"Sneaky bastard," Alex backed off, anger and fear in his eyes. "Look at what you've done. You have killed your fellow cadets. If the higher-ups hear about this your head will be chopped off in the public square." Alex looked with wide eyes.
"What kind of deranged person will pull off this massacre?" Alex thought, looking at Freddy.
"Oh really, you are talking about my head being chopped off in the public square. In this life it's survival of the fittest. You threatened me, so you deserve your fate," Ethan said as he began walking forward.
"Hahahaha," Alex laughed; his fearful face gone, replaced by calm mockery. "Of course I know it's survival of the fittest. These bunch of twats were too weak to adapt."
"You see me and you have the same mind—I would like you and that girl to work for me," Alex said.
"Fool. You think you are going to see tomorrow?" Ethan said calmly.
"Hm, so much ego. You put up a great fight—I mean, you made me use my full strength, which no one under the Awakened had done before," Alex said.
"Enough with your crap." Ethan blurred as he dashed forward with speed, his death blade aiming at Alex's throat.
"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet." Alex stood there unmoving. Ethan sensed something.
Bang.
Ethan redirected the strike to the ground; after his eyes cleared a bit he saw that he had been aiming his blade at Gloria just now. Gloria was shaking on the spot. "Illusion," Ethan groaned, his headache spiking. Illusion was the most terrifying aspect he knew of—only a few people in the entire Stellar Nexus owned it.
"Ah—you broke free just in time. A pity," Alex appeared at the far end, on top of a bus, smiling. "I guess you are a bit resistant then. How will it be for your other friends?" Alex laughed.
"Damn you, rat," Ethan shouted. Suddenly Lynx came rushing toward him followed by Gloria. Ethan quickly performed [void step] as he dodged the two before they could reach him. He then dashed toward Alex with speed. Alex was a bit shocked by Ethan's fast reaction.
"Ah ah—not today. Me and you are not done yet, but I will see you next time." Alex smiled as he removed a golden talisman with ancient script written on it.
Alex infused his mana, making the talisman glow with blinding light. Before Ethan could reach Alex—
Booom.
Alex had already disappeared from the spot. "Fuck—Apex talisman," Ethan cursed as he could not sense Alex's energy.
This was the first time someone had given him a headache.
Ethan immediately gained his composure. As he rushed to check on the others he was relieved to find they were unhurt. "What happened?" Lynx asked as he struggled to get up.
"I think we should watch out more for Alex. In my opinion he is dangerous," Ethan said, dusting Lynx off. He then turned to Freddy and smiled. "Nice one, buddy. You did well back there," Ethan said.
"It was my job," Freddy replied.
Come to think of it—without Freddy he would have been worried about their safety. "For now, we avoid Alex and his group. I'm sure he is not alone," Ethan said grimly.
"Hmm, interesting. Come to think of it, he escaped with an Apex-level talisman. My guess is there is someone powerful backing him up," Gloria said as she drew something from her pouch.
It was a rank-3 whip. "I mastered a whipping technique but I haven't mastered it yet—I'm only at the beginner level. Well, I guess it will come in use now," she thought.
Ethan glanced at the whip and understood Gloria's intentions. Everyone needed to step up their game—there was a new threat out there.
What Ethan didn't understand was why Alex escaped when he had already gained the advantage. "It doesn't matter now. All we have to do is find the bosses and kill them," Ethan thought.
"Let's split the work. You guys take care of the minions and I'll defeat the boss," Ethan suggested.
"I will deal with the boss with you," Lynx said. Freddy also looked at him.
"No—it's too risky. A mistake and you might sustain a fatal injury, or worse: death," Ethan said, worry in his eyes. Gloria looked at Ethan and said, "I'll take care of the minions. Just be okay." Ethan knew Gloria always wanted the safety of others, so he smiled as they marched forward.
[ You have slaughtered the prodigy's minion ]
[ You have to slaughter the prodigy's boss ]
[ Failure = no reward ]
"Hm, the quest is still on," Ethan thought. "But I still can't kill Alex without knowing his background. If anything goes bad they might target Gloria, Freddy, and Lynx." Ethan couldn't afford that.