Asahi and Thea were drinking a delicious cup of coffee at their booth, after their meal.

She spoke enthusiastically, while gesticulating what she was saying. “Then, right when the boss had 10% life left, with five seconds left for him to finish casting his super spell, I was out of Grand Dispel scrolls, because of how hard to they are to craft. So, I used a temporary teleportation skill, that teleports you back after two seconds, to appear right in front of it, tossed the legendary magic explosive that I crafted right at its feet, then teleported back. I finished casting my spell that call all my undead back to me right before the explosive exploded, finally killing that fucker. The fight took me almost four hours with all of that micromanaging due to being solo. BUT… the Crystal that I got from the fight allowed me to craft a staff, that became the first mythic ranked item in the game.”

He smiled. “It all makes sense now. Every time I saw someone talking about Royal Decree, the name SkulledSolo was by far the most talked about. No wonder they could solo a 40-Person raid and world bosses, the player is a god damn cheat character.”

She stuck out the tip of her tongue, with a cheeky and mischievous expression.

He chuckled. “To be fair though, you do need an absurd amount of game knowledge and played time to get where you are, especially to be so far ahead in levels.”

She smiled. “That’s true. I really love that game, but I won’t no-life it anymore. I’ll take college seriously.”

He nodded. “That’s good, now the other players have some hope to catch up.”

She Laughed. “They wish.”

His smile turned into a sigh. “Damn, I was having such a great time that I almost forgot about the club. Sorry, but I have to get back to school, I already didn’t show up last week due to being so busy.”

“That’s alright, I’ll drop you off at school.” She said, slightly disappointed, as she raised her hand to ask for the check.

He chuckled. “You look like we’ll never hang out again. You said that you don’t know anyone here, so you still need to meet my friends. My incredibly busy friends… I didn’t think this through, did I?”

She laughed, letting out a cute little snort.

After she paid the bill, they both left.

As she drove, Asahi spoke. “Do you have something against people that are registered with the TS? Aside from your uncle, that is.”

She shook her head. “No, I just don’t want to have anything to do with it.”

“I’m asking because three of my friends are registered, and the families of two of them seem to have some influence and connections there.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t care about that. I just don’t want to be dragged into political bullshit. Can you imagine if I registered and they found out what I’m capable off? I will pass on that.”

He nodded. “Can’t blame you, I feel the same. By the way, you never asked about my powers.”

“I just felt that it would be best to let you bring it up on your own, that’s all.”

He chortled. “Right, forgot who I was talking to. There is something that I’m curious about, but it might be a bit personal.”

“Go ahead.”

“Have you talked to other people in school, like to make friends?”

She shook her head. “A good chunk of the people I see every day, I find them to be gross, and it has nothing so do with appearance or social class, but who they are as a person. When someone is a garbage person, they feel slimy to me and gross to me. The ones that I don’t find gross, are usually friends with the ones that I do. Some of them look at me like I’m just a piece of steak with a large bank account.”

“Other times, the timing just sucks, or I overthink things. The hostess from earlier for an example, she would be great to hang out with. But I couldn’t just approach her at her work like that, because it would be awkward for her. However, let’s say that I push through and we hang out. How many of her friends or close ones would feel gross to me? It’s not like I can’t bear the feeling or anything like that, but why the hell would I subject myself to that?”

He displayed an empathetic expression. “That… sounds lonely.”

“When it comes to in person relationships, it is. There is something else that also gets in the way though. I’ve had friendships, even a boyfriend. Apparently, I give them a sense of inferiority because I’m pretty, can do things easily, and I’m filthy rich. My ex-boyfriend especially, oh boy, that was ugly.” She said, frowning deeply at the last sentence.

He exhaled. “By the look on your face, it seems like it was more than ugly.”

She took a deep breath. “He said that if he could trade his parents for being like ‘little miss perfect’, he would shoot them without hesitation. I know that he didn’t actually mean it, but still…”

Hi eyes widened. “What the fuck? That’s beyond crossing the line.”

She sighed. “I actually tried to have a couple flings, just for the sake of release, but even those didn’t work. They both eventually started to ask for me to invest in their enterprises. After that, whenever I needed to get laid, I straight up hired escorts.” Seeing Asahi’s expression, she smiled. “Hey, it’s not all bad. I do have my online friends, who are good people, and I enjoy talking to them.”

“If it’s of any help, I have no need nor want for your money. Well, aside from my ¥500 fee. I can’t do anything about that, it’s a union thing.” He said, shrugging at the end.

She laughed.

With that laugh, the mood became light and cheery again.

Soon, they arrived at Tokyo U.

 

After she parked the car, she gestured with her finger. “Come here.”

As he leaned over, she moved closer, and gave his cheek a kiss that lasted for around four seconds.

She had a tinge of red on her cheeks, and a joyful expression. “Thank you, I had a great time today. I’m looking forward to hanging out with you again.”

He smiled. “I had a great time too. I wanna invite you to come to my place for dinner, so you can meet two of my friends. And if you’re gonna be home this Sunday, I’d like to drop by with my friend that lives in your building.”

She nodded, with an excited expression. “I’d love that, just text me the details. Aside from school, my schedule is wide open.”

He gently kissed her cheek. “I’ll talk to you later then.”

She displayed, a bright and dazzling smile.

 

As he watched her car leave, he took a deep breath. He knew very well why he hit it off so well with her. Although her being honest and not speaking with ulterior motives was a big thing for him, that wasn’t the main reason.

He saw in her something that he was very familiar with. There was a scared and lonely child living in there. Although she had been through most of the grieving process regarding her parents’ death, the trauma that such a monumental loss created, was very much still there.

Obviously, he knew that in an intuitive manner, not necessarily in an analytical one.

Making his way through the campus, he started to think. ‘Okay, put me in my place. Her busted passives, how much do I need to have them?’

[ A specific evolution and certain requisites are necessary to unlock them. After that, you would need to pay 10,000,000P, for the cheapest one that is. ]

He sighed. ‘That’s just a polite way to tell me to fuck off, but to be fair, I asked for it. Well, let’s toss that idea away and move on then.’

Arriving at the building, he started to make his way through the stairs, when he heard a heated conversation between two people on the third floor, coming from right outside the club room.

“I told you to leave me alone, I don’t wanna see you anymore!” A softer voice yelled.

“Oh, come on babe, don’t be like that. I already said that I’m sorry, what else you want me to do?” A deeper voice pleaded.

Asahi groaned. ‘Urgh, for fuck’s sake, another asshole? That’s fucking it, it’s not worth it anymore. I can totally see things like this repeating over and over again.’

He still made his way to the club, where he spotted a guy in streetwear and a girl in casual clothes, both in their early twenties having an argument. The guy was almost as tall as Asahi, and a quite muscular, while the girl was of average height.

Sofia, the club president seemed to be trying to create the courage to intervene.

Walking towards them, Asahi slapped his hands together, making a really loud noise that echoed through the hallway.

Startled, not just the three of them, but everyone in the hallway looked at the origin of the noise.

Asahi sighed as he walked, then spoke with an annoyed tone. “You cheated on her and she doesn’t wanna see you anymore, end of the story. Now, get the fuck out of here, or I’ll drag you out myself.”

The guy puffed up his chest and walked towards Asahi. “And who the fuck are you to-”

Before he fished speaking, Asahi pulled his collar towards the way he came from, the stairs, making the guy stumble for a couple meters, before falling on the ground.

Asahi then looked at the guy, who was cursing as he got up. “One last time, leave or I’ll drag you out.”

The guy looked at him with an angry expression. “Bitch, you better sleep with an eye open.”

As the guy left, Asahi turned to Sofia and the girl. “Before you say anything, I didn’t do it for you, but because he slightly tarnished the incredible day I was having. Also, I apologize for not showing up last week, I was really busy. Lastly, I’m not gonna be coming to the club anymore, because I have an anti-drama policy, and I can se this scene repeating multiple times. It’s nothing personal, I guess I’m just not cut out for clubs.”

The girl displayed an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry.”

Asahi shook his head. “This is not your fault, he’s the asshole here, and me leaving is due to my own issues. No apologies are necessary.”

Sofia sighed. “That’s a shame, but I hope everything goes well for you.”

He nodded. “Likewise. Oh, and don’t worry about him, he won’t be coming back.”

Without clarifying what he said, he just left and went home.

On his way home, he pulled out his phone, and called Lìshǐ Fen.

“Hello, Kinoshita-sama, what can I help you with?”

“Would you please set up a meeting with whomever is at the top of the Consortium here in Japan? I’d like to trade with them. After that is done, I’ll do one trade with the TS as well, if you’re interested. It can’t be in the morning nor during the weekend though.”

“Of course, would you like for them to contact you?”

“Yes, please, and tell them that I have things that they want.”

“I’ll see to it immediately. When you are ready, please contact me to set up your next trade with us.”

“Will do, thank you.”

After hanging up, he thought. ‘Okay, what should I trade with the Consortium?’

[ Mana Crystals, which is pretty much what it sounds like, and diamonds. ]

‘Diamonds?’

[ Diamonds can expedite the production of Mana Crystals for them, but as you know, there are regulations and limitations regarding mines. The diamonds also have to meet certain criteria, otherwise they are useless as a catalyst. Since the diamonds are mostly destroyed in the process, and so scarce, they are always in dire need for more. ]

‘I see. What do they use the Mana Crystals for?’

[ To increase and refine one’s Mana, via the utilization of a Refinement Chamber. ]

‘So, I’ll be using them a lot as well. This might be a dumb question, but the refinement chambers and mana crystals are also subjected to the 80% discount if bound to my property, right?’

[ Yes. ]

‘And, can I relocate something from one property to another?’

[ Yes. ]

He smiled, making more plans for the future.

 

Arriving home, he made his bag appear in his room, and switched into shorts and a tank top, then went to Mayumi’s room.

She was sitting on her chair, looking at their project, while eating a protein bar, seemingly on a break.

Not wanting to startle her, he pulled out his phone, and sent her a message.

Seeing the notification on her taskbar, she clicked on it, and upon reading it, she turned to the door.

Taking off her headphones, she got up. “Hey, how come you’re home already?”

He walked towards her, then gave her a hug and a light kiss. “I’m not gonna go to the club anymore.”

She frowned. “Why, what happened?”

“One of the girls was having an argument with an ex-boyfriend when I got there, right in front of the club. I can see that happening over and over again, so I told the president that I’m out.”

She caressed his face. “I’m sorry that turned out that way. How was your lunch date?”

He smiled brightly. “That was actually fantastic. We really hit it off, similar to how you and I hit it off, in terms of intensity at least.”

She smiled. “That’s great.”

“It’s a bit different though, because there isn’t that ‘I wanna tear her clothes off’ feeling. Not that I’m not attracted to her, but I just wanna enjoy her company for now, if we ever get physical, that is.”

Her eyes widened, and she touch his forehead. “Are you okay?”

He laughed and tickled her. “I’m not a sex fiend you little pervert.”

She giggled. “You could have fooled me.”

He gave her another light kiss. “Can I help with anything?”

She nodded. “There is a bunch of minor stuff that I need done, but first…”

He smirked. “Pizza?”

“Yup, I kind of skipped lunch.”

He softly slapped her butt. “Don’t do that, otherwise I won’t spank you.”

She chortled.

After making a small pizza box and a big soft drink appear on her desk, he went to his room to help her and the others with their project.

 

A couple hours later, he received a call from an unknown number.

He thought. ‘Is it them?’

[ Correct. His name is Igarashi Kazuya, the Magus Magister of the Japanese branch. ]

By having Aurora, he also had the best call screener in the world.

He picked up the call. “Hello Igarashi-san, I’m glad you called.”

A deep and stern voice came from the other side. “Hello Kinoshita-san, I have been told that you are interested in trading, and that you have access to some incredible goods that are of interest to us. Is that information accurate?”

“Absolutely. When and where do you wanna meet?”

“Would tonight at seven, at my office, be doable for you?”

He furrowed his brow, feeling that something was off. ‘Is his office in Tokyo?’

[ No, it is located in Fukuoka. ]

‘Do I have a safe way to get there in time?’

[ Yes. ]

Although he had a short conversation with the System, that was within less than two seconds.

He then replied. “Yup, I’ll be there at seven.”

“I will be waiting.”

After hanging up, he looked at his screen, and tapped his finger on his desk. ‘It’s better if I leave now, don’t wanna take chances and end up getting late.

He then talked on the voice chat.

(As)- “Guys, I’m gonna have to leave for a bit to take care of something, but I’ll hopefully be back later tonight.”

(S)- “Who’s the innocent young lady about to be defiled?”

(As)- “I wish, it’s just some business stuff. It’s something that I need done as soon as possible, so I can’t postpone.”

(S)- “Good luck then.”

(As)- “Thank you.”

(M)- “Can you come to my room before you leave?”

(As)- “Of course.”

After closing the voice chat, he sat on his bed. ‘Okay, what is my best option?’

[ The Nano-Psiotech Skinsuit V.5, which greatly increases the effectiveness of Psychokinesis for flying and personal protection. As an additional property, it also allows you to intuitively use Personal Teleportation, up to a range of 50m, and Personal Sensorial Concealment, both by spending your own resources. The cost is 1,000,000P ]

He smiled. ‘It’s perfect, but do I even have a way to be able to afford it right now?’

[ You currently have 1,457,961P. ]

His eyes widened. ‘Milestones?’

[ Several, all from different sources. ]

‘And if I buy the suit, will I have enough points for what I need to sell to him?’

[ Yes. ]

He took a deep breath. ‘Okay, please buy the suit for me then.’

[ Done. ]

He got up, and levitated himself a couple centimeters above the floor, making all his clothes and jewelry disappear. Suddenly, a dark-red, skintight suit appeared on him, covering everything from his neck down. It resembled compression clothing used by athletes, but thinner.

Instantly, he felt it in his mind, how to use the two abilities that came with the suit. Not only that, but with a thought, the suit expanded, completely covering his head with a thin red helmet. Very much like his other helmet, it felt like he wasn’t wearing one.

With a thought, he appeared in a spot a meter away from where he was.

‘I see, it’s not me appearing there, but switching places with the matter in that location. Because it was air, it was easy, but if I wanted to switch places with part of a wall, it would be much harder.’

[ Correct. ]

He did it a few more times, then made jeans, a hoodie and his bracelet appear on top of the suit, landing on the floor. With a thought, he made the suit recede from his hands.

‘Wow, it feels incredible. It regulates my temperature as well, and keeps my body and itself clean. Is there a V.6?’

[ It costs 25,000,000P. ]

‘I’m good.’

After taking a deep breath, he went to Mayumi’s room.

She was sitting on her chair, looking at her door.

Seeing him, she immediately got up, looking concerned. “You’re going to meet the Consortium people, aren’t you?”

He nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’ll tell you everything when I get back.”

She took a deep breath and hugged him. “Please, be as careful as you can be.”

He hugged her, caressing her back. “I will.”

As she let go of the hug, she looked at his feet. “Since when do you use red socks?”

He raised his hands, making the suit cover them. “Technically, not socks.”

Her eyes widened, then became filled with curiosity. “I’m really curious, but I’ll ask questions when you come back.”

He smiled, and gave her a light kiss. “I’ll see you later.”

She smiled. “Till later.”

Outside of the apartment, he focused and completely vanished.