The air became tense.
Zed continued to look at Alen with a carefree smile while Alen's face gradually grew darker.
"Either you're stupid or stupidly ballsy." Alen stretched his hand and put it on Zed's shoulder before squeezing it.
Zed glanced at his shoulder before looking back at Alen. "I am neither."
In the next moment, Alen saw his world turning upside down—literally—as Zed swiftly kicked him in the calf to the right with his left leg while palming his right hand to his head in the opposite direction.
Alen spun and saw Zed's face upside down before falling to the ground with a thud.
The other two friends of Alen were shocked and instantly rushed at Zed to attack him.
"You bastard!"
"How dare you!"
But both of them shot back faster than they came, as Zed threw the one who was fast by using his own momentum, grabbing his hand and spinning, hitting the second guy and sending him flying before throwing the first guy right on top of Alen.
"I heard everything you were saying." Zed's eyes turned cold as he muttered while looking at Alen. "We are not done yet."
Turning around, Zed smiled at the girls. "Let's go."
Alen's face was red as he was buried beneath his friend. He wanted to get up and fight, but he had realized that this guy he had never seen before, was stronger than him in terms of martial arts despite having lower Vigor.
'You bastard, just wait and see how I deal with you later!' Alen swore while watching Zed and the girls leave.
…
"I can't believe we have those assholes here." Katy clenched her fist. "I want to get strong faster so they can't do anything to us."
"Amelia, are you hurt? That jerk hit you hard," Lina asked in concern.
"Yeah, that asshole kicked you in the stomach. You can't be fine," Katy frowned.
"It hurts, but we heal a bit faster as we get stronger, and it wasn't that serious, so I'll be fine." Amelia smiled.
"Stop here." Zed stopped the group on an empty pathway. He arrived before Amelia and bent down. "Show me your belly."
"W-What?!" Amelia's cheeks turned pink.
Zed smiled at her and said, "You will be fine, but there's no reason for you to endure pain if I can make it go away."
"Show him!" Katy grinned. "It's not like he's going to eat you."
Amelia's entire face turned red, but she loosened the tie around her waist and pulled up the white training cloth, showing a black and purple bruise on her stomach.
Zed frowned. "This must hurt a lot, not just a little."
He gently put his hand on the bruise and used the skill Healing Hands.
"This…" Lina was surprised as she watched the bruise visibly fade away in seconds. "This is a Spirit skill! You even have aptitude with the Spirit Path?"
"Really?" Katy was shocked.
Zed stood up and chuckled. "Yep. I can use both, though my Lumen and Spirit are a bit low right now."
"Amazing," Amelia muttered as she rubbed her belly. "I don't feel any pain now. And my skin is all back to normal."
"We haven't eaten yet, so let's go eat. You want to come with us, Zed?" Lina asked.
"Of course. I'll be staying with you from now on." Zed smiled and winked.
Lina's ears reddened, but she quickly began walking. "I know. My father adopted you to keep an eye on me and protect me."
…
After arriving at the cafeteria, Zed went to get food.
The girls at the table rapidly discussed.
"Tell him!" Katy urged while glaring at Lina. "Invite him to the party and come there with him."
"No!" Lina turned her head away.
"Bitch!" Katy clicked her tongue.
"I think…" Amelia blinked. "I can invite him. I'll tell him that I want to invite him to the party to thank him for helping us and healing me."
"Good idea." Katy grinned.
Lina rolled her eyes. "You forgot that he won't go without me. He's my bodyguard."
"Hmph, he isn't your bodyguard all day long. Your ass can go back home today so he can come with us." Katy snorted.
"What's up, ladies? I sense some heated discussion happening here." Zed arrived and put the food dishes on the table.
"Zed, will you come to a party with us?" Amelia smiled. "Consider it thanks for helping us and healing my bruise. The party is at Ropo Avenue in T City. The helicopters are also ready, so we can leave after two hours when we're done here."
"Party?" Zed raised his eyebrows. "What kind of party?"
"It's a birthday party for my friend." Katy grinned. "But there are two parts to this party: one where my friend's parents and other big people will stay, and the other part is where the young and party people like us will stay."
"All people will be normal ones since my friend's family isn't involved in the Players' world," Katy added.
Lina looked at Zed, waiting for his answer.
"Well, if Lina is coming, I'll accompany her. I also have a little sister at home, so if you want to thank me, we can go somewhere to eat tomorrow night, just the four of us." Zed smiled.
"That's better." Lina nodded. "It's your friend's birthday party, so you should go."
"Tsk, fine. Then tomorrow, we'll go have dinner together, alright?"
Zed chuckled. "Deal."
…
The following two hours were nothing special. All students went to the sparring session held by Mr. Liu, where students fought each other, but he himself fought against Zed while looking at him weirdly the entire time.
When all the students left, Mr. Liu was muttering with a gleam of madness and disbelief in his eyes.
"Absurd, impossible… is he a prodigy? But prodigies can't be like this. Or maybe he's the ultimate genius? But how? Why is he so masterful in martial arts and has even learned a skill so fast? Did I train all my life for nothing, or does he just know how to move better than I? His brain must be more evolved—but it's not his brain, it's his body too. He has the body language of a master. How?"
"Tomorrow, he'll meet with the Headmaster, and we'll confirm his talents." Mr. Liu's eyes gleamed with excitement. "He'll be a great asset to the country."
…
After returning home, Zed and Lina first met with Tomen in the garden, who was sipping tea and reading.
Zed shortly left as he wanted to go with the maid to pick up Rosy.
As soon as Zed left, Tomen asked, "So, how is he? Does he have talent?"
Lina threw her composure away as she stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "HOW THE HELL DID YOU FIND SOMEONE LIKE HIM?!"
Tomen was taken aback. "Why? What happened?"
Lina sat back down and took a deep breath. "He is… he is super talented! Even more than me! A monster!"
"He…" Lina shook her head. "How did you find someone like him? This is impossible."
Tomen was surprised. "Really? He's that talented?"
"You don't know." Lina sighed. "I think he's going to be a big shot if he gets resources, which the academy will soon give since the teacher must have already reported his talents to the Headmaster."
"But how did you find someone like him?"
Tomen wryly smiled. "He was selected by the A.I. that your elder brother built."
"What?!" Lina was shocked. "No way…"
…
Zed arrived at the school in the car with the maid and waited at the gate with other parents.
The school was large and prestigious, a place where the children of rich folks and geniuses studied.
A maid and a luxurious car were not an uncommon sight in this large school-front area. There were even helicopters parked there since some kids came from different corners of the country.
Soon, Rosy arrived outside.
Zed saw she looked downcast, but the moment Rosy saw him, her eyes lit up, and a smile bloomed.
"Brother!"
Zed's eyes slightly narrowed. 'Lapis, tell me what happened to her.'
[ She was subjected to ragging by some boys and didn't get help from the teacher when she told them. ]
"Brother," Rosy arrived and glanced at the maid, hesitation flickering in her eyes.
Zed grabbed her hand and started walking back to the school's entrance.
"Where are you going, young master?" The maid was startled.
Zed stopped and looked at Rosy. "How was your day?"
Rosy opened her mouth, but in the next second, tears spilled from her eyes.
"W-What happened?" the maid asked upon seeing Rosy crying.
"T-They touched me e-everywhere and didn't let me go… sniff… and even hit me." Rosy couldn't stay strong in front of Zed anymore and spilled her grief while crying. "Brother..."
"Come with me." Zed continued walking. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck!! I am a fucking reality bender, but my sister still has to suffer?!'
All people who saw his face and eyes quickly made way.
But someone who wasn't watching bumped into Zed's arm.
Zed continued walking, but the other guy grabbed his shoulder. "Hey, watch whe—"
The man stopped as soon as Zed turned around to look at him.
"Get your hands off."
The man let go instantly. Zed continued walking.
"Dad, why did you back away?"
"Shut up."
The guards saw Zed's expression and quickly stopped him from entering the school.
"Stop, why are you so angry, young man? Are you going to hit someone?"
Zed greatly held himself back. "I'm angry about something, and I'm going inside to complain about an issue. Are you going to stop me for that?"
The guards looked at each other and let him go.
"Just… don't beat someone up, young man, or you'll be escorted to the police station right away."
"Young master, we should be calm for now and take proper measures." Maid Frila quickly spoke after passing by the guards.
"Go back. You have no business or job to do here anymore," Zed said without looking back, and seeing that she was still following, he raised his voice. "I said, go back home!"
"Y-Yes."