ã€ŠLeave Me Alone, Heroines!ã€‹


 1 Chapter 1

    "Where¡­am I?" A man asked as he looked around him.

    He wasying down on the ground with his eyes facing the ceiling. He could hardly feel any difort in his body, but he felt as if his mind was still not functioning properly. He also couldn''t move his body as he wanted.

    ''I can hardly do anything in this state. I need to calm down and think properly.'' He thought. Even though he was in a not-so-favorable situation considering theck of information about his surroundings, his eyes didn''t waver and he didn''t panic. He just calmly gazed at the top with an emotionless look.

    This groggy state held on for an unknown amount of time as the man waited patiently for this sleep paralysis to disappear.

    Eventually, his limbs and muscles started working again and he was finally able to move.

    When he stood up, he was finally able to have a proper look at his surroundings. It was a white ce, with no walls, no ceilings, and no trace of any human signs for that matter. It was as if he was floating in the nothingness.

    "Did I die?" He muttered under his breath. The atmosphere that this ce had was ''ethereal'' for theck of a better description.

    Even with his horrible past, he felt as if he was pure in this ce and he felt his whole being as clean as it had ever been. Such a feeling of purity made the possibility that this was heaven not so farfetched.

    ''In my case, it should be hell, though.'' He thought with a cold gaze.

    [You have indeed died, my child. And no, this is not heaven or hell.]

    Suddenly, a gentle and sweet voice reached his ears. The feminine voice was calm and carried a sense of superiority that made the man feel as if he was hearing the voice of a Goddess.

    [I am indeed a goddess, my child.] The voice answered in the same tone.

    ''And she can hear my thoughts, great.'' The man didn''t know whether he should cry or smile at such aplicated situation. No one would like the fact that someone could hear their thoughts.

    "Could you at least show yourself, Goddess?" He said in a calm tone. Even hearing the voice of the goddess didn''t make any fluctuations in his emotions. He was as calm as ever.

    [I do not need to show myself.] The goddess answered with slight anger in her voice.

    ''You''re a cocky one, aren''t you?'' He thought with an invisible smirk.

    "Then, I have no reason to talk to you either. Goodbye." He answered with disdain.

    The man then started walking in a random direction. He was not someone to be looked down upon, not even by gods.

    [Wait.] The goddess called for him but he feigned ignorance as he inspected the ce.

    "I always hear about such ces but I was always curious about whether it''s an endless space or not. Also, what is this annoying buzzing in my ear?" He muttered with a deep look in his ck irises.

    [I said wait.] The goddess spoke again but this time with clear irritation. It seemed that the man was able to y on her nerves with his acting.

    But, even with that, he kept looking around as he walked away. Her voice only fueled his desire to ignore her until she epted his request.

    After some silence, the goddess could only sigh in defeat. She tried to impose her authority and divinity on the man but her n bacshed and now she had to follow his desire.

    [Sigh, fine. I will show myself.]

    As if her words were a trigger, the man halted his steps and turned around with a nk face. But, there was a small smile in the corner of his mouth that busted his facade. ''Rule number 1 when meeting a goddess: impose your presence.'' He noted in his head.

    "I can hear you properly now." He said. Then, a shiny light attacked his eyes that made him squint. The light was pure white and it carried a heavy aura that made him feel a tightness in his lungs.

    From above, a silhouette of a woman appeared out of nowhere. He couldn''t see her face properly from this far, but he was sure that she would be beautiful. Extremely beautiful.

    The woman''s body started descending slowly. All of her being oozed with holiness.

    "Could you elerate your magnificent descent? I''m starting to feel bored." The man spoke as he yawned loudly.

    With just a few words, the showy scene the goddess created was totally destroyed. In all of her life from before time even existed, this was the first time she felt embarrassed. If she didn''t need him, she would''ve probably erased him from existence the next moment.

    [You''re truly one of a kind, young man. But I will pay no heed to your words.] She coughed loudly as she immediately teleported from the sky andnded on the ground elegantly.

    "Nice." He pped his hands.

    The woman looked to be in her 20s, with long and shiny golden hair that reached her waist, and a pair of deep blue eyes that could make anyone captivated with just a nce. A body that was sculpted out of perfection with excellent proportions that could make anyone drool in desire. She wore a white robe that stuck to her sinful body and enclosed her amazing curves. She was by far the most beautiful woman the man has ever seen.

    "So, could you exin what is going on?" He asked seriously. He liked teasing this goddess but there were some important things he needed to do other than appreciating her beauty.

    [As I said, you have died in your world and this ce is a space I created to meet you personally.] The goddess answered as she sat down on a throne. The man didn''t even see how she made it appear out of nowhere.

    "I am going to assume from your words that this is a very unique case?"

    [You are smart enough to catch on quickly, very good. Yes, in normal cases, your soul would''ve been purified and sent in the cycle of reincarnation. But, your case is quite special.]

    "How so?" He asked.

    [It''splicated to exin but simply, your soul was too strong to be sent in the cycle of reincarnation.]<sub> </sub>

    [If I left your soul to continue the normal procedures for your reincarnation you would''ve suffered a hellish pain as your soul got shredded to pieces.]

    The man nodded silently as he fell into deep thought. He didn''t fully understand what she said since souls are a mysterious thing that humans could neverprehend and he was no exception.

    "So, what is going to happen to me? You''re not going to let me disappear, are you?" He spoke after some time.

    He was already aware that this goddess had something in mind for him since she went out of her way to meet him.

    [You have two choices.] She said as she made a ''V'' sign with her hand. Then she continued.

    [I could send you to a world of my choice and you would retain your memories. Or, I could manually continue the process of your reincarnation and erase your memoriespletely with no pain.]

    The two individuals gazed silently at each other. Their cold eyes didn''t falter under the pressure that exuded from their whole being.

    "That first choice¡­it''s not something you gave me out of goodwill, right?" He spoke with a grave tone. His wariness of the goddess grew.

    Throughout his life, he was a distrustful person who didn''t trust anyone easily. It wasn''t his choice since the environment he grew up in and the line of work he followed needed him to be cunning and decisive.

    The woman saw his reaction and an amused smile appeared on her stoic face. She liked his intelligence since it made their conversation even more interesting for her.

    [Fufufu, you are right on the spot. Yes, I want one thing from you¡­.I want you to entertain me.]

    [I am fed up with the boring and repetitive things I see and the fact that I live for a very long time made it even more unbearable for me. That''s why I want to see something interesting. I want to enjoy my time and you are the best candidate to fulfill my desire.]

    ''She''s going to use me for her entertainment, huh.'' He thought as he watched the seductive goddess smile excitedly.

    "And what''s in it for me to gain? Retaining my memories is simply not enough." The man responded with a cold voice.

    [You are as greedy as I saw. Fine, I was already aware of this and so I have what you desire most.]

    She clenched her fist as she smiled even more widely.

    [Power! I could give you the means to gain a power you could never dream of. You could have limitless potential that ignores your human body. Anything you desire is only one grasp away from you and all you need to do is¡­]

    She then extended her arm and continued.

    [To grab it.]

    Hearing her words, the man would be lying if he didn''t feel tempted to ept but he also felt like there was something the goddess was hiding and he wasn''t able to see what it was exactly.

    [You don''t have to be wary of me. If I wanted to harm you, I have millions of ways to do that and you could do nothing about it.]

    ''She does have a point. It''s better than losing all of my memories anyway.'' He sighed bitterly and looked at the goddess again.

    "One question before I choose. What kind of entertainment do you want?"

    The goddess bent over and rested her head on her hand then spoke seductively.

    [Don''t worry. Just do whatever you want. It will be interesting for sure.]

    "Is that so? You have quite the weird tastes. But, I will ept your offer." The man chuckled as he nodded lightly.

    [Very good. I shall now grant you your perks. I could exin them in detail, but I think discovering them on your own should make it more interesting. I have only one thing to tell you, as long as you have the ambition and tenacity, there is nothing that could stop your growth.]

    Then, with a peculiar movement of her hand, a pir of light appeared on top of the man and covered himpletely.

    "This is a weird feeling." He muttered as he looked at his shiny body.

    [I forgot to introduce myself. I am Livia, the goddess of reincarnation. I expect a lot from you, ''King of Assassins''.]

    Her words stered a wide grin on the man''s face as he chuckled loudly.

    "HAHAHAHAHA! Very well, Livia. I shall grant you your desire. You better not regret itter on."

    These were hisst words before the light totally engulfed him and he disappearedpletely.

    [I can''t wait to see his face when he discovers my small surprise that I gave him. fufufufu, this will be very interesting indeed.] A chuckle escaped Livia''s beautiful lips as she gazed at the spot where the man previously stood.

    Her eyes carried a deep hint of euphoria and ecstasy that contrasted her stoic demeanor. This look was seductive but also terrifying to look at as it showed a craziness that no one will want to deal with.

    Then, as if she was nothing but an illusion, her body started disappearing slowly like mist leaving behind no trace of this fateful encounter.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    A//N: (My newest book after a long hiatus from writing. I hope you could support me if you like the start. Have a good day!)

 2 Chapter 2

    The Eagrn Kingdom, Bluerise City, Slums

    In the weekly market that is situated in the center of the slums, countless people were walking back and forth looking at all kinds of merchandise. From fruits to meat and everything in between.

    The merchants were doing their best to attract every customer that reached their vicinity. Living in the slums was a tedious thing, one bad day at work as a merchant and you could stay without food for days. That''s why fights over customers are nothing out of the ordinary.

    This situation also applied to the people that live there albeit with even more intensity. Being dirt poor was the norm in this area, this exins the shabby clothes of most people in the market. In fact, almost no decently well-off human will have the desire nor the audacity to live in the slums unless he had a death wish.

    "How much are these berries, geezer?" Two tall and skinny men halted in front of a stall and asked the old man sitting silently.

    The old man looked frail to the point where anyone could mistake him for a skeleton. He held his wooden can to his side as he gazed at the two customers.

    "7 copper coins." The old man answered after some time.

    "7 copper coins?! Did you get these berries from Ecrasia or something?! This is outrageous!" One of them shouted angrily. His loud voice made the old man flinch in annoyance.

    He red at him with an extremely cold look and said in a slow manner "7...copper...coins."

    The skinny man felt the threatening aura that oozed out of the old man. He could''ve started a fight but he didn''t want to grab the attention of the poption around him. He needed those berries urgently so he clenched his teeth in frustration.

    "Fuck! Fine, give me 3 kilos of these." He said.

    "That will be 24 copper coins."

    Then, the man took the huge amount of berries and intended to walk away. However...

    *Swish*

    "Huh?!" A weird voice came out of his mouth in shock. He looked ahead of him and saw a small child holding a bag full of berries and running away at an rming speed.

    "Shit! He stole the berries!! We need to get him!" The man cursed as he pulled his friend and started running between the masses.

    The bustling market made their chase even more tedious. They barely could see the small frame of the child as he ran left and right.

    "This piece of shit! If we don''t catch him, our ns will go down the drain! Hurry up!!" The man shouted in fury.

    The chasested for 30 minutes. They chased him all the way from the market to the outskirts of the slums where the poption was quite scarce.

    "Shit! I can''t run anymore! I feel like I will faint!" The other man suddenly halted his steps and bent down on his knees gasping for air.

    "I will follow him! Come after me."

    The boy had already taken a turn in the near alley.

    They could still see where he went so the man didn''t want to lose his tracks.

    When he turned to the alley that the boy went to. He found the child standing in front of the wall motionless. It was a dead end.

    "Hahaha! You bastard! You thought you could run away! I will beat you up for making me run like this!"

    However, the child didn''t react to his voice as if he didn''t hear him. This infuriated the man even more. So, he approached him and grabbed him roughly from the shoulder.

    But, when the child turned around, a spine-chilling coldness suddenly invaded every pore of the man''s being. He felt his heart stop for a moment as he looked into the boy''s eyes.

    They were cold, emotionless, and almost inhuman. They were socking in any human emotions that they put insects to shame.

    ''W-What is this? I...will die.'' The man thought frantically. He didn''t know why, but just looking at the boy made him feel like he was held by the neck by a soul reaper.

    The young man saw the deep horror in the man''s eyes so he spoke to him in a calm, terrifying tone "What do you want?"

    The man started slowly retreating, but then, it hit him.

    ''Why am I scared of a mere child?! Did I go crazy?!''

    He couldn''t believe the fact that a child could threaten his life so he shook his head and red at the boy again.

    "Give me the berries and I will only beat you up without killing you."

    Silence suddenly took over the ce, the man watched attentively what the boy was going to do. He didn''t feel it, but his body was already on full alert.

    "And what if I don''t?" The boy suddenly asked with the same calm voice.

    "Then I will murder you! Don''t think that I won''t dare to do that! You''re not my first victim, brat!" He said with a strained smirk.

    "I see." The boy only muttered those words before suddenly dashing towards the man.

    He was taken by surprise by the sudden action, but he acted ordingly and threw a punch at the boy.

    With a swift move, the boy sidestepped and dodged the punch fairly easily. He then grabbed the man''s arm and punched his elbow with his left hand intending to dislocate it.

    "ARGGGHHHH!!!" A loud groan of pain escaped his mouth as he held his arm. It was very painful but the boy knew that the punch didn''t dislocate his elbow.

    "Tch." Clicking his tongue, he approached the man again.

    "You fucker!!!!! I will kill you!!" The man has already lost his sanity because of the pain. He stood up and pulled a knife out of his pocket.<sub> </sub>

    The weapon was not big or sharp by any means, but it was more than enough to prate the boy''s frail skin.

    He then closed up on the boy and thrust his knife towards his stomach.

    "Die you bastard!" He shouted with a mad grin stered on his face.

    "Weak." The boy muttered under his breath.

    *Bam*

    With a swift move, he grabbed his arm again and struck his hand making the knife fall down. Then, he kicked the skinny man in the stomach.

    "Blugh!!!" His lungs got emptied of air and his eyes opened wide in shock.

    Holding his stomach, the man fell down to the ground whining in pain.

    "You could''ve run away when you had a chance and I would''ve ignored your threats. But, your ego made you think that I will not kill you. How unfortunate!" The boy said as he looked down at the man.

    "Now, your death is set in stone."

    *Swish*

    The boy tried to do a final strike to the throat to end the man''s life. But...

    "I won''t let you!" Another man appeared out of nowhere and tried to grab the boy.

    However, in just a split second, he dodged his hand and created a distance between them.

    "Another annoying bug." He mumbled quietly.

    "Are you ok, Big bro?!"

    "I''m fine! I''m fine! Cough! Cough! That boy is dangerous! We need to go!" The injured man answered.

    "But, what about the berries?! What are we going to say to the boss?!"

    "Forget the boss! Our life is on the line here and I''m not sure if we could handle him even if we gang up on him! We need to escape!"

    Then, the injured man grabbed his knife and a handful of rocks and looked at the boy with wary eyes.

    "I said your death is set in stone. Running is useless." The boy said in a cold tone. The certainty and confidence in his voice made him sound as if he was stating nothing but the truth.

    *Swish*

    The boy dashed straight towards the two men to face them head-on.

    "Shit! Go away!"

    The man then started throwing the rocks at the boy while retreating at the same time.

    The boy didn''t stop or even slow down, he just jumped left and right, barely evading the barrage of rocks that were thrown at him every single time.

    "Goddammit! Hurry up and go!" The man shouted.

    But, his voice fell on deaf ears, his partner, who was standing by his side a few moments ago, was already far away. He didn''t even bother to wait for his brother.

    "That fucking bastard!" He cursed loudly.

    "Die."

    The boy finally reached him and grabbed him by his leg. The man tried to kick him but failed miserably.

    Then with a quick move, he threw the man to the ground and struck him straight on his throat.

    "Urgh!!" Onest groan from his mouth and then he lost all strength in his body and died.

    It was a one-sided fight, a fully grown man wasn''t able to even keep up with a child. No one would believe that this was possible. Such a scene could only be a sick joke to many.

    "That goddess put my soul in the body of a child. She really wants me to have a hard time, huh." The boy muttered as he looked at his hand with calm eyes.

    Hisst strike sprained 3 of his fingers. This indicated the state of this boy''s body before he got reincarnated into him.

    "Not the ideal start. But, this will do for now." Even with the stinging pain in his hand, he clenched his fist tightly with a thoughtful look.

    Then, he started walking out of the alley intending to leave. However, a deep voice made him stop in his tracks.

    "I enjoyed the show, young man."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. Thank you and have a good day <3

 3 Chapter 3

    The boy looked behind him and much to his surprise, a very old man was standing there holding a wooden cane. It was the same old man that sold the berries to the other two people.

    ''He got behind me without me noticing. He''s the real deal.'' Thought the boy as he heightened his senses to the extreme. He was aware that this old man who looked frail and powerless could kill him easily. He didn''t know how that was possible but his polished instincts, which passed through the hurdles of a long and dangerous life, will never betray him.

    "What do you want?" He asked in a calm tone that hid all of his thoughts.

    "Nothing, I was just intrigued to see what would happen. I''m nothing but a small merchant searching for some thrill in his life." The old man said with a small smile on his lips.

    "You think that I will believe that?"

    "Hahahahaha! Spare me from that, would you? Anyway, what''s your name?" The old manughed and brushed off the matterpletely.

    "Shouldn''t you introduce yourself first?"

    "Hmm, you are right indeed. I am Lysen, it''s a pleasure to meet you." He smiled amicably.

    He looked like nothing but a cheerful old man meeting his grandchild.

    ''I don''t have any memories rted to this boy, quite convenient. I will use my old name then.'' Thought the boy as he sighed inwardly.

    "You can call me Acht." He responded. It was his name when he was working as a hitman in his previous life. It was the only thing he inherited from his deceased mother.

    "Acht? Quite the peculiar name you have there,d."

    Acht didn''t seem to bother with what the old man said since he had a lot of things on his mind. He first needed to discover the world he was reincarnated in. He also needed to find out more about the ce he was in now.

    Just from one look, he already understood that it was a modern city. The walls were made out of bricks and he could hear the sound of vehicles in the background.

    Seeing that the conversation was over, Acht turned around and walked away.

    "What a cold attitude," Lysen muttered to himself. But, even with that, he just watched Acht walk away without bothering to call him.

    "If we''re meant to meet again then so be it." Then he also walked away to an unknown ce with the silhouette of that boy fighting still engraved in his mind.

    ***********************************

    "My appearance is quite pitiful." Acht muttered as he inspected his appearance on a pond of water he found. He had long raven ck hair that covered most of his face, his dirty skin was pale white and his limbs were deathly skinny. He wore a single piece of cloth that barely reached his knees.

    "Why do I feel like I''ve seen this ce before." Muttered Acht as he looked left and right. He sensed a familiar feeling about how this city looked and the atmosphere of this world in general.

    But, that was not the only thing that made him feel like that. In the sky, on top of him, there was a huge that took a great chunk of the Sky view.

    The was massive, so massive in fact that Acht could discern some details from the surface of the. It had a beautiful azure color mixed with the green color of the wilderness indicating the existence of life on that other too.

    "That looks somehow so familiar." He muttered with a thoughtful look.

    Seeing no point in dwindling around, he set up his first goal. He needed to get more information about this world and maybe unveil the mystery of his weird feeling of familiarity.

    Acht didn''t have any idea where to go, he just followed the main road of the slums in hopes of finding a useful thing that could help him.

    ''Maybe I should''ve asked that old man for help.'' He reckoned. But, looking back at it, he couldn''t forget the dangerous aura that seeped out of Leyan''s body. It was an aura of someone who killed countless people and danced hand in hand with death on a regr basis.

    After walking for almost 10 minutes, he found himself in the market again. The sun was still in the middle of the sky next to the mysterious so the people were still filling up every corner of the ce.

    "It really resembles earth in many ways."

    "Excuse me." Acht found a random merchant sitting alone in a corner so he decided to talk to him.

    Seeing the poor child that called him, the man snorted in disdain and spoke in a harsh tone, "what do you want, brat! Go away before I beat you up!"

    His reaction was justified because many kids like Acht roam the markets and steal from merchants to feed themselves. Every single fruit and item in the stalls is important to the merchants since it''s not easy to buy them from providers. Most of these items were special to a certain degree after all.

    Acht didn''t like the way the merchant spoke to him so he dropped the mildly respectful tone he had and responded coldly.

    "What is the name of that?"

    "Huh? You mean Ecrasia?" The man was puzzled by the weird question. Everyone whether young or old, rich or poor, knew the Ecrasia as it''s an important piece of history of this world.<sub> </sub>

    "Ecrasia?" Acht muttered in a daze as a wave of memories struck his head. He knew that name from a long time ago, when he was still a young man on earth, he read a fantasy book he found in a random library.

    The book wasn''t anything amazing or mind-blowing, but acht, who didn''t have the luxury of enjoying anything found that book interesting.

    He read it countless times and each time, he felt like he was discovering the book again and again. It was very impactful on him.

    "This world¡­it''s the world of that book!" He muttered with deep shock.

    But, his surprise didn''tst long as he soon startedughing loudly.

    "Hahaha! That bitch got me good. Fair enough¡­fair enough indeed." He said to himself with a smirk.

    He knew that the goddess was hiding something since she didn''t exin anything to him and just sent him to the world immediately.

    While Acht was having this conversation with himself, the man watched him from the sidelines with a weirded-out look. He thought that this child had lost his mind from hunger.

    ''From what I remember from that book, people here could use supernatural powers and iprehensible energy to strengthen themselves and It all came from that ce.''

    His gaze shifted towards the giant blue in the sky.

    ''If I recall it correctly, people can travel to that ce to find all kinds of treasures. It also has all kinds of creatures and races. Huh, now looking at it, this is a fantasy world indeed.'' He thought.

    With this discovery, his n has totally shifted.

    ''I should make money. It''s the most essential thing right now for me.''

    Acht then started walking away while ignoring the existence of the merchant who probably had seen the most bizarre thing in a while.

    Acht''s steps took him out of the market. He had a solution for the money shortage he had.

    "I should find some thug and take his money. It''s the easiest way for now."

    But, while having such thoughts, his senses caught something.

    ''Someone is following me.''

    He didn''t turn around to alert the stalker so he continued walking toward an empty area in the slums.

    When he was finally far away from human eyes he stopped and looked behind.

    "You know that your hiding skills are shitty, right?" He spoke while looking at a particr corner behind the street.

    "What monstrous senses you have. Are you really a small child?" A hoarse voice replied to his disdainful remark shortly after.

    Then, out of the corner, the man walked out with leisurely steps and gazed directly at Acht.

    Acht took a light fighting pose as he coldly assessed his opponent.

    "Wait! As much as the idea sounds tempting, I didn''te here to fight you."

    "State your purpose then." Acht said.

    "My boss¡­wants to meet you."

    "Your boss?"

    "Yes, after you killed one of our men, the boss took interest in you and he wanted to meet you immediately."

    ''Now this is an interesting turn of events.'' Acht could only sigh inwardly at his luck. Not even a few hours had passed in this new world and he was already entangled with a gang of thugs.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. Thank you and have a good day <3

 4 Chapter 4

    Acht had two choices at this point: he could ignore the invitation and go on his way since it could be nothing but a trap to catch him and kill him. In fact, that possibility is the most probable one.

    Or, he could ept the invitation and follow him to their base. What made him entertain this possibility is the fact that it could solve many problems for him.

    ''This gang probably has some influence in the slums at the very least. So, getting information is not that hard. Even if they ended up trying to kill me, I will just ''deal'' with them ordingly.'' He thought while looking at the man that spoke to him.

    "Fine. Lead the way." He responded after much consideration.

    "Very well, the boss will be delighted." He smiled in response.

    The man then turned around and started walking. He was giving Acht a huge opening without even thinking about it.

    Acht could easily sneak up on him and he won''t be able to do anything.

    ''Is this gang made of weaklings?'' He could only think so with a bored look.

    They walked for 20 minutes between the streets. Now with an even clearer look at the slums, Acht was able to see the situation in this area. And he had one word in his mind to describe it: horrendous.

    The dirt and trash that littered the ce along with the horrible smell of feces and other things could make anyone throw up. This alone could transmit varieties of diseases.

    Everyone who passed by whether in a vehicle or by foot had this dead look in their eyes. It was as if they had already given up on life and the only thing that kept them living is their fear of death.

    Such a look thatcked any hope told more than any words how bad their living conditions are.

    "Seems like this world is not all happy and fun as the book tried to portray it." Acht muttered under his breath with a nk face.

    He didn''t feel anything in particr when seeing such scenes. In fact, he loathed these people and their weak resolve. If they yearned for leaving this shitty life, they would''ve tried again and again until they can''t do anything else.

    Acht lived this kind of life and saw with his own eyes how cruel this world could be so he knew more than anyone else that what kills you is not yourck of power or money, it''s yourck of ambition.

    ''These kinds of ces will never see the light of hope.''

    "We are close to our ce." The man''s voice woke up Acht from his deep thoughts.

    He looked ahead of him to see a big yet shabby house with two bulky men standing on the two sides of the iron door.

    The two men had armor covering some vital parts of their bodies and small pistols on their hips.

    "Hmm, who''s that kid, Nelson?" One of them asked while looking at Acht.

    "The boss wants to meet him. open the door." The man named Nelson answered briefly.

    The two guards didn''t dwindle much and hurriedly opened the gates. The two people proceeded inside swiftly.

    Acht took onest look at the guards and followed Nelson inside. He was trying to memorize the key points of this ce in case he needed to escape or fight.

    Inside, the ce looked strangely neat, the floor was clean and the walls were decorated with some art here and there. It looked like a normal house where a small family lives.

    The two walked in the long corridor towards the back of the house. The scenery didn''t change much except for the appearance of a particrly eye-catching door.

    It was considerably bigger than the other parts of the house so it stood out like a sore thumb.

    Nelson then walked straight towards it and knocked on the door quietly. For some reason, the man became increasingly nervous as he waited for an answer.

    Then, a voice finally spoke from behind the door. The voice only said one word "Enter."

    When he heard the voice, Nelson looked at Acht and nodded quietly. He wanted the boy to enter alone.

    Then, he opened the door for him before leaving. Acht looked at his silhouette as he walked away.

    Seeing no point in waiting, he entered the room immediately.

    It was quite spacious, akin to an office with a big table in the middle, high-quality chairs, and a...small girl?

    Acht found a small girl sitting on the big chair while writing something. She looked no more than 11 years of age with beautiful features and long brown hair that was tied in a cute ponytail so she didn''t fit the scene at all.

    "So you''re the one who killed one of my subordinates?" The girl spoke without even looking at Acht directly.

    ''Is this some sick joke?'' He thought with a bitter look as he didn''t know whether tough or cry at this weird situation.

    "Let me get this out of the way first, you''re the boss they kept talking about?" Acht asked.<sub> </sub>

    ? "Yes, is there a problem?" The girl answered. She found his question unexpected.

    "No, none whatsoever." Acht sighed inwardly. He felt like he was inside aedy show of some sort.

    "Anyway, why did you want to meet me? I don''t think we''re acquaintances or anything like that, are we?"

    Finally, the little girl shifted her gaze to stare at Acht. She then chuckled slightly and responded with a smile.

    "Those two people were sent to get some necessary material for a mission. I''m talking about these." She then extended her hand under the desk and pulled a bag.

    It was the bag that the previous owner of Acht''s body stole before Acht took over him. He didn''t bother to take that bag of berries with him.

    Seeing theck of reaction, the little girl continued, " If it were a normal case of a robbery then I would''ve brushed it off as it is. But, the fact that you killed that man with your weak body is quite amazing. I never heard of a kid killing an armed adult with only his bare fists."

    "That''s why I wanted to see who this strong boy is."

    "You didn''t invite me here and even allowed me to stay here alone with you out of some interest, right?" Acht responded.

    He was already treating this little girl as a mature leader and not a mere child since no one bes the boss of a gang just like that. She must''ve been capable enough to be able to handle this responsibility.

    "Fufufu, I thought that the children in this area mature faster than most of the other kids out there. You put that fact to shame." She giggled cutely.

    ''Aren''t you also a kid?'' He barely stopped himself from blurting out his thoughts.

    "Yes, I had another reason for meeting you. How about you start working for me?" The girl asked with no beating around the bushes.

    "Working for you?"

    "Yes, I can see that you have some great skills. I don''t know how you got those skills and I won''t ask you about it. I just need your help."

    She then stood up and walked towards him with slow steps.

    "You will be paid and you will also have a ce to live in. It''s a good deal." She said.

    "What if I decide to betray you or steal your money?" Acht asked with a sharp gaze.

    "Fufuf, throughout my life, I met a lot of people who live off betraying people and you are not one of them. You seem to be someone who follows his word." The certainty in her voice surprised Acht.

    He was skeptical about her real age, but now, he was more than sure that she was not a kid at all, at least mentally.

    "You are full of surprises, young miss."

    "I will take that as apliment. So, what do you think?"

    "It is quite convenient for me to work for you since I need money. But..." he then shed a cold gaze at the girl and continued with a slow tone.

    "You made one single mistake in this act. You underestimated me way too much." His eyes widened as he spoke those words in the coldest tone. He looked like a God of death, ready to harvest souls at any given moment.

    "What?!" The girl was shocked. A cold sweat ran down her back as she felt her hands tremble in fear.

    "A bunch of your subordinates are waiting for me behind those doors."

    He started approaching the girl, taking one single step at a time.

    "You wanted to capture me, and you did quite the good job in setting the act to try and deceive me. However..."

    "Get him! Now!" The girl ignored his words and shouted in a frenzy.

    Instantly, a group of men barged inside the room with all kinds of weapons in their hands.

    "I am not someone to be caught by some weaklings. That''s your only mistake. If it were anyone else, it could''ve worked."

    He then pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the girl who was barely standing on her feet.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. Thank you and have a good day <3

 5 Chapter 5

    "Where¡­did you get that gun?" The girl asked with a trembling voice. she thought that she already lured Acht into the trap with her wless acting. But, such a situation was beyond her predictions, and the fact that he was armed made it even moreplicated.

    "Oh, this? It''s just a small gift I took from one of your guards. They''re quite nice, to be honest." Acht answered casually.

    He then started approaching the girl rming her subordinates who held their weapons tightly, ready to shoot at any given moment.

    "Wait! Don''t shoot! Don''t you see that he could shoot me too!" The girl shouted with fury.

    "B-But¡­young mis-"

    "I said put down your weapons!"

    The guards couldn''t retort to their leader''s response so they put down the guns and looked at the dangerous young man with clear nervousness in their eyes.

    "Why did you want to catch me? Know that any lies will create a hole in your head." He said apathetically. He didn''t mind the fact that she was a girl or that she was a child, he would kill anyone who dares to backstab him. If there is anything Acht hates to the bone, it''s people who betray others.

    "I-I¡­wanted to make you work for me." The girl finally spoke after some silence.

    "Exin."

    "W-What I mean is¡­I will threaten you and then make you work for me."

    "So you basically want to make me do your dirty work with oppression?"

    "Yes." Her head was lowered and her hands were trembling. It was as if she was getting scolded by her parents.

    "You did this with other kids in the slums, right?"

    With her head lowered, she nodded slightly.

    ''She''s rotten to the core. Not that I have a say in whether a person is bad or not.'' He thought as he sighed inwardly.

    "And what do you make these kids do exactly?"

    "I-I only make them do simple tas-"

    *Bam*

    The loud sound of a gun echoed in the room as a bullet shot toward the girl, barely missing her head by a few centimeters before settling inside the wall.

    "Next time I won''t miss."

    "Hiiiih!!!!!!" The girl finally couldn''t hold herself so she fell to the ground with tears in her small eyes.

    When shended roughly on the ground, a small object also fell out of her body. It was a small circr thing made out of some kind of ck material. The object had some weird scribbles on it that resembled ancient ruins.

    Acht thought it was some kind of magical artifact and didn''t think much about it. However, something totally unexpected happened.

    The girl in front of him started to go blurry. Acht was taken aback as he blinked twice, but the girl''s silhouette did be indeed blurry for a moment.

    Then, after a few seconds, the same thing happened again. It was like looking at a broken tv trying to reboot.

    ''What is going on?'' Acht thought with a small frown.

    On the third time, the girl''s body didn''t blur. It disappearedpletely.

    What appeared in her ce was a fat man. He was the ultimate contrast to that girl. With his huge body and his belly that is threatening to burst at any moment and his ugly features, he could make anyone retreat in disgust.

    "Wha-" Even Acht, who was a master when ites to controlling his emotions, couldn''t hide his deep shock.

    "P-Please don''t kil-....huh?" The man who was about to start begging felt something wrong. He then looked down at himself and then¡­

    "AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs before cowering back until he hit the table with his back.

    "NOOOO!!! DON''T LOOK!!!!" His deep and ugly voice shouted like a pig getting ughtered.

    In all of his life, this was the weirdest thing Acht has ever seen. It was the first time he didn''t know how to react or handle the situation. That''s how unexpected this urrence was.

    The guards weren''t shocked by this revtion since they knew about their boss''s real appearance. However, they did not want to look at their boss directly.

    "You¡­are a man?" Acht muttered. All of the things started clicking together and finally, his eyes lightened up.<sub> </sub>

    "You sick fuck." Acht cursed with clear anger in his voice. He was enraged at this man for some reason.

    "Luring in children with the appearance of a small girl and making them entertain your stupid fantasies. I saw disgusting people in my life, people who deserve the shittiest of deaths. But you, you are one of the most screwed-up people I had the displeasure of meeting!"

    Acht was surprised by himself. He didn''t know why, but he couldn''t control his anger for some reason. He felt like making that man go through the worst death possible.

    "Wait! No, I didn''t do that! Please believe me!" The man begged as he crawled toward Acht.

    "Tell your subordinates to get the fuck out. We have some things to settle." The boy then stepped on his hand roughly making him cry in pain.

    "Now!"

    "Yes! Yes! As you heard him, get out now!"

    The men couldn''t do anything. They just looked at each other searching for a solution to this chaotic situation in each other''s eyes. They only saw confusion and distress.

    Then, they quietly backed away and closed the door.

    "Now. How should I deal with you? I could skin you alive, but I don''t think even that will ease my anger." Acht said as he sat down on a chair looking down at the fat man.

    "Don''t kill me, please! I will give you anything you want!"

    "Get me all the money you have. Don''t you dare to even leave a single coin." He ordered in a cold tone. Taking all of his money was akin to a good deed when ites to people like this man.

    "Here, take it." The man threw a ring to Acht.

    ''A dimensional ring, huh?'' He grabbed the ring and inspected it. It was made out of gold with no particr differences from any ordinary ring.

    "How do you use it?" He asked.

    ''I still remember that it needed some kind of energy to use it¡­Let''s see¡­It was ''soul force'' I think.''

    "Channel some soul force into it and you could get any amount of coins you want." The man answered.

    Acht was still oblivious to how the power system worked in this world since he can''t remember everything about that book. He could only wait until he found a way to use soul force.

    "Do you have a library in this house?"

    At this point, the fat man, who was scared for his life, calmed considerably as he saw that Acht didn''t seem to be that angry anymore.

    "Yes, it''s on the other side of the house. I take pride in my love for reading."

    "You also take pride in abusing small kids?" Acht raised the question with a re.

    The man was rendered speechless. He did indeed have questionable preferences that would make anyone spit on him and look at him as if he was a trash can but he never saw it as a beautiful thing that he took pride in. He liked doing that but that didn''t necessarily mean he found himself sinless.

    He was just a person who couldn''t suppress his urges and only kept on doing things even when he knew they were wrong.

    "Sigh, there is no point in talking about this now. I''m done with you."

    "Hahaha! Thank you si-"

    *Bam*

    A bullet was shot out of the gun straight toward the man. The bullet hit his forehead creating a hole in his skull before exiting from the other side. Blood gushed out of his broken skull as he fell down on the ground motionless.

    "Don''t thank me for anything, garbage," Acht muttered to himself.

    ''Why did I lose control of my emotions like that? This is new for me.'' He thought with aplicated gaze. Acht knew that he was not some hero of justice who would feel pity for some children just because they were suffering. There were many other people who were suffering an even worse situation than these kids and his help will never stop evil deeds.

    "There is no point in thinking much about it. Now¡­how should I deal with the other pieces of garbage?"

    He then stood up and left the room with calm steps.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. Thank you and have a good day <3

 6 Chapter 6

    A few moments before Acht left the room, the men heard the sound of gunfire, and they noticeably grew paler as they looked at each other.

    "S-Should we go¡­inside?" One of them asked.

    "I don''t know¡­The boss told us to leave them alone¡­he should be fine¡­I think." Another one said with clear hesitation

    "But, what if he killed him?"

    "Then, we could only ept it." One of them said with a slightly sad voice. They were fully aware of their boss being a weirdo but they didn''t hate him because he was not mistreating them that much. He would give them rewards when the task is fully done and he will reprimand them when they mess up, just like any other boss would do.

    However, they weren''t that loyal to him as to risk their lives. The kid they saw was far from being a naive child as he looked more like a veteran warrior who smiled in the face of death. It was a reckless revtion¡­but this world is already plenty crazy, adding another crazy thing won''t change things that much.

    As they conversed with each other, the door for the room opened and Acht appeared with his same cold gaze.

    He was still holding the gun in his hand with his finger on the button.

    "Gulp¡­" one of the men gulped audibly as he looked at the boy.

    "Your boss is resting now after I asked him a few questions. He said to not bother him for the time being."

    "But, what about the sound of gu-"

    "I SAID that he is resting and he doesn''t want anyone to bother him. Understand?"

    "YES!" The man shouted in fright.

    "Now, I want you to get me some clothes and food. You have ten minutes." Acht continued with the same tone.

    "Why would we follo-"

    *Bam*

    One of them tried to shout in protest but before he could evenplete the sentence, a bullet had already prated his forehead, killing him instantly.

    "You have 5 minutes now."

    ''What kind of aim is that? He didn''t even look at him?!'' They all thought with a horrified look.

    They were all now certain that fighting this kid would mean their death wish. He was a monster in human form.

    The fear made them run away as fast as they could, leaving theirrade swimming in his own blood.

    "What a bunch of lowlives." Muttered Acht before walking in the corridor towards the library.

    He was eager to know more about this world since it tickled his desire for power. He was not a suicidal maniac, but he enjoyed a fight on equal footing with another person. It made him feel alive and excited since his life was never something he enjoyed. It was pretty shitty from start to end.

    The house was extremely quiet and only Acht''s steps on the wooden floor could be heard.

    He checked out multiple rooms on his way to see where the library is, most of the rooms were empty while others were made for dining, bathing, and many other things.

    Soon enough, he found the library. It was considerably bigger than the rest of the rooms as it contained rows and rows of bookshelves stacked with books.

    "Now, let''s refresh some memories."

    Acht still had a rough idea about important elements that made this world but he needed to acquire more knowledge about the many details.

    As he walked between the rows, his eyes caught a book on the highest shelf. It was a very thick book with ayer of dust on it indicating that it wasn''t touched in years.<sub> </sub>

    The title of the book was ''History of the Lower World''. The title was intriguing, to say the least.

    ''The Lower World? That was the name of this If I recall. Let''s see.'' He thought.

    Acht then used adder and pulled the book out. It weighed at least 7 pounds.

    Then, he sat at a table and started reading. He was quite worried that he wouldn''t be able to read this world''snguage but it seemed his worries were for naught. The goddess gave him the ability to understand and read thenguage as if he was a native of this world.

    A few minutes into the reading and Acht heard a knock on the door. The men had already prepared the clothes and the food.

    "Leave the clothes and food there and leave. I will call you when I need you." Said Acht without bothering to look at the guard.

    He was totally engrossed in his reading, page after page, and word after word more and more things became clearer.

    Without him knowing, hours passed quietly as he kept on consuming the information like a famished creature.

    Finally, when the night fell and it became hard to see, he closed the book and made a long sigh.

    "It''s already night. I should probably eat." He said while grabbing a fruit from the tray.

    After reading most of the book, he found many interesting things about this world.

    First of all, this world was called the Lower world. The reason for that name is the existence of two other worlds just like this one that were called the Middle and Higher worlds. They were also in an orbit around Ecrasia or what people also call ''the central world''. These three worlds could be considered as 3 moons turning around one single massive.

    Just to put the size of Ecrasia into perspective. If webine the size of the three worlds, they will only be equivalent to 1% the size of Ecrasia.

    "The book didn''t mention anything about the other worlds. I need to research more on that since even the novel didn''t mention them a lot." Muttered Acht as he took a bite of the fruit. He checked the fruit that resembled an apple thoroughly before taking a bite since it could''ve been poisonous.

    Anyway, one thing that actually made him slightly excited was the date. He calcted that he''s in the year 3002 by this world''s calendar. This meant that it was still at least 10 years before the events of the real book transpired. That also meant that¡­

    "I could meet the protagonist of this story¡­That sounds exciting." Acht smiled slightly at his thoughts. But, for now, he shook his head to forget the idea and concentrate on what was on his hands.

    Looking at the lower world from one single perspective, it was a moderatelyrge that was made out of 4 continents. Each continent is considerably bigger than the earth so the poption of each one of them isrge. The four continents were located in each main direction: North, east, west, and south.

    Acht understood from the book that he was on the southern continent which was the smallest out of the four.

    His exact location, however, was still a mystery considering that the book didn''t mention every single kingdom or city in the Lower World. It just gave a rough idea about the terrain, the main locations, and some other things.

    Then, after digesting all of the information and eating some food to shut his nagging stomach, he stood up and went to clean himself. His smell was horrible and he needed a shower as soon as possible. Luckily enough, technology was advanced in this world, so taking a shower wasn''t hard.

    ''It''s weird how obedient these insects are. I guess I overestimated their courage.'' He thought as he didn''t see one single man in the entire house. The fear he nted in them seemed to work properly.

    After a long and rxing shower, Acht walked out and entered a random room to rest.

    "What a hectic day it was. I didn''t have time to even think properly about my ns for the future. I have to be careful, this world is not earth and this is not the old me. I can only take one step at a time without a hurry."

    Acht had no idea about what the future held for him. Was he going to seed in reaching the peak of this world after reaching the peak in his previous world? Or will he get trampled on by the secret powers of this mysterious ce?

    Frankly, he didn''t care. As long as he didn''t do something idiotic, No one would be able to stop him from paving his way to the top. He was an ambitious and tenacious person when he set his mind on doing something, that is why he was able to be the strongest before.

    "I hope I won''t be disappointed." He muttered before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 7 Chapter 7

    The long night passed quickly and the rays of the sun finally appeared and prated the window, hitting Acht straight in the face.

    He slept quite well throughout the night but he didn''t rxpletely. He knew that danger lurked around him all the time so he was in a half-asleep state where any small disturbance would wake him up instantly. It was a skill he learned in his life as a hitman since it was essential for his survival.

    His eyes slowly opened, revealing two cold yet mesmerizing ck irises. Anyone who gazes at such profound eyes will find himself in a trance as if he was hypnotized. This charming aura was not an intentional thing from Acht''s side but the result of his prideful character and charismatic demeanor.

    "A good night''s sleep sure makes the difference." He muttered with a peaceful look.

    He was able to release some of the tension he felt since yesterday. He handled everything perfectly but that didn''t mean that it didn''t take a toll on his mind and his weak body.

    Then, Acht stood up and left the room. There was still no trace of the men who were present yesterday. He didn''t care if they ran away or not since he didn''t even see them being worthy of his attention.

    After a small breakfast, he entered the library again. This time, however, he was not here to study about history but for something elsepletely different.

    "Soul force. I need to learn how to use it." He decided.

    He was not a fan of this skinny body of his and so he wanted to start training as soon as possible. Luckily enough, with sufficient food and training, restoring his old physique will be a piece of cake. The only bugging matter left was learning how to use soul force.

    He searched the library for any book about soul force. And soon enough, he found what he was looking for.

    "''Beginners guide for soul awakening''. This should be it."

    He then sat down and started his second reading session in this world.

    "Soul force is the fundamental force that moves this world. Each living creature and even some non-living creatures can have soul force inside of them. It''s mainly rted to the soul of the creature so the stronger the soul the stronger the soul force."

    Acht read each word attentively as he nourished his knowledge of the main power system of this universe.

    "Millions of years ago when humans were nothing but a weak and primordial race, the discovery of the soul force was considered the turning point for humans. They were able to grow stronger and stand head-to-head with other more powerful races. They were able to do so by killing other creatures and absorbing their soul force, making them it their own.

    "After a long time and countless experiments, they were able to put a clear power level to determine the power of each individual. This power system isposed mainly of 4 stages: White, orange, green, and red. Each color represents a different stage with white being the weakest and red being the strongest. These stages are alsoposed of 10 levels. The higher the level the stronger the individual."

    After reading till that point, Acht stopped. He wanted to digest the information properly before continuing.

    ''This kind of power system is very simple. It doesn''t differ much from how I remember it. But, there is something off.'' He thought as he squinted his eyes at the book.

    However, no matter how much he thought, he couldn''t get the feeling of uneasiness he had. It was an iprehensible thing.

    Then, Acht continued reading. The book wasn''t that thick so he ended it rtively quicker than the other book.

    "Fuuuh, I should try the guide in this book. If things go right, I will awaken my soul by tomorrow morning."

    Acht left the table and took a seat on the ground. He then closed his eyes and rested his hands on hisp. Soon enough, his breathing calmed down and he started rxing all of his body.

    ''Concentrate on your surroundings and try to feel the energy in the atmosphere.'' He recited what he read and tried to apply that in the real world.

    Not even a few seconds passed and a change happened. Acht felt a new thing starting to appear around him. He couldn''t describe this feeling since this new thing was formless, shapeless, and with no color. It was as if it was an illusion yet also real.

    ''Is this the soul energy?'' He thought.

    The energy around him kept floating aimlessly. Then, in one single moment, it started umting in front of him.

    It kept umting for some time until it created a huge ball made of energy. Then, the ball approached him slowly, stopping multiple times in the process.<sub> </sub>

    It was as if the energy was hesitating on whether it should approach Acht or not. However, that hesitation didn''tst long as it finally closed the distance between them and entered Acht''s body slowly.

    He sensed the foreign object that was entering his body. The sensation was amazing as if every cell of his body was getting refreshed and every muscle was getting fueled with power.

    Acht could see himself getting addicted to this. After a few moments, the ball finally fully merged with him.

    That''s when another change happened.

    *Crack*

    The sound of cracking reached Acht''s ear. It was akin to a cup made out of ss getting shattered slowly. This was his soul shedding its old form and taking a step towards bing an awakener.

    ''It''s happening. I need to concentrate.'' Thought Acht as he erased every thought out of his mind andpletely engrossed himself in absorbing energy and awakening.

    He was so vulnerable at this state that any sneak attack on him would be lethal. It was risky, but the rewards were equally great.

    The cracking sounds became more frequent the more Acht absorbed energy. His soul was using every ounce to awaken and his body was also getting tired out in the process.

    ''I''m close!'' He felt it. His soul was close to awakening. It was only a matter of minutes or maybe seconds.

    In the meantime, Acht was unaware of what was happening in the outside world. While he was trying toplete his awakening, his actions were creating havoc outside.

    Powerful gushes of winds whistled inside the closed room. Books and shelves fell down and even the walls shook terribly. The only thing untouched by this storm was Acht himself who sat in the middle of it.

    Then, in one single second, all of the tension got released in one swipe in the form of a very strong gust of wind that broke the windows and destroyed the furniturepletely.

    "I did it." Acht opened his eyes and said with a small smile.

    He didn''t find that much difficulty with awakening in contrast to what the book said since it mentioned the hardships every awakened had to face in this ceremony. It said that many died while awakening because of some stupid mistakes or because they were full of themselves.

    ''Is this one of the privileges Livia gave me? She made my talent quite scary.''

    Acht then stood up to check his condition. A few minutes ago he was a skinny and weak-looking kid, now, his body went through a drastic change. His muscles started developing and his height also increased considerably. He looked like a different personpletely.

    "I feel powerful! It''s like I''m pulsing with endless power." He clenched his fist and made a kick with his leg. His speed also increased a lot.

    "If White soul level 1 was like this, then what about the other levels? Suddenly, I feel even more motivated."

    He was very happy with his progress. He could slightly see the peak unveil itself in front of him. With his knowledge, his privileges, and his ambitions, no one could stand in front of him.

    "Not even that bitch Livia¡­Watch this show carefully, oh great goddess! Because once Ie back to you. You will regret ever meeting me."

    It was the moment when the future took a drastic change from its initial route. The appearance of an anomaly, an abomination of a human that will take Ecrasia and all the three worlds by a storm. A King that will trample on all his enemies and build a throne of their bones.

    That king, however, will also see that power is not always the solution and that hell coulde in different forms. But that''s a story for another day.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 8 Chapter 8

    After getting done with the awakening, Acht intended to go clean himself again since his body sweated a lot during the ceremony.

    But, he remembered an important thing. "What about my gift?"

    Gifts were basically the main form of manifestation of the soul force. This kind of energy couldn''t be used in that form since it''s very vtile and hard to control so the only way to use it is to turn it into fuel for other abilities. This is where giftse into y. They give humans supernatural abilities in different forms.

    Since the moment they were born, humans have a certain affinity toward an element of this world. Whether it was fire, water, wind, or wood. These examples of elements and many more create a certain bond with the individual and give him a small privilege of controlling that element to a degree.

    So, for Acht to be able to use his powers, getting to know what his gift is, is of utmost importance.

    "How should I discover it? Maybe I should try to use it and it wille out instinctively."

    He then extended his hand and thought of his soul force. He felt the new thing that was moving inside his body as if it was blood and made it move towards his hand. He was able to easily control his soul force without even practicing.

    The energy umted in his hand, creating a white hue around it. But, nothing else happened.

    "Hmm?" He tried again and again with different gestures and poses and even muttered some words he thought could''ve been usable.

    "It''s useless¡­This is the farthest I could go without the help of an expert or a powerful awakener." He muttered.

    He learned about this world, awakened his soul, and even understood how to control it to a certain degree. Was it not for his almost nonsensical talent, he would have not been able to do any of that alone.

    Then, as he was pondering over what to do next, he heard a knock on the door. The sound was far away and almost too quiet to hear.

    "Hmm?" He walked to the window to take a look. There, 6 men were standing in front of the main door of the house. They were all bulky, except for the one who was knocking who was rather on the leaner side.

    "Lucas, You fat pig! Open the fucking door! Where is my money you fucker?!" The lean guy shouted with clear irritation.

    Acht didn''t have the time to deal with these maggots so he ignored them and walked away. ''They will leave when no one opens the door.'' He thought.

    But, he underestimated their tenacity. As soon as he reached the door of the library, he heard the man shout again.

    "Nester, Blow this goddamn door open! I''m going to burn this ce on that bastard''s head."

    His words made Acht sigh unconsciously, he didn''t want to waste time on these men and he preferred not facing them. But, he will deal with them since they were eager for it.

    He walked toward the main door and opened it. He then gazed directly at the men who were preparing some explosives to blow the meal door.

    "Hmm, a kid? That fatty is still doing that stupid hobby?"

    Acht ignored his words and spoke innocently. "Mm, who are you?"

    His voice was high-pitched and timid. His eyes were sparkling with purity. Anyone who looks at him will never think that this is just acting. Acht was able to imitate how a child acted perfectly.

    "Is your master here, young man?" The leader of this group spoke with a small smile to not scare the kid away.

    "Master? He¡­He''s in his office. Are you his friends?" Answered the boy.

    "Hahaha, yes we are. We came here to meet him. Could let us go inside?"

    "Yes."

    Then, the group entered the house while snickering secretly. They thought they were smart enough to enter the house without any violence.

    The men walked into the corridor and directly behind them was Acht who was still acting like an innocent child.

    If he were to make a career as an actor he would''ve probably hit it big since such a level of performing was almost scary.

    "Hmm, where are Lucas''s men?" The leader muttered with a confused look. He was ready to face a horde of men and get into a bloody fight. Instead, he found an empty house and a small child in it.

    He felt uneasiness creep into his heart but he couldn''t quite put his hand on the reason for it.

    ''There''s something wrong.'' He thought.

    Soon enough, they reached the end of the corridor and to their greatest shock, two dead bodies were on the ground with their blood spattered all over the ce. The corpses were there for two days so they were already starting to rot.

    "What is this?!"<sub> </sub>

    *Crack*

    Before the leader could even get shocked properly, the loud sound of bones cracking echoed in the ce. He looked around in fright to find one of his menying on the ground with his neck bent at a weird angle.

    Beside the man stood the young boy with an extremely cold gaze.

    *bang* *bang* *bang*

    The young man then instantly pulled a gun and fired three bullets hitting three people in the head perfectly. Just like that, he got rid of 4 people in a matter of seconds.

    "HURRY UP AND HIDE!" The leader shouted as he hid behind furniture in the corridor. He was the first to react since he was the one with the most experience out of them. His men hurriedly followed him.

    "You! Who are you?!" He screamed as he took a peek at Acht. He could not believe that a child could kill most of his men in 20 seconds. It was just outrageous.

    "You''re not worthy to know. You bothered me and so you will have the same fate as that fatty over there." Acht answered with an emotionless tone.

    "You think you could run away with this?!" The leader yelled.

    "There is no need to run since none of you will leave this ce."

    He was very surprised by the kid''s abilities but he was still sure that he could beat him. He had ''that'' after all.

    On the other side, Acht was having his own thoughts too. His pistol was emptied with the four bullets he shot. Now, he could only rely on closebat.

    ''This soul force is amazing. I was able to enhance my physical prowess with it. I was even able to break his neck easily.''

    "Sir, why don''t we run toward him at the same time. He won''t be able to react to each one of us. You could also use your power to hit him from afar." One of the two men left asked his boss in a low voice.

    The leader pondered for a few seconds, before nodding his head. He only needed a few seconds to use his attack which could be provided by the two men he had.

    ''You know that I could hear your n, right?'' Thought Acht with an exasperated look. He never thought people could be this dumb.

    "Now!" The two ran out and pulled their knives as they ran at him with a loud shout.

    Acht took a fighting pose and channeled his soul force. He learned from the book that the only way for him to use it other than activating his gift was to enhance his physical abilities since controlling the energy when it''s inside the body is way easier.

    He felt his muscles contract and his legs became almost light.

    Then he ran toward the first guy, using his left leg, he avoided the uing knife and kicked his stomach.

    "Blurgh!" The man spat his saliva out along with his breath.

    Without waiting, Acht instantly jumped and rotated in the air avoiding the sneaky stab from behind. With his jump being so high, he was able tond on the man''s shoulder.

    "Die." With those words he cracked his neck swiftly, killing him on the spot just like his friend.

    "You bastard!!!" The other was outraged to see his brother die like that. He just dashed toward Acht with no strategy whatsoever.

    But, the man wasn''t even able to keep up with Acht before, let alone now when he was out of his mind.

    Acht then quickly grabbed the dead man''s knife and threw it with all of his strength. The weapon flew like a bullet and stabbed the man''s throat. Blood gushed out like a fountain as the man held his neck with widened eyes.

    ''Don''t lose yourposure in a fight. That is nothing but suicide.'' Acht thought as he tried tond on the ground after standing on the man''s stomach for long.

    But¡­

    *Swish*

    A heat wave reached him as he looked ahead. A ball of fire was flying straight towards him.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. Thank you and have a good day <3

 9 Chapter 9

    The fireball was only a few inches away from Acht''s face but he didn''t freak out. He just calmly looked down and pulled the dead man he was standing on.

    *Boom*

    A loud explosion shook the whole house. The impact was strong as it made Acht retreat a few feet. But, he was totally unscathed. He used the body of the dead man as a shield to protect himself from fire. The body was caught aze and soon the skin turned charcoal ck.

    The nauseous smell of burned skin and cooked organs invaded the leader''s nostrils and made him frown while barely holding the urge to vomit. He wasn''t ustomed to this kind of gore.

    "Monster." He only uttered one word as he gazed at Acht. Forget about a kid, he never saw someone, whether an adult or not, who could kill with such a cold heart and even use his victims as meat shields. Such a level of ruthlessness was a foreign thing for the leader.

    "I heard that quite a lot." Answered Acht briefly. He was not showing it but his mind was racing in all directions. He was aware of this possibility but it was still slightly surprising for him to see that in action.

    ''He used fire just now so he is an awakener. Very convenient. I should catch him and interrogate him.'' He thought as he cracked his neck. He felt his body ache slightly after the fight since even with his soul force enhancing his muscles he was still very slim and weak.

    "Shit!" The leader cursed under his breath. He was in a very disadvantageous position now that all of his subordinates died miserably. He was not good when it came to closebat and the only thing he had going for him was his affinity with fire.

    ''I can only try to create an opening and escape. Fuck! I never knew I would have to run away from a mere kid one day!'' He felt the disgrace but that would not alter his choice. He loved his life way too much for him to be blinded by pride and end up dead.

    A few seconds passed with no one moving. Acht didn''t attack him instantly because he wanted to gauge his power and see how it fully works. As for the man, he was trying to find a way to run. It was a face-off between a natural predator and a tenacious prey.

    *Swish*

    Suddenly, the man-made a move, he picked up a wooden table beside him and threw it at Acht. He then instantly started muttering iprehensible words.

    Acht simply jumped to the side and evaded the table quite easily. He just barelynded only to see that the man was nearly over with his chanting and a fireball was already made.

    The fireball was thrown at Acht the same way as before.

    "It won''t work twice. Not that it worked the first time, anyway." Spoke Acht as he bent down and grabbed the knife. He then jumped in the air leaving the fireball under him and threw the knife at the leader.

    The moment he sent that attack he started running away. Every second was precious for him and so he didn''t even dare to look back and see if he hit Acht or not.

    The knife flew like an arrow and plunged into his right leg.

    "AAARGHH!!" The man screamed loudly and fell down to the ground rolling left and right.

    "You''re quite stupid for a leader, I might say. This was your best attempt at running away? Even a child could''ve probably found a better way to escape." Said Acht with a snort of disdain.

    However, his words fell on deaf ears. The pain the man felt from his leg was unbearable to the point where all of his senses got blocked and he fainted on the spot.

    "Sigh, what a waste of my time."

    He then grabbed the man and tied him with a rope and left him sleeping in the library. His injury wasn''t deep so his life was not threatened.

    Acht then left to shower. The bloody corridor he left behind was akin to a picture from the deepest part of hell. The dead corps of people with bent heads and bullets in their skulls turned this rather beautiful house into a butchery.

    ''I should leave this ce after getting what I need.'' he thought as he imagined how horrible the smell would be after a few days. Even his trained nose will not be able to ignore that smell.

    Acht then went and took a shower, then he rested for some time before doing some light training. His body needed to be rebuilt with care. He didn''t want to only rely on soul force to be physically stronger; normal training was a necessity for Acht.

    Hours silently passed and when it was nearing the sunset, the unconscious leader woke up. He was still in pain but he was able to not cry like a baby.

    "You finally woke up." Spoke Acht who was sitting at the desk reading a book.

    "What do you want from me?!" Yelled the poor man with a horrified look. He saw what this kid did to his subordinates so he was scared to know what the kid wanted from him.

    "Sigh, could you stop screaming for a second, I could hear you properly." Acht closed the book and gazed directly at the man.<sub> </sub>

    He then took a deep breath and spoke with a cold gaze.

    "I only need one thing from you: information. If you answer every single question I have then I will spare your life."

    "W-What?"

    "My words are clear and I won''t repeat myself. It''s your choice whether you want to live or not."

    "Yes! I will answer! I will answer." The man almost jumped on Acht to beg him.

    "Good. My first question: what kind of affinity do you have?" Asked the boy.

    "My main element is fire." He answered hurriedly.

    Acht took note of every subtle information the man gave out unconsciously. He was building up a rough image of how affinities work and he only needed a few more key pieces of information for it to beplete.

    "Then, how did you gain the ability to use your fire element?"

    "When anyone registers in the hunter association, they appraise his affinities and unlock it. As far as I know, they are one of only two ces where you could unlock your affinities."

    ''hunter association? I remember that name from the book.'' Acht pondered quietly.

    "I see. Myst question: where is the hunter association?"

    "They have a branch in bluerise city. It''s on the main road. As for the main headquarters, I don''t have any idea because I never passed the exam to be a hunter." Said the man with a strained smile.

    ''What a sad piece of trash.'' he shook his head in pity for the man.

    "Fine, you''re free to go. Consider this as a magnificent gift from me and be grateful."

    "Yes! Thank you so much!" The man bowed down with a huge smile of relief stered on his face.

    He couldn''t believe he was able to get out of the grasp of this monster alive.

    Acht then released him and kicked him out of the house. He didn''t like the idea of releasing that annoying piece of shit but he made a word and he was never someone to break his word.

    Then, the boy sat down on the roof of the house to watch the sunset. He wanted to take a break that night and only gaze at the sky and appreciate the beauty of this world.

    "The hunter association, huh. I guess my next destination is clear now." He smiled while gazing at the beautiful sun disappearing behind the horizon leaving behind nothing but darkness.

    His mind calmed down and soon, memories of his past life came flooding into his head.

    He may have found this world way more interesting than earth, but that didn''t mean he didn''t have regrets after his death.

    "I hope she''s ok." He muttered with a nostalgic look in his eyes. His mind was filled with the silhouette of a woman who was smiling at him with affectionate eyes. She was the only thing he considered important in his life and so he felt extremely sad to leave her behind.

    "There is no saving it. My only choice is to be stronger and find a way to return to my old world if it existed."

    Looking at his small and frail hands, his resolve to be stronger quickly increased exponentially by the second.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 10 Chapter 10

    After a long and peaceful night, the dawn of thest day in the house came. Acht was already awake and ready to leave. He could''ve stayed and searched more in the library about other things but he wasn''t keen on that idea since he was never a bookworm, to begin with.

    He just read because he had no other choice unless he wanted to stay oblivious which increases the chances of his death.

    "That fatty gave me a good fortune. That''s convenient." Remarked Acht while looking at the pile of gold coins in front of him. It was indeed a fortune that will make anyone in the slums drool uncontrobly.

    Then, after having a simple breakfast, he left the house. There were no lingering emotions for him since the only thing he did there was: eat, study and kill.

    People will soon smell the smell of rotten corps and they will barge into the house which is why Acht left this quickly in the first ce.

    ''There are also the other people with that fire user. They will probablye to see why he didn''te back.'' Thought Acht as he crossed the street and turned around to reach the main road.

    The road was incredibly massive, it stretches from the outskirts of bluerise city all the way to the center. Many people use that road as a main traveling route and so it became an indispensable thing for trading in this city.

    When Acht left the slums, the scenery around himpletely changed. From people with bicycles or on foot going back and forth to cars and trucks that have a very huge resemnce to earth. It was to the point where many would think this was a mirror world of earth.

    There was also another change, the spirit and the vibe that these people gave totally contrasted that of the slum inhabitants. They were smiling with eyes full of hope far from any hardships or suffering. They probably never worried about food or where to sleep. They never worried about getting killed or beaten up.

    ''Life is really unfair.'' Thought Acht with aplicated gaze. He wasn''t one of those lucky people but he paved his way out of misery with pure resilience and dedication and that was his belief.

    ''Even if someone falls behind at the beginning, what matters most is how you end up at the finish line.''

    With such thoughts, Acht walked for minutes looking left and right and asking people for direction. Finally, he found himself standing in front of a huge building.

    Most of it was covered with ss with elegant decorations on the front. It was a very luxurious building no matter how you look at it.

    A huge sign with the words ''hunter association'' was stered on top of doors.

    Two guards were standing on each side of the door holding nothing and gazing coldly in a straight line.

    ''They''re strong. As expected of the strongest organization in the world.'' He thought as he passed the gates unbothered to take a second look at them. They also didn''t talk to him since he was nothing but a small kid.

    Inside, Acht found himself in a massive reception lounge. The ce was bustling with people. Most of them were there to register as hunters while some of them were full-fledged ones who were trying to take some missions.

    "Wee to the hunter association. How may I help you?" Acht was called immediately by one of the many receptionists at the Desk.

    She was a slightly beautiful woman with a cheerful smile that gave people a good impression.

    "I''d like to register for the hunter examination." He answered.

    The woman''s smile almost broke as she looked at him with aplicated gaze.

    "Mm, are you sure about this?" She asked with clear hesitation.

    "Yes."

    "I see, then please fill this paper with your information and then return it to me." She said as she pulled out a registration paper.

    Acht didn''t mind her worried gaze since he was, in the eyes of the others, nothing but a small child.

    Acht left the reception desk and sat on one of the tables to fill his paper. Many of the people present for the test looked at him with all kinds of emotions.

    Some looked at him with pity, others looked at him with surprise and some even looked at him with disdain.

    "What is a kid doing here? Does he have a death wish?" One asked

    "Beat me, young and arrogant brats are everywhere. He will know how grave his mistake is when he faces real danger." The other answered as he shook his head.

    ''Ignorance is a blessing for these idiots.'' he thought with a neutral gaze not even shifting his eyes away from his piece of paper.

    He then filled in his information. It wasn''t something very detailed, just the name, age, and some minor warnings including potential death and heavy injuries.

    After that, he returned to the receptionist and gave her the paper. She read it once and said, "That is perfect, please head straight in that way for your appraisal. They will also give you all the details you need to know for the test. Good luck!"

    She pointed at a big door to the side of the reception lounge. Acht left toward the door along with many others like him. The nervousness and fear could be seen in their strained expressions. Everyone was fearful of the test.<sub> </sub>

    "I heard that out of 50000 candidates that register each year, only 1000 are able to pass."

    "What?! Really? That''s a 2% chance of passing?"

    Acht heard the conversation happening behind him. It was a lie if he wasn''t surprised by the number but he was also quite interested to see which kind of test could eliminate this huge number of people.

    The group passed the door and found themselves directly in another gigantic room that looked like a hall. The walls were made out of marble and the floor was covered with red carpets. It was akin to a party hall rather than an examination hall.

    There were thousands of people present inside the room waiting for the appraisal.

    Acht looked around for a moment before finding an empty ce to sit down. He was intending to idle around for some time.

    A few minutes after he sat down, a loud voice called for him.

    "Hey, you!"

    ''Here we go, and I thought this test would pass peacefully.'' Acht shook his head with a loud sigh. He wasn''t in the mood to deal with brain-dead trash cans so he preferred that he wouldn''t be called out. However, he underestimated the fact that he was the only kid in that room.

    "I''m talking to you, fucker!" The guy yelled again. He was a fairly young guy, almost 20 years of age with blonde hair and an irritating face.

    "What do you want?" He asked calmly.

    "What is a small kid like you doing here, they''re not giving free candies you know?! Hahaha!" He spoke with a smile and thenughed at his own joke.

    "Could you please mind your fucking business? How pathetic could you be to try to pick on a small kid? Have some self-esteem."

    The words that came out of Acht''s mouth made the blonde guy frown greatly. Many people heard their conversation and they were snickering quietly at him. He was trying to impose his dominance and so he chose Acht as his target who ended up backfiring at him.

    "Y-You fucking bastard!"

    "Psst, that''s your besteback? You could''ve asked me for help on how to retort. I can give you some tips." The boyughed in disdain.

    At this point, the blonde guy was blushing furiously with embarrassment. He was totally destroyed by a small kid.

    As he was about to speak, a loud sound took his attention and he looked behind. One of the people near him muttered, "It''s starting."

    At the end of the hall, a woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Most of the people were surprised by her appearance but their surprise turned to shock when they saw her face.

    She was an extremely beautiful woman in her 20s. She had long and silky smooth red hair and a well-sculpted face worthy of attention. But, what was the most eye-catching about her was her body.

    She wore a one-piece dress that covered her body yet also entuated her amazing assets.

    She was a beauty in every sense of the word.

    "Holy God, she looks amazing?"

    "Is it even possible to be that beautiful?"

    "I''m hard."

    The woman ignored the lustful gazes of the men since she grew ustomed to those kinds of stares. She then took a small breath and spoke with a cold tone.

    "My name is Scarlett Goldknight and I will be the one to supervise the appraisal for this year''s hunter examination."

    All kinds of reactions came out of the men in the room. Even Acht was surprised, but his surprise had a whole different reason.

    ''Scarlett Goldknight? Isn''t she¡­one of the heroines?!''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. Thank you and have a good day <3

 11 Chapter 11

    "I clearly remember her. She was one of the main female leads of the book. Wait, wasn''t she working as a professor?" Acht was trying to wrap his head around this unexpected person.

    He knew that he would eventually meet the characters of the book but he never thought it would be this early.

    ''For now, let''s keep my interactions with her as minimal as possible.'' He sighed with a thoughtful look.

    Acht had no desire to mingle up with one of the main leads and potentially make a massive change in the route of the story. Thest thing he wanted was for the butterfly effect toe to bite him in the ass in the future just because of these characters.

    With that in mind, he listened attentively to what she was about to say.

    After everyone calmed down, Scarlett then spoke loudly while looking at everyone.

    "The appraisal for this year won''t change much from before. Behind me is the door where each one of you will discover his affinity. Then, you will pass to another room where you will unlock your gift. Take in mind that the chances of you not awakening for any affinity are not slim. Any questions?"

    "Yes! What''s the best element to have?" A man shouted from the front.

    The question didn''t seem offending but it made Scarlett angry for some reason. Her expression became even colder and she red at him.

    "Every element has its strong and weak points, it''s how you use it that makes the difference. Any other questions?"

    No one spoke after that harsh attitude so Scarlett continued, "We will call your name in order. Wait for your turn patiently and refrain from fighting here or you will be automatically disqualified."

    After dropping those words she walked away leaving the candidates alone. They were still infatuated with her even with her cold attitude and some were even blushing while looking with listless eyes, they were probably having some wild fantasies.

    A few momentster, a loud voice echoed in the room announcing the name of the first candidate. It was a woman in her 30s who looked forgettable.

    She walked in with hesitant steps before closing the door. Everyone watches the door attentively.

    A few minutester, the door opened again and the same woman came out with a sad look and a trail of tears in her eyes. Everyone watched her walk straight toward the exit without uttering a word. Everyone knew: she failed.

    Then, another name was called, this time it was a young man. His face grew paler when he heard his name but he still walked to the door and entered.

    A few minutester, the same thing happened and the young man returned with a sad look, not daring to look at anyone.

    This scene continued for some time, many entered and exited the room with the same hopeless expression that spilled out their thoughts. They had just witnessed their dreams shatter into bits and pieces in front of their eyes.

    Acht didn''t bother with them and leaned on a wall chewing on a fruit he brought with him. He could see why this test was brutal. Only those who were lucky enough to be awakeners have the right to take the test.

    A few hours passed quietly and the number of people in the room became scarce. There were a handful of cases where people didn''te back but that number paled inparison to the number of failed candidates.

    Finally, the voice that was calling names for a long time spoke, "Candidate 654, Acht!"

    Acht then stood up and walked leisurely toward the door. The eyes of the people left kept on chasing him until he disappeared inside the room.

    There, he found himself in a small and empty room. There were a few people there including Scarlett.

    There was also a pedestal in the center of the room with a ball made out of ss in the center.

    "Please put your hand on the ball. If the ball shined then you have the capabilities to awaken your soul. If it doesn''t, then you are unfortunately incapable of continuing this test." Said Scarlett with a t tone. She didn''t show any reaction when she saw a small kid enter.

    "Ok."

    Then, Acht approached the ball and put his hand confidently. He already awakened his soul so he wasn''t worried about that. He was, however, eager to know what kind of element affinity he had.

    The moment his hand touched the ball, a clear white color illuminated the room.

    "You''re eligible for the awakening, congrattions. Keep your hand on the ball." Spoke Scarlett.

    Acht followed her word and after some time another change happened, the white color started disappearing. Then, the white light was reced with a violet hue.

    The violet light kept on getting stronger and stronger until everyone had to squint their eyes from the strong light.

    ''Is this normal?'' Thought the boy with aplicated look. He was worried about what kind of prank Livia did on him to make him suffer.

    After a few minutes, the ball finally started dimming before returning to normalpletely.<sub> </sub>

    The boy''s eyes shifted to look at Scarlett who was weirdly silent through the whole process. Much to his surprise, she had a whole different reaction than he thought.

    Her eyes were widened with deep shock as she gazed at Acht. From that look alone Acht knew it. ''This is going to be a huge pain in the ass.''

    "A lost element¡­impossible." He heard her mutter with the same shocked look. She had never seen something like this before.

    "Is there a problem?" Asked Acht warily.

    His question woke her up from her shock and made her shake her head.

    "N-No, ehem, the element you have the most affinity with is¡­gravity."

    "Gravity?"

    "Yes, gravity. It''s quite rare and strong, be proud." She said with a forceful smile.

    ''Gravity, huh. It seems from her reaction that this isn''t just a ''rare'' element. I need to know more.'' He thought with a neutral expression.

    "You can head straight to the second room."

    After he left the room, Scarlett looked at one of the people present and said, " Get me every information you know about him. I don''t want anyone to find out about his element."

    ? "Yes, young miss!" The man shouted before running away. He had no time to waste or his miss would get angry.

    ''A young kid with an affinity for a lost element. Who is he?'' She thought as she looked at the door silently.

    This was the moment when Scarlett''s interest in this mysterious young man ignited. An interest that will change her future and Acht''s future forever.

    *******************

    Meanwhile, Acht, who was oblivious to what he got himself involved in, found himself in another room that resembles the previous one. This time, however, there was only one single person sitting at a table smoking a cigarette and looking at nothing in particr.

    "Oh, wee. I''ve been waiting for the arrival of someone for a while now." The man spoke with a small smile the moment he saw Acht.

    "Are you the one who is going to unlock my gift?" Acht ignored his words and cut straight to the chase.

    "Hahaha, yeah, it''s me. Now,e closer." The manughed it off and kept his small smile stered on his face.

    Acht approached him until he was only a few inches away. Then, the man extended his hand and touched Acht''s chest.

    "It''s going to hurt slightly. Don''t resist my powers."

    Then, he channeled his soul force to his arm and straight inside Acht''s body. He felt a strong wave of energy paralyze his body as if he was electrocuted.

    The pain was high but tolerable with Acht''s strong will. He just clenched his teeth slightly without showing any apparent change in his expression.

    "We''re almost done." The man said.

    Then, an even stronger energy invaded his body and the pain intensified even more. Yet, Acht kept his stoic face not even allowing a groan of pain toe out of his mouth.

    "Aaand that''s it. You have unlocked your gift. You can now use it properly, just think of the name of your element and you should be able to activate it." The man said with a smile as he pulled his hand away.

    "Ok. Where should I head now?"

    "The door is over there. It will lead you back to the reception. They will exin everything else."

    Acht looked at his hand briefly before shaking his head and walking away. He wanted to try his gift but he scratched that idea.

    ''It could end up with a disaster. I will try it when I am alone.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 12 Chapter 12

    Acht returned to the reception lounge, the ce was considerably emptier now and even those who were not there for the test had already left on their missions.

    The boy didn''t idle much and went straight to the receptionist. The woman was surprised to see him back.

    "Wee again, did you pass the appraisal?" She asked with a smile.

    Acht nodded briefly without saying anything.

    "Well, congrattions! You have passed the first phase of the examination. Now, for the real test. As you may or may not know, the hunter examination is a yearly test that is held on one specific date. The ce of the test is different each year and so are theponents of the test. So, please refrain from thinking that it would be the same as the year before or any other year."

    "Understood." He said as noted her words in the back of his head.

    "Good. The test for this year will be held in the capital city of the lower world, Lagradon. As for the date, it will be exactly 35 days from now."

    ''Lagradon? That''s where the story of the book started.'' He pondered. It was a massive city that held all the power in the lower world and was considered the shining star of this ce. That''s why most of the powerhouses of the Lower World were Lagradon.

    He thanked the receptionist and left the hunter association''s branch. A lot of things happened inside, the most important, however, is his gift.

    ''Gravity seems to be very strong. From one look alone, anyone will think that it''s a great gift with no disadvantages or weak points, but that''s most likely a wrong assumption. I need to find its weak points first and then learn how to control it properly.''

    Acht passed through the main street walking leisurely. He was searching for a ce to stay for the time being. Going to Lagradon will be thest thing he does.

    "Hmm, this should be a good ce." He muttered when he saw a luxurious building with a big sign that had ''Bluerise Hotel'' on the front.

    He had enough money to pay for anything at this point, so a few weeks in a 5-star hotel is not a stretch by any means.

    He walked inside, the moment he saw the ce, he knew that it was only made for the ''filthy rich''. Almost everything around him was made of expensive material from tables to chairs to even vases of flowers. It was a feast to the eye through and through.

    "Wee to Bluerise Hotel, how could I help you?" A receptionist called for him with a professional smile.

    "I''d like to book a room for 3 weeks, is that possible?"

    "T-Three weeks? Ehem, are you sure about this, sir?" The woman stuttered in response. In all of her time working there, she never met someone who booked a room for more than 4 days let alone 3 weeks, and the one who asked this was a child at that!

    "Yes, are there no empty rooms?" He asked.

    "Absolutely not, sir! I apologize for my rudeness. We have rooms free for booking. Which tier you''d like the room to be? We have from small rooms up to royal suites.

    "A royal suite."

    "Understood, please wait a few moments." The receptionist''s mind was thinking of two single words: ''Filthy rich''.

    Acht didn''t bother with her funny expressions and waited patiently for the woman to do her job. A couple of minutester, the receptionist called him again.

    "Would you mind if you pay in advance?" She asked.

    "No problem, how much is that?"

    "25 gold coins."

    "Here." He pulled out exactly 25 gold coins from his ring and gave them to her.

    "Here are the keys. Your room is on thest floor, number 986. If you have anything you want to learn about, you could call the reception desk and we will help you to the best of our abilities."

    Acht then left the reception and walked up the stairs. He could''ve taken the lift but he liked to do some light training on the way up.

    It took 30 minutes to reach thest floor. It had only 3 rooms so the ce was pretty quiet and empty

    When Acht was about to open his door, the lift made a ringing sound and the door opened. He took a brief look at the person who came to this floor and much to his shock¡­it was Scarlett Goldknight.

    Their eyes locked on each other and no one could say anything. They stood in their ces with awkward silence taking over the ce.<sub> </sub>

    ? "Good evening." Said Acht after some time.

    "...Good evening."

    Then he opened the door and entered quickly. ''What kind of bad luck is this?'' he thought with clenched teeth.

    This encounter alone could be more than enough to change the whole future of this world and it had to be in such a stupid way.

    "Calm down, Acht. I just have to avoid her as much as I can." He took a couple of deep breaths and shook his thoughts away.

    The royal suite lived up to its name indeed. It was very spacious, with a huge king-sized bed, a beautiful kitchen, a small bar section, and even an indoor pool. He had everything he needed and more in that ce.

    "Let''s see. I should first take a shower, then I should train my gift and do some physical training."

    Acht was a very organized person, he never liked doing things on a whim. It''s probably one of the reasons why he became the king of assassins in his previous life.

    After taking a shower, he sat down in the middle of the living room.

    "Ok, let''s see. He said I should think of the name of my element and channel my soul force." He said as he executed his words.

    He felt the energy umte in his hand gradually. But this time, it didn''t just stop. The energy started diminishing and he felt as if something was out on his shoulders. The weight wasn''t strong but it was more than enough for Acht to notice.

    ''Good. Let''s try to change the area of effect.'' he thought with a small smile.

    He looked at a pillow on the couch and tried to apply a stronger gravity to it. At first, nothing changed but after waiting for a few moments the normal pillow started changing form as if it was getting squished by a heavyweight.

    "This is really good! But, it''s very slow and it also consumes a lot of energy." He pondered loudly while looking at his hand.

    He was happy with the results but he also couldn''t ignore the ring ws in his power. The sluggish use of his power could be solved with continuous practice, but the big consumption of energy is what is bothering him.

    "Wait, could I still absorb energy from the atmosphere around me? The book said that after awakening the only way for anyone to breakthrough soul levels is to consume soul force from other creatures. But, that goddess should''ve at least given me some privileges."

    He was not sure about that idea but he wanted to try, nevertheless. Acht closed his eyes and calmed his breathing. The atmosphere around him changed and he started feeling the energy that was floating around him almost instantly.

    ''It''s way denser than the slums.''

    Then, he tried umting that energy in front of him. Fortunately for him, the energy followed his will, and soon enough a huge ball of energy was floating in front of him.

    He then tried to merge that energy with his body. The ball approached him and then prated his chest. He felt the same feeling as when he awakened.

    ''It works.'' he felt slightly happy with this discovery since it will cut down a lot of problems for him.

    After absorbing the whole ball of energy, he felt his soul getting stronger by a small amount. It was very minuscule but he didn''t get annoyed, he just kept his concentration and repeated the process again and again and again.

    Hours passed silently while Acht was umting and absorbing energy like a tireless machine. At some point, his soul that was nourished to the brim with energy started changing, the snow-white color of his soul lost a small degree of its brightness and a hint of orange appeared in the middle and mixed with the white color¡­he reached level 2.

    When he was fully done, he opened his eyes and exhaled a deep breath. Concentrating for almost 10 hours straight took a toll on his mind. Even his body was soaked in sweat to show his exhaustion.

    "I felt it. My soul reached level 2." He muttered under his breath.

    He stood up from his ce and walked to the shower again. But¡­

    *Knock* *Knock*

    A knocking sound made him halt his steps.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. Thank you and have a good day <3

 13 Chapter 13

    "Who is it?" Acht muttered to himself. He didn''t order anything from the reception so he was quite wary of this knocking. It could''ve been one of the candidates that wanted to harm him or¡­

    ''I have someone in mind and I hope that I''m wrong.'' He thought with an exasperated look. He predicted who would knock on him at such a time but he''d rather not open the door.

    He walked quietly to the entrance without making a noise and looked through the hole in the door. Much to his surprise, it was Scarlett who was standing in front of his room.

    ''What am I gonna do with this person, sigh. I should pretend I''m not here and hope she walks away.'' A small frown appeared on his face and he held his breath.

    "I know that you''re standing behind the door." She suddenly spoke with her t, emotionless tone.

    "Oh, great." He muttered. It could''ve been a trick from her side to make him open the door but he had a rough idea of how her mind works and he was sure that she wasn''t the type to lie her way through things.

    "What do you want, miss?" He answered without opening the door.

    "Can I have a small talk with you? I won''t take much of your time." She said calmly.

    ''I have no reason to ept. But¡­why do I have this feeling that if I don''t ept that I will regret it in the future.'' He held his head with his arm and pondered quietly.

    A few momentster, he answered, "Fine, wait a second."

    The door then opened and Scarlett was finally able to look at Acht properly. Her cold eyes stared deep into his ck irises trying to gauge his thoughts.

    Acht then sidestepped and said in a slightly respectful tone, "Please, feel free to enter."

    "Thank you." She didn''t refuse his invitation and went inside. He then took a look at the corridor onest time and closed the door.

    "Would you like a drink? I don''t have alcohol though." He asked as he went to the kitchen.

    "A cup of water is fine."

    "Suit yourself." He took the cup of cold water to the living room and put it in front of her before sitting down.

    "So, how could I help you?" He took a small breath and asked calmly.

    She looked at him with a serious look before speaking, "I don''t like beating around the bush, so I will cut to the chase. Would you like to join my family?"

    "Join your family?"

    "Yes. To be honest with you, I lied this morning. Your affinity is not simply ''rare''. You actually have an affinity with one of the lost elements." She said after taking a sip of her cup.

    "Could you perhaps exin what is a ''lost element''? I''ve never heard of such a term."

    In the main book, such a name was never mentioned so Acht was genuinely intrigued to know more about it.

    "When we first discovered that humans are capable of manipting the elements around them, there were 4 of them that stood out as the strongest. Everyone awakened with an affinity for such elements was destined to be a king, a supreme being that could not be opposed. These elements are: Space, Light, Darkness, and Gravity."

    She then paused to collect her thoughts before continuing.

    "A few thousand years ago, a particr event happened that changed this world forever. This event was called ''The descension War''. Many races from Ecrasia invaded the three worlds and started a war thatsted over 100 years. It had many devastating effects on the three worlds and one of those effects was the disappearance of these four elements. No one had seen them ever again until this day. You are the only person in records to have one of these elements since that time."

    She then gazed at Acht with aplicated look waiting for his reaction. He, on the other side, kept silent as he digested her words.

    ''It seems like I may have underestimated this power. Luckily I didn''t catch the attention of a freak.''

    "So, this power of mine is a big deal, huh. I get it. But, did you really want me to join your family just because of my talent? I feel like you have another purpose." He responded after a while with a cold gaze.

    ''This kid¡­he''s an anomaly.'' Scarlett thought as she squinted her eyes lightly. She felt like she was talking to a cunning fox that could trick her easily rather than a young boy.

    "You are right indeed. Unfortunately, I can''t tell you my goal now since it will do you more harm than good but I can guarantee you a lot of advantages if you join my family."<sub> </sub>

    "Like what?"

    She made a small gesture with her hand pointing at his body and said " I can see that you were training before I came. You seem like youck guidance in training your gift. If you join my family, you could be guided properly and even have a training program that could suit your body. You also will have the privilege of entering any monster dungeon under our control. There are many other things but I can see you got what I''m saying."

    Acht didn''t show any reaction to her words but deep inside, he was thinking Hardly about her words.

    "I could give you some time to thi-"

    "I thank you for the proposal but I have to, unfortunately, refuse it." He cut her words.

    "Could I know why?" She said without losing herposure. She had this possibility in mind when she came to talk with him so she wasn''t surprised by this oue.

    "While your offer does sound attractive, I prefer to not be shackled by anything. I like to have my own free will and I can see that your family doesn''t approve of such ideas."

    He saw right through her and gave a pr¨¦cise prediction of how her family worked. They may give these privileges unconditionally, but that makes them the ones in control of their members'' actions. It was a ''give and take'' deal from the start.

    "..."

    He saw how troubled Scarlett was and he was relieved that he was able to get rid of her this quickly. He changed the future too much with this encounter and he didn''t want it to make it worse.

    "If you have nothing else to say the-"

    "How about this: you''re about to pass through the hunter examination, right? I could train you for the next few weeks before the test. If you don''t change your mind until that time then I will give up. What do you think?"

    "Did anyone ever tell you that you''re a very tenacious person?"

    "A lot of times." She said with an ''almost smiling'' face. It was an attempt from her to show a smug grin.

    "Sigh, Fine. I will ept your offer. I hope you can change my mind in this short time."

    "You don''t have to worry about that. Uh, I forgot to introduce myself properly. I''m Scarlett Goldknight. Nice to meet you¡­" she said as she extended her arm for a handshake.

    "Acht. You can call me Acht." He epted her hand and shook it slightly.

    ''It may change the future a lot but I can''t ignore this free help. She could boost my progress by a huge margin'' he thought inwardly. It was indeed a risky move yet Acht saw no point in epting since he could see that Scarlett was very strong.

    The beautiful red-haired woman then excused herself after telling him to meet her tomorrow morning for the start of the training.

    When she left, Acht sat down on the couch again with a wistful look in his eyes. He had made many reckless choices today and he didn''t know why. He was never someone to take risks no matter how small they were because he firmly believed that stupid choices no matter how small they are could be the demise of one person.

    "Noeback on it now. I had already taken the risk, it either works or not. Show me what you could do, miss the heroine." He muttered before going to take a shower to wash away his sweat and also his worries.

    *************************

    The next morning, Acht got out of the room and went down to the reception lounge. There, he found Scarlett sitting alone at a table while sipping a cup of hot coffee.

    "Good morning."

    "Good morning. Are you ready? Even though I want to gain your interest in my offer, I will not go easy on you."

    "That''s what I''m looking for." He said with a small, cold smile on his face.

    "Good. Then, let''s get this out of the way while we are here¡­You will have to fight me first."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. Thank you and have a good day <3

 14 Chapter 14

    "Fight you?" Acht asked confusedly.

    "Yes, you may have one of the lost elements but that doesn''t mean you will excel inbat. Knowing how to do something and applying that in real life are two different things."

    She then took a sip of her coffee calmly and continued, "I need to see your weak and strong points. That''s why there is no better than a spar to gauge these things."

    "I see. Then, when should we start?" He nodded his head before asking again.

    "Follow me."

    Then, both of them stood up and walked out of the hotel. The city was as bustling as ever. In fact, with the end of the hunter appraisal phase the day before, the number of people in the city increased. Many families and guilds came here to see if there were any potential hunters they could recruit beforehand.

    This kind of thing happens in basically every city in the lower world, the rivalry between the influential guilds and the weaker guilds alike makes searching for opportunities to be stronger a must. That''s why, even though Scarlett was the supervisor of the appraisal, she didn''t allow for Acht''s information to leak since if that happened, every other family and guild would try to get him to their side no matter how they did it.

    The duo walked in the street for a few minutes before stopping in front of a rather small but well-organized building. The sign on the front said ''Bluerise Training Capsules Center''.

    "This is where we will train. This capsules center allows us to simte all possible cases in a fight including holographic dungeon monsters and other fighting conditions. The perfect ce for training." She exined briefly before walking inside followed by Acht.

    The two then spoke to the worker and rented a capsule for 12 hours. It was quite costly as they had to pay 13 gold coins but they were both swimming in gold so neither of them cared about it.

    When they walked away, the male worker looked at their silhouettes and muttered with an envious look, "You lucky brat! Staying for 12 hours with a hot babe like that!"

    The capsules were basically akin to modified rooms that could handle the power of hunters since they couldn''t train anywhere or it would be a disaster.

    They found their room and entered inside. In contrast to how it looked from the outside, the room was the size of a coliseum arena. The ground was made of hard rock and the walls out of some kind of metal.

    Acht whistled lightly as he looked around, he liked the atmosphere of this ce for some reason.

    While he was doing that, Scarlett just started undressing her clothes. She wore a training suit under her normal clothes for this training session but it only worked as an amplifier for her lethal curves and amazing body.

    ''She really sees me as a kid. I can''t me her though.'' He thought with a calm look. He wasn''t some lustful kid who would drool on the spot whenever he smelled female pheromones and even if he lost himself in lust, she would be able to erase him out of existence quite easily.

    "Do some light stretching before we start. I don''t want you to harm yourself before we even start the training."

    "You''re underestimating me too much, miss Scarlett." He answered with a cold gaze.

    "Oh! I heard that actions work better than words. Show me what you have. We will fight without using soul force or gifts. I want to assess your closebat prowess."

    "Understood."

    The two then stood facing each other, the difference in height and age made the fight quite weird from an outsider''s point of view.

    "I will throw this copper coin and when it falls down, the match starts." She then flicked the coin. It soared for a few meters in the sky before falling down.

    Both of them watched the coin attentively and the moment it touched the ground¡­

    *Swish*

    Acht rushed toward Scarlett quickly, their distance got closed in a few seconds. He then jumped and kicked with his right leg toward her face.

    Scarlett didn''t move from her ce and held her hand to guard against his attack. His leg connected with her arm but neither of them got pushed behind.

    Acht expected this to happen so hended on the ground and instantly sent a punch to her abdomen. His height didn''t allow him to reach any other part of her body.

    "Very good." She said as she sidestepped his punch and barely missed it.<sub> </sub>

    She then tried to hit his right elbow when it was extended but Acht saw right through it and grabbed her fist with his left hand.

    Her strength was way higher than Acht so he could only hold her for a few moments before jumping behind to make a distance between them.

    ''As expected, she''s strong.'' He thought with a small smile on the corner of his face. It has been a long time since he faced an opponent that could make him go all out. He felt his blood boil in excitement as every part of his body filled with endless energy.

    As for Scarlett, she was quite shocked by Acht. She expected him to be somewhat decent but she never thought he could be this skilled. For a moment, she even felt like she was fighting an expert.

    ''This kid is full of surprises.'' she could only think so as she took a fighting pose again.

    "Let''s continue." She said with a calm tone.

    Acht didn''t speak and instantly dashed toward her again. Their fight continued for minutes, they were almost on equal footing with some slight advantage for Scarlett.

    Their punches and kicks barely missed their targets each time. Acht had to use all of his abilities to keep up with her. No matter how much he tried, he couldn''t hit her, her speed and uracy were simply outstanding. If she were living in his previous world, she would''ve been considered an unbeatable monster.

    When the fight passed the 10 minutes mark, Acht started getting exhausted. His body couldn''t handle such intensity for a long time. He could''ve kept up this rhythm for some more time if he used his soul force but that was not allowed.

    Thus why, in theirst sh, he couldn''t dodge one of her kicks and was sent flying before falling to the ground.

    "Are you ok?" She asked him.

    "Huh¡­yes." He said with a breathless voice. His lungs were threatening to explode fromck of oxygen and his heart was overheating from work.

    "Let''s take a break."

    They sat down for a few minutes, none of them spoke and soon awkward silence took over the ce.

    "To be honest with you, your power surprised me. You have skills that could rival the strongest of hunters if you had some more power in your body. Can you tell me from where you learned how to fight?" She asked without looking at him.

    Her question was logical and Acht knew that he would have to answer her sooner orter. That''s why he prepared an excuse for such cases.

    "When I was born, my father and mother had to leave because of their work as hunters, but they never came back. They died in Ecrasia. So, my grandfather took responsibility for raising me up. He was also a hunter back in his prime so I made him train me." He said without hesitation.

    It was a t-out lie but he had no other choice. He can''t tell her that he was a strong hitman in his previous life and he got reincarnated by a crazy goddess in the body of a small child. He will either be considered crazy or hallucinating.

    "Oh, I see¡­I''m sorry for your loss." She said with a slightly sad tone. She may have been considered a cold person by many, but Scarlett was a very kind person inside. Her cold expression was something she made to face this cruel world where the stronger rules and weaker suffer.

    Acht saw through her front and tried to hold back a smile from appearing on his face. He was a cruel and cold person so seeing people like Scarlett was like a breath of fresh air for him.

    ''She reminds me of her.'' he thought as he sighed inwardly. Every time he sits down to rx, his mind will wander back to his previous life. The nostalgia was killing him.

    "Ok, enough with the chit-chat. Here, take this." She said as she stood up and threw a ss bottle in his direction.

    "What kind of potion is this?" He asked as inspected the vial with interest.

    "It''s a stamina replenishing potion. It will restore you to your peak condition. You will have to start drinking these until your body gets stronger." She answered while pointing at the potion.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 15 Chapter 15

    Acht looked briefly at the green liquid inside the vial. He only heard of these things in games and movies back on earth so seeing them in his hands was amazing.

    He then opened the bottle and gulped down the whole thing in one swift motion. It tasted like mango juice and it felt really good passing down Acht''s throat.

    ''I wouldn''t be surprised if people got addicted to this stuff.'' He thought as he felt the potion kick in pretty much instantly. His exhausted body started getting rejuvenated and his sore muscles regained their energy.

    A few momentster, he stood up and cracked his fingers, and did some minor stretches before saying, "Let''s continue."

    "Good. Now, I have already seen your level. We won''t be concentrating on closebat techniques since you seem prominent in them¡­Instead, I will help you train your gift." She said calmly.

    "How are you going to do that?"

    "Simple. Our gifts are just like any other skill we try to learn, the more we use them the more we be prominent in them. So, from now on, you will have to use your gift all the time even when you''re not training." She exined while holding her huge bust in her arms. It was quite the amazing sight for the sore eye and Acht secretly appreciated it even though he didn''t show it in his expression.

    She then made a small gesture with her hand and a massive rock appeared out of thin air. She summoned that rock using the capsule''s features.

    "Now, I want you to use gravity to lift this rock in the air. This training will end when you can make this rock float for 5 minutes without falling. Have in mind that this same exercise will also increase your soul force level." She then walked away and took a seat not so far from where Acht stood.

    "I see. Ok, let me try." He muttered and extended his arm toward the rock. Then, he started channeling his soul force to its full capacity.

    The 40 kg rock started fidgeting and shaking slightly, then, in one single motion, it started floating in the air. It didn''t fly that high, keeping the distance between it and the ground barely a few centimeters.

    ''This is hard. It feels as if all of the rock''s weight is on my arms'' he clenched his teeth slightly while trying to keep his full concentration on the boulder.

    20 seconds passed and the rock was still in the air. But, instead of being stable, it was swinging left and right as if it was threatening to fall any second now.

    Acht was starting to shake too, he was on the verge of releasing his power as he couldn''t hold on anymore. Expectedly, a few secondster, the rock regained its gravity and fell down to the ground.

    "23 seconds. Not bad for a first try. But, you still have a long way to go. Restart again." Scarlett spoke from the sidelines as she looked at the chronometer in her hand.

    "Yes." Acht nodded and wiped the beads of sweat umting on his face.

    The process started again, nothing much changed this time either but Acht felt as if he was starting to understand his gift more. It was an iprehensible feeling for him but he was sure of one thing: he was making progress.

    His second try ended at 24 seconds, adding one more second over his previous record.

    "Miss Scarlett, my soul force is depleted. How am I going to repeat this many times if I had to wait for my soul force to replenish each time?"

    "Don''t worry about that¡­here, take this." She then pulled a ring-shaped object out of her pocket and tossed it to him.

    "That''s a ring that will speed up your regeneration. Put it on and you will be back fully charged in a few seconds. Luckily for you, you are still a white soul awakener or that ring would''ve been useless for you."

    Acht took a long nce at the ring before looking at Scarlett.

    "Miss Scarlett. May I know something?" He asked with squinted eyes.

    "Mm?"

    "Are these objects expensive? I have to be frank here but I don''t like owing people great favors so if it''s inconvenient for you to give them to me then I have to refuse it."

    He was genuinely annoyed. Acht never owes anyone any favor because that will make him vulnerable and this was not a different case. Scarlett could use this to make him join her family.

    Scarlett''s eyes widened slightly before a smile appeared on her mesmerizing face coupled with a beautifulugh. It was truly a beautiful sight.

    "Fufufu! Are you worried about me or about yourself? Don''t worry, this is not a favor, consider it a part of our deal."

    This was the first time Acht saw herugh like this and he was surprised by that fact.

    "Fine. But I will say this now since I didn''t say it before¡­I appreciate your help." He responded.

    "No problem." Her face was still smiling softly at him. She was enjoying her talk with him for some reason.<sub> </sub>

    "Now, get back to training. You still have 11 hours of training." She ordered with a stern face.

    Acht put the ring in his right hand. He waited for a few moments and his soul force was rechargedpletely.

    The training resumed and Acht kept on repeating the same exercise again and again and again. He only stopped twice to take a break or eat something.

    Each time he tried lifting the boulder, his proficiency would increase and so did his best record. From 23 seconds, he soon broke the one-minute mark and then the two minutes mark after it. He was getting better and better at an rming pace to the point where Scarlett couldn''t believe her eyes.

    ''What kind of monstrous talent is this?! He only needed a few hours to be able to use his gift considerably easily. How could that be possible?''

    The hours passed like a sh and they finally ended the 12 hours they had in the capsule. Acht reached a stable 3 minutes and 48 seconds as his best record. He was also surprised at his progress but he thought it wasn''t that much of a big deal and forgot about it.

    As they walked out of the capsule, Scarlett said with a weird tone, "You had great progress today. Now, from here until tomorrow morning, I want you to increase the gravity of your body to double the normal amount. I want you to keep that for as long as you can each time. Is that clear?"

    "Ok." He nodded with a calm look. He wasn''t annoyed by her strict attitude, he knew that she was doing that for his own good.

    They reached the hotel and got separated quickly. Acht entered his room and activated his gift. Instantly, he felt his body grow extremely heavy and he almost stumbled on his foot. He weighed 35 kg so his legs were now supporting 70 kg worth of weight.

    "How am I going to keep my gift working when I fall asleep?" He muttered while shaking his head tiredly.

    After taking a shower and struggling to walk for a while, he went to bed and tried to sleep. As expected, the moment his mind started shutting off, the gravity lessened on his body and he woke up instantly.

    "This is problematic."

    The whole night passed with him struggling to keep the gift working while also trying to fall asleep. It was a sleepless night for Acht.

    The next morning, he met Scarlett in front of her room. She inspected him quietly before trying to talk.

    "Did you no-"

    "I didn''t sleep the whole night. I couldn''t find a way to keep the gravity activated while also falling asleep." He said with a slightly colder tone than usual. He was annoyed at his failure toplete the task.

    "Oh, I see. I wasn''t expecting you to seed from your first night. Making your gift work even while you''re asleep is something that takes months and even years of practice to aplish."

    "I understand." He nodded his head in approval with some lingering frustration in his heart.

    "Never mind that. Did you eat breakfast?" She suddenly asked.

    "No, I was intending to do so when I left the hotel."

    "Let''s go together then. I have something to tell you."

    ? They both then left the hotel and went to the nearest restaurant they found. It was in the same street as the hotel they resided in so it was a pretty extravagant ce in its own right.

    They took seats and ordered their food. After that, Scarlett looked at Acht deeply and said after long contemtion.

    "There will be a small change in strategy for today."

    "Why is that?" He asked confusedly.

    "I heard that there was a dungeon break near the southern walls of bluerise city. They called me for a little help. It won''t be a huge mission so¡­"

    She then pointed at Acht and continued, "You will go with me."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. Thank you and have a good day <3

 16 Chapter 16

    "What about the training n?" Acht asked as he took a bite from his food. The ce was quite luxurious so the food was top-notch even by his standards. They used some kind of meat he had never seen before.

    "This dungeon break is from a G-ranked dungeon. Even if things came to the worst case possible, this will only take us one day toplete. So, by tomorrow you should be able to go back to your normal training." She exined calmly.

    "I see. Sure then, I have never fought monsters before and it should be a good experience for me."

    "It sure will be." She nodded her head and continued eating.

    After their breakfast, they left the restaurant but didn''t head straight to the southern walls. They first went to a weapon shop.

    It was located on the outskirts of the normal parts of the city making it one of the closest shops to the slums.

    "Do you have any experience with weapons like swords and such?" She asked when they reached their destination.

    "I know how to use daggers and swords, but I didn''t master them." He answered with a contemting gaze.

    ''No one expects you to master a weapon when you''re still 6 or 7 years old!'' She almost blurted out her thoughts at hisck ofmon sense and sighed inwardly.

    "Let''s go in then. You can buy a simple weapon to use."

    The shop wasn''t as extravagant as the other building they entered but it was organized enough to not make people frown. All kinds of swords, bows, and daggers filled the ce, and the smell of smelt iron invaded their nostrils.

    Then, a burly man wearing a ck apron and holding a hammer in his right hand came out of the back room and greeted them with a grin.

    "Wee to my shop,ds! Oh, if it isn''t the princess! It''s been a long time!"

    He seemed to be the cheerful type of person as the smile didn''t leave his face at all.

    ''So he was one of her acquaintances.'' acht thought while looking at the cksmith.

    "Hi, Galdof. It''s been a while indeed. I would like to choose a weapon for my friend''s little brother here. He prefers swords and daggers. Do you have any rmendations?" Scarlett spoke while patting Acht''s hair.

    ''I know this is a part of acting. But is it necessary to pat my head?'' He thought with slight annoyment.

    "Oh! You seem quite young to be using a weapon, young man! I respect fearless people like you!" The manughed loudly then walked out of his counter and walked to one of the shelves.

    "Where is it?¡­ I remember putting it here." He muttered while looking around.

    Then, he pulled something from the pile of weapons and said, "Found it! Here, try this one. This short sword is one of my best works. You said you liked daggers and swords, right? This one is a mix between them. It gives you the agility of the dagger and the lethal shes of a normal long sword." He exined with an excited look.

    Acht grabbed the sword of his hand and inspected it. He never used a short sword before but it didn''t seem that different from the weapons he knew how to use.

    Then he walked slightly away from the other two and made a few moves with the short sword. His shes were fast and beautiful as if he was dancing with the sword rather than normal moves. The other two were mesmerized for a second by this show.

    He did that for a few moments before stopping and looking at the cksmith "I will take it."

    The burly man took a few seconds to understand what he said before smiling widely.

    "G-Good. I will get you the scabbard of the sword from the other room. Wait a moment."

    Then he came back with a scabbard made out of wood and steel and gave it to Acht. He put the sword in the scabbard and then stored it in his ring.

    "How much is this, old man?" Scarlett asked.

    "You can take it for free, princess. Consider it as a present for old time''s sake." He shook his head as he refused her.

    "Thank you, Galdof." She appreciated his small gesture even though she could buy hundreds of that sword with the money she had at the moment.

    The two then left the ce and headed straight to the south. They had to pass through a small part of the slums to reach the walls. It was inconvenient but that was the only way since the main road for trading in bluerise city connects with the northern wall which was one of the richest parts of the city.

    "What kind of monsters will we fight?"

    "They told me that it was a kobold dungeon."

    "And how exactly did this dungeon break happen?"<sub> </sub>

    "When a dungeon is not cleared on regr bases, the soul barrier that keeps monsters trapped inside weakens, and that allows them to get out. That''s what we call a ''dungeon break''."

    They talked as they passed through the slums. Many people looked at them and especially Scarlett since she was akin to an alien for these people. There were even some arrogant people who tried to stop them but ended up getting beaten up to a pulp in a few seconds.

    They reached the southern wall in 10 minutes. There, they found 2 guards standing beside the gates looking out for any suspicious personing from the slums.

    When they saw Acht and Scarlett they paled visibly and spoke with a stuttering voice.

    "M-Miss Goldknight! The captain was expecting you!"

    "Tell him I came." She ordered with a cold look.

    One of them ran away to a building near the gates and then came back with another man. They wore the same armor but the new face had a symbol on his left chest.

    "Miss Scarlett! You can''t imagine how grateful we are for your gracious help even though it''s an insignificant matter to you." He spoke with utmost respect.

    "Don''t worry about it, captain. I wanted to help my friend''s younger brother with his training. You won''t mind, right?"

    "A-Absolutely not!" He almost gulped a mouthful of saliva because of her cold gaze. She was speaking normally to him but everyone present knew that she was ordering him around and her respectful words were nothing but a facade.

    Then, the three people walked out of the gates. Outside the city, there were vastnds of greenery that surrounded the city walls. It was quite a beautiful sight. However, this was ruined by what was happening not so far from the walls.

    A group of people was fighting 3 kobolds. The kobolds were jumping left and right avoiding the swords and spears of the hunters.

    "Hey! Use your gift and stop them from moving!" One of them shouted at another.

    Then, the man tried to activate his gift but the kobolds saw it and instantly focused on him. The three monsters ran ferociously and jumped at the poor man intending to kill him.

    But, before any of them could react. A silhouette appeared out of nowhere and kicked one of them to the ground. He then pointed at the other two and they instantly fell down like their friend. In a moment, he suppressed three kobolds easily.

    The man was shocked beyond words but he regained enough of hisposure to look at the person and ask him, "Who¡­are you?"

    "You don''t need to know. Now, retreat with your friends and let me deal with them. You are in the way." The person answered with a cold look.

    It was obviously Acht. When they reached the ce and saw the hard fight, Scarlett asked him to go and kill them alone. She intended for him to fight every kobold without any assistance from her.

    He didn''t feel any fear of these creatures even though this was the first time he saw them in real life.

    ''A weak insect is a weak insect no matter how it looks.'' he thought.

    The group of hunters was about to argue with the cocky kid that appeared but the high-pitched cry of the kobold cut them off. They looked at the struggling monsters with shock.

    "I said LEAVE!" Acht spoke again with anger.

    The hunters didn''t dwindle anymore and ran away as fast as they could.

    When Acht was sure they were far enough, he shifted his gaze towards the monsters. His gravity gift was working great at suppressing them but that won''t be for long since they were struggling greatly and he felt his powers weaken gradually.

    ''Now, How should I kill these things? I don''t want to make a mess.'' he thought briefly before shaking his head and deactivating his gift.

    The monsters were released so they stood up and dashed toward Acht with great fury.

    "Wraaaa!!!!"

    They wanted to shred him to pieces but the kid couldn''t bother less with their killing intent.

    "Come at me."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 17 Chapter 17

    The three kobolds ran madly toward Acht with their sharp ws ready to dice him up into pieces. Even though they were merely G-rank monsters, they could still kill normal humans fairly easily and even heavily injure rookie hunters. So, underestimating them is not an option if someone wants to keep their lives.

    The first kobold reached Acht and smashed down with its hand on him. Its speed was slightly above what humans could do so it could appear blurry to many.

    But, for Acht, it was merely a slow-motion attack from a weak enemy. He moved to the side swiftly and avoided the attack, then, he pulled his sword and shed horizontally. His sword cut the left arm of the kobold as if it was a piece of butter and sent it flying.

    "WRAAAAAA!!!!!" The kobold screamed in extreme pain as blood gushed out of its arm like a fountain. It tried to kick Acht in its stupor but Acht was already a step ahead of it and he stabbed with his sword toward its chest.

    *Swish*

    Before he could end its life, the other two kobolds reached him and jumped at him. Acht clicked his tongue and activated his gift. Instantly, the two creatures fell down like rag dolls and stuck to the ground like glue because of the increased gravity.

    He didn''t intend to kill them with only his gift, he only wanted to stop their dash and get some time to kill the first one.

    While holding them off, Acht moved swiftly and stabbed the first kobold. He could''ve left it alone and it would''ve died from the huge loss of blood but he wanted to do the task perfectly and not create a bloody mess.

    "WRAAAA!!!" The kobold was very tenacious; it wouldn''t go down without a fight. It tried to grab Acht but he was faster.

    With one swift move, the short sword stabbed its chest right through its heart. It tried to shake it away or resist but it soon lost strength and died on the spot.

    Acht then shifted his concentration to the two left, they already nullified his powers and were standing still looking at him. They weren''t smart or sane but their instincts alone told them that the human in front of them was very dangerous.

    "If you won''te at me, then I wille to you." He said with a calm, emotionless tone.

    He dashed toward them like a sh, then he used his momentum to jump and stab toward one of the monsters. While he was in the air, he activated his gift and added gravity to his body making hisnding even faster and his speed even scarier.

    The kobolds didn''t expect this and found themselves unable to dodge.

    *Swish*

    The sword drove through the first one creating a big hole in its stomach. Acht then quickly pulled the sword and shed horizontally to the side. The de made a beautiful arc before slicing through the side of the kobold all the way to the center of its abdomen.

    The two monsters screamed in extreme pain and fell down dead a few seconds after.

    In just one minute, Acht killed the three monsters without getting a scratch. It was a one-sided massacre rather than a fight since the monsters couldn''t do anything to him.

    Acht then pulled his sword from the kobold and made a light swing to get rid of the blood on the de before putting it again in the scabbard.

    ''That was easier than expected but still enjoyable.'' he thought as he took a deep breath before looking at Scarlett.

    She also looked at him, but with deep surprise in her pupils. She was not expecting anything from what happened.

    ''I knew he would be able to kill them¡­but this¡­this is scary.'' She thought as she inspected the kid in front of her.

    At first, she got interested in him because of his affinity with a lost element yet deep down in her heart she thought he would be an average person in all the other aspects. However, not even 2 days passed and she was already questioning whether he was really a child or not.

    ''He didn''t even flinch when killing those monsters. Was this really his first time killing a living creature?''

    "Miss Scarlett?" He spoke to her with a confused gaze.

    ''Did I overdo it?'' He pondered worriedly. Looking back at himself, he did indeed show too much of his skills but he wasn''t thinking about it since he was concentrated on killing the monsters.

    "Ah¡­Ah! Yes, I was just thinking about something. You did¡­an amazing job over there." She shook her head and spoke with a small frown on her face.

    "Good. Are these all the monsters?"

    The captain of the guards was the one to answer.

    "N-No¡­there are still a few of them near the southern forest."<sub> </sub>

    He was also shocked beyond words at such a talent and cold-heartedness but he didn''t want to offend Scarlett or the scary kid so he tried to calm down.

    "Should I deal with them, Miss Scarlett?" He looked at the red-haired beauty waiting for her answer.

    "I will let you kill them. But before that, I will show you how to collect the soul stones of the kobolds."

    "Soul stones?"

    "Yes, every living creature has a soul stone where their soul force is stored. They are also the only way for humans to absorb the soul force of other creatures and evolve."

    She then approached the three dead monsters and pulled out a knife. Then, with swift and precise moves, she opened a hole around the sr plexus of the creature''s body. The blood kept on gushing out non-stop but Scarlett didn''t bother with it and put her hand inside the monster. Then, she pulled out a small object the size of a peanut from the monster.

    The object was glowing faintly with a blue color. It was akin to a diamond that shines even with blood covering it.

    "This is a soul stone. It''s small in size because kobolds are weak G-rank monsters but with each rank, the soul stones get bigger and bigger." She tossed the object to Acht so he could take a look at it.

    He grabbed it and pressed on it. It was quite sturdy in contrast to its fragile look.

    "Ok, now. I want you to extract the soul stones out of the other two bodies. The soul stone is always situated in the middle of the abdomen no matter what creature we are talking about. Keep that in mind."

    Achat nodded briefly before grabbing the knife and imitating Scarlett''s moves. He took a little bit longer than her to get the soul stone out but he nevertheless was able to do it.

    He then repeated the same process with thest monster. In total, he had three soul stones in his hand that looked identical but with small variations in size.

    "Very good. I will show youter how to absorb them. We should continue now."

    Scarlett and Acht continued walking and behind them was the captain who felt out of ce with two geniuses walking in front of him. He was debating whether he should excuse himself and leave or not.

    The southern forest was rather big in size, it wasparable to the size of bluerise city and it was rumored to be filled with all kinds of creatures. Fortunately or not, most of the monsters who lurk inside the forest never leave so the city was never threatened by a monster stampede or any sort of danger.

    The three people reached the outskirts of the forest in a few minutes. They weren''t intending to enter the forest since the kobolds were somewhere around the ce they were standing at.

    ''I can''t feel any presence around here. Are they really here?'' thought Acht as he looked left and right with his hand on his short sword.

    "You can''t feel their presence. Kobolds are known for their decent hiding skills." Scarlett spoke with a low voice.

    She then closed her eyes for a brief second and opened them again before continuing, "There is only one way to feel their presence. You should try and detect their soul forces."

    "How do I do that?"

    "Close your eyes and try to feel the soul energy around you." She instructed him.

    "I want you to try and look for any weird fluctuations in the energy around us. That''s probably where the kobolds are hiding."

    Acht followed her words and concentrated on his surroundings. After some search, he was able to find what she told him. There were a few ripples a few tens of meters away from them behind a big tree.

    "I saw it. They''re behind that tree." Acht opened his eyes and pointed at the ce.

    "Good." Scarlett nodded her head with satisfaction.

    She then left Acht to deal with them and spoke to the captain.

    "Where is the dungeon that these monsters got out of?" She asked with a calm look.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 18 Chapter 18

    "There is no need for y-" the captain of the guards tried to answer but he was cut off harshly by Scarlett.

    "Where is the dungeon?"

    Her voice was cold and emotionless with a hint of anger. He gulped down a mouthful of saliva in fear and replied with a stuttering and meek voice.

    "I-It''s¡­It''s in that direction."

    Scarlett then ignored himpletely and looked at Acht. He was already finishing off thest kobold. They were scared of him in the first ce so even though there were 8 kobolds in total, they didn''t want to fight him which made things easier for the boy.

    After killing them off, he extracted the soul stones from their bodies and returned to Scarlett. He then handed her the stones and said.

    "Those are thest ones. I checked for anyone hiding nearby or running away but I didn''t feel anything. I could only feel a 10-meter radius around me so I don''t know if one of them ran away or not though."

    "That''s fine. With each level, the area you could scan around you also increases." She answered before looking at the stones for a few seconds.

    Then, she shifted her gaze to look at Acht and asked, "Would you like to enter the dungeon and clear it up?"

    She didn''t want to order him around just because she was his trainer. She believed that he should make his own choices since she won''t be with him forever.

    "The kobold dungeon?"

    "Yes, I know its location. So, would you like to enter it? It''s your choice, we can also call it a day and then go back."

    "Hmm, let''s continue. I will have to enter a dungeon sooner orter anyway." He answered not so long after. There was no point in pondering over it, killing more kobolds means more soul stones and more soul stones means more soul force to absorb for him.

    "W-Wait, Miss Scarlett. He isn''t a hunter, he can''t enter a dungeon. It''s really danger-"

    "I will go with him. Am I not enough to protect him in a G-rank dungeon?" She asked with a re.

    "A-Absolutely not!" He shook his head vigorously.

    She didn''t speak anymore and started walking away with Acht. It was as if she was telling him not to follow her anymore.

    The captain understood the gesture and sighed loudly before walking away with a sad look. He wanted to gain the favor of a big shot like Scarlett but he ended up making her angry.

    ************************

    The duo walked for a few minutes in silence, Acht was wiping the blood from his clothes and his sword while Scarlett kept looking around for some reason.

    "That''s the kobold''s dungeon." She pointed at a big cave on a small hill near the forest. She then sat down and pulled out the soul stones.

    "But first, I will show you how to absorb these soul stones. Come and sit down in front of me." She tapped the grass in front of her as she spoke.

    Acht then sat down and took the soul stones from her hand.

    "Try to feel the energy inside of them. Then, I want you to guide that energy out of the stones just like how you channel your soul force when you want to use it."

    Acht followed her instructions and the energy quickly started sipping out of the stones and into his body. In a few seconds, the blue color of the stones disappeared and turned into a dull grey color.

    "We should go now. We should finish before sunset."

    The two then approached the big cave entrance. It was very dark inside but not too dark so they could see clearly.

    "One rule before we enter. Whenever you enter a dungeon you should always expect the worse. Dungeons are still a mystery to us and the cases of dungeon abnormalities that killed hunters aren''t rare. Never underestimate these ces, ok?"

    "Understood." He nodded his head while keeping his eyes on the dark entrance.

    Then, they both walked inside. The eerie silence of the dungeon with the asional sound of water dripping from the ceiling made the atmosphere creepy and ufortable.

    "Keep your eyes on any movement in the shadows. Most monsters never choose a direct confrontation." She whispered to Acht.

    They both kept walking through the darkness as the tunnel kept getting smaller and smaller until it was only one meter above their heads.

    Then, a loud sound of a monster screaming reached their ears. The sound wasing from the front. It was the sound of a kobold. To be more pr¨¦cise, it was the sound of two kobolds but it was quite different from the ones they both heard outside.

    The duo then kept walking while Acht pulled out his sword, ready for any sneak attack. A few secondster, they finally saw the monsters.<sub> </sub>

    "What?" Their eyes widened in surprise.

    The two kobolds weren''t fighting or evenmunicating. They were¡­copting.

    The male kobold held the female and did all kinds of things to her body while totally ignoring the fact that two humans watched him in action.

    The scene was disgusting, to say the least. Two ugly things were mating loudly without a care in the world, even Acht felt disgusted by such a sight.

    He then instantly pulled a knife out and threw it at them. The knife flew like a bullet and struck the male kobold right in the head, killing him instantly.

    When she felt her partner die, the female kobold finally woke up from her euphoria and saw the two humans who killed her male.

    She then screeched loudly and tried to charge at them in fury. But, Acht was faster by a step, he pulled his sword and dashed towards her. He then bent to the side and made a diagonal cut with the de.

    The sword cut open her abdomen and caused a huge injury that reached her chest.

    The kobold screamed in agony before falling to the ground and dying in her own blood.

    ''What an abomination to see¡­this will make it even awkward to continue hunting.'' he didn''t know whether tough or cry at such stupid luck.

    He then took a peek at Scarlett. At first, one would think she looked normal but Acht saw it clearly¡­she had a hint of red on her cheeks.

    ''Don''t blush like that! You are making it even more awkward for me.'' he wanted to blurt out these words but decided not to do so or she will probably kill him on the spot.

    "Ehem, I will get the soul stones and we can continue." He said with a light cough to diffuse the suffocating silence.

    "Ok."

    Then both of them started walking again, no one spoke to the other as they tried to Shake off the horrible memory that lived rent-free in their minds right now. Acht would''ve rather chosen to see a massacre of millions of people happening in front of him rather than seeing two kobolds have sex again. It was that bad.

    Then, for the next hour, the duo faced many monsters on their way. They weren''t wandering around in big groups so Acht was able to deal with them pretty easily.

    The tunnel they were walking in seemed to be endless at first but soon, they saw the end.

    "Hmm, is this the end?" He asked Scarlett.

    "No, there is still the dungeon boss left. It''s the strongest creature in the dungeon and it resides in thest chamber of the dungeon."

    She then walked to the end of the tunnel and continued, "The boss in this dungeon is the ''Kobold Chief''. It''s the strongest kobold out of them. You have to be careful while dealing with it."

    "I know. Let''s go inside." He answered with a nonchnt look.

    Thest chamber of the dungeon had a stone door closing it so they had to push it open in order to enter. It didn''t seem easy since the door weighed 70 kilograms.

    When Scarlett was about to touch it. Acht spoke again, "Wait."

    "What?" She tilted her head with confusion.

    "I want to try something." He answered.

    He then approached the door and tapped on it. He then activated his gift.

    Suddenly, the door started making sounds as if it was opening up. Then, in one movement, the door pried open.

    ''It seems that I can also push things away with my power. Gravity is full of surprises. I can''t wait to see what other things I could do with it.'' He thought with a satisfied gaze.

    He was discovering new things about his element every day. He felt as if he was opening a present full of surprises.

    What he didn''t know, however, was that it wasn''t all because of the gift but because of his talent. No one could be that good at controlling his powers in such a short time. But, hisck ofmon sense made it impossible for him to see that he was an anomaly.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 19 Chapter 19

    Scarlett looked at Acht who was standing there calmly as if nothing happened. She felt her emotions go chaotic.

    "You¡­Sigh¡­" She tapped her forehead as if she was suffering from a painful headache. She then walked to him and looked him in the eyes with an extremely serious look.

    "Listen, Acht. From the moment I decided to help you as a part of our deal, I tried to build some kind of trust between us, and to be honest, I have some things I can''t wrap my head around when ites to you. You are just full of mysteries¡­"

    She then took a deep breath to collect herself and continued, " I get that you want to have your secrets and that''s totally fine¡­But, let me tell you this¡­Your talent and skills are amazing to the point where it scares me sometimes. You don''t seem to understand that what you''re doing is by no means average or even something that geniuses of this world could pull off."

    Acht widened his eyes slightly in surprise and looked at Scarlett who seemed to be having a conflict inside of her. She was never someone to loseposure no matter what situation it was but she somehow seemed to lose that trait of hers whenever Acht was involved.

    "I¡­see."

    "So please, I want you to understand that thisck ofmon sense of yours could be your ticket to the afterlife."

    Acht nodded his head with some remorse in his eyes. In both of his lives, he sought perfection in everything he does and his skills made it easier for him to live up to those standards he set for himself. But, he was in the end a human being who was bound to make mistakes and this was one of those cases. So, he didn''t know how to deal with this fault of his except for doing one thing.

    "I apologize for the inconvenience. I indeed have some secrets that I don''t want anyone to know and I still can''t tell you these things since we knew each other for only a few days. I will take your words to heart, Miss Scarlett." He said without looking at her directly.

    Even with his prideful attitude, he felt the need to apologize in that situation or guilt would linger in his heart. It was indeed a very weird situation.

    What he didn''t know is that the old him would''ve never apologised in this situation. But, Acht was going through a change, a change that was so minuscule that he didn''t perceive.

    "Good. I hope you don''t act carelessly like this again." She tapped on his shoulder lightly before turning around to look at the chamber.

    There were no soundsing from inside even though the door was fully open. However, the atmosphere inside was even more suffocating than the outside so both of them were pretty sure the chief was inside.

    "Are you ready? I won''t be helping unless the situation bes dangerous."

    "I''m ready."

    Then, they both walked inside slowly, Acht''s sword was already in his hand and his eyes kept wandering around endlessly.

    At first, nothing happened. The dark room was quiet and not even the presence of the chief could be felt. But, before Acht could get suspicious, a loud scream that shook the whole chamber reached his ears and made him close his eye in pain. The scream was so loud that it threatened to break his ears.

    <o>,m Then, a big silhouette walked out of the shadows d in a veil of darkness. The monster was humongous, almost 4 times the size of an average human with huge muscles that threatened to burst from their sheer density. Its face was simr to that of a normal kobold but somehow even more ferocious.</o>

    Its teeth were razor-sharp and its massive mouth could swallow Acht in one gulp. It was indeed a creature that walked out of a person''s worst nightmares.

    Acht however, didn''t feel intimidated at all by this monster. He was aware that it was stronger than normal kobolds but that was it. It was in the end a brainless monster.

    The monster didn''t wait for the humans and charged toward them like a raging bull ready to squash them like ants. The duo didn''t wait either and jumped in different directions, leaving the charging chief to pass and smash into the wall roughly.

    "Woaaarr!!!" The monster was angry that its initial attack didn''t work so it shook itself and looked at the smaller prey out of the two which was Acht. The kobold wanted to get rid of the smaller human since it looked weaker and then deal with Scarlett, who it saw as the real threat.

    Acht didn''t wait for it and used all of his soul force in activating gravity. He applied all of it on the monster and pushed it away making it stumble to the ground.

    Then, he charged at it and jumped on top of its body. The monster tried to grab Acht with his left hand but Acht jumped over it and ran on his arm until he reached his face.

    He wanted to stab one of his eyes since they were one of the few obvious weak points of this behemoth of a creature.

    The sword moved swiftly toward his left eye but the monster was quick enough to stand on his feet and shake off Acht.

    The boy fell down from the monster''s shoulder and tried to adjust his posture in the middle of the air. The monster saw this opening and tried to p Acht with his hand.

    "Damn it." Acht clicked his tongue as he pointed his sword in the direction of the uing hand. He could evade it if he pushed himself with his gift but he didn''t have time to do so, so the only choice left was what he was doing.

    The hand shed with the sword making the de pierce the flesh of the monster''s hand.<sub> </sub>

    The Kobold felt the pain from the hit but it didn''t stop. Acht then grabbed the sword tightly and supported his feet on the hand before pushing the sword inside as hard as he could.

    The momentum of the hit could''ve sent him flying but he used the sword to stay stuck to his hand, evading imminent death.

    "Wraaaa!!!" The kobold understood what happened and tried to pull Acht away.

    Thetter was faster in his reaction as he hurriedly pulled his sword out and jumped away to make distance between them.

    ''That was a close call. This fucker is quite tricky.'' He thought as he cracked his fingers lightly. He felt his arms almost break from the impact and his fingers felt sore from his hard grip on the handle.

    The monster was no better than Acht, its hand was bleeding a lot and it was outraged because of the tenacious human in front of it.

    Both of them looked at each other for a brief moment before they both ran at each other at the same time.

    The difference in size made the confrontation outrageous. A Monster over 7 meters tall was fighting a small, weak looking kid.

    The creature stopped abruptly and smashed down with its hand. Acht had to jump to the side to avoid it.

    The hand hit the ground and created a hole in the hard stone. If Acht waste by even a mere millisecond, he could''ve turned into a t piece of paper.

    "Wraaaa!!!"

    "Shut up. You are noisy." Acht muttered with a cold look and activated his gift again. He had an idea in mind but he wasn''t sure if it would work or not. But, he was ready to take on that gamble since he could make a distance between them if things came to the worst.

    He then pointed his hand to the ceiling while running around the monster. He had a slightly hard time evading his attacks while also doing what he was intending to do.

    The fight kept on going for a few more minutes where Acht only evaded the chief while thetter kept on chasing him around the ce frantically. It was akin to a game of cat and mouse albeit more dangerous.

    "Come on. I''m close." He muttered with beads of sweat trickling down his small face.

    Then, when he saw that he did it, he changed his direction and ran toward one of the walls on the side.

    He halted his steps and turned around with an emotionless gaze and stared directly at the charging monster as if he was provoking it.

    The chief didn''t think much of it and kept on running towards him madly.

    "Checkmate." Acht muttered before making a gesture with his finger pointing down to the ground.

    Suddenly, a massive and pointy stone stuck to the ceiling shook violently before falling down. The monster was directly under the massive boulder so it couldn''t evade it.

    *Boom*

    The impact made the ce shake as if it was hit by an earthquake. A huge cloud of dust covered the ce of the impact.

    Acht stood in his ce not moving an inch. He wasn''t sure of its death and he couldn''t afford to make a mishap at such a critical moment.

    Then, after the dust dissipated, he saw what happened clearly. The monster was on the ground, bathing in his own blood with a massive rock piercing its head. Its brain got obliterated.

    The monster got killed instantly without even being able to scream.

    "Fewh. That was unexpectedly tiresome." Acht thought with a tired look. It was indeed a close fight.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 20 Chapter 20

    "You did an amazing job there, Acht." Said Scarlett as she approached him with a small smile on her face.

    She was amazed at how he was able to use his surroundings to his advantage and kill the chief.

    Fighting is not always about direct confrontation and raw power. Sometimes, what makes the difference is the intelligence to exploit everything around you toe out victorious. Thises in handy when the fight is between two equal opponents.

    Acht nodded his head in approval and looked at the dead chief before pulling a knife and walking towards it.

    "Do you really think that knife could open up his body?"

    "I know. I wanted to see if I could use gravity to make it work." He answered

    "That could work but you could also strengthen your knife with your soul force. It''s much more efficient to do so."

    Acht didn''t think of that idea since he thought that it wasn''t possible or it was just not practical but it seemed to not be the case. He then looked at the weapon and tried to channel his soul force into the weapon.

    *CRACK*

    A few seconds after he sent his energy to the knife, the de started vibrating followed by a cracking sound. The knife was broken.

    "Why didn''t it work?" He muttered with a confused look.

    "That''s because you overcharged the knife. These kinds of objects can''t handle the soul force and could get destroyed easily. You need to control the amount you use so it doesn''t shatter to pieces." Scarlett answered as she stood beside him.

    "I see. But, how could I know the appropriate amount of energy I need to use?"

    "It depends on the object you are trying to strengthen. Generally, the bigger the object is the more soul force it could bear. For this knife, though, use the least amount you could properly control."

    Acht listened to her exnation while also trying to apply what he understood. He was still not extremely familiar with soul force so the amount he was able to control wasn''t very small, since any less than that and it starts dissipating in the air.

    Luckily enough, his attempt seeded. The knife didn''t shake or get destroyed, it only got a little bit heavier. Acht felt as if it became a part of his body like an arm or a leg.

    He then approached the chief and stabbed his chest. His thick skin resisted at first but soon enough, the knife cut through it and pierced his flesh. He then continued his work swiftly.

    When he extracted the soul stone, he was slightly surprised at the size. It was almost the size of his head which was iparable to the other kobolds. This was to show the difference between normal mobs and a dungeon boss.

    "When you return to the city, you can absorb the soul stones you harvested. They should be more than enough for you to level up once or twice."

    Then, they left the dungeon and returned to the city. They didn''t meet the captain at the gates and they didn''t bother to look for him either.

    Then, they separated and entered their personal rooms. Acht was slightly exhausted and also dirty so he wanted to rest for the day since he will return to training tomorrow.

    The day passed quietly without many problems. Acht spent most of it sleeping to restore his energy.

    The next day, he met again with Scarlett. They still had a lot to do and many things for Acht to learn so they went straight to the training capsules.

    Acht continued with his initial task which was lifting a huge rock in the air for 5 minutes. He was making fast progress so he was able to finish the task the next day.

    Then, they passed to other things. Scarlett made the boy practice the prolonged use of gravity on his body.

    "I want you to levitate yourself in the air. But, I want you to be barely hovering a few millimeters above the ground so that no one could see that you were not walk-ing. Keep that activated for as long as you can."

    It was pretty hard at first but he was able to get the gist of it soon enough.

    And just like that, three weeks passed in a sh. Throughout this time, Scarlett and Acht were together for the most part of the day. They were able to grow a bond between them that none of them could feel.

    They trusted each other to a certain degree. The reason is probably because they were simr in many aspects of their personalities and beliefs.

    On thest day of their deal, they didn''t go to the training but instead went to the restaurant near the hotel.

    Both of them had mixed feelings about what was going to happen. But, it was a deal and they had no other choice but to see it until the end.<sub> </sub>

    "So, how was it?" Scarlett asked as they sat down.

    "You helped me a lot." Acht responded briefly before looking outside the window for a brief moment. The atmosphere was too awkward for him.

    He didn''t know why, but he was slightly annoyed at the moment. He had spent some time with Scarlett and had a good idea about who she was as a person.

    She was cold, aloof, and emotionless at times but deep down she was a kind, respectful and smart woman who didn''t falter no matter what. In a sense, she was the opposite of Acht.

    He was a cold person who killed with cold blood and never felt any benevolence toward his victims. He was a killer, a monster, and a rejected human in society. But, even in that dark, disgusting shit hole, he found light, a warm light that made him regain some of his lost feelings. That person had restored a part of his humanity and made him believe that life had a meaning somewhere.

    This was the second time he felt that same feeling with another person. It made him confused but he didn''t hate that.

    "I see¡­.Sigh, beating around the bush is not my thing after all. So, what is your choice? Are you going to ept my offer or not?"

    Scarlett was also having the same train of thoughts. She didn''t hate being with Acht this whole time. He was cold, mysterious, and sometimes overly mature for his age. But, he was also a very honest, straightforward, and mature person who didn''t care about her appearance or social status.

    "Since you were straightforward with your question, I will answer honestly." He then took a deep breath and looked at her in the eyes.

    "I¡­still can''t join your family." He said as he averted his eyes slightly before shaking his head and looking at her again seriously.

    "I know that you are disappointed for wasting three weeks of your time with me. But, I still can''t do it. I cherish my freedom more than anything else and I can''t entertain the idea of being held off by someone or something."

    "...I see." Scarlett nodded her head and sighed quietly with a slightly sad look.

    "I guess there is nothing I could do about it. However, don''t think that I wasted my time here. I actually enjoyed the past three weeks training you."

    The atmosphere around them became less awkward as they ate their food. Then, they stood up and left.

    "So, when are you going to leave for Lagradon?" She asked as they marched through the streets.

    "I was thinking of buying some necessities for the trip and then leaving tomorrow or the day after it."

    "I also need to leave tomorrow too. I left my responsibilities for way too long¡­.I think this is where we should separate." She halted her steps and looked at him.

    "Yes¡­I think so. It was nice meeting you, Scarlett." It was the first time he called her without honorifics and it felt bizarre but also not so bad.

    "Me too. I am sure we will meet again in the future. I will be starting to work as a professor at the ''Golden Soul Academy'' next year. I hope I can see you attend it in a few years."

    "I will try to do so if I can. I have to go now."

    They then shook hands and walked in separate ways, not looking back. Each one of them had different goals but fate made them meet by pure coincidence and share a good time together.

    Acht was d he made a good acquaintance in this world that could help him when he needed it.

    On the other side though, Scarlett took a turn in a deserted alley and halted her steps. She then slowly leaned on one of the walls.

    Her face was abnormal. She didn''t have her familiar cold look, but rather a weird, chilling smile that could make anyone shudder. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were moist. She looked as if she was experiencing the best feeling in the world.

    "HAHAHHAHA!" She then startedughing loudly without caring. Her eyes had a particr, predatory shine in them that she never had.

    She then put her finger on her beautiful lips and muttered a few words without anyone hearing them.

    "We will surely meet again¡­My cute little Acht~"

    [END OF VOLUME 1]

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 21 Chapter 21

    [Next Station, Lagradon¡­.Next station, Lagradon.]

    A robotic voice spoke through the microphone and woke Acht from his deep sleep. It has been over 1 day since he left Bluerise city and mounted the bullet train towardsgradon.

    The train was surprisingly more advanced than the ones on earth so the trip wasfortable.

    The boy shook his drowsiness away and looked through the window. The greenery that filled his eyes throughout the whole trip was nowhere to be found. Instead, he saw massive buildings that pierced the sky and all kinds of advanced structures that filled the streets of the magnificent city. It was a sight to behold.

    "There is noparison to this ce with bluerise city." He muttered under his breath as he prepared himself to leave the train.

    Lagradon was the capital of Surgia, the strongest kingdom in the lower world. It was a massive city that couldpare in size to some countries on earth. This made it one of the biggest economic powerhouses in the whole lower world.

    The train soon stopped and Acht left the train. The station was massive and filled to the brim with people. He had never been to a crowded ce like this.

    ''ording to the GPS. The hotel should be near the station.'' He thought while looking at the device in his hand.

    He learned of the existence of smartphones in this world so he bought one since it was very useful.

    When he was able to pass the doors, he found himself on a big street. It looked simr to Wall Street or the Champs-¨¦lys¨¦es on earth.

    Acht walked through the streets looking around. He was admiring the human structures around him that almost defied logic with their shapes and forms. It was the most beautiful city he had seen in his life and he saw plenty of them because of his job.

    "This should be it." He muttered while checking the phone andparing the picture with the hotel. It was a very renowned hotel in the city that only epted the rich and influential people from around the world.

    He walked inside calmly and took a look inside. It was as amazing as he imagined, if not even better. The decor, the aesthetic, the atmosphere, and everything else exuded an elegance that no other ce couldpare to.

    He stood for a few seconds looking around before walking to one of the workers. The man who wore butler clothes was standing still like a robot waiting for a customer.

    "Wee to ''Soul Paradise'', how may I help you today young sir." He spoke with a calm and polite tone without any change in his expression.

    The first expression that Acht had of this butler is that he was strong. Very strong.

    ''He''s stronger than all the people I met except for Scarlett. As expected of the best hotel in the lower world. Even their workers are strong.''

    "I''d like to book a room for one week."

    The man looked at him for a few seconds before saying, "Perhaps, are you here for the hunter exam young sir?"

    Acht nodded silently to his question.

    "Then please follow me. We have a special offer for hunter candidates. The hunter association is always on the lookout for the best conditions for her candidates..." He started bbering about the hunter association while walking to a particr door.

    Behind the door was a different section of the hotel that didn''t resemble the other part that much. It was slightly dark and gloomy so it made the person in there feel ufortable.

    "What is this ce?" Acht asked with slight confusion. He wasn''t expecting to be invited to such a weird room.

    The man didn''t answer and kept walking until he reached another door. He then looked at Acht and spoke.

    "The hunter association told us to say this to some candidates that we choose carefully. Would you like to enter the ''Pre-Hunter exam''petition?" He asked calmly.

    "What''s that?" Acht asked.

    "As the name suggests. The Pre-Hunter exam is a secret part of the hunter exam where talented individualspete for certain privileges they could get when they be hunters to give them a head start over the other."

    "And why did you choose me specifically?" Acht squinted his eyes at the man with a cold look.

    "I have been given the right to choose who I offer this special test to and you are one of the candidates who got my attention. So, would you like to participate or not."

    ''This is very suspicious. I have never heard of this test before. But, why would a butler lie about this?'' he pondered for some time before looking at the man again and said.

    "I will participate."

    "Great! My eyes never betray me. Now, please sign these documents before we could proceed any further."

    The man pulled a thick contract from thin air and gave it to Acht along with a pen.

    Acht read the contract carefully. It had a prolonged exnation about the danger that this special test had in store for the candidates and that the hunter association had no responsibility if any fatality happened.

    Other than that, he didn''t find anything suspicious or disadvantageous for him. It was just a warning for him before he epted.<sub> </sub>

    Then, he signed the paper and gave it back.

    "Now. Please follow me." He said as he opened the door and walked inside.

    Acht followed him inside. He found himself in an open area.

    It was a green in that extended to as far as the human eye could see. Some gushes of air passed through these ins and moved the grass in a natural dance that could mesmerize the viewers.

    What caught Acht''s attention was the presence of a hundred people who were standing in the middle of these ins.

    They were all young in age, not exceeding 20 years of age.

    "Please wait here for a while and another person will exin the first test. Good luck!" The man told Acht before walking away.

    Acht took onest look at the butler before walking to the in calmly with his hands in his pockets.

    Everyone looked at him as he passed through but no one bothered to give him a second nce. He saw an arrogant gaze in their eyes when they saw him which gave him a rough idea about what kind of people these young teenagers are.

    ''Am I the only one here who is 6 or 7 years old.'' he thought as he looked around.

    Even though everyone there was young, he thought he was the only kid among them.

    But, his eyes fell on a particr girl in this crowd of people. She was a blonde girl with violet eyes and a very cute face. She looked as if she was a princess out of a fictional story. Her demeanor along with her looks harnessed many looks from the people around her.

    ''I guess I''m not alone after all. But, why do I feel like I''ve seen her before.'' Acht pondered quietly as he stood in his ce waiting for the start of the test.

    The silent ce made the atmosphere oppressive and heavy. Minutes passed and no trace of an examiner to be found.

    When a few of them were about toin about the long wait, the sound of a door opening echoed in the ce.

    Everyone looked at the origin of the sound and there stood a muscr man wearing a casual T-Shirt and jeans. He looked like any stranger you pass by in the streets.

    He looked bored as he yawned loudly. He then looked at the papers in his hands and spoke with azy voice.

    "...Wee to¡­Uh¡­Pre-Hunter exam test¡­.Umm, I should exin the first test, right?...."

    His voice was slow and deep carrying azy tone that could make anyone hearing it fall asleep.

    "Anyway¡­This is-"

    Before he could say anything else, one of the crowd shouted.

    "Is that¡­.Thyrus Godfiend¡­The strongest hunter alive?!!!"

    His voice was like a piece of domino that started a huge wave. Everyone started freaking out and shouting.

    "Seriously¡­It''s Thyrus¡­Why is her here¡­?!!"

    "No way!.. Is he really going to supervise our test?!!"

    Acht and the blonde girl were the only calm people among the candidates.

    Acht recognized the man from his name since he was a very popr character in the book but he wasn''t that much of a fan to start screaming like a girl when he saw him.

    The shouting didn''t stop and that made Thyrus frown slightly. He then lifted his leg slightly in the air and tapped on the ground.

    Suddenly, a strong aura erupted out of his body like a volcano. Everyone had to cover their face from the strong gust of wind that came with it.

    It was so strong that it almost sent some people flying.

    ''What the hell is this?!'' even Acht was surprised by this show of strength. Such a monstrous aura made him feel as if he had a sharp knife on his neck ready to slice his throat.

    "Silence."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 22 Chapter 22

    One word was more than enough to make everyone shut up. It was domineering, strong, and even scary. This man went from being azy and slow person to a monster in a few seconds.

    After everyone stopped their tantrum, Thyrus looked around for a moment and started scratching his head with an annoyed look.

    "You guys are really loud. Respect my ears here." He said with azy tone. There was no trace of his previous outburst.

    The candidates looked at each other with wary looks before shifting their eyes to Thyrus again.

    "Now, that everyone calmed down¡­.mmm¡­I will exin¡­the¡­test."

    He then started reading the pieces of paper in his hand.

    "The test..isposed of 3 parts¡­I think¡­and we will be eliminating people through these tests until only two people are left¡­."

    He wasn''t even trying to sound interested, he was just reading a piece of paper with a nk look.

    "The first test¡­is¡­auhh¡­''Bracelet Catch''...." He then made a snapping sound with his fingers and several pirs of light fell down from the sky.

    The light was dim and barely visible so only those under the pir of light could see it properly. Coincidentally or not, these pirs fell on half of the number of people on the ins.

    Then, after a few seconds, the light disappeared allowing everyone to see what happened.

    In each of these people''s hands, there was a bracelet. It was made of some kind of ss since it shined slightly.

    "We have given¡­.to half of you¡­a bracelet¡­.The goal of the test is to have one bracelet when the time is over¡­so, the ones who don''t have one need to get It from those who have it¡­easy¡­but¡­"

    He then pointed at his right hand and continued, "This Bracelet is very fragile and any damage on it could break it to pieces¡­.that is two fewer people passing the test¡­so, don''t use any strong attacks and be wise on how you deal with your opponent¡­Killing is not allowed too so if you kill someone, you''re disqualified¡­so¡­" He tried to remember what he wanted to say but ended up shaking his head in defeat.

    ''He''s the worst person when ites to exining stuff¡­'' Acht thought with a cold gaze. He was already bored so he wanted Thyrus to hurry up and start the test.

    "You have 1 hour¡­Start." He then walked away and left them all alone.

    Acht looked at his right hand and much to his surprise, he had a bracelet. It was a pain in the ass to deal with the greedy insects that wille his way but he had no other choice.

    Everyone stood still for a moment and looked at the sky. There, they saw a holographic timer with 59 minutes on it. The time was ticking down as they were standing still.

    "Fuck! The time is already starting¡­." One of them shouted before locating a person with a bracelet and running toward him.

    "Give me your bracelet or I will fuck you up!"

    "Way to go shitty face! Try me!"

    The two then shed violently. Their confrontation ignited all the other fights.

    People started fighting each other. Just from one look, the ones with the bracelets had an advantage since they only needed to evade others for an hour. As for the others, they had to fight them while keeping in mind not to destroy the bracelets or they will be fucked.

    ''Someone ising for me.'' Acht thought as he moved through the ins. He didn''t want to use his gift and expose himself so he had to rely on his soul force and closebat skills to deal with any opponent.

    A few momentster, a tall man with a muscr physique came running toward him from the side. He found Acht to be the least intimidating out of all the people present so he chose him as his target.

    "Come here, short stuff! I will make you kiss the fucking ground if you don''t give the bracelet."

    Acht halted his steps and looked at the man with a cold gaze. He then nced at the timer above him and said.

    "After 10 seconds, you will be licking my foot."

    Then, without any further dy, he dashed toward the confused man and jumped to reach his height. The speed of his movement was unbelievable. He almost appeared like a blur to the man. The past few weeks with Scarlett had made him way stronger than before.

    *Swish*

    Then he kicked with his leg to his face, the attack was very swift and quick so he couldn''t react to it.

    "Ugh!!"

    The kick was so strong that he felt as if he was hit by a train. With a loud sound, he was sent flying like a ragdoll. All of his teeth were obliterated and blood gushed out of his mouth and nose like a hose.

    But, that wasn''t the end. Acht ran after the man, closing the distance between them in a few breaths before punching him in the stomach. The punch made the flying man fall to the ground roughly.

    "Blurghh!!!!" He started coughing, trying to breathe but his lungs were not obeying him. His ribs were broken to pieces.

    Then, Acht walked to him and shoved his shoe in his mouth.

    He then said with an emotionless tone, "I said 10 seconds but it only took 4 seconds. You exceeded my expectations."

    The man was already unconscious when Acht shoved his shoe in his mouth so he didn''t hear anything he said. However, that wasn''t the case for people nearby, everyone stopped fighting and looked at the scene where a kid was one-sidedly beating up a huge guy as if it was nothing.<sub> </sub>

    They also saw how he made him lick his shoes which collected a few frowns of fear and repulse from many candidates.

    Acht didn''t care about their looks. He did all of that so that no one would dare to fight him. He knew that there were some reckless people around him that would fight him even with that show of strength he did but he at least reduced the number of those who dared to do so.

    After that, the boy walked away from the unconscious man as if he was leisurely strolling in a park. Each time he neared a group of people, they retreated from him for fear of catching his attention. Everything seemed to be going ording to his n.

    But, it wasn''t that long after that that one came close to him.

    "Hm?"

    It was the blonde girl he saw before. She was still as expressionless as ever and her eyes didn''t falter or hesitate as she looked at him.

    ''Now that I took a closer look at her. She does indeed look familiar.'' he thought as inspected the girl.

    "You¡­fight me." She said calmly.

    Acht wasn''t surprised by her words but he was confused by a whole other thing.

    "You do know that you have a bracelet, right?"

    "Yes."

    "So¡­what''s the point of our fight?"

    The girl took a few seconds of silence as if she was thinking about something before answering.

    "....fight me."

    Acht didn''t know whether tough or cry at her answer. She acted and spoke like a machine without emotions.

    "Sigh, you are weird¡­I''m not going to fight you." He then changed his direction and started walking away.

    But, the girl didn''t give up, she ran up to him again and stood in front of him.

    "Fight me."

    "I said no."

    He then took an extra step before dashing away from her. The girl was taken aback at first but still chased him.

    The two ran across the ins as if they were some childhood friends ying around.

    "Fight me."

    "I said No."

    ''She''s fucking tenacious.'' Acht thought with gritted teeth. He refused to fight her not because of the reason he stated before alone. His instincts told him that mingling up with that girl would cause him a lot of trouble and he trusted his guts.

    Their chase continued for a few more minutes. The two were running at a speed iparable to any of the present people.

    ''How is she able to keep up with me for this long?'' He took a look at her and she looked normal as if she hadn''t been running at full speed for more than 10 minutes.

    ''I was intending to not waste so much energy in the first test. Sigh, do I really have to fight her?'' He could only curse his stupid luck and stop in his tracks in defeat.

    "Fine¡­I will fight you. But, I have one condition."

    The girl didn''t speak and didn''t show any response to his words so he continued.

    "We will only fight for one minute. After that, you leave me alone for the rest of the test. Understood?"

    The girl didn''t answer his question either. Acht had no choice but to deal with such a weird person.

    "I will take your silence as an eptance of my condition."

    Then, he walked a little bit closer. He wanted to make the fight as quickly as possible without any dys. Time is precious and his energy is even more so.

    "let''s end this quickly."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 23 Chapter 23

    Hearing his words, the girl charged at him as fast as she could. It was as if she was waiting for him to say the magic words so she could go into fight mode.

    ''Quite fast, but not too hard to dodge.'' Acht was impressed by her speed but that was it, he was still capable of beating her when ites to agility.

    The girl closed the distance in a second and sent a jab to his face. The attack was strong and swift which showed that she was a skilled fighter through and through.

    Acht didn''t waste any time and tilted his head to the side. Her fist passed beside his face and even touched his slightly long hair.

    The girl wasn''t over yet, the moment her punch missed she sent another punch from her left arm. The same thing happened again as Acht barely evaded the punch

    The barrage of attacks kept on going and Acht only kept on dodging left and right without going on offense. For audiences, it appeared like a blur.

    ''I want to end this in one single moment. I have to wait for the time when she loses her momentum.'' He thought while moving left and right. He was sure that she would get exhausted at some point and make a mistake so he waited patiently.

    As for the blonde girl, she kept on sending punches and kicks at him tirelessly. She looked like a robot that didn''t feel anything or even got tired.

    As Acht grew tired of moving constantly and precisely so he could dodge every attack, the girl also started slowing down considerably. She was also getting tired.

    Then, for just one fraction of a second, the girl lost her footing and wasn''t able to attack properly. It was a small mistake that could''ve gone unnoticed by most of the people.

    Acht saw that opportunity and quickly moved to take it. He bent down and made a slide kick with his right leg to her left foot.

    Being in a very awkward pose, she couldn''t evade his kick and fell roughly to the ground.

    Then Acht with a swift move put his knee on her stomach and his hand on her throat. He won the fight that simply.

    "If this was a real fight, you would''ve been dead." He said with a cold and domineering tone.

    The girl who lost showed emotion for the first time since they met...what she showed though was not something Acht expected.

    She showed a smile on her face, it was a very cute smile that could make anyone''s heart flutter. It was as if she found a toy or a fun game to y. Acht didn''t expect this reaction and felt quite weirded out by the mysterious girl.

    ''Does she have some screws loose?'' He thought with a confused look in his eyes.

    "Anyway, the fight is over and you should keep your end of the bargain. Don''t talk to me again."

    He then stood up and walked away withplicated thoughts.

    ''She''s talented and strong, but shecks the experience to use that strength.''

    Then, for the next 50 minutes, Acht didn''t face anyone who wanted to fight him. All the candidates fought against each other relentlessly except for him since everyone kept avoiding him.

    Then, the holographic clock ended the one hour and the sound of a bell rang through the ins indicating the end of the first test.

    A bloody battle ensued and so the previously beautiful in had been tarnished with blood making it lose its charm that captivated Acht.

    The ones who were able to get their bracelets smiled happily while those who failed felt frustration and sadness. The only thing that made them liven up their sour mood is the fact that this isn''t the hunter exam so they still have a chance to be hunters albeit with no privileges as previously mentioned.

    Thyrus appeared again in front of the masses with his samezy demeanor. He didn''t seem bothered by the blood around him as he leisurely stood in his ce.

    "The first test...is over...Umm, I think you should move to the next ce now...But I need to see your bracelets first."

    The winners stood up with their injured bodies and walked to Thyrus. As for the others, they stayed in their ces not knowing what to do.

    "Ok....pass."

    Each one of them had to show his bracelet to Thyrus before passing him and walking to the end of the ins where a door was waiting for them.<sub> </sub>

    When it was Acht''s turn, he approached Thyrus calmly and showed him the bracelet. What happened, however, wasn''t expected.

    Thyrus didn''t look at the bracelet but rather took a long nce at Acht''s face as if he was trying to see through him and find out all of his secrets. It was a very ufortable gaze considering that it came from arguably the strongest human in the lower world. But, Acht didn''t feel that Intimidated by it and neither Thyrus intended to pressure him with his aura.

    Then, Thyrus shifted his eyes from the boy''s face and spoke as if nothing happened.

    "You can pass." He seemed more energetic when he said that for some reason.

    ''What''s wrong with him?'' Acht couldn''t get why Thyrus was looking at him like that. He did end up showing some amazing prowess, but it was still within the realm of possibility. He only used some physical enhancement and some closebat skills but that was it. There are probably many kids out there who were capable of that level of strength somewhere, right?

    Acht then walked away to the door. He didn''t want to bother with the matter too much since he didn''t know what kind of man Thyrus is or what he thought. He could''ve only been looking at him with a light interest that didn''t have any ill intentions.

    Anyway, the door that he reaches linked this artificial in with a huge hall that resembles a coliseum or an arena for fighting.

    There were stands for people to sit surrounding a field made out of the dirt.

    ''They really put their effort into this test.'' he thought silently. It was indeed impressive that they built this roman-like coliseum in such a closed space.

    After everyone went inside, Thyrus followed them at the end and stood in front of the smaller group of people. There were around 300 people when the test started and now there are less than 140 candidates (Some bracelets were broken.).

    "Is everyone here?....ok...Now, I can see that many of you are injured...so...the second test won''t be held today...It will be in 5 days."

    Some of the candidates exhaled a sigh of relief after hearing his words since their bodies were Abdul injured from the rough fights they went through and they weren''t at their peak for the second test.

    "The second test...will be a fight...Not between you though..." he then scratched his head as if he was troubled with something and then continued.

    "You will be fighting me..."

    A bombshell was dropped just like that, no one could believe that they had to fight Thyrus.

    He was the strongest hunter alive, a genius that made going to Ecrasia like a walk in the park. What makes him even more unbelievable is that no one has ever seen his gift. It was a mystery to everyone, so they could only specte about it. Yet, these candidates had to fight him head-on. That is simply outrageous!

    Grasps of shock could be heard everywhere as all the young men and women were shocked beyond words.

    "Mm, could you please erase that shock on your faces...I''m not a monster...or something." He said with a slightly troubled look.

    ''Yes, you are!'' everyone thought in their minds.

    "It won''t be...as impossible as you assume...You only have to fight me for 3 minutes....Your goal is to impress me...that''s the only thing you need to do." He exined to the scared masses.

    ''Even with that, he expects these weaklings to do something?'' Acht thought as he shook his head silently.

    Throughout the first exam, he watched most of the candidates'' fights and he had a rough idea about the general level of these people. They do appear strong in the eyes of normal people if you take their age into consideration, but for Acht, they were nothing but a bunch of cocky insects who think they own the world.

    Except for a few of them who were an exception, there was not even one single person who made Acht look at him for more than a few seconds.

    "Now...you are dismissed...You could stay in the hotel..umm...they will provide you with...Uhh..all that you need." Then, without looking again, Thyrus disappeared from where he was standing in a sh. It appeared as if he teleported rather than moved.

    Acht had nothing else to do, so he left the ce back to the hotel. He was excited about his fight with Thyrus. He wanted to see what the peak of this world looked like so that his goal could be more clear. He may feel frustrated or even helpless in front of a monster like Thyrus but he didn''t care. A strong opponent is a strong opponent and Acht was more than happy to fight him.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. Thank you and have a good day <3

 24 Chapter 24

    Acht swiftly booked a hotel room and went inside. It was somehow even more luxurious than the one in bluerise city which was weird considering that that room was the most extravagant ce he ever stayed at.

    ''My money is also almost over.'' he thought as he checked his ring. There were only a few tens of gold coins left after he kept spending money extravagantly for the past month. The room he booked also cost him a fortune.

    After cleaning up, he sat down to meditate and absorb energy. After consuming the soul stones he got from the kobold dungeon, he was able to reach level 5 white soul. He was surprised with that oue since Scarlett told him that humans could only absorb 55 to 65% of the total energy inside a soul stone.

    That means, that he could only mean that even the best people when ites to controlling energy could only absorb 65% and only reach level 4 white soul. Yet, Acht was already level 5 and he was close to reaching level 6.

    He was confused at first, but after thinking about it for some time, he came up with one possible theory.

    ''I''m getting strong really fast. I feel like my body also changed a lot.'' he thought as he took a look at his body shape.

    He had been eating well and training well since he came to this world so his body was already in good shape. His muscles grew and his height also increased considerably.

    ''I can absorb energy with a higher percentage than most people. I could even have a 100% absorption rate.''

    Of course, he can''t be sure of his theory since every soul stone is different from the other. Nevertheless, he had a clear advantage over everyone when ites to leveling up his soul and strengthening his soul force.

    Anyway, his meditation went on for a few hours until he was able to break through to level 6. He didn''t expect to be able to level up that night but things went well for him.

    With each level, he could feel himself understand his soul more and even his gift more. It was weird as if someone was shoving new information into his mind every time he leveled up.

    When he opened his eyes, the sun was already setting and he was feeling hungry.

    ''Should I go down to eat.'' he thought to himself.

    He wanted to see around the capital and maybe discover some interesting things around.

    With that in mind, he went down to the restaurant that was integrated into the hotel as a part of its facilities. The ce was filled with people, mostly candidates who were there for the pre-hunter exam.

    They were all sitting with each other, talking and having fun as if they weren''t having a bloody battle between them a few hours ago.

    "Should I go to another ce?" He thought as he looked around. But, to his surprise, there was an empty table with only one person sitting on it.

    ''Isn''t that¡­.the blonde girl?'' he squinted his eyes and saw the blonde girl sitting alone while munching on her food slowly.

    No one wanted to approach her or even talk with her because of her aura that excused elegance and coldness.

    ''I don''t want to interact with her. I could find another restaurant out there.''

    He then turned around to leave secretly, but the girl lifted her eyes for a brief moment and saw him leaving the ce.

    She stood and chased him.

    ''Oh, great! I should''ve expected that.'' he thought as he walked out of the hotel and behind him was the blonde girl who kept looking at him without even trying to hide it.

    The two walked in the streets for a while, Acht was trying so hard to ignore her presence but her gaze was just way too strong. He felt as if he was getting stabbed in the back continuously.

    Finding no other choice, Acht increased his walking speed and turned around a path that was not as popted as the other parts of the city.

    The girl followed behind him and took the turn. But, she didn''t find him standing there. As she was about to look for him around the ce, a cold voice spoke to her from behind.

    "Didn''t I tell you not to follow me?"

    The girl didn''t seem to be surprised or scared, she just turned around quietly and looked at Acht.

    Then, with steady steps, she approached him and touched his cheek. Her eyes were warm and clear as if she was looking at a person she loved.

    Acht''s mind stopped working for a split second before rebooting again. He wasn''t expecting this kind of oue.

    "What are you doing?" He asked as he retreated slightly.

    The girl didn''t speak and walked up to him again. She tried to touch his cheek just like before but Acht didn''t allow her to do so.

    "I said, what are you doing?" His hand was holding her arm so she doesn''t touch him again.

    This time the girl had no choice but to stop her weird actions and spoke with a quiet voice.

    "Friends."

    "Huh?" Acht looked puzzled at first but he somehow understood what she meant.

    "You want us to be friends?"

    The girl nodded her head to his question with a happy face.

    "I see, and why do you want to be friends with me?"

    "Friends."

    "No, I mean-"<sub> </sub>

    "Friends." She kept repeating the same word again and again like a broken recorder.

    ''Why am I always attracting weird people like a ma? How should I deal with her now?'' He rested his head on his hand as he sighed exasperatedly.

    "Friends."

    "I get it¡­sigh, If we be friends, would you stop following me?"

    The girl made an extremely adorable confused expression before nodding her head. She seemed satisfied for some reason.

    "Fine, we could be friends. Now I have to go, see youter." He then walked away with a tired look. He had to use all of his energy to deal with the weird girl.

    "I have no idea what she will do next." He muttered as he crossed the road to check one of the restaurants on the other side.

    ''She should''ve left me righ-''

    He took a peek to make sure she left, but she was there, walking behind him.

    He halted his steps and said, "What is it now?"

    "We are friends¡­We have fun."

    ''I think I will be breaking one of my rules that I don''t kill kids tonight.'' He pondered seriously over the idea before shaking his head.

    He never killed a small child in his life and he never intended to do so if he didn''t have to. And besides, he knew that the girl didn''t mean harm to him with her weird personality. She was just as innocent as children could be.

    "We can have funter."

    "Fun."

    "No, we can d-"

    "Fun."

    ''What did I do to you, goddess? Are you having fun torturing me like this?'' he clicked his tongue in frustration.

    "Sigh, do whatever you want." He then entered the restaurant along with her.

    He ordered a meal and then looked at the girl who was sipping a cup of water silently.

    "What''s your name then?" He asked as he rested his head on his fist.

    "Tania." She answered briefly before returning to sipping the cup of water.

    "Umm, I''m Acht." He didn''t know how to respond to her so his answer came out with an awkward cough.

    Then, they both sat silently waiting for food.

    ''Is this her having fun?''

    The meal then came and Acht started eating his food. It somehow seemed like a shore for him at this point.

    After taking a few bites, he looked at Tania, she was also gazing at him or to be more precise, at his te.

    He took a look at her and then at his food a few times before speaking.

    "You want some?"

    She nodded quietly.

    "You can eat with me." He took a small portion of the food and gave it to her.

    The girl took it happily and started eating it. In a matter of seconds, she ate the whole portion, leaving behind a clean te.

    ''Wasn''t she eating at the hotel a few minutes ago?'' he thought.

    After devouring her food, she looked at Acht''s te again with the same intensity as before.

    Acht didn''t know how to react, he just sat there perplexed. He was a hitman so his ability to deal with all kinds of people was top-notch, to say the least. He could act as any character he wanted at any given time. But, when ites to Tania, he bes incapable of handling the situation and his ability to speak bes that of a toddler. No one has ever been able to make him act like that until this time.

    With nothing left in hand, he slid the te to her side of the table silently. She understood his intentions and dly ate the food without hesitation.

    The food was eaten in a matter of minutes, then she wiped her mouth and sat silently sipping on the rest of the cup of water. She didn''t seem affected by the huge meal she ate a few moments ago.

    ''She''s strong¡­way too strong.'' Acht thought as he sighed inwardly.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 25 Chapter 25

    The next few days passed considerably calmly. Except for training, Acht had to deal with Tania who was following him like his shadow whenever he left his room. It was quite annoying at first but he grew ustomed to it and began ignoring her weird behavior.

    He was able to see that she was a rather normal child who wanted to make friends and her unusual ways of doing so were because she never interacted with strangers before. He also discovered that she was still incapable of speaking long sentences when she talked.

    Unconsciously, he started pitying her. He saw some of his childhood in her since he also didn''t have friends and was only able to speak a few words. His parents left him when he was young and no one wanted to take care of him. With no one to teach him how to speak or do anything for that matter, Acht could only rely on himself and find a way to keep on living for another day.

    He may have hated that life but he was also grateful for it since it built up what he was like in the present. He saw that his mature self was what gave him the power to resist the cruel world. A world that never forgives. Maybe he became a hitman because deep down he wanted to punch those who made the world like that. But, it''s all spection and even Acht can''t fully understand his own self.

    Anyway, the day of the second test came and the remaining candidates had to regroup in the same ce early in the morning.

    As usual, Thyrus didn''t arrive on time and they had to wait for one and half hours standing in the coliseum. His behavior didn''t fit what people saw as the strongest human alive and that fact made Thyrus such an interesting person.

    Then, when they started getting annoyed, he appeared with his casual andzy appearance as if nothing happened.

    "Yawn¡­Hello again¡­This is the second test¡­let me exin¡­.oh wait, I exined that a few days ago." He scratched his messy hair while having trouble saying some coherent sentences.

    "Anyway¡­Let''s get this over with¡­I will start naming the candidates¡­The rest¡­sit in the stands and watch carefully."

    Then, he took a piece of paper and named someone randomly. The person chosen was a young man with frivolous looks and a cocky smile stered on his face. He looked like a typical douchebag.

    He looked around him before advancing to the middle of the arena. He was visually nervous but he tried to hide that with his stupid attitude.

    The rest of the candidates walked to the stands and sat down to watch what would happen. They were all eager to see what Thyrus is capable of. For the longest time, they only heard about his achievements in the news around the world, dreaming of meeting him one day. And now, that dream has been fulfilled.

    The young man stood in his ce for a while, Thyrus was puzzled and so he spoke to him.

    "What are you waiting¡­for?" He asked.

    The young man was also confused by his question.

    "Where is your weapon?" He said while holding his spear tightly.

    Silence invaded the ce, no one was able toprehend his words at first, but soon, their minds processed them and a string ofughs echoed in the ce.

    Even Thyrus startedughing loudly as if he heard the funniest joke ever. Hisugh wasn''t even forced or fake to show his mockery of his opponent, he was genuinelyughing from the bottom of his heart.

    "Hahahaha¡­Weapon?...You are funny¡­I don''t need that." He answered after some time.

    The frivolous guy was embarrassed by the situation himself and had to look down in frustration for a while.

    "You can start¡­hit me with all you have¡­you can use everything with the intent of killing me."

    "Fine."

    Then, without hesitation, the young man dashed toward him quickly and shed down with his spear. He was quick in his actions and his attack was also packed with strength. But, that didn''t seem to bother Thyrus as he just tilted his body to the side to let the spear pass beside him as if nothing happened.

    He wasn''t even looking at the weapon when he did so.

    The young man found it shocking but shook his head and started throwing all kinds of attacks at him. Thyrus tilted his body left and right like a snake avoiding all the attacks with no effort whatsoever.

    The young man didn''t use his gift at first but when he found it impossible to continue at such a rate, he stopped his attacks and channeled his soul force.

    Then, with a grunt of anger, he released a huge cloud of extremely hot steam directed toward Thyrus.

    "Take that!" He shouted with a big grin.

    ''He has an affinity for the steam. I think that''s a sub-element that derives from the water element..'' Acht thought while watching the fight.

    Thyrus didn''t move from his ce as the cloud of steam engulfed himpletely. No one could see Thyrus inside and any even thought naively that he would not get unscathed from that attack. But, he wasn''t the strongest human alive for nothing.

    A few moments passed before the hot steam dispersed and Thyrus appeared again. He was totally unscathed by the attack. Even his clothes were as spotless as they were before.

    "Thank you for the free sauna." He said with azy tone.<sub> </sub>

    The young man gritted his teeth and charged at him again. His gift had no effect so he could only spend the rest of the three minutes doing whatever he can to make Thyrus impressed with his closebat skills.

    When the time was over, Thyrus looked at the spear and grabbed it mid-air with his bare hand, and said.

    "The time is over¡­Next¡­"

    His palm was directly touching the sharp de of the spear but no blood trickled down his hand.

    ''Impressive.'' Acht the thought with a slightly surprised look. He didn''t know how tough his skin was to be able to touch sharp things with no injuries.

    The young man looked at the spear and tried to move it, but it was frozen in its ce.

    He felt helpless in front of such a simple show of power that he almost fell on his knees, but he held himself and walked away from the arena with a defeated look but with hopes that he had done enough.

    The test continued and people kept on going to the arena. Each one showed their best performance but no one was able to touch Thyrus let alone harm him.

    He just deals with them with such a simplicity that it makes people question whether he''s a human or not. Yet, it was also entertaining to watch him in action even though he doesn''t do much throughout the fights.

    A few hourster, Acht''s name was finally called. He was bored to death waiting for his turn.

    When hended on the ground and walked to the middle of the arena. He saw Thyrus''s gaze change for a split moment.

    ''He is either interested in me or he knows something.'' Acht saw that brief reaction and noted it in his head.

    When he was finally only 10 meters away from Thyrus, thetter spoke.

    "You could start whenever you want."

    "Wait¡­before that, I have a request."

    "A request?" Thyrus asked in a confused tone. He didn''t expect anyone to request something from him in this test.

    "What is¡­.it?"

    "I want you to cover the arena so no one sees our fight." He requested with his same calm tone as if he was asking something simple.

    "Hmm¡­and why is that?"

    "I want to keep my secrets."

    "Wouldn''t that be unfair¡­for the others?" He responded after some brief thinking.

    "They could''ve requested the same thing if they wanted since no rules prohibited it." Acht shrugged his shoulders casually.

    Thyrus didn''t speak for a while as he looked at Acht. He was trying to read what was in his mind. But, he soon gave up and smiled slightly.

    "Fine...I will allow that since you seem to be way too smart for your age."

    Then, with a move of his hand, a huge dark barrier covered the arena and made it impossible to see from the inside nor the outside.

    "Your request is granted¡­now show me what you''ve got." He said.

    "With all pleasure."

    Then, with a single step, Acht crossed a few meters. His silhouette appeared like a blur and instantly closed the distance between him and Thyrus. It was the hardest fight Acht had had since he reached this world and he was excited to experience it.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 26 Chapter 26

    Acht''s speed was tremendously high and that fact became even more apparent with his continuous level-ups. He was even surprised by his own strength as he approached Thyrus.

    When he was close enough he shed his sword to his side. It was an attack with the intent to kill and no restraints whatsoever.

    Thyrus didn''t feel intimidated by Acht but he didn''t underestimate his power either. He used his free leg and kicked the sword up with his knee.

    Acht lost the momentum of the hit and had to readjust his position as quickly as possible. He then bent down and sent a direct kick to his face while his sword was still in the middle of the air. Thyrus was taken aback by the wit of the small boy.

    ''He''s an expert.'' he thought with a serious look. It was apparent from his movements and decisions that he was a master in his craft so the image of a small and frail boy disappeared from Thyrus''s mind.

    At thest moment before Acht''s leg hit his face, Thyrus bent his head to the side. The kick touched some strands of his brown hair for a brief moment.

    Acht clicked his tongue before he jumped away to make a distance. He wanted to think of an idea on how to take him by surprise.

    ''I still have my gift that he won''t expect.''

    He was waiting for the perfect moment to use it when he least expected it. But, the question remains. How will he do so?

    "Your skills¡­.they''re pretty good. Who taught you?" Thyrus suddenly asked.

    "Why do you ask?"

    "No reason in particr¡­.I thought¡­Umm¡­I could know that person."

    "No¡­I don''t think you do and neither will I tell you his name¡­"

    Then, he charged at him again in the same way as before. He wanted to find any weak points in Thyrus. From a point of view, it was foolish to expect that the strongest human in the lower world had weak points but Acht believed that there will never be a perfect defense or perfect offense.

    ''Humans aren''t perfect, they make mistakes and that trantes into our martial arts. He could be a master in closebat but he will still have ws in his defense. I just need to find it.''

    With that in mind he jumped high in the sky and dove down like an eagle with his sword pointed at Thyrus''s face. Thetter didn''t dwindle much and sidestepped the uing human arrow.

    Acht wasn''t able to hit him and found himself heading straight for the ground. Quickly, he adjusted his body posture andnded on his feet before making a diagonal sh to his left.

    Thyrus was ready for that attack and retreated slightly backward.

    ''Faster!'' Acht thought as he moved toward him again and sent a barrage of shes and kicks toward him like a maniac. It was an insane sight to look at. His speed had reached such a high level that even if the candidates saw it, they would only be able to perceive blurry lines between the two opponents.

    ''This is not enough! Faster!'' Acht''s mind and body were totally concentrated on the fight. He was using every fiber of his being to its utmost efficiency. He had never been this engrossed in a fight before. Maybe it was because he was aware that Thyrus was tremendously stronger than him. Or maybe because he had never gone all out in his life and wanted to feel the sensation of his full power being executed in front of his eyes.

    Either way, Acht was excited like never before, he was enjoying the fight a lot. The sensation of the wind as he moved, the rough and hard handle of the sword he gripped tightly, the energy running through his body like blood. He felt for the first time in a long while that he was alive.

    The fight continued for more than 2 minutes, inside the arena, two silhouettes kept on moving at an inhuman speed around the ce, leaving behind nothing but destruction.

    The rather hard arena turned into a bumpy road full of holes. Most of the ce was filled with clouds of dust that made it near impossible to see clearly.

    Acht ran like a bolt and used all of his strength to try and hit Thyrus even once. Thetter was also moving around with the same speed as he retreated continuously and evaded every single attack Acht threw at him.

    ''I can feel it.'' Acht thought as he watched Thyrus''s movement. He spent a big chunk of the time he had to understanding Thyrus''s pattern of movement. He had a precise way of dodging attacks and Acht was able to grasp it properly.

    Then, as hended hisst sh, something different happened. Thyrus was able to evade the sh but he didn''t create an optimal distance between them. Acht saw that split second of misjudgment and instantly used his gift.

    He used gravity and pushed himself to reach him faster than before and take him by surprise. The n worked as Acht saw the shock in Thyrus''s eyes while his sword moved closer and closer to him. The oue was set in stone.

    ''I got him!'' he thought as adrenaline rushed through his veins and intoxicated his mind.

    *Boom*

    A loud explosion sent a strong shockwave to every corner of the ce. Even the candidates who were outside the ck barrier felt the earthquake.<sub> </sub>

    The walls of the arena started cracking and crumbling to the ground as if they were made of biscuits.

    "Ugh!" Acht felt dust hitting his face so he had to close his eyes and endure the pain of the shape particles of dust and the remnants of the walls as they pricked his face continuously.

    ? Then, when things calmed down after a while, he was able to open his eyes.

    ''What happened.'' he thought as he looked ahead of him. There, Thyrus was still standing still in his ce, his hand was holding the de and his arm was shaking slightly. He didn''t seem to be harmed by the attack.

    Acht looked at him for a few seconds before he exploded in a burst of loudughter.

    "HAHAHAHAHA!! As expected of the strongest. If you didn''t do this at least then I would''ve questioned this world''s power level." He said with a grin. He wasn''t frustrated by the oue or even annoyed. He was genuinely amazed at Thyrus.

    He knew that he wasn''t the strongest hunter alive for no reason, but, he wanted to experience that level with his own hands. And now, he was more than certain that he was the strongest. Because¡­.

    "You didn''t use your soul force the whole time." He added as he sheathed his sword and nced at the weird man.

    Thyrus on the other side wasn''t smiling at all. He was just standing still and looking at Acht with deep astonishment.

    Then, with a slow tone, he said.

    "You¡­Who are you?"

    Acht didn''t say anything and walked away with casual steps. When he was slightly far from him, he looked back and said,

    "Just a small child with big dreams."

    He then left the arena, leaving behind a confused man with a weird expression.

    **************************

    "What is happening inside. Why can''t we watch his fight? this is unfair."

    "Yeah, right! Why does he get special treatment?"

    "Guys! Look, the cover is unveiled." A random person pointed at the arena with eager eyes.

    Everyone also shifted their eyes to see what happened inside. Everyone felt the strong earthquake from before and wanted to see what happened.

    When the arena became fully visible, everyone made a weird voice of shock. The ce was rendered into a mess and nothing was unscathed.

    "What¡­.happened here?"

    "Beat me¡­This is insane."

    Everyone mattered with widened eyes. They couldn''t believe their eyes. Most of them had already fought Thyrus so they knew how strong and resilient the arena was. That rock it was made of was not normal by any means. It was a special type of rock that was enhanced with energy to be even more solid and could even bear attacks from orange soul awakeners.

    Amid this chaos, Tania was the one with the least reaction of the bunch. She was looking at a particr ce with calm eyes.

    "Amazing." She muttered under her breath. Her eyes gave out a weird light for a moment before disappearing instantly, not leaving a chance for anyone to see it.

    No one could know what she was thinking about or who she meant with that word except for herself. Maybe she was the least to make a proper reaction, but when ites to this flight''s effect on everyone, she was the most affected one by far.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 27 Chapter 27

    After the second test was over, everyone returned to their seats and waited for Thyrus to announce the results. Everyone was tense since they couldn''t understand whether they did well or not. They were all basically the same, none were able to touch Thyrus and none were able to even damage his clothes, so there were no precise indications of who did good or who did bad.

    A few minutester, Thyrus appeared again and looked at the candidates.

    "I will announce the results¡­ummm¡­.There are only four people who deserve to pass the test."

    In the same way, as when he announced the second test, another bombshell was dropped so casually. He was even about to even continue speaking but he had to stop because of the murmurs of the candidates.

    "Only 4?! What the hell is that!"

    "Why only 4! There are a lot of people who did a decent job."

    All kinds of remarks that didn''t like the decision reached Thyrus''s ears but he couldn''t bother any less. If he had to care about everything he heard about himself, he would''ve never be the strongest hunter. He learned to ignore criticisms from people around him to keep his mind clear.

    "I don''t remember your names¡­um...So I will point at the ones who deserve to pass."

    Then, with no hesitation, he pointed at the first one. It was Tania.

    She didn''t show any reaction and just sat silently beside Acht. Everyone gave her a look of awe mixed with envy but didn''t find any reason to talk bad about her since they felt inferior. It was as if they wereparing a princess with amoner. No such thing is logical.

    Then, he pointed at another person, it was another girl with slightly inferior looks to those of Tania but she was still quite beautiful. She had a casual demeanor and a small smile on the corners of her mouth.

    The reaction of the candidates was a little more intense and some clicked their tongues in frustration.

    ''She was one of the rather more interesting bunch.'' Acht thought as he casually sat down in his ce without bothering with his surroundings. The lingering feelings from the previous fight were still bugging his mind and his body was still pumping with adrenaline.

    The third person he chose was the frivolous young man who was the first to start. When he was chosen, heughed like a maniac while looking at the others with a proud look.

    Finally, there was only one spot left and everyone was praying and holding their hands together wishing to be that one final winner.

    This time, however, Thyrus didn''t point at someone but rather spoke with a calm tone.

    "Acht¡­You''re the final winner."

    Everyone was perplexed because of his words since he didn''t seem to be a person who remembers names and he clearly mentioned that fact. For him to remember someone''s name, that person should''ve left a deep impression on Thyrus.

    Acht wasn''t surprised by the oue, he knew that he was going to pass from the moment hended in the arena. He was simply way above the others in terms of power and wits.

    He didn''t get many gazes because no one knew his name in person.

    "Now¡­You four stay here¡­the others¡­leave." Thyrus orderedzily as he pulled a chair to sit on it. He was never a fan of standing for long times and this particr test was hell on earth for him because of that.

    "WAIT!!! THIS IS NOT FAIR!" A random boy from the crowd shouted in anger as he stood up.

    "Why is everyone epting the fact that only four have been chosen and we the rest could only go home as if nothing happened. DID YOU LOSE YOUR GUTS BECAUSE HE''S THE STRONGEST HUNTER!? TO HELL WITH HIS POWERS!"

    The young man was apparently furious because he wasn''t chosen and decided to create some kind of protest against the results and Thyrus as a person.

    Maybe it was because they also felt the same way or maybe because they felt the courage after hearing his words but the crowd also started speaking loudly with anger.

    "Yes! Why do we have to leave like that! You''re being unfair."

    "They''re most likely chosen because they''re from influential families!"

    "If this is how the hunter exam will be then I should go home. They''re all biased bastards!"

    ''Wow, what a chaotic situation.'' Acht took a nce around him with an impressed look. Such situations ur often for leader figures or examiners and it''s very hard to nullify if you don''t have the dominance and authority to do so. It was a test for Thyrus on his leadership abilities.

    ''Now, what are you going to do, Thyrus.'' He shifted his eyes to Thyrus, interested in what he was going to do.

    The aforementioned didn''t react at first to themotion as he only sat casually. But, when he heard a particr sentence from one of the candidates he felt something click inside of him.<sub> </sub>

    "What''s so good about them? I''m way stronger than them."

    "Stronger?" He muttered as he stood up slowly and looked at the crowd.

    "You said stronger¡­The one who said it, step out and speak to me." He added as he put his hands in his pockets.

    No one spoke or stepped out, they looked at each other in confusion and hesitation while muttering some incoherent words.

    Seeing what happened, Thyrus startedughing. Hisugh was calm, quiet, and full of mockery. It was the first time he showed disdain since the start of the exam.

    "You lot¡­call yourself strong with that attitude¡­."

    He then started walking closer to the stand as he continued.

    "If you were really strong you would''ve understood why I chose those 4 in particr."

    "You! All of you! Came down and fought me, the strongest hunter, with fear and hesitation. You all thought ''Oh, he''s the strongest so we can''t do anything against him.''...You think that fucking mentality will make you get stronger¡­You fucking naive trash!"

    "Those 4 were the only people who came down thinking of only one thing¡­To win¡­They knew they couldn''t beat me, but they didn''t give up that goal until the end."

    "The strongest is that who never backs down no matter how strong his opponent is or how bad his situation is. Cowards will only be left behind rotting in the corner. And you kids are nothing but a cowardly bunch who thinks everything should go their way."

    He then gazed sharply at them and said. "Now¡­Get the fuck out of this ce!"

    No one dared to speak to the point where the sound of a needle dropping to the ground could be heard. Everyone couldn''t believe what they heard, the calm andposed Thyrus was shouting with clear anger and disgust.

    He even unleashed a bit of his aura which made most of the candidates suffocate from the sheer pressure.

    ''He could act like that, huh. In contrast to what he shows, he has the aura of a leader.'' Acht whistled quietly in amazement. He kind of agrees with Thyrus on some of his points but not all of them.

    ''Those who are strong are those who win. Being a reckless idiot doesn''t mean you''re powerful¡­it just hastens your death.''

    "I said get the fuck out or I will do something that none of you would like to see." He repeated his words and even threatened them.

    At that point, no one could stay any longer there. The crowd soon left the ce with clouded gazes and gloomy looks. They were thinking about Thyrus''s words and even questioning their own selves. Were they really a bunch of cowards? Were they really that far from bing strong?

    Such questions filled their minds and made them even sadder.

    After everyone left, Thyrus looked at the four left and made a long sigh as he scratched his head.

    "It''s been a very long time since¡­thest time¡­umm¡­I lost my temper slightly." He muttered under his breath. Yet, everyone heard his words and could only shake their heads while thinking.

    ''You destroy their confidence and then you call it a slight loss of temper!''

    "Now¡­I will talk about thest test. It won''t be rted to any physical activities. This test will need your brains and wits."

    "A strong hunter¡­..will always need his mind in all kinds of situations¡­and so¡­umm¡­You need to have the skill to stay calm and rational under immense pressure."

    He then sharpened his gaze and continued in a slow manner.

    "I won''t be telling you the details¡­Come here tomorrow at 7 AM and you will know what kind of test will be waiting for you¡­From my point of view, it''s by far the hardest one out of all tests."

    Then, he left the ce, leaving behind a bunch of surprised people.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 28 Chapter 28

    The day passed peacefully, thest four candidates were stressed out because of Thyrus''s words. The fact that this test was the hardest out of them all made them feel tense.

    Yet, with all of that in mind, each one of them was still eager to be one of the two who passed the test. They reached that point with pure tenacity and sheer will so they didn''t want to cower away just because of some words. They were way above that level of uncertainty.

    The next day, the four came to the same coliseum as yesterday. There was no one there so they had to sit down and wait for Thyrus or anyone else.

    As they sat there silently, the ck-haired girl who was chosen as the first stood up and looked at the others.

    "I have a suggestion for you guys."

    The others looked at her silently waiting for her to continue.

    "Ehem, why don''t we cooperate in thest test and help each other?" She felt awkward because of their silence but she still said what she wanted to say.

    For a few moments, no one spoke a word until the frivolous couldn''t bear it anymore and spoke with an arrogant tone.

    "Why would I work with some piece of trash? You''re gonna be in my way." He said with utmost arrogance and a cocky smile on his face.

    His words took Acht by surprise and made himugh out loud. He wasn''t expecting to hear such third-rate movie viin lines here out of all ces.

    "Why the fuck did youugh?!" The blonde guy was pissed because of Acht as he spoke to him with a threatening tone.

    "Rx, idiot. No one isughing at you. I just remembered a stupid joke." He answered while shaking his hand casually.

    "You!" He was about to stand up and walk towards him but Acht was already expecting that.

    He used his gift secretly and made the blonde guy stumble and fall on his face.

    "Ugh!" The young man groaned in pain as he held his nose with his teeth gritted.

    Acht startedughing calmly again as he looked at the blonde guy groaning in pain while blood kept trickling down his nose endlessly.

    "I''m sorry I don''t have a handkerchief." He said in mockery.

    "You piece of shit!"

    "That''s enough, you two. Didn''t you hear what Mr. Thyrus said. We can''t fight or we will be eliminated." The ck-haired girl said with some worry in her voice.

    Acht knew that and wasn''t intending to fight the blonde guy. He was just bored and wanted to pass his time doing something.

    As they sat there with a tense atmosphere, Thyrus finally appeared in front of them. He waste by one hour as usual and his clothes were borderline pajamas made for sleeping. His puffy eyes also made him look as if he just woken up from bed.

    "Umm¡­.Good morning¡­" He said as he sipped a cup of coffee. He somehow came to the third test with a cup of hot coffee in his hand.

    ''He''s way too irresponsible.'' The others thought as they shook their heads silently.

    "Now for the third and final test¡­.It will be a puzzle-solving game¡­." He acted as if he didn''t see anything and continued his exnation.

    "Puzzle game?"

    "Yeah, puzzle game¡­Just like¡­.umm¡­the ones you yed as a kid¡­.But, there is an added factor¡­."

    He then pointed at them with his index finger and continued.

    "Each one of you will have 5 minutes¡­You will have to solve the puzzle under my soul pressure while also keeping in mind the time limit¡­Using your gift is prohibited..using soul force is prohibited¡­.umm¡­that''s it."

    One single word appeared in everyone''s mind: outrageous. That was basically akin to a bad joke. Forget about the fact that they have to bear the soul pressure of the strongest hunter alive, they also had to solve a puzzle in 5 minutes while bearing that. It was near impossible if not actually impossible.

    But, they weren''t the only four left because of luck. None of them spoke about it and kept a fairly calm demeanor.

    Thyrus nodded secretly in approval of their reaction and continued speaking a few moments after,<sub> </sub>

    "Get down here and sit side by side while keeping a 10-meter gap between you."

    The four did what they were told and now they were sitting in front of Thyrus who was still sipping his coffee.

    Then, while he was drinking, he made a gesture with his hand, and instantly, five 1000-piece puzzles appeared in front of them.

    ''He really has no mercy in this test. I''m not even 100% confident in doing it.'' Acht thought as a small smile crept to his face that no one could see. He was skeptical about the test at first but now that he saw it with his own eyes, it seemed like a good challenge for him.

    "Just so you could have an idea about the test before we start¡­.I''m going to use my pressure on you¡­.so¡­umm¡­.you get the gist of it."

    Then, without any hesitation, an incredibly strong aura started seeping out Thyrus slowly. The four people instantly felt the clear drop in temperature and the suffocating feeling that they had felt before albeit more intense.

    The pressure kept on increasing gradually and frowns of pain started appearing on most of them. The blonde guy was having the hardest time along with the ck-haired girl beside him.

    They could barely breathe air and even that act took a lot of effort for them to do. It was pure hell for them.

    As for Acht and Tania, they were the least affected by the pressure, they were having some hard times but they were able to stay generally calm and collected. But, that won''t necessarily be the case after a few minutes of that pressure.

    ''What a monster? It''s as if I''m being held down under the paws of a massive predator.'' Acht thought as a droplet of sweat trickled down his face.

    Then, a few secondster, the pressure disappeared and the candidates were able to let out a breath of relief they were holding in their lungs.

    The blonde guy and the ck-haired girl had to rest their bodies on their hands so as to not fall unconscious. They suffered all of that just because of a few seconds of pressure. They were in deep trouble.

    Thyrus feigned ignorance of their poor state and spoke calmly.

    "You could take some time to prepare yourself and then we could start."

    They all nodded their heads but they were troubled about what to do.

    ''I can probably bear this pressure for 3 minutes maximum. That means I have toplete the puzzle in 3 minutes.'' Acht pondered over his n as he examined the puzzle thoroughly. He was solving the puzzle with his brain before they started so that he could cut the time needed by two minutes at the very least.

    The puzzle was fairly simple and easy to solve but with all the other factors added, it bes harder than a 1 million-piece puzzle.

    As for Tania, she just sat in her ce casually and waited for the test to start. No one could read what was on her mind as she kept a nk face all the time. The only thing noticeable about her is that she didn''t keep a 10-meter gap between her and Acht since she kept getting closer to him, closing the distance by 1 millimeter at a time.

    A few minutester, they all were ready and Thyrus nodded his head in understanding.

    "Then¡­Begin." He announced casually.

    The intense pressure came back and they all felt as if their limbs were frozen in their ces. But, with sheer will, they were able to move their hands and start solving the puzzle.

    ? Their speed varied but the quickest was Acht and then Tania, followed by the other two.

    Acht''s mind was working harder than usual as he tried to keep his calm while also solving the puzzle. He kept putting pieces after pieces and evading any mistakes that will make him lose time.

    With each piece he put in its appropriate ce, he felt his body get slower and slower.

    "1 minute passed." Thyrus said while watching them at work.

    When he announced the time, Acht had alreadypleted ? of the puzzle. If he keeps going at that speed then he will be able toplete the puzzle in the fourth minute.

    ''This won''t do¡­I need to be faster.'' He thought while sweat kept trickling down his face. It was a fight with time that challenged Acht''sposure and self-control. And he was losing it at the moment.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 29 Chapter 29

    The time kept on ticking slowly and the four people were struggling a lot, especially the blonde guy and the ck-haired girl. They were barely able to move their hands at first but when the time passed the one-minute mark, they totally lost their ability to even concentrate and solve the puzzle.

    What appeared after that was nothing but desperate moves from their side to do anything that could be interpreted as an attempt to solve the puzzle. They had utterly been crushed under the immense pressure exuded by Thyrus.

    ''Damn it!!'' thought the two as they fought the urge to fall unconscious. They had been aware of the difficulty of the test but they never thought it would be this hard or that they would be crushed this easily. It was frustrating and painful. What made that feeling stronger is the other two people who were undergoing the test.

    Acht and Tania were also having a hard time but they were also moving quickly to finish the puzzle. They were able to handle the pressure calmly and that calmness made their work easier.

    But, that didn''t mean that they couldst like that forever. Tania for example was starting to get overwhelmed by the pressure and her extremely beautiful face was as pale as a sheet of paper. Beads of sweat trickled down her face and a strong frown made her look even more intimidating.

    As for Acht, he was by far the least affected. His speed was iparably higher than the others and hisplexion was also way better than Tania and the others. But, he was also having a lot of trouble.

    ''Fuck, I won''t be able toplete the puzzle with this speed. What should I do?'' His mind was exhausted as he thought of every possible oue while also keeping track of how to solve the puzzle.

    ''I have less than a minute toplete and I still have ? of the puzzle left.'' he gritted his teeth lightly and tried to speed up even more. But, such a thing was impossible to do since he was already using all of his strength to move like that.

    Soon enough, he felt that barrier that was holding him from increasing his pace and got even more annoyed. ''You think I can''t break my limit! Don''t fucking underestimate me!''

    His prideful attitude got the best of him under such harsh conditions and he could only allow it to control his thought process. He was the greatest hitman to have ever lived, an unbeatable monster that never felt the sour feeling of failure. He was a great figure for many and for himself as well. Many would consider it arrogance, but he knew very well that he was not arrogant, but he valued his abilities more than most people out there, and that mentality was his key to sess.

    ''Come on! I''m not gonna lose her! NOT HERE!'' A mad look appeared in his eyes as he kept on moving at an inhuman speed. He didn''t feel it yet, but he was forcefully breaking his limit and reaching something he had never felt before.

    He was attaining something that many considered an impossible feat at his current level and something way beyond hisprehension.

    "Hmm?" Thyrus felt the abnormality around Acht and looked at him with confusion. The aura around the small boy started to change suddenly. Before, it was calm and controlled like the surface of ake that was never bothered by the harsh attacks of wind. But now, it has be chaotic, strong, and unrestrained.

    "What is he doin-" but before he ended his words, he realized what was happening and his eyes widened in deep shock.

    "This reckless kid! Does he want to have a quick death!" He stood up and walked toward him in a hurry.

    When he tried to stop Acht, another change happened, the aura that engulfed Acht and was threatening to explode any secondter started calming down rapidly. The strong energy waves that it sent were also subsiding.

    By the time his aura returnedpletely to normal, there was only 20 second left. Tania and the other two had already lost the ability to move and consequently, they couldn''tplete the puzzle. As for Acht, he was very close topleting it, but he also failed to do so and the 5 minutes ended quickly.

    Tania and Acht looked at each other as they breathed heavily. They were struggling to keep conscious but after the pressure was released, they were able to return to normal quickly.

    ''I failed¡­huh.'' Acht was the most affected by the loss. He felt as if he was close to making it in time, but he couldn''t break his limits. It was like an indestructible wall that didn''t want to budge even after all of his efforts. His fists clenched tightly and he gritted his teeth as he looked down to the ground. It was extremely frustrating for him.

    Thyrus kept looking at Acht for some time before shaking his head as if he decided not to do something. Then, he spoke with a calm tone.

    "Hmm¡­unfortunately, none of you were able toplete the puzzle¡­.in the given time."

    Then, he sat down again and continued, "Don''t worry though since the requirements to pass¡­. thisst test wasn''t toplete the puzzle¡­"

    "Even though none of you didplete the puzzle¡­..I saw with my own eyes who were¡­able to handle my pressure the best¡­."

    He then shifted his eyes to Tania and Acht and said, "You two¡­you did what I wanted from you¡­.you handled the harsh conditions fairly well and were close topleting the¡­puzzle¡­.congrattions you passed."

    He then looked at the other two people who were nowying on the ground as they breathed loudly, "As for you two¡­you weren''t able to do anything noteworthy¡­.unfortunately, this is the end for you."<sub> </sub>

    In contrast to what many would think, Acht and Tania didn''t celebrate or show any reaction, especially Acht. He was totally uninterested in passing the pre-hunter exam. The fact that he didn''t do something that he thought was within his capabilities bugged him a lot.

    ''Sigh, I can''t keep myself stuck at this point¡­I just need to work harder and harder until I can finally be able to do anything I want.'' He shook his head slowly and looked up again. He was still frustrated but he was now rational enough to calm down and try to forget about it.

    He failed, that''s now a reality that he had to face. What he had to do now was to know how to handle this failure and stand up again on his feet.

    And with that, the Pre-Hunter Exam was finally over. It was a very straightforward and simple test that ended as quickly as it started. Yet, Acht had learned a lot from it and now, he felt motivated more than ever for the real hunter exam. He didn''t want to feel helpless again and that made his resolve to pass the hunter exam even stronger.

    As he stood up and was about to leave, Thyrus looked at him and muttered to himself.

    "There is no way that he was about to do that, right?" He had aplicated gaze that no one could understand.

    When everyone finally left, Thyrus looked behind him and said, "You could appear now."

    Then, out of nowhere, a smallugh echoed in the room. It was a calm and rxedugh that resembled that of a child. The voice didn''t seem to be hostile or evil but it had such a weird vibe to it that makes anyone who hears it feel instantly ufortable and scared.

    "Hahaha! What an interesting kid indeed!" The voice said.

    "What do you think¡­is it really ''that''?"

    "Hmm¡­I couldn''t inspect his body for some reason~ but, don''t worry¡­.He''s what we are looking for."

    "Are you sure?"

    "You don''t trust me anymore, little scoundrel?"

    Hearing his response, Thyrusughed loudly at his words.

    "You don''t know how much I don''t trust you."

    "But¡­You can''t live without me, don''t you?~" the yful voice whispered in Thyrus''s ears and made him shudder slightly. He felt a cold sweat run down his spine.

    What kind of thing could make the strongest hunter alive shudder in response? This revtion alone could send the whole world into a frenzy.

    "Could you stop doing that¡­.you know I hate your stupid pranks¡­"

    "Stop being dishonest with me¡­.I could give you a lot of funnnn~~~" the voice kept the same tone as it teased Thyrus relentlessly. They looked like a couple that were madly in love bickering and flirting non-stop.

    Then they both disappeared from the coliseum as if they were never there. No one heard their conversation since they kept it a secret for a long time. But, would that mysterious voice stay unknown forever?

    Well, that''s a story for another day.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 30 Chapter 30

    Two days passed since the pressure test, Acht had spent most of that period training day and night. What happened still bugged his mind slightly and so he found that training was the only way for him to totally forget about it.

    Not only that, but he also was preparing himself for the hunter exam. He didn''t know what kind of things he would have to undergo through the hunter test, but he wanted to be the best one in all of it. He couldy low, but that won''t do him any good since he needed to be stronger quickly and he needed any help in doing that.

    On the night of the third day, he felt that he needed to rest for a bit and so he decided to go out and venture through the city. Hisst trip ended up with a huge headache for him but he hoped this time would be better.

    When he got out of his room, he went down using the elevator. As he was going down, the elevator suddenly stopped and the door opened.

    Acht didn''t look at the person at first as he was thinking about other things, but, when he saw a distinct hair color, he shifted his eyes to look at the person. There stood Tania who was also surprised at first but hurriedly walked to stand close to him.

    "Huh? Why are you he-.....you know what, forget it." He was about to question her but soon shook his head as an invisible tear fell down his cheek.

    ''I am the unluckiest person alive. This must be a curse!'' He thought inwardly.

    The two walked out of the elevator together and straight out of the hotel. Tania followed Acht silently as if it was the most obvious thing to do and Acht couldn''t bother to even convince her to leave him alone.

    The city was as bustling as ever. The nightlife in Lagradon was very lively. Many even call the city ''The Nightless Paradise'' for this trait alone. You can find anything here from bars to amusement parks and everything in between. Hell, you can even have brothels in the city since now prohibits the establishment of such facilities.

    Acht didn''t have any ns in mind for what he was going to do, he just wanted to roam around the ce in search of anything he could pass the time doing.

    At some point, while Acht was walking, Tania joined his side and they started walking together as if they were siblings. She didn''t seem to be happy nor side, just nkly staring at Acht unstoppingly.

    ''How can she walk properly without even looking in her way?'' He could only think so with a confused look.

    They soon left the main road and found themselves in a rural area of the city. It wasn''t totally empty but the movement lessened considerably around them.

    ''Someone is following us.'' Thought Acht as he walked casually. He didn''t show any reaction or even change anything about his demeanor. He just kept walking casually.

    He peeked slightly at Tania and she seemed to have also noticed the abnormality but also didn''t do anything to make the stalker suspicious.

    ''I can''t feel their presence properly so I don''t know how many people are following us or if they''re awakeners or not.''

    He knew that there is no point in running away since they seem to be skilled and not some idiotic bunch. That''s why he chose the other option¡­to face them head-on.

    Acht took a look around him for a moment and found the perfect ce for his n. It was a road at the next intersection he was walking to. There were no houses or big buildings, just a closed road that didn''t have anyone in.

    "Oh, that seems to be a nice stall. Let''s check it out." He said with an innocent tone and continued walking with Tania to his side who also understood what he wanted to do.

    ''She''s very smart for a weird girl.''

    When they finally entered the street. They halted their steps and turned around. Acht''s hands were still in his pockets and he still has the same innocent look he showed previously.

    A few secondster, 2 silhouettes appeared from the shadows cast by the buildings around them. They literally manifested out of the darkness like some shadow creatures.

    ''They''re shadow element awakeners.'' Acht took note of that in his head.

    The two figures wore ck clothes and covered their faces too, looking like two shinobis. They were also holding two sharp knives that resemble kunais.

    "Come with us without any resistance." One of them spoke neutrally without any shred of threat in his tone.

    "What if I say no?" Acht asked with a small smirk of disdain in the corners of his mouth.

    "Then we will have to be a little rough." The same one answered.

    "Oh, you don''t know how much I like the rough way." Acht answered as he pulled his sword.

    Now that they were close enough, he felt it. ''They''re at least level 6 white souls.''

    He was also level six so he didn''t know if he could beat them alone. There was Tania with him but he wasn''t sure if she could handle one of them alone.<sub> </sub>

    "Can I rely on you?" He asked as he looked at her for a brief moment.

    "En." She nodded cutely as she pulled a sword too. The sword was very thin, almost like a saber but with sharp edges.

    ''I hope so.'' He thought.

    "You take the left one. I will take the right one. Hold him for as long as you can. When I finish the first one, I wille to help you." He told her his n briefly before dashing toward his target while using his soul force to enhance his body.

    The Shinobi-looking man also ran at him. They met midway and they shed violently. His sword wasn''t able to power the kunais.

    They stayed like that for a brief moment before they pulled at the same time and shed again.

    No one was able to overwhelm the other in this show of strength and neither could they find any weak points.

    ''I have no choice but to use gravity.'' Acht thought as he fended off a barrage of attacks from the Shinobi.

    Their hands moved at an extremely fast speed that the only visible things from this fight is the continuous sparks of two pieces of metal hitting each other strongly.

    Acht didn''t want to take it any longer than this, he secretly used a portion of his gift and applied it to the short sword. Then he erased the weight it had and made it even easier to swing than it already was.

    Instantly, everything changed. The Shinobi started getting overwhelmed by Acht and had to retreat one step at a time as Acht walked forward slowly.

    However, Acht didn''t stop only at that. He used his gift again and applied it to the Shinobi. From the moment he started training his gift, he knew that changing the gravity of multiple things at the same time was a must for him and he started practicing that whenever he had time. It was a very hard feat for him at first since he couldn''t concentrate on two things at the same time but he started growing ustomed to it with practice.

    The Shinobi felt his body getting crushed, his speed fell down tremendously and Acht saw that clearly.

    ''I need to go back to the shadows.'' The Shinobi thought desperately as he looked around him in a frenzy. The ce was indeed dark but there were no shadows because of that. He needed a source of light for a shadow to appear.

    "You think I will let you search for a source of light?" A chilling voice whispered to him and he looked in front of him.

    Acht''s eyes were extremely cold as they gazed at him widely. He looked extremely scary in the darkness.

    The Shinobi felt it at that moment, he was dead. Many would think that he could try to run away and that he had a chance to live but he had a whole different feeling. His guts told him that he was not going to escape that ce alive even if he tried.

    Acht didn''t care about the shinobi''s train of thought and shoved his sword straight into his heart. Instantly, a blood stain made his dark clothes even darker and a cm shocked look appeared on his face.

    Then, slowly, he fell down to the ground with a horrified look. Thest thing he saw was the emotionless eyes of Acht. It was the worst way someone could die.

    Acht didn''t give him a second nce and looked at Tania''s fight. But, to his extreme surprise, he saw something he didn''t expect.

    The other shinobi was holding Tania hostage and was running away in the direction of the main road where a shadow was.

    ''Dammit! He''s gonna run away.''

    Achat didn''t wait for even one split of a second, he ran after him as he channeled his gift and tried to slow him down. But, unlikely, he was out of his range.

    The boy clicked his tongue in anger and ran as fast as he could. He closed the gap between them really quickly. Yet, he was stillte and the Shinobi was still able to reach the shadow and instantly disappeared.

    "Fuck!" Acht cursed as he stood in his ce with a slightly troubled look.

    "This is going to be a fucking annoying night." He muttered as he looked around him.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 31 Chapter 31

    Acht felt obliged to save Tania for one single reason. He had relied on her to fend off one of them alone when she clearly couldn''t do that and so that was a miscalction from his side.

    He stood silent for some time, he was trying to feel the presence of the Shinobi and Tania. He was sure that they didn''t run that far.

    His soul sense had already grown by leaps and bounds since the first time he used it. Now it could cover 200 meters around him. In an instant, his mind expanded and he started feeling everything around him without even looking. Every nook and cranny around him became as visible for him as if he was looking at his ken hands.

    "Found you." He muttered with closed eyes. A little bit farther away from his position. The two things were moving at a fast speed.

    Acht didn''t waste any time and followed after them. He was faster than the Shinobi so he was able to close the distance quite easily. But, he didn''t want to reach them.

    Since the moment the two shinobis appeared, he had one question.

    ''What do they want from us?''

    He had never seen them before so he was confused as to why they were targeting them.

    ''Perhaps, it''s a normal kidnap?'' He moved through the shadows of buildings while keeping his soul sense open to keep track of where the Shinobi was going. He was going farther and farther away from the popted areas of Lagradon but he was still far away from the end of the city. Lagradon was extremely big and almost impossible to reach the city walls in one night.

    This chase continued for almost 30 minutes in which the Shinobi stopped for a brief moment to check if Acht was following him or not. He didn''t seem to sense his presence as he quickly disappeared again. The Shinobi was using the shadows to move so it was hard to see him in the darkness.

    They soon reached what seemed like an abandoned factory, it was quite far away from the city center and it seemed to be built in a deserted area where no one lived.

    The Shinobi didn''t waste much time and entered the factory. He seemed quite familiar with the ce since he didn''t hesitate.

    Acht also followed him inside but after some time, since it could be a trap for him. He took a brief look at the structure of the ce and noted any suspicious ces.

    The ce''s structure was simple, the factory was just one big room where most workers should be and a room on the second floor where the administration was. Everything could be seen from the outside so Acht didn''t need to get inside in order to get an idea about the factory.

    After making sure everything was noted in his head, he looked at the Shinobi. He was standing still in a particr ce with Tania in his hands who didn''t seem to resist him or even show any kind of reaction. She had the same nk face that she always had.

    ''What is he doing?'' Acht squinted his eyes as he used soul force on his eyes to enhance his vision. He was able to see that the Shinobi was tapping on some buttons in a control panel he had in his free hand.

    After a few seconds of tapping, a loud sound echoed in the ce and the ground in front of the shinobi started opening up slowly. After the door fully opened, the shinobi took onest look around him before he went down the steps.

    ''I''ve never expected a secret base. What kind of people are they?'' he pondered as he walked silently to the open door. When he was close to the door, it started closing rapidly.

    Acht had no choice but to run so he could reach it in time before it closed. Fortunately, he was able to do so quite easily.

    Inside, he found a set of stairs that gives him down to a small and cramped hallway. There was some lighting from the end of the hallway that illuminates most of the ce.

    Acht could also hear some people talking inside. He didn''t want them to know his ce so he sneakily walked down without making any noises. He then hid behind the first thing he found and listened carefully to their conversation.

    "Did you get the girl?" A man asked.

    "Yes. She was hard to catch¡­also¡­" The man''s voice got quieter and quieter until it disappearedpletely as if he was extremely ashamed of saying something.

    "Out with it!" The other man who seemed to be the boss or something like that.

    "Sundine got killed." He blurted out after some hesitation.

    Silence took over the ce for a few seconds in which Acht felt the heavy atmosphere.

    "Who did it?" The boss asked quietly.<sub> </sub>

    "There was another kid with the young girl."

    "Another kid?"

    "Yes, but he wasn''t normal at all¡­He was able to overpower Sundine easily and he even killed him in a few moments. I saw that and I had no choice but to get the girl and run away. He followed me but I was able to run away."

    "...Are you sure he didn''t follow you here?" The man''s sharp words made Acht tense a little bit. If he was discovered then his n would be ruined.

    "Yes, I am sure. I even used a longer route toe here. He won''t be able to find any tracks to follow me."

    Acht felt relieved that he was dealing with ignorant fools and then looked to his side. There was a massive box that was at least 2 meters tall and 2 meters wide. It was made out of some kind of wood but it looked solid enough to make his ns work.

    He then pointed his hand at the crater and used his gift. He wanted to send the box flying and take all the people present by surprise. Then, he will use that chaos to run in and take Tania away. He could''ve faced them head-on but he had to keep Tania''s safety in mind so he could only go with this n.

    ''I hope that it will be light enough for my gravity to move it.'' He knew that if it was over 500 kg then he wouldn''t be able to push it.

    But, fortunately, the moment he used all of his powers, the box was sent flying at high speed toward the crowd of men inside.

    *Booommmmmm*

    A loud explosion shook the whole underground and made Acht stumble on his foot. After adjusting his pose, he took a look inside. There was a huge white dust-like substance in the air that kept umting rapidly.

    Then, he heard the loud voice of the leader shouting, "Fuck! Close your noses or the SA will kill you! Who did it!?"

    The leader tried to run outside but Acht had already run at him and kicked him in the stomach. The man stumbled to the ground with a painful groan. Then Acht passed him and ran inside. He heard some of the leader''s words so even though he didn''t get what was going on properly, he closed his mouth and nose as he ran inside.

    He looked around him and saw many of the men were coughing loudly and holding their throats in pain.

    He didn''t care about them since his only goal was to reach Tania. No-one stopped him in his tracks and so he reached the Shinobi who held Tania quite easily.

    Then, he used his right hand and broke 4 of his fingers before taking Tania away from him.

    The man felt the intense pain in his hands and also in his throat and lost consciousness. He couldn''t handle the immense pain his body felt.

    "Are you ok?" He asked as he tried to escape.

    Tania didn''t respond at first and kept looking at him in a daze before nodding his head silently.

    As Acht ran to the exit, he suddenly heard a loud shriek from his left side. He looked at the source of this primal scream and his eyes widened in shock at the site.

    One of the men who inhaled this weird substance had turned into some kind of wild animal. His eyes were as red as a tomato and his mouth was open wide while his saliva kept trickling down his mouth endlessly.

    He was also standing on his four limbs like a feline and was looking at Acht as he breathed heavily.

    "What is that?!" He muttered as he increased his pace. But, before he could even make his way out, the crazy man jumped at him with an even louder shriek.

    "YRAAAAAA!!!!!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 32 Chapter 32

    Acht was almost caught in the attack had he not jumped a few meters behind with Tania still in his arms. She was holding his clothes tightly as if she was scared. But, her expression didn''t show any fear or any emotions for that matter.

    When he was far enough, he let down Tania without talking since he was still holding his breath. The boy was still not sure what was happening or why the man was acting like a wild animal but he had an assumption.

    ''That weird substance¡­.It''s some kind of drug. Shit, I don''t have much time to hold my breath.'' he thought as he looked around. Most of the men in the room were still coughing and trying to resist the drug but Acht was sure that they could transform at any moment.

    He was in a very bad situation. That''s why he scratched the idea of fighting these people and started looking for an escape route or they will most likely turn like them.

    He checked Tania and saw that she could still hold her breath for some time. Then, he tapped her shoulder and pointed at the exit as if he was telling her that he will fend them off until she could escape and then he will follow her.

    Tania looked at him for a few moments then she shook her head. She refused to leave alone and wanted both of them to leave together.

    ''We don''t have time to argue about it!'' Acht red at her to deliver his point. He had mostly 1 minute before he had to breathe.

    Fortunately, it seemed like his urges made Taniaply and she nodded her head but with a weird look in her eyes. She seemed quite annoyed for some reason.

    The berserk man did not attack them for some time, he seemed to be wary of Acht and he was taking his time to find a way to jump at them.

    The two looked at him, then, Tania started running towards the exit. The man saw it and shrieked loudly in fury, then he ran after her trying to catch her.

    *Smash*

    But, the moment he closed the distance between them, he was kicked in the face roughly and sent flying to the wall behind. Acht was aware of what the man wanted and he didn''t allow him to do so.

    Tania continued running and Acht was following her but at a slower speed. He looked around him for any new transformed person but they were still struggling and he felt relieved.

    When they reached the exit, they found the leader leaning on one of the walls and coughing loudly.

    Acht didn''t halt his steps and passed him quickly.

    When he looked at the door, it was wide open. He was confused about why it was open but he nevertheless continued to run.

    "Wait!!!! Cough!....You¡­Cough...Bastard!" The man saw the culprit of this disaster that fell on him and tried to chase after him but the strong hysterical coughing he had made it impossible to do so.

    "You fucker!!!" He didn''t waste any time and pulled out his control panel and tapped some buttons. He wanted to trap them with him inside.

    The metal door started closing slowly and the two children still had some distance to cross before they could exit.

    Acht clicked his tongue and ran faster as he lifted Tania to increase his pace. He was way faster than her so he could only do this to have a chance of escaping.

    But, even with his full speed he still couldn''t reach the door before it closed. With no other choice, he lifted Tania higher and threw her like a bag of potatoes. The girl was sent flying and straight out of the basement.

    Then, the doorpletely closed and Acht was trapped inside.

    ''Fuck.'' Acht cursed inwardly and looked at the leader, he still had the control panel in his hands. So, without any time to waste, Achtunched himself toward the leader to take the controller.

    "You won''t get¡­.cough¡­this you bastard." The man smiled madly and held the controller high. Then, he threw it at the wall. The controller hit the rock-solid wall and was destroyed into pieces.

    "HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" The manughed like a maniac and red at Acht who for some reason didn''t seem to be shocked or desperate.<sub> </sub>

    He just kept running as fast as he could while keeping calm so as to not waste breath. He had no time to waste getting shocked or desperate.

    ''There is another one who has a control panel.'' he thought to himself.

    The man who had another control panel was the Shinobi that kidnapped Tania since Acht saw him use it when he opened the basement door previously.

    The leader didn''t get what was going through his mind until he was already far away. It then clicked in his head that one of his subordinates had another control panel.

    Acht quickly returned to the room and looked for the Shinobi. Most of the men there had already turned into mad and brainless animals with distinct red eyes.

    When they saw Acht they all went into a frenzy and shrieked loudly. Then, at the same time, they attacked him wildly.

    ''Piss off.'' He used his gift and made a gravity wave that pushed all of the men away. The attack didn''t damage them at all but it was enough to gain some time.

    Acht looked around quickly and saw the Shinobi he was looking for still struggling which meant he was still sane. He approached him quickly and searched him for the control panel.

    It took a few precious seconds for him to find the controller. Acht counted the seconds he still had left for him.

    ''Fuck. Only 20 seconds.'' he thought as he ran back while dodging and pushing the mad men who were attacking him. It was hard enough that he had to run fast but he also had to fight while doing so. This excessive physical exercise made him exhaust the breath in his lungs even faster.

    One of the men came at him from his direction so Acht didn''t have a way to kick him or use his gift. So, without any hesitation, he made a leap with his right leg andnded on his head before making another leap using the man''s head as support and jumped as far as he could. This move made him cross some distance quickly and reach the door.

    But, he underestimated the number of people that turned out like that. The moment hended, 4 men jumped at him from all sides. He didn''t have a way to get out of it so he could only target the one in the direction of the exit.

    With his sword out, Acht shed horizontally. The attack connected and the man groaned in pain. Blood sttered everywhere including Acht''s face. But, he couldn''t care less about it and quickly kicked him away and tried to escape the trap they created for him.

    Luckily enough, he was able to squeeze his way through but not without a cost. One of them was able to reach him and bit his left arm. Then, he savagely pulled his face away. With his teeth, he was able to pull a chunk of Acht''s flesh with him.

    Acht felt the immense pain but didn''t groan and pushed the man away before running as fast as he could.

    ''Why did I get myself into this, dammit.'' He cursed inwardly. The injury was very deep and blood kept trickling down his arm endlessly.

    He was finally able to exit the room and even the white substance started dissipating considerably but not to the point where Acht could gamble and take a breath. Things seemed to get better and Acht was close to getting out of the ce safely.

    But, things weren''t as easy as they seemed to be. As he tried to cross the hallway and jump thedders, he heard another loud shriek behind him.

    He took a peek to the side, there was the leader who was also looking at him with ferocious red eyes and saliva drooling down his face endlessly. The leader didn''t wait and jumped at him with an even faster speed than that of his subordinates.

    ''Fuck.'' Acht cursed his bad luck.

    The young man was in a very dire situation and so for the first time in a long time, he felt that his life was threatened and he didn''t have any way of getting out of it unscathed. Countless men were following him from behind and the leader was blocking his way. Add to that the fact that he had only a few seconds before he needed to breathe which meant in this case his end.

    Acht''s next choice will either make him survive or be a crazed beast like these men.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 33 Chapter 33

    Acht was cornered from all sides and he had no way of getting out of this situation. He was utterly helpless.

    But, even with all of that and the fact that he was the closest he ever was to dying, he still kept a calm mind and his eyes never wavered for a second.

    He then swiftly dodged the leader and took a few meters of distance to do something. He looked around him for a moment and found that the weird substance had already started dissipating, it was still dangerous to breathe but Acht had apletely different idea.

    ''I still have enough energy for one more gravity maniption.'' He thought inwardly and went straight into action. This was hisst gamble and if it worked then his chances of getting out alive will increase exponentially.

    He grabbed a big pebble and cut some of his clothes. He then tied the pebble with the shredded cloth. But, this took him some time so he had to do it while also moving left and right to avoid some of the berserk people. This didn''te without a cost as all cuts and injuries riddled his body.

    But, he was able to pull it off. After preparing it, he directed the pebble and the cloth toward the areas where the substance was concentrated and started swinging the pebble at a fast speed.

    Then, he used his gravity maniption to make the pebble lighter and increase the speed of the turning. His actions created strong air waves around him.

    The waves of air kept on moving at an incredible speed pushing weird substances away. Instantly, the hall cleared slightly and Acht saw a ce that was considerably clean so he ran there and took a deep breath immediately. He had already passed his limit and he felt himself lose consciousness at any moment but he was able to pull it off nheless.

    Acht took deep breaths as quickly as possible before he closed his mouth and nose again. He didn''t have the leisure of breathingfortably since there were still many mad people after him that wanted to eat him alive.

    The boy ran around the ce trying to find a way to break through the closed passage but his only solution was to fight the leader since he was the one who threatened him the most. Their confrontation was set in stone.

    ''I have no other choice. I need to kill him as quickly as I can.'' He thought to himself as he kicked one of the men in the stomach.

    Before he could even fight the leader, he needed to get rid of the others since they were like annoying bugs that kept on moving around him non-stop.

    ''How could¡­Wait!!'' His eyes locked on the room that they were in. It had a metal door that resembled the one that locked the basement. He also had the control panel so he could lock them inside the room if he pulled them there.

    Without further to do, Acht changed his direction and ran toward the to followed by the crazy men behind him. They were all akin to brainless wild animals so they didn''t think at all when they chased after him.

    The leader however seemed to retain some of his brain since he didn''t follow Acht but kept on running around the perimeter of the room shouting and shrieking at his subordinates who ignored himpletely.

    It seemed that the stronger the individual, the less affected he was by this drug, and since the leader was a level 9 white soul, he was able to keep some basic thinking abilities that make him some kind of primitive Homosapien.

    Anyway, after every gang member followed Acht inside, he used the controller and started closing the room. But, he didn''t leave yet and made sure to keep himself inside until thest second.

    When the door was almost closed, he sprinted towards it and passed through at thest moment while the other people chased after him in a frenzy but ended up smashing into the metal door. He could hear the scratching sounds and the wild criesing from inside but he didn''t care about it. He was now alone with the leader.

    He was also looking at Acht without moving.

    ''He''s higher than me when ites to soul force. But he can''t think properly so I could exploit that.'' Acht noted in his head before dashing at him again. He was still holding his breath so ending the fight as quickly as possible was a must. To do so, Acht decided to go all out from the beginning.

    He used the minuscule amount of soul force he still had left and enhanced his body. He felt his muscles bulge slightly and his legs became considerably lighter.

    ''WRAAAAA!!!!" the man shrieked and charged at him too.

    *Swish* *Cling*

    Acht''s sword shed with the man''s hands and made a clunking sound. The man''s skin was tough but it wasn''t as tough as Thyrus''s since the sword made a cut in his hand and blood sshed everywhere.

    With his other arm, Acht grabbed the leader''s head and tried to smash it to the ground.

    *BOOOM*

    A loud cracking sound coupled with the inhuman shriek of a weird creature echoed in the corridor.

    ''Die, you brainless fuck.'' Acht thought indifferently as he kept smashing the man''s head to the ground. The leader tried to stop him by grabbing his arm and trying to crush it but he only made some cuts on his arm and some loud sounds of Acht''s bones.

    After hitting the ground so many times to the point where he even created a hole in the hard rock, the leader finally stopped resisting andid down motionless.<sub> </sub>

    When he was finally sure he wouldn''t move again, Acht stood up from his ce and walked slowly to the exit.

    ''Finally, this is over.''

    He was heavily injured and lost a lot of blood because of the many injuries he had on his whole body. He even started to feel hazy and his mind became sluggish.

    ''Damn it¡­I''m losing consciousness¡­If I faint here then it will be my end¡­Fuck '' He cursed under his breath a bit his tongue to make him wake up. The sharp pain from the bite coupled with the metallic taste of blood gave him a boost of energy.

    Fortunately, he was able to reach the gate and left the basement. The moment he was sure that he was finally out, Acht''s body lost all strength and he fell unconscious instantly.

    What he didn''t see, however, was Tania who saw him fall like that and she ran to him in a hurry. Her eyes were extremely worried at first but she sighed audibly in relief when she saw that he was only sleeping.

    Then, her eyes shifted to look at the basement. Then, she stood up and walked inside again. She didn''t hold her breath or even bother with the white substance in the air.

    She kept walking calmly until she reached the leader who wasying on his face with his own blood sttered everywhere.

    Tania then looked at him for a few seconds before she kicked him in the head twice.

    "Ouch!!" The leader made a groan of pain and stood up.

    "Why did you do that, young miss?" He asked as he scratched his head. He didn''t seem to be affected by his injuries or to be more precise, there was no trace of his previous injuries from Acht''s fight.

    "Stop¡­acting." She said two words but they were more than enough to make the man feel intimidated.

    Then with a click of his two fingers, his whole appearance changed and he became a totally different person.

    Tania didn''t seem to be surprised by this weird transformation as she ignored him the next second and walked to the closed room.

    "Why are you angry, young miss? Did we overdo it? I thought they were your orders for us to do so." The man kept asking as he followed her like a puppy.

    Tania red at him from upfront and didn''t give him a second nce. She opened the door to the room. There, the men who were previously looking mad and brainless were now sitting down with nervous looks in their eyes.

    "You¡­Punish." She said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest with a harsh gaze.

    "Please, young miss!! Have mercy!!" One of them begged loudly with a pathetic look.

    "I said¡­fight¡­.Acht¡­He''s cool¡­but¡­you¡­hurt..him¡­punishment." She said each word alone as if she was emphasizing them.

    "But.."

    "Silence." She then turned around and walked away. When she was far enough she turned around and said.

    "Disappear."

    Then left the ce with Acht on her back. He didn''t hear anything since he was dropped cold and even if he heard it, he would''ve lost consciousness from anger and shock.

    His life was on the line and it was all a fake scenario made by Tania. But, for what reason? Who was this mysterious girl?

    "Acht¡­amazing¡­Strong¡­I want more¡­I want him¡­" She muttered with a blush on her face as she walked with him in the dark streets of the city with the full moon illuminating her beautiful face. A beautiful face that hid something no one should know.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 34 Chapter 34

    The time was past midnight and the city was still full of people. Tania walked through the streets and reached the hotel where they stayed. She garnered a lot of attention because of the unconscious Acht but she couldn''t care less about it.

    "Excuse me, do you need any help?" One of the workers asked worriedly as he looked at Acht who was still bleeding profusely. But, Tania didn''t speak and walked past him toward the elevator.

    She then went straight to Acht''s room which was on the 34th floor. When she reached the door of the room he resided in, she had to put a code in the door so she could enter. It was a normal security measure.

    Then, without any hesitation, she tapped the number in as if she had already memorized it by heart. The door opened and she walked inside, then, she put Acht on his bed as gently as possible. She didn''t want to hurt him or wake him up so she was very careful with her moves.

    Then, she looked at the ring on her finger. It was a dimensional ring that looked extremely expensive and way better than the one Acht had. Instantly, a bottle full of green liquid appeared in her hand. The bottle was quite big and the liquid was extremely clear and delicious-looking.

    Then, she approached Acht and lifted his head softly like a mother taking care of her kid and tried to make him drink the bottle. But, since Acht was unconscious and he couldn''t move his mouth to take sips, the liquid just trickled down his face with barely any droplets getting into his mouth.

    "Hmm?" She tilted her head cutely and pulled the bottle away. Then, she tried doing it again with another angle but the same thing happened.

    "Hm?" She pondered again about what to do before looking at the bottle with an idea in mind. She then took a sip of the bottle and left it in her mouth before looking at Acht again.

    She was feeling embarrassed and oblivious to how things should be done but she was also extremely worried about Acht who was in a very bad state and could be in a life-threatening situation because of the excessive loss of blood.

    Tania saw that and immediately shook her head as she resolved herself. Then, she closed up on him until their faces were extremely close.

    Acht still had the same long hair that covered most of his face so people couldn''t see his features at all. But, now that Tania was very close, she could see everything clearly.

    She kept staring at him for some time in a daze before making thest push as she closed her eyes.

    *Shuuu*

    Their lips touched lightly, Tania felt a shudder run down her spine as she felt the sensation of Acht''s small lips touching hers. She didn''t know why but the feeling was extremely good that it made her forget her purpose of this action and lose herself in this euphoria.

    But, a few momentster, she regained her rity and continued what she intended to do. She pried open his lips slowly and invaded his mouth with her small tongue.

    Her tongue took some time to explore every nook and cranny of Acht''s mouth and feel the sensation of his saliva. Then, she pushed the liquid in her mouth into his mouth in small portions.

    The taste of the liquid coupled with the feeling of Acht''s mouth made her groan in pleasure quietly. It was a weird feeling but she enjoyed it so much.

    After the first gulp of the potion was delivered safely, she pulled away from him. A string of saliva was created between them before Tania broke it and then she licked her mouth a few times.

    "More..." she muttered to herself. The sensation was simply addictive for her.

    She then took another gulp of the potion and dived in again. This time, the kiss was even deeper and more daring.

    She used her tongue to make sure she felt every part of Acht''s mouth even more deeply. It was as if she was trying to clean his mouth with her tongue.

    At this point, Tania was starting to feel some kind of weird feeling in her chest. Her heart was beating so hard that she felt as if it was drumming in her ears. Her breathing was erratic and her eyes were losing their focus on more than one asion.

    She didn''t understand what was going on but she didn''t hate it, she just wanted to discover more about what she was feeling and how to make it even better.<sub> </sub>

    For the next 20 minutes, she kept taking gulps of the potion and kissing Acht non-stoppingly. She was unconsciously taking smaller and smaller gulps of the potions when she saw that it was almost over so that she could prolong this ''healing'' session for longer.

    When the potion was over, she took a deep breath and sat down on the bed to calm down. For some reason, the weird feeling she had was getting even more intense with each passing moment and even when she did all of those things with Acht she was still craving for even more of that.

    "I want...more.." she looked at Acht who was still unconscious. He was already fully healed and all of the injuries he sustained disappeared as if they never existed. Even his face that was deathly pale before regained its healthy red color.

    Then, with a gulp of a mouthful of saliva, she started crawling on the bed to his side. When she was close enough to him, she extended her hand and poked his face twice.

    "Hehe." Sheughed lightly and kept on poking him in the face multiple times. She found it fun to do so and y with his cheeks. His sleeping face was a total contrast to the cold and stoic face Acht had all the time.

    Then, after having plenty of fun sheys down beside him with her hand on his chest.

    "Mine..." she muttered as she unconsciously clenched her fist while holding a part of his clothes.

    Tania was a weird child since her birth, she never showed many reactions to anything and always looked as expressionless as a doll. This made her parents worry and try to find a solution since they loved her dearly. But, no matter what they did, she never showed any reaction.

    Then, one day, she discovered one of the servants in her house training, and for the first time in her life, she was interested in something. She found the way the servant moved in such a specific way to create a certain action, something worthy of her attention.

    From that point on, Tania started training in all kinds of fighting styles and weapons. She was a genius so she didn''t find any difficulties in learning anything and soon she learned most of the things the trainers could teach her and even beat them in duels.

    No one could count how many times she sparred with her trainers and she won every one of those fights fairly easily. That was when she discovered another thing...

    No one could beat her. It was normal at first but it slowly grew to be a problem for her since that meant that things would return to being boring again.

    It was at that time that she heard about the hunter exam and felt that she could find fun again when she bes a hunter so she participated in the exam even though her parents begged her not to do so.

    That''s when she met Acht. At first, she didn''t show any interest in him since he looked like any other person there. But, when she saw him fight the muscr boy and beat him easily with moves she had never seen before, she felt captivated by his moves. An intense desire to see him fighting again started swelling in her heart and kept on getting more and more intense.

    With that in mind, she asked him to fight her to make sure she really found the person she was looking for. Someone who could beat her, someone who could make her look at him day and night without getting bored.

    And that''s what she found exactly, he was able to beat her quite easily too. That was the first moment her heart beat faster than usual.

    From that point on, she couldn''t look away from Acht. The only thing she could think about was his silhouette. It was an amazing feeling for her whocked feelings. It was as if her monochrome world had been dyed with a myriad of colors.

    ''I have to get closer to him.'' she thought to herself. And that was what she did, even though heshed out at her and didn''t treat her nicely, she didn''t dislike him at all. In fact, she felt that his cold attitude was amazing for some reason.

    "Acht...Acht...Acht.." she muttered his name continuously as she felt her eyes be heavy and she started to drift to sleep. Her body unconsciously got closer to him until she was fully embracing him with both of her hands.

    Then, with a small smile on her face, she fell asleep in the arms of the young man who was oblivious to all the things happening around him.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 35 Chapter 35

    "Ugh¡­" A small groan escaped Acht''s mouth as he opened his eyelids slowly. He was still in a groggy state so he couldn''t understand what was going on around him for the first few seconds. Then, when his mind started functioning again and he remembered what happened, he woke uppletely and looked around him frantically.

    He didn''t find himself in the factory where he fainted, but in a luxurious room that he knew very well.

    "How did¡­" before he could even mutter the question. He felt a weird feeling on his left side.

    "Nnn" A small and cute voice reached his eyes when he looked to his side. There, he found Tania sleeping peacefully while hugging him tightly.

    "What the¡­" He couldn''t understand the weird situation he was in. Firstly, he wakes up in his room again, and then he finds Tania sleeping in his bed.

    ''Did she heal me?'' He thought while inspecting his body and seeing his condition. He was back in peak form. He even felt a little bit better than he was before.

    After checking out his body and his surroundings, he stood up and left Tania''s embrace. She did resist his attempts at first but he pushed her slightly so that she could lessen her grip on him.

    ''This isn''t a crime, right?'' he shook his head with a loud sigh. Even though he was now a 7-year-old boy, he still had the mind of an adult man so sleeping with a small girl should be a crime. However, people could only see him as a small boy so he should be safe.

    ''I don''t want this to happen again.''

    The first thing he did after leaving the bed was take a shower. His clothes were all a bloody mess and his skin was still sticky because of the sweat.

    After the shower, he made a simple breakfast and ate it while waiting for the girl to wake up. He didn''t want to wake her up since she seemed too tired for him. He was also slightly thankful for her for getting him out of that factory.

    Exactly one hour after that, Tania finally woke up from sleep. Her hair was a mess and her eyes looked almost closed. She looked somehow extremely cute in that state. She looked around her a few times to see what was going on.

    "You took your time there, didn''t you?" Asked Acht who was doing some physical training in the room. The bedroom was the biggest one out of all the rooms in the suite so he used it to train for most of the time.

    "MMM." She muttered while still trying to understand what was going on. Then, when she saw Acht in front of her, she seemed to be fully aware of her surroundings.

    "Did you bring me here alone?" He asked her another question.

    Tania nodded her head silently in approval.

    "I see¡­" he muttered as he continued training quietly. Then, after a few moments, he spoke again.

    "Thanks."

    The voice was small and almost inaudible but Tania heard it and a big smile appeared on her face. It was the biggest smile she ever had since the moment she was born.

    Afterpleting the training, Acht guided Tania to the living room where she sat down.

    "Wanna eat something?"

    She nodded again while looking around as if she didn''t know the ce. Thest thing she wanted Acht to know was that she knows this room even better than him. These small gestures of hers will make this idea in Acht''s head that she doesn''t know anything about the ce.

    But, she forgot about one very important thing.

    "By the way¡­How were you able to enter my room?" He asked from the kitchen as the sound of something sizzling reached her ears. It was a question that hit the point precisely.

    Acht had this question in his head since he woke up and he wanted to know how since if this method was avable for anyone, it could be his doom.

    Tania started feeling slightly worried and searched through her mind for excuses. The next words she will say could end her rtionship with Acht that she tried to build slowly.

    "Reception¡­worker¡­told me.." She said as her nervousness increased, waiting for Acht''s reply.

    "Oh, that''s also possible I guess." He said as he entered the room again with two tes in his hand. He had made some simply seared steaks with some kind of sauce beside them. It looked like a dish made by a culinary chef.

    The two then sat to eat and Tania seemed to like the food since she wolfed down the big piece of steak she had. Acht also ate his steak quickly before Tania ended her te or she would take him too.<sub> </sub>

    "So, did you use a potion to heal me?"

    "Mm.."

    When he asked her that question, she seemed to lose her concentration for a brief moment as if she remembered something great but soon woke up from it.

    "And¡­Was I responsive?" He continued to ask her.

    Tania shook her head while still in a daze as if she didn''t hear his words.

    "Then¡­how did you make me drink it?" Acht squinted his eyes with clear suspicion in his voice.

    It was weird enough that he was back to a peak or even better than before but it was even weirder that she somehow made him drink it.

    "Wait¡­Don''t tell me." One idea popped in his head and a frown appeared on his face immediately.

    Tania felt his change of mood and shook her head quickly as if trying to clear his misunderstanding.

    "I¡­tilted¡­your head¡­You..drink.." she said with slight difficulty.

    The tense atmosphere around them stayed like that for a while. But, Acht didn''t have a reason to keep questioning her as if she was guilty of something. She was just an innocent little girl who helped him out of good heart and kindness, nothing else.

    After that, Tania excused herself and left the room in a hurry. She discovered one thing from that day¡­she''s a horrible liar.

    Acht then spent the full day training as usual. There were still only a few days before the hunter exam and he was very excited about it.

    With that, days passed quietly, Acht didn''t leave his room at all since he felt like whenever he left, problems follow him like a ma which is something he doesn''t want anymore. He almost died because of it.

    On the night of the day before the hunter exam. Acht was informed that the test would be in the capital za and that he should be there by 7:00 AM.

    That''s why he didn''t train much that day and went to sleep early. After an unknown amount of time, he woke up from his sleep.

    "....huh?" He muttered as he opened his eyes. He didn''t find himself in his room but somewhere unknown. The ce was extremely dark, humid, and very hot that it almost made him feel suffocated.

    He bent up so that he could take a better look and he discovered that he was sleeping on the ground. He was in a stoney room that looked like a straight rip-off from some medieval movie. The ce didn''t have anything in it except for the wooden door that was in the right direction of Acht''s position.

    "What is this ce?" He stood up with confusion in his eyes. He didn''t know how he ended up here but he was sure that someone had brought him here in his sleep.

    The more important thing though, is that person was capable of doing so without Acht feeling any disturbance throughout the night. He was a very light sleeper that even the sound of an insect far away in the room could wake him up. But, for some reason, he didn''t feel any disturbance throughout the night.

    As he was taking a look around, a strong voice suddenly spoke in the room. It seemed to be using some kind of microphone to speak.

    "Wee to the 370th hunter exam. All of you might be confused now since you woke up in a weird ce out of nowhere. Let me clear one simple thing, the test had already started since the moment we informed you of the ce. A good hunter is always ready for the unknown and you also should always be ready for the unknown. To officially start the test, you should open the door and leave." The voice said in a clear and dominant tone.

    Acht heard him and a small smile crept into his face. He had never expected this.

    "These people are really unpredictable¡­Mhm, whatever¡­I will y your little game." He muttered as he readied himself to leave.

    The hunter exam had officially started.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 36 Chapter 36

    Acht wasn''t really ready for the hunter exam. He intended to buy some necessities before it started and make sure he was prepared for all kinds of circumstances but that didn''t mean he was in a bad situation now that he was brought to the exam while he was asleep.

    He had most of his belongings in his spatial ring so he didn''t reallye here empty-handed. So, the only thing he had to do now was toplete the exam and show his worth to the supervisors.

    Before leaving, he first took a look around him to see if he could find anything worthy to take or even a secret object to help him. But, no such thing was there and so he opened the door and left the room.

    Outside, the ce was dark, somehow even darker than the room inside. The only source of light was some torched hang-up on the wall. To his left was a closed-end with a big wall that seemed to stretch into the darkness above him and to his right was a path that seemed to be endless at first.

    "Hmm, this ce is simr to a dungeon." he muttered under his breath while standing still in front of the door. He didn''t want to move out before he made sure nothing funny could happen.

    Especially the left side of the corridor, it seemed suspicious to him. But, he didn''t feel anything there so he walked out and went straight to the right path.

    He was wearing the same clothes he went to sleep with and no shoes so he had to bear the rough and cold stone floor.

    As he continued to walk, the only thing he could hear was his feet making a pping sound with each step. He kept his mind fully alert and his eyes looked around.

    *Swish*

    Then, for just a split second, he heard a small clicking sound from a distance. It was very small and almost inaudible but it was more than enough to make Acht feel the danger that wasing from the darkness ahead of him. Immediately he moved to the side.

    A split of a secondter, 10 arrow-like objects appeared out of the darkness and passed him like a sh. They were flying at an almost impossible speed. He had never heard of a vow capable of making an arrow fly that fast.

    ''If I didn''t hear the clicking sound. This could''ve been a lot more dangerous.'' He thought as he looked behind him for a moment.

    He waited for some time to see if something else could happen and then continued his walk.

    A few minutester, the same clicking sound reached his ears again. He stepped aside and then, 10 arrows flew to his side just like before. This time, however, one of the arrows shook slightly and made a change of direction to fly straight at Acht.

    The boy was taken aback for a moment but he pulled his sword and deflected the arrow with the back of his word. The arrow fell down to the ground easily and stopped moving.

    He then lifted the arrow to inspect it. Except for a blue pattern on the wooden part of the arrow, there was nothing else that made it stand out from a normal arrow.

    "Arrows that follow their target, great." He rolled his eyes as he walked away while keeping extra attention to these new problematic arrows.

    ''I guess the difficulty will rise with each round.''

    And his thoughts were right, when the next batch of arrows arrived, there were 12 of them with 2 of them following him.

    It was still quite easy to parry but that didn''t make him feel relieved since if he had to parry 20 or more arrows sometimeter, it would be a pain in the ass.

    The next round of arrows wasposed of 10 normal arrows and 4 tracking arrows. Acht had to avoid one of them after deflecting 3 since his speed couldn''tpare to the high number of these dangerous objects.

    "At this rate, I will have to use my gift." He muttered under his breath. His reaction speed was simplycking at this stage so he has no other solution.

    With that, 30 minutes passed. Through that time, Acht had to deal with the rising number of arrows that became harder and harder to dodge and deflect. At some point, the number of tracking arrows became equal to the normal ones.

    He looked at the uing barrage of arrows and had no choice but to use gravity to change their direction again. But, because of their high speed, some of them were able to reach him before gravity could make them fall down and he had to sidestep them at thest second.

    It was quite hard but he was able to pull through fairly unscathed.<sub> </sub>

    "This is exhausting." He said to himself while looking around him. There was a sea of arrows pinned to the ground around him. It looked like a deserted battlefield after a bloody battle.

    Looking at this, Acht questioned the fact that beginners could survive this test. It didn''t even seem to be the hardest one out of them since they started with it.

    After that, for the next 10 minutes or so, he didn''t see any other arrows. And 5 minutes after that, he saw a faint light in the distance. However, because of the extreme darkness around him, that faint light appeared more bright than ever.

    He unconsciously elerated his footsteps so he could reach them faster. When he was there, he found himself in what seemed like another section of the corridor. The ce was somehow wider and with more free space to move. What was more important than that is what was ahead of him.

    A good chunk of the room had some different tiles than the stone ones he had been walking on since the beginning. They were bigger in size and had a bright white color on them.

    "Hmm?" Acht stayed silent for a while thinking about it. That''s when something happened. The tiles suddenly changed color all at the same time. Some of them became green, while some became red.

    The variation in color stayed like that for 3 seconds before it changed again randomly, between the two changes, there was one second where the tiles became totally white. Then 3 secondster, it changed again and it kept changing endlessly. It clearly had a pattern.

    Acht watched that happen for a while before approaching these tiles. Then, he picked up a piece of rock and threw it at one of the red tiles.

    *Swish*

    The moment the rock touched the tile, 3 huge and pointy spikes appeared in ce of the red tile. These spikes looked so sharp and hard that they could easily kill a human.

    "Interesting. Then, the green tiles should be safe." He threw one rock at the green tile to make sure of his theory and indeed, nothing happened when it touched it.

    After seeing that, Acht fully understood what he had to do. His one problem though is still present.

    "How long do these tiles stretch for?" He muttered as he peered into the distance.

    No matter how hard he tried to see the end of these tiles, he couldn''t. This meant that he had to at least walk on them for no less than 20 minutes.

    It may look easy, but there is no guarantee that things won''t change midway. They could decrease the time of the changement or even add more obstacles for him.

    But, there was no point in staying in his ce. So, he took a deep breath and waited for a good opportunity to start. He watched the patterns of colors carefully and tried to decipher the easiest route that would appear. He had nothing to rush for so he took his time.

    Then, a few momentster, he saw the opportunity he was waiting for. The green tiles appeared near each other and one of them was even on the first step he had to take.

    Without any hesitation, he ran as fast as he could and jumped on the first tile before moving to the next one as quickly as possible. He wanted to make good use of the 3 seconds he had before the colors changed again.

    When 3 seconds passed, he had already made 15 meters into the room. Then, he stopped and waited for the next colors to appear. The tiles then turned white for a second.

    "I only have a split of a second to react to the change of colors."

    Then, he saw the tiles change colors and he moved immediately. He didn''t have the leisure to think about what kind of color he needed to jump on. He made his instincts take control of his body and move him ordingly.

    It was a test for his senses and reaction speed.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 37 Chapter 37

    *Hop* *Hop* *Hop*

    The sound of Acht jumping from one tile to another was the only thing that could be heard in this room. He had already made almost 100 meters into the test and he was still fairly fine. It took a toll on his mind to keep being concentrated on every step he had to make. But, with all of that in mind, it was still easy. At least, it was easier than the previous one.

    As he continued to move, and when he was almost at the 110 meters mark, he heard a sounding from ahead of him. It was the sound of something clicking once. The same sound that he heard before a barrage of arrows came after him.

    ''They can''t be serious.'' He almost didn''t believe his ears but he nevertheless prepared himself for the worst. If he had to also deal with arrows while moving in this deadly maze then the difficulty would spike greatly.

    Unfortunately, his ears didn''t betray him and he saw almost 15 arrowsing after him. He pulled out his sword and jumped to the next tile while deflecting as many arrows as he could.

    Luckily, they weren''t as fast as the other ones so he had an easier time deflecting them.

    When hended on the ground, he had to jump again since he was a little bitte in hisnding so he lost a big chunk of the time he had to make a move again.

    *Znnnn*

    The moment his feet left the previous tile, three huge spikes appeared there immediately. If he waste by even a fraction of a second, he could''ve died or got heavily injured.

    Then, a few momentster, the clicking sound came again and he had to fend off arrows again. However, Acht''s worry didn''ty in these normal arrows but the ones that could track him. They were the ones that could kill him if he even made a small mishap.

    Luckily, no tracking arrows came after him. He felt slightly relieved but that didn''t mean he shouldn''t anticipate theming after him.

    ''I need to find another way to pass this room. but, how?'' He thought to himself with a conflicted look. He knew that there was another way to pass and make it easier for him to evade the arrows but he couldn''t find it.

    Then, in the next round of arrows, what he worried about happened. One of the arrows was a tracking one that followed him. With no other choice, Acht jumped highly in the air and pushed himself against the wall. Then, with his left leg, he made a jump to the next tile andnded safely.

    "Tsk¡­I should''ve expected it." He clicked his tongue as he looked at his left arm. There was an arrow plunged into his left arm and dug deep into his flesh.

    He wasn''t bleeding much so he reckoned he should pull out the arrow. With his right hand, he grabbed the arrow and pulled it strongly in one single swipe. The arrow left his arm and sttered his blood on the ground.

    <o>,m Acht clenched his teeth in pain and cut a small piece of his clothes before tying it around his arm. It wasn''t an optimal solution but it was the best he coulde up with in such a situation where he was on the move constantly.</o>

    "Wait¡­" his eyesnded on the wall he jumped on previously and an idea popped in his head. It was quite ridiculous and very reckless but he thought that it was worth the try.

    Without any time to waste, he tried it without any hesitation.

    With one swift move, he jumped on the wall again but this time, he simultaneously used his gift. Then, when his legsnded on the wall, he applied gravity to himself to stay stuck to the wall.

    With that, he was able to stay on the wall without falling. Then, with steady steps, he started moving quickly to the end. It wasn''t easy at all to keep himself stuck to the wall since it was almost as though he was making himself float. He had to bear the weight of his body and also the strong gravity of the all at the same time.

    Yet, with all those difficulties, the idea seemed to work amazingly well. He now had more space to move on which meant an easier time dealing with the arrows.

    He kept running and running to the finish line, he had no idea how long it was but he was sure that if he didn''t move quickly, he would tire out before he could even see the end.

    Approximately 5 minutester, he saw what he was looking for. The sea of tiles that filled his eyes finally ended and the normal grey stone ground took its ce again.

    He hastened his steps to reach it faster. But, when he was almost 60 meters away from it. Something weird happened.

    The walls that he was running on started moving on their own. They were closing up as if they wanted to trap him.

    "What the hell?!" Acht blurted out in surprise and quickened his pace. He still had some distance he needed to cross and his head was now almost touching the other wall.

    With no other choice, he put his hands up and tried to hold it for longer so he could pass but that didn''t work out well.<sub> </sub>

    ''Shit'' he cursed as he tried to think of something to do. Then, he quickly rummaged through his spatial ring for anything that could help him.

    "Come on!" He muttered as he took a peak above him. The walls now were so close that he had to run while crouching down like a hunchback.

    "Where is it?...It should be here."

    One of the shorings of these rings is that the more you put inside the ring, the harder it is to find the said thing. He had to manually search around the ring for it and find the object so he could get it out.

    "Found it!" He felt relieved and pulled it out. It was a 60kg dumbbell that was at least 50cm long. He had bought it for his physical training along with some other training materials so he never thought it woulde in handy in a dangerous situation like this.

    Then, without any hesitation, he put the dumbbell in between the two walls. Acht was now t on his belly as he moved so the dumbbell was able to hold off the two walls from crushing him into a meat paste.

    But, he knew that it wouldn''t be for long so he moved as fast as he could.

    *Ziiiiii*

    The sound of the dumbbell getting crushed under the sheet pressure of the two walls reached his ears.

    *Boom*

    Then, with a loud sound, the dumbbell was destroyed and the wall fully closed, crushing everything inside ruthlessly.

    Acht looked behind him as he breathed heavily and shook his head slightly.

    "It''s funny how in the contract, they said ''potential lethal danger''. They are outright trying to kill every contestant." He said with a mocking smile. He was sure that more than half of the contestants would die in these ordeals since he couldn''t see some beginner passing them. These types of traps need experience, extremely fast reflexes, good control over the body, and a calm and collected mind that will think properly even when it was taken by surprise.

    Acht then sat down on the ground to rest for a moment. He needed to regain his energy before continuing so he took out a stamina potion and drank it slowly. He felt the effect immediately as his body regained its vigor and liveliness.

    After resting for 10 minutes, he resumed his journey. He wasn''t really sure what was the next thing he had to pass but he was still ready for it.

    ********************

    At the same time, somewhere else, a mysterious person was watching Acht as he moved inside the corridors and how he dealt with every trap. The person was impressed by his new ways of dealing with these traps. But, what caught this person''s attention the most was the power he was using.

    "What is that?" The person muttered with a calm tone. He had never seen an element that could have such effects.

    That was why his interest in Acht peaked and the person didn''t waste any time ordering one of its subordinates. (it''s not clear if this person is a man or a woman so I used ''it'')

    "That kid¡­Get me all the information you could about him. I want it in my hands in 5¡­no, 3 minutes." It said without even looking at the person standing behind it.

    "Yes, your Majesty." The subordinate said with utmost respect before disappearing into the shadows as if he never existed.

    The person kept watching the kid quietly, its eyes were locked on him not even averting them for a moment. It was captivated by his movements.

    "What an interesting child." Muttered the voice with a small smile on its face.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 38 Chapter 38

    *Pat* *Pat* *Pat*

    The sound of Acht''s footsteps and his rhythmic breathing filled every corner of the tight corridor. His calm aura coupled with his expressionless features made him somehow even more intimidating than the ce he was in.

    "What could be the next test?" He pondered over the possibilities. Until now, it was all about making him reach his limits in terms of reflexes andposure. He didn''t know how they chose these tests but he was sure that there was some pattern in the equation and the closest possible thing is the main skills a hunter should have.

    With the two previous tests, he had used many skills but the most important ones were his reflexes andposure. Now, it could be anything else but the choices aren''t endless.

    As he thought about such things, his eyesnded on what seemed like another room with a big space. When he entered the room, he found it to be extremely simr to the one where he previously fought the kobold chief. It was just a huge space with nothing inside except for what seemed like a pedestal in the middle of the room.

    The pedestal had a whiteboard on top of it with some words written on it. He approached the board and read the content of the board.

    "''Wee to the third test. You have 10 levels here. Each level will be harder than the other. With each level youplete, you gain a certain amount of points based on many factors. You can skip one level if you can''t beat it. Just say the word skip. But, keep in mind that you could only skip 3 times. Tap on the tablet when you are ready to start." He read the tablet loudly.

    The rules seemed simple at first but they didn''t exin what kind of things he had to pass.

    "There is no point in overthinking it. Let''s just start." He tapped the tablet and retreated a few meters.

    The tablet started shining with a faint light before it got destroyed and turned into shiny shards that dissipated quickly in the surroundings.

    Then, in the ce of the pedestal, a huge creaturended from the ceiling roughly on the ground. The sheer size of the creature made itsnding akin to an earthquake.

    Acht looked at the monster with an impressed look. It seemed to be a golem made out of rock that looked like the one he saw in the training capsules with Scarlett.

    This one, however, was way bigger and even more powerful than the one he fought previously.

    The creature also had a big hole in its face where a small shiny orb floated silently. It seemed to be the source of its energy.

    "Golems? Isn''t this way to eas-"

    Before he could even end his words, the golem saw Acht and immediately went into action. It lifted its huge arm in the air above it. Instantly, a strong light engulfed its hands. Then, the pebbles scattered around them started vibrating strongly.

    Acht looked around him in surprise, the pebbles had started floating from all around him and flying toward the golem. The hundreds of small pebbles quickly umted on top of his hand creating a huge boulder.

    Then, it made a throwing pose and swung its arm as strong as it could.

    *SWISH*

    The boulder was thenunched like a bullet straight toward Acht.

    ''Shit.'' He cursed as he jumped to the side as fast as he could. The boulder barely missed and struck the wall behind him with a loud impact.

    *BOOOOMM*

    The strong boulder was destroyed into small pieces that flew everywhere. Acht, who had barelynded on his feet, had to deflect the shards that came at him from everywhere.

    But, he couldn''t avoid all of them and some scratched his skin as they passed him or even struck him directly.

    ? He wasn''t badly injured because of it but he wasn''t relieved at all since when he looked at the golem again. It was already preparing the second boulder.

    "Oh no, you don''t!" He didn''t want to let it make another boulder and charged at him with his sword in his right hand.

    Then, when he was close enough he jumped and struck its face. The golem didn''t seem to be surprised as it used its free hand to fend off Acht.

    Acht saw the hand that wanted to hit him so he used it as a support to stand on. Then he ran on it until he reached its face.

    Then he struck with his sword at the glowing orb in the middle of its face. The golem was about to put some defense to protect his weak point but it was slow so it wasn''t able to do so.

    *Dnnnn*<sub> </sub>

    The sword hit the orb and immediately destroyed it into pieces. Losing its only source of power, the golem became stiff and fell down to the ground.

    Then, it started breaking down and bing nothing but small pieces of rock.

    Acht sighed quietly and made a fighting pose again. It was because immediately after the first golem died, two other ones fell down from the sky. They were identical to each other and to the first golem so Acht was sure they would start throwing rocks at him if he gave them time to umte the pebbles around him.

    To stop that, he charged at one of them before it evennded on the ground. He used his gift and made it lose its gravity the moment it touched the ground. The golem fell down on the ground with a loud thud. Acht saw the opportunity and jumped on top of the first golem to finish it off.

    The moment his sword was about to crush its stone. The other golem had already made a boulder and threw it at Acht.

    "Good." Acht muttered with a small smile. He was intimidating this so he jumped off the golem and left the boulder to hit him directly.

    *BOOOMMM*

    The loud explosion that happened almost made Acht stumble and fall down. But, he adjusted himself and ran to kill thest golem. He didn''t bother to check the other golem since it couldn''t survive such a strong attack.

    When he was close, the golem tried to retreat and make some distance between them.

    ''Huh? Is it smarter than the first golem?'' He thought to himself as he continued its charge.

    He did the same with the first golem and jumped on top of it as it tried to create another boulder. What made these golems easy to deal with when you are close to them is their inability to engage in closebat fights. They seemed to only be able to make boulders and throw them.

    *Kling*

    Swiftly, Acht was able to kill the second golem quite easily.

    He then jumped off it and didn''t bother with the two anymore. More and more are about toe and he couldn''t afford any mistakes or he will be in a bad situation.

    As if responding to his thoughts, 4 golemsnded in front of him. They all seemed to be identical just like the case of the other ones. But, one of them was different. Instead of the usual grey color, this one was bright red and its orb was bigger than the others.

    "What could that one do?" Acht muttered to himself. He didn''t have time to try out or experience, he had to deal with it ording to what it would do.

    Then, with a fearless look, he engaged in a fight with the golems. It was way harder than the previous round but it was still not that difficult.

    When Acht got rid of two, the red one moved. It ran at him like a raging bull, its speed was something that should''ve been impossible for a creature of that size.

    *Boom*

    When it reached Acht, it smashed with both of its arms on him. When its arms touched the ground and crushed it like a piece of tofu.

    "Don''t be that reckless." Acht muttered to the golem as he stood on its shoulder. The creature didn''t question how he was able to reach its shoulder and immediately tried to punch him.

    Acht jumped again andnded on its fist like a butterfly flying from one flower to another. His moves were extremely simple yet very gracious and elegant.

    Then, with his sword in his hand, he threw it at the soul stone. The sword flew and pierced the stone.

    *Boom*

    In an instant, the creature fell to the ground motionless. Acht didn''t stop and immediately ran to his sword to pick it up and continued his sprint to thest golem.

    "Hah." He made a small growl and attacked thest golem. He looked like a monster ughtering its prey.

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 39 Chapter 39

    "Hah¡­hah¡­hah." Acht made long and continuous inhales and exhales while standing in his ce. His eyes fixated on the huge pile of golem remnants. It looked like a destroyed graveyard of unrecognizable corpses.

    He had passed the 3rd and 4th. They were both extremely hard, it seemed that the number of golems doubled with each round and so the fourth round had 8 golems in total. Two of them were red and the others were normal grey.

    What ensued after that was a bloody fight that pushed Acht to his limits. The amount of multitasking he had to do to minimize his injuries and also be able to kill the golems was insane, to say the least. His mind and body had to work in perfect harmony so he could perfectly read and dodge the attacks of each of these 8 golems.

    But, even though he did everything to utmost precision, he was bound to make mistakes throughout the fight and those mistakes made him suffer consequences almost instantly.

    His body was a bloody mess, his breathing was slightly erratic and his bones were on the verge of breaking with the slightest pressure. He was in a sorry state through and through.

    Without any hesitation, he pulled out a healing potion and chugged it quickly. He had no time to rest or treat his injuries so he had to use the expensive healing potions he had. They were quick and could heal most of his superficial injuries in a quick second. But, these healing potions were still not the best out there so they can''t heal deep injuries or internal bleeding.

    While the potion was affecting his body, the 5th round started and Acht expected to see 16 golemsnd in front of him. But, to his surprise, nothing of that sort happened.

    Whatnded in front of him, however, was one single golem. A small golem, barely teaching 160 cm tall with a scrawny buildpared to the other golems. It had a deep ocean blue color.

    Acht wasn''tpletely taken aback by this golem. But, he felt something that he didn''t feel from the other golems before it.

    ''He''s way stronger than the other.'' he clenched the hilt of his sword and channeled his soul force to its maximum capacity.

    *Swish*

    In one single moment, the golem disappeared from its initial position as if it was nothing but a misty illusion.

    When it disappeared, Acht immediately felt a killing intenting from behind him. It wasn''t a very strong killing intent but it was strong enough for him to notice it.

    His body moved on its own and his sword was already protecting his vital parts.

    *Kling* *Boomm*

    The sword was hit roughly and a loud sound akin to an explosion erupted near Acht.

    The impact sent Acht flying at least 20 meters in the distance before he was able to adjust his position andnd on the ground.

    He looked around him in a hurry but the golem was nowhere to be found. Yet, the Sam feeling he felt a second ago came back to him.

    ''From behind me, again.''

    *Boom*

    The same explosion happened when Acht''s sword was hit by the golem. But, this time, Acht used gravity to stop himself from getting thrown away. Then, he swung his sword as fast as he could, trying to slice the golem in half.

    But, it extended its hand and grabbed the sword. What ensued next was a fight of strength between Acht and the golem. Both of them wanted to overwhelm the other with pure, raw strength.

    "Hang." Acht clenched his teeth tightly and made a grunting sound trying to get more strength into his arms. But, when he found it impossible to push the golem any further, he pulled this sword away and retreated behind a few meters.

    The golem didn''t leave him some time to breathe out the air that stayed in his lungs. it charged at him like a bullet and sent a punch to his face.

    Acht bent down quickly and kicked the golem in the stomach. Then, he made a backflip and kicked the golem in the jaw.

    The attack seemed to work as the golem was thrown to the ground roughly.

    Then, Acht pulled out a knife from his spatial ring. It wasn''t a normal knife but a special one that he bought for fighting monsters.

    Then, he threw the knife with all his strength at the golem''s face. The creature was still trying to stand up so it didn''t have time to dodge. But, it didn''t even try to evade the knife.

    *Swish* *Ting*<sub> </sub>

    The golem grabbed the knife mid-air with its hand as if it was nothing. Then, it clenched its hand and crushed the knife as if it was a biscuit.

    ''Great.'' Acht felt an inexplicable headache. Not only was it fast and strong but it was also smart enough to know when to dodge and when to not dodge.

    *Swish*

    The golem then held its hand high and created a huge boulder just like the grey golems but somehow faster and bigger.

    Then, it threw it at Acht with a speed that almost defied logic. Even Acht with his inhuman reflex and honed senses couldn''t see the bouldering.

    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM*

    The earth shook and the ceiling started crumbling down unstoppingly. The sound of countless pieces of rock falling down was the only thing that could be heard for a good 20 seconds.

    A huge dark cloud of dust engulfed the whole room and made it impossible to see or even breathe.

    The golem stood there without moving while searching for Acht''s corpse. The dust didn''t let it see clearly.

    "I''m behind you."

    A voice suddenly muttered just beside the golem''s head. The creature wasn''t expecting such an oue so its reaction was slow and sluggish. This allowed Acht to plunge his sword into the crystal in its head and kill it.

    When he saw that the golem was finally dead, he breathed out a long sigh of relief. He was almost killed in thest attack but he was able to slow up the rock with his gravity and make it go in another direction.

    ''Such throwing power is nonsensical.'' He shook his head in disbelief.

    He had never met a normal hunter in this world since the moment he came there but he was sure that there is no way every hunter was capable of doing this or this world would be doomed. Beating this golem in a direct confrontation is extremely hard for someone who has a white soul. If it was not for Acht''s gift, he would''ve also been dead now. This meant one thing, this test isn''t made for newbie hunters.

    "What is going on? There is definitely something fishy, but I can''t seem to find the reason." He muttered as he held his chin with his fingers in a contemting look.

    He had many suspicions but he didn''t have time to think about them or he would die so he opted to continue the test and think about itter.

    After that, the next two rounds were normal. He indeed had to fight 16 golems and then 32 golems. But, he was able to pull through it with sheer determination and intelligence. He did get heavily injured in each round but the potions he had helped him a lot.

    Then, the 8th round came and Acht looked at his opponents. There were exactly 64 golems. 32 of them are red and the others are grey.

    His eyes never wavered and his expression was calm as ake.

    Then, with a small sigh, he muttered one word.

    "Skip."

    He had to admit that he couldn''t beat this army of golem with his level. It was just suicidal to even attempt it and he wasn''t keen on the idea either. He had 3 permissions to skip levels so he decided to use them.

    It was slightly frustrating but it is what it is. If he wanted to get stronger, the first thing he had to do was not die.

    "This stupid fucking test." He muttered with a cold look. He was now really angry at the culprit who gave him such a test. The culprit knew that Acht won''t be able toplete it yet he still gave it to him. That meant two things: either the mysterious person wanted Acht dead or this person was trying to test him. The second possibility was the more probable one since if this person wanted to kill Acht, he wouldn''t give him 3 chances to pass three different levels.

    "I swear If this ruins my assessmentter on. I will cut you into pieces and burn each piece on skewers."

    He swore to find the one who made him go through this and make him pay for his stupid jokes.

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    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 40 Chapter 40

    When Acht uttered that word, the golems that just appeared in front of him and were about to attack stopped moving altogether. Then, they started crumbling down as if they were killed by him.

    In a few seconds, all the golems disappeared out of existence. But, they left piles upon piles of rocks that filled the whole room.

    ''So even when you skip a level, the next batch of golems could take advantage of the piles of rocks. What a fucking bastard.'' Acht thought with a sour mood. He was already pissed off and his anger seemed to get stronger and stronger with each passing moment.

    Then, as he was indulged in his own train of thoughts, the 9th round started. The number of golems this time was 124 golems. The number was so big that some of them were literally standing over each other. Because of their sheer number and size and also the piles of rocks from the previous round, the room became a chaotic mess of rocks and golems where no one could even move let alone fight.

    Acht even questioned the fact that this could be beaten by someone for a second but he shook his head.

    ''I''m just like a frog in a well. There are all kinds of monsters out there.'' he sighed audibly at his own thoughts.

    Then, he immediately skipped the level again. He had already given up the idea of fighting any further and was just skipping levels now.

    The same thing happened and now even more rocks filled the room. They now were close to the ceiling and even blocked most of the ways to the other side of the room.

    ''What''s going to be thest level?''

    He was curious to see what could be the hardest thing in this test. it could be just another multiplication of the golems'' numbers but he also remembered the blue golem in the fifth round and thought that maybe it would be thest boss fight.

    Then, the tenth round started and one silhouettended in front of him. It seemed to be a boss fight as he initially thought.

    The golem that appeared was golden in color with the same size as the blue golem. But¡­

    "What¡­" Acht was speechless. The golem was just standing there, but the sheer pressure from its aura made his jaw almost drop.

    It was insanely strong to the point where it rivaled that of Thyrus. He felt Thyrus''s aura and he knew that this golem could rival that and even beat it quite easily. This didn''t mean this golem could beat Thyrus since it was just aparison of two auras. Also, the fact that Thyrus didn''t even use half of his power should be taken into consideration.

    <o>,m The golem stood silent for a solid second looking at Acht. Then, it moved.</o>

    Acht immediately felt it. A suffocating feeling that filled his lungs and reached his throat. It was a horrifying feeling that makes someone lose control of their body and freeze in their ce. It was the feeling of nearing death.

    "Skip!" Acht shouted with a slight wavering in his voice. His eyes closed for a second and then they opened again. There it was. The golem was a few centimeters away from him with its hands extended toward Acht''s face.

    The fist was barely one millimeter away from his face and he could even feel it touching his face slightly.

    He was that close to imminent death. If he didn''t say the word skip at that exact moment and with that exact speed, his head would have exploded into pieces of blood and bones.

    ''I couldn''t even feel its presence until it reached me.'' He thought as one droplet of sweat fell down his face.

    This was just stupid. If he had any doubts before about whether this was set up solely to make fun of him then he was now 100% sure of it.

    There was simply no way for any hunter that is in the orange soul or even above to beat this golem. Its speed was so high it broke the sound barrier. Its power was so outrageous that it could probably blow this ce into smithereens if it wanted to.

    ''I should leave. There is no point in thinking about it.'' He ignored the dead golem and jumped over the piles of rocks before passing to the next room.

    The scenery of the tight corridors returned. He walked for a few minutes before he saw another source of light in the distance. It was stronger than the other ones so he saw it clearly.

    When he reached it, he found himself in a wide hall that was as big as a football stadium. The floor was made out of high-quality marble. The high ceiling was held by countless pirs made out of some unlike material and decorated with all kinds of drawings.

    It was a whole that resembled a church in the medieval eras or fantasy fiction.

    He took a look around him but there was no one there. He thought this was the end of the first test but he wasn''t sure so he kept on being alert even while walking in there.

    When he reached a random pir in the middle of the hall. A voice spoke to him from a close distance.

    "Hohoho¡­.Our first contestant is finally here~...Lucky me~"

    The voice was so yful and careless that it seemed to belong to some clown from a circus. Acht looked behind him and spoke calmly while hiding his emotions.

    "Who are you?"<sub> </sub>

    The person he was looking at was tall, extremely tall. He was probably 2 meters tall and as skinny as a twig. He wore a ck costume and held a cane in his right arm.

    His most noticeable feature, however, is the weird mask he was wearing. It was a white mask with a huge smile on it and two eye holes that looked like two crescent moons.

    The smile on the mask was by no means funny or cute. It gave off a very ufortable feeling to the onlookers.

    "Yaaa~ Scaryyyy~" the man-made an exaggerated scared reaction with his body while keeping the same yful tone.

    Acht didn''t respond to his stupid ys so the man continued.

    "You can call me Smiley~ because I wear a smiling mask~ get it? I''m called Smiley because of the smile on my mask. Oh, my humor is way too good~" He spoke while moving his hands left and right in an exaggerated manner.

    ''Who the fuck is this clown?''

    He only talked to Smiley for a few moments and he already couldn''t handle his stupid character.

    "Now, Now my little friend~ We can leave the small talk forter~ What is important now isssss"

    Then, he pulled out confetti from his pocket and blew it open.

    Suddenly, the whole ce is covered with confetti papers that covered Acht''s hair.

    The man then started dancing around Acht as he sang like an idiot.

    "You are our first contestant~ So we should celebrate~ Because you are our first contestant~" His voice was rather unpleasant, to say the least. The lyrics of the song also didn''t sound like lyrics but some random words were put together.

    This made Acht close his ears with an annoyed look.

    "Stop it. Your voice is horrible."

    "Aww~ that''s mean. I''m going to cry now~" the man stopped dancing and sat down on the ground with his legs pulled to his chest like a ball.

    Then, he started making fake crying noises.

    "Buhu~ I''m sad¡­buhu~"

    "Sigh, could you please stop this and tell me what am I supposed to do now?"

    "Oh! Right¡­Right¡­Well, what was I about to say~" He started tapping his chin as he looked up.

    A few secondster, he looked down and added.

    "Ooops~ I forgot. Silly me~" He tapped his head with his fist acting like a clumsy girl.

    ''I really want to punch him so badly for some reason'' Acht held his fist near his face and fought the urge to start a pointless fight with Smiley.

    With that, Acht lost all of his energy and decided to ignore him for now. He went to the nearest pir and leaned on it then closed his eyes to rest for a few minutes.

    "Heyy~ don''t ignore me~ Heyy~" the man didn''t leave him alone and kept bugging him endlessly. It was like listening to the sound of a loud rm but one hundred times worse.

    "If you don''t leave me alone. I will fucking break your neck." Acht warned him as he leaked a little bit of his killing intent. He knew that this Smiley guy wasn''t weak by any means, but if he kept annoying him like that then he was more than d to fight him.

    "Psst~ Boring. Smile like me, my little friend~ I can give you a mask if you want."

    "No."

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    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 41 Chapter 41

    Acht was close to being fed up with Smiley and his stupid jokes but he restrained himself just to avoid unnecessary problems and also unnecessary waste of time and energy.

    So, to make him shut up for a moment, he asked him a question.

    "Neh, Clown fac-"

    "Smiley~"

    "What is th-"

    "Call me Smiley~ or I will pout¡­just like this." He then pouted like a small girl and turned around with a ''humph''.

    The truth is, because of the mask, no one could see if he was really pouting or not but the truth is that he kept up that stupid front of his.

    "Sigh, Smiley, are you one of the contestants?" He asked.

    Smiley didn''t respond but just made an X sign with his arms and then said.

    "DunDun, Wrong~"

    "Then, what are you?"

    "I''m me~" He threw the cane in the air and caught it again as heughed loudly.

    ''I''m not made to handle these types of morons''. Acht felt like sighing as loud as he could but refrained from doing so.

    Then, as they were going back and forth like that, someone else entered the room. Their distinct blonde hair and petite frame made them very noticeable and Acht knew the person immediately.

    It was Tania, she was still wearing her pajamas that were shredded to pieces now but still intact enough to cover her whole body.

    She looked around seemingly in search of something before her eyes fell on Acht. Both of them could see how her dim and stoic expression suddenly lit up and she came quickly to his side.

    "Are you ok?" He asked with no particr intent.

    "Mm" she nodded as she leaned on the wall by his side. Their shoulders were touching from time to time as they moved their bodies.

    "Hmm~ Who is this beautiful princess~ Hooo" Smiley suddenly made a shocked expression as he put his hand on his mouth.

    "Don''t tell me¡­She''s your girlfriend?" He said with a weirdly serious look.

    "No, she''s not."

    But, Smiley ignored Acht''s blunt response and kept on with his small acting performance.

    He started dancing and turning as if he was in some theatrical tragedy while mumbling loudly.

    "And here I thought we were destined to be together~ How cruel! How sad! My heart is broken into a thousand¡­no, a million pieces~" His voice was over dramatic and fake to no extent.

    Acht watched this and didn''t even feel it when his head rested on his palm as he shook it slightly. He was now even more tired than when he was passing through the corridors.

    ''Maybe this is the hardest test in the hunter exam?'' He entertained the idea for a while.

    As for Tania, she didn''t seem to be looking at Smiley at all, her eyes were mostly looking particrly nowhere but sometimes, they took a small sneak nce at Acht from the side.

    Even more, time passed as Acht and Tania watched Smiley go on and on about random nonsense, that was when another person finally came.

    It was a muscr man, probably in his 40s. His face was riddled with scars and his fierce eyes made the idea of approaching him disappear.

    When he saw the three people inside, he made a scoff and muttered loudly enough for them to hear.

    "I thought I was the first one toe. I ended up being beaten by some brats. Ptuh" He spat down on the ground with clear irritation and then walked to the nearest pir and sat down.

    Acht didn''t bother with the muscle head and only thought about what he should do in the future and small ns that he needed to execute.

    Then, after that man, people starteding inside the hall. They all entered from the same ce so Acht wondered how that was possible.

    ''How did they connect all the tunnels?''

    Acht scanned all of them and they were all white souls level 1, 2, or 3 with only a few of them being above that. That made him certain that someone was targeting him. Everything he saw proved that point so he had no doubt now.

    "But, who is he?" He muttered as took a nce at Smiley. It could''ve been Smiley that was targeting him since everything about him was eerie and mysterious.

    ''I don''t have a solid proof. I will leave it at that for now. The culprit will appear sooner orter."<sub> </sub>

    At this point, there were at least 5000 people in the room. It wasn''t crowded at all since the hall was extremely crowded but they took a good chunk of the ce.

    Then, with a loud thud. The whole that kept spitting out new people non-stop started closing. Then, in a few moments, the ce where it was turned into a normal wall that resembles the rest of the ce.

    "It''s finally over~" Smiley said out of nowhere.

    Then, he started strolling to the other side of the room before standing a few meters away from the end.

    "Beautifuldies and handsome gentlemen~ I''m more than happy to wee you to the second phase of the hunter exam~"

    He then pointed out with his cane as he continued.

    " As you can see clearly~ you have made a splendid achievement when you passed the first phase~ congrattions." He then put his hand in his pocket to pull out something.

    "Hmm? Huh?" He made confused sounds as he tapped his pockets repeatedly.

    "Wait! Where is the confetti?!" He screamed out like a girl.

    Then he started frantically searching his body like a maniac.

    ''Doesn''t he remember that he blew it open?''

    After searching for a few moments, he made a releasing gasp before scratching his head with a fake awkward look.

    "I forgot it, silly me~ Anyway, let''s get serious a little bit now."

    He then straightened his posture and continued.

    "The second test will not be inside¡­.But, outside¡­To be more exact, in the wilderness~"

    His revtion made the people present look at each other in confusion.

    "Hahah~ You don''t have to look confused¡­I will exin everything since I''m nice~"

    Then, he made a move with his left hand and a small circr object appeared in his hand out of nowhere.

    "See this? It''s a point calctor~ Believe it or not¡­Its purpose is to calcte points." He then stood silent for a moment looking at everyone as if he was expecting some kind of reaction. But, no one spoke orughed.

    "Mooo, You are all boring~"

    "Anyway, each one of you will get one of these before getting teleported to a huge area prepared solely for the test~ Your sole goal is to kill animals and collect points based on the number of creatures you killed~"

    "And when I say ''creatures''...I mean everything¡­including humans~" He said with a delighted voice.

    He then looked around him and savored the expression of the people present. He felt euphoric seeing them show such reactions and different emotions.

    "Killing others is allowed? That''s brutal."

    "Yeah, the hunter association is going crazy. How many people do they want to die?"

    "Now, Now¡­I need to add one more thing~ let''s say you killed a contestant and he had a certain number of points. Those points will be transferred to you¡­.So, if you ask me~ Killing each other is more profitable~"

    His words invoked even more whispering and even some shouts of anger. No one of the present wanted to get killed and some of them even didn''t ept the idea of killing humans altogether. So, the reactions were mostly negative.

    Acht wasn''t surprised by this. Most of them were naive people that thought bing hunters was a piece of cake. So, when they saw that their lives were on the line, they could only feel anger and fear seep into their hearts.

    But for him, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Kill or be killed was a rule he followed since he was a child. Also, he was almost killed more than once that day so he had a good idea of how things worked in the hunter association.

    "There are some corrupted individuals that control the hunter association. And here I was thinking it could be an exception." He shook his head in disappointment and closed his eyes, not bothering with Smiley anymore. But, he still listened to what he was going to say next.

    "Stop it please~ I will be sad if you don''t like this~ It''s a lot of fun¡­Fighting each other to death, what''s more thrilling than that?~ they say that humans feel alive the most when they are near death~ Ahhh~~~~" He hugged himself and shook his body left and right. He looked like a crazy pervert fantasizing about his fetishes.

    Everyone just thought of one thing.

    ''What a sick fuck!''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 42 Chapter 42

    Silence engulfed the room. Everyone just looked at Smiley as if looking at some kind of freak. They didn''t know how to react to a maniac who gets turned on by killing humans or seeing them die. They didn''t want to show any reaction to his words out of fear and also because they didn''t want to offend the hunter association and maybe even revoke their hunter license if they passed the test.

    Seeing how everyone was having a difficult time, Smiley didn''t want to prolong this any further and said after a small cough.

    "Ehem~ To not waste time exining all the rules~ there is a small book that has all the information about the test, beasts, point distribution for each monster, and other things~"

    As he spoke, he made a clicking sound with his fingers, and suddenly, books appeared out of nowhere, floating in front of each person in the room. The books were thick and heavy but they somehow were floating in the air like feathers.

    Acht took a look around the book, trying to understand the mechanism of how it was voring. But, he didn''t see or feel anythinging from the book itself.

    ''Someone is controlling them.'' He nced around the room briefly. There was nothing suspicious going on so he slowly took the book in his hand and opened it.

    The first few pages of the book had some rules in them. Rules such as:''Leaving the premise of the forest will get you automatically disqualified.'' and ''Using any type of external help from a party that is not participating in the hunter exam is also prohibited.'' and many other rules that didn''t seem to be that important.

    Then, the rest of the book had pictures of animals with their names and the number of points they give. The book didn''t show any type of information about these creatures other than that.

    But, there was a part that caught Acht''s attention. The book also mentioned ''A trading system''. It meant that there will be some kind of safe points scattered across the forest where people could go and buy necessities with points such as potions, food, materials, and other stuff. It was a very interesting thing to add considering the fact that people will be conflicted. They know that points are precious and so they want to collect as much as they can. But, then starvation and cold weather hit them and they find themselves obliged to buy things with points.

    "They know how to y with people''s minds." He muttered with an inaudible chuckle.

    Acht didn''t have time to read it all so he skimmed through it to have a general idea of how this book works and then closed it and looked at Smiley again.

    He was resting on his cane in aic manner while humming some iprehensible things.

    After almost 15 minutes, most of the people present had looked at the book and its content. Then, Smiley finally spoke again.

    "Wohoo~ You took your time there~Now, we are almost over~ you can stay here for a maximum of 2 hours before you should start the test~ as for those who are ready~ Off you go~" Smiley exined while pointing at something behind him.

    They all looked at it and found what seemed like a hole in the wall. The whole had a weird swirl pool made out of some kind of blue object. It looked just like what people would expect from a magical portal in fiction.

    "Onest thing~ You will stay in this forest for a month so~ Have a safe trip~" He shook his hand widely in the air before walking to the portal and disappearing again.

    After that, chaos ensued. People started going around in all ces talking with the others and shouting all kinds of words. There were even some fights between them.

    The reason for that is one single rule in the book, ''Creating teams is allowed.''

    That meant that anyone could cooperate with another and get the same number of coins. The rule didn''t specify how many members the team could have, so it could be made out of 100 people and it will still be allowed.

    Such a thing was revealed pretty early so most of the people wanted to join teams to make it easier for them to collect points and also reduce the chances of them getting killed.

    As for Acht, he wasn''t going to join a team. Thest thing he wanted is. A bunch of weaklings slowing him down.

    ''However, it doesn''t seem that I will be alone.'' He took a peek at his right side. There, Tania was gazing in his direction with a strong re as if she wanted to create a hole in his skull.

    He didn''t even bother to try and ditch her since she will stick to him like glue no matter what he said or did.

    "Do you want to join teams?" He asked after a long silence.<sub> </sub>

    When she heard him, a small smile bloomed on her pretty face and she nodded vigorously.

    Then, without anything else to do, they made their way to the portal. They didn''t have to stay there since they had everything they needed with them.

    When they reached the portal, Acht looked at it curiously before extending his hand. His palms touched the blue matter that kept on swirling. It didn''t feel like anything in particr, but if he had to describe it then he would say that he felt as if he was lifting extra weight on his hand.

    What made him interested in the portal is the fact that it could be linked to one of the lost elements: space. That element doesn''t exist anymore so he didn''t have any idea how they pulled off such a feat in this day and age.

    ''Scarlett didn''t tell me everything about the lost elements and the descendance war. I should investigate it more when I have time''.

    Then, they both passed through the portal together. When they opened their eyes again, the scenery changedpletely. What was before a white hall now turned into a huge forest that presented itself magnificently in front of them.

    The sun disc was still floating in the middle of the sky, ring with its powerful rays down at earth like a divine being. The small gushes of air that came and went periodically made the leaves of the trees dance along with it in an almost ethereal way. The sound of birds singing added that beautiful vor to this holy scenery.

    It was a beautiful forest in every possible way and more.

    Acht didn''t feel it when he fell into a trance, but he woke up from it after some time. He didn''t have time to appreciate the forest or he will stay like that the whole day.

    Then, he scanned his surroundings. There was a person standing still a few meters away from the outskirts of the forest. In front of this person was a table with some kind of artifacts on it.

    The duo made their way to the table and spoke to the person there. He didn''t look like an important figure or anything of that sort. He was probably just a worker assigned to give the artifacts to contestants.

    "Wee, will you be creating a team, or are you each on your own?" He asked respectfully. He kept the same serious look.

    "We will create a team of two, please."

    "Sure, take these and put them close to each other. A notification will appear on the artifact that it detected another device. Just tap on ept and you are a team now. You will be able to see your teammate''s position and the number of points they have at that moment. Keep in mind that this doesn''t mean you are not allowed to attack your teammates."

    Then, he took a small nce at the artifacts and added, "Also, if you lose that artifact or break it then you won''t be able to get another one and you are automatically disqualified. Any questions?"

    The two looked at each other for a brief moment before shaking their heads.

    "Then, if you are ready, please head this way and your test will officially start. Good luck."

    Acht and Tania held the two artifacts and made a team for both of them. Immediately, a map of the forest appeared on the object with two glowing green dots on it. It was Acht and Tania''s position at the moment.

    "I have ns for what we should do so we need to go as deep as we can inside the forest. Follow me." He instructed her with a calm tone and then dashed toward the forest.

    Tania looked at his silhouette as it went further and further away from her. She couldn''t avert her eyes from him for a good 5 seconds.

    "So cool~" She muttered with dreamy eyes before shaking her head and following him immediately. Their journey inside of the forest of nightmares had begun.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 43 Chapter 43

    In the middle of a thick forest, two silhouettes were moving at a fast speed through the trees, avoiding all kinds of obstacles in the process. They had been running for some time now and they were deep enough in the forest that they could now barely see the sun rays protruding through the gaps between the leaves.

    Then, Acht stopped for a moment and looked around him. Tania saw that and also halted her steps so they are now both silently standing in the middle of the forest.

    ''What is this feeling?'' Acht thought as he looked around with sharp eyes that seemingly could prate anything.

    At first, when he entered the forest, he didn''t feel anything weird. It was just a beautiful forest with beautiful scenery. But, as they got deeper and deeper inside it, a sense of dread started swelling in Acht''s heart. He felt this sudden urge to leave this ce as soon as possible and never return.

    What amplified the weirdness of that feeling is the fact that he didn''t sense any danger lurking around him or anything that could make him hate this ce and leave immediately. In a nutshell, there was no reason for this feeling yet he was now feeling it more than ever.

    So, just to make sure, he looked at Tania and said, "Are you feeling it?"

    Tania didn''t seem to understand his question but she shook her head in denial nevertheless.

    "Sigh, let''s go. We should reach the ce before night." He didn''t want to think about it anymore or he would go crazy so he just threw it into the back of his head.

    Then, they both disappeared from their initial position and into the depths of this mysterious forest.

    Suddenly, as they ran between the trees, Acht''s mind turned off for a moment and something weird filled his vision for a split second before it disappeared the next moment without a trace. It was such a minuscule change that could be ignored by normal people. But, this boy was far from normal.

    With a slightly shocked look, he stopped again and touched his head silently. If he was slightly disturbed before, he was now confused and worried.

    ''What was that? Ugh!'' He tried to remember the thing he saw but instead of that, he felt a sharp pain run through his brain like a razor caressing his skull repeatedly.

    He bent down slightly to take a breath and calm down. Tania saw this and ran to him with an extremely worried look. She then tried to help him up but he stopped her with his arm and said.

    "I''m fine, just give me a moment to breathe."

    The hellish pain then started disappearing gradually and then vanishedpletely. But, he was not happy at all because of this.

    He was now in the middle of a test so every mistake he made is going to be fatal in certain situations. This was why he needed to get rid of these bizarre things he was suffering from.

    But, the question remains: How?

    He didn''t even know what was going on with him so finding a solution was practically impossible.

    ''I need to remember the thing I saw. It was¡­It was very familiar yet distant. I could feel like I knew it but also not so much. Dammit!'' He cursed inwardly as clicked his tongue.

    Tania who stood beside him didn''t know what to do. She was always so Achtposed and calm in all situations no matter how dire they were but now, he looked¡­lost.

    ''I need to help him!'' She resolved herself and then approached him slowly.

    When she was close enough, she touched his hand softly and looked at him with a small smile.

    "It''s¡­ok." She muttered with slight difficulty. Her eyes were soft, calm, and also soothing that even Acht felt himself fall into a trance.

    But, he shook his head and smiled briefly at Tania. He somehow felt calmer when she said those two words to him with such a cute look.

    He then patted her head twice as he said, "Don''t worry, I just felt under the weather for a brief moment."

    Tania didn''t seem to believe his words but she still nodded quietly.

    "Roarrrr." A loud roar suddenly shook the trees around them and made the leafs fall down to the ground.

    Acht and Tania immediately turned serious and pulled out their swords. The monster that found them seemed to be fairly strong.

    Acht then silently pointed at a bush to the side where she should go.

    She nodded and hid herself behind the bush waiting for the monster. He had already agreed with her to help her with gaining experience in real fights. So, he wanted her to first know how to deal with monsters before moving to sane creatures.

    Then, he also hid on top of a tree and signaled to Tania that the monster was about to appear, he could see that she held a stronger grip on her sword.

    Then, it appeared, a huge feline-like creature that was almost 4 meters tall and 7 meters long. It looked like a lion but with the fur of a zebra. It had a huge mouth and a ferocious look of anger.

    It seems that Acht and Tania prated its area and that made it furious.<sub> </sub>

    It looked around for some time as it walked closer and close to where Tania was hiding. Even though it was a few meters away from Tania, she didn''t move and waited for Acht''s signal.

    Then, when it was now barely 2 meters away from the bush, Acht gave her the sign and she immediately went into action. She jumped out of the bush and lunged at the monster.

    The creature was taken by surprise but still growled angrily and opened its mouth to try and shred Tania to pieces. Yet, it missed its target by a fair margin.

    By the time the creature was biting thin air, Tania was now standing on the back of the creature, then it stabbed it in the spine.

    Blood sttered everywhere and the creature made a blood-curdling scream that shook the forest violently. Then, it started jumping left and right in a chaotic manner.

    "Idiot!" Acht clicked his tongue and jumped down from the tree to help Tania. She made a grave mistake by not killing it immediately. This did not only make it go insane but it also made fighting it a few times harder since it didn''t care about anything now.

    He swiftly made his way to the monster and applied gravity on it to make it stop moving for a split second, then he shouted.

    "Jump down now!"

    Tania followed his order and jumped to the ground. Then, the gravity was broken and the monster was now free. It looked at Acht and growled again at the human who attacked it.

    Then, it charged at him with quick steps, passing a few meters in a matter of seconds.

    "Come at m-" before he could even mutter thest word. It happened.

    His brain shut off for a split second and a weird image-filled all of his vision. Acht''s eyes widened to their full extent. He saw it clearly now.

    He saw what filled his mind before and it made him lose control of himselfpletely.

    "ACHT!!!!" The only thing he heard as he came back to reality was Tania''s scream before¡­..

    *Bang*

    He felt his body get crushed as he was sent flying like a ragdoll and hit a tree roughly. This made him fall down and lose consciousness immediately.

    His hazy eyes watched as the monster was close enough to him and its mouth was now about to swallow him. But, fortunately, or not, he lost consciousness before he could see what would happen to him.

    *********************

    "Where am¡­I?" Acht muttered as his eyes started opening again. He didn''t know for how long he lost consciousness.

    His mind was still in a groggy state and his limbs were stiff from theck of movement. A few moments were more than enough for him to regain most of his energy and he finally could take a look around him.

    "Huh?" He made an odd sound as inspected his surroundings.

    He found himself in a shabby room. The ce was old, stinky, and full of all kinds of filthy things and foul smells. The walls were ck from theck of cleaning and the floor was full of holes. The room was so bad that not even animals should be living in there.

    "Wait¡­" he felt something click in his mind as he saw this room. He knew this room very well. No, he was not only familiar with this ce¡­.

    "Acht¡­wake your ass up, you little shit!"

    He then heard a voice and the door opened to the room revealing someone from the other side.

    "If you don''t wak-...oh, you are awake, huh." The person who appeared was a girl. She looked to be 16 years of age. She wore shabby clothes that didn''t do much except cover her most important parts, her ck hair was even darker with dirt and her beautiful face was ruined by theck of care and hygiene.

    Seeing this girl, Acht''s mindpletely crumbled. Then, a small tear trickled down his face as he stared, with wide eyes at the girl.

    Then, with a small voice, he muttered a name.

    "Dia¡­"

    (A//N: For those who are getting bored with the tests and stuff. Don''t worry, this arc won''t be your typical test. As much as I don''t want to sound arrogant, this arc will y with your emotions. It will be a rollercoaster and I hope you enjoy it. If you have any other problems with the book do tell me. Thanks and enjoy :) )

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 44 Chapter 44

    "D-Dia¡­" he said with clear disbelief in his eyes. There was simply no way he could meet her now of all times. He was in a forest with Tania a few moments ago and now he was seeing someone that shouldn''t even exist in that world.

    ''Am I dreaming?'' He thought to himself. Then, he pinched his left arm as hard as he could and felt the sharp pain from the pinch reach his head. If this was a dream, he should''ve been awake by now after that stimulus.

    But, he was still there, sitting on the bed, looking at the only person he cherished his whole life. That''s when he ignored everything that alerted him of the situation and stood up on his feet.

    Then, he walked slowly toward Dia with not-so-steady steps. With each step, he felt himself lose his strength and even his resolve. But, when he was finally a few centimeters away from her.

    "What are you¡­"

    She didn''t evenplete her question when Acht pulled her with both of his arms into a tight hug. He was still 7 years old so she was considerably taller than him. His head could barely reach her chest.

    He then buried his face in her stomach and silently hugged her for a while. Dia was confused at first since she found Acht''s behavior weird but she still didn''t want to push him away and smiled sweetly as she hugged him too.

    "What''s wrong?" She whispered to him in the most gentle manner she could. Her voice made him shudder slightly before looking at her green eyes.

    "Could I stay like this for a minute?" His tone was meek and quiet but held a strong resolve for something.

    His question made Dia chuckle slightly. She was somehow amused by how Acht was behaving at the moment and she wanted to take full advantage of the situation.

    "We''re gonna bete because of you so take responsibility, brat!" She said with a joking tone.

    A few minutes passed and Acht kept hugging Dia while ignoring her dirty clothes and the bad smell. He just wanted to feel her again, to sense her warmth and maybe¡­.just maybe, ease some of the regrets he had.

    He was not a perfect being, he had made mistakes when he was young and the one most affected by them was Dia. She was the one who always stood up for him no matter how tough the situation was. They were two poor little orphans in a cruel world that didn''t show any benevolence. Yet, she never gave up on him no matter how much she had to suffer.

    p That was one of the reasons he loved her so much, it was because of her kindness. She was way too kind for her own good. Some may even consider her kindness as foolishness but Acht admired that kindness even though he knew he would never be like her in his life.</anda>

    Finally, Acht pulled away from her embrace and looked her in the eyes. He could clearly see the two bags under her eyes from theck of sleep. He could also see the injuries that riddled her face and neck.

    "So, what is with this sudden affection?¡­You finally admitted your love for me¡­Hahahaha!" Sheughed as she scratched his head roughly.

    He also smiled at her.

    ''She never changes. It''s really Dia.'' He thought. He didn''t care if it was a dream as long as he could stay here with her for some more time.

    "Don''t let it slip into your head, old hag!" He answered jokingly.

    "Old hag!!! You little shit! I''m still 16!" She clenched her fist with yful anger as she threatened to punch him. They always joked with each other like this.

    Then, as theyughed like that, the door knocked roughly. A sudden realization hit Dia as she sighed with exasperation.

    Acht was a littlete to catch on but he also knew who was knocking like this.

    "Open the door!" A rough and hoarse voice called from outside with clear anger.

    "It''s that fucker again! Sigh, we are in trouble now!" She whispered to Acht who nodded as he thought of something.

    Then, as Dia was about to open the door, Acht grabbed her arm and whispered.

    "Let me deal with this." He said with a serious tone.

    Then, he walked to the door and opened it.

    The man outside was their boss in a way. Both Dia and Acht worked multiple jobs under this man such as Selling newspapers, cleaning shoes for passersby, and many other small jobs. But, this man would always reap the benefits and leave the scrapes for them. In fact, they weren''t the only victims of such abuse as most of the poor children with no parents in the slum had to suffer such injustice so they could live another day.

    Acht stared coldly at the man with deep hatred buried within his eyes. He hated this man to the core that he came back to him when he grew up to search for him and kill him. But, he heard that he died a long time ago and thus he had to leave that unfulfilled desire buried in his heart.

    He had never forgotten the abuse he had to suffer along with Dia because of him. He had hit them, made them go on for days without any food, and even tried to take Dia to work as a prostitute when she hit 15 years of age. But, fortunately, because of Dia''s resistance and threats, he wasn''t able to make her work in that filthy job.<sub> </sub>

    "You fucking bastards¡­15 minuteste! Do you think I run a fucking charity?! Get your asses out!" He shouted with his huge mouth. Acht could smell the foul smelling from his mouth and could see the few disgusting yellow teeth left inside.

    ''I met you again, you shitty bastard!'' He thought before saying with a calm tone.

    "No."

    Silence. Absolute silence took over the ce as Dia and the boss looked at Acht in disbelief. They couldn''t believe what came out of Acht''s mouth.

    "What did you say?" The man asked as extreme anger started growing in his heart.

    "Did you not hear me, old fuck? I said no! Now, piss off before I fucking pop your eyes."

    "WHAT?!! YOU FUCKING BRAT!!"

    Hearing those words, the man lost it and tried to grab Acht by the cor to strangle him. Dia was about to also move to stop him but halted her steps again when she saw what ensued next with widened eyes.

    Acht dodged the man''s hands and sent a kick toward his groin with as much power as he could.

    *POP*

    "UGGHHHHHHHH!"

    The sound of something popping like a balloon followed by a blood-curdling screaming from the man''s mouth sent a shiver down Dia''s spine.

    She couldn''t imagine the agony the man was in as he fell to the ground and started rolling around while holding his groin.

    Acht didn''t feel bothered by it and ced his leg on the man''s massive stomach to stop him from rolling.

    "Where are you hiding your money?" He asked calmly.

    "Ugh¡­You! I will fucking kill you!!!"

    Acht expected such an answer from a human scum like him so he swiftly moved his arm and held his neck. He didn''t try to choke him but just tapped one of the arteries with his finger. With one single move, he could slice open the arterie and kill him on the spot.

    "Let me ask again: where is the money?" He said with the same tone and calm voice.

    "Hiiiii!!!" The man tried his best to resist but he was fully under Acht''s control. He didn''t know how, but he was now in the same body he had in the lower world. That meant that his physical strength was iparable to that of any small child out there.

    "Fine¡­ugh!!...Fine! I will show you!!" He groaned loudly as he tried to stand up. He understood that the kid would kill him if he didn''tply. He was still confused and amazed. Acht was never a violent person when he was still a child, coupled with his small frame. He was always considered as a good punching bag for the boss to release his stress and boredom.

    Now, he turned into some kind of monster who could kill as easily as breathing.

    "Wait!" Dia finally woke up from her trance and spoke to Acht. She was beyond agitated at what she saw.

    "What are you doing?" She asked with clear hesitation. She knew that what he did now was unforgivable and could end up with him getting beaten up or even killed. Thest thing she wanted to see was Acht getting harmed so she was ready to defend him with all her strength.

    He looked back at her with a smile full of confidence, a smile that even though it was wide and calm, carried a hint of sadness that was iprehensible to Dia.

    ''Why was he making such an expression? Why does that smile feel so sad and lonely?'' She asked herself multiple questions that she hesitated to ask Acht for some reason. It was a mystery to her.

    "I will fix everything¡­I promise. So, just believe in me."

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    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 45 Chapter 45

    *Bang* *Thud*

    Inside a room in some shady building barely 400 meters away from where Acht and Dia lived, a man was kicked as he fell to the ground with a groan.

    He had a blood stain in the middle of his trousers with all kinds of injuries on his face. The culprit for such torture was obviously Acht. He had dragged this man across the street like a goat while Dia followed behind him with an extremely worried look. She was beyond nervous and even thought of stopping Acht a few times as they were walking.

    But, every time, she shook her head while remembering the words he said to her.

    ''I need to trust him. If I don''t trust him, then who will?'' She resolved herself and then approached him.

    "Why do you want his money?" She asked.

    "For us of course, silly. I want us to make a fresh start."

    "But, what if he tries to find us. You don''t believe that this could make him stop his hideous crimes, right?"

    "No, that''s why¡­" he then gestured for her toe closer until her ear was near his mouth and then he whispered.

    "I''m going to break all of his limbs to the point where they will never recover. I want him to live his life while suffering the consequences."

    His words made her shudder with horror. She had never heard these wordse out of Acht''s mouth before. They were cold, ruthless, and spine-chilling.

    She straightened herself again and looked at him with squinted eyes. She wasn''t against the idea at all since she hated that man to the bones but she was also worried about Acht.

    Since this morning, he felt different. The air immaturity he had before suddenly vanished and was reced by a cold, calcting look that exuded maturity far beyond what mere children could obtain.

    Also, the way he looked at her was that of someone who is sad, lonely, and also¡­.regretful. But, regretful about what? And why?

    All these questions bugged her mind like a horde of violent bees. She had no idea what to do or how to wrap her head around this. So she took a deep breath and said with a hesitant tone.

    "Acht, are you ok?"

    Her question seemed to trigger something in him since he bent his head down and answered calmly.

    "Do I seem that different to you?" He answered her question with another question.

    "Yes. You have been acting weird since this morning. Since when were you this indifferent about killing people?" She responded with a more stern look. She was somehow angry since she knew that he was hiding something from her that he didn''t want to say.

    "What''s wrong? You could tell me anything¡­Remember our promise?"

    When she mentioned that ''promise'', his mind immediately wandered to a certain moment a few years ago. It was exactly their first meeting when he was still considered a toddler.

    They had promised to be there for each other, to support each other no matter what happens and no matter what consequences that could bring to them. And most importantly, to tell each other their secrets and their problems so they could solve them together.

    At the time, Dia said a few words that Acht still kept in his heart to this day.

    "We are a family, so anything that affects you affects me."

    He muttered those words to himself. He has followed those words until that point and cherished them greatly. But, this time, he couldn''t really do it.

    He didn''t want to spill out what he had be in the future and what he had done when he became older and their paths diverged.

    ''She will hate me. I know she will hate me.'' He thought as dark thoughts clouded his head.

    Dia saw his difficult expression and sighed loudly. It hurt her how he was like this and she felt as if she had done something wrong or maybe something wrong was there from the beginning.

    "I will go out to take some time to calm down." She left those words and left the room.

    In between all of this, the boss watched as they argued with a small smile on his face.

    "Hehehe, you deserve it!"

    Acht looked at him with extreme fury and muttered a few words with a quiet tone that carried a heavy killing intent.

    "Shut it, pig."

    Then he tied the boss to the wall with a rope he found in the room. It was probably something he used for his torture or some other sick uses.<sub> </sub>

    Then, he sat down on the chair and fell into deep thoughts.

    ''What should I do? I can''t tell her. If I do, she will definitely get disgusted¡­.''

    He then tried to imagine her looking at him with hatred in her eyes and he immediately shook the image away. Even imagining it made him shudder.

    ''I will¡­.have to¡­huh''

    He suddenly felt his eyelids grow heavy and his body stiff. It was as if he was falling asleep again.

    ''What''s¡­going¡­on¡­'' before he could continue his train of thoughts, he closed his eyes involuntarily and fell into a deep sleep.

    ************************

    In an unknown part of the forest, there was a cave that was carved into a mountain. The cave was small and barely big enough to make Tania sitfortably beside Acht, who was unconscious.

    She had to walk with him on her back for 7 hours non-stop in order to find a good ce for him to rest and regain his consciousness.

    She had sat down and waited, and waited, and waited. The sun slowly moved and the darkness started covering the sky, riddling it with luminous stars that tell the ancient tale of this vast cosmos.

    She gazed at the vast, beautiful sky with a deep look in her pupils. No one knows how much she was worried about Acht and his injuries and didn''t care about anything else including her well-being.

    She did indeed like seeing Acht act in tough situations and show his cool side. But, she hates seeing him hurt a lot. Whenever she sees him get injured or pained, she feels her hurt jolt with a shock of pain as if someone was shredding her insides over and over and over again.

    Then, as she was sitting there alone. She heard a groan to her side.

    Her eyes immediately shifted to Acht with hope filling her heart.

    There, the unconscious boy started opening his eyes slowly like a baby. He had a frown on his face the whole time as if he was suffering from a nightmare. Tania tried to ease him up as she caressed his face and his hair but it didn''t work.

    When she saw that he was finally fully awake. She screamed in delight.

    "Achat!" Even her scream sounded quiet for some reason. Yet, it held some deep emotions that are hard to find in someone else.

    Without caring about his condition, she jumped on him and hugged him tightly while muttering some iprehensible words.

    The boy was confused at first.

    ''Was it a dream?'' he asked himself a question he knew he didn''t have a clear answer for.

    Everything that happened was too real for it to be a dream, the feeling of Dia''s warmth when he hugged her. Her feelings when she spoke to him and the pain she felt when he didn''t tell her his secret.

    It was all too real, too vivid, and too painful for him to consider it as a mere dream.

    ''What is going on with me? Am I losing my mind?''

    Ever since he entered this forest, he was experiencing some extremely bizarre things that only he could feel.

    Was this forest cursed? Or is it some kind of trigger that started this trip of memories for him? Or it could even be Livia the goddess?

    Many theories and no clear answer. So, he decides to calm down for now and see how he should deal with the test. As for Dia and the dream, he will deal with it ordingly. A part of him wanted that dream to be something more. But, another part wanted it to be a mere passing dream. He didn''t want to handle the consequences of what could happen to Dia if she knew what really happened.

    ''I''m a fucking coward, fuck! since when did I hesitate to face my own problems?'' He clenched his teeth in disgust at his own selfishness.

    "Acht?"

    Suddenly, Tania''s voice woke him up from his thoughts. She looked at him with worry in her eyes.

    That was when Acht finally took a look at his surroundings. They were in a cave and the sky was darkening. That meant that she had to take care of him for a long time in a dangerous forest like this.

    ''This girl¡­''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 46 Chapter 46

    As they say there for a long time with Tania tightly hugging Acht, not even thinking of letting him go. He gazed at her and patted her head gently. He then said with a rather soft voice.

    "I''m fine now. Thank you for carrying me through such a huge forest. You did a great job."

    Tania lifted her face and looked at him. It was the first time she saw him smile at her with such grateful eyes that held some gentleness to them.

    She wasn''t ustomed to such a treatment so it was even more lethal to her. Instantly, Tania''s face blushed and she averted her eyes quickly so as to not make her embarrassment any worse.

    Acht ignored his adorablepanion and stood up on his feet. He then made some light stretches and said.

    "You can rest for a few hours. I will go out to check the vicinity."

    Then, he disappeared into the darkness at an incredible speed.

    When she was sure he was now far enough, she bent down and muttered with moist eyes.

    "Ah~ Acht¡­Acht¡­.Acht¡­.Acht¡­Acht¡­"

    She kept muttering his name endlessly like a broken record. Her mind was filled with his gentle expression that he showed her a few moments ago. She loved his stoic expression, but she also loved his gentle and caring attitude as much if not even more.

    At this point, even Tania knew what her feelings for him were. She never experienced them before but she knew enough to make a deduction by herself. She loved him, a lot.

    That was why she held a strong resolve to make him look at her the way she looked at him. It doesn''t matter whether it takes a year or 1000 years. She wanted to feel him caress her and hug her. She wanted to wake up in his warmth and his radiant smile. She wanted to see him look at her with living eyes that never wavers no matter what happens.

    She was addicted to the sweet nectar that was Acht.

    "Ah~ Acht¡­is¡­mine!" She muttered as she clenched her fist with a firm look in her eyes.

    **************************

    A few hundred meters away from the cave, Acht, who was oblivious to what Tania was thinking about, was moving between the trees searching for some monsters to kill.

    He didn''t kill any monsters since they entered the forest and he needed to act quickly toe back.

    As he jumped from one branch to another skillfully, he saw his first prey for the night. It was an overgrown bird that resembled an owl but with an even sharper beck and a stronger build.

    He sneakily moved through the bushes until he was very close to it, he didn''t want it to fly away or he would lose his opportunity.

    The bird was looking in one direction for some time. Its big, emotionless eyes didn''t blink or shift for even a second. Then, it was suddenly drawn to something in the distance.

    Acht saw the opportunity and immediately jumped on it with a swift move. His speed was simply iparable to any normal human so the bird wasn''t able to react.

    "Kraaaak!!" The bird squeaked in surprise and tried to resist. But, its futile attempts ended up prolonging its imminent death and nothing else.

    Soon enough, Acht''s sword plunged into its body and ended the bird''s life.

    When he was sure it was dead, he pulled the sword out and returned it to the hilt. Then, he made a look at his device. The 0 points suddenly turned to 12 points.

    Then, he took a look around him and jumped from the tree to move to his next target.

    A few hourster, Acht had already killed a few monsters and collected a considerable amount of points. He has almost 75 points now. Some animals ran away from him so he didn''t bother to chase after them or his score would''ve been way higher.

    Then, as he was inspecting his device and some other things. He heard something. It was a faint sounding from a distance.

    He looked around him as he prepared himself for any sneak attack. He didn''t forget that there were thousands of people roaming the forest too. That''s why he chose to dive into the deeper parts of the area so that he could minimize the human encounters he will have in the next few days.

    Then, as he waited silently, the sound reached his ears again. It was very faint but somehow got clearer the second time.

    He was now able to know the general direction from where this sound wasing. So, he jumped on one of the trees and made his way to the sound as fast and quiet as possible.

    After passing a few trees, he could finally hear the sound very clearly. It was the sound ofughter. Indeed, he heard the sound of someoneughing.

    He couldn''t believe his ears at first but then, he didn''t feel like it was a hallucination or something. It was a clearughter and a yful one at that.<sub> </sub>

    Seeing no point in staying in his ce, he approached the voice as slowly as possible.

    Then, he saw him. A boy that seemed to be barely under 10 years of age. He was looking at a tree andughing loudly as if he heard the funniest joke in his life.

    He squinted his eyes to see his face but he couldn''t because of the darkness and because of his position.

    ''Did he lose his mind?'' He thought to himself as he started to lose interest. It was none of his business whether this boy was fine or not. He wasn''t some hero who saves everyone under the veil of justice, he was as selfish and indifferent as humans could be and he has no ns of changing that attitude of his any time soon.

    So, as he was about to turn around and leave, he caught a glimpse of the boy turning around and revealing his face.

    It was a small glimpse that couldn''t even make him see his face properly. But, that small glimpse was more than enough to know who that person is. And that shocked him to his core.

    Because of his shock, he broke a small branch with his foot that made a considerably loud sound.

    The boy heard the sound and looked in the direction of the sound with his creepy smile.

    He then giggled slightly and started running as fast as he could. In a matter of moments, he crossed tens of meters and flew away from Acht.

    "Wait. Fuck." He cursed under his breath and followed the boy. If what he saw was right then he needed to catch that boy as soon as possible.

    He ran after him while following the sound of his ominousughter that rang throughout the forest.

    He was moving at maximum speed but he wasn''t able to close the distance between them. However, the distance didn''t increase either.

    That meant that their speed was almost equal.

    The chase continued for minutes and minutes. Acht didn''t only have to chase him but he also had to deal with the monsters that stopped him each time.

    This made him lose some time and make the boy run farther and farther away.

    ''Dammit! He''s gonna run away.''

    He knew that if he lost him now, he would not be able to find him that easily.

    Finally, After running for some time, he saw that the sea of trees he was moving through came to an end. Instead, there was some lighting from the other side.

    Then, he jumped out of the forest and found himself on a small in.

    A grassynd surrounding a vastke with a full moon illuminating theke and making it look like a sea of diamonds shining calmly.

    It was a very beautiful ce in the forest that not many knew of. But, Acht''s attention wasn''t concentrated on this magnificent beauty. The boy he was looking for was just a few meters away from theke gazing at the moon with his back facing Acht.

    "It''s a nice night, isn''t it? Hahahah" heughed loudly while speaking.

    "You¡­who are you?" Acht said with utmost seriousness in his voice.

    "You are really a worrywart, Acht. Hahaha." he giggled again and then continued.

    "You always think that you are in full control of the situation no matter what happens. You think that nothing could make you feel hopeless or weak. Isn''t that a little bit arrogant? Hahahahah!"

    "I said¡­.who the fuck are you?!" Acht said a little more loudly.

    "Hahaha! You didn''t get it yet? I am¡­"

    Then, he turned around and revealed his face. A Dark hair and a small white face. He had the same height as Acht, the same body build, posture, and even¡­. The same features.

    "I am You!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 47 Chapter 47

    Acht had already seen his face and he followed him with the intention of knowing why there was a doppelganger of him. It was true that he knew everything is possible in this world so copying someone''s features wasn''t that mind-blowing.

    But, the same question remains. If he was really someone who was disguised as Acht, why would he do that? And how did he do that without Acht knowing it?

    "Don''t look so shocked, my friend. I''m you and you are me, it''s simple and easy." The other person added as he put his hands in his pockets.

    Acht scoffed at his words and said,

    "That''s some good disguise over there. I can''t see any ws in it."

    Hearing his words, the copy made a shocked noise before falling into hystericalughter.

    Heughed andughed as if it was the end of the world. Then, he wiped the tear from his eye and said,

    "You have no idea how much that took me off guard. You think I''m just someone pretending to be you, huh? I see¡­then, let''s do a small test to see if I''m right or not."

    Then, the copy started strolling around in circles casually. His eyes kept wandering around as if he was thinking.

    "Ok¡­let''s see..Your name is Acht. Age is unknown andst name is also unknown. You were born and immediately were left out by your parents. You had no rtives too so you didn''t have anyone to rely on¡­Then, you met someone in particr. Someone who changed your life."

    Then, the copy halted his steps and smiled at Acht with his creepy face, and said.

    "Dia. She was the one who took care of you."

    Acht was very surprised. He didn''t think that it could be possible to create a copy out of someone while retaining their memories and everything.

    "Do you believe me now? We are indeed the same person."

    "What do you want from me?" Acht asked with rtive calmness. He was a copy of him? So be it, he will kill him and end it over if he needed it to.

    "Oh,e on, Acht. I expected a lot more from you. You should''ve already predicted why I manifested in front of you now, out of all times."

    "Why¡­Why didn''t you tell her?"

    This exact question was the thing Acht tried to avoid thinking about the most. He didn''t want to put any thoughts into it since it just kept on stabbing his heart and making him suffer.

    Silence prevailed for some time, neither of them spoke and neither of them broke eye contact.

    "Ohoh? So no answer. How cute!"

    He then pulled out his hands from his pockets with a coin in his arm.

    "Let me answer in your ce since I''m your copy, then." He said.

    "You didn''t want to tell her because of three main reasons." He then put out three fingers as if he was counting and then continued.

    "First reason is very simple. You were quite scared of her reaction. You didn''t want to see her look at you as if you were human filth. Seeing the only person you loved in your life hate you is something painful, isn''t it?"

    He then started walking toward Acht while still speaking.

    "Second reason and it''s a hidden one you don''t want anyone to know. You¡­feel like this huge discovery will make you do something you will never want¡­"

    He then whispered the next few words with utter calmness that held a deeper meaning in them.

    "You thought of killing her¡­didn''t you?" He said as he tried to fight the urge ofughing again.

    "No, I would never do that," Acht responded immediately.

    The copy shook his head and clicked his tongue in disappointment.

    "We are the same person, Acht. We have the same thoughts, same ideals, and the same personality. I know what your head is thinking of and what you could be feeling at the moment. So, denying my words is not a luxury you possess at the moment."

    "You did indeed think of killing her at that moment. You thought that maybe if she died before knowing the truth, she would feel at peace and you would also release a huge burden from your back. But, how could you be cruel? How could you even think of ending the life of your benefactor. Someone who dedicated her life just so that you could live another day?"<sub> </sub>

    He then made a fake sigh of exasperation and smiled again.

    "You are a cruel person, Acht. You are indeed very cruel. And that''s what brings me to thest and most important reason. The reason that even you don''t really know or to be more precise, the reason you are still not aware of."

    He then closed the rest of the distance between them and brought his face close to Acht''s ear and whispered quietly.

    "You are a selfish person, my friend. You are not someone capable of prioritizing someone over your own self."

    All this time, Acht was silent. He didn''t deny nor approve of his copy''s words. He just stood there silently. His eyes kept looking slightly down. The moon that Shawn bright in the sky cast a shadow of darkness over his face.

    The copy thought that he was in a hopeless situation so he wanted to put thest nail in the coffin.

    "So, that''s why. I will take your ce, Acht. I will fix all of your mistakes and make your miserable life more eptable. I may be a copy of you¡­but, I''m a better, more capable version. I have the right to be in your ce. As for you¡­just disappear out of this world. You don''t deserve to be alive."

    For the first time, the copy showed an expression other than the yful grin he had on his face before. He had a huge frown on his face that contorted his features and made him look like a demon.

    It was also at that moment that something clicked inside Acht''s head. He felt as if all the restraints on his mind were released and a feeling of freedom.

    He then whispered something that the copy couldn''t hear.

    "What did you say?"

    "...I said¡­You are not worthy."

    "What?"

    Then, Acht startedughing loudly too. It was the loudestugh he ever had. He felt as if this urge ofughing waspletely taking control of him.

    So, he rested his head on his hand and continuedughing.

    "You know¡­You really do know a lot about me. I''m almost shocked by your deductions. But, when I heard that you wanted to take my ce...I couldn''t hold myself¡­"

    Then, he revealed his face again and his usual cold look appeared on his face.

    "I am indeed a selfish, disgusting bastard who shouldn''t even exist. I may have also thought of killing the love of my life for the sake of my own satisfaction. I did also fear the consequences of my own actions. I''m a pathetic bastard who deserves the worst of deaths and be tormented for eternity in the darkest parts of hell. But¡­."

    He then took a deep breath and added.

    "There is no fucking person worthy enough to live my life let alone a mere copy of me."

    "What the fuck did you say?"

    "Know your fucking ce, you mere copy. My life is my own, it''s something I will never give to anyone. You had indeed shown me the truth, Mr copy. You have shown me what I really am. But, don''t forget that you''re not any better than this scumbag you are looking at." He said as he tapped his own chest.

    He then smiled a little and said to him, "This piece of shit will never stoop so low as to give up on his own life just because he found an opportunity to run away. I swore on myself that I will change my own fate and the fate of the person I loved and that includes fixing my own cruelty. If I fail, so fucking be it. But, you will never see me give you my life, lowlife!"

    The copy was now beyond shocked at Acht''s reaction. He thought that his n seeded and that he grasped Acht''s fate in his hand. All he had to do was get rid of him. But, somehow, the boy didn''t seem to be affected by those words and even made fun of him.

    ''Is he already¡­changing? But, how could that be possible in this short period of time?!'' He thought as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

    He didn''t know what to do at this point. So, he resorted to thest solution.

    "If you are not going to give me your own life. Then, I will take it by force."

    Acht scoffed his words and smiled wildly. He had already known that he would have to fight this copy and he was more than d to do so.

    "Try me, inferior being!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 48 Chapter 48

    Instantly, two strong auras erupted at the same time. The sheer pressureing from them made the trees shake violently and the rather calmke became a chaotic mess of waves hitting each other.

    Acht and his copy gazed at each other with cold looks. They both hated each other to the core even though they should''ve been the same person. How ironic!

    "This is yourst chance, Acht. Leave this world immediately, you are not cut out to live here." The copy said as he unsheathed his sword. He had the same clothes and equipment that Acht had so it was natural that he would have the same short sword that Acht possessed.

    Acht didn''t react to his words at first but then shook his head slowly.

    "Come and take it from my dead body."

    *Swish*

    Suddenly, both of them moved at the same time, their bodies vanished from their ce and appeared a few centimeters away from each other.

    *Cling*

    Then, their swords collided mid-air, a loud clunking sound was created and both swords vibrated from the impact.

    Acht tried to overpower him but he obviously failed since both of them had the same physical strength.

    So, he jumped back and dashed at him again. The copy made the same action and the swords collided again. It was as if Acht was fighting with a mirror of himself. They were both simply in perfect sync in their moves.

    ''I can''t beat him with direct confrontation. I have to find another way.'' He thought as he kept moving around and shing with the copy continuously.

    Their silhouettes appeared as if they were blinking and appearing in different ces at the same time.

    "It''s useless!" The copy shouted with all of his powers as they held their swords tightly. He then tried to send a sneaky attack to Acht with his left leg.

    The other dodged it easily and sent a kick to his face. The copy also dodged the attack fairly easily.

    They were both refraining from using their gifts since it was their trump card and they wanted to use it at the right moment.

    "Hah." Acht made a small growl as he jumped in the air and shed down at the copy with all of his strength.

    "No, you don''t." The copy yelled with anger.

    He then ran at him and jumped to his level. He then stabbed with his sword toward his neck. It was a very fast attack. But, when the sword was a few centimeters away from Acht''s neck, he felt the cold aura that closed up on him along with a sense of imminent danger.

    The copy looked down and he saw Acht''s de nearly slicing his abdomen in half. He clenched his teeth and changed his sword''s trajectory.

    *CLUNG*

    A strong shockwave made theke shake even harder. Strong gushes of wind attacked the duo and made them fly away from each other.

    Acht calmly looked down and instead of adjusting his position tond, he looked at his copy and used his gift.

    Instantly, The copy felt the gravity around him increase by folds, and his speed of falling increased.

    ''Fuck!'' He cursed as he also used gravity to return it to normal. This made him lose the time he previously had tond properly.

    "Ugh." The copy made a small groan of pain as hended on his back. A cloud of dust covered the ce where hended and made him cough slightly. He felt a strong pain in his chest.

    Acht was no better than his counterpart, he alsonded roughly on his back.

    "You fucking bastard!!" The copy was enraged at this point. He was already at his wit''s end when his first n didn''t work and now had to deal with the tenacious boy in front of him.

    "Just give up and die!" He shouted.

    Acht on the other hand was way calmer than his copy, he kept a cold expression thatcked any emotions. He had already seen through his copy and how he thought.

    ''As I expected. We aren''tpletely identical.'' He thought to himself.

    They indeed had the same strength, the same skills, and the same style of fighting. But, the copycked something that Acht had.

    Hecked the level-headed thinking that Acht had. Fighting for a few minutes and suffering a minor injury made him lose hisposure and be furious.

    "Stop whining like a bitch and fight." He responded with a calm look as he helped himself stand up.

    Acht hade to one conclusion from this confrontation he had now.

    ''I will have to make him lose his focus!''<sub> </sub>

    Then, he charged at him again with even more vigor and energy. His eyes shined with a strong light as they met those of the copy thatcked the resolve that Acht had.

    One other difference between them that Acht ignored is that the copycked the desire to win that Acht had. He didn''t seem that obsessed with the idea of winning as much as the idea of reaping the benefits. As for Acht, he was dead set on trampling on his opponents. Getting some benefits because of it is nothing but a bonus.

    *ng* *ng* *ng*

    A series of attacks followed Acht''s arrival near the copy. He decided to go all out and corner him.

    "Come on! Where is all that bluff you''ve had before?! Where is that confidence." He spoke as he stabbed and shed madly. His speed was beyond what humans are capable of.

    The copy was in a difficult position as he could only defend himself. His feet started retreating as he had to ept all of the sword shes and kicks Acht sent toward him.

    ''Shit! Why am I only defending?! We are equals in power!''

    He clenched his teeth and tried to turn the tables. His only bet was on his gift. He had to make Acht''s moves slower so he could have time to attack him.

    Then, as he was about to use gravity. Acht smiled slightly as he looked at the copy coldly.

    "Too predictable."

    *Swish*

    Then, without any hesitation, he reduced the gravity around him and immediately vanished from his ce.

    ''Shit! I put my guard down for a moment!'' the copy cursed under his breath.

    The next moment, Acht appeared again. This time, he appeared behind the copy, exactly in his blind spot.

    "It''s over." He muttered as he stabbed with his sword. He was aiming for his heart.

    The copy didn''t have the time to react and dodge. He felt the sense of death closing up on him.

    p ''Dammit!!!'' He cursed with his teeth gritted to the point where they threatened to break at any moment.</anda>

    That was when something totally unexpected happened.

    *RUMBLE*

    The sky darkened and thick, gray clouds filled the previously starry night sky.

    Then, in one single moment. A huge thunderbolt fell down from the deepest parts of the clouds and hit the ground where Acht and the copy stood.

    *BOOOOOOMMMMMMMM*

    A loud explosion sent the whole forest into chaos. Birds of all kinds flew away from the trees as they shook violently.

    The sound alone was deafening to the ears and the strong shockwave of the thunderbolt could fry anyone to a crisp.

    It took a few minutes for the explosion to subside and reveal what was behind the veil of dirt created by it.

    "Cough! Cough! Cough! UGH!!" Acht groaned as heid down on the ground. There were many burning marks on his body and some were even deep enough that his skin was destroyed and muscles were revealed.

    "What happened?" He asked with clear confusion and shock. He was very close to killing the copy but lightning struck him at thest moment.

    He didn''t believe it was a coincidence since the chances of that happening are near impossible. He also didn''t believe that it was the doing of another person since that kind of power shouldn''t be possessed by anyone in the hunter exam.

    After taking a breather and drinking a potion to heal himself and relieve the tormenting pain in his body. He looked at where the copy should be.

    He was also alive and was even in a better state than that of his counterpart. That meant that the thunderbolt specifically targeted Acht and not the copy.

    Seeing this opportunity, the copy stood and tried to run away into the forest. He thought that he could take advantage of the thick trees and the narrow passages of the forest.

    Acht saw it and cursed under his breath. He will deal with this mysterious lightning striketer. He lost his golden chance of killing the copy and that irritated him slightly.

    "Run as far as you can. You will still end up dead." He shouted as he followed after him and swiftly entered the forest again.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 49 Chapter 49

    The night somehow became clearer after the lightning strike as if nothing had happened before. The dark clouds dissipated like a mist and the heavy atmosphere that engulfed the area vanished.

    But, Acht couldn''t care less about this revtion since he had all his mind on following his target that went into the forest.

    He could see his silhouette as it jumped from one tree to another agily. His speed was slower than before since he didn''t have time to treat them and ran away immediately.

    "You''re such a fucking coward! Stop running away like a headless chicken!" Acht tries to provoke him so he halts his steps and fights him. But, it didn''t seem to work since he didn''t even look back.

    It seems that his pride is nothing in front of preserving his life. That made Acht''s already bad impression of this copy go even lower. It hit rock bottom.

    Acht didn''t want to keep up this chase since it would exhaust him too so he had another idea in mind.

    He took a look at his device to pinpoint his exact location. Then, he grabbed the nearest branch he passed by. As it was hard to see that clearly in the darkness coupled with the speed of the copy. So, Acht didn''t throw it with the intention of hitting him, but for a whole other reason.

    *SWISH*

    His arm muscles contracted greatly and his veins popped out as he threw the pointy branch. It flew like an arrow and hit the ce right beside the copy.

    Seeing that, he unconsciously jumped to the side and continued running.

    Acht took another branch and threw it at him and then another one and another one after it in a sessive fashion. Every time, the copy had to jump in another direction and continue running.

    After 30 minutes or so. The two of them reached a rather clear area in the forest. It seemed as if someone deliberately cleared all the trees in that area for some unknown reason.

    That was when they both heard a sound not so far away from their position.

    "SSSSSSS!!!" The sound was ear-deafening, to say the least. It was by far the strongest growl Acht had ever heard since he came to this world.

    So, before his feet took a step into that area, he decided to not recklessly charge in there and potentially risk letting that copy escape.

    As for thetter, he just continued running, not bothering with the danger lurking close to him. It was when the monster was already close enough to feel him that he woke up from his stupor.

    He was running hysterically so he didn''t bother with his surroundings that much. That was why when he heard the loud cry of anger, he tried to change his direction and escape. But, he was toote for that.

    The monster had already reached him and jumped out of the bushes, revealing its huge frame in its full glory.

    The monster appeared to look like a snake. No, it was indeed a snake albeit it was 10 times bigger than the biggest snake on earth.

    Its body was so long and thick that it didn''t even seem like a body but more like a tank. It looked at the copy with its emotionless eyes as it hissed slowly, revealing a tongue that was longer than Acht.

    The copy knew he was in some deep trouble when this predator appeared. It wasn''t that he couldn''t beat it, but the fact that Act could be somewhere watching him fight the snake and waiting for the best opportunity to appear made him shiver.

    ''Fuck! What should I do? Think! Think!'' he hurriedly looked around for anything that could help him but nothing came into view.

    He even tried to look for Acht and maybe try to change the monster''s aggro toward him so he could escape. But, the boy''s stealth abilities were top notch so finding him in this forest is like finding a needle in a haystack.

    So, he had no other choice but to fight the snake and kill him as fast as possible.

    Immediately, a fight ensued between the copy and this behemoth of a snake.

    Acht just sat down nearby and waited for the perfect time to catch that slippery bastard. He knew that any mistake could potentially make him run away and even reveal himself to the snake. What is meant is that it could turn into a disaster really quickly.

    So, he watched the fight carefully. The copy was obviously the one with the higher hand in this fight since he was stronger than the snake. But, because of its armor-like skin, he couldn''t effectively prate it to do lethal damage.

    But, he was smart enough to concentrate on one single point of the snake and keep attacking it.

    So, eventually, he was able to crack that skin open to reveal its soft insides. From that point on, the fight became way easier and he was able to make the snake lose a lot of blood.

    Because of the huge loss of blood, the snake became unable to move so itid down, dying slowly as it looked at the copy who was more than delighted but also worried about its death.

    Then, with a huge smile of relief, he intended to escape the ce.

    ''I can do it!'' he said to himself, trying to ease up his worries. He was sure that even if Acht jumped out of his hiding and attacked him, he could easily evade him.

    "Hahaha! You fucker! You won''t be able to kill me! You may have won this time, but I''m still alive! And I will always be after your neck! You fu-" as he was about to end his speech. A shiny thing appeared in the sky.

    His eyes were naturally drawn to that shiny light. His pupils squinted to the size of a needle as he tried to discern the origin of that thing. It was way too shiny for a star so he didn''t think of it as such.<sub> </sub>

    The shiny light kept on getting bigger and bigger at an rming speed. It was closing up on him. When he was aware of that fact, the light was now extremely close to him and it was impossible to dodge.

    *BAM*

    The shiny object hit him directly and crushed him to the ground.

    Acht watched this scene with a calm look, then he shifted his eyes to a particr ce. A small smile bloomed on his face and he said with a calm tone.

    "Good job, Tania."

    Hearing her name, the girl appeared out of the bushes with her usual expressionless face. Her eyes never left Acht''s face for one second. It was as if she didn''t bother with the fact that she probably killed the copy.

    ''I guess my n worked.'' he thought to himself as he jumped from the top of the tree.

    It wasn''t a coincidence that Tania was there when the fight ensued between the snake and Acht''s doppelganger. Acht had used those branches he threw as a way to guide the copy into the exact ce he wanted him to be. The snake''s appearance was out of his calctions but it would''ve worked either way.

    The only problem with that n is what Tania''s course of action will be. She could''ve just thought that it was Acht and didn''t attack him or maybe even confuse the two of them and attack the real Acht by mistake.

    But, Acht had a good idea of Tania''s character and so he trusted that she would do what he wanted. He didn''t know why he thought so but he followed his guts nevertheless.

    What Acht didn''t know is that was the first time he fully trusted someone other than Dia. He didn''t think about it much since it wasn''t that important, but he was capable of doing something that he thought was impossible before. As minuscule as it was, he was indeed starting to change slowly.

    Anyway, the two of them walked to the copy to inspect the body and see if he died or not. Tania didn''t question him about the situation and the origin of this copy of his.

    She had a blind trust in Acht and she knew that everything he does is right so all she had to do was follow him quietly.

    The object that hit the copy was actually a huge crystal in the shape of an arrowhead. This crystal looked particrly sturdy and almost unbreakable.

    p "Your crystal element sure is amazing to watch." He said to her as he took a look around the crystal.</anda>

    She felt her heart''s rate elerating and her mouth unconsciously smiling at his praising words. Even the smallest ofplimentsing from him was like a god-given gift.

    Then, their eyes shifted to the bodyying down under it.

    Unfortunately or not, the crystal didn''t hit him in a lethal ce. He was able to move a few centimeters to the side so it hit him in the legs rather than his upper body parts.

    But, he didn''t think about the fact that having shattered legs is not different than being dead since he wouldn''t be able to move.

    "I kill him?" She asked Acht from the side.

    "No, let me do this. I have already tolerated his existence enough."

    Then, Acht approached him and pulled out his sword.

    *Swish*

    He then unhesitatingly plunged his sword into his heart with a swift move.

    But, as his sword was almost close to his chest, Acht''s hands suddenly froze in their ce and a slightly surprised look filled his face before it disappearedpletely. He then made a small chuckle.

    "Tania, could you go back to the cave first. I have something to deal with first before I kill this bastard." He suddenly said out of nowhere.

    Tania didn''t refuse and simply nodded her head before walking away.

    When he was sure that she was far enough. Acht stood silent for a moment before he muttered in a quiet tone.

    "When are you going to show yourself, Oh great goddess?"

    (A//N: Sorry for not uploading a chapter before reset today. Had to deal with some stuff. Anyway, I wanted to ask a simple question. Would you like me to start uploading three 1k chapters or continue with the two 1500+ word chapters daily?)

    PS: there will be another chapter 2 or 3 hourster :)

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    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 50 Chapter 50

    His words seemed to fall on deaf ears since no one was there. But, the small smile stered on Acht''s face didn''t seem to be fading as no one answered his calls.

    After a few seconds, he sighed slightly and added with the same calm tone.

    "Should I really repeat the same words I said to you when we first met, Livia?"

    This time, his words seemed to have some effect as the sound of someone chuckling reached his ears.

    "Fufufufu, how did you know I was here?" The female voice answered.

    Acht shook his head seemingly in disappointment at her question.

    "I''m honestly disappointed, Livia. I was expecting a better scheme from you. It doesn''t need a genius to know that the only person who knows about my past life is you."

    "Fufufufu, that''s true indeed."

    Then, after saying those words, a light cold breeze caressed Acht''s face and made him subconsciously rx a little. While he was enjoying that cold air, two small and extremely white hands hugged his neck from behind.

    Acht didn''t flinch from this sudden touch and calmly asked.

    "Why did you do that?"

    "Hm, do what?"

    "Sending one of your stupid minions to y with my mind."

    He then released himself from her grip and turned around to look at her in the eyes. Her beauty was as magnificent as he remembered it to be. He could look at her face for an eternity without feeling the passage of time. That''s how beautiful she was.

    "You think I will fucking ept that and y with it. You fucking bitch."

    Anger started swelling in Acht''s heart as his voice kept a calm tone.

    "Really? Making me see illusions of the person I love?"

    "Fufufufu. Calm down, Acht. Did you forget what our deal was? I seek entertainment and you are the person I chose to give me that entertainment. Putting some hurdles in your way is a given."

    "Do you enjoy watching people in despair, you sick bitch? Talk about a holy goddess. You are nothing but a perverted goddess who gets turned on by making people lose their minds."

    The goddess didn''t seem to bother with the insults that Acht threw at her and she justughed it off as if it was nothing.

    "Also, why the fuck did you protect that stupid minion you sent me? I had three opportunities to kill him. Each time, either I freeze and be unable to move or you send a thunderbolt just so his sorry ass doesn''t perish."

    She smiled and looked at the unconscious copy of Acht. Then, she pointed her finger at him and he immediately started turning into light particles. The particles quickly dissipated and nothing was left of his existence.

    "I promised to make him one of my close subordinates if he seeds in his mission. Yet, he failed miserably. His punishment is something I will take care of, so you can''t kill him."

    Acht didn''t seem to bother with her words as he turned around and started to leave.

    "Where do you think you are going, boy?" She asked.

    "I''m not in the best mood to deal with your nonsense."

    But, as he was about to take the next step, his body suddenly froze again. He tried to move his limbs, but he couldn''t do so.

    He couldn''t even move his head so the only thing he was still moving was his eyes.

    Then, from the side, he saw the silhouette of the goddess as she approached him and then stood in front of him, mid-air.

    "You don''t seem to be getting something, Acht. So, let me exin."<sub> </sub>

    She then closed the distance between them and touched his cheek.

    "Since the moment you epted my proposal and was reincarnated into this world. You became mine. Something that I have full control of."

    She kept caressing his cheek gently as she continued.

    "I have chosen you out of billions of humans because of one simple thing: you are different, Acht. You have something that no one has and that''s your will."

    "You are an interesting existence that made me feel something new for the first time in a long time. You made me want to see you suffer, to use all of your beings to aplish things."

    All this time, the boy couldn''t speak so he could only listen to her words silently.

    "You are mine, Acht~ Mine only~ the only thing you could do is to follow what I want from you~"

    Her eyes became slightly watery and her breathing became ragged. Even her cheeks turned red. She was clearly enjoying her time.

    "You will keep living here and I will keep making you suffer¡­.my cute little pet~ FUFUFUFUFU!!!" Her gentle chuckle before turned into a madugh gradually.

    Her beautiful eyes widened as she held Acht''s face with both of her hands. Her caresses also became rougher and rougher over the time.

    "MMM." Acht tried to speak but he was still frozen in his ce.

    "Shhh~ don''t speak. You don''t need to speak." She put her finger on his lips gently. Then, she gradually moved her finger around his lips and ultimately ended up sticking it in his mouth.

    Her smooth and fragile finger swirled around in his mouth ying with his tongue and exploring all of his mouth like a cave.

    She then pulled it out, a string of saliva was linked to her finger as she pulled it away.

    Then, with a small smile, she put the finger in her own mouth. Acht watched as she liked that finger seductively and twirled it around in her mouth, savoring his own saliva like some divine nectar.

    "Ah~" A small moan escaped her lips as she sucked on her finger and her eyes were threatening to roll up. She was in our ecstasy.

    ''She''s a fucking psychopath.'' Acht thought to himself in clear distress.

    He naively thought that this goddess was pure and that she only wanted him to live his life to the fullest. He turned out to be nothing but a pet that she''s quite fond of.

    ''What am I gonna do now?'' He felt like he was in an inescapable trap.

    "Ah~ Acht, you are making me go crazy~ if I stay here for any longer, I will do something baaaad~" she muttered as she pulled out her finger from her mouth, now clean of any trace of Acht''s saliva.

    "I want to stay here and enjoy my time with you. But, I have to go. Be ready for what is about toe, my cute Acht. You have a loooong road to go. Byyye~"

    Then, without any shy lights or sounds, Livia vanished from existence. Acht watched that happen and immediately felt his body return to normal.

    When hended on his feet, he stood there silently as all kinds of thoughts filled his mind. He was in a very very bad situation. Arguably the worst one he had ever been in.

    "That psychopathic bitch! Shit!" He cursed as he punched a tree next to him.

    *Boom*

    A loud cracking sound echoed in the area as the tree started trembling. Acht kept punching the tree until he relieved his frustration.

    "So be it, Livia! I will y your little game! But, I swear on my own life and the life of my loved one that you will regret this!"

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    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <

 51 Chapter 51

    After relieving some of his anger, he wiped the blood from his fists and walked back to the cave where Tania was. He was still annoyed and clueless but he didn''t have the luxury of wasting time doing nothing.

    ''Let''s pass the hunter exam first.'' He thought to himself.

    Since he didn''t have any way to deal with the crazy goddess, he just decided to stick to his initial n and then deal with the ramifications that Livia adds to his ns. So, it was a very simple idea, either he gets out of all of these hurdles alive and even stronger than before or he will lose and ultimately die.

    When he reached the cave, he found Tania waiting for him inside. She seemed to be fidgeting slightly and darting her eyes around. This was the most child-like expression she has ever made.

    Acht saw that and asked her with a calm tone.

    "Something wrong?"

    She shook her head in denial and then sat down and looked at him. He also looked at her for a moment before coughing slightly to defuse the awkward silence between them.

    Then, he pulled out his sword and took a look at it. That de was now chipped in many areas and it was not as sharp as before. So, he decided to sharpen it since it was one of his most essential tools.

    ''This is only the first day of the test and it''s already as hectic as it could get. This is going to be the longest month of my life.''

    His hands moved agilely as he sharpened the sword on a piece of special rock he bought beforehand.

    Tania looked at his back as he worked. She felt a sense of peace just looking at him sitting there beside her.

    His broad back, his calm aura that oozed with confidence. Even his smallest acts that many would consider normal, Tania saw as something worthy of admiration.

    Her body unconsciously started moving closer and closer to him while trying to not alert him to her approach.

    Acht was in deep thought so he didn''t feel like concentrating his senses on Tania so he was unable to feel her as she made her way to his side, one step at a time.

    At some point, she was only a few inches away from him. Then, with a clouded look in her eyes, she tried to extend her hand and touch his back. She wasn''t thinking properly at the moment so she was unable to see the consequences of her actions. The only thing that filled her mind was.

    ''touch him~''

    As her hands kept getting closer and closer until she was now feeling his body heat from his clothes. That''s when a loud sound jolted her back into her senses and made her quickly retract her hand.

    Acht also heard the sound and stopped sharpening the sword. Then, they both looked at their devices. It showed (00:00) on the screen along with a message alert in the corner. Then, without even touching it, the message was automatically opened and a holographic image manifested itself in front of them.

    In the holographic image, they saw a familiar mask they had seen before. Its distinct creepy smile and the unique crescent-shaped eyes made recognizing the person all the more easier.

    "Yohooo~ My finedies and my respectable gentleman~ Your favorite Smiley is back to give you the news."

    Smiley looked at the camera and danced like an idiot as he spoke up with a high-pitched voice. He looked to be in a good mood even though he is always in a good mood. That didn''t save his bad jokes though.

    "I missed you all so much¡­Boohoo~ Come back to me~ I want to hug youuuu~"

    Acht watched him do his thing and sighed loudly. Thest thing he needed on this fucked up night is this idiot clown facing in front of him.

    "Anyway~ Guess what time is it?~ I know it''s midnight of the first day~ heheheeheh~ so, it''s time for our first event~ yayyyy~"

    ''Event?'' Acht was puzzled about this event so he perked up his ears when he heard it.

    Smiley then pulled out a folder from somewhere and showed it to the camera as he added.

    "Now, look at this folder~ it has been chosen randomly from many events~ so let''s open it together, shall we?"

    Then, he opened the folder and pulled out one piece of paper with two words written on it.

    "Dadadaaa~ It''s the ''bounty hunter'' event~ My favorite one~ Who knew I could be this lucky~" He jumped up and down like a small girl who was happy with a baby doll gift.<sub> </sub>

    "Ehem~ Let me exin the rules since they are simple~ Your exam devices will choose a random number of people~ These candidates will be the ''targets''~ and the other hunters will have to hunt them down and kill them~ if they do that sessfully~ they will get a triple boost to their point gain for a whole week~ So, the more people you kill the more boosts you umte~ but, if the targets survive the event~ they will get a 6 times boos to their point gain for a whole week~"

    He then threw the paper in the air andughed loudly.

    "But, here is the twist~ the hunters could get the position of each target for a whole minute each hour~ so, no sleeping for some time my dear target~"

    "You will have three days as a time for the event~ good luuuck~" he waved his hand at the camera before it ended the recording and the holographic image disappeared.

    When the image vanished, Acht signed under his breath. He knew that this event was going to be annoying since if he was going to be a target, he would have to be on the move for a while. It wasn''t a problem for him but for Tania, it was a whole other problem. She may be strong and talented, but she isn''t ustomed to such things.

    ''Let''s hope that we don''t be targets even though the chances for that are close to zero.''

    He remembered Livia''s words and clicked his tongue with a cold look. He knew that she was probably the one who made such an event so obviously she would make him a target so he could suffer more.

    A few moments of pure silenceter, their devices made a ringing sound again and a new message appeared in front of them.

    It had two words written in blood-red color.

    ''You are the target.''

    The ominous words would make anyone shudder, but for Acht, it made him feel a small headache in his head.

    ''Why did I even entertain the idea?'' He thought to himself as he shifted his eyes to look at Tania.

    "What did you get?" He asked while already expecting the answer.

    She looked at him and showed him her device. The same words were sent to her too. So, both of them were targets.

    "There is no saving it now. We should work together to pass this event. Your help is essential." He said to her after some time.

    When Tania heard his words, she felt her heart elerate again. While his words may sound normal to all people, for her it was a whole different thing.

    ''He can''t be without me? Acht needs me! He can''t live without me~ Acht~ Acht~Acht~'' Her mind went into a frenzy as she thought of all kinds of things she wanted to do with Acht.

    But, from an outsider''s point of view, she just looked like her usual self.

    "Are you ok?" He asked.

    "We need to start moving now. If we y our cards right, we will not have to fight hordes of people all at once. Prepare yourself." He said as he went outside to check out the area for any intruders.

    Smiley didn''t specify which time of the hour their position would be leaked so they had to be alerted 24/7 without any time for resting.

    After getting herself ready, they left the cave and went deeper into the forest. They could already hear the sound of explosions and loud screams of paining from the distance. People are already fighting even though only a few minutes have passed.

    The duo ignored them and navigated their way through the forest searching for any small teams they could deal with.

    They wanted to hunt down the small teams or solo individuals for easy boosts while evading the areas with high numbers of people such as the areas where safe points were positioned.

    Many would consider it a mindless event for the stronger to get easy points, but it''s actually a tactical event that needed intelligence to get out of it with the best gains. And Acht was a master in that area.

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 52 Chapter 52

    "Hey! Come here! I found the way!" A man whispered to his aplice.

    They were both chosen as bounty hunters and so they were searching for a target to kill. The device had shown them the ce of some targets a few minutes ago and so they embarked on a journey to find them.

    Luckily, they found two of them moving close by, a few hundred meters away from them.

    But, as they moved closer and closer to the targets, they found themselves somehow lost in the forest. The GPS that was linked to the device wasn''t that detailed when ites to showing the intricate routes of the forest since it only gives the rough position of individuals. So, getting lost wasn''t out of the ordinary.

    Fortunately, they were able to find a trace of some humans near their position and they rejoiced since it was a sign that they found what they were looking for.

    "Let''s follow the traces. Those fuckers must be close." He said as touched the broken brunch that had some human footsteps on it.

    Then, slowly and carefully, they moved in the direction of the traces. They kept their senses as awake as they could so as to not miss any small sounds nearby.

    *Tick*

    Suddenly, they heard a cracking sound a few meters away from them. It was faint but in a silent atmosphere like this, it was easy to hear.

    The duo immediately turned around and pulled out their weapons. One of them had a spear and the other had a bow. They teamed up because of thepatibility of their weapons in close and distant fights.

    "Who is there?!" One of them shouted as he wiped a droplet of sweat that covered his vision. He was clearly nervous.

    Then, the bushes where the ticking sound was heard moved suddenly making them jolt in their ces.

    They didn''t dare to approach it and risk getting attacked sneakily. But, staying in one ce is also very dangerous.

    The bushes moved again as if they were alive and it made them feel even more threatened. But, luckily for them, the thing that got out of the bushes a few secondster wasn''t a human.

    It was a small squirrel that was jumping around with two nuts filling his mouth.

    Both of them sighed with relief at the same time.

    "We were scared for no-...what''s that protruding out of your chest?" The man squinted his eyes as he looked at his friend with wariness.

    The other was confused at first so he took a look down. Much to his horror, he found what seemed like a sword de piercing his chest. Blood was already soaking his clothes before he could even feel the pain.

    Then, with a loud thud, he fell down to the ground. His eyes wide open with surprise. He had died without even knowing what happened to him or who was the culprit.

    "Dave!! Who did it!! Who the fuck are you?!" The man held his bow with clear fear stered on his face. He was so scared that he couldn''t even hold the bow properly.

    Then, he saw her. A small girl held a sword in her hand, as she shook off the blood from the de, not even bothering to look at the distressed archer.

    "A kid?!" He muttered with shocked eyes.

    Then, he tried to point his bow at her. But, before he could put the arrow and shoot. He felt a cold sensation around his neck.

    "Don''t make a noise." He heard a whisper behind him then his eyes cked out.

    The man then fell down to the ground just like his partner, revealing who was standing behind him.

    Acht looked at the corpses with indifferent eyes before shifting them to his device. It showed a new message that said '' 1¡Á6 time boost has been acquired''.

    "Did you get the boost message?" He asked Tania.

    "Mm."

    "Good. Is this your first time killing someone?" He asked.

    She nodded her head again. He had his suspicions at first but he ended up hitting the bullseye.

    But, he was still curious about another thing.

    "Doesn''t it affect you?" He asked again.

    He knew how hard it was to kill for the first time. He remembered that he even threw up for his first time and didn''t sleep for a couple of days. It was not easy at all.

    But, Tania seemed to be totally fine, she even looked like she wasn''t standing next to a dead man she killed a few moments ago.

    ''Does she have some kind of trauma?'' he thought to himself.

    She was always this weird person who didn''t express many emotions except for some rare asions. But, he knew deep down that she wasn''t a bad person. That''s probably why he opened up to her and trusted her to some extent.

    ''She doesn''t seem to hate me either.''

    Then, as they both stood there checking out some stuff and eating some food to restore their energy, they sensed an aura approaching them.

    Without saying anything, they both vanished from their initial ce and hid themselves in some ce nearby.

    Then, the person with that aura came out. He was a young man who was breathing heavily. His eyes darted around with worry as if he was looking for something.<sub> </sub>

    Then, as he tried to run again. He felt a cold dagger wrap around his neck and a chillingly cold voice shook him to the core.

    "Move and you will die," Acht said.

    "Y-Y-Yes!!!" The boy answered nervously.

    "Please don''t kill me! I''m not intending to harm you!"

    "Why should I believe that?"

    "No! I''m running away from some people! They are trying to catch me!"

    The boy kept begging with all his might while taking peeks behind him each time to see if the other people wereing or not. He was already in a big problem and now he was in an even bigger one.

    ''They wille any time soon!!! I have no other choice!'' He gritted his teeth while he made up his mind.

    "I-If you spare my life, I will show you something that might pique your interest."

    "Hm? And what''s that?" Acht pulled the knife a few millimeters away for the boy to breathe properly.

    "I-I know the ce of a dungeon in the forest. It''s full of monsters. You can make thousands of points from it!"

    "And what if that was a trap to lure me in?"

    "No! No! I swear on my mother''s life that I''m the only one who knows the location of that dungeon. Please! I beg you!" He shook his head frantically.

    ''How did he even reach the second test?'' Acht wondered to himself.

    This young man was clearly not that powerful and he even seemed like a coward. But, he somehow ended up in this test.

    ''Sigh, should I believe him? He could be another stupid ploy from Livia.''

    All kinds of possibilities came and went through his head as he calcted all possible ideas and solutions. Then, with a small sigh, he released the young man and said.

    "Lead me to the dungeon! But, if you do anything funny¡­ I will make you beg for me to kill you." He threatened with the harshest tone he could muster.

    "You could show up, Tania. I think we found our small piggy bank for this test." He signaled for hispanion toe out.

    The young man looked at Tania and his breath got stuck in his throat. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She was just mind-blowing.

    Without knowing it, he kept gazing at her for 30 seconds non-stop.

    Acht saw that and pped his head roughly.

    "Ugh." The boy grabbed his head and groaned in pain.

    "Wake up from it. I don''t have the whole night to waste."

    Then, he lifted the boy up and pushed him in a random direction.

    "Off you go. I will be walking behind you."

    Then, they left the area walking straight north. It was quite hectic around them since thousands of people were probably fighting to death in every nook and cranny of this forest. But, they evaded them easily with Acht''s sharp senses.

    "How did you find this dungeon?" Acht asked while keeping a look at his surroundings.

    "I-I¡­I found it by pure coincidence when I was searching for some monsters to kill¡­it was well hidden so no one would find it."

    But, suddenly, Acht approached him and grabbed him by the neck. Then, he said calmly.

    "You know¡­There is a certain type of people that I don''t tolerate at all¡­it''s those who lie to me.."

    "No! Please! I didn''t lie! Ugh!"

    "What did you say!" Acht clenched his hand tightly on his neck and made him lose his breath.

    "I¡­.knew it¡­beforehand¡­" the boy blurted out each word with great difficulty.."

    Acht then threw him to the ground and asked.

    "Who are you?"

    "I''m¡­the son of the king¡­"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <

 53 Chapter 53

    "What did you say?" Acht almost didn''t believe his ears so he asked again just to make sure.

    "I-I''m the son of the king of Surgia." The boy said with a new fear in his heart. He thought that maybe Acht had some kind of hatred toward his father. If that was the case, then he might as well start digging his grave.

    Acht stood silent for a couple of moments before asking again.

    "What''s your name?"

    "...Leon Von Surgia¡­" he said with clear wariness in his eyes.

    Acht squinted his eyes to the size of needles while trying to discern whether he was lying or not.

    Then, he smirked slightly with amusement. He was sure of one thing now since he took a good look at his face.

    ''Who thought I would meet one of the main characters of the book here out of all ces.'' He shook his head while scoffing at himself.

    "So, I''m going to assume that this dungeon location was leaked to you because of your status."

    "Yes."

    It seemed like this coward was already aware of what kind of tests the hunter exam will have. That''s totally predictable since Acht knew the hunter association had some corruption going on in its high authorities. As for this, this is nothing but a small bribery or ckmailing at best. He didn''t want to think of what kind of atrocities those bastards did for their own benefits.

    "Sigh, anyway. This won''t change anything, you will still lead me to the dungeon and I will still chop you to pieces if you turn out to be a liar so don''t abuse your own luck. Let''s go."

    "Y-Yes!" The boy stood up as fast as he could and started walking again.

    Acht watched him carefully and then whispered to Tania.

    "You know him?"

    "Mm." She nodded her head quietly.

    "Is he worth trusting?" He asked again as his eyes grew colder and colder by the moment.

    She stood silent for a moment before nodding her head but with less vigor than usual. She also seemed to be suspicious of him but not to the point where she will call him a liar.

    Then, the group continued their journey. Leon seemed to be hesitant even when he was walking since he halted his steps sometimes to take a look at his device and then at the sea of trees around him to search for the location.

    But, luckily, not even one hourter, he seemed to have found the dungeon.

    "It''s here!" He said with a shout of delight. His life was as close to being salvaged as it could get.

    What he pointed at was a small boulder randomly put between the trees. It had a small hole akin to that of a rabbit and a few smaller rocks covering it from the sides, leaving the bare minimum of light to pass through.

    It was quite well hidden and even Acht wasn''t sure of his ability to notice it. It just looked like a boulder that faced the test of time and that hole was nothing but the aftermath of it.

    Acht and Tania looked at each other for a brief moment. They both conveyed their thoughts to each other without even talking much. Then, Acht looked at Leon and said,

    "You could leave." Then, he started pushing the rocks away to enter the whole.

    He was sure that it was a dungeon since the soul energy around it was way denser than the forest and so it had monsters inside.

    "Yes! Thank you so much! I will never forget this favor!" He bowed multiple times with extreme happiness. He had run away from the people that were chasing him and now he also escaped the clutches of a monster in a small boy''s skin. It was as if he died and got reborn multiple times.

    But, as he was about to turn around and leave, Acht pulled him from his cor and made him enter the whole with them.

    "Wh-"

    "Shhhh" He hushed him in a hurry and looked at the outside with his sharp eyes.

    Then, a few momentster, 10 armored men or so passed by the whole. They walked in a clear order as if they were some kind of army.

    Acht could feel the strength of each individual so he was sure they weren''t normal.

    Leon also saw them and he felt his heart jump to his throat. Was it not for Acht pulling him inside, he would''ve been caught easily.

    "Follow me," Acht said as he released Leon from his tight grip and started walking deeper and deeper inside.

    When they walked deep enough that the armored warriors outside couldn''t hear. Acht turned around and spoke with a sarcastic tone.

    "You caught the interest of some interesting fes, huh."

    Leon scratched his head in shame while averting his eyes. It seemed to be a sensitive topic for him. But, Acht couldn''t care less if he was hurt by it.

    "Who are they? And why are they following you?"

    The boy sighed as he heard the questions.<sub> </sub>

    "They are some people hired by our neighboring kingdom to assassinate me. Someone leaked the fact that I will participate in the hunter exam."

    "Why would they want you dead, hm?"

    "Of course, they would want me dead. They don''t see me as ''Leon'' but as ''The son of the strongest powerhouse in the lower world''. I''m a good target to use as a weapon to destroy Surgia."

    ''He seems to be having it rough, huh.'' Acht wondered to himself.

    "Anyway, I can''t let you leave this ce since you will expose this ce and pull us with you. If you want, you could stay here until they leave¡­or you could follow us."

    Leon gulped a mouthful of saliva and his eyes were automatically drawn to the outside where he could see the armored man still walking around and searching.

    "I-I will follow you!"

    ***********************

    While Acht was dealing with these problems, the wheels of fate were changing slowly and quietly.

    In a huge castle-like house, far away from where Acht was at the moment. The ce seemed to be in the middle of a huge metropolitan city.

    The house was as extravagant from the outside as it was from the inside. It was something that only the top 1% of the world could afford.

    Inside a luxurious room in this vi. A woman was sitting behind a desk, writing something on a stack of papers. Her distinctly red hair looked like a string ember of fire shining in the dark room. Her cold eyes kept looking at the papers with deep concentration.

    Then, she heard a knock on the door followed by a respectful voice.

    "Ms. Scarlett, the patriarch is asking for you." The voice said with a calm tone.

    "I will being shortly." She answered as she stacked the papers again and stood up. Then, her eyes were briefly drawn to the window where she could see a full moon shining faintly as it created a huge shadow, lurking over the city.

    This scenery made her remember a certain boy she met not that long ago. She remembered how they trained under such a light of the moon. His distinct features, his ck hair, and even his expressions, she remembers them all extremely well.

    ''Hmm~ is he doing ok? Maybe he''s in trouble? No! I should stop being a worrywart. My cute Acht will never fail to do anything~ He''s strong and capable enough~ and¡­.Hmm~"

    She bit her mouth seductively as she imagined all kinds of scenes in her head. Since the moment she had met him, all she could think about was his silhouette. He was now the sole thing she cared about and longed for.

    ''When will you grow up~ I can''t wait for that~ I might lose my patience~'' She blushed slightly at her own lewd thoughts before shaking her head and returning to her cold expression.

    Then, she left the room and walked down the hallway. Then, she stopped in front of a huge door.

    *Knock* *Knock*

    She knocked lightly and waited for a reply.

    "You cane in." A deep voice answered almost immediately.

    She then opened the door and entered inside. The room was even bigger than hers and even more extravagant. Everything in it is an expensive object worth a fortune by the world''s standards.

    "Is there any problem, father?" She asked.

    "Sit down, Scarlett. I need to talk to you." The man answered.

    He was middle-aged and handsome. His body was sturdy and his aura was almost near that of Thyrus. He was the patriarch of the GoldKnight family. Damian GoldKnight.

    Scarlett nodded and took a seat not far away from his desk.

    "I won''t take much of your time. But, I was curious about some things. Where have you disappeared for thest 3 weeks?" He asked.

    Scarlett didn''t flinch and answered with her usual calm tone.

    "I found a mission that I could get some useful rewards from so I took some time to finish it."

    The man squinted his eyes slightly before nodding his head.

    He had his suspicions but he didn''t want to corner his dear daughter any longer. He loved her a lot after all.

    "Hm, I understand. Anyway, I didn''t invite you here to only ask about that. I wanted to inform you of something important actually." He said as he stood up and walked to a huge window by his desk.

    "You are getting engaged."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 54 Chapter 54

    "Engaged? To whom?" She asked with slight confusion.

    This was the first time her father ever mentioned this topic to her. He was always a caring father even though he was most of the time cold and tough, but, in front of his daughter, he just breaks that hard front he put for himself and shows her his true self. So, for her father to decide something like this out of his own ord without telling her is weird.

    "Those bastards from the SletherMoon family have found the gates for the deeper parts of Ecrasia. We''ve been stuck on the shores for a long time so this is some big news. But, they still didn''t want to release it. They wanted my cooperation in passing those gates and that came out as a marriage proposal to make it more solid."

    Scarlett was greatly shocked by this news. It has been hundreds of years since humans discovered the mysterious. The only way there is from portals fueled by soul force. These portals will only send them to the shores of the. Even when many tried to pass a certain point and enter deeper into the''snds, there was a strong barrier that stopped them.

    So, discovering a way to get into the deeper parts is nothing less of a massive discovery worthy of admiration.

    ''But, how did they find it? The shores are almost as big as the lower world?'' She fell into deep thought and totally forgot about the engagement thing.

    So, Damien had no other choice but to make a small cough to wake her up from her dazed state.

    "You know me, Scarlett. I would never make a choice that concerns your future without telling you. But, this time is an exception. Getting into the deeper parts before everyone is going to boost our strength by a huge margin. It''s a priceless treasure."

    He tried to reason with her and make her ept so that it could ease up the guilt he felt for stealing his daughter''s love life.

    "Hmm? Who''s the one I''m getting engaged to?"

    "The youngest son of the patriarch." He answered as he anticipated her reply.

    Scarlett took a small sigh under her breath and then looked at her dad.

    "Could you arrange for a meeting between us? Then, I will decide based on that." She said with a small smile.

    Her father''s eyes gained more light as he felt a huge weight fall off his shoulders. He heard that the youngest son was the most outstanding and talented, so he assumed he would be up to Scarlett''s standards.

    "Good, very good. I will inform you when the meeting is scheduled." He said as he sat down again and returned to work.

    Scarlett excused herself and left the room. The moment she closed the door and walked away from the room, her calm look totally disappeared.

    Instead, a murderous intent that could shake anyone to the core escaped her body. Her calm face turned into that of extreme anger that could make the devil look like an innocent child.

    ''I will kill him with my own hands.'' She thought to herself without any hesitation.

    She didn''t care about her family nor the consequences of her actions. The only thing that mattered was the person she cared about the most. She would rather die a thousand times rather than be remotely connected to another man other than the one she chose for herself.

    "You better not ept this invitation." She muttered quietly so no one could hear her.

    Then, with the calm yet ominous sounds of her heels hitting the ground, she disappeared beyond the veil of darkness like a nocturnal predator ready for his hunt.

    ****************************

    "....what is this?" Leon said with his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

    It had been exactly two hours since they entered the dungeon and so they met dozens of monsters inside. This dungeon seemed to be a Naga''s dungeon.

    They are creatures that resemble snakes but with upper bodies simr to that of humans. They have two arms simr to that of a human and even weapons to fight with.

    At first nce, Leon thought it was going to be a hard journey down the dungeon. But, he could never be more wrong.

    What ensued in that ce was nothing short of a massacre. Acht and Tania easily obliterated the Nagas as if they were nothing worth mentioning.

    Leon took a look around him for a brief moment before he averted his eyes as he felt the urge to throw up reach his throat.

    Dozens of corpses and snakeheads were everywhere. They were all either decapitated cleanly or chopped to pieces. Some of them even had some crystal-like objects plunged into every part of their bodies like a cursed art piece. The ce was so bloody that it was extremely hard to find a clean ce to stand on.

    "Did you collect their soul stones?" Acht asked Tania.

    She showed him her hands that were filled with soul stones and then threw them in her storage ring.<sub> </sub>

    "We will split themter," he said as he looked at the deeper parts of the dungeon.

    Acht felt the difficulty of the opponents be harder as they went inside more. They were still pretty easy to kill since they were brainless monsters with immature fighting skills but that made him wary of what kind of boss he would find at the end.

    The trio then continued walking with Leon keeping a distance from the two as he walked timidly. Every small sound would make him jolt in his ce with fear.

    "You are a very weird person, I might say." Acht suddenly spoke to Leon.

    "H-How is that?"

    "The way you''ve been acting since the moment we met is proof that you have never faced any dangerous situation in your life. How did you pass the first phase of the hunter exam?"

    Leon felt his cheeks be as red as an apple. He felt shameful that he was seen as a coward because of his stupid fear.

    It was indeed true, he had never faced any danger in his life. In fact, except for some light training from time to time, he had never been that fond of getting stronger. He was the 6th child of the king so the chances of him bing the heir to the throne are next to none. So, what''s the point of training when all he could do is sit down and watch his other siblings bask in the glory.

    That was why he found a shelter in reading books and experimenting with objects and animals. He even had a smallboratory in his room that he was in almost 24/7.

    But, his father didn''t want him to stay like that and tarnish his name so he decided that he will at least get a hunter''s license so he could at least reduce the judging looks people had for him.

    "....I just got pulled into it...." He answers without exining anything.

    ''Father said that I should only stay here for a few days then leave since it would appear suspicious if I passed all the tests without even participating.''

    As they were conversing like this. They heard a sounding from the darkness ahead of them.

    It was simr to the hissing of Nagas except it was a notch louder.

    Acht extended his head as a signal for them to stop. Tania had already created a crystal and was floating in her hand waiting for the monster to appear.

    Then, out of the darkness, a huge Naga came out. It was way bigger than the others. But, what made it even more surprising is one single thing that Acht noticed.

    "Tania, use your crystal immediately. This isn''t the dungeon boss." He shouted somemands as he dashed toward it.

    The creature held a great sword on its shoulder. Then, it clenched its fists on the de and swung it down with a strong force.

    *Boom*

    Thend beneath Acht crumbled to dust as the sword hit it, barely missing Acht by a few inches.

    He then looked above and saw a small object fly toward the Naga''s eye, piercing it cleanly.

    "SSSSSSSSS!" The monster cried in pain as it lost its bnce.

    Acht used that chance and jumped on top of the creature. Then, he pierced its other eye. Blood sttered everywhere and the Naga was already rendered into a motionless monster.

    The sword had pierced its brain so it died immediately.

    Acht then jumped down and wiped a stain of blood on his face.

    ''There is something suspicious about this ce. A monster of that size should''ve been the boss. Yet, it seems to be nothing but a mob. We need to be careful.''

    (A//N: We finally got the contract. Thanks for your support <3 )

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <

 55 Chapter 55

    "Get up¡­we gotta go." Acht''s gaze was drawn to Leon who was hiding in a corner of the corridor with his hands hugging his legs making him look like a human ball.

    He then peeked from his shell like a scared turtle and then stood up with a sigh of relief. When he witnessed the Naga, he felt all of his body freeze and his mind went nk.

    He felt extreme terror from it and immediately ran to hide. It was a pathetic move that made even Leon loath himself let alone the other two with him.

    ''I''m a hopeless coward.'' He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. The frustration he felt at that moment greatly surpassed any other thing he ever felt.

    His weakness was always something that bugged his head but he had always tried to cover it with measly excuses. But, deep down he knew that he was irredeemably weak mentally and physically.

    He then looked at Acht and Tania with apprehensive eyes. Even though they barely met a few hours ago, he had already seen what they were capable of and he honestly admired their strength, their unyielding wills, and their strong personalities.

    They looked like shining stars in his eyes, something that he might think it''s easy to reach but when he extends his hand, he sees the difference between them.

    ''Why am I even walking with them?'' He thought to himself as he chuckled sadly. It was almost a bad joke for him.

    "I''m really an irredeemable and cowardly weak garbage. It''s impossible for me to change so why do I even think about it?" He muttered.

    " Yes, you are a coward and a weakling."

    He suddenly heard the voice of Acht. He lifted his eyes to look at him. He was also gazing at Leon with calm eyes.

    "You are indeed a coward who runs from anything that could remotely threaten him. You are also a naive idiot who relies on his father''s influence to get it easy." Acht recited those harsh words as if he was reading a notebook.

    Leon was shocked at first but soon smiled sadly and said,

    "You are right¡­.you are totally righ-"

    "But, you aren''t irredeemable. You could still fix yourself."

    "....what?"

    "The fact that you thought of yourself as ''irredeemable'' shows that you are still not a lost cause."

    The words that Acht said reached something deep in his heart. They weren''t nice or even remotely helpful, but the honesty of Acht''s words made him feel something click in his heart.

    "You still don''t understand what unfixable things could be, the regret you will live with because of those mistakes and those weaknesses, and theck of self-reflection after such mistakes. You still have a long way to go before you could regret anything. So don''t go around spouting such nonsense, you fucking weak bastard."

    Then, the boy left Leon and walked away. Tania took a look at Leon once before she also followed Acht.

    "Hehehe¡­." Heughed slightly.

    Then, gradually, hisugh became stronger and stronger until he couldn''t hold himself at all. He didn''t know why, but he felt likeughing loudly at that particr moment.

    At some point, two tear droplets fell down his cheek. He was indeed in a weird state that not many will get.

    "He is¡­crazy?" Tania muttered quietly.

    "No, he''s just messing up his old self," Acht answered casually as he walked without looking back.

    "Why¡­help him?" She asked Acht curiously.

    The boy didn''t answer immediately. He also didn''t know why he said those words to him in the first ce. He didn''t have any kind of goodwill toward Leon and he honestly couldn''t care less about his situation.

    "Something in his words¡­reminded me of an idiot I know who fucked up a lot when he was young." He said with aplicated look stered on his face.

    Tania seemed to notice that as she kept looking at him while she closed up the distance between them. Then, she tucked his shirt with an adorable expression.

    "Sad?"

    Her cute puppy eyes made Acht flinch for a moment before chuckling slightly.

    "It''s ok¡­that idiot got punished plenty. He should be fine now."

    Suddenly, as they were shaving this small chat, a hissing sound made them look ahead. It seemed to be a normal Naga from the sound of it.

    Acht was about to pull his sword to deal with it. But, much to his surprise, a silhouette passed beside him running madly.

    "HAAAAAAAAAA!!" He shouted like some heroic warrior as he charged at the Naga without any n in mind.

    Acht struck his head with a loud sigh.

    "That fucking idiot."

    Leon closed up the distance between him and the Naga. He then pulled out a small dagger that he had in his storage ring.

    But, before he could even try to swing his dagger, the Naga had already attacked him with its spear and was almost close to piercing his head.

    *Swish*<sub> </sub>

    Suddenly, a dagger flew right beside Leon''s head, cutting a few strands of his hair before prating the snake''s eye, killing it on the spot.

    "Scratch my words from before¡­You are irredeemably stupid." Acht said as he watched Leon breath heavily while he stared wide-eyed at the dead Naga.

    "I didn''t feel fear¡­" he muttered to himself in disbelief.

    He didn''t feel his body freeze or his mind going nk. Even though he almost got himself killed, he didn''t feel disheartened but a surge of adrenaline filled his body and heightened his senses.

    "This¡­is amazing! I didn''t feel any fear¡­Hahahahah!!!! I didn''t feel any fear!"

    Leon started jumping left and right madly as he shouted the same words again and again.

    Acht and Tania watched this with difficult expressions.

    "You know¡­I think he did go crazy." Acht muttered to hispanion as he didn''t know whether tough or cry at the weird young man.

    So, to not make things any more awkward than they really were. Both of them left him in his special moment and continued walking.

    They spent a long time inside the dungeon so they reckoned they shouldplete it quickly and leave the ce.

    Finally, after a few more minutes, they found the ce they were looking for¡­The dungeon boss room.

    "The moment we enter¡­Be ready for any sneak attacks from the boss. Also, watch out for the ceiling." He gave her some advice.

    "As for you¡­don''t even think about entering if you value your life. I can''t bother to keep saving you if you''re going to be in danger."

    Then, Acht opened the door and entered inside.

    It was surprisingly easy to see since torches were burning inside and the room wasn''t particrly big.

    But, there was no trace of the boss around them. So, Acht immediately shifted his eyes to the ceiling. And he was indeed right, the Naga boss was stuck to the ceiling looking at them with its eerie red eyes.

    "Be careful! It''s above us."

    The boss heard Acht''s voice and immediately spat out a green liquid out of its mouth.

    It seemed to be a poison so both of them jumped away from it. The moment the poison touched the ground, it started melting like a stick of butter.

    Tania immediately conjured three crystals and darted them at the boss. But, the Naga was smart enough and it used its hands to p away the crystals.

    During that time, Acht had already jumped close to the Naga, then he used his gravity and pulled the Naga down with all of his power. He wanted to shift the fight to a closebat rather than this disadvantage created by the difference of grounds, especially since this Naga could spit out the venom with a high speed.

    "SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS?!!!" The Naga was surprised so it couldn''t react in time.

    *Boom* *Thud*

    The huge frame of the creature destroyed the ground beneath it.

    Acht looked at it as hended slowly. But, before the cloud of dust even settled, the Naga had already spat venom in his direction.

    "Shit." Acht cursed as he looked at Tania who was already on the move.

    She immediately created a square-shaped crystal the size of her body and sent it flying in Acht''s direction too.

    The crystal and the streak of venom met mid-air and collided violently.

    Luckily, the crystal worked as a good shield to protect Acht from the dangerous liquid.

    ''Good job!'' Heplimented her in his head as he used that opportunity and Pulled out one of his knives.

    "Take this, you fucking lizard!" He then applied all of his gravity maniptions to the knife.

    Then, with a full swing of his arm, sent it flying.

    In normal cases, such an attack would''ve broken the knife since the skin of the Naga was tough and hard to crack.

    But, the gravity applied to it made it as strong, if not stronger, than a bazooka attack. The power of gravity was simply that strong.

    The knife almost broke the sound barrier as it flew down like a missile.

    *Baaaaang*

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 56 Chapter 56

    Achtnded swiftly on the ground, then he waited for the monster to see if it died or not. That attack was extremely powerful but it needed some conditions to be used again so Acht couldn''t use it freely.

    ''I can still feel its aura¡­is it still alive?'' He thought to himself as he signaled for Tania to move to the other side to encircle it.

    *Swish*

    Out of nowhere, the Naga suddenly moved out of the dust at an rming speed trying to catch Tania who was standing behind her off-guard. The other didn''t freak out and immediately evaded the Naga.

    But, the monster was very tenacious, it kept following Tania while she kept throwing crystals at her regrly.

    Acht didn''t waste any time and closed the distance between him and the Naga and jumped on top of it.

    The creature was moving its body left and right to move so he immediately lost bnce. So, he used the sword and plunged it in between its scales to support his body.

    "SSSSSSSSS!!!!"

    The monster cried in pain and looked behind it. Its focus immediately changed to Acht and it tried to bite him with its huge mouth.

    "Tough luck." He said as he jumped barely a few milliseconds before its mouth could swallow him whole.

    What happened instead was that the creature bit its own body. Its teeth were extremely sharp so it easily prated the armor of scales it had.

    Green and disgusting blood sttered from its back like a fountain. The Naga''s eyes widened in shock before it tried to release the grip it had on its own body.

    "No, you don''t. Taste yourself for some more time." Achtnded on its head and increased the weight of its head so it could stay stuck like that.

    Then, to put thest nail in the coffin, he plunged his sword into its eye.

    The Naga boss lost its mind from the sheer pain it felting from all kinds of ces on its body.

    Acht knew that staying on top of it while it was in such a state is not good so he immediately hopped off and created a distance between them.

    The boss started fidgeting and moving madly with its upper body. Then, it suddenly stopped and did something unexpected.

    Every scale on its body suddenly stood up, it was as if they were some kind of arrows about to be shot.

    "Shit. Create a crystal barrier quickly!" He said to Tania as he pulled them away as far as they could from the monster.

    He could stop some of the scales that reach him but he won''t get out of this unscathed.

    Tania immediately conjured a huge barrier and imnted it in the ground in front of them so it could hold on for a little longer.

    The Naga then screeched the loudest since they saw it as if it was itsst scream. Then, it sted the scales on all of its body in onest major attack.

    The scales were extremely solid and hard to crack so they could also work as dangerous bullets.

    *Swish* *Swish* *Swish*

    The ear-splitting sounds of the scales flying everywhere filled their ears and made them squint.

    Then scales immediately struck the barrier, creating cracks in it. With each scale, the barrier kept cracking gradually.

    ''It won''t hold on¡­I need to do something.'' Acht looked around him hurriedly.

    He needed to reduce the pressure on the barrier. But, to do that, he needed some kind of object that could work as a temporary barrier.

    But, he couldn''t find anything that could do that.

    As he was about to look at Tania, he found her drinking a potion while her other hand extended to keep the barrier working since it needs a constant fuel of her soul force.

    Then, she did something he didn''t expect. She clenched her fist and broke the barrier, then, she immediately conjured another barrier simultaneously. The two barriers were swiftly reced.

    Acht was speechless for a while, he didn''t know she had that amazing control over her gift. People might not know but making the feet she just did was simply worthy of admiration considering her age.

    The barrage of scales finally stopped and the Naga fell down to the ground, unmoving like a corpse.

    Acht kept looking at Tania who was oblivious at first, but then she felt his gaze and unconsciously turned to face him.

    "You did¡­.a good job." He said with some difficulty.

    She has always been a mysterious person to him. He didn''t know her origin, her family, or even her age. So, he was surprised by many things that she was capable of.

    "MN." She nodded her head as usual and then turned around.

    When Acht was unable to see her face, she made a wide smile that would creep anyone out and a blush colored her cheeks.

    But, that expression vanished as fast as it appeared.<sub> </sub>

    "It says in the book that that creature will give us 5000 points. So, 2500 for you and 2500 for me. Which means each one of us will have 15000 points if we consider the boost."

    Acht said while reading the guidebook for the test.

    Then, he started walking closer to the Naga boss so he could take his soul stone.

    But, as he was about to reach him, a familiar sensation took over his body. It was something he felt not too long ago.

    ''Am I losing consciousness again? Isn''t it enough already, you fucking bitch?!'' Acht tried to curse but he lost consciousness immediately so he didn''t have a chance to do anything.

    He knew clearly where he was going to be when he woke up and he hated it. He even hoped that it would be nothing but an aftermath of exhausting himself but he knew that it was not the case at all.

    When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting on a chair in a shady ce. His fuzzy feeling disappeared and he heard the sound of someone moaning.

    He looked around and saw the man he captured before. He then looked around and saw through the window a girl standing outside.

    He stood up from the chair and walked to the man. He then kicked him in the stomach to knock him unconscious before sitting down again.

    ''That insane goddess wants me to face Dia again, huh? She really fully bent on making me do it.''

    He closed his eyes to think for a moment. A few words he heard before came back to him.

    "Hehe, I still only think of myself even though this is nothing but an illusion." He chuckled sadly and then opened his eyes.

    "Fuck it. I have no other choice. If shees to hate me, I will ept it." He then stood up and walked outside of the room.

    He saw Dia resting her arms on the balcony of the worn-out building.

    He felt words get stuck in his throat for a good moment. But, he forced himself to calm down and spoke to Dia in a gentle voice.

    "Are you ok?"

    She was silent for a second before she sighed quietly and said.

    "Can I ask you one question?"

    Acht walked to her side and also rested his arms on the balcony.

    "Go ahead."

    "...Why do you want to hide this secret from me this much¡­Is it that bad? Will it make me sad?" She spoke as the agitation grew in her voice. She was clearly still not stable emotionally.

    Acht didn''t answer at first. He was at loss for words since every question was like a needle piercing his heart.

    But, if he had one thing going for him, it''s that if he decided to do something, he will see it till the end.

    After taking a deep breath to calm his beating heart.

    "Fine¡­I will tell you the truth. It may sound ridiculous and unbelievable. But I swear that whatever you will hear right now is the truth."

    Dia looked at him and waited for him to continue.

    "I''m not actually from this world¡­."

    "...What do you mean?"

    "What I mean is¡­I''m Acht¡­but from 30 yearster¡­I''m from the future."

    He kept his eyes away from her face, not wanting to see her reaction.

    So, before she could say anything. He added.

    "I want to tell you what happened in all of these years¡­What happened to me¡­What happened to you¡­and what happened to our future.."

    He then turned around and looked at her.

    "Would you please listen to this story?"

    Dia was speechless as her mind was assaulted with all of this hard-to-ept information but she was able to muster the strength to nod her head somehow.

    "It all started after we left the slums¡­.."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 57 Chapter 57

    "It all started when we left the slums¡­We had already been old enough to find real jobs so we were able to save enough money to leave this shit hole."

    Saying these words, his mind wandered back in time to those days. They were the best moments of his life. Leaving the slums, earning more money, and eating proper food all while sharing these moments with Dia¡­It was all perfect to the point where he felt like it was too good to be true.

    Then, just like any other aspect of life, it got worse very quickly.

    "Even though we thought that we shed away our past and left it behind¡­.it kept chasing us. Because of that, we were fired from those jobs and kicked out of the ce we rented¡­No one would want a child from a dangerous area of the city like the slums to live near them."

    He sighed under his breath as he clenched his teeth. What ensued after that was tragic, to say the least. They passed days without finding a single piece of stale bread and even had to search the trash cans for anything that could be considered food. They also had to drink water from ponds.

    When they were working under the boss, they at least had a roof over their head and some food on a daily basis. But, in that period of time, they didn''t have anything. Or to be more precise, they lost everything.

    "No matter how much I searched for any type of job to get us through the hunger ....I couldn''t find anything¡­I still remember how you¡­."

    He felt the hair on his arms stand whenever he remembered that scene. The scene of Dia tying a big rock around her stomach to relieve some of the pain she felt in her stomach from theck of food, all while giving him the scraps of food she found with a huge effort.

    "....Why didn''t we go back to the slums?" She asked with a low voice. She couldn''t believe her ears.

    Acht chuckled sadly as he shook his head.

    "Did you really think that we didn''t try that? I had to suffer the pain of a broken arm for weeks after we met the boss again. He would''ve almost killed you if I didn''t stop him." He said with a slightly colder tone.

    A breath got stuck in Dia''s throat as she heard his words. Her eyes started watering slightly and her mind became a chaotic mess of emotions.

    "When we reached that point¡­I thought we would die¡­Seeing how you were withering away each day¡­How your body was deteriorating at a rapid pace¡­I really was on the verge of giving up¡­ That''s when I met him¡­."

    Acht''s eyes lost focus for a moment as he recalled how they met on that fateful day.

    "I was searching through the trash can as usual¡­I recall it was a really bad day and I didn''t find anything to eat¡­the hunger made me lose my temper so I kicked the trash can in anger and cursed loudly¡­Then, a weird man with a huge ck coat and a ck hat approached me¡­"

    Acht then stopped for a moment to collect himself. It was really hard for him to talk about that past. It was akin to Pandora''s box in a sense for him. So, it was already amazing that he was able to face Dia with the truth without breaking down.

    "He told me that I looked pathetic and other harsh words that made mesh out at him¡­Then, he said that he has a solution for me¡­to join his organization and earn a lot of money to escape that killing poverty¡­."

    Dia wiped the tears on her face and asked.

    "What kind of organization?"

    "...."

    Acht opened his mouth to speak before closing it again.

    ''I already made up my mind, goddammit.'' he clenched his teeth before taking a breath.

    "A hitman organization¡­."

    Silence. An Absolute silence that not even the sounds of cars could ease up by a bit. Acht felt each second pass like an hour as he waited for Dia to speak.

    "...I see¡­so you became¡­a hitman?"<sub> </sub>

    He nodded his head quietly.

    "I had no other choice¡­If I didn''t do that¡­I would''ve seen you die in my arms¡­I couldn''t live with that memory in my head¡­It would''ve been torture¡­"

    "...."

    "I started training as a hitman in that organization and soon our financial situation became a lot better and we were able to change our lives...Though, I kept that job a secret since I didn''t want to make you hate me¡­But, what happened was something that even I didn''t expect¡­It was the huge cost of such a risky job¡­"

    He then lifted himself up and leaned on the wall behind him.

    "Since the moment I joined that organization¡­I had a talent for that job and quickly rose up the ranks of hitmen there¡­I was able to take most job calls and became the most wanted hitmen by the clients¡­this angered the other hitmen and they tried to kill me multiple times but I was able toe out unscathed each time¡­"

    "So, they took a different approach to the situation. Instead of targeting me, they decided to target¡­you." He pointed at Dia with his hand. His limbs were shaking slightly and his breathing was slightly erratic.

    Dia was silent all this time. The only thing she did was silently listen to the story with tears filling her eyes.

    "I was oblivious to it¡­But, one day¡­when I came home¡­I found the door broken¡­I was shocked and I ran inside to check out what happened¡­the whole Appartement was destroyed¡­it was as if a war had just happened inside¡­I shouted your name multiple times as I ran around searching every room¡­Then, I found youying in one of the rooms, soaked in your own blood."

    A tear fell down his eye as he shook his head left and right. The image was still as vivid as it could get. It lived rent-free in his head.

    "At first, I thought you died¡­But when I checked your condition¡­I found you still breathing albeit weakly¡­your eyes have been sliced with a knife and your legs were broken beyond recognition¡­Those fuckers¡­They didn''t want to kill you¡­they wanted you to live like a cripple for the rest of your life¡­"

    At that point, Acht was already crying. He couldn''t hold himself any longer. He wasn''t a cold and ruthless person from the start. It''s this cruel world that shaped him to be that devil. It was the scars that got inflicted on him throughout his life that made him that emotionless and that scene of Dia in that state was like thest nail in the coffin for him.

    After ending his long monologue. He looked at Dia and waited for her reaction. He had already forgotten the fact that this was an illusion created by the goddess to y with him. He wanted to see how Dia would have reacted if he told her the truth.

    A few moments passed, then, Dia suddenly stood up and walked to his side. Then, she looked down at him with her deep blue eyes and muttered a few incoherent words that he couldn''t understand.

    "What di-"

    Before he could even mutter any words, he felt his body getting pulled and then a soft feeling invaded his senses. Dia had pulled him into a tight hug. Then, with her soft hands, she started caressing his hair in the most gentle way possible, as if she was dealing with a piece of ss that was about to break.

    "You went through a lot, Acht¡­it''s ok¡­everything is ok¡­I know that you have been trying to put on that front for a long time¡­but, it''s ok to empty out your feelings from time to time¡­"

    Her words were like a divine melody in his ears. A symphony of sadness and joy, of hope and despair. It was a contrasting mix of emotions that yed with his heart.

    "I will never hate you, Acht¡­No matter how much you think you are a bad person or a cruel human being¡­I know deep down that you are caring and kind...So, don''t me yourself or anything¡­I don''t me you on anything and I don''t think that the future me would''ve hated you because of it either."

    Acht couldn''t believe her words. How could she forgive him just like that? After all the things that happened to her because of him? After all that suffering and lying and all the pain, she felt all her life. How could she be that merciful?

    ''No¡­she had always been like that¡­She had always been overly kind.'' He smiled as he closed his eyes and let the tears trail down his face freely.

    There was no reason to put on a front at this point. Just for once, he wanted to stop being what people saw him as and be something that he wished to be once. Something that was the direct opposite of what he was now.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 58 Chapter 58

    They both stayed in that position for a long time. For the first time in a while, Acht felt peace. All of his life, he had to face all kinds of hardships and suffer from all kinds of painful experiences. But, at this exact moment, he felt as if all of that was nothing...As if that was really nothing but a bad dream that he finally woke up from.

    But, he wasn''t some kind of delusional maniac. He knew very well that this peaceful time was nothing but an illusion. It was painful for him to be aware of that but he was also somehow satisfied since he was able to face one of his eternal fears.

    ''I should leave now. it''s already been too much to stay here. I might even start entertaining the thought of living here forever.'' He chuckled at his own thoughts before releasing himself from Dia''s grip and wiping the tears from his face.

    "Are you fine now?"

    "Yeah, I feel a lot better because of you. Thanks, old hag!" He smiled at her.

    "Ohoh! You little shit! I told you millions of times to stop calling me old hag! I''m 16!" She shouted loudly.

    Achtughed at her all-too-familiar of a reaction and then took a long look at her face.

    She saw that change of expression and stood silent for a moment.

    "Are you going to leave?" She asked.

    "...Yes, I have to. I already stayed here longer than I expected." He answered as he shook his head.

    "I see¡­" Her expression immediately turned to that of a sad person. She seemed to understand the situation so she didn''t say anything else.

    "Anyway¡­I''m going to leave now...But, don''t worry¡­We will meet again for sure¡­I promise you that¡­"

    "...keep your word, ok?"

    "You know that I always keep my words, right?" He waved his hand up and down as if he was dismissing her words.

    "Yeah, I was just making sure¡­"

    Then, with a small hesitation, Acht turned around and walked inside the room again. He wanted to take a second look at her but he shook his head as he knew that if he looked at her again he would lose his resolve.

    Then, he sat down on the chair and tried to fall asleep again. It seemed to be the trigger for his transportation from that world to the normal world so he tried it.

    A few momentster, he felt his eyelids lose their strength and his body rxedpletely. Then, without any sounds, he fell asleep.

    Through his closing eyes, he saw something that he almost didn''t believe. It was just a mere fraction of a second that made him question his eyes. Dia, who had been looking at him with a regretful expression, smiled widely. Almost, too widely.

    p ''Was it my imagination?''</anda>

    But, since his mind wasn''t fully working, that scene disappeared from his memory the next second.

    When he opened his eyes again, the first thing that weed him was the familiar ceiling of the dungeon and the eerie sound of the inner walls of this giant cave invaded his ears. He took a good moment to make sense of his state and then he helped himself up.

    Tania was also sitting near him just like the previous time. Even though he had experienced this before, she was still extremely worried about him so she didn''t care about personal space and lunged at him like a small predator.

    Acht almost fell down again because of her sudden jump but he supported their weight with his right hand.

    Tania buried her face in his chest and then asked.

    "Bad dream?"

    Acht didn''t answer immediately but took his time to remember what happened carefully.

    "No¡­it wasn''t that bad after all."

    But, there was something that kept bugging his mind. The fact that this illusion was created by the goddess is a given and she even admitted to it. So, he didn''t know why she made him confess to Dia even though it ended up being a good thing to do.

    ''Didn''t she want to make me her own ything? This all seems to be extremely weird. What''s her goal?''

    All kinds of questions popped up in his head like a bad advertisement on a shady website. But, he had no clear answer to any of it. In fact, the more he asked himself the more confused he became.

    But, even if he had answers to these questions, he didn''t have any way to prevent Livia from doing whatever she wanted¡­not for now at least.

    "Tania¡­could you please release me from your grip?" He asked the cute girl that was hugging him like a squid.

    But, the small girl refused to budge or release him.

    ''What should I do with her?'' He sighed inwardly and sat down for a moment until she would release him.

    He took a look at the monster and it seemed that Tania had already extracted the soul stone out of its body.

    "How long did I stay unconscious for?"

    "I¡­don''t know." She said.<sub> </sub>

    Then, after almost 5 minutes of just pure hugging, she retreated slightly and released him.

    "Are you good now?"

    She nodded in response with her face more rxed now.

    "Good, because we need to leave this ce now. The smell is disgusting here."

    Then, both of them stood up and walked out of the boss room. Outside, they found Leonying down in the corner snoring like a panda. A trail of saliva traced his chin all the way to his neck and his mouth was open wide like a Hippo. He seemed to have fallen asleep after waiting for a long time.

    Acht walked to him and kicked him roughly. The boy was sent flying beforending head first on the ground.

    "Aww!!!" He screamed in pain as he scratched his nose.

    "What was that for?!" He shouted with an annoyed tone.

    "Your snoring makes me want to kill you¡­Do you want me to kill you?" Acht asked with a cold tone.

    "N-No! I-I apologize, sir!"

    "Good! Get your ass up¡­We are gonna leave!" He ordered him before walking ahead with Tania by his side.

    "It won''t harm anyone if you were a little bit nicer." Leon could only mutter with puffy cheeks.

    "What did you say?" Acht pretended he didn''t hear him and asked in a threatening tone.

    "Nothing!!!!" Leon jumped on his legs and ran after them like a small scared pet.

    The trio walked all the way back to the entrance of the tunnel. They had already cleared it so the trip back was way shorter than before.

    Acht checked the surroundings before they got out to see if the guards were still there or not. Turns out the area was extremely calm¡­almost too calm.

    ''Huh? What is this weird feeling?'' Acht released his aura, even more, to check a bigger area yet he didn''t find anything.

    It was as if every existence in that vicinity vanished from existence. Even animals didn''t seem to be walking around near the tunnel.

    Tania and Leon were about to walk out but Acht stopped them with his hand and asked them to keep their mouths shut. Then, he closed his eyes and tried to sense any kind of abnormalities other than theck of living beings around the ce.

    *Swish*

    As he was doing so, he heard a small sounding from a little farther away. The moment his ears caught that sound, all rms in his body turned off and he insensitively moved to the side. His movement was enough for him to dodge an arrow flying at him.

    But, because it was a sneak attack, the arrow scratched Acht''s cheek and made a small cut on his face. A trail of blood found its way down his face.

    Yet, even with this, he didn''t panic and calmly spoke to his twopanions.

    "There are some people hiding in the bushes outside. I don''t know how many but there seems to be quite a few of them."

    Then, he immediately pulled one of the boulders outside with his gift and closed the hole to the dungeon.

    Then, he pulled Leon roughly and started touching all of his body.

    "W-What are-"

    "Shut up." Acht silenced him and kept on searching his body nonstop.

    Then, in the lower part of his stomach, he found a small ck chip stuck to it.

    He immediately knew that it was a tracking device.

    "Dammit." He clicked his tongue and crushed the chip.

    "They are tracking your position all this time? You fucking moron." Acht was displeased.

    ''Tch, I need to calm down. It''s probably something he didn''t know about. How are we going to deal with them now?''

    There was also one other thing that bugged his mind. It was the fact that he couldn''t sense their presence even though they were in the range of his soul aura.

    (Note: I''m searching for a good proofreader who could help me out with chapters. If any one of you could volunteer and have confidence in his English skill then answer thisment. It''s for free though so sorry :) )

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 59 Chapter 59

    As he was thinking about a solution, he instinctively wiped the trail of blood on his face since it kept trickling down on the ground.

    But, because of this, he discovered something bizarre happening. He touched his own blood again.

    ''Why is it not stopping?'' He thought to himself. With his new powers, small cuts in his body will stop bleeding almost immediately. But, this one was still profusely oozing out blood.

    He immediately walked to the arrow and picked it up to check it. Now that he saw it more clearly, it was indeed not normal at all.

    The arrow was as dark as a piece of charcoal and as sturdy as the hardest metal. Its frame was riddled with all kinds of iprehensible runes and ancientnguage of some kind.

    ''I know this arrow¡­It''s a soul artifact. Dammit! It must''ve had some kind of power to stop my body from reacting properly to the injury.'' Acht cursed under his breath and immediately took out a small potion to drink it. He didn''t want to waste potions on such trivial injuries but he had no other choice if he didn''t want to die from loss of blood.

    "Now, listen carefully! We are essentially trapped here. So, our only way out of this is to either fight them or get captured. I''m not keen on the second one so I will go with the first choice. What about you, Bird brain?" He asked Leon.

    "I-I will definitely get killed if they capture me."

    "I will take that as a yes. Ok, now listen to what we should do. Tania, I need your help with something so be ready."

    Then, he told them his idea in detail. The enemies outside didn''t enter the dungeon because of the risk of encountering monsters and potentially losing their target so they decided to wait outside. If Leon doesn''t get out, then he will eventually die from hunger or get eaten by the monsters inside.

    This gave some time for the trio to make a rough n for their escape.

    After some time, the rock that was blocking the entrance to the dungeon was suddenly moved to the side. The knights were ready to attack whoever came out of the hole. Luckily or not, the one that came out of the hole first was Leon. They all were happy at first that their main target came out to them out of his own ord. But, those happy expressions turned to frowns immediately.

    Leon was wearing a pair of pants, no shoes, and no clothes on his upper body. He seemed to have tied his clothes to his head. His body was also dirtied with mud and other filthy things.

    So, before any one of them made a proper reaction, he started moving his body around in a weird manner¡­he was dancing.

    His dancing was horrible, to say the least, he looked like a stupid clown having a stroke in front of them. It was so bad that even deliberately making it that horrible was technically impossible.

    Everyone watched this cursed show with their mouths open, not daring to utter a word.

    At that moment, Acht did what he wanted. He used his gravity to its maximum power and pushed the boulder he had in front of the whole. The boulder was rather small so it was easily thrown like a Cannonball.

    Everyone was amazed at what Leon was doing so they ignored the imminent dangering toward them. When they were able to finally feel the uing huge boulder, it was alreadyte.

    *BOOOMMM*

    The boulder hit the ground with a loud sound. There was even a small sound of bones cracking and blood sttering everywhere.

    "Now."

    Then, both Acht and Tania used that moment and got out of the hole. They both then dashed in different directions. The boulder mostly killed two or three people of them and there were more so they could only kill the rest of them during themotion.

    Acht reached the first one who was hiding behind a tree. Even though they were close, he still couldn''t feel his presence no matter how many times he tried to do so. That firmed his theory that there were some objects that could make you hide your aura from enemies. This wasn''t good news at all for Acht because it makes one of the most important aspects of his fighting styles to lose its effectiveness.

    Anyway, the knight was still in a chaotic mess so he couldn''t react properly to Acht''s arrival. Everything just happened at an extremely fast pace and he couldn''t keep up with it.

    Acht then swung down his sword. The man tried to block it with his sword but he lost footing and fell down. The boy used that mishap and imnted his sword in the man''s heart. Then, without a second look, he moved to the next one before they could organize themselves.

    The second man he targeted was the archer that hit him with the arrow before. He was interested in these arrows so he was eager to get some of them and check them out properly.

    The archer felt a cold sensation down his spine and tried to retreat. But, how could a long-distance fighter run away from Acht who was overwhelmingly faster?

    The man didn''t even take two steps away and he was kicked to the ground by Acht. Then, he sliced off his head like a piece of butter.

    "You fucker!!!" A shout reached his ear and he immediately jumped in the air. The next moment, a spear passed by his ce that could''ve sliced him in half.<sub> </sub>

    As he was in the middle of the air, he threw a knife at the culprit.

    "AAAAAGGHHH!" The man made a gut-wrenching scream as he held his eye. The knife had prated his eyepletely.

    Acht then approached him at an rming speed and beheaded him just like the archer.

    All of this happened in a matter of seconds. Three knights died without even being able to put up a fight.

    "M-Monster¡­" One of them muttered with disbelief. They couldn''t believe their eyes when they saw the site. A small boy was standing in the middle of three dead corpses with his sword tarnished with a crimson red color.

    Acht looked at these knights and said with a scoff.

    "You attacked me first. So, don''t me me if I got a little rough."

    Then, with a small smile in the corner of his mouth, he dashed at them like a hungry monster.

    On the other side, Tania was also doing some outrageous things. A trail of bloodied corpses could be seen as you follow her foot traces.

    Most of the corpses were killed by either her sword or her gift. Some of them even looked like swiss cheese from the cheer number of crystals that pierced their bodies.

    "Agh!" A man shouted with his hammer in his hands. The small girl had killed hisrades and friends so brutally that he lost his mind from anger. The only thing he wanted was to kill her in the most brutal way.

    But, because of hisck of speed, Tania was akin to his worst possible enemy. She easily evaded his hammer that crashed down on her.

    Then, she swiftly sliced his left leg off, sending it flying away. This made the man fall down roughly as he held his amputated leg with extreme pain stered on his face.

    Tania didn''t bother with him and pierced his throat almost nonchntly. Then, she vanished from her ce and followed the next target.

    In the midst of all of this, Leon watched what ensued with extreme horror in his eyes.

    Forget about seeing people getting killed, he had never even seen someone heavily injured in his life. So, it was no surprise that he would be extremely scared from seeing beheaded people everywhere around him.

    ''What''s going¡­on?'' His eyes lost their focus and only his ears delivered the sounds of the knights getting killed one after the other with cold blood.

    Then, an overwhelming urge to puke invaded his mind.

    "Burgh!" He fell down on his knees and vomited whatever he ate in thest two days. He felt extremely ufortable and overwhelmed by all of this.

    ''Is this¡­how this world is?''

    Leon had always thought of this world as a peaceful ce where everyone lived happily. He thought that everyone was kind since whoever he meets will always smile at him and try to pester him no matter what he does.

    But, deep down, he may have had some suspicions about it. And now, those suspicions were verified.

    ''This is¡­cruel.'' He closed his eyes and let the tears trickle down his face unstoppingly.

    As he was weeping silently like that, he heard a rustle near him. He immediately turned around to find one of the knights still alive. Both of his legs were cut off but he was still alive. The man reached Leon and grabbed him by the legs.

    "You¡­bastard." The man muttered as he tried to pull out his weapon to kill Leon.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 60 Chapter 60

    Leon almost pissed himself from fright when he saw the man that looked like a zombie grabbing his leg and pulling out a sword to kill him. The man seemed to be at hisst breath since he lost a lot of blood but he was still alive enough to kill a weakling like Leon.

    "I...must..plete the mission...for his..Majesty," he muttered with great difficulty and tried to pull Leon toward him.

    Thetter tried to resist with all of his force but he wasn''t able to release the tight grip on his leg.

    ''What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?'' He worked his brain hard to find a way out of this. He wanted to call Acht or Tania so that they coulde to save him but they had already gone far away from where he was and they wouldn''t be able to reach him in time even if they heard his voice.

    So, with great difficulty, he pulled out his weapon: A small self-defense dagger that he had on him for quite some time.

    Then, he tried to stab the man''s hand. But, at thest moment, when the de was about to pierce the hand, he hesitated and stopped. If it was an animal, he may have been able to pull it off, but the fact that it was a human-made him lose his resolve.

    The man saw this opportunity and shed with his sword. Leon saw that and frantically jolted his leg to the side. Fortunately, he was able to dodge the sword but it was still able to scratch his leg.

    "Ugh!!!" The boy groaned in pain as tears started trickling down his face.

    ''Didn''t I already make up my mind not to be a coward anymore? Dammit!'' He gritted his teeth in frustration.

    He thought that he was already past the point of being fearful of anything that threatens him even if it wasn''t that much of a threat in the first ce.

    But, he now saw that all of that was nothing but him basking in the temporary moment of adrenaline rush. Seeing himself improving when he didn''t have any evidence of that was just wrong and he experienced that first hand at this moment.

    ''No! I swore to myself to change! I can''t back down now!''

    Then, with an extremely serious look, he gripped the dagger harder and shouted at the top of his lungs. His hand moved with determination and he stabbed the man''s hand.

    "Ughhh!!" The man yelled in pain and released his grip on Leon''s leg. The boy took that opportunity and stood up.

    Then, instead of running, he took another choice that will change his future forever. He approached the man with hesitant but steady steps.

    His eyes looked at the man who was already dying. His eyes shifted back to his bloodied dagger. Following that, he bent down and stabbed the man''s stomach.

    He didn''t stop at that, he pulled the dagger and stabbed again and again and again...he didn''t want to stop at all. He felt like if he stopped, he would lose his mind so he kept stabbing.

    "Die! Die! Die! Die!" He kept repeating the same word endlessly. His eyes had already lost their focus and his brain ceased to function. He stabbed the corpse so many times that his stomach became a bloody mess of organs and flesh.

    But, as he was about to stab again, a hand stopped his arm. He tried to jolt it off the grip but he couldn''t do so he looked at the culprit with clear anger.

    Acht looked at Leon''s state with aplicated gaze. All of his body was covered in blood, his green hair turned red and his eyes looked like that of a maniac rather than a sane person.

    "Leave me be!!" Leon shouted loudly.

    But, Acht obviously didn''t let him off and only gazed at him coldly.

    "That''s enough." He only muttered two words but they were more than enough to show his strong aura.

    "No! I need to kill him! I nee-"

    *p*

    The crispy sound of a p suddenly echoed in the area. Acht had no other choice but to do so or Leon would keep acting like that.

    "I said...enough."

    This time, Leon seemed to feel the gravity of his situation. His listless eyes suddenly regained their vigor and immediately started crying.

    "What did I do?" He muttered as he covered his face with his own bloodied hands.

    Tania looked at this with aplicated gaze too. She didn''t know how to react to such a thing.

    "Let''s go...He will need some alone time." Acht tapped her shoulder and walked away.<sub> </sub>

    He knew that there was nothing that he could say to calm Leon down so he decided that letting hime to terms with his new self is essential.

    He had experienced that before. That heart-wrenching experience of killing for the first time. That sadness and guilt that follows it and the nightmares that he suffered from were all still vivid in his mind.

    But, he was able to stand up again from his sadness, and soon killing became something he does on a daily basis without batting an eye.

    "Sigh, the shit that I have to deal with..." He shook his head in exasperation.

    After taking some distance away from Leon. Acht sat down to think about what he needed to do. Now, that he murdered knights from some kind of kingdom, they will probably be after his head. It was inevitable so he didn''t feel annoyed. But, he was slightly worried that they might send some very strong individuals after him.

    Until now, he only met people that he could beat quite easily if you don''t include Scarlett and Thyrus. But, he was aware that he was still very weak by this world''s standards.

    "I need to get stronger quickly."

    So, he looked at Tania and asked her to pull out all of the soul stones they collected until that point. She epted and soon a pile of stones appeared in front of him.

    He then separated it into two and gave half to Tania. He took the other half and sat down to consume it. He could absorb the soul force in the air but that would take way longer than doing it by absorbing the soul force inside the soul stones.

    "Can you guard me until I finish? I will then let you absorb yours."

    "Mm," She nodded and stood in front of him like a robotic guard not moving an inch. Only her head moved left and right to check her surroundings.

    Acht watched his weird partner and thought.

    ''She''s gonna be fine...I think.''

    Then, his focus shifted to the soul stones. They had killed a lot of Nagas in the dungeon. So much so that the pile he had now exceeded him in height even though it was only half of the real number.

    He took one stone and started absorbing the energy inside. The Nagas were weak so he could easily deal with them without doing anything excessive.

    ''This dungeon is probably a G-rank dungeon just like the other one I entered.''

    p It took him 30 seconds to absorb the whole soul stone. He then threw the now useless stone and took another one to absorb it.</anda>

    Then, he repeated this action for the next hour or so. Each time, his soul force was increasing slowly.

    From level 6 he jumped to level 7 and then level 8. In normal cases, passing three levels like that with only that amount of soul stones was basically impossible since a good chunk of the energy inside the soul stone dissipates during the consumption.

    But, in Acht''s case, he''s able to efficiently consume 100% of the energy without any waste. This gave him a huge advantage over other awakeners since he will need fewer soul stones to pass from one level to another.

    As hepletely consumed thest soul stone, he had already broken through level 8 and entered level 9 which meant he was only one step away from breaking through the white soul.

    He exhaled a long breath and checked his body.

    ''This...is amazing.'' He thought with a surprised look. His strength had increased by leaps and bounds that he almost couldn''t recognize himself.

    He then stood up and made some light moves to see how much he improved. Because of the level up, his muscles had be more sturdier and flexible. His speed also increased a lot.

    Tania also felt the change in his aura and looked at him with sparkles in her eyes. He was slowly turning into something even more important for Tania and her intense desire to see him in action with his amazing strength became even stronger.

    She was already imagining how she should plot her next move to watch Acht save her again or do anything that she considered ''cool''.

    ''Acht...amazing~''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 61 Chapter 61

    "You can absorb your soul stones now if you want. I will keep guard." Acht said to Tania as he sat down nearby.

    She nodded her head in approval and immediately started absorbing them. Seeing how Acht became so much stronger, she had the urge to also grow stronger so that she could be by his side all the time without being a hindrance.

    ''I must...Be stronger.'' She resolved herself as she picked up the first stone and closed her eyes.

    Oblivious to her thoughts, Acht checked his device as he waited for her. He had already killed countless monsters and people, though he didn''t know if those knights were indeed some hunter-examinees. Nevertheless, he should already have a good number of points.

    "Hmm...98000? That''s not that bad I guess. The Nagas don''t seem to give that many points so even the point booster didn''t do much." He then closed his device and shifted his gaze to a lonely individual sitting not so far away with his hands covering his face.

    It has been a few hours yet he didn''t change his position throughout this period...Not even once.

    ''Is he dead?'' Acht wondered.

    It seemed that his first kill had impacted him greatly. But, it was understandable in his case. He seemed to be a non-violent person.

    ''Maybe he should''ve note here in the first ce. He should''ve known best.''

    As he had these thoughts, Leon finally made a move. He tilted his head up from his hands and looked at Acht with his red and puffy eyes.

    "Sir..." he said

    "What?"

    "...Am I going to change?"

    Acht looked at him dead serious and said.

    "No shit, Sherlock. You killed a human being. It would''ve been weirder if you didn''t change."

    Leon shook his head slowly. He seemed to have another question...a more clear one.

    "Did I do the right thing?"

    "It''s not something that I decide...Morals aren''t something that I understand...If you think killing someone is a bad thing then that''s your view..."

    "I see..." he muttered understandingly.

    Then, he stood up and walked to Acht. His timidness was still there but he seemed to have set his mind on something. When he was only a few steps away from Acht, he bowed and shouted.

    "Please train me!!!"

    "...No."

    "What?! Why?!" Leon shouted frantically.

    "Why the fuck would I waste my te training you? You''re a prince, right? Ask your dad to get you a professional trainer or something."

    "But..."

    "You seem to grow a pair of balls just because I didn''t beat you up enough, huh?" Acht''s aura suddenly engulfed Leon and made him sweat profusely. His eyes turned a degree colder and a small part of his killing intent seeped through him.

    "Scram before I make you eat through a pipe!"

    "Yes!" Leon yelled and walked away like a scared chicken.

    ''I thought he would ept and we will be friends!'' Leon thought to himself with a sad look.

    Even though he had been refused, Leon had already decided on what to do. Many would consider it as a morally wrong thing but he was already on that path and he wanted to see it till the end. Regretting it,ter on, was a whole other thing that he will think about when ites.

    *****************************

    With that, one week passed. The first day was so hectic and long that it made the extra few days a lot more calmer and easier to deal with.

    They hunted monsters throughout the day and then rested at night. It was a simple style of life but it was more than enough for them.

    Leon also seemed to have experienced some other changes. He also started hunting weaker monsters with them. It was hectic at first but he was able to get the hang of it soon enough without any external help from Acht and Tania.<sub> </sub>

    Surprisingly, he had a decent talent for fighting and he particrly excelled in archery. It took barely 3 days to be able to hit his targets with 85% uracy.

    During that time too, the points they harvested were getting higher and higher every day. There was no shortage of monsters so it was extremely easy for them to hunt 30 creatures daily.

    So, by the end of the week, both Tania and Acht had 990000 points each.

    They were so outstanding, that when they announced the rankings for points on the third day, the one who came after them had 35000 points. It was beyond absurd and it totally caught the supervisors of the test off guard.

    Acht knew this and deliberately did it for a n he had in mind. He had already given up the idea of following the plot of the book. He was now steamrolling through without caring about what could happen. It was selfish indeed but that was what he wanted. And even if on the off chance that he really wanted to follow the plot, Livia would''ve probably done something that will change it just for him.

    Anyway, on the 7th day, what Acht anticipated happened just like he imagined it.

    While he was resting with Tania and Leon who seemed to forget about leaving them and got integrated into the group for some reason, a person appeared in front of them.

    He was a cleanly shaved man with a very neat costume and a good build. He looked like a butler you will find in medieval castles back in time. What made him even more interesting was his aura which was strong enough to almost appear like a chaotic wave that was restrained from unleashing.

    Tania and Leon were alerted at first but Acht calmed them down and asked.

    "Who are you?"

    "My apologies for the disturbance...I was sent here by my master to invite you."

    "And who''s this master of yours?" Acht asked while hiding a smirk.

    "Miss Leislet...The CEO of the hunter association and the general supervisor of this hunter exam." He said with utmost respect and elegance.

    ''We have caught a big fish.'' Acht felt satisfied with this.

    He knew that this woman named Leislet wasn''t going to harm them since they seemed to have piqued her interest. In fact, this could mean a huge opportunity for Acht who was eager to get stronger as quickly as possible.

    "I see. Fine we wille with you...But, just to make sure..We will not fail the test if we leave with you, right?" He asked even though he knew the answer beforehand.

    "No, you have already passed the test and the exam as a whole. My master ordered me to tell you so."

    As they stood up, Acht took a look at Leon. He was the only one still sitting down.

    Leon saw that brief peek from Acht and said with a small smile.

    "I will stay here...I want toplete the test. Thank you so much for helping me out. I learned a lot from this experience and I hope we can meet again, Sir..."

    "Acht...my name is Acht. Come to think of it, I never told you my name."

    "Hehehe, I will remember my benefactor''s name for the rest of my life."

    Acht started walking away with the other two. But, then he suddenly halted his steps and said.

    "I did nothing to help you. You did everything alone. You should thank yourself."

    Then, he vanished in between the bushes and trees, leaving behind Leon who smiled widely.

    "I will make sure to repay the favor." He muttered to himself.

    In just a matter of seven days, he had turned his life upside down. From being a coward who despises the idea of violence no matter how much he needed it to a slightly better version of himself.

    His fateful meeting with Acht had made him change without noticing it. Even though most will think that Acht did nothing to help him change, Leon firmly believed that it was wrong.

    He was still a long way to go from being the person he wanted to be but he made a step toward the right. And as they say, the journey of a thousand miles starts with a step.

    [End Of Volume 2]

    (Sigh, this volume was not as long as I intended it to be (only 41 chapters) but it came to a conclusion nevertheless. I made some mistakes and some minor plot holes that many of you noticed and I apologize for it. I still have a long way to go as an author. The next arc will be a change of pace. I want to start the real book from this point on. I intend to introduce many amazing characters, even more mysteries in this world, and more interesting events so be prepared, the ride is still going~. Anyway, thanks for reading :) )

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 62 Chapter 62

    "Wee to the hunter association HQ." The butler spoke with a graceful movement of his hand as if he was introducing an important person.

    What stood behind him though was a massive building. It was so massive in fact that it would probably make any skyscraper on earth look like a motel on the side of the road.

    All of the fronts of the building were made out of ss and most of it looked sturdy enough to not break after one or two punches.

    Acht whistled quietly before taking a look at his surroundings. They were in the dead center of Lagradon at the moment. They had reached this ce after leaving the forest and riding a luxurious limousine that was waiting for them. This district was by far the most prestigious district of Lagradon where most businesspanies and international banks. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was the heart of the lower world.

    With just one nce, Acht could see aspiring brokers and hopeful businessmen moving left and right with their phones in their hands trying to catch any opportunity they could have so they could secure a bigger piece of the pie.

    They were all mostly unawakeners who didn''t find an opportunity as hunters so they had to adapt to this world''s rules and lead another, more peaceful life.

    But, all of that didn''t matter in front of this colossal building. This ce was indeed the most important out of all of them. Where most people think dreamse from.

    "Follow me inside please." The man added and walked inside.

    Acht and Tania then followed him inside the biggestpany in the world.

    The whole entrance was made out of ss so they were able to see it from the outside but it was still amazing to look at. Acht had seen plenty of luxurious ces in his two lives so he grew a sense of tolerance toward them. But, this ce still took his breath away.

    It looked like a mix between the best hotel in the world and the best office in the world to create a modern heaven for humans.

    With just one look, he could see countless employees working on their assigned jobs while wearing the same uniforms. Most of them were unawakeners with some exceptions here and there.

    "This world keeps on impressing me with its aesthetics." He muttered before focusing on the butler and hurrying his steps.

    He was already approaching the elevator.

    "The boss is on floor 750. I won''t be going with you so please take care." He said as he tapped the button for the 750th floor and left us inside.

    The elevator was big enough to hold 30 people inside without a problem. There was also a big screen TV in the middle of the elevator that was showing the news.

    "It will take us a while to reach floor 750," Acht said as he leaned his back on the wall.

    ''Leislet¡­I do remember her from the book but she didn''t appear much¡­I can''t predict what she will say.'' He wondered quietly.

    Until this point, he had predicted that he will catch the attention of some big shot in this world but he was still unclear about what they will ask from him

    ''She might ask me to join her family like Scarlett¡­''

    The moment he remembered her name, a wave of nostalgia hit him. Even though it wasn''t that long ago, he still slightly missed her since she was the first person that he befriended in this world.

    ''How is she doing I reckon?'' He thought to himself.

    As he was thinking so, he heard what the news reporter said while touching his hand with his ear.

    "Our sources have just reported breaking news! The youngest son of the Slethermoon family has been found dead in a mysterious manner. His body was found in his hotel room pinned to the wall with a sword that was piercing his heart. The young man hade to the city for a mission assigned by his family. The authorities are still searching for clues about the killer..."

    ''Hmm, the Slethermoon family? I recall them from the book. They seem to be quite influential in this world.''

    But, he didn''t give the news much care since it had no rtion to him. It was a conflict between huge powerhouses that he doesn''t want to get involved in.

    As he was having such thoughts, the elevator door finally opened and they found themselves on a considerably smaller floor.

    This was the highest floor so, with one simple look, anyone could see the clear sky and the clouds far beneath it.

    "Pleasee in." a feminine voice suddenly called for them.

    Acht looked at the origin of the voice who was an older woman in her 30s sitting down on a big chair.

    Even with her age, she didn''t look a day older than 20 with an extremely curvaceous body that was tightly hugged by a professional suit. The suit however didn''t cover her huge cleavage and her beautiful neck.

    She was an extremely gorgeous woman that could make any man go wild with lust.

    Acht didn''t seem to bother much with her appearance in contrast to Tania whose face turned extremely serious for some reason. Gradually, a small frown started appearing on her face and she instinctively clenched her fist.<sub> </sub>

    ''Enemy!'' She thought to herself.

    Acht was oblivious to his partner''s reaction and just walked inside as per what she asked.

    "I was really eager to meet you, mister Acht¡­" she said with a seductive smile on her face. Her smile was a mix between charm and coldness but it was still not emotionless by any means.

    "And why is that, may I know?" He said with a casual tone.

    Leislet put her hand on the table and answered.

    "Honestly, you had piqued my interest since the first phase of the test. So, I decided to wait until the second phase to make sure my eyes weren''t tricking me¡­fufufu." She giggled with her hand on her mouth.

    "I see¡­That''s an honor for me." He replied without a shred of respect in his voice.

    She seemed to catch on to that but she didn''t feel offended. In fact, she felt herself getting even more interested in him. She forgot thest time she had someone talk to her like that and it felt quite refreshing.

    So, she stood up and walked to his side as she spoke.

    "You know¡­People like you are rare these days¡­We have always been searching for talents¡­But you are quite frankly an exception even in the sea of talented geniuses.

    Acht squinted his eyes at her words and asked with a chilling tone.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Nothing in particr¡­But, if I have to describe it¡­"

    Then, she leaned on his chair until her cleavage was almost touching his face and her mesmerizing smell filled her nostrils. Then, she smiled as she said.

    "Then, I will say one word. You are ''mysterious''. Like a big present in the holidays¡­And it seems my holidays areing early this year¡­fufufu."

    All this time she was hinting at something that Acht was understanding, but for acting sakes, he needed to stay oblivious to it. Thest thing he wanted was to put himself in a disadvantageous position in this conversation.

    As they looked at each other from such a close distance, they felt a killing intent engulfing the room.

    Their eyes were drawn to the other person in the room.

    Tania was already barely tolerating Leislet since she considered her as a threat. As if Leislet was about to steal something that was her property. This feeling only intensified when she saw how she approached Acht seductively. She also felt a sense of inferiority when she saw Leislet''s assets that kept jiggling with each move she made. Evenparing her immature body with that of a walking bombshell like Leislet would be a shameful thing to do.

    Now, she couldn''t hold herself any longer and unleashed her murderous intent and red at Leislet like an angry kitten.

    "Oh my, I forgot about you for a moment, miss Tania. You are also included in this conversation." She replied with a smile while ignoring the gaze she was getting from the little girl.

    Acht almost could swear he saw two sparkles of electricity fly between their eyes for a split second.

    ''What is this atmosphere here?'' He wondered with a confused look.

    So, to break this awkwardness, he asked Leislet a question.

    "So, what''s your purpose for inviting us here, Miss Leislet¡­I reckon you didn''t do it just to praise us for our ''amazing talents''?"

    Leisletughed gently and nodded her head.

    "You are right indeed. I had youe here for one main reason."

    She then returned to her seat andid back carefreely.

    p "Would you like to attend the Mystic Soul Convention?"</anda>

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    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 63 Chapter 63

    "Mystic Soul Convention?" Acht asked.

    "Yes, It''s a yearly convention held by the hunter organization."

    She briefly exined what this convention was to the duo. Acht, however, was already aware of this name since it was one of the book''s main plot points. Despite this, he decided to stay silent and let her exin.

    "We have many events that are held during this convention. Auctions, interviews with popr hunters, ying certain games for a chance of winning certain artifacts, entertainment shows, and more. But the most important one of them¡­ the Mystic Soul tournament."

    "I see, but why do you want us to participate in it? I don''t see where our interests collide." Acht answered as calmly as ever.

    "Fufufu... I knew you would say that. But, trust me when I tell you that you will find a lot of things you''d like. Hmm¡­ let''s see, you use a sword, right?"

    Acht nodded.

    "In this convention, we will auction a lot of amazing swords that are enhanced by soul force. The winning prize for the Mystic Soul tournament is a sword too... So, you won''t get out of it empty handed, I guarantee it."

    Leislet was somehow talking more excitedly the more Acht asked about this convention. But, Acht was still not fully convinced.

    "Then why do you want us to participate? And what exactly is your purpose for asking us?"

    One of Acht''s mottos is that there is no free breakfast in this world. He didn''t have a shred of belief that Leislet did this out of the goodness of her heart. She wanted something from him and she would have to tell him what it was.

    The moment he asked those questions, Leislet''s expression changed slightly. She looked slightly troubled for some reason as she scratched her cheek.

    Then, with a small sigh, she answered.

    "It is slightlyplicated but I will exin as simply as I can. My full name is Leislet Windstorm, which means I''m the heir to the Windstorm family. I was chosen to be the next CEO of the hunter association this year through polls. However, my position isn''t at all secure and I could be changed anytime if I lose my footing. So, most of the other families, including mine, want to either secure this position for themselves or snatch it away from the other families."

    She leaned her back against the chair even more and added.

    "You could imagine the number of schemes that the other families are plotting just to take me and my family down. That''s where youe into the equation."

    She pointed at him.

    "If you participate in the Mystic soul tournament and win, people will be interested in your origins. They will quickly learn that I was the one who sponsored you before the tournament. This could easily solidify my position." She said,

    "...And what if I refuse?"

    She giggled slightly and bent forward to look at Acht closely.

    "You would''ve participated on your own even if I didn''t ask you, am I right? Also, I''d be your sponsor so I''d have to provide you with a good sry each month until the tournament starts, and also a ce where you could settle down for a while. I won''t take the prize you get or anything else you gain from the convention."

    "So, in a nutshell¡­You just want your name next to mine in case I win¡­ But what happens if I don''t win?"

    She clicked her tongue with a smile.

    "I trust that you will win 100%. But, in case of your failure, there won''t be any repercussions, from me or anyone else for that matter. So, what do you think?"

    Acht didn''t answer immediately. He would be lying if he said it wasn''t attractive but he was still slightly skeptical. The offer was just too good. The only thing she wanted from him was to win the tournament. As for him, he will get multiple benefits all at the same time.

    ''Maybe the tournament is extremely hard?'' He thought to himself.

    Leislet saw him deep in thought and said.

    "You don''t have to answer me now if you want. I can give you a few days to think about it properly."

    Acht nodded his head. He needed to deal with some things first before he could actually give her a proper answer.

    Then, Tania and Acht stood up, intending to leave.

    "Oh, wait a minute ...Here, this is your hunter license. Everyone will automatically start as a G-Rank hunter so you need to work hard to rank up. It was nice talking to both of you."

    They both received a license that looked like a credit card. Their names and pictures were imprinted on it along with their current rank.

    It seemed to be made of a high-quality material since Acht couldn''t bend it easily.<sub> </sub>

    They then took the elevator and left the floor.

    This meeting with Leislet had somehow been fruitful. Acht still didn''t ept it but he had a good idea about what he would do next.

    The Mystic Soul Convention seemed like an amazing opportunity for him to increase his prowess, especially with his weapon. Regardless, he? intended to participate even if he wasn''t going to ept her offer.

    The sword he had was indeed good, but it was still not a soul artifact so he was nning to change it as soon as possible with a more powerful weapon.

    "Hmm."

    Suddenly, he heard a small groan so he looked next to him. Tania was somehow still frowning even after they left Leislet''s office.

    ''She really does hate her, huh? Or is it something else?'' He squinted his eyes as some doubts started manifesting in his heart.

    At first, he thought that Tania considered him as a friend or less. But, with time, he had seen how she reacted whenever he was in danger or he was not in a good state. This enhanced the thought that maybe she saw him as more than just a friend.

    But what made him not so sure about that idea is the fact that Tania was a very bizarre person. She couldn''t talk properly, she couldn''t show any emotions, and she was hard to approach. Therefor, her show of affection could simply be interpreted as her showing how much she appreciates him as a friend rather than a lover.

    ''Either way, I won''t even entertain the thought. I''m not into kids.'' he shook his head.

    Then, they both left the building. He was thinking of moving straight to what he intended to do.

    "What are you going to do now?" He asked. He still needed to see what Tania had in mind before he left.

    Tania didn''t answer immediately, she seemed to be clueless about her next goal so she stood there, motionless with her eyes glued to his.

    But as he was about to speak again, he felt the hair on his spine stand up and all of his senses went into full alert mode.

    Then, with a swift move, he readied himself as he looked at the threat that appeared out of nowhere.

    They were in the middle of the street with hundreds of people moving around them. In normal cases, it would''ve been hard to precisely locate a person in such a sea of humans. But this particr individual was so eye-catching that Acht located him almost instantly.

    He was a long-haired man with a huge beard. His eyes were razor sharp that they could almost cut humans to pieces with just a look. All in all, if you removed his neat clothes that prove his rich background, he was no better than a slightly neat-looking caveman.

    Even though he wasn''t as strong as some individuals Acht met before, the dangerous aura he had around him was almost iparable to anything Acht had ever seen. He was a walking disaster that exceeded the most notorious humans he had the full displeasure of meeting.

    Seeing how her beloved was on full alert, Tania stepped up and said.

    "Stop¡­ Winstor." She said with a cold re

    "My apologies, mydy." He said as he bowed in front of Tania.

    Acht was slightly surprised by this. He had already discovered that Tania was indeed from a rich background but he didn''t know that she was from such high standing.

    ''Wait¡­a monster like him is only a servant?''

    "You know him?" Acht mustered the energy to ask.

    "Yes." She said with a nod.

    Then, she shifted her eyes to look at Winstor again. This time, they were even more serious.

    "Purpose."

    Tania didn''t even bother to say another word to him. But, the man still respectfully answered.

    "His highness¡­Your father wants you to go back home immediately."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 64 Chapter 64

    ''His highness?'' Acht frowned as he heard how the man addressed Tania.

    Acht was being hit with new information one after the other as if it was nothing. Tania? Royalty? What are the chances?

    Such questions confused Acht even more than he already was. However, he didn''t lose hisposure and kept his face fairly calm.

    "Papa?" Tania muttered. Her eyes seemed to soften slightly when she heard her father mentioned. It was apparent she really loved him.

    Even though she showed such soft emotions, she still shook her head and said.

    "No¡­ staying here."

    Her hands automatically moved and grabbed Acht''s left arm before pulling him closer to her. Unfortunately, there was no ''boing'' from her action.

    ''I feel like this is going to be the biggest headache so far¡­'' the boy thought as he didn''t know whether tough or cry at his luck.

    "Fear not, mydy. His highness also wants to meet Mr. Acht." The servant spoke as he eyed Acht with an extremely chilling gaze.

    Acht flinched slightly from such a look and sighed inwardly. He was now targeted even by the bizarre servant.

    ''I knew this could never end peacefully. I want to curse you, Livia. But how can I even curse a god?'' He thought to himself with a helpless look to the ursed heavens, or rather to the one who resides there.

    The other two didn''t seem to notice his troubled face as they only exchanged nces between them. The air around seemed to grow colder as Tania didn''t waver in front of the monster that was her servant.

    "Mydy. Pardon my rudeness, but why are you touching him like that? Please release him immediately." He said as he squinted his eyes to the size of a needle.

    "No!" Tania yelled quietly. She then tightened the grip around Acht''s arm until their shoulders were touching.

    She was being rebellious which showed her young age, something that could easily be forgotten due to her normal demeanor.

    "Mydy¡­" The servant seemed at a loss for words.

    He didn''t know how to deal with the stubborn side of hisdy so he could only mutter her name.

    "No! Acht is fine¡­ Let him go." She shouted again, further tightening her grip on him.

    His blood cirction stopped and his hand started turning white.

    "Mm, Tania?" Acht whispered for the beautiful girl to leave his hand.

    "No!"

    ''I didn''t even say anything.'' He sighed inwardly before deciding to take action.

    He then released his hand with a little demonstration of power. Acht was way stronger than Tania physically so he easily did so.

    After finally regaining control of his arm, he began to feel the numbness disappear. After shaking it a bit, he then looked at Winstor and asked.

    "Why does her father want to meet me too?"

    "His highness knows of your... *Cough*, friendship and he wants to know what kind of friend Mydy made." Answered Winstor.

    "And what if I refused toe?" He questioned.

    "I apologize, but you have no choice in this matter. I will have to restrain you and drag you there by force if needed." He unleashed a small amount of his aura as he calmly threatened Acht.

    "Winstor!" Tania stood in front of Acht with a searing look. She was now extremely angry because her beloved was being threatened by her servant.

    "It''s ok Tania. I will go with you." He said as he lightly tapped her shoulder.

    ''I have no other choices anyway. I will have to postpone my n for a day or two.'' He noted in his head.

    As much as he hated to admit it, he had no chance in front of this servant. Even escaping seemed like wishful thinking.

    ''What kind of monster would her father be if this servant was this strong!'' He shook his head as he decided not to think about it.

    Tania was surprised to hear him agree and she looked at him worriedly. He saw that adorable look and he smiled slightly.

    "Don''t worry. He will only have a small chat with me, right?" He directed the question to Winstor.

    Thetter nodded in response before pulling out something from his pocket.

    "Please follow me." He said as he started walking.

    The two walked after him to a secluded ce not far from where they were.

    Winstor then checked if there was anyone nearby. When it was safe enough, he threw the object he had in his hand to the floor.

    It was a circr object that resembled a pie, however it was made of some kind of metal with a fragile transparent piece made out of another material in the middle.

    The moment the object touched the ground, it started shining with a blinding light.

    The three of them closed their eyes and when they opened them again, there was a portal had appeared.<sub> </sub>

    The portal was very simr to the one Acht saw in the second phase of the hunter exam.

    ''Portable portal? That''s new.''

    Winstor then turned around and bowed slightly.

    "After you." He said.

    The two walked to the portal and entered and Winstor then followed inside.

    They were now in the middle of a big hall that seemed very unique.

    There was a fountain in the middle of the hall with 5 crystal objects floating on top of it without anything to hold them in the air. Each object had some runes written on it and shined with a faint light.

    "Wee to the Translucent Castle." Winstor said as he stood in front of them.

    Acht was impressed by the decoration but Tania wasn''t as interested in this as herpanion. She seemed to be still worried about Acht.

    She knew how much her dad loved her and how overprotective he was.

    It took her months to convince him to let her go to the hunter exam. He only epted when she told him that he could have Winstor guard her from a distance. If things became really bad, he could intervene and save her.

    She wasn''t a na?ve girl by any means, so she knew how much her father would freak out if he knew she met a boy and became close friends with him.

    ''I must protect Acht¡­ I won''t let anyone touch him. Only I can touch him.'' She resolved herself with a strong look swirling in her eyes.

    As for Acht, he wasn''t really that nervous for one simple reason:

    ''If this person wanted me dead, he would not go as far as inviting me to his castle. He could''ve killed me easily without making any fuss.''

    Even though that idea put his mind at ease, it also scared him slightly. The fact that he could be killed easily by any powerhouse in this world if they wanted to wasn''t something he liked to think about.

    Winstor then led them deeper into the castle. Acht immediately discovered why it was called the Translucent Castle.

    It was because most of the castle was made out of some sort of crystal-like object that made the whole ce look shiny and translucent. Even though he couldn''t see behind the walls, it gave the illusion that you could see beyond them.

    As they walked in the corridors on the second floor, A sudden aura appeared out of nowhere. Before Acht could even sense it properly, the owner of the aura appeared beside them like a phantom.

    "My dear daughter!" The man shouted with a worried tone.

    He then hugged Tania tightly.

    "I''m back¡­ papa." She said as she tapped his back slightly.

    "Are you ok? Did you get harmed? Is there anyone who annoyed you? Do you want me to kill them?" He said as he frantically checked her from head to toe.

    Acht watched this sight with only one thought in his head:

    ''He appeared out of thin air! There was only one person who was able to do that to me.''

    He then recalled the old man he met the first time he came to this world. He was the only person up until now to get through his senses undetected. Now, there were two of them.

    "Papa¡­ fine." She tapped his hands to ease his worries.

    Seeing that she was telling the truth, he made a loud sigh of relief before finally looking at Winstor.

    He didn''t even need to talk to the servant to understand what he meant with that look.

    "Nothing happened to Mydy." He responded.

    "Good¡­ Now." His eyes were immediately drawn to Acht.

    His soft look from before was nowhere to be found. Now, he was akin to a predator eyeing his prey, except his prey was also a predator in it''s own right. Acht didn''t flinch and returned the same look.

    Thest thing he wanted was to lose in a challenge like this.

    "You are¡­ Acht?" He said as if he couldn''t recall his name, which must have been a tant lie since he seemed to be ring at him as if he wanted to tear him apart.

    "Papa," Tania muttered his name.

    "Yes, darling?"

    "Stop." She added with a frown.

    "I didn''t do anything, my dear daughter. I was only trying to get to know your new¡­ acquaintance."

    "Papa¡­ bad!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 65 Chapter 65

    Her words seemed to be effective on the king since he frowned and a sad look appeared on his face.

    "I didn''t do anything¡­" He muttered as he looked down like a scolded child.

    Tania sighed and looked at Acht apologetically. She knew that this was the only way to deal with her overprotective father despite it being a tad unconventional.

    "Anyway, we can''t talk while standing here. Let''s go inside. I want to get to know you more, boy." He said with a fake smile that clearly held hidden motives.

    The three then entered a big door close to where they stood. It looked like the throne room since it housed an extravagant-looking chair on the far side of the room.

    The king then walked to it and sat down elegantly as if it was the millionth time he did that.

    "So, Acht, how did you meet my daughter?" He asked while resting his hand on his gilded armrest.

    "I don''t remember," Acht said nonchntly.

    This answer seemed to anger the king and his re intensified. Nevertheless, he managed to keep calm enough to respond.

    "How could that be? Is my daughter that unremarkable to you, hmm?"

    At first, Acht nned to feign ignorance just like before, but he caught the sight of Tania looking at him with a hint of interest in her eyes. She seemed to want to know what he thought about her.

    "I wouldn''t say anything like that. Tania is¡­ an impressive person." He said as he eyed her periodically.

    That was the safest answer he could think of, so he went with it.

    "How is that? Could you borate more?" The king kept cornering Acht just so that he would make him feel troubled.

    What made it even harder was the fact that Tania forgot about helping him, and became more interested in what he would say.

    "Hm, let''s see¡­She''s quite capable and strong. She also is a very calm andposed person. I think that''s really admirable."

    Even with all that against him, Acht was able to keep control of the conversation.

    It also seemed to work wonderfully since Tania seemed to brighten up when she heard how heplimented her. In a sense, it wasn''t really a heartfeltpliment but more of professional praise that didn''t have any emotions behind it.

    The king kept looking at Acht for a while before sighing loudly. Then he said,

    "Tania, could you please leave us alone for a moment?"

    "Pap-"

    "I won''t do anything bad to him¡­Don''t worry." He responded, cutting her off.

    Tania didn''t move immediately as she felt lost. She trusted her father but she also was very nervous since he could end Acht in a heartbeat if things went wrong.

    In the end, she decided to believe him and hesitantly walked out of the throne room.

    When the door closed, the king took a deep breath and gazed at Acht. His previous harsh demeanor softened considerably.

    Then with a low voice, he asked,

    "I can see that you already consider me a weird parent, right?"

    He directed Acht a question but thetter decided not to answer since he wasn''t keen on the idea of disrespecting a king.

    "I can''t me you though. I also see myself as a really bad father. But, I had no other choice. Tania was never a¡­ normal kid. She didn''t live a normal childhood like most kids her age. Her mother and I had always been very careful when dealing with her since she was our youngest daughter."

    He then lifted himself slightly to sit up straighter.

    "That''s why¡­ When I heard that she was staying with a kid her age, I had reallyplicated feelings about it. I was happy that she was finally making friends but I also feared that she might have been tricked or taken advantage of in some way."

    Acht listened quietly to his story without much of a reaction. However, deep down, he was also feeling a little empathetic toward Tania.

    She did indeed live a good life in contrast to his miserable childhood. However, that didn''t mean she could grow up normally. There are a lot of ways to make someone live an abnormal childhood and poverty is only one of many examples.

    So, he could understand to some extent the king''s troubles.

    "But, from what I have seen until now. You are not a bad person. Or at least, you don''t harbor any ill intentions toward my daughter."

    Then, he stood up and walked down until he reached Acht before he extended his hand for a handshake.<sub> </sub>

    "I hope you could be friends with my daughter. She may be an oddball but she''s very kind and caring deep down."

    Acht looked at the extended hand, then at the man.

    ''He doesn''t seem that against the idea of me being close to his daughter. That''s weird.''

    Only a few minutes ago, he was ring at Acht as if he had murdered his whole family. Yet now, he was asking him to take care of Tania.

    Anyhow, Acht still epted the handshake. Then, he looked at the king and said,

    "Your daughter is a mature person. Don''t worry about her. As for staying friends, I can''t give you a clear answer about it. If we are destined to stay friends then so be it."

    "I see¡­ I''m grateful for your honest answer." The king nodded his head, seemingly satisfied.

    "You can leave now if you want, even though Tania might want you to stay."

    Acht chuckled calmly.

    "I can''t do that since I have things to do. But we will surely meet again soon, I''m sure of it."

    Then, he walked out of the room. Outside, there was no trace of Tania.

    There was only Winstor standing nearby, waiting for him.

    "If you''re intending to leave then please follow me."

    ''I thought she would be here waiting. Ah, whatever.'' Acht shook his head, erasing such thoughts from his mind.

    Winstor then opened the portal for him so Acht could leave.

    ''Next time we meet¡­The Mystic Soul Convention.''

    Then he walked out of the castle and back to the bustling streets of Lagradon.

    He had to do many things before going to the convention and he had a very tight schedule. So, He hurried along to his next destination, oblivious to what was happening back in the Translucent Castle.

    ************************

    Back in the castle, inside the throne room, the king who was sitting down calmly asked the girl in front of him.

    "Are you sure about this, Tania?" He asked her with worried eyes.

    The girl nodded her head immediately without any hesitation.

    "Making me say that to him is really weird. Is he really against staying friends with you?"

    "No¡­Acht¡­good." She responded.

    She said to her dad with an innocent tone. Her eyes were sparkling with happiness. All of this meeting was a n she had made before they had even left the forest.

    She knew that Acht didn''t really consider her as an important person to him so she wanted to link him to her, no matter the cost. So, she came up with the idea of making him meet her father.

    All of the things about him being overprotective and everything else were nothing but a ploy she hade up with to make him get attached to her more.

    Although Acht didn''t totally fall into the trap, she still was able to let him know more about her past and how she lived her childhood.

    All of this needed her father''s cooperation to make it work and he was more than d to do so since he thought that she just wanted to introduce her first friend to him.

    All of this had one single purpose, to make Acht gradually fall for her even if he didn''t know it at the moment.

    Taking drastic measures became a necessity ever since Tania started feeling threatened. Acht was very charming, his demeanor and his attitude makes him like a sweet nectar for any girl. Tania was aware that sooner orter, beautiful girls will start approaching him, so she needed to secure a ce in his heart and make him hers before anyone could snatch him.

    Even if it was fake, even if she had to make him fall into an illusion she created by herself, if it all ended up making him fall for her, then all is good.

    Unconsciously, a small smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She really enjoyed the show she had created especially for Acht since it made him praise her unconditionally.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 66 Chapter 66

    Chapter 66- ck Liquid

    "This should be it," Acht muttered to himself as he checked the building in front of him,paring it to the one on his phone.

    Even with the help of his GPS, he had been searching for this ce for more than an hour by this point, since Lagradon was extremely big.

    What he was looking for was a weapon shop. From the moment he came here, Acht had one single ring w in his fighting style, defense.

    Back on earth, he wasn''t in need of any defensive equipment since most of his jobs required him to end his opponent instantly. But in this world, he was in constant lethal danger and most of his fights ended up with direct confrontation making defense essential.

    That''s why he decided to spend the rest of the gold he had in his spatial ring on buying a defensive soul artifact.

    Acht then made his way to the door and entered inside. It was a small shop in a very calm area of the city.

    The inside wasn''t too extravagant, it was just a room full of shelves with some artifacts on them. There was also a reception desk not so far away from the door.

    Acht walked there to ask for the clerk. However, it seemed like nobody was there at the moment so he decided to call for them.

    "Excuse me."

    It didn''t take long for a rustle to reach his ear from the other side of the shop. Then, a skinny man appeared in front of him looking breathless and tired.

    "Yes! Wee. How can I help you today?" He said as his chest heaved up and down in a rhythmic manner.

    Acht ignored his bad state and went straight to the point.

    "I''m here to look for a defensive soul artifact. I heard you were the best in Lagradon so I came here."

    "Yes! Yes! You came to the right ce, my friend. Follow me inside!" He gestured with his hand.

    Acht then passed the desk and entered the backroom.

    Inside, there was a huge, museum-like area where many soul artifacts were being presented.

    The ce was so big it extended for at least 800 meters. All of the artifacts were put behind ss with varying levels of additional security.

    "What are you looking for, my friend?" The lean man asked.

    "A defensive artifact. I want it to be light but effective in stopping both long range and short range attacks." He specified his preference.

    "I see. How about this? It''s called ''Aqua Chestte''. Effective in short and long-range attacks and can also nullify water attacks within the same Soul level." He exined as he showed Acht a blue chestte. It didn''t look that special but it was indeed a soul artifact since Acht could feel soul energy inside of it.

    But, he didn''t like it so he shook his head.

    "That''s not a problem. Then, how about this one? It''s called ''Rock Armor''. It''s also good in short and long-range attacks. Not only that, but it''s also very effective against the rock element and can also double as a weapon."

    Then, he tapped on a particr part of the shield. The shield started morphing until it had turned into a big hammer.

    It was better than the other one but Acht still refused since it seemed quite heavy and would restrain his movement a lot.

    The man seemed to be slightly troubled now but he still kept showing him all kinds of weapons and artifacts. From chesttes to shields and everything in between. Each artifact had a unique ability that made it special.

    However, Acht couldn''t find something that he fancied. It was just hard to find the specificbinations he wanted from a defensive artifact in one weapon.

    As they kept walking around the ce and looking at all kinds of objects, Acht suddenly saw something.

    It was a triangr object put on a shelf that was not protected by any ss. That was weird considering the fact that everything here should''ve been costly.

    "What''s that?" Acht asked.

    "Hmm? Oh, that¡­. Umm¡­" The man didn''t answer immediately and scratched his head awkwardly.

    "Is there something wrong?"

    "No! It''s just something that I don''t rmend." He shook his head.

    "Why so?"

    "Umm¡­ How should I say this¡­ It has many bad rumors around it."

    "Bad rumors?"

    "Yes! Really bad rumors! It''s actually a cursed object I got from an unknown seller. He said it was from Ecrasia so I bought it immediately. After all, everybody knows anything from there is a treasure. But, since that time, everyone who bought it returned it a few dayster. Every single time without fail, like clockwork!"

    He then sighed while rubbing his forehead nervously.<sub> </sub>

    "They all said almost the same things. This object made them feel like they were being controlled by an evil being. Some of them even said they almost died using it."

    Acht listened to the first part of his story but ignored thest part since something pulled his attention. The triangr object seemed to be calling for him.

    It was a weird sensation but Acht could feel it clearly¡­ The artifact wanted him to hold it.

    Even though he would''ve not touched such a shady object in normal circumstances, something within his soul nudged him to approach it and hold it in his hands.

    So, without having control over his senses, his body inched closer to the object, ever so slowly. The moment he touched it, he felt a surge of energy invade his body. It was not bad by any means. In fact, this energy made him feel even more energetic than he already was.

    "What is this object exactly?" He asked calmly without shifting his gaze away from it as if it was the only thing he could see.

    The man was extremely nervous now that he saw someone interested in this ursed thing in his shop again. He had seen other customers use it before and so he knew very well how it worked.

    "This object manifests a ck material that you could control freely within 10 meters of you." He exined.

    "How do I activate it?"

    "...I really don''t think you should take it, my friend. This is something you might regret."

    "Just tell me how to activate it," Acht repeated.

    " *Sigh*, just channel your soul force into the artifact."

    Acht did so and the triangr object started shifting. Then, a ck, slimy liquid started seeping out of it.

    The liquid was so dark that no light could reflect from it. As it seeped out, it surrounded Acht''s hand and moved up his arm.

    He didn''t resist it at all since he felt no threating from this slimy liquid. In fact, his body weed it as if it was a long-lost limb that had finally reunited with his body.

    The crawling finally stopped at his shoulder. Now, his whole arm had ck veins oozing around it.

    Then, Acht tried to do something with it. He imagined it forming a ball in his hand. Almost instantly, the ck liquid moved in a sh and formed a ck ball in his hand.

    He then imagined the ball to be bouncy and flexible. He tried to throw it to the ground and the ball immediately bounced back to the same height.

    ''This is interesting. It''s something I didn''t know I needed until I found it.'' He thought to himself.

    "How strong is this liquid?"

    He didn''t immediately get an answer so he looked at the shop owner with a confused look.

    The man had his mouth agape and his eyes almost popping out of their sockets. He couldn''t believe what he was witnessing.

    That was the first time he saw the liquid act like that. In all of the times he saw it get activated, the liquid always falls to the ground without doing much else.

    When others had tried to control it, the liquid moved ording to their will but not as fast and effectively as what Acht demonstrated in front of him.

    "Are you ok?" Acht snapped his fingers near his ears to wake him up from his shock.

    "Ah! Ah, yes! My apologies! It is actually quite sturdy. That''s the reason most people bought it anyway. I think it could stop the attacks of beings 2 or 3 levels higher than you. But, it needs a constant amount of soul force for it to stay working."

    Acht looked at it onest time and then said with a decisive look.

    "I will buy it. How much is it?"

    "Um, are you really sure?"

    "Yes. How much?"

    "Umm¡­You could take it for 2 gold coins. I don''t want it in my store anyway."

    "Why didn''t you throw it then?" Acht asked as he gave him the two gold coins.

    "I couldn''t bear to throw away an objecting from Ecrasia. I thought that even if it stayed here, a small warning from me would make everyone forget about buying it. But, I guess there are still reckless people in this world." He chuckled nervously.

    Acht didn''t say anything else and left the store with the object stored in his spatial ring.

    (We are finally fully contracted. I hope you will gift this book. Anything, no matter how small it is, is a support for me to keep pumping out chapters. Anyway, have a good day.)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 67 Chapter 67

    Acht then walked to his next destination which was a little bit far. So, not to waste so much time, he used one of the means of transport.

    In such a massive city that rivaled the size of a country, having a fast and secure Means of transportation is a necessity. So, people in this world made use of the soul force they had to make engines that work with that energy.

    These engines were way better than the fuel ones back on earth and they could even generate enough energy to make a vehicle reach up to 10 times what normal engines could do.

    This made moving from one point to another in Lagradon an easy thing to do which also had an effect on the development of the city in many other fields. It''s ''Less time, more money'' in this world, after all.

    In this case, he used the underground metro since it was avable all time and also very cheap.

    ''I should start earning money right now.'' He thought to himself.

    It was impressive that he was able to keep the money he got from that perverted gang leader for this long. It was a huge sum but Acht was also a spendthrift in a sense.

    He doesn''t care whether it was expensive or not, if he wanted it, he would get it no matter what. He was basically the nightmare of anyone attending an auction house.

    Anyway, after walking for a few minutes, he ended up in front of the ce he was eager toe to since he came to this world.

    ''Hunter Guild'' was the name stered on the huge sign on top of it.

    Different from the hunter association headquarter, this ce was where most hunters go to do their jobs. In other words, this ce is where he could get quests and missions to earn money.

    There were a lot of branches of the hunter association around the world, but this one was very special for one simple reason.

    Because of the huge size of Lagradon, the number of quests submitted every day was equally huge. So, this was basically a heaven for Acht. More quests meant more money and more soul stones for him to strengthen himself.

    He then entered the branch and made his way to the reception.

    "Hello, how can I help you?" The receptionist asked.

    "I''d like to choose a quest."

    "Do you have your hunter license, sir?"

    He handed her the license. After checking it properly, she then looked at him.

    "I checked your hunter license. Now, do you have a smartphone? If not, I suggest you buy one. Most of our quests and missions are posted on our app. This makes it easier for you to get missions without the need toe here."

    ''Technology is very convenient.''

    After giving his phone to the receptionist, thetter downloaded the application on the phone and handed it back.

    Acht immediately opened it to check it. The interface of the app was simple yet neat with everything he needed present.

    He then went to the quest section and started scrolling down.

    The ranking of quests was just like the one they used to rank dungeons with G being the lowest and SSS being the highest ranking possible.

    Acht ignored the ones that are higher than B-rank since he was not fully confident he could and only looked at the ones that are lower than that. And even if he wanted to check those, they weren''t essible because of his low rank.

    The missions he found were very diverse. From finding a missing cat to hunting down monsters. It was as if the hunters were the police force of this world since they were responsible for almost anything that has a rtion to the security of the normal citizens.

    ''Let''s find a good one¡­Hmm, this one looks decent.''

    His eyes locked on a particr D-rank mission. It was a mission to stop a gang that seemed to be doing some illegal drug dealing in the southern section of the capital. The pay for thepletion of this mission was 50 golds which was a fairly good amount of coins. That''s why being a hunter was so desirable, the pay for such a job was very generous.

    He then chose the quest, took the information that was given with it, and left the building.

    *************************

    "Hey, boss! We got the goods!" A man shouted as he exited a huge truck.

    The man he was talking to was an intimidating man with a huge scar on his face.

    The gang boss walked to the back of the truck and opened it.

    "Anyone seen you?" He said as he pulled out a bag from the ones inside the truck.

    "No boss! Even the cops had no idea! They thought we were transporting some girl dolls. Hahaha!" The manughed in disdain.

    The bag had some baby dolls inside them. From one look they would seem harmless, but inside these baby dolls, there was a red substance.

    This substance was very simr to cocaine in texture. However, this substance was way more dangerous than cocaine.

    It was called ''Red Soul Amplifiers''. A type of drug that will enhance the capabilities of its consumer.<sub> </sub>

    But, what made this substance dangerous and illegal was that with each time the person consumes it, he damages his soul slowly.

    At some point, the person could possibly die from the permanent damage to his soul.

    It was a very popr drug among the lower cast of society. They didn''t have the means to be able to get stronger like their counterparts who have the wealth to do so. As a result, they end up using such a substance to make up for that deficiency.

    "Good. Stock them in the vault before anyone could see us. We will distribute them tomorrow. Our dealers are already waiting for the next batch and we''re almost 3 dayste." He ordered as he walked inside.

    The other men looked at each other and snickered happily. They knew they would get extra money because of this batch they transported.

    "Hey, Eddie! Come here and help me, you dickhead!"

    "Would you shut up, Dani! Don''t you see that my hands are full, dumb fuck?!"

    They started moving the bags inside.

    "Those motherfuckers!"

    The man named Dani stayed outside, struggling to lift the bag since it was considerably heavy.

    "Hmm?"

    Suddenly, a gush of air rustled his hair and made him look to the side. Before he could even discover what made such a breeze, he felt a cold thing on his neck.

    "Wha-"

    *Slit*

    The de moved swiftly and cut his throat like a piece of paper, sshing blood all around him in the process.

    The man''s body fell down to the ground. He had died without feeling or knowing what killed him.

    Acht then dragged his body and threw it in the truck before entering the truck too.

    Eventually, the other men came out. When they saw the blood around the truck, they immediately pulled out their guns and ran to the truck to check the goods.

    Such things happen way too often in these areas that they had to adapt to it. Even though one of them was probably dead, they couldn''t lose focus or they would also follow him.

    "Open the goddamn truck!" One of them shouted.

    When the door was opened, Acht immediately jumped out of the truck and struck the man with his sword. He didn''t go for his neck and only slit his eyes to make him go permanently blind.

    "UGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" The man held his bloodied face and fell down screaming with pain

    Then, with a swift move, he closed the distance between him and the second. His sword sliced through his leg and cut them off easily.

    All of this happened before the gang members could react so when they were able to process what was happening, two of them were already down.

    "Fuck! A hunter!" One of them cursed as he aimed his gun at Acht and shot three bullets.

    Acht didn''t bother to even look at him and immediately activated his gifts. The next moment, the bullets stopped mid-air before falling down as if they hit something.

    "Wha- Ughhh!"

    The boy then threw one of his knives at the man''s leg. The flying knife prated his thigh and almost broke his bones.

    "Fuck!!! Fuck!!! Shoot him dead!!" The only two gang members left didn''t have any other choice except to run and tell their leader.

    But, how could they escape the clutches of such a monstrous predator.

    In a few moments, they fell down too.

    When he got rid of thest of them, the leader finally appeared in front of him.

    "What¡­the fuck?" He couldn''t believe his eyes.

    A sea of blood had filled the yard in front of his vault. All of his men were down on the ground wailing in pain. But, what made this scene even more bizarre was the fact that a young boy was standing in the middle of it while holding a bloody sword.

    Then, with a chilling coldness, he red at the man as he wiped a streak of blood that dirtied his face.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 68 Chapter 68

    "Y-You bastard!" The gang leader shouted with extreme anger.

    He was beyond outraged at what happened. He just went inside for a few minutes and when he came back, suddenly all of his gang members were killed or crippled for life.

    Then, he immediately activated his gift. All of his soul force was used on what he was about to do.

    ''He''s also a level 9 white soul.'' Acht took a fighting pose and then dashed toward him like a ghost.

    The man was almost taken aback by his speed but he still concentrated on his gift.

    Suddenly, sand started umting in front of him. It wasn''t sand per see but an umtion of all the dust and dirt particles around him that resemble sand.

    Soon, a ball of sand had umted in front of him. It was almost asrge as the man''s frame.

    "Take this!" He shouted and sted the sand ball at a high speed.

    In normal cases, Acht would have dodged it. However, he wanted to try the new artifact he bought so he immediately pulled it out of the spatial ring and activated it.

    He only had a split of a second to react so he didn''t wait for it to fully ooze out of the artifact.

    *BOOOOMMMMM*

    The ck liquid and the sand ball collided violently followed by a loud explosion that created a strong gush of air.

    "Ugh!" The leader couldn''t hold his foot and was sent flying until he hit the walls of the vault.

    As for Acht, he used his gift to stay rooted to the ground.

    After everything subsided, the boy immediately closed the distance between him and the leader to finish him off. The other was incapable of moving fastly because of his injury so he couldn''t react to it.

    "Wait! Don''t kill me!" The man put his hand in front of him as a gesture for Acht to stop.

    The other didn''t care and moved in to slit his throat with his sword.

    "I can give you the ce where we get our goods from!" He closed his eyes and shouted in fright.

    Acht''s sword suddenly stopped and looked at the man who was sweating buckets at the moment.

    "Speak." He said while keeping his sword near his throat.

    "Our main supplier is the Toy factory on the other side of the city. They have a hiddenboratory where they make soul amplifiers." He blurted out everything he knew without caring about anything.

    His life was way more important to him than his work. He could always change the ce where he works but he will never be able to do so if he was killed by this monster.

    "I see. Who''s the owner of this factory?" Acht asked.

    "I don''t know! They keep their identity a secret!"

    Acht didn''t immediately react to his answer since he seemed to be telling the truth.

    "Good."

    He nodded his head in approval. The man thought he was finally spared. But, instead of seeing the sword get away from his neck, he saw Acht lift it up and then shed down agily.

    *Swish*

    The man''s throat was slit easily like a piece of butter. He looked at the boy with deep shock and horror in his eyes.

    Then he tried to mutter one single word with all of his ability.

    "Why?"

    Acht chuckled slightly and answered.

    "I never promised you anything¡­idiot."

    Then, with a sense of hatred and hopelessness, the man closed his eyes and died silently.

    "Stupidity is such an interesting thing to see," Acht muttered while wiping the blood from his face.

    Humans are really bizarre when they''re in imminent danger. You could see all kinds of emotions collide to form what many would see as ''despair''.

    They would weep, beg, curse, and evenugh like maniacs. It was all a mechanism that their brains created so that they could stay sane enough.

    But, the worst drawback of this mechanism is losing their ability to think rationally. They will do anything that even they would not ept just so that they could get another second to live.<sub> </sub>

    Acht had seen these reactions thousands of times to the point where he could discern them with just a nce.

    But, never in his two lives did he feel any sympathy for those he killed. They were all bastards and scumbags who harmed others for their own benefits. So, killing them was in fact the best thing to do since that meant the world would get rid of shitty humans.

    Yet, he never considered himself a hero or some savior. He was also as shitty as they were.

    "When a scumbag meets another scumbag¡­you should always expect low moves like that." He said as he walked away from the scene before the cops coulde.

    When he was far enough, he rested his back against a wall and opened his phone.

    ''They said that I should take a picture of the truck and the gang members. I left some of them alive so that should do it. As for the other part¡­'' He gazed at the next part of the mission that made him wait for the gang leader to speak.

    ''They said that if I find a lead to the distributor I will get an extra 300 coins. It seems to be something they really wanna know for them to pay 6 times the initial reward for the information only.''

    But, the question remains: Should he go to the puppet factory and deal with theboratory by himself?

    The mission description didn''t specify whether they wanted information alone or physical evidence too. But, to make sure he did the mission perfectly, Acht decided to go there. It could be nothing but a lie, for all he cared.

    After deciding on his next destination, he jumped on one of the buildings and disappeared into the horizon.

    The toy factory was the only one in Lagradon so it was responsible for supplying all of the capital with toys which probably made it easier for them to distribute the soul amplifiers too.

    It was a smart thing to do but it was also equally risky.

    After jumping from one building to another, Acht finally found himself a few hundred meters away from the factory.

    He didn''t immediately move in since he wanted to see any suspicious movement in any part of the factory.

    From such a distance, people would''ve needed binocrs to see clearly. However, Acht''s eyes were extremely sharp so he didn''t need them.

    Anyway, the factory didn''t seem to be doing any shady things from an outside perspective.

    There were no trucks that moved in or out or anything suspicious for that matter.

    "I need to get closer."

    After closing the distance to 100 meters instead of 400 meters, he could see a lot clearer and also sense any type of soul energy around the ce better.

    "Hm? What''s this?" He closed his eyes and tried to feel the abnormality.

    There was indeed a strong concentration of soul force in a particr part of the factory. That part wasn''t inside the building¡­but under it.

    "I think I found what I''m looking for." He smiled slightly at his discovery.

    But, he still needed to get inside and get some evidence or it would only be nothing but empty words.

    "The guards don''t seem to be that professional." He took a look at the two men patrolling the ce.

    The heat from the sun made them feel tired so they were barely even looking around.

    So, he waited for them to leave, and then he jumped over the factory walls and moved near the main building.

    Then, he took a look inside the building from one of the windows.

    There were a lot of workers who were making dolls and all kinds of toys inside. It looked like a normal factory from just one look. But Acht was sure of it. There was a strong umtion of soul force under the building.

    ''How should I enter without alerting anyone.'' He wondered quietly.

    Entering from the main door is out of the question. So, he had to find another way from outside.

    As he was looking around aimlessly like that, his eyes caught something.

    Behind the factory, there was a small door cornered behind a big trash can.

    The door seemed unused, but Acht knew that was not the case since he saw someone walk inside from there. The man who entered was wearing a white coat and seemed to be looking around a lot before he entered inside.

    Acht then walked to the door and opened it. This shady door would probably lead to theboratory if his guess was on point.

    "Excuse my intrusion." He said with a sarcastic tone to no one in particr.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 69 Chapter 69

    The inside of the factory was very dark and humid as if it was the interior of some old dungeon.

    The floor was made out of broken tiles and the walls were rusty to the point where they threatened to crumble down at any given moment.

    There were even bats hung up on the wall and rats living in the corners of the corridor. All in all, it was a ce worse than the sewage pipes.

    Even Acht had to close his nose to stop the horrifying smell from invading his senses.

    He then moved quickly until the end of the corridor while keeping his presence as hidden as possible since he knew there was a person inside with him.

    When he reached the end of the corridor, he found a stairway that led deeper into the factory. Or to be more precise, the factory''s basement.

    After making sure no one was close by, he made his way down as carefully as possible.

    The stairs were very long so it took him some time to reach the basement. That''s when he heard something.

    "You fucking little shits. Stay back! I said stay back!!!"

    He heard the sound of someone shouting not so far away from where he stood.

    But, he didn''t immediately move closer as he wanted to hear more so he could discern what kind of situation it was.

    ''There are a lot of people inside. They are the source of this strong soul force that''s surrounding the factory.'' He thought to himself as he was now sensing this energy far more clearly than before.

    "Come over here, you bastards. We are going to theboratory. Better stay quiet or I will kill you!" The man shouted again with clear irritation.

    Then, Acht heard the sound of some silent weeping and some rustling here and there.

    Then, with no other choice, he stepped closer and closer before he took a peek inside.

    There, he saw one of the most disturbing things he had ever seen in his whole life.

    Rows and rows of cages made out of iron. In each one of these cages, there were small children. Tens and tens of small children with barely any clothes on and with hollow looks filling their eyes.

    Acht couldn''t describe how bad the smell was. It was so repulsive that even pigs will get disgusted by it.

    This ce was simply even worse than pig farms.

    ''What''s this?'' His eyes widened with shock.

    It was just way too much to see even for someone as cold-hearted as Acht. Seeing such a scene and not making any reaction was simply out of the question.

    Then, Acht''s eyes moved to look at the man walking away while holding two small children in his hand.

    He could see they were unwilling to go as they extended their hands while begging for their lives.

    But, even though he could''ve moved to save them, Acht decided to wait for some more time. Any stupid move and he will be swarmed by a horde of men who work in this horrible ce.

    The man then opened another door and went inside.

    After making sure he was totally gone, Acht stepped out from his hiding and walked between the rows of cages.

    Each one of the children he saw made his heart churn with pain. He had never seen such a disgusting act before in his life. Human trafficking was indeed a thing back on earth and he saw it with his own eyes.

    But, the conditions in which the others were trapped were far better than this.

    What made it even more impactful on him is the fact that he could see himself in these children. Just a hopeless existence trying to make it through to the next day and even questioning why he was even trying to live for another day. That was his life and it was simr to the one these kids were living.

    When the kids saw him, some of them tried to shout or call for him, but what ended uping out was iprehensible mumbles.

    "Shhhh! Could you keep quiet for now? I will get you outter." He made a gesture for them.

    The kids understood his words and even though they didn''t fully believe him, they had nothing to lose if they followed his orders.

    He didn''t even think about it twice. Even if he was a scumbag, even if he was a piece of shit. Saving these kids was just the simplest thing he wanted to do.<sub> </sub>

    ''Why are they holding them hostages? Isn''t this ce a drugboratory?'' he thought to himself.

    Acht expected to see some high-techb with all kinds of equipment that was creating the drugs out of chemical substances. But instead, he found a prison full of children which generated an idea in his head that made him shudder.

    ''There is no way, right?'' he thought to himself before shaking that idea. He was underestimating how cruel humans could be when they wanted to.

    He reached the door and opened it before walking inside.

    Immediately, the scenery changed from that rundown shit hole to what appeared like a Clinique.

    Even the smell immediately disappeared and was reced with the strong odor of alcohol.

    ''These hypocritical bastards.'' Acht cursed under his breath as his eyes turned a degree colder.

    Then, he continued to walk in this ce while searching for the mainboratory.

    He had to follow the traces of the man and the two children. So, in the end, he found himself in front of a metallic door.

    It was very sturdy and weighed no less than two tons. Beside the door was a ss window.

    He took a peek at the inside. There, he saw the man along with 5 other men wearing the sameb coat surrounding a table.

    On the table was one of the kids, he was pinned down with ropes and chains so he didn''t move while the others did something that made Acht question if this world was salvageable or not.

    They were opening his chest with surgical knives and other tools made for such operations.

    The kid was screaming with pain and suffering as he muttered some incoherent words.

    The men ignored his pleas and ultimately opened his chest like a watermelon. Inside, there was his beating heart and beside it was a red stone¡­it was his soul stone.

    Then, they grabbed that soul stone and started hitting it with a hammer. Each hit made the boy scream even higher.

    They kept hitting and hitting until his voice disappeared and he lost consciousness.

    They only stopped when they chipped a part of the soul stone. The part they cut off was not that big but considering the fact that it came out of a human being made that small piece of stone a horrible thing to look at.

    Then, with disgusting smiles on their face, they threw the soul stone inside a tube to clean it from blood.

    Seeing such a scene, Acht felt something click in his head. Everything now made sense for him. He understood why it was called soul amplifiers. He also understood why it was illegal and why the one who posted this mission gave 6 times the normal reward for any information on this business.

    "And here I thought this world could be fun. I even had this small hope that this ce might be better than my previous world. Hehehe, humans are humans after all. Changing the world won''t change their nature." He chuckled quietly at his naive self.

    Then, with a cold yet also a sad look, he pulled out his sword.

    "I will not get out of here until I make these scumbags feel the consequences of their actions." He said as he looked at his white sword and the triangr object.

    Then, he stood up and walked to the door. Using the ck liquid he had, he made it form a key and shoved it inside the door to open it up. He kept changing the form of the key until it fit perfectly inside the keyhole. In normal cases, it was a very hard thing to do, but Acht was ustomed to opening closed doors with his skills so it was like a walk in the park for him.

    After a few seconds, the door arched slightly before Acht kicked it fully open.

    The men yelped from their ces in surprise. They were about to drag the second boy to do the same thing to him.

    "Hey, you lot. Do you have a god you believe in?" Acht asked them with a low tone.

    The men didn''t answer immediately as they were still frozen with shock.

    "You know what, don''t answer the question. It doesn''t really matter whether you do or not. Those gods won''t be saving you today anyway."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 70 Chapter 70

    The men couldn''t believe their eyes. A few moments ago, they were going on with their normal procedures of getting some soul stones from the caged children they had, and suddenly, a small kid barged in with a sword in his hand.

    Most of them assumed that he was a runaway but soon scratched that idea since his clothes were way too extravagant for him to be one of those small prisoners.

    But, even if he was a kid, they knew that he was not good news so one of them, who was in the far back of the room where it was harder for Acht to see him, tried to tap on a certain thing in his pocket.

    However, Acht had already seen what he was intending to do and immediately made a gesture with his hand. In response, the man was sent flying like a ragdoll and smashed against the metallic wall making him crack a few bones.

    They were all unawakeners so it was easy to harm them.

    As they saw how their friend was now a useless sack of flesh and blood, their faces contorted greatly. Forget about this boy being good news, he was a goddamn nightmare.

    So, without any other choice, they tried to scream for help.

    "Oh no, you don''t," Acht said and closed the metallic door and blocked all noises that came from the inside toe out.

    "Don''t worry though, I will deal with the other bastards in thisboratory just like how I will deal with you." He cracked his neck and started walking slowly towards them.

    He wasn''t intending to let them die so easily, he wanted to make them feel the hellish pain they made these children go through possibly every single day.

    The men scattered and ran to the other side of the room as they searched for anything useful they could fight with.

    One of them found his small and bloodied surgical knife while another held on to a small hammer used for testing reflexes. They weren''t even considered weapons, but they had no other choice.

    But, one of them who was the man who brought the two kids didn''t search for a weapon. Instead, he ran to his unconscious friend and tried to grab the rm signal button from his pocket. He was the only one that had it so they could only take it from him.

    Obviously, Acht saw all of that and immediately channeled his soul force and made the unconscious man fly to the other side of the room, hitting another wall and breaking multiple other bones.

    "Fuck! Help me out!!!" The man shouted and tried to throw something at Acht who for some reason kept standing still in his ce, not bothering to move closer to them or attack them.

    The other three gulped a mouth full of saliva and looked at each other with clear fright in their hollow eyes. Attacking that small kid was akin to a quick trip to the graveyard. It was simply out of the question.

    But, since it was an order from their boss, they thought of another solution and tried to throw everything their hands could fall on at him.

    So, with shouts of despair and a healthy dose of adrenaline to make them lose any type of logical thinking process, they started attacking him with the surgical equipment they had in the room.

    They were all very expensive, costing tens and even hundreds of gold coins for each single one of them, but they still threw them at him in hope of hitting him.

    "That''s your best attempt at saving your own sorry asses?" He muttered as he dodged a ss tube with some liquid in it.

    Then, he jumped to the side to let another medical chair fly by his side.

    Then, with a small leap in the air, Acht reached the men who were cornered likeb rats while sweating profusely.

    "Ohe on, get closer to each other. Strengthen your bonds." He then applied triple the gravity on them, making them get squished into the corner like a piece of y.

    "Ugghhhhh?!!!" The men felt their bodies being smashed against each other as their bones made unhealthy clicking sounds.

    Especially the one who was closest to the wall, he had to suffer the weight of 4 men along with triple the normal gravity. So, with a shriek of pain and his eyes widening like two balloons, his ribs turned gradually into shards of bones that swam inside his body.

    "No! Get off me!!!" He tried to push them but they were also getting pushed back so it was nothing but a futile r¨¦sistance from his side.

    "UGGHHHHHHHHHHHH?!!"

    His pain intensified when he felt the bits and pieces of his broken ribcage poke his lungs and heart. They created holes in those organs and emptied them of blood and air.

    Then, with onest scream of help, he lost his energy and closed his eyes, never to open them again.

    "One down. 4 more to go." Said loudly.

    He seemed like some grim reapering to harvest their souls in the most painful way possible.<sub> </sub>

    Acht then moved on to the closest one and grabbed him by his neck. The man squirmed like a fish and tried to punch Acht in the face but ended up hitting thin air.

    Then, he dragged the man by the neck and threw him at the ss window. After that, he grabbed his head again and smashed it against the wall. He used enough force to make him feel maximum pain while retaining his consciousness.

    He then kept hitting his head again and again while the man shrieked like a pig getting ughtered.

    The others watched the horrifying scene and their blood froze in their veins. They knew they were about to suffer the same, if not a higher, level of torture by Acht.

    The only one who didn''tpletely lose it was their superior who came back with the kids. He stood up slowly on his feet and tried to sneak his way to the man that had the rm button.

    However, Acht was already aware of it but he still kept dealing with what was at hand while letting the man get closer and closer to his goal.

    When he was close enough, Acht made the same gesture and made the unconscious man fly to the other side of the room, hitting another wall and breaking who knows how many other bones left intact in his body.

    "FUCCKKKK!!!" The man cursed with all his might and ran to the door. He was aware that Acht was ying with them as if they were some baby dolls, taking his time to torture their souls as much as he could.

    So, as ast solution, he tried to run to the door and open it. He had the keys so he could do it if he had enough time. But, Acht wasn''t going to let him reach his goal.

    *Swish*

    The man was pushed back a few meters.

    "Wait for your turn." He said as he pulled the smashed head of the man in his hand. The man did hold on for some time, but in the end, his head was cracked open like an egg and he died on the spot.

    Then, Acht turned to the two left that had already lost all of their hope of getting saved.

    Suddenly, the leader shouted.

    "You are here because of the drug, right?"

    He then took a deep breath and said in a low voice.

    "I can tell you who''s the owner of this factory."

    The man found that as hisst idea to get out of this room alive. Revealing such secrets had its consequences but he had no other choice at hand if he wanted to live.

    Acht looked at him with cold eyes that made him shudder visibly.

    "We are nothing but workers here so you can''t me us. How about it? You could deal with the roots of this work instead of killing some small fries like us?"

    His reasoning might sound right in his head, but for Acht, it was nothing but a farce.

    "And why should I believe whatever nonsense wille out of your mouth in the next moment."

    "I-I have proof. Here, this is a document that shows a transaction of money for theboratory. You can see who''s the one who deposited the money. It''s a top-secret transaction so even the government wouldn''t know about it."

    The man said as threw an envelope at Acht. The boy grabbed the envelope and opened it.

    That''s when he saw the name and his eyes widened significantly. Of all the names he predicted could be there, none of them involved what he saw.

    The sender of such money¡­was the GoldKnight family.

    Immediately, the image of a certain red-haired woman manifested itself in his mind.

    "Scarlett''s family is the owner of this drugboratory?" He muttered to himself in slight disbelief.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 71 Chapter 71

    For Acht, Scarlett was a straightforward and kind person. She didn''t seem to be the type to deceive people, Acht was sure of that.

    He even remembers how the book portrayed the GoldKnight family. They were this righteous and heroic family who always involved themselves in everything that interests the well-being of the citizens and their protection. In a nutshell, they were a bunch of heroes without capes.

    But, it seemed that her family was rotten to the core. To have such a business running and still keep that righteous facade in front of people. Howughable!

    Acht closed the envelope and looked at the man who was now smiling slightly. Seeing Acht''s reaction made his faint hope of survival grow bigger and bigger. He felt that Acht was indeed interested in the real and secretive owner of this business.

    "Here, take the envelope." Acht then casually threw the envelope to the man.

    His smile widened even further and he extended his hand to catch. However, he didn''t feel the paper in his hand, what weed him instead was a sharp and pointy knife that prated his hand.

    "Ughhhh!!!" The man held his hand and screamed loudly while blood dripped down his arm and on the ground.

    He didn''tprehend what happened at all. Didn''t they have a deal? Didn''t he ept it?

    "Why did you attack me?! We had a fucking deal and you epted it." He shouted in a frenzy.

    Acht looked at him with fake confusion and asked back.

    "Did I? My memory is bad, you see so I can''t remember things very well." He scratched his head and grabbed his sword again.

    It was already set in stone that these scumbags will die today. Even if Livia herself came down and tried to stop him, he would still kill these bastards just like he decided to do when he saw what they were doing to children.

    "You know¡­I''m also a very bad person. Rotten to the core, just like you. But, I will never stoop so low as to harm innocent people that didn''t do anything bad to me. On the other side, you lot used small children like some fucking animals and cut them open to extract their soul stones. You think I will fucking care about some stupid deal? To hell with that."

    The man started retreating slowly with his face drenched in sweat.

    "You have no right to ask me to keep my end of the bargain. I don''t give two shits about it."

    With each sentence he said, he kept closing up on the man with steady steps.

    "Now, you have to deal with the consequences of your actions and ept your fate. If you prey on the weak then expect yourself to be the prey too."

    Now, only a few inches away from him, Acht plunged his sword into his right thigh.

    The de pierced the whole leg and exited from the other side.

    The man felt his mind go numb from the extreme pain as he squirmed around like a dying fish.

    "So¡­In this case, I''m the predator," Acht said without blinking.

    "UGGHHHHHHHH!!!!" The man shrieked as he saw one thing in the pupils of this young man¡­.death.

    **************************

    "Mm?" A small boy opened his heavy eyelids and mumbled some incoherent words in a daze.

    The moment he woke up, an intense pain from his chest attacked him again and he groaned with his dry throat.

    Thest thing he remembered before losing consciousness is those scary men doing the same thing to him. He had to go through that pain countless times and with each one of those times, the pain seemed to be even more intense than before. He simply couldn''t grow ustomed to it no matter how much he tried.

    "Brother! Brother!" He suddenly heard a familiar voice from his side.

    His eyes were drawn to the silhouette of someone he loved a lot. It was his twin brother who looked identical to him and someone who shared the same pain as he did.

    "B-Brother? Did they send us¡­back?" He asked with a clear sadness in his voice.

    "No! We were saved! Those bad guys aren''t here now! We are gonna get out!" The boy shouted with clear excitement.

    "H-How?" The little boy couldn''t believe his ears no matter how much he tried to.

    How many times had he dreamt of his freedom? How many times has he dreamt of getting out of this ce and looking at the blue sky? Countless times he cried and wept as he saw his and his brother''s bloodied states after each surgery.

    He even tried to take his own life more than once but ended up with a failure.

    Now, he was told that they were free and you expect him to believe it that easily?<sub> </sub>

    "A big brother helped us! He''s over there."

    The boy rose up from his ce and looked at the boy. He seemed to be slightly older than them. His eyes were looking at some rectangr object that emitted light.

    "Mm?" The boy didn''t know what to say.

    "Save your words. I already called the authorities. You will be out of here so stay quiet." Acht said with a t tone while taking pictures with his phone of the inside of the cells and the room in general.

    He needed evidence for his mission so he took it now so as to not forget itter on.

    ''I was lucky enough that they were unconscious when I had to deal with the people inside theb.'' He sighed inwardly and shook his head to dismiss these thoughts.

    The boy seemed to freeze in his ce as he looked at Acht.

    Those words didn''t seem that friendly but for the boy, they were akin to a blessing from god. They were his salvage from such a hellish shit hole.

    Unbeknownst to him, a tear trickled down his face. Then another one followed it before hepletely broke down into tears.

    He fell down on his knees and cried loudly. The others saw how the boy cried and also started crying too.

    They all cried out their misery and pain as if there was no tomorrow. They didn''t even have the opportunity to cry since they had all lost all hope of getting out. Now, when they were presented with it, they had no other choice but to break down.

    "Thank you¡­Thank you¡­Thank you¡­" the boy kept saying the same words like a broken record.

    He was beyond grateful for Acht. In fact, he felt as if this boy was a god or an angel sent by God, heeding his prayers.

    The other kids followed suit and started thanking Acht relentlessly.

    As for thetter, he didn''t know how to react when he was bombarded with these words non-stop.

    He forgot thest time someone said those words to him. They were like a foreign objects he didn''t know.

    But, deep inside of him, those words made him feel slightly satisfied. Just so slightly.

    So, he turned around and started fiddling with his phone so as to not face these small kids.

    "Stop it." He said with a quiet voice.

    But, they didn''t want to.

    "I said stop it." He repeated his words louder.

    ''Sigh, how can I deal with these kids?'' He shook his head and tried to ignore them.

    Then, he heard the sirens of the police outside. He didn''t leave yet and made sure they found the door before he disappeared inside theboratory as they would not see his face.

    He also made sure for the kids not to blurt out any information about him.

    As he walked inside the corridors of theboratory, he saw the tens of corpses that riddled the ce and colored the walls with a deep crimson red color.

    Most of them were killed with one swipe of the sword while others were murdered after much resistance. Anyone who saw such a ce will think it was some kind of a set for a horror movie.

    He had killed every single person inside thisb without exception and he didn''t regret it. It was all for the best. In fact, this was by far the best thing he had done sinceing here. He had no reason to regret it at all.

    After walking for some time, he found the room he was looking for. It was the ce where most chemical experiments were done for the drug.

    He ignored all the bloody mess inside and walked to one ce where some red powder was put in a ss tube.

    He held the tube and looked at it with aplicated expression.

    "I guess my meeting with Scarlett will be sooner than I expected."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 72 Chapter 72

    After Acht left the factory, the ce was swarmed with policemen and medics. They were apparently looking for these people for a very long time but they couldn''t find them.

    They were the big fish when it came to making soul amplifiers and they even distributed to all of the Surgian empire. Such a thing made the owners of this business one of the most wanted criminals in the kingdom.

    But, even if they somehow knew that the GoldKnight family is the one responsible for it, they won''t be doing much to stop them. In fact, they will probably ignore it and hide the fact from the poption.

    This was how corrupted the higher-ups of this kingdom were. It was very impressive how this country kept its power and prosperity for this long with such a w in itsws.

    Anyway, after leaving the ce, Acht sent the information he gathered from this mission through the app. One of the good things about it is that it gave you the choice to keep your identity secret or not. So, Acht immediately chose to keep himself under a veil of mystery just so he could avoid pointless problems.

    After that, within a few minutes, the money was sent to him through his bank ount. It was a very quick transaction that didn''t need him to go back to the guild just so that he could get his rewards.

    He earned a total of 500 gold coins from the mission since the one who posted it got more than just a small amount of information or even a few hints. Acht totally revealed the illegal business and even killed every single one responsible for it so he totally deserved that extra money.

    ''Back to a rich life.'' He thought to himself.

    The first thing he did was book a room in a hotel so he can have a ce where he could leave for a few days until he meets Leislet again. Then, he bought some necessities for himself like health potions and stamina potions. They were all indispensable for his survival.

    After that, he took a few missions in the forest nearby to hunt some monsters and get some soul stones. He wanted to gather as many soul stones as he could for when he was going to reach level 10 and pass on to the next soul level. He also wanted to raise his rank in the hunter guild quickly so he could open higher quests that could prove to be a challenge for him.

    **************************

    A few days passed like a breeze. Nothing major happened and it was something Acht was grateful for.

    "Now¡­what should I do?" He muttered to himself as he sat in a restaurant, eating his lunch as he gazed at the window with a distant look.

    ''Maybe I should go and meet Leislet again? I have already decided to ept it anyway.'' he thought to himself as he threw a french fry in his mouth.

    It was set in stone that he will be going to the Mystic Soul Convention. He just needed to get himself ready and that''s it. Now, he felt like he had done everything he needed to do and more so he was ready to move on to the next phase of his journey.

    After deciding what to do next, he finished his food and quit the restaurant, and walked straight toward the hunter association HQ.

    When he reached there, he went to the reception desk and asked for a meeting with Leislet.

    The receptionist frowned and was about to politely refuse him. But, while they were standing there, a person got out of the elevator and came walking toward them.

    "Hi! You came back quicker than I thought." She said as she waved her hand with a smile.

    "You were expecting me, weren''t you?" He responded.

    "Did I get caught?" She said mischievously.

    "Pretty much."

    Then, they both started walking away from the receptionist who had his mouth agape like a whale.

    Acht eyed the shocked receptionist once and smiled disdainfully.

    After that, they both went up to thest floor where Leislet''s office was. She seemed to be in a very good mood as hummed beside him like a bird.

    "So, what''s your answer?"

    She asked as she sat down on her chair making her big boobs jiggle in the process.

    "You should already expect my answer. I ept your offer." He said.

    "Great! That''s the good news that I always search for!" Her eyes lightened up even more and she smiled widely. It seemed that his approval of her offer was a huge thing for her.

    "Can I ask you one question though?"

    "Go ahead."

    "Why did you choose me out of many other people? With your status, you could''ve gotten someone way stronger than me for the tournament."

    Leislet didn''t answer immediately as she pulled out a remote controller and tapped a button on it.

    Then, the wall to their side suddenly lit up like a TV and the news channel appeared in front of them.

    "Look at this." She said as she rested her hands again on the table.<sub> </sub>

    The news channel was still airing the discovery of the drugboratory. It was the hot topic of the capital for the past few days since it was revealed that many slum children get abused in such horrendous ways in this ce and then die after getting used countless times.

    The news reporter was talking about a certain point of this ident.

    "This industry that is almost gaining billions of gold coins while using children as its main resource for creating soul amplifiers is just nothing short of a catastrophe¡­."

    "Heard that?" She asked as she shut off the TV again.

    "Billions of gold coins? There is no way such¡­"

    "Exactly, there is no way such a business could be in the billions of gold coins. It''s just pure nonsense. But, for more views and more exposure, they exaggerate the numbers and change the numbers and make it even more terrifying. People might think it''s not true, but many will buy it."

    Then, she stood up and walked to the window, and continued.

    "Imagine just how big it would be if an 8 or 9 years old boy wins the prestigious Mystic Souls Tournament. It would be huge and it would even be a hot topic for months. That fact alone will boost my reputation into the sky. Not even the king himself could rival me then. Fufufufu" She said as she arched her arms as if she wanted to hug something.

    "You are crazy," Acht said as he sighed under his breath with a helpless look. He seemed to be a ma for crazy people from the moment he came here.

    "I will consider that as apliment." She said as she chuckled lightly.

    "Well, fair enough. You will win from it and I will win from it so it''s none of my business what you do with my win."

    "Ohoh, so you''re confident that you will win?" She asked with an amused look.

    "It''s not about confidence or any bullshit like that. I just know that I will win. It''s something set in stone." He responded with an extremely serious look.

    Leislet was impressed by his attitude. Such wordsing from any other person''s mouth would have been considered nothing but arrogant bluffing. But, Acht didn''t show any type of arrogance. It was more of a blind trust in his own abilities that made hime to such a conclusion.

    ''What a weird kid.'' She thought to herself.

    Then, as she was about to say something else, a loud sound interrupted her.

    *BOOOOOOMMMMMMMM*

    It was the sound of a loud explosion.

    "What''s that?" The boy muttered and hurried his way to the window to take a look.

    Outside, a few kilometers away, there was a huge fire storm that covered the sky like a veil of hell.

    The clouds of smoke rose up into the far heights and moved into the other areas of the capital at a tremendous speed.

    That wasn''t the only thing, soon, a strong wave of soul force attacked Acht and made him back away two steps.

    "What''s this strong aura¡­No, it''s not one aura¡­"

    "Yeah, this is a monster stampede." Leislet continued his words with a serious look. Her yful demeanor was nowhere to be found.

    "A monster stampede? This is not good at all." Acht muttered to himself.

    Their aura alone told him that they were in the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands.

    "Why did this happen?"

    Leislet moved quickly and picked up the phone.

    "Make an emergency call for all the hunters from B-rank and above that are in the city now. Tell them all to ignore their quests ande back quickly!"

    Then, she looked at Acht and said with a serious look.

    "We need to move. The capital is going to get destroyed!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 73 Chapter 73

    "Why is there a monster stampede in the middle of the capital?" Acht asked as they ran down the stairs to cut down the time they had to wait inside the elevator.

    "There are many dungeons that are located inside the capital. They are called ''Restricted zones'' since they are extremely dangerous. This is such a case of a dungeon outbreak."

    "What''s the rank of this dungeon? From the aura alone, it could be C-Rank or higher." Acht gave his idea as he recalled the massive wave of energy that engulfed the city.

    It wasn''t the strong aura of each of these monsters individually that made it so overwhelming. It was actually the sheer number of these monsters that invaded the city that made it that strong.

    "That dungeon is a B-Rank dungeon. It''s called the ''Orc Vige'' dungeon since it''s full of orcs."

    ''Orcs? So they do exist in this world.'' Acht thought to himself as he jumped 5 stairs in one single step.

    With each passing second, he could feel the ground shake and hear the screams of people as they ran away for their dear lives.

    They reached the entrance of the Hunter Association HQ and they finally could witness the destruction that befell the city in these few minutes.

    Hordes and hordes of monsters moved through the streets as they dispersed to fill the whole area and destroy whatever came in front of them.

    Buildings fell and people were killed as they tried to escape the clutches of these vicious monsters.

    "Fuck." Acht cursed under his breath.

    Even escaping became something way harder than fighting them head-on so he could only resort to such a choice even though it would be one of the hardest fights of his life.

    ''But, I can''t use gravity in front of hunters.'' He thought to himself as he pulled his triangr object. He decided to call it ''Ooze'' for short.

    He then changed its form to that of a bow. Before he confronts them, he wants to see if hitting them with arrows is a good idea.

    Leislet had already disappeared somewhere so he was all alone surrounded by a sea of monsters.

    He then hid in the best ce possible and aimed his bow at one random orc.

    This orc was hitting some buildings while shouting and screaming non-stop. It didn''t even bother to look whether hitting it like that will actually make it fall or not. It seems that intelligence is not one of their stronger points.

    Then, after making sure he locked him in, Acht made the liquid transform into an arrow and detach itself from the bow.

    *Swish*

    The arrow was released and it flew towards the orc at a tremendous speed. It was very apparent from the start that it would be stronger than normal arrows.

    *Boom*

    The arrow struck the orc in the back and made it lose its bnce immediately. The hit wasn''t the most effective one out there but it was enough to give Acht some time to finish off these bastards.

    So, without hesitation, the boy left his hiding ce and charged at the monster like a tiger. Then, he jumped on top of the falling orc and charged his sword full of soul force before piercing his neck.

    "WAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" The orc shrieked as it felt its throat getting destroyed.

    It tried to resist as it moved left and right to shake off Acht, but it ended up with a failure since his sword was plunged deep into its flesh so it was impossible to shake him off.

    Then, with a low growl, Acht pulled the sword out and struck again, this time in his back exactly where his heart was.

    The sword that was now full of Acht''s soul energy was extremely sharp to the point where it could probably slice through hard steel like butter.

    So, with a little to no resistance, the sword reached the heart and popped it like a balloon.

    Immediately, the orc''s resistance stopped and he fell down motionless with blood gushing out of its body endlessly.

    ''This was only one orc and it took me all this time to beat it? If I met a few of them it would''ve been a disaster.'' Acht thought as he quickly took the orc''s soul stone and stored it in his spatial ring before disappearing from that ce.

    Him finding one single orc that he was roaming the ce alone was nothing but luck since when he came out of the alley, he found tens of them moving in groups of 3.

    "Goddammit." He needed to think of a solution.

    He then looked at Ooze and thought to himself.

    ''Wait, could that actually work?'' He had this sudden idea that he didn''t know if it could work or not.<sub> </sub>

    "I need to know the area where controlling Ooze is still possible."

    Then, he took a part of the ck liquid and threw it to the ground before walking away as far as he could. He almost walked 40 meters away from it

    Then, he tried to change its form, but it didn''t work. So he approached it and tried to change its form but it still didn''t work.

    He kept trying and trying until he found where exactly it could be controlled.

    "Approximately 20 meters. This should work."

    Then, he immediately hid again from 30 orcs that came from another street.

    While he was hiding, he took the ck liquid and dissected it into small balls the size of his fingernails.

    The whole liquid made almost 400 balls. Then, he took one of those and looked for a good target.

    One of the orcs that were nearby apparently saw a human who was trying to hide before they came and killed him. So, in its anger, it opened its huge mouth and shouted loudly.

    At that exact moment, Acht threw that ball with all of his strength towards its gaping mouth.

    The ball swiftly cut through the air and ended up inside the orc.

    The stupid orc didn''t think much of it and swallowed the whole thing thinking it was a bug or a fly.

    ''Good boy.'' Acht smiled and then did what he was intending to.

    *Swish* *Thud*

    The moving orc that seemed fine a second ago suddenly stopped moving and fell down to the ground. It didn''t even scream or make any reaction, it just died silently.

    Then, Acht ordered Ooze toe back to him and the liquid immediately exited the orc''s mouth and came back to him without alerting the others.

    The n was a massive sess. At first, it seemed to be such a stupid idea that no one could think of. But, when Acht pierced the orc''s body, he discovered that its innards are actually quite soft and mushy in contrast to the extremely tough skin they had outside.

    So, with that in mind, Acht grabbed these balls and started aiming them at the orcs one after the other.

    Each time he killed one of them, they would try to look for anything weird around them that made theirpanions die like that but they couldn''t find anything so they resumed their journey through the Capital.

    In a matter of minutes, Acht was able to obliterate 30 orcs without breaking a sweat.

    It was just stupidly strong now that he used it properly. This ck liquid was almost like a cheat. Of course, it was a cheat-like thing because Acht knew how to use it to his total advantage.

    After making sure there were none left nearby, he exited his hiding and started collecting the soul stone of these monsters. This amount of soul stones alone could make his soul level make a huge leap.

    As he was about to collect thest one, a cold feeling filled his body and a sense of danger made him shudder. Instinctively, he moved his body away from the ce where he was standing.

    The next moment, a huge boulder fell down there and crushed the hard road like a graham cracker.

    Acht turned extremely serious in a second, this was not a normal opponent, at all.

    "Ywahhhhhhh!!!" The orc that screamed like that didn''t look like the others.

    It was taller and more muscr, its face was full of scars and the two fangs that protruded out of its mouth were broken.

    What was striking about it, however, is that it was wearing more sane-like clothes that resemble slightly what humans wore.

    "This stupidly strong aura." Acht felt a trickle of sweat fall down his face and his hands seemed to sweat too. He was slightly nervous.

    It may look cowardly or maybe nonsensical, but he had all right to feel nervous and even run away for his life if necessary since this monster¡­was an A-Rank monster.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 74 Chapter 74

    "This is really bad," Acht muttered as he started retreating slowly while keeping eye contact with the orc.

    It was most likely the dungeon boss and for his bad luck, it ended up in front of him.

    p What are the chances of meeting this exact creature by coincidence in a ce the size of a country? Well, not that high except if Acht was involved, then the chances wouldn''t be the same.</anda>

    But, he didn''t care about luck at the moment since he was in a very dire situation. A confrontation with such a beast will be extremely dangerous if not lethal.

    ''I can''t fucking run!'' he looked behind him and hordes of creatures moving on the other intersection he will have to pass in order to escape.

    The orc lord looked at Acht with its huge red eyes that were filled with anger. It saw how this small human killed a lot of its subordinates.

    So, it was now eager to shred that human to pieces and swallow him whole like a fish.

    "Ywahhhhhhh!!!" It screeched again and grabbed its huge club made out of hardwood before charging at him like a mad beast. Its speed was tremendous even though it weighed almost 10 tons or more.

    When it reached him, the orc lord smashed down with the club.

    *BOOOMMM*

    The road got destroyed and a whole was created, then, like a chain of dominoes, the cracking continued until it reached the other side of the road and hit a building making it sway left and right from the sheer impact.

    Acht was able to dodge it but the gush of airing from that hit alone made him hit the building behind him roughly.

    "Fuck." He gritted his teeth and stood up immediately. The orc was already in his pursuit when he was pushed away.

    The monster reached him again and tried to grab him with its free hand but Acht jumped on top of it and ran all the way to the top so that he could hit a weak point that he thought the orc had¡­his eyes.

    However, the moment he took a step on his shoulder, the creature did something unexpected.

    It didn''t try to hit him or grab him but instead decided to fall down to the ground.

    When Acht saw that he had no choice but to jump from it before he got squashed like a bug.

    ''This piece of shit is smart.'' He looked at it with a serious look.

    He then pulled out 4 ck Ooze balls and held them tightly in his hand.

    He still didn''t find an opportunity to make the orc swallow the ck Ooze balls since it didn''t seem to be giving him any chance to move. In fact, The moment Acht jumped away, the orc stopped its free fall and stood up as quickly as possible before charging at him again like a mad bull.

    "Dammit! I can''t keep on dodging non-stop!"

    "Ywaaaaaaaaahhhhh!"

    *Booooommm*

    The orc was getting stronger and stronger with each hit as if its anger was fueling the energy it had.

    It kept chasing after him and hitting whatever takes his ce after he dodges.

    In a matter of minutes, the main road they were standing on turned into mush and the building beside them was threatening to fall down at any second.

    Acht didn''t find one single opportunity to hit back in all of this time. The only thing he could do was to dodge and dodge endlessly.<sub> </sub>

    But, even if he was skilled enough, injuries were bound to happen.

    He looked at his bloodied left arm that lost its utility and then touched his forehead that was now oozing blood unstoppingly. He was in a really bad shape and he was also exhausted.

    ''Dammit! This fucker doesn''t stop.'' He thought to himself.

    ''It doesn''t even think when it¡­.''

    Suddenly his eyes widened as an idea struck his mind like a bullet train.

    "Right! Why didn''t I think of that? I''m such an idiot!" He chuckled at his own stupidity.

    He had the solution in front of him all this time, he just didn''t look at it.

    So, immediately, he went to work.

    The orc was almost 20 meters away from him, so he could reach the ce he wanted before his opponent strikes back.

    So, he dragged his injured body with great difficulty. The blood loss had made his eyesight hazy and his consciousness was slowly drifting away.

    He reached the exact position and then looked back at the monster before saying.

    "You weak fucker! How about this instead of me?" He then showed him his middle finger as a sign of provocation.

    The creature didn''t understand what that sign meant but it was sure the human was provoking it. So, like any other monster, it lost its mind and howled in anger.

    Then, it charged at him even faster than before and jumped up high in the sky.

    Acht knew that it totally fell into his trap so he smiled slightly and readied himself.

    The moment the creature was a few meters away from the ground, he needed to jump to the side as fast and as far as he could.

    ''If I miss by even a millisecond, it''s over for me.'' He thought to himself as a big smile appeared on his face and adrenaline rushed through his body.

    It was the first time in a very long time that he felt like that. The feeling of his whole body aching with pain and the looming death that kept watching him with eager eyes.

    This was the feeling he was addicted to. People liked to gamble with their money but Acht liked to gamble with his life because that''s when he feels the most alive.

    ''It''s been a very long time indeed. I hope this won''t be thest time I felt like this. I better fucking live!''

    "Come at me you little fucker!" He shouted with all his might.

    "Ywaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!"

    *BOOOOOOOOOMMMMM*

    (I decided to start uploading 1k+ chapters instead of 1.5k+ chapters. However, I will also double the number of chapters uploaded daily. If you like the idea or hate it, do tell me.)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 75 Chapter 75

    *BOOOOOOOMMMMM*

    The world shook as if it was hit by the strongest earthquake. A strong wind storm destroyed the whole area around it and a massive hole was created due to the impact.

    The orc had used its strongest attack because of its outrage so it couldn''t move that quickly to chase after Acht again. If he survived that attack, that is.

    The orc took a deep breath and waited for the huge cloud of dust and debris to be carried away by the howling winds.

    Then, it stood up and pulled its wooden club out of the ground. The attack was so strong that the club got stuck in the ground as if it was a nail pinning a piece of paper.

    But, as it was rising up, it heard a small cracking sound. It was very faint and almost normal considering the destruction that this attack had made on the area. However, the orc felt a sense of danger for some reason.

    Such a thing was weird but the orc couldn''t discern where the sense of danger came from so it ignored it and started looking for Acht again.

    Then, the cracking sound came back again. However, this time it was considerably higher and easier to hearpared to before.

    So, it started turning around left and right searching for the sound.

    The sound kept getting higher and higher and the orc was now extremely restless. However, it didn''t think of moving since it thought Acht could be hiding somewhere waiting for it.

    That''s when¡­

    *CRACK*

    A shadow suddenly started looming over the orc from up ahead. It didn''t understand what it was at first. But, when the truth dawned on it, it immediately felt blood freeze in its body.

    "Ywaaah!!"

    The orc lord then tried to move away as fast as possible. But, by the time it discovered the source of that cracking, it was already over.

    *CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK*

    The building finally lost all of its bnce and started copsing. Massive rocks and metal objects fell down like a torrent of rain and struck the orc directly.

    It tried to resist the hits and move but it couldn''t do it for long enough so that it could escape the area where the building would fall.

    Then, in a very fluid motion, the whole building fell down and smashed the orcpletely.

    *BOOOOMMMMM*

    A storm of dirt invaded the streets and a strong shockwave destroyed whatever came in front of it. The sound of the massive building copsing reached every corner of the city and even made smaller buildings nearby copse.

    "Hah¡­Hah¡­hah¡­." Acht watched this happen from afar with an extremely tired look.

    He had reached his limits and exceeded them with this fight. He even had to suffer multiple injuries just so that he could kill this orc.

    "Fuck¡­My leg got struck with a rock." He cursed as he grabbed his left leg which was now puffed up like a balloon because of the hit.

    In normal circumstances, it would''ve beenughable if a rock could actually scratch his leg let alone damage it, but because of his exhaustion and the fact that he emptied his soul force throughout the fight made his defenses weaker and easier to prate.<sub> </sub>

    "Is it¡­over?" He muttered to himself as he watched the pile of rubble where he predicted the orc was buried under.

    He couldn''t just think that this was enough to kill that abomination.

    "I have barely enough soul energy to be able to pull this off¡­But, I''m gonna lose my consciousness if I do it." He looked at his bloodied hand and then gripped it tightly.

    But, as he was about to do it, he felt the presence of a bunch of creaturesing at him.

    "Don''t tell me."

    The worst possible oue he could think of happened and a horde of orcs came to where the area of destruction was.

    They seemed to have some kind of connection with the orc lord since they seemed to be restless and kept looking for their leader left and right.

    Quickly, they caught the presence of Acht who was standing not that far from there and they immediately grew outraged.

    "Shit. This is the fucking worst." He cursed and immediately pulled out a potion¨C no, multiple potions¨C to drink.

    They won''t heal his heavier injuries, but it will be more than enough to relieve some of the pain he was suffering from.

    ''I won''t be able to keep up for long. Where are the other fucking hunters?'' He tried to search for any presence nearby. Just a small help could make the difference in this bloody battle and Acht needed that help more than any time.

    But, unfortunately, he didn''t find anyone in the range of his soul sense.

    So, in other words, he was alone against whatever number of orcs was standing in front of him.

    So, with a cold look, he pulled out his sword and unsheathed it slowly. Then, he wiped the blood that covered his eyes and smiled widely.

    "I will fucking kill you all, you bastards!"

    The usual calm and cunning look he had in his eyes was reached by pure madness. A madness that many would consider lethal. Acht had turned from a normal human being to a maniac who doesn''t care whether he dies or not.

    Then, with a low yell, he charged at the horde of monsters like a bullet.

    He ignored the pain in his leg and the broken left arm he couldn''t hold up and just concentrated his whole being on the orcs.

    But, as he was about to sh with them, a voice made him regain some of his sanity.

    "That''s enough, Acht. I would suggest you stop if you don''t want to die."

    He looked to his left and saw Leislet who was holding some kind of weapon and d in medieval armor. She didn''t seem to be bothered by the fact that the orcs were looking at her too and just kept talking to Acht as calmly as possible.

    "You needed my help, right?"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 76 Chapter 76

    The orcs froze as they red at the new strong opponent that got involved in this fight. They couldn''t dare to just jump at Leislet mindlessly even though they were not that smart.

    "You want me to help you, right?"

    Acht didn''t react quickly to her question and just looked ahead at the number of orcs standing in front of him.

    Acht knows that he could beat five or maybe six of them if they ganged up on him. But, if that number of orcs cornered him then he was dead. That fact alone made him question his behavior a few seconds ago.

    ''Did I be a suicidal maniac?'' He thought to himself.

    That was weird from him since he had never been that type of person, to begin with. He was rather a very cautious person who didn''t get himself involved in battles he could lose.

    But, for now, he scratched the thoughts from his head and shifted his eyes to Leislet.

    "Where are the other hunters? I''ve been fighting this number of monsters alone for a while now." He couldn''t hold himself from sounding a little bit irritated.

    Leislet didn''t seem offended and answered calmly.

    "Most of them had been out on missions so when they came back. They had to fend off the huge numbers that reached each gate of the city."

    "...I see."

    Then, Leislet walked calmly toward him while ignoring the fact that she was a mere meters away from the savage monsters.

    When she was close enough to him, she suddenly extended her hand and grabbed his face before pulling him into her chest and hugging him tightly.

    Acht was shocked as he felt his senses get invaded by a soft and bubbly thing. It was a very pleasing sensation for some reason so he didn''t react quickly to pull himself.

    "Wh-"

    "I''m sorry you had to fight like that and risk your life without any helping. I''m really sorry." She said as she cut him off.

    Her voice also sounded pretty sad for some reason so he couldn''t retort or even answer. He could only sit there speechlessly waiting for her to release him.

    But, instead of that, she did something different.

    Her hands suddenly started illuminating with a warm white light. The light wasn''t very bright so Acht didn''t have to close his eyes.

    Then, as if it was some kind of magical dream, he felt his body illuminate too. He looked at his hands for a moment and saw the other changes that urred to him other than that.

    His previously bloodied hand that was broken somehow started moving on itself and relocating his broken bones. Then, blood disappeared from his hand.

    That also happened to his other arm and his legs. In mere seconds, all of his body was healedpletely and he even regained his full energy.

    ''Light element?'' Acht thought to himself.

    He knows about light element awakeners since they are very popr. They tend to turn into healers most of the time since their powers could heal and purify anything considered filthy.

    After the healing ended, the light disappeared. Yet, Leislet didn''t release Acht and kept hugging his face and burying it deep into her massive cleavage.

    "Mm¡­"<sub> </sub>

    "Are you ok now?" She asked after some silence.

    "Yeah¡­" he answered with some difficulty since his mouth was buried too.

    As if his answer was a sigh, Leislet finally breathed a sigh of relief and released him from the hug.

    Acht didn''t know how to react to this awkward atmosphere so he just concentrated his eyes on the monsters.

    "Why are they frozen like that?"

    "Evil creatures can''t move when I''m near them. I''m their most lethal weapon." She said as she pulled her weapon again.

    Now that he took a look at it, it was very simr to the wands that magicians use in fiction. It was made out of some kind of dark wood with a blue crystal at the top, floating in the nothingness.

    Then, Leislet held that wand high in the sky. The blue crystal started shining brighter and brighter as if it was heeding Leislet''s call.

    At this moment, this woman was looking like an angel that was about to purify heinous things and erase them from existence.

    The orcs saw that bright light and they all shrieked as if they saw their worst nightmare. So, without caring about anything, they threw their weapons and tried to flee.

    But, because of their big number, they collided with each other and fell down one after the other like dominos.

    Each one of them seemed to be scared to death as they tried to get as far away from Leislet as possible.

    Then, with a graceful move from her thin and perfect hands, the staffnded down on the ground with a small sound. All the light umted in the wand spread across the ground like a chain of waves passing through the ocean.

    The light was way too fast for the orcs to react to. Almost immediately, an orc was touched by the light, it looked as if the we world just copsed on it.

    Then, instantly, its body turned grey and it broke down into pieces that looked like ashes pulled out from a firece.

    The ash then flew away with the wind and disappeared forever.

    The same thing happened with the other orcs as their bodies disappeared without making any mess.

    It was such a beautiful scene even though it involved the mass ughter of some creatures.

    Acht watched this show of amazing strength and couldn''t hold himself from making a weird sound. It was just way too impressive.

    He then looked at Leislet with aplicated look. He thought light element awakeners can''t really fight, it turned out that he was totally wrong.

    She saw the admiration in his eyes and she chuckled lightly before saying.

    "You are looking at the best light element awakener in this world. Nice to meet you~"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 77 Chapter 77

    ''The strongest light element awakener in the world? That''s something new.'' Acht thought to himself.

    He then looked at the now deste street with a contemting look. He then shifted his eyes and said in a serious tone.

    "Now that you obliterated these orcs, you wasted a shit ton of soul stones that could''ve been used."

    His words indeed were true, even though Leislet''s power against most kinds of monsters is almost like cheating, it has one big downside¡­the monster will get totally destroyed while leaving nothing behind.

    That meant that even if the monster was high-ranked, it wouldn''t leave behind soul stones for any use.

    His words made the beautiful woman cough with an awkward look. She was also regretful that that amount of soul stones was gone to waste but she had nothing else to do.

    "Would you spare me the nagging, please? I don''t have any other choice, hehehe." Sheughed with an embarrassed look.

    "Anyway, what is the situation in the other parts of the city?" He asked.

    p "Not that good. I was able to clean some areas, but the other parts are still getting invaded at a rapid paste. Most of the hunters there can''t really handle orcs alone¡­Sigh, what a pain in the ass. But, it won''t be for long, help is probably already there." She sighed quietly as she looked at the rubble of the copsed building.</anda>

    "But, I have to say¡­your methods are very original. No one would''ve thought you could''ve beaten that orc."

    She had reached the area when the building had already copsed but she had a rough idea of what happened. That made her interest in Acht deepen even more.

    He was such an odd boy that she couldn''t hold herself from being even more curious about his origins.

    "I still am not sure if it''s dead or not." He said as he approached the rubble carefully to check on the orc chief.

    "It really made me fall into a desperate state. A-Rank monsters are still something I can''t beat. Not for now at least."

    Leislet looked at his back for a moment and then followed him with a weird look stered on her face.

    Acht then got rid of the rubble and the huge boulders covering the body. He was not feeling any aura from the monster so he felt relief since that meant it was most likely dead.

    After getting rid of it all, he finally found the disfigured body of the dead monster. Its limbs were bent at a weird angle and its abdomen and head were ttened like paper sheets.

    It was a very hideous site but Acht totally ignored it and just got his knife out to start opening up the chest to get the soul stone. Getting the soul stone of an A-Rank monster was like winning the lottery for him.

    But, as his hand was about to move, Leiselt grabbed it and stopped him in his tracks.

    "Wait for a second."

    "What?" He questioned her with a puzzled face.

    "Let me check the monster first. There is something weird."

    Acht didn''t know what she meant but he still backed away and gave her some space.

    Then, Leislet reached out for the monster and touched its forehead. A small light shot out of her hand and into the monster''s body.<sub> </sub>

    Then, after a few seconds, Leislet opened her closed eyes with a shocked look. It was the first time Acht saw her react like that.

    "What''s up?"

    "This monster¡­."

    She had to breathe a few times before she could even gain the ability to speak.

    "It''s not the dungeon boss¡­"

    "...What?"

    "This monster is not the dungeon boss! It''s another one of the normal mobs." She said with a clear panic in her tone. She wasn''t totally freaked out, but she was disturbed enough for her voice to waver.

    ''What?! How could that be?! Isn''t that a B-Rank dungeon?'' Acht''s head was filled with one question after the other.

    He was already aware that in each dungeon, the boss monster would always be one rank higher than the dungeon itself. This means that for example if a dungeon is C-Rank then the boss monster would be a B-Rank monster and that applies to all ranks.

    But, in this case, this A-Rank monster was not the boss which means that the boss would be an S-Rank or higher.

    "Are you really sure about it? It could just be a miscalction from your side" he tried to reason with her. But, Leislet shook her head.

    "No. This is definitely not it. I can know for sure if I sense its soul energy cirction. Dungeon bosses always have this particr way of using their soul force and this one¨Calbeit stronger than the other orcs¨Chas the same way of circting mana as the others so it''s definitely just a mob."

    "Then, where is the dungeon boss?"

    "It''s probably still inside the dungeon. But, it can appear at any time. This is really bad."

    Then, Leislet immediately stood up and took out her phone.

    "Call each and every family and guild in the kingdom for a meeting as soon as possible. We have an irregr dungeon with a potential S-Rank or higher boss. Also, start the evacuation process now!" Leislet said with a serious tone.

    As she spoke, Acht looked in the direction of the dungeon with his eyes squinted. He didn''t know why, but he felt like there was something pulling him to look there.

    He didn''t sense it before, but now, he felt a slight pressureing from that ce. It was very faint and almost too weak to even consider it as soul pressure. Yet, somehow, that minuscule power was more than enough to make him feel ufortable looking there.

    He had no idea what kind of abomination could emit such a stupidly strong aura from thisrge distance and he preferably doesn''t want to know.

    ''This is getting really out of hand.'' Acht thought to himself with a sigh.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 78 Chapter 78

    "We need to leave too, Acht," Leislet said as she grabbed the soul stone and gave it to him.

    From the moment she gave the orders to do an evacuation of the total capital, all of the hunters started leading the civilians out of the city toward a very precise location.

    Many had already died but the rest were able to escape. It was a disaster but it wasn''t the first nor thest dungeon outbreak to ever happen.

    However, this time, the case was extremely severe. A potential S-Rank monster was expected to be inside the dungeon and could exit at any moment.

    These kinds of monsters need at least 3 S-Rank hunters and a dozen A-Rank hunters to beat them. Such a thing of course was not easy to do since most S-Rank and higher hunters couldn''t just team up without having propermunication between them when fighting so that they could coordinate themselves during the confrontation.

    Any stupid mistake during such a fight could end up with the whole time 6 feet underground.

    That''s why a meeting was needed to find a solution and even create a whole expedition team to kill the boss.

    As for now, they needed to first clean up the ce of humans so as to not suffer any unnecessary casualties.

    *************************

    Three days passed since the catastrophic dungeon outbreak, Acht was sitting in some meeting room that was very big and luxurious.

    His chair was to the side, exactly one chair away from the middle which was specifically made for the hunter association president.

    Other than him, there were a few other people who had the same grave and serious look on their faces.

    They were the heads of prestigious families in the kingdom and also guild heads. They were basically the cream of the crop when ites to the head figures of that country.

    However, the meeting still didn''t start since there were many free chairs left to be upied. The meeting was scheduled at a very early time in the day to not lose any unnecessary time.

    "Miss Leislet, do you mind if I ask a question?" One of the men sitting suddenly asked.

    He was a scrawny-looking man with a clean shaved face and an elegant suit. He wore a pair of medical sses and had this aura of arrogance around him.

    "Go ahead."

    "I do understand the gravity of the situation so I didn''t want to talk about nonsensical topics. But, I can''t stop myself from asking about this little boy. Why is he here?"

    Leislet didn''t look irritated at all and neither did Acht, she just looked him straight in the eyes.

    "Mr. Rainlocks, I do understand your concerns. But, Acht is a very special guest of mine so please do ept his presence." She replied.

    "But, this is a matter of great importance, having kids here is not eptable!" He tapped the table with a clearly angry face.

    All this time, Acht didn''t even nce at the man as if he was not even worthy of his attention.

    When she saw how the man was having a tantrum, Leislet decided to be a little bit sterner. So, she unleashed a very small portion of her aura and replied.

    "Mr.Rainlocks, I don''t think this is the time to start an argument about whether I could invite whoever I want to a meeting or not. So, please refrain from screaming."

    Her words were polite but her tone was far from that, it could even be considered threatening.

    The man clenched his teeth and didn''t reply but it was clear that he was not done with Acht.

    After this conversation, someone entered the room.

    Acht didn''t look at him at first since many would enter this ce and he couldn''t be bothered with any of them.<sub> </sub>

    "Wee, Mr.Goldknight. Please, take a seat."

    ''Goldknight?'' hearing this name, Acht immediately looked at the man.

    Even though Acht was a master when ites to hiding his emotions, he couldn''t hold himself from bing slightly irritated at the man.

    Just seeing him made the boy remember what he saw in theboratory and that thought alone sent a shudder down his spine.

    The man didn''t seem to feel Acht''s cold gaze and walked to the chair beside him with a calm expression.

    When he sat down, he looked to his side and smiled slightly.

    "It''s rare to see young men in these meetings. Wee, what''s your name?"

    "...Acht," Acht replied briefly.

    "Hohoho. How old are you, Acht?" He said with a slight smile.

    "...Is that of any concern with the current matter at hand?"

    ''In other words, leave me alone, fucker.'' He thought inwardly as he sighed.

    "No, I was just curious since I have never seen a level 9 white soul at your age."

    The others present also knew this fact so they didn''t talk about it much, but deep down, they were also very surprised at this monstrous talent.

    Most of the kids his age still haven''t even awakened yet. As for the lucky ones, they were barely level 4 or 5.

    "I will consider that as apliment," Acht said with a t tone and looked to the side.

    ''Does this kid hate me for some reason?'' Damien thought to himself.

    They had never met before yet Acht seemed to hate him a lot.

    After that, silence prevailed again and the people waited for the rest of the people toe.

    After a few other minutes, the meeting room was finally full and Leislet could finally start the meeting.

    She looked at each and every one of them and said,

    "I shall start the meeting then. As I said before, we have discovered the potential existence of an S-Rank monster. We aren''t sure if the information is urate but it''s a very likely case. Please read the files in front of you for the full details."

    The people present then opened the files and read the content attentively.

    "What kind of monster was this A-Rank orc?" One of the women there asked.

    Leislet was about to answer before an idea struck her mind and she peeked at Acht for a moment.

    "You can ask my special guest here since he was the one who killed it."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 79 Chapter 79

    Acht was startled by this sudden shift of focus to him. He thought that he could just sit idly and listen to whatever they would say and maybe add one point or two when he felt like it. But, he had never thought Leislet would just throw him into the heart of the conversation like that.

    ''What the fuck do you want to do?'' He sent such a message with his eyes to Leislet who smiled with amusement.

    That smile alone was more than enough for him to get what she was intending to do.

    ''She wants to use this time to promote her partnership with me. That sly woman!'' He cursed under his breath but still kept a fairly calm look on the outside.

    "He killed the orc chief? Please stop joking Mr.Leislet." the woman said with a weird expression.

    She would rather believe she wasn''t a beautiful woman than believe that a small boy like him killed an orc chief.

    "But I''m not joking. He did indeed kill the orc chief. I witnessed it myself."

    "How is that possible?" Another woman intervened while taking a hefty breath out of her cigarette. She seemed to be quite shocked by this revtion.

    "Would you mind telling them, Acht? You were really impressive." She shifted her attention to Acht again.

    ''I won''t let you do it. We didn''t agree on this.''

    "You''re exaggerating Mr.Leislet. I merely made it fall into a trap it created by itself." He lightly chuckled. However, his eyes were not smiling at all.

    "No, don''t be such a humble person, Acht. I have seen how you bravely killed that monster that was way stronger than you. That''s plenty enough for me topliment your efforts."

    Everyone watched this verbal fight between the two with weird expressions. They were aware that something was going on, they just couldn''t wrap their heads around it.

    "Ehem¡­ Anyway, the monster was extremely strong. Without checking him, I wouldn''t have known that he wasn''t the dungeon boss." She said after an awkward cough.

    "Our main problem right now is how to deal with the real boss. S-Rank monsters need a whole expedition team to deal with them."

    "We could create a team for this." One of them said as he chuckled slightly. It seemed that he was confident for some reason.

    Damien shook his head as he crossed his arms unintentionally flexing his big muscles.

    "You don''t seem to see the problem, Luther. Creating a team is not a problem, making them coordinate is the problem. This monster is no joke and any mistake could be disastrous."

    "Why don''t we just have a pre-made team do the mission, then?" The man snorted at Damien''s words and looked elsewhere.

    Leislet intervened at that moment.

    "That''s also a problem. The question is¡­ Which family will send its team?"

    After those words, everyone looked at each other with clear wariness and a very cold atmosphere engulfed the meeting.

    Just from this exchange, Acht understood the rtionship between these families and guilds. They probably hated each other''s guts.

    Everyone seemed to be eager to send their teams inside since if they seeded in killing the monster, their gains would be enormous. Not only that, but they''d also get a lot of fame and recognition from the masses.<sub> </sub>

    Such a thing meant that their chances to take the seat where Leislet was sitting now would be way easier than before.

    But, Leislet did not let them start a fight now.

    "That''s why I came up with a solution to this problem. We will just make a draw. The family that wins will have the right to be the first one to enter the dungeon." She said matter-of-factly.

    The family heads looked at each other before nodding in approval.

    "Fair enough, this is how it will work. Each one of you will choose between head and tails, then I will toss a coin. The ones who get it wrong are going to get eliminated. As for those who got it right, they will have to go through another coin toss. We will keep doing that until one family is left. Those are the winners."

    The people present seemed to be epting so Leislet pulled out a random gold coin. Then, she tried to throw it in the air but someone interrupted her.

    "Wait!"

    It was Damien who spoke. His face seemed to be slightly annoyed.

    "Is there any problem, Mr.Goldknight?" Leislet asked with a puzzled look.

    "Yeah, I don''t think that you should be the one to toss it. After all, you are also a participant and you could be cheating like that."

    ? Then, he pulled out a coin and gave it to the one beside him who was Acht.

    "Let him be the one to toss this coin of mine."

    "...I see. Could you do that, Acht?"

    The boy didn''t look surprised as he eyed Leislet. She seemed to be sending him some kind of message with her eyes.

    ''This sly woman. She really knows how to y with them like pawns.'' He sighed as he calmly grabbed the coin.

    ''I will y your little game.'' He thought to himself.

    "Now that everyone is satisfied, let us begin. You have as much time as you''d like to choose since this involves the future of our country and also the future of your families."

    Then, in order, each one of the people in the meeting room chose between head and tails. They didn''t take much time thinking since it was a game based on luck. They all knew that someone could manipte the oue if given the chance, but no one would dare to do that in the presence of these powerhouses, would they?

    After that, Acht tossed the coin in the air. It didn''t go that high since he didn''t want to give anyone a chance to manipte it in some kind of way.

    Then after itnded, he covered it with his hand for a moment before revealing the result.

    "Tails." He muttered.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 80 Chapter 80

    When Acht announced the result, all kinds of reactions appeared on the faces of the people present. Some of them had a relieved smile while others cursed under their breaths and cliches their teeth.

    It was very apparent how much this dungeon expedition meant for them and their families.

    However, Acht couldn''t bother less with whatever they thought, they could get burned alive in front of him and he wouldn''t bat an eye.

    So, without waiting for a long time, he asked the people left to choose again. After they decided on what they will go with this time.

    He tossed the coin and itnded on tails again.

    Just like before, many of them sighed loudly with a sad look while others'' smiles widened even more.

    The process continued like that, each time, there would be 4 or 5 eliminations at a time. Each one of these left had somehow predicted the oue without even hesitating in contrast to the other people.

    The number of people present was 20 so by the third round, there were only 4 left.

    One of them was obviously Leislet who was the fastest to choose out of all of them. Her confidence in her choices and her attitude throughout this seemingly important matter made them feel impressed.

    Then, in the next round, with pure coincidence, no one was eliminated. So they did it again and still, no one chose the wrong one. The try got repeated multiple times without any eliminations.

    ''They probably can predict the results before I even toss the coin.''

    So, to make it even harder for them, he decided to do something different.

    He grabbed the coin with his whole hand and made a swinging motion before throwing the coin at the wall with all of his strength.

    The coin flew like a bullet and hit the wall before rebounding and flying to another wall without losing any of its speed. The coin kept bouncing back off the walls non-stop for a good 10 seconds.

    However, in all of this time, it didn''t hit any of the people inside the room who watched this scene with stupefied eyes. They couldn''t believe the young man did that.

    Even Leislet had to swallow back a weird voice she almost blurted out.

    ''How does hee up with these oundish ideas seemingly with no effort?'' She wondered to herself.

    When the coin finally lost its energy, itnded exactly where Acht was sitting and he immediately covered it with his hand.

    Then, he revealed the oue to the shocked audience.

    "Heads." He said with a cold tone.

    This time, in contrast to before, two people couldn''t get it right and they were eliminated which proves Acht''s assumptions.

    The only two left were Damien and Leislet. Each one of them looked at the other with unwavering eyes as if they were challenging each other.

    Acht was aware of this rivalry but he clicked his tongue quietly as he thought.

    ''Tough luck, old man. You are not going to win today.''

    Then, thest round began, Acht did the same thing as before so that he could increase the difficulty.

    But, they both got it right.

    "You are really good at such games, Mrs.Leislet." Damien suddenly said.

    Leislet just chuckled merely in response.

    "You are ttering me."

    Then, the round got repeated again and again. It was to the point that it became boring to watch.

    So, for the sake of ending this stupid game, Acht intervened.<sub> </sub>

    "Why don''t we change the rules in thest round? It seems that both of you are not intending to lose."

    "Yeah, sure." They both nodded in approval.

    "Good. Then, instead of choosing before I throw the coin, you will have to choose after itnds."

    They both thought about it for a moment before nodding again.

    So, Acht threw the coin again and when itnded, he covered it with his hand.

    "Heads."

    "Tails."

    Then, Acht waited for a second before showing the result.

    "Tails. Leislet wins." He said nonchntly.

    "Very good." She smiled happily.

    As for Damien, he merely sighed and then smiled slightly as he congratted her. He didn''t seem that bothered with the loss or he hid his disappointment pretty well.

    After that, they discussed some ideas about how the n should go and what are the measures that should be taken in case of failure.

    Two hourster, everyone stood up and they left the meeting room to go back to their assigned regions of the kingdom.

    The only two left in the room were Acht and Leislet who sat quietly, not talking to each other.

    Then, to break the silence, Acht asked.

    "Since when did you know?"

    Leislet seemed puzzled at first so Acht borated more.

    "Since when did you know about my gift?" He asked again.

    "Hmm, who said that I knew about it?"

    "Stop trying to fake it. You knew I could manipte this coin toss thing and you even urged me to do it. If I didn''t see some benefits for me if you win this expedition, I would''ve not yed your stupid game." He said with a click of his tongue.

    "...I was aware of it since the first phase of the hunter exam. You were one of the few people that caught my attention so I focused on how you passed those obstacles."

    She then sighed slightly and continued.

    "I didn''t think it was possible at first since your gift should not exist in our time. But, after watching you for long enough, I had to ept it."

    "...I see. So, that''s the real reason why you chose me?" He muttered.

    "Not true. I also saw your amazing talent. Your gift is nothing but a very very good bonus. I would''ve chosen you in both cases."

    Somehow, when Acht said those words, Leislet seemed to be slightly agitated as she denied his words and tried to prove her point.

    He was slightly puzzled at her attitude since it was the first time he saw her act like that.

    ''What kind of person did I get myself involved with? Sigh, there''s no point in regretting it at this point. Let''s see where this could bring me.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 81 Chapter 81

    "So, why did you want to win that badly? It was way too risky to do it even for me and I don''t think this expedition is worth ruining your image in front of the other families." Acht said with a slightly confused tone.

    Leislet didn''t answer immediately and justid on her back making the chair ark slightly.

    Then, she closed her eyes and said,

    "There was no way they would''ve known. I''m sure of that. My n was rock solid. I trust you."

    Acht tilted his head with even more confusion.

    "Why would you trust me that much? I have only known you for a few days."

    Leislet smiled and made a gesture with her finger.

    "It''s a S.E.C.R.E.T." she said seductively.

    "Don''t try to squeeze your way out of it," Acht replied while totally ignoring her attempts to make him fall for her beauty.

    Leislet pouted her cheeks with an annoyed tone.

    "You really are boring, Acht. That''s why you will never be able to catch the eyes of any woman."

    "Mhm. Whatever, now tell me the truth." He ignored her stabbing words again.

    "Sigh, it''s a gamble. If I lost it then that was it but if I won, which was the case, I would gain a huge boost. It''s as simple as that. I like those types of risks, after all."

    "So you''re basically a gambling addict who enjoys thinking about the consequences in case you lose?"

    "No! How did you interpret it like that?!" Leislet shook her head in denial.

    "No, it''s ok. I ept that you are a pervert. Everyone has ws after all."

    "I''m not a pervert. No!"

    At this point, she became akin to a broken doll in her movements. Her adorable reactions that contrasted with her mature and seductive looks made it all the more interesting for Acht.

    So, he just chuckled quietly.

    Leislet saw that and her body froze for a split second before regaining her focus.

    "Hey! So you were joking?! I was freaking out over the fact that you might''ve thought I was a masochist or something!"

    Her denial turned to annoyance as she crossed her hands and turned to the other side so as to not look at Acht.

    After he stopped chuckling, he stood up and walked to her side before bending down and whispering in her ear.

    "Maybe you are a masochist after all. Fuuuh." He then blew slightly in her ear which made her shiver noticeably.

    "You! You little shit! Come here!"

    Acht didn''t wait and immediately exited the room in a hurry before she caught him. He really enjoyed teasing Leislet for some reason which was a new thing for him.<sub> </sub>

    When she was sure he was gone, she sat down again as she breathed heavily. Her heart was beating loudly for some reason and her face was flushed red.

    Then, with an annoyed look, she muttered.

    "That little rascal. Where did he learn that?"

    **************************

    ''I guess it''s time to try and reach orange soul level 1.'' Acht thought as he made his way to his room. The ce they were at now was a mansion that Leislet had in a city near Lagradon that was considerably smaller and more rural.

    They hade there to get ready for the expedition and also to make preparations for other things like the Mystic Souls Convention.

    The ce was quite big as it almost could fit 50 people without making it crowded.

    His room was also quite the sight to behold. It even had a personal pool that was outside the balcony.

    When he reached the ce, he sat down on his bed and emptied out his spatial ring.

    Immediately, a pile of soul stones that reached the ceiling appeared in front of him. He even had to make another pile or it could''ve been a mess.

    ''This should be more than enough. I don''t know how much it''s needed to pass from one soul level to another, though.''

    Then, he got rid of his usual clothes and stayed naked from the upper body while only leaving his shorts on.

    Then, he grabbed one soul stone and started absorbing it.

    The process had be something he was ustomed to. It was a very good feeling that could make anyone addicted immediately.

    ''The fight with the orc lord really made me see how weak I am.'' He thought to himself.

    Even though Acht was aware that he was very weakpared to other people, deep down, he had this slight overconfidence that made him think that maybe he was indeed strong. So, when his life was on the line and he saw the huge disparity between him and the orc chief, that overconfidence waspletely shattered.

    Now, he was very much aware of how small his power ispared to an A-Rank monster and he was also about to fight a potential S-Rank monster. Getting stronger even more quicker than his initial growth speed.

    In a matter of seconds, he absorbed the soul stone and grabbed another one immediately. Then, he grabbed another one and another one after it.

    He looked like a famished glutton who couldn''t stop eating. Even his body seemed to be eager for more and more Soul energy even though he had already consumed a huge number of soul stones.

    Then, 30 minutester, he was able to break through the ninth level and reach the tenth level.

    But, he didn''t stop there, the soul stones that made him reach the ninth level were the ones from the forest he got in the few days he went there on missions, he still didn''t consume the higher ranked ones that belong to the orcs.

    So, when he pulled the first one from the orcs, a huge jump in quality and quantity made him stop for a second to look at the big soul stone.

    ''So this is the difference between low-grade soul stones and high-grade soul stones. They are iparable!''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 82 Chapter 82

    A surge of energy filled Acht''s whole body and made every fiber of his being shudder with excitement. It was such a new feeling that he could never expecting from this absorption process.

    With just one single soul stone, he was able to feel his soul force make a huge leap that could''ve taken 20 from the other soul stones to make. This was definitely a happy surprise for Acht.

    ''This is amazing. I guess it should be expected if you hunt down strong monsters.'' He thought to himself with a satisfied smile.

    Then, he immediately went back to absorbing the soul stones with a happy smile, his hands kept on moving and grabbing one endlessly and soon enough the huge pile vanishedpletely.

    In his hand was thest soul stone, it was the one he got from the orc lord. The size of this stone was double that of a normal orc and it was so rich with soul force that Acht could even see a translucent veil of energy surrounding it.

    ''I didn''t break through to the orange soul with those orc soul stones. I guess this required so much Soul energy.''

    He was a little bit worried that this soul stone might not be sufficient for him to reach the next soul level but it was hisst one and he had no other choice but to hope for the best.

    ''Ok, all or nothing.''

    The moment the energy of the stone invaded his body, he felt a slight burning sensation that didn''tst long. Then, his soul which was as white as a sheet of paper started transforming.

    Cracks started appearing on the surface of his soul as if it was starting to shed its skin. Bits and pieces of the surface of his soul started falling down and a new color started appearing from the depth.

    It was a very bright orange color that resembled that of a ripe orange. The light that was emitted from his soul was strong, way stronger than when it was white.

    ''It''s happening!'' He rejoiced inside his mind and concentrated on the absorption, even more, ignoring everything around him.

    The cracks kept on getting bigger and bigger and the light was getting stronger and stronger.

    Simultaneously, his body was also changing and morphing slowly. His muscles were getting destroyed and restructured like a building. His bones were turning into hard steel.

    Even his blood and heart were bing stronger and more effective in doing their jobs. He was basically turning into a new person.

    Minutes passed in a sh and the energy inside the soul stone didn''t seem to be diminishing. It was like an endless sea of energy that Acht could take from as much as he could.

    Then, after an unknown amount of time, his soul finally shed all of the surface parts and turned into a clear orange that didn''t have any imperfections. It was so beautiful that it could make anyone gasp in admiration.

    But, he didn''t stop and kept draining the soul stone.

    It took him an extra 20 minutes to be able to finally end the absorption and turn the stone into a dull grey color.

    ''This is ama- Ugh!''

    Suddenly, a strong pain attacked his brain. The pain was sudden and very intense. It was as if someone electrocuted his brain with a 200-volt wire.

    He grabbed his head and tried to take deep breaths so as to not make any painful groans or screams.<sub> </sub>

    Heid bent down and clenched his teeth as he fought this hellish pain. His face turned bright red and his eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets.

    But, even with that, he didn''t make a fuss or show any signs of breaking down. Throughout his life, he had to suffer a lot of painful things, physical and psychological, so a mere pain like this won''t make him lose hisposure.

    After more than a minute, the pain finally subsided and he regained control over his actions to a certain extent.

    ''What¡­is this?'' He touched his forehead with a shocked look.

    Ignoring the fact that this sudden pain had no origin whatsoever, there was an, even more, stranger thing that happened.

    "What is this new information inside my head?" He muttered.

    Inside his mind, he could see a shadow-like figure that was doing certain things that although looked mysterious and iprehensible, he was able to understand itpletely.

    ''This is about gravity maniption!''

    The shadow was doing certain things that required gravity maniption to be achieved. They were things that never thought of or to be more precise, things he couldn''t do with his current mastery of that element.

    So, with an excited look, he eagerly stood up to try one of them.

    He extended his hand and aimed it at a vase that was on the other side of the room. He then tried to make it float ande to him.

    In normal circumstances, he would''ve not been able to get it since it was way out of his range. Now, however, it was a totally different case.

    The vase started immediately floating before flying through the air and resting in Acht''s palm quietly.

    "The speed of casting also increased a lot." He remarked quietly.

    Then, he looked at himself with aplicated gaze before he put down the vase.

    He was thinking of doing something that he thought was impossible when he first started training his element. Lifting other things was considerably easy since they were foreign objects, but controlling his own body was a whole other matter.

    ''Could I make myself float?'' He thought.

    It was a question that he had for a long time. Even though he was quite mature, the thought of flying would make him and any other human jump with excitement. He does not only have to take into mind his own weight and other important factors, but he also needs to channel his own soul force while keeping it inside his body which will create tension inside his body and could make him burst like a balloon if the pressure reaches a certain point.

    In a nutshell, any small mistake during that and he will certainly be dead. In the most stupid way that is.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 83 Chapter 83

    Acht felt his energy surge inside his body like a tidal wave that was ferocious yet calm. For some reason, even though it was way stronger and more intense than before since he had made a huge leap in strength in a very short period of time, he could still fully control it. In fact, he felt as if his mastery over his own element made a huge leap too.

    Now, he could feel his inner soul force even better and he could move it around efficiently with less effort and more speed.

    So, after resolving himself, he started channeling the soul force while imitating the shadow in his head. Even though he could see the way the energy moved through the shadow figure''s body, he couldn''t do that first try since it was veryplicated.

    So, when three seconds passed, he felt pressure umting in his leg so he immediately stopped in his tracks.

    It was extremely dangerous. The most dangerous thing Acht did in a sense. But, he had no ns to stop, in fact, he was now more resolved than ever to do it.

    So, he took another deep breath and tried again. This time, the energy moved with a little more swiftness and fluidity, he didn''t feel any pressure umting in any area of his body.

    But, that didn''tst that long as only 7 secondster, the same mistake he did before came back and he had to immediately stop again.

    ''What did I do wrong? It somehow stops being swift abruptly without any reason.'' He fell into deep thought.

    It was apparent that he had some kind of w that he didn''t see properly. So, he sat down and closed his eyes to have a better look at the shadow figure as it moved in a very particr manner.

    Then, he tried topare that to the way he did it to find where he made the mistake.

    But, he couldn''t find it immediately, so he kept watching it again and again and again. Each time, he could see himself having a better understanding of the way he should move.

    ''Wait¡­'' he thought.

    He saw something for a split second that made him stop the footage in his head and rey it like a tv recorder.

    Then, when the moment he saw came, he stopped the image and watched the shadow figure carefully.

    ''He wasn''t just making his body lose its gravity¡­but more of making his surroundings gravityless.''

    He couldn''t see it at first but now it made total sense. Making himself lose his gravity was way too hard to be done efficiently so the shadow wasn''t actually controlling his own body but the area around it.

    But it had one ring w. It would consume a lot of soul force.

    ''I could deal with that if I get a ring like the one Scarlett gave me since this one is no longer useful anymore.''

    He then stood up again to try. This time, he channeled his soul force with a little more power and then applied it on a very small area around him.

    The gravity started disappearing slowly and Acht was starting to feel his legs lose their footing and hover in the air for a moment before touching the ground again.

    ''It''s working!'' he rejoiced in his head as he increased the energy consumption so that he could fully float.<sub> </sub>

    ''This is really draining me like a vampire. I won''t be able to float for much so let''s try something else.''

    Then, he immediately bent forward and tried to move forward. This required him to keep on changing the gravityless area that he was in constantly to keep himself in the air.

    Luckily, his body did indeed move forward for a meter or two.

    Then, the energy he had been generating was almost emptied out so Acht had to stop. His bodynded back on the ground safely.

    ''I can''t do much with it like this. My level is too low.''

    So, he put the matter of flying in the back of his head and looked at the other things he could do now.

    There were so many ideas and such endless potential to his gift that he couldn''t even know where to start.

    ''Let''s take it one step at a time.'' He thought to himself as he went back to experimenting and practicing his mastery over the gravity element.

    There was not much time left before the expedition and he needed to get as strong as possible until that time.

    ****************************

    A week passed quietly, Acht didn''t leave his room much and kept practicing non-stop like a maniac. That may sound harmful rather than good but for him, it was a necessity. There was simply no time to waste dwindling around.

    So, in the past 7 days, he saw an unimaginable growth that could make the best geniuses of that world look like a bunch of mediocre idiots.

    He wasn''t able to level up, however, he was able to reach a new height in his mastery over gravity.

    Now, he could control objects with ease and make them move however he wanted without having to think much of the trajectory and the speed.

    He also was able to learn new techniques that he was eager to try against monsters and see their lethality inbat.

    In a nutshell, Acht just made another leap of strength that couldn''t be possible in just one week.

    But, that doesn''t mean that he''s now capable of facing A-Rank or even B-Rank monsters head to head without sustaining some heavy injuries let alone facing an S-Rank monster.

    In normal circumstances, that makes him unqualified to go on the expedition since he was still not up to that level. But, he still would go just for the sake of gains he could get and also to see for himself what kind of things he would have to face in the future when he bes strong enough.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 84 Chapter 84

    As Acht was getting ready to leave the room for the expedition, he heard a knock on the door.

    When he opened it, he found Leislet waiting there with her fighting suit. It was more of a priest''s robe than an actual fighting suit but it wasn''t as extravagant as that of a priest or a healer.

    She somehow looked even more seductive in this robe since it covered all of her body but still showed some of her lethal curves and left some room for imagination to take ce.

    "Are you ready?" She asked with a calm tone.

    Acht didn''t want to appreciate her beauty for longer than necessary so he just turned around and walked to his sword and picked it up, then he said.

    "I''m always ready." He said.

    "Good. The team I assembled is waiting. I will introduce you to them."

    The two then left the room and walked out of the mansion where a group of people stood waiting.

    They were members of Leislet''s family and they were the best out of all of their hunters.

    Her family had six S-Rank hunters which was a big number considering the fact that they didn''t have a huge number of hunters under their wing. Most other families and guilds also had the same number or less.

    When they reached the team, Acht was able to identify who were the A-Rank hunters and the S-Rank hunters.

    The difference in their aura was simply hugepared to the lesser ranks. It was very apparent how much hard work was required to be able to reach that rank.

    Leislet then greeted them before introducing Acht.

    "This is Acht. He''s going to join us in this expedition."

    Most of them were surprised that their young miss invited a small boy to the expedition. The A-Rankers were slightly skeptical as for the S-Rankers they were just curious about him since he didn''t seem to be normal at all. Their young miss won''t be choosing someone average, after all.

    Acht registered all of those reactions for future reference and to make sure no one would try to do something funny.

    "So you''re Acht, huh. I''m Derell, nice to meet ya!"

    A bulky man stepped up with a huge grin on his face and greeted Acht amicably.

    Thetter nodded slightly and didn''t add much.

    "Hahaha!" The manughed at this cold attitude and didn''t mind much.

    "If ya need anything, tell me. I''m the boss here."

    As he ended his words, a sheathed sword hit his head lightly and the voice of a woman reached his ears.<sub> </sub>

    "No, you are not. Sorry, boy. He''s quite untamed. My name is Lita. Nice to meet you!"

    She wore medieval armor that looked like that of royal knights and her golden hair flowed down to her waist like a waterfall. She was a beautiful woman.

    "Hey, Lita! Stop making me look like an idiot in front of the neer!" Derell said as he scratched his head with a pained look.

    "You are doing a good job at doing that yourself!" She retorted as she threatened to hit his head with her sword again.

    "Hey, you two! Stop it now. We have an important mission and we can''t just lose focus right now!"

    An old man interrupted their quarrel and grabbed them both by the cor like some small rabbits. This man seemed to be the one respected the most by the group since they immediately stopped fighting and listened to his words.

    Acht watched this scene and could only think that they were quite close by the way they acted around each other.

    Somehow, this show made Acht feel that these people weren''t a bunch of arrogant bastards as he thought they could be. Being an S-Rank hunter was indeed a very huge achievement that would make anyone feel proud. But, that pride could quickly turn into arrogance in most cases.

    "Ok, enough of the chit-chat. We will leave now." Leislet said while pping her hands.

    After that, the group left the mansion and walked straight to the middle of the area around the house. It was quite spacious and full of green life but what mattered the most about this ce was the teleportation tform that was installed in the middle.

    Acht had seen it and even tried it before when he was in the heart of Lagradon where the za was. Still, he couldn''t understand how they were able to use it when logically this needed a mastery over the space element which means that it should not exist in this era.

    Then, the group stood on the tform and a blinding light took over their bodies before they disappeared from that ce and appeared in Lagradon in a matter of seconds.

    It was very quick and made them pass hundreds of kilometers quickly. But, it also consumed a lot of energy to be activated and to also amodate the huge number of people teleporting there.

    Acht took a look at his surroundings. They were in the city za where it should''ve been crowded and full of life.

    But, what he found instead was a deserted ce filled with destroyed buildings and the smell of blood that entered his nostrils was a sign that death was still lingering there from that day.

    It was indeed a huge loss for the surgian empire since this ce was their heart and soul. It was the capital that made them the strongest force in the world. Now, they had suffered the consequences of neglect.

    This could even be the hit that will make them fall to the ground.

    It all relied on whether this team could kill the thing inside the dungeon or not. A fight that will determine by what these experienced hunters could do.

    Acht took a deep breath and nced at the team again. They were all nervous but they were also eager to show what they were capable of and stop this threat that could end their peaceful lives altogether.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 85 Chapter 85

    "This ce is really dead," Acht muttered to himself as he looked around the streets they walked by.

    Not even a single sound could be heard except the howling of the wind as it carried the dust from the piles of destroyed rocks.

    It was as if they were walking in an apocalyptic world. This much destruction in a city the size of a country in a matter of hours shows how dangerous monsters are when they attack a city in huge numbers.

    The group also had the sameplicated look, seeing how Lagradon was turned into a mere wastnd of death and despair.

    The only one who kept a calm front except for Acht was Leislet who didn''t look around at all and kept her gaze straight.

    This ce was her home in a sense since she lived there for a long time during her childhood and when she became the hunter association president. So, everyone knew how much this affected her seeing this ce wither like that. Her calm expression was nothing but a front since she was the pir of this team.

    The group eventually reached the ce where the dungeon was.

    The dungeon was in a somehow rural area of the city where there was only a ce for guards who work there and some otherboratories for experimenting.

    This dungeon was very special. In normal cases, to conquer a dungeon, hunters will need to kill the boss. Then, dungeon outbreaks will be something impossible to happen.

    But, in this particr dungeon, the hunters couldn''t find the boss room no matter how much they searched. It was something very weird since most dungeons are very simple-structured and straightforward.

    Yet, this one had so many routes and secret ces that it became impossible to find the boss room. That''s why it was left like that.

    When they reached their destination, Leislet stepped up and looked at her team.

    "Now, listen carefully! This dungeon is a very dangerous ce and frankly speaking, some of you could die¡­"

    Her words made most of the A-Rank hunters gulp a mouthful of saliva. They were the weaker out of the whole team so they were the easier to kill.

    "But, you are all heroes who deserve all the honor for epting such a dangerous mission. Now, we will go inside and we will onlye out with the boss''s head in our hands. Understand?!" She shouted with the authority of a leader.

    Her words sent a shiver down the spine of everyone there and made adrenaline pump in their vines.

    They all then nodded and said in unison.

    "Yes!"

    Their morals were through the roof with these words from Leislet.

    Acht watched this scene and nodded his head in satisfaction. Thest thing he wanted in his team was a bunch of scared cats with no resolve.

    Then, Leislet took the initiative and walked to the dungeon first. The energy portal kept swirling ominously as if it was threatening them not to enter. The atmosphere became heavy as the team waited for Leislet.

    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and then said,

    "Let''s go."<sub> </sub>

    Immediately, the team walked to the portal and entered the dungeon without any hesitation.

    Acht was thest one to enter as he looked at the portal with aplicated gaze.

    There was something extremely odd about the ce that kept nudging him since he reached this ce. It was not an evil thing that made him feel intimidated or anything of that sort, but more of a mysterious being calling for him from the inside.

    He couldn''t feel exactly what or why this thing was calling for him but it was certainly pretty odd.

    But, he soon woke up from his deep thoughts and walked inside the portal following the team.

    The moment he reached the other side, he found the team standing in one ce looking at a particr spot with no sound whatsoever.

    ''hm? What''s wrong?'' He thought to himself as he walked to the front to see the problem.

    When he reached the far front where Leislet stood, he found that they were standing on top of a huge cliff that overviewed a vastnd. The soil of this in was dark red like clotted blood. There was no wildlife or any type of life for that matter that could be seen for as far as the human eye could reach. It was basically a wastnd in every sense of the word.

    Acht was speechless too seeing such scenery. This was the first time he had seen a dungeon with such a vastnd.

    "What¡­is this?" He heard Leislet mutter beside him which made him frown and look at her.

    "Hasn''t this dungeon always been like this?"

    It took her a few seconds to react to his words and muster the strength to answer.

    "...No, it was a normal dungeon size-wise if I recall correctly. What the hell happened?"

    The other team members were also shocked to their core. They were expecting a tunnel-like passageway but what they found is a massive world-like dungeon.

    Leislet saw this and had to take things at face value.

    "Don''t lose your focus! We came here expecting everything! Let''s go. There is a way down over there."

    She then pointed to a part of the cliff where it was gradually going down like adder.

    ''This is not going to be easy to handle.'' Acht thought while gazing at the distance with his sharp eyes. The ce was simply huge and not easy to navigate through, just like a desert.

    However, as hard as it may get, he still came here with clear goals in his head and he won''t be leaving until he achieved all of them or at least gained something good.

    Then, with nervous looks, the team made their way down the cliff. Their journey had barely started and they were already facing a big challenge ahead of them. That challenge is¡­to keep theirposure.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 86 Chapter 86

    It took the team almost 20 minutes to reach the foot of this cliff. It was almost 400 meters high and as wide as a normal-sized mountain.

    When their legs touched the red soil, a shiver-like feeling ran through their body. The soil was moist and very heavy like carrying a sandbag wrapped around your leg. This means that walking for long distances in this vast in will be hell on earth.

    ''They thought of my leg day.'' Acht thought to himself sarcastically. He knew that fighting in such conditions will be very hard so he hoped this soil won''t be like this when they find the boss.

    Then, the group proceeded deeper into this dungeon in. It was very quiet except for the rhythmic sounds of their feet touching this moist ground.

    Every one of them kept his senses sharp for any small soundsing from their surroundings. It was already very odd that there were no monsters in this ce.

    ''That feeling is getting stronger.'' Acht thought to himself as he touched his head.

    The thing that was calling for him was now getting closer and closer. That meant that he was walking directly towards the thing.

    Hours passed and the scenery didn''t change much, it was akin to walking in an endless loop of despair. Half of the group were now extremely tired and thirsty while the others fared better but not by a huge margin.

    Acht was also starting to tire down too. He felt his legs grow numb and his hips were now barely moving in a full-swing motion.

    Seeing her team like that, Leislet decided that they must stop for a while.

    "We are gonna rest for a while since it seems like some of you are quite tired." She ordered seriously.

    Leislet was in a dilemma at the moment, their preparations for this expedition didn''t include a lot of things that could help them in these conditions.

    They had water and food but they didn''t have camping gear for long distances of walking and also other necessities. So, all she could do right now is make them rest and then they must continue or they will be trapped here.

    But, as they were about to sit down, Acht spoke out suddenly.

    p "What''s that?" He pointed at the far distance.</anda>

    The team looked there and they saw something that was way different than before.

    It seemed to be a settlement of some sort that had small houses and even the smoke of a firece could be seen rising to the sky.

    The group immediately stood up again, forgetting about their fatigue. They might have found the ce they were looking for.

    So, with silent steps, they approached the settlement. When they were a few hundred meters away from it, they hid behind huge rocks that were found on their way and watched carefully for any movement.

    Acht was the one closest to the settlement so he was able to see what was going on very clearly.

    ''Are those¡­orcs?'' He thought.

    He was able to see these giant green-skinned creatures moving around the settlement with their huge bats and their grim looks.

    They were indeed orcs, but the question that made him look confused is: How were they able to build a settlement with their low IQ?

    The orcs he fought were so dumb that he might as well consider them mindless. They didn''t have the necessary intelligence to fight an equal enemy let alone build a small society of any form.<sub> </sub>

    Acht''s eyes then shifted to the one hiding beside him, Leislet was also having the same thoughts as he was.

    "This ce is very strange. The massive dungeon and now this. What''s going on?" He sent his thoughts to Leislet who shook her head not knowing what to say.

    They kept stumbling upon weird things one after the other. This ce was simply something humans had never experienced before.

    Leislet was very knowledgeable when ites to dungeons since she was the hunter association president. But, she was as shocked, if not even more shocked, than the people with her.

    Now, she had to make another crucial choice that will determine the sess or failure of this expedition.

    Seeing her nervous, Acht sighed slightly and then nudged her side with a calm look.

    She looked at him with a weird look. He could clearly see her lost eyes.

    He then told her toe closer for him to whisper something to her.

    She epted and soon her ear was near his face.

    "We can''t have our leader nervous too, can we? Remember who you are and lead these lost chicks, they all rely on you after all. Understand?" He said with a stern yet somehow soft tone.

    His words resounded in her head like an echo. In normal cases, she would be aware of this but now that she was in a restless mood, his words made her regain herposure slightly and nodded her head with a newfound resolve.

    Then, she looked at her team with a serious look.

    "We will attack this settlement! But, we first need to make a n." Her voice was cold yet also carried her confidence to her teammates.

    Acht smiled slightly and thought.

    ''She''s really a very weird woman.''

    He couldn''t believe that his words would have such a strong impact on her in this short time. It was as if his words were worth gold for her.

    Then, quickly they discussed the way they needed to invade this settlement in the most proficient way.

    They then settled on surrounding the ce in groups of 2 and then attacking it from all fronts which would confuse the orcs and make them lose the advantage of numbers they have.

    After that, Leislet assigned each group and what they should do. 6 of these teams had one S-Rank hunter and one A-Rank hunter.

    Thest few groups were onlyposed of A-Rank hunters so they won''t be attacking from upfront since that was dangerous. They will instead be the support for these teams from behind if they need it.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 87 Chapter 87

    "Are you ready? We will have to invade from the front where most orcs will be." Leislet said to Acht as they sat behind the rock.

    The boy was drinking a stamina potion to regain his vitality for the uing fight. The long journey tired him a lot especially since he was still weaker than all of the other team members.

    "I have my ways to deal with that. I may even kill more orcs than you, who knows?" He said jokingly while knowing the truth deep down in his heart.

    He saw how she obliterated an army of these hideous monsters with a swing of her wand. So, killing more orcs than her will be impossible if not downright stupid.

    After getting fully ready, they stood up and appeared tom behind the rock, the other team members still didn''t start as they waited for Acht and Leislet to attack from the front and pull in as many orcs as they could.

    "Follow me." She said as she vanished from her initial ce and appeared 15 meters away in less than a second.

    Acht didn''t want to wait any longer and chased after her immediately. The difference in speed between them was noticeable but the settlement wasn''t that far so he wasn''t left behind.

    When they reached the vige, one of the orcs that were walking by saw them and it immediately shrieked loudly and called for the others.

    Quickly, a huge army of orcs was in front of the duo. However, they both stood calmly in front of these giant creatures.

    "You take one half, I will take the other." She said as she ran to the side and pulled along with her a good chunk of the orcs'' army.

    What was left was almost half of the initial number that kept looking at Acht with ferocious eyes.

    "Let''s see the fruits of my training and my level up." He smiled coldly and dashed at the army of orcs with fearless eyes.

    The orcs also didn''t hesitate and shrieked in union before running at him with their giant clubs and huge hammers made out of rocks.

    The first thing that Acht noticed when he dashed at them was the huge increase in his speed when he used his soul force. It was so different from before that he almost stumbled and fell down because he didn''t have good control of it.

    As he reached the first orc, he jumped high in the sky, reaching the monster''s height before grabbing onto its face.

    The monster didn''t wait and immediately tried to smash Acht with the club and break every bone in his body.

    But, before the club could make contact with his body, Acht used his sword and sliced the orc''s head like a block of cheese before bending down to avoid the club.

    Then, hended on hisnd along with the beheaded body of the monster that started oozing disgusting blood all over the ce.

    Acht couldn''t even check the dead orc as two more orcs came after him. He then unhesitatingly pulled out Ooze and created three ck Ooze balls.

    The orcs didn''t see the balls and they all tried to attack the orc at the same time. Their weapons came crashing down like a streak of meteors.

    Acht snorted and jumped high in the sky before throwing the ooze balls inside their mouths with high agility.

    The balls entered their bodies easily and then turned into spikes that punctured their organs and pierced their hearts.

    Immediately, the orcs vomited blood and fell down dead like the one before them.<sub> </sub>

    "This¡­is amazing!" Acht heaved up and down with excitement as he saw what he was capable of doing.

    A week ago, he struggled to even fight one orc, and now, he could beat two of them at the same time with ease. This shows the huge difference between an orange soul and a white soul, it was simply iparable.

    The adrenaline rush he felt made him feel like an emperor, a king among peasants. It was such an addictive feeling that could make him go crazy. But, he didn''t allow it to get into his head that much.

    He soon shook his head and focused on the rest of the now furious army of orcs. They saw how the small human killed three of their kin so they couldn''t hold themselves from bing angry.

    So, with a shout of madness, they charged at him¡­all at the same time.

    This scene alone could make the bravest of people cower like a chicken.

    But, the only reaction Acht had was a small smile.

    "The opportunity showed itself so let''s try it." He muttered as held his hand high in the sky.

    Then, after waiting for a few seconds, he made a throwing gesture and threw whatever was in his hand at the orcs. The problem is¡­there was nothing in his hand.

    The orcs saw that and didn''t think much of it as they continued to rush at him head-on. Then, after a few moments, Acht did another thing.

    He made the shape of a gun with his hand and pointed it at the orcs yfully.

    He then smiled and muttered.

    "Bang."

    *BOOOOOOMMMMMM*

    A loud explosion shook the area like an earthquake. It was so loud that even the other team members on the other side of the vige heard it clearly. This earthquake was followed by the chilling shrieks of ughtered monsters that took over the settlement for a good 6 seconds before it died downpletely.

    Leislet stopped for a moment and looked at the ce where Acht was fighting and her eyes widened in surprise immediately.

    Instead of seeing an army of orcs, all she saw was a sea of dead bodies and severed limbs. The previously fear-inducing monsters turned into nothing but bloody corpses that had widened eyes of fear and despair.

    She couldn''t believe her eyes as she looked at the small boy with deep shock.

    ''What¡­in the hells happened?!''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 88 Chapter 88

    Leislet kept looking at Acht for a few moments like a statue, not daring to move. The only thing that woke her up from her frozen state was the loud shriek of the orcs. She then remembered her purpose out of this expedition and immediately went back to fighting while keeping in mind to ask Acht about what he did.

    The boy, who was oblivious to her thoughts gazed at the aftereffect of his new trump card and rejoiced in his heart. This was the first time he tried this move and it was a massive sess. He just killed 70% of the orcs with a single attack which would''ve been impossible for him a week ago.

    "Gravity Bullets are just cheating. But, it also took me the whole week to be able to get the hang of them. I still need to practice a lot to be able to use it freely though." He muttered to himself.

    This move was something he saw the shadow figure do in his head. It was very amazing to see in action so he decided to focus on it the most since it was also way easier than the other moves he saw.

    The way it''s executed is somehow simple to do yet alsoplicated to master. Looking back at how he did it. He raised his hand in the air and channeled his soul force to his hand. Then, he made the pressure in his hand umte in the shape of a ball. This technique was something he unlocked when he reached the orange soul.

    After doing that, he kept umting the gravitational pressure until he felt his hand was unable to hold the wait much longer. Then, with a swinging motion, he threw it at the orcs.

    The ball of gravitational power was so strong that it could turn anything it touches into dust and even shred the sturdiest of skins like they were pieces of paper so one could imagine.

    But, that by no means is something that will make him omnipotent. First of all, this technique was a one-time-use thing since it basically needed 90% of his energy for one use.

    Second of all, it had a long casting time. Were it not for the fact that the orcs were still far away, he wouldn''t have been able to use it.

    Lastly, this technique was directly linked to his mastery over gravity and also to his level as an awakener so it could only kill things that are below him in level.

    So, in a nutshell, it was a lethal move but it also needed conditions to use and to execute properly.

    But, luckily, he had an opportunity to use it now and he was d it worked.

    Acht''s eyes then looked at the rest of the orcs who survived the attack somehow. They were now clearly terrified of the boy who was able to kill all of them in a moment.

    They were also looking back at the settlement and trying to back away.

    "Oh no, you don''t." He said and ran after them.

    If they go back to their vige, they could gang up on the other team members and could endanger them greatly. Everyone needed to do their part of the mission sessfully after all.

    The few orcs left reached the inside of the vige and Acht soon followed them inside. He was able to close the distance between them easily.

    "Ywaaaaaaah!!!"

    Thest orc which was way fatter than his friends shouted in fright and tried to hit Acht frantically.

    Thetter didn''t see that as anything but a futile resistance and immediately grabbed his leg.<sub> </sub>

    The creature shrieked like a ughtered pig and stomped down on Acht to squash him. But, before his leg couldnd on the boy, he pulled the orc''s other leg and made him fall.

    Pulling what is potentially 7 tons of pure flesh and skin was something that Acht can''t do without the assistance of his gravity maniption gift. The most he could lift up is 400 kilograms after all.

    The orc fell down and hit its head on the ground. Acht then jumped on top of it and pierced its throat and immediately ran after the others.

    What ensued after that was a huge ughter of orcs that didn''t stop until thest one breathed itsst breath and died.

    Acht then released a long breath that he kept inside his lungs and wiped the huge amount of blood that sshed on his face. Even though he was young and very cute, he now looked akin to a demon of destruction rather than a small child.

    He then looked back at the trail of corpses he left behind. They weren''t as badly disfigured as the first batch but they were still killed in the worst way possible.

    "I think this is thest one of the-"

    *Crick*

    Suddenly, he heard a small sound near one of the houses where he was standing.

    He looked at the ce with his sword ready for any potential attack, thinking that it was an orc that ran away.

    But, there was nothing there. He decided to go there and look around the area since that sound wasn''t something that he could ignore.

    When he approached the small, primal house, he looked under the house and found something interesting.

    There was a hole in the ground the size of two grown men that didn''t seem to have an end from how deep and dark it was.

    He didn''t know what to think of this as it could be something the orcs made to hide their things. So, he stood up again and decided to leave the ce.

    But, as he stepped away, he heard the sound again, now even more clear. He looked back with wary eyes and walked back to the hole.

    "This is weird." He muttered.

    It could be something rted to the dungeon boss or even rted to the reason why this dungeon changed its size suddenly. A hole that was full of mysteries.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 89 Chapter 89

    Acht was about to try and enter to the hole, but, he stopped at thest second and decided to wait for Leislet since she was the leader of this expedition and also to evade any stupid mistakes or problems.

    After a few minutes, he saw the womaning toward him. She seemed to have dealt with a huge number of orcs since it took her all this time to do so.

    "Hey. Is it over on your part?" She asked while looking around.

    "Yeah. But, I found this. Come take a look." He answered and showed her the deep hole.

    She was also slightly skeptical about its importance. I mean, who''s in his right mind will put an important hidden ce under the house of an orc with no security and no protection?

    However, if these two people had one thing going for them, it''s that they never let any small details escape their clutches. So, they decided to check out this whole thing.

    After that, Leislet was about to pull her staff out and destroy the house. But, Acht stopped her at thest second.

    "I will do it." He said.

    Then, he pulled out Ooze and shaped it into a huge and solid hammer. Leislet had already seen Ooze so she was not surprised by this demonstration.

    Then, after doing that, he dragged the huge hammer. When he reached the house, he reduced its weight and lifted it up in the sky before swinging it with all of his power.

    *BOOOM*

    The house was immediately blown to smithereens. Huge and small pieces of it flew tens of meters away andnded on other houses.

    Leislet watched this and whistled with an impressed look.

    "Let''s go."

    Acht then approached the whole and took a good look at it from up close.

    The hole was indeed very deep and dark, but luckily enough, Acht could see the end of it which was not that far.

    Then, with a serious look, he jumped inside without any hesitation.

    "He''s sometimes really reckless," Leislet muttered as she jumped after him.

    It was indeed quite weird to see Acht act like that. Since the moment he came here, he somehow became more daring, as if there was something in the dungeon that he must see no matter what. Something that he desired.

    Leislet felt that but she didn''t mention it since the change was very minuscule and not that important at the moment.

    When shended, she found herself in front of a very small tunnel that went somewhere unknown.

    Acht was already inspecting the tunnel and looking for any traps.

    "It doesn''t seem to be anything special. Let''s go." He then bent down slightly and walked inside.

    The two then moved inside the extremely dark tunnel with wariness. Leislet had already manifested a small light source in her hand for them to see inside.

    It didn''t take them long to reach the end of it since it was very short.

    What they found themselves in front of, however, was something they didn''t expect at all.

    It was a huge chamber, the size of half of Leislet''s mansion. It was made out of dirt and rocks so it wasn''t anything special aesthetically.<sub> </sub>

    What made it unique, however, was the things inside of it. There were sky bluemps hung up on the walls of the room that gave it a beautiful blue hue.

    There were also some crystal-like objects in all corners of the chamber that seemed to not have been touched for long eons.

    But, what immediately caught their attention and it was the highlight of the chamber by far is what was in the middle.

    A huge crystal object the size of a human being was linked to some ck wires. These wires were also linked to the other crystals in the room as if it was supplying energy from them.

    "What the fuck?" Acht blurted out with extreme shock.

    He could see it clearly, there was someone inside the crystal.

    Leislet also saw it and a breath got stuck in her throat. They clearly are seeing a human trapped inside the crystal. The image of the person was blurry but they could discern that he was a man from his silhouette.

    "What is a human doing here? Did he get kidnapped by orcs?" Acht muttered.

    "No, orcs don''t usually kidnap humans. They kill them on the spot." She answered.

    Acht was also skeptical about that idea since he saw how orcs acted whenever they saw humans so kidnapping was out of the question.

    So, after some contemtion, they decided to get out of the tunnel to check the chamber and see why someone was inside here.

    "Could this be the dungeon boss?" Acht asked again as he looked around warily.

    "I honestly don''t know. I have never heard of a boss like this. Besides, this¡­thing looks like a human rather than a monster."

    They talked with each other while checking everything around them thoroughly before they made their way to the huge crystal.

    Up close, Acht could see how sturdy this crystal is. It was so hard that even Leislet wasn''t sure that she could break it.

    "This human¡­is he dead?" Acht squinted his eyes, trying to see the facial features of the human inside.

    But, as he was doing that, he felt something weird in his head.

    A strong headache attacked him and made him bend down slightly while gritting his teeth. It was very sudden so it took him by surprise. The pain was akin to someone hammering a nail inside his head.

    What made it even weirder is the whispers he could hear in his head while suffering from the pain. It was as if someone was directly speaking to his mind rather than his ears.

    Leislet immediately reached his side and helped him up.

    "What''s wrong?" She asked worriedly.

    "I¡­don''t know¡­I suddenly feel a strong headache." He said with a painful expression.

    Then, another weird thing happened. The crystal started emitting faint blue light out of nowhere.

    Acht and Leislet watched this scene with deep shock¡­that''s because the human inside the crystal opened his eyes.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 90 Chapter 90

    Leislet and Acht looked at the pair of ominous red eyes looking at them from behind the crystal walls.

    They were as captivating as they were horrifying. They didn''t have any emotions, not even those emotions that will make something feel alive, that every creature has. They were basically as dead and emotionless as those of a doll or a robot.

    The moment Acht saw them, the pain in his head increased tenfold and made him fall down again, groaning in pain. It was so unbearable that even with his strong will, he couldn''t hold himself up or even do anything except for holding his head.

    Leislet didn''t know what to do as things happened quickly and at the same time. She didn''t know if she should focus on Acht who was suffering or on the two eyes from behind the crystal.

    As she was having this dilemma, she heard a small sound close to her. She looked at the side and saw that one of the wires that linked the main crystal with the smaller crystals that were in the corners of the room had been severed.

    Then, after that, another wire git severed and another after it. In a matter of seconds, all of the wires got cut off and fell down to the ground. She could see clearly as energy seeped out of them and into the air, dissipating quickly.

    ''This doesn''t look good! We need to leave!'' She thought as she immediately lifted the groaning Acht up and ran to the exit as fast as she could. She didn''t care if this meant they would fail the expedition.

    In fact, this was not something a small team could deal with. The abomination inside the crystal was something that could even start a whole war!

    So, the most important thing she needed to do was survive¡­no matter what!

    As she ran at her fastest speed. The exit wasn''t that far so she was able to reach it quickly.

    *Crack*

    A cracking sound reached her ear and sent a shiver down her spine. A trickle of sweat ran down her face as she gulped down a mouthful of saliva, not daring to look behind or even think about what was happening.

    The moment she reached the tunnel, she threw Acht inside and entered after him. Then, she nudged him hurriedly and shouted, clearly in extreme distress.

    "Move! We can''t stay here!"

    Acht, who was aware of what was happening to a certain extent, gritted his teeth to the point where they started making weird noises. Then, with a decisive look, he bit down on the tip of his tongue as hard as he could. Immediately, the metallic taste of his own blood filled his senses and made him regain some rity.

    Then, he pulled himself up and started crawling as fast as he could. He kept peeking at Leislet behind him who was clearly in more danger than him since she was closer to the chamber where the creature was.

    He also could still hear the continuous cracking sounds inside the chamber. They were akin to a symphony of death that was telling them that their end was near. Each crack made Acht jolt slightly and hurry his steps. The pain was indeed still as strong, if not stronger than before. However, his survival instincts dominated his body and made him move even though he should''ve not been able to.

    Then, as they were halfway through the small tunnel, the cracking sounds suddenly stopped and creepy silence quickly took their ce.<sub> </sub>

    The two didn''t even think about stopping to see what happened and they did the right thing, since a momentter, a strong bursting noise along with a strong wave of energy attacked them relentlessly.

    The aura that came to them was so strong that it would put Thyrus''s aura to shame. It was just something that should''ve not existed in this era. No creature, no matter how strong or big it was, should have this kind of pressure emitting from its body.

    ''Dammit!'' Acht cursed under his breath as he pulled out Ooze and created a square-shaped shield that was put behind them to stop the pressure from hindering their movement.

    He clearly knew that it was useless since an aura of this caliber could distort the space around them. Forget about this ooze shield he made, even if he put a whole between them and this creature, the aura will still reach them eventually.

    What Acht intended with that shield is to get them a few milliseconds of time that they could exploit to escape. Every second was very precious after all.

    "We are close! We can make it!" Acht said to Leislet.

    The ck Ooze shield had already been destroyed and turned into its liquid state again. The aura invaded their bodies and made them halt for a moment and freeze like statues.

    Then, like some kind of ma, their bodies started getting pulled back. It was slow at first but it soon picked up the pace and they were going back at the same speed they tried to get out with.

    "No!!!" Acht shouted as he dug his hands in the ground and pulled his sword out and used it as a support to stay fixated in his ce.

    Leislet also pulled out her wand and nted it deep into the tunnel to hold her in her ce.

    But, those attempts were useless, as in the next second, Acht heard the sound of his sword getting destroyed and the de turning into small shards and he also heard the sound of Leislet''s wand bending to an impossible degree before she lost her grip on her wand.

    Immediately, they were both pulled back into the tunnel again at a high speed. At that moment, Acht felt it. A very familiar feeling that he knew very well and he grew all ustomed to.

    It was something he used basically every day and it already merged with his life, bing an indispensable tool he used.

    ''This creature¡­can use gravity?!''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 91 Chapter 91

    ''This creature¡­could use gravity?'' He muttered to himself with utter disbelief and deep shock that sent his body into a frenzy. He even lost the resistance in his body that he tried to muster to save his and Leislet''s life.

    In a matter of a few moments, they were back inside the room, their bodies didn''t immediately stop and they hit the wall roughly.

    Acht felt the air escape his lungs and his eyes widened with surprise. Then, he fell down along with Leislet who was in a bad shape too but she was faring better than him since she was way stronger.

    She stood up first and looked at the wand in her hands. It was now bent like a metal pipe hit by a truck at full speed. It should''ve been impossible since the wand was made of an extremely sturdy wood but it somehow happened.

    She then looked at what pulled them inside again and closed the only exit of this ce for them. Her eyes were full of horror as they gazed at the abnormal entity floating calmly in front of them.

    He was a man, or so his appearance says, but Leislet knew that he was far from being a human let alone a man. His most striking features are his extremely long silver hair and his extremely beautiful body that looked as if it was sculpted by the gods themselves. It was just beyond anything that could exist in this world.

    His face was extremely handsome andcked anything that could be called an ''imperfection''. There were also some weird tattoos that resemble ancient runes running through his torso and to his back. They were some kind of ancientnguage and they carried an ominous feeling to them.

    His crimson red eyes thatcked any human emotions looked at them from above like a god of some sort that was about to punish puny humans.

    He didn''t seem to be intending to talk or show any kind of expression. He just kept gazing at them like a statue. But, what Leislet discovered after a moment was that he wasn''t looking at them both. He was only looking at Acht who finally mustered the strength to stand up.

    He then looked at his left hand which had a big bruise covering most of it. He had hit his hand when he struck the wall so it was now injured and he could''ve potentially broken it. That was how strong the impact was.

    He then shifted his eyes to the thing that was in front of him. He had somehow the same reaction to Leislet but also different at the same time.

    The entity didn''t lose focus as he looked at him and only him.

    Seeing those eyes, Acht immediately discovered something important.

    ''The thing that kept whispering to me since I came to this dungeon was this creature.'' He thought as he squinted his eyes.

    The pain in his head was still there but it subsided enough for him to hold himself up without losing bnce.

    After standing silent for a few seconds, the entity finally made a move. He started approaching them while keeping himself up in the air.

    Immediately, the duo grew extremely wary and they held themselves in a fighting position even though they knew that resistance was useless.

    The entity ignored that and kept approaching them, slowly and steadily. Then, when he was close enough, extended his hand to the front.

    Instantly, Acht felt his body lose control and he started floating in the air without any influence from his side.<sub> </sub>

    He didn''t wait and immediately used gravity to make himselfnd again. What he discovered, however, was quite surprising but also predictable. He couldn''t make himselfnd on the ground no matter how much he made the gravity around him stronger, he still moved closer and closer to the creature.

    Leislet didn''t stand idly either, she grabbed Acht and tried to pull him with all of her strength.

    But, nothing could stop him from moving. So, Leislet decided to do another thing. She looked at the creature and dashed at him with a loud shout that helped to give her the courage to attack the monstrous being.

    When she reached him, she used her light element and tried to attack him with it. Her only bet was that he may be vulnerable to her light element since he could be a monster like orcs.

    But, she soon came to know how naive her thoughts were¡­extremely na?ve!

    The entity didn''t even look at her and just swung his hand casually. However, what was considered casual for him was akin to the speed of light for Leislet. Without even seeing what hit her, she was sent flying like a ragdoll and smashed against another wall, destroying it to smithereens and creating a huge hole in it.

    "UGGHHH!!!" She groaned in pain as she vomited blood from her mouth along with the breath in her lungs.

    Then, shended on the ground roughly. Her body felt so painful and paralyzed that it took her a few seconds to regain control of her limbs.

    During that time, Acht was already close enough for the creature to grab him by the neck. The boy felt his neck get squeezed like a lemon and he immediately started suffocating.

    He squirmed around frantically while looking for anything that could help him.

    ''Ugh¡­What should I do..think Acht..think!''

    Then, his eyes suddenly fell on something not that far away from him. It was a shard of the crystal that was trapping the creature.

    He didn''t hesitate as he pulled it with his gravity and held it tightly in his hand. Then, he shed at the creature''s face. He thought that if this thing was trapped inside that crystal then this thing could be able to harm him.

    *SWISH*

    Luckily, the attack hit the creature''s face. However, it didn''t do any lethal damage since the monster evaded at thest second by casually moving his head to the side.

    Then, he looked at Acht coldly with blood dripping from his cheek.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 92 Chapter 92

    As Acht looked into his eyes, he felt himself fall into an abyss of nothingness that he will never escape. Those eyes were hypnotic as much as they were horrifying to look at.

    Acht couldn''t even feel his heartbeat for a proper two seconds because of the tension. Then, the creature made a move, he tightened his grip on Acht''s body and made a swinging motion. The boy knew what he was about to do and immediately felt the lethal danger he was in.

    ''Fuck! He''s gonna throw me. If I hit the wall, it''s over!'' He clenched his teeth tightly as he thought hurriedly.

    ? Then, with a fast and swift move, Acht''s body was sent flying at an inhuman speed. It was so fast that he felt as if he traveled in time to the past.

    *BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM*

    The impact was so strong that the whole chamber and also the tunnel started copsing and the ceiling began crumbling down like an endless rain of rocks.

    Leislet, who wasying down, had to move quickly before she got smashed by a huge boulder above her.

    The after-effects of the hit didn''t subside until thirty secondster. That was when the creature looked at the ce where the boy should beying dead.

    The dirt got swept away and revealed the boy. He wasying back on the wall. A huge amount of blood was gushing out from every part of his body. All of his limbs were broken and his skull was also probably broken into shards too. His organs were ruptured and we''re bleeding out endlessly, filling his insides to the brim with his own blood.

    This was by far the most lethal injury Acht sustained in all of his lives. He was genuinely going to die, no beating around the bush.

    But, what made the creature look slightly differently at Acht is the fact that¡­he was still alive. In fact, he was not only alive, but he was still conscious too!

    The creature couldn''t believe that a weak human like him could stay alive after that hit. He even deliberately made him fly into the wall head first for a quick death.

    "Cough! Cough! Cough!" Acht coughed loudly and hoarsely as he spat out blood and also chunks of his destroyed organs in the process.

    He was in so much pain that his body immediately shut down. The only thing left working was his brain which kept him conscious. He was sure of one thing though¡­he was going to die.

    His eyes that were fighting the urge to close down looked at Leislet who was trying to find a solution to save their lives. The exit got closed with tons and tons of rocks and became impossible to use. The creature that was way above their league was also not allowing them to leave.

    It was just the most desperate state she had herself in.

    ''Dammit! Is this how I''m going to die?'' He cursed under his breath. He then tried to take a long breath but couldn''t since his lungs were now akin to a bowl full of grounded beef.

    ''Fuck. This is so sudden. I still have goals and dreams. I have someone to go back to to apologize. How can I die here?!''

    Then, as he was having this internal crisis, the creature approached him slowly just like how he did before. Then, he grabbed Acht by the neck again. The boy''s blood immediately dirtied his hands.

    Acht didn''t even squint in pain since there was nothing to suffocate when he was unable to breathe.<sub> </sub>

    Then, the creature raised its other hand and made a pointy hand gesture.

    Acht looked at this scene and felt like his head was under the guillotine. Every memory of his life came rushing back like a tidal wave.

    Everything that he experienced, bad and good, was now being screened inside his head like a long movie at the cinema.

    His life back on earth, all of his missions as a hitman. The way Dia was brutally crippled and how he killed everyone responsible for that in the most gruesome way possible. He also remembered how he died. It was something unclear at first but he could recall that he was just casually walking and then he suddenly lost consciousness and he found himself in Livia''s domain.

    All of those things made his life all the more unique.

    Somehow, even with his end nearing, he didn''t feel fear, nor did he feel regret. He was just slightly sad that he wasn''t able to reach what he yearned for.

    The reason for that is probably because he died trying and not just sitting there waiting for his end. It wasn''t something he took pride in but it was at least good enough for regret to vanish from his heart.

    Then, suddenly, with a weird expression, Acht startedughing. It was a quietugh that was barely even audible from his mouth.

    Theugh was calm, yet crazy, hateful, yet pure, ugly, yet beautiful. It had so many contrasting emotions in it that it could confuse anyone hearing it¡­including the creature in front of him.

    After that, Acht looked at the monster with a huge grin before doing something even Leislet couldn''t believe.

    He just closed his mouth and outed slightly, before unleashing whatever was in his mouth in the form of spit.

    The bits and pieces of organs along with blood and saliva reached the creature''s face and stuck to his forehead. The creature didn''t avoid the attack because he was genuinely shocked at the fact that the human he was about to kill didn''t beg or cry from fear but insteadughed like a maniac. Who could be sane enough to do that?!

    Then, with a disdainful smile, Acht muttered.

    "Fuck you, bastard!"

    *SWISH*

    The outraged creature didn''t even let himplete his words as he immediately plunged his hand deep into Acht''s chest. It was fast, quiet, and almost unbelievable to see.

    "ACHHHHTTT!!!!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 93 Chapter 93

    Leislet saw it clearly, how the creature''s hand dug deep into Acht''s chest like a sharp knife and messed up his insides. She could also see the huge amount of blood that exploded out of his body like a flood and tainted the whole ce with a horrifying red color.

    As for the boy himself, he just kept smiling as blood trickled down his mouth. He felt immense pain from the creature''s hand. It was as if someone took his insides and put them in a blender at high speed. Immediately, all feeling in his limbs and his whole body disappeared. His hazy eyes lost all of their strength and started closing up slowly.

    ''Sigh, what will happen to me now? Am I going to be another lost soul that Livia uses as she wants? What a bad end for a bad person indeed. Hehehe'' He chuckled in disdain at his own self.

    He didn''t feel regret for being a bad person, he just was mocking his own fate for being like that. If he was maybe born in a family surrounded by good parents and had food on his table every day or maybe if he didn''t have to steal and get abused every day just so that he could leave and don''t end up as a prey for another predator. Maybe if all of that didn''t happen, he would''ve been a good person.

    But, there was nothing he could do so he forgot all of that and focused on his own situation.

    He gazed at Leislet who was barely moving properly with her broken bones and smiled slightly, enough for her to see it. He didn''tplete his end of the deal but it wasn''t that big of a problem since there were many other talented individuals in the world. All she had to do was search for them.

    Then, his energypletely dissipated and he closed his eyespletely. Acht¡­had died.

    It was so unexpected. What was initially a half-assed search of a hidden hole in an orc vige turned into the tragic death of Acht and potentially Leislet too.

    Without even knowing it, a tear fell down her face. She didn''t cry or scream, she just had one single tear fall down her face. Then, with clenched teeth. She stood up and red madly at the creature.

    She had never thought that she would say this about herself. But she was totally powerless in front of this behemoth. Even if she went crazy and attacked him, she would die a horrible death either way.

    As for the creature, he released his hand from Acht''s chest, what he pulled out with it was Acht''s heart that stopped beatingpletely.

    After taking a long look at it, he threw the heart nonchntly and then did something totally unexpected.

    He made the same gesture with his hand and instead of attacking Acht or anything else, he pierced his own chest.

    "..what?" Even Leislet had to question her eyes again.

    Why would he have pierced his own chest? The answer soon came to her in the form of a heart.

    The creature had pulled out his own heart as if it was nothing worthy of mentioning. The heart that was different from that of a human kept beating loudly.

    It had the same runes as the ones on his chest. It was also blue in color like the ocean and had an abnormal amount of energy in it. It was not an exaggeration to say that all of this creature''s monster energy came from that heart.

    ? Then, the creature took that heart and ced it inside Acht''s chest without flinching or even showing any type of pain.

    The heart somehow fit perfectly into Acht''s lifeless body.

    "What is he doing?" Leislet muttered as she winced in pain at her injuries. It seemed she had underestimated her own injuries since now, she could feel that not only did she break her bones, but she had minor internal bleeding. It was not lethal however, it was heavy enough to make her unable to move.<sub> </sub>

    The moment the creature lost his heart, his aura started depleting at a high speed. He was clearly dying because of this thing he did.

    But, he didn''t seem to be that panicked as he looked at Acht''s corpse and the heart inside of it.

    After a few moments, the heart started emitting some faint light. It then rapidly grew bigger and bigger until it was visible from all the corners of the chamber.

    *Swish*

    A blue energy wave exploded from Acht''s body. It was very strong and extremely violent.

    The creature also felt the strength and released Acht who didn''t fall to the ground but instead kept floating in the air. His body had turned into a blue color and his dead eyes turned blue too.

    The creature looked somehow delighted as it watched this scene happen. But, its expression suddenly changed from calm to slightly surprised and then fully shocked. His eyes widened to their maximum looking like two full moons. He was shocked like that probably because of the sudden shift of events.

    The energy that was increasing inside Acht''s body suddenly stopped increasing and thenpletely halted. After that, Acht''s body started absorbing that energy at a rapid speed.

    It was as if he was some kind of ck hole that couldn''t be filled.

    All of that power that could destroy anything in front of it simply vanished in a few seconds.

    The creature watched this happen with clear despair in his eyes. But, before he could do anything, he felt his body lose all energy and he fell down to the ground.

    It seemed that he was also dying slowly. He tried to crawl to Acht but he couldn''t hold on for long and he stopped moving altogether.

    He died.

    As for Acht, after absorbing the energy, he fell down to the ground again.

    Leislet didn''t wait and immediately jumped on her feet and ran toward him. She didn''t care about the fact that both of her legs were broken, all she wanted was to see how Acht is. Even her mind stopped working from the moment she saw how the creature put his own heart inside the boy.

    All of her mind was simply filled with one simple thing.

    ''I need to see Acht.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 94 Chapter 94

    When she reached Acht, she bent down on her knees and put her fingers on his neck to check his pulse. It was stupid to do this considering the fact that she saw how his heart was dug out like a carrot but she also saw what ensued when the creature put his heart inside Acht.

    Her faint hope that maybe he was alive kept resounding in her head like an endless echo. It was something that made her feel hopeful yet also scared that maybe it was nothing real.

    "There is¡­a pulse." She muttered with disbelief. She could feel his rhythmic heart bearing. It was clear and powerful like that of a healthy person and not someone in a critical state like Acht.

    Immediately, she lost bnce and fell on her ass looking shocked. What transpired in front of her a few moments ago was way too much for her to handle. A weird thing after a weird thing and they were all impossible to exin.

    So, now that she saw that the boy was alive, she felt her chaotic mind settle down slightly. Then, with a frown, she shifted her eyes to Acht''s body.

    He was in very bad shape. It was so bad that he would''ve probably never fully recovered from it if he stayed alive. But, now, there was something that should''ve been impossible happening.

    The huge hole in Acht''s chest was closing up at a fast speed. She could see his muscle fibers wriggling and linking up and skin also growing out of seemingly nothing.

    "What is going on?" She gazed at the other parts of his body with a weird look.

    His broken legs were also bending into a normal angle and she could hear the sound of bone cracking continuously in every part of every limb.

    Even the blood that kept gushing from his head because of the previous hit stopped and then started returning back to his head.

    It was as if she was witnessing the resurrection of something. This speed of healing was something not even the best hunters in this world could reach. Everyone should know that recovering from this level of injury will take weeks even with the help of potions and the supervision of the best doctors in the world.

    As she thought so, the healing was already near the end. Acht had basicallye back to how he was before finding this ce if you ignore the bloodstains on his body.

    Then, as she waited patiently, a small groan reached her ear. Acht''s closed eyes started parting ways.

    Then, his full irises appeared out of the darkness. His previously ck pupils had turned to the most beautiful shade of blue that could be seen.

    They were akin to a clear sea that was illuminated by the warm rays of the sun. They were captivating as much as they were unfathomable.

    Leislet felt her breath get stuck in her throat. His eyes were simr to those of the creature but somehow even more beautiful.

    After that, like a small baby discovering the world, he looked around with a dazed expression. Eventually, his eyes locked on Leislet and they immediately regained their vitality.

    He tried to wake up frantically as if he was electrically shocked. His confusion and shock could be seen clearly stered on his face.

    But, because of his rusty body that had barely been healed, he felt a strong pain invade his mind and made him groan slightly.

    He then looked at Leislet again with a shocked face.

    "How¡­wasn''t I dead?" He asked with disbelief.<sub> </sub>

    He was sure that he saw how the creature dug out his heart and he also saw blood drop from his body like a waterfall. He would''ve not recovered from something like that no matter how many advanced potions he consumes.

    Leislet didn''t answer immediately and kept looking at him dazedly. Then, without any warning, she jumped on him and tightly hugged him from his neck.

    She didn''t say anything and just kept hugging him like a panda. Acht was surprised at first but he didn''t stop her or say anything. If she was that vulnerable at the moment then he might as well let her stay like that for a while until he organized his thoughts.

    They both sat there silently like two lovers sharing their precious time together.

    After a few minutes passed, Acht tapped Leislet''s shoulder as a sign for her to let go.

    She didn''t move immediately but stayed like that for a few more seconds before releasing him.

    "What happened?" He asked as he gently tapped her shoulder to calm her down. Even though she was very strong mentally and physically, what happened was simply way too much for anyone to handle. She had been close to death and back multiple times in a few minutes.

    How could anyone be able to stay normal after that? It was just impossible.

    After calming down, Leislet took a deep breath and said.

    "I don''t really know. After he dug out your heart. He pierced his own chest and took out his heart before putting it inside your body. I feel like he was trying to take over your body or something like that."

    Acht looked at the corpse lying not that far from them and then answered.

    "It seems he failed to do so. But, why?"

    "Something wrong must''ve happened during the ceremony that made you take your body back. You also seem to¡­umm change." She said with a blush on her face.

    Looking at his eyes was pretty much addictive to do. They were just mesmerizing for anyone, man or woman.

    "Umm, your eyes changed, and also the whole atmosphere around you became different."

    Acht didn''t look at his own body when he woke up but now that he focused on it. He didn''t feel as if he was stronger or weaker, but he discovered something weird.

    "My levels¡­.I went back to being a white soul level 1?!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 95 Chapter 95

    Acht couldn''t believe himself. He kept checking his soul force again and again but the result is still the same. He had lost all of his levels and came back to the white soul stage.

    What was even weirder is the fact that he didn''t feel any drop in his powers. If anything, he felt as if he got a boost in his strength and became stronger than before. This was so contradicting in and out of itself that he couldn''t think it was possible.

    So, as ast resort, he had to do one thing to check out his theories and that''s to actually move around and experiment with his own body.

    "It seems that I lost all of my levels." He said to Leislet who was also confused as much as him.

    "Losing levels is not that rare. Many people sustain heavy injuries in their soul stones and so they could lose levels because of it. But, I can''t feel your aura going weaker."

    "I also felt it. I didn''t drop back to being weak. Maybe it''s the heart that he nted in me that was responsible for this." Acht muttered loudly.

    Then, he stood up slowly. The numbness in his body had already disappeared and he was back in his peak form. The first thing he wanted to try was his speed.

    It was one of the most important things he relied on during battles and it was also his strongest point by far.

    So, he bent down slightly before sting from his initial position like a rocket. His aim was the wall far off to his right. It was the only wall that was considerably still intact after the chaos that ensued before.

    In one second, he had reached the wall and touched it. The distance was around 50 meters.

    "My speed increased but very slightly. I could barely see the difference. The most important thing is that my speed is still at the same level." He said.

    Then, he looked to his side and saw a huge boulder that fell down from the ceiling.

    He then approached it and clenched his fist.

    *Swish* *Boom*

    With one single punch, the boulder was turned into dust. He didn''t even feel any difort in his knuckles after hitting it.

    "My raw strength is also the same give or take." He deducted.

    After that, he tried all kinds of skills and moves he learned. He even tried using gravity and it was still pretty much the same. All in all, nothing changed except for the color of his eyes.

    "Hmm, that''s really weird. How could this be possible to happen?"

    In truth, if this was indeed the case which it seems to be for the time being, then that''s huge for Acht. Having the same strength as an orange soul while being a white soul level one means that he would always be ahead of anyone else by a whole soul stage. Not one level or two levels, but 10 whole levels of difference!

    This might not appear at his current strength, butter on, when leveling up bes extremely hard, this difference will be crucial.<sub> </sub>

    ''What kind of creature is that monster?'' He looked at the dead corpse of the creature. He didn''t know what he was or where he came from but he held a grudge against him. He was technically the one that killed him so obviously he would hate him.

    "We should check his body," Acht suggested to Leislet who also agreed to his proposition.

    They then approached the corpse and looked at it. Now that they were close to it, they saw a ring change in his body. His previous muscr physique became frail like a withering tree.

    His skin tone became way paler than before. Even the runes on his body started turning dull. The way he just changed this quickly bewildered them.

    He was just a mystery in and out of itself.

    "Could he be the boss of this dungeon?" He asked.

    Leislet bent down and touched his forehead just like how she did with the orc lord. She sat there motionless for a good 20 seconds.

    "No, he isn''t the boss of this dungeon. But¡­he seems to have been influencing this dungeon and that''s probably the reason why it had changed like this. The amount of energy he had made the dungeon transform just to be able to handle his aura and not copse on itself." She muttered.

    Acht understood her words and he could see that being the case since his aura was beyond what anything in this world could reach.

    "But, the questions that we can''t answer are: Why is he here? And what is he in the first ce?" He said.

    "I can''t tell you a clear answer. We need to bring him back with us and do some experiments. If this creature is not the only one in the lower world, it will be a huge disaster." She said as she imagined the worst-case scenario.

    If even two of them came out, then the whole world would probably go extinct. No one could stop them, even if all the hunters in the world ganged up on them.

    "He''s not an omnipotent thought. These things can harm him."

    Acht then picked a crystal shard he found randomly and shed down on the body. The shard sliced through his body easily without any resistance. No blood came out of his body, as if he was only made of bones and skin with no substance inside.

    Even if they couldn''t kill them without sustaining a lot of damage, they still had a way to deal with them. It was a key point that they had to keep in mind.

    "Ok, help me stand up. We need to get out." She said as she stored his corpse in her spatial ring.

    She really wanted to leave this ce as soon as possible. She had drunk a high-rank potion and fixed her broken bones but she was still weak in her limbs because of the after-effect of this potion.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 96 Chapter 96

    Acht had to support Leislet so they could walk at a moderately fast speed since her legs were still weak from the healing. The height difference between them made it even harder for Acht but he didn''t care much about it since there was a pressing problem he needed to take care of.

    What stood in front of them were tons and tons of hard rocks that blocked the small tunnel that could get them out of there. The chaos that happened because of the creature made the ceiling and the walls crumble down like it was made of cardboard. Now, they were basically stuck in there.

    "Even if we contacted the others they wouldn''t be able to move this amount of rocks. What should we do?" Leislet asked with slight concern.

    Acht didn''t answer immediately as he looked at the blocked path with a contemting look. He was formting an idea in his head that he wasn''t sure could work but it was still worth trying.

    After making sure of what he should do, he shifted his gaze to Leislet. He knew that she wouldn''t approve of this idea that much but it was theirst chance.

    "I think I will use the same attack you saw today when I killed the orcs. I called it ''Gravity Bullets''." He exined slowly.

    Leislet frowned slightly as she remembered the destructive prowess of that attack and she immediately shook her head in disapproval.

    "That attack is way too strong. Look at the ceiling and the walls, they are barely holding on. Any other attack would make them crumblepletely and we will be buried alive here."

    "Do we have any other choice? You don''t have a way of getting us out. Digging with our hands is also out of the question. Our best chance is Gravity Bullets. Believe in me." He said with confidence in his voice.

    As they looked at each other, conveying what they were thinking of through their gazes, Leislet cursed under her breath as she thought.

    ''You little bastard. These eyes of yours are cheating.''

    She couldn''t keep herselfposed when looking at them so she averted her eyes, announcing her defeat.

    Acht nodded his head and helped her to walk away from the piles of rocks. Then, he stood up again and pointed his hand at the rocks.

    After that, he started channeling his soul force. But, the moment it started manifesting in his hand, he saw a ring difference from before.

    His soul force which was most of the time translucent and white was now sky blue in color. The other thing that made it different is the quality. The blue soul force he had now was way stronger and denser than normal soul force. Even channeling it was way faster and more efficient than ever before.

    "What is this?" He muttered as he looked closer at his hand which had a blue aura around it.

    He didn''t feel any difort so he understood that it wasn''t something dangerous or an odd mutation in his body.

    "This is another change because of the heart."

    He touched his chest and tried to feel his heartbeat. It was calm and strong, he even felt his energy flowing smoothly throughout his body.

    "Sigh, what a weird thing that happened to me. I don''t even know if it''s good or bad." He clenched his fist and breathed out heavily.

    Then, he pointed his hand again and started forming the gravity ball in his hand. Immediately, he started feeling the heavy weight of the gravity ball in his hand. He made sure to not umte too much gravity in his hand so that he doesn''t destroy the whole chamber so the preparation was considerably shorter.

    After that, he threw the ball with all of his strength. It was invisible so neither he nor Leislet could see it.

    A secondter, they saw how the pile of rocks that covered the tunnel was sted as if it was hit with dynamites. It was so strong that it made the earth shake.

    *BOOOOOMMM*<sub> </sub>

    Bits and pieces of the rocks flew everywhere. In a moment, the path in front of them was almost opened up.

    Luckily, after the small earthquake, the chamber didn''t crumble and held on resiliently.

    "Another shot and we are done. I still can shoot another gravity ball so my soul energy has increased in quantity and quality too."

    Then, he readied another gravity ball smaller than the other one and threw it at the tunnel.

    *BOOOOM*

    Immediately, thest huge rocks of the pile got obliterated and the path was now wide open for them to pass. But, things didn''t seem to be that smooth, as in the next second, Acht heard a chain of cracks happening above him.

    He looked up and saw the ceiling starting to break like a ss cup.

    ''Shit.'' he cursed as he dashed toward Leislet and picked her up in a princess carry position. The difference between them in height made it somehow funny to witness.

    As they crossed the chamber, rocks started to fall down like rain. Acht couldn''t even think properly as he let his body guide them through.

    He also made use of gravity maniption to avert some rocks that were unavoidable even with his reaction speed.

    Luckily, they were able to enter the tunnel before the chamber was totally destroyed.

    Acht sat down and breathed a sigh of relief. It was so close that they were almost dead.

    "Umm¡­could you let me down?" Leislet said after an awkward cough.

    "Oh, yeah¡­Here." Acht nodded and put her down gently.

    The moment he bent down to put her down, their eyes met from up close and they froze in that position for a good 10 seconds. But, Acht broke that silence and looked ahead of him.

    "We should go. The other team members are probably almost over with their parts of the mission. We also need to find the dungeon boss."

    He then walked ahead first while hiding his face from the beautiful woman with him.

    As for her, she just looked at his back dazedly and then immediately shook her head.

    ''What am I thinking?! I can''t be attracted to a small boy. But, he was¡­''

    Unconsciously, she touched her lips with a blush. Her mind drifted away into the dreand where all kinds of ''interesting'' things were happening.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 97 Chapter 97

    Acht and Leislet were able to swiftly quit the tunnel and climb back up from the whole. They stayed in that hole for no more than 20 minutes yet they felt as if they were stuck there for an eternity. They had no idea if that encounter was fruitful or if it was a ring red g for the fate of the lower world and the people in it.

    When they reached back up, they looked around them to check their surroundings. The area was almost as they left it, deste and silent. There were no sounds of orcs or humans. In fact, there were no sounds at all, as if the world had been frozen in time.

    Acht didn''t think much about it since it could be that the team ended the mission and now they are waiting. So, they decided to call them through a special device made tomunicate inside dungeons.

    In these kinds of ces, there was no way people could use normal phones since there was no signal inside a dungeon. So, they invented these special devices called ''DC'' short for Dungeon Communicators to erase that problem.

    Leislet sent a voice message to all of them to see where they are and they waited for the reply patiently. However, no reply came back.

    Minutes passed and there was no reply at all. The calm atmosphere around them made the waiting all the more tense and eerie.

    "Did they get very far?" Acht asked calmly. There was no reason to panic when there could be many possibilities to look at.

    "I don''t think that''s the case. Let me check their location." She said as she tapped on her DC.

    Then, a few secondster, she looked up again and muttered.

    "Nothing¡­there is no trace of them in a radius of 500 kilometers."

    Leislet was now really confused. Even if they were dead or even stuck 1000 feet underground, the chips they had nted in their bodies made it possible to find them no matter where they were. Not to mention that passing 500 kilometers in 20 minutes is not something easy to do, especially in the muddy soil of this dungeon.

    In a nutshell, their disappearance is really odd and almost impossible to happen.

    "Are they¡­dead?" The boy said with a wary look. Suddenly, the calm vige around them became not sofortable and the howling of the wind was now more like screeches of the devil.

    They had no other choice but to leave this ce to search for the team and also to find the dungeon boss.

    ''Fuck. This is getting really out of hand.'' Acht clenched his fists as he cursed under his breath.

    He knew that if the whole team just got killed, that would not only make the expedition a big failure, but it would also be a huge blow to Leislet''s family and she could even lose her position as the hunter association president.

    But, even with all of that in mind, Leislet looked very calm andposed at the moment since there was no point in panicking at such crucial times.

    "We should leave this ce." She said as she ced her DC in the spatial ring and sted into the horizon at a fast speed.

    Acht looked at her with aplicated gaze and muttered.

    "She''s trying to stayposed but her actions say otherwise."

    Then, he followed after her, leaving behind the hollow vige they had destroyed with their hands. What was deeper into the dungeon might be more dangerous but it was something they had to do.

    ****************************

    A few hours passed and the duo had already walked so deep into the dungeon that it would take them at least one day to go back to the entrance. The soil was still thick and muddy so they grew tired once or twice during the trip and stopped to rest.<sub> </sub>

    But, even with all of their extensive search and their countless messages, they couldn''t find nor contact the other team members.

    While none of them said anything, both of them knew that something wrong had happened...gravely wrong.

    "Should we rest for the night?" Leislet asked as she sipped on her cup of tea. They had been in constant movement the whole day so even with her strong stamina and physique, she would get slightly exhausted. She also needed to organize her thoughts to find a solution to the catastrophe she was facing now.

    Acht nodded his head and they started setting the camp. Each one of them had a special tent for dungeon camping and also many other artifacts to have a somewhat eptable night inside a dangerous ce like this.

    After that, they made a small dinner for each one of them and sat down to eat it. It wasn''t anything fancy, a simple bowl of noodles with beef broth and vegetables. It was delicious even though it was not fancy.

    "Hey¡­do you think they are dead?" Leislet suddenly asked Acht who was slurping the noodles silently.

    He stopped his chopsticks from moving and looked at her and then at the bowl in his hand.

    "You want my true feelings?" He asked.

    "Yes."

    Acht sighed and then spoke again.

    "I don''t think they are dead. But, something wrong must''ve happened. Either way, you should always be prepared for the worst-case scenario."

    Leislet didn''t answer immediately as she nodded her head.

    But, as they were about to continue their dinner, a weird thing happened. Acht felt the ground wiggle under him. It was very faint but also noticeable for him since he was alert most of the time.

    He looked under him and asked.

    "Did you feel that?"

    Leislet nodded as she took a fighting pose. Acht also took out his sword and Ooze as he kept his eyes on the ground.

    A few secondster, the ground wiggled again, more intensely this time. But this time, it came along with another thing.

    A sticky substance that resembles saliva started oozing out of the ground intensively.

    "What''s going on?" The boy muttered as he pulled out his leg from the soil.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 98 Chapter 98

    Acht looked at the substance that got stuck to his leg and touched it carefully. It didn''t seem to be harmful or poisonous so that was not a problem at the moment. What caught his attention, however, was the fact this substance was eerily simr to the saliva of a human.

    It wasn''t even a simrity in a fewponents or forms. It was as if he literally stepped inside the mouth of a¡­monster.

    The realization hit him hard as his eyes widened like two full moons and he looked at Leislet agitatedly.

    She also seemed to have thought of the same crazy theory he had in his mind. It was so weird and unexpected that many would consider it stupid. But, what they were seeing at the moment might actually be the first even dungeon that is the boss itself.

    Acht then shifted his eyes to look at the horizon as he enhanced his eyes to the maximum. His blue soul force made it even easier to see far into the distance.

    That''s when another realization struck him like a rushing bullet train. He immediately shouted.

    "The ground is inclining in the distance. The dungeon is not the boss but the monster is as big as this dungeon!"

    "How is this possible?" Leislet muttered.

    "We have no time to waste. Pick up everything and let''s go. We might get eaten alive!!"

    Leislet didn''t waste time and immediately put everything in the spatial ring and ran in the opposite direction

    As they ran as fast as they could, the ground behind them was going steeper and steeper. And while that made it easier for them to increase their speed, it also made it hard to keep their bnce with each passing moment. Not to mention the saliva that kept sticking to their legs and made them exercise double the effort to be able to move quickly.

    The problem is that they don''t know how big this monster''s mouth is. It could be hundreds of kilometers long and they wouldn''t even be able to live to see that if it was the case.

    "Leislet. Can you feel where the densest energy force of the dungeon is?" Acht suddenly asked with a clear urgency in his voice.

    She nodded her head and tried to sense it. Since she was way stronger than Acht, her soul sense was tens and even hundreds of times bigger than his.

    As her senses spread across the dungeon, it didn''t take her long to find what Acht was looking for. A huge amount of soul force was particrly umted in a certain area a few kilometers away from them.

    She then looked at Acht and told him her finding.

    "We need to go there. I have an idea but I don''t know if it will work or not. We should first get out of this problem alive!" He shouted as he changed his direction into the area of the dense soul energy.

    A few minutes passed as they ran like that and the ground had already bent by at least 45¡ã. They were now basically climbing down a mountain rather than actually running which slowed them down considerably.

    But, luckily enough, they were somehow close to that area from the start so it didn''t take them that long to reach it.<sub> </sub>

    When they were there, Acht had to pierce the ground with his sword and hold Leislet with him so they wouldn''t fall down into the big hole in front of them.

    Yes, what they found in that area was a huge hole that was the size of ten times Leislet''s mansion. It was akin to an oblivion that sent them to hell. There was also an extremely foul scenting from it that would make anyone throw up.

    Leislet grabbed tightly into Acht''s hand and looked down at the hole and then up to see the mouth of the monster closing up on them.

    "We need to jump inside that hole. It should probably send us to the monster''s stomach. Stay close to me since I would make ournding more gentle with gravity maniption."

    Leislet nodded her head and then she hugged his neck to get a good grip on him.

    Then, Acht released the sword and they started free falling into the hole.

    "This better fucking work," Acht said as he closed his eyes from the strong breaths of the monster.

    Eventually, the light from outside disappeared and what they were left with was total darkness that didn''t seem to let them see anything.

    Acht had to rely on his senses and guts to predict when they would reach the stomach so that he could time theirnding perfectly.

    Seconds passed as they fell down, Acht could feel the bad stench get stronger and stronger as they went down. He made use of this information too since it was very crucial.

    Finally, 40 seconds in, he finally felt the change in the atmosphere around them. The weather became hotter and some kind of steam was touching their bodies.

    "Leislet, make a light ball and throw it down. I will hold you tight while you do it." He asked her as he started channeling his soul force to the maximum. This was the first time he was using gravity on two people at the same time so he needed to be extra careful. He was gambling on his new blue soul force to make it work.

    Leislet did so and threw the light bulb at his signal. The ball illuminated its surroundings and enabled Acht to see his surroundings for a brief moment. It was more than enough for him to locate what he was looking for.

    "Get ready!" He shouted as he used his gravity maniption.

    A secondter, a loud sshing sound echoed inside the monster''s stomach and his stomach acid was perturbed.

    The acid of this monster''s body was so strong that it could turn a full human into nothing but bones in a matter of moments.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 99 Chapter 99

    "Ugh¡­are you ok?" Acht asked after a small groan of pain escaped his mouth. Leislet nodded as she stood up from her position.

    Acht''s calctions were urate and theirnding was somewhat safe and with minimal damage. As for the thing theynded on, it was a big rock that was floating on the acid of the stomach of the monster.

    It was indeed a gamble to think that a rock could exist inside this monster''s stomach. But, Acht''s life was a huge gamble in and out of it itself so making another gamble won''t make any difference.

    The duo looked at their surroundings with a weird expression. It was their first time being inside a monster''s stomach so no one can me them.

    Was it not for the fact that there was acid all around them and the foul stench of this ce, it was no different than a chamber inside a cave or a dungeon.

    Even the stomach walls looked as if they were made out of rocks and not flesh.

    "What kind of monster is this? The huge size and now this weird stomach. Is it really even a creature at this point?" Achtmented as he bent down to look at the acid.

    He didn''t dare to touch it since he knew that it could melt his hand like a stick of butter. What he wanted to know however is whether it could be affected by an external stimulus that could make the creature throw up.

    "I heard of this monster somewhere before but I don''t recall it clearly since I thought it was nothing but a stupid legend or a story for kids," Leislet muttered as she kicked a rock and looked around aimlessly.

    Then, her eyes caught something weird. These things were so distinct that they stood out from their surroundings ignoring the distance between them and the duo.

    Leislet squinted her eyes and looked at them to see what they were. Then, her eyes widened and she felt her heart stop for a moment.

    Then, she tapped Acht''s shoulder in slow-motion. She didn''t avert her eyes from them, not even once.

    "Wha-" Acht was about to ask but then he caught the sight of what looked like a group of humans. He was looking at the same thing Leislet was looking at. This group of humans was floating on one single huge rock far away in the distance.

    Then, without saying anything, Leislet dashed toward them hurriedly. She knew that these were her team. But, what she feared is that they might be dead.

    Acht didn''t follow her immediately as he had to do something quickly. It was essential for them to get out of this stinky shithole alive.

    Then, after dealing with his matter, he followed Leislet who had already reached them and was inspecting their conditions.

    When he reached the ce, the first thing he noticed was that their number was lower than before. At first, the team consisted of 18 people including Leislet and Acht.

    Now he could only find 12 peopleying there unconscious. All of them had deep burned marks on all of their body and numerous injuries that bled profusely.

    However, luckily, all of them were alive, ignoring their critical states.

    What he also noticed is that all of the S-Rank hunters were there so the missing people were all A-Rank.

    Leislet was carefully checking their condition and helping them drink potions to start recovering.

    Then, with a loud sigh, she stood up and said.<sub> </sub>

    "So they got swallowed by the monster. Thank God most of them are safe." She said with a regretful tone.

    He could feel the frustration in her emotions at the moment and it was justifiable. She was their leader, the one that is responsible for their injuries and also their safety so seeing how they were rendered into this sorry state made her feel as if she was a failure as a leader.

    Acht didn''t think it was a good idea to say anything so he listened to her as she continued.

    "This is all because of me. Even though they relied on me, I ended up almost sending them to their deaths. Some of them are also missing. Dammit!"

    She then sat down and bent down to hide her face. Her demeanor right now didn''t befit the president of the strongest organization in the Lower World. She just looked like a small girl who made a big mistake and was now crying sadly.

    This attitude of hers that she never shows to anyone shows that deep inside her heart, she was still a human who can feel sadness and can bend under pressure sometimes.

    ''She''s simr to me in that department.'' Acht thought with aplicated gaze before he also sat down and looked at the unconscious team members.

    "You know¡­" he started after a long silence.

    "I don''t think they will me you for this. All of this expedition is just a huge mess that you have no hand in. You could me yourself for the losses but at least get these people alive out of here first." He said as he pointed at the group.

    Leislet''s eyes widened slightly before they returned to normal and a small smile appeared on her face. It was such a warm and soft smile that it could even melt the coldest of hearts.

    "Thank you."

    "Don''t thank me. I just said what was on my mind. Now, we should go." He answered while standing up.

    "Where?" She asked confusedly.

    Acht turned around and grinned widely before pointing at the top.

    "We are going up."

    "You have a n?"

    "Pretty much. But, I need all the help that I can get so we should wait for them to wake up and be able to move properly. My only fear is that the monster will digest us before we could even try to get out of here."

    "Let''s hope for the best."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 100 Chapter 100

    As they conversed like that, they heard the sound of a groaning from one of the unconscious team members. It seemed to be the muscr and cheerful man named Derell. His string body was not for show only after all.

    When he opened his eyes, he was very confused, but he soon remembered what happened and he immediately shot up like a rocket and stood on his feet looking left and right frantically.

    "Calm down, Derell. They are still alive, at least most of them." Leislet said as she looked at the others with aplicated gaze.

    When he heard her voice, his tense body immediately rxed slightly and he sighed deeply. But then, a grim look appeared on his face and a tear fell down his face. Dear friends of his that were A-Rank hunters are now dead. He really couldn''t hold himself from crying slightly at his own bad luck. But, not long after that, he wiped away the tears.

    "W-We are inside the monster''s stomach right?" He asked hesitantly.

    "Yes."

    "M-Mydy¡­I-I really can''t find the words to apologize to you. We let our guards down when wepleted the mission and suddenly, we found ourselves falling down into a huge hole."

    Derell recounted what happened with a pale face and a dry throat. It seems that the things that happened were way worse than they expected.

    "You can save your apologies forter. Now, we are going to get out of here alive¡­all of us." She replied with the most confident voice. It was as if she was just saying facts and not a n that could seed or fail.

    ''Hey, don''t put pressure on me, would you?'' Acht thought as he didn''t know whether tough or cry inside.

    Then, Derell sat down beside the duo and checked his equipment and other things he had. The most important of them was his spatial ring since it had everything inside of it.

    "My war hammer vanished. Dammit!" He cursed quietly.

    After that, gradually, everyone woke up from their deep slumber. Most of them were still injured after the ident so it took them some time to be able to move.

    When everyone was awake and ready, Acht stood up and walked to the far front of the group before turning around and saying.

    "Ok, the n is simple. We are inside the monster''s stomach so anything that damages the stomach walls will make the monster throw up. What we need to do is to hit these walls and destroy them until the monster throws up."

    Everyone looked at each other and nodded in understanding. But, before they could say anything else, Acht continued.

    "But we still have one problem. When the monster throws up, the acid will most likely hit us and burn us alive. So, we need someone who has an affinity with an element that could stop this acid and protect us. Anyone?" He looked around searching for anyone who could volunteer. But no one stepped up for a good 4 seconds.

    ''If Tania was just here. Things would''ve been easier.'' Acht thought as he sighed inwardly remembering the cute girl that followed him around wherever he went. Her element was crystal which was most likely not something this acid could digest.

    But, luckily, a few secondster, someone raised his hand and made everyone around him look curiously.

    It was a skinny young man who looked timid and shy in front of all of these gazes from his peers.<sub> </sub>

    Acht could hear the sound of approval from the other as they looked at him. They seemed to also agree that he was the one for the mission.

    "Introduce yourself and what''s your gift."

    "Yes, my name is Lenon and I have an affinity with obsidian." He answered with a quiet voice.

    "I see, that''s perfect. Ok, let''s get into work quickly. This creature might start digesting whatever is inside its stomach any time soon."

    Then, the group chose a good ce where they could stand close to each other just so that Lenon would be able to cover all of them when the acid started bing chaotic.

    Acht touched the stomach wall and hit it a couple of times with his hand before nodding and looking at the others as a signature to start.

    Immediately, they all pulled out their weapons and started hitting the wall madly, they seemed to want to vent their anger and frustration over the fact that their friends andpanions died such a miserable death in a stinky ce like this.

    The stomach walls started getting dug like holes and carved into a weird angle. The size of the ce made these damages not that apparent to the monster since no reaction happened. So, they kept hitting and hitting with all of their strength.

    Minutes passed and no one stopped for a moment, they had their lives at risk so they didn''t want to stop and be the reason for everyone''s demise.

    Finally, after 15 minutes of relentless attacks, a reaction finally happened and the sea of acid behind them started moving alone and creating waves.

    "Keep on going! It''s going to start digesting us! It''s a battle of time!" Acht shouted loudly.

    They heard his voice and increased their intensity. The walls now had these huge and deep holes that were carved into them that looked gruesome to some extent.

    Simultaneously, the acid around them became so agitated that the waves started hitting and colliding with each other. Even the walls started contracting and rxing from time to time showing that the monster was starting to feel ufortable.

    Then, it started happening, the worst-case scenario for Acht. A huge swirl pool in the middle of the ce appeared out of nowhere. It immediately started absorbing the things inside. It was huge and extremely fast.

    ''Shit.'' Acht cursed and then looked at the other who started growing tired.

    "Come on! Onest push!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 101 Chapter 101

    "Hurry up!" Acht shouted loudly as he took a peek at the ever-growing swirl pool of death. It was so quick that it already consumed hundreds of meters of rocks and was nowing closer and closer to where they stood.

    Their speed was already impressive since most of them were exhausted and injured to their limit. Their hands started to feel numb and their shoulders were in so much pain that they threatened to fall off their body.

    Acht was in a dilemma. He knew that with this speed they could or could not reach in time and he was not keen on the idea of letting fate decide whether their gamble will be a sess or a failure. So, he had to make a choice.

    ''Should I use Gravity Bullets? But, I could spill out my secret. Dammit!'' He cursed and then looked at Leislet.

    Coincidentally, she was also looking at him, their eyes were more than enough to share their thoughts and feelings. So, immediately, Leislet understood what he was saying and looked at her teammates.

    "Acht is going to use his wind element trump card attack! Give him space! Hurry!"

    The group didn''tin and retreated slightly before attacking another area, their faces were as pale as a white sheer and their hands were as red as ripe tomatoes, but they still had that hopeful look in their eyes.

    Acht took a deep breath and eyed the ground. He could see how the massive piece ofnd they were standing on was moving ever-so-slowly to the middle. It was like a timer that ticked down slowly to announce their imminent death.

    Then, with a chilling gaze, he lifted up his hand in the air and conjured a ball of gravity. He used all of his soul force in this attack. Soon, a blue hue surrounded his hand but it was luckily not that luminescent so no one saw it.

    Then, after making the biggest gravity ball he ever did, he had to lift it up with both hands before swinging it left and right to gain momentum.

    After a few swings, he turned his body to the maximum and threw it with a loud shout.

    The ball flew at a fast speed and hit the wall roughly. But, nothing happened immediately. Acht was about to get confused and then it happened.

    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

    A colossal shock of air and energy almost sent everyone flying. But, they were able to hold on tightly. A huge hole was created in the stomach wall that prated it to the end and showed the other organs near the stomach.

    Acht didn''t waste any time and looked at the timid man.

    "Lenon, Now!"

    He shouted as he closed up on the group and stuck to them. Lenon immediately conjured a huge ball-shaped obsidian armor and covered the whole team with it. And then they waited.

    The sshing sounds of acid on the obsidian ore could be heard from the inside. They also felt the ground beneath them rise up at an rming speed.

    "Get ready! It will be rough." Acht warned them as he stuck to the wall to minimize the impact when they got thrown to the ground outside. everyone else immediately followed suit with nervous looks.

    *Swish*

    A few secondster, they heard a loud sound of screeching. It was akin to a dying monster. It was the sound of this creature throwing up.<sub> </sub>

    Then, they felt how they were shot in the air like a ball. They were thrown hundreds of meters into the distance and they hit one of the dungeon''s real walls.

    *BOOM*

    The impact was very strong and almost broke Acht''s shoulder from the sheer speed. Everyone else was also hit roughly but they were fine.

    The ball of obsidian armor was soon opened up and they were able to get out safely.

    Acht jumped down and gazed at the distance where the monster stood. He had been ready for the abomination he was about to see¡­or so he thought naively.

    The thing he saw was the ugliest creature he had ever witnessed. It was even worse than anyone''s worst nightmares or more like a mix between all of these bad dreams.

    "What in the hell is that?" He muttered quietly with shocked eyes.

    The monster was simr to a squid in body form with huge tentacles that extended for tens of kilometers. Its body was red and its huge gaping mouth was big enough to fit a whole city in there.

    What was the most disturbing, however, was its eyes. It had hundreds of eyes that filled every gap in its body and made it have a full 360¡ã angle view around it.

    The other team members looked at this thing with horrified looks, despair appearing in their eyes. They all had one thought.

    "How could we kill such a thing?"

    Forget about killing, what could their small attacks and their weapons that were akin to needles do for this creature? It was impossible to kill it.

    The creature also seemed to be looking at them, making the distance between them that seemed far all the more closer. Its deathly cold eyes sent a shiver down their spines as it screeched loudly.

    Then, out of nowhere, Acht shouted.

    "It will die!"

    Everyone didn''t understand him at first. He had to repeat his words again for them. He had this fire burning inside his eyes that made them feel taken aback. He was still eager to kill it!

    "I said it will die. That creature is dying now. So, our only goal is to survive it while it goes on a rampage. Don''t lose hope or you can go and fucking die alone!"

    No one understood why he came up with that deduction, but this boost in confidence made them gulp down their fears along with their salivas and tighten their fists. They had survived once, so they could survive it again!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 102 Chapter 102

    The huge creature screeched loudly in anger as it swayed left and right. The sound was so loud that if the team didn''t protect their ears with soul force, they could''ve been blown into smithereens and they would''ve lost their ability to hear.

    Then, with a quick motion, it sent one of its tentacles flying toward them. The limb was so huge that it could probablypare to the size of the hunter association headquarter.

    The only good thing that could be deducted from this situation is the fact that the tentacle wasn''t moving very quickly so the team was able to evade it. They all ran in the same direction and left the tentacle to hit the wall and blow it into dust with a single swipe.

    The fear that almost crippled them before was now the fuel for their movement as a new hope of living swelled up in their hearts.

    Acht was the most confident one out of them all as he had one single thought in his head.

    ''My gravity bullet was able to poke a hole in its stomach so acid should''ve already reached its other organs. It won''t be that long for it to melt its organs. It just needs some time.'' He thought to himself.

    But, even with that optimistic mindset, he was still wary of this creature especially when it was rampaging like that. Any hit no matter how small it was could kill them instantly. So, each move they did had to be calcted precisely.

    The group kept running along the side of the dungeon wall while the monster sent all kinds of attacks at them relentlessly.

    Simultaneously, it was also approaching them ever-so-slowly. The group was able to see that and they felt extremely nervous because of it. So, with instruction from Leilset, they got separated into two groups that ran in different directions to make the monster go crazy.

    Luckily, it worked as the monster halted mid-air and looked at the two groups running like small mice. It wasn''t smart but it was intelligent enough to know what they were doing. So, it locked on to Acht''s group and followed them.

    They all cursed under their breaths at their bad luck but also felt relieved that at least some of them could escape safely.

    Acht eyed the monster and saw that its stomach and other parts of its body were turning to a darker shade as if they were getting burnt. He also saw how it was going up and down as if it was resisting the urge to fall down.

    He was now more than sure that it was dying slowly. He gave a rough assumption that it will be incapable of moving in a few more minutes.

    So, with that in mind, he looked at Leislet and told her what he was thinking of. She also seemed to notice that fact and encouraged her team more. Everything was going smoothly, but, that didn''tst long.

    As the monster was close enough, it suddenly halted its steps and did something weird. It opened its mouth which was akin to a hole rather than a mouth. They all could see the oblivion inside that ce and remember the feeling of being inside its stomach.

    Then, a huge amount of energy started umting in the middle of its mouth. They all knew immediately that what it was preparing was not something any of them wanted to see or be on the receiving end of it. Unfortunately, they had no choice in that matter.

    The energy umting kept getting bigger and bigger to the point where it was almost unbelievable. Then, a small spark flickered inside its mouth. That small spark of fire ignited a huge me ball that was the size of a sector in Lagradon.<sub> </sub>

    ''It has fire affinity?!'' Acht''s eyes widened.

    He knew of the existence of monsters with an affinity for elements but he didn''t want to meet one at this crucial time. He had no idea how he was going to be able to stop that attack.

    He looked at Leislet who was also shocked but somehow moreposed than him.

    She eyed one of the S-Rankers with the group and without any word, the woman that she signaled closed up to the left side.

    At the same time, the monster had already made the ball grow somehow even bigger until it almost covered its whole huge mouth. Then, with a loud scream, it spat out the fireball like a ball of saliva. The speed of the ball was iparable to that of its tentacles as it cut tens of kilometers in a few seconds. The group only had a few moments to stop that attack.

    It was huge and terrifying but they all relied on the girl that Acht didn''t know much about. He watches as she does something weird.

    She created a C-shaped statue of ice. It looked like a slide made for kids. It seemed that the girl had an Ice affinity.

    Then, she looked at the group and said, "Move to the side and give some space. I might be blown away after the attack." She shouted in a hurry.

    At that moment, the fireball reached the group and collided with the statue of ice. However, instead of destroying it, it slid on and changed direction because of the shape of the statue.

    However, Acht could see that what was happening was not easy to execute as the woman had to rebuild the statue continuously because of the strong heat emitting from the ball.

    Then, with a loud sound, the girl was sent flying and the statue was destroyed. Luckily, the ball changed direction and flew back to the creature.

    The monster was way too slow to evade at time so the attack hit it square in the face. A loud screech of pain made everyone shudder as they saw how the creature''s body was caught on fire.

    *BOOOOOOOMMM*

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 103 Chapter 103

    The monster''s body was caught on fire. It seemed to be effective on its tough skin as they could see charcoal ck spots on all of its body. It screamed and went into a frenzy as it hit and threw its tentacles all over the ce.

    Luckily, it didn''t hit the group since they were far away from it. So, with a gaze filled with awe and shock, the group watched as the monster breathed itsst breaths.

    Simultaneously, the acid that was filling its body also had already prated all of its organs and now is trying to melt its skin. Then, with a disgusting thud, a huge chunk of flesh fell down from the monster, and following it was a huge amount of organs that escaped its body.

    It was very disgusting to witness but the team had already grown ustomed to blood and gore throughout their career as hunters so this scene only served as a celebratory thing for them.

    After that, the cries of the monster stopped and it fell down from the sky like a huge meteor. The impact alone created an after-effect in the caliber of a huge storm.

    Everyone watched this silently, their eyes couldn''t believe that they were able to survive this abomination with basically no injuries. It was so unbelievable that they couldn''t react properly.

    "It¡­died." Someone said, igniting the shears of the group that jumped and shouted with the biggest smiles they had.

    They all basically thought they were dead but they somehow got resurrected from death at thest moment.

    Acht watched this scene and nodded his head quietly while standing far away from them so as to not get pulled into the celebration. He was also happy that things ended like that and no more losses were sustained.

    "Happy?" A feminine and charming voice asked him suddenly.

    He didn''t turn around to look at the speaker since he was very familiar with her. So, he just smiled slightly and replied.

    "Obviously. Are you happy?" He returned the question.

    "So so so much, I feel like I was born again¡­and it''s all because of you." She said with a warm tone. Her voice carried deep emotions of gratefulness and affection.

    "I just did what I do best, nothing worthy of praise. You also worked hard, so good job." He said calmly.

    He then looked at the dead monster and imagined how many things they could benefit from it, especially Acht who was still pretty weak and had lost all of his levels because of the new heart inside his body.

    "No, you really don''t know how thankful I am that I brought you with me on this expedition. If you weren''t here¡­I don''t even want to imagine what could''ve happened to us. So, thank you so much. I really mean it." She said as she bowed slightly toward him.

    p Acht wasn''t good with peopleplimenting him since not many people do that to his face. So, he tapped Leislet''s shoulder and said,</anda>

    "Stop it. I got your gratitude. So, why don''t you go to your teammates? They probably want to celebrate with their leader."

    "No. I want to stay here¡­"

    Then, with a weird yet very seductive whisper close to Acht''s ear, she continued.

    "I want you."

    "Wha-"

    *Swish*

    Before Acht could react, he was pulled into Leislet''s embrace. Then, their faces immediately collided like two raging waves and went into a deep, sensual kiss.

    Acht was shocked and tried to get out of the hug, but since she was way stronger than him physically, he couldn''t shake off her tight grip on his back.<sub> </sub>

    After their lips touched each other like that, Leislet''s tongue immediately tried to invade Acht''s mouth like a snake following its predator.

    Acht tried to resist by closing his mouth and making small noises of protest through his closed teeth. His only thought was: Did this woman go senile?!

    But, Acht''s attempts of resistance went futile as, after a few seconds, her tongue was able to enter his mouth. In a matter of moments, it turned his mouth into a sloppy mess of both of their salivas. The raging fight that went on between their tongues for dominance was simply admirable.

    Leislet went on to touch and search every part of his mouth like it was a murder scene. She slurped and tasted his saliva greedily as she tried to carve this sensation into the back of her head like muscle memory.

    All of her sense of reason went off and all she thought about was filling up her desire for the boy that has been with her for a few weeks now. She didn''t know how or why, but kissing him like this was the strongest desire she ever had for anything¡­even stronger than bing the hunter association president.

    As for Acht, he just couldn''t resist anymore and fell into the pit of hell that Leislet created which was¡­enjoyment.

    He might not seem that interested in the opposite sex, but Acht was still a healthy young man after, and being kissed by this bombshell of a woman was something he will dly ept¡­in normal circumstances.

    This time, however, he was really weirded out by the fact that she just went on for the kiss out of her own ord without minding his opinion.

    Luckily, though, the team didn''t see this happening so it was still somehow salvageable.

    After a few moments of deep, lustful kissing, Leislet finally released him from the kiss. A few strands of saliva connected both of their mouths and drooled down their china, especially Leislet, who had this erotic intoxicated expression on her face.

    Then, she pulled those strands of saliva into her mouth and swallowed them all eagerly as if they wereing from heaven itself. She looked so happy doing that that she cleaned her and Acht''s faces in less than two seconds.

    Thetter looked at her weirdly and wiped his face. Then, he asked with a calm tone, at least he tried to ask with a calm tone.

    "Why did you do that? That''s sexual harassment of a young boy!"

    Leislet only smiled widely with her lips still wet, clearly from his own mouth. It was so hot to look at and imagine what happened that it made him feel his blood boil for a split second.

    "Hahaha. You think anyone would care? I''m one of this world''s biggest figures. This small thing won''t do anything."

    Acht knew that and so when she said it, he cursed under his breath and looked at her angrily.

    "Fuck. Don''t do that ever again or our deal is terminated."

    Then, he grumpily walked away, mumbling some incoherent words.

    Even though his words were threatening, Leislet only smiled at them. For her, he only looked like a cute little boy pouting in frustration.

    A deep desire started appearing inside her heart, she wanted to possess him, to make him hers. She wanted to kiss him like that again, every day, for eternity. She wanted him to touch all of her body and feel all of her important parts. She wanted him to dominate her and she wanted to dominate him.

    So with a smile, she licked her lips slowly once again and muttered.

    "Am I going crazy? Probably¡­but, I don''t care. Hehe~"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 104 Chapter 104

    Achtid his back on the wall as he thought about what happened previously. He was not a dense idiot so he was sure that this kiss was not friendly by any means. It was a straight on french kiss with very clear intentions behind them.

    But, that fact made him feel conflicted even more. Leislet was a beautiful and smart woman who would be the desire of any sane man. She was also kind and very considerate which was like a sherry on top of the cake. However, Acht didn''t know whether to ept her feelings or not.

    First of all, he didn''t really fall for her or even considered her as a romantic interest from the start. She was just like a partner he had and maybe friends if you stretch that meaning to the maximum.

    Second of all, he already had someone he loved and that person was waiting for him back on earth. Hell, all of this stuff he was doing was mainly to find a way to go back to earth. So, he can''t just forget about Dia and try to live here. Or, to be more precise, he didn''t want to forget Dia. She was his whole world and the person that he held in a very special ce in his heart.

    ''I should properly refuse her or misunderstanding will soon arise and it will be a pain in the ass to deal with them.'' He sighed loudly with an exasperated look.

    Then, he walked back to the group while keeping his same demeanor. When they saw him, they made him the star of the celebration. He was the best person to contribute to their survival after all.

    He also felt Leislet looking at him with a small smile that made him purposefully ignore her. It was not the time to deal with it, yet.

    Then, the group finally shifted their focus to the monster. They can''t bring it with them since it was way too huge. So, they decided to get out first and thene back with actual workers who can deal with a monster this size.

    Many of them heard of it before, a monster that could be the size of a city and that consumes whatever exists inside dungeons. But, they never seen one of them or even heard of their existence in the real world before. So, in a sense, this was also a huge discovery.

    The group then finally went back to the gates from where they came from. After the happiness settled in, they remembered the others that died inside that monster and felt dejected. It was a big loss no matter how you look at it.

    Nheless, the moment they stepped out of the dungeon, the world cheered like never before. They became stars¡­heroes that saved a whole world from destruction. Especially Leislet who was the leader of the expedition, they hailed her as the savior and the true president of the hunter association.

    As for Acht, he didn''t want to be involved in any of that so he made Leislet erase his name from anything rted to that expedition.

    Being a star was not something he liked since he lived most of his life in the shadows, where everything bad and cruel happened. He didn''t want anyone''s gratitude or respect since they all could change with a small mistake. People will prioritize mistakes over good deeds no matter what. It''s in their genes and mindset.

    ***************************

    A few days passed and the world finally calmed down slightly after the whole propaganda of the expedition and everything around it. Leislet was so busy with the aftermath that she was not home for most of the days of the week and came back once or twice a week to rest.

    She told the world about the creature they found inside and she researched its origins thoroughly.

    Obviously, she hid the existence of that weird man they met inside that chamber since it could make everything they tried to build disappearpletely.<sub> </sub>

    It was a secret that they will discuss with other powerhouses and see what they could do about it. But, for now, the world was calm and there were no big threats or problems looming on the horizon.

    During this time, Acht was able to pass some time without the high-intensity action that was his everyday thing. He had grown ustomed to that intensity and made sure he could adapt to it as fast as possible or he would die.

    It became so bad that he felt ufortable if nothing major happened every few days. However, rest was always something that he weed happily since risking his life and sustaining injuries every day was not a pleasant thing and he was not a masochistic pervert.

    ''I should end training soon.'' He thought as he absorbed thest energy stone had.

    What he discovered during thest few days is that leveling up now became harder¡­stupidly harder!

    It was so hard that it took him 80 D-Grade soul stones to reach level 3 when it only took him 20 to reach level 4. But, that was not the only thing since with each level up, he was also growing way stronger than before. What that means is that each level gave him a huge boost in power that is iparable to leveling before.

    ''Everythinges at a cost and power is not a cheap thing to get.'' He reminded himself as he stood up.

    Then, he heard a knock on the door. He knew that knock very well so he didn''t bother to open it since that person will enter anyway.

    Then, Leislet barged into the room, bringing along with her a beautiful smell of roses and an allure that was akin to that of a fairy

    "Heyyy~" she greeted him jovially and sat down on the sofa as if it was her own room.

    "You seem to be energetic today," Achtmented as he made his own food.

    "Well, you can say I have a small surprise for you."

    "Hmm." He signaled for her to continue so she did.

    "We will go on a date!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 105 Chapter 105

    Acht''s hands froze for a second when he heard her words but they resumed working a momentter as if nothing happened. He was slightly surprised by her preposition but that was it.

    Then, he brought his dish to the table and sat in front of Leislet who was still smiling widely.

    "And why should we go on a date?" He said as he took a bite of his food calmly.

    "Ohe on. You''ve been inside this room for the whole week and I was also busy with media and other stuff. It''s the only reasonable thing to do for us to go on a date." She said as she picked up a fork and also ate from the te that Acht gave her.

    Her smile grew even wider when she tasted the food. It was as delicious as usual.

    "So, what do you think? I won''t do anything you won''t like, so pretty please." She said with puppy eyes, trying to win his favor.

    He didn''t answer immediately as he thought of something. He had to make it clear how he felt towards her and end this nonsensical drama. He had no desire to fall in love or date anyone.

    "Fine. But, it can''t be that long. I can''t waste a whole day just like that." He said as he finished off his te and walked out of the room. He was going to change his clothes since he would always wear casual clothes for the better part of the day.

    <o>,m As he was changing, Leislet was humming happily. She was so busyst week that she really missed the boy so much. Now, she was able to convince him to go on a date with her and she had some ''special'' ns for them.</o>

    After changing, they got out of the house. They had to wear some sses and hats to hide their faces from the people or they will be swarmed like a drop of honey chased by bees.

    They were still in the small city near Lagradon since the capital was getting rebuilt basically from scratch. It won''t take long for it toe back as it was before, prosperous and lively. But, the heavy damage it sustained was something that will stay stuck to the city''s name for a long time.

    The duo walked to the city center of this ce and found themselves near an amusement park. It was very big and was bustling with peopleing in and out with smiles stered on their faces. They could also hear the asional screams of people riding roller coasters and other dangerous rides.

    Acht looked at this ce and then at Leislet with weird eyes.

    "How old are you again?" He asked sarcastically.

    "Ohe on, this youngdy still needs some enjoyment from time to time. Here, let''s buy tickets and go inside."

    Acht then sighed and let her drag him inside. He was not a fan of ces filled with people since that alsoes with a huge amount of noise too. He had no desire to keep on listening to a small brat whining or a man and a woman arguing during their date.

    ''Let''s end this quickly.'' He noted in his head with a tired look.

    After getting tickets, they walked inside and went straight to the first thing that Leislet nned for their date. It was the ''horror mansion'' experience.

    "There is something you don''t know about me and that''s that I hate scary stuff." She said with a small frown that was clearly acting.

    "Oh, really?" Acht responded with clear disinterest.

    Then, they both walked inside calmly. The interior and exterior of the house were aesthetically creepy to look at but that scary atmosphere was ruined by the other parts of the amusement park that were brimming with color and happiness.<sub> </sub>

    The house was made out of wood that creaks with every step. They could even hear their breathing inside their ears.

    Then, suddenly, a head popped out of the ceiling. It had its eyes rolled back and fake blood dripped down its face.

    "Nooo~"

    Acht heard the seductive scream before a soft feeling engulfed him. He looked at Leislet who was now sticking his face to her boobd with a weird look and said.

    "Seriously?"

    "I told you I feel scared from these things!" She shouted back in response with her hands shaking. But, what made her act so outrageous was the smile that she couldn''t hide that crept on her face.

    ''At least try to act better!'' He thought inwardly.

    Then, he released himself from her grip and passed the zombie''s head.

    Then, for the next 20 minutes of the total experience, Leislet did everything possible to end up hugging him or in a weird erotic position.

    She even made it so that she falls down with her huge ass to his face and her face to his crotch. Ignoring the fact that it was such a stupidly obvious attempt from her side to make Acht fall for her charms, the boy couldn''t evade these approaches no matter what he did!

    He tried to walk ahead of her, then he tried to fall behind. He even haltedpletely and she still ended up shoving his face into her boobs or ass every single time.

    It became so bad that Acht stopped and red at her.

    "Stop it or I will end this date right here." He treated her approach since he was going to break her heartter but he also had a limit on his patience.

    The horror mansion finally ended. It was somehow even more exhausting for Acht than when he fought monsters since it drained his mind rather than his body.

    After that, the two moved to another spot. It was an ice cream shop where they could enjoy some sweets.

    ''Finally, a good ce that won''t make her act like an idiot.'' He thought with a sigh of relief.

    However, he couldn''t be any more wrong.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 106 Chapter 106

    The two then ordered two basic vani ice creams with some chocte syrup on top. It was very basic and simple, far from those exotic vors that people love. Sometimes, keeping it simple is the best way, after all.

    After that, they chose a slightly empty area of the amusement park to sit down and eat. The ce was filled to the brim so finding that ce took them some time.

    "Are you enjoying yourself?" Acht asked to break the silence. It was way too ufortable to just slurp on the ice cream and stay silent.

    "A lot." She responded in a meaningful way. Her eyes even looked at Acht''s whole body like a predator eyeing its prey.

    Acht felt that and he almost shuddered involuntarily. He didn''t like that look at all. It was as if any slip of the tongue right now and he would be eatenpletely.

    ''I seriously need to start understanding how to deal with women. For some reason, I feel like my life is threatened by them.'' He noted in his head as he enjoyed his ice cream.

    *Drip*

    Suddenly, he heard a dripping noise and he immediately had a bad omen about this dripping sound. He didn''t want to look to the side so he just feigned ignorance and continued eating.

    *Drip* *Drip*

    The sound came again with more drops and it kept getting louder and louder. It became so annoying to hear that he turned around and was about to say something that he totally forgot the next second.

    He saw Leislet eating the ice cream and the ice cream was dripping because of the heat. It''s something that is normal for anyone to see. But, what Acht was seeing from up close was far from that.

    Leislet wasn''t eating the ice cream, she was ying with it. Her tongue swirled around the rim of the cone and stuck to the white cream like a sticker. Then, she made an erotic licking sound before making her tongue retreat inside her mouth. He could hear her tongue still slurping inside her mouth as if she was having a hard time swallowing the ice cream.

    Then, his eyes shifted to where the melted ice cream fell and he immediately found out the next problem. Her shirt which was already extremely seductive as it engulfed her huge breasts were now stained with ice cream. The white cream that now made some of her shirt transparent looked very shady for some reason.

    After watching this scene ensue for a good 4 seconds, Acht shook his head slightly and said.

    "Stop it."

    Leislet stopped eating the ice cream and tilted her head in confusion.

    "I said stop it."

    "Stop what?" She said innocently.

    "You know what I''m talking about¡­." Acht said as he tried to find the best way to word it without sounding like a sexual harasser.

    Leislet made a gesture as if she was thinking and then looked back at him again.

    "I genuinely don''t know what you are talking about."

    "Sigh." Acht sighed exasperatedly and then decided on something.

    "Listen, Leislet. I want to ask you a question."

    "Go ahead. Slurp." She said as she continued eating.<sub> </sub>

    "The question might sound arrogant and stupid but I will ask it anyway. Do you like me?" He said with wary eyes. For some reason, he felt his heartbeats elerate for a moment before they returned to their normal speed the next.

    He saw how Leislet froze for a moment before continuing her eating session.

    "No, I don''t like you¡­.I love you." She responded with the most serious face he had ever seen from her.

    It was so determined and filled with resolve that Acht felt himself cower for a second. He couldn''t find the energy to refuse her. But he had to, for the sake of Dia.

    "I-I see. Well, I will be frank with you since you''ve been honest with me. I don''t intend to date anyone or fall in love with anyone anytime soon. I appreciate your approaches but I still don''t like you nor do I think of you as a love interest." He said swiftly.

    It was easier to say when you don''t try to search for the best answer and just follow your guts.

    He waited for Leislet''s response. Acht expected her to get angry or even p him and he will have to dodge it. There was also the possibility that she might terminate the deal between them but it was very small since she will also lose a lot of benefits.

    p But, what she did was the most unpredictable thing. She didn''t get angry or curse, she justughed loudly. It was a very carefreeugh that didn''t carry any hint of sadness or regret, it was as if something that she was uncertain about had happened and it made her happy.</anda>

    Then, afterughing for a moment, she looked at him and said,

    "I already know that, dummy. You already were clear with your stand since we came here. I mean, who''s in his right mind will refuse the approach of a beautiful woman like me? So, from that moment I knew you weren''t interested."

    Her words made sense for Acht who almost hit his forehead with his hand. He totally looked like an idiot because of it and he regretted even talking.

    She ignored his embarrassment and continued.

    "But, I want to ask you a question of mine too. Could you please give me at least one chance? I might change your mind very soon." She said calmly.

    "...No. I just can''t. I hope we can keep this amicable rtionship between us. Now, I should go. Thanks for the date, I had some fun."

    Then, he stood up and walked away.

    He didn''t want to make her feel sad since she helped him a lot and he considered her one of his friends in a sense, but, it is what it is.

    As he walked out of the amusement park and into the streets, a sigh escaped his mouth.

    ''I should keep it clear with every woman I meet. I don''t want to keep on rejecting people. It''s unpleasant when you consider them as friends.'' He thought.

    However, inside the amusement park. Leislet was still sitting there not moving since he left.

    She didn''t have a sad face on her. In fact, she was smiling widely. Then, with a small lick of her beautiful red lips, she muttered quietly.

    "This will be fun~"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 107 Chapter 107

    A few days passed since the date with Leislet that ended miserably. They still talked and acted normal but there was this ufortable feeling looming around them that made it hard for any of them to act casually around the other.

    Neither of them mentioned that topic again and it seemed that Leislet also didn''t feel that sad or dejected. All in all, it passed quite peacefully.

    Acht, who concentrated on training for most of the time, was resting on the sofa after a long session of physical training and also soul stones absorption. It took a toll on his body to keep absorbing soul stones since it was a continuous and rigorous process that required extreme focus and stability.

    Then, he heard a knock on the door followed by a calm voice.

    "Mr. Acht. The youngdy is asking you toe to her office." The voice said almost robotically.

    Acht didn''t respond and just stood up and left the room. The one that called for him was the same butler that got him out of the hunter exam. His name was Richard and he was the personal butler of Leislet.

    Acht didn''t talk to him much and just walked away to the other part of the mansion. This ce was separated into 5 sections with each section being used for different activities and other important stuff. The section that Acht was going to was where Leislet''s bedroom and office were located.

    When he reached the room, he knocked on the door and then entered the ce. He didn''t need to wait for her response since she was the one who called him.

    "Any problem?" He asked as he sat down on the chair and looked at Leislet. She was as charming as ever with her calm demeanor and beautiful, charming smile on her face that kept her elegance intact and entuated her beauty to a whole other level.

    But, Acht saw a small frown on her face. It seemed that the smile she had was nothing but a front.

    "There is some good and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first? The bad ones are really bad though." She said as she tapped rhythmically on the table to calm down.

    "Start with the good ones." He said.

    "Ok, the good news is that the reward for the winner of the Mystic Souls Convention tournament is finally revealed." She said and then picked up the remote controller to turn on the TV.

    What appeared on the screen was a sword. It was all ck with a grey hilt. The de of the sword was very thin and the handle was also not that wide. It looked like a stick rather than a sword.

    "''The Midnight Song'' or also known as the ''Night de''. It''s a sword that was found in a legendary SS-Rank dungeon a few hundred years ago and was immediately stored in the museum as a piece of art. No one has ever picked up that sword before. Now, all of the kingdoms of the Lower World decided to make it the reward for the tournament." She exined.

    Acht was honestly impressed by the sword, it looked so beautiful and mesmerizing that he couldn''t avert his eyes from it. One thought soon generated in his head.

    ''I want it.''

    "What do you think? It also suits your fighting style. Seems like a perfect reward for a winner."

    Acht nodded his head and he felt his resolve to win the tournament be stronger than ever. When great benefits are involved, Acht will try harder than anyone else to win.<sub> </sub>

    "What is the bad news then?" He asked as turned back to his usual demeanor.

    Leislet didn''t answer and just sighed before tapping on the TV remote. The screen changed and what appeared was nothing he expected.

    It was footage of 6 people standing in an orderly fashion like a reversed pyramid. They were all standing in a dark room with the only source of lighting from the camera.

    The most distinct thing about them is their masks. They were masks that were as dark as the darkest ck with shiny white points filling the mask. They looked like the night sky, emitting a beautiful light. There were no holes for the eyes or the nose or the mouth.

    The man in the middle who was also the closest to the camera finally spoke. His voice was altered to make it deep and also hard to recognize.

    "Hello. We are the ''Nightingale''. It has been some time since we have made a move. Now, it is the perfect time to make aeback. Listen, every kingdom, the ''Midnight Song'' is ours and we will take it. So, brace yourselves, and try the hardest you can to stop us. Our mission in this world is to change the rotten rulers that tarnished the souls of millions of people."

    Acht listened quietly to the man. The way he spoke and acted was very spine-chilling.

    ''The Nightingale, I know them. They did appear in the book but they didn''t do much.''

    "You are the only sin in this world and we will eliminate you. Try to stop us and you will die. Join us and you will be spared. Be ready, because the Mystic Soul Convention shall know what the ''Nightingale'' is. We shall meet soon."

    After that, the footage cut off and the screen went ck.

    Before Acht could ask anything, Leislet started talking.

    "The Nightingale, an organization made up of 6 of the strongest underworld criminals. They are true elites that have threatened the world for thest 6 years. No one knows who they are or what their specific goal is. All we know is that they target world leaders and all kinds of powerful artifacts."

    "They want the Midnight Song?"

    "Yeah, I knew that they would target it the moment it was announced. Now, it will be a huge problem to protect it."

    Then, Leislet stood up and walked to the window.

    "This Mystic Soul Convention is going to be interesting." She muttered with aplicated gaze.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 108 Chapter 108

    "It''s time to leave." A voice called for a young boy from behind the doors. It was a very melodic and feminine voice that spoke out the beauty of the owner of it.

    The boy who was inside, with his cute features and slightly long ck hair that covered his eyes, stood up and walked into the room.

    The person he met at the door was a charming woman in the middle of her twenties with an extremely seductive body and very gorgeous looks. She was akin to a subus from the world of demons but with the innocent expression of an angel.

    "Let''s go."

    The two then walked to the main door of the mansion slowly.

    It has been exactly 2 months and 3 weeks since Acht saw the Nightingale appear again and threaten to hijack the biggest event that is made yearly. This news created a huge wave across the world and kingdoms. People felt threatened by the existence of the Nightingale in that convention. There were even many people that went out into the streets in protests to make them cancel the convention for that year.

    However, after multiple meetings between the kings and the governments of each kingdom, they decided to continue with the preparations for the convention since the losses from canceling it will be colossal.

    All this chaos was something that Acht didn''t care about, since during that time, he only focused on training like a maniac.

    In just two months, he experienced an evolution in his prowess. Not an increase or an improvement but an evolution since he is basically different from his old self by such a huge margin.

    The first thing that changed was his physique, he now has the ideal body that anyone could dream of. He had well-trained but lean muscles that didn''t make him look buff or huge.

    Then, we have the thing that changed the most, his aura. Through these months he returned to his old level and even exceeded it, reaching a level 4 orange soul!

    That level took him so many soul stones to reach that he made Leislet basically pay a fortune for them. But, she didn''tin, in fact, she felt really d to help him like that so he didn''t care. It was a part of their deal after all.

    He was now so strong that he could kill a level 1 green soul which was the next soul level as if he was ying with a small child. This level of strength was unprecedented at such an age and could even make him a target by the families and guilds that will attend the Mystic Soul Convention.

    However, since he was basically sponsored by Leislet, that was also a kind of solid protection for him since no one would want to offend the hunter association president.

    Thest thing that he evolved was his gravity element, he was now basically a gravity monster. He could even throw a boulder the size of the house around as if it was a doll.

    He was also able to crush a huge serpent monster to death as if he was squeezing a lemon. Before, gravity was also a strong weapon for him but it didn''t have the destructive power to make it usable in all situations so Acht had to be smart enough to use it to his advantage and abuse its rules.

    In a nutshell, he was now a walking small monster. But, he knew that there will be people stronger than him at the tournament so he didn''t let it go through his head.

    Extremely hard fights that will make him surpass his limits are a given in this ce.

    *************************<sub> </sub>

    "We are finally here. Mystic Soul City." Leislet said as she looked through the window of the private jet. They have been in the air for 40 hours straight.

    But, because the jet was so luxurious and had all the necessary things for afortable ride, Acht and Leislet didn''t feel any kind of exhaustion from it.

    Acht also looked through the window, curious to see what kind of ce this was. What weed him from this height was the majestic appearance of a massive city that was somehow simr yet different to Lagradon.

    ''So this is the legendary floating city of this world, huh.'' He thought to himself with clear admiration for this amazing beauty of a city.

    Mystic Soul City was indeed a city that was located on a floating ind in the middle of the northern continent. No one knows how this ind is still floating to this day.

    This ce was neutral and didn''t belong to any kingdom. Or, to be more precise, it belongs to all of the kingdoms. It was where the massive convention will happen after all.

    The jet finallynded at the airport and they could finally quit that ce. No one wants to be stuck in a room for 40 hours let alone a flying jet.

    When they were out, Acht breathed in a mouthful of air. Even though they were in the air in the middle of the sky, there was no feeling of suffocation orck of oxygen.

    "How is that possible?" He muttered.

    Leislet heard him and she smiled before pointing upward.

    "Look at that?"

    "Hmm?" He looked up and he saw something very interesting.

    There was something akin to a translucent barrier that covered the whole city and extended and seemingly extended to no end.

    "That is the protection barrier that was made especially for this city from any flying monsters. It also creates oxygen as a secondary function to keep the ce habitable for normal people and awakeners too." She exined briefly before walking down the stairs of the flight.

    Acht didn''t move immediately, he looked at the horizon with a deep gaze. This ce will be where his destiny will be determined. He either soars through the skies just like this Mystic city or falls to the ground never to wake up again.

    "Don''t disappoint me, Mystic Soul City." He muttered before following Leislet with a small smile on his face.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 109 Chapter 109

    After leaving the airport, the duo along with other people that came along with Leislet specifically for the convention and all the activities that she will join settled down in one of the bigger hotels in the city.

    There were already hundreds of people that came to the Mystic soul Convention in the first few minutes since the city officially opened the doors for contestants and visitors.

    After that, they both left the hotel to roam the city for some time before the Convention''s ceremony that announces the start of the convention. It will be held in the biggest arena which was located in the middle of the city on a hill that made it visible basically from every part of the city.

    This arena was the biggest in the world as it could fit almost 800000 people. It was so huge that it took up 15% of the city''s total size.

    "We have 2 hours before the ceremony starts? What do you want to do?" Leislet asked.

    "I wanted to check the ''First Day'' auction house in the western part of the city. The booklet says that it will be open before the ceremony." He said as he read a small booklet that the airport gave him for more information about the convention.

    "Hmm, that seems interesting, but I can''t join you. You can go alone and we can meet right here after you finish."

    Then, they separated and went on their way. Leislet seemed to have some important things to do because of her position. She was the busiest person Acht had ever seen. Spending a few days without sleeping was a normal urrence for her.

    "Hmm, what''s this?" He was flipping through the booklet and he saw something very odd yet also interesting.

    "''Soul Sky ride''. Try the best experience of flying on top of a ''Sky Griffon''. It''s one of the most popr Mystic Soul City''s attractions¡­" He read the words quietly while checking the pictures attached to the advertisement.

    It seemed that this city somehow tamed Sky Griffons and made them a means of transport and also a tourist attraction for visitors. Acht would be lying if he said he wasn''t interested so he checked the location of the closest one and went directly towards it.

    The ce that he ended up in front of was a big, open station that seemed to be bustling with people to the brim. Acht was almost about to give up but then he remembered something.

    ''Leislet gave me this pass but I don''t know if it will help much.'' He thought as he pulled out a silver card with some aesthetic engravings on it.

    It was a royalty pass card that Leislet got for being a person of very high status. It basically gave her and any holder of this card many perks that normal people don''t have.

    One of them is having priority in using any kind of facility in the city over other people. So, to try it out, he went inside the open station.

    The first thing that weed him was rows and rows of Sky Griffons that looked like a bus stop. They were all huge creatures with four legs that were simr to that of a lion and a head that looked like that of a bald eagle. They had blue and white fur and they were at least 7 meters tall.

    However, even with this intimidating and majestic appearance, they seemed to be quite friendly and amicable as they looked at the humans around them with an adorable look.

    Acht chose a random griffon and walked to it. There, he found two people, one that was giving tickets and the other seemed to be the rider as he wore some weird leather clothes and a hat that looked like that of an old pilot.

    Acht saw the long line and decided to pass all of them. He garnered a lot of res from the people that saw him pass.<sub> </sub>

    "Hey, you! Stop there! Why are you cutting the line? Wait like everyone else, you bastard!" A man shouted in protest which created a hugemotion.

    But, Acht couldn''t care less about them. He just walked up to the man and gave him his royal pass card.

    The man who was about to also shoo him away stared at the card with shocked eyes.

    "One ticket for a ride to the western part of the city," Acht said to wake him up from his trance.

    The man immediately shook his head and said in a hurry as sweat dropped from his face like a water hose.

    "Y-Yes! Immediately, sir!" He then gave Acht a ticket and led him to the griffon.

    The monster looked at Acht and bent down slightly to touch him with his beck. It seemed to have liked Acht as it made low growls of happiness as it touched him gently.

    Acht also patted the creature''s face and then climbed it up. There were stairs that led to the top of the griffon''s back where he could sit on it. The fur wasfortable so the ride won''t be a pain in the ass¡­literally.

    "We will immediately fly, Sir." The man said as he ignored the long line of people waiting.

    But, no oneined since they saw what the boy had. Royal Pass cards were the most prestigious thing in the city since it was made for only the cream of the crop when ites to wealthy people.

    "Why is he going alone? Doesn''t this griffon fit at least 15 people?"

    "Are you a retard? Don''t you know that royalty pass cards make him the only one to ride it?"

    Two men conversed with each other in admiration and jealousy.

    Acht didn''t bother with them and nodded his head to the pilot.

    Then, the man climbed up and sat in front of Acht, right near the head. Then, he grabbed the rope that was attached to the griffon''s neck and shook it two times.

    Instantly, the creature extended its wings and pped them loudly, creating a strong gust of wind before soaring into the sky and flying into the distance at an incredible speed.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 110 Chapter 110

    The griffon cut through the sky like a bullet, pping with itsrge wings the size of that of amercial airne. The speed at which this creature was moving was very close to that of the speed of sound.

    On top of it, Acht sat down casually, admiring the beauty of the Mystic Soul City and its huge buildings. He could also see hundreds of nesnding on the horizon. It had barely been a few hours since the day started and the city had already received tens of thousands of visitors and even hundreds of thousands. This goes to show how prestigious this Convention is.

    ''Hmm, at this speed. The air resistance should''ve at least pushed me hard.'' He thought as he looked at his hair. It was still in its usual messy state, not even pping slightly because of the wind.

    Then, his eyesnded on something that was close to where he sat. It was a small circr crystal with a glowing orb on top of it. The orb was shining with beautiful blue light.

    ''So this is the reason. It seems that this creates a barrier that stops the wind from hitting our faces.'' He said as he examined the perimeter of the griffon.

    There was indeed a barrier that was protecting the passengers. It wasn''t particrly strong but it was sturdy enough to make the ridefortable for everyone.

    A few minutester, the griffon finally reached its destination. The ce where itnded was also a simr station to the one that Acht departed from.

    After hopping off the griffon, the rider swung the rope two times again and flew off, going back to the station.

    Acht then left the ce and navigated his way to the auction house. The booklet provided a very good map of the area so Acht was able to reach his destination in a few moments.

    What stood in front of him was a big building that was made out of wood with a wooden sign that said ''Mystic Soul Primary Auction House''. It seemed like an old-fashioned ce since nothing technologically advanced could be seen.

    But, this didn''t mean that it was abandoned since hordes and hordes of people were going inside continuously. All of them seemed to be people of high status even though this auction should''ve been nothing big. Most of the soul artifacts and weapons here were not that rare. The good things were left for the bigger auctions that will take ce fifteen and thirty dayster respectively.

    After taking a good look around, Acht then walked inside the building. It was very simply decorated with no particr things to mention. A hall that was not that big led to a theatre-like room with a wooden stage that will be the ce where the auctioneer and the goods will be presented.

    The theatre was already filled with people who were speaking andughing around casually. There was also what seemed like a private room on top of the normal seats that had a special type of ss that didn''t show who was inside.

    But, Acht didn''t intend to sit there since he was here to watch and not to buy. He didn''t need any particr thinging here but if he found something then he would bid on it. He didn''tck money after all.

    Acht then took a secluded seat and sat down casually. He then pulled out his phone to keep himself busy. There seems to be some time before the auction.

    "Hmm?"

    Suddenly, he heard a screeching sound beside him. Someone had sat on the seat next to him. He had deliberately chosen this seat since it was one of the worst ones and that meant that no one would want to sit in that section.<sub> </sub>

    But, this person had chosen this seat and ignored the row of free seats beside them.

    The boy took a look at the woman who sat down and he had to hold a weird sound froming out of his mouth. Her looks were so distinct that he didn''t need to think for him to know who she was. She was by far his favorite character from that book even though she wasn''t one of the heroines.

    A weird long and white hat that had a chip on the front. An eye patch that covered her eye and a scar on the other eye that didn''t make her face any worse. She also wore a weird kimono that spilled out her huge breasts and held on to a pipe that she nibbled on from time to time. Her most distinct feature was the huge katana stuck to her hip that was barely contained inside the scabbard. (Look at the cover for reference.)

    ''Isn''t this Lein? She''s a fucking Nightingale member!'' Acht thought in his head as he kept his calm expression and didn''t show any kind of shock or he would be her target. She was already extremely dangerous as one of Nightingale''s members. Not only that, but Acht was aware of her strength and he could describe it with one single word.

    ''Monstrous.''

    The woman didn''t seem to be aware of his thoughts, or so he assumed.

    "Don''t stare too much, kid. Fuuh, you look like a fucking idiot." She said as she exhaled the smoke from her mouth.

    ''I barely even looked at her for a split second. What a scary woman.''

    "Hmm, my apologies." He tried to finish the conversation and mind his own business. Talking with Lein was not a good idea at all since her existence alone means a lot of problems.

    ''Wait, is she targeting this auction? No one knows her face anyway.''

    A weird idea came up to Acht''s mind and made him sigh inwardly.

    ''This is going to be troublesome.''

    He knew very well that this auction house would have some kind of problem. So, the only thing he could hope for is that she came here out of interest and nothing else.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 111 Chapter 111

    The room was finally filled up to the brim with people and the auction was finally about to begin. It had been already 15 minutes since Acht reached the building so he was getting bored and also nervous because of one simple reason.

    ''Why is she staring at me?'' He thought to himself as he feigned ignorance of the continuous res she was directing at him.

    It seemed that Lein had found him interesting for some reason. Acht couldn''t recall doing anything that could make him look suspicious or worthy of attention.

    ''Maybe the fact that I''m attending this auction is the weird part?'' He tried to process all kinds of possibilities but he still didn''t get a clear answer so he just kept staring ahead of him silently with his usual cold expression.

    Then, the room suddenly dimmed and the only source of light was focused on the stage where a man was standing now. He was a scrawny old man with a short height and somehow presentable clothes. He didn''t look particrly rich but he looked well-off enough for him to not be an eyesore for the rich audience that was watching him.

    The man then picked up the microphone and said.

    "Ladies and gentlemen. Wee to the Annual First Day Auction. We are very happy to see all of you attend our humble auction. You all must be aware of the rules so without further to do, let''s get our first item of the day."

    Then, another man came out with a box in his hand. He then put it on the table and opened it up. Inside, there was a white spear made out of some kind of metallic material and decorated with lines and runes.

    "The first item is ''Wind Spear''. One of the best C-Rank weapons you could find in this world¡­."

    The man then went on to describe the spear''s abilities and power before looking at the audience again.

    "Now that you took a good look at it. The bidding officially starts. The initial price is 7 gold coins¡­"

    Immediately after saying that, many hands rose in the air and the initial number started rising.

    It went from 7 coins to 19 coins in a few moments before it settled there and no one gave a higher bid.

    "19 coins¡­19 coins¡­going once¡­going twice¡­Sold! Congrattions sir." He said loudly.

    Then, the auction continued and many items were presented ordingly. All of them were in C and D-Rank with some being lower than that. As it could be seen, the auction didn''t show any important items which was slightly underwhelming for Acht since he expected a little bit more.

    Then, as he was entertaining the idea of leaving, a new item came out that made him halt his thoughts for a split second.

    It was a cube made out of wood that looked like a chess board. It was very in with nothing fancy in its decoration nor its shape.

    But, it made Acht squint his eyes since this cube had an abnormal amount of soul force. No, to be more precise, this amount of soul force shouldn''t be here since it was equal if not higher than an S-Rank item.

    "And for ourst item today, we have something that many of you might''ve not heard off. It''s called ''Dungeon Sensor''. It''s an object that gives you the ability to sense not only the exact location of a dungeon but it also gives you a very decent map of the dungeon itself when you enter it. This alone is a great feature but we have another thing. It also can give you the best route to take inside the dungeon."

    Acht heard gasps of admiration from the audience seeing this object and he couldn''t me them since this was something amazing. The boy knows very well how hard it is to find dungeons and navigate them since he spent thest few months going in and out of dungeons for training and the biggest chunk of the time it took for him toplete the dungeon was finding the best routes to go from.

    With this item, that time will be shortened and he could even enter more dungeons in one day rather than getting stuck in one for long hours. As he was thinking of bidding on it, he heard a little sound beside him.<sub> </sub>

    Lein seemed to also be interested¡­very interested. Her eyes glowed ominously and she seemed to mutter some kind of words that he couldn''t understand.

    ''What is she doing?'' He thought as the bidding started.

    The initial price was a whopping 1500 gold coins. This was enough for anyone to buy 5 A-Rank weapons with a lower quality.

    The price rose quickly from 1500 to 2000 coins and the number kept on increasing rapidly. Then, it happened.

    "8000 gold coins," Lein said as she raised her hand.

    "8000 gold coins! Ourdy over there bid 8000 gold coins! Is it going to get any higher?"

    "10000 gold coins!" A sound came from the cockpit in the back where a mysterious man or woman was sitting.

    Lein seemed to be quite displeased but she still raised her hand again.

    "13000 gold coins!"

    The old man was about toment on the massive number but the person inside the private room spoke before him.

    "16000 gold coins!"

    Lein was now gritting her teeth in frustration. It seemed that her cool attitude was finally crumbling down.

    ''She was never someone to be calm andposed! This is going to be bad.'' Acht thought as he tried to find a way out of this mess.

    She stood up with a huge frown and looked at everyone before settling on the old man.

    "30000 gold coins! If anyone bids higher than this, I will fucking kill him!"

    A weird silence fell down on the room like a veil and you could hear some of them swallow their saliva under the re of Lein.

    But, instead of keeping silent, another voice spoke.

    "35000 gold coins!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 112 Chapter 112

    After those words, the atmosphere grew a few degrees colder. Everyone felt a swear trickle down their face as they looked at Lein who was now looking down, hiding her expression from everyone. They all had the same idea.

    ? ''This person is so dead.''

    After such a threat from a clearly powerful person, the person still dared to outbid her without caring about the consequences. Now, not only will he be in a huge problem, but the others could be pulled into it.

    But, much to their surprise, Lein didn''t do anything and just sat down again with her face still looking down.

    She then muttered something to the old man who was still standing like a statue on the stage.

    "Continue the bidding."

    "W-What?"

    "I SAID CONTINUE THE FUCKING AUCTION, YOU LOWLIFE!" She shouted loudly as she blew some smoke from her mouth irritatedly.

    "Y-Yes! The bid is 35000 gold coins¡­going once¡­going twice¡­Sold." The man said with a scared look.

    Acht almost blew out a sigh of relief since Lein kept herposure in this situation. It seems that it was not worth it for her to do it.

    After that item, the auction was finally done and everyone left quickly. Staying with that crazy woman was thest thing they wanted to do.

    Acht also started walking away. But, he wasn''t intending to leave the area immediately. There was something that was about to happen.

    ''Lein. If I recall her character clearly. She''s not going to let the person slip that easily. His death will be horrible.'' He thought as he immediately took a turn at the closest alley. Then, he used his gravity to float in the air.

    He has trained this skill so much during thest 3 months that it became way easier for him to fly for longer times than before.

    After floating, he shot up to the sky andnded on the building. Then, he walked to the closest window to take a look at the private cockpit.

    There, he saw a man with extravagant clothes sitting on afortable chair, and around him were his guards. He seemed to be the typical arrogant young master that you see in web novels.

    "That bitch! Hahaha, she thinks she canpete with me! She can go suck my dick!" He said as heughed loudly.

    Then, a knock on the door stopped hisughter.

    "Go open the door and see who''s there. Also, fetch out the items I bought from the auction house." He added as he sipped his cup of wine.

    One of the guards walked casually to the door and extended his hand to the door handle. But, before he could even touch it.

    *SWISH*

    In a mere one-tenth of a second, shes of light along with a cutting sound reached the ears of everyone present. Then, the sound of the guard falling down to the ground. He was dead.

    No, dead was an understatement, he was cut to tens of pieces like a piece of candy. His body parts were thrown everywhere like it was nothing.

    Following that, the broken pieces of the door fell down two. What appeared from behind the door was Lein who was holding her pipe casually while blowing some smoke.<sub> </sub>

    She had destroyed the door and killed a man with one single move or so they thought. Acht who was way stronger than them was able to see it.

    ''She made 20 shes in the split of a second.'' He unconsciously felt a drop of sweat fall down his face. That level of mastery on the sword was way too stupidly strong.

    The rich man looked at the scene with a horrified look. He had never expected her to actually attack him since he was from a very influential guild.

    "Sigh, the boss told me not to make a fuss. What can I fucking do? idiots are like flies. They fucking annoy you when you want it the least." She said as she walked inside the room casually.

    "I warned you and you didn''t want to listen." She added with a frown.

    "A-Attack he-"

    *Swish* *Swish* *Swish*

    Before he could evenplete his sentence, he looked beside him, and much to his horror. He found all of his 5 guards on the ground, dissected to pieces. He didn''t evenprehend what happened since Lein didn''t even move from her position.

    Acht was also shocked beyondprehension, that level of speed was not something he could''ve imagined to be possible.

    Even with his eyes, he could only see a small movement from Lein before she returned to her initial position.

    ''What a fucking monster.'' he thought to himself as he hid his presence even more. If she finds out he was looking, he won''t be able to escape.

    "Now, that we are alone. Give me all of your money. I will be getting the item."

    "Please! Please don''t kill me! Here, take everything but don''t kill me!" He begged as he threw his spatial ring at her.

    She grabbed the spatial ring and then walked out.

    The man felt hope in his heart since she left him alive. But, the moment he was about to scream happily. A mind-freezing pain invaded every part of his body.

    The pain was so overwhelming that he couldn''t even understand what it was for a few seconds.

    Then, between his shrills and cries, he looked down and saw the reason. Lein had cut off all of his limbs and destroyed his genitalia beyond recovery.

    He now looked like a horror mannequin with no arms and no legs.

    Acht saw this and felt a cold sweat down his back. He then immediately left the area as fast as he could. Lein was not someone who was merciful or forgiving, she would make him go through hell if he offended her in any way.

    ''I hope we never meet again. That crazy woman is a walking disaster.'' He pondered in his head as he finally left the western district.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 113 Chapter 113

    After leaving that district, Acht returned to the same ce where he should meet Leislet. It has been almost an hour and a half since he left this ce and the ceremony was about to start.

    "Took you so long," Leislet said as she walked up to him with a pouting face.

    "The auction took longer than I expected. Anyway, let''s go." He said as he started walking to the arena.

    He didn''t tell her about Lein or the Nightingale since he didn''t have proof that she was a Nightingale member to make Leislet believe him. Also, he knew that even if he told her, there is nothing she could do. Lein and the other members of Nightingale were true monsters. They can get themselves out of the most dangerous of situations as if it was a walk in the park.

    ''Let''s keep this a secret for now. I''m pretty sure Lein and the others will appearter on anyway.'' He noted in his head.

    "You are so cold, Achty~" Said Leislet with a cute pout as she followed him.

    "Never call me that again," Acht responded as he rolled his eyes.

    "Achty~ Achty~"

    "I said stop." He red at her with a cold look that might freeze someone in fear. However, the reaction he got from her was a heartyugh.

    "Yaaa, Achty is so scaryyyy~" She said between her giggles.

    Seeing her like that, Acht decided to flip the table on her. He closed the distance between them before doing something she couldn''t expect at all.

    *Ptaaa*

    "Kyaaa~"

    A crispy pping sound echoed in the street. Acht had smacked one of her big butt cheeks strongly. He could see how her ass jiggled in response like jelly.

    "That''s your punishment." He said as he continued walking casually as if nothing happened. Luckily, Acht made sure no one saw that so that he doesn''t embarrass Leislet even more.

    "Y-You¡­you perverted little bastard!" She shouted at him. But, the only thing she got from him was a small chuckle of disdain.

    Leislet looked at him as she touched her ass with an embarrassed look. Her face was flushed like a tomato and her eyes were now moist. But, rather than being shy, she looked¡­aroused.

    She bit her lip slightly before returning to her usual self and continued walking.

    The two finally reached the arena. The ce was massive enough to make it impossible for Acht to see both ends if he looked left or right.

    Even its height was impressive, nearing 700 meters tall.

    The ce was obviously filled up with all kinds of people, awakeners, and unawakeners. They all hade to see what kind of amazing ceremony was prepared for this year.

    The two then walked inside and showed their Royalty Pass Card to the guard who immediately bowed down respectfully and guided them to a special lounge prepared for them to watch the showfortably far from the crowded seats of the stands that were made formoners.<sub> </sub>

    "This is indeed impressive," Acht said while looking around the lounge. It was indeed like a hotel room but with a huge wall at the far back made out of only ss and overlooks the stadium from above.

    There were all kinds of beverages too inside a huge fridge and even a small pool to sit in.

    "Hehehe, this is nothing. The ceremony will blow your mind." Leislet said as she grabbed a bottle of wine and filled up two cups.

    "You know I can''t drink alcohol, right?" He said to her as she presented the cup to him.

    "No one is watching so try it. This wine can be given to children too since it doesn''t have any alcohol in it." She said as she basically forces the cup into his hand.

    Acht wasn''t really keen on alcohol even in his previous life since it made him vulnerable which is something he didn''t like. The only times he drinks it are during missions or when dealing with customers.

    "Hmm, this is not bad."

    The taste of this wine was way better than the one in his previous life. It had more of a rich taste with less bitterness in it. He even felt slightly rejuvenated after drinking from the cup.

    "See, it''s really good. Now,e on. Sit down, the show is about to start." Leislet tapped the seat beside her.

    Then, the moment he sat down, strong light suddenly attacked his eyes. He squinted slightly and then looked up.

    There, in the middle of the sky, a massive crystal the size of 5 trucksbined was floating silently. It was the source of the strong light that blinded Acht for a moment.

    It had a huge amount of soul energy inside of it, moving in order. This thing was very advanced technologically and even when ites to soul force.

    Then, the light suddenly concentrated on the field directly under it. After that, a voice suddenly started speaking in a dramatic tone.

    [It all started hundreds of years ago.]

    His words erupted loud cheers from the stands. They all were beyond excited as they anticipated what would happen. Acht was also interested in the show so he unconsciously bent forward to watch even more closure.

    [After the end of the descension war, people lived in hell and poverty. Kingdoms struggled to fix the destruction that took over theirnds and the countless deaths that gued their people. It was the toughest time humanity had ever seen after the war itself.]

    As the man spoke, a holographic image of war appeared on the field. It had the image of humans attacking some kind of creatures that Acht couldn''t discern. They seemed to be invaders from Ecrasia. None of them were humans as they looked like demons, elves, and even giants that he saw in myths and legends.

    Then, the image changed to a weird poor alley in some kind of slum district. The image showed two people searching around trash bins searching for any food.

    [That is until one person appeared. A person that shaped the new era that we are living in now.]

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 114 Chapter 114

    The voice took a second of silence so that the holographic image could appear. Then, out of this picture, a man appeared along with epic music. He wore some extravagant and borderline lunatic clothes and a huge crown on his head.

    He had a brown beard and a young face but for some reason, half of his expression was hidden as if it was unknown how he looked.

    [This person was a poor child just like everyone else, but, he rose up from the ashes and became a hero, a savior, and a king. He built up the world again and gave the poption a reason to leave, to prosper, and be stronger. This man is the ''Origin Emperor''.] The man said in the most dramatic way possible.

    Everyone looked at who the voice called the ''Origin Emperor'' with admiration and curiosity. They all heard about his tales in the books since they were children so they grew up to see him as an emperor and a god between men.

    [The Origin Emperor ruled the world for a long time. But, as all things are, his long life finally came to an end. Before that, he left this tournament as hisst legacy. He desired to see a ce where all powerful and talented individualse to fight and emerge as champions.]

    The image changed again to a group of individuals holding swords, spears, and all kinds of other weapons in different positions. The epic music intensified as it sent a rush of adrenaline in each and every person sitting in the stands.

    [This year is no different. We, and everyone else, expect to see another group of heroes born from this tournament. Heroes that will help this world prosper and be better. Thus, we officially announce the start of the 145th annual Mystic Soul Convention.]

    The voice ended with a huge light festival that filled the sky. The colors were mesmerizing, to say the least. It was the perfect ending for the perfect speech.

    The moment the music stopped and the colors vanished beautifully, the people went into a frenzy as they pped and cheered enthusiastically.

    Acht watched this happen as he examined the whole stand with his eagle-like eyes searching for something. He had something in mind he wanted to check out.

    "Did you like it?" Leislet asked with a smile.

    "Not bad." He responded half-heartedly while still looking around.

    <o>,m "Anything wrong?" She asked again.</o>

    "...No, I was just making sure of something."

    What he was looking for was a certain person he remembered during the speech. He was most likely the one most affected by this speech as it will shape his new goal and dream.

    ''I can''t seem to find the protagonist. I guess it''s expected in such a crowded ce.'' He thought as he gave up searching. He wanted to take a glimpse of the young protagonist in curiosity but it turned out to be impossible.

    "Is this ''Origin Emperor'' that amazing? He seems to be some kind of god for these people." He changed the topic calmly.

    "Yeah. He is the most glorified person in the history of the Lower World. He had an effect on all kinds of fields. He even invented some new technology that would take hundreds of years to discover. You could even call him an anomaly in a sense."

    Then, she stood up and started walking to the fridge again.

    "I sometimes even think that he might be not from this world in the first ce¡­"

    Her casual words made Acht halt his thoughts for a second. She had said that jokingly but he had a whole different idea.<sub> </sub>

    ''New technology? Being an anomaly? He could be indeed a reincarnated individual from my world or another world. That bitch Livia could''ve done that.''

    He then gazed at the sky dazedly.

    ''If that is the case. Could there be other reincarnated individuals in this world? Could that mean that I could meet some people from my old world? Dammit, this is way too much overthinking. Let''s just go one step at a time and deal with things ordingly.'' He shook his head before looking at Leislet again.

    "Should we leave now?"

    "No. The show is still not over. Now, the big surprise will be revealed. I didn''t believe that when I heard it a few days ago." She said with clear excitement drawn on her face.

    "Hm? What is it?"

    "Just wait and see. This is the first time it will happen in history." She muttered as she continued drinking some wine.

    Acht then shifted his eyes to the arena again. There was now another thing happening there. A lighting from the top concentrated on a small area of the stadium. Then, the voice spoke again.

    "This year, and for the first time in the history of this Convention, we have a very special guest. A person that came from and far away from here just to witness the prowess of the talented people in this world. Please, greet Lord Nestern." The voice said.

    Then, from the sky, a man descended like a deity andnded on the ground. He looked around him with a cold look, inspecting the stands with his deep, emotionless eyes.

    Acht didn''t understand what was going on and who was that person so Leislet spoke from his side.

    "That person¡­He''s from the Middle World."

    Acht''s interest immediately peaked as he looked at the man again.

    "Middle world? Who is he? And why did hee here?" He asked Leislet.

    "I don''t know very well but from what I heard. He belongs to a prestigious n in the Middle World and he came here on a visit. From what I see though, he doesn''t seem to be interested in ''Talented people'' as the voice said. He''s probably here for another goal." She continued with a serious look.

    "You mean for a treasure in the Lower World?" Acht asked.

    "Yeah, something like that. All though, he doesn''t seem to be staying for long. Let''s see what he will do here."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 115 Chapter 115

    The audience kept looking at the man that was somehow capable of flying with weird eyes. They didn''t know who they were since his visit was a secret from everyone which made them whisper to each other confusedly.

    The man didn''t bother with their curious looks as the voice will rify things for them. He just had to wait for it to continue.

    [Lord Nestern is the heir of the prestigious n ''Bloodlock''. He hade here from the Middle world to be present in the annual Mystic Soul Convention.]

    When they all heard the two words ''Middle World'', gasps of shock and surprise invaded the stands for a good 3 seconds. They couldn''t believe that someone had actuallye exclusively from the Middle world to their Lower World.

    They all knew of the existence of the Middle and Higher World since they were young. In their minds, these worlds were akin to the heavens for gods. These ces werends for the strong, capable, and superior humans.

    So, in their minds, they were nothing but inferior beings to this Middle World visitor. So, without any hesitation, they all bowed at him with admiration. It was such a weird thing to see 800000 people bow down so lowly in front of a person.

    Acht and Leislet watched this withplicated gazes, especially Acht. He could see the fear in their eyes from this man. It speaks volumes about how this world was shaped to be from a long time ago. Just because its name was ''Lower World'' it automatically became connected to inferiority, to weakness, and to pathetess.

    ''History is always written by the winner is indeed true. These people don''t even know why they should bow down to him. What a pathetic bunch.'' He shook his head in disappointment.

    Then, he looked at the man again. He seemed to enjoy this glory albeit secretly. He had kept his stoic face all the time while watching the people greet him as if he was a king.

    Then, after bowing down for some time, the audience started pping and cheering for him, more enthusiastically than when the ''Origin Emperor'' appeared. They had to show their respect to the man as if bowing down wasn''t enough.

    [Tomorrow, when the Tournament will start. Lord Nestern will be a witness to the tournament and shall give the winner a reward he or she will never expect. So, every contestant, please try your hardest as this is the opportunity of a lifetime that might not appear again in the future.] The voice said while emphasizing thest part greatly.

    Then, like a mist, the man vanished from the ce as if he never existed, leaving people in shock and also with so much excitement for what was about toe.

    With that, the ceremony was over and people started leaving the ce while talking and discussing about the tournament that will start tomorrow and end on thest day of the convention. They all were eager to see who was going to win and most importantly what kind of reward they will get.

    Acht and Leislet were also about to leave since they had to deal with other things.

    "What kind of reward could it be?" Acht asked Leislet.

    "I don''t know. They didn''t want to tell me since that guy seemed to not want to tell everyone about it. I think this is a good push for you to try harder to win. Good luck~" Leislet said as she walked out of the room casually.

    Acht digested her words and nodded his head. He had to try harder to win thispetition since many things are at stake in this tournament.

    "What are you waiting for? Let''s go." She said to him since he seemed to have fallen into deep thoughts.

    ''Let''s see what the future will hold for me.'' He thought as he left the room and walked with Leislet toward the exit.

    In the corridor they were walking through, there was an intersection that led to both exits, the southern and the northern exit. So, as they were about to take the turn, they stumbled into a certain person, someone that Acht knew very well.

    "Oh?"

    "Hm?" Acht looked at the person with a very familiar voice and his eyes widened slightly.

    "...Acht¡­" Muttered the woman with a dazed look that seemed to speak a thousand words.<sub> </sub>

    Acht could see deep in her eyes how surprised she was to see him here so suddenly.

    So, after a moment, he mustered the energy to speak.

    "It''s been a while¡­Scarlett." He said with aplicated tone. The moment he saw her, the shes of the horrible torture he saw in that cursedb came back to him like a rushing train.

    "...Acht! Is it really you?!" She said excitedly as she basically jumped on him and hugged him tightly. Her usual calm demeanor was nowhere to be found.

    "Hey, cut it off. You are suffocating me." He said as he tapped her shoulder slightly.

    "Oh, yes. I''m sorry. How are you? Did you pass the hunter exam? Is everything ok?" She overwhelmed him with questions, one after another.

    "Sigh, calm down. I''m fine. How about you?"

    "I-"

    "Ehem." A small cough interrupted their conversation. Leislet then looked at Acht and then at the red-haired beauty that appeared out of nowhere and hugged him out of nowhere. They seemed like very good friends and that wasn''t something Leislet would ept.

    It was at this moment that Scarlett discovered the existence of Leislet too; since the moment she saw the boy, everything around her became blurry and unrecognizable.

    "Who are you?" Scarlett asked as she squinted her eyes.

    "That''s my question, who are you?" Leislet also asked with her eyes squinted and almost ring at the girl.

    A cold atmosphere invaded the ce like a frost storm and made Acht sense the imminent danger.

    ''Shit, this is not gonna end nicely. How should I stop this?'' he thought as he looked around hurriedly.

    Then, another massive problem fell down on him.

    "Acht?" His ears picked up a cute voice of a small girl who he knew very well too.

    He looked to the other side of the corridor and he saw a blonde small girl looking at him with her misty eyes that threatened to cry at any moment.

    ''Oh, fuck.'' He thought quietly as he looked at the trio.

    It was the reunion of a lifetime.

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 116 Chapter 116

    Tania looked at Acht from afar with clear surprise in her eyes, she had missed him so much during the 3 previous months but she couldn''t meet him due to a lot of factors, one of them being the fact that she wanted to get stronger so she concentrated on powering up as fast as possible.

    So, when she came to the Mystic Soul Convention she didn''t expect to meet him on the first day.

    "...Acht¡­Acht¡­!!!" She then immediately ran to him and hugged him from his neck, throwing all of her weight on his chest.

    She didn''t care about the two other women as they were as important as two annoying insects to her.

    "Tania, so it''s you. It''s been some time." He said as he tried to find a solution to this situation. He knew that these girls won''t be getting along at all. The fact that they stumbled upon each other at the same time is by far the worst-case scenario.

    The two women saw the small girl that was now stuck to him, rubbing her face on his body as if she was a dog that found her owner after a very long time.

    They then looked at each other with clear hatred. Their eyes were more than enough to convey their thoughts.

    ''Who are you, bitch?''

    ''That''s my line. How do you know Acht personally? Leave him alone or I will fucking kill you right here.''

    ''I want to see you try, whore. Acht is mine after all.''

    ''He''s mine, you fucking thief.''

    Such messages could be seen going back and forth between them continuously as their auras threatened to explode.

    "Why don''t we go to a cafe for now?" Acht suggested as he pushed Tania away from him after a long resistance. He had to make them calm down first and then he would deal with them ordingly.

    The three didn''t particrly agree with his words but they had no other choice since Acht started walking on his own.

    After onest re between the three, they followed him. The group reached a good cafe near the coliseum where no one was there except for a few customers here and there.

    They entered and went to sit down. But, as Acht sat on one of the sofas, the three insensitively went to sit down beside him.

    "Oh, I think this is my ce, isn''t it?" Leislet said with an irritated look.

    "No, I do think that I came here first. Isn''t that right, Acht?" Scarlett responded with the same irritated look while also asking Acht for his opinion.

    "No¡­seat¡­mine.." Tania interrupted them as she tried to force her way through but got stopped.

    "Guys, stop i-"

    "No, I have been walking by Acht''s side for thest 5 minutes so it''s natural that I sit down there," Leislet added.

    "Fufufu, are you blind? I was the one walking closest to Acht so I have the right to sit down there."

    "Grrrrr¡­" Tania growled like a cat at the two women with her cold face as she was on the verge of going berserk.

    "You three¡­" the boy suddenly spoke with a different tone. They all looked at him confusedly and much to their surprise, he looked angry¡­extremely angry.

    "Sit down there next to each other and behave yourselves!" He ordered as he unleashed some of his aura, making them feel intimidated. They had never seen Acht be so angry like that so they immediately followed his words and sat on the opposite sofa.<sub> </sub>

    They tried to make distance between each other but the sofa wasn''t big enough for that so they had to be close to one another.

    "Never do that again. You are all mature enough to know what to do in public. Stop acting like spoiled children." He kept lecturing them like a father lecturing his daughters after they made a mistake.

    The weirder thing is that all of them looked guilty and had shameful expressions on their faces.

    "Sigh, what a headache." He shook his head as heid down slightly to calm down.

    "Um¡­I''m sorry, Acht. I just lost my temper slightly." Leislet said after a moment of silence.

    "Me too. I admit my wrongdoing." Scarlett followed suit.

    "Hick¡­Tania¡­bad." As for Tania, she was now crying quietly while looking down.

    "Good. Now that we have cleared up this mess. Let me introduce you all to each other so we don''t have this stupid conversation again.

    "Leislet. This is Scarlett Goldknight. As you can see from herst name, she''s from the Goldknight family which you should be familiar with."

    "Oh, so you are the famous Goldknight family heir. I had never met you before so I didn''t know you immediately." Leislet answered with clear surprise on her face.

    "Scarlett. This is Leislet Windstorm. She''s the hunter association president."

    "I do recall her now that I see her face more clearly. Nice to meet you."

    "Me too."

    They said amicably. They had calm smiles on their face that didn''t seem to carry any kind of amicable emotions at all. Acht saw that weird atmosphere between them but he didn''t interfere since they seemed to be restraining themselves.

    Then, he looked at Tania who stopped crying a few moments ago. Her eyes looked puffy and red because of it but it somehow made her look even more adorable.

    "As for Tania¡­Come to think of it, I never asked you about yourst name or which country you came from."

    "Tania¡­Keimen¡­" She said as she stopped to sniff loudly each moment.

    "Keimen? Are you perhaps the princess of the Keimen kingdom? I didn''t know that when we first met." Leislet said.

    Tania''s response was a simple nod, but she ended up making the two women look at her silently.

    Their thoughts were the same.

    ''How did he end up making the princess of a kingdom fall in love with him like that?!''

    They had no idea how he pulled that off in such a short time. But, even with that, a princess of a kingdom or even the goddamn goddess herself. No one is going to stop them from getting what they want.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 117 Chapter 117

    The group then talked about random stuff to pass time. Acht was able to skillfully guide the conversation away from anything that could spark another problem and he was even able to make them talk with each other without ring too much or saying any harsh words.

    With that, an hour passed and they decided to leave. But, Acht had one thing in mind that he needed to do now before any time else.

    "Leislet, could you go first? I have some things to deal with. You too, Tania." He looked at the two with extremely serious eyes to show that he wasn''t joking around.

    The two felt the gravity of the situation and wanted to ask him about it but they decided not to. Then, they stood up and started walking away.

    "I will be waiting for you at the hotel," Leislet said casually while garnering the res of both Scarlett and Tania.

    When they were both finally alone, Acht made a long sigh of exasperation and looked at Scarlett who had a confused yet also nervous look. It was as if she was about to get judged by a god or a deity.

    "You remember what you told me before when we first met?" He started with a question.

    "...I don''t like to beat around the bush?" She said with a questioning gaze.

    "Exactly. You don''t like to beat around the bush. So, for what I am going to ask you now, I want your honest answer."

    After that, he pulled out a piece of paper he had in his spatial ring and threw it to Scarlett who took it with even more confusion written on her face.

    She read the piece of paper attentively and even a few times to make sure she didn''t miss a single word.

    "What¡­is this?" She muttered with her eyes widened.

    Acht didn''t feel any sympathy towards her, she could be the culprit for all he knows. So, with the same cold look, he spoke again.

    "That''s a money transaction proof I got in a mission that states your family is the owner of a Soul amplifier Lab in Lagradon." He said while pretending that he believed she didn''t know what that paper was all about.

    "W-What?! No, this isn''t¡­how could this be the case?" She said with lost eyes. Her calm and cold demeanor was nowhere to be found.

    "So, my question is¡­Are you involved in this?" He continued without bothering with her state. The most people Acht hated are those who used weakness as a way to get out of problems.

    "No! I genuinely didn''t know about this!" She said in an almost begging manner. She also seemed desperate for some reason.

    "And why should I believe that?" He asked again.

    "I-I¡­" she couldn''t find a way to prove that to him. So, instead, she stayed silent while trying to find a way to convince him.

    "You know, the moment I entered that ce and saw the way they treated those children, something broke in me. I never expected humans to reach this level of cruelty even though I was already aware of how shitty this world is. I don''t know why your supposedly ''righteous'' family is involved in this or why they use kids'' soul stones as the mainponent to make drugs. But, what I know for sure is that I will never get myself involved in that nor do I tolerate such things."

    He then stood up and walked away before stopping one time.

    "I think we should end our rtionship here. I have way too many things to worry about and getting involved in this stuff is not something I am willing to do. Farewell."<sub> </sub>

    Then, without as much as a nce, he walked out of the cafe and headed to the hotel, leaving Scarlett frozen in her ce.

    For the next 15 minutes, she didn''t move even a single inch. Her eyes widened and her face had the biggest frown possible.

    ''How could this be? I didn''t know at all. Even my father didn''t mention this. No¡­No¡­No.'' Her mind kept thinking about it again and again and again. The words Acht said kept resounding in her heart like loud drums that sent shivers down her spine.

    Then, like a broken human, she started crying silently. Her mind was too chaotic for her to handle her emotions and stayposed. Tears fell down her face and stained her cheeks.

    "Umm¡­Miss..is everything ok?" The waitress came to ask her worriedly since she saw her cry.

    But, Scarlett just stood up and walked out of the cafe without responding.

    She walked quickly and entered the quietest alley in the area. Then, she leaned on the wall and continued crying silently. This was the saddest she ever felt. The pain from potentially losing the most important person for her was like countless knives stabbing her heart relentlessly.

    Then, it clicked with her. She stood up and looked at the wall.

    ''Those bastards! I will fucking kill them! I will skin them alive! I will make them go through hell and back endlessly!''

    She then punched the wall.

    ''I will kill them! I will definitely kill all of those fuckers! I will kill them!!!''

    She kept punching the wall again and again and again until she created a big hole in it.

    ''Whoever did this shall pay. But, now I need to find a way to make Acht believe me. What should I do?'' She kept thinking of a solution.

    There was no evidence that she was not involved since she was the heir to the family and it is logical to think that she was involved in everything rted to her family.

    But, no matter how much she thought, she couldn''t find anything useful that could help her. So, with an extremely depressed expression, she walked out of the alley and headed to her hotel room.

    She needed to do one important thing now and that''s to talk with her father¡­a very long talk.

    ''Even if you are my father. If you are really involved in this, then you better pray I will be merciful.'' She clenched her teeth in anger and frustration.

    ''No one''s gonna take Acht away from me. No fucking one!''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 118 Chapter 118

    After leaving Scarlett, Acht walked to the hotel. He had a lot on his mind so he threw Scarlett''s matter to the back of his head and concentrated on what was about to happen. He needed to sign up for the tournament and also prepare himself.

    After that, he reached his room in a few minutes and found Leislet sitting there. She looked at him and saw the small frown on his face. Normally, people won''t be able to see that expression on him since he thought he hid it pretty well. But, Leislet wasn''t anybody, she knew every part of Acht''s face like the back of her hand so she could see easily if he had a problem.

    ''Did that bitch do anything to him?'' She thought as her eyes turned cold. Leaving him alone with Scarlett was something she would''ve never done if it wasn''t an honest request from Acht. She was just way too weak-willed when ites to that small boy.

    "Anything wrong?"

    "No, I was just having some thoughts. Anyway, I should sign in to the tournament, right?"

    Leislet didn''t persist in her questioning since she knew he was capable of dealing with his own problems without her interference. So, she smiled slightly.

    "All ready done. Here are the requirements for entering the tournament. They are quite strict, to be honest." She said as she gave him an envelope with a weird metal card inside that had his name and other info about him while also having ''Tournament first Stage contestant'' written on top.

    He then read the requirement and he was slightly impressed. The number of rules that were put in was huge. It was to the point where it could reduce the number of contestants that wanted to get into almost 2% of the initial number.

    Some of the important ones are: the contestant had to be under 20 years of age. The contestant also must have no illegal involvement or police records. It was a stupid way of trying to stop criminals from participating. But, faking documents and other things is as easy as breathing so it was pretty useless...

    These were all nothing but a small portion of the rules and Acht took a few minutes to read through it all.

    He then asked Leislet.

    "How many participants this year?"

    "Three thousand participants? That''s a lotpared to the requirements." He said.

    "Well, the world is vast and peoplee from all ces just for this event. Be ready to see all kinds of exotic fighting styles and weird techniques."

    "I know. As I said, it''s nothing but a matter of time before I stand alone as the winner."

    **************************

    "This is weird to see," Acht muttered as he looked around him.

    Tens of thousands of people were sitting in the stands looking at him and other contestants who were standing in the arena. The atmosphere was beyond excited as sheers and ps could be heard from every nook and cranny.

    This was only the beginning of the tournament yet it was already the center of attention of the whole world. Cameras and helicopters with news reporters were filling the sky.

    He then shifted his eyes to the other people around him. They were all nervous and even scared because of this atmosphere. But, in between all of them, there were obviously those who had cocky smiles or cold looks that tried to show that they were different.<sub> </sub>

    ''And then we have this girl.'' He thought as he looked at the person beside him. Tania also participated in the tournament. He found her walking around and searching for him when he came here.

    She was nibbling on a small sandwich nonchntly as if she wasn''t in the middle of the biggest stage in the world.

    "You don''t seem that bothered with thispetition," Acht said with an impressed look.

    "Mm.." She nodded with a small voice as she stuck closer to him and continued eating her sandwich.

    Then, the voice of the same man that spoke yesterday reached their ears and reverberated in their heads like two big drums.

    [Wee to the group stage of the Mystic Soul Tournament. It is our honor to see all of these young talents appear in this ce on such a big day. Now, before we start, a word from Lord Nestern will have a word for you.]

    Then, everyone looked at a certain person sitting on a throne-like chair surrounded by all the kings and the important powerhouses of this world. Acht recognized some of them while he never saw the others.

    He even caught the nce of Scarlett looking at him from the stands, not even bothering with anything else.

    But, he totally ignored her since he had no reason to care about whether she looks at him or not. Their friendship is severed.

    The stands became totally silent as they waited for the man to speak. After sitting down quietly like that, he muttered a few words that somehow were loud enough to reach the end of the arena even though he didn''t shout or scream.

    "Impress me."

    Two words were all he said before he returned to his casual demeanor of not caring about anything and everything.

    However, as much as these words sounded arrogant, the only thing he garnered from the audience was loud sheers and strong pping. It was as if he had just given them a priceless treasure with those words.

    "Sigh, what a weird bunch." Acht thought while witnessing such a scene.

    He was clearly disrespecting everyone present with his words but they still considered it as an amazing thing to do. This was a level of brainwashing that Acht didn''t know was possible.

    "This isn''t something that this world did out of its own ord. The other worlds have hands in this, I''m sure." He muttered calmly.

    They were all here to lick the man''s boot just so that maybe they could benefit from him. What a stupid thing!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 119 Chapter 119

    After that very amazing speech from the man, the voice spoke again to start the actual tournament.

    [Thank you Lord Nestern for your amazing words. Now,dies and gentlemen, for the first stage of the tournament, we have a very special test that has never been held before in all of the previous years.]

    <o>,m His words created chaos all through the stands and even between the contestants themselves. It is true that the tests change each year, but they nevere up with anything new as they repeat whatever they did a few years before.</o>

    So, hearing that a new test was created, anticipation and also nervousness is a given considering the fact that they are the first people in history to try it.

    ''They really want to impress our little king over there.'' Acht thought sarcastically. They were really trying hard so that Nestern wouldn''t die out of boredom or leave in the middle of thepetition.

    [Now, please calm down and listen carefully. Our first test is¡­The Endless Maze!]

    "The Endless Maze?" Someone muttered along with many others with a confused look. They never heard of such a thing so they waited for the man to further exin.

    [As the name suggests. Our contestants will be teleported to a random part of a maze we created especially for this tournament. The goal of this maze is simple¡­You have to reach the center of the maze in the quickest time possible. The first 100 to reach it win and move to the next stage. The rest shall be disqualified.]

    ''Isn''t this too easy?'' Most of them thought for a moment before their naive way of thinking shattered into millions of pieces.

    [Many of you will think it''s simple. But, this maze is by no means a normal maze. Traps, monsters, and all other kinds of obstacles fill this ce and they were specially made to make it even harder for all of you. Also, seeing how this is a race, confrontations between contestants is a given. The only rule is that there are no rules.]

    The voice spoke as his words kept shocking the people like a streak of lightning bolts. They had never expected this kind of race at all.

    They were basically saying ''do whatever you want in there and no one will judge you.''

    It was such an absurd idea for a prestigious tournament like this one.

    As they were about to startining about this stupidity, the voice spoke first to make things clearer.

    [But, fear not, this doesn''t mean that killing and doing anything illegal is allowed. Look at your ring fingers. Each one of you should have a ring in their hand. That ring is akin to your emergency button, if you feel like you can''t continue or your life is threatened, you just have to think of the word ''Surrender'' and you will be immediately teleported out of the maze.]

    Then, to put an end to any kind of protest, the voice continued after a moment of silence.

    Acht looked at his ring finger and saw what the man was talking about. It was a ring he was given when he reached the arena and showed his card. It was made of in silver with ck words decorating it. He could sense some kind of weird soul forceing from it that he couldn''t quite understand. It had something to do with the space magic that these people somehow could use so he couldn''t get it that easily.

    ''Lost elements are indeed a weird mystery.'' He wondered.<sub> </sub>

    [Not only that but, if it senses any dangerous threat that you won''t be able to dodge or evade no matter what you did, it will teleport you 20 meters away from that exact ce. You only have that function once. If that case happens again, you will be teleported out of the maze and you disqualify]

    Then, the voice wentpletely silent again to let the people digest the information properly. His words made them sigh in relief since they were now sure that their lives are not in danger in this maze and they also aren''t going to be potentially threatened by any anomaly that slipped into thepetition.

    ''This test isn''t fair for all people but it''s good enough as a first stage to eliminate as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time'' Acht thought as he watched the reactions of all people around him silently. It seemed that they didn''t see the ring hole in this test that could give an advantage to some contestants over the others.

    "Anyway, it''s not gonna be that hard I guess. I can''t seem to sense any threat from any one of these people around me. Most of them are weak anyway." Acht muttered.

    "...Acht¡­" Tania suddenly spoke to him as she pulled the hem of his shirt.

    "Hm?"

    "Me¡­you¡­team¡­" she muttered with her usual cute face.

    "Hmm, but what if we don''t find each other?"

    "No¡­me¡­you¡­team.." she muttered again with an almost forceful tone.

    "Fine, if we meet somehow in the maze, we can team up. Good luck." He said casually.

    Then, as if the world was suddenly changing, the tform they were standing on started going down, deeper into the ground. It was akin to one massive elevator. Gasps of surprise could be heard everywhere as everyone instinctively looked.

    They saw how the sky was getting farther and farther away from them and the voice of the man resounded again.

    [You will now be teleported to the maze. Give it your best since everyone will be watching you on live TV. Good luck to all of you!]

    Those were thest words they heard before a blinding light took over the ce and they all fell into a state of trance that made them feel paralyzed for a good 20 seconds.

    When they woke up, the scenery had already changedpletely. The tournament has officially started!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 120 Chapter 120

    When Acht opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in an open space that didn''t exceed 2 meters in width. It was made out of normal stone with nothing there behind him.

    So, he looked ahead of him. What he saw was a passage between two very big walls that seemingly exceeded to infinity from both angles. They were also made out of stone and were about 6 meters away from each other.

    The first thing he noticed that was weird about these walls is that they had a huge amount of soul force embedded into them and ran through each part of the walls, seemingly like an endless stream of energy.

    The second thing and it was the most important one is that they weren''t motionless as all solid objects should be. They were somehow wiggling and moving at a very very slow pace. They were also barely noticeable to anyone. But, this discovery was more than enough for Acht to know something.

    ''These walls can change shape and form most likely to create traps. But, how is that even possible to make?'' Acht wandered quietly.

    A few momentster, he heard a sound. It was the shriek of a personing from the distance in the form of an echo. Then, another shriek followed suit not long after the first one.

    What ensued after that was a clusterfuck of screams and loud noises. Swords shing, bombardments from some kind of bomb, or the attack of an awakener. It was as if chaos had befallen this ce in a matter of minutes.

    These were all signs that people were now fighting in the race to reach the end.

    So, without further to do, Acht took a deep breath and walked inside. He had no desire to let anyone get the first ce before him.

    The first few moments inside the maze were very calm since he didn''t find anyone. But, he didn''t lower his wariness by any means. And that seemed to be the right choice as suddenly.

    *Swish*

    From the left wall, 7 huge spikes appeared like a sh and tried to skewer Achtpletely.

    ? But, he was already prepared for such an oue so he easily evaded them. His reaction speed had also evolved within thest 3 months so now, he could basically react faster and more efficiently to sneak attacks.

    He then continued walking. His strategy in finding the route to the center is very easy. Since the walls have soul force running through them to keep them functioning, he could basically sense the mana around him and find the open way to move through.

    It was probably something the organizers of this test had put deliberately for those who can think of this idea. So, from being a veryplicated maze that will take him potentially hours or even days toplete, it became just like a walk in the park¡­albeit filled with dangers.

    A few minutester, he stumbled upon the first group of humans. They seemed to have been brawling like mad dogs for some time now since they were all injured and panting heavily.

    But, when they saw the neer, they all stopped fighting and red at him. Acht, who was casually walking with his hands in his pocket and whistling an unknown song made them feel speechless.

    He didn''t stop to look at them or even change direction, he just walked in between these people as if they didn''t exist.

    "You little bastard!" A man woke up from a daze and immediately attacked him with a hammer.

    *Swish*

    Acht saw the swing and just casually moved his head to the side as if he was dodging an insect.<sub> </sub>

    The man looked at this with deep shock but still attacked him again. He made arge arc with his hands and smashed down, intending to squash him. But, Acht just sidestepped the hammer and continued walking.

    "What the fuck is this? How can he dodge that? Hey, you fuckers, attack him!"

    Three men then immediately shook their heads and growled loudly like a group of enraged goris.

    After that, they all charged at him and tried to use their elements to attack him.

    "Sigh, piss off."

    Acht muttered with a cold re before he extended his hand in their direction. In an instant, they were all sent flying at a fast speed as if they were swept away by a howling storm.

    *BOOM*

    They all were smashed against the near wall, which triggered the trap.

    *Swish*

    Before the spikes could hit them, they were teleported 20 meters away from the spike.

    "...W-What was that? I didn''t see anything. He has the wind element?" One of them muttered confusedly.

    They couldn''t see what hit them so they assumed it was some kind of wind attack. This was not a coincidence since Acht had been working on that part of his power too.

    He knew that using gravity in public is a huge taboo that could potentially end up with him being a target. So, he had been practicing his gravity in order to make it look like he used the wind element instead of gravity. It didn''t need any kind of shy movements or anything of that sort. Just a simple extending of the hand and barely just changing the direction of the air around him with gravity could work wonders.

    Even the audience in the stands couldn''t see the difference when they looked at the screens in the arena.

    ''Illusions aren''t that hard. I only needed to make them see a familiar site of a wind user and then I could do whatever I want. Even that Middle World fucker can''t see the difference.'' Acht thought to himself with a smile as he continued walking.

    That''s when he felt it, a very strong aura was nearby. He immediately hid himself and looked in a certain direction. What he saw a few momentster made him feel a chilling coldness in his spine.

    ''Isn''t that Lein?!''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 121 Chapter 121

    Acht didn''t wait any longer and hid his presencepletely, he even stopped his breathing. Thest thing he wanted was for her to discover his ce.

    ''How did they even believe that she was under 20 years of age? What a fucking morons!'' He thought as he cursed under his breath. He had no idea how he was going to deal with her in case she found him, which was something he wanted to evade.

    So, with very light yet quick steps, he walked in another direction while keeping a look for her. Her aura was still far away from him so he was able to take his time and leave the area as fast as possible.

    "What are you doing?" A voice spoke next to his ear.

    ''SHIT!''

    He didn''t even wait for his mind to process what happened as his body was already on the move. He didn''t dare to stay there for even a split of a second longer.

    As he channeled his soul force to the maximum, he felt himself speeding up like a storm. His speed was so ridiculous that it could be considered cheating.

    This was because of the quality of his soul force that was different from normal humans and also because of his high level. So it was not an exaggeration to say that he was like a sh when he runs.

    But, that ispared to normal awakeners. In Lein''s case¡­Well, he was nothing but a slow turtle.

    Acht ran like a mad man through the corridors of the maze without stopping for a second. But, the moment he took a turn to the left after a few moments of running, he found Lein there smoking her pipe as if it was nothing.

    "Why did you run away?" She asked as she exhaled a cloud of smoke. She seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason.

    Acht couldn''t believe his eyes. He had run at basically the speed of sound for almost 30 seconds and he still ended up meeting her like it was nothing.

    ''Is she even human?'' He wondered as he tried to find a way out of this huge problem.

    "Calm down, speedy boy. I am not here to fucking fight, ok?" She added as she closed up on him with her eyes inspecting all of his body.

    "You are quite special, aren''t you? Hmm, I can''t seem to find the reason why. Anyway, you can fucking run away. I can''t care less about small children. But, if you were unlucky enough to meet me again in this maze. You better fucking pray that I will be in a good mood at the time. Piss off!"

    After leaving those cold words, she vanished from her ce, leaving behind a small cloud of dirt that indicated that she moved physically and didn''t teleport.

    Acht didn''t care about her words since Lein had always been a rough person who only spat out harsh words even when she didn''t mean them. Her words now were akin to saying.

    ''I am not going to kill you so you can go.'' Albeit with a harsh tone. It wasn''t the best character to have when you want to deal with people but she wasn''t someone who liked human interaction so it didn''t pose as a problem for her. Being in Nightingale was like being an outcast of society after all.<sub> </sub>

    After making sure she leftpletely, Acht sighed and walked out of the passage he was in. He was really in a tough spot a moment ago so getting out of it pretty much unscathed was a very good oue.

    ''But, what did she mean by ''interesting''? Did she discover something about me?'' He pondered over those words and tried to find the meaning behind them.

    If what he was assuming was true then he was not as ''Mysterious'' as he thought he was since some powerful people could see through him easily. Or maybe it was Lein being sarcastic. He didn''t know for now but he kept it in mind.

    ''The Nightingale had already infiltrated the tournament without anyone knowing. The other members must be in the audience.''

    "...Acht¡­" A meek voice woke him up from his daze and made him look back. There, he found Tania who looked breathless and tired for some reason. Her beautiful face had some shine to it from sweat which entuated her mesmerizing beauty. Even the way she gasped for air was adorable to no extent.

    "Did youe here running?" He asked.

    "Mm¡­"

    ''She really did find me in this massive ce.'' He thought with an impressed look.

    He assumed that she probably ran around searching for him. But what he didn''t know is that she coincidentally was able to reach the center of the maze before everyone and when she didn''t find Acht there, she continued running and searching for him without even bothering with the test or being the first winner.

    This made many audiences confused and even Nestern was confused. He didn''t get what the girl was thinking about at all.

    ''Are all humans in this garbage yard like her?'' He thought to himself with a mocking gaze.

    He was barely keeping himselfposed when he was surrounded by this number of lowly beings that didn''t even fit as ves for him.

    ''If father didn''t just send me here, I would''ve not had to deal with this boring sh*t.

    He hade here on a mission by his father to find what he assumed was some kind of ''being'' that was hidden in this world. He didn''t have much information about this being except for its appearance and general location. And, to hide this secret from any other guild in the Middle World, they wrapped it up in a ''Tournament Visit''.

    ''Why am I the one to go, even one of our soldiers would have dealt with this mission. What a disrespect!'' He grumbled quietly.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 122 Chapter 122

    After reuniting in this ce, the duo continued their way to the maze. They could''ve run there but it would''ve been a waste of energy that could be evaded. They still had a long time before anyone could reach that ce so there was no need to rush.

    Even more than that, running in these corridors will be akin to suicide. The traps were totally unexpected and could take anyone by surprise if he isn''t careful.

    "Hmm, it seems that the number of contestants got reduced by a lot," Achtmented casually.

    The reason for that statement is that they didn''t stumble upon one single person during the few minutes they have been walking through the maze. In fact, they didn''t hear any noisesing from a fight or someone getting caught in a trap.

    But, that didn''t ring any dangerous bells in their heads since if the number became very small, it would be very hard to meet anyone in this huge ce.

    ''Hm?''

    However, even though it was a smooth sail until now, that didn''tst long as Acht sensed something very weird.

    He looked at the wall beside him and swiped on it with his hand casually.

    "Can you sense it?" He asked Tania.

    "Hm?" She was confused at first and then she shook her head.

    "The walls¡­.they are losing soul energy at a rapid pace." He said with a serious look.

    Was it not for his extremely sensitive body that could discern soul force from a very long distance after leveling up continuously, he would''ve never felt it since the change was very small.

    He then looked up to the ceiling where the walls end and he squinted his eyes for a better view. What he was looking for is any other change in the structure of the wall.

    There, he saw very small cracks spreading across the wall like small insects crawling everywhere. He had to look twice just to make sure he wasn''t hallucinating.

    "The walls¡­they will crumble down!" He said to Tania in a hurry as he pulled her and started running. They still had a distance before they could reach the end so they needed to hurry or they would get hurried under these 15-meter-high walls.

    ''What is going on? Is this a malfunction in the test? Or¡­'' He thought as he remembered a certain detail. If that was the case, then it was nothing short of a disaster. They needed to reach the center and leave this ce as quickly as possible.

    ****************************

    Outside the test, in the arena, people were oblivious to what was happening as they watched the test eagerly. There were cameras everywhere inside the maze that showed the contestants and what they were doing.

    "What are those two doing?" A woman said to her husband.

    "They seem to be in a hurry. They really want to win. Hahaha." Heughed casually.

    Everyone basically didn''t think much of their behavior since it could be interpreted as ''eager to win thepetition'' and ''Children and their vigor''.

    But, inside the control panel of the test. The supervisors were freaking out like never before.<sub> </sub>

    "Sir, the energy source of the maze has been stolen. We can''t find the culprit."

    "What?!" The main supervisor was shocked as he ran to the screen to see. There, the camera that showed the energy source that kept the maze intact and functioning was missing.

    "Dammit! The maze is going to copse! We need to get them out of there!" The man shouted. But, the response he got made his face go pale.

    "The energy source was also the one responsible for instant teleportation. We can''t get them out of there until we get the reserve energy source linked to the maze domain!" A middle-aged woman with ab coat responded with a grave look.

    "What are you waiting for?! Get the reserve energy source linked as fast as possible. If any of these contestants die, we are done for."

    ? There were a lot of important people inside, from rich families and also royalties from small kingdoms. It was basically a catastrophe if they died. It could even start a huge war between kingdoms. And none of these supervisors will live to see that day.

    "Show me thest footage before it disappeared." He said to the one responsible for controlling the cameras.

    "Y-Yes!"

    He then rewinded the footage and started from a few minutes before it was stolen.

    There was nothing suspicious happening in there and then suddenly, a small distortion happened and the crystal ball full of energy was not there.

    "Slow it down to 0.1% the normal speed." He instructed the worker.

    After he rewinded the footage at that slow speed, he could finally see what was happening. A person appeared in the footage wearing a mask that resembled the night sky of dessert. They couldn''t discern if it was a man or a woman since their clothes were ck too.

    They then grabbed the crystal, hid it in their spatial ring or whatever they had on them, and then looked directly at the camera. Their eyes were hidden behind the mask but the supervisor could feel himself freeze in fear.

    Those eyes were basically looking at him. It was as if these eyes were rummaging through his soul and discovering his mind. It was the most chilling look he had ever felt in his life.

    Then, they approached the camera slowly. Each step they took made the man''s heartbeat skyrocket. It was as if the man fell into the illusion they created. An Illusion of horrible fear and despair.

    They then said a few words that made him fall down to his knees, trembling in fear.

    "Know that¡­Nightingale has returned." The voice was deep, hoarse, and inhuman, indicating the clear maniption to make it impossible to distinguish whether it was a man or woman.

    Then, the footage distorted again, and the camera returned to normal, showing the empty space where the crystal generator was previously put.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 123 Chapter 123

    Acht and Tania were oblivious to what was happening in the control room or the video of the unknown Nightingale member that stole the energy crystal that kept the maze intact, the only thing they had in mind was to leave as fast as possible.

    As they moved from one corridor to another, the walls were already cracking loudly and even some debris was falling down asionally beside them.

    ''If we keep going at this speed, we won''t be able to make it.'' He thought as he looked at Tania with his cold eyes.

    "Wait a moment." He said as he halted his steps.

    Tania also stopped and eyed him with clear confusion written on her face. Then, without a single word, he grabbed her waist and lifted her up like a princess.

    "I''m going to increase my speed. Grab me tightly."

    Tania was very surprised by this action. Her heart was beating in her ears as she looked at Acht from a very close distance. She almost lost herself in looking at him beforeing back to reality as heunched himself like a speeding bullet.

    She almost fell down to the ground because of the high speed but she was able to bnce herself and grab him tightly.

    ''So cool¡­So cool.'' She thought with a blush on her small face. What was happening now was something she didn''t even dream about since it was akin to heaven for her¡­a heaven she will never reach.

    However, it was happening. She was now getting hugged by Acht. The feeling of his warm body and strong arms made her snuggle more closer to his chest and bury her face in his clothes, smelling them silently.

    Acht was focused on the path so he didn''t feel her movement. If he did, he would''ve probably not known whether tough or cry.

    "It seems to be safe for now. We can reach the center in 60 seconds. Fuuh." Acht sighed in relief as he saw that the walls could still hold on for a few more minutes.

    However, this thought will soon be destroyed into small pieces. As he took a turn to the left thinking that he was going on the right path, he stumbled upon a dead end.

    ''What? Did I make a mistake?'' he thought and immediately expanded his soul sense to check again.

    He indeed felt that the path was from the opposite side so he turned around and ran there. Again, instead of finding a long corridor, he found a dead end.

    ''No. What is going on?'' He looked around and checked the walls again.

    He didn''t feel any kind of abnormality except for the diminishing soul energy inside these walls.

    The only possible thing he could think of is that because of the huge drop in soul energy, the walls couldn''t keep a certain form and started changing ces chaotically and with no pattern.

    This meant another horrible oue that he didn''t even think about before. What he considered the easiest thing in this whole test became the hardest thing.

    ''This is really bad. I have to find a way out of this randomly changing maze. I barely even have a few minutes before these walls copse on us.''

    Tania saw how troubled he was and was also aware of the ring danger they were in at the moment.

    ? So, she tapped Acht''s arm gently, telling him to let her down. He didn''t know what she was thinking about or what she was going to do.<sub> </sub>

    After she stood up, she extended her hand and created a huge tform made out of crystal under them. Then, she made the crystal tform rise higher and higher until it reached the ceiling.

    Acht watched this amazing show and hardly could believe his eyes. He didn''t think that she would be this masterful in controlling her element in just three months.

    ''She really worked hard, huh.''

    For some reason, this fact made him smile slightly. He felt like a proud father or something along those lines. It wasn''t that intense of a feeling but it made him feel a bit calmer.

    After reaching the ceiling, she made another crystal object that was sharp and pierced the wall in front of her.

    In normal circumstances, she should''ve been unable to break these enforced walls but because they were crumbling down, she was able to pull that off.

    In a moment, a huge hole was created and she jumped inside that hole along with Acht. They already were aware of the destination so they didn''t take time to think about it.

    After that, they jumped to the next hole created in the closest wall to their side and continued like that. Jumping from one wall to another.

    "I can see the end." The ck-haired boy said.

    The center was very close to them, all they had to do was to jump a few more walls. But, it proved to not be that easy.

    Acht had miscalcted how much longer the walls could hold on for.

    The moment they jumped on the fourth wall¡­

    *CRACK*

    A loud cracking sound echoed in their ears followed by losing their bnce as the wall crumbled down to the ground.

    Acht didn''t wait and he immediately grabbed Tania and hugged her tightly before using gravity to reduce their fall. The moment they made contact with the ground, they were buried by the crumbling walls. Tons and tons of stones came crashing down on them.

    A few secondster, the ce finally calmed down, leaving behind nothing but hollow silence.

    The audience watched this scene in horror. In a split second, all the walls had suddenly crumbled down and buried the contestants under them. They couldn''t utter a single word for a good moment as they tried to digest what they saw.

    Even Nestern looked slightly more interested now since something unexpected happened.

    ''Maybe it won''t be as boring as I expected.'' he thought with a very faint smile.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 124 Chapter 124

    The scene turned from chaotic and intense to calm and eerie in a matter of seconds. The weird silence that took over the audience as they saw the screen was mind-blowing. You could even hear the sound of a needle hitting the ground in this ce.

    The powerhouses of this world also witnessed this scene and they immediately stood up. Some of them had their sons and daughters inside that maze and they were now buried under the rocks and boulders.

    "My son!!!!" A queen with a crown on her face shouted as she tried to jump down but was restrained by her husband who was also barely keeping hisposure.

    The others were not faring any better¡­especially two women that weren''t sitting that far from each other.

    Leislet was the first to sense the abnormality and also the first to try and contact the control panel to ask about the problem, thinking that it wouldn''t be that catastrophic. But, her thoughts were soon crushed when she saw Acht''s worried face and she immediately knew that something was very wrong.

    However, even though she did try to do something, it was alreadyte by that time. Her eyes witnessed how her most beloved was buried under the tones of rocks that fell down like a meteor.

    "No¡­." She muttered with an extremely pale face. She was still not sure if he was dead or not so she was fairly calm.

    ''Acht¡­No! He can''t be dead. He will be ok! I''m sure! He will get out alive.'' She tried to convince herself that he was capable of doing miracles so another miracle isn''t that hard for him. They were all just words at the end of the day. Nevertheless, those words gave her the strength to call the control panel again as she rushed out of the stands. They didn''t reply to her no matter how many times she called so she decided to go there by herself.

    The same was for Scarlett, she held her mouth in shock as she tried to not appear weird to her father.

    She also stood up and left, ignoring her father''s continuous calls for her.

    Leislet took a few moments to reach the control room since it was not that far from the arena. The ce was very highly secured, usually. But, this time, instead of finding guards, she found bloody corpses.

    Decapitated heads and spilled out organs, it was so gory, she had to hold her nose to stop the horrible smell from prating her brain and making her dizzy.

    "What the fuck is this?!" She walked through the corpses with deep shock as she tried toprehend the situation.

    There were at least 21 dead guards inside. Then, she reached the room and didn''t even dare to open it since she saw from the window outside what ensued in the control room.

    It was a total disaster, forget about the tournament, this could be the reason for a war between kingdoms. They will all think that the other kingdoms had a hand in this.

    But, for now, she opened the room and entered inside.

    Theb workers inside were all brutally murdered. Most of their bodies were disfigured to no repair and their blood coated all of the ce in a weird crimson red color.

    The headb scientist who was also the supervisor of the test was especially disfigured way more than the others. He had his head bent to a weird angle, his limbs were cut off and they exchanged ces, making his hands in the ce of his legs and his legs in the ce of his hands.

    Leislet stood silent for a good moment before she clenched her teeth and tightened her fists.

    She had discovered something really important.

    "Those fucking bastards." She muttered with her harshest tone.

    On the body of the man, there was one word written with blood on his chest.<sub> </sub>

    "Nightingale."

    It had this creepy feeling to it even though it was merely a word. It even sent a chilling shock down Leislet''s spine.

    "They got us."

    *************************

    Inside the maze, under a certain pile of rocks, there were two people getting crushed by the debris.

    "F-Fuuuuuckkk!!!" Acht shouted as he felt his broken leg and the other fractures he sustained in his other body parts.

    The moment theynded on the ground, a huge rock crushed him before he could even do anything.

    "Ooze won''t hold on for longer!" He muttered as he looked at the ck liquid on top of them.

    He had made Ooze form a barrier and engulfed them both under it for more space. But, because of the sheer weight of the debris, Ooze was slowly dissolving with each second passing.

    "Hey, Tania! Wake up!" He tapped Tania beside him who was unconscious. She also sustained heavy injuries, even heavier than Acht''s. The only reason he was still awake and she was not was because of the difference in strength between them.

    "There should be a way out of this!" He mused as he looked around him.

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t find any weak points in the debris that could make it crumble down and release the weight that was crushing them slowly.

    ''Goddammit! I have no way out of this! Even my gravity can''t handle such a huge weight.

    Hisst chance of survival was Tania. But, the little girl didn''t seem to be waking up anytime soon.

    In a nutshell, Acht was in a huge disadvantageous position. He had no way out of this. It was as if someone deliberately made it so that he can''t get out of this alive.

    Then, to make things even worse, the liquid Ooze finally copsed and the huge weight of almost 50 tons of rocks came down on him.

    He immediately used whatever soul force he still had in his body and tried to fight off as hisst chance of survival.

    ''I am not going to die here!'' He clenched his teeth and pushed his usable hand up.

    "Haaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" He shouted loudly and pushed up as much as he could. The debris wasn''t moving but it wasn''t going down either so it was fixed in its ce.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 125 Chapter 125

    After the discovery of the dead bodies, the tournament was immediately halted and the authorities and even some very high personnel from all kinds of kingdoms went to check the situation.

    It was a total mess, they didn''t know whether they should try to find a way to enter the maze or to deal with a potential Nightingale member lurking around them secretly, waiting for them to lower their guard, and then he would attack.

    "Those bastards did it under our noses as if they were mocking us. Fuck!" A man cursed as he mmed on the table while looking at workers dragging the dead bodies out.

    "We don''t know their faces so it''s easier for them to infiltrate the tournament easily. What a bunch of monsters!" Another interjected with ament of his own.

    "Did they close the city routes?" A woman asked her servant.

    "What''s the point of that? They can get in and out of this ce as if it was nothing. Our only chance now is to stop them from getting the Midnight Song!"

    The group kept talking and discussing the situation trying to find a solution as fast as possible. The Convention had already gone to ruin with this ident.

    As for Leislet, she left that matter to whoever was assigned for it and walked back to the stands. The ce had already been emptied from people and was now a deste arena akin to that of a ghost city.

    It has been 3 hours since Acht got buried and there was no sign of him getting out or any sign of him being alive either. She had tried multiple times to find a way inside the maze but she couldn''t. The teleportation portal needed the energy crystal to function and the crystal was nowhere to be found.

    The only solution is to get the reserve one but it will take time to get properly fixed and restored. So, all she could do was wait. It was the worst time of her life, each second was like an annoying bell in her head that announced the death that was looking over Acht getting closer and closer.

    She tried to stay optimistic but the doubt was now seeping into her heart and crippling her mind.

    "Is there no sign of him moving?" A voice suddenly asked her.

    She didn''t turn around to check who it was and kept her eyes on the screen.

    "No...Nothing." She responded meekly.

    The person who was asking was obviously Scarlett. She had been inside checking the murder scene to stop herself from thinking about the worst-case scenario for the boy.

    "Maybe-"

    ? "Don''t!" Leislet stopped her from speaking with a re.

    "He''s alive and he will get out of there alive. There is no other oue!!!"

    Her eyes were crazed and she looked like a maniac trying to keep herself calm as hard as she could. Maybe she wasn''t asposed as she appeared to be.

    *************************

    "Fuck!!!! I can''t hold on any longer!!!" Acht cursed loudly as he pushed with his arm. He felt his muscles on the verge of bursting like balloons from sheer exhaustion and pressure.

    He had been in the same position for at least 3 hours without rest, holding off tons and tons of rocks with one hand while fighting the hellish pain in his body at the same time.

    Tania was still unconscious, she seemed to have hit her head hard since even though Acht made her drink a potion, she was still in aa.<sub> </sub>

    *Swish*

    The debris was slowly moving downward as Acht started losing power in his limbs.

    ''I even exhausted my soul force.''

    Even he himself was starting to lose hope. There is simply no way out. Before he had been in a very dangerous situation and he was almost killed but he found a way out of it somehow. He was able to keep his life intact no matter how bad the situation was.

    But, this time, he was genuinely helpless, it was way too overwhelming for him. It was as if Livia was mocking his training and his new strength. It was as if she was telling him that no matter what you do, you will always be weak in my eyes. A total disdain and mockery!

    Acht had already thought about that idea and it seemed quite usible. But, he had no way of retorting to that.

    *Swish*

    Finally, thest push of rocks finally made him give up and the debris crushed him slowly. The hellish pain he was feeling was inhuman.

    That is when something that he didn''t expect happened.

    ''Do you want my powers, human?'' A voice spoke in his head that made his eyes open wide.

    He couldn''t take a look at them, but from an outsider''s point of view, his eyes were shining with a weird blue light.

    ''Do you want to be the strongest? Do you want to grab your own fate with your hand?'' The voice asked him multiple questions at the same time.

    They were all things that resounded in Acht''s head endlessly. It was indeed what he desired and what was his initial goal since the moment he existed.

    ''I can give you what you desire. I can give you the power of the Dragon. I can make you the Dragon King. So, what is it that you desire?''

    Acht didn''t hesitate as he spoke. It was as if his mind had another owner that took decisions for him.

    "...I...WANT POWER!!!" He shouted with his hoarse voice that was tired beyond belief.

    ''Fine, I shall give you my powers, human. However, I want you to fulfill a wish of mine, human.'' the voice said.

    He then stopped for a moment and added.

    ''My wish is still not possible to be fulfilled. Gain strength, be more powerful, and fulfill my wish and then you shall inherit everything I have. I shall now open the first lock of the dragon heart, the gravity domain!''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 126 Chapter 126

    The moment the voice spoke those words, an electric shock ran through every cell of Acht''s body making him tremble violently. He didn''t feel any pain from that. In fact, it was akin to a stamina potion that made him restore his vigor and vitality.

    Then, blue runes started appearing on his body as if someone was scribbling them meticulously. It was bizarre scenery for anyone to witness.

    At this point, Acht had already lost all feeling in his body and he was now under some kind of power that was controlling every action he did. Except for his eyes that kept staring widely with that blue hue encircling them, he had no other thing he could feel his surroundings with.

    Then, after his body was now basically a bluemp filled with runes, the energy that kept getting pumped into his body endlessly started seeping out and dispersing in the ground around him and Tania.

    At first, it seemed to be dissipating after that but slowly, it started umting and forming a circle of energy the size of the passageway.

    After reaching a certain threshold, the energy finally stopped increasing. Instantly, a strong gravitational force attacked the pile of rocks like a rushing tsunami.

    The force was at least 50 times stronger than Acht''s normal gravity maniption. So, it didn''t even take a few seconds for the rocks to start going up in the air. The change was slow at first but it didn''t take long for all the rocks to start floating above Acht.

    It didn''t stop at that, Acht''s broken body also started floating along with them. His posture was automatically straightened and he was now swimming in between the sea of floating debris like a god surrounded by his servants.

    *Swish*

    Suddenly, a rock was shot like a rocket far away into the distance followed by another one and then another one after that.

    The rocks kept gettingunched away in a very particr pattern and in a very particr direction.

    It didn''t take long for all the rocks to shoot away, leaving Acht alone in the air. Then, as if nothing happened, he came back to the ground gently and fell unconscious on the spot.

    *************************

    At the same time, Leislet and Scarlett were unaware of what was happening inside the maze since there were more important things they had to do instead of just watching the screen. The energy crystal has finally been fixed and the portal was restored so they were readying themselves to enter the maze.

    The two of them, along with other people of higher status and also medics, were now standing on top of the tform where the contestants were standing before. The tform was now descending into the darkness and will teleport them to the maze.

    ''Please be safe. Please be safe. Please be safe.'' they both thought along the same lines with clearly nervous looks. Each passing second of them descending to the portal was like long hours of waiting.

    Finally, the shining light invaded their eyes and they found themselves inside the maze¡­or to be more precise, what was a maze before.

    Now, it was nothing but a vast area of destruction. It was akin to a ghost town left to rot for eternity far from any human hands.

    Leislet and Scarlett didn''t dwindle much as they immediately rushed into the far distance like two lightning bolts.

    They had no idea where Acht''s exact location was so they had to find him with his signature aura.<sub> </sub>

    Each human and also creature of any kind has a signature aura that makes them identifiable from any other individual or animal. Not to mention that Scarlett and Leislet knew Acht''s signature aura very well¡­almost too well.

    That is the case because it didn''t even take them 2 minutes to find him. He wasying down unconscious and beside him was Tania who was unconscious too.

    "ACHT!!!" They shouted in synchronization. They seemed like two copies of the same person when it came to the boy in front of them.

    "Oh no, he''s really badly injured. He''s bleeding a lot too!" Leislet lifted him up and checked his pulse. His heart was beating but it was very faint and almost on the verge of stopping.

    She immediately made him drink the highest grade potion she had on her. Instantly, his disfigured limbs started rotating at a weird angle along with weird cracksing from his bones.

    Scarlett also checked Tania who was in very bad shape too. Her head was bleeding profusely from the hit she took when shended on the ground.

    However, if Acht didn''t hug her and protect her from a small portion of the impact, she would''ve died on the spot.

    "Is Acht ok?!" Scarlett asked after making sure the little girl''s bleeding stopped and she rxed considerably.

    "He''s barely alive. This potion can''t do much to his other injuries! All of his organs are destroyed or in a very bad condition!" Leislet said with a clear horrified look. She just checked his body and it was indeed worse than what she imagined. It was a miracle that he was alive.

    Her face was as pale as a ss of milk and droplets of sweat made her shine in the darkness.

    "Hurry up and call the medics!"

    Scarlett immediately stood up and went to bring them there as fast as she could.

    ''Come on Acht, hold on for a little bit longer. You can''t die here. Come on!'' She hugged him tightly.

    Her forehead touched his gently and a tear fell down her cheek. She didn''t know what would happen to her if he died. Will she be able to continue living? Will she be able to recover from it?

    She didn''t know the answer to that and she didn''t even want to think about it. All of her being prayed that he stays alive.

    "I love you so much, Acht." She muttered quietly to the boy who didn''t hear any of her melodic whispers.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 127 Chapter 127

    A few minutes passed with Leislet holding Acht in her hands in the most gentle way possible. She made sure not to press on his body too hard for him not to feel any more pain than what he was already going through.

    She even used her light element to warm up his body from the cold since his temperature fell down because of theck of blood cirction.

    Not only that, but she kept whispering affectionate words to his ear as she caressed his head softly. She looked like a mother taking care of her sick child.

    Finally, the medics came hurrying up. They had to separate into groups of two just to reach each and every contestant on time.

    "Hurry up!" Leislet said with clear anger. She had already waited far too long and Acht''s condition worsened even more.

    The two men nodded their heads hurriedly and then bent down to check the boy who was now on the verge of dying. From just one nce, a cold sweat ran down their spine as a huge frown appeared on their face.

    Leislet had a rough idea about how bad Acht''s condition was, but these specialists knew even more than that. In a nutshell, he should''ve been dead 10 times at this point with those injuries.

    "H-How could he stay alive¡­.No, we need to save him." The man shook his head as he started pulling out weird tools and machines out of his spatial ring.

    They were all very advanced things used for medical purposes and could even allow him to start operations on the spot.

    So, without further action, they started treating his body as fast as they could. They gave him constant doses of blood to restore some of the amount that he lost before.

    Leislet and Scarlett watched the whole thing without even looking to the side. They sighed in relief when they saw some progression and frowned greatly when something potentially wrong happened.

    It was a roller coaster of emotions for both of them.

    But, as they were standing there, a woman in a ck suit approached Leiselt.

    "What?" Leislet asked without looking.

    "Miss¡­you need to check this. It''s an urgent matter." The woman continued.

    "What? Don''t you see that I''m busy here?" Leislet asked.

    "Miss¡­It''s a really urgent matter. Something that is very weird." The woman spoke again.

    So, with a loud sigh, Leislet finally looked at the woman.

    "Fine, lead the way." She said as she eyed Scarlett onest time, garnering a nod from her side. It was more than enough for them to understand what the other meant with just a nce.

    The two then left the ce and went to the nearest medics that were trying to treat a contestant.

    Then, they went to another one and then another one after that. They passed each ce once at least.

    "Miss, don''t you see an anomaly here?" The woman said.

    "Hm?" Leiselt looked at her confusedly.<sub> </sub>

    Her mind wasn''t in a good state right now so she wasn''t able to perceive something she would have perceived in normal circumstances.

    "Each and every contestant we found didn''t have any pile of rocks on them. It is as if someone or something pushed the rocks away from them¡­manually." The woman said.

    Leiselt finally found what was wrong and fell into deep thoughts. She recalled what she saw on the screens and there was definitely nothing weird happening, except for some small movements here and there because of theck of bnce.

    "Is there any footage of what happened?" She asked.

    "For some odd reason, we found that all the cameras had been destroyed inside the maze. However, we still caught this footage before the camera was destroyed." The woman then approached Leislet and showed her the rey.

    In the footage, there was nothing worthy of attention going on. However, the next moment, a huge rock came out of nowhere, flying like a bullet, and hit the pile of rocks that was on top of one of the contestants, blowing it to pieces and releasing him.

    But simultaneously, another smaller rock came flying and hit the camera, destroying it instantly and announcing the end of the footage.

    ''How could that¡­don''t tell me.'' Leiselt had one single person in mind who could pull that off. Although it should be impossible for him to do that with his current powers, he was the only one to have that kind of ability.

    "I will deal with this matter. Thanks for telling me." She left those words and walked away.

    ''Sine when Acht could throw boulders that size with that sheer speed?'' she pondered seriously.

    She had been basically with Acht for a whole 3 months so she knew what he trained and what he did most of the day. She even nted some small cameras in his room to watch his ''progress'' but he busted them pretty quickly and she had to beg him for forgiveness for weeks.

    Anyway, she was well aware of his level of strength so seeing that happen made her question herself and the boy too.

    "I should not think about this stuff when he''s dancing between life and death. When hees back to me safely, we can discuss that." She muttered to herself with a reprimanding tone.

    When she reached the ce again, she found that the medics had already left to get something to transport him and also to check on other contestants.

    The only one left there was Scarlett who was sitting there with Acht on herp. Her face was hidden so Leislet couldn''t determine whether it was a sess or not.

    She even hesitated for a moment to ask. But, she still asked nevertheless.

    "Is he¡­ok?" Her voice sounded higher than usual even though she tried to keep it normal.

    Scarlett didn''t answer instantly, she just kept looking at Acht''s face dazedly.

    "Hey, I sai-"

    "He fell into aa. The medics don''t have any idea when he''s going to wake up or¡­if he''s going to even wake up." Scarlett said with the ttest and emotionless tone she had. It was as if she had lost a part of her soul with that news and so she couldn''t even show any sadness or shock.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 128 Chapter 128

    Leislet didn''tprehend the words at first since her mind ceased from working for a good 3 seconds. Normally, this should''ve been something she could expect considering his condition. But, all of that logic and standard process of thinking was thrown out of the window when she heard the cold truth.

    "W-What¡­"

    "Help carry that small girl," Scarlett said with the same t and cold tone.

    Then, she picked up Acht and stood up to walk away. Leiselt watched as she moved in the opposite direction without saying a single word or showing any kind of emotion.

    So, in the spur of the moment, she ran after her and yanked her shoulder to make the red-haired woman look back.

    "Are you not even moved¡­by¡­" Leislet was about to shout at her for being this emotionless and t about the situation.

    However, the moment she saw Leislet''s eyes, her voice got stuck in her throat. The only description she coulde up with to describe her eyes was¡­dead. Absolutely dead.

    They were akin to that of a dead animal, devoid of any kind of emotions whatsoever. Scarlett had reached a level of sadness that made her lose all kinds of emotions permanently or temporarily.

    Leislet couldn''t even keep her in that position as in the next second, Scarlett turned around again and started walking with Acht in her hands.

    The scene of her walking in that destruction with her loved one in her hand was as artistic as it was tragic and heart-wrenching. It could even be made as a portrait and put in the most prestigious of museums.

    A sad woman that epted fate.

    **************************

    A few days passed quietly, the convention was obviously stopped and people had to leave because of the tragedy that happened. Many contestants died in this ident and some survived albeit with very heavy injuries that they will never recover from.

    Of course, the high-status individuals who saw their children die didn''t ept it. This meant one thing. A war could potentially be looming on the horizon that could sweep away the whole world.

    In the midst of all of this, in a hospital room filled with high-tech medical machines surrounding a white bed, a young man was sleeping soundly with an oxygen mask attached to his mouth to make breathing easy.

    During all of that time, he didn''t open his eyes once. It was as if he had fallen into an eternal dream that he will never wake up from.

    Beside that bed sat one single woman, her fiery red hair was her most ring feature other than her outstanding beauty.

    She had her hand on the bed, caressing the boy''s hand. Her eyes stared dazedly at nowhere in particr.

    Then, the door opened and another woman entered the room.

    "How is he?" She asked as she basically threw herself on the couch opposite to the bed. She seemed to be quite exhausted and also in a very bad mood.

    Her question didn''t get any answer but it didn''t make her feel displeased since that was the case for thest week or so. Scarlett didn''t leave Acht''s side at all during this time.

    Aside from her being clearly in love with him, Leislet had seen another feeling mixed with those strong affectionate emotions. It was regret.

    She didn''t want to mention this to the woman since it wasn''t the time to do so. However, she couldn''t hold herself from asking.

    "Did you do something wrong for Acht before he went inside the maze? I recall that you stayed in that cafe to talk with him after we left." Leislet said.<sub> </sub>

    Predictably, Scarlett didn''t answer but her body made an unconscious reaction that Leislet saw clearly.

    "So you did do something wrong," Leislet muttered.

    "You know¡­Before, he entered the maze. He cut off our rtionship from one side." Scarlett finally said something.

    "It was all under my nose and I let it happen. I made him think that I was a scumbag of a person." Scarlett continued with her voice wavering with Each word.

    Then, as Leislet was about to say something, she sensed a weird feeling in the room that appeared out of nowhere. It was not some kind of wind or coldness, but a sense of a very imminent danger lurking around.

    However, she couldn''t discern where this danger wasing from. Nevertheless, she stood up and walked to the window to look around for any kind of abnormality.

    As she walked to the window, she asked Scarlett who seemed to also be alerted at the moment. She even pulled out her sword and stood closer to Acht.

    "Be ready. There is something wrong with this ce now." Her eyes grew sharper as she took a peak from the window. That''s when it happened¡­.

    *Swish*

    "Ugh!"

    It all happened in the split of a second, just barely enough for Leislet to sense anything. Her body moved on instinct as she bent to the side with all of her flexibility. But, even with that inhumanly fast reaction, the attack still hit her arm deeply, creating a big cut.

    She ignored the pain and looked back with gritted teeth. There stood a person wearing a ck rubber suit that made all of their body look t. The person also wore a mask that both of the girls knew very well.

    It was the mask of Nightingale. This fact alone threw them into a frenzy as they never expected them to attack in broad daylight.

    They tried to move in at the same time to attack but stopped when the person looked at both of them and said in a deep voice.

    "Sorry to interrupt, bitches!" The sentence was sarcastic as much as it was arrogant. It even showed disdain for two of the strongest women in the world. How arrogant!

    Then it added.

    "That boy¡­hand him over. The boss wants him."

    They both didn''t understand why Nightingale wanted Acht. However, no matter what reason they had. They will never get Acht from their hands.

    So, with angry expressions, they held their weapons tight.

    "The rough way it is." The person said in the same sarcastic tone.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 129 Chapter 129

    The three looked at each other with an intense re. The Nightingale member seemed to be not that wary of them even though they had the advantage of numbers.

    Then, in the split of a second, they moved at a lightning speed and tried to pass the two women sneakily to snatch Acht.

    Scarlett was ready for it even though she was barely able to see them move. So, she shed down with her sword with perfect timing to hit them right in the face. But what she heard instead was the screeching sound of two swords shing ferociously.

    They had pulled out a katana sword from their spatial ring and immediately parried the attack to the side with very swift movements.

    Then, the mysterious person shed back while still in the air. The sword moved like a string of light under the ring gaze of the sun.

    ''Fuck.'' Scarlett cursed as she had no other choice but to use her element. Her speed can''t simply follow this person.

    *Swish*

    In a moment, a strong heat wave hit the person followed by a huge fire st that almost cooked them alive. So, to avoid such a horrible oue, they clicked their tongue and jumped back to make the distance.

    This exchange didn''t take one and a half seconds to happen, it was so overwhelmingly fast that it might appear to normal people as nothing but shes of light.

    ''They are really fast. I can''t follow up.'' Scarlett thought as she looked at the fire in her hand. Her element, in simrity with the color of her hair, was fire. It wasn''t one of the strongest elements in the world but she was able to make it very strong with hard training and smart ideas.

    People thought that fire could only be used in a near-range attack but Scarlett had discovered on her own that she could use it as a long-range attack with fireballs and other techniques.

    She then looked at Leislet who didn''t move during this time. It wasn''t that she was stunned or shocked but it seemed that she had something in mind. Their eyes coincidentally aligned and they shared their thoughts.

    For a split second, the mysterious person saw an opening and tried to exploit it, so they targeted Leislet since she was the slowest to move out of the two.

    *Swish*

    Without any hesitation, the masked person closed the distance between them and Leislet in less than a second. They made sure that Leislet wasn''t able to react in time. However, they miscalcted something.

    The moment they were about to sh horizontally, intending to cut the woman in half, a blinding light attacked their eyes and made them lose sight for a split second.

    Leislet saw that moment and immediately grabbed the person by the head and smashed them on the wall.

    *BOOM*

    The wall broke and a huge hole was created in the building. The Nightingale member was thrown out of the window. They were on the 29th floor so it was quite the high fall for anyone. Luckily, they were still in Mystic Soul City so the streets were empty and there was no one that would get harmed.

    "This won''t kill them. We need to hurry up!" She said as she dissipated the light that she created from her hand.

    It was an attack she prepared during the confrontation between Scarlett and the mysterious person.

    Then, she feigned ignorance and left herself open for an attack before turning the table on them when it was the right time. It was all a very smart n from her side.

    The two then called out for a security guard they had outside and made sure that he was guarding Acht well until they returned. It was dangerous to leave him there alone but it was even more dangerous if the mysterious Nightingale member was left alone. They had to deal with them.

    After reaching the entrance to the hospital, they looked around and didn''t find the person. There was a sizable crack in the street where they should''ve fallen but there was no trace of them.<sub> </sub>

    "Dammit! They ran away!" Leislet cursed as she walked out even further to check the surroundings.

    As for Scarlett, she immediately closed her eyes and started what seemed like a meditation session.

    "I found them." She said after a few seconds.

    "What? How?"

    "Don''t ask now and follow me!" She then sted through the street in a certain direction followed by Leislet.

    They didn''t know why this person was going in that direction but they didn''t care at all. They had already called all the hunters that were left in the city toe and help them.

    Luckily, there were a lot of strong individuals left in the city since they were guarding the most important item in the world ''The Midnight Song''.

    p That sword was still inside the city and under very heavy security 24/7. They were preparing for transporting it but it was a very detailed n that needed time to be perfected.</anda>

    The two passed one street after the other, seemingly going in no particr direction.

    However, they soon stopped in front of a dead end. It was a huge wall that closed a street after going under construction and renewal but ended up being closed forever.

    Scarlett tried to sense their presence again but ended up failing. She clenched her teeth until they started making weird noises and punched the wall in frustration.

    "That fucking bastard!" She cursed and shouted to vent off her anger.

    "We need to go back. They might have another trick up their sleeve." Leislet said.

    "But¡­" Scarlett tried to retort but ended up being speechless.

    "They won''t give up on Acht. Didn''t you hear what they said? ''The boss wants him''. If the true leader of Nightingale really wants Acht then this is a very important matter. We can even exploit it."

    "I guess¡­you are indeed right. My apologies. I lost my temper there."

    Leislet heard her meek voice and couldn''t hold herughter.

    "W-What?"

    "You are really childish sometimes." She replied with an amused tone.

    "I am not childish!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 130 Chapter 130

    "So, how should we go about this?" A man asked inside a quiet room filled with people. They were all sitting around a big table looking at the man in the middle who had a huge frown on his face.

    The question he asked was directed to all the people present so it took them some time to answer. Then, a person raised their hand. It was one of the hunters assigned for this mission.

    The man nodded his head as a sign to allow him to speak.

    "I think we should put the Midnight Song in a spatial ring and move it out of the city." The man said.

    Some of them nodded their heads at his proposal but others didn''t like it that much.

    "But, Nightingale probably can detect the sword inside the spatial ring and attack the transporter." A woman interrupted.

    "We can just make multiple people move out of the city in different directions with each one of them having a spatial ring. Then, we could confuse them." The man answered quickly.

    The others watched this exchange for some time. The first one to speak was Leislet who has been quiet the whole time.

    "I don''t think that will work either. They aren''t stupid enough to get confused by such a cheap trick. Our only way to transport it is to teleport the sword out of the city to the nearest point in Lagradon. However, the question is: how should we do that?" Leislet said, garnering nods of understanding from everyone.

    They all seemed to be keen on the idea. But, they were also lost on how to go about doing this n.

    The man at the main seat seemed to have a good idea. But, he stopped himself from talking at thest second.

    "I do have an idea. But, I won''t tell everybody here." He said.

    They all felt confused so he continued.

    "As you know. We don''t have any information about Nightingale¡­including their facial features. So, one of them could be here with us and we wouldn''t know." He said with a sharp tone.

    His words made the atmosphere grow tenser as everyone eyed each other with worried looks. Their trust in each other, especially the hunters that were assigned for the mission, was at its all-time low. They could barely even tolerate the existence of the others around them.

    "So, I will be the one to decide which of you will know how the mission will go. All you need to do is get ready for tomorrow."

    He then stood up and walked to the door. He stopped when he opened it and said.

    "I want you to do your best. We must never let them get the Midnight Song. Not on our corpses!" Then, he left the room, along with a confused yet determined people who were ready for the mission.

    **************************

    The next day, inside a secret room in an unknown ce. There stood two people.<sub> </sub>

    "The Midnight song. It''s so beautiful." Leislet said.

    Her eyes were stuck on a ck sword that was floating inside a ss container.

    Its shiny de and beautifully fabricated hilt made it even more mesmerizing than seeing it on TV. It wasn''t the most beautiful sword in the world for no reason.

    She then looked at the man beside her who led the meeting yesterday. He was the supervisor assigned by the Mystic Soul City government and also the other kingdoms to be the one responsible for transporting the sword and protecting it so it was not that far-fetched to call him trustworthy. He even had more higher authority in this matter than Leislet herself.

    They were there to get the Sword out and officially start the mission. There were tens of people waiting outside, guarding the ce. Even an insect was not allowed to enter this ce. That''s how much they were careful about this mission.

    "Are you sure about what you''re about to do?" She asked the man.

    "Yes. There is no turning back now. It is now or never."

    Then, he tapped the password to open the ss container. The sword finally was out of its safe ce and ready to be transported.

    He lifted it up and put it in another container that was prepared especially for this.

    Leislet watched this happen deep in her heart. She imagined how Acht could''ve been the one to wield it had that disaster not happened.

    ''I hope he wakes up soon.'' She prayed with all of her being for that to happen. It will be the happiest thing she will experience in her life.

    The two then lifted a new container and walked out of this high-security prison where the sword was put. They had to pass multiple thick and sturdy doors, putting a different code each time they reached a door for it to open.

    Finally, after a few minutes, they reached the exit and we were finally outside. People watched them with deep interest. Especially the thing in their hands.

    They then walked quickly to the truck that was ready for moving at any time. The truck had one of the strongest defensive mechanisms created by technology. It could evenunch missiles that could follow their target and could even turn a building into a pile of rubble easily.

    Not to mention the fact that it was also basically impossible to prate without hitting it with something equivalent in power to a nuke attack. There were also 30 cars waiting behind the truck. This was the team that was responsible for transporting the sword to the nearest teleportation portal which was 1km away from where they stood at the moment.

    After putting it inside the truck, Leislet left the truck and went to a rather bigger car standing nearby. It was an ambnce responsible for transporting another important thing¡­or to be more precise, an important person.

    ''I won''t hand them Acht. Even if they kill me. I will still haunt them till the end of the world.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 131 Chapter 131

    After making sure that everyone was ready, the group embarked on the journey to the portal. A long string of cars surrounding a truck could be seen moving at a fast speed to the center of the city. This kind of trip will take around 3 to 4 minutes if they were able to reach that ce without any problems or hindrances.

    Leislet along with Scarlett were sitting in the car closest to the ambnce where Acht was. As for Tania, she was still in aa but she was transported out of the city. Her father seemed to be way too worried for him to leave her there so he decided to put her in one of the hospitals in his kingdom.

    Leislet and Scarlett kept an eye on every detail that passed by as the car moved. Whether it was a piece of paper flying in the wind, an insect flying eerily close to the car, or even the smell of the air. They are so alert that somehow they couldn''t feel anything else around them except for that.

    Seconds passed and the group was getting closer and closer to the gate. So far, nothing bad happened and that was something that didn''t make Leislet any less worried.

    She was expecting a sneak attack that will take them by surprise and ruin the n. However, nothing of that sort happened.

    A few more minutes passed and they were finally in front of the portal. It was a giant one capable of transporting tens of people at a time. It was also considered the biggest transportation portal in the whole Lower World.

    The problem is that there were some stairs that needed to be climbed which were something impossible for a truck to do without risking falling down.

    So, Leislet and the other hunters get out of their cars to secure the sword as it gets transported.

    There were also a few more hunters left behind just in case of any problems.

    ''Ahh, this is finally over. I want to go get a drink after this.'' one of the hunters who was A-Ranked thought to himself. He didn''t sleep for more than two days because of this mission so he was quite tired and also bored. Guarding a sword wasn''t something enjoyable at all.

    "Hm?" As he was trying to fire a cigarette, he heard a small sounding from a building nearby.

    He looked at the building with confused eyes. He thought it was nothing but his mind ying tricks on him but he still held the bow in his hand tightly just in case.

    Then, he continued smoking his cigarette as he watched the others move out the sword.

    *TICK*

    The sound came back again from the same building and also from another building. So, he looked at it again warily and was about to tell the others. That''s when it happened.

    *CRACK*

    A loud cracking noise followed by the sound of ss breaking and falling took over the area. They all looked with shock at the scene of hundreds of windows around them breaking seemingly with stimulus.

    "Trick or Treat~ Trick or Treat~ Give us something good to it~ if you don''t~ we don''t care~ we will still put red ants in your hair~"

    A loud song,ing from the robotic voices of hundreds and hundreds of dolls standing in each and every window of these buildings. They were all looking like kids in Halloween costumes and holding a basket that had the shape of a pumpkin.

    "What¡­the¡­fuck!" Leislet muttered as she immediately looked at everyone and shouted.

    "MOVE NOW!!!!"<sub> </sub>

    The others woke up from their stupor and continued carrying the sword as the rest of them guarded the sword while watching this crazy show that was happening.

    They were everywhere, looking down on them while chanting this song like a cursed choir. It was all spine-chilling, far beyond what they expected.

    Then as they sang this song, they started stepping forward and falling down the windows. In a moment, the sky was filled with dollsing down like heavy rain.

    The hunters didn''t know what to do in this situation except for trying to attack them. So, using all of their powers, they sent a barrage of attacks at the uing things.

    But, that action proved to be the biggest mistake they could have evermitted.

    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM*

    A chain of explosions colored the skies with a weird red color. No one could even think properly for a proper second as they watched the doom fall down on them.

    The moment an attack connected with a doll, a huge explosion the size of a small building shook the sky, making the earth tremble.

    "Ughh!!!!" Sounds of screams of pain echoed in the street as hunters were caught in the explosions and sent flying like a bunch of leaves getting thrown around by a raging storm.

    Leislet was somehow slightly farther away from themotion so she was able to react fast and pull the sword along with her to a safer area.

    She then looked at Scarlett who was also close to her.

    "We need to reach Acht before they find him!!! I will deal with this sword and you go get him!!" She said in a hurry.

    ''Fuck, this is something that I didn''t expect! We are doomed!''

    She then shouted to everyone, infusing soul force into her voice to make it overwhelm the chaos that was ensuing.

    "Don''t hit those dolls!"

    Everyone halted their frenzy escape when they heard the domineering voice of the hunter association president. They were still not in a normal state to think properly because of the shock so her confident words made them calm down considerably.

    Even though they had destroyed many of the dolls, many morended on the ground and stood up again. With the same smile on their face and the same empty eyes, they continued singing as they approached the hunters like an army of destruction.

    "Trick or Treat~ Trick or Treat~ Give us something good to it~ if you don''t~ we don''t care~ we will still put red ants in your hair~"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 132 Chapter 132

    In a matter of seconds, an army of explosive dolls surrounded the whole group. They had already reached the thousands so they had already covered every corner of the street and kept advancing closer and closer to them.

    They had already stopped hitting them so as to not make another chain of explosions that could kill more of them. As of now, two had already died because they were close to the explosion when it happened.

    Leislet held the capsule with the sword inside tightly as she ran to the tform where the portal is. She didn''t intend to let Nightingale get the sword no matter what.

    There was a distance of a few tens of meters but because of the sheer number of dolls that kepting towards her, it made her speed a lot slower.

    Then, as she was trying to avoid a doll that appeared to her side. A high-pitched sound alerted her senses.

    "Shit!"

    *BOOOM*

    One of the dolls came too close and was able to take Leislet by surprise as an explosion happened almost next to her.

    "UGGGGGGHHH!"

    The explosion made her jump back a big distance. She was able to minimize the damage from the attack as much as she could but she still sustained some burns because of the explosion. Her left arm was the most damaged one.

    She tried to move it just to make sure it was still functioning. Luckily, except for the pain, it was still moving properly. She then looked at the hordes of dolls that were now targeting her deliberately. It seemed that they were controlled by someone to make sure they attack the people he or she wants them to attack.

    Her light element was also useless against these creatures since they are not monsters or living beings for that matter.

    So, as she was getting cornered slowly but surely, help came for her.

    The mission supervisor jumped out of nowhere andnded on the ground like some kind of superhero, creating a shockwave that pushed the dolls away without destroying them.

    His element was sound so he was able to create strong high-frequency sounds as a form of attack.

    "You can move! I will cover for you!" He shouted loudly as he pushed another group of dolls.

    Leislet nodded gratefully and used the opportunity to run straight towards the portal. There were only 10 meters left for her and she could see the end. If she could just secure the sword, everything else will be easier.

    But, it proved not to be that easy at all as the moment she took a step on the tform''s first staircase, a chilling feeling ran through her spine as she felt a sense of danger strong enough to make her freeze in her ceing from upstairs.

    She didn''t dare to look up for a second as her face paled and her eyes widened. But, she soon gathered the courage to look up. However, there was nothing there. No person, no doll, or even any kind of soul energy.

    It was just like how she saw it a few seconds ago. But, even with that, she couldn''t move her body at all.

    ''This feeling¡­something gravely wrong is happening but I can''t wrap my head around it.''

    She saw how the other hunters were struggling with the dolls, the asional sound of explosions apanied by the screams of pain caused by it.

    They were wall fighting with all their might to stay alive and end this mission. But, she felt as if all of this was nothing but a small part of the bigger picture. A scheme that they were walking straight to without knowing.<sub> </sub>

    ''What should I do? Thinke on think!'' She racked her mind trying to find what was wrong.

    Then, it clicked with her. Her pale face soon turned into a small smile. It was a smile of mockery and also relief at the fact that she discovered the anomaly.

    She then retreated slowly until she was a few meters away from the tform.

    *Swish*

    After that, just like a crazy person who lost his mind, she charged toward the closest building to her. Some saw her weird action and almost shouted in confusion.

    They thought she had lost her mind because of the crazy situation they were in. But, what they saw next destroyed all of those thoughts immediately.

    Leislet had run head first into the wall, but instead of a loud impact, she passed through the wall without even touching it. As if the wall was an illusion.

    Everyone had to rub their eyes multiple times to make sure they weren''t going crazy too.

    As for Leislet, she smiled widely when she saw that her theory was right.

    "All of this¡­was a fucking illusion!" She shouted loudly.

    Then, she immediately called for all of the hunters toe with her. They had been fighting inside an illusion domain created by some kind of power.

    They probably recreated the same street where the portal should''ve been just to trick them and make them fall into that trap.

    The danger she felt when she was on top of the tform was probably the trap they prepared to make her give them the sword without even knowing it.

    After that, everyone ran to the buildings hurriedly. Leislet saw as Scarlett also came with the whole ambnce behind her.

    Leislet walked to the ambnce to check on him as quickly as she could. If this was all an illusion then the chances that they might''ve taken Acht without them knowing is not impossible.

    "Fuuh, he''s here." She breathed a sigh of relief at that fact and then focused on where they were at the moment.

    Scarlett also seemed to be trying to determine their exact location in the city.

    As they were looking around, suddenly, without even a sound or an attack.

    *Drop* *Drop* *Drop* *Drop*

    The sound of bodies falling down to the ground reached their ears. They turned around and much to their shock, everyone except both of them was nowying on the ground unconscious.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 133 Chapter 133

    In a moment, a sea of humans had turned into a deste ce filled with corpses. Or to be more precise, unconscious humans. It was as if they had all lost strength in their bodies and sumbed to fatigue.

    "Scarlett, did you see anything?" Leislet asked with a very low tone to keep things calm and also to make sure she wasn''t going to trigger another thing.

    "No. It all happened in a moment. I couldn''t even see if there was actually anything that made them fall unconscious." The red-haired girl answered with a thoughtful look.

    She was also confused, but most importantly worried about this situation. They were now only two against whoever was ying these sick jokes on them.

    Not only that, but there was also Acht who was someone they needed to protect.

    In a nutshell, the situation was really bad and disadvantageous to them.

    "First, let''s get ou-"

    *Swish*

    ''A sneak attack!'' they both thought and jumped as far away as possible.

    Instantly, a huge explosion urred where they stood that made a huge air wave that made their hair and clothes tter.

    "Who''s there?!" Leislet shouted.

    She was extremely nervous since this was not ideal at all. They were now slightly farther away from the ambnce.

    "Tst, tst¡­We can''t let you run, can we?" A voice spoke from behind the screen of smoke. It was the same deep, hoarse and inhuman voice they hear from every Nightingale member.

    "You fucking idiot. Cough, cough, you threw it on me on purpose didn''t you?!" Another one said with clear irritation in their voice.

    "Now is not the time to argue. Let''s get the kid and the sword and leave." The other responded.

    "Don''t you fucking dare do it again or I will make you hug your own head for sleep."

    "I want to see you try. But, not now."

    Leislet and Scarlett watched this exchange with wired looks. They didn''t know what to do in such a situation where they were treated like air basically.

    So, they started searching for loopholes they could exploit to escape.

    "Sorry for the waiting. Mypanion here is a stupid fuc-"

    *Swish*

    Before the man could evenplete the word, a sword moved at the speed of light and stopped a millimeter away from his neck. It was so fast that no human eye could follow it.

    "Say that again."

    However, the other person didn''t seem to be that scared or even distressed. He just continued talking.

    "My ''Companion'' here is a little bit hot-blooded. Anyway¡­"

    He seemed to gaze at hispanion as the other one released his sword and put it back in its hilt.

    The two then started approaching Leislet and Scarlett slowly. Their masks seemed to shine ominously as their aura kept pressuring both of them.

    "You guys really tried so hard. You even broke our firstyer of illusion. That''s impressive."

    *p* *p* *p*

    The masked person started pping sarcastically.

    Both of the women heard his words and could barely hold their calm faces.

    ''Firstyer?! So there are multipleyers!''<sub> </sub>

    They had thought that if they escaped that illusion it would be over but it turned out that they were in an illusion inside an illusion that could also be inside another illusion. It was like an endless illusion domain that they could never escape from.

    "Now, let me give you an offer since the boss doesn''t like unnecessary deaths."

    The person then pointed at the ambnce and said,

    "Give us the kid and the sword and we will let you get out of here alive. We won''t touch anything else. How about it? Isn''t it amazing?"

    The person said with a chuckle. They couldn''t tell whether they were getting mocked or not. Nevertheless, the answer to his offer was already clear before he could even say it.

    Before they could answer, however, the person continued.

    "I already know your answer. But, we ain''t getting out of here without both of them. Especially that boy, the boss told us to get him no matter what. So, sorry for being rough."

    The person then vanished like mist. Leislet didn''t even see how he moved at all.

    ''Dammit! Where did he go?!''

    She clicked her tongue as she looked left and right, searching for his traces.

    "I''m down here." The person suddenly spoke.

    Leislet didn''t wait to check if he was really under her or not as she immediately smashed down with her hand.

    Physical attacks weren''t her strong points but they were still pretty destructive when she used them.

    *BOOOOM*

    The ground cracked like a biscuit as her hand made contact with it. But, unfortunately, the Nightingale member wasn''t there. She was sure he appeared in that ce but she wasn''t sure how.

    ''Could this be another illusion?'' She thought as she stood up quickly.

    "My bad. I made a mistake. I am here not there." The person spoke basically a few inches away from Leislet who turned around with her leg in the air to strike him.

    But, again, she didn''t hit anything. He was genuinely toying with her as if she was a toddler.

    "Fuck." She cursed.

    ''Don''t lose your temper, Leislet. He wants you to do it.''

    She took a deep breath and calmed herself. For the sake of Acht and for the sake of this mission, she needed to keep herposure.

    "Why don''t you fight me head-on? Or are you really that scared of me?" She said with a chuckle.

    Scarlett saw how Leislet was doing and then turned her head to the other member.

    "Last time, you ran away like a coward. Are you gonna do that again today?" Scarlett scoffed calmly.

    Her words were clearly meant to provoke the other and it could''ve been avoided easily. But¡­

    "What the fuck did you say?!"

    "Oh, nothing. Mr. Coward." She replied.

    "...I will fucking kill you!"

    They then pulled out their katana and dashed toward Scarlett like a lightning bolt intending to slice her to pieces.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 134 Chapter 134

    The speed at which they moved was beyond what any human could even imagine. It was just like seeing a flickering image that only appeared in one position for a tenth of a second before disappearing and reappearing in another location almost instantly.

    Scarlett was not capable of following their silhouette but she was able to rely on her senses to fight. So, without any hesitation, she ignited a fire ember in her hand and pointed it in the direction she predicted it would appear from.

    Then, she fueled that me and sted it, creating a strong me wave the size of her body.

    The me flew a few tens of meters and then dissipated without hitting anything.

    *SWISH*

    Almost at the same time, the Nightingale member appeared behind her with the katana making an arc in the sky to slice her horizontally.

    *Cling*

    Scarlett didn''t even think about turning to face them since it was basically lethal. So, she grabbed her sword and put it behind her back.

    The clinging sound of the two swords shing violently like two tidal waves echoed in the streets.

    Then, Scarlett jumped in the air with a backflip and threw multiple fireballs at them.

    *Swish* *Swish* *Swish*

    The balls kept hitting the street as they followed the person''s

    trace, leaving behind charcoal ck spots.

    *ZZZZ*

    As shended on the ground, she heard the sound of electricitying from ahead of her. When she looked up, she found the other person charging a lightning attack in their hand as they charged at her quickly.

    She was already aware that this person was a lightning element user. They were quite rare since this element was very strong.

    It was one of the closest elements in terms of power to the lost elements, just falling short because, in the long run, it can''t evolve much in contrast to the lost elements that could evolve constantly and create new things for the user to try.

    The attack got chargedpletely in a matter of moments before it was sted towards her.

    "Fuck." Scarlett cursed as she jumped in the air.

    The lightning attack hit the spot where she stood previously and created a hole in the ground.

    ''I have to end this quickly.'' Scarlett thought to herself.

    Keeping this fight for long is very disadvantageous to her for many reasons. The main being Acht who can''t stay in that ambnce for long. It was prepared to hold him in there for a few hours at most. She still had a lot of time but she didn''t want to y her cards like that.

    So, she pulled out her sword and touched the de with her hand, tracing its shiny steel slowly. Her hand turned bright red as she left a trace of me on the de.

    Then, that trace of mes grew bigger and bigger, covering the whole sword in a matter of seconds.

    "Haaaaaahhhhhh!!" She shouted as she aimed at her enemy with her sword.

    *BOOOOOOMMM*<sub> </sub>

    The moment her sword made the impact, a hexagon-like chain of mes dispersed around her, creating even more destructive power that rendered the street into an inferno of death.

    She then stood up in the middle of this sea of mes with her cold gaze. She looked like a goddess of fire standing in the middle of her own domain.

    "They dodged it. Fuck." she muttered quietly.

    She looked around her, searching for the enemy. They probably slipped through the waves of me that were still raging around and burning whatever they found in their way.

    Meanwhile, Leislet, who was not that far away, was also having a deadly fight of her own. The other member of Nightingale who seemed to be using some kind of illusion element. They kept appearing and vanishing like mist. Whether it was walls, streets, or even a lightbulb, they could attack from any angle at any time.

    "Hah¡­This is not good." She muttered as she avoided another hit from a dagger that they threw at her from somewhere.

    She couldn''t detect their presence until they appeared so that gave her a small margin of time to react properly to it.

    So, she had no other choice but to keep dodging and dodging until she found an opportunity to attack too.

    "You really can''t attack what you can''t see. So why the long wait?" The person asked again from an eerily close distance to her. They kept doing that continuously for the past few minutes. It was very effective to slowly destroy the spirit of the opponent and make them lose the will to fight by being constantly close to them.

    This, however, didn''t seem to be working against Leislet who kept herself calm and waited for her opportunity to attack him like a patient predator.

    *BOOOOOMMMM*

    The moment the explosion caused by the attacking from Scarlett''s sword reached her ear, she unconsciously looked there. This was her biggest mistake so far.

    *Swish*

    "Ugh!!!!" A strong pain in her back followed by a loud impact made her mind stop working for a second.

    She had been sent flying and hit a rough surface that knocked the breath out of her body.

    "See, any small mistakes could make you bear huge consequences. Isn''t this something you should be aware of, Mrs. Hunter Association Pr¨¦sident?"

    Then, they grabbed her head and threw her again, hitting another wall strongly.

    The attacks didn''t stop, as they sent a barrage of daggers after Leislet.

    ''This should be the end. Time to finish her off.'' The enemy thought as they gazed at the other fight happening.

    It seemed that theirpanion was still struggling with Scarlett since the fight was still ongoing. They could see from not so far away, the hexagons made out of fire that kept appearing and disappearing every now and then. It didn''t need a genius to know who was at an advantage.

    Suddenly, before they could even look back. A blinding light assaulted their eyes as they felt a burning pain take over their senses.

    "See, any small mistakes could make you bear huge consequences. Isn''t this something you should be aware of, Mr. Nightingale member?" Leislet repeated the same words for them with clear mockery in her tone.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 135 Chapter 135

    Leislet walked out of the rubble caused by her hard impact. She didn''t get a heavy injury because of it but there were still some scratches on her perfect body that stopped bleeding in less than a second.

    Her eyes didn''t seem agitated at all even though she was clearly in a disadvantageous situation that could be her end at any time.

    However, she had finally found a way to counterattack this enemy. She was basically in his domain so the best thing to do is to make him struggle in this ce so that they genuinely be on equal footing.

    The Nightingale member gritted his teeth, seeing her like that, he knew that something was different. She had already hit him because of a small mistake he made during the fight.

    ''Did she discover something?'' They tried to read her mind with a strong re that could make anyone shudder in fear and back away.

    As they were trying to figure out the reason for this inexplicable uneasiness, Leislet suddenly dashed towards them like a wind storm.

    Her speed was fast but it didn''t take the enemy by surprise as they were already aware of her physical capabilities.

    So, they did what they had been doing since the fight started and that is to try and use the illusion realm they created to vanish and sneak attack.

    But, before they could even do anything. A blinding light attacked their pupils and rendered them vulnerable.

    *Swish*

    The moment they regained their ability to see to some extent, a sharp paining from the stomach made them blurt out a shrill of pain.

    The attack sent them flying and hit another wall, making the pain even more intense than before.

    "You know¡­" Leislet spoke to the enemy as she approached them slowly.

    "I have always tolerated your existence in this world. In fact, I found that your goal as much as it was idealistic was actually quite noble. You wanted to stop the rotting powerhouses from bing even stronger and restore peace to this world and to all weak and vulnerable people."

    Then, her calm look turned into a re that resemble that of a devil as she continued.

    "However, the moment you attacked this ce and killed innocent contestants and even harmed Acht. You all had already put yourself on my cklist. I swear on the name of my loved ones, if Acht doesn''t wake up or suffer any kind of setback after he wakes up, I will make sure that you will go through the seven hells and back for all eternity."

    Her threatening words along with her explosive aura were more than enough to scare any individual, however, her words made the enemyugh.

    Instead of feeling threatened, they justughed loudly as if this was the funniest joke they ever heard.

    Leislet watched this and felt her anger rise to the roof. So, she used her light element again with even more intensity and then approached them and grabbed their head.

    Then, with a full body motion, she threw them like a baseball into a nearby car.

    She didn''t stop there as she followed them immediately and sent a kick to their stomach followed by a punch to the face.

    "Haaaaahhhh!!!" She shouted as she punched them again and again and again without stopping.

    For a good minute, the only sound that could be heard there was the sound of punches getting thrown continuously. She felt that her frustration over the fact that her beloved had been rendered into that state could not disappear until she beat the shit out of every one of them.

    "You fuckers!"

    *Punch*

    "Did all of that!"<sub> </sub>

    *Punch*

    "Acht had to suffer!"

    *Punch*

    "I will kill all of you! I will certainly kill all of you!!"

    *Punch* *Punch* *Punch*

    The mask that was covering the person''s face finally cracked and broke down. As she was about to make thest punch and reveal who this person was, a hand grabbed her arm tightly.

    She felt alerted at first as she nced behind her in a hurry.

    The moment she saw the one who stopped her, her heart stopped beating for a moment and her mind went nk.

    His slightly long beautiful midnight ck hair that reaches his neck and his unbelievably white face that resemble that of a snow princess. His eyes which were as ck as his hair that had that hint of coldness and elegant calmness in them. Even if she made a mistake in recognizing his face, she wouldn''t forget those eyes ever in her life.

    With a weird expression of shock coupled with deep happiness that sent a shiver down her spine, she tried to pronounce his name.

    "...Acht?"

    She tried to sound normal but ended up saying it with a high-pitched tone. She couldn''t hold her tears from falling down the moment she was able to fully recognize him.

    She then threw away the Nightingale member she was bearing up and jumped on Acht like a tiger, hugging him tightly.

    "Thank god¡­Thank god you¡­hick¡­woke up!" She murmured as she cried silently.

    She kept crying for almost 30 seconds until she discovered an anomaly. Usually, he would say something along the lines of ''could you stop hugging me?'' with an annoyed tone or something like that. But, since the moment he stopped her from punching the enemy, he didn''t say or do anything.

    So, with a weird look she tried to gaze at his eyes, however, what weed her was not a smile or even any kind of delight to see her again. The only thing she felt was a coldness in her stomach.

    "..Wha-"

    She looked down to check what was going on. Her eyes widened and her mind went into chaos when she saw a deep crimson color seeping out of her stomach like a fountain. The reason for that was a de that was deeply pushed into her abdomen.

    She couldn''t even muster the strength to talk as strong nausea attacked her and made her away before falling on Acht who held her body.

    She tried to take a deep breath before she could say anything. Then, with a shocked look that was still as chaotic as the emotions she was feeling at the moment, she asked.

    "...Why?"

    Then, she immediately lost consciousness.

    (A//N: Time for the real deal. Brace yourself since the real book starts from here :))

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 136 Chapter 136

    Acht looked at Leislet who was now unconscious with cold eyes, her blood had already tarnished his clothes and wet his body but he didn''t care at all. He just gently held her and put her down in the mostfortable position as if he was taking care of one of his most precious items.

    Then, he took out her spatial ring and put it on his finger. He didn''t want to take everything since he only took out the capsule with the Midnight song in it and then put the ring on Leislet''s chest gently.

    He inspected the capsule and the sword inside for a few moments before he put it in his spatial ring as if nothing happened.

    The blood was still oozing out of her stomach but it didn''t reach a lethal stage that would kill her. Her body was way too strong for this mere injury to kill her.

    Then, he shifted his eyes to the Nightingale member with a broken mask. He had already stood up and was also looking at Acht.

    "I suppose things went as nned. So, let me say this officially. Wee to the team, Acht." He said with fake courtesy.

    However, the only response he got was a cold re from Acht before he turned around and walked to the other side of the street where the fight was still ongoing.

    No one could know what he was thinking of, or what kind of feelings he had at the moment.

    His hollow figure d in white clothes meant for hospitalized people was a weird sight to see in all this destruction and chaos.

    It took him a few moments to reach there. He took a look at how the fight was going before he intercepted.

    *BOOOOMM*

    Scarlett was still in advantage at the moment since she kept following the enemy and striking with her sword like a meteor of mes. She had rendered the ce like hell. The temperature was also unbearable for any normal human.

    "Haaaaah!!"

    Another shout followed by a loud explosion shook the area violently. The mouse and cat fight was nowhere near being over.

    However, as if she sensed something weird, the red-haired beauty stopped her rampage and looked in a certain direction. There, she saw the silhouette of Acht who stood there motionless.

    She didn''t believe her eyes at first since she immediately rubbed them a few times.

    Then, with a delighted face filled with shock, she ran towards him like a raging bull. But her ignorant move opened up her defenses and the Nightingale member exploited it as they jumped at her trying to nt their sword in her back and kill her immediately.

    "Stop."

    Acht said and pointed his finger at Scarlett. The woman then was pushed a few tens of meters, making her avoid the uing sword.

    Seeing how their attack didn''t hit, they looked at Acht with a re that seemed to be capable of prating the mask and reaching him.

    "Why did you do that?" They asked with an extremely cold tone.

    "None of your business." The boy answered as he looked at Scarlett who had a whole different expression at the moment.

    She had already discovered Leislet who wasying down in a pool of her own blood not that far away. She also saw the Nightingale member she was fighting before standing near Acht.

    ''What is going on?!'' She couldn''t understand what was happening.<sub> </sub>

    Why was Acht standing with them? Why are they not attacking him? Why is he ignoring the fact that Leislet was potentially dying?

    All these questions kept filling up her mind like an endless torrent. So, she went with the easiest route to solve all of this. She wanted to shout at them for doing another trick on her like an illusion from before.

    But, the next words she heard ended every hope in her heart that this was not real.

    "I stabbed her," Acht said while eyeing Scarlett coldly. She had never seen that gaze from him even when he severed their rtionship not too long ago. It seemed distant, empty, and even inhuman to a point.

    "...What?" She managed to mutter through her teeth.

    "I stabbed her and I took the Midnight song. I will also leave with them. Goodbye"

    He then turned around, intending to leave without even a second thought. He didn''t even look at her twice.

    "W-Wait!! What''s going on?! What happened to you, Acht?!!" She asked as she tried to approach him but ended up stopping because of the other two.

    "I have already chosen my next goal. It''s none of your business what happened to me or what I did." He spoke without turning around.

    "No! This is not you! They must''ve manipted you!!! Yes, that''s the truth! You can''t do something like that!"

    "Are you an idiot? I said that it was my choice. Don''t dare to stop me!" He threatened with a loud tone.

    His words seemed to break her will as she fell down to the ground motionless, with her eyes widened to the extreme.

    "You deal with your own life and I will deal with mine. If our paths cross again, we are enemies."

    Then, with calm steps, he walked away along with the other two people to the tform.

    The moment he reached the steps, he heard the loud cries of Scarlett who kept weeping with her hands covering her face.

    But, not even that made him look back, he just stepped up the stairs as calmly as he could be.

    When he turned around, he saw the two members of Nightingale walking to his side. One of them was grumbling under their breath and the other was somehow happy for some reason.

    "Let''s go. I don''t want to stay here."

    He said to the two. The light of the portal soon lit up and engulfed all of them.

    After that, they all disappeared. Scarlett was a witness to this scene. She was still in disbelief at what happened. It was too quick, too sudden, and too unbelievable that she couldn''t think it was possible.

    "...Why? Hick¡­why?" She muttered continuously like a broken doll. A doll that had experienced fate in its cruelest forms.

    [VOLUME 3 END]

    (A//N: Damn, that was intense even for me. Thank you for reading this volume. It was enjoyable to write for me but it certainlycked a lot. I still have a lot to learn and improve. Anyway, I have one small request for my loyal readers. It might sound like a pity request but I really would be totally grateful if any of you could gift me a castle or higher. I never felt that feeling of getting a castle before and I hope you will grant my request. Until next time.)

 137 Chapter 137

    "What¡­is this ce?" Acht muttered with a dazed look. His surroundings were all d in darkness and filled with nothingness.

    He was floating in a sea of emptiness, a ce that he couldn''tprehend nor did he want toprehend. Every fiber of his body was at the mercy of this domain where even his mind ceased to work.

    Then, as he was floating there, trying to regain his vigor and move, a small ember of light shined not so far away from him. His surroundings made that ember of light even more strong and more pronounced than it actually was. Yet, this light kept getting closer and closer or to be more precise, increasing in size faster and faster.

    His mind didn''t try to question why this was here or why it was getting bigger and bigger by the second, it just made Acht believe that it was something good.

    And indeed it was, as the moment the light became very strong, a warm feeling engulfed Acht''s body filling his pores with a heavenly feeling that was so addictive to the point where it could make him want to stay there forever.

    "Let¡­me rest¡­for longer¡­" He muttered under his breath with a blissful look that tranted his feelings quite well.

    Unfortunately, his wish was not fulfilled since a few momentster, the warm feeling disappeared and he was submerged in the cold darkness again. He frowned slightly with the small energy he could muster and tried to speak again. What ended up happening, however, is that his body started moving on its own as if it was getting pulled into the middle of this domain of nothingness.

    Sadness crept into his heart like a torrent of water, destroying everything in its way and filling up every part of his heart to the brim.

    The body kept moving and moving for seemingly an eternity.

    Then, suddenly, he lost all feeling in this world and found himself eying a weird ceiling the next second.

    His senses were still numb but they started toe back to normal gradually. The first thing he heard when his ears could work again was the ticking sound of a heart rate machine that was not that far away from him.

    The other thing he felt the next moment was the warm nket tucked under him that kept himfortable. Then, he could finally look around and see where he was.

    ''Is¡­an ambnce?'' He thought with some difficulty.

    Then, he released himself from the mask of oxygen he was wearing and tried to wake up.

    "You have finally woken up, young man." A voice suddenly spoke to him from a distance of a few meters.

    He felt alert from this sudden call but he was still not in the shape to react properly so he just gazed at this neer with clear wariness.

    "I had to wait for a few hours here. But, it''s all worth it, isn''t it?" He continued.

    When Acht was able to clearly look at who seemed to be an old man, his eyes immediately widened with surprise. He knew that old man very well.

    He was the same old man who he met a few months ago when he first came to this world. He recalls how absurdly strong he was and how he could easily appear behind Acht without thetter feeling anything at all.

    "You¡­." Acht muttered with a husky voice.

    "Hahaha! You have finally remembered me. I was scared that you mightpletely forget me. Anyway, nice to meet you. My name is Lenny." The man said as he tapped his cane on the ground.

    "What''s this ce? Where-"

    "Shhh." Lenny hushed him with his cane and gestured for him to listen quietly to the outside.

    Acht didn''t understand the purpose but he still did what he was told to.

    Not that long after that, the sound of explosions of fire and swords shing coupled with the shouts of people reached his ear.<sub> </sub>

    He wanted to ask what was going on but the old man interrupted him again.

    "You hear that? Those are my subordinates fighting outside."

    "Subordinates?" Acht asked.

    "Yeah, subordinates. I''m not as simple as you think. Now, listen closely again."

    Acht listened again and he now could hear someone speaking. It wasn''t clear to him who it was at first but he was able to recognize them immediately.

    "Leislet?" He said.

    "Let me get to the point quickly, Acht. I don''t have much time and my subordinates don''t seem to be enjoying pretending to fight for that long either. I am the leader of a quite famous group."

    He then smiled slightly.

    "It''s called the Nightingale. Are you perhaps familiar with that name?"

    His words were like a bombshell dropped on Acht. He didn''t even know how to react for a split second before he immediately tried to pull out his sword.

    His mind was in shambles as he thought a million thoughts at the same time.

    ''Nightingale reader? This old man?! But, he never appeared in the book? What''s going on?''

    His mind worked like a tireless machine trying to figure out the situation. However, all he was capable of doing was trying to defend himself until Leislet or anyone else came and helped him out. Or so he thought.

    The man didn''t allow him to continue his frantic movements.

    "Wo Wo Wo! Calm down, young man. I am not here to fight. As I said when we first met, if I wanted to, I could''ve killed you at any moment whenever I wanted don''t try to start a useless fight." He said.

    "Then what do you want?" Acht asked coldly.

    "It''s simple. I want you to join Nightingale."

    "Huh? Why would I do that?"

    "Well, to be honest. You don''t have a choice here. If I wanted to, I could''ve kidnapped you easily. But, I want you to go with me willingly."

    Acht scoffed and responded.

    "You think I will agree to join Nightingale?"

    "As I said, you don''t have a choice here¡­if you want your and the two women''s well-being."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 138 Chapter 138

    Hearing his words, Acht''s aura erupted like a volcano, his cold eyes sharpened even more as he red at Lenny. He didn''t even wait for the other person to continue since he was already aware that he was being threatened.

    The old man didn''t seem to be that bothered with his reaction as if it was within his expectations, so he just leisurely sat there and spoke calmly.

    "You know, this ce that we are in right now is not the real world. It''s an illusion created by one of my subordinates to make it possible for us to finish our n."

    He then pointed his cane at Acht and continued.

    "I already know your powers and you are simply a treasure that will make Nightingale get a few steps closer to its goal. That''s why I had to use such cheap methods to get you. If you don''te with me, this ce along with you and the two women will go. Kaboom!"

    Lenny described his words with an arc of his cane that somehow made it even more chilling.

    "You dare!" Acht shouted as he grabbed his sword again.

    "Why don''t you think about it calmly? You can save your own life and the life of two other people that you know. You can even get the Midnight song as your personal weapon. All I want from you is to join my organization."

    Acht scoffed loudly.

    "You threaten me and then expect me to join you willingly. How hypocritical!" He said.

    "You see that as hypocritical and that''s fine. But, I, myself, see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I can''t miss. Oh, I also didn''t mention, you won''t be bound by the organization at all. You could do whatever you want whenever you want. I only want you to do one mission every once in a while."

    The old man exined patiently. He was trying with all his might to show the good side of his organization to the young boy.

    Acht fell silent for a while. He might''ve been incredibly angry at the fact that someone was indeed threatening him but he had to weigh his choices carefully as he knew very well that this old man would kill him without batting an eye.

    ''Dammit! I have no way of escaping this ce! I think there is no choice but to minimize it.''

    "I have one condition." Acht suddenly spoke.

    "Hoho. Do you think that you have the right to set conditions here?"

    "You might indeed be the one with the upper hand. But, if I end up refusing and you kill me, you will also sustain a big loss. It''s a ''once in a lifetime opportunity'' as you said."

    Acht''s words generated a loudugh from the old man who found it amusing how smart the boy was.

    "Fine. I''m in a good mood so I will listen to your condition."

    " My condition is that I can leave this organization after a certain p??riode without any consequences."

    The old man seemed to think about it for a moment before he answered with a nod.<sub> </sub>

    "That''s fair. How about 5 years?"

    "4 years," Acht replied almost immediately.

    "Fine, 4 years it is."

    He could''ve tried to reduce it even more but that could risk making the old man angry and potentially ending his life.

    Then, after ending their small talk, Lenny stood up and looked at Acht onest time.

    "Deal with your two friends and then take the teleportation portal with your two new teammates. We will meet again soon. Oh, onest thing. My and our other teammates'' identities are all top secret. Any kind of leaking for their identity and you won''t leave a second after that."

    He said before he did something that made Acht rub his eyes a few times. He didn''t just simply disappear using inhuman speed to get out before Acht could perceive anything. It was way weirder than that. The boy couldn''t even describe how it was.

    ''It''s as if he deleted his existence from this ce altogether.'' he thought with a confused look.

    Then, with a loud sigh, he listened to the explosions outside and braced himself for what he was going to do. He knew that talking with them and trying to reason with them is useless since he knew very well that they will do everything in their being to stop him and even potentially end up killing themselves.

    So, he decided to take a decisive decision.

    It was the worst one out of them all but it was the most effective one to end any kind of potential problems and conflicts between Leislet and Scarlett on one side and the Nightingale on the other side.

    Suddenly, a chuckle escaped his mouth. It was augh of mockery at something he didn''t understand. Maybe he wasughing at himself or at the stupid fate that kept ying with him like a dice.

    ''Since when did I even start to care about other people? What is happening to me?'' He pondered to himself.

    He had felt this change across the months he stayed there. He by no means became soft or emotional, but he started caring slightly for anyone he considered as a friend. They were all now people he cared about to a certain extent.

    It was something that might end up putting him in dangerous situations. However, he somehow didn''t hate that feeling, it made him feel more ''human'' in a sense. Except for Dia, he had never cared about someone else so it was a new sensation for him.

    Maybe if he was not involved in this matter, he would''ve ignored the two women and left them to die but the most likely oue is that he will make the same choice as before.

    After settling his mind somehow, he stood up, released himself from all the wires that linked him to the machines, and hundred his movement greatly and walked to the door of the ambnce.

    ''I have to end this matter altogether.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 139 Chapter 139

    The travel with a teleportation portal was quick like lightning, crossing thousands and even millions of miles in less than a second. It was one of the main reasons why this world is way better than earth.

    p It was simply ahead of its time because of the soul force that gave them these supernatural abilities and also cut short the time wasted on other unimportant things such as traveling for long distances. That''s why people were able to do things faster.</anda>

    Acht opened his eyes again after he made sure the teleportation was over. What assaulted his eyes was neither strong lights nor a shiny sun. Instead, he only saw a dark ce.

    He was somehow in the nighttime even though he was in broad daylight a few seconds ago.

    What he assumed at first when he came to this world was that it functioned like earth where there are time zones and different parts of the day in different ces at the same time. However, he soon discovered that it was not like that at all.

    The continents in this world are pretty much close to each other to the point where when the sun appears, they all see it at the same time which destroys any kind of time zone concept.

    So, assuming that fact wasn''t wrong, this ce should not be at night at all.

    However, he had already an answer to the reason for this darkness.

    "So this is Evernight." He muttered with a cold look.

    The city looked like Las Vegas from his previous life. A ce where all kinds of cruel sins and hidden entertainments are everywhere. A city where people could indulge themselves in all kinds of obscene things for the sake of enjoyment.

    He gazed at the city from this far and eyed the lightened streets filled with people walking back and forth.

    From one look, he could see casinos, hotels, brothels, and bars without even trying to search for them individually.

    The shiny lights of this city made the dark sky basically a decoration and nothing else since it was

    As he was inspecting the ce, one of the Nightingale members stepped up and said with a casual tone.

    "Wee to Evernight city. I hope you enjoy your stay here."

    "Stop talking like a fucking idiot and let''s go. The boss is waiting." The other answered as they started walking followed by Acht who also ignored the other one.

    They then found themselves in the streets of Evernight and the smell of all kinds of drinks and other bad things assaulted Acht''s nose.

    He was already aware of the origins of these smells as they were passing by a brothel. Acht could see hookers walking near the building trying to attract customers with their sexy clothes and beautiful bodies.

    But, he ignored them totally the next second since he didn''t care about such things with this small body of his.

    After walking for 15 minutes, they found themselves in front of a small door to a slightly small building in a corner of the city where not many people passed by.

    The building was small but it looked beautiful from the outside with a small sign that said ''Melody Of Dreams Bar'' right on top of the door.

    Acht didn''t follow the two people inside immediately as he kept looking around warily. But, he couldn''t sense any danger lurking around so he sighed quietly and entered the door.

    He then climbed the stairs to the second floor since there was basically no first floor at all.<sub> </sub>

    There, he found another door made out of wood that had a ss window in it.

    There was no other door so he entered that one without much thought.

    The moment the door opened, he heard the sound of a bell that seemingly was triggered by his action.

    Inside, he found himself in a slightlyrger room that looked like a normal bar found anywhere. It was slightly dim but there was enough light to see basically every part of the room clearly.

    Sets of chairs were aligned around a huge table made out of wood where the bartender works. A wall filled with all kinds of liquors and drinks was organized beautifully behind that table and all kinds of equipment for making cocktails.

    Soon enough, his eyesnded on the people in the room. There was one standing behind the bar, making drinks and three were sitting there seemingly waiting for the drink.

    They all didn''t wear masks so he could see their faces clearly.

    "Damn, this day was hectic as fuck. I had to deal with a lot of shit. Old man, hurry up with my drink!" Lein said with a grunt of clear displeasure.

    "Stopining, Lein. Or is getting your ass handled by that red-haired woman that annoying? Hahahahaha!" A man answered her with a loud chuckle, mocking her.

    "What the fuck did you say? That bitch didn''t even touch a strand of my hair. I could''ve killed her easily if I didn''t have to fight inside that stupid illusion domain that you created. Stupid fuck!"

    "Yeah! Yeah! Everything you say is right." He rolled his eyes.

    "Yo-"

    "That''s enough."

    The third man interrupted them loudly as he unleashed his aura. Acht almost felt himself suffocating because of it but he was able to handle the pressure quickly.

    ''Such a strong aura.'' He thought.

    "It''s not time to act like children. Now, shouldn''t you take care of the new guy? He''s been standing there for a while." He said as he took the drink from the old man''s hand and sipped from it.

    "Oh, yeah. Jack, you deal with him, I can''t be bothered." Lein said with a snort.

    She seemed to hate Acht because of their previous interaction. But, the weirder thing is that she doesn''t seem to remember him at all even though they have met previously, twice.

    "Pfft! You and yourzy ass! Anyway, you cane in, Acht. I will introduce you to the others." Jack said.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 140 Chapter 140

    The man named Jack stood up and walked toward me with a big smile.

    He seemed to be in his 20s with a slightly handsome face and a tall build. His clean shaved face had this wide smile that seemed to linger on his face for the most part of the day. He also ties his long hair into a messy bun.

    "Come on, big boy. Don''t stand there like a statue. Come inside and meet our family."

    "Who said we are family, idiot? I won''t ept a trash brother like you in my family." Lein said while tapping on the table urgently as she watched the old man make the cocktail she ordered.

    "Hahaha, my darling, Lein. If we were a family I would be your husband." He answered with a chuckle.

    "How about I slice your balls so we can see if you want to marry me or not?" She got her sword slightly out of the sheath before restoring it almost immediately.

    She then gazed at the door where Acht stood. Jack also looked at the door with the same serious gaze.

    "The boss is here, we should stop messing around," Jack said apprehensively.

    The other two also stopped talking.

    Then, the door opened and the old man Lenny came in casually, tapping with his cane on the ground.

    "Oh, you are all already here? I thought it would take longer."

    "Yes, boss," Jack said.

    "I should formally wee you, Acht. I hope you enjoy your stay."

    Acht ignored his weing and looked again at the door as someone else wasing inside too.

    The bell attached to the door rang again and a woman entered the ce.

    She wasn''t particrly beautiful as she had an average face with sses and a in look in general. She had a nk look on her face that didn''t seem to waver no matter what happens in front of her.

    But her most distinct feature is the huge hammer attached to her back. The hammer was so huge it took a good chunk of space from the room.

    But, somehow, she carried that 15-ton hammer as if it was nothing.

    "Oh, Kin. You finished the mission?" Lein asked.

    The girl named Kin nodded quietly and sat on the chair casually.

    "Where have we been? Oh, right. Let me show you around the ce until everyone is here and then when thest onees back we will introduce you to them."

    The two then entered another door at the back side of the bar. There, a new huge ce was somehow built.

    It was like a big hall the size of a castle.

    "Wee to our mansion. This is the ce where all members live their daily life. We have everything needed for a luxurious stay. Saunas, pools, and even an underground training capsule. You know how hard it is to find that shit?"

    Acht didn''t answer as he stared around disinterestedly.

    "Ehem. Anyway, let me show you your room." He said.

    Then, they walked upstairs to another floor and went to a room slightly far away in the corner.

    "This is your room from now on. I chose it myself. You can leave your luggage there and thene back to the bar."

    The man then turned around and walked back down.<sub> </sub>

    Acht didn''t dwindle much and walked inside. It was a neat room that wasn''t too big or too small.

    He then sat down on the bed with a loud sigh. He felt exhausted and wanted to sleep but he wasn''t in the mood to do so. His mind was in chaos and he felt himself being tense all the time.

    ''I need to calm down and deal with things as I always did. It''s not the first time I had to deal with stupid shit nor will it be thest.''

    He thenid down for a few minutes to calm down and organize his thoughts before he stood up again and left the room to go back to the bar.

    When he reached the door, he stopped his hand a few centimeters away from the handle as his body moved away from the door and hid his presence to listen quietly.

    "What the hell, boss? Why would you want a small, useless brat to join our team?"

    He heard the sound of a man talking to Lenny in a loud tone. He seemed to be thest member of Nightingale.

    "Stop it, Welz. You are talking to the boss so be fucking respectful." Another member interrupted.

    However, Welz didn''t stop.

    "No, Jack. I don''t know why a fucking unknown boy is joining us. He could even be a fucking spy."

    "The boss chose him so he can''t be a spy."

    "That''s why I am questioning the boss''s choice!" He said as he hit the table loudly.

    Then, as if a huge boulder was put on top of everyone''s shoulder.

    "Welz, why don''t you meet him first, and then you will know the reason why I chose him?" Lenny said with the calmest voice.

    Acht took a deep breath and then walked inside calmly. He didn''t want to show any kind of reaction so as to not make them feel suspicious.

    He immediately looked at Welz who somehow seemed to be even more pissed than he already was.

    But, Acht didn''t care much about him and just walked to the table casually.

    "One orange juice, please." He said to the old man behind the bar.

    "Right up."

    Lenny then spoke again.

    "Now that we are all here, let me introduce him. This boy is named Acht and he''s a Gravity element user."

    A bombshell was dropped like it was nothing from Lenny. Everyone stared widely at Acht who didn''t care and just sipped his orange juice.

    ''Stop staring too much, fuckers.''

    The first one to react was Jack who looked at Lenny like a broken doll and asked.

    "Boss, are you sure? We are talking about a legendary lost element here? This boy has it?"

    "I also didn''t believe it at first but it is the truth. He is a truly monstrous talent."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 141 Chapter 141

    The shock was too huge for all of them to handle properly. They all thought that Acht was just a small boy with potential and that was the main reason why he was chosen by Lenny. However, this idea was totally crushed when they found out his element.

    After a few seconds of shock, Jack walked closer to Acht and tapped on his shoulder lightly with a smile.

    "You are full of surprises, Ach. I never thought I would see a lost element user in my lifetime." He said with a chuckle.

    Lein and the other man that Acht still didn''t know his name had some kind of shocked reaction, albeit not as strong as the others.

    As for Welz, he gritted his teeth in frustration at the thought that he made an idiot out of himself. He thought that this small kid was nothing much but ended up swallowing his words.

    The only one with no reaction was Kin who didn''t even bother to look at Acht at all.

    "Then, now that we are clear about it. I hope you all could give him a warm welco-"

    "Not needed," Acht answered, cutting Lenny''s words short.

    The moment he said those words, the atmosphere in the ce tensed up and a cold feeling seeped into everyone''s hearts. They were talking casually a few moments ago and now it was as if they were at a funeral.

    Lein was the first to talk.

    "What did you say?" She asked as she unleashed her aura with pure anger.

    "Are you deaf? I said not fucking needed." Acht answered as he took another sip of his orange juice.

    "You are dead meat." She said coldly as she wanted to jump on him and shred him to pieces.

    But, much to everyone''s surprise, Lenny stopped Lein.

    "Sit down." He said with a calm yet threatening aura.

    "But, he-"

    "I said sit down." He repeated with a harsher tone.

    "He''s still new so he can''t ept us that quickly," Lenny said after a small sigh.

    "The most important thing is that he will be a part of the missions in the near future."

    Then, the silence fell down again on the room like a veil. Everyone had this tense expression on their face so they weren''t enjoying their stay here.

    So, to leave this stupid ce, Acht decided to go check out this eternal night city and see how it was. It just couldn''t only be made for degenerates, right?

    Jack was about to speak when he saw him leaving but refrained from that when he saw Lenny eyeing him.

    When he was finally out of the bar, Jack asked.

    "What if he ran away, boss?"

    "He won''t run away." He answered almost instantly.

    "How are you so sure?"

    "I know what his kind of people are like. He won''t leave until he ends our deal."

    Jack wanted to ask about this supposed ''deal'' he was talking about but he stopped himself. It was not worth it annoying the boss when he clearly seemed to know what he was doing.

    *************************<sub> </sub>

    Acht walked through the streets aimlessly. He had no particr direction he wanted to go to or even anything he wanted to do.

    However, walking through the dark streets while gazing at the beautiful sky on top of him made him calm down considerably. He felt this sense of freedom seeping through his body like a warm embrace.

    It was something that he didn''t know he needed until he felt it.

    <o>,m This city, as much as it was filthy, had this charm that Acht couldn''tpletely understand.</o>

    Then, as he looked down, he found a barber shop close by. It had a small sign made out of some kind of RGB light.

    It looked rather like a brothel than a barbershop. But, he nevertheless took a look inside and it seemed to be empty.

    ''I should probably get a haircut.'' He thought as he touched his messy hair.

    It had been long since his hair reached his neck and made him look like a beggar but he didn''t have time to cut it in all the chaos that was his life. It was even slightly obstructing his view from time to time which became annoying at some point.

    So, he walked to the door and entered the ce.

    His first impression was that it was a neat barber shop that could be found anywhere in the world.

    There was no one inside so he called for them.

    "Excuse me."

    Then, as if she got shocked, a woman came out running from another room with a clearly shocked face.

    Her breathing was erratic and her face was flushed red. She looked as if she was having a marathon before she came here.

    "H-Hello. Wee to my humble shop. How can I help you?" She asked as she heaved up and down rhythmically.

    "I want to cut my hair."

    "Yes, please sit down and I will take care of you."

    After sitting down and looking at his reflection in the mirror, the woman asked as she stood behind him.

    "How do you want it?"

    "I don''t know. I will ask you to cut it down however you see fit." He said.

    "I see. That''s fine." She said,

    Then, for the next 30 minutes, she washed his hair andbed it before she started cutting it down.

    However, at some point, her scissors that kept making small sounds a few moments ago suddenly stopped and her mind went nk.

    Acht, who had his eyes closed, felt the abnormality and opened his eyes to see what was going on. He thought that there might be some kind of dangerous person approaching him or just an unknown thug. It was all a part of his daily life after all.

    He looked around but saw nothing out of the usual so he checked the mirror in front of him. Immediately, the same reaction happened to him just like the barber.

    ''What in the actual fuck?!''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 142 Chapter 142

    Acht couldn''t believe what he saw in the mirror at all. Beautiful big eyes that could mesmerize anyone with just a nce, a small and perfectly shown face that was as white as snow and as smooth as a polished diamond.

    His beautiful and lustrous ck hair messily covered his perfect forehead and created a small shade on his face.

    He was aware that he was certainly good-looking even by this world''s standard where beauty became more frequent because of soul force. However, his appearance far exceeded what this world considered as beautiful.

    His appearance was so handsome it even made him feel scared for a moment. He felt like if he was to meet any woman in this world, she will probably fall in love with him almost instantly and that''s him being humble and not trying to brag at all.

    ''That goddess! She made this deliberately! Dammit! I should''ve not cut my hair!'' He clenched his teeth in frustration.

    Then, he sighed inaudibly as he calmed down. There was no way he could reverse what happened so he might as well continue with it till the end.

    So, with that in mind, he looked at the woman who was still frozen in her ce looking at his reflection in the mirror, and said,

    "Continue please."

    His words seemed to wake her up from her trance as she shook her head violently and blushed. She felt herself fall into some kind of dream state the moment she saw him.

    Her salon was very popr with many people; she had seen her fair share of men and women with good looks. But, this was by far her most beautiful client ever.

    ''How could someone be this beautiful?!'' She thought to herself with a gulp.

    A weird desire started forming in her heart, something that she had never felt before. It wasn''t intense or overwhelming but it was still there and that made her feel weirded out.

    She wanted to possess him, to make him her own. She wanted to see his face contort with pleasure as she made him go through whatever she fantasized about.

    However, that desire ended after some time and she came back to the real world.

    "Yes, I will continue. You have a very handsome face, young man." Sheplimented him honestly.

    Acht didn''t answer and just waited for her to finish.

    So, after she styled his hair perfectly and made him look like a totally new person, he left the ce as fast as he could.

    The gaze that the woman kept giving him was chilling, to say the least.

    ''I hope this won''t get me into totally different troubles.'' He thought with aplicated look.

    His journey in the city continued as he walked around aimlessly. He had no idea what he had to do since the time indicated it was 6:00 PM so it was still early even though the ce was dark.

    As he was walking, his eyes caught what seemed like a casino. It was filled to the brim with peopleing in and out along with the shy lights and mboyant colors of the ce.

    It seemed to be a very renowned casino in the city but there were tens and even hundreds of it around the ce so it wouldn''t make Acht take a nce at it.

    However, what he saw did indeed make him interested. There was a huge sign next to the name of the casino that said.<sub> </sub>

    ''Collect 10000 points in our different games and win an S-ss Bow!!''

    The words were huge and the ''S-ss'' was emphasized out of the whole sentence.

    ''Hmm? A Bow? Now that I recall, I need a bow as my secondary weapon. It coulde in handy in some situations.'' he thought.

    He knew that the fact that they put that kind of prize meant that they were sure that no one would be able to reach that number of points. However, Acht was brief and so he wanted to give it a try for fun. If he fails once then he will stop.

    So, he entered the ce. It was like a paradise of lights built inside.

    A huge hall filled with games and people filled Acht''s eyes. The sound of pachinko and slot machines and the shouts of men and women around filled his ears.

    It was a chaotic ce indeed. Here, a person could see all kinds of human emotions in y. From sadness to happiness and everything in between, it was the primal ce for a human to be what he usually is not.

    After he signed himself at the reception desk, he went to a random slot machine to start ying. It seemed that all he had to do was y and points would umte on the app he downloaded for this event.

    He put the coin inside the machine and started ying. He didn''t give it much thought since he was already aware that this was a smart advertisement to gain the owners more money.

    But, much to his surprise¡­

    "Hmm? I won?" He muttered with an impressed tone.

    He did indeed win from the first try and a notification appeared on his phone that he gained 200 points.

    ''That''s amazing luck over there.'' He thought.

    So, he tried a second time. If he won the first time then there is no way he would win twice in a row.

    But, much to his surprise again, he won.

    "Huh?" A weird sound came out of his mouth.

    It was indeed weird. If he won once then it might''ve passed as amazing luck, but twice in a row was just near impossible.

    ''If I won three times in a row then there is something clearly wrong.'' he thought as he yed the third time with a nervous look.

    Again, he won easily. It wasn''t even a joke at this point. He was now sure that something was weird.

    It hadn''t been a few minutes and he already won 600 points as if it was nothing. So, to make sure the owners won''t be suspicious of him, he stood up and changed the game.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 143 Chapter 143

    Acht gazed around secretly as he walked away from the slot machine. He was searching for the cameras inside the casino that watched the people y and make sure no one was cheating or using illegal m¨¦thodes to win money.

    Those kinds of people are what make the casinos lose a lot of money so they make sure to keep an eye on everyone and Acht was sure that if he stayed in that slot machine for long he would''ve been a target. Luckily, he was wearing a hat he had in his spatial ring that covered his features and reduced the trouble that he will face in case anyone sees his annoyingly handsome face.

    He then went to a table that was ying roulette. It seemed to be slightly empty as there were only 2 people there ying.

    Acht stopped by and took a look at the worker who was responsible for organizing the game. Acht didn''t even need to look at him for more than a few seconds to know that he was doing something.

    His sharp eyes could see what many normal humans or even weaker awakeners couldn''t see. So, he was able to perceive how the man d in a ck suit was cheating and deliberately making the yers lose.

    ''This ce is indeed rigged as I thought.'' He thought as he intended to walk away.

    However, he suddenly stopped and turned around to walk back to the game.

    "Can I join in?" Acht asked.

    The worker gazed at him with his cold look and then nodded his head respectfully.

    "Please do." He responded.

    In normal cases, kids shouldn''t be epted at casinos since it was adult-only entertainment so he should''ve been kicked out of the casino the moment he entered. However, this city is Evernight, the city of sins.

    Any human whoes here has the right to do whatever he wants as long as it wasn''t illegal. So, kids are epted in such ces and even in brothels. Hell, Acht could see many teenagers and kids who are ying inside the casino as if it was nothing.

    It was weird but he couldn''t care less since it made him blend in easily.

    So, he sat down next to the two nervous men that lost a lot of money and started ying. He chose a random number and the other two also chose a random number since there was no way they had a strategy to know where the ball wouldnd.

    The worker started spinning the roulette and Acht threw the ball along with the other two men.

    The balls moved across the roulette at a rapid pace. The four people eyed the game as it came closer and closer to the end.

    Then, it stopped and the two men gulped their salivas with difficulty. The ball that belonged to Acht hadnded on the exact number he chose, making him win the round.

    He heard a notification on his phone and he saw that he won a whopping 700 points in less than 30 seconds pushing his score to 1300 points.

    "Dammit! Even a kid beat us, Dave!" One of them cursed as he looked at his friend.

    "Beat me! It''s your shitty luck that jinxed the both of us. How the fuck am I gonna tell my wife that I lost almost 100 gold coins ying roulette?!" The other answered.<sub> </sub>

    "Our only choice is to continue ying and try to regain all the money that we lost. I know the goddess of luck will be benevolent enough to give us one win." The other responded with an almost crazed look.

    "I guess you are¡­right." The man named Dave responded after some thought.

    Acht watched this interaction and could only sigh inwardly. They were clearly addicted to gambling considering the fact that such a wed logic was something they considered normal.

    ''They will probably lose money even if I didn''te here. Sigh, such a city is a curse indeed.'' He thought.

    Evernight was indeed a hell for people, a ce that will pull anyone into a pit of addiction and lust that will never spit him out. It was a sinful city filled with all kinds of bad things but that was what made it beautiful. It was simply a paradise of hell.

    The game continued and Acht threw the ball again after choosing. He didn''t even think twice about the number he would choose since it didn''t matter at all, he would win anyway.

    And indeed, the next round was another win for him.

    He had won 5 times in a row in two different games without even spending as much as 15 gold coins. His revenue, if he wanted to exchange that for gold coins, would be a whopping 80 gold coins which is almost 700% of revenue.

    The two men''s faces grew paler and paler along with the worker who seemed to grow suspicious of Acht. He was sure that Acht was doing something but he couldn''t wrap his head around it.

    So, with a small nce, he made a gesture to one of the cameras to concentrate on Acht. It was already a thing that he won twice so they should find his trick before he wins anymore.

    Acht was aware of that and he even knew what the worker was thinking but he had a n in mind for this to not make himself face any kind of problems.

    ''They won''t be able to know what I did anyway. Let''s drain this shithole of as much money as I can before I take the bow.'' He thought.

    The game continued with the third and fourth rounds being another two wins for Acht.

    "250 c-coins! We lost 250 gold coins!" Dave shouted crazedly.

    He couldn''t believe how much money he lost. It was a fortune that he and his wife made through years and years of work and he threw that money as if it was nothing.

    "You fucker!! You made me y again and lose more money! Goddess of luck my ass. She could go suck my dick." The man shouted at his friend as he grabbed him by the cor and punched him hard in the face.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 144 Chapter 144

    Acht watched as the man named Dave started punching and kicking the other man madly. His saliva kept trickling down his face like a crazed person and his mouth spat out all kinds of curses and insults.

    The two who were previously good friends turned into two enemies that will shred each other to pieces just because they lost a lot of money and felt their lives were ruined. It was indeed very ironic!

    But, he couldn''t care less about them as they were nothing but puny ants that tried to make it big through gambling and ended up being another victim of this addiction. They weren''t the only ones that ended up like that. Millions of others that lived in this massive city were also addicted to gambling and it was not a stretch to say that they were the reason for the prosperity of this city.

    After that, guards finally came to pull the two out before they could kill each other inside and end up being a scandal that will ruin the casino''s reputation. They could just go and fight to death outside.

    Acht sighed inaudibly and looked at the worker who didn''t seem to be bothered by what happened at all. He probably saw this same scene happen hundreds and even thousands of times.

    "Should we con-" Acht was about to say something when he got interrupted.

    "Put a second yer in." A grumpy voice said from behind him.

    He had already felt the presence of this person so he didn''t feel surprised. Her distinct loud voice that seemed to be irritated 24/7 was very distinct to be forgotten.

    Lein then sat down on the chair next to him with the same frown on her face.

    She had the same clothes she wore when he first met her so she stuck out like a sore thumb out of the masses.

    "What do you want?" Acht asked as he picked a ball to start ying.

    "It''s none of your business what I want. Just y and shut up." She replied as she also picked another ball.

    The two then chose a number and threw the balls at basically the same time.

    They watched the roulette turn and turn at a gradually slowing speed.

    Acht used his gravity maniption secretly and changed the movement of the ball as he saw fit. He wanted it to go to the number he chose.

    Now, in normal circumstances, he might''ve not used his gift with an absurdly strong person sitting beside him and risk getting busted out. But, Lein was aware of his gift and she still chose to y with him so she might as well bear the consequences of her actions.

    It was revenge in a sense for Acht who was still pissed off at the way they forced him to join them.

    The round ended unsurprisingly and Acht was able to win again.

    "It is true, huh." Lein suddenly muttered.

    Then, she stood up from her ce and looked at Acht before saying.

    "Follow me."

    The boy didn''t stand up immediately as he had no reason to follow her orders.

    "Why should I?"

    "You cane with me by your own ord or I will have to drag you myself. Choose the method."

    Acht could hear the threatening tone she had but he was sure that she was capable of making the second choice in case he refused so he stood up and followed her silently.

    The two walked to the back side of the casino where a metal door with two awakeners standing on both sides weed them.<sub> </sub>

    The door seemed to be made for specific people such as the owners of the casino. However, with just one look from Lein, the two immediately nodded and opened the door as quickly as they could.

    Then, the duo entered the door. Inside, there was a huge storage ce. It was filled with boxes and containers of all kinds and had a weird atmosphere around it in general.

    "What is this ce?" He asked warily.

    They were alone inside a big room filled with containers and boxes, anyone would feel ufortable in such a situation.

    "You wanted that bow, right?" She asked.

    "And what about that?"

    "The boss told me to give it to you. Just take it as a token for officially joining us." She answered as she pulled out a box out of nowhere and opened it up.

    Inside, a shiny bow could be seen inside. It was the same one that Acht saw outside the casino.

    ''Are they the owners of this casino?'' He thought.

    Logically, it is very probable since they probably had some kind of influence on this city where no powerhouses could attack them. It was basically their domain.

    Acht didn''t hesitate much and picked the bow before storing it in his storage ring.

    "Now what?"

    Lein didn''t answer immediately as she picked up her pipe and smoked from it calmly.

    Then, something totally unexpected happened.

    *Swish*

    "Hang?!" Acht made a loud groan as he felt an impact akin to a train hitting him at full speed.

    He was pushed a few tens of meters and only stopped when he hit a container violently.

    He clenched his teeth and looked at Lein who had her leg extended, indicating that she was the one who hit him.

    "What the fuck are you doing?" He asked with an angry tone as he unleashed his aura to the maximum.

    "A test? Or maybe just me wanting to beat the shit out of you for what you did? I don''t know. You can me the boss for asking me to do this." She said.

    ''Is she going to kill me?'' He thought with a sharp gaze that seemingly could pierce through anything and everything. It didn''t take him long to understand that he was wrong. The reason for that is that if she really wanted to kill him, then she wouldn''t give him the bow or go through this tedious process.

    "Dammit! Is this how they treat new members." He muttered under his breath.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 145 Chapter 145

    Acht grunted slightly from a small ache he felt in his back because of the hit. He was able to reduce the damage he would sustain because of the impact since he used his gravity maniption in time. If he didn''t, then the oue would''ve been way worse.

    He looked at Lein who was still standing in her ce with a cold re. He could see in her eyes that she wasn''t joking about this fight.

    So, he clicked his tongue and dashed to his left into the sea of containers that were ced there.

    A direct confrontation was out of the question since their power levels were very different and he would certainly lose if he did that. His only choice to minimize the problems he will face in this fight is to turn it into a fight of endurance.

    "Are you running away, little shit?" She asked from far away, her voice echoing in the storage room again and again.

    Acht didn''t answer her provocations and immediately went to work. He pulled out the capsule from his storage ring where the sword was ced.

    He then opened it quickly and pulled out the Midnight song from there. He examined the long, thin sword and its mesmerizing form.

    It was indeed the most beautiful sword he had ever seen. But, the question remains: would it be as strong as he thought?

    ''My only way to make sure it was working is to try it out.''

    After that, he closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings. He knew that Lein could appear at any moment and attack him but he kept his calm and tried to sense her presence.

    Then, suddenly, he opened his eyes wide and jumped in the air, reaching 10 meters in one single leap.

    The moment his legs left the ground, a huge hole appeared on the ground out of nowhere along with Lein standing in the middle of it.

    She looked up to Acht with her cold eyes as she pulled out her fist from the ground before shaking the residue calmly.

    "Slippery like a slime." She muttered.

    Acht clenched his teeth as he looked around, searching for a ce tond without getting attacked immediately. He already had a clear idea about her speed so he knew that she would be able to reach him no matter where hended.

    But, much to her surprise, he didn''t do anything that she thought he would. Instead, he kept floating in the air without showing any signs of going back to the ground any time soon.

    ''This brat could already fly.'' She thought as she watched him fixated in the air.

    Then, much to her surprise, he pulled out the Midnight song and started channeling his soul force into it.

    Instantly, she sensed the dangering from that ominous de and readied herself to evade any hit. Or so she thought.

    Instead, Acht didn''t use the sword and kept channeling his soul force into it for a very long time. The sword was basically indestructible so making it absorb that amount of soul force won''t destroy it.

    After almost 6 seconds, Acht raised the sword up, and then with a loud shout, he shed down.

    Lein''s eyes widened for a split second as she witnessed a shocking scene. She expected the destruction of a big chunk of this ce with a charged attack of that caliber. However, what happened was totally different.

    There was nothing, no impact, no loud sounds, no containers getting destroyed. Just pure silence.<sub> </sub>

    Lein was about to look around confusedly but¡­

    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM*

    In less than a tenth of a second, the whole ce shook as if it was hit by the most violent earthquake ever. The containers and boxes all were crushed as if they were made out of cardboard and the ground was turned into a mush of rocks of debris.

    It couldn''t be seen from down there but from the sky, Acht could see clearly. A huge sh could be seen moving across the room. It created a deep hole in the ground and even destroyed the walls.

    The boy couldn''t believe what he saw.

    It was huge and almost scary to see. Acht had to look twice to make sure he wasn''t hallucinating. Then, he shifted his eyes to look at the ck sword.

    ''This sword is amazing.''

    He was already aware of this sword''s ability and it was basically a cheat. This sword could create sword shes anywhere in the space around it. This means that if Acht shed horizontally, the sword will create a horizontal sh anywhere around him in a 30-meter radius.

    This ability alone could make any person go crazy for this sword and that''s why all kingdoms decided that they should just hide it and never let it fall into the hands of any of them. So, the reason for why this weapon was put as the reward for the Mystic Soul Tournament was a mystery.

    It exceeded even his wildest imaginations and went far beyond that.

    But, he didn''t dwindle for long admiring his new weapon as he immediately moved to the side to avoid an uing lightning strike from down there.

    He looked at Lein who was standing on one of the containers that somehow escaped the attack and halted at him. She was still unscathed from the previous attack even though it took her by surprise.

    That spoke volumes about her insane speed and inhuman reaction.

    Acht didn''t wait any longer, he gripped the sword tightly again and shed three times quickly.

    Lein knew what he was trying to do and cursed under her breath.

    "Dammit! This sword is fucking annoying!"

    Then, like a lightning bolt, she disappeared from her initial position, leaving behind nothing but an illusion of her presence.

    *BOOOOMM* *BOOOOMM* *BOOOOMM*

    A sh after the other came down like a torrent of rain. Lein could feel each sh''s after-effect on her back as she tried to avoid them as fast as she could. The hard thing about that is that she had to predict where they would fall before they did or she would get hit.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 146 Chapter 146

    In a matter of seconds, the whole room was turned into a mess. You couldn''t even find one square meter that was unscathed or even mildly damaged. The destructive power of the Midnight song was just unbelievable.

    However, no matter how many times Acht tried tond a hit on Lein, he couldn''t. She kept dodging left and right like an agile snake that could sense every possible threat around it.

    Her speed coupled with her sharp senses made her the worst possible target to try and hit from afar.

    Added to that, his soul force was also plummeting at a rapid pace because of his consumption. He was not only floating in the air which was taxing on his soul energy but he was also sending invisible sword shes continuously for quite a while.

    That''s why he had no other choice but to float back down to the ground. The moment hended, a fist was closing up on his stomach that was moving at an impossibly fast speed.

    He could barely even move the de to interrupt the fist.

    *KLING* *BOOOOM*

    A shockwave strong enough to send anything around it faraway cleaned the ce around the two of them from anything.

    The containers along with the debris were all swept away easily.

    Acht clenched his fists on the sword and used all of his strength to fight back the overwhelming strength of his opponent.

    As for Lein, she didn''t seem to be trying with all of her strength as her face was as calm as ever.

    But, her calm demeanor immediately changed as she looked down for a second. At that split second, her eyes saw a sharp object barely one millimeter away from her face.

    So, she tilted her head quickly and evaded the sharp object.

    ''Even ooze couldn''t scratch her face.'' Acht thought as he jumped back, making a distance between them.

    "You are not bad for a little shit." Lein praised him as she cracked her fingers.

    Acht didn''t even feel slightly praised from that as her words were of no worth to him.

    He only checked his arm which was still shaking slightly from the previous impact. However, he was still impressed at the durability of the sword which helped him resist for a while.

    In normal cases, that impact would''ve crushed any sword as if it was made out of thin wood.

    "So, now that I have a rough idea about your fighting style. I will get slightly serious." She added after a few seconds before immediately vanishing from her ce.

    ''Tsk.'' Acht clicked his tongue as he eyed his surroundings.

    She didn''t appear instantly but instead hid her presence. It was a technique that Acht learned not so far ago. All he had to do was to suppress his aura as much as he could and hide it inside his body for a specific period of time.

    That will make individuals that try to sense his presence find it difficult to do that. What Lein was doing right now was exactly that.

    The silence that invaded the ce was chilling, to say the least, Acht felt his senses heighten to the maximum as he tried to feel even the slightest of fluctuations in the air.

    Then, like a phantom, a presence appeared in front of him and sent a punch to his face.<sub> </sub>

    His sword moved automatically to stop the hit and another violent impact happened.

    This time, however, he couldn''t evenst for 3 seconds as Lein pushed far away. But, she didn''t stop at that, she vanished again and followed him, stopping in front of the ce where he would''vended.

    She waited for him to reach her and then she tried to punch him again.

    But, even though he was still in the middle of the air, trying to recover from the hit, he was able to change the direction of his body at thest second, making Lein miss the punch.

    Her attacks were still far from over. The moment the boynded, she appeared beside him and sent a kick to his side.

    ''She''s crazy fast.'' He thought with a pained look.

    *BOOOOMM*

    Her kick finallynded and sted Acht into another container, bending it easily because of the impact.

    Lein looked at the ce of the impact and waited for the boy to get out. She didn''t know if he still had some tricks up his sleeve.

    But, for the most part, he should be incapable of moving because of that hit.

    ''Hm?'' Her eyes squinted instinctively.

    A strong aura erupted suddenly along with a strong airwave. Lein had to cover her face from the debris getting thrown because of this crazy amount of energy being emitted.

    Then, the dust was swiped, revealing Acht who was standing still while looking down. He didn''t seem to be in a good state since blood was trickling down his face.

    ''What is he doing?'' She thought warily.

    The aura that was around him made her feel slightly threatened. It was the first time that she felt like this because of that kid.

    Then, like a zombie, he looked up at her. His eyes were far beyond furious, they were almost mad. His teeth were clenched and his fists were tightened. He looked like a crazed beast rather than a normal human. All of his previous calm demeanor disappeared and an endless anger that he hid inside him rose up to the surface. He didn''t even have the time to try and calm down as the pain from that hit made him lose hisposure for a split second which was more than enough for his mind to go berserk.

    "YOU¡­.FUCKING BITCH¡­I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!!" He roared like a monster with his hoarse voice that almost shook the ce.

    His scream made his aura grow even more violent and chaotic.

    Then, in the middle of Lein''s shock, he extended his hand forward and muttered two words that were akin to a death sentence.

    "Gravity¡­domain!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 147 Chapter 147

    The moment Acht uttered those words, a huge wave of soul force escaped his body and started expanding at a rapid pace. It was as if he turned into a soul force generator continuously emitting energy to his surroundings.

    Lein tried to make a distance between them to escape whatever he was creating but she couldn''t find a ce where this energy wave didn''t reach her.

    In a matter of a few seconds, the whole room was now inside this energy domain that Acht created. The atmosphere became suffocating and almost abnormally cold.

    After doing that, he made a gesture with his palm that didn''t seem to be much but what it did was certainly rming.

    Lein started to feel her body getting pulled to Acht. The pulling force was weak and slow but it was getting stronger and faster quickly.

    She tried to resist it and was able to stay still at first but gradually, she started losing footing and getting pulled.

    "Don''t underestimate me, fucker." She cursed as she lifted one of her legs up and then hit the ground as strongly as she could.

    The rocks immediately got crushed and a very narrow yet deep hole was created that fixed her legs inside.

    She did the same thing with her other leg and now she was basically nted in the ground.

    What was previously a one-sided force was now a collision between two forces. One was trying to pull and the other was trying to resist that pull.

    Acht, who was still in a crazed state, clenched his extended fist and pulled his whole arm behind.

    *Crack*

    The ground started cracking and Lein started feeling her legs getting pulled out violently. She immediately pulled out her sword and also nted it on the ground but it was still useless.

    So, with no other choice, she changed her n and pulled herself out.

    It didn''t even take a split second for all of that force to attract her towards Acht at an rming speed.

    *SWISH*

    She tried to readjust her position in the air but all she could do was move slightly. When she was about 5 meters away from him, Acht raised his hand in the air, making her stop her journey and rise to the sky unwillingly.

    He eyed her one time before he put his hand down quickly.

    *Boom*

    The collision was violent, to say the least. If any other human was crushed like that then they would''ve turned into a meat paste instantly. But, Acht knew very well that Lein was probably unscathed after that hit.

    So, he pulled her out again and smashed her to the ground immediately. Then he repeated the process again and again and again without even stopping to check if she was really getting hurt because of this or not. The only thing in his mind was to release all of his frustration and anger on her.

    After an unknown number of hits, Acht stopped and threw her far away as strong as he could before he disabled the gravity domain.

    His breathing was erratic and his face was sweating buckets. It did consume a lot of his soul force but he still thought that it was worth it since he felt himself calm down after that session of beating.

    ''I never really lose myposure even when I get hit. What happened to me?'' He thought as he looked at his hands.<sub> </sub>

    He couldn''t understand why he did that or to be more precise how he did that.

    ''Gravity domain¡­it feels like it was engraved in my mind the moment I went berserk. However, I don''t recall ever seeing this technique before.'' He pondered.

    Gravity Domain just basically appeared in his head the moment he wanted to use all of his power. He somehow was able to use it easily and even to masterfully attack with it.

    But, after some time, he shook his head and erased all of those thoughts. He had a more pressing matter in front of him.

    Lein, who had been thrown away like a ragdoll, still didn''t appear. Acht was sure that she was still alive. If an attack like that killed her then she might as well be a fake person disguising as Lein.

    Acht had a very good idea about how strong she was after all.

    As if she was answering his assumptions, Lein stood up after a few seconds. She didn''t seem injured at all even from this far.

    She grabbed her pipe and smoked from it before she cracked her neck twice to release the tension from there.

    Then, with a calm look, she pulled out her sword and channeled her soul force into the sword. Acht could see the lightning crackling on the de.

    He could also feel the huge energy in that sword.

    After that, she grabbed the handle tightly and arched her back before throwing the sword with all of her power.

    The sword flew faster than the speed of sound by at least 20 times and reached Acht in less than half of a second.

    He could barely even see the sword moving as he bent to the side with all of his flexibility. Luckily, the sword passed him easily.

    However, what happened next shook him greatly. He looked behind him and saw that the sword stopped mid-air as it was grabbed by Lein who appeared there as if it was nothing and grabbed the sword.

    At that exact moment, Acht realized a crucial thing that he miscalcted.

    ''She didn''t even use half her maximum speed before!!!''

    His eyes widened as the sword came rushing toward his abdomen intending to slice it.

    The attack was simply impossible to dodge even if he somehow was able to perceive what happened previously. The speed was something out of this world. He had never really been capable of fighting Lein when she became serious.

    The only thing he felt and heard was the crackling of the lightning that ran through the de as it came closer and closer.

    *SWISH*

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 148 Chapter 148

    Acht had two choices at that point in time that he could choose from. Either he just surrenders to fate and lets himself get potentially injured greatly or does something that will save him.

    So, in thest split of a second, he moved his hand agily and pulled out something.

    *BOOOOOM*

    The lightning sword made an impact with Acht and crackled violently as multiple strings of electricity attacked him relentlessly.

    It was abo attack that Lein created herself and mastered a long time ago. She relied on this attack to close any possible escape routes for her enemy since if he dodged the sword attack he would be hit by the lightning and vice versa.

    However, this was nowhere near her strongest attack and was more of something she uses when she is fighting with 40 or 50% of her full strength.

    She also didn''t want to kill Acht since that would be a huge mistake that would be akin to a disaster for her. Thest thing she wanted to see was an extremely angry boss.

    So, that made her use a very mildly lethal attack that Acht could get out of fairly unscathed.

    However, that doesn''t deny the fact that it was still extremely dangerous.

    Her sword didn''t get past the point of the impact as it was stopped by some kind of resistance. She tried to push through but the sword got stuck there.

    ''hm?'' She looked at the reason for her attack getting stopped. She saw the midnight song shing with her sword. But, what was even weirder was a ck liquid that covered the midnight song''s de like some kind of veins.

    This ck liquid also reached Lein''s sword and engulfed a great chunk of it before fixing it in its ce.

    ''This weird thing is fucking annoying.'' She thought to herself.

    Then, with a sigh, she took a look at her watch.

    "Time is over. 3 minutes passed exactly." She said.

    As she swung the sword to the side, easily breaking the link that binds the two swords and then putting it back in the sheath.

    Acht also pulled out the sword and Ooze before putting them back in their respective ces.

    His arms were shaking violently and he had a big blue bruise on his right shoulder from the impact. However, all in all, he was unscathed.

    She was curious about thest hit she made so she asked him.

    "How did you stop that?"

    "None of your business." He replied as he walked away without looking back. He was d that the fight is over since it took a toll on his body and exhausted him to the bone.

    He also was still extremely angry and in a very bad mood so thest thing he wanted was to talk with her.

    ''Fuck. This is such a pain in the ass.'' He cursed under his breath as he tried to move his right arm slightly but stopped when the pain became annoying.

    He sat down and rested his back on a container before chugging down a healing potion.

    Lein didn''t seem to be that pissed after his answer as she also sat down and started smoking her pipe quietly.

    The atmosphere between them was tense, to say the least. There was basically no way for them toe down to even a simple conversation.<sub> </sub>

    After resting for a few minutes and recovering slightly from his injuries, Acht stood up to leave the ce.

    As he started walking away, Lein asked him.

    "You hate us, don''t you?"

    "No shit. If I had the power, I would''ve ughtered every one of you without a shred of hesitation."

    His words were serious and we''re supported by his cold re that could freeze anyone with fear.

    However, his words only made Leinugh loudly. It was the first time he heard herugh.

    But, it wasn''t a normalugh, but instead, a one filled with amusement.

    Acht squinted his eyes at her weird behavior.

    She calmed down after that and said,

    "You know¡­I said those same words when I first joined Nightingale. The same words exactly word by word. It''s almost fucking scary." She told him.

    She then sucked on her pipe once, releasing a cloud of fumes.

    "You are not the first one to be forced to join Nightingale, little shit. I was also in your ce a few years ago. Nightingale killed a lot of people in front of my eyes and then captured me before making me join them. I hated them to the bone. I even wanted to kill them as much as you wanted."

    She then looked up as if she was reminiscing about the past with her nostalgic look before continuing.

    "But, believe it or not, I somehow ended up understanding them. It''s fucking hrious. People look at us and think ''Oh, they are a bunch of fucking psychopathic murderers. ''Oh, they are the bad guys that need to be eradicated. And they are fucking right. But¡­"

    Acht''s expression remained calm as he listened to her words. Something about them made him listen attentively. He didn''t believe in them but he was still interested to listen.

    "Seeing that, I always get pissed. You guys don''t see the bigger picture. You don''t know many things!! It''s frustrating."

    She then shifted her eyes to look at Acht''s mesmerizing face and added,

    "I am sure you wille to understand a lot of things soon. This world isn''t as normal as it looks. Shit is happening behind the curtains and people are oblivious to it."

    Acht was almost about to ask what kind of shit she was talking about that he wasn''t aware of. But, he somehow had a small idea about how bad this world could be. The soul amplifierb was one of those cases that he saw with his own eyes.

    But, he decided not to speak and merely turned around to leave.

    "I don''t think I will ever ept your ideals. I don''t care about killing people or whatever stuff you do. It''s way more simple than that. Anyone who tries to control me will end up suffering a fate worse than death. Nothing more, nothing less."

    Then, with steady steps, he walked out of the room, not even looking behind.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 149 Chapter 149

    When he left the strange room, Acht took a look around to see if people were aware of what happened inside. The destruction from the previous fight should''ve probably reached a good chunk of the city purely from the loud sounds.

    However, this didn''t seem to be the case as the casino was still filled with people that were ying and gambling. They didn''t seem to have heard any kind of disturbance.

    ''It seems that this storage room is a noise canceling one.'' He thought as he crossed the casino and left the ce.

    He had no other ce to go other than going back to the ''Melody Of Dreams'' Bar. So, with an exhausted body, he dragged himself there.

    It took him around 15 minutes of walking to reach it.

    Inside, he found the ce empty except for two people, the bartender and Jack who was reading a book while sipping on a coffee.

    "Hm?" He turned around when he heard the bell attached to the door ring.

    "Oh, Acht. You finally cam-"

    He suddenly stopped talking when he saw the tagged state of Acht. He did indeed heal himself but his dirtied clothes and the cuts on his shirt and trousers can''t be changed.

    "Huh, Lein had already done it? Damn, I told her to not go far." He muttered with a thoughtful look.

    Acht barely gave him a nce as he started to walk to the other door to enter the residence area of this building.

    Jack merely chuckled at his cold attitude and returned to reading his book.

    After he left the bar area, Jack looked at the bartender.

    "Do you think he would be useful, Erix?"

    His question was simple and even his tone was calm and amicable. However, the bartender named Erix knew what the hidden meaning of this seemingly harmless question was.

    "I hope so, Mister Jack." He replied politely as he continued cleaning the wine cup in his hand with a towel.

    ****************************

    The next day, Acht woke up from the deep slumber he was in. Last night was very hectic and he could barely even stand from all the sore muscles in his body.

    But, this world had all kinds of magical potions and healing artifacts that basically could restore anyone to his peak state almost instantly. It was very convenient for Acht who didn''t like to waste time recovering when he could be training.

    After that, he walked out of the room and went straight to a big section of the mansion that he saw yesterday which was the training area.

    Technology-wise, this ce was by far the best one he had ever seen. It was even better than the training capsules in Lagradon.

    The ce was quiet and there was no one outside. He checked the big screen at the entrance and found that two of the 10 capsules avable were upied by someone.

    They were probably the members of Nightingale but he didn''t know who.

    He ignored that quickly and chose a random free capsule before he entered inside.<sub> </sub>

    "I should try the new bow I got. Since it''s an S-Rank one, it should have a special ability." He muttered as he pulled the bow out of his spatial ring.

    Then, he used the control panel to summon some objects to hit. They were all inanimate things since he still needed to grow ustomed to the bow.

    Now that he took a good look at it, he found an interesting thing about this weapon.

    "It has no arrows?" He muttered.

    He had seen this world''s bows before and they all needed arrows to function even if they were soul artifacts. However, this one doesn''t have them.

    ''Wait, could it be¡­?'' An idea popped into his head and he decided to try it.

    He grabbed the bow tightly and extended the string before aiming in a random direction.

    He then channeled his soul force inside the bow. As he predicted, a blue arrow made out of pure soul force manifested in the middle. It didn''t resemble an arrow but it had the same rough shape as an arrow.

    It was pointy and slightly long.

    After taking a small breath, he looked at his target sharply and then released the arrow.

    Immediately, it flew fast, creating a blue hue behind it before it hit its target sessfully.

    *BOOOOM*

    Instead of a normal impact, the moment the arrow touched the target, it detonated like a bomb and destroyed it to smithereens. Bits and pieces of the target flew everywhere, leaving nothing behind that could be considered intact. The explosion was big and very lethal.

    Acht was impressed by this revtion and looked at the bow again.

    "This is amazing." He thought.

    Then, he continued shooting targets around him, trying to increase the speed at which he can create an arrow and shoot it. With each attempt, it took him less and less time to do it which made him feel motivated even more. So, he didn''t care about the passage of time and kept working as hard as he could.

    After two hours of continuous training, he stopped and sat down to rest.

    He looked at the bottle of water that he had slightly far away. Out ofziness, he pulled out Ooze and made it bring the bottle to him. He could''ve done so himself but why wouldn''t he rely on his abilities to make his life easier? It was also fun to use Ooze from time to time for such misceneous tasks like this.

    However, as he watched the ck liquid move smartly, another idea popped into his head. His face immediately lightened as all exhaustion disappeared and a resolve appeared in his eyes.

    It was by far the best idea he ever came up with. But, he could tell that it was extremely hard to pull off even with his skills.

    "If this could work. My prowess will jump by leaps and bounds." He muttered.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 150 Chapter 150

    Even though Acht was still recovering from the previous training session, he still couldn''t wait to try his idea. It was simply that good.

    So, first of all, he pulled out Ooze and looked at it for a while thoughtfully.

    His mind worked at an extremely fast speed, doing calctions and moving through a rough idea of how he should do it.

    After that, he changed the shape of the Ooze liquid into the shape of his hand. It took him some time to be able to make it look exactly like his hand since shaping a very detailed object like his hand wasn''t easy at all.

    He then tried to control each finger alone, bending it and releasing it a few times to wrap his head around how to make it function like a normal hand.

    Expectedly, it was no easy task at all. He found trouble making one finger move alone since it made a huge chunk of the Ooze hand bend too, destroying the whole shape.

    "Hm¡­This level of control is really hard." He muttered with a slightly disheartened tone but he was still not going to give up. This kind of idea would literally make him invincible in front of his enemies.

    So, with a renewed resolve, he kept trying to move a finger alone.

    Time passed as he tried and failed countless times. It might make anyone lose hope by this time, but for Acht, he wouldn''t give up until he was genuinely helpless, which was clearly not the case here since he made some small progress with each attempt.

    In a matter of one hour, he went from bending the whole hand to slightly moving the finger alone and then to being able to make it move in an almost normal manner.

    He was happy that he was able to improve in such a short period. In fact, this level of progress was jaw-dropping for other people and would make some of them have a heart stroke and die.

    Now that he was able to move one finger, the rest of the process was a hundred times easier. Half an hourter, he was able to make the hand move and make precise gestures with some small errors here and there. It was also still quite rigid in its movements but that could be fixed with continuous use and practice.

    After that, he created another hand identical to the other hand and made them hold the bow.

    With an extremely focused look, he made the two hands hold the bow as if they were going to shoot. Unfortunately, the two hands couldn''t possibly handle this weight and started shaking.

    But, he didn''t care about that and only focused on the task he wanted to do which was to actually shoot an arrow with these Ooze hands.

    After making sure the grip was tight and the string was pulled enough, he channeled his soul force into the bow through those hands and created an energy arrow.

    Then, with a long breath, he released the string and the arrow flew away.

    It didn''t obviously hit the target since it flew way higher than intended. But, this was a huge sess no matter how much Acht looks at it.

    "This is amazing." He muttered as he wiped the sweat from his face.

    This new idea could be his new support in fights. It was as if he was fighting along with another person instead of being alone.

    Not only that, but he could also have a constant weapon against any long-range enemies that he couldn''t approach and fight directly which would erase one of his weaknesses.

    "I could totally dominate any battle with this. A truebo of domination. The midnight song and the S-Rank Bow."

    His mood was now way better than before, he was still pissed but at least, things are working the way he wanted for once.

    As he was celebrating his own sess, a knock on the capsule woke him up from his happy times and made him return to his cold expression and his foul mood.

    He looked at the door and checked the person knocking through the camera. It was Lein.

    "What do you want?" He asked without opening the door.<sub> </sub>

    "The boss is calling for you. Hurry your ass outside quickly." She said before she left without any other words.

    ''What is it, tsk?" He clicked his tongue and then walked out of the capsule.

    Then, he walked to the bar area in slow steps. There was nothing rushing him.

    He opened the door and found Lenny and Lein sitting there.

    The old man had a casual look that made him seem harmless to many people and wouldn''t link him to the boss of the most dangerous organization in the whole Lower World.

    "Good evening, Acht." He said when he saw him.

    The boy didn''t answer and merely asked.

    "What do you want?"

    "You fucker!!" Lein was about to stand up but got stopped by Lenny immediately. It only took one gesture from his hand for her to click her tongue and sit down, still ring at Acht who ignored her totally.

    "Sit down." He said to the boy.

    Acht didn''t listen and merely rested his back on the wall and crossed his arms.

    "Go ahead." He said.

    "Sigh, I have a mission for you. Your first ever mission." He spoke.

    "Mission?"

    "Yes. You will apany Lein and work with her."

    "But, boss!!"

    "No buts, you will work together and finish the mission together. We already talked about this so don''t repeat the same topic again."

    Lein clenched her teeth hearing his words and stayed silent.

    As for Acht, he was also very annoyed but he had no other choice but to do it.

    "What is the mission exactly?"

    Lenny didn''t answer immediately as he rubbed his beard.

    "You will be going to the great wall." He said as casually as he could be.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 151 Chapter 151

    "The great wall?" Acht asked confusedly.

    He was already aware of what this great wall was since he read about it before in the novel and also when he first came into this world but he still kept an oblivious front just in case.

    As much as it was still a mystery, humans were able to discover many things about this thing.

    "As you may know, the Lower world is a huge ball-shaped and that''s a fact. But, what many don''t know is that around the perimeter of each, there is an indestructible barrier that makes these three continents locked inside without being able to get out to check the other side of the."

    Lenny exined while thinking that Acht wasn''t aware of this information. It was indeed not something many knew since if the people knew that they were trapped inside a barrier, they would feel threatened.

    It won''t change their lives or anything like that, but they will still feel uneasy and scared. Humans are creatures that seek freedom, after all.

    Lenny tapped on his cane as he continued,

    "We don''t know who or why these barriers exist in the first ce. But, this isn''t our topic at the moment. The mission is very simple: I want you to collect some Soul Lapis and take it back here."

    "What''s that?"

    "Soul Lapis is a type of ore only found near the barriers where the soul force is very rich and dense. It''s a really important ore for our next step." Lenny responded.

    He didn''t rify what kind of ore is this or what it does but Acht couldn''t care any less about it if it didn''t harm him.

    "When are we going?" He asked.

    "Tomorrow morning. You have 4 days to get the mission done."

    Then, the old man stood up and left the ce. The only two left in the bar were Leon and Acht.

    The silence and awkwardness from the previous night were still there so they didn''t utter a single word.

    Then, Lein suddenly stood up and walked to Acht.

    She then red at him with the difference in height between them.

    "Don''t be a fucking dead weight or I will kill you. Understand?"

    Acht didn''t refuse her challenge and looked her straight in the eyes.

    "I want to see you fucking try." He replied before walking past her.

    Both of them had one simr thought.

    ''There is no way I would be able to work with her/him.''

    **************************

    The next day, the two came to the bar at exactly 5 AM. The ce they are going to is very far and also in the middle of the ocean. Wasting time traveling was out of the question.

    "I already have the details of the mission, let''s go." She said to the boy.

    He nodded his head and then they left the bar.

    The city was calmer than usual since it was dawn now and people are mostly either sleeping or are too drunk to even be able to move.

    So, for the first time, Acht was able to witness Evernight empty of people. It was a very soothing feeling to walk in the empty streets of the city, enjoying the morning breeze and listening to all kinds of small noises that somehow create this beautiful natural melody that couldn''t be copied.<sub> </sub>

    The only downside to this is that he was walking with someone he doesn''t particrly enjoy being with.

    But, there was nothing he could do so he tried to ignore it.

    The two finally reached the portal in the city za.

    "Our next destination is the east coast." She said to Acht.

    For the portal to send them to the same ce, they should be thinking of the same ce. It was a function that made the portal capable of sending multiple people to multiple different locations at the same time.

    The same familiar light of a teleportation process engulfed Acht and when he opened his eyes again he was already in a very different ce.

    He looked ahead of him and the sunlight immediately assaulted his eyes.

    He had been in the darkness for some time now, so a little bit of sunlight was indeed a very refreshing thing.

    After that, he took a look at his surroundings which were a clear contrast to Evernight.

    This ce seemed to be as lively as Evernight but for all the opposite readers.

    The ce was filled with traders and people working all kinds of jobs. This city center was almost like a market for all kinds of goods.

    He could also see on the horizon the blue sea and its mesmerizing beauty as ships came and went constantly. The port where most of the ships were was also filled with workers who are transporting the containers.

    It was a coastal trading city through and through.

    "This city is called Tajer¡­it belongs to a kingdom named Malzahar that''s close to our kingdom." She exined as they went down the portal and into the bustling streets of this coastal pearl.

    They could barely hear each other''s words with the loud sounds around them.

    ''It''s somehow not that annoying.'' Acht thought surprisedly.

    He could feel the rejuvenated sensation that this city has. It felt like a happy ce for some reason.

    The two then reached the port. It wasn''t a long journey since the city was very small anyway.

    But, instead of entering the port, Lein walked to the beach area close to the port.

    She didn''t seem to be intending to use a ship to sail.

    The beach area had some people there since it was summer and the weather was hot but not that many people.

    "What are we doing here? Aren''t you going to use a ship?" He asked as he looked around.

    "Fuck no." She said as she rummaged through her things and pulled out a weird mask that resembled that of divers and said. Though, it had so many things different from that of a normal diving oxyg¨¨ne mask.

    "We will swim."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 152 Chapter 152

    "We are going to swim?" She said nonchntly.

    Acht couldn''t know how to react to this crucial information that he only heard about at this moment. So, with aplicated gaze, he asked.

    "How far is the great wall from the shores?"

    Lein thought for a few moments before she spoke.

    "I don''t know. 4000 miles or something."

    ''4000 miles? Is she a human submarine?'' He thought to himself as he sighed inwardly.

    The reason he didn''tin is that he knew that both of them were capable of swimming for 4000 miles but it was slightly tiring that''s why he would''ve gone with the other choice of actually using a boat or a ship to go there.

    As he was thinking so, Lein threw him a mask. He had never seen one of these before so he inspected it thoroughly.

    The mask had a full front made out of ss with a metal part that seemed to have all theponents for them to breathe underwater.

    He could feel soul force circting inside the mask so he was sure it was a soul artifact that was way more advanced than any other oxygen mask he saw back on earth.

    However, what was even weirder is that there was no diving suit with it.

    He wanted to ask Lein about it but he stopped when he saw her put the mask on and tap on a button on the side of the mask.

    Immediately, a ck suit appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around her voluptuous body, tightly sealing it and entuating her crazy curves even further.

    He didn''t know how that functioned but he still tried it nevertheless.

    The same thing happened and a ck suit exactly his size appeared out of thin air.

    He looked at the suit and tried to move inside of it. Luckily, it didn''t restrict his movement at all and was flexible enough to basically be ignoredpletely.

    He was d that was the case since it meant that he could fight even while underwater.

    After that, he shifted his eyes to the vast sea in front of him.

    "Don''t fall behind," Lein said as she ran to the water and jumped in there.

    Acht didn''t follow immediately as he checked his surroundings onest time just in case before he also ran to the water.

    The moment his whole body was engulfed by the sea, a feeling of freedom took over him.

    He subconsciously closed his eyes when the impact happened but he opened them again and a whole new world presented itself in front of him.

    A blue world that could put anyone in a trance looking at it.

    The sun''s rays prate the surface of the water, creating an ethereal scenery that is basically out of dreams.

    All kinds of sea life moved around him, creatures that he had never seen before. Each one of them added a new sense to this world and made it even more lively and beautiful.

    Then, after admiring the scene, he saw Lein waiting for him a few tens of meters away. She seemed to be calling for him with a pissed look but he couldn''t hear her words.

    So, he approached her and gestured for his ear.<sub> </sub>

    In response, she gestured for another button beside the other one they used before.

    The moment he tapped on it, he could finally hear Lein''s loud voice.

    "This is ourmunication device for now. Don''t get too far away or the connection will be cut off."

    Then, she turned around and swam into the distance at a speed that rivaled that of a dolphin.

    Acht also followed her suit and swam through the water at a fast but slightly slower speed than Lein.

    As he was moving like that, an idea popped into his head.

    ''Could I use gravity to reduce the resistanceing from the water?'' He thought to himself as he tried the idea.

    Channeling his soul force, he manipted the gravitational field around his body and started changing the shape of the water to make it easier to pass through it.

    Almost instantly, his speed doubled and he was able to start closing the distance between him and Lein at a rapid pace.

    And like that, the journey continued silently as each one of them just had his own things to think about. The calm atmosphere of the deep water was like therapy for chaotic minds. It soothed the soul and eased the tension and stress.

    As they kept moving, the sun rays started to grow scarcer and scarcer as the light dimmed around them.

    Acht saw how Lein tapped on a third button and a shlight got illuminated. It was very strong to the point where it even showed up to 30 meters ahead of them.

    After about 2 hours of continuous swimming, they suddenly halted their movementspletely.

    Both of them sensed something lurking in the water ahead of them¡­something huge and extremely dangerous.

    "Don''t move," Lein whispered to Acht through themunication device.

    The boy squinted his eyes in response and looked ahead of him, the dimness of the sea along with the eerie silence built up great tension.

    Then, out of nowhere, a huge silhouette passed ahead of them from one side to another. He could barely see a small part of its colossal body and that made him grow even more serious.

    This monster was simply too huge. Its appearance had onlysted for a few seconds yet it was more than enough to alert Acht.

    "That''s a sea king fish. An A-Rank monster. If this was the adult sea king fish then it could even be an SS-Rank monster."

    "What? How are we going to deal with it then?"

    "Sea king fishes are tame creatures so if we don''t piss it off, it should be fine. Now, let''s continue and be careful of your surroundings." She said as she started moving again.

    Acht sighed quietly and muttered.

    "Why do I feel like I already know how this will end up?"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 153 Chapter 153

    The duo moved through the darkness with very careful moves. They were now basically in the domain of one of the sea king fishes and it could be something that could outrage the monster.

    Luckily, the fish seemed to have gone far away as they didn''t sense its presence anymore.

    So, almost too calmly, they reached the ce they intended to go to safely with no actual harm.

    "Wow¡­" An impressed voice came out of Acht''s mouth intentionally. His eyes sparkled with admiration as he witnessed one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen in his life.

    Under them directly was shiny ground. The color of this ce was an azure blue that contrasted the dark color of the sea.

    This beautiful light was as if Acht got submerged into a fairytale of dreams, far beyond what any human could ruin with their hands.

    He went down to take a better look and much to his surprise, it turned out that the source of this light was not the ground itself but a huge number of pearls.

    Each pearl was crystal clear with a small source of energy inside them that could be seen emitting this beautiful light. In a single moment, this ce turned from a sea of dreams into a shiny sky filled with blue stars.

    Acht felt his body calm down subconsciously at this sight and his mind became as calm as ake. It was almost akin to a hypnotic effect.

    Lein also stopped for a moment to appreciate this scene but she didn''tst long as she shook her head and focused on her task. She had already seen these soul Lapis ores many times before.

    "Enough sightseeing. Let''s get done with this job and leave." She said as she descended to the ground slowly, trying not to step on one of the soul Lapis ores.

    "They are very fragile so be careful."

    Then, she touched one of them before pulling it gently from the ground with extreme care.

    The first one she pulled was a big one, the size of her whole palm.

    The other rocks were also the same size with some small variations.

    Acht also followed suit and tried to harvest a few soul Lapis ores. He made sure he didn''t crush them with his hand.

    "How many should I collect?"

    "Ten or so. Choose the big ones."

    After a few minutes of collecting ores, Acht stored them in his spatial ring. He did feel slightly bad for ruining a very beautiful sight like this but there was nothing that could be done in this situation.

    "By the way, where is the great wall? I can''t see it?" He asked.

    Lein didn''t speak and just walked a few meters in a certain direction.

    Then, she extended her arm. Immediately, her palm seemed to touch some kind of surface.

    This small touch created a wave of energy that dissipated around her, showing a clear hue of a transparent barrier.

    It was quite surprising to see this scene. He had never expected this great wall to be transparent and also barely a few meters away from him without him being able to detect it.

    ''Is it not made out of energy?'' He thought to himself as he also approached the barrier and touched it with his hand to inspect it thoroughly.

    It was sturdy but also fragile, creating a weird contrast that should not exist normally.

    Acht then knocked on it a few times, each knock creating a ripple through the whole barrier that dissipates in the form of waves.

    "Let''s go now," Lein spoke to him as she swam up.<sub> </sub>

    He also turned around and was about to leave. That''s when he saw something weird to the side, not that far away.

    It was something that was very hard to see but because of the angle and also the light from the soul Lapis ores, he was able to detect it.

    So, he swam there and grabbed this weird thing. Much to his surprise, it was a transparent piece that eerily resembles the barrier¡­or to be more precise, it was indeed a piece of the barrier.

    He turned it around a few times before he called Lein.

    "You might wanna see this." He said.

    "Hm?" Lein didn''t understand and came back to him.

    He gave her the particle and could clearly see the change in her expression the moment she understood what it was. Her rather calm and collected expression crumbled and was reced by deep shock.

    She couldn''t believe what she saw.

    "There is no way¡­" the woman muttered under her breath and tried to calm down.

    Then, like a crazy person, she rushed to the barrier and started touching it and knocking on it multiple times.

    Acht watched her actions silently, seeing her being that distressed, he also turned serious.

    After countless knocks and inspections, she was able to find something very important.

    As if she was frozen, she stood silent, just looking ahead of her, seemingly in a trance.

    "The great wall¡­it''s crumbling." She muttered in disbelief.

    "Little shit, we need to leave right fucking now. This is very fucking serious."

    She almost shouted and swam back up as fast as she could.

    But, before she could move forward, a loud sound followed by a strong shockwave stopped her in her ce.

    The two immediately looked to the side.

    ''This sound¡­Don''t tell me.'' Acht thought to himself with a click of his tongue.

    A horrible idea came to his mind and he immediately swam up.

    He tried to tell Lein to move when the sound assaulted his ears again with an even stronger shockwave that almost sent him flying away.

    He barely was able to bnce himself since the water was heavy enough but that didn''t make him any calmer.

    Then, as if to make the situation even worse, a huge silhouette, big enough to cover a whole city appeared on top of them.

    "RAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 154 Chapter 154

    Acht felt his mouth go dry as he witnessed the huge shadow looking over him like a veil of darkness. It was simply colossal to the point where it could make him look like an ant in front of it.

    Not only that, but the shriek that came from this monster was chilling, to say the least. Acht felt his heart stop for a moment. The level of strength of this monster was not something he could deal with in such a ce and in such conditions.

    But, he didn''t stay in that state for long as he knew that staying here was akin to a death wish. So, with an urgent movement, he tried to swim away while trying to call for Lein who was still frozen for some reason.

    "Move, you fucking idiot!!" He shouted.

    Truthfully, he didn''t care whether Lein dies or not, but because he knew that if the situation bes catastrophic, he will need her strength to increase his chance of survival. That''s why she must at least live until he gets out of this ce.

    Luckily, his words seemed to have woken her up from her trance as she shook her head and started swimming away quickly.

    The two tried to create as much of a distance between them and the sea king fish before it did any small movement that could kill them instantly.

    They both knew that the suit won''t hold on with a strong impact after all.

    But, before they could even swim far away, a strong shockwave came rushing at them. Acht and Lein tried to dodge but couldn''t since moving quickly in this pressure was very hard.

    "Ahhh!!!" A whimper of pain came out of Acht''s mouth as he was sent flying away into the darkness.

    It took him a good 5 seconds to restabilize himself. He then looked around him and tried to find the location of Lein and the sea king fish.

    Luckily, he felt the colossal presence of the monster far away. But, he also discovered something else horrifying.

    ''There are two auras of the same caliber near each other.'' He thought.

    He wasn''t able to discover this at the time because he was busy trying to find a way out of this mess.

    ''Are these two monsters fighting?''

    He couldn''t tell since they were far away but that was the most probable reason for the sea king fish''s rampage.

    "Dammit! Where did that bitch go?" He tried to sense Lein but there was no use.

    So, without any other solution, he started swimming away. Thest thing he wanted was to get mingled into the fight between those two creatures.

    The darkness surrounding him and the silence that suddenly took the ce made him feel even more tensed up. It was almost nerve-wracking not to hear or feel anything around you.

    But, Acht kept a calm andposed expression.

    Then, as if to deny any kind of attempts to escape, Acht felt one of the auras of the monsters rushing towards him at an impossibly fast speed. It was so fast that he could barely sense it before it already reached him.

    He looked around him, searching for the monster as he kept moving. But, even though he could sense its presence, he couldn''t see it in such a dark ce.

    ''Where did it go, dammit!'' He thought.

    That''s when he saw it, something straight out of nightmares. In front of him was a huge eye, big enough to bepared to a building.

    The eye waspletely ck with a weird hint of red to it. But, that wasn''t the reason Acht dreaded this sight so much.

    What made him feel a chill run down his spine, those werepletely empty, devoid of any emotions. He normally wouldn''t feel any kind of fear, but at that exact moment and for a split second, he actually felt fear.<sub> </sub>

    It was a new feeling for him since he was never someone to fear anything no matter what it was which speaks volumes of how horrifying this gaze was.

    The two kept looking at each other for a good 30 seconds, neither Acht nor the sea king fish moved an inch. It was akin to a staring contest.

    Then, as if it already had enough, the fish swam into the darkness again, vanishingpletely.

    This gave Acht a few seconds to breathe and calm down.

    ''Fuck, this made me feel fear?!'' He thought to himself in disbelief.

    It was a huge hit to Acht''s pride. Why would he fear something? It was indeed way stronger than him but that wasn''t a reason for him to fear it.

    "Tsk." He clicked his tongue and started moving again.

    Deep down, he wanted to leave this shithole as fast as he could.

    He kept swimming and swimming as if it was the only thing his body is capable of.

    The boy was still far away from the clear water but he at least made some distance.

    As he was swimming, he heard something from hismunication device. It seemed to be Lein.

    He tried to listen to the words she was saying but they were incoherent. It was almost as if she was muttering herst words.

    "Hey, are you still alive?" He spoke to her.

    But, she didn''t answer him as she kept muttering something before she suddenly said.

    "My suit has been destroyed and I''m losing oxygen at a fast speed." She said to him with a quiet voice.

    Acht''s expression tensed up slightly. He didn''t know what to say in such a situation.

    "Are you still far away?" He asked.

    "Heheh, it''s over. Fuck, how could I die in such a stupid ce? Ugh!!" Sheughed slightly before groaning in pain.

    Acht unconsciously looked behind for a split moment before he shook his head and continued swimming.

    "Neh, little shit. Could you keep this link open until I die? Thest thing I want is to lose my life alone in such a dark ce." She asked with an almost pleading voice.

    "...Are you scared?" He asked.

    "Hahahahah!! I don''t know. Why would I? My body is already growing numb from the cold water and I am losing consciousness gradually. It''s not that bad."

    "But, could you at least grant one wish of mine?"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 155 Chapter 155

    Acht could feel the sadness and guilt in Lein''s tone. He didn''t know why she had these kinds of feelings at the moment but he didn''t ask her either since it was none of his business.

    So, he waited silently for her to continue.

    "I¡­want you to ask Lenny to use that flower. He will get what I mean¡­"

    Her words were very sad yet also somehow happy at the same time. He didn''t know why she was d about her own death. Did she really want to end her life that much?

    So, with aplicated tone, he asked.

    "Why didn''t you ask me to save you?"

    His words made her chuckle again albeit with even more difficulty. He could feel that she wasn''t that far from death at this point.

    "Why would I? You think that I will ask someone who hates me for a favor? I have a fucking pride for god''s sake." She responded.

    Then, as he was about to ept herst wish. He heard thest few words she said quietly and his body immediately stopped moving.

    "I can finally go back to my own world¡­It''s been a very long time¡­" She muttered to herself.

    These words were clear enough for Acht to understand them and to also understand another thing.

    Many would think that she was hallucinating or something along those lines. But, Acht could feel that she was still fully conscious and her words came from a total understanding of her own fate.

    "What did you just say?" He asked agitatedly.

    ''Her own world? What does that mean? Is she a reincarnated being like me? Is she from earth? What''s going on?''

    Thousands of questions popped up in his head instantly and he felt himself lose hisposure for a split second. He had no idea what to do at this point. On one hand, he had his own life to preserve and not risk himself getting killed by the sea king fish. But, on the other hand, he is potentially missing an opportunity to collect some information about how to go back to another world.

    But, even after waiting for a good 10 seconds, she didn''t answer.

    "Hey! Can you hear me?" He spoke again with a louder voice but he still didn''t get any answer.

    So, with a hesitant look, he turned around and looked at the dark abyss behind him. He really wasn''t intending to go back there and save her.

    ''She might have an idea about how to go back to earth. Ugh, fuck! I don''t know what to do?'' Acht shook his head and tried to calm down before taking a few deep breaths.

    Then, like a bolt, he swam back to the other side. He had already made his choice.

    ''The link between us was solid and the signal was strong. She isn''t that far away.

    The sea was vast and almost endless but he was sure he could find her. However, the question is, could he find her before she dies?

    As he swam back, he expanded his soul sense to as big of an area as he could. He tried to sense even the smallest disturbance in this field.

    But, no matter how much he tried to sense her presence, it seemed to be not in the area he covered.

    So, he tried another idea. Instead of moving in one single direction, he will just swim in circles while erging the circle each time to cover every possible direction.<sub> </sub>

    It was his only possible solution to find Lein.

    ''Come on.'' He urged himself as he went back and forth, erging the scale of his search at a rapid pace.

    Luckily, after 29 seconds of constant searching, he felt a small, feeble presence a couple of hundred meters away from him.

    So, like a shark, he swam there as fast as he could. Soon, he saw the body of a human, floating in the middle of the ocean with its back arched and its eyes closed.

    It was obviously Lein who seemed to have already lost consciousness.

    He approached her and grabbed her from the waist before swimming up to the surface. He didn''t have time to get her back to the chores. She needed oxygen immediately.

    Luckily, the surface wasn''t that far away from them so he was able to reach it almost in less than 5 seconds.

    ''It doesn''t seem that the sea king fish is close by. Luck is on my side this time.''

    When he reached the top, he immediately opened Lein''s mask and put his hand on her neck to check her pulse.

    p Although very weak, her heart was still beating which was a really good sign.</anda>

    He could also see her take a small breath the moment she was presented with oxygen.

    However, it seemed that her lungs were still filled with water from before and needed to be emptied for her to breathe properly.

    Acht already knew what to do, he immediately put his hand on her chest and pushed it slightly. He could feel the softness of her breasts as they got squished by his hand but that was thest of his concerns.

    "You better be grateful that I saved you, bitch." He said as he used his gravity maniption and started pushing the water up and out of her mouth.

    After a few gulps of water got out, she immediately started coughing violently and heaving up and down rapidly. Her eyes opened widely and looked at her surroundings.

    She couldn''tprehend what happened but she soon understood everything.

    "Cough!! Cough!! Why did you save me?!!" She said between her coughs.

    "Calm the fuck down and then we will talk. Now, we need to get out of her first." He responded coldly as he left her to float alone.

    "We hav-"

    *Swish*

    Before Acht could even talk, his senses went on full alert mode and his instincts took control of his body. Then, he activated gravity maniption and used it to push himself and Lein in different directions to avoid what wasing from beneath.

    The next moment, a huge ck body appeared underneath them and prated the water surface before rising 200 meters into the air.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 156 Chapter 156

    Acht tried to look up to see the hegemon that appeared out of the water. His neck arched up as much as he could yet he still couldn''t see its full body.

    The even horrifying revtion is that the monster wasn''t fully out of the water with a good part of its body still submerged in the sea.

    As he tried to assess the situation, a huge rain came down on him violently. Then, a huge wave came rushing towards him, intending to send him back into the deep.

    "Tsk!" He clicked his tongue with a cold look and immediately used gravity maniption.

    Then, he made himself float before going up to avoid the wave. He looked under him and the area had turned into a chaotic mess of waves shing against each other.

    Then, as if this was not enough, the sea king fish bent down and threw itself on Acht. The whole world around him suddenly turned dark and the sun was totally covered.

    ? He didn''t wait for even a second as he flew to the side, barely avoiding the monster.

    Its huge body fell down on the water surface, creating a loud noise akin to a bomb.

    A huge explosion of water, high enough to reach 100 meters in the air, hit Acht who couldn''t avoid it. The strong pressure from the water was akin to a Cannonball hitting him square in the stomach.

    His body was then sent flying away before crashing on the water''s surface, slowing his speed.

    "Fuck!" He cursed loudly as he stabilized himself, floating in the water.

    Now that he is far away, he could see the huge bulge in the water surface that was the monster. He could also see it going down slowly beforepletely disappearing underwater.

    "Hey, are you ok?" He spoke to Lein through themunication device to see if she was alive or not.

    Luckily, a calm voice responded to him.

    "Yeah. But, this fucker is still targeting us. I don''t know why is it so fucking outraged." She said,

    "It was fighting with another monster, that''s probably the reason why." He responded as he tried to squeeze out an idea to get them out of this problem.

    Fighting this creature was out of the question since it was way too strong and huge to be even fought. He also couldn''t escape since its speed alone would make it capable of reaching them in a matter of moments.

    So, thest solution he had which was also stupidly hard is to make the monster calm down and leave them be. That however posed one single question, how would he do that?

    Truthfully, he had no idea how to do that. But, he had one single suspicion.

    ''This creature isn''t angry because of the previous fight.'' He thought.

    It was indeed weird why this monster was still angry even though the fight should be already over.

    So, to at least try and find the reason why he had to examine the monster''s whole body.

    "I have an idea and I need your help. I want you to make the monster target you." He said to Lein.

    "Huh, why the fuck would I do that?"

    "You have no other choice. Either cooperate or we both fucking die." He responded harshly.

    "Tsk, fine! How long is it going to take?" She asked.

    "1 minute¡­no, 30 seconds is enough. I want you to make itpletely forget about my existence for 30 seconds."

    "This is hard but I will try. Hurry your ass up." She responded before cutting the line ofmunication between them.<sub> </sub>

    Immediately, from far away, he could see Lein''s silhouetteing towards the monster that was moving underwater searching for Acht.

    Then, when she reached a certain point, she stopped and created a huge lightning ball in both of her hands.

    After that, she threw the lightning bolt into the water, prating the surface and going deeper and deeper in a matter of moments.

    The silencested for a moment before a loud sound came from underwater.

    *BOOOMMM*

    The water rose up into the sky before going down immediately.

    "RAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

    A loud roar came from the deep that almost created a shockwave was it not for the fact that it was underwater.

    Acht watched the scene patiently. He could see how the monster changed its aggro and went back swimming toward Lein who immediately started swimming away.

    Her speed was faster than any sea creature. But, she wasn''t able to create any distance between herself and the monster.

    "Good, keep it like that."

    Acht muttered as he dived back into the water and followed the monster sneakily.

    He needed to end this as fast as possible or his and Lein''s end was set in stone.

    "Dammit!! The shit I have to fucking do." Lein cursed as she moved as fast as could.

    The monster was closing up on her and it was also rising up to the surface. She could tell that the sea king fish was intending to lunge on her with one single leap to shred her to pieces.

    So, to slow it down, Lein charged up all of her body with a strong voltage of lightning and then spread this electricity-like power into the water around.

    Luckily, she was swimming in salty water so the conductivity was extremely high.

    In a matter of seconds, the monster was electrocuted and stopped for a moment to recuperate.

    Lein used that moment to move away a good distance from the monster.

    "RAAAAAAA!!!" The sea king fish was extremely outraged at this point as it rushed madly at Lein.

    "Hurry up, little shit!!" She shouted.

    Her time was running up and she could barely keep up for a few more seconds. All she had in hope was Acht seeding in his n.

    But, unfortunately, she couldn''t keep up the pace any further and the monster finally reached her.

    Then, it opened its huge mouth that was the size of a whole block intending to swallow Lein.

    "RAAAAAA!!!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 157 Chapter 157

    As Lein was having a hard time dealing with the sea king fish, Acht was following them behind. He had dived deeper into the water to be able to have a full look at the monster''s body without having to get closer to it.

    However, no matter how much he tried to find something weird about it, he wasn''t able to see anything worthy of note.

    That made him feel very pressured as the time was running and he had a few more moments before the monster killed Lein and then targeted him.

    ''Come on! It gotta be there!'' he thought to himself with an extremely serious look.

    He had already seen every part of the monster''s body except one part¡­the top.

    It was thest part he thought of checking because not only was it the riskiest one to check but also because it also needed him to be awfully close to the monster to see.

    So, with a click of his tongue, he swam back up and flew into the sky. Water droplets kept trickling down his body as he heaved up and down from exhaustion. But, there was no time to rx. He had to end this quickly.

    After reaching the monster from above, he gazed at the upper part of its body and tried to find any anomaly.

    That''s when he saw it, something he was searching for. On its right upper part, there was a tusk-like object that pierced its skin and reached deeper into its body.

    There was also a huge amount of blood flowing out of it like an endless torrent. Acht felt happy that he found it but there was still an important thing he needed to do.

    ''I must get it out.''

    So, without hesitation, he flew down and stepped on the monster''s body. The speed at which the sea king fish was moving made it even harder for him to keep his bnce.

    But, he secured his feet on it and approached the huge tusk that was at least 5 times as big as him. It was so huge that he didn''t even know how to go about getting it out.

    But, he had no time to think about it. So, he immediately touched it and applied gravity maniption to it to reduce as much weight as he could.

    Then, he made a pointy sign with his hand before jabbing at the tusk, piercing it, and digging deep into it with his fingers.

    He did the same with his other hand and immediately started pulling up with all of his strength.

    Blood started oozing even more intensely and the monster felt a sharp paining from its back.

    "RAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!" It made a loud shrill of pain as it stopped chasing Lein and started shaking violently as it tried to get rid of the pain.

    "Ugh!!!" Acht grunted loudly.

    A huge pulling force was trying to throw him away from there. He felt his fingers grow numb and his arms became tired almost immediately trying to keep him fixed there while also working on getting the tusk out.

    "Come on!!" He urged the tusk out trying to use every possible ounce of strength he had left in his body.

    However, the tusk was still not moving at a fast speed.

    The monster then did something that made Acht''s face pale considerably.

    It stopped shaking and started descending back into the water. Acht knew that this wasn''t good at all as underwater this monster had the best advantage.

    But, there was no turning back at this point, he either get the tusk out or die trying.<sub> </sub>

    It was hisst bet and he hoped it would work.

    A few momentster, he was submerged again underwater and they were still descending. The pressure kept rising as the monster moved at an incredibly fast speed in a chaotic motion. It was doing everything to get whatever was hurting it away.

    Acht was already at his limit and there were only a few more pulls before the tusk was out.

    "RAAAAAAAAA!!!"

    The monster couldn''t hold it anymore and changed the tactic again. It stopped moving and rose up to the water surface before jumping in the air.

    "Ughhhhh!!!" Acht groaned again.

    He knew what it was trying to do.

    The monster didn''t disappoint as after it flew in the air, it fell down with its back facing the water. It intended to crush Acht.

    *BOOOOOOMMM*

    Lein watched the intense fight with a tense expression. She wanted to help him but she couldn''t do anything to reach the back of the monster as Acht did. All she could do was watch from the sidelines and hope for the best.

    The sound of the explosion of water as the monster plunged into it again was so loud it could destroy someone''s eardrums if they were not careful.

    It was a direct hit.

    <o>,m "Fuck." Lein cursed under her breath with a shocked look. She didn''t see Acht escaping the hit so she assumed he got crushed indeed.</o>

    She sat there waiting for any response or reactioning from the water. She had no idea what to do at this point.

    Was it really the end? Or is there a possibility of survival?

    She had already reached a near-death situation with just one hit from that monster so she didn''t know if she could actually get out of here alive.

    She also didn''t believe in things called miracles as they were nothing but the dreams of powerless people that couldn''t try to get their own fates in their hands.

    She might die here but she would never pray to get out of this alive.

    However, as she was about to close her eyes and sigh, another sound came down from not soft far away. Then, a silhouette emerged from the water violently.

    "Fuuuuh!!! Damn it!!" Acht cursed as he basically broke his mask to breathe and then cursed loudly.

    He somehow got out alive before the monster made the impact. The tusk was also out of its body which was the reason why it left and went deeper into the sea.

    "I am never going back to the sea again." He muttered to himself with a frown.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 158 Chapter 158

    After calming down considerably, Acht turned around to Lein who was looking at him with a surprised look, and said.

    "Let''s go. I have things I want to ask you."

    She didn''t respond immediately since she was still bbergasted by Acht''s ability to pull off such a dangerous task and still get out pretty much unscathed.

    But, she then shook her head and erased such thoughts before she started swimming toward him.

    He was also about to turn around and leave but stopped when she did something unexpected.

    She had closed up on him and tapped on his back once and muttered.

    "Thanks for saving my life."

    Her words were quick and almost inaudible but he was able to hear them clearly. However, he chose not to say anything and merely start swimming.

    The truth is, he didn''t save her because he wanted to but because she said something that might affect him greatly so her gratitude, as much as he doesn''t care about it, is not something he could ept nor even pretend to ept.

    The two then went back on their way to the chores without talking, the only thing they did was to look ahead of them while in deep thoughts.

    Soon, they were able to see the shore on the horizon. The mission they did was not that long as it took barely a few hours but it was indeed a bad experience for both of them that made them reach their limit.

    Inwardly, they both sighed a sigh of relief and rxed considerably.

    Then, when they reached the shore, they sat down to rest after the hectic day. Each one of them then looked at the sunset that was happening at the moment, announcing the end of a long day.

    The scenery was somehow even more beautiful than normal. There are many possible reasons for that but the most important one is that both of them are now cherishing their lives even more than before.

    Their job and their normal life were basically a constant gambling with death itself. They were aware of that but sometimes they forget that fact for a split second.

    "Sigh¡­" A sigh escaped Lein''s mouth unintentionally.

    She then spoke with a low, almost quiet tone.

    "Why did you save me? I know it wasn''t because you are trying to be nice or anything like that." She said,

    Acht didn''t answer immediately as he wallowed in the scene and organized his thoughts.

    "A few words you said before you lost consciousness¡­that''s what made me save you." He responded.

    "What words?"

    "Something along the lines of ''I will finally go back to my own World''. What did you mean by that?"

    His words seemed to have an impact on Lein as her face immediately paled and she looked restless but she returned back to normal almost immediately.

    "What are you talking about? I was already losing consciousness so I was saying some stupid shit." She tried to deny him.

    "You think that I will believe that one of the strongest humans in the world would hallucinate before losing consciousness? Try another lie or don''t even reply in the first ce." Acht said with a cold tone.

    He was sure that she wasn''t saying nonsense since barely a second before that she was having a fairly sane conversation with him.

    Then, like a mouse caught in a trap, she decided not to beat around the bush any further.<sub> </sub>

    "...why are you interested in those words¡­don''t tell me..you are.."

    As realization fell on her, she looked at Acht with a shocked look as if she was eyeing an alien from another world.

    Acht wasn''t intending to lie in the first ce so he responded honestly.

    "From another world? Yes, pretty much and it seems to be the same case for you." He said.

    Even though she already knew that response wasing, the words still made her feel chaotic. She didn''t know how to react to that fact at all.

    "I had the idea that maybe there are other people like me in this world that were reincarnated. But, it is still weird to meet one of them."

    "...How could that be?"

    "I don''t know. I just died, opened my eyes in a weird white room and¡­"

    "A goddess named Livia appeared and gave you the choice to either reincarnate or die." She continued his words as if she was reading from a paper.

    Acht peeked at her for a moment before adding.

    "Yes, that''s exactly what happened. This makes it easier for me to ask my questions and I want honest answers."

    He turned around and continued.

    "Did youe from a world named the earth?" He asked.

    "...Earth? I had never heard of such a ce before. My world was named Loon." She shook her head as she said.

    Acht felt slightly disappointed at that fact but he still didn''t lose hopepletely.

    "Do you know a way back to your previous world?"

    "I don''t know if Livia told you this or not¡­but, if you die in this world then she will meet you again, and maybe she would even help you go back to your own world. At least that''s what she told me when I first went there."

    Acht felt his mind stop working for a moment as a thousand thoughts passed through his mind in a split second. Then, as if he lost all strength in his body, heid back on the sand and looked up with a huge frown.

    "Fuck¡­it was all useless in the end. That fucking bitch!" He shouted to himself.

    Lein didn''t understand why he was that disappointed so she asked.

    "Didn''t she tell you that?".

    "Hahaha!! Why the fuck would she? That bitch of a goddess probably wants me to rot her forever just so that she could entertain her twisted desires. Fuck!! I thought I was this close to finding a clue. Dammit!" He kept cursing repeatedly.

    All the frustration he had kept getting bigger and bigger.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 159 Chapter 159

    Acht felt almost powerless at this moment, he had this hope so close to him that he could basically grab it but then it turned out to be nothing but an illusion¡­a cruel illusion.

    Even the toughest of people would feel extremely sad at losing an extremely amazing thing that could help them greatly.

    However, this by no means that he had given up. Acht was never someone to stop trying no matter how hard or impossible it was. If he wants it to happen then he will keep trying until it bes a reality.

    This characteristic of his personality is a double-edged sword as it could benefit him greatly but could also be the reason for his end. But, he still didn''t find himself in that position once before.

    As he had such thoughts in his head, Lein asked him a question out of nowhere.

    "How did you die?"

    He didn''t know why she was interested in such information but he still answered nevertheless.

    p "Honestly, I don''t have any idea how it happened. All I could remember is that I was awake and fully normal and then it cked out and I found myself dead." He said.</anda>

    "...I see." Her response was somehow filled with a weird feeling. A regret mixed with sadness that Acht couldn''t discern its origin.

    "What about you?"

    "Sigh¡­" Lein sighed loudly and scratched her wet hair.

    "I got fucking backstabbed by one of what I considered my dear friends. It''s fucking pathetic isn''t it?"

    "It is pathetic," Acht said.

    His response made Lein frown slightly and bend her head down with a slightly sad look. She didn''t expect him to be that blunt.

    "But, your friend is even more of a pathetic person." He responded as he stood up and dusted the sand from his clothes.

    His hair had already dried up so he had nothing else to do.

    "Anyway, keep this a secret. I told you this because you are the only person that I knew who had experienced the same things I went through. I will also keep your secret."

    He left those words and walked away.

    Lein looked at his silhouette as it got farther and farther away from her.

    "I don''t spill secrets out, you fucking idiot." She muttered.

    ***********************

    At the same time, somewhere unknown in the world, inside a white room, there was a personying down unconscious on the bed.

    She was a very gorgeous woman with an alluring body that could drive any sane human crazy. Even her pale face and sick look didn''t diminish her beauty and even added a hint of ethereality to her looks.

    The only sound that could be heard inside that ce was the ticking sound of the heart rate machine.

    "Mmm.."

    Suddenly, the sleeping beauty opened her eyes slightly and groaned in pain. Her eyes were still hazy and a strong headache assaulted her almost instantly.

    She whimpered and tried to touch her head. But, the tubes and all kinds of equipment attached to her body didn''t allow her to do that.

    "What¡­What happened?" She muttered with a hoarse voice.

    Her mind was still basically groggy so she couldn''t recall what happened before she lost consciousness.<sub> </sub>

    "Ugh..I-"

    Then, as if it was a train, all the memories from that horrible ce and the cold eyes that gazed at her while the horrible coldness took over her body. Each of those sensations came back to her and made her eyes widen as she basically woke up immediately and looked around frantically.

    "Ach!! Where is Acht!!!" She shouted like a mad woman. But, the only answer she got was the sound of the machine in the room.

    She finally discovered that she was in a hospital room somewhere.

    So, like a broken machine, she looked at her abdomen. The bandaids and all kinds of cures were applied to her deep injury.

    Seeing that, a tear fell down her face and made her close her eyes. She tried to hold back the urge to cry but she couldn''t. It was simply too overwhelming for her.

    After crying for a few minutes, she finally calmed down and looked to her side. There, on the table was her phone.

    So, she picked it up and dialed an unknown number.

    "I woke up. Come here." She said to the person on the phone with a cold tone.

    Immediately, the door to the room opened and a man d in a ck suit came in. It was Leislet''s butler.

    He looked at hisdy with a rejoiced look as he basically ran to the side of the bed and said happily.

    "Mydy!!! You finally woke up. Your servant was truly worried all this time."

    "How long have I been in aa for?"

    "Two days. You somehow took way longer than expected to wake up. Thank god you are healthy again." He responded as he wiped a tear from his face.

    ''Two days? Two days since Acht left?'' She thought with a huge frown on her face.

    Two days was a short time for many people but she knew that many things must''ve happened during this time period.

    ''Is he ok? Did they hurt him? I hope he didn''t get tortured.'' She thought as she prayed to any kind of entity in this world to keep him safe and sound.

    She tried to erase those thoughts with a question.

    "Did anything happen during this time?"

    The butler was about to answer but had difficulty answering. He seemed to be very troubled.

    "What happened?" She urged him to answer.

    "Mydy it''s¡­"

    Each second of waiting made Leislet even more sure that something bad happened. So, in the spur of a moment, she grabbed the butler''s cor and shouted.

    "Speak!!"

    Her aura erupted as she applied all of her pressure on the butler.

    "Sir Acht¡­He is now all over the news. He became a wanted person with a bounty on his head."

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    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 160 Chapter 160

    "What did you say?" She asked with her eyes widened to the extreme.

    The butler sighed and looked at his master with a sad look, not knowing what to say to make her calm down.

    "But¡­we were the only ones there¡­there was no one else." She kept muttering to herself like a chant of some kind trying to calm herself down.

    Then, she had no idea how this happened. Did someone snitch to the higher-ups? Was there someone else with them at that time?

    All kinds of questions appeared inside her head and made her chaotic state even more chaotic.

    "Who did that?" She directed the question this time to the butler.

    The man felt a chill run down his spine when he saw those cold eyes that looked at him. It was as if he was staring at death from up close.

    But, he tried to keep himself calm to a certain extent and also to make sure his master doesn''t do anything stupid or reckless.

    "My apologies, mydy. I have no idea. The new-"

    Before he could evenplete the sentence, he was grabbed by the neck again with even more strength. Then, Leislet pulled closer to her face until there were only a few centimeters between them.

    In normal circumstances, being this close to a beautiful woman like Leislet was akin to a blessing from god. But, this time, it was more of a curse. Her cold re made him wish he could get away as fast as possible.

    He also felt his throat getting crushed slowly as he squirmed left and right to find a way to breathe.

    "...I want every bit of information about what happened that day. Every single piece of information you can find. You have two hours." She said in the coldest voice he had ever heard. It was as if she was giving him a death sentence rather than an order.

    Then, she released him from her grip and kicked him out of the room.

    After that, she opened the TV in front of her and searched for the news channel.

    When she found it, there was already a meeting happening between the news presenter and some politicians from different backgrounds.

    There was also a pic of a young boy with his distinct long ck hair and his pale white skin.

    She increased the volume to listen closely to the conversation.

    "It''s unbelievable how bad this situation is. Not only did we lose the midnight song but we also sustained huge losses. The reason for that is this criminal who betrayed the whole team. We save him from death and that''s how he repays our kindness."

    "Yes, Michael. Nightingale had recruited another potential threat to the whole world and we could only watch them do that. This kid is by far the most dangerous out of them all. He could even blend in with society and we wouldn''t know."

    The man named Micheal nodded his head and added.

    "We must find them and erase them once and for all. It''s already enough how much destruction they did to this world throughout the years."

    Then, as they were talking, Leislet opened her phone and checked the bounty list on the hunter association app. There, on top of the chart was Acht''s picture.

    What made her even more shocked was the bounty they put on his head.

    "10000 gold coins¡­10000 gold coins." She couldn''t hold herself as she muttered the number.

    Just to put it into perspective, 10000 coins are more than enough to buy a whole arsenal of S-Rank weapons and still have enough money to buy a vi in the most wealthy part of Lagradon.

    It was such an absurdly high number that even Leislet had to look at it twice to make sure she wasn''t hallucinating.<sub> </sub>

    "This is bad¡­this is really bad¡­Acht is in grave danger." She said,

    Now that he was the most sought-after criminal, many hunters will try to look for him to capture him or even kill him on the spot.

    It was not an exaggeration to say that hundreds or even thousands of hunters will start a search process on a massive scale around the world. Finding him was hard but it wasn''t impossible.

    "These scums are the worst of the worst and now an even worse scum is joining them."

    "Shut up."

    "I hope he gets captured and tortured."

    "Shut up."

    "Instead of being of help to other people, he chose to be trash."

    "I SAID SHUT UP!!!!" She shouted as she threw the controller at the screen, breaking it into pieces and creating a hole in the wall.

    She then covered herself up and closed her eyes. She had no idea what to do at this point.

    All of her thoughts were messy and impossible to understand.

    But, she was sure of one thing.

    "I must find Acht before they find him." She muttered.

    That was the only thing she had to do before anything else. He was in grave danger at this point and the only way out of this is for her to hide him until things calm down.

    "But how am I going to find him?"

    She knew very well how Nightingale are basically masters when ites to erasing their traces from any ce in the world. Finding them is basically as hard, if not even harder, than finding a needle in the middle of a vast ocean.

    So, she had no idea how to start looking for him.

    But, then she remembered something important.

    "That bitch, Scarlett. She could still have ''that'', right?" She muttered as her expression lightened greatly.

    Then, with a new lead and possible hope, she stood up from the bed and wore her clothes that she found on the chair beside her.

    Leaving the room, she walked out of the hospital and made a call to someone.

    Her eyes were still sad and her expression was still pale and sickly. But, hope had rejuvenated her and made her find energy in her body that she normally should not have with her injury.

    ''I will find you¡­No matter what¡­even if you are hiding under the ground or in the sky. Even if you left this world as a whole¡­I will still find you! Just wait for me, Acht!'' She thought to herself.

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    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 161 Chapter 161

    During this time, Acht and Lein had already returned to Evernight. The journey was as quiet as before and both of them didn''t even bother to walk side by side.

    Even though they found something inmon between them that only they knew of, both of them knew that that doesn''t mean that they can be friends and forget the past.

    Especially Acht, he will never forgive Nightingale for what they did to him and he was already having the thought of killing them at some point in the future when he was strong enough.

    As for Lein, she did feel grateful for him that he saved her but that''s it. They will keep a fair distance between them and treat each other as if they don''t exist except when they are on missions.

    When they reached the ''Melody Of Dreams Bar'', they found the six members of Nightingale there sitting silently.

    The atmosphere was quite heavy and the tension was very high so Acht was able to see that something wrong happened.

    Lein also felt that but she figured ignorance as she walked to Lenny and said.

    "We got the Soul Lapis stones. It was a fucking hectic mission."

    Lenny looked at her and nodded his head.

    "I see. Did you fight a sea king fish?"

    "That fucker was a goddamn nightmare. I never want to see another one of those in my life. I will go sleep." She replied as she scratched the back of her head.

    "No, we have a matter to discuss. Sit down."

    "Sigh, what is it now?" She asked tiredly before sitting down.

    As for Acht, he just dumped out all the Soul Lapis stones before walking away to the backroom.

    "Wait, Acht," Lenny said.

    The boy stopped walking and peeked at him.

    "What?"

    "This matter is linked to you. You might wanna hear this." The old man said with a calm tone.

    ''Rted to me? Now, this sounds like some big trouble.'' He thought.

    Without much else to do, he also took a seat and waited for the old man to speak.

    Instead, what he did was click on the controller and turned the TV on.

    There, Acht saw the news channel and next to the reporter and the other invited people, he saw a picture of himself.

    His eyes widened slightly but he wasn''t too shocked.

    Lenny waited for a few seconds for Acht to digest what he saw before he asked.

    "What do you think?"

    However, before the boy could even answer, Weltz stood up and looked at Lenny.

    "I will tell you what I think. This piece of shit just dragged us with him into an unnecessary fucking problem!!" He shouted with an angry re.

    He then looked at Acht and said.

    "You! I never epted you and now I was fucking right! You are a spy or something huh!!"

    His aura unleashed and he pressured Acht with it.<sub> </sub>

    But, instead of getting Acht to fall down, wiggling and whimpering while getting suffocated, he just sat there calmly, unbothered by the man as if he didn''t exist.

    "You fucker!!! I will kill you and get rid of this problem!"

    "Calm down, Weltz," Jack said as he tried to stop this mess. He walked up to him and tried to grab his shoulder.

    But, Weltz immediately yanked his arm away and red at Jack.

    "Leave me the fuck alone!! I will kill this trash and get disposed of him before the fuckers from the hunter associatione looking for him."

    Then, like a mad bull, he rushed toward Acht who readied himself to defend against theing attack.

    However, much to his surprise, the moment Weltz was a few steps away from his target, he was suddenly sent flying and smashed against the wall roughly.

    The wall seemed to be sturdy as it didn''t break because of the hit.

    Silence.

    Everyone looked at the scene and couldn''t evene up with words to say.

    Even Acht felt a chill down his spine as he turned his head around rigidly toward the old man that was sitting calmly in his chair as if nothing happened.

    ''He did it again. How is that even possible?'' He thought to himself.

    There was literally no movement that happened before Weltz was sent away like that. No movement, no aura, and not even a small amount of soul force came from the old man. It was as if he didn''t do anything¡­or to be more precise, he did something that none of the people present could see.

    "Kin put Weltz in his room ande back here." He suddenly spoke to the doll-like woman with the huge hammer on her back.

    Kin then walked to Weltz and yanked him up before putting him on her shoulder and walking away as if she was carrying a sack of potatoes.

    "Now that the problem is solved, Let''s talk calmly. It seems Acht has been exposed as our new member by the hunter association. He also has a 10000 gold coin bounty on his head."

    He then took a deep breath before continuing.

    "However, he is not to be med in this matter. Someone had leaked this information to the people and now it''s a worldwide hot topic."

    The first to talk was the man that Acht still didn''t know his name. He didn''t have the chance to know it.

    "The hunter association is just bluffing. Even if they put a bounty hunter on his head, just the fact that he joined us makes him a very dangerous being that most hunters don''t want to mess with. Wise hunters that is."

    Jack nodded his head in agreement.

    "I agree with Torn, everyone knows who Nightingale is. If they are not crazy enough to gamble with their lives, no one will try to search for him."

    Lenny listened carefully to their opinions but he still shook his head.

    "Don''t underestimate them. The hunter association finally found a lead that could make them reach us and it''s a very strong lead. Sooner orter, they will try with all their might to catch us one by one. That''s why¡­"

    He red at the TV with a very emotionless look and said.

    "We must destroy them."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 162 Chapter 162

    Lenny''s words made everyone''s face even grimmer. They knew exactly what he meant by those words and what kind of thing he intended to do.

    As much as they agree with that idea, doing it is a whole other matter. Destroying the whole hunter association which is the strongestpany in the world is basically akin to facing the whole world.

    Acht looked at the old man after hearing these words with aplicated gaze. He knew that this old man deliberately said those words when he was present.

    The reason for that is most likely because he wanted to integrate Acht into Nightingale as much as he could. He wanted Acht to be totally linked to Nightingale which would help him keep the boy in the organization without risking him escaping before their deal was over.

    Acht was aware of that but even then, he could not do anything. It was already over when he epted the deal.

    ''Fuck.'' He cursed under his breath at this problem of his.

    Now, he had to make apletely new identity for himself if he wanted to blend into society just like before. He also needed to change his appearance.

    "Is it really the time, boss?" Lein asked with a serious look.

    Lenny nodded his head as he responded.

    "The preparations are almost done. In a few years¡­No, in a couple of years. We will finally start our real goal." He said as he stood up to leave.

    However, before he could even say something else, they all heard the shout of Weltzing from behind the door.

    They all looked at it as it got basically kicked open and Weltz came in heaving up and down like a tired dog.

    "Kin¡­That bitch, she didn''t let me even walk out of my room." He muttered as he looked behind him with a frown.

    There, stood Kin with her huge hammer in her hand as she came running toward him. She then jumped in the air and smashed down with her hammer.

    "Wait!! I surrender! Stop it!" He shouted as he jumped to the side, barely evading the hammer by a hair''s breadth.

    But, Kin didn''t stop as the moment shended she dashed towards him again with her hammer in her hand. She had no intention of letting him off.

    "Fuck! I have no choice then!" Weltz cursed as he pulled out what seemed like a spear.

    It was obviously a high-grade soul artifact that could probably be considered as a weapon of mass destruction.

    Then with a loud shout, he shed down with the spear. Instantly, the two weapons shed violently and a huge wave of energy took the ce in chaos.

    Everyone looked at this interaction with no particr shock. They had seen Weltz and kin fight hundreds and even thousands of times so this was no new stuff.

    However, they can''t just let them fight recklessly like that.

    That''s why Lenny intervened with his strong presence.

    "Stop it, both of you." He said.

    Immediately, Kin retreated after knocking Wletz''s spear away.

    He clicked his tongue and restored the weapon before looking straight at Lenny.

    "I had thought about this matter and I have one request. Can you let me fight that small bastard, boss?"

    "Fight?"

    "Yes, I want to see if he really is worth all of this trouble we are getting ourselves into."

    "But I chose him. Are you questioning my decisions?" Lenny asked again with a slightly colder tone.<sub> </sub>

    "No way, boss. But I can only ept him if he reaches my standard. Other than that I will never ept him and I will do everything to get rid of him." Weltz responded with a determined look.

    Lenny rubbed his beard as he thought about it before turning to Acht and asking.

    "Are you ok with that?"

    Acht didn''t even bother to wait as he said.

    "No, it''s a hassle. If he wants to ept me or not. It''s his fucking problem, not mine."

    Then, he stood up and walked away, passing beside Weltz who red at him.

    "I knew you were a pussy from the moment I first saw you."

    "Cheap provocations aren''t really the best thing that could make me fight you."

    Weltz felt his head turning red with rage as he almost tried to poke holes into Acht''s back with his eyes. He was now in such a state of anger that his reasoning got blinded and he shouted.

    "Fine. If you fight me and hold on for 40 seconds then I will give you 30 S-Rank soul stones."

    After he ended his sentence, he could hear his voice echo around the ce while silence took over the rest of the people there.

    "Weltz¡­did you go nuts?" Jack asked with a sigh as he pinched the upper part of his nose.

    "Sigh, what a fucking idiot," Lein muttered.

    As for Torn, he just chuckled slightly before returning to his calm and stoic expression.

    Acht halted his steps and looked at the man with a small smile.

    "Now we are talking." He said to him,

    Weltz also smiled slightly and nodded his head ignoring all the words his teammates told him from the background.

    His desire to turn Acht into a meat paste was way stronger than his logical thinking.

    "Good! I will fucking crush every bone of your body before that 40 seconds end." He shouted before looking at Lenny.

    "See, boss? We agreed on a fight. Fair and square, me and him, 40 seconds should be more than enough."

    Lenny red at Weltz for a moment before sighing.

    "Do whatever you want."

    "Hahaha, thank you, boss. Now, let''s go to the training capsules immediately. I can''t wait any longer." He said as he walked ahead first.

    As for Acht he just casually walked after him with his hands in his pockets.

    He didn''t seem nervous at all that he was fighting one of Nightingale''s members at all. It was almost too weird and too suspicious.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 163 Chapter 163

    The two reached the training capsule area silently. Weltz had this aggressive expression on his face like a wild beast ready to shred its prey to pieces.

    As for Acht, he was simply strolling as if he was walking in the park. He didn''t bother with the fact that Weltz was not going to hold back at all and will go for the kill and no one will stop him since it was consensual.

    As for the others, they also followed them there to watch the fight. Some had difficult expressions while others didn''t show any emotions at all.

    After entering the capsule, they stood far away from each other. Their eyes scanned their enemy, trying to find their weak points and generating a n in their minds for the fight.

    "Let''s keep it simple, fucker! I will throw this coin in the air and the moment itnds the fight officially starts. Use whatever the fuck you want for the fight since you will be dead by the end anyway. I will enjoy crushing you like a fucking ant! You hear me?! Like a goddamn ant!!" Heughed loudly with his shoulders shaking rhythmically.

    Acht looked at this attempt of intimidation and almost scoffed at him. He had seen way more scary stuff in his life than this man could imagine and he is still trying that on him.

    "h h h! Start the fucking fight. I want to go to sleep." Acht said as he made a fake yawn.

    Weltz clenched his teeth and then pulled out a coin from his pocket.

    "Here we go!"

    He then threw the coin so high in the sky. Each one of them looked at the coin reaching a few tens of meters high in the sky before starting to free fall.

    During that time, Acht pulled out Midnight Song and made a fighting pose. As for Weltz he merely pulled out his spear and stood there, resting the spear on his shoulder. He had this huge grin on his face that would irritate anyone.

    *Ting*

    The moment the coin hit the ground and made a sound, both of their silhouettes blurred as they disappeared from their initial position and appeared in the middle of the arena.

    The sword and the spear shed violently and created an energy wave that would have destroyed the ce if this was a normal room.

    They both looked at each other as they pulled their weapons at the same time and shed again with even more strength.

    "Hahahah! You fucking think your stupid ass power will be enough? Lost element my ass! I will show you my true strength."

    Weltz yelled as he increased his strength on the spear, pushing Acht slightly.

    Then, in a single moment, a barrage of attacks came falling down on Acht. Weltz used his spear crazily as he moved his arms at all angles. He seemed like a tireless machine that never stops.

    Acht had to keep defending with his sword, trying to keep up with the spear. The crispy sound of the spear hitting the sword sent a vibration throughout his body. It was slightly painful but also rejuvenating.

    Even at such a disadvantage, he kept a calm face and didn''t attack back.

    ''Not yet.'' Acht thought to himself.

    Weltz was also slightly turning grim with each passing moment as he tried to overpower the kid. However, no matter how much he tried, he kept parrying his attacks without fail.

    It was very humiliating for him, who was boasting that he would kill Acht in less than 40 seconds.

    So, to try and end this immediately, he stepped back and then jumped in the air before piercing down with his spear like a falling meteor.

    Acht watched Weltzing down and clicked his tongue before using gravity to fly to the air.

    The moment his legs left the ground, a huge explosion hit his initial position and created a cloud of dust big enough to engulf half of the arena.<sub> </sub>

    Even the whole capsule shook from the sheer power of that attack.

    A few momentster, the dust was swept away and Acht could finally see the huge hole that was created in the ground. Just the thought of him getting hit by such an attack was chilling. It was an instant death attack.

    Acht then looked around and he saw Weltz running to the side with his spear to his side. Then, he jumped on a wall and pushed with his right leg to st him into the air.

    <o>,m In a moment, he reached Acht and shed with his spear. The arc created by the weapon was like a deadly yet beautiful move that mesmerizes anyone who sees it.</o>

    *KLING* *KLING* *KLING*

    The sound of metal hitting each other reverberated around.

    "Die! Die! Die!" Weltz shouted.

    However, instead of that, Acht muttered to him.

    "You fell for it, moron."

    His words somehow sent a chill down Weltz''s spine as a bad omen took over his mind.

    Before he could even react to it, he felt his body getting sted down to the ground like a falling boulder.

    The moment he hit the already destroyed ground, a breath got knocked out of his lungs while his eyes widened from the pain.

    But it wasn''t over, Acht then looked at a huge rock not that far away from him and pulled it up with gravity.

    Then, he looked at Weltz who was still trying to stand up.

    His cold eyes were like that of a god punishing a puny mortal.

    "It''s over."

    He then threw the huge boulder at him. The speed at which this huge object moved was insane.

    What was even more insane was the after-effect of such a hit.

    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM*

    Bits and pieces of rocks and pebbles scattered everywhere like tiny shards of ss.

    It was a direct hit and Acht was sure of it. He was also sure that this fight was over so he barely gave the ce where Weltz wasying a nce before starting to walk away.

    However, as he was walking, a huge amount of energy started umting around Weltz before a weird blue fire exploded from his body and reached the sky.

    "YOU BASTARDDDDDDD!!!!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 164 Chapter 164

    A pir of blue mes rose up to the sky and hit the ceiling. Then, it started scattering all over the ceiling creating a blue light that covered the whole arena.

    Acht watched this scene with a surprised expression. He never thought Weltz''s element would be something like blue mes.

    However, that was not something he should think about now as a more pressing matter is in front of him.

    Weltz stood up and punched the huge rock on top of him, breaking it into small pieces with one single hit before ring at Acht with his bloodshot eyes that looked akin to that of a mad beast.

    He then yelled at the top of his lungs and dashed toward Acht swiftly. His steps were so quick that no one could follow them as they only appeared like a messy blur.

    "I will kill you!!" He shouted as he infused his blue mes into his own spear and shed horizontally.

    Acht couldn''t waste any time and jumped in the air. However, Weltz followed up his attack by kicking with his leg. Acht couldn''t avoid it so he also kicked with his leg.

    <o>,m Another sh in the air shook the ce.</o>

    Lenny and the others watched this with a stupefied look. They weren''t looking at Weltz since they knew his powers very well but they were impressed by Acht''s ability to keep with him even though he was clearly inferior in terms of raw power.

    "His usage of the gravity element is beyond amazing," Lenny said as he rubbed his beard making the others look at him with an even shocked look.

    It was the first time they heard him praise someone straightforwardly like that.

    Jack asked his boss in disbelief.

    "What is he doing? I can''t sense it well because of the chaotic energy around him and Weltz."

    Lenny shook his head before he started exining.

    "The boy knows he is inferior in terms of strength so he uses gravity maniption to weaken every attack from Weltz. It''s not that apparent since he barely uses any energy to do that."

    "How?" Lein barged into the conversation with another question.

    "It''s easy¡­ Instead of absorbing the attack, he just changes the direction of the effect of the hit away from him. However, even that is easier said than done. It needs a very good understanding of one''s element to reach such mastery."

    Hearing these words Torn chuckled coldly as he muttered.

    "This kid is one hell of a monster. I can''t imagine how he will be after a few years. Don''t turn him into our enemy, boss."

    Lenny didn''t answer those words and merely looked at the fight with aplicated expression.

    Back in the arena, Weltz retracted his leg after the hit and used the spear that was covered in mes to hit the ground.

    A weird thing happened the next second that changed Acht''s idea about Weltz''s power totally.

    The moment the me spread on the ground, it froze. It was as if the mes had turned to ice when they touched it.

    Acht was shocked at this revtion but still didn''t wait to see what would happen as the mes were closing up on him.

    As he jumped back, the icey mes started creating spikes the size of his body. Each spike was closer and closer to him, making him barely evade it.

    ''These mes are weird. Do they work like ice?'' He thought to himself as he ran around the ce evading every spike that appeared under him.

    "Fucker!!! Stop moving around like a slippery fish!"

    As he moved, he was also generating a n in his head. Then, after making sure he was far enough, he sliced off one of the spikes and made it fly toward Weltz like an arrow.<sub> </sub>

    He didn''t stop at that as he kept running and slicing off spikes before sending them flying, creating a sea of arrows around Weltz.

    The outraged man clicked his tongue as he jumped in the air to avoid all of those arrows.

    "Nice," Acht muttered and pulled out his bow before aiming at the man and shooting.

    Weltz saw that and tried to locate the arrow he shot. However, nothing appeared in his line of sight.

    Then¡­.

    "Ughhhh!!" A strong pain hit his stomach as he looked down hurriedly.

    There, an arrow made out of energy was nted into his abdomen and created a deep injury that oozes blood.

    So, with clenched teeth, he pulled out the arrow and howled like a wolf from the suffering.

    "You fuckers!!!"

    "The 40 seconds had already been over. What a fucking sore loser. Just admit defeat, you piece of shit." Acht said coldly.

    "Shut the fuck up!!!"

    He shouted as the mes started burning even harder.

    The fight then continued with increasing intensity.

    The two kept appearing and disappearing like ghosts, shing with weapons and using all kinds of close and long-distance attacks.

    It reached a point where both of them forgot about the outside world and fully focused on the fight.

    Deep inside, both of them were enjoying the fight a lot.

    Each one of them went all out. This gave them a sense of freedom and relief for some reason.

    Especially Acht, he felt as if with each passing second, hisbat abilities were improving a lot and getting even more honed.

    He even did things that he never thought would have been possible before.

    As for Weltz, he was beyond outraged and didn''t even care about the bet or the time or anything else. His sole goal at this point was to kill Acht no matter what.

    However, as he was about to use his blue mes again, Lenny stood up and said.

    "That''s it. The fight is over."

    Just those few words were more than enough to freeze Weltz in his ce and make him look at the boss with shock.

    "Boss!!"

    "Let it go, Weltz. You have lost."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 165 Chapter 165

    Weltz breathed heavily as he looked at Lenny with a weird expression. He felt as if all of his anger got deted with those few words and were reced with sadness and disappointment.

    He was genuinely devastated that he couldn''t beat a small boy in a direct fight. Not only that, but somehow they were on equal footing till the end.

    So, with clenched teeth, he looked down in shame, not wanting to see anyone''s face.

    "Sigh." Lenny sighed quietly and then looked at Acht who merely pulled out a bottle of water to drink it and also to wash some of the sweat from his face.

    Then, he walked past Weltz and said,

    "Don''t forget the 30 S-Rank soul stones."

    Those were thest words he left before he went out of the capsule.

    Everyone eyed him as he walked away. They saw how monstrously talented Acht was and could only change their view about him.

    However, even with that, they were still aware that Acht won''t ept them any time soon. Getting him to genuinely join them is as hard of a task as it could get.

    After that, everyone started leaving the training capsule. The only two that were left there were Lenny and Lein. The old man didn''t know why but Lein asked him to stay there for a very important matter she needed to tell him.

    "What is it?" He asked as he tapped on his cane.

    Lein didn''t answer but instead pulled out a transparent object from her spatial ring and gave it to him.

    It took Lenny a few seconds for him to identify this object and his expression immediately changed to a grave one.

    He then eyed Lein and asked.

    "Is this..?"

    "Yes, Little shit found it when we were collecting Soul Lapis stones. I couldn''t believe my eyes when I saw it.

    Lenny sighed and rubbed his beard as he looked at the object, turning it around from time to time.

    Silence took over the ce for a good 30 seconds as Lein waited for Lenny to speak.

    ? The woman felt urgent so she asked him.

    "What should we do, boss?"

    "Leave this to me. I will deal with it. It''s a good thing that you discovered it. You can go now."

    Lein nodded her head and left. Lenny sat down there alone in the training capsule and looked particrly nowhere with a deep look seemingly in thought.

    Then, he stood up and muttered.

    "Is it really this close now? We are still not ready."

    Then, he vanished from the room as if he never existed there.

    **************************

    A week then passed quietly, the world was still in chaos about what happened and Acht''s face was basically everywhere.

    Theories and discussions took over the social media and TV channels about his whereabouts and Nightingale in general.

    They were now akin to some kind of superstars although for all the bad reasons. However, even in the midst of this mess, there were people who started popping up that were on Nightingale''s side.<sub> </sub>

    It was a weird thing since the majority of the poption was against anything that Nightingale did. They killed supposedly innocent people so they are bad people by default. But, exceptions were always present in such situations.

    For better or worse, this was on Nightingale''s side since it meant that people are starting to idolize them. Creating backing from the poption is never a bad thing.

    As for the person in the middle of this Chaos, he was in his room, calmly sitting on his bed training.

    The world matters were not his problem at the moment and even if he stayed worried about it, there was nothing he could do.

    "Fuuh, finally done." He muttered as hepletely absorbed thest soul stone in his hand and threw it away.

    His body was sticky with sweat and even some steam wasing from him as if he was getting cooked.

    But, as much as it looked painful, it was actually a rejuvenating feeling for him.

    He had already gone from being a Level 4 orange soul to a 7 orange soul, increasing his strength again by a huge margin.

    He then stood up and went to take shower before leaving his room. The ce was as quiet as always.

    He then walked to the bar and ordered a drink. It wasn''t alcoholic since Acht was never really fond of alcohol in general.

    Sitting alone there, he felt somewhat peaceful as he scrolled through his phone. Every ce he looked at, there was his face there along with some insults and other negative things.

    It was bad but he didn''t really care about how people saw him or how they thought about him. The only thing that was genuinely bothering Acht was the fact that he was now the center of attention.

    Keeping it Lowkey was his initial goal when he came here but he wasn''t able to do so and found out quickly that he was way too special to be able to stay in the shadows.

    The Nightingale event only amplified that fact in his head, nothing more, nothing less.

    As he was having such thoughts, someone entered the bar. Acht took a peak at the person and then returned to his drink without bothering to say anything.

    The person who entered was Torn.

    "Bloody Mary," Torn said as he sat down next to Acht.

    He then eyed Acht once and said.

    "You don''t seem to be that bothered by it."

    Acht knew what he was talking about since that''s what he was looking at on his phone.

    But, he didn''t bother to say anything. He wasn''t here for a conversation after all.

    But, his next words made Acht halt his movements and look at Torn with a cold gaze.

    "You know, sometimes¡­The worst of hitses from people you never expect. I think you are aware of that, aren''t you?"

    "What do you mean?" The boy asked coldly.

    "You know exactly what I mean. You already thought of it. That small possibility that you try to ignore no matter what. That might be the case this time, Acht."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 166 Chapter 166

    Acht couldn''t respond to his words as he found himself speechless. Torn somehow was able to see through him and pinpoint exactly one of the things he wanted no one to know.

    He had this suspicion that maybe Leislet or Scarlett were the ones who spread his information. They were the only ones that were there at the time so the chances are not nonexistent. This made him fall into a small dilemma over the matter that he kept hidden in the back of his mind.

    However, this didn''t make his expression change at all as he kept a calm demeanor and sipped on his drink casually.

    "Am I right?" Torn asked.

    He then pulled out a cigar and lit it up before taking a deep breath from it then exuding out a cloud of smoke.

    "You know how this world works, Acht. You can never trust everyone. Backstabbing and betraying from people you believe are trustworthy is more frequent than you could believe."

    Acht sighed and looked at the man.

    "What are you trying to imply? I know what I have to do."

    "I am not implying anything. But, know one thing, even though we are a group of scumbags that deserve death. We will never, ever betray anyone of us no matter what. The boss engraved that into our minds."

    He then took a sip of the bloody Mary and his face contorted slightly as he red at the bartender.

    "What the fuck? This shit is way too strong." He said.

    He then passed back the drink to the bartender and said.

    "Keep your eyes on them, Acht. You never know when shit could hit the fan."

    Acht heard his words but did not respond and merely stood up to leave.

    But, before he stepped out of the door, he looked back at Torn and said with a mysterious tone.

    "Your words are right and I think the same way. But, shouldn''t you apply them to yourself first before saying them to me?"

    Then, he left the room, leaving Torn alone. He kept looking at his cigar, rolling it around while in deep thought.

    But, what he did next made the bartender look at him weirdly.

    He just startedughing loudly, it was such a freeugh that it was almost too loud. He then wiped the tear that fell from his eyes because of the excessiveughing and said.

    "You bastard. Are you even a small child? Hahahahah!"

    ***************************

    Acht was able to hear Torn''sugh and could only shake his head with a sigh before going down the stairs.

    However, as he was about to quit the bar, he stumbled upon someone sleeping on the ground in front of the door.

    Acht thought he was some kind of beggar and ignored him. But, as he tried to pass him, his leg got grabbed by the mysterious person.

    "What?" He looked down and saw the man''s face.

    He seemed to be a young man probably no more than 20 years of age. He had this messy look and very long hair that made him look even more shabby.

    Acht tried to release himself from the grip but much to his surprise he couldn''t do it.

    The grip this person had on Acht was just too strong. The boy felt as if his leg was getting squished and his bones were cracking slightly as if threatening to break it.

    Acht''s face grew a frown as he red at the man.

    "What the fuck do you want?"

    The man had this extremely sad face on him and his tears were rolling down his face unstoppingly.<sub> </sub>

    "Why¡­Why is this world so cruel? Buhuhu, why do I have to live in this circle of eternal suffering and pain?" He said as he cried even more.

    Acht found himself speechless at this man and could only increase his pulling force to get his leg out. The pain was very ufortable for him but not to the point of being insufferable.

    "Release my leg." He ordered with a cold look.

    "I will never find this happiness people are talking about."

    Acht could no longer wait anymore and immediately went into the attack, sending a kick to his face.

    However, before the attack connected, the man suddenly jumped on his legs in less than a tenth of a second and avoided the hit as if it was nothing.

    "Why? Why am I this unlucky? Why is life so unfair?" He kept babbling some weird words as he looked up to the sky as if he was praying.

    ''Wtf is wrong with this person?'' He thought to himself with a weird look.

    He was sure that this person was very strong. This level of speed and flexibility is that of a very powerful Awakener.

    "Oh, Uli? You came back?"

    Achy turned around and saw Jacking from the other side of the street.

    He then approached the two and grabbed Uli''s shoulder with a smile.

    "You took longer than expected this time."

    "Huh? Jack? Is that you? Are you my savior?" He said as he started grabbing his cheeks and hair frantically.

    "Stop it. You are still as weird as before." Jack chuckled at Uli''s weird behavior.

    "Sorry, Acht. Uli has always been like this. He doesn''t mean any harm with his actions."

    "Who is he?" Acht asked as he tapped the hem of his trousers to get some of the dirt that umted there.

    "He is the seventh member."

    His movements halted and looked up with a surprised expression.

    "The seventh member? You have seven members?"

    "That''s what the seventh member means, I guess. Hahahah." Jackughed at his own joke.

    Acht had no idea about this. Even in the book, there was never a mention of a seventh member in Nightingale.

    This revtion made his mind stop working for a moment.

    If this was true, then he had discovered something really important.

    A revtion that could change everything he had in his mind about this world, about what will happen in the future, and about even himself.

    ''This world¡­is it not the same one as in the book?''

    He thought inwardly as he tapped his forehead.

    As much as it sounds ridiculous, this fact had always been in his face the whole time and he didn''t think about it or see it.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 167 Chapter 167

    That fact took him by storm. On one side, this was something that he should''ve predicted before. Livia was a tricky goddess after all.

    But, on the other hand, changing the whole plot of the book could actually be because of him and not because of the goddess herself.

    His existence in this world was an anomaly in and out of itself. Not only that but he also got involved in so many main events throughout the time he was here. However, he never expected the butterfly effect to be this strong or this quick.

    This, however, leaves the suspicions that maybe he was not in a world he was considerably familiar with. Maybe it was not so clear after all.

    ''Sigh, this is quickly bing a big headache.'' Acht thought to himself as he looked at the crying man named Uli.

    He looked like a homeless man rather than a member of one of the strongest organizations in the world.

    What was even weirder is the fact that Acht couldn''t sense any kind of auraing from him.

    It was not that he was hiding it or something like that but more of as if he never even awakened his soul stone.

    This was something weird that made the boy even more confused about the identity of Uli.

    "So, let''s get up and talk. You didn''te here to visit, right?" Jack said with a serious look after joking for some time with Uli.

    The two then started ascending the stairs. Acht was about to go away since he didn''t really care about what they were going to talk about.

    However, Uli''s next words made his steps halt.

    "Oh, Jack! My savior! I found something horrible in the northern peaks! Many men, in capsules, in slumber." He said as he kept crying. He also used Jack''s shirt as the towel he sneezed into.

    "Men in slumber? What do you mean, Uli?" Jack asked confusedly.

    "Men, handsome men¡­Hick, they looked scary and beautiful! They were weird. We need the boss to see them."

    He grabbed Jack''s shirt and pulled him over as he shouted.

    "Ok, ok! Calm down. Let''s discuss this inside. I will call the boss." Jack replied as he released himself.

    ''Men in slumber?'' The moment he heard those words, Acht''s memory went back to the mysterious creature he found with Leislet inside that dungeon.

    That creature was beyond any strength or anyprehensible abilities.

    He could feel a chill run down his spine remembering that event. So, he changed his direction and went back up. This matter was something that he must hear.

    The three reached the bar and they found Torn who was still sipping on his bloody Mary and smoking his cigar along with Kin who seemed to be ying with cards with no one in particr. Her face was as expressionless as ever.

    They both looked at the door. Torn stopped sipping when he saw Uli and said,

    "Uli? You came back? I thought you died or something."

    "Horrible! How horrible, Torn! My life was always a sad and depressing one. But, I will never kill myself. I shall bear with this eternal suffering of mine. it''s my stigma!" Uli said as he made an exaggerated depressed look.

    He looked like some kind of dancer with those moves.

    "You never change, Uli. Whatever¡­" Torn said.

    "He seems to have some new information for us. Where is the boss?" Jack asked as he looked around.

    "I don''t know. He said that he had an urgent matter to deal with and left a day ago." Torn replied.<sub> </sub>

    "Dammit! We need him back here. I should also call the others." Jack said as he pulled out a weird device from his pocket

    He tapped some buttons on it and then sat down.

    "So, Uli. Exin what you saw there in detail." Jack urged Uli with a serious expression.

    "I-I¡­I was there for some rest. The northern peaks have one of the best hot springs in the world. I deserve some rest from my eternal crisis after all. However, when I was looking around the ce for a good spot to stay there and cry the whole night. I found a small hidden cave in one of the mountains."

    He then suddenly stopped and looked at Jack with pitiful eyes.

    "What? Continue."

    "I need something to wipe my nose. It''s itchy."

    "Fucking hell. Here, take this." Jack sighed and gave him a paper towel.

    After wiping his nose a couple of times, Uli continued.

    "The cave was weird and way too big for a normal cave. It took me two weeks of constant walking to be able to reach its end."

    "Did you find a dungeon devourer?"

    "No, it was a normal forest. But, in that ce, I found a chamber filled with weird advanced capsules with many men inside them. They were all beautiful and almost too perfect. They made my inferior self feel even more inferior."

    "Did you inspect them?"

    "Yes, I forced myself to look at them at the risk of getting even more depressed. But, there was nothing that I could do. The capsules were indestructible."

    "Indestructible?!" Jack asked with a weird expression.

    "If you couldn''t destroy them then who could?"

    Jack muttered as he fell into deep thought.

    "Couldn''t they be just some kind of weird experiment from someone?"

    Uli shook his head and replied.

    "Not only were they beautiful beyondprehension, but they were also extremely strong. I had never felt an aura of that caliber in my life. Those men were basically perfect existences."

    Acht listened to his words and each sentence made him sure that he was talking about the same thing Acht saw when he entered the dungeon.

    But, that didn''t make him any more rxed but actually more serious.

    If what he said is true then this was a disaster that both he and Lein didn''t want to see. The worst possible case might actually be the reality.

    ''Who are they? Even inspecting them didn''t do anything. They couldn''t discern anything about them at all.'' He thought to himself.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 168 Chapter 168

    "Sigh, did you find anything else?" Jack asked after a moment of silence for him to organize his thoughts.

    Uli fidgeted slightly and looked around before pulling out something from his pockets.

    "T-This¡­I found a lot of these soul stones there. I don''t know what their rank is though." He said as he handed the small soul stone to Jack.

    Jack didn''t think much about it and grabbed the soul stone. However, the moment he grabbed it, his hand released the soul stone and a horrified expression appeared on his face.

    For a moment, the only sound that could be heard inside the room was the soul stone falling and hitting the ground before rolling away.

    Jack froze in his ce like a statue as he eyed the soul stone without blinking even once.

    "...." He moved his lips and muttered something but no one could hear him

    "What is it, Jack?" Torn asked confusedly as he stood up to pick the soul stone.

    "An SSS-Rank soul stone¡­That''s a fucking SSS-Rank soul stone!!" He said twice with the second time being basically a loud shout.

    "...What?" Torn couldn''t believe him as he walked to the soul stone and picked it up.

    His expression wasn''t that much different than Jack''s as his eyes also widened to their limit.

    "It''s true. How is that even possible?"

    "I don''t fucking know. SSS-Rank soul stones should only exist in the core areas of Ecrasia. This is weird¡­Really weird."

    Acht was also listening to the conversation and the term SSS-Rank hit him strongly.

    He knew very well how rare an S-Rank soul stone was. So, there was no need to talk about SSS-Rank soul stones since they were nothing but legends found in books.

    "Thest time these things existed in the Lower World was before the Descension War. How did they end up here?" Jack asked.

    "Maybe they have been left there since then." Torn gave his opinion on the matter as he also fell into deep thought.

    Jack shook his head as he pulled out a book from his spatial ring and started turning papers until he stopped on a certain page.

    "No, ording to the book, Soul Stones can''t keep their energy inside of them for a long time. SSS-Rank soul stones, being the highest possible grade, could only keep their energy inside them for as long as 30 years at maximum."

    He then closed the book and added.

    "If this is true then these soul stones were put there not long ago by something¡­or someone."

    His deduction made the atmosphere grow heavier. They all knew what the meaning of his words was.

    As they were going back and forth like that, the other Nightingale members came to the bar. The urgent call made them leave everything they were doing and rush to the ce.

    Even Lenny came back not long after them.

    After exining the situation, Lenny had a huge frown on his face.

    "Did some Ecrasia inhabitantse here? How did they even pass¡­the barrier." As he muttered those words, his eyes lightened up with understanding.<sub> </sub>

    For a second, he forgot the matter of the barrier starting to break, and that made him feel even more troubled. However, the old man still kept his calm look.

    So, with that in mind, he stood up and said in a loud and authoritative tone.

    "Listen, you all! We have to stop our ns for now and we will go to the northern peaks. This matter is urgent and very important."

    Hearing his words, Acht''s face turned grim, and stepped up with a calm yet cold tone.

    "Don''t even think about it." He said.

    "What?"

    "Those creatures. I know them very well." Acht answered.

    He was not willing to say such a secret to them but going to a ce where many of those creatures exist was also out of the question. If they somehow awaken and get out of the capsule then death is the only thing waiting for him and every Nightingale member.

    "I have seen one of them before. You don''t even want to think about meeting one of them. They are just a bunch of unbeatable creatures. I have never seen in my life something as strong as them."

    His words kept making Lenny''s face turn more and more serious.

    Then, his next words were like thest nail in the coffin.

    "One of them could probably destroy this whole single-handedly. If you have any value for your life and your team''s lives, you better don''t do it. Or, you can go but don''t involve me in it." Acht said as he was about to leave again.

    Everyone looked at him with aplicated gaze. They couldn''t understand whether he was lying or telling the truth. However, they were also believing his words to a certain extent.

    However, Lenny didn''t get angry or anything of that sort, he just merely said.

    "You know, Acht? If my assumptions are right then this world is on the steps of a war on a massive scale that will rival the Descension War itself. Billions will die and everything will be destroyed. This will also affect you and everyone else."

    He then rubbed his beard and continued.

    "They could destroy a whole single-handedly you say? Well, if that is true then that''s even more of a reason for us to go. Look at them, Acht. Do they look like people who fear death?" He asked.

    Acht instinctively looked at the other members and could see only two emotions in their eyes, determination, and fearlessness.

    "Now, I won''t force you to go since you warned us and that''s more than enough for us to know what we are going to face. But, we will never stop advancing towards our goal no matter what."

    Acht stood silent for a good 30 seconds as he eyed the old man.

    "What is your goal, Lenny? What the fuck do you thrive to reach for you to do all of this? What is it that you want for you to do all of this and sacrifice all of this for?" He asked with an angry tone.

    He was irritated at Lenny. He hated him with all his heart but he also wanted to understand why he was like that.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 169 Chapter 169

    Lenny was slightly surprised at Acht''s question. He knew this boy for a few days only but he was able to have a good idea of how he thought and how he saw things from his own perspective.

    So, he was sure that Acht would never be interested in their matters or even pretend to be interested if it didn''t have some kind of connection to him. A basic selfish ideology that not many have.

    That''s why when he heard him ask this question he could only wonder how much he was affected by Nightingale in such a short time without knowing it.

    "You want to know my goal?" He began.

    He tapped on his cane and said,

    "Have you ever thought why this world was called the Lower World? Have you ever thought why this ce was stuck with such a shameful name?" He asked.

    Acht didn''t answer and just listened quietly.

    "It''s because of how the Descension War ended. This world was at some point the most powerful, the most advanced. You could even call it a Utopia of some sort. Everyone was happy and most importantly was that they were free."

    He then made a loud sigh before continuing.

    "Then the Descension War came and believe it or not, the other worlds that were inferior in every possible way schemed and joined Ecrasia in their invasion. What ended up happening after that was a 3 VS 1 war. It was a total disaster that ended up destroying this whole. And as they say ''History is always written by the winners''. From being the most powerful world, it turned into nothing but a destroyednd with barely any people on it."

    Acht could see how Lenny''s face frowned harder and harder with each second.

    He had never seen the old man so expressive with his emotions since the moment he first met him.

    The old man wasn''t able to see Acht''s expression at that moment as he was still floating in the sea of his mind, telling the story.

    "What happened after that was nothing short of humiliation. People got enved, killed, and toyed with for the sake of enjoyment of the other worlds. The world''s name got changed and everything just went downhill."

    He then red at no one in particr but more because of his next words.

    "All the powerhouses in this world. Every single one of them is nothing but the result of those bastards'' work. Each one of them is nothing but a dog for the three other worlds."

    He then took a deep breath to calm down and added,

    "This world is enved, Acht. Every person here is living in an invisible cage they will never be able to leave. That''s why I and everyone here want to find our way out of this cage toward true freedom. We want to topple down those powers in the shadows for the sake of a better future for us."

    "Everyone thinks we are the bad guys, and they are right. But, we were never the only bad ones there. We just chose cruelty as our weapon to fight cruelty. And I am sure everyone will know the truth one day. As for when that day wille, I don''t know. But I will keep trying until it happens."

    He then stood up and put on his mask before walking away.

    Acht kept looking at the old man and his eyes had this weirdplicated light to them.

    ''He wasn''t lying.'' He thought to himself.

    While listening, Acht linked his story to every piece of information he heard about the truth of this world and all the bad things happening in the background where no one could see them.

    Somehow, everything fit perfectly as if it was a puzzle.

    So, the question that should be asked is, was it all really going in that bad direction? Was everyone including Acht in big trouble?<sub> </sub>

    "This war you are starting is most likely a losing one yet you still try. Why is that?" He asked another question.

    Lenny stopped walking and looked back with the mask still on.

    "If we don''t do it, then who will? Look at our masks, we are Nightingale, the symbol of freedom in this world. We are the ones who desire freedom more than anyone else. Even death will never stop us from seeking our goal."

    Weltz looked at Lenny as he said those words and interrupted him with a grumpy voice.

    "There is no point in exining our goal to a bastard like, Boss. We have more important things to do."

    Lenny looked at him before responding calmly.

    "There is no harm in telling him. Everyone has a chance to put their own fate in their hands after all."

    Then, the group went to the door and left the ce, leaving Acht alone in the room.

    They then walked in the dark and empty streets far from people''s eyes toward the transportation portal.

    Jack looked back and approached Lenny.

    "Do you think he would ept us, boss?"

    The old man didn''t wait for a second as he answered without hesitation.

    "He will. It will just take time. Acht is someone who values freedom as much as we do. Now, we need to focu-"

    "Wait." Suddenly, someone called for them.

    Everyone looked back and behind them was Acht who surprisingly wore the mask too. His aura was calm but also slightly chaotic at the same time.

    Everyone watched him as he approached the group with steady steps and then stood in front of Lenny.

    "Don''t get me wrong. I still do not ept any of you nor will I do so anytime soon, you are still my enemies. But, if your words are true, which is probably the case, then my life is threatened. And when that happens, ideologies are nothing but a hindrance."

    His words were akin to a lightning bolt hitting everyone. They had never believed he could join them just like that.

    But, this was also great news for them.

    "You will never regret this, Acht. You are saving your own life with this." Lenny said.

    "I never regret anything I do, old man." He replied as he started walking away.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 170 Chapter 170

    ''This is a lost cause. I would''ve rather not faced those creatures again. But, the shit That will happen soon will probably make me get involved without even trying.'' Acht thought to himself as he walked with a calm look.

    He was really hesitant about going there but when he thought about it, was there anything he could''ve done to maybe increase his chances of survival if things came down to a whole war or something of that sort? So, his only bet at this point was finding clues from those creatures inside the tanks.

    ''I also have the heart of one of these creatures inside me. Could that be of any help?'' He pondered as he unconsciously touched his heart.

    He had this organ inside of him for months now and except for the power called ''Gravity Domain'' he didn''t feel any other changes.

    This new power he used when he fought Lein was very powerful and almost too good for his level.

    Getting total control over an area around him is nothing short of amazing. However, even though he tried to activate this power again, he couldn''t do so at all.

    That led him to one conclusion.

    ''That power is only usable in certain situations. At least, that''s the case for now.''

    As he had such thoughts, the group reached the transportation portal and since this time was basically dawn, no one was there. The group then went through the gate and found themselves in a whole different ce.

    The moment Acht opened his eyes, a strong and cold wind hit his face like a rushing train. Then, a whole world that was seemingly colored white weed him.

    He looked around him in stupefaction. This ce was like a fairytale in itself.

    The snowy ground where a small vige was built with dark wood. Smoke was rising into the sky from the houses there.

    In the background were mesmerizing mountain peaks that were akin to natural guardians for a beautiful ce like this.

    "Ah, I finally could get my long-awaited hot spring bath," Uli said as he tried to run into the vige.

    However, Torn grabbed his neck and said.

    "Where do you think you are going?"

    "H-Hey, I want my hot spring."

    "Later, now we need to go and see this cave you have been talking about. Lead the way."

    Torn''s words seemed to make Uli even sadder as tears kept rolling down his face without him wiping them.

    "You are horrible, Torn!!" He shouted.

    "Whatever you think. Now, lead the way." He repeated the same words nonchntly.

    Uli then turned around and started walking in the opposite direction of the vige into the mountains on the horizon.

    Acht looked behind him and there seemed to be no vigers close by to see them.

    The group then started a long journey into the peaks, the cold weather would''ve been more than enough to kill a normal human. But, this group of people was far from normal.

    Such cold weather was nothing but a breeze for them. They didn''t even need any kind of heavy clothes for such a mission.

    "Are you sure this is the right way?" Weltz asked with an annoyed look as he pulled out his leg from the thick snow.<sub> </sub>

    "I am indeed a sad and worthless being but I never lose confidence in myself. This is for sure the right way, probably."

    "Hey, you said ''probably'' didn''t you?!" Weltz shouted as he approached Uli angrily.

    "Nooo! I am sure! I am sure!"

    Everyone watched this interaction and could only sigh.

    Uli kept getting farther and farther away from the group in fear of Weltz, however, when he was a certain distance away, a presence suddenly appeared behind him.

    Uli looked behind as he sensed the huge shadow that loomed over him.

    A huge pr bear double the size of a normal pr bear stood behind him on its two paws. It looked to be angry as it screeched and opened its jaw to eat Uli''s head off.

    "Hiiiii!!!" He yelled in fear and slipped down, falling on his ass.

    The pr bear didn''t wait and jumped on him to eat him. But, what happened next made Acht''s eyes widen.

    "No! Stay away from me!" Uli started sending random punches in different directions.

    The pr bear didn''t feel threatened as the punches looked weak and random. So, it just looked at him and left one of the punches to connect with its chest.

    However, the moment the punch touched the pr bear, a huge force hit it and crushed its chest easily like a piece of cardboard.

    Then, with a blurt of pain and suffering, the pr bear was sent flying up into the sky.

    It was sent so far away that Acht was unable to see it after a few moments.

    ''Did he just send an 8-ton monster flying so far away without using soul force?!''

    Yes, the fact that Uli didn''t use one single speck of soul force was what made Acht open and close his eyes a few times to make sure he wasn''t hallucinating.

    "Fuuh. You sent that motherfucker flying to Ecrasia." Lein said as she made a gesture trying to look at the sky with her hand over her eyes.

    "I was so scared, Lein!" Uli said as he grabbed Lein from her waist and tightly hugged her waist as if he was begging her.

    "Let me go." She said with a pissed-off face.

    "Noo! I was scared."

    ? "I said let me go you stupid depressed fuck!" She shouted the second time and punched his head, sending him back to the ground.

    The punch was so hard that it created a small hole in the ground. Such a hit was more than enough to kill a normal human immediately.

    However, Uli just stood up the next second as if nothing happened. His face didn''t even have a trace of the hit.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 171 Chapter 171

    Acht could hardly understand how someone could have such a monstrous physical strength without using soul force. It was true that humans in this world had way better physical constitutions than other humans on earth for example.

    However, that by no means means that what Uli did was something that is possible. So, there were only two choices to look at at this point.

    Either Uli used soul force but Acht couldn''t sense which is the most unlikely one since that is impossible to happen and Acht is unable to sense it.

    Or, there is a kind of power hidden inside Uli that Acht did not know about.

    ''He''s a walking mystery.'' Acht thought to himself.

    They didn''t meet for longer than a few hours and he could already see that this seemingly unknown seventh member was by far the weirdest out of every Nightingale''s members.

    But, the boy knew that this was not the time to think about such a thing so he shook his thoughts away and focused on the matter at hand.

    The group then continued their journey deeper and deeper into the mountains chain.

    Two hours passed with them walking at a rather normal pace with Uli walking slightly ahead of them.

    Lein clicked her tongue and red at Uli.

    "How long are we going to walk for? My fucking legs are wet now." She said in a grumpy tone.

    "We are close, Lein. My lowly senses are telling me so."

    Then, suddenly, his head perked up and he looked at a certain ce before running like a madman there.

    Everyone looked at each other before following him quickly through the thick trees covered with tons of snow.

    Their steps were agile and silent but they left a deep trace in the snow.

    Then, they reached another ce where they found Uli standing in front of a normal tree. His head was looking down.

    "Here. It is here. I can''t believe that I was able to find it. That scared me." He said.

    His words made Weltz look dumbfounded.

    "So you didn''t know the fucking ce and you found it by coincidence? Are you fucking serious?" He shouted.

    Uli heard him and he shook his head frantically.

    "Nooo!! I didn''t say that! I swear."

    "I will fucking slice your head off." He said as he pulled out his spear and walked toward him.

    However, he was stopped by Lenny who had an extremely serious face.

    "Calm down and focus. Can''t you feel this?"

    "Feel wh-"

    As Weltz was about to say something, his senses finally picked up what the others felt before him.

    His angry face turned serious immediately and he looked at the ce where Uli stood.

    "This is¡­" Jack muttered.

    "It''s insane. How could so much energy umte in one single ce? Is this even possible?" Torn questioned confusedly.<sub> </sub>

    "I don''t have any idea," Lein answered with the same shocked face.

    Lenny was the first to recuperate from the surprise and he looked back and said.

    "Let''s go in. Be careful and don''t touch anything no matter how normal it looks. We already are aware of the danger inside and we need to be careful." He then walked to the hole they were standing in front of.

    It was barely the width of an average person with no light inside to show how far deep into the ground it was.

    He then tapped with his cane once and his body immediately disappeared from its initial position.

    Everyone didn''t take long to follow him inside.

    One after the other, they jumped inside the hole. They didn''t know how deep it was but it wouldn''t pose any threat to them except if it was kilometers long for example which was very unlikely.

    Acht was thest one to go inside.

    He was aware of the danger that was inside but for some unknown reason, he didn''t feel any fear or stress. In fact, he was actually attracted to the ce as if it was calling for him.

    It was a very soothing feeling that made every pore of his body scream with joy.

    ''What is this? Is this the effect of that creature''s heart inside of me?'' He thought to himself as he touched his chest.

    Then, with a small sigh, he jumped inside the hole.

    The darkness soon engulfed him as he used gravity to lessen the impact of thending when he reached the bottom.

    However, much to his surprise, the hole wasn''t that deep as after a few seconds of free-falling, he found himself near the ground so he tapped his legs once and hended very quietly like a feather.

    When he stood up again, he found that he was in front of a tunnel that was eerily simr to the one he found inside the other hole in the other dungeon albeit bigger.

    "Damn, this ce looks creepy. The energy is also pushing me away." Lein said as she tapped her clothes to clean the dirt from them.

    "That tunnel will lead us to the chamber I was talking about. Sigh, I will have to bear with looking at those beautiful men that were obviously way better than me. What a world of suffering indeed!" Uli said in his now usual dramatic self.

    Lenny then approached the tunnel and inspected it, it was not that weird as it was made out of stone and dirt.

    Then, with calm yet cautious steps, he wakes inside the big tunnel.

    "Be careful, boss," Weltz said.

    The old man didn''t answer him and kept walking till he reached the end of the tunnel.

    "You cane now. It''s safe, for now at least."

    The group nodded their heads and followed him inside.

    What awaited them at the end of the tunnel was a scene they had never witnessed before.

    "What in the actual fuck? This is more messed up than what you described, Uli." Torn said.

    Everyone silently agreed with his words as the scene was genuinely creepy and chilling to the bone.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 172 Chapter 172

    The room was very big, almost three times the size of the other room Acht entered. This meant that this ce in and out of itself was more of a hall rather than a normal chamber. The ceiling was also so high that someone had to arch his neck to its full flexibility to see the ceiling.

    But, what made everyone lose theirposure for a split moment was the sight inside this chamber. Countless capsules were nted into the ground in the whole room.

    Each capsule was quite spacious and was filled with a weird blue liquid. The substance was of an unknown energy along with the material that built these capsules.

    However, Acht was able to identify that material as it was the same one he saw in the other ce.

    "Damn, this shit is straight out of a horror movie," Lein said with a frown.

    "The difference is that this is real," Jack added his ownment.

    The group then jumped inside the chamber to look around.

    "Look at these creatures. Are they dead?" Torn asked as he approached one of the capsules.

    "Don''t touch it," Acht said as he looked around.

    He inspected the creatures inside and as he predicted, they were indeed the same creatures. Or to be more precise, they were basically copies of each other.

    "Clone testing?" He muttered to himself.

    It seemed that everyone also saw that ring specific feature of these things.

    Uli was the least shocked one out of the bunch as this was not the first time he saw this ce.

    So, with his usual demeanor, he went to a particr corner of the room and picked up something before going back to Lenny and handing it to him.

    "This is another rock like the one I found before."

    Lenny grabbed the soul stone and inspected it to see if it had anything different than the other soul stone.

    However, other than the fact that it had a different shape and size, it was still basically the same as the other stone.

    After that, he looked back at Uli and asked.

    "Did you find anything else suspicious?"

    His question made Uli fall into deep thought as he scratched his head worriedly. Then, he shook his head.

    "Nothing, just this and these men." He said.

    However, as Lenny was about to nod his head in understanding, a voice called them over.

    "Guys, you might want to look at this," Jack said from afar.

    He was standing on the far side of the room, behind the sea of capsules that filled this ce.

    Everyone looked at each other in confusion before walking there.

    The group reached the massive wall there and what they found made them feel even more confused. On the wall was a huge letter-like piece of paper stuck to it, on this piece of paper was a long text that no one could understand from Nightingale.<sub> </sub>

    "Huh, what is thisnguage? Some ancient forgotten one perhaps?" Torn muttered confusedly.

    "Beat me. This looks to be old but not too old. Maybe 30 years old at best from the condition of the paper." Jack said as he examined the paper and the letters written.

    "I have never seen anynguage like this before," Lenny said as he recalled every history book he read in his life. None of them mentioned anguage like this.

    However, as everyone was trying to understand what this thing was all about, Acht was having a dilemma with himself.

    ''Isn''t that...English?'' He thought to himself.

    No matter how he looks at it, that was definitely the Englishnguage.

    It had the same letters and word structure as that of English. So naturally, he was able to read what was on the paper.

    However, he immediately returned to his calm look and didn''t show any expression of shock on his face.

    ''I can''t let them know thatnguage. It''s too risky. I should read it first and then decide what to do.'' He thought to himself as he secretly started reading the letter.

    His eyes moved across the letter, not missing any word.

    The letter started like this.

    ''Day 387. Clone room Number #89 is finalized. Clone Experiments of the ancestor are in a normal condition. The mission is fullypleted. Time left for fullpletion: 32 years, 5 months, 2 days, and 16 hours.''

    Then, the next part of the letter was all an exnation of how the capsule was created and what kind of substances were used for the liquid that preserved the clones inside.

    However, the next few words at the end sent a chill down Acht''s spine and made him feel threatened.

    ''Invasion preparation phase progress: 56%''

    He touched his forehead for a moment as his eyes widened.

    ''This is all too weird. English, how could this be the case? If this is the case then are there way more reincarnators than I expected.'' He thought to himself.

    This revtion alone even though it was nothing but a theory was like a train hitting Acht at full speed.

    Not only did he not expect that there would be many more reincarnators before him, but he also didn''t expect this to be this far into the past.

    To create a civilization strong enough to make them be able to go to another and start an invasion project on such a massive scale will take at least hundreds of years to happen, if not thousands of years in the worst cases.

    How dangerous is a potential enemy that is a reincarnator that came to this world thousands of years ago? Well, really bad. So bad in fact that Acht could see what kind of technology these people could create with their minds that had the ideas of the earth with them.

    ''This is not a small war. This could be the end of a whole. It will also be my end. Fuck! This is bad! Really bad! Fuck! Fuck!'' Acht cursed inside his head as he tried to think of a solution to this massive problem that is looming on the horizon.

    A predator was hiding near this ce and the Lower World was its prey.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 173 Chapter 173

    Acht''s shocking revtion made him lose hisposure for a split second but it was more than enough for Torn to see it. So, with a confused look, he asked Acht.

    "Is there anything wrong?"

    The boy didn''t show much emotion to his question since it was predictable in such a case. However, he still didn''t know whether he should tell them or not.

    On one hand, having more people aware of this is helpful since more minds working on finding a solution is way more practical than one single mind. That fact is even more amplified by the fact these people around him were not normal people. They are one of the most intelligent people possibly in this whole entire world.

    Running an organization that is literally the enemy of every powerhouse in this world and still keeps it a secret is nothing short of impressive.

    However, on the other hand, there was another question that would appear after he exined what he understood from the letter.

    ''How did you learn thisnguage?''

    That question is something he can''t answer easily after all. It was one of his darkest secrets that only Lein was aware of.

    So, with one eye, he peeked at Lein who was also looking at him. Somehow, she was able to understand what he was implying without him saying one single word to her.

    Then, she immediately went into action to help him.

    "Little shit is just like me, a reincarnator." She said to all of them with a serious look.

    Everyone went silent the moment they heard her words and could barely say anything while eyeing the boy as if he was an alien.

    Acht was speechless for a good second before he red at her. He found no words to say when his secret was exposed just like that. He thought Lein will find a way to get him out of this problem but instead just said the truth without any hesitation.

    "Don''t worry. They are already aware of the existence of people like us. There is no point in hiding it." She added with a calm expression.

    He could only sigh in response as he touched his forehead.

    "So you were a reincarnator like Lein all this time? That actually makes more sense now with your monstrous talent." Jack said as he clicked his fingers with an enlightened look.

    "We should''ve predicted that with all the weird things around him," Torn added with a nod.

    As for Lenny, he just kept looking at Acht without saying much.

    Then, with a serious look.

    "I am going to assume that you can read thisnguage, right?" He asked.

    "Sigh, pretty much. This is amonnguage back in my previous world." He said.

    Now that the beans are spilled, he had no reason to hide it any longer.

    "I see. Could you read us the content of the paper, Acht?"

    He was already thinking about telling them so there was no point in stretching the matter for long.

    After that, he read the content of the letter to them. Their expressions started changing as Acht kept reading.

    From surprise to shock and then to outright fear. Even Lenny who was the least expressive out of the bunch could barely keep his face from making a huge frown.

    After he ended the full read, the silence took over the ce for a good moment. Every one of them could not express their emotions in words.

    "...This is not even funny," Weltz said as he touched his forehead with a huge frown. His teeth were clenched in frustration.<sub> </sub>

    The others didn''t fare any better than him.

    "Fuck! This is bad! It''s not even a war at this point! This will be a one-sided invasion." Jack added with his eyes looking down deep in thought.

    "Boss?" Torn looked at Lenny for his opinion.

    However, the old man didn''t talk at all since he still hadn''t recovered from the shock.

    After a good 30 seconds, he looked at everyone and said with the most serious tone they ever heard from him.

    "Prepare yourself, you lot. This might be ourst ride."

    **************************

    Meanwhile, back in Evernight City, the Melody Of Dream bar was as quiet and as empty as usual. The bartender was cleaning sses with a towel behind the counter.

    The atmosphere was as beautiful and dreamy as the name suggests. It gives anyone a soothing feeling whenever he enters this ce in contrast to any other ce in the city where loud sounds and shy lights were the norms.

    The calm music in the background was like a cherry on top of the cake.

    However, as he was having this alone time of his, the doorbell rang and someone entered the ce. In fact, two people entered the bar.

    The man looked at the two visitors and his eyes squinted slightly in suspicion before returning to normal the next second.

    The two who came inside were wearing clocks that covered their faces and most of their bodies. But, the bartender was able to see that they were both women.

    "Wee. How may I help you on this fine night?"

    The two didn''t answer immediately as they kept looking around for some time before approaching the counter and asking.

    "Was there any small boy here yesterday? He has ck hair and he is around 8 years of age." The first one asked.

    The man shook his head and said politely.

    "No. I didn''t see any kid with such features around here. Why do you ask? Is he lost perhaps?" The man asked with faked confusion.

    He was already aware of what these two were looking for. There was no other boy with such features around here.

    ''They are already this close, huh.'' The bartender thought to himself.

    The two women couldn''t see through his eyes so they merely nodded their heads and left the bar.

    "Are we even in the right ce?" Scarlett asked Leislet who was going ahead of her.

    Leislet stopped for a moment and made a sign to tell her to be quiet.

    Then, she whispered.

    "Yes, we are. We are going to search that whole ce."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 174 Chapter 174

    Leislet''s words made Scarlett''s frown slightly and a grim expression appeared on her face.

    She knew how dangerous this kind of stuff is. Not only are they infiltrating a ce that is considered the base of a group of the most notorious criminals in the world.

    They are also trying to find clues to Acht which will mean it will take time to do so.

    "Are you sure we should do it alone? Such a mission needs a whole army to be able to capture Nightingale and get Acht back to our side."

    Leislet shook her head and responded with a cold re. Her eyes never left the building they were in a few moments ago.

    "Even though I am 100% sure that this is our target, we still don''t have full proof that this is it. Also, this is Evernight. The hunter association doesn''t have any authority over this city."

    Scarlett nodded her head as she seemingly understood the reason for this hard choice. Then, she asked another question.

    "Then, when are we going to do so?"

    p Leislet looked at her watch and then said.</anda>

    "Now it''s 9:00 AM. Tomorrow, by Dawn, we will infiltrate this ce secretly. We need to be quick and decisive." She said as she started walking away.

    Scarlett didn''t follow her immediately as she kept looking at the building. Even though this ce was beautiful and calm at first sight. Somehow, at this exact moment, Scarlett felt uneasy going inside again.

    But, she pped her cheeks lightly and thought to herself.

    ''This is all for my Acht. I will never let those fuckers separate us. We are going to stay together forever. I will skin every one of them alive if ites down to that.''

    Then, she walked away with such interesting thoughts rolling inside her head.

    *************************

    The day passed and the time became night. Even though this ce didn''t really need time as it was an eternal nocturnal city, there were clearly a lot of differences between each part of the day.

    Then, after a long night of all kinds of all kinds of sins and entertainment, the dawn finally came and the city became empty again.

    In these streets, Leislet and Scarlett walked in the shadows of these streets like two ghosts. Their eyes had this cold glint in them that made them look terrifying.

    The two reached the building they intended to enter. The lights were off and the doors were closed. However, they weren''t there for a drink so they weren''t going to enter from the doors.

    The two then leaped in the air. This single jump made them reach the windows of the bar.

    After that, they opened the windows and entered inside without making a single sound.

    The two looked around and the ce was extremely dark as there was no light at all. There was also no presence nearby.

    However, they didn''t let their guard down at all. With one look, the two walked to each side of the bar and started searching silently for any clues.

    After minutes of looking around, they couldn''t find anything worthy of noting.

    However, this didn''t make them give up. The two had already discovered where they should go.

    The only door in the room that looked harmless was indeed not that normal after all.

    So, with that in mind, they opened the door quietly and peeked inside.

    There, they found a massive hall like that of a castle or a massive vi.<sub> </sub>

    It was very surprising but they didn''t give it any more nces. After that, they walked inside.

    ''What a massive ce. I was right after all. This is not a normal ce at all.'' Leislett thought as she checked a device in her hand.

    It was a GPS that tracked down a chip that Scarlett and Leislet inserted in Acht''s skin.

    Both of them hated the idea of doing such a thing to their beloved. But, for the sake of protecting him when he was in aa, they had to go to such extremes for him.

    The only problem this chip has is that it can only show his position a day prior.

    So, what they are seeing in the GPS is where Acht was a day before.

    It was slightly inconvenient but if they wanted a more precise location, they would''ve had to use a bigger chip which could be discovered and end up being destroyed.

    The chip showed their position and the ce where Acht was 24 hours ago.

    The two then walked to the exact ce while making not even the smallest of sounds at all.

    They were akin to two shadows, lurking in the darkness of the night.

    Luckily, no one was able to detect them at all and they also didn''t feel any other presenceing toward them.

    The door they reached was a normal door on the second floor. It was a normal-looking door like any other door they had seen before.

    However, having in mind that Acht could be behind that door made them feel their hearts beating loudly.

    ''Is he behind this door? Is Acht really here? I want to see him so much. I miss him so much. I have so many things I want to ask him about. But, first, I want to hug him tightly. Ah, I miss him so so so much.'' Scarlett and Leislet thought about basically the same things.

    Then, with a nervous look, Leislet opened the door.

    Each passing second made her even more scared and also agitated.

    However, much to her disappointment, the room was basically empty.

    There was no one inside.

    The clear sadness and longing appeared on their faces. But, this didn''t discourage them at all.

    The two entered inside.

    The moment they stepped foot inside the room, a distinct smell reached their noses.

    ''This is¡­Acht''s smell. I can identify it easily. There is no doubt about it.'' They both thought the same again.

    Almost instantly, their faces lightened up.

    They were now inside Acht''s room.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 175 Chapter 175

    The two stood silent for a good one minute without moving a muscle. They both had their own thoughts and fantasies going around in their minds.

    Just the thought that Acht was here and could potentially be close to here made them shudder with happiness and also nervousness.

    Leislet then walked to the bed in a daze and looked at it for a moment. Then, she extended her hand and ran it over the mattress, sensing it.

    Then, her hand went to the pillow as she picked it up and looked at it. Her mind and senses were telling her to get it close to her face. However, she barely resisted that strong urge.

    She can''t just do something like that in front of Scarlett. It was simply too embarrassing.

    However, she didn''t put the pillow back as she looked back at Scarlett.

    "Can I ask you one question?"

    Scarlett was woken up from her trance by Leislet''s voice and looked at her with a confused look.

    "Do you have any idea why Acht did that?" Leislet asked.

    What she meant was when he stabbed her and left. She didn''t feel any anger or resentment towards him because of it. In fact, if she had to say the truth, her affection for him increased when he left.

    Why is that? Well, Leislet was 100% sure that Acht wouldn''t do anything like that out of evil intentions or betrayal. She was sure that he did that to save them and make them get out of a deadly battle.

    That''s why she wanted to know why he did it.

    Scarlett sighed audibly and tried to remember.

    "He¡­didn''t say anything. But, I could see a small part of his emotions at the time. It was an emotion of clear regret. He was in pain because he did what he did but hid it under a veil of coldness." She said with averted eyes.

    Her heart winced just remembering that scene. She had lost all happiness in life and felt her world turn into a in ck and white, a nd mix of nothingness.

    "...I see," Leislet muttered as she put the pillow back and sat down on the bed.

    "What should we do now?" She asked.

    Leislet thought for a moment before saying.

    "We can''t stay here for long. There is a hotel close by. We can stay there for a few days to see any kind of movement."

    "Are they even here in the first ce? I didn''t sense one single person here."

    "They must''ve left for some kind of purpose."

    As they conversed quietly back and forth like that, a small sound from the ceiling made them look up warily and pull out their weapons.

    Then, without making a single sound, they moved to each corner of the room.

    Then, a mere secondter, the ceiling got destroyed by a loud explosion.

    Then, from the big holended a person. They couldn''t see his face clearly since the room was very dark. But, they were able to identify him as the bartender they saw before.

    He was wearing the same elegant clothes. However, this time, his demeanor was way too different.

    His eyes were deathly cold and his expression was far from amicable.

    "What do we have here? I never thought we had visitors at this time of the day." He said as he pulled out two weird weapons.<sub> </sub>

    They were akin to two long chains but with pointy spikes filling every surface on these chains.

    The two were already aware that this man was no joke at all and readied themselves to fight and get out of here as fast as possible.

    "My apologies, mydies. I can''t have you roaming this ce. It''s a restricted area. I will have to ''deal'' with you appropriately."

    Then, with a small leap in the air, the chains moved crazily and flew towards the two of them.

    Without any hesitation, the two vanished from their initial positions, leaving the chains to create a hole in the ground.

    The chains were so strong that the mere movement they do would create heavy destruction anywhere they go.

    As they moved, the two chains also moved behind them, following them like two pointy arrows.

    Scarlett found an opportunity and dashed toward the bartender with her sword moving along with her, ready to sh the moment she was close enough to him.

    However, as her sword was about to connect with the target, one of the chains suddenly changed directions in a moment and came back towards her.

    ''Fuck.'' She cursed under her breath as she jumped back, leaving the chain with no target to hit.

    ''These chains are troublesome. It''s as if they have a consciousness of their own.''

    Leislet was also dealing with the other chain. In less than a minute, the room turned into a chaotic mess.

    Holes of all kinds were created everywhere. There was no presence of the old tidy room that it was before.

    Leislet red at the bartender and created a huge beacon of light.

    The bartender felt his eyes squint slightly.

    "Now!" Leislet shouted as she looked at Scarlett. Thetter was already on the move as her sword shed down.

    Fire ignited from the sh and flew towards the bartender.

    Both of them thought that it was over. However, the moment the fire hit the bartender, it disappeared as if it didn''t even exist before.

    Both of them looked confused. The cloud of smoke then dissipated.

    What appeared were ten more chains that created a huge barrier that protected him.

    "What rude visitors!" He said as the chains started wiggling around him and aimed at the two women.

    The problem had quadrupled and that was not good news at all.

    ''Fuck, we can''t let this go any longer or we will catch the attention of the people outside. We have to get out of here now.'' Leislet thought to herself with gritted teeth.

    They didn''t have much time to waste and that made them even more urgent in ending this fight.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 176 Chapter 176

    The chains moved ominously around the bartender as if he was some kind of 10-armed monster crawling out from hell.

    Leislet and Scarlett looked at each other for a moment before nodding their head and dashing toward the enemy from two different sides.

    The man didn''t do much except move his arm forward. Instantly, the chains flew faster than bullets. In a matter of half a second, the whole room was covered by a cover of chains, these monstrous weapons were glowing from time to time to send a shiver down the spine of any enemy.

    Then, like rain, the chains fell down on both Leislet and Scarlett. The two didn''t wait much and pulled out their weapons.

    Scarlett with her sword and Leislet with her wand.

    Both of them then started evading the chains while shing with some of them at the same time.

    *CLING* *CLING* *CLING* *CLING*

    The sound of hard objects shing against each other filled the whole room.

    The chains kept surrounding the duo as it tried to hit them from a blind spot.

    "Haaaaah!" Scarlett grunted and ignited her sword like a giant torch.

    Then, she moved her hands like a sh, hitting each and every chain at an inhuman speed.

    The chains caught on fire because of this and Scarlett immediately clicked her fingers.

    The chains immediately ignited even more and the small embers of fires became a full-fledged huge fire.

    The temperature heightened and the chains turned red from the heat.

    Scarlett was waiting for that exact moment since she had something in mind.

    <o>,m She then used her sword again and hit those chains as fast or even faster than before.</o>

    This time, instead of a loud clunking sound, the chains actually started bending at weird angles and falling down.

    Scarlett didn''t stop as she jumped between these chains and dashed toward her opponent like a sh of light. Or to be more precise, like an ember of fire dancing in the cruel darkness.

    ''You are dead.'' She thought as her eyes turned fiery red in the darkness.

    "No. You won''t pass." The man answered with some clear nervousness.

    This was the first time he showed such emotions throughout this battle.

    Just like that, he pulled out all the chains, even the ones that attacked Leislet, and grouped them together before attacking Scarlett.

    Even though she was running straight toward tens of pointy chains that would shred her to pieces, Scarlett didn''t stop or even reduce her speed.

    Instead, she quickened her steps and ignited her sword again with even more mes.

    Then, as if she was doing some kind of ritual dance, she moved through the chains with her sword, shing every possible attacking toward her as if it was nothing.

    Her red silhouette could make anyone''s jaw drop. Her eyes were also at the peak of their focus. She was indeed doing something she had never done before.

    This level of focus was very new to her. It was as if her body and mind were in true harmony that couldn''t be rivaled at all.

    Every bone and muscle, every cell and drop of blood inside her blood were all moving along each other,pleting each other and making the best possible decisions for her to move.

    ''I am unstoppable.'' She thought to herself as her widened, red eyes looked at the man who was shocked by this scene.

    He had no other choice but to start retreating and try to make a distance.

    ''No, you don''t.''<sub> </sub>

    She saw through his thoughts and elerated her speed. In less than a second, she reached him and moved her sword diagonally.

    The man clenched his teeth and bent his body forward to make her miss.

    However, the sword still hit him.

    "Ugh!" He cried in pain.

    Then, like a rag doll, he was sent flying and hit the wall violently.

    The hit knocked the air out of his lungs and made the wound be even worse.

    Blood sttered everywhere.

    However, Scarlett didn''t stop as she dashed towards him again and hit him again.

    Her sword created another huge wound in his back.

    "Die! Die!" She shouted as she kept hitting him endlessly.

    Her speed didn''t decrease and her arms didn''t stop, not even for a second. Her calm expression was also nowhere to be found.

    Scarlett was totally out of control at the moment. She looked like an enraged bull.

    "You fuckers! You human scums! You stole Acht from me! You made him suffer! You killed many people! I will erase you all out of existence! I swear on the name of my beloved!" She shouted loudly.

    At some point, the man''s body turned into a meat paste with no resemnce to his old self. His disfigured corpse could make anyone wince or even puke just from one nce.

    His blood had already coated the whole room, including Scarlett who was now colored red. Her silhouette was akin to that of a demon.

    Leislet watched this horrific scene with aplicated gaze. Then, she said with a rather calm tone.

    "Scarlett, that''s enough."

    However, her words fell on deaf ears as Scarlett kept slicing him up like some piece of cheese.

    "Scarlett! Stop it."

    No response again.

    So, Leislet approached her and grabbed her arm tightly.

    This seemed to work as she finally took a halt and looked back with a crazy expression.

    "What the fuck do you want?!?" She shouted.

    "Look! He is already a fucking meat paste! Stop it or you will lose yourself! Do you think Acht will like to see you like this?!"

    Acht''s name seemed to work like magic as Scarlett finally woke up from her rage and looked around her.

    Then, her eyes shifted to her that were coated in blood.

    "Hick." A tear fell down her face as she fell down and put her hands on her face.

    "He already hates me! Hick! What''s the point in trying to look normal anymore!" She muttered under her breath.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 177 Chapter 177

    Scarlett kept crying silently like that while Leislet merely watched her, not knowing what to do or say to her to make her feel better.

    Even though she considered her as her rival in love, that by no means makes her not feel pity for Scarlett. In fact, deeply in her heart, she liked Scarlett''s straightforward personality and her seriousness when she needed to do something.

    It was one rare trait to find people like her in this world and especially in this era where lies were the new truth.

    So, with a slightlyplicated expression, Leislet sat down.

    She then looked at the window where she could clearly see the full moon illuminating the whole city like a small sun.

    "You know¡­" she began.

    "Why do you think this city is always in an eternal nighttime?" She asked.

    Hearing the question, Scarlett lifted her head up and wiped her tears before looking at Leislet with a weird expression.

    "Is this some kind of existential question?"

    Her response made Leislet chuckle and then look back at the moon. Her melodic voice filled the ce again.

    "Fufufu. Maybe it is after all. So, what''s your answer?"

    "Was it some kind of soul force effect?"

    Leislet shook her head and urged her to find another response to the question.

    "Was it a weird device?"

    Again, Leislet shook her head. However, this time, she spoke again.

    "You aren''t close. This ce¡­Evernight is like this because of a curse."

    "A curse?"

    "Yes, a curse. People who lived here a long time ago were a bunch ofzy fuckers. They hated working every day and gaining some money. So, inside of them, they wished for every day to be nighttime so that they could rest and never work again."

    Then, Leislet stopped speaking suddenly which made Scarlett look at her.

    "And?"

    "A strong entity appeared one day and found this city and the people in it to be not worthy of the sunlight and the clear blue sky. So, he used his powers and turned this ce into an evesting night."

    "That''s¡­ dark."

    "Fufufu no pun intended? Anyway, this was indeed bad and made people finally value the clear part of the day more than anything else. However, by that time, it was already over for them. Or so many people thought¡­"

    "What happened?" Scarlett asked again.

    "See that moon over there? That was their salvage from this curse. That moon appeared and became their eternal source of light so that they never fall into the abyss of darkness again and lose themselves."

    Scarlett nodded her head and fell into deep thought then said what she had in mind from the moment Leislet started telling this story.

    "Why are you telling me this?"

    "Because¡­it''s very simr to your case. You think that you are already beyond saving and that your heart and mind were clouded with sadness and insanity. But, look at that moon. Hasn''t Acht always been that moon to you? Wasn''t he always that undying source of light that kept you away from losing yourself? Think about it, Scarlett. You might assume that it is over. But, sometimes, reaching rock bottom means that the only way you go now is up."

    Scarlett''s eyes widened in surprise at her own words. She couldn''t stop herself from going slightly chaotic as her mind ran through these words again and again.

    Each time, these words were getting engraved in her soul and made her feel that her soul was recovering step by step.<sub> </sub>

    Then, after a few minutes of silence, Scarlett muttered.

    "Maybe you are right. Hope is still present for me and I will fight for it." She muttered.

    As for Leislet, she merely sighed under her breath and then thought to herself.

    ''Why did I even help my rival? Did I go nuts?'' She thought to herself.

    Then, she stood up and dusted her clothes slightly before looking at Scarlett and saying.

    "Now, that our small talk is over. We need to leave this ce before anyonees back and we get screwed. Let''s go."

    Scarlett nodded her head and the two left the ce as quickly as possible. Before that, they made sure that no traces were left of them. Not even a small hair was still inside that room.

    ************************

    Meanwhile, Acht and Nightingale were still inside the chamber.

    "It says that the preparation phase will take 32 years, right? Does that mean that the war is very close?" Weltz asked.

    However, no one could answer exactly since they had no idea about when did this project start or why it started in the first ce.

    It could''ve started yesterday just like it could''ve started 32 years ago. Each possibility was avable to them.

    "Just from the condition of these capsules and the aura in this ce. This is definitely not something that was created recently. And by not recently I mean not in thest 2 decades." Jack said as he took a peek at the capsules behind them.

    "I see. So our best chances are that we have a few years before the invasion starts?" Torn asked.

    ? "Theoretically¡­yes, that''s pretty much it." Jack nodded his head.

    However, as they were conversing like that, a ring came from Lenny''s device. He pulled it out and a serious expression appeared on his face.

    He then clicked on the button and said.

    "What is it?"

    "My apologies, Boss. But, The hunter association found the hidden base. They came here looking for sir Acht. I wasn''t able to identify who it was."

    The man''s words made the atmosphere heavy as everyone grimaced at the information.

    Just the thought that their base was found could make them stop anything they were doing and rush back.

    However, they didn''t have that possibility on their hands at the moment as the trip back will take hours.

    "We will be back. Just deal with them if you can." Lenny answered.

    "Understood."

    Then, the line was cut and Lenny said to the other team members.

    "We are leaving now. We wille back to this ce after we deal with this problem."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 178 Chapter 178

    The group then started leaving the chamber. They wanted to stay there for longer and search for more useful things for them. This ce was like a cave of world-breaking mysteries that they could only look around to find what they were looking for.

    However, the fact that their base is in danger was something that can''t be taken lightly at all.

    Acht was thest one to leave as he looked back at the chamber. His eyes scanned the ce and stopped on each capsule and eyed each clone inside them.

    He couldn''t know why, but something inside of him was calling for him to do a certain thing. He couldn''t know what this thing was or who was calling for him from deep inside him.

    ''I feel like I have some kind of link with them. So, I am not sure if it is really the effect of the heart or it''s just me starting to hallucinate.'' He thought to himself as he sighed audibly and turned around to leave.

    However, the moment he stepped inside the tunnel, a whisper called for him from near his ear.

    "Our honor to meet the supreme monarch."

    His eyes widened as he turned around quickly to see who called for him. However, there was nothing there out of the ordinary. There was no movement from any clone nor was there any disturbance in the atmosphere of the chamber

    This made him even more confused. Did the clones talk to him? Who was this supreme monarch? What kind of nonsense is this?

    He asked himself these questions but he couldn''t find an answer to any of them. It was all too weird to the point that he questioned whether he really heard these whispers or not.

    ''I am sure of it. There was someone who talked to me. Ah, fuck. This is a waste of time now.''

    Acht stood there silent for a moment before he muttered.

    "This is going to be interesting."

    He then left the room with this event deeply engraved in his mind.

    The group then walked back to the portal at a faster speed.

    The trip back took almost 2 hours.

    When they entered the portal and came back to Evernight, they didn''t want to catch attention so they hid their masks and wore their usual clothes.

    The city was as loud as usual with no trace of any kind of news about huntersing to the city.

    This was bad and good at the same time. Bad because this made them feel even more alerted about the fact that these hunters were perhaps still in the city, waiting for them to appear.

    But, it was good because this meant that they could also be dead now without much of a ruckus.

    "Let''s separate for the time being. I feel like they could be watching us." Lenny said to the group.

    Then, in twos, Nightingale jumped into the shadows.

    Lenny was the only one alone out of the bunch. He was also the only one that would enter the bar from the front door.

    He could pass as some kind of drunkard old man entering a bar for a drink.

    The others will watch the situation from the outside.

    With that in mind, the team went to work and positioned themselves in some strategic ces waiting for Lenny to give them the sign.

    Acht sat down on top of a building not far away from there. He wasn''t really going to try to work with them.

    If they end up having a blood fight with hunters then that''s their problem. He will only watch. But, if they attack him then they might as well dig their graves before doing that.

    Lein was also sitting beside him, looking sharply at the bar, trying to see any disturbance.<sub> </sub>

    "There is no movement from my side." She muttered.

    Acht was bored so he also looked around but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

    As they were waiting like that, a message from Lenny came.

    "You can¡­enter."

    His voice seemed to be serious¡­almost too serious. There was also a grave and angry tone in his voice that made most of them grimace with a frown.

    Then, skillfully, they entered the bar without anyone seeing them.

    The ce was quiet and dark just like normal. However, there was no trace of the bartender.

    "I feel a bad omen," Jack muttered as he walked to the door that led to the vi.

    After entering, the group saw Lenny standing on the second floor in front of Acht''s room.

    The group walked up there.

    "What happened, bo-" Jack wanted to ask but his voice was stuck in his throat as the scene of the room finally appeared in his eyes.

    Blood. Just a huge amount of blood covered the whole room. Bits and pieces of organs and other body parts were also everywhere.

    The scene was so horrific that it made Jack frown.

    Then, his eyesnded on the dead body in the middle of the room.

    To be fair, it was an exaggeration to call it a dead corpse since it had no resemnce to a human at all.

    It was just a lump of meat stuck to the wall with blood surrounding it. There was no head, no limbs, no abdomen, and no bones at all.

    However, Jack could already see that this dead body was that of the bartender. It was because some parts of his suit were still there.

    ''Fuck! What is this? They got him?!'' Jack thought with an extremely angry expression. This was the first time Acht saw him that angry.

    Everyone also had the same shocked face and the same thought.

    "Dammit!!! Dammit! Those brutal fuckers!" Jack cursed loudly.

    Lein looked down and shook her head. As for Torn and Weltz, they just stood there silently, not knowing what to say.

    "They don''t seem to have taken anything else," Lenny said.

    ? Jack turned around and looked at Lenny with an angry look.

    "How are you this calm, boss?! They turned him into a pitiful meat paste and you are talking about?!" He shouted and tried to walk to Lenny.

    However, Torn grabbed his shoulder and shook his head as a sign to make him stop and look closely at Lenny.

    Jack did that and almost instantly he located the anomaly. Lenny wasn''t as calm as he seemed to be. Jack could see it clearly¡­his limbs that held the cane were shaking violently.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 179 Chapter 179

    Jack was totally speechless. He thought Lenny was calm and didn''t really care about the death of one of their members. However, deep inside, he was the most affected out of all of them.

    He knew that man for a long time, even before he started Nightingale. They were akin to best friends and eternal allies. So, seeing him get killed so brutally like that made his heartbreak to pieces.

    He had lost someone he considered one of his closest people and he has to live with the guilt that he could''ve stopped that.

    No one could understand his pain and suffering seeing this. So, Jack shook his head and sighed inwardly before looking back.

    He felt sad to see Lenny that broken from seeing such a scene so he didn''t say anything.

    However, he still wanted to make sure of something. He looked at everyone and said,

    "We must search the whole room. Find any traces of the culprit no matter how insignificant it was. We will definitely get them and kill them. They started a war and we will never shut up about it." Jack shouted with a grim look.

    He was extremely angry and wanted to take revenge as soon as possible. Nightingale was never a group of wimpy people who shut up about something like this.

    Everyone nodded except for Acht who kept looking at the room and scanning every nook and cranny of it.

    He was in deep thought for one single reason¡­he knew who did this.

    ''Leislet and Scarlett were here. Fuck! This is bad! Are they really the ones after my head after all?'' He thought to himself seriously.

    As much as he hates to admit it, the possibility that they were the ones that spread the news about his supposed betrayal was quite high if not certain.

    He was still not certain, but that idea never escaped his head and he was growing to believe it with each passing day.

    Now, seeing the way they dealt with the bartender, it was way too brutal for it to be just a mere attempt to get him back.

    ''I thought they liked me. But, maybe what I did changed that. It''s expected though.'' He thought.

    Then with steady steps, he walked inside along with everyone. Even though he was now not in a good rtionship with them, he wouldn''t allow Nightingale to know that Leiselt and Scarlett were the culprits.

    "There is no soul force trace left," Lein said.

    The group looked around and examined every ce, especially the ces around the corpse.

    However, not much was found. No traces, no blood left from the culprits, and not even foot traces.

    This was so far a perfect crime. Many would think stuff like that couldn''t exist. But, in this world, perfect crimes were far toomon to be even surprising.

    <o>,m People could change a whole scene to whatever they wanted it to be and they would get away with it if they knew what they did.</o>

    So, with clear frustration, Jack hit the wall.

    "Dammit! They are not your run-of-the-mill elite hunters. I can see that they are at least S-Ranked." He said with clenched teeth.<sub> </sub>

    "What can we do now?"

    "You should find me another room. That''s what you should do." Acht said as he put his hands in his pockets.

    "You fucking bastard. This is not the time for your stupid requests." Weltz shouted as he tried to walk to Acht.

    But, Torn stopped him and said.

    "He is right. The room was destroyed beyond repair. As for the corpse, we should just bury it and find another way to get these fuckers."

    "Torn! Are you really gonna ignore the fact that all of this happened because of him?! Why are you all so adamant about keeping him here? We lost one of our team members because of this fucker!! It''s a fucking joke for him to be still here after all of this!"

    "Calm down. Weltz." Jack said.

    "How could I calm down after this? I am done with this shit. You guys are messed up. Is he really worth all of this? Is he really worth exchanging for one of our own to die like a ughtered pig?!"

    "I said to calm the fuck down!" Jack shouted as he punched Weltz in the face violently.

    The hit sent him flying like a ragdoll and hit another wall, breaking it easily. The wall was sturdy but because of the previous fight, it was in very bad shape so a small hit was more than enough for it to crumble down.

    "me him all the fuck you want! But, think about it for a second. He is as wanted of a criminal as us. Either way, all of us are wanted criminals. We are targeted by the hunter association after the Mystic Soul Convention! Even if he wasn''t here, they would''ve searched for us and would''ve possibly found this ce too. I hate this. I also am feeling as frustrated as you are. But, we are in this together. Including Acht, understand?!" Jack shouted.

    Everyone stood silent watching this scene. Even Weltz was shocked.

    He never heard Jack shout this much. He was always a funny and bright person outside of missions.

    So, seeing him shout and be violent like that was new to all of them. That speaks volumes about how much he was angry about this situation they were in.

    But, even with that, Weltz merely touched his cheek and then spat out a small amount of blood along with a broken tooth.

    He then clicked his tongue and walked out of the room with angry steps.

    "...Sigh. This is a huge mess." Jack muttered as he touched his forehead.

    It was a disaster on all levels. A teammate died and a fight ensued between Jack and Weltz.

    Acht didn''t really care about the nonsense Weltz spouted or the fact that he was protected by Jack.

    "I will stay in the hotel nearby. Call me if anything happens." He said as he walked out too.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 180 Chapter 180

    Before leaving the ce, Acht stopped for a moment and pulled something out of his storage ring. It was a device he had bought a long time ago and actually forgot about it until this time.

    It was a face-shaped device made out of some kind of metal and had weird glowing veins covering it.

    Even though the device looked shady and dangerous, Acht was sure of its functionality and also of its safety.

    ''I should''ve used this for some time now. d I didn''tpletely forget about it.'' He thought as he closed the distance between him and the mask and eventually put it on him.

    Almost immediately, the mask stuck to his face like some kind of sticky substance and started morphing and changing shape at a rapid pace.

    After a few seconds, it stopped and Acht could finally open his eyes.

    He then pulled out a small mirror from his storage ring and looked at his reflection in it.

    There was no trace left of his distinct midnight ck hair and mesmerizing sky blue eyes. (A//N: made a few mistakes concerning the color of his eyes. It''s actually blue.)

    What was in front of him now was a silver-haired, silver-eyed boy with sharp yet also tame features.

    He was very handsome but not to the level that Acht was at previously.

    All in all, he looked so different from Acht that he almost didn''t recognize himself.

    ''This is amazing no matter how many times I see it happen. I would''ve liked my features to be average but I guess that''s impossible to do with a device like this one.'' He thought.

    The one he bought does indeed change his features, but it doesn''t really do some groundbreaking work in terms of the level of handsomeness. It doesn''t really reduce the level of beauty of the user by much.

    Of course, there were other options with that function in them but the price alone made Acht ignore them. He does indeed like to spend money without care but he knows very well what to spend his money on and what not to.

    They were simply not worth itpared to the price.

    ''This will be more than enough to hide myself in the masses. I should also change my normal demeanor just in case.''

    After that, he left the building and went to the nearest hotel he could find.

    Evernight, being this entertainment city, obviously had many hotels, love hotels to be exact.

    Many brothel customers don''t like having sex inside a cramped ce like that so they pay extra for the hooker and they change the ce to a love hotel.

    It was a stupid yet also smart idea from the owners to suck even more money out of their horny customers.

    So, with barely any attempt of searching, people could find 2 or 3 love hotels basically next to each other.

    As awkward as it might sound, Acht couldn''t care any less about that. If the ce was good and the walls were thick enough to stop the sounds from traveling to his room then they could do whatever they want.

    With that in mind, Acht entered the hotel and booked a room. He already heard some good rumors about this ce so he thought about trying it now.

    The receptionist didn''t question why a kid was booking a room. Hell, gambling was allowed for minors here so why not booking hotel rooms too?

    Acht then used the elevator. But, as he was about to click on the floor he was going to, a person entered the elevator.<sub> </sub>

    Even though this person used a cloak to cover their faces, he could easily discern that it was a woman.

    The woman also eyed him for a moment and then looked ahead of her before tapping on another floor.

    The door finally closed and Acht leaned on the wall. His face was calm but also had a hint of innocence to it. He made sure to emphasize that part to make anyone who is suspicious about his identity be sure that he was nothing but a normal kid.

    He then pulled out his phone and started fiddling with it casually.

    However, the woman suddenly looked back at him and said,

    "Hey, you."

    Acht looked up and asked with the most innocent and naive voice he could muster.

    "Hm? What is it? Sir¡­Miss?" He said as he squinted his eyes as if he wanted to discern whether she was a man or a woman.

    His response seemed to work wonders as the woman shook her head and said.

    "Never mind. I thought you were someone I know."

    Acht secretly was also having his own suspicions. Her voice, her height, her demeanor. He knew very well who it was.

    ''Sigh, amazing. The moment I leave the building, I find myself in the same fucking elevator with Leislet. I should''ve actually predicted this oue at this point. Now, how should I deal with this stupid problem? I must not let her find out it''s me.'' He thought to himself with a sigh.

    The elevator was still closed and for some reason, it was taking way longer than expected to reach the top.

    Yet, as if to make things even worse for him, the elevator suddenly halted and made a loud screeching sound. It got stuck.

    "Did it break or something?" Leislet muttered as she tapped on the floor buttons a few more times. But, there was no response.

    So, with a calm look, she said.

    "Don''t worry, little boy. It''s just a small problem. We will get out of here after I call the-"

    But, before she could evenplete her sentence, the light inside the elevator was cut off, leaving both of them in the darkness.

    Acht could barely hold himself from shouting.

    ''Are you actually serious? You think this is a fucking joke?''

    But, he kept calm and collected. He was sure Leislet still didn''t discover his identity and he was thankful for that fact.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 181 Chapter 181

    The darkness took over the whole elevator and made both Acht and Leislet speechless. It was so sudden that they couldn''t even know how to react properly to it.

    "Hmm. This shouldn''t be a problem. The emergency button doesn''t need electricity¡­probably." Leislet said after an awkward cough to release some of the tension that builded up in the ce.

    Acht could only sigh under his breath and shake his head in defeat. However, suddenly, an idea popped into his head.

    ''I could use this opportunity to erase any possible suspicions from Leislet''s mind.'' He thought.

    Then, in a single moment, he changed his expression to that of a scared child and said with a stuttering voice, full of fear.

    "Big sister, I am scared." He said as he extended his hand and grabbed the hem of her clothes.

    He made sure to make his hands tremble slightly so that she could feel his supposed fear of darkness.

    The small act seemed to work amazingly well as Leislet patted his head and replied in a kind voice.

    p "Don''t worry. Big sister here is going to solve this. The button doesn''t seem to work though. Should I break the door?" She said,</anda>

    "Break the door? Is big sister strong?" He asked with an innocent voice that had a hint of surprise.

    Leislet chuckled and said.

    "Very strong. Wait for a second, I will open it and we can leave."

    Leislet then approached the door and put her fingers in the split where the door should open.

    Then, she started pulling forcefully to open it up.

    However, no matter how much she tried to open it up with her full strength, she couldn''t move it an inch.

    "Aree?" She muttered with a confused look before trying again with even more force.

    Again, nothing happened and she had to pull out her fingers in defeat.

    ''What kind of materials is this door made of?'' She thought to herself.

    Then, she changed her approach and instead sent a fast punch toward the door.

    *Boom*

    A loud sound came out from the strong punch. This power alone could''ve rendered any other door into small broken pieces. However, forget about breaking it, this punch didn''t even create a dent in the door.

    Leislet didn''t stop and sent another punch and then another punch after that. The whole elevator shook violently with each hit as if it was threatening to break at any moment.

    Acht watched this scene and could barely stop himself from sighing as he touched his forehead. He really had no idea this situation could get worse gradually like this.

    Not only was he stuck inside a dark elevator with an enemy, but he was also in a tight situation where any small wrong gestures could reveal his identity and that is basically game over.

    But, he still had to keep up the weak front he made and so he said to Leislet in a meek tone.

    "Big sister? Is the door not open? I am scared¡­"

    Leislet felt herself grow even more embarrassed at her own incapability of opening a mere door. Was she really that weak physically or was this door just indestructible?

    She didn''t know why, so, to calm the boy down, she used her light element and created a small torch of light to eliminate the ce.

    "See. It''s not scary after all. We can wait until the hotel supervisors get us out of here." She said as she smiled at Acht.

    He also smiled innocently and said,<sub> </sub>

    "Big sister is the best!"

    "Fufufu. You are a cute child, aren''t you? Unlike someone, I know." She said as she averted her eyes with a cheeky smile.

    Acht could feel himself almost spit out blood as he tried to keep his smile from breaking.

    ''That person is in front of you!'' He thought.

    "Hmm? Who is this person, big sis?" He asked as he touched his chin with his index finger with a confused look.

    "Ah, you don''t have to worry about it. He is one bad child that needs a good punishment for his bad behavior."

    ''Why am I being treated like a pet suddenly?'' he thought.

    "I see. But, I don''t know your name, big sis." He said.

    "Oh, my name? My name is Emi. What about yours?"

    ''What a tant lie. At least choose a more believable name.''

    "Oh me! My name is Elijah!!" He said excitedly.

    "Good, good. Elijah is a good name. So, what are you doing here alone, Elijah?" She asked casually.

    However, this question was a very tricky one. Was she starting to get suspicious? Did she find out?

    Acht felt his mind almost explode with all possibilities but he still didn''t show any break in his character.

    "I came here with my mama to rest after a long journey. We are traveling around the world and discovering aaaalll kinds of ces."

    "I see, I see. And where is your mama now?"

    "She''s in the room waiting for me." He responded.

    It was a made-up lie of course but he couldn''t find any other decent lies to say except for this one

    However, it all seemed to work properly¡­Except for one small problem.

    "When we get out of here. I will escort you to your mother. She should''ve not let a small child wander around in a dangerous ce like this."

    ''Fuck! I can''t even tell if she is too smart or if is it just her being kind.'' He thought to himself.

    "Hehehe! Don''t worry, big sis. I am big and capable. You don''t need to help me." He touched his biceps after flexing them.

    "Fufufu! Yes, you are. My bad." She said,

    Then, she looked ahead of her and then pulled out a device from her spatial ring. Acht could immediately discern that it was a tracking device.

    "It should refresh in a few more minutes." She muttered to herself, not caring whether the boy beside her heard it or not.

    However, Acht was able to understand what she was talking about and everything clicked to a certain extent in his head.

    ''Wait, don''t tell me.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 182 Chapter 182

    ''Wait, don''t tell me.'' Acht''s mind halted from functioning for a good 3 seconds as an idea popped into his head. An idea that if it turned out to be true meant that he was in a very huge problem.

    He had heard before about tracking devices that could be hidden inside a Human''s body without them knowing. However, the thing about these devices is that they refresh every 24 hours.

    And seeing how she looked at this tracking device and what she muttered, everything linked together like a perfect puzzle. A catastrophic puzzle.

    ''Fuck. This is bad. If she sees the tracking device after refreshing then she will totally discover my act.'' He thought to himself as he kept his calm front so as to not alert her.

    He then started thinking of an idea to get out of this problem without making a fuss. However, that needs him to get out of this elevator in the next couple of minutes.

    ''What should I do? Even more than that, how long do I still have before the refresh time?'' He thought to himself as he looked at his phone.

    It showed the time as 11:56 AM. So, he automatically predicted the time of the refresh as 12:00 AM.

    Which also means that he only has less than 4 minutes before it refreshes.

    "Big sis¡­ What''s that?" He asked innocently.

    Leislet looked at him confusedly and then responded without thinking much about it.

    "Oh, this? This is a device your big sis needs for a task she had to do."

    "Can I see it? Please please please." He said while making a cute puppy-like face.

    Leislet seemed hesitant at first as she coughed slightly while trying to find a way out of this.

    ''I won''t fucking let you.'' He thought as he saw how she fell into his trap and tried to escape.

    So, he looked down and started tearing up.

    "I''m sorry¡­hick¡­I did something bad, right? Hick¡­hick." He started crying as he rubbed his eyes.

    "No! No! You didn''t do anything bad at all. Here, you could touch it. But be careful."

    "Hick¡­really?" He answered as he peeked at her with his teary eyes.

    "Yes." She nodded her head and handed him the device.

    <o>,m Acht took the device and secretly inspected what was on the screen.</o>

    So, as if to prove his own assumptions, there was indeed a map with a red dot in the middle. The ce this map was showing is Evernight City and exactly the building where the Melody of Dreams Bar was located.

    He was now sure that this tracking device was locating his position.

    Then, he moved into the second part of the n which was the one where he was about to gamble with his luck.

    "Big sis? What is that red dot? Don''t tell me, is that the enemy you are following? You will beat bad guys?! That''s amazing." Acht said as his eyes sparkled as if he was looking at a superhero.

    Leislet couldn''t find the opportunity to deny his words so she scratched her cheek and said.

    "Y-Yes. I am following a bad guy. Really bad guy."

    Acht opened his mouth wide in amazement and said.

    "Wow! That''s amazing! Big sis is a superhero. Wow! Wow!" He shouted as he started jumping recklessly.

    His hands also moved along with him. Then, in one second, the device slipped from his hands and flew, hitting the ceiling and then falling down to the ground.

    Acht put his hand on his mouth in shock and then said.

    "Oops."<sub> </sub>

    "No! What have you done?!" Leislet shouted as she picked up the device with a shocked look.

    Her eyes frantically examined the device as if it was her most precious item.

    "B-Big sis?" Acht said with a wavering voice like a child who knew he did something really bad.

    "You should''ve been careful. It''s a precious item after all."

    Acht''s eyes watered again and he started crying again.

    "I''m soiryyyyy. I am bad!!! Hick hick hick!!! I was excited and and¡­hick, I threw it by mistake." He cried loudly.

    Leislet couldn''t me the kid after seeing him start crying so she patted his head and said.

    "It''s ok. It''s ok. It didn''t break so you should stop crying."

    Acht heard her words and nodded his head as he wiped his eyes again. However, inside his head, he was having a mental crisis.

    ''Fuck! Why is it unnecessarily sturdy? What the fuck should I do now?'' He thought to himself.

    He then took a look at his own phone and it showed 11:59.

    Acht''s face paled and he thought to himself as he epted his fate and started thinking of a way to deal with the oue.

    ''I am screwed.''

    If Leislet turned out to be his enemy then he needed to find a way out of this situation and escape.

    Or, if his luck was good, she might be innocent and she could even help him.

    However, he wasn''t naive enough to rely on that chance no matter how probable it was. He needed to have solid proof that she was not the culprit before he exposes his identity.

    ''20 seconds left. I am screwed.'' He thought with a sigh.

    However, at that exact moment, the elevator suddenly lit up again and the door opened revealing a group of men who looked like some kind of technicians.

    "We apologize for the inconvenience. This was the first time the elevator broke like this. Please ept our apologies."

    Leislet shook her head and said.

    "Don''t worry about it. We didn''t wait much, did-"

    She turned around to talk to Acht. But, much to her surprise, he was nowhere to be found.

    ''Did he leave this quickly?'' She thought.

    Then, casually, she pulled out the tracking device and opened it.

    There, the dot had already changed ce and a new location appeared.

    ''Where is this? Wait¡­Wait¡­''

    Leislet''s heart stopped beating for a second as she stared wide-eyed at the screen. Her whole world started spinning.

    Then, like a madman, she sted past the men and looked around.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 183 Chapter 183

    The moment the door opened, Acht didn''t think twice before dashing out of the elevator and straight to the Stairs. He didn''t even look behind once as he relied on the fact that maybe Leislet will take some time before she checks her tracking device.

    However, much to his bad luck, not even 5 seconds passed and he could already feel a strong auraing after him.

    ''Shit! Why the fuck is she this obsessed.'' He thought to himself as he jumped 7 steps in one single leap.

    His speed was so fast that it barely took him a few moments to reach the entrance and leave the hotel.

    Luckily, the streets were starting to be crowded so he bent slightly and ran between crowds to lose Leislet whose aura was getting closer and closer.

    Acht kept running for a good 5 minutes, zigzagging between the people who jumped in fright seeing a small boy run at such speed.

    After that, he took a turn into a closed alley where no one could see him.

    He then rested his back on the wall and took a peek behind him to see if she was any close to his area.

    ''Dammit. I can''t see anything.'' He thought as he tried to find another way to see a wider area.

    Coincidentally, he looked up and a sudden idea came to his mind. He then flew up to the building andnded on the roof before crouching to hide his silhouette from the people.

    In front of his eyes was a huge scenery filled with thousands of people, and hundreds of buildings.

    It was so chaotic yet so organized at the same time. But, he didn''t care about that for the time being.

    His sharp eyes scanned the area, he was akin to an eagle searching for its prey in a massivend.

    After looking around for a few seconds, he was able to finally see Leislet who was running in the streets. Her face was red and her eyes were about to burst out of their sockets from shock.

    She seemed to be still under the effect of the shock as she barely could keep her calm demeanor.

    Acht instinctively bent down, even more, to hide from her view while keeping an eye on her every movement. She halted her steps and looked around frantically for a few moments before dashing into the distance again.

    Acht felt relieved that she left, but he didn''t really for long as another presence he knew very well wasing closer and closer to where he was.

    Acht immediately stood up and walked to the other side of the building where the view changedpletely.

    There, he could see another hooded person running on top of buildings looking around while doing so.

    ''Fuck. Scarlett too?'' Acht thought as he gritted his teeth.

    To make things even worse, Scarlett looked in his direction and barely saw his shadow. She didn''t think twice as she jumped to that building.

    However, by that time, Acht had jumped far into the distance before leaping into the air and flying like a bullet into the distance.

    "Wait!!" She shouted to him but he didn''t even turn around to look at her.

    Scarlett felt extremely sad that Acht didn''t even give her a look but she shook her head and sted into the distance after him.

    Her speed was faster than his so the distance between them, although still far, was getting shortened with each passing second.

    "Leislet! I found him. I found Acht. He is going straight towards the city za." She contacted Leislet while running to help her.<sub> </sub>

    Leislet on the other side halted and then changed her direction towards the city center.

    Acht took a peek behind him and saw two people running after him in the far distance.

    He was aware that if things kept going at this rate, then he would be caught before he could even leave the city or do anything to hide himself.

    So, he made another n, one that was very risky but also the most probable one to seed.

    He then immediately floated down to the ground and jumped into a dark alley.

    Leislet and Scarlett reached the ce and entered the alley. There, they saw a closed path and a small boy standing there.

    They both fell speechless as they saw the very familiar silhouette of their most beloved standing there, with his back toward them.

    He didn''t move or say anything as if he was speechless.

    "Acht..." Leislet muttered.

    Her heart was threatening to burst as she looked at him. Beforeing here, she prepared what she wanted to say to him when they met again. But, now that they are face to face, she was unable to say anything at all.

    The boy didn''t answer her call and kept looking ahead of him.

    Leislet shook her head and then said with a sad smile.

    "How are you?" She asked.

    Again, the boy didn''t answer her question.

    Leislet chuckled slightly in regret and said.

    "You must be angry. I know that you are suffering more than us. I know that you sacrificed your own freedom for our sake. We couldn''t see that at all. We never really thought about it until recently."

    Scarlett then stepped closer and added.

    "I''m sorry, Acht. I know how much disdain you hold for my family. But, I swear, I never really heard of all those hideous things they did. So, please, give me another chance. Please."

    Seeing that after saying all of that, the boy still didn''t say anything, and a small suspicion grew in their hearts.

    So, with heavy steps, Scarlett approached him slowly and then extended her hand to grab his shoulder.

    However, her eyes suddenly caught a weird thing.

    "What?!" She shouted as she yanked his shoulder in a hurry.

    Instead of turning around, Acht started melting like some kind of ice and quickly turned into a pond of some weird liquid.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 184 Chapter 184

    "What¡­is this?" Scarlett muttered as she looked at the gooey liquid in her hand. She grabbed it and stretched it with her eyes widened.

    She couldn''tprehend what happened for the first few seconds then she looked at Leislet for answers.

    The other was also shocked albeit with less intensity since she knew this liquid and saw it in action before.

    So, she looked at Scarlett back and said with gritted teeth.

    "That''s ooze. One of Acht''s soul artifacts he bought. It''s basically a liquid that he could fully control. He probably shaped it to be in a simr form to his body. There was also the fact that this ce is dark and we couldn''t see. Dammit! He yed us really hard." She said as she clenched her teeth.

    "But why? Why is he running from us? Wait, don''t tell me¡­" She asked on the spur of the moment. But then, the truth weighed down on her and she looked down.

    Leislet nodded her head with a grim look.

    "He probably saw the news about his identity being exposed and he probably became suspicious that we leaked it or we betrayed him."

    "Why would I ever do that?! I would never betray him even if it was the end of the world." Scarlett shouted loudly.

    Leislet shook her head and answered her question with a logical answer.

    "Think about it. Why wouldn''t he lose trust in us when he didn''t feel the presence of anyone there to leak his identity to the media? So, it''s the most rational thing to assume in his situation after all. We can''t me him."

    "We need to rify this misunderstanding as soon as possible!" Scarlett said with a hurried tone.

    "How could we do that when he escaped us? We need to first find him again and then we could exin everything." Leislet responded.

    "For now, we must extend our stay in Evernight until we find him again. However, this time, it would be even harder to find him after this ident."

    Leislet muttered as she looked up at the starry sky and thought to herself with a dreamy look.

    ''Please, Acht. Return to me. I would never betray you in my life. I would rather betray myself than betray you.'' She thought.

    *************************

    "Fuuuuh. That was a close call." Acht muttered as he rested his back on a wall in an empty part of the city he found after running for 30 minutes.

    His n had seeded and he was able to lose Leislet and Scarlett from his pursuit. He could finally rest and think properly about what to do now.

    "I need to find the tracking chip they nted in me. Where could it be?" He pondered before closing his eyes.

    What he was doing was a full body scan to all of his body. He wanted to check every part no matter how small it was.

    A few momentster, he finally found the anomaly. It was easy to find when he was searching for that exact thing. But, when he was oblivious to this tracking chip, he would''ve most likely never detected it.

    It was put on his right calf, exactly under his skin.

    So, without any hesitation, he pulled out a small dagger and positioned his right leg so that he could have a better look at it.<sub> </sub>

    Then, with the dagger, he dug deep into his own leg as if it was nothing. The pain was tremendously strong but forget about a scream of pain, Acht didn''t even show a sign of pain on his face.

    He was so ustomed to the pain that his tolerance to it became impressive.

    Then, after going deep enough, he started slicing off a chunk of his flesh where he detected the chip. Blood squirted everywhere crazily. However, Acht didn''t stop or hesitate as he kept cutting off his own flesh calmly.

    Then, after cutting off a good chunk, he pulled out the chip and looked at it.

    It was a small circr object the size of Acht''s thumb and was made out of some kind of metal he couldn''t identify.

    ''Good. Now, this should make it easier to deal with the matter.'' He thought as he looked at his own leg.

    He could visibly see the muscle tissues wiggle and link together at an inhumanly fast speed that no normal person could even dream of.

    With each level up, Acht''s body evolved quickly and it reached a level where it was impressive how much he could do with his own body now.

    Then, he stood up to leave the ce and look for a good ce to spend the rest of the day.

    However, a call came to his phone.

    He looked at the caller and he immediately knew who the caller was. It was Lein.

    He hesitated to pick up the phone at first but then he decided to pick it up. Lein would never call him for anything that is not important.

    "What?" He asked coldly.

    "You need toe now. A person you might know came to visit us. Hurry up!"

    Then, without waiting, Lein cut off the call before Acht could even ask who it was.

    He had a suspicion that it could be Leislet or Scarlett getting captured but soon forgot about that idea.

    Reaching the bar from the position they were in would at least take 20 minutes at their fastest speed which is impossible to do in such a short interval.

    So, without further to do, he sted into the horizon. He jumped from one building to another and soon reached the bar where everyone should be.

    When he entered, he found every Nightingale member including Lenny sitting there with a solemn look.

    Then, he looked at the anomaly who was also sitting there casually with his legs crossed as if he was the owner of the ce.

    "You¡­" he immediately knew who he was.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 185 Chapter 185

    Acht stared at the visitor and could barely keep his calm expression on. He expected many and none of them included this particr person.

    Acht then muttered his name under his breath.

    "Aren''t you¡­Nestern?" He said.

    The man looked at Acht with his sharp eyes and only scoffed before looking at Lenny with his cocky expression.

    ? Lenny also exchanged looks with him and then asked coldly.

    "So, what does an honored guest like you need from our humble organization?"

    Nesternughed and then said.

    "Hahahah! Spare me the lies, old man. I know everything I need to know about your people."

    Lenny also chuckled merely and asked again.

    "My question doesn''t change even with your funnyment. What do you need from us?"

    Nestern then adjusted his position slightly and began.

    "What I came here for is to make a deal with you." He said.

    "A deal?"

    "Yeah, a simple deal that will benefit me and also you. It might also save this world in the process."

    His words were like a bombshell getting dropped on Nightingale as if it was nothing. Neither his tone nor his expression changed when he said these ground-breaking words that no one should dare to say lightly.

    "Why should I believe those words?" Lenny asked as he tapped on his cane rhythmically.

    "You better do, old man. I never waste my time doing useless stuff. It''s in your best interest that you listen to me."

    Acht heard those words and he had a suspicion about Nester. Even though the way he is talking seems to be cocky and that of someone who has the higher ground in this deal. However, under that facade, he could see what he was hiding.

    ''He is in desperate need of this deal. He is also urgent with it.'' He thought as he eyed him sharply.

    Whatever he wanted from Nightingale, it was something he needed very much.

    "I am already aware that you people know about the Ecrasia invasion. It''s very close and it could even happen now for all I care."

    The atmosphere grew heavy and everyone''s face turned grave after hearing his words. The potential invasion was now basically a certainty for everyone. The only thing they should think about now is how to fight back.

    However, Nestern saw that in their eyes and immediately grinned widely as he added.

    "Don''t even think about it you lot. I know more about Ecrasia than every single one of you here and let me say one thing. Without my offer, every single one of you is dead along with the whole. You are simply far too weak to fight those monsters."

    Lenny pondered for a moment before nodding his head in understanding.

    "I see. So, what deal did youe here with?"

    Nestern took a deep breath before continuing.

    "It''s pretty simple really. I came down to the Lower World for a certain creature that is hidden in this world. This creature is not normal at all. It''s the root of all problems that your world is going to face. It''s also the creature that those clones you saw before were derived from. ''The Origin Warrior.''"<sub> </sub>

    "The origin warrior? I never heard of that name."

    "It would''ve been weirder if you were aware of this creature. Anyway, this isn''t a matter that you should concern yourself with. The n is simple, give me the location of the origin warrior and I will guarantee your win in this uing war. I will also participate myself in this war."

    Lenny was very confused by his words. What origin warrior? Let alone the location of this creature, he never heard of this being at all. However, he had a rough idea about what this creature could be.

    But, that doesn''t solve the problem at all.

    "I think you might be having a misunderstanding. I have no idea where this creature you are talking about is." Lenny shook his head as he replied

    The man tilted his head and said.

    "Huh? Of course, you know."

    Lenny felt even more confused.

    "I really don''t know. Nor does anyone else here know about what you are talking about." He denied it again.

    Nester could barely keep his calm as he red at Lenny.

    "I really am a busy man, old geezer. So don''t try to test my patience. If you really don''t know where the origin warrior is, then how do you exin the soul force traces of the origin warrior on that brat?"

    Nester asked while pointing at Acht with his index finger. He wasn''t even pointing his hand straight when he did that which shows his loathing towards everyone here.

    Acht looked at the man with a calm look. He already linked everything that he was talking about and he was alreadypletely aware of who this Origin Warrior was.

    However, he didn''t say anything in return. He still didn''t deny or approve of Nestern''s words.

    Lenny gazed at Acht and asked calmly.

    "Are you aware of what this man is talking about?"

    Acht merely crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he replied.

    "I have no idea what he is talking about."

    Nestern gritted his teeth with anger.

    "Stop lying, brat! I don''t have the patience to deal with liars. You have the origin warrior''s aura covering every part of your body. The sun being a huge gold coin would be more believable."

    Acht shook his head.

    "I can''t see where this is my problem. As I said, I have no rtion to whatever you said. I have no reason to prove that to you. Nestern."

    "You!" The man''s face contorted with anger as he eyed Acht with his ferocious eyes.

    Even though he was a middle-world inhibitor, he wasn''t really that oundishly strong. Or to be more precise, it seems that his aura is restrained to less than half which weakened him a lot.

    Acht could see himself holding his foot against this man for a long period of time.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 186 Chapter 186

    Nestern was genuinely about to explode from anger and frustration. So, to relieve his anger, he decided to kill this small brat that kept disrespecting him again and again.

    ''Wait. I can''t do that. He is the only lead I could find for the origin warrior. If I don''t find it, father will¡­Fuck!'' He thought to himself as he took multiple deep breaths to calm down.

    Then, he red at Acht slightly and said.

    "Come on, young man. Think about it. My offer will save you all from imminent death. You should be aware that if the origin warrior along with those clones were to attack the lower world, they could turn this world into nothing but small debris in a vast space. I know that you all value your lives." He said as he looked at every single person in the room.

    He then tapped his fingers against each other and said.

    "I also know that you want to destroy the hunter association or whatever its name was. I can also make that possible for all of you. I just want you to tell me where the fucking origin warrior is."

    Acht fell silent hearing his words, he had no reason to refuse to tell him about the location of this supposed origin warrior. However, there was one minor problem in this matter. The origin warrior is fucking dead!

    He can''t just say that the origin warrior gave him his heart and then died trying to steal Acht''s body and take it as his own.

    This matter was something that no one should know of and especially the man in front of him. The stuff that he could do to get Acht''s heart would be insane just from looking at his desperate need for the origin warrior.

    So, for the time being, he decided to trick him a little bit and buy some time. It won''t be much but it will keep this annoying insect away from Acht.

    "Sigh, fine. I will tell you." He said with a sigh as if he gave up hiding the matter anymore.

    Nestern immediately smiled and urged him to speak as he rubbed his hands together secretly.

    "I think the ce of this creature you are talking about is the S-Rank dungeon in the middle of Lagradon. You could enter that ce and you should find it there if you search thoroughly."

    Nestern pondered for a moment before nodding his head and standing up to leave.

    "Good, I will take a look there. If I find the origin warrior, then I willplete my end part of the deal. Until we meet again."

    He then started walking to the door. However, as he was about to open the door, an unbelievable amount of soul force suddenly attacked his senses like a raging beast, almost making him fall down from sheer pressure and power.

    He instantly turned around to look at the window, wide-eyed with shock. Everyone else also had the same reaction as they basically ran to the window to see what this massive, iprehensible amount of energy wasing from.

    There, in the middle of the air, just above Evernight, there was a massive white object floating in the air and looming over the city like some kind of shadow.

    "What¡­is that?" Weltz muttered with his mouth hanging down in bewilderment.

    The object was so massive in size that it basically covered the whole sky and extended to the horizon from all directions.

    No one could know what this object''s form is. But, they could see many weird grey lines running across the whole frame of the body.<sub> </sub>

    These grey lines kept pulsing with rhythmic lights.

    Acht''s eyes squinted as he inspected the object. It was eerily simr to what he could imagine a UFO would look like.

    ''Wait¡­UFO? No! This is bad! This is really bad!''

    Just to try and erase any suspicions, Acht ran to the door and left the ce to take a closer look at this thing above him.

    Outside, the scenery was no clearer and he could finally understand what was going on.

    The object floated for a good 5 minutes before a loud sound suddenly echoed from inside the ship to every corner of Evernight City.

    [Humans! Or should I say, Lower World Inhibitors! Your time has finallye! We came here to bestow upon you low lives the true, most important offer in your whole unimportant lives.]

    The voice was hoarse and deep but also dominant and arrogant to the brim.

    Acht and everyone else in the city listened silently to the ship with their eyes wide open, threatening to pop out of their sockets. Everything was just too sudden for anyone to understand quickly.

    [Our Empire, The Land Of Reincarnated, is expanding into other worlds and your small world is our first target. However, we didn''te here for war nor peace. Our order is simple, surrender peacefully and hand over this world and you shall see prosperity again. But, if you try to resist or try to fight back, then death is all that is waiting for you.]

    Acht felt a cold sweat run down his face as he listened to these words. These people were indeed reincarnated Humans that created a whole empire and are trying to invade other worlds.

    [We will be waiting for 3 days before we start our invasion. We want your answer soon. If we don''t get one before these 3 days are over then war it is.]

    The voice then went silent and never spoke again. But, the ship didn''t disappear and kept floating in the air.

    Acht immediately pulled out his phone and checked the news. There, he found what made him grow a huge frown.

    He was sure of one thing, this 3 days thing was all lies. They are here for a total invasion and they won''t be nice in their ways of doing it.

    ''Every single city in the world has a ship over it. Fuck! They are going to start a mass murder with no intention of sparing anyone.'' He thought as he gripped the phone tighter until the screen cracked slightly.

    The time came sooner than expected. Acht looked up and muttered.

    "The war¡­has started."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 187 Chapter 187

    Acht immediately returned to the bar and found a huge mess happening.

    Weltz was obviously in the center of that mess, he kept hitting the table in anger and frustration while shouting.

    "We are fuckingte!" He said.

    "Calm down, Weltz. We must keep ourselves calm and level-headed. I don''t think that cursing and shouting will solve it." Torn said as he crossed his arms with the most serious look he ever had.

    Lenny took a deep breath before exhaling it in the form of a sigh. He had no idea stuff would be this chaotic in less than a day since they discovered the clones. It was a miscalction for his side but he had no control over what he should expect anyway.

    He then turned the TV on and the first thing that appeared was the news reporter standing in the middle of the street with a clear distressed face. Behind him were hundreds of people running in all kinds of directions while screaming loudly.

    Every one of them wanted to run away to save their own lives from this sudden enemy that appeared above their heads. Even though they clearly heard what the voice said to all of them, they still didn''t care about that and only wanted to preserve their lives.

    Beside the news reporter were many live streams from different cities across the globe. Each one of these cameras showed a huge ship floating in the sky silently and covering the whole sky.

    "They have already reached every part of the Lower World. They are basically now in full control of most cities of the world." Lenny said with a frown.

    He was already aware that they didn''t seem to be the type to care about peace and other things like that. They probably offered this supposed peaceful surrender just to not waste their time on a useless war.

    Nestern was still frozen but then he shook his head and started walking to the door again.

    "Hey, where are you going?" Jack asked.

    Nestern halted his steps and looked at him as he said.

    "I''m leaving. You better pray that I find the origin warrior before the 3 days were over or you lot are fucked." He said with a grave tone.

    No one interrupted him as they knew that the war was basically something imminent and it would start in 3 days so they might as well start preparing.

    Acht was silent the whole time as he thought of all kinds of ns and solutions but none of them seemed to be the best choice for this situation.

    His only choice at the moment is to wait for the 3 days to pass and then see what to do. He had a hunch that maybe, just maybe...This heart he has inside of him now could actually be the key to winning this war.

    ''I should also start consuming one or two SSS-Rank soul stones. That will probably take me 3 days toplete with the amount of energy in them.'' he thought to himself.

    **************************

    Meanwhile, Leislet and Scarlett who were still outside were already on their way to the hotel as fast as they could.

    In just a matter of minutes, hundreds of phone calls came to them at the same time. They had already been told about the situation in every other ce in the world.

    Especially Leislet, she was now under immense pressure as the world was in chaos at the moment and the hunter association was also having a really hard time trying to put things under control for the time being.<sub> </sub>

    She had to leave Evernight and go back to Lagradon as soon as possible. If she had a choice, she would''ve rather stayed here to search for Acht and protect him. But, for a better future for both of them, for a future where they could live happily without any sadness or suffering, she had to leave now.

    ''Dammit! Nothing is going ording to n!'' She thought to herself as she reached the portal along with Scarlett who also needed to go back to her family.

    However, as they were about to leave the ce, another thing that made them freeze in their ces happened.

    Just a few kilometers away from Evernight, many silhouettes could be seen flying at an unbelievable speed directly toward the city.

    The dark sky didn''t allow Leislet and Scarlett to see who they were. However, they knew that no matter who these people were, they weren''t here to help them at all.

    Almost instantly, a huge amount of soul force pressure weighed down on them as they squinted their eyes in pain and tried to resist the sheer strength that was pulling them down. It was so strong that it was suffocating.

    Even around them, civilians started losing consciousness everywhere. Their eyes rolled back and their mouths started frothing excessively as they fell down.

    p In less than 30 seconds, thousands of people were on the ground. The screams and loud steps of people running turned to horrifying silence.</anda>

    These creatures finally reached the city and then approached the ship. There were at least 100 of them flying in the sky like giant birds.

    Leislet squinted her eyes as she tried to discern who they were and when she was able to identify them, her face turned as pale as a sheet of paper.

    Her eyes also widened to the maximum.

    "No! No! This can''t be. Fuck, this is way worse than I predicted. Way worse!" She muttered as her heart started beating loudly.

    "What? Who are they? Do you know them?" Scarlett asked with a mix of confusion and worry in her voice.

    Leislet didn''t answer as she kept looking at the creatures in the air. She could already see her worst nightmares bing true.

    ''There are hundreds of these?!''

    When they reached the ship, the creatures adjusted their positions and stood in long lines surrounding the ship like some kind of army. Their faces didn''t show any emotions, only pure indifference.

    Their way of standing and looking down on the whole world made Leislet realize one thing.

    ''We can''t win this war! We can''t fight back! We will all be killed.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 188 Chapter 188

    In the whole city of Evernight, walking in the streets was akin to walking in the remnants of a bloody war that took ce there. Men, women, and children, everyone wasying on the ground unconscious.

    The site was chilling to see for anyone out there. However, there were still some people who didn''t quietly go to sleep as the enemies intended to happen.

    Inside the Melody Of Dreams Bar, Acht and the others had already witnessed the scene of hundreds of clonesing closer and closer to the ship before standing in like an army in front of it.

    "Hundreds of them?" Lein muttered under her breath seeing such a horrifying sight in front of her.

    They had already seen tens of them inside that chamber and they were aware that there potentially could be hundreds and even thousands of them hiding somewhere in the world.

    But, predicting something and seeing it happen in front of you are twopletely different matters.

    Everyone was having these thoughts except for Acht who detected something wrong.

    ''How are they able to control these clones without the origin warrior? This is very weird. Also, if I have his heart¡­could I control these clones with my will?'' He thought to himself as he extended his hand secretly and closed his eyes.

    He then tried to channel his soul force and control these clones just like he controls Ooze.

    However, nothing happened at all. He couldn''t sense any connection with these clones nor could he feel any changement in his heart.

    That was to be expected since Acht had no idea how to control them and even if he had an idea, doing it required more than just some soul force and a few thoughts to back it up.

    ''There is no way for me to do anything at the moment. I should just concentrate on what I can do. Getting stronger is my best bet.''

    Lenny also stood up and said.

    "We can''t do much at the moment. We also need to wait and see what kind of decisions the hunter association and the royalties will make tomorrow or the day after. After that, we will also move."

    He seemed to have many thoughts running through his head at the moment and he needed to organize them so he could rationally decide what to do.

    But, he then said something that made them all remember a piece of crucial information they ignored.

    "We also have a problem at the moment. Most people are now unconscious because of the sheer pressure of these clones. Who is going to guard the city entrance from monsters that wille here?"

    As hepleted his sentence, a loud roar so strong that it basically made the earth shake and the sky quiver in fear echoed in the area.

    This was not the howl of one creature but that of thousands of monsters moving in a union.

    They were called ''The Shadow Lurkers''. Creatures that only live in Evernight''s domain. They can''t be found anywhere else in the world which makes them quite rare to see.

    It was very simr to the stampede that happened in Lagradon not that long ago. However, the monsters in Evernight are totally different from any normal beast.

    They aren''t the strongest nor are they the fastest. But, because they are nocturnal creatures because of the environment, they are the best when ites to stealth.

    They could hide their presence from most hunters, even the stronger ones have a hard time trying to fight one of these creatures just because of this special ability they have.

    Be it as it may, Acht and the other''s faces turned serious as they looked at the window at the same time.

    Then, without seemingly anyone hitting it, the window broke and the ss fell down to the ground.<sub> </sub>

    In that split of a second, Acht, who was the closest to the window, pulled out his sword and widened his eyes to see better in this darkness.

    Even though he was using soul force to enhance vision, he couldn''t see anything in front of him at all. But, he had another thing that he relied on a lot and that never betrayed him¡­his instincts.

    *Swish*

    The sword shed at the speed of sound.

    "Aaaggghhhh!" The creature howled in deep pain as it fell to the ground.

    Blood sttered on the ground and dyed the ce with a dark crimson red.

    Acht then took a look at the creature. But, before he could even see it properly, his senses alerted him to something attacking him from behind.

    But, he didn''t turn around to fight it or defend himself since there was someone else who moved before him

    Lein, who was as fast as a lightning bolt reached his position and barely flicked her hand slightly.

    Immediately, the monster was cut down to tens of pieces as if it was made out of butter.

    "Fuck! How are they this quick to enter the city?!" She cursed with a click of her tongue.

    "They are entering the bar without any of us sensing them. Dammit! The sheer pressure from the clones is disrupting my senses from detecting the monsters." Jack added as he looked around.

    Torn was also looking around and then his eyes fell on Jack''s back. Without hesitation, he pulled out a long gun and shot a shot toward Jack.

    Thetter didn''t move or react to it as the bullet passed him and hit a monster that was barely a few centimeters away from Jack.

    "Sneaky bastards! They are trying to attack us from our blind spots."

    Lenny also stood up and said.

    "Don''t focus on your blind spots. Just let the others guard your back. We have to keep our senses alert to them."

    Acht however ignored those words and walked to the window before saying.

    "I''m leaving."

    Then, without waiting for a reply, he jumped from the window and into the heart of the street.

    ''It''s time to move my rusty body. I didn''t hunt monsters in a while.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 189 Chapter 189

    *Swish* *Swish* *Swish*

    In the middle of the dark streets of Evernight, a young man could be seen running as fast as a bullet. His right hand was holding a dark sword and his left hand was holding the hilt of the sword.

    His eyes kept moving left and right as he shed swiftly with his sword. With each move he made, a loud scream followed by the sound of a corpse falling down to the ground, bloodied and with a horrified look filling its face.

    Night lurkers were small in size, barely bigger than a dog. They had a head that was shaped like a pointy pencil. Their yellow glowing eyes were their most distinct feature.

    These monsters had already reached deeper into the city and started praying on the unconscious civilians.

    With their sharp ws and fangs, they were able to shred the people''s necks as if it was a piece of paper and then start consuming them.

    In a matter of minutes, hundreds of people died without even knowing that they were eaten alive.

    But, these monsters were getting smaller and smaller in size as Acht moved around the streets cleaning them as if they were bugs and not an extremely dangerous bunch of monsters.

    After killing thest monster in one of the streets, Acht halted his steps and cleaned the blood from his cheek before looking up.

    The clones were still standing still in their ces not moving an inch even after a period of time.

    His sharp eyes squinted as he examined each one of them individually. Somehow, he had this weird feeling that they were looking at him.

    It wasn''t as if they were just looking in his general direction coincidentally or because he was killing monsters, it was a whole different reason.

    Each one of them had this weird frown on their face whenever they caught a glimpse of Acht as he appeared and disappeared from one ce to another.

    Acht could describe it as if they were fearing him for some reason.

    However, not even 2 seconds passed and he had to swing his sword again. He pierced the heart of the monster that tried to sneak from behind him like they usually do.

    ''Sigh, they are just like insects. Weak bute in huge numbers.'' He mumbled under his breath.

    ''I should finish the hunting and then train.'' He thought before vanishing again into the veil of the night, leaving behind him a trail of blood and flesh as if he was a grim reaper.

    **************************

    In a secret room in an unknown ce, 30 or so people were sitting around a table. The room was dark with only one source of light.

    No one could see the other''s face and no one could also discern the voice of another person there.

    It was a totally secret meeting that will not spill out who was attending it.

    Each one of the presents was silent as the heavy atmosphere weighed down on each one of them greatly.

    "This is the worst scenario. A whole invasion is announced and we have to make a decision of whether or not we should surrender or not in less than 3 days. This is stupid!" A person who no one could discern whether it was a man or woman spoke as they smashed the table.

    "They seem to have already been here for no less than 3 decades and we couldn''t even sense their presence. Not even once. This is ridiculous."

    A person then spoke out to calm them down.

    "There is no point in speaking about the past. We have to think of the present. What should we do?" He asked.<sub> </sub>

    Silence took ce again as everyone pondered over their possible choices.

    "I think we should fight back!" One said.

    Even though some of them nodded their heads, there were also others who didn''t agree at all.

    "You think it''s that easy? We didn''t prepare our armies nor do we have enough weapons to start a war on such a huge scale."

    "Then do you suggest that we just surrender and be fucking ves?!" The other responded.

    "No! But we should speak with these people first. They said some very crucial keywords when they first came here. ''The Land Of The Reincarnated''. That''s a very weird name."

    "Yes, that''s a very crucial piece of information they mentioned. If their words were really true, then reincarnation might exist in our world." One added.

    "Reincarnation, huh? That''s a term you don''t hear every day. But, the most important thing is that they are not some kind of humanoid creatures. That might help us negotiate with them."

    ''Negotiate?'' Everyone thought the idea seemed to be very attractive.

    If they could negotiate with these invaders, they mighte to an agreement without surrendering or going into a war where countless will die in vain.

    However, how should they negotiate with these creatures? They didn''t seem to be the kind of people to ept sharing or gettingpensation.

    "What could we offer as a goodpensation?" Someone asked.

    Then, like a rain, suggestions kept popping out from each and every one there. They suggested soul stones, weapons, money, and even a piece ofnd. But, that all didn''t seem to be the best choice.

    "Sigh, I think we should just meet them first and then we could discern what they wanted clearly."

    Most of them nodded in agreement.

    "So, who should represent us?"

    No one wanted to raise their hands since they felt extremely nervous and also hesitant. Their life was on the line after all.

    However, one of them raised his hand.

    He then stood up and revealed his face to everyone.

    After that, with a cold look, the woman said to everyone.

    "I will go."

    They all gasped in surprise since they didn''t expect this person to reveal their identity.

    ''I will have to end this matter before it bes a huge mess.'' Leislet thought with a determined look.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 190 Chapter 190

    Just like that, two days passed in total chaos. Thousands of people died and even more got injured because of them losing consciousness at the same time.

    ins fell, cars crashed, and trains diverted from their original route and smashed into buildings, destroying them in the process and killing tens of people.

    Not to mention the mass immigration of monsters and the constant soul-beast stampedes that hit every major city of the world relentlessly.

    It was a total disaster that made the Hunter association almost lose their minds trying to salvage the situation as much as they could.

    By far, Leislet was the most pressured person during these long 48 hours. She had to deal with the constant news and missions she needed to assign just to keep track of the situation in Lagradon and the close cities. Not only that, but she also had to n her method of negotiating with the invaders.

    Forget about sleeping, she couldn''t even have time to eat something throughout these hellish days.

    Finally, the day hase. The woman that was lifting the whole hope of humanity on her back was about to do something that will determine the future of a whole world for at least 200 years toe.

    The sheer pressure was unimaginable as she left her office and walked out to the main street. There, hundreds of news reporters and cameramen were standing there waiting for her.

    She scanned her surroundings for a short second before looking up and sighing.

    Her mind was having one single thought at the moment. This thought wasn''t about the invaders nor the media that was now looking at her with clear tension.

    ''Are you watching me Acht?'' She thought as she closed her eyes for a moment. For a split second, a glint of weakness appeared on her rather resolved eyes but it soon disappeared as if it never existed.

    Then, she walked down and passed the news reporters that chased after her, asking her all kinds of questions.

    "Miss Leislet. Could you please tell us how you feel at the moment? Are you confident in convincing the invaders to not start a war?"

    "Miss Leislet. Why did you refuse to make some hunters apany you? Are you sure you can be fine there alone?"

    Many questions like that kept popping off everywhere. However, Leislet turned a blind eye and walked without looking at anyone.

    Then, after passing the sea of people, she reached the city za where the ship''s center was located.

    She looked up and waited. Not long after that, a loud voice echoed in the whole capital.

    "Did you decide?" The voice asked.

    "Let me meet you in person to talk." She responded with a calm tone.

    The voice didn''t respond immediately. But, a few momentster, it spoke again.

    "I have no reason to ept this request. But, since we are not cruel, we shall ept."

    After saying that, a bright light shined from the ship. Then, from afar, a small piece of the ship separated from the body and started descending down slowly.

    Leislet watched the elevatore down with a serious look. For some reason, her heart didn''t beat hard nor did she feel any fear when the time to face these people came.

    The elevator finally reached the ground and the door opened. She didn''t hesitate to take a step inside before looking back.

    The door closed again and the elevator started rising up under the watch of many people.

    Then, after reaching the ship, the elevator git integrated again into the ship and Leislet disappearedpletely.<sub> </sub>

    Tension rose with each passing moment after she entered the ship. They knew that it would take some time for her toe back¡­if she came back.

    Inside the ship, the elevator''s door opened again as she looked at her surroundings.

    To call this ce technologically was an understatement. It was so advanced that Leislet couldn''t even understand what many things were or what they did.

    Even the metal that made this whole ship was something she had never seen before.

    ''What is this?'' She thought to herself with squinted eyes.

    She expected them to be a technologically advanced country. But this was too much. With each passing moment, her belief that if they entered a war with these people they would definitely lose miserably became even more concrete.

    As she thought like that, a voice called for her and woke her up from her deep thoughts.

    "Wee to our Sky Piercer, Lower World citizen."

    Leislet examined the man in front of her. He was rather an average-looking man in his 40s with a weird robe.

    The robe seemed like that of a schr or a magician in fiction except weirder and goofier.

    It was so long that it basically covered an area twice the man''s size.

    Leislet didn''t answer as she barely nodded her head.

    "Now, pleasee with me. We can''t just speak here, can we?" He asked as he turned around.

    Leislet looked at his back for a moment as she tried to discern his strength. However, no matter how much she tried she couldn''t feel anythinging from him.

    So, with aplicated look, she followed him as she kept her senses fully alert.

    The two walked inside the corridors of this giant Sky Piercer.

    The sound of Leislet''s shoes hitting the hard metal was the only sound she could hear there.

    The two then reached a room where a big table and two chairs were ced facing each other in each corner of the table.

    "Sit down, please." The man said as he walked to the other side and sat down.

    "So, what is your decision?" He asked.

    He didn''t even bother to try and start a normal conversation before asking the one million dor question.

    Leislet''s calm look returned and she took a breath before collecting her thoughts.

    ''For Acht''s and my sake¡­I have to do it.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 191 Chapter 191

    After taking her time to phrase her response, Leislet took a deep breath and began.

    "I came here to neither ept nor refuse your proposal."

    The man seemed to be slightly surprised as he raised his eyebrows slightly before making a light sound of astonishment.

    "Then, what do you want to say?"

    Leislet rested her back against the chair before exining.

    "From what I saw, I can tell that you want to avoid a pointless war with us, am I correct?"

    "Pretty much." He said.

    "So, how about instead of shedding blood, we coulde to an agreement over something else we can give you instead of this invasion? Something like money, weapons, soul stones. Anything you want." She replied.

    Then, weirdly, the man didn''t reply at all. Instead, a weird silence took over the man. Leislet couldn''t discern anything from his expression at all.

    After an unknown amount of time, something unexpected happened.

    "Pfft!" The man spat out as he startedughing hysterically.

    "Hahahahahahahahhahahah!!" Hisugh echoed in the room and made Leislet wince slightly from the loud sound.

    Then, after a long time of himughing as he grabbed his stomach and bent his head forward. Leislet couldn''t know how to react to this reaction at all. She expected all kinds of reactions from him, butughing was never something she expected especially from a calm person like him.

    "I-I can''t breathe. Damn! I didn''tugh this much in a long time." He said as he took a couple of deep breaths before wiping the tears from his face that came down because of his excessiveughing.

    "Could I know what made youugh that much? I didn''t say anything funny, did I?"

    The man shook his head and replied.

    "Oh, for sure you did. That was the funniest joke I have ever heard."

    "Joke?"

    "Yes, a joke. What you said is even lower than a joke. It''s aplete mockery. I think that you guys are misunderstanding something. We are not here to negotiate with you. Have you ever heard of a predator negotiating with its prey to not eat it? It never happened!" He said with a wide, creepy grin.

    His eyes shined with a weird light that sent a shiver down Leislet''s spine.

    Leislet felt herself fall deeper and deeper into despair with each word he said.

    "Negotiate? What a stupid idea you came up with. Is the level of intelligence in this world that low? Why would we negotiate with you guys when we could just simply take everything we want and you won''t be able to do anything about it."

    He then took a deep breath and added.

    "Anyway, I will give you an official answer so that the paperwork I would doter won''t be very hectic. We, The Land Of The Reincarnated, refuse your attempts to negotiate and we officially announce the start of the war. One side shalle out as the winner."<sub> </sub>

    Leislet didn''t wait any longer as she immediately stood up and unleashed her full aura before looking at him with a weirdly calm face.

    "I should''ve predicted this from the beginning. You lot think that we are weaker than you and that''s true. But, a cornered mouse will always bite back." Then, as fast as the wind, she disappeared from her initial position.

    Instantly, multiple individuals appeared beside the man. One of them looked at the man and asked.

    "Should we kill her?"

    The man shook his head and rested his back on the chair casually.

    "Don''t. It''s pointless to do it now. Her death is set in stone anyway."

    After that, he stood up and walked to the door. Before he left, he said.

    p "Start preparing the clones for the war. And, keep searching for the origin warrior. I don''t care if it''s inside the''s core. I want it back no matter what, understand?"</anda>

    All of them nodded their heads politely.

    "Yes sir."

    "Now, move." He said.

    After they left, the man also walked out of the room and walked in the corridors with his hands behind his back.

    His previously calm eyes had a weird look in them. Far from calm, his eyes had this deep madness and cruel insanity in them that no one could fathom at all.

    "Lower World''. What stupid, disgraceful name for a lowly ce like this. It''s worse than a trash can." He muttered to himself.

    No one was there to hear his words or they would''ve frowned at him.

    "I don''t even understand how we are from the same race. The difference between us the chosen ones and these insects is like the heavens and the mud. Wasting my time on butchering these insects is indeed quite unpleasant. But, that''s fine¡­No, it''s actually pretty good."

    His mouth then drew a wide, monstrous smile thatcked any human emotions in it. It was the most terrifying smile any person could show. No, it was way worse than that.

    "Killing these weak, puny humans. Ah! Seeing the despair in their eyes. Ah! I can''t wait to see their blood and organs fill up every corner of this world. Then, I will create a river of blood in the middle of this. Ah! I can''t wait to see them suffer and cry like the lowly monsters they are."

    His hands rubbed against each other swiftly. Then, in the darkness of the corridors, he disappearedpletely. Only leaving behind a sinisterugh that resembles that of a devil. Augh that could tell a thousand words about the Land Of the Reincarnated and show their true, devilish ideologies. A true picture of hell born in the heart of Ecrasia.

    At that exact moment, a new piece of history was getting shaped in the Lower World. A war of blood and cries, a war of hope and dreams.

    A war that will shape not only the future of the whole world but of the whole universe. The War Of Reincarnation has begun!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 192 Chapter 192

    Meanwhile, Leislet reached the elevator and quickly left the ce. For some reason, no one followed her or tried to stop her while she was running back to the exit which was pretty weird and frankly made her even more wary and suspicious.

    But, nevertheless, she left the ship and immediately jumped out of the elevator mid-air without waiting for it to reach the ground.

    Her face was contorted with a growing frown and her anger was on the brim of making her go nuts. She had never been this pissed before in her life.

    ''Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I ruined it. Dammit! This was within the realm of expectations but it''s still so frustrating. I was powerless. Now, we have to fight back even though we would most probably lose.'' She thought to herself with clenched teeth.

    Then, afternding down, a swarm of news reporters, hunters, and army soldiers came running toward her.

    Then, they surrounded her and started asking all kinds of questions. However, the most frequent question they asked is.

    "What happened?"

    Leislet didn''t answer immediately as she sighed under her breath with a defeated look before shaking her head as an answer.

    The people there fell silent as they looked at her response with all kinds of emotions. Disappointment, fear, nervousness, and also a hint of determination. It was all a blind of many feelings that made them feel their minds threatening to explode.

    Then, without waiting, she walked past them and said.

    "Tell everyone to prepare for war. Every empire, city, and even region should participate. We don''t have time." She said and then left the area without waiting for them.

    It didn''t take a few minutes for the news to spread to every corner of the world. The war is officially starting.

    Kings and emperors from every country made speeches and spoke to their people. They had no choice but to make everyone participate. Of course, children, some women, and elderlies will not fight but anyone else is obliged to.

    Luckily, the sense of patriotism is strong for most of the people so they were more than happy to help their countries and their world.

    Meanwhile, everyone kept an eye on every ship from the invaders. Days passed and even then, there was no suspicious movement from them. Hell, even the clones didn''t move a single inch for two weeks or so after that.

    It was all quiet, but the tension was over the roof. A calm before the storm in a sense.

    ***************************

    Evernight City, The Melody Of Dreams Bar, Acht was in his room. He didn''t leave in the past 14 days, not even once.

    After hunting those night lurkers, he returned and started training like a madman. He was aware that he had no time to waste at all.

    Every hour, minute, and even second was crucial since the war was basically around the corner.

    He had an idea about the situation outside and could already see how this war will ensue

    Forget about war, this will be a one-sided massacre. The Lower World simply can''t face these invaders.

    They were better in strength, technological advancement, and even in morals.

    The only chance for this world toe out victorious is for some kind of godly miracle to happen. Other than that, their chances were basically close to zero.

    As he thought about what happened in the previous period of time, he stood up and walked to the window to take a look outside.

    He had grown this habit since the appearance of the clones. He didn''t want to get attacked when he least expected it.

    Being fully wary and on edge all time was his best weapon for now.

    As he was like that, he heard a knock on the door. He already felt this person''s aura as they came here.

    ? "What?" He asked.

    Jack, who was standing outside, replied.

    "You haven''t left your room in a few days so I thought that something was wrong." He said.

    Acht didn''t know how to react to such concern. It seemed Jack was genuinely trying to create some kind of friendly rtionship with Acht. But, he was failing miserably.

    As Acht was about to make him leave, his eyes caught a glimpse of a weird scene.

    He turned around and focusedpletely on the dark sky thatcked any stars.

    However, what was important now was that the clones started moving.

    These creatures that didn''t budge for even a moment during almost 17 days had finally made movement.

    They started spreading across the whole city. Their speed was slow for some reason.

    Acht didn''t wait to see what would happen as that was not something that he would like, definitely.

    He ran to the door and basically kicked it open, breaking it in the process before eyeing Jack and saying.

    "The clones, they moved."<sub> </sub>

    Then, he sprinted out of the mansion and into the streets.

    By the time he left, people noticed the anomaly too, and quickly, a huge amount of people came out with all kinds of weapons in their hands as they prepared themselves for the worst.

    Each one of them was scared, unbelievably scared. But, in between that fear was a clear resolve¡­a resolve to protect their homes, their families, and also their pride.

    This is their world and if they don''t protect it and work together to keep it safe and peaceful, then who would do that?

    Acht felt slight admiration for their bravery before looking back at the clones and coldly red at them.

    He started channeling his soul force secretly as he waited silently.

    No one tried to do anything. Even the generals of the army that were basically in full control of the people didn''t order them to attack. The time was still not there.

    Then, after seconds that felt like long hours, the clones halted again and looked down at the city with their emotionless looks.

    Then, basically, at the same time, they all raised their hands up in the air before a huge amount of energy that couldn''t be measured at all started umting on top of them.

    Everyone watched as the energy grew bigger and bigger with each passing moment like a huge tsunami wave gaining momentum with each passing second.

    The generals then looked back at their soldiers and shouted loudly.

    "Attack!!!"

    As if their words were like an rm, people woke up from their trance and pointed their guns and soul artifacts at the clones.

    *BLAST* *BLAST* *BLAST*

    Thousands of bullets were shot at the same time. For a split second, the whole sky was illuminated with the lighting from these energy bullets.

    The clones didn''t wait either as their preparations wereplete and they shot their energy balls down like a falling meteor.

    Acht felt the uing explosion from two unbelievably huge energy attacks and immediately summoned Ooze before creating a barrier in front of him.

    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM*

    A loud explosion that made the sky rumble and the buildings sway left and right violently ensued in the middle of Evernight''s dark sky.

    The sh between these two pr opposite energies was so strong that for a split second, the space was distorted.

    Obviously, the after-effects of such a sh were disastrous.

    A massive storm, the size of the whole city fell down on the soldiers.

    "Ugh!!" Acht clenched his teeth as he dug his legs deeper into the ground to try and stop himself from flying away at almost 180 miles an hour.

    However, even with his monstrous strength that was now stronger than before, he didn''t hold for two seconds before was also swiped away by the raging storm.

    Soldiers all around him were also blown away with no possible resistance to be made.

    ''Fuck!'' He cursed as he immediately called Ooze again and did something that he had never done before.

    Something that only his current self could barely pull off.

    He made Ooze stretch out as quickly as he could. In less than 3 seconds, the liquid turned into a nket-shaped object the size of Evernight.

    Then, he moved it to the other end of the city before putting it down. He did all of this in less than 4 seconds.

    Because of this, the flying soldiers hit this soft nket made out of Ooze and greatly reduced the hit from this explosion.

    Thousands of soldiers found themselvesying on a soft fiber. They thought that their death was set in stone as they were blown away.

    "What is going on?" Someone muttered as he stood up in a daze.

    Everyone looked around them in confusion. Even when they looked behind them, there was no trace of the nket.

    They didn''t also notice who pulled that off.

    ''If it wasn''t for the fact that you lot will be somehow useful, I would have not had to waste my energy on you. Fuck!'' Acht thought to himself with a frown as he wiped some sweat from his face.

    ''But, this is only the start. There is still more toe.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 193 Chapter 193

    Acht had to take several deep breaths to calm down his heart which was beating at an unbelievably fast rate. He could feel his soul force depleting to a low degree instantly of the huge usage that he did not so long ago.

    Stretching Ooze to the size of a whole city was something that the Acht from a week ago wouldn''t be able to pull off. It was the effect of absorbing multiple SSS-Rank soul stones and leveling up.

    He was able to advance 4 levels quickly and reach the threshold of the second phase of his core which was the orange soul.

    This made him basically evolve to a whole different level of strength that he himself couldn''t even imagine reaching in such a short period of time.

    Then, after calming down considerably, he eyed the area around him. The sight alone made him freeze for a moment.

    What was before a lively district of the city turned into a deste area thatcked any resemnce to what it was a few minutes ago.

    All the buildings were basically erased from existence without leaving a single trace of their existence except for some small debris that could be found scattered around.

    ''Damn.'' He thought as he felt the whistle of air as it blew his ck hair left and right.

    He then looked back at the soldiers behind him. Because of what Acht did, most of the soldiers were standing with minor injuries on their bodies. The fact that most of them were also awakeners helped in preserving most of the army intact.

    However, that didn''t mean that they were still the same just like before the war started. Their determined eyes were now as horrified as any person could be.

    p Their hands were shaking and their faces were sweating profusely as they looked up with hesitant nces.</anda>

    From a simple sh with the clones, the army was rendered basically useless. The power from the clones'' attack was simply way too much to handle even for the most optimistic of these bunch.

    ''Fuck! They are already as scared as a bunch of chickens. I guess that was expected. The case is also probably the same if not even worse in other cities around the world.'' Acht thought with a cold re.

    He couldn''t find a reason for him to still rely on these bunch of cowards since they will be ughtered anyway. However, they could work as a decoy for him and for the more capable hunters.

    Lastly, he took a look at the machines of mass destruction that were floating in the sky like true gods eyeing mere mortals and preparing to punish them.

    However, they didn''t seem to be preparing another attack for now. Their positions also didn''t change much.

    *DING* *DING* *DING*

    As he was ncing at them, his phone rang out of nowhere. He looked down and it seemed Lein was calling him.

    He was very far away from the base so it was understandable.

    He picked up the phone and said immediately.

    "The soldiers are now basically scared shitless. We have to deal with this alone."

    "Fuck! I expected that. That attack alone almost broke my ribs! Fuck! The others are here and we are going to attack them from afar to see how they will react." She replied with a clearly irritated tone.

    Acht stood silent for a moment before nodding his head. He was aware of the huge risk they were taking but it was needed to gauge their powers and also to see if there was any possible way to harm them other than the crystals.

    "Leave those weapons you prepared forter. They are our tramp cards." He said as he closed the phone.

    Then, under the surprised gazes of the people, he vanished from his ce like a ghost.

    When he was far enough, he stood on top of a building that somehow survived the storm. Then, he lifted his hand up in the air as high as he could.

    After that, he channeled his soul force into his hand. Simultaneously, he activated his gift and started creating a huge gravity bullet.

    It was the biggest he ever created so he had to focus or it would explode and harm him greatly.

    Gradually, the energy on the palm of his hands turned into gravity and increased the pressure on the air around his hand.

    He felt the veins in his arms bulge out because of the heavyweight he had to lift.

    After what was almost a minute, the gravity bullet was fully prepared. It was so big and sopact that it almost distorted the space around it.

    Then, he lifted the gravity bullet with both of his hands and jumped high in the air before starting to spin wildly with his whole body.

    He kept spinning and spinning as he increased his momentum rapidly. At some point, he was almost like some kind of human fan except he was 10 times faster than a fan.<sub> </sub>

    ''Take this!'' He thought as his eyes widened and his muscles contracted beforeunching the gravity bullet.

    The speed that it reached because of the momentum he created was so unbelievably fast that it broke the sound barrier easily as if it was nothing.

    The clones looked at the attack that was flying toward them. But, they didn''t move at all.

    No sane human would want to stand at the end of such an attack. However, these clones were no sane humans.

    The moment the bullet reached them, it erupted in one single motion.

    Acht watched the scene as he wasnding on the ground. He muttered under his breath.

    "Boom."

    At the same time that he uttered that word, the gravity bullet hit them.

    However, instead of some kind of shy explosion, nothing happened. In fact, a few seconds passed in total silence as if the gravity bullet vanished from existence.

    Yet, even with that, Acht didn''t feel anxious or weirded out. He just waited patiently and then it happened.

    He could see one of the clones starting to change. His lower torso started stretching in a weird manner. It was as if his body was made out of y. After his lower torso, the whole right part of his body started stretching and distorting in a hideous way.

    The other clones also had the same experience. At some point, their distorted bodies that were getting pulled away from them created the form of a vortex in the middle of the sky.

    Then, in a moment, they were all pulled into the middle where the gravity bullet erupted.

    Even with their emotionless looks, they started fighting back the pulling force but failed miserably.

    The gravity in that area was just simply something that shouldn''t exist in a world like this where thews of space were considerably weak and could be manipted easily with enough strength.

    After getting pulled into the vortex in what seemed to be a scene that never happened before, their bodies started crashing against each other. They got blended violently as their bones were disseminated and their flesh torn to parts.

    Then, as if it had enough time toying with their bodies, the vortex spits them out. The speed at which their bodies were sted away made them appear like a blur.

    *BOOOOM*

    When they reached the ground they crashed violently, creating huge holes that dug meters deep.

    No one could believe the scene they saw, even Nightingale themselves who were aware of Acht''s power. They couldn''t understand what happened at all.

    The only one that wasn''t shocked at all was Acht who had a huge frown on his face.

    It didn''t take long for the worst case possible to happen. Even after such a horrifying attack, the clones stood up and sted into the air again. Their bodies were unscathed and their faces didn''t seem to change nor feel any kind of pain.

    Acht looked at the scene and unconsciously clenched his sword tightly.

    He was aware of their strength but he at least hoped that his strongest attack could do some damage. But, nothing of that sort happened.

    All he could see was a bunch of monsters that couldn''t be killed.

    But, that didn''t make him fall into despair. He still had hundreds of things he wanted to try on them.

    `We can''t use the crystals now. It''s far too early for it. If we waste them from the start thenter on we will be fucked.'' He thought as he jumped down and started running through the streets.

    As he ran, the clones also seemed to also lose their patience as they started preparing for another attack. This time, however, they didn''t stay floating in the sky but instead flew down directly toward Acht, all at the same time.

    ''Fuck!'' He cursed with widened eyes. His previous attack seemed to trigger some kind of unpleasant reaction from the clones who, albeit being emotionless, they seemed to have felt some kind of anger toward the young man.

    Acht was now the target of hundreds of enemies.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 194 Chapter 194

    The sight of hundreds of clones flying down like meteors made Acht''s blood freeze for a moment before it started pumping throughout his body at an incredibly fast speed. Adrenaline also rushed all the way to his brain and enhanced his already sharp senses.

    For a split second, Acht felt the time stop and all of his surroundings halted from moving. The only thing he could feel in this silence was his erratic breathing.

    Then, as if he was moving by instinct, his body immediatelyunched up into the air, reaching 50 meters in less than a second.

    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

    A momentter, the ground beneath Acht blew up like a balloon. The attack that came from a hundred or so incredibly strong individuals was just way beyond what this world could bear.

    Acht looked down with widened eyes at the sight. The ce he was standing along with an area of almost 100 kilometers radius was erased from existence.

    There wasn''t even debris or rocks, it was all turned into small particles that were swept by the airwaves.

    "Ugh!" Acht clenched his teeth as he covered his face with both of his arms to cover them from the huge dust storm that engulfed him suddenly.

    He even had a hard time fighting the air that was pushing and pulling him like a ragdoll in the air.

    ''Dammit! The air is too strong.'' He thought as he looked down through his arms.

    There, he saw all the clones stand up again and look at him before sting into the air again.

    The boy didn''t wait to see what they intended to do as he unleashed every ounce of his aura to fight the storm back and to be able to free himself from the clutches of this natural power.

    He then flew away from the ce where he previously stood into the horizon. He had no time to waste as they could reach him at any moment.

    His speed reached such heights because of his abnormal state that he felt his face getting stung by the dust particles that were now taking the ce of a huge chunk of the atmosphere.

    As he flew, crossing hundreds of meters in less than a few seconds, he peeked back.

    However, that choice he made was probably the most regrettable thing he had done.

    The clones that were obviously following him were now preparing another one of those huge energy balls they created before.

    "Shit." Acht clicked his tongue as he flew even higher, reaching the clouds. He wanted to use them as objects that hid his presence and made it even harder to aim at him.

    The clones didn''t seem to bother with what he did as he still threw the balls with all of their strength the moment they saw him.

    The giant energy balls followed him, reaching the clouds before blowing up.

    The moment thesepact massive-scale bombs blew up, the sky that was filled with clouds got cleared instantly.

    Every cloud was swept away and dissipated almost immediately. The sight alone was amazing yet also very scary to witness. It spoke tales about how much these balls could eradicate anything theye close to.

    The soldiers down on the ground looked up with their mouths hanging open. This fight was so out of their mental capacities that they turned speechless seeing it from this close.

    As for the target of these weapons of mass destruction, he was as powerless as he could be. The giant energy balls missed him but the after-effects of these attacks reached him easily and pushed him violently, making him almost fall down.

    When the wind finally calmed down again, Acht thought that he had some time before the next round of attack. But, he couldn''t be more wrong as while he was trying to evade the giant energy balls, the clones were already preparing another batch.

    ''Is their soul force limitless? How many times could they create such a humongous attack?'' He thought.

    But, with nothing up his sleeve to reverse these attacks, he pulled out Ooze and made it stick to his arm.

    He had an idea in his mind and he wanted to try it.

    However, he needed to first find an opening in their lines.

    ''Someone or something...Anything! I just need a few seconds after theyunch the attack!'' He thought as he looked down.

    Without waiting, he pulled out his phone and called Lein.

    The phone got picked up quickly and Acht shouted as he looked back at the energy ballsing his way.

    "Tell your group to try and change the clones'' aggro the moment theyunch the next attack. It doesn''t need to be for long, just 4 seconds is enough!" He shouted as he zigzagged between the clouds expertly.

    He felt his muscles scream with extreme pain because of the constant barrage of wind attacks he had suffered and also because of the twists and turns he did constantly.<sub> </sub>

    Lein didn''t take a second more before nodding and closing the phone.

    Acht then also concentrated on preparing for his n.

    ''Even though they are quite strong, they aren''t smart at all. If they had some intelligence, this wouldn''t even be worth trying.'' He thought to himself.

    Seconds passed in that state, the sky had already turned into a firework festival because of the constant massive-scale explosions that kept appearing across the whole city and the outskirts.

    However, no one could see the two parties fighting because of their constant fast movement.

    Suddenly, the clones halted their steps, it was very surprising and out of nowhere. But, Acht didn''t even waste time processing what happened as he immediately stretched ooze widely into a thick and massive ball with a big hole in it.

    Then, he pushed the ball toward the energy attacks that were rushing toward him. The ooze ball reached them and swallowed every energy attack.

    Acht stretched his hand to control the ball and what was also happening inside the ball. He knew that any contact with the inside of the ball would trigger a massive chain of explosions that would ultimately destroy the ooze ball and ruin his n.

    So, he had to use gravity maniption to make the energy balls float silently inside ooze, not touching anything which was so incredibly hard that the veins on Acht''s arms started exploding from the impossible pressure on his body and the tension.

    But, with clenched teeth, he bore with the hellish pain and controlled the situation perfectly. Not even the dangerous amount of blood that was flowing down his arms would stop him.

    After making the ooze swallow every energy ball, he closed the ball, and then with thest ounce of strength he had left, he pushed the ball toward the still frozen clones.

    The ball flew toward them and then stopped right in the middle.

    "You better die now, fuckers!" He shouted before clicking his fingers together.

    Apact ball of energy of that size was something that the Lower world never witnessed even during the descension war.

    To put it into perspective, this attack alone is stronger than millions of the most advanced nuclear bombs back on earthbined together. Its only shoring is that the area it will destroy is way smaller than a nuclear bomb.

    By the time the ball reached the clones, Acht had already flown 30 kilometers away from them.

    He even looked down and shouted.

    "Get as far from there as you could! It''s going to explode." He said.

    The soldiers who were in a daze felt a cold sweat run down their spines as they immediately started evacuating the area.

    Nightingale also escaped from there. They wanted to fight the clones but when they saw Acht trying to execute a n, they halted their ns for the time being until they saw if his n would work or not.

    Then, the ball exploded, what followed was a very strong light that could blind anyone who looked directly at it.

    Everyone covered their eyes and hid from the strong heat wave that got generated in that area.

    The temperature reached a staggering level that was higher than the core of the sun.

    The ground underneath them started melting like ice cream and turned into a messy mix of liquid and ashes.

    ''If this doesn''t kill them, I don''t know what will.'' He thought to himself as he felt his adrenaline rush increase from the sight.

    This was the first time he witnessed something like this in his life.

    It was also the first time he witnessed another thing. The space around the explosion area that got multiple hits previously finally crackedpletely and a huge tear that resembled a ck hole appeared in the middle of the sky.

    The tear wasn''t huge by any means but it was very visible even in the midst of the chaos.

    Seeing it, the boy''s mouth created a small smile that was also mixed with surprise.

    ''I feel like I can see the other side of that hole.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 195 Chapter 195

    The energy bomb that exploded shredded the space around that area to pieces. However, a few momentster, that tear got fixed and the space returned to normal.

    Then, as if the pressure around the explosion got released, the after-effects of the attack spread at a fast rate.

    Acht looked at the uing massive wave of energy and immediately flew even farther away from there so as to not get caught in the aftermath.

    He lowered the height at which he was flying and started zigzagging through whatever buildings were still intact on the outskirts of the city.

    These buildings didn''tst long as the energy wave swept them away along with it as it continued traveling hundreds of kilometers in each direction.

    Acht finally left the city as the energy wave started dissipating slowly. Luckily, because Evernight was so massive so this bomb basically lost all of its energy by the time it reached the outside forests that surrounded the city.

    Seeing that he was considerably safe now, Achtnded on the ground. He basically threw himself down rather than an actual normalnding.

    His face was pale and his mouth was open as he breathed heavily from exhaustion.

    ''Fuck! I feel pain all over my body.'' He cursed under his breath as he looked down at his arms which were the most damaged out of all of his other body parts.

    Blood had been oozing out from there non-stop for thest 40 seconds or so. For some reason, even his unbelievable healing abilities weren''t able to keep up with the worsening injuries.

    So, without waiting, he popped out a potion and chugged it down before spilling some of it on his arms to enhance their healing process.

    Then, he found a huge boulder that he could rest his back on for the time being.

    After calming down and getting rid of a good chunk of the hellish pain he was feeling, he looked in the direction of the explosion.

    The cloud of smoke was still there so he couldn''t see what happened to the clones or whether they died or not.

    ''Did they die?'' He thought as he looked closer and closer.

    He was hoping that that energy bomb was more than enough to deal with them but he was already prepared for the worst. These clones are very tenacious after all.

    ''I should rest for a few minutes before going back to check.'' He thought with a sigh of exasperation.

    **************************

    "Cough! Cough! That Acht is so reckless. I thought I was about to die." Jack coughed loudly as he leaned on his knees.

    The others didn''t fare that much better than him, they had escaped the energy wave by a hairbreadth.

    "I swear when I see him! I will crush his legs and arms!" Lein shouted with clear anger.

    Lein was someone who hated dirt the most out of all of them. In contrast to her usual character, she was a cleaning fanatic who didn''t want to see any kind of dust anywhere near her personal space.

    So, this cloud of dust and debris made her feel sick and ufortable.

    "It is what it is. He had no other choice so as to be able to deal with those fuckers." Torn replied calmly.

    The group conversed like that for a moment but they were interrupted by Lenny who was standing slightly far away from them.

    "They aren''t dead." He said.

    Hearing his words, everyone turned extremely serious immediately. They didn''t doubt Lenny''s words for even a second as much as it sounded ridiculous to them.

    Escaping that explosion was just logically impossible. However, does logic work with these creatures? They kept breaking logic again and again as if it was nothing so it was not good to try and scale their existence with what a normal existence should be like.

    "What should we do boss?" Weltz asked as he clenched his spear tighter with his right hand. He had a clear nervous look on his face.

    However, the old man didn''t answer as he simply started walking farther and farther away from them. His cane kept hitting the ground lightly as he was walking as if he was taking a stroll in the middle of some kind of park or garden.

    They all watched him carefully as they wanted to know what he wanted to do.

    ''Did he feel something?'' They all thought to themselves warily.

    Then, as if to answer their suspicions, the ground started shaking beneath them. It started light but then got even more aggressive with each passing second.

    They all insensitively looked down to see what it was. But, not long after that, they discovered the reason for this earthquake. Ahead of them, barely 20 kilometers away.<sub> </sub>

    From basically under the ground, many silhouettes sted into the sky. They could immediately identify them as the clones.

    Lenny''s words were true, they were still alive.

    However, to make things seem slightly better, Nightingale could only see 70% of their initial number. That meant two possibilities, either the others were sent flying far away or the more probable oue, which was that they died from the explosion.

    Lenny saw them look down at him from above as they instantly flew back down, reaching a few meters away from the ground before sting toward him like strings of Lightning.

    His cold eyes didn''t waver when he saw them approaching him all together.

    "Oi boss!! What are you doing?" Torn asked with a clearly grave expression.

    The others also called for him, but he didn''t reply nor look back at all. All he focused on was the creatures in front of him.

    His walking speed also didn''t change at all during this time.

    A second passed and the clones finally reached him, they all had already extended their hands to grab him and shred him to pieces.

    However, what happened next made everyone look twice with extreme shock, even the clones.

    The old man that was walking barely a few meters away from them suddenly vanished from his ce. They all halted their movement and looked back immediately.

    There, as if nothing happened, Lenny appeared behind them, walking casually with his cane in his hand.

    He then stopped walking and looked back at them. Then, in the calmest tone, he said.

    "You should worry about what happened to you." His finger pointed at their stomachs.

    The clones instinctively looked down and there, much to their surprise, crystals were digging deep into their stomachs.

    Each one of them with no exception had a crystal digging into their organs. Immediately, fountains of blue liquid erupted all at the same time. Their blood isn''t red but a disgusting blue color.

    "...No matter how many times I see him in action, I never understand how strong our boss is," Jack said.

    "He still doesn''t want to tell us which element he has. No matter how many times we ask him¡­he refuses to tell us."

    "It''s his only secret that he hid from us. No matter what, it''s still one of the strongest abilities I have ever seen. The way he executes it so wlessly makes me unable to see what he did." Jack added.

    Meanwhile, the old man didn''t avert his eyes from the clones as they kept oozing out the blue blood that stained the ground.

    Even with these horrible injuries they sustained, they still didn''t show any sign of losing consciousness or dying.

    They also didn''t show any kind of reaction to the pain. The only thing they did was look back at Lenny with their emotionless eyes.

    It was as if they were telling him that they would kill him.

    ''Even the crystals weren''t enough to make them fall down. I barely have any left on me. I guess it boils down to the traditional way of dealing with things.'' He thought as he smiled slightly at them. It was a form of mockery he attempted to make them get angry.

    Oddly, it somehow worked since the clones immediately attacked him again. This time, however, they didn''t rush brainlessly toward him.

    They surrounded him, creating a huge circle around him. Lenny had no way of escaping from this trap nor did he intend to escape at all.

    The clones looked at him with slight wariness before dashing toward him after some thought. Killing this man became a priority for them.

    Lenny stood in the middle casually and waited for them to reach him.

    Then, it happened again, the moment they were about to catch him, he disappeared as if he never existed in the first ce. It was very odd no matter how you look at it.

    He isn''t moving or teleporting, he just vanishespletely without showing any sign of doing anything beforehand. No soul force channeling, no weird hand gestures or suspicious things he did.

    This power of his was just too mysterious and iprehensible. What is Lenny''s ability?

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 196 Chapter 196

    The clones were on the verge of going crazy. Even when they encircled him, he still somehow escaped as if it was nothing. Even his demeanor didn''t show whether he was really trying or not.

    So, they turned around to search for him. The old man was found standing not that far away looking at his own right hand.

    He kept looking at it as he clenched and loosened it a few times as if he was checking whether it was still working or not. Then, he looked up again.

    He observed the crystals that didn''t seem to budge at all, deeply digging into their innards.

    ''It seems that even these crystals aren''t that effective against them if they were used like a sword or something like that. We need explosive power like a cannon to be able to create enough momentum for it to be lethal.'' He thought to himself calmly.

    He had no idea what these clones were made of. It wasn''t normal skin but more of a rigid yet rubbery substance that was at least 1000 times sturdier than normal human skin.

    He also can''t think of a weapon strong enough to damage them. Hell, even their own attacks can''t kill them so why should there be something that can do that in this world?

    Be it as it may, Lenny wasn''t going to give up since he can see hope far on the horizon. It was far and hard to grasp, but he had no other choice but to try and capture it. That slim, almost non-existent possibility.

    As he was having such thoughts, the clones were already on the move again. They had enough of his abilities and his casual demeanor so they changed their approach.

    Instead of attacking the strong old man, they targeted the other people there.

    The Nightingale members saw this and immediately readied themselves.

    "They are now targeting us? Great." Torn muttered.

    "It''s gonna be a bloody fight! Get ready and don''t try to let them throw those energy bombs they can create." Jack shouted as he extended his hand again and used his ability.

    Immediately, the clones halted their steps and started looking around them frantically.

    This was Jack''s ability, he had the element of illusion which was a pretty rare element in this world. The ability of this element, as the name suggests, is to create illusions that can trick every human sense.

    It can create pain, euphoria, sadness, and even anger with very precise images and depictions of different environments and locations.

    He could even create people''s nightmares and dreams if he has a good idea about their personalities.

    Now, what he did is that he hypnotized the clones and made them lose track of his teammates'' locations.

    Then, he looked at the others without saying a word. It was his sign for them to start the fight.

    Lein was the first to move as she pulled her sword and dashed toward them. Her lighting element was also already surging through every fiber of her body.

    As she reached the first clone, she kicked the crystal that was digging into the clone''s abdomen, shoving it slightly deeper into his body.

    Then, she pierced with her sword towards his eyes.

    "Take this motherfucker!" She shouted loudly.

    Her sword reached the eyeball and pierced it. However, it barely created a hole one millimeter deep into his eye.

    Lein tried to push harder as the blood started oozing out of his eye. But, the sword didn''t want to budge at all.

    It was in fact stuck there as if it prated some kind of hard, sticky rubber.

    Torn saw this and moved in to help Lein, his weird weapons which were soul guns that work with soul force instead of bullets were pulled out of his hip and pointed at the clone that was walking up from his trance.

    *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

    Three bullets were shot sessively. Normally, no one would ept being near a target when these weapons are involved. But, this Torn we are speaking about.

    The bullets flew past Lein, barely scraping a strand of her hair before lunging into the clone''s face.

    The impact from the hit made the clone''s head arch back, releasing the sword in the process.

    Lein immediately pulled back and created some distance. Then, she looked at her arm which was shaking slightly. Just from exerting all of her strength in trying to prate the eye, her arm had be slightly numb and unresponsive.

    ''How are they this sturdy?'' She thought to herself with a grim look.

    She then looked at Lenny and shouted.

    "Boss. Shouldn''t we already use it?" She asked.

    However, Lenny shook his head in refusal. He seemed to be still reluctant to use the weapon they prepared before the perfect opportunity.

    They must not forget that in other major cities, there were thousands of other clones invading them and killing people. So, if they wasted their one trump card here, fighting the other clones that will eventuallye here will be suicidal, to say the least.

    The team didn''t feel annoyed by his decision since they trusted that old man with their lives.<sub> </sub>

    *crack*

    Finally, the clones broke the illusion and returned to the real world. Jack couldn''t hold this number of strong creatures for that long since it took a huge toll on his body and also his soul force which was depleting at an rming rate.

    But, before they could fully recover, Kin with her massive hammer jumped in the air and smashed down, creating a huge crater in the middle of the area, making the clones fall down. Her destructive prowess came from the amazing control of her element, the rock.

    Then, she touched the ground with her left arm, and a huge wall made out of stones protruded out of the ground. The wall was tall and wide. It also was as thick as three normal-sized houses.

    Then, with her right hand that was holding the hammer, she pushed the wall down, closing the hole that the clones fell in and sealing them there.

    "Good job, Kin," Jack said with a thumbs up.

    The emotionless woman barely gave him a nce before she nodded quietly.

    However, they weren''t over yet, and Lein interrupted them.

    "Kin, make a small hole that links to the trap you created." She ordered.

    Thetter nodded and did what she was told to.

    Then, Lein approached the hole and charged her hands with lightning before crouching down and channeling all of that energy inside.

    The electricitying from the lighting bolts fried the inside and increased the temperature tremendously.

    However, not even a few seconds passed before the ground shook violently and cracked like a fragile nut.

    "No, you fucking don''t!" Weltz shouted as he ignited the blue fire in his hand and sted it down, creating anotheryer of ice, at least 2 meters thick.

    "Now, Uli!!"

    Then, to put thest nail in the coffin, Uli ran closer to the trap and jumped in the air. His simple jump made him reach 60 meters in the air before hended down with his legs first.

    "I will give it my best!!!" He shouted.

    *BOOOOOOOOM*

    His violentnding pushed theyer of ice even deeper into the crater, making the inside even morepact and pressured.

    Then, he started punching down madly. His scared face contrasted with his monstrous strength.

    *BOOOM* *BOOOM*

    He kept punching and punching continuously as if it was the only thing he was capable of doing.

    "Take this and this and this and this!!! How dare you make me feel inferior. I am inferior but still, why would you rub that fact on my face? I have emotions and I can easily be scared! Die! Die! Die!" He shouted like a madman.

    Then, as thest punch, he gave it extra power. The hit alone was able to push theyer of ice and rocks, even more, deeper into the ground.

    Anyone inside such a deadly trap would be turned to meat paste¡­fried meat paste after this.

    It was such a strongbination of the full strength of every Nightingale member together.

    "This won''t kill them! But it will buy us some time." Torn muttered with his hand on his chin.

    Then, he pulled out his phone to check the other areas of the world where the invasion was happening simultaneously.

    "This¡­"

    His eyes squinted slightly at the sight he saw.

    The areas where the supposed major cities of the world existed were now nothing but destends.

    He predicted such an oue, but for this to happen in less than an hour was just mind-blowing.

    The only city that somehow was still not fully destroyed was Lagradon. It was still engaging in a bloody fight but at least there was some resistance.

    "What a fucking mess this is. I don''t want to even imagine what the lower world would look like in a few more hours." He thought.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 197 Chapter 197

    "Hah! Hah! Hah! Fuck!" A loud curse filled with anger and hatred echoed in the area. Leislet clenched her teeth as she looked up with her cold eyes. Her left arm was holding her right arm since thetter was broken to pieces.

    She could see in the air, hundreds of clones moving around, destroying and killing every human they see in front of them.

    In a matter of 35 minutes, they had brutally murdered thousands of people, most of them were normal army soldiers and a small portion of them were hunters.

    Leislet could see how powerless they were. Forget about putting up a decent story fight, they couldn''t even hold up for half an hour.

    The biggest city in the world and the strongest empire in the world couldn''t hold its ground against invaders for an hour. That was a joke¡­A sick and twisted joke told by the devil himself.

    She then shifted her gaze to the ground. All she could see around her was blood. A deep red blood that kept spreading and dying the whole city with the color of blood.

    Other than blood, there was also a huge pile of corpses. Dead people with cut-off limbs, broken bones, and twisted necks riddled the area like ants.

    It was a truly horrible sight for anyone to witness.

    This fact was even stronger for Leislet who had to bear with the sight of her people losing their lives in such a brutal way.

    ''Am I truly this powerless?'' She asked herself as she clenched on her broken arm, making her wince with pain.

    *BOOOOM*

    Another explosion echoed along with a strong wind wave that rustled her long beautiful hair and made her look even more miserable.

    ''Fuck! Was it all useless after all? Trying to fight a losing war and get beaten this easily. Was it my mistake to not ept their offer and surrender?'' She thought as she fought the urge of crying.

    The pain she felt in her heart was unimaginable. Each person dying, each scream and each explosion tore her heart and tortured her soul.

    There was no one to me except for Leislet.

    Even though in normal circumstances she would be aware that it was not anyone''s fault that this happened. It was all an invasion that would''ve happened whether Leislet tried to stop it or not. But, her mental state made her incapable of thinking rationally at that exact moment.

    However, as she was having such destructive thoughts.

    "Umm¡­you seem to be about tomit suicide, Prez." A voice suddenly called for her from behind.

    She looked back and saw a very familiarzy face she had already grown ustomed to. This person was the face of the hunter association after all.

    He was the true strongest hunter alive, a monster that has never seen defeat before. He was even considered some kind of deity by many people.

    Leislet shook her head with a grim face as she tried to muster a smile.

    "You bastard! Why are you here? Didn''t you stay in another city?" She asked.

    Thyrus shook his head and answered.

    "When I saw that my hometown was getting destroyed, I felt that this was the time toe back." He said as he eyed the clones in the air.

    Leislet looked at him for a moment and didn''t answer at all.

    Thyrus also didn''t say anything for a moment before walking away toward the middle of the battlefield.

    However, he halted his steps and said.

    "You shouldn''t me yourself, Prez. You have done your best. Leave everything to me."

    Then, he jumped in the air, breaking the ground under him because of his leap.

    Leislet covered her face as she watched the strongest hunter about to show his true strength.

    His words had somehow prickled something inside her. She didn''t fully stop ming herself, but she was now in a better state to think properly and see what to do next.

    Meanwhile, Thyrus, who jumped far away, reached the first clone that was close to him.

    He didn''t use his element as he immediately grabbed the clone''s face and with a swift move, broke his neck and made his head turn to a weird angle.

    However, the clone didn''t seem to die as he created a huge energy ball and tried to hit Thyrus from up close.

    "Don''t, please." He muttered with his usualzy look.

    Then, he turned in the air before making a bicycle kick that sent the clone rolling down before hitting the ground violently.

    He alsonded close to him and didn''t waste time letting the clone recover as he dashed toward him.

    ''Strong body structure, fast recovery, and strong attacks. Hahaha, what a bunch of monsters.'' He thought to himself.

    He had tried to use raw physical attacks to gauge out the clone''s strength and to see if he would be able to go head to head with him.<sub> </sub>

    But, it seemed that it would be a waste of time and energy to do so. So, he changed his approach without hesitation.

    He lifted his index finger up in the air. A moment after that, a small swirl pool of what seemed to be a dark red liquid appeared floating on top of his finger.

    Then, he changed the shape of the liquid and even increased its size. From a small ball, it turned into a massive boulder 5 times Thyrus''s size.

    The ball then changed again and became a spear-like object. That spear then disintegrated into hundreds of spears that create a giant wall behind Thyrus.

    Then, the man jumped in the air and looked down at the clones that noticed the anomaly.

    "Let''s try this." He muttered.

    Then, heunched the spears down. For a moment, the whole sky became a bloody red.

    The clones didn''t have time to evade the meteor of spears as theynded on them.

    A chain of explosions took over a massive area of the city.

    But, Thyrus wasn''t over by any means. That attack was nothing but him preparing for what he really was nning to do.

    The moment the spears hit the clones, they dissipated in the air, losing their original form.

    Then, the red particles reunited again, forming a chain that surrounded each clone and bound them.

    In a matter of seconds, every single clone was trapped inside the chains of liquid. The clones tried to free themselves from the chain thinking that it was easy to do so. However, they couldn''t be any more wrong about it.

    Thyrus thennded in the middle of these creatures and eyed themzily.

    "Don''t even try. These chains are made out of blood and they are already integrated with your skin. It''s basically now as strong as your own body." He exined as he scratched the back of his head.

    "Now. Let''s see what we can do. Let me first try this." He muttered as he yawned.

    Before pointing his index finger again. The chains immediately responded and started moving frantically.

    Then, each end of the chains changed into a pointy edge before prating the skin of the clones.

    Compared to the other painful things these clones experienced, this was basically nothing for them.

    However, the next thing made them rethink their ideas.

    The pointy edge of the chain started absorbing the blue blood of the clones.

    It was as if the chain turned into a sponge that absorbs liquid endlessly.

    In less than 30 seconds, the clones were already drained from blood. Their bodies lost weight and they became as skinny as a skeleton.

    Their white skin also turned deathly pale because of theck of blood circting inside of them.

    This scene was akin to a vampire movie. However, Thyrus didn''t even go near the clone''s blood but stayed still in his ce not doing anything.

    ''Now. Let''s see if draining their blood would be able to kill them.'' He thought as he scratched his chin slowly.

    The chains finallypleted their job and the clones were now nothing but bony corpses that fell down motionless.

    Thryus was still wary about this since he wasn''t sure whether they really died or not.

    Just in case, he resummoned the now bluish chains that changed color because of the absorption process and made them disappear.

    Leislet watched what happened and could barely keep herposure. Seeing the clones motionless made her scratch her eyes a few times to make sure she wasn''t dreaming.

    ''He killed them this easily?! There is no way!'' She thought to herself.

    But then, she shook her head and smiled slightly. For a moment, she had forgotten who thiszy man who was standing in front of her and yawning carelessly.

    ''Even if they revive again. What Thyrus did is amazing. As expected of the Blood King.'' She thought.

    However, the next words Thyrus muttered made her return to the real world.

    "They areing. The real deal this time." He said as he looked up, his eyes piercing the clouds and seeing beyond them.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 198 Chapter 198

    Leislet instinctively looked up to see what Thyrus meant with his words. She didn''t feel anything weird appearing in the sky but she didn''t deny the idea that the invaders had something in mind they intended to do.

    However, this time, she was able to see what he meant. A very familiar flying ship appeared in the sky, darkening the whole city and covering the sun.

    The ship belonged to the invaders but a few days before the invasion started, it disappeared from the sky all of a sudden. No one knew why or when that happened but they didn''t feel at ease from that fact at all since that meant they had some ns they would execute and potentially end this whole world before they could even be aware of it.

    Leislet''s eyes squinted as she looked at a particr part of the ship where the elevator was located.

    There, a silhouette could be seen going down slowly.

    She couldn''t see who it was clearly but she was able to recognize the person. It was that weird man that she spoke to before.

    Everyone who was in the city at the time also stopped whatever they were doing and looked at the ship warily.

    They were exhausted and also on the verge of giving up so seeing another enemy appear made them feel even more helpless.

    It was already hard enough with the clones going rampage and destroying whatever they saw ahead of them.

    Leislet was also aware of this fact and immediately warned Thryus.

    "Be careful. That man is no good news."

    Thyrus didn''t answer as he stared at the man in front of him with a cold look.

    *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP*

    As he approached the ground, the man started pping calmly. He wasn''t using a lot of strength while doing that but for some reason, he was able to make it loud enough for everyone in Lagradon to hear.

    "Bravo! Truly amazing! What a show! I am truly impressed." He said with a small smile.

    Thyrus didn''t say anything and merely pulled one of the clones before throwing it at the man.

    The corpse rolled on the ground before stopping in front of him.

    "Your clones are a waste of time, really. I could beat them while sleeping on my stomach." He said casually.

    It was a clear provocation from Thyrus to make the man be angry and attack. But, instead, what he got was a simple chuckle along with a wide smile.

    "Oh really? I thought they were good enough to destroy this. I guess clones are clones in the end. They are way too weakpared to the original." He replied as he scratched his cleanly shaved face with a nod.

    Thyrus didn''t understand what he meant by that so he just ignored itpletely. He didn''t want to hurt his brain by overthinking. Beating up this man was his goal for now.

    Then, the man kicked the clone away and started walking closer and closer.

    "You know. In my country, when something inconvenient happens, you know what we do?"

    Thyrus also started walking toward the man casually.

    Leislet was about to call for him since what he was doing was basically akin to approaching imminent death with his own legs.

    But, most likely, Thyrus would''ve never epted her request since his pride was too big for him to acknowledge that this man could kill him.

    The man then continued.

    "We just either ignore that inconvenient thing or¡­We destroy it. Which choice do you think I should take at this moment?" He asked again.

    "You know, man. You talk too much, is this also a habit back in your country?" Thyrus then summoned his blood maniption ability.

    Gallons of blood appeared and surrounded Thyrus like a giant red snake.

    "I wanted to give you some time to pray before I send you to your grave but I guess that''s pointless." The man said before vanishing from where he was standing.

    Thyrus''s eyes moved along with the man but couldn''t keep up with his speed.

    *BOOOM*

    Suddenly, a loud impact reached Thyrus from behind.<sub> </sub>

    He looked back to see the man standing there with his fist hitting the blood that created a barrier, covering Thyrus''s back.

    "Pretty sturdy." The man muttered.

    Then, he vanished again and reappeared in another direction sending another punch that poked a hole in the blood barrier.

    Thyrus knew that he couldn''t keep up with his speed wise so he had already changed his tactic. He separated a portion of the blood barrier before making it attack the enemy.

    The blood spear immediately did what he wanted and attacked swiftly.

    The man looked at the spear that was following him left and right without any sign of stopping. However, he didn''t really feel bothered at all.

    He just kept moving left and right casually, avoiding it easily each time.

    "Are you not going to use your ability? I really don''t want to make you use it by force since that sounds like a pain in the ass."

    "Heheh. You already saw through that. I see, I see. However, you are mistaken about something."

    The man said before changing his expression to that of a grim look.

    "You insects aren''t worthy of seeing my true powers. Now, let''s end this stupid skimmirish."

    The man then halted his movements and looked at the blood spear that reached him before doing something totally unexpected.

    He extended his hand toward the spear. Thyrus thought this man suddenly turned stupid and did something that would kill him. However, instead of an impact, the spear stopped moving the moment it touched the man''s palm.

    Thyrus was quite surprised at the sight and tried to control the blood spear toe back. But, the spear didn''t seem to be under his control anymore as it didn''t move at all.

    "Don''t even try to get it back. This small toy is already mine." The man said as he grabbed the spear and started throwing it in the air as if it was a small toy for kids.

    He then inspected the spear left and right.

    "This isn''t normal blood as I expected. It''s enhanced by some kind of power." He muttered before looking back at Thryus.

    He wanted to ask him a question but refrained from doing so and decided to just forget about it.

    ''I should end this now. I have to end the invasion and settle the ships here.'' He thought to himself.

    Then, without saying anything, he clenched his fist and threw the spear casually. However, that casual throw was so strong that it took Thyrus by surprise since the weapon reached him before he could even sense its movement.

    ''Damn. This is fast.'' He thought as he tilted his neck at thest moment, barely evading the attack. However, the spear still scratched his cheek before passing.

    Thyrus had a shocked expression that had a hint of admiration in his eyes.

    He then touched his cheek and then looked at his fingertips.

    There, he saw something that he didn''t see in a while. It was blood.

    ''When was thest time I saw my own blood? Umm, I can''t remember. I guess it''s not important at the moment. I have to be serious now.'' He pondered quietly.

    "You are the first one to injure me in almost 30 years. I am very impressed."

    The man smiled and replied.

    "You might as well say that I will be the first one to break every bone in your body."

    Then, he extended his hand and the spear that went somewhere came back rushing toward him.

    He then grabbed it and threw it back at Thyrus with even more speed.

    "Try this one." He said.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 199 Chapter 199

    The bloody fight continued as Thyrus kept dodging the blood spear left and right. He couldn''t evade every possible attack since they were all way too fast. In fact, they were so fast that the moment one of these attacks hit the ground it carves a deep hole into the ground as if it was nothing.

    So, it was obvious that Thyrus would sustain some injuries while moving left and right.

    At the same time, no matter how many times he tried to hit back, the man would be able to either evade his attacks easily or just simply stop them with the palm of his hands quite easily.

    This made the fight even more tiring for Thyrus who could feel his soul force draining slowly with each passing moment.

    ''This is really annoying.'' Thyrus thought to himself.

    He was never someone to get cornered in a fight and he also never had to stay on defense the whole fight because of the difference in strength between him and his opponent.

    So, this was something fairly new to him who was always glorified as the strongest human alive.

    As for the mysterious man, he just kept a casual smile on his face.

    "You are as slippery as a slime." He muttered.

    "And you are fucking annoying."

    Luckily, Thyrus finally found a split second where he could attack back so he used that moment to close the distance between them.

    Then, he made the blood cover his hand and turn it into a sharp dagger.

    *Swish*

    He tried to pierce the man''s heart and kill him on the spot. His hand was very agile as it barely took one-fourth of a second to reach its target.

    However, before the attack could connect, Thyrus''s danger senses alerted him to somethinging from his blind spot.

    He looked down and there was the man''s hand about to pierce his neck. So, he had to retreat before he could hit him.

    ''Fuck.'' He cursed under his breath as he touched his neck. There was a bloody injury there that was considerably deep.

    "Can you just die and end this stupid fight? I already had enough of this filthy ce that you insects call the Lower World. It''s a fucking shithole that is not even worth putting pigs and horses in it." The man said.

    He looked around him with a smile.

    "Trying to fight back with a false hope that you will be alive by the time everything is over. Wake the fuck up! This is not a fucking fairy tale. I gave you the choice of preserving your lowly lives and you refused it so death is your only choice at this point. Just fucking ept it."

    Then he clenched his fists and continued.

    "If you just surrender, your world will see prosperity. We will give you technology and strength that you won''t be able to attain in a thousand years. We could even improve your worthless lives and make you at least better than some stupid insects. Are you stupid enough not to ept such a good proposal?"

    Hearing such words, Thyrus sighed and shook his head.

    "You are really an arrogant fellow, aren''t you? It''s really a simple matter. No one wants to live like a ve. Even if you make everyone rich and powerful, the core matter is that they are still lowly ves. That fact alone will make anyone fight for their freedom."

    He then opened his arms wide. The blood around him suddenly increased in quantity and thickness.<sub> </sub>

    Then, he looked at the man again and added.

    "So, no wordsing from your mouth will make these people give up and ept their fate. Fate was created for us to fight it back after all if we don''t like it."

    Then, he attacked the man with renewed vigor. He felt his energy increasing for some reason. Even his senses sharpened and he felt himself even stronger.

    The attack he unleashed on the man was the strongest he ever created.

    But, the man didn''t seem to be alerted to this and instead looked down and muttered.

    "Fine, it''s your decision. You gave me no other choice." He said under his breath.

    Then, as if what he did before was nothing but ying around, he looked up and shouted.

    "Meteor Fall!!"

    Thyrus felt a chill run down his spine the moment he heard those words. So, with widened eyes, he looked up.

    The ship above him that was motionless the whole time suddenly started moving.

    A huge gate opened. The gate took at least 80% of the ship''s size so when it opened, it looked like a giant hole in the sky.

    Then, from inside the ship, a huge rock that was the size of the gate started falling down.

    Thyrus couldn''t believe his eyes from such a sight. He had expected every oue but this was just way too ridiculous to be even considered a possibility.

    He then looked around him and he saw many hunters and soldiers standing startled in their ces, not moving an inch.

    ''This is a disaster. If this hits the ground we are basically dead.'' He thought with gritted teeth.

    Then, he shouted.

    "What the fuck are you doing?! Evacuate the ce now!!"

    His voice seemed to wake them up from their trance and made them run for their lives. By the time they had started running away, the meteor was already halfway going down.

    Thyrus then looked at Leislet who was still there and he said.

    "Prez. What the fuck are you doing? Leave the ce. You are in the way." He said.

    Then, he sted into the air like a rocket. He had to stop the meteor before it hit the ground.

    He wasn''t sure he was capable of such a feat since the meteor was just gigantic. Stopping it with pure strength was just impossible even for someone with monstrous strength like him. So, he had to find another way to destroy it or make it go back to where it came from.

    <o>,m ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</o>

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 200 Chapter 200

    As Thyrus kept rising higher and higher, getting close to the meteor, the temperature started rising at an rming rate. The atmosphere had turned the meteor into a giant ball of fire.

    Not only was it massive but the heating from it alone was enough to roast the whole of Lagradon like a chicken.

    However, even with such a looming danger, Thyrus couldn''t let this thing hit the ground or the consequences will be catastrophic, to say the least.

    When he finally reached the meteor, he spread the blood around him, creating a barrier so massive that it covered the whole sky and stretched far and beyond.

    Then, he made it surround the giant meteor as if it was a nket.

    *Bang*

    The sound of the meteor hitting the barrier shook the skies. Thyrus felt the crushing weight of the meteor on every muscle of his body.

    It was so heavy that it almost made him fall down. But, he clenched his teeth and bore the weight with every ounce of strength he has.

    ''Damn it. This is heavy.'' He thought to himself as he grunted quietly trying to at least change the direction of the meteor''s fall.

    He had no idea how he would do that so he could only rely on all of his power to do so and hope for the best. Unfortunately, there was no one else there that could help him in lifting the giant rock so he could try to make it go back.

    "Hahaha! You are truly a foolish man." The man shouted from the ground with mockery and disdain.

    However, Thyrus turned a blind eye to his provocations as he fully focused on pushing the rock much as he could.

    Thyrus was indeed trying but it was simply not enough for him. He felt himself getting pushed down slowly and the barrier was also starting to shake violently as it threatened to break at any moment.

    He was simply losing and he was helpless while doing so. It was indeed the first time Thyrus felt helpless.

    He looked down for a brief moment, he saw the many hunters and soldiers looking up with scared looks, the way they eyed him with a glint of hope hiding inside that deep fear they felt.

    The way they looked at him with awe and hope made him remember something crucial.

    ''Why did I even think about giving up? Who am I? I am the strongest hunter. I am the beacon of hope for this world against anything that would threaten it. I can''t simply lose like this. I can''t!''

    He gritted his teeth until he felt his gums starting to bleed. He then did something that he had never had to do before.

    "Blood Berserker!" He muttered under his breath.

    Immediately, he felt his heart tightening as if it was suddenly drained from every drop of blood.

    This pain was followed by a weird surge of strength that ran through every fiber of his being. It was not a power that made him feel good but more of a weird state of sudden strength gain that made him feel his chest burning as if it caught on fire.

    He also felt his brain losing some of its functionalities because of what he did.

    Blood Berserker was an ability that he created a long time ago where he would channel all of his blood from every organ of his body to his muscles to increase his strength explosively for a brief moment. It was obviously extremely dangerous and could also be life-threatening for his life so he never used it before this moment.

    "Haaaaahhhh!!" He shouted as he pushed again with all of his strength.

    Luckily or not, this time, he started making progress. The rock halted mid-air and then it started going back at a slow pace.

    Everyone was surprised at such an oue since they thought it was all over from the moment he started falling down gradually.

    But, with an ignited hope, they started shouting and cheering for him. That was all they could do at that moment. It wasn''t much but it was better than nothing.

    Thyrus was also feeling more and more capable.

    However, the man who was sitting on the ground casually broke that hope as if it was nothing.

    "Hmm. How about another meteor?" He asked with a thoughtful look before nodding his head and moving his arm the same way when he summoned the first meteor.

    "What?!" They all shouted in shock.

    Even Thyrus''s face turned extremely grim when he heard those words. Yet, as much as he hoped for those words to be nothing but bluffing, the ship''s massive gate opened again and another meteor the same size as the first one appeared.

    The second one started falling down and it didn''t take long for it to reach the first one.

    *BOOOOOMMM*

    The two rocks hit each other, creating a wave of fire that spread across the sky, creating what looked like a clusterfuck of fireworks.

    "Ugh!!!!" Thyrus''s eyes widened as he felt the weight on his arms double. The barrier he created couldn''t hold on anymore as it started cracking at a fast speed.

    Not only that, the man''s arms broke and his veins popped like popcorn as it seeped out blood.

    ''I can''t hold on.'' He thought to himself with a weak look on his face.<sub> </sub>

    It was now impossible for him to stop this, it was basically over.

    He had no trick up his sleeve to stop two country-sized rocks stacked on top of each other and save the people.

    However, as he was about to lose hope and lose consciousness, a sh of light appeared in the corner of his gaze.

    "Hm?" He looked at where the sh of light moved and he could only look twice to make sure he wasn''t hallucinating.

    The silhouette that appeared out of nowhere reached the rocks from the side before plunging his legs into the rocks.

    Then, with his right hand, he punched the rocks.

    *BOOOOOM*

    The punch alone created a huge hole in the rocks. But, that wasn''t the main change that happened to the meteors.

    Suddenly, out of nowhere, the weight of the rocks was reduced by a massive amount. Thyrus felt the crushing weight of these two rocks be bearable in less than a second.

    So, without thinking much about it, he exerted thest ounce of strength he had in his body and pushed the rocks.

    This time, instead of a slow movement, the rocks were thrown back easily.

    The ship that was flying on top of these two rocks was hit by the two rocks, making it sway left and right.

    Then, the two meteors collided with the left part of the ship before getting thrown far away into the horizon.

    Theck of momentum made the two rocks hit the ground fairly softly, creating a massive cloud of dust and that''s it. The impact was so docile that it could''ve been considered as if nothing happened.

    Seeing that the danger was now over, Thyrus felt his mind shutting down and he closed his eyes, losing his footing from the blood tform he created.

    However, before he started falling, someone grabbed him by the cor.

    "You aren''t that much for the strongest hunter alive, Thyrus." A young voice spoke with a hint of mockery and also amusement.

    Thyrus however couldn''t hear him since he was deep asleep.

    "Sigh¡­What a pain in the ass. This meteor would''ve destroyed half of the if it hit the ground." Acht muttered as he looked down with aplicated gaze.

    Then, he floated down solely until he reached the ground.

    He had chosen a precise ce where he wouldnd because he had already had in mind an idea of who he wanted to talk to.

    Leislet, who had already seen who it was, had her hand on her mouth.

    Acht looked at the woman who was eyeing him with hazy eyes and said.

    "Long time no see. Uh. I guess we met a few days ago so it''s not a long time per see." He said as he scratched his head.

    ''Fuck. This is awkward. But, I had no other choice. Evernight is still a fucking mess but the others should deal with the matter alone. Lagradon, however, it''s a goddamn destend now.'' He thought to himself.

    Acht had returned to Lagradon for one sole reason. If Lagradon fell then the whole world would fall and it would be over.

    He was still a wanted criminal but that would be a matter forter.

    "Why?" Leislet suddenly asked.

    Acht looked at her again and sighed.

    "Let me ask you one question. Are you the one who snitched on me?" He asked with a cold look.

    Leislet didn''t waste a moment before shaking her head.

    "No! I would never¡­."

    "I believe you. You don''t have to swear or anything else. Anyway, it''s not a good time to talk now since there is a matter that needs to be settled. I will exin everythingter, ok?"

    Leislet nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. The fact that Acht appeared made her feel as if her whole world turned from a nightmare to a dream.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 201 Chapter 201

    Leislet didn''t avert her eyes from Acht. Hi silhouette, his face, his cold yet also calm demeanor. Everything familiar about him made her feel her heart leap from happiness.

    She forgot the whole destruction that happened and the whole problem they were facing. For just one moment, she felt her world shining again after being in the darkness for long.

    No one could understand the suffering she went through all this time. These past few weeks have been the worst in her entire life. Everything just kept getting worse and worse for her. From losing Acht to getting stabbed to the invasion, it was all so bad that she almost broke under pressure.

    No matter how much she tried to keep herself together and try to fix things properly, her mind just couldn''t handle all of this stress.

    This also affected her strength and performance in general. She basically turned from one of the strongest hunters in the world to basically a burden on everyone.

    ''The past few weeks have shown how powerless I am. I couldn''t protect the things I loved and I also kept getting tossed around by fate. I have also seen everything around me crumbling and on the verge of disappearing.'' She thought as she tilted her head down.

    She had felt this change in her character in general and also could see results from this period of vulnerability affecting every aspect of her life.

    No one would have med her if she gave up or just ran away from anything and everything. No one would''ve med her if she just isted herself and cried to her heart''s content, ming everything around her for this tragic oue.

    But, she didn''t do anything of that sort, she kept moving forward in this dark path, searching for the light that she had before and trying to grasp it again.

    ''I am hopeless without him. Hehehe, I can''t live without that brat now!'' She chuckled to herself helplessly.

    It was such a relieved chuckle that made her feel her tightened chest feel free again. Seeing Acht had somehow fixed everything she suffered from.

    ''How bad did I fall in love? I thought I would meet a person my age, maybe an aristocrat or a royalty, and marry him and then have kids before dying of old age. Instead, I fell in love with a kid. I am very weird.''

    But, even with her being aware of that, she wouldn''t give up on this love. Even if Acht was a kid, she would wait for him to be old enough. Even if he didn''t share the same emotions she felt for him, she would make him fall in love with her. Even if it takes years, or decades. Hell, even if it takes an eternity, she would try again and again until he epts her.

    As she thought so, her hand moved toward her massive breasts and touched her heart gently. Her smile was very affectionate and loving. A smile from a beauty like Leislet would look like that of an angel from heaven.

    However, this smile alone was even more beautiful because it was a genuine smileing from the bottom of her heart.

    As for the person that was targeted by this loving smile, he was oblivious to such thoughts as he looked at the enemy standing in front of him.

    ''This bastard is also a reincarnated person like me, huh? He doesn''t seem to be an earthling though.'' He thought as he gripped the midnight song tighter and kept himself on high alert.

    As for the man, he was having basically the same thoughts. He was very surprised by the appearance of a kid and his surprise turned to shock when he saw what this mysterious kid did.

    ''This brat was able to stop two meteors from falling down. Wait¡­Does he really have that ability?'' He thought while rubbing his beard.

    "You really went all out with this invasion, old man." Acht started with a small smile.

    He wasn''t trying to just start a small chat but he was also looking for a way to end this fight without a direct confrontation between them.

    He was sure that if they fought directly he would lose miserably so a good trick would work like magic in such a situation.

    "Oh really? I thought that would work until a gravity user came and ruined the party." The man said with a smile of his own.

    Acht didn''t show any reaction as he spread his hands and answered.

    "I got caught this quickly? You are very sharp for an old fart." He said.

    The man didn''t seem to like how Acht addressed him as his face grew a small frown on it.

    "I already had enough with this. You people keep popping out like ants and I want this over now!"

    He then looked at the corpses of clones that littered the whole ground. Immediately, the corpses that seemed to bepletely dead started moving all of a sudden.

    The blood that was drained from them somehow restored itself to its original state as if nothing happened.

    Acht''s smile disappeared and instead, he had a cold look on his face.

    ''Regeneration?'' He wondered to himself as he inspected the clones.

    But, this wasn''t the end of it, the man then looked up and extended his arm in the air.

    "Even without the origin warrior. I will summon every clone to this ce at this moment. The work in every other city seems to be over." He said.

    Acht was very confused since his words didn''t make sense at all.<sub> </sub>

    So, secretly, he pulled out his phone and called Lein to see how things turned out there.

    The phone didn''t pick up immediately as it kept ringing rhythmically.

    ''Did something happen?'' He thought.

    However, he sighed inwardly when he heard the phone get picked up and a voice answered.

    "...A-Acht.'''' The voice belonged to Lein but what made it weird was that it was very weak and whispery.

    He could also hear the paining from her voice.

    His face turned grim as he asked calmly.

    "What happened?"

    Lein didn''t answer immediately as she took deep breaths with clear difficulty.

    "The clones¡­They aren''t the only army these invaders have¡­There are a lot of them. They are leaving toward Lagradon¡­We couldn''t¡­"

    "What happened, Lein?" He asked again.

    "Torn, Kin, Weltz, and even Uli¡­They are all dead¡­." She said in the slowest manner possible.

    Acht''s eyes widened in shock as he heard such news. He couldn''t believe that 4 out of 7 members of Nightingale died just like that.

    The news was so shocking that the boy could barely find a question to ask.

    "What about Lenny and Jack?" He mustered the strength to ask after a few moments.

    "I¡­don''t know¡­Boss is justying there covered in blood¡­As for Jack, I can''t see him. Fuck! My organs are all ruptured!!!" She muttered with a loud groan.

    Then, she said a few words before hanging up.

    "Acht! It''s pointless, we are all doomed. They are simply something that we can''t fight. The war was already lost the moment we tried to face them. It''s pointless to fight anymore. You can''t win!" She ended her words with a shout.

    Acht looked down, his face darkened slightly. For some reason, he didn''t feel any kind of fear or anger, just pure, unbothered calmness.

    Then, he took a peek at Leislet who didn''t avert her eyes from him.

    Then, as if he made his own mind, he said.

    "I don''t think I will."

    "Wha-?! Are you dumb? Didn''t I just say that all of us are dead?! Are you that suicidal?! You fucking dumbass!!"

    "Yeah. I am a dumbass. I haven''t done anything good since the moment I came into this world so I am pretty stupid and idiotic. Only mistakes one after the other. But, the only thing I did right here is that I never escaped because of fear for my life. I have suffered every possible torment in this world but I have never given up. I might run away if it would be for the best, but I never just cower in fear and escape. I have seen people run away from me in fear for their lives and that fact will never change until I enter my own grave. I might lose, but I will never surrender!"

    Lein fell speechless from his words. It was totally the first time I felt such strong emotions from Acht.

    He might sound like an arrogant brat, but his words didn''te from bluffing but from a deep truth he believed in. He was just stating facts that he blindly believed in.

    "You are¡­crazy!"

    "I will take that as apliment." Then, he hung up the phone and sighed under his breath.

    ''It''s time to see how this will end. The true climax for the show.''

    It''s either death or victory. And Acht was ready for both.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 202 Chapter 202

    As he ended his call, the ground started shaking and rumbling as if something was shaking it violently.

    Acht had already anticipated who was about to appear. These creatures that were different from the clones who potentially could be reincarnated Humans just like him were able to kill 4 Nightingale members. This fact alone was more than enough for Acht toprehend how absurdly strong these people were.

    His mind had already deleted any small ideas about a direct flight. He had no chance of winning this fight if he was to fight them alone.

    However, he already had a small suspicion from the moment he saw these clones.

    It was a small suspicion but it was still something that he saw clearly with his own eyes.

    ''These clones somehow seem to be reluctant about attacking me. I felt this when I first fought them. It was as if they were fighting him unwillingly.'' Acht thought as he eyed the clones that didn''t avert their eyes from him.

    Many would consider this as nothing but a stupid idea. Enemies, that are reluctant to kill you? What kind of nonsense is that?

    Even Acht thought that he was just imagining stuff. But, that wasn''t the case at all. He was very certain of his senses so he didn''t try and ignore that fact, not even for one second.

    It was hisst possible way to somehow emerge from this war as the winner.

    ''This heart¡­If I find a way to control these clones¡­I might be able to make them betray the invaders and kill them.'' He thought as he touched his own heart.

    He has no idea how he will do that but he will have to find a way.

    *Rumble*

    Another loud rumbling woke him from his trance. A huge army appeared on the horizon.

    Acht felt a chill down his spine as he saw the massive army that entered Lagradon. Their numbers, their auras, and even their demeanor could make anyone feel fear cripple his senses.

    Leislet approached Acht and touched his shoulder gently. She then said with a serious look.

    "Do you have a n?" She asked.

    Acht didn''t answer as it was quite aplicated situation.

    However, in the end, he shook his head and replied.

    "I have an idea but it''s quite hard to pull off." He said.

    Anyone would''ve felt despair hearing that but Leislet instead smiled lovingly and replied as she rubbed his hair.

    "You don''t have to worry, I believe in you. It''s always been that way after all, am I wrong?" She asked.

    Acht looked at her eyes and the only thing he could see in her beautiful pupils was trust. Her eyes were looking at him with blind confidence. It was so strong that it took him aback.

    So, he asked her a question as he pulled his sword.

    "How are you this trusting of me?" He asked.

    The beautiful woman chuckled quietly and said.

    "You already know why. I made myself clear a very long time ago."

    Acht merely smiled and replied.

    "You can''t just fall in love with a kid, Mrs adult woman¡­.But, maybe in 20 more years, I will give it a thought."

    Then, he vanished from his ce, leaving Leislet in deep shock.<sub> </sub>

    ''What¡­did he say? No, this can''t be. Did my ears y tricks on me?! No way, no way!!'' she touched her face with the palms of her hands.

    She felt her heart rate jump and her mind became hazy. Everyone saw this as nothing but him saying that they would bring up this matter when he is old enough. But, what she heard was a whole different thing.

    ''He epted me?! This quickly!!! Oh my god. I can''t!! Acht fell in love with me?! Did I do something to make him fall for me this quickly!!! Hahaha, I won! I won.'' Her mind became a mess of weird and happy thoughts that sent her to cloud seven.

    Even her expression rxed in the middle of a bloody battle that should make anyone die with fear. The sight of a woman giggling weirdly in the middle of a destroyed area tainted with blood was quite disturbing to witness.

    Acht sighed as he saw a glimpse of her reaction and focused on the matter at hand.

    The army finally reached its leader. The boy could see who the new soldiers were that blended with the clones. They were a bunch of humans with dark clothes that resemble that of shinobis from his old world. They all had this intimidating aura around them and a deep cold gaze thatcked any human emotions.

    The manughed loudly.

    "You have quite the balls to chat while your death is around the corner. Are you happy that you will die by my hands?" He asked mockingly.

    "No, I was just discussing where to throw your corpse after I slice you up. I am thinking about the sewers or the trash yard. What do you think?"

    The man clicked his tongue at the witty response and looked back at his army.

    "Get that boy for me. I won''t tarnish my hands by fighting a mere filthy brat!!" He shouted.

    Even though he was calm on the outside, Acht''s mind was running through all kinds of possibilities.

    ''Come on. I tried countless times to awaken this heart again. I never seeded. But, I must make it work now or it''s over.''

    As the men attacked him from all angles, Acht merely closed his eyes. A foolish idea considering his position and also the fact that he was about to get killed.

    His face turned serene and his breathing calmed considerably. He looked like he was meditating while standing up.

    However, what was happening was that his consciousness entered his body and inspected his insides. Then, it stopped in front of his heart.

    It was a normal heart if you look at it from afar, but from up close, it had some weird things on it.

    Runes and runs made with an ancientnguage riddled his heart and covered itpletely.

    He didn''t look at it much since this wasn''t the first time he saw this sight in front of him.

    So, he touched the heart and tried to channel his soul force through the runes. But, it didn''t work.

    ''Come on!''

    He tried again with even more strength but still nothing.

    At this point, he was already merely a few meters away from death.

    ''Fucking work!!!'' He gritted his teeth and used every ounce of strength he had inside of him to activate the runes.

    Luckily, as if the runes heard his order, they illuminated with a faint blue light.

    *bang*

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 203 Chapter 203

    "Acht!!" Leislet shouted as she rushed toward the young boy. He was surrounded by enemies that were already about to plunge their swords into him and kill him on the spot.

    However, the young man didn''t move and merely closed his eyes, keeping a calm state of mind as he took deep, rhythmic breaths suggesting what kind of state he was in at the moment.

    ''What is he doing?'' She thought to herself as her face paled considerably and her mind raced as she tried to figure out what he wanted to do. Acht wasn''t reckless enough to put himself in such a dangerous situation without a good reason.

    So, as if to confirm her suspicions, something weird happened that made her jaw almost drop down to the ground.

    A pir of blue light suddenly emerged from within the sea of enemies that flooded that area. The pir of light was a few meters wide and reached a staggering 800 meters in the air.

    Leislet''s head arched up to its full flexibility for her to be able to see the end of the pir.

    The enemies also started retreating from the sudden appearance of this phenomenon.

    They all couldn''t understand what happened out of nowhere. However, they knew who was the reason for this.

    Standing in the middle of the pir of light was Acht who was still motionless with his eyes closed shut. His calm state somehow became even more pronounced and his calm breathing became even calmer.

    The most shocked person however is the leader of the invaders. His eyes widened with shock as his fists trembled.

    "...The origin warrior?... What? How?" He muttered under his breath with total disbelief.

    Meanwhile, the pir of light stopped its ascension, and then it started going down.

    When it reached the bottom, now barely a meter and a half tall, the form of the pir changed.

    The change was slow but very drastic. It went from a mere pir that was a giant cylinder to something that many could discern as a human form.

    The man felt the clear danger that was looming over his army and immediately ordered loudly.

    "Retreat!! Now!!" He shouted.

    The army didn''t waste time and started moving away from the silhouette made out of energy.

    However, by the time that form appeared, it was all over.

    "Stop." A sound suddenly echoed in the whole city.

    The voice was very deep, hoarse, and almost inhuman.

    This voice wasn''ting from Acht but from the form of energy that appeared to cover his whole body.

    The man nervously looked back at the silhouette and he immediately clenched his teeth. Two shining blue eyes returned the same gaze toward him.

    The eyes were far from being normal as they didn''t have any pupils and merely were like two blue light bulbs.

    "Don''t listen and keep moving!!" He ordered again with even more intensity.

    However, this time, all the clones stopped moving. It was as if every clone lost control of their bodies as they turned around to look at the silhouette.

    "What are you doing?! Move!!!" He shouted.

    However, no response came back, they all kept looking at the silhouette without moving at all.

    "What a loathsome fellow." The voice spoke again.

    "You use my sacred body to create filthy clones out of me and then you expect me to let you control them. Way too stupid!! Way too naive!!" The voice spoke.

    Somehow, his burst of emotions made the energy around him ignite even more.

    "What?!"

    "You did not only disturb my slumber but you also disrespected this one. You reincarnated bastards shall see the darkness of despair soon." He said before looking back at the clones.

    "Kill everyone who tries to harm this world. I want none of them alive." The voice said.

    As if they were struck by lightning, the clones started moving again albeit rigidly.

    One of the clones was very close to one of the reincarnated people that were working under the man himself.

    The clone then grabbed his neck and with a swift move.

    *Crack*

    The man dropped dead after a swift neck crack.

    This scene happened many times in the next 3 seconds. Many reincarnated men dropped dead after getting stealthily killed.

    By the time they were able to react, half of them had already been killed.<sub> </sub>

    "What are you doing?!! Kill them now!!!" The man shouted as he started retreating.

    However, his body suddenly stopped moving as if it was restricted by invisible chains.

    "You are not allowed to move from there. Wait for your fate quietly." The voice said.

    With barely any effort, it restricted the man and made him incapable of doing anything, not even talking.

    He had only his eyes that were still moving as they darted around in fear.

    The massacre continued, and a massive sh between the Reincarnated and the clones took ce.

    Blood sttered everywhere, mostly from the Reincarnated army''s side. They couldn''t fight the clones without the crystals that were made to make damaging them possible.

    So, it was safe to say that it was just a one-sided ughter. They all were killed brutally, sole limbs were thrown everywhere. Decapitated heads and bloody organs were also covering a massive area.

    After a few minutes, the clones finallypleted their mission with thest man falling dead after getting bombarded with energy bombs, making every cell of his body get burned and then explode.

    "...Acht¡­" Leislet muttered as she looked at his back.

    He was engulfed in blue energy that formed the silhouette. He also didn''t seem to be aware of his surroundings as he had no reaction no matter how many times she called for his name.

    "Don''t worry, woman. He is fine. I have control over his heart so he can''t hear you." The voice said.

    Leislet gulped slightly before nodding her head like a small kid talking to an adult.

    "Now, to end all of this. I want all of you to destroy every ship that enters this world. Then, I want every one of you to self-destruct." He shouted.

    The clones immediately went to work without hesitation. They had been ordered tomit suicide yet they didn''t hesitate to do so.

    The clones then flew into the air and attacked the ship in the air.

    "Mmmmm!!!" The leader tried to speak but his mouth was closed shut so he could only whimper like a goat at the sight of his ships getting destroyed.

    "That is your fate, insect. I always pay disrespect with a fate worse than death and yours is one of those cases. ept it."

    After saying such words, the silhouette started growing fainter and fainter as if it lost the energy that kept it working.

    " This quick? I guess the young man is still too young for this. He will have a bad bacsh for summoning me. But, he should be able to recover from it." He muttered before disappearingpletely.

    Then, Acht''s body finally got released and his eyes opened again. Before he could even take a good look around him, Acht felt an intense pain assault his chest as he bent down with clenched teeth.

    "Ughhhh!!" He grunted painfully as blood trickled down from his mouth.

    *Cough* *Cough*

    He started coughing violently and blood sttered down from the intense coughing he was suffering from.

    "Acht!!!" Leislet shouted as she ran toward him to support him.

    She made his head rest against her chest as she held his shoulders tightly to support him.

    "I''m¡­fine¡­" he muttered with difficulty.

    The truth however wasn''t that simple, he had already felt a huge amount of energy seep out of his body. Just from summoning the origin warrior, he lost 10 levels from soul force making him fall back to the first step of the orange soul level. However, this drop back didn''t make Acht upset since he had already anticipated this drop back from using a level of strength his body can''t simply handle.

    He was actually pretty lucky that it was merely a few levels lost. He could''ve even suffered permanent damage on his soul stone that could''ve made him incapable of leveling up again.

    "How are you fine?! You are coughing blood!" She shouted.

    "It''s just a small bacsh. I am better now." He replied before looking at the restricted man who was ring daggers at him.

    Then, he tapped Leislet''s hand to release him. Even though she was still very worried, she allowed him to stand up alone.

    He then started walking to the man with steady steps.

    When he was very close to him, he looked into the man''s eyes with a calm look.

    "When I first saw you, I thought you were indeed someone that thend of the Reincarnated sent you to invade this ce. However, that is wrong right¡­Mr exiled."

    The man''s eyes widened in shock at Acht''s words. He wanted to speak but he couldn''t, which allowed Acht to continue.

    "You are just trash that was thrown away by your own empire into the vast space so you decided to just invade a weak world with whatever army you had left with you."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 204 Chapter 204

    It was indeed quite weird how Acht came to that conclusion since he had no idea about this empire that resided in Ecrasia. He had also never heard of it in the book which also proved even more that this world was very different from the book.

    It had some elements that resemble the book, but in general, it was a whole different world.

    So, he had already disregarded what he knew about the book and focused on what he had on hand at that exact point and also what he witnessed with his own eyes.

    ''The Origin Warrior¡­I can somehow see some of the memory fragments he has. It isn''t much but he seems to have allowed me to see what I needed to see.'' Acht thought to himself.

    He gave him some very rough information about the Land of the Reincarnated and also their general location. One of those pieces of info was a system these reincarnated people created which was the ''Exiled System''.

    It is essentially aw they created that basically made every single Reincarnated person, man or woman, young or old that did something wrong get exiled into space with no chances of ever going back.

    The catch about this system is that the more this person contributed to the empire the more he will get to bring with him in case he was exiled at some point. The man in front of him was one of those cases.

    Acht woke up from his trance and asked another question.

    "Was it because you wanted them to forgive you if you performed a great achievement? Or did you want to get revenge on your country by creating a country of equal strength?" The boy asked with a cold look.

    The man''s face was already sweating buckets as he wiggled left and right trying to free himself from the invisible power that was tightly restraining his limbs.

    "Sigh, I guess it''s pointless to ask you this question since you won''t stay alive," Acht muttered as he pulled his dark sword and pointed the tip at the enemy.

    The tip of the sword touched his chin as he tried to arch his neck back instinctively.

    "This world is restraining your powers greatly yet you still were able to toy with the strongest hunter alive. You have my respect for that." Acht muttered before lifting the sword up.

    "Mmmmm!!!!!" The man groaned loudly as his eyes widened while looking at the sword that was about to end his life.

    However, Acht''s next words made his eyes almost pop out of their sockets.

    "You don''t have to worry¡­It''s already over."

    Before he could fullyprehend what he meant by those words.

    *Swish*

    His vision suddenly turned upside down as he felt himself fall down to the ground. What fell however wasn''t his full body but only his head.

    When that fact dawned on him, it was already toote.

    "What a pathetic death." The boy spat down at the man with a disgusted look.

    He didn''t even feel like torturing him since he didn''t even want to give him the chance to stay in this world for any more seconds.

    "Go back to that bitch goddess." He muttered before looking back at Leislet.

    However, what weed him instead was total darkness and a very soft feeling.

    "Woah." He made a weird sound as he almost fell down.

    "It''s over!!! It''s over, the war is over!!!" She Shouted as she basically suffocated him with her massive boobs.

    The feeling wasn''t bad but Acht was also slowly losing the oxygen in his lungs at an rming rate.

    So, out of pure worry over his life, he tried to push her away but ended up doing something that made the situation even worse.

    *Boing*

    His hand fell on one of those massive melons and groped it tightly.

    "Yaaah!!" Leislet shrieked instinctively before blushing slightly.

    "You can do thatter, we are out now."

    Acht almost spat blood at her weirdment before shouting.

    "You are suffocating me, woman!"

    Leislet heard him and gave him onest hug before letting him go.

    He looked at her as he took breaths. He felt as if his soul was about to leave his body.

    "You were about to kill me!" He shouted.

    Leislet smiled proudly and replied.

    "You liked that, didn''t you?"

    Acht red at her before pointing at her chest.

    "Your boobs are unnecessarily big. Are they made to kill people or what?" He said.

    Leislet covered her breasts and frowned.

    "Hey!! My breasts are beautiful and fluffy. How dare you disrespect them?"

    "They are already a great disrespect to every woman in this world with how big they are. If I die one day, it will probably be because of your boobs." He scoffed.

    "Y-You¡­" Leislet found herself speechless before tightening her fist.<sub> </sub>

    "How about I beat you to death you little brat?! Come here!"

    She approached Acht while threatening to punch him to death.

    However, as they looked at each other, they started chuckling slightly. It was all a joke that they went along with and somehow ended up being very funny for both of them.

    Then, Leislet smiled sweetly and muttered.

    "Wee back, Acht!"

    However, Acht shook his head before looking back in a certain direction.

    "You can say that to me after I deal with myst problem. I will be back in a minute."

    He then walked to the middle of the city where the destroyed portal was located. It was basically a tnd now but it still somehow worked like any normal portal.

    Leislet wanted to follow him but refrained from doing so.

    ''I have to trust him. It''s his problem and he wants to deal with it alone.''

    She thought to herself as she finally took a look at the whole city around her or to be more precise whatever was left of the city.

    Immediately, reality dawned on her.

    "Fixing all of this is going to be hell. Sigh, I should just retire at this point." She muttered to herself with a long sigh.

    *************************

    Back at Evernight City, Acht reached the ce and it was as deste or even more deste than Lagradon. Everything was destroyed with nothing being fully intact or even partially intact.

    After taking a nce around, he walked straight to where the fight ensued, searching for some people.

    After walking for a while, he finally found them.

    5 people wereying down on the ground, fully covered in blood.

    Acht didn''t say anything as he approached them quietly.

    Lein, who was the closest to him, was somehow still awake as she looked at him with her hazy eyes. Her mouth oozed blood out endlessly.

    He took a long look at her before asking.

    "How did you even lose this badly?" He asked with a lighthearted tone.

    Lein chuckled and said.

    "It was very sudden. They somehow appeared out of nowhere and attacked us sneakily."

    "What about Lenny?"

    "I..don''t know." She shook her head as she started coughing violently.

    "Sigh¡­I can see the world turning whiter and whiter. Is this death?" She muttered.

    "Probably. But, I could save you, you know?"

    "And then what? What should I do?"

    Acht sighed as he sat down next to her before looking up.

    "You know¡­I feel tired right now¡­very tired. Mentally and physically. I feel like I would lose my life at any moment and this robbed any possible rxing time I could get¡­"

    "Cons of having too much strength." She replied sarcastically.

    "So¡­I was thinking of buying a house in some forest or small vige and spending a few years there. I want to rx and live a normal life for a while. I had enough blood and full-on daily action for the time being¡­ I will certainly return to this lifestyle after some time but for now, it''s over for me¡­"

    He then sighed before continuing.

    "Why don''t you do the same thing, Lein? I know how much you love your team members. Look, they are all dead and it''s all over. I think it''s time for retirement. You have no way of continuing the mission Nightingale wanted to do."

    Leislet didn''t answer his question. Her eyes seemed to drift away as she looked at her team.

    Uli, Weltz, Kin, Jack, Torn, and even Lenny. Every one of them had lost his life. Yet, she somehow didn''t feel like crying or cursing. How could that be? Her eternal friends died horribly yet she didn''t feel anything from that fact.

    She just felt an emptiness in her heart. It was as if her only goal in life got robbed of her. She had somehow set her mind to try and aplish Nightingale''s dream and never thought about her own goals and desires.

    "Why are you trying to help me? You had always said that you wanted to kill all of us. Why? You fell in love with me?"

    "Consider it a payback for telling me about the army that was moving toward Lagradon when it appeared. You have saved my life and I will save yours."

    He then stood up again and asked.

    "So, what do you think? Is it not time for the finale? You could finally find your own path in life. A path that isn''t filled with blood and hatred. I think that suits you better."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 205 Chapter 205

    Lein felt herself hesitate as she looked at Acht''s deep blue eyes. For some reason, his eyes were now very hard to look at. It was as if she was staring directly at the sun.

    So, for his question, she had to take a few moments to arrange her thoughts and find the best choice for her.

    Then, she exhaled a long sigh before asking him with a serious look. The pain from the injuries she suffered made her wince slightly in pain as she spoke.

    "Do you think I could really find a purpose for my life? I have been living this chaotic life for the best part of 10 years and you think I could change that? That''s really stupid or too optimistic."

    Acht shook his head.

    "You really are very stupid."

    "What?!" She red at him as she tried to stand up.

    But, Acht flicked her forehead with his finger before adding.

    "How old are you?"

    "You basta-"

    "I said¡­how old are you?" He repeated his question.

    Lein red back at him even harder and then replied.

    "18 years old¡­I think."

    "Really? You look no less than 30 years of age. I guess looks are misleading."

    "Hey!! What do you mean, you little shit?!"

    "Nothing. I was just impressed. Anyway, you are still young so you could even open a cafe or a library in a beautiful and calm vige to pass a few calm years there. You might be able to find a purpose for your life if you genuinely indulge yourself in what normal people consider a normal life."

    Acht then looked at the horizon. The dark sky didn''t show much of a change during this invasion yet it w somehow looked extra beautiful at that exact moment.

    "So? Do you want to live or should I just kill you now? I would be d if you chose any suggestion."

    Lein had aplicated face at the moment as she scratched the back of her head. It was a habit she had when she was troubled about something.

    But, this time, she quickly made up her mind.

    "Fine, I will do that. I am also kinda tired from this hectic life. Having a calm life doesn''t sound that bad after all." She said,

    Acht nodded his head at her and then pulled out a healing bottle from his spatial ring to give it to her.

    "Drink that and then leave. I will deal with the matter and I might be able to fake your death." He said as he started walking away.

    However, Lein called him immediately.

    "Wait!"

    "Hm? What?"

    She had already drunk the potion and her heavy injuries started healing. That potion was of the highest grade so it worked perfectly well on basically every possible heavy injury except for deadly ones.

    Anyway, Lein looked down and seemed hesitant about something.

    "If you don''t have anything to say then I will go." He said with a confused look before starting to walk away again.

    "...Thank you." She suddenly said,

    Acht''s steps halted again and he looked at her with a slightly surprised look. He never expected the arrogant and haughty Lein to ever thank him about anything. The only time she said that was when he basically saved her life back in the ocean mission.

    "Pfft! Hahaha!!" He startedughing out of nowhere.

    "What are youughing at?!" She shouted with a red face from embarrassment. Only she knew how much effort she had to muster just to say those words so it was even more embarrassing for her.

    "Nothing, really. I was justughing about something else. Anyway, you don''t have to thank me. As I said, you saved my life so I saved yours. You can call it a deal of some sort."<sub> </sub>

    Then, he turned around again and walked away.

    "See you again, bitch." He muttered.

    "We will see about that, little shit."

    The two then walked away, never looking back at each other. Even at that point, they still didn''t consider their rtionship as anything close to a friendship.

    ***************************

    A week passed after the war and the world had already seen a massive change. Every city had been destroyed so most people who ran away to shelters and ces to hide became homeless.

    Empires and countries started their reconstruction of basically every major city. Was it not for the fact that they didn''tck money, it would''ve been the end for most of these empires.

    In the middle of this was the hunter association that was the busiest by far. They had to work on many different fronts, from monster hunting and stopping stampedes to also deploying hunters to help in construction.

    It was all very chaotic but that didn''t stop people from celebrating their victory.

    They made a huge festival thatsted 3 nights. It was so massive that it reached every ce in the world.

    They also paid tribute to the fallen hunters and also soldiers that died in the middle of this war.

    They didn''t do much to change the tides of war but they were courageous enough to face a stronger enemy which was good enough to engrave their names in history.

    Meanwhile, the boy who stopped this war and was the major reason why this world was still intact and considerably safe was in a whole different ce far away from the people''s eyes.

    "Marine vige¡­.huh. This seems to be the ce." Acht muttered as he took a look at a picture in his hand andpared it to the real image in front of him.

    Marine was a beautiful vige in the far south of the western kingdom. It was a rural vige in the middle of a mountain chain that surrounded it.

    This ce was the best when ites to natural views as it had everything anyone would dream of.

    It was also very quiet with basically no monsters around the area.

    "Leislet really went all out with choosing this ce for me. I guess it''s good enough." He muttered as he walked down the hill and reached the vige entrance.

    "Halt there, young man." A man suddenly called for him.

    He looked to the side and saw a middle-aged man sitting on a chair and drinking alcohol. His face was flushed red from excessive drinking and his eyes were hazy.

    "Who¡­hick¡­are you? You don''t seem to be from around here."

    "I came here to stay for a while. I assume you heard about a neer."

    The man''s eyes lit up and he immediately stood up with a huge grin on his face.

    "So you were the new guy that wasing here. I never thought it would be a small kid. Anyway, wee here, boy."

    The man said as he extended his hand for a handshake.

    Acht examined it to see if it was clean enough for a handshake before shaking it.

    "Anyway,e inside. We are always happy with new peopleing to our humble vige."

    Acht looked at the happy man and sighed inside him. He would be lying if he said he was ustomed to such people and such ces but he didn''t hate it at all.

    ''I guess this is my life for now. It is new but rxing isn''t that bad after all. Let''s just enjoy our time. No harsh training! No unnecessary fights and no overthinking! Ok, I can do that.'' He thought as he walked inside the vige.

    It was time for a new life for the young boy. Would he be able to livefortably or would the continuously hectic world drag him back to the middle of the chaos? Only time will tell.

    [VOLUME END]

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 206 Chapter 206

    Inside the vige, Acht was quite taken aback by how beautiful and tidy it was. The small, wooden houses and the beautiful greenery that filled every nook and cranny of this ce created such a rxing atmosphere that made Acht feel at peace.

    His ears also caught the sound of birds chirping happily as they flew across the wide blue sky passing under the warm sun that sent its strands of golden rays of light.

    It was indeed a small paradise on earth for those who sought a calm life.

    His eyes then fell on the people that were doing their work around him. They all had such blissful expressions as they conversed with each other.

    They all seemed to live in such a harmony that is hard to find anywhere else in the world. Each one of them knew each other and so this smallmunity was very happy.

    ''This is indeed a very good ce. I might actually enjoy my stay here more than I thought.''

    "Oh! Sali, who is that small boy with you?" A man suddenly approached them from a small field he was working in.

    He had brown skin and a cheerful and warm look. He didn''t even show any hostility toward Acht who was a stranger which was something new to Acht who grew ustomed to such an attitude from every person he met.

    "He is the new person that will live in the vige from now on." The drunkard responded.

    His answer made the man smile even more as he approached Acht and tapped his shoulder.

    "Wee here, young man! We are always happy to wee anyone who wants to stay here. What''s your name?"

    "Cero. You can call me Cero."

    The man smiled even more.

    "My name is Rix. I am the vige chief, pleased to meet you. May I ask where your parents are?" He asked as he looked around.

    Acht coughed slightly before responding.

    "They are dead."

    "Oh¡­.I-I apologies for asking about this."

    The young boy shook his head and smiled slightly.

    "You don''t have to worry about it. Anyway, may I know where my house would be?" He asked to change the topic and get rid of the awkward atmosphere that took over their conversation.

    "Yes! Sure, Sali will show you the way. It''s not that far away." The man said before excusing himself to go back to the field.

    Acht could see the curious looks that the vige people gave him from afar. They didn''t want to just go and talk to him since he was a stranger.

    Acht was also grateful for that since he didn''t want a swarm of peopleing to talk to him.

    ''I guess my average-looking face is also one of the reasons.'' He thought as he touched his face instinctively.

    He had bought a new device to change his features. Even though he ended the war and saved the whole world, he is still a criminal so hiding his identity was something essential for the calm life he was searching for.

    So, the two then moved through the main road of the vige, passing beside many houses and also many people who gave Acht the same curious looks. They kept whispering to each other while eyeing him.

    The problem here is that Acht could hear their whispers loud and clear.

    ''This is even more ufortable than I thought.'' He pondered quietly.

    They didn''t say any harmful things about him so it wasn''t that bad.

    Finally, they reached a small house slightly far away from the vige entrance.

    The house, like every other house in this vige, was made out of sturdy wood and ss.

    It was very simple yet also tidy at the same time.

    "This is your new house. What do you think?" Sali asked.

    "It''s¡­Not bad." Acht muttered as he eyed it up and down.<sub> </sub>

    "We received the info that you wereing a few more days so it''s still not fully clean. I hope that isn''t any inconvenience for you." He said.

    "No, it''s fine. I could clean it myself."

    Then, he walked to the door and entered it. He didn''t even need keys for it for some reason.

    The inside wasn''t that big as there was only a kitchen, a living room, a toilet, and a bedroom. There was also a balcony at the back of the house that had a view of the mountains behind the house.

    But, the thing he focused on was what seemed to be a young woman who was wiping the table in the kitchen. From her appearance alone she looked to be 13-years old at most. She had cute facial features like that of a small cat and two beautiful green eyes. She was indeed a cute girl.

    "Hm? Who are you?" He asked confusedly.

    Sali didn''t mention anyone being inside the house so it made him slightly wary.

    "Mia! What are you doing here?" Sali barged in and shouted angrily.

    The girl looked at the man and merely smiled while ignoring his re. She then walked closer to him.

    "Why are you this angry, pops. The chief asked me to clean the house so I did just that." She replied with a chirpy tone.

    Her bubbly character made her seem all the more kind and likable.

    "B-But¡­.Sigh, why did you not tell me?"

    "It''s cause pops is always either drunk or asleep. You sleep more than both me and mombined."

    "Hey! Don''t give the wrong idea. I am a hard-working man that keeps this vige safe."

    "From what?" She asked as she tilted her head cutely.

    "From¡­from¡­From the dangers."

    He said after he thought for a moment.

    ''You don''t even know which kind of job you do.'' Acht and Mia thought at the same time.

    "Mm...Excuse me. Is this perhaps your daughter?" Acht barged into the conversation when he found the perfect time.

    Sali looked back and nodded.

    "This is indeed my daughter. Her name is Mia. Come on, say hi." Sali said as he pushed her slightly.

    "Hi hi~~~ My name is Mia. What is yours?"

    "Cero. Nice to meet you, Mia." Acht responded.

    He then looked around and added.

    "Also, thank you for cleaning the house."

    "I enjoy cleaning so you don''t need to thank me. I am a hard-working girl, unlike a certain person." She responded as she peeked at her father.

    Sali was oblivious to this as he kept shaking his alcohol sk to see if there was any alcohol left.

    However, it seemed to have been empty as his face paled before he walked to the door.

    "I will excuse myself now. My alc- My job is waiting for me. If you need anything you know where to find me. Also, again, wee to our humble Vige, Cero. I hope you enjoy your stay."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 207 Chapter 207

    The two watched as the man ran away from the house in an unknown direction. Acht could only shake his head with a sigh since he could see how much of an alcoholic that man is.

    ''If he isn''t losing himself because of alcohol then that should be fine.'' He thought to himself as he shifted his gaze back to Mia.

    She seemed very ustomed to this attitude that her father had since she just merely chuckled.

    "He''s an airhead but he''s a good father." She said with a smile.

    Acht squinted his eyes before asking a question.

    "Has anyone ever told you that you seem way too mature for your age?"

    Mia was confused at first but then understood what he meant and shrugged her shoulders casually.

    "I never really thought much about it. That''s me and I''m happy with it. Besides, being mature is more fun than doing childish stuff." She said as she jumped up and down.

    ''You still are a child though. Not that I look any different.'' He thought merely.

    "Anyway, I will leave you to put your luggage and settle down. You can find me in the vige if you want to take a tour around the ce. I will dly help you, Cero." She then waved her hand as she walked out too, leaving Acht alone inside the house.

    The young man looked around him and sighed as he sat down on the sofa, arching his neck back to face the ceiling.

    "This is my new life¡­Huh. The past me would''veughed his ass off if he saw me trying to live a normal life. " He muttered as many memories shed past his mind like a movie.

    Seeing all of the things he went through, he did indeed change from his past self. It was something hard to exin but it was as if he was now more ''normal'' if that world was the right one to use.

    His past cold self and his calm demeanor were still there as usual but he was somehow now more epting of people than before.

    ''I have been feeling this for a long time. But, why is it happening? Maybe the previous owner of this body had some effect on me and made me change slightly. That could be the case.''

    He was after all not the original owner of this body so maybe that was the case and their souls fused together or maybe the lingering bits of the previous owner''s soul mixed with his and changed him slightly.

    ''Anyway, it''s not that harmful to me so I''m not that worried. I still have my normal traits with me and that''s more than enough to help me survive in this world¡­. Hopefully.'' He thought as he stood up again and went to work putting his luggage out.

    He didn''t have many things that he considered luggage. Just a few clothes, his weapons, and some other auxiliary things for hygiene and other stuff.

    Then after that, he spent the rest of the morning cing everything where it was meant to be and also inspecting the house thoroughly.

    That was when he found something in the bathroom.

    "What the¡­hell?" He muttered as he looked at the wall of the bathroom.

    There, a massive picture of Leislet was covering at least half of the wall. It was a painting of her in a sexy position with her massive boobs barely being hidden. Her body alone could drive any man crazy but Acht was about to be driven crazy because of a whole other reason.

    Her cheeky smile that she always had was also there. What made him even more weirded out was the caption under the pic.

    "''My gift for you¡­Enjoy your stay.'' my ass! She''s one crazy woman." He clicked his tongue as he used gravity to move the painting from the wall and then put it in his spatial ring.<sub> </sub>

    ''I will get rid of itter. There are other things I should deal with now.'' He pondered as he checked the time.

    There was still some time before lunch so he wanted to go out and meet his new neighbors for a few years toe. He also wanted to work on his social skills to make his life here easier.

    ''I am genuinely trying to change myself. Is it for better or worse though? I hope it''s for the better.''

    Then, he left the house, the sun was nearing the middle of the sky and since this was the spring season in this world it was warm but not too warm.

    He looked around him but saw no one since he was slightly far away from the closest house. It was something he asked Leislet for so that he doesn''t have to listen to the noises of neighbors around him.

    Then, with casual steps, he walked to the vige. The people were now resting since they have been working for a few hours now.

    Acht approached a group of farmers who were resting. The group was made up of men and women, mostly elderly.

    He introduced himself skillfully and was able to talk with them.

    They were also very cheerful and kind. He was nothing but a kid in their eyes after all.

    "Boy, you are still this young and you could live alone. My son is at your age and barely could count to ten. Sigh, if you were my son." A woman said as she sighed.

    Acht merely chuckled and didn''t say anything.

    He couldn''t just say that he was almost 40 years old if you count both of his lives.

    As he kept conversing with them, others came to them to say hi. It seemed that seeing that the neer was talking with their friends made them have enough courage to talk to him.

    Even though they didn''t talk about anything important, Acht felt such joy as he casually passed time not worrying about anything and just getting to know new people.

    He had never felt such a thing before and yet it was as if he had always been like that. As if he was indeed meant to live such a life.

    It was most likely just his imagination but that was still something that Acht didn''t hate at all.

    "Look at you, I left you for a few hours and you are already friends with aunties and uncles," Mia said as tapped Acht''s shoulder.

    "Mia, you met this young man? He''s such a good boy. What a good child." An elderly woman said as she chuckled.

    "Really? I have never thought about it." Mia said as she touched her chin with her index finger.

    Acht didn''t know whether tough or cry at such ament so he just refrained from talking.

    "Ok, let''s have lunch. Since we have a new person in the vige, the lunch is on me." A man chuckled loudly as he called for his wife and children to start preparing this small banquet.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 208 Chapter 208

    Just like that, Acht spent the noon with the vige people. They ate together and he was able to meet most of them. There were some people that were still not that keen on talking with him but he didn''t care much about it.

    After eating, he excused himself and went back to his house. He wanted to take a shower and sleep, then he could maybe leave the vige to discover the area.

    He liked this ce from first sight so he was eager to roam it alone and enjoy nature in its most fascinating form.

    ''Hm?'' As he walked back to the house, he felt a small chill down his spine. It wasn''t that of danger or maybe threat but more of someone who was eyeing him.

    His sharp eyes looked back but he couldn''t see anyone. So, with that in mind, he continued walking as if he didn''t sense anyone''s presence.

    The journey back was quiet but was also slightly tense as the stalker kept persistently following him.

    ''They don''t have an aura which means they aren''t awakeners. That''s good at least.'' He thought to himself as he didn''t bother with the matter that much. It may''ve been just a curious child or a person he didn''t meet.

    Soon, Acht reached his house and entered, he kept an eye on the person that was following him just in case.

    He then took a long shower, filled the bathtub, and sat down there to rx his muscles.

    The war water was such a soothing thing to experience, it was indeed something that is very addictive to those who are especially moving a lot constantly like Acht.

    Then, after that, he wore a bathrobe and went out of the bath to the bedroom. There, he looked around him for a moment before speaking.

    "What are you doing¡­Mia?" He said confusedly as he looked inside the wardrobe.

    No one answered so he smiled slightly and spoke loudly as if he was talking to himself.

    "Oh, man. I hate this wardrobe, I want to throw it away. Or maybe I could get a hammer and destroy it.

    When Mia heard these words, she tensed slightly and then decided to get out of her hiding.

    "How did you find me?" She asked.

    "You suck at hiding." He replied casually.

    Then, with a slightly serious look, he asked.

    "Now, what are you doing, stalking me like that?"

    His eyes made her even more nervous and hesitant to answer but then sighed and said.

    "You¡­Why are you hiding your face?" She asked.

    Acht tilted his head and muttered.

    "Hiding my face?"

    Mia nodded and continued.

    "Yes. For a certain reason, I can see through your disguise and I can tell this is not your real face." She replied.

    Acht was genuinely surprised by her words. Mia wasn''t an awakener so how was she able to discover this?

    "What are you talking about?" Acht said with a confused look, obviously acting.

    He can''t just admit that he wasn''t what he introduced himself to be.

    "How about I tell every one to hear about your little secret? Then you might as well start searching for another ce to live from the first day." She said as she crossed her arms.

    ''Sigh, what a pain in the ass. It''s not that big of a problem though.'' He thought to himself.

    He sat down on the couch and said.

    "I didn''t want anyone to know¡­but since you insisted then I have no other way of going about this. My secret is¡­I''m too handsome." He said as he looked at her with a serious look.

    Silence. For a good 5 seconds, Mia kept looking at him nkly. Then¡­

    "Hahahahahhahah!!!! What? This is so funny!" She exploded inughter as she fell down, tossing around on the ground while holding her stomach.

    Acht watched her and barely said anything. She couldugh all she wanted.

    "I am not joking though."

    "Hahaha! You are so funny, Cero. She said as sheid wiped tears from her face. She hadughed to the point where her face was flushed red adding even more cuteness to her appearance.

    "Wanna take a look? But promise me to not tell anyone." He asked.

    "Yes." She responded.

    Acht then deactivated the soul artifact he was using, revealing his real face.

    The moment Mia took a nce at him, she froze in her ce. Her eyes widened and her mouth was agape. In a moment, she turned into a statue.

    Acht stood up and approached her before waving his hand slightly in front of her eyes.

    "Oii! Are you ok?" He asked.

    Immediately, as if triggered by something, Mia crouched back with an embarrassed look. It was as if she was looking at a monster¡­A dangerous monster.

    "H-How¡­" she muttered as her mouth opened and closed multiple times.<sub> </sub>

    "I told you. This face of mine created many problems for me so I hid it. Being way too handsome is a curse indeed."

    ''Luckily, no one here knows my face. Leislet made sure to choose an isted ce where news doesn''te that often.'' He thought to himself.

    "No no no no! This isn''t even handsome. This is borderline scary. You are scary!!" She shouted as she stood up again.

    "Scary? I didn''t do anything though."

    "Hurry up and hide that!!" She shouted again.

    Acht nodded his head and used the souk artifact again to hide his face. Immediately, he returned to the in look he used before.

    "Fuuh." Mia exhaled a long breath as her red face started getting back to normal.

    He then asked her.

    "Now that I told you my secret. You tell me yours. How are you able to see through my disguise? You aren''t an awakener after all." He said.

    "..It''s not really a secret. Since I was born, my eyes could see many things normal people can''t see. I don''t know how or why but it somehow works like that."

    "What things can you see?" He asked.

    "I can basically see through walls if I tried to. I could also see up to 10 kilometers away from me. And I also could see through disguises." She said,

    "See through disguises, huh." He fell in deep thought from her words.

    He had never heard of such a power before. Maybe it was a normal talent or maybe it was one of a kind. He needs to research more about it.

    "Do you know anything about this?"

    "No¡­not really. But I can see if I can find anything."

    "Oh¡­thank you. I would appreciate that." He said calmly.

    Then, with a small cough, he added.

    "Now¡­if you don''t mind. I need to change my clothes."

    Mia finally saw that he was only wearing a bathrobe and immediately apologizes before quitting the house quickly.

    Acht could only sigh at her weird yet funny behavior before changing his clothes.

    He wanted to go out to roam the area but decided not to. He felt slightly tired so heid down on the bed and drifted into a deep sleep.

    The past week was hectic since he had to keep on moving constantly until Leislet was able to find this ce for him.

    Now, he could finally sleep peacefully without fear of someone attacking him.

    Hours passed and the afternoon turned into a dark night and the night also passed turning into a sunny morning.

    Acht''s eyes finally started opening. He didn''t feel any difort even though he slept for almost 20 hours straight.

    ''Hm? Why is there something heavy on my chest?'' He thought as his eyes were finally fully open and he could see the abnormality.

    What weed him first was two massive melons that were bigger than his head resting on his chest, moving rhythmically along with the owner''s calm breath.

    Acht then looked at the person who was actually sleeping on top of him.

    It was obviously Leislet who was somehow sprawled on top of him with her arms and legs wide open, taking basically the whole bed''s space.

    Her eyes were closed as she slept peacefully, while also hugging Acht''s neck tightly. Her drool was also basically dropping on his face.

    ''This woman, how could she even sleep like this?¡­Sigh.'' He could only sigh as he pushed her down the bed with slightly rough moves to wake her up.

    The moment Leislet''s face hit the rough ground, she woke up immediately. Her hazy eyes looked around not understanding what happened.

    "Huh? How? When? What?" She muttered.

    "What are you doing in my bed?" Acht asked with a clearly mad look.

    He didn''t hate that but he didn''t want his sanity to be tested, especially from Leislet.

    *Rub* *Rub*

    "How horrible, Acht. I came here to live with you and this is how you wee me. Didn''t you miss me?~" she asked as she rubbed her eyes.

    Acht''s head tilted slightly.

    "What did you just say?" He asked.

    "Surprise, surprise, Leislet is now retired!!"

    "Whaaat!?"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 209 Chapter 209

    Acht could just repeat the words she said like a parrot since he was pretty much shocked beyond words. He had expected Leislet toe to visit him after a period of time since she was Leislet after all.

    But, to hear that she literally retired from her work as a president of the hunter association just toe and live with him was just too much to just take.

    Such a prestigious position that everyone dreamed of and yearned for was just disposed of simply. Did she go crazy all of a sudden?

    Even though Leislet saw the dumbfounded look on the young boy as he stared at her, she justughed like a small naughty girl that did a small prank.

    "Did you like my surprise? Neh, neh." She said as she jumped on the bed and hugged Acht again, throwing him on the mattress and weighing her body on his chest.

    "You¡­." He muttered as he looked at her. She also looked at him, sharing a silent nce between them.

    Then, out of nowhere, Acht''s face started closing up on her, making the woman bewildered but also happy beyondprehension.

    ''Is it time?! No way! Really? I didn''t prepare myself! But¡­But, ok, calm down Leislet, just do it casually and take the lead. I am the mature one after all. Wait, I just woke up so my breath must stink. Does it stink?! I don''t know! What should I do?! Aiuggh!! Screw it! Let''s go with the flow.''

    Then, she closed her eyes and pursed her lips, waiting for the fateful moment.

    "You¡­You fucking idiot!!"

    *Bam*

    "Ouch!!"

    Instead of a romantic kiss, what Leislet received was a punch to her skull. It wasn''t a strong punch by any means but it was strong enough to hurt Leislet.

    The woman touched her head with both of her hands as she looked up with a small tear in her eye.

    "Why did you do that?!"

    "You should be thankful that I didn''t drop kick you in the face! You stupid!!" Acht was really angry.

    It wasn''t the fact that Leislet barged into his house without any prior notice that made him feel angry. It was a normal thing for Leislet to do and he was already ustomed to it since the moment he met her.

    What made him really angry is the fact that she left her job so recklessly without thinking about it.

    "How could you take such a crucial decision on a whim? Did you lose your stupid mind!!" He rebuked her as he stood up with his hands crossed, ring at the woman in front of him.

    "Wha-"

    "You shut up when I speak."

    "O-Ok," Leislet muttered as she looked down with a sad look.

    ''Acht is p-pissed.'' She thought to herself.

    "How could you retire just like that? Did you not think about the consequences? Did you even weigh down the pros and cons of this decision before doing it?" He asked a barrage of questions one after the other without waiting for Leislet to answer any one of these questions.

    "I know that you love me and I understand that and I already gave you a proper answer twice. You could try to make me like you but you don''t ruin your fucking life doing that. We are friends after all and I don''t like being the reason for making you fall into ruins. That also applies to everyone else that I consider a good friend of mine." He said.

    Leislet who was looking down finally looked back up with a deeply shocked look. She couldn''t believe what Acht said.

    "Acht¡­you are worried about me?"

    "No shit, Sherlock. Besides, if you just lose your position then I also lose an advantage I had with you being in such a high position."<sub> </sub>

    Thest few words didn''t reach Leislet''s mind as she went nuts.

    ''He worried about me? No way! He was worried about me. Acht said that he considers me a dear person to him. No way! I''m beyond happy.'' She thought as she cupped her face with blushing cheeks.

    Then, unconsciously, she started giggling like an idiot.

    Acht didn''t wait as he punched her again, making her face fall down on the mattress.

    "Are you even listening?"

    "Y-You¡­stop hitting me like that. It hurts!!"

    "If it wasn''t for the fact that I still have some respect for you I would''ve spanked you like a child!" He replied.

    Leislet opened her mouth to refute his words but then imagined what he said for a brief moment.

    ''That actually doesn''t sound like a bad idea.'' she thought.

    Acht grabs her and puts her on hisp before spanking her but until it turns red as she moans loudly in a pain mixed with pleasure.

    ''Maybe that could be something we could try.''

    "Sigh¡­What a headache. You should really put some thought into your decisions, Leislet. You should be aware of how important your smallest decisions could be, let alone the major ones." He sighed as he sat down again.

    Leislet also turned slightly serious and spoke after a moment of silence.

    "I didn''t take this choice on a whim. I had this in mind for a few months now and I finally found the opportunity to just do it. I also wanted to just enjoy a few quiet years and your words made me even more resolved to do so. Besides, I have already made arrangements for the next president so there should be no problems for them or the hunters in general."

    Acht nodded his head and didn''t say anything else. He had already reprimanded her for her mistake sufficiently.

    "Anyway, we can discuss that moreter. Want some breakfast?" He asked as he hopped from the bed and walked to the door.

    "Wait¡­so do you ept me living with you?"

    "Hell no. You can stay here until you find a house to live in. Then you move out" he replied as he left the room.

    However, even though he refused her to stay with him, she could still just stay here for a few weeks or even months. There are many excuses to say for such situations.

    ''Living with Acht¡­alone, in a beautiful house surrounded by nature. If there is heaven then this should be it, for sure.'' she thought to herself.

    Then, coincidentally, her eyes looked at the bed she was sitting on and smiled¡­a different smile. It was such a naughty smile full of lust and raw desire that it could easily send a chill down Acht''s spine if he saw it.

    No one could understand what Leiselt could be thinking of at that exact moment except Leislet herself.

    ''When are you going to grow up, my cute Acht? Ah~~ I can''t wait for you to be old enough for our eternal love to flourish and for our bodies to finally touch and unite for all eternity. It would be my only goal in life.'' She pondered as she licked her lips with her red tongue seductively.

    Her look at that exact moment was that of a predator that was quietly waiting for its prey to get closer and closer and then hunt it down.

    Then, as if nothing happened, she walked out of the room happily, humming a sweet, romantic song.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 210 Chapter 210

    Leislet reached the kitchen where she found Acht cooking breakfast. His hand moved skillfully as he cut vegetables and fruits with the knife.

    His skills with the knife were simply impable. It was understandable considering that he had used knives and other sharp objects for the better part of his life.

    Leislet stood silently watching him work without saying anything. There was some weird charm about him doing such a simple task that anyone could pull off.

    He had such an air of maturity around him that could pull in anyone with just one nce.

    ''Sigh, how is he this naturally charming? That little bastard!'' She thought to herself with aplicated gaze.

    Her idea of children had changed because of the boy in front of her. She always thought that children couldn''t just reach a level of maturity that rivals that of old people no matter what they experience.

    There was just a barrier that couldn''t be passed and thates with age and long years.

    But, Acht simply broke that rule easily. He was so impable in every department that she sometimes questioned if he is a human or not.

    ''I have had this suspicion for a while but I can''t find a way to ask him. Sigh, maybe I will try asking him when I find the perfect time.'' She thought.

    "You really know how to cook, Acht. You will be a great husband for sure." Leislet spoke up as she sat down and rested her head on her arms as she watched him with a soft look.

    ''My husband that is.'' She added in her head.

    "I don''t like the way you phrased that." He replied as he pulled two tes before putting whatever he cooked on them and then putting them on the table.

    "Wow. This looks amazing." She honestlyplimented him.

    It was an omelet with vegetables, a fruit sd, and two cups of warm coffee.

    A good breakfast for free days and since Acht had plenty of free days toe, he wanted to try new recipes as a change of rhythm.

    "Bon app¨¦tit." He said as he sat down.

    "Hm? What does that mean?" She asked as she tilted her head.

    Acht just shook his head and ate silently.

    Leislet also didn''t push the matter any further and instead changed the topic.

    "So, do you have any ns for your stay here? You aren''t going to spend the whole time just doing nothing, are you?"

    Acht nodded his head in approval.

    "I do, actually. I have had this idea in my mind for a while now. I want to build a small library here and maybe do some hunting from time to time. There are plenty of animals here so it should be something fun to pass time doing." He replied.

    "a library, huh? That sounds like a good idea. I will help you with it. As for hunting, do you even have an idea about the terrain around this vige or even the animals that live here?"

    "No, no idea. That''s why I was going to take a stroll around the ce. But, someone interrupted my ns¡­Uninvited." He said as he red at Leislet softly.

    Leislet scratched the back of her head as sheughed sheepishly.

    "Ok, how about we go together? I also want to see what this region could deliver. We might even have a pic."

    "A pic?"

    "Yes, a romantic pic. We sit under a tree and we just eat and talk, we could also enjoy the breeze of air thates from time to time. Oh! That sounds like the best idea anyone coulde up with." She said almost jumping from her chair in excitement.

    "No."

    "Why?!" Leislet almost spat out her food.

    "I know you will pull off your usual weird tricks. Also, I am not going out of the vige for a pic, at least not this time. maybe next time we will do that."

    "Horrible!! You are horrible!!" Leislet shouted in protest.

    "Keep shouting and there will be no food for you."

    "Ok¡­Sorry."<sub> </sub>

    "Good girl."

    The two then finished their tes and got ready to go out.

    When they quit the ce, Acht asked.

    "Do these people even know you?"

    "May of course. I hade here before and I loved the vige. I didn''t stay for long though so I couldn''t experience everything this ce could provide."

    "Yaaah!!"

    However, as they were talking, a loud yell made their faces tense up. Then, they located the ce where this shout came from and they ran there.

    When they reached the ce, they found a group of vige people surrounding someone.

    "My son! My son is dying!!" A woman cried as she touched the face of the unconscious manying on the ground motionless.

    Acht and Leislet walked to the group and made their way past them straight to the middle.

    "Mrs. Leislet. Please help my son! He is dying! He got poisoned by a monster! Please!" The woman begged the moment she saw Leislet.

    Thetter nodded her head and bent down to check on the man.

    She checked his pulse and his breathing. Luckily, he was still alive so she immediately grabbed his arm where she saw the poison.

    "The poison still didn''t start spreading." Acht also bent down and took a look with his sharp eyes.

    "Leislet, can you make him drink a potion, I will deal with the poison." He said with a serious look.

    The two then started working, Acht put his mouth over the ce of the injury but didn''t start sucking like a normal person. He just used gravity to extract the poison efficiently, without leaving a single trace of it.

    He made that gesture with his mouth so that people don''t start having suspicions.

    The process went smoothly and Acht gulped up a huge amount of poison. Then, he spat it down, showing a weird purple-colored liquid.

    He wasn''t going to get harmed by such a weak poison. His body could nullify it in a matter of seconds.

    Meanwhile, Leislet just made the man drink a potion. He was still half-conscious so he drank it easily.

    In a matter of moments, his deathly paleplexion rxed and he fell asleepfortably.

    "Ok, he is safe now. But he needs to rest for a few days." Leislet said as she stood up.

    The vige people looked at the two with a surprised gaze and then started pping.

    "Thank you! Thank you so much!! I can''t think of anything to repay both of you!" The woman said as she shook Leislet''s hand as strong as she could. Her teary eyes didn''t stop crying.

    Leislet smiled warmly and replied.

    "It''s not that big of a deal. He did all the work." Leislet said.

    "Oh yes! Thank you so much, boy. You have truly saved my son''s life. How did you do that?" She asked.

    Acht smiled casually and replied.

    "I learned a thing or two from her."

    His mysterious reply made the attention turn back to Leislet who merely smiled while giving Acht side nces from time to time. She was surprised how he was able to avert attention so easily and swiftly. It was something he didn''t always have.

    ''You little bastard.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 211 Chapter 211

    "What kind of monster attacked him? This poison is very lethal. If we were a few secondste he would''ve been in an even dire state." Acht asked as he looked at the poison on the ground.

    It was a very purple substance, there was also a faint smokeing from it indicating the toxicity of this poison. But, for awakeners, it was still nothing but a small difort at best in case offort.

    The woman looked down sadly as she touched her son''s face and then said.

    "It''s a northern snake. We have been suffering from this monster for a long time and my son, being the only one that hunts animals in the vige, has to face these snakes basically every time he goes out hunting. He had learned how to avoid them so he never really got bitten by them. However¡­.He didn''t get lucky this time." She said thest sentence with a painful look.

    Acht nodded his head in understanding as he looked at Leislet.

    "Let''s go." He said and then started walking away.

    "Where are you going, young man?" The vige chief asked with a worried tone.

    "I will just take a stroll around the area since I''m new here. I won''t take long, old man." He replied with a small smile.

    "I see¡­Be careful."

    The two then left the area.

    When they went far enough, someone approached the vige chief and asked him.

    "Is it really fine for them to go out at this time especially when we know that these snakes are still roaming the area?"

    The chief didn''t hesitate to nod as he replied.

    "Mrs. Leislet is very strong¡­impossibly strong. She could protect him easily." He said.

    ***************************

    "There might be a snake nest close to her. We might stumble upon it on our way out." Acht said casually.

    "I did hear about these attacks before but never really heard about any casualties because of it," Leislet added.

    The two left the vige and found themselves in the embrace of the beautiful mother nature. The weather was very perfect and the warm sun was like a golden nket that warms them up constantly.

    "It seems I will never get bored of this sight. Such a beautiful ce is truly a treasure to be kept safe." The boy muttered under his breath with dreamy eyes.

    Acht had always been attracted to such sacred ces that had never been tarnished or ruined before.

    It had such a weird charm that made it even more beautiful than anything a human created.

    "That''s why I wanted you toe here. It''s my dream ce after all." Leislet said with a soft smile on her beautiful face.

    Acht smiled back and then started walking again.

    They both walked on the dirt road that was surrounded byrge ins of greenery and trees.

    The air breeze that moved along the ins, moved the grass left and right in a mesmerizing dance of nature.

    This sight alone made the two just walk silently. The silence isn''t awkward at all since they both basked in the great atmosphere.

    The duo soon reached a small forest nearby. It wasn''t a dense forest but more of a small group of tall trees close to each other.

    "There doesn''t seem to be any monsters nearby. Hmm, this is weird." Achtmented out of nowhere.

    "It''s most likely the fact that they sensed our auras and they simply ran away. Monsters are cowards when ites to stronger opponents. You can call it instinct."

    Even though Leislet was talking casually, her mind was in total chaos over one simple question.

    ''Should I touch his hands?! Maybe I could do that so naturally and he won''t even feel it. Yes, I can. Come on, it''s easy!'' She thought as she eyed Acht''s hand which was very close to hers.<sub> </sub>

    She had made sure to close the distance between them during the trip without him noticing.

    It was a process that needed careful nning and perfect execution and Leislet was basically just one step away from achieving her goal.

    All she had to do was just grab his hand and then it was over. However, that proved to be something but that''s easier said than done.

    ''No! No! I can''t!! It''s too hard. Hick, I''m such a coward. Even though I''m already 22 years of age.'' She clenched her teeth and cursed her weak self repeatedly.

    Being oblivious to her thoughts, Acht was just looking around before he caught sight of something weird.

    So, without thinking much, he grabbed Leislet''s hand and pulled her to a close buch to hide.

    Leislet, who was having her own train of thoughts, was very surprised by the sudden yank of her arm that she even made a weird sound during the process.

    "..What?"

    Even though she asked such a question, her eyes were glued to her hand. Acht was still holding her hand.

    This scene alone made her mind crushed. Her face also turned bright red as she screamed in her head.

    ''It¡­It happened!!!''

    "Shhh," Acht replied as he pointed at a certain ce slightly far away from them.

    Leislet looked at where he was pointing and finally saw what he meant.

    There, a deer was standing casually, eating grass. However, this was no normal deer.

    ''An Emerald deer. I can''t believe I could stumble upon one of these so suddenly.''

    An Emerald deer or as many call it, the triple-horned deer is a soul animal that was known for being one of the most delicious meats to taste in this whole entire world.

    It was a very very high-grade delicacy that even Acht didn''t have the opportunity to experience before.

    So, seeing one of these amazing creatures in front of him made him feel hungry for some reason. His eagerness to try its meat also skyrocketed.

    Leislet was also having the same thoughts. So, the duo looked at each other.

    "We will hunt it," Acht said.

    Leislet nodded her head in approval. There was however one small problem. This problem was actually the reason why this deer was one of the rarest meats in existence.

    It''s a matter of catching it. This animal had a special ability that made it one of the hardest creatures to hunt even for the best of hunters in the world. The moment this deer senses danger, it basically turns into blue particles that resemble dust and then disintegrates in the air. Nothing could touch it the moment it turned into that form.

    Acht was aware of this fact and so he had to be very careful in order to catch it.

    "Listen, I will sneakily attack it, and then when it turns into dust, you follow it until it returns to its original form and then kill it," Leislet said while eyeing the deer in case it ran away for one reason or another.

    "I will try to do so. I can''t be sure though."

    Leislet smiled lovingly and replied.

    "You don''t have to worry about it. We could always try again next time. We have alllll the time in the world after all."

    Acht felt really weirded out by her phrasing but still nodded. It was something very Leislet-like to say.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 212 Chapter 212

    The duo then separated, each walking in a different direction. Leislet went straight toward the deer as she was the one who was going to attack it.

    Nevertheless, she didn''t want to alert it before she was close enough to the animal. These creatures were very wary and had pretty great senses that could detect the smallest disturbance in the air and had the reaction speed that made full use of those sharp senses.

    Luckily, Leislet was able to get close enough without making the animal discover her presence.

    Then, she looked at Acht waiting for him to position himself slightly far away. The two nodded simultaneously.

    *Swish*

    Instantly, Leislet jumped out of the bushes and attacked the animal with her bare hands. The deer shrieked as it immediately started turning to dust.

    Leislet smiled andnded on the ground and obstructed the way for the dust to escape.

    She wanted the deer to move in a certain direction where Acht was waiting. This seemed to work as she saw the dust changing direction and flying toward the area where Acht was hiding.

    The deer kept its particles form for a good 2 minutes as it flew left and right while trying to avoid Leislet who kept following it from afar.

    ''This should be enough.'' She thought and retreated back to the bushes.

    The deer saw her go away but didn''t return to its normal form at all.

    Acht who was close by kept waiting patiently for the perfect moment to hunt it down.

    After almost 10 minutes, the deer finally seemed to let its guard down and started regrouping its particles and forming its body.

    When it was finally back to its normal form, Acht immediately sneaked behind it and then pulled out his sword.

    The midnight song glinted slightly in the sun.

    *sh*

    The boy then sent a sh casually, he didn''t have to put much strength into it to be lethal. All it had to do was to hit its target.

    The deer felt the danger and looked behind it, however, it didn''t see anything which made its reaction speedway slower

    It was still pretty fast but not fast enough to avoid the camouged attack.

    *Swish*

    "Wuhhhhhh!!" The deer shrieked loudly as it got hit in the side and blood sttered everywhere.

    It tried to turn into dust again but it was way toote. The hit was very lethal and the deer could only fall down in defeat as it breathed itsst breaths.

    Acht got out of his hiding and inspected the animal. It had indeed died immediately from the hit. A smile bloomed on his face. It was such a lucky encounter for him to find this amazing animal randomly.

    *Boing*

    "Yayyy!! We did it!" Leislet shouted as she hugged the back of Acht''s head with a triumphant look. Her boobs were big enough to cover half of his head.

    Acht sighed and released himself from her before pulling out a knife.

    "Are you going to skin it here?" She asked.

    "Pretty much. I don''t want the meat to be spoiled before we reach the vige." He said.

    Leislet nodded and sat down close by looking at Acht working on the deer.

    He had learned how to skin animals before back in his previous world and so it wasn''t a hard task to do. It barely took him 30 minutes to finish his work.

    He had separated the bones, the organs, and the meat so skillfully that the deer was now nothing but a pile of skin and fur.

    After that, Acht looked at Leislet.

    "Go get some wood. We''re gonna cook some of it here." He said.

    The woman nodded and walked away. Meanwhile, Acht cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and seasoned them with the spices he had in his spatial ring.<sub> </sub>

    He had made sure to buy every possible spice he needed beforeing here. Eating nd food was a nightmare for him.

    Then, Leislet came back with some woods she shopped off from some trees.

    "Hurry. Hurry! I can''t wait to eat this delicious meat." She said as she put down the woods.

    "If you''re that impatient. Why don''t you cook it by yourself." He asked

    Leislet found herself speechless from his question and averted her eyes quickly.

    "It''s¡­It''splicated."

    Acht smiled as he saw her fall into his trap.

    "Aree? Wait, don''t tell me¡­you can''t cook?" He asked with a surprised look.

    Leislet''s face turned red from his question and looked down even more.

    Acht didn''t stop at that as he tried to tease her more.

    "How could Mrs. Leislet, the previous president of the hunter association and the best light user in existence not know how to make some barbecue? Tsk, tsk." He shook his head in clear disappointment.

    "H-Hey¡­I can''t just know how to do everything!" She shouted in protest.

    "I see¡­What a shame! If you had been a good cook, you could''ve found a husband easier, you know." He said casually.

    "You¡­You.." She muttered as a huge frown appeared on her face.

    His words somehow made her resolve to pump up. So, grabbed the meat sticks from Acht''s hands and shouted.

    "You! I will show you how I can cook!! Don''t underestimate me! I will make the best barbecue you could ever taste in your entire life!"

    "Wait¡­ I''m just joking." The boy replied as he saw her throw the meat in the fire carelessly.

    "And to make sure that it will cook perfectly, I will throw even more wood there to make the fire stronger." She said.

    "No! Stop, you idiot!!" He grabbed her hand before she threw the wood in.

    But, it was already toote at that moment. The meat was soon engulfed in fire and Acht had to pull it out quickly.

    "ck¡­.the meat turned ck." He muttered as he looked at the sticks.

    They had all been overcooked.

    He then shifted his eyes to re at the culprit.

    Leislet was also surprised by how the meat turned.

    "Oops. I made a small mistake, tehee." She said,

    "I''m going to beat you up." He said as he started cracking his fingers with an angry look.

    "C-Calm down, Acht. It''s just some meat¡­" Leislet said, trying to calm him down. Her face was now sweating buckets.

    "...Bend over." He said.

    "Kyaaaaah!!"

    *p*

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 213 Chapter 213

    Leislet grabbed her head as she rolled on the ground in pain. For some reason, this ce always hurts no matter how many times Acht hit her in that spot.

    "Why do you always hit me there?! It fucking hurts!" She shouted.

    Acht clicked his tongue in response.

    "You get what you deserve for ruining good meat. Look, it''s fucking charcoal ck. You might as well never touch cooking again." He replied before sitting again.

    Leislet gritted her teeth and red at Acht from the side. She felt really wronged and that Acht was the one who was being unfair toward her. And, for the first time, she was actually angry with him and wanted to get revenge.

    However, fighting won''t satisfy her, she wanted to see him feel embarrassed and ashamed.

    ''What can I do? I want to see his cheeks red from embarrassment. You just wait, you little brat!!''

    Then, out of nowhere, an idea popped into her head. This idea was so good it made her smile from ear to ear mischievously.

    "Acht."

    "..What?" He asked without looking at her. He had the meat sticks in his hand and he wanted to cook them perfectly.

    "That punishment was just too light. You are very soft indeed. How about you punish me for real? This ce seems like a good ce." She said with a calm tone.

    "What are¡­." He turned around to say something but his words halted out of nowhere because of what he saw.

    Leislet had turned around and wiggled her plump butt near his face. It was very big and rounded. Just the perfect shape.

    ''Hehehee!! Take that! Now, how is he looking? Is he embarrassed? Did he turn around? Oh my god, the thought alone thrills me to no end!'' Leislet thought to herself with a slightly perverted look.

    However, before she could take a look behind her¡­

    *Smack*

    "Hiiiickkk!!!" A weird cry came out of her mouth as she felt pain getting transmitted from her ass.

    Before she could even say something again, she felt another smack on her ass. It was so rough that it made her butt jiggle left and right like some kind of soft jelly.

    So, without waiting any further for fear of getting another smack on her butt, she turned around, wide-eyed, as she red at Acht.

    "W-W-What are you doing?!" She basically shouted.

    Acht, who didn''t show any emotions on his face, merely shrugged his shoulders.

    "You said that you wanted to get punished even more so I delivered."

    "You!!!"

    Acht merely chuckled at her cute tantrum and continued cooking.

    "Next time don''t try to challenge me. I will smack you even more until I turn your butt to a plump tomato." He said.

    Leislet felt her face turn beet red from embarrassment, her n had failed miserably and made her get hit even more.

    ''This little¡­.I mean, now that I think of it. It doesn''t actually feel that bad..'' She thought for a split moment before shaking her head violently.

    ''No, no, no, no. What are you thinking, Leislet? Am I a masochist?! But, I mean¡­it didn''t feel that bad¡­I could actually¡­''

    Her eyes lost focus as she imagined all kinds of obscene things in her head.

    "Huh, you like that?" Acht said as he smacked Leislet. She was butt naked, resting on hisp.

    Her face was red and her mouth was drooling with saliva. Even her eyes were almost rolled back into the back of her head from excessive pleasure.

    "Yes, master!! Yes!!! Hit me more!! Make my butt even redder!!" She replied.

    ''No! Ok, I need to calm down. What the fuck is wrong with me?!'' She pped her cheeks a few times to regain herposure.

    Coincidentally, Achtpleted the roasted meat and gave her a stick to eat.

    Leislet looked at the dripping meat that looked so juicy and tender. Her throat made an audible gulp before she took the stick.

    "Thanks." She said,

    Acht nodded and continued eating. The taste was way better than what he expected. The meat was simply amazing, it was so tender and easy to swallow that it was almost like butter.

    He could finally understand why people consider this meat as something legendary. It is indeed amazing even though it was basically barely seasoned and also only roasted on a camp of fire.

    ''This is the best meat I have ever tasted. I might need to preserve this deer for as long as I could. Making some jerky from it sounds like a good idea.'' He thought.<sub> </sub>

    "Neh, Acht." Leislet suddenly spoke.

    "What again?"

    "Can I ask you a question?" She said,

    "Go ahead."

    "Well, I had this suspicion for a while now but I didn''t want to think about it."

    "Hm?" Acht tilted his head in confusion. He didn''t know what she was talking about at all.

    "Are you actually¡­a reincarnated person just like those invaders?" She said with a serious look as she made eye contact with him.

    The boy didn''t show any reaction and merely continued eating meat.

    "What made you think so?" He asked back.

    "I mean¡­From the moment we first met, you had always been very mature and strong. At first, I thought it was merely a coincidence and that you were just a small boy born in perfect circumstances to create a monstrous talent. But, with each passing day, that idea bes harder to believe. So, I decided to ask you directly."

    Acht fell silent for a few moments. Then, he sighed and looked at Leislet.

    "The answer is yes. I am indeed a reincarnated individual. I came to this world almost a year ago."

    "I¡­see. But, could you tell me who you were back in the other world? I want to know who the real you was." She said,

    "Could I trust you with keeping my secret?"

    "100%"

    Acht nodded his head and organized his thoughts before speaking. He had already trusted Leislet as an eternal ally for him. He was aware of how hard it was for someone to betray the person they loved no matter what situation they were in.

    So, telling her the secret was actually not that bad of an idea.

    So, with that in mind, he recounted everything he went through from the moment he was born till the moment he died.

    Everything, from the worst, most disgusting things to the happiest moments of his life. He told her the dirty, disgusting things he did and the good yet rare deeds he also did from time to time.

    He also spoke about Dia, his first love, and how much the two of them suffered and went through.

    The story was so dramatic that it made Leislet''s eyes water and her tears fell down her face.

    As for Acht, he merely had aplicated look. He had already gone through this and forgotten about it, but the mere try of recalling these events hurt him a lot.

    After a long time, the story finally ended and he finally could take a breath.

    "That was basically it. I am not that good now, am I not? A fucking hitman that did things even hitmen squint from disgust thinking about. I won''t me you if you change your mind and leave. That''s my past and I had already epted it since it built up who I am now¡­" He added.

    But, even after saying that, Leislet didn''t speak at all. Her face was looking down so he couldn''t see her expression at all. Was she disgusted? Was she angry? Did she hate him?

    All these questions kept popping into Acht''s head. But, deep down, even if she fell out of love with him, he wouldn''t care at all. Everyone has the right to decide what kind of people they want to have as friends, lovers, or even family.

    After a few minutes of pure silence, Acht decided that sitting here for any longer would just be useless. He was already feeling awkward with the silence.

    So, he decided to leave.

    But, before that, he said a few more words.

    "It''s really weird how a young boy in front of you is actually in his mid-thirties. But, it is what it is I guess. Anyway, I''m going to leave now. You can have some time to think and then decide what to do."

    After that, he stood up. But, before he could even walk a single step, he felt two arms wrap around him and a soft feeling filled his world.

    "Wha-"

    Before he could say anything, Leislet closed his mouth with her mouth, kissing him deeply. Her soft lips linked with his lips, teasing them lovingly.

    It was not a heavy kiss by any means, but more of a kiss to convey emotions. A kiss to show what kinds of thoughts the individual is feeling at the moment.

    A kiss of true love.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 214 Chapter 214

    Thest thing Acht expected was this particr thing. He predicted that she might ept how he was and merelyugh it off, but she kissed him seemingly out of nowhere.

    This made his reaction way slower than usual. A few moments passed before he finally pulled out and looked at Leislet with slight confusion.

    Thetter also looked deeply into his eyes. Then, with a smile, she said two words.

    "I love you."

    Acht felt himself slowly losing hisposure so, to not lose total control of himself, he coughed slightly.

    "What are you.."

    Before he could even end his words, Leislet interrupted him again.

    "I love you, Acht." She said with the same smile and the same soft, loving look. Her eyes were clear and her expression was so rxed it was almost scary.

    He could only retreat slightly, for some reason, even though he heard her saying these words a few times before, at this particr moment, they somehow had a way different effect on him.

    Leislet then took a deep breath and continued.

    "You don''t seem to get how much I love you so let me put it into context. See the sky above us?" She said as she pointed upwards.

    Acht instinctively looked up, then she added.

    "See how vast it is? How seemingly endless it is? My love for you is bigger than this whole sky."

    "See the ground under us? See the worlds that we are surrounded by? They are nothingpared to how I feel about you. I know I might sound cheesy with these words but that''s the closest thing I could use to describe how much I love you with every fiber of my heart."

    She then touched her heart with her hands and closed her eyes then she continued.

    "I have lived all of my life without knowing what love is or how people could be ready to sacrifice their lives, their happiness, and their dreams for the people they love. I always loathed their ideas and called them foolish."

    She then looked up again.

    "Then, I met you. At first, I thought, this kid seems very interesting. He is smart, cunning, an airhead sometimes but a very honest individual. This made me think that you are different. You aren''t like the others around me, a bunch of stupid and useless people. You had something in you that made you unique, Acht. That was when I started growing these feelings for you."

    Her smile seemed to widen with each word she said. It reached a point where her blissful smile became the only thing Acht could see.

    "I don''t know when, but somehow, I ended up falling in love with you. I mean, how weird could I be to fall in love with a young boy? It is something that many would find bizarre and even disgusting. I even thought I was disgusting for feeling such things for someone who is clearly way younger than me."

    Then, she walked slightly closer to him.

    "But, I still kept those feelings hidden inside of me. I didn''t want to lose you nor these feelings of mine. It is my cherished thing. But, now, I can''t hold on any longer, I had already made up my mind to try and get you to like me no matter how many years it takes. Even if you are way too young. I will wait for you to grow up. Even if you don''t like me. I will make you fall in love with me. Even if you decide to leave, I will chase you to the end of the world."

    She took a step closer to him.

    "No matter how bad you were or how many sinful things youmitted, those are your past. We can''t change the past but we can change the future. Everyone makes mistakes and you make mistakes. However, you already paid back those mistakes and more."

    She then took another step.<sub> </sub>

    "So, don''t me yourself for that. Don''t try and look at yourself with that disgusted look. Didn''t you say before that you never regret anything you do? That''s how you should be. It''s because that''s what made your present."

    Finally, she was in front of him. Then, with an elegant move, she hugged Acht gently. It wasn''t a weird hug but more of a reassuring hug that carried more emotions than words could ever transmit.

    "That''s why I want to say for thest time, I love you so much Acht and I want you to never underestimate my love for you."

    She ended her words and closed her eyes. She didn''t wait for an answer from him nor approval of what she said. All she wanted was for her true emotions toe out and that was exactly what happened.

    ''What a weird thing¡­Fuck. This is fucking weird.'' Acht thought as he touched his face.

    For some reason, his fingers felt slightly wet when he touched them. He looked at them to make sure he wasn''t hallucinating and it was indeed the case.

    ''Is it raining?'' He thought. He knew the truth but he tried to avoid it.

    Acht was actually crying. He didn''t feel the tears at all as they somehow fell down his cheek.

    ''Why am I crying? This is bullshit. I swore to never cry again. I swore that I will live a life I will never regret. I swore that I will work toward true happiness where I will never feel pain again. Yet, here I am feeling pain again. How ironic.'' He thought.

    Then, he wiped the tears with his hands in ast attempt to regain hisposure. But, it didn''t seem to do much of anything.

    "What if I never liked you back?" He asked out of nowhere.

    "That will never happen," Leislet replied.

    "How are you so sure?" He asked again.

    "I am just certain. It''s just like how we are certain that night wille at the end of the day. I also know that I will make you fall in love with me for sure. It''s just a matter of time."

    "You are fucking weird."

    "I know."

    "You are really fucking weird."

    "I know."

    Acht didn''t know why, but, even though seconds passed, he couldn''t find the strength to push Leislet away. He didn''t know why but he somehow didn''t want to leave her embrace. He wanted to stay there for a few more seconds, a few more minutes, or maybe a few more hours. He didn''t have any idea.

    All he could think about was his heart which was scarred from long years of pain and hardship. It was finally starting its first steps towards healing again.

    (A//N: Is Leislet winning? :) )

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 215 Chapter 215

    Minutes passed with the two people hugging. Well, it was Leislet who was hugging Acht while thetter wasn''t doing much but it was still considered a consensual hug since he didn''t refuse nor push her away.

    Leislet was basically on cloud seven at that moment, she felt her heart beating so fast that she thought it might explode from happiness. She had never felt such a soft, loving hug.

    ''Did I convey my feelings right? Did I actually make him understand? Is he now feeling better? Did I help him?'' She thought to herself as she unconsciously tightened her grip on him.

    She was so concerned with how Acht felt that she could not stop herself from trying to take a look at his face.

    So, with that in mind, she tried to release herself from the hug. However, much to her surprise, Acht grabbed her back and hugged her tightly.

    "Wha-"

    "Don''t move." He said.

    "O-Ok¡­" Leislet replied with clear bewilderment in her voice.

    She didn''t know why he was doing this but it wasn''t as if she would refuse a hug from her beloved.

    Her face blushed furiously and her eyes closed, trying to savor this moment. How long did she dream of such a thing? How long did she wait for it? She didn''t even know the answer to that.

    But, when she thought about it for a moment, she discovered something. Acht''s tone when he spoke was somehow weird and unusual.

    It wasn''t his usual calm andposed tone that she grew familiar with.

    ''Wait¡­is he¡­crying?'' She thought as her eyes widened considerably.

    But, before she could even say anything, Acht pulled away from her. She immediately checked his face. But, no signs of him crying appeared on his face.

    His eyes weren''t red nor did his cheeks seem wet from tears. He looked exactly like he always did.

    ? Even though she could see that her assumptions were mostly wrong, she couldn''t hold herself from asking.

    "Acht, did you.."

    "We should go back, it''s alreadyte." He said as he put everything in his spatial ring and walked away hurriedly.

    Leislet looked at his back as he went farther and farther away from her.

    "It''s still morning¡­idiot." She muttered as her face blushed even more.

    **************************

    A week passed after that conversation, and Acht and Leislet continued their daily lives seemingly as usual. On the surface, nothing weird happened nor did they feel awkward whenever they were together.

    But, deep down, things did change. Leislet could feel that Acht''s attitude toward her was somehow different from usual.

    He was still cold and calm but he was now more gentle with her. Small gestures like waking her up or even talking with her were now not as harsh as usual.

    This change wasn''t apparent at first but grew more and more noticeable with each passing day.

    Not only that, but the boy also seemed to be smiling more these days. Normally, he would never smile or maybe smile once in a while but now his mood seemed to get better as he joked with her sometimes and even chuckled at her own silly jokes.<sub> </sub>

    It was such a good atmosphere that Leislet questioned whether she was dreaming or not. Everything seemed to go perfectly well.

    A daily life where they didn''t have to fight anything. A daily life where there was no blood, no pain, and no suffering. Just pure calm and rxing life.

    This was something she wanted with every fiber of her whole being. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that such a life with her most beloved was her sole goal in life.

    And now, she finally achieved that goal. What more could she ask for? Maybe one thing¡­for this life tost for eternity.

    But, deep down, she knew this was impossible to happen. She knew that even though things were calm now and everything was perfect, that won''tst long.

    She and Acht would have to eventuallye back to their old lives. It was just a matter of time. One year, or maybe more, it wasn''t something she could predict.

    That''s why she decided to try and do everything she wanted with Acht before the time was over. She wanted to see how life could be beautiful if they could pass their days idling around, not having any big responsibilities or things they needed to do.

    The time now was dawn, Leislet somehow woke up before Acht and even before the sun fully rose to the sky.

    Usually, it would take her a few more hours to wake up. By wake up, it meant getting kicked out of bed roughly from Acht.

    So, she walked out of her room toward Acht''s room. She then sneakily opened the door and entered inside.

    Acht was deep in sleep so he didn''t feel her entering the room at all. It was one of the things that changed in his attitude toward her. He now slept freely without keeping himself alert whenever she was around.

    That meant that he fully trusted that she could protect him in case anything bad happened. These small gestures that could go unnoticed were things that Leislet saw and appreciated immensely.

    ''Whenever he''s sleeping¡­he just looks like a mere child.'' She thought.

    She then approached the bed to take a closer look at him. Her eyes softened greatly and her face rxed. She had a look of a person madly in love without lies or hidden motives.

    ''Who knew you were actually older than me? Fate is truly a weird thing.'' She thought.

    Then, her hand extended to touch his face. She hesitated to do so since he could wake up but ended up doing it. Luckily, Acht was still asleep.

    Her fingertips touched his cheek and traced his face.

    ''Don''t worry, Acht. I will protect this life that we are living at the moment. I will protect this happiness that I am feeling at the moment¡­So, just rest assured and don''t worry about anything¡­.I love you.''

    Then, she bent down and kissed his forehead very gently.

    But, as she was about to sit down to keep watching him, the door knocked.

    She wondered who coulde at this time in the morning.

    So, she stood up and left the room to check the door. When she opened it, her eyes widened in surprise.

    "....You.."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 216 Chapter 216

    "...Scarlett?" Leislet muttered confusedly. She didn''t know how Scarlett was able to find their location. Not only did she make sure to keep this matter a secret but she also did it in a very short time to reduce any kind of suspicion about it.

    But, somehow, she is now standing in front of her with a very angry expression and a cold re.

    "You fucking bitch." She said,

    "Not only did you hide Acht away but you also didn''t tell me where you went with him. If it wasn''t for me searching for you then you would''ve kept him hidden. I knew I couldn''t trust a lying bitch like you.

    Leislet didn''t like the way she insulted her and used her of lying. She didn''t say anything about the matter because of the severity of any piece of information leaking and potentially could end up sending Acht to court.

    "I did it for his best. You can''t me me for doing the right thing."

    "A sly bitch would always be a sly bitch. I thought after everything we went through together that we somehow became friends but I ended up being naive thinking that was the case." Scarlett replied.

    <o>,m "I know that deep down you wanted to keep him all for yourself."</o>

    "Haah? Well of course, why wouldn''t I do that? Acht and I are happy together."

    "Happy together?"

    Leislet puffed up her massive chest and replied proudly.

    "Yes, we are living together like a married couple. We had so much fun until you showed up now and ruined our happy love life."

    "Like hell I will believe that! You? Acht? Love life? What a stupid joke. Don''t make meugh." Scarlett said with a scoff.

    She couldn''t believe that Acht would actually be already in love with Leislet. She knew him very well and such an oue was close to impossible.

    "I don''t care if you believe it or not, it''s the case. Now, if you don''t mind, go away and leave us alone."

    Scarlett tapped her hands together and said.

    "Ah yeah. Sorry to interrupt you guys. Ok, I will go now. Goodbye." She then started walking away.

    Leislet felt weird about her behavior but she still closed the door nevertheless.

    But, as she was about to turn around to walk away.

    *BOOOM*

    The door was blown into smithereens. Scarlett had jumped and double-kicked the door, destroying it into pieces in the process.

    "Like hell, I would say that, bitch. You think I will just walk away after I finally found him? You might as well forget about that possibility." She said as she pulled out her sword with a very angry expression.

    "Oh, wanna fight now? I will fucking kill you here and then end the problem!" Leislet replied as she pulled out her wand.

    Then, both of them rushed toward each other with a loud shout.

    But, before they could sh violently. A person appeared in the middle and threw the two weapons without touching them.

    The two were slightly surprised by Acht''s sudden appearance but they still didn''t say anything. It was because his face alone made their faces pale considerably.

    "What¡­the fuck are you doing, you two?" He asked with a calm tone. But, behind that calmness was a very cold tone that chilled them to the bone.

    Acht then looked at the door and added.

    "You think this is a fucking battlefield? It''s a normal house. Blowing up the door will only make vigers be wary of us and maybe even kick us out. Have some self-control." He said.

    Scarlett nodded her head with clear embarrassment and then apologize.<sub> </sub>

    "I didn''t think about that. Wait, I will fix it now." She said,

    "No need to do that. Just be aware of your own actions. Anywaye inside to talk, we can''t make any more noise."

    He left those words before he walked to the living room.

    Scarlett nodded her head and then red at Leislet secretly. Thetter also red back at her.

    "Don''t start another fight?" He added from the other room as if he predicted what exactly could happen at any given moment between the two women.

    "Tsk." They clicked their tongues at the same time and then followed him to the living rooms silently.

    ''What a troublesome morning. Sigh, I can already predict where this is going.'' He thought.

    His rtionship with Scarlett hadn''t been the most stable one. He didn''t know whether he should treat her as an acquaintance or just ignore herpletely.

    She had already apologized before so he didn''t think much about it at the time but it was still slightly awkward.

    "So, from what I heard. You found this ce after searching for me? I can assume that you also want to stay here?" He said with his hand on his forehead.

    Scarlett put her hand on herp and nodded bashfully as if she was a small girl asking permission to buy some candy. It was a cute gesture to see.

    "Sigh, you know that this house is not for you guys to stay at. Leislet is already preparing her own house and you should if you want to stay here. I have no right to force you out of this vige anyway."

    "Can I¡­stay here until I build a house?" She asked hesitantly

    "No!" Leislet shouted.

    "Sigh, fine, whatever. But, if both of you fight or cause a ruckus I will make sure to kick you both out of the vige and never allow you back here ever again. Understand?"

    "But, Acht¡­"

    "I said, understand?" He repeated his words.

    Leislet sighed and nodded her head before secretly ring daggers at Scarlett who was holding herself from jumping in the air from happiness.

    ''Fuck, everything is now ruined because of this bitch. Fuck! This is the worst! The fucking worst! Goddammit!'' Leiselt cursed inside her head.

    She could barely hold her boiling rage from exploding. It was all out of her control and she hated that.

    But, at the same time, she didn''t want to make Acht hate her. She already worked hard to make him get closer and closer to her and any small mistakes could ruin everything she built up during these months.

    So, with gritted teeth, she looked at Scarlett and said with a fake smile.

    "Wee here, Mrs. Scarlett." She said,

    "Oh, well thank you for your courtesy, Mrs. Leislet. Let''s have a good time together." Scarlett replied with the same fake smile.

    But, Acht could already see the sparks of electricity going back and forth between them.

    ''I hope they don''t cause trouble or my peaceful life will be ruined.'' He thought with a sigh before walking to the kitchen to make breakfast and prepare himself for the long day.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 217 Chapter 217

    Acht then cooked a simple breakfast for three people. He didn''t make it an extravagant breakfast because he didn''t want to tire himself out before the start of the day.

    Today, he was supposed to start nning for his own library. He had always desired to do such a thing and now that he was finally about to do it, he felt thrilled about it.

    It was something many would consider simple and even boring for a person like Acht to desire this much. However, as abnormal as his life could be, he was a very simple person when ites to what he liked and hated.

    "Did you two do anything?" He asked as he came back to the living room with three tes.

    "No¡­" Leislet replied as she averted her eyes for a split second.

    Acht saw that abnormality and immediately knew she was lying so he just said.

    "You suck at lying. Also, my warning is for real. If any one of you does something that annoys me or anyone who lives in the vige then I will kick you out."

    He said before handing them the te. His words made them pale considerably but still took the tes and started eating silently.

    "Sigh, what a headache." He muttered as he also sat down and started eating.

    " So, Scarlett. May I know how you found this ce?" He asked.

    Scarlett gulped down the food and then said.

    "At first, I had to deal with the aftermath of the war in my region so it took me some time to actually look around. But, I was able to find out where this bitc-...Ehem, I mean, where Leislet went and I predicted that it might be the ce where you went." She replied.

    "I see¡­You guys sometimes scare me with your actions." He said with a casual tone.

    He had already grown familiar with how these women thought and how they could do anything to get what they want.

    "Heheheh, I do what I have to do," Scarlett said, chuckling.

    As for Leislet, she just ate her food and didn''t say anything. However, her eyes were going back and forth between Acht and Scarlett. She was ring so intensely that she might''ve poked holes in both of them.

    ''What kind of mood is this?! Dammit, this sly whore is already trying to snatch him away. Should I assassinate her secretly and then hide it? No, Acht would know right away. Maybe I should make her leave because of a mission or something like that? Fuck, I forgot that I retired so I don''t have any control over the hunter association.'' Leislet thought to herself.

    She couldn''t find a way to get rid of Scarlett without making Acht discover her n. It was also quite risky to do something like that when they were in such a ce and could even ruin their lives here.

    Seeing how she was lost, her head started hurting from excessive thinking and she had to grit her teeth to calm down.

    "Are you ok, Slu-...I mean, Leislet? Should I get you a cup of water?" Scarlett said with a nice smile.

    But, Leislet could see a pure evil and mockery behind that smile. However, she can''t just start another fight so she smiled back fakely.

    "No, not really. I''m fine." She replied.

    "You two¡­Sigh." Acht said before sighing and standing up.

    Then, he walked to Leislet and pulled her hand, making her stand up.

    ''W-W-What?'' Both of them thought at the same time with the same shocked looks.

    "Since you finished your food. Could you find if the chief has a piece ofnd where I could build the library?" He asked with a soft tone.

    Leislet froze in her ce and didn''t reply quickly. Her eyes were glued to their hands that were connected now.

    "Hmm? Leislet?" He said confusedly.

    "Y-Y-Yes!!! I will go now!!" She basically shouted before she barged out of the house like a train.<sub> </sub>

    "Heheh." Acht chuckled before looking back at Scarlett and returning to his calm look.

    "Now that we are alone. I have some things I want to talk about with you." He said.

    Scarlett gulped before straightening her posture.

    "First of all, I would like to apologize for my previous misunderstanding. It was a miscalction from my side. I hope you can understand that." He said.

    "No! You don''t have to apologize! It was totally normal to think like that when you are chased by everyone. I am happy that everything is fine now." She said,

    "I see. Are you still going to join the academy? I recall you mentioning something like that before."

    "Ah, yes. I was nning to do so."

    "Good¡­As you can see, I am trying toy low for a while. So, the matter of the academy thing isn''t going to be something viable to do anytime soon. I may enroll there 5 or so yearster. That''s the time I am thinking of staying here for." He said.

    "Ah, the academy won''t start any time soon either. Because of the war, it is basically destroyed so it will take some time to rebuild. 5 years is actually a good time."

    Acht nodded his head and stood up.

    "Anyway, you can take a room from the ones left. They aren''t that big but they are good enough. I will have to leave now for some matters."

    "Ok." She replied.

    Acht then walked out and went to the vige. There, he found Leislet talking with the chief.

    She had a big smile on her face and the chief was also smiling widely. Even though he was an old man, Acht could see him peeking at Leislet''s figure secretly.

    It was something normal considering Leislet''s unbelievable sex appeal toward the opposite gender.

    But, for some reason, Acht was slightly annoyed seeing something like that. He didn''t know why but he still followed his instincts.

    "Good morning." He said.

    The old man stopped looking at Leislet with his lustful eyes and gazed at Acht with a warm smile.

    "Good morning, young man." He said.

    "Listen, Ach-...Cero, the chief seems to have a good ce to build a small library. I am so happy!" She said jumping up and down.

    Her action made her boobs jiggle loudly. Acht immediately checked the old man and expectedly, he was eyeing her secretly.

    So, to make him stop, he unleashed a very small amount of his aura at him. The old man felt a chill down his spine and looked around him.

    "Why did it suddenly turn cold? The sun is there." He muttered before he immediately excused himself and walked away.

    "Fuuh." Acht exhaled slightly and looked at Leislet with a smile.

    She was still jumping up and down in celebration and didn''t see this small interaction between Acht and the old man.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 218 Chapter 218

    As Acht was standing there with Leislet, Mia came toward them. However, her usual smile was nowhere to be seen.

    Her face was actually quite grim and angry to some extent. Acht saw that but didn''t ask her about it since it wasn''t his business at all.

    When she was close enough, she said quietly.

    "Good morning."

    Acht nodded briefly. Her eyes lingered on him for a few seconds with aplicated look then she looked at Leislet and said the same thing.

    Leislet saw the abnormality in her actions and felt like something was wrong and she somehow had a hunch who the source of this problem was. It was the person Mia was now gazing at again with a weird look.

    It was a look of a girl that was clearly having an interest in a boy. She knew that fact because she has the same look whenever she looks at Acht.

    So, she smiled slightly and said.

    "Mia, could you please give us a moment?" She asked softly.

    Mia was confused at first but still epted her request and walked away. Leiselt then looked back at Acht and said with a displeased tone.

    "Why is she like that?"

    "Hm?" He tilted his head.

    "You know what I mean. Did you do something to her?" She asked again.

    "Hmm, I don''t think so. I didn''t even talk with her that much." He said as he tried to recall something.

    Leislet kept looking at him. His face now was the fake one he made which was pretty average. Immediately, she had a suspicion.

    "Did you show her your real face?" She asked.

    Acht thought for a moment as he remembered what happened a few days ago before nodding.

    "Now that I recall, yeah I did. That girl has some weird powers in her eyes and she was able to discover my secret easily. I had no choice but to show her my face." He said.

    Leislet looked down and went silent for a long time. Acht didn''t know why but he felt as if he was now in big trouble.

    "Mm, Leislet?" He muttered her name but thetter didn''t say anything.

    So, he touched her shoulder.

    "Oii. Are you dead?" He asked jokingly.

    But, when she lifted her face, her eyes were wide open. But, inside them, he couldn''t see anything except emptiness.

    Instinctively, he started retreating because he felt clear danger from those eyes.

    "What''s wrong?"

    Leislet finally spoke.

    "You idiot! Acht is a dense idiot!" She said,

    "Heeeeh?" He muttered.

    "What do you mean?"

    "You are a dense idiot! The biggest idiot in this entire world!!" She said,

    "As I said, what are you on about? Are you high?"

    "No, I am angry! Very angry! Can''t you see how handsome you are? Do you think this world is a game?! Have some self-awareness!"

    ''Why am I getting lectured now?!'' He thought as he retreated. Leislet was closing the distance between them with her fists clenched tightly.

    "Leislet, calm down." He said.

    "How can I calm down when you are acting like this?! I might have to beat some sense into you!" She said as she started running toward him.<sub> </sub>

    "Oii! Stop." He said before running away.

    Neither of them used their soul force as to now rise suspicion from the others but they were still pretty fast.

    ''She totally went nuts!'' The boy thought as he looked behind him. Leislet was on his pursuit with a very creepy face.

    She looked as if she was about to kill him on the spot if she caught him which made him run even faster.

    The two passed beside the fields where the vigers were working. They saw the two running like that and waved their hands toward them.

    They thought that they were ying around.

    "Young people and their energy, hehehe. Ah, I miss my old days." An old man said with a small smile.

    "You are still young, grandpa." A young boy replied as he grabbed the hem of his clothes.

    "Oh, you think so. Well, thank you." He said as he patted his head.

    ''This is not the time for something like that! Fuck, she is tenacious!''

    The two ran from the vige center to the outskirts in less than 50 seconds. Acht didn''t know where to go any further.

    So, he stopped and turned around.

    "Prepare yourself! I will make you understand your own charm! The rough way that is!" She said,

    "Wait, Leislet. Let''s talk. Ok, I did something bad. I am well aware now. Can we call it off now?" He said hurriedly.

    "No! You need to get punished!"

    ''Does she really wanna beat me up?! Fuck, what should I do? I can''t use Gravity here. Think, think!''

    Then, luckily, an idea popped into his head. But, coincidentally, Leislet was already on the move to hit him.

    "How about a date? We can go on a date if you stop this stupid shit!"

    *Swish*

    In a moment, Leislet stopped her movement. Her fist was barely a few centimeters away from Acht''s face. Her expression also changed in a split second from anger and insanity to a blushing smile.

    Then, she started fidgeting with her fingers as if she was a shy small girl.

    "R-Really? Oh, Acht. You didn''t have to go that far." She said.

    ''Of course, I needed to or I would''ve had to spend my next week in bed!'' He almost shouted.

    "Are you really going on a date with me? Promise?"

    "Promise." He said after a long sigh.

    "Yayyy! Date! Date! We are going on a date!!"

    Leislet started jumping up and down happily before stopping.

    "Oh, how silly of me! We need to first build the library and then we could talk about the date. Ok, let''s get to work, darling!"

    Then, she walked away while humming happily.

    "I am not your darling." Acht clicked his tongue before following her silently.

    Even though it was only morning, he felt as if he had the most hectic and long day ever.

    ''Should I just go back to sleep?''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 219 Chapter 219

    The duo then went to check the piece ofnd they needed for building the library. It was luckily not surrounded by many houses and was generally quiet around there.

    "This ce is perfect. Now, we need to n the design and then get some wood and start working."

    Leislet smiled when she heard him before puffing her chest up proudly as she said.

    "Now that you mentioned it. I have been working on a few designs as a surprise for you. Wanna take a look?"

    Acht nodded his head with a small smile. It was very convenient that she did something like that. He didn''t do much when it came to designing since he wasn''t good at drawing at all.

    It was one of his rare skills that he wasn''t good at at all. He could never really draw something remotely considered beautiful by anyone which haunted him for ages.

    He had tried to train himself in that area countless times before but never really saw any improvement which made him lose hope in it.

    "Ok, let me see. This one is my first one." She said as she handed him a blueprint from her dimensional ring.

    Acht took a look at the design and nodded his head. It looked really beautiful and well-drawn. It even ticked all of the ideas that he wanted to put in this building.

    However, one small thing made him immediately shred the blueprint to pieces.

    "Why did you do that?!" Leislet screamed as she tried to catch the blueprint pieces before they fell down to the ground.

    "Why is there a massive ''Eternal love'' dug into the building?" He asked.

    Leislet stood up again and smiled.

    "Oh, silly Acht. It was obviously a sign for our rtionship." She said,

    "Ok, now I am d that I shredded that blueprint to pieces." He said.

    "Horrible!! Horrible! You are just horrible, Acht." She said as she started crying fakely.

    Acht sighed and asked for the second blueprint.

    "If this one has anything stupid like that then forget about helping me in building this."

    "F-Fine. I predicted that you would say that so I made one without that." She said,

    The next blueprint was slightly different from the first one but still looked very beautiful. Acht made sure to check for any stupid pranks in the design but he could see none of them.

    So, he nodded his head.

    "This one seems good to me. Ok, let''s start working quickly. We need tons of wood and other things."

    He then looked inside his spatial ring for all the materials he needed. He had everything needed for the building except for some minor things that he could find easily in this vige.

    Then, the two finally started working on building the library. It was a simple process where they nted big logs into the ground that would work as pirs for the building.

    Then, they started linking them with each other to create the foundation.

    The two, being extremely powerful, didn''t really find it difficult toplete this process in less than an hour.

    As they were working like that, Scarlett came toward them.

    "I''m here to help." She said.

    The three then started working together.

    Leislet clenched her teeth and decided to do something akin to a prank. She used the massive log in her hand to swing it toward Scarlett who didn''t sense it.

    *Bang*

    "Oops. My bad. I didn''t see you there." She said with fake concern.<sub> </sub>

    Scarlett touched the back of her head and then red at Leislet.

    ''You fucking slut!''

    ''Hehehe, you get what you deserve, bitch.''

    The two transmitted their emotions through their eyes and were able to understand each other easily.

    "You two, cut it off and concentrate on working. I want this building done by tomorrow morning." He said.

    "Yes!" The two said at the same time before ring at each other again. From this interaction alone, they looked like two sisters that always prank each other.

    It was weird yet also somehow fun to watch from the side.

    After that, the process continued swiftly. The coordination between the three was just phenomenal. They were able to basically finish 80% of the building by sunset.

    Acht wiped the umted sweat on his face and then looked at his work. Under the orange color of the sun, he could see a very mesmerizing small building.

    It was somehow even more beautiful for him than all the extravagant hotels and massive castles he saw before. This one had some kind of special thing about it. Maybe it was because he was the one to build it or maybe because it was his own work.

    Then, he looked at Leislet and Scarlett who were sitting down sipping some water to cool down. Working under the sun wasn''t easy even for awakeners like them. But it was still so much fun for them so they didn''tin at all.

    Acht''s eyes were instinctively drawn to something particrly eye-catching.

    Because of sweating, Leislet and Scarlett''s clothes became wet and that made them slightly see-through. Acht could clearly see their breasts behind the clothes as they were well defined.

    The more important thing however was that they weren''t wearing bras at all.

    ''Why aren''t they wearing bras? Sigh, fucking perverts.'' He thought as he looked to the side.

    What he didn''t know is that both of them deliberately didn''t wear bras just so that he could see that. He can''t say anything since it could be considered an ident, nothing more nothing less.

    '', Lucky ident.'' They thought.

    However, what ruined this for them was the fact that both of them thought of the same thing.

    "Slut."

    "Bitch."

    They both said to each other secretly.

    It didn''t seem that they would ever be friends. They just hated each other a lot and that fact won''t change if they were both still trying to snatch Acht away.

    "Ok, let''s wrap up for today. We can continue tomorrow." Acht said.

    The two nodded and left the ce after him. They returned to their home after a long day.

    However, there was something they had been waiting for since morning.

    ''I must take a bath with him!'' They thought with determined looks.

    It was now another battlefield for them. Who is going to emerge as the winner from it is something only fate will decide.

    ''It''s war, bitch.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 220 Chapter 220

    The group reached their home pretty sweaty. Especially Leislet who was the one who moved the most. Obviously, she wanted to show her worth to Acht and make Scarlett lookzy even if it was by little.

    Scarlett tried to keep up with her but Leislet had the advantage of knowing the design by heart since she was the one to draw it. This made her aware of what to do by order without having to check the blueprint that much in contrast to Scarlett who had to check it very often to be able to know what to do.

    "You can both go first. I will be thest one to take a bath." Acht said.

    Leislet and Scarlett looked at each other for a split moment before they spoke at the same time.

    "You can go first."

    "Yes, as she said. You worked hard and you deserve a good shower."

    Acht squinted his eyes as he looked at them. He instantly knew they were going to do something fishy. But, he still nodded his head nevertheless.

    ''I will make sure to lock the door properly and increase its weight.'' He thought as he smiled secretly.

    They were way too naive to think that he didn''t see their weird behavior.

    Then, he walked away, picked up some new clothes, and then entered the bath.

    Meanwhile, Leislet and Scarlett also prepared themselves.

    "What are you doing, Slut?"

    "That''s my question, bitch. What are you doing?" They asked each other as they stood in the middle of the living room, wearing bikinis.

    Leislet scoffed as she looked at Scarlett''s body. Even though she was a very beautiful woman, when it came to the body, Leislet was simply in another dimension.

    Her breasts, her ass, and her whole figure were so perfect that they almost were too good to be true. She was akin to a goddess carved out of the finest jade and created to be the most beautiful woman in existence.

    So, seeing that, she smiled and said,

    "Are you seriously thinking of seducing him with that loathsome body of yours? I am sure a fat pig is more attractive than you." Leislet made sure to jiggle her big boobs just to emphasize her point.

    Scarlett gritted her teeth in anger and retorted.

    "Hahah, look at your uselessly big, cow-looking boobs. I am sure that they could be used as weapons with how big they are. No one would want to go near those two massive lumps of meat. They look scary!"

    Leislet felt her face grow hot with anger.

    "Wanna fight, bitch? Let''s end it here." She said.

    "I can''t agree more. Killing a slut like you would be something amazing."

    However, their auras suddenly froze when they heard a familiar sound.

    *Ssh*

    It was the sound of Acht entering the bath. Immediately, their imaginations ran wild as they imagined the current scene behind the doors.

    Then, without thinking, they approached the door quietly and put their ears on the door.

    They made sure to hide their auras as much as possible from Acht.

    All they could hear was the sound of water moving slowly. It was a very low sound that was barely audible at all.

    Then, Leislet took a deep breath as she tried to extend her hand to the door handle. She wanted to open the door and enter.

    However, Scarlett stopped her.

    "I won''t allow you." She shouted quietly.

    "Fuck off!" Thetter replied.

    Leislet tried to yank her hand off from Scarlett''s grip. And just like that, for the next few moments, they fought each other silently.

    Even though they wanted to fight right there and then, they had to keep in mind Acht''s words.

    "Sigh¡­ok, how about we calm down and try to reach an agreement."

    "What do you mean?"

    "We can enter the bath together and then whoever could seduce Acht is the winner. The winner can also punish the loser, how about that?" Leislet said.<sub> </sub>

    Scarlett fell in deep thought as she weighed the pros and cons of such an idea.

    Then, she exhaled loudly and nodded her head in agreement.

    "Prepare to lose. I am going to drive him crazy with my sensual body and great looks."

    "Dream on, bitch. Be careful, you might suffocate him with your breasts."

    Then, the two put their hands on the handle and tried to push the door open.

    "Hm?"

    Somehow, it didn''t move at all. They tried a few times but it didn''t work at all.

    ''Dammit, he locked the door. How smart of him!'' They thought.

    No one was there to tell them that this was basicmon sense to lock the door when taking a bath but that wasn''t the problem at all.

    Seeing how the situation was, they looked at each other and nodded.

    "Acht, open the door," Leislet said softly.

    "Huh?" He replied from behind the doors.

    "Open the door, please."

    "Did you go mad? Of course, I won''t open the door." He eximed.

    "Just open the door! We want to take a bath with you!" Scarlett said.

    "You both are really a bunch of perverts! No means no!"

    "Ok, you didn''t give us any other choice. Slut¡­.I mean, Scarlett, blow up the door."

    "What the fuck?"

    "Ok." Scarlett nodded.

    "Oi! Stop, I swear if any of you blow up the door I will kick you out!" He shouted.

    "Come on, Acht. We won''t be doing anything shady, we would just take a bath and leave without any single problem."

    "Yes, yes. We will just wash ourselves and then leave. We will also keep our bikinis on. Consider it a public bath or a sauna."

    "No!"

    The boy kept persisting on his own answer. There was simply no way he would open the door for them.

    That was akin to giving himself away to two predators that will eat him whole.

    "I see. Ok, we will blow up the door." She said,

    "Try it! You won''t be able to enter."

    "Hahah, we will see."

    After that, Scarlett ignited her palm with fire. Then, she put the fire against the door handle and sted it through, breaking the handle easily and also unlocking the door.

    "Ok, here wee."

    The two said and pushed the door. But, it still didn''t move at all. The door was still closed tightly.

    "Wait, did you use gravity?! That''s not fair. You are cheating!"

    "This is not a fucking game!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 221 Chapter 221

    Acht''sst words were like a war announcement. It was these two women against Acht who would try with everything he had to not let them enter the bath.

    Even though they knew how many tricks he had up his sleeve and that he could stop them easily if he wanted to, Leislet and Scarlett wouldn''t just give up that easily.

    *Bam*

    Leislet shoved her leg into the door, creating a hole inside the door. It was easy to break since it was basically made out of wood.

    ''You think I will allow you to do whatever you want. Ooze.'' Acht thought as he summoned ooze and made it block the door with a heavyyer of defense.

    It was already plenty hard to open this door but with ooze now, it was even harder.

    But, Leislet kept hitting the door with punches and kicks continuously. She didn''t seem to be giving up even though ooze was not getting damaged at all. The secret for that was because Acht made ooze change shape ording to Leislet''s hits. That way, it could absorb the hit with minimal damage.

    "You won''t enter so stop trying!" He said to try and persuade her from attempting to infiltrate the bathroom.

    But, Leislet kept hitting the door relentlessly.

    "I will enter inside. You just wait!" She said,

    Acht sighed and stood up to walk to his clothes. But, the moment he made one step, he felt a presence behind him. So, quickly, he looked back and jumped in the air.

    Much to his surprise, Scarlett was the one who sneakily attacked him. He didn''t understand how she was able to enter the bathroom even though the door was blocked.

    ''Fuck! The window! I forgot the window.'' He clenched his teeth as he looked at the open window.

    He had focused on the door and forgot the window that was also possible to open.

    After doing a flip in the air, Acht grabbed the towels that were close to him and quickly wore them. It was so fast that Scarlett couldn''t see it clearly.

    "You guys are fucking insane." He said with a re.

    "You were the one who made it harder for us. We were just intending to take a bath together." The woman replied mischievously.

    "And I refused. You guys don''t take a no for an answer."

    "Bingo." She said and dashed toward him.

    Acht clicked his tongue in annoyment since Scarlett seemed to be hell bent on making his bath a pain in the ass through and through.

    Then, without waiting, he jumped in the air and flew to the ceiling.

    Scarlett smiled and jumped in the air, reaching the ceiling easily.

    *Bam*

    Acht tried to kick her down again but ended up shing with her hand that tried to reach and grab him.

    Their contact didn''tst for long as the boy retreated and looked at his clothes. He had to take those and get out of the bathroom.

    His only good bet is the window which is open now. He could escape from there. If he was able to dodge Scarlett''s attacks that is.

    So, with that in mind, he floated back down and dashed toward his clothes.

    "Oh no, you won''t." She said and sted a fireball toward the clothes.

    "No!" He yelled loudly.

    ''If the fireball hits the clothes then they will get burned to ashes.

    *Swish*

    Acht had no choice but to use Gravity to increase his speed. Luckily, he reached the clothes before the fireball.

    *BOOM*<sub> </sub>

    The fireball reached him the next moment and exploded basically in his face.

    ''Did it hit him? I should''ve not taken it that far.'' Scarlett''s face paled considerably as she thought she ended up harming Acht by mistake.

    But, much to her surprise, Acht emerged from the cloud of ck smoke unscathed. He rushed to the side before jumping on the wall.

    Then, with both of his legs, he kicked the wall creating a huge boost of speed.

    *Bam*

    Like a bullet, he passed beside Scarlett and went directly toward the window.

    ''Good.'' He thought as he saw himself getting out easily.

    But, it didn''t seem to be that easy of a task as the moment he reached the window, Leislet was there to wee him. Her smirk made him frown even harder.

    "Checkmate." She muttered as she opened her arms wide to catch him in her embrace.

    Acht cursed under his breath and tried to stop himself from flying straight toward her chest. But, because of the speed he was going at, he couldn''t stop himself at all.

    ''Fuck. I guess I have no other choice.'' He thought as he sighed loudly.

    Finally, Acht reached Leislet and she grabbed him and hugged him tightly, not allowing him to escape at all.

    "Hehehe,e on, Acht. Why are you this stubborn? We can enjoy the bath¡­together. I can wash your back if you want. It will definitely feel goood~" she whispered in his ear before nibbling on it lightly.

    That small nibble on the ear could send any man to insanity but for some reason, Acht didn''t show any reaction at all. He just didn''t move at all.

    This made Leislet feel that something weird was going on.

    After that, as if her suspicions were real, Acht''s hands moved at the speed of light and grabbed her breasts.

    *Boing* *Boing*

    A soft feeling invaded Acht''s senses. Touching Leislet''s breasts was a very good feeling for some reason but he didn''t allow himself to lose focus.

    It wasn''t even a small touch but he cupped them easily and fondled them roughly.

    "Ah~ W-What?" Leislet moaned slightly from the sudden weird feeling she sensed in her chest. Her face also blushed furiously.

    That touch alone, even though was rough, made her feel a tickle in her lower abdomen for some reason.

    But that wasn''t the end, Acht grabbed her bras and pulled them down, revealing her bare breasts to the world.

    Her pink and beautiful nipples coupled with her big breasts was just a sight to be seen. It was so beautiful and perfect that it was just basically something that shouldn''t exist. Even Scarlett could only appreciate such a sight.

    "Kyaaa~" Leislet screamed loudly and covered her boobs. However, what she didn''t think of was that when she did that she unintentionally released Acht.

    Thetter didn''t waste time and immediately ran to the window before jumping out of it, escaping the ce.

    "W-What?! You little!!" Leislet shouted again with an embarrassed look.

    She couldn''t believe Acht would do that to her without asking first. She was very happy but also angry that it was only a means for him to escape.

    "That''s cheating¡­" She murmured.

    As for Scarlett, she just froze in her ce with widened eyes. Her only thought at that moment was¡­.

    ''Why was I not in her ce?!''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 222 Chapter 222

    After he ran away, Leislet and Scarlett took a bath and got out of the bath. However, the moment they stepped out, two punches weed them happily.

    *Bang* *Bang*

    "Ahh!"

    "Ouch!!"

    They both screamed in pain and grabbed their heads before looking up. There, Acht stood up with his hands crossed in front of him. His aura was calm yet also raging violently. His eyes also had a glint of coldness to them.

    They both immediately knew.

    ''Acht is pissed.'' They thought as they gulped down a mouthful of saliva nervously.

    "You two¡­turn around." He said.

    "W-What?" They said at the same time with a nervous smile. They genuinely didn''t know why he asked them to turn around.

    "I said turn the fuck around!" He repeated his words with a threatening voice.

    The twoplied immediately in fright and turned around.

    "Ok, now crouch on all fours just like a pig." He said.

    "A-Acht.." Leislet tried to speak with her face sweating profusely. She was very scared of what he was intending to do.

    "Do I have to repeat my words? Do it now!"

    "Y-Yes!"

    For some reason, they felt that if they didn''tply with his orders something even worse would happen. It was just an intuition but it was most likely spot on considering how angry Acht was.

    So, with pale faces, they crouched down and went on all fours. Their plump butts were now in front of Acht.

    "So, not only did you ruin my bath, but you also broke the door and the window, almost destroyed my clothes, and also tried to catch me. Wow! I apud your audacity. You truly exceeded my expectations."

    He then approached them slowly, taking one step at a time.

    "This shows me that my orders in this house are not getting fulfilled. Fine, I will have to engrave these rules into your skills again and again until you understand."

    "W-Wait Ach-"

    "Shut up when I talk."

    "O-Ok," Scarlett replied and then eyed Leislet secretly.

    ''What should we do? We messed up!'' She said with her eyes.

    ''I don''t know! Prepare yourself for the punishment. He can''t be stopped now.''

    ''Oh no! We should''ve not done this. It was all your idea you fucking bitch.''

    ''Are you stupid? It was clearly your idea to break the door and also the window! Take responsibility.''

    As they shared thoughts like that, Acht reached them and then did something totally unexpected.

    He sat down on Leislet''s back and put his legs on Scarlett''s back.

    "You two for the next few hours will move me from one ce to another on your backs. Noints and no nagging. I will show you how to behave like normal humans. That''s why you will start from being domesticated animals! Now, move!!"

    The two gulped down and started moving slowly. They didn''t get why but this punishment was very underwhelming for them.

    They expected way too much extreme stuff but this was nothing from what they expected.

    ''He doesn''t know.'' Leislet thought as she moved slowly.<sub> </sub>

    She actually didn''t hate this position at all. Feeling Acht''s weight on her back was enjoyable for some reason. She wasing closer and closer to understanding that she had some Masochistic tendencies.

    As for Scarlett, she was also not that against the idea of this punishment at all.

    ''A curse turned out to be a blessing, hehe.'' They thought.

    "Sigh, am I even gonna be able to live a normal life here? I guess time will only tell." Acht muttered as he looked from the window at the dark sky with aplicated look.

    **************************

    5 yearster,

    The sun rose from the horizon and illuminated the whole world with its golden rays. Every living being opened their eyes and weed the new day that came.

    In a rural vige, a young man wasying on his bed, sleeping peacefully.

    His amazingly handsome face made him look even more captivating than anything in this world. A fine ck hair made out of the strands of night. A perfectly shaped, pale white face that was beyond anything humans could possess. Thin lips and perfect eyebrows.

    He was the epitome of beauty.

    This young man''s eyes got assaulted by the sun''s rays and made him open them revealing two pairs of clear azure blue eyes.

    "Umm." He murmured slightly and looked to his side in a daze.

    He had a familiar extra weight on his body. There were actually two other people sharing his bed, sleeping silently.

    He rubbed his eyes and released himself from the two women that were hugging him tightly as if he was a teddy bear or a pillow and sneaked out of the bed.

    "They really sleep through anything. They somehow were two leaders of great status." He muttered with his slightly deeper voice now.

    Then, he left the two women sleeping and walked to the bathroom. He washed his face and then looked in the mirror.

    Over thest 5 years, Acht had grown considerably. His height is now 6 feet and his muscles became even more defined and perfect.

    He somehow became even more attractive even though he was already devilishly handsome before. He was now basically an overkill which also gave him a headache because of how inconvenient it was.

    He can''t just walk near normal people or he would cause a ruckus and women might even faint, literally.

    "Am I even a human anymore?" He muttered with a long sigh. Good looks turn into curses when they be too much.

    Then, he started brushing his teeth, ignoring his face in the mirror.

    "Mm, Acht~ why did you leave the bed?" Azy voice called for him before his hands hugged him from behind.

    He could also feel two big soft lumps of meat squish his back.

    "You don''t usually wake up this early, Leislet." He said casually as if this was not the first time she hugged from behind.

    "Mm, I lost my cute pillow and now I felt empty so I woke up toe and hug you." She said with a soft and loving tone.

    "Hehehe, I am not a pillow, you know. Anyway, what about Scarlett? Did she wake up? We need to get some new books for the library." He said.

    "Humph, that bitch is still snoring like a panda there. Let her sleep and we can go to the library¡­Alone~" She whispered thest word close to his ear with her hot, breathy voice.

    "No. We need a few more hands to move the books. Wake her up for breakfast." He said as he released himself from her grip and walked to the kitchen.

    Leislet clicked her tongue and red at Scarlett.

    "Ok¡­I will wake her up¡­Calmly." She said with a mysterious tone.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 223 Chapter 223

    Leislet was intending to do a prank on Scarlett who was still sleeping on the bed, oblivious to whatever bad schemes Leislet was nning.

    Thetter approached the bed and then spoke up with a deep voice.

    "Oi, Scarlett, wake up." She said with a voice that resembled that of Acht. It wasn''t very simr but close enough to trick a sleepy person.

    The trick seemed to work as Scarlett opened her mouth and murmured.

    "Just one minute, Acht."

    Leislet smirked widely and replied.

    "I see, so you won''t give me a kiss then?" She said with a disappointed tone.

    This was more than enough to make Scarlettprehend that something was wrong but the word kiss made her brain ignore the whole sentence all together.

    So, with closed eyes, she muttered.

    "Ok, I will give you a kiss. Come closer." She said,

    Leislet''s smile became even more pronounced as she fought the urge tough out loud.

    Then, she lifted her leg up and brought it near Scarlett''s face. The other also pursed her lips ready to kiss Acht.

    "Kiss my feet, bitch!" Leislet shouted and shoved her feet into Scarlett''s face roughly making her open her eyes widely.

    Immediately, she tried to grab Leislet''s leg but the other was faster and retracted her leg quickly.

    "Cough, cough¡­you fucking slut!" Scarlett cursed as she touched her mouth. It was very painful and almost broke one of her teeth.

    "You get what you fucking deserve." Leislet chuckled loudly and ran away before Scarlett caught her.

    "Come here, you coward!"

    "Nope, hehehe."

    The two ran across the whole house in a game of cat and mouse. Scarlett even took a pillow and threw it at Leislet with all of her strength.

    A pillow was a harmless weapon but if you add the raw power at which it wasunched then it might not be something anyone would like to get hit by.

    "Tough luck," Leiselt said and dodged the hit before sending a pillow of hers flying toward Leislet.

    And then, a pillow war ensued in the living room. A rain of pillows filled the whole room, getting thrown left and right.

    When Acht came back to the living room, he found a huge mess. However, he didn''t show any reaction at all. This was not the first time this happened and he couldn''t bother to even speak about it.

    "You two, time for breakfast. Stop ying." He said as if he was talking to two toddlers.

    The two heard him and clicked their tongues, ring at each other. Then, they left the war unfinished with no clear winner before walking to the table to eat.

    Acht used his gravity powers to organize the room again. In less than 10 seconds, the whole room was back to its original form.

    He then sat down and started eating.

    "How many pillows did you guys even buy? This is way too much." Hemented.

    Leislet shook her head and replied.

    "I didn''t do that. This idiot did."

    "Are you dumb? You were the one who bought 10 pillows." Scarlett retorted.

    "Yes yes, idiot." Leislet rolled her eyes and ignored herpletely.

    "Sigh, I thought that during 5 years you guys would''ve at least be friends or at least not fight every time youe closer to each other. I guess I was wrong."

    "No way! You are asking for the impossible, Acht! This bitch is my eternal enemy."<sub> </sub>

    "I can''t agree more."

    Acht shook his head and looked at the window. His eyes glown faintly as he eyed the world outside.

    "Somehow, 5 years passed in a breeze. I didn''t even feel the passing of time here. Heh, is that a curse or a blessing?" He muttered under his breath.

    The others heard him and shook their heads with a slightly sad look.

    "True, 5 years passed way too quickly. I never had such a happy time in my life." Leislet murmured with a regretful tone.

    "I guess this shows that no matter how good your life is, it wille to an end at some point," Scarlett added.

    The three fell silent for a good 20 seconds recalling the memories they shared in this ce. They went everywhere and experienced everything this ce had to offer.

    It was indeed a very fun time. Every day was refreshing with new things to do and many things to experience. None of them thought about what the future held for them or what they had to do. They just went with the flow and it worked perfectly.

    Such a life was a pure blessing in every sense of the word.

    "Anyway, finish the food quickly. We have work to do." He said as he picked up his te and walked away.

    A few minutes after that, the three walked out of the house.

    Coincidentally, they met Mia who was alsoing toward the house.

    "Acht!!" She said excitedly and ran closer to him. She then jumped in his embrace.

    Acht smiled and patted her head.

    "Good morning, Mia." He said.

    "Hehehe, good morning." She giggled happily like a puppy and enjoyed his soft pats for a moment. But, her fun time was ruined quickly.

    "Get off him!" Leislet said as she yanked her away.

    "Hey! What are you doing?!" Mia shouted with a re.

    "Don''t hug him like that out of nowhere. Know your ce!" Leislet replied.

    "It''s none of your business. I came here to say hi to Acht."

    "That doesn''t give you the right to hug him!"

    Mia looked at her for a moment before an idea popped into her head. After that, she contorted her face and created fake tears.

    "Acht, hick¡­Leislet is hick¡­bullying me." She said and hugged him again as she cried in his embrace.

    "Sigh, Leislet, she is just a small girl¡­don''t scream at her like that." He said as he patted her head again for her to calm down.

    "But, but¡­"

    "No buts, we need to move now. Stop wasting time like that."

    Leislet felt her anger boil as she looked at Mia. Thetter also looked back at her and with a small smile, she muttered for only Leislet to hear her.

    "Tehee, you get what you deserve." She then ran away following Acht with an innocent smile.

    "You!!!!"

    She could only swallow her anger and walk after them in a very sour mood. She was somehow beaten not by Scarlett but by a small girl.

    Pure humiliation!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 224 Chapter 224

    The group walked to the library idly, greeting everyone they stumbled upon on their way. In thest 5 years, they have all be a part of this smallmunity.

    The good thing here is that everyone here is considered a part of one big happy family. They share everything, happiness, and sadness. It was something you wouldn''t see anywhere else which made it even more precious and rare to find.

    The most liked out of them all was Acht who worked during the few years he was here to make everyone like him and it wasn''t that hard of a task for him to do.

    He worked as a hunter and got them a lot of meat, he also helped them with sickness and other important things during harsh winters and hot weather.

    They all even called him a blessing on this vige. He knew that that wasn''t the case at all but he still felt really happy hearing such words.

    He had never heard these words before at all which made it even more impactful.

    "Ok, we are going to move some books from the storage room." He said as he opened the library''s door and entered inside.

    "It''s easy peasy," Leislet said as she rolled her sleeves with a huge grin.

    "Leave it to me," Scarlett added and peeked at Leislet.

    ''I will finish before you could even move two books.''

    ''Haha, dream on, slut. You will probably have to see the books first with those huge boobs of yours.''

    The two spoke with their eyes expertly without making anyone suspicious.

    Then, the group went to work as they moved books to the shelves. These books were bought from the major cities and bought here.

    Surprisingly, vigers liked the idea and they came to read books enthusiastically. Most of them were illiterate so this was a big help for them which scored even more points for Acht with them.

    It even made Acht earn money even though he never really intended for this small dream of his to start generating money.

    As the group was working, Sali came in rushing through the door. He seemed to be sweating profusely and had a slightly pale face.

    Acht approached him with a confused look. He didn''t understand why he had such a pale face and a scared look.

    "Cero! There is someone asking for you."

    "Someone? Who?" He asked.

    "An armored person. He looks intimidating and also has a sword, he asked for you." Sali exined as he tried to catch his breath.

    Hearing that, Acht''s eyes turned colder as he suspected that it might have been an enemy. So, he secretly readied himself and then walked out.

    Luckily, the others didn''t hear the conversation as they were in the back getting books out. Acht didn''t intend to tell them yet until he took a look by himself.

    The two left and walked to the vige entrance. He saw many people standing slightly far away, looking at the man with scared looks.

    Knights were basically something they don''t see every day so it was very intimidating for them.

    Acht passed these people and approached the man.

    "What business do you have with me?" The boy asked as he inspected the man.

    He was tall, almost 6 feet and 7 inches tall. His body was muscr and he was d in armor from head to toe. He also had a giant sword on his back and a horse by his side.

    The man eyed Acht up and down two before he went to his horse and pulled what seemed to be a letter from his sack.

    "This is your Rmendation Letter for the Soul World Academy. Congrattions and I wish you the best of luck." The man said before he jumped on his horse and started leaving.

    "Hey, wait," Acht said as he had many questions to ask him.

    "What?"

    "I have several questions. You can''t just leave like that."<sub> </sub>

    The man shook his head and said.

    "My apologies, I can''t stay here for long. As for your questions, everything will be answered in that Letter. Now, farewell."

    Then, he left immediately without looking back at all.

    Acht gazed at his back while he disappeared on the horizon. Then, his eyes shifted to the letter in his hand.

    It was a very thick letter, almost 5 centimeters thick.

    But, he didn''t open it at that time and that ce. He had to firste back and show it to Scarlett and Leislet. They knew better than him.

    "Oi, Cero. What is going on? Who is he? What did he give you?" Sali asked nervously.

    Acht turned around and smiled slightly to reassure them.

    "Don''t worry, he is not an enemy. He came here to deliver me a letter. You can all go back to your work." He said.

    Everyone looked at each other before nodding their head. If it was not bad news then that was good enough for them.

    Acht also walked back to the library with many things running through his head.

    How did they know I was here? Did they just track me? Besides that, did I even try to roll in the academy? I can''t recall doing anything.

    Many questions and no answers¡­at least yet. He was hoping the letter would answer all of his worries.

    "Oi, Leislet, Scarlett." He shouted.

    The two came rushing toward him.

    "A knight just came and gave me this letter. A rmendation letter." He said.

    Leislet and Scarlett looked at each other for a moment before they jumped on Acht at the same time, hugging tightly from all sides.

    "Congrattions, Acht." Leislet with a muffled voice, she seemed to have started crying for some reason.

    "Thank God, I can''t believe it worked." Scarlett also said as she teared up.

    "What? What''s going on?" He asked confusedly.

    He didn''t know why they were this emotional and happy about this rmendation letter.

    Leiselt chuckled as she wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled very softly.

    "We hid this from you for a long time. But¡­."

    "But what."

    Leiselt pped her hand and replied.

    "You are no longer a wanted criminal, Acht. Congrattions, this is the happiest moment of my life." She said as tears started falling down her cheeks again.

    She just simply couldn''t contain her happiness at all.

    "Huh, what do you mean?" Acht asked again with an even more confused look.

    His mind still didn''t catch on with her words.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 225 Chapter 225

    "Let me exin. It''s something both of us worked on for the past few years. We didn''t want to tell you to keep it a surprise." Leislet said with a soft smile.

    Acht was still confused but he was catching on. Still, he wanted to hear the full story from Leislet before any deductions.

    So, the group sat down and Acht said,

    "Go ahead. What exactly did both of you do?" He asked.

    Leislet looked at Scarlett before she nodded her head quietly and began.

    "A few years ago, not long after you came here. I talked with Scarlett about your current situation. As you know, you are still a wanted criminal even though you were the person that contributed the most to winning this war. So, we both decided to work on clearing your name."

    She took a deep breath and looked at her hands.

    "I honestly wasn''t that confident that this would work. It was a very hard task to pull off but we didn''t lose hope. If you can remember, I went to Lagradon a few times during the past few years."

    Acht nodded his head as he recalled that fact. She did indeed leave the vige a few times with different excuses. Acht didn''t really think much about that since even though she gave away her position as the president of the hunter association, she was still a very renowned figure in this world and she needed to do certain things from time to time even if she was retired.

    "Anyway, I met all the kings and high-status figures and I tried to persuade them to let this matter off and clear your name. Obviously, they refused and didn''t even think about it at all. I tried multiple times but they didn''t budge at all."

    Her face turned slightly sour.

    "I was close to giving up. But, Scarlett persuaded me to give onest push before fully giving up. So, I did and I even threatened them to nevere work with them again. Then, I fully left the matter in their hands. If they were really to ept my offer then they would ept you enrolling in the academy. And that''s what happened. It''s truly the proudest moment of my life." She said with a blushing smile.

    Scarlett also nodded to her words and looked at Acht waiting for his reaction.

    The boy however didn''t show his face as he looked down. They both felt slightly nervous from the tense silence and waited patiently for what he was going to say.

    However, much to their surprise, Acht didn''t say anything and merely stood up. Then, he walked around the table and halted in front of the two confused women.

    After that, he swiftly wrapped his hands around them and hugged them tightly.

    The two women''s eyes widened in shock as they couldn''t register what happened for the first few seconds.

    "Thank you¡­really." He said softly, almost in a whispery tone.

    "I am really grateful for what both of you did." He added.

    "Y-Yes¡­" Leislet replied and tried to hug him back but her arms were shaking furiously. Then, for some reason, her eyes teared up again and she started crying silently with a faint, relieved smile.

    As for Scarlett, she just closed her eyes and buried her face in Acht''s broad chest, feeling his warmth and enjoying his smell.<sub> </sub>

    The three stayed like that for a few moments. The ce was totally quiet but it wasn''t awkward at all.

    Then, when he felt like it was enough, Acht pulled himself away from them and smiled softly at them.

    It was the first time both of them witnessed this smile from Acht. It was kind, dazzling, and extremely beautiful.

    It was so beautiful that it made them freeze in their ce. No one could resist such a smile even though it was pretty effortless to do. Maybe it was the honest emotions in the smile or maybe because it was something they witnessed for the first time ever.

    Acht then said to wake them up from their daze.

    "As much as you two cause so much ruckus, you are still my dear friends. You both are the first that I ever considered true friends. No matter how much I lived or how many cruel things I witnessed and I will witness. I am sure that you two are very important people to me that I can rely on."

    "A-Acht, you don''t have to¡­" Leislet tried to stop him but he shook his head and continued.

    "No, I don''t know how you see this. But for me, it is a big favor that I might not be able to pay at all. That''s why the least I can say is thank you. It''s not much though but I will try to pay you back in the long run."

    The two went silent and didn''t say anything for a few moments.

    "This is cheating," Scarlett muttered and looked down.

    Leislet also nodded her head.

    "You don''t know how much you helped us, Acht. You genuinely don''t know that this is us trying to pay you back for everything you did to us. You have nothing to pay back. It''s us that need to pay you back and we will probably never be able to do so." She said,

    "Me? How is that? I literally stabbed you and betrayed you. I made you suffer because of my actions. Where did I do that? It''s nonsense! If I was in your ce I would''ve abandoned a cruel person like that. I was never really a good guy or someone who helped people out of goodwill. You both are gravely wrong." He replied with a slightly agitated tone.

    Leiselt and Scarlett shook their heads in denial. His words were justpletely wrong for them.

    "You don''t know. You will never know because we can only see that. It''s far away from anything you could feel."

    Acht clenched his teeth and tightened his fists. He didn''t know why, but her words made him feel so much pain in his heart. They were painful as much as they were honest and affectionate.

    It made him even question his sanity for a moment.

    ''Me? Helpful? Bullshit! This isplete bullshit. I was never helpful. I was only made to destroy and rob. I was only made to kill for a living. How is that good or helpful?'' He thought to himself?

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 226 Chapter 226

    Acht felt himself getting angrier and angrier. Not on Leislet and Scarlett nor was it on what they said. It was because he felt lost and was unable to understand what they meant with their words.

    He wanted to know how he was helpful because he desired to see the change that went through him during all these years. He wanted to see for himself that he became better.

    So, with a quiet tone, he asked.

    "Can you exin to me? I want to know. I want to know how I was able to help you?"

    Leislet stood up and walked toward him silently. Then, she cupped his face in her hands and made him look her deep in the eyes. He didn''t try to release himself nor did he try to avert his eyes.

    "Look at me. Do I look like I am lying to you? Sigh, you want examples? Fine¡­You, Acht, had saved my life multiple times. You saved my world multiple times and you helped me reach many great goals that I could never dream of achieving. Isn''t that enough?"

    Scarlett also spoke after her.

    "You also helped me find a great anomaly in my family. You saved me from a scummy act that would have destroyed me."

    Leislet nodded her head and added.

    "See, you did many things that were good and helpful. You saved many lives, killed many monsters, and more importantly helped us. That''s more than enough."

    Acht fell speechless and could only nod his head without saying a word.

    Then, he sighed and smiled slightly. A few words were more than enough to make his heart feel a little bit more light.

    "I¡­understand."

    Leislet pinched his cheek once and then said.

    "Now, enough of the emotional talking. Open the letter so we could see what''s in it."

    The boy looked at the letter and then opened it up. What he found inside was a very long letter and what seemed to be two items.

    These two items seemed to be a ring and a badge with a symbol on it carved out of gold.

    Acht didn''t focus on the items and left them forst. He wanted to read the letter first.

    After a few moments of silent reading, the two women felt patientless and urged him to speak.

    "What''s in it?" They asked nervously.

    "This¡­It''s just a bunch of nonsense. They are talking about how great this academy is and how honored I was to be chosen to enroll here." He said.

    This made the two women shake their heads in disappointment.

    "Anything else?"

    Acht turned the letter and there he found what was actually important.

    He read the content in silence again.

    "Hmm, I see. So basically, I was one of 2000 new potential students to enter the academy. Most of them had to take a bunch of tests to qualify for entering the academy but I guess that was not needed for my case."

    "Humph, they couldn''t dare to test you. You will just break the records and make them look like a bunch of idiots." Leislet snorted arrogantly.

    "True, it''s a disrespect for you to be tested."

    "Hehehe, I guess you are right." Acht chuckled at their attitude and continued reading.

    "The start of the new year will be in two months from now and the location is¡­The Academy city. I guess that''s understandable considering the fact that this is a very renowned academy in the world."

    "Yes, it''s basically a huge ce where all young talents assemble."

    Acht pondered for a moment as he recalled something important.

    ''Now that the whole plot of the book is changed, I guess I could expect that everything else is also changed. Better be ready for unexpected urrences.''<sub> </sub>

    Finally, he reached the end of the letter and there they mentioned the ring and the badge.

    The badge was simply like an id card for the student that he needed to bring with him wherever he goes inside the city. It was to identify everyone easily and eliminate anyone who isn''t a student.

    As for the ring, it was a spatial ring that had many things that Acht needed. One of them was the academy uniform.

    "Damn, they also prepared the uniform quickly. Hmm, let me try it." He muttered as he stood up and pulled out the uniform.

    However, before he could even think about changing, he felt two sharp eyes poking his back intensely.

    "Oh yeah, I forgot I have two perverts with me here." He said as he rolled his eyes.

    "Hey! That''s rude. I am only a pervert when ites to you." Leislet said.

    "True true." Scarlett joined her as they red at Acht with a pout.

    "That doesn''t make it any better or more eptable."

    "Fine. Just start changing, I won''t look."

    "We will definitely look."

    The two covered their eyes with their hands. However, they pried their fingers open enough for their eyes to take a peek.

    "Sigh, you really think I will believe that?"

    "Definitely. We are honest people after all."

    Acht shook his head and summoned ooze out.

    "Wait! At least only cover your lower part and let the torso not be covered." Leislet shouted in a hurry.

    "No."

    "Fuck." The two cursed under their breath with disappointed looks.

    They were really eager to feast their eyes on Acht''s mesmerizing body. They had seen it multiple times before. What Acht didn''t know was that for many nights, they explored his body while he was asleep. Of course, it was their secret that they would bring with them to the grave.

    If Acht knew then they might as well pack their bags and be ready to leave.

    Anyway, Acht took a few moments to change and then finally he revealed himself to them.

    The uniform was basically a normal suit albeit more elegant than the cheap normal suits.

    It had a blue color and gold lines. It was quite elegant but what made it look even more amazing was Acht. It suited him amazingly well.

    "So, what do you¡­Huh?" He tried to ask as he looked at them but stopped when he saw something weird.

    "Why are your noses bleeding like that?" He asked confusedly.

    "Oh, no no, it''s nothing." They both denied it quickly and wiped their noises.

    It was a weird reaction even for them.

    ''He is so hot!! This is far beyond what I expected!''

    ''This should be allowed. Dammit, just imagining that such a piece of art would be something those low lives at the academy will see every day makes me want to kill them all. I might do that if needed.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 227 Chapter 227

    Their minds went into a frenzy from looking at Acht. In their eyes, he was simply out of this world. Not only was he extremely handsome but also very elegant with his demeanor which added even more coolness to the uniform.

    "So, how do I look?" He asked.

    "100/10," Leislet said with the most serious face she ever had. What she didn''t notice was that her nose started bleeding again.

    As for Scarlett, she was still not woken up from her trance. Her eyes didn''t leave Acht for one single moment.

    Then, she stood up and walked toward him with steady steps before grabbing his hands.

    "What?"

    "Let''s do a photoshoot." She said,

    "Huh?"

    "A photoshoot. I want to take a few pictures. We never did this before and now that you wore this uniform we must do it."

    Leislet pondered for a moment before she smiled widely and nodded her head.

    "I guess your peanut brain cane out with good ideas from time to time. This is great. We can take a lot of pictures." She said,

    "I thought of taking pictures by the river. Or maybe close to the mountain." Scarlett gave out her suggestion.

    "Yes yes! We can also do it beside a huge forest. Or maybe¡­" Leislet also started putting out ideas like a machine with an excited face. She almost started drooling from just thinking about all the potential ces where Acht could look amazing.

    "Oii, wait! I still didn''t agree." Acht tried to stop them before they flew away with their ideas.

    "Oh, why though?"

    "Yes, why?"

    They asked him with a matter-of-factly look. It was as if he was trying to refuse the obvious which made it even harder for him to refuse.

    "Ok, we can do that. But, no weird positions, no weird photos, and most importantly no naked pics!" He stated his conditions after a long sigh of exasperation.

    ''If I refuse they will probably not stop begging me for it. Let''s get this over with.'' He thought.

    Deep inside, Acht actually was keen on the idea and wanted to try it out. He never really took that many pictures of himself before. A new experience was always weed.

    "But, do you guys even have came-"

    Before he could evenplete his question, Leislet and Scarlett pulled out two high-quality cameras from their spatial rings and gave a thumbs up.

    "Ready!"

    "Always has been!"

    "Sigh¡­I think I might''ve made a mistake in epting this." He murmured with aplicated gaze.

    "Ok! Off we go!"

    "Yes! Let''s go."

    The two started walking away happily but Acht immediately grabbed their cors and stopped them in their ce.

    "Where do you think you two are going?" He asked calmly but with a menacing look.

    "Mm, photoshoot?"

    "No! This is working time. Get back to work now! We can take photos after work!" He said.

    "Noooooo!!" They both protested like two small children begging their father for candy.

    "I won''t take no for an answer. Go back to work or there will be no photos."

    "Ok¡­" They epted dejectedly and walked away.

    "They are just like a bunch of spoiled children," Acht murmured with a small smile.

    ***************************

    "Fuh!! Finally over. It''s finally fucking over!!" Leislet said as shey down on the ground, exhausted. They had to arrange hundreds of books today so it was pretty exhausting.

    "Yes, that was pretty hectic."

    Acht came over and gave them two cups of water.<sub> </sub>

    "Good work both of you." He said.

    *Sip*

    They both sipped the cups of water and eyed Acht silently.

    "I know I know. Ok, we can take these photos. But aren''t you both tired?"

    The moment they heard the word ''tired'' they both jumped on their feet as if they were electrocuted.

    "Not at all."

    "My stamina is endless."

    "...Ok."

    The group then closed the library and left. The sun was already setting on the horizon. It will take a few more hours for it to fully disappear but it was still very beautiful.

    "Ok, so where should we go?"

    "Let''s first start with the house. I want to take a pic of Acht sitting on top of the house and gazing at the horizon."

    "Why though?"

    "Shhh, it''s not something you should ask about, Acht. It''s for artistic purposes. Just do what we tell you without asking why."

    "Mm, ok." He replied with a weirded-out look.

    ''Since when did you be an artist?'' He thought in his head.

    The three reached the house and stood outside without entering. The two women made Acht jump on top of the house and sit on the edge.

    "Tuck your knees in and put your hands on them."

    "Ok."

    He did what he was told and he looked at the horizon. The two then pulled out their cameras and started taking pics from all angles. They looked like two professional photographers working with a clear passion for their work.

    *Click* *Click* *Click*

    They then took a look at their pics and shook their heads. They seemed to agree on something which was rare.

    "Acht! Can you look sad or mncholic now? I want more vor in the photo." Leislet shouted.

    "Mncholic? Hmm, I will try." He replied after some thought.

    Then, he quickly changed his expression from normal to sad and then to someone who was deep in mncholy.

    "Is this good?"

    "Perfect! That''s amazing! Keep that look and now gaze at the horizon. Don''t move an inch."

    The two then took many more pics and took a look at them.

    However, they didn''t say anything at all. It made Acht confused so he went down to see them himself.

    "Were they bad?"

    "...No, they are just too good to be true. You are just too good for this world, Acht. That''s unfair." Leislet said as she shook her head with a sigh.

    "If you were just a little bit more normal-looking. How life could be this unfair!"

    "Very true, Scarlett. He is cursed indeed."

    "Huh? I can''t understand whether you like my looks or not."

    "You won''t get it. It''s women''s stuff. Don''t ask about that or you will get punished."

    ''What the fuck are these two on about? Sigh, I guess my understanding of women as ex-hitman is quitecking. I need to work on that.'' He thought.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 228 Chapter 228

    After admiring the pics for a good 2 minutes, Leislet shook her head to wake up from her trance and then looked at Acht.

    "Now, we will move to the river. We will take many more pics there. Hehehe." She said as she giggled like a pervert. Her drool almost fell down but she wiped it quickly.

    Acht sighed and didn''t talk about it at all. He wouldn''t allow any lewd pics or weird positions for the pictures.

    The three walked to the river that was not that far away from the vige. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that it was actually within the vige''s territory.

    "Wow, I didn''t think the river would look this beautiful in the evening," Scarlett muttered with a surprised tone.

    The other two nodded their heads in agreement. It was indeed a very breathtaking sight. The orange color of the sunset coupled with the crystal clear water created a mix of colors rare to be seen anywhere else.

    <o>,m "This is way better than I expected. The pictures we will take here will be beyond amazing. I can''t wait!! Let''s go." Leislet said and ran to the water, giggling happily.</o>

    "Hey! Wait!" Scarlett also said and ran after her.

    Acht looked at the two as they ran and yed around like two small kids. His eyes softened greatly when he saw such a sight in front of him.

    However, for some reason, a wave of sadness took over him and he frowned slightly. He didn''t know why but he felt as if he would never see this again for a very long time. It was weird as much as it was making him feel scared.

    ''What is wrong with me? It''s totally fine. Nothing bad will happen. I will make sure that nothing bad will happen.'' He resolved himself.

    "Acht! Come on! Let''s start."

    Leislet''s voice woke him up again and he looked up, erasing any trace of the expression he previously had. Then, he smiled slightly and muttered.

    "I will protect my own happiness."

    Then, he walked toward them slowly. None of them, not even Acht, knew what was going through his head at that time.

    "What were you doing? We need to take pictures before the sunpletely sets."

    "My bad, my bad." He said.

    "Fine. For the first pic, I want you to crouch and look at the river from up close. Then, I want you to extend your hand slowly and touch the water with your index finger. Try to only touch the surface and distort your reflection." Leislet ordered.

    "Also, make sure to make a face of someone lost in thought," Scarlett added.

    "Hmm, I will try. This is kinda hard, you know."

    "It''s fine, you can pull it off easily." Leislet tapped his shoulder and pushed him closer to the river.

    Having no other way out of this, he did exactly what he was told. He could clearly see his face as it contorted because of the water.

    "Great! Keep that position! Perfect! You are amazing, Acht."

    After 5 minutes of cameras making a clicking sound.

    Acht stood up and asked them about the result.

    Obviously, the two were fond of these pics and they even started a conversation on whether they should sell them for millions of gold coins. But, Acht obviously refused.

    "Ok, fine. Let''s do some more spicy things. Acht, jump in the water with your clothes on."

    "Hey! No weird pics I said."

    Leislet smiled slyly and retorted.

    "You didn''t mention anything about that. You just said no naked pics and this is not that."

    Acht found himself speechless. He somehow ended up digging his own grave with his conditions.

    But, he also liked this photoshoot so he willinglyplied and jumped in the water. It wasn''t very cold nor very warm. Just the perfect temperature.

    His clothes obviously became wet but that didn''t make him feel ufortable at all.

    "Ok, now what?" He asked as he pulled his hair back that covered his eyes.

    This small gesture made Leislet and Scarlett blush furiously and click on their cameras quickly to capture it.

    "He can somehow do anything and it will look hot," Scarlett muttered as she looked at the pics.

    "Yes! That''s something I have never seen before. It''s too unfair for every man in existence." She said,

    "Ok now!!! Woahhhh!!" Before Leislet could evenplete her sentence, she felt herself getting pulled into the water by an unknown force.<sub> </sub>

    Scarlett was also pulled in.

    *Ssh* *Ssh*

    The two emerged on the surface with widened eyes.

    "W-What happened?!"

    They could only eye Acht who wasughing loudly while tapping on the water.

    "Hahaha! Your faces were priceless." He said.

    "Y-You! Come over here!"

    "Nope." He said.

    "You brat! I will make your drink the whole river!"

    The two women smiled and chased after him. The three started swimming around the river.

    From the outside, people could only see three good-looking people ying around in the water.

    2 hours passed with them swimming without thinking about the time or the ce. It was not important at all.

    "Fuuh. I am tired." Acht muttered as hey on the water''s surface calmly.

    "Me two."

    "Me three."

    They ally down looking at the sky silently. Then, after a few minutes, Acht stood up and swam closer to them.

    "Ok, let''s take onest picture¡­together."

    "Good idea!"

    "Yes!"

    The three agreed and they pulled out the camera.

    "Let me handle this one." He asked for the camera to take the selfie.

    Then, he positioned himself in front of them. Leislet and Scarlett stood behind him and basically pushed their breasts against his back. He could feel every inch of their boobs against his back very clearly but he totally ignored it.

    "Ok, smile now."

    The three smiled happily.

    *Click*

    The picture was taken.

    "Let us see!"

    "Hurry up!"

    They urged him to show the result but much to their surprise, he refused.

    "We will check it out when we return home." He said.

    "Whaaaat?! No, I want to see it now."

    "Yes! We must see it now."

    "Refused." He shook his head.

    "I want to take a shower and change my clothes. Staying in a uniform the whole day is ufortable. Time to go, it''s already dark."

    The three then left the river talking about all the things they did. It was a very peaceful moment.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 229 Chapter 229

    After spending the rest of the time sitting on the edge of the river, drying themselves up and also cleaning their clothes, they stood up and went back to the vige.

    "How should we use these photos? I was thinking of putting them in one room. An art museum of a sort." Scarlett suggested out of nowhere.

    Leislet thought about it and then shook her head in refusal. She seemed to have a better idea of these pictures.

    "Let''s just put them in the living room. As for the group photo, I want to turn it into a small ne with a pendant. Of course, I will have to cut you out of the pic."

    "What did you say?!" Scarlett red at Leislet.

    "What? Did you think I will carry your pic with me for the rest of my life? I might as well die right here and now rather than do that." Leislet clicked her tongue.

    "I can send you to the grave if you desire death that much!" Scarlett was about to pull her sword and cut Leislet to pieces.

    "I wanna see you try, bitch." Leislet also readied herself. But, before they could even pull out their weapons.

    *Smack* *Smack*

    "Argh! Fuck, that hurts every single time!"

    "Ouch! My brain is damaged!"

    They both grabbed their heads after getting smacked. Acht sighed and spoke calmly.

    "Keep it quiet. There seems to be something wrong in the vige." He said and pointed at the vige entrance.

    There, he could see many vigers standing with some of them seemingly intending to leave the vige with weapons in their hands.

    The trio approached them and asked about the situation.

    "Mia! We can''t find Mia!" The vige chief said.

    "Mia? Where did she go?" Achy asked confusedly.

    She had followed them to the library this morning but then left shortly after because she had some matters to deal with.

    "We don''t know! She left this afternoon. I think she was searching for you but she didn''te back. Did shee to you?" He asked.

    Acht shook his head with a serious look.

    "We haven''t seen each other since morning. Where is Sali?"

    The vige chief scratched his beard with a stressed look.

    "When he heard that she didn''te back he decided to leave to search for her. I tried to stop him so that we could make a group of people and search the woods nearby but he refused and left quickly. He also didn''te back."

    ''This is worrying. The woods around here aren''t safe at all. I saw many strong beasts there before when I went hunting. Mia and Sali can''t fight them at all.'' He thought and then looked at Leislet and Scarlett.

    The two understood what he meant without him uttering a word and so they nodded correspondingly.

    "We will go and search for the two. Rest assured. I will try my best to find them as quickly as possible." Acht said to assure the extremely worried vigers.

    "If it''s Cero then it should be fine." A man suddenly said.

    "Yes, I am sure Cero can get them back safely."

    "We rely on you, Cero."

    The vigers said with hopeful looks filling their eyes. It showed how much trust they put in Acht and the other two. This was the result of years and years of living together with them. He was now basically a part of this big family.

    Acht smiled slightly and nodded his head confidently.

    Then, the three disappeared from there, running directly toward the woods. Acht had already grown ustomed to Mia''s aura. Even though she wasn''t an awakener she still had a faint aura that although was weak could be sensed if Acht was close enough to her.

    The three reached the woods a few minutester. Acht looked ahead of him. The sky had already turned dark and the woods looked even more menacing than usual.

    Acht ignored that ominous feeling this ce was generating and eyed his twopanions.

    "We will separate and go in different directions. That way we can cover a wider area of searching. Keep your senses alert for any small disturbance."

    The two nodded and vanished. Acht also dashed toward the center of the woods.

    "Mia! Sali! Can you hear me?" He shouted as he looked around.

    He had extended his senses to the maximum. It covered a few kilometers around him easily.

    However, he didn''t feel anything remotely simr to a human aura. All he sensed was a bunch of animals and beasts.

    ''Damn it. Did she get caught by some kind of monster?'' He stopped and pondered over the possibilities he had in hand.

    ''What kind of monster was the most dangerous in the woods?'' He thought.

    Then, he remembered a certain beast that he knew very well existed in the woods but it wasn''t living on the ground but underground.<sub> </sub>

    He instinctively looked down. This monster was called the golden-scaled snake. It was a giant snake that lived underground and liked to drag its victims to areas where most people can''t sense their presence.

    The only good thing he could deduct out of this situation was that the snake wouldn''t immediately kill their prey but use their venom to slowly kill them and then eat them.

    That takes around 10 hours for normal humans to die. So, if he was right, Mia and Sali should be alive in case they got caught by a golden-scaled snake.

    So, with that in mind, he looked in a certain direction and ran there as fast as he could. He could recall where the entrance to this underground home of the snake was.

    He had seen it before but didn''t hunt it down because it was very quick and also didn''t leave its den only once or twice a month to hunt and then go back inside.

    A few momentster, he reached a big space in the woods where no trees were nted. There was only a deste area with a huge hole in the middle.

    "Leislet, Scarlett." He touched his ear and called them quickly.

    "Yes?"

    "Found anything?"

    "No, but I''m gonna search the golden-scaled snake''s den. Don''t follow me."

    "What? Why?" Leislet asked with clear worry in her voice.

    "We need to work together," Scarlett added.

    "Sigh, listen quietly. This is nothing but an assumption of mine. They could be just lost in the woods and not inside the snake''s den. That''s why you need to keep searching outside in case I was wrong. Get it."

    "But¡­"

    "We don''t have much time, you two. Every minute is crucial. I will be fine, I promise." He added.

    The two went silent for a moment before epting. They made sure to remind him to be extremely careful before hanging up.

    Then, without hesitation, Acht jumped inside the hole.

    It was predictably quite deep. It took Acht almost 20 seconds to reach the bottom.

    *Tap*

    His feetnded silently on the ground. He made sure to not make a single sound while inside so the snake doesn''t get alerted.

    The inside was very dark¡­so dark. It was so dark in fact that even Acht with his amazingly strong eyes could barely see his hand there.

    This was disadvantageous for him but he still didn''t think much about it. This snake was simply no threat to him.

    He then walked deeper and deeper into the tunnels created by the snake. It was very intricate and amazinglyplex. Was it not for his senses, he could''ve easily got lost inside and he would take ages to find the way out¡­or maybe never even find it.

    As he walked silently like that, he finally felt something slightly far away from him. He was sure it was an auraing from a human.

    <o>,m He immediately ran toward the source as quietly and as sneakily as possible.</o>

    Finally, he reached a dead end. There, two humans were hanging up from the wall, stuck in a weird substance like that of spider silk.

    Acht identified the two as Mia and Sali who were clearly unconscious. He looked around him searching for the snake but he didn''t find it so he moved closer to them and sliced the silk open.

    The two fell down but Acht caught them before theynded on the ground.

    "Oi, Mia, Sali. Are you ok? Can you hear me?" He spoke quietly to wake them up.

    Luckily, Mia seemed to have heard him and opened her eyes quietly.

    "...A-Acht?" Sbd muttered with her dry lips and weak voice.

    "Yes, it''s me."

    "Did I¡­go to heaven?" She muttered with her hazy eyes, clearly still not fully awake.

    "Nope, you are still alive. Is Sali ok?" He asked her.

    "Father¡­.? Father! Yes! Father! Acht, dad got bit by the snake. He is poisoned!" She finally regained her full consciousness and shouted.

    But, Acht put his hand on her mouth and muffled her voice.

    "Shhh, calm down and talk quietly. The snake isn''t here." He said.

    He then looked at Sali and finally sensed the abnormality in him. He was still alive¡­but he wasn''t breathing.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 230 Chapter 230

    ''Fuck.'' Acht cursed as he put Sali down gently and unleashed him from the silk that was covering his body. That was when he saw what was wrong with him and why he was not breathing.

    There were two big holes in his stomach the size of a fist. The two holes were purple in color exuding a weird miasma in the air.

    He immediately knew that the snake bit him, deeply too.

    ''He ain''t going to live for long. I need to extract the poison from him now.'' He thought as he put his hand on his stomach, making sure to not touch the injury.

    He knew how sensitive that part was and that any small touch could make him feel excruciating pain.

    Then, he used gravity to start extracting poison from the hole. The process was very hard because unfortunately, the poison spread to his whole body. Acht needed to work on every cell of his body to disintegrate the poison and then get it out.

    However, as he was working, a loud screech reached his ear and made his face turn extremely serious.

    ''Fuck, not now.'' He thought as he looked behind him.

    There, a giant snake was hissing angrily as it looked at him with its slitted eyes. Its long tongue moved ominously, dripping with lethal poison.

    "How long has it been since you two got caught?" He asked Mia who was pale with fear and worry over her dad.

    She didn''t respond as she shook violently. He didn''t me her since this was way too much for a young girl like her.

    So, he touched his cheek and smiled slightly to make her calm down.

    "Don''t worry, I got this. Your father is also going to be fine too. Just help a little bit and then we will get out of here, ok?" He said with a gentle tone.

    Mia finally snapped from her state and nodded quietly. Then, she said with a meek voice.

    "5 hours¡­.I think it has been 5 hours."

    "Hmm, I see. You must''ve been really scared. It''s ok, just rest now. I will deal with everything else."

    "Mm, thank you."

    "Leave that forter. Hold your father tightly." He said and stood up.

    The snake felt threatened by the boy''s aura as he eyed it with a very cold gaze. He could kill this snake easily, however, protecting these two at the same time was a whole other matter.

    This golden-scaled snake was an extremely smart beast. It could understand that attacking Mia and Sali instead would make it even harder for Acht.

    So, without wasting time, he dashed toward the snake. The snake saw his silhouette blurred from one ce to another.

    It didn''t wait either and moved toward him. The two approached each other at the same time but Acht was the first to attack. He jumped high in the air and aimed his punch toward the snake''s skull.

    *Bang*

    He didn''t wait for gravity to make himnd on the snake and instead pushed himself down in the air, creating even more strength in his punch.

    "SSSSSSSSS!!!" The snake hissed in pain as it hit the ground violently.

    Acht used that moment andnded on its face. He looked at it straight in its emotionless eyes and smirked slightly.

    *Poke*

    "SSSSSSSSS!!"

    He poked its eye blowing it up like a balloon. Blood flooded the ground like a river and the snake started moving frantically as if it lost its mind.

    Acht was thrown away but he reduced the impact and hit the wall with his legs beforending.

    He then pulled Ooze out and created many sharp bullets.

    *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

    He shot 4 of them, poking 4 holes in the snake''s body.

    Blood exploded from every pore endlessly and made it lose its strength even faster than it was anticipated.

    The snake finally fell down motionless. It had died just like that. Acht had basically one-sidedly massacred the snake. The animal couldn''t even put up a fight.

    ''That was easier than I thought. Anyway, Sali is still in grave danger.'' He thought.

    He breathed out and immediately moved to the two people that were in the corner.

    However, before he could even make one single step.

    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM*

    ********************************

    Meanwhile, Leislet and Scarlett met in the middle of the forest.

    "Did Acht send you anything?" Leislet asked with a worried tone.

    "Nothing. He said that we shouldn''t follow him but I am feeling worried. I tried to call him but he didn''t answer." Scarlett said.

    Leislet pondered over the matter for a moment before nodding her head and saying decisively.<sub> </sub>

    "We will go there."

    "What about what Acht said?"

    "We already searched the whole forest but we didn''t find anything so the only thing we can do now is to go there."

    Scarlett nodded in agreement. She also didn''t have a good feeling about the situation and so she wanted to go check herself.

    The two then ran to the hole where the snake''s den was located. It didn''t take them long to reach there.

    After that, they jumped inside without a single moment of hesitation. There was no time for hesitation.

    "As I expected it''s a very long tunnel. Search for Acht''s aura." Scarlett said.

    A momentter, they located him and sighed in relief. He was alive and was indeed inside the den.

    With that in mind, they ran through theplex tunnels directly toward him. A few momentster, they reached the ce where he should''ve been.

    However, what they saw there made them stop in their ce. The whole ce was dyed in purple mixed with red.

    The walls, the ceiling, the ground, and everything else.

    "What¡­happened?" Leislet muttered as she shook her head and searched for Acht.

    She saw the boy crouched near the end of the tunnel with his back facing them.

    "Ach-"

    She wanted to call for him but stopped when she sensed something weird.

    Acht was basically covered from head to toe in the purple liquid, his clothes were shredded and many pointy scales punctured his body and spilled out his blood.

    "Acht!!!" They both screamed in fright and approached him quickly.

    When they were beside him, Acht finally stood up and breathed out a long sigh.

    "You two came? Didn''t I tell you not to?" He said with a calm voice.

    When he turned around, they both gasped in shock. His whole face was covered in blood and poison. His eyes were also pure as they seemed to have been affected by the poison.

    "What happened?!! Are you ok?!" Leislet tried to touch him but he shook his head.

    "There is someone in a more dire situation than me at the moment. Take these two out. I had already extracted as much poison as I could."

    He said as he tried to walk past them. However, the moment he took his second step, his body started falling down to the ground.

    "Acht!!!" Scarlett screamed and tried to support him. But, he shook his head and bnced himself before he fell down.

    "I am fine. That snake exploded for some reason after I killed it. I don''t know why but all of the poison inside its body also sshed everywhere. I only had a split second to protect Mia and Sali. Now I was rendered to this state." He muttered.

    He then looked back at the two women who were rendered speechless and smiled slightly as he wiped the blood and poison from his face casually.

    "Unlucky I guess." He said.

    Leislet couldn''t know how to react. She had never thought Acht would actually do something like that.

    It was shocking for her and also for Scarlett who knew Acht very well. He was never someone to protect other people with his own body. He was always someone who prioritized his own safety first and that was totally fine.

    Acht was not a hero after all. He was just a selfish person like any other person out there.

    He had his life and he cherished it, so why should he put it in danger for other people?

    However, what he did now contradicted everything they knew about him. It almost made them question whether he was actually Acht or not.

    ''Did he change?'' Leislet pondered to herself as she gazed deeply into his serene eyes.

    "What are you two waiting for? We need to get out." He said.

    "O-Ok." They both said at the same time and lifted the unconscious Sali and Mia.

    "Tsk. This is kinda painful." Acht muttered as he pulled out one of the many scales that stuck to his body.

    "We need to treat your wounds as fast as possible when wee back," Scarlett said.

    "No, take care of these two first."

    "Acht!!! Shut up. You will also get treated quickly. Look at yourself, you are in a very bad condition!" Leislet rebuked with a very angry tone.

    Only she knew how much she was worried over Acht.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 231 Chapter 231

    Acht fell silent as he looked at Lieslet with a surprised look stered on his face. He had seen Leislet angry before but he had never seen her this angry before. It was as if her calm and sometimes cheeky and mischievous personality was never really her true self. However, he knew very well that she was angry because she was worried over his injuries and his health.

    This made Acht feel a warm feeling in his heart that he rarely felt before. It was subtle but also very noticeable. So, he smiled slightly and nodded his head.

    "My bad." He muttered with an apologetic tone.

    His reply took Leislet by surprise and made her blush and look down. She didn''t feel herself when she lost control over her emotions and shouted at Acht. It made her feel as if she wronged him by shouting at him even though he prioritized the other two injured people over himself. It was simply an act of kindness from his side.

    But, that doesn''t mean that she was going to let him go without getting treated as fast as possible.

    The group then left the den. They walked carefully so as to not disturb Mia and Sali who were barely alive and needed to get the cure before they died from poison. Even though Acht made sure to protect them, he would have not stopped a few poison drops to reach them. It was simply impossible to react faster than that when a monster of that size exploded out of nowhere and without any prior signs of that happening.

    The trip back took them almost 20 minutes. Luckily, no monster attacked them during the trip back so they didn''t have to stop at all.

    When they reached the vige entrance again, they found the vigers standing there with torches in their hands to help them see in the darkness. The worry clearly took a toll on their minds as they seemed extremely patientless.

    However, when Acht and the group appeared, everyone ran toward them hurriedly.

    "Did you get them back? Is Sali and Mia ok?" The chief asked as he examined the two peopleying on Leislet''s and Scarlett''s backs.

    "It''s fine, they got poisoned but they could be treated. You have the antidotes for the golden-scaled snake, right?"

    The chief nodded and looked at a certain person standing by his side. Then, the man left running to get the antidotes as fast as possible.

    "What about you,Cero?"

    "I''m fine. The poison doesn''t affect me that much. Anyway, I  will leave them in your care. I want to rest." He said.

    "Thank you so much, Acht. You have done another thing that we will never be able to repay at all. The list became too long. How can we even repay in this lifetime?" The chief''s eyes watered from agitation as he was about to go down on his knees and bow.

    The other vigers looked at each other and nodded before following suit and crouching down. They wanted to bow down to Acht as a way to show how much they are grateful for what he did not only now but also for all the previous years. He had changed the whole vige for the better and helped them basically in everything. He gave them knowledge, power and even food.

    He was akin to a hero from fairy tales for them.

    Acht looked at this scene and frowned slightly. Then, with a serious voice, he spoke.

    "Please raise your head, chief. I never really did this for you to bow down to me nor to repay me. I did it for my own satisfaction. It was something that I wanted to do and so I did. I don''t want to see you people ever trying to bow to me or I will be really angry."

    His reply made everyone freeze in their ce and look up at him in awe.

    His reply made them feel ashamed of themselves for some reason. It was as if bowing to him was actually a way for them to disrespect everything Acht did. So, they stood up again and averted their eyes from him.

    Acht sighed and then smiled calmly.

    "It''s ok, I understand your intention and I really appreciate it. You are all my friends after all and I don''t want to see my friends bow to anyone, not even me."

    "We understand, thank you so much." They all said at the same time.

    Acht smiled even widely before walking away with Leislet and Scarlett in tow.

    "You were amazing." Scarlett approached him and whispered.

    "You think so? I didn''t say anything special though. That''s what I truly believe."

    "No, that was indeed an amazing thing to do Acht. These people could see how great this small speech of yours was for them."

    "Hehehe, I guess you might be right. Anyway, let''s get back home. I want to take a

    shower and sleep. It''s been a very long day. I never thought I could exhaust myself this much." Acht muttered to himself. But, Leislet and Scarlett heard him and a toothy grin appeared on their faces. It was the kind of smile that meant trouble for Acht.

    "Shower? What do you mean shower? You need to get treated first. We have to take good care of you for the whole night. Isn''t that right, Leislet?"

    "May of course. Acht is quite beaten up so he needs a massage too to rx his muscles. Don''t worry¡­ You will be as good as new by tomorrow~~" Leislet replied as she licked her lips seductively and eyed Acht like a prey.

    Acht felt a chill run down his spine and a dangerous feeling attacked his senses.<sub> </sub>

    ''This day might still not be over. Sigh.''

    ************************************************

    The next day, Acht left the house early in the morning. Both Leislet and Scarlett were still asleep. Even though they didn''t show it, they were also exhausted from yesterday. Even Acht was still sore all over but he needed to do something.

    ''Is Sali and Mia fine?'' He pondered as he walked on the road toward Mia''s house. It was located in the other part of the vige, directly opposite to Acht''s house.

    When he reached there, he found a few women cleaning the house from outside.

    "Oh my, good morning, Cero. How are your injuries." A woman said.

    "Fine, not really that big of a deal. Is Mia and Sali ok?" He went straight to the point without wasting time on pointless chatter.

    The woman''s face immediately frowned and she sighed loudly.

    "Mia is fine¡­ But Sali is still not awake."

    "... I see. I will go check on them."

    After that, he went inside the house. It was a medium-sized house with a few extra rooms inside that both Mia and Sali didn''t use that much.

    She lived with only her father as for her mother¡­ She died one year before Acht came to the vige which meant that it had been six years since her death.

    Mia and Sali never talked about it as it seemed to be an extremely sensitive matter for them but Acht knew how much Mia was affected by her mother''s death. So, if her father also died than even Acht doesn''t know how she would react to that.

    He could only hope for the best in this situation.

    *Knock* *Knock*

    "Who?" A weak voice replied from inside.

    Acht could feel how weak Mia was at the moment and also how sad she was just from that one single word. But, he kept a calm front and replied.

    "It''s me, Acht. Can Ie in?"

    "Oh, Acht? Pleasee in." She said with a slightly more alleviated tone. It seemed Acht''s arrival made her mood improve considerably.

    The boy took a deep breath and then went inside.

    The room was very spacious with two white beds next to each other. There were also two small tables and a wardrobe next to the wall.

    He examined the room once before looking at Mia who was sitting up straight on the bed, looking through the window.

    Her beautiful face coupled with the small rays of sun that entered the room through the window made her look even more mesmerizing. She was akin to a pure angel from the sky, resting her wings under the sun after a long journey.

    Mia also looked at him with her tired eyes and tried to smile warmly for him.

    "How are you?" Acht decided to speak first so that he could hopefully help Mia feel a little bit better.

    "Except for the fact that I can''t move at all and that the bed is way too warm then I ampletely fine."

    "I see." Acht muttered.

    Then, he walked closer to her bed and sat on the chair next to her.

    "Neh, Acht¡­ Can I tell you something?"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 232 Chapter 232

    Mia then looked at the window with a longing gaze. She seemed to be recalling some dear memories to her.

    Then, she took a deep breath and started.

    "I never told you about my mother, did I?" She asked.

    Acht shook his head quietly and let her continue without interrupting her story. Mia appreciated this small gesture from Acht and continued.

    "My mother was a great person. It''s not even me being biased. But, my mother was just simply the greatest person I have ever met. She was kind, strong, determined, and always positive. She worked hard to keep our family safe and healthy. She also tried to engrave all of her positive traits into me."

    Acht looked at her hands. It seemed that she was fighting something inside of her since she had unconsciously tightened them into a fist.

    "I had always looked up to her as a great figure and as my hero. She was my true hero that was capable of making dreams possible. Not only me, but every person saw her as the brightest light in our small hometown."

    "However, one day¡­ 6 years ago¡­ She and my father decided to go to the nearby river to get some water and also to fish for dinner. It was not the first time they did this so it wasn''t something weird or even remotely dangerous. I recall that I begged them so that I could go with them¡­ At the time, my mom just chuckled and said ''Wait here and I will get you something good.''"

    A small, sad smile appeared on her face as she looked down. Acht could see how she was fighting the urge to cry with all of her power so that she could continue the story.

    "Then, a few hours passed and they didn''te back. I thought that maybe they couldn''t get enough fish so they took some time to get some more. I didn''t think much about it.

    "But, a few more hours passed and the night fell. That''s when everyone started worrying and they went out to search for them. However, they couldn''t find them near the river. That''s when they thought that they might have been attacked by some kind of animal or beast. That''s why they decided to search in the forest."

    She stopped for a moment to take a deep breath and also to try and regain herposure. The struggle she felt at the moment was nothing that Acht could fully understand. So, he didn''t say anything at all. He had nothing to say anyway.

    "Not even a few minutes passed of searching and they found them. My dad was injured slightly but he was not in a lethal condition. As for my mother¡­ She¡­Hick¡­Hick." Finally, as if a dam broke, she started crying with a muffled voice.

    Acht''s face frowned as he could already imagine what she would say next. He could understand how painful it was for Mia.

    A few moments passed before Mia was able to regain enoughposure to talk.

    "She had already died by the time they found them. I couldn''t even see her onest time before she left us. What is even more ironic is that the monster that took her away from me is¡­ The Golden-Scaled snake." She said and touched her injuries slightly.

    Acht''s eyes widened slightly as he heard thest few words. He could only feel a bitter feeling she felt when the same monster that took away her mother could also potentially take her father away.

    It was extremely painful and also something that could destroy herpletely.

    "Twice¡­ The same monster will take my only family¡­ Hick¡­ This is unfair!"

    A few tears fell down from her cheeks and tainted the nket. A burning sensation filled her chest.

    Acht looked at her silently.

    "I have never felt so powerless in my life. My father is dying in front of me and I could only watch from the side. This really hurts, Acht! It really does."

    "... Do you feel weak?" He finally spoke and asked a question. Many would think it wasn''t the time to ask such a question.

    However, Acht still did so because he knew it was the best thing to say at that moment to stop Mia from falling into the abyss of despair.

    Mia looked at him with tears still falling from her cheeks.

    "Yes, I am weak. Way too weak!!" She said,

    "Do you want to grasp your own fate in your own hand and protect the people important to you?" He asked another question.

    "Yes! I want to. I don''t want to see my loved ones die in front of me or get hurt at all."

    Acht then nodded and stood up and approached her before pulling her into his embrace.

    He could feel her resist for a split second before she hugged him back.

    "Be strong, Mia. That''s the only way for you to protect your own self and everyone around you. This world is unforgiving and cruel. It could take away all your happiness in a second. That''s why you should treat cruelty with cruelty It''s how shit works."

    "B-But¡­ Can I even do that?" She asked.

    "Yes, you can. Everyone can be strong if they have the ambition to back it up. You have a chance to change your own self. But, let me say that the journey to the top is hard and ruthless. It needs a strong mindset and an unwavering will."

    Mia went silent for a moment. Acht took that opportunity and pulled himself away and continued.<sub> </sub>

    "I can''t guarantee that you will be able to be strong enough. But what I can say is that I will help you with everything I have. It''s the least I could do. Everything else is in your own hand." He said.

    Then, he extended his hand toward her.

    "Choose, Mia. It''s your own life and your own decision. I can''t force you to do anything. All I could do is give you a small push at the start."

    Mia looked at his hand for a long time.

    Then, she said,

    "Is death a probability?"

    "Yes," Acht answered honestly.

    He can''t just lie about something like this. For a great reward, there will always be equally high risk. That''s how things work and that''s how the journey is for those who desired power and lusted after greatness.

    Many died while chasing this seemingly unattainable goal. Many more lost their will in the middle of the journey. It was very cruel and could destroy a human in a moment and make his seemingly unbreakable will be nothing but ashes.

    But, it seemed nothing that made Mia lose her new, ever-growing desire.

    She clenched her fist and then extended her hand toward Acht slowly.

    Acht grabbed her hand and tightened his grip on it.

    He then smiled slightly and said.

    "Wee in, newbie."

    Mia chuckled slightly and wiped some of the tears that stuck to her cheeks.

    "Please spare me these words."

    As they joked like that to lighten the heavy atmosphere, the door was kicked open and one of the women came in hurriedly.

    "Sali woke up!" She shouted happily.

    Mia couldn''t believe her ears and immediately tried to stand up. But, Acht stopped her and then pulled her up into his embrace.

    "I will help you. You are still injured after all."

    Mia blushed slightly and nodded her head silently.

    "Mm, thank you."

    Her heart beat fast in her chest as if it was about to explode. She was genuinely happy at that moment. So happy that she could barely contain her emotions inside her and not start jumping and dancing.

    Then, the three walked out of the room and went to the ce where Sali rested. They found him lying there with his eyes open.

    "Dad!!" Mia shouted.

    "Mia!! How are you, baby!" He said with his eyes watering from cheerful happiness.

    Acht helped closer to Sali and then retreated to let the father-daughter duo have a moment for themselves.

    "Oh, thank god! Thank god that you are safe!! I¡­Hick¡­ I am really sorry. I am really sorry, Mia!" He said.

    "It''s ok, dad. It''s ok. Everything is fine now." She said,

    "When I saw the snake taking you away¡­ I remembered the sight of Merenda getting bitten by that monster. I couldn''t see you die in front of me. I couldn''t allow that snake to take you away from me¡­ Even if I had to give my life instead."

    Sali said with a determined look. Acht could see how much he meant with those words. He was genuinely ready to give his life away just so that Mia could live and that told many things about how much he loved her and cherished her. She was the only thing that his wife left for him after all.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 233 Chapter 233

    Acht looked at the father and daughter hugged tightly, crying in each other''s embrace, and smiled slightly. These two seemed more than capable of standing up again after a hard blow like the death of their loved one. Even Acht himself could never say for sure that he could actually take a hard blow of that caliber and still stand up again.

    Losing the most important person in a person''s life meant that they will never be able to see them again, hug them again and feel their warmth again. It''s a nightmare for any sane human being and Acht was no exception. In fact, it was his worst nightmare since everything he had been doing for the better part of his life was to find happiness along with Dia. That''s what he thrived for and that never changed.

    So, this scene in front of him was very meaningful for him as he couldpletely sympathize with them.

    ''I should leave them alone for now.'' He thought as he sighed under his breath and walked to the door silently. But, the moment he put his hand on the handle, Sali hurriedly called for him.

    "Wait!"

    "Hmm?"

    He turned around confusedly. Sali seemed to have regained hisposure and looked straight at Acht with aplicated gaze that he couldn''t understand.

    Sali then tried to stand up on his feet. However, a hellish pain attacked him and made him fall back on the bed.

    "Don''t force yourself, Sali. You are still pretty beaten up after all." Acht said.

    "Hahaha, these legs of mine betrayed me. So, could you pleasee closer to me?"

    Acht didn''t think much about it and approached him slowly. The moment he was close enough to Sali, thetter grabbed his hand and looked down with his head. Acht froze for a split second before he eyed Sali with a slightly surprised look.

    "Thank you!! Thank you so much, Cero. I have never felt this grateful for anyone this much in my life. Not only did you save my life but you also saved my daughter''s life. I genuinely don''t know how I can repay such kindness."

    He said as he bent his back even more and tightened his fist on Acht''s hand. Then, when he released him, Acht found that he had put something in his hand.

    "A ne?" He muttered.

    Sali nodded and exined.

    "That was my wife''s favorite ne. She gave it to me to wear it and keep it safe. It never left my neck for the past 6 years." He said as he looked at the ne with a fond look.

    "Then, why did you give it to me?" The boy asked.

    "This is my most precious belonging and I think that it''s the least I could give you as payback for what you have done. Are you willing to do that, Mia?"

    The girl smiled widely and nodded her head.

    "If it''s Acht then I''m sure he could keep it safe."

    "See? She also wants you to take it so don''t try to return it. It''s yours now."

    Acht fell silent as he inspected the ne thoroughly. It was made of silver with some sparkling blue points on it. There was also a blue pendant on it that was made out of some kind of diamond or another precious ore.

    "Are you sure?"

    Sali nodded.

    "Yes, I think that she also doesn''t want me to stay cooped up in that evesting pain of losing her. Now that I gave the ne away, I can finally move on from that point in my life. That''s her wish." He looked at his daughter and smiled warmly.

    "Dad¡­"

    Acht finally understood everything and immediately put the ne on his neck.

    "I understand. I promise to keep it safe and sound and thanks for the gift. I truly like it." Acht smiled.

    "Good. I have nothing else to say. I think I should rest plenty before I go back to work."

    The two understood that and immediately left the room and gave Sali some time to sleep and restore his energy.

    **************************

    A few days passed and it was finally time to start what Mia had already set her mind on. Be stronger.

    So, Acht and Mia along with Leislet and Scarlett who insisted greatly oning with them were standing in the middle of a vast area thatcked any vegetation, buildings, or anything else. It was a good ce to train.

    "Ok, now that we are here. We will start with the basics. Do you know how to hold a sword?" He asked.

    Mia shook her head. Obviously, she had never picked a sword before and never really learned any self-defense. Living in such a peaceful ce had as many good sides as bad sides. Lacking power is one of thetter choices.

    "I see. Ok, Leislet, give me a small wooden sword. I know that you have so many of them."

    Leislet then picked up a kendo-like sword from her spatial ring and gave it to Acht.

    "Watch carefully. I will show you how to make a stance with the sword."<sub> </sub>

    Then, he tightened his hand on the sword and put it in front of him just in the middle.

    Mia looked at how he was standing and nodded her hand.

    "Here, try yourself."

    He gave her the sword and she immediately almost fell down along with the sword. It was slightly heavy for her frail body.

    But, she gritted her teeth and picked it up and tried to mimic what Acht did. However, she was unable to do that at all.

    "Keep your legs steady and your feet rooted in the ground."

    The boy approached Mia and held her arms, adjusting them. Then, he surrounded her and stood behind her before grabbing her arms again.

    "Keep your gaze forward and your arms straight." He basically whispered those words in her ears making her flinch and then blush furiously.

    ''Too close!!!'' She thought as she tried to hide her embarrassment.

    She felt her heart rate increasing and her breathing became erratic. A weird hot welling up in her lower abdomen. It was the first time she felt such a weird sensation and she frankly didn''t hate it at all.

    In fact, she liked it very much.

    ''Closer. I want to get closer to Acht. I-I¡­'' She felt her mind getting clouded as she gazed at Acht''s face closely and started inching closer toward him.

    However, before she could reach her target, his voice woke her up from her trance.

    "Did you listen to what I said?"

    "Y-Yes!" She basically shrieked in response.

    "Hmm, if that was the case then repeat what I said a few moments ago."

    His question made her fall silent as she fidgeted around like a small girl who made a big mistake.

    "Clearly not. What were you thinking about?" He asked with a frown.

    "I-I¡­ was slightly scared, that''s all. I will listen more carefully now."

    "Good. You better be focused on training."

    Meanwhile, Leislet and Scarlett were clenching their teeth and fists. They watched how Acht touched Mia and closed his body to hers. They could only curse her and also wish they could''ve been the ones in her ce.

    ''Fuck!! Why is that little shit always the one lucky enough to touch Acht that much. She is always all over him. I can''t bear it.'' Leislet thought.

    ''I will kill her. I will definitely skin her alive and then throw it in the fire.'' Scarlett''s eyes were emotionless as she tried to stop herself from getting her sword out.

    The training continued as Acht taught Mia the basics. It took her a few hours for her to be able to hold a sword properly. It was tiring for Acht but he never stopped or allowed Mia to stop repeating the same exercises he taught her.

    By the time the sun was setting, Mia was on the ground heaving up and down as if her lungs were about to explode and her heart was basically beating in her throat.

    "I-I can''t do it anymore. I am dead." She said between her heavy gasps for air.

    Acht nodded his head.

    "Ok, we will call it a day. We will train tomorrow too. I want you here by 5:00 AM."

    "What?!"

    "What did you expect? You need to wake up early to have the best results in training."

    "This is brutal!!" She protested.

    "You can stop if you want. But, should I really make you recall what you always desired?"

    "I¡­" She could not reply and merely nodded her head.

    "Good. You are talented, Mia. You just need a little bit of hard work and you will be able to improve rapidly."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 234 Chapter 234

    Chapter 234- Departure (Part 1)

    Two monthster.

    "Ugh¡­ My head hurts. Dammit." Acht muttered as he opened his heavy eyes and looked hazily at his surroundings. His brain was still in shambles so he couldn''t remember what happened the day before. Even if he tries to remember, a head-splitting headache stops him in his tracks.

    He shook his head a few times to clear his vision a little bit and to also be able to generate some basic thoughts. That seemed to work as his eyes cleared up the next moment and he could finally see where he was.

    However, the next second, he regretted seeing that decision with every cell of his being.

    "W-What?!" He said as he immediately woke up.

    The situation was as follows, Acht waspletely naked, and not even his boxers were on. He was sleeping on top of his house with three women sleeping beside him.

    Leislet, Scarlett, and even Mia were alsopletely naked from head to toe with their bodies fully visible in their full glory.

    ''What the fuck happened yesterday?!'' He thought as he tapped his head a few times to try and recall the events of the day before.

    ''If I can remember correctly, we were having a banquet and¡­.'' He clenched his teeth and his memory finally started working as memories started flooding into his head like a massive tsunami.

    **********************

    A day prior.

    "Acht, Acht!!" Leislet came running to the library as fast as she could. She had left to buy ingredients for their dinner but not even 10 minutes passed and she came back.

    "What?"

    She took deep gulps of air before she said excitedly.

    "The vigers want to make a banquet tonight for you."

    "Huh? A banquet?" He muttered confusedly.

    "They heard that we are going to leave in a few weeks and so they wanted to make this banquet as a gift before we leave."

    Acht nodded his head and replied.

    "Well, that sounds like fun."

    "For sure!! We will have so much fun. Ok, I am going to get ready." Leislet said and started walking away. However, an arm was extended and grabbed her by the cor.

    "Where do you think you are going?"

    Leislet''s face paled considerably.

    "T-To get ready." She said with a low almost incoherent voice.

    "Get back to work!"

    *Smack*

    "Ouch!"

    *****************

    The day passed and the night finally came. Acht, Leislet, Scarlett, and Mia walked together to the middle of the vige where many people were sitting, waiting for them patiently. The four wore some good clothes that befitted a banquet.

    They weren''t some high-ss dresses and suits but still presentable enough for this event.

    "The stars of the show finally came," Sali shouted with a heartyugh.

    "Dad! Don''t start drinking from now!" Mia shouted when she saw her father already gulping down alcohol as if there was no tomorrow.<sub> </sub>

    "Don''t worry, my sweet daughter. It''s time for celebration. Drinking is allowed. HAHAHAH." He ignored his daughter''s res and lifted his cup even higher in the air.

    Acht smiled and then walked to the middle followed by the other girls.

    There was a huge table in the middle that had tens of seats running across the whole table. Foods from all kinds was present. It was a full-blown dinner.

    Acht walked to the table and ser.

    Everyone walked to the table and sat down around it including Acht. The chief took the main seat and then looked at everyone present.

    After that, he stood up and lifted his beer cup in the air, and said.

    "Tonight is a great night. We are here to celebrate one of our people, Cero, who is going to leave our vige to continue his journey. He came here almost 5 years ago and he quickly became a part of this big family. He is a blessing to this vige and a great person through and through. That''s why, I will have the honor of tossing for this great person. Cheers,ds!!" The chief said with a loud voice.

    Everyone lifted their cups too and shouted after him.

    "Cheers!"

    After that, everyone gulped down their drinks all at the same time.

    Acht looked at everyone with a small smile. For the first time in his life, he felt the sensation of being a part of a family. The feeling of belonging to some ce where he could call it home.

    He had never felt like this before in his life and it somehow pained him even more than he thought. He had never thought about it before since he was thinking of more important stuff that could preserve his life and the life of the people he cherished.  But, maybe deep down, inside his heart, he longed for this feeling since he was born.

    He then shook his head and picked up his cup too to take a sip.

    However, before he could even drink, he looked to his side and saw something weird.

    Leislet, who barely took a sip of her drink had a flushed face and she was huping repeatedly.

    "Leislet¡­ Are you drunk?" He asked.

    "Me¡­ Hup¡­ I am totally fine¡­ Hup¡­ I am as good as a healthy horse in a field full of orange trees¡­ Wait, not that¡­ A field of apple trees¡­ Or was it bananas."

    ''She is totally wasted isn''t she?'' He thought with a sigh.

    She swayed left and right before she rested her head on Acht''s shoulder and said.

    He turned around to look at the others and much to his surprise, Scarlett and even Mia were also as drunk as Leislet. They were swaying left and right.

    Acht could only look at the drink and take a sip to make sure of something. Just when his lips touched the liquid a strong wave of drowsiness attacked him like a rushing train.

    He touched his head and felt his senses numbing. He tried to bite his tongue to regain his consciousness but by that time it was alreadyte.

    "Acht¡­ Drink~~" Leislet said as she grabbed her cup again and drank a huge gulp.

    "Yes, Acht. Tonight is a memorable one. Let''s just get wasted!!" Scarlett shouted as she mmed her wooden cup on the table after a huge gulp of alcohol that made her even drunker.

    Then, for the next few hours, all that happened was chaos. People drank, ate,ugh, and even y games. They spent the whole night indulging in all kinds of entertainment.

    Acht and the trio were no exception. The boy lost his sense of time and merely finished one cup after the other filled with alcohol. His face was flushed and his eyes were barely open. Then, at some point, he lost consciousness and then woke up in this state.

    Back to the present.

    "Fuck! What the hell did I do? I can''t remember the rest of the night!" He cursed under his breath.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    (A//N: Author here, It''s been a few days. Sorry for the dy. I took some time preparing my newest book ''Paradise Online'' and so I had to stop Leave Me Alone, Heroines for a periode of time. Anyway, hope you enjoy and also don''t forget to check my other book if you like MMORPG stuff :) )

 235 Chapter 235

    Chapter 235- Departure (Part 2)

    Acht scratched his head before he took a few deep breaths to calm down again and think carefully about what he should do. Then, he approached Leislet who was sleeping beside him and hugging his leg tightly. She was smiling and murmuring some incoherent words.

    It was obvious that she was having a blissful dream.

    "Leislet, wake up." He nudged her slightly as he tried to release his leg. But, she didn''t move at all and even tightened her grip on his leg and said in a low voice.

    "Nooo~~ Acht¡­ More sleep."

    "Wake up." He said again and shook her shoulders with both of his arms.

    This seemed to have woken her up since her eyes opened and she looked at Acht dazedly. Her groggy state made her unable to understand anything for a good 15 seconds. All she heard were mumbles. So, in that state, she decided to follow her instinct.

    "Acht~~~," She said with a seductive voice and threw her arms around Acht''s neck and threw all of her weight on him. Her naked breasts squished against his chest and her warm and soft body. It was a, incredibly amazing sensation that made him lose his senses for a split second before he shook his head and tried to focus on getting her awake. His sanity wasn''t holding on for longer, though.

    ''This is getting worse. Fuck! I let my guard down for one night and shit like this happens.'' He thought as he cursed under his breath.

    With nothing left, he could only do what he was sure would work 100 percent.

    "Wake the fuck up, you pervert."

    *Smack*

    "Ugh!" Leislet felt the sharp pain and her eyes opened wide before she grabbed her head and started rubbing it.

    "What¡­ When¡­ How?" She muttered as she looked around with her dazed eyes.

    "Sigh, finally. Look at our situation. What the fuck happenedst night?" He asked.

    Leislet finallyprehended what kind of situation they were in and immediately tried to cover her naked body.

    "Why are we naked?!"

    "Like hell do I know. We drank a lot yesterday and we lost our senses before waking up her on top of the fucking house." He rummaged through his spatial ring as he spoke and then pulled a few nkets before giving one to Leislet and covering the others with the two other nkets.

    "Wait¡­ If you are naked and I am naked¡­ Don''t tell me.."

    Acht frowned at the mere thought but still nodded his head.

    "As much as I hate to say it, it is possible."

    Leislet looked down and stayed silent. Her face turned red and a wide smile crawled up her face.

    ''I had sex with Ach?!'' She thought.

    ''No way! No way! No way! No way! I finally did it! Wait! Calm down! It is not certain! I am not feeling sore down there. Fuck! Is it not the case then? Dammit!'' Her mind raced through all the possibilities.

    ''Besides, I would regret it even more if I can''t remember our first time. It has to be engraved into my memory. Also¡­''

    Her eyes fell on the other two and boiling anger started rising in her. She couldn''t care any less about whether they did it or not but the fact that Scarlett and Mia were also involved made her feel as if she sustained a big loss.

    ''These bitches! The thought of them sharing my Acht is fucking disgusting!''

    Acht saw how she reacted but didn''t mention it. More important things were at hand for the time being.

    "Let''s wake them up."

    "Fine."

    As much as she wanted to strangle them to death here and there, she refrained from doing so. At least it was not the time for that¡­ Yet.<sub> </sub>

    After waking Scarlett and Mia, the two had basically the same shocked reaction before they red at each other. Acht obviously stopped them and asked just in case.

    "Do you know what happened yesterday?"

    They both shook their head as they had no clue either.

    After that, they all climbed down the house and quickly wore some clothes. Their clothes from yesterday were nowhere to be found.

    "I am going to ask the vigers. They might know what happened." Acht said and left the house, leaving the three girls in the house¡­ Alone.

    But, unexpectedly, no fight ensued between them.

    "Ok, we will have an emergency meeting now," Leislet said as she sat down on the table and crossed her arms together.

    "It seems that we might''ve¡­ Cough¡­ Had sex with Acht¡­ All three of us¡­ Together."

    Mia blushed even harder and shook her head.

    "There is no way, right? It must''ve been some kind of misunderstanding." Mia tried to deny it with all her might.

    The thought of her first time with Acht being in such a way was really horrible for her.

    The same case could be said about Leislet who also doesn''t want that to be the case.

    "I know. But, we are still not sure yet. However, the most likely case is that we didn''t do that. We just need to find the proof."

    Mia and Scarlett looked at each other confusedly.

    "How do we do that?" They asked.

    Leislet seemed to have expected that question and smiled in response.

    "It''s simple¡­." Then, she told them the n she thought of with details.

    The two nodded their heads.

    "The n is clever. I think it could work."

    "Me too."

    Leislet clicked her fingers together.

    "Good. Now that we agreed. We need to get to work before hees back." She said,

    ***************************

    Meanwhile, Acht took a turn around the whole vige and asked most people he met whether they could remember what happened yesterday or not. Most of them didn''t remember and even those who do have a small idea about it didn''t give any useful information to work with.

    Acht just needed a small hint and he could probably link everything together but even that seemed to be too much to ask.

    After 2 hours passed, he stopped his search and decided to go back home. He was hungry and the headache from yesterday was still there so he wanted to rest for a little bit.

    What he didn''t know is that even that was too much to ask. His day was going to be as long and hectic as yesterday¡­ Or even more.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 236 Chapter 236

    Chapter 236- Departure* (Part 3)

    "I am back," Acht said with a sigh as he basically threw himself on the sofa with a long sigh of exasperation. His mood was so bad that he barely could keep himself calm and fairly rxed. His mind kept racing the whole day about whether he actually did it or not. Not only did it make him feel like a cheater but it also broke one of his codes.

    He felt that his loyalty to Dia was destroyed in one single night. For all of these years, he kept himself away from anything that could make Dia hate him or even leave him. He did get tempted countless times before but he never sumbed nor did he let himself do it either.

    As he sat there, silently reminiscing about the past, a small sound reached his ear. At first, he thought that it was merely the sofa screeching or maybe the wind blowing outside. However, when he listened to the sound again, he instinctively looked up.

    "Huh?" He uttered.

    There, on the ceiling, where the three women that had been with him since yesterday.

    "Now!" Leislet shouted and released herself, falling directly on Acht. The other two followed suit and jumped down.

    *Thud*

    Acht felt his body getting squished as three bodies weighed down on him. He released his face and said with an angry tone.

    "What the hell is this?"

    The girls didn''t reply and instead pinned him down even harder. He tried to resist but they simply overwhelmed him with their teamwork.

    "We got him," Leislet said with a small, triumphant smile.

    "What the fuck?! Release me now." He resisted but without any result.

    "Oh, how naive of you, dear Acht? kekekeke" Leislet chuckled as she looked at him from the top with a weirdly aroused look. She was clearly enjoying her time very much. She found the fact that she was standing above the prideful Acht so entertaining.

    ''Damn, this is so hot¡­ Wait, I have to focus on our n.'' She thought as she shook her head and smiled even more widely.

    ''Or¡­ A little bit won''t harm anyone.'' In the end, her lust beat her and changed her mind.

    Then, she bent down and touched Acht''s cheek as he looked at her angrily.

    "Mia, Scarlett, and you, Leislet. Can I have an exnation of what you guys are trying to do? I am barely keeping myposure here." He said with a low voice.

    Leislet rubbed his cheek and replied in an affectionate tone.

    "We all have been thinking about yesterday for the whole day and we wanted valid proof that we actually did the deed. You know¡­ Riding St George, boarding the beef bus, bak-"

    "I get it! You don''t have to give many phrases to the same goddamn thing." Acht couldn''t know whether tough or cry at her stupid words and merely tried to keep his stern look.

    "Ehem, anyway. After thinking about it we came up with a very good n to actually see whether we did it with you or not."

    After that, Leislet rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a weird device that he had never seen before. Without him even asking, Leislet exined enthusiastically as she tried to hide her excitement for what was about to happen.

    "This device is an ''Organ functioning scanner''. It is used mostly in hospitals to check whether a person''s organ is working or not. But, one of its many functions is that it can also see if an organ worked in the past 24 hours or not."

    Acht''s face didn''t take even a moment to grow a huge frown as what Leislet wanted to do started weighing down on him.<sub> </sub>

    "Oi, don''t tell me¡­" He muttered.

    "Hehehe, as always¡­ My dear Acht is very smart and quick to get the hint. We are going to strip you naked from head to toe to see if your sexual organs workedst night."

    "We don''t really need to stri-" Mia suddenly muttered before stopping when she felt a nudge from her side by Scarlett. She immediately understood and nodded her head.

    Luckily, Acht didn''t hear that since he was totally focusing on Leislet and her ridiculous n.

    "Release me now, Leislet. You think stripping me and then checking every part of my body is a good idea?"

    Leislet shook her head.

    "Obviously not, it''s not a good idea. It''s the best idea!" She shouted excitedly. Her breathing became erratic and her face was flushed red. Even her eyes were drowned in lust as she eyed every part of Acht''s body like a hungry wolf.

    ''She totally lost her mind.'' He thought as he tried to resist a little bit more.

    Scarlett was already very strong from the start and Mia had already awakened and leveled up for the past 2 months relentlessly. She was not someone to be scoffed at.

    It was a losing fight through and through.

    "Hold him tight, you two. I am going to start stripping him." Leislet said as she licked her red lips.

    Acht didn''t panic and instead tried to keep a calm state of mind instead. Then, he tried to find a way to make them free him by their own will.

    ''What can make them lose focus for a moment.'' He thought for a moment before an idea popped almost instantly.

    Acht smirked secretly.

    "Mia¡­ Can I say something to you?"

    Mia flinched slightly when she heard the gentle voice of Acht. She tried to move her head to look at him but ended up looking like a rusty machine trying to move.

    When their eyes met, she felt herself fall into a dream world¡­ A dream world she never wants to escape. His eyes were calm, gentle, and incredibly mesmerizing. She had seen those eyes only once and since then she longed for them for a long time. Seeing them in front of her now made her feel as if her whole world became even more beautiful than before.

    "Mia¡­ I really want to say something to you¡­ Could you get closer so I can whisper to you? Please, Mia." He kept repeating her name a lot since she liked it a lot when he said her name many times.

    Scarlett and Leislet saw this and immediately tried to wake her up.

    "Oi, don''t listen to him. He is trying to make you release him." Leislet warned her.

    However, all Mia could hear were mumbles and iprehensible words. She had totally been hypnotized.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 237 Chapter 237

    Chapter 237- Departure (Part 4)

    Mia kept inching closer and closer to Acht as she traced his body with her gentle fingers and tried to mutter some words but couldn''t find anything to say. At the same time, her other hand was releasing his leg.

    "Good, get closer." He said with a gentle smile.

    Mia nodded her head and increased her speed to reach his face as fast as she could. Leislet and Scarlett saw this and tried to stop his n. Leislet tried to jump on his leg and pin him down before he slips out of Scarlett''s grip.

    "Naive." He muttered as he used gravity to push Leislet back and give himself some space to stand up.

    At this point, Scarlett was unable to actually keep him pinned to the ground alone when the other two were nullified in such a way.

    *Swish*

    With a small burst of strength, Acht''s leg was released and he jumped back to create some space.

    After taking a deep breath, he looked down and saw the device that Leislet pulled out thrown on the ground. He bent down and picked it up before checking it thoroughly. It was square-shaped with a small screen and a few buttons to make it function. He was able to understand how it works in less than 3 seconds.

    "A-Acht." Mia finally woke up from her trance and said his name with a pale face.

    However, the only thing she got was an angry re from him that showed how upset he was with what they tried to do.

    "You three. I am genuinely disappointed." He began with a long sigh.

    "I trusted you guys and yet you try to do such a thing to me? Is that how you treat someone important to you?" His voice was not angry and not even threatening¡­ Just pure disappointment.

    This made the three of them look down with a sad look. No one of them dared to look him in the eyes or even try to say anything.

    "We are going to leave this ce soon. Don''t turn it into a ce with bad memories for me and for you three."

    Leislet looked up and said with a resolute face.

    "I was the one toe up with the idea. I am the one to me so I will be the one to apologize."

    However, much to her shock, Acht shook his head.

    "Your apology is refused. You three are getting punished."

    "Huh?!" (x3)

    A weird voice came out of the girls'' mouths at the same time. Their minds didn''tprehend what he said in the first 2 seconds.

    However, when it weighed down on them, their faces paled.

    "A-Acht. We can negotiate¡­" Leislet said.

    "Bend over." He ordered as he unleashed his aura and tapped the device in his hand.

    "I am going to check myself whether your sexual organs did work in the past 24 hours." His mouth drew a gentle smile that hid behind it a cruel intention.

    "W-Wait. This is illegal." Scarlett shouted in protest as she touched her butt instinctively. To be fair, she would go mad with excitement if Acht did such a thing for her. However, she would probably die before he could finish his task so she might as well not let it happen.

    "Illegal? Hmm, let me see¡­ I don''t think anyone is watching." He tapped his chin innocently and then made a huge, evil grin.

    "Bend¡­ Over." He uttered the same words with even more emphasis on each letter.

    "M-Mommy," Mia muttered as she tried to retreat. Her face was as red as a ripe tomato and her breathing was a mess.

    She wanted to run away before she dies from shame. She was still far too innocent for such things so the idea scared her a little.

    "Don''t worry. It will only be for 1 hour. I won''t take long."<sub> </sub>

    "That''s way too long!" Leislet shouted.

    "Whatever you say. Now, bend over before I actually start using strength." He insisted on it and didn''t allow anyone of them to retort to his unreasonable request.

    The three girls looked at each other andmunicated their thoughts with their eyes alone. Then, with a nod, they turned around. They then bent down and showed their plump butts in their full glory.

    The biggest out of them all was by far Leislet''s. It was so big and jiggly that even pajamas couldn''t hide the allure curves of her butt. Scarlett and Mia were also considerably big but not even close to beingpared to Leislet.

    "D-Do whatever you want," Scarlett said and closed her eyes waiting for the humiliation.

    The other two followed suit and closed their eyes.

    Seconds passed by like hours with no sound being made Acht. He was still motionless and the three grew even more nervous with every passing second.

    Then¡­

    *Step*

    He made a single step, then another one, and another one after that. Quickly, he reached them and stood above them silently.

    ''This is nerve-wracking. I want to look back.'' Leislet clenched her teeth as she fought the urge to look back.

    That''s when it happened.

    *Kiss* *Kiss* *Kiss*

    The three girls felt a warm sensation on their cheeks for a split second before it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Their eyes opened quickly and looked at Acht who stood in front of them. For a moment, their hearts stopped beating and every cell in their bodies stopped moving.

    "H¡­uh?" Their voices also got stuck in their throats.

    Acht kept looking at them before he suddenly exploded inughter.

    "Hahahahahahah!"

    This was by far the most Acht ahd everughed in his life. His voice echoed in the whole house as he grabbed his stomach. His angry face was nowhere to be found.

    This made the girls'' minds fall into even more chaos. Mia reached a point where she just shut down and lost consciousness.

    As for Leislet and Scarlett, they didn''t really fare any better than her. Especially Leislet, she touched her cheek to check whether the warm feeling was real or not.

    Scarlett pped herself a few times to make sure that she was not dreaming. However, no matter how many times she pped herself it only proved that this was real.

    Afterughing for a good 2 minutes, Acht looked at them with a gentle smile and said jokingly.

    "Your faces were priceless. However, to be serious, I was never intending to punish you."

    After that, he started walking away.

    "W¡­hy?" Leislet''s voice finally came out but it was still low and stuttering.

    "I already know you three very well. You have some very bad jokes from time to time but you are kind people. I am sure that if I ask you to never do that again you will listen to me. You are important people to me after all. Am I wrong?"

    *Drop*

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 238 Chapter 238

    Chapter 238- Departure (Part 5)

    *Drop* *Drop* *Drop*

    Suddenly, tears started dropping down Leislet''s cheeks as she stared wide-eyed at Acht as if he was some kind of alien from another world. Her cheeks got immediately stained with teardrops.

    Then, as if she had lost it, she started crying loudly as she closed her eyes and looked down at the ground. Acht didn''t expect such a reaction from her after the prank he did. He knew that she will be shocked but never thought that she would actually start crying like a baby out of nowhere.

    He walked over toward her and bent down to check on her.

    ''Did I overdo it?'' He thought to himself.

    "I am sorry¡­ Hick¡­ Acht. I will never do it again, ever. So, please forgive me¡­ WAHHH!!" She muttered between her cries. Her cheeks were now as red as a tomato.

    "Why are you crying? It did upset me a little but as I said I already know you three way too well to even try and get angry." He asked confusedly.

    "Because¡­ Because you said such beautiful words and did something we will never forget. How can I not cry from happiness?" She replied.

    Then, she looked up and jumped on Acht, hugging him tightly. Her arms crossed around his neck and her cheek touched his cheek, rubbing it on him gently.

    "I love you way too much." She said with a small giggle.

    The other two looked at the two and in a historic scene started crying too before they jumped on Acht, covering himpletely. They sought his warmth like a moth searching for light. Their faces had this blissful look that couldn''t be hidden no matter how much they could try.

    Acht looked at them with a slightly surprised look but didn''t say anything. For some reason, he was unwilling to let them go now. So, without thinking much about that, he closed his eyes and let them hug him for as long as they wanted.

    ***********************************************

    Two weekster.

    "Did you get everything?" Acht asked the three girls as he picked up a huge suitcase and threw it in his spatial ring before dusting his hands. He was the only one in the living room.

    As for the other, Mia was in her house getting ready and saying her goodbyes to her father. They needed some time alone before she left with them. After much persuasion, Leislet pulled her links and gave her an opportunity to take an entrance test.

    Students who got letters of rmendation won''t need that because they were considered very highly talented individuals that are way above any tests.

    ''Sali will most likely be crying like a baby now.'' Acht thought as he sat down on the couch looking at the ceiling.

    "It''s time, huh? I never thought that 5 years will pass this quickly. Good things never stay forever." He muttered with a nostalgic look on his face.

    Memories from the past 5 years came back rushing toward him. From the moment he stepped inside this vige, he had so much fun and also was able to buildup many great rtionships with everyone in the vige. He felt himself change slowly as time passed. He was able to open his heart slightly and allow some people inside.

    It was a stark contrast to his old self but he didn''t care. People change and he was a human after all, not a machine.

    "I am ready," Scarlett said as she got out of her room. it was only used to change clothes and she spent most of her time sleeping on Acht''s bed.

    "Goo-" Acht went silent when he saw her clothes.

    She wore a simple red dress that reached her knees and a small flour was tucked in her hair. This simple style was able to entuate her amazing beauty. She was absolutely outstanding.<sub> </sub>

    "You look good."

    Scarlett smiled widely at his simplepliment.

    "Thank you¡­"

    Then, she sat down on the couch and went silent looking around the house with aplicated gaze. He could see that Scarlett was having the same thoughts he had.

    "I will miss this ce a lot." She muttered.

    "Me too."

    Then, for the next 5 minutes, no one spoke as they reminisced about their times here. It was a very memorable moment after all.

    As they were like that, Leislet finally came out.

    She wore a pair of jeans and a shirt that she tucked inside her trousers. They all wanted to wear such clothes because the journey will be long and wearing fancy clothes will only make it even harder to travel.

    "Tadahh¡­  How do I look, Acht~" She said happily.

    "It''s very cute." He said without giving much thought. He was still not back to his usual self.

    Leislet caught that atmosphere quickly and said.

    "You feel nostalgic, huh?"

    The two nodded dazedly. Leislet sighed under her breath and added.

    "I also felt like that yesterday. I couldn''t sleep at all. I felt really sad. But¡­"

    "Why the sad faces? We can alwayse back here whenever we want. It''s our home after all. Right?"

    Acht smiled and nodded his head before standing up.

    "You are right. We should leave now. A lot of things needed to be done and we can''t just waste our lives here before we actually secure the future."

    They must not forget that the world was still not at peace. Invaders came here and almost ended the world so the possibility of that happening again is very probable. There were also many other threats lurking in the background waiting for the perfect opportunity toe out and wreak havoc. All of that was put on hold because of this long vacation and now it was time to get back to business.

    The two girls nodded and walked after him. The door of the house closed and along with it, a new phase of their lives opened. As for what it had in store for them, only fate will tell.

    [Volume End.]

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 239 Chapter 239

    Chapter 239- Soul Academy City (Part 1)

    "Hey, bitch! Wait!" A boy shouted as he ran after a girl. His bloodshot eyes and his huge frown made him look like an angry bull ready to attack anything in front of it.

    "No! We are over! Don''t follow me!" The girl shouted back as she kept walking away from him as if he was a gue. like

    It seemed to be a breakup argument between a couple. Many passersby saw this and stood to watch with an excited look. Some of them even pulled out their phones to film the moment with evil giggles.

    Seeing such a thing was not a usual daily thing, especially when their location is literally the Soul Academy City where all the young men and women from around the worlde to study here and be renowned figures.

    "How many times should I tell you that I barely even spoke to that girl?! She was the one being all friendly with me!" The boy said.

    "Oh yeah? So both of you were talking in the bed while holding each other intimately. You were definitely about to start a very long ''conversation'' for sure." The girl clicked her tongue in frustration and continued walking.

    "Damn that went from 0 to 100 really fucking quick." Another person said.

    "Imagine thinking about love life when you are about to take the test of your life. Truly a bunch of idiots." Another added.

    "Fuck! It is just an incident, give me a break. I will never do it again, ok?"

    The girl then halted and smiled at the boy kindly. However, as much as that smile gave the boy some hope, her words crushed him and threw him into the abyss as if it was nothing.

    "Oh, forgot to tell you. I also slept with your best friend by mistake."

    "What?!!"

    "It was an ident, ok? Just give me a break." She eximed sarcastically.

    "You... You fucking bitch!!"

    As if he totally lost his mind, the boy ran at the girl and channeled his soul force to unleash an attack. He was not holding himself back at all.

    "OI!!" The audience shouted as they started retreating back in fear of getting caught in the fight.

    "I''m gonna kill you, you bitch!"

    However, a split second before he could even touch her, his body was suddenly sted away like a rocket and shed into a wall roughly.

    "Ugh!!" The boy groaned in pain as he fell down on his face. He felt one of his ribs getting shattered as if it was made out of ss.

    "Who?! Who did that?! Show yourself!" He yelled as he looked around frantically.

    There, he could only see a group of people that weren''t running away like others and instead were walking casually as if they didn''t see anything happening around them.

    "That trip was really long. Why are there no teleportation portals here." An extremely handsome boy said as he cracked his neck.

    "It is to prevent anything like what happened 5 years ago in the convention. We are here so we can rest finally." Another jaw-dropping beauty answered him with a calm smile.

    "But to be fair, thest time I came here it was not as beautiful as it is now. I guess my time here as an instructor won''t be that dull after all."

    "Me too!"

    Everyone halted their steps and looked at the group as if they were a bunch of aliens. Each one of them was an amazingly looking individual that would drive anyone crazy with one single look. Especially the boy who was basically from a whole other world. It was to the point where he made all the male students around him question whether he was even a human or not.<sub> </sub>

    As for the girls, they simply pulled out their phones and started taking pics of Acht like crazy fangirls. Their faces were as red as tomatoes.

    "W-Who is that stupidly hot guy?! Is he a model or something?"

    "B-Beat me! If he is going to study here then I must pass the test at all costs."

    "I feel wet."

    "What''s so hot about him, humph?" A guy felt jealous and tried to insult Acht. However, he couldn''t really find anything to say. He immediately realized that anything he would say would make him look like an idiot

    Such things could be heard around Acht and the others. But, no one dared to approach them at all because of their auras that could make them suffocate from pressure.

    "You! Did you attack me from behind, coward!!" The boy stood up and ran to the front, stopping Acht and his group from passing.

    Acht nced at the boy for a second before he swept his hand as if he was getting rid of an insect that was annoying him.

    *Swish*

    That simple gesture sent the boy flying again and smashing head-first into another building. But, even that didn''t seem to knock him out.

    "There is also the problem of insects here," Acht muttered and continued walking as if nothing urred.

    "D-Damn. What the fuck did he do?!"

    "I think he used the wind to throw him away. A wind user!"

    "Too strong. I would love for him to choke me to death."

    Leislet looked around here and clicked her tongue coldly. She could see how females are already eying Acht secretly and trying to find an opportunity to talk to him.

    ''Those bitches never stop. Stealing other people''s things is a trend among them. Fuck! I have to be alert at all times.'' She thought.

    "Did you say anything, Lei-" Acht looked and wanted to speak but his voice got stuck in his throat and his eyes squinted at the people standing behind him. There, he saw a person he knew very well.

    An average-looking boy with a curious look tried to reach the front and see what happened. His most noticeable feature is his curious and innocent eyes like that of a small sheep or goat.

    "Excuse me. Can I pass, please? Thank you." He said with his low and timid voice. One look was more than enough to see that this particr person wasn''t that good with peo and was quite shy.

    Acht looked at him for a few seconds before he turned around with a cold smile.

    "Is there anything wrong, Acht?" Mia asked curiously when she saw his weird reaction.

    "No, not really. I just thought I saw someone I know."

    However, inside his mind, he was having many thoughts.

    ''We finally meet, Mister protagonist.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 240 Chapter 240

    Chapter 240- Soul Academy City (Part 2)

    It has been almost 7 years since Acht came to this world. He had fought many monsters, beasts, humans, and even aliens from another world. He had seen from this world more than most people could experience in a lifetime and he was slightly grateful for that because it taught him many important lessons and changed him from the ground up.

    However, all of that improvement was simply nothing in front of a power so strong that even Acht wasn''t sure if he could contain it or not. A power that was way beyond his abilities.

    This factor was the ''protagonist''. Who was the protagonist? He is the main character of the whole world. The most important chess piece on the board and also the wielder of that world''s fate. The protagonist is simply a power that only one person could possess and it is more than enough to turn the whole thing upside down.

    As much as Acht feared this power, he was also eager to see it with his own eyes. He wanted to see which kind of person the main character of this world would be.

    ''The main events are about to start and if they actually follow the original book even remotely, that boy is simply one lucky motherfucker. If I recall his name correctly then he is Adrian. '' Acht thought as he peeked behind him.

    "Mmm, excuse me?" A soft voice suddenly spoke to Acht and the others. It was slightly timid but very determined.

    Acht didn''t want to turn around but Leislet had already looked back for some reason. She eyed Adrian silently and waited for him to speak. Having a beauty like Leislet look at you is a very desirable experience for any sane man in the world and Adrian was no different than them.

    His face blushed slightly but he still continued with what he wanted to say.

    "Why did you hit that boy over there?" He asked.

    "None of your business," Leislet replied coldly.

    "It is my business. I like to help powerless people against those who try to bully them and you clearly bullied him." He said.

    "Huh?" Leislet felt a little bit pissed because of his words. Acht had actually stopped that guy from hitting his ex-girlfriend in front of people and potentially kill her and then he gets used of bullying. Bullshit!

    Even though he was the topic of that conversation, Acht could only think of one single thing.

    ''Why is she even trying to talk with him? In normal cases, Leislet ignores anyone she doesn''t deem worthy of her time.'' He thought to himself.

    Then, his mind quickly linked everything together, it was most likely the protagonist effect taking ce. The effect of making the main character the center of every conflict, problem, event, and anything else that drives the story ahead.

    After taking a deep breath to calm down, Leislet started approaching Adrian with slow steps, her eyes never left his the whole time. She wanted to warn him from trying to me Acht. However¡­

    *Tap*

    Her leg suddenly sprained out of nowhere and she started falling ahead. She was falling directly toward Adrian. Thetter extended his arms and tried to catch her before she hits the ground. But, another unexpected thing happened.

    *Swish*

    A shadow moved at an inhuman speed and closed the distance between him and Leislet before he grabbed her arm and rested her body in his embrace.

    "You ok?" Acht asked. His eyes looked deeply into hers as if he was trying to open her soul and see inside.

    "Y-Yes." Leislet could only stutter from this sudden hug.<sub> </sub>

    As for Acht, his face only turned grimmer and grimmer with each passing second.

    ''A person as strong as Leislet spraining their leg and falling is so rare it might as well be an impossible urrence. Her bnce is simply notparable to normal humans at all. But, a simple interaction with Adrian and the plot is already trying to link them together. She is a heroine too after all.'' He thought.

    If such a stupidly impossible thing happened so easily, Acht could only shudder to imagine what else could happen with Adrian being close to him.

    ''S-So fast. I could barely even see his shadow. Who is this guy?'' Adrian thought to himself as he eyed Acht up and down.

    To be fair, he did feel jealous of Acht. He was way better-looking than him, he was strong as hell and he also had a group of beauties following him. He had what every man desired in his life.

    Then, with such a bad first impression, Adrian immediately started hating Acht. Hell, he even stopped him from grabbing Leislet''s body. Just looking at her soft boobs, Adrian could only curse his bad luck.

    ''Fuck, I am so unlucky.''

    Acht ignored the protagonist and helped Leislet up before he said.

    "Be careful next time, ok?"

    His tone was t but because Leislet knew him way too well to ignore the small details in his reaction and his words, she could feel that Acht was annoyed.

    Being the smart woman she was, she could immediately see why he was angry. However, the idea alone made her shake her head in disbelief.

    ''Is he¡­ jealous? No no no! There is no way that ''Acht'' could be jealous. I can believe that this world was a big piece of cheese and never believe that Acht could feel jealous for me. But¡­ even if it is just a stupid imagination¡­ It feels very good~'' she smiled secretly at Acht.

    Her heart was beating quickly and her breathing became erratic.

    "Excuse me." Adrian tried to catch her attention again.

    "Piss off," Leislet said with a cold re before she followed Acht.

    Scarlett and Mia also red at Adrian with ming eyes. Was it not for Leislet walking closer to him, she wouldn''t fall off and then Acht would have had to catch her and hug her in his embrace. That little shit was the one to me.

    ''Sigh, this the worst. I made three beautiful girls hate me in less than a minute for some reason. My life here will be hell.''

    He felt that all of this was unfair which was ironic considering the fact that he was by far the luckiest person in this world. However, luck had shed with an equal if not stronger force.

    But, neither of the two knew that for the time being.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 241 Chapter 241

    Chapter 241- Kuudere Returns! (Part 1)

    "So there are two areas in this city? Student area and non-students area?" Acht asked as he looked ahead of him at a massive wall at least 30 meters tall made out of stone.

    It had a massive gate with two giant doors made out of iron and wood. Many guards were standing in front of it and letting invited people pass. It was a procedure to stop anyone who isn''t allowed to enter from sneaking in and doing whatever they want in a ce where many important figures are living.

    "Yes, many peoplee here to take the test and they most of the time fail so they live in the non-students area for a whole year till he could try another time. This could go for years and years." Leislet exined as they reached the gate.

    The queue was obviously long and by the look of it, it could take hours of waiting before they could pass. Acht sighed under his breath thinking of the boring hours he will have to pass standing and doing nothing.

    Besides, the looks he garnered from the students around him made him even more displeased. Especially, girls, they made him feel like a piece of juicy stake with mashed potatoes.

    Scarlett smiled seeing his frown and said as she touched his cheek and rubbed it gently.

    "Don''t worry, my cute Acht. We ain''t going to wait."

    The boy was confused at first but still nodded his head nevertheless.

    Then, she pulled out her phone and called someone none of the three people with her knew. She said a few words and then hung up. Her amused smile widened when she saw how confused herpanions are.

    A few secondster, 3 guards came running toward them as fast as they could. Their faces were pale and their eyes widened in shock as they looked around searching for Scarlett and her group.

    Scarlett lifted her hand up to call for them.

    "M-Miss. Scarlett. It''s our honor to meet you here. Pleasee with us." One of them said in the most respectful way possible.

    Scarlett nodded her head and then peeked at Mia and Leislet with a triumphant smile. She had shown how useful she was to Acht while these two watched silently.

    "You are not the only one who has connections, bitch." Leislet muttered as she clicked her tongue in frustration.

    "I will break her legs," Mia said to herself.

    Then, the two followed behind Acht and Scarlett to another area near the wall. There, a small door could be seen with a few guards standing beside it.

    The group passed through that door after a respectful greeting from the guards.

    "Who did you call?" Acht whispered to Scarlett.

    Scarlett also whispered back.

    "A friend of mine." Her response was as mysterious as it could get.

    The group found themselves in a very different part of the city. Behind those walls, it was not that bad or slum-like but whenpared with the student''s area, it is basically worse than a trash can.

    The streets, buildings, hell even the sky above them, suddenly became clearer and even more beautiful. Such a drastic contrast made Acht shake his head.

    ''Discrimination at its peak.'' He thought to himself as he sighed. As much as he wasn''t a big fan of this attitude, he understood why it was like that.<sub> </sub>

    Commoners and renowned figures can''t simply live in the same conditions. How can they? After all, kings and n leaders would kill the supervisors if they find out that their sons and daughters were treated like normal people.

    "I ca-" As Acht was about to say something, his eyes fell on a person walking with two bodyguards behind her.

    She was the same age as him so her face and demeanor changed since the time he saw her. But, how can he forget her face even after 5 years?

    Coincidentally, the girl looked back too and her pupils immediately widened when she saw Acht. Her mouth hang open as she tried to say something.

    However, what came out instead was a tear. She tried to wipe it but instead, more tears came out like a gushing hose.

    "A¡­cht?" She muttered as she dropped her sword and started walking toward him.

    Her steps were wobbling and her face was still in disbelief trying to discern whether this was a dream or not.

    When she reached him, she took a long look at his face as if she was trying to care it into her soul before it vanishes.

    "It''s been a while¡­ Tania."

    When Acht uttered those words, Tania finally lost it and started crying before she jumped on him and hugged him with her four limbs like a monkey.

    "Acht¡­ hick¡­ Acht¡­ Hick¡­" She kept muttering his name as she tightened her hug around his torso.

    ''She changed a lot in terms of looks but she is still the same inside.'' He thought as he tapped her head gently.

    The girl kept crying and crying while the others around them looked at her in shock. Especially the bodyguards, they had never seen their youngdy talk let alone cry and show such intense emotions. It was akin to seeing the sun rising from the south.

    After 10 minutes of pure crying, Tania finally calmed down and climbed down from Acht. However, she still kept her hands around his neck and rubbed her cheek on his face.

    "Acht¡­ Miss you¡­ A lot." She said with the same difficulty she always had.

    The past 5 years were hell on earth for Tania, she tried to search for Acht with all of her power but couldn''t find him at all. She lost the desire the eat, speak or even show any reaction simr to that of humans. Her whole being was crushed and her soul lived in constant torment.

    Hell, the only reason she came to this academy was to search for Acht in ast attempt before she ended her own life. Living in torture is not something a human should experience.

    Acht knew this so he treated her gently and tried to let her calm down.

    "I am sorry for not contacting you¡­ The past 5 years were kind of hectic." He said.

    "Mmm." She moaned in response to his words.

    "I¡­ searched¡­ found nothing¡­ I was¡­ sad¡­ Cried." Her response was still filled with stutters from the long crying.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 242 Chapter 242

    Chapter 242- Kuudere Returns! (Part 2)

    "I¡­ understand¡­" Tania said as she wiped the tears from her face and smiled slightly. Even though her face didn''t show much emotion even when she is happy or sad, that smile alone was even more beautiful than a garden full of roses.

    Acht nodded his head and turned around to look at the others. But, his face immediately frowned when he sensed the pressureing from them. The three women had the same grim look that screamed ''run away''. Acht could only cough and speak to calm them down.

    "You should leave firs-"

    "No." The three of them said at the same time as if they were the same person. It was genuinely scary how in synch they could be if they want to.

    Tania also eyed the three of them with the same cold face that she had usually. Her eyes didn''t show much but her mind was racing around. Especially when she saw Mia.

    ''Who¡­ is that? Another thief!! Kill!!'' She thought to herself and unleashed a little bit of her aura. However, that was more than enough to make Acht turn around with a shocked look.

    "Tania¡­ you." He muttered.

    Her aura was so heavy and strong that it made him question whether it was actuallying from Tania or not. He knew that she did get stronger but not to this extent.

    ''I guess 5 years can make anything possible.'' He thought.

    "Excuse me, your highness¡­ Who is that boy?" One of the guards came closer and whispered in Tania''s ear warily.

    "Acht¡­ My¡­" Tania tried to introduce Acht but ended up hesitating on what she should say. She could''ve said he was her friend but he was way more important to her than a mere friend. A lover? Not quite that. So, she could only fall into deep thought.

    Her troubled expression was extremely adorable as she murmured to herself some incoherent words. Then, as if she found the right word she smiled and continued.

    "Future¡­ husband."

    Silence. Absolute silence that could make the sound of a needle dropping on the ground be heard. The words she said took a few seconds for everyone to process them.

    Then¡­

    *Pffft*

    Everyone exploded into coughs, Acht especially felt as if his lungs spat all of the air inside in one single moment.

    "Y-Y-Your highness, what are you saying?!" The guard asked agitatedly.

    "Acht is my future husband¡­" She said as she tilted her head with a confused look. She genuinely didn''t know how absurd her ims were.

    "Tania¡­ Ehem¡­ You know what you are saying right?"

    "Tania knows!!" She eximed as she puffed her cheeks.

    "I am going to kill her!!" Leislet shouted as she ran toward Tania with a maddened look. Her aura fully unleashed like a raging storm.

    "Wait!" Acht immediately grabbed her and held her body tightly so that she can''t move.

    "Let me go! I am going to teach her a lesson!" She said.

    "Stop it! Nothing good wille out of this fight! Do you want to start a war!" He tried to calm her down and talk reasonably.

    "No! How dare she say that?"

    Tania looked at Leislet with a cold look. She didn''t like how Leislet was talking to her.

    "Try¡­ me¡­"

    "That''s it¡­ This bitch is dead!"

    Leislet increased her pulling force and tried to break open from Acht''s tight hold. However, Acht grabbed her even harder to not let her escape.

    Leislet was a very strong person so keeping her on hold was no easy task at all. He had to use gravity maniption to make it harder for her to move.

    "Come on, Leislet. Calm the fuck down or I will smack you." He warned and threw her on the ground. Then, he grabbed her chin and looked her deep in the eyes.<sub> </sub>

    ''This is the only way she could calm down.'' He thought.

    "W-What?"

    It seemed that his n worked since Leislet blushed slightly when she saw his face getting closer and closer. She can''t handle Acht being that close to her.

    However, he just looked at her silently with his blue eyes.

    "O-Ok, stop. I am calm now." She finally gave up and stood up.

    "Listen, princess. Acht isn''t your future husband or anything like that." She said.

    "He is!"

    "He is not!"

    "He is!"

    "I said he is not!"

    "Grrrr.."

    "Grrr¡­"

    The two kept going back and forth like two cats that were about to fight. Acht could only sigh and look at Mia and Scarlett.

    "Let''s go. We are going to bete."

    The two nodded silently and followed him. They somehow were able to keep theirposure when Tania said that. It was hard but they pulled it off which is worthy of praise.

    "Wait for me!"

    "Me¡­ too."

    The guards looked at theirdy with aplicated gaze. Then, they pulled out the phone and called her father, the king.

    Almost instantly, a man answered the phone with an urgent look.

    "Did something happen to my sweet daughter?!"

    "Y-Your majesty¡­"

    "Speak quickly you fucking idiot!"

    "A-A boy named Acht took her with him."

    "What?! Acht is alive?!" The man almost spat out his drink from shock. He couldn''t believe that the boy his daughter tried to find for years and years was still alive. Seeing her so depressed did pain him so much that he did everything he could to make her get up and move on. Hell, he even introduced many capable young men for her but they all ended up getting beaten up to a pulp before getting kicked out roughly.

    "Y-Yes¡­ Is he really someone we can trust? Should we deal with him?" The guard asked.

    "Yes! Leave them be. Besides, he could probably kill both of you while asleep so you might as well forget about trying to get on his bad side. It''s for the sake of preserving your lives." The king said in the most serious tone.

    A shiver ran down their spines when they heard those words and made them gulp down a mouthful of saliva. The king was never someone to joke about such things so the thought that they could be killed with a simple thought made them erase any bad intentions from their heads.

    "Keep an eye out for any suspicious thing going around. Acht will deal with the rest. Now, let me finish my drink."

    Then, he hung up the phone and sighed under his breath.

    "You finally came back, boy." He said with a small smile.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 243 Chapter 243

    Chapter 243- School Ceremony (Part 1)

    "This is the boy''s dormitory and this is the girl''s dormitory. They have a soul barrier between them so be assured that there will be no threat for anyone of you." The guard said as he showed them multiple ces in the area.

    It was quite amazing to see the cheer care for detail in everything. That goes to show why this academy was the goal for any ambitious young person.

    "This is the end of our tour. You can get inside and show the receptionist your invitation letter, she will deal with everything else."

    Acht nodded his head and walked away to the boy''s dormitory. Mia and Tania also walked to the girl''s dormitory while Leislet and Scarlett left for somewhere else.

    "Excuse me, I am here to get my keys to my room."

    The receptionist kept looking at Acht silently for a good 10 seconds without saying anything. Acht tilted his head before he waved his hand in front of her eyes to wake her up.

    "Oi, are you ok?"

    "Y-Y-Yes¡­ Your keys, right? My deepest apologies. Let me check your letter please." She stuttered with a blush as she asked for the letter.

    Acht ignored her reactionpletely. He had seen way too many girls blushing when seeing him and he grew apathetic to it. Good looks are in the end merely a facade that hides what''s inside.

    The woman checked the letter thoroughly and then pulled out a pen and wrote something secretly before she put it inside the letter and handed it back.

    "Here are the keys and wee to Soul Academy." She added with a smile that had a mysterious charm behind it.

    Acht then walked away and when he reached the elevator, he opened the letter and checked the inside, he found a piece of paper tucked in the left side of the letter. He pulled it out and read the content.

    "''Here is my number, call me.'' and a heart emoji, huh?" He muttered before he crushed the piece of paper and threw it in his spatial ring.

    "Who knows, that receptionist mighte in handy at some point in time."

    After reaching his floor, he walked to his room in the empty corridor. Students were still not there and most of them had to take the test so that was understandable.

    "They even put my name on the door."

    He opened the door and walked inside. It was way too spacious to be called a ''room''... More like a luxurious apartment.

    He took a look around and then settled down in his bedroom. There were still a few hours before the entrance ceremony so he could rest for a while as he waits.

    So, with that in mind, Acht closed his eyes and fell asleep.

    Then, a few secondster, his eyes opened again quickly, and looked around. He didn''t know why he woke up like this but he was sure that it wasn''t something normal at all.

    "Where¡­ Am I?" He asked himself as he looked around. It was indeed the bedroom he slept in but it was very different than the normal one.

    It was dark, and shadowy with an ominous feeling that made him feel tense and ufortable. He took a few deep breaths and stood up before walking out of the room warily.

    The outside was also empty and dark as if it was suddenly night and no lights were lit. He then walked down to the reception lounge in search of any person.

    ''What is going on?'' He thought to himself.

    He had already considered the possibility of this being a dream but it felt so unbelievably real that he could only think of other possibilities.

    ''Maybe it is a lucid dream after all. I will search for anyone anyway.''<sub> </sub>

    He went out into the streets and started walking toward the girls'' dormitory. He couldn''t sense any presence including that of Leislet, Scarlett, Tania, and Mia. They all vanished.

    When he entered the building, he walked up the stairs silently. The reason for that is that he finally felt some kind of presence in the building. It was faint but he could locate it easily.

    When he reached the 4th floor, he took a peek at the corridor and saw a shadow standing in the middle of the corridor and facing the wall. Acht squinted his eyes and silently waited for the shadow to turn around or do anything.

    After exactly one minute, the shadow turned around and revealed its face.

    "No features?"

    "Hehehehehe¡­" The shadow then started giggling sinisterly.

    Theugh alone made Acht feel threatened more than ever. However, he didn''t try to retreat and kept watching it in total silence.

    Afterughing for a bit, the figure started walking somewhere. The room it walked to was number 254 with a familiar name on it.

    ''Tania''s room?'' He thought.

    The shadow entered inside and closed the door. Acht pondered over whether he should follow it inside or not but in the end decided to walk out and enter the room.

    The door opened slowly and he took a peek inside.

    The only thing he could hear from inside was the sound of a rope moving left and right. His eyes examined the room and fell on a particr silhouette hanging from the ceiling.

    "Wha-"

    *Squeak*

    A girl was hanging from the ceiling with a rope tightly around her neck. Her limbs were hanging and her head was looking down.

    Acht didn''t lose hisposure and immediately looked around.

    ''This is not real. Calm down. This isn''t the real Tania.'' He thought to himself and approached the girl slowly.

    His steps were steady but also extremely tense. He then cut the rope and made the corpse fall down. He examined her face and it was indeed Tania who was supposedly ''dead''.

    Her eyes were empty and hollow like that of a ghost and coupled with the dim room, it was a perfect picture to have nightmares for a few days.

    ''This isn''t a good joke.'' He clenched his teeth and stood up again. The girl had started disintegrating in front of him and turning into ck liquid.

    "This is one hell of a sick of a joke, you know?"

    He said as he turned around to look at the shadowy figure behind him.

    "Heheheheheheh."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 244 Chapter 244

    Chapter 244- School Ceremony (Part 2)

    The shadowy figureughed sinisterly as it looked at Acht with an amused look filled with contempt. It was as if this thing was a small child that pulled out a funny prank and wasughing happily about it.

    Acht red at the monster coldly without saying anything. He was aware that everything this thing was doing was just to mess with him, but the fact that it even created a copy of Tania and made itmit suicide made him pissed off.

    So, he just extended his hand and activated gravity maniption.

    *Bang*

    The shadowy figure was smashed to the ground like a bug, and then he pulled it up from the destroyed ground. After that, he pulled it closer to him and eyed it from a close distance.

    "Listen, fucker. I have no time to y with you. What do you want from me? and make it quick." He said in the most chilling tone.

    The figure didn''t have a face, but Acht still somehow peered into its soul with his deep blue eyes. This situation will make anyone lose theirposure and maybe even faint. However, instead of that, the shadow grinned even wider as it said in the most amused tone.

    "Heheheheh, you will know what I want from you soon. For now, let''s y a little game, Acht. Let''s see how many of your women I could kill before you break and lose your mind."

    Acht squinted his eyes and didn''t reply at all. He didn''t feel any kind of fear from this creature and only pure annoyance.

    "Kill? You think you can do whatever you want?"

    "Heheheh, you are way too naive, Acht. You think no one can ruin everything for you and destroy you just because you have be stronger. I am here to prove that everything you thought was a given would be a luxury."

    Then, after leaving those words, it started dissipating as if it was made out of mist. Ach tried to grab the figure again, but it was already long gone by the time he moved.

    Then, as if it was finally the end of the dream, the world around him started crumbling, and everything turned into dust, including his body.

    Then, his eyes opened again, and he was back in the real world. Acht took a few deep breaths before he stood up and touched his face with his left hand. He found his face sweating profusely as if he were in a sauna.

    ''Who was that? Did Livia perhaps send it?'' He asked himself confusedly before he shook his head and walked to the bathroom to wash himself and prepare for the ceremony.

    Thirty minutester, he got out of his room and walked out to the street. There, he found Mia and Tania waiting for him¡­ Or, to be more precise, on the verge of having a bloody fight.

    "Who are you?!"

    "You¡­ bad!!"

    Acht walked in between them casually and muttered.

    "Let''s go; we are going to bete."

    The two nodded their heads and looked at each other confusedly. Acht was slightly different than usual. His mood seemed to be really foul, and his whole aura was somewhat colder than normal.

    However, they didn''t mention it since it could''ve just been their imagination, and they just walked silently behind him.

    The three reached the hall where the ceremony would be conducted a few minutester. It was already filled with students that took seats waiting for the ceremony to start. Most of them were from a wealthy background, which could be seen in their demeanor and the way they were gazing at the others arrogantly.

    Then, there are themoners who were able to enter this academy through hard work and sheer talent. They sat in a section of their own where no rich student could be seen. From that scene alone, anyone could see that this would not be an easy time for themoners.<sub> </sub>

    Acht simply looked around before he checked his phone. The academy had sent him the seat number he was going to sit in.

    Luckily, it was at the far front and was also in the best position to see everything clearly. It was clear that this seat was for privileged people, even among the rich.

    He sat down, and beside him sat Mia and Tania ordingly. They also had their seats close to each other.

    ''What should I do now? I can''t just ignore the fact that someone is targeting the girls. From their confidence alone, I could see that they were not bluffing. I should keep an eye on my surroundings.'' He thought with a sigh.

    As he was pondering like that, another student came closer to him and spoke in an irritating tone.

    "Hey, you! Get up; I want that seat." He said arrogantly.

    Acht nced at him for a second to see his face and then ignored himpletely. He was not in the right mood to deal with idiots.

    "I said get up, I want that seat!" The boy shouted again and tried to grab Acht by the cor.

    Everyone watched themission silently. They knew who that boy was, and they didn''t want to offend him at all. His father was the owner of the biggest soul stone provider in the whole lower world, and his reputation alone was more than enough to make him beparable with a prince.

    Without looking at the boy, Acht grabbed his extended hand and tightened his grip around it.

    After that, he gazed at him coldly with a frown on his face.

    "I don''t have time to deal with morons. Fuck off."

    He then released his hand violently and returned back to his seat.

    The boy grabbed his arm and ran away with clenched teeth. He obviously swore to take revenge as he ran away, but Acht couldn''t care any less about that.

    "Acht¡­" Tania muttered worriedly.

    "Are you really ok? You seem angry."

    Acht shook his head silently.

    "I''m fine. Just a little bit tired."

    The two of them knew that he was lying since he was not someone to get tired quickly. His stamina was that of at least 2 dozen of weak awakeners, so there were a few things that could tire him out.

    As they were like that, the hall''s light finally dimmed, and the crowd stopped talking and looked at the stage, waiting for the headmaster to appear.

    The ceremony had started.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you, and have a good day <3

 245 Chapter 245

    Chapter 245- School Ceremony (Part 3)

    The curtains that covered the stage opened, and light focused on the stage. A few secondster, footsteps could be hearding from the background. Who came out was a middle-aged man in his 50s with a long beard and long white hair.

    His face was filled with scars, and his left hand missed two fingers. One look was more than enough to know that this man was a seasoned veteran. His demeanour alone could make people feel suffocated from sheer pressure.

    He stopped in front of the microphone and then looked at the people present with his sharp eyes. A few gulped a mouthful of saliva from sheer fear and nervousness.

    "Wee to our Soul Academy. My name is Serven Walker and I''m the headmaster of this institute. Pleased to meet all of you." He bent his head slightly as a way of greeting everyone there.

    Then, after that, he started a long speech about the academy, what it can provide to its students and also the potential future that it can open for them. Just a typical speech that they probably heard before.

    Acht didn''t really care about that and merely kept eyeing his surroundings for any potential threat or anything remotely suspicious. His mind couldn''t stop thinking about the shadow''s words for some reason. As much as he wanted to believe it was all an illusion he created for himself, he wanted to make sure nothing wrong would happen just because he let his guard down.

    However, for the first 10 minutes of the speech, he couldn''t feel any ghostly presence around him or around Mia and Tania.

    ''The only one that appeared in the dream was Tania. Is it perhaps targeting Tania? Or maybe all of them? Or it can be just a way to mislead me. Fuck! This is driving me nuts.'' He clicked his tongue in frustration.

    At the 10-minute mark, the headmaster''s speech ended, and he invited someone else on stage. Acht heard the sound of very familiar heels walking slowly to the stage. The rhythm alone was more than enough to make him recognize who it was.

    ''She really does whatever she wants, huh.'' He shook his head with a sigh.

    Leislet then revealed herself with her usual seductive smile that made all the male students gasp simultaneously.

    She stood on top of the stage calmly and started speaking with her melodic voice. As she was giving her speech, her eyes fell a few times on Acht, and she winked at him gently.

    The boy rolled his eyes at her flirtatious attempts and looked at Tania beside him. She was nibbling on some kind of snack while ignoring the whole speech.

    "She is so hot, holy fuck."

    "I can die in peace if she just touches me."

    "Step on me, mommy."

    Acht wanted to cut off his ears just so that he doesn''t hear these horny teenagers being all stupid and unbearable. Especially thest voice; he wanted to stand up and go beat him up because he made him hear that abomination.

    ''Bear with it, Acht. It''s fine. It will be over soon.

    Luckily, Leislet seemed to have understood that Acht was getting bored, so she quickly ended her speech and went down from the stage. The ceremony was finally over, and everyone could leave.

    Acht also stood up to leave along with the two girls. But, Leislet soon appeared in front of him.

    "Did you like my sexy speech?"

    "Sigh, many could''ve seen you winking like that."

    "I want them to see." She said and hugged Acht''s arm happily.

    Tania looked at her for a moment before she turned around to walk away. She really didn''t like Leislet at all, even more than Scarlett. Staying there was not an option for her.<sub> </sub>

    Suddenly, in less than a second, Leislet''s cute smile distorted into the worst possible grin that could be seen. Then, she extended her arm in Tania''s direction. The woman''s hand changed from her usual pale white skin to a dark tentacle.

    *Bang*

    The arm shot at the small girl at a terrifying uracy. Everything happened in less than a split of a second. Not even the most powerful awakneres around them sensed it.

    "You are too predictable, shadow fucker."

    *Swish* *Boom*

    Acht muttered as he grabbed the tentacle and threw it to the ground along with Leislet or, to be more precise, Leislet''s copycat.

    "What.." Tania, who was finally able to react, stared wide-eyed at Acht and the shadow.

    "Heheheheheh.." Leislet startedughing before it changed her shape to that dark and sinister figure Acht knew all too well.

    "How did you know I was fake?"

    "Your aura is way too different from Leislet when she''s with me." Acht said casually.

    "Heheheheh, you love them a lot, don''t you? That is good, too good. That will make the pen even stronger." The shadowy figure said.

    "I think I didn''t amke myself clear the first time we met. Your cheap tricks will not work. Keep trying until you lose hope and that''s when I will make you go through hell for doing this."

    *Swish*

    He threw the shadow in the air before he kicked it with his right leg, sending it flying into a nearby wall.

    Everyone looked at the chaos with shock on their face. Even the headmaster didn''t react immediately.

    "Heheheheh, you are truly one of a kind, Acht. A true entertainment material."

    After saying that, the shadowy figure turned into a t, ck dot and moved under the door that was the exit for the hall.

    "You ain''t running away this time." Acht muttered and ran after him without looking back.

    He didn''t want to let this abomination stay alive and keep trying to ambush the people around him just to satisfy its twisted desires. Besides, that will also keep him tense 24/7.

    ''Where did it go?'' He looked around outside and tried to sense its presence. Luckily, a few hundred meters away from him, he sensed the presence of the shadow moving from one building to another at an inhuman speed. He was sure that if he doesn''t reach it in the next minute or so, he would lose its tracks easily.

    ''It''s gonna escape.'' He cursed under his breath and channelled all of his soul force before sting in the air using gravity maniption.

    A fight against time has begun.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 246 Chapter 246

    Chapter 246- Never Touch What Is Important To me. (Part 1)

    *Swish*

    Acht flew between the buildings at an impressive speed. In the past five years, he didn''t just sit down and enjoy life. He also trained from time to time to keep himself in shape and also to keep leveling up. So, he was now actually way stronger than before.

    ''I am close, faster, faster.'' He thought as he increased his speed and took dangerous shortcuts between tight buildings and small holes he found in his way.

    After flying for almost 30 seconds, he found himself in the middle of a big field that was made for sports events and things like that.

    His eyes scanned the area and located the shadowy figure moving on the horizon. He was about to chase after it but then halted and thought of another idea that would make it easier to capture that scumbag.

    Meanwhile, the shadowy figure smiled as it went farther and farther away. It thought that Acht had given up on chasing it and left it alone.

    ''That little shit is strong, fuck.'' It cursed quietly.

    However, before it could even celebrate, it found itself blown in the air by a gravity bullet. The hit alone disintegrated it into small particles and threw it in the air.

    "What?!"

    Acht blinked from his ce and appeared in front of the shadow. His face was grim, and his teeth were clenched.

    "Not only are you an annoying fucker but you are also a coward. I am impressed this mix could exist in a single existence." He said with a low tone.

    The shadowy figure smiled nervously and tried to hide its fear as it replied sarcastically.

    "Come on, Acht. You are ruining the game."

    "I don''t give a fuck. I will kill you and then drain your ass in the toilet like a true piece of shit."

    Then, he pulled out his midnight song and traced his hand on the de slowly as if he was examining it after a long separation.

    ''It has been a while, friend. It''s time to get back to work.''

    Then, he lifted up the sword in the air making the de shine under the sun''s rays. Its dark and ominous ck color made it look even more intimidating and oppressive.

    After that, he shed down slowly.

    The shadow didn''t move instantly since it didn''t know what he was doing. However, that will prove to be its biggest mistake so far.

    *Bang*

    "Ugh!"

    In less than a split of a second, it was sliced in half and then into four parts. The slicing continued as Acht watched it scream in pain.

    "It already startred by the time I pulled out the sword, moron." He said coldly.

    A few momentster, the torture stopped, and the shadowy figure was able to take a breather and recollect the small parts that got obliterated.

    After returning to its former shape, it red at Acht madly.

    "I wanted to makae this as peaceful as it could be, turns out I was wrong."

    Immediately, its hand started turning into a sharp de. Then, it ran toward Acht and jumped in the air.

    *sh*

    The two shed violently and made the whole ce quiver from sheer power. However, as strong as the shadow was, Acht barely even used some of his strength. He even held the sword with one hand and kept the other one in his pocket.

    "Too boring."<sub> </sub>

    *sh*

    He moved his arm and pushed the shadow away like a piece of paper in the air. Then, he made three shes in different directions.

    ''Where is iting from? Where?! Where?! Fuck, where is iting from?''

    Acht looked at the shadow as it looked around hurriedly.

    "I will help you out since you seem very desperate¡­ It''sing from above." He said as he pointed at the sky.

    "Above?!" It looked up, and much to its surprise, a sword attack wasing down on it like a meteor.

    It instantly moved to the side and avoided the attack. However, another sh came rushing toward him from under at the same time. As close as the attack was to hitting it, the shadow was able to avoid it at a hair''s breadth.

    "Hahahah! You are too predictable, Acht¡­ I am way too smart to be tricked in such a simple way." The shadowughed loudly with a proud look. However¡­

    *Bang*

    "AGHHHHHH!!!!" An unbearable pain assaulted its back. It was another sword sh that the shadow wasn''t able to sense that came from behind him.

    "Oops, I meant from behind you. My bad. I will make sure to tell you the truth next time." Acht added as he scratched his head.

    "Y-YOU BASTARD!!!" The shadow lostposure and healed itself.

    Then, it extended its hand toward Acht and shouted.

    "Let''s go to my domain and we will see who will toy with the other."

    Then, the ck mist started seeping out of its body and spreading in the air at an rming rate. Acht frowned slightly and flew in the air to avoid the mist. However, the mist reached him and engulfed his body.

    Immediately, he felt his head spinning, and his eyes became hazy.

    ''Fuck, I''m losing consciousness. '' He cursed as his eyes closed and he drifted to sleep. His body started free-falling beforending roughly on the ground.

    Meanwhile, the shadow also fell asleep along with Acht.

    The two were then sent to the world of dreams the shadow created. Acht woke up in the same ce he fell asleep at in the real world.

    ''Again, he got me.'' He thought as he looked around him. The same dark ce, the same ominous feeling and the same deserted world.

    "You have truly pissed me off, Acht. I have tolerated your actions for too long. Now, I will show you true hell."

    "I want to see you try, bastard." He muttered under his breath.

    "Let the fuckin show begin, fucker. We will first start with the prologue, your past! Hahahahahahah!!"

    The scenery immediately started changing and morphing into what seemed like a back alley from a slum. Trash and bad smell filled the ce to the brim.

    Acht knew this ce very well, so he didn''t show much reaction except for a small frown. He didn''t like where this was going.

    After that, a small boy appeared from nowhere and walked to a trash can in the corner of the alley.

    "Once upon a time, a small and weak boy lived in a shitty slum filled with all kinds of nasty things. This small boy was piss poor and lived with another stinky girl that was as repulsive as he was¡­."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 247 Chapter 247

    Chapter 247- Never Touch What Is Important To me. (Part 2)

    The young boy opened the trash can and started rummaging through it eagerly. His hollow eyes and frail body made him look even more pitiful and desperate¡­ Desperate to find something to eat after 3 or more days of hunger.

    "Watch as he tries to find some shit to eat and fill his stomach. Amazing! Goes to show the lives of these interesting creatures." The shadowmented with a mocking tone.

    Acht watched his old self doing that with an apathetic look. He already knew that the shadowy figure was trying to y on his nerves and make him angry then everything will be easier.

    The footage suddenly halted and the shadowy figure appeared again near Acht''s younger self. Then, it grabbed the boy''s face and squeezed his cheeks roughly before moving his face to show it to the real Acht.

    "Look at this worthless fucker. This you, you fucking trash. This is where you belong and where you should go. All of this glory is not for you, Acht. Know your fucking ce."

    Acht shrugged his shoulders and said casually.

    "Oh, really? Never thought of that. Guess I will still savour some of that glory for a while just to piss you off."

    "Grr!" The shadow clenched its teeth in frustration. Then, it clicked its fingers and the scene changed again.

    This time, they were inside a dim room where only a man and a small girl could be seen. The girl was clearly distressed and very scared. As for the man, the lustful smile on his face was more than enough to describe what he wanted to do and what he was thinking off.

    "Here, we have the other shitty girl with our protagonist. This was her opportunity to gain some money after pleasing a rich man. However¡­"

    The girl grabbed amp from the table and smashed it on his head before escaping the room with tears on her face.

    "Not only is she an idiot, but also prideful enough to think that her body was worth something. Hahahahahha!"

    ''Dia¡­'' Acht thought to himself as he looked at her running away. He could see the pain in her eyes as she tried to wipe the tears from her face.

    "Let''s move o-"

    Before the shadow could say anything, Acht lifted his hand up slowly. His eyes were calm, eerily calm that it made him look like a machine of some sort.

    "Gravity domain¡­" He muttered under his breath.

    The whole ce was then engulfed in a blue cage made out of energy.

    The shadow knew that this was no good news so it tried to leave that domain before Acht could do anything.

    *Swish*

    "You aren''t running. I''ve had enough." Acht said as he pulled the shadow until it reached him and then grabbed it by the neck.

    It seemed that whenever Acht grabbed it, it can change shape and escape his grasp. So, he made sure to apply pressure on every side just topress it inside his hand. This seemed to work amazingly well.

    "Trying to kill Tania, attempting to trick me while disguising as Leislet, mocking my past and Dia''s past. You have truly made me hate you to the bone. I have no idea who sent you to me and I couldn''t care less about asking you. Just one thing, I can tolerate everything since I can''t just nitpick at every small matter. But, I will never tolerate the fact that you tried to toy with my friends."

    Then, he closed on him and added in a slow tone.<sub> </sub>

    "Never, ever¡­ dare to touch those who are important to me. I will fucking chase you to the ends of the world and make you live through hell."

    The shadow felt its mind going nk from fear. Those eyes, they were truly terrifying and borderline crazy. It knew for sure that he meant those words.

    After that, Acht pressed the shadow with both hands and increased the gravity around it.

    "Wait! Wait!" The shadow tried to resist but ended up only elerating the process. The pressure kept increasing dramatically and the creature kept getting more and morepacted into a small shape that was normally hard for it to squeeze into.

    ''The only way to kill it is to squeeze it until it blows up.'' He thought.

    Soon enough, screams of pain echoed in the whole dream realm and made it shake violently. But, Acht ignored all of that and kept increasing the intensity.

    At some point, the shadow was at the size of a grain of rice or even smaller.

    After reaching a certain point, Acht was unable to continue. The shadow was now so small he could barely see it on the palm of his hand.

    Then, he threw it in the air and ran away as fast as he could.

    ''The explosion will be big. Need to leave the area quickly.''

    After running for a few hundred meters, he stopped the gravity pressure and looked at the ce where the shadow was.

    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

    An explosion so big that Acht could only hear its sound after a few seconds destroyed the whole realm. Even though he was far away, Acht was still caught in the explosion and was pulled in.

    Luckily, before he gets literally obliterated inside the small ck hole he created, the dream waspletely shattered and he woke up again in the middle of the field.

    His eyes immediately searched for the shadow and well enough, it wasying there motionless with its previous aura gone.

    He stood up and walked to the puddle of ck liquid.

    ''This thing is definitely not from this world. Did Livia send it? I don''t think it would''ve answered my questions even if I tried to pry further.

    He shook his head and pulled out a vile made out of ss and collected the ck liquid inside of it. He might need it or maybe even unveil what this thing really is.

    As he walked back to the hall, he thought about the words he said in a fit of rage.

    "Never touch what is important to me, huh? I do say some weird shit sometimes. But, it''s not a lie, I guess." He said to himself...

    A small smile appeared on his face as he thought of something. As for what that thing is, only Acht will ever know.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 248 Chapter 248

    Chapter 248- Physical Lesson (Part 1)

    After returning to the girls, they swarmed him with questions with clear worry in their eyes. He didn''t want to pull them into this mess so he just passed it off as an attack by some kind of intruder and in the end, he couldn''t reach him and ended uping back after a while.

    It was obviously a lie and they knew that very well. However, they didn''t want to use Acht of lying as he could have a good reason for not telling them. He rarely lies to them and when he does it, it was totally necessary.

    He obviously also had to speak with the headmaster who pulled him into his office. The questions he asked were numerous but they all had the same premise. Acht was able to avoid them somehow and walked out of the office dead tired and in a slightly bad mood.

    The day passed and the ident became a hot topic among the whole student body. In less than a day, Acht became the most popr person in the entire academy. He knew that was an inevitable oue after all the shit he did yesterday.

    A day went and a new day came, the lessons continued normally since there was not enough information for the administration to stop them.

    Acht walked out of his room and instantly got recognized.

    "You are the guy from yesterday! Damn, so you live here?" Another student shouted as he got out of his room too.

    ''Sigh, at least let me get to ss first.'' He thought to himself and started walking away without saying anything.

    When he was out of the building, he found Tania and Mia waiting for him. They were surprisingly chatting together amicably. It seemed that they got along very well.

    "Good morning," Acht said casually.

    The two stopped talking and approached him from both sides.

    "Good morning, Mister. Hero." Mia said mischievously.

    "Give me a break. I already feel like going to the woods and living there quietly." He replied as he rolled his eyes.

    "You really don''t know how many people are talking about you this morning. I even heard that girls created a fan club for you." Mia pouted slightly with jealousy.

    "Hm, I don''t care."

    *nudge*

    From his other side, Tania nudged him slightly. He looked down at her and she blushed slightly before signalling for him toe closer.

    "What''s up?"

    He bent slightly to reach her height.

    Tania then smiled slightly and whispered in a breathy voice.

    "Thank you¡­ for saving me."

    *kiss*

    After a quick kiss on the cheek, she ran away without looking back. That move must''ve been really hard for the shy Tania.

    Mia didn''t see that so she didn''t show any reaction. As for Acht, he touched his cheek slightly before returning to his normal self. He didn''t want to show any reaction or Mia will kill him with questions.

    "Why did she run away?"

    "Probably to go to the toilet."

    "Hmm, I see¡­"<sub> </sub>

    The two continued their journey to the sses. Acht and the other two were put in the same ss and coincidentally, Scarlett was one of the teachers in that ss. She was the one responsible for the physical lessons like closebat, soul force and even sword fighting.

    After reaching their sses, the lessons started with the theoretical. Math, physics, literature and also soul force-rted lessons. By the time it was evening, all of the theoretical sses were over and next was the physical one.

    At one of the assigned fields, the ss stood waiting for the teacher.

    "I heard it was professor Scarlett. She is a fucking jaw-dropping beauty. We are lucky, mate."

    "True, bro. We are experiencing youth now. Enjoy it, brother."

    "Ok, everyone, align yourself in front of me now, I want some discipline." Scarlett finally appeared and said with a serious tone.

    She wore some training clothes that fit tightly around her bust and her butt. It was sexy yet also professional enough to not pass off as a seductive attempt.

    "Ok, we are going to start with normal stretching. Your body must be flexible enough to not get injured."

    After that, the students started stretching. Acht also followed suit and didn''t think much about it. However, he really underestimated Scarlett.

    "Hey, you! You are not doing proper stretching." She suddenly shouted and pointed at Acht.

    "Huh?" He really was confused by her weird reaction.

    ''This is perfect stretching though. Is she trying to show that we don''t know each other?'' He thought.

    Scarlett then approached him and went behind his back. She then bent forward and pushed her chest against his back.

    "You need to push further for it to be right. Yes, like that¡­ Keep pushing deeper and deeper. Good, you are doing a decent job." She muttered as she bent his back and made him go down further and further.

    He looked around him and everyone was gazing at them with a weird expressions.

    "Scarlett, what the fuck are you doing?" He asked quietly.

    "Being a professor. Now, focus."

    "I swear you are in deep trouble." He said with a re.

    "Oh, want to punish this bad girl¡­ Daddy~?"

    "Y-You¡­" He felt speechless hearing her words and could not react at all. Daddy? What the hell is that?!

    "Heheheh, just joking with you. I just wanted to hug you but I can''t do that so obviously in front of people."

    She winked at him and then stood up to walk away.

    Acht looked at her as she got farther and farther away. He then sighed and continued the stretching as if nothing happened. Throughout the stretching, he garnered many res from the boys around him. He also heard one of them muttering some kind of curse with an ominous tone.

    Then, after that, it was time for the actual lesson. They will start with the closebat first since it was one of the easiest ones.

    Scarlett then split them into two and asked them to do a particr set of moves while their partner defends and then change turns. It was quite simple so everyone immediately started training without any questions.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 249 Chapter 249

    Chapter 249- Physical Lesson (Part 2)

    "You can choose your own opponent if you want. Girls with girls and boys with boys. We will mix things up in the future lessons." Scarlett said as she looked at everyone.

    Everyone immediately looked at their friends with small smiles. Fighting each other for practice was always a fun thing to do especially when it was with your friends.

    Soon enough, everyone chose their friends with a few of them not choosing anyone. Acht was included in that group since he knew nobody in the ss and he couldn''t bother to choose a weakling to beat his ass.

    "You aren''t going to choose?" Scarlett asked.

    However, unexpectedly, someone approached Acht and shouted.

    "Do you want to practice with me?"

    Acht eyed the boy casually for a second before he closed them and replied.

    "Whatever."

    Acht didn''t even bother to think about it. His level was way above these people and he could easily crush them if he wanted to so he had to actually be careful or he could send one to the hospital with a small p.

    As for the boy, he chose Acht just out of pure hatred for him. An incredibly handsome dude surrounded by beauties left and right was obviously a thing to be jealous of. That was the peak of life for these people and they could only hate anyone who reached it even if they have no idea about who he was or what he did to reach that. None of that mattered to them.

    ''I will make him lick the fucking grass.'' He grinned under his breath sinisterly.

    "Listen now, using your gift is prohibited so don''t even think twice about doing that. Targeting lethal points is also a big no. Just a casual spar and everyone will be satisfied. Understood?"

    "Yes!" They all shouted in response.

    After that, they went inside a medium-sized circle dug into the ground. Acht and his opponent walked inside too and faced each other silently. They were the first to fight by some coincidence.

    Acht had his hands in his pockets and was also yawning from time to time. His face screamed ''I''m bored to death''.

    "Are you ready, pretty boy?" The student tried to mock him but Acht didn''t even react to those words.

    "Ok, now, get ready¡­ Start!" Scarlett gave the signal and the fight started.

    The boy didn''t waste time and immediately charged at Acht swiftly. His speed was remarkable, to say the least.

    When he reached Acht, he sent a punch directly to his face.

    However, before he could even move his arm closer¡­

    *p*

    Acht''s hand moved quicker and pped him right on the cheek. The sheer power of the p was so crushing that it sent the boy flying. It was as if he was hit by a train at full speed. One could only imagine the state of his brain after that p

    His body flew in the air for a few seconds beforending on the ground with a rolling motion. No one spoke for the first 15 seconds since they couldn''t register what exactly ensued in front of them.

    One p¡­ Just one p and the boy was already unconscious. It was not even fit to be a joke for how absurd it was. Hell, even most professors can''t knock that student with just a few punches so that made it even more absurd.

    ''He really doesn''t want to hold back.'' Scarlett sighed as she touched her forehead.

    As for Acht, he could only shake his head.

    ''I didn''t even use 20 percent of my strength. How the hell could I know that p will knock him cold.''

    Scarlett then coughed lightly and approached the boy to check his condition. That p could''ve possibly given him a concussion or something like that which is no light matter. It could even be lethal if not treated immediately.<sub> </sub>

    Luckily, after shaking him gently, he woke up again and looked at Scarlett with a dazed look.

    "Is this my guardian angeling to take me away?" He muttered as he gazed at Scarlett''s face.

    "Huh?"

    "Please, hug me¡­" He said as he extended his hand to hug her.

    However, Scarlett pushed him away and stood up again.

    "He seems fine. Let''s continue¡­ As for you, meet me after the end of the ss." She pointed her finger at Acht with an angry look.

    The rest of the ss passed quite uneventfully, fights passed as smoothly as they could get. No major injuries or anything along those lines. Acht could only sit and watch them as he chatted with Mia and Tania casually.

    After the end of the ss, everyone started leaving except for Acht who sat down and waited for Scarlett. After returning her paperwork, she came to him and sat down beside him.

    "You should be careful next time, Acht. You clearlyck knowledge about the power level here and a small mistake could make you get stuck in unnecessary trouble with some big shot."

    Hearing her words, he snorted coldly.

    "Never thought they could be that bad. I didn''t even use a quarter of my full strength without even using soul force to enhance my physical capabilities.

    "I know¡­ But, you shouldy low for a while until the next big move."

    "Big move?"

    Scarlett nodded her head and exined seriously.

    "Big things are about to happen in the next few months. There is an expedition that is going to happen soon and it''s going to change this world forever if it seeded."

    "Expedition? To where?" He asked.

    Scarlett didn''t reply and merely pointed at the sky above her.

    "Ecrasia? Seriously? Do they have some kind of death wish?"

    "It has been in the nning for a while and major powerhouses in the lower world are going to put all of their efforts together to make it seed. They had discovered a way to pass Ecrasia''s shores. The gates that had been closed for a while we''re now going to open and it''s a historic moment."

    "I see¡­ A treasure trove like Ecrasia will obviously attract all the greedy eyes of the strong people. I don''t need to ask you whether you are going to participate or not, right?"

    "I have no other choice but to do so. I have to."

    "Fine, then I am going too and I am assuming the other three will follow us too."

    Scarlett chuckled slightly and added.

    "Anyway, until that time, let''s keep this as calm and peaceful as usual. But, knowing how much of a trouble ma you are, it''s near impossible."

    "Not my mistake. Shit always happens whether I like it or not."

    ''And it''s the fault of a perverted goddess I know.'' He added in his head with a frown.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 250 Chapter 250

    Chapter 250- Smiley Returns!

    A week passed peacefully, Acht didn''t confront any weird enemies or anything suspicious, he just passed his days going to the academy and doing what ''normal students'' do. He was still not ustomed to having tens of girls trying to talk to him every day but he was able to not actually ruin his reputation which is great.

    However, on the eighth day after he started studying at Soul academy, something weird happened. In the morning, he was supposed to have a theoretical lesson with a female teacher.

    "Yohooo, young people! Smiley is here!" A loud voice echoed in the room as Smiley basically barged in with his usual attire and his unsettling mask.

    Acht was speechless for a second before he shook his head with a sigh. Seeing that man was thest thing he expected that day.

    ''Does this pervert work here too?'' He thought to himself.

    The students watched as he basically danced his way up the podium and stood in front of his desk with a chuckle.

    "I''m your new teacher, Smiley! Nice to meet you, fine gentlemen and beautifuldies~"

    Then, he looked around for a moment before his eyes fell eventually on Acht. Thetter tried to hide his face in the hopes of him not doing what he expected him to do.

    "Who do we have here, isn''t it Acht? OUR BIG HERO!" He approached him and tapped on his shoulder a few times.

    "It''s a pleasure to see you again after the war! I can''t believe that you escaped from that abomination like a cat or something, hahahahah!!"

    Acht looked at him coldly without saying anything. People already recognized him and did indeed question whether he was still a wanted criminal or not but that was soon dealt with and the misunderstanding was solved.

    However, if Acht wasn''t as charismatic and as good-looking as he was, he would''ve been exiled immediately even if didn''t do anything. Attractive people do have it easy, after all.

    Then, Smiley bent down and muttered in Acht''s ear.

    "I guess there are six more lives to go." His mysterious tone made it even more creepy but Acht didn''t falter and simply stared at him.

    "Ok, ~ let''s begin our lesson~"

    Like that, the lesson passed surprisingly with nothing weird happening.

    After that, everyone left except for Mia, Tania, Acht and Smiley who was simply arranging his papers and intending to leave too.

    "Wait for me outside. I have something to talk about with the professor." Acht said.

    The two looked at each other and then nodded before saying.

    "Be careful¡­Acht."

    "Don''t do anything reckless, please."

    "I know, just a small chat."

    After that, the two left and he was finally alone with Smiley who was still humming as he picked up all the pieces of paper he had on the table.

    "You sure know how toe out of nowhere, Smiley," Acht said as he sat down in his ce casually.

    "It''s called magic, Acht~ I''m quite good at it after all~"

    Then, as if he lost hisposure for a moment, Acht replied.

    "Cut to the chase, Smiley. What do you want from me?" He asked.

    However, instead of a reply, the masked man justughed out loud at his words as if they were some kind of funny joke or something like that.<sub> </sub>

    "You know, Acht. I always knew that you were like the holidays, just full of surprises. But, sorry to break it down to you, but not every day is a holiday. I am here to just teach like any other professor." He shrugged his shoulders.

    However, that didn''t mean Acht believed him. That man was way too cunning to simply be there for work purposes.

    "But, if I have to be honest with you, I have another purpose for my part-time job here. I want to see for myself which of these rough gems is good enough to go on a honeymoon with us to Ecrasia~"

    "So you want to use some of them to get whatever you wanted from Ecrasia."

    Smiley shook his head and then replied.

    "Everyone is there for a reason, Acht. Believe it or not, humans are greedy creatures. We always want everything that makes us feel happy. Even if that meant putting our lives on the line for it. Our world was meant to be like that and we just fit perfectly in there~"

    Acht didn''t say anything for a good few seconds, then he stood up and walked closer to Smiley.

    *Swish*

    He used gravity to choke Smiley and then lifted him up in the air before making him get closer.

    "Do whatever the fuck you want, I couldn''t care any less about whether you recruit some morons or even create a cult¡­ just don''t get in my way."

    Then, he threw him on the ground roughly.

    "Scaryy~ I can feel my heart beating quickly from fear."

    Instead of feeling intimidated, he justughed it off and stood up to leave.

    After leaving the ssroom, he found Tania and Mia who were close to the door trying to hear the conversation silently.

    "What are you doing?"

    "N-Nothing. Isn''t that right, Tania?"

    "Yes¡­"

    "Sigh, whatever, let''s go."

    The three of them then ate their lunch in the cafeteria before returning to ss for the rest of the hours. At the end of the day, Acht was called by the headmistress to her office. He knew why Leislet was calling for him but he still went there just in case.

    "Her office was at the farthest part of the administration building where no one could hear whatever was happening in the office.

    When he opened the door of the office, two massive melons weed him and buried his face into them.

    "Acht, I missed you so much!!! Ah, I really missed you!" Leislet eximed as she hugged him tightly and filled her nostrils with his familiar smell.

    "We literally had dinner together yesterday!" Acht replied as he tried to push her away.

    "How can you be this cold? We have been together the whole day for 5 years straight, I can''t grow ustomed to this shit!" She tightened her arms around his neck.

    Losing hope in trying to make her let him go, he waited until she had enough from him and then she will release him of her own ord.

    ''How can she be this enthusiastic about seeing me every single time? It''s a whole different level of affection.'' He could only think so as he felt the two jiggle boobs assault every part of his face.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 251 Chapter 251

    Chapter 250- Too early, Too soon** (Part 1)

    (First smutty part in the series. Enjoy :p)

    After having her Acht-O-meter charged up perfectly, Leislet smiled with a satisfied look on her face that radiated in the room and sat down on the chair.

    On the other side, Acht could feel himself drained because of it, and even his muscles somehow rxedpletely as if he was going to sleep. So, he pped his face a few times lightly and sat in front of Leislet.

    "So, what did you want to talk about?" He began.

    "Nothing, really. I just missed you so much that I could barely restrain myself." She replied.

    Acht sighed and looked at her as if he was looking at an idiot.

    "Spit it out. What''s wrong?"

    "Huh, what do you mean? I don''t get what you''re talking about." She averted her eyes and didn''t try to face him directly.

    Acht sighed again and stood up from his seat before walking around the desk and to Leislet. Then, he turned the chair so that she could face him directly. After that, he put his hands on the chair''s arms so that she doesn''t have anywhere to run away.

    "Listen, Leislet. How long have we known each other?"

    "5 years, 3 months, and 14 days¡­ Oh, if we count this day then it''s 15 days" She replied quickly like a machine.

    "That''s way too urate!" He eximed with a confused look.

    She shrugged her shoulders as if what she said were just known facts that everyone knew.

    "How can I forget the moment I met the love of my life? You underestimate me too much, Acht." Her smile turned extremely warm and her gentle eyes looked deeply into his irises.

    For a moment, he felt slightly embarrassed by her words but he still took a deep breath.

    "We have known each other for more than 5 years, I know you well enough to see when you are clearly hiding something or not. So, spit it out." He continued.

    "Um, no¡­I, I¡­" She was still hesitant.

    Acht had no n of giving up so he changed his approach.

    "Ok, I understand¡­ You don''t trust me enough to tell me. I feel hurt, Leislet." He replied as he faked disappointment.

    "No! I didn''t mean to make you feel like that!" She replied in clear panic and distress. Her eyes wandered back and forth between Acht and her hands. Then, she clenched them and said.

    "Can I request something from you, Acht?" She asked.

    "I''m all ears."

    "Can you¡­ not go in this expedition?"

    Acht''s eyes widened for a moment before he sat down again and smiled slightly.

    "Why is that?"

    "It''s¡­ It''s really dangerous, Acht. This expedition will most likely be the most dangerous thing ever done since the descension war. Many will die and even more, will probably get heavily injured. I thought a lot about it and no matter how it always ends up with the worst scenario for us. The thought of losing you scares me, Acht." She muttered with tears welling up in her beautiful eyes.

    "Didn''t we face enough danger already? We can just  leave this matter to the others who want to. How about we just continue that peaceful life we had? No pain and no suffering."<sub> </sub>

    Acht took a deep breath before exhaling as he tapped with his fingers on the chair seemingly in deep thought. His eyes looked deeply at Leislet.

    "You are sometimes so childish, Leislet."

    "That''s not the point, Acht! You know way better than I do that things will most likely turn south there and you can be one of those affected!"

    She stood up and walked toward him with an agitated look on her face.

    "Hahaha!" He chuckled.

    "What is making youugh?!" Her frustration became more and more apparent. Her hand moved and held his shoulders tightly.

    "Do you really think that if we continued to live as we did, things will always be peaceful and easy? Do you really think we will be able to have a quiet life and that no more wars and deaths will happen? Believe it or not, life is way too shitty to be that kind. We can certainly do whatever you said, however, we are going to regret that for sure." His eyes softened up considerably when he spoke every word.

    "B-But.."

    "Think about it. You have your own dreams and I have mine. We both chase those dreams and try to make them real. That''s good and dandy. However, does the ''real'' you actually believe in leaving everything behind just for the sake of creating an illusion of a good life?"

    "I-I¡­"

    "I know it''s dangerous and I know that most likely I will have to face a great threat. But, isn''t that what living is all about? We face challenges and we beat them and then we fae bigger challenges and we beat those too. That''s how we prove to those we love that we aren''t a bunch of fucking cowards and you are the same, Leislet."

    He lifted her chin up and made her eye him directly.

    "What you should''ve said was ''We should go and support each other until we can reach our goals''. That''s what the real ''you'' will say."

    "I''m scared¡­ Acht."

    "I know¡­"

    "I feel like our journey will end there and it terrifies me."

    "I know¡­"

    "I don''t want to lose this happiness that I painstakingly created from the ground up."

    "I''m well aware of that."

    He nodded to each and every word she said without trying to hide anything. He had no reason to hide anything from her. She had already proven time and time again that he could put all of his trust in her and he will never regret it.

    "What should I do?¡­ Hick¡­ I''m lost." She covered her eyes with her arm and tried to hold her tears from falling down.

    Acht knew how she felt and he could not find the words to actually stop her from fearing this expedition.

    So, he let his actions speak since they can rece a thousand words. He bent over and closed the distance between them, his eyes closed slowly and he left all of his actions to move purely on emotions. After that¡­

    "Huh¡­" Leislet felt a warm feeling on her lips out of no where. Her mind didn''t register what that feeling was for the first few seconds. So, she put down her arm to take a look, and much to her surprise¡­ Acht was kissing her, on the lips.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 252 Chapter 252

    Chapter 252- Too Early, Too Soon** (Part 2)

    The kiss onlysted for a brief moment that could be even less than a second for witnesses. However, for the two of them, it was like an eternity. Each moment they felt each other''s lips, they were drowned more and more in an illusion where time was nothing but a secondary thing.

    Especially Leislet since her mind basically shut down and she was left alone trying toprehend what is happening to her. In contrast to her mind, her body had apletely different idea. Itpletely epted that kiss and even tried to wrap her hands around his neck.

    But, for better or worse, Acht released himself from the kiss and looked deeply into her eyes. His blue irises had so many emotions floating inside of them that could not be put into words.

    Then, he said in a gentle tone that sounded like a heavenly melody for the dazed Leislet.

    "Have some faith in us."

    After that, he stood up and turned around to leave the room quickly. Even though he did that of his own ord, he still couldn''t handle staying in that room any longer. The best choice was to quit now before things get even more awkward.

    However¡­

    *Swish*

    Before he could even take a step, Leislet basically lunged at him and pinned him down on the ground. He looked at her with a shocked look as he didn''t find the words to say. Her face was covered by her long hair and her breathing was getting more and more erratic by the moment.

    Then, she lifted her head up and revealed her face to him. It was the first time Acht saw that expression on Leislet¡­ An expression of endless lust. Her eyes which had always been gentle and affectionate whenever they looked at Acht were now nothing but an endless abyss of hunger and excitement that could not be stopped.

    What was even weirder was that Acht, who usually would refuse such approaches from Leislet even if they were nothing but a small prank from her side, didn''t actually resist at all. His eyes kept looking at Leislet''s face¡­ waiting.

    Then, as if she had enough time waiting, Leislet bent down and put all of her weight on his abdomen and groin before kissing him again with even more intensity.

    Acht was surprised at first but he also closed his eyes and erased any secondary thoughts from his head. Their tongues twirled around each other in a lustful battle. Their saliva got mixed and exchanged endlessly as they kept sucking and kissing each other.

    Leislet especially was hell on bent on ravaging Acht''s mouth and exploring every nook and cranny of it until she was satisfied.

    Seconds passed and the only sound that could be heard inside the room was the sloppy noises of two people eating each other out. After that, they separated from each other to take a breath after the long kiss. A string of saliva stretched between their tongues and didn''t intend to get cut. So, Leislet pulled it in and swallowed it with a lustful look.

    Then, she twirled her tongue around her mouth to clean it up.

    "I-I''m sorry, Acht¡­ I can''t hold it any longer." She said with great difficulty. Even though her mind was basically drowned in other thoughts, she still knew that if they crossed this wall, it was a path of no return. She was still worried about Acht more than her own self.<sub> </sub>

    Thetter however didn''t say anything and kept breathing heavily. Then, Leislet discovered something weird. Under her plump butt was a bulge that she was sitting on. Her face immediately reddened even more and she could only look down slowly.

    After that, she gulped down a mouthful of saliva before bending down again toward Acht''s chest. She slowly opened his shirt and started undressing him. After that, she took a long look at his broad chest and finely tuned muscles.

    His body was basically the most perfect body she had ever seen. Every muscle was perfect¡­ sturdy yet lean and also soft. She had no idea how he was able to get such a body but that was not important now. The important thing was to feel every part of that body and enjoy the warmth of her beloved.

    *Kiss*

    She started from his neck up and kissed it tenderly before licking it with her red tongue. Her eyes didn''t leave his body since she felt extremely embarrassed. It was her first time doing such a thing but she wasn''t totally clueless about it. She did her research thoroughly before in anticipation of this moment. Her whole existence was ready for this moment.

    Her mouth started slowly going down as she kissed, his chest, stomach, and everything around it. His skin turned red and sticky with her saliva. Somehow, his body tasted so sweet in her mouth as if she was licking honey.

    Then, finally, she reached the ce where everything should end. The ce where the huge bulge was located. Her excitement peaked as she started tracing the surroundings of that ce while waiting for the perfect opportunity to open it up.

    "That''s enough," Acht said with a hoarse voice grabbing Leislet''s hands before changing their position with him on top. Her eyes widened when she saw herself pinned down but she didn''t resist at all. Why would she resist such a thing in the first ce?

    ''Fuck! I was almostpletely defeated! I have to take control.'' He thought to himself as he eyed Leislet''s sensual beauty and her amazing figure. As much as he wanted topletely lose it and let his instincts take control as he ate her whole, he knew that taking it slowly is the right way for his partner to not feel any pain or difort.

    Then, he moved his face to Leislet''s face and kissed her forehead, then her cheek, and went down gradually. As he reached her chest, he started opening her suit, one by one. He deliberately wanted to make her lose her mind with anticipation just to frustrate her.

    "H-Hurry." She said under her breath.

    However, Acht stopped and instead started swirling around her breast with his finger. A groan of pain mixed with pleasure echoed in the room as Acht touched every part of her breast except the ce where she wanted his fingers to be.

    "P-Please¡­" She whispered shyly.

    "Please what?" Acht replied as he licked her earlobe slightly. His face burned with lust and his eyes could only see the gorgeous woman in front of him.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 253 Chapter 253

    Chapter 253- Too Early, Too Soon** (Part 3)

    His small gesture made Leislet moan even harder and take a deep breath to calm down. Her face was beet red and her eyes were moist with tears of excitement. She was so seductive that Acht barely held himself until he did what he wanted.

    "I can''t hear your answer."

    "T-Touch me¡­" She replied with great difficulty as she watched Acht''s hand circle around her breasts without touching them. Every touch and every small gesture turned her on even more and made her yearn for the ecstasy she will feel when he touches her how she wants.

    However, sadly for her, Acht was still eager to tease her even harder and mess her up even more. Her pained yet also excited look was so attractive that he could only want to see more of it.

    "Touch what?" He asked with an oblivious look as he passed his hand over her boob lightly before returning to the same circr motion he did a few moments ago. His index finger touched the pointy ce under her shirt and made her moan loudly.

    "Ah! Please, Acht¡­ I can''t anymore." Tears fell down her cheeks as she begged him to do what he had to. She can''t wait anymore or she will lose her mind. She was barely even holding on at that exact moment.

    "You want me to do this?" He asked again and poked her nipple from under the shirt. As much as it was a light poke, it made Leislet''s tongue escape her mouth as she moaned loudly. Her sweet sound made Acht even more excited.

    "Ah! Ah! N-No. D-Don''t¡­ Ah! Stop!" She mustered her strength to tell him so.

    Acht nodded his head and kissed her ear again, sucking on her earlobe lightly and licking it thoroughly. Leislet instinctively hugged his waist and allowed him to do whatever he wanted to her body.

    Acht kept doing that as he moved across her face. Their lips eventually reached each other again and they kissed deeply. Leislet kept groaning as she kissed Acht hard and tried to hug him even tighter, digging her fingers into his back.

    "Hm, what is this wet feeling?" Acht asked with a small, mischievous smile. He then looked down and there, he could see a wet spot in her trousers. His smile widened when he saw it.

    "N-No!" Leislet averted her eyes as she covered her private area with her hands and closed her legs.

    "Open your legs." He said as he caressed her abdomen and opened her shirtpletely, revealing her naked body.

    She was still notpletely naked, but her body was already a feast to the eye. Two massive breasts and a t abdomen that looked beyond her perfect. Her pale skin shined under the remaining sun rays and made her sweat shine even harder.

    Acht had to stop for a few seconds to admire this amazing scene. He had never seen such a beautiful woman before.

    "O-Ok.." She nodded her head and opened her legs again with a shy look.

    Acht then started unhooking her bra while kissing her abdomen and her belly button. He wanted to leave his trace on every part of her body. He wanted topletely make her his. This desire only grew bigger and bigger with each second that passed.

    After unhooking the bra, he finally revealed the thing he wanted to see the most. Tow rosy nipples crowned jer massive mountains as they went up and down. Her nipples were pointy and clearly turned on from his torturous forey.

    He then bent down and started licking her boobs without touching her nipples at all. It was still not time yet. He wanted her topletely fall into pleasure by the time he touched her.

    "Acht! Acht!" She shouted his name repeatedly. She felt frustrated because of his teasing but she also liked what he was doing. It was a bittersweet thing.

    Minutes passed in that same state and Leislet has lost every possible power to resist or even say any long sentences. Her mind was submerged in pleasure and her eyes were barely open.

    That''s when Acht finally decided to release her from her pain.

    *Kiss*<sub> </sub>

    He put his lips on her nipple and started kissing it lightly.

    "Ah! Ahhhh! Acht!!!" She regained her mind slightly before falling into obscene pleasure again. It was such a weird feeling.

    ''What is this? What is this feeling building in my lower part?! No! No! I''m going crazy!'' She thought to herself.

    *Suck*

    Acht sucked on her sweet cherry and circled it with his tongue. Each move was somehow amplified for Leislet who could not understand what was going on.

    "Acht!! I feel weird! I can''t! I can''t!!" She shouted.

    "It''s ok. Let it go." He whispered in her ear.

    "Ah! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!" Her body arched in pleasure as her eyes rolled back and her tongue escaped her mouth again.

    ''She came from forey? She is definitely a virgin.'' Acht thought to himself.

    Someone like Leislet who was desired by every man in the world was somehow stillpletely new to stuff like this. This made Acht surprised because she always tried to tease him with her erotic body. However, it seemed it was all nothing but clueless attempts from her to make him yearn for her.

    ''Cute.'' He smiled gently as he kissed her mouth again andpletely dominated her mouth. His hand moved down her body and reached her groin.

    He then got rid of her trousers and then her pants. When he held it, he could feel that it was soaking wet. He smiled and threw it to the side before looking at the main dish of this pleasing meal.

    "A-Acht¡­ I feel embarrassed and nervous." She said.

    Acht nodded his head and looked at her face closely. He then gently caressed her face.

    "Who knew the person that always teased me will be this timid when the real stuff happen."

    She averted her eyes and pouted.

    "I did all of that because I needed to do that. I can''t let you run away from me."

    "I am not running." He said and put his forehead on her forehead.

    "I''m relieved." She said as she closed her eyes and kissed him affectionately. Her fear had subsided slightly when she heard his tender voice calming her down. He was always one of the main reasons why she feels safe and happy. Or maybe he was the only reason why she felt happy and safe. Even she didn''t know that.

    "I will be gentle. So, leave everything to me and let your body enjoy itself."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 254 Chapter 254

    Chapter 254- Too Early, Too Soon** (Part 4)

    Acht felt his breath getting stuck in his throat for a good 10 seconds when he saw what was underneath her pants. It was something that he saw before but never really thought that it was actually something that could be so mesmerizing for him.

    However, it seemed his assumptions were wrong since what was in front of him now was nothing short of a piece of art. And for a good piece of art, a person could only watch silently to appreciate it.

    "W-What?!" Leislet was really embarrassed as he looked at her pussy with aplicated gaze. She thought that he might stop or get disgusted by it. But, far from that, he instead muttered under his breath instinctively.

    "Beautiful¡­" His eyes never left that ce at all.

    Leislet was quite surprised but that surprise turn quickly into an unspeakable feeling that rose inside her heart. Her mouth twisted and turned from deep happiness. She never thought that her happiness could increase more than that. Yet, Acht somehow keeps on throwing her heart left and right as he pleased. He hadplete control over her whole being.

    After admiring it for a few seconds, he bent down and started kissing her thighs and her feet as he worked his way up. He didn''t make it long since he was also at his limit and could barely keep himself restrained.

    After reaching her groin, he put his finger on her lower lips and started moving it up and down without too trying to do anything.

    "Ah! Ah!" Leislet''s breathy voice could still be heard with each move he does.

    "What''s this?" He asked as he lifted up his index and middle finger. There, a string made out of a slimy liquid could be seen linking his two fingers.

    "That''s¡­" Leislet averted her eyes and didn''t know what to say. She was extremely aroused, what can she even do to stop that natural reaction?

    "Someone is really excited here." He said with a small smile.

    "D-Don''t tease me¡­ and hurry up!!" She said as he touched his arm.

    With that, Acht started the real deal. He put his fingers on her pussy again and started stroking it with a little more force. He made sure to trace every fold and every part including her clit which was slightly swollen and moist.

    Leislet''s moans rose up another octane and her face started to turn into a wet mess of tears and saliva. It was like music to the ear for Acht.

    After that, he looked at Leislet and said.

    "Are you ready?"

    "H-Huh? Ready for¡­.Kyaaaahh!!" Her words were cut short by a loud moan that sounded quite funny in her ears.

    Acht had immediately shoved his fingers inside her pussy and started poking her insides skilfully. Her mind went nk with pleasure as she fought the weird feeling that kept welling up in her abdomen and going down.

    But, he didn''t stop there, he then started kicking her pussy along with his moving fingers. Somehow, the pleasure doubled in an instant and Leislet could only put her hands on his head as she tried to push him away weakly.

    But, her strength was long lost along with her thoughts. She was now nothing but a sloppy mess of pleasure.

    Acht''s tongue moved between her lips and stopped near the clit. His fingers increased their speed and kept poking all the right ces inside of her. He knew that if he continued to do this, she will eventually climax and that''s what he wanted.

    "A-Acht¡­ S-Stop¡­please! Ah! I''m losing my mind!! No! Something weird is rising up in my lower part!!" She begged him as she moaned loudly.<sub> </sub>

    But, Acht didn''t intend to stop and instead increased the intensity a notch. He stopped licking her pussy before swallowing the juices. After that, he lifted her back and kissed her deeply before quickening his hands.

    Leislet kissed him back as she screamed in a muffled voice. After a few seconds, she finally sumbed to her own desires and climaxed loudly.

    Her pussy squirted out juices all over the ce as she arched her body from the intense pleasure that assaulted her mind.

    Acht kept her body straight as he waited for her to regain her mind.

    "Oh my¡­ god!" She eximed as she took heavy breaths from exhaustion.

    "Congrattions on your first climax." He said as he caressed her cheek with his free hand.

    "I never felt that good before in my life."

    Then, she touched his chest and said with a drowsy look.

    "Let me make you feel good now." Her moist eyes didn''t falter and were filled with determination.

    Acht didn''t refuse and insteadid down on the ground and left her to do what she can. He wanted to see what she can do alone without any prior experience. Just imagining her not knowing what to do was cute and adorable.

    Leislet then unbuttoned his trousers and then looked at his pants with a grasp. A huge bulge could be seen inside the pants. She unconsciously gulped down a mouthful of saliva before pulling his pants down slowly.

    Behind the fabric, a massive thing rose up as if it was finally relieved to get released from that cage.

    ''Oh my god!'' Leislet felt her heart race increasing as she looked at her beloved''s private part.

    ''B-Big..'' She thought as she extended her hand and touched it slightly. It was as if she wanted to discover a new foreign thing.

    But, after a few touches, she finally grasped its tip with her whole hand. That made Acht moan slightly since it felt really good for some reason.

    Then, with a deep breath, she started going down to the penis''s shaft. Her move was quite rigid however, it still made Acht moan again with a hoarse voice. After that, she started going up again at a quicker pace.

    Soon enough, she was stroking his penis at a moderately fast speed. With each stroke, his dick was getting harder and harder. Then, as if she got a good idea, she put her hair behind her head and approached the tip. After that, she opened her mouth and a trickle of saliva fell down from her mouth straight to the tip.

    She didn''t stop spitting at the tip until her spit fell down to the sides. After that, she returned to stroking at a faster pace.

    "Ugh!" Her hot saliva alone felt extremely good so it was only fair to imagine how amazing the sensation was for Acht.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 255 Chapter 255

    Chapter 255- Too Early, Too Soon (Part 5)

    Leislet intensified her strokes as she gazed at Acht from up close. Her eyes filled with endless love and equally, endless lust made her look 10 times even more attractive than the usual appearance she had.

    Acht was now totally engrossed in the pleasure of her strokes as he fought the urge to let it all out. She was definitely not that good at it since she made many mistakes when she went up and down. However, for some reason, she still made him feel amazingly good even with her amateur skill.

    The sloppy sound of her hand caressing his penis along with the sound of her saliva as it moved along with her hand and covered his whole groin.

    After doing that for a few minutes, she looked at Acht and said confusedly.

    "Does it feel good?" Her uncertain voice made her look even more adorable. Acht could only smile gently and nodded his head toward her.

    "It feels really good. But, you know what will feel even better?"

    "What?"

    "If you use your mouth." He replied.

    At first, the woman was surprised by his suggestion. However, her eyes then wandered to his penis again as she watched her hand working relentlessly. Her nervous expression intensified. It was not because she was disgusted or that she didn''t want to do it. It was for a far simpler reason than that.

    ''I don''t know how to do it! I did look around for advice and also for a guide but I couldn''t find any. Fuck! They really should start doing courses for stuff like this.'' He thought to herself with gritted teeth.

    "If you don''t want to do it then that''s totally fine. I don''t want to push you to do something you don''t like." Acht added hurriedly.

    The most important part about sex is that the two should bepletely satisfied and for that to happen they have to understand each other and try to make it as pleasing for the other as possible.

    This includes not forcing your partner to do something they don''t like. That''s what Acht firmly believed in.

    "No! I want to!" Leislet shook her head and positioned herself between his legs as shey on her belly.

    The site of her naked figure swaying left and right made Acht gulp secretly. Why is she this beautiful?! This is dangerous!''

    Then, she looked at his dick and started rubbing it again but at a slower speed. She even added more saliva to make it even wetter. After that, she took a deep breath, the stench of their fluids had already filled the office.

    However, neither of them cared about it when their minds are this clouded from reasoning. In fact, they should be extremely wary since it was basically a ce where people coulde and that could basically be the end for them.

    Anyway, Leislet put her lips on the tip of the penis and then kissed it lightly. She kept kissing it a few times before she opened her mouth to get it in.

    The moansing from Acht''s mouth were an indication of her good work. After that, she swallowed the whole tip inside her mouth. The sheer pleasure wave that hit Acht made him clench his fists to resist. She didn''t even do anything and he was still this good. This is really weird.

    At first, he thought it was merely his excitement that made him this sensitive. But, the fact that he is still feeling this overwhelming pleasure was making him question the situation.

    However, Leislet didn''t sense Acht''s thoughts and continued doing what she wanted to do. Inside her mouth, she twirled her tongue around the tip and started teasing it lightly from all angles.

    "Ugh!" Acht groaned loudly again.

    ''Hehehe! He''s feeling really good! He looks cute! I should try harder.'' She thought and then started quickening her speed.

    From the tip, she started going down slowly and swallow the whole thing. It was slightly ufortable at first but after that, she grew ustomed it.<sub> </sub>

    *Slurp* *Slurp* *Slurp*

    Her mouth made sloppy sounds as she went up and down while working her tongue around his penis thoroughly. She knew that the most important part was her tongue since that was what will make Acht feel good.

    ? "Ah!"

    A few momentster, Acht started feeling a hot sensation in his penis and he immediately knew that he was on the verge of cumming. Quickly, he tried to push Leislet''s face from his penis before he cums.

    "Leislet, get away¡­ Ugh¡­ I''m close!" He said.

    However, the woman didn''t stop and instead intensified her rhythm as if she did not care about what he said to her.

    "Let it all out, Acht." She said between her breaths.

    "Ugh!" Acht finally reached his limit and released everything in one single moment.

    He could see Leislet''s cheeks puff up because of it but she didn''t get away. Instead, she lifted her head up and gazed deeply at his face. After that, she did somethingpletely unexpected.

    *Swallow*

    She started swallowing Acht''s cum with a small smile. In a few seconds, shepletely swallowed it whole and then said.

    "It doesn''t taste bad at all. Thanks for the meal!" She then licked her finger seductively as if she tried to show a mature side after the embarrassment she felt previously.

    "You¡­" Acht had nothing to say¡­ He waspletely speechless.

    "Heheheh! I will never let anything that Acht gives me to go to waste. If I did that, how can I say with a straight face that I love you?"

    The boy fell silent for a second before he rose up and grabbed Leislet''s hand. Then, he pulled her into hisp with her legs behind his back and stared deeply into her eyes.

    "Thank you."

    After that, he kissed her without any hesitation. He didn''t care about whatever she swallowed a few moments ago and he didn''t even feel disgusted by it. Leislet hugged his back and kissed him deeply too. The kiss wasn''t as lustful as the other ones since it was more of a show of affection rather than satisfying their desires. That however didn''t mean the show was over.

    Now, it was time for the main course.

    "Acht, can we go to another room? I have a bed there that we can use."

    "A bed? Why do you have a bed in your office?" He asked confusedly.

    "Well, that''s a secret!" She winked at him mysteriously.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 256 Chapter 256

    Chapter 256- Too Early, Too Soon*** (Part 6)

    "You always surprise with such things, Leislet. I can''t predict you at all." Acht sighed with a small smile.

    In response, the woman chuckled happily and pinched his cheek before giving him a peck on the lips filled with affection. After that, she said.

    "You can''t predict what a girl in love will do. Now, let''s continue. I have waited for this moment for all my life and I am eager to do it." She added bashfully as she looked down at Acht''s member which was still rock hard even after cumming once inside her mouth.

    "Fine. Here we go. Hup!" Acht put his hands over Leislet''s ass and lifted her up as he stood on his foot.

    "Kyaah!" Leislet shrieked in surprise when he grabbed her butt with his big hands and picked her up like a child. However, she didn''t resist his approach at all and instead hugged him tightly with a small, peaceful smile.

    Then, the two went inside another room on the other side of the office that was not that visible to whoever entered the room.

    Inside, there was a huge room with a massive king-sized bed along with a lot of red flowers shaped like a heart on top of it. It looked like a room a newlywed couple would book in a fancy hotel.

    "You¡­" Acht looked at her again with a weird gaze. He had no idea how or why she did this and he couldn''t even be bothered to ask anymore. I guess Leislet was capable of doing whatever she wanted whenever she wanted.

    "Hehehe! Don''t worry about it and let''s continue!" She cupped his cheeks and made him look at her again instead of examining the room.

    It was as if she was saying ''focus only on me and forget everything else''.

    After that, the two started kissing again as Acht approached the bed and then put Leislet on it before looking at her from the top with his hands beside her head.

    After that, he looked at his own penis and ced his hands on it. After that, he aimed it at her lower lips which were still soaking wet with her own fluids from sheer excitement. He would be lying if he said he didn''t feel slightly nervous but he was not going to back away now.

    "Are you ready? It might hurt a little at first but it won''t be for long, just rx. I will be as gentle as I can." He reassured her with his sweet voice which garnered a meek nod from Leislet as she took a deep breath and readier herself.

    After that, he opened her eyes again and said.

    "I''m ready!"

    Acht then made his dick touch her pussy before starting to push ever so slowly. He made sure to not lose control of his desire and hurt Leislet because of it.

    "Uhhh!" Leislet moaned slightly when she felt her pussy getting pried open by his tip as he made his way inside of her.

    A few moments after that, the tip was finally inside and the left of his length was still outside. He looked at Leislet to make sure she was not feeling pain. Her face was still fairly normal with no signs of pain so he continued.

    "Uhh! Acht! Uhhh!" She moaned his name as she put her hands around his neck and opened her legs even wider to let him move easier.

    ''She''s already incredibly tight even though I barely did anything.'' He gritted his teeth as he thought to himself. It felt moist and sticky yet also incredibly good.

    Finally, Acht reached the point where he had to stop. It was the hymen. He knew that tearing this membrane open will make Leislet feel pain and he had to be careful.<sub> </sub>

    "Ok, here I go!" He said and pushed hard inside of her,pletely tearing the hymen. Leislet''s face squinted with pain as she held a small groan from escaping her mouth.

    Blood starteding out of her hole and coated Acht''s penis. However, he didn''t care about that at all and only focused on Leislet''s feelings at the time.

    "Should I continue? Does it hurt too much?" He asked her worriedly.

    She felt her heart flutter from his words and she nodded weakly.

    "It''s ok, it doesn''t hurt that much. Continue."

    After pushing past the hymen, Acht continued his journey inside of her. His penis was considered very big and he was proud of that even though it might be considered shallow. It was his pride after all.

    "You are¡­too deep~~! Ah! Ah!"

    After pushing inside for long enough, he reached the end of her pussy. He was already feeling extreme pleasure from just putting it in and he could barely muster the strength to start moving in and put in fear of losing control.

    But, he had already started and he must finish his job either way. So, with that in mind, he started moving his hips as he pulled and pushed his dick inside Leislet slowly.

    Moans rose in the room again as the two of them kept enjoying each other''s warmth. Leislet was starting to feel pleasure mixed with pain from the strokes so her face also contorted with pleasure as she hugged Acht with her full power.

    "Acht! Ah! Acht! Finally! I dreamt of this my whole life! Ah! Do me more!"

    Her words seemed to excite Acht even more as he increased his speed. The sloppy sounds of his dick kissing the end of her vagina repeatedly echoed in the room along with the dripping sound of their juices as they mixed together.

    "Oh my god! Ah! This is too good! Ah! My womb is throbbing!" Then, she unconsciously wrapped her legs around his back as if she didn''t want him to run away from her. Acht wasn''t in the right state of mind to say anything about that. Her insides just felt too good. It was the best sensation he ever felt in his two lives.

    "Ah! I''m feeling weird again! Acht! Ah! I''m going insane! Insaaaaane!" She screamed as a huge amount of fluids gushed out of her pussy along with a loud moan. She came again from the pleasure she felt.

    ''She tightened even harder now!''

    "No! Acht! Stop for a moment! I''m still sensitive! AH!"

    At some point, he started feeling the same hot sensation in his groin that meant that he was about toe again.

    "Leislet! Let go! I''m close!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 257 Chapter 257

    Chapter 257- Too Early, Too Soon*** (Part 7)

    "No¡­" Leislet shook her head and tightened her legs around Acht''s waist to make sure that he doesn''t expect. Then, she whispered near his ear with her breathy voice.

    "Don''t worry and let it all out¡­ Fill me up to the brim, Acht."

    Hearing such words from an impossibly sexy woman will drive anyone insane so it''s safe to say that at that moment, Acht''s sanity took a huge blow to the guts, and got knocked out. However, if that was more than enough to actually make him totally fall intost then he might as well change his identity since that''s not Acht at all.

    "It''s not good. We might regret this, Leislet!" He replied with his hoarse voice thatcked any of his normal cold demeanor.

    "Fufufufuf! I said don''t worry. This is my safe day and I also used some small tricks~ So, you can do it as many times inside as you want."

    *st*

    If the first sentence knocked his sanity up, then thispletely finished it off and buried it under 7 feet of dirt.

    Suddenly, Acht''s speed increased and his hips started moving agility as it pierced her insides to the end. Every time Acht pushed his dick inside, Leislet tightened greatly and made it difficult for him to get out. Her moans loudened as she held on to the back of his head and ruffled his hair.

    After a few more moments, Acht finally reached his limit and came inside of her. Leislet also came for the third time when he finished which basically made her gasp for air as she looked at Acht dazedly. The lingering pleasure was still there pulsating inside of her like a heart of its own.

    "That felt rea-"

    "Turn around," Acht said as he cut her off.

    "Huh? A-Acht? We just came so I''m still quite sensitive." Her eyes wandered to his dick and much to her surprise, it was still rock hard even after he came which also made her shudder. She was also still not fully satisfied but she wanted to rest for a few minutes so that she could be ready for the second round.

    *p*

    Acht pped her butt gently and looked deep into her eyes as if he wanted to convey his thoughts through eye contact.

    As if she understood that, Leislet gulped and turned around as she anticipated what was toe. Her eyes closed and her breath stopped for a few moments.

    *Swish*

    "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh~~~" A loud, weird moan came out of her mouth instinctively as she felt an overwhelming sensation. It was way different from when they did it face-to-face.

    Acht''s dick basically pierced her and even almost went past her womb from just one single push. Her mind went into chaos and her eyes rolled back to their sockets for a few moments. But, the show was far from over, Acht pulled out slightly before pushing inside again with the same intensity as the first one.

    "A-Acht! Aaaaaaah! No! Stop it! Get it out!!! Get it ouuuuuut~~~!" She begged as he pushed in again. She lost strength in her hands and had to rest her head on the bed.<sub> </sub>

    ''Too deep! This way to deeeeep!!! It''s not the same as before!'' She clenched her teeth and tried to resist slightly in hopes of gaining some control over her body for a few moments at least.

    However, that thought soon shattered with the next attack, and she went back to moaning mindlessly. Her face was a wet mess of tears and saliva and her hair was messy beyond recognition.

    A few minutes passed like that and during that time, Leislet basically kept on climaxing non-stop. At some point, her mind basically turned into nothing but a mess of pleasure that will not be even able to create a single coherent thought.

    Acht was faring no better since Leislet became even tighter with each stroke and he was finally finished as he came inside of her a second time. When he got his dick out, a waterfall of his jizz came down from her pussy. Leislet finally breathed out with a long moan and turned around to look at Acht with a surprised look.

    "That was the best feeling I have ever felt in my entire life! I can''t even describe it." She said with a breathy voice.

    "Me too. But, this is only the beginning." Acht said casually.

    "Beginning?" Leislet didn''t register what he said so she could only ask him confusedly.

    However, Acht instead closed on her and replied.

    "I''m gonna blow¡­your¡­mind." He empathized with each word to make it even more clear what he was going to do.

    "W-Wati! No! I can''t! If You do anything else I might lose my mind!!!" She tried to stop him but her weak limbs couldn''t stop him.

    "It''s ok, just let it all out." He repeated the same words to her with a cheeky smile. Leislet could only curse her past self for unleashing this beast without thinking about it. She knew that it was going to feel really good but this was just way too out of her predictions. He basically turned her into a mindless doll that only moaned from deep pleasure.

    ''Am I even going to be able to live to the next day?'' She thought as she looked out the window. It was barely night and they still had many hours more before the morning and from one look, Acht seemed hell-on bent to continue till sunrise.

    After that, Acht stood up and picked up Leislet like a child and held her from her two butt cheeks. Her hand rested on his shoulders as she kissed him deeply. Acht then aimed his penis and they both indulged in obscene pleasure again.

    Hours passed and the only voice that could be heard was the sexy moans of a woman and the groans of a man both enjoying each other''s warmth and sharing a deeper bond than mere skin contact.

    Hours passed as they both deepened their connection without uttering a single word or doing anything except hugging each other.

    By the time the sun was starting to appear, they both were asleep in each other''s embrace. Their peaceful looks contrasted with the huge chaos that was created in the room.

    The bed was now basically a pool of obscene liquids and the heavy smell of sex could be felt from tens of meters away. However, that didn''t matter, what mattered was in the past but what ising in the future is the one they both anticipated.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 258 Chapter 258

    Chapter 258- The Protagonist Appears!

    "Mmmm¡­" Leislet''s opened her beautiful eyes slowly with a dazed look. The rays of the sun hit her face and shook her awake even though she wanted to continue sleeping for a few more hours.

    For some unknown reason, she felt sore in her lower half and found her legs barely moving even when she tries to shake them. It was as if she ran in 10.000 miles marathon yesterday. But, since her mind was still groggy she didn''t remember anything from yesterday and merely muttered.

    "What the fuck did I do yesterday? I had a weird dream that I had sex with Acht¡­. Heheheh, what an amaz-" Before she couldplete her words she looked to the side since she heard the sound of someone breathing beside her.

    Instantly, her eyes widened to their limits as her jaw dropped from sheer shock, then after looking at the incredibly handsome guy beside her sleeping peacefully with his bare chest apparent from under the cover making him look even sexier.

    After looking at him for a good 10 seconds, she turned around and closed her eyes as she thought.

    ''Silly me! I am still dreaming¡­ Is this what they call a lucid dream where someone can control his own dreams? That must be it for sure.'' She giggled lightly and tried to fall asleep again.

    However, after staying silent for a few more moments, she opened her eyes again with a shocked look.

    "As if!!!" She screeched and looked at Acht again.

    ''No way! No way! No way! I did it! We actually did it! Am I hallucinating?! No, technically a hallucination shouldn''t feel this real, besides¡­''

    She then pped her cheeks with her full strength.

    "Ugh! Fuck! That hurts!! It''s definitely not a hallucination, I''m wide awake!" She nodded to herself.

    "I can''t believe that I finally did it with Acht! I expected it to take a few more years to reach this point but I guess I''m too good at this." She smiled micheviously as she extended her hand toward the still-asleep Acht.

    Then, she traced his face with her hand as if she was still checking whether he was real or not. Her eyes were filled with endless affection as they examined each and every part of his face thoroughly.

    "Acht¡­" She muttered his name.

    How good did it feel to make the love of your life finally ept you? It was simply a happiness that can not be described by words at all. The only thing Leislet could do was thank whatever force that made them end up together.

    As she spent her time admiring his figure, she heard the sound of the door to her office knock lightly.

    Leislet looked at the time and it was barely 7:00 AM so she wondered who could it be that came at this time of the day. Quickly, she stood up, wore her clothes, and fixed her appearance. With a little bit of magic here and there she was back to her usual attire with no traces of the intense night she had yesterday.

    After that, she walked to the door and opened it. There, a student stood waiting for her with an anxious look.

    ''This boy¡­ I think I saw him before. But, where?'' She tried to recall his face from somewhere but she couldn''t. He was that forgettable.

    "Mmm, excuse me for intruding at this early hour, headmistress." He said timidly.

    "It''s fine, what do you need?" She asked.

    "Can Ie in first?"

    Leislet looked behind her at the door where Acht was sleeping and thought about it carefully. After that, she said with a calm look.

    "I don''t think it''s a good time¡­ Come backter and we can talk."

    Then, as if she was about to close the door, the boy put his hand on it and added.

    "Please, miss. It''s an important matter." He added.

    Leislet hesitated for a moment when she heard him begging and then sighed under her breath before opening the door for him.

    "Make it quick."<sub> </sub>

    "Yes, thank you!"

    After entering inside, Leislet made him sit on the chair in front of her desk before resting her back on herfy chair and asking coldly.

    "What do you need to tell me that made youe this early in the morning?"

    The boy traced her body secretly, no matter how many times he sees it, he was sure that it was the most beautiful he had ever seen in his life.

    "I wanted to apologize for what happened a few days ago."

    "A few days ago?"

    "Yes, I never thought you were actually the headmistress and I offended you with my actions." He said as he scratched his head awkwardly.

    "Oh¡­Oh! Now I remember. You are that boy that called Acht out for beating up that guy. I recall now."

    ''So she didn''t even recognize me instantly. Sigh, what a disappointment.'' The boy could only shake his head sadly.

    "So his name is Acht? I heard he''s quite famous so I wanted to make sure he didn''t take any offense from what I said.

    "Don''t worry about it, he didn''t take any offense. You can rest assured." She replied.

    As the protagonist was about to reply, he heard a small sounding from the other room.

    *Russtle*

    "Hm? Is there anyone here?" He asked as he looked at the door of the bedroom.

    Leislet frowned slightly when she sensed the threat.

    "No, there is only me here."

    ''You can''t make too muchmotion, Acht. We will be screwed!'' She screamed inside her head.

    "Anyway, if this is the end of the matter, you can leave. I have so much work to do."

    "Wait! Can you tell me where he lives so that I could speak to him personally?"

    "He is in ss A. You can find him there and speak to him."

    Since the protagonist wasn''t as strong as the elite students of the academy, he was put in the worst ss while Acht was in ss A. A typical set for a protagonist of such novels.

    After that, Leislet basically kicked him out of the office before closing the door shut and breathing a sigh of relief.

    "That was awfully close." The woman muttered and then walked to the bedroom.

    There, she found Acht sitting there on the side of the bed with his head looking down. Leislet didn''t know what to say and merely muttered his name emotionolly.

    "Acht¡­"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 259 Chapter 259

    Chapter 259- Making Things Clear

    Acht lifted up his head and looked at Leislet silently for a long time. His eyes had aplicated gaze in them that made Lieslet even more nervous and confused. Did he regret doing such a thing? Will he hate me for doing it? Will he leave me?

    Such thoughts passed through the woman''s head one after the other sessively and made her shudder slightly from the mere thought of her loved one hating her. She could already imagine herself ending her own life if Acht vanishes from her life. What meaning did her life have if the only thing she cared about disappears? Nothing¡­ Absolutely nothing.

    Then, after a long silence that almost made Leislet feel suffocated, Acht stood up and walked toward her with steady steps. His bare chest and abdomen were still naked in front of her.

    After reaching Leislet, he said.

    "Do you regret doing it with me?"

    A simple question, very simple to the point where it would''ve been easily answered by her if she wasn''t in such a state of fear and weakness.

    For that exact reason, Leislet felt really hesitant from answering immediately. Her answer was obviously a resounding No, but, she feared his reaction if she said those words.

    In the end, her feelings beat her hesitation and she replied with a determined look. What was the point of hesitating, the deed was done and they can''t go back and erase it?

    "No, I don''t regret it one single bit. You were the person I wanted to give my everything to and I did just that. Do you¡­ regret doing it with me? I know that you have someone you love from another world and you want to go back to."

    "Leislet¡­"

    "I mean, it''s totally fine. Your heart is already with her and you can''t help it. If you feel like it''s a mistake then I understand."

    "Leislet."

    "But, but, Acht, please, don''t leave-" Her voice grew agitated more and more as she spoke her heart out and tears started rolling down her face uncontrobly.

    ''I said it! I said it! I have nothing else that I could do. But, I really don''t want to leave his side. I really¡­hick¡­ don''t want to.'' She thought.

    However, what happened next stopped all of that and made all these thoughts get erasedpletely.

    Acht bent down and kissed her deeply as he pulled her necktie with his left hand. Her eyes widened from shock but then gradually closed and she allowed him to kiss her freely. Her heart somehow calmed down immediately when he kissed her. As if it was some kind of magic spell that would work only on her.

    After kissing for a few moments, Acht pulled slightly away but kept his face really close to hers. His eyes were very gentle and filled with affection, something that Leislet doesn''t see every day.

    "Geez, you should listen to me when I want to talk. Sigh¡­"

    "A-Acht.."

    "I don''t know what kind of wrong ideas you have about me but you should instantly forget about it. When I did this with you I wasn''t intending to leave or anything I like that. Understand? I don''t like betraying people just because it''s convenient enough for me."

    Then, he lifted her chin up and made her face him directly.

    "Should I kiss you again to engrave that in your mind? The fact that I had sex with you means that I epted your confession. Sigh, now I said it." He murmured thest words with an annoyed look. He most likely wasn''t ustomed to saying such things.

    "R-Really?" Leislet could only ask dumbfoundedly as she blinked a few times.

    "Of course, you know me. I don''t like repeating my words."

    Leislet blushed furiously and started fidgeting around as she rubbed her fingers together as if she had something she wanted to ask from him.

    "Can you say it?"

    "Say it? Say what?" Acht asked as he tilted his head.

    "Say that¡­ you¡­ L-Love me." She asked with clear embarrassment.<sub> </sub>

    "Sigh, you really are one troublesome woman, Leislet. But I guess you have a point."

    Then, Acht stepped back and took a deep breath before he spoke again. A gentle smile appeared on his handsome face and made him look even more dazzling to the eyes.

    "I love you, Leislet. I would like you to be my girlfriend. Do you ept?"

    "Yes!!!" Without any hesitation, Leislet jumped in his embrace with a loud ''yes''. She then hugged him tightly with her arms. The strength she put in her arms would crush a bear easily. Goes to show how she couldn''t control herself at all at that moment from sheer happiness.

    "Hey! You almost made me fall, you know?"

    "I don''t care, Acht! I finally heard it from you and I am now totally satisfied. Even if I die tomorrow, I don''t have any regrets in this life at all."

    "Your standards are too low for a fulfilled life!" Acht retorted.

    "That''s because someone kept ying hard to get for a few years." She smiled mischievously with no traces of her tears from before. She returned to her usual attitude.

    "That''s because I have a huge pervert following me at all times."

    Leislet shook her head and said.

    "I am technically not a pervert since you are not as old as you look! I don''t swing that way, ok? You were an exception!"

    "Yes, yes! Whatever you say, Mrs. pervert." Acht rolled his eyes.

    "Stop it, meanie." She pinched his cheek slightly with a pout.

    From an outsider''s point of view, these two looked like a stupid couple flirting in the open. But, luckily, no one was there to see that sugar overload and burn their eyes at the same time.

    "Anyway, I think I should leave now. I didn''t eat anything and I also need to take a shower before going to sses." Acht put her down and looked behind him.

    The mess they left on the bed was truly impressive to look at. He even questioned his actions because of it.

    ''I need to restrain myself next time or I will destroy the whole room.'' He thought.

    "Ah! No worries! This room has a separate kitchen and a bathroom with a huge bath in it."

    "..."

    Leislet smiled innocently as she pulled out a controller from her pocket and tapped a few buttons on it. Immediately, two doors that were invisible before appeared in two different parts of the room.

    "Are you serious? When did you even build this? It''s barely been 2 weeks since we came here." He said.

    "I will do anything for my sweet darling!" The woman replied with a giggle.

    "No, that''s not the point! "

    "Fufufufuf!"

    ''Sigh, what a weird woman I fell in love with¡­ I guess now another problem rose out of nowhere when I meet Dia again. I will have a long exnation to do.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 260 Chapter 260

    Chapter 260- Leon Is Different! (Part 1)

    After taking a shower and eating breakfast with Leislet, Acht left her office and immediately walked straight toward his ss. Leislet obviously tried to stop him from leaving as usual but he didn''t want to stay there any longer or he will be risking creating a massive rumor about both of them.

    He did indeed ept her as his girlfriend, but, that doesn''t mean they could unt that rtionship in front of outsiders without thinking about the consequences. Just because she acts so casual and childish, Acht can''t simply forget that he was talking with one of the most influential people in this world and a person that could be equal to kings and emperors.

    So, if the information that Leislet is actually in a rtionship with someone, and an ex-criminal at that is basically nothing short of a scandal. That''s why they had toy low for now until things became better and then they may expose it or leave it a secret.

    ? The other problem Acht was facing was arguably even more troublesome than the first one. What is more troublesome than an international scandal that could start a war easily? Well, he was about that problem now.

    "Acht~" A female voice spoke to Acht suddenly before two hands hugged him from behind.

    "Good morning¡­ Mia." Acht said as he hid his thoughts.

    Behind Mia was Tania who just simply hugged his hand and smiled softly at him. Her eyes glistened as they watched his face silently. This was her typical behavior whenever she sees Acht.

    ''How am I going to hide this from the others? They will definitely kill each other if they knew about this¡­ Sigh, did I make mistake again?'' He thought to himself.

    Mia saw his troubled expression and asked him confusedly.

    "Is there something that''s bugging you, Acht?"

    "Ah? No¡­ I just didn''t have much sleepst night."

    "Hmm.." Mia and Tania looked at him silently with squinted eyes as if they wanted to discover something new in his face.

    "What?" He could only question their weird behavior.

    "Can you feel it, Tania?"

    "Mmm.." Tania nodded with a soft whimper.

    "What are you talking about?"

    "There is something you are hiding from us. My instincts are telling me that."

    Tania nodded her head again to back up Mia''s words. Acht felt a chill down his spine from their uselessly sharp instincts. How did they even determine that from the two sentences Acht said?

    ''This is really going to be one of the hardest challenges I will face. Fuck.'' He cursed before changing his tactics.

    He grabbed both of their hands and started walking again with a small smile.

    "Hey! Wait! You almost made me stumble!"

    "Acht¡­ Bad!!"

    "You both, we are going to bete. We will talk about other thingster."

    ''I can only hide it for now until I can find a way to tell them. Getting killed because of love is not how my life will end¡­ Hopefully.''

    The group then reached their ss exactly when the bell rang announcing the start of the sses for that day. The morning sessions passed peacefully and it was time for lunch. Acht had already grown ustomed to cooking his food at home the previous day and  bringing it with him. However, because of yesterday''s ''special'' circumstances, he couldn''t cook his food and he had to go to the cafeteria to get some food.

    However, before he could even leave his desk, he heard amotion in front of the ss. It was mostly girls whispering with each other.

    "Oh my god! It''s prince Leon! He looks so handsome!!"<sub> </sub>

    "Stop it! He could hear you!"

    "He looks so calm and cool!!"

    Such words could be heard going back and forth between students. Acht heard the name and felt like he heard it before.

    ''Leon? That name sounds familiar.'' He thought.

    Then, as if to answer his suspicions, a young man entered the ss and looked around with his sharp gaze. His eyes eventually fell on Acht and his face that looked tense rxed immediately.

    "Mr. Acht!" He said and approached him quickly.

    "It''s been truly a long while! When I heard that you came to the academy I couldn''t believe it."

    Acht squinted his eyes at the young man without replying. Thetter seemed to have noticed his odd behavior and chuckled lightly.

    "Wait. Don''t tell me that you don''t remember me?"

    "I do recall such a name but my memory is slightly fuzzy for some reason."

    "It''s me! Leon! Do you remember the hunter test? The forest test? When you saved me from my pursuers."

    "Now I recall¡­ Wait, you are that same scaredy-cat Leon?"

    Leon chuckled at his frank words and scratched his head awkwardly.

    "Hahaha! You are right. I was a stupid coward at the time, but I tried to work on myself and here I am. I came here to thank you properly; Mr. Acht. Would you spare some of your time toe to have lunch with me?"

    ''He does look and sound drastically different. Well, it''s free lunch so might as well humor him this time.''

    "Ok, I''m free anyway."

    "Mmm¡­ Acht? Who is this person?" Mia suddenly approached him and asked.

    "Just follow me. I will introduce himter."

    The four people then walked out of ss under the intense gazes of the students and walked toward the stairs that led to the upper floors.

    The reason they went there was most likely because Leon wanted to invite them to the roof. It was a secluded ce that was good for their conversation and also had a good view.

    The ess to the roof was somehow restrained for the most part of the time except for special events. But, it was nothing but a stupidw, just a simple word from a prince or a high-rank noble and the roof will be avable for them at all times.

    After reaching their destination, Leon suddenly turned around with a smile.

    "Please wait for my servants to finish preparing our table."

    Acht looked behind him and much to his surprise, a huge table that was at least 30 meters in length was being filled with all kinds of foods and delicacies. He could barely even count how many tes were on the table. Meats from all kinds and weird fruits that Acht had never even seen before. It was befitting to be called a banquet or a huge festival of food.

    ''Is this even lunch at this point?'' He wondered to himself.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 261 Chapter 261

    Chapter 261- Leon Is Different! (Part 2)

    The preparations took a few extra minutes toplete. It was actually impressive how they were able to do all of this in a short time even though it should easily take hours to do so. Goes to show that Leon was nning for this before he met Acht.

    ''He is still that kind and naive kid deep inside.'' Acht thought as he peeked at Leon secretly. His aura did change and his whole vibe did be more mature andposed but deep down, he still had the innocence thates from his young age.

    He was nothing but a 14 or 15 years old boy so expecting him to be mature at such a young age was stupid.

    Anyway, after that, Leon said as he gracefully pointed at the table.

    "Be my guests."

    The group then sat down, Mia had a tense look on her face as she didn''t know what to do in front of such a gargantuan lunch. Should she start eating? Should she wait? What should she eat?

    Coming from amoner family did have its pros but also had its cons and one of those cons is theck of understanding of etiquette. Acht saw her troubled expression and sighed under his breath.

    "You really went far and beyond for just a ''lunch''. How are we supposed to eat this?" He asked calmly.

    Leon chuckled awkwardly as he scratched his head.

    "I didn''t know what to choose for lunch so I made everything I knew of. Please, just don''t mind me and choose anything you want to eat it."

    Mia seemed to have rxed slightly when she heard his words and decided to choose a random dish to try.

    By the time the group actually started eating, Tania had already finished three portions and was moving her hand to get the fourth. Her mouth kept nibbling on whatever she shoved there and didn''t stop to even swallow the food properly. She looked like a machine that only knew how to throw stuff inside.

    However, somehow, this didn''t make her look disgusting instead looked elegant and graceful in her movements that which made the other three question their eyes. Princess is still a princess no matter what she does.

    "So, what did you do after we left you?" Acht decided to start a conversation to avert his focus from his gluttonous friend.

    "Well, I did have some troubles after you guys left but I was able to finish the hunter test somehow and get my hunter license," Leon answered as he pulled out a card from his spatial ring. It had his picture on it and a few pieces of information to apany it.

    "After that, I went back to my dad and requested that I leave for training for some time. Your words for me really helped me change and be better. I can''t really thank you enough for your great factor, Mr. Acht."

    "As I said before, I did nothing for you. If you changed then that''s because you had the balls to do so. I could say the same words to millions of other people and it will never change them." Acht shook his head.

    He never really thought whatever he said was really that life-changing so he didn''t think him thanking Acht was really logical.

    "No, you don''t really get it, Mr. Acht. I would''ve never be the person I am today without those words. Anyway, please ept my unending gratitude for it."

    Leon then turned to Tania and smiled slightly.

    "Do you like the food, Mrs. Tania?"

    "Mmm." She nodded her head as she continued eating without averting her eyes from the food not even once.

    "Heheheh!" Leon took no offense in that and turned again to Acht.

    "I did hear quite the news about you, Mr. Acht. Bing a criminal really shocked me but I never believed that at all. I would''ve helped you as much as I could but because of the war, I had to stay in my kingdom and try to protect the capital.

    "Trouble always follows me wherever I go and that doesn''t seem to be ending any time soon."

    "Please be careful, Mr. Acht. As much as I acknowledge your strength and skills, this world has so many threats hidden in the veils of darkness that could arise at any given moment and destroy everything."

    "You don''t have to tell me. Anyway¡­" As if Acht had enough, he put his knife and fork on the te and looked at Leon sharply.<sub> </sub>

    "When are you going to get to the core of the matter?"

    "Huh? What do you mean?"

    "I already knew you had other things you wanted to talk about other than just thanking me. Spit it out."

    Leon frowned slightly before sighing and looking down.

    "Was I that obvious?"

    "Pretty much."

    Giving up, Leon took a deep breath and then straightened his pose.

    "You are indeed right. I have something I want to ask Mr. Acht about."

    Then, he stood up from his chair and bowed in front of Acht out of nowhere.

    "Please train me!" He shouted.

    "Huh?" Acht tilted his head confusedly.

    "I know asking you for such a favor is rude but I beg you." He shouted again as he looked down.

    "I refuse," Acht replied.

    "But¡­"

    "Listen, Leon. For whatever reason you need training, I am not the best person to ask for tutoring. I have no skills when ites to teaching someone."

    ''You did train me properly though.'' Mia thought as she watched the interaction between the two from the sidelines.

    "Please, Mr. Acht. I am aware of the inconvenience this will put on you. But, I can''t allow myself to go on the uing expedition without being strong enough to face whatever threat I will find there."

    "So you are going too¡­"

    After that, Acht fell silent for a few moments as he looked deeply at Leon with his sharp eyes. He really didn''t know whether he would actually be useful enough for him to train him now before the expedition.

    "Listen¡­ If you score in the top 10 of the first year in the uing tests, I will ept." Acht said after a long while.

    "R-Really? But the top 10 is still¡­"

    "That''s my condition, take it or leave it. I won''t train a weakling just because he asked me to. If you score in the top 10s then I can assume that you have somewhat a good talent to work on. Anyway, this is over. Let''s leave, both of you." He wiped his mouth before standing up.

    "I-I understand¡­ I would really hard to meet your expectations!!" Leon added as he watched them leave.

    Acht had to drag Tania from her chair as she tried to grab onto the table with a reluctant look. Acht seemed to have ruined her lunch.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 262 Chapter 262

    Chapter 261- Study Night (Part 1)

    A few days passed after that with nothing noteworthy happening. Acht was at first skeptical about this eerie calmness thinking that something will happen for sure especially when he recalls the shadow figure that attacked his dreams not long ago. He still didn''t know who sent it.

    The reason he wasn''t suspecting Livia to be the culprit was that she wouldn''t go so far as to order that shadow not to spill out the person who sent them.

    That goddess was way too cocky and arrogant to hide that from him for no apparent reason. The other factor was that this shadow didn''t feel like an actual threat and more like a warning. Even the fight between them didn''t trouble Acht at all. In fact, except for their first meeting, Acht was able to easily deal with that shadow.

    In his free time, he also tried to examine the substance this creature was made of but that didn''t work out well since the moment he got it out of the vile, the liquid suddenly froze and then turned into a lump of grey, solid yet also fragile substance that turned into ashes the moment he touched it.

    This proved the fact that whoever has been the culprit didn''t want his identity exposed at any cost.

    Be it as it may, Acht wasn''t in a hurry, he can wait till this person appears again, and then he would deal with him once and for all.

    For now, however¡­.

    "Aaaaacht~~~Help me~~" A sound called for him between sses before two hands hugged him from behind.

    "What is it, Mia?" He asked without looking back at her. He had already grown ustomed to this attitude of hers. When she''s in trouble or when she''s sulking, she would fawn all over him and act like a spoiled child just to grab his attention.

    "Tests areing soon and I''m having trouble with my studies~~ I am sure I will fail if you don''t help me study."

    "You are inherently stupid. I can''t fix that. You have to deal with it." He replied calmly as he fiddled with his phone.

    Mia pouted at his words before she pinched his cheek angrily and replied.

    "That''s rude!! How can you be this cruel to your cute friend that needs immediate help? I might even give you¡­ a special¡­ R-E-W-A-R-D~~" She whispered thest word in his ear before blowing some air at it.

    "You suck at being seductive. You are more of the cute and adorable type, not the seductive type." Acht exined before flicking her in the forehead.

    "Ouch! I-Is that so? W-Well, I mean¡­ No! Don''t try to trick me with your sweet words!"

    "Tchh¡­" Acht clicked his tongue.

    "You clicked your tongue, didn''t you?! So it was all a trick. Horrible! You are horrible!" Tears welled up in her eyes and she pouted even harder, inting her cheeks to the limit.

    Why don''t you ask Tania or Scarlett for help? I think they are way gentler than me when ites to teaching."

    Acht could recall the sheer amount of times he pped Mia on the head because of her mistakes when studying. He had to basically teach her the basics of the basics in all subjects in less than 4 months beforeing here and it was by far one of the hardest things he had to do ever. Mia was simply stupid andzy when ites to studying in contrast to her amazing talent with the sword and the soul force.

    ''I will probably end up exhausted from teaching this moron.'' He thought with a sigh.

    "I tried asking Tania but she won''t be able to exin everything to me. As for Scarlett, well¡­ We will end up talking about you without studying so that''s also a big no."<sub> </sub>

    "Well, you have a point. What about Lei-"

    "Don''t even mention that woman!" Mia''s tone was cold when she replied. She never liked Leislet and neither did Leislet like her. They were always attacking each other whenever the opportunity was avable.

    "Sigh¡­ Fine, I will help you. But, I can only do so after school. Free some time ande to my dorm room." He said as he looked at the professor that entered the ss.

    "Thank you. I love you so much, Acht~~" She hugged his head before walking back to her seat in a happy mood.

    ''She''s way too simple, geez.'' He thought to himself.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    That was what happened in the morning. He thought Mia wille to his room, he teaches her for a few hours, and then it was over. But, what weed him when he came back to his room was a whole group of women.

    "What the fcuk are you all doing here?" He asked with a pissed tone.

    "I heard you wanted to help this bi-... ahem, Mia, to study so I thought I could be of help," Leislet said as she popped out a beer can from the fridge.

    "My fridge isn''t there for you to put beer."

    Then, he shifted his gaze to Scarlett and Tania who were seemingly engrossed in studying. Scarlett was helping Tania with her subjects in a calm and weirdly friendly mood.

    ''Since when did they be this close?''

    As for the main reason for this study session, she wasying on the bed fiddling with her phone. Acht squinted his eyes as he looked at her.

    His intense gaze made her lose herposure and shout.

    "I tried to keep it a secret but they knew immediately. I can''t hide it at all."

    "You¡­ Sigh, just let''s get this done with, and then you all should leave before I get screwed because of you."

    Acht then dragged Mia off the bed and put her beside him, then he pulled out all the materials they needed.  The subjects they study were a mix between things he studied back on earth and things only this world had. Things like soul force theories, alchemy, and other subjects rted to soul force one way or another.

    That is not to forget, math, physics, and science. They all were simr to the things he saw before but they also were very different in some areas because of the difference between this world and earth.

    Even though he was inherently good at theoretical stuff, Acht also had to put a good amount of time into studying these things with the help of Scarlett and Leislet which sped up this process by a lot.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 263 Chapter 263

    Chapter 262- Study Night (Part 2)

    One hour passed after that as the group studied silently in a mood of total focus. As much as they liked joking around and even borderline flirting with Acht, they also knew when the time for those things is and when the time for hard work is.

    They aren''t stupid or anything like that and they understand quite well the consequences of king off just because they love him.

    "Did you get it?" Acht asked.

    "I guess¡­ This is really hard. It''s pointless too! Is learning how an object falls due to gravity will help me kill an A-grade beast or level up?"

    "It helps open your clogged brain!" Acht bonked her on the head with his fist lightly.

    "Ouch! I might actually die from the number of fists I got to my skull!!" She protested loudly as she grabbed Acht''s arm andy on hisp.

    "That''s because you don''t listen to my words. I have been exining this same thing for the past hour."

    "Pfft, moron. I could solve that with my toes while I''m asleep." Leislet chuckled mockingly as she sipped her beer beside them.

    "Shut up, big-tittied bitch." Mia averted her gaze and muttered.

    "What did you say?!"

    "Wanna fight?"

    The two stood up and pulled out their weapons as they positioned themselves. However, such behavior could only be stopped by Acht who said calmly.

    "Fight and I will kick both of you out."

    "Tsk. Luckily, Acht saved your ass."

    "I will cut off those massive lumps of meat of yours. Don''t forget to thank me for helping you get rid of useless stuff." Mia retorted as she stored her sword again and sat beside Acht.

    "Sigh, my head hurts. I seriously will need therapy because of you." He said as he rubbed his temples slowly.

    "Anyway, let''s finish this part and then eat dinner. Tania, what do you want?"

    "4-seasons soup!!" She said with her eyes glistening with excitement.

    "I will help you." Leislet raised her hand and stood up along with Acht.

    "Complete that part while I start preparing dinner. No mistakes, got it?"

    "Yeeeees." Mia slumped her body on the table with azy look. She really didn''t like studying at all and would rather fight a swarm of dangerous monsters than solve a math equation or read a book.

    "I will help too," Scarlett said.

    The three then walked to the kitchen and started preparing dinner. Mia was a really good cook and she would''ve been normally the one that should be helping Acht in making dishes but because she needed to study, he had to rely on Scarlett and Leislet. The problem in that however was¡­

    "Acht? Should I throw this in there?"

    "Huh? Of course not. Peele the potato off first!!"

    However, before he could even stop her, she already put it in the boiling pot. Acht could not help but shake his head with an exasperated sigh. He thought that he would age at least 30 years purely from sighing this much.

    "Don''t do anything until you ask me ok?" He ordered Leislet.

    "Acht, is this good enough?" Scarlett spoke as she pointed at what seemed to be a pepper or what was left of it at least. It seemed that Scarlett had actually thrown away everything from the pepper except the seeds.

    "What the hell is that?"<sub> </sub>

    "It''s a pepper that was peeled off."

    "Not everything is peeled off! I am sure I taught you this before!"

    Acht had no idea how these two were able to live alone for the longest time. They are basically useless when ites to cooking.

    As he was having such thoughts, he heard the doorbell.

    ''Who ising here at such an hour?'' He thought as he looked at Leislet and Scarlett. Both of them nodded their heads and walked to the living room.

    Acht then walked to the door and asked."

    "Who is it?"

    However, no one answered his call. What was even weirder was that he could not sense a presence behind the door at all. He could only count a handful of people that are capable of evading his detection so close to him.

    So, he put his sword in his hand and then his other hand on the handle before taking a deep breath. Twisting the handle ever so slowly, he opened the door. For a few seconds, the only sound he could hear was the door as it moved and screeched slightly.

    Then, in one single sweep, he opened the door fully and moved his sword at the speed of light toward whatever target was behind the door. He wasn''t intending to strike but just threaten the person behind the door.

    "Huh?"

    When he saw the person on the other side of the door he could only make a stupid sound as his eyes widened in surprise.

    "Yo¡­ It''s been a while, little shit."

    "Lein?" He muttered her name with a confused look. She was thest person he expected to see behind the door but thinking about it, she was a master of hiding her presence and it was normal for him to not sense her even if he was stronger than her.

    "It''s me. What? You are that happy to see me?" She replied with a grin.

    "What are you doing here?"

    "I had to search for you for years, little shit. It''s as if you were erased from existence."

    "I was¡­ living my life." He said.

    He still couldn''t believe that it was Lein. The same Lein that would kill him in the spur of the moment was totally different. Her aura, her demeanor, and even her tone of speaking, they were all different than before¡­ drastically different.

    She was even grinning when she spoke to him.

    "Anyway, can Ie inside? I have things to talk about. We can catch up over a few drinks." In her hand was a sk that was most likely filled with alcohol.

    Acht peeked behind him before shaking his head.

    "Wait here for a moment." He said.

    He then walked inside quickly, the others most likely heard the conversation and he felt a bad omen because of it. Especially Leislet and Scarlett, they knew very well who this person was and he was sure they won''t wee her happily.

    But, it seems that he was a little bit toote since the moment he stepped inside the living room, Leislet passed beside him in a sh as she charged toward Lein.

    "You fucking b*tch!!" Her re could kill from how cold it was.

    She was seething with anger the moment she saw Lein and couldn''t hold herself at all. This woman needs to die¡­ Now!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <

 264 Chapter 264

    Chapter 263- Leislet Vs Lein (Part 1)

    Light maniption, many would think it was merely useful against enemies that were full of evil like beasts and most non-human creatures. So, this power precisely wasn''t the best weapon against other people and humans in general.

    Leislet was aware of that fact and for the longest time couldn''t fix that ring w in her powers which also affected a lot of the things she faced. One of them was the war she fought against the invaders from Ecrasia.

    She felt useless in that war, not being able to help or change the tides of war. The only thing she could do was to watch Acht as he fought alone and faced the danger alone. All of that weighed on her mind and made her rethink all of her choices, one of them was light maniption.

    The question she asked herself was: How can I make it even stronger? The answer was not clear but she knew how to reveal it and that is to experiment with her powers. In thest 5 years, she didn''t just live peacefully but she also trained hard and made sure to keep her fitness at the peak in case anything bad happens.

    During that time, she spent long hours training with her light maniption for the sake of one single goal, to be able to be way stronger.

    At first, it was hard, exhausting, and she got basically no good results at all. She contemted giving up on this idea a handful of times but remembering Acht''s silhouette as he stood in front of thousands of enemies alone while she could only watch made her erase that idea.

    ''I want to support him. I want him to rely on me and to trust me with his whole being. I can''t get that kind of connection with Acht if I don''t get stronger'' Leislet thought to herself.

    All of those strong desires were the fuel for her breakthrough, a breakthrough she never thought was possible in her case.

    Back to the present time, all those memories came back to Leislet as she charged toward Lein with her staff in her hand.

    "Aurora!!" She yelled and smashed her staff into the ground. Weird light exploded out of her wand and spread across the ground flying toward Lein.

    Thetter stored her sk of wine and vanished from her ce. Her speed was still as impressive as ever and even faster than before.

    "I didn''t expect this weing!"

    She appeared again behind Leislet and got her sword out as she pointed it at Leislet. It was the end of the fight... Or so she thought.

    "Hmm?"

    Lien tried to move her hand, but for some reason, she was frozen in her ce. Her eyes then moved down instinctively and shockingly, strands of light surrounded her body and bound to her limbs like ropes.

    Leislet then lifted her staff and following hermand, the strands of light lifted Lein''s body in the air.

    "Oi! This is not funny!" Lein eximed with a frown.

    "Shut up!"

    *Smash*

    A strand of light extended and pped Lein''s face strongly creating a crispy sound. Leislet cold re didn''t diminish and only grew more and more intense by the second.

    "How dare you fucking appear here as if it was nothing? You better off disappearing forever."

    "My bad, I forgot you whiny bitch was still following little shit like a loyal dog." Lein grinned as she said mockingly.

    *Smash* *Smash*

    Leislet merely pped her again with the strands of light.

    "I should''ve erased you a lot when I had the opportunity to do so. But you escaped like a rat."

    "Sigh, onest warning, release me or you will regret it."<sub> </sub>

    "Oi! Stop it, Leislet." Acht approached them and tapped her shoulder.

    "Don''t interfere, Acht! This bitch needs to die. Did you forget what she did, she''s evil and needs to die now."

    "Fine, I get it. But, you are not the one responsible for killing her. Now, release her and I will deal with the matter by myself. If she needs death then I will deliever it myself." His eyes looked at Lein apathetically.

    Lein knew for sure that he would kill her without a second thought if he wanted to. That, however, didn''t faze her at all.

    "No! I will apologizeter! I will be selfish this time!" Leislet surprisingly refused and didn''t even wait for Acht to say anything before she moved again.

    *Swish*

    She threw Lein out of the straight toward the horizon. The throw was so strong that Lein was basically sted 6 miles into the air.

    "Tonight is her end!!" Leislet then flew out of the room following her target with burning anger.

    She could''ve killed her on the spot, but that wouldn''t be enough. She wanted topletely and utterly crush her before ending her life. She wanted to see her fall into the deepest pits of despair and start begging for her life.

    ''Fuck! This is way worse than I thought!'' Acht clenched his fists and then looked at the other three that were slightly stunned by the scene.

    "You girls, follow me. If we don''t stop them they will fucking kill each other. Scarlett, try to deal with the noise that will happen. I rely on you to cover it. Just buy me a few minutes and I will stop them." Then, Acht flew after them.

    "Leislet really knows how to mess things up." Scarlett clenched her fists.

    Scarlett was also extremely angry but she was able to keep herposure in contrast to Leislet who lost her mind at the mere sight of Lein.

    "Who was that? Why did she get that angry? Exin to me." Mia asked.

    "I will exin on the way. Let''s go! We don''t have much time before they create havoc in the city!!"

    At the same time, Leislet reached Lein and grabbed her neck while they were still in the air. Her eyes illuminated by the light of the moon were like two ominous yet gorgeous pearls.

    "You can''tprehend how much I waited for this moment, you have no idea how much I wanted to kill you with my hands."

    "You did it now! Don''t me me for what will happen."

    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM*

    Then, Lein released herself and kicked Leislet. Thetter fell down like a meteor and crushed into the ground, creating a huge crate.

    The power of the kick shook the whole city and made the buildings sway left and right.

    "Agh!!" Leislet however stood up immediately and flew back up in the air. Lein smiled as she cracked her fingers.

    "Getting rid of another pest is always a good thing. I really missed this." She muttered.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 265 Chapter 265

    Chapter 265- Leislet Vs Lein (Part 2)

    Lien''s body started to fall down after a few moments because of gravity, her ability didn''t give her the power to fly¡­ At least not yet.

    However, she didn''t intend to justnd on the ground, instead, she unsheathed her sword and aimed at Leislet, her cold eyes squinted to the size of a needle as she started rotating the de ever so slowly in her hand. The speed was slow at first but was elerating at an rming rate.

    Leislet saw that and immediately summoned her light threads, then, she made them create a huge spear that sheunched at Lein. The two projectiles approached each other quickly.

    *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

    The sh created a festival of lights in the middle of the sky and the impact from the hit traveled tens of kilometers across the whole city.

    Strands of lights could be seen moving and trying to surround Lein. Thetter with her rotating de was slicing all of them as she kept falling to the ground.

    "Behind you, bitch!" Lein said coldly.

    *Bang*

    The distance left between Lein and the ground waspleted with another kick from Leislet that made her create another crater in the ground.

    At this point, the street was nothing but a mess of rocks and destruction. The question is, how did no one notice thisrge-scale bloody battle when it was literally happening in the middle of the city.

    That was because of one single item that Acht possessed, an item he bought specifically for such times. He knew the potential danger he and the girls could face basically 24/7 so to not make matters worse, he had to make it as soundless as possible.

    That''s when the ''Domain expansion'' artifactes to the rescue. Its functionality is basically like a training capsule albeit not asplicated. You can''t affect the environment inside of it like a proper training capsule but it was more than enough to contain battles between strong individuals.

    ''Fuck! I forgot that Leislet hates Lein to the bone and words won''t stop her.'' He cursed as he closed the distance between them as fast as he could.

    They were still far away because of Leislet''sunch when they were still inside the room. She had put a good chunk of her soul force into that throw and ended up getting very far.

    Acht had to also a good amount of soul force throwing that artifact after them before the battle starts or the worst shit could happen.

    "You don''t know how much pain I felt when you took Acht away and killed innocent people in the mystic soul tournament. You are nothing but scumbags that need to be exterminated forever!!" Leisletnded near the crater and said with an aggravated tone.

    Her face contorted with pain at the mere thought of those moments. She was at the lowest point of her life and all she could see was despair in front of her, nothing worked, nothing looked hopeful, and nothing seemed to be fine.

    She felt as if the world was copsing on her back and burying her with it. Luckily, she was able to emerge from that deep pit and stand on her feet again and restore what she loved the most.

    But, now that Lein appeared again, all those regrets resurfaced again and she wanted to put an end to them¡­ Once and for all.

    "Hahahaha! Ignorance is pretty much a blessing. You righteous people are always the ones to do the right thing. But, where did that end up with you? Huh? A fucking bloody war across the whole and who stopped it? We, the scumbags and the cruel bunch that lurk in the darkness of society. Hell, most of us died because of it!! While you whined like a bitch, we fought to protect ourselves and the things we cherish!" Lien replied as she threw the rocks from on top of her away.

    "Shut up!!!"

    Strands of light attacked Lein again at the outrage of Leislet. Lien cracked her neck and vanished with her speed and appeared behind Leislet with her sword already near her neck. One more moment and her head will fly off.<sub> </sub>

    *Swish* *Swish* *Swish*

    The strands of light were already there when it happened, the sword then shed with them creating an unpleasant sound along with sparks of burned metal.

    ''Fuck, how did she even materialize light and make it this sturdy.'' Lien clenched her teeth as she tried to push these things away.

    "There was no reason for your actions except for the sake of feeling satisfied by your horrible deeds. You are all twisted fuckers that deserved death!!"

    The light started pushing Lein slowly, her strength couldn''t rival it at all, she tried to find an escape route but they were all closed and all she could do was to keep her ground against them.

    *Swish* Swish*

    Even under such heavy pressure, Lein was able to dodge all the attacks quite easily which frustrated Leislet a lot.

    ''Just die! Die! Die! Die! Die!''

    "Haaaaaah!! Just stop dodging and die!!!!!"

    Leislet was in a crazed state, her emotions were all over the ce, and her mind was drowned in anger and desire for revenge so she couldn''tprehend anything of what was happening around her. It was as if she didn''t know herself anymore. This anger and hatred, was it really something that was a part of her for all these years yet she wasn''t aware of it? Was she really this yearning for the death of this woman?

    Then, out of nowhere, two hands reached her from behind before she could even react and pulled her in. Her eyes widened at first since she didn''t understand what happened but then when she felt the familiar warmth of the person behind her and his broad chest, her eyes calmed down considerably.

    "It''s not worth losing yourself for the sake of killing her. You will lose far more because of it. Trust me." He whispered gently as he caressed her head.

    "But, but¡­"

    "I don''t want the person I fell in love with to be this vengeful. You don''t want to be this vengeful either, you are a gentle person Leislet and that''s who you are meant to be. As I said, if she was worth killing, I would kill her right in front of you. But, for now, I want you to calm down. Here I am, we came from such a long way and we faced many challenges, but we changed for the better through them. We can''t ruin that progress over something so filthy like revenge."

    His words resonated with Leislet and made her anger vanish as if it was never there, instead, a strong feeling of guilt reced it. Her tears started falling from her face.

    "I''m sorry¡­ Hick¡­"

    "I know you meant no harm. You wanted to take revenge for me, right?"

    "Yes¡­ Hick¡­" She replied between her sobs.

    "I am thankful for that. You always think of me and that makes me happy." A warm smile appeared on his face as he gazed deep into her eyes.

    ''That smile¡­ It always saves me.'' Leislet thought to herself.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 266 Chapter 266

    Chapter 266- Things Are Weird! (Part 1)

    Acht hugged her tightly and rubbed her head gently to calm her down. He knew how vulnerable she was at that moment so the only thing he could do was to make her feel rxed enough to return to her calm state.

    Besides, he didn''t hate hugging her so it was a win-win situation, he obviously hid that fact from her for less awkwardness.

    "Did you get angry because I ignored your request?" She suddenly asked with a stifled voice.

    "Not really, I knew how much you cared about me. I''m not angry at all." He replied with a small smile.

    "Mmm, I wanted to take revenge for you. But, I want to know, why are you not angry? Why are not seeking revenge on her? She caused you a lot of trouble."

    Acht sighed as he looked at Lein with a conflicted gaze.

    "I still feel like she''s hiding something from me. Something that could really affect the world if was leaked. I don''t know what it is. But I''d rather know what it was even if it meant leaving her alive. Besides, I still believe that people could change."

    "Impossible!!" Leislet shook her head.

    "I''m the best example of that. You changed me."

    "..."

    She averted her gaze from him and didn''t reply properly. That was because she knew his words were right but didn''t want to admit it and give him a chance for Lein to sound in a good light.

    "You finally calmed down you rabid dog! Damn, I almost wanted to kill her." Lein interrupted them as she cracked her neck and limbs.

    "You still want to talk?"

    "If that bitch ain''ting then I will."

    "Sigh, fine. We will talk alone."

    "But, Acht¡­" Leislet tried to protest but Acht touched her cheek to coax her.

    "I can take care of myself. Just go home and sleep. We will talk tomorrow."

    "...Fine."

    After that, she stood up, red at Lein, and then walked away.

    "Take care of the others. They will have many questions to ask."

    After making sure that left, Acht sat down.

    "We are alone now. This domain is totally secretive so you can rest assured."

    Lein nodded her head and sat in front of him.

    "Wine?"

    "No, thanks."

    "Suit yourself."

    Lein then opened the sk and poured some into her wine cup. Then, she swirled it a little and took a sip from it. Her gaze seemed to be nostalgic in a sense.

    "I used to make our bartender make this for me all the time. This is thest sk I have."

    "..."

    Acht understood what she meant with those words but didn''t want toment on it. He didn''t want to create another problem.

    "So, how have you been for the past 5 years?" She asked.

    "Calm life. Tried to change the pace for a while. Did you do what I told you?"

    "Yeah¡­ I mean, I at least tried to do so. I continued working as a hunter while living in a small city far away from here. It worked I guess."

    "I see¡­ You didn''t get into problems, did you?"

    "..."

    "You did, huh."

    "I''m hot-blooded by nature. You can''t expect me to be a fucking pacifist!"

    "Fine. You at least tried to move on. Now, why did youe here?"<sub> </sub>

    "... Well¡­" Lein scratched her head with aplicated gaze.

    "Just spit it out¡­"

    "Fine¡­ The truth is, after you left, I carried the other members to bury them. I wanted to give them a proper funeral but I didn''t have to ability to do so in the middle of that chaos."

    "So?"

    "The thing is. I couldn''t find Jack and boss'' corpses."

    "Huh? I''m pretty sure I saw Lenny''s corpse in front of me."

    "That''s what I''m saying. I searched the whole fucking city and I couldn''t find them."

    "Maybe they were picked by someone?"

    "Why would they be the only ones to be picked? It doesn''t make sense."

    Acht frowned slightly at her words. He was 100% sure that Lenny was dead, he didn''t see Jack, but he saw Lenny drowned in his own blood.

    "Are you thinking of what I''m thinking?" She asked.

    "There''s no way. I made sure he was dead. It can''t be."

    "Exin then how he magically disappeared then?"

    ''This is a bad joke. If he''s actually alive, that would change many things.''

    "Jack and Lenny. Did they escape when you were not looking? But, why?"

    "Like hell, I know. That''s why I''ve been searching for you. I wanted to see whether you had any idea or not."

    "No idea at all."

    "Guess so¡­"

    "There is something fishy with this but I can''t put my hand on it yet."

    The fact is, all of this mystery somehow doesn''t fit together at all. Lenny was dead and that was a certainty for Acht¡­ Except if he had something that could resurrect him from death.

    But, such a strong ability shouldn''t exist, it defies thews of this world. Things like death¡­ time and.

    ''Wait, time¡­The ability to manipte time.'' Acht''s eyes widened in shock as he realized something.

    "Did Lenny tell you about his ability?"

    "No. He kept it a secret from everyone."

    "I see¡­ I think I know what his ability is. I had my suspicions before but I never thought about it but it now makes sense."

    "What? What do you mean?" Lein asked urgently.

    "The ability to manipte time. That''s most likely Lenny''s power."

    "Manipte time? There is no way a person could be able to manipte time itself. That''s absurd."

    "I can manipte gravity to my will quite easily," Acht exined as he easily made a giant boulder float beside him as he spoke.

    A flicker of his finger made this seemingly impossible-to-lift boulder float like a leaf.

    "If the possibility to manipte something like gravity exists, manipting time shouldn''t be that oundish if you think about it. Besides, if you think about it with that, it makes sense now. Lenny was most likely the one that used that ability to restore him to his peak form. The only mystery left is why did he run away? Why did he revive Jack and why did he leave the others dead?"

    "This shit is getting way too messy. I never thought it could be thisplicated."

    "It''s still only a possibility. It could be wrong and it could be right. That''s all I could think of."

    "The ability to manipte time, huh? What the hell?! He hid something like that from us. Did he not trust us."

    "That old man is unpredictable. You can expect everything from him. It''s not all about trust."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 267 Chapter 267

    Chapter 267- Kiss Me Too! (Part 1)

    Lein was still in disbelief after hearing Acht''s theory, manipting time was simply too absurd of a power for her to believe it was real. Someone who can manipte time is basically omnipotent in every sense of the word, a higher being for theck of a better description.

    He can go to the past, change the past and resurrect the dead, he can kill an infinite amount of people even if they gang up on him. He can travel to any ce in the world instantly.

    All of that was nothing but a drop in the ocean of this ability. So, if it really existed, the whole world could easily crumble down in the hands of that user.

    "If he was really that strong, why didn''t he just aplish his goal without the need to create Nightingale."

    "Maybe because his ability is not as overpowered as we thought. I can''t believe that he could freely control time, there have to be restraints on him that make him more ''human''. The point is, these restraints, whatever they are, are most likely the answer to our questions." Acht exined with a sharp look.

    "I guess you''re right¡­"

    Acht then sighed and stood up.

    "What are you going to do now?" He asked.

    "I will settle down nearby for the time being. I''m also going on the expedition." She said.

    "Well, suit yourself. See youter." Acht said and started walking away.

    "Acht¡­" Lien suddenly called for him.

    "Hm?"

    Even though she was the one who spoke first, she seemed hesitant about speaking. But, after taking a huge gulp of wine, she wiped her mouth with a groan.

    "Ugh¡­ How should I say this?... Fuck! I''m not good at this."

    "If you don''t want to speak then I''m leaving."

    "No, wait! I wanted to apologize."

    "Apologize?"

    "The shit that happened a few years ago¡­ I thought about it for a long time. I get that you really got screwed really hard and almost lost your life. Mm, it''s not really something I could fix but I can at least apologize."

    Acht''s gaze and silent reaction made her avert her gaze with an awkward look. It was very apparent that she wasn''t good with these kinds of talks.

    "Well, you did fuck me up at the time. But, shit happened to both of our sides. I can at least not fight you to death here. Consider your apology received, no hard feelings but I didn''t forgive you either."

    "I get it¡­ I will try to live a better life." She said.

    "That''s for the better."

    After that, Acht picked up the artifact of the barrier and left the ce. Scarlett should''ve already dealt with the matter of the destruction.

    When he was far enough, he saw a group of girls waiting for him. When they saw him, they immediately ran toward him with a panicked look.

    Seeing the fear in their eyes, a weird yet fuzzy feeling welled up in his heart. It was not bad at all, in fact, it kinda felt good. It''s as if he belonged to some ce, a family in a sense.

    Then, a small smile appeared on his face.

    Of course, for the next 5 minutes, he had to answer the barrage of questions they had for him. That included the full story of Nightingale, Lein, and other things. When he was done.

    A shocked look could be seen on Mia''s face who didn''t know this story at all.

    But, after calming down slightly, she hugged him with tears already in her eyes.

    "I never knew Acht suffered this much¡­ It must''ve been so painful." She said as she tightened her hug around him.

    "You''re such a crybaby." He muttered teasingly.

    But, the res of the others girls ruined the moment and Leislet quickly pulled her out of his embrace.

    "You should learn to respect personal space!"

    "Says the bitch with the big tits! Your boobs alone destroy any personal space that could exist!" Mia retorted.

    "Boobs this boobs that! All you could think about is boobs you perverted girl! Or maybe you''re just jealous because you have a cutting board for a chest. Hahahaha!!"

    "W-What?! I don''t have a cutting board. Look, they are big too. I''m also still developing."

    "Yes, yes. I''m sure you are." Leislet replied sarcastically.

    "I will kill you!!"

    "Oh, try me."

    "You can keep fighting here. I''m leaving." Acht said.

    "Huh?"

    "What?"

    The two looked dumbfounded when they found Acht and the other two already leaving the ce.

    "W-Wait for me."

    "Acht, don''t leave me here."

    They both ran after him with worried looks. They thought that he might be angry because of them but the truth is that he just had a lot of things to think about.

    After that, they all walked back to his room and sat down in the living room. Acht then cooked dinner and they ate together. In less than hour, all the girls except for Scarlett slept there.

    They were really tired and the fight only made it even more harder for them to stay awake. Acht rested his back on the couch as he patted the sleeping Tania on her head. She chose hisp as a pillow.

    His eyes also traced her face as she breathed quietly adn rhythmically.

    ''Looking close at her, she really did change in the past 5 years.'' He thought to himself.

    Scarlett was sitting across from him, sipping a cup of tea she prepared a few minutes ago. Her eyes seemed lost for some reason.

    "Scarlett?" He muttered her name.

    "Hmm?"

    "You have something to say?"

    "No, not really¡­ It''s just that I was recalling all the things we went through. It has been one hell of a journey." She said.

    "You''re right." He replied as he traced his hands through Tania''s head making her purr like an adorable cat. She must''ve been feeling really good.

    "Acht, do you have something that you''re hiding from us?" She asked.

    "Why do you ask?"

    "I don''t know, it''s just a hunch of mine."

    ''Should I tell her?'' He contemted carefully.

    But, before he could even say anything, she sighed, put the cup of tea on the table and walked to his side before sitting awfully close from him.

    "Neh, can I request something from you?"

    "Hmm?"

    "Can you kiss me?"

    Scarlett asked with a weirdly calm look. Her question was far from being causal though.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 268 Chapter 268

    Chapter 268- Kiss Me Too! (Part 2)

    "Huh?" Acht made a weird sound as he looked at her with a slightly surprised look. He was already aware of what kind of feeling Scarlett harbored for him, but, he didn''t expect her to just blurt out such a request out of nowhere.

    "I said-"

    "I heard you clearly. I meant where did thate from?" He asked.

    Scarlett shook her head with a small smile on her face that only Acht was allowed to see. She was always a cold and emotionless person except in front of Acht. That''s when that facade vanishes and she bespletely rxed.

    "I have a strong urge to kiss you." She replied after a while.

    "I can see you''re not in your right mind now. You can sl-"

    Before finishing his words, his cor was pulled in and Scarlett embraced him in her chest. Her eyes gazed deeply at his before closing whatever distance was left between their lips. Her movement was swift, quick, and impossible to dodge because of the close distance between them.

    The kiss wasn''t strong, it was a simple, affectionate kiss that could be seen between couples. It didn''t have any ulterior, sexual motives. Acht could taste her sweet lips that were really addictive to kiss.

    But, his mind urged him to pull away, so he did so before looking at Scarlett with a weird gaze. He really didn''t know what to say.

    After that, he looked down and said out of nowhere.

    "I already epted Leislet."

    "I know¡­" Scarlett replied with a smile.

    "Then, why?"

    "I guess you still don''t get it, Acht. Look around you, the others aren''t here, stuck to you out of simple like orfort. They genuinely love you with every fiber of their being, me included. We have already decided who we want to spend our lives with. Even if one of us wins your heart, the others won''t give up. We all are crazily in love with you." Scarlett said as she touched her chest and a gentle smile bloomed on her face.

    After that, she closed the distance between her and Acht and cupped his cheeks with both of her hands.

    "Leislet is an arrogant, inconsiderate, and selfish bitch. But, she also knows that she will never have you for herself alone. She knows that at some point we all will make you love us. You can''t run away from us, Acht. You are already trapped."

    She then kissed him again for a few seconds and retracted her face.

    "I know that you are conflicted about having multiple lovers. You''re not from this world, right? Believe it or not, having multiple partners is the norm here. But, I won''t push you to do something you don''t want to do. If you don''t want to ept this, just being next to you is more than enough for me to be satisfied for a lifetime."

    Acht was totally speechless, he was aware of this problem and he somehow tried to ignore it. Having multiple partners at the same time is not that foreign of a concept for him, that was also something that exists in his old world.

    But, when he epted Leislet, he also knew that he had to face a huge problem with the girls and also with Dia. How could he face her with 4 lovers beside him? Will she even look at him? Will she ept that and stay by him?

    Such suspicions ached his heart a lot and also made him worry about the girls too since they will have to handle splitting him between them. Even now, they barely tolerated each other let alone when they be his girlfriends.

    Scarlett so that conflict in his eyes and smiled softly at him.

    "Are you really fine with being in such a rtionship?" He asked with a small frown.

    "If it means staying by the side of my beloved then I will do far worse things. It''s my dream, our dreams. You don''t get how important your existence in our lives is."

    "No, I get it. But, it''s really going to be hard, you know? I am already aware that people will only ept this only if we just make them ept it by force."

    "You have a way to do that?" Scarlett asked.

    "I will have to simply reach the top. If I''m at the peak then no human beneath me could say anything about you guys. I don''t care about my reputation but yours are really important." He exined as he scratched his chin.

    "Fufufuf!" Scarlett startedughing out of nowhere.

    "Why are youughing?"

    "It''s just amazing to see you speak like that. I could still remember when you didn''t care about anyone and only thought about your own benefits. To see that same Acht considering other people. I can''t describe it."

    "Well, I also don''t believe it either. I changed a lot."

    "Anyway, whatever you want to do¡­ Know that all of us will support you through it no matter what happens."

    "Mmm, thanks." He said as he rested his back on the sofa again with a slightly lost look.

    A lot of things happened that night and he still didn''t organize his thoughtspletely. That takes some time even for someone with a strong mentality like Acht.

    Scarlett also rested her head on his other freep and looked up at him.

    Her eyes were glistening as if they were about to cry but no tears came out. It was just a look of pure bliss as if she had already reached her full happiness in life.

    "You guys are really troublesome, you know that."

    "Being troublesome for the person we love is always a good thing." Scarlettughed.

    "I guess you''re right. But, I will try to make you not regret this choice of yours. I will definitely make all of you happy."

    "Is that a proposal?" She asked.

    "No," Acht replied with a frown.

    "Hehehehe! Your face was priceless. I can''t believe it, that''s so funny."

    "Hey, no teasing." He flicked her forehead lightly with a small smile.

    "Ouch. But, maybe you will have to propose one day and that day could be sooner than you expect."

    "I don''t think I can make such amitment any time soon. I will only think about it when I am fully ready to settle down and retire. I still have many things I must do and that could take years."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 269 Chapter 269

    Chapter 269- Were Dates Really This Action-Packed Usually? (Part 1)

    The next day, everyone woke up and ate breakfast together, Scarlett seemed to be as usual even after the conversation they had yesterday. On the other side, Acht''s mind was still slightly bugged by the words she said to him yesterday.

    He did sleep all night but it was not the mostfortable 8 hours of his life. That fact alone made him annoyed.

    ''Since when did I be this hesitant about doing something? Keep it together, Acht.'' He thought to himself as he washed the dishes.

    As he was like that, he felt his shirt getting pulled slightly and a soft, warm breath reached his neck along with a whisper in his ear.

    "Acht¡­"

    ? He already felt the presence behind him so he didn''t turn around.

    "What is it, Tania?"

    "Follow me¡­ City¡­" She said.

    "You want to go to the city? Why?" He asked.

    "Something¡­ I want to show you something." She said with a determined look.

    "You want to show me something? What is it?"

    However, Tania weirdly pouted with a slightly angry look. Then, she hugged his arm and replied.

    "No¡­ questions, just follow."

    Tania wasn''t usually that forceful and was always well-behaved and listened to Acht whenever he asked something from her.

    ''Today is Sunday so I might as well go to the city. I also need to buy some stuff.''

    "Fine, but you will still have to exin it to me."

    "Mmm, thank you." She replied as a small yet adorable smile bloomed on her face.

    The others had already left for their homes. They can''t stay here longer than that or rumors will spread that someone was having an orgy in his room with jaw-dropping beauty.

    After cleaning the dishes, Acht wore his outdoor clothes and he left with Tania.

    The two strolled toward the Academy City''s heart while chatting about stupid stuff. Acht still didn''t know what she wanted to show him.

    "Mmm, Tania? Why are weing to a bar? It''s literally the middle of the day. Besides, you can''t drink, can you?"

    "Acht, no¡­ No drink¡­ We have other things¡­ to do." She replied and walked inside.

    ''I don''t have a good feeling about this.'' He thought to himself.

    The bar was very empty since no one in his sane mind would consume alcohol in the middle of the day even if it was a holiday.

    The bartender was cleaning cups silently while enjoying the silence.

    When Acht saw that scene, a weird deja-vu hit him out of nowhere. But, when he thought about it, he knew that scene very well and he wasn''t fond of that memory at all.

    "Welc-" Before the man could finish his words, he had to squint his eyes at the two teenagers that came inside.

    "My apologies, we don''t serve alcohol to students." He said.

    Acht eyed Tania to see what she wanted to do. He still had no clue why they came here.

    Tania then took a deep breath and replied.

    "Pig''s liver is brown." She said.

    "Huh?" Acht could only tilt his head in confusion.

    However, the bartender didn''t seem to be surprised since he immediately nodded his head and said.

    "Please, follow me."

    Tania then started walking, but, Acht grabbed her hand and said with an angry tone.

    "Exin, now."

    Tania felt slightly troubled but she still exined.

    "Underground¡­ There is fighting¡­. Arena¡­. With prizes."

    "And?"

    Things like underground fighting are present in basically every city in the world and the academy city was no exception. In fact, if you look at it closely, this ce was always meant to be a breeding ground for such illegal businesses with the overflow of people who are experts in fighting.

    "I want to¡­ Participate with you!"

    "No." He replied and grabbed her hand to leave the bar.

    "No, Acht¡­ No!" She tried to resist his pull but failed in the end since he was more powerful than her.

    "This is not a yground, Tania. We can''t just join an underground fighting arena."

    "One of the prizes¡­. Are nes." She added.

    "So?"

    "Here¡­ this." She pulled out her phone and showed Acht the picture of a ne along with a description.

    Acht read it and scratched his chin with a slightly interesting look.

    "It can link two or more people and make them able to sense the other person''s vitals. Hmm, the distance is also not important."

    ''That could actually be extremely useful for when the expedition will begin. We can keep track of each other if we use them.''

    "Shouldn''t we just buy them?" He reasoned with her.

    "I searched¡­ I found nothing."

    "Sigh, is there really no other way to get these except this illegal stuff?" He asked just to make sure.

    "Mmm¡­ We have to win the 5 matches to get that prize."

    "Listen. I will humor you for now and I will check the ce if I deem it too dangerous then we will leave. Understood?".

    Tania smiled widely and hugged him tightly.

    "Acht¡­is the best!"

    "Yes, yes. I am. The stuff I do for you guys." He rolled his eyes.

    After that, they followed the man behind the curtains, there they found a small office kind of room. There wasn''t much about it that could make it suspicious except for the fact that it was really messy with papers all over the ce.

    "Lucky for you both, we have only two ces left for tonight''s event. Are you sure you want to join?"

    Tania nodded her head to the man.

    "Good, your names please."

    Tania was about to say her name but Acht spoke before and said.

    "Can we use nicknames?"

    "Yes, as long as it''s a usable name for thementator."

    "Good, then I''m Alpha, she''s Delta." He said with a cold re.

    "Good. Wee to the ''smiling devil'' fighting arena."

    ''What a corny name.'' He thought.

    "Come here tonight at 8:00 PM. Don''t bete or you will be eliminated."

    Acht and Tania then left the bar and walked across the street silently.

    The mood was really damp and quite cold actually. Acht''s eyes were still sharp as he looked ahead of him seemingly in thought.

    Tania felt his unusual mood and looked down with an extremely sad look.

    "I''m sorry, Acht. I¡­"

    "Never do that again, ok? I know you wanted to get hose nes but such methods are uselessly troublesome. You should always tell me before doing something reckless. As long as you tell me, I can even ept it if I''m sure nothing bad will happen."

    "Mmm, I won''t."

    Acht then sighed and patted her on her head before saying.

    "Since we''re out, we might as well just take a stroll around the city."

    "I know¡­. They call it ''date¡­"

    Hearing her, he chuckled and then nodded his head.

    "Call it whatever you want."

    "Date¡­ Date¡­ Date¡­"

    "I get it, stop saying date."

    "Date¡­ Date¡­ Date."

    "Stop or we are going home."

    Tania then went silent for a few seconds before looking at Acht again.

    "...Date¡­"

    "..."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 270 Chapter 270

    Chapter 270- Were Dates Really This Action-Packed Usually? (Part 2)

    The two walked around the city, checking out ces they had never visited before. It was still a new city to them even though they have been there for almost a month at this point. But, Tania didn''t seem to be that interested in the city as she kept gazing at Acht secretly from time to time.

    Her mind had only one thought inside of it and that is¡­

    ''I will be able to see Acht fight again. He will be so cool and dazzling.''

    The thought of his silhouette as he defeated his opponents easily and efficiently made her shudder with excitement. It was all so worth the work for her since all she wanted was for her loved one to be as strong and as mesmerizing as he could be.

    The n she made took her a few weeks of searching and trying to find a good reason for Acht to fight.

    Luckily, the nes were the best thing for this n, they were important for their expedition and also quite rare so he can''t find them anywhere else even if he tried to search.

    That seemed to work wonderfully even though Acht was annoyed but he still epted. If he was genuinely against the idea then she would''ve totally epted that since all of this was just for her pure satisfaction and no ulterior motives.

    "Want some ice cream?" Acht woke her up from her thoughts with a question.

    Hearing the word ''ice cream'' made her forget everything and nod happily.

    "Fine, but you will only have one cone. No bowls of ice cream." He said.

    "No¡­" Her face frowned with sadness and she tugged his sleeve.

    "Ice cream¡­ big bowl, please."

    "No, that''s not allowed." He replied with a stern look. Acht looked like a father speaking to his misbehaving daughter.

    "Ok¡­" She didn''t try to persuade him anymore as an idea popped into her head and she smiled mischievously.

    "Two ice cream cones, please. One vani and one chocte with cookie chips."

    The man that had the ice cream shop smiled at the two and said.

    "You have a gorgeous girlfriend there,d."

    Acht merely nodded his head and didn''t say anything else. He didn''t try to correct his words since he didn''t bother with how people saw them. They can think whatever they want only if they don''t be troublesome.

    "Here they are, I gave thedy extra ice cream since she seemed eager for it. It''s on the house." He winked at Acht as he gave him two big cones of ice cream.

    "Thank you but it was unnecessary." He replied and took the ice cream before giving it to Tania.

    "It''s fine, you should spoil yourdy or you will end up alone. Just like me." His energetic voice turned slightly sad at the end but he still smiled at them.

    ''I didn''t need to know that.'' Acht thought with a sigh before leaving.

    The two sat on a bench and started eating the ice cream. The mood was way better than before. Then, Tania looked at Acht''s cone and smiled.

    "Acht... Ahhh." She said as she approached her cone from his face.

    "Is it really necessary?" He asked.

    "Please."

    "Sigh, fine."

    Then, he took a bite of the ice cream before savoring it for a moment and swallowing it. The taste of the chocte was too strong for his taste and that''s why he chose vani. As basic as it was, vani never misses.

    "Give... me too..."

    "Ok, here." He didn''t think much about it and gave her the cone.

    "Feed... me."

    "You''re old enough Tania. You don''t need me to feed you."

    "No, Acht needs... to feed me." She pouted slightly.

    "Ok, ok." He rolled his eyes and gave her the cone with an ''Ahh''.

    Tania nodded her head and took a big bite from the ice cream. Her face as she chewed the ice cream was like a hamster with her puffy cheeks.

    "You ate half of it."

    "It''s... delicious..."

    "That''s not the point here. You are trying to trick me into giving you my ice cream too, aren''t you?"

    "N-No..." She averted her eyes.

    "You are too gluttonous." He pinched her cheek with a tired look.

    He didn''t know whether tough or cry at this girl and her endless pit of a stomach. He could swear he had never seen herpletely filled. She always had a room for more food no matter what time it was, day or night.

    He even questioned whether Tania had some special powers that made her need that huge amount of food to give her enough energy to sustain it but he could see nothing like that in her.

    ''She needs to restrain herself or she will get sick.''

    *Bang*

    Suddenly, as they were like that, a huge explosion woke them up. It wasing from two streets away and it was big enough to rise above the buildings and create a mirror of smoke above the city.

    Acht squinted his eyes as he gazed at the direction of the explosion but he couldn''t see anything.

    "Let''s go check." He said to Tania as he threw the ice cream in the trash can.

    "Noo... Ice cream." Tania was really desperate to eat her ice cream but because of this stupid problem, she lost it.

    ''Dead... Kill.'' She thought with a cold re. Whoever did this shall feel her full wrath.

    People are already running away from the ce in fear.

    ''What is going on?'' Acht could only wonder as he moved from between the hordes of people running in his direction.

    Finally, when he reached the building where the explosion happened. He frowned greatly when he saw the destruction.

    Half of the building was blown into smithereens and the rest of it was swaying left and right. He could clearly see that if it was left alone, the building will fall and the worst will happen.

    ''Who did this?'' He looked around him for any suspicious people but he could see nothing that attracted his attention.

    "There are people inside!!!" Someone shouted.

    "They are stuck in the fire and the building will fall!!"

    ''Oh great! There are people inside too.'' He rolled his eyes and shifted his gaze to Tania.

    "Search around the ce for anything suspicious, I will deal with the people inside."

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 271 Chapter 271

    Chapter 271- The Fate Sure Likes To Lick The Protagonist''s Ass (Part 1)

    Acht approached the building before flying inside one of the windows, he made sure no one saw him when he did that. It wasn''t hard to do considering the fact that the ce was empty of people and even the people that were close by didn''t look by for fear of dying and kept running as fast as they could.

    Inside, the ce looked like a massive office of apany with many tables and chairs along with a shit ton of papers thrown everywhere.

    "Help!!! Please, help!!"

    Acht could already hear the screams and the desperate cries of the people stuck inside.

    *Sway* *Bam*

    The ceiling started to fall off as the building started swaying left and right again, the windows broke the tables and chairs started falling down.

    ''Even if I stop the building from falling, most of them will still be harmed. I have to get everyone out before doing anything.'' He thought to himself as he went into action instantly.

    Using his gravity maniption, he navigated his way through the areas of the building quickly. Finally, he reached the first victim.

    It was a middle-aged man stuck under a huge rock, his ankle was probably gone from the hit but he was still alive from his breathing. Acht lifted the rock and pulled him out.

    After that, he delivered the man to the entrance of the building where many cops were standing and trying to infiltrate the ce.

    Acht then went back inside and continued getting the people to evacuate. A few minutes passed and the building now was basically a tick away from bing rubble and falling down.

    Unfortunately, Acht could still feel one presence inside the building and that person''s ce wasn''t the best at all. In fact, if Acht doesn''t reach them in the next 3 seconds, they are basically dead.

    ''I have to hurry,e on, faster.''

    *Bang* *BOOOOOOMMM*

    The building continued to crumble on Acht and he kept flying and dodging at an enormous speed. His eyes scanned the area and tried to locate the person.

    Finally, he found them, hanging on the edge of thest floor with their fingers barely holding their weight. The problem with the situation was that there was a huge amount of rubble between them and he will take at least 4 seconds to take it all away and create a way for him to reach her.

    "I''m here, just a moment."

    ''There is no other choice. Hopefully, this won''t make the building totally crumble.'' He prayed for the best and started working.

    Acht reassured the woman as he pulled out ooze quickly and started making it push the rubble to the side. Then¡­

    ''Hah!" He punched a hole into the wall, throwing most of it into the air. When the huge rocks were close to the ground, he quickly used his powers and disintegrated the rocks, creating enough space for him to reach the woman.

    "I''m¡­ falling." The woman begged with tears in her eyes as she readied herself for imminent death.

    *Swish*

    Her fingers finally left the edge and she started free-falling to the ground with a loud scream. But, when she was mid-air, her falling suddenly stopped and she started floating in the air. She kept her eyes closed for a few moments thinking it was an illusion before finally opening them to see what happened.

    "Are you ok?" He asked her.

    "Y-Yes¡­" Her mind was still in a daze as she looked at the handsome man that saved her.

    She genuinely thought this was a dream or something like that as she rubbed her eyes to make sure it was not.

    When they finallynded, he put her down and asked again.

    "Can you walk?"

    "Yes¡­ Mm, then-"

    "Don''t tell anyone about this ok? I will appreciate it if you kept it a secret." He winked at her with a smile as he put his indeed finger on her mouth.

    Her face blushed furiously as she nodded continuously.

    "Good girl."

    Then, Acht flew back inside the building and stood in the middle of the building.

    "Ok, thest time I lifted a heavy thing was years ago. Hopefully, I didn''t go rusty because of that." He muttered and started spreading his soul force across the whole ce.

    He didn''t find any difficulty doing so but the next part was the hard one.

    He used gravity maniption and started lifting the building, the weight of tons and tons of rocks fell on his body and made him frown slightly but nothing major happened to him.

    Outside, however, the matter was very different. People from afar could see the building, which was barely a moment, away from falling starting to get fixed again as if it was getting pushed back into position.

    "Ooze, ugh¡­ You know what to do." He muttered with some difficulty as he kept the building motionless with his hands extended.

    Ooze as if it understood its master''s words moved at a quick speed to the basement of the building where the pirs that held the building should be. Then, it collected the remains of the pirs and fixed them back, and stuck them together with some of its liquid. Ooze was quite sticky and was strong enough to hold a building together.

    Finally, the weight on Acht''s body lessened considerably and he understood that the building was now way safer than before.

    Sighing, he dusted off the dirt from his clothes and started leaving the building.

    ''These were my favorite clothes.'' He thought to himself.

    After leaving, he searched for Tania''s location and he found her quickly. But, his face frowned as he sensed another presence near her.

    So, with that in mind, he flew towards her at his fastest speed

    ''Whenever that bastard is close by, means trouble is around the fucking corner.''

    It was something Acht was quite aware of, now that he recalled things from the past. This building explosion was not a coincidence but an actual scenario that led to Tania getting closer to him.

    Acht for some reason didn''t like the idea of leaving those two alone so he elerated even further, crossing half of the city in mere seconds.

    He never really used his full flying speed before but this was not a matter where he could act carelessly.

    When he reached the ce where they should be, he saw it, a sight that made him freeze for a moment.

    The protagonist was pinning Tania to the ground, his hand didn''t seem to be touching her nor was his body touching hers but he was still on top of her and that was more than enough to make something inside Acht switch.

    Hended near them¡­

    He then approached the protagonist and kicked him with his leg using a good chunk of his strength, sending him tumbling to the wall on the other side.

    "AGGGH!!" The protagonist groaned loudly from the hit as he spat saliva out along with drops of blood.

    "What were you doing?" He asked in his coldest and harshest tone. He looked calm on the outside but only he knew what was going on inside of him.

    Acht was outraged.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 Chapter 272 272- The Fate Sure Likes To Lick The Protagonistâ€™s Ass (Part 2)

    Chapter 272- The Fate Sure Likes To Lick The Protagonist''s Ass (Part 2)

    Acht felt his blood boiling with anger as he red at the protagonist with his chilling cold re. Was it not for the fact that he was the protagonist and the disaster that will happen if he died, Acht would''ve killed him on the spot without even waiting for the fucker to breathe a second breath.

    ''Keep it calm, Acht. This scumbag needs to live¡­ for now.'' He thought to himself as he started cracking his fingers.

    ''That doesn''t mean that I can''t ruin his face.''

    "I never thought you were really someone to push girls down, huh? Pretty bold, I have to say." Acht said with a cold tone.

    "W-Wait, it''s a misunderstanding!!" Feeling the ring danger and the heavy aura exuding from Acht, he tried to exin himself.

    Acht ignored him for a second before looking at Tania and pulling her up gently. Then, he asked her.

    "Are you ok? Did he do anything to you?" He asked.

    "No¡­" Tania shook her head.

    Acht felt slightly relieved for the fact that he wasn''tte. Besides, Tania doesn''t seem shocked or scared which also implied that this wasn''t a **** attempt or something like that.

    However, misunderstanding or not, Acht was still extremely pissed off. How dare he touch her? He thought to himself even though he tried to suppress those feelings.

    "So, what happened here? I will assume he didn''t push you down deliberately¡­"

    "I d-did no-" The protagonist tried to speak.

    *Swish*

    A hole appeared in the wall, right beside his head that scared him shitless. His face paled and tears welled up in his eyes.

    "You shut the fuck. I''m asking her." Acht then shifted his gaze back to Tania.

    Then, the girl started recounting what happened before Acht came there.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    [A few minutes before Acht came.]

    Tania was moving from one building to another as she followed five auras that she suspected of being rted to this attack. It wasn''t something she was sure of but she had a hunch that they were the culprits.

    ''I will catch them and then Acht will praise me and pat my head with his gentle smile.'' She thought to herself as she felt her heart thumping with excitement.

    Her speed increased as she closed the distance between her and the group quickly. Soon, she saw them down near an alley as they moved secretly.

    Tania decided tond on the building near the alley and watch first before doing anything since they could be innocent.

    "Did anyone see us?" One of the masked people said to the others.

    "None."

    "Good, we can leave now."

    The conversation was more than enough to make them the primary suspects in this terrorist attack.

    So, with that as sufficient proof, Tania jumped down and faced the group.

    "Who are you?!" One of them shouted as he readied himself to fight.

    What made him act like that was the fact that he was not able to sense her presence at all and that proved that she was not a simple person.

    Tania however didn''t reply and swang her hand gracefully in the air. Instantly, countless crystal shards manifested around her and pointed toward the group.

    "A crystal element user. Fuck! We''re screwed." They cursed as they tried to move away before they get hit.

    However, much to their surprise, a person appeared out of nowhere and jumped on Tania.

    "Be careful!!" He shouted as he pushed her down.

    In the ce where she stood before, a bullet passed and pierced the wall. The one who made that shot was one of the five mysterious people.

    "Tch!" He cursed when his bullet didn''t hit.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    At the same time, the five of them sensed a horrifying auraing toward them at a terrifying speed, a chill ran down their spines when they felt that huge pressure and that blood lust seeping through their bones.

    "Oi! You feel that?"

    "A-Ah¡­"

    "We can''t stay here any longer! We will definitely be killed if we stay here."

    The group then ran away as quickly as they could.

    The only two people left were still in that position, the boy stared at Tania with wide eyes.

    He felt engrossed in her beautiful eyes as he forgot about moving. He felt his heart thumping loudly and his breathing became slightly erratic.

    But, before he could do or think about anything, he felt a sharp pain in his side as he was sted into the wall.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Hearing the story, Acht pinched the top of his nose with a sigh.

    "She''s an awakener, bullets don''t affect her. Even the ones that could kill awakeners won''t be able to scratch her body."

    The protagonist could only scratch his head awkwardly as heughed.

    "M-My apologies. I thought that she could get killed because of these people. I was passing by and I heard the conversation so I wanted to intervene."

    Acht shook his head and said with a cold tone.

    "Weren''t you able to see the crystals she manifested? That should''ve been more than enough proof that she was capable of beating them."

    "Acht¡­" Tania suddenly tapped his shoulder lightly.

    "Let him¡­ go¡­ He tried to help."

    "If I wasn''t here at the perfect time, he could''ve done something¡­"

    "Something?" Tania tilted her head with a confused look.

    "Nevermind."

    Acht then walked to the boy and grabbed him by the cor. He then easily lifted him up with one hand.

    The difference in height between them made the protagonist look like a small mouse.

    "Listen here. I can be a tolerant person most of the time and I will be tolerant this time too since she asked. I will warn you this time and leave you alone, get near any of the girls you saw with me and consider yourself fucking dead, got it?" He said.

    However, much to his surprise, the protagonist startedughing slightly with a fearful look as he red at Acht.

    "I tried to save her, that''s all. Why? you''re scared I will steal your girl?"

    Tania couldn''t hear their conversation since Acht isted them both with a soul-force barrier.

    "Scared? Hahahahahhahahahah!!!" Acht suddenly startedughing loudly.

    "Listen here, short stuff. I saw death in front of me more times than you ever jerked off in your pitiful life. I have no idea where you got the idea that you could be considered a threat."

    "My goal in life is to enjoy the highest peaks a human could reach. That being power, wealth, reputation, and women. Luck gave you all of that I dreamed of while I have to work my ass off to be able to reach that. I watch as you enjoy that blissful life every day while I have to push myself to the limit just to get stronger. That''s why I will definitely be able to get whoever I want. All the beauties around you will be mine and mine alone!!"

    ''I forgot how much of a pervert this fucker was. I guess shit worked for him in the book because I didn''t exist there.'' Acht thought.

    Acht squinted his eyes and then shook his head.

    ''You really went and fucked yourself up messing with me. I will enjoy destroying thoroughly. Killing you now will be too merciful for me.''

    (Acht-chan''s yandere side revealed? :3)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 Chapter 273 273- The Fate Sure Likes To Lick The Protagonistâ€™s Ass (Part 3)

    Chapter 273- The Fate Sure Likes To Lick The Protagonist''s Ass (Part 3)

    After giving it much thought, if much thought was a few seconds at most, Acht decided on what to do with the protagonist.

    killing him was out of the equation for many reasons. Mainly the fact that this guy, as much as Acht hated to admit it, was very important for his future ns. Acht knew how much of a problem ma he was and to have another that gets in trouble as much as he does was quite helpful.

    The other fact, the more important one and the one that made him erase the idea of killing himpletely from his mind (at least for the time being) was that the protagonist was meant to save the world.

    He was the one meant to be the brightest star in the lower world and Acht can''t deny that fact. It was fate that meant for this ball of garbage to be that hero he always dreamt to be.

    But, that was it, he can be a hero, a king, or whatever he wanted. Hell, he could even own every nook and cranny of this world for all Acht cared. Except, he won''t allow him to put even one single finger on the girls.

    It was meant for them to be his harem but that didn''t concern Acht, that was that and this was this. Two different timelines where he existed in one and didn''t exist in the other.

    So, the fact that the girls came to love him, cherish him, and give him their all, he had to reciprocate those feelings too. Protecting them from the clutches of other men was the least he could do.

    "So let''s get this clear just for the sake of it, you want to get Tania, right?"

    "Not only her, but I will also get the others too. I will take everything from you since I was meant to be the one to get them from the start."

    "Hmm, good, very good. What was your name again?"

    "Engrave it in your mind, bastard. Arthur Brillias!" Arthur said with a wide grin of pride andplete arrogance.

    "Let me tell you something, Arthur. You seem like a smart person even though that cleverness is clouded by moronic arrogance. I''m stronger than you. Not only that, I''m stronger, smarter, sharper, and all-around way better than you in every aspect you could think of."

    Acht''s tone sounded matter-of-factly more than it was arrogant. It was as if he was just simply saying the ring truth without a shred of bias.

    His eyes were cold, calm, and devoid of any malice toward Arthur. The protagonist shuddered as he saw those pair of eyes that looked like a deep abyss rather than normal human pupils.

    Those eyes didn''t even consider him a threat or an enemy, he was just way beneath them for them to give him any consideration. That deduction led to another whole new collection of emotions to well up in his heart.

    Arthur felt his heart thumping loudly as sweat fell down his face. He knew what that feeling was but he didn''t want to admit it. If he does then he basically fully lost to this person.

    "I am more experienced than you inbat and strategy. I''m better at studying, making rtionships, and even making girls fall in love with me. The point is, we are from totally different breeds, you and me, we can''t bepared. I can kill you right here and there and continue on with my life as if nothing happened and probably will forget about you the next day. That''s how insignificant you are to me."

    "You want woman, power, wealth, or whatever, right? Go and find those somewhere else. I don''t care what you do or what happens to you. But, if you dare to go near Tania or the others girls even by mistake. I will definitely chase you down to the edge of the world and make you regret the day your dad slept with your mother and conceived you. Go ahead and give it your best and ignore my warning. I would dly y your little games."

    After that, Acht threw Arthur against the wall creating a loud thud that could be mistaken as bones cracking.<novelnext>  </novelnext>

    Then, leaving behind a cold snort, he nullified the barrier and walked to Tania with a small smile.

    "Let''s go, Tania."

    "Mmm." She nodded her head with a confused look.

    She knew Acht put a barrier between them but she didn''t know why he did so. Did he tell him something?

    "Be careful from that boy, he''s after you and the others." He said casually.

    "Mmm." She nodded her head while holding Acht''s hand gently.

    "Now, we couldn''t get those terrorists but I''m sure they will appear again. We will get them whenever they appear again. Let''s focus on tonight''s underground fight."

    The two continued walking as they chatted casually, anyone could see the great chemistry between the two. They had such a soft and gentle air around them that could be easily mistaken for that of two loving couples.

    Meanwhile, Arthur watched the two walk away. His face was contorted slightly with a frown of sadness and pain.

    "Why, why is it like this? Who is that guy? How did my wives end up falling for him? Why is the timeline so messed up?" He murmured as he touched his chest.

    The pain of seeing Tania, his sweet and gentle Tania, the one he loved spending time pampering with food and hugging her soft body was now smiling at another man with a loving expression all over her face.

    Even when they were so close a few minutes ago, forget about recognizing him, she only looked at him with the cold, emotionless re that she gave everyone around her.

    Tania from his previous life was a girl with few words and even fewer reactions, but when it came to Arthur, she always showed him reactions and cute gestures that showed her deep love for him.

    ''Don''t worry, Tania. I will get rid of that scumbag that tricked you and make you mine. I will also save the others and make theme back to me. You are all mine, always been, and will always be.'' He thought as he helped his aching body up and started walking with a determined look on his face.

    The thought that she and the others may have never been influenced by Acht and that they were just attracted to him out of their own ord never crossed his mind as he only looked at himself and nothing else.

    He had made them his wives in the previous life and he will make them his in this one too.

    (PS: The protagonist''s change of attitude from the first few chaps of this arc is for a reason, it will be revealed soon.)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 Chapter 274 Tanias Fetish (Part 1)

    Chapter 274 Tania''s Fetish (Part 1)

    After the ident, the two continued their journey around the city. Acht was intending to go back home after that ident and also the matter of the MC.

    He was sure that at some point he will have to kill the MC, it was not any time soon but he was sure it was inevitable. He would rather destroy whatever was left intact in the plot than to see the people he cared for get manipted by the MC''s aura and also by fate that seems to be still on the protagonist''s side.

    He wasn''t that alerted by the matter but it was still something he had to consider thoroughly soon.

    Second of all, he also wanted to preferably search around for some info about the underground fighting arena he was going to tonight. He trusted Tania''s choice but he still wanted to make things clearer.

    However, Tania was very much against the idea.

    She kept dragging Acht''s hand with teary eyes as if she didn''t want to go home no matter what. He had never seen Tania this adamant about doing something before. She was still a stubborn girl but never this stubborn.

    So, after some thought, he decided to follow her for some more time. The date continued quite peacefully. No buildings blew up and no protagonist appeared before them.

    Now, they were having lunch in one of the restaurants they found on their way. Obviously, Tania ordered half of the menu in one single round.

    The waitress who was at first happy to talk to a hot guy like Acht ended up looking as pale as a sheet of paper after hearing the girl''s order.

    Acht could only shake his head with a sigh.

    ''Feeding her does cost a fortune.'' He thought as he checked his wallet, even though he doesn''t care much about money, he was still most likely one of the richest individuals in the world.

    At some point, Leislet gave him half of her properties a few years ago to celebrate the new year. Even though he refused, she still didn''t listen and still made him a filthy rich individual in less than a day.

    ''Married people should just share everything and we are basically married, am I wrong?'' She said something along those lines with a proud look on her face.

    Acht could only smile remembering that memory before shifting his gaze back to Tania.

    She had already finished her portion in a few minutes before resting her back on the chair with a satisfied smile.

    Acht wasn''t even able to eat anything but he still didn''t care.

    "Tania.."

    "Hmm?" She hummed in response.

    "... Nothing, just forget it." He shook his head.

    He wanted to ask her about the matter he discussed with Scarlett but then shook his head as he thought that will make him sound like a douchebag.

    Asking someone ''Do you have feelings for me?'' sounds just too arrogant for Acht''s tastes.

    "Let''s go now, we have things to do tonight. Let''s make it as quick as possible." He said and stood up to leave.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    A few hourster, the night finally came, the moon was nowhere to be seen that night and the darkness just covered the whole city in a veil of shadows. It was rare for the moon not to be apparent at this time of the year.

    At that time, a small and empty bar was still open, the faint lighting from inside was calming and the quiet atmosphere somehow was soothing for the soul ignoring the fact that the ce looked very suspicious.

    Two people entered the ce, the bartender behind the counter was busy cleaning cups when he saw the two individuals who came inside.

    He immediately recognized the two and opened the curtains for them. After entering the office, he went behind the office and tapped some kind of secret button.

    Suddenly, the ground under them split open and a secret door appeared out of nowhere. It was well hidden even for the trained eye.

    "Go inside¡­" He said coldly.

    Acht and Tania looked at each other before walking inside.

    The stairs that led down were very dark and became even darker when the man closed the door to the top behind them.

    "Wear this and don''t even think about revealing your name to anyone. You''re Delta and I''m alpha. Simple and secretive."

    He gave her a mask and wore one for himself too.

    Tania nodded her head as she also took the mask, however, her mind was just on a whole other in.

    Her excitement was over the top and her heart didn''t seem to be calming down any time soon. Luckily, the darkness hid her blushing face or she would''ve had to exin to Acht.

    The two finally reached the end and found another curtain, when they passed, a whole new world appeared in front of them.

    Bright lights illuminated the ce and revealed a small arena in the middle surrounded by tens and tens of seats for audiences. Acht could also see the VIP room at the top near the arena.

    There was also a door that led to another section of the ce. Cheers and screams could be heard everywhere.

    "You two!"

    Not even a few seconds passed and someone was already calling for them. He was sitting behind a table with 4 people standing in front of him in line.

    "If you''re here for the show then register here!" He shouted again.

    Acht had already scanned the whole ce and created a clear idea of the power level of this ce. Seeing that, only one idea was generated in his head.

    ''So weak! I expected them to be at least somewhat decent and could even stand in front of me for more than 10 seconds. But, I guess I''m wrong.''

    Everyone here was still between white and orange soul cores with most of them barely even passing level 1. It was most likely that they thought this ce was good for an easy buck.

    ''Still, we should stay alert and careful in case anything bad happens.''

    "Don''t put down your guard no matter what." He whispered near Tania''s ear which made her flinch.

    She then looked at him with a small frown on her face. She was touching her ear.

    "Acht¡­ idiot."

    "Huh?"

    He didn''t get why she was angry with him. He only warned her about the fights.

    ''What an odd girl.''

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

 Chapter 275 Tanias Fetish (Part 2)

    Chapter 275 Tania''s Fetish (Part 2)

    After signing up, they were given a small piece of paper with a tournament table on it. Acht counted 10 rounds just for someone to reach the final.

    In each round, there wasn''t only fighting but other challenges too. For instance, it could be a mere chess game or it could be a death battle. The one that will decide what kind of face-off it will be is a roulette hanging on the wall with a guard beside it ready to spin the wheel with a mere sign.

    Acht was actually quite d that it wasn''t mere brainless fighting but he didn''t get how these battle junkies will enjoy a chess game or a table tennis match. He didn''t care much though since he will steamroll to the final and get the nes.

    "You''re the first one, Tania. Take care of yourself and don''t do anything reckless." Acht said as he patted her on the head.

    Tania purred slightly as she enjoyed his touch before smiling sweetly at him and walking to the edge of the arena.

    Amentator stood in the middle of the arena with a microphone in his hand.

    "LAAADDDIIESSS AND GENTLEMAN!!! ARE YOU READYYYYYY???" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

    Cheers and whistles erupted all at the same time. People were hyped beyond belief as they anticipated what was going to happen.

    ''This is going to be entertaining at least.'' Acht thought to himself as he crossed his arms and watched silently.

    "ON ONE SIDE, WE HAVE A SUPERSTAR!!! HE IS ONE OF THE MOST NOTORIOUS FIGHTS THAT GRACED OUR ARENA!!! THHHHHE CRAACKER!!"

    Acht felt his mouth twitch when he heard the name and an urge tough loudly assaulted him. The name was just very funny in his ears. It sounded like some kind of corny name a wrestler would use back in his old life.

    Now, his interest peaked as he waited for the cracker to appear. But, when he was waiting for the grand reveal of this fighter, Acht''s memory started working again and he started to recall bits and pieces of the story.

    ''Wait, I recall that name. The cracker, the cracker, the cracker¡­. Ah!!'' His eyes widened as he recalled who the cracker was.

    Acht could only shake his head with a sigh.

    ''That bitch hates me for sure. She just wants to see me deal with headaches. I barely fucking met that bastard a few hours ago!!'' He thought to himself as he cursed at a particr woman.

    He could imagine her giggling now as she watched him and he could only click his tongue and deal with the problem without ruining the fight.

    Then, the cracker finally appeared, he was of average height and wore a mask on his face with no particr features on it. He also wore a cape on his neck that extended to the end of his back.

    ''Damn! He looks edgy as fuck!'' Acht massaged his nose after taking a glimpse of the fighter. It was already obvious who it was.

    The protagonist, Arthur was the cracker. It was a name he chose for himself before entering this underground fighting arena.

    His goal was to ''beat bad guys'' and ''train harder to gainbat experience.'' They were all stupid reasons in Acht''s point of view since he was also helping in making this kind of illegal bussiness bloom even more.

    But, since he was basically crippled mentally, Arthur couldn''t see that ring w in his reasoning.

    "ON THE OTHER SIDE IS OUR SECOND FIGHTER!!! A SUPER ROOCKY WITH AN UNKNOWN FACE. THIS FIGHTER IS KNOWN AS DELTA!!"

    Fewer cheers came inpared to Arthur but Acht didn''t care at all.

    Acht then looked at Tania who seemed to also have recognized Arthur and was now gazing at Acht. The two shared their thoughts with a mere nce and Acht nodded at her.

    She easily understood what he meant and she shifted her gaze back to the fight.

    "NOOOWWW!! WE WILL SPIN THE WHEEL!!! JHONNY, DO IT!!"

    The guard named Jhonny spanned the wheel and everyone cheered as they watched it turn at a gradually slowing speed.

    Then, the wheel finally stopped 30 secondster.

    "OH!! HOW LUCKY! WE WILL START THIS TOURNAMENT WITH A BANGER! A DODGE BALL GAME!!"

    ''A dodgeball game? Are they some kind of high schoolers?''

    But, he knew that this will never be a normal dodgeball game. What''s the thrill in it if it doesn''t have a ''twist''?

    "FOR THE NEWCOMERS!! THE GAME IS SIMPLE. YOU ALL KNOW WHAT THE DODGE BALL RULES ARE SO WE WON''T SPEAK ABOUT THAT! OUR ONLY TWIST IS THAT THE BALL IS FILLED WITH EXPLOSIVE BOMBS AND SHARP BLADES!! THE MOMENT IT TOUCHES THE TARGET¡­. BOOOM!!" The smile on the man''s face made him look even more creepy.

    (A//N: I changed the dodgeball''s rules slightly so don''t expect a perfect game. Enjoy!)

    Acht knew that it will be like that but he still could only sigh with a tinge of worry in his eyes. He had no reason to worry about Tania since she was more than capable of taking care of herself. But, still, he couldn''t just feel nothing about this deadly game.

    The cracker didn''t show any reaction at the game and merely eyed his opponent.

    "EVERYTHING IS ALLOWED AS ALWAYS!! NOW, LEEEEEEET''S BEGINN!!"

    Instantly, one ball fell from the ceiling right in the middle of the room and kept bouncing slightly. Arthur and Tania didn''t wait and ran to the ball at their fastest speed.

    The crowd blinked their eyes at their speed since it appeared as nothing but a blur to them. They didn''t even leave an afterimage behind them.

    Tania was the fastest so she reached the ball first and grabbed it before jumping back. While mid-air she span twice andunched the ball in Arthur''s direction.

    A strong gush of wair assaulted the people around the arena as the ball flew at top speed toward Arthur.

    21:30

    Thetter didn''t seem to be that scared of the ball, he simply put his hands in front of him.

    *BAAANG*

    The sh between the ball and his arms made him slide on the ground a few feet behind but it didn''t knock him out of bnce.

    The ball eventually lost momentum and stoppedpletely.

    Thementator finally regained hisposure and shouted.

    "THAT WAS A FAST START!!! DELTA TOOK THE BALL FIRST AND BLASTED THE BALL TOWARD CRACKER WHO CAUGHT IT EASILY!!! WHAT A SHOW!!"

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don''t forget to support this book. I would be more than happy if you review the book and give me your opinion about it. Thank you and have a good day <3

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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!