“Wasn’t there two?”

The mustached Stephan Dontoryian looked at the tied-up Sulong before turning his attention to his bruised subordinates.

“The other one escaped, sir.”

The underworld gang boss grunted and kicked his fearful subordinate. Once he was done venting his frustration, he shifted back his attention to the grinning Sulong.

“Boss, I don’t think we’ve ever met. Sulong Braveheart, at your service.”

“I don’t need to know the name of a worthless street thug. Once that brat comes looking for you, I’ll kill you in front of him.”

Sulong chuckled and wriggled left and right, seemingly trying to make himself comfortable.

“Might I inquire what this is all about? I’m a man of business and I don’t see why we can’t cooperate.”

“Spare me your lies. I’ve seen enough of you dogs that I could stomach. Always switching allegiances and trying to look for a quick Alc.”

“Oh? It’s a shame.”

Sulong’s smile widened as he broke free of the bounds and let out a heat blast that sent everyone, including Stephan, flying.

Albeit a wealthy businessman, Stephan wasn’t a particularly strong person. He had the same ability as Rodrick, but he was more of a talker than a fighter.

With the captive free and surrounded by flames, all the ability-users under Stephan sprung into action.

However, whether they used their firearms or magic, nothing went through Sulong’s flames.

“I’ve heard scary things about you, Mister Dontoryian. But…”

Sulong swept his gaze at the fallen bodyguards and the small warehouse they had brought him in.

“This is poor planning. I guess you thought this was an easy matter, huh? After all, Zeke is just a student. A kid. Well…”

While clenching his hand and channeling his ability, Sulong cackled and punched forth.

Even without direct contact, his attack summoned a wave of crimson flames that scorched everything in its way.

“See…”

The two dozens of bodyguards were all groaning in pain and lying on the ground, either trying to put the fire out or downright unconscious.

“You’re as much of a dog as I am, Mister Dontoryian. And in our society, no one would notice if a dog dies.”

A blinding burst of fire was unleashed by Sulong, concentrating specifically on the fallen Stephan. The man wasn’t even given a chance as his body was turned into ash within a couple of seconds.

Seeing their boss die with one hit, the somewhat unscathed ability-user stood there, speechless and terrified.

“If you don’t want to die, you will kindly disappear and never let me meet you again.”

Whoever was conscious enough jumped to their feet and scurried away. However, there was someone that got pulled by the nape of his neck and forced to face Sulong.

“You will stay.”

“B-but I complied with everything you sai-”

“Indeed you did. But, judging by how Stephan talked to you out of everyone else, you must be special, yes?”

“I-I’m his secretary.”

“Secretary, huh…”

Sulong was momentarily confused, after all, the secretary was amongst the men that barged into his office. It was also the one who spilled the beans after getting caught.

“I’m sure dear old Stephan had many a business… monetary assets too. How about you go fetch what you can before the other bosses start hunting?”

“W-what?”

Sulong softly laughed and supported the secretary to his feet. He fixed the latter’s ruined suit and patted his shoulder.

“I see a path of cooperation rather than opposition. With your boss down, it won’t be long before you follow in his wake… that is if you go into hiding or try to escape. Wouldn’t it be better to work for me?”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The pale-faced and slim secretary opened his mouth but couldn’t utter any words.

“Don’t misunderstand. If you don’t want to, you can just walk away.”

“...”

“See, mister secretary, I’m good friends with Zeke Orland. You’ve seen what I can do, and if you make the right decision right now, you’ll prosper than you could ever have done under Stephan.”

Sulong wasn’t particularly keen on inviting an enemy to his side. However, he remembered that, in the beginning, he and Zeke had fought each other.

The secretary, while not strong, would still know what to do and could fetch them a bit of Stephan’s money.

“C-can I think about it?”

“Hmm..”

Sulong pondered for a bit then nodded, “One day. You’ll know where to find me.”

He waved his hand and started walking away, “And don’t forget to bring Stephan’s treasures with you.”

“...”

When Sulong had completely left, the secretary regained his bearings and panicked rushed out of the burning warehouse. The sirens were getting close and he didn’t want to be amongst the ones who would get arrested.

A few blocks away from the warehouse, Sulong got into the inconspicuously parked Stella. Seeing his smug expression, Jack excitedly jumped up and down before fist-bumping his friend.

“Easy peasy, I told you.”

“I never doubted Young Susu for a second.”

Sulong glared at him and smacked his head, “If you call me that again, Imma really break your legs.”

“Sure you will, Susu. Hahahah!”

…

Five days have passed since Zeke returned to Erys. It was Tuesday and the Finals were beginning next week.

Except for hanging out with Samuel during the breaks or helping him and Alan at night, Zeke would spend most of his time training. The Daily Tasks were always scheduled for the evening, right before the reset.

Zeke wanted to upgrade or increase the mastery of either his skills or unlocked paths, but the task was difficult, especially with no hints or assistance from the System.

Nevertheless, the steady accumulation of PE, coupled with the minuscule increase in Stats, was slowly making him stronger.

He had complete control over the voltage circulating through his body and he was saving PE for tonight.

So far, he didn’t have much, but he was hoping it would be enough to procure something of useful value from the magical shop provided by the System.

When he heard the notifications and did a casual and swift glance at his stats, Zeke readied himself before going to his usual spot.

Ever since he purposely revealed Signora’s name to Beatrice, he had been camping outside the Third-Year Dormitory every night.

Due to how unexpected his actions were, Zeke thought she would react instantly and try to contact the rest that day, but nothing of the sort happened.

‘Katrina must be watching Rebecca, who shouldn’t be difficult to tail. Other than having similar to Telekinesis, I don’t know much about Beatrice.’

Zeke was overly-prudent and avoided any curious eyes that wandered late at night. Fortunately, ever since the curfew notice had been lifted, the Dean was relatively lax regarding Erys’ security.

Zeke hid in an inconspicuous spot and sat there like a statue, breathing quietly and carefully watching anyone who left or entered the dormitory.

Eventually, when there were but a handful of students roaming the vast campus, Zeke caught sight of the pink-haired Beatrice.

She seemed relaxed as she left the building alone and walked steadily and slowly, neither checking her surroundings nor being attentive like a spy should be.

Zeke frowned and followed from a safe distance; He saw her directly head outside of Erys and enter Kethra’s Arms.

He purged any unease that troubled his mind and continued his stealth mission, tailing the girl all the way to the Northern end of the bustling district.

From beginning to end, Beatrice didn’t stop or look around her as if she was certain she wasn’t discovered.

After a half-hour walk, she entered a hair salon. She was warmly welcomed by either one of the workers or the owner and led inside.

As for Zeke, he stood on the other side of the street, half-confused, and half-stressed. The hair salon was for women only and trying to break inside wasn’t a good idea.

He wasn’t sure if this was a hideout or if Beatrice really did come here to get her hair done.

With no viable solution at hand, Zeke could only wait. His objective wasn’t to divulge his identity but to personally deal with the Spies working for the Ascetic Blasphemers.

Of course, killing them outright would raise suspicions from both the secret organization and Erys, so, for now, he wanted to see what Beatrice and the rest were up to.

“Hey you!”

A slightly familiar but unpleasant voice came from behind him, and when he turned around, he saw the short and curly-haired Rebecca.

“What are you doing here? You want to get your hair done?”

Zeke was momentarily startled to see Rebecca not only appear out of nowhere but also catch him staring at the hair salon.

“What I do is none of your business.”

“Oh yeah?!” She glared at him menacingly, but he snorted and added,

“I thought you hated me. Why are you suddenly so interested in my affairs?”

“And here I thought you’re only a pathetic loser. Turns out you’re a pervert too?!”

Zeke stepped closer to her and stared down, his cold and emotionless eyes making her fearfully cower back.

“W-what? You’re going to hit me?”

“You better watch your mouth.”

“O-or what? You think I’m afraid of you just because you got a taste of power? People like you are just like sickness. You get arrogant by the second!”

“Arrogant?”

Subtle electric currents flowed from Zeke’s hand and zapped Rebecca, causing her to gasp and back further away like a scared cat.

In the end, Rebecca didn’t dare say anything else and just dashed away.

Surprisingly, she went into the hair salon, but she didn’t forget to throw a taunting grimace at him as if she was daring him to follow her.

“You’re here?”

Like a ghost, Katrina appeared next to him, frowning and confused by his actions, as usual.

“She went into the hair salon.”

“I saw.” She solemnly responded, her eyes fixated on him.

Zeke sighed and stared at the bespectacled woman, “Your hair is a bit messy. How about you go there and make it better? At the same time, you can have a better look at what’s happening.”

Her expression got worse as she glanced at her raven-black hair, which was tied into a long ponytail.

Of course, she ignored his words and vanished.

“What? I was being serious. Ugh.. you’re so inflexible.”

Now that he had been seen by Rebecca, and since she was in cahoots with Beatrice, Zeke decided to return. It would unwise to keep his tailing, after all, he lacked experience and didn’t have a skill that made him invisible.

…