On the topmost floor of Ashy Petals' main building, a meeting was being held. Ambrose didn't think it was necessary, but he was curious to see what his executives' reaction would be like. That's why they all convened to watch Jered's fight against Audrey, scion of the prominent Arc family. They joined the live stream and watched it on the projector screen. And throughout the match, Ambrose didn't hear anyone speak up. It was total silence. Whether because they were in awe of young Jered's astounding spells or because they silently deemed him a threat, it wasn't known.

When the match came to an abrupt ending, some of the executives were visibly fidgeting. The reason was obvious.

"He's too powerful," a rough, nasal voice broke the silence in a grim tone. It was Rehan. He was an old man; old even for a Magician. He pulled the collar of his immaculate suit, "He could be a threat to you, sir," he addressed Ambrose, who was leaning back, his fingers steepled.

"I agree with his assessment, sir," Harrison chimed in, "I find it suspicious that someone as talented as him rejected your offer to move out to Artemis. There must be a reason."

A thoughtful voice continued, "I wonder if Jered is planning something against us," this time, it was Mayers, who had a sharp glint in his glasses, "Maybe he's in cahoots with another organization. As much as I'd like to believe that Ashy Petals managed to rope in such a powerful Magician, I have my doubts, sir. Surely, you, who are the wisest of us, would have an inkling to what's going on."

The last executive watched the debate in silence, his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"You're oddly silent, Carneval," Ambrose had a relaxed smile on his face, "If you have something in mind, we'd be delighted if you could share it with us."

Carneval opened his eyes, and everyone calmly waited for his words. He was the strongest of the executives, and the one who owned most of the shares in the company. Naturally, his words carried a lot of weight, "I think we're missing something."

Rehan frowned, "Missing what exactly."

"This boy is talented, we all know that. In fact, he's so good that, I'm afraid, he will soon advance to the next tier. And when that happens; because it will happen. He'll have enough power to overthrow us, if that's what he wants, of course," Carneval stroked his chin, "So he's either aiming for Ambrose's seat, or there is someone behind him, pulling the strings. Another organization, perhaps. A cult, even. That would certainly explain how the kid managed to learn such complex spells in such a short time window."

Everyone lapsed into a dignified silence.

"That's not the main issue, however," the man continued evenly, raising two fingers, "We have two roads ahead. The first would be to subdue him... which, I daresay, would be a feat I'm not sure we can currently pull off. The second road is the less dangerous one, but we'd have to put our pride aside and do it for our survival. Ah, no. Don't be confused. It's easy. I'm simply suggesting making Jered one of us—an executive."

"T-T-That's preposterous!" Mayers sprung up to his feet and slammed his hands against the table, "He's not our equal!"

"Maybe in terms of experience and wisdom, but if you deny the power he wields, then you're a fool, Mayers," Carneval scoffed, "Your pedestal is not so high, and it's frail. If we go with the first option, we'll most likely face annihilation. As for the second option? I have to admit that even in the off-chance that Jered becomes an executive, it would not be a sufficient incentive to spare us. We're at crossroads, and your pride is only going to bring that destruction faster."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Ambrose tapped his fingers against the table, "He's not wrong."

"B-But, sir..." Rehan stuttered out, "... if neither of his options is a guarantee, then shouldn't we be racking our brains for a third option?"

"Isn't there any way we could subdue him, maybe if we hired one of those Magi-hitmen..." Harrison trailed off, chewing his bottom lip in concern.

Carneval rolled his eyes, "I doubt there is any Elder Magi-hitman capable of defeating him. Come on, Jered has at least three Royal-Tier spells. How many Royal-Tier spells do any of you have?"

"..."

Silence.

Ambrose released a soft sigh, "And don't bring up Royal Magi-hitmen either. Once they realize who they're against, they'll ask for an insane amount of money. And unless it's your pockets we'll be using, I have no intentions of using the company's capital. Are we clear on this?"

"Yes, sir," they all chorused.

"Good. We shall reconvene again to further discuss this. Meeting adjourned."

---

Arcane Underground Combat.

Global Ranking | 2021:

1st. Mikhail Ivanov | 191 [wins] | 0 [draws] | 0 [losses]

2nd. Monika Bauer | 193 [wins] | 1 [draws] | 1 [losses]

3rd. Jered von Jacobs | 189 [wins] | 0 [draws] | 0 [losses]

...

It was Jered's birthday, and seeing his name there couldn't have been a greater gift. His next match was against Mikhail Ivanov. But that was still a week away. A new enhanced arena was under construction since the last one had failed, and they didn't want to take chances, especially when the match was between 1st and 3rd place. After the whole ordeal with Audrey, Jered went on and defeated 7 more top leaderboard rankers.

For the next couple of days, the top names on the list shuffled again and again, and everyone's position was at risk of being pushed down. Well, everyone but the first two. Mikhail and Monika were almost undefeatable Magicians in the Elder tier. Jered had done his research on them. Mikhail, apparently, had drunk the blood of an Ancient Deviling, and because of that, he had gained a tremendous amount of mana. However, it also made him extremely unstable and psychotic.

Russia had Mikhail sealed at all times. They would free him only for the AUC matches, and even then, a few Royal Magicians would escort and monitor him to avoid unnecessary casualties.

As for Monika? She had lost only against Mikhail, and her only draw was because, in one of her matches, she faced her daughter, 18th place Selena Bauer. And they both decided to call it a draw before the match even began. It was an amusing affair; he had watched the video. Both women hugged in the middle of the stage and walked away together—much to the audience's chagrin.

Jasmine quietly sneaked into his room without knocking, "Jeeeeered ~" she whined, "I'm bored ~"

His bed bounced as she hopped on it, landing next to him.

Jered barely spared her a glance, "Go paint your nails or something."

"Can you paint them for me?" she extended one long, shapely leg and wiggled her toes, "I need a pedicure."

He grabbed her foot and yanked her towards him. His hand strength was boosted by his 'Physical Enhancement'. And that resulted in Jasmine yelping in surprise as she ended up crashing on his lap, "Mom is eavesdropping outside the door," he whispered, his other hand clutching her mouth shut, "Don't say anything weird."

"Weird how?" she wondered as he released her, "Like how I want to su—hmm!"

Jered immediately shut her up with his hand. However, the way her eyes quaked in coyness spelled trouble. A warm, wet sensation rubbed against his palm. He sighed as he forced her tongue back inside her mouth with his 'Telekinesis'.

"You're truly troublesome, sis," he said, pinching her nose as a punishment.

She glared at him, though it lacked strength. So she crossed her arms in defiance.

Jered cupped her chin and tilted her eyes back to him, "Today is my birthday... it's supposed to be a special occasion, so be on your best behavior."

She blinked, her cheeks reddening a little. Then she splayed her eyes wide open and urgently pointed at her mouth.

He waved his hand, and the telekinetic grasp on her mouth was unloosened.

"I almost forgot!" Jasmine whispered excitedly, "I have a gift for you!"

"There was no need to get me anything, though," he said, mildly confused, "I have enough money to buy anything I want," he said logically.

"No, no, no!" she shook his shoulders, "I didn't buy you anything... I'm broke..."

"Then what is this mysterious gift?"

She was a bit shy; it was evident from the way she shimmied, "I made this gift with a looooooot of love and affection ~" she bit her bottom lip, "It's in my room."

"I hope it's not something that'll get me in trouble..." he said with a warning tilt of his eyebrow, but she wasn't discouraged.

"I don't know about that, but you wouldn't be so mean as to reject my love and affection, would you?"

"Eh, I don't know," he laughed with a casual shrug, "What would you do if I did?"

She tapped her chin in thought, her smile widening at the crazy, inappropriate ideas bouncing around her head. However, that smile soon fell back down, "Wait! Fuck... I can't do anything to you! You're too powerful!"

Jered laughed harder.

She seethed, her cheeks puffing up, "Hmhm. It can't be helped. I'll have to get stronger than you... and then... rape you!"

"..." he blinked at her, "That's a strong word. Are you sure you can pull that off?"

"I don't know, but a woman's gotta try!" she had a pervy smile on her face as she nudged his arm, "I'm surprised you're not against it."

"Oh no, you misunderstand. There is simply no way for you to become stronger than me, sis," he chewed over his next words, "But... if you truly manage to pull that off, then you'll have my respect. And I'll let myself be... raped..."

Jasmine gasped, "Wait... seriously?"

He nodded, "Yes, but don't pin your hopes on it too much. Even with the help of a Shadow, you'll never catch up to me. So there is no chance for you to rape me."

"It doesn't matter!" she gushed with a smirk, "You admitted that deep, deep down you want to be raped by your lovely sister ~ besides, if I fail, you're allowed to rape me. Just sayin'..."

"What's your obsession with rape?"

"I'm not obsessed, but the thought of you forcing yourself on me... is kinda hot," Jasmine waved her hands against her flushed face to make air, "... am I bad for thinking that?"

Jered shrugged, "Ask mom."

"You know I can't!"

"JEEEEREEED! Can you come downstairs for a minute?" Jane yelled in her overzealous manner, successfully interrupting their back-and-forths.

"I guess her patience ran out," Jered rolled his eyes, "That's my cue to leave. You can give me your gift later, preferably when mom is sleeping."

"Sure thing, lil' bro!"

With a sigh, he rolled out of the bed and headed downstairs. Jasmine watched him leave with a heated look in her eyes.

As soon as the door closed, a chirping melody went off.

She unconsciously stared at his phone, vibrating away atop his nightstand. She wondered who it was. The thought of grabbing it and scrolling through his messages swirled in her mind, but she shook her head forcefully. It was not her business, and her brother would probably be mad at her if he found out. The chirping sound petered out, denoting that the mysterious interlocutor had given up and disconnected from the call. After that, a notification lit up the screen of his phone.

Jasmine whistled as she looked around his room, struggling to ignore the text message that was clearly not for her.

Another series of insistent notifications popped up, and she couldn't hold back the curiosity any longer.

She crawled to the other side of Jered's bed and seized his phone. She typed the code and unlocked the screen.

Evelyn.

That was obviously the name of the woman; a quite beautiful one too—if the profile picture at the top left of the chat was anything to go by. Her eyes flitted through the messages, and slowly, a bitter mass of something grew inside her chest. Her hand tightened over the edges of the phone, and due to her increased grip strength, it was on the verge of breaking.

'Damn you, Jered! I don't know where you learned to do that with your tongue, but I can't stop thinking about it. I'll definitely get you back for that, I swear. Anyway! Happy birthday ~ here's a little something that I hope will make you dream of me ~'

A picture was enclosed below the message. A very graphic picture of the woman in question, wearing nothing but black, silky lingerie. She had her arms huddled at the sides of her breasts, emphasizing the deep valley of her cleavage.

'If you want more, just ask ;-) I'm so lonely right now ~'

And then she spammed him with inappropriate emojis and faces.

Jasmine's breathing was irregular as she placed Jered's phone back on the nightstand.

'Hunger.'

'Flesh.'

'Blood.'

'Feed.'

"Not now..." she ground out, eyes narrowed into slits, "... not now... besides, she seems like an important person to him. We don't want him to hate us... but... we can do something to mark our territory and show her that she's not needed in his life. Let's calm down and think of a plan. Jered has probably been beguiled by this harlot. Look at her! Sending him nudes!"

The crimson smudges in her eyes intensified.