“When will you advance?” Miles asked Quinn, when the girls were finally done with the shopping and all four were seated to eat something.

Cale and Miles met with Quinn and Lucy that day and the girls wanted to shop first before they could sit and chat. It was already dusk when two men arrived, and after the shopping marathon, it was getting late. So after eating, they would part.

“Pretty soon. I was holding back long enough. Probably after my debut in the Grader Competition, I will stay in F-Circle.” Quinn answered after taking a grab from her pizza. She was eating like a glutton for a slim lady like herself.

Lucy on the other hand was eating Caesar Salad, easy with the cream and heavy with the chicken. Cale was a traditional man. For this little day off, he was eating burgers and sneaked out a cup of beer.

Miles, on the other hand, was a man of culture. He was eating medium-done steak with onion rings. For the drinks, he chose peach juice.

“Lut Quinn, who will take over after you leave?” Cale asked the million-dollar question between his bite and sip of beer. Lucy, who was eating her salad like a gazelle, raised her pretty head and started to listen around just like a real gazelle listened to see if there was any predator.

“I am thinking of Miles,” Quinn answered without any shred of hesitation. The little gazelle shivered, and her head fell into her salad once again. As if she realized she had no choice but to die in the predator's hands. So, she could at least eat more while waiting for death.

“I don’t think that is the best decision,” Miles answered. He knew why Quinn was doing so. Although their hunting time was short, they still spent many hours with each other, so Quinn knew him pretty well. She had full trust in Miles’s abilities. But that wasn’t the only reason. Firstly, she wanted a Cross to take over the hunting team. Secondly, she wanted Miles to have an identity in the stronghold.

Miles was low profile ever since he arrived at the stronghold. He refused to use his last name to have privileges, nor he ever used it to intimidate his enemies. So, some of the influential kids, like Tian Ling, took it as a weakness to get over his head. Such as trying to kill him with the help of monsters.

So, letting Miles run the hunting team of the army, would give Miles authority to order soldiers stationed in the stronghold, thus would intimidate Tian Ling from taking things too far.

Also, when the leader of the hunting team was a Cross, the said family would have another haven in Portal World. When things were in a crunch, Miles could use the stronghold as he wished. But if the captain of the hunting team was someone else, the said captain would do as they wished, and wouldn’t be as helpful as Miles towards the people Miles would want to help.

Of course, being the captain of the hunting team didn’t mean Miles would be the Post Commander of the Stronghold. Quinn didn’t have the power to decide for such a thing, nor was Miles a soldier. But as the son of Major General and grandson of the General, whoever was assigned as the Post Commander, wouldn’t make things hard for Miles if he were to have an identity.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

But Quinn knew Miles pretty well. She knew if Miles didn’t take over the role, he would still lay low and only a pitiful handful of people would know who he really was.

But Miles also knew what Quinn was thinking. He still wanted to stay low and keep prying eyes away from himself. He didn’t have many secrets, nor was he afraid of people coming after him. He would dare anyone trying and then as a Cross he would show what their last name meant.

Although Miles wasn’t as drastic as his family, in his veins, still the Cross blood was running. He didn’t forget people helped him, nor had he ever forgotten people meant him bad. He would pay them back one day, one by one. The saying wasn’t for nothing, Never ever cross with a Cross.

But there were still things he wanted to avoid. For some reason, he was able to use Strengthening Serums. And the further he went, the more he realized it was something absurd. Day after day, he heard people getting surprised by his achievements.

There were countless trials before him failing, all the same, so what he achieved was something remarkable. It wasn’t something he could hide per se, but it didn’t mean he would boast about them to show everyone how unique his body was. Even if people didn’t dare to do something to him, people would still think about them. Especially criminals.

There was also everyone's good neighbor, Mother AI setting her eyes on him. If it was only that, it wouldn’t be much of a problem, but the same eyes also focused on Miles's alter identity, the Marooner. Thanks to his freedom, Miles could switch his identities like switching underwear. But if he were to take over the hunting team, his movements would be restricted and Miles wasn’t to give up on that.

“Why do you say so?” Quinn asked after Miles refused her offer. She was doing it for Miles. Hell, she even created the team for Miles.

“I am not a suitable leader, also I am close to taking that step too. I am feeling the peak of high-tier is approaching, and soon I will be using my fourth serum. If I succeed, I will not be that far from F-Circle, if I fail I die. So appointing me as the captain of the team isn’t that logical.” Miles explained as simply as he could. ‘I don’t wanna.’

Quinn put on a thinking face and looked at Lucy. Lucy was her best friend ever since they both appeared in the same stronghold. Before that, they knew each other but weren’t that close. But for the last few years, they have been nothing but closest friends for each other, so her trust in the blonde girl wasn’t any less than Miles. But she had to admit she was biased against letting any other surname taking over the team. Especially when Lucy’s chances to become the Post Commander were so high.

There were also trust issues now that she proposed to Miles, and she had to make do with Lucy after Miles rejected her. If she were to offer Lucy to take it, after Miles refused so blatantly, Lucy’s trust in her would be reduced tremendously. Lucky for her, Miles was aware of it, so he tried to smoothen the mood.

“I know you didn’t offer Lucy to take over because you can feel she is approaching it too, and you must think she will advance with you.” Miles waited and looked at Quinn. Quinn took the hint and nodded. Stars shone in Lucy’s eyes, as she looked at the duo with fervent eyes. “But it is not like that.”

Lucy looked confused then a frown appeared. “What do you mean?” She asked.

“I know you are getting closer to awakening, but you shouldn’t rush and make mistakes with haste. You should consolidate your foundations because your powers aren’t weak or common. If you try to rush things, you will be mediocre at best. And I am pretty sure, your pride wouldn’t take it well.” Miles tried to convince the girl.

“I think so too, Lucy.” Quinn nodded profusely. “I want nothing more than to go to F-Circle with you, so my judgment was cloudy, but Miles is right. If you don’t take time to consolidate your powers, you will limit your future.” She also tried to convince the proud lady, and with that, it was decided. Lucy was the new hunting captain.