Ethan chuckled at Hugo's arrogance in claiming that he wouldn't lose but he had to admit; that Hugo was a tough opponent.He never cheated straightforwardly, instead utilizing loopholes and underhanded actions to get ahead of his opponent.Under normal circumstances, such things would be ignored but at official competitions, doing so resulted in being kicked out.Ethan had a feeling Mr. Brewster didn't plan on kicking Hugo out even if he cheated with the loopholes.If he wanted to, he would have and since he hasn't, it meant only one thing.Mr. Brewster had invited Hugo for one reason and that was for this very moment.He wanted to be certain that the Zero of back then was still around.It was somewhat of a challenge and Ethan had never been one to back away from such.So, he turned to face Hugo. “What happens if I win?”“Didn't I already answer?... I said you won't win.”Still adamant, Ethan proposed his reward. “If I win, you will have to leave this place and never come back. Unders
The housewarming of Dawn Pavilion ended not too long after the competition concluded and naturally, the talking point remained Mr. Brewster's declaration of the rise of the Phantom Gamer.Some thought he was overstepping by claiming that some unknown man would be able to replace the legacy of Zero while others found themselves inclined to accept it.In the first place, they had all seen Phantom's gameplay and it was nothing short of phenomenal.They couldn't help but wonder if this was the start of the rise of a new legend.A few company heads tried to approach Ethan but on realizing that Mr. Brewster had no plans of stepping away from him, they decided to postpone meeting the upstart at a different time. Soon enough, the guests all took their leave with Ethan and Anna the sole exceptions.“Was all that necessary?” Ethan inquired, feeling rather complicated at how the whole thing ended.He had never been one to concede victory in a competition.It felt like he was insulting the other
Ethan awoke the next morning to find that the housewarming party at Dawn Pavilion had entered the front pages of most tabloids with several of them mentioning the Phantom Gamer and what it might mean for Gen-X future.It was rather amusing how it was being hyped up but regardless, he chose not to think too much about it.Aware that Reginald would surely see the news, he knew that he couldn't continue to remain lax, at least, not until the Williams family paid for everything they'd done to him.He needed to speed up his plans and that meant, returning to his streams.It had been quite a while since he streamed though it was understandable considering he'd been steadily releasing content previously.However, it was time to hop back on to gain more resources.With that understanding, he quickly accessed the system.[Oh wow, I can't believe the host still recalls I exist]Ethan rolled his eyes, why did he have to get such a sassy system?It almost sounded like an annoying little sister.“
Ethan had met his fair share of women during his time as Zero but never had he met one as brazen as Louisa.At this point, she wasn't even trying to hide that she wished to spend time with him, and yet for some reason, he couldn't help but find her more attractive.Perhaps because he had never experienced such before.But he didn't allow himself to be baited so easily.He understood that the gap between his status and Louisa's status was too great to bridge even with money.That was the issue with old-money families.They never respected others unless they were in old money as well.For them, the name mattered as much as the money.Without that name, you were better off as a pauper.This meant that his moving around with Louisa was borderline scandalous and could breed problems both for him and for her.He could tell that Louisa was no fool which meant she knew this as well yet she still insisted on doing as she wished.Was she trying to get him into trouble or she had something else
Once he was done speaking with Anna, Ethan stepped out of the house with Louisa in tow.“So I guess we should be heading to the museum?” Louisa intoned as they walked to the garage.Ethan shook his head. “Nah, I don't think I enjoy history well enough to go to a museum today, maybe another time.”“Do you have a better place in mind?” Louisa inquired with Ethan nodding.“Before you arrived, I'd planned on stepping out to carry out some philanthropic work.”“Why?”“Just because. So are you interested in coming along?”Louisa hesitated, pondering the probability of running into anyone she knew.As it was, she wished to avoid that as much as possible for reasons she couldn't reveal to Ethan at this moment.In the first place, the museum was a rather risky place so it made more sense to avoid going there at least for the time being.“Do you have any place to go in mind?”“Sure, the slums are a good place to start.” Ethan calmly replied.“Alright then, I guess we can get going then.”Ethan
“Dad, what do we do now?” Luke inquired, rather upset at how they'd left Oswald an office.Reginald clicked his tongue. “I had a feeling this Ghost was out for me but to think that he would be so blatant about it. He has something he wants.”“Do we go after him?”“No, there's no point. We'll make him come to us. I need to know if he is an enemy or someone that can be made into an ally, a useful ally.”“What about that bastard Oswald?... He humiliated us.”“He'll pay, someday, that's a promise,” Reginald remarked coldly, already envisioning a squirming Oswald pleading for mercy at his feet.He had never been as insulted as he was today and no matter what, he was sure to make those who were responsible pay for their insolence.That was a promise.***While driving through the highway leading to the slums, Ethan received a call from Oswald.“You were right,” Oswald remarked once Ethan picked up the call.“About?”“Reginald came today. That sly bastard wanted to purchase SteelHorse at its
Mr. Stone licked his lips as he stared at Grace's eye-catching physique.Despite being almost forty, she somehow managed to remain a beauty.“Fine then, but you'll have to come with me first.” Mr. Stone feigned reluctance though he had already begun to imagine quite a few vulgarities he planned on experiencing with the matron.Grace was no fool so she understood that Mr. Stone was planning on making her his mistress.But she had no choice if she wanted to save the kids from being homeless.So, she slowly rose her feet and got Maria to drag the young boy holding her away.“Sister Grace,” Maria remarked, tears in her eyes as she couldn't watch Grace give up her dignity for their sake.Grace managed a melancholic smile. “Take them inside. I'll be back later.”“But…”“Just do as I've asked. Please.” Maria hesitated but ultimately nodded as she turned to do as instructed.Taking a deep breath, Grace moved to stand at arm's length from Mr. Stone who licked his lips again.“Don't worry, I'l
“Couldn't be better,” Grace remarked as she embraced Ethan once again.Ethan managed a warm smile as he reciprocated the gesture while using the opportunity to check out his mission progress.[Congratulations, you have completed 20% of the mission: A Good Heart][If you manage to complete the remaining 80% before the days end, your rewards will be tripled][Good luck Host!]Ethan nearly choked as he saw that the rewards could be tripled.He hasn't helped Grace just because of the mission but that didn't mean he was about to reject the opportunity handed to him.Meanwhile, behind, Louisa couldn't help but wonder what it felt like to experience such closeness with a person.Though most people thought the Goldberg family was a close one, it was the opposite.Due to the power they held, the children in the family fought and squabbled at every turn, always trying to overcome the other just to prove themselves worthy of becoming the heir to the Goldberg estate.She had not engaged in petty