“Damn it, when I reach Tier-5, I will kill that bastard, I swear it,” Jason grumbled while dispursing the bluish flames and appearing healed.

“Che, it won’t take that long; we should be able to handle those old assholes by the time we reach Early Tier-4. Especially if we keep on the same track of capping our Classes first.” Shaking his head and turning off the bathroom sink, Leelan tossed the bloodied cloth on the ground and went back into the suite’s living room.

“Maybe; I still can’t believe the natives don’t cap out their Classes before evolving. No wonder they are all so damn weak. However, did you notice those guys on Cynrik’s team? They all seem stronger than normal natives.” Jason said as he pulled out a high-tech laptop and reviewed the Survey charts from the Tier-2 Exams for MyrkLys.

“Fucking moron must have wasted all his time training up his teammates instead of working on himself. Weak-willed bastard.” Pulling out a pair of earbuds from his inventory, Leelan put them in his ears before transferring the call to them so no one could overhear his conversation.

In response, Jason mumbled while the video call was changed to audio only, indicating Leelan had cut off his camera and was on the move.

“Did your old man tell you about what that cocky ** did?” Stepping out of the shattered window, Leelan took to the sky using his Wind Affinity and flew in the direction of his team’s condo.

“The KIN thing? Apparently, as a unit, they can use 45g; impressive, but it won’t affect us much. It’s a good thing we abused the ** out of our bodies early on, resulting in our Grav Resist reaching 50g. Even if the whole team turns on us and flattens our entire team, we will still be able to fight back.” Nodding as he spoke, Leelan scrolled through several underground websites until he found a video shot by one of the Headmasters present during MyrkLys’s attack.

In the video, shot accidentally on a Watcet, the image of Lithlen and Viktor bright redfaced as the ground underfoot buckled and the windows of the VIP box exploded outward was shakey but to his trained eyes, Jason could tell what was happening.

“If they think they can win with that power of friendship bull**, they have another thing coming.” Leelan snorted as his feet touched the sidewalk outside his condo building.

“Don’t underestimate them, Leelan; although they may have just reached Tier-3, I have no doubt those guys capped everything leading up to their Evolution. There is no telling how high their stats are, and from the intel, I’ve gathered, that Cynrik guy is manipulative and over plans everything.” Jason chided his friend’s dismissive and emotional attitude.

“Yeah, I know; I read the same docs as you, Jason; all we need to do is steamroll our way through our brackets, and then when the plan goes into motion, we will have our revenge. I’ve gotta go; I just reached my condo.” Leelan said while rolling his eyes. Unlike Jason, who could be considered the nerdy worrywart type, Leelan felt that MyrkLys was a one-trick pony, and with the plan put in place by Lithlen and Viktor, he was certain Cynrik would be rendered helpless.

At that point, the ball would be in his and Jason’s court, and they could take their time toying with MyrkLys one…by…one. The thought of his cousin beaten to a pulp under his foot caused Leelan’s lips to curl into a sinister smile.

“Gotcha, I’ll see you at the arena tomorrow, my team doesn’t go on stage until 4 pm, and VSFA competes at 10 am. Remember to record every possible angle; I don’t want anything missed because I need the footage for analysis.” However, when he was met by silence on the other end of the call, Jason snorted and realized Leelan had long since hung up.

—

A man in a dark room over a hundred kilometers from Valor City could be seen floating in a tank filled with yellow liquid. From the visual state of the man’s body, it wasn’t hard to tell the man in question had been in a life-or-death battle.

The man’s body was covered in vicious red marks, making it look like his skin had stretched to the point of ripping. Lastly, the missing limbs gave the impression that he had been caught in a vacuum…or at the very least, a meat grinder.

The only indication that the man was alive was the steady beeping from the numerous machines attached to his body within the tank.

Standing in front of the tank were half a dozen men and women in white lab coats, each one jotting down readings from the many different machines and trying to figure out what had caused the man, a Tier-5 being, to come to them in such a dreadful state.

However, try as they might, none of the old doctors had any clue as to what type of skill or attack could cause such wounds. At first, the running theory leaned in favor of some Spatial Skill; however, after testing the residual Mana particles and coming up empty, this theory was tossed.

BANG

Suddenly, the door leading to the underground facility was violently kicked open as a man in a black suit with a red tie angrily stormed into the lab, casting a pitiful glance at the tank before directing his attention to the doctors and scientists studying the man.

“You lot better have some **ing answers for me. If not, I will start by killing off your spouses, followed by any children one by one, until you have nothing left.”

The man shouted while grabbing the nearest doctor by his neck and lifting him off the ground.

Clack, clack clack

The sounds of two pairs of high-heeled shoes on tile caused several people in lab coats to turn and look away from their colleague to the door.

“That’s enough, Collin; killing these fine doctors and scientists won’t get us answers, so just let them do their work in peace.” A woman’s chilling voice stated, causing chills to run down the suited man named Collin’s spine as he quickly released his grasp on his victim.

“Y…yes, Miss Hespa, I was just trying to shake them up a little so that we would get answers quicker,” Collin said while trying his best to keep his hands from shaking. His eyes quickly darted from the first woman to the second, and he felt as if his soul would leave his body.

“N..nic..nice to see you again, Miss Claire.” However, to his dismay, the taller of the two women, who he had called Miss Claire, didn’t bother giving him a second glance as her attention was on the man floating in the yellow liquid.

“For the Notorious Bentham Illionia to come back to us in such a sorry state, tsk, who would have thought,” Claire said with a disgusted look.

“Now, Claire, my dear, we still need that scumbag,” Hespa said while walking up behind Claire and lacing her arms around the taller woman’s waist before her fingers crept up under the woman’s shirt and lightly tickled her skin.

Hearing the flirtatious tone used by Hespa and the obvious skinship shared between the two, all of the other people in the room immediately looked at their feet. If the two intimidating women shared a romantic relationship, it was none of their business; they only wanted to make it home to their families in one piece.

“True, but that doesn’t make me feel any better. Now that VSFA’s AI has enacted the Core Student clause of my contract, I will be forced to vacate my position as a Teacher there.” Claire said while reaching behind her and clutching Hespa by her right breast, forcing a small moan from her lips.

“Everyone, back to work, come on my dear, let’s go; there is plenty of hours left in the night to share some time,” Hespa stated while poking her head under Claire’s arm, shooting the other woman a flirty smile and dragging her back the way they came.

The two women, also known as the mothers of Selene and Melody, continued speaking in hushed, intimate voices, leaving the captive doctors and scientists to continue their fruitless work in silence.