'' mouth gaped open at the door flying open.


    "Solis?!" Luna mumbled, scratching her eyes so she could be sure of who was right in front of her.


    Putting up a big grin, he was about to wave when he was pushed on the chest by Luna.


    "How could you break our pact?" She cried in worry and anger.

 Chapter 215 You Have Three Seconds

    "What?" Solis questioned in confusion at her sudden outburst.


    "How could you go on a mission without informing me? What if you were injured?" She pushed at his chest again.


    Then she paused to think and her eyes widened at the thought, "or even dead? How do I exin this to mother?" She cried.


    Solis sweatdropped at her statement, he had forgotten about the deal they had made and instantly felt guilty.


    "Luna, you don''t understand," he tried to begin, hoping his words could make an impact somehow. "I didn''t want to bother your healing process and worry about your useless brother."


    Luna sniffled, wiping away the tears. "You aren''t useless, dimwit!" She hissed andughed right after.


    Click!


    Lumina brought out her head so she could see themotion caused.


    "Solis?" She mumbled, feeling elevated by his presence, then falling into depression when he was the only one who had returned from the mission.


    Click!


    Gia peeped through the small opening of her door, curious as to why Luna had cried and who was the victim of her squabbles.


    "Oh, it''s you, Solis." She said in a monotonous voice.


    Click!


    Solis closed his eyes to thest click of the door, he could only safely assume that it was Alex who opened thest door in their hallway.


    Opening them, he nodded to how right he was when Alex stepped out. "What''s going on here? I was trying to have some quiet time."


    Cross popping veins made their way to Solis'' forehead. He had not gotten to know him to get acquainted, but he would have been appreciative if he didn''t interfere in his business.


    "Then please go back and rest." Solis snapped and rolled his eyes.


    Alex felt hurt by the response, he had not gotten to know these people well but they were by far the only people he could converse with.


    "That isn''t like you, Solis," Gia pointed out, remembering the ray of sunshine he usually was. "Where was that funny fe we all knew and loved?"


    Luna looked down, unable to dispute that fact. Ever since her brother had returned from the adventure they did to bring back Alex, he had changed and his attitude was a concern for her.


    "I..." He began, reluctant to speak up. "I''m sorry." He finally said after several battles in his head.


    "Nevermind that, where are the others?" Gia questioned, curious about that piece of information.


    It wasn''t a good sign if it were only Solis that had survived, nor was it remotely possible for him to be the lone survivor.


    Solis'' lips quivered, he had simply wanted to forget what had happened for the day but conversing with them only reminded him of the fact that his magic was limited and restrictive.


    Alex leaned on the door jamb, preferring to speak less and instead observe from a distance.


    All that was said didn''t appeal to him, the only thing he was curious about was the whereabouts of the three males in his life.


    "Well, you see um..." Solis rubbed the back of his head and looked away.


    "Spill it!" Luna warned with the raise of her finger at him.<sub> </sub>


    "They are battling out two crazy dudes, one which has a simr ability with Lank or Obsidian and another that shares an ability with you." He pointed at Lumina.


    He had never heard of two people sharing rare gifts at the same time and was initially confused. His first guess was that it was something that looked simr.


    All of that changed when he had called lightning on them when Zephyr had wanted to teleport them out of the arena. That single act had reminded him of how Lumina had used such simr tricks on Arion, almost ruining the line of his future generations.


    "What?" Lumina did a double-take, shaking her head in disbelief. "That''s... That''s not possible!"


    Refuting his ims, she repeatedly shook her head to his words¨Cthere was no way of another having such ability.


    "Lumina, how did you learn how to call down lightning that brought about a heck of damage?" Solis pressed on, hoping to piece the information into his thoughts.


    Lumina felt disturbed by such a question, but thought maybe he had a lead and answered truthfully, "my brother, he would always say if you want the best result rain down lightning on their sorry ass."


    She let out a sadugh at the memory, tears brimming in her eyes.


    Solis'' eyes doubled in horror, "h¨Chow many have had this ability?"


    She had thought the first weird, currently, she felt disturbed by his words and felt reluctant to reply.


    "The same user had called down lightning on our sorry ass when Nix had ordered Zephyr to teleport us out of there."


    "He did what now?!" Lumina eximed in disbelief.


    "Who''s Zephyr?" Gia picked on that tiny detail better than the rest who gasped in shock at the simrities in the ability.


    "Isn''t lightning meant to be a rare ability? You don''t get to see two users in the same generation having the same ability." Luna questioned all she had known about this confusing hierarchy.


    ''What did I just put myself in?'' Solis internally facepalmed.


    Whoosh!


    Hidden in the shadows, Zephyr made his presence untraceable while he watched them bicker.


    He watched as a beautiful female with red hair frowned at Solis.


    ''She would have matched Nix''s description of his sort of female.'' He thought about that line, remembering how Nix used to pester him about this tiny detail of what he wanted in a female.


    His eyestched onto her cleavage, ''the perfect size too.'' He raised a brow at how well endowed this female was.


    He wished Nix could see his nearly perfect description in reality not too far away from where he stood overlooking them.


    He wondered what sort of connection this female had with Solis and why did he look like he was being scolded?


    "Shh!" Lumina hushed Solis before he could reply.


    "What is it?" Solis questioned, feeling self-conscious as Lumina stared down at him.


    "Come out or I will get you out myself!" Lumina warned, her head whipped in the direction in which Zephyr hid.


    ''What the hell? How?'' Zephyr''s heartbeat quickened at how easily this female had spotted him.


    "You have three seconds." Her voice was firm and her gaze locked on his side. "1... 2... 3..."

 Chapter 216 Verify Who Is In Nixs Body

    Stepping out, Zephyr leaned on the wall and gawked at Lumina. "What''s a prettydy doing around a loser like him?"


    As innocent as he thought his joke to be, he got heated res from all three females.


    "That''s my brother you jerkass!" Luna snapped.


    "And our friend." Lumina and Gia said in unison.


    ''My mistake.'' Zephyr instantly regretted his words.


    Alex tilted his head in confusion at the presence of another male, he had wondered why he wanted to let out a curse to this strange face so easily.


    Solis stifled augh, it was fun having to know he had someone who could actively defend him.


    "What are you doing here peekaboo?" He sneered, sensing trouble.


    "Peekaboo? You know this leech?" Luna spat, giving Zephyr a quick body scan.


    ''Leech?'' Zephyr repeated, stunned by thisdy''s sharp tongue.


    "Sadly I do, and that''s the word Obsidian uses for him and it kinda stuck." Heughed at the memory.


    "His name is Zephyr." Solis reluctantly introduced.


    Immediately Luna heard the mention of Obsidian, her curiosity was suddenly divided. "Where is he? What sort of mission did you all go for?"


    Zephyr observed Luna for a while, quickly understanding that she must share some sort of feeling for Obsidian.


    ''What a weird female.'' He clicked his tongue.


    "You must be happy to be the lucky brother-inw." Zephyr blurted out.


    "You must be the lucky idiot who''s about to get his ass handed over to him." Lumina cut in, her hands folded under her bust and soulful green eyes narrowed at him in suspicion.


    ''Feisty, I like that.'' Zephyr thought with a smirk.


    Lumina felt oddly irritated with his presence, even Arion seemed to be fairly better than the white-haired male in front of her.


    "Don''t give me that stupid smirk." Her green eyes glowed with brimming rage.


    Zephyr jumped back in shock at how dangerous her re was, he had temporarily forgotten this was the very female that had spotted him, there was no way she was fairly normal¨Cnone of them could be.


    Gathering enough confidence to speak, he began. "How could you tell that I¨C"


    "Sneaking up on us? Eavesdropping like a criminal? Need I say more?" She raised a brow to the sort of question he was demanding from her.


    If it weren''t for the fact that she was curious about who would try tomit such an act in the organization, she would have attacked without restraint.


    The others all nodded their head to Lumina''s suggestions, although they weren''t as much interested in what he had said, the fact that Lumina was right about them being spied on sparked their curiosity.


    She raised her hand slowly, then pointed at his chest.


    They all zoned out by her action.


    "Huh?" Zephyr wondered and pointed at himself in confusion.


    "Of course, your tiny brain wouldn''t understand mere human gestures." Lumina clicked her tongue.


    Although she was talking to Zephyr, they all felt a p to their pride for being in the same position as he was.


    ''Am I considered a threat to her?'' Zephyr wondered why she uses demoralizing words for him.


    "In simple terms¨CBio-Electricity, your heart produces electricity naturally, and that I can feel from a ten-meter radius." She said with a smirk.


    The others secretly nodded their head in understanding but said nothing as they were actively interested in what would be the oue of Zephyr.


    Zephyr rubbed his chin and processed the information, "so what are you? An electro girl?"


    ''What the hell is this idiot spouting?'' Lumina rolled her eyes in disgust.


    "It would interest you to know that I can kick start that heart to work overload with a little jolt," Lumina suggested, a spark of electricity moving on her palm and a mischievous grin stered.


    ''What the f*ck? Another person with this dangerous ability?'' Zephyr took several steps back, wary of this beautiful female.


    He constantly told himself that he should be cautious about how he threads so as not to invoke problems his way.


    "How the heck do you have an ability with that crazed fellow?!" He eximed.


    Lumina''s eyes widened at his words, not only did Solis say something simr but even Zephyr reaffirmed?


    "What did you say?" She questioned through gritted teeth.


    "How the heck do you have such an ability?" He repeated, more confused by what he was cajoled to say.


    Lumina''s eyes glowed and deduced his connection to Solis, "you were there when it all happened. You''re the one who helped Solis out, right?"


    Slowly nodding his head, he felt as though he had sold himself to an evil demoness by answering.<sub> </sub>


    "Lead the way!" She ordered.


    "To where?"


    Zephyr scratched the back of his head, internally cursing at Mr. Zhao for putting him in such a difficult situation. Without knowing what they were nning, there was no way he could report back.


    "Where the others are, silly!" Lumina snapped, grabbing a hold of his wrist.


    Solis burst out inughter, happy that he would go back to that crazy-infested arena and meet those set of incarnate demons.


    Turning her attention to Solis. "You''re tagging along."


    ''Ohe on!'' Solis stomped his feet.


    He had thoroughly enjoyed just staying without doing a thing, it was enough to stress surviving the mission and the arena.


    But going back?


    "You''ve got to be kidding, right?" Solis forced out augh, hopeful that she was just kidding.


    All the words fell on deaf ears as she was lost in her thoughts, ''could it be?''


    "She''s not kidding." Luna sounded a warning to them, her sole focus was on getting Obsidian back, safe and sound.


    Solis had a pout, mumbling incoherent words.


    Zephyr made sure not to ask what would happen to him if he declined. He already had a taste of what those words could bring to him if he would object.


    "Tell Lank that I''m eagerly expecting his return." Gia timidly raised to Solis, her cheeks stained with light pink.


    "Remember mine when you meet Obsidian." Luna joined in enthusiastically.


    Solis let out a sigh and nodded his head, not only was he going to risk his life but he was also going to take a part-time job as an errand boy.


    "I''ming along." Alex cut in, wanting a feel of what was going on outside the walled room of the organization.


    "Really?" Lumina raised a brow and smiled.


    Although she had heard a snippet of his ability from Nix, it would be more fun to see to what extent he would give when faced with a tough situation.


    "Of course." He replied coolly, "it would be fun to see Nix in action." He chuckled at how cool Nix seemed to him.


    His manner of approaching him was fairly better than the rest.


    ''Yet another who is sickly devoted to that spruik!'' Zephyr sneered in his thoughts, hating how this Nix had a good rapport with others unlike him.


    "Sorry I can''t take extra cargo." He tried to let go of Alex. The fewer those who were on Nix''s side, the better chances for him to gain some ground.


    He wondered if Lumina was also interested in Nix, ady like her would draw attention wherever she went.


    The fact that she had a sharp tongue and a dangerous ability only added to her charm.


    "Shut it Zephyr, we were five thest time that was transported for our mission and eight to the arena. Surely four wouldn''t be too much of a hassle for you." Solis cut in, wiggling his brows to how well he had ruined Zephyr''s n.


    Zephyr internally rained curses on Solis for that quick and effective way of ruining his n.


    "It must have slipped my mind." Zephyr replied through gritted teeth, "thank you for reminding me."


    "You''re wee," Solis replied with an eye-shut smile.


    Alex walked over to where they stood, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Finally." He exhaled while stretching his body.


    "Hold on to me, for your sake," Zephyr said and mumbled on thetter part.


    Doing as he said, they instantly vanished from Gia and Luna''s view.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Back in the arena,


    "Do we need to verify who is in Nix''s body?" Lank whispered to Obsidian.


    Wham!


    Obsidian couldn''t take the question anymore, that was the umpteenth time he would ask the very question while they watched Nix rip out the heart of the dead collector.


    Lank had gotten used to the pain to a degree and wasn''t fazed by such a hit to his head.


    "Aren''t you worried about my friend and your mentor?" He hissed, narrowing his eyes to Nix slowly approaching.


    Obsidian shrugged, he didn''t see anything wrong with what Nix had done, his sense of morality wasn''t in any way affected so there was no way that he would go against him.


    "If you say he is your friend, could you at least show some faith in him?" Obsidian questioned, poking a finger at Lank.


    "One down, another to take care of," Nix muttered to himself with a devilish grin, eyestched onto the ball of me he had created a while ago.

 Chapter 217 Target The Weak To Your Advantage

    "Nix!" Lank yelled in enthusiasm hoping to get across to his friend.


    Wha¨C!


    "Not this time." Lank clicked his tongue the moment he was able to swiftly dodge Obsidian''s attempt at hitting him.


    The corner of Obsidian''s lips raised at Lank''s inexperience. "Does he look like someone who would like to wave at his friend at this time?"


    Lank looked down as he contemted his actions, Obsidian was right.


    Nix was still basking in the other collector he had mercilessly dealt unfathomable damage on, there was no telling if he would transfer a bit of his unstable mind onto them.


    Pushing Lank to the side, Obsidian cautioned him not to make a sound, allowing Nix passage to his target¨Cthese victims were nothing more than puppets of a greater evil that deserved all that Nix would do.


    Sigh!


    "We are finally back to where we started." Nix clicked his tongue, touching the me barrier.


    He could feel Ian''s heat signature, it still showed he was alive and well.


    [me sphere barrier deactivated]


    Thud!


    Ian groaned to the paint, he had not expected such a sudden change of mind and tried to get to his feet when he felt a force push him to the floor.


    "Ugh!" He coughed out, holding his ground by cing his palms on the floor.


    Bam!


    Nix punched him in the face, biting down on his bottom lip when he felt a numbing sensation in his fist.


    ''Goddamnit! What was that?''


    [Usage mode critical]


    [Energy level critical]


    [Energy: 5 points]


    Nix rose his brows to the notification, shaking his head to how far he had gone without noticing his energy level depleting gradually.


    ''Invest 395 points on my energy level.'' Hemanded his system, eager to get back to his feet with full energy stats.


    Ding!


    [Energy point Max]


    Nix had a smile stered on his lips at the notification, his gaze now on Ian.


    Ian had his hand to his chest after that pressurizing ordeal. He had his re on Nix the whole time while he tried to gather his strength first.


    Secretly utilizing his passive gift, he effectively covered him with a thin film of his telekic field.


    He had considered dueling with Lumina more if he were to meet Ian once more.


    He nned to let Ian go after he had struck enough fear and warning in his programmed heart.


    Ian had been able to recharge his lost energy and thought it wise to go for a sneak attack.


    Touching the ground, he tried to channel his lightning to the ground but was shocked when he felt nothing but a shark which backfired.


    "Argh!" He hissed in pain, stunned by how he had been stung by his lightning.


    "Shocking right?" Nix chuckled at his y on the words and wiggled his brows just to spite him.


    "What are you?" Ian raged, trying to activate his ability to no avail.<sub> </sub>


    "I''m a fire ranker, remember?" Nix sneered at him, using the exact words Ian had used to describe him.


    Ian growled at the response feeling that he was mocked.


    "Someone doesn''t seem to be happy with the current situation," Nix said with pouty lips.


    "Why you¨C"


    A p forced him to shut up immediately. His head whipped back to see Nix standing several feet away from him.


    His brows furrowed in confusion, he wondered how it was remotely possible to receive such a p and yet not know where it came from.


    Nix stared down at him, a smirk present. He had wished to do away with him as he had done with the aplice.


    But the more he thought about what he nned on doing, the more reluctant he was to keep Ian alive.


    "Do you remember anyone bearing the name¡ªLumina?" He began with another approach.


    Ian had been struggling for a while to get a grip on his ability, but at the mention of that name, he tilted his head and furrowed his brows. He couldn''t understand why that name had struck a chord even though he couldn''t allocate a face.


    ''Lumina?'' He repeated in his thoughts.


    A ringing sensation coursed through his head affecting both ears.


    "Ahhh!" He yelled in pain and held his head.


    Nix watched apathetically wishing he could quell his pain for good¨Cmake him join his collector buddy, the best way of never feeling pain anymore.


    "What did you do to me?" Ian growled in rage. Forcing himself to his feet, he deduced the only way of getting back his momentum was to kill Nix no matter what it cost.


    His hands outstretched as heunched himself at Nix.


    ''You''re seriously pushing your luck.'' Nix internally facepalmed at the futile effort.


    Nix let out augh at the attempt, Ian was fast but his trump card had been nerfed.


    Bam!


    Catching his punch with rtive ease. He stared at their hands for a while, firmly holding onto Ian''s fist.


    With wide eyes, he realized the tables had been turned and he had no way of getting out of the pit he had dug for himself.


    Grounding his heels into the ground, coating his shin with fire, Nix gave a swift kick to Ian''s side.


    Crack!


    Ian coughed out blood from the fracture of his ribs. Skidding across the arena and crashing into a pile of skulls.


    k!


    Spitting out blood from his mouth, he wiped his lips clean and red at Nix. This wasn''t the original way a fire ranker fights.


    Shaking his leg, Nix put out the mes and stretched out his muscles.


    With the flick of his hand, he urged Ian toe at him again. Until Ian had chosen to yield, he wasn''t going to let him off that easily.


    "Show me what a powerful lightning user you are¨Cwere," Nix muttered thest part with a smirk.


    Ian realized he wasn''t trying to get how strong he was, but an opportunity to humiliate him the more.


    Left with no choice, his attention fell on the brown-haired feral that Nix had rushed to meet.


    ''Target the weak to your advantage.'' Ian repeated in his head as he devised a new n.

 Chapter 218 Itch With Jealousy

    Bam!


    [Strength activated]


    [Strike augmented]


    "You dare re at him that way?!" Nix said with a scowl.


    Everything happened rather fast for Ian, one moment he was ring at Lank thinking of the best n to go with, and the next he was punched into the ground and saw rubbles flying around him.


    Bam!


    Nix repeatedly kicked him till he was satisfied.


    ''You can''t die if the damage isn''t much. She wouldn''t mind a little provocation.'' Nix reasoned in his thoughts with an evil smile.


    Lank and Obsidian''s mouths gaped open at the daring speed of Nix and why he had rained down his anger on the collector.


    "He''s going to kill him, isn''t he?" Lank whispered from the corner of his mouth.


    Obsidian head slowly nodded, "if he''s not stopped, we should expect another goner."


    "How about you stop him, he''s needed alive." Lank nudged on Obsidian''s side.


    Hissing in response, Obsidian narrowed his eyes at Lank, "are you wishing me a quick death?"


    He had thought that he was in the league of Nix, or they were closer to a degree when they first met. After the dragon incident, he had rightly known his ce.


    Thinking about the second gift he had, which was one of the rare ones, he wondered how such a person could exist in their world.


    Lank raised a brow at Obsidian''s question, "weren''t you the one who spoke of us as lowlifes? Is the loyal feral too attached to its master and dare not bite the hand?" He taunted.


    Obsidian narrowed his eyes further, "this loyal feral knows his limit and that includes survival instincts and currently, the survival instincts say you would die if you engage."


    Lank nodded his head to his words, "I guess we both have the same survival instincts running through our thoughts."


    Whoosh!


    Parting immediately, Lumina brushed her long sleeve ck mesh top.


    "Did you have to wear such revealing¨C"


    Gulp!


    Solis swallowed his words and looked the other way.


    Alex looked around for the first time and marveled at how everywhere looked strikingly different than he had imagined it to be.


    "The organization can change its theme so well." He said with a sigh.


    Zephyr rolled his eyes at their words and shoved his hands in his pocket. When he turned to his left, he could see the very person they were looking for.


    "We''ve found the culprit and from the looks of it, that lightning dude isn''t going too far." Zephyr snickered, pointing a finger in the said direction.


    Lumina wasted no time in sprinting in the direction the moment she spotted Lank and Obsidian.


    pping the back of Lank, she paused for her breath.


    Lank jumped back the moment he felt a hand on his back, "what the heck¨C"


    "It''s me, Lumina" She whispered, pulling on Lank''s hair.


    He looked behind and his grin brightened when he saw Solis and Alex approaching, but all that immediately fell the drain the moment he set gazes on Ian.


    "What''s that loser doing here?" He hissed.


    "I guess I''m not the only one who thinks he gives off bad vibes." Lumina let out a sigh of relief, patting Lank''s back.


    Lank nodded his head and focused his attention more on what was several feet away.<sub> </sub>


    Lumina watched with wide eyes at the body below Nix''s feet.


    "Nix, stop!" Lumina yelled at the top of her lungs.


    Zephyr frowned the moment he heard her call out to him so fondly, all he could wish for was that they weren''t a thing in this world.


    ''You have Rumi, why covet another?'' His subconscious questioned.


    Shaking the thoughts off his head, he stared at Lumina with a burning gaze.


    When she realized Nix was far gone in his rage, there was only one way to calm him down. Without thinking things through, she rushed toward him.


    ''Could that be him?'' She wondered as she approached.


    "No, no, you shouldn''t¨C" Lank gritted his teeth the moment she ran out of his grasp, retracting his arm and leaving her to her fate.


    ''It''s Lumina, she can find her way around this, I know it.'' He said to himself in a bid to convince his heart.


    Zephyr called out to Lumina stressing how dangerous of an act that was. Nix had gone mad and blood stains had soiled his shirt.


    His eyes only grew twice their size when he saw Lumina hug Nix from behind while muttering incoherent words that caused him to ease up his actions.


    "Please don''t kill him, for my sake," Lumina said in a whisper.


    Nix''s body trembled at the words, he could feel her book shake with anguish and fear at what he was bing.


    He had gotten a taste of how it was to lord the duel, and it felt oddly satisfying to put the trash in its ce.


    The first collector hadn''t been as lucky as Ian was because there were no strings attached.


    But the one thing he couldn''t forgive was that Ian had yed a vital role in causing Fae''s dangerous stab wound.


    If it weren''t for Mr. Gaviel, they wouldn''t have been graced with such Intel.


    Nix inhaled and exhaled, repeatedly trying to deactivate his ability, but the more he tried the more he felt the need to exhaust his energy before he could get satisfied.


    "Nix!!!" Lumina screamed at the top of her lungs when she felt his body temperature heat up, he was unsettled and needed to stay calm if he was going to think in the right state of mind.


    Ian was still below his feet and unconscious with blood dripping down his face.


    Stunned, Nix''s ability was forcefully deactivated by her jolt of electricity.


    [Gift: Fire deactivated]


    [Passive gift: Telekinesis deactivated]


    "P- pretty face? Is that you?" Nix questioned as his heart skipped a beat.


    He had not seen her for nearly a day and it felt like his mind was ying tricks on him.


    "Do you want me to zap you once more?" Lumina gave a tight squeeze to his stomach.


    Wheezing and trying to catch his breath, he begged that she let him go.


    "What the f¨C"


    Wham!


    Obsidian made use of the opportunity to shut Lank up, just in time before he spoiled the weird reunion between the two.


    ''So... It turns out something is going on between them.'' Zephyr thought with a frown.


    Releasing her grip, she felt him pull her by the wrist and pull her close to him. Their gazes on one another.


    "What is this?" Lank whined, "you''re making me itch with jealousy!"

 Chapter 219 Remember The Commitment?

    Pulling away, Nix staggered back and covered his cheeks with the back of his hand.


    Coughing, he looked down at the pitiful Ian. His eyes immediately flickered back to his glow and his rage grew.


    "Nix, stop. Do you know who he¨C"


    "I know, he made sure of that." He muttered to Lumina, his wary gaze went to Zephyr.


    With the presence of Zephyr, there was no way that he could be free with his speech or ability. For all he could care, Zephyr could not be trusted as long as he had a suspicious connection with Mr. Zhao.


    "Don''t mind me, I was dragged here by the scrumptious and beautiful Lu¨C"


    ''Oh no, he''s asking for a death sentence by uttering the sphemous description with that stupid face.'' Lank''s eyes widened at how bold he was.


    It was clear to all that there was something between those two, why try to stick your head into their business?


    "I never asked for your opinion!" Nix snapped, cutting him off before he could finish his statement.


    Lumina ced her hand on Nix''s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze, and whispered into his ear, "I can see why Solis was rude to this jerk."


    Her words put a smile on his face, effectively calming his nerves. "Why are you here?"


    Lumina looked in front of him, "You know why. How the heck is my brother alive? Fae''s words were right?"


    Nix blinked so he could calm his nerves, who he was staring at right now wasn''t Lumina''s brother but was someone who had hurt his friend and tried to do it again.


    "He''s not necessarily alive but rather looks alive. He isn''t your brother anymore." Nix hissed, staring at a groaning Ian.


    Ian whipped his head back to a familiar voice. "Who are you?"


    A memory sh coursed through her thoughts, she could actively identify that this was from Mr. Gaviel. He was the cause of what had happened to Fae.


    ''What did they do to you?'' She questioned worriedly in her head.


    Lumina stared at him with pitiful eyes, it hurt to hear those wordse from someone that was meant to be close to her heart.


    There was no point in referring to him as a brother, not in front of the others. He was being controlled by someone in the organization and if they caught any whiff of her understanding of the whole conspiracy she might as well be in danger.


    "You..." Ian croaked, coughing right after due to the strain he had endured. "...you look familiar."


    Lumina''s eyes brimmed with tears, if she was ever told that this would be how their reunion would be, she would have struck the person without thinking twice.


    Shaking her head, she tried to deny any connection with him. There was no need to cry over spilled milk.


    All she wanted was to see his face once more. He had changed a lot, the once red hair had been changed to white, and his blue eyes had oddly turned to a yellow.


    No matter the change, that couldn''t stop her from determining who he was.


    It was a drastic change she had not expected but acknowledged the organization must have done something to Ian to alter his appearance.


    ''Why him?'' She thought in anguish. He had lost the cool demeanor he possessed, those eyes held underlying hate and confusion burning brightly.


    Seeing an opportunity to flee, he created static electrical energy that spread all around him.


    Alex created his to counter the wave and shield the rest who had flocked behind him. "So there is something simr to my ability."


    Lumina furrowed her brows as she effortlessly created hers to sh with his.


    Boom!


    Cough!


    Cough!


    Blowing on the smoke, Lumina rushed forward and stomped her feet. "He''s gone!"


    "What was that about?!" Zephyr eximed in confusion.


    The collector was the very person who had tried to kill him and the others. How is it that he chose to run away instead?


    Nix shoved his hand in his pocket and approached Zephyr, "I don''t know your use apart from what you did to bring them in, but you will take us out of here as you should.."


    ''Self-proimed idiot, it''s either I''m your fastest route or you find out where you go from the exit.'' Zephyr sneered in his thoughts at the words spilling out of Nix''s mouth.


    He hated the fact that Nix was scarily strong or else he would have given his fill on what he thought on the issue.


    "...I would appreciate you staying in your line and we don''t cross paths except when necessary," Nix warned, giving a slight shove at Zephyr.


    Letting out a strained chuckle, he pushed back his hair, "do I make you ufortable?"


    Nix raised a brow at the obvious question.


    "Here''s the thing, and you all should get this right now, I can be considered part of your team as I had helped out somehow. Kicking a willing participant can''t count." His gaze nced around them as he faked a smile.


    "Whatever dude." Lank harrumphed with the roll of his eyes, he was done listening to the loser. "Could we get back now, I have serious issues that are worth my time."


    Zephyr hissed at the response, that wasn''t what he was going for nor did he wish to be interrupted.


    "It''s about time we left this shit hole." Obsidian chipped in, eager to leave since he heard the words rted by Solis.


    "Fine," Zephyr said with a sigh, his eyes focused on Lumina as he spoke.


    ''I will get you eventually.'' He said in his thoughts.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In room Apex,<sub> </sub>


    Whoosh!


    "Here we are, home sweet home." Zephyr sarcastically introduced.


    "It must be since we got no outsiders present." Obsidian countered, ring daggers at him.


    Lank burst out intoughter, "good one." He offered his fist for a bump.


    Obsidian deduced what he meant and followed through with it.


    "Booyah!" Lank eximed.


    Click!


    Click!


    Rushing out from the second door was Gia, her hands outstretched for a hug.


    Lank grabbed her by the waist and gave her a spin.


    Zephyr sneered at the open disy of affection. Taking a few steps back so he wouldn''t be engrossed in such action.


    "I will be leaving now." He gave a slight bow, hoping to meet Mr. Zhao sooner than expected and deliver the little he had received.


    In a bid to have the upper hand, he was going to filter out some information for his benefit.


    "Good riddance!" Obsidian waved with a smile.


    With that, he immediately teleported out of there.


    Whoosh!


    Lank let out a sigh and turned his attention to Gia. "It''s about time we enjoy each other''spany, don''t you think?"


    When he wiggled his brows, Gia''s cheeks flushed with red.


    "What''s wrong with your face?" Luna questioned and tilted her head in confusion.


    "Let her be." Solis quickly cut in and covered her mouth with his palm.


    "Mmm...fff!" She protested and tried to break free from his grasp.


    Scooping her into his arms, Lank walked towards their room, "open."


    Click!


    Automatically the door slowly opens up allowing him ess.


    "Sooo..." Nix''s voice trailed as he whistled.


    Obsidian scratched the back of his head as he contemted how he was going to approach Luna.


    Solis stretched and pulled Alex to his side. "Sis! I would like to show Alex a few things on my side of the room, how about Obsidian show you his side of the room?"


    Obsidian raised his head in delight at the help offered, "yes... yes that''s true." He tried to bring out a smile.


    Luna looked bashful and grateful at the attempt her brother was trying to pave for her.


    Lumina watched with curious eyes on Luna who slowly approached Obsidian, pushing a loose strand of hair away from her face.


    Solis hurriedly pulled Alex to his room after voicing themand.


    Alex could feel Solis'' hand heat up, almost like a threat meant to keep him silent, "I never agreed to any of thi¨C"


    m!


    "Shall we?" Obsidian suggested, opening his door manually.


    Nodding her head, without a care about who was watching, she casually walked into his room.


    Obsidian had a broad smile, d that he was finally making progress.


    m!


    Lumina brought back her attention to Nix. "So it looks like we''re the only ones who are left out."


    "Who said anything about being left out?" Nix said with a smirk.


    Without giving her much of a choice, he lifted her into his arms.


    Thrashing her legs, she struggled to break free from his grasp. "Let me go."


    "Shh!" Nix hushed her, spanking her on her bottom.


    Lumina gritted her teeth and stopped moving. "What are you going to do?"


    Nix had a smug smile on his lips after he had spoken themand. "You''ll see soon enough."


    Click!


    Stepping over the threshold, he looked behind him and watched as the door closed behind him.


    Dropping her onto the bed, he came over to her. "Remember when I spoke aboutmitment?"

 Chapter 220 Lets Escape

    Ba dum!


    Ba dum!


    Lumina''s eyes widened in surprise at the mention of the word. "Y-you aren''t thinking of¨C"


    "Shhh!" He hushed her and ced his index finger over her mouth and shook his head.


    Lumina gulped and stiffened. No matter how well she was trying to determine what was going on in his mind, she couldn''t tell if this was another trick he was ying on her.


    "Nix, stop ying and get off." She pushed on his chest.


    Her head whipped to her wrists, he pushed her hand over her head and did the same with the other.


    Feeling vulnerable, she tried to squirm out of his grasp to no avail. "Nix?"


    Her heart pounded in her chest, and her confusion only doubled. He had said he couldn''tmit until he could fully trust her, and vice versa.


    Leaning forward, "let''s escape from this shit hole."


    "Waah?!" Her mouth gaped open at his proposal.


    Nix studied her features and his brows only eased at how impossible their position was as if it were in the past.


    "I would let you in on all about me, and I trust you would too." He whispered with a grin.


    Lumina closed her eyes when she felt his breath fan against her face ever so lightly.


    "What are you doing?" She struggled to be let free. If he was going to keep her in suspense, she would appreciate it if he didn''t begin in the first ce.


    Nix watched her without saying a word, his gaze locked on her lips.


    ''Why do I feel like my whole body is on fire?'' He wondered.


    He had never been one without experience back in his world, but being over Lumina made him think of the lewdest things he could do.


    "Why?" He mumbled, leaning forward so their lips were just two inches away from each other.


    Lumina gulped and for a second, her heart skipped a beat with the proximity.


    She had lost her sense of questioning about what he had meant, her mouth slightly gaped open.


    ''Get your thoughts together! What are you doing?!'' Lumina''s subconscious repeatedly yelled in her head to no avail.


    Subconsciously, Nix jerked forward.


    "Mff!" Lumina let out a moan.


    Her wide eyes stared at an equally shocked Nix.


    "I... I..." Nix stammered but couldn''t bring out the words to justify what he had done.


    ''Keep your thoughts in check!'' Nix tried to caution himself as he let go of her hands.


    Lumina wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer.


    "Woah!" He gasped as he saw himself get pulled down at such great speed.


    He froze the moment he felt the cushion of her bust on his chest.


    Lumina had a wry smile, shrugging her shoulders like she knew nothing of what she had done.


    "What am I to you?" She said in a whisper.


    ''What is she to me?'' Nix questioned his subconscious, he had never given much thought to it, but on the mention of it, he began to think about why he had done what he did so far.


    "A special person I can''t afford to lose. I never knew what it meant to care for someone, but you helped me to experience that." He replied with the first thing that came to mind


    Lumina''s eyes teared at his words, and her cheeks flushed.


    "That''s such a cheesy reply." She coughed, trying to downy his words to calm her racing heart.


    Nix frowned at the way she had taken his words. He wasn''t kidding, yet she thought it was a joke.


    Lumina wanted to know to what extent his seriousness was and tried to y on his word, "I had heard something simr to this so many times and have been deceiv¨C"


    Nix couldn''t take her words anymore and captured those soft lips in his. Desire temporarily clouded his thoughts.


    ''If I can''t convince you in words, I would in action.''


    Lumina''s eyes were wide open, she had wanted to pull away from the kiss but felt herself melting under his touch.<sub> </sub>


    Pulling away from the kiss, he ced his forehead on hers. They used the brief moment to catch their breaths.


    "I know I might be a jerk sometimes," Nix chuckled as he whispered.


    Lumina nodded her head to his words, she couldn''t agree more.


    Nix closed his eyes to how quickly she had agreed. "Anyways, I would never want to hurt you."


    "What I want right now is to leave this ce," he said and pulled away. Sitting on the edge of the bed, his back against her.


    As much as he wanted to act on his desires, he would never choose to do so in a ce where he might be watched.


    Lumina pushed back until she got to the headboard, sitting upright. "What do you mean?"


    "We''re all sitting ducks in here, it''s almost like our actions are dictated." Nix pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.


    "I have been having a feeling that they do not want us knowing the other members of the organization and would stop at nothing to keep us in check and distracted." He deduced.


    Ever since their arrival, the only member of the organization they had seen is Zephyr and Obsidian was more of an experiment that had blown up in their faces.


    "What do you suggest?" Lumina said with a sigh.


    "We need to n our leave within this week. While we''re at it, get as much information as we can." He rubbed his hands in mischief.


    Lumina shook her head and smiled at how conniving he was when nning things.


    She made a pout realizing they had always been interrupted when it pertained to making out.


    Nix scratched the back of his head, totally understanding the reason for such an attitude. "You have to understand where it might lead."


    Lumina''s brows knitted together. "Hmph!"


    Nix looked up at the ceiling to distract his thoughts. "I will make it up to you soon."


    "I''m counting on that." Lumina raised her chin.


    Crawling to the edge of the bed, she hugged him from behind and ced her chin on the shoulder.


    "If you don''t live up to the expectation..." She hissed in his ear, her eyes glowed and a wave of electricity coursed through her body, jolting him.


    Jumping to his feet, he pretended to warm up with a stretch and sessive jumps.


    Looking behind him, he narrowed his eyes at the stunt Lumina had carried out on him. "You should be d that you know I would go easy on you."


    "Were you going to kill him?" Lumina mumbled just enough for him to hear. Quickly deactivating the glow in her eyes when she blinked, she wondered how he would take it.


    She was partly sad about the condition of her brother, he was a prodigy who had gone against the tricks of the organization, yet he was a victim of the very thing that he fought so hard against.


    "If I had not arrived." She added and locked eyes with him.


    Nix thought about her words for a while and cleared his throat. If it was only Obsidian present, he would have made use of Red to do some damage and rip a bit of him to sound a warning.


    Blinding him was also very tempting at that point.


    Nix gasped at the realization of triggering the emergence of the dragons in his thoughts. ''Oh no no!''


    <You should have let me kill him, he''s already dead anyways> Red chipped in with a chuckle.


    ''Shut it!'' Nix hissed in his thoughts, wiping the sweat off his forehead.


    Lumina stared at him wondering why he looked like he had seen a ghost.


    She tried to look behind her even though there was nothing other than the wall behind her.


    Shaking his head to the slight disturbance, he let out a sigh. ''You all need to know when I''m referencing you when I need you.''


    <I had told him severally> Rekor sneered at Red.


    <Don''t act like some sort of weakling, you very well know that we thrive for the fear and kill!!!> Raiken snapped.


    Nix let out a yell to clear his head, startling Lumina in the process.


    "I''m sorry!" He said calmly, lowering his head at how he had just followed the only thing that came to his mind at the time to get rid of their words in his subconscious.


    Lumina had her hand on her chest to calm herself. Even if she couldn''t understand why he had suddenly shouted that wouldn''t stop her from getting the truth she so wanted to hear dearly.


    "I would be frank, I had nned on letting him go at first and wanted to prolong him being alive so you two could one-day cross paths," Nix replied with a chuckle, wiping down his face at how unreal things were.


    "So what pushed you to give him a good beating until I had interfered?" Lumina pressed with a hum and a nod of her head.

 Chapter 221 Any Objections?

    "Good beating?" Nix muttered with augh at how silly that sounded.


    That was more of murderous intent and had nearly let loose of himself. He regretted nothing of what he had done with the other collector. They both deserved whatever wasing their way.


    "He had wanted to attack Lank when he was vulnerable." Nix hissed, punching the wall in suppressed rage at the thought rushing back to him.


    Lumina''s eyes widened at the words, "what the heck was Lank doing that he could be so distracted to be vulnerable?"


    Nix raised a brow at her reasoning on the matter. That wasn''t the point no matter how he saw it from different angles.


    "Lumina listen to your words again!" Nix yelled, disappointed by the angle she picked on.


    Lumina winced at how she was referred. Knowing he was angry and disappointed, she tried to recall where she had gone wrong.


    Her head dropped down once she had noticed her fault. Even with the side, her undead brother was, yet she had picked on Lank. This scared her more than she could imagine.


    ''Am I on his side? What is wrong with me?'' She thought with a sigh, scratching her eyes.


    "I didn''t realize how disturbing my words were at the time." She whispered, avoiding making eye contact with Nix.


    The corner of Nix''s lips raised at her understanding, he was just d that she had realized her mistake. "If I had not intervened Lank would be held hostage or worse¨Cdead."


    Lumina gulped, guessing how dangerous her brother was, it was no surprise that it would have been an easy task to carry out these two if Nix wasn''t present.


    "I had to teach a bit of lesson to him before he does more than what was expected." Nix whistled and looked away.


    "Oh..." Lumina''s voice trailed off and unsure of what to say next.


    "He was the one who had given a fatal wound to Fae." Nix gave a bitterugh, "he and his permanently deceased partner were the cause of Fae going into hiding."


    Lumina nodded her head, "I had gotten the information from Mr. Gaviel''s memories."


    Nix pushed back his hair and let out a chuckle, "who knows what other memory from Mr. Gaviel could be triggered by what we see in the organization?"


    "What''s your n, and how do we get out of this fortress?" Lumina questioned, finally curious.


    Nix''s lips raised in a smirk, "easy... Obsidian. We had left this shit hole once, we can do it again."


    There was so much at stake, it would all depend on if Obsidian was willing to leave with them.


    The path leading out of the organization was with all twists and turns that would need someone conversant with it.


    "Do you think he would be willing?" Lumina asked, worried about the n falling out if there was any form of hesitation or betrayal from anyone.


    "He''s gained my trust and I know he would be willing to go through with it," Nix affirmed with a smile.


    Lumina raised her hands in surrender, she would take his words as it is.


    "Nowe over here," she stretched out her hands with a gleeful demeanor. "You and I need some rest."


    Nix raised a brow and let out a chuckle at how sneaky she was with her words.


    Nevertheless, he went along with her suggestion, approaching the bed.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In the master''s domain,


    "Speak!"


    Mr. Zhao trembled and almost broke his bowing form. "M... Master."


    "Did youe for an apology?" The master snickered, leaning forward from hisfortable rest in the pool.


    Mr. Zhao refused to raise his head, he repeatedly chanted three words. "Please have mercy."


    "Why should I do that if you have time done anything wrong?" Heughed out loud.


    Mr. Zhao internally cursed at his inability to coordinate his thoughts when it came to anything rted to his master.


    He gulped and took his time to collect his thoughts before he tried to defend himself.


    "Where are my two minions?!" He jokingly looked around, realizing how quiet his domain was.


    He had eagerly expected his collectors to bring the beating heart of Zhao for his appeasement, yet in their ce was the moving body of Zhao in front of him.


    Mr. Zhao shook violently at the mention of the collectors, he wished that was a topic that could never be brought up.<sub> </sub>


    "A... About that..." He began but couldn''t continue with the unexinable answer.


    Nix and Lank had been thest to engage. Without some sort of report from Zephyr, he wouldn''t be able to know the fate of those who had tried to kill him.


    "Yet here you are." The cold voice of the master snapped, and his blue eyes glowed.


    Mr. Zhao shook his head, "I was never a part of the reason Gaviel had escaped, I swear!"


    "How about swearing with your heart out?"


    Mr. Zhao''s eyes widened at the dangerous joke of his master.


    "Gaviel must have been nning this without our knowledge and have seized the opportunity he had just like Fabian."


    Mr. Zhao jumped back when his master hissed at histter words. "I apologize for bringing that up."


    The mere mention of Fabian made the master boil with rage. Fabian had colluded with Lyra and gone against him, his betrayal would only meet the same end as Lyra once he''s found out.


    "Starting with his daughter..." He opened his hand, materializing a fluid construction of a female in his palm as he red at the figure and clenched it in a fist. "...I will take everything he holds so dear and make him one of my ves to do my bidding!"


    "Hahaha!" He cackled, easing his back on the coping of the pool.


    "Yes yes." Mr. Zhao nodded his head, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. That was the one thing he wished to never experience¨Cbeing turned into an undead.


    He shudder at the thought, "Gaviel and Fabian can''t hide forever, you''re everpetent to sort them out."


    The master narrowed his eyes at the suggestion, "does that mean I have people who are ipetent around me? A bunch of loggerheads who do nothing but gawk?"


    Mr. Zhao closed his eyes and regretted his words once more. He wondered how much digging he was doing for himself to fall in.


    "You have a new assignment, find out the source of Nix''s strength. There''s something oddly strange about him, that cannot be solely the power of a fire ranker." He sneered at Zhao.


    "Yes, master. It would be worked on as we speak." He gave a bow, d that he had been given another chance to prove himself worthy.


    He had slowly walked back, careful not moving too fast to be considered fleeing before his master.


    "Wait!" The loud voice of his master made him freeze to the spot.


    Gulp!


    "M... master?" Mr. Zhao''s lips trembled as he questioned what had made him suddenly call on him.


    "Zephyr, what''s the progress with the recovery of his memories?"


    ''Why does my life keep getting tossed like this?'' Mr. Zhao cried in his thoughts.


    Zephyr had been proving to be a tough nut to crack and it was to his detriment if he couldn''t get some sort of information about what he had found out in what was remaining in Lyra''s home.


    "He had recognized a few people most especially Rumi, and some of his words said seemed to reflect a gradual recovery." He strategically avoided the part that was of more importance.


    The master let out augh, not because he was pleased with the news but rather was angered by the fact that Zhao was trying to prove smart to him.


    Not understanding why his master was in such a seemingly good mood but just so he wouldn''t be caught in such an awkward situation, Mr. Zhao lightly chuckled along.


    "Silence!" The voice boomed.


    Getting out of the water, it came as a shock to Mr. Zhao when he was graced with the naked body of his master.


    ''Oh, dear!'' He eximed in his thoughts and tightly shut his eyes to give himself some sort of privacy.


    The master stared at Zhao for a while, he could use the easy opportunity to do away with him. Instead, he scoffed and walked to where he had dropped his robe.


    Slipping it on, he cleared his throat.


    Mr. Zhao opened his eyes upon the signal, his breathing normalized when he saw his master tightening the belt on his robe.


    "Do not provoke me, my patience is wearing thin." He warned, "you know what I want to know!"


    Mr. Zhao nodded his head and proceeded to give in detail about what Zephyr had been up to for the past few days.


    "It would seem that what Rumi had said needs to be tested. Till then, keep an eye on him also." He ordered.


    ? Mr. Zhao''s shoulders drooped at themand, he already had enough on his te by being given the task of Nix, now Zephyr?


    "Any objections?" The master questioned with the raised his brow and pushed back his wet hair.

 Chapter 222 Youve Made A Mistake

    "Never would I ever think otherwise." Mr. Zhao replied with a slight bow.


    Giving a nod to the words, he dismissed Zhao. "Take the portal, it''s much faster."


    Creating a portal, Mr. Zhao could easily see his room on the other side. His heart pounded at the easy ess his master could have to anywhere he put his mind to.


    ''So it was my master''s ability that allowed those two devils into my room without a trace.''


    Gulping, he reluctantly went in.


    Zupt!


    The master continued to stare at the ce where Zhao had stood. His anger only burned at how ipetent his collectors were.


    "AGHHHH!!!" He yelled in rage, opening up a portal that sucked up all the water in the pool.


    His body trembled slightly and veins made their way onto his forehead. With bloodshot eyes, he punched the wall closest to him.


    Crack marks spread and traveled around his fist.


    "No one double-crosses me and gets away with it. No one!" He hissed.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In Mr. Zhao''s room,


    He rushed towards his table, his hands frantically searching for a piece of paper.


    "Where is it?!" He muttered and pushed away all stationery that got in his way.


    Knock!


    Knock!


    His head whipped to his door, he could only guess the only person who would visit him at such an hour.


    "Open." He voiced hismand to the door.


    Click!


    "I knew you wouldn''t fail to disappoint." Heughed at the emergence of Zephyr.


    Not answering thement made by Mr. . Zhao, Zephyr simply bowed and frowned.


    "I had done what you asked, and I hope I wouldn''t be bothered by you or your threats in the future."


    Those words made Mr. Zhao let out a chuckle at the impossible word. "Do you know the chain of power?"


    ''Do I have to stand and wait for this load of bullshit?'' Zephyr thought in regret.


    All he ever wanted aftering to this world was to be reincarnated into the body of someone he couldy low on. With the given circumstances, it was never possible for the body he possesses.


    The thoughts that scramble his mind when he gets information on the previous host without a trigger caused him severe headaches.


    He realized if he didn''t make any attempt to be invested in the conversation, it might serve as an excuse for Mr. Zhao to go brutal on him again.


    "No I don''t Sir, could you kindly share your words of wisdom?" Zephyr said through gritted teeth while forcing a smile.


    Dismissing the sarcastic tone in Zephyr''s words, Mr. Zhao cleared his throat before he answered. "To maintain power, you use whatever means you have to get a hold on those or things you wish to ess. No yielding whatsoever."


    Zephyr couldn''t hold back the frow that showed his distaste at his words. The only meaning he could grab from all he had heard is he would still be threatened if he was out of line.


    Shaking his head and letting out a sigh, he looked up at Mr. Zhao. "So I should expect more in store if I don''t follow your orders, huh?"


    "Bravo!" pping his hand to how well he had deciphered his words, he gave a thumbs-up to Zephyr.


    ''I don''t know why I feel this way, but I wished I had not listened to Nix and teleported to your room. The news of your death by those jerks would have spread far and wide.'' Zephyr wished in his subconscious and his eyes red with untold words shooting daggers at Mr. Zhao.


    "Oooo! I''m so scared!" Mr. Zhao shivered, realizing there was more to tell in those ring eyes. He could see that he was trying to hide his hate in his words, but his eyes told a different story.


    Zephyr simply looked away, his eyes roving around to distract himself until Mr. Zhao was ready to speak.


    "What is it you have acquired?" Mr. Zhao''s cold voice questioned and he narrowed his eyes.


    "Lumina¨C"<sub> </sub>


    "Lumina? What about her?" Mr. Zhao cut in and his brow raised in suspicion. He had not expected to get the information starting with her.


    Zephyr suddenly realized that there was more to this female than he had thought, even Mr. Zhao''s interest was piqued just by the mere mention.


    ''Interesting, let''s see how well this goes then.'' He snickered in his thoughts as he prepared to continue with his words.


    "When I had gotten there, she knew about my presence almost immediately even though I had hidden from their view." Zephyr began.


    "Pfft!" Mr. Zhao tried to stifle augh at Zephyr''s words, he found it funny for someone like him to think he could hide from a lightning rank user within that close radius.


    "Excuse me, Sir?" He questioned as he felt upset and stupid from the way Mr. Zhao was suddenly acting.


    "You tried to hide from a lightning rank user at close range while spying on them?" He burst outughing.


    Zephyr had understood why he wasughing from the very first time and had tried to curtail his embarrassment. "I had not known at the¨C"


    Bang!


    Mr. Zhao punched down on the edge of his table which caused it to rip off its remaining frame. "How could you be so stupid?!!"


    ''F*ck you! How the hell was I meant to know about this little detail?!'' Zephyr snapped in his thoughts, frustrated with the way Mr. Zhao conversed with him.


    He had risked his life going back to the arena, risked being suspected by the others who mightter put meaning to his sudden appearance.


    "How the hell was I meant to know about this?!" He yelled back, sick and tired of being pushed about.


    Those words stirred his inside, he had wanted to let it slide but the more he thought about Zephyr asking such a question, he felt yed.


    Slowly approaching Zephyr, he gritted his teeth and his fist clenched. Antipathy seething off him.


    Zephyr gulped and immediately regretted his words, he could feel a murderous intent directed at him. His eyes widened at such a feeling and instinctively took a step back.


    He dreaded the fact that as long as he was in Mr. Zhao''s room, his ability to teleport in or out was dictated by the devil approaching him.


    "You''ve made a serious mistake, saying those words!" He sneered.


    The original Zephyr had known about this, and all of the organization''s members knew about this information.


    This was due to the arrival of the prodigy in the organization at the time, he had given them a bit of an insight into how a lightning ranker ability works¨Cno one could sneak up on them without them getting a feeling and pinpointing the said location.


    "All of the organization''s members know about this tiny little detail. If I remembered correctly, you said you had gradually recovered your memory. So is that also a lie?" Mr. Zhao asked with his eyes twitching and a crooked smile stered on his lips.


    Zephyr tried to maintain hisposure even after the words were spoken to him. He internally cursed at how stupid he was to blurt out those implicating words.


    "Lumina had told me to teleport her to the arena once she realized I was with Solis in there," Zephyr replied, he hoped to distract him with that piece of information.


    Feeling that might not do the trick, he shielded his eyes with his arms and expected the worst possible oue.


    Mr. Zhao paused in his approach, his hands loose at his side, and suddenly went into a daze.


    Shaking his head after he snapped out of the trance-like state, he made a strangling gesture as he red at Zephyr. "Why would you agree to such a request?!!"


    Zephyr jumped back in fear at the unstable disposition of Mr. Zhao, the only thing he was d about was the fact that he was spared because of that information popping up in his head.


    "You had specifically pointed out that I know what they were up to and it turns out after I was caught and forced to go along with them." He exined.


    "Go on." Mr. Zhao pressured. His eyes fixated on Zephyr''s face.


    "We had gotten to the arena and found out that Nix had gone ballistic on the electricity dude that had tried to stop us from leaving¨C"


    "What about the other collector?" Mr. Zhao cut in impatiently, his lips trembling as he tried to imagine the sight.


    He had known that fire rankers were dangerous, but for someone of Nix''s experience, it was close to impossible to achieve such a feat.


    Zephyr temporarily closed his eyes and tried to calm his thoughts. He had been interrupted several times and it was starting to feel like a sore thumb.


    Left with no choice but to answer, he let out a sigh before he continued. "He was ripped apart, more of a gory sight if you ask me."


    Mr. Zhao took several steps back, if Nix could do that to one of the collectors and had overpowered Ian, he began to realize how dangerous he was.


    "What about the other collector? Was there some sort of conversation between Lumina?" He questioned in a panic.

 Chapter 223 Enjoy The Fun While It Lasts

    Zephyr had a wry smile, he had finally gained a bit of an upper hand with his tyrant superior.


    If he could distort the information starting at this moment, he would be one step wiser than Mr. Zhao.


    "Is there anything that was meant to be said?" Zephyr questioned with a raise of his brow.


    Not wanting to expose what he knew, Mr. Zhao shook his head and frowned. "I guess that would mean nothing went amiss."


    Zephyr shrugged, pretending to be unconcerned and indifferent. Even though he had sensed something was strange with the two lightning users, he could feel that they had some sort of connection to one another.


    "What happened to the other collector? Was he killed?" Mr. Zhao asked excitedly, wishing cmity had befallen Ian¨Cthat would be the topping mark for his secret kept from Lumina.


    "He escaped." Zephyr dropped the bomb on a news.


    He had deduced that Mr. Zhao had developed a dread for the two who had tried to kill him but would be more disheveled if he knew that one of the perpetrators was still alive.


    A deafening silence soon followed right after as Mr. Zhao zoned out for a while. In all his years of service to his master, there has never been a day when he would fear for his life.


    If he couldn''t rectify the problem that had dragged him into the mess, he was sure to regret his existence.


    He forced a smile, one of his hands covering half of his face as heughed out loud hysterically.


    "He''s still alive!" He spat out in disdain at the news, that was definitely going to kill his morale no matter how he thought about it.


    "Go find out what they are nning, they are surely up to no good." He hissed at Zephyr.


    Zephyr gave a bow, while he was out of visible range from his position, he let out an inaudible chuckle at how well he had manipted the condition to his preference.


    The report was far easier than he had expected and to top it off, he had caused a disturbance in the perfect throne Mr. Zhao had been sitting on.


    Click!


    Walking out, he took one nce behind him before the door mmed behind him.


    ''You wish to control me? It takes two to y that game.'' He snickered in his thoughts before walking back to his room.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In the sanctuary,


    A bright light shone on Arion as he was led in. He had been so mesmerized by the beautifuldy that he had been handed over to by Mr. Zhao that he forgot to ask questions.


    Sesa looked behind her, "Arion,e on, we don''t have all night."


    Arion nodded his head to the call, he looked around him and was shocked as to how different the whole vicinity was from the rest of the room and hallways in the organization.


    A jade rug runs down for a few meters from the walking path beforeing to an end leading up to an array of chairs surrounding a circr mahogany table while ribbon banners with gilded decorations cover parts of the walls.


    Between each banner, a few of them have been lit and in turn illuminate the tapestries of dragons and other mythical creatures below them.


    Hefty, washed ss windows are neighbored by curtains colored the same jade as the banners. The curtains have been adorned with decorating tips and jewels.


    He threw back his head to take in the beautiful sight before him. "Wow!"


    "Arion!" Sesa hissed, pulling back his head by his cor. "Compose yourself."


    Feeling bashful, he looked away when he realized they had made brief contact with each other.


    ''Typical infatuatious student.'' Sesa rolled her eyes, she wanted nothing more than to do away with Arion, but as per the orders given to her, she would need to win his favor if they were ever going to sessfully pull him to their side.


    They had made a background check on Arion and he had a personal liking for beautiful older females. She had been so attentive to the information dispensed to the rest of the core members that it had caught her unawares to be selected for the task.<sub> </sub>


    Following without a word, he stopped when Sesa stretched out her hand to her side to stop him from going any further.


    "Miss Sesa, what''s the matter?" Arion called out in confusion.


    Making a hush sound with her index finger, she lightly touched a barrier in front.


    A ripple effect caused Arion to jump back in shock. "What the heck is that?"


    Sesa let out a chuckle, "for someone who''s into the magical arts, you surprise me with your attitude."


    Grabbing a hold of his wrist, she pulled him in.


    Blinking several times, his mouth hung open to how snowy white the whole area was, "what is all of this?"


    When Sesa looked over her shoulder, she couldn''t help but smile at how innocent this new puppet would be for her and to the organization.


    "This is a ce called my sanctuary and here is its inner dimension not known to most of the members in this organization." She began to exin, interlocking their fingers as they took a stroll in.


    Arion nodded his head, not necessarily concerned about what was being said but rather about the feeling of being held by Sesa and the beautiful sight that graced his eyes.


    "It''s beautiful." He whispered in awe.


    "Do you know those who are privileged to see this?" She questioned, trying to pique his interest.


    Shaking his head, he had his focus on Sesa the whole time. Her yellow eyes captivated his inner being.


    She pulled off her ck zer in the pretense of being ufortable by the extrayer of clothing. Underneath revealed a ck mesh top that disyed her ck bra and a gold pendant that was hidden in between the two mounds of flesh. The only thing visible was the gold chain that was out of her cleavage and around her neck.


    Sesa could rightly see him feasting his eyes on her cleavage. She had never missed an opportunity to be as alluring as she could ever be. This had been one of the valuable tricks she had used when conducting some of her experiments.


    The art of cultivating the energy of a ranker through coption. This was her secret task. After the report of spar in the academy had been gathered, it hade to their knowledge that Arion would be one of the perfect candidates for such an experiment.


    He would have a taste of what she could offer him, but in exchange, his energy and life force was hers for the taking. Whenever she wishes¨Cgenerally when her master demands, she could mutate him into whatever creature she feels necessary to test how far he could go with his new life.


    All she needed was to lure the victims to a ce where they couldn''t be disturbed nor no one could anyone help when things didn''t go as nned.


    The corner of her lips was raised when she noticed how easy it was to get to him. ''Enjoy the fun, while itsts.'' she snickered in her thoughts as she walked up to him.


    Arion gulped and took a step back, skeptical about what was going on.


    "Those who are privileged toe here have the privilege to request three things they would like to do with my body without any form of disturbance. What''s more, an hour here is just a minute outside, think of the possibility of what we could do together." Her sultry voice jolted his thoughts awake.


    He watched with wide eyes as she approached, swaying her hips and grabbing a hold of her breast, and giving it a light squeeze.


    Arion could rightly understand where she was headed with such behavior and was skeptical about if this was a beautiful dream that he needed to wake up.


    "Miss Sesa, please pick up your jacket, it''s a bit cold out here. You shouldn''t be without a jacket with your top being so¨C"


    Arion shut his mouth when he realized he had almost said words he didn''t necessarily want to speak in front of her to describe how hot she looked.


    "There are various ways we can keep both of us warm, all you need to do is ask for it." She pushed up her boobs so he could view them bounce a bit.


    ''Zhao you''re so dead when this is over!'' Sesa thought with cross popping veins in her subconscious. She had to go through with this because of his suggestions to their master.


    Arion''s heart thumped and forced his eyes closed so he couldn''t see the temptation. When he felt a soft cushion push up against him, he was forced to open them. "Miss Ses¨C"


    He let out a groan when he felt her hand stroke his crotch.


    "I can fulfill one of your wishes, only if you would like to have your way with me." She said as her hands roamed his body.

 Chapter 224 As Slippery As A Snake

    A whistle could be heard down the hallway.


    Taking a peek at the perpetrator, Obsidian narrowed his eyes at the female who had mysteriously joined their organization a month before.


    She dressed in a traditional outfit to the rest of the members, wavy ck rolled up in a messy bun held in ce by two wooden hair sticks, her head raised high with a smug smile no matter where she went.


    He had been secretly watching her since her arrival and had been curious enough to ask Mr. Zhao but was repeatedly turned down no matter how many times he had tried to know any time other than her name. ''Ayanami, what the hell are you up to?''


    Sensing that she was followed, she looked over her shoulder and paused to get wind of a change in the breathing pattern other than hers.


    Obsidian held his breath when he had known what she had nned on doing with her pale purple eyes glowing and was fixated on his position behind a pir.


    Clip!


    Clop!


    Her pair of z¨­ri with green straps announced her imminent approach.


    ''Don''t you think watching you for all this while wouldn''t bring out the best in my countermeasures?'' Obsidian thought with a smirk as he activated his ability.


    Focusing his attention on the rock he had ced just for the exact purpose of escaping situations like the one he might be caught in.


    He created a ck aura around it, easily lifting it and tossing it in the opposite direction.


    Ayanami took a step back, frightened by the sudden sound and her thoughts distracted and shifted in the opposite direction.


    "I don''t know who you are or why you have been following me, but you are messing with the wrong person!" She snarled with a warning.


    Slowly she began to shapeshift into a ck wolf.


    Hiding his scent sessfully, he carefully created several stepping stones with his ck aura so he could climb to the top and hide there while she sniffs the bottom.


    k!


    Obsidian hissed the moment he made a slip in his action just enough to alert Ayanami of his location.


    She soon realized that she was tricked and sprinted to where she had heard the sound. "Ha!"


    ? Her face fell when she couldn''t spot what or who had caused the disturbance.


    Realization dawned on her the moment she focused her attention on the one ce she had failed to search¨Cabove.


    Obsidian watched her in the shadows, she was staring right at him, but couldn''t see him due to the pitch-ck cover the top gave.


    He knew this wouldn''tst too long as she was bound to shape-shifting again if the need arises and right then it was starting to show she was going to take that route.


    The moment he spotted her arms change into wings, he knew he needed to act fast.


    ''Oh no you don''t!'' He thought with a hiss and sprang out his tentacles. Few people knew about his newly acquired skill from the raenz and he was bound to keep it that way.


    If he needed the advantage, he would need to be the one on the offense. Stretching out his tentacles he wrapped them around Ayanami''s neck before she couldplete her transformation.


    Coughing and choking, Ayanami fought to be released scratching at the tentacle.


    Obsidian hissed to the pain he felt from the sh she made on the tentacle, but was determined to knock her unconscious before releasing her¨Cit was the only way for him to safely leave and be more conscious of his action in case of next time.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    She felt her breath get snuffed out and her vision slowly blurring before her eyes. "I... will... get... you somed¨C"


    Obsidian let out a sigh of relief at her limp body. Releasing his grip around her throat, he allowed her to drop to the ground with a thud.


    Dropping to the ground, he did a barrel roll and got back to his feet with a light jump.


    As he walked toward her, he used his leg to push her so shey on her back. Her disheveled hair scattered all around her and the hair sticks rolled away.


    "As slippery as a snake, you are." Obsidian clicked his tongue and shook his head.<sub> </sub>


    Squatting so he could get a better look at her, he ced his finger under her nostrils to be sure she was still breathing. When he felt an exhale from her, he took a step back.


    ''You''re up to something, and the fact that you''re associated with Zephyr and Mr. Zhao makes it a whole lot more disturbing.'' He looked around to ascertain what he would do next.


    She wasying on the floor with no one to help her at the moment, he had the opportunity to kill her but was curious enough to find out why she had ventured into the inner chambers¨Cthis ce was highly prohibited even for her rank in the organization.


    Grabbing a hold of her face, he turned it to the other side and observed as her earrings swayed. The one thing that had caught his attention was the pendant that slipped out of her clothing.


    Grabbing a hold of the snake head pendant, he stared into the glinting onyx eyes. ''So you have been recruited into this weird secret group going on here?!''


    Closing his eyes, he channeled a bit of his aura specifically into the eyes. It was the perfect ce for him to watch what she was up to when he wanted to. ''Be my eyes and ears, little one.''


    Releasing his grip on the pendant, he carefully put it back where it was. ''If you keep this up, you will meet a bad end.''


    Walking away, he looked over his shoulder at Ayanami and mumbled under his breath, "do not be too easy for an open attack."


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    After 20 mins,


    Ayanami''s body twitched and jolted awake with a cough. Her hands shot to her neck as she took in a huge gulp of air.


    Her chest heaved and quickly searched for her pendant. When she was able to feel its distinctive pattern, her mind calmed and sheid back on the floor.


    Shape shifting her hand into that of a bear, she hit the floor in rage. ''Whoever is watching me knows about my movements.''


    She pushed herself up and reverted her hand to how it was. Closing her eyes, she protracted cat ears so she could listen to any residual movements. There was no way to determine if she was left to fend for herself or simply be watched again.


    When it was confirmed that there was no one within a 5-meter radius from her, she took steps back and back against the wall.


    ''I can''t carry out the task I was given for now.'' She cried in her thoughts, realizing she was going to get a scolding from Mr. Zhao.


    After the death of Aer, she had be a recement for her senior and had been specifically taken under the wing of Mr. Zhao.


    Biting down on her bottom lip, she ced her hand over her chest and shook in fear. ''What if the person who had been following me is a subordinate of the leader of this organization?''


    Her eyes doubled in size at the thought and also trying to figure out who had that sort of tentacle-like ability.


    Careful about her steps, she shapeshifted into a snake and slithered away in search of Mr. Zhao.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In room Apex,


    Obsidian had just gotten to the door of his room and had wanted to voice hismand to open it when his mouth hung open as he turned to his left to the person who was watching him.


    "It''s about time you noticed my presence, Sid."


    Obsidian closed his mouth and reced it with a grin. "Mentor! How are you?" He asked and sweatdropped.


    He couldn''t still get out the fact that Nix was a bigger beast than he was. The demeaning aura he gave off made him whimper and pull back his ears as he tucked his tail in between his legs.


    Nix raised a brow at the difference in Obsidian''s attitude towards him. "Don''t tell me I scared you?"


    Obsidian shook his head, hoping not to spike up suspicion. He tried to calm his racing heart.


    "I owned a canine once and what your body is showing tells a different story than the one you''re currently disying." He pointed especially to Obsidian''s ttened ears and tucked tail.


    Creating a telekic barrier around them, he nodded towards Obsidian. "You can speak freely, no one can hear outside this barrier so you don''t have to worry."


    Obsidian looked around them, it looked more like how it was normally there was no way of telling there was any barrier.


    Lightly touching it, a ripple effect made his hand bounce back. "As expected." He hissed and retracted his hands.


    Nix folded his arms and waited for Obsidian to let out what was bothering him. "We don''t have all day."

 Chapter 225 Be More Specific

    Obsidian looked to his left and then to his right. It felt ufortable speaking to him under such circumstances. There was a slight chance that they could be watched or caught.


    Nodding his head towards Lank''s room, he signaled it was best to go in there.


    With Gia present, they could put it up as males talk and needed to be excused.


    "In there?" Nix asked for confirmation.


    Obsidian nodded and walked over to door 2.


    This forced Nix to deactivate his passive gift and inevitably follow him to the door.


    Knock!


    "You''ve got to be kidding me." Nix facepalmed and pulled on his hair lightly.


    What was supposed to be a one-on-one discussion had turned into a group meeting.


    Obsidian''s lips raised as he heard a click from the door.


    Lank took a peek and lowered his head, "what do you want?"


    Obsidian grabbed a hold of Nix and pulled him into view. "It isn''t what I want but what we need to know."


    Lank mmed the door in their faces.


    Nix turned back his head stiffly as he shot a re at Obsidian.


    Obsidian let go of Nix and took several steps back. "I''m sure he had a reasonable exnation for this..."


    Lowering his voice, he ced the back of his palm at the corner of his lips so he could tactfully whisper. "He had been curious when you went ballistic in the arena. It''s better if I know, he knows¨Che already has a faint idea of your other gift."


    Folding his hands, he rolled his eyes to the words that slipped out of Obsidian''s lips. "Even if what you say is true, I needed time to do so myself, he''s my friend and I''m sure he must have been a bit shocked as to what had happened then."


    Obsidian shook his head, he had been with Lank when things unfolded, "shocked is an understatement, you should have seen his¨C"


    Click!


    "Doe in," Lank said with a grin, pushing out Gia.


    Gia stared at the two and bowed her head and dashed towards Nix''s room. "Lumina, please open up!"


    Click!


    Yawning, Lumina scratched her eyes and smacked her lips. "What is it?" She questioned with sleep in her eyes.


    Pushing her in, Gia closed the door behind them.


    Obsidian and Nix had their mouths gaped open at what had just happened.


    Turning their attention back to Lank, Nix couldn''t help but speak first.


    "What did you say to her? No... No... What transpired between you two since Sid knocked." Nix pointed in the direction in which Gia was.


    Lank had a big stered smile all the while and sweat dropped at the question directed at him. He had been trying to act normal since they came back from the arena, but seeing Nix brought all those hidden feelings to light.


    Pulling them in, he locked the door. "What the hell do you two think you''re doing?!" He hissed and folded his arms.


    Obsidian and Nix shared a confused look at Lank''s question. They were the ones who had wanted to see him¨Cespecially forced by Obsidian to meet with Lank.


    Nix frowned and red at Obsidian. "I never wanted this anyway, it was better to take things slow."


    "Take what slow?" Lank cut in with a raise of his brows.


    The corner of Nix''s lips raised to the question, he had wanted to ask a specific question at the onset when he had seen Obsidian trying to sneak back and the only thought that crossed his mind was payback.


    "Sid, would you like to exin to the two of us why you were sneaking back? You seemed to have aplished a bit of whatever you were nning."


    "What?!" Obsidian gasped, taken aback by such an upfront question.


    "W-who said anything about sneaking anywhere?" He tried to defend.


    Lank facepalmed, "you suck at lying, for some cool feral your ears tten when you are caught."<sub> </sub>


    Obsidian sweat dropped, he had thought this sort of discussion would be more of Nix rted and not focused on him.


    "Since we are all here, why don''t we discuss all that needs answers, starting with yours," Nix said as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.


    Letting out a sigh, "fine..."


    Lowering his voice as he spoke, he deepened his voice to set the mood.


    "Have you ever felt like you''re out of ce?" He began vaguely, expecting some sort of reply.


    He wasn''t going to narrate without having some sort of discussion.


    ''I am out of ce, not meant to be here in fact.'' Nix reminisced on all that had happened to him over just a few months.


    Lank on the other hand had always felt out of ce ever since the moment he couldn''t ce a pin on his origin or family. His abilities also couldn''t allow him to pinpoint his roots.


    "Yes?" Nix and Lank chorused in a bit of confusion on where he was headed.


    Obsidian nodded with a smile, he could already guess their response, but what he was driving at was much moreplicated than he thought it would be.


    "I had been here longer than most members but there was one thing I had always thought to be true¨Cwhen the time was right, I would be duly chosen to be one of the core members just like my teacher¨CMr. Zhao." He exined, feeling downhearted by how stupid he was.


    "After the recent death of one of the core members and student under my teacher, things started to go downhill. She had been so precious to him that I was considered second to her¨C"


    Nix felt as though he knew who Obsidian was talking about and had to ask. "Her name and cause of death?"


    Obsidian raised a brow to the impatient attitude disyed by Nix, "Aer, but her cause of death was disclosed to only the core members."


    A sh of memory coursed through Lank and Nix''s thoughts. It was yet another piece of information that Mr. Gaviel had gathered as he spoke with Mr. Zhao.


    It was vivid like they were there at the scene when it had happened, it had traumatized Mr. Zhao so much that he had tried to push the me onto Mr. Gaviel.


    "Are you two alright?" Obsidian asked in worry as he witnessed their faces pale as they shared a look.


    Shaking their heads, they brought back their thoughts from wandering, and were graced with the information at its peak.


    There was no denying it, it was the very person Obsidian was talking about. Nix''s heart thumped in guilt at being there and witnessing her death personally.


    He couldn''t pull his thoughts away from remembering what had transpired between them, how he had almost gotten the needed information from her before her pendant gave way like a ticking time bomb.


    This was the only good thing he could get that Obsidian wasn''t considered a core member of the organization.


    "We''re good," Nix spoke up for both of them and gave subtle signals to Lank to be quiet about the little details they would get if it were connected to Mr. Gaviel.


    "It turns out that they had found a quick recement for her like she meant nothing to any of them," Obsidian recalled through gritted teeth.


    Raising his head, "I had heard she was from your academy and was specially selected by Mr. Zhao."


    Nix and Lank''s brows furrowed, it was one thing to say the person was from their academy, but it was another to be vague about it when there were tens of thousands of students in the academy.


    "You would have to be more specific." Nix folded his hands.


    "She had her ck wavy hair that ombres into a faded blue and had pale purple eyes¨C"


    Nix and Lank''s eyes widened in shock of disbelief, if they could somehow guess the remaining, only then could they be sure.


    "Wears traditional clothing like she''s preparing for some sort of ceremony?" Lank cut in with a hiss.


    Obsidian nodded his head, surprised by the detail of what he had wanted to recount, "yes, how did you¨C"


    "Can shape shift into various animals that make you want to kill her for the fun of it?" Nix added with his eyes hooded and antipathy seething off him as he remembered the one female he could never show sympathy for.


    The room fell silent, Nix was so lost in thought that he had failed to realize the look he was given by the others.


    Lank had his mouth gaped open, he had remembered when he was ordered by Nix to teach Ayanami a lesson, but the murderous intent disyed had taken him by surprise.


    "Uhhh..." Obsidian stressed the word to break the silence. "Why do I feel like you two vividly know this female?"


    Lank had wanted to speak up before Nix could say something stupid but was toote.


    "She''s a snake that needs her limbs cut slowly in sections and thrown in the ever-burning mes!" Nix hissed and his eyes glowed with his mes reflecting in his eyes.

 Chapter 226 Stirring Trouble

    Obsidian took a step back, unsure if he should respond to that sort of answer.


    From what he had deduced it would seem that he wasn''t the only one who had a bad feeling about that female, but unlike them, he didn''t harbor such resentment as they did.


    His mind trailed to when he had simply knocked her unconscious, he guessed that she was fortunate enough that he was the perpetrator and not Nix.


    "Do... Do you mean what you just said?" Obsidian voiced out, gauging his reaction.


    Nix raised a brow and red at Obsidian, in an instant he burst out in peals of crazedughter.


    "I wasn''t convincing enough?" He began and pointed a finger at Obsidian and continued with hisughter.


    Obsidian narrowed his eyes, he saw nothing funny and when he turned his attention to Lank momentarily, he could see a sh of anger and confusion mixed in them.


    He was suddenly curious about how a female could stir up strife in their hearts and why Nix would go to any length to pull her into the ashes.


    "If you truly know her? Then you would understand that a serpent deserves no redemption whatsoever." Nix hissed in response.


    "I had not thought that you would know her so well,"


    Lank ced his hand on Obsidian''s shoulder and lightly tapped it, shaking his head. There was no point in trying to justify himself, he had stirred up a sleeping dragon.


    "She had done enough damage while at the academy, why bring her here?!" Nix roared in rage, bringing his leg down on the chair in front of him.


    Krii!


    A dent was formed in the middle of the metal chair.


    Lank bit down on his bottom lip and closed his eyes so he could calm his thoughts. ''Think happy thoughts.''


    Hyperventting, he ced his hand on the wall and deactivated the glow in his eyes as he tried to think of the connection all of this had with Obsidian''s whereabouts, "unless..."


    His head whipped to his side and directly at Obsidian. "I''m just beginning to get the link."


    Pushing back his hair and shaking his head at how narrow-minded he was earlier.


    "That''s right." Obsidian finally gave in to the truth hidden underneath all the exnation he was trying to give.


    Lowering his head in despair.


    "Ughhh!" He let out a choke when he felt Nix tighten his grip on his fur cor and pull on it so it tightened on his throat.


    Lank jumped back in surprise and was visibly disturbed by how fast Nix had suddenly be in a matter of seconds.


    "Dude! How many things, skills, and abilities have you been hiding?! What the heck are you two talking about?!" Lank questioned in worry as to why the two looked like they could fight any minute.


    Nix ignored Lank and focused his attention more on Obsidian. "Why did you let her escape?!"


    "How am I supposed to know she''s the monster you paint her to be?!" Obsidian yelled back and shrugged off Nix''s hands.


    "Paint her?!" Nix repeatedly scoffed and turned his back against them so he could rapidly think of how he could reply calmly.


    "Lank, would you like to exin how our little friend came hiding in here?" Nix said with a sigh, turning around so he could watch the two of them.


    Lank gulped, he wasn''t the one who had carried so much hate as Nix, he dreaded speaking about her.


    Shaking his head, he leaned on the wall and proceeded to speak. "She''s an itch that doesn''t want to go off, nor can she be trusted. I think her ability chose her for the right reasons and she shapeshifts into the best suit for her character."


    "A snake huh?" Obsolete cut in and rolled his eyes.


    "Yes, that and also birds, she evades capture majorly through that sick means." Lank facepalmed as he felt his blood boil with rage at the thought.


    Obsidian couldn''t help but let out augh after what he had heard. "So you''re telling me you two had tried to trap her like an animal?"


    "Lumina and Nix could have dealt enough damage if I wasn''t the one who¨C"


    "You got that right, interference sometimes can be detrimental to our concentration!" Nix snorted, feeling frustrated at the missed opportunity.


    "Even Lumina?" Obsidian let out a gasp.


    "She had tried to initiate Gia into whatever means she had used to get into the organization. Forcing her into a vegetative state." Lank said with a sigh.<sub> </sub>


    He couldn''t stop ming himself for running away and leaving Gia with Ayanami at the time, if that had been avoided, probably Gia would have been helpful to Fae in her time of need as she had been to Gia.


    He had been too weak and blinded by rage to make poor decisions, but not anymore.


    To lighten the mood, Lank burst out with the words, "she had a weird liking for Nix."


    "Shut it!" Nix hissed at Lank, jumping over him and tackling him to the ground.


    "Never!" Lank yelled amidst the struggle to get free.


    Obsidian rubbed his chin and nodded. "She stirs trouble wherever she goes it would seem."


    Nix paused at the words and nitpicked what he heard. "What do you mean¨C"


    Smack!


    He felt a foot hit his face, throwing him off bnce. Pushing himself with his palms he narrowed his eyes at Lank who whistled away guiltily.


    ''Stay calm, you would have done the same if you wanted to get yourself free.'' He repeatedly told himself until he believed it.


    Putting up a smile as he got to his feet, he focused his attention on Obsidian, he wasn''t going to let go of those words he had spilled.


    "Where did you see her?" Nix questioned, curious to know where Ayanami was after that little stunt she had pulled.


    "You''re gonna kill her, right?!" Obsidian pointed out that he could feel it.


    "Because of her," he hissed through gritted teeth and lowered his head so he wouldn''t blow a fuse.


    Inhaling and exhaling he was sure he could talk as politely as possible, Obsidian wasn''t the problem but rather Ayanami.


    "We lost two people and a friend severely injured that day." He finalized.


    "We did?!" Lank cut in, unsure if he could recall who that second person who had died was.


    Nix gritted his teeth at the fact that he couldn''t exin all there was that had gone wrong on that day.


    The scene that had transpired that unfaithful day would frequently return to hunt him, Mrs. Neider had a mental breakdown because of Ayanami''s deliberate words, and because of that, she was killed in a simr way Aer had died.


    He had begun to feel that not all who had joined had willingly done what they did, it was the pendant, that goddamn piece of jewelry that needed to go or at least give them a chance to fight back against the force pulling their string.


    Aer had simply gone with the orders given to her and only that was enough to set his anger aze.


    ''The trunk and its roots are the problems, the branches are forced to sway and feed on what is given.'' Nix deduced in his thoughts.


    If there was anything he could pick up was the fact that Fegan and Mr. Gaviel had been part of the core members who had managed to break free from the clutches of the organization.


    This would only mean that his mission would turn a lot harder than he had intended.


    "You wouldn''t understand for now," Nix said with an air of dismissal.


    Lank had a pout, clearly not pleased with the answer but also not willing to pry further.


    Obsidian dropped to the ground in disbelief and denial. This wasn''t him, he had a high sense of morality and was naturally brutal to those who rightly deserved it but after listening to what Nix had said he immediately regretted letting off Ayanami.


    "I had her in the palm of my hands, yet I let her live." He said in a daze.


    "I had tracked her down from a restricted area and yet all I did was make her unconscious and fled from the scene," Obsidian mumbled, his fangs growing and his slits pupils contracted.


    Nix closed his eyes and turned so he could put his head on the wall, that was a miss that he wished wouldn''t happen anymore. She had been too lucky to cheat death so many times.


    "It''s time I let you two in on my ns, you should alert your roommate once we are done with this awkward meeting," Nix calls them so they move closer before he speaks.


    Crawling towards Nix, Obsidian sat cross-legged on the floor and so did Lank.


    Nix followed suit and satfortably on the floor, "We can''t stay here anymore, it''s time we prepare to leave this shit hole."


    "What?!" Obsidian and Lank said in unison.

 Chapter 227 Do You Believe...?

    "Nix, did I smack you too hard on the head?" Lankughed and thought he was merely joking about what he was saying.


    Nix pulled on Lank''s brown hair yfully, "it would seem that little stunt you pulled is giving you funny thoughts."


    Lank begged for his release and when it was granted he pushed back so Nix wasn''t at arm''s length.


    Obsidian shook his head and wondered how these two could be friends.


    "I''m serious, and I need to know if you two are in it." He switched nces between the two.


    "I for one know that Alex would want to leave, Gia just needs a little push, let''s not start with the twins¨Call they need is the opportunity to present itself," Nix spoke with confidence.


    Obsidian nced over at Lank and raised his brow, "I would love an adventure like we had done thest time..."


    Feeling excited, he readily bopped his head and his tail wags in readiness to go through with the n. "...maybe I could stumble on more creatures, raenz or rumic to devour and get their ability."


    His mischievous glint in his eyes was disturbed when he realized the room had fallen silent.


    Doing a double-take when he noticed they stared at him with suspicion.


    "What did I say wrong?!" He said with a shrug.


    Nix shook his head and chose to let that slide, so long Obsidian was in, they were one step closer to getting out sessfully.


    "Lank?" He tilted his head and wondered what was going on in his friend''s head as he looked at his fiddling fingers.


    "I... I was just thinking of leaving thefortability I had gotten used to here." He raised his head guiltily, feeling they would see him as materialistic.


    "I had never enjoyed any of these while growing up, nor could I remember thest time I had a good meal like the one the organization provides," He bit down on his bottom lip and let out a curse at how attached he had be.


    This was the very ce that had allowed him to bond with Gia, they had a bit of rtive peace and were nearly jobless, and had tons of free time since there wasn''t the provision for sses like the academy.


    The whole team was together, this was fairly what he had wanted, with Nix and Obsidian with them, he felt a sense offort, but the prospect of leaving to an unknown ce different from the academy or the organization?!


    Nix could rightly feel what he meant, "Lank, I understand that you are scared of the unknown..."


    "I swear it''s not that I don''t want to go, but I don''t want to live on the run," Lank muttered on thest part with uncertainty.


    Nix let out a chuckle at the word, he wasn''t expecting that sort of response, but after he had heard it boosted his resolve to protect his friends.


    "Who says we would be on the run?"


    Nix gave a nod of assurance and a smirk stered on his face.


    Lank stared at him with wide eyes as he tried to process the information. He had known how dangerous Nix could be once he was properly triggered.


    "Why run when you can be the predator with no restrictions?" He added with a burst of evilughter.


    Obsidian joined in theughter, "I had wanted to say the same thing, I don''t n to be chow for anyone."


    "Do you believe we can scale through this?" He offered his hand in a fist bump.


    Lank''s frown gradually turned to a bright smile as he made a bump as Obsidian joined in a triangr fist bump.


    "Booyah!" Lank finalized as they broke apart.


    "Now onto what I wanted to say, it would seem there is no need to hide my abilities with you, Lank," Nix said with a sigh.


    He had tried to hide them long enough and had gotten to the breaking point in the arena.


    Lank raised a brow, seeing that Obsidian didn''t look troubled as he was. "Is there something I was meant to know, well apart from the fact that you have two gifts?!"


    Nix winced at the tone, the shock, and disappointment that would sh before his friend''s features, "there is one tiny detail..."


    "Tiny? Really, Nix?" Obsidian cut in and folded his arms.


    He could rightly guess what Nix wanted to say, and that wasn''t anything close to being tiny¨Cthat was a freaking huge monster!<sub> </sub>


    Lank took a step back and pointed an using finger at the two, "so it turns out whatever you''re trying to say, I''m the one that''s kept in the dark."


    Nix facepalmed as he knew where this was leading. Although he had kept it a secret for a good purpose, Obsidian wasn''t told rather he had found out himself.


    "Hello, Raiken!" Obsidian said in a whisper and waved in the direction of Nix. "I hope you stay in there and try not to scare the shit out of me again."


    Lank furrowed his brows at the unexinable words and gestures of Obsidian. How could he be referring to Nix with another name and specifically staring straight at his chest?


    "I am not crazy, I can assure you." Obsidian turned his attention towards Lank with twitching brows for being mistaken.


    "You can''t get a privilege of seeing his little friend," he stressed on the ''little'' by making air quotes.


    "He has another friend?!" Lank gasped, hurt by the secrecy of such a friend, not knowing where that would ce him if he couldn''t be introduced earlier.


    "Sid, could you shut the hell up and allow the one in question to answer his question?!" Nix said through gritted teeth and pressed on his knees,his nails digging into them while he tried to maintain hisposure.


    He had endured enough of back and forth words, the twisted representation of how Obsidian painted them to Lank would only worsen the situation.


    Obsidian gulped and made a ziplock movement on his lips and took its key and ced it into his pocket.


    Nix raised a brow at the gesture, it was meant to be thrown away and not kept.


    Obsidian shrugged at the stare from Nix, he could understand the angle from which Nix was looking at him strangely. He wasn''t going to throw the key and be forced to keep up the charade.


    Nix pped his hand once to get Lank''s attention.


    "Who''s Raiken?!". Lank hissed, folding his arms, shifting his lips to the right and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.


    Nix cringed at the new feeling he suddenly developed, it felt more like he had cheated and was caught.


    Even with his little escapades with the females in his world, never had he experienced such a weird feeling.


    He could only me Raiken and Obsidian for the weird feeling of guilt.


    <He wants to know who I am, should I grace him with my presence?> Raiken snickered in Nix''s subconscious.


    ''Risk you destroy this room and alert the others of your existence in their base and lead it to be in connection to me?! Not a chance you overgrown lizard with wings!'' Nix snapped.


    <How dare you call me such derogatory names, human?!> Raiken roared.


    ''For someone who is thousands of years old, that''s a big word for you.'' Nix mocked.


    "Ahem!" Lank exaggerated in a loud voice to call on the attention of Nix, he had zoned out.


    ''He''s talking to that beast huh?!'' Obsidian deduced in his thoughts, waiting for when Nix would spill the beans.


    Shaking his head so he could clear his thoughts for a while, he nervously smiled, feeling a bit awkward about how he was going to ce it in a way that wouldn''t freak Lank out.


    "I might have exaggerated a lot on the little, technically the other secret I have isn''t about my ability but more of my summon and friend."


    "You admit to having a secret friend," Lank said in disappointment, lowering his head and feeling dejected.


    "Who is he?" He managed to mumble.


    "If I were you, I wouldn''t want to meet that friend of his." Obsidian burst intoughter, it was traumatic enough about the size, but the temperament matched all the tales about such mythical creatures.


    Nix shot a re at Obsidian wondering where that imaginary key of his had been ced.


    "What he... I mean I wanted to say that you can''t see him now because it would copse the very structure of this part of the organization." Nix tried to hint at him slowly.


    "Let''s destroy this ce with Raiken, it''s going to be on fire!" Obsidian whooped and paused only when Nix shot a deadly re at him which forced him to sit still and shut up.


    "What''s he talking about?" Lank hissed, frustrated with the words being hidden. "What the heck is going on, the truth isn''t too hard to say, is it?"


    "Raiken is a dragon, my tamed dragon among others!" Nix bluntly responded.

 Chapter 228 What Are You So Afraid Of?

    "What the hell?!" Obsidian was the first to exim in shock and jump to his feet.


    Lank followed suit, shocked at what Nix had said but disturbed by Obsidian''s reaction.


    He knew it was one thing to be in the dark about Nix''s possession, but it was another that even Obsidian was shocked even when it looked like he knew.


    "Why did you sound as shocked as I am?" Lank narrowed his eyes.


    Obsidian''s mouth was gaped open slightly, his eyes widened in shock, and unable to speak for a second.


    Still trying to process what he had heard, his heart raced thinking of other monstrosity bullying the heck out of him if they decided to prey on him due to Raiken''s rmendation.


    "Nix, you know I was just kidding when I spoke to Raiken, right?" He forced a chuckle as a way of mentally deceiving himself that he would be spared.


    Nix shook his head not because he didn''t believe what Obsidian said, but rather how he was speaking.


    "Raiken is one of the dragons? You''ve met the dragon?" Lank blurted out, amazed by what he had found.


    Obsidian whistled and looked away, how could he tell that he had met one when he had intentionally tricked them in a bid that they wouldn''t follow, in the ounds so he could render some assistance to Nix.


    Not to mention the fact that he rendered like a rag doll to Raiken who had awakened the fear that had been long forgotten since he could remember.


    Lank''s lips drew into a thin line after realizing there were so many things that he was yet to consider in the so-called friendship with Nix.


    "Who knew even the tall trees could be pushed down by the mere word of breeze," Nix replied vaguely.


    Understanding what he meant, Obsidian tried to calm himself and sit back down but giving enough distance.


    "How many dragons are there?" He started, gulping and internally hoping it was just a good few¨Cpreferably two, there was no way one could be strong enough to tame more than that.


    ''No one has ever done so, even though I don''t know how you did it, if he says dragons, then it must be two. Dragons are a rare urrence anyways.'' Obsidian made a few calctions in his head.


    Nix pretended to count how many he had, he was enjoying their curious gaze gradually turning into one of shock at how long he was going with thinking.


    Satisfied with the mortified faces of his friends, he decided it was time to spill the beans.


    Rubbing his hands together, he had a smug look on his face as he spoke. "I got a quadruple problem¨Ca crazy bunch.


    <Who are you calling crazy?!> Red snapped and snarled, feeling offended by the statement.


    ''You all make me look crazy, the mere talking to you in my subconscious is crazy enough!'' Nix retorted.


    Rekor cut in, <You were already crazy...>


    <...even without our prestigious presence.> Raz concluded.


    ''Twins... typical.'' Nix sneered in his thoughts, hearing how they had spoken in sync just to insult him.


    He wondered why he had not heard any words from Raiken, it felt as though he was brewing and stirring up trouble for him in the future.


    Wham!


    Nix''s face was forced to the side with a punch. He had his mouth open in shock at being brought back to reality in such a way.


    In his head, he could hear the dragons, most especially Redughing hysterically at him.


    ''Why you little...''


    Raising his head, he red at Lank who had his fist balled and his eyes in shock at what he had done.


    "What the hell have I done to you to deserve the repeated hits I have been getting in a span of a few hours, Lank?!" He hissed as he touched the corner of his lips which had a split and blood began to clot-forming a hard-like substance.


    Hiss!


    He reacted to the pain and was shocked by how well he had taken it for yet another time without smacking the shit out of the person.


    Lank couldn''t even believe he was capable of such an act and simply left all the words to Obsidian to break up the awkward silence.


    "We had repeatedly called on your name, yet it was as though you were in another world of your making," Obsidian exined.


    "You were speaking to Raiken right?" Obsidian articted with a wiggle of his brows.


    Nix had just adjusted to his surroundings once more that when he saw Obsidian wiggling brows, he felt a bit disgusted by his actions.<sub> </sub>


    "As much as I would have wished it was him, it was merely the other three trying to turn my thoughts inside out," he paused and made a whip of his head towards Lank.


    "Well, that''s until Lank decided to practice some martial arts on my face," Nix uttered with the click of his tongue.


    Lank tried to cover his nervousness with a chuckle and gave a short wave.


    "So there are four," Obsidian vocalized in awe. "How is that remotely possible?! How can they fit into your tiny body?"


    Those words felt too cringe for Nix to take he was forced to shake off the feeling off his body.


    When he was sure he felt better, he cleared his throat and pretended all he had done never existed. "They were debating if they would kill you two or not." He lied.


    <No we did not> Rekor spoke first, immediately denying it.


    <Not yet, you mean> Red cut in, snorting his response.


    Obsidian and Lank took a step back at the words, horror-stricken faces staring at him and then at the door.


    Nix followed their gaze and when he was able to locate what they were looking at, he burst intoughter.


    "They can only be let out on my order," Nix informed amidstughter.


    Not needing a memo, they both looked at one another and let out nervousughter so they didn''t feel awkward about Nix''s words. But deep down they didn''t even know if it was safe to be in the same room with Nix.


    He had managed not to carry out his demeaning vibes on them, probably because they had not said or done anything triggering like the previous victim.


    "Rx, they only obey my every order," Nix assured.


    <Not by choice!> Raiken snapped, feeling the need to speak up. This topic was a sensitive line that he wished he never encountered.


    "When they return to my body, it''s just their essence that goes into my body¨Cmore like youpress a file so it fits into¨C" he paused when he noticed he had blurted out more than necessary.


    "What dopressing files mean?" Lank questioned immediately. Suddenly curious about all that has any connection with Nix.


    Nix and Obsidian facepalmed after hearing Lank ask such a question, they were in an advanced technological building, yet it would seem even Lank was living in a world of his own making.


    "This is another reason why we need to leave this goddamn ce, they are restrictive of even the most basic knowledge." Nix sneered.


    "Let that go for the time being," Lank dismissed his concern, suddenly feeling suspicious about a certain urrence back in the academy at the time.


    "Were you the one who made a ck dragon with yellow eyes fly over and terrorize the guards in the academy?" Lank questioned, folding his arms.


    "You''ve met Raiken before?" Obsidian pulled on Lank''s arm so he could stare into his eyes for an actual confirmation.


    "That was Raiken?!" Lank gawked, feeling he had gotten the answer he needed.


    Obsidian gulped and wondered how far Nix had gone in using his ability.


    "There are no two dragons alike, there is always a tell-tale difference and the chances of a ''SPECIFIC''..., he elevated his voice for added effect.


    "... ck dragon making a magical appearance in your academy with a magical barrier that''s ced to appease their fiery heart, it''s down to Nix." Obsidian deadpanned and brought back his attention to Nix.


    Nix understood that he had been exposed so easily, "it was the first time I had tried to summon Raiken and to save my skin at the time."


    Snap!


    Lank snapped his fingers as he could finally piece some of the information together, it had been at the time Nix bbed about heading to find someone.


    That would mean only one thing¨Che used that as a diversion to sneak back in.


    "You are more cunning than I thought you to be." Lank chuckled, pointing an using finger at Nix.


    "It''s all in the work description." Nix gave a slight bow and smiled.


    "Could I see them someday?" Lank asked curiously, his eyes brightening with enthusiasm.


    "I... I don''t think that''s a good idea." Obsidian repeatedly patted the back of Lank, hoping he could get the message in his fair warning.


    "What are you so afraid of?" Lank questioned and shrugged off Obsidian''s hand.

 Chapter 229 A Breach In The Barrier

    "Afraid? Ha!" Obsidian let out augh at how stupid that sounded and immediately dismissed it with the wave of his hand.


    They weren''t talking about a human, nor any creature still unknown to them, but rather the most feared one in the whole of Arkai.


    Here they got a human that had not just tamed one, but four?! He could only imagine the four dragons summoned out, it would be disastrous for anyone who would be a victim of such carnage.


    "If you would love to witness their wonderful heartwarming height or should I say warm personality, feel free to do so without a valid reason for seeing them." Obsidian encouraged, raising his hands in surrender.


    Lank tilted his head, "how were you able to see the dragon?"


    ''F*ck! You just had to speak!'' Obsidian scolded his lips for putting him in the mess¨Che would only disgrace himself if he recalls where.


    "He decided to sneak up on me when I told you all to stay put. Guess what happened next." Nix answered with the corner of his lips raised in mischief.


    Lank was more than curious about what happened next, it would seem that Obsidian was trying to hide something from him that might as well embarrass him.


    "No!" Obsidian shook his head, sprinting towards Nix so he could silence him.


    Bang!


    He crashed into an invisible forcefield and was pushed back.


    Lank ducked just in time to dodge the fast-approaching body of Obsidian who could have collided with him.


    Nix had a smug look now, making a gun gesture with his fingers and blowing on his index and middle fingers.


    "Boom goes the target!" Nix snickered in mischief. Shoving his fingers into his pocket and gave a bright smile to Lank.


    "How the heck were you able to hide such a gift so well?" Lank gawked, looking over to a groaning Obsidian trying to get to his feet.


    Nix shrugged at the answer. Leaning forward and cing his elbows on his thighs, he prepared to speak about what he had wanted to say for a while.


    "Raiken yed with Obsidian, you needed to see how scared shit he was," Nix spoke and burst into a peal ofughter.


    Obsidian pouted and his ears ttened, "you suck!"


    Nix raised his brows to the word but did notment.


    He had more pressing issues to focus on that involved getting the hell out of the organization. He had a few options on where to go but the most prominent option was the very ce the organization was yet to discover¨CFegan''s cottage.


    "Have you ever wished to live the wild life, without any rules?" Nix began, pausing and expecting an answer.


    "Let me guess, you want to hear yes¨C"


    Nix pped his hands and nodded his head, taking his words as the answer he needed to proceed. "It would turn out I know a resort that is not poprly known and also has Ninja and a sculptor."


    "A sculptor with curses, perhaps?" Lank hinted at what he had heard at the time.


    Nix pushed back in shock and disbelief at what he heard. "How the heck do you know something about that pair?"


    Lank scrunched up his nose and looked to his side uninterested. If Nix thought he could just ask him questions and expected an answer so easily, then he was wrong.


    He had been kept in the dark on some things, it was only fair Nix had the same share of the experience.


    The silent treatment only frustrated Nix, crawling towards Lank. "Lank, care to exin what you had suggested?" He spoke through gritted teeth and a ruse smile.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about, I was praised back in the day for my excellent guessing skills."


    Understanding that Lank wasn''t ready to divulge the information. He could rightly ce the time and ce he had said such a description¨Cthe first time he was at Lank''s dorm in the academy.


    ''Stupid, stupid!'' Nix scolded himself in his thoughts at how careless he was back then. He could remember Mune warning him, but he hadn''t listened.


    "You must have done a great job in the guessing games." Nix yed along, giving an eye-shut smile.


    If they needed to move on with the conversation, no way could be done if he was lost in the numerous timelines of what-ifs.


    Lank''s face fell at how well Nix had taken the news, "you aren''t curious about how I could guess that?"


    "You''re a good guesser and had rightly gotten the hint, good job." Nix patted his shoulder and nodded his head.


    Lank''s lips slightly gaped open in disbelief.


    "I had a bit of an adventure at one point in my life, it would interest you to know how beautiful my pal''s home is." Nix bragged, confident that they could make that their home.


    "I don''t care, wherever you are, count me in." Obsidian chimed in.<sub> </sub>


    "That goes for me too." Lank nodded his head.


    "How do you think the others would take this news?" Nix asked a bit worried about changing the environment a few weeks in.


    "You gotta ask to know, right?" Lank shrugged.


    They all slowly looked towards the door, contemting their next action.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In Fegan''s Cottage,


    "Hana!" Fegan called in a loud voice, pulling his feet off the footstool and cing it on the floor.


    There was something eerie about the silence that made his heart pound in worry.


    Pushing up from the seat, he got to his seat in a hurry. "Hana! Why aren''t you responding?!"


    Creating two puppets, he ced his hands on their faces and channeled his thoughts into them.


    ''Go find my daughter!''


    Their eyes glowed red and gave a nod to the order.


    Whoosh!


    Even though he had sent them off to search for her, a part of him still needed to find out the cause personally.


    Pushing open the door, he sprinted into the forest in hopes of seeing her in her favorite spot in the forest.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    "Ha!" Hanaughed out, kicking on a body below her feet. Wiping the blood off her lips, she held onto the spaghetti strap of her ck bodycon dress.


    She had managed to overpower her opponent, a strange creature that she had never seen since her hunting days outside the protective barrier surrounding their territory.


    As she stared at the green creature dressed in a hooded coat, trousers, gloves, and shoes, all made from the mail which covered the majority of its body.


    ''How were you able to find this ce leading towards my father''s barrier?'' Hana frowned at how strong her opponent was.


    Her projectiles had done nothing to this creature that had a protective mail over its body. The only way was to target its exposed face, but that had been the one thing that had proven as difficult as trying to take a shot at a fast-moving target.


    She looked towards the sky and thought of the first person that had defeated her so effortlessly, "how are you holding up Nix? I hope you are having it better than we are?"


    Shaking her head and let out augh at how disheartened she felt on remembering just that bit of her life.


    Gasp!


    Her body froze when she felt a hand be ced on her shoulder. Recovering easily, she held onto the hand and flipped the person over her shoulder, drawing out her kunai to defend herself.


    "Hana, it''s me..." Fegan called out with a groan, forcing himself up.


    He had been so d to see she was alright at a distance and had wanted to pull her for a hug when he ced his hand on her shoulder, "your reflexes have improved since then."


    Hana let out a sigh at the sight of her father, then when she realized it was he who she had flipped, she sprinted to assist him as he stood.


    "Father, don''t scare me like that again, I could have broken your wrist if I wasn''t curious to see your face first." She scolded him for sneaking and asking for an ass-whooping.


    "Next time, do break it. Don''t allow your opponent to make aeback, especially if their ability is associated with making use of their hands." Fegan retorted and let out a groan as he straightened his back.


    Hana winced at the sound, "don''t say that kind of stuff if you were involved."


    Not wanting to argue with her, Fegan nodded his head to her words.


    "I was worried about your safety, why are you¨C" he paused the moment when he saw a strange green body from the corner of his eyes.


    Pulling away from her, he limped towards the body and stared wide-eyed at the creature. Losing hisposure, he dropped to the floor with his limbs trembling.


    Hana came up from behind and wondered why he was reacting strangely. "It''s dead, you don''t need to worry. I had managed to kill it before it could spot our barrier."


    She had thought he was shaken up by that and had tried tofort him.


    "How could this be?!!" He eximed, punching on the floor in suppressed rage.

 Chapter 230 Snap Out Of It

    Hana ced her hand on his shoulder tofort him. When he shuddered from her touch, she felt that he had been far gone.


    A sh of his memories resonated in her subconscious. The rush of memories caused her to pull away and stand in shock at what she had witnessed over a few seconds.


    "Does this mean..." She gasped and covered her mouth, unable to stomach what might happen to them.


    Fegan raised his head slowly and stared at Hana.


    "I had warned you not to use your ability on me." He spoke with an eerie coldness.


    Hana shook her head at his words, it wasn''t her intention and she wasn''t going to deny the fact that she was mortified about what she had seen.


    For the first time in her life, she could vividly see the horrors that had lived in her father''s head, her perfect picture of him had been ruined.


    The vivid memories of this very creature used to kill its defectors or those who went against the organization were depicted.


    "How could you work for those..." She closed her mouth, unable to continue.


    Fegan looked down at the creature, he raised his hand over the creature to feel the residue aura seething off it.


    His head hung low in disappointment, at first he had been d that his daughter had killed such a dangerous and unpredictable foe, but on second thought after examining it his mood fell.


    "How could anyone find this ce to this extent?" He mumbled to himself, looking behind him to where their home was several miles inside the barrier he had ced.


    None of this made sense, most especially to the fact that it was this sort of creature.


    "Father," Hana gulped and jumped back when Fegan red in her direction.


    He was still disappointed and disturbed that she had read into his memories without his permission.


    "Why would you be in these parts, especially outside the barrier?!" He questioned with an angry undertone.


    Hana looked down and fiddled with her fingers, she had no usible exnation other than being curious enough to try to see what was outside the barrier for the first time.


    "I..."


    Getting to his feet in a rush, he pulled her along into the barrier.


    "Father, no! I don''t want to be trapped in here anymore." Hana cried and pulled her hand away.


    Her words had stunned Fegan enough to stop himself from speaking.


    Looking up and into the sky, he let out a sigh, "I''m sorry if that''s how you felt, all I wanted to do was to keep you safe."


    Hana''s furrowed brows eased up at his exnation in a whisper. "I am not a child anymore, father."


    "I know." Fegan sniffled, wiping tears from his eyes.


    He had lost his wife eighteen years ago when Hana was just a toddler, raising her all by himself. He had tried to give her the best of things and that had been the beginning of his problems.


    To create a perfect world, he had taken up the dangerous task of creating that statue.


    ''That goddamn statue!'' He gritted his teeth in regret.


    That had opened a way for him to take proper care of her with the money he had gotten, but that had also made him a ve to the organization.


    When he had caught sight of the experiments conducted there, it had left him scared and guilty.


    The very creature he had seen had been the mutated body of members of the organization who they deemed still useful after they had no more use for them.


    He had been fortunate enough to know what his creation was going to be used for from Gaviel.


    As his way of redemption, he had created a fail-safe in the statue. That was the only way he could get back at them.


    "Father?" Hana''s voice cut in, feeling guilty for causing Fegan enough worries as it was.


    Shaking away the thoughts, Fegan let out a sigh, it was high time he told her a bit of his dark past.


    "Sit." He said and patted onto the floor.


    Creating a little puppet, he made it bend over as a form of a temporary seat.


    Hana declined the offer and sat on the grass just like she had always done. "You don''t need to do that, this is something that I can excuse. Love nature you had said." She said with a bright smile.


    "That''s right," Fegan replied with a smile, taking his ce beside her.


    Holding her hand in his, he stared into those orange eyes for a second. "You will always be my little guardian angel..."<sub> </sub>


    Hana nodded her head, curious about what he had to say.


    "Your father had done some very bad things in the past." Fegan spoke with brimming tears in his eyes, "it was never my intention¨C"


    "Father, breathe." Hana rubbed his back and whispered reassuring words. She had seen a glimpse of his past and knew that was never his intention.


    "Those people are to me!" She hissed at the thought, scrunching up her nose and frowning at the blurry glimpse of the organization.


    "No... I was too timid to go against them and expose them to the people of Arkai, especially those who possessed gifts and magic. I fled like a coward." He croaked, feeling his chest heavy with guilt.


    Hana''s lips drew into a thin line as she thought through what had happened twelve years ago. She had been so confused as to why they had to leave their prosperous city and flee to the forest.


    A wave of memories flooded her thoughts. She could feel the adrenaline pumping into her body at the thought.


    That was the day she had run her longest and hardest since she could remember. She had to take big gasps of air as she was pulled on the wrist as they fled.


    Her eyes glowed as she felt some sort of premonition strike her at that moment.


    In a trance, she got to her feet and stared out the barrier.


    When Fegan noticed that his daughter had gotten to her feet, he raised his head to witness those eyes glow.


    "No, no, no!" He shook his head and jumped to his feet.


    He had wondered why she had very peculiar magic, it was difficult seeing she had minimal control over her ability. It was as though it would flicker on when needed.


    Right now, it looked like her thoughts had been focused on the barrier.


    When she took her first steps in a trance-like state, he limped and stood in her way and stretched out his hands to his side. "Hana stop this madness!"


    He knew if she was logical at the moment, there was no way she would attempt to cross the barrier and out into the unknown that he had effortlessly protected her from.


    "Out..." Hana mumbled and pointed at the barrier.


    She tilted her head and took a step forward against his will.


    Creating a few puppets, he made them hold their ground and root their feet into the ground.


    They formed a barricade and awaited the orders of their master.


    "Hana, I don''t want to do this," Fegan gritted his teeth, already regretting putting up preparation for a fight if needed.


    "Snap out of this, goddamnit!!" He yelled in concern.


    He could not let her out no matter how much she was influenced by her strange ability.


    Hana''s brows furrowed at his words and her aura turned sinister. "Get out of my way!" She hissed as her ck hair flew wildly around her.


    Fegan began to tremble at the sight of his daughter''s aura seeping out.


    "You need toe back to me, I don''t want you to be a target." Fegan cried, he was starting to see a bit of his wife''s ability in her.


    That was a dangerous ability that he had managed to tame while they were together. ''Jui, it would seem our daughter has been gued by the same curse."


    He feared he wouldn''t be able to tame it as this would involve a partner, one who would be in sync with her.


    ''Why now?!'' He cried in his thoughts, knowing this was far from what he could handle.


    "Argh!" Hana let out a yell in pain as she pulled on her hair. Her eyes constantly switched from a glow to their normal orange.


    Fegan''s hope began to rear its head when he understood what this had meant. She would soon be forced to ck out due to the strain she had endured when she had released all her energy at once.


    Taking a step back, he watched as she struggled to stay in control and leave the protective barrier he had ced.


    When Hana realized her vision was starting to blur, in her father''s ce was a strange person that had made her question if she was seeing things.


    There was no other male who could be inside the protective barrier with her father. So who was this?


    Stretching out her hand to the figure, she tried to reach out. The corner of her eyes began to darken and fade in until her body stiffened.


    Fegan rushed toward his daughter to break her fall.


    ''Alexandre!'' She whispered in her thoughts before nking out.

 Chapter 231 Blanking Out

    "Alex!!" Nix called out before his head could slip off where he had leaned on.


    Jolting awake and in confusion, he frowned and closed his mouth.


    Nix narrowed his eyes at how Alex had been nking out at every chance of inactivity for over three days since they had nned their escape.


    They were going to carry out their ns in a few days and he looked mentally drained.


    "Do you know when Sid will be back?" Nix tried to start a conversation.


    Blinking a few times before he understood what was being said and shook his head. "All he had said was that he would be busy with a task, so it might take a while before he would be back.''"


    Even though they were roommates, the sense of familiarity was still out the window.


    Nix had asked the question, not because he wanted to know where Obsidian was, but rather to confirm that they were alone and he could understand what had been wrong with Alex.


    If they didn''t tackle the problem right away, he would be the dead weight that would pull them back and that might be detrimental to their operation.


    "Great!" He eximed with a nod.


    Alex did a double take on his response, as far as he could remember, they weren''t really on talking terms and he would mainly watch his team quietly, rarely chipping in.


    He had readily epted the idea of leaving the academy, it was almost like a prison for them sticking by to have a fill of temporary enjoyment.


    The outdoors was a better ce and he missed that. When he remembered the little girl that he had saved, it always brought sad memories of the family he wished would return to him someday.


    "Alex!" Nix hissed, frustrated by how he readily submitted himself to distraction. "What the hell is going on with you?"


    Shaking his head, he looked up squarely at Nix and furrowed his brows. It was one thing not to be aware that he was nking out, but it was another to be snapped out of it.


    "I- I don''t understand myself." He muttered, disheartened by what had been going on with him for over a few days.


    Nix didn''t reply, instead calmly listened as Alex tried to exin his confused thoughts.


    "I don''t know if I''m going crazy." He muttered, pulling on his hair and shaking them in confusion.


    None of what he was feeling felt normal, but it all felt too real to brush off.


    "Alex," Nix began, careful on how he would address this situation.


    He could rightly tell that what was happening to Alex wasn''t just something one could call a normal urrence.


    His ability was still strange and hard to ce, it was only a matter of time before they would leave before he would be a target of an experiment by Sesa.


    "It must be hard for you, but I want you to know that you could say those words in any way you could think of." He nodded and hoped Alex would continue.


    Pushing back his hair, Alex leaned forward on his chair and let out a subtle chuckle at how different his life had been the moment he decided toe out of hiding.


    Bringing out his hands and staring at them like they weren''t part of his body, he clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, and prepared himself to rte what had been troubling him.


    "Have you felt that your dream was so real that you could almost feel it?" He began and let out augh at how weird that sounded even to himself.


    Nix tilted his head and gave it a thought, this world he was living in felt like a dream. There had been a few times he had been scared that all he had been going through up until now was a dream.


    That was one of his greatest fears¨Cwaking up and seeing all that had happened was nothing but a figment of his imagination and had happened just within the span of a few hours.


    Snap!


    Alex snapped his fingers in front of Nix to pull him back to reality. He was the one being interrogated, yet Nix was the one who had nked out after his question.


    "I don''t think it''s nice copying me, it''s not funny at all if you''d ask me," Alex said with a scoff, folding his hands and feeling offended.


    Nix jolted from his initial confusion and shook his head, immediately trying to exin what had gone on with him while still affirming that he had felt what Alex had said.


    ? He internally wished that he could earn Alex''s trust, he was almost at the point of getting the information he needed, and he couldn''t back down now.<sub> </sub>


    Alex stared at him for a while, gauging all he had heard. Nodding his head, he concluded that he could as well continue.


    "I had been having dreams of a girl¨C"


    Cough!


    ''At one point in our lives, we all do dude!'' Nix''s thoughts added.


    Nix couldn''t hide his shock at the sentence, repeatedly hitting his chest so he could calm down and respond well.


    Taking in gasps of air and exhaling, he finally tried to continue with what he had nned on saying. "A girl?!"


    His mouth hung open afterward, feeling stupid for suddenly showing some concern.


    There was nothing to worry about if that was the case, yet he could only me himself for asking.


    "Really? A girl?" Nix repeatedly tried to get some form of assurance, still in disbelief at what he had heard from Alex.


    Alex facepalmed as he knew it was hard to believe without him exining the rest of what he wanted to say.


    "Would you at least let me finish?" He hissed through gritted teeth.


    He understood that was not the best starting approach, but being cut off wasn''t cool.


    Nix raised his hand in surrender and gestured for Alex to continue. He would try not to interfere no matter how tempting it was for the sort of conversation they were headed to.


    "It''s about a girl..." Alex paused to gauge Nix''s reaction.


    Seeing Nix''s cheek fill up with air, he could guess that he was trying his best not to interfere. If he were to poke at the side of Nix''s cheeks, it was bound to blow up in his face.


    ''You can do this, no need to worry about what anyone would say.'' Alex reminded himself as he briefly closed his eyes and opened them right after.


    "Coming from me, you should have a bit of faith in me." Alex used Nix of misunderstanding him and having a lewd conversation.


    "I do." Nix quickly rified weakly and zipped his lips when Alex narrowed his eyes at him.


    He dreaded getting a st of that static energy that periodically turns on if he''s triggered. It was best to keep him under the wraps and y along.


    Alex let out a sigh, knowing fully well that he was not as strong as the one pretending to be submissive to his re.


    Shaking his head, a smile made its way to the corner of his lips, "you did so well in hiding your trump card."


    He could remember when he, Solis, Luna, Gia, and Lumina had been briefed on his other strange abilities, they had been gripped by shock at the truthfulness of what they had heard.


    "A magician never reveals most of his secrets," Nix said with a wink and burst out in a peal ofughter.


    Putting a quick thought to it, Alex could tell there were still some things that had not been fully exined and his eyes glued to Nix''s chest wondering how he could take in all that power.


    Clearing his throat, he proceeded to continue where he had left off.


    "There was something different about her eyes and the innocence in those mischievous orange eyes piercing through my soul." He ced a hand on his chest and closed his eyes and smiled in satisfaction.


    Nix raised the corner of his lips at how awkward it seemed to him watching Alex look like he was in love with someone in his dream. "Oh-kay..."


    He had tried to cut in but sealed his mouth shut when Alex continued.


    "It felt like she was reaching out to me, and I had repeatedly tried to reach out to her but I would always fail. She was always in some forest like she was all alone in there even though there was an older male by her side. Instead, she chose to reach out to me for help." He rted, opening his eyes to see the shock on Nix''s face.


    While Nix had been listening, he had been making a mental match of who could fit this description. A part of him could feel he knew who Alex was talking about.


    "Her hair, could you remember anything about the color or texture? The forest, what is a distinctive feature?" Nix inched closer to Alex as he awaited an answer.

 Chapter 232 The Girl In Your Dreams

    Alex pushed back a bit, disturbed by the questions Nix was asking. He had yet to rte the other features as he was first drawn to those eyes.


    Nix blinked and awaited a response eagerly.


    "ck? The texture looks kinda full, I guess." He spoke, a bit confused by all that was going on with the sudden questioning.


    Nix looked down with wide eyes, trying his best to hold hisposure after the new info.


    Hana had been one of those who he would call an untamed territory, hidden from the outside world and thrilling enough to explore itsnds.


    "You''re sure you saw right? Not some weird feeling?" Nix questioned, hoping it was all a coincidence.


    Alex shook his head and pretended not to listen, folding his arms and throwing his attention elsewhere.


    Nix let out a sigh and shook his head at the new reality of things, this new information was a bit overwhelming for just a girl Alex saw in his dreams. This was someone he had personally met and had asionally thought about how she was fairing.


    From the little description given, he could tell that the person in Alex''s dream could be none other than Hana and Fegan.


    ''Why would he be dreaming of Hana?'' He frowned and confusion muddled his thoughts as he sat calmly with his elbows on his thighs and face resting on his sped hands.


    "I get it, it''s so boring that you''re finding some other excuses." Alex snapped and rolled his eyes.


    They had nned on testing out his ability to see to what extent he could go with helping them. Yet they were discussing a girl that repeatedly popped up in his thoughts?!


    Nix shook his head, thinking of the fact that he would have to exin himself if he wanted to be believed and they could inadvertently continue from where they had left off.


    "Her name..." Nix paused after realizing he was going for the wrong approach on the subject.


    ''Dimwit! If you begin in such a way, there''s bound to be suspicion.'' He scolded himself.


    Inhaling and exhaling, he felt an ease wash over him as he prepared for a different approach.


    "When did all the dreams begin?"


    Raising a brow at Nix, Alex let out a sigh and gave a quick nod willingly epting this weird fate.


    "Four days up until now."


    Nix''s eyes doubled in size, shocked by how he had been in the dark about this while there was someone who was part of his team having this sort of problem.


    ''What the heck is going on with you, Hana? Are you in some sort of danger?'' His thoughts spiraled into numerous what-if moments.


    He had tried to understand why Alex had been chosen, from what he had described, there was an underlying need to check out what was going on soon.


    That would involve speeding up the process of escaping the organization with utmost urgency.


    "There''s something out of ce, that... We need to find out." Nix pointed out.


    From all he had said, Alex could only guess that Nix had a clear picture of who he was talking about.


    Nix''s eyes darted about the room in search of a few pieces of equipment needed to sketch out his thoughts.


    Getting to his feet, he walked over to the desk and pulled out the first drawer, and searched for a pencil and white paper.


    His face brightened up when he found what he was searching for.


    Walking back towards the chair he had been sitting on, he sat and quickly sketched to depict an illustration of Hana''s face from memory.


    Pleased with the results after a few minutes, he handed over the paper and waited for his response.


    He was still d that he had his skill intact¨Cwhen they would leave, it was one of his goals to continue with the art and fill his canvas with several works he could use to his advantage.


    Alex''s hands gripped the sides of the paper, creases formed around his fingers the more he held on tightly.


    "Hey! Easy on the poor paperwork, you''d ruin the art if you hold on that way!" Nix eximed in horror at how he was manhandling his drawing.


    Alex stared at Nix with a nk face, almost like he couldn''t process what he had heard. Slowly bringing down his gaze to the detailed sketch in his hand.


    Nix''s lips drew into a thin line, hopeful that he would get some sort of positivity soon with the drawing done.


    Alex''s mouth gaped open slightly in shock and disbelief at the realism of the drawing, mesmerized by the striking beauty and elegance of the female.


    This was almost like a clearer depiction of his dream which had left him speechless for some time while unable to take his gaze away from the depiction.


    Nix subconsciously let out a smile at how well Alex had responded to his work.<sub> </sub>


    "How...?" Alex had begun but paused midway when he couldn''t make out how to express himself afterward.


    This was the female that was in his dreams, how could Nix sessfully get the details in her face?


    ''Could he also read minds as an additional ability?'' His thoughts broadened at the possibility.


    Nix closed his eyes and had a smirk on his lips, he could understand the basis for the question and be in no way surprised when it was raised.


    "The female you saw has spoken to me at one point in my life when I was on an adventure in the woods," Nix recalled with augh.


    There was no need to hide such information when they would soon get to the very ce that held so many untold mysteries.


    Hana had been the first one that he had felt a sense of satisfaction spanking her to surrender, had alerted him of danger in the form of his ex-best friend who also transmigrated as he did.


    The need to check on her had suddenly increased as if she was reaching out to Alex in her subconscious.


    Alex walked up to Nix and grabbed him by the shoulder, "you''ve spoken to her, where? I need these dreams to stop."


    His eyes pleaded with a glow. He couldn''t understand why she was repeatedly making a way into his thoughts ever so often.


    Nix pulled away but could only give a nod of understanding. He knew Alex needed answers so badly and was willing to get a way of meeting up with her.


    "Remember the ce I had in mind to branch by and stay? A cozy cottage?" He stressed, hoping Alex caught on to what he was implying.


    With his eyes doubling their size, he grabbed onto Nix''s shoulder once more. "This must be a sign."


    He was more than pleased with the information and let out augh at finally getting a reason worth leaving with urgency.


    Taking a few steps back, Nix made sure to create some distance between them.


    Taking a defensive stance, he clenched his fists and brought them forward. "Since that''s over with, how about we test those skills of yours?"


    Alex watched as his room gradually morphed into arger space with its walls covered in ck scales with the ovepping areas giving off a blue glow outline.


    "My thoughtful modification," Nix spoke, the corner of his lips raised in a smirk.


    With the flick of his right hand, he edged on Alex to take the first move, revealing the glow in his eyes as he awaited his response.


    Alex let out a chuckle and activated his ability. "You''re gonna regret giving me the opportunity."


    ''As if I''d spare you a chance.'' Nix snickered in his thoughts, creating a thin covering of his passive gift.


    "I see, you aren''t going easy on me, are you?" Alex snickered in mischief.


    "Well, you see..." Nix began and looked all around them for added reference. "I had thought of this, for one thing, fireproof!"


    "You can''t deal much damage in here anyways." Alex blew a raspberry and chuckled.


    Nix hummed along andughed before turning dead serious in an instant.


    "Come forth, Red!"


    At the mention of those words, Alex''s mood dropped drastically at a red cloak of smoke seeping out of Nix.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Outside their door,


    "What do you think is going on in there?" Obsidian whispered towards Lank.


    He had pretended to be out on a personal mission, but this was all a cover-up to see what Nix was up to. In doing so, he had dragged Lank along.


    To his surprise, Lank was more interested than he was in spying on the two.


    "You tell me, you got a better hearing." Lank hissed in reply and ced his ear on the door.


    Thud!


    Lank jumped back at the crash that shook the door.


    "What the hell?!" He hissed in shock and turned to Obsidian for an exnation.


    Obsidian shrugged, there were tons of possibilities that could be used to reference what could have happened, but it could only narrow it down to one thing.

 Chapter 233 The Grand Opening

    "Those goddamn unpredictable users are having a brawl in our¨Cmy room!" He hissed in disdain and was hyperventted.


    If they could feel the vibration from the outdoors, he couldn''t imagine the sort of effort that was put into thrashing the makeshift new training room.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    "Get the hell out of there!" Obsidian snarled, hitting on the door loudly.


    Lank looked to his right, then left to confirm they weren''t watched. It was only a matter of time before the others woulde out of their rooms out of curiosity.


    Pulling on Obsidian''s arm, Lank tried to yank him off the door and in turn broke its handle.


    nk!


    Obsidian froze upon the damage done, his brows twitched several times as he tried to calm his nerves before he faced Lank.


    "It wasn''t my fault, man." Lank quickly defended, raising his hands in surrender.


    Obsidian closed his eyes and nodded his head at how he couldn''t even me his friend. "Whatever, it was an impulsive action."


    Lank''s mouth gaped open at how he had managed to scale through that so well.


    "They wouldn''t hear us anyways, the rooms are soundproof." Obsidian rified with a wave of his hand.


    Lank let out a sigh, he could finally be calm about ever encountering an issue.


    Looking down at the broken door handle, "they have the funds to fix that."


    Lank tried to follow up as Obsidian chuckled right after his words.


    Realizing they had better things to stalk, Obsidian called Lank closer, "want to see something interesting?"


    Lank nodded but was unsure if it was wise to voice out his curiosity to someone like Obsidian.


    Obsidian, being quick to catch onto his nod, smiled and pulled Lank closer to him in a side hug, e with me."


    "To where?" Lank hissed and pushed off Obsidian, skeptical about following him anywhere other than their jurisdiction.


    Obsidian shook his head and had a smile as he got his bnce after that shove.


    "Don''t you want to have a bit of an eyeful experience before we leave this goddamn shit hole?" Obsidian edged on in a whisper, wiggling his brows and had his tails sway ever so often.


    Lank narrowed his eyes and gave it a thought, he had not necessarily left the fixed parameters of room Apex.


    "This ce does feel a bit restrictive with all the inactivity going on..." Lank muttered in consideration of the current situation they were in.


    Rubbing his chin, he stared at the floor for a hard and long while, giving Obsidian''s suggestion a thought.


    Obsidian was patient enough to let the mischievous suggestion sink in. He needed a partner to participate in the prank he had nned and what better way to do so than with a friend.


    "What does this entail?" Lank finally replied.


    Obsidian''s eyes brightened and his eyes momentarily glowed in ecstasy and flickered back to normal. "Why tell when I can show?"


    A part of Lank was still uncertain if his agreement was a good idea. If he could busy his thoughts with something else, then that was what he was going to do.


    "It wouldn''t hurt to give it a shot." Lank nodded his head.


    "That''s the spirit!" Obsidian whooped up his hands and pulled Lank by the hand and towards the direction of the said location.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In an unknown location,


    Lank''s red eyes glowed in the dark and so did Obsidian''s silver.


    Lank pulled his hand forcefully from Obsidian''s grasp. "Where the heck is this and why is it so dark?"


    Obsidian chuckles at how a feral couldin about the dark. "You can see in here, right?"


    ''That''s not the answer I was looking for goddamnit!'' Lank hissed in his thoughts.


    He was already having second thoughts on how foolish he could be to follow an equal psychopath, this might be fun for Obsidian, but not for him.


    "You already know the answer, right?" Lank snapped and observed his surroundings.


    He could make out the veiled windows covered with a ck thick drape.


    ''That must be the cause of¨C''


    "That''s right, it was intentionally done to make here dark, but that''s not the part I''m focused on." Obsidian rted.


    He pointed in the direction of a metal door that had a weird tube-like lock.<sub> </sub>


    Lank tilted his head in confusion as he watched Obsidian walk closer to it.


    At the side of the door, Obsidian pped its side andughed out at how less metal it was with the sound.


    Lank grimaced at how a sloshing sound was heard. "What the heck is that?"


    "A door." Obsidian deadpanned.


    When Lank facepalmed, he realized how much of a stupid question his words were and couldn''t me Obsidian for answering in such a way.


    The door had been authenticated, but that sound wasn''t. Careful not to be misunderstood anymore, he continued. "What was that weird sound a while ago?"


    "That''s a mystery even I don''t have the answers to." Obsidian shrugged.


    He was also as curious as Lank when he had first found out about the ce a few days ago while on his usual stealthy stroll around the organization.


    "How did you find out about this ce then?" Lank cut in, mesmerized by how well the room was sealed shut and the veils doing their best in blocking out the light.


    Slowly bringing out his tentacles, he had a smug look on his face.


    Lank took several steps back, finally recalling thest time he had seen that and the memories it brought alongside it.


    "What the hell are you doing?!" Lank eximed.


    "Would you just take things slow?" Obsidian hissed andughed at his childish reaction.


    "Slow? What do you want to do with that? Strangle me? Restrain me?" Lank made preposterous usations, careful of how he threaded.


    Obsidian''s mood dropped drastically at his words and actions, "you don''t trust me, do you?"


    Lank froze and realized his mistake and looked down in guilt. "It''s not that..."


    "You had asked me a question, I was yet to give a response, yet somehow I was used with no base," Obsidian replied in hurt.


    He had wanted this to be a form of bonding with someone he considered a friend.


    "Obsidian, I¨C"


    "No, it''s my fault. I didn''t give any heads-up." Obsidian cut in, his mood greatly dropped, and let out a sigh.


    "Anyways, as for your question, these little appendages led me here." Obsidian forced a chuckle and tried to move on after what had just transpired.


    Lank''s heart sank at his shallow thinking, "I didn''t know... I apologize for how..."


    "Water under the bridge," Obsidian cut in yet again, he couldn''t bear to hear an apology or that would make him feel guilty for how he had responded.


    "Let''s focus on the adventure, okay?"


    Lank nodded his head, suddenly more serious as to why he had been brought over, considering it a privilege for him to be taken to such a top-secret base.


    "It turns out the tentacles recognized where they''ve been, it''s almost like I could hear what they were saying in my head." Obsidian enthusiastically exined.


    "So they told you about this ce." Lank narrowed his eyes and tried to take his words as it was.


    Obsidian bobbed his head in a yes.


    "If that''s how you put it, who am I to question?" Lank shrugged and epted the exnation. They were in a restricted ce, that was enough evidence to believe.


    "So what''s it have to do with them?" He questioned, wondering what sort of eyeful he was talking about.


    Obsidian snapped his finger and had a smirk on his lips. It turned out that was the question he had wanted to reply to for a while.


    Closing his eyes and bringing his palms together, the tentacles glowed with a faint white which showed the transparency of the clear insides of the tentacles and converged in front of him and at Lank.


    Lank dropped down in a brief moment of shock and astonishment after the glowing tentacles came a little too close. "Woah! That''s..."


    "... awesome, I know." Obsidian finished up, feeling proud of himself.


    The once dark room was dimly illuminated due to the glow of his tentacle which reflected on the door.


    Lank was too mesmerized to respond to Obsidian''s indirect self-praise and continued staring with his heavily dted eyes.


    Obsidian''s lips drew into a thin line when he realized how far gone Lank was just by staring at them.


    "Hello?!" Obsidian repeatedly snapped his fingers in front of Lank to bring him back to the reality of things.


    Shaking his head, Lank immediately got to his feet, "what did I miss?"


    "If you had stayed that way any longer, then you might have missed my grand opening." Obsidian retorted, clicking his tongue.


    "Anyways, I had realized that this does more than light up, it is the key that fits into that tube," Obsidian responded and turned around to look at the door.


    Looking over his shoulder with a smirk, "care to see what''s in there?"

 Chapter 234 Whats In The Jar?

    Logically thinking, Lank saw no use threading the path of trouble, it was much easier to turn it down and request going back to their room.


    ''Just go with the flow, there must be tons of adventure waiting for you in there.'' A sinister voice snickered in Lanks'' thought.


    ''Don''t listen to him, all you need to do is turn down the offer, you might get into a lot of trouble because of this, it''s not worth risking your time on.'' A calm voice countered and belittled the other.


    Shaking away both thoughts, he had already made up his mind to go through with what he had in mind. "Sure, it would be nice to see something out of the ordinary."


    Obsidian''s face lit up at his response, nodding his head, he made the converging tentacles fit into the tubelike path.


    A bright light fluctuated before normalizing inside.


    Tuff!


    A smoke mist escaped from thetch and evaporated.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    "Dude!" Lank hissed, pinching his nose at how putrid of a smell escaped to his sensitive nose.


    When he looked to his side, he was shocked to see Obsidian have a fluid tentacle wrapped around his nose.


    "I hade here remember, you think I wouldn''t be prepared?" Obsidian justified his action and was followed with augh.


    Lank furrowed his brows and wasn''t at all pleased with what he had inadvertently been put through. "That''s not fair!"


    <o>,m Rolling his eyes for a while before giving in, Obsidian created a ck cloak of a nose mask on Lank.</o>


    "Happy now?"


    Lank took in a deep breath and exhaled. The putrid smell had greatly been reduced and he could smell properly to his relief.


    "If you''d ask me, I''d prefer the one on you." He pointed at the makeshift mask on Obsidian''s face.


    "It''s not a part of you, so deal with it. You wouldn''t want it strangling you instead." Obsidianughed it off while hinting at the thoughts it had towards anyone other than its host.


    "Tch¨C" Lank scoffed and walked in with the roll of his eyes.


    As the mist dispersed, he could see several transparent jars containing strange liquids.


    Blue, red, green, pink, yellow, ck, maroon, orange... It had all the colors he could think of as he stared at the cast number of the lot on shelves.


    "What in the..."


    "Yeah, weird shit huh?" Obsidian walked to his side and deactivated the tentacles and the glow in his eyes stopped.


    "This is beyond weird." Lank corrected. "What is in that stuff?"


    He had wanted to touch one of the jars when his wrist was firmly held in ce by Obsidian.


    He shook his head and made a hush gesture with his index finger. "Look."


    Lank looked to his right in the direction that he had been made to look into.


    On the wall was a metal signboard that read, "Hazardous energy, keep away or risk unprecedented mutation."


    Lank gulped as he reread and reyed the information in his head, thinking of various scenarios on how that would have yed out if it weren''t for Obsidian''s intervention.


    As he gradually came to terms with the decision he had almost fallen for, he felt thankful and was determined to make Obsidian know this, "you''re a real¨C"


    "You''re pretty stupid," Obsidian spat and shook his head, "no wonder you were having the weird thought that I was going to kill you."


    With that Obsidian clicked his tongue and shoved his hands into his fitted green jeans pants.


    Lank was left stunned as he was temporarily unable to speak after the incident and watched Lank walk in the opposite direction and towards another stack of jars on another shelf.


    Left with no choice, he followed Obsidian until he crashed into the back of Obsidian with his unprecedented stop.


    Rubbing his forehead, he was surprised at how bad that hurt, "you''ve got iron in there or something?"


    Rolling his eyes to the words, he chose not to speak more on that and pulled out a jar with glowing white liquid spiraling over a sense ck one below.


    Lank''s jaws dropped at the action. He had been shown that it was dangerous to get in contact with the jars, yet it was okay for Obsidian?<sub> </sub>


    "Did you trick me?" Lank questioned, raising his chin and narrowing his eyes.


    "Be chill," Obsidian hushed and had a smirk on his lips, throwing a wink his way.


    "I am built differently, you know that."


    "Built differently my ass." Lank retorted, feeling threatened by what he was implying.


    Even though Obsidian looked and acted like more of a perfect version of what the organization had always wanted, deep down he just wished that he had the same privilege.


    Observing Lank''s downhearted mood, he proceeded to hand him the jar. "I had said we would have some fun..."


    Lank stared at Obsidian''s outstretched arms and wondered if it was safe to take the jar, or if it was merely because of guilt that he was responding.


    "Why are you giving me that?" Lank questioned and was a lot inquisitive about what all of them meant.


    "It''s the safest and most pure out of all." He pressured once more for Lank to reconsider.


    Shaking his head, he took a step back, careful not to hit the shelf behind him.


    Lank tilted his head in confusion as to why he was trying to avoid him. "Don''t you want to know what all of these are?"


    Lank paused and cast a long hard look at him. "It''s about time I was told what is going on."


    Obsidian looked around them and shrugged. " It was only fair that I do some touring first before we decide to cause some havoc."


    He rubbed his hands together and let out a maniacugh.


    Lank immediately picked on the words'' ''cause some havoc.'' He should have pointed it out but was too confused as to how they were going to carry it out.


    "That''s right," Obsidian nodded his head as if he could read his mind so effortlessly. "Where''s the fun in all that if we don''t have that in the very ce meant to be secret?"


    Lank''s lips drew into a thin line as he wondered what was going on in his head. He still had not known what was in these jars.


    "What are these?" He questioned and folded his arms with a straight face while he pointed at the majority.


    Obsidian gulped at how adamant he was about knowing about the truth he very much wanted to rot and burn.


    "They are the extracted life forces of the mutated core members of this organization. I had heard of this tale from Mr. Zhao but had thought it was some sort of fairytale."


    Lank nodded his head, temporarily understanding what was said, and needed more info. "Why are you showing it only to me when you have the aim of destroying it anyway?"


    Obsidian shook his head and quickly chipped in, "When I mean core members, I mean all of the core members since the founding of this organization."


    "How the heck are they here?" Lank hissed in reply, shocked by the news and the meaning it had to each of the jars.


    cing the jar back onto the shelf after he had realized his eyes glowed in response. Obsidian rubbed his eyes and took steady breaths of air.


    Obsidian licked on the back of his palm and brushed onto his ear, temporarily feeling the need to calm himself before he continued.


    "These are the remains and essence carefully preserved in this weird chamber. That would exin the putrid gas you had smelt a few minutes ago." He exined.


    Lank scrunched his nose in disgust.


    "Those scumbags!" He eximed, suddenly enraged that such apartment was present.


    The organization had fooled the entire city that they had given a befitting burial for every one of its members who had died while on duty¨Clies!!


    "Why didn''t you tell the others about this?" He continued out of curiosity.


    Obsidian looked the other way immediately at the usation. He had thought of involving Nix, but when he had considered his ties with Lumina, there was no way he could think properly if he knew what was hidden inside that glowing liquid on the shelf.


    ''It''s better to burn it all down, leave no trace of it ever used for evil.'' He vowed in his thoughts.


    Refusing to speak on that, he chose a topic of distraction, the very one that could dy what he had nned.


    "You are the only one that I could reach out to first and this could strengthen our friendship. Don''t you think so?" Obsidian offered his hand for a shake.


    Lank stared at his hand and wondered if he could go through with it. These were proof that the organization was lying, why burn them?


    Noticing that Lank was reluctant in epting his offer, he smiled and spoke up again. "Do you know what they use these essences for?"

 Chapter 235 An Incomplete Elixir

    "I''m guessing you should know my answer by now." Lank narrowed his eyes at him, not deeming it necessary to give a direct answer.


    Nodding his head in understanding, Obsidian took the jar once more, "this one right here is the strongest and most unstable of the bunch."


    He shoved the jar into Lank''s hand, warning him not to drop it as it was uncertain what sort of chaos could unfold.


    Lank felt a course of heat sweep through his body.


    "What is this thing?" Lank hissed, pushing his hand away from his body and staring at it from a distance.


    He wondered why this was the most unique and the strongest, what could it possibly do to make it the strongest?


    "That is an iplete elixir." Obsidianughed out and took back the jar.


    He tightened the lid and smiled, "there are some benefits to having augmented hearing, don''t you think?"


    At first, Lank couldn''t understand what he meant, but after careful examination, he was able to get the sense of what he meant¨Ctheir unique quality of being a feral.


    "That is correct," Lank replied, "but yours is far more superior to mine."


    "You got that right," Obsidian answered, temporarily distracted by the self-praise he had unconsciously allocated to himself.


    "Anyways," he began as his voice turned cold and low.


    cing the jar back on its shelf, he watched a fidgeting Lank for an awkward amount of time before he continued. "When you asked why I hadn''t brought Nix here, this jar is the reason for such action."


    Lank tilted his head to the side so he could see the iplete elixir once more. He began to wonder if the information he was receiving was too sudden or if he was a retard.


    There was still no connection to Nix in any way to the elixir. "Could you borate? I''m kind of lost here."


    "I had overhead Mr. Zhao speak to Aer in the secretpartment which happens to be this room where we stand." He began in a whisper and took his time to look around them just to create some sort of awareness.


    "It was said to hold the elixir which could cure the leader''s curse¨C"


    "The leader has a curse? Have you seen this... this leader?" Lank cut in, curious about that information the moment he had heard something rted to the forbidden topic.


    They had all been made to follow the rules by the organization which had masked all its actions based on training, essing, and helping its citizens with the help of skillful andpetent magic or gift users.


    He had always dreamed of graduating from the academy and being specially chosen for the organization, excelling at the peak of any user''s life, and being a full-fledged hero who wouldn''t be considered a freak by the others.


    ''It was all a lie!'' Lank hissed in his thoughts, his red eyes glowing as a sinister thought was about to invade his subconscious.


    Whack!


    Lank''s face was forced to the side after the p he had endured in the hand of Obsidian.


    He did not attempt to question why he had done that, rather he was grateful for the wake-up call. He would only me himself if he were to ept the darker part of himself.


    After the incident in the infirmary, he had tried so hard to suppress that part, the thought of being betrayed by the very people that raised him was almost intoxicating enough to let go and unleash havoc in the room.


    "You need to prove to yourself that you are more than an iplete feral," Obsidian locked eyes with Lank, his face firm as he spoke.


    "Only when you ept the darkness can you truly defeat it." He concluded and patted Lank''s shoulder.


    Lank''s jaws dropped at the advice, "dude, that was deep. I never thought you had it in you."


    Cross popping veins made their way to Obsidian''s forehead, he couldn''t quite differentiate if he should be happy with the statement or angered by it.


    Forcing a smile on his lips with his eyes shut, he raised his hand and clenched it into a fist that came crashing down on Lank''s head.


    Bam!


    "F*cking damnit!" Lank cursed and rubbed his head.


    "If I had said something wrong, you could have just brought my attention to it, instead of using a barbaric method on my head, you had ruined my perfectlyyered hair!" He whined.


    Obsidian''s eyes glinted as he punched on his palm, his lips twitching as he red. He was giving personal advice to Lank, sharing the experience he had to go through with his training.


    He had to ept who he was before he could finally be a perfect feral in all respects. "I would forgive your response and attribute it to a slip of tongue."


    "What if it isn''t?" Lank countered, scrunching up his nose and folding his arms.<sub> </sub>


    "Then I suggest you get ready to lose a few teeth and tongue in the process." Obsidian threatened.


    Taking a step back, he paused just in time before he could hit the closest shelf behind him.


    Letting out a sigh of relief after he looked behind him, he looked back towards Obsidian. "Why do I feel you are refusing to answer my question on purpose?"


    "I have nothing to hide from those I consider worthy and smart..."


    ''Ouch!'' Lank''s thought grimaced at the implied meaning but said nothing.


    "... but of course, there are some things worth exining," Obsidian stated.


    "If you''re asking about the identity of the leader of this group, then you''re in for a disappointment, I am not part of the core members, so I have no idea how he looks, speaks, or sounds like," Obsidian informed with a sigh, feeling downhearted by what he revealed.


    "Oh..." Lank uttered.


    "All I can say is that he is weirdly referred to as ''master'' and worshiped like some powerful being." Obsidianughed.


    "What a weird reference for someone so highly ced." Lank grimaced at how ridiculous that sounded.


    His thoughts trailed back to the ssroom back in the academy, some of the teachers that had arrived when Mrs. Neider was on a rampage and an equally dark substance saved them, had referred to someone or something as that particr title.


    ''Could it be?'' He wondered in his thoughts and was sure to bring this up when he would speak to Nixter on.


    "About that curse? Again, I have no freaking idea what sort, but it must be a powerful one if it involves using the elixir." Obsidian pointed out.


    Lank sighed and shook his head, from what Obsidian had said, he could only pinpoint 5% of sense in his answers to the questions he had asked.


    "How does this involve Nix?" He pressed on, feeling that information had not been covered.


    "The essence of a telekic user and dragon tamer is needed toplete it." Obsidian deadpanned.


    Lank''s eyes widened at the two-pointers needed for the elixir.


    "I wonder who falls in that category." Obsidian pretended to give it a thought, rubbing his chin.


    "How the hell could one person have such abination?!" Lank wondered aloud.


    Finding a telekic user was a bit easy, all that was needed was to sweep through the houses of each citizen with the pretense of training them specifically, but a dragon tamer?


    There had been none so far who could tame those beasts, not until Nix did the impossible.


    "Nix just had to be a host of these two essential essences." Lank facepalmed.


    "If he were to be in contact with this jar, it would be near impossible to hide his abilities anymore if it were to change its color once it recognizes the user," Obsidian admitted.


    ''Keep Nix away from the jar, noted!'' Lank nodded his head.


    "Any idea on what the color might be?" Lank questioned curiously.


    Shaking his head in a no, there was no way of knowing that if no one had ever seen this phenomenon happen.


    "Do you know what''s fun?" Obsidian instantly switched to being mischievous while having a big grin.


    Lank raised a brow, expecting Obsidian to continue like he mostly does.


    "The leader doesn''t know about the ingredients needed toplete the elixir, only Mr. Zhao and someone who is called Gaviel does." He burst outughing.


    That was a typical case of a student trying to ruin their master so they could usurp that throne.


    "Mr. Zhao has been naughty." Obsidian continued and tried to keep hisughter in check. "I wouldn''t be surprised if the main reason he had almost been assassinated by those strange-looking dudes was that the leader knows of his and the friend''s little secret."


    Lank''s mouth gaped open slightly, he had a sh of Mr. Gaviel''s memory once more and what had gone on in there left him speechless.


    ? It had inadvertently confirmed what Obsidian said was true about that two knowing, but there was another part of it that he could only wish Nix wouldn''t realize.


    ''This wouldn''t end well if he knew!'' Lank thought in horror, trembling on the outside.

 Chapter 236 Stir Up Trouble For Zhao

    "Lank, are you okay?" Obsidian asked, a little worried by the shocked look on his pal''s face.


    "Y... Yeah. It w¨Cwas just a c... c... cold." Lank stuttered, trying to get over the fact of what he had seen and rubbing the side of his arms.


    "Are you sure? You look like you''ve seen a ghost." Obsidian pressed on, disturbed by the initial reaction.


    Shaking his head before turning it to a nod, he vehemently denied anything being wrong, wanting them to focus on what they are doing.


    Obsidian agreed to continue for the sake of peace, "I had thought of creating a little bit of chaos like I had said earlier, bring them up against one another."


    Lank furrowed his brows, unable to follow how that could work and worried if it wouldn''t be traced back to them.


    "How would they know? Only our team knows about my newly acquired ability from that octo-dude, there is no way we could be tracked." Obsidian snickered in mischief.


    A mischievous glint shed in his eyes as he thought it through and nodded his head in agreement.


    He had finally remembered the silly games he would y on the students back in the academy and be thrilled to kickstart that once more.


    "What''s the n?" He said with a smile.


    "I''m going to keep this up and cause a bit of disaster here so they could search for the elixir. It would be fun watching themotion." Obsidianughed out loud.


    "Uhhh... We have one issue though," Lank realized after listening to the n. "What happens to our escape n if they keep strict watch over everyone because of this?"


    "They won''t be on us, but rather on themselves," Obsidian exined.


    There was no way they could be suspected if there was no way they could have known about the ce, leaving out the part of even getting in.


    "I still don''t feel so muchfortable about this." Lank rubbed his chin. "That thing messes with our makeup."


    He had remembered the weird feeling he got from just touching it for a while, he couldn''t bear to think of the consequences of having it around them.


    "I mean, there must be a reason why they had kept it here with all of the others, don''t you think?" Lank tried to reason.


    Obsidian pretended to give it a thought, but in the end, he still went with what he had nned at the beginning. "I know how to handle that, you don''t have to worry about this.


    Letting out a sigh, he chose to try to believe his method of doing things. If this would as much as shake up the foundation of the organization, even if it was just a little bit, then he was going to join in.


    Taking the jar, he shoved it into his blue joggers making sure that there was enough space between the jar and his body¨Cthankfully he had ced a few wrappers into his pockets earlier.


    "If I go bonkers, I''d be attacking you first!" Lank hissed yfully and stepped out of the chamber.


    Obsidian took a long look at the other jars as a wicked n shed in his thoughts.


    Lank''s eyes glowed as he tried to get ustomed to the darkness once more.


    "What the hell are you doing? Get on over here!" He hollered.


    Obsidian brought up his hand and made a hush gesture. He had not fully processed what he wanted to do and needed a bit of time to think it through.


    "Do you know what all these jars could do?" He began with a slight chuckle, slightly irritated by the mere sight as he thought of its true use.


    Lank tilted his head and wondered why he was bringing up the topic when they could have left.


    "As much as I''m curious, I think we need to leave. We could be in so much trouble if we are caught." He reminded, remembering they had snuck to an unpredictable ce.


    Anyone coulde in, yet they wouldn''t have the time to rush out.


    "They use every bit of us till we die, yet they store our essence in these stupid jars for those to who they would like to transfer our abilities." He sneered as he thought of all the ugly things they could do with the number of jars stored.


    Obsidian looked to his side and out into the dark. In it, he could see Lank''s eyes wide open and he was in a state of shock after he had spoken.


    "I don''t know if you would believe me enough to know that this was how you and I got our abilities, this is why we are considered freaks of nature." Obsidian gave a bitterugh.


    "No..." Lank croaked, refusing to believe what he had heard.


    "When I hade here the first time, I could feel a connection to several of these jars, and so could the tentacles." Obsidian pressed on.<sub> </sub>


    He gave an indifferent look at Lank who was shaken with shock. "You don''t need to look so surprised, denial would get you nowhere."


    Even though he couldn''t remember his past, he could feel he was not alone in this. "Tell me you don''t have nightmares of some person with yellow slit eyes."


    "How did you¨C" He let out a gasp as he realized he had just confirmed the very thing that he was suffering from.


    "You''ve had them too!" He pointed an using finger at Obsidian.


    Obsidian gave a nod in response, "we aren''t so different after all."


    Lank could see the real truth behind bringing him to the chamber.


    "Besides, I know the monster behind our creation." Obsidian clenched his fist and looked to the metal ceiling and let out augh.


    Lank inched closer, suddenly curious as to what he was saying.


    "W-who is it?" He asked in a matter of urgency, his wide eyes curious for the truth.


    Obsidian turned to him and smiled, "there''s no need to know that, at least not yet. When you fully ept who you are, only then can you be ready for such truth."


    Lank''s face fell at the condition, he was still not so sure about such a condition that he flipped. "That doesn''t make sense, do you think I''m some baby? Someone inferior to you?! This is a leap in knowing who had done this to me!"


    Obsidian blinked and his eyes glowed and he could only suppress his rage because he knew the angle from which Lank was going all out on.


    "You think that with such an attitude you''d be able to confront the culprit? What good would that do? Did you think it''s just one person?!" Obsidian hissed and pushed on Lank out of the Chamber.


    Lank flinched and took a step back when he realized he had gone overboard with his words, "I... I..."


    "Shut up dude and get your head back into the game. This fun is continuous and I for one wouldn''t want you ruining my prank!" Obsidian spat and rolled his eyes.


    Lank looked down, disheartened by his actions and the way he had been treated.


    Obsidian watched him for a while and began to feel guilty about his outburst, he was meant to be the sensible one.


    "I didn''t mean it that way." He managed to mumble.


    Even though that was said with the intention of not letting him listen in well, he was more than happy to take his words as a form of reconciliation.


    Pouncing on him for a hug, he held onto Obsidian''s neck. Creating a ck makeshift hand to pull him up and off him. "You should try not stirring trouble, we are in a delicate ce."


    Lank struggled to get free and he hung a few centimeters off the ground. "This isn''t fair! Howe you get other super cool abilities and I don''t?!"


    Searching Lank''s pocket, he pulled out the jar and ced it into a levitating ck sphere beside him.


    ''Better safe than sorry.'' Obsidian noted, that if anything were to happen to the jar, their one chance at forcing the leader of the organization out would be ruined.


    "That''s because you are yet to ept your true self and evolve," Obsidian corrected.


    Lank had wanted to nod to that logical exnation, he knew he had yet to reach his full strength, but all that was crushed with the next words.


    "Besides, I was created to be perfect in all I do, I don''t think that could be disputed even if you evolve." Obsidian raised his chin in pride, with his noseedically growing in Lank''s distorted thoughts.


    "Why I outta¨C" Lank hissed and scratched at the hand holding him in ce.


    "Enough!" Obsidian stated and released his hold on his creation with a snap of his fingers.


    Thud!


    Lankid face t on the floor and refused to get up until he knew his pride was slightly better than his body.


    Obsidian couldn''t care less why he was still in the same position and kicked him in the stomach.


    "Uhhh!" Lank let out a groan in pain, pulling his knees closer to his stomach.


    "Get up you mangy beast, we still got one thing to do before we leave." Obsidian said with a devilish smirk on his face, "it''s time to stir trouble for my ex-teacher."

 Chapter 237 First Wave Of Chaos

    Lank began to suspect what he could mean with that, "that would mean...?"


    Obsidian pulled him by the neck, "don''t you get it? I''m gonna destroy a few of these precious jars of the organization."


    Lank''s eyes widened at his words, if they were to do that, there were bound to be issues even if they were to destroy a few.


    "You can''t be serious." Lank felt reluctant to go through with it.


    "I am dead serious," Obsidianughed and released his grip on Lank''s neck, took the elixir from the sphere, and shoved it into Lank''s pocket.


    He realized that if Lank wasn''t going to join in, he wouldn''t pressure him to do so as this was one of his wish fulfillment.


    "Why don''t you step outside while I take care of this?" Obsidian said with a mocking tone.


    Lank slowly walked back and did as he was told.


    These jars could only break if a great amount of force was exerted. His eyes focused on the metallic wall¨Cthe perfect ce to experiment.


    Materializing the tentacles from behind, he picked up 6 jars with them and threw them against the wall which set off the rm.


    Wi! Wi! Wi!


    Lank gasped in shock at what was going on, he didn''t expect an rm to be set up inside the chamber.


    "Get the hell out of there!" He hollered for Obsidian to hurry as the door was closing.


    Seeing he didn''t react immediately, he sprinted and held the lock stile before it could close.


    <o>,m Protracting his ws, he firmly held onto it, but it was slowly slipping out of his grasp. "I can''t keep this up, damnit!"</o>


    After Obsidian had broken a few more, he dashed out and jumped through the space left, just in time before the door slipped out of Lank''s grip and mmed shut.


    Lanky on the ground hyperventted and trying to catch his breath. "You knew about the rm, didn''t you?"


    Obsidian crouched over andughed it off, "this whole building got its rm, all you got to know is what makes it tick."


    Lank got up immediately, remembering they couldn''t stay there. "We gotta go!"


    Obsidian continuedughing, ying his panic as nothing. "Rx, I know a shortcut, only I know about that."


    Pulling Lank by the wrist, he led him towards the wall.


    Bang!


    "F*cking damnit!" Lank cursed when he knocked into the side of a table.


    Bang!


    He let out another curse when he crashed into a chair.


    "Hmmm, you seem to be blind in here, does anything matter?" Obsidian pretended to be concerned about what Lank was going through.


    In reality, he had intentionally led Lank into that furniture while he swiftly avoided them in the nick of time, with Lank facing the said furniture.


    "I can''t see in the dark?! You got some nerve!" Lank pulled up his sleeve, ready for a brawl.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you, they are already on their way." Obsidian rolled his eyes and continued leading them towards the wall.


    This time, Lank had quick reflexes and never fell for the trick twice.


    "We''re here!" Obsidian announced with a smile.


    "That''s a goddamn wall," Lank hissed, pulling his hand away in disappointment. "Have you stayed in the chamber so long that you can''t even see in the dark anymore?!"


    Obsidian shook his head and smiled, "you underestimate my actions."


    Without saying another word, he ced his hand on a particr brick, pushing it.


    The wall trembled slightly before it began to open up.


    Lank jumped back in shock at what he witnessed. Pulling himself together when he saw Obsidian walk in made him dash in with him when he picked up approaching steps several feet away.


    Closing up immediately Lank had entered, the bricks rearranged and stilled.


    m!


    Sesa rushed into the room, she was wearing a fis top that revealed herce bra. On the top, she''s wearing a stylish silver thin striped vest with one button, it has a deep v-line, which causes the jacket to nt slightly to the side.


    Her pants have the same pattern as the jacket, but a different,plementary color and they make an idealbination with her ankle-strapped shoe.<sub> </sub>


    Pushing back her hair, she squinted her eyes in the dark, realizing she couldn''t see for the time.


    Activating the glow in her yellow eyes, she could finally get a dim picture of what was in the dark. Her chest heaving after looking to her right to see the chamber securely closed.


    ''Could it have been just in my imagination?'' she wondered, slowly walking close to the door.


    cing her hand on the fingerprint scanner, she watched in horror as the door rejected her fingerprint.


    "What?!" She eximed and kicked at the door.


    At first, she wondered if it was Zhao that had set off the rm, there was no way anyone would know of the vault''s existence, this was strictly off visiting zones.


    Taking a step back she frowned at the new development. Her master wouldn''t be pleased, nor would the culprit who trespass go unpunished.


    Coming from behind was Arion. "Miss Sesa..."


    He screeched to a stop when he couldn''t see and began to panic.


    "Miss Sesa... Why is this ce too dark? What is this ce?" He questioned, looking for anything he could hold on to.


    Sesa rolled her eyes and watched as he walked to her right.


    Bang!


    "Ugh!" Arion groaned in pain when he walked into a wall and bounced back and onto the floor.


    Finally getting a bit of satisfaction from what she had seen, she took strides toward him.


    The only thing Arion could see was the glow in her eyes as she approached. "Miss Sesa!"


    ''Here we go again.'' Sesa thought in frustration, she didn''t understand why they had made Arion be her assistant, but could only endure his annoying questions and presence.


    Picking him up from the floor, she pulled him closer to herself. His face came crashing into her bust.


    "Mmmhmm." He hummed and grabbed a hold of the right.


    Smack!


    "You silly brat now is not the time for such distraction!" She snapped and pulled him away.


    She folded her arms and looked away. Even though they were still in the dark, she looked around for possible clues on how either Mr. Zhao or anyone might have gotten in, let alone see in the room before getting into the chamber.


    She spotted a portal opening and in it came her master.


    He''s wearing a standard shirt with a few buttons opened to give off a casual yet elegant look. On top of the shirt he''s wearing a trendy ck vest with 6 buttons, it has a deep v-line, which causes the vest to remain hidden when the suit''s jacket is buttoned up.


    The jacket perfectly wraps around his body. It has a tight herringbone pattern which gives the suit a more formal and elegant look. The 6 buttons of his double-breasted jacket are all buttoned up except for one, a subtle touch of nonchnce that works perfectly.


    The jacket is longer at the back, it has a vent at the back, there are two pockets on one side and one pocket on the other.


    He''s wearing pants that copy the style of the jacket, both in color and pattern and they make an idealbination with his shoes. He''s wearing a fancy pair of moc toe penny loafers.


    Sesa freaked out with the sudden appearance of her master on the scene. She dropped face down to the floor in a bow.


    Arion could hear the sound and gasp of his mentor and was worried that he couldn''t see who or what could have caused that.


    It wasn''t until he could spot blue glowing eyes, that he wanted toment on how that had looked a bit simr to Nix''s but began to see his vision clouded.


    "Miss Sesa, what''s going..."


    Thud!


    He dropped to the floor unconscious.


    Sesa trembled when she heard the sound of Arion drop. "I-I swear, I didn''t set off the rm, it must be Zhao! I couldn''t even ess the door."


    The master tilted his head and had a devilish smirk on his lips. He had his hands in his pocket and stared at Sesa.


    Sesa''s heartbeat quickened at the sound of her master approaching. Then the sound stopped and so did her heart skip a beat.


    "You expect me to believe that bullshit!" He barked.


    Sesa jumped back in shock to his reaction, pushing back and crawling away. Tears trailed down her eyes. She wasn''t at fault.


    ''Zhao and I are the keepers of the chamber, there is no one else who could have known about this ce, it must be Zhao!'' Sesa repeated in her thoughts like a mantra.


    Looking behind him, he stared at the door and contemted his next actions. His frown only increased when he began to contemte the possibility that it could be Zhao.

 Chapter 238 Keep An Eye On Him

    Looking over to the walls, a glow surrounded the area, dimly lighting up the room.


    Deactivating the glow in his eyes, he made his way towards the door.


    Observing it for a while, he noticed the tube lock had been used, he could only think of two people who had led the experiment of a rogue gift user.


    Looking over his shoulder, he red at her. "Sesa!"


    "Master?!" She yelped in reply, trembling and rubbing her fingers as she pleaded. "I swear, I just came here to inspect the problem."


    A smirk made its way to his lips and he nodded. "I believe you, but where is Zhao?"


    This was a question that was as hard as asking about her true roots¨Cbeing adopted by her master made her question who or what she was.


    Due to her unique ability, she was specifically ced to be in charge of the experiment right after the head scientist had betrayed the organization.


    "Zhao... I... D..." She tried toe up with some excuse for his absence but was cut off.


    He burst out in a peal of crazedughter at what he had just thought of, "Zhao... Zhao... Zhao!"


    He pushed back his ck hair and had a smug look on his face. cing his palm on the scanner, it made a buzz and rejected his fingerprint.


    [Please enter the right biometric data]


    Cross popping veins made their way to his head at the warning given by the security system.


    "Ahhh... I see, I''m not the one with the right biometric data." The master sarcastically replied while pointing to himself.


    Raising his fist in front of him, he watched as a blue aura coated it, "I''ve been wanting to do this for a while now."


    Boom!


    He dealt heavy damage to the security system on the side, slightly making a crack in the metal door.


    Crkk!


    Sesa pushed back when she saw tiny crack marks spread out all around the door.


    She had never seen him use such brute force.


    Bam!


    Boom!


    The metal crumbled away and dropped onto the floor in broken bits.


    Dusting his hands, she shook them andughed. "Those engineers lied to me, this isn''t the strongest metal in Arkai."


    ''But master it is! Yet you tore it down like a piece of paper?!'' Sesa panicked at how rtively easy it was for him.


    She watched as he kicked on the rest thaty on the floor and nodded. He was observing the damage he had done, and she couldn''t help but wonder how had gotten to the top of the power chain.


    Stepping into the chamber, he sniffed the air and immediately closed his nose. "F*cking hell?!"


    Using his sleeves to cover his nose, he looked around for the cause of such a putrid smell. To his horror, he saw several jars destroyed.


    The spill on the floor had darkened into a deep red, almost as though blood had been the spill.


    The corner of his lips raised as he stared at the numerous jars that were destroyed, there was no way they could be reced¨Cnot with how rare they were with the users dead.


    He punched at the wall in suppressed rage, if they had left a few, there must have been a n to this that he was yet to understand.


    ''This was intentional.'' He observed, turning his attention towards the one shelf that had what he had kept safely.


    Rushing to the shelf, he noticed it was gone.


    He froze and held his chest in pain. The mere sight of not getting what he needed made him groan in slight pain.


    ''How could it be gone?!'' He raged, biting down on his bottom lip.


    That elixir was his only shot at healing himself when he couldplete it from the remaining secret in that scroll.


    If where he stood wasn''t a delicate area, he would have known the amount of damage he would have caused due to the rage he had developed.<sub> </sub>


    There was a limit to the help Rumi could do in his case, there were very few people who knew about the elixir¨CSesa, Rumi, and Zhao, and the only people who had ess to the chamber were Sesa and Zhao.


    His eyes narrowed as he thought about the possibility of it being thetter, it couldn''t have been Sesa, she was right with him and had rushed to the scene, yet Zhao was nowhere in sight.


    Few people could be pointed at, and the culprit mostly never shows up at the crime scene.


    Second thoughts crept into his mind, feeling it might have been Sesa. If he wanted answers he would have to go through his method of interrogation.


    Storming out of the chambers, his gaze was focused on Sesa. Grabbing her by the top, he took a handful.


    "Master, what''s wrong?" Sesa croaked and struggled to gasp for breath as he tightened his grip on her top which squeezed in on her neck.


    "You nned this with him, didn''t you?! You won''t deceive me just because you came here to have a look!!" He barked at her.


    His eyes glinted in fury and his eyes were bloodshot.


    There was no way he could calm his nerves if the elixir was gone, this was a thought-out n, aimed at him and there was no other person he knew who could resort to such ns if not Zhao.


    Sesa had one of her eyes closed as she winced in pain from his grip, "I... don''t... kn-now what you''re talking... a..."


    "You won''t buy me off with that bullshit!" He cut in, spitting out profanities in her face.


    Hot tears rolled down her eyes after being shaken up by his tone of voice and violent demeanor.


    She had always tried to be the perfect daughter and loyal subordinate he had, yet she had realized even that wasn''t enough¨Cshe could never live up to the expectations of her master''s first love.


    ''It''s all because of her that all this is happening in the first ce!'' Sesa cried in her thoughts.


    Letting go of Sesa, the master gripped his chest tighter, tugging at his shirt. A memory shed through his thoughts, Lyra had warned him that his anger would be his downfall, he had not expected her to make those words a reality.


    Sesa let out a gasp of air and coughed repeatedly the moment she dropped to the ground.


    She was more than d that he had experienced what he would call temporal seizures, this would always force him to calm his anger no matter how great it was.


    The master inhaled and exhaled as he leaned on the wall to catch his breath. Beads of sweat trailed down his forehead as he forced his eyes open.


    ''Damn you Lyra! The one mistake I had made was to let you experience a painless death.'' He thought in spite.


    What she had left for him was more than enough to torment him for the rest of his life since she defected.


    That iplete elixir was the only thing he was able to create from the first scroll while she left with the most important one.


    He burst into a bitterugh as he remembered how tough it was to track her whereabouts, yet after having his revenge, he felt nothing but more hurt, and his efforts on uncovering the truth were ced at a standstill.


    Sesa watched in horror at his demeanor. She wished she could flee like Fegan and Gaviel and be gone from the crazed life of the organization, but she knew all that was a fleeting thought coupled with the fact that she was spineless.


    The fear she had developed for him had made her fear of being killed by the unlucky lots.


    She wished she could leave, but even that wasn''t an option, not while her master was in a crazed state, any rash action could lead to her death.


    She shed a nce in Arion''s direction, her heart pounding when she realized she had not spared him a look since all the crazy began.


    When she witnessed his chest rise and fall, she let out a sigh at the fact that he had not been killed because of her. ''When I get Zhao, he''s so dead!''


    Sesa closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She could feel a cold gaze piercing through her from behind. Stiffly she turned her head to witness the hard re her master had focused on her.


    Her hand sped over her mouth as she swallowed a scream, her heart in her throat. She couldn''t understand what had gone missing in the chamber that made him dead seriously and boiling in rage.


    "Do you care for that youngd?" His cold tone resonated.


    "He... He''s under my c... care." She stammered and forced her head down, unable to hold his re.


    She could only expect the worst was yet toe.


    ''Here ites!'' She grimaced and closed her eyes.


    "Good." He replied with a light chuckle.


    ''What the heck?!'' Sesa thought on in shock, raising her head to stare at her master in confusion.

 Chapter 239 Not Interested

    "He''s a loyal dog that can be used to my benefit." Heughed at the prospect.


    ''You''re not the one who slept with him, so how would you care about the repercussions?'' Sesa sneered in her thoughts. Hating herself for going through with that sort of experiment.


    After the failed experiment with Obsidian, she had been cautioned by Zhao to make a body connection with her creations.


    ''He''s just a youngster, why did I put up with this?'' She cried in her thoughts, her eyes tearing up once more.


    "Tch-" He scoffed when he saw her tears trail down her face. "I never put you up to be this weak-hearted."


    Sniffling, she wiped her running nose and cleaned off the tears with her sleeve.


    Those words no matter how innocent it was, were more of a warning. If she were to be useless to him, she could bid goodbye to the living and join the very things she used to conduct some of her experiments.


    ''Pull yourself together! Do you want to die as a nameless nobody?'' She scolded herself in her thoughts.


    Forcing a smile on her face, she tried to be as positive about everything as possible.


    "What do you have nned, master?" She gave a bow, using the opportunity to vent out her frustration and anger as she stared at his shoe.


    "How about you stop cursing me behind my back or in your mind? Maybe we can move on to the most important." He suggested with a devilish smirk.


    His words left her stunned and confused as to how he had managed to guess her actions. Easing her tense muscles, she pulled on the cor of her top and gulped.


    Sweat dripping on her pants, she was skeptical about going on with her defense, "master, I would ne¨C"


    "Why am I not surprised?" He snapped, "count yourself lucky once more, don''t give me funny ideas."


    Sesa bobbed her head in response, understanding what he meant. If she had made him have funny ideas, then she''d be the joke.


    He could only think of one thing and that was to get his elixir, this would give him a sense of relief and confidence in finishing what he had started.


    "Find Zhao, use that pathetic assistant of yours if you have to!" He sneered, shaking his head, and paced about.


    Even if it felt like he was on the verge of losing what he cherished, he had thought of the best torture method he could use on the culprit. They couldn''t be let to live if they had the balls to specifically take what was his.


    ''What are you nning?!'' He thought, giving a punch on the wall.


    Krr!


    A dent was made on the brick wall as some of its rubbles dropped to the ground.


    Sesa pushed back in fear, she couldn''t have a settled mind until he was gone. ''Please leave!''


    As if listening in on her thoughts, he looked towards Sesa with a devious smirk. "I need a report after 24 hours."


    "Of course." She replied immediately.


    Opening a portal, he stepped in with one leg and the other out. It was as though he had forgotten something and looked back out and at Sesa.


    Sesa''s heart thumped hard as she wondered why he had looked at her.


    "Lest I forget," he spoke and activated the glow in his eyes, and stared directly at her pendant.


    "Mmfff!!" Sesa hissed in pain, gritting her teeth as the pendant glowed, transmitting mutated cells through her chest, causing a burning sensation.


    When he was satisfied, he released his hold on the pendant. "That''s just a brief preview of what would happen to you if you dare to connive with Zhao."


    Sesa was in a breathy mess, she had her hand on her chest and tore at the ce where she had felt the pain.


    "There''s no need to check if it''s mutated, I had stopped it before it could do a great deal of damage." Heughed and clicked his tongue.


    Sesa let out a sigh of relief and fell on her back.


    "Go cover yourself up, I''m not interested." He snickered and walked through the portal.


    As soon as the portal closed up, Sesa gritted her teeth and repeatedly hit the ground in rage.


    ''How could he punish and refer to me that way?!'' She thought as hot tears trailed sideways, going into her ears.


    Forcing herself to sit up, she shook off the tears from her ears and sniffled. "Crying won''t take you anywhere."


    Crawling towards Arion, she pulled him by the cor but immediately let go when she saw saliva trail out of the corner of his lips.


    ''Gross!'' She grimaced in disgust.


    The thought of offering herself to an ipetent fool just for some experiment made her cringe in regret.


    Picking him up again by the cor, she pped him hard and across the face.


    He was still unconscious after that and it made her madder about what had happened.<sub> </sub>


    She could only me her master for cing him in the state Arion was in.


    Left with no choice, she intentionally dropped him so she could watch him drop to the floor.


    cing her hand over his chest, she channeled a bit of her healing aura into him.


    He woke up with a gasp and pulled her by the cor into a kiss.


    Sesa freaked out with wide eyes as she stared at Arion and went mad in her thoughts, ''do you have a death wish?!''


    Pushing herself up, she wiped her lips, getting some of the pink lipstick on her sleeves.


    Cross popping veins made their way to her forehead as she stared at it.


    "Miss Sesa, you had¨C"


    Unable to take it anymore, she balled her hands in a fist and punched him hard across the face.


    Arion held onto his face in shock and disappointment. He had not understood why she had suddenly turned physical.


    Sesa let out a scream in frustration, "why the hell is this happening to me?!! Ahh!!!"


    Arion blinked several times in confusion, all he could remember was her looking at her sleeves smeared with lipstick¨Cthat he didn''t understand how it got there.


    Sesa''s hand was on her face as she let out a peal of crazedughter, thinking of the various things she could do to Zhao for suggesting such an experiment to the others.


    Arion pushed back, skeptical about going along with her anymore. He still didn''t understand why the room that was once dark was suddenly a bit visible.


    Bang!


    "F*ck, damnit!" Arion spat as she crashed into the edge of a stool. He had gotten so used to the darkness that he had thought there couldn''t be any furniture.


    Sesa brought her hand down and got to her feet. Walking slowly towards an unsure Arion.


    Offering out her hand towards Arion, she gestured for him to take it.


    Taking it, she pulled him up to his feet. "Would you please stop acting like aplete moron?"


    He nodded his head in response and dusted his shirt.


    "Come along, we got some hunting to do." She walked towards the exit, waving him along.


    Running along to meet up with her, Arion was curious about what sort of game they were going after and a chance of going outside the walls of the organization.


    "It''s not an animal we''re after," Sesa snickered, her eyes temporarily glowing as she thought of one person that fit into her description¨CZhao.


    "It''s a person I see," Arionughed, not bothered by the choice. "He had been wishing to test out his rusty skills, practicing in his new room wasn''t enough, he needed someone to test it on.


    "You sure are excited," she observed as she crossed the threshold of the exit and paused to turn around.


    Arion stopped just in time before they could collide.


    When she began to make advances toward him, shes of what had happened between them in the sanctuary crossed his mind.


    His face turned red when he realized that there was a torn part on her fis top.


    Sesa could understand where his thoughts were headed and could only smile at her hold on him. cing her hand in his face, she outlined his jawline and leaned forward to whisper in his ear.


    "Do you know what is more fun?" She seductively whispered.


    Arion gulped and cursed at the fact he got a boner just from her words.


    "Getting the game and not cking around!" She snapped and pulled on his ear.


    "Ow! Ow!" Arion grimaced and pulled away just in time.


    He had not expected such a response and was more than shocked that she had resorted to such a cheap trick.


    "Come on," she harrumphed. "We don''t have the whole day."


    Deep in her thoughts, she meant it, her timer given by her master was already ticking.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Watching from above was a purple gecko from the ceiling, its tail swayed as it ran across the ceiling and out of the room just in time before its doors closed trapping it.


    ''Mr. Zhao needs to know about this.''

 Chapter 240 Trigger His Dragons

    In room 4,


    "Nix open up! Get the hell out of my room!" Obsidian called out as he hurriedly banged on the door.


    There was no way Nix and Alex could still be dueling.


    Click!


    Nix poked his head out of the gap and looked at the two. They looked more like they had run several miles before rushing over.


    Squinting his eyes in suspicion, "where were you two? Why does it also look like you had stolen some important figure?"


    "Steal?" Lank spoke up quickly as his heart pounded in fear. "You can''t possibly think that of¨C"


    He couldn''t finish his words as Obsidian''s tail pped Lank so he could shut up. Pushing him to the corner, he shed a grin towards Nix.


    Nix raised a brow at the weird attitude the two were putting up, there was something wrong.


    ''Mune.'' He called on her presence.


    [Ahh! I was having a good sleep] Mune whined, stretching out her hands and opening her mouth wide before blinking to stay awake.


    Nix called on Obsidian, "one moment."


    Obsidian pointed to himself, unsure if it was right to meet with Nix, he could have some trick up his sleeves.


    "Yes, you." Nix nodded, calling him closer with the flick of his finger.


    Reluctantly, he walked towards Nix.


    Sniff!


    Nix took a big whiff of the faint smell that reeked off their body.


    [How is this possible?!] Mune gasped in shock.


    Nix was temporarily distracted by Mune''s shocking words, it looked like she knew the putrid smell on them.


    "Why do you smell funny?" Nix questioned, hoping they could answer him before he consulted a shock-stricken Mune.


    "Smell?" Obsidian sweat dropped, he gritted his teeth and looked towards Lank.


    Lank simply avoided his gaze and ced his hand on his pants and over the elixir. They couldn''t let Nix touch the jar.


    Pushing the door wider, Alex stared out, his hair standing on its head with it sizzling with smoke.


    "F*ck!" He eximed and pped on his hair before it could be set on mes.


    His face was covered with ck patches and so were his clothes.


    ''Thank you for your silly way of allowing us to escape this!'' Obsidian grinned as he dly took the opportunity.


    "My goodness, why are you in such a mess?!" Obsidian gasped, pushing in the door and walking in immediately.


    His mouth dropped when he saw the makings of the room, it almost looked like they two had been dueling in an underground volcano vault. There were several ck scales with ovepping areas giving off a blue dimmed glow outline.


    The towering size of the room made him wonder what could have gone on in the room or what sort of training they had carried out that had caused such a huge bang at the time he and Lank were spying on them.


    Lank rushed in, tripping on his feet and holding from falling by Nix. Getting his bnce, he brushed past Nix.


    Nix was left confused at first until his vision quaked.


    [20 energy points deducted]


    Nix groaned in pain as he felt a bit of his energy drained out of his body the moment Lank had passed by him.


    He had just invested his 660 points to level his energy, strength, and agility, yet Lank had simply brushed past him and drained a bit of his energy?


    <Rooar!!!!>


    The dragons let out screeches of pain in his subconscious. This had felt like a burning sting on them that ate at their scales.


    When the pain subsided and they healed, they snorted, roaring to be let out and have their revenge on Lank.


    ''Rest! I will get to the bottom of this.'' He assured his dragons, disturbed that they were simultaneously all affected by the same urrence.


    None of it seemed to add up and he continued to stare at Lank as he suspected that something was off about the two of them.


    "You sure know how to do a good makeover while I''m outta here." Obsidian pped his hand. "Such darkness and the beauty of the color zing."<sub> </sub>


    "..."


    Obsidian felt something was off about Nix''s quietness and confronted him about it.


    Even at that, Nix had his gaze focused on Lank the whole time as he listened to Mune.


    [There''s something on him that reminds me of something hidden in the scroll¨Cthis was the true content that is yet to be unlocked]


    Nix''s eyes widened at the words, he had not put so much emphasis on the scroll ever since the system''s glitch and he was burdened with guilt at not checking its content for a while.


    His hold on his revenge was dwindling and in its ce came the distraction in the form of friends. ''Are you sure it''s the cause of my energy depletion?''


    Mune nodded her head, if he could get drained just by a brush, she was right. They had been in the forbidden zone in the organization.


    She had thought it was nothing more than a fable she had been programmed on just for the sake of universal information, but that smell had been registered in her memory¨Cthere was no mistaking it, the fable was indeed true.


    ''Then I guess the duel isn''t over.'' He had a smirk as he looked over at Alex, temporarily remembering their training.


    Alex yelped and hid behind Obsidian. He was done pushing his limit, he wished so bad to be back at his home without any worry or interaction.


    He was wrong to have taken up the challenge of dueling him in whatever way possible.


    The inclusion of defeating his dragon before dueling against Nix was an unfair position he was put in. It also looked like the red dragon enjoyed ying with him till he gave up just before they heard a bang on the door.


    This was the one thing he was grateful for, the distraction to his favor, he knew Nix didn''t mean any harm to him¨Cif it weren''t for his reluctance to give his dragons full control, he would have been roasted to the spot.


    What he couldn''t figure out was why he was given a death re by Nix. ''I didn''t do anything, dude!''


    Obsidian could feel Nix''s aura change, it reminded him of the time they had been in the arena, but this was different, he could feel it seethe off from the surroundings.


    The room still gave off the feeling Nix had embedded into it before his duel with Alex.


    "Mentor, is there something wrong?" Obsidian masked his nervousness with a forced chuckle.


    Lank followed suit, not wanting to be in an awkward silence watching the cold air of awkwardness spread around.


    Nix simply lost it with the chuckle from Lank. "You sure are in a good mood."


    Lank gulped and immediately shut up, he couldn''t understand why he was picked on but wasn''t into arguing if it meant he would go against Nix in such a bad time.


    [Master, calm down. I''m sure they can exin]


    Mune felt that this might not go well, not while they had reminded him of his failed goal.


    ''Why don''t we see if they can do that for their best friend?'' Nix snickered and focused his attention on Lank.


    Lank felt as if he was pushed to the wall. "Is there a reason I should be scared or sad?"


    He couldn''t even believe the courage he had mustered to be able to say that while Nix was resonating with a deadly aura.


    What all couldn''t understand was why this sort of aura was directed at them¨Ctreading carefully was the best option.


    "You should be happy, I wouldn''t want anything less for my friends," Nix said with a forced smile.


    That smile left the three ufortable and they all shared nces as they tried to pinpoint what had caused a drastic change in the mood.


    "Of... Course." Lank coughed out.


    "But..." Nix paused and activated his telekic ability.


    "I don''t seem to understand how it''s possible that you would brush past me and my telekic energy suddenly drained." Nix pointed out.


    This was the first time that his telekic energy had been favored over his fire energy and had left him exhausted with just a little tapped.


    Lank trembled as this would onlynd them in trouble if Nix would know about this. He looked to Obsidian for a way out of this.


    "Nix, you must be tired from the duel you had with Alex." Obsidian brushed it off as one of those signs that he needed some rest.


    Nix nodded his head as though he was agreeing with Obsidian''s words. "You have a point."


    Obsidian let out a sigh but was worried when Alex shook his head frantically signaling it was a bad approach he had used.


    When he and Nix dueled, they had trained to use little energy yet be effective in their duel, and the fact that he used his dragon to test out his ability only meant he used little to no energy with them.


    "I do have an important question, how does a depletion in my energy trigger all my dragons to seek your flesh!" Nix forced out augh as he looked at Lank.

 Chapter 241 Fight? I Got My Ass Whooped

    Lank did a double take and stumbled on the floor for a second time.


    This time he fell into the hard barrier of his telekic field. "You shouldn''t trip so often, bestie."


    Lank could feel the disappointment in his words, all he could do was get to his feet and lower his head in shame.


    He hoped Obsidian would have a usible excuse to pull him out of the tight spot he was in.


    "If you dare speak, Sid, on his behalf, I swear I''m going to lose it," Nix warned him just before he could open his mouth.


    His mouth was gaped open for a while and closed afterward, he instantly regretted the fact that Nix was in his room. If he was in his room with Lumina, they would have sessfully sneaked the iplete elixir into his room without any suspicion.


    Here they were being confronted by the very person that he had thought to hide it from.


    "No response?!" Nix pressed on, gripping Lank''s cor with his telekic grip.


    If he could trigger his telekic energy and the dragons, he was going to see how long he could hold on to be broken by the very thing.


    Lank struggled to be set free, he hated the fact that he couldn''t fight back since he couldn''t grab onto what was holding him.


    This was an unfair advantage given into the wrong hands and could be detrimental to others.


    "Let him go!" Obsidian barked, his hair standing on its head as he prepared to fight back.


    They couldn''t let him get closer to the jar, that would only put them in bigger trouble than they already were.


    For all he could care about, the organization would be searching the whole organization for the elixir or who had been in there.


    [Master, he''s your friend!]


    ''F*ck friendship! They look like they just betrayed me and won''t tell me what''s in his possession.'' Nix spat, tired of her interference, he cut off her presence immediately.


    ''I''m sorry Mune, but I can''t carry on with your presence.'' He closed his eyes before opening them with a new resolve.


    [Mission: Find out the truth]


    The corner of Nix''s lips raised at the attempt to go against him. "Don''t interfere in a friendly discussion."


    Obsidian felt reluctant to act on his instinct, he had a friend in danger because of him, yet he could feel the hurt of being betrayed even after knowing something was odd about them.


    Alex activated his ability and created a wave of static energy spreading all around him, knocking Obsidian off guard.


    He had expected the same to happen to Nix, but to his horror, he stood tall and had a devious smile.


    "I must say, you have advanced in your training. Thatst wave was exhrating, it almost ''moved'' me." Nix gave a light bow.


    Alex instantly regretted his action as he watched Obsidian struggle to his feet, he had ruined their chance at having a fair fight by using such a sneaky attack and ruining Obsidian''s standing.


    Obsidian red at Alex but said nothing, instead, his gaze was still on Lank suspended in the air.


    Nix let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose in disappointment. They had all teamed against him even though they were the ones in the wrong.


    Letting go of Lank, he realized his approach to handling the information he had gotten from Mune had been a bit overboard.


    "You two are hiding something from me and more so it felt familiar yet degrading." Nix''s solemn voice broke the awkward silence between them.


    He hated the thought of betrayal, he had high hopes of his friends never being in that category, yet they had betrayed his trust when it affected him.


    Deactivating his ability, his shoulder drooped as he was stricken with guilt.


    "I will apologize for my rash actions," he said with a sigh.


    Turning to Lank who was still trying to catch his breath after that nerve-racking one-on-one with Nix.


    He pushed back and refused to look at Nix. This made him more determined to keep the information he had learned from Mr. Gaviel''s memory a secret.


    If Nix were to know about this information, he might as well flip to rage mode.


    "Lank..." Nix began, careful about how he could get the desired information from him.


    "It''s pointless, I don''t wish to discuss anything with you." Lank harrumphed and dashed out immediately before he could be stopped.<sub> </sub>


    Nix was left stunned and stood frozen. He was the one meant to be in rage at what was going on¨Cthere was something in Lank''s possession that had called out to him and had drained him.


    ''This isn''t over!'' He vowed in his thoughts. He had strangely gotten a mission that involved Lank and Obsidian''s involvement, there was no way he was going to ignore it.


    The walls slowly began to disintegrate as they revealed the original room of Obsidian and Alex.


    Nix didn''t feel there was any need to be an obstruction to the two. It was their room and he had overstayed his wee. "I will be leaving now."


    "Nix!" Obsidian called out, but was reluctant to act on his call so instead he stood his ground as he watched him leave.


    Click!


    Nix looked at room 2 and wondered what could be going on in Lank''s thoughts.


    This is the first time they had ever hit the bottom in their friendship. He ced his head on the door lightly.


    ''Could you forgive me? I was blinded by rage.'' He had wanted to say when he knocked to register his presence, but pulled away and walked to his room.


    Click!


    Inside Lank''s room, he had his ear on the door and could actively hear all that was going on within a meter radius from his door.


    He felt guilty for walking out like that on all of them, but that was the only way he could think of avoiding stirring up bigger hate.


    He could understand why Nix''sst name had been crossed out of his gold medal back at the academy. He could guess it was his doing and the only reason he had joined was for some borate revenge of his.


    If he knew about the one he knew of, it''ll only ignite the dying hate he had in his heart.


    From the little time they had spent as friends, he knew Nix as being unable to express his emotions but was great at keeping those who meant the world to him.


    ? He was just d that he had been able to hide the elixir in one of the drawers of the bedside table. Keeping the key safely with him.


    He would meet up with Obsidian during the night and hand him the jar so he was the one who could properly take care of it.


    ''Would I get to the bottom of this?'' Lank vowed, cing his head on the door while deep in thoughts.


    "Lank, what are you doing standing by the door?" Gia broke up his line of thoughts.


    She had been watching him and couldn''t understand why he was acting as though he was running away from something or someone.


    "Nothing." Lank rubbed the back of his head.


    She made a joke about him caring about the door while he was in than his interaction with her.


    She pulled on the loose spaghetti strap of her blue silk night dress. Wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.


    Lank chuckled, d that she had managed to liven his mood, and walked towards the bed.


    Gia opened her arms wide allowing him to restfortably on her bust while she gently stroked his hair.


    "Did you two fight?" She muttered in a low tone.


    She could feel that was what was bothering him and she wondered how she could help with it.


    ''Fight? I got my ass whooped!'' Lank froze at her question, skeptical about letting her in on the information.


    Gia had a big smile as she understood her question was a tough call to answer, but she could feel the tension in the air after he had rushed in then.


    "If you don''t want to speak to me about it, I want you to know that letting this stretch out would only worsen the situation going on between you two." She counseled.


    "If you know a secret about someone and it would affect how they see everything in a dangerous light, would you still tell them?"


    Gia''s brows furrowed, it sounded a bit weird for such a case to happen, but that wasn''t the strange thing that made her worried, instead, it was the fact that the instant he was given was rted to him being conflicted on something.


    "Well..." she tapped her cheek lightly as she thought hard about the right answer she could give. Her answers were bound to be taken seriously by Lank.


    His curious red eyes stared at her, eagerly waiting for her thoughts on what he had proposed.

 Chapter 242 Use The Scales

    Unable to take his look anymore, she gave in. "I would rather tell my friend about what I know, it''s better to have the trust of my friend who was wronged than be hated because it looked like I had joined the opposing side."


    Lank stared guilt-ridden as he applied it to himself, he had thought he and Obsidian''s ns were for the best, but when he considered Gia''s perspective, he was at loss for words.


    Settling on her tummy, he looked up at the ceiling and was deep in thought. With his hands sped, he wondered if he would ever be the friend they had vowed to be.


    His actions had proved that he had not trusted Nix enough for him to face part of the truth.


    He could rightly ce what she meant by Nix hating him for it if he finds out the truth himself.


    Gia stroked his hair as she allowed him to take in her advice. He needed to know it was much more dangerous to let the issue prolong.


    "Thanks, Gia." He said in a whisper, a smile present.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In a secret bunker,


    Mr. Zhao ruffled his hair and pushed off several papers on a ckboard.


    He stomped his feet and let out a yell in rage. Gaviel had done enough damage to his reputation after leaving and now someone was trying to frame him for the incident in the forbidden room?!


    Turning around, he cast a dangerous re at Ayanami, clenching his teeth as he pped his hand on a metal desk. "What did you say is happening now?"


    Ayanami bowed and cleared her throat before she began to recount all she had heard from the leader, Sesa, and Arion.


    Bam!


    The whole ce shook due to his punch on the ckboard, a crack in its ce split it in half.


    Ayanami took six steps back to give him enough space to thrash anything within his reach. She was more concerned about the bunk caving in as she saw tiny rubbles drop.


    ''I just had to side with this old geezer.'' She sneered in her thoughts knowing how dangerous it was to be seen with him.


    She put up a smile as she waited for him to get out of the phase of destructive anger.


    When Mr. Zhao had let out onest exhale and his chest heaving slightly, she raised her head to continue with what Sesa had nned on doing.


    "They are after you, sir." She warned. She knew Arion better than Mr. Zhao, he was crazy when he needed to be.


    After his demeanor with the weirddy, she feared this was a weird match that might be a bad match for them.


    The leader favored Sesa, Arion could let loose as he had done in the sparring session. He never followed the rules just like her and had a more dangerous ability.


    "Sir, you''re in danger." She concluded, her face serious with concern.<sub> </sub>


    She owed him her life after he had helped her out of the shit hole academy, that was her one ticket at gaining a higher ground and she took it.


    She had hated that her ns were foiled by Fae, but was d when she heard about her death. In her thoughts, this was a way of killing two birds with one stone¨Churting the onepetition she had with Nix''s attention and getting rid of the one who ruined her ns for Gia.


    Her thoughts were interrupted by a peal of crazedughter from Mr. Zhao. He took her words lightly and made no effort to act on them.


    "You really think it''s that easy to be our organization''s head, right-hand man?" He shed a grin in Ayanami''s way.


    Ayanami couldn''t understand the workings of the organization as well as Mr. Zhao so she couldn''t give a proper answer to the question he raised.


    Her snake pendant''s eyes glistened as it served as a mediator for Obsidian to see and listen in on their conversation.


    ~Gotcha!~


    Mr. Zhao paced about, thinking of a counter n for the search on him. Ayanami needed to keep a low profile and pretend to be in search of him as well. There must not be a way of this leaking out to the rest.


    "You need to leave soon," he pushed her so she could go focus on his order.


    "But sir," she struggled to be allowed to move of her free will. "What if I don''t find the elixir before they do?"


    ~So they are after it as well, huh? Interesting~


    Zephyr hissed at her response, unwilling to take failure as a response. This was his one way of getting the upper hand now.


    He had been used of something he didn''t do? Then he was determined to do just what they thought him off. His loyalty to the organization was worth nothing if he could be pointed out among the rest and made to pay for something he didn''t do.


    "You will find it, all you need to do is take this scale." He passed on a ck scale of a dragon and handed it to her.


    Ayanami gasped at the strange urrence of the scale. "How is this in your possession, Sir?"


    "That doesn''t matter," he hushed. "What matters is that this would make your job easier."


    Ayanami stared at the scale and scrunched her face in confusion. How was she meant to use a palm-sized scale to find the elixir?


    She still didn''t know of the elixir''s use and was skeptical about why everyone wanted it or why someone was bold enough to steal it.


    "I just have a feeling the perpetrator is still within these walls," Mr. Zhao whispered. "When that scale is close to anyone that has the elixir, it sends a signal to the scale and it begins to burn."


    ~Oh no! This is bad!~


    Ayanami''s eyes doubled in size at the new revtion. She immediately frowned as something dawned on her, "what if this thing burns me?!"

 Chapter 243 Whats With The Change Of Heart?

    Mr. Zhao facepalmed and shook his head, "trust me, it won''t, it can only affect a dragon temporarily and stings them."


    Ayanami wasn''t still sure about his words but chose to go along with it if that was the only way for her to gain the favor of the one person who treated her as special.


    "I won''t disappoint you, sir!" She assured as she clenched the scale in her hands with a smile.


    Mr. Zhao patted her shoulders and dusted them, "remember, act natural and be on the lookout."


    With a final nod, she turned to leave for the said item.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In Obsidian''s room, his eyes jolted open as he took huge gulps of air after that ordeal.


    He was sweating and hadn''t realized the huge toll it had on his energy.


    ''Who would have thought a little spying would cost a bit extra?'' He thought as he held his head.


    Feeling light-headed, he forced himself up from his bed only to jump back in shock when he found Alex staring directly at him from the side of his bed.


    "You''re acting strange." Alex pointed out with narrow eyes. He could feel something was off but needed an affirmation from the culprit.


    Obsidian sweat dropped at thement, he wondered if he had been watched for such a long while to notice anything strange.


    "I am strange on a regr basis." He tried to joke his way around it.


    Alex shook his head, even though they had little interactive sessions, he knew one thing was certain¨CObsidian rarely made jokes nor does he try to avoid questions as much as he had done since he and Lank returned.


    "You two did something to spite Nix and the dragons." He answered, "I''m just worried that you might be in the bad books of such a crazy shithead."


    Obsidian harrumphed and gave a deaf ear to Alex''s words, even though his words had struck a chord in his hardened heart, he was also concerned about what he had heard on the order given to Ayanami.


    If this method were to be used, Nix was sure to be found out and so were they.


    "Alex..." He began, letting out a sigh of disappointment. "... I know you''re worried about my safety, but I need you to know I can take c¨C"


    "Suit yourself." Alex cut in, turned around, and pulled over the pillow onto his head to block out the weird sentimental talk that was about leaving Obsidian''s lips.


    He refused to believe nothing was wrong after he had watched how hurt Nix was and how anxious he had been because of the feelings he had resonated from the dragons, so much that he had even tried to retaliate against his friends.


    ''That wasn''t Nix, I just know it.'' He said in self-denial.


    He remembered how Lank had tried to hide something that he chose to run away instead of solving the problem, and how Obsidian had readily covered up his tracks.


    Pulling away the covers, he turned to Obsidian and spat out the in truth. "You two owe an exnation to Nix, I for one won''t be a part of you two silly games."<sub> </sub>


    Obsidian sat on his bed, stunned and guilt-ridden. He had not wanted Nix to be found out so easily, yet things becameplicated which his prank.


    ''Did I do the right thing?'' He thought as he began to question all that had happened.


    He had unintentionally severed the friendship Lank had with Nix and he was caught in between it.


    With the dangerous n brokered between those two in a secret ce, he began to fear for the safety of Nix.


    Until he could properly control his abilities, he would still be affected by the elixir.


    Pulling off the cover, he resolved in his thoughts to step out and confront Nix so they coulde to a reasonable conclusion.


    Alex watched Obsidian as he had determination gleaming in his eyes. Getting to a sitting position he readily asks. "Do you really think he would be willing to meet with you?"


    Obsidian had barelymanded the door through a voicemand when his lips sealed shut. He contemted the fact that Nix could still be harboring some hate for what they had done.


    With a smile he responded confidently, "I think he would want to listen to what I have to say now."


    Alex shrugged, d that he could at least talk some sense into the feral. "Try to make sure you don''t get your ass handed to you while you try."


    "I''m not banking on that." With that, he left to meet with Nix.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    A few momentster,


    "Let me go, I know I was wrong!" Obsidian cried as Nix pulled on his tail with his telekic hold and created a fire that was set 6 feet away from the straightened tail.


    "You''re just telling me now?" Nix raged, tilting his head as he contemted the best way to punish Obsidian.


    Luminaughed as she watched the show. "It''s not nice to pull his tail, you know."


    Nix looked behind him and stared lovingly at Lumina, her words seemed to lighten the whole situation as he chuckled. "This little feral just made me go through hell because of some prank and now he''sing to apologize?"


    Lumina shrugged at his words, she was still a bit oblivious to what was going on, apart from the little speech on the elixir and Obsidian and Lank''s little adventure, she wondered why this wasn''t ironed out well the first time.


    She could remember how downhearted Nix had been when he got back to their room, he had refused to speak about what had happened and she chose to give him some space.


    Not until Obsidian came along and decided to dig his own grave by letting the dragon out of its cage.


    Nix whipped his head back at Obsidian, "why did you suddenly have a change of heart after that little stunt you two pulled on me?"

 Chapter 244 Can You Forgive Me?

    Obsidian clenched his jaw and shook his head. He wasn''t going to speak until his safety from the torment was assured. "How about you let me down and promise not to pull on my tail anymore?"


    Nix rubbed his chin as he gave it a thought, going through with it, he deactivated his gifts.


    Thud!


    The groans of Obsidian were put on deaf ears when Nix looked the other way. "You got one shot at proving yourself."


    Obsidian nodded his head as if that was the best offer he had ever been given. He was d his tail was spared, and the fact that Alex didn''t witness that embarrassing moment.


    Lumina burst outughing immediately, unable to curtail her emotions anymore. It was fun to watch Obsidian finally being tamed.


    "That serves you, right dummy! Remember when you were all high and mighty when we just joined this stupid ce?"


    Obsidian''s brows twitched at her mocking words, he didn''t rte well with them then, she shouldn''t have tried to bring up that moment of his haughty phase.


    "If you could just wipe out that one part of our lives, then it would be appreciated." He said through gritted teeth, raising his clenched fist.


    Lumina simply shrugged and brought back his attention to Nix. "Don''t mind me having fun, you on the other hand should be more conscious of your environment and those who deserve your attention."


    Fidgeting, he gulped when he saw a grin on Nix as he folded his arms, waiting for an answer.


    "They have a dragon scale, and that might expose you." He mumbled.


    Nix''s eyes widened and his teeth clenched in suppressed rage, it only took great restraint to go at it again with Obsidian.


    "You are just telling me this now?!!" He barked and took a step forward.


    Obsidian brought out his hand and tried to calm him. "You gotta listen!"


    Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a sigh. "What is it that I need to know before you get handled?"


    Masking his uneasiness with a chuckle, he requested that he get Lank and the jar so he doesn''t do the exnation twice.


    Lumina jumped off the bed. "Leave it to me. I need some girl time anyways!"


    ''Heck no!'' Obsidian shook his head, secretly trying to give a signal to her someway.


    Lumina blinked her eyes several times, trying her hardest not to understand what he meant. In the end, she scoffed and stepped out to get Lank.


    Obsidian had his mouth gaped open in shock and disappointment. Internally facepalming and wishing he could swap ces with her.


    ''Alex, thank you for the wonderful advice.'' He gave a bitterugh when he noticed Nix had a hard re at him.


    A few momentster, a knock could be heard on their door.


    Nix and Obsidian shared a knowing look and thetter proceeded to go to check it out.


    "Ohe on!" Lank''s irritated voice could be heard on the other end.


    Kicking on the door so they could open. "You called my attention, yet you locked the door?"


    Nix and Obsidian let out a sigh of relief. Nodding, he signaled him that he would handle it himself.


    "Open!"<sub> </sub>


    Click!


    Lank had wanted to make some otherment on how slow they were but was pulled in by the arm.


    Whack!


    "Freaking hell?!" He hissed, his eyes teary and confused.


    He was having a rethink his life choices when he was interrupted by Lumina.


    He had only been caught unawares because he had not known about her and Gia''s n on installing their voicemand in each other''s room.


    He had to shake off the embarrassing feeling of seeing Lumina make an unprecedented appearance in his room.


    "How can you be so careless?!" Obsidian hissed and pulled out the elixir from Lank''s front pocket.


    The glow was so obvious through the light silk night pants that it was pointless hiding it in there.


    "You need to exin to me how Lumina has easy ess to my room!" Lank switched up the conversation, frowning as he continued. "What if Gia and I were..."


    His face burned a deep red as he realized what he had just implicated with the mischievous smirks stered on the two.


    "No... No! That''s not what I¨C"


    "It''s alright," Obsidian put out his hand to stop Lank from making a bigger fool of himself. "Next time, how about you do that when you manually lock the door?"


    Lank felt as though he couldn''t breathe when he realized that he had been caught. Slowly he nodded his head to the suggestion, but then he remembered that wasn''t the reason he was called here.


    "What the heck is going on?!" He mouthed the words to Obsidian.


    They had vowed not to tell Nix or have him make contact with the jar at the least, not while they were in the organization.


    Suddenly it was snatched and on full disy, for Nix to see?


    ''Where is my embarrassing beat up or me running away ced?!'' He frowned, that action had hunted him and he thought it would greatly sever his rtionship with Nix after that.


    Obsidian looked down, "I''m sorry that I had almost caused a disaster and made our rtionship stiff."


    Lank nodded his head, happy that he wasn''t the one who had to exin all of this to Nix.


    "You got that right."


    Nix took a step forward, he looked dejected and guilty. "C... Could you forgive me?"


    Lank''s eyes widened at the apology, this was by far the sincerest apology he had ever received in his life, anding from the one person he looked up to, it felt exhrating.


    Not needing to show it in words, he pulled Nix into a hug.


    Nix froze upon the gesture and his eyes widened before he began to settle in and hug back.


    Lank had just been patting the back of Nix when he felt a shadow cast on them, looking forward, he saw Obsidian at close range.


    "What the heck are you doing?!" Lank hissed

 Chapter 245 Were You Seen?

    Obsidian had his arms wide as he nned to join in the hug. "What the heck does this look like?"


    He approached and joined in regardless of Lank''s silent protest. If this was a way of feeling the friendly love, he wasn''t going to miss a chance.


    It was an awkward silence after they broke off and stared at the floor. None wanted to confront the other.


    "So..." Nix spoke up first, feeling what Obsidian wanted to say was just as important as he portrayed it to be.


    Obsidian taking the cue cleared his throat and his ears stood. "You''re in danger."


    Lank facepalmed at how direct his words were.


    "Yeah, you already said that, any more detail?" Nix hurriedly brushed it off knowing there was more to just that statement or else he wouldn''t Lank present.


    They had no time to waste as it was roughly two days before they enact their n. It was best to leave asting impression before leaving.


    Ayanami was on the top list of this n, she needed some lessons that wouldst a lifetime.


    "We have no time, would you just speak?" Nix snapped.


    Obsidian scratched the back of his head and nodded his head. "It''s about the dragon scale I spoke of briefly."


    Lank stared at the two in confusion, he was not present during the briefing yet he chose to speak in such a way?


    "Back up!" Lank interjected, folding his arms as it looked more like him being in the dark was a regr urrence.


    "If you don''t start spilling what you had exined I had missed, I swear I would make your lives miserable." He pointed using fingers and the two of them.


    Obsidian chuckled at the empty threat, if it came from Nix, he would have been concerned but Lank was yet to evolve to his stage so there was no way it could be taken seriously.


    Feeling it was right to exin, he recounted what he had gotten from Ayanami''s pendant.


    Lank burst outughing, "the snake gets bitten by her venom, I see."


    He looked to Obsidian and continued. "Who would have thought that you would be smart enough toe up with a sick n! You got brawn and brains."


    Obsidian felt proud of what he had done and nodded, not until he realized the meaning of what he had insinuated.


    "Hey! Were you thinking I was all muscles and without knowledge?" He hissed.


    Shaking his head, Lank raised his hand in his defense, he didn''t realize that he had unintentionally stirred trouble.


    "Now that''s enough!" Nix let out an outburst of frustration. "Obsidian carry on with the discussion or I would lose my patience and you know what happens if I do."


    Obsidian sweat dropped at his words and immediately proceeded to exin what that scale could do and his fears that it might lead to Nix.


    "Are you sure it could be traced to me? There must be at least a hundred dragons and one should have the same scale as Raiken."


    Obsidian shook his head, he wished that was the case, or it would have been averted except for the elixir.


    What was of concern wasn''t just the color of the scales by the hexagonal pattern of it. That he had a keen eye on when he had met Raiken for the first time.


    "No dragon is alike, from the shade to its shape of scale and yours happened to be the exact match."


    ''Raiken, is this true?'' Nix immediately consulted the owner.


    <I had been listening to your trashy squabbles and owning up to that scale is like expressing an embarrassing moment><sub> </sub>


    Nix frowned as he couldn''t understand what Raiken meant by those words, but what he could deduce was that it was indeed Raiken''s.


    That brought up another question¨Chow did Mr. Zhaoy his hand on one from the feared dragon.


    "Hold on a moment." He called Obsidian so he could stop for a while and he finalized with Raiken.


    Obsidian''s lips drew into a thin line after he was cut off.


    He watched as Nix stared for a long while, and he could only guess it was because of his little discussion with his dragon.


    Snapping out of the trance he had been so engaged in, Nix snapped his head back and had a nervous smile.


    "What happened?" Lank was the first toe up to him, inquiring why he had such an expression.


    Nix looked awkwardly to the side, "so..."


    After that he said nothing which infuriated Lank, "for f*cks sake, could you just spill it?! I''m sure it shouldn''t be embarrassing!"


    "I am sorta the cause of the scale being in the possession of Mr. Zhao." Nix expressed.


    "What!" Lank and Obsidian gasped in shock.


    "But... but... how?!!" Lank questioned, pulling on his hair lightly.


    "When I had set out to duel Raiken the second time, I had dealt enough damage to him and it turns out a scale was disced."


    <Roooaaarrr!!!> Raiken roared in rage when his secret of it being tamed was let out.


    ''It''s just a normal urrence that was bound to happen since I am in control of you, why are you making a fuss out of it?'' Nix confronted.


    <Easy for you, human!> Raiken snapped and refused to speak on it anymore, it was pointless.


    Lank and Obsidian facepalmed, the story sounded like bullshit.


    They let out a sigh, feeling relieved that was all that had happened, not until Lank let out a gasp as another question racked his thoughts.


    "What now?" Nix said in exasperation and rolled his eyes. Being over-dramatic about something so simple was annoying, to say the least.


    "What if you were seen?" He suggested.


    "Cut the crap, if I was seen, it would have been all over the news already. That was even before I got into the academy."


    Nix rubbed his chin as he thought about how he had gotten his hand on it and he could only point it out to the time Mr. Zhao must have made a deal with that creature¨CZeen.


    "It should probably have been within the time frame we were sent to the ounds, it was the same ce I had made a slip." He deduced.


    "Oh." Lank grimaced at how stupid he felt after that.


    Now that they had found out about that, they turned their attention to the jar in Obsidian''s hand. "What the heck is in that thing?"


    Nix felt a force pull him towards the jar as his eyes glowed unconsciously.


    "Nix, don''te any closer!" Obsidian yelled for him to stop in his tracks.

 Chapter 246 Plans For The Biggest Prank Yet

    Mune materialized just in time and screamed, [Master, that''s dangerous for you at the moment!]


    <Snap out of it, human!> Raiken roared in Nix''s subconscious.


    Nix made a stop and froze for quite some time before he held his head as he tried to understand what was going on.


    <This is what happens when you are greedy and decide to house four dragons without proper training!> Red snapped in disgust.


    If it weren''t because of Raiken, they would have been screeching in pain.


    Obsidian dropped to the floor in fear, he had dreaded going against Nix because of the elixir¨Cthat would have alerted anyone else if Nix sted him out of the room.


    He quickly tossed the jar into a ck sphere he created. If he didn''t see it, probably that was better.


    Lank pulled on Nix''s shoulder and examined him. "Dude! Are you there?"


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you," Obsidian warned, unsure if it was sensible to be that close.


    His mentor was a bunch of craziespiled in a fairly untrained individual, one minute he could be friendly and approachable, the next he could be cold and dangerous.


    All they needed to know was how to navigate themselves and keep their distance if it was thetter.


    After what had happened a few hours ago, it had been confirmed that when he''s in a dangerous disposition, he could turn on those he considers a threat¨Cand that could include his friends.


    Lank did as he was told and took six steps back for the special measure.


    Nix held his head and blinked several times till the glow in his eyes was deactivated.


    When he looked to his side, he noticed Mune was floating and looking worried.


    ''How did you get out?'' He questioned and tilted his head.


    Mune fiddled with her fingers and zoomed to his face, her tiny fingers examined his features and she hugged his cheek after confirmation.


    [Master I was so scared! I thought you wouldn''t be able to resist]


    ''Resist?'' Nix picked on that bit of information, wondering what she meant by that.


    "Nix! Mentor!" Obsidian called out happily trying his hardest to hide the horrors in his heart and inadvertently breaking up the flow Nix had with Mune.


    [Master, we can have this conversation next time. Speak with your friends], with that, Mune hovered for a while in front of him and moved onto Nix''s hair like she normally did before. She could give him all the time he needed to bond with them.


    After she had confirmed what she needed after seeing the jar, she was sure a lurking danger was just waiting to jump on his weakness if he didn''t control his abilities soon.


    Feeling reluctant to do as he was told since he wanted answers from her, but when she didn''t speak but rather yed with his hair, he let out a sigh andplied.<sub> </sub>


    Nix''s eyes locked on Obsidian before he spoke, "what is going on with your face?" He questioned because of the horror-stricken face that stared right back.


    The twitching eyebrows did no good in him trying to mask his emotions from Nix.


    Obsidian and Lank shared a look and burst into nervousughter. It was best to pretend nothing had happened and tackle the problem at hand which was getting to know how they could avoid being a suspect.


    "Nothing is going on, right, Lank?" Obsidian questioned through gritted teeth as he tried to get an affirmation from him.


    Lank rapidly bobbed his head to the question and forced a smile, "why would there be?"


    Nix raised a brow but decided to let it slide as he immediately remembered what they had been discussing before some weird ckout.


    "What''s in that thing?" He interrogated, pointing at the floating sphere.


    Blood drained from Obsidian''s face, but after he quickly gained his momentum, he exined that it was the very thing that had made him act strange after focusing his attention on it.


    "You went.... uh how do I put it?" Lank cut in and proceeded to gesture like an undead, stretching out his hands and walking in a forced and stiff manner.


    Nix scrunched up his face and shook his head, "now I just know your ying tricks on me, that looked stupid."


    Lank let out a gasp and harrumphed, "you just called yourself stupid, in case you didn''t notice."


    Obsidian cleared his throat in hopes of drawing their attention to the main question.


    Once he had gotten their attention, he freaked out, "how the hell do we keep that snake, fart face, and that peekaboo if they decide it was worth checking here?!"


    Nix closed his eyes as he heard the three who were pissing him off just by the mention of their names. "That vile snake can''t slither in here even if she had lost her sense of smell."


    That he was sure of, he knew Ayanami should have known of their arrival for a long while, but they had never seen her and that was to her benefit.


    "If she steps foot in here, she might as well be stuck with her shape shiftings as there won''t be a leg to go back to." Nix spat and steepled the hands in front of his face.


    Obsidian''s mouth gaped open in shock, he had thought that it was just a blinded and misguided despise, but it was more than that.


    He could almost bet it that he meant every word he said. "That''s deep."


    Nix had a crooked smile as he thought about what he said, until he was able to satisfy the hatred he had for her, he would fester it until it turned murderous. She deserved nothing less than what he had nned for her.


    "Since we have been able to conclude that she wouldn''t dare take a step here, that leaves two problems," Nix affirmed.


    Lank nodded his head as he realized they got to deal with two who had ess to their corridor.


    "Gather around, it''s time to pull off the biggest and most memorable prank this organization has ever witnessed," Nix called on their attention with a mischievous smile.

 Chapter 247 Punishment For Trespassing [Bonus Chapter]

    At Fegan''s Cottage,


    Fegan looks over Hana with welled-up tears in his eyes, it had been a few days since the incident and there was still no sign of her waking up after her strange behavior.


    "How would I scale through this Jui?" He mumbled and sniffled loudly.


    Wiping the tears before they streamed down his face, he forced a smile and got to his feet.


    He needed to go for his regr checking of the barrier, he could only do that to assure their safety after that incident with a zokanar.


    Until he was sure he had not found any more threats before he could properly calm down.


    Suddenly an idea sparked up in his thoughts, it was best to leave this job for a puppet he created.


    "Do as you have been programmed," he carefully exined and sent it off.


    Whoosh!


    He casually took a seat beside Hana, cing his head on the bedside of her sleeping frame.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    A loud bang could be heard from outside that jolted Fegan to his feet. He rushed to the window of the room to stare outside at the cause of the noise.


    "Fegan, I know you''d be in here." A familiar female''s voice spoke as soon as she spotted him on the top floor of the cottage.


    Fegan stood frozen in disbelief, "Lotus?!"


    Lotus was in a blue dress covering her shoulders halfway and flowing down into a modest semi-sweetheart neckline. It''s a close fit which gives the dress a rxed, yet graceful look.


    Her arms have been covered just below her elbows. The sleeves start loose and tighten towards the bottom where they form a perfect match with her fair skin.


    The dress'' waist is thin, but it''s a tight fit. A cloth ribbon has been wrapped around her and tied in the front. Below the waist, the dress widens and has a ruffle style towards the bottom. The dress reaches well above her ankles and is the same length all around.


    She''s wearing wedges, a strange, yet seemingly choice for her clothing.


    At her feet was the very puppet he had sent wrapped up in vines and held in ce.


    Its body shook from the violent but ineffective effort at shrugging off the vines on its body.


    ''Such a cute creation.'' She fawned over the puppet and smiled before raising her head to the window.


    Lotus observed that Fegan was reluctant to meet up with her, she waved her hands and blew kisses at him. "Yoohoo! It''s your darling Lotus!"


    It was at that moment Fegan cringed and snapped to his senses. His mouth involuntarily scrunched up in disgust.


    "How the hell did you find me? Are you here to sell me off to them?" He panicked and wondered if she was going to do thetter.


    Lotus dropped her hands and frowned. Her eyes glowed and her hand made a crooked gesture before she made a clench.<sub> </sub>


    In effect, the vine crushed the puppet, shattering it into pieces of wood, right after she burst into tears. "How could you think of me that way!!!"


    Fegan did a double take on her outburst, none of her actions made any sense and he just stood there as she continued.


    "You made me get riled in anger that I destroyed something from nature!!" She burst out in a louder wail, dropping to the floor on her knees.


    Fegan looked in and was concerned about leaving Hana to meet up with Lotus.


    "Would you shut the hell up?" Fegan snapped, unsure if this was a trap. "How did you find this ce?!"


    Lotus sniffled and whipped her head up and closed the tears. "I see that doesn''t work on you, huh? I came here for something."


    Her voice immediately turned chilly and sinister as she approached the cottage door slowly.


    Fegan clenched his teeth, he had been right about her faking her tears just to garner some sympathy. "I knew you were faking that cry all along, now you show your true color?!"


    Without wasting much time. He had to use his trump card, if she didn''t want to tell him how she had gotten through his barrier, then he was going to force out the answers from her.


    A part of him began to panic, wondering if she had thought of bringing reinforcements or if they had followed her already and were just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.


    ''Did they send her ahead as a distraction?!'' He thought warily, this needed careful thought as he summoned the golden diator.


    His orange eyes glowed as he made a fist. "You would pay for stepping into my sanctuary!"


    The ground shook and caused slight tremors which forced Lotus to the floor on her butt.


    A golden hand sprung out from the ground and then another, widening the hole, springing out was the statue and it screeched as it focused its attention on Lotus.


    "You would never take her from me, you crazy nt head!" Fegan barked in rage, his body covered in a warm orange aura that resonated on the statue.


    All blood drained from Lotus'' face. "Fegan, you made a mistake in my intention." She cried.


    Refusing to listen to her bunch of lies, he ordered telepathically to the statue to attack and kill the target¨CLotus.


    Lotus created vines that wrapped around the statue''s body as a method of defense, she couldn''t bear to be attacked so suddenly and instantly regretted her method of approach.


    While the golden statue struggled to get free, easily ripping the vines and making slow progress toward Lotus.


    "Fegan, please..." She hopped on several branches she had pulled in her direction so she could get to the top window of the cottage and personally speak with him.


    Fegan let out a snicker, "it would seem you have lost your touch with nature."


    Lotus had not understood what he meant by that, but just then, she felt a wooden hand hold onto the hem of her dress.


    A shiver ran down her spine as she turned around in panic only to spot a puppet and several others hiding on the branches that lurched onto her, forcing her down.


    The ground trembled and Lotus was still underneath all the puppets. When she raised her head, to her horror the first thing she saw was the huge golden feet of the statue two feet away.

 Chapter 248 How Did You Track Me?

    Fegan had a crooked grin as he stared down at Lotus who was frantically trying to fend off the puppets on her.


    Her horror-stricken face turned to the golden statute which lifted its leg, ready to stomp her to the ground.


    "Fegan I need your help in removing this pendant, just like you had done yours!" Lotus screamed at the top of her lungs as she prepared to be crushed.


    Her hands were over her head and then came silence. She dropped her hands and stared at the suspended foot over her.


    The statue maintained its position and red at her but froze at themand of Fegan.


    Leaning on the window sill by cing his elbows on them, he stared out and steepled his fingers in front of his face. He cast a demeaning look on her.


    "How the hell do you think I would believe that bullshit?" He snapped, feeling triggered just by her presence in his ce.


    Until he knew how she had found out, he had just set out to scare the shit out of her and still show her how superior he was in the field when he worked for the organization.


    "That''s funny, then how would you exin sparing me to exin myself?" Lotus retorted with a grin.


    She immediately gulped when the golden foot only lowered slowly and then stopped just a few inches away from the top of her head when she stood upright.


    As she looked around, she could see the number of puppets caving in on her from all around her and were four times the ones she had encountered.


    ''You lucky bastard, is this how you were able to escape years ago?'' She red and had to close her eyes so she could calm her thoughts and properly think.


    Lotus let out a burst of nervousughter and eased her tense muscles, she had wanted to take a step forward to test out her theory when she was held by her dress on four sides by a pair of puppets on each side.


    Her teeth clenched as she realized if she made any uncalled move, that foot was going toe crashing in on her¨CFegan meant it.


    "The elixir is gone..." She blurted out.


    She had been the one who had provided the rare ingredients for the iplete elixir.


    Although she had held a grudge towards the organization for interfering with her research on some new nts, she feared with the elixir gone, she and her rare nts might be a target of their master.


    She had been one of the very few who knew about the nts and had met Fegan at the time when she was in the search of some of the rare nts. He was the one who had shown her a meadow where some of the flowers needed could be found.


    They had gotten along well and had inadvertently spilled the truth about what she needed the flowers and herbs for, given that she was the only one who could rightly fuse the necessary ingredients.


    After Fegan had fled, he had burned down the meadow in hopes of never allowing anyone to use its petals for the wrong purpose.


    "Please, help me." She reached out her hands to him, in hopes of appealing to reason.


    Fegan snorted at her exnation, and mocked, "who would dare steal from the high and mighty organization?"<sub> </sub>


    Lotus fiddled with her fingers and shook her head, that wasn''t as important as her role in all of this. "If they can''t find the elixir, they would pressurize me to make another and... and I just can''t."


    Fegan raised a brow at her attempt on making him feel sentimental.


    "Ah! I see, you realized I burned down that breeding ground for your little hand pickers!" Heughed out at her helplessness.


    Lotus'' lips were sealed shut as she tried to think of a way to convince him that she was sincere, even though her silly attempt at getting on his nerves fell out at the beginning.


    ''You just had to speak in such a manner, huh?'' She scolded herself in her mind and shook her head.


    "If they know that I couldn''t find such ingredients, I would be forced to wander around until I do find it somewhere else or be killed, but..."


    "... it can''t be found anywhere other than that meadow." Feganpleted with a smirk, he wasn''t just pleased with the turn of events but delighted.


    "It''s about time Lyra''s n works on him!" Fegan snickered in his thoughts.


    Although he had never seen the master as he wasn''t a core member like the rest, he had worked well with a few of them to know all about the inner workings of the organization.


    He had heard from Gaviel how their leader would asionally visit where the elixir was ced, only when he was at his lowest would he hold onto the jar for a few seconds to dy his imminent doom and had been doing so for several years.


    Lotus shook her head, "you... you connived with that scheming witch?!"


    "Call it whatever you want to, but I''m d I did." He rolled his eyes and scoffed at her. There was no way he was exining his decisions to her, not while he still had issues trusting her.


    "It''s a pity someone else took the fall for my golden statute ced in the academy." He continued with a sigh.


    Suddenly his mood got dark as he stared down at her like she was an insect.


    "You still haven''t given a usible reason on how you were able to track me and break through my barrier." He reminded with a hiss.


    Lotus flinched and tucked behind her ear a loose strand of hair.


    "You were the one who led me here, in case you might have forgotten, I could never forget the scent on you. And it turns out you nned the very rare nt that gives off that." She replied with a grin, pleased with hereback.


    Fegan gasped at the little slip and wondered if she had told anyone about this discovery.


    As if understanding his worry, she continued, "don''t worry, I had searched for you, for years, it''s quite hard to sniff out a nt''s sent especially ifes from a ce that''s guarded."


    She looked around, avoiding the puppets up in her view, and took a big smell of the air. He lived the life she wanted¨Cpeacefully with nature.


    "You want to know how I had been able to get through your barrier?" She wiggled her brows at him.

 Chapter 249 Wake Up And Choose Violence

    Fegan internally facepalmed to her question, she was asking the very one he had demanded to know about, yet she was pretending that she was the one who proposed that?


    "I think you might have lost a branch when you fell." Fegan spat.


    Lotus let out a pout and narrowed her eyes, it was pointless to argue with him.


    "Since you are so curious, it would interest you to know that I had instantly sensed the strong natural aura permeating from the outside." She blew on herself, taking in the warmth of the unbridled nature around her.


    In the city, where there were high-rise buildings, factories owned by privatepanies, and the overwhelming presence of the academy and organization, it had taken up vast amounts ofnd to the detriment of the one thing she loved.


    "Might I remind you," Fegan hissed and snapped his fingers so the statue lowered its leg an inch lower. "I have no time for jokes."


    Lotus crouched, just in time to avoid being hit. "At the least, you still hold some soft spot for me."


    For a brief second, Fegan wished he could just lose it, it was bad enough to be disturbed and in constant wonder about her main objective.


    He needed to focus his attention on Hana. "You are pushing it."


    Lotus rose her hands in surrender, she hurriedly spoke about the fact that she could transfer her consciousness into a nt for 10 seconds, then she would travel for a tiny amount of time before reverting to her human form.


    Fegan looked like he had heard the worst news ever after recalling what she had said. At the time she could only do that barely for 5 seconds,


    "isn''t that great progress?" He sarcastically blurted out as his brows twitched.


    Now that she was able to exin how she had gotten in, all thanks to therge vegetation, she needed a ce to hide.


    "What makes you think I''d take you in?"


    Lotus raised a brow and slowly a grin spread across her face, "we need each other."


    ''You wish!'' Fegan raged in his thoughts.


    He had fled with his daughter for the one purpose of being excluded from the harsh reminder of the city and its exteriors.


    He had enjoyed his alone time with Hana and he had wished to keep it that way.


    With the appearance of Lotus would begin the crack in his perfect little world.


    "I still don''t believe you!" He announced and made his statue threaten her more by making a go at it dropping its foot.


    In the panic of the moment, Lotus was able to create a barrier of vines that spiraled over her.


    She had been happy to be able to fend the statue off while she struggled with the puppets that were climbing and tugging at her dress.


    "Fegan!" She called out, feeling she would be overwhelmed again if this keeps on.


    Fegan raised his chin and was out of her business. Turning his face away from her and into Hana''s room instead.


    Rip!


    The sound of her cotton fabric getting ripped made her shriek in sheer horror. Gathering up her courage she lurched her vines onto the puppets and pulled them away.


    When she saw a shadow cast over her, she looked up and was able to jump in the nick of time before she would be crushed under the sole of the statue.


    Boom!<sub> </sub>


    In themotion, she hit her head on a rock and cked out.


    Fegan turned around when he heard a groan before the silence and called in a loud voice, "halt!"


    The golden diator did as it was told and took a step back, went on one knee, and picked her up in its huge hand.


    Making a turn in the direction of the cottage, it held out Lotus to Fegan.


    Fegan stared at her injured head, feeling a little guilty for going a bit too far with his threat. But he had also gotten to realize she was telling the truth.


    Picking her up from its hold, he deactivated the statue and turned to get her in on a spare bed.


    With Lotus in his arms, he stared at Hana, "pleasee back, my little angel."


    With that, he took long strides toward the door.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Two hourster,


    "It''s about time you get your sorry ass up!"


    The words echoed in Lotus'' thoughts and she wondered how that was possible if she was dead.


    Fegan watched her for a while and could see her actively turn every 5 minutes while trying to get the best position yet.


    He was sick and tired of wondering when she would wake and he could begin the procedure of taking the pendant off.


    He stared at the gold lotus pendant and let out a sigh, it was a grim reminder of a past he wished to forget.


    Lotus'' eyes jolted open and she met his gaze at once, only to let out a shriek and gave a kick to his face.


    Fegan hissed and wiped his jaw, it was easy to tell he was angry when cross popping veins made their way to his forehead. He was ready to throw her out right after he knew why she had done that.


    "Why the hell would you wake up and choose violence?"


    "You... You were..." She pointed an using finger at him and had her hands clutched to her cleavage.


    Fegan rolled his eyes and gave a stoic look, "I derive no pleasure in that."


    ''Not after my wife passed away.'' Hepleted his thoughts, immediately feeling dejected upon the sh memory.


    Lotus blinked several times as she processed his words, it was at that moment that she realized that he wasn''t staring at her cleavage but rather on the pendant that had dangled onto the bed.


    "I''m sorry." She muttered.


    "If I was a pervert, I would have changed your clothes in your sleep instead of staring at them as you snore away." Fegan mocked.


    Lotus'' face burned up in embarrassment, she got into a sitting position and let out a sigh, ready to speak on the issue that had made her search for him.


    "Could I live with you and your daughter from now on?" She blurted out and closed her eyes for extra measure.

 Chapter 250 Deactivate Your Ability!

    Fegan''s brows twitched at her request, he didn''t want his daughter interacting with anyone who could distract her from living the peaceful life he had built for her.


    "No!" He tly responded and got up from his chair, pacing about so he could think.


    Lotus'' face fell at that point, she had expected him to be more open, be d at the resolve, but she realized that it was all but a wishful thought.


    "I know you don''t trust me and I had sided with the one group you hated the most," she paused and began to cough.


    Her breathing hitched and she opened her mouth so she could take in air manually.


    Fegan turned to her bedside and stared in shock as a vine wrapped itself around Lotus'' neck.


    ''What the hell?!'' He eximed and lurched forward to grab a hold of her pendant.


    From what he could vaguely remember, this was a curse from the pendant he had created¨Cusing the user''s gift or magic against them.


    He had immediately deduced that the leader of the organization must be trying to kill her since she had disappeared after the incident.


    There was no more time to lose, he had to act swiftly. Creating an orange aura around his palm, at first he was hesitant about going through with it, but on seeing Lotus convulse in pain, he had no other choice.


    He clenched the golden lotus in his hand and closed his eyes.


    In it, he made a mental connection with the pendant and transferred his consciousness into it.


    The ce was dimly lit by torches and the ground was filled with exotic nts. ''What the hell is going on in here?''


    He whipped his head to the side when he heard the scream of ady at an undisclosed location. It didn''t sound too far so he immediately dashed to his right.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Screeching to a stop, he was temporarily stunned by the sight of a teenage version of Lotus, clothed in a white dress that had been ripped on several areas on her body as she struggled to get free from the numerous vinestching onto her.


    "Please, no! Let me go!" She cried as she held onto the grass to prevent the vines from pulling her into the spiraling vines like a tornado.


    Unable to watch anymore, Fegan kneeled and pulled on the grass, ripping a bit out, and to his delight, the vines hissed like a snake.


    He had known this would work, in this dimension, the user''s ability was treated as a living embodiment that would attack its user.


    What he didn''t know was the age difference of the user, from what he could tell, he deduced his curse, searched through the thoughts, and brought the one terrible memory with their ability and capitalized on that.


    He suddenly felt guilty for causing Lotus to experience the worst possible way to die from his curse.


    His head rose as he realized a shadow was cast from behind, jumping out of the way, he turned to see a venus fly trap pull out its sharp teeth that had been lodged into the ground.


    It let out a screech as it looked like it bit on itself with that move. The vines all wriggle and let go of Lotus.<sub> </sub>


    Lotus immediately crawled away and cried as she wished to be rid of the nightmare. She had just wanted to experiment on her ability and could not understand why she was being attacked by the one thing that she cherished.


    Fegan stared at her for a moment and realized that she couldn''t recognize him, not in the state she was in. If he needed to rid her of the curse before it starts to attack once more, he would need to do more than just y smart.


    "Lotus, can you turn off your ability?" He requested.


    Lotus'' eyes widened in shock wondering how this stranger had known her name. That wasn''t the only issue at hand as she feared if she did deactivate her ability, they would fall to their doom.


    "I... I can''t." She stammered and hid behind a tree. "The floors are also created from my ability, we would fall into a ck void if I do."


    Fegan looked mad when she said this, he wondered if she preferred being treated like a ything by the vines and worse still killed in here and out.


    "Do you choose death by your creation or a chance to change the tides?!" He barked, unable to curtail his rage.


    He could as easily leave the subconscious and let her die or she could end this once and for all.


    Lotus was skeptical as well as reluctant as she was scared of the unknown.


    Feeling that his approach to the situation wasn''t exactly the right one, he exhaled and started with another, "if you end this, I promise you would be okay, just trust me."


    He offered his arms to her, wishing she would take his gesture ande to her senses.


    The environment was starting to evolve as the vines were already mutating, it was only a matter of time before they attacked with a much more dangerous approach.


    "You are alive!" A menacing voice cackled all around them.


    Lotus looked around her, shaking in fear of the strange voice.


    Fegan narrowed his eyes at the voice, this was the voice he could never forget, the very one who had never shown his face while he gave him the orders to build Agatha.


    "You think I''m scared of you?! Ha! You couldn''t even track me even with your silly gadgets!" Fegan mocked and pointed upwards as if the person was speaking to him through that medium.


    The vine wrapped around one another as they began to form a humanoid structure.


    Lotus let out a gasp and covered her mouth as she witnessed its increasing height.


    Even with its iplete transformation, its mouth spoke up first. "I will hunt and kill you someday for what you did to me, you ungrateful sculptor!"


    This only confirmed what he had thought, it was the leader and he was the one who had activated the pendant to kill Lotus.


    "I''m d I was able to make an impact in your miserable life! If you make it out alive, you have my permission to chase after me." Feganughed.

 Chapter 251 Ironic Death Experience

    He had one more trick up his sleeve that he had been wanting to test on the leader, this was going to put that sneaky fox on the edge but in return, it would drain a lot of energy from him.


    ''If I can make him experience any bit of difort, then this would be worth it!'' Fegan reasoned.


    cing two fingers on his head, he covered his whole body in an orange aura. He nced at Lotus onest time before he chanted some words.


    Immediately after, he coughed out blood and dropped to his knees, ''F*cking damnit! Did I go a bit too far?''


    Even though his vision doubled and his ears rang with a faint tingling sound, he kept on, only when he was able to hold on to the curse, could he get the desired result.


    The voice cackled, wondering what could be so important that he had put his life on the line but didn''t get any result.


    When the aura deactivated, Fegan gave a bloody smile and stared at the vine.


    "I hope you like my new present?" He spat and groaned in pain as his vision rocked once more.


    There was silence for a while before the whole area began to tremble and vines dropped as if from the sky.


    This was the needed incentive he needed to know that his curse had worked, he had wished to see the face of the master after what he had done, but had to solve a pressing issue first.


    Holding onto his chest, Fegan searched for Lotus with one of his eyes opened. When he locked eyes with her, she hid behind the tree once more.


    ''No! Not now.'' He begged in his thoughts, hoping she would get to her senses and help him.


    Lotus'' heart was pounding and she didn''t understand why all this was happening. She had initially thought something was wrong with her ability as she couldn''t understand why it had attacked her.


    When she thought about how the humanoid couldmunicate, she realized this wasn''t her doing, but who was it?


    She took a peek and caught the male looking at her with pleading eyes.


    "You need to leave and do as I say or we will be buried in this." He warned.


    ''Buried?'' Lotus panicked, she raised her hands to stop the vine from dropping but there was no response.


    Fegan shook his head at her futile effort at trying to control the nts. Even though this was a world that might look like she created it, it was far from that.


    It was nothing more than what he could call a nightmare and they were living in it.


    He could only be grateful that he had been able to avert one danger, and was confident that outside this, Lotus'' body was safe but that could turn around if she didn''t do as he says.


    He had made a rash decision when he had finally gotten a bit ofmunication with the leader and had been so blinded by revenge he had not thought about the consequences it would have on him in this world.


    He wouldn''t be able to return to his body without the help of Lotus and his body was already getting overtaken by numbness.


    ''Is this how I would die?'' He let out a bitterugh at the irony of the situation he was in, dying by his curse?


    Lotus had thought about all that had happened and realized that if she didn''t go along with what he had said, they were going to be crushed by the falling vines.


    The tree was already shaking and threatening to fall. Lotus let out a gasp and pushed off the tree.<sub> </sub>


    Running in his direction, she hugged him and closed her eyes. "I trust you."


    With that, she deactivated her ability and felt the floor below them give way. They began to pummel to their death.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Gasp!


    Cough! Cough!


    Lotus jolted awake violently, she only began to calm down after she realized she was alive.


    "H-How..." She mumbled, blinked and her vision began to clear.


    By her side, she saw an unconscious Fegan, and in his hand was her pendant. She pushed back in utter disbelief.


    "It''s off me!" She cried tears of joy, she hadn''t realized the situation with Fegan yet and had thought he had just passed out due to exhaustion.


    Without her recollection of what had transpired in her pendant''s dimension, she got to her feet, ready to examine a sleeping Fegan.


    Going over to the other side to examine his face, she covered her mouth in shock.


    Fegan had blood out his mouth and had stained the bed sheet. Rushing over to him, she pulled him off the bed and tapped his face several times.


    "Fegan, wake up!" She screamed as hot tears trailed down her face. She could already guess he was in this mess because of her.


    He had saved her and she was determined to do the same.


    Cough!


    That little gesture that came out of him only gave her hope that he was still alive. She hugged his head and wished she knew what to do.


    "Xeria..." Fegan mumbled.


    Lotus had caught on to what he had said and pulled him away slightly. That word was a rare herb that was used for healing, she wondered if that was what he meant.


    Fegan had to force his lips to speak before the numbness would get to it too, "I need..."


    He couldn''t continue as he was unfortunately caught and could only stare as a stray tear trailed down his eyes. He didn''t want to die, not while his daughter was still in aa, not while he hadn''t seen Nix onest time.


    Lotus panicked and immediately deduced he needed the herb. All she needed to do was search for it in the woods around the cottage. If he had spoken about the herb, then it must be present somewhere.


    Carefully letting himy on the floor, she bolted towards the door. As she opened it she looked over her shoulder and said. "I won''t let you die on me."


    With that, she mmed the door shut and went in search of it.

 Chapter 252 Double Trouble

    In the organization¨Cmaster''s study,


    Thud!


    A loud groan could be heard as he clutched his chest in pain. Coughing out blood he tried to gasp for air.


    ''The minute I knew he was still alive, he cursed me?!'' He thought with regret.


    His hands were trembling and his voice diminishing as he struggled to his feet. He needed to quickly get to his shelf to ess his secret passageway.


    Forcing his way forward, he leaned on the bookshelf and pulled on one of the books on it.


    Click!


    Then came rubble as it opened up a way for him to go down the stairs.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Huff!


    He let out a breath of air as he got to thest stair, his vision was already starting to blur and he couldn''t help but let out a curse in response.


    He crossed through the arched opening and searched the area.


    Further ahead are two paths, but the right is a dead end. Its twisted trail leads past piged rooms and soon he enters a grimy area. It''s filled with hanging cages that still hold skeletal remains of failed experiments.


    He hissed and pushed forward to his secret vault. The one ce where he had hidden a little sample of the elixir gotten from the jar. It was the only temporary cure he could think of.


    Before he could get there, he let out another spurt of blood and stared at the mess on the floor. His legs started to numb and he lost the sensation of them, causing his legs to give way and he inadvertently dropped to the ground.


    With no other option, he pulled himself closer with his hands. ''I must reach it!''


    Then a thought crossed his mind as he sent a message to Sesa through her pendant.


    If she could return immediately, he could get some medical help in time.


    Creating a portal, he used up hisst strength in bringing her in.


    Sesa came out of the portal and pushed Arion back before he could walk through as she did.


    "Miss Sesa...??!" He called out, disturbing that he was cast out immediately this mysterious male called on Sesa.


    Sesa dismissed him and watched as the portal closed. Immediately she was sure that was secured, she turned her attention back to her master.


    He was dpidating, she couldn''t help but voice her concerns. "Who could have done this to you?!"


    The master ignored her response, instead, he called on her attention to the vail in a secret hatch under a metal table that stood idly without any other furniture in sight.


    She left his side in search of the said item, her hands felt for it under the table. At first, she had tried to flip it over but was shocked by it being fixed to the ground.


    ''Dammit!'' She cursed when her hand grazed over a sharp edge that drew out some of her blood.


    Sesa went down on her knees, cing her palm on the floor and getting a look at what was beneath.


    To her surprise, she saw her blood being collected from the edge through a narrow tube. It was then channeled into one of the legs of the chair which activated a timer set for 20 seconds.


    ''What is that?'' Sesa wondered as she took a few steps back in suspicion. For some reason, the timer''s sound didn''t appeal to her.


    Her anxiety level rose as she watched the timer clock to zero. She held out her hands in front of her face to shield herself from the imminent danger.


    When she didn''t hear any sounding from it, she let out a sigh and flinched when a strange gas escaped and out of it popped the vial that she needed.


    Her lips gaped open as she rushed towards it. Picked it up and cackled for some while.


    A part of her was considering going against her loyalty, it was the best time to get her master killed, but another part of her was fearful of the consequences it would have on her since the pendant was still on her and several others.


    Any silly mistake would lead to the death of all if she decides to end his life.


    ''Get yourself together, you need him alive so you can stay alive.''


    Making her way over to him, she cradled his head on herp and forced his lips open.


    The moment he coughed out blood on her face, she shook with shock.


    Recovering quickly, she pulled open the lid for the vial and poured it in.


    Every passing second felt like an hour. Her life depended on him and she was determined not to lose it.


    Thump!


    Thump!<sub> </sub>


    Her heartbeat quickened and sweat trailed down her forehead as she contemted the worst that could happen.


    ''Wake up you freaking monster!!!'' She screamed in her thoughts as she lightly shook him to get a reaction.


    Cough!


    Cough!


    He spurted out more blood and gasped for air. His blue eyes glowed and several portals opened up randomly.


    There was a particr portal that was trying to suck up all the air in the room and she had to shout into her master''s ear if he was going to get a hang of himself and control the situation.


    Raising his hand, he made a clench with his fist which stopped the ergement of the portals.


    At the expense of using his ability almost immediately after he had escaped from such a deadly situation, he felt drained and passed out immediately.


    Sesa looked down on her master''s vulnerable state. To make it more believable, she pped him right across the cheek.


    No response!


    A creepy smile made its way to her lips with a mischievous thought in mind. This was her best chance at getting back at him even if it was just for a single time.


    ''24 hours my ass! Now you''d have to triple it since I saved you.'' She spat in spite.


    Pushing off his head, she kicked on his back andughed. "F*ck you!"


    She continued to rain more profanities at him until she was sure it was let out of her system.


    Looking around, she searched for a way to get out of her current situation. Getting in was easy because of the portal.


    Although not knowing where she was, she was sure that it must be somewhere precious to her master. ''I''m shocked he puts faith in me to reveal such a grand secret.''


    Below her feet, she noticed a color that she had stepped on. ''Is this blood?''


    As her eyes followed the trail of blood, she realized this was her way out of the strange environment.


    Carefully following up the blood stains, she got to an open passageway and thus happened to reveal her master''s infamous study room.


    Looking over her shoulder, she wondered if it was in her best interest to leave him there. Rethinking her decision, she walked back to him.


    ''This is going to be a long walk back.'' She internally facepalmed in regret.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In room 4,


    Nix had leaned on the door of his room as he nodded to Lank, Obsidian, and Alex. "You remember the n?"


    "Hell yeah!" Lank whooped, giddy, and overly enthusiastic.


    "Shredding is my name, ripping is my game!" Obsidian replied vaguely and smiled.


    "Time to test out my ability on those suckers!" Alex beamed, ecstatic about finally being one of the core team members.


    Solis had a confused look on his face as he stared at the trio, they looked like they had lost it. He had just been briefed about all he had missed and felt like he was floating in a cloud of questions.


    He could only smile and follow the strange new n that has been enacted. Foreign names had been mentioned, but he could only boil with rage when he was told about Arion''s involvement.


    That had been his driving force for agreeing to the n codenamed¨CDouble trouble.


    "Who''s the first on the list?" Solis cut in, feeling reluctant to be the jovial person he was.


    He felt a bit uneasy doing things alone and without his sister, he had wished that she could be by his side and they would support each other.


    "Fart face," they all chorused in unison with a twisted smirk.


    All they needed to do was create a fire and the smoke was bound to show up. Nix on the other hand knew how to set up that fire that could make Arion tick.


    All this was thanks to Lumina''s great experience with him.


    "Are you all ready to lure out the snake and her aplices?" Nix spoke to the rest.


    "I''m more pumped up for that bitch!" Lank hissed and punched the wall.


    Obsidian snarled at the dent made by Lank. "Would you be able to ount for the damage in my room?!"


    "Our room." Alex corrected and clicked his tongue.


    "Let''s focus on the task ahead." Nix cut in, "we strike at midnight!"

 Chapter 253 Only The Beginning

    Clip!


    Clop!


    Clip!


    The sound of Ayanami''s shoes walking down the corridor could be heard. With the dragon scale carefully tucked in her dress, she scouted the area as naturally as she could.


    ''Come on, work you stupid thing!'' She lightly tapped the scale underneath her folds.


    She had been walking for several minutes, greeting those who passed by, until she got close to room Apex.


    Her movements halted to a stop and went into a panic fit. This was beyond her boundaries and she hoped that they wouldn''t magicallye out of their rooms.


    The mere thought of facing those three scared her to bits. When she had thought she was finally free from them, they just had to butt into her peaceful world in the organization.


    ''Go back to the slums, where you belong!'' She thought with spite.


    Turning around to leave, she was shocked when she saw something glowing underneath her dress.


    Reaching into her sleeve, she pulled out the scale. Outlining its body was an orange aura that was flickering continuously. ''What the hell is going on?''


    She looked back at the rooms in suspicion, wondering if what she had been looking for had been taken by these thieving trash.


    As she took a step forward and into their corridor, her leg burned slightly and the flickering stopped. She stared at the scale and was disturbed by the fact that she might have made a mistake and regretted stepping foot in there.


    When she turned around to leave, she could see the glow on the scale once more and her head snapped back up. ''It''s out there somewhere!''


    When she saw a figure dash to the right, she had a smug smile as she deduced this person must be the cause of the glow.


    Sprinting in tow, her shape-shifted into a ck snake, with the dragon scale being held by a silver cor tag while she slithered away in pursuit.


    Watching from above were Obsidian and Lank. They were bothying low on a ck mist Obsidian had created. After they were able to mask their presence, it wasn''t a surprise that she had not thought she could be watched.


    "So gullible." Lank snickered and shook his head.


    "That snake stays true to her shape-shifting abilities." Obsidian sneered.


    Lank dropped down, wishing that he could go after them. When Obsidian dropped behind him, he shoved his hands into his pocket.


    "Let''s go create some carnage!"


    -----------


    A few momentster,


    "Stop!" Ayanami called out in a rush when she saw the figure dash out. She wondered if this was just a figment of her imagination.


    No matter how she thought of it, the scale couldn''t lie, this person either has something in their possession or has a connection to the scale-but who?


    She had slithered into a seal-tight room without even noticing it.


    Click!


    A smoky voice brought to her attention what she had gotten into, "you finally made it. How do you like the new reconstruction?"


    As Ayanami looked around her, she realized that this was a room created to morph into a user''s thoughts, functioning like a domain.


    ''You''ve got to be kidding me!'' Ayanami reverted to her original form, her eyes scanning the dark environment. The only source of light wasing from the blue crack-like pattern that branched along the walls.


    "Why did you lure me here?" She spat as she rushed to the door in search of its handle.


    "Don''t bother trying to get out of here, it''s pointless and you know that." The voice countered with a snicker.


    Something was unsettling in the voice, it almost sounded tuned and made to hide the true mastermind.


    She clenched the scale in her hand and could feel the pulse it resonated. This was just about a valid reason that the individual knows what they are dealing with.


    "Show yourselves!" She hissed, standing her ground and ring above from where the voice came from.


    All she could hear were cackles ofughter in response which irked her by a great length.


    "There is only one of me, you vile beast!" The voice snapped.


    The ground shook in response to the looming rage. She staggered and lost her bnce.<sub> </sub>


    Letting out a hiss, she screeched in pain when she noticed her hand had touched the outline of the cracks and it glowed.


    ''What the hell is this? Is this a part I had missed in the organization?'' She thought with panic as she hurriedly got to her feet so she avoided the pain that it had caused to her skin.


    Hidden in the shadows was Nix with Solis serving as a medium for the lighting. He had concentrated his ability on creating prative light that could hurt the skin.


    Solis nced over at Nix with a smirk, their main objective was to get the scale in Ayanami''s hand, which could only be done when she was distracted or snatched.


    With his curiosity about being satisfied, he watched as thick ck fog engulfed the environment, spreading across the room with great speed.


    Ayanami took several steps back, weary of the mysterious smoke that was about to engulf her. Her hand tightly held onto the scale as her only chance of getting one step closer to her target.


    "You would know the gravity of your mistakes." Nix''s masked voice snickered as he summoned Raiken.


    Raiken had felt offended that one of his scales was used in such a way and considered it a disgrace to his existence.


    With hispliance to get back his scale, he was more than pleased to be let out, hisrge wings spread out as he stretched and dropped to the floor beneath.


    Boom!


    Ayanami staggered as the floor shook and fell to the ground again, when she pushed back her hair from her face, her jaw dropped upon the sight of the colossal dragon.


    She let out a scream in response and pushed back to create a bit distance as she could.


    <This is the puny human that has my scale?!> Raikenmunicate telepathically to Nix as he snorted down on Ayanami


    Ayanami''s eyes bulged and her heartbeat quickened at how close she was to a dragon.


    "How do you like my best friend? He''s actually in need of something of his in your possession!"


    Nix held a smirk to a distracted Solis who had his mouth wide open as he was awestruck by the sight, it was a real dragon in front of him and it felt unreal. What made it more magnificent was the fact that Nix could control such a mythical creature.


    "He''s freaking huge, I thought you said that it was just a few meters high?" Solis hissed in a whisper after he had recovered from his initial shock.


    "Isn''t that a few meters?" Nix hissed back in a whisper and shook his head.


    He turned towards Ayanami with a wicked smirk, ''let the show begin!''


    Ayanami was frozen in ce as she couldn''t understand why a dragon suddenly appeared in the room.


    Oveing her fear, she tried to pin the sight to the room morphing into one of her worst nightmares. She let out augh at the thought of whoever had tried to set her up.


    "You think this cheap trick scares me?!"


    Raiken let out a growl as he red mes at her, her words felt like a bad itch on his scales, she was downgrading him right before his eyes.


    <Remind me why I just need that scale and not also her life as a side bonus?>


    Nix almost burst outughing at Raiken''s bad humor. They needed her alive for their second n toe into fulfillment¨Cwithout that, all would go up in mes.


    "There''s no way humans and dragons could coexist!" Ayanami continued as she gave a stare down to the dragon.


    <She does have a point, you''re just bullying me, human> Raiken snorted in its thought.


    ''Raiken, do you want your summon to be canceled?'' Nix threatened as he was on the verge of carrying it out with another dragon.


    <Yes, let the elderly off and bring in the fresh batch. I would dly rip a few limbs if she dares shapeshift, wouldn''t you like that?>


    Red beamed with joy at the prospect of being let out.


    ''Shut it, that snake is with Raiken''s scale so it''s only fair that he gets his possession back.'' Nix countered and folded his arms.


    Ayanami, still not taking things seriously anymore, proceeded to walk over to Raiken and examine the authentication of the dragon.


    When she observed the scale pattern on its body, her body froze as she slowly brought up the scale in her hand.


    Her hand began to tremble as thought back to how Mr. Zhao had kept her in the dark on how he had gotten the scale.


    She pushed back and screamed in fear. "No... It can''t be."


    "Now you believe you slithering devil, well this is only the beginning."

 Chapter 254 Remember What We Planned!

    Raiken raised the corner of its lips intentionally showing its jagged razor-sharp teeth. Opening it slightly, a trail of saliva followed and dropped to the ground in a stter.


    Ayanami cowered in fear and took several steps back as she huped.


    ''It''s not a dream! How the hell did it get in here?!'' She trembled and took a step back in fear not sparing the dragon another look.


    Instead, her focus was on its huge legs and she gulped. With trembling lips, she needed to establish some sort of contact with the human friend of this monster if she wanted to survive.


    "Please, I have done nothing wrong to you, I would pretend like nothing of such happened if only you would let me out." She solemnly swore and dropped to her knees.


    "You''ve done nothing wrong?" Nix''s masked voice resounded with augh.


    Ayanami flinched at the sound and her heart thumped hard as she tried to think of what he must have meant by that.


    Searching herself, she couldn''t find anything that might have linked her with either of them, not until the scale dropped onto the floor from her sleeves.


    ''The scale!'' She gasped as she tried to reach out for it.


    Once she was able to snatch it off the ground, she raised her head only to be caught in the deadly gaze of the dragon''s yellow glinting eyes.


    Taking several steps back, she couldn''t understand if this scale was going to save her or if it was thest piece that the dragon needed back.


    Hiding it behind her back, she just hoped that it could all be forgotten, giving it up is like forfeiting the assignment given by Mr. Zhao.


    Without the scale, she was as good as useless. She constantly told herself that they simply detected the scale and vice versa. Which was the cause of the glow earlier.


    She needed toplete her task, only then could she willingly return the scale to them if they needed it.


    <That''s my scale, you puny human! Return it!> Raiken raged as it took a few steps forward covering arge distance within seconds.


    Ayanami let out a scream at the dragon''s movements and as she hurriedly walked backward, she fell on her butt.


    ''Raiken you do know no one can hear you except me, right?!''


    Raiken paused upon realization and a tinge of anger that it made him a bit foolish for thinking otherwise.


    Nevertheless, Raiken had been able to corner Ayanami and had her directly under his face. Snorting out steam onto her body, he leaned downwards till it was just a few meters between them and let out a body-curling roar in her face.


    "Ahhhhhh!" Ayanami screamed in sync, till she couldn''t take it anymore and passed out in shock.


    Nix and Solis facepalmed from the shadows, this wasn''t part of the n, nor did it have anything to do with getting the scale in such a manner.


    Cutting off all supply of light, Nix came out into the open even though it was dark all around now.


    He created a telekic field around them so he could speak with Raiken without interference if Ayanami was merely faking it.


    "What was that?!" Nix yelled in disappointment at Raiken.


    Solis sweatdropped at how bold Nix was in speaking to this mythical creature. He had wanted to take several steps back, in fact, be off the conversation in its entirety.


    It was uncertain what this dragon could do if provoked and couldn''t gauge to what extent Nix''s hold on the dragon could hold.


    Bam!


    He collided with the barrier and rubbed the back of his head. ''No way out of here, just great!''


    Returning his attention to the two, he could see Raiken''s eyes burning with rage as it endured a scolding from Nix.


    "Nix... umm... maybe if youy it a little softly so we could all¨C"


    "Shut it! He needs to know he can''t just do things of his jurisdiction!" Nix snapped and immediately turned his attention back to Raiken.


    ''... leave here in one piece.'' Solispleted his thoughts. He let out a sigh as he listened in on what Nix had to say.


    <I refuse to be scolded by a mere human!> Raiken proudly responds and looks away.


    Nix bit down on his bottom lip as he tried to calm his thoughts. He was speaking with probably a thousand years old dragons who had never been ountable to anyone.


    "You would have to y your part when she wakes up, only then can it be beneficial to us all, do you get that?" Nixmanded through gritted teeth and forced a smile.


    He was speaking majorly on the jar which was detrimental to them all. If Ayanami were to get her hands on the jar and in turn Mr. Zhao who she works for, that would mean trouble for them all.<sub> </sub>


    And that was still the same if Sesa and Christmas tree were to get their hands on it.


    The only way to counter both parties was to instigate them against one another.


    <The human is right, Raiken!> Red chipped in.


    For the first time in its life would it feel that what was being said was to their benefit, they were under hismand and his n was inadvertently to save them all since it was because of them that Nix was hurting.


    <Listen and learn...> Rekor began.


    <... a few things from the human> Raz concluded.


    Even though Nix could hear them clearly, it did tick him a bit that they all referred to him as ''human'' and not his name or a different title like Mune.


    Solis sat on the floor in a lotus position, he was going to block out all information as he could only listen in on Nix''s part of the conversation which only made him anxious with his manner of speech with Raiken.


    ''Is it not a better option if you could just say my name? I am not referring to any of you with dragons.'' Nix brought up the conversation as he held Raiken''s re.


    Pointing at Raiken he warned, ''don''t you give me that look!''


    It looked more like the gaze he had when they had just met, ready to wreck chaos and kill


    <What look?> Raiken feigned ignorance and grunted.


    Pinching the bridge of his nose, Nix shook his head as he paced about within the limited space.


    When he heard a groan, he lightly tapped Solis so they could start from where they had stopped.


    Solis jumped to his feet and regted the light in the room, and they took shelter in the darkest corner and behind Raiken.


    ''Don''t screw this up!'' Nix reminded and hoped he would listen this time.


    <Screw you!> Raiken snarled and grudgingly went along with the original n.


    Using his shield to block out any of their words getting out, he nudged Solis on the side so he could concentrate on what was ahead.


    Ayanami stirred in her sleep, her eyes flickered open and she let out a loud gasp as if she had woken from a nightmare.


    ''It was only a dream!'' She looked to the floor and saw the scaleying right next to her.


    Pushing forward, she pulled it closer like it was some precious object she had lost. A broad satisfying smile spread across her face as she closed her eyes.


    She was still oblivious to the re of Raiken behind her. To alert her of his presence, he let out a snort of steam which lightly touched and spread around her.


    Ayanami froze as she felt warm air touch her back, and when she saw from the side of her eyes that a wave of steam flowed past her, she stiffly turned her head back.


    A flood of memory shed through her mind in an instant and she let out a scream.


    "Damn she does scream a lot for someone that keeps herself in high esteem!" Solisined and ced his hands over his ears.


    Nix looked over to Solis with a crooked smile, "how about I let Raiken have a bit of fun with you?"


    Solis sweatdropped and gulped, raising his hands in surrender. "Poor Ayanami, what sort of trauma is she going through?"


    Nodding his head, he is expecting a simr response. "Remember what we nned."


    Solis bobbed his head in response.


    "Stay away, don''te any closer!" Ayanami''s shape-shifted into a porcupine, shooting out spikes from her body in a way of fending Raiken.


    Nix bit down on his bottom lip to stifle augh. He couldn''t believe anyone could be so dumb as to attack in such a stupid way¨Cthis was a dragon, not some weak animal.


    Raiken looked at its feet as the spikes bounced off, he had to keep himself from roaring in her face so he could see that horror-stricken face in close range.


    <I can carry on with it now, human?>


    Nix nodded his head as a satisfying ''yes'' escaped his thoughts.


    <Finally!> Raiken pped and stretched his wings.

 Chapter 255 Lead The Way

    Crouched on the floor, Ayanami covered her head as she prepared for the worst that could happen.


    "Do you want to live and get out of here alive?"


    She peeked through the narrow space created by her palms on her face when she heard those life-saving words.


    With a nod of her head, she hoped the dragon would pause in its actions against her.


    When she could see that the dragon had suspended its movements, she let out a breath of relief.


    "What do you want?!" Ayanami questioned knowing there must be a catch to why she was trapped in the first ce.


    "Finally, you''re showing less stupidity." Nixughed at her answer.


    ''Raiken be on the guard.'' Nixmanded and gave a nod.


    Reluctantly obeying, Raiken ced his talon on the ground. And snorted onto her once more to establish dominance.


    Ayanami straightened her clothes and got herposure in check, ready to find some way out of her predicament.


    "I need you to lure Arion here in your ce. That shouldn''t be such a hassle, right?"


    Ayanami tilted her head at the strange urrence of hearing the name of her ex-ssmate. What was more intriguing was the fact that this strange voice knew who Arion was.


    ''What''s the use of Arion in all of this? What sort of connection am I not getting?'' Ayanami thought suspiciously as she narrowed her eyes. All of what was happening sounded a bit too strange and targeted.


    A part of her was willing to go along because it meant she would be let off but the curious side of her wanted to understand why Arion was chosen.


    "Was he the original target?" She bravely spoke up, not bothered about what that might mean for her freedom.


    Nix facepalmed at her inquisitive spirit and was bound to re up if she was trying to y smart on him.


    "Do you want answers or a chance to leave this ce free from harm?"


    Ayanami thought for a moment on the offer and racked her thoughts for the best method of approach to her situation.


    "I agree." Ayanami obliged with a nod.


    After getting the confirmation he wanted to hear, he signaled Raiken on the main n.


    Raiken used its w to draw an amateur-looking shape of his scale on the floor, pointing at it.


    Nix held backughter at the drawing and shook his head before rting the message he needed to finalize everything.


    "Drop the scale, only when you have aplished your task can you be allowed to get it back."


    Ayanami''s jaw dropped, she could feel something was fishy with the condition and wasn''t all too pleased with the condition.


    ''Mr. Zhao would kill me if he knew about this! How am I meant to carry out my task?'' She thought in a panic.


    She also knew it would be foolishness on her part to ask how true his statement was.


    Her eyes narrowed at the dragon in disbelief at how a human could control the monstrosity and what''s more, it didn''t seem to mind being ordered around.


    Reluctantly, she ced the scale on the floor and kicked it in the direction of the dragon.


    Raiken pped his talons onto it before it could skid away from his grasp.


    Ayanami raised her chin with newfound pride. "I had done what you asked, now open that goddamned door!"


    Nix shook his head at her tone but chose to be patient as that was the only way he could get her to do his bidding without suspecting a thing.


    Click!


    The door flung open. As soon as she shape-shifted into a snake, she was about to slither out when she was stopped by thin metal bars raising from the floor.


    Reverting to her human form, she was able to avert the danger that would have been disastrous if she had collided with the bars.


    "You said you would let me out if I kept my end of the bargain!" Ayanami whined and stomped her feet in irritation.


    She could see the door wide open, yet nothing could be done about her situation.


    "If you think for a second of double-crossing me, your life would be on the line. You have an hour to search and convince him here." He warned before giving her fill ess out.


    Ayanami scurried out like she had been trapped in there for years. "You can count on me!"


    m!


    Once the door shut behind her, she crouched on her knees to catch her breath. That was by far the scariest experience she had ever witnessed.


    Looking behind her, she was shocked to find the door gone. ''Was that all an illusion?''


    Walking towards the door just to be sure, she stretched out her hands and was startled by the ripple effect that gave her a glimpse of the concealment magic done.


    ''A magic user controls a dragon?'' She retracted her hands and grimaced.<sub> </sub>


    ''An hour!'' She reminded herself as she sprinted in search of Arion.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Ayanami''s heart pounded as twenty minutes had passed and yet no sign of Arion nor Miss Sesa.


    ''Where could they be?'' She rushed in search of them, skillfully evading colliding with any, and wasn''t bothered by the stares she got from the members of the organization.


    Crash!


    She was thrown back and onto the floor.


    "Would you watch where you''re going?!" She snapped at the person she had collided with, rubbing her head to the pain.


    "Are you alright?" The voice questioned in worry.


    "How can I be alright when you¨C" Ayanami''s lips quivered at the sight of the culprit.


    ''Arion!'' Her thoughts leaped up for joy at finally seeing him in an unfortunate situation.


    "Ayanami?" Arion took a step back in surprise.


    After herst stunt in the academy, he was beyond stunned that she had managed to end up in the organization.


    Pointing an using finger at her, he narrowed his eyes and questioned, "How did you¨C"


    Ayanami left no time to spare in listening to his questions as she pulled him by the wrist. "Come with me."


    Without giving it much of a thought, he found himself being pulled towards the left corridor.


    Not wanting it to look awkward when the others stared at their hands, he pulled his hand away and held her to a stop. "Do I look like some sort of animal that would await a beck and call?"


    Ayanami grimaced at his reference, it almost seemed to her as though he was making fun of her ability. "Are you mocking me?


    "What?"


    Arion scratched his head as he tried to piece the information together and pinpoint what he might have said wrongly.


    He hadn''t thought about his innocent question until it left his lips, "are you an animal?"


    Ayanami let out a gasp and had wanted to p him across the cheek but her wrist was held by Arion.


    "Even though your methods in the academy were trash, I chose to overlook that because you went against the two people I detest the most." He hissed and threw back her hand.


    His mood darkened as he continued. "Just because you feel offended doesn''t mean everything revolves around you. In case you''re curious, I wasn''t speaking about you in that sense."


    Ayanami gulped and nodded her head. epting her ce, and looking for better ways of convincing him to tag along.


    "How about we start over, I had made a big mistake and misunderstood you. I apologize." She meekly responded with a slight bow of her head.


    Arion had a big grin and patted her head, there was no way he could stay angry at someone who shared the same goals as he does.


    Recollecting what had happened before the brief interruption, he leaned forward and questioned. "What am I missing?"


    Ayanami looked away suspiciously, "missing? What''s missing?"


    ''She is hiding something. I need her to lead me to where Mr. Zhao is.'' He thought with a mischievous smirk.


    "Silly!" He flicked her forehead and have an eye-shut smile.


    "I was talking about the knowledge of where you were leading me." Arion rified and wiggled his brows.


    ''Damn it, you''re gonna blow this if you keep thinking like this!'' Ayanami scolded herself and forced a smile to calm her pounding heart.


    Her hour was nearlypleted, it was only a matter of time before she would be demanded her report someway.


    "About that, I had heard that something was missing in the organization and of importance." Ayanami made use of her trump card.


    Arion''s eyes widened at her words and he had to pull her to the corner so they could discuss quietly.


    "Where did you hear that?" He said in a whisper and followed along with her words.


    ''He bought it!'' Ayanami whooped in her thoughts.


    "Well, I had heard some sketchy people speaking on it in a particr direction that I had wanted you to see." Ayanami smiled.


    Arion narrowed his eyes, he couldn''t tell if she was speaking the truth or ying him on.


    On second thought, he couldn''t understand how she had known about something even miss Sesa had kept him in the dark¨Cexcept she did hear of it from whoever she had heard.


    ''This could aid Miss Sesa in her ns!'' Arion thought with a smile.


    "Lead the way, let''s take a look." He prompted with a smirk.

 Chapter 256 Youre A Sly Monster

    Knock!


    Knock!


    Arion dropped his hand to the side and looked at Ayanami who evaded his stare as she anxiously bit on her nails.


    ''What''s wrong with her?'' He wondered and proceeded to knock again.


    If he would be able to get a hold of those who knew about this secret that had gone missing, he could rightly take Ayanami for questioning on the whereabouts of her superior.


    "Are you alright?" He had to ask when she began to nce around and her eyes wide with uncertainty.


    Ayanami shook her head and her hands frantically as she tried to defend what she had meant.


    Forcing a smile on her face, she gestured to him so he could see that the door had opened slightly.


    Without much of a thought, Arion stepped over the threshold.


    m!


    Ayanami jumped back when the door mmed in her face, stopping her from joining Arion.


    She dropped to her knees from the weakness of the scare she had gained from the previous experience and could only mumble out the words, "I''m sorry."


    -----------


    Inside the room,


    Arion narrowed his eyes to how dim the room was, all he could get a glimpse of was the glowing outlining lights all around.


    ''What the hell is this ce?'' He wondered as he tried to find his way around.


    When a bright light shed on his face, he closed his eyes and brought his hands up to shield his face.


    "Who the hell are you?" He barked at the suspicious method of approach in this room.


    It suddenly dawned on him that Ayanami was nowhere in sight and it felt more like a trap set out for him.


    ''That slithering serpent! She tricked me!'' He gritted his teeth as he realized what he had gotten himself into.


    "It would seem that you finally understood what you''ve gotten yourself into." Nixughed out and pped his hands at how easy it was to get him.


    While Ayanami had gone out to search for Arion, Obsidian had joined the group for the second phase of the n.


    Obsidian rxed and leaned on the wall while engulfing himself in his dark abilities. It wasn''t the right time to reveal he was in the room for the time being.


    Arion whipped his head to the right at the voice. "Who would have thought you would be a bigger traitor than I thought you would."


    Stepping out of the shadows, Nix shoved his hands into his pocket and had a smirk on his face. "Funny you should mention being a traitor."


    Solis subtly increased the brightness that allowed Arion to get a glimpse of therge space in the room.


    He threw his head back and stared at the towering height."What do you n on doing with thisrge space?"


    Solis stifled augh and looked over to the ce where Obsidian stood hidden and concealed.


    His questions were getting a lot worse than Ayanami and from the looks of it, he was bound to break with the sight of Raiken.


    Nix scoffed at his words, "trust me, now isn''t the time to know about that."


    Pulling his eyes away from the top, he red down at Nix and had a twisted smirk.


    "Were you the one who had spread such a lie and used Ayanami to get to me?"


    Nix tilted his head and with the glow, in his eyes, he responded, "what do you think, upper rank magic user?"


    Arion felt threatened by his demeanor and brought his fist in front of him and his eyes glowed with bits of gas circling him.


    "Mordovius!" He called out in a loud voice and shed a wicked grin.


    Nix raised a brow as the smoke spread out in a ring-shaped manner.


    Unlike the first time, he had risked his movements in attacking Lumina with this ability. He had been given an augmentation by Sesa that made him immune to its effects. This could also mean he could use the advanced version of his abilities.


    ''Yes, show me to what extent you can go with your ability, Sid would be so d to get a low-grade upgrade.'' Nix''s lips slightly curved upwards.


    "Do you know what this could do to you?" Arion barked in pride at what one of his powerful attacks could do to his surrounding area and anyone that he came in contact with.<sub> </sub>


    Since he had not gotten a glimpse of Nix during the sparring session, he had believed he had ditched it at the time.


    Nix folded his arms, inhaled, and burst intoughter, temporarily stunning Arion with his response.


    "Christmas tree-"


    "What''s a Christmas tree?" Arion cut in, feeling that he had used a form of the derogatory word on him.


    He knew no tree of such in all of Arkai, so the word since it''sing from Nix would have a deeper meaning to it.


    ''Damnit with this world and their weird terminologies!'' Nix spat in disdain as his smile dwindled.


    "Your brain must be clogged up with all of that gas, and I for one would not exin it to you." Nix countered with a smirk.


    Before Arion could make aeback, Nix continued. "If I were you, I''d be more concerned about escaping as I have a feeling your limbs would be the ones leaving this room."


    Arion flinched for a second at the threat, he gathered up his strength and courage and proceeded to continue, thinking it was best to try his luck.


    "Being a fire rank is useless without training and nockey to be at your every whim." Arion mocked.


    Nix let out a subtleugh at how that reminded him of the words Obsidian had told him on their arrival at the organization.


    Obsidian''s brows twitched as a reminder of how he had acted previously. ''Is this how I sounded to the rest?''


    Solis grimaced at the memory and knew Obsidian''s thoughts on the issue were anything but pleasant.


    "Would you cut it out with the egoisticughter, you''re surrounded and there''s nothing you can do about this!" Arion barked in irritation.


    Nix shook his head, he was sure that Arion was unaware of his presence at the time just like the majority, but his secret would be the downfall of Arion.


    "You seem to be unaware of what I can do." Nix''s body was outlined by his blue aura.


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    [Congration]


    Slowly an aura of blue mes surrounded him and increased its proximity gradually.


    Arion''s eyes widened in shock to the concise ability disyed by Nix, this wasn''t like anything he had ever shown nor did he make it seem like he could apart from a few tricks while in the academy.


    "Do you know the difference between both of us?" Nix threatened to get closer with a step.


    Arion took a step back in horror, this wasn''t what he nned, and from what he calcted this was more dangerous for him than he had realized.


    Any close contact with their abilities would be detrimental to him only.


    Deactivating his forbidden ability, he took steps back, wary of Nix''s proximity.


    Nix tilted his head and had a twisted smirk at the scared demeanor of Arion. "Surely I''m a user that needsckeys right?"


    Obsidian held his breath as he realized how wrong his words were at the onset. He sweatdropped at the possibility of being handed his tail if he had overstepped his bounds then.


    ''You''re a goner! At least I learned from my mistake before I got in a simr situation as you do.''


    Solis enjoyed the show, deliberately looking over in Obsidian''s direction, wanting to guess how he would feel with the conversation reminding him of how he was and how wrong he was.


    Seeing that Arion had no zeal in fighting with his ability, Nix immediately deactivated his and let out a sigh of disappointment.


    Pushing back his hair, he clicked his tongue and stood still. "You bore me to death, I was expecting some sort of struggle between the two of us!"


    Arion couldn''t understand why he would wish to fight with him, Nix had no reason unlike he did¨C he had connections with Lumina and had made Mr. Zhao throw him out of his room while they had begun getting used to his new ce in the organization.


    "You''re a sly monster." Arion spat and sneered at Nix.


    Nix gave a light chuckle, "says the one who had offered his body for modifications and a chance to taste his superior."


    Those words felt like a p to Arion''s face and a sh of panic crossed his face, wondering how he had known something rted to such actions.


    ''How could he know of Miss Sesa and me?''


    "Don''t worry, I won''t tell another soul while you''re still alive. That alluring body would be thest you ever touch." Nix snickered and winked at Arion.


    Arion cringed at the gesture and quickly got back his bearings. His words couldn''t be trusted nor how he had gotten to know about that secret part of him.


    Without thinking, he lurched forward with his fist, "let''s see how well you go against me without using your ability!"

 Chapter 257 Plans On Her

    ''Are you freaking stupid?!'' Nixughed in his thoughts as he sidestepped just in time to dodge the punch.


    Bam!


    He swiftly grounded his heels into the ground and gave a hard kick into the pit of Arion''s stomach, knocking the wind out of him, shocking him for a brief moment.


    Staggering back and holding his stomach as he groaned in intense pain.


    [Agility, an increase in the speed activated]


    [With every minute usedes a deduction of 2 points from your energy stats]


    Nix cackled in a burst of crazedughter as he covered the distance between them and grabbed a hold of Arion by the cor.


    Easily raising him with one arm, he had a devilish grin on his lips. "Do you think I need my abilities to finish you off?!"


    Arion struggled to get himself free as his breath was slowly getting dry.


    "Do you know what I faced in Zoar?!!" Nix barked in rage, finally angered that he had been judged by his gift.


    The fact that he had been admired, despised with the vague view of his gift was a point that had made a ticking bomb.


    The color drained from Arion''s face as he realized no one knew what had transpired there even though it had been termed too dangerous and a test for only special students.


    "Did you think I had used my gift there?!" Nix spat, tightening his grin on the cor with a twisted smile.


    In the shadows, Solis cringed at the sight, making a mental note to never get on Nix''s bad side.


    "He could kill him, right?" He whispered from the corner of his mouth to Obsidian.


    Obsidian simply gave a nod and looked away. He only needed it when he would be called to do his part of the n.


    Watching the two only made his blood boil at how long Nix was dragging it out and enjoying every bit of ying with Arion.


    Thud!


    Dropping Arion to the ground, he let out a sigh at how boring it felt to hold him without a way for him to get out of his grasp.


    "Come on, use your ability and let''s see how that works for you!" Nix beckoned with eagerness.


    Arion punched the ground and forced himself to his feet. His legs wobbled from the experience with his hand holding his neck.


    "You''re a psycho, do you know that?" Arion spat with bitterness, coughing so he could clear out his throat.


    Nix had a wide grin at the name-calling.


    "Just like that red-haired bitc¨C"


    Gasp!


    His eyes were wide in horror at the cold glow in Nix''s eyes before it all turned blurry.


    Boom!


    Solis got a jump scare as a gust of wind blew on him. ''What the f*ck was that speed?!''


    Obsidian leaned forward to have a glimpse of the damage once all rubbles dropped.


    ''What sort of beast are you?!'' His mouth gaped open in shock.


    They watched as Nix had his palm on Arion''s face, holding him in ce after smashing him onto the floor.


    Arion''s head trailed with blood and his eyes slightly opened. Unable to feel his body hey motionless and almost out of breath.


    "Who''s the bitch?!" Nix challenged him to repeat what he said as his eyes gleamed brightly with rage.


    Arion could only force his eyes open and his lips opened slightly when he tried to speak.


    ''So the rumors were true about these two...'' Arion forced out a subtle chuckle and coughed out blood in the process.


    Bam!


    Nix pulled back his hand covered with the blood from Arion and brought down his fist for another punch aimed at Arion''s face.


    Bam!


    Bam!


    "I hate that smirk!" He announced.


    Arion''s face had swollen from the series of punches which had made his mouth more like a duck shape.


    "Zokanar was a better sport." Nix sneered and was about to get to his feet when he felt a grip on the hem of his trouser.


    His head whipped to the culprit¨CArion who had a firm grip on him and had a mischievous smirk and his eyes in an eye-shut smile.


    ''You won''t leave here in one piece!''


    Nix could see Arion''s body get slightly bloated and gradually increase in size.


    "That psycho ns on blowing himself and anything in here¨Cthat includes it!" Solis deduced in a panic.


    Obsidian didn''t flinch but instead, let out a silentugh. ''Nix, can you take the challenge?!''


    He was confident in his ability to shield himself from the st and extend the same to Solis, but Nix was far too close to the epicenter of the explosive medium.<sub> </sub>


    Nix yanked his leg from Arion''s grasp and deactivated his agility.


    Instead, he made use of his passive gift.


    [Passive gift: Telekinesis in effect]


    [Telekic binding in effect]


    R-Rip!


    "Ahhhh!" Arion yelled in pain as he could feel his legs pulled hard without anything in sight that could be the underlying cause.


    Making a grabbing gesture with his fists, Nix pulled on Arion''s right leg until blood oozed out. The sound of cloth and skin ripping couldn''t match the loud outcrying from Arion.


    "Remember when I said your limbs would be the ones leaving this room?" Nix reminded as he walked towards Arion.


    Looking at the mess made, he let out a sigh, "damn, I hope this disappears as the modification to this room too. Saves me so much time."


    Arion was writhing in pain and couldn''t care less what Nix was saying. Involuntary, his gasses began to seep out from his ripped flesh.


    The gas made the wound all the more painful to bear. "Ahhh!!!" He hissed and held onto his legs.


    His body was still bloating gradually and wasn''t in control of taking over when he needed to be. "Please... Save me!"


    "Save you?" Nix repeated with a dark aura, "how about you ask your mistress? All you need is one night with her."


    Arion hissed and took no ount of his sarcasticment. Feeling light weighted, his surroundings doubled and a faint ringing sound continued in his ears.


    Grabbing the neck of Arion using the passive gift, he tightened his grip as Arion tried to struggle. Feeling he had dragged on the fight for too long, he released his grip.


    Gasp!


    Cough


    "I wish I could kill you right now, but I would rather have your ability put to good use."


    Arion raised a brow at the words, puzzled by the meaning.


    "You!" He used and forced his eyes open.


    "We meet for the second time, this time it would be the end of your gassy existence," Obsidian informed coldly.


    Nix reluctantly took a step back for Obsidian.


    Skeptical about what Obsidian wanted to do since he had never seen him in action, he pushed back and endured the pain that came with blood loss.


    Obsidian wasted no time in lurching forward and pressed his feet on Arion''s stomach.


    "Are you crazy?! I''m unstable and might explode!!" Arion yelled.


    Ignoring the warning, Obsidian protracted his fingers until they were w-like.


    Shluk!


    Arion''s eyes widened in shock as the hand plunged right through his stomach.


    Gasp!


    Gasp!


    "Don''t worry, you won''t feel anything soon." Obsidianughed it off and pulled his hand out in a quick motion.


    "You would never get away with this!!" Arion yelled out in pain, the bloating immediately stopped and gas seeped yet again from the injury.


    ''I already did and you will be med for what''s toe soon!'' Nix replied in his subconscious with a smirk.


    Folding his arms, he watched Obsidian feast on Arion''s body. "You would all pay!"


    Not minding the sight, Obsidian bit down on the ripped flesh on the leg, while activating his devour ability he munched on the body as though it was a feast.


    Ear piercing screams could be heard until they died down immediately Arion had tried to struggle for thest time.


    Obsidian couldn''t care less what was happening to his prey and focused all his attention on the body.


    Solis grimaced and tore his gaze away before he would puke. "I would never get used to that!"


    Stepping out of the shadows, Solis folded his arms and scrunched his nose in irritation.


    Obsidian got to his feet and wiped his bloody mouth with his blue sleeves.


    Burp!


    ''That''s just disgusting!'' Solis cringed and felt like gagging.


    Obsidian''s eyes glowed as the gas streamed out of his mouth.


    ''Not too bad, if I might say so myself!'' Obsidian nodded his head as he could actively control the gasses in front of him.


    Nix walked up to him and gave a pat on Obsidian''s shoulder. "You have all the time to venture on what''s more important, but right now I want you to focus on the most important decision we are to make."


    Obsidian let out a sigh when he deactivated his ability. "How about the snake that I had confined? What do you n on doing with her?"

 Chapter 258 Entering Into Some Deep Shit

    Outside the room,


    Ayanami struggled to shapeshift so she could break out of the tentacle that surrounded her. ''What the heck did I do to deserve this?!''


    Click!


    Her eyes widened when she saw who had stepped out of the dreadful room that had the dragon scales confined inside.


    "You unhand me this instant!" She snapped and hissed as her pale purple eyes glowed at a masked Obsidian.


    Having a ck mist masking only his eyes with a hood covering his ears so he couldn''t be easily recognized. He had managed to deepen his voice so he couldpletely fool her into believing he was a different person.


    ''Great, she doesn''t suspect a thing!''


    Obsidian had a wide grin stered on his lips as he watched her struggle to get free.


    "You weren''t thinking the organization would let you free after that little stunt you pulled?" He pretended as though he was working for a secret n given by the higher-ups.


    Ayanami trembled in untold fear of what she had heard, feeling this has been a great trap set by the organization.


    "We work together so why would you trap me?!" She spat while squirming.


    "Work together? Didn''t you know we are in search of Mr. Zhao?" Obsidian cackled and shook his head.


    He was suddenly grateful for the stupid snake pendant around her neck. The information was just enough to convince her of where she stood.


    "You had promised to give me back my scale." She began, thinking it was the dragon tamer she had encountered, and made the effort to remind him of what he had bargained for earlier.


    "Your scale? Promised? Do you think that I was the one behind that big stunt you witnessed?" Obsidianughed at how stupid she looked for mixing them up.


    Ayanami stopped in her struggle to stare in horror at the person before her. She could actively hear her heart pound in her chest at the mistake she had made.


    "If you''re not the one, then who are you?" She said in a whisper.


    Bringing up his hand, he tightened the grip on her neck with his tentacle, "you ask too many questions."


    Bringing her in so they don''t draw out too much attention from the screaming, he let out a sigh when the door mmed shut behind them.


    Ayanami cried out in pain as the grip was slowly increased to her dismay. "Please spare me!"


    Obsidianughed at her effort in appeasing him.


    To irritate her, he tested out his luck with a bluff. "There are various ways you could offer so I will spare you."


    Ayanami coughed out and racked her thoughts on the possible relevance to what she might know.


    The moment she could see his eyes graze over her body and him licking his lips, her jaw dropped as she went numb to the pain.


    ''He wants my body in exchange for my freedom?''


    Taking a deep breath before exhaling, she was ready to offer herself if that would mean her freedom and also a chance to unmask who is beneath the hood and mask.


    It almost felt too smart to be true¨Cif she would be able to know who was currently torturing her, she could pinpoint the right person.


    ''Majorly people hide their identity to those who they might havee in contact with one way or another.''


    Obsidian had a devilish grin on his lips as he burst out in a peal of crazedughter. "Even if you were served on a gold tter, your sorry self wouldn''t be considered an easy get away from the stress. My standards are way above the animal kingdom."


    ''Ouch!'' Solis winced in her stead as he watched from the corner of the room while looking towards Nix who had a smirk all the while.


    From what he could see, Nix was solely enjoying the show and was more than eager to enact the n which was going on smoothly.


    ''Aren''t you partly animalistic with obvious features?! You feral beast.'' Nix thought with a smirk as he folded his arms.


    "I was speaking on your limbs as they looked quite intriguing for me to rip off." Obsidian snickered and wrapped around the tentacles on one of her arms.


    Ayanami frantically shook her head while pleading for him to be merciful. "I don''t need the scale anymore, you can have it!"


    "Are you dictating what you want me to do?'' Obsidian''s chilly voice immediately turned the situation around.


    Gulp!<sub> </sub>


    Ayanami''s sweat dropped and cleared her throat to his death re.


    Shaking her head, trails of tears got down her cheeks and dropped to the floor as she tried to regain herposure.


    Being out of the room was one thing, she had hoped to be seen or stumbled upon by anyone who would be so foolish as to venture into the dark regions of the organization.


    Feeling that it was nothing more than a fleeting thought as the minutes went by, she finally gave up on any hope and focused more on getting herself free.


    Her eyes darted around her and she suddenly realized it had been darker and a lot quieter than before.


    "W-where''s the dragon?" She muttered, scared of being startled by the frightening size popping in her face with its snot steam.


    "A... She''s missing a part of you. Isn''t that sweet?" Solis spoke up with a tease.


    He and Nix were shielded by his passive gift that made it possible not to be heard outside the barrier.


    "Sweet is a feeling I get from torturing little pests, would you like to know where you stand?" Nix snapped as cross-popping veins made their way to his forehead.


    Solis took a step back and shook his head, "I think I''ll pass."


    Nix nodded his head and focused his attention solely on the two at a 5-meter radius away from them.


    Obsidian raised a brow at her question and let out a chuckle, pointing a finger at her usingly. "You remember the dragon, yet you''ve forgotten about the one person who blindly trusted you."


    Ayanami let out a gasp as she suddenly realized that Arion was nowhere in sight. "C-could it be..."


    Gulp!


    She swallowed in fear at the thought that crossed her mind. Shaking her head, she chose to believe he was in somece restrained just like she was.


    "Go on, guess," Obsidian said with a smirk and his eyes glowed as he prepared to show her a preview of his newly acquired ability.


    "No! It can''t be." Ayanami said in horror, her focus on the floor.


    Deactivating the glow in his eyes and his ability, Obsidian circled Ayanami, actively checking her out. "You don''t seem too bad yourself."


    Those words sent a chill throughout her body and she tried to hold his ever-changing gaze on her. She had suddenly understood why he had been checking her out the first time, it wasn''t anything rted to being sexually aroused, rather it was like a predator''s gaze on its prey.


    ''This can''t be happening to me, I am the one who preys on those lower in the food chain.'' She squirmed for an escape.


    "Would you stop hurting yourself, you''ve got welts developing due to the struggle..." Obsidian whined in irritation.


    Ayanami stopped to think about the real reason for his words, ''could it be that he has some little concerns for me?''


    "... It would be a hassle to get what I want in that way." Obsidianpleted and clicked his tongue.


    When one of the tentacles squeezed on her thigh, she let out a scream in pleasure.


    Obsidian was taken aback by the sound and stumbled back in shock. ''What the f*ck was that just now?!''


    Shooting a re at Ayanami the moment he got his acts together, he used the tentacle to pull back her hair and raise it so she was suspended in ce with her head held up because of the hair.


    "I wish I could kill you right now," Obsidian said with a growl, not sparing her a moment of rest from the grip on her hair even though he could see her wince to the pain.


    Too tired to struggle, she could only let out strained breaths and her body heat increased.


    The sound of Nix''s boot could be heard from behind as he stepped out in simr garb as Obsidian.


    He readily wanted to carry on from where Obsidian had stopped and had his hands shoved in his pocket.


    cing his palm on Obsidian''s shoulder, he gave a pat and spoke to Obsidian through the corner of his lips. "You''ve done a good job, right now I think it''s time I take the lead."


    Ayanami had wanted to let out a scream as this figure approached, she could tell this was the very person she had conversed with the first time.


    Obsidian wrapped the tentacle around her mouth. "Goddamnit, shut the f*ck up!"


    Nix shook his head as he still made his slow and agonizing approach to Ayanami, "It''s only a natural response when you know you''ve entered into some deep shit!"

 Chapter ?259 Do You Love Her?

    "You remember me, right?" Nix said with a chuckle.


    Ayanami gulped and stared towards a masked Obsidian for his help, she felt morefortable in his presence than the person who had grabbed hold of her cheeks roughly.


    Obsidian deactivated his ability but her body didn''t drop to the floor with Nix recing his hold on her with his passive gift.


    "I have to thank you for bringing Arion on a silver tter to me." Nix smiled with a devilish grin.


    Ayanami began to heat up under his hold, her pale skin turning slightly pink.


    Her eyes bulged as she guessed what he might do to her.


    "Don''t fret, you''re not worth killing ''yet''!" He spat.


    She caught sight of his glowing blue eyes and her mind did a double take. No one had such fiery re nor those bright blue eyes that had her smitten in the academy.


    "Nix?!" She coughed out and shook with the horrific revtion.


    "Busted!" Solis mumbled in amusement and couldn''t help butugh at how easy it was after careful observation.


    Nix''s mood darkened and his grin only turned more sinister while he let go of her cheeks. "At least you got some tiny brains inside that bird''s nest."


    Cough!


    Cough!


    Ayanami adjusted her jaw after the nerve-wracking pain inflicted, she could almost swear any more force inflicted would break her jaw.


    Pulling off his hood, Nix shook his head and pushed it back.


    "This is why I dread wearing a hood, it messes up my hair!" Nix mumbled out his disdain for the clothing, ring at Obsidian.


    A shrill traveled through Obsidian''s body and he raised his hands in surrender and took several steps back guilty. "Easy there mentor, I''m nothing but your loyal friend."


    The words only managed to put him in a good mood and he managed to let out augh and pointed fondly at Obsidian with an amusing smirk. "I would be more concerned about what Lank had to say about that."


    Ayanami''s eyes darted to and fro between the masked individual and Nix, trying to ce the puzzle.


    Nix''s words had just negated that the masked individual wasn''t Lank as she had thought after knowing his identity.


    Looking to his side and ring at Ayanami he forced her head down and made her bow before him. "I never told you to stare, did I?"


    [Congrattions you have unlocked a new trait: Aggression. A hostile behavior; readiness to confront is achieved]


    Nix stared at the user interface and a slight grin made its way to his lips. He couldn''t care less what this would mean if it was gained while confronting Ayanami.


    Ayanami gritted her teeth at the treatment. "How?! Why?!"


    Nix raised a brow at her question and rightly understood what she was asking.


    Feeling he could answer her questions, he began with the ''how?''.


    Rubbing his palms together, he squatted so she could see his knees in front of her while she couldn''t still raise her head.


    Pulling her by the chin forcefully and stared into her eyes for what seemed like forever to her.


    Sptt!


    Nix closed his eyes just in time but was still unlucky to have her spit all over his face.


    [Shit list: 1]


    [Ayanami has been sessfully added]


    Obsidian had wanted to rush towards them but was stopped by Nix who held out his hand.


    Feeling uneasy, Obsidian felt reluctant to stand down and do nothing, "but..."


    Dipping his hand into his pocket, Nix wiped his face with a ck handkerchief.


    Opening his eyes slowly, his mood darkened in an instant. "Do you know the one thing that I had not expected to do?"


    Ayanami narrowed her eyes, yet said nothing, scoffing instead.


    "That vile little snake!" Obsidian barked at Ayanami. Even though the attitude wasn''t directed at him, he felt as though her disrespect for the one person that truly wished to kill her was a stupid move.


    ''You don''t know what you have just done!'' Obsidian eyes spoke on a different level, suddenly feeling pitiful for what was in store for her.


    "Would you quiet down?" Nix interjected in a cool and collected voice and got to his feet.


    His fingers steepled on his nose as he paced about for 10 seconds before he stopped right back at Ayanami.


    Solis leaned forward and could feel the barrier that concealed him shake and crack from the silent anger resonating from Nix.


    ''This isn''t good.'' Solis thought with uncertainty, looking around him and making a wince in preparation for whaty for Ayanami.<sub> </sub>


    "You''re such an act that you try to pull off being bad but you suck at it!" Ayanami screamed and burst into a peal of crazedughter.


    ''She''s lost it!'' Solis and Obsidian facepalmed simultaneously.


    [Trait usage: Aggression in effect]


    Bam!


    Ayanami''s face was forced to the side by Nix''s kick which sent blood flying from her mouth.


    Obsidian and Solis'' mouths gaped open in shock at what they had witnessed, they knew he held hate for her, but they didn''t expect him to be so livid about it.


    "I had never expected to hit defenseless animals," Nix said with a scowl.


    "Then I realized you are not just a defenseless animal, but you have gone rabid!" Nix spat.


    Grabbing her by the neck, he raised her effortlessly. "You weigh less than he did."


    Ayanami protested and managed to shapeshift her leg into a long fishtail.


    Nix caught on to what she nned on doing and grabbed the fishtail before she could p him with it, proceeding to mock her for it. "Your counterattacks are strangely weak for a higher rank magic user."


    Solis could only watch with worry because of the barrier that surrounded him, something wasn''t right with Nix as he could see it slowly turn dark.


    Hitting on the barrier, he tried to alert Obsidian to be careful of Nix and he might be the one to ruin the n.


    Obsidian seemed oblivious to the call by Solis, dampening his zeal to continue hitting on the barrier.


    Instead, he drops to his feet and hugs his legs, and hopes that Nix would get his sanity back. The fact that this female brought out a beast in him was frightening and worrying,mending such a foolish attitude disyed by Ayanami.


    ''Beg, you mad animal!'' He pleaded in his thoughts, throwing his hands over his head and refusing to watch anymore.


    Ccrk!


    Nix bent her caudal fin without flinching to her blood-curdling scream of pain.


    Forced to revert to her human legs, she cried in pain.


    "Ah! That''s right." Nix spoke up abruptly. "How am I this powerful, huh?"


    Rubbing his chin, he thought about how he could keep it as vague as possible while toning it down.


    "I inherited this somehow, specially handed to me to treat rabid animals such as yourself." He said with a grin as he stared at her scrunched-up face in pain, "what''s your sess story on your failure?"


    "..."


    Ayanami was gradually losing her consciousness with his tight grip on her neck and the dislocation on her ankle from the snap he had done when she had shapeshifted.


    ''You can''t die on me without my permission." Nix shook his head and let go of her throat.


    Thud!


    Obsidian stood frozen in his spot, finally sensing something was wrong, he called out to Nix. "You still remember the n, Nix?"


    Nix looked over his shoulder, his chest hyperventting and his aggression slowly settling when he heard the calmness that seethed from him.


    "I''m the one who made the n, how could I forget?" Nix switched immediately and let out augh.


    [Trait usage: Aggression deactivated]


    Looking back at Ayanami trying to catch her breath and her hair cascading down her face, he had a devilish smile.


    "It wouldn''t hurt to tame a wild animal."


    Sniffles could be heard below as she pushed back her hair and her eyes bloodshot from secretly crying.


    She had expected transcending to the organization would give her an unrivaled edge and away from the people who had targeted her.


    "Do you love her?" She mumbled and sniffled once more, her eyes on the floor the whole time.


    She couldn''t bring herself to hold the death re she had witnessed while she was at his mercy. A sad reality that she was merely living in her fantasy world and needed to wake up.


    Nix was taken aback by her question and was left speechless for a while.


    "You know who I''m talking about." She continued, suddenly bold enough not to care about what was going to happen to her.


    She had lost the dragon scale that was her only chance to prove herself to the one person who had seen potential in her ability. With its scales, she had understood that Nix also possessed and could control the dragons.


    ''That was why it glowed instead of burning and had led me here.'' She repeatedly told herself and let out a sigh.


    "Is that such a difficult question you can''t answer?" Ayanami questioned and raised her head slowly.

 Chapter ?260 Bite Hard On It

    Tilting her head, she concluded. "At least give me something to die for without regrets."


    "I owe you no exnation nor are you in the right position to ask that of me now." Nix sneered and pulled her by the hair in irritation.


    "Aren''t you dying to know the ''why''? I for one would like to satisfy your curiosity." Nix said with a smirk the moment he diverted the topic to the previous conversation.


    Ayanami winced at the pain and with her hands, held down her hair from her scalp to counter the pull.


    Going behind her, he went on one knee and wrapped his arms around her neck, and whispered into her ear, "remember all the atrocities you hadmitted?"


    Ayanami thought back to what he could be referring to, that wasn''t a direct question she could readily remember.


    Nix clicked his tongue to how oblivious she was, "your reaction could only mean that you are trying to sieve out through the numerous atrocities that you hadmitted."


    Ayanami shook her head while tears trailed down her eyes, she dreaded having her neck snapped without a warning, to her that was the worse death case scenario.


    "I never liked you and your presence disgusts me. What you did back in the academy is unforgivable." He hissed.


    Ayanami''s heart pounded and her breath hitched, the suspense was eating deep into her sanity when Nix repeatedly hesitated to kill her but his grip only tightened.


    "I was foolish and manipted, but I have gotten wiser." She tried to defend her actions.


    "How about you say that to Mrs. Neider, Fae?!" Nix pulled back on her neck.


    Ayanami gasped and struggled to bring up her hands to w at his arm but couldn''t, ''what the heck is going on?!''


    <It''s best you follow the n like you had repeated to me, human!> Raiken hissed.


    <He''s right, it''s best to get this over with, we need our freedom> Red added.


    Releasing his grip on Ayanami and coldly watching her fall face first to the floor.


    "Would you like to atone for your actions?" He reluctantly offered.


    Ayanami pushed herself up once more and red at him for asking such a question when he could already guess her answer.


    A twisted smirk spread on his cheeks.


    "Open your mouth..."


    Ayanami did a double take on the word, "Excuse me?"


    ''Real smooth." Obsidian rolled his eyes and tried to maintain a straight face.


    "Are you willing to or not?" Nix questioned impatiently, folding his arms.


    Ayanami gawked at him in disbelief for a brief second before going along with what he had requested.


    "Ahhh~" She made an ''o'' with her lips. Internally she continually questioned why she needed to do this in front of Nix and the quiet one at a good distance away.


    Nix had a smile and grinned from ear to ear to the feeling he got from her action. It felt very satisfying to have her in such a position and also under his jurisdiction.


    Rubbing his palms together, his eyes were hooded. "Stick out your tongue."


    Ayanami whipped her head to stare at him in shock. Unable to contain it, she eximed, "are you kidding me?!"


    She felt a force push her to submission.


    "F-fine!" She muttered and stuck her tongue out.


    Nix nodded his head, "now bite hard on it."


    Ayanami stared at him in horror and drew back her tongue, "please, no!"


    Realization suddenly came knocking in on her senses and she trembled at how sick that sounded. The feeling of reluctance could not describe how she was feeling.


    "You would atone for your sins by losing that vile tongue of yours!" Nix dered and looked dead serious with his verdict.


    He was going to make her endure the humiliation and pain before he would enact his real nter when they crossed paths once more.


    "I would do anything, do you want me to cut off a limb? Chop off my hair? I change to a reptile and you rip out my scales? A bird and you pluck out my feathers? A mammal and you rip out my hairs?" She bbered with trembling limbs.


    Her body shook with so much energy that she coughed out involuntarily.


    Shaking his head at her offer, he folded his arms and insisted on her going through with his words.


    If she bit on her tongue, the damage could leave her in unspeakable pain and struggle in speaking.


    Nix on the other hand had thought of a n to prevent her from speaking as soon as she had carried out his task and could only wait till his patience expired.


    He had meant to reveal his identity since the moment he took over from where Obsidian left off.


    Ayanami hyperventted in front of him, opening her mouth to manually take in air.


    Aligning her tongue to the bottom row of teeth, she hesitated and her eyes pleaded to be let off the hook.


    [Passive gift in effect]


    [Telekic dome activated]


    Covering her head with it, he watched as Ayanami struggled for breath, she reached out to him with a shaky vision.


    "I will do it!" She managed to say in a whisper, just enough to be released from her torture.<sub> </sub>


    [Telekic dome deactivated]


    After realizing it was futile in trying to appeal, she prepared her mind for the act.


    Kk!


    "Ahhh!" Ayanami let out a shriek in pain and dropped to the floor on her side writhing in pain.


    None of it mattered to Nix as he watched for what seemed like a few moments.


    Getting on one knee so he could directly look at her at a closer angle, he hissed at her. "Your tongue might heal if you prove your loyalty to the organization and get healed by Sesa or I could help out soon enough."


    Ayanami was too self-centered on the pain and her wailing with blood trailing down the corner of her lips, she failed to realize his presence.


    [Gaseous me maniption]


    [Ability to a create gust ofbustible air]


    When a gust of hot air brushed on her, she raised her head only to be grabbed in the neck by Nix.


    "I can''t let you spill," Nix begins with a little briefing alongside a grin.


    Focusing on the heat signatures on her throat, holding her in ce by the neck, he sped up the heat and kept on till it was satisfied with the result.


    Obsidian watched the sickening scene and was beyond shocked at what Nix could do with his gift. His mouth gaped open as he tried to keep an eye on where the n would take them.


    Deactivating his gift''s maniption, he let go of Ayanami. "Do you have anything to say?"


    Ayanami red at him, knowing the word was dipped in sarcasm. There was no need to tell her what had gone wrong.


    Her throat stung and hurt whenever she tried to speak.


    ''You freaking bastard!'' She raged in her thoughts aftering to terms that she couldn''t speak.


    Nix raised his hands in surrender, "I can bet you just cursed at me, those eyes speak volumes."


    Quickly switching to his serious demeanor, he pulled her by the chin and leaned forward for a closer inspection.


    "You are nothing more than an animal who shouldn''t be taught how to speak. Be a bearable little pet." He belittled with a warning, "if you do try to seek help, your throat would suffer yet another burn. It would turn out fine if you secretly work for me."


    Ayanami could only re at him and feel numb to the pain from her tongue. The feeling of crying was quickly gaining in on her and she sniffled.


    "Do you ept your fate?" Nix mocked with a stoic expression.


    ''Like I have a choice here.'' Ayanami sarcastically thought and rolled her eyes.


    "If there is as much as trying to take refuge in anyone, you die an untimely death, all I hope is you have someone who will genuinely mourn over your corpse," Nix concluded.


    While he had thought through the perfect way to make her mute and behaved, he had also made sure she stays within her bounds and could do his bidding when the need arises.


    After they depart from the organization, they would need someone who would be their eyes and ears. The pendant was merely a tool used to get a bit of this information, but a living one was much more resilient in the job required.


    "In exchange for any new, useful information you report on, a fraction of your throat would heal." He added.


    Ayanami''s eyes brightened up on the hope that presented itself. Reluctantly, she gave a nod to his proposal.


    Getting to his feet, he was ready for phase two of his n, it had been one he had not envisaged using on others.


    Calling on his character status, he read through it quickly in the hopes of spotting what needed to be augmented.


    [Name: Nix Lae]


    [Level 17]


    [Rank: Anaex]


    [Health: 500/500]


    [Exp: 0/200]


    [Energy: 40/400]


    [Strength: 200/400]


    [Agility: 240/300]


    [Trait: Courage, Hope, Survival, Determination, Rage, Defensiveness, Charisma, Aggression]


    [ss: Wheedler, Beast yer, Dragon master, Beast summoner, Pilferer]


    [Summons: Raiken, Rekor, Raz, Red]


    [Gift: Fire, Telekinesis]


    [Points: 1150 to be distributed]


    Internally facepalming at the points he had garnered, the diminished energy point reserve, and theck of experience points, he was visibly disappointed that he had used more than he bargained for.


    Letting out a sigh and rubbing his forehead to calm his nerves, he proceeded to focus his attention by calling on the status he neededa€¡°the inventory.

 Chapter 261 Say Ahhh!

    Sitting in a lotus position, he spiraled a dome of fire around him for privacy.


    Of all the secrets he had divulged to his team, the only one they were yet to understand was his systema€¡°that he had no exnation to and wasn''t going to stress himself in giving the descriptions.


    Ayanami was held back by Obsidian''s tentacle, with a grin stered on his face. "It''s best you stay away from the heat."


    Ayanami did not attempt to struggle and her gaze was on the spiraling mes in front of her, wondering what he must be doing to keep it a secret from someone who is already mute and those who worked for him.


    ''Aren''t you curious about what he''s doing?'' She spoke in her thoughts while staring at Obsidian the whole time.


    Feeling uneasy and coupled with his inability to do anything to her, he rolled his eyes and looked away.


    While inside the dome, Nix exhaled and inhaled to keep his cool as he prepared for the worst that could happen to his points.


    [Inventory avable]


    [Number of items: 5]


    [Storage space: 20]


    His eyes were glued on the healing potion but turned it down as he felt that it could only be used by him or in a dire situation.


    Requesting the help of Mune, he watched as a ball of light burst into a teenage version of the little Mune he missed.


    He let out a sigh of disappointment at the simr resemnce to Lumina which made him desire her presence.


    Mune pouted immediately as she looked at Nix.


    ''What is it?'' Nix muttered in his thoughts, breaking the silence.


    Mune knelt and shook her head in refusal to his question.


    Nix hissed in response, disturbed by her mood swings.


    [You don''t look happy to see me even though you summoned me]


    Nix gulped and sweatdropped, realizing he had been caught to a degree.


    ''That isn''t true.'' Nix coughed out.


    [Your brows creased the moment we locked eyes] Mune whined.


    Before Nix could quickly defend, Mune continued once more, [Why are we inside a dome of mes? Are you going to spank someone soon?]


    Nix''s brows twitched at thetter question, feeling it was a p to his pride and purpose of summoning her.


    ''I need your wisdom...''


    [Correction, you need my ''help''] Mune stressed thest word with a big mischievous grin.


    ''Why the hell was I given such a wild guide?'' He muttered under his breath and clicked his tongue.


    Mune could pick up on the faintest sound and had caught on to what he had said, yet chose to say nothing.


    Instead, she gave a smile and walked behind him, cing her hands on his shoulder and nestling her chin on his head.


    ''You aren''t little anymore, your chin would drill a hole in my head!'' Nix overreacted, struggling to get free from her grasp.


    Using her augmented strength, she held him in ce. [So that''s the issue, master?!]


    ''What?'' Nix immediately replied, perplexed by the serious tone in her voice.


    [You don''t like that I''ve permanently grown to this size] Mune rted and let go of her grip on him, walking away and returning so she''s in front of him.


    Holding his gaze, she cupped her boobs and gave them a lift with a seductive grin.


    Nix''s jaw dropped at her action and tore his gaze away from her cleavage. ''There must be a glitch in the system.''


    [No, there isn''t] Mune countered, showing she could also read in on his thoughts if it concerned her.


    Nix stared at her with wide eyes and pushed back as he was wary of her actions.


    [Remember I am a guide created from your desire. Have you ever wondered why I didn''t like Lumina at the time?]


    Nix was taken aback by her question and thought it through for some seconds, ''you share a fairly simr feature with her.''


    Mune narrowed her eyes and shook them, [You had the desire of wanting something who could care for you, love you, and has red hair. I happened to fit that desired fantasy]


    Nix could feel her reluctance to continue, he was partially regretting summoning Mune, it might as well have been better if he had waited for an upgrade so he could get a resolution reward like he had gotten a few times.


    [Lumina came along and she happened to fit that description perfectly and underlying jealousy and her protection could be deadly sometimes, yet it did show she truly cared about you and that made me jealous and because of your desire, my body slowly morphed into a younger version after the system reconstruction]<sub> </sub>


    Nix was left stunned by her words, he had finally understood why she had taken the form of a teenager instead of an adult like Lumina.


    His desire had been the one that had changed her outlook physically and had unintentionally made her act the way she did. The unique thing was her vast knowledge of the world he is living in.


    He couldn''t bring his thoughts together to address what she had done earlier.


    Mune understood his train of thought even though he didn''t say anything. She pulled back the loose strap of her purple silky gown.


    [Ahem! Master, what do you need me to do?] She pushed back a strand of loose hair behind her ear.


    Nix shook his head, getting his bearings and exhaling.


    ''I need an item, one that is different from the rewards I get for my asional specified level up.''


    Mune scrunched up her nose and tilted her head in confusion.


    Facepalming, Nix decided to take things slow. ''I need you to ascertain if it''s possible to get rewards manually.''


    Mune''s face lit up with his question and she bobbed her head in response.


    Exining the sort of item and its features, he sealed his lips the moment he was done.


    Mune nodded her head and thought about how she was going to break the news to him on a personalized resolution reward other than what the system randomly gives to fit a situation currently or in the long run.


    ''Great! Then hoa€¡°''


    [But it''s going to cost you a certain amount of points]


    Nix smiled, already expecting such a response, and never flinched when she called out the number of points.


    Nodding his head to her condition, she was perplexed on why he didn''t give the usual act whenever she called out the points needed.


    [Are you sure, master?] She looked at him, worried that he was merely faking it so he wouldn''t throw a fit.


    "I''m sure." He replied calmly.


    [What exactly do you need this strange poison for?] Mune conjured a glowing green liquid when set in motion in a transparent vial with its body circled by a silver elongated dragon, closed by the torso of the dragon resting calmly on the silver lid.


    ''How about I test it so we could find out with a human experiment?'' Nix snickered with a twisted smirk.


    Opening his palms, he requested she give him the vial.


    Reluctantly Mune did as she was told and ced it gently in his, [you do know that is a deadly poison with unstable properties, master?]


    Nix nodded his head and said with a grin. "It''s worth the points I lost."


    Hiding the vial in his pocket, he was prepared to continue with his n. Deactivating his gift, he was greeted with the restrained body of Ayanami a meter away from his face with tears in her eyes.


    "What the heck is going on?!" He turned to Obsidian for answersa€¡°he was the one who looked like a criminal caught in the act.


    Obsidian whistled and relished in the fact that Ayanami couldn''t b about what he had done.


    When he felt killing intent from Nix ovee him, he went to his knees. "I was wrong."


    Nix raised a brow, not expecting such a response.


    "She had been who she was even when mute and had made me pissed, so I just wanted to scare her a little," Obsidian confessed, looking down at the floor so he could avoid eye contact.


    Nix looked over to a shaking Ayanami from the ordeal. She looked relieved and scared, as though no longer approaching his mes had saved her from being toast.


    "Let her go." He ordered and took long strides toward them.


    Obsidian dly let her go with a thud, "whoops, my tentacles slipped."


    ''You''re such a child sometimes.'' Nix shook his head and looked down at Ayanami.


    "Your troubles will soon be over." He snickered and grabbed her by the face.


    Dipping his hand into his pocket, he brought out the vial. The moment the eyes of the dragon spotted its victim, its silver eyes glinted for a second and the stopper opened.


    Obsidian watched with curiosity, wondering how Nix had brought the vial along and what it could do. This was the only part of the n that they were yet to understand when Nix had exineda€¡°"you would know the climax of the n if you see it."


    ''This is the climax of the n.''


    Mune hovered beside Nix, eager to understand the usefulness of the poison vial.


    "Say ahhh!" Nix opened his mouth as a demonstration.

 Chapter 262 Poking From Below

    Outside the room,


    Click!


    Peeking out the door, Obsidian nodded his head on how the coast was clear to leave.


    Clearing his throat, he ruffled his hair and stepped aside to allow Nix out.


    "It''s time to leave this shit hole!" Nix whooped as he stretched out with a devious smirk.


    Solis on the other hand held onto the door''s jamb to stabilize himself from falling, he couldn''t believe he was partnering with two wackos nor could he believe Nix was a lot crazier than he let on.


    Surviving in that barrier was enough to give him the idea of staying by his sister''s side more often.


    Looking behind him, Nix noticed the dazed look on Solis and with concern, he walked back to ask about his friend.


    "Are you alright?"


    With the approach of Nix, Solis coughed and hoped he wouldn''te any closer until he came to terms with all he had witnessed and heard.


    Nix nodded his head, understanding how he was feeling, and chose not to pry any further.


    "I need to see my sister, we were inseparable from birth and majorly get the chills when I''m away from her for too long." Solis sweatdropped at his exaggeration.


    Obsidian rolled his eyes, "she seems to be doing just fine without you though."


    "Shut it!" Solis warned with a pout.


    Obsidian scoffed and shook his head, "you should start to learn how to respect me."


    Scrunching up his nose at the heads-up, he harrumphed. "You wish."


    "Your sister looks like such a good match for me, don''t you think?" Obsidian teased with his brows wiggling.


    Nix had toe in between the two as Solis rushed to pull at Obsidian''s tail as revenge for his taunts.


    "If I were you, I''d use my brain to think instead of wasting it on it just upying the space in your skull," Nix whispered and held Solis till he calmed.


    Solis adjusted his ck leather jacket and understood he was no match for what could have happened if he had pulled on Obsidian''s tail.


    His pride at that moment wouldn''t let him back down so easily, instead, he activated his ability and shot a bright light in Obsidian''s eyes.


    "Ahhh!" Obsidian roared and shut his eyes for a second, when he opened them, his eyes glowed in rage.


    "Solis, Nix, Obsidian?"


    They all turned their attention towards Lank who stood frozen and unsure of his next action. Beside him was Alex who had a simr outlook on the situation.


    "Is there anything we might have been interrupting?" Alex continued and turned around without their confirmation.


    His body stiffened when he felt Lank hold him by the wrist with a hiss, "don''t even dare think of running away!"


    "Would you want a static energy st?" Alex countered in a whisper with a disturbing eye-shut smile.


    Letting go of his wrist, Lank cleared his throat and looked to the three they had interrupted earlier.


    Obsidian''s ns for Solis had been ruined due to the distraction by the two.


    "What are you two doing here?" Solis questioned with a bright smile.


    He was d for the timely distraction that enabled him to safely escape the actions that could have presented from his stupidity.


    "You two took too long and we had to ascertain if you were alright," Alex spoke up.


    "Speak for yourself, staten!" Lank countered. "There was no need to worry since we got two crazy..."


    He immediately regretted his words and gulped as he felt two pairs of eyes ring at him from behind.


    Zzzm!


    Lank was sent flying when Alex''s maroon static energy spread out and specifically hit him.


    "I had already said you shouldn''t call me staten." Alex cackled inughter. "Next time you would feel a greater force if you try it once more."


    A p could be hearding from Obsidian, amused by the show developing.


    "You two are worse off than Solis and I, but in a good way."


    Solis gulped at the reference, reminded that Obsidian still considered what had happened and judged them by it.<sub> </sub>


    "Could we leave here before she wakes up? I for one wouldn''t want to be caught in an awkward situation." Nix cut in and looked over his shoulder at the dimly lit room where Ayanamiy unconscious.


    They all nodded and proceeded to get back to their rooms to get their belongings before escaping.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In room Apex,


    They all stood in front of their doors andmanded their doors open before stepping in.


    Click!


    Nix had just entered when he was pulled onto the bed.


    "Pretty face..."


    "Shhh!" Lumina pressed her index finger on his lips and nted a kiss on his lips before pulling away.


    He was left stunned by her brave act and let out a chuckle on which he choked when he caught sight of what she wore.


    Only d in the very shirt that had brought them closer while in the academy, he could see several buttons lose and her cleavage could be seen, but that wasn''t as strange as how he couldn''t see a bra on cupping them.


    Tearing his gaze away, he struggled to get free from her sitting on him. "Now isn''t the time."


    Lumina pouted and rocked her hips to stimte him under his pants and she squealed in delight when she received a positive reaction.


    "Why do I feel something poking from below?" She questioned and pretended to be as innocent as she could portray.


    Nix groaned and stopped struggling when he gave a quick recollection of how Mune had acted earlier toward him; he couldn''t tell if she was mentally preparing him for what to expect of Lumina.


    "It''s only a natural response, but I definitely can''t do that here." Nix flipped them over and pinned her wrists over her head.


    Lumina giggled like a child and smiled, "I''m just so happy we would be leaving here, remember your promise."


    ''So that''s why you''re acting this way?'' Nix closed his eyes and let go of her hands, pushing away so he could concentrate on getting their belongings.


    Lumina''s heart sank, she observed he wasn''t in the best mood as he grabbed a bag to which he arranged what they needed.


    "Arion''s gone." He muttered, never giving her a nce with his back toward her.


    Lumina watched with dead silence at the news, she couldn''t understand why she didn''t feel overjoyed by the news and was visibly shocked.


    Nix took her silence as a reluctant eptance and was about to turn around tofort her on losing the opportunity she wished to get her revenge on him.


    "What about that vile snake?!" Lumina''s cold voice broke the silence and her focus was now on the bed sheet.


    Letting out a sigh, he knew his answer might anger her if she knew her condition of Ayanami.


    "Do you want the truth or would like to be blissful in ignorance?" Nix offered while searching for what he needed toplete what he had packed.


    Searching around the room, he realized they might not have the luxury of getting clothes of their choice like how they did in the academy or organization.


    While waiting for her answer, he walked to the wardrobe and opened it repeatedly to take out a series of clothbinations he could use for the time till they found out how they would survive in the Ounds.


    He felt Lumina''s hands snake up from behind and hold onto him from behind. The side of her face pressed lightly on his back.


    "The truth, I want just that." She whispered soothingly.


    "She has been spared from our ns and would remember nothing of the incident that happened today." He exined, regretful he couldn''t kill her like it was done to Arion, not until shepleted her task.


    Lumina''s grasp tightened and she pressed her head to him to take in his scent mixed with sweat.


    "Have you been using myvender shower gel?" She pointed out and dropped her towel to the ground so she could feel him up from behind while naked.


    Nix felt embarrassed by what she was doing and tried to pull away. "Stop fooling around."


    "Who else can I fool around with?" Lumina contradicted and pushed her bust on him so he could feel how erect her nipples were on his back.


    Nix began to sweat dropping at the prospect of whatid out for him once they left the organization. She could be let loose and he hoped he could keep up or stand his ground.


    ''I f*cked up digging my own grave by telling her that.'' He thought as he tried to focus on the wardrobe, but the more he tried, the more he pictured how she might look naked and it was driving him crazy standing still with her pressing onto him from behind.


    The air surrounding them was getting a bit hot even for him and he clears his throat to clear the sexual tension that was permeating the room.


    "Don''t you want to look at me?" Lumina whispered into his ear, her hand stroking his erection held in by his pants.

 Chapter 263 Feels Good Creating Destruction

    ''Calm down Nix, you can do this, you have done this before!'' He told himself as he exhaled.


    Closing the wardrobe and opening it once more, he pulled out a ck bathrobe.


    Shutting his eyes, he turned around and threw the bathrobe at her and spoke coldly at her, "you should keep your libido till we leave here. I can''t afford to mess up this opportunity."


    Lumina''s mouth was slightly gaped open at his words, her hands holding the bathrobe. Tears brimmed in her eyes at his words, she had not nned to have sex with him yet but rather tease him in preparation for what he had promised.


    His words made her stare at herself in disbelief, thinking that the idea she wasn''t attractive enough to look at and the numerous times they had stopped midway was only a testament to this.


    Nix had just brushed past her when he stopped and shoved his hands into his pocket, opening his eyes but making sure not to look behind him.


    "You do know I care about you, right?" Nix muttered just enough for her to listen.


    He let out a sigh and pushed back his hair, "it might sound unbelievable but there have been times I wanted to devour you right then, but couldn''t because I can''t treat you that way..."


    Lumina had wanted to reach out to him, but didn''t, instead, she asked about what he meant.


    Nix wanted his past life done with, he wouldn''t be the same guy that could get away with any female he was interested in.


    "I needed to convince myself of my feelings first and not lust. Until there was a clear definition between the two, I couldn''t do anything." He chuckled at how stupid he felt for going against what he would have naturally discarded while he was still in his previous world.


    ''I''m not a f*cking virgin, maybe this body might but why do I feel embarrassed?'' He brought his hands to stare at it and his erection which pressed on dangerously.


    He muttered out a curse at how it hurt to try to quell his desire.


    Lumina was too stunned to reply and could only stand frozen with tears brimming in her eyes, ming herself for causing him to have an internal battle with himself even when he had their welfare in his thoughts at the time¨Cthey were meant to leave.


    "By the way, I''m sure your body would be drop-dead gorgeous. It would be best to see the moonlight outline every curve." Nix chuckled a little and looked at the ceiling to distract himself.


    "Could you put the robe on, pick a cloth, and change in the bathroom while I get the remaining stuff?"


    Slipping the robe, she tied the belt and did as she was told, but when Nix heard the door m shut and looked behind he was shocked that Lumina was in front of him with a bright smile.


    Giving a light peck on his lips and pulling away, "thank you."


    Not allowing him to react, she dashed towards the bathroom and closed it behind her.


    Nix blinked a few times to get a hold of what he had just experienced and a wicked grin spread on his lips.


    ''You still got just a few more things to pack, concentrate stupid!'' He scolded himself and quickly went back to work.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Stepping out of their room, he looked at Solis who had a bright smile on his face as he leaned on his sister like a child.


    He could guess that he must be overjoyed that they were leaving for a ce that didn''t offer stress and pumping adrenaline as the academy and organization did.


    "Are you pumped for the trip?" Lank ced his arm over Nix''s shoulder.


    Gia had a timid smile when Lank threw a wink her way, she immediately rushed towards Lumina and gave a hug, and tried totch on to her for social support.


    They all did a head count and realized that the two in room 4 weren''t out yet.


    "What''s taking Obsidian and Alex a longer time to get done?" Luna immediately spoke up in irritation.


    Pushing her brother off her, she stormed to their door.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    She hit the door in fury, adamant in making theme out before she broke down the door. "What could take guys so long to do when wedies are up and done?!"


    Click!


    She had not prepared for it to be open and found herself getting sucked in and falling on someone.


    "Luna?"


    Luna gasped when she realized who she had fallen on¨CAlex!<sub> </sub>


    "Alex?!" She gasped in shock and pushed away from him in a hurry but was pulled up by Obsidian.


    He wasn''t pleased with what he had seen and snarled at Alex.


    "Jeez! Dude calm your butt down, she had been the one who fell on me." Alex rolled his eyes and dusted his white shirt.


    "Now I gotta change again!" He cried out in frustration, storming off towards the wardrobe.


    "Obsidian, you could let me down now." Luna looked at her dangling legs and the fact that Obsidian held her under her armpits when he pulled her away.


    Solis burst outughing and pointing at the position his sister was carried in.


    Cross popping veins made their way to Luna''s head and she shot a mist that intentionally obstructed his vision.


    She watched with amusement as Solis begged for the mist to be removed as the only way he could remove it would be to use his ability to counteract it but the light could temporarily blind him with such a concentrated light he would have to generate.


    Obsidian gently dropped her to her feet and apologized for his action, Luna simply gawked at him with a warm smile.


    Even though Solis couldn''t see, he could guess what his sister was doing. "Would you stop fantasizing about him and help out your blood?"


    This broke off the little time she had to stare at Obsidian and clenched her fist which made the mist solidify and cling onto Solis'' face before it dissipated.


    Nix had a smile, pleased that he had his team together, they were minutes away from leaving and that left a good feel to it as he nodded towards Obsidian.


    Obsidian nodded back and engulfed his luggage in his ck sphere which levitated and hovered while they awaited Alex''s return.


    Coming out with a id long sleeved button down shirt, Alex had a grin and his luggage thrown over his shoulder.


    Creating simr ck spheres that took his teammates'' pieces of luggage he made it so that it followed the respective teammates who had the luggage.


    "Are we all ready to leave with a st?!" Nix announced with much energy.


    They all nodded in response and threw their hands in excitement. Giving enough distance away from Nix, they all watched for what he was going to do.


    Nix was the first to activate his ability as his eyes glowed. Instead of using it immediately, he went with the first phase.


    "Come forth!" Hemanded coldly as blue mist seeped out of his body and began to converge and materialize into Raz and Rekor.


    <How tiny is this space?> Raz questioned its twin with a smirk.


    <Should we tear down this whole ce?> Rekor suggested with a simr mood.


    ''Would you two concentrate on the most important thing? or I would cancel my summon, how would you like that?!'' Nix threatened.


    <You''re...> Rekor began and expectedly Razpleted its statement.


    <... no fun!> Raz didplete it.


    ''F*ck fun, you''re brought out for one purpose, it''s either that or I look for another way.'' Nix snapped.


    They all watched in horror at finally seeing the twin dragon, apart from the distinctive blue color of their scales, they could see the jagged razor-sharp teeth that were visible with the creepy smile put up.


    "I¨CIs that dragon smirking at us?" Solis pointed with shaky fingers at the dragon and whispered to Alex.


    Alex couldn''t respond while being mesmerized by the dragons. He could tell these dragons even with their creepy look, were more docile than the red dragon that looked like it was driven by bloodlust and happy to duel with him.


    Seeing the sort of beasts within Nix, his respect for such a person who had tried to hide such power was unheard of.


    Nix had been able to know from Mune that these dragons had numerous abilities akin to each of their colors¨Cas mythical beings, they were the first to develop such abilities(as a mix of magic and gifts) thousands of years ago blessing those who had helped them in the past up until it spread to the majority of the poption.


    It wasn''t until a century ago when the direct descents turned against them and treated them as monsters so they could contain the interaction with a dragon and anyone who would be able to harness the dragon''s abilities.


    That hate and fear had been embedded into their descendants and had sessfully prevented anyone from approaching one directly¨Cthis had led them to be territorial and steered clear of thest remaining territory of the humans who they deemed ungrateful and doomed for destruction.


    <Ready?> Rekor questioned Raz with its mouth wide as it gathered blue energy as did Raz.


    <It feels good to create destruction!> Raz replied as it was nearly ready tounch what they had gathered.

 Chapter 264 Leaving With A Bang!

    A jumbled, blue intertwining duo of waves exert great force on the metal walls causing a dent as they continue expelling the energy.


    Raz was mesmerized by how durable the walls were and how technology had advanced drastically to temporarily withstand the st.


    Boom!


    Rubbles flew out and were suspended in motion by Nix''s passive gift.


    WiWiWi!!!


    Shutting their ears from the rm that permeated the premises, they knew it wouldn''t be long before the creatures came in to validate the breach before reinforcement by the core members was sent.


    "Go! Go! Go!" Nix yelled at them while directing their attention to the hole created for their escape.


    Taking the cue, they all but Obsidian dashed through the exit.


    Inhaling and staring at the view at a distance, Obsidian had a wide grin as he spoke up. "I never imagined that I would finally get a part of my revenge realized."


    Nix chuckled at his friend''s words and shook his head, "you''ve been one crazy teammate."


    With that, he created an invisible barrier that served as a sealed shut wall in front of Obsidian.


    "Are you ready?" He grinned as he prepared to make a gunshot gesture at the barrier with his finger.


    Nodding in response, Obsidian''s eyes glowed as he activated his devour ability¨Cmaking use of the gas magic.


    Nix made the gunshot gesture at his barrier and realistically a bang could be heard and the air got sucked into the other side of the building.


    "It''s time to leave with a bang!!" Obsidian cackled in a peal of crazedughter while directing his personalized ck gas into the tiny hole sucking it alongside the air.


    In a matter of seconds, the ck gas spread out and a series of snarling could be heard approaching the barrier.


    ''Stupid creatures!'' Nix clicked his tongue and stepped forward once the gas was the only thing that could be seen and sealed the hole he had made.


    Bang!


    Bang!


    There was a series of hit-and-sh and scratches to the barrier as the creatures designated to curb the problem were trapped.


    He turned around to Obsidian to inquire why they still went in even though they could see it was ck.


    Obsidian shrugged his shoulder and feigned ignorance, "probably they are just dumb."


    [Gift: Fire in effect]


    Creating a little ball of fire in his hand, he throws it to his left and continuously does so whileughing.


    Obsidian frowns at how Nix was taking the situation too lightly and the fact that they needed to leave soon.


    Finally getting over his hyperactivity, he cleared his throat and looked at the futile effort of the creatures.


    Making a funnel from the barrier, he pushed in his me and quickly pulled Obsidian as they jumped through the hole.


    Ssh!


    Booom!!!


    Nix and Obsidian popped their heads out of the water and wiped down their faces.


    "Watch out!" Nix called out when he saw a piring crashing in on Obsidian.


    Zzzt!


    Zzzr!


    The pir was split into two by a lightning strike and static energy dispelled it causing it to crash into the building.


    "It''s about time, you jumped in tow!" Lumina snapped as her green eyes glowed.


    Nix froze as he turned around to see the displeased faces of his team. Their anger wasn''t truly directed at him, but rather on Obsidian.


    Solis narrowed his eyes at Obsidian, "are you trying to kill me?!"


    Obsidianughed as he saw that they had alltched onto the pieces of luggage he had engulfed with his dark spherical balls.


    "You seem more scared of the water than the rest, any reason bright legs?" Obsidian taunted.


    Solis had wanted to reply with a smart remark but was beaten to it by Lumina.


    Threatening him, Lumina ced her palm into the water with a crooked grin, "would you like to know how dark your body could go if I decide to share a bit of my electricity with the water?"


    Obsidian grimaced and froze at the condition he found himself in, swimming toward Nix, hetched his hands around Nix''s arm.


    <This feral is trying to cook you two alive, knock him off!> Red snarled.


    ''Shut up you mangy scaly beast.'' Nix snapped and had to hide his amusement at the words.


    Red could sense his internal conflict with the words Nix had just said and realized just like he was kidding, the same was for his host.<sub> </sub>


    <I''d excuse your impudence this time, but watch out for your head.> Red warned.


    Getting to the reality of things, Nix shook his head and created a barrier he could use as a stepping stone.


    "Sure, you could have done that instead of clinging onto this unstable luggage." Lank finally spoke up with a roll of his eyes.


    Doing the same for all, they lightly got onto what looked like lightly stepping on the water.


    Solis had a firm grip on his sister and to the surprise of the others, she soothed him with soft strokes on his head.


    Knowing they were curious, Luna smiled and exined that a mass body of natural water drains Solis'' ability for a few minutes and could render him powerless for the day if prolonged.


    She shot a re at Obsidian and shook her head at how insensitive he was even though he knew nothing of such a condition.


    Obsidian''s mood fell instantly at her re and felt something ufortable pierce his chest. His hand involuntarily reached for his chest and he tugged at his shirt.


    Nix noticed the gesture but kept shut and focused his attention on how they could leave sessfully.


    Looking behind him, he had a smile at the partial destruction of the organization. ''This would serve as a warning for all of you!''


    Turning back towards his teammates, he had a smile and assured, "we got one ce that I''m sure you all would love."


    ''We''ll get away from all this madness.''


    "We should leave before they decide to bring back up or strengthen the barrier of the city," Lank recalled with a hint of panic.


    "I have a better ce where we could branch by to regroup before leaving for the ounds," Nix said with a smirk.


    "Oh really?" Lank folded his arms and had the same smirk his friend had.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In Fegan''s Cottage,


    cing his feet on the wooden floor, Fegan flinched and pulled back his legs from the cold flooring.


    He looked puzzled at the wet towel that dropped to the floor and the weird fact that he was shirtless and with ck shorts.


    He looked around him and realized he was in his room.


    Holding his head and racking his thoughts on the lost memory he tried to gain after he had cked out.


    ''What did I miss?!'' He groaned in pain while he tried to recall to no sess.


    Dropping his hands onto his bed, he took a handful of the sheets in fury when he quickly realized there was only one person that could have done this to him and his daughter was still alone in her room.


    ''Lotus!'' He frowned and narrowed his eyes as he stared out the window and the sunrise casting its rays on his face.


    Involuntary making his cottage to create a shade to block out the light that refracted from his eyes, he let out a sigh and blinked.


    Click!


    nk!


    The wooden bowl with water and a towel dropped to the floor and a gasp could be heard from his side.


    Looking to his side, he witnessed a shocked and teary Lotus staring at him almost as though she had seen a ghost.


    Rushing toward him, she hugged him and burst into tears.


    Fegan was too stunned to react and had his hands awkwardly raised and curved around her but not returning the favor.


    "I had thought I had lost you too!" Lotus shook from her tears and sniffled as she finally confirmed it wasn''t something of her imagination.


    ''I''m not dreaming!'' She thought with a smile and happy tears trailed down her cheeks.


    "I''m not dead, why are you over¨C"


    Lotus had created a vine that picked up the wet towel and shoved it into his mouth in slight rage that he would mention the dreaded word.


    Fegan pushed back and spat out the tangy towel and continued to spit with little gagging. "What the hell?!"


    Lotus looked down guiltily at her actions and muttered a weak, "I''m sorry."


    Fegan searched for a jug of water he had always kept at his bedside table to rinse the taste off his mouth.


    Upon spotting it, he was d it was filled with water and greedily doused his mouth and gargled on it.


    "I''m sure it doesn''t taste that bad, Fegan." Lotus tried to talk him out of his overreaction, but he wouldn''t listen to her so she allowed him to satisfy his desire to get his mouth clean.


    Sprinted towards the window and spat out the water.


    He let out a satisfied sigh of relief and wiped it on the corner of his lips.


    Taking a nce at his front porch, his jaw dropped.

 Chapter 265 Can I Ask One Question?

    Fegan counted the number of heads and coughed on the little water in his throat.


    ''How the heck did 8 people get to my cottage?!'' His eyes widened as he noticed the person who had suffered the downpour.


    "Am I that despicable you spit water on me while I came visiting?" Nix said in irritation, shaking his head and sshing its content on his teammates.


    Solis immediately heated his body and sneered jokingly. "Don''t you dare soil my body, you conceited dragon tamer!"


    They all looked up and gasped at the shirtless Fegan.


    "Someone''s been busy?" Lank interrupted and wiggled his brows and nudged Obsidian in the rib so he could be aware of the whole situation.


    Fegan looked down at his body and realized how his naked body could be seen by them.


    Dashing back into his room, he rushed to get his shirt and was met with a puzzled Lotus.


    She had heard a voice outside and was curious to know who had spoken to him in such a way.


    Fegan had been searching for his shirt when he heard a gasp from below. Hurriedly pulling on his shorts down his head, he closed his eyes at the sight of Lotus looking down the window just like he had done.


    "Miss Lotus?!!!" They all chorused and left Obsidian in a lot of confusion.


    "Who''s miss Lotus?" He questioned and narrowed his eyes on them all.


    Lotus had her gaze pinned on Lumina who had also returned the favor and red hard with glowing eyes.


    Nix could feel the hostility growing between the two and couldn''t get the reason for such a reaction.


    Lotus felt a grip on her wrist and got pulled back into the room and an angry-looking Fegan.


    "Why the heck did you just do that?!" He hissed and shook his head, "could you please watch over my daughter and not make a scene?!"


    Lotus looked stunned for a moment and gave a nod, rubbing her shoulder in uneasiness before walking out of the room.


    Fegan felt like a lump had grown in his throat and leaned on the wall when he tried to get a grip on the reality of being confronted by more guests.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    Click!


    Nix stepped in and observed the several pieces of furniture that still looked the same as they had been.


    "I see you still haven''t covered the ceiling and its beams are still visible." He nodded his head and made his way to a hammock.


    "That''s the interior design ki¨C"


    Fegan shut his lips when he got a re from Nix on his despicable name for him.


    Clearing his throat to recover from the shock, he forced a smile. "You should know that from yourst visit."


    "How the heck did you find such a wonder?" Lank asked excitedly and marveled at the greenery that surrounded them.


    "These climbing nts weren''t herest time, that I can tell is different," Nix suggested with his eyes narrowed and suggestively.


    Fegan let out a sigh and confirmed it was newly grown by the very person they suspected.


    "You''ve known our supervisor for how long?" Lank pried when he felt it was too quiet for him to stand awkwardly in.


    Lumina and Gia were silent all through the conversation and had their hands folded in dismay.


    Going down the stairs was Lotus, she had her bare feet give a light creak to the wooden stairs as she descended, giving a dramatic hair flip back once she got down thest one.


    Lumina had her face scrunched up in disgust and the willingness to puke was visibly shown on her face.


    "We''ve known since we were kids." Lotus interrupted with a confident smirk.


    Fegan ced his hand over her mouth and pulled her to the side with the keen eyes of his guests.


    "I had told you to watch my daughter, why the heck are you here?!" He hissed and stared at her in disappointment.


    Looking up the stairs and worrying about his daughter''s safety.


    Lotus didn''t respond but lightly patted his shoulder to alert him to the fact that Nix was staring behind him.


    "Ahhh!" He let out a yelp in fright and jumped back.


    "It seems you are missing something." Nix pointed out, seeing Miss Lotus, yet not the covert ninja girl who was Fegan''s daughter.<sub> </sub>


    Fegan''s sweat dropped and looked around awkwardly, "why would I miss out on anything?!"


    Lotus switched nces between the two and wondered why Nix would be so casual speaking with someone old enough to be his father or uncle.


    Then she looked at Fegan and wondered why he was acting a little too cowardly to someone of no status or known ability.


    "Are you sure about that, sir?" Nix pressured with a disturbing grin, searching the area with his eyes.


    "Oh, you mean Hana?"


    Nodding his head to finally hear something of such, he inquired where she was.


    "What do you want with Hana?!" Lotus questioned protectively, feeling threatened by the conversation between the two.


    Nix red at Miss Lotus and ignored her question, not until he heard ament from behind him.


    "Exactly, could you exin why you seek whoever this Hana is?" Lumina whispered into Nix''s ears which sent tiny shock waves traveling through his entire body.


    He froze upon the subtle threat given and gulped. He would need to pick out his words well before he nts discord between the twodies.


    Hana was just a little angel that needed proper guidance and care, this was different from the wild and unpredictable little devil he had within his grasp.


    "She had sustained an injury when I had left, I was just curious about how she was doing, right?" He looked down at Fegan after hisst word and sought assistance in escaping the danger that might loom if they engaged.


    Fegan undoubtedly took the cue and nodded his head to affirm the im.


    Lumina narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chin with a hum.


    Alex walked up to them upon having listened in on their conversation. He had picked up on the name that Nix had called and could instantly tell the girl in his dreams could be the daughter of the man.


    cing a hand on Nix''s shoulder, he whispered something into his ear and smiled as soon as he pulled back.


    "Could you take up to see her, my friend here has something special that must be of help to your daughter." Nix offered with a big smile.


    Fegan was at first skeptical about what Nix had wanted to do, skeptical if he already had an insight about his daughter''s condition.


    Remembering how his daughter could be cured, he decides to give her a chance in hopes of her reviving with their appearance.


    "Right this way." He whispered and gave Lotus a look to be more hospitable than the stuff look she gave the others.


    Lotus rolled her eyes and walked over to the rest to interact.


    "Miss Lotus! Do join us!" Lank hollered her over with a cheer and a bright smile.


    Gia tugged back a loose strand of hair as she watched their supervisor join them on the ck wool mat on the floor.


    Obsidian had not spoken a word since they had entered and was more interested in feeding his eyes with the numerous furniture work, wooden art, and nts.


    Luna stared at Obsidian and was fantasizing about spending alone time with him.


    "Would you please hide the fact that you just want to grab a hold of him and feel some of his meat in you?!" Solis scoffed and rolled his eyes at the disy.


    Wham!


    Blowing on her knuckles, she had a bright smile when her punch on her brother''s head caught the attention of everyone present and Obsidian had one of the heart-stealing smiles and gave a thumbs up to the act.


    Getting to his feet, he offered his hand to Luna so they could venture out while the others were distracted by the presence of the green-haireddy.


    Taking his offer, he got to his feet and pulled her out for a little woods adventure.


    Solis was left sulking in despair at being left out and looked at his crossed-legged feet. "I would never find someone who would be interested in me!"


    "Miss Lotus, could I ask one question?" Lank cut in with a wide grin.


    Settling at the avable space meant for Alex, she nodded her head and kept her cool as she prepared for the question.


    "Lank, I think you shouldn''t." Gia tugged at his sleeve, knowing Lank was going to ask an embarrassing or sensitive question.


    Temporarily distracted, Lank leaned towards her for a peck on the lips¨Cstunning herpletely and her grip loosened from his sleeve.


    A blush formed on her cheeks and she forgot what she had wanted to emphasize but instead gave a shy smile.


    Looking back at Miss Lotus, his smile only brightened as he dropped the question that had been on his mind since their arrival.


    "Why were the owner of this ce shirtless and you being casually in his room with only a revealing nightdress?"

 Chapter 266 Stupid Thoughts

    A vine wrapped around his neck and pulled back.


    Lotus had her brows twitching from the usation.


    "Let him go!" Gia hissed as her eyes glowed with fury, ready to defend Lank.


    The vines untangled and retreated into the little pot of flowers in the corner of the living room.


    She took a cup of tea on the low table and sipped on it, pretending she had done nothing to cause amotion.


    Lumina had a twisted smile from the encounter and proceeded to test if the same would happen to her.


    Leaning forward with her elbows on the table, she decided to pry further in. "Do you wish that you two did something more while in the room?"


    Lotus had the cup suspended in front of her face, then she looked up at Lumina.


    "You sure are blunt with your words, and more personal than the first," Lotusmented with a light chuckle and dropped her cup.


    "No wonder you''re Zhao''s favorite student."


    "I am not a student, neither was I anyone''s favorite." Lumina hissed in irritation at the reminder.


    "I beg to differ, Lumina." Lotus countered with another chuckle, finding their conversation amusing.


    Back in the academy, she had not been given much opportunity to interact with Lumina to understand what had drawn Zhao to her¨Cexcluding her rare gift.


    With an opportunity Lotus has, she is confident about getting closer to Lumina.


    "Yes, I did wish something like that had happened." She finally replied with a grin and nced through the shocked faces of the rest.


    Solis gulped and looked away, it was just a reminder of something that looked more like a fleeting memory to him.


    ''Everyone is getting paired up except me." Solis sulked silently in his corner.


    Lank clicked his tongue at how easy it was for Lumina to get an answer and he was almost strangled by a nt.


    "Where are Nix and Alex?" He muttered.


    "They headed towards Fegan''s daughter''s room and it isn''t for some condolences." Lotus wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.


    Lumina punched a hole into the table at the mention and immediately got to her feet.


    All present got a jump scare from the encounter, their eyes followed Lumina once she had gotten up and headed in the same direction she had seen the two leave before.


    Lotus rested her head on her palm and had a grin, "it''s going to be fun, don''t you think?"


    Solis stared but said nothing, while Lank rolled his eyes and refused to believe it and instead soughtfort in Gia''s presence.


    ¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C¨C


    In Hana''s room,


    Alex stared at thedy thaty peacefully on her bed, the bed cover tucked in nicely and firmly holding her limp body in ce.


    Her sleeping posture was rather stiff and without any signs of movement, her hair was spread around her like a fan.


    "S-she''s the girl in my dreams." He took a step back in disbelief.


    Nix grabbed onto Alex''s wrist and shook his head. "What is the point of bringing you here if you would act so cowardly and leave?"


    Fegan''s suspicions only began to rise when he stepped in between the two to get a closer look at Alex.


    He tapped on his forehead, trying his hardest to recall the name his daughter had whispered before passing out.


    "Sir, is there an issue?" Alex questioned, looking over Fegan''s shoulder so he could steal a nce at the sleepingdy.


    Aware of what Alex was doing, Fegan created several wooden puppets that stacked up onto one another, creating a barrier tall enough to touch the ceiling.


    "Do I have your attention now?" Fegan snapped, folding his arms with a displeased look.


    Although knowing there had to be a reason Nix had wanted to see Hana, that didn''t make himfortable with the stranger that suddenly had a keen interest in his daughter.


    ''What if he''s merely interested in her to fulfill his desires?'' Fegan thought as his eyes shifted around and then back at Alex in paranoia.


    Alex nodded his head and decided to hold back on his actions which would seem strange and suspicious to the father.


    ''You can control this, you own your life!'' Alex repeated with a nod.


    Sensing the brewing hostility for Alex, very well aware of how much he cared for his daughter, Nix pulled back Alex and gave a smile.


    ''Should I use my charisma trait skill?'' Nix was caught in a dilemma on going the spontaneous but slightly easier way or the unpredictable and hard approach.


    If he were to use his charisma skill on Fegan, it would work for the time, but afterward, it would get to his knowledge of the missing memory and might assume Nix had aided Alex in assaulting Hana.


    Giving himself a p to recover from the scene that vividly yed in his head, he had his hand suspended and close to his face as the two looked incredulously at him like he had gone mad.


    ''Stupid! Stupid thoughts!'' Nix chastised how his mind had deviated to a demoralizing subject so easily.<sub> </sub>


    Covering up the awkward situation he found himself in with a light chuckle, he shoved his hand into his pocket and exined what had happened as an internal struggle.


    "Ri¨Cght!" Alex nodded his head but had the eye of suspicion.


    "Young man..."


    "You never referred to me in that way!" Nix cut in, a bit upset by the difference whenparing it with a ''kiddo''.


    Alex tried to hold back augh and was pleasantly surprised by how jovial and childish Nix was around Fegan.


    "Is he like your father or maybe uncle?" Alex joked.


    "Yes."


    "No!"


    Fegan and Nix replied respectively which prompted a stare down from both parties.


    Fegan had readily epted Nix as a nephew figure so Hana would kill the idea of being with Nix.


    Nix on the other hand dreaded being too close to anyone to waste his effort in building rtionships outside that of his feelings for Lumina or friendship.


    "You wish!" Nix spat, "would you like another beating, old man?"


    "Old man?!" Fegan repeated and had his jaw dropped at the name-calling.


    It had reminded him so much about someone in his past who had also made a simr outburst.


    ''Lyra...'' his thoughts trailed as he gave a bitter smile.


    Alex pulled Nix aside and pegged his lips with his fingers.


    "Would you please shut the f*ck up and let''s see what he has to say?!" He hissed in Nix''s face.


    Nix was left stunned after the incident and merely nodded his head so he could allow Alex and Fegan to speak to each other.


    "Sir?" Alex calmly brought his thoughts back to reality.


    Shaking his head, Fegan blinked till he adjusted to his environment. "Did I miss anything?"


    Nix had wanted to scream, ''you forgot the part where you called me young man but instead bottled it all up and swallowed his words.


    "You had wanted to ask something of me," Alex recalled with a bright smile.


    Fegan snapped his fingers and nodded his head to the revtion, immediately starting where he had stopped.


    "What is your name?" He looked at Alex with curious eyes.


    Fegan could feel the wash of anxiety cloud his thinking after he had correctly remembered the name mentioned.


    "Alex."


    Fegan staggered back in shock at how easy it was to remember the correspondence between the two.


    "You''re..." He paused to think of his next line of action, there was no way he could handle this without blowing a fuse.


    He turned towards Nix and spoke, "you knew about this, right? That''s why you insisted."


    Nix nodded his head and hoped Fegan would get over his shock, "it would seem that you also know about what is going on with Hana."


    Feeling guilty, he quickly avoided having eye contact with Nix and looked in his daughter''s direction.


    k!


    k!


    ...


    One by one his puppets drop to the ground, opening a way for Hana to be visible again.


    "After there was a breach in my barrier..."


    Nix rushed up to Fegan and grabbed him by the cor, "how is it possible that your barrier could be breached?"


    Fegan didn''t struggle out of his grasp, but could only feel guilty that because of this, he had no will to live if his daughter was still in heratose state.


    "She''s been like this for four days now because I couldn''t save her from what had befallen her." He sniffled, lowering his head in despair and he let out a sigh.


    Refusing to give up, Nix shook Fegan so he could look him in the eye. There was something about the way he spoke that made him feel uneasy.


    If it wasn''t for the map, it was nearly impossible to navigate a way to Fegan''s solitude, even though he couldn''t understand how Lotus had done it, he could tell she didn''t mean any harm to him, so it couldn''t be termed a breach.


    "Who breached your barrier?!" He questioned with a cold voice and his grip tightening on Fegan''s cor.

 Chapter 267 Could You Kiss Her?

    "Nix, I think you need to calm down, to make sure it shouldn''t be an issue to make a fuss over." Alex tried to step in, feeling the mood had greatly escted.


    Nix let out a subtleugh at hisck of understanding, "did you think that you would have known this ce existed even if you swept across Arkai?"


    Alex had wanted to speak but his lips shut and he looked down in despair. They had been shocked to see such a hidden ce while they followed Nix.


    Turning his attention towards Fegan, it didn''t take too long to get his answer with just a re.


    "It was a zokanar, I don''t know if you would know¨C"


    Letting go of Fegan''s cor, Nix took several steps back in a daze.


    Fegan smoothened the creases that had formed on his cor and straightened his posture. Originally thinking Nix or anyone could be aware of the existence of a zokanar, Nix''s behavior was in stark contrast to someone oblivious.


    Alex tilted his head in confusion, "what''s a zokanar? Such a strange name."


    Fegan grimaced at the question and looked to Nix for help.


    "A zokanar is a vile beast that brings nothing but bad memories and experiences in my life," Nix muttered.


    He clenched his fists beside his body and gnashed his teeth as he stared at the wooden floor.


    Flinching, Alex nodded his head to the exnation knowing any prying and he might incur the wrath of Nix.


    Fegan was perplexed at how interwoven their lives were, wondering what had brought Nix to encounter those demon-like creatures.


    "How do you know a zokanar? Better yet, where did you encounter one?" He pressed on, curious about the knowledge.


    The corner of Nix''s lips raised the question, it was only naturally fair that he would be curious as to how he had been in contact with a secret creature created by the organization.


    "Trust me, I wouldn''t give out that information even if you have to fight me for it." Nix spat bitterly, pacing about to clear his thoughts.


    "What do you want with my daughter?" Fegan immediately switched, eager to know if they had some sort of connection.


    Alex looked at Nix and was giving a nod to exin himself.


    "It might sound absurd but I had seen your daughter in my dreams requesting my help and it turns out that the older male beside her was you¨Cher father," Alex exined, scratching the back of his head and refusing to hold Fegan''s gaze.


    Letting out a sigh, Fegan muttered, "I knew this day woulde, I never imagined I''d say this, but could you help her?"


    "That is the reason I am here," Alex smiled sheepishly, "although I don''t know how I''m meant to aplish that in my state."


    He examined Hana''s body and had to quickly push out his growing attraction to her beauty, actively reminding himself that if he was able to help her then his dreams would stop.


    Fegan nodded his head, finally happy that he had found a solution when there seemed to be no hope for him.


    Taking Alex''s hand, he raised it below their chin. "Alexandre, this request might sound a bit odd¡­"


    At first, Alex was stunned by how well Fegan had known his name and his attitude seemed a bit strange but he nodded.


    "Could you kiss my daughter?" Fegan blurted out, instantly turning red with embarrassment.


    Alex froze at the sentence, blinked, and did a double take once he had gotten the feel of his body.


    Nix''s jaw dropped to the ground, it reminded him so well of the fairytales read to the children in the orphanage while he was little¨Cwhere the prince had to give the princess a true love''s kiss to break a spell.


    This time, it wasn''t a fairytale but was going to y out right before Nix.


    Using his right hand to push up his jaw so he could close it, he had a creepy smile spread out at the prospect of seeing the two in a liplock.


    "Sir, I don''t think that would be appropriate, we had just met and she''s not even con¨C"


    Fegan ced his palm on Alex''s shoulder and when he locked eyes with him, he could see tears brimming in his eyes.


    ''Oh f*ck!'' Alex cursed at the fact he had just been reeled into an issue far bigger than what he had bargained for.<sub> </sub>


    "Hana had the same condition as her mother," he huped and wiped his eyes before tears could trail.


    As much as he dreaded the action, he could tell a friend of Nix couldn''t have bad intentions if personally led to his ce.


    "Myte wife, Jui, and I were once enemies..."


    ''Oh my, what a plot twist¨Cenemies turned lovers and then a child!'' Nix stared at the two and pulled on a chair so he could watch with much precision.


    "... we were once in a cold battle of the wits and I had used my experimental curses on her with the very one guing my daughter." Fegan exhaled from the strain it had on him exining the embarrassing situation he found himself in.


    Alex''s mood began to rx as he suddenly realized the gravity of where he was going.


    "At the time I hadn''t known she was merely influenced by her family who had merely misunderstood my involvement with the organization at the time."


    "You worked for the organization?!" Alex was taken aback by the revtion but nodded his head so Fegan could continue.


    Nix nodded his head also, wishing he had some popcorn and 3D sses so he could visualize the scenery as Fegan exined.


    "It was Jui that had opened my eyes to the evil of the organization before I was too far deep. From then on, we became friends, my feelings also began to grow and at that time I had forgotten about the experimental curse I had ced on her, a yearter it turned out for the worst..."


    He paused and looked to his side to have a breather. He couldn''t still forget what he had done to her.


    "Her mana began to diminish and she asionally fell into a trance whenever I wasn''t with her and that made me recall the sort of curse I had ced on her."


    Alex looked over at Hana and furrowed his brow, he could guess what sort of curse it must have been if this needed a kiss or physical connection.


    "Synchronization curse, it feeds on the energy of the user, causing it to seep out gradually until there is none left, only the attraction of the significant other or partner can the curse be managed."


    "Who the hell ces such a curse on someone?!" Nix blurted out and immediately regretted it, realizing he was a little loud in his self-talk.


    "I apologize for the interruption, just pretend like I was never here." He coughed and whistled in hopes of being forgotten soon.


    Fegan shook his head and did agree with Nix on that thought, he was foolish and had acted without thinking of the consequences of barely being in control of such a curse.


    "I had tried to manage it and was doing fairly well as you can see the fruitage of our love."


    Nix and Alex scrunched up their faces at the cheeky remark and stomached the words they would have said to mock the situation.


    "Yet somehow, it turns out after childbirth, their energy depletes at a faster pace, and with my absence while on a secret mission, I lost her... I lost her because I wasn''t there for her!" He suddenly burst into uncontroble tears, unable to keep his posture, and dropped to his knees.


    Alex''s eyes widened at the sight and squatted to console Fegan. Although their scenarios were different, he knew the feeling of being left all by yourself at the time and falling into despair.


    Nix on the other hand had reminisced on his past life in his world, never knowing who his family was and always wondering why he had been abandoned in an orphanage. Then it all switched to when he had lost the current family he had in Arkai.


    The pain made his chest hurt and his hand grabbed a hold of his shirt away from the pain and held back tears.


    "I can''t lose my daughter too, please save her." Fegan cried out as he begged for Alex''s help.


    This was his only chance of getting his daughter out of the condition she was in.


    Alex gave a nod, finally conceding to the only method of managing the problem.


    Fegan held onto the hem of Alex''s shirt and thanked him for understanding and had to let go when Alex prepared to get up.


    Getting to his feet, he took six steps toward Hana''s bedside and had a close examination of her state.


    Going down on one knee, he leaned downwards for a kiss.


    Bang!


    The door to the room flew open and mmed at the wall, temporarily distracting Alex as he looked to his right and so did the others.


    All eyes were wide with shock as they stared at the person who had barged in.

 Chapter 268 Jealousy Met With Satisfaction

    "Lumina?!" Nix got to his feet.


    Lumina stood frozen when she realized it looked like she had interrupted something.


    Fegan tilted his head in confusion, wondering why she had barged in when Alex had almost gone along with the deal.


    "What business do you have here?!" He yelled in anger when it looked more like her target wasn''t Alex but rather Nix.


    "Please, leave my daughter''s room!" He spat and was held back by Alex.


    "Sir it''s alright, she''s my friend. There is no way she would pose a threat to anyone." He consoled and massaged the man.


    Fegan still had his eyes focused on Lumina until she felt too ufortable to stay.


    Turning around, she left the room with Nix rushing out to catch up to her.


    Grabbing her wrist before she could rush down the stairs, he pulled her towards him and into a hug.


    Lumina felt engulfed in Nix''s arms and her anger subsided drastically.


    Pushing on his chest, she looked around to make sure they weren''t watched by the others before she spoke.


    "What are you doing in there?" She hissed and gave a pout.


    Nix''s lips raised at her actions, and he couldn''t help but feel amused by her actions, "are you jealous?"


    Lumina did a double take, pping him yfully on the chest. "Like I would feel that!"


    Nix made several steps in advancement, forcing her to take steps back to maintain the distance between them.


    Caught at the dead end and her back against the wall, she felt trapped.


    "Nix, what are you¨C" her voice hitched when she felt his breath fan her face and a smug look on his face.


    Her timid action toward his advancement could only confirm his suspicions.


    cing his hand on the side of her face, his grin obvious, and locked his gaze with her. "Did you feel a bit threatened?"


    Unable to think rationally with their proximity, she nodded her head and caught Nix''s eyes glued to her lips.


    Pleased with her answer, he cupped her face and took her lips in his with a light kiss.


    He had wanted to pull away but was brought back to her lips when she pulled him in for another sensual kiss and her arms around his neck.


    Watching from below were Solis, Lank, Gia, and Lotus who had their mouths gaped open in shock.


    "Are you seeing what I''m seeing?" Solis pointed at the couple who had been so engrossed in each other to notice their presence below.


    Lank had his hand raised to obscure Gia from watching the two make out in the open.


    Lotus recovered from her shock and had a grin on her face, making her climbing nts make a and obscure their vision.


    "Hey!" Solis protested, eager to understand human interaction with the opposite sex.


    "They could use a bit of privacy, don''t you think?" Lotus wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at the others.


    Gia pulled Lank''s hand down andughed at how protective he was of her, pulling him so he could hear her whisper some words to him.


    "Remember I am as innocent as you treat me, you should know that." Gia reminded him and released her grip on him and pouted.


    Lank''s face had heated up and his pale skin had temporarily turned pink with her words. ''Right, I did that.''


    Lotus got to her feet, "if that''s all, I''d be taking my leave to the garden."


    Whistling, she walked away while humming a tune.


    Solis had wanted to speak on what they had just witnessed but heard a moan and smooching sounds tear his attention from his little idea.


    "What the hell?! Were they that deprived of physical activity?!" Solis whispers to the two who sit awkwardly as the sounds bring memories of their moment.


    Lank gulped and tried to bottle up his emotions, but once he got to his breaking point, he let out a yell to get their attention.


    Nix had himself nestled in between Lumina''s thighs. His erection pressed onto her crotch.


    "So help me if I do note there to break up the moment you two are using to oppress innocent ones here!!" Lank barked when he realized they had still not paid attention to him even with his initial protest.


    Nix pulled away and stared at Lumina''s unbuttoned pink top which had revealed her pinkce bra firmly cupping her bust.


    Hah!<sub> </sub>


    Hah!


    Nix had his cheeks stained red and his temperature heated, his chest-thumping wildly as he was perplexed by what had happened to both of them when they were unable to take their hands away from each other.


    ''What the hell happened?'' He thought in a daze, getting to his feet in a rush.


    Lumina had finally snapped out of the lustful spell and was also left stunned. In a rush, she pulled her unbuttoned top with her hands and tried to hide her exposed bra, and pushed back.


    "Nix, what was that?!" She whispered in worry, looking down at the interwoven vines that served as an obstruction from the others below.


    Pushing back his hair and letting out a light chuckle, he deduced what had happened and had his passive gift sh through the obstruction.


    ''That sly nt creation of mine!'' He internally facepalmed.


    The obstruction was merely a ruse to Lotus'' real ns that had a colorless gas diffuse from its stems and influence their lust for one another.


    He shook out the thought of actually engaging with Lumina right there with the possibility of Fegan or Alexing out from Hana''s room or worse still the othersing up to check on them.


    ''Lank, you''re a lifesaver!'' He smiled and offered his hand to Lumina.


    Lumina had just fixed thest button on her top and took his hand to get up from the floor.


    Nix had sensed her hesitation at the onset and couldn''t let that slide so before she pulled her hands away after getting up, he pulled her close to him like he had done the first time.


    She let out a gasp and had her hands on his chest, unable to tear her gaze away from him.


    "Nix, what are you doing? They are watching." She whispered through the corner of her lips and subtly nodded in the direction of the others down the stairs.


    Nix didn''t bother looking down at her gesture and pretended they weren''t existent, who he wanted to speak to was Lumina and that was what he was going to do.


    Leaning forward so her bust pressed onto him, he smiled at the feeling but immediately brought his attention to what he had wanted to whisper in her ear.


    "As much as we were a bit influenced to do what went between the two of us, I don''t regret any moment..."


    Lumina''s heart thumped at the fluttering and ttering words, her muscles eased and she let out an involuntary giggle to his words.


    Lank had his mouth gaped open in disbelief at being ignored so well by the two and the fact that they had pretended like nothing had gone wrong and were flirting with each other?!


    Gia pulled Lank to sit and had a wry smile.


    "I think it''s going to be sealed this time around, just look at them. They''ve held out long enough, don''t you think?" She whispered to Lank.


    Lank''s heart warmed at the observation of Gia and finally understood her point of view.


    "It would seem like that, huh?" He said with a sigh.


    Solis slouched on the chair and refused to look in their direction. ''I refuse to be influenced.''


    Nix had epted his feelings for Lumina and was ready to take things a bit further.


    "How about we take things a bit further when we are alone?" Nix''s hoarse voice tickled her ears.


    Gasp!


    She felt warm in her stomach and her knees went weak at the meaning he was gaining on. "Really?"


    When he nodded his head, she squealed in delight and kissed him on the lips. "I''ll hold you ountable for your words!"


    Nix let out a chuckle and smiled, "sure, but could I get back to the room? There are some things to be attended to."


    Lumina bopped her head and pulled away, "I''d go distract myself with something at our disposal as I await your return."


    Pulling away from him, and watching Nix walk back into the room, she had a big smile the whole time.


    Click!


    ''Alright! It''s time to build for myself a bundle of distraction!'' Lumina nodded her head and rushed down the stairs and waved at the three sitting and trying to avoid eye contact.


    Lank shifted uneasily in his ce and cleared his throat.


    "Where''s Miss Lotus?" Lumina questioned as she looked around for the possible routes that must have been taken.


    "She could stand the f¨C"


    Nudged in the rib by Gia before he couldplete his sentence, he quickly corrected his words when he was given a re.


    "Miss Lotus? She was a bit bored with ourme jokes and had to leave to tend to her flowers, lucky her." Lank couldn''t help but show his feelings about the situation.


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