Venkat’s face darkened like the night. He wanted to slap Gabe straight away, but after experiencing Gabe’s strength on his shoulder, he didn’t want to risk it.Instead of giving way for Gabe to leave the cafe, he walked alongside him and went to where Mia and Nora were talking.“Why don’t you two join us?” Venkat asked with a smile.“We just ate, so…” Mia apologized. “Sorry.”“Then, you can at least treat us to a nice meal,” Venkat suggested. “You two got married but didn’t even call us, so you can at least do this much for us, can’t you?”“Uh, sure,” Mia agreed out of shyness.“I’ll wait outside,” Gabe said and was leaving, but Venkat grabbed his hand.“Don’t go, my friend. We have a lot to talk about,” Venkat forced him to come with them and sit at the same time once more.“Order anything you want,” Mia told Nora. “I’ll pay for everything.”“That’s the Mia I know,” Nora excitedly called the waiter and then began to look at only the premium items. From burgers and ice creams to milk
The word ‘poor’ struck a vein in Gabe’s heart, especially because Mia was not talking back to Venkat anymore, which meant that she accepted his words probably because in her eyes Gabe was really poor.Gabe might have been able to clear his debts away, but he was still someone who was living in a small house that hasn’t been painted in decades.“Do you really work in UTS?” Venkat further questioned Gabe’s identity. “It’s a big company, so it makes me wonder if you’re really working there, or did you make a fake identity card to trick an innocent woman like Mia?”Mia looked at Gabe, wondering what he’d answer.“Why do you care where I work?” Gabe asked back.“Because you claimed that you earn more money than I do,” Venkat replied sharply. “So, obviously, I want to see if what you said was true or not. Why don’t you call your boss and talk with him in front of us?”Gabe slightly frowned.“Or, you can just show your bank statement for the past couple of months to show us your salary,” Nor
“Why are you spacing out when I asked you to do such a simple thing?” Mia snapped her fingers before Gabe’s face.“M-Mia, it’s a long story,” he grabbed her hand and took her to the elevator. Inside, they were alone, and he tried to explain things to her. “I want to give your money back, but I can’t. You know about the system I have, right? That thing is taking my money away.”“Huh?” Mia kept staring at him without blinking.“You don’t believe me?” He quickly showed the transactions and proved to her that his bank balance was zero. However, Gabe could easily have transferred the money to another account also owned by him, so Mia wasn’t too sure about what he was saying.“If the system is troubling you, then why don’t you take it off?” Mia asked.“Like I said, it’s a long story,” Gabe couldn’t tell her about the millions of dollars that he earned through the alpha system and then breaking the deal. It was too sensitive of an information that he didn’t want anyone to know.“Alright,” M
Claire didn’t trouble Gabe as much as he thought she would. After eating the chocolate ice cream, she just shook hands with him and Mia, and wished them luck. In the end, she lightly hugged Mia and whispered, “I was planning to go after him, but you got to him first. You are lucky.”Mia’s eyes enlarged in response.“See ya later,” Claire waved goodbye to Gabe and left as a happy woman. She looked more like a teenage girl now who didn’t care about looking a bit childish, whereas in the UTS, she looked like a lioness.Gabe didn’t even wave back at her, but Mia raised her brows and asked him, “She seems to be more than a co-worker. Did you two perhaps date in the past?”“What? No!” Gabe was quick to respond.“Then, do you have feelings for her?”“Of course not,” Gabe’s reply was faster this time. “I told you that I love you, didn’t I?”“I don’t believe your words anymore, Gabe,” Mia blew air through her nose. “From today, I’ll keep a knife with me, so think twice before trying to take ad
Mia and her family returned home. Everybody had bought something for themselves, except for Gabe. He was the only person who didn’t buy anything. Even if he wanted to buy, he didn’t have any money, so he couldn’t buy anything for his aunt either.As everybody rushed into Mia’s home, Gabe was walking toward his house.“Wait,” Mia’s voice reached his ears. He stopped and looked back. She gave him a bag and walked into her house without saying anything.Gabe looked inside the bag, and there were two pairs of clothes, and also the cake packed inside a small box. One pair of clothes was for a male, and the second pair for a female.“Did she buy clothes for me and my aunt as well?” Gabe got a bit emotional because he thought Mia only bought clothes for herself and her family. “Look at what she’s bought for me and my aunt, Systa.” He scolded the system. “You said she’s selfish, but she bought clothes for me after we sort of had a fight. She even bought a pair for my aunt. Will you take your
Gabe had a hot bath, and it eased his stress. He loved it very much because he didn’t have a hot bath before. This was his first time, and it felt like a luxury.After bathing, he came and hugged Nicole and kissed her and thanked her without telling her the reason.Nicole was a bit confused because she didn’t figure out that it was the hot bath that made Gabe so content.Gabe had never prepared hot baths for Nicole because her body used to suffer from inflammation, and so she only had cold baths even during harsh winters. The same was the case for Gabe.“Did you check the dress, Mom?” Gabe’s eyes were glowing with bright light. “Mia bought it for you.”“Was it Mia’s selection?” Nicole checked the dress and looked impressed. “I think she got the size right. She has good eyes.”“She has experience as a fashion designer, Mom,” Gabe told her. “So, I think that’s why she was able to pick the right size.”“Ah, that makes sense, but…” she looked up at him. “You are going to pay the money for
Bart’s father, William, was eating while making a lot of noises with his barbaric chewing because he was so hungry and no one was around. But when he saw Gabe casually enter through the front door, he just couldn’t digest it. He angrily dropped the chicken leg piece on the plate and stood. Gabe’s gaze met with William. Seeing the arrogant and cold look on William’s face, Gabe remarked, “I can see where Bart got his arrogance from. Are you going to waste the food on your plate?” “I’m full,” William burped. “Why don’t you finish what’s left on my plate? Oh, wait, you haven an aunt, don’t you? It must have been a long time since she ate chicken, so why don’t you feed her with this leftover food? I’m sure she’ll be over the moon.” Gabe clenched his fists. William saw that and faintly smiled. “Or does she not have the teeth to chew on the chicken bones? What a pity. I truly don’t see the point of such a person living in this world. It would have been much better for her to have killed h
Gabe wanted to call Mia’s name, but out of respect for her, he knocked on the door just once.“Who is it?” she asked.“Your loving husband,” Gabe cleared his throat and answered.Moments later, the door opened, and Mia was staring at him with her brows raised high. “Seriously, it’s time you stop being overly husband-like.”“But this will make your family jealous of us,” Gabe reasoned.“I don’t want to make them jealous. I want them to believe that we’re married,” Mia hissed in a low voice. “I want them to feel discomfort because of your presence and the new atmosphere you set here. I want them to stand on their own feet.”“Ho…” Gabe was surprised. “So you’ve been thinking about what to do from here onward.”“Yeah, come on in,” Mia let him inside before shutting the door. She then gave him a diary.“What’s this?”“I’ve written four pages on how you should act,” she said. “Read them and tell me what you think.”“Alright.” Gabe was sitting down on her bed, but she pointed at the couch.P
“Whoever manages to defeat that ‘worthless’ brat will get to keep the omega system.”The moment Gabriel Agnar uttered those last few words, all the nine standing members of the Jaguar squad rushed toward Gabe without a shred of hesitation.They were all elite warriors his grandfather had commanded, all intent on claiming the power that lay still dormant within Gabe."Stand down, brat," the third ranker Bennie called out, her voice layered with authority. "You cannot hope to win against us. Surrender, and you may yet find mercy."“You monsters who are ganging up on me, do you even know what mercy means?” Gabe retorted and countered Fang with a punch.Surprisingly, Gabe’s punch seemed simple but the weight it had was tremendous. Fang was pushed back.But at the same time Stark kicked Gabe’s face.Once again, Stark expected Gabe to be sent flying, but Gabe took the attack without even moving an inch.And it was Stark who frowned in response.Zephyr raised his hand, stopping others from a
“It’s time to return,” Gabriel Agnar said, and these few words changed the body language of all the squad members.In that moment, they let their guard dawn, a small figure dashed in through their ranks and attacked their patriarch Gabriel.Gabriel saw through the first feint and responded accordingly, but the second attack also turned out to be a feint just to distract him so that they could pluck the severed hand out of Gabriel’s hand.And they managed to grab the hand, but no amount of pulling was enough to get the severed hand out of the old man’s grip.Everyone was startled after seeing the young kid who gave off an ethereal energy, which they could sense.This young kid was none other than Ulf.“What do you think you’re doing, kid?” Gabriel asked him.“Ha-ha, good afternoon,” Ulf replied awkwardly, “or is it evening now?” He grew triple in size and clenched his fists. “Omega Arts Secret Move…” He threw in a straight punch at Gabriel’s chest. “Final Fist!”Gabriel took the attack
At Russell’s estate.Zephyr, the head of the Jaguar Squad, struck Gabe’s chest with his palm. A shockwave burst through his chest and ripped the back of Gabe’s shirt in the shape of Zephyr's palm.Gabe coughed out a lot of blood, and his eyes nearly turned white. He was about to fall back.Zephyr caught Gabe’s throat and squeezed it. “If I kill you, then the Alpha System will be ours.”“Gabe!” Mia ran toward him. “No!”“Where do you think you’re running?” Pixie, the number five, blurted. Her green hair extended forth like tree vines and sought to capture Mia.Mia moved swiftly and dodged a few vines, but the hair grew branches like trees, and they were sharp enough to pierce through Mia’s body.Her torso and limbs were riddled with many thin holes.She bled from the nose and mouth and couldn’t move at all. She felt completely frozen.Pixie pulled the hair out and retracted them. Mia fell to her knees.Seeing all this, Gabe’s blood thrummed beneath his skin. His heart pounded with the c
In ancient times, serpents had wings and feet, and they were called by many names. One of those kinds were also called Dragons.So, dragons were indeed serpents with wings and legs. Even in the modern day, dragons were worshiped in some places. Some martial arts were derived from dragons, too.However, Alleria’s martial arts were not related to dragons but of a different serpent kind, whose existence had been erased from history..When Alleria was young, she spent her time in the woods, and the most difficult enemies she faced were the monstrous serpents that lived in that forest. This made her wonder just how much stronger would the serpents be if they had legs, too, as they did in the past.This led Alleria to search through her clan’s library and find the ancient serpent art books. And she picked one that she believed would be the most challenging.And thanks to her collective efforts, she managed to become the head of one of the Eight Enigma Squads, the Serpent Squad.The Ancient S
Alleria was sent flying through multiple walls, and she ended up crashing into the tables of the precious customers.“That hurts…” Alleria’s cheek bruised, and she bled from a corner of her mouth.“W-Who are you?” The customers were all shocked because this woman was wearing armor underneath her cloak, and there was even a short sword at her waist. “Are you a cosplayer?”“Who was that little girl?” Alleria got back up, looking quite irritated because her cloak was dirtied by the food, so she had to remove it. She looked sturdy despite her age, and she was nearly six feet tall. Many men in that hall hadn’t seen such a well-built woman with attractive looks like that before. “Call herself as my grandmother,” she cracked her neck, releasing the gas bubbles from the joints in her spine, “let’s see if you’ve really got what it takes to utter such words.”She rushed into the bathroom, but to her surprise, Systa and Nicole were gone.“What?” Alleria frowned. “I didn’t see them leave. Where di
Nicole was getting out of the taxi, but Systa held her hand and stopped her. “I’m not feeling the urgency anymore. Can we go somewhere else now?”Nicole couldn’t make sense of Systa’s words. The little girl was struggling until seconds ago, and she’s fine now? Something didn’t feel right. Whether Systa was playing games or not, Nicole didn’t want to take the risk. “I’m taking you to the toilet room once.”“Ugh,” Systa hissed at her. “Listen to me.”Nicole was startled. “Did you just hiss at me? And why are you gritting your teeth?”“Because you don’t understand the trouble that you’re in!” Systa blurted. “Driver, turn the car around and get going.”The driver, however, looked at her with a silly expression as if Systa was not the one who’s going to pay him for the ride.Systa didn’t like that the driver was treating her as a little girl. She wished she could show her powers to him, but because of Nicole, she had to hold herself back.“Can you wait here for half an hour for us?” Nicole
Nicole finished her work in the hotel and walked out with Systa who was in the form of a little girl now.“Why do you look like that?” Nicole asked her.“Look like what?” Systa asked her back.“Look like you’re weighing life's burdens on your shoulders?” Nicole said.“I was just thinking about something,” Systa replied.Nicole picked her up onto her waist.“W-What are you doing?” Systa quickly said, her cheeks flushing. “This is embarrassing. Put me down.”“Get used to it,” Nicole pinched Systa’s cheeks. “You know, I watched Gabe grow, but I missed watching a girl grow. I didn’t have a daughter, you see. So, I feel like keeping you with me for as long as possible.”“S-Stop pulling my cheeks!” Systa found it annoying because her skin was not perfectly authentic human-standard.“Stop acting like that,” Nicole stopped pulling the cheek and gently rubbed it. “You’re a girl, so you’re going to raise kids one day. You shouldn’t get angry easily. Your worth will be decided by how good you ca
In Sciocidad, also known as the phantom city which floated through the sky also known as the lower heaven.At the border, Russell and Jessica were talking with a mature lady whose name they didn’t even know. All he knew was that she was the librarian of the clan that lived in this city.“My goal is to stop another world war from happening,” Russell told her. “If a war breaks out again, then the world really is going to end.”“Silly young man,” the lady named Uzza smiled, “the third world you were worrying about has long started and is still ongoing.”“W-What?” Russell was startled.“Food, air, water, and even people’s very blood has been polluted for decades now and it’s still happening today,” Uzza said. “We see a lot of chemicals being sprayed in the air through special jets. There are nanoparticles, graphene, and even parasites in those chemicals, which will mix with water, food, and can even enter people’s bodies through their skin. Everything the media tells you is fake. The elect
“It’s one thing that James lost, but for Atarah to lose to this brat…” The number one ranker of the Jaguar Squad, Stark, spoke. “This is quite shameful.”“Indeed,” Fang, the second ranker, opined. “I feel a little embarrassed since I’ve trained James for over a month now. For him to lose without even taking an opponent’s limb is quite disappointing. I hope he’s not dead.”“James is the last ranker, the number 10 of the squad,” the zeroth ranker and the head of the Jaguar Squad, Zephyr, replied. He had a sharp mustache and was cleanly shaven. “He’s the weakest, but Atarah is the ranked fourth in the squad, and she let her younger comrade lose. So, she failed both as a teammate and as an individual fighter. She needs to be punished for her mistakes later. But for now…” He glanced at the number five ranker, who was a green-headed female, Pixie.Pixie stepped forth and treated Atarah’s injury with her vivre. It was as though she was conducting surgery with her vivre, using it as needles to