After calling out, the man stepped forward and removed his hood, revealing a bemused smile.

“You’re… Elder Einstoldt…”

Bennon struggled with his words as he controlled the pain that wracked his body.

“I am. We have seen enough, wouldn’t you agree? Sahves? Lucius?”

Bennon looked towards Sahves in bewilderment, only to find him smiling downward.

“Yes, I believe so.”

Sahves kneeled down to eye level with Bennon. The previous condescending look was nowhere to be found.

“Bennon, your sense of justice is astounding. Don’t worry my friend. You’ve done well.”

It slowly sank into Bennon’s brain just what was happening at the moment.

This was all a test.

He let out a sigh of relief and slowly lowered his head. His life was already at their mercy; there was no point to any deception. Thus he immediately relaxed after coming to this conclusion.

“Ciena.”

On the other hand, Ciena was too shaken to properly process the current events. Her gaze was cast to the floor and she refused to let go of the dagger in her hand.

“Ciena!”

Lucius similarly knelt down to her eye level.

He knew the kind of background this woman had gone through. Deception, subterfuge, and assassination, these things were daily occurrences for the young girl as a part of her training and career.

“Ciena, it’s over. This was just a test.”

Lucius called out with a concerned look. It was easy to see that her eyes weren’t fully focused in on the present. He knew there was a strong chance that she was still currently plotting their deaths.

Perhaps I went too hard on her and pushed her over the edge.

Lucius couldn’t help but think to himself as he inspected her wounds. He knew that she was perhaps the most talented member of the shadow organization. Due to this, it was imperative that he approached this fight with deadly accuracy, otherwise she would have picked up on his leniency.

Either she would have detected that he wasn’t trying his best and saw through the test, or she would have killed him for his negligence. Regardless, both of those outcomes weren’t ones that he could afford in this circumstance.

Sien cautiously made his way towards Lucius. He knelt down next to him and inspected the bloodied woman before him.

From his point of view, she looked like a wild lioness; ready to strike with her life on the line. Her breathing was calm and collected, while her body was tense.

He could clearly see that her eyes were glazed over, yet oddly focused on everything at once. Nothing could escape her senses, but at the same time she couldn’t sense anything.

“Lucius, how about we knock this little one out and wait for her to wake up. I don’t think we’ll be able to get through to her like this.”

Lucius let out a long sigh. With a flicker, he disappeared from his previous location and moved to Ciena’s side.

Her dagger flew through the air towards his heart, but he easily caught her hand.

The sudden movement caused her wounds to become even more aggravated, allowing blood to spill forth everywhere.

Sien promptly appeared on her other side and delivered a swift strike to the back of her head. Her body unwillingly crumpled to the floor as she quickly lost consciousness.

Sahves and Bennon both watched these events play out from a distance. Bennon had a wry smile on his face as he felt like these actions were fully in line with Ciena’s personality, while Sahves could only watch her demise with an odd expression.

“Tsk. Is she normally this fierce? This seems a little out of the ordinary?”

While still kneeling, Sahves asked questions to Bennon, who was seated on the floor catching his breath. His greatsword was nowhere to be seen, and his helmet was placed by his side.

“If I told you that she’s really dedicated to the boss, would that explain anything?”

Bennon responded between haggard breaths, but he didn’t stop smiling. Sahves looked at Bennon with a raised eyebrow and shook his head.

“No, that doesn’t explain anything at all. Perhaps are those two… a couple?”

Sahves felt somewhat strange asking this question for multiple reasons, but either way he thought it would be prudent to ask before any misunderstandings occurred.

“No sir. From what I’ve seen, I would describe it as one-sided fanaticism.”

“I see...”

Sahves wasn’t sure how to respond considering that this was the first time he’s ever had to deal with this type of situation. He didn’t have to ponder for long as he soon heard footsteps coming his way.

Lucius and Sien stood side by side. Ciena was fast asleep within Lucius’ arms. She was being cradled extremely delicately so as to not cause any additional injuries.

“She needs immediate attention, so we’ll be taking her to get treatment. She’ll be as good as new within the next day… or two…or three… or so.”

Sien spoke up and informed Sahves on their next steps. Afterwards, he turned towards Bennon with a keen eye.

“Your name was Bennon, correct?”

“Yes sir.”

“You’ve done well this day. Come with us. You can’t hide your injuries forever. Let’s get you treated.”

Sien spoke offhandedly as he and Lucius began walking away. Sahves smiled and stood up as well.

“Sir, with respect. I can’t leave the little boss here unattended. Also… I need to clean this place up.”

Bennon gestured towards the destroyed surroundings as he spoke out to Sahves.

“Don’t worry about nonsense. I’ll be here keeping watch while you two get patched up. Also this place isn’t what it seems.”

Sien snapped his fingers as Sahves spoke the last sentence. With a subtle distortion, the destroyed scenery was restored to its previous state in the blink of an eye.

“What just happened??”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Bennon couldn’t help but look around in astonishment. This was an extremely high-level fight and it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that the building would have needed to be completely remodeled.

“We had been watching the two of you fight for some time. During your exchange with Ciena, elders Einstoldt and Sugo set up a space manipulation formation around the entire building.”

Sahves explained while helping Bennon to his feet.

“To put it simply, the formation took a snapshot of all the inanimate objects within its range. As long as the formation wasn’t destroyed on the outside, it could restore the condition of everything inside to its previous state.”

Bennon was shaken as he heard this. What level of proficiency was needed in order to make a formation manipulate space in such a way?

Despite Bennon’s thoughts, he only heard a sigh a dejection come from Elder Sugo.

“Haah, it’s nothing compared to what my daughter was able to do though. This is child’s play in comparison.”

He could only lament briefly in sadness as he lost himself in the past. Bennon dumbly followed in their footsteps as Lucius’ words sank in.

There’s always a higher sky, isn’t there?

----------------------------------------

With the test concluded, a day of much needed recovery was given. During this day, Sahves didn’t relax in the slightest.

He spent most of his free time handling business through a device that connected him to the World System. When he wasn’t in communication with other officials, he took it upon himself to use the various training facilities that were housed within the building.

The day was nearing its end when Sahves received another call, this time from Lucius.

“How are they doing?”

Sahves was drenched in sweat when a display of Lucius’ face showed up. Unfortunately, Lucius shook his head and pursed his lips.

“That little girl fought too fiercely. She’ll need another day to recover so we decided to remain here.”

Sahves grunted as he lifted a pair of weights overhead.

“Got it. Keep me updated.”

Lucius ended the call afterwards, leaving Sahves alone to exercise. It was unexpected, but it seemed that he would be playing babysitter for an additional night.

Some hours later, Sahves finished his workout. Wiping sweat from his brow, he stood at the entrance of a particular room as he leaned his shoulder against the door frame.

A short distance in front of him, was a sleeping body that was deathly still. Jun had remained on this bed the entire time as if the happenings of the outside world had no effect on him.

This was one of the reasons why it was important to enter PSI World from a safe location.

In fact, there were many public facilities that people could use to enter PSI World freely. The only cost was a very cheap fee that would be paid according to how many days you stayed.

These public locations were incredibly popular as they were secured and controlled by the central government. Of course, the presence of a minimum fee required that you put in at least some level of effort, but in general this fee was negligible.

He’s been in there for over a day, which is the equivalent of two days for him since the tutorial’s time moves twice as fast. I wonder how far he’s gotten. I bet he’s setting records like his old man.

Sahves couldn’t help but smile in nostalgia as he eyed the sleeping boy. He didn’t linger for long though, as he knew just how absorbed people could get while experiencing PSI World; it might be quite a while before Jun wakes up.

The next day quickly came, but it was only after the sun had set that Sahves was graced with the presence of others.

“Elder Einstoldt, Elder Sugo, Bennon, Ciena.”

Sahves acknowledged each of them as they filtered in towards the center stage. Bennon looked hale and hearty, while Ciena looked meek and docile in comparison to her former appearance.

Bennon wore a professional suit, the same type that he always wore when dealing with the club’s business. Ciena was dressed in a black dress with blue frills that seemed to complement her light-blue hair.

Bennon smiled as Sahves greeted them, but Ciena only coldly looked in his direction. She pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, which allowed the reflection of light to briefly flash off the lens.

Sahves could only chuckle nervously as he noticed Ciena’s chilly attitude. Clearly, she didn’t like to be needlessly tested, which meant that she still hadn’t been informed of the situation.

“We thought it’d be best to explain once we gathered back here. By the way, is Jun still in PSI World?”

Sien spoke up as if he were breaking the ice between two parties.

“He’s still in there. Almost two days now.”

Sahves replied as he gestured towards the room with his head.

“He must be taking this seriously. That’s almost four days’ worth of activity in terms of the tutorial. I wonder what he’s been able to accomplish in four days’ time? I bet he’s destroying missions one after another.”

Everyone seemed to nod unconsciously to themselves in agreement with this statement. At this point, Ciena spoke up in an icy tone.

“Would you mind explain to us what this was all about?”

The way she spoke caused Bennon to grimace.

Shouldn’t she show a little bit more respect to her elders? However, he couldn’t help but agree with her general sentiment. He also didn’t like being tested without knowing why.

“I believe I can answer this. Bennon, Ciena, what do you know of this boy named Jun?”

Sien asked them with a genial smile. He seemed quite harmless in this light, but everyone knew that this was a simple façade that hid an enormous amount of strength.

“He’s phenomenal in every way. His foresight is extreme, and he shows a level of intellect that betrays his age. Additionally, he knows how to have fun and enjoy the moment.”

Bennon spoke first and gave an honest assessment. During all of his time spent watching over Jun, this much was considered a meager appraisal. The list of praise could only grow longer.

“He’s thoughtful and charismatic when he wants to be. He doesn’t like being in the spotlight, even though some of his antics might suggest otherwise. He thinks wealth and fame is pointless. And I agree, he lives in the moment when he can.”

Ciena gave a calculated response. Naturally, she hid a lot of her feelings in this reply, but they didn’t need to know about that type of information.

“I see. Can either of you tell me his last name? Who is his family? Where does he come from?”

Sien’s question was met with silence. Their orders were to work for him and watch over him at the club. They were also instructed not to investigate further into his life, and therefore they remained faithful to their orders.

This didn’t mean that they weren’t curious, but they felt like there must have been a good reason why they weren’t allowed to investigate further. They both shook their head to these questions.

Lucius stood next to Sien at that moment and spoke up.

“He’s my grandson!”

Ciena’s eyes lit up when she heard this.

So he was a part of the Sugo family this whole time? But why did I never hear of him?

Due to Ciena’s organization being so close to the Sugo family, they were to learn the faces of each member of the direct Sugo bloodline from an early age. That’s when Sien spoke up directly afterwards.

“He’s also my grandson.”

Bennon and Ciena both nodded in understanding.

“So he’s a bit more special because he’s both of your grandson’s! That makes sense. Got it.”

Bennon spoke out loud while Ciena silently agreed. It only made sense that they were a bit more secretive over a grandson that they both shared.

Being a part of the direct bloodline of one faction could already put a target on someone’s head, let alone being a part of two bloodlines.

Sahves let out a sigh once he realized that the impact of this new information hadn’t quite set into their minds. It appeared that these two subordinates hadn’t quite connected the dots of Jun’s identity, but in the end; what did it matter?

The two grandparents didn’t feel the need to explain any further as well. They both revealed as much information as necessary. They simply gave a knowing smile at this response and they moved on from the topic.

“We needed to test you for the sake of his safety. We hold that boy in high regard, and he can only be placed in the care of highly trusted people. So far, only a small handful of people know of his existence, and we would like it to keep it that way.”

Sien explained the reason for the test. Lucius spoke up next.

“We understand you have spent quite some time with Jun, but we needed to see how developed your feelings were towards him. It appears he is indeed quite charismatic considering that you were both willing to throw your lives away in his defense.”

Lucius raised an eyebrow as he spoke, eyeing each of them in amusement. Bennon looked away shyly, while Ciena pursed her lips in annoyance.

“Your new orders from this day forth.”

Lucius suddenly bowed before them.

“Please keep him safe. Be his arms and legs and guide him towards greatness. You two are the strongest talents we had, and our judgement of your character wasn’t wrong. Nothing can happen to that boy, as he already bears too much weight and responsibility.”

At this point, Sien also bowed before them. Sahves coughed in the background before walking up to them.

“Stop it, you’re embarrassing them.”

He then turned to face Bennon and Ciena, whom of which wore expressions of astonishment.

“But truly, look after him. Publicly, you may refer to him as Jun Candor, but his real name is Jun Sugo. We are in your care.”

Sahves then placed a hand over his chest and also bowed before them. Each of these three made a simple movement, but the weight of this action was enough to shake the world should it be known.

----------------------------------------

At the same time, in a space of pure white, Jun was currently sitting on the floor with his legs sprawled in front.

His eyes were bloodshot. His expression was dead, and his throat felt scratchy and parched. A small tear of joy leaked from the corner of his eye and his haggard appearance lit up with hope.

He tried his best to hold in this shred of happiness as he stared at the wall of text before him.

“Please confirm your username.”

“Y-Yes, I confirm… I confirm!”

He no longer cared about the dress. He no longer cared about his appearance in the slightest. Being trapped in this white space of hell while repeatedly shouting out username after username was akin to a perverse type of torture.

He was thankful to finally be rid of this phase of his life. Things started off rocky, but they could only get better from here. Right?

“Welcome to PSI World, Xin Sugo.”