"Wake up! I"ll teach master not to offend people again!!"

The high pitched voice startled Zique as he heard a pair of small feet running to him. Lying on the sofa he abruptly opened his eyes. And saw the little devil midair, ready to go all cannonball on his stomach.

He squinted and grabbed the eleven-year-old brat in the air constricting both her arms.

"Humpft!" She humphed and turned her sulky face away.

Zique smirked. "I got you, little thing. Time for some of this uncle's wet love."

Her eyes widened.

"NO! M-Mom!"

"Your mother can't save you now!" Zique proceeded to wet his lips with saliva and give wet smooches all over the little girl's face.

"NAhhhhh!" She squealed

His eyes were rich with the pleasure of vengeance. "Little smelly thing, you're too young to play this uncle."

The girl looked at her mother with injustice on her eyes "Moooooom!"

"It's what you get for acting childish!" Carla chided

"I'm eleven!"

Zique got up from the sofa and smirked at Suzanne, the little girl.

"Even when you reach thirty, this uncle will never spare you,"

"Pervert uncle!"

Zique smiled and turned to the mother. "Why the morning visit?"

Carla looked at Zique with a smile. "Old Stoose, the owner of the pc room cursed your name all night long on the bar." She motioned to her daughter with the chin. "It made little Su angry."

"Oh." Zique laughed and sat beside the pouting little girl.

"Smelly thing, are you angry with me because I offended him?"

"I-I-" She looked at his eyes then blushed and turned away from him. "Y-you're already hated by almost half of the neighborhood, if you continue to offend people, they might force you to move out."

She started well but midway her voice went lower and lower as if afraid he'd notice the care in her voice.

He was pleased inwardly, the little thing was afraid of him going away.

Zique laughed and pulled the embarrassed girl on his lap.

"N-Not again!" She flailed her arms about.

"This uncle won't move out little girl."

She stopped resisting and quietly asked

"Do you promise?"

He gave her a kiss on the top of the head.

"Of course."

For a second, Carla showed a pained expression as Suzanne's expression filled hope. Unknown to her, Zique caught it through her reflection on the window.

"Enough, go train your mana control. You almost electrocuted our cat yestarday because you couldn't control your anger." Carla gave the girl a startling slap on the butt that sent her hurrying away.

"Do you want me do deal with Old Stoose?" Carla asked after seeing the little girl arriving safely in their house.

Zique shook his head.

Now with silence in the living room, he took his time admiring Carla.

She's a short-haired blonde as tall as the average male, with a strong and voluminous body, a gift from her professional career as a huntress. But it only added to and took nothing of her feminine traits.

"You're looking at me like a starved dog looks at meat. Have some decency." She said while turning around to the kitchen with a chuckle.

"For my own sake, I wouldn't dare to have such thoughts. Women are trouble." He laughed.

'That expression from before and now she's uncomfortable with eye contact...' Zique thought to himself

Carla suddenly turned to Zique who followed her to the kitchen. He opened his mouth to continue but was stopped by a wet tongue.

He felt her hesitation on trembling body. Although the kiss was like a cup of cold water after ten days in the desert, another thing mixed on her saliva took his attention. It should've been tasteless and odorless but he caught it.

It was a drug that would disrupt the target's mana control for a second. The effect could be activated anywhere inside a day after drinking it. He knew it well, after all; others took his merit but he was the one that discovered it.

Zique finally understood her behavior.

Feeling his sudden rigidness Carla let go an looked at him. She did everything to hide it but her eyes were turning red and the color was vanishing from her face.

"I-Im sorry." She muttered unconsciously.

He smiled widely.

"Woman, if you're poisoning someone you shouldn't be careless enough to apologize."

She froze, her eye slowly opened wide.

Sincerely, he loathed himself rather than her. The woman in front of him took three bullets for him in the past and severed off a finger for her brother. If she's poisoning him. Then the most important thing in her life is being threatened. And that's little Suzanne.

And that's his fault

Just picturing the little thing being hurt twisted his insides. He'd probably kill the whole city to save the little girl. So how could he blame this desperate mother?

"My stock of Magic beast meat is being sold faster than usual for the last few months, and it just so happens that I need to hunt for more today... Will I be ambushed while hunting? ..." Zique posed it as a question but the tone was of certainty.

Carla's legs gave in, "I-I'm sorry Zi, they threatened Suzanne, I- I'm her mother I-"

As she tried to come up with words. Zique held her by the shoulders

"Neither you, Jeff or Suzanne will suffer anything."

She stopped moving for a second and clarity came to her eyes. Carla got up and held him by the collar. But no words came out of her mouth. She wanted to tell him that it was stupid to go hunting today and that he shouldn't do this, but in the end, she'd always choose to risk him than her daughter.

She knew this, and so did he.

Slowly, with lifeless eyes, she took her trembling hands off of him.

"I won't die." He said bringing her lost eyes on the same level as his

"Because of your lousy poison attempt, I know exactly the nature of the enemy and what they want. We'll be fine."

She opened and closed her mouth but he only smiled.

They talked ten more minutes, and when she was about to leave, she stood by the door frame with a lost gaze "I-I-" she failed to speak and kept looking everywhere but his face.

slap! "Hyaa!"

She jumped up with a start and held her bottom. He just slapped her awake.

He looked at her grinning. "Don't need to say sorry, just don't forget that you owe me for life."

"B-Bastard!" She blushed and reacted with instinct then slammed the door shut.

It's not enough to make her forgive herself, but it's a beginning. Zique thought and walked back to the kitchen. He cut a small portion of salami and cheese. He poured himself a mug of beer and started thinking.

'The enemy chose the closest person to me, even though it could backfire as it did, so the enemy is rushed, emotional even. Most likely young.'

Zique tapped his finger on the sofa's cup holder rhythmically.

'Old Stoose didn't suddenly grow courage after two years of blackmail, so he had an idea of what's coming for me, that's why he mouthed off the whole night...He must've been the one to say how much beast meat I have stored. But to use someone like old Stoose... The other side is reckless too.'

Zique took a sip of the beer and felt the delicious cold sourness down his throat.

'The drug is to immobilize me and not kill. But to be aware of the drug in the first place is a feat on its own. Someone reckless like that wouldn't be given access with his own merits.'

Zique ate a piece of cheese as he chuckled.

"Young, dumb, and blind to see that whoever gave them the drug is using him or her as bait to measure my strength."

Zique took another gulp of the beer and squinted.

"Someone that has connection in the higher nobility...."

A chubby face appeared on his mind.

"Haha." Zique laughed. "Hugo, I knew that idiocy would be your death. But who'd thought I'd be the one to kill you."

*****

At six in the afternoon, Zique was standing in front of the dimensional gate to the first realm. A place discovered in the late nineties. Humanity took a radical change in technology because of it. from then until today, the year 3532; humanity discovered six more of such realms, not surprisingly, the wars on earth diminished as the great companies and countries fought for power and land on those realms.

Zique mused these thoughts as he passed through the gate. He was secure of himself as he strolled through the wilderness of the first realm. It was common knowledge he was being suppressed by the governing nobles and the University Director himself. His freedom was limited to the first realm's student and common hunter's forest and the city of Baul.

His research was too valuable, the nobles don't want him to hand over to anyone else, but they can't extract it from his mind either so they locked all exits until Zique gives up the research or kill himself.

The city is nothing more than a locked box, no way up, down, front, back, or sideways. Should he try to cross the threshold, third class Master mages and above with high-rank knights would stop him.

Zique stopped in a clearing on the most isolated part of the forest. the wind shook his white and silver magician robes, but couldn't move his well-combed hair

'This was the time' He thought and instantly after three men in black robes encircled him. while a chubby man stood twenty meters away and used a voice enhancing spell to speak.

"Zique de Oliveira, surrender and nothing will happen to you or your close ones."

"Not only dumb, but you're a cliche spitter too, not original at all."

"Wh-What!?" the chubby man's belly visibly trembled in anger taking a smirk out of Zique.

Zique looked around the ones circling him. His plan is to kill those three then take the name of the instigator out of Hugo, but Is there even a reason to keep doing this? Zique thought for a second.

His spirit was ordinary, making it a hundred times harder to advance classes, He can't go to higher realms too, it doesn't matter how strong he becomes in the city by his own, the enemy would have raised thirty different guards with double his own strength. For the first time in his life, Zique questioned his will.

But in that second, a sudden spatial rift opened wide above them. For an instant, he saw the absurd scenery on the other side.

Two hundred or so men and women in ancient robes were cutting through the skies above beasts and swords. enormous pagodas and cauldrons stood floating, But it all disappeared as a something hard as a rock slammed on his head and send him rolling twenty meters backward, Even thought he improve his body with magic beast meat he still felt his organs shake.

Zique jumped up, still feeling the dizzines of the impact. He looked ahead and saw her, his dizziness couldn't diminish her demonic appearance.

Long black hair eerily floating behind her blood-red phoenix robe. Golden goat horns that started on the side of her forehead and curved behind her head, contrasting heavily with the obsidian hair.

Her eyes were composed of a gold iris and a completely black sclera with an equally dark pupil. Her skin was dark gray, like that of dark elves.

The surroundings didn't matter. Hugo didn't matter, his future didn't matter. There was only the instinct inside, screaming to attack with everything he built throughout his whole life.

He acted, but she did first and was already a step away from him with a punch that could shatter a wall with its pressure alone.

He tried to jump back but a cold chill crawled up his nape. Forcing a split-second decision. Zique blinked his eyes and appeared twenty meters away.

Blink, the signature spell of a fifth class master Mage. It took half the mana his Ordinary spirit bud could store inside.

The woman paused, she too, was in awe of her enemy. Her eyes changed color as she examined him from top to bottom, it changed between blood red and bright pink. She tilted her head and a devious grin emerged from her thin lips.

The warmth of his own blood streamed down his back. Zique saw a completely black sword floating around the woman. It was the thing that cut his back and forced him to blink away.

Regardless of her grin, he could see she was internally injured that's why she runway through the portal. And Zique knew she could see his limited amount of mana too.

From that single exchange, both understood each other's state.

She was a tyrannical close-quarters fighter riddled with internal injuries, and he was a mage with limited mana left, if she flees, he would patiently follow her trail and kills her tired self, and she'd do the same in case he runs

"You might not believe this." Her voice resounded, as clear and deep as an ancient bell.

Her pupil's color changed from bright pink to blood-red repeatedly.

"My eyes reflect my target's emotion, and you show nothing but pure pleasure and bloodlust." Her devilish grin enchanted his soul.

"Haha." Zique laughed. "What an eyesight you have." He knew it already, his pumping blood and his stretched mouth corners told him enough.

A dull explosion resounded. instead of run or stall Zique exploded forward with his index finger pointed at her.

She did the same, her sword aiming right at his chest. She knew he wasn't stupid enough to blindly charge so she kept the sword five meters in front of her.

But the finger didn't meet the sword, it passed right through It. She widened her eyes in surprise, someone his level shouldn' t be able to employ an illusory technique that could affect her. He suddenly appeared two feet to the left of his projected image with his finger almost touching her chest. His body was open, it didn't matter how she saw it, he couldn't save himself now.

Her hand moved, faster than the sword.

His eyes shined and a thin earth spear sprouted from the ground. Faster than her arm.

Time slowed down for her, at this rate her gut would be pierced by the earth spear, But if she dodged his finger would hit her chest. And that was obviously the main attack.

Her eye shone blood-red 'I didn't scape only to die!' She roared loudly showcasing her pair of canine fangs

The spear pierced her gut but his finger froze for a second, she stunned Zique with her bestial howl.

Without a second thought, she savagely sunk her hand into his Dantian. Purple nails first, then whole palm. But there was nothing there but meat. In that split second of her confusion, a light extended from his frozen finger and stabbed deeply the middle of her chest.