Chapter 49: Unexpected Guest

 “H-Hey there,” the person responds to outburst. 

I don’t reply and just keep staring ahead, refusing to believe my eyes.   

“Isn’t that… Isn’t that the vampire princess!?” Rebecca asks in surprise from behind me.   

Yes, it is Zakira who is standing at the doorway wearing a casual outfit of denim jeans and a white top. Her bright red eyes are looking straight back at mine but there is an unusual uneasiness which I remember seeing yesterday… when she was about to drink my blood.   

Fuck! Is she here to attack me again!? And in front of Rebecca and Aria at that?   

“S-She says that she knows you…” Aria says while stuttering a little.   

It seems like she is really shaken from this situation as well.   

Obviously, Aria saw Zakira yesterday in school and like everyone else, she also knows how much of an important person Zakira is. I can tell that she is lost for what to do right now seeing a princess at her doorstep.  

Fuck it…  

“Yeah, I know her. We…ehh… sort of bumped into each other after school and… talked a bit,” I lie while trying to keep a straight face.   

“… what? Y-You just “bumped” into the vampire princess on your way back home and casually talked like with some random person?” Aria asks while raising her eyebrows sharply in disbelief.  

Fuck! I am really bad at this…  

[A bit too bad, if you ask me.]  

You are back? Where did you disappear to!?   

[I will tell you later. Focus on what is in front of you right now.]  

…yeah.  

Aria is still looking at me suspiciously, obviously waiting for further explanation on this “bumping” incident.   

Damn… Now, what do I tell her?   

“Actually…”  

Zakira suddenly speaks.  

“… it was not an accident. I saw Jacob earlier and thought he look cute… so, I decided to talk and befriend him.”  

Instantly, the whole room turns so quiet that I could even hear the light chirping of the birds outside. Zakira turns a little red for some reason as well.  

Fuck! Did she just really say that?   

[I want to believe she didn’t but…]  

What the fuck!? Has as she ever looked in the mirror!?   

She is a 11/10 and I am—  

[-11 /10?]  

No, idiot! I am at least a 7!   

[That’s pushing it a bit too far, to be honest…]  

That’s not the point! 

The point is, why would a beauty like her who is, by the way, also a princess think that I am cute? Well, that is, except if she is a vampire and wants to suck my tasty blood…  

What the heck is she thinking!?   

[Hmm? While I personally agree with that, I don’t think Rebecca and Aria do…]  

What?   

I look at Aria first and turn my head a little to look at Rebecca as well. Neither of them is showing any signs that they are doubting Zakira at all. In fact, there is a strange look on their faces, almost as if they are just waiting for Zakira to speak further.  

And well, she doesn’t let them wait for much longer…  

“A-Anyway, I am here for a reason. I wanted to speak to Jacob as soon as possible…” Zakira says, her voice turning urgent all of a sudden.   

“What? Are you really seriously so desperate to propose to him that you willing to do it in someone else’s house!?” Aria asks angrily.   

Woah, I don’t think Zakira is here for that at all but anyway, she is a princess and it’s odd for Aria, who was looking shocked and shaky earlier to suddenly turn angry like this…   

[…]  

What?   

[Nothing…]  

“No, I am not here for that. In fact, because we are friends now, I wanted to let him know about something before it’s too late,” Zakira says.   

Wait, she is sounding too serious. Does she really want to tell me something important?  

And why? Why does she even want me to tell anything at all?  

“Okay, fine. Tell him then and leave. He is right here,” Aria says while folding her arms.   

“Can I not come inside? I don’t want to say this where there is a chance of someone seeing or hearing me,” Zakira says while glancing back at the street.   

Aria does not answer her but looks at Rebecca with a conflicted face, wordlessly asking her to decide.   

I too look at Rebecca again. Her face is looking a little strange as if she is thinking hard about something.    

“We will continue this talk in my room,” she says after being silent a few moments.   

“Thanks. Let’s go quickly, shall we? I should be somewhere else right now…” Zakira says while stepping inside the house.   

Aria looks a bit conflicted but she doesn’t oppose and just simply closes the door behind.   

Suddenly, I feel a light tug on my sleeve. I turn back again and see Rebecca urging me to climb back upstairs along with her.   

We won’t wait for Zakira and Aria?   

Well, fine…   

Together, me and Rebecca reach the room first. The whole way she kept holding on to my shirt and didn’t say anything but the instant we get inside the room, she turns back and hugs me tightly.   

Woah…   

Though a bit surprised from the sudden show of affection, I start caressing her back as well.   

“You were lying before, weren’t you, Jacob?” she asks in a low voice.   

…   

“W-What? No…” I say nervously.   

“You were. I know… I can tell. And, Jacob, you don’t need to tell me why the vampire princess is here or how did you both meet…”   

Rebecca moves her face to level it with mine… just before kissing me on the lips.   

“… but promise me that you will be careful around her and keep yourself safe,” she finishes.   

Rebecca…  

I open my mouth but before I can say anything, Aria and Zakira enter the room, making Rebecca separate from me hastily.   

Aria is still eyeing Zakira suspiciously and it seems that neither of them exchanged any words while coming up here.  

But man… It feels a little weird being in a female’s room along with three women.  

Though I am not saying I mind it…   

[Yeah, there is nothing to mind here at all. By the way, will you try to turn the topic of the conversation into FFFM foursomes?]  

Obviously, I would— I mean, no. This is serious.   

Rebecca takes out a mat from a cupboard and spread it on the floor before wordlessly gesturing us to sit down.   

“Wait, I wanted to talk to Jacob alon— never mind,” Zakira says before giving a small sigh and sitting down along with us.   

It seems like Zakira though that me and her will get to talk privately or something…  

“So, what do you want to tell me so urgently?” I ask.   

Zakira focuses her eyes on me before taking a deep breath and starting to speak…  

“I want to let you all know that what I am about to tell you is highly classified and only a few selected people around the world know about this. So, I want all three of you to promise me first that this talk won’t leave this room…” she says importantly.   

Wait a second, if this is so important, why are you even trying to tell us?  

You met me just yesterday! And heck! You met Rebecca and Aria just minutes ago! 

Are you really even thinking about telling us something so important that only a few people in the world know about it?  

Well, fuck it. As suspicious as it sounds to me, I am not going to purposely tell her to stop. I want to hear this highly classified information as well.  

It looks like Rebecca and Aria are thinking the same as me as all three of us nod in agreement… though with strange faces.  

But well, Zakira looks extremely relieved by this anyway…   

“Good. Now, as you all know I am here because of the student exchange program. Especially to participate in the mixed race magical tournament,” she says before taking another deep breath.   

“And I want to tell you… that there is a hidden motive behind conducting this tournament.” 

 

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Chapter 99 – Around the World

 

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Yu’er laid on the bed, waiting for Max to come back. Her hair was still slightly damp, having just come out of the shower.

An alluring collar bone was exposed as a drop of water slide down her smooth deep valley. The white bathrobe was too short for her body. It wasn’t able to hide parts of her perfectly white thighs.

Yu’er was calm and composed, busily scrolling through her phone. It was the Awakened phone that was made for Awakeneds like them.

Currently, Yu’er was using her phone to keep up with the news all over the world. Yu’er had been doing this when she had nothing to do.

From what she saw, there was slight chaos on the west. A small group of Awakeneds tried to kidnap a group of women in public while it was bright in the morning. Special Forces were deployed and had to collaborate with rogue Awakeneds to swiftly cover the whole mess up.

They successfully stopped them from kidnapping those knocked out women and removed any traces of fighting. They also remove parts of their memories with Memory Wipe Talismans.

These things weren’t new. Awakeneds from that side have more audacity to do anything they want in the open, extremely confident with their skills, not caring about other people being implicated or hurt.

That was why it was a cruel place for weaker Awakeneds. Awakeneds die every day around the world from stronger groups preying on smaller ones.

Yu’er also saw news from other parts of the world where Awakeneds raise their own gangs, using them for their own purpose.

But these were mostly weak Awakeneds who don’t have the potential to reach higher ranks, contented with their lives, ruling small areas.

Yu’er then went to some local reports, and as usual, it was silent. However, Yu’er knows it herself that it wasn’t that there were no fights nor problems; they were only making their moves in the dark where no one could see it.

Here, Awakeneds have secret organizations hidden in their secret bases. In public, some of them would look like ordinary business people. Most of them would choose to seclude themselves from ordinary people, having the pride of being an Awakened, not wanting to hold themselves back.

There was this vague agreement around the world of not letting the public know about Awakeneds, keeping them all in the dark.

No one seemed to have any problems with it as most Awakeneds that are alive to this day or at least living in this place were raised in this environment where they subconsciously learn that they should keep their Awakened status a secret.

It gives them the feeling that they were special, better, and stronger than ordinary people, clueless of the world.

There were times where Awakeneds with evil motives would use their skills to ordinary people. But no one would waste their time to argue that they were wrong as there were a lot more important things in their lives to worry about.

As long as it isn’t done widescale and open to everyone’s eyes, most Awakeneds would turn a blind eye to them.

Luckily, the places Yu’er determined to be dangerous was not close to the city they were currently staying in.

Yu’er softly exhaled. She thought about Max, thinking about what he was doing right now.

Beside her was another phone. It was an Awakened phone that she got for Max. Max would be able to learn more about the world if he has one with him.

Yu’er watched the shining stars from the window with her calm yet bright eyes. Occasionally, worry would show on her face. She knows better than anyone that Max was strong, but she was still worried that something would go wrong.

Max notified her with his phone that he would go to one of the hotels that Xiao Ming’s father owned. Yu’er knows that place. It was their newest hotel, and it was getting more popular by the day, standing in the perfect spot close to schools, stations, markets, and local malls.

Max didn’t forget to tell her about the Awakened that they saw, the information on his level and skill, to convince her that it wasn’t dangerous.

The end of his message was an image of him posing and what should be an invisible Little Dou on his palm outside the hotel.

*Bam!*

Just as she wondered where Max should be right now, a loud noise interrupted her thoughts.

“Sis! We’re back!”

Max confidently barged in the room. He had a broad smile on his face as he quickly walked towards Yu’er.

“Did anything happen?”

Yu’er can see that someone good happened from Max’s facial expression alone. The traces of worry on her face disappeared as she looked at Max, not having any signs of discomfort.

Max was panting from intensely running home, carrying someone on his shoulders. Max pulled Yu’er up while he spoke,

“Come with me to the basement! I have someone there!”

“Huh? Wait, let me fix my robe!”

Max watched as Yu’er tightly tied her robe to cover herself. When she partly opened it, Max saw her luscious body.

He ran his eyes on her curves that Yu’er didn’t bother to hide. Max wanted it but shook his head, struggling to remove the lustful thoughts on his mind.

If there weren’t a person knocked out in his basement, Max wouldn’t have to hold himself back from pouncing on her.

“What’s this?”

Yu’er became curious, seeing Max hurrying him down but never did she expect to see a person in his basement.

The skinny guy had an overly red face. From the position he was lying down, Yu’er figured that he was unconscious, with his face on the floor, not moving an inch.

What was strange was he had a thick roped circled on his whole body, firmly holding him from making any movements if he wakes up, only that it was sloppily made.

“It’s my and Little Dou’s catch for the night!”

Max smiled with pride, feeling a sense of achievement of knocking out his first Awakened and ‘inviting’ him to his house.

Max felt great. If the Awakened were a woman, he would’ve been happier. If she were a beauty, he would not hold himself back from enjoying her.

There’s no need to show mercy to his enemy, especially if they are beauties. What Max would do was he would train them until their Loyalty reaches 100 to secure them to his side.

“Huh?”

[This was the Awakened that we saw! But he attacked us before we reached home, so Max decided to bring him home with us!]

 

Little Dou butted in from the side. She was the one who kept watch as Max went up to notify Yu’er about the issue and now they’re here.

“I wanted to ask him some questions about how he found us.”

This guy suddenly found them in the middle of the night. It was suspicious since they never left any trace for him to follow them.

His skill was Shapeshifting. It has nothing to do with any tracking skills. No matter how they see it, it was dubious, and Max wasn’t going to let him go. He wanted answers.

Feeling that there was a barrier of understanding between Yu’er and them, Max stopped saying anything to give Yu’er the idea,

“I’ll tell you everything from the beginning.”

 

 

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Chapter 98 – Unbridled Rage

 

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“Where are the items?!”

Xiao Ming’s eyes became bloodshot as he looked at the people in front of him. This was the first time his father entrusted an event to him after he pleaded for a long time.

“Where is all of it?! Where?! Tell me!”

“They were just here! I’m sure! I saw all of them a few minutes ago when I went down!”

Even the emotionless Awakened almost panicked. This wasn’t his fault. He came here a moment ago and saw all of it still here.

Xue doesn’t know what to say to his boss, because it disappeared like smoke. Xue didn’t think that it was someone like him who did this as even the strongest one he had encountered can never make all of the items here disappear.

Xue was convinced that the robbers used the vent to get out since it’s connected to every part of the building. Though, it wasn’t connected outside; it was connected to the roofs and the hallway where they can access the fire exit.

There’s a lot of ways to do this if there were numerous, which was what he believed happened.

“Where is it then! It all disappeared?”

“And what about you all!? Did I pay you to be this useless!?”

The guards looked down, knowing they messed up and everything they say won’t reach the ears of Xiao Ming.

There’s no point in explaining their side. Xiao Ming’s words also didn’t reach their ears as they all already decided to report straight to his father, who was more logical and experienced.

“Useless! Get out of my face!”

Xiao Ming then looked at the two guards that were stationed in the dim room. The two of them were different from the rest. They work directly for Xiao Ming.

“Boss, we didn’t let anyone in like what you commanded us to.”

The one on the right slowly said with his deep voice. That was true. Their only role was not to let anyone in. They aren’t responsible for guarding what’s inside. They solely need to defend the door against anyone forcing their way in.

“Are you telling me that you didn’t let anyone else in?! Where did they come from then, huh?!”

Xiao Ming gritted his teeth as his face contorted into an ugly expression. Before he was able to say something more, the guard on the left spoke,

“Boss, there is a message written at the wall.”

“What? Let me see!”

Xiao Ming threaded slowly as he was guided by the two. What he saw made him outraged.

[*We, Shadow Thieves, will rest in this city for now.

Whoever owns this place, you have good foresight to welcome us.

We appreciate your offerings.

– Shadow Thieves, we will be where the shadows are!*]

 

*Blaargh*

Xiao Ming spat a mouthful of blood. His chest struck with pain, not being able to take all this news. His face was burned in anger as he turned to Xue.

“Find them! NOW!”

“Even just one of them! I will give them hell!”

Xiao Ming’s face was totally twisted. He could only think about how fucked he was if his father finds out at the same time, thinking of how expensive all the items here were and how much they were going to pay if they weren’t able to find it.

Xiao Ming couldn’t believe that he was this unlucky, asking why does this have to happen to him. He badly wanted to tear the skin those people who were responsible for this. That was the only way for him to forget this.

Xiao Ming thoroughly deserved all of this. Max never did anything to him, but he chose to send someone to teach him a lesson. He offended someone out of his league, obviously having a death wish.

Max wasn’t going to stop until he hit rock bottom. This is just one of the first plans Max had for him.

When Xiao Ming thought this was the end, another one came up to annoy him, hearing someone’s heels coming closer.

“Where’s the next item? Why is it taking so long?”

The woman was the host of the event. They had been waiting for the next item but there still no one coming. She came to check when the crowd was getting impatient, urging her to stop wasting time.

“What happened here?”

Her eyes landed on xiao ming, hidden deep inside it was disgust, but it got away quickly replaced by confusion when she saw their surroundings.

“What’s this?”

“Where are the items? What did you do now?”

She turned back to Xiao Ming. Seeing him in this condition, a different feeling came to her. She felt pity, pity for Xiao Ming, knowing that he was going to be in trouble.

“You deal with this. You’re responsible for this event. I’m just the host.”

“B*tch!”

“You’re lucky now. I’ll get you back. Just you wait.”

Xiao Ming stared daggers at her when she turned around, wanting to jump on her and teach her a lesson. But he first had to deal with all of this. It was him who asked his father to handle this event.

He needs to come up with an explanation, or he would be screwed. Xiao Ming could only rely on Xue this time to catch one of them.

[Hehehe!]

 

“What do you think is Xiao Ming’s face right now?”

“He must be crying already.”

[Hahaha! It’s you who made him like that!]

 

“It’s so late now.”

Max was in a quiet neighborhood. He can only hear the trees rustling from the wind. Only the big full moon gave him the vision to know where he was going.

Max can hear his every footstep as he took a turn. Little Dou was the only one who made him feel that he’s not alone, and also the crickets singing.

[Yeah! And Yu’er will give you a lecture when you get home!]

 

“No way! I’m strong! I have a lot of escape skills and items!”

[You should give her some of the jewelry and gems that you got! That one diamond was good!]

 

“Can I? Won’t that be traced when people see it and think she stole it?”

[Hmm. I don’t know!]

 

“Then, can I sell it to the Store?”

[That isn’t possible!]

 

“Well, I’ll store it in the Inventory for now. In the future, maybe we can find a good use for it or recycle it into something else entirely.”

Suddenly, Max stopped. A few meters in front of him was the Awakened. For a second, Max got spooked when he suddenly appeared there.

‘F*ck! Does he know?’

Max acted like he was nervous, backing up one step. Inside, he was confused. Many questions came up his mind every second.

[…]

 

‘Wait a minute. Does he know? There’s no way right?’

Even though Max was baffled as to why the Awakened was here, he was never scared of him. He was only a Rank 1 Early Phase Awakened.

On the contrary, Max looked down on him. He was despising the Awakened’s stupid decision.

‘You’ve just made a mistake.’

When Max was acting nervous, he looked at his surroundings. Confirming that the Awakened was alone, further intensified his contempt for him.

His external appearance slowly turned scared. If possible, Max wanted to know why the Awakened was here.

“W-Who are you?”

“…”

“D-Do we know each other?”

“…”

“I-I’m going now.”

Max wanted to test how the Awakened would react with his action to see if he was hostile against him, or he has other plans.

When his shoe took a step forward, the Awakened, kicked the floor hard, shooting forward towards him. Max stopped the time as soon as he saw it.

“Hmph! Too weak!”

Max got close to the Awakened that froze midway toward him. Max took out a thick rope from his Inventory and tied his arms and legs together.

Max circled his body with the rope to make sure he won’t be able to use much of his strength to break it.

*thud*

Max punched the Awakened on his cheeks as hard as he can. Max wanted to knock him out and bring him home for answers.

“Little Dou, help me with this. How do you knock him out?”

“Take this!*

*Thud*

[Like this! Hyah!]

 

“Ow. That will surely be painful.”

Little Dou punched both of the Awakened’s eyes. She also hit him in his neck, sometimes adding in a kick.

Slap!

[…]

 

“I just slapped him.”

“That ought to make him unconscious, right?”

Slap!

Slap! Slap!

“Is that enough?”

“Last one!”

Max gave the guy a fierce kick, targeting the middle of his legs. Once he did it, Max felt chills on his lower body as he stepped back.

“…”

“He can’t have babies anymore. I’m sure of it.”

“Uhh.”

When the time stop ended, the Awakened directly fell unconscious. Not before Max catch him on with his arms.

“Idiot. You don’t just come here and try to fight me.”

Max once again checked his surroundings with his Status Checker, making sure there wasn’t anyone who saw it. It was only Little Dou, Max, and the Moon that witnessed it.

“Let’s get home fast! Someone might see.”

Max ran as fast as he can on the shadows of the dark and cold night with Little Dou settled steadily on his head.

 

 

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